Tebow, Paul, Me and Y'all or It's The Same Playing Field

BELIEVE!

Tim Tebow did not shine the first three and a half quarters of the Bronco/Dolphin game last week.
It was pretty ugly.
I sat and watched, play after play.
Nothing went right.
The ball was thrown either too far, too short, too high....

It did not look good.

I've been a Tebow fan since his Florida days.
I feel like he's one of my kids, so watching was a painful experience.


Then, it happened. Fourth quarter...four minutes, Demarius Thomas goes in for a touchdown.
Score: 15-7.
The Broncos were on the board.
Whew. 'So glad they scored.
What more could I ask for with so little time on the clock.
Then, with seventeen seconds left in the game, Daniel Fells goes in for a touchdown, Tebow makes the two point conversion.
Score: 15-15!
Overtime!
Who would have thought.
I know Miami was sure it was over for Tebow and the Broncos.

I was ecstatic!
What a turnaround!
With seven minutes left in overtime, Prater kicks a field goal (he had missed two shorter field goals earlier in th game) - and he makes it.
Broncos win! Score: 18-15.

I'm still reeling at what reporters have called, 'a near miracle'.
The boys in blue and orange kept on believing.
And it paid off! First win at Sun Life Stadium for the Broncos against the Dolphins in franchise history!


Sometimes life is like that Bronco game.
There have been times I've made mistakes and heard the jeers from the opposing side.
"You're no good...you'll never amount to anything...you really blew it this time..."
There have been times when I've tried so hard, gotten so prepared, only to have setback after setback...things falling apart before my eyes.
I've wondered, "Should I be here?" "Did I make a mistake?"
Everything goes wrong. It looks like I don't know what I'm doing.


The Broncos didn't look like they had anything together on Sunday.
But, in the end, it all came together.

How often have I seen that.
God comes through.
Doors open, things change, the sun shines again.

Tim Tebow knew things weren't going well, but he kept his head.
He didn't give up, back down, or get discouraged.
He and the guys in the huddle encouraged each other.
And it worked.

The apostle Paul knew all about setbacks.
Like a quarterback, Paul knew what it was to be cheered on. He also knew what it was like to be booed and jeered.
The crowd turned on him... wanting to kill  him.
Yet, Paul didn't give up.
He kept on believing.
He wrote to Timothy, "Fight the good fight of faith."
In Philippians Paul wrote, "Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers, I do not consider myself to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do. Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead. I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus."

Sometimes it may seem I'm trailing in the fourth quarter.
But I know that I know, my Father will see me through.
The score will change.
I am victorious in Christ.
I press on.

You've got mail!

I just looked through my blog posts. Has it really been three months since I've spoken to you?
'Guess so.
I have written several blogs.
I just didn't post them....wow.
I am so sorry. 

I thought of days when people actually wrote letters to keep in touch...sometimes I'd write a letter and forget to mail it. Or, I'd put it down somewhere and get busy, only to find it a month later.

I had a penpal in New York.
Debbie. We both attended parochial schools.
Our teachers were friends, and they thought it would be fun for Colorado kids and New York kids to correspond.
Debbie and I wrote to each other from third grade till we went to college.
We wrote about our families, school and our activities.
When we got older, we told each other our problems, and things we were going through.
We exchanged pictures and sent each other gifts.
If too much time lapsed between letters, one of us would send another letter..."what's wrong?"
We were best friends from a distance.
We never met, but we kept in touch.
Writing was the only way we stayed connected.

I'm not sure who stopped writing first.
Maybe we wrote, but just didn't mail the letters.
I guess we both got busy, got sidetracked. Life took its course, and we didn't take the time anymore.
I don't know where she is...who she married, how many children she has.
Now, it's been thirty some years.
We lost our connection...consequently, that friendship is now a memory.

Letters.
Communication.
Connection.

I know, I know. We have cell phones, tweeting, texting, emails, facebook, blogging. We can communicate with friends in so many ways these days, and I do (except for tweeting, and I haven't learned to chirp yet..maybe one day).

Whatever means of communication we choose, it is important to stay connected.
Friends are important.
Patsy Clairmont said it at Women of Faith, recently. "We need each other. We need to be there for each other - to say, I'll walk with you on your journey."

We are on this journey together.

Let's stay connected!
That could mean email...text mail...
A few weeks ago, I actually got a real letter in the mail from a friend in Texas...in an envelope with a stamp!
What a treat.

