Today I got to thank the doctor who recently saved my husband’s life.

Face to face–Because melanoma is no joke and not to be trifled with.

And Bill was diagnosed with melanoma 3 weeks ago.

Our family doctor, Dr. Heather Shaffer, is one of the most thorough and attentive doctors I’ve ever had the pleasure of meeting. She has been our regular family practice physician for close to 3 years now. During routine visits she always asks if we have had this exam, or that test done due to our age/jobs/medical history etc. She does a skin exam once a year, and during her October 30^th exam of Bill she found a suspicious looking mole on his shoulder. She removed it and sent it off for testing.

On November 8^th I received a phone call on my cell from a number I did not recognize. I was at work and normally do not answer calls from numbers I don’t know but something said to take it. Dr. Shaffer’s voice sounded a bit shaky as she told me Bill had to come in right away for surgery as his results came back melanoma, a fast moving, aggressive form of skin cancer. She calmly told me he could not wait 28 days to get back from work; he had to have surgery NOW.  As it happened, everything lined up perfectly because Bill was transitioning to a new boat so it wasn’t hard to get a relief.  He was home within 24hrs.

On Veterans Day we went in for a consultation with the surgeon, Dr. Mockler. He gave us a thorough education on melanoma. If caught in time it can be cut out of the body. If not, there is nothing to do but get your affairs in order. Dr. Mockler explained to us that there are several layers of skin and below that is fat. Within the fat is blood vessels, veins etc. Once melanoma has developed on the skin it moves molecularly deeper into the skin layers. There is good treatment for that. He advised us that there was very little to no effective treatment for it once it reaches the fat layer. When it hits that layer of fat, it immediately spreads via the bloodstream to organs, the brain, it goes everywhere, creating tumors and death.  It is impossible to tell by the naked eye how far it has gone. It requires incisions and flesh samples. The labs test the outer edges of biopsy and if it tests positive for melanoma the dr. does a larger sample, hoping the next sample will contain all of the cancer. If the edges test positive then another is done.  He said the results of his biopsy would mean one of 3 options for Bill, either another surgery, a clean bill of health, or a directive to get our affairs in order. We were stunned and pretty shaken up.

On Nov. 12^th the procedure was done and the sample sent off. Nothing to do but pray and wait. Bill is an extraordinarily private person and decided that the situation would be kept between us and very few prayer partners/our pastor until we knew for sure what the outcome was. He was adamant that our families would not be in a state of worry and upset until we had a “for sure” answer. During that week’s wait we did a lot of examining of our affairs, and our lives up to that point. We’ve always prayed together about various things but we prayed more often and with more urgency. I laid my hands on my husband several times every day and off and on throughout each night and just prayed for his health and peace of mind. It was hard not to worry but we felt the presence and peace of Jesus throughout this entire time. We decided that regardless of the outcome we were going to begin taking vacations, and doing the stuff we had put off for so long. A lot of things changed last week. All for the better.

On November 18^th, Dr. Mockler gave us the good news that Bill was cancer free. He also told us that once a patient tests positive for it, there is a great increased risk of it coming back so we have to stay vigilant about moles and our skin. He also said to go back to Dr. Shaffer and thank her for saving Bill’s life. We immediately took her a card and flower arrangement, too. We were so grateful for her insistence on managing our total health, from skin to within. And today I got to tell her that.

Life is short.

Live it to the fullest, now, today, for we are not promised tomorrow.

My blog has moved BACK! a.k.a., OK, I changed my mind. ;]

I'm going to maintain blogs at this location and http://kingdomforming.com/category/woman-typing-badly/

I've missed having this site and have thoroughly enjoyed being a part of a larger group of writers at Kingdom Forming, too.

I feel like the Lord is bringing me into a new season of writing and blogging and I am preparing myself for that.

Let's catch up!


Blessings, y'all,

Robin

My Blog has moved!

In the year 2000 I was radically saved and forever changed at a "not your usual" Easter program at Springfield Methodist Church in Panama City, FL.

In the ensuing years I was blessed beyond measure to serve under Pastor Perry Dalton. Under his reflection of Jesus onto my life I learned, grew, ministered and experienced the best years of my life. He was then and forever will be, the Pastor of my Heart. His wife, Anne, became a very dear friend as well.

Following Perry's retirement several years ago, another pastor came in and I learned a lot from him, too. Pastor Alan Ferguson was a blessing to me in the few years I served under him and I loved him and his wife very much. .I now serve under Pastor Bobby and Sherry Thompson at the non-denominational Elevation Life Church. I am called to youth ministry in particular under Pastor Garrett McKenzie and his lovely wife Erica.

I never completely lost touch with Perry and Anne even though they retired to the peach tree dotted countryside some two hundred miles away in Alabama. Our bond has always stayed strong in my heart and mind. Recently, the opportunity to once again serve under Perry's leadership has presented itself. Perry asked me to start a blog at his new web minsitry, www.kingdomforming.com.

