Why am I writing a book?

Do you remember back in high school when a really cool song would come out and you instantly fell in love with it? You couldn’t wait to hear it play on the radio. You loved the beat, the lyrics, the way it made you feel. You could listen to it over and over and over and just couldn’t get enough.

And then, as days passed, you became full of the song and your excitement for the lyrics faded as they were replaced with enjoyment for a new, different, better song. This is a cycle of music. A song hits #1 on your personal billboard and within a short time, it’s replaced by another song and begins to move down the charts to an imminent drop-off.

{By the way, here is the Billboard Top 100 Songs of 1996, the year I graduated from highschool}

Well, as I reflect on my story over the past few years (the fear, the sickness, the terminal diagnosis, the miracle, the personal growth, the love the Lord brought to me and the fierce desire to know Him and teach and tell others of what He has done in my life)… I think of you.

I think of some of you who do not know my story and others who know the basics: that I “had a brain tumor” and now I’m well. And then I think of all of you that don’t know the intimate, profound fear that ruled my world for years: that I would not live to raise my kids. Some of you don’t know how the Lord blessed me with a breathtaking experience that would change all of that forever. And I have lived to tell the story, so I am.

This is my book. This is how I’m making sure that what I went through isn’t another “billboard song” in my life, isn't just another passing phase, but is a forever life-changing experience. My story has “God” written all over it. It did then, and it does now. I am writing my story so it does not fade like a song on a top ten hits chart. I don't ever want to forget what God did for me.

What is the song in your life? Are you fighting to keep passion in your marriage? Are you struggling to maintain your health? Is it a battle to enjoy your children with the same passion you had when they were younger? Maybe God brought you through something dramatic, too, but the lessons you learned (that you SWORE you'd never forget) are starting to fade. May I encourage you? There are things in this life worth fighting for. In this ever-changing, always spinning, fast-paced world, stand strong for the things in life that should not fade like a one-hit wonder. Prioritize and FIGHT for the things that really matter.

My faith, my relationship with the Lord, my marriage and my kids are my top priorities in life. What are your top priorities? Are they what they should be? If not, it’s never too late. The God I serve is a God of second chances. I am living proof of that.

Close Call

If today was your last day

And tomorrow was too late

Could you say goodbye to yesterday?

Would you live each moment like your last?

Leave old pictures in the past

Donate every dime you have?

If today was your last day.

{Nickelback, "If Today Was Your Last Day"}

Earlier this week I was driving south on the 101 and I noticed something in the lane next to me. It looked like an over-sized hockey puck, round and black. First I saw it in the roadway and then I saw it as it was picked up by another car's tire and thrown at my car, just like a hockey puck is shot at the goal.

Alarming. Scary. Breath-taking (but not in a good way). Immediately I moved to the slow lane and exited the freeway on the next off-ramp to assess the damage. I also called my super-handy husband and he met me and swapped vehicles just in case the windshield didn’t hold.

"Holy cow! Talk about a close call!" I thought. And then my mind began to wander. Six inches lower, and it would have been at eye level.

I was so lucky. Or was I unlucky?

What are the odds of having an object thrown at your windshield so hard that it smashes it, throwing glass all over the car??

Whether you choose to view things in your life as lucky or unlucky is not really the point. The point is that at any moment, that over-sized hockey puck could be six inches lower and flying at you instead of me on the freeway. Not one person that died on the freeway last week was planning on it. Are you ready for eternity?

My Southern Baptist roots are seeping out in this post, but it has been heavy on my heart to share these thoughts. If today was your last day, do you know for sure where you would spend eternity? If you don’t, it’s not too late. To read the plan of salvation and my own personal testimony, visit my Faith page. And if you have any questions or would like to speak to me directly, please leave a comment with your e-mail address and I will contact you ASAP.

She Wants To Be Just Like Me

Tuesday, my four-going-on-fourteen-year-old daughter, is like most little girls—she wants to be just like me. She wants to get pedicures and spray tans like I do, she puts on her “workout clothes” and wants to run on the treadmill like I do...

...and she wants to dress like me.

Just this weekend, it hit me, though: she actually wants to BE LIKE ME. She is modeling everything I do. How I talk to people on the phone, my driving habits, my attitude toward church, what I spend my money on, my reactions to stressful situations, how I use my time…everything.

As parents, Rex and I do a lot of things right. We brush and floss the kids’ teeth every night, we enforce regular bedtimes, we pray before going to sleep at night, we go on regular family outings, we’re involved at church and we talk about Jesus and what He did on the cross for us nearly every night.

But when I thought about ME, day in and day out, and how I live in front of my kids, I started wondering….do I really want Tuesday to be like me? Am I being the kind of mother to her that I want her to be someday? What kind of role model am I? Am I striving to live my best life for God?

I’m certainly not perfect. There are so many weeds in my life that need a gallon of Round Up. It comes down to attitude and I’ve been struggling with mine as I have been running around like a crazy woman on Black Friday. I’ve been short with those around me, and haven’t taken time out to be still and enjoy Logan and Tuesday like I should. Stress doesn’t always bring out the best in me and my kids see that.

I snagged this line from the movie “Facing the Giants:” “Your attitude is like the aroma of your heart.” And sometimes mine stinks.

That line often resonates in my soul and I become convicted that my inward emotions drive my outward actions. I need to work on both. How am I feeling and how am I reacting to my feelings? How are life situations influencing my attitude? My kids need to know that I am a work in progress, just like they are. I’m going to be praying that God will teach me how to be the best me—and the best mom—that I can be.

Can I encourage you to take stock of what you are teaching your kids through your attitude? I’m sure there are lots of great things you’re teaching them, but next time your inner frustration seeps out and unleashes onto the person on the other end of the phone, remember who may be listening and what they’re learning about how to treat others.

As Tuesday grows up, I want to be proud of who she is becoming and to know that I had a positive influence on her.

What is your attitude teaching your kids, good or bad?