An Opportunity to Say Thank You

For our days off this week we left town for a quick overnight. Our new friend who I wrote about a few weeks ago is in a play in Lincoln, New Hampshire. She invited us to come and I didn't want to miss it. So Scott and I took a Sunday drive through New York and Vermont. We are surrounded by mountains, people.

Since the play didnt start until 2pm, sightseeing was on the agenda first thing. Cannon Mountain our destination.  See that tiny spot way up there in the sky? Yes indeedy, we went there. 4,100 feet. Have I ever mentioned I don't really like heights? Yeah, I don't. But I do want to see splendor, so up we went.

I'd like you to imagine we hiked all the way up, but I think we all know better than that. Why would we want to risk sweating or worse, injury when a perfectly awesome tram runs to the top every fifteen minutes?

 

Yes, I have mittens on (so glad they were still in the pockets from last winter). We woke up to frost on the car and it was 39 degrees at the top of the mountain.  I liked it.

 

 New Hampshire, you don't disappoint.

 

Scott learned from a fellow passenger that we could see New Hampshire, Maine, Canada, Vermont and New York from where we stood. And it was glorious.

 

I was quite taken with the sight of the tops of the trees. The tops of the trees that tower over us. I couldn't help but draw the parallel that from God's viewpoint, what is huge and scary to me is small and manageable to Him. Everything.

 

 And the little trees. So cute! We mused that all the trees should  have white lights on them.

We hiked around the rim for better views. The path was lined with evergreens.

 

 It unmistakeably smelled like Christmas. My heart was so happy.

 

 It was a beautiful day in so many ways. Our girl here is not just a terrific tour guide and finder of the best food for us, but she's a wonderful actress. I even cried a little when her character died. What a treat to spend more time with her while she's nearby.

Speaking of heights, this is the Quechee Gorge in Vermont. We stopped for a quick look on our way home. We were at street level here. Yikes!

That's a lot of height. I was a little queasy to tell the truth.

 Oh one other little thing happened. I almost forgot to mention it. At the theater, we were privileged to meet an amazing woman whose family we've admired from afar for years. No, it's not Betty White or Mrs. Claus. Yes, a few of my friends guessed this.

Mrs. Barbara Bush, once First Lady of the United States of America, was in the audience to watch her daughter-in-law perform. We had a heads up that she would be there but didn't think access would be so easy.

Oh how I hate to stalk, but well, there she was. So beautiful. I asked if we could talk to her. She said, "Of course" and motioned us closer.

It went like this:

"Your husband is the first President I voted for."
She smiled warmly and thanked me.

"I read your memoir. It is still the biggest book I've ever read." (I shared one of my favorite stories from it here.)

BB: She confirmed the story and said, "You're a reader."
 
"Yes ma'am. I also read your son's book about your husband and absolutely loved it."

BB: "It's a love story, you know."

"I know! I was hooked from the first page. I believe there is no one alive today who is more qualified to be President than your husband. He's an amazing man."

BB: "He is still a wonderful man. He couldn't be here today. But he is the most kind and gracious person I know - and that's after 60 years of marriage!" I think she slapped her knee and laughed. (She told a cute story about President Bush here.)

"I'm sorry he wasn't re-elected. He should have been."

BB: "Oh, don't cry over spilt milk. It wasn't meant to be. We've had a very good life."
Mrs. Bush deflected compliments humbly.  What a refreshing response.

Eventually (because we may or may not have been monopolizing this dear lady), Scott and I thanked her for her family's service to our country and asked for a picture. She not only agreed, but her people got up from their seats for us and took our phones at her direction to take the shot.

What a gracious, beautiful soul. She was much tinier and frail than I expected, but absolutely stunning with her BIG white Texas hair. What a thrill for us.

Who could have magined meeting a First Lady in a small theater in New Hampshire? Later when I had time to reflect on the exhange, I wish I had also said:

"I know for a man to achieve such greatness, his wife has a lot to do with it. Thank you for all the sacrifices and contributions you also made."

"Thank you for being an excellent, honorable role model for women. You're one of the best. These days, someone like you is hard to find."

"Who are you going to vote for in November?"

Ah, I kid. I wouldn't have.

Just a PS for my kids who may be reading....THIS is another reason why you must READ books. All kinds! Especially biographies of greats. Remember, how I told you reading makes you an interesting conversationalist? See how it comes in handy when you least expect it?

Listen to your Mama.

