I have had the absolute best job in the world for the past 24 years!  Being a mom has filled my heart with joy and given me an awesome sense of accomplishment as I’ve watched my babies grow into awesome young men and women, who love God and love others.  Humans that I adore and enjoy spending time with. 😃

 The past 18 years I have had the priceless privilege to be a homeschool mom.  It has been the most fulfilling job ever!  I grew as my kids grew.  I struggled through trials as my kids struggled through their own.  I overcame hardships as my kids overcame hardships.  We did school together, but even more importantly we did life together.  My character was shaped and defined as theirs were being molded. 

Some people spend their whole lives trying to figure out what they are supposed to be doing on this big, blue marble that we call home.  It isn’t always an easy task.  But through all of these years of homeschooling I have felt totally in God’s will, and knew in my heart that I was living out my purpose here on earth. 

Some people believe the pay for a homeschool parent is lame, but I have found the pay to be invaluable, because it was paid out in precious time spent together, in the joy of learning challenges and victories, and in beautiful relationships that were built in the trenches and will last a lifetime. ❤️

This multifaceted occupation that has been my whole life for the past 18 years will come to an end a year and a half from now.  I am so thankful to God for this perfect job, the blessing of being able to stay home with my kids and the faith, strength and tenacity to homeschool them.  But as much as I’ve loved my job, it is time for me to start looking forward. 👀

So, what kind of job do I want???????  

-One that will allow me the freedom to continue to spend time with my kids (and hopefully grandkids someday soon).

-One that I am passionate about.

-One where I can help people.

-One where I can meet new people & develop new friendships.

-One where I can continually grow and become a better me.

-One where I can travel and see new things.

-One that I believe is important and can make a positive change in this world.

When I first picked up this little bottle, I thought I was soothing my knees after a rigourous day of exercise.  I never expected it would open the door to a new job.. but surprisingly it has.  

When my dad died of lung cancer in March 2017, I didn’t know that a passion would begin to rise up and beat within my heart; a desire to educate and help others obtain a better life through using these little bottles of oil, seeking a healthier diet, striving to exercise and pursuing all-natural, chemical free products. I am excited to share my passion with my friends, family, neighbors, and even people I have not yet met. 

I am steadily becoming excited about what the future holds.  I am carefully allowing myself to see something beyond homeschooling.  Will this new job be as awesome and fulfilling as my previous one?  That would be really hard to imagine.  But I am beginning to look to the future with hope instead of fear, joy instead of sadness, and expectation instead of dread.  So that in itself is a major victory for me. 💪

I hope my passion for a healthy lifestyle will be contagious and change many lives for the better.  I hope no one else I love will ever have to suffer through the battle with cancer.  I hope my kids will be encouraged by watching me do all the things that I have taught them over the past 18 years; learning new things, making new friends, leaning on faith, facing new challenges, stepping out of my comfort zone, never giving up on my dreams, and not being afraid to fail.   I hope most of all my kids will be proud of the woman I am becoming as I step out in faith and into this next stage in my life. 🦋

I started slow.  How do you even stand up on this thing?!  I tried again…and again…finally I got it!  Not fast, but I could maneuver around the living room couch and then the loveseat. Just lean forward that makes it go.  This isn’t so bad…it’s kind of fun.  I repeated the scenario several times then I headed for the kitchen.  I’ll make a quick trip around the island and back to the couch.  Wait!  There are carpets on the floor…no problem.  That was my last thought before I fell off the hover board on my behind, then as if in slow motion fell back on both elbows, which crushed loudly into the wooden floor.  Ouch!!  I jumped up.  I’m fine.  Yep…I’m fine.  No problem here.

We started cleaning up the mess from the birthday party.  All I could think is wow my arms hurt.  Sure, I’ll hold the toddler while we clean up.  Man, she feels heavy today.  I can carry up the food from downstairs.  Boy, this crock pot weighs a ton and I can’t even carry it out away from my body.  I’ll go home and put some ice on my wrists.  Ouch!  It really hurts to turn the steering wheel.  Home at last.  Once that ice is on, it will feel better…  Oh my goodness, I can’t   even turn this doorknob!

