Do You Set Goals for Yourself?

This summer I set two. A physical challenge and a spiritual challenge.

Both required discipline.

I decided to challenge myself to read the New Testament in 90 days. I had heard of a program called "B90X". Extreme Bible reading. There are some who have taken that challenge and actually read the entire Bible in 90 days. I decided to start with the New Testament. Hal and I have read the entire Bible each year for several years now. But this would be a new challenge. I printed my plan to keep in my Bible and began August 1st.

The second challenge for me was a physical challenge. For some crazy reason, I decided to train to run with the goal being a 5k run in our city on Oct 30. I used the "Couch-to-5K" program. This too began on August 1st.

Since I have read my Bible consistently for years, the challenge was just to read MORE each day. And to be consistent.

But the running was a different story. This was new. I mean VERY new. As in, I have NEVER run. I had thought about it some. And this past year, when some friends at church began running, I thought about it some more. But I had been able to talk myself out of the idea. I had convinced myself that since I was 52 years old, that I did not even need to start. But while reading a blog one day, the writer was talking about the benefits of running- and that he had started running at the age of 52. hummmmm.

Maybe I could.

I heard a speaker recently call that a God parade. When He starts moving in our lives - and we have that parade of things that lead us in the direction that He wants us to go. My last excuse was my age... until I read the blog of someone who began running at my age.

The first week was "do-able". The second week was ok - but the first time that I had to run 3 minutes, I thought I would die. But I kept training. At least 3 times a week, I ran. Doing exactly what the program told me to do.

I iced my 52 year old knees when I would get home. I bought some better shoes. I did exercises to strengthen the knees and to stretch the legs. I read articles about how to run.

And on October 30th, I ran the 5k. I am slow, but my goal was to run the entire race. And I did.
And the crazy thing is, I even won in my age division.

Sometimes it pays to be old.

It always pays to train for the race set before us.

This week, I had someone ask me which goal was harder. I had to think. The run was a real challenge. But the warfare that happens to keep us out of the Word was extreme. Regardless, I finished BOTH.

Today, I am thinking about what new goals I need/want to set. For I know this... if I had not set the goals, I would not have accomplished either.

Do you set goals for your life?
Would you share?

Quote from Susanna Wesley...

Back in Feburary of this year I posted a blog about all of my books and being a book-a-holic. In the course of the year and all that life brings, I have not completed any of them yet. I have however, started many. That is just how it happens some times.

I am back reading "The Grand Weaver" by Ravi Zacharias again. And have put all others down until I finish this one. My goal is to have it read completely by the time I go back home to Alabama. (In my free time while here in VA visiting with my Julia, Ronnie and baby Josiah!)

I have a quote that I want to share...
John Wesley had asked his mother, Susanna Wesley, to define sin. Here is her answer:

"Son, whatever weakens your reasoning,

impairs the tenderness of your conscience,

obscures your sense of God,

or takes away your relish for spiritual things;

in short, if anything increases the authority and

power of the flesh over the Spirit,

then that to you becomes sin,

however good it is in itself,"

I agree with Ravi Zacharias- I doubt any theologians could have done better than she did!

Certainly we all would do well to use this as a guide to search our lives and our decisions and our choices.

The World of "Mother"

As a mom, it is hard to explain the emotion of knowing that YOUR baby girl is in labor and about to give birth. You want to do something... and there is absolutely nothing you can do. Nope, she has to walk this road... on her own.

When we arrived in VA - we were able to go back to the room and visit for just a minute. Our first born baby girl was in labor. Her hands were shaking from the meds - and I could hardly contain the emotion. But I did. As I said, I just wanted to do SOMETHING. So, I prayed. And went back to the waiting room. And continued to pray. And went to sleep curled up on a small chair. And prayed. And waited.

She did so well - of course! You can read her story here.

It is the beginning of motherhood. The beginning of being able and willing to give your life for your child. The beginning of sacrifice. The beginning of a love that is incomprehensible and unexplainable and unending.

