Category Archives: Uncategorized
This just makes me happy.
It also makes me think of Heather who posted a video ages ago about a swing at a bus stop. You and me, girl. We’ll rock it.
Battling Agendas: Opportunity or Distraction?
John Piper said:
“The world sets the agenda for the professional man; God sets the agenda of the spiritual man.”
I’ve been thinking on this much lately. “Lately” meaning for over a year.
One of my goals – Have you noticed that people only talk about resolutions in January? I like the term “goals” better. Resolutions provide too much guilt when you miss the mark, but goals seem to encourage lasting growth. Or maybe my choice of semantics simply reflects (and justifies) anticipated failure. Oh, that could be a whole blog post of pontifications, don’t you think?
Aside from attempting to stop interrupting myself with random tangents and other frequent exhibitions of ADD tendencies, one of my goals for 2011 is to be more intentional. (How’s that for a perfectly vague aspiration?) To be more specific, one aspect of this is to focus more on my writing by pursuing additional avenues of publication.
As a side note (Doesn’t “side note” sound better than “tangent?” It’s almost intentional, right?) — As a side note, whenever I set this goal, my blogging frequency drops off. I started blogging as an intentional practice for my writing, but four-plus years later, the practice has morphed into a form of procrastination. The two, while intended to be cooperative, seem to possess an inverse relationship. The more I blog, the less I write. The more I write, the less I blog.
But my goal extends beyond the realm of writing. I want to be intentional with my projects, yet, but also with my time, my energy, what I teach my kids and how I interact with others. Basically, I want to think more about what I’m doing and why. I want to be focused. The problem is that I’m not sure precisely where that focus needs to be.
Too often I fall into the easy rut of seeking a lifelong mission, a purpose toward which all my daily dealings point. However, (and I’ve blogged about this before) I believe the Christian life is more about daily living and less about grandiose plans. I believe knowing God is the objective of life and the daily doings are the means by which we achieve that objective. I believe those daily doings can add up to a grandiose plan, but I believe the orchestration of that plan is God’s responsibility, not ours. Our responsibilities lie solely on the small, seemingly mundane, one-day-at-a-time acts of obedience.
I fear that when I seek to fulfill the grandiose plan on my own, I lose all proper focus. Roles are transposed. Instead of feeding God’s glory and accepting His sovereign role in the universe, I feed my personal pride and inflated sense of worth. I take matters into my own hands rather than trusting Him fully. When striving to produce my “big picture,” I too often follow the world’s agenda.
As should be expected, the more I seek focus, the more distractions come my way. Orders are stacking high for my book purse business, I’ve received surprising opportunities to write and have even gained new editing projects. Are these distractions or opportunities? Is it God’s divine direction or is it the world trying to keep me from following His agenda?
Here are a few tips toward knowing the difference. If you face similar uncertainties, ask yourself these questions.
Does it glorify God? This is the most important question. If it dishonors Him, if it goes against Scripture, you need to stop immediately and run in the opposite direction. Remember Joseph’s famous flee? Do likewise!
On the flip-side, this doesn’t mean that every hobby, every word, every action must blatantly point to God, but rather that whatever you do, you do it with an attitude that honors Him. See 1 Corinthians 10:31.
Does it utilize your gifts? God has given us all talents and gifts, both spiritual and physical. We need to use them! I’m not a fan of tests and classifications of gifts. I feel those lead to over-analysis. God is passionate and natural, and He made us in His image. I firmly believe that God not only gives us gifts, but He also gives us a passion to use those gifts. Is there something you really love to do? Something that comes naturally to you? Chances are your gift lies somewhere near that.
Does it show love to others? The entire Bible is saturated with the importance of love. We must love God first and love our neighbors second. 1 Corinthians 13 tells us that no matter how great our gifts may be, if we do not possess love, our gifts are useless. Not just useless, but annoying.