This was my self-talk for basically 24 hours, until I realized I couldn’t hold a glass of water with out extreme pain.  Finally, I gave in and call the nurse’s hotline, who promptly instructed me to go straight to the ER.  After a visit to the orthopedic doctor a couple days later and realizing one of my elbows was broken, I continued planning for my trip to Indy, which was just days away.  My instructions included no lifting of more than 5 pounds on the bad arm.  I bought a couple little braces to support my forearms and got in the car for the 13-14 hour drive.  Mental note to self: people over forty don’t need to be hover boarding.

While we were in Indiana we emptied cabinets and carried heavy stuff up from the basement all week long.  I made sure to use my arm that wasn’t broken.  The funny thing was as the week progressed that arm hurt worse than the one with the broken elbow.  I’m just over working it….I’m sure that’s all.  After we returned home I went in for my follow up appointment.  As the doctor was showing me my x-rays of both broken elbows, I asked, “I thought only the right one was broken.  That is what the P.A. told me last time.  “Nope.  They are both broken.  Let me show you,” he replied.   Say what?!

Have you ever put your faith in someone, something, some diagnosis, decree or proclamation, but ignored how you felt on the inside?  Have you ever trusted what you could see with your eyes, but disbelieved how you felt on the inside?  Have you ever looked to a family member, a friend or a professional, but disregarded how you felt on the inside?  Have you ever been told you are crazy, you don’t know what you are talking about or it really doesn’t matter, so you doubted how you felt on the inside?

When I was carrying all of those heavy boxes up the stairs at my mom’s house, with my “good arm”, I knew something wasn’t right.  My increased pain was a telltale sign, but I trusted the P.A.’s assessment over my own feelings of increased pain.  Why do we do that?!  Why do we give value to someone else’s evaluation, but ignore our own feelings?

Many times, we are instructed not to trust our feelings; that they will deceive us, but the Lord gave us feelings, inclinations, perceptions, sensitivities and insights for a reason.  Whether it is pain from an injury or illness we cannot see on the outside, or a “bad feeling” about someone we just don’t want around our children, or an overwhelming feeling of compassion for a complete stranger, we need to listen to our feelings; that still small voice within our heart.

So how do we do that?  First, we need to trust ourselves.  If we feel a certain way, we need to follow up on that feeling.  Even if we don’t immediately act upon it, we should pray about it, or consult with a trustworthy family member, mentor or friend.  Second, we need to trust the Lord, who lives in us.  Does what we feel line up with God’s Word?  Do our feelings guide us toward goodness and love, or toward mercilessness and evil?

If you have a feeling you should call a friend.  Do it.  If you have a feeling you should help a homeless person.  Do it.  If you have a feeling you should speak up.  Do it.  If you have a feeling you should be quiet and listen.  Do it.  If you have a feeling you should speak less and hug more.  Do it.  If you have a feeling you should stop bullying.  Do it.  If you have a feeling you should send a card.  Do it.  If you have a feeling you should donate money.  Do it.  If you have a feeling you should get a second opinion.  Do it.  If you have a feeling you should protect your children from someone or something.  Do it.  If you have a feeling you should tell a friend your secret.  Do it.  If you have a feeling you should exercise, get more rest and make better food choices.  Do it.  If you have a feeling you should end an unhealthy relationship.  Do it.  If you have a feeling you should show mercy.  Do it.  If you have a feeling you should accept yourself for who you are.  Do it.  If you have a feeling you should forgive others.  Do it.  If you have a feeling you should love like Jesus.  Do it.

We can trust ourselves, our Heavenly Father and the feelings, insights and intuition He has given us.  Helen Keller reminds us, “The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even touched – they must be felt with the heart.”

In his book The Secret of Staying in Love, author, John Joseph Powell, profoundly proclaims, “It is an absolute human certainty that no one can know his own beauty or perceive a sense of his own worth until it has been reflected back to him in the mirror of another loving, caring human being.”  Be present.  That is a relatively new phrase that is being thrown around a lot.  But what does it really mean?  Who really benefits?  What are we missing if we are not present? I would assert….Life.

You have heard the old adage, things are not always as they seem.  A person’s perception of the facts is sometimes more important than the actual facts.

When I was in middle and high school I had a best friend, Holly, we did everything together.  Holly was tall, thin with wavy dark brown hair and hazel green eyes.  I was short, little, with straight blondish hair and blue eyes.  We looked nothing alike and yet had everything in common.

