Baggage Claim

I enjoy traveling and don't mind flying, but the whole "baggage" thing gets tiresome. There are just so many rules now. Don't get me wrong, I know the rules are to keep us safe, but it's hard to keep up with them, sometimes. You have to go online to check out the baggage fees for the airline you are flying with, then check what is and is not allowed to be packed. You also have to check their measurement rules for "carry on" bags. If you are "checking" a bag that won't be carried on, you need to put your contact information on a little tag on the bag, in case it gets lost.  Then there's the whole "getting on the plane, finding your seat, and trying to find an empty place in an overhead bin where your carry on bag fits." Then, once you get to your destination, you go to Baggage Claim to wait for your checked bag to appear on the conveyor belt.  By the time you get where you're going, you're exhausted.

Personal baggage gets tiresome, too.

I'm talking about the kind of baggage we keep in our hearts and minds. Oh, sometimes, I know, we "check" our bags for awhile and put them out of our minds and hope they'll get lost, but they always seem to come back around to us with the tag that says "I'm yours! Pick me up!"

Some of us, like me, are stuffers. We'll stuff the baggage "under the seat or in the overhead bin" and ignore it for awhile.  Sooner or later, though, we arrive to where we take it back out and have to carry it again.

We even make up our own rules for our personal baggage. "If I move to a different place, job, etc., all will be better." Or how about, "if I marry the right person who understands me, I'll be happy." The most common rule, however, is "if I ignore it long enough, it will go away."

The thing about personal baggage is, if you never unpack it...it never goes away.

Personal baggage will wear you down, tire you out, steal your happiness, and, sometimes, make you sick.

Some of us have reasons why we haven't "unpacked our baggage." Sometimes it's because it was so painful, we don't ever want to see it again. Sometimes, it's because it's been packed away for so long, we don't even remember it's there, so it's been sitting in "unclaimed baggage."

Jesus came so that we could enjoy life and live fully. (John 10:10 AMP) When we carry our baggage and never unpack it, we are missing out on all that He has for us. We are missing out on freedom and happiness. He never meant for us to carry our baggage, for it to wear us down.  In Matthew 11:28, He tells us "Come to me all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest." He even tells us in 1 Peter 5:7 to "cast our cares (anxieties, worries, baggage) on Him, for He cares for us."

Jesus is in the "unpacking" business.  Let Him "claim" your baggage.  Give it to Him and leave it there.   The next time it tries to come around on that "conveyor belt," don't pick it up. It doesn't belong to you anymore. The name on the tag has been changed to "Jesus."

I'm look forward to traveling lighter, how about you?

Personal Weather Alerts - Now wouldn't that be helpful!

I live in an area that gets a lot of thunderstorms and sometimes they are really bad. Between the wind, dark sky, lightning and thunder, it can get scary. It has been helpful to me to have a "weather alert" app on my phone. It alerts me of the possibility of bad weather in my area so I can prepare and be safe.  (And comfort my dog, who is terrified of storms).

Wouldn't it be helpful if we, as human beings, could have personal weather alerts?

What if we'd had a long, hard day at work where there was one issue after another and then we had to fight traffic on the way home and someone else almost caused us to be in an accident? Wouldn't it be helpful if we had a personal weather alert system that would warn our loved ones that our current weather might be stormy?

What if we really didn't get enough sleep the night before and weren't feeling particularly cheerful in the morning? Our weather alert could be partly cloudy.

What would really be helpful, though, is if we were going through a rough time in our lives, there could be a weather alert that said that we were mostly cloudy, with a strong chance of rain, so please pray for me. You wouldn't have to say anything. Your friends and loved ones would just "know."

Sometimes it would be helpful if the other person had weather alerts. If someone you knew was angry, for example, a fire alert might be helpful. You would know to steer clear, because the likelihood of an argument would be high and you could come back when the alert had expired.

