The Best of: Halloween

Remember this from last Halloween? Thought I'd bring it out of the archives...

...the doorbell rang, I opened the door and two punks sprayed me in the face. Nice.

Hi, I'm Starbucks & We're Outta Coffee Today.

I've grown accustomed to standing in line at Starbucks. I started standing in line for it in 1996. But today was a shocker for my iconic coffee experience. In line, the man in front of me ordered something and the barista said, "We're out." I didn't pay much attention (but he was ticked!). Then it was my turn to order my large hot coffee. And that's when the barista said (again), "We're out." As my mind entered some turbulent vortex of confusion, she said, "We're out of all coffee at the moment, but can we get you an iced coffee?" AGH!!! So guess where I got my hot coffee today? McDonalds. Why? Because they weren't out!

Private Ramblings to God

I called. You answered.
And you came to my rescue.
And I wanna be where you are.

I love you, God. My eyes water at the thought of you.

God, I envision my entrance to Heaven. And I see myself running & weeping; falling over myself; getting back up again and running...all to get to your feet to worship you there.

God, when I see the homeless drunk, the weary single parent, the addict with scars, I see you, God.
I can't help it.
I just see you.

Ever Feel Like This...

...like you've been eaten by a 100-ft shark? (like me in this pic?) We've all had days like that. Shoot, poor Jonah LIVED a day like that! But when you do, just remember God is bigger, mightier and stronger than anything that tries to swallow you whole. The shark can get you in its grip, but God has the shark in His!!

Game On...the challenge

Recently, my boss/pastor/friend gave us 6 personal challenges for the next 75 days. Here they are with my straight-up answers...
1. How many books will I read?
2-3 books + daily bible reads
2. How many CD/MP3's will I listen to?
not sure yet
3. How many days will I work out?
5 days/week
4. How many major ideas will I share?
At least ONE per every meeting I'm invited to.
5. How many days will I eat right?
Every stinkin' day
6. How many meetings will I have with others?
One "live" & one "virtual" meeting w/ my peeps ea. week

What kind of challenge(s) are you giving you??

Some Things Look Better Under a Microscope

Well this concludes a 4-day getaway with saturated family time!! But God used the saturation to give me a new perspective, thru the lens of a microscope. Allowing me to see intricacies & details of my family that I've missed from distance glances. In Raul, I saw a great Dad. A guy who's able to convert like a Transformer from 37-yr old pastor into a 10-yr old boy. In DJ, I saw the ham that I am. A boy who loves to use crazy gestures & faces to ensure laughter in others. In Andy, I saw a child with a limitless imagination. A boy who can make a stick & a leaf seem like huge possibilities of adventure. God, thank you for this time, my family & your microscope-perspective of them. Grateful.

"I don't ever wanna go on Jaws again, ever!"

We SO thought our boys would get into Jaws; our boys SO thought they'd get into Jaws. So when we got to Universal, we made a beeline for Jaws. Here's my kids faces after riding it:





















OOPS.
So in a chaotic hurry to divert them, we got them a treat (soda).
This seemed to work. Whew.

Family, Fun, Faith = Fantastic

Today, we had a good time. We did not relax. We did periodically email, text and call. But most of all & most importantly, we were with each other. Everyone defines vacation differently. For Raul and I, it's staying plugged-in AND checking-out. Oxymoron, I know. But when you get down to the core of what we do...we're in ministry...we work for God. So every email, text and call ultimately helps heaven expand and hell shrink. We're glad to help that cause and thankfully, our kids are with us.

Question(s)

When you go on vacation, do you:
1. Take work with you
2. Take work with you, but pick & chose what to work on
3. Take no work with you



Just went thru my blogroll & discovered that several were inactive...I deleted them. So if you wanna be on the LeadHership blogroll, leave a comment, cause I've got some open real estate!

My Legs Have Memory?

I missed 3 weeks of training with the team 'cause my lungs got funky again. It was discouraging because I wanted to be out there so bad. Coach Debita kept telling me, "Don't worry, your legs have memory." I thought she was crazy. But lo and behold, when I returned to the hills to run with the gang today, I knocked out 4.5 miles. Why? My legs had memory! They didn't forget the "good" I gave them on the months leading up to the last 3 weeks. You know what?! Our minds are the same! Often we see our minds as only remembering the bad. But after seeing my "leg" muscles remember the good, it dawned on me that my mind is wired to do the same. Don't be fooled that your mind only remembers the "bads." Because with God it's even BETTER at remembering the goods. So let it!