I happily accepted! A direct link to my new blog is below.


http://kingdomforming.com/category/woman-typing-badly/


I am beyond excited to minister once again with him and several other bloggers who were a very large part of some of the best years of my life.

I hope you follow me from here to there and I will be putting a lot of prayer, time and thought into whatever it is God wants us to do at this new location. 

Drop me a line in the comments section so I know that you found me, if you feel like it.

Blessings, y'all!


Robin

How Bad Do You Really Want A Job? Part One

How Bad Do You Really Want A Job? Part One

Part One of Three—Who Are You?

In the last couple of years I have been very fortunate to coach a few kids on job hunting, follow up and the interview process. In that time I have posted many, many job listings on my Facebook wall to help them out as well as other kids and adults who are seeking employment. I also have spoken with or personally know many people in management/hiring positions who give me feedback on applicants that they see at their jobs. Honestly, a lot of people THINK they are looking hard for a job but really, it is more of a “browsing,” for a job type scenario. How can you really tell which one you are doing? Let me help you with that because it is very important to figure out who you are in the employment seeking scheme of things. Please keep in mind this has been my personal experience as well as the stories told to me by people in hiring positions all over.

The Job Hunter [SERIOUS about getting a job] Vs. The CASUAL Job Browser [Casually committed to finding a job]

*The Job Hunter gets up early in the morning and is dressed and out the door by 8:00a.m. at the very latest. No excuses.

*The CASUAL Job Browser wakes up whenever, gets on Facebook for a couple hours, skypes for a bit, plays a little bit of a video game, chitchats on the phone a while, answers a few emails, might make it out of the house by noon, more likely 1:00p.m.

*The Job Hunter treats LOOKING for a job like it is a FULL TIME JOB, actively seeking and filling out job applications from 8:00a.m. til 4:00-5:00p.m. EVERY. DAY. Stops for an hour lunch somewhere.

*The CASUAL  Job Browser rides around for a while looking for hiring signs,  meets friends at Starbucks for coffee, goes back out looking for signs, goes to the mall to hang with friends a bit and put in a couple of applications.

*The SERIOUS Job Hunter will put in no less than 20 applications per day. Some online, most in person.

*The CASUAL Job Browser will put in 2-6 job apps in one day and take about 2-4hrs to do it. This person will also feel like they have put forth serious effort in looking for a job but in reality this is pretty minimal effort. Most CJB’s don’t realize this because they don’t know any better or have never had anyone coach them or teach them otherwise.

*The Job Hunter will dress to impress, even if it is just McDonalds or a gas station application. Ladies in  a skirt, dress or dress pants, dress shoes…. Gentlemen? Collared shirt and tie, dress pants, dress shoes.

*The Job Browser will wear jeans, t shirts, flip flops, cut off shorts, [yes someone I know wore cut offs to job hunt] mini skirts, low cut, super tight spaghetti strapped tops, etc…

I think you are probably starting to get the picture. The above is not written to criticize or belittle, it is written to educate. Educate who? The Casual Job Browser who thinks he or she is a Serious Job Hunter. I’m not going to point out the problems without offering solutions. I’m also not thinking of anyone in particular when I write this [so if you are getting offended it REALLY isn’t all about you, this is a compilation of self-defeating behavior that I am aware of firsthand myself or through conversations with management/hiring type people. ] Reading this series of blogs can only help you if you take them to heart, don’t take them personal, and put this information to work in your job search.

Onward.

Let me give you some quotes:

“I walked in to ask for an application and the manager looked at me and said, “You are the most professionally dressed person I have seen coming in here for a job. If you pass an interview you have a job.” ~Job Hunter, in their 6^th hour of putting in job apps that day. Currently employed.

“Mrs. Robin, the manager was so impressed I wore a dress shirt and tie. I felt really confident.” ~Job Hunter, currently employed.

“There are no jobs out there Mrs. Robin. I stopped by ___ and _____ and _____ to put in applications after my ball game yesterday but no one is hiring.” Job Browser, who was sweaty and wearing a tank top and shorts and sneakers when she stopped in to those businesses. She stopped to apply as an afterthought, not as someone with the goal of getting a job. I had spoken to one of their managers a few days earlier and they were hiring at that time. Makes me wonder if her appearance had anything to do with it? You be the judge. [currently unemployed by the way.]

“Mrs. Robin? I keep asking around and nobody knows if anyone is hiring. I’m just going to keep an eye on your Facebook page.” ~Job Browser, currently unemployed and has been “looking,” for a job for 2 years now. Depends on others to figure out who is hiring rather than go out and actively apply for jobs with any real consistency. [currently unemployed]

The people that I job coach are NOT people you want to compete with for a job because they are going for excellence and success.  So if you are a Job Hunter and want to see what the employment competition looks like click on the blog link below. If you read this and realized maybe there is a reason why your efforts are not being met with success, you probably need to click the link below as well. There is never any shame in striving to bring more excellence to your situation.

http://womantypingbadly.blogspot.com/2012/02/how-bad-do-you-really-want-job-part-two.html

Blessings, y’all!

