Tebow Fever

I used to never watch sports. I grew up in a household that never watched sports, so hey, I didn't either.


But when I got married, that all changed. And, I guess you can say for the better. 


My husband loves the Florida Gator football team. And so when we got married, I started watching gator games with him and fell in love (football love, calm down) with the gator quarterback Tim Tebow. He was handsome. He was charming. And best yet, he was a great man of God. 


He would write scriptures on his cheeks for the games and we would often look up the scriptures later to see what they were. 


When he graduated from UF, he was drafted to the Denver Broncos. Didn't really matter to me, as I wasn't a really big NFL fan yet. So, Broncos it is. Go Broncos!


We followed his seasons with the Broncos very closely and our Tebow faith was strong.


Now in the off season, we learn that Peyton Manning, a great quarterback with many Super Bowl rings to prove it, was signed by the Broncos for the 2012 season. Leaving Tebow in the dark.


So where would Tebow go?


Well, it hasn't been an easy NFL ride at my house, as we were not thrilled with the trade of Manning, but today I see that my man Tebow was traded to the New York Jets, as the second string quarterback, but with hopes of becoming first. 


Oh brother. 


I just hope that Tebow remains in the spotlight. Some people really don't like him as an athlete, but he does amazing things for the kingdom of God. And he uses his spotlight to glorify Him.


So, I guess all I can say is, Go Jets!

Promotion, Shmoshion

Last night I failed as a wife. 

Total bomb. Total failure. Totally hopeless.

My husband has been having lots of stresses at work. He has been working at his "new" job for almost eight months now after being unemployed for almost 6 months prior. He is still the last person that they have hired on, and he started from the bottom, and now he is considered # 2 in ranking positions. Not bad if you ask me!

Anyway, a few weeks ago it got around that the store manager was going to be transferring to another store in another state. So who would be promoted to take over as store manager? Or, who would they bring in?

Well, I got it into my head that my husband should be promoted to store manager. He is the # 2 anyway underneath the store manager # 1 position and he knows the layout of the business and he basically has been running the store anyway since the store manager's transfer. 

My first fail - getting it into my husband's head that he should be promoted to the # 1 position too.

I went on and on and on for weeks over how he should approached the district manager and ask for the # 1 job and how even though he has been there the shortest amount of time, he is the best choice for the company and would not let the company down.

My second, major fail - getting too emotional when he was turned down.

Yesterday he came home for lunch (a 45-minute lunch instead of the regular hour because the store needs him that badly) and told me that he talked it over with the district manager and he didn't think that my husband was ready for the # 1 spot yet, and that the job would not go to him.

Now being in my reasonable professional state-of-mind, this makes sense. My husband has not been with the company very long, so much so he doesn't even qualify for vacation time yet, and he has not been trained for such a position.

But yesterday, oh man, I was livid! I was pissed! I even threw a few "f" bombs out. How dare he be turned down for the job! He deserves it. He can do it. And he would make the company better. 

After ranting to my husband, he looked at me and told me that me being so upset over this is not helping him in anyway. It just makes him madder. It just makes him more stressed out. And I shouldn't be acting this way.

Deep breath. 

He is so right.

Major fail on my part. It is not my place to add to his stress. And if there is still that small chance that he could end up being promoted, he may blow it, if his head isn't all together, and he is too emotional like me!

So, I took it God. Which I should have done in the first place...

I got the dogs and my devotional book of prayers and scriptures and we went out in the backyard after he left after lunch.

I read page after page of the book until I felt my heart soften. Then I went to God in prayer. Asking him to release the stresses that I have placed on my husband and to help me keep positive and light even in this heavy situation. 

My prayers turned to gratitude and I realized that just a few months ago, my prayer was that my husband even be given a job. 

And I am so grateful to God for blessing us with his employment once again. And to think that he was at the very bottom when he started, and now he is # 2. What a blessing!

I shouldn't get so caught up in emotion over this promotion of being # 1. If he is right for the job, and God sees this promotion as best fit for us, then he will be promoted. But it is not for me to try to control this situation, or get emotional about it. God is in control. God is able to provide for us. And even though I try and try to remember that always, sometimes I fall short. 

It's funny how things are never good enough, huh? I am always wanting more, wanting better. And yesterday when I was praying to God out in the sunshine, I understood why. 

It's because this earth wasn't made for us. We are separated from God here. Nothing will be good enough until we are where we belong, with our creator, living forever in heaven with Him.

Until that time, we have to keep our eyes toward heaven. Nothing can get you down when you are always looking up!

How To Be A Domestic Diva - Part I

One of my guilty pleasures in life is to watch the silly, very dramatic, Army Wives on Lifetime.