There Are No Shortcuts To Lasting Growth

I like to read autobiographies and biographies. For some reason unknown to me, I mostly read them in the summer. I'm not sure when this started but it's been a pattern for some years now. When my kids were being raised up I insisted they read at least one missionary biography every summer. These were the heroes I wanted to put before them. They were mine too.

I have expanded my interest and will pretty much read anything recommended to me. We can learn so much from someone's story. If nothing else, how to be a student of our own. That inspires me.

This summer's first selection is Never Broken by Jewel. She's a popular singer/songwriter. I've likely heard a few of her songs on the radio but to be honest I'm not very familiar with her music. I picked up the book because I learned that her family was the subject of a Netflix show I got interested in last year. Alaska, The Last Frontier.

Her story is so heart wrenching I can't put the book down. This particular passage has my attention.

"Great survivors have the ability to yield, adapt, give. This stopped me in my tracks. My life was not teaching me to yield, it was teaching me to cover up, protect, harden. I felt a panic. Hardening was the opposite of yielding. I walked home deep in thought and wrote in my book, things that don't bend break. This lyric has stayed with me my whole life, reincarnated in many songs. It made such an impression on my soul.

Slow growth meant thoughtful growth. Thoughtful growth meant conscious choices...hard wood grows slowly. If I wanted to grow strong and last, and not be brittle or broken easily, I had a duty to make decisions that were not just good in the moment but good for long-term growth. I would not let myself drink or do drugs because that was a quick fix to escape an uncomfortable feeling. The better thing was to get to the root of what I was feeling. It meant solutions had to be the right ones for long-term happiness - there were no shortcuts. I could not use drugs to numb, I could not use anorexia or bulimia to lose weight, and it also meant not using cynicism to cover my real feelings of anxiety or vulnerability. In a world of cool, casual, hip, and snarky, I knew if I indulged in these feelings, I would sink to the bottom of my life like a stone. I had to respond to my life with vulnerability, sensitivity, honesty, because they were my only real defenses in this dangerous endeavor called surviving life. I vowed to try to remember to take the time to grow slowly. To take the time to make notes and study. To stay in my body even when I was in pain. 

I have summoned this motto repeatedly in my life. It helped me...with countless decisions that shaped not just the kind of artist but, more important, the kind of human I would become, as well as the kind of longevity I would have."

I highlighted the sentences that really struck me. I mean, seriously. Where was that kind of self-awareness when I was in my late teens/early twenties? I regret that it was nowhere to be found. One poor, pathetic decision after the next was more of my story. I had no real forward thinking strategies in place. Present choices were not being made with the desired future in mind.

I think this particular portion jumped off the page because I have a daughter at this very same stage of life. How could I not ask myself if we have trained her in wisdom such as this?

Will she know what could cause her to sink to the bottom of her life like a stone and avoid it? Does she know how to make decisions that are not just good for the moment but are best for long term growth? Will she be present enough and hopeful enough to stay in her pain, considering it is part of becoming the kind of person she aspires to be? Or will she self-medicate, run the way the culture around her is running, not giving much thought to a deeper, better life?

I agree that slow growth is lasting growth. In a world of quick results and instant gratification, this will take some self-discipline for people of every age. This is why the practice of sitting down every day in a quiet space to read my Bible, talking and listening to the One who created me and has a good plan for my life, who loves me no matter what, is the most important thing I can do to grow.

A slower pace is really where it's at. Being able to read the road signs posted all around my life requires alertness, paying close attention both to who I am and who God is. This is not acheived by flitting about from one activity, one noise to another.

You'd better believe I have read the above paragraphs to my girl. We've discussed them probably longer than she cared to. She didn't roll her eyes though, which is major progress! I want her to benefit now from what took me decades to nail down (slow growth is lasting growth). This is the major calling of my life. I don't think we can talk too much about important things to our kids. My number one go-to parenting verses shows that God thinks so too:

Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. (Dt. 6:4-7)

That's a lot of talking. Good thing that comes easy for us Burtis's. Diligence I can do. One of the gifts of raising the next generation is that we can teach them to avoid our mistakes, learn from them and choose better. God makes promises we can count on. I have seen one of my favorites come true in living color. When we are faithful to live according to His Word, He will change the course of generations.

A do-over perhaps and I am so grateful for it.

I'm only about half way through Jewel's book. I hope by the end I read that she has found the truth of the Gospel and accepted it as her own. Man's wisdom can only go so far in the pursuit of a meaningful life but one lived by the wisdom of God is what lasts for eternity.

