Boots McBlog

Another month of morning inspirational tweets has come and gone.  With it went 2010.  We usher in 2011 with hopes, dreams and aspirations.   I’ve enjoyed reading back through the month of December’s “McNuggets”.  I like seeing the joy and hope that seem to abound during Christmastime.   As I write this,  my Christmas tree is still on the tabletop across the room.  Sparkles remain on the mantle.   I’m one of those that savors Christmas as long as I can.   (Note – The Wisest of Men arrived quite late to the scene.)  I pray as you read back through this  you’ll allow that spirit of Christmas –  that hope and wonder to permeate your thoughts.   The Grinch figured out that Christmas didn’t come from a store. Christmas actually means much more.   Let’s not pack away the hope  and peace and joy we discovered through the holidays  along with our decorations.   I think that may be the ultimate secret to a Happy New Year!

At first,  I told myself there was no way I was going to post a New year’s resolution blog.   As my blog reader filled up with everyone’s hopes, dreams, goals for 2011, I was even more sure I was not going to go with the bloggy flow.  Nope not me.  I was going to keep my resolutions to myself.    Then today,  as I stared at the blog posts in my queue, I realized the first blog post of 2011  I would publish (tomorrow)  would be about bacon.  yes,  Bacon.    Something about that just didn’t sit right.   I could’t just jump whole hog into the blogging year  and  not acknowledge this shift of time.  This clean slate.  This chance to get it right.    That’s when I remembered a book I read in 2010 -

Don  Miller’s “A million miles in a thousand years”

(Let me digress for a second:    If you haven’t had a chance to read it, definitely put it on your list of things to accomplish this year.  The Angler and I read it together.  Yes – together.  We took turns reading the chapters aloud to each other.  We both loved the story and it was a great way for us to reconnect in a fun, smart way.  For the first time in a quite awhile we stopped long enough to turn off the tv, step away from the computer, tuck our phones away and  hold an intelligent conversation with each other.  We grew hearing each other’s perspective.     If you and your spouse are in need of that – give this little exercise a try this year.  Now back to my story)

In Don’s book,  he introduces the reader to this amazing, intriguing, eccentric character named Bob Goff,  an attorney, professor for Pepperdine University, founder and president of Restore International, and author of the most inspirational Tweets.   (His twitter name is  @bobgoff)    Don began 2010 writing about Bob on his blog.   Here is a snippet of the exert that later appeared in his book:

image by pimienta roja / via flickr

Speaking Something into Nothing by Don Miller / blog post dated 01-03-10  (to read article in full click here)

One of my favorite stories was told to me by my friend Bob Goff. It’s a true story and it’s about a parade.

Bob lives in San Diego, and when his three children were young they were sitting around on New Years Day, bored. And Bob thought it was a crime anybody should be bored on New Years Day. (Let’s face it, unless you are a football fan, there’s not a whole lot to do.)

Bob asked the kids what they could do to honor the fact God gave them a day. And eventually Bob and his wife Maria, and their children, came up with the idea of a parade. So they set out to have a parade on their street. They went house to house telling their neighbors they were going to have a parade. And the neighbors must have indulged the children by saying they would watch. But the Goff’s had a better idea than just a parade people would watch. They decided nobody could watch the parade. They could only be in the parade.

And so a few neighbors joined in. The small parade marched from the end of the street to the Goff house, where they had a small cookout, if I remember correctly.

Now, more than ten years later, the New Years Day Parade is a tradition. Hundreds of people join in (nobody watches, everybody marches) and the day has not been boring since. Not only has it not been boring for the Goff family, it hasn’t been boring for hundreds of neighbors as well.

Each year the parade selects a Grand Marshal. The year Bob told me about the parade, the Grand Marshal was the mailman, who marched in front of the crowd throwing letters into the air. And each year a New-Years Day Queen is selected, sometimes from the local retirement center (the women in the picture below look way too young.) And the Queen gives a speech, and there is an annual Queen’s brunch at the San Diego Yacht Club.