And for the Mom of the new Mom - it is certainly another "No Greater Joy" moment..

Welcome, my Julia, to the world of "Mother".








(P.S. - there will be pics of our Baby Josiah coming soon!)

The Other Team's Fight Song...

Do you ever find yourself singing the other team's fight song?

I grew up in a city where there were two High Schools - one was a city school and one was a county school. They were actually close in location. There were only a couple of city blocks and a set of train tracks that separated them. As rivals - they were definitely on different sides of the track.

Then in my home state - there are two big College Football rivals. And the lines are clearly drawn. You are for one team or the other. The colors are defined. Crimson and White are completely different from Orange and Blue. I know this is true in other states as well. The point is that in the game of football - we clearly choose our sides. (well, those of us who like football do).

For those reading who are not sports fans of any type - work with me here - I am trying to make a point! I am sure you understand what I am saying.

So, I return to my post title... and ask this question: "Do you ever sing the other team's fight song?" Do you ever cheer for the other side? Do you ever wear their colors?

For those avid fans - I know the answer. It is a resounding NO! NEVER!

Yet, as Christians, we often do.

Light is totally different from darkness.

But it is so easy to say that our particular issue (sin - hobby - lust , etc. ) is ok. It is so easy to compromise and straddle the fence when my own pleasure is involved.

Now, I could make a list of compromises. But the truth is I don't have to. Because as Christians, the Holy Spirit of our Living God indwells us and He will convict of sin. He will fill in my blank________ . He will fill in your blank________.

Let me share a few scriptures for us to meditate on:

I Peter 1: 14-15
As obedient children, do not conform to the evil desires you had when you
lived in ignorance, but just as He who called you is holy, so be holy in all you
do; for it is written: "Be holy because I am holy."

Ephesian 5:8-13
"For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live
as children of light (for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness,
righteousness and truth) and find our what pleases the Lord. Have
nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose
them. For it is shameful even to mention what the disobedient do in
secret. But everything exposed by the light becomes visible, for it is
light that makes everything visible..."

Luke 11:23
"Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me
scatters."

and look at this same passage from the Message Version:

Luke 11:23
"This is war, and there is no neutral ground. If you're not on my side,
you're the enemy; if you're not helping, you're making things worse. "

"nuff said. That last passage says it pretty strong.... "there is NO neutral ground"

So, the question remains... Do we ever sing the other team's fight song? What is our life humming?

Any thoughts?

Coming Soon...

In the next few days or maybe a week or so...

... I should be getting a call from my Julia that grandbaby #3 is on the way. We will jump in the car and hurry to VA to greet our little Josiah Daniel Mayhew. I have already resolved myself to the probability that I will not be there when he arrives in this world. But I will be there soon. And I will be staying for a while.

What I have not settled in this heart of mine is how in this world I will be able to leave after a couple of weeks. I keep trying to prepare myself... but I don't think it is working.

I have been so spoiled by the first two grandbabies. They only live across town. And it takes me about 5 minutes to get to them. Or to their mom. When she calls, whether it is day or middle of the night - I can go. And I do.

Regardless, I am so excited. For Ronnie and Julia - as their world is about to be "rocked" by the arrival of their precious baby boy. I am excited for Ronnie's parents (Roger and Connie) - as this is their first grandbaby. They will join those of us who have already found out that grandbabies are as grand as we have always been told. I am excited for me and Hal - again! And then there is the excitement for the rest of the famly... we are a close knit bunch!

Life has been so busy - that the blog posts have been few lately. And I really keep thinking that I will soon be back on track - But you can know for certain that you will hear from this MommaDee when the little one joins our world!

The miracle of birth...
Coming again soon...

Not as I Planned...

A beach get-away...

It is a little bit of heaven to this gal.

Well, usually.

However, this year, my trip made a WRONG turn.

I thought I would not bore you all with all the details. But I do not know any other way to tell this story.


Day One:
Wonderful trip down to Destin. Laughter does good like medicine.

