Jesus is still the reason for the season.

I want to wish you a very blessed and special Christmas and holiday season, and a prosperous, healthy & happy year to follow.

 

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Happy Thanksgiving

I have so many reasons to be thankful This year. And one of them is the reason that I have not posted a blog in quite a while. You see, this is the busiest time of year in my line of work. I am a Medicare insurance agent, and this, being the open enrollment season, has kept me away from my blog. I'm not complaining mind you. In fact I am very very thankful to God for blessing my business.

 I've been doing a study with the "she reads truth" morning devotional on "Giving thanks in all circumstances". You can join by going here: http://shereadstruth.com/2013/11/16/give-thanks-circumstances

And one thing I've learned is that it is so easy to be thankful when times are good. When we're being blessed in our work, when our relationships are good, when things are going the way that we want, it is natural to give thanks.
It is not so easy however to be thankful in times of sorrow and pain and sadness. But, we still are to be thankful because a grateful heart is good medicine.
I'm not saying that we should be thankful for our sorrows pains and suffering. No, instead we should be thankful "in" these times, during these times. Why? Because our thankfulness, our gratefulness for what is good in our lives can and will help us to heal. I know it's hard to find the good when you're in the middle of a crisis. But there are many things that you can be thankful for. Start with just one. Find one small thing in your life and give God thanks for it. The sunshine, the rain, the sound of a childs laughter that brought a smile to your face. This will start the healing process. I encourage you to check out this devotional if you are in the middle of a trying time. I think it could help.
This wasn't where I thought I was going when I sat down to write this today. But somehow it is where I ended up. This is one thing I know, God is good, He loves us, he is there for us even when we don't feel it.
I hope and pray you have Happy and Blessed Thanksgiving Day. May God grant you peace and love In whatever you are doing this holiday weekend.

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To love or not to love

Love is a choice

Love is not something you fall into. It is not an accident. It's not that heart pounding feeling of twitterpation you get when the object of your desire walks into the room. It's not the inability to think about anything other than the person of your desire. It's not the feeling of passion, or sexual arousal or the need to be with, or even the feeling of comfort and security that you get when you are with that person.

Love is more than that...

If not, than what happens when all that emotional newness wears off? If all you had was excitement, passion and desire, what happens when you aren't feeling, pretty, sexy, passionate? What happens on the days when you look and feel your worst? When you don't feel like combing your hair and you want to stay in your pajamas all day?

Love is not a knight in shining armor sweeping us off our feet. Love is not always a happy ending. Love is not always pretty. It's not always kind, sweet, or even happy. Sometimes it can even be downright painful. and yet... you have a choice...

...to love or not to love.

Love is a choice. When the butterfly's in your heart settle down. When the flowers stop coming so frequently. When the romance actually takes work. When the routines of life settle in, and the kids, the bills, the job all begin to take precedence over romance... You have a choice...

...to love or not to love.

If you choose, you can have the kind of love that lasts a lifetime. But you can be assured that it's not always going to be easy. It is going to take some work. There will be problems, like lack of passion, fatigue, extended family, etc There will be dissagreements. There will be hardships. There will be times when you actually hate that person. And yet, you have a choice...

...to love or not to love.

It is something that takes work. Love is not a feeling, it is an action word. It is not something that you wait around and hope happens to you. It's something that you DO. You decide what to wear to work, you decide to wash your car, you decide to love that person, even when you don't feel like it. When he doesn't ignite your fire. When he sits on the couch all day watching football while you clean and cook for his family to come visit. When he's not what you thought you were bargaining for... you have a choice...

...to love or not to love.

And after all of that, you may be wondering, why would I want to?

Because when you do the rewards are soooo goooood! When love is deeper than the passionate infatuations that movies and books seem to over emphasize, it is so much better! It's better than the best friendship you ever had. The memories that you create are a mere drop in the proverbial bucket of the rewards of a long term, true and godly love....

A love that is patient, a love that is kind. A love that doesn't envy, boast, or isn't proud. A love that honors the other and isn't selfish. A love that holds no grudges or anger toward the other. A love that delights not on evil, but on truth. A love that protects, trusts, hopes and perseveres. (1 Cor 13:4-8). This kind of love ensures long, joyful, rewarding relationships. This is godly love.

In generations past, when marriages were arranged. Many women weren't given the option of who to love. Yet... They had a choice...

