Keith shared some thoughts which provoked some deep conversation on the drive home. One thing he said was:

*** The successful concentrate all their energy and efforts on the attainment of a singular purpose with an intensity that borders on a magnificent obsession. ***

I know how that impacts my purpose as a chiropractor. I am obsessed with helping people reach their highest health potential naturally through chiropractic care — and yes, that is a magnificent obsession!

But after hearing Pastor Rob’s UPGRADE sermons the past two Sundays, I haven been seeking God’s will for my “magnificent spiritual obsession.”

Asking questions like:
“What is my spiritual purpose?”
“What was I born to do that by God’s design, only I can do?”

These have been terrific questions to take to God in my personal prayer time.

Then I was reminded of Pastor Matt Chandler’s words to us on Friday:
God chases me… He captured my heart for His Glory… He saved me to make much of Him… So my magnificent obsession must bring glory to the name of Jesus Christ!

So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God. (1 Corinthians 10:31 ESV)

How about you? What is your magnificent obsession?

We love rock hopping so the muddy creek and a few exposed rocks were very enticing. Nathan blazed the rock hoppin’ trail and I went second — and fell in! Nathan pulled out his phone for some rather wet pictures of me and Juliana laughed so hard I just knew she would fall in too! But I was wrong. Instead, she blazed a new trail of here own over some less muddy and more stable rocks.

We went back and forth over the creek several times until we came to a ravine with two fallen trees that crossed the creek about 8 feet above the water. Nathan insisted on crossing the creek via the fallen trees. I wasn’t so sure but I wasn’t about to be left behind so I followed Nathan. I didn’t fall in the creek this time and no one laughed, although I did have a close call when I stepped on a branch that gave way. And Juliana followed me with her usual grace and “Ta-Da!”

Another perfect day with my kids and certainly one of the things I treasure most. In fact, I was reading Psalm 100 just yesterday in my quiet time with God. I started jotting down things I was most thankful for. It didn’t take any time for me to list well over 100 blessings for which I thanked God… Among the things at the top of my “thankful list” were moments like this with Nathan and Juliana.

Again, I thank you, God, for blessing me with hiking time with my children.

Here is a look at our hiking adventure:

 In case you missed his quote, here it is in its entirety:

Rob took Juliana to breakfast and then joined up with Nathsn and me a little later. We voted unanimously to see WAR HORSE, a true epic film which we all enjoyed and then headed to a steakhouse to discuss the movie and more of that really great conversation with my men. Home for ice cream and more good conversation… Ahhhh! The perfect ending for a perfect day with my men.

Thank you, Jesus, for the two men in my life, and for blessing me with a day where I did not have to share them with anyone else!

 Happy New Year!

“Oh, thank you.  What did you pray for me?”

“Mom, I saw you were wearing really high heels and that you would have to walk over the guitar cords so I prayed you would not trip.”

We both busted out in laughter.  What a sight that would have been to see her mother fall flat out on my face on my way to meet Rob on our Southbrook stage!

I’m so glad God did answer Juliana’s prayer for me.  And I’m glad that Juliana knows she can talk to God about anything… even her concerns about her mother tripping in front of the whole church.

As Rob promised, I am addressing one of the questions that we did not get to in Sunday’s sermon:

HOW CAN WE HAVE FUN AND SPONTANEITY IN OUR RELATIONSHIP DESPITE THE DEMANDS OF CHILDREN, HOUSE, JOBS, ETC.?

This is a really good and important question because it brings us back to establishing priorities and time management principles.  And the priority is this:  Husbands and wives must be intentional about carving time out for each other. 

The time management principle is this:  When you say “yes” to something in your weekly schedule, you are saying “no” to something else.  We are all only given 7 days per week and 24 hours each day.  So the rules are the same for everyone… you’ve got to make time out in your schedule for your spouse.

Here are some things that Rob and I have found helpful:

• schedule a weekly date night as well as a daily “mini-date” like we talked about Sunday morning.  When you are in an especially busy season of life, it is necessary to get these dates on the calendar.
• let your children know when you are on a “mini-date” and teach them that this is mommy and daddy alone time and they are not to interrupt you… you’ll be giving them a tremendous gift as you teach them that husbands and wives must put each other first… and hopefully when they are grown, they will take this with them into their own marriages.
• when your budget is tight, try working out a babysitting arrangement with other couples.  When our kids were young, we had 3 other couples who had a date night babysitting agreement with us.  The way it worked is that Friday was date night.  Every Friday we dropped off our children at one family’s home.  Then three couples had their own private date night.  Each couple took a turn watching the other children one Friday night each month and the other 3 Friday nights were guaranteed date nights with free babysitting! 
• go to bed early… get the kids settled and then retreat to your own bedroom for private time together… even if it means leaving house work undone… trust me, the house work will be there in the morning and your “happy” spouse won’t care one bit.
• look for times of spontaneity… and capture them… when the kids are young, spontaneous moments may not be as frequent as they are before kids, but put your creativity to the test… and ask God to help you find time for each other.