PS. You should really read someone's story.

A Good Book Can Change Your Life

Once upon a time I was not a reader. I could read but I didn't choose to read outside out of what was necessary for basic daily survival. I think I liked to read as a kid. I know I gobbled up all the Nancy Drew and Hardy Boys series with fervor and I must have read Charlotte's Web thirty times if I read it once. But it didn't follow me into adulthood.

Until I was exposed to people who read. Not just because they have to. No, for pleasure. They seemed so smart to me. They knew things they could only know by reading. Reading all sorts of things. Not just the newspaper. Not just a random magazine. Books! These people are interesting and can talk with some authority on many subjects. They could recommend books to anyone about almost anything. I was amazed and decided I wanted to be like them.

As usual, desires like this are not realized without effort. I told one friend in particular who I admired for his strength in this area that I wanted to become a reader too and asked what he recommended to get me started. He gave me three book titles.

I vividly remember one of them to this day. In The Grip of Grace by Max Lucado. Max is easy to read, enjoyable, entertaining and educating. I devoured the book. Before long Terry checked up on me and asked how I was doing with the reading. I had so identified with one of the stories from the book and knowing he would be familiar, I wailed, "I'm the rock stacker!" In gentleness but I am certain with a grin, he said, "Yes darlin', you are."

I won't get into what that means here because it's not a flattering admission. You can read the book yourself for context, but it's not the point really. I don't think at that stage in my life (at least 18 years ago), I had ever experienced a book (besides the Bible) pointing a finger at me and saying, "I'm talking to you here". It changed my life. I liked it and hungered for more.

I read the other two titles, learning more about myself, others, and life. I went to him for for more. He was the one who told me he always has a book on prayer going because you can never stop improving your prayer life. Good advice. We don't talk as often as I'd like these days, but when we do one of my first questions is, "What are you reading?". Then I almost always get my hands on those titles.

Now all these years later, I still hunger for a great read, one that will challenge me to readjust for the better. I love books. All different kinds (except sci-fi and fantasy. I just can't go there.). I love words and am forever amazed at how different authors can arrange words on a page evoking all manner of emotions. It is powerful and I'm addicted.

Because I'm basically obnoxious, I want everyone to read. I've led book clubs. I required my fellow women's ministry team leaders to read certain selections. I give books as gifts.

I try to encourage my kids to read. Ok, I nag. I mention it, well, all the time. I buy them books for Christmas. I tell them what I'm reading. When they were younger, I had my own required reading list for their summers, always including one missionary biography. Even though I'm still waiting for the day they thank me, I believe it was to their benefit. Of course while in college, they are required to read volumes so I tone it down some and cut them some slack. I admit though, when Drew graduated from college, one of the first things I said was, "Now you can read for pleasure!" I don't recall a verbal response. It was all in the eyes.

I don't think I'll ever embrace the electronic book craze because part of the pleasure of reading is holding the pages in my hand. The smell of brand new books. Highlighting and writing in them, learning. I have library cards in my wallet for the last three cities we have lived in. Yeah, I know. Nerd. I don't mind you thinking that. In the immortal words of Arthur, the tv cartoon, "Having fun isn't hard if you've got a library card".

Another favorite thing is recommending great books to someone else. It's what I do. Go ahead, just ask. I dare you.

One thing Scott and I like to do on our dates is to wander around Barnes and Noble and browse. For those I don't "need" but look interesting, I usually take pictures and later check them out of the public library. A few weeks ago, we stole away for an overnight. We found this cute locally owned bookstore and looked around for at least an hour. What I loved was that on every single shelf were post-it note recommendations from staff members who had read the books. Genius! Naturally, I selected some titles and after a few days headed to the Lake Pleasant library.

This is one of them. I don't read a lot of fiction books, but picked it because it promised to "make you laugh and make you cry" and that it was "charming". Say no more.

It was a cold rainy day when I started it and truly was delighted by both style and story. I snapchatted sections to my kids and a few girls I thought would appreciate the prose. I know, aren't I so hip? One of my sons even screenshotted it. Glory Hallelujah that's success! I mean, just read this little snippet....

Now that's good writing, people! Quite unexpectedly, before I knew it, I was learning about things I know very little about but would benefit from discovering. It was jarring actually, because it applies to a difficult, unresolved area in my life.

