April 14, 2017  by

Have you been to the Creation Museum?

 Girls,
have you ever been to the
Creation Museum
in Petersburg, KY?

Mr. 4-Ever and I just went for the first time.
It was awesome!

Narrated exhibits
filled with life size replicas of
dinosaurs and people,
the Creation Museum brings
the story of creation,
the fall of man in the Garden of Eden,
the building of the arc,
and what happened
during and after the flood,
into clear focus.

There’s a planetarium featuring
our Created Cosmos and
Aliens: Fact or Fiction.
There is a special effects theatre
that shows films of interest
about God and his creation.
There are live presentations
from creation experts
several times a day.

Outside, there are zip lines,
botanical gardens,
a petting zoo,
camel rides and
nature walks.

I know this sounds like an advertisement
for the Creation Museum,
but I have to tell you what I saw
so you’ll understand what I learned.

Two things.

1.

We are significant to God,
worthy of his attention
and of utmost interest to him.

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in Bible / change / Christian Women's Speaker / Encouragement / faith / God / Uncategorized 6 comments
April 6, 2017  by

3 Things Your Husband Really Wants You to Know

As someone who has
plenty of experience
with husband(s),
I assure you …

This is what your husband wants you to know.

If you don’t know my story of being
widowed twice,
you can read it here.

1.

Your husband wants you to be
committed to him.
Not just the marriage, to him!

It’s not enough to just avoid divorce.

Marriage isn’t 50-50.

Divorce is 50-50.

Marriage takes an ALL IN,
ALL THE TIME commitment.

You won’t believe how I learned this lesson!
Let me save you the humiliation.
You can read about it here.

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in Bible / change / Christian Women's Speaker / Encouragement / faith / Funny / God / Uncategorized 6 comments
March 29, 2017  by

Surprisingly Simple Secret to A Better Life

 

If you want to be
healthier,
thinner,
think more clearly,
and enjoy life to the fullest …
the secret is surprisingly simple. 

Sleep more!

That’s right!
Sleep is the solution to
so much of what ails us.

This is marvelous news to me.
If there were an Olympic medal for sleeping,
I could bring home the gold.

WebMD.com lists 9 benefits for
a good night’s sleep.

Better overall health.
Better sex life.
Less chronic pain.
Lower risk of injury.
Better mood.
Supports weight control.
(Why didn’t they lead with this one is a mystery to me.)
Clearer thinking.
Better memory.
Stronger immunity.

Doctors tell you to sleep,
and
God tells you to rest.

But, you say,
“I’m TOO BUSY to rest!”
Me, too!

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in Bible / change / Christian Women's Speaker / Encouragement / Friendship / Funny / God / Life Lessons / Uncategorized 3 comments
March 7, 2017  by

Grumbler’s Anonymous Anyone?

Do you have anyone in your life
that’s a handful?
Someone who provokes
you to complaining
and grumbling?

Yeah, me, too.

One of my fathers-in-law was
a Golden Gloves boxing champion
for the Army during WWII.

After leaving the Army,
he joined the police force in
Milwaukee, WI. 

 

He rode motorcycles year-round
in the freezing Milwaukee, WI winters.
“Heck, yes, (except he didn’t say heck) it was cold.
We’d wrap our legs with newspaper
as insulation under our uniforms.

He was a strong man
with strong opinions
and not much of a filter
if you know what I mean.

At least, his sweet wife buffered
his coarse talk
and old-fashioned opinions
with graceful scoldings and smiles.

Then . . . his wife died. 

Suddenly,
I became the primary caregiver
for that cantankerous man! 

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in Bible / change / Christian Women's Speaker / Encouragement / faith / Funny / God / Life Lessons / Uncategorized 5 comments
February 27, 2017  by

God Still Speaks – Are You Listening?

Do you ever wonder
if God still speaks
to his people?

Let me assure you that He does.

Think about it.

Has a Scripture ever leapt off the page?
A passage you’ve read many times,
but suddenly,
it’s vibrant and significant
to your current situation.

Has a song on the radio
or in church brought you to tears
repenting something bitter,
or remembering something sweet?

Has the pastor delivered a sermon
and it seemed like he or she was
reading your mail?

Has a friend or stranger provided
a kind word or admonition
precisely for the season of life you’re in?

That was probably God
speaking to you,
comforting you,
reminding you.

Sometimes God speaks in a gentle whisper –
like a thought that runs across
the backyard of your brain.

When I make time to listen for Him,
I often get a thought that is
too wonderful to be my own.
Sometimes I get a picture of something
that is meaningful to me.

Other times,
God speaks with a gentle correction.

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in Bible / change / Christian Women's Speaker / Encouragement / faith / Funny / God / Uncategorized 2 comments
February 21, 2017  by

Time Is Too Short Not To Follow Your Dream

Time Is Too Short
Not To
Follow Your Dreams

 

Last week,
one of the founding members of 
my home group died.

