My Gift #2

I am very excited! My family has not been to Disney World in a long time. With the kids at their current ages it should be SO MUCH more fun! Thank you to my husband who has a business trip in Orlando in February! HURRAY we can tag along! Thank you to my parents who will drive with me and my 3 children! Thank you to my uncle who works there!!

I can't wait!

PMA #2

** The author of this letter's name has been changed for privacy sake**

Dear Mrs. Shea,

Thank you for being a chaperon on our trip to Camp Thunderbird. I really enjoyed going on the zip line because it was so thrilling, 70 mph! But I might not have done it if you didn't teach me positive mental attitude. Positive mental attitude helped me out on a lot of things, otherwise I probably would not have done most of the activities. Canoing was also one of my favorite events, even though we got stuck a lot. One of my favorite activities was wilderness survival. It was so much fun because we made a fire and I was in charge of it. You also helped me a lot. You made the whole trip special for me because you always encouraged me. I am really glad you came to help out at Camp Thunderbird because you made the whole trip fun! So, thank you.

Sincerely,
"Sam"

May this new year of 2008 be filled with PMA! If it can make a difference in this 10 year old, what can it do for you? 2008 is known as the "year of new beginnings". May you "rise above" all that surrounds you and positively embrace God's Truth for your life!

Have a TRUTH filled New Year!
Lisa

My Gift

Camping #3

Dear Mom,

Thank you for coming to camp Thunderbird. I had so much fun on the zip line with you. I liked when you pretended you were on a bike. That was funny! Thanks for taking pictures of me on the rock climbing thing. I liked how you just kept cheering me on and keeping me company. I think you were the best chaperon there. I had a blast!!!

Love,
Sydney

"PMA"

Camping entry #2:

Now I admit that I did not have a great attitude about our camping trip (see prior post). Well, until I found out about the great weather. I will say though that I did ask God to speak to me while He had me out there in the wilderness. He did.

When I got on the bus to head to camp, I was accompanied by several adult chaperones and about thirty fifth graders. One of the adult's arrived and immediately began speaking ill will. Pretty much everything they flew from this person's mouth was about illness, pain, kids being in trouble, calling the school to have kids picked up....etc. Now first I was somewhat happy to see someone who was more of a not so "happy camper" than me. Well I felt less guilty for my attitude. Then I was very sad for this person. Their attitude was made up before we left the parking lot. I was able to share with the 3 girls crammed in my seat, that we should not speak so negatively. These are biblical lessons. The bible tells us that our tongue is hard to tame and that out of the heart the mouth speaks. We are warned in Proverbs and in the book of James about bridling our tongue.

Being a bible encourager I took this as a sharing opportunity and prayed it would impact three young lives. Of course my daughter rolled her eyes at me, but hey this was a valuable lesson and God's word never returns void!

Later that day came "Wilderness Survival". The camp counselor asked the kids to name what we MUST have within the first 3 seconds of discovering we are trapped in the wilderness in order to survive. Air, water, shelter came AFTER this vital need. That need: PMA.
Your "POSITIVE MENTAL ATTITUDE" in the first 3 seconds of a crisis will frame how you handle a situation. HMMM a biblical principle for sure! You should have seen the look on the girls faces when I gave them the thumbs up and the "I told you so".

God just confirmed to them and to me the importance of thinking and speaking positively for proper survival! Remember, don't make assumptions based on how things appear.
Call those things that are not as though they were! Speak words of faith and His Truth. When we rely on what God says we will have all the PMA we need for our survival in our own wilderness!

LET 'er ZZZZIP

I am back from the camp out AND PRAISE GOD I HAD FUN!!! For those of you who don't know me...I dislike camping, unless it is in a nice hotel. I HATE cold weather which is why I moved to NC from Buffalo NY! Worse yet, I HATE sleepovers with young girls who don't sleep. I NEED SLEEP. My daughter begged me to be a chaperone on this field trip. SO I filled out the form because I want her to SEE my love in action. I then begged everyone I know who prays...to stop laughing and pray!

Camping in December in 70+ degree weather, doing challenging obstacle courses, being a co-chaperone with a Girl scout leader who LOVES kids and camping….WHO SAYS GOD does not do miracles??? THANK YOU LORD!!

Lesson #1:
Prayer works!...COME ON...70+ degrees in DECEMBER!!!


Lesson #2:
Having a decent attitude is important. The weather forecast took care of one concern so I lightened up ALOT! Find out one good thing and focus on that. Then find someone more miserable than you are (there WAS one...she obviously did not appreciate the weather). It makes you realize how bad your attitude looked to others. Then pray for them!

Lesson #3: Ask God to speak to you about why HE has you somewhere you may not want to be. THEN GO and THEN LISTEN! This makes you more spiritually aware of what God may be inviting you to do!


Lesson #4:
The zip line.
As I was pushed off a 35 feet ledge to do the “zip line” in VERY high winds I felt ..FEAR. BUT I always wanted to do it so they strapped the protective gear on me. I saw the beauty of the lake and the soon to be setting sun and I was in awe of all God does for us. Once pushed off the ledge (sometimes we need a push because we aren’t brave enough to jump on our own), I felt for a few seconds what it was like to free fall. You are helpless. Then boom you are caught by the harness and you glide like a bird through the air. Isn’t that just like God? You need the push to do what He has asked you to do, you feel like you are free falling and then just when you think you will crash, He catches you and you begin to soar!!!! I was SO glad I did it! When you take the plunge for God, you will be glad you did too!!


Thank you for asking me to go Sydney! It was a blast!

Which One Will She Choose?

