Love. Acceptance. Forgiveness.

I have so many thoughts running through my head regarding the Women's March that happened on Saturday. Millions of women, men, and children came out to be a voice for LOVE and ACCEPTANCE. I wanted to jump up and down with excitement when I heard of the numbers of people that got out there and spoke up for equality and respect for ALL human life. It reminded me of the ah-ha moment I had when I read this book many moons ago that forever changed my life.  It moved me in a different direction and how I now choose to walk out my faith. It was a worldview changer for me for sure. The message is as simple as the title of the book, and the author was as authentic and legit as any man could be. In his time here on earth he made an impact. The impact was similar to many great leaders, but maybe not as polarized because he led a quiet life in Gresham Oregon. His name was Jerry Cook and the book is called Love, Acceptance, and Forgiveness.  The title is packed with big words that comes with all kinds of emotional baggage, and at the same time those three words have the capacity, and power for true healing and restoration.

 Love.

I understand that not everyone has had unconditional love in their life.   In fact, I know I am in the minority of those who have shared a relationship with several people where their love has caused them to flourish instead of whither and die. That's not to say that I haven't ever experienced a relationship with someone that I love where they have had destructive behavior toward me and toward others. I've been lied to in the name of love, and friendship. I've been rejected because I spoke truth in the name of love and it hurts.   "Our love for others must never be confused as a license for their destructive behavior toward us, toward others or toward themselves. Love commits itself to their "highest good" and stands stubbornly and relentlessly against their destruction from any quarter." It's helpful for me to know that I don't have to continue to subject myself to that kind of behavior in the name of "love" but that I can continue to pray for those people who have hurt me and hold them at arms length until God says otherwise.  If he ever does. But there is a love offered to everyone that brings life and hope, and never fails.  John 3:16
It's this love that gives me the ability to truly love everyone and wish no ill will on my fellow man or woman.
  Acceptance.
I realize that as a white, suburban wife and mom in most circles I'm generally accepted.  (Unless of course you find tattoos offensive) I've never really known what it's like to not be accepted because of how I was born. In my lifetime I have been so fortunate to live in a country where I have the freedom as a woman to wear what I want and have a voice. I don't have to fear that if I burn my husbands dinner I will be chained outside and treated like a dog. I have a family who loves me and a husband who is still my best friend 23 years later.  I also have been so incredibly blessed in this life to be friends and even family with those who aren't generally accepted in most circles of life.  Some of my closest friends are people that when they walk into a room people automatically make preconceived judgements about them. They are rejected simply for the color of their skin or clothing they wear or who they choose to hold hands with. Their rejection has strangely become my own and I feel a strong urge to speak up and out for them, on behalf of them. 

"Unreserved acceptance of people should be a habit with us."
The "us" Jerry is referring to there is Christ followers or Christians.  Why is it that a people group that should be the most loving, the most accepting is often times the most judgmental and unforgiving?  It saddens my heart beyond belief that Jesus is represented by a people group that often times come across as THE MOST judgmental and therefore hypocritical than any other on planet earth! I want to shake people sometimes and say, don't you know Jesus hung out with prostitutes and thieves  and without a doubt if he was here in body today would be among those that marched this past weekend and he might have hung out at a gay bar afterward! (Insert wide eyed emoticon here)
But I digress.  It is the acceptance that I feel on a daily basis from the lover of my soul that has given me the capacity to accept others even if they challenge my way of life to the core.  When I read about Jesus in the book of John I see one who loved without reservation or judgement.  You can't stop this kind of love and it scares people.  It's a force that has to be reckoned with and is the very reason He was crucified.  His love scared the people who thought love and acceptance should only be shown to an elite people group.  If Jesus taught us nothing else in his short 33 years here it is that love and acceptance for ALL people is what the heart of God is all about. 

Forgiveness.
I am only given the capacity to forgive those who have wounded and damaged me because of this great love and acceptance I have felt from the very young age of 13. This kind of forgiveness is a learned way of life.  "I'm learning to live without you now, 

But I miss you sometimes.

The more I know, the less I understand, 

All the things I thought I knew, I'm learning again.

I've been tryin' to get down 

To the heart of the matter

But my will gets weak 

And my thoughts seem to scatter

But I think it's about forgiveness, 

Forgiveness

Even if, even if you don't love me anymore."

The longer I live the more I want to live in such a way that truly reflects HIS LOVE, HIS ACCEPTANCE, and HIS FORGIVENESS.   When you spend time with the great lover of your soul, your creator, it then becomes habit to forgive those that hurt you. This comes only after many years of realizing that to not forgive them only hurts you more. A hardened, unforgiving stubborn state of mind closes you off to a world of true  freedom.
After seeing millions of families come out and march this past Saturday I am filled with hope that there are more people out there whose voices won't be silenced.  The love, acceptance, and forgiveness that we are able to cultivate to the best of our ability will be in the end what lasts thru the test of time. When we look into another persons eyes and see them, and accept them for who they are with no agenda, when we recognize we bleed the same color red, and feel the same about much more than we think we do, then we get to experience a little heaven on earth!
Sign me up for that.     

