My prayer today

Today's Daily Word - Wednesday, September 26, 2007

Thank You, God, for children—Your vision of greater good in the world.

Children—what a blessing they are in my life. From their innocence, purity, freedom, and guileless natures, I learn to take one day, one moment, at a time.

Children are my guides through the maze of life’s mysteries. I bless these wonderful miracles in my life, children who are my teachers, my reminders that each moment can be a new beginning.
Wherever they are, whatever they are doing, these young ones are growing, learning, and adapting to the environment in which they live. Giving thanks for all children, I appreciate them as God’s vision for greater good in the world.

“But take care and watch yourselves closely, so as neither to forget the things that your eyes have seen nor to let them slip from your mind all the days of your life; make them known to your children and your children’s children.”—Deuteronomy 4:9

From Dailyword.com

Do you ever have one of those days where you have so much to say but you don't know how to get it out of your mouth into a form that anyone can understand?

I'm having one of those days . . . no, I'm having one of those months.

So that's it . . . for now.

If I can just deal with life and allow God to use those dealings to transform me into the right person - the EXPLOSIVE person, the person with GUN POWDER in my veins . . .

Then the noise I make will be worth hearing.

The fire that is seen in my life will scorch the room.

The substance of my life will pierce the hearts of those around me, and where I stand . . .

I will always leave a mark!

(From "FlashBang - How I Got Over Myself" by Mark Steele)

Grissom Wins!

Cody #62 - Defensive End

Cody goin after the Quarterback

T.J. Bayer SCORE!

Jeff Laidig SCORE!

Jamil Davis SCORE!

Today's Daily Word - Saturday, September 15, 2007
Let Go, Let God

I live life inspired, whole, and free. What a comfort it is to know that I can let go and let God lead me in all matters and in all that matters.

What I am releasing is the mistaken belief that I need to direct and control all the various aspects of my life. What I am accepting is the greater good that is emerging and unfolding.

With God leading the way, I am free of all fear and doubt. My trust in God strengthens me with the resolve to live my life fully.

What is in store for me this day and in the days ahead? I may not have all the details just yet, but there is no doubt that the light of God shines brightly in and through me. I am ready and eager to step forward into a life of inspired living.

“For surely I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord, plans for your welfare and not for harm, to give you a future with hope. Then when you call upon me and come and pray to me, I will hear you.”—Jeremiah 29:11-12

From The Daily Word

My New Journey . . .

3 weeks ago I was just minding my own business, winding down the summer and looking forward to working on my Life Coaching practice this fall (which, by the way, is going really well), when out of nowhere – BAM! – God grabs me and points me in an entirely different direction.

Well, it wasn’t exactly an ENTIRELY different direction, it was a path I’ve been on before and thought that God was finished with.

Are you sitting down?! I've agreed to accept the job of Youth Director at Waypoint Community Church in Middlebury. I will be working with some of my favorite people in the whole entire world, Blair and Tracy Carlstrom - Blair is a new pastor there.

I will still be doing my life coaching practice, and I will also do the youth job for one year (it’s a temporary gig). It’s really cool because with my life coaching I am specializing in family and relationship work, so the 2 fit hand in hand. Eventually I'm hoping to incorporate family work into the ministry too.

The beauty of this is that the youth ministry is very important to Waypoint and has been very successful, so I have incredible support. Blair and I will be working together with middle school and high school students to help them connect with God and with each other – it will be focused all around relationship, connection and every day things they are dealing with. Instead of preaching at them, we will raise a topic and ask questions so they can talk it out. I will get to use everything that I learned in coaching school and apply it to youth ministry. Funny how God does things like that! It's so awesome!

My good friend Judy Gregory summed it up for me and really helped give me the confidence to take this on (thanks Judy!):

"Lanette, you belong in youth ministry. You have the passion and the drive. As an AA, you were in the right department, just the wrong position. I think you came away with a whole lot of great memories from the experience, but a few scars too. I just think you needed a little time to heal in between, so that God could redeem it all. Even if you do nothing beyond being yourself, you are going to do and be incredible!"

I am so grateful for this new direction and new journey and can’t wait to see what God is going to do!

Pics from youth group

This is Petey - my new baby cat!

Since my cat Teddy dumped me and moved in at the neighbors house, my incredibly sweet and kind hubby brought me a new baby home last week to take care of.

I LOVE him! He really is a good kitty. I still am heartbroken that Teddy left me, but this is helping me get over the rejection.

My niece Airiana

Look at how ADORABLE my niece Airiana is. She's such a little princess and I LOVE HER!

Awakenings

Switchfoot has a new song and video out that is AWESOME!

Here's a sample of the lyrics that really spoke to me . . .


These dreams started singing to me out of nowhere
And in all my life I don't know if I've ever felt so alive,
Alive

I want to wake up kicking and screaming
I want to wake up kicking and screaming
I want a heart that I know is beating,
It's beating . . .