...to love or not to love.

Many chose to love, and went on to have long happy marriages. We have the same choice today. Our circumstances may not be what we always planned. Our lives may have turned out totally opposite than our expectations. And (barring abuse) we have the privilege to decide to stay or leave, to forgive or hold a grudge...

...to love or not to love.

37 years ago, I chose to love....and I choose every day.

 And I've never regretted it.

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Words

Monday Praise – Words

 

There is a very thought-provoking Christian song out now called "Words", By Hawk Nelson. And the lyrics are;

 

"Words can build us up, words can break us down, start a fire in our hearts, or put it out." Here's the full song on youtube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=anVweXDcxhA

 

Praise God for words.

Words that can be so powerful in constructing a human life.

Words that plant seeds of hope.

Words of encouragement

Words that communicate.

Words that point others to God's glory.

Words that bring change.

Words of instruction and correction.

Words of joy, peace, and love.

Kind words, loving words, thoughtful words.

Thought provoking words.

Poetic words.

Passionate words.

Words of caution.

Words that cause action.

Words that bring life.

 

Words are powerful things. And we have the power and the responsibility to use them with wisdom and compassion. It's also our responsibility not to misuse them. Because once they are said, you can't unsay them. And words used wrongly can actually drive people away from God.

"Set a guard, oh Lord, over my mouth; keep watch over the door of my lips!" Psalms 141:3

 

I am reading a book right now by Paul David Tripp. It's called The War of Words. And it really speaks to God's divine purpose for our words and our communication. If you haven't read it yet, I recommend you read it. It is a very insightful and thought-provoking, biblical look at how we should, and can use our words.

 

"… There is hope of substantial change because Jesus Christ, the Word, the Redeemer, has given us every resource we need to speak as we are meant to speak." Paul David Tripp

 

I praise God for words and I praise him for His Word.

"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God." John 1:1–2 ESV

 

Proverbs 16:24"Gracious words are like a honeycomb, sweetness to the soul and health to the bones."

 

Dear God,

May my words be like a honeycomb.

Amen

 

 

 

 

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Change

2 Corinthians 5:17  "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: the old has gone the new is here!"

Change is not easy. But creating new and better patterns and habits in our lives is worth the challenge. And the Bible says that "We can do all things through Jesus Christ who gives us strength." Phil. 4:13

When I first decided to start running, It was a hard change to make in my sedentary lifestyle, because I am basically a lazy person. If I didn't have to get up and exercise every day (otherwise I'd be as big as a house), I know that I would not. But I do, because I know that I have a very slow metabolism and exercise is Gods gift to help me to keep my weight under control.  So I started by making very small changes in my life. The first thing I did was start taking a walk during my lunch hour at work. Little by little I added either more time, or a little bit of jogging to add variety. Soon I decided to get up a little earlier in the morning and do my walk/jog before work. After a little while I was doing more jogging then walking. And not long after that I was doing all running. These were small steps that I decided to make in order to improve my life.  None of them, of themselves, were very hard to do. The hardest part was making the decision to do it.   That's where all change starts.

You must decide what you want to change. Get a clear picture in your mind of what and where you will be after the change.  For me that part  was easy because I knew that I was going on a vacation to Key West, Florida, and I wanted to look good in a bathing suit or shorts. So I pictured myself in a bathing suit on the beach in Florida. Not the current self, but the way I wanted to look.  I had already started a healthy eating program and had lost some weight, so it was positive next step for me to start an exercise program.  And an upcoming vacation was the perfect motivation that I needed to get started.

Now exercise is a lifestyle habit. That Key West vacation was in the year 2000. And since then I have run several half marathons and a marathon and continue a healthy lifestyle of exercise on a regular basis.

I don't believe that it is ever too late to change. Yes, change can be hard. Especially if you're looking at changing something that is very drastic, but empowered by the Holy Spirit we are able to do much more than we ever thought possible.

Like Joyce Meyer says, "You don't have to live in your old ways. You can now make new, better choices empowered by the Holy Spirit. If you find yourself regretting some of the unwise choices you've made in the past, don't be deceived into thinking its too late to do anything about it. Just start doing what's right and stick with it".

 If at some time you fall down and mess up. Just get back up and start where you left off. Change is inevitable. You can either be the subject of change or the instigator of change. You choose.

OMG I'm obsessed!

With Twitter?!!!

