Expectations...Trust...Loyalty...Grace

 Expectations:  the act or the state of expecting, to wait in expectation.  I have really thought about what the true meaning of this word means as it applies to my life.  There was a time when I would place expectations on people and then get mad when they did not meet them.  I had no idea I was doing this until a really good friend of mine pointed it out.  I called her one day in tears and was explaining to her why another friend of ours had wronged me.  Much to my surprise she did not sympathize with me, but instead she gently told me were I had some wrong thinking.  I was prepared to get mad at her as well...how dare she not take my side and listen to my grievances!!  Then as I listened to what she was saying I suddenly began to realize that she was right.  If I were to keep placing expectations on people in the long run I would end up a very unhappy person.  In other words I was setting up other people to fail, giving me a reason to be disappointed with them.  My job in relationships is to meet other people half way.  If they don't do what I think they should  it is not the end of the world.  As long as I keep myself right with God and give all my relationships to Him then life will run a lot smoother.  I can't control what others do or think, but I can control me...The the first step into setting the foundation of relationships is trust. Which is the confident expectation of something to hope for.  In order to trust someone else I needed to let go of expectations that threatened to ruin a friendship.  I believe the next layer in the foundation of relationships is loyalty.  Loyalty means to be faithful in commitments and obligations.  Basically, to be loyal is like a dog to it's owner.  To have a dog like loyalty means going the extra mile and doing things without being asked.  The last but maybe not the final layer I would like add is grace.  Grace is to give undeserved favor to someone.  Who knew that keeping and maintaining friendships  would be so hard and yet rewarding at the same time. I believe the most important ingredient is keeping God in the center of everything that you do.  He will walk with you in every step of the journey in your life.  He will place people in lives that will build you up and tear you down (which just makes you stronger if you let it). I look forward to getting to know everyone who He places in my life...They are a blessing that I need to be thankful for.  Now as I look back to the conversation I had with my friend.  I now realize even as some the words she spoke to me were hard to hear they needed to be said.  I thank you Inis Fox my amazing friend, for helping me understand what God has been telling me along. Thank you for loving me enough to speaking His truth.  To help me see how much He loves me so, I can love as He loves. Give undeserved favor as He has given it to me.  Just my 2cents, Missie

Missing The Presence of God

Let me ask you a question...before you give a ready answer, take a moment and look deep inside of you and ponder your answer before you give it.  Do you ever feel like you are in a dry season?  A season where you don't feel the presence of the Lord?  Where you know that He is there but you ask yourself is He really  there.  That is where I am at.  I know that I am loved and that God is there  for me. At times I wonder where He is at...I mean I see Him in all areas of my life and the life of others.  Yet I feel disconnected.  Then the verse from Romans 8:29 comes to me, nothing can separate me from God.  When I first read this verse I did not fully understand it.  I was thinking that my sin could separate me from Him. Which in a sense it can but, I am doing the separating not Him.  When I understood this then a sense of peace came over me, God never leaves us, He is always waiting for us to return to Him. His love for us is unconditional and never ending.  So in the times of a dry season I think that as long as you recognize it for what it is then things will be fine.  Now that I have recognized what is happening my feeling of disconnect is actually turning into anticipation.  I can seek the Lord and ask Him to show me the areas in my life that is keeping me from His presence.  Then my next prayer request is the answer that is given I receive it with an open heart.  My encouragement to you is that as you go through dry seasons just know that God is with you and for you. Take heart and know the season will pass and everything will be okay.  Just my 2cents, Missie  

Character

I was taking Corry to school and I suddenly realized we had forgot his scooter.  He uses his scooter to help him get home.  He then told me it is as school I got it taken away from him.  Then he told me why, he had been told twice not to ride it on the play ground. With his second warning a teacher took it away from him, telling him he will get it back at the end of the school year.  He told he knew it was his fault and understood why it was taken away..  I told him good job, but I will call the school and see if he could have it back.  We live about a mile from the school and on the days I work this helps him get home.  I called and spoke to the safety coach told her what was going on and asked if there was anyway he could have it back.  She was surprised to know it had been taken away, because usually they inform her of what is going on.  She told me she would check into the matter and get back with me.  When she called me back she was informed by the principal that Corry had been rude and disrespectful and was not willing to listen to him.  As she was relaying this to me, she expressed her surprise for she had never know Corry to act in such a manner.  All this was done in front of another teacher, so she told me she was going to get with that other teacher...Another phone call from her and she tells me that the other teacher told her that Corry was in fact very respectful. He gave up his scooter up with no questions asked. The condition Corry needed to follow was that he was to bring his scooter straight to the office every morning and he would get it back.  She had a conversation with Corry expressing this and told him he could have his scooter after school.  The next day I asked Corry to grab is scooter and he tells me that he went to the office and the secretary would not let him have it.  The principal said Corry could not have it until the end of the school year.   After hearing this I called and spoke with the safety coach explaining what happened again. She was very apologetic and I just laughed told her I was not mad.  That I understood miss communication and just was asking that he gets it back today.  She reassured me that would happen.  Then she preceded to tell me how proud she was of Corry for being respectful and willing to obey his teachers and the secretary.  She told me most kids his age would have not acted this way, and was thankful that as a parent I was patient and understanding. I love this kid and all that he is, I am thankful daily for the mighty man of God he is turning into...Just my 2cents

   

