How to Climb the Sand Dunes of Life

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“Whatever you do, don’t hike the dunes,” my friend said to Adam and me as we discussed our plans for exploring the Great Lakes state of Michigan.

He knew he needed to warn us because he saw that glimmer in my eye as he told us about the park. Running up sand dunes sounded like fun!

The next day Adam and I drove to the highly recommended Sleeping Bear Dunes, paid our entry fee and parked the car under the warm afternoon sun. Even though it was 3:00, the temperature topped out below 80 degrees, something that barely happens at night in Texas. We were in Heaven!

Miles and miles of sand spread out in front of us on every side. It looked like we pulled onto the scene of Aladdin in the Arabian Desert. We looked at the park map and thought of our friend’s warning to not hike the dunes up to Lake Michigan. We tried to find a trail to hike minus the sand, but it wasn’t happening.

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When the Dark Clouds Move In

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It happened yesterday. That dark cloud moved in, uninvited over my thoughts. Even though the sun was streaming through the windows of my house, inside my head, it was raining.

Thundering memories reverberated through my body. Lightening flashbacks suddenly illuminated my mind and I was transported to a few years ago when I walked through the most intense struggle of my life.

See, I wish I had a Wile E. Coyote testimony. One where I continuously ran off the cliff until one day, Jesus caught me, changed me, placed me on solid ground and I never ran toward the edge of the cliff again.

But I don’t.

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What Are You Storing in the Corner of Your Mind?

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What would it look like if we lived life in a round room? A round room has no corners. No corners means there’s no place to hide. Everything must be brought out to the center of the room and dealt with. When you know what you’re dealing with, it’s much easier to fix, before it grows too big.

But it’s easier to hide things in the corner, isn’t it? It’s easier to cover up cracks in the floor with a rug, and line the attic with boxed up items we don’t want to sift through right now.

But what happens when we stuff, cover up and put off dealing with issues until later?

Hidden away in the dark corner of our mind is where Satan holds us captive to the things we’ve covered up or not dealt with. He condemns us for each one and whispers that we can never be forgiven for them, for they are too awful.

It’s like what Scar said to Simba on The Lion King – And what would your mother think if she knew your little secret? No, run away Simba! Run away and never return.

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Will You Trust Me?

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Jogging down the back roads behind my house with hay bales dotting the horizon, I felt the Lord ask me to write my story. Actually, I had already written it in the pages of my journal, but He was saying it’s time to compile it – all of it.

The words of this story frequently came like labor pains at midnight, hard and fast and impossible to sleep through.

Get up! The Lord would nudge me. Write it down!

I would fight against the prompting for two hours usually, and then finally accept the fact that words being birthed don’t care what time it is.

As I ran that summer morning, I couldn’t out run the voice of the Lord telling me that this story would one day be a published book.

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Hope in the Face of Tragedy

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Yesterday I woke up to read about the tragic events in Orlando, Florida. My heart broke for the people involved.

Through out the day that sadness and compassion for the victims turned to utter frustration as the news reports put their spin on the ordeal, tweaking the facts to support their political view. Add to that some of my favorite writers turning this into a LGBT debate.

This shooting has opened Pandora’s Box on racism, sexism, gay issues and gun control.

Some say if we outlawed all guns we wouldn’t have this problem.

Some say this is the Christian’s chance to fully embrace the LGBT community and love on them in the name of Christ. They say Jesus would be on ground zero administering help anyway He could.

Some say this is why we should elect Trump or Hillary.

Everyone has an opinion on how we are supposed to react and respond to this tragedy, as if compassion needs to be politically correct.

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Emerging from the Cocoon

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One year ago today, my feet stepped back onto American soil after spending one month in Kenya, I wrote in my journal. I took a deep breath, and let my head rest back on my pillow, remembering the journey and how good it felt to be home. It felt like yesterday. No, it felt like three years ago!

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It was after that trip that my life completely changed.

So much change happened all of a sudden that I don’t even want to retrace it, yet here I am writing about it.

This change rocked me to my core. It put me flat on my back and knocked the breath out of me.

First sadness set in, then grief, which turned to anxiety and finally depression.

Before last year, I’d not had a personal encounter with those words. Sadness. Grief. Anxiety. Depression. I knew what they meant and I knew people who struggled with them, but they were not feelings I lived with. Sure, I’ve had a bad day or an off week, but eventually the clouds would part in my world and the sun would shine again.