Recently I have found myself staying up late tweeting, reading tweets, following, and my favorite part; being followed. I wake up early in the morning and first thing I do is check my phone to see how many new followers I have. What am I a narcissist?

I have never been a big social network person. Yes I've done the obligatory Facebook, LinkedIn, etc., in order to stay in in touch with family, friends and business associates. But I've never been real faithful at posting or even checking my accounts... Until I discovered Twitter.

Originally I thought I would Get a twitter account in order to market my blog. And it has helped bring traffic to the site. But as I have continued to use it and grow my following, I have found a whole new world out there. I have begun to converse with people all around the world.  People I would never have met, or probably even thought about before Twitter. For example. I met an artist in France who is from the UK and has a beautiful website where she sells her artwork and blogs about her life on her farm in France. After conversing with her a few times, I got a tweet from somebody else in that same area. The person left me a comment about my blog saying he was going to send his wife to the site. A few days later, He said "you and my wife have already met.". His wife was the artist. Her Name is Sarah Cunnington And her website is www.artbysarahcunnington.com

Another friend I met is from Bogata Columbia. After she had followed me, I tweeted back to her thanking her for the follow. When I saw that most of her tweets were in Spanish, I tweeted back that I was learning Spanish, and knew very little. She responded that she would love to help me learn.  She is a beautiful young woman with a true heart for God. And we have become wonderful friends.

Yes, Twitter does feed my ego. But I know it also feeds my love of people and my need to make friends. I also know that I have to be careful. I have to be aware of how much time that I spend there. I have to ask myself is it really productive? Or am I just wasting time.

During a breakfast meeting with a friend and mentor yesterday morning, I was describing to her my new fascination with Twitter. In the same conversation I also complained about some of the issues that I was facing in my business. And one of them was lack of organization.  Of course, you have to know that her response was that I was wasting too much time on Twitter and other social networking. She gave me some pointers about rewarding myself for spending the right amount of time on appropriate areas of my business. She suggested that I reward myself with social networking, Especially Twitter. She thought it would be a good idea to save Twitter for the very end of the day and only allow myself to tweet if I had completed the tasks that I had set for myself that day. In other words, punish myself for not completing my tasks by disallowing myself to use Twitter or other social media.

This is a challenge. It is 6 o'clock on Wednesday morning, I've been up for an hour. I read one devotional, checked Twitter, and have spent the rest of my time writing this blog about Twitter! Aaahhhggg!!!!  Am I a lost cause?!!!

Monday Praise: Grandchildren

In thinking about what I am thankful for, There are so many things, it is nearly impossible for me to pinpoint one. So I went to the Internet and Googled 'things to be grateful for'. I did this to help me focus my thoughts on a specific area. Well...a million and one things came up!  Instead of focusing or pinpointing one, it gave me a boatload more to be grateful for. Thanks Google... So instead I decided to start with the obvious. This Week;

I praise my God for grandchildren. 

Lily, Aviana holding Stevie & Isabel

 Duh thought of the day... God knew what

He was doing when he placed grandchildren Into our lives.  

I remember the day that my first child Brook was born. My heart was so full of love for her that I couldn't imagine ever having enough room for another child let alone for anyone else. But God is so good to allow us to expand our love. What I found is the more I love, the more love I have to give. And there was always enough room. But I never, ever thought that there could be a love greater than the love of a mother for her child. Oh how wrong I was....

Aviana

 When my first granddaughter (Aviana) came along, my heart was so full of love for that child that it felt like it would explode.   She was two weeks old when I first met her and I immediately started crying like a baby. I loved her so much, and because we lived in Washington state and they lived in Arizona, I was devastated to think that the next time this child saw me she would not know me.

In fact the love for this beautiful baby was so strong that we sold our house in Washington and moved to Arizona.

Since then, God has been so good and blessed us with three more beautiful grandchildren in our lives. And praise God, they all live close by. I love their joy of life. Their daily exuberance and excitement is like a refreshing rain. 

Isabel

As I watch their carefree play, it refreshes my heart and helps me to remember not to take life so seriously. They usually have smiles on their faces and their giggles are medicine to my soul.  Even when they're being loud and silly

Isabel, Avi holding Stevie, Lily

They give and receive love with such ease and grace. And they're untainted by the world as of yet. I pray that they would maintain their sweet innocence with God's protection for as many years as possible. 

