Welcome again to the Front Porch…mighty early here…gotta get back in a routine, a schedule, hopefully not a rut…need to avoid those at any cost.  Back to school for us GISDers…well most of us…students not back until Tuesday…so back to moving around early, early. But I made a promise to myself that I would meet here on the Front Porch for 29 days…28 words to explore and one day to introduce these meetings….so glad you stopped by.

Today another 2 or 1 deal... Energize and Synergize…more horse and carriage analogy….work together...SYNERGY is a fairly new word as far as I know…I guess as words go…very interesting word, a ‘buzz’ word, companies want, churches want, employers want, we should all want it…it means “collection of different elements or agents…could be as small as two…working together to produce greater results than the sum of their individual efforts” hmmm, hmmm, sounds like just plain working together, seeing ‘eye to eye’, on the same page….ahhh…but there is more than just seeing and thinking…it is actually working….expending energy…making an effort…energized

I know we all are familiar with the commercial with the little rabbit that is beating a drum and running around like a little hyper bunny….a spokesperson, so to speak, for  a certain type of battery…I believe he is called the Energizer Bunny.  Hyper bunny…we all want to be like him from time to time…full of pep, vitality, enthusiasm, e n e r g y.  A good thing...energized

Too often we can present just the opposite image….tired…I hear so often “I’m so tired”….true most of us are running the ‘rat race’ referring to a pace of running to and fro, here and there, around in circles due to commitments, jobs, family and so on.  Often the challenges of life are met with a sense of being overwhelmed, underprepared and over extended….too much to do and so little time.

Ever spend much time with someone who is lethargic, sad, negative, downright bitter and at times nasty….kinda passive aggressive…they can drag you down into their valley of despair.  They shuffle through life, barely getting by physically, emotionally and often financially…sighing all the way with a victim mentality and their theme song “poor little me”.  Sad, sad, sad…especially if you are a Christian!

Ever seen a poor basset hound with the saddest, droopiest, red eyes??  Sad…pitiful, absolutely deplorable……If we are not careful this is the persona we can project to the world…’tempted, tried, and tested’…sigh….sigh….sigh… 

We have scripture after scripture for help, encouragement and enlightening…”Joy of the Lord is my Strength…and there is always, always, always, something to be thankful for! Always!

On the other hand, the folk who are energized are bright, cheerful, peppy, so to speak. They light up the room, brighten the day, chase away the blues..hmmm.. kinda like being the ‘light to the world-reflecting the LIGHT of the World…..They have the ‘get it down’ mentality.  “I can do All things through Christ who strengthens me”.

Remember the suffix ‘ize’ means to cause; to become.  Through the Word, prayer, listening to uplifting, inspiration speakers and music will ‘ize’ us…cause to be filled with energy, be motivated and just overall pleasant, inspiring, an example and encouragement.

Synergize…..now that is where those different elements, could be people, could be parts of our body, such as our muscles, machinery.....synergize,  a working together to produce a greater good, a greater result, a greater outcome than the sum of the individual efforts….

The Word and Prayer, Prayer and Fasting, work together for the greater good.  We, God’s people should be synergized, motivated, and determined to ‘live, move and have our being’ in such a manner that we work with each other-not against… being energized…so that the result, the efforts, the outcome…will bring about a better world that we could never do on our own.

The Holy Spirit energizes, synergizes…God speaks, the Holy Spirit moves…in complete harmony and agreement with God…resulting in an outcome even greater than our greatest imagination, dreams and desires...

My prayer today is that we will let the Holy Spirit breathe on us…energize us and move us into a place of being synergized…for the Kingdom of God.  Let’s determine to make it a part of Lifestyle Living, to ‘live, move and our being…not in our strength (on our own) but team up with the Holy Spirit (collective agent added) and just see what happens!

Speaking of energize and synergize…need to move on now, back to a routine and schedule…but part of that routine and schedule will be to meet here again, tomorrow…on the Front Porch and let’s get ready to ‘revolutionize’!

SPECIALIZE! What is your specality?

Good Morning welcome to the Front Porch….Sunday..a day set aside to worship our Lord, spend time with family….wind down from the weekend…gear up for the week….I like to think of it as Sonday….day to worship, focus and meditate on the Lord and His goodness..