I want to wake up kicking and screaming
I want to live like I know what I'm leaving
I want a heart that I know is beating,
It's beating... it's beating...

Check it out!

(Thank you to Amber Cox for showing it on her blog)

This is an AMAZING story about how an "every day person" just like us followed her heart, turned a personal tragedy into something good, and is making a HUGE difference in a place where people have no value at all.


On her first night in India, Becky Douglas lay awake thinking about beggars. As she tossed and turned that night, Douglas prayed. "'I'm just a housewife. Tell me what I should do.' And the thought came to me: 'You can at least look at them. You can at least acknowledge that they're suffering.' And the next day I did."

Six years later, Douglas is a veteran activist fighting to end leprosy in India. The organization she started around her kitchen table now works with 20,000 people who live in 45 leprosy colonies, providing them with microloans, mobile health clinics and schools.

It was the death of her oldest daughter, Amber, that started it all. When Douglas was cleaning out her daughter's dorm room she discovered that Amber had been sending part of her college money to orphans in India. CHECK OUT THE FULL STORY . . .
http://www.dailygood.org/more.php?n=3058

You Are My Everything

You are the center of my life

You are the wings by which I fly

You are the melody I sing

You are my everything

You are the smile upon my face

You are the one and only way

You are the reason that I dream

You are my everything!