Last episode it unveiled a plot that had a main character having to plan a last minute BBQ for her husband’s work crew.  And she was kicking and screaming the entire time. She works a full time job, she is a mother of two, her house is a mess, and the BBQ would be in less than a week! There was no way this was going to happen.

But, even through her kicking and screaming, in fact, the BBQ was going to happen, like it or not.

Ha ha. I get a chuckle out of this because I have been in her place many times in my life, and lots of those times, in my marriage. My husband would come home and I would be ready for bed and he would go, “Oh honey, by the way” – ugh – by the way – the worst phrase to come out of his mouth right before bed time.

But, being the domestic diva that I am, I have learned to adapt. I have learned how to be the wonderful domestic diva that every woman strives for! (Well, at least I try!)

The secret?

Plan ahead. Figure out what may come at you unexpectedly and be prepared for it.

You know that your husband’s job may require you to host a BBQ at the last minute? Plan ahead. Buy invitations next time you are at the market and store them away, and why not stash enough stamps too for postage? Put in your cook book a BBQ party sheet for “x” amount of guests and include a shopping list. Buy party plates and napkins on sale and stash those away too.  Plan ahead. Do all the work you can ahead of time.

In my life, I don’t necessarily have to plan last minute BBQs, but I do have to plan for overnight guests last minute. So guess what? I have planned ahead! I have made a space in my guest room closet to store extra bed sheets, pillows, extra blankets, clean bath towels, extra toiletry items, and water bottles. Now everytime we have an unexpected guest, I am zero to five minutes to accommodating them. Why? Say it with me, because I have planned ahead.

Another last minute “domestic diva” issue that arises a lot in my own life is nurturing the sick and nurturing families who have suffered a death in their family. Nothing more unexpected than that, wouldn’t you say? Before I found this secret of planning ahead to be a domestic diva, I was like a chicken with my head cut off when someone I cared for became very ill or a person would pass away. I couldn’t find time in my busy day to nurture that person or that family. And then what happened? I ended up doing nothing, because I was too stressed out over what I was going to do for them and when I was going to fit it all in. So now I am prepared. I have get well cards and sympathy cards at the ready (and extra stamps next to them just in case!). I have cake mixes and frosting and disposable pans stocked in my pantry to make quickly and to get out quickly. I have a frozen lasagna and frozen garlic bread in my freezer (which I bought at the store on sale – didn’t make!) for those times when I want to bring a dinner over to a sick person – either frozen, as is, or I would bake it for them and then take over.

Being a domestic diva is not for the faint of heart. It takes work. It takes time. It takes – planning ahead!

I Got A New Depression State of Mind

(Title – a spin off “I got a New York state of mind” – cute huh?!)

It’s funny how people can get depressed over things that do not actually affect them. I asked one person I was counseling to make a list of the things that were making her depressed. She came up with three things. And none of those things directly affected her life – they affected other people’s lives, but not hers.

So why do we take on other people’s problems as our own? Are we trying to be good friends? Are we being good Christians? Do we just like be dramatic? Maybe we think that by taking on other’s problems it makes the other person feel better? I just don’t know…but I do know that…

You were not put on this earth to take on other people’s problems.

Jesus was.

And last time I checked, you were not Jesus. Not even close. So why are you trying to be Him?

The best thing you can do for someone who is going through a rough patch is to pray with them, be there to listen to them, be there to encourage them. But don’t be there to take on their problems. Give those problems to Jesus. It’s okay. He can handle it. And lots more!

Don’t waste the time in your day for worry, doubt, depression, sadness, or grief. Use that time instead to glorify God. Put God first. Put God’s children first. Don’t put emotion first. It’ll just get you down.

Put Intentional Prayer to Use

Whenever I have a counseling session with someone, I focus first toward prayer.

Prayer is one of the most important aspect in a Christian’s life. It is our one personal connection to God, beside worship and taking communion. And in some ways, it is like “divine” counseling!

In my opinion, there is no point to counseling without praying first. You cannot solve your problems without God’s help. And you can’t get God’s help without prayer. So, that’s why I start counseling sessions going over prayer! Making sure that the person has prayed over this situation in her life before coming to me, seeing what her prayer schedule looks like, and to see what she knows about praying.  

You see, my role as a mentor in counseling situations is not to fix you or your problems. It is for you to allow God to intervene in your life to fix you and for you to learn to trust in God’s will for your life.

And really, that’s the problem in the first place! That’s why people get to the point of needing counseling, because they forget that they cannot solve their problems without God’s intervention and without trusting in God’s will for their lives. (Even I need reminding of that sometimes too!)