Perhaps you have some stationery (you know, that pretty paper, with matching envelopes).
Maybe you'd like to surprise a friend and write a letter!
Ok, how about a phone call, an email or facebook message, a text message, a tweet ... or a blog!

Today, I'm reconnecting with all my friends here in blogosphere!
I'm glad to say, "You've got mail."


Thought for the day:
I really need to send my mail.

What I Learned In Aisle Four or Somewhere Over The Rainbow Sherbet Bucket

I only needed a few items.
It would be a quick trip.
I'd be home in no time.
Dinner would be early!

Yes, quick as a bunny.

Zucchini, mushrooms, and pineapple.

I made my way to the checkout.
There they were.
Lines of carts filled to the brim.

It's ok,I thought. I'm not in a big hurry.

I can be patient.

Then a checker said, "I can take you on four."
A new checkout line!
Ok. That'll be quicker.
Not that I was in a hurry.

I felt like I'd just won the lottery....or at least, bingo.
I'd gotten in the shortest line! Woo hoo!
I'd be out of the store in no time.
Two guys were ahead of me. One had two packages of cheese, the other, two buckets of rainbow sherbet.
The guy with cheese had a coupon.
There was some problem with the coupon.
The checker read it, scanned it, read it, asked the man some questions.
More questions, more scanning.
Way too long for cheese.
Just pay for the cheese, I thought to my I'm-not-in-a-hurry self.
Finally, the man left with his two packages of cheese.

Whew!
Two buckets of sherbet to go.
This won't take long and I'll be out of here!

The checker asked the guy for his grocery card or phone number.
He gave her his phone number.
She entered it.
She entered it again.
And again.
"Are you sure this is the right number?"
"Yes."
She tried again.
"How long have you had this number?"
"Four years."
She tried entering the number again. And again.
"Maybe you should enter the number on the machine."
So he entered his phone number in the machine.
"It still reads invalid. Try it again."

I looked at the other lines that were so long...so long ago.
The people in those lines were gone.
New people had taken their places.

I continued to smile and tell myself I wasn't in a hurry.
I told the checker and the guy they could use my card,
my number, so he could get his discount on his, I'm-sure-it's-melting, sherbet.

But, no. She asked if he had his card.
"'In my pickup."
"Why don't you go get it."
Wouldn't you know.
He did go get it.
He meandered back in, card in hand.
He  wasn't in a hurry, either.
She scanned his card.

He looked at the checker. "That's not the right price."
I'm sure I rolled my eyes (in my mind anyway).
The checker said, "Come on. Let's go check the price."
So, the checker and bucket boy left to visit the frozen food department.
By this time, I'm thinking, are you kidding me?
The lady behind me was buying diapers. Hopefully, her baby had a few diapers left when she left home.
Her daughter stood beside her. She had time to turn every page in a bridal magazine.
The lady looked at me like, now what?
"Price check," I told her.

Finally, the checker and the guy returned. He was holding his two buckets of rainbow sherbet.
I wanted to sing, "Somewhere over the rainbow..."

The guy decided he only wanted one bucket of sherbet.
The checker left (again) and put the other bucket in the ice machine.

I looked at the guy. "Are you going to have your sherbet double-wrapped?
It's pretty hot outside."
"Nope. It'll be all right. My pick-up's got air conditioning."

It was my turn.
At last.
I think the employees changed shifts.
I know the guy's sherbet bucket was dripping on the way out to his pick-up.
The lady behind me probably missed feeding her baby.
Her daughter decided she didn't want to get married.

It was a good thing I wasn't in a hurry.
I needed a patience lesson today, anyway.
(Let patience have her perfect work...James 1:4)

P.S. This is a true story. Names were not mentioned because I didn't know them. They were not innocent.

What I Learned From Tim Taylor or That Gift Doesn't Belong to Me!

"Piece of cake! It's so easy, anybody can do it."
"Ten minutes max!"
I believed her. All it needed were a few screws and wallah, the table would be put together.

I pulled the hundred and ten pound box out of the back of my mini van.
A few doors down, my neighbor friend watched, while her little children played in the yard.
I'm sure she wondered what in the world I was trying to do.
It was easy to see....the box was huge and heavy, and I was trying to manipulate it
very carefully...after all, there were a a dozen and a half tiles in the box.
I edged the flat box one way, then the other, till at last, I had it leaning against my vehicle.