Robin

How Bad Do You Really Want A Job? Part Two

How Bad Do You Really Want A Job? Part Two

Part Two of Three—SELL! SELL! SELL!

If you really want a job and are willing to do what it takes to get one, then keep reading.

If you would like to find a job, but are not willing to do some in depth self-analysis of your strategies and see if there needs to be changes, STOP NOW.

Reading further will not help you.

Often people watch others gain employment and wonder why it’s not them. I want to help you with that if you want to be helped.

The Sale:

Applying for a job begins the minute you walk through the door and ask for an application. From that moment on you are being sized up. Applying for a job is the selling of a product. The product is you, as the next hired employee for that business. If you have poor sales strategies, product packaging and skills, chances are you will remain on the shelf, unsold [READ: Unemployed] while someone else comes in who understands the rules of the game and makes the sale, becoming the next hired employee for that business. Many times a manager will ask the employee who took your application what you looked like or their opinion of you when you came in. [If you did not get to speak to the manager personally] Their employees will usually tell the truth, which means that first impression will make or break you. Make your first contact work FOR you, not AGAINST you. Remember what Mom said: You never have a second chance to make a first impression. Mom is absolutely RIGHT. We will cover some first impression skills later. For now, let’s look at the packaging, also known as your visual first impression and thereafter.

The Packaging:

Hot Topic or Spencer’s applicants- ignore everything I post about appearance and do your own thing.

Tips for ladies:

Hair-CLEAN and brushed, if it looks like you just rolled out of the bed it will most likely be assumed you did. No one wants to hire a slacker, no matter how cute she thinks she Is with her bed head, who is without enough self-motivation to put her best hair forward.

Nails- fingers and toes need to be CLEAN, free of chipped polish and honestly; funky colored polish makes an immature first impression. Tone it down and clean it up. No polish is fine too as long as there is no dirt under the nails.

Make up-Keep it professional. Leave the smoky eyes and neon pink lips for the Club. Less is more.

Outfit-The best possible scenario is a skirt or dress. However, lots of girls nowadays don’t wear them so dress pants are good too. Professional and well fitted=YES! Sexy and skin tight/low cut=NO!

NEVER wear wrinkled or dirty clothes to job hunt.

Do not wear backless, strapless, spaghetti-strapped, belly/chest revealing tops. Skirts should be at the knees or lower. Think Church Sunday best clothes. If the clerk is trying to hand the job application to your chest, chances are your top is too revealing.You want to be taken seriously and sexy won’t achieve that in the workplace.

Shoes should be flats or heels. Flip flops, no matter how dressy, are simply too casual for job hunting. No Crocs or Hobbit shoes, as I like to call them.

Wear coordinating jewelry if you have it. Don’t overdo it on the earrings, bracelets or rings

Bra straps are underwear, not outerwear. Knowing you are wearing a PlaidCheetahPrintHello KittySailorMoon bra will only decrease how seriously you will be taken as a potential employee. Again, underwear is not outerwear, no matter how common the trend is at school/the mall/beach/Club LaVela/among your friends. Go look at what successful people are wearing to good jobs. That stuff ain’t hanging out.

Tips for guys:

Hair- CLEAN and brushed, if it looks like you just rolled out of the bed it will most likely be assumed you did. If it is shaggy and out of control, get a haircut, look your best, because if you don’t, some other dude who took the time to do that will get that job.

Nails- fingernails need to be CLEAN. I cannot stress that enough. I was in Publix the other day and a young man was asking about an application and his nails looked like he had been playing in the dirt. I will be really surprised if he rings up my groceries one day. REAL SURPRISED.

Pants-clean and pressed, DRESS PANTS ONLY. Khakis are fine, make sure you have a belt. A Burger King Manager told me last summer that if someone asks for an application and they are wearing jeans she throws their application in the trash as soon as they leave. What? Burger King? It’s just slinging burgers and fries, right? To that manager, it is more than that, her employees are the ambassadors of her store and she understands that employees can make or break her customer service reputation and sales so she wants people who are taking her job opportunities seriously enough to dress for success. Believe that.

Shirts-must have a collar, clean, pressed WITH A TIE. If the best you can do is a short sleeved polo type shirt then that will have to do but you can bet that your good first impression will disappear from memory in the light of the, “shirt and tie dude,” that walked in after you.

Shoes-Dress shoes, no sneakers, skater shoes, high tops, sandals, tore up shoes, muddy boots, and especially NO FLIP FLOPS. Make sure they are clean dress shoes, and in good condition if possible.

