Isn’t it funny how we use the word LOVE? “I LOVE that color….I LOVE those brussel sprouts….I LOVE your hair…. I LOVE that song….I LOVE those shoes…. I LOVE that movie…..I LOVE that house….I LOVE the Gators…..Cars, chocolate, sheets, trees…..

Then….  I LOVE you.

It’s weird we don’t have more ways to express such a powerful emotion and feeling. We are so limited.  I have to admit that I do use this interesting incredible 4 letter word a lot. In fact one of my best friends teases me that I love everything and everyone, but truth is some LOVE is felt deeper than others. When I handed out a LOVE bracelet a couple years ago to some of my favorite girls, my friend asked me to write inside hers, “I love you the most!” in permanent marker.

I did.

I think the fact that I know, deep down to my toes, how much I am loved by such an amazing God even when I am fussy, stubborn, angry and feeling plain unlovable….. has impacted the way I love others, it overflows.

“We love because he first LOVED us.” 1 John 4:19

Remember Jesus chose the 12 before they chose him…..and they were an interesting bunch. Well, so am I and He chose me too! When we embrace the fact that we are unconditionally loved it then frees us to share that love with others. Isn’t what we are called to do, LOVE one another? But it starts within us, seeing and believing we are lovable and loved, do you feel it?

You are.

So, what other words can we use to express what we feel inside? Can we say…I Like you a lot? I am Passionate about my brussel sprouts? I am Fond of those shoes? I feel Affectionately about this piece of chocolate? I Adore the Gators?

No, I think for me whether using the 4 lettered word as a noun or a verb I will stick with L-O-V-E.

I read something yesterday that I just loved….

“Every “yes” is a “no” to something.” We can’t say “yes” to everything, but we need to weigh which “yes” is the most life-giving in this moment. Everything we invite into our lives takes a certain amount of time, energy, care and attention. We have a choice.

This was an interesting weekend and I had to take pause and ask what “yes’s” in my life are life-giving. I had to say “no” to somethings this weekend to say “yes” to me. Selfish? I would call it Soulfish. Choosing to tend to my soul.

Understanding that within the pause to determine what should be a “yes” and what should be a “no”, comes clarity, rest and renewal with wise choices. There is a reason God created day and night. The rhythm of rest is built into our lives, though at times we forget how to move and groove to it. I don’t know about you but I think I can tackle it all forgetting I have limits. Doesn’t that W on my chest stand for Wonder Woman? If I am not careful it will stand for Weary Woman. To know when to say when, is necessary and needed because limits convey the truth of who God is and the reality of “me”. I don’t need to run ahead of God but allow him to take the lead and guide my choices. Without rest and quiet time to allow my mind and heart to settle I become restless, depleted and less aware of the things that bring me joy and God’s presence in my life.

With all the “no’s” to pumpkin carving parties, Home Shows and more…. I had to choose and ponder this weekend…… there was a great “yes” last night. I had my three big boys and their girlfriends over for dinner. As we were sitting around the dining room table, candles lit, Andrew’s meal of fish and brussel sprouts plated, laughter, love and music filled the room. This was Life-Giving and Soul Filling….

I think I will have another helping of the Soulfish!

Faith…when we hear this word it stirs up so many different feelings and emotions within each of us. Recently I  heard a famous TV preacher respond to a statement while being interviewed on a morning talk show, “You just make faith look easy?” As I was getting dressed watching this morning show, praying he would respond well to the millions of morning viewers watching…..For we were all heading out to tackle the world and the challenges we each face….. Please give us a good straight, honest answer!

This man SMILED and said, “Well, IT IS.”

UGH! GAME SHOW NO!!  If I call in will they take my call…..I have the right answer!!! No faith is not easy! In fact, faith can be tough to dig up, difficult to find, challenging even on our best days. Be honest so that others can wrestle with theirs and know they are not alone. Faith warriors are those who hunt it down even in the most trying times. They catch it, cage it and hold on to it because they know that if they have faith, it will eat the monster “fear” that threatens us and it tames the wild vulnerabilities and self doubt that shake us.

“Faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.” Hebrews 11:1

Talk about challenging, to stand in faith even when we can’t see the road ahead. To trust in a God we cannot see or hear either. To know that he is and has always been there to walk the path with you, no matter where you find yourself. I wish this very talented preacher would have said, “No it is not easy, but I cannot imagine life without faith! It is like a muscle that you have to work hard to pump up, so that when the tough times come you are ready to kick some Fear and Doubt Booty!”

Take it from a girl like me…. faith grows when you spend time standing in it, rolling in it, splashing in it, crawling to it….just find it. For when it is tended to and allowed to grow within us you will find that the blossom’s of HOPE grow no matter what season you are in. Faith reminds us that it is not all about us, but all about Him and his great love for each of us.

Now go and catch yourself some FAITH and have a victorious day!

So a while back I decided to jump back on the ole EHarmony dating train. Yes, UGH!! What’s a girl to do who does life coaching for a living and is known to love Jesus so much I think it scares most to set me up. My assumption has been that others think I am too pure (they must not know me), that I might quote scripture (maybe not on the first date, but it is the foundation for my life) or even better, I might lay hands on them ( I am pretty touchy feelie, I like to hit, grab and hug even strangers, but I save the laying on of hands until we are in an established relationship)! But I am here to tell you, us “Jesus Freaks” need a date too. So off on this adventure I go!

The first week was a real awakening….As I was sent the potential “dates” and I opened them one by one I thought to myself, “Really? Did they read our answers and look at our pictures then came up with the educated decision that we were a match?” YIKES! Panic struck and I searched the room for a brown bag to breath into. Did they really think I would marry someone who posted a picture of himself burning a flag? I better strap in this is going to be a bumpy ride!

Then one afternoon my 23 year old son David came over for “Wine Therapy” and was “coaching” me as we looked at my new daily matches together. He couldn’t believe they were all that bad, so I showed him.

One was blessed with shortness but had pictures of himself standing next to HUGE objects….big boats, big cars, big tractors. AND HE WROTE IN ALL CAPS!  David laughed and said he should have had his picture taken next to a Mini Cooper. We called him Napoleon. BTW David wants to be Hitch and help all these men with their profiles, he thinks he would make a killing. I do too. You see one thing my children do not lack is confidence, they know who they authentically are….quirks, talents, weakness and strengths and David leads the pack!

There is one Match that has stayed with me. You see in our profiles there is a heading where we hungry potential daters have to answer the question, “What are you most passionate about?” This is the first thing a prospective mate will read. This is the line that is to grab your interest and get you to read more, then move on to dating. Well, the one that has stayed with me is this wonderful sweet man (I believe), who had white hair and was dressed in all white too. He answered this important question with….”I am not sure anymore.” David and I giggled at the time about how WRONG that answer was.  It was not a great pick up line, and we thought he should have used his money for therapy or coaching not a dating service, but in reality how many people feel that way? He was, at the very least honest.

After our lives have taken so many twists and turns and we have been disappointed, hurt and left to go on, it can be hard to know what we are truly passionate about anymore. As I have been on this crazy adventure, the thing that gets to me the most is how many people don’t really know themselves or worse yet, love  themselves enough to know what they are passionate about. They try hard to be what they aren’t or don’t even know anymore.

It is so important to know You before You can introduce yourself to another and invite them into your life. It’s hard to stay as a single in this coupled world, staying settled  and allowing healing to occur, to finding out what you love, what you want, and who you really are standing alone, single. We don’t need someone to complete us, but to come along beside of us and share a seat on this ride we call life. Both healthy and whole in who we are as one, before we are two.

Well, I did meet someone who had the RIGHT answers and knows who he is and is authenticlly comfortable in himself. How refreshing. I will keep you posted……….