May I interrupt this story and interject one little thought? God can use anything He wants to speak to us if our radar is up and we are open to His Spirit. We mustn't limit Him. Christian, I'm talking to you here, it doesn't have to be a Christian author or a Christian subject for it to be valuable.

Toward the end, I couldn't put it down. While Scott drove I said, "Well, I've chuckled to myself and laughed out loud, but I haven't cried yet." Sometimes he just lets me blather on, withholding his response. I plodded on, within minutes, tears were rolling down my face. He noticed and shook his head. Then I was laughing. Then more crying. Then I put the book down and looked out the window. Then I picked it up again. Then I cried more. Then I laughed. Then I searched the glove compartment for tissues.

"Why are you crying?" he asked.
"This book."
"I thought you were reading it for pleasure."
"This is pleasure! I love every word!"

Another way men don't understand women.

I went to work the next day and was telling one of the young'ns about it. Christa is a reader. I said something like I wish I knew someone who read the book because I need to discuss it and have help figuring some of it out. She said, "I'll read it for you."

She was going home to her parents house for the weekend and texted me later that night (with a picture, of course) saying she was starting it right then.

I was so touched by that sweet gesture. Is that not the most wonderful gift? Her time and interest.

As I mentioned in the beginning of this extremely long post, I want to know what others are reading too. I keep a list in my purse of what my favorite authors recommend. Hey, you never know when you might need it.

While I tend to inquire of those who are a little further down the road in experience and maturity, I also have come to value the opinion of the next generation too. This whole mentoring thing is a two way street, you know. The younger learn from the older and the older should be humble enough to learn from those coming up behind.

In our new jobs, Scott and I are surrounded by twenty somethings. Because they are the same ages as our kids, I know it's wise for me to lean in and seek to understand how they process life. So when they get excited about what they are learning, I want to hear about it.

Recently, one brought me this and said, "I think you'll like this book, Mama Ang." Yes, that's what they call me.

When I saw the title I thought, "I could have used this last year, and the year before and the year before." Quite honestly, I didn't want to revisit the topic. Too soon. But to honor Abby, I picked it up.

It seemed like a slow read at first because it was jam packed with good stuff I wanted to simmer and take root in my brain. But I hit a certain spot and didn't move until I savored the last page. This is hands down my favorite book of 2016 so far. That's a little spoiler for some of you who may be receiving a gift from me in the future. I may or may not have several copies in my Amazon shopping cart already.

The moral of my story today is that I probably would not have chosen that book myself, but because someone else thought enough of me to put it in my hands, I read it and I'm better for it. We need to help each other grow. Be someone who seeks the input of others and open yourself up to learning. Its such a gift!

Community.
And books.
Women.
And learning.

This is the good stuff of life.

So tell me, what are you reading?

Two Of My Favorite Things

If you've been reading this blog, a.k.a. my heart, for very long you know I have lots of favorite things. We all do I imagine.

I clocked another birthday of a non-remarkable, albeit still shocking, number this past Sunday. On Friday a dear, sweet, thoughtful, funny friend showed up at my door with her husband, a cake (my favorite kind), a pastry to be saved for my actual birthday morning, a sentimental card with some spending money and a gift of two brand new books. She announced, "We are only staying as long as it takes to order pizza for dinner and eat it with you."

You can imagine my delight. What love! My favorite part? Well, I savored every detail, but of course - the books! This woman has bought me books before and always hits a homerun. She introduced me to Ann Voskamp's One Thousand Gifts a few years ago and it changed my life. Which basically means for any future selections, I pay attention.

Favorite #1 - when someone who knows me presents me with a book specially chosen for me because it reminds her of me. (I totally despise that sentence because it says 'me' four times. Please forgive me. Ugh, there I go again.)

Favorite #2 - when I pick up a new book, begin reading and immediately identify with the author and the content. Like put the book down and have an ugly cry kind of identifying. In other words, I feel like it was written solely for me (narcissist much?) or it's so similar to my current situation that I could have written it myself.

I love when either of those things happen. Both of these favorites collided this weekend and it is glorious. I know God was behind it.

I just have to share a few morsels with you. Get it? Morsels? Bittersweet? Chocolate? Haha - sometimes I crack myself up.

Yeah, I know, don't quit your day job.

First of all, were you able to make out the subtitle? "Thoughts on change, grace, and learning the hard way." That's more bitter than sweet. After reading the title, I lifted my eyes to meet my friend's which were still on me and she said, "I got myself a copy also because I think I need it too." Oh man, I love her. Took the sting right out. This is grace.