Speaking of winding down…gearing up…..back to school tomorrow for GarlandISD teachers….students get one more day off…we teachers, librarians, etc. have ‘staff development’…I fondly refer to them as meetings about meetings…..I have enjoyed the past 2 weeks tremendously…nice balance of visit with fam, reading, relaxing, some work projects at home, on the farm and at church, more reading and relaxing…even got to sit on the deck a couple of times and enjoy my afternoon coffee…did some reflecting, renewing and resolutions, so to speak, but I want them to be more than some resolutions….working on making some Lifestyle changes….how I live, move and have my being on a daily basis.  I must admit…having a pretty ‘open’ schedule has been wonderful…sleep in some…for me to sleep until 6AM is sleeping in……and what a luxury to have a whole day, a whole week stretching before me and I can decide what to do and not to do….I still  made my ‘to do’ list of which I am becoming ‘famous’ for both here at the farm and at work.  I don’t know…something about my list just helps me to get….hmmmm organized…helps me set priorities…to maximize/minimize what I want to accomplish and get done.  Hmmmm…those ‘ize’ words again…

Well, today’s word is SPECIALIZE…as you can see the root word is special….specialize means pursuing a special activity, directed to a specific goal, being developed and designed for a specific goal and having knowledge and mastery…whew who knew?!

I think this is one of the ize words that came to me…because this pretty much explains why we are here on the earth…not just to take up space, breathe the air and consume resources.  We have a reason and purpose for being here….it is the age-old cry of many a heart…’why am I here’?

I believe we were created for Him and by Him.  One of the most comforting scriptures is found in

Psalm 139:14-18 The Message

Oh, yes, you shaped me first inside, then out your formed me in my mother’s womb;

I thank you, High God-you’re breathtaking!

Body and soul, I am marvelously made!

I worship in adoration-what a creation!

You know me inside and out, your know every bone in my body;

You know exactly how I was made, bit by bit,

When I was woven together in the depths of the earth,

Your eyes saw my unformed body.

All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.

How precious to me are your thoughts, o God!

How vast is the sum of them!

Were I to count them, they would outnumber the grains of sand.

When I awake, I am still with you.”

 

Powerful stuff!  I just cannot see how any Christian could support abortion if they truly believed this scripture??!! I don’t see how any Christians could support any political party or politician who does so blatantly and bolding support abortion, genocide or suicide.   Hmmm…enough said for that today.

Anyway, if there would be any doubt to how special you are to God….I think this should pretty well secure and cement and dispel any random thoughts about why you are here. 

But back to SPECIALIZE…in view of the scripture just quoted, I believe not only are we created special…we are ‘specialized’ with gifts, talents, callings and abilities specific to us, our personality, our background, our environment, our experiences….all messed together for our specialized purpose here on earth.  Pretty obvious, some folk have such a gift in music, singing, teaching, preaching, caring, painting, decorating, hospitality, management, crafting, designing….and on and on….

These are pretty general…we all know people blessed and ‘specialize’ to some degree in this list…but I believe it goes further that each one of us within these callings have a streamlined specialization in our purpose for being here.  We each have a circle of friends, family, co-workers, church folk, neighbors that we interact and encounter….hmmm…kinda like our own mission field…..we use our gifts and callings to better our world and those we come in contact with OR should be. 

Matthew 14-29 tells us about the Parable of the Talents.  Now, this parable is referring to ‘talents’ as in money.  Each talent worth about $1,000.  The Parable tells about 3 servants and how the master gave out talents to each and told I do not see any specific directives he gave them…just that he was leaving town and gave them this money…..now two of those servants invested the talents/money and earned interest or showed gains.  Except, for one…who dug a whole and hid the talent.  In layman’s terms: sat on…did nothing with it, hid it…

Makes me think…what talents/gifts do we often sit on, hide, never use…..talents to bless others, bless the Kingdom of God.  Talents do not always have to be ‘obvious’…as in the list above…singing, musical, etc., but can simply be a smile, good deeds, kindness, and thoughtfulness. We have a dear friend from ministry years ago, whose talent and gifting was to send cards of encouragement and remember birthdays.  Now, 30 something years later…she still sends me and the Preacher cards of encouragement and remembers our birthdays! This is a gift!  This is a talent!  This one who was given a calling and faithfully and lovingly first of all keeps us with countless birthdays, selects individualized cards (ize) word, mails them….hmmm I can only imagine the cost through the years…BUT just think of how many lives she has encouraged!!!

So, look what is in your hands and heart…what do you like to do…do as unto the Lord…find that ‘specialty’ that is you and you alone…and use it, use it, use it…pour yourself out, give yourself completely….don’t hide, sit on or let your talents/gift…what you and you alone… ‘specialize’ in be wasted…..

We know the ‘rest of the story’…that ‘wicked and lazy’ servant lost the talent that he hid, wouldn’t share, wouldn’t develop…a bad thing…but it gets worse…he was cast into outer darkness…..

Hmm…something to think about and ponder on….what do you ‘specialize’ in…..make the most of it!

Until tomorrow……here on the Front Porch

 

Maximizing and Minimizing...which is it?

