Half Full or Half Empty - Fern or Bamboo

One day I decided to quit...I quit my job, my relationship, my spirituality.... I wanted to quit my life. I went to the woods to have one last talk with God.
"God", I said. "Can you give me one good reason not to quit?"
His answer surprised me. "Look around", He said. "Do you see the fern and the bamboo?"
"Yes", I replied.
"When I planted the fern and the bamboo seeds, I took very good care of them. I gave them light. I gave them water. The fern quickly grew from the earth. Its brilliant green covered the floor. Yet nothing came from the bamboo seed. But I did not quit on the bamboo. In the second year the fern grew more vibrant and plentiful. And again, nothing came from the bamboo seed. But I did not quit on the bamboo.
"In year three there was still nothing from the bamboo seed. But I would not quit. The same in year four.
"Then in the fifth year, a tiny sprout emerged from the earth.
Compared to the fern, it was seemingly small and insignificant.
But just six months later, the bamboo rose to over 100 feet tall.
It had spent the five years growing roots. Those roots made it strong and gave it what it needed to survive. I would not give any of my creations a challenge it could not handle.
"Did you know, my child, that all this time you have been struggling, you have actually been growing roots? I would not quit on the bamboo.. I will never quit on you. "Don't compare yourself to others." He said. "The bamboo had a different purpose than the fern. Yet they both make the forest beautiful.
"Your time will come", God said to me. "You will rise high"
"How high should I rise?" I asked.
"How high will the bamboo rise?" He asked in return.
"As high as it can?" I questioned
"Yes." He said, "Give me glory by rising as high as you can."
I left the forest, realizing that God will never give up on me. And He will
never give up on you.
Never regret a day in your life. Good days give you happiness; bad days give you experiences; both are essential to life.

Thankful . . . .

I know it has been a while since I have properly posted anything on here, but that's what happens when it's Thanksgiving and your laptop crashes. Nevertheless, my brain is overloaded of wonderful thanksgiving memories and thoughts.

This Thanksgiving was a compilation of emotions. I was extremely excited that my best friends were coming to town, and yet on the other hand I was so sad because I was not with my family for the holidays. I was jealous (yes, I said jealous), that my sisters, parents and grandparents were in the Norongoro Crater with all the animals for Thanksgiving, and I was stuck in freezing cold Missouri wearing sweaters with homemade turkeys pinned on with safety pins (if you want to know that story ask me later). I was thrilled to spend the entire day with my best friends because I knew that laughter would not be a problem. Yet on the other hand, my heart was heavy because there is just no place like home.

Great food (compliments to the Shirleys), laughter, too much desert, laughter, diet coke, laughter, sitting around the kitchen table on myspace, laughter, prayer meetings in the middle of the kitchen, laughter, laughter, laughter, laughter. Did I mention that we laughed alot? All of these thoughts were going through my head as I drifted off to sleep that night. There was no room for sadness, no room for jealousy, no room for gloominess.

My heart is truly full and overflowing for the people He has placed in my life. He knew from the beginning that I would need an extended family to comfort me on such days as the one mentioned above. I am so grateful for His faithfulness to me! He knows what I need even before it even crosses my mind. I am thankful for the little things that I don't usually notice right away. I am thankful that I am blessed beyond measure!!!

Just Say NO

If the Peanut Butter said NO to the Jelly would there be a PB&J?


If the Honey said NO to the Nut would there be HONEY NUT CHEERIOS?


If the Ham said NO to the Burger would there be a HAMBURGER?



If the Diet said NO to the Coke would there be DIET COKE?



If the Dr. said NO to the Pepper would there be DR. PEPPER?



If the Sweet said NO to the Tea would there be SWEET TEA?



If the Salt said NO to the Vinegar would there be SALT & VINEGAR CHIPS?


If the Pop said NO to the Corn would there be POPCORN?


If the Taco said NO to the Chip would there be TACO CHIPS?

Yes, I have weird thought patterns. However, humor me and see how creative this list can become. Sometimes it's good to be goofy - it really does relieve the stress.

Even though this blog started out goofy - there really is a thought behind all of this.

How many times do we take on tasks knowing that we will stress out completely before it gets done. We know our plate is full and overflowing, we feel overloaded and overwhelmed, and yet we just keep piling on more. Instead of asking for two plates at the buffet, we say to ourselves oh it will fit right over here, and before long we have a huge mess of something that no longer looks appetizing and or attractive.

I encourage you today - take time for yourself.

Learn to say no when you know that the task is greater than you have strength.

If the Lord promised to never put more on us than we can bear - then why do we do it to ourselves.