Just the prologue alone was so rich I had to read it twice. I wonder if it will resonate with you.

"Bittersweet is the practice of believing that we really do need both the bitter and the sweet, and that a life of nothing but sweetness rots both your teeth and your soul. Bitter is what makes us strong, what forces us to push through, what helps us earn the lines on our faces and the callouses on our hands. Sweet is nice enough, but bittersweet is beautiful, nuanced, full of depth and complexity. Bittersweet is courageous, gutsy, earthy."

Rotten teeth. Check. (Hereditary from my Dad and possibly a lifetime of chocolate sweetness.) Lines on face. Check. (I don't want to talk about it.) Callouses on hands. (Well, do warts count? I have two.) So, check.

Still, the description smells like purpose to me. And I love purpose.

"This is what I've come to believe about change: it's good, in a way that childbirth is good, and heartbreak is good and failure is good. By that I mean that it's incredibly painful, exponentially more so if you fight it, and also that it has the potential to open you up, to open life up, to deliver you into the palm of God's hand, which is where you wanted to be all along, except that you were too busy pushing and pulling your life into exactly what you thought it should be."

Please tell me that last sentence made you shiver too. If not, go back and read it again. I'll wait for you. Talk about a bittersweet sentence. Be sure and note the beauty in it. Friend, sometimes the truth hurts, but we need to hear it.

With Easter just a stone's throw behind us, resurrection and new life have very much been on my mind lately. Specifically the end of Winter and the newness of Spring. It feels like Scott and I have been in winter figuratively for almost three years now. We ache for new life, new beginnings, new growth.

I often refer to a favorite Bible passage that has been real and relevant to so many areas and seasons of my life. God speaking:

Remember not the former things, 

nor consider the things of old.

Behold, I am doing a new thing;

now it springs forth, do you not perceive it?

I will make a way in the wilderness

and rivers in the desert. Isa. 43:18-19

Wilderness? Desert? New thing. Springs forth. Keep talking, Lord.

Then this:

"I believe that God is making all things new. I believe that Christ overcame death and that pattern is apparent all through life and history: life from death, water from a stone, redemption from failure, connection from alienation. I believe that suffering is part of the narrative, and that nothing really good gets built when everything's easy. I believe that loss and emptiness and confusion often give way to new fullness and wisdom."

Are you still with me? How do you feel about change? Are you fighting a change you didn't want in the first place or waiting for a long awaited change? Me too.

"...change is one of God's greatest gifts and one of His most useful tools.  ...change can push us, pull us, rebuke and remake us. It can show us who we've become, in the worst of ways, and also in the best of ways. ...change is not a function of life's cruelty but instead a function of God's graciousness.

If you dig in and fight the changes, they will smash you to bits. They'll hold you under, drag you across the rough sand, scare and confuse you. But if you can find it within yourself, in the wildest of seasons, just for a moment to trust in the goodness of God, who makes it all and holds it all together, you'll find yourself drawn along to a whole new place, and there's truly nothing sweeter. Unclench your fists, unlock your knees and also the door to your heart, take a deep breath, and begin to swim. Begin to let the waves do their work in you."

And that's just the first chapter.

I so get how real the feelings of fear and confusion can be. You probably do too. Why not let's together take this author's advice and trust in the goodness of God, who makes it all and holds it all together, including our lives and hearts? Don't you want to let the waves do their work in you? Remake you? Bring out something new? Oh I do. I do. Pick me!!

I truly believe with all my heart God will eventually reveal that He was up to something good the whole time. Believe that with me.

Keep your eyes open all around you for new growth. After all, the long winter is over - it's Spring - the season for new life. Again the verse above... "Remember not the former things or consider the things of old." New life is in front of us. Hope is in front of us. Keep moving forward. No more looking for it back there behind us. It's not there any more than Jesus is still in the tomb.

Do you not perceive it?


All bold quotes from Bittersweet by Shauna Niequist
italics mine

Looking for a Great Book? I've Got a Suggestion....

Hey all my reader friends,

I just read another great book and as usual, can't keep it to myself.  My awesome gift-giving husband gave me this book for Christmas.  I picked it up a week or so ago and finished it this morning.  I loved it!  Scott always knows how to make the perfect selection for me.

