Does Thanksgiving at your home look
like a Top Chef inspired feast in a Better Homes and Gardens setting?
Maybe, like us, it closer resembles a Duck Dynasty free-for-all.
My husband, Jake, and I open our home
every Thanksgiving. One year we broke tradition and hosted a hot dog
grill in the back yard. (Yeah! Thankful for fewer dishes to wash.)
November in Nebraska prompted us back
inside the following year. (Yeah! Thankful for heat and running
water.)
In Abraham Lincoln's 1863 proclamation
establishing Thanksgiving Day he wrote, "They are the gracious
gifts of the Most High God..."
Maybe this holiday it's hard to see
God's gifts.
Perhaps you're grieving the loss of
loved ones, or struggling with illness.
Maybe you feel alone.
If sorrow overshadows thankfulness,
here's some great news.
You can have a friend who sticks closer
than a brother. Proverbs 18:24
He'll never leave you. He'll never
forsake you. Hebrews 13:5
His name is Jesus.
If you're lonely, please take 2 minutes
to watch this short video.
NaNoWriMo: an international event where semi-crazed writers create a 50,000 word novel during the month of November.
Since I'm participating in this time-pressed enterprise for the first time, I wanted to share my top 5 time savers for the real world.
Courtesy of tiramisustudio @freedigitalphotos.net
1) Focus on the task at hand
Stopping to check a text or voice-mail
diverts our attention. The brain veers off like a smurf skipping
through the forest. La LA la la la la...
Since multi-tasking actually slows us
down, stick with the task at hand.
2) Turn off the TV
This can be a
tough one.
I'll plan to watch
a half hour sit-com, but find myself sucked in by the programs that
follow. "Wow, another
episode of Who's Line is it Anyway? And they're doing Scenes
from a Hat!"
Try this for 1
week: Leave a paper and pen next to your remote. Write down the
amount of TV time you're logging. Tally it at the end of the week.
Most of us spend more time than we realize in front of the boob tube.
(And with the amount of cleavage displayed in the majority of shows,
I mean that literally.)
Who can resist those hilarious YouTube videos? It only takes a minute
to Tweet, or "like" a Facebook entry, right? But every
instant on Instagram equals a moment of your life gone. Crush the
Candy Crush cravings, and retreat from the virtual world.
4) Identify
"escape routes"
What hinders us from tackling the homework, office presentation,
messy house, or messy life?
Admission: I'll pull out a novel instead of working on my own.
To set up an escape route roadblock, take this multiple choice,
open-book test.
1) Ask:
A) "Does this path lead me closer to my goals (freedom)?
B) "Does this path lead me in the same old circles (trap)?
The correct answer is A.
You scored 100% if you chose A.
You'll be batting 1000 if you do it.
5) Do the
worst first
My grandmother, a paragon of homemaking virtue, once admitted, "As
a young bride, I hated doing the piles of never-ending dishes. I'd
cry just looking at the mess. One day I realized I was allowing
something silly to control my thoughts. After that, I washed dishes
fast to get through the task. I'd conquered the giant I'd created in
my mind, and from that point, I felt free."
(Disclaimer: Granny said it with a Lithuanian flair bordering on
Yiddish that I'm unequal to recreate.)
For short projects: Take a cue from Nike and Just Do It.
For long projects: Assign a daily number of minutes to work on it.
Even if you hit it for 10 minutes a day, you've diminished your
workload by an hour in under a week.
A book of ancient wisdom says:
Lazy people want much but get little, but those who work hard will
prosper. Proverbs 13:4
Time for me to put down the Jane Austin novel and get back to work on
my own.
How will you free up your time? I'd love to hear...unless you're
following strategy #3.
Have your words ever encountered a mental traffic jam traveling from your brain to your lips?
Our writer's group has grown like my waistline after a run-in with a box of Godivas, so we
decided to split it into two. The group, not the chocolates.
Courtesy of Simon Howden @freedigitalphotos.net
One bonus will be a shorter drive for many members since they'll now meet at a central location. The new group's hostess, Karen,
asked if I planned to attend critique at her house. Because of the
distance between our homes...
I meant to say:
"My husband doesn't want me to drive that far."
Instead I said:
"My husband doesn't want me going
to that area."
"That area" conjures images
of drug dealers lurking around dilapidated buildings, the opposite
of Karen's beautiful home and neighborhood.