Welcome to the front porch on this Super Saturday…suppose to be in the 50’s today and sunny.  So hopefully after our little visit I can work on a ‘to do’ list around the farm.

Anyway,  as promised we would discuss some words for Lifestyle Living…2 for one today…double deal…BOGO….these words kinda go hand in hand…like horse and carriage…love and marriage…boy, I am dating myself here..but, anyway the words are: MAXIMIZE and MINIMIZE.

We have heard clichés such as ‘take it to the MAX’…so how does that impact our lifestyle living?

Maximize…what does this word mean?  Means: to the highest degree, the absolute best, greatest possible, the most….so Minimize means the opposite: the lowest degree, the least possible.  Hmmm, I am going somewhere with this thought.

One of the best examples of these 2 words and how closely they interact with each other is with the computer and Word… (not the Word per se…more later…but Word as in Windows).  Working on something such as this thought, I may need to check something else…I can arrow up to a little icon with a little minus looking thing, click on it and wa la, it appears to disappear, but really is ‘minimized’ in the lower bar on the computer-in layman’s terms here).  It is there, but out of sight, out of mind until …..

To be our best, to have Lifestyle Living, which to me is Lifestyle Evangelism, we as Christians should live our life in the Max.  Do our best, strive for the highest degree, do the greatest possible. It is WWJD!..Too often we fall into the ho hum attitude…just do enough (minimum) to get by.  Shame on us! Whether it be serving the Lord, our JOB, our family, working in the church, volunteering in the community-do our best…

Now He, as in Jesus, is a great example of MAXIMIZE/MINIMIZE……He knew when to minimize..or wait in the wings, wait until His ministry began….but in the waiting He maximized His opportunities by being the best Son, the best carpenter, the best friend and good person.  I believe even in His most trying days as a carpenter-He kept before Him the hour, the day, the time when He would step onto the stage and begin to fulfill His calling purpose.  BUT, in the meantime, He maximized the opportunities He had….doing His best working with His hands, but all the time, praying and preparing for His time.

Similar to increase-decrease, speak-be quiet, stop- go, forward-backward, up-down…maximize-minimize.

I can get the two mixed up…speak when I should be quiet, go when I should stop, decrease when I should increase or increase when I should decrease, I think you get the picture.  Just like on the computer, hit that function and the page opens back up and then wants to play ‘peek-a-boo’….where are you?

Often, the very things we need to minimize-we want to maximize….someone says something and offends us…why we chew on that, stew on that, brew it up like it is the most horrible, terrible crime that could be committed…We are ‘offended’..as Pastor John Hagee so sweetly thunders…”GET OVER IT”!

Maximize what God does for us! Maximize who He is in our lives! When the opportunity arises, use it to MAXIMIZE our witness……and when necessary use words.  Soooo true, ‘actions speak louder than words…and your actions are speaking so loud I can’t hear a word you are saying!’  

Also, let God and the Holy Spirit MINIMIZE our hurt feelings, disappointments, could have beens, should have beens, missed opportunities, failures, shortcomings, faults.  Most of us can handle that…what we tend to maximize is other’s failures, shortcomings, faults..judging, criticizing (another ize word).

Matthew 7:3 NIV “Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank (2 x 4) in your own eye?”  Or from the Message 7:1-3 “Don’t pick on people, jump on their failures, criticize their faults, unless, of course, you want the same treatment, that critical spirit has a way of boomeranging.  It’s easy to see a smudge on your neighbor’s face and be oblivious to the ugly sneer on your own”…hmmm…maximizing someone else’s shortcomings (sawdust, smudge), minimizing our own (2 x 4 and ugly sneer)……

And just like the computer…we think we have gotten over it, when actually we have only minimized it, to open it up again and again, look at it, examine it, re-examine…maximize it and then

‘save it as’……hmmmm. Fill in the blank.

So, in conclusion today, maximize the good, the God, the great things in our lives.  Minimize the hurts, disappointments….get out of the way when needed, know when to Max and when to Mini….and especially know when to hit the ‘delete’ button and when that little ‘are you sure?’ voice rises up…say “YES”!  gonna FIDO…..Forget It and Drive On.

 Until, tomorrow, here on the Front Porch…be sure and take time to worship the Lord… and I will have another word we will discuss.

Oh, almost forgot, a pretty good quote that goes along with our little chat today:

When you feel offended, you're practicing judgment. . . What you
may not realize is that when you judge another person, you do not
define them. You define yourself as someone who needs to judge others.

Wayne Dyer

 

 

 

 

 

3 KEYS: Organize, organize, ORGANIZE!

Howdy again….sorry...about the howdy... guess I have been in Texas too long folks....

