Ever have a word haunt you?  It peeks around the corner when you least expect it. Someone uses it in a sentence, a friend over coffee brings it up, then you read about this word in 14 gazillion blogs.  Like Sheldon on The Big Bang Theory who repeatedly knocks on his neighbor's door saying her name three times, sometimes a word beats over and over again on my heart. Its voice is persistent and it lingers waiting for me to notice. Sometimes the word isn't bolded, but hidden among other friends. It teases you, calls your name until you finally say, "ok what am I to learn about you?" Intentional.  "Intentional" has tackled and seized my attention. What does this word mean and what is it telling me? Intentional come from Latin meaning a stretching out, straining, exertion, effort; attention, to turn one's attention. The middle of the 14th century Old French word of  entencion implies "stretching, intensity, will, thought."  To many of us it means being … [Read more...]

    "I have to learn to say no." my friend sighed. "Life is full of so many great choices, it is hard to chose at times," I said. This conversation last Tuesday made me wonder again how to choose between good and great.  Some times both options are great. Which one to choose?  ahhh, the conflict between good vs. great. Then I read this quote today from Charles Spurgeon: “Learn to say no. It will be of more use to you than to be able to read Latin.” Discernment can be difficult. I know I would love to have God simply tell me what to do sometimes (to be honest many times I want to control that decision - but when I am not sure that's the time I want him to tell me clearly and directly.)  DO THIS JEANIE. GO THIS WAY!  That is what I want to see headlined in the clouds! I want clear direction between good vs great. I get so excited about learning, accomplishing, and growing as a person I jump into something because it is good instead of really stepping back and … [Read more...]

Our local newspaper is an easy target. I write for them so I'm sensitive when people become critical about how they cover a story or make a mistake. Easy targets. Unfortunately when a newspaper makes a mistake, everyone berates them. If someone's name is misspelled or a headline reads funny, the phone calls pour in from all the "yes I use English perfectly all the time" people. If one school doesn't make the front of the sports page, all the fans cry favoritism. Newspapers are put together fairly quickly. Mistakes will happen. Sometimes the results may even be humorous. Easy targets. What I can't figure out is why do people think it is ok to bash, blame and belittle an entity that is really supportive of the community? Newspapers are easy targets. Easy targets When I am on the receiving end, my fists come out or tears cascade down. But I began thinking about easy targets this morning and realized I am just as guilty. I think the Lord is exposing my own critical … [Read more...]

  Is clock watching a curse or a blessing? I used to think mostly negative things about my relationship with Father Time. I quit wearing watches years ago. Time became the enemy. Time took the form of a stubborn toddler having tantrums. When I wanted time to move quickly, it dragged its feet in defiance, become spineless and lay unmoving right before my eyes. Then I woke up one morning, another decade older, looking at winkles and brown spots on the face in the mirror. Moments dissolved and vanished. Children once babies and giggling in my arms, now mother kids of their own and manage mortgages and careers. I researched and read every book ever written on time management. My expertise led me to even gave presentations full of tips about time. But it was a losing battle. The hours mounted a mutiny with my common sense, minutes evaporated and seconds flashed by quicker each year. My war with time focuses most often on what I think I can get done within a … [Read more...]