Anthony

Okay, I just had to post this...

With her hands clasped a few moments ago, Emily just prayed the most precious prayer I've heard in a long time. She's 3.

Dear God, Thank you for Anthony. Please help him to be safe, and help him to be good. Amen.

Anthony is a homeless man who the kids and I gave water and a bag of toiletries to this summer (see a previous post back in August I think.) He was under an awning of an old building at the corner of Hargrove and something in downtown Dallas. He had stacks and stacks of papers, manila folders, etc. as if he had raided someone's filing cabinet. He was working away on something when we handed him the offerings we had. I had tried to make conversation, but barely got a smile. It was obvious he had some mental ailment. I didn't know his name then.

Then this past Tuesday we went to the Farmer's Market for an outing with my MOPS group. Since we were going downtown anyway, I packed up some water bottles and fruit cups and we handed them out to some homeless folks while we were down there. Emily was excited and gave them the spoons and napkins. Anthony was in the same spot he was this summer, still with his stacks of paperwork around him, still "working" away. (It really shocked me that he was still there. That was two months ago. My mind has wandered and wondered about his life since then. He must leave that corner sometimes, but it must be the place he calls home.) This time when I gave him the water and the fruit cup, I asked him his name and I got a smile out of him.
I told him I'd pray for him.

Emily heard me, and remembered tonight.

I don't know how she knew just the right thing to pray, but I'm pretty sure the Holy Spirit was prompting her. Emily is my most challenging kiddo. She makes me earn my stripes or gold stars or whatever moms get. But you know what?

I love that little girl!

Community Hunger Day!

I'm participating in Community Hunger Day, sponsored by Central Dallas Ministries, next Monday, October 27th. I'll be fasting to raise money and awareness about Hunger right here in the Dallas area. I'd love for you to join me in fasting and praying... and I'd especially love it if you'd contribute money through my webpage.

Take a look at this video and see if it inspires you!

Community Hunger Day Video

Thanks in advance for joining me in feeding the hungry!

A few random things...

Comments
First, there's a trend of "no comments" on my posts. Maybe you think you don't have anything to say, but I love your comments, so keep them coming... it let's me know someone out there is reading! :)

Facebook
Second, I've gotten hooked on Facebook. That may be why the fewer posts here. I'm reconnecting with so many people, and it's lots of fun, but incredibly time-consuming, so I'm having to watch myself... if you're on Facebook, then I know you know what I mean! And all those meaningless applications can get you crazy busy doing absolutely NOTHING! Yikes! Facebook is great, but pace yourself! :)

Wonderful Crafty Things
Third, just in time for your holiday giving... I have to give a shout out to two friends who are crafters. Sara Sears makes beautiful trendy quilts: mostly baby blanket or lap sized - very reasonably priced around $35-$45! E-mail Sara at sarasears@hotmail.com for more info. And Kristina Roegner makes many beautiful things including hand-felted children's sweaters, funky fleece hats $15, boobie blinders (nursing blankets) $25, and felt toys for $5 that would make great stocking stuffers. Email Kristina at kristina@muffinbaby.com or check out Kristina's business with this link: MuffinBaby.

More Suggested Reading!
And finally, I have read another book that just might save me a HUGE amount of stress... and it can for you too! You know I'm all about living purposefully - wanting everything I do to be intentional and meaningful (I'm certainly not great at that yet!) - and this book gives an EASY way to be purposeful about the decisions you make, giving freedom to say no to things that aren't within your purpose/goals/who you are. It's Patrick Lencioni's The 3 Big Questions for a Frantic Family. And even if you're not living the life of a "frantic family" like I am, this book can help you simply have focus in your life.

Patrick Lencioni spoke at MOPS Convention a couple of weeks ago on this topic, and you could see every mom soaking up every word, taking diligent notes, and seeing hope for their crazy lives. After he spoke it's like we all had weight lifted from our shoulders... "No we don't have to say yes to every good thing - only the ones that are within our short-term purpose and reflect who we are!" "I think I can easily do this with my husband in an evening and we can get some sort of handle on our lives again!" So, I bought the book, and promised to share it with whoever wants it. You can check out the link above for the main worksheet and main ideas. OR I'd be happy to share the simple concept over coffee someday! I'll let you know how it goes over the next few months, but I can tell it's going to be worth it!

two books that can change you

So, here are my book reviews as promised! :)

This first book, Justice in the Burbs, by Will & Lisa Samson, can be an easy read. But let me warn you... just because it's an easy read, doesn't mean that you can just read it and forget it. This book will likely make you think about where you're spending your time and make you uncomfortable with life as usual. It will likely make you mad & sad sometimes at the same time, and make you disagree with the authors and agree with them - all on the same page.

