Fly by Faith

You have heard of "walking by faith"...let me tell you about "flying by faith".

I am going to my Regional Training for three days in Bloomington, MN with the other District Office Coordinators today. I am very excited about this trip because I love to fly! However, I was worried because this trip falls in between paydays. I am sure others can relate! But I have been working diligently to figure out other ways to get to the airport and back despite parking costs...and one of the other gals said she could cover my meals (since it will all be reimbursed by the company anyway). I always want a little cash on hand in case I need it....but, okay, so I have a Plan B...lol! And I can continue to be excited about my trip!

This morning I opened the patio blinds and startled a little bird on the balcony. But the bird just skitted across the porch and didn't fly away. I thought this was odd, but I looked closer and saw the bird was just a baby...still with the downy fuzz on his head. Then I heard some loud squawking and that was when I saw the "mama" bird swoop down, land by the baby, and fly away! I watched this pattern go on for awhile and found myself saying, "come on baby, you can do it...just trust your mama...just fly...just fly...have faith in your mama!" Finally the baby bird followed after his mama and flew away. I smiled to myself as I went to wake up my boys to get ready for school and remind them I am leaving today, but that I love them soooooo much!

Just now as I finish packing for my trip...you know, the fun book, the spiritual book, the childrearing book, and my journal...the IMPORTANT stuff! LOL! I cleaned out my briefcase from my last trip and what do you know...there is a $10 bill in the bottom of the bag! God is ALWAYS doing things like that for me! I was reminded with a smile and a tear that God is saying, "come on, you can do it...just trust Me...go on...just fly...have faith in Me!"

Divine Appointment

I know I blog about the lessons I learn in the service at church, but let me bring it to real life for you--they really hit home with me many times. The main theme from this weekend was being ready/on call/committed to God's divine appointment for your life.

Let me back up for a second, since it was Mother's Day weekend, we also had our Baby Dedication services. I had a baby shower for twins, a baby dedication party pre-service, the actual Saturday night service, and another baby dedication party post-service. Whew! So glad I didn't have babies anymore or I would have never made it!

However, this Mother's Day and baby celebrations was bittersweet for me. I had another friend who delivered about the same time as the twins (boy&girl) and was only 3 weeks early. Her son celebrated life from the protection of his mother's womb to the protection of our Heavenly Father. I have been so torn with grief and happiness, that all I could do was pray for each of these new mothers.

I shared with a dear friend at one party how I could sense that God was formulating the words for me and that I felt soon I would be able to contact my "sister". (I had not been able to locate a phone number for her since my many moves.) I wanted to send her a Mother's Day eCard, since that was the only connection I had. My dear friend said she would be praying for a way to contact her. That night, I dreamed I was sitting at the computer and saw the words, "even though I just talked with you", I had confirmation that I was to send her an eCard.

On Sunday, I was sitting at the computer searching for an eCard for her, when I received an IM on my main screenname that I rarely use for chatting. I did not recognize the screenname but decided to open it. The IM said "Hi!....its me, ------". I nearly fell off my chair! We were able to exchange cell phone numbers and then I got to talk with my friend. It was good to hear her voice and tell her of my love and prayers. And that I was praying for the right time/way to contact her without disturbing her. She said, "thank you, you are the only person that thought that way...I had to leave town to hide out for peace and quiet." And Mother's Day seemed like the perfect day to remind her that she was a very special mother!

God really directed my path on this situation and truly gave me a Divine Appointment. I challenge you to commit yourself to be ready for your next divine appointment.

Guilt by Association?

The parent company which has their name attached to my company's name has been in the news for some time now due to internal investigations on fraudulent activities from the president and his sons. So, now the company decided to send out an Ethics Course to be completed online (with a deadline, of course). Too little, too late? And, shouldn't we have started with the top level executives on down?

Okay, so....we all take this Ethics Course, and it shows that we are all ethical employees. That doesn't change the fact we carry "guilt by assocation". How do we show our clients that ABC Company is still run by its own CEO and that we are ethical employees? Maybe we should tell them we passed our Ethics Course! I say we give the Ethics Course as part of the background check if its going to be required.

The sad thing is...this is the world we live in. I know we can all think of company investigations and white-collar crime. And those people serve their time in a white-collar prison. Sounds like we as a society and government really don't insist on severe consequences for unethical business practices. Doesn't that come back to the Ten Commandments...thou shalt not lie...and thou shalt not steal? No wonder the government wants to remove the Ten Commandments from courthouses!!

Unfortunately, this doesn't exclude the religious, non-profit ministries/organizations. We have a local woman under tax fraud investigations for her world-wide ministry. What happened to that line and knowing not to cross it? How do our actions show that we are different? Guilt by association?

I will get off my soapbox with the lyrics of a song our chorus is doing for service next week: "...I'm gonna be a history maker in this land....I'm gonna be a SPEAKER of TRUTH to all mankind...I'm gonna stand...I'm gonna run into HIS arms..." Now that's the association I want to be guilty of!

Overslept

I have overslept every day this week....what's up with that? I haven't even been up as late as I am now. :-)

You know it's bad when you sleep through your alarm with it going off for more than an HOUR!

It's worse when one of you neighbors finally beats on the wall or floor to get you to wake up and turn off the alarm. At least someone got some use out of it going off for the morning!

I even have my clock set away from the bed, so I have to get up! Oh well, now you know one of my flaws! ;-)

Things Mom Will Never Say

Okay, I couldn't resist adding these jokes today...especially since it's Mother's Day weekend coming up. I realized how many things from I tend to say/do, that are like my mother--AAUGH! T said that some things are good to be like our parents, which is true. I am thankful for being raised with a strong faith in God. On the lighter side, here goes:

THINGS MOM WILL NEVER SAY

• "How on earth can you see the TV sitting so far back?"
• "Yeah, I used to skip school alot, too."
• "Just leave all the lights on...it makes the house look cheery."
• "Let me smell that shirt--it's good for another week." (maybe not a week, but maybe the next day)
• "Go ahead and keep that stray dog, honey. I'll be glad to feed and walk him every day."
• "Well, if Timmy's mom says it's OK, that's good enough for me." (this is the BEST!)
• "The curfew is just a general time to shoot for. It's not like I'm running a prison around here."
• "I don't have a tissue with me...just use your sleeve."