How is it that we can fill our lives up to the last minute of the day with stuff to do, even without the obligation of a 9 to 5 job? Or is it just me? These last few days…weeks…months - oh, I don’t know; they keep blurring together! – I seem to be going on fast-forward constantly. So much that I have to remind myself to breathe.

Then I got to thinking…what exactly am I breathing in when I do breathe? Our lungs need air, but not just any air: clean air! Imagine working out on a spinning (indoor cycling) bike in a room filled with smog. You may be able to stand it for a little bit, but it won’t be long before you have to stumble out of there in search of clean air. That smog won’t sustain you for the task at hand. In the same way, when my life cranks up to warp speed, I have to stop often and take a breath in God’s presence so that the smog of life doesn’t choke me. It’s so easy to do the fast-food, drive-thru version of my time with God, but I must remember that garbage in, garbage out. Any compromise on the quality of my food, spiritual or otherwise, is a compromise on the quality of my strength.

Excuse me while I take a breath…

 

Today marks the day I was born, many, many, many, many years ago – or so it seems! When I look back on my life, I feel like I’ve lived many lifetimes. And I’ve loved each one of them. Maybe not necessarily while they were happening (for some of them), but certainly after the fact.

It was a quiet day, spent at home with the family (not counting the couple of hours at the gym), with good food and good company. Plenty of time to ponder my many blessings, take all my birthday phone calls and respond to each of the umpteen Facebook birthday greetings I got (yes, I’m weird like that). I feel so blessed! Sure if I had it to do over, I’d script a few things a little differently. For example, I’d have washboard abs and better hand-eye coordination. I’d have my son home for the weekend from college. When my Dad called from Nigeria, I’d get to also hear my Mom’s voice, instead of sending her hugs and messages through God. I’d have answers to some of the questions I’m asking God during this season of my life…you know, stuff like that.

For now, though, there are many things in the script of my life that I am most grateful for. Things like good health. A family I love, that loves me back. Friends who care. A car that’s old, but paid for. A nice roof over my head. Food in my fridge and pantry; a fridge and pantry! Nice clothes and shiny, pretty things to wear with them. Oh, and the shoes…yeah, I’m a shoe girl and I like my shoes. For these, and so much more, I am truly thankful.

On top of all of that, it’s Friday – booyah!

…but I’m back! Took an unplanned hiatus from blogging, but here I am now.

I’ve got a renewed approach to the whole blogging thing and it’s been quite liberating. I used to blog being somewhat consciously aware of other people reading my blog, but now, frankly, it doesn’t matter to me. Now if there IS anyone reading this, don’t get me wrong. Not that I don’t care about YOU, but I’ve decided that I will blog as an outlet for some of those thoughts that clutter my mind. Kinda like an online journal, rather than a platform from which I must write something cute, profound or clever. This means that sometimes I’ll make sense, and other times I’ll ramble incoherently. Either way, I’ll give those words that pop up in my head (ok, some of them) freedom to roam without restraint in the vast abyss that is cyberspace. After all, I’ve gotta make room for the many, many others that are vying for stage-time in the grand theater that is my brain.

So if I choose to, I can blog multiple times a day. Or I may not blog for days or weeks. I may include a nice graphic or photo. Or I may not. I may be deep in my musings. Or I may be shallow and blog about…oh, I dunno…nail polish! Pressure-free, expectation-free, authentic expressions of thought.

Ahhhh….my kinda blogging!

Someone shared the words of Dr. Seuss’ book, “Oh, the places you’ll go!” with me recently (thanks, Hopeful!). It was very a propos, not only because of the season my husband and I suddenly find ourselves in, but also because our oldest child, Demi, is off to university in 2 weeks. We are so proud of him! Naturally, there is a measure of trepidation at sending one’s baby into the “big, bad world,” even though we knew this day was coming. I guess there’s no book, manual or story that adequately prepares you for this.

The poem’s quite long, so I’ll share it in piecemeal. If you find the words applying to you too, then enjoy them like I did. Thanks, Dr. Seuss!

 

Oh, the Places You’ll Go!

Congratulations!
Today is your day.
You’re off to Great Places!
You’re off and away!

You have brains in your head.
You have feet in your shoes
You can steer yourself
any direction you choose.
You’re on your own. And you know what you know.
And YOU are the guy who’ll decide where to go.

You’ll look up and down streets. Look ‘em over with care.
About some you will say, “I don’t choose to go there.”
With your head full of brains and your shoes full of feet,
you’re too smart to go down any not-so-good street.

And you may not find any
you’ll want to go down.
In that case, of course,
you’ll head straight out of town.