Proverbs 17:6 says "grandchildren are the crown of the aged..."

Lily & Isabel

Aviana

Lily

While I won't admit to being aged, I will admit that they are my crown. They bring so much joy to my life that I am blessed beyond measure.

Praise God for grandchildren!

Monday Praises

I'm in love with Today's technology.

Why?  I'm actually blogging right now and taking a run/walk, thanks to voice texting. I'm walking the last part of my run so I can use the time to work on my blog. (How cool is that!)

This is the first time I've actually been out all summer long. Here in Arizona the weather is much too hot to be running outside In the summer. So I spent the summer either running on the treadmill at home or jumping up and down in my living room with my daughter doing "insanity."

But this morning it was a lovely 79° at 7:30 AM when I headed out for my jog. It felt so wonderful to get outside this morning that I decided to take some pictures of what I saw on the route. I feel so blessed to live in such a pretty area.

I spent the first half of my run contemplating what I would say for "Monday Praise",  This is a gathering of Christian bloggers who want to give God the glory for all of the blessings in our lives. And today is the first day of Monday Praise. 

The idea was started by Amy at WalkhumblywithGod.Word press.com But I thought, "what a wonderful way to start your week." By giving thanks and glory to our Savior. I am so thankful for my salvation. I began counting my blessings, and I have so many things to be thankful for that it was hard to pinpoint one. 

Then I started noticing my surroundings. 

How blessed I felt!!

  I can run. I can walk. I can move and breeth.  I'm awake, I'm alive. I'm surrounded with the beauty of God's creation. Thank you God for that. 

I have an awesome family. I thank God for them.  For my children and their spouses and children. What a blessing they have been in my life. I'm in awe. 

I meandered this morning and lollygagged so long that it took me an hour and 10 minutes to finish a 4 mile run. And I loved every minute of it. 

I am amazed at the beauty surrounding me, and how much I take for granted. I never think about the desert as a beautiful place. Yet I see the presents and evidence of God everywhere. And as you can see, it doesn't look like the desert at all. 

We still have flowers! and its summertime!   I guess I'm saying I'm thankful for the small things as well as the big ones. 

Psalm 9:1&2 says;I will give thanks to the Lord with my whole heart; I will recount all of your wonderful deeds. I will be glad and exult you: I will sing praise to your name, Oh Most High. 

Joel Osteen said it nicely in his book; Your best life now.  "one of the main reasons that we lose our enthusiasm in life is because we become ungrateful… We let what was once a miracle become common to us. We get so accustomed to his goodness it becomes a routine… "

It's easy to praise God for the big blessings in our lives, but I don't ever want to let the small wonders of life become routine. I want to always see God in them. And be thankful for them. Because they each are their own little God moment.

Expect the best. And make it a great day!

God's got this...

9/19/13. Update:
I had another Medicare seminar last Thursday. It went very well. Several people showed up and participated in lively conversation, and I was able to get some good leads for my insurance business. God is so good! I have 2 more sessions scheduled for this fall. I'm doing my due diligence in prepping for it, and expecting a full house.

Blessings, Debbie

Even the small stuff..

I had the Medicare seminar at Flip n furniture last night. I have been preparing for the last two months for it.  I had advertised in two different magazines, through the chamber and two different networking groups, and sent out about 500 invitations.  I had only one guest in attendance.  Talk about a disappointment.!    I have been thinking and praying, trying to figure out what I did wrong.  

So I open up my devotional this morning, with Joyce Meyer. The Scripture is Zacharia: 9:12. "Return to your fortress, you prisoners of hope; even now I announce that I will restore twice as much to you."

I have been praying and asking God and I feel like this was such an answer to my prayers. Joyce says do not give up hope. Jesus did not die for me to be hopeless. He died that I could be full of hope. Joyce says, "the devil wants to steal your hope and he will lie to you. He'll tell you that nothing good can happen in your life or that the things you care about wont last. If you're struggling with a difficult situation, he'll tell you it will never end. But you have to stay full of hope and remember that the devil is a liar. God can change everything! "

She goes on to say, "our Father is good, and he has good plans for your life. If you will maintain your hope, especially in the midst of trouble and uncertain times, he has promised you "double for your trouble ". So refused to give up hope. Start expecting God to do something, something good! ".

