Planting for Your Future

Earlier on this summer, I noticed that Mr Roo loved to dig in a little plot of soil right next to our small patio. He would take his toy rake and spade and just sit out in the sunlight, intently shoveling and moving the dirt around. We had been reading a book in the evenings about the life cycle of plants and he seemed to be fascinated with the process. So, I decided that we should cultivate our little plot of ground and he could see a life cycle first hand. Initially, the intention was to start off with a seed and watch it grow through each phase; however, because we got a late start...we bought a small tomato plant. Each day, Mr Roo would go out and water the plant and make sure it had plenty of fresh soil around it. The plant began to grow. After returning from one of our weekend summer getaways, I noticed that bugs had destroyed the base of one of the main stems. So, I had to do some major surgery and the plant was significantly cut down to size.

I have to admit, I was a bit disappointed and began to seriously doubt whether we would see any tomatoes by the end of the season. Still, I had to show my boy the lesson of perserverance. Every morning we would go out to check on the little plant. It began to grow taller, but no buds could be seen for a couple weeks. Again, I was disappointed, but we kept on nurturing our little tomato plant. Soon, we saw little flowers begin to bloom; this was followed by mini pea-sized green tomatoes growing where the flowers had been. How exciting! Our persistance was paying off. But then a GIANT wind storm came up where fences were knocked down and tree branches were broken off and scattered everywhere. I was convinced that our little tomato plant was a goner. The next day, I looked out our back door and miraculously it was still standing. We stabilized it with part of a fishing pole rod and it now continues to grow taller and the tomatoes are looking quite nice. It now appears that we will see a harvest of ripe tomatoes before the end of the season. Our little plant fought its way back from a slow start, creatures attempting to eat away at its foundation and adverse weather conditions to become a healthy, fruit-producing crop.

Early on in this cultivating process, I began to see a coorelation between working toward our goals and dreams in life and this survivor of a plant. Some of us may have started down our path a bit slower than others; sometimes due to our own decisions and others may have encountered unavoidable obstacles. But ultimately it's up to each one of us to decide whether or not we're even going to START down our path toward our dreams.

Once we've decided to proceed, there can be much opposition. People who are not goal-oriented often attempt to derail us through their vocal criticism, inconsequential distractions or even more blatant attacks against us in an effort to destroy our plans for the future. Perhaps these people have already begun to successfully 'eat away' at our base. We've allowed them to diminish our self confidence, focus and even our inital enthusiasm toward reaching our target goal. We can STILL get back on track by pruning these people or their negative ideals from our lives and erecting safeguards around us to prohibit the recurrence of these distractions again. These safeguards can be anything from adopting a more encouraging set of friends to building ourselves up with positive affirmations; actions and surroundings that revolve around optimism.

However, unexpected storms arise throughout everyone's lives. We can limit the effects of these disasters by building and cultivating our foundations so that we are not easily uprooted or swayed. The biblical parable of the wise man building his house on the rock versus the foolish man who builds his on the sand speaks to the importance of foundation-building. Our goals must be built solidly on ethical and honest bases to withstand lifes tumultuous tempests.

Perservering through all of these obstacles leads not only to your desired goal, but more importantly, it builds character within you. Through achieving your dreams by these means, you are less likely to take things for granted and more amenable to assisting and encouraging others to accomplish their goals and dreams as well.

Our little tomato plant served not only as a personal inspiration to continue on toward my educational goals, but it helped me recognize, appreciate and prepare for the different phases I'll encounter on my path to success.

AND...Mr Roo and I cannot wait to make tasty BLT's with our very own home-grown tomatoes!

To Forgive Or Not To Forgive

Peace
Apology Accepted
Sincere And Humble
Turn The Other Cheek
Love Those Who Persecute You
Forgive And You Will Be Forgiven
Not Seven Times, But Seventy Times Seven
Eye For Eye, Tooth For Tooth
Vengence With A Despiteful Heart
"You Can Never Change"
Pride And Resentment
Throwing Stones
Bitterness

First Memory

What was your first memory? How old were you when it occurred? I can remember that mine took place when I was somewhere around 3-4 years old. Our family was living in Germany and my oldest brother and 2 older sisters locked my brother and me up in the attic of our house. I remember that they had us both climb up the folding stairs to our attic and they locked the door once we had climbed up. I'm not saying that this incident traumatized me or caused me to act irrationally in my adult years and I love my older siblings to this day, but what a first memory. One thing is for certain, I will always remember my first childhood memory; it sticks with you as a monumental remembrance of the starting point of your formative years.

