The First Pancake Rule

Things are happening.

I found out last week that my new website may be finished soon. I’m excited, but nervous. 

I’ve been waiting to get my new speaking/writing ministry Extreme Joy Ministries up and running, but there’s something about gazing at the starting line and anticipating the sound of the gun going off to begin. Yes, I’m excited—and nervous—about placing my foot on the line and preparing to move forward.

A couple of weeks I was listening to a podcast by Ann Kroeker who is a Writing Coach and she was talking about the First Pancake Rule.

The First Pancake Rule.

Ann Kroeker said that when you begin making pancakes the first few usually don’t look very good. After pouring the batter they may end up shaped funny, too thick or too thin, and over or under cooked. But you keep pouring the batter and making pancakes.

After awhile you begin to get the hang of it. The batter has settled into the right consistency, you have figured out just how much batter to use and how long to leave it on the griddle before you flip it over. After awhile things begin to fall into place and you are making yummy round pancakes. (All right, she didn’t use the word yummy, but yummy works for me when it comes to hot

pancakes covered with hot maple syrup. But I digress.)

 Ann says it’s the same way when you start or re-start something. You have to just start and expect the first few things (or times you do it, whatever it is) to not be perfect. Start, keep pouring, and you will get better. 

That’s where I am at the moment. I’m beginning to pour the batter: 

• My new website will be up and running so I will be blogging and sending out a newsletter. 
• I'm continuing to be the guest Bible Study teacher at a church in my area.
• The first week of December I’m scheduled to speak at a Women's Conference in Charleston, SC.
• I’m submitting proposals to teach workshops on speaking and speaking tips to a few Writers’ Conferences.
• A Writers' Spiritual Retreat is in the planning stages.
• I’m working on presentations, book ideas, and blog ideas.

My pancakes may not come out perfect, but I’m going to mix the batter and start pouring.

What about you? Is there something you are waiting to start? What about something you want to re-start? Have you set goals but are fearful to step up to the starting line and begin?

Start.

 

Give yourself permission to make a few ugly pancakes.

The more you keep pouring, the better you will get.

And where can you find me? I’ll be standing over the griddle pouring . . . 

 " . . . being confident of this very thing, 

that He who has begun a good work in you will complete 

it until the day of Jesus Christ;" (Eph. 1:6 NKJV).

Scripture from New King James Version of the Bible

Pictures courtesy of www.pixabay.com

When Enemies Get Cozy . . . We Must Be Ready

So . . . you’re going about your life, no problems or issues, and then all of the sudden BAM! You find yourself in a battle.

   Where did it come from?

   What did I do wrong?

   How did I get in the middle of THIS?

The questions continue to weave in and out of your thoughts causing you to freeze in your tracts.

   Which way do I turn?

   Where can I get help?
   Who can I trust to walk through this with me?

King Hezekiah found himself in a difficult situation. He was going about his kingly business, watching over his people, when the King of Assyria came and cozied up against his city and planned an attack. (2 Chron. 32:1-8)

What did King Hezekiah do?

• He consulted with his leaders
• He got others to help him
• He built walls and repaired towers
• He made weapons and shields
• He encouraged his people.

And we can do the same, for we can . . .

• Consult with others we trust
• Get others to pray for us
• Build our defense through prayer and reading God’s Word
• Put on the whole armour of God (Eph. 6) and wear it
• Keep those around us that will encourage us

May the words King Hezekiah encourage you as they did his people many years ago. 

“Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or dismayed before the king of Assyria and all the horde that is with him, for there are more with us than with him. With him is an arm of flesh, but with us is the Lord our God, to help us and to fight our battles. And the people took confidence from the words of Hezekiah king of Judah.”

Next time you find the enemy camped next to you waiting to attack, (or if he’s there right now) take confidence in the words of Jesus THE king of Judah . . . 

“I will never leave you nor forsake you," Heb. 13:5.

All scriptures from English Standard Version ESV

pictures courtesy of pixabay.com

  

The Originial Repurposer

 "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation." (2 Cor. 5:17 ESV)

Repurpose.