Father, you are so good. Your timing is awesome. I place my trust in you because you have promised to give me double For my trouble. I receive that right now. In Jesus name, amen. 

Being sweet pays off

I'm sure you've heard the expression "you can catch more flies with honey than you can Vinegar". Well, my husband Todd has become the epitome of this expression. I'm talking about a man who never thought of himself as a people person. But since he is a frequent traveler he has learned how to use this to his benefit during his travels. Last year when we went to New York and we were there during the hurricane, I got to see him in action. It was really quite eye-opening. Here's how that went:

Todd and his siblings all pitched in to buy their mother an 80th birthday present of a cruise To the Bahamas. As it turned out only four of us ended up going on the trip. Todd and myself, his sister and his mother. When we were in the planning stages we did not realize that there would be a hurricane in New York on the weekend that we decided to go. We planned it months and months ahead of time. Our goal was to have a nice sunny tropical vacation and get my mother-in-law on her first cruise ship. When we realized that we were going to be departing from New York City, we decided to go a couple of days early so that we could see the city. As the time for departure drew near, the news began to predict hurricane Sandy hitting on the same weekend that we were arriving. We were not all that nervous because much of the time the news has a tendency to overhyped things like hurricanes so that they can have a weather story. 

We weren't even nervous in New York because the weather was so beautiful when we arrived. But when the storm hit they closed the ports and all incoming ships were stuck out to sea. Our cruise was delayed by four days, and we never did make it to the Bahamas. While we were waiting I got to see my husband using his "rappot" technique in order to get us extended stays in our hotel, food and transportation. It was a beautiful site.

I blogged about our trip last October, so I won't go into all the details of what we did in New York and on the ship. 

When we returned to New York after a cruise we were facing a blizzard. This is when I really got to see Todd in action. Here's what happened.

We had been listening to the reports on the news about the blizzard that was getting ready to hit New York. We were able to disembark the ship rather quickly but what we saw once we did leave the port was a huge taxi line to the airport.

 This was a problem. Because we were four people dragging a luggage cart that carried 12 pieces of luggage. It would've taken 2 to 3 taxis to get us to the airport. But, a man came up to us with the van and said he would get us to the airport in time for our flights. With the pending storm we took him up on his offer and we were so glad we did because the new report was that they were closing the airport at 3 o'clock. Our flight was due to leave at 3 o'clock.

The taxi driver dropped us off at the airport and this is where the fun begin. We made our way inside with our 12 pieces of luggage; one man, two women and one 80-year-old woman. We were not fast. But because of Todd's frequent-flier status he was able to get us to the front of the line. Thank God. 

Of course, he was told that our flights were canceled.  It was really cool watching my husband put on his "rapport". He transformed into the nicest guy you've ever seen. After he had been told that there was no possible way for us to get out of New York that day. He asked the clerk if they could just check and see if they could get us onto any flight, to any location, just out of New York before the airport closed down. And of course, he was told no. But he did not let that stop him. He began to ask the lady things about her family such as "How was your family affected by hurricane Sandy?" They chatted as she continued to check for flights out. She kept saying "I can't find anything" or "it's just not gonna happen today."  But he just kept talking to her In a calm and soothing way about her family and offering helpful advice, until she finally said "well I can get you to Dallas. But I can't guarantee you flights out of Dallas today." Of course we took the flights to Dallas. He just wanted to get us out of New York so we weren't stuck there for several days in the storm. It hadn't hit yet but you could certainly feel it in the air. And once we were actually on the plane, at 1 o'clock, on the runway, the snow began to fall. 

She would not have taken the time that she took with him and continue to search for flights had he been abrupt or rude like many of the other passengers were being. 

Once we made it to Dallas I watched him start that entire process all over again with the attendant in Dallas. We made it home that very same evening. It may not have  been on the same flights, but we all made it home.

Proverbs 16:24 says "Kind words are like honey sweet to the soul and healthy for the body. (NLT)

Have a blessed day.

No plates on the treadmill

You know when someone asks you, "How are you doing?'  What do you normally say?  "fine"?.

 Well, twice today I've heard myself say "I feel like I'm spinning my wheels."   I had to stop and think about that.  Why did I answer that way?  What did I mean by that?

 Do I feel like the mouse on the wheel that has the wheel spinning so fast that he cant jump off and he cant slow it down.  He keeps running until he actually runs himself to death..  Is that what I meant?

