Dreamy Places

I have no idea why I was thinking about this, other than the fact that random things often land on the turf between my earlobes....But I got to thinking about dreamy places. Places where we can be our best 'cause we feel our best. It's easy to i.d. your remote dreamy place. But I think we also need local ones. Jesus had one! The hilltop, at dawn, where he could see the sun (Son?) rise. My local dreamy place is my screened-in patio. From my patio, I see nature's backdrop of blue sky, a canopy of palm trees, a layer of kelly-green grass and the sound of water bubbling from our pool. This is my local (and cheap) dreamy place. Not dreamy for its exclusivity or poshness; dreamy because I dream there. Where's yours? Hope you have one, 'cause leaders need to be dreamin'!

My Monday Morning Insight

Welcome to Monday morning! Mondays can be rough, so I'll keep my insight short and sweet:

1. See and seize today. You can't control tomorrow; you can't get yesterday back. But today is the day that God's made and He wants YOU to play a part in it!

2. Priscilla, Deb M., & Nadlman - when Shadrach went into the fire, he had 2 buds with him. This weekend, I was blessed and honored to have three...you three. Thank you.

3. Tonight, at 8pm, you HAVE to go to Troy and Steph's bed at troyandsteph.com. It's not what you think; but it will exceed your expectations!

Note to Self

So we do not give up.
Our physical body is becoming
older and weaker,
but our spirit inside us
is made new
every day.
2 Corinthians 4:16, NCV

When Raul Dumped Me

When Raul and I were dating, he dumped me and took off to Mexico for vacation. OK, for starters, NOBODY dumps Heather....well, except for Cubans named Raul. Secondly, was I all that bad that he had to leave the country?! Gheesh! Third, he dumped me because (in his exact words), "I'm tired of combating with you." Whatever! Shah! As if! OK, it's been 10 years, I 'fess...I was combative. And combat just doesn't fly with nice guys. So he dumped me and fled....uh....left the country. Good thing he came to his senses and flew his butt back to Florida. Cause I wasn't gonna take no for an answer. And apparently, God was on my side, which always helps : ) Anyway, I just want to say that life's so funny. I cried alot then, but as I'm writing this, Raul & I are laughing. Just like God, eh? He turns our mourning into dancing.

PS - this is dedicated to Lisa. My bud who sat across from me at The Original Pancake House as my crocodile tears hit my pancakes and I desperately received her consoling. Thanks, girl!

Like Brother; Like Brother

Photo #1: May 2006. DJ at the Miami-Metro Zoo.
DJ pouting 'cause he didn't want his picture taken with the elephants.

Photo #2: March 2008. Andy at the Miami-Metro Zoo.
Andy pouting 'cause he didn't want his picture taken with the elephants!

What is it with the Palacios' boys and elephants? Gheesh!

DQ Swirly Cones

The last 3 days have been humbling. I put some crazy acid stuff on my chin and my little chin got infected. And poor Raul, he's seen 3 days of tears and obsessing and there was nothing he could do. Thankfully, my bud, Deb, sympathized and nudged me to see her dermatologist. Here's the dealio: First, the derm. office got me in right away! Then, when I got there, I only waited 5 min.'s before they took me back. And then, when I got to the room, I only waited 5 more min.'s before seeing the doc! Then, the antibiotic I was prescribed is part of a promo my pharmacy is having, so I got it for free! Ya know...life's like a Dairy Queen swirly cone - a delicate, intricate swirl of life's TRIALS and God's MERCY. Sometimes, 'cause it's all swirled together, I miss it. Today, I'm so grateful I didn't.