Anyday, my son could start to remember what occurs in his life. Today for the first time, I began to wonder what his first memory will be. Will it be making friends at the park? How about swimming at the local pool with his cousins? Could his first memory be singing 'Jesus Loves Me' at school?

Although I cannot be around him 24/7, in my absence, I do my best to have my son surrounded by positive influences, loving family members and godly instructors who teach Reuel about Jesus' love for him. In addition, I have decided that I need to make a more deliberate attempt to create a more positive, loving and Christ-centered atmosphere in our household when I am available to take care of him; for these are the characteristics that I desire my son to possess throughout his life. Furthermore, I choose to make a more concentrated effort to speak positively about his paternal family no matter the circumstances that may occur between them and me; Reuel needs to know that both sides of his family love him dearly and want to see him succeed in life.

Reuel's first memory may not determine the outcome of his entire life, but it will always be with him. Why not make it a positive memory; one that is worth remembering?

Stronger

Girl, you are strong.
As you reminisce on the past, don't regret.
It's easy to beat yourself up,
To revisit your failures
Or to listen to what society says you should be.

Instead, tell yourself:

Girl, you are beautiful.
No matter your shape, size, color or complexion,
You were made for an important purpose.
Hold your head up high,
For you are loved by the Almighty God, Himself.

Girl, listen to God,
Not some ticking time clock to schedule your life's actions.
He has the perfect plan for your life.
Rely on the sound of His voice for timing and guidance.
It will lead you down a path of peace and true happiness.

Girl, stand your ground.
Stick up for truth and righteousness;
Let words of wisdom proceed from your mouth,
Never dwell on criticism,
For you are a daughter of the Most High.

Girl, follow your dreams.
God has put a talent and a dream inside each one of us.
Become educated and follow the path He leads you down.
Ignore the pessimistic chatter around you;
Strive to become the best in your field.

Girl, you get stronger each and every day.
Surrounding yourself with other women of strength,
Casting aside self-doubt;
Speaking and meditating on the Truth,
You will not be held back.

Girl, pass this message on to other women.
Encourage them to progress in life,
Inspire them to follow your example.
Become the confident women you were created to be;
Celebrate by leading a life of richness and strength.

Not too Late

As many of you may know, I FINALLY made the committment and enrolled in the local junior college here in the Treasure Valley this semester. I am very excited. I've allowed a lot of negativity, criticism and mindless activities to distract me over the past decade, but I am happy to be back on track.

However, my decision to continue my education didn't come over night. I battled several mental roadblocks over the years. I struggled with self doubt: 'Would I be able to go back and succeed in school after all of these years?' Insecurity: 'Most of my former classmates have Bachelor degrees or their Masters; I will be starting over with many teenagers in my class.' Fear of debt: 'College tuition will put me in so much debt and I just can't handle all of the stress that financial bondage will bring upon me.' And worst of all, I struggled with thoughts of stagnancy: 'I'm a hard worker and have always successfully held down a couple jobs at a time; why do I need to go to college?'

All of these thoughts and fears prohibited me for years from developing my God given gifts of writing and memorization at a higher education level. Near the middle of last year, I came to the realization that my job that I'd had and absolutely loved for years could not pay me what I needed to make to send my son to daycare. I began to pray for God's direction, for a new job and for our needs to be met. I felt the answer was clear to me; I needed to go back to school. It wasn't just so I could be able to provide for my family. It was so much more than that. I had mentally resigned myself to be a hardworker, yet with no real thought or important opinion. I labeled myself as a person who was one anxiety attack away from the psych ward. And I lacked any real committment or focus in my life.

It was the perfect time for me to start over. As soon as I allowed God to direct my path and started thanking Him for His leading and provision, it's as if blessings, peace and favor began to flow into my life. Famous author, Og Mandino wrote, "Count your blessings. Once you realize how valuable you are and how much you have going for you, the smiles will return, the sun will break out, the music will play, and you will finally be able to move forward the life that God intended for you with grace, strength, courage, and confidence." This is my passage. I smile bigger, the music now plays sweeter and I am moving forward not only in my education, but forward in God. Another Mandino quote says this, "There is an immeasurable distance between late and too late." I may be a little late when it comes to going back to school and getting back on track with the Lord. But I have a merciful and loving God who has shown me that as long as I'm alive, it's never too late to run back into His arms and He will lead me down another rewarding and abundant path in life.