I remember the first day I met her.  It was eighth grade and I had a boyfriend; my first boyfriend.  I remember sitting in the classroom and seeing my super cool boyfriend cruise by the door, a moment later I saw Holly saunter by.  “Hum… who was That?!”, I wondered with jealously.  A few days later Holly walked up to me and told me that my boyfriend wanted to break up with me.  I casually replied, “Okay”, shrugged my shoulders, and walked off.  From that day on Holly and I became besties. How could I become best friends with “that girl” who stole my very first boyfriend?  Easy, because she never did. Later she told me, “Why would I want to date a guy that you couldn’t care less if he broke up with you?!”

Friendship is a powerful force.  I would venture to say it is one of the most powerful forces in the universe.  God created us to be in fellowship with one another.  Fellowship with Him.  Fellowship with our family.  Fellowship with our friends.  Fellowship with acquaintances.  Fellowship with human beings.  We are made to interact with other human beings.

The phone in the palm of our hand opens a window to a whole new world, but if we are not careful, it also slams the door to humanity; the present, the here and now.

I suspect we have all felt slighted by somebody on their phone, computer or tablet.  I also know we have all been the offenders with these same devices, and I might add one more, the TV.  There is nothing wrong with any of these electronic devices, it is how we use them that matters most.

There is scientific evidence that when we receive notifications or alerts on our cell phones that dopamine is released in our brain.  Dopamine is the hormone which is responsible for our “fight or flight” response.  So, you get the picture, when we are on our phones day and night our bodies respond like they are in a continual state of stress and fear.  Add to that the dangerous chemicals we are exposed to every day, and you can see that our brains are over stimulated, our adrenal glands are way over-worked, our bodies are constantly living at a super high stress level. The human body isn’t designed to function this way.

But I don’t want to focus on the body’s natural response to our love affair with our smart phones, I want to focus on human beings.  Remember when I said a person’s perception of the facts sometimes outweighs the facts themselves?  The obvious inference in this statement is that our intent is not what truly matters.  It is how the other person perceives our intent that matters.

Husband, will you turn off the football game and listen to her words?  Wife, will you lay down your cell phone long enough to focus on what he means.  Parents, does saying I love you to young children as you type, supersede their need for hugs?  Teens and parents alike, do you really care if you don’t bother to look up and acknowledge one another?  Friends, will you always still be standing there after I send this one last quick text?  Acquaintances, could we have been friends if I cared more about you than what Susie was wearing in her prom photos on Instagram?  The human being in the line at Walmart, do you really have any inherent value or worth at all?  I don’t know. I didn’t speak to you. I never even looked up.

My friends can we lay down our devices long enough to reflect the beauty in others?  Will we choose to interact with others the way that we are created to do?  Will we choose to differentiate between the here and now and our constant dopamine addiction?  Will we choose to really live?  It is going to take a cognitive choice.  Today, I just have two words: Be Present!

In the delightful words of Helen Keller, “The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even touched – they must be felt with the heart.”  As far back as I can remember, my Aunt Judy has been a significant part of my life.  Always sweet.  Always encouraging.  Always thoughtful.  She has brought so much joy to my life and to the lives of my family.  When I grow up I want to be just like her for three reasons, she has maintained a high level of physical fitness, she has persevered through many struggles, and she has persisted in kindness and inspiration of others.

When I grow up I want to be just like my Aunt Judy because she has maintained a high level of physical fitness.  She has continued exercising well up into her 70’s and 80’s, and she looks amazing.  She is a beast.  From aerobics classes, to walking, to keeping up with her granddaughters, Aunt Judy inspires me to challenge myself, never give up and to keep moving every day.

When I grow up I want to be just like my Aunt Judy because she has persevered through many struggles.  Though I wasn’t around yet, she has told me she struggled as a young woman.  She was out on her own at a young age and had to overcome many obstacles.  She is also a breast cancer survivor.  She valiantly fought the battle and won!  Aunt Judy – 1.  Breast Cancer – a big fat 0.  My life has been filled with challenges too, and my Aunt Judy’s response has motivated me to believe in myself, trust my decisions and keep fighting.

When I grow up I want to be just like my Aunt Judy because she has persisted in kindness and inspiration of others. Of all of her many, beautiful attributes her kind personality and sweet spirit literally stir the hearts of others to see goodness in this broken world. Her sweet words resonate in my ears, and the ears of my children, “Hi honey.  How are you?  I love you to the moon and back.”  Or the thoughtful little text messages filled with kind words and lots of little hearts.  I tear up when I think of how many people my aunt inspires every single day, and I pray that the Lord will help me love deeply and intensely like my Aunt Judy.

