Wednesday, September 5, 2012

Play BALL!

 
Dedication or Passion???
 


The sweat, blood, and tears radiate from their little faces as they take the field. The passion to play no matter what consumes their entire existence, and nothing can get in their way.

Inning after inning they take the field fighting harder and harder with passion pushing them to the end.

Sweat saturates their entire bodies.

Tears of joy swell in their eyes as often as the occasional tears of regret and disappointment when the ball slips under their glove.

The blood comes as the player slides in to steal a base determined to get there regardless of the scrapes and bruises which always accompany the battle.  

Nothing can overpower the heart and passion of a baseball player. No amount of sweat, tears, or blood could ever tear him away from the game. It’s all about the heart of the game. The love and desire to play wins every time.

 Where is our passion? Our love?

We so often want this fairy tale with no bumps, no bruises, and no tears; we want perfection with no work! We want God to give us a perfect life, and we want to live it to the fullest, but yet we never really want to feel anything.

If a baseball player never stepped onto the field, they would never get hurt or lose a game. They would also never know the feeling of victory.

In order to live life, we have to spread our wings and fly. We have to let go of failure and just start living. Sure, we are going to fail, get hurt and stumble along the way, but we are also going to succeed. We are going to grow closer to Christ because with every fall He picks us up and teaches us how to make it to the finish line. He teaches us how to have victory in our hearts and in our life.

He also teaches us that life is not about the blood, sweat, and tears, but about how we choose to get back up again.

Don’t just sit the bench……PLAY BALL!
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Monday, September 3, 2012

Book FAIR!!!!!!!!!!!

Welcome to the Labor Day Book Fair!

Wayman publishing has teamed up
with many phenomenal authors
to bring you this Labor Day weekend event.

Photobucket



For three whole days
--September 2-3-4--
you can download these featured

e-books for FREE.


. . . And . . .

You can download many other books
to entertain you in the days ahead.



Discover Upcoming Books!


Author’s biography The author was born in Athens, Greece in 1955 and is a dual U.S. / Greek citizen. After obtaining his Engineering Sc. B. degree in mechanical engineering from Brown University in 1977 he went on to Harvard Business School where he earned his MBA in 1979. He is married and has two children and lives in Athens but often visits America (Boston where his daughter studies and his son works). He is currently employed by the largest Greek manufacturing Co. (10% of Greek exports) as the Senior Financial Analyst. His interests include poetry, romance fiction and actively following economic developments in the U.S. and Europe.
Coming Soon!














http://sydneyssong.net/blog/

. . . Also . . .

You can enter to win CASH or physical books
by outstanding authors such as
Valerie Bowen,
Adrienne deWolfe,
Peter Thomas Senese,
Lucy Swing,
and
Kara Tollman.





In honor of Melynda Fleury--who has bravely been fighting diabetes and almost completely lost her eyesight--Wayman Publishing and Rick Gualtieri are also donating 5-10% profit from select physical book sales to the American Diabetes Association.


We hope you enjoyed discovering new authors and their stories
at our Labor Day Blogfest and Book Fair.


If you'd like to share this post,
please free free to grab the following code:


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Thursday, August 30, 2012


We have officially been back in school for one whole month. This means the so called craziness of what we call life has resumed in full force. In other words:
"Why don't you have shoes on? We are walking out of the house and I'm leaving NOW!"....
"Why do I need shoes?"

“Mom, I have NO more underwear left.”
 
"Mom, I left my lunch at home."

 “Hurry up and eat before we leave for practice.”

 “Where are your cleats? Where is your dance bag? HURRY UP WITH THAT HOMEWORK!
Did you practice piano?”

And my favorite: “DO we have ANY food in this house?”

Yes, this is what WE call life! The crazy thing is; I’m not sure I will ever get the hang of it. As crazy as most of those scenarios are, they are all true. Laundry seems like it has multiplied by 50 now that I have started working. I just never have time to keep up with it, and as soon as I do, there is MORE!!! 

I’m really not sure when there is ever time to go to the grocery store, I mean really; CEREAL for dinner???

I can’t tell you how many appointments I have forgotten or forgotten to even make; good grief!

I seriously need another me walking around reminding me what to do ALL day long. I am so very exhausted at the end of the day and so often I just don’t even know where to start when I do have 5 minutes to breathe.