LEAVE THE CAMMO AT HOME. [If I hadn’t seen it myself, I wouldn’t have to write it]

What if you don’t have any clothes/shoes like the ones mentioned? What if you don’t have the money to dress this way? Well, you do have options if you stop and think about it. Borrow them from friends and family. If you told the Pastor of your church you needed clothes fit for job hunting and interviewing; I’d bet money he or she would help you out. Ask your school guidance counselor or principal for help in this area. They sometimes have access to resources you cannot imagine. Goodwill stores have 50% off all clothing on Mondays from noon til close. You can get a dress for 3 bucks and ties for less than that. Most churches have clothing closets for people who need clothes. Call and ask them.

Guys and Girls:

If you have piercings that impede your speech, TAKE THEM OUT. Actually, I would recommend NO facial piercings left in while job hunting. It brings attention to your lifestyle, rather than your merits as a potential employee--unless you are applying for Hot Topic or Spencer’s, in which case go back and read what I said about your appearance if applying for a job there. You want your potential boss to look at you and see YOU, not how you’ve decorated your face. No funky contact lenses. I know a guy who lost his real contacts and all he had left were these crazy gold and black cat eye contacts. He never could get a job wearing those. NEVER.

Brush your teeth, clean out your eyeball corners, [eye boogers] & wear deodorant. Go easy on the perfume/cologne if you wear any. Carry breath mints [not gum] with you and use them throughout the day. Gum chomping is off putting. Brush your teeth again after lunch. It’s very hard to get a job when you have the breath of a dead camel. Take the deodorant with you as you may need to reapply throughout the day.

Got tattoos? Cover them. Again, that brings your potential employer’s attention to your personal lifestyle, rather than your professional potential to represent his company or product well.

The Skills:

Once you have nailed down the packaging of your product [YOU!] then you are ready to put your skills forward and make that first impression. When you enter a business, ask for a job application, not whether or not they are hiring. It is preferable to go to customer service if they have a desk. Smile, make eye contact, be confident. Always thank the person who gave you the app. I would suggest filling out the application in your car and immediately return it or taking it with you and bringing it back the same day. [Maybe fill it out at lunch] This means they have now seen you twice in one day. When you return the app, ask if anyone is available to discuss a possible job interview. This is bold, it sends the message that you are serious and that you are confident in what you are selling. [YOU]. If not, ask when that person is available and a name. Again, THANK the person giving the info. They will remember it and if a manager is watching from nearby or through a one way mirror they will notice your positive, friendly interaction with their employee. If the hiring manager is available ask to speak with him/her. Tell them that you just returned a job application and would like to schedule an interview. A good majority of the time they will say no because they haven’t even seen your app yet. ASK ANYWAY. It will send the message that you are a go getter, and serious about a job with their company. Thank him/her for their time and let them know you will follow up with them later so that they have time to look over your application.

The Strategy:

In doing the above you have shown your face twice and hopefully at least once to management.

You have shown persistence and a go getter attitude but in a polite, enthusiastic way.

You should be able to turn in at least 20 applications during an 8hr job hunting day and unless a lot of them are online, there is time to do this with every face to face application.

Keep a notebook with the names of the businesses where you turned in apps and managers you need to contact. Get the phone numbers from the phone book/internet. Do not write these things down while in the store/business.

Follow up is a must!!!!! Let’s say Monday you filled out and turned in apps. Tuesday you follow up. Go back to every place and ask for that person whose name you wrote down, feel free to call first and see what time they come in. Don’t announce who you are. You are going to sort of ambush them. If you filled out online applications then call those businesses and ask who their hiring manager is and when they will come in. Then go to the location itself and ask to speak to them and request an interview appointment. Let them know you are following up on an online application submission. The worst that can happen is they say no. The best is you walk out with a job on the spot. It CAN happen. Never give up on following up until they look you in the eye and say that they are not interested in hiring you personally. YOU.  PERSONALLY. Follow up no more than twice a week. Do not stop following up until you have a job or a rejection. “We’re not hiring right now,” is not a rejection.  It is a deferment, sometimes it’s an excuse. Maybe they really are not hiring. But they will remember you coming back each week and not giving up, looking your best and always with a smiling, positive attitude. Money can’t buy that.

Never flirt with someone giving you an app or an interview. Do not flirt back if they are flirting with you. This can lead to problems and misunderstandings down the road. It also makes the applicant look unprofessional and superficial.

Do not look for jobs with a buddy or a gang. Employers have no interest in group hiring and it gives the appearance that you are more about hanging out with your friends than focused on finding a job. My understanding is people who make looking for a job a group effort are not taken seriously at all.

Do not cuss or swear.

Do not shop or eat at the business in the same trip that you made to get an app or follow up. It makes you look like the application was an afterthought, and you’re not serious.

Do not carry food or drinks with you to get applications; do not buy them while you are there
.