No Greater Love

Today is the day we recognize this one man.   A great leader.  A Christ follower. A Son. A Brother.   
"I still believe that love is the most durable power in the world. Over the centuries men have sought to discover the highest good. This has been the chief quest of ethical philosophy. This has been one of the big questions of Greek philosophy. The Epicureans and the Stoics sought to answer it; Plato and Aristotle sought to answer it. What is the summum bonum of life? I think I have discovered the highest good. It is love. This principle stands at the center of the cosmos. As John says, “God is love.” He who loves is a participant in the being of God. He who hates does not know God."

A Father.  A Husband. A Preacher. A Servant to all of Humanity.

"Always be sure that you struggle with Christian methods and Christian weapons. Never succumb to the temptation of becoming bitter. As you press on for justice, be sure to move with dignity and discipline, using only the weapon of love. Let no man pull you so low as to hate him. Always avoid violence. If you succumb to the temptation of using violence in your struggle, unborn generations will be the recipients of a long and desolate night of bitterness, and your chief legacy to the future will be an endless reign of meaningless chaos."

A Poet. A Philosopher.  A Teacher. A Student. 
A man whose only mission was to promote LOVE.
“There is no greater love than this: that a person would lay down his life for the sake of his friends.” John 15:13
Because of Hate and Fear  He never got to see his grandchildren. He didn't get to witness the first Black President. He never even saw his 40's. 
Despite his short time here, he was A world changer. His words carry weight because he backed them with the actions that eventually killed him. His voice is still heard today. And hopefully will be heard for many more years to come. 
I'm beyond thankful that I live in a country that recognizes men just like Martin Luther King jr. It is my hope and prayer on this day that we won't silence the voice of love.  That all of us will work together to be love promoters and in doing so become world changers in our own right. 

Storms, Songs, and Some Food for Thought

This blog written today has a bit of the children's book  If you give a Mouse a Cookie feel to it.
If you give a girl a day off due to a recent storm.... she's going to want to blog about it. And when she blogs about it.... she's going to want to listen to music while she types.
Join me now beloved reader as I process out loud with you  THIS DAY.

I'm sitting here the day after a major storm has almost swept downtown Reno away. My children are home from school because of this storm and we are pausing from everyday life.
Somehow the recent weather has brought all kinds of storms in my heart, mind and in my soul.
I will admit I was on the doubtful side that this storm would be as bad as predicted. I couldn't believe that they cancelled school on Saturday before the storm had really even come to town. This same doubtful side of life kind of reminds me of the doubts I had before November 11th.   As I read the news reports yesterday though, I began to pray for all the families and businesses that this great storm would affect. I realized that once again the path of indifference is so easy to take, and comes with terrible regret. I'm glad that others didn't take my nonchalant attitude toward this predicted terrible storm.
There were many preparations made for this expected storm.
Days before the storm was really here, the Reno community prepared for what was to come. There were all kinds of people that came together and helped in anyway they could so that houses and business wouldn't be flooded. Many sand bags were laid down. People posted on Facebook their cries for help and their neighbors came to their rescue.
Strangers united for the purpose of helping their neighbors here.
This got me thinking about my neighbors and "We The People" who have recently weathered a political storm of sorts.
With only a few weeks before the Presidential inauguration is about to take place, I'm thinking about what the world will look like now. I'm thinking about what preparations "we the people" should be taking. And by sitting here writing this blog post I'm taking a different path, and I don't feel indifference will be one of the streets names.   I feel it in my bones. 
My heart is swept away with sadness as we say goodbye to the Obamas and try to prepare for the Trumps.
As I sat in the comfort of my home yesterday when the sky was grey and the earth was wet, I enjoyed the sound of the rain. Those that know me well know that I LOVE THE RAIN! Rain brings life and green and green is my favorite color. 
(that's your one light hearted side note beloved reader)
Now, I'm thinking about how water is life and at the same time how powerfully destructive it can be.
The same could be said about music.
Music brings life.
"Life seems to go on without effort when I am filled with music."
Today here in Reno there is much talk of levee's and bridges. I somehow feel like the life giving water levee of the White House will be left dry after January 20th when it once was so full.
The sun came out for only a few hours today and already so much of the water is dry. In a matter of 24hrs it all looks so different now and will again look different tomorrow as predictions of more snow are headed our way.
But when I think of levee's and them being dry, musically speaking, Don Mclean's song American Pie comes to my mind of course.
(in my life there is a song for everything and everything is a song) Okay, so maybe you get two light hearted side notes...
When asked to interpret the meaning of this classic song Don left it up to we the listeners and never really gave a clear description for it all.  In the interview that you can listen to below he talks about how it started with the death of Buddy Holly, but then morphed into something so much greater.
He says;
"Politics and music flow in the same channel because music is created by the society that is under it."
Somehow, I feel as though this could be a theme song for this present moment we find our country in. 
Will the music die?
Will "WE THE PEOPLE" no longer sing the songs of freedom and grace or  Will we prepare our hearts, our minds, our voices to continue to sing out that great song that brings us all together as the United States of America? Will we silently sit by and let the music of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness die or Will we come together again for one great purpose?
Will we stop the commentary and personal opinions if only for a moment to hear what our neighbors are crying out?



