A Little More YOU, a little less ME

There has been a resounding theme running through various channels of my life recently. It's the notion that when you focus on serving others, you will in turn receive success and blessing in your own life.

When you make everything about "I, me, and my" it becomes all about serving your own selfish interests. When you focus on "YOU" it becomes all about how to serve someone else.  My friend recently challenged me to have conversations with people without using the word "I, Me, or My".  It's not easy to do! It's much easier to ramble on about what "I" want and what "I" have accomplished and about "my" goals.

It's a tough lesson to learn, but as I've been trying to focus on this awareness lately, I've noticed some cool things happening. When approaching a situation with someone from the vantage point of what do "You" want or need or how can I serve and support "You", guess what happens?  The other person opens up and shares their heart! There is no "I, Me, My" ulterior motive. There is simply a pure, transparent goal to "serve" the other person. Letting go of your personal agenda and releasing yourself from outcome gives you freedom to serve the other person with greater genuine acceptance.

Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. ~ Philippians 2:4

Be a difference maker! Make a difference in the lives of OTHERS.

Start today, November 1st and make this the season of serving others!

Love and Prayers,
Sondra

Words

I heard this song this week on Christian radio station, KLove, by Hawk Nelson called Words.  The opening lyrics caught my attention immediately. Maybe it was because I was feeling like a "prisoner to my thoughts". And thoughts often become words, whether spoken to others or spoken to ourselves. Throughout the next few days I kept seeing more signals about "words".

Whether spoken to others or to yourself... Let your words be life...Let your words be truth!

Read the lyrics below and you'll see what I mean.

They've made me feel like a prisoner

They've made me feel set free

They've made me feel like a criminal

Made me feel like a king

They've lifted my heart to places I've never been

They've dragged me down back to where I began

Words can build you up

Words can break you down

Start a fire in your heart

Or put it out

Let my words be life

Let my words be truth

I don't want to say a word

Unless it points the world back to You

You can heal the heartache

Speak over the fear

God, your voice is the only thing we need to hear

Words can build us up

Words can break us down

Start a fire in our hearts

Or put it out

Let my words be life

Let my words be truth

I don't want to say a word

Unless it points the world back to You

Let the words I say

Be the sound of Your grace

I don't want to say a word

Unless it points the world back to You

I want to speak Your love

Not just another noise

I want to be Your life

I want to be Your voice



Love and Prayers,
Sondra

He said

He said...

I'm a well watered garden

My springs don't quit

I'm the apple of his eye

I'm his beloved

I'm an overcomer

I'm the head and not the tail

I'm above and not beneath

I'm blessed in the city

I'm blessed in the field

I'm blessed when I come in

I'm blessed when I go out

Everything I put my hand to is "Blessed"

I can do all things through Him.

The beautiful words of this blog were shared with me by a beautiful woman at a women's retreat I attended this weekend! The word of the Lord is so beautiful!

Love and Prayers,
Sondra

Serve 16

This blog is dedicated to an amazing young lady who is turning 16. While most soon-to-be 16 year olds would be planning a Sweet 16 bash, shopping for new clothes, and picking out their future car, this young girl has assembled an initiative to serve others 16 times during the month of November in honor of her birthday. I've known this young girl for several years. She is kind, smart, and has a very big heart. I am in awe of her love for Jesus and desire to serve others at such a young age.  She is setting an amazing example for others young and old! My family will definitely be participating in her project.

Her project is called Serve 16! You can buy very cool Tshirts and the proceeds benefit a great cause. And you can read through her 16 ideas for serving others and create a plan for yourself and your family to serve others during the month of November!!  November is a month that many people recognize as a time to give thanks and to serve others. What can you do to get yourself out of your own way in the spirit of serving others?? Read her ideas below!!!

Serve16 is both a challenge and an invitation to see a need and to meet it. YOU are invited to join US in serving your community 16 times through the month of November. Let's get out there and see what awesome things God has in store as we are Jesus' hands and feet!