Anyway, welcome back to the Front Porch for more discussion…well, maybe not ‘discussison’ since I have the keyboard and control of the strokes…lade dada, so stick around if you want… 

Gonna discuss another word that came to me. More Lifestyle Living. How to make permanent changes in life, in living, in witnessing, in serving God , in making the most of life, in being the best we can be…as the Army used to say.

Yesterday was PRIORTIZE……well today we will discuss ORGANIZE…

I am not the most organized gal on the block.. Just ask the gals that work with me in the library.  My office....ugh…is usually a disorganized kinda of mess….even I must admit it…it seems there is one project after another….especially this year AND I cannot for the life of me figure out what happened to ‘work smarter not harder’….it just ain’t happening for me!

 I am a public school librarian....started out as a private school teacher…then taught in public school and then when I ‘grew up’, decided to be a school librarian.  Many reasons…most was the opportunity to make books come alive for children…I have an opportunity to be creative…especially where I am now…by the way I am currently at a GarlandISD preschool…yep 850 4/5 year olds…yep it is a ‘real school’.  I see 38 classes a week 30 minutes each…we sing, read books, have puppet shows, act out books, have numerous props and we do check out books for the kiddos.  In addition, 700 of the parents have signed up for library cards and a great deal of them come in to check out books on a regular basis…hmmm real nice!  Other duties include, but are not limited to: lesson plans, class set-up and prep, actual class presentations, serve/assist parents, serve on  various other committees, oversee library budget, order books, process books, shelve books, review books, displays to set up, bulletin boards...whew…just to name a few of the hats I wear…Somedays I come home pretty worn out and weary…now the Preacher (love his little heart) will say something like “why are you so worn out?  All you do is read books to children?”  Hmmmm, gotta love it…and I love it and him and just smile and say ….hmmm.

Anyway, I should be a pretty organized person…ya think?

Well, given any day…my office desk, side desk and floor are filled with papers, books, various props, artifacts…and stuff….IF my desk can be seen and IF I can get stuff off the floor and on shelves, in files or out the door where it should be…I can say “ahhhh”. 

Organize…did you ever think about it…How organized our God is??  Look at our world…amazing, simply amazing.  The seasons, the days, weeks, months….BUT how very cool that we have seasons…even in the tropical regions there is some order of seasons.   How things grow, how animals reproduce after their own kind, how babies conceived and grow into little beings…God arranged, God ordained and God  organized.

Unfortunately, there at times it appears God’s domain is not so organized-especially when ‘man’ tries to perfect or mess with God’s organization.  For example, some babies are born with difficulties or challenges……I do not think God makes this happen…but allows it to happen because of the changes man has made either in the earth and thus the things we eat, drink or breathe are defiled.  Just because doctors prescribe morning sickness pills to women and then babies are born with no or deformed limbs….is not a God thing….no more than a young man who has a form of autism ( a God thing?-there again changes in our environment affect our genes and ???) then he is exposed to countless hours of violent  video games and then for some reason…only known by God…takes from his household arsenal of high powered guns…takes rounds of gunfire and shoots innocent children and school staff…

 Let’s set the record straight, God did not do this…did He allow it…yes, although he is omnipresent, all-seeing, all knowing….. He does allow things to happen…..WHY?? excellent question!  Why did he let Adam and Eve…well, Eve be beguiled and bewitched by Satan in the Garden and thus kinda change things for all of us?  Free will…we have choices…. we are given the ability to live, move and have our being…..hopefully in Him…but look around us…a vast majority are not living according to His plan, His purpose.  Evil surrounds us, permeates into every walk of life, every avenue of life, every crack and crevice is engulfed with evil. One false stroke on this keyboard could send me into a world of darkness and evil of which I somewhat know about…but I am sure I cannot image the depth of the evilness..’out there’.

So, back to organization.  Companies, individuals, merchandisers, make billions in trying to help us with our, “organizational challenges”.  File folders, file cabinets, boxes, baskets, storage units, closet organizers, desk organizers, apps on phones, daytimes…anyone still use those?? Calendars and we all have some form of those …somewhere….all to help us with organization. 

So how does this word fit into lifestyle living?   Good question…Just Do IT!  Take a few minutes and do it…

I had to face the ‘piper’ (what does that mean anyway??).    When my family visited during the holidays, and tried to help in the kitchen…yikes…every drawer, every cabinet was ‘Open at your own risk!”. I kept apologizing (hmmm another ize word we will discuss later) for the mess…  So I took some time this week and organized…got rid of the junk I was holding on to in drawers and cabinets that I would not use, didn’t need, would never need.  Diana Moreno, you would have been so proud of me!  2-3 garbage bags full of junk…Whew…nice, nice, nice…hope it stays that way…wait…there is no hoping to it…it will if I do my part!  Put things where they belong!  Take it out..put it back!  Make a mess, clean it up.  Drop it, pick it up. Use it all…throw the container away.