The power of two little letters is so liberating.

Just say no - light a candle - grab a book - turn on some soft music - take time for YOU!!!

Choices

*before i begin the actual post, i want to thank my parents for the way that they have raised me, the choices they have allowed me to make, and for the support they have given me whether they have agreed with my choices or not.*



If you know me at all, you know that I am a nanny for 2 different families. The family that I have been with the longest is going through a nasty divorce. Without going into too many gory details, let's just say that mommy does not live at the same house as the child I take care of.


So. . .today while I was folding laundry, I hear my little boy and the neighbor boy having a super deep discussion. Upon taking notice that they were discussing such a heavy subject, I decided to go to the door and eavesdrop on their conversation. The follow dialogue is what I heard.

Neighbor Boy: "Why doesn't your mom liver here?"

Nanny Boy: "Well, she lives at the mommy house, and I live at the daddy house."

Neighbor Boy: "That's not what my mom said! She said that your mom is not here cuz she doesn't know how to make good choices!"

Nanny Boy: "Well that is true, but my daddy makes choices too."



It is at this point that I intervened and changed the subject to a lighter topic. Once they were happily drinking their Capri Suns and discussing their newest transformers, I returned to the laundry and my thoughts.



Choices
Made by Two
Created from the very start
With the intent to mold
My heart


As time went by
I made my own choices
Some good some bad
Learning how to sift
Through the voices


So now that I have grown
Ignoring the voices
I recognize my choices
Are now my own

What I pray for today Is that I will make Choices from my heart To influence these little ones From their very start

In the busy world that we all live in, we all have those people in our lives that appear to be constantly making the statement, "I'm working on finding myself". You will hear people say "Well I am taking a year's sabatical to find myself", or "I'm going on vacation and the only thing I am going to do is sit and try to find myself."
This past week I have heard more than 5 people say that( now that's alot considering there are only 7 days in a week). Finally after the last person made that statement, I made a mental note of, "If all these people are trying to find themselves where are they actually going?" "What exactly is causing people to feel like they have to scrutinize their inner person so intently?" and "What is it that they have lost". Now I could understand this whole scenario if all these people were "unchurched" people, but they are not. As each day passes by, I find myself coming across friends who are "trying to find themselves".
As I sit here at work with nothing to do since all 4 kids are in bed, the house is quiet, and I find myself still pondering this thought - "What are people trying to find and how did they get lost?" The first thing that comes to my mind and stands out like a sore thumb is - priorities. Priorities are so easily misplaced. There are many things that can get in the way - work, school, kids, hobbies, etc. It's life - and misplaced priorities happen to the best of us.
So the more I mull these thoughts over in my head I come to a conclusion. People who are trying to find themselves usually go off by themselves to be alone. They feverishly try to re-prioritize the most important things in life and start fresh when they return back to their normal lives. Now as I sit here at work alone, I begin to reflect on my own priorities, going over my private check list of: where is my prayer life, how is my Bible reading doing, am I being productive for the kingdom, do I find myself in positive relationships . . . all these things begin to flood my head, leaving me with so much to organize and reprioritize.
Once I began to go over my list, I kinda felt depressed because I knew that everything was not as it should be. I began to feel overwhelmed and started to stress out thinking oh my I have alot to accomplish tomorrow and thank goodness it's a new day. Thankfully it was at this moment I was reminded of the time when Jesus went to the garden of Gethsemane to pray - ALONE. Yes, the disciples were with Him, but for crying out loud they fell asleep (misplaced priorities). As Jesus was praying, I would like to think that He was going over His checklist one more time, checking to make sure that everything was just as it should be. He was acknowledging that as much as it is going to hurt to have His priorites in the right place, He knew that in the end it was going to be for MY benefit.

Greatest General Conference Moment

As I sit here with my eyes closed, everything seems so vivid. I am keenly aware who is sitting to my right and to my left. I have memorized what the curtains look like, the carpet pattern, the french doors directly in front of me, and the voice that is piercing to the deepest part of my soul. As I sat listening to all the business taking place that night, my senses zone in on one particular phrase . . . "In this room, we are all family". After a time of prayer, and finally coming to my senses of those that cared about my soul, it was at this moment that I realized that this was the only room that made sense. There were no false pretenses of those that were in attendance, it was one real MK baring their heart and soul to another. Size, age and country of representation did not matter. However, the matter of importance was that love was conveyed to all those in attendance, and that there is a place for those of us in this strange world we call MK's. This my friends, is how I spent my Saturday night at General Conference at a place called the "MK Pizza Bash."