Lyrics from "You Are My Everything" by Fusebox

Dare to Care

If the world seems cold to you, kindle fires to warm it. -- Lucy Larcom
~~~~
Inspiration of the Day:

"It's Saturday night in the Paris métro. Two friends, Etienne and Sophie, are on their way to dinner. After sitting down in the crowded train, they discover the body of a homeless man curled up at their feet.

How did he get there?

How long has he been lying there?

Is he dead?

They look around: Everyone avoids looking at the body. Nobody has any idea how to handle this situation. Etienne and Sophie don’t know what to do either." So begins an article from Ode magazine that explores what happens when someone dares to care.

http://www.dailygood.org/more.php?n=3042

Silver Lake

I've been up at our "shack" at Silver Lake for awhile now and have been experimenting with my new camera. I was lucky enough to get this shot last week right at the beginning of a storm. I am now a bona fide camera junky - I NEVER go anywhere without at least one of my cameras!

Here are a few more shots I took last week . . .

He's Back!!!

It is a very happy day in the Rajski household (well, ok - Trent isn't exactly grinning from ear to ear). My cat Teddy came home! He's been missing since Memorial Day weekend. At the end of May I finally gave in to the idea that he was probably dead and I have been missing him ever since. You can see his obituary here.



I have no idea where he's been or what he's been doing, but he just sauntered in 2 days ago like nothing was up and I went crazy I was so excited - He acted like he could care less. I guess that's a cat for you.



He's a little skinnier, but other than that he looks healthy. What I wouldn't give to have one of those little camera's to attach to his collar to see where he's been.



Oh happy day . . . . Oh Happy Day!

My baby is FOURTEEN!!!???

Happy Birthday Cody. It seems like just yesterday that we were waiting for you to arrive into our lives. I remember when you were 5 you promised me you would never grow up. Now look at you - you're 3 inches taller than me and outweigh me by 30 pounds. I can't believe you can pick me up and throw me over your shoulder.

You are the best thing that ever happened to us and we love you very much. You make me laugh - a lot - and I really like that!

Love isn't finding a perfect person.

It's seeing an imperfect person perfectly.

-- Sam Keen

Why I love the geese . . .

I LOVE the geese that live around my house. We live on the river and right now all of the goose families on the river come to our house with their new babies and eat from our mulberry tree - love watching the babies grow up. It's so fascinating to watch the Mom and the Dad take turns watching out for their little ones - they are very dedicated to their families.

I love it when the geese take off from the water and their wings flap and hit the water - I love it when they land on the water and look like an out of control jet plane coming in for a landing. I love it when an entire flock flies over me while I'm outside, I can hear their powerful wings cutting through the air, and I love to hear them honking at each other while they're flying above me.

Down the road on Vistula by the pond, there are families of geese that live there and since I walk by them and drive by them many times a day, I feel like I know them. The other day tragedy struck and there was a Mom or Dad goose dead on the side of the road. It probably got struck by some impatient motorist late for work (it better not have been my husband!), and now their mate is mateless and their babies are only one goose tragedy away from being orphans.

I know, I know . . . I'm weird. Trent and Cody have told me that many times - they hate the geese and can't see their beauty the way I see it. So today when I got this post from helpothers.org, I knew I had to share it.

What The Geese Taught Me--posted by JZ on May 26, 2007

Next fall, when you see Geese heading South for the Winter, flying along in V formation, you might consider what science has discovered as to why they fly that way:

As each bird flaps its wings, it creates an uplift for the bird immediately following.

By flying in V formation the whole flock adds at least 71% greater flying range than if each bird flew on its own.

People who share a common direction and a sense of community can get where they are going, more quickly and easily, because they are travelling on the thrust of one another.

When a goose falls out of formation, it suddenly feels the drag and resistance of trying to go it alone ... and quickly gets back into formation to take advantage of the lifting power of the bird in front.

If we have as much sense as a goose, we will stay in formation with those who are headed the same way we are.

When the Head Goose gets tired, it rotates back in the wing and another goose flies point.

It's sensible to take turns doing demanding jobs with people or with geese flying south.

Geese honk from behind to encourage those up front to keep up their speed.

What do we say when we honk from behind?

Finally...and this is important...when a goose gets sick, or is wounded by gunshots, and falls out of formation, two other geese fall out with that goose and follow it down to lend help and protection. They stay with the fallen goose until it is able to fly, or until it dies; only then do they launch out on their own, or with another formation to catch up with their group.

If we have the sense of a goose, we will stand by each other like that


So you see - geese are amazing creatures - that's why I love the geese and am proud of it!!!

Trent's brother, Barry

My husband and his family are going through a really difficult time right now. His brother (middle brother who is 46 years old) is close to dying right now - his organs are failing. Last week he spent 5 days in intensive care where he had to have a blood transfusion because he lost so much blood from hemorraghing. He is suffering from Alcolism and it is killing him - although he would never tell you that. He tells us that right now he is weak from being without food and water for 5 days.

Now he is home with Trent's Mom whose husband (Trent's stepfather) is in full blown Alzheimer's. Praise God that for the past month Hank has had a really good month so that is helping Emma (Trent's Mom) a lot! She really has her hands full.

We are trying our best to help Emma and support her - help Barry and support him. I'm trying my best to be a supportive wife and help my husband watch all of this going on around him. We really don't know what to do except love him and love her.

Last night we did get Barry to get outside for a walk and it took every single ounce of his being to get his shoes on a go down the road about a block. I can't even say how hard it was to watch my husband hold his brother up while Barry concentrated to hard on just putting one foot in front of the other. I am so proud of Trent at the way he is stepping up to the plate to take care of his family and love them. It's really hard when you don't understand the disease of alcoholism and you just want them to be better and not die.

Please pray for Barry, Trent, Emma and the rest of his family.

"The Judge"

Once a month I get a really great newsletter from a Life Coach named Lori Radun. The newsletters are always good, but this one was the best yet and I wanted to pass it on.

Make the Judge Sit Down - By Lori Radun

In almost every relationship, the source of discontent can be traced back to "judgment". Judgment keeps us in the dark and separated from one another. In our house, I call it the "blame game". Disagreements can never be resolved when the focus is on the other person, and what they've done "wrong". There is a big difference between "Who messed up my toys?" and "I am unhappy because my toys are messed up."

Judgment causes defensiveness because an individual can't help but feel they have failed to meet your expectations. Often, we expect people to behave in a certain way, according to what makes us happy. But each person in our lives is on a different path and comes from different life experiences and circumstances. No two people are alike, but that does not make either party "wrong", just "different".

So how can we make "the judge" in us sit down?

First, we must realize that we aren't always going to like everything about everybody in our lives. Our job is not to change other people so we can be happy, but figure out how we can be happy despite our differences. Sometimes we learn to tolerate minor differences, or set boundaries when our limits are being compromised.

Second, grace allows us to see in other people what is also present or possible in us. Our "judgments" can act as a mirror for us to see ourselves more clearly. Whenever I begin to judge another person, I ask myself "When was the last time I acted like this?" More times than not, I can truthfully say I, too, am guilty of the very behavior I am judging.

Third, learning to not take another person's actions personally gives us the ability to stand back from the situation and see things more clearly. How another person acts has absolutely nothing to do with you - it is completely about the other person. When you take another person's words or behaviors personally, you become emotionally attached and charged, and your emotions will cloud your judgment. Take the example of my teenager speaking to me in an angry tone. I can choose to believe that my teenager is speaking disrespectfully to me, and I am then automatically hooked. The reality of the situation is that my teenager is angry and is having a hard time expressing his anger in a healthy way. It has nothing to do with me. I am in a much better position to hear my teenager's anger and help him channel it differently when I am emotionally detached.

Last, you will stop judging others when you stop judging yourself. When we are critical with ourselves, it naturally follows that we will be critical of others. By learning to love and accept those things about you that you don't like, you learn to be more tolerant of other people. You realize that we are all imperfect human beings doing our best with what we have. "The Judge" in us blocks opportunities to see the best in ourselves and others.

When you can make "the judge" sit down, you will have the ability to harmoniously walk, side by side, in your relationships, and grow in the process.


Sign up for Lori's free newsletter, or check out her website for lots of other great articles at true2youlifecoaching.com