When I grow up I want to be just like my Aunt Judy because she has maintained a high level of physical fitness, she has persevered through many struggles, and she has persisted in kindness and inspiration of others.  If you know her, you love her.  It is as simple as that.  Her life is a testimony that the “good guys win” and that after the rain, the rainbow remains.  If I could sum up the impact she has had on my life over the years, I would have to say, I have always felt loved.  In the uplifting and thought-provoking words of Audrey Hepburn, “The beauty of a woman must be seen from in her eyes, because it is the doorway to her heart, the place where love resides.”  Thank you, Aunt Judy, for keeping that doorway open and flooding my life with love.  

It’s that time of year again, when the “homeschool blues” creep into your heart and life. It is the end of March, after Spring Break, but we are still a looong way from completing the semester. On top of that the weather is just way too beautiful to be stuck inside. You are probably looking at your lesson plans and wondering how you will ever “catch up”, and your goals, some of which you just made at New Years, are becoming strangely dim. What is a homeschool mom (dad) to do?!

First, let me assure you-you are not alone! We all doubt our qualifications and ability to teach from time to time. We ask ourselves, “Would my kids be better off being taught by an institution, rather than by their own God given parents?” We look at our own messy house, our needy toddler, our bickering children, our daunting “to do” list, our books; yet not read, our vision of peace and joy, which are seemingly crumbling down around us, and we cry out, “Is this really worth it?!”

I have a few words of encouragement for you today: Stick to the Raft!!

Several years ago we read a Lamplighter book, Stick to the Raft, which was originally written in 1877. It is a story of a young man’s journey of faith. A poor boy is honored for his hard work and honesty, when misfortune invades his life, and his faith is tested. I want to share an excellent excerpt from this book. “It’s my dead mother’s idea, sir. Soon after father gave himself to the Lord he had to take a raft to a neighboring village, and when he started, mother told him to stick to it, and explained that she wanted him to hold on to a Raft which would bear him at all times. She meant the Lord Jesus Christ.” It is a delightful book, with a wonderful message of hope. I encourage you: Stick to the Raft!

Remember homeschool mom (dad), what you are doing has eternal value. It doesn’t matter if you don’t finish all of your assignments by the first of June. It does matter that you stand steadfast, and know in your heart that nobody has the burden for your children that you have. When they were born, God placed that burden in your heart. That burden drives your desire to help them succeed in all areas of their lives. You know their strengths and weaknesses and can tailor their academic study, life skills development, character training, and spiritual growth to that individual child. Don’t’ forget that the time that you spend with your children, as you teach them at home, is an incredible gift from God. Again, I encourage you: Stick to the Raft!

In warfare, an army is much more effective when they know their enemy and what they are up against. The same holds true with educating our children at home. If we know that the “homeschool blues” creep into our lives this time of year, we can be ready to battle, and come out on the other side victorious.

There are several practical ways we can combat our enemy. First, let us make no comparisons with other homeschool families, with public or private schools, or even between our own children, and what we have done in the past. God has a specific plan for your family, including each individual child, during this precious season. We need to keep our eyes on Him. Second, delve into God’s Word, to seek the strength, hope, and encouragement that you need today. Discover how the Lord instructs you to teach, train and direct your children. Third, phone a friend. Call a fellow homeschool mom (dad) and encourage her (him). Amazing things happen when we take our focus off of ourselves and make a concerted effort to bless someone else. Lastly, pray and seek the Lord. He knows what your children need, and can give you the wisdom to accomplish what He desires in this school year. His grace will empower you meet the challenge head on, and His mercy will sustain you as you faithfully obey His leading. But most importantly……..

Stick to the Raft!!

1) Life is Full of Surprises!

When you wake up, scuttle to peak out the window, in search of a dusting of snow, only to find four inches of snow on March 21st….Now that is a sweet surprise.  (If you love snow like I do!)  Life is full of surprises; receiving a note of encouragement from a friend, your kids completing a chore without being asked or someone generously giving you a referral.  These are all sweet surprises.

2) Sometimes Life is Messy.