Lunch before we unload and go to the beach. - We think this was where the food poison decided to vacation with me.... and my overall excitement began it's journey down...

Supper - to be honest I do not even remember where we went or what I ordered. I was just ready to get back to the room and go to bed. This is when the AWFUL AWFUL AWFUL headache decided to join me. I thought I was having an aneurysm. Seriously. Not.Much.Sleep.



Day Two:
Started the day by going to get some supplements to help with my YUK. Surely this would help. Spent a little time with my toes in the sand - and decided to go to the room to get a nap / and I just knew I would feel better when I woke up. WRONG. I spent most of the afternoon in the bed. For those of you who know me - that tells you how sick I was. DeeDee is at the beach and I am in the room in the bed and not on the beach. I still can not believe it.



Regardless, I got dressed to go to supper. And then I FELL in the kitchen. One minute I am on my way to the refridgerator to get some more tea. The next minute I am on the floor. I have slipped and fallen on my knee. I was able to get up ... I was ok. I was ok. I could walk. I could.



I still felt YUK. But it had to get better soon.

Have I mentioned yet how much I also LOVE seafood?

So, as I sat at the table and ordered my food, I began to wonder where I would run if I did not think I could make it to the restroom. After about two bites of my SHRIMP, I excused myself. QUICKLY. Very Quickly. I did make it to the bathroom. There were three stalls. THANKFULLY. But it is hard to hide the reality that you are throwing-up everything that you have eaten for two days.



As soon as I could... I washed my hands, I splashed my face, I wet some paper towels to hold on my head and I HURRIED to the car. I did get some funny looks as I passed by. Oh well....



Back at the room, I went to bed. Not to the balcony to listen to the waves roll in. Not on the couch with a throw covering me as we watched a "chick-flick". NOPE, DeeDee went to bed.



Now, the knee starts hurting. BAD. I got up to go to the bathroom. I dug through my clothes and found some soft cotton pajama pants that I could roll up and wrap around my knee and give it some support. I was being quiet so I would not interupt the girls watching a movie. Then I realized that I was about to pass out. I broke out in a sweat...and the eyes were losing sight.



Think quick.



What do you do?



If I lay down and pass out - they will not know. That would not be good.



If I go to the door and tell them that I am not feeling so well.... I will certainly pass out and fall. That would not be good.



So.... I took a couple of quick steps and BANGED on the door - and dove for the bed.



Of course they came running. I scared them to death. Whatever - I scared me to death.



"Get me something to drink. Quick!" Orange juice. Something to get my sugar levels up. NOW.

I think I was dehydrated. Does it sound like I am having a vacation yet?



They offered to take me home. I WANTED TO BE AT HOME. But seriously, I do not think I could have made the ride. And I really kept thinking that I just had to feel better for the last day. I had to...



Day three:

I think I am going to live. I do feel some better. I ate some almond butter on a cracker. YUM. That stayed down. Then they asked what I thought I could eat. An egg/cheese omelet and a Starbucks Vanilla Latte. Yep, that was it. And finally something tasted good. But the knee was still not co-operating.



So, my girls went downstairs and got a wheel-chair for this crippled momma. Wheeled me to the beach. Helped me walk to the beach chair. And catered to my every whim. Yep. Vacation had arrived. I was finally soaking up some SunShine. And my toes were in the sand.



I did get some good seafood. I did get to go to the outlet mall. But I will never again say that I think it would be fun to be pushed around in a wheel-chair. Nope. It is only fun when you don't need it.

So, I come away with a few thoughts.
(1) Friends are a treasure.
(2) Laughter really does good like medicine.
(3) When the body functions as it was designed, it will not receive food poison and keep it. (whether you like it or not)
(4) Our physical bodies are subject to change in a moment. (the time it takes to go from standing in an upright position to the floor!)
(5) Having a Dr. J who lets me call her on her cell phone is a blessing.
(6) Sitting on the beach is still therapy for what ever ails you. (if you can get to get to the beach)
(7) Riding in a wheel chair is not as much fun as it looks like.
(8) There is no place like home.