Google it.

You will find websites, blogs, photographs, magazines, books, facebook groups, articles, pinterest boards all dedicated to the idea of taking something old (or no longer usable as it is) and creating ways to recycle and reuse. From barn doors to Aunt Lucy's mismatched silverware, if it's old and has no current purpose, it can be reused and given a new purpose.

I've collected items for years to do this very thing. I have brick from my parent's backyard, tools from my grandparents farm which include a tire frame from a piece of equipment as well as old glass bottles my grandmother buried in her garden. (Yes, she said one day glass would be replaced by plastic and glass bottles would be a thing of the past. Who knew?  Well she did!) One day I hope to find a new use for each of these items, whether in my garden, kitchen, or garage. But for now they sit waiting.

Sometimes I feel like I am doing the same thing . . .

sitting,

waiting . . .

to be reused--

repurposed.

As life continues, I find myself being tossed about in the ebb and flow of it and lose sight of my purpose. Maybe I'm not the only one. But as I read God's Word I'm reminded of three important truths that help me know that God is not finished with me and has plans for me, either doing what I'm doing now, or doing something completely different in the future. Either way, He's got a plan to use me and He has plans for you too.

•  "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation," (2 Cor. 5:17 ESV).

• "For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope," (Jer. 29:11).  

• "And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ," (Phil. 1:6).

Yes, God did make me a new creature when He cleansed me from all of my sin when I accepted His Son Jesus. Yes, He does have plans to give me a future and a hope. And, yes, He did begin a good work in me and will bring it to completion.

All I have to do is trust.

So, I will keep my eyes focused on Him.

And as my grandmother's bottles still have the same garden soil on them from the day they were buried on her farm, I will sit with the markings of past experiences, good and bad, knowing the original repurposer has a plan for me.








All scripture from the English Standard Version (ESV).
All pictures courtesy of pixabay.com. 

Where Do You Live?

Where do you live?

Not your street address, apartment number, city or state.

Not physically.

But . . .

Mentally, emotionally, spiritually.

Where do you live?

Some people live in the past,

                some people live in the future.

I'm not one to camp out in the past, but I do find myself riding on wings as I fly towards the future, waiting to land. There's only one problem, it's never time to land.

When I live in the mindset of:

• what if . . .
• when this or that happens . . .
• I can't wait until . . .
• I just wish . . .
• When, when, when . . .

                                 I'm not living in the moment.

And guess what? That's exactly what the enemy wants me to do.

Why?

Because when I don't live in the moment, I live a life of discontent.

Paul wrote in Phil. 4:11 that " . . . I have learned in whatever state I am, to be content:" 

I, like so many, have hung my dreams on the scripture found in Jer. 29:11 that says, "For I know the plans that I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope." 

Yes, God has plans for us . . . a future and a hope, but He has also given us everything we need to be content each day. Our hope is found in His Son, Jesus Christ. For He tells us, "I will never desert you, nor will I ever forsake you," (Heb. 13:5). He is with us in the moment helping us live out our purpose as we navigate what is before us, as mundane as it may seem.

We should be content while living each day to the fullest instead of dragging our feet in the dust of days gone by or trying to find rainbows to slide down into the future. The future will come and with it all the plans God has for us, but it will be in His timing not ours.

So now I do my best to live in the moment. 

          It doesn't have a physical address, 

                               but it is a place my heart will call home.

Scripture from NASB
Pictures courtesty of www.pixaby.com

Be Still . . . The Lord Will Fight For You.

"I don't know what to do."

"I can't seem to find my way through this maze I've created."

"I am so worried I can't eat or sleep."

"What's going to happen next?"

"I don't know which way to turn."

"Lord, can you hear me?"

I'm sure at one time or another we have all screamed these words while in the middle of a desperate situation. This is life, we are in the middle of it, and things happen. Some things we create and some things are out of our control, but either way we find ourselves stuck in the middle.