I never watch TV. It seems so pointless when I have a husband and 3 kids and a slew of emails who wait for my attention. Tonight, I got hooked. I am supposed to be packing for a 3 day camping trip with my daughter's 5th grade class. Yes I know it is 2 weeks before Christmas don't remind me. PRAISE GOD it will be in the 70's!!!

SO while I am slowly packing I get hooked on a show on HGTV that my husband turned to as he left the room. Have you seen it? They look at 3 houses. One is beyond budget and 2 are in the buyers price range. This single girl has 3 choices. She could have the smaller newer one for more $, it was her taste and in move in condition . She could have one right in the middle of her price range but there is a college in the backyard OR she could choose the older bigger, needing newer everything house.

I was pleased she did not pick the "party" house with the college in the backyard. That seems like it could be fun, but we know that would get old after awhile. I was hoping she would go with the first choice. She was a pack rat and it had a bedroom converted into a closet. It also had a safe garage. It suited her perfectly and was just a bit out of her range. Now I am not saying we should spend foolishly, I am just making a point.

What does she do? She settles. She picks the one her dad had concerns about regarding the heat. Gee, has anyone who loves you had "concerns"? She picks the one she could afford "even though" the bedroom wasn't big enough, the kitchen needed remodeling and the appliances were old. She couldn't wait for the best fit, she settled.

As she sat on her couch in her "new living room" she did not convince me she was excited about her choice. Her bedroom was smaller than the one she had before and the entire place was a "work in progress". Isn't that like a lot of women with the men they marry? Instead of praying and asking God for the right man, instead of being patient, they settle and marry "the work in progress" because it should "make them happy" and it doesn't cost as much ....in the beginning.

We know that we are all works in progress, but when we marry with the thoughts of changing someone it isn't the smartest move. It is better to hold out and persevere for "Mr. Right" than to settle for less than God's choice for you.

Oh and if you think you made that mistake, I have GREAT NEWS! God is in the remodeling business. Head to this website and God will tear down some walls and Christ will build you a new foundation! It's as simple as this.

Rocks and Duct Tape

I am sure my small group thought I was nuts last night when I asked them to duct tape a rock to the bottom of their shoe. I love visual exercises, you tend to remember them more than words sometimes.

SO our topic for the evening was Focus on God for Truth. God "downloaded" this idea into my head as I prayed for my Pastor on Sunday. Now 143 people were saved this Sunday so GOD WAS IN THE HOUSE! I took that the idea was from HIM and went with it. After all if it was my idea I would have dismissed it as "too weird". (Side note: I did mention to God that I was praying for Pastor and I felt guilty getting info for my group during that time. He rebuked me and reminded me that He is quite capable of hearing prayers and speaking to His children at the same time. Oh right, point noted).

12 women sat for over 1 1/2 hours with a rock taped to the bottom of their shoe. WHY? To illustrate what it means to stand firm on the rock of Jesus Christ. No matter what we go through in our lives..NO MATTER WHAT...Christians should stand firm on Jesus. Why the tape? So you stick. Don't you see when times get tough in marriage, in jobs, in relationships, people begin to doubt God? They doubt who HE is and WHAT HE can do. Why is it that Christians divorce at the same rate as non Christians...That is just one example. God was VERY helpful when He spoke to me about the TAPE. T- is for TRUTH stick to what the bible says in your situation...no matter what. A- Accountability partners are needed when it gets rough. They will hold you to those promises and remind you of who GOD is and what HE wants you to do. P- Prayer and Passion. Prayer is powerful and as you commune with Your Father your passion for Him will sore, making you more determined to listen to Him. E- Eager expectation for what God WILL do in your situation. When all of these things are present then when the storm comes your house will not fall as if built on sand, but it will stand because it is built on the ROCK of Jesus.

My friend Amy K. mentioned today how she loved the exercise(phew I confess I did have some doubts how this would go over). She said after awhile it was really uncomfortable and she thought it weighed her down. She had the revelation that she was actually grounded and that standing firm on the rock of Christ is not always a comfortable thing to do. How awesome that God speaks to us in so many ways!

Oh one more thing. Monday when I asked God if He REALLY wanted me to tape rocks to the women's shoes...He responded with this.

If you are having any doubts on what to do, go tape a rock to the bottom of your shoe and sit for awhile with HIS Word. Call your accountability partner, pray and wait in eager expectation. I know for a fact HE will speak to you!

Thanks God, YOU ROCK and I'm definitely stuck on that!

Floss or Die

You know I am growing to hate the dentist. Really. From the time they numbed and drilled both sides of my brain, I mean mouth and my tongue swelled so I could not breathe, to this last visit. It went something like this:

"Have you been flossing regularly?" .....side note: 1)the hygienist knows by what she sees that I don't floss "regularly". She knows that in 6 months I flossed...THAT morning just so I could say "I floss". 2) I love God and I am in ministry and I desire to be obedient and never lie. SO my response was "not as regularly as I should."

That did it. Many tools in my mouth and I got lectured on flossing. "your gums are red and inflamed, had you flossed they would not bleed so much". WOW I felt like a dirty grimy slob. Then the kicker, "you know the number one killer in women is heart disease and that can come from bacteria in your gums from lack of flossing."

WHAT???? SO when I was able to rinse and spit I responded with, "so what you are telling me is: floss or die?" "Well yes" she said.

OK.....is that a BIT much? I will admit I am flossing daily now. Not because I could die but just to prove to the dentist that I can do it. I really wanted to ask her if
she knew Jesus. Then I could say "Jesus or Die right back at you." I didn't though. I would rather do it in a more positive uplifting encouraging way.

There really is no purpose for this post other than to remind you to floss and to consider HOW we encourage each other to do the right thing.

Gotta go floss.