Does it pull you away from previous commitments? Remember the guy who started building a tower and then ran out of money? (Luke 14) Everyone laughed at him, called him a fool. You know what else? I bet no one ever hired him to build another tower. God is eternally faithful, dependable. If we aspire to be like Him, we must try our best to reflect those characteristics. If you said you’re going to do something, do it. Complete the job before moving on to something new.
Your turn! How do you decide if something is an opportunity or a distraction?
Wrapped in His Love
The 12 Pearls of Christmas continue! Here is the sixth precious piece. We’re just halfway through.
Wrapped in His Love
by Rebecca Ondov
The temperature is below zero and dropping quickly—probably to -15 or lower. Old Man Winter gusted in a couple days ago, leaving cold temperatures and a foot of snow behind. Moments ago I bundled up in my long johns and Carhartts to go out and feed. Of course I had a warm horse blanket draped over my arm. When it’s below zero I wrap Czar in two horse blankets.
Czar nickered as soon as he saw me coming. When I buckled up the blankets, it was as if I was wrapping him in my love. He buried his head in my chest. I snuggled him and stroked his long red winter hair. I pulled a couple icicles out of his black mane as my mind drifted through memories. I’d bought Czar when he was a month old; it was love at first sight. After he was weaned from his mother, I brought him home.
Czar leaned into me, almost as if he was hugging me. I patted his neck, “That was thirty years ago, Czar. Can you believe it?” Czar had been my main saddle horse when I worked in the Bob Marshall Wilderness of Montana. I’d ridden him over 20,000 miles. Together we’d faced grizzly bears, mudslides, forest fires, and even fallen off a cliff. He’d saved my life more than once. With my finger, I traced a couple gray hairs that dotted his forehead. “You’ve earned your blankets, buddy.”
The icy breeze nipped at my cheeks and I thought how much his blankets resemble God’s love for us. God was there when we were born—and He loved us at first sight. He’s faithfully been with us through every step of our lives—through every joy and sorrow. He’s cried with us and laughed with us. He cheered when we’ve overcome. Most of all, when I’ve gone through tough times, it’s been God’s love which wrapped itself around me like a shield and pulled me through.
I glanced around me. The snowflakes glistened in the sun. His love surrounded me: the wind whispering in the pines, the chickadee that serenaded me this morning, the gurgling creek that flowed through the pasture. And His greatest love is manifested in the prize of His creation –you and me, the ones created in His image.
This Christmas season, I’m praying that you feel the God of the universe—the one who hung the stars in place—wrapping His loving arms around you and holding you tight (two horse blankets worth). And I pray that all of us experience the love He’s given us in Jesus.
About Rebecca: Rebecca Ondov is the author of Horse Tales from Heaven: Reflections along the Trail with God and Horse Tales from Heaven: Gift Edition. She was a contributing author in several books including Pearl Girls: Encountering Grit, Experiencing Grace. She lives in Western Montana with her family, horses, mules, barn cat, and golden retriever. By day she works for Fox Lumber, brokering lumber throughout the U.S., Canada, and Mexico. By night she forges ahead with her mission, writing stories which equip Christians to lead extraordinary lives. Join her on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn by going to her Website: www.RebeccaOndov.com
A PEARL NECKLACE, BRACELET AND EARRINGS will be given away on New Year’s Day. All you need to do to have a chance of winning is {FILL OUT THIS QUICK ENTRY FORM}. The winner will be announced on the Pearl Girls Blog (http://margaretmcsweeney.blogspot.com) on New Years Day!
12 Pearls of Christmas Series and contest sponsored by Pearl Girls®. For more information, please visit www.pearlgirls.info
For Veteran’s Day
I’m not one to constantly post my kids’ artwork, but my 6-year-old’s homework is perfect for today. It’s also reveals just a sliver of the gratitude I have for the men and women, friends and family, who have and continue to serve our nation faithfully. They preserve our freedoms and protect our very lives with their own.
THANK YOU.
A thousand times, THANK YOU.
Changes may be coming.
Consider this fair warning: I’m bored.