The truth is; it’s killing me! I so want to be super mom. I want to be great at doing it all and be great at getting it all done and the reality is; I feel like I am miserably failing!

I want my family to be happy and I want my kids to love life, but I don’t want them to have a mom that never has it together.

Why is it that as a mom it becomes so easy and natural to feel like a failure when things go wrong? We place so much pressure on ourselves to be perfect in all we do and we raise the bar so high that we can never obtain the perfection we are trying to reach.

I was half-heartedly tucking my sweet little boy into bed and he hugged me so tight he wouldn’t let go. I said good night and tried to pull away. I’m not sure I will ever forget his words…. “I’ll NEVER let go! I’ll love you FOREVER!” I sank into the bed beside him as tears filled my eyes. There was something about what he said that made me feel that Jesus was whispering those words in my ear. It was almost like He was using my sweet little boy to remind me that He was always there and He would never leave me, EVER!

Throughout all my imperfections and flaws, my Lord loves me just the same. I don’t have to be perfect, I don’t have to be super mom, and I never will! Now, am I going to have it all together by tomorrow, probably not, but I know that I am not alone. Jesus is there guiding me and reminding me that I can do this.

If we have cereal for dinner, well I don’t have to feel terrible because at least my family was able to eat. I have to learn to stop being so hard on myself and allow Jesus to help find a way and a plan to figure out this life that He has laid out for me.

I’ll NEVER let go! I’ll love Him FOREVER. He will Never let go. He will love you FOREVER!  Treasure the blessings God wants you to have….treasure the gifts and moments that often come through our children because the real truth is this;  I would not trade any of it for a moment of peace even if someone begged me :)

 
First Day of School 2012!!!



 

 
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Thursday, August 2, 2012

Faith to BELIEVE



If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you. 6 But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt, because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. James 1: 5-6
Getting to the finish line was anything but easy. I guess there was a part of me that thought this journey would be easy; well, easier. I thought I would finish my degree, get a job, and start working. Boy was I wrong! I had no clue that my plan was no exactly what God had in mind.

          God needed me to wait….be patient…and listen. Do you know how hard that is? I have taken the teaching certification test many times, and was beginning to feel incapable of passing. I wanted to give up.

          I then begin to see that I was somewhat like a wave tossing in the ocean. The lack of faith in my own life was throwing me back and forth and all over the place. I was defeated because I felt defeated. I gave up. I forgot that even through the bumpy spots of the journey, God was still there. My vision was blurred to the reality of God’s goodness He had in store.

          Through the unknown paths and heartache, God reminded me to have faith. He reminded me that this was His plan and He would see me through.

          My journey to getting a job and becoming a teacher was not meant to be easy because I still had so much to learn.

          I learned that if I doubt God’s wisdom how can I accept that He has given it to me?  I learned that I can never give up and never stop believing that God has a plan for me.

          As I opened my e-mail this week and finally saw the words “PASSED” on my test, my eyes filled with tears as I praised God for His faithfulness. I know that I will get to teach in God’s timing and I know that my life is always in His hands!!!!

Praise God for the faith to believe!!!
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Thursday, June 14, 2012

Trust in HIM


Psalm 143:8, "Let the morning bring me word of your unfailing love, for I have put my trust in you. Show me the way I should go, for to you I entrust my life."

DO you ever feel overwhelmed to the point of not even knowing where to start?

Your brain is going a mile a minute, and yet you can’t seem to slow down long enough to put one thought in order.

Where does God fit into this chaos? This overwhelming, can’t think straight, busy day or life?

Sometimes I look around at the mess and it seems too big! I feel as though the walls are caving in and I can’t escape. Is it the mess in my house, my life, or both?

I often wonder where I might schedule God into this lifestyle. I’m overwhelmed and yet where is God? Is He there when I show up to church on Sunday’s? Is He there in the midst of my mental breakdown? Is He there when I just can’t take it anymore and I am begging Him to rescue me?

Yes, He is there, but He wants more. He wants to be there ALL the time, not just when we are crying out for help in the midst of chaos.

He wants to guide you through the mess and into the calm. He wants to show you that life doesn’t have to be overwhelming.