 Or is it more like the clown who spins plates?  He spins them on his fingers, on his toes, on his elbow, knees and nose. Finally he gets so many plates spinning that he cant keep them all going and eventually he starts to loose some of them?  Crash!! the first one hits the ground with a loud bang, but the clown quickly recovers and has a replacement spinning in no time.  Unfortunately it doesn't last The slightest twitch and he drops the one off his nose, then the one on his toes, until he eventually finds himself in a heap of rubble.

I can say that both scenario match my feelings  this past couple of weeks.  In the first scenario, I find myself chasing lead after lead and getting no where. (I'm referring to work), frustrating but mostly out of my hands.

 I also find myself unable to focus on one spinning plate, because I've allowed myself to spin too many plates.  When this happens I don't give good quality work to any of my commitments, because I don't have the time to devote to each one.  And my focus is divided.

As a business person, who is involved in the community, Toastmasters club, church, several networking groups, trying to fit in exercise, friends and family:,  I know that I have a lot of plates in the air.  And I've even tried spinning some while running on the treadmill.  (not a good idea).  I don't believe that this is Gods best for my life, my family and my time with Him.   So what is the solution?  What does the word say about it?  Am I adding  life to my years? Am I adding years to my life? or is it the other way around?

Lets look at some scriptures.
Job 30:27:  My inward parts are in turmoil and never still: days of affliction come to meet me. (I know my problems are nothing in comparison to Jobs, but I can relate to this sentiment)

....but, God wants, ordains and offers us peace.
1 Corinthians 14:33, God is not a God of confusion but of peace...

John 16:33: " I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace.  In the world you will have tribulation.  But take heart; I have overcome the world."
...so don't worry, instead ask God for help.  And He will give you peace.
Philippians 4:6&7:  Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
John 14:27:  Peace I leave with you: my peace I give to you.  Not as the world gives do I give to you.  Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.

There are many, many more scriptures in the Bible that tell us to stop stressing, worrying, laboring and give our burdens to Christ.  His word says He wants us to trust in him, cease striving or let go, relax..   (Psalms 46:10)

AND No Guilt!!! Romans 8:1 There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.

You can set down a few plates if you want to.  Not Me!!!   I'm going to chuck them, Frisbee style clear into the next decade if that is what it takes.   IF you are anything like me, you'll  probably pick up a few more along the way and try to spin them while surfing or something.

God Bless.  Have a great day.

Top 10 reasons to be a Proverbs 31 wife.

10.  Her husband has every reason to be proud of her. She makes him  look good. Vs11&23
9.  Her family eats the finest imported cuisine. Vs 14
8.  Though she is a hard worker,  she never has to work alone. No... She has servants to help her...all the time! And because she is successful. She can afford it.  vs 15
7.  She's an entrepreneur and wise business woman, who earns a good living with multiple streams of income in farming, vineyards and the fashion industry. Vs 17, 18 & 24
6. She's buff. Vs 17. (my favorite)
5.   She has more than enough, so She's kind hearted and compassionate to the less fortunate. Vs 19
4.  She is a strong, confident and dignified woman, with no fear of the future. For she knows she's made good choices, which has positioned her family in a good place. Vs 25
3. She is faithful and wise,  offering wise council and helpful advise to her friends and neighbors. . Vs 26
2.  Her husband and kids are proud of her. They publicly praise and bless  her. Vs28
1.  She is a godly, God fearing (honoring) woman, reknown for her works which earn her public praise.  Vs 30 & 31

Who would not be honored to be known for even one or two of these traits?  And the blessings that go along with each one.

What ever you do....

For we are God's handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.  Ephesians 6:10

So what are we waiting for? I believe that each and everyone of us has a purpose. But I don't believe that we only have one purpose. The big picture is we all need to be pointing people to Jesus. We need to be glorifying God. That is the main purpose.  But within the larger purpose we may have one bigger ministry or gifting in which God uses us to direct us to that larger purpose. We also may have many small gifting's or situations in life that we can be directing people towards God by our actions.

When I was younger, I always figured that there would be one specific main ministry/goal/purpose that God would use me in. This is something that I often hear young women say. Now that I'm older, 52, after having gone through raising my children, several different career/job changes, still married, and several different locations geographically. Now I believe that every one of those eras was an opportunity for me to bless God through my daily life. When I was a young mother, my job was to raise godly adults. I actually thought (believe it or not) that that was not enough. So I went back to college and I took a class to figure out where I was gifted,  where my aptitudes were,  etc. What I found out in that class was, at that point in my life, my job was, and my passions were directed towards my children and raising my family. It really took a burden off of me because I felt like I should be doing something else, something MORE.