It’s opener there
in the wide open air.

Out there things can happen
and frequently do
to people as brainy
and footsy as you.

And when things start to happen,
don’t worry. Don’t stew.
Just go right along.
You’ll start happening too.

OH!
THE PLACES YOU’LL GO!

You’ll be on your way up!
You’ll be seeing great sights!
You’ll join the high fliers
who soar to high heights.

You won’t lag behind, because you’ll have the speed.
You’ll pass the whole gang and you’ll soon take the lead.
Wherever you fly, you’ll be the best of the best.
Wherever you go, you will top all the rest.

Except when you don’ t
Because, sometimes, you won’t.

I’m sorry to say so
but, sadly, it’s true
and Hang-ups
can happen to you.

You can get all hung up
in a prickle-ly perch.
And your gang will fly on.
You’ll be left in a Lurch.

You’ll come down from the Lurch
with an unpleasant bump.
And the chances are, then,
that you’ll be in a Slump.

And when you’re in a Slump,
you’re not in for much fun.
Un-slumping yourself
is not easily done.

You will come to a place where the streets are not marked.
Some windows are lighted. But mostly they’re darked.
A place you could sprain both you elbow and chin!
Do you dare to stay out? Do you dare to go in?
How much can you lose? How much can you win?

And IF you go in, should you turn left or right…
or right-and-three-quarters? Or, maybe, not quite?
Or go around back and sneak in from behind?
Simple it’s not, I’m afraid you will find,
for a mind-maker-upper to make up his mind.

(to be continued…)

I’ve (once again) had a good reason for my lengthy silence. Sunday May 31st was the last service of our church, The Well. For a bit more info on this, click here to read my husband’s blog.

As you can imagine, it was a tough week, breaking the news to our Leadership Team, our kids, and the church. It was not a decision lightly reached, but it was one bathed in prayer and accompanied by a deep sense of peace. We have since talked to friends who expressed concern about our emotional well-being. For all of you who love us in this way, rest assured we are doing wonderfully. We are completely at peace and have no sense of failure. Even though we never thought that when we came to plant The Well, it would only be for 3 years, God knew and we are glad He didn’t share that tidbit of information with us, otherwise no way would we have done it! We’d have found every excuse – and Scripture! – in the book to support our opposition! As it is, we are pained because it feels like having to make the decision to take your child off life-support, but we are grateful for the lives, including ours, that have been irrevocably changed for the better.

We left a church that was healthy, growing, loving, relevant and connected in the community and we know that our people will go out wherever God leads, and continue to live out the abundance that He has deposited in each. As for me and my family, we are patiently waiting for our next marching orders from our Commander-in-Chief. As my former pastor’s wife reminded me, the kingdom of God is righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. All those elements are present and at work in our family at this time. We are truly thankful for the love and grace of God and some amazing Thompson kids!

It is well…oh yeah, pun absolutely intended!

I hear that blogging is fast becoming (maybe already is?) yesterday’s news. Doesn’t surprise me one bit. Just as soon as I latch on to something, it becomes history, although I’m not sure that my sporadic blogging habits of late can be described as “latched on”. Whatever.

I’ve always been the cautious type. I prefer to “kick the tires” before I buy the car. I like to watch and observe, investigate and verify, before I launch into something. I did it with blogging, facebook, crop pants… of course, by the time I get into it, pop culture is on to the next fad. For instance, I’m still trying to figure out Twitter. I don’t get why I should “follow” people so that I can get every snippet of trivia and minutia they deem appropriate to share with their “followers.” I already do that with status updates on Facebook. Besides, it may be good for others who amass a great Twitter following, but I don’t think it will help my self-esteem any if no-one followed me  – why would they? I’m not the most fascinating person out there (is that a passionate chorus of disagreement I hear? You’re too kind!). Here’s something else I’m still trying to figure out – Blackberry phones and teeny-tiny Qwerty keypads on cell phones. But don’t laugh at or cry for me, I’ll catch up sometime, eventually, just in time for it to be “so yesterday.”

I’m OK with being a step behind, though. You see, being “so yesterday” is not such a bad thing. We learn from “yesterday.” All the mistakes and faux pas of yesterday inform the choices we make today and tomorrow. Yesterday is time-tested, tried and true.

Oh yeah, I believe in yesterday…hey, someone should write a song about that!

I know, I know, it’s been a while since I last blogged – not that anyone noticed, I’m sure. Anyway, I’ve had a good reason (this time!) I started a new job and I’ve been in training and just had my first real day on the job today.

