The Lemonade Stand

Hope ya'll enjoy part 2 of my conversation with Carrie Coley Beasley!  Hope you found it as fun and uplifting as I did!

Carrie Coley Beasley is a dear friend to me, a professional trauma counselor and a mom to a specially abled son.  This is part 1 of a 2 part discussion with Carrie on finding hope and encouragement as a parent of a specially abled child.

This first episode of Season 2 is devoted to a little catching up on what I've been doing and the changes happening in my life.  I also share with you the Psalm that is currently on repeat in my mind and heart.

In this episode, I share a story of a recent "no win" situation that I stressed over, to the point of frustration with God for not giving me direction.  A few moments before the situation came to the decision point, the decision was taken out of my hands!  I never needed that direction! 

Sometimes I take on too much responsibility, too much worry.  I try too hard to make everything nice.  It's ok if everything isn't always nice.  Things will work out in the end, and even if the result isn't what I wanted, I'll be alright.  You will too.

All of us can use a reminder about how to help when someone we love is grieving.  My friend, Kim Smith, joins me to discuss ways to help in times of loss.

What a rough week being sick!  But I learned a few things!

1 Kings 19. Elijah’s Breaking Point!

After an epic battle, major political unrest, betrayal and a threat to his life, Elijah broke.  What did he do?

Spent some time alone

Was HONEST with God and himself about how he felt

Rested

Ate

Traveled FORTY DAYS AND NIGHTS.

I had somehow missed this part.  Everything had come to a climax.  There was an emergency!  An urgency!  Shouldn’t he DO SOMETHING?

But he went away, ALONE, told God all about it, rested, ate, and then he walked forty days and nights.  He basically did nothing.

Once he got FORTY DAYS away from the crisis, he was able to listen, recognize the presence of God and hear His instruction.  Then he moved forward with what to do next.

God had other stuff for him to do.  Elijah never did get killed by Jezebel.  It was a while before he even came in contact again with Ahab and Jezebel, and when he did, Elijah was in complete control and spoke the message of God.

Let your feelings be what they are.  Be honest with yourself and God about what they are.  You cannot deal with what you don’t acknowledge.

Take some time alone

Rest and restore yourself

Let some distance pass between you and the crisis.  Avoid the pressure to do something NOW, say something NOW.

Instead, look to God.  Listen for His voice.  Observe His power.  Then follow His direction.

In reflection over 2020, even in that horrible year, I still found that the good outweighed the bad!  I couldn't believe it!  

If you're in a dark place, just like the stars only shine at night, there are things we can see and learn about God only in the dark.  In this episode, I share a story about my kids and me seeing the stars as never before.  This Christmas, let's look for the STARS!  

This episode is a conversation with my mom, a lady of amazing faith and strength.  Within the first 3 minutes, she gives you an incredible way to remember God's love for you in the middle of the pandemic!  Listen and enjoy.  Know that we wish you were sitting in the living room enjoying coffee and conversation with us!

This episode is inspired by Philippians 4:4-7  "Rejoice in the Lord always.  I will say it again:  Rejoice!  Let your gentleness be evident to all.  The Lord is near.  Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.  And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus."  NIV

In times of crisis and stress, we many times underestimate the importance of rest.

Rest is not prioritized in our society. It’s even without priority in the church.  Sunday, the day of “rest” is often so packed full of activities for church it is anything but restful.  Years ago, when playing piano for two or three services a Sunday, plus teaching some kind of Bible study, I used to say MONDAY was my favorite day of the week!  It was EASIER than Sunday!!!  It’s not realistic to think that we can cram all of our spirituality into one day a week and still grow.  God set aside a day of REST, not a day for more running around.  Rest is a spiritual practice and it may not be prioritized by most people,  But it IS prioritized by God.

So why are we so adverse to rest?  You never hear anyone saying “She really knows how to rest.”  But plenty of praise for all the hard work, running around, and handling everything.

Rest takes:

Guts.  It takes guts to say “no” to all the things.  You know… the things that will make you look better, get you more success, make people like you more, give you more control.

Action.  You need to get ready to rest.  It takes planning to fit it into your regular rhythm.

Rest usually ends up being the first item to get crossed off the list when things get tough, if it’s even on the list at all.   Rest should not be low man on the totem pole when it comes to our priorities.  We should be planning to rest, making room in our schedules for it, and teaching our children to do it.

Courage.  Rest is when we can look deep into ourselves.  Rest is when we can think, feel, learn, and absorb.  Many of us are afraid of what we will find when we look deep, dare to listen to God, or try to get to the bottom of what is REALLY bothering us.

COVID story.  In that 2 week isolation, I learned that I CAN rest, I NEED rest, and that God is with me when I rest and will actually be the GIVER of the rest.  He will bring the peace, He will quiet the soul, He will direct the focus if we let Him.

Learning to rest can actually give us a lifestyle of rest, carrying it with us daily.  We shouldn’t get to the point of utter burnout before we give ourselves a rest.  If we can learn to rest as part of our daily lives, we learn a peace that permeates our existence and makes the stress and hard work easier to handle.

The Impossible

When you are in the midst of a crisis, you often end up doing things you thought were impossible.

This show includes a personal story of a wild day I butchered a cow, took my sister to chemo, helped plan a funeral, and had a sick kid, all at the same time!

When something happens that causes you pain, it’s easy to panic or go into a tailspin.  But pain does not equal powerlessness!

Romans 12:21 “Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.”

Sometimes we feel like we are drowning in pain.  But, You do not have to be overcome!

So how do we overcome evil with good?

What we do

Sometimes in pain it’s hard to take action.  The action you take may have nothing to do with the situation causing you pain.  For me it’s just a matter of overcoming the evil in my life by adding more good.

Matthew 12:43-45  “When an impure spirit comes out of a person, it goes through arid places seeking rest and does not find it.  Then it says, “I will return to the house I left.”  When it arrives it finds the house unoccupied, swept clean and put in order.  Then it goes and takes with it seven other spirits more wicked than itself and they go and live there.  And the final condition of that person is worse than the first.”

We’ve got to put something in the house!  An occupied house!

Do something for yourself

Do something for someone else

Gratitude goes a long way

John 16: 33  In this world you will have trouble but take heart!  I have overcome the world.