Do not ask friends to get you a job or put in a good word for you. You might think your friend is great but their boss might think otherwise, no matter what your friend says. This means a connection with them might cost you the job. A lot of people have no idea they are on their way out of a job until the pink slip is given because they are clueless. I know one person who made it through 2 interviews without mentioning a friend that worked there. Things were looking good and that friend HAD to let the manager know they were friends. The manager point blank told the applicant that anyone hanging out with that person was not welcome there and the friend was actually fired right around that time. The applicant was furious because the connection cost her the job. Let YOU be your own best reference in how you conduct yourself.

If you have a car that’s great but if not, learn the local public transportation system and use it. It is way cheaper than car ownership and will usually get you where you need to be or very close to it.

Jobs are a game of numbers. For every so many applications you fill out, say 15-30, one will call you back. Sometimes this number is higher, sometimes lower. The more apps you have out there, the more follow ups you do, the greater your chances of getting a job. It is simple math. At least it is if you are representing yourself well on the first impression part.

I hope the first 2 blogs in this 3 part series has been helpful to anyone missing the mark with the job search. You probably know people who do many of the things that I listed as no-nos and still get a job. I would encourage you, however, to look at what I have written, especially if your job search is stalled out. If you can strive for and achieve excellence why settle for mediocrity?

Part 3 will be about owning that job interview.  It will not be nearly as long as the first two but it will be helpful and informative.

God's Provision --AMPliFy Bible Study/Discipleship Group

I often sit back in awe and quite frankly a feeling of "face-palm-duh" when I see the coming together of God's plan on His timing from completely unrelated sources.

AMPliFy Bible Study/Discipleship Group started on a wing and a prayer, OK, LOTS of prayer, in the fall of 2011. The first thing I noticed was some of the kids either did not have bibles or had bibles that were so difficult to read they could not understand them. As a matter of fact, so difficult to read that I couldn't even read and explain them. My preference is the New Living Translation Life Application Study Bible. They cost an average of $25.00-$65.00 apiece. I needed at least four and did not have the means to get them.

 James 4:2, "...yet ye have not, because ye ask not."

I mentioned it on Facebook and within a day I was asked to pick up a check that would cover 4 of them. I was so excited!

 Matthew 6:8^, ....for your Father knows what you need before you ask Him.

Today I received an email asking for my physical address because an author who had written a book on grief from a Christian perspective wanted to send me a couple for any need I might have of them. It just so happened I have a wonderful young woman in my life who is dealing with a tragic loss right now. The offer came totally unexpected. I didn't even know the author had written a book on grief although she is more than qualified to have done so. Before the need was even fully known God had arranged the provision.

"Face-Palm-Duh" anyone? I am not saying that God is a wish granting Genie. Certainly I am not saying that the unanswered prayers of others  mean they are doing something wrong and I am doing something right. I have many as yet unanswered prayers right now myself. I am here to TESTIFY!

God doesn't do things like this because I am so great or AMPliFy is so great; He does these things because HE is so great and His faithfulness extends beyond my small ability to humanly comprehend. I have no idea what God is going to do next. How do I even begin to figure that out when He is making provision before the need is actually presented? How exciting is THAT?!

Is God making provision in your life? Leave some comments and share the goodness!

Blessings, y'all!

Robin

Coming Full Circle

Man! I just LOVE teenagers and 20-somethings! Lot's of folks have called me crazy for the teenager part, but I cannot deny it or even pretend it is something it's not.  And I love every minute of it.

For around 5 or 6 years I have been involved in the local high school band as a volunteer and my church's youth group. Through these decisions I come in contact with many, many teenagers plus the occasional 20-something. In 2011 the Lord led me to begin a small discipleship/bible study group. As much as I love teenagers I thought I had lost my mind. Huge consistent responsibility, and  I had never stepped out in a formal way like this to actually teach in a small setting. I do not consider teaching to be one of my gifts. Discipleship, however, IS, and I have been discipling teens for a very long time. And so AMPliFy was born.

I believe discipleship isn't about sitting down with the bible and learning. I believe it is time spent and invested in relationship. It's coffee at Starbucks, hanging at my house cooking together or watching movies. It's extending  invitation after invitation to just be together even though I know I may get rejected some. It's about responding YES to the last minute phone call for a ride needed when I can, a quick hug at school when the day isn't going well, and shutting up and listening when a teen just wants to talk. 

Bear with me as I jump around a bit....

A few months ago I was invited to attend a small, college aged group called Captivate. I politely declined the first few times [ I am 43, although I don't think the group leader has NOTICED haha ] but the group leader [an awesome 20-something himself!] was very persistent. Finally I reminded him that I was not the right age for this group and he assured me that neither he nor the group cared. He just wanted me to come. So I went. And kept going. Eventually I felt like the Captivate was a good fit for a couple of my AMPliFy kids so I took them one Tuesday evening. They loved it and kept going back on their own. 