As helpful as personal weather alerts would be, that isn't real life.  In real life, sometimes we're grouchy, angry, stormy and sad. We have good days and we have bad days.  If we've had a particularly difficult day, it might be helpful to let our loved ones know ahead of time so they could be supportive and understanding when we got home.  If we're feeling grumpy, we should try not to "act" grumpy because we might feel better as the day goes on.  And if we are going through a rough time in our lives, we should seek comfort from friends and loved ones who can help us and pray for us.

The weather where I live can be changeable at this time of the year. I, however, need to be aware of my personal weather. I'm going to try to be better about communicating my alerts. I may not always be able to predict or control my personal weather, due to situations in life, but I can work on how I relate to others while in the midst of my weather. Too bad there isn't a "Personal Weather Channel" where we could know our personal weather 10 days ahead of time, right?

What? Me, Worry?

I don't know about you, but I struggle with worrying.  I've read so many things on the subject, listened to wonderful teachings and I have my faith. Yet, I still struggle with it. It's one of those areas in my life where I am still a WIP (Work In Progress).

Part of the problem is that I'm a thinker.  I analyze situations and try to plan ahead so that I can be prepared. The other part of the problem is that I'm a mom.  Moms always worry about their children and have no trouble imagining the ways they can get hurt.  (Any mom who's had a child ask for a skateboard knows this).

There are so many "what if's" in life.  It is difficult not to worry when faced with life's challenges, when we don't know what the future holds for our situation.

Sometimes when I "put in too much time" worrying, God reminds me of the verses in His word that He has had to remind me of over and over again. Matthew 6:25-26 says, "Therefore, I tell you, do not worry about your body, what to eat or drink or what to wear. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothes? Look at the birds of the air, they do not reap or sow or store up in barns, yet your Heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?"

Sometimes His reminder is in a song on the radio, sometimes it shows up in my daily readings, and sometimes, like today, it shows up right in front of me.

I was outside walking the dogs this morning and listening to the birds sing. (I love to listen to them sing!) All of sudden I saw movement out of the corner of my eye.  We had rain overnight and there was a puddle in my yard.  There were two birds in the puddle, splashing and taking a bath. As I watched them, I knew. I knew He was reminding me.  If He can provide a bath for the birds, He can take care of me.

I know I need to just trust Him.  If I, as a parent who loves my children and wants to take care of their needs, then how much more will my Father in heaven want to take care of me? I need to let go of the worrying.  If I'm worrying, I'm not trusting.  More importantly, if I'm worrying, I'm missing out on today. I read somewhere that "today is the tomorrow that we worried about yesterday." Seems like such a waste of time, doesn't it?

I choose, today, to live for today and trust Him with my tomorrows.  And if I feel the need to start worrying again...I'm going birdwatching!

"Cloud-ed" Thinking

Driving to work at this time of the year, I get to see many sunrises.  (I know, that's one way to look on the bright side, right? --- No pun intended).  The road I drive on has several overpasses and, often, by the time I get to the last one, the sun is just coming up over the horizon.  It is a beautiful sight every time that I see it!

Some mornings are clear and the sun shines so brightly that the sky just glows.  On other mornings there are clouds on the horizon, sometimes even hiding the sun.  It is those mornings, though, when there are clouds, that I enjoy the sunrise the most. It seems that the sun reflects on, shines on, shines through and gilds the edges of the clouds! It is simply spectacular!

Life can be a lot like clouds and sunrises.  When things are going smoothly in our lives, it's a beautiful day, but when things are difficult, it can seem dark and gloomy and full of clouds.

When the clouds in my life get to be too much and make it difficult for me to think there will be sunshine again, I remind myself of a flight I was on many years ago.

It was a dark, stormy day, raining "cats and dogs" and I was on a plane getting ready to take off.  I have to be honest. I sure didn't like the idea of taking off through those dark clouds.  As the plane took off, it lifted higher and higher through layer after layer of thick, dark clouds.  As I was watching out the window, all of sudden, we broke through the clouds.  It was the most amazing thing! The sky was crystal blue and the sun was dazzlingly bright!  I can still remember how it looked after all this time.  I even remember the thought that I had at that moment.  "Wow, there's sunshine just beyond the gray clouds. I have to remember that!"