Courtesy of Rosemary Ratcliff @freedigitalphotos.net
She said my statement reminded her of
Elvis Presley's old song, "In the Ghetto," and laughed off my thoughtless words.
Dear Nancy, this blog is written
especially for you. I've walked a mile in your mid-heeled
pumps, and want to remind you that no matter how crazy things get,
God loves you, and is standing by to help.
Nancy, please don't give up.
By David Castillo Dominici @ freedigitalphotos.net
You're working as hard as you can to
take care of your family. You handle the cooking, housework, yard
work, kids' transportation, pet care, and volunteer
activities-church, school, and sports.
You love your
husband with your whole heart, but you'd appreciate more romance and fewer dirty clothes on the
floor...six inches from the hamper.
Courtesy of anankkml @freedigitalphotos.net
You love Jesus.
You're concerned about the battles your
kids face every day walking into their classrooms. Along with drugs
and bullying, you're troubled about their constant exposure to a world view
that says everything's permissible--except true Christianity.
courtesy Gualberto107 @freedigitalphoto.net
You and
your family are bombarded with the lie that christians who take a
stand for biblical values are ignorant and narrow-minded.
photostock @ freedigitalphotos.net
You want to
give your kids an alternative to the Harry Potter and Twilight novels
the rest of their friends, even the christian ones, are devouring.
You want to turn on the TV without listening to a string of words
being bleeped out...and hearing those that should have been.
Courtesy of hin255 @freedigitalphotos.net
In the midst of your super-heroic,
super-busy life, you need time for prayer, love, laughter, hope, and
a nap.
Most important, you need to be reminded how precious you are
to God. How much He treasures you. And it's not for what you do. He loves you for you.
Serge Bertasius Photography @ freedigitalphotos
So Nancy, be encouraged as you take
your stand against a world that doesn't understand God's Word; that
ridicules your determination to live by it, and raise your children
by it.
You may feel overwhelmed at times. You
might not do everything right. But keep standing strong. Keep
pressing on.
Courtesy of graur razvan ionut @ freedigitalphotos.net
Here's God's message for you:
Do not be afraid or discouraged, for
the LORD will personally go ahead of you. He will be with you; he
will neither fail you nor abandon you." Deut 31:8 NLT
I truly want to hear from all the "Nancys" out there.
What are you believing God for
today? What are your hopes and dreams and
aspirations? What have you endured? Where do you struggle? How can I help?
Please leave a message in the comments below. If you don't want to share it in the comments, email me directly
(jeaniej@cox.net).
Grrr! Stupid Christians. Stop it
already. Shut up!
And they'd stop talking about Jesus.
But they kept acting like him.
They kept showing me love,
and extending friendship. No strings attached. Just love.
I'd point out all the good deeds
I was doing to tip the heavenly scales in my favor. "I'm a good
person. I do more good things than bad."
They'd open a bible and show me what
God said about it. Verses like
We are all infected and impure with
sin. When we display our righteous deeds, they are nothing but filthy
rags. Is 64:6
I didn't like God's answers. They
didn't line up with my thinking, so I refused to listen.
But his people kept showing me love
anyway. They'd bring me cookies and invite me to picnics.
courtesy of AKARAKINGDOMS @ freeigitalphotos.net
A church picnic? No way. I expected an
ambush by those Jesus people. I pictured them springing out of the
woods, armed with bibles. I steered clear.
It bugged me to watch those Christians.
They were more than happy. They were joyful. And they didn't pretend
to be perfect. Their methods of working through their problems sat at
the opposite spectrum from mine. They were always forgiving people
instead of taking my advice, which ranged from intricate schemes of
revenge to old-fashioned butt-kicking.
But they just kept loving me. And all
their love finally got through.
Courtesy of graur razvan ionut @ freedigitalphotos.net
Plus, I figured God couldn't made a
bigger mess of my life than I already had.
So I prayed,
"Jesus, I'm sorry for the all the
wrong things I've done, the messes I've made. Please forgive me. I
want to be yours."
And at that moment, I became His.
God welcomed me into his amazing love.
It was a supercharged version of the love his people had been showing
me all along.
I received a new life. A fresh start.
Has it been easy?
Not always.
Has it been easier than when I lived
without God?
