Everyone Needs A Set of These!

We all need them.

You can't grow in faith and courage without them.

I call them hearing aids. But not the kind you might be thinking of.

What kind of hearing aids?

They can come in the form of podcasts, audible books, paper books, mp3 players, movies, CDs and radio waves, etc.

They are tools that produce words that help us 'hear' better.

"So then, faith comes to us by hearing the Good News. And the Good News comes by someone preaching it." Romans 10:17 New Life Version.

What do you hear?

All day long I hear things.  Positive words.  Negative words.  They are inside me and also come from outside of me. Twenty minutes of listening to the news and I can instantly feel depressed, or elated. It depends on the message.

Over time, I'm learning how to tune into stations broadcasting words that bring faith and hope. I wish I could say that I don't need help with my thoughts and that my faith was always strong and steady. Truth is, I'm just not there yet, though I am improving.  I am learning how to choose what I will listen to, think on and ponder.  Both on the inside and from the outside.

Choosing good hearing aids.

It's easier to control my thoughts and feed my faith when I listen to uplifting things.  So I choose them often.  Music, podcasts, books...things that always leave me feeling like I CAN instead of I CAN'T.  Left to my own devices, I will tend toward thinking I CAN'T.  

So I'm not ashamed to say that I need hearing aids.  

When my Mother was being fitted for a pair of high-tech hearing aids, I was intrigued by the testing they did on her to find out what frequencies she couldn't hear.  Everyone is different.  Some lose ability to hear bass frequencies first. Others lose the mid-range.

Many people put off getting a set of hearing aids until they can't function in society anymore and realize they need assistance.  They miss out on so much because they won't admit they need help. But how many of us go through life emotionally or mentally deaf and wait until we are too far gone to get help for other kinds of hearing.

Everyone is different in the aid that they need.  Some tend more toward negative thoughts when it comes to fears.  Others have a deficit in the area of love or joy. 

Do you have ideas about leading a group of people toward healing from past relational issues?  Then listen to things that teach you about leadership and be inspired to lead others.

Do you need help getting your life organized?  Listen to books or podcasts that teach you how to manage your time.

Do you need an overall better outlook on life?  Listen to positive, upbeat music. Change the playlist until you find what feeds you!

If you would spend any amount of time with me, you would quickly learn that I am almost always listening to something.  I invest plenty of time in being quiet too, but when I'm exercising or driving or even working in the yard, I will be listening and learning.  It feeds my faith.  It helps me be a better leader.  It helps me dream and sustain those dreams.

It's my own tailored set of hearing aids.  

Want to grow in your faith?  You have to hear the right things!

Go get yourself some hearing aids.

Mrs. Snappy or Mrs. Hopper (which one are you?)

From Creature Control website

I delicately grabbed the mucky shell of the turtle. It must have come from the creek. I didn't want to see it get hit by oncoming traffic, but I was not prepared for its reaction to my sacrificial offering of help. It flailed it's legs, claws extended, and quickly turned its neck around toward my hand.  I screamed and dropped it.

The man heading toward his mailbox about 50 yards away from me now stood and watched me. I tried again. After all, I was trying to help the turtle. Surely it wouldn't harm me.  How long IS its neck I wondered as I prepared to try again.  All I wanted to do was carry it across the road and put it in the tall grass so it could arrive safely to wherever it was going. Snappy was obviously done swimming in the creek and headed toward the alfalfa field.

Same thing happened again.  I lifted.  It lurched.  I screamed and dropped it. "Do-nothing-neighbor-man" had to be getting a good laugh at me now.  I looked at him in distress.  "That turtle crosses the road every morning and night.  She has a nest up in the alfalfa field", is all he said.

Nice of you to offer to help me, I thought.  Do you stand and watch it come close to death every morning and evening?

Just then a big black pickup truck came barreling over the hill and around the curve. I suddenly burst into bionic woman mode and put my arm up in the air with a "STOP" kind of gesture. Don't you dare come near Mrs. Snappy.  I named her since I now knew she was a her.

He stopped and I felt proud.  I liked this kind of power.  He jumped out of his truck while "do-nothing-neighbor-man" continued to stand there at his mailbox.

Finally, someone is coming to help me.  I exhaled.

Wrong.  He was carrying a large camera and intended to capture this adventure. I suddenly realized that I was standing there drenched in sweat from running and jump roping. I panicked. Of all the moments to be photographed! Did I mention it was Saturday morning around 6:15?

I started giving the"do-nothing-neighbor-man" some credit.  I'll call him Mr. Red because he was wearing a red shirt.  At least he was up and out at his mailbox early enough to see Mrs. Snappy and know her habits, even if he wasn't offering to help me.