Here's the story...

As I was thinking about my Sweet 16 birthday party this year I wanted to incorporate the things that I love most...and I realized that one of my favorite things is to serve people! So why not do THAT instead of a party? That's how Serve16 was created! We decided to find 16 different ways to serve, help, and demonstrate Jesus' love to people in our area. 

Buying a t-shirt helps spread the word about Serve16 and becomes your first act of service! Proceeds from the sale will be given to Calvary Christian Church's One for One ministry. Each week the church finds someone in the Bellevue, NE area struggling financially...and blesses them with a monetary gift.

Where do you begin? First, check out the list of 16 projects we're doing in November. Second, open your eyes and see the needs all around you. Third, ACT.

Here are 16 ideas to get you started!

1. Buy a shirt! (www.booster.com/serve16)

2. Serve at least once at your church.

3. Take a meal to someone who needs it.

4. Choose one person to pray for for a week. Then tell that person what you're doing.

5. Take away someone's loneliness. Visit someone in a nursing home or hospital.

6. Do a job around the house that nobody else wants to do (mow the grass, organize the closet, clean the toilets).

7. Give up part of the big day and go serve Thanksgiving dinner at a homeless shelter or soup kitchen.

8. Spend 30mins with a younger sibling. Let THEM choose the activity!

9. Meet and talk to a new person at school, youth group or work.

10. Do yard work (mow grass, rake leaves, shovel the driveway) for one of your neighbors, especially if they can't do it themselves.

11. Write an encouraging note to a family member, friend, coworker, teacher or boss. Include some scripture you enjoy.

12. Volunteer at your local homeless shelter or soup kitchen.

13. Write a thank you note to a veteran.

14. Walk a neighbor's dog.

15. Introduce yourself to a neighbor you haven't met (take cookies. Cookies make everything better).

16. Clean out your closets and donate the old clothes you don't use anymore to a homeless shelter.

Whether you do one of these projects or you find your own, be sure to add your stories to this page. Together we can BE Jesus' hands and feet in November!


Join me in supporting this young lady and her amazing idea!!!

Love and Prayers,
Sondra

Born with Greatness

It's not everyday you hear these words, "You are such an inspiration and God has such big plans for you." These are words spoken to me today by a dear friend. It made me think. 

When someone tells you that you have "greatness", you most certainly should believe them! Soak up those words and make them your truth. Don't shrug it off as thought it's a shallow compliment. In fact, it occurred to me today that these are words we should hear everyday. What if we consistently told each other "you were born with greatness"? What if we were to tell our children daily "you were born with greatness"? What if you looked in the mirror every morning and said "I was born with greatness"? Perhaps we would all start to believe it and actually act upon our greatness. 

The truth is that God designed each and every one of us for greatness. Keith Kochner, author and founder of Mentorship Mastery says "You cannot walk towards your greatness, you can only walk away from it." The truth is that you don't have to seek it out, because you were born with it. It's a question of what you're going to choose to do with it. 

Are you walking in your greatness? Are you utilizing your God-given talents, skills, and gifts to the best of your ability? You were meant to thrive, not just survive. 

Love and Prayers,

Sondra

Faith in a Glass House

I don't have dreams often in which I wake up and typically don't remember my dreams. So, when I do have a dream that wakes me up at night, I figure there's an important message being sent to me through that dream. The other night I woke up at about 4am after dreaming that my husband and I were caught in a flash flood.

One of our favorite places to visit is Estes Park, Colorado.  You drive through the Big Thompson Canyon to get to Estes Park, and you're surrounded by rock walls on all sides. The road basically winds up the canyon along side the mountain stream until you arrive at this majestic view of the Rocky Mountains. Within the past few weeks a flood swept through the canyon and wiped out major portions of the road along with many homes and cabins along the way.

