just a word

I gobble up books. GOBBLE them up. The chaos, stress, confusion and heartache (just to name a few) of the last couple of rollercoaster years for Bagolitas has triggered me to run to the bookshelves for words of wisdom and comfort to make sense of it all.

There is so much power in a word; those we read, those we speak, even those we think. A single word can stop us in our tracks, cause embarrassment (right now George W. Bush came to mind and the word nuclear!), give us direction or lead others.

Amongst the many influential reads that I have added to my collection (if I think of it as collecting them, I don’t feel quite so guilty!) is a book that has the power to change the way you view your life. It is called The Unmistakable Touch of Grace by Cheryl Richardson.

Beyond the amazing message of grace (the infinite love, mercy, favor, and goodwill shown by God to humankind) is Cheryl’s belief that there are no coincidences. Every event we experience and every person we meet has intentionally been put in our path. When we realize this, our level of consciousness of the Lord at work is raised immensely.

From my own experience, a life lived in this truth becomes FULL of life – a true spiritual adventure that for me personally, is richer and fuller. Gratitude fills me when I am aware of how awesome God’s grace is. I have an amazing story to share this week about just how awesome our God is, but thought today you might enjoy starting out your week with a prophetic word game referenced in the book.

You’ll need to go to www.myinnerworld.com and click on the image of the wishing well on the home screen. Then, a list of options will appear and you will need to click on “word magic.” At this point, simply close your eyes when you click the word “play” and hold a question in your mind. Several colored circles will be moving around the screen to calming music. When you are ready, open your eyes and choose a circle to click on. A single word will be revealed to answer your question.

Sound crazy? Perhaps. I’m always skeptical too. BUT, there are seventy-five words available to be assigned to a sphere at any given moment and chances of choosing a circle with just the right word are pretty slim. In fact, the odds of getting just the right word are more than a million to one. Ready to give it a try? I chose a circle twice this morning (I couldn’t stop with just one time!) and my words were quiet and faith; very sweet words to see for the question in my head.

heaven is for real

When life gets so busy that things like blogging are put to the side, boy does it feel good to feel the dust settle and routine to take hold once again! We are nearing the end of the school year, spring is upon us (halleluiah!) and at bedtime for the kids, it is still light out. To wrangle them in, we have been trying to settle in and read together as a family. A dear friend shared this amazing book with me, and we are hitting the hay each night with the comfort of life beyond our journey here on earth – such needed perspective amidst the chaos taking place around the world. Let me tell you more…

Heaven Is for Real is the true story of the four-year old son of a small town Nebraska pastor who during emergency surgery slips from consciousness and enters heaven. He survives and begins talking about being able to look down and see the doctor operating and his dad praying in the waiting room. The family didn’t know what to believe but soon the evidence was clear.

Colton said he met his miscarried sister, whom no one had told him about, and his great grandfather who died 30 years before Colton was born, then shared impossible-to-know details about each. He describes the horse that only Jesus could ride, about how “reaaally big” God and his chair are, and how the Holy Spirit “shoots down power” from heaven to help us. Told by the father, but often in Colton’s own words, the disarmingly simple message is heaven is a real place, Jesus really loves children, and be ready, there is a coming last battle.

When I checked my in box today, there was an email from Women of Faith featuring this book and offering it at 50% off. Once I saw that, I just had to write about this book and share!

https://app.e2ma.net/app/view:CampaignPublic/id:19746.6303371154/rid:d162349e8e825ccd84b3f5cf77cefd81

beautiful for me

I’ve had a framed note to myself sitting on my dresser (next to my alarm) for over a year. The intent was that not only was it my “motto” for the year, it would fuel me to leap out of bed in the morning to go take on the day. Wondering what it says?

Become the woman you want to be!

As I stared at my “note to self” and continued to hit snooze this morning, I was thinking – just who is that, exactly? I definitely don’t feel like I’ve arrived (especially since I am hitting snooze instead of lacing up my walking shoes), so I quickly worked to squash the negative self talk that began filling my head because I hadn’t gotten up and I reminded myself that I am a work in progress. I am definitely not the woman I as five years ago, and am hopeful I am not the woman I will be five years from now. But I find it so hard to be settled in the evolving stage because I want so badly to make huge strides. I would love to announce that I have arrived!

My daily devotional was perfect timing today. In Jeremiah 1:5, the Lord says, “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart.”

I’m not sure why this is so easy to forget, but God always sees us as beautiful and amazing. We change as the world around us changes. It’s inevitable, so of course we are always becoming the woman we want to be. The challenge, plain and simple, is to keep the image of the woman God sees more prominent than the image of the woman we see with our human eye.