Sometimes a snowman is rolled up in huge, perfect snowballs and other times they are just plain messy.  In my own life, perfect is few and far between.  I tend to live in messy.  But that is okay.  Messy gives you an opportunity to depend on the Lord.  Messy gives you the opportunity to grow and learn new things.  Messy gives you a testimony that may help others when they are going through their own hard stuff.

3) Too Much Sun is Not Good For You.

When the sun shines down on your snowman it makes the snow sparkle like a diamond, but too much sun results in a puddle.  Like any pleasure, moderation is the key, whether you are playing in the sun on the beach, or eating your favorite ice cream.  Go ahead and indulge….enjoy life… but just make sure you have balance.

4) It is the Simple Things in Life Which Bring Joy!

Whether it is the adorable face of a snowman smiling broadly, or taking a walk with your girlfriends, or playing a video game with your kids (like my favorite retro game…Pac Man),or diffusing your favorite essential oil (mine is Christmas Spirit).  Make sure you enjoy the simple things!

5) Accessories Make the Outfit!

You can roll three of the same size snowballs to build your creation, and still end up with a totally different snowman based on the accessories you use.  Hat?  Carrot nose?  Scarf?  Button eyes?  It is the same way with us.  What do you adorn your life with?  Family?  Friends?  Business?  Volunteering?

6) You Are Only As Strong As Your Foundation

Have you even seen a snowman built with the smallest snowball on the bottom?  Of course not!  From the bottom up you build the snowman so he’ll have a firm foundation.  It is the same with us.  Everybody has the same 24 hours a day, so we need to make sure you put your big rocks in first.  Have you ever tried to fill an empty jar with rocks, pebbles and sand?  The only way to do it and make it all fit, is to place the biggest rocks in first, then the pebbles and lastly to fill it in with sand.  In the same way you need to prioritize the important things in your life; faith, family, friends ect… Build your life on a firm foundation.  I like to build mine on God’s Word.  It brings me peace and helps me to love others.

7) Wet Snow Works Best!

Wet snow works best for successfully building a snowman.  With wet snow you can roll up a pretty good-sized snowman in a very short period of time, but it also tends to pick grass, dirt, leaves and sticks from the ground underneath.  We live in a fast food world.  We want to build strong relationships with our spouse or significant other, create a healthy body through exercise and food choices, teach our kids Chemistry and Algebra, and grow a successful business, but we want to do it all with lightning speed. The problem with that is that the faster you build-the more debris you pick up along the way.  Slow and steady gets the worm.  Anything thing worth doing, is worth investing the precious gift of time.

8) The Snow is Always Snowier on the Other Side.

A snowman doesn’t get to decide where he is built.  Sometimes Alaska looks much more appealing to a snowman than say…Minnesota.  It is the same with us.  Comparison is the enemy of success.  If you look around you will always find someone who is prettier, who has smarter kids, or who moves up the ladder of success quicker than you.  Don’t compare.  Stand where you are built and be content with your life.

9) Nothing Lasts Forever.

Of course, the saddest part of building a snowman, is saying goodbye when he melts.  Have you ever watched Frosty the Snowman?  I cried a thousand tears as a child.  Life moves quickly, so it is important to live in the moment and be present.  In my daughter’s favorite movie, Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, Ferris profoundly proclaims, “Life moves pretty fast.  If you don’t stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.”  Seriously, we all know what it means to be present.  Lay the cell phone down, and come out with your hands up!!  Engage in the lives of others; talk, laugh, encourage, pray, listen and be a wife, be a mom, be a daughter, be a friend.

10) We Are a Work in Progress.

The creative artist who builds the snowman, determines who he will be.  Will he be serious?  Will he have a pipe and a scarf?  Will she wear a big floppy sun hat?  Will he have a carrot for a nose?  Will he have buttons for eyes?  Or coal for eyes and buttons for his midsection?  We are constantly growing and changing.  Who you were a decade ago, four years ago, or even six months ago doesn’t identify who you are today.  Our choices and decisions; both good and bad don’t define us.  Our family doesn’t define us.  Our education doesn’t define us.  Our success doesn’t define us.  Our failures don’t even define us.  If we let Him, God will mold us into the man or woman He desires us to be.  The Bible tells us that He who began a good work in you, will be faithful to complete it.  I don’t know about you, but that sure encourages me!

