SPRING INTO SUMMER

Hello beautiful ladies! I'm so excited to be sharing my heart with you today. I believe for some of us, this will be a summer we will never forget. I feel a sense of joy filling the air and we better get prepared. It's time for us to break out of old routines, old mindsets, and grab change with both hands. We set the tone for so many things, people, and ourselves. If nobody has told you lately you are the apple of God's eye. He is calling us women to stand up and be the precious creation He created us to be. Let's start out small and work up to our transformation. For some reason, I just feel like women are unhappy with themselves and it affects every aspect of our lives. So here are some simple, inexpensive ideas to get us started. I know that most of us are too busy taking care of everyone else that we settle for whatever is left. This is going to take some getting used to but the rewards will be priceless. Please know that material things do not make you who you are but we are supposed to like foo-foo things. For instance how about trying a new shade of lipstick. A new hair style may create a new attitude. Or if you really want to live on the edge, wear a color that you have never worn. I know you're thinking money, but I know you have make-up you have never tried, you have to get your hair cut anyway and Goodwill has an excellent supply of decent clothes. We could even make small changes in our home. I was amazed how putting my spring comforter on my bed really lightened up my room. Check out your local yard sales because one man's trash is another man's treasure. Put things in your home that are pleasing to your eyes and it will lift your spirits. I challenge you to think outside the box and do something you've never done this summer. Make sure it's legal, of course. It's time for us to shine and that means you. God says that He will give us the desires of our hearts. Just ask Him because He's got gifts for you that you have never unwrapped.

IF YOU'RE HAPPY

If you're happy and you know it clap your hands. If you're happy and you know it stomp your feet. If you're happy and you know it shout, Amen! Finish it with me, if you're happy and you know it then your face will surely show it. You are very fortunate that I typed that and you didn't have to go through the torture of my not-so musical voice. From birth on, we enjoy music. It changes form as we get older but it is powerful and can change your attitude in seconds. I serve in the nursery at church and have more success with calming children by simply singing or putting on a CD for their entertainment. It usually stops them in their tracks, they begin to move their little bodies, and then look to me for instruction. You talk about a Kodak moment. Well, aren't we all little girls stuck in these adult bodies. Shall we get back to basics and remember how innocent and sweet life can be. I know I'm probably the only one, but occasionally my mind tends to migrate toward the negitive things in my life. Our minds are a battlefield and we have to know how to defeat the enemy. I was praying and The Lord showed me that you can't sing, clap, stomp, or shout without breaking your thought pattern. He said that even a clap will interrupt a thought because you have to physically move to do it. If you stomp the same is true. Try singing or shouting and still ponder on the same thing that has tried to clutter your mind. I know it sounds silly but it really works. Now we must be selective about what we choose because you certainly don't want to sing Gloom, Despair, and Agony on Me. (Hee Haw classic). I hope that this will plant a seed for the next time you are lost in a sea of bad thoughts. You might want to be careful where you clap, stomp, shout, or sing because they will kick you out of the library but you can do it in your heart. The word says clap your hands all you nations, shout to God with cries of joy. I hope you begin to see rainbows where there used to be rain.

YOU'RE THE ONE

If you are a big ball of emotions like me, then you will probably agree that the Animal Planet needs to have ratings on their shows. Although very educational, the food chain is not one of my favorite subjects to learn about. It goes something like this, you tune into Animal Planet, you see a baby animal (ahhh), then from out of nowhere, a bigger, stronger animal attacks and eats it. Although it is a fact of life, there are still tears for the small and weak that are preyed on. Unfortuately, our society is alot like the animal kingdom in their strategies. We have several different groups of people. We don't refer to our groups as herds but rather as cliques. There are the powerful, rich, leaders, followers and many more. But in all walks of life, there is someone waiting in the shadows for someone who gets separated from the rest. We as humans are just as vulnerable as the unsuspecting animal that was zeroed out. We need to be very careful how we treat one another because if we reject people, some group will pick them up. Unless each individual knows how special they are, they will eventually be isolated and reach for any form of love that comes their way. The Shepherd refers to us as His sheep. But he also warns us of the wolves that surround us. His word says that He will leave the 99 to find the 1. As long as we know and can hear His voice, we can follow. But He's a jealous God and even if we stray, He will come to find us. The Lord showed me that alot of His sheep are wondering and He needs us to be His voice, hands, feet, and eyes. Watch out for the weak, lonely, isolated, young, old, and lost. You'll know them when you see them. Let's reach out and grab them from the pits of despair and tell them that they are the 1. By the way we're all still the 1. (Corny song from the seventies but still applies.)

THIS TOO SHALL PASS

This is for all of us ladies who can remember The Partridge Family, Hee Haw, and pepsi in a glass bottle. If you can relate then I bet you've been through a few things. If we think back, I bet there were a million times that we thought we would never live through the immediate situation in our lives. Just a few examples might be, divorced parents, a pet dying, moving to a new school, having your heart broken for the first time. No one is exempt from these life altering experiences. Can you remember feeling like that was the worst thing that ever happened to you? But somehow you made it through and hopefully learned along the way. As we grow older and wiser, those early years don't seem near as tragic as we remembered. Whatever life is handing you right now don't stop on your way through. I believe most of us think that our circumstances will never change. We think our infants will never grow up, our parents will never grow old, our finances will never be secure, and our health will never improve. I know that sometimes you feel like you are hanging onto the clothes line of life during the worst storm ever. Well, I'm here to tell you to hold on and that storm will pass. Whatever you do, GO THROUGH and never give up. If we look back, our lives are not the same as they were two years ago and will not be the same two years from now. I want to get your binoculars and see past today to a much brighter tomorrow. The word says that there is a time for everything and a season for everything under the heavens. I really think that God is reaching out to His little girls and saying, I'm your biggest fan and everything is going to be just fine.