Mr. Pickup wasn't turning out to be much of a help because he was focused on taking pictures. It only took about 5 seconds and I realized he was interested in Mrs. Snappy and not me. After shooting a few pics, he called to Mr. Red: "Do you have a shovel?" "Well...I do up at my house" said Mr. Red.  "I'll have to go get it."  He turned around and marched up his long, steep driveway probably mumbling to himself.

While this exchange was happening, I went looking for a stick.  If I could just give Mrs. Snappy some encouragement, we could get her across safely.  I couldn't find one.  Meanwhile I was dragging my jump rope around with me.  Duh!!!  I can use my jump rope I said to myself.

I began to wrap the rope around Mrs. Snappy.  She lunged at it with her mouth.  I retreated.  Pickup man saw what I was thinking and said "is that a jump rope?"

(A-hem)....."Is that a CAMERA?".... I was starting to feel a bit snappy myself.

He took the rope and began to wrap it multiple times around the shell of Mrs. Snappy. She was NOT HAPPY! She bit the rope and hung on as he lifted her (well...more like dragged) her across the pavement.  I felt a big sense of relief, even though he was now flipping her upside down into the grass.  At least she was safe.  By now Mr. Red had arrived with his shovel.

I walked away from that experience pondering the story of the tortoise and the hare . On my way back, I looked to see how far Mrs. Snappy had progressed in the tall grass.  About 2 feet.  Not much. But she was determined and feisty.  The kind of tenacity it takes to finish a race.  Not win it, perhaps, but finish it none-the-less.

Mrs. Hopper (Peter cottontail's momma), on the other hand, is so unpredictable that I believe she is the one who created the Pennsylvania roads.  I think she hopped around setting the course and the paving companies followed her.  One minute you are going North and the next moment you are going South.

So often I feel like Mrs. Snappy.  One small step at a time.  Day after day.  I routinely try to keep working away at my dreams and ideas. My ideas are as frequent and unpredictable as the path of Mrs. Hopper, but I will only accomplish them as I take on the habits of Mrs. Snappy.

I once heard someone say that the musicians who usually end up succeeding are not the most talented. They simply hang in there the longest. That gives me a sense of hope.  I have so much to learn.  But if I stick with it, day after day, I will make progress.  I don't have to be big and flashy like Mrs. Hopper.  Just steady.  Committed.  Tenacious.

P.S.  As I was preparing to write this blog, I decided to do a little research on snapping turtles because when I told Tom (my husband) about my morning activity, he was alarmed and told me I could have had my finger permanently removed! I should NEVER do that, he said.

I guess he was right....this is an excerpt I found from a website about turtles AFTER I tried to help Mrs. Snappy.

"Under no circumstances should you attempt to pick up a snapping turtle; they have an extremely flexible neck capable of reaching around and biting the hands of the person holding them, even if they are being held by the shell. In fact, snappers can reach their heads all the way to their hind legs to bite. Their jaws are extraordinarily powerful and capable of completely severing a human finger. In addition to the danger posed by their bite, the claws of the snapping turtle are quite sharp and can lacerate the flesh of a person attempting to handle them. One reason put forward for why snappers are so belligerent is because, unlike other turtles, they are too big to hide inside their own shell. Their powerful bite, sharp claws and aggressive attitude compensate for this deficiency." Creature Control.net

Yikes. I was very fortunate to come home with all my fingers!!!

What are you working toward? Weight loss? Bachelor's Degree? Running a marathon? Starting a non-profit? A better marriage?

Take a lesson from Mrs. Snappy.  She might not be quick and flashy...but she arrives at her destination.  One step at a time.

Take a lesson from me. Always carry a jump rope.

Icing or Cake?

When I choose a cupcake, it's about the icing. In fact, when I went looking for an image for this post, there were lots of great colors and images to choose from.  But I saw this chocolate icing and of course, I chose this one.

I feel like dreams are like cupcakes.  The icing is the delicious part.  It's what we think about when we have a spare moment.  We go for the icing!

The cupcake is what it takes underneath the great ideas.

When I started dreaming of doing a Christmas show, my original idea was to build it in my home area and then take it to cities across the U.S.  That was the icing on my cupcake.

There's one thing I forgot about cake.  It's made of things that take a lot of work to produce.

Flour
Eggs
Sugar

Think about where they come from.

Someone bought a farm, bought chickens and started gathering eggs. They have to feed the chickens, build a home for them and keep them from foxes.

Somewhere someone is growing canes of sugar. It takes months to grow and lots of care. Hard work.

What about chocolate?