You see, even though we may only see gray clouds for now, sunshine and blue skies are just beyond those gray clouds.  You just never know when the sunrise will break through your situation and shine beautiful colors into your life.  And sometimes, the gray clouds in our lives help us see and appreciate the "sunshiny" days even more.

There is a quote written by Langston Hughes that says "Oh God of dust and rainbows, help us to see, that without the dust, the rainbow would not be."

Whether there is "dust" or there are "clouds" in our lives, we need only to look for the sunshine and blue skies.  We can look for the sun to shine through our circumstances. In Hebrews 11:1, it says "Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen."

Look at the clouds in your life and expect God to make a beautiful sunrise out of it. It's going to be spectacular, I just know it!

"I've Become My Mother?"

Have you ever said, or heard someone say, "I've become my mother" or "I opened my mouth and my mother's voice came out"?

When we say, "I've become my mother" it usually isn't because we're reflecting on behavior we wanted to copy, it's because we copied the behavior we never wanted to copy."

As it usually is between parents and children, children don't like the way they are "parented."  Sadly, some children have very valid reasons. For most children, though, it usually has to do with everyday parenting.  "Don't do this...don't do that...how many times have I told you?" and on and on.  Some parents are big on guilt trips to try to get their children to do what they want.  Some parents seem to have a list of rules a mile long.  Some parents are just the opposite...they give no boundaries.

Many children say, "When I have children, I'm going to do things differently!" Then they grow up, have children and are surprised when they've acted the same way.

The way to "do things differently" is to make a change in ourselves. We don't have to listen to the "I can't change because it runs in our family" thoughts or the "I'll never change" thoughts," change can happen, if we want it. We don't have to stay the same, repeating mistakes and behaviors.  We don't even have to be "tied" to behaviors that run in our families.

There is a verse in the Bible that says "Therefore, if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things become new." (2 Corinthians 5:17).  That verse gives me great hope.  It tells me that if I am in Him, I am a new creation (brand new, never seen before). I am not tied to past behaviors - family history or my own. With His help, I can change.

So, how do we make a change? We need to look at what needs to be changed.  Do we need to change the way we think or react or do we need to change a behavior or our way of thinking? We may need to ask ourselves if we need help with making a change.  Whatever the change, it can be done.

I was listening to an old Harry Chapin song the other day called "Cat's In the Cradle." The song talks about a dad who was too busy to be involved in his son's life, then the son grows up and is too busy to be in his dad's life.  The son always said, growing up, that he would be "just like his dad." At the end of the song, the dad realizes that his son "grown up, just like him."

It's never too late to make a change.  Our children will always be our children.  We can choose to make the changes we need to make.  We can share with our children that we are trying to make changes.  We can show that we want better for ourselves and our children.  When they see us in the change process, it can be an example for them, too.  Who knows, maybe someday, one of our children will say "I've become my mother" and it will be a good thing!

New Year's Resolution? Not me!

How many of us make a resolution for change on New Year's Eve about something we really want to change in our lives?  We're all about making it happen.  We'll read books on the subject, sign up for gym memberships, start journals or ______________ (fill in the blank). We'll be passionate about it for the first few weeks (or even less).  Then life continues and we get busy. We'll make excuses to ourselves about why we haven't been able to keep the resolution.  Before we know it, time has passed and we realize that we didn't "keep" our resolutions. We feel guilty.  We feel like we've failed.  We feel like "nothing will ever change."

When you think about it, it's a pretty terrible way to start a New Year, isn't it?

What if the resolution we made was not to have any more New Year's resolutions?