My prayer is that God will bless your desire for fun and spontaneity with your spouse and that He will abundantly fill your marriage with much love, peace and happiness as you place Him in the very core of your relationship.

In the midst of all the sillyness, 2 topics came up and I felt blessed to have the privilege of discussing them with my daughter.  The first topic was choosing friends wisely — friends that encourage you grow in your walk with Jesus — as opposed to friends who subtly do just the opposite.  I found the perfect answer in God’s Word:

1 Corinthians 15:33 (NASB)  Do not be deceived: “Bad company corrupts good morals.”

The second topic was making good decisions — decisions that please and honor God.  Again, the perfect answer was found in God’s Word.  In fact, the best answers to life questions are found in the Bible, God’s Holy Living Word.

Colossians 1:18 (NASB)  He is also head of the body, the church; and He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that He Himself will come to have first place in everything.

By giving Jesus first place in all we say, do and think (in everything), we can trust that He will help us make the best decisions (in everything).

Juliana and I both felt God’s presence with us all throughout our Girl Weekend!  In the laughter and in the seriousness of life, Jesus is there in the midst of us… thank you, Lord, for being everpresent.

I think it is common, not just for kids but also for adults, to slack off in areas where God may have given us natural talent or abilities.  Maybe we get lazy or uninterested or miss the challenge or who knows what causes us to give less than our best in our efforts.  And yet God’s Word tells us His desire is just the opposite: 

Here is an excerpt from her blog post today:

So what’s life been like for me these past months?….

What would you do with the best news you could imagine?  Take off on a trip around the world for as long as you want?  Splurge on a new house?  Shopping spree marathon and makeover?  Eat, drink, and be merry; repeat?  Those are on my list… but what I’ve found I’ve wanted -and needed- most is quite honestly and sincerely to tell God “THANK YOU!,” and keep saying thank you every morning light, every blessed moment of the day, every single evening looking up to the stars, that I’ve been given the gift of living, and for now, even without having to have drugs.  

Then, I most needed and wanted to experience normal life – after nearly 3 years so far of constantly rationing energy and counteracting physical or mental side effects.  Normal, everyday things like:

1.       Helping my kids get ready for school & walking them to the bus each and every morning -and even chatting with other parents there, then going to work out or walk – but not having to crawl back to bed every other week

2.        Coming home – no medical appointments -in time to meet them off the bus… and do homework, sort papers, and even bake cookies!

3.       running beside Kaitlyn on these glorious fall days as she gains confidence riding her bike

4.       prepare a meal for your family while listening, talking, and moving around the kitchen without dizziness or fatigue

5.       Walking into a store without fearing all the germs I’m about to inhale that will set me back another week off treatment schedule, or without being overwhelmed by all the sensory input and noise 

6.       Go to the mall, or a movie theater….period   

7.       Making plans with my husband for a date night without having to wait for a break in the treatment cycle to save up enough energy to plan it …and then have some left to actually go out.

8.       Walking up the steps with a load of laundry and stuff that needs to go in about 5 different places and not blowing a mental fuse just trying to deliver each item to the correct location. 

9.       Planning things you want & need to do without the confines of a dosage cycle – whether it’s for the family, the home, or a trip….

10.   Being able to accomplish most of those tasks in a week without having to “go under” again – or in even a day -without feeling like someone just unplugged you and your battery just can’t hold charge.

11.   Looking at a plate of food without thinking about what each bite is going to do to either fight cancer or rid the body of the toxic side-effects of treatment.

12.   Forgetting my water bottle!  We are inseparable during treatment and I’m continuously gulping it down– the body constantly craves more water – but I’ve actually left my water bottle in the car or at work and not remembered it for a couple hours!

13.   Providing for my family – me, doing my part, not having to have help all the time

14.   Seeing photos come up on the digital frame and realizing there will be a new way to remember when a picture was taken – not by which drug I was on at the time, but during time OFF!

15.   Living moment to moment and loving it, saying “Thank you!”  Then, “More moments, please!”

They say it takes around 6 months to really “be off chemo” and be rid of all the side effects.  What would that feel like?  Will I get to find out?

Wow!  What a reminder for me be thankful for “everyday life.”   And what a blessing and joy everyday life can be!  Although Ashlyn acknowledges that her treatment future is uncertain, she concludes her post:  I have not walked this alone, and will not, as I continue the journey, with Christ leading the way.

Thank you, Ashlyn, for helping me prepare my heart for the Thanksgiving holiday, and for encouraging me in my walk with Christ.