The Highlights

I had a great weekend. I hope you are sayin' the same about yours. Here's some highlights:

In support of our weekend's message, "Making Your Vote Work," our vocalists wore these cool tees. (Michele & 'Cill---your tees fit so well, who's your stylist? ;)


















OK, this was AWESOME! One, I recently recruited two cool chics to my team, Kristin & Lily. Two, we had a special mission on Saturday & we were so honored to take it on. Thanks, girls...for your collaboration, your potential, your leadHership.


















So I got into the spirit too and busted out w/ the Vote tee (they were only $5 at Old Navy!) Thanks for the idea, Steph. It was a creative way to take the message into the environment at all our campuses!

Sexual Abuse

No abuse infuriates me more than sexual abuse. Being in ministry, I've had painstaking discussions with people who have endured this. Those are difficult because I am stretched to keep my composure. Everything in me wants to cry for them and confront the person who hurt them. I refute the notion that I could be too sensitive to this. I will always have a loud voice for the voiceless and abused. I am not a professional or expert, but here are some things I've learned from Christian psychologists & books and the Bible:
1. Get Christian counseling. Email me HERE for that.
2. Don't keep it a secret (this is especially important to teach to children)
3. Cry it all out. If you were hurt by someone who hurt you, maybe you've held those tears in for too long. Let them out.
4. Sometimes sexually abused victims grow up to have sexual dysfunction. Counseling + prayer will set you free from that. Pray, pray, pray, pray. Pray everyday.
5. Remember, Jesus said: "with God ALL things are possible" and "the truth WILL set you free."
6. Good books to read:

• The Broken Image by Leann Payne
  
• Praying God's Word by Beth Moore
• Lord, I Want to be Whole by Stormie Omartian
• Shelter from the Storm by Cynthia Kubetin
  

VOTE

This weekend, Flamingo Road Church presents:
"Making Your Vote Work"

For directions and service times click HERE.
If you don't live here, watch online HERE.

Do You Pray Along the Way on a Bad Day?

Today I had a weird day. It didn't start off well, it wasn't what I expected, and it ended with a bowl of cereal. But in between those, I prayed to God a lot. Please know, I am NO part of today's story. It was an All-God day. But...
from a nearly missed head-on collision,
to the insurance co. making an exception for me,
to the doctor's office squeezing me in to an all-booked day,
to the short wait at the blood lab because I had to get my kids,
to the long wait at the xray lab that allowed me to do work on my laptop,
to the good parking space in the parking garage,
to the generic option avail. on my prescription,
to the opportunity to encourage a person I've been praying for for years.
For all intensive purposes, it was an average day. Until you add all the God-ness to it. Which to me, made it anything BUT average.

"Heather, who's pants are these?"

Yesterday, Raul (holding a pair of shorts), asked, "Heather, who's shorts are these cause they're not mine?" Now I had no clue who's shorts they were. But I played cool-cat and gave Raul the typical cool-cat response, "Well how am I suppose to know??" When Raul went back to our room, I called my bro, suspecting they were his. They were. The moral? Even if something smells "guilty" & looks "guilty," doesn't mean "guilty", if you're livin' your life right.

What Really Broke My Heart

A month ago, the Iranian parliament voted in favor of a draft bill which would codify the death penalty for any male Iranian who leaves his Islamic faith. (Women would get life imprisonment.) The PASTOR (on the left) was executed by hanging. His son (on the right) awaits the same fate. If you have a hard time identifying with this, let me put it this way: if this was a new law in our country, I could be put in prison for life, away from Raul & my boys. And worse, Raul could be killed.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/iran/3179465/Hanged-for-being-a-Christian-in-Iran.html