This book is about social justice... something that those of us who live comfortably in the suburbs often easily forget about. This book shows how we can be a force for social justice in the world - from where God has placed us - right here in the life suburbia!

The book takes you through one couple's journey through life in the burbs as they begin to notice and act on issues of justice they begin to recognize everywhere throughout their day-to-day lives. A great synopsis from the back cover book states, "This engaging narrative will help you kiss apathy and ignorance good-bye in favor of a life of concern and action."
"Concern and action"... that's where I want to be... what about you?

Justice in the Burbs is moving and inspiring, and God has used this book to help me think more about living justly and to take small, meaningful steps toward social change. The book helped me be more aware of specific ways I can be the hands and feet of Jesus right where I live. God hasn't called me to be an over-seas missionary (at least not yet), and He hasn't called me to move my family into the inner-city (at least not for now), but that doesn't mean that He hasn't called me to act with His sense of justice in the everyday decisions I make right here and now.

I highly recommend this book if you're out there wondering what more God has for you!



This next book is pretty popular, so I'm guessing you might have heard about it or even read it already... Same Kind of Different As Me, by Ron Hall & Denver Moore. A friend gave me her copy to read and several others recommended it at different times, too, so I finally got to reading it and couldn't put it down! I even had a guy walk across a parking lot to talk to me about the book when he saw me take it out of my purse to show a friend. This book is that powerful!

For those of you who don't know about it, Same Kind of Different As Me is a contemporary true story about a homeless black man who grew up in the sharecropper system in Louisiana and an affluent white guy who's an art dealer in Fort Worth,TX and how their lives came to be woven together with tremendous purpose. This book will make you cry and laugh. It will make you appalled with the systems and racism that have kept so many people down - even within our lifetimes. It will give you a heart for the homeless that you likely will never have had before. And, like Justice in the Burbs, it might just move you to action for justice in the name of Love. Or in the least, it will give you a wonderful new perspective on who people really are and can become.

When you come to know Denver and Ron, you'll see that usual stereotypes don't even have a place near them. If I had just met these two men (or others like them) in their respective places of residence or along my path through life, I would have judged Denver to be a mean bum who made terrible choices that deemed him deserving of life on the streets, and Ron to be an uppity, money-hungry socialite who cares little about people outside his inner circle. But reading about their lives you see that not only are they different than what you'd guess on the outside, but maybe others I judge to quickly are different, too. This book led me to see that behind every person I can judge with an instant label like "homeless bum" or "selfish socialite" is a human being with a story - most likely a beautiful story, if I would just take time to find out. And that my life can be enriched by the most unexpected people.

You'll see yourself in this book... maybe it's in the middle of Ron's journey from a calloused heart toward the homeless to a heart wide open and humbled by an amazing man who chose homelessness... or maybe it's in Denver himself who stayed in the shadows most of his life until someone gave him a chance... or maybe it's in Debbie, Ron's wife, and her tenacious love and persistence toward everything she set out to accomplish, including fighting cancer.

I highly recommend this book if you're up for something great and willing to let God move you toward something beautiful!

Both of these books have websites with more info and even short videos to promote them. (I've included the link with their titles above.) If you read one or both of these books, let me know... I'd love to discuss them and find out how they moved you.

Where does all the time go?!

I can't believe it's almost been a week since I posted something... too much going on right now, I guess. I just had to let you know that I haven't stopped blogging... there are some posts coming!

I still have a post "brewing" about our sense of entitlement that I believe is a huge reason we have such a crazy, broken culture... but I'll have to wait until I can spend some time on that one to get it just right.

I also have two books that I've finished in the last couple of weeks that I've just got to give a review of... both are really great! The first one is Justice in the Burbs by Will and Lisa Samson and the other is The Same Kind of Different As Me, by Denver Moore and Ron Hall.

I'll get working on those posts soon. Until then, have a great day! Smile at someone unexpectedly today and see what happens! ... I just love doing that! :)

You just never know...

I've found myself saying that a lot lately. You just never know! And most times I say it, it's because God has shown himself in an unexpected way. You just never know where & how you're going to experience God! His grace and love show up at the most interesting - or uninteresting - times, washing over us, drenching us when we least expect it! I JUST LOVE THAT!