RedLine vs RedBull

Yesterday, after working out, I had my first RedLine. I'm pretty high-wired, so caffeinated and uber-caffeinated beverages don't effect me much. I keep sugar free Red Bull around, it's a wimpy beverage, but I love the taste of it, so I indulge. Anyway, back to RedLine.... After consuming this rather yummy tasting beverage, I felt like I turned into a flash of light darting across every room in our house. I felt like a cat on a screen. I felt like the Space Shuttle Discovery at takeoff. I felt like Shazaam. I felt like a tornado. I felt like the spin cycle of a washer. Am I making my point? And almost 24 hours after drinking one, I'm still ready to climb Mt. Everest! Um-di-di, um-di-di, ariba!

The Best Things (at Flamingo Road Church)

They say the best things in life are free. THEY ARE! This Easter, I witnessed and participated in the BEST things. They WERE free YET immeasurably valuable!

At his Easter show, my Andy was so excited when he found his daddy & me in the audience:

This is the team who tirelessly & passionately worked to make 12 worships happen:

This is what church looks like at my church. You can HEAR the service by clicking here!

My Pastor invited people to come forward if they would let GOD define the miracle they needed. Here is a family of four, united by arms and united in their need for a miracle:

I didn't get the opportunity to baptize at the beach, but I did get the chance to fulfull a lifelong dream: to sing in a gospel choir. Pastor Ricky and Allen were so kind to carve out a little spot on the risers for one untrained, unskilled choir girl who has (until this weekend) only sang in her dreams!

Ducky

This morning, Andy sat in my lap watching Dora while I did my quiet time. When he saw me "scribbling" in my journal, he asked what I was doing. To a 3-year, I tried to explain that I was writing my prayers. Not knowing if he understood, but not wanting to underestimate him either, I asked him if he had any prayers he wanted me to write down. He said, "I want to find my ducky." So I wrote it down. I love the way kids pray. They are no-holds-bar in their asking. No prayer is to big for God, like "please help all the people in the whole world"; no prayer is to petty either, like "help me find my ducky." We should never outgrow this instinct.

Thursday's Unexpected Highlights

Today had alot of unexpected highlights, I'd love to share 3 of them with you...
1. Just happened to snap this pic of DJ in his angelic pose. But check out the rising sun in the background....talk about an angel over your shoulder!

2. One of my favorite leadHers at FRC was pastorally promoted today. Proud of you, girl!

3. On Sunday at sunrise in the ocean, we are baptizing potentially 500 people. This year, I am getting in the water with them to help. I'm so grateful that God would use a wretch like me for a time like this!

Easter Things 4 U

5 Easter Things 4 U

1. Friday we remember the pain Jesus suffered for us.
2. Sunday we celebrate the miracle Jesus granted us.
3. You can watch ONE cool EASTER service from wherever you are! http://www.flamingoroadchurch.com/
4. Andy looks really cute in his bunny ears.
5. Stay tuned and we'll see if we can get my polished, austere husband to pose with these bunny ears.

I Can't Get No...Concentration

OK, so I had been studying in my office for at least an hour and a half when I needed a break. So I took a picture... (how vain?) Anyway, I'm laughing 'cause look at this pic! It looks like I was consuming more calories than actual research. [Note - red coffee mug, Styrofoam cup of coffee, empty Styrofoam plate, empty water bottle] One of my life verses is "Be still and know that I am God," but this isn't about being still, it's about concentrating while being still. That's why I struggle studying and reading (see Hellavision post). If you experience this too, let me know what you do for longer stretches of concentration.

Turned off the Hellavision

Craig Groeschel calls it the "hellavision." Hilarious! Anyway, last night it felt SO good to turn off the "hellavision," lie on the big rug in my living room and read. I normally wouldn't say stuff like that. I make myself read because I struggle to read. But last night, some kind of interest peeked inside of me. An actual, legit interest to read, so I was ALL over that! To read willfully? God, you ARE hearing my prayers!! And the book I'm reading is great! It's called, "Looking for God: An Unexpected Journey through Tattoos, Tofu, and Pronouns" Nancy Ortberg writes so simply (which I really need in a book). Yet after reading her words, I'm left thinking about them long after. That's the sign of a great book!

