# 18 Hang on to that seed! Part 1

I believe we are all born with a seed inside of us.  It might be a seed of music or teaching, etc.  As we discover our seed, we will encounter challenging soils and elements that will threaten to steal the seed.  This message encourages us to HANG on to the seed!  Fruit will come if we stick with it!

Check out this episode!

Do you like T-shirts?

How do you feel about wearing T-shirts? My Mother used to make my clothes when I was a little girl and she often made them very frilly and colorful.  Ruffles, lace and ribbons...whatever was pretty, that was me!  For the most part, I rarely wore pants or jeans so I learned to do many things in a dress and got quite comfortable that way.  Dressing up was a favorite pastime.  It never included T-shirts.  (Even my black leather biker jacket has leather black tassels.) Many artists sell T-shirts at their product table to help with income, but I don't and a big part of it is because I just don't like T-shirts so it's hard to sell something you yourself are not fond of!  I'm just not a T-shirt kind of girl.   But recently, when I was handed a complimentary T-shirt from the organization for which I was leading worship, I smiled to myself and took it gladly.   I've been wearing it. Wearing T-shirts I am learning to put on something that doesn't exactly feel like me, but the more I wear them, the more I get used to them and feel comfortable.  I even feel more like a part of the culture of the organization when I do that. It's not the first time I've been given a free T-shirt so I've had plenty of practice getting used to wearing them. We are encouraged by the scripture to 'put on' the Lord Jesus Christ.  At first, this might feel unfamiliar to us and even uncomfortable at times.  We are being asked to enter into another culture called the Kingdom.  The 'clothes' that we wear in the Kingdom are very different from this world system that we live in.  We were born with a sinful nature, so it doesn't always feel natural to act like Jesus.  But when we embrace Him in our lives and believe Him, we are given a new nature.  The more we 'put on' His love and His nature, the more we will truly begin to look like Him and all that He represents. Colossians speaks of this:   3:12-14 - "Since God chose you to be the holy people whom he loves, you must clothe yourselves with tenderhearted mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience.  You must make allowance for each other's faults and forgive the person who offends you. Remember the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others.  And the most important piece of clothing you must wear is love.  Love is what binds us all together in perfect harmony."  (NLT) Sounds like a wonderful wardrobe!  Just as I've chosen to start wearing T-shirts to honor the organizations who give them to me, I want to choose to wear the attitudes of Christ - to let my roots grow down into Him so that His fruit is displayed in the 'clothes' I wear.  We can change.  We can wear a new wardrobe and begin to feel comfortable in it. Maybe you'll never think the same way again when you wear your T-shirts.   You might even see some for sale on my table with my CDs...someday.

Afternoon Chocolate

Recently I heard what I presumed to be a grandmother tell her granddaughter something that instantly took me back to my childhood. "Don't eat that before supper or you will spoil your appetite!"

"May I have a lollipop?" the eager child had asked the grocery clerk.

Though she was given permission to have the lollipop, she was given strict orders by her grandmother to NOT eat it before supper!

I smiled to myself. I had heard similar words most of my growing up years. We were not allowed to eat any kind of snack before a meal and were often reminded that it would spoil our supper if we did.

My Mother was a fabulous cook and I was too young to appreciate it at the time. Now, in her 89th year, she has had to give up cooking for herself and it has been very hard on her. As I watch her age, I realize that though aging brings wisdom, it also brings loss of independence and a new level of wisdom is needed.

It has been quite a year for her and I knew that things were shifting significantly when she began to delight in having afternoon tea and CHOCOLATE! Her expression of pleasure when I offered her a chocolate bar told me that we were no longer living under childhood laws but mutual love between two grown-ups maneuvering our way through life together.

The roles have been reversed. As a child, I needed her to guide me into proper eating habits and she now needs me to help her adjust to the challenges of aging. I can think of no better way to do that than with afternoon chocolate.

Streams in the desert

I'm writing this from the beautiful Sandy Cove Ministries location in North East, MD.  I'm here to lead worship for an event unlike any I've done before.    It's a "Health and Wellness" week-long event, complete with healthy menus along with the recipes and portion size suggestions so we can take the meal plans home with us.    Everything has been counted out for us based on a 1500 per day calorie count. I'm hoping maybe I can lose a few pounds.    I had a very rich birthday last month!  Though the morning started out cloudy, I did end up with some sunshine in the afternoon.  I rode my Honda, washed windows, watered flowers, went out to lunch with a friend and enjoyed many Facebook birthday wishes.   But the highlight was taking some time to reflect on my gratitude journal entries from the past 4 months.  At someone else's suggestion, I began this type of journalling in December. I have been writing down five things each day that I'm grateful for.     I was blessed beyond words as I read through my expressions.  A true, unforced attitude of gratefulness rose up on the inside of my heart.   I have a deeper revelation of the term "streams in the desert".   In the past, my journalism consisted of honest thoughts and ramblings which sometimes can be very melancholy. The past year has been a difficult one with my Mother's numerous falls and declining health. I have had some challenging ministry decisions to make also. But as I read through my gratitude pages, you would think that my life is grand and glorious, filled with rich things, moments and people. And actually, that is the truth. Though it has been a desert, my entries were like streams of refreshing as I reflected back. The glass is truly full, not half empty, not half full, but FULL! I still do longer journal entries in another book, but I am starting to see why the author who got me started on the gratitude journal encouraged this discipline. It's subtle, but powerful. I highly recommend it if you struggle with maintaining a positive attitude when life is hard. Thanks for reading and have a wonderful day.                 