These days, with jobs so few and far between, I am grateful to once again be a part of the endangered species that is the workforce. Being a full-time (8am-5pm with an hour’s lunch) commitment in addition to the work I do as our church’s administrator, and all my other roles, you can understand how precious time is lately! How do we women do it? Only by the grace of God!

Apart from the obvious (ie the moulah), I’m excited about meeting new people and connecting with folks I ordinarily wouldn’t meet. Now more than ever, with the economy in shambles and people losing so much, they need to see that there is hope in hopeless times and God’s people are the ones to show them that hope. The fact that we are hurting right alongside them makes it even more believable. Every time I hear people complain about the economy, I listen for the things they are not actually saying: how their paradigm and priorities have shifted; how they are looking for something more dependable than 401Ks to rely on…the list goes on. Then I wait for the right moment to speak a word “in season.” Hope is not lost! So every time you feel the urge to join in some government bashing and Israelite-style murmuring, remember to look around you for a reminder of how blessed you are, regardless. I’m sure you won’t need to look far.

Call me crazy, but yes, I do think that these ARE exciting times!

Spring fascinates me. Always has. Autumn too. How all things fauna and flora shut down for winter at the appointed time and then know just when to wake up. Every time I see those bare trees and brown, ‘dead’ grass, I have to remind myself that they’re not really dead, just asleep. They sure look dead, though. Yet they’re not. If you wait long enough, or look closely enough at just the right time, you’ll notice those teeny, tiny buds sprouting, traces of brand new, bright green blades fighting their way through the drab, brown grass. One day you’ll wake up and everything’s green, sprouting and budding again. All accomplished behind the scenes by an unseen hand, while you were asleep.

Reminds me of the way God works in our lives. Sometimes when everything appears to be dead or dying, just when you’re thinking: that’s it – it’s over, then you go to sleep and wake up and see that it’s not over, but it’s just about to begin.

Thank God for new beginnings. Thank God for seasons. Thank God for spring!

It occurred to me a moment ago that there is a distinct difference between living and being truly alive at least the way I see it. Living is existing and performing all the functions that pertain to life. Being truly alive is squeezing the juice out of life and exploring its potentials. Think of a ruby red grapefruit, if you will. No matter how sweet it may be, there is a tanginess that comes with the sweetness, but a whole lot of benefit that results from eating it.

In this life, there’s a lot of stuff that threatens to drain the vim and verve out of me and leave me in a state of existence (living). In spite of this, I can decide that I only get one go-around and I’m going to make the most of it while I’m here (truly alive) so that my life impacts others’ in a positive way. Sure there’ll be “moments”, but life issues notwithstanding, I want to be in a constant state of “truly alive”, so help me God! 

Even if I never write a book, make a ton of money, receive a Pulitzer prize or get those washboard abs I so desire, I want people to say of me: “there goes a woman who’s truly alive.”

Woo-hooooooo!!!!

 

Lately, I’ve been undergoing a sort of self-analysis, which is also a prevailing theme in my family and our church at the moment.

Our church is gearing up towards a re-launch and we are experiencing great momentum as we share our vision through outreaches and other means. One thing we are finding out repeatedly is that people are tired of business-as-usual as far as the church is concerned. People need a community of love where they can belong and be accepted. Up until now, we in the church (generally speaking, of course) have created the impression that you have to believe before you belong. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not espousing “a new gospel” here. I’m not referring to the kingdom of heaven which has undisputable pre-requisites, but to a community of love which breaks down the barriers and objections to the gospel message and opens the door to the kingdom of heaven. Let’s face it, people don’t always understand the language of the kingdom of heaven, but they always understand the language of love.

The way my husband illustrates it is that we inadvertently draw a circle around the cross, demarcating who’s “in” and who’s “out.” The truth is, Jesus never did that. He never for one moment lost His sense of purpose or compromised His mission and principles, yet He broke down all social and cultural barriers in order to reach all. Whether it was to the prostitute, despised and marginalized by society, or the rich, young ruler who had it all, or the regular every day folks who became His disciples, Jesus was real, relevant and touched a need in people’s lives. He loved first, made people feel like they belonged, and then they believed!

Joseph and I like to fly below radar as much as possible. When we meet people, we leave out the part where we mention that we are pastors. Reason being, sometimes when that tidbit of information is revealed, we immediately see a shift in their attitude and they start to apologize for every cuss word they used. If people can’t relate to me in default mode, then how can they relate to Jesus whom I claim to represent? Can I truly embrace someone who does not believe like I do, or do they have to believe first before they belong in my “circle”?

Anybody feeling me out there? If so, please join me on the doctor’s couch of self-analysis. Plenty of room…