"First, the pods must be harvested, which is usually done twice a year. Because the trees are too fragile to climb, harvesting is accomplished by workers on the ground, who wield either a machete or a long pole with a machete on the end. Then, workers open the pods by hand, taking care not to damage the beans inside.

Next comes one of the most important steps in the process – fermentation. The beans, still sticky with pulp, are placed in earthen pits or wooden bins and covered with banana leaves, then left to ferment. The heat of fermentation changes the bitter flavors in the beans into something more edible, more chocolatey. 

The sugars in the bean turn into acids, the color changes from pale to dark brown, and the pulp residue melts away. The length of the fermentation process depends on the type of bean; the higher quality beans may need only a few days, where others may need a week or more.

After fermentation, the beans are dried in the sun for about a week. The flavor continues to develop during this time. Some manufacturers try to speed this process along by drying the beans over a fire, which gives them a smoky, inferior flavor.

Once the beans are dry, they are ready to be shipped to a factory, where they are turned into chocolate."  Taken from "Facts About Chocolate".

We haven't even touched on how to get flour.

Now that I know what's involved in doing a big Christmas show (the icing) I have a much more realistic approach to that dream (the cupcake).  Right now, it's all I can do to pull of ONE show.

So here's what I'm thinking.  The icing keeps me going.  The cupcake underneath - that's the hard work.  Put them together and it will be quite tasty!  Most days I'd rather sit and lick the icing....forget the rest. But I can't. I will need both!

Hmm...I'm feeling kinda hungry for chocolate.  Better get busy growing a chocolate tree.

Bird Song.

My father loved birds.  

I have grown to love them too. 

They make me feel at peace. 

I awaken early in the morning to their songs.

I listen to them sing when I go for walks.

I talk to them.

They chatter.

They are a lesson in how much God cares for me.

"There is far more to your life than the food you put in your stomach, 

more to your outer appearance than the clothes you hang on your body. 

Look at the birds

free and unfettered

not tied down to a job description 

careless in the care of God

and you count far more to him than birds."  

Matthew 6:26 The Message.

Listen and watch here. Become unfettered and free.

"Seedy" Generosity

When I plant seeds, this is how I tend to sow:
Sparingly enough to get one flower.

But this is how I want to sow:

Generously enough to have plenty to give away.

I confess.

I'm greedy.

I hoard.

I'm afraid I won't have enough.

I don't know why.

I used to buy a pack of zinnia seeds and plant each little seed with care, trying not to drop any. None to spare. It's tedious!

Last year I saved the dead flowers because they contain seeds.  I ended up with so many seeds that this year I could have planted a field. Because I had so many to spare, I recklessly threw them across the ground knowing that even if only 1/4 of them come up, I'll have more than I need.

THAT was fun!

I was generous this year because I knew I had plenty to spare.

I was hoarding before because I was afraid I wouldn't have enough.

Therein lies the difference. How I view the source from which I give.

If I believe there is enough to go around, I give generously.

If I fear losing the little I have, I will never share.

There's a saying that always makes me stop and think. 

"I could give all that I have to feed the poor, I could surrender my body to be burned as a martyr, but if I do not live in love, I gain nothing by my selfless acts."  I Cor. 13:3 (The Voice)

That explains "seedy" generosity.  It looks great to others. But....it is tainted by fear, lack and obligation. Sharing it will only reap more fear, lack and obligation. It doesn't sprout from deep love. 

Father God, please change my heart. Let me see how much I have to share and give it away generously. Help me to stop being clouded by fear of the future. When I do give, please let it be from a deep reservoir of grace, mercy and abundance, not out of fear, lack and obligation.

Do you like yourself?

I awoke too early.  It's always extra early when I'm in Nashville, TN.   Because of the one hour difference in time zones, an already-early-riser is destined to be awake at very uncomfortable hours.

It was my first day to record vocals on my "Inside Things" project and that only added to my sleeplessness. I call it the "Nashville Adrenaline".  For some reason, I have boundless energy when I'm there.  I love being there, recording, writing and just spending time developing relationships in the music industry.  I don't do 'tourist' kinds of things.

If people ask me what to do when they visit Nashville, I recommend the Bluebird Cafe, The Pancake Pantry, and down-town Franklin, but other than that, most people will never see where I spend my time in town.  Studios, homes of friends, homes with studios and anywhere else my music takes me.  It's all about relationships and that's what I love most about Franklin and Nashville.

The first song we would be recording was "Wonderfully Created".  I had been inspired with the song idea just as I was leaving to spend the weekend at a slumber party for girls and their theme was Fearfully and Wonderfully Created.  It was a very unusual 'gig' and I was nervous about doing it. It had been a long time since I stayed up really, really late with a bunch of girls.