The Darkest Hour

I'm not sure how many darkest hours Jesus would say He had, but this was probably one of them: Father, if you are willing, please take this cup of suffering away from me. Yet I want your will to be done, not mine...and he was in such agony of spirit that his sweat fell to the ground like great drops of blood." One of Christ's attributes that I'm glued to the most is that He's been where we are. There are lots of "gods," but my God put on skin and endured the darkest hour. People are still enduring the darkest hour. Mine was when I got locked up in a psych ward. It really sucked. Do you know that I lied on a cot all night long not giving up because Jesus didn't in his darkest hour? Apart from knowing this, I would have. That's why we need to invite people to church next weekend. For anyone in their darkest hour, it's on Easter at church where they can know they aren't the only one; where Christ's darkest hour will be remembered; and where His rising from it...will be celebrated.

Daydreamer

Those who dream by day

are cognizant

of many things

which escape those

who dream only by night.

-Edgar Allen Poe

What a great quote! As a kid, I had the companionship of my imagination & daydreams. But I always felt like a weirdo because of it. But, ya know? Some of those daydreams then became realities today!! And I just think that's awesome. To me, it shows that God's always at work, even in our dreams.

Challenge Me Once and I'm On It!

In my annual evaluation, my boss challenged me in the area of collaboration. Where I work, collaboration is one of the values we measure our vision and potential by. Its the idea of doing what I do with others & not doing it alone. Though it sucked to sit in my evaluation and realize I'm not the flawless employee I thought I was, this really lit the fire under my butt. I get this from my childhood. Because my p.'s were good disciplinarians, the prospect of being disciplined was a huge motivation to aim high. I hated it then, but I thrive on it now! It's been 3 months since my evaluation and I'm so excited to share that I've gone from ZERO in collaboration to SIX. Please let me introduce you to them:

Is that awesome or what? I just started praying and asking God to point me in the direction of creative people who love God and want to serve...and true to Himself...God did.

Mirage or Oasis?

Mirage - an optical effect that is sometimes seen...in the desert...that may have the appearance of a pool of water







Oasis - a small fertile or green area in a desert region, usually having a spring or well.







Which one are you?

Oprah's New Show

Tonight I watched Oprah's new show, The Big Give, where contestants are given money and time limits to see who can do the best charity/goodwill project within those limits. It's kind of like Survivor + Extreme Makeover + Oprah, all wrapped in the same burrito. During the competition, one contestant commented how through this [The Big Give] she realized how ignorant she is [to the needs of people]. Sad and true, eh? Ya know, I live in a great country where I always have a roof over my head, food on my table, clothes on my back. I am so, so thankful for this. But like her, I never want my thankfulness to create any shred of ignorance. I want to be very aware of the needs of others all the time. I can sleep at night if I saw the need of the homeless man but couldn't fill it with a new home. But I can't sleep at night if I never saw the need. As a God-follower, seeing the need means I can ALWAYS do SOMETHING. Maybe I can't give away $1000s in 1-hour show, but I CAN pray for them. And what God can do, through that, isn't just "the big give", it is the biggest give wrapped in the greatest love.

pRay it forward

I have no idea why my mind takes me to these places, but today, it did...
When I'm really old & in my last season, I don't want those days filled with regret. I have felt regret before and I absolutely hate the weight it puts on me. So I got to thinking...what do I do, now, so that I'm not filled with regret later? I think I gotta pRay it forward. I have to pray now that God give me wisdom for DJ & Andy, so later I don't regret the way I mommy'ed them. I have to pray now that God give me oneness with Raul, so later I don't regret our marriage. I am praying now for these things and believing that by praying it forward there will never be any regrets, in my last days here or my first day up there!