Celebrate this truth! Take 4 minutes to watch Nichole Nordeman’s video for her song, ‘Beautiful For Me.’ Happy Friday!

unexpected gift

I was cleaning out my nightstand drawer (it wouldn’t shut – something had to go!) and I stumbled upon the journal that I took to the Women of Faith conference last spring. LOVED being part of that magical weekend! What an unexpected gift to go through that journal and read the words that spoke to my heart that weekend. I thought I would share some of my favorites from my idol, Patsy Clairmont .

Prayer Matters
Love enables us to move forward.
Life has rhythms.
The greatest human need is connection.
Broken things, when put under God’s light, make a beautiful picture.
Do not label people with labels you don’t want given to you.
Re-label yourself on the inside – “Worthy enough.”
Quit trying to be enough – only in Him are we enough.
Our hearts are restless until they rest in the Lord.

footprints

They say that God doesn’t give you more than you can handle… but sometimes don’t you wonder if he really knows what he’s doing? I mean seriously… At times along this journey of fringe, fabric and handbags I find myself wondering if he honestly thinks I can handle this load.

BUT, then I end my pity party because I am convinced that God DOES know our strength. It is our job to be open to seeing Him at work and having patience. Rays of light are breaking through all the time to help us find our keepin’ on – just take a look around! On my journey I marvel at how I see Him at work in the people that he puts in my path… at just the right time. Thank you, God!

This morning I was reflecting on the Footprints In The Sand poem and it reaffirmed the unbelievable freedom I feel when I stand firm in my faith, let go of control and trust in the Lord. So often I find myself trying to do it all on my own before I invite God into my struggles. What struck me though about this poem is that when I visualize the sand, I see the footprints of all the angels in my life, surrounding God’s as he carries me, helping me go confidently into the unknown.

my space

Do you ever feel like everything that is YOURS, is not actually yours once you have kids? At my house, a quick glance around and I’ve got plenty of examples…

- my bed is their playground
- my neatly organized “junk” drawer is their haven to dig through
- my closet is a treasure chest for dress up
- my favorite flavored water that I carefully hid in the fridge is gone…
- my bedroom carpet that once had vacuum lines now has food stains
- my purse (a Bagolita of course!) is used as a storage locker

Don’t get me wrong, I AM OK with sharing my space and the things that occupy them… but I just crave a space that is all mine where I can block out the world around me and settle in to hear what my heart is telling me. That really is the key to getting my faith journey back on track and this past weekend I found that spot.

For the Harry Potter fans out there that cringed in the first book when Harry lived under the stairs… I have followed suit. When we finished our basement a few years ago, we ended up with a great little spot under the stairs for the kids to play in. I of course had it all decked out, because that’s what I do. RARELY was their a child in there playing though… so I claimed it as mine and only mine and begged for forgiveness from the kids.

Allowing myself the time to spend in my new space? Easier said than done. But it is a must because I really need to get re-acquainted with me. The busier and more frantic my life is getting, I just feel like my personality (what makes me me!) is slipping right out from under me. I need time to reflect on my experiences and live my life with ME in it.

What to do in my space? Read and write in order to relax and put things into perspective. The pictures don’t do it justice because you can’t smell the lavender and hear the water trickling in the fountain, but it IS all mine and I’m lovin’ it!

perspective

I’ll never forget when I graduated from college and all of the sudden I had the freedom to choose WHICHEVER book I wanted to read. I loved to read as a child and lost the fun side of it during college, which I suspect most do. So of course, I hit the Danielle Steel books hard. I needed fluff. I’m proud to say that I graduated out of them (although I still like a good page turner!) and am now gobbling up books to feed my brain in a good way as fast as I can.

I’ve been in a book club for 8 years, so I still get my fun books each month – but I wanted to share an example of a great read by my standards. Yesterday I referenced Brain Tracy and I’m sure I will again. My favorite types of books right now are those that feed my spiritual soul. I would like to say that I pour through my bible each day, but the truth is that I don’t and I’m pretty sure I am justifying that by grabbing books like The Noticer by Andy Andrews.

I had the privilege of seeing him speak at the Women of Faith Conference (my biggest dream in this world is to be up there myself!) and although he was the only man there, he held his own and had a great message surrounding his book and that is perspective.

What perspective means is that broader view that allows us to regroup, take a breath, and begin again. It is simple wisdom (as most is) and not easily followed in today’s society. We are so busy scurrying around it is hard to notice things about situations and people (or ourselves!) that would allow us to check our hearts and start noticing a few things.

The timing of my friend Christy handing me this book was miracle in itself. Had I read it at any other time, I don’t think my heart would have been ready to listen. We had just gone to lunch together where I had a pity party for one (me!) about how tough things had been for my business and I just couldn’t see a way through. I like clarity! After plowing through the book I had my answer. I was right where I was supposed to be and SO grateful for it!

As the book says, there is no such thing as a dead end and it only takes a little perspective to recognize the miracles in our moments, the seeds of greatness tucked into our struggles.