A deafening silence fills my heart.  A year ago tonight, (actually around 1 am tomorrow) my Dad stepped from this earth into eternity.  As this day crept closer and closer, my heart was filled with so many mixed emotions; everything from thankfulness, to sadness, to elation, to depression, to love, to emptiness.  My mind kept replaying the tumultuous memories of hospital visits, various tests and procedures, radiation and rehab.  It replayed the sweet memories of precious time together, talking, planning, learning Sudoku, watching the Pacers, reading and getting advice from the man I trusted most in this life.  It replayed the stressful memories of flying and driving back and forth from Florida to Indy, hoping to make it in time, regretting when I left too soon.  My mind replayed the phone call from my cousin telling me she held his hand when the doctor told my Dad he had cancer, and the consultation with my other cousin, who told me medically speaking it didn’t look very hopeful.  It replayed all four of my kids taking off work and school, traveling 13 hours through the night up to see their Gramps, and my friends stepping up to help me in so many different ways. It replayed prayers, lots and lots of prayers. It replayed the heart-wrenching decisions; hopeful plans for a new treatment, devasting news that my Dad wasn’t a candidate, and where do we go from here discussions.  My mind replayed a fighter.  Someone who said if there is a possibility of recovery let’s go for it, no matter how difficult. Someone who went to therapy everyday and did whatever he was asked. It replayed the conversations of take care of your mom, cheer her up, make sure she is okay.  My mind replayed sad things I didn’t want to put on paper, intimate things that were too personal to record, and beautiful things which will be etched in my memory forever.

Overall, I’m so thankful for the memories.  The old Garth Brooks song is buzzing through my head tonight, I could have missed the pain, but I would have had to miss the dance.  No way!  When all is said and done, I’m left with faith, hope and love and the greatest of these is love.  My faith sustains me.  The Lord carries me through this mental battle and through all struggles, just as he carried my Dad home to Heaven.  My hope reminds me that this life is not all.  That I will see my Dad again, and we’ll laugh and cry and he’ll burn rolls. (maybe not the rolls part but who knows)  And the love… well the love is everything.  My heart bursts with the love I feel for this man who has always been there for me.  This man whose absence has left a void in so many hearts.  My heart breaks tonight because it has experienced great love, and I wouldn’t exchange that for anything in this world.  So, in the words of my Dad, again I’m not going to say goodbye, I’m just saying so long for now…

Walt Disney once vocalized, “All our dreams can come true, if we have the courage to pursue them.”  The Happiest Place on Earth. That is a pretty bold statement. Recently when we visited Disney World, my son’s friend questioned the validity of this statement.  “I don’t really think Magic Kingdom is the happiest place on earth” he argued,  “I can think of other happy places.  Ms. Gina, do you believe this is the happiest place on earth?  What about church, would you say that is a happier place on earth?”  I must admit he had some good arguments.  My friend took it one step further, later in the day when we were standing in 90-120 minute lines for the rides she skeptically proclaimed, “If this is the happiest place on earth, why do so many people look so unhappy?!”  Good point, I thought to myself as I quickly scanned the crowd for a happy face.  After about a minute, I saw a Disney employee smiling broadly.  Whew!  For a minute I was afraid I couldn’t support the Disney World theme.

It got me thinking, why do we go to Disney, or any other theme park for that matter?  We plan our trip, take off of work, travel to our destination, spend a boatload of money, battle the crowds, stand in ridiculous lines, spend more money, race from ride to ride, walk all over the park for twelve plus hours, spend more money, and finally leave after the fireworks; worn out, sweaty, and dog-tired.  We drag back to our hotel.  Check our ‘fast-passes’ for the following day.  Fall into bed exhausted, and then get up and do it all over again.  That hardly sounds like fun… and yet it is….

But why?  In all honesty, it is an escape from reality.  You can be child-like.  You can have fun.  You can wear crazy t-shirts, lanyards with Disney pins, and funky hats, and no one looks down their nose at you.  You can eat ice cream, funnel cakes or a multitude of other snacks, and no one gives you the stink eye; implying you just really don’t need that.  You can be dazzled, impressed and stargazed over characters walking around in costumes, and no one dares to tell you they aren’t real.  But the best part is that you can let your guard down and just be yourself.  Your imagination can literally run wild.  You can dare to let your dreams come true.

We can learn a lot from kids….  Kids are not afraid to be themselves.  They let their imaginations run free.  They dream big dreams and believe they will come true.  My friend, when is the last time you emulated a child?

