Coming soon...

After MONTHS of not posting, I am going to try and get some new stuff up here including details from my trip to India.

FaceBook is very distracting. :o)

Posted in: on Wednesday, February 18, 2009 at at 2:06 PM 2 comments

Do Something with Your Life!


It's not often that I come across someone in my age bracket that is actively living their life to benefit others. Most of my peers seem to be so focused on climbing the corporate ladder or playing the field in their personal life that they never step outside their own little bubble to see the pain and suffering in the lives of the people around them and around the world.

I have been so inspired by what Scott Harrison, the founder of Charity: Water, has done through his organization. Reading his story and seeing what he and his team have accomplished in such a short period of time just blows me away: www.charitywater.org

Life is short and you never know how much time you are going to get. Why not live life with a passion to make a difference in as many lives as you possibly can? I know I want to.

Posted in: on Tuesday, October 14, 2008 at at 11:37 PM 0 comments

The Leadership Summit 2008


I was so blessed this week to be able to attend the Leadership Summit put on by the Willow Creek Church via Simulcast. It was an amazing event and the impartation we received coupled with the things the Lord has already been speaking to my heart this Summer, I know God is stirring my heart for something new and I can't wait to see how it all plays out.


This Franciscan prayer was shared by one of the speakers and it embodies what I am crying out to God for. May it speak to you as it spoke to me.

"May God bless you with discomfort at easy answers, half truths, and superficial relationships so that you may live deep within your heart.

May God bless you with anger at injustice, oppression, and exploitation of people so that you may work for justice, freedom, and peace.

May God bless you with tears to shed for those who suffer from pain, rejection, starvation, and war so you might reach out your hand to comfort them and turn their tears into joy.

May God bless you with enough foolishness to believe that you can make a difference in this world, so that you can do what others claim cannot be done."

Posted in: on Friday, August 08, 2008 at at 11:37 PM 1 comments

Unjustly Judged

I was thinking while I drove to work this morning (it's a short drive so I have think fast) about how I feel when I am falsely accused or I get blamed for something I didn't do.


I hate it! I want to do whatever it takes to right the situation and prove my innocence. I have learned to swallow my pride and not retaliate but I am still not very good at it.

As I was thinking about this I began to wonder... how did Jesus feel when He was nailed to the cross? How did it feel to be accused of the sins of the entire world and be completely innocent. He chose to take everything I have ever done wrong and bare the punishment so I wouldn't have to and He didn't deserve any of it.

Thinking of what that could have possibly felt like has stuck with me all day and and brought me to a place of thankfulness and humble contemplation of the great gift I have been given and how undeserved it was. 

Posted in: on Monday, July 21, 2008 at at 11:03 PM 0 comments

Progress vs. Perspective

Our church is doing the "One Month to Live" challenge based on the book by the same name, by Kerry & Chris Shook. The basic premiss is this: if you knew you only had one month to live, would you live differently?


It's been interesting to hear peoples reactions so far and what issues have cropped up in their soul in regards to thinking about eternity and what matters most in their life.

Today I have been thinking about perspective. I am a big picture person although my job requires me to focus more on the details than I would sometimes like. I am goal-oriented. I have to have a plan. I don't like wasting time. I don't like waiting. I get frustrated when things are disorganized. The three things in life that make me hopping mad are: sitting in traffic, waiting in line at the DMV, and finding ants indoors (because they get into everything and are hard to get rid of).

But after reading today's chapter and the entry on our church blog, I started thinking about my tendency to constantly evaluate myself in terms of "am I making progress in my job, life, and relationships and why haven't I achieved my long-term goals yet?" and realized that at times I lack a certain amount of "perspective" on the importance of  just being in the here and now. 

I had a situation happen about 2 months ago where I was in the middle of a very stressful project and I was running out of time and lacking help. I got interrupted by someone in the middle of a life crisis that needed immediate attention/counsel. As I was walking out the door I was upset and muttering to myself "I have things to do! Why is she having a breakdown now?"

But once I was face to face with her and listening to her heart, I could clearly hear the Holy Spirit speaking "isn't this what it is all about... people... lives that are hanging in the balance?This is just one moment you are 'wasting' that might make a difference in someone else's lifetime if you would just see things in perspective."

Then about a month later I was having a seriously bad day and not wanting to deal with anyone when I got a call from one of my youth group girls. Was I free to hang out? I really wanted to say "no, I would rather stay home and grumble about my life and all the difficult people I deal with and get something productive done like cleaning the house" but I could hear something in her voice that made me realize there is more here than what she is saying. So, I decided the house could be cleaned tomorrow but this might be her only moment to reach out and connect.

If I only had  one month to live, it puts all the things that seem BIG into perspective. Not that they are all bad and some of them do need to be done... its just having the perspective to watch for those little moments to connect and invest instead of missing them for the sake of progress.

Posted in: on Thursday, April 24, 2008 at at 12:41 PM 0 comments

Happy Earth Day!


Today is Earth Day. I love the fact that people are being reminded to think about how they are living and the impact the choices they are making have on the environment.

Each year at this time, I look at how I am living and pick one thing to focus on changing. A few years ago it was recycling and I looked at what could and could not be recycled and changed my buying habits so more of the packaging for the products I buy could be recycled instead of thrown away. Then I focused on buying as much locally grown and organic food as possible.

At work, I have been switching over to low-VOC paints for all of the remodels we have been doing and making sure everything possible gets recycled or donated to a local charity instead of thrown away.

Most recently I have decided that I am going to stop using all plastic bags. Switching to reusable has been very interesting. The town I live in is very eco-conscious so people bringing their own bags to the store is not at all unusual. But our neighboring town, which I have to shop in on occasion, is so not there yet. Even with the recent addition of reusable shopping bags at many of our local supermarkets and larger "everything" stores, I still get the funniest reactions when I tell them I tell them I brought my own bag. :o)

As a believer, I think it is especially important to think about our actions and how living our daily lives, even in the smallest detail, reflects something about what we value and in this case, what we value about God's creation. Psalm 104:24: "How many are your works, O LORD! In wisdom you made them all; the earth is full of your creatures."

When we are wasteful or negligent we are saying that our creation doesn't really have that much value. But it's also a stewardship issue... At church, we have been learning a lot about finances, investing in the Kingdom long-term, and leaving a legacy for our children... I think it's important to look at the physical world we are leaving to the next generation and figure out ways we can make it a better place for them as well.

Some other changes I am working on this year is not using a dry-cleaner (not that I actually did all that often but I have switched to something called H2Only Cleaners) and switching to energy saving light bulbs.

Here are some easy changes you can make to live more "green" this year: Easy Green Steps

Posted in: on Tuesday, April 22, 2008 at at 9:58 AM 0 comments

Spring is here!

One of my most favorite things about this season is it puts me in major "Spring" cleaning mode. Nothing is sacred in my book and all items have an equal chance of getting recycled or donated to charity.

I love the feeling of getting rid of the old, bringing in the new, and putting everything into it's proper place. Not to mention airing out and cleaning out all the dark corners as well. :o)

As I have been working on these projects around the house, I have started thinking about spiritual house cleaning as well. What are the things in my heart and life that need to be aired out, cleaned up, or let go of? Are there any dark corners that need to be dealt with? What new things do I need to bring in to take the place of the old stuff ?

It's good stuff to think about for sure. Now, if I can only find the time to get some of this stuff done!

Posted in: on Wednesday, April 16, 2008 at at 9:25 PM 1 comments

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