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Trades of Hope {Interview with Katy Nutter}

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The first year I went on a mission trip to Kenya, I spoke at a ladies conference. In between sessions, we also taught the ladies how to crochet. It was a precious time for me, because I helped teach them this skill without knowing their language! I would sit next to a lady, demonstrate the stitch, then hand the yarn back to her to try herself. If she did it correctly, I would  nod my head and smile. If she needed extra help, I would ask for the yarn back and show her again.
I was so impressed with these women. They not only caught on fast, but some of them made hats, booties and purses all from us teaching them one basic stitch. We left them with a skein of yarn so they could continue creating masterpieces once we left.
They thanked us for teaching them a skill. That was something they could use and possibly earn money off of what they made. A small business.
A friend of mine, Katy Nutter, is apart of company that wants to do the same thing. She is apart of a company called Trades of Hope,  which teaches skills to women living in poverty.They don’t merely hand out money, but actually create jobs! Their website says, “So many women live in poverty, not because they lack abilities, but because they lack opportunity. We started Trades of Hope to give women that opportunity for a better life. Each woman has a story, and with Trades of Hope’s help, their story has changed from pain and struggle to a story of hope!”
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They are teaching these artisans how to sew, do bead work and more. Trades of Hope then buys the hand-made products from the artisan at a fair wage. After that, Compassionate Entrepreneurs, like Katy, market the products in the United States to give them a broader market and allow them to sell more quantity and make more profit. The artisans typically make 4-6 times what they would be making in their local markets!
Katy introduced me to these Restoration Earrings, which are made in Haiti from cereal boxes and clay.
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Aren’t they pretty? I love the colors! And they aren’t too heavy.
The artisans in Haiti can create 50 beads, 2 necklaces, or 8 bracelets from one box of cereal. Plus, it provides $40 in income!
 I asked Katy some questions about Trades of Hope, hoping to give you a chance to hear her heart about the company and products…

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The Ride of My Life

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For some strange reason, Six Flags brings out the teenager in me. A few weeks ago, we took our kids for the first time to this favorite theme park of mine. Yet it was me obnoxiously fidgeting in my seat and dancing along to the radio on the car ride up there.

It was impossible to contain my excitement!

Once we finally walked through the gate, map in hand, I located my favorite ride: Mr. Freeze. I begged and pleaded with my son to join me on what I considered to be the best ride in the whole park.

As we stood in line to this ride that shoots you backwards at 70 mph, I had my own flashbacks to when I was Caleb’s age. I remember standing in the exact same line with my youth group friends, my stomach doing butterflies at what we were about to experience.

As the line died down and we inched closer to the starting gate, my heart rate quickened. My palms started to sweat and I wondered if I’d made a mistake. I wanted to pass on the memory of this ride to my son, but in that moment I worried he wasn’t ready. This was only our second ride, and I wondered if I should have warmed him up a little more.

As the guy holding the microphone prepared the group before us to take off, I started chattering constantly to a group of 13 year old girls I had befriended during our wait.

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When God is On the Move

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Recently, in an effort to zone out from all the activity swirling around me and actually rest, I queued up The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. For what better way is there to escape the worries of this world than to wander through the wardrobe with Lucy and embark upon an adventure filled with curiosity, faith, fauns, talking beavers and a battle of Good vs. Evil?

I’ve read the book and seen the movie many times, but the line that caught my attention this go-around was when Peter, Susan and Lucy entered the home of the Beavers. Mr. Beaver looked at all of them and said “Aslan is on the move.”

It reminded me of the song “God is on the move, on the move, Hallelujah. God is on the move in many mighty ways.”

When God is on the move, you know it. The air is different. Your spirit is stirred, restless even in anticipation of what is coming next. You can’t  quite make out what it looks like, but there’s a rustling in the bushes and like a dog with his ears perked, you are waiting expectantly to figure it out.

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No More Secrets Interview

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I am beyond excited to announce that No More Secrets is now available in paperback! Yes, right HERE on Amazon you can purchase yours!

In honor of that I’m including some more information about the book, an interview with one of my blogging friends.

Last year I decided to join a blogging course where I met Leanne , a fellow clumsy blogger who, like me wanted to improve her skills. As we posted our blog posts on the Facebook group, I immediately connected to her style of writing and the topics she wrote on.

We have commented back and forth on each other’s blogs and so I asked her if she would read my book and offer feedback. She blew me away with her knowledge and heart to help me share this story. So, I’m honored to share with you her interview with me about this book. Here we go…

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