I am thankful for the opportunity to go to the beach - but this year it was not as I had planned.

The Written Word is truly the LIVING Word of God...

We have just received word from our Soldier Son that he will soon be boarding his plane for the first leg of his journey home. This is the end of his second deployment.

In 2007, the day that he was actually leaving the USA to begin his first deployment, I posted a blog about my personal devotion. We had open house in our new church and my emotions were fragile to say the least. During my time in the Word that morning before I began my day, God so clearly spoke to my heart, and I scribbled my promise on a piece of paper. I literally held on to it all day. You can read the entire post here.

As I sat today, opened my Bible and my "read-through" plan for this year, I was taken to Psalms 73. It is a different Bible than I was reading in 2007 and an entirely different reading plan. But the passage once again JUMPED off the page - straight to my heart. Verse 26: "My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever"

I just stared for a few minutes. How amazing - the very verse given to me for strength and encouragement as he began his first deployment - was the exact same verse given once again today - as He is at the END of his second deployment. I did not orchestrate this. I did not go to this passage just to read it again. Like I said, it was a different Bible AND a different reading plan. To be perfectly honest, I did not even remember that this was where my original promise was found.

It was if God was so clearly speaking to me and reminding me that He is true to His Word. He gave me a promise to hold on to and the promise is still true.

The Living Word...

Given so freely - to speak so clearly - when we simply take the time to hear.

He IS the strength of my heart. He IS my portion forever. I choose to HOLD ON...even when my flesh and my heart may fail.

My heart is full. My emotions are once again fragile.

But today it is from an entirely different perspective.

Cousins...

I saw many cousins today.

First cousins - with whom I have a storehouse of precious memories.

Second cousins - who really are more like nieces and nephews to me.

Third cousins - who I really do not know - but see such resemblence to the first or second cousins - that I feel like I know them.

Regardless, I think we need to take the time to get together more often. Certainly for better circumstances.

Even though it was a sad day... the service for our little Abigail was sweet. From the songs on the piano at the beginning - to the song picked out and sung - to the beautiful message of hope - and finally the song, "Jesus Loves Me" at the end (all from cousins I might add) , it was a beautiful service - celebrating the little life!

Please continue to pray for the family. We are holding on to the truth that God's Grace is truly sufficient!

In His Arms...

From today's reading in the Word - a very familiar passage - and yet with a vivid picture to me today for Brandy and Micheal... and for sweet little Abigail.

"Let the children come to me, and do not hinder them for to such

belongs the kingdom of God."

Luke 18:16

The picture that first comes to mind is when our Savior was walking on this earth - and on this particular day - He stops and takes time to let the little children crawl into his lap. He RECEIVES them. He loves them. He has time for them.

But then I had the picture of my Savior receiving this precious 2-year-old into His arms. Literally.

While the hosts cry Hosanna,

from heaven descending,

With glorifed saints and the angels attending,

With Grace on His brow,

like a halo of Glory,

Will Jesus receive His own.

(Horatius Bonar)

When Life is Hard...

It certainly would be an understatement to say that the last few months have been hard. Mostly for our precious church family. Who, by the way, ARE family to us. We have been at CBC for 15 years. Yes, they are truly family. And when they hurt - we hurt.

That is what families do...

We are there to share in the joy and it is certainly DOUBLED. Then we are there in the sorrow. To help share in the heavy load.

Burden bearers...

But this week... it is LITERALLY my family. Extended family - yet family. Lives get busy and sometimes distant in daily relationship. Oh but the bonds of love are strong.

Like we have told SO MANY lately as we have stood with them at their time of loss - we do not grieve for the one who has gone on to be with our LORD. No, they are in the arms of our Savior. Oh, but the grief of the ones left here. Life on this earth will never be the same.

My heart aches. for the precious mom and dad... for the 4 siblings...
for the grandparents...
and then for all of the others... close and extended.

Praying for comfort - comfort that ONLY our Savior can give.

I say again... my heart aches. For and with them...