If someone said to me that she doesn’t trust in God, then the session is over, as far as I am concerned. I am happy to help you find that confidence in trusting Him, but we cannot move forward in counseling until you have a little faith. Not lot. All the faith/trust that you need is just as small as a what? As small as a mustard seed (or if you read The Message translation of the Bible, a pine nut)….

So how is your prayer life these days? Is it even alive?

I was told recently in a counseling session that a lady doesn’t pray to God anymore because she never sees results. Ok. This is a start, right?

I asked, how do you know you haven’t seen results? Give me an example.

The example given was that this person asked God to get her through a difficult time in her life and she didn’t see God working through that.

I asked if there was resolution in that difficult time.

The reply – yes.

So I gently reminded that person that her prayer was actually answered! God did exactly what she asked, and got her through that difficult time. I mean, she was sitting in front of me for Pete’s sake! She got through it!

So my conclusion is this.

One. Pray, and then actively search for God’s response.

Don’t just pray, asking God for help, and leave it at that. Actively search for His answer. The girl that I mentioned above felt left out by God because she didn’t think God answered her prayer. But, I think, she wasn’t looking for it. God did answer her prayer and get her through that tough situation. She just didn’t notice.

Two. Intentionally pray.

Don’t just ask God to “get you through” something. Ask for specific help. Specific direction. Specific goals. Ask God to help find resolve to this situation before you develop a more serious issue. Find resolve before your finances go astray. Ask God to change your heart toward your reaction of a situation finding the positive not the negative. Intentionally ask for what you desire. Don’t just skim the surface of your need. Really tell God what is bothering you and how you think He can fix it. He wants that type of relationship with you. So go ahead! Be an intentional pray-er. You won’t be sorry!

Puppies for Lent

When the Lent season began I found myself without anything to give up for the forty days of the season, nor with anything to add.

I was praying on this topic a few days later and then was browsing Facebook. I went to the local animal shelter page and saw that a mama dog came in as a stray and needed a foster home for the remainder of her pregnancy and for the first 8 weeks of her puppies’ lives.

I asked my husband. Then immediately applied to be the foster.

What a great opportunity to serve my community!

But let me back up here and say that when I was younger, I was struggling with my priorities of service. You know, this verses that. And I thought that I should not spend my time of service with animals, animal shelters, animal rescues, etc. because I wanted to serve people, “people first” was my motto. But then after a few years and after serving “people first”, my heart changed. Maybe for the worse. But my heart did change and therefore my motto changed. And I came to the conclusion that lots of people shared my motto of service, and not so many people shared a motto for service to animals. I mean, God put Adam and Eve in charge of the animals for goodness sake! So I need to have a heart for serving animals too. And that’s where this all began. And to be honest, in thinking about my “people first” motto, the reason domestic animals go stray and hungry and in danger is because the people put in charge of their care, didn’t do such a great job, whether on purpose or not. But still, people are the number one reason for animal suffering.

Okay, back on point.

So a few days later after submitting the foster application, I get a call from the shelter that the mama dog had given birth over the holiday weekend and so they are looking for immediate placement of the mama dog and her five precious pups. Oh, and could I come right now and get them?

I was elated! I was so excited! And I decided that even though I was a little late on “adding” something for the Lenten season, getting started late was better than not starting at all. Right?

My Lenten sacrifice has been caring for these six creatures of God.

And I was telling this to some people around church and they said that taking care of cute puppies is not a “sacrifice”. Well. They are right. But, it has not been easy. My husband and I have to use a lot of teamwork to remain on our daily schedule and still have time to take care of the pups and their mom. We are caring for God’s creatures, ones that would most likely have not survived on their own in the wild due to the hungry wildlife around, and the very cold temperatures we have been experiencing.  We have been contributing our income to this service in seeing that the mama dog is properly fed and the puppies are safe and warm. We have to be consistent in our service because the whelping box needs constant cleaning to be maintained. And being that the mama dog is a stray, she has some emotional issues that need tending to as well.

All of this “work” adds to the Lenten sacrificial experience. (And you cannot sit there and tell me that people who give up soda for lent are really sacrificing either!)

Every time I go to be with the pups, or clean out the box, or have less time in my day for “me” things since I was tending to the pups, I think of Jesus.

Jesus gave the ultimate sacrifice when he died a sinner’s death on the cross for me. And for you. Yes, cleaning dog poop and walking a stray dog is in no way a comparison to Jesus’ sacrifice. But doing those things, deepens my gratitude toward my God and for His ultimate sacrifice that He made for me.