Oh, I’ve not run out of things to do. Quite to the contrary, I don’t have a bazillion things to do. But I lack a creative outlet for my creativity. My sewing machine is still in a box somewhere in the abyss of our basement. Same with my stamps and other crafts. So, look out.
I may do something drastic with my hair.
Or my blog.
Consider yourself warned.
And the winner is …
Rose in Ohio!
Congratulations! Email me your snail mail address, so I can pop this book in the mail for you.
Untitled, unsettled
I saw a recent photo of my dad this weekend. His arms wrapped around two of my brothers while the sun drenched them and their wives with happiness.
My dad and I never had a healthy relationship. Never. Even when I tried, when he tried, when all apparent barriers were removed, it just didn’t work. Granted we did not always supply fervent persistence, but for twenty years we tried. For twenty years we failed.
Finally, I gave up. That sounds fatalistic, and perhaps it is, but I just couldn’t do it any more. The effort of trying and never being heard exhausted me. The emotional roller coaster of striving for approval and then almost instantly losing it again. I had been hurt too deeply too often. And I’m sure I hurt him too. I do not claim to be blameless. The cycle never improved, and my ability to survive it diminished.
Should toxic relationships continue? Should they be forced to endure simply because of obligation? Or blood relation? When nothing changes and it never gets better, should one persist?
Most days I feel justified in my choice to pursue him no longer. But then some days, like today, I wonder. I wonder if we ever really knew each other. I wonder if we had spent more time together, if we had tried a little harder, could we have made it work? Maybe I didn’t fully forgive. Maybe my expectations were unfair. Maybe we both judged too quickly. Maybe he has changed in the last ten years. Maybe …
Maybe I’m that seven-year-old girl all over again. Feeling lost and abandoned. Longing for just a hint of unconditional care. Wishing my life were even a little like all the beautiful stories I’ve read in books.
But I’m not that little girl. Once innocent and hopeful, this face now sports wrinkles and sun-spots, both more prevalent with each passing year. Once frivolous and carefree, I now have responsibilities that extend beyond myself. I have a family. I have children to protect. And while part of me wonders what could be, most of me refuses to subject these precious charges to the childhood I endured. Most of me knows I’m not strong enough to withstand the emotional paralysis trying again would likely cause.
A whisper gently encourages me:
“Sing to God, sing praises to His name;
Lift up a song for Him who rides through the deserts,
Whose name is the LORD, and exult before Him.
A father of the fatherless and a judge for the widows,
Is God in His holy habitation.
God makes a home for the lonely;
He leads out the prisoners into prosperity,
Only the rebellious dwell in a parched land.” (Psalm 68:4–6, NASB)
God is a Father. He is my Father.
He is a Judge and a Defender of those who cannot defend themselves, those who have been wronged and desperately need a warrior on their side. He defends me.
He comforts the lonely. Even me.
He frees prisoners and causes them to rejoice. Even those imprisoned by their past. He frees me from regret and guilt.
If only it were easier to take hold of all He offers.
In the Land of Giants (and other tales not long enough to warrant a full post)
I lost fifteen pounds between September and Thanksgiving. (I gained five over Christmas.) This has led to shopping (and subsequent squeezing into the new skinny clothes), one of my least favorite things to do (both the shopping and the squeezing).
I used to love shopping, but since moving to New Jersey, an unofficial mall paradise, I am less enamored with the sport. Yes, it is technically a sport here. Parking alone requires great perseverance and strategy. Once inside the mall, you’ve got to have lots of endurance and strength. If there are sales — good sales — you may find yourself involved in a full-contact fight for survival.
Back to the point. I think all sizes have changed since the last time I had to shop for jeans. First off, my favorite cut no longer exists. Secondly, I now have to shop in the petite section. I am 5’7″! That’s not exactly short. A pair of regular Gap jeans stretches from my bosom to my ankles. No joke. What is going on here?! Have I teleported to the land of giants? I don’t understand.
If anyone has tips on where to buy normal jeans for curvy chicks, preferably ones that won’t require deductions from our 401K, please share.