I pushed it and steered it, till I got to the backyard.
I gently lay it on the grass and opened the box, where my next feat was to pull the pieces out.
The whole thing was held together with a mile of wide clear packing tape and enough bubble wrap to go around my house at least twice.
I got the legs untaped/untangled.
The tiles were tied together in place on the table with nice brown ribbon. So, I whacked each ribbon with my scissors, and stacked the tiles till I was ready for them.
At last!
I could put the screws in and be done with it.

Right.

The legs were curved. The screws didn't go straight,  no matter what I did. I knew they had to be faulty.
The legs wobbled and flopped
I tried to get the middle section that went under the table situated, so I could try to screw it in the wobbly legs. I was sure that would remedy the problem.
Somehow, I got tangled up in the middle section and the legs.

I looked at my clock - one hour.

The lady said ten minutes!!

I tried a few more times, determined not to give up.

Finally, I surrendered with strapping tape stuck to my clothes, my body contorted trying to hold the legs and the table together, while I held a three inch allen wrench and watched the screws roll away.

The table was too advanced for my mechanical skills.

I called the store.
The lady said she'd send their 'man' right over.
He drove up.
My day immediately got better.

We walked to the backyard where he surveyed my sorry attempt at putting the table together.

Needless to say, he got it put together in no time.
He put the tiles in place.
Wallah - 'nothing to it.
The table looked great.

I smiled.
God gives us all different abilities, different gifts.

I admit...I'm all thumbs with an allen wrench, a screw driver, a hammer...
I can't get a screw to go in straight, or a nail in the wall without bending it.

I'll stick with music and writing.
That's more my thing.

Although...I'm sure there will come another time when someone will say, "It's easy," and I'll believe him/her.
I'll try using a saw or some other tool. (Did I ever tell you about sawing the bottom off the Christmas tree?)

'You know... I felt better after watching Tim the Tool Man Taylor.

Silly, silly string in a tangled world

I was minding my own business.
'Doing nothing, I tell you.

Bruno was so proud of his chew toy.
He pranced over to show me.

'Next thing I know I'm covered with goo.

I'm sure his chew toy did this, but Bruno is oblivious.
He continues to look at me, holding it in his mouth.
I don't know what this stuff is - it's sticky and not very tasty.

Yuk.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Poor Lady. She ran around like a crazy dog trying to get the stuff off.
I called. "Come, Lady. Let me get it."
The more I tried to get the string, the harder she shook.

Finally, she sat.
"Good girl, Lady."
When she was still, I could pull the silly string loose.
Bruno sat, can in mouth, mesmerized by the scene he created.
Funny dogs.
It's hard to be upset at their innocent escapades.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Like Lady, I found myself covered in silly string, and
I didn't know how it happened.
Bruno was not around.
I was all alone....all tangled up and frustrated.

My Master saw me.

Like Lady, I ran around trying to get it off.
My Master looked at me and said, "Just stop. Let me take it off."
When I was exhausted, I finally stopped.

"I'm sorry. I'm trying," I looked at His face.

He walked over to me.
"Be still."
"Let Me have it."
I relented.
Ok.
He could take it. I was tired of trying on my own.
~ ~ ~
Sometimes, like Lady - I try to take care of my problems on my own.
I don't realize it at first.
I'm just thinking...nothing wrong with that.
But, after a while, I'm a tangled mess and I wonder what happened.

My Father knows how to get my attention.
Silly string?
Yes.
That's what it is.
Silly.
Trying to figure things out.
Trying to carry my own load.

I may pray, have my quiet time.
But, then I worry about the things I can't change and have no control over.
Silly.

It's silly not to put it all in His care and leave it there.
He is my wise Father.
In 1 Peter 5:17 He says, "Cast all your cares on me for I care for you."
In Matthew 11:28-30 He says, "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am gentle and humble in heart, andyou will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, my burden is light."

Ok, enough of the silly string.
I'm ready to come unraveled now.
My Master knows best. He has it all under control.
I can rest, rejoice, and rely on Him.

'Thinking I'll take Lady for a walk, now that we're both stringless...totally tangle-free.
Maybe I'll even take Bruno.

JUDGMENT DAY OR WHAT?

I hear the world is coming to an end...judgment day....rapture day....
today, May 21, 2011 - according to a minister and his math calculations.
What shall I do?

I hear people quit their jobs.
Businesses are offering after-rapture safe-keeping for pets, finances, etc.

Some say, "I'm not ready for everything to end. I've got a life to live!"
Others mock and make fun.
.

What do I think...
I've gone about my day.
Planted flowers, made some lunch. 'Getting gifts ready for tomorrow's high school grads.