When was the last time you looked at the man (or woman) in the mirror and thought, “He (or she) doesn’t look like everybody else, he’s (she’s) not as good-looking, smart, hard-bodied or funny as so and so, but that’s okay, I like him(her).”  It is okay to like yourself; your personality, your body, your talents or even the apparent lack thereof.  It is okay to be weird, nerdy and your own sort of cool.  How boring would it be if we all looked and acted the same.  Be yourself.  Love yourself.

When was the last time you imagined yourself doing great things, meeting great people or being great yourself?  You didn’t have any trouble believing you’d be a NBA player, an astronaut, or a famous actress as a child.  You knew you would invent a flying car, find a cure for cancer or bring about world peace, and it was only a matter of time before you had dinner with the President, Lebron James or Taylor Swift.  It is okay to imagine.  God made us intellectual, thinking people, but gave us imaginations to use liberally and abundantly.

Do you dream my friend?  You did as a child.  What keeps you from dreaming today?  Are you afraid?  Have you been disappointed in the past?  Have you failed?  Have you been rejected?  People who dream-change the world!  If you study almost any really successful person, who has made their mark in this world, they will tell you that they are not afraid to dream.  Martin Luther King’s, “I Have a Dream” speech is one of the most profoundly motivating, passionately driven and most read speeches of all time.  When he plainly states, “I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they won’t be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character”, we can dare to dream it too.  Walt Disney, himself, boldly proclaimed, “If you can dream it, you can do it!”  Is he right?  Do you believe it my friend?  Dream.  Dream and dream big.  Don’t be afraid of what others might think.  Don’t fear failure, past hurts or rejection.  Just dream.

You don’t have to visit Disney World or another theme park to take on child-like characteristics.  You can decide to just be yourself today.  You aren’t perfect but you are excellent.  God don’t make no junk. Just as you are the only one in the whole wide world with your fingerprint, you are the only you in this world.  Be yourself and be content being you.  Use your imagination daily.  It is a gift from God.  He formed our brains to calculate, study, formulate and dissect information, but he also created our brains to imagine doing great things, meeting great people and being great ourselves.  Lastly, don’t be afraid to dream.  Lay down your past.  Look to your future.  Dream and dream big.  Remember, if you can dream it, you can do it!!

One of my all time favorite quotes is from Napoleon Bonaparte, “A leader is a dealer in hope.”  I’m not one to use four-lettered words.  At least not very often; maybe if I hit my thumb with a hammer, if you hurt my loved ones, or if my kids attempt to blow themselves up making a bonfire (That is a story for another day).  But there is one four-lettered word that I believe we all need to start using.  We don’t want to throw it around carelessly, but we want to use it when necessary and with purpose.  That word is HOPE.

According to Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary there are two kinds of ‘hope’, both of them verbs. For you word nerds, (no names mentioned Janice and Bridget) we’ll be even more specific,  intransitive and transitive verbs.

Intransitive verb: hope

To cherish as desire with anticipation; to want something to happen or be true

Transitive verb: hope

To desire with expectation of obtainment or fulfillment

I read this and thought to myself, we have a transitive and intransitive verb, but where is the noun?  Quickly I recollected a noun is defined as a person, place, thing, activity or idea.  There should be a noun.  I decided to look in Webster’s 1828 Dictionary.  The first thing I found under the word “hope” was the noun.

HOPE, noun (Latin cupio)

1.      A desire of some good, accompanied with a least a slight expectation of obtaining it, or a belief that it is obtainable. Hope differs from wish and desire in this, that it implies some expectation of obtaining the good desired, or the possibility of possessing it. Hope therefore always gives pleasure or joy; whereas wish and desire may produce or be accompanied with pain and anxiety.

2.      Confidence in a future event; the highest degree of well founded expectation of good; as a hope founded on God’s gracious promises; a scriptural sense.

3.      That which gives hope; he or that which furnishes ground of expectation, or promises desired good.

4.      An opinion or belief not amounting to certainty, but grounded on substantial evidence.

Score!  Not one definition of a noun but four!  Which leads me to my next question, “What the heck happened between 1828 and 2018?!”  We don’t even have a noun definition for the word “hope” in the Merriam-Webster Dictionary.  If that isn’t a sign of the times, I don’t know what is?!   Where is HOPE?  Who stole HOPE?  Most importantly how can we restore HOPE?  We know it exists.  In one of the most iconic movie scenes of all time, Princess Leia cries out, “Obi-Wan Kenobi you’re my only hope!”