I think the problem with too many Christians have is that we think we have to show the world our life is perfect, simply because we are Christians. We think others expect to see us living great because Christ has saved us.  We are ashamed to let others see us broken.

We don't need to show the world that life is perfect with Christ; we need to show them that we are broken and life is renewed with Christ!

Life is overwhelming, messy and downright crazy, but God is ready and waiting to walk hand and hand through the mess with you. Trust that He will guide you and love you like no one else ever could.

Put your trust in God to bring you through every moment of your life, good or bad. Don’t just look for Him in the chaos or when you go to church. Look for Him every morning and every minute that you breathe.

He will love you…He will guide you….He will NEVER leave you!


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Friday, June 1, 2012

A team overcoming Adversity


Have you ever had to overcome adversity?

 Do people seem to make life frustrating?

Sometimes people can make your life hard. They are immature, they lie and often beat you down to nothing. This is when you must step up to the plate. Show your maturity and strength in the person you were created to be. A mature person of love and character. We can't fight every battle, but we can show love through every situation.

This baseball season has been anything but the "perfect" season. The boys have played amazing, but as all kids sports seem to go, SO much more came along with it.

Rules seemed to change from day to day, and never in our favor. If we were winning, then other teams seemed angry and out to get us. We were "told" on for the craziest things...really, I even got thrown out of the dugout! REALLY! I know! This game is suppose to be all about the boys and yet so many adults made it all about the win and who is better. If they noticed us doing one minor thing wrong, then we were reported, and often reported wrongly.

Technically, only three coaches can be on the field. I was the team mom who was "calmly" keeping the boys in order, but made four adults on the field, so someone had a board member kick me out.

When did it stop being about ball and start being all about who is following which tiny rule someone overlooked.

In the midst of all of the adversity our team went through this season, including a coach stepping down because he said it was more important for his son to play baseball then to watch the adults act the way they were, the boys taught me a HUGE lesson.

In one of our games, a rule was being discussed by coaches and board members on the field. This had caused the game to momentarily stop. As the adults were frustrated over what the ruling should be, I look over at the boys to see if they even cared, and this is what I saw:





These boys gathered together and started throwing the ball around. They showed me what it meant to be a "team" That it didn't matter what the officials decided, they were there to play ball, win or lose, it wasn't going to bring them down!

I was SO proud of our boys in that moment. Even more so, when the call on the field was against us, and they still got up and played their hearts out with a smile on their faces.

We made it to the championship game and we didn't win, but came in 2nd for the whole season. In my eyes, they are winners because they proved that it is not about the score board or winning the game, but about being a team and loving it with all your heart.

It's not if you win that matters, it's how you play the game that is remembered!

WAY TO GO MINOR BRAVES 2012
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Tuesday, May 1, 2012

Prepared....or Not?


I was ready....I was prepared! Or so I thought...

Exactly this time three years ago, I can still remember anxiously roaming about hoping I would go into labor.

My body was more than ready and I felt prepared. The nursery was ready, clothes washed and my hospital bag was packed.

I can remember thinking that the 37 weeks I had been pregnant had flown by and yet as I set and waited on her to come, the clock stood still!

I would sit and hold my stomach as it would rumble back and forth from the gentle rocking of her little hick ups. I felt huge and uncomfortable. I had not been sleeping very well and I just knew that was God's way of preparing me for many sleepless nights with a newborn....

He was preparing me, but not for what I thought. I thought I was ready, prepared. I thought I had left no stone unturned, only I forgot to prepare one thing; my heart!

I never prepared my heart for what was going to happen in my life and how God was going to use it.

I'm not saying I should have prepared my heart for something bad to happen, only that we should always be in prayer for God's will in our life, good or bad.

When Bethany died, I never imagined my heart could break so deeply and yet I also never imagined it could live again. I was so hurt, I let myself forget what a big God I serve and that nothing is ever too big for HIM!

A soldier would never go into battle unprepared and yet we as Christians often go into life DAILY without preparing our heart to give 100% control to God no matter what may come.

Should we live in fear; never, but we should live knowing that God is in control; ALWAYS!

As Bethany's birthday fast approaches, I find myself missing her and loving her, but most of all, standing in awe of God's amazing grace to pull me through the darkest valley of my life.

Is your heart prepared to give God control no matter what your day may bring?
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