I Lost Two Treasures on Earth

For awhile, I jockeyed with whether or not to blog about this. I'm glad I waited. Any sooner & you would've only picked up on my bitterness. Waiting allowed me to pray, forgive, ask for forgiveness & find closure. Now, I hope you only get encouraged...
Treasure #1
Two years ago, when we said, "Yes!" to church-employment, we said "Bye, bye" to our boat. We sold our 38-ft Bertram to a family-friend--with the intentions of using that money to help us as we moved into ministry. We got stiffed. Never got one penny. I'm not gonna lie, it still hurts. But I've let go of the bitterness I feel toward that person, who in essence, stole our boat. He has our boat. I have Christ.
Treasure #2
19 years ago, I learned that I stood to inherit a substantial amount of money. Last year, I found out the inheritance fell through. As I've learned to roll with this, I learned that without this inheritance, I still have one...God's. He says we're heirs to something everlasting; something that will never fall through. Jesus died for my eternal inheritance, I am eternally grateful for that. And all that money I stood to gain? Hey, in heaven...everything's free anyway!

A Few of Her Favorite Things

What does this list have to do with leadHership? When I'm constantly looking for new things to try, experiment and research, it keeps the entrepreneurial fire burning in me!

1. Christopher Bean's "Jamaican Me Crazy" Coffee. A couple years ago, I started making coffee from home. This year, I stopped buying Starbucks grounds (over $9/bag @ Publix!). This one is GREAT and it's $2 less than Starbucks and tastes better!
   
2. Quickie Super Smile. If you are in front of people or a camera, this is a very temporary but powerful product to have yummy breath and white (front) teeth. And its a very small tube, fits anywhere!
3. Oscar Blandi Dry Shampoo. My lifesaver. So you didn't have time to wash & dry your hair? Didn't have time or money to go to the salon? Use this! It's dry-shampoo powder soaks up all the crap & oil and you look like you just walked out of the salon!
4. Dove Bar Soap. I returned to the basics because I got tired of overpriced, oversmelly & over-anti-bacterialized soaps. With these bars of soap, I'm saving a SICK amt of $ and my hands are just as clean.
5. Jack's Special Salsa. I scream, you scream, we all scream for GOOD SALSA! And this is where it's at. OMGosh, I've tried so many and this is my fav. Publix sells it in their deli section. It got awarded "America's #1 Winning Salsa!" You gotta try it!
   

The New Me?

Whatta you guys think? Te gustas?
Change is good, man. I love being unpredictable.
I hope it keeps me young-at-heart as I grow old!
So the question remains: is this the real thing or an illusion?

Pastor's WIVES Appreciation Month

OK, so last week I learned it was Pastor Appreciation Month. I feel bad 'cause this was my first learning of this. But, it's a GREAT idea! Hey, if you call Flamingo Road Church home, buzz over to PotentialBlog.com and leave our Pastor a comment. HOWEVER...I did a search for Pastor's WIVES Appreciation Month and it doesn't exist. What the ??? So I'm inventing it right now, it's: "Pastor and Pastor's Wives Appreciation Month." So now we can leave comments of appreciation, here or here, for our pastor's wife...Steph. Thanks!

"The Office" Party

On Sept. 25, my devoted "The Office" buds & I got together to watch the premiere of it. Just one rule: you had to come dressed in character. At the end of the night, we presented an award to the best-lookalike. It was Chris. He came head-to-toe in Micheal Scott (see comparison below)!! Though the premiere wasn't as funny as I hoped, watching it with these guys made one great night of laughter and good times!

8 Words

It is said in only eight words.
It requires only one course of action.
It includes only two people
It is Psalm 46:10...
BE
STILL
AND
KNOW
THAT
I
AM
GOD
Will you take time to be still in this day?
God will let you know who He is if you do.

New Book. 'Nough Said.

The Sexually Confidant Wife.
Are you a woman?
Are you a wife?
Read this book.



(Email me HERE if you want it and can't afford it.)

Did You Ever Know That Your My Hero?

We all want to be a hero to somebody.

Even when we're five years old,
with nowhere to go
and no one to save.

This is Sandro

This is Sandro. He's one of the hardest-working guys on our team. He is also one of the humblest. 'Though he won't go shouting stuff about himself, I will! Last night, Sandro took a big step in his God-journey and got baptized!!! "Hey Sandro, we appreciate you and your fam so much, keep reaching your God-potential, bro!"

A Laughable Task for Thursday

I look at this pic of DJ and his buddies and wonder, "If I did that, would I laugh too?" Today, find a few you're doing life with, lie in a circle, heads together. Take your pic and add some laughter to your day. It is SO important to laugh together. It is a phenomenal glue for community.