So true

Thought for the day courtesy of Dr. Hamilton, who I saw at the gym this morning, “YOU’VE GOT TO SWEAT LIKE A PIG TO LOOK LIKE A FOX!”

Budding Picasos and Monets?

I have the following quote as the close to all of my emails “Every job is a self-portrait of the person who did it. Autograph your work with excellence.” It’s a nice phrase, but do we really? And if we do, does it apply only to our “day job” or does it extend to our homes? Our churches? Our parenting? Does it sometimes seem like we give our all to our employers and then settle for second best in our lives? We go to work sick but stay home from church if we are sick. We’ll let the house stay in disarray but make sure our office is clean. As we fulfill our purpose and see each person, each entry in our schedule as a divine opportunity to minister, we need to consider the portrait we are painting.

Turned

Like a vampire, my oldest son PJ has turned…expensive. When I asked what he wanted for his fifth birthday, he said a speed racer car. OK, not so bad. What about his party though? He chose a place that I will rename the Leapin Primate to avoid liability. It is a place that has a bunch of various inflatables, costumes, etc. and very expensive. Gone are the days of having cake at home. At least he is not too selfish…he’s been telling everyone he knows about his involvement with the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. He also has been using his Sunday school lessons to encourage anyone who has a problem to pray. But Leapin Primates in this economic environment? We’ll see if I can make it work.

Post-Birthday

Sandy just sent me pics from my birthday. It made me sort of sad because I miss her and Vaughn so much. She should leave NY and I should leave NC and we should live halfway – DC. Unfortunately neither my husband nor her boyfriend are having it. http://sandyjenetephotography.blogspot.com/ Anyway the pics are great.

I did a presentation this week about potty mouths and communication. The same person who is saying poopy head as a child becomes a grown man saying the word shirt without the r in it. The s word in my family is shut up or stupid. The f word is fat. I thought about all these words that we don’t want a child to repeat and yet you hear them all over the tv and in life. We need to be cautious in our communications because you can’t really take words back.

Anyway, the so-called hurricane didn’t do too much down here except derail my training schedule. I still haven’t gotten my 5miler in. I did do 3.25 this morning on the treadmill which is very different from running in the community.  I may do more after work. Fundraising is tough and is going more slowly than I would like. The fundraising is actually scarier than the thought of 26.2 miles.

WADE IN THE WATER

So Hurricane Hannah is hitting the east coast and I have to leave in rain and high winds. Hurricanes make me nervous since I was locked in place by flooding during Hurricane Floyd. Oh well, time to wade in the water. My run tomorrow has been cancelled, which is a bummer. PJ is unlikely to sleep on his own since storms scare him. Worse yet, my husband is working night shift so I’ll have to be brave all by myself. Anyway, the adventure begins…

What would you do for Diddy?

I have been watching the tv show “I Want to Work for Diddy.” The show is similar to “The Apprentice” with more of a vibe where James Bond meets hip-hop. On a recent episode, contestants were challenged to create a viral video with the theme “What would you do for Diddy?” Men got waxed, women plucked out their eyelashes and snorted Vodka up their noses. People on the street danced and allowed themselves to be written on.

It made me think of how we complain about what we do for God and place limitations on our involvement. If were asked to do any of those things in the name of Jesus, we would find it demeaning, beneath us somehow. Isaiah 58:10 says “If you spend yourselves in behalf of the hungry and satisfy the needs of the oppressed, then your light will rise in the darkness, and your night will become like noonday.” While we all have to rest and recharge, it is clear that our greatest investment is in each other.

Spend freely

        Spend generously

                Spend often

               

Spend yourself as if you were making the “What Would You Do For God?” viral video.

Equipped and ready to go

Yesterday I went shoe shopping for myself and Mom. We ended up with great pairs of Brooks, which made all the difference in the world. Mom is a sort of Martha Stewart perfectionist and gave the sales clerk a hard time that the shoes were men’s shoes because they didn’t have her size in women’s. These shoes were so comfortable and I actually ran faster this morning, which was great. I also bought both of my sons a couple of pair of shoes but not for running, just for back to school and church.

Speaking of church, PJ attends a Christian pre-school. At this school, they do church on Wednesdays and the kids run the aspects of the service except the sermon, which is done by the youth pastor. Today, PJ’s the pseudo chaplain – he gets to lead the prayer and is very excited about it. Last night, when I was talking about a situation, he told me to pray about it and that God would help me. Wisdom from the mouths of babes.

Isaiah 49:16 says “I have engraved you on the palms of my hands.” My mental image of this is tattoos. We are permanently inked on God’s hands and He doesn’t erase us or get it lasered off when we make mistakes. What are we that He is so mindful of us? Thank God that for His love, grace, and mercy.

Peace be multiplied,

Mary - NC

What to do when Mars attacks

Have you ever seen the movie “Mars Attacks?” Those cute little clever aliens were vicious. I thinks Mars attacks all of us. My acronym for Mars is:

MALEVOLENT

ANNOYING

RACOUS

SITUATIONS

When the Martians attack, they tell you, “I come in peace,” but then they shoot you. The Martians maybe cute but they are liars. What situations in your life seem to be the answer but rob you of your peace? The people in Mars Attacks welcomed the Martians the same way we invite things into our lives that aren’t good for us. The Martians in the movie loved to party and the only way to kill them was to play the time of music that made their heads throb and got all in their head. Likewise, you should respond by filling your mind and your atmosphere with words and rhythms that inspire you. Those lying Martians can’t stand it. Tom Jones emerges as a Christ-like character in the end. But you don’t need a Christ-like character when you have the real thing, a Prince of Peace (Isaiah 9:6). So when Mars attacks, don’t let them rob you of your peace, rock their world.

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. Romans 15:13