Individual prayer is often given at Captivate and one of the AMPliFy kids, whom I have known for 4yrs now, came straight to me to pray for me at prayer time. His prayer was simple, powerful and sincere. I know that the Lord heard it and answered it. He was so bold and it really wowed me. My investment of time, teaching, discipling  and prayer came back around to me in a powerful and definitely unexpected way. Talk about coming full circle!

If I had felt like teenagers were less than I because their number of days has been shorter then I would have missed out on so much joy and just so much GOD in the last several years. I am so grateful to the Lord for this calling on my life and His equipping to walk it out.

1 Timothy 4:12

New Living Translation (NLT)

¹² Don’t let anyone think less of you because you are young. Be an example to all believers in what you say, in the way you live, in your love, your faith, and your purity. 

Blessings, y'all! 

Robin

Things Change

It is always sad to close a chapter in your life, because it means that things change: However, it is good to move at the will of God~Pastor Bobby Thompson, [Former District Superintendent West Fla Assemblies of God, Current Pastor, Elevation Life Church.]

The above quote is from a man I barely know, whom I have only met a handful of times in the last 3 weeks. Even though he tweeted it many months ago I could have posted it word for word myself as a commentary on my own life in the last few weeks.

A chapter in my own life closed in November 2011 but really, the beginnings of the closure go back to around 2009...My husband told me at that time that he felt as though our season at our church had come to a close. My beloved church where we all got saved, we all thrived in the presence of God, saw miracles, friends became family, leadership skills and spiritual gifts were developed, and we were taught how to love people unconditionally, that serving others was so much more rewarding than serving ourselves, and God's love, mercy and grace endure forever. This was our church home for 11 years under the leadership of 2 wonderful and anointed pastors. I could not even wrap my mind around what my husband was saying. So we waited.

My husband extended grace to me in the form of time. He gave me as much as I needed. No pressure, no criticism, no rush, just time to pray, time to assess my own "hearing," from God and time to discern. He knew he was right but did not force the issue. I thought he COULD be right but I was much too emotionally entangled in our church to see or hear clearly.

And so time passed..and his patience did not wane. Some doors closed, some doors opened. People I loved left and people I came to love eventually arrived on the scene. And still Bill waited, lovingly firm in his assessment and unwaveringly loving towards my difficulty in seeing things the same.

Finally in mid-November 2011 I came into agreement with him, our children had felt the same way for a while already. I was the last holdout, evidently. What changed?

Well.....I guess the answer to that is ME. Our church is and was a wonderful church with wonderful people in it. There are opportunities to minister and give of yourself, ample times to receive ministry, the praise and worship is lovely, the pastor and his wife loving and fun to be around....In particular, I have to say the pastor has been very good to me and my family and I love him and his wife very much.

But no matter how much I love the people at the church I knew it was God's will as soon as I came into agreement with Bill. I felt relief, sadness, excitement, and unified with my husband for the first time in a really long time. We began to pray and ask God where we were to go, what were we to do? We've never "looked" for a church before. Heck we weren't looking for a church when we found this one. I went to a play there and God ambushed me. My daughter got saved on the spot, then me, then Bill and our son after that....So we were clueless. 

The hardest part was telling my best friend. We had founded and shared leadership of many ministries in the church and I knew it would be so hard. And it was. She cried, I cried, but she told me it was the right decision and that she knew it deep inside. She had been my mentor, best friend, sister and confidante for 11 years and while we knew that our place of worship was not what tied us together, it was still difficult to imagine not worshiping the Lord in the same body of Christ.

Through a lot of prayer Bill and I agreed that there were 2 churches that we felt the Lord presented to us as His options and we are attending both as we wait to hear from God. Both are wonderful and filled with wonderful people. Now it's up to God as we walk in obedience.

It is sad to close this chapter in our lives. It is good to move at the will of God knowing that we left when we were all in agreement as a family. We left fully in the will of God, not angry or offended at anyone or anything, excited at what God is leading us through and to. Being in the will of God outweighs any sorrow, fear, or sadness at departing our first real home church. It also means that even if we don't know where we're going, God does, and that's all that matters.  

Ecclesiastes 3

A Time for Everything

 ¹ For everything there is a season,
      a time for every activity under heaven.

Blessings, y'all!

Robin

Judge Each Day Not By The Harvest, But By The Seeds You Plant.

Many years ago I worked as the director of a non-profit food bank here in Panama City, Fl. My pastor at the time, Pastor Perry Dalton, put me in place for the job, trained me, encouraged me and turned me loose. It was awesome! I loved doing seminars and training sessions, on site inspections, coordinating food deliveries, raising hunger awareness in the press, and even working closely with the USDA. We doubled the number of non-profits that we worked with during the first year.