Where have you experienced God lately? Has it been in the expected times and places... during a church service maybe, or while reading your Bible, or while you were serving at the soup kitchen? Or has it been in the unexpected times and with unexpected people... while reading an e-mail or the latest novel, talking to a stranger at the park or your mom on the phone, or driving down the street listening to the radio or talking to your kids.

Often God speaks to me most clearly when I least expect it and through people I least expect. Maybe it's that I hear what I need to hear from those people and experiences closest to me, but when I get that same message through a seemingly random source, it somehow is undeniable, and things become clear.

A friend posted a link to this video on her facebook page. It's not real short and I figured I'd take a glance and move along with my day, but I became stuck once I started... compelled to watch and let it move me. This collection of testimonies is SO POWERFUL. God's love and grace are shown so intensely, and you're bound to see yourself in one or more of them. There were several things that became clear to me through this video... things I'd been mulling over, dealing with, thinking through. I encourage you to watch it. Let God speak his love into your life in an unexpected way today....

...maybe through this youtube video....

...you just never know!

Happy Anniversary!

Today is my 14th wedding anniversary!

I truly believe that I have the very best husband in all of the whole wide world!!! (I know that sentence was filled with every superlative possible, and that you think I'm being overly dramatic, but, no, really, he is simply THE BEST!)

Over the 19 years I've known him, I've discovered these things (among many others) that make him so wonderful:

1) People are drawn to him because he says what he thinks (with a few filters) and usually it comes across as humorous and genuine... even if you completely disagree with him, somehow it's hard not to like him.

2) He's become a guy who truly loves people. He truly cares about what's going on in people's lives. He looks past faults in others and sees their value and their potential. He brings out the best in everyone around him.

3) Without him, I would not be able to do all of the "extra" things I do. He supports me in all ways! He helps me decide which things to say yes to and which things to let go. He listens and gives advice when I need to make a decision or deal with an issue. He happily (yes, I know it's crazy but I did say happily!) takes care of the kids when I need to head to a meeting or spend time on a project.

4) He is my partner, never my adversary. He does the housework when he sees it needs doing. He anticipates my stressful days and steps in to encourage me or help with an errand. He heads home early when I need some extra help. When we have an issue in our relationship, he doesn't play games or shut down, he communicates!

5) Fatherhood suits him so well. He's involved deeply in each of our children's lives. From sports games, to tickle attacks, to diapers, he's an amazing daddy! He teaches them not just through discipline, but through his example and meaningful conversations. The kids love spending time with their daddy - they rock out to music together, wrestle together, pray together, read together, play ball together, work outside together... and all the while the kids are learning from the best example they could have!

6) He's fun!

7) He loves God!

8) He tells me he loves me!

9) He thinks I'm sexy!

10) He's humble in that he knows he's not perfect, and that he's still growing and maturing into who God has purposed him to be .... and because of that, he's easy to talk to, easy to live life with, easy to parent with, easy to be attracted to, easy to love with all of my being!

God has blessed me so much with this wonderful man! Our marriage has had ups and downs - as all marriages have to varying degrees. He hasn't always been all those fabulous things I've listed, and I haven't always been the wife I need to be, either. But God is so good, and He has blessed us as we've worked through things together. Our marriage has become an amazingly wonderful one and it's hard to believe, but I know it's true, that it will get even better as the years go by! I'm so thankful and can't wait to see what God has in store for the rest of this awesome union of marriage!

Before I go...

I have a blog post brewing... but I don't have time to complete it now, so be sure to check back the beginning of next week to see what I'm working on.

I'm off to MOPS Convention in a few hours. It's local for me, but I'm pretending that it isn't. I'm SO excited to get away for a couple of days and be renewed and refreshed! I'm sure I'll blog about that, too.

Before I go I wanted to let you know about a new blog I'm following. It's called The NeedLess Experiment at www.BeNeedless.blogspot.com. My friend Angela began it, and it's really great! The link it also on my side bar. Moms will likely love it the most, but anyone can be inspired by it. She's simplifying her life, spending less, driving less, and focusing more on what's really important. Not only does she share stories from her journey, but also TIPS and RECIPES and IDEAS. ...oh, and leave lots of comments, because that helps the dialog on this too!

Okay, off to Convention... Woo Hoo!