People on Bob’s street know each other better because of the parade. The women in the Queen’s court feel honored, too. And the children grow up thinking New Years Day is a special celebration honoring a day, the miracle of a day.

It strikes me as I retell the story how wonderful it is God gave us time. By that I mean He has made us characters in a grand epic. The epic is meaningful, but there are dark forces trying to convince us it is meaningless, worth nothing, and therefore boring. What I like about Bob’s story is that he and his family decided to fight back.

Bob’s story is one of the more delightful, inspiring stories I’ve heard. He and his family were bored, but they didn’t complain, they spoke something into nothing, created unity where there was separation, created fun where there was boredom.

***

Wow!  I loved that line:

“they didn’t complain, they spoke something into nothing, created unity where there was separation, created fun where there was boredom”

Let that sink in.    Upon reading it over and over, I realized that  statement summarized my 2011 resolutions.   It is my prayer for  what I  hope to accomplish each time we get together here on this blog.   It’s my prayer  when I am out and about, living LIFE.

Another resolution I have for 2011 is to spend less time online.  This means, my blog posts will be even more sporadic because I  plan to LIVE this precious life.   Feel free to scroll down to the bottom of the screen and enter your email address to receive my  new blog posts via email.  This way,  you’ll know when inspiration has struck.   I’m sure I’ll lose a few readers due to my sporadic nature.   I’m going to be ok with that in 2011.   I’m not here to compete for blog of the year.   I am here on this earth to create fun,  build unity and get out of my comfort zone.  I ask you to join me  in life’s journey to  find the beauty all around us  and most of all to grow in God’s grace and strength in 2011.   So there you go – my 2011 resolutions.

oh….and maybe just maybe,  I’ll plan a parade.

Cheers and Happy 2011, Y’all

Today – the winter solstice – we’ll spend more hours in the dark than in the light.  It will be the deepest darkness of winter. Once the sun sets we will wait and wait and wait hours to see the sun again. I don’t really like the dark.  But like everyone else in the northern hemisphere,  I’ll have to wait there until the dawn at 6:45 am tomorrow.

That’s where I’ve found myself in the last year – waiting.  I’m not a good wait-er.   I fidget.  I’ve taken up photography, blogging, co-leading a bible study,  volunteering and launching a ministry.    For most folks,  that’s not waiting.   But for me,  it is.  I have this deep yearning in my soul to do more.   But God still is telling me to wait.   It is the hardest thing I’ve ever done – to sit here with thoughts and ideas and energy and encouragement and creativity waiting for God to allow me to spill out somewhere.  Until he gives me the green light to make a big splash,  I wait.   I’m so thankful,  in my waiting he is a patient parent who allows fidgeting.  I’m thankful for the opportunities above to let my heart’s desires slosh out and make droplets of impact where they can.

I wonder if that is a smidge of how God felt when he was sending his Son to earth?

All those many years before that stable in Bethlehem, did he look upon this darkness – this fallen world and yearn for his ultimate light to be known.   I’ve honestly been thinking alot about  that lately -  how in Him, God had the fullness of thought, idea, energy, encouragement and creativity waiting to be unleashed in the perfect gift of his son, but even he had  – to wait – until the perfect time.

In his waiting,  did God fidget?   Maybe that’s how we got the rainbow or the parting waters of the Red Sea or Solomon’s temple.   All of these miraculous things of beauty and hope and wonder,  were they merely sloshes from his full cup of living water – a taste of what was to come.    Then – when God finally made his big splash, when he unleashed his ultimate creation of light and love –  it was on a quiet night, in a dirty barn.  The world didn’t even see it.  But Mary did.

If I were to rewind the story -  not all of the centuries God waited, but to the few months before that starry night in the barn – there was girl.   Her name was Mary.   Stories and songs and whole prayers have been dedicated to her.   My favorite one is a simple song written by Sara Grove’s called “it’s true”     It’s not a particularly moving song, however,  I weep every time I hear it.   Every. single. time.