As my children began to grow up, and they were in the older school grades, I started to feel those old feelings of inadequacy again. My mind started wondering if I was doing enough. And of course it always goes back to career. (I had to work because we need the money). But I never felt like it was enough. I did hold down several jobs from sales to management. And most of them I enjoyed doing, but not as if it were a
"ministry". I always felt like I should be in some form of ministry other than raising my family and teaching them about the Lord.

I tried to do some writing. I started a  novel, got about 13 or 14 chapters into it, and then let it slip away. Never finished it. A little time went by, I started another novel novel. This one I got about 24 chapters done. Again, I never finished it. I picked up Art and dabbled in it. I love painting and drawing, I love writing, I love using my creativity. But I never felt like I had enough time to really practice and hone my skills and crafts.

I didn't realize the value in and need for my every-day "works".  Just living my life for the Lord and being an example for my children. Even though they were already young adults.Now that I am more mature and able to look back on all the floundering,  I realize that God had a plan in every work, whether big or small. Whether I was teaching a little one how to tie his shoes or one of my teens how to drive a car.  My works were good because Christ was in them.

And now I'm busy in my career as an insurance professional.  I still crave to create.  But God is using me where I am today.  And I know that someday, I will finish my books, take the art classes, and speak to the masses.  Until then....

I guess I'm saying all this to say:  don't get bogged down like I did. Allow the Lord to use you in all the little and big ways that He has planned for you.  If your goal is to be a blessing and glorify God, YOU WILL. 

Two tough women

In my daily Bible study in #shereadstruth today, the story was about Deborah and Jael in Judges 4 & 5.   http://shereadstruth.com/2013/08/13/wob3day9/

I have always loved the story of Deborah not only because I was named after her.  But because she was such a brave, courageous  leader. 

http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Solomon_de_Bray_-_Jael,_Deborah,_and_Barak.jpg

These two women played a huge role in Bible history. Not only were they brave women but they really "stood out and stood up for God's glory". 

I only hope that I can have a smidgen of the kind of bravery and strength of character that they exhibited when their family and their country were being threatened.  And then be able to give 100%t the glory to my God Almighty.

I encourage you to read Judges 4 and 5.  It's a powerful story of two tough women who did what had to be done to save their country.

Persistence Pays off

No! No! No! We don't want any! Go away and leave us alone!

If you're a salesperson chances are you know what it feels like to have these words said to you. Or maybe you've used these words toward a salesperson.

When you hear these words what does it do to you? Does it inspire you? Does it challenge you? Does it make you want to run and hide?

I've been told “no” so many times, that I actually feel cheated if I don’t get a “no” first. 

I can't say that I've always been the most determined & persevering of sales people. But something about one particular prospect had me so determined to get their business back that it became an obsession.

I was a woman in a man's world. In 2008 I sold masonry concrete block. The economy had just crashed. Construction, in Arizona was at an all time low. And it was my job to woo back lost clients.

We had lost clients during the boom of 2005 and 2006 due to cement shortage and our in ability to meet the demand. One particular masonry contractor came to us during this time, asking us it to provide them with a specialty block of which we were the only manufacturer in the valley. We had to turn them down, causing them to lose the job. They were “still” ticked at us 3 years later when I showed up in their office to try to get the account back. Imagine how I felt, this was to be my biggest challenge yet.

In fear and trepidation, I put on my most charming smile

and marched myself into their office. Only to come face to face with the fierce and powerful “gatekeeper” 

receptionist, who gave me a smirk, as if to say "who are you and what do you want?"

 

When I told her what I wanted, she disappeared behind closed doors, came back a couple minutes later and said “We’re really not interested.”

I said “okay. May I speak with the manager or the estimator please?” She refused to let me, and told me that they were “too busy to be bothered”. So I told her to let them know Iwill be back next week.

I did come back the next week, and this time with a box of donuts. I thought a little sweetness might help unlock that gate. This brought a smile to the receptionist’s face. She was happy to take those donuts back to decision makers. But when she came back, she was alone, except for traces of powdered sugar splashed across her black top. She said “they are in a meeting they can't talk to you right now.”I said, okay, but let them know - I'll be back next week.”