I stopped making New Year's resolutions years ago.  It wasn't that I couldn't keep them (I failed more often than not), it was the realization that I am a WIP, a Work In Progress.  I don't need to make a "resolution" on New Year's Eve. What I need to do is to examine my life on a regular basis to see what changes can be made and then work toward making them.  It still takes effort, determination, and self-discipline on my part, but I also spend time in prayer asking for help to make the change.  In Philippians 4:13 it says that "I can do all things through Him who gives me strength." When I am struggling to keep on a path to change, I know that I am not alone. I can turn to the One who helps me. He knows I'm a Work In Progress and loves me anyway.

What if we decided, today, not to make any more New Year's resolutions?  What if we decided, instead, to work on those areas in our lives throughout the year?  To remember that it's ok to be Works In Progress?

New Year's Resolution? Not me!

IMD - "In My Dreams"

I was standing in line at a Christian bookstore in Georgia, waiting to get a signed book from an author for a friend in Florida (story for another day). While waiting, I was chatting with the person in front of me in the line.  She was telling me about how her sister is an author and has a new book out.  I told her I was new to blogging and told her about WIPs (Works In Progress) and UFOs (Unfinished Objects). We both talked about writing a book, ourselves, "someday." She laughed when thinking about writing her book and said, "Yeah, right.  IMD - In My Dreams!"  I laughed, too, but then realized how many of us have ideas and dreams that sit on the shelf because we never really think we'll have the chance to do it, be it, have it. I asked her if I could use her IMD idea for my blog and she said, "Sure!" So here goes...

What dream do you have in your heart of hearts?  Do you have a dream to travel, to write a book, to learn photography, to learn to paint, to learn to play the piano?  Or is your dream more about living someplace that you've dreamed about or having a place of your own to decorate?  Dreams are usually about something or someday, they don't exist in our lives YET.  Just because your dream hasn't happened and you can't see how it can happen, doesn't mean that it won't happen.  Hebrews 11:1 says "Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen."

When God created each of us, he made us unique with our own set of ideas and talents. You are "fearfully and wonderfully made." (Psalm 139:13-16) What if the seeds of our dreams were planted when we were created? What if they're just waiting for us to "water and harvest?" So how do we "water and harvest" our dreams?  We should be thinking and praying about our dreams and planning for the possibility. We should also look for opportunities to move in the direction of our dreams.  Sometimes, it is important just to take the first step.

For example, do you want to learn to play the piano? See if there is a place in your town that offers lessons.  It doesn't have to be expensive.  Many school districts offer programs after hours. There are also many training videos online that don't cost anything. If you don't have a piano, an inexpensive electronic keyboard will work to learn the basics. Check out pawn shops and thrift stores.  Sometimes you can find instruments at greatly reduced prices.

Do you want to travel?  You could start with researching the area you would first like to visit.  Make a list of things you would like to do and see while there.  You could also contact different travel agencies to get an idea of cost so you could start saving money toward it.

Do you want to have a place of your own that you could decorate?  You could start a scrapbook with ideas from magazines and drawings of what you would like.  Maybe you could start by decorating a room where you are right now.  You could start with little touches here and there.

Whatever your dream is, you just need to start somewhere.  I saw a sign on a bulletin board at a college where I took a night class.  The sign said, "If you fail to plan, you will plan to fail." In other words, if you don't have a plan at all, how can you ever get to where you want to be? Don't let the "busyness" of life crowd out your dreams.  Maybe you only have 15 minutes to yourself at this stage in your life.  Start by actually taking those 15 minutes to focus on you and what you want.  Try to increase it, when you can.  You and your dreams are important.  Time will still pass whether we pursue our dreams or not so it is important to "seize the moment" and spend time on ourselves.

So let's look at our dreams.  Let's make a plan.  Let's see if we can "water" our dreams today so we can move toward the harvest of tomorrow.

Here's to my Georgia friend!  "IMD- In My Dreams?"  You bet!  I do have a dream!  Thank you for reminding me.  I may not get that book written anytime soon, but I will someday!