In the dream, my husband and I were traversing down the post-flooded river bed on an all-terrain vehicle. The flood had passed and it seemed to be safe. We came upon a glass house nestled in the middle of the river bed that was amazingly untouched.  The next part of the dream was me being inside the glass house. There were other people in the glass house with me. And suddenly someone screamed "flash flood". Another unexpected flood was happening. I stood and turned around and saw this enormous wave rolling down the canyon toward the house. People were scattering in every direction. Running. Trying to escape. My instinct was to do the same. After all we were standing in a house made mostly of glass. Surely this wave would shatter this house into pieces. I was scared. Where was my husband? Where would we go? Was there time to get out? How would we find our way down the canyon? Or would we be swept away by the water?

There was a kind man standing near me. I felt a sense of wisdom from him, as if he would know what to do. For some reason, he wasn't panicking. He remained calm and still. The wave seemed to be suspended in it's motion, while I wrestled with what to do. I turned to the man and asked, "What do we do?"

The man said to me, "Stay here. You'll be safe here."

I questioned him about how we could be safe in this glass house. How could that be? Yet he remained calm, not moving. I felt compelled to run like the others, but something was keeping me there.

The dream went fuzzy at this point. I started to wake up. That moment where you start to wake and come out of a dream that seemed so real that you have to wonder if it really was. But then I remember a message coming to me almost immediately. And I heard the man say "This is a house of faith. No matter how unbelievable the situation may seem, if you remain in this house of faith, you will be safe."

As I lie there wondering what this dream meant, that was it!  That was the message in this dream! Stay in Faith! Stay in Faith! Do not try to escape the challenges of life, rather stay in faith! Do not try to venture off on your own! Stay in Faith! Even when the glass house feels as though its coming down, Stay in Faith!

What's going on outside your glass house that has you running in fear or anxiety? Stay in Faith!

Love and Prayers,
Sondra

What Can You Control?

I was just thinking about this very question the other day. What can I actually control? And then low and behold, my friend Kelli Dewispelare from Sweat Cycle Soul said the intention out loud! And it was exactly what I had been thinking. We cannot control what happens in the entire world around us. But we can control what happens in our own life.

Some people might challenge that idea and say that its not true. That we can't control whether we find a job or lose a job, or find love or lose love, or have children or not have children, and so forth.

And while we can't control all circumstances and situations, here are some things we can control...

We can control how we respond to life, to our circumstances and the people around us.
We can control whether we think of the glass being half full or half empty.
We can control whether we stay in a job or leave and pursue a different career.
We can control whether we spend money we don't have or live within our means.
We can control how we spend our time each day, watching TV or expanding our minds.
We can control whether we live in a hot climate or a cold climate.
We can control our decision to stay in a marriage or not stay in a marriage.
We can control whether we work on a relationship or give up on a relationship.
We can control our attitude being grateful for what we have or envious of what we don't.
We can control whether we serve others or wallow in our own selfishness.
We can control whether we get off the couch to exercise or complain about poor health.
We can control whether we eat nourishing food or empty calories of junk food.
We can control whether we set a good example for our children, or model poor behavior.

I look back at this list and will admit that I personally have a lot of areas over which I have control that I don't always make good choices. But just reviewing this list helps me to feel empowered! We have a lot more control over our world that we think we do!

For God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control. ~ 2 Timothy 1:7

For me, I'm going to personally pledge to do a better job with the last three items on the list. I've been gathering up a few pounds here and there and not taking the time to take care of myself through exercise and proper eating.  The interesting thing about that is that of anything on this list, it's the two things that I have the most control over!!! Nobody is shoving cookies down my throat and telling me I'm not allowed to go for a jog!  I am fully in control over those choices. And if I can regain proper balance in this area, I am most certainly setting a good example for my children. And I am most surely going to see a ripple effect of improvement in other areas of my life!

So stay tuned....you'll be seeing more focus on "healthy living" as a part of 63 Days of Faith Love Time!

Love and Prayers,
Sondra