Make Raul Laugh & U Could Win!

EASY CONTEST!!!
Come up with a title for this picture that will make Raul (my better whole) laugh. The title that makes him laugh the most will win a copy of one of my all-time favorite inspirational books, "Celebration of Discipline" by Richard Foster. May the best titler win!

My Advice to Myself

"The Lord has said to me in the strongest terms:
Do not think like everyone else does.
Do not be afraid that some plan conceived behind closed doors
will be the end of you.
Do not fear anything except the Lord.
He alone is the Holy One.
If you fear him, you need fear nothing else."
Isaiah 8:11-13

My Hats, Life's Hats & PTs advice

At the Inca Market, Tyler & I had fun trying on different hats. The ones here were our personal fav's! Ya know life's about hats. Pastor Troy talked about this once & it changed my outlook on life. We've heard it said that we wear different hats for our different roles. But that can get hairy (PUN INTENDED!!). We only need to wear one hat. One hat is all God asks of us & is all the hat the world needs.

I scream, u scream, we all scream for SOUP

I don't know what this Peruvian soup is called, but its basically: broth, noodles, beef, potatoes & a fried egg on top. Mmm good. At first, when the waiter served it, I thought I was gonna ralph all over cuz I abhor fried eggs (the slimy part, anyway). But I discovered that you can still enjoy the egg (& the soup) if you just eat around the slimy thing. Hey, if any of you are Peruvian will you please tell me where I can get this in Florida?? I'd pay handsomely for this. Which leads me to my Monday Morning Curiosity Question: What's Your Fav Soup?

Lima Day 1: Productive Meetings & Sweet Anniversaries

Here are some pix I snapped of today's adventures. 1) FRC-Lima leadership meeting 2) Group pic, overlooking the Pacific Ocean. 3) HAPPY 6th Wedding Anniversary STEVE & DORCAS!! Hey, show 'em some love & leave an Anniversary message for them HERE.

From "Ya Mon" to "Si Senor"

Last week, I flew internationally to the Bahamas. Today, I fly internationally to Peru. The former was for vacay; the latter is for work. This takes me to Proverbs 16:9, "In his heart a man plans his course, but the LORD determines his steps." I'm comforted by this. I don't want to determine my steps. I mean, really, who do I think I am? God or something? If God has the eyes to see behind me, see next to me and see in front of me, then I just gotta get out of the way and let Him lead. After all, He knows where I am going AND He knows how to get me there. Hope you're feelin' that too.

See you next time, I'll be blogging from below the equator!

HEROES & VILLAIN Recruitment: Apply Today!

EVERYONE has a story,
but not everyone has shared it.
Someone needs to hear your story.
Your story could be what saves someone else's.
We are looking for a story.

A story of when you were a hero.
A story of when you were a villain.
A story of when you did something right.
A story of when you did someone wrong.

Ready to share your story? Please email me HERE

Here Sharky Sharky...

Oh, it's SO easy to mess w/ Mr. Sharky when I'm standing outside his bulletproof tank. To each, there is a self-defined line between risky & foolish. Raul thinks it's foolish that I sit front row on a rollie coaster. I think its an exhilarating risk. I think it's foolish to swim with sharks. Raul thinks it's worth the calculated risk. Where do you stand? I think in optimum leadership, a balance of both is where it's at.

Welcome! Come on in to the Bloggers Bookstudy

The Blogger's Bookstudy rolls on...
Friday was Miguel Umanzor's turn.
Tomorrow is Heredes Ribiero's turn.
Today is my turn. Welcome!
So who is this guy & what's this book?
Featured in Fortune, and labeled by Fast Company as “the guru of personal productivity,” this is David Allen's bestselling book, GETTING THINGS DONE: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity.

**Below, my thoughts in red; the author's wisdom in black.**

1. Chap 1 Summary
One of my axiom's is "Be a Commitment Maker not a Commitment Breaker." In this chapter, it was the author's 3 Basic Requirements for Managing Commitments that really caught my eye:
1. "Anything you consider unfinished in any way must be captured...in what I call a collection bucket, that you know you'll come back to regularly & sort through."
2. "You must clarify exactly what your commitment is & decide what you have to do..."
3. "Once you've decided on all the actions you need to take, you must keep reminders of them organized in a [collection bucket] you review regularly."
A collection bucket...I like that! For the nights where I couldn't sleep because I had hundreds of reminders & to-do's swirling in my head, a collection bucket would've been super!

2. Chap 2 Summary
I'm a loose-cannoned, scatter-brained, daydreaming thinker. So anything that comes in stages is very good for me. In this chapter, he gives 5 stages we go through as we deal with our work:
"We (1) collect things that command our attention (2) process what they mean & what to do about them (3) organize the results, which we (4) review as options for what we choose to (5) do. ...The quality of our workflow management is only as good as the weakest link in these 5 stages."

3. Let's Talk, Shall We?
In your work-life, when it comes to these stages, which stage is your strength? your weakness?
Click HERE to comment! I'll leave my answer in a comment too. Thanks for stopping by!

Andy's Biggest Bowl of "Pata"

Tonight, we dined at a cool outdoor cafe. We were cracking up when the waiter served Andy one of his fav dishes in the biggest bowl he's ever seen: "pata wit meat tauce" (trans: pasta with meat sauce) Here's the play-by-play for your viewing pleasure:



So Andy wants to know--what's your fav pasta dish?