Actually, at the beginning of day I had my quiet time.
'Read about David and Bathsheba today.
What a guy. Had an affair with Bathsheba. she gets pregnant.
Trying to cover his tracks, 'puts her husband on the front lines of battle to be killed.
The child he and Bathsheba have, dies. David repents, and worships God.

After all that, David and Bathsheba are blessed with a son - Solomon.

'Hardly seems fair.He did all those awful things.
Good thing it wasn't up to us.
God is merciful and forgiving.


Now, back to 'judgment day' happening today.
I haven't thought about it much.
'Not that I don't think it will ever happen. It will - someday.

We should be ready at any time.
Leaving this world should not be a dreaded, scary event.

There has been much discussion about the Judgment Day billboards.
There have been many questions.

Guess what. God loves us

It doesn't matter where you are right now.
"Judgment ... well, I"m lost anyway. 'No hope for me."
So not true.
Look at David.
God said David was a man after God's own heart.
He blew it many times, but he repented before his heavenly Father and was forgiven.
God saw past all his shortcomings, failure, sins, crimes, and saw his heart.


No matter how perfect we think we are...no matter how many good deeds we do...
it's not our works or goodness that will get us to heaven.
It's Jesus' works and goodness.
Jesus paid it all.
All we need to do is repent of our sorry selves, ask His forgiveness and
accept Him as our Lord and Savior.

When the time comes, and it will someday; we will be ready.

There may not be a billboard to remind us.
But! His Word is our reminder.
Look up, and lift your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh! (Luke 21:28)

PS  If the rapture happens today I shall not be here tomorrow.

To momhood

My good friend tells me she always wanted to be a mom.
Another good friend tells me, "The only thing I wanted was to grow up and be a mom."
"How about you?" They ask me.
I look at both of them.


I had to think about it. I wanted to.... be a nun. Yes, a nun.
I thought it was the best way to serve God,at the time.

Frankly, it was between becoming a nun because of God or wanting to get married and have children-even though children scared me.
They were foreign beings to me.
I wasn't around them much.
I babysat for my cousin when I was in high school. She had two little boys.
She left strict instructions about their bedtime.
I tried to comply.
But, Jimmy, the oldest, didn't want to go to bed and threw a royal fit.
He finally climbed into his top bunk, and kept yelling.
He started out, "I'm going to tell...I'm going to tell my..." and I guess figured he better not tell his parents, and said, "I'm going to tell the police, I'm going to tell the police!I don't want to go to bed!"
He stayed in bed. He stopped screaming and went to sleep.
He was three years old.
His screaming traumatized me for a long time.
I wondered how his parents did it.

I babysat for my high school choir teacher. She had two sweet little kids. Ah, what a relief.
I actually enjoyed babysitting.
One of her children was just months old.
He slept most of the time I was there,but I remember watching him sleep.
How tiny, how perfect.
His sister was a sweet toddler.
I thought it might be fun to have children, someday.

Obviously, becoming a nun did not happen.

I found I could serve God, and not be a nun!
My life brought momhood.
One, then two, then three....
I have five children.
Who'd have thought!
Yes, five.

We went for walks - two in the double stroller, two walked beside the stroller and one was in a snugli.
Oh, the looks I'd get.
"Are all these yours?"
One time I answered, "Actually, we wanted ten, but settled for five."
Our pastor at the time said, "I know the Bible says multiply and subdue to the earth, but He didn't mean just you."

I don't see five as being many.
They came one at a time, so we adapted as we went along!
'Lined up to take showers.
One cereal bowl or five...not a big deal.

One time, a friend and I, her four and my five, took a short road trip in her stationwagon (years before everyone had to have a carseat, or we would have not been able to pull this off.)
We stopped for gas in a small town, and someone asked us if we had a pres-school.
We laughed for miles at the look on the man's face when we said, no, the children all belonged to us.

There have been cuts, scrapes, bruises, black eyes and stitches.
There have been times when I thought I'd never stop laughing, and times when I thought I'd never stop crying.
There have been nights with no sleep because of sickness, or waiting to hear the front door.
There were nights when we piled in one bed and laughed. Nights we stayed up late and watched movies.

There were Mother's Day mornings when my little ones brought me breakfast in bed.

The joy of momhood has been mine.
It is the highest calling of my life.
It was the plan.
God knew.

I say to my children today, "Thank you! I celebrate Mother's Day!"
I love you my five.

Happy Mother's Day, mothers.