It's time for finger cookies...

2011 Zombie Fingers

Every year, since 2006, I make "finger cookies" for Halloween.

Evidence here:
2006 - the lady fingers
2007 - bloody fingers
2008 - stubby bloody fingers
2009 - Diversity Fingers
2010 - Green fingers... but can't find the pics!!! *meh*
2011 - Zombie fingers

2009 Diversity Fingers

What should I do this year?  

I'm thinking Zombie for sure... considering my new affliction with the "Walking Dead" (Thanks to Jeff, Maddie, Chelsey, Suzie & Travis... LOL. Hooked.)

What other creepy finger or other halloweeny grossness would be cool?  Ideas?

Potential v Reality

I'm praying for a dear friend, who is going through something similar as me. Accepting the reality of her situation instead of the potential of her reality.

Another friend recently chose to end almost 30 years marriage due to the similar reasons. Another friend, is still dealing with the fallout of making the right decision for herself even after 17 years.

Our past is not the past if we are still living in it, right?!

Over the last few weeks and the past year, God has shown me that I’m not alone. He’s shown me strong women who, for whatever reason, are drawn to the potential of someone, instead of the reality of someone.

It doesn’t make us weak. In fact, what we’ve been through makes us stronger.

It’s now our opportunity to unselfishly look inward & decipher our own needs for the first time in our lives.

We can take care of ourselves first & other’s second… We realize that until we learn to do this, we really can’t help others anymore. We’re tapped out. In fact, by taking care of ourselves, we are able to do more for others if we can figure it out.

Yet, it is uncomfortable.
It’s foreign.
We were taught to put ourselves last.
It feels selfish & wrong to do anything else.

But, guess what?

It’s not.

It’s our turn to focus on what we really want & need in our lives. No compromises.

It’s our turn to give ourselves permission to be ourselves.

And, in the process, find ourselves again.

Fixing everyone else… Taking care of everyone else has only been a diversion from us actually seeing ourselves for who & what we are as strong women.

I, for one, am ready to do the work to turn that around.

And, it’s my hope that the amazingly strong women in my life have the courage to do the same.

God’s got a plan for us… That may involve us caring for others… But in a way that doesn’t hurt us and unintentionally keep others from facing the consequences of their own choices.

We can do this.

And, when we do, no matter how hard, we’ll be a better version of ourselves than we can even imagine.

God’s got our back.
We just need to take those steps of faith and trust His plan.

No more creating our own reality in our relationships. Authenticity is the rule… For ourselves and the people we choose moving forward.

Potential v Reality…
I’m finally choosing reality.

Be good to yourself.
Protect your heart at all costs…
It’s your treasure.

"Guard your heart above all else, for it determines the course of your life." http://bible.us/Prov4.23.NLT

You deserve better than potential.

You deserve reality.

This is Jeanne on "Energy" Vitamins

This is Jeanne on Energy Vitamins.

I took my multivitamin at lunch today instead of breakfast.

Aaaand, I may want to rethink that in the future.

It is a multivitamin with extra  "energy" and it works.  

Apparently, in the AM it is not as noticeable. In fact, it may be the thing that makes me a better human in the morning.

All I know is that right now... well, I'm not sure whats in these things, but I feel like I could run a marathon. 

So, consider yourself warned. 

Extra enthusiasm on the verge of obnoxiousness abounds this afternoon.

The Gum Parker

It's true.
I chew a ton of gum.
And, have for a long time.

Evidence: The Gum Parker

My Grandma gave me this when I was probably 8 or 9 after one too many pieces of gum ended up in the dishwater.

Hilarious.
And cute, right?!

Under the Jefferson Street Bridge

Volunteers unload a truck & set up a make-shift food pantry.

Every Tuesday at 5:30, a group of volunteers assembles beneath the Jefferson Street Bridge.

As volunteers arrive, they check in and receive colored arm bands telling them where they'll be serving for the next two hours.

Trucks wait, jammed with chairs, food, clothes... And within 30 minutes what once was the space beneath an overpass is transformed into a place of worship, The Bridge Ministry.

At 6 pm, live gospel music echoes against the concrete as somewhere between 500 & 600 homeless men, women and children line up to receive a hot meal & something to drink. People serving on the hospitality team carry plates of food and help the guests get settled in their seats. Most carry everything they own with them and it is the only hot meal they'll eat all week.

500+ homeless & volunteers worshiping together

Once everyone is served and seated, the music subsides & worship begins. The pastor delivers a message of hope, acceptance & love... prayers for safety, jobs & a warm place to sleep. A team of volunteers line up along the makeshift worship area to help people pray. Many of the homeless make their way to them and pray with them. There are no words to really describe this experience. It's moving to say the least.

As the service ends, attendees file to the back of the worship area and form lines to receive food for the week from the makeshift "food pantry". From there, they pick up blankets, socks, underwear & toiletries.

In a little more than two hours, they've worshiped, eaten and gotten sustenance / necessities many of us take for granted.

And, what they may not realize, is getting to serve them is just as much of a blessing to those serving them as it is to those being served.

Consider Volunteering:
The cold of winter is not far away from these crisp fall nights.

And, winter is usually when these friends need us most. It's also a more challenging time to find volunteers.

Please consider giving your time, once a month, twice a month, weekly... To those who desperately need it. It's their opportunity, if even for a couple hours, to feel somewhat normal. And, in serving, you'll receive more than you can comprehend.

Find out more: The Bridge Ministry
If you're not sure you want to go it alone, join a group of Cross Point Nashville Campus volunteers who assemble every Tuesday at 5 at the church gym to caravan over and serve together.

Be Who You Are

From The Language of Letting Go by Melody Beattie ©1990, Hazelden Foundation. All rights reserved. 

For some of us, this can be frightening. What would happen if we felt what we felt, said what we wanted, became firm about our beliefs, and valued what we needed? What would happen if we let go of our camouflage of adaptation? What would happen if we owned our power to be ourselves?

Would people still like us? Would they go away? Would they become angry?

There comes a time when we become willing and ready to take that risk. To continue growing, and living with ourselves, we realize we must liberate ourselves. It becomes time to stop allowing ourselves to be so controlled by others and their expectations and be true to ourselves - regardless of the reaction of others.

Before long, we begin to understand. Some people may go away, but the relationship would have ended anyway. Some people stay and love and respect us more for taking the risk of being whom we are. We begin to achieve intimacy, and relationships that work.

We discover that who we are has always been good enough. It is who we were intended to be.

Today, I will own my power to be myself.