So, Grace came in from school yesterday and I heard the tears as she entered the backdoor….not loud, but very sad. She came in a sat on the couch and said it was a “Terrible Awful Day!” There is a little girl in her class that had been bullied and it was very upsetting to Grace that people could be so mean.  I asked her if she needed something cool to drink since she looked so hot from the bike ride home. She looked up at me with big tears in her eyes and said….

“No, I think I need a life coach!”

I giggled softly, she cried. I got her a cold drink with crushed ice, just like she likes. We crawled up on her bed and I held her as she described the terrible awful day and after a little “Mommy and Grace” time life came back into balance for my 8 year old girl. I am not too sure it is as much about “coaching” as it is about a little TLC for all of us in this life.

We need to know we Matter to someone and that we Belong somewhere.

We need a safe place to let go of the tears we have carried throughout the day or sometimes a lifetime.

And two arms to wrap us up in when we need to be held tight or a hand to help us up when we have fallen or lost our way.

As Dorothy said…”There’s no place like home.” But home might not be under a certain roof or address, home at times it’s just a comfortable, safe feeling that we get with someone when we know we are deeply loved and we feel “Free to be Me”…… It’s then when we know we are home!

Have you ever gone to the grocery store hungry? Oh my gosh I have and it is not a pretty sight! Everything looks delicious and is what I need RIGHT NOW to fill my starving self! I throw all sorts of things into the cart that are calling my name from every aisle and my bill is always more than I had budgeted for. Of course, once you get in the car and rip open something and start to chow down you realize that shopping hungry might not have been the best idea or in your best interest. Did I really need those Hot Fries, Three Musketeers and Diet Mountain Dew?

“I cannot count the good people that I know who to my mind would be even better if they bent their spirits to study their own hungers” M.F.K. Fisher

Physical hunger is one thing, but our souls know so many different kinds of hunger or shall we say cravings…. Emotional, spiritual, creative, mental and of course physical….the list goes on and on. And when the pains of hunger strike we look for anything to fill it. I meet with people all the time that are so quick to fill up with something that they will fill up with anything just to ease the emptiness, to fill that space that aches, and I am not just talking tummies! We are not a patient people, we want quick and fast-acting! Just as the little girl from Willy Wonka screamed….our souls scream too, “I WANT IT NOW!”

But what if we paused and asked, “What am I really craving? What would satisfy this hunger?” In Proverbs it states, “A patient man has great understanding.” What if we are able to sit in our hunger, even for a minute or two (heaven forbid!) and ask ourselves, “What is it that I really need?”

Bending your spirit to hear what your soul is craving and longing for, then quietly listening and responding to it’s request. Today consider the hunger pains and cravings that really count….what your soul needs to be content and settled in spirit. Then fill your cart up with what is good and truly fulfilling, not fast-acting but long-lasting, with what you know to satisfy your soul…..Taste and see it is good….I can guarantee it’s a whole lot better than HOT FRIES!

What a month and a half this has been.  Life in FULL force on so many levels. It has been filled with celebrations, sadness, adjustments, laughter, tears and let me catch my breath moments. It is in times like this that I have to take pause to the littlest things that show me God is present in this whirlwind we call life.

He was there last night when I was in a meeting…. I was feeling a bit tired and weary in the motherhood department, when a young lady I had not met before said she was in a young adults group with two of my big boys. She said, “Your boys talk about you all the time, they love you.” Gulp Gulp Gulp….I drink it down, refreshment for this mother’s soul.  He is in an unexpected email from a friend from the past, after I found out a dear friend has a terminal illness. Life and death, joy and sorrow, highs and lows….He meets us in whatever moment we find ourselves in, he is funny and faithful like that.

This past month I have found him hidden in moments at the beach, talking with a teacher, on walks, in conversations with friends, in the faces of my children, in an unexpected kiss, being with my sister, in the success of a client, at the DMV, playing darts, running in a rainstorm, a China connection…..He is present in each moment and wants to show us his love. So even if the wind is a howling or it is a still, quiet time in your life, keep your eyes, heart and spirit open to receive his presence within your life. After all, life is not made up of days, months or years, it is made up moment by moment.