Just as I was packing up stuff in my studio, a little melody and phrase came to me and I've learned when that happens that the best thing I can do is sit down and let it flow.  The re-write will come later.  For now, just write what comes under inspiration.  You can sweat about it later.

Now, back in Nashville, I decided to read Psalm 139 again, hoping to refresh my soul with what my vocal cords would soon have to express. It would be just me and Mr. mic in the vocal booth for the day. The producer and engineer are in another room. I like it that way.

As I read through the familiar passage, as I had so many times before, something new caught my eye. Psalm 139:14 says "I praise you for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.  Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well." (ESV).  I smiled and thought to myself; how nice that David can say that.  Suddenly, within my spirit, I sensed the voice of God's Spirit.  "I'd like you to thank me for making you".

WHAT???

I sat there, stunned. It was sweet to read of someone else having those sentiments.  But now I felt like God was asking me to acknowledge (out loud with my mouth) that I too was wonderfully created. "Such a beautiful song to sing - now I'd like you to believe it", He seemed to whisper.

It evoked such emotion in me that I was speechless.  Well...sort of.

"I don't have time for a therapy session right now, Lord, I said in my speechless state. I have to go record a song to share with people so they know how wonderful they are. And please don't make me thank you for making me complex TOO!.....like David did.  I hate my introspective, complex self. I'm weary of it.  Why can't I be care-free and simple?".

The conversation between He and I continued.

"I don't feel like I'm wonderful", I said. "In fact, most of the time I don't like myself at all. I never weigh the right amount, my teeth don't have that nice clean bite that most people have."  (I should have taken my mother up on the offer to get braces as a teenager, but I felt like she was insinuating that I wasn't pretty because of my teeth, so I resented her offering that.)  I was too young to process my thoughts at that age.  I'm sure she was only trying to help. I couldn't hear her well because my ears were plugged up with my own insecurity.

I wish I could re-do some things. How about you?

In response to my outburst with the Lord, I could hear His gentle whisper now.  "Just start.  Ok, so you can't be thankful that you are complex, can you start by thanking me for making you?"

I sat for a while.  I couldn't answer this right now.  But I did bow my head and ask Him to help me. "Thank you for making me", I said.  Half out loud and half not.

That was over 8 years ago.  Do I still have days when I don't like myself?  Absolutely!

Most recent photo shoot.
Showing my teeth.

I used to avoid smiling and showing my teeth at photo shoots because I don't like my teeth.  The photographer has to practically 'pull my teeth' to get me to show them.

But over time, I have been more intentional about thanking God out loud for making me when that dark cloud of self-hatred starts coming my way. As I learn to accept the complexity with which I operate from, He's also helping me to be more care-free and not take things so seriously.

As I cooperate with Him, He helps me to see myself in a much more positive light.

As I arrived at the studio that morning to start the project of "Inside Things", believe me, I had already had quite a work out on the inside things.  It started with Psalm 139.

So I ask you again.  Do you like yourself?

If this song can help you appreciate the beauty of how intricately you were made, then perhaps my little therapy session that morning was worth it.

View video/song here.

Signed. Sealed. Delivered?

I signed the contract with a new venue to do another Christmas concert:
* sealed the envelope.
* mailed it....(the old fashioned way.)
* it's been delivered.

That first, big step is done - I have made my choice after months of deliberating and calculating.
I feel like I want to celebrate.
(The official announcement for the Christmas concert is coming soon, so stay tuned.)

It feels done.
But it is not - I have merely been relieved from indecision.
I have not been relieved from the fear and doubt I will face EVERY step of the way.
Nope.
Every time I take the next step, I will be relieved from THAT decision and on to the next one.

So many large and small decisions/steps we make all the time.
Then there is the follow-through.

You want a life-companion.
So you decide together to spend the rest of your lives as one.
You sign the contract.
You say "I Do".
Then what?

Tomorrow you will wake up to the start of a brand new life.
You will learn which of you is a morning person - for real!
Do you like it quiet in the morning or do you like noise...news....music?
Processing differences.

You want to lose weight.
You sign up for weight watchers.
You show up and weigh in.
Then what?

Tomorrow you must decide what to eat.
And the next day.
And the next.
Next week you will have to go back.
You could NOT go back.

Signing the contract is a big step.
Sealing the envelope feels final.
Mailing it - feels like the end, done, the final step.
But it's not.

There will be many more decisions ahead.
Frustration, joy, doubt, courage, fear and perseverance.
Follow-through.
Delivered?

You decide.