*****
In other news, one of my very best friends from college got married this weekend. I’m SO EXCITED for her!! Her dress was stunning and the cake was delicious, of course, but her smile was the best part of the whole day. So, a big congratulations to Claudia and Darryl! May God draw you closer to each other as you grow closer to Him. I love you and am so thrilled to witness what God will do in and through you in the years to come.
*****
I work recess at our school two days a week. When the temps or wind chill go below freezing (32 degrees — this happens often throughout January and February), we have recess inside, either the gym (to run) or the library (to watch a movie). Most recently I had a library crew. Since they had already finished the movie chosen by the principal, I grabbed another. That is when I learned fourth grade boys think they’re too cool for VeggieTales. After a few minutes of listening to them shout alternatives and argue over which flicks were good and which weren’t, I grabbed a DVD and popped it in. They continued yelling because the boys thought it was “too girly” and the girls still wanted VeggieTales. I let them know that a boy actually suggested it. Another boy then threatened to puke all over the table. Off went the lights. I made them sit in silence for a full five minutes. Then I started the real torture: The Secret Garden (1950 version). Those poor kids. I do feel for them. I mean, they were already spending recess inside and I aggravate their suffering by making them watch a movie almost as old as my mother. It wasn’t even the good part! The first twenty minutes (which is all we had time for) is full of moaning and all kinds of people dying of tuberculosis or something like that.
Good news: every child in that class is now praying for warmer weather so they won’t have to sit inside with me again.
I’m praying that too.
*****
A few random, but valuable lessons learned this week:
- We need a bigger water heater before the children start taking showers every morning.
- Allowing a four-year-old to type an email to Grandma will almost always mess up your laptop. Count on it.
- It is wise to stock up on winter clothing before winter actually arrives. Buy multiple sizes for your children, because they grow even when you tell them not to. (As a sidenote, I think all clothing companies must live in southern California. Why else would all the stores near me — still freezing temps, people! — be complete out of long pants and sweaters for five-year-olds? Why are they selling swimsuits in January?! The rivers and lakes are frozen, people. I want some new gloves and firmly believe I should be able to get them without special ordering online. Oh, well. Lesson learned.)
- It is better to pay the Kohl’s bill by mail or online, than to go into the store where cute things are often on sale and begging to be bought. (Like swimsuits that can’t be worn for at least six more months.)
And the winner is …
… Sarah! Congratulations! Email me your address (via the contact link above) and I’ll get your book right to you.
Thanks to everyone who left a comment! It was fun reading your thoughts. Stay tuned for more giveaways. It’s Christmas and my birthday’s coming, so I may get a little crazy in the coming weeks. 
The Upside of Down
In the fifth grade I played an exuberant gym teacher in our school musical. (I’ll spare you the pictures of my toe-head afro and too-skinny self.) The play spoke of peer pressure and encourage drug-free living. It was called “The Upside of Down.” I didn’t know what that meant then, and I don’t know exactly what that means now.
Don’t worry — I have not named this post after the play because I want to experiment with drugs. All is well and we still just say “No” in the Dennis home.
But I’m on the upside of down today.
Jesus came to give us life abundantly (John 10:10). This doesn’t mean our paths will be lined with roses or that chocolate will rain from the sky. Life is filled with ups and downs. Life abundant simply means more ups and downs, higher ups and lower downs. The joy promised (Psalm 16:11), though, comes from traveling the roller coaster securely, knowing that a loving Father is in control and has our best interests in mind.
I’m on the upside. Life is good. I feel blessed, overwhelmed with riches and happiness and all things delightful.
At the same time I have several friends who are on the downside. They’re struggling with so many things that simply break my heart. I weep over blog posts and pray through conversations. I email and visit and pray some more. It is a privilege and an honor to share these burdens, and share them I do.
Someday soon it will be my turn. I’ll be on the downside and somewhere a friend on the upside will lend me her strength. She’ll pray with me and weep with me and we’ll lean on God together.
This family of God, this community built through faith, is a pretty cool thing.