It's funny how whats happening in the natural can affect the super natural.
What happened here yesterday in the natural can be a new beginning for our biggest little city.
What happened on November 11th was the beginning of a song, a cry that we thought was buried here, but so painfully has come to life for our immediate attention. It has brought about a political storm of record proportions.
Next Monday my children will be home from school again, this time not because of any storm, for I have no doubt that like it did today the sun will be out and the land will be dry again.
No, my teenagers will be home to celebrate and remember a man named Martin Luther King jr. I will remind them that this is a holiday that all states recognize but one, and we will once again pause from everyday life.
I find it so interesting that it comes the Monday before the week ends with a very sad inauguration day.
What happens in Washington on January 20th will also be a new beginning that "We The People" get to decide what the ending will look like. 
How can one voice speak to so many people?
How can one song can capture so many emotions? 
I'm convinced that The music will NOT die and thankfully in the super natural a mortal man does not fill the levee's of our hearts. Although the levee's here in Reno will be dry in the natural the super natural state of this girls heart will be full.
Full of Love. Full of Prayers. Full of Song.
You know what song I'll be singing on January 20th?

My New Years Word for 2017

(above picture taken circa 10 years ago)

The day after Christmas this year, my word for 2017 came like a gentle nudge from an old friend.

PURPOSEFUL
I'm not talking about finding my life's purpose because I have known for many years what that is. It's not wrapped up in a career or even a role I fulfill like wife, mother, sister, friend.  That's not to say that those don't give me purpose or reason to get up and get moving, but they are not my sole purpose on this planet.  I know my gifts, my strengths and weaknesses.  I know who my creator is so I have that source of constant fulfillment and purpose like a river running through my veins on the daily.  Knowing the Lover of my Soul and pursuing Him in all things = My one small life's purpose. "The meaning of life is to find your gift. The purpose of life is to give it away."
I feel content in those areas. I think the word that has come my way for 2017 came about because the older I'm getting the more I'm realizing that unless I prioritize something or someone then those gifts I want to give don't get given.  (Say that 5 times fast)  I think it might have something to do with how fast time seems to keep going. The older I get the faster the arms on that life clock get spinning.  Faster and faster, And so it goes. I know I'm not alone in feeling this way about Father Time. You want to catch up to him and YELL, Slow the Hell Down!! But he is like the Gingerbread man just taunting you to try and catch him if you can. We all know we can't catch Father time and make him slow down or even stop so you can catch your breath, but I have moments where I sit straight up and think I am going to carpe the hell out of this diem! I think it was a moment like that where this word for 2017 was birthed from. As I was sitting in my bed the day after Christmas, I was thinking about the amazing weekend of fun with my Fab 4 kids and My Giant who spoiled me beyond belief this year. I thought about the time I spent with my mom and dad and brothers and sisters.  I thought about how grateful I am for this one small life.  I thought about all the people I wanted to thank for my amazing 42nd Birthday that had just happened the week before. I remembered how once upon a time I used to be so organized and good at writing thank you cards for moments just like this.  So I sat up with coffee in hand and started writing them all thank you cards. In that moment I realized I want to be more purposeful with my days ahead. I want to make lists and check them twice.  I want to stop procrastinating. I want to show up with this one small life.  I want to give away what I've been given and be purposeful in doing so. I realize that as I head into 2017 I won't completely be able to accomplish all of these wants, intentions, and desires because time limits us to only 24 hours.  I will try with every ounce of my being though to continue to give away what God has given me.  I will wake up each day and pray this prayer; "Use me God. Show me how to take who I am, Who I want to be,  And what I can do,  and use it for a PURPOSE greater than myself." 

This above photograph is one of my all time favorites of Poppa Tom with his buddy Isaiah, many moons ago. When I see this picture I'm reminded that as I head into a new year, with new ideas, and new priorities I don't walk alone.  I'm grateful for moments just like this one so long ago that so fully captures what it looks like to walk out life with our buddies by our sides and hearts full of adventure, and purpose.  Wish me God speed beloved reader and I wish you the Happiest and Most Purposeful of New Years!