Well, same thing with serving God.  Organize our day to PRIORITIZE (hmmm.. taught we were finished with that word, huh?)..our time…a must…find some time to spend with Him…can’t stress that enough…just do it.

I recently read an article about how valuable 15 minutes can be…just 15 minutes…this article caught my attention so I read it.  It was about a lady who grew up playing the piano.  Then life began to happen, college, marriage, children…and while she made sure her children were taught the piano, she just felt she had no time to practice and play herself.   Therefore, she did become rusty…lost some of her skills and knowledge…apparently it is not like riding a bike…”once you learn it…you don’t forget it”…anyway, long story hopefully not too long…kids gone…she was still very busy but one day just decided she could begin to devote 15 minutes… little 15 minutes, such a small chunk of time, to once again playing the piano.  She began to take lessons again and practice playing the piano….15 minutes…soon that 15 minutes became 20-30-40 minutes and some days even more.  She fell in love all over again with her music, her piano…just because she organized her time and devoted 15 minutes.

 So start where you are…get on a plan…a daily reading plan perhaps…there are countless plans ‘out there’…find one..if that one doesn’t work…try another…read a good devotional along with your Bible reading plan.  Make the time, get organized so that even a small pocket of time can be used to spend time with God and His WORD.

Organize…simply means to put in order…funny maybe it should have been orderize??  Anyway, put things in order…stuff, bills, recipes, pictures, books, me-my lesson plans lesson plans, etc.

 Organize your thoughts…put them in order…sweep out the stinkin thinkin and replace with a clear cut agenda-organize…throw out the old, bad, keep the current, fresh.  When thoughts-bad-unholy-jealousy, nursing old hurts and wound thoughts creep, sneak in….file, ‘em, put them away, under the category: FORGIVEN, FORGOTTEN now move FORWARD.

As I was pondering on this word, organize, and someone who would be a good example of this word, a person came to mind…..my sister-in-law, Melissa.  She is one organized lady…gets up early, has her day-organized, has her time with the Lord-organized, runs a business-organized, home schools her 2 children-organized, has a part-time job-organized….is very active in her church-organized….she is so organized that when they came to visit us..she referred to their packing as the Texas suitcase, the Disney Suitcase,  The Ohio Suitcase….she had organized snacks, treats for the kids and even brought along their school work…organized.  She is so organized she still has recipes she uses from her home economics class in high school…and still uses her apron she made in that class…organized.

Organization makes life a little easier and sweeter, LESS stressful….Our Lord is a great example.  Look at Creation and how orderly and organized the plan was.  Had it all mapped out, all planned what would happen first, second and then… so on.  So for effective Lifestyle living, make it a point, a purpose, a plan this year to get organized…

So, gonna move on get organized with my day…busy day ahead…last ‘free’ day of this school vacation.   It has been so nice and helped me to organize some things and areas in my life.  Hmmmm, once you get started on organizing… easy to do…but the challenge is to stay…organized…

So until tomorrow, here on the front porch…you are invited to stop by again …I have a Saturday Special…a BOGO deal.... a two for one deal…...two words that go hand in hand… let’s talk….tomorrow see you then.

Oh, almost forgot...just in case that little nagger thought attacks you, "I don't have time to organize, prioritize,"...... gonna leave you with this thought about time:

The bad news is, time flies. The good news is, you're the pilot.

~Michael Althsuler♥

HOWDY, as we say here in Texas and welcome to the Front Porch…kinda chilly again today…reading right now…a frosty 28 degrees…pour yourself a hot cup and coffee and let’s talk..

As I said yesterday..gonna talk about some words.  Words to help me focus in on what’s important, valuable-to help see things a little more clearly.  Hard sometimes…the focus thing

I wear glasses…have since 8^th grade and probably should have worn them before that,  long story…but I need glasses to see anything in the distance.  Funny thing, until you are told you need glasses, you walk around in a fuzzy kinda world, thinking this is ‘normal” then when you put on those glasses…walaaaa..wow..whew.. as the song states… “I can see clearly now’.

 Now that I am older, I also need those bifocal things for up close…but glasses can be such a nuisance for me especially if I am working outside or cooking or cleaning.  So I just squint to get by. I usually don’t wear them around the house and sometimes just pull the things off and lay them down while I scrub, clean, fold clothes, etc…..  Which can be a big problem later because I do just that, lay them down-sometimes in some of the strangest, most unusual, peculiar places!  Hence, a mad hunt for the glasses when I need them.  Funny, my house always looks so clean without them.  I don’t see the dust, dirt, grime and grit, smudgy doors and windows, cobwebs here and there…interesting.. I’m sure a Freud thing going on there-perhaps.