As they followed Moses out of Egypt, the Israelites also found themselves in a desperate situation. With the waters of the Red Sea before them and Pharaoh's armies fast approaching behind them, they were stuck with no options in sight.

Have you been there? Stuck with no options in sight? I have. Maybe the choice before me wasn't to drown in a sea or be killed by an army who was pursuing me in fast chariots, but nevertheless I have felt stuck with nowhere to turn.

God saw what was happening to His children and He had a plan.

First Moses told the people "Stand still, and see the salvation of the Lord . . . the Lord will fight for you" (Ex. 14:13, 14 NASB).

And He did!

God told the people to stop crying out to him and move towards the waters. At that point God performed a miracle. As Moses lifted up his rod, God caused the sea to go back with a strong east wind dividing the sea. Throughout the night the people were able to walk to the other side on dry land.

And what about the army that was chasing them? That morning God looked down on the army and caused their wheels to fall off their chariots and when they tried to turn back He caused the sea to return to its full depth drowning all the men.

Yes, the Lord fought for them.

                And He will do the same for us. 

                            He sees what is happening to us, His children, and He has a plan.

But we need to learn to, "Be still and know that (He is) God," (Psa. 46:10). He wants to fight for us but we need to let Him. 

What are you in the middle of today? What situation seems impossible? What's closing in on you from both sides?

God sees. 

God knows. 

God hears our cries. 

But we need to be still, 

know that God is God, 

and let Him fight for us! 

He wants to do a miracle in our lives,

 but we need to be still and let Him do it.

A Cry From My Heart

To everyone else it's a pretty church on a hill overlooking the quaint main street of Highlands, NC, but not to me. To me it's where my Heavenly Father answered the cry from my heart and said "Yes. Yes, you can come back home."

First Presbyterian Church, Highlands, NC

I was a prodigal daughter and was tired of wallowing in the muck of the world and running from bad choices that I didn't want to define me or my future.

Have you walked away from the Lord?

Do you want to come home?

Do you want to see your Heavenly Father waiting with out-stretched arms to welcome you back?

It's NEVER too late and He is faithful to forgive.

As I poured out my words of confession and sorrow to Him it was as if he took His finger, placed it under my tear-stained chin, and lifted my head towards His extravagant love. He washed me clean, infused me with joy, and enveloped me with peace. From that moment on I've never been the same.

He will do the same for you.

Don't stay away if your heart yearns to be back home. Open the eyes of your heart and look . . . He's right there with you, waiting to be the lifter of your head. He met me at the top of a mountain in an old Presbyterian Church, but He will meet you where ever you are at the moment.

Call out to Him today then join me in declaring,

". . . He inclined to me and heard my cry. He brought me up out of the pit of destruction, out of the miry clay, and He set my feet upon a rock making my footsteps firm. He put a new song in my mouth, a song of praise to our God" (Psa. 40:1-3).

Yes. You can always go home . . .

Do You Hear It?

Do you hear it?


Or maybe I should ask, do you not hear it? The noise, the hustle, the bustle from a busy Christmas week.




I wonder how quite it was the night of Jesus' birth after the shepherds left and the animals settled down. Talk about noise, hustle and bustle . . . there was a lot going on for awhile in the stable that was tucked away in the small town of Bethlehem.


In Luke 2:19 we read from the Amplified Bible that "Mary was keeping within herself all these things (sayings), weighing and pondering them in her heart." What sayings? The account the shepherds gave about their visit from an angel and then the multitude of the heavenly host that praised God concerning the birth of His only Son.


She was nestled away in a stable, holding the Son of God in her arms as she felt His heart beat next to hers. While rocking Him, the words of the shepherds must have moved across her mind and she spent time weighing and pondering what they said. It was true, the baby she held was the Son of God, born to be the Savior of the world.


In the quietness of these days following Christmas may we too spend time weighing and pondering the things we have heard about the birth of Jesus. We may not be nestled away in a stable holding the Son of God in our arms, but if He lives inside of us, we too can feel the beat of His heart next to ours. For it is true, Jesus is the Son of God and He is the Savior of the World.