Totally. Absolutely. Infinitely.
photo courtesy of Naypong @ freedigitalphotos.net
Even when I slip up, God gathers me up,
brushes me off, loves on me, and sets me on my feet. His crazy
amazing love never changes.
If you've taken the time to read this
far, I suspect you're ready for some of that love yourself. Here's how.
Jesus is the gateway to his father,
God.
Jesus said, "I am the way, the
truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me.John 14:6
To start a relationship with him, speak
this life-changing prayer:
Lord, I'm sorry for doing things my
way instead of yours. Please forgive me,
and be my savior.
If you prayed that with a sincere
heart, you've just become his child. Buckle in for an explosion of
crazy amazing love.
And if you prayed it, please
let me know. I'll celebrate with you.
She and her husband, both military,
downsized to a small apartment right before his overseas duty tour.
She was left stateside to handle a full time job, their newborn, and
her step-son.
courtesy of debspoons @ freedigitalphoto.net
One evening I went to over to
help. She turned to me in desperation and
said,"I'm up with the baby all night, work all day, then come
home to cook and clean and take care of the kids.
When's it my turn?"
I looked into her exhausted,
tear-streaked face and answered,
"Now."
She jerked to attention like a marionette in the hands of a demented puppeteer. She gestured to the piles of laundry and dirty dishes and
said, "Ms. Jeanie, you gotta be kidding me."
I put my arms around her and shared the
hard-won wisdom I'd learned through years of difficulties:
"You're not joyful BECAUSE of the
mess, but You can find joy IN SPITE OF IT."
She seemed skeptical at first, but eventually weariness won out. She counceled with our
pastor, Ramona Smith of Bible Truth Ministries, and received wisdom.
For instance, this new mom thought she needed to hold her baby whenever the child was awake. Also, she started asking her church family for help.
Here's a tip for everyone: Don't go it alone. The Lone
Ranger wouldn't have gotten far without Tonto.
In Nehemiah 8:10 the people heard, "...Don’t be dejected and sad, for the joy of the Lord is your strength!”
We need to learn to dance to a new beat, to connect with the rhythm of joy.
Instead of complaining about the dirty dishes, thank God for the food.
Instead of complaining about the job, thank God you have a way to provide.
I'm not saying to stay in rotten situations. I'm saying we need to live in joy as we pray and press our way out of those situations.
So whether you're clapping to a 1-3 beat or a 2-4, keep on singing, keep on praising, keep on dancing to the rhythm of joy.
If you feel so overwhelmed you don't believe things will ever get better, write me. I'll pray for you, and do my best to show you how to connect with joy.
My dance partner,
Joe, guided me through a polka as guest musician "Barefoot Becky" fired up the room with her accordion, accompanied by her
wise-cracking husband on guitar.
As the rollicking
music poured out, the senior party-people kicked up their heels with enough energy to make a young rapper
envious.
photostock @freedigitalphotos.net
I scanned the room and realized I was surrounded by over 1000 years of combined knowledge. So when Barefoot Becky
hot-footed off to her next gig, I tapped into that wisdom by asking people this question:
If you could go
back in time and give yourself one piece of advice, what would it be?
Here's a sample of their wisdom:
Mary, Jerrie, Rita,
Irene, and Lawrence all agreed they'd tell themselves to go to &
finish college.
Rita, with 50 years
of nursing experience, stressed learn how to study.
Marcie and Dale said- study harder. Not surprising their advice coincided since they've been
married for 60 1/2 years.
Joan-help kids onto
the right path.
Lorraine-don't get
stressed out. Go with the flow.
Evelyn-enjoy every
day.
Val-be more outgoing
socially.
Sharon-don't take
yourself so seriously.
Eileen-don't work so hard.
Sandy countered with- never put off for tomorrow what you can do today.
Jonie and I had this
in common-we'd have given our lives to Christ much earlier.
photostock @freedigitalphotos.net
We can't go back in
time to give ourselves advice, but we can do a turn around right now.
Turning our lives over to Jesus is the most dramatic life changer possible.
This means that
anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is
gone; a new life has begun! 2 Corinthians 5:17
And those nasty
things we've done?
He has removed our
sins as far from us as the east is
from the west. Psalm 103:12
Talk about good
news!
Here's more good news. If you know someone
over 60 send them to Corrigan's
senior center. Manager Lynnette and the gang will make them welcome. And I'll even share my dance partner, Joe.