Perhaps you remember reading about him?

This man…
Mid-Fifties.
Picture of health.
Strong.
Hard working.
Lover of Jesus.
Lover of people.
Everybody’s best friend.

BAM!
Heart attack.
Gone.

Girls, I gotta tell you,
it rattled me.

I don’t presume to know what God is up to here.
That might be another blog.

What struck me was this.
John was about 5 years younger than me.

What if I had died 5 years ago?
What would have gone undone?

I wouldn’t have seen Jake graduate
from college as a Mechanical Engineer.
I would have missed Eli and Kym’s wedding.

Motivational speakers
tell you to visualize the future
as an incentive to propel yourself
into your destiny.

Isn’t it just as important
to review the past
to see what you
would have missed?

Five years ago,
I was a full-time mom and wife.
I volunteered to teach Bible Study at my little church.
I was working part-time at a dental office.

No regrets
about that season of my life.

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in Bible / change / Christian Women's Speaker / Encouragement / faith / Friendship / God / Grief 5 comments
February 15, 2017  by

Seeing God’s Best In Every Situation

 

I try to see God’s best in every situation,
but when I walked into
the lobby of our hotel … 
I just knew this stay
was going to be an adventure. 

Mr. 4-Ever often gets us great hotels at low prices,
but every once in a while
we miss out on the
Swanky Suites
and end up at
Bob’s Sleep Palace.

Such was the case this trip.

Every surface in sight was filthy.
The smell of antiseptic cleaner in the lobby
warned of impending germs…
Or bugs …
Or worse.

Our room smelled like an ashtray.
A bare wire lay exposed in one of the outlets.
The drains in the sink and tub weren’t just slow,
they became standing basins of yucky water.

The handle to the hot water faucet came off in Mr. 4-Ever’s hand!

The worst part?   

We’d booked through “Hotel Roulette”
(a non-refundable online service)
and were stuck.

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in Bible / change / Christian Women's Speaker / Encouragement / faith / Funny / God 9 comments
February 1, 2017  by

Three Word Sentences That Change Your Life

Three word sentences
can change your life.

If you heard …
Congratulations, you’re hired!
or You are pregnant!
or You’re cancer free!
it would dramatically change your life,
wouldn’t it?

We have the option to change lives
with our own
three word sentences.

Several years ago,
Mr. 4-Ever and I joined
a dinner party group.

At first,
we just got together to
eat and play games.
We talked about the weather
or the game
or our kid’s latest escapades.

It’s grown into a safe haven,
a place to share new recipes
as well as
life’s triumphs and challenges.

It’s so special,
we don’t post pictures on Facebook
or tweet about our time together.
It would feel like a breach of privacy.

This little group of five couples
has become holy space.

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in Bible / change / Encouragement / faith / Friendship / God / Life Lessons / Uncategorized 13 comments
January 19, 2017  by

Kicking Idols to the Curb

It’s an hour past
the first chirp of my alarm and
I’m still hiding under my covers.

I don’t want to face the day.

I don’t want to hear Jillian Michaels bark at me from the DVD
because I’m bloated from a late night Mexican food binge.

I dread the looming project deadline and
piles of laundry and
sink full of dirty dishes.

I don’t want to face today because
I have too much to manage and not enough …

Not enough
patience for a tough conference call later today.

Not enough
energy to attack my endless to do list.

Not enough
money for this month’s bills.

So I hide under my covers and keep hitting the snooze button
as I beg God to
help me,
fix me,
save me,
stretch my time and money …
to be my God today.

Do you do that?

Hide …
Hoping the the rapture is today,
or someone drops off a time warp machine,
or that a money tree pops up on the porch.

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in Bible / change / Christian Women's Speaker / Encouragement / faith / God / Grief / Uncategorized 2 comments
January 4, 2017  by

30 Day Challenge

Instead of making
New Year’s resolutions this year,
I’m going to take 30 Day Challenges instead.

Girlfriend, I’ll be honest,
I run out of rockets fast.

Setting goals for an entire year overwhelms me.
But I can
manage,
tolerate or
endure
almost anything …
if I know it’s only for 30 days.

Can’t you?

Some goals are just too big.

How successful do you think you’d be if you tried to:

Lose all the weight you’ve gained since you were 13?
Not very!
Could you stop eating chocolate for 30 days?
Sure!

Think you will read the entire Bible in a year?
Probably not!
Could you read a chapter every day for 30 days?
No doubt!

Want to get out of debt this year?
That would be great, but ambitious.
Could you put an extra 10% of your paycheck toward debt for 30 days?
Oh yeah!

Going to be more productive this year?
Giving up all your vices like Netflix or Facebook or Candy Crush?
Tough to go cold turkey on your favorite time wasters!
Think you could cut back to 20 minutes a day for 30 days?
No problem!

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in Bible / change / Christian Women's Speaker / Encouragement / faith / Funny / God 4 comments
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