One day he walked into my office and brought a large picture. I do not recall what prompted the loan of this picture but he propped it against the wall on one side of my desk and said, "Here. This is going to help you. I'm going to leave it here for as long as you need it." I looked at it and read the script out loud:. "Judge Each Day Not By The Harvest, But By The Seeds You Plant." It was a profound moment for me.  It was like God Himself had whispered in my ear and even though I am sure the reason he brought me that picture was work related I knew that God intended for me to understand who He was calling me to be in the bigger picture.

I was a fairly new Christian and wanted so badly to see everyone get saved RIGHT. NOW. And I wanted to be the one to lead them to the Lord. Not out of personal pride or tracking numbers but because my salvation experience had been so radical and life changing that I really wanted to be a part of that kind of transformation in the lives of the people I cared about. There was a man in our church named Jack and it seemed like all he had to do was say the name of Jesus to a total stranger and they got saved. I wanted that SO BAD! So I poured Jesus into everyone I came in contact with. I was SO EXCITED about God! And then they would go to another church and get saved. Or a revival. Or a visit with another friend would become their salvation experience. I would be so excited for them but inside I would wonder what I was doing wrong. [Like God's timing for the salvation of others was mine to choose, right? Um. Wrong. lol.]

At times like this God would bring that picture back to my mind. He used that to show me HIS plan for me, as opposed to  what my own plans were. Jack is what I call a harvester. I am a seed planter. It's clear to me  that it is so important for each of us to know God's call on our life and for us to not try to walk in someone elses call. As I embraced my calling, to be a seed planter, an encourager and an instrument of God's love to others, I began to clearly see the fruit of my labors. I looked at each day and asked myself if I planted any seeds of Christ in others rather than did I lead someone through the sinner's prayer and salvation. And Man! I have to say it feels GOOD to walk in my calling and on the path God has for me. Teenagers and young adults seem to be my "kingdom" destiny and the Lord draws them to me without fail. I have the honor and privilege of spending countless hours with them, planting kingdom seeds in them, encouraging them, and loving them unconditionally as best I can.

Recently I got a phone call at about 11:00p.m. from a young man who I have spent a good bit of time with, loving him, encouraging him and doing my best to answer his questions about God. He came to me over and over and over again, but never took that step to Jesus. After 3 years of planting seed in his life, encouraging him about God, loving him and praying for him, he accepted the Lord at a young adult home group. I was so excited! And he called me right away because he wanted me to be the first to know! God was extra good to me in that! And that's not all!

An awesome young lady came to my house the night before Thanksgiving and told me she had gotten saved and baptized while away at college! Hallelujah! It was so exciting to sit with her and another young woman of Christ at my kitchen table to hear all about it and rejoice with her! I am in awe of what God is doing! Our relationship began when she was a sophomore or junior in high school and has continued through her second year at college in another part of the state. I have loved her, encouraged her and prayed for her. I know that God has orchestrated our friendship. God is so faithful!

It's all so exciting to me, to see years of seed planting come to bear fruit. I can so clearly see the path the Lord has for me and I am joyfully walking it out. And you know what? It never even crosses my mind to look for harvest opportunities anymore, I'm too busy planting those Kingdom seeds and having a blast doing it!

Blessings, ya'll,

Robin

Adventures in Employment Chapter 2 "Alyssa's Story"

I was taking pictures and helping out at the Auxiliary Camp in April when I saw my daughter come rolling through the band courtyard on her bike. Now normally I would not find that unusual but she was supposed to be at work. She parked her bike and as she walked towards me I could see that she was upset. I asked what was wrong and she told me that she had just been fired from her job.

Like me, Alyssa loves her job. She has been working at this theatre for just over a year and really could not believe that she was let go. She was in shock and terribly upset. Here is her story.

The manager called her into his office that morning after a staff meeting and let her know that he had to let her go due to her exceeding the number of write ups over a certain period of time. The write ups were over things like being short a couple of large soda cups when inventory said she should have had more or maybe her cash drawer being over or under. After a certain amt. of time they" time out" on her record and are discarded but hers came too close together. He was upset because he did not want to let her go but his hands were tied by corporate rules. She left and decided to "ride" her frustration and disappointment out on her bike for the afternoon. She had no idea that I was at Bay High so it was very much a Divine Appointment that she would roll through and find me there.

I hugged her and comforted her as best I could, then took her to lunch. We prayed together and left it in God's hands. I went back to Auxiliary Camp, she went to ride her bike some more.

Later that evening she received a call from her manager and things began to fall into place.

The manager was so troubled by having to let Alyssa go that he went back and rechecked every single write up against cash and stock balances for that day. On two of those, both by the same manager, the stock and cash drawers balanced perfectly, yet that particular manager wrote Alyssa up anyway for her drawer not balancing. He was fired not long after that so he was no longer available to ask about the discrepancies.