Which brings me to the ‘ize’ word for today. PRIORITIZE…yep, gonna start Day 1 of 28 days with this big word.  We hear it, use it, strive for it, think we got it and then WAM, BOOM, something happens and we realize ,”nope, don’t have my priorities in order”.  By the way, isn’t that a strange saying?  I liken (and I liken that word) to walking around without my glasses…everything looks pretty good when I ‘look through that glass darkly’ or in other words just can’t, don’t. won’t see all the junk and mess that I am really surrounded with.  Hmmmm. What a difference those glasses make..what a difference the WORD makes!

Thus, the WORD, what a difference the Word makes (notice I said that again!) in our lives, hearts, and souls.  God is so amazing, knew exactly what He was doing when He inspired men to write the Word.  It is simply amazing.  It is simply powerful.  It is simply profound.  I been reading the word for over 50 years (started when I was 2-no… only kidding)…AND it gets more POWERFUL every time I read it!  That is the good news…the not so good news is….I see the dirt, dust, grime, soot, trash, garbage that is in my life, surrounds me in my little corner of the world, our country, and of course the world in general.  The Word is so sharp, ‘ouch’, quick “what was that?”, powerful (wam, bam-straighten up!)….

Just like those glasses, when I pick them up, put them on…I see good things…beauty, people’s faces, road signs (very important)…but also those glasses reveal those dusty shelves, dirty ceiling fans, grime windows, muddy floors, creepy hanging, drooping cobwebs….

The WORD…so the word I want to discuss today is PRIORITIZE….simply put what is important to me, to you”. “What is in your wallet? Your head? Your heart? Your life?"  We can get our priorities (meaning what takes precedence over others…also, what you set aside time for) out of whack..so to speak…and sometimes rightly so….if you need to work extra long, extra hard for a given time to pay bills, feed the kids, TCB, then that is the priority or agenda for that day or period of time.  Our problem is when that stays at the top of the list….money, money, money, or it could be fame, fame, fame, or it could be shame, shame, shame (our current pet sin that fulfills our void, our wallet, our heart, our head, our life).

How can we make sure we have the right priorities?  Hmmm. Make a list and check it twice. Write ‘em down in order of importance (be honest…sometimes we say things like God, Family, Country…..when it is none of the above…it is more liken to the list above, money, fame, shame OR__________________.

God should be at the top of the list…especially if you call yourself a Christian….well… let me rephrase that to say…if you have accepted Jesus as your Savior, you realize His blood was shed for you and it was and is His blood that cleanses you and it is His love that sustains you….think you get the picture!

Soooo, if someone or something is your PRIORITY, write ‘em down in order of importance, set aside time-quality time-for that list of PRIORITIES….those things that should take precedence over ALL others…if God and His will and Word are not up there –close and personal-make it part of your lifestyle living….the Word…it can be so inspiring!  It can be so revealing…it causes us to measure up to HIS standards…not ours, not our neighbors, not our church’s (hey, some churches’ standards….oh well, another day)!

So to make lifestyle living changes –permanent-PRIORITIZE….I think I will end this little conversation on the front porch with a quote….now brace yourself…this is soooo out of character for me…but I am going to quote ….hmmm..clear my throat………are you ready for this?? Oh, well…here goes…and by the way….yep..this is NOT a misprint, NOT a typo, NOT a blooper, NOT a blunder…so here goes.. out of the mouth……………….drum roll please……… of….. Snooki ….. “I’m no one’s OPTION. I’m someone else’s PRIORITY”.  Snicker, Snicker...I can just hear her saying this, popping her gum with her New Jersey twang (sorry Lucy...no offense!).

Think God may say that about the OPTION business.  He should not be, nor should never be anyone’s OPTION… (never heard anyone say.."get my options in order)......hmmm something to think about and something to strive for in 2013..LIFESTYLE LIVING…let’s make sure we make HIM our first Priority.

Well, need to move on..chores to do…suppose to ‘warm’ up to about 45 or so degrees, sun is out and shining…sounds like a heat wave here in Big D!  See ya again tomorrow…on the front porch. Get ready for another word…for lifestyle living.

Resolutions? Revolutions? How about 28 days of "izes"

Welcome back to the front porch!  It’s a chilly January morning. Had other plans that were interrupted…was on my way to meet a fellow librarian friend in Dallas.  We meet for thrifting, good food and good company.  BUT, the dependable, well over 300,000 miles plus, Honda Accord…decided to stall on me…No, just plain quit, refuse to budge, not go a mile further, stop….hence, call to the Preacher who came to the rescue like a knight in shining armor…in this case in the trusted Dodge Dakota..anyway, AAA had to be called and all of us are back, safe in the warm confides of the Farm.

