Real Life is Better Than Fiction

Brave Putting on a brave face. Now there's something I'm good at. I have a habit of not asking people to pray for me in difficult times. Why? Shouldn't I crave the knowledge that close friends are interceding to God on my behalf? Sure. But then there's the friends who remember and ask me how I'm doing. That's the bad part for me. I can put on a brave face until someone speaks to me. That's when I fall apart and become a hot mess. A little over a year ago I asked friends to pray for a situation I was facing. I happened to see one of those friends a couple of hours later and she had the gall to ask me how I was doing. I couldn't say a word, only cry. The next day I purposely avoided another one of those friends, but she caught up with me anyway. She teasingly said, "Am I not good enough for you today?" Yep, you guessed it. Hot mess right there in front of dozens of people. At another time another situation came up, and I again a...

Miracles Some people don't believe miracles still happen today, but I believe they do. All you have to do is look to see them. Miracles happen every single day. You can see it in nature, in the birth of the child, and God's healing hand. Recently some friends of ours had a very sick baby. The doctors had given her a 15% chance of survival through the night. Each day she woke up after that was a miracle. It was a testament to all the people who were praying on her behalf. It's almost as if you don't believe in miracles, what's the point of praying? When we pray, oftentimes we ask God to do the unbelievable, something we puny humans can't do on our own. We want God to do big things, but do we believe that He can? That e will? The Bible is full of miracles in both the old and the New Testament. God parted the Red Sea so the Israelites could walk across on dry ground. He made a donkey speak. He made barren women mothers. The New Testament is full of ...

Encouragement Have you ever known someone who is always encouraging? It didn't matter what was going on in your life or how poorly you may have done something, that person is ready with an encouraging word. Even when they do criticize, it isn't in the least bit negative. You may not even know you've actually been criticized. Encouragement is definitely a spiritual gift–one not everyone has. "If it is encouraging, let him encourage…" (Romans 12:8). People who encourage are people we want to be around. "But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called 'Today,' so that none of you may be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness" (Hebrews 3:13). When is the last time you said an encouraging word to someone? It really isn't that difficult. Encouragement can be as simple as an "I'm praying for you." It can be a hug. It can also cimple be your presence. Go encourage someone today.

Serenity When I think of serenity, I imagine peaceful and serene settings. That is definitely something I crave. I don't need the chaos of the world or to constantly be around people. The dictionary definition of serenity is "the state of being calm, peaceful, and untroubled." Unfortunately, life isn't always serene. But, we can't say we weren't warned. "These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world" (John 16:33). I have seen Satan at work. It's disheartening, but it does make me aware of spiritual warfare. Other times I need the reminder from 1 John 4:4. "Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world." And… "Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart b...

Fungible Fungible. This was another new word to me this year. The definition – just in case its new word to you as well – "able to replace or be replaced by another identical item, mutually interchangeable." Between family and friends I know quite a few sets of twins. Some are identical, some are not. My sisters and I have often been mistaken for twins even into adulthood and we aren't even that close in age. I don't understand people's misconception of being a twin to one of my sisters, but I do understand that we and every single set of twins I know, are different. Each one is an individual person with his or her own thoughts and feelings. Each one is irreplaceable and can't simply be exchanged for the other. There are a lot of people who feel that way when it comes to their jobs. They think if they don't show up for work one day, another person will be waiting in line to pick up the slack and keep things moving seamlessly. While this may b...

Bearuty "Beauty is in the eye of the beholder." That is so very true. What one person sees as gorgeous another person only sees as ugliness. Sometimes only a mother can see the beauty in a picture a child draws. Sometimes it's not actually the artwork itself it's the heart behind it. I remember after my mom passed away us kids were helping my dad go through some things when we came across the Christmas decorations. We begged my dad to let us throw away the ones we had made while we were children – you know those over-glittered, over-glued paper items, and the angel who lost her Styrofoam head more times than was respectable for any angel. My dad didn't object. It wasn't that he didn't love us or our creations; he just wasn't as attached to them as Mom was. Moms see beauty more than dads do. I love the snow during the winter. We don't get a lot here in Virginia, but growing up in New York there was no shortage of it. I posted a pictu...

Maintain I am a great starter of projects. Unfortunately I'm not a great finisher of those projects. My sewing room has plenty of proof with piles of started yet unfinished quilts. Then there's a drawer in my office that is full of notebooks of started but unfinished books. Will I ever return to those projects and finish them? I hope to. Someday. The problem I believe is that a new, more exciting idea comes along that I can't wait to begin, or it could be that I get bored with the time it's taking to complete the project. I become complacent when I need to maintain the course. Persevere. More often than not we have the same unfortunate attitude comes to our Christian walk and ministries. We get excited to begin something new, but soon pizzle out when we don't get the response or the recognition we think we should get. But ministry is not about a great response or recognition. If one person responds to God's call or grows spiritually, that should ...