Coming to Corpus Christi

Check out this amazing conference coming to Corpus Christi! What an awesome experience this will be and I'm humbled to be a part of it. www.livingthelifeconference.blogspot.com

A Gentle Reminder

Well, I must say I'm a world of better today. Thanks for your prayers. Things don't seem as troubling today as they did yesterday. Tonight, I'm looking at things differently.

I'm actually feeling quite humbled tonight. I wonder if, in judging others the way I did yesterday, I was looking at things from a self righteous point of view? People are human. We all make mistakes. Take a good look at your day...were there mistakes made? If you're honest, there were plenty. If I'm honest with myself, there were more than plenty.

I'm reminded once again of the fact that if I put my faith in man, I will be let down. If my faith is in Christ, only then will I not be disappointed or let down. My faith should never be in other people, only in Him. God has placed this passion within me for a reason. Not to become frustrated with those around me because they don't see things the way I do. He gave me this passion to make a difference. Do I know how to do that? Not quite yet. Am I on my way to understanding how to do that? You bet.

Thank you, Lord for gently reminding me to put my faith and trust only in you.

Questions

Where do I go from here? Why do I feel this way? Questions, questions.

I've come to somewhat of a fork in the road in my life. Without boring you with the details, I've realized that I'm different. Now before you start cracking up...hear me out. I guess somehow I've always thought that everyone who claims to be a "Christian" is just as passionate about those who don't know Him as I am. Click here to read all about what drives me. It was a shock when I realized not everyone shares this passion!

Truthfully, my heart is breaking. I'm saddened by the selfishness I've seen in the past couple of days. I certainly don't claim to have it all together. Those of you who know me, know it would kill me if I appeared self-righteous. That is certainly NOT my intent as I write now. My intent is just to share with you the concern I have for complacency and lack of concern for reaching out to those who don't know Jesus. My heart breaks over the apathy I've witnessed.

Please pray for me. Pray that I would be filled with love and patience, that God would make His direction clear, that I will be strong in my conviction and not give in to a selfish faith which I know He has not called me to. Pray for my understanding of why on earth I'm so passionate about this!

Many blessings!

Bed Time

As a mom of three, bed time can be a challenge. Luka needs a shower. DiMarco forgot to give me a note from his teacher. Ellen wants to chat. (For those of us with teenagers, we know we have to take full advantage of a moment with a chatty teenager!) As challenging as bed time can be, there's nothing sweeter than having everyone in their beds, all snuggled in for the night. As a mom, this is the moment I begin to unwind. It's "me" time.

I'm not sure what makes this such a warm, fuzzy moment for moms. Whatever it is, I love it. I love knowing all of my children are safe and sound, dreaming sweet dreams of a beautiful life ahead of them. There's nothing sweeter than the sound of their breathing softly in and out. When they were babies, I'd place my hand on their back or their chest to make sure they were breathing. Anyone else willing to admit to doing the same? Now, I can stand near the bed of one and hear my child breathing. I can stand in the doorway and hear the other breathing. The other one I can hear breathing through my closed bedroom door on the other end of the house...with the radio on!

One day they'll be grown and on their own and I won't have the comfort of knowing they're all safe and sound in their beds. Until then, I'll cherish the moment. Night night sweet little ones...sweet dreams.

Spiritual Gifts

Finding my spiritual gifts...

This has always sounded so overwhelming to me...even a little scary. You see, several years ago, I took a lengthy test to find my spiritual gifts. Since then I've taken a number of tests, trying to make sure I had the "right" gifts. Ha!

I've even thought if I kept taking different tests, somehow I would get the "cool" gifts..whatever those are! I'm now finding true joy in being exactly who I am, but it has been a journey. My gifts have always been basically the same, although they've changed slightly depending on my current situation and experiences. Here are my spiritual gifts:

Administration
Creative Communication
Leadership
Encouragement
Evangelism

Check out www.chazown.com for more information on finding your spiritual gifts. Have you found your gifts? What are they?

I'm still trying to figure out exactly what this means in my pursuit of God's purpose and design for my life. The journey continues...

Core Values

After spending some time away from thinking about my core values, I've realized the importance of recognizing these values in order to find my true purpose in life. So, here I am again...sharing this crazy journey with you. I've already noted what brings me bliss and what stirs up a righteous anger within me here. After identifying these and after much prayer, here are my core values in random order:

Outreach
Integrity/Authenticity
Intentionality
Kindness
Excellence
Discipleship
Creativity
Family/Relationships

I'm not sure if this list is complete yet. There are a couple I'm not sure are really "core values". I need to spend more time in prayer about these. Those of you who know me, does this seem accurate to you? I'd love to hear what your core values are and how you identified them.

Tomorrow I'm moving on to my spiritual gifts, strengths, etc. See you tomorrow!