Disappointing but nevertheless an unexpected pocket of time….hmmm. to spend on the front porch! 

First, looking back at the year…but oh, just a glance or two…for you see, to linger there too long will be too painful, confusing, disturbing and just plain depressing…on the other hand, longing and gazing too long will bring back some mighty good memories…good times, and good thoughts…but there again…2012 is gone…say goodbye, so long, farewell……time to move on and giddy up and go!

In summary…’it was the best of times and the worst of times’.  Perhaps next time we visit I can share some of each of those categories.  But right now I have some other stuff on my mind.

 Now, I post to Facebook…some original stuff and some re-post…and I can hear some of the comments…”who does she think she is?”, well, me, I am Nobody to quote Emily Dickinson’s poem.  I post stuff that matters to me, that speaks to me, that ministers to me, that inspires me and maybe, just maybe will also inspire, speak, minister and matter to others.  Everything that I post, whether my ramblings, musings and such, or scriptures and sayings of encouragement, first comes to me, through me and does a work in me…So, there…

Anyway, in closing out 2012…good bye and good riddance…and welcoming 2013, hello and howdy..I felt some stirrings in my spirit, my soul….now, they are for me first and foremost….and maybe, just maybe someone else may glean a nugget or two for inspiration for the days ahead.

First I do believe a word, go ahead and snicker, snicker….but nevertheless, a word for me and mine for 2013 is: “THINK BIG”.   Whatever I attempt, whatever I ask for, whatever I dream about, whatever I envision….make it BIG…so BIG..it is impossible for me and me alone to accomplish.  It will be evident and to all…’WOW” that’s a God thing.

Next, as I was preparing for today’s little outing…or lack thereof, some nuggets of gold began to just drop into my spirit.  You know those kinda blessings….makes you want to say, “Hey, where did that come from?!”   Anyway, first a couple of items, then a few more….

So, instead of making a list of Resolutions or Revolutions or whateverions….that are made with a lot of lofty aspirations and good intentions…that often are just that..lofty and good…things such as…lose weight, exercise more, read the Bible more, pray more, do good, and on and on….and they are indeed good, noble, worthy goals.  But, too often just so lofty and unattainable…most of us write ‘em, make a feeble stab at trying to do them and then soon even forget what we were even trying to accomplish in the first place…Oh, well, speaking from my own track record..so if you hold on to your Resolutions until the bitter end…kudos to you!

 Anyway, words, words kept coming to me…kinda of unusual words…that at first seemed to have no real rhyme or reason…but then like boom, boom fireworks that explode in the sky and then the light fills the sky and slowly falls…in this case words falling into my spirit.

 So..friend here on the front porch…let’s talk about the words.  They all have something in common!! They all have a particular, specific meaning for me and they all end in the suffix ‘ize’.  After a little leg work…aka finger tapping work…I found out that the suffix ‘ize’ means to be and to treat with.   Pretty interesting…I zeroed in on 28 words…..hence, my 28 resolutions/revolutions so to speak. 

Now, just making a list of Resolutions can be likened to going on a diet, another one, yet another one, still another…and no real improvement…oh, maybe lose a few pounds…only to gain them back and even more.  To accomplish real weight lose-a new mindset, a new approach, a whole new lifestyle and new way of living is needed.  No more buying baskets full of Twinkies, chips and candy bars will do.  But, long-term, on-going weight maintenance means balance, moderation and a new concept of food….basically ”eat to live and not live to eat” mentality.

Hence, my 28 ‘ize’ words are to spur me and anyone else who wants to meet me on the front porch for the next 28 days, to develop a new mindset, a newness of thinking, new determination, new outlook on how to focus on the WORD and let God develop us ‘to be’ and ‘to treat with’. 

 The goal is for this to be lifestyle living…just like healthy eating should be lifestyle living;  goodness and change in our life should be an ongoing lifestyle.  From the moment we get up…all through the day…back home again and into the evening and finally when we ‘lay our little selves down to sleep’.  Lifestyle…Hisstyle, letting Him lead, guide, direct and order our steps…….

Then, we will walk in His newness of life and people will sit up and take notice.  We, Christians are too much like Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde or should it be (Hide…just what are we hiding?)…..we are one person for our Christian circle, another one for our work circle, yet another for our family circle, and still another for our friend circle. 