Kisses from Katie (by Katie Davis) is a modern-day missionary biography.  Some of you know how I feel about a well-written missionary biography.  I can't get enough!  They challenge me to see the world and my world through God's eyes and probe to see if I'm truly living out the purpose He created me for. Sometimes we can get caught up in our own American (Western) lifestyles and forget that there is a world out there very different from our own. People living (or barely living) with needs much greater than our own.  And there are devoted Christ-followers who have surrendered "the good life" to lead THE GOOD LIFE.  I love reading their stories.  I love their courage.  I love how God uses them.  I love how they love God.

In my humble opinion, we all need to pick up a missionary biography once or twice a year and experience someone else's purpose-driven life, which is often so very different from ours.  I find these inspiring and attitude-adjusting when I feel like feeling sorry for myself or wishing for something else I don't currently have.

What makes this book so amazing is that Katie is a 22 year old girl from an affluent family in the U.S.A. who KNEW God's plan for her from when she was 17 and went after it - with little to no support from her family.  She went to Uganda fresh out of high school and has only made brief visits back home since.  She has totally surrendered her own desires for life to God.  Amazing!  She has/is adopting 13 young girls and takes care of hundreds more in a local school.  She feeds them, reads to them, tells them about Jesus, performs minor surgeries, bathes them, cares for them and so much more with pure grace and humility.  She is mature beyond her years yet unassuming. She, just one teenage girl, is making a difference!

What I especially want to suggest is that you moms read it - then give it to your pre-teen/teenage daughters. I wish I could lend you my copy, but Ally will be starting it tonight!  :)  In a world of confusion over how to "find God's will for my life" and being given so many choices for self-fulfillment, this just might tug their hearts toward a simpler decision of just listening to God and doing what He asks of them and making a difference in their generation!

Get this book!

Book Recommendation for Moms

I have a few favorite authors whose books I read over and over (as needed). Angela Thomas is one of them. Many of her books have been manuals for me to help parent young children and teenagers.  I got her latest book last week (thank you Scott!) and picked it up yesterday.  I read a good chunk of it and was hooked.

The title is "52 Things Kids Needs from a Mom...What Mothers Can Do to Make a Lifelong Difference". At first, I thought I was buying it as a reference book for all the young moms in my life (since my kids are getting pretty close to full grown)-something to recommend, but I was gripped in the introduction. I still need it!

Here are a few of the chapter titles. "Kids need their Moms:

• To Pray in Secret with the Door Open
• To Never Stop Touching Them
• To Make Them Sit Around the Table...and Linger
• To Miss a Few things They Do Wrong
• To Put Down Their Phone
• To Turn Their Beds Down at Night
• To Give Grace-Filled Consequences
• To Be a Passionate, Alive, Spiritual Lover of God
• To Become Spiritually Healthy
• To Tell Them What She'd Do Differently
• To Set the Tone For the Family"

I put a few into practice as soon as my kids got home yesterday.  The truth is, you just can't love them enough.  I texted my college boy to remind him that even though he's not here with us, he's still an important part of our family.  Then I wrote him a love note (in my own handwriting) so that he could later refer to how proud his Dad and I are of him and sent him a little cash to take on his upcoming mission trip.

After a long dinner, I spent some one-on-one time with Ben.  I wanted to go for a walk and he wanted to play basketball.  So, while I walked, he dribbled alongside me and talked and talked and talked.  Then we made a detour to a neighborhood hoop and shot around awhile.  (Gave him a chance to make fun of me and tell me I 'shoot like a girl'.)  I hugged and touched and played with my girl's hair as we laid in my bed before turning in for the night, giving her the eye contact she craves and discussing things from her world.

It is amazing how many things you can learn about your kids when you just give them undivided attention - away from others, the tv, phones, computers, etc.  I know they all felt loved by my little efforts yesterday, but I was filled.  So thankful for this book and some simple reminders!  Parenting is a short season (as I'm realizing each day) and I want to make sure I put my whole effort into raising the next generation of followers of Jesus Christ, don't you?  This book will give you some fresh ideas.

I highly recommend it to every Mom who isn't sure of how powerful her influence is and for those who want to make that lasting difference in your kids. I believe it will be an encouragement to moms no matter what your children's ages are.  You will not feel guilty for what you may have missed so far and you will rejoice when you see how much you've already done right!