What We Witness and Why

As we were walking through our underwater tour, I heard a loud punch followed by wincing. My radar went up & I immediately turned around & saw a visibly angry mom punch her teenage daughter as the dad & other daughter stood there. Then, both parents jeered at her as she hung her head in shame. When they walked past me, I looked at the daughter's arm & saw several bruises on it. And then I made eye contact with the mom & gave a stern look. That daughter's shameful look has been etched in my head & I've been praying, "God, please step in & do what only You can do." I wonder if God lets us witness things so we'll be burdened to pray for what we saw? I wonder if its possible that somebody can have NOBODY praying for them, until a Christ-follower witnesses their pain?

Vacay Diaries

Here's some pix from today. Top, Raul & I at Starbucks, watching a Tyler Perry movie & drinking hot tea. Middle pic, Raul & the boys en route to breakfast. Last pic, DJ with God's great big ocean behind him. It was a great day, but will you please pray for me? My lungs are giving me trouble, and I don't want to rain on my family's parade. Believin' God's gonna take care of us.

Today's Score

Today, we started our official family vacay with a long day of travel. Here are 2 things that went wrong:
1. I woke up with lung issues again.
2. When we arrived at the hotel, all the systems were down, the check-in lines were crazy-long, we couldn't get our room.
Here are 3 things that went right:
1. Despite the travel-chaos, Raul & I got along great!
2. We have no iPhone access!
3. We are tired and we have been blessed w/ a beautiful place to rest.

I look at this and see the rights outweighed the wrongs, 3 to 2. I'm grateful.

LOL!!!!

I've told you before, I LOVE to laugh. So occasionally I like to go through my pix & find ones that make me LOL & hopefully spread a lil LOL to you too.

What's God got to say about this? Funny you should ask! Job 8:21 says, "He [God] will once again fill your mouth with laughter & your lips with shouts of joy." God promises laughter cuz He invented laughter. If you are His, you were created to LOL. You are living, but I hope you are laughing!

WUD U RATHER?

I got this iPhone app called "Would You Rather," love playing it, it's a great convo-starter. But there's actually a leadHership angle to it.
"Would You Rather" is not multiple choice game--it's a ONE choice game.
The basic scheme of life is filled with ONE choice too: would I rather do RIGHT or would I rather do WRONG?
Interesting to consider.
But to end on a light note, here's a question from the game:
Would You Rather: sporadically shout profanities OR fall down for no reason?
:)

Would You Do This?

Last week, my Uncle Denny & my awesome cuz, Suzanne, went downtown to the Sears Tower--the tallest skyscraper in the United States (FYI: it was the tallest in the world, til the Japanese built a questionably taller one). Anywho, the Sears Tower has recently added this spectacular attraction called 'the ledge,' a glass balcony extending 4 feet where you can look 1353 feet straight down, to the streets below. I don't think my better whole would ever do this, but I would! Would you??

A Quick Thought on Pain

At some point, we we will fall into a pit.
It'll be painful & we'll have a choice:
look around & stay in,
or look up & find a way out.
The devil will gladly help us stay in.
God will gladly help us get out.
But all the climbing, sweating & trying
in getting out of the pit
is more glorious, rewarding & wonderful
than resigning to staying in it.

Now THIS is the Life

Today, we visited Brookfield Zoo. It was nostalgic cause I grew up going to this zoo. It was surreal cause I remembered seeing certain things as a kid, yet now I saw them through the eyes of my kids. My favorite exhibit is always the primates. Man, they are so stinkin funny, I could have pulled up a chair & watched them for hours. This pic cracked me up. This semi-cocky gorilla could've cared less that there were dozens of onlookers. He stayed in this pose almost out of spite & as if to say, "Now THIS, ladies & gents, is the life."

Freedom Thank-You's

I'm thankful for my freedom to invite people to my church.
I'm thankful for my freedom from addiction.
I'm thankful for my freedom to travel to and fro.
I'm thankful for my freedom of speech.
I'm thankful for my freedom to vote.
I'm thankful for my freedom as a woman.
I'm thankful for my freedom as an American because others sacrificed for it.
I'm thankful for my freedom as a human because Christ died for it.

Bloggers Bookstudy

Yesterday, Mo covered chap. 4.
Today, I'm covering chap. 5.
Tomorrow, MeeGee's covering chap. 6

In chap. 5, Billy talks about resources--a subject that isn't exactly my forte. So I'll write it in 2 voices--obviously, deferring to Billy's voice for wisdom; but adding a lil of "Her" spin too...

Billy said:
"The bottom line is this: leaders, don't shy away from the resource challenge. Plunge into it. Learn from it. Let God stretch your faith because of it. And then, dream with me of the day when a river of resources will be pouring into local churches all around the world so that the work of God can flourish."

Her said:
Good word, Billy! Being married to the "finance guy," I've learned that there's never gonna be enough moo-lah. But I've also learned that as our leaders lose sleep, occasionally agonize & utterly depend on God for resources--it's made them pillars of faith. I imagine that God NOT giving our church all the resources we need has been one of our biggest banners of faith to a faith-deficit world.

Billy said:
"In Psalm 50:12 God himself says that 'the world is mine, and all that is in it.' God's resources, in other words, are unlimited."
Her said:
Tru dat, Billy! God's got unlimited resources for His church AND for us! But if He gave us everything we needed, everywhere, all the time--He'd be very sad because we wouldn't need Him. He loves--we trust--He provides.

Convo Question:
Why is it so hard to trust God with our resources or our need of them?

The Gift of Today

...Each day is a new day--if we wake up breathing in it--it means God's given us another shot & He's got something for us to do.