A Mother's Day Journey

My mom with Jessica and Corry

As I stood in front of the Mother's day card section, a wave of sadness washed over me.  For I knew it would be hard finding a card for my mom.  I was doing this more out of obligation than honor....I knew that whatever card I picked it would not be fitting.  You see I spent the first 6 years of my life with my mom.  I really don't have a lot of memories of my time spent with her,but what I do have they are not pleasant.  These memories are filled with drugs, explosive tempers, and different "uncles".  When I was 6 she gave me up and I became a ward of the State of Idaho.  Thankfully her first husband took me in as his own. ( this is a story for another day). I did not meet my mother again until I was 18  and newly married. We tried to keep in touch but eventually lost track of each other.  Then I was reacquainted with her when I was 34 and a mother of 4.  As we got to know each other we struggled to start a relationship it was rough at first, but through time it got better.  Now we meet once a month and talk on the phone weekly.  Yes, we still have our ups and downs as we dig through the emotions of the past. We are learning to communicate in an open and honest way.  As I look back through my life and realize she probably did the best thing for me, by giving me up.  I understand now that this was her best option and I don't fault her in any way.  I love the fact that she is in my life, and I am thankful for her....Today as  I stand in the Mother's day card section as my hand reaches out to select the perfect card for her.  A smile appears in my heart and on my face.  I can't wait to see what treasure I will find. Love you mom to the moon and back, and then to infinity and beyond.  Missie

Billboard of Life

I was driving down the freeway one day, and I started reading the different billboard signs.  Well, this got me to thinking...if someone would ask me what my billboard of life would look like it.  Of course my obvious response would be that I am a woman running hard after God.  That I could say I love God with all my heart, soul, and mind.  That I would even die for Him or that I would give up anything for Him.  Then the thought that came to mind is am I really doing this?  Am I going through the motions on the outside, and giving the impression that God is my world and everything in it?  I have been saved since I was 7 years old, but I was not always walking the life of faith.  In 2007 at a Christian concert I rededicated my life to Christ.  I have since then really tried to do everything that God called me to  be.  I will be the first to admit my walk has not been a perfect one.  I have made decisions that have not always been the wisest.  Or worse yet done the exact opposite of what God was telling me to do.  As I kept driving down the road I decided to dig a little deeper into my thought process.  I began to ask myself some questions: When I say that I am a Christian what are my motives?  Am I saying this to be part of the "IN" club?  To make me look better than some else because I have faith to move a mountain?  To use this as an excuse not to do something that I know is wrong?  Well...here was my response: Yes!! I want to be part of the "IN" club!! I want to someday see the one who created me.  Yes!! I do have faith to move a mountain. (I might not always claim it, but it is there.) No! I don't use my faith as an excuse to do something that goes against my beliefs. What I discovered in the questioning of myself is that I do love the Lord with all that I am, but I want my billboard to say: Jesus is my everything and His name is written on my heart. When I am representing Him I want to do it in such a way that He shows through not me.  Not representing Him in a prideful I am better than you way, but in a humbleness.  I challenge you to do the same...take a moment and reflect/question yourself on who you are representing...I would encourage you to ask God to help you. It is good to take inventory of ourselves, because we can get so caught up in the everyday routines.  We lose sight of what is important...The One who created us and how we represent Him. Just my 2cents, Missie

What God sees...in us...

 

Show me what it's like                                            
To be the last one standing
And teach me wrong from right
And I'll show you what I can be ~Nickelback~ 

I heard these words the other day, and they got me to thinking.  There are a lot of us in the world walking around beat up and broken down.  Just for once we want to be the "last one standing".  For so long we go day by day just barely hanging on to the cliff of life with all are might.  It is a struggle to climb back up and brush off the dust of despair. Yet if we look down into the abyss below us that doesn't look encouraging either.  We value our life enough to keep it and in the small part of our soul we knows that there is hope.    We cry out to someone/something begging for us to be taught wrong from right.  We know if only given the chance we could show people who we really truly are.  We could show people what we are made of and all the possibilities that we have.  The good news is that small hopeful part of our soul is right...there is someone not something, but someone who sees us for who and what we really are.  Ephesians 2:10 tells us...For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things He planned for us long ago.  If we only realized that He looks over us with love.  He sees the potential that we have.  He is just waiting for us to turn to Him for He longs to show us His great love.  With Him there is no doubt or condemnation. There is only peace and comfort.  He truly desires to have us see ourselves as He see us...beautifully wonderfully made in His image!!  Think about that we are made in His images, not our own.  Meaning what we think of ourselves does not compare to what He thinks of us.  Next time when we are down and just not loving life. When we are just dragging ourselves over the coals for every single mistake made.  we need to realize this, we are God's masterpiece. 

 You build me up like a city of gold
The battles rage but I’m standing tall
You formed my heart like an empire
The wind and rain can’t stop this fire
If only I could see it from your perspective
The beauty and the grace of your architecture   ~Jonathan Thulin~ 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_RsozmX0B-I

When I look at this picture, I see all the wonderful colors in it.  To me it is a glimpse of how God sees us in color and not black in white.  Just as He created the colors of His promise in a rainbow, these colors show us His love.  Just my 2cents, Missie

 

Happy Easter!!!

Happy Easter may you feel the blessing of the Cross and know He died so you may live.

 

 

 

 

 

Blessings Missie