If we embrace Napoleon’s quote, then we should come to the conclusion that leaders are responsible for bringing hope to others.  I don’t want to debate whether or not we believe our political leaders are doing this.  I believe the old adage that every person can be a leader; in their home, in their community or in their sphere of influence.  With that being said, I have decided to focus on myself.  Am I doing this?  Do my words and actions give HOPE to others?  What am I doing to help people receive the pleasure and joy that come from HOPE?  Does the HOPE we share help others look to the future without fear?

As Christians, we have HOPE when we trust Jesus.  When we give Him our heart, we receive the HOPE of an eternal home in Heaven.  But how can we literally be dealers in HOPE day in and day out?  I certainly don’t have all the answers, but here is a little acronym that I think may move us in the right direction.

H – Help  We want to help others.  Helping others gives them HOPE.  We can help strangers, co-workers, friends and family.  As leaders, a.k.a. dealers in hope, we can give our time, talent and treasure to help others.

O – Opportunity   Use every opportunity to connect with your fellow man.  Build relationships.  Listen to them.  Take time to invest in others.  If you get off your phone, iPad and computer, you can truly be a dealer of hope, in your own home, community and sphere of influence.

P – Peace  In Romans 12:18 we are encouraged to: ‘Do all that you can to live in peace with everyone’.  Beth Moore just tweeted, “We don’t have to agree with people to like them.  I like lots of people I disagree with.  Couldn’t have survived marriage otherwise.”   Choose peace.  Give HOPE.

E – Encourage  If one thing is missing in today’s society it is encouragement.  It is easy to tear others down, but it takes effort to seek out the goodness in others and tell them.   It doesn’t cost you anything but time to give an encouraging word.

Recap: we can be like Napoleon Bonaparte and be dealers in HOPE, by helping others, taking every opportunity to build relationships, choosing peace and encouraging others.  Maybe we can be instrumental, not only in putting the noun back into our dictionaries, but in restoring HOPE to this broken world.

American comedian, Phyllis Diller, once exclaimed, “Cleaning your house while your kids are still growing up is like shoveling the walk before it stops snowing.”  Cooking and cleaning have always been to daunting words to me.  Don’t get me wrong, I really like a clean house, but as a homeschool family the clutter really piles up during the day.  Our home has the “lived-in look.”  Cooking has never been something I just loved either.  Now I love baking desserts and things like that, and I want to make sure my kids have good, balanced meals, but mostly I cook out of necessity.  My dear friend, Ute, pegged me several years ago when she gave me a magnet which simply stated, “I understand the concept of cooking and cleaning.  Just not how it applies to me.”

In recent years I have come to the mindboggling conclusion that I love a messy house!  No seriously, I do.  These years of being a mom have flown by, just like every elderly person in the commissary warned me when I had a newborn, 3, 6, and 8 year old “helping” me shop.  The older patrons would see me struggling to do a simple task like shopping in the grocery store and approach me with a sympathetic look, “Enjoy these years honey, it will pass by so quickly.”  I would smile feebly, doubting their sincerity, as two kids fought over which box of cereal we would bring home, another kid skated down the aisle, and the baby cried his little head off.

I had this happen to me numerous times, even when my kiddos were being perfect angels. (which I’m sure may have been few and far between) “Enjoy this time, it passes so quickly.”  Those words are etched in my mind, because today I realize the truth in them.  While I’m not an old lady in the commissary (at least not yet-I will fight that one kicking and screaming), I already have seen the years race by.  My oldest son has been married for over two years and he and his wife are both middle school teachers.  My next two kids are both in college.  My daughter is in a physical therapy assistant (PTA) program and my son is pursuing a sports journalism degree.  And my “baby” just turned 16 years old!

So, regarding that messy house I would proclaim, “Bring it on!  The messier the better.”  That just means it is lived in.  It means family members are laughing, and crying and overcoming obstacles together.  We’re having friends over, eating snacks, watching movies, and playing games.   We are coming and going from school, work, college, church and other important commitments.   We are sharing life and touching souls together.  Every time I wipe off a sticky countertop, stuff some clothes in an already overfilled washer, scrub the grout on a grimy bathtub, or push a vacuum across the leaf-tracked floor I will give thanks for this messy house, and all of those who reside in it or spend time in it.