Songs you can 'see'

As a songwriter I was encouraged by this verse this morning:

Psalm 40:3 "He put a new song in my mouth, a song of praise to our God. Many will see and fear, and put their trust in the Lord."

I get the impression that people can 'see' things when they hear a song. Maybe they can see hope or love or a reason to get up and live today because of what we sing. I certainly have been touched by a song many times in my life.

A truth set to music can really do something deep in your soul, even change your mind.

So as I set out to write a song today, I hope that it will be a song that God puts in my mouth and causes the listeners to see God in such a powerful way that they actually end up trusting Him either for the first time or for the millionth time!

I'm moving!

I've packed my bags, put stuff in boxes and I'm ready to re-locate.

Though I dream of moving to Nashville to become a better songwriter and bask in the culture of music and though we've fantasized about moving to Arizona or California where we could ride our motorcycles all year long, it's not the kind of re-locating you might think.

The kind of move I'm talking about could appear to be easier than a geographical re-locating, but I feel like it's harder.

I'm talking about how I view life and how I process thoughts. It's along the lines of the glass half empty or full mentality in my earlier blog.

Because I've discovered that I tend to be one of those who sees the glass half empty, I've made a deliberate decision to start changing how I think.  I want to re-locate. I want to move from pessimism to optimism.  From darkness to light.  From sadness to joy.  From doubt and fear, to faith.

I'm packing up old thoughts and sending them away.  I don't think they actually even qualify for recycling.  I think they need to be placed into the incinerator.

Some days I'm tempted to unpack everything I've boxed up.  It feels easier to just stay in my comfort zone, even if it's not real comfortable.  At least it's familiar.

Moving means having to learn new roads, new patterns, new cultures.  That's why it appeals to us sometimes.  A sort of 'starting over' in a sense.  But starting over can be daunting and then we start wishing for the familiar, even if it was bad.

Learning to see the glass half full requires looking at things from a new perspective.   It means realizing that there are at least 2 ways to look at every situation.

Sadness or Joy? 

When my Mother fell last June and had to move into an apartment and start eating meals in the main dining area at the retirement home where she lives, I found myself filled with sorrow when I'd leave.  I felt so sad for her that she had to go through this stage of life when everything is changing faster than she can manage.  I would fight the tears and find myself thinking things like......poor Mother, this is so hard, I wish she didn't have to be in this place. 

But as I began to learn to change how I think about everything, I realized it could apply in this situation too.  I began to focus on the good things that exist in her life.  The fact that she is surrounded by nurses who can care for her and meals provided for her when she doesn't feel up to cooking. There are many others there who are walking the same road and can truly identify with her so she can find others to empathize with her.

Desperation or Inspiration?

I used to dread winter because we couldn't ride our motorcycles and the nights get long when we turn the clocks back.  But this year I decided to be proactive.  I started getting DVDs from the library and sometimes we spend the evening watching DVDs of the history of our country.  I've seen so many stories of how one person made a big difference for either good or bad and that has inspired me.

I've also stocked up on good books to read about improving your life and learning habits/patterns from successful people.  The winter is moving quickly this year.  Time really doesn't speed up, but our perspective can really move things along.

So as I pack up old thoughts and perspectives and replace them with new patterns and views, I'm finding the landscape to be improving.  And though you won't be getting a change of address card from me in the mail any time soon, you might observe a change in my countenance next time you see me.  I am re-locating.

A new look - A new year!

I recently saw a sign that made me smile. 

"Optimist:  The glass is half full

 Pessimist:  The glass is half empty

 Perfectionist:  There's a dishwasher spot on the glass"

I have to admit that I tend to see the glass half empty too many times, but when I saw the 3rd option, I had to confess that I fit that description too.  

Last week, a friend of mine added to that by saying "I can't even find the glass" and I laughed out loud.  THAT fits me too! 

Finding ways to look at things from a new perspective can be a challenging task, but I'm finding it is worth the effort. 

In this new year, I'm leaning more toward just continuing the changes I've been trying to make, instead of coming up with lots of resolutions.  It's a matter of taking inventory and keeping all the good habits and perspectives that are working!   Seems like a LOT less pressure.

Here's some things that are working toward a better look at life:

a)  a gratitude journal written at night before going to bed listing at least 5 things I'm grateful for that day. 

(It's been fun to look for things all day that I can write at night and gives me a more positive outlook through the day)

b)  quiet times with God in the morning and continuing my thoughts toward His Word ALL day

c)  LESS multi-tasking and MORE of doing only one thing at a time and relishing it as I do it....even if it's the dishes.  (You might think this is ridiculous but try it for a day!) Much less stress!

As you embrace a new year and leave the old behind, try taking inventory of what works and what doesn't in your own life and then leave out what's not working and you already have some good things going for you....no need to burden yourself with lists of resolutions that fade by February.