Book Review and a Few Thoughts on So Long Insecurity

I love to read.  And I love to read a great book alongside a friend - so we can discuss.  This is a book I read a few years ago, but read it too quickly because it was a borrowed copy, and worse yet, I couldn't mark it up. With all the new changes in my life recently, I figured a refresher was in order so I bought 2 copies at Christmastime and gave one to a special young lady in my life.  We've been reading it "together" since.

This is a book I recommend for women of all ages.  After all, if we're honest, don't we all struggle with feelings of insecurity from time to time?  Or all the time?  Whether it's at home, at work, at church, in relationships or just when we look in the mirror.  I know I've struggled with it all my life and have had enough.  Well, here is the step-by-step guide that puts God's Word in the driver's seat on how to identify what lays behind our insecurities and how He wants us to be overcomers and live in the security He provides - daily.  It might be the right selection for you to read with a girlfriend or group of friends. 

Here are a few favorite quotes - see if they resonate with you:

• "God's approval is a whole lot easier to get than man's."
• "Much of what we fear is fueled by our imaginations."
• "One way we can detect insecurity is by our knee-jerk reaction to any change in a relationship, particularly if we perceive that the focus has shifted away from us. The more easily threatened we are, the more insecure we are."
• "The goal in our female relationships should be to encourage one another's security.  Not enable one another's insecurity.
• "God wills for us to walk out the depth and breadth of our lives with dignity and security. Neither God nor you have anything to gain by your persistent insecurity."
• "To find yourself, your true, secure self, you must lose yourself in something larger."
• prayer "Help me to stop using a person as my mirror and start seeing myself as You alone see me."

I mentioned above that I bought a copy of this book for a special young lady in my life.  Emphasis: young. If she can lick this thing at her age - she'll have saved a lot of time and heartache and likely be closer to living her God-given destiny.  "Heaven knows how many people never fulfill their destinies simply because of their own insecurities."  This should not be! I'm sick of how our girls (me, leading the way) have grown up and never out of feeling less than someone else who may appear to be more talented, more gifted, more liked, etc.  How the simplest situation can throw us into a tailspin of wondering how worth it we are. Truly we will act like who we believe ourselves to be. I heard said once that we've allowed the enemy to come into the church, take our girls by the hand and show them how to live. 

Whether you are a mother or not Beth says, "the entire generation of adult women in any culture is systematically raising the next, whether they mean to be or not. Now get out there and show some wide-eyed little girls what a secure woman looks like."  Since I've been around the block a few times and am raising a daughter, I know that it's my job (and yours) to take up this challenge. (Titus2) After all, "We (Christ-followers), of all people on earth, possess the reason, the residence and the ongoing revelation to be, of all things, most secure."  Anyone want to join me?

*all quotes from So Long Insecurity by Beth Moore

You've Got to be Kidding Me

Anyone who's known me for 5 minutes knows I love to read. I was challenged about 10 years ago to become a reader and I took it. I'm always reading something. It makes me feel smarter. It inspires me. Mostly I read Christian books that challenge me to walk closer to Christ. Occasionally I'll read a novel, but not often. I don't like getting so caught up in the lives of the characters that I ignore those in my life because I can't put the book down. But my favorites are missionary biographies. A wise mentor encouraged this practice at a women's retreat more than five years ago.

After a while, the instructional books take their toll as I feel I'm spending too much time on self. Always trying to improve self. I know it's happened when I need a break because I'm sick of myself. At those moments, I always pick up a missionary biography. Especially the old ones. There's nothing like getting inspired by the life of one who denied so much of self for Christ. Makes me want to straighten up and walk taller. Makes me want to give more of me to Christ. Makes me want less of the world and more spiritual fruit.

About three years ago I started requiring one missionary biography to be read by my children each summer. Prior to that, I read them one. Now they are on their own. They never fail to groan at first, but I know they get interested. Each day (esp. the ones with no agenda) we read for close to an hour. It's their favorite time. They look forward to it. Yeah right. I wish.

I have a dream that my children would love to read. This dream has not come true yet. (They are 16, 13 and 11.) Today the unthinkable happened. One of my children, who will remain namelesss, uttered the following question when I stated it was time to read. "Why do we have to read in the summer?" You might have thought a demon overtook their mother. Had the child just been dropped off to live in this family? I incredulously replied, "You've got to be kidding me, right? You have no idea why I have you read in the summer? Have I not been clear on my purpose? You think I'm going to let your mind go to mush just because you're on vacation?" I'm sure I said a few more things that I'm not willing to admit to this blog.

But, if you want to see this child again - I'd pray for her safety.