I’ve searched the internet for the words her young son reads at the beginning and end of the song.  I couldn’t find them.  In my fidgeting ways, I took it upon myself to decode them word by word as I pushed play, then pause, then rewind over and over again.    I’ve meant to do this for awhile now.   Today was the day.  I woke from a restless night,  my spirit feeling even more wandering than usual.  The waiting game,  while I’ve made peace with it off/on on this year, is getting to me.

That’s when I deciphered these words:

“so mary trusted God more than what her eyes could see”

wow.  This young girl with amazing faith.  Her whole life changed at that instant Gabriel appeared to her.  Her life wasn’t anything like she had planned for herself, yet she reacted with a yielded spirit and an exclamation of joy.   What did God with do with this yielded spirit?   God made  this young girl  - the one willing to trust more than what her eyes could see …  the first one to see the beautiful infant face of God  – with us  –   Emmanuel .

The past couple of weeks, I’ve written about a Gracious Holiday and the GRACE of this season – Gifts, Recipes, Around the house, and Charities.  We wouldn’t even have a reason to celebrate without the “e”  – Emmanuel.    This holiday, I pray we will all strive to be more like Mary, that we will be able to trust God more than what our eyes can see.  I pray especially for those of us waiting.  I pray we can exclaim joy for this season of life and most of all that  we will see his face – Emmanuel  – God with us.

May you all have a very merry, gracious Christmas.

boots

xxoo

There’s an old hymn we used to sing in the stoic church where I grew up.   It was one of those songs on Sunday night’s when the music minister would do “open hymn” night and let the congregation choose our songs that would be at the top of the list.   It had a happy beat  ( although we did NOT dance to it).  The pace of the song slowed at the end for dramatic effect before picking back up in speed.   The words went something like this.

Count your blessings

Count them one by one

Count your blessings, see what God has done

Count your blessings.

Count them.

one.

by.

one.

Count your many blessings, see what God has done.

This past year has been an interesting journey for me, to say the least.   I began my “rest” /  ”creative sabbatical”   about this time last year.   I had no idea what would happen.   I just knew I wasn’t going to be the one in control this time.   You see,  on this date TWO years ago today,  I was sitting in Chicago across from a guy named Morty.    Morty had invited my creative director and me  to his packaging showroom to discuss a new product line of paper goods which would be part of the re-brand for the company which hired me to do a complete overhaul of it’s image.  This new job for me was supposed to be all travel, all glamour.  Except,  here I was across from Morty.  He had promised to provide lunch as part of our visit.   He did.  It was corned beef on white bread which he made himself in the company breakroom and he presented it  to us on a styrofoam plate.   My creative director and I were slightly stunned.   We had envisioned a steak at Ruth Cris.  I would’ve even taken the soup and salad at the Olive Garden at this point. he continued to amuse us.  He asked if we wanted a pickle on the side.  How nice he was providing options.  And then Morty made us split (yes, split!)  a kosher dill spear.   My friend and I did everything in our power to not laugh.  We created a new definition for being “morty-fied”   The next day the trip continued much along this path.   I often checked for hidden cameras in our rental car.  I was convinced we  were trapped in a Wes Anderson film.    One thing for certain – this job was not glamorous, nor was it a good fit.   I knew in the brief time I had been on staff,  the job was sucking the life out of me.  One breath at a time.