Trendspotting Pastime

Something is the biggest consumer of our time...where we're giving 40+ hrs/wk to some place: an office, classroom, ministry, home. That's why I think we need a "pastime." [pas·time /something that serves to make time pass agreeably; a pleasant means of amusement, recreation, or sport: to play cards as a pastime. ] My pastime is trendspotting. I love reading about, shopping for & assembling trends. It's not an obsession or waste of my time; it's what I do after I've "pasted the time" of what takes up the most of my time (ministry). I don't know if I've ever read about this in the bible or in the great leadership books of my day....so if I'm crazy, will someone let me know before I spend tomorrow's day off with my pastime? But if I'm not, I hope I've encouraged you to pursue one for yourself.

8 Words

THE VERSE:
BE STILL AND KNOW THAT I AM GOD
THE PRAYER:
"God, we are fighting & racing against so much. Give us the faith to be still as You fight for us; give us patience to be still long enough to see that you are."
THE CHARGE:
Have a great day and take time to be still in it!

Stephen Colbert's Charismatic Dance

I'm sorry, but I've watched this too many times to not share it with you. Don't be offended. For just 44 seconds, take religion out of the equation and let laughter bring us together! Especially if you're having a sucky day...use this video clip to add some joy and laughter...I just did.

Beating up Matt Boose

We were waiting in the Haskins, Ohio Elementary School gymnasium for our bus. I was hangin' with a couple of my girlfriends. On the other side of the gym, my younger bro, Jason, was playing b-ball with a couple of his. Suddenly, when I looked over, some kid had my brother in a headlock and was beating him up. Without a millisecond of hesitation, without any thought of consequence or rationalization, I ran as fast as I could across the gym and ripped this kid off of my brother and started pounding on him. When the kid started to cry and the supervisor got in between us, I relented. That day, I rescued my bro. I also received a detention. But I've never regretted protecting my bro. It's just one of those things. I've never had to try to protect the ones I love. I just instinctively do. Admittedly, as I've grown older, I've beat up less people : )
but as I've grown older, I don't think my fighter-instinct for those I love has ever grown less.

The Darnedest Dream

Man, last night I had one of those, "is this really happening?" dreams. I was fleeing to like Hungary or Romania or something. The fear, confusion, displacement, and alienation felt so real. I had our possessions in my car, but my two boys were in another car somewhere behind me. I had just crossed over into "safe" territory, but whether or not we'd be let in seemed to depend on the mood of the militia searching each person and car....
When I woke up, something strange happened. My heart birthed an overwhelming compassion for the thousands of people who endure this every day. In Africa, the Middle East, even right here in my own backyard of Cuba and Haiti--people risk their lives, surrender their possessions, and lose their loved ones. And so this is probably the most monstrous request I've ever prayed, but I asked God to help all the fleeing families today. Whatever they had to leave behind, that God would hold them close enough that their families would remain close together.

This Time, You Tell Me...

I'm gathering data on the idea of waiting til tomorrow. Ya know...the antithesis of carpe diem. We're all guilty of it. Even if you're the most anal-retentive, punctual, organized, "with-it" person, there's still something you're putting off. I don't want to formulate some fancy-schmancy poll, but I need to pick your brain. So if I make it easy, will you help me? Here's 2 multiple choice:

What am I putting off?
A. My next step in faith
B. My next step in my conflict resolution
C. My next step in a relationship
D. My next step in my health
E. My next step in my calling/vocation
F. Other
Why are you putting it off?
A. I'm scared
B. I'm lazy
C. I'm indifferent
D. I'm not convicted enough
E. I'm already doing it the easier way
F. Other
Answer anonymously or publicly by clicking on "Comments." Thanks.

Proud of the Cuban!

I'm proud of my Cuban! This weekend, Troy asked Raul to cast a little vision. As soon as this request descended into Raul's earlobes, it traveled to his intestines and started a nasty work. So, we started praying right away for the imminent stage-fright. Let me tell ya....when Raul walked out on stage, he had confidence, poise, passion and even humor! God is good. And I say to you: Whatever is IMMINENT but you are FEARING, pray about it. God loves nothing more than to take YOUR fear & make YOU strong and courageous!
(thanks for the pix, Arturo!)