 My biggest disappointment in my life would be if people say “Christian, I didn’t know you were a Christian?!”  Unfortunately, I have met several people I have thought this about…said it to others about….lifestyle living….my Bible plainly says (AND NO, siree I am not judging because GOD judges!) I Corinthians 6:8-10 “No, you yourselves do wrong and cheat and you do these things to your brethren!” (folks…me thinks this is referring to how you treat folk in the family, folk in the church and folk on the job!!”….….verse 9 goes on to state…”Do you know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived, neither fornicators, nor idolaters, no adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the Kingdom of God.”…

Pretty comprehensive list…hits all of us somewhere, somehow, someway…..

So, what is it going to take for us to be a part of the Kingdom of God?....Lifestyle living….walking the talk…far too easy to talk the walk…..going to church one day and out in the bars the next…hmmm….singing praises to God with one breath and cursing your neighbor, friends, family, co-workers the next (well, maybe not cursing but being mean, cruel, gossiping, belittling, humiliating) …

Anyway, ‘nuff said about that….28 days, 28 words, 28 opportunities to discuss lifestyle living in action.  Ready, set…..whew…oh my…..where did all our time go??? Anyway, come back tomorrow for the LIFESTYLE WORD OF THE DAY!  Meet me here…on the front porch….coffee will be on….see y’all then!

 

 

 

 

 

Preacher's Birthday Celebration

Welcome back to the front porch!!  My, my been busy as a bee...but so glad you stopped by...so sit a spell and let me share just a little bit with you about my family....

Well, on this hot Sunday afternoon, relaxing, resting and refreshing.  Good day of worship at church.  Lunch is over and going over some pictures from the Preacher's birthday celebration.  I tried creating an album on facebook...umm was not working for me..so......but wanted to get back into blogging again..so figured this would be a good re-entry.  Facebook friends and fam who are really interested in my little corner of the world will take the extra step and follow the link to the blog....those who don't, well that's ok too.

 So friends from long ago and far away...a glimpse of the Gabbard Fam and who they have become...friends close by...just a little glimpse into how blessed Preacher and I really are..blessed, blessed, blessed

The Gabbard Family

My Treasures

My Heritage

My Greatest Accomplishments -these guys and gals!

This was a big year for the Preacher...just some things all came together....we had a great time of Grannie Camp...grandkids here for several days, all the kids got to come to the Birthday Celebration and a few days later, Preacher took a great trip to the Grand Canyon.and let me tag along!...that will be another blog.another day..

 So here goes....Happy Birthday Preacher ....

Julie, Lori and Tim

Singing "In the Presence"

We were blessed... 

Music Man Tim and Sweet Amy

Tim never met a song he could not sing...

or an instrument he could not play.....

Preacher Joe who has a gift with the Word....

and beautiful, 'stand by my man' Ronnin

The Birthday Lunch

Fried Chicken, Potato Salad, Baked Beans, Corn,

 Hot Dogs, Cake and Fun!

Preacher was in Hillbilly Heaven...

My "Wunderful Wunderful" Children!

So proud of each one...

they are a blessing

each one different

each one special

each one unique

each one with gifts and talents

orators, singers, musicians, preachers,

teachers, leaders, princes and princesses

born into the Kingdom....for such a time as this

to carry the Word in thought, action and deed

to stand in trials, tribulation and testing

and always come forth as

pure gold

the Gabbard heritage...strong, steady and secure

in God

the Lawson 'will do' .... to dig in and

get it done....

each one sent from God

....my "wunderful" "wunderful" family

Julie, Nathan, Cammy, Kay and Nix :D

Julie a loving mother, Nathan a dedicated husband,

Cam in her cowgirl boots who is turning into a young lady,

Kay who has the sparkliest blue eyes and a sprinkling of freckles across her nose...

and then Nix....who is becoming quite the charmer....

Lori, Caleb and Luke....Aaron could not be with us due to his work schedule...

missed you Big A! Look how tall Caleb is and sweet Luke :)

Lori...dedicated wife, mother who reminds me of the

Proverbs woman..



Preacher Joe, Ronnin, Jace (with the funny shoe strings) and

cutie pie Justus..when are you guys gonna come see me again?.

Wonder what these 6th generation guys are gonna do for God?

Joe is in his own right a "Preacher Man"...

5th generation Pentecostal Preacher...

Multi-talented son Tim...Mr. Music,who sweetly calls me Mama

 the "Make-it Happen" Amy,gentle, kind and loving

Sons, Kayden and Karson...aka Cave Man and Bears

Mighty Dudes!

Cam the Nanny

Caleb the Nanner

They were such a help during

Cousins Camp

Thanks guys!!

hmmm Caleb you are the tallest

here is the evidence!

Well, that's it for now...so glad you got to stop by the front porch and let me share these moments with you...stop by again soon..