I returned home.   My boss and I agreed to “mutually separate”.  I suddenly found myself in a place I had never been since college – without a job.   I panicked.   The very next day,  a good friend invited me to oversee development and marketing for a local non-profit.   It seemed like a good fit on paper, at least the part of the paper I could see.  It took nine months to figure out what was on the rest of that paper,  So, it was a YEAR ago today,  I sat in a board room revealing the brutal facts with a board of directors.   Our cause was good.  The economy was not.   Our needs were high.  Our donations were low.   To be good stewards of what we had been gifted,  I recommended  we close the doors and donate our remaining funds to research.    I was without a job – again.    This time I did something different.  I didn’t call a bunch of people to find the next gig.  Part of me wanted to be angry, victimized, sad, bitter, for all the things the last two years had thrown my way  which had not gone according to plan.   Except…those emotions took too much energy.  I was tired.   Instead, I prayed.  I really really really really prayed.    In the way that only the  Holy Spirit moves, I could hear God say in my heart, “be still”

In my stillness this past year,  I’ve spent more time hanging out with God.  I’ve studied the scripture more.  I’ve prayed more.   In June , I had the opportunity to learn how to take my new study habits and turn it into a talk to encourage others.   In the class I was taking,  I was assigned the passage of Matthew 5: 1-12 to present as my topic.     Matthew 5:1-12 is the Beatitudes – that  long list of paradoxical verses.  Blesssed are the Poor.  Blessed are the meek.  Blessed are the hungry.  Although I had read those verses a hundred times previously in my life,  suddenly  they dug into my heart and reflected every experience I had been through with my jobs, my volunteer commitments, and in my personal struggles the past two years.   After I shared my talk with my classmates and the class was dismissed,  my friend approached me to share it on a grander scale with the women in our church.   This was God’s way of keeping me firmly planted in these verses from June until September.    In addition to the talk I presented in September,  I was asked to co-lead a bible study.   The study was …. you guessed it – The Beatitudes.   God clearly wanted me to learn this lesson.   June through November he has had me firmly planted in this sermon he gave on a no name hill.

Today,  - two years after meeting Morty,  one year after that board meeting, and  year of resting,   I “get” these verses in a way I never have before understood them in my life.  I know better what it means to be blessed. As I count my blessings this year,  I am, of course, thankful for family, friends, shelter, food,  air,  flowers, shoes,  dresses, music and  laughter.  More than these, I am thankful  for the blessings of:

being at the end of my rope

losing what I thought was most dear to me

being content with just who I am

having a good appetite – for God

caring for others

getting my inside world (my heart and mind)  right

for the opportunity to help others cooperate instead of compete

for having friends distance themselves from me or losing friendships altogether because of my faith

This Thanksgiving,  I am seeing more clearly what God has done and is doing in my life.   I’m counting these blessings one. by. one.

The Beatitudes ~  Matthew 1-12 (the message)

When Jesus saw his ministry drawing huge crowds, he climbed a hillside. Those who were apprenticed to him, the committed, climbed with him. Arriving at a quiet place, he sat down and taught his climbing companions. This is what he said:

³“You’re blessed when you’re at the end of your rope. With less of you there is more of God and his rule.

⁴“You’re blessed when you feel you’ve lost what is most dear to you. Only then can you be embraced by the One most dear to you.

⁵“You’re blessed when you’re content with just who you are—no more, no less. That’s the moment you find yourselves proud owners of everything that can’t be bought.

⁶“You’re blessed when you’ve worked up a good appetite for God. He’s food and drink in the best meal you’ll ever eat.

⁷“You’re blessed when you care. At the moment of being ‘care-full,’ you find yourselves cared for.

⁸“You’re blessed when you get your inside world—your mind and heart—put right. Then you can see God in the outside world.

⁹“You’re blessed when you can show people how to cooperate instead of compete or fight. That’s when you discover who you really are, and your place in God’s family.

¹⁰“You’re blessed when your commitment to God provokes persecution. The persecution drives you even deeper into God’s kingdom.

^11-12“Not only that—count yourselves blessed every time people put you down or throw you out or speak lies about you to discredit me. What it means is that the truth is too close for comfort and they are uncomfortable. You can be glad when that happens—give a cheer, even!—for though they don’t like it, I do! And all heaven applauds. And know that you are in good company. My prophets and witnesses have always gotten into this kind of trouble.

Happy Thanksgiving, Y’all.   Grace to each of you.