This went on week after week. One week I would have donuts. The next cookies and next week chocolates from the fudge factory. I couldn't figure out what these people wanted. Were they looking for gold plated macaroons or something.

I did talk to an estimator at one time and he told me that I was wasting my time. He said. “We're really happy with the suppliers we have and we don't need another one.” I told him I was willing to be second choice or even third choice is long as I had the opportunity to bid a job from time to time. he said he would talk to the other estimators and would let me know. So I left. But first I said “I'll be back next week.”

This went on for several months and by now the receptionist and I were sharing cookie recipes. One day she went back to tell them I was there, and they sent out a guy that was at the bottom of the food chain.

I think he was the janitor or something. He said "you know, you're really a nice person and we appreciate all the goodies. But you are gonna be doing this from now until doomsday. You might as well just give up and go away, because they're NEVER going to give you a chance. I was deflated! I went out to may car and cried my eyes out, but not before telling him, with a smile on my face “I’ll be back next week”.

The next week when I got there, not the janitor, not an estimator, not a manager, but the Owner actually invited me into his office. He said, I tell you what, I've never known anyone as determined as you. He explained why they had decided not to do business with my company. He went into great detail about past "water under the bridge” He told me that it was not about me, but was because of bad blood between the owners of both companies. And after what seemed like an hour lecture, he finally said, "But, your persistence has paid off. We’re going to let you bid a job."

My company did end up getting the job, and I ended up forming great relationship with a lot of the estimators.

And using the acronym PERSIST, this is what I learned from my experience.

P: Press on through the urge to give up. Never quit.
E: Experience is what you get when you don’t get what you want.
R: Resistance will come.
S: Stand strong anyway.
I: Invent new ways of getting the attention you seek.
S: Smile and keep going.
T: Be Thankful for the experience, whether you win or not.

And though I sold “block” not brick. I think the following quote by Randy Pausch from his speech called “The Last Lecture” sums up the lessons that I learned in my sales experience.

“The brick walls are there for a reason. The brick walls are not there to keep us out. The brick walls are there to give us a chance to show how badly we want something. Because the brick walls are there to stop the people who don’t want it badly enough. They’re there to stop the other people.”― Randy Pausch, The Last Lecture

Or in other words, “If at first you don’t succeed, you can always say…”I’ll be back Next Week!”

Ballroom Dance Competition.

What a fun, entertaining and exciting day. We spent the day watching Dustin and his students kick up their heels at the Seattle Star Ballroom Dance Competition. Two of those students were Aviana & Lily, our beautiful granddaughters. They were two of the youngest competitors there. And they danced right alongside of the adults. They won so many first and second place awards that I lost count. Dustin had two other students there and they placed  6th and 8th for the overall student award.     Dustin's studio; Absolute Rhythm, came in 8th, and he placed 6th in the top teacher category (a cash prize).   These are all high rankings,as there are hundreds of entrants. Congratulations to my son, his wife Laura , his students and studio for all there hard work. Your efforts have paid off. 

It's very hard to take good dance photos on a cell phone. But I am going to work on you tubing some video in the next few days. 

Have a blessed week. 

PS. I'm giving a speech on Tuesday. Pray for my nerves. 

Pikes place market.

(continued)
This afternoon we met up with the kids and their students at the marketplace.

We spent the afternoon meandering the streets of Seattle. 

It wasn't intil about 4:30 that I realized that I'd been in Seattle for a day and a half and had not had a decent cup of coffee. That's almost criminal in my book!  So we found a great little coffee shop and remedied that situation. Aaaahhh!  All better now. What a perfect day.

Good Morning Seattle

I woke up on Seattle this morning. How awesome was that! We came up for Dustin and Laura's (my son & daughter in law's) dance competition, and decided to do some off the beaten path sight seeing.  Some of our  BFFs, Mark and Cathy, from the Vancouver area drove up to meet us and spend the weekend with us.  While the guys went to the air museum, Cathy and I spent the morning at the cutest 

Iittle shopping area called the Georgetown Trailer Park Mall. It's a bunch of old trailers lined up, and selling all sorts of fun, kitschy second hand wares.

It was so much fun browsing through stuff that is now considered "vintage", what I grew up with. I guess that means I'm vintage, (not quite antique).