The past suddenly came into glaring focus for Alyssa. She began to recall the following.

*She was written up for those 2 shifts very early in her employment, and the manager had pulled her cash drawer, took it to the office, counted it and wrote her up. The very next shift a different manager pulled her cash drawer, then came running back out of the office and told Alyssa to immediately go count her drawer as she was not supposed to pull it til after the employee counted it. Alyssa mentioned that the other manager did not let her count it. The lady manager seemed surprised at this and told Alyssa to never let anyone, even a Mgr., pull her drawer without Alyssa counting it first. Alyssa was so new she didn't think anything about it, trusted the other manager that wrote her up as being honest and it never happened again.

*When this particular Mgr. was let go, he got a job at a place that a friend of Alyssa's worked at. When the friend asked the former Mgr. if he knew Alyssa he said some terribly derogatory things about Alyssa, telling the friend that he could not stand her. When this news got back to Alyssa she was surprised and confused, he had always been very nice to her face-to-face.

The Head Mgr. was relieved and glad to find those write ups to be false and asked Alyssa to come back if she still wanted the job. Of course she said yes.

What Alyssa learned from this:

She learned that God's favor is greater than all the verbal protests and pleadings she could have done for her job.

She learned that God is her champion and defender, she need only call on Him.

She learned that God is a God of justice and can see His justice all in this situation.

And most importantly, she could see that God moved on her behalf and ordained and orchestrated her steps that entire day. He sent her bike riding to the exact destination she need to be at to receive prayer and have her focus turned to Him, not her circumstances.

The Head Mgr. had no peace until he did deeper investigation. That's God! He also discovered that other write ups had expired but were not removed from her file. So Alyssa has a virtually clean slate and a tremendous testimony about her God. Go Alyssa and GO GOD!




"When justice is done, it is a joy to the righteous but terror to evildoers."

Proverbs 21:15 ESV

Adventures in Employment Chapter One [Jeremiah 29:11]

It's been a crazy week.

Many of you know I have worked for the local affiliate of National Public Radio for 12 years. I am happy there. I LOVE my job. I have always felt appreciated at my job and work with a great group of people.

Two weeks ago a huge amount of funding got cut from Public Radio and in a second round of cuts at the state level, Gov. Rick Scott cut ALL funding to our station. The losses totaled about $150,000.00. That's a LOT of money and our station took some serious hits job wise and funding wise. My job was one of them.

I work very part time and our livelihood is enhanced by my income, certainly not dependent on it. The financial impact was not nearly so huge as the emotional impact. I have always felt like Gulf Coast State College was to be a part of my life for a very long time in some capacity so I began to question that maybe I had misunderstood God. I had a short term identity crisis--I had been this person doing this job for so long, what did this mean for who I was going to be now?

Over the course of many years God has repeatedly brought me back to a very simple concept, it's not about what I DO, its about who I AM. And the Lord brought this front and center in my thoughts immediately after I was told my contract was not being renewed. I was not surprised as I had been following the news. I WAS surprised at the identity crisis since I thought I already had a good handle on the "being" vs, "doing" concept. And yet here I was, once again, wrapping up such great investment in what I "did".

So I wrestled with it and with God's voice over that 2 days or so. My husband and I prayed together and individually. We prayed that God would work all this out according to His plans and purposes, not ours. And both of us knew very clearly that I was to wait. Do nothing, and see what He would do. That meant no job hunting, no putting my name and/or situation out there with an announcement, just WAIT.



In the meantime I wrote my Division Head and my Programming Manager letters of thanks for the awesome 12 years, reassurance that God would take good care of me and others affected by the loss of funding, and expressed my own compassion for them and the difficulties they have faced in trying to financially keep the station afloat while making the hard decisions to let some of us go. I had peace, REAL peace about everything. And my JOY remained intact too. I am fairly certain that people who know me had no idea I was going to be leaving the college in a few short weeks. God was so near to me and just so GOOD to me during this time. My time with my husband home could have been overshadowed by the news but instead God made our time even better than it has ever been. Crazy in the face of all that was going on but in my experience God shines the brightest when things look the craziest.


6 days later I went to work to begin the process of transitioning my responsibilities to the Programming Manager but the station got knocked off the air repeatedly that day so he was in crisis mode and unable to spend time with me getting the transition started. I was a bit disappointed, I was ready to do this and excited about whatever God was going to do next and this seemed to hinder the moving forward component of things for me.


7 days later I receive a phone call to go see my Division Head next week and sign a 1 year renewal on my contract. I was blown away! I certainly did not expect to continue employment but I did expect God to move somehow. Talk about unexpected!

So even though I will continue to "do" what I've been doing for over a decade; I will do it with a fresh understanding that producer, writer, website contributor, voice, those are things I "do" not who I "am" and I am extremely grateful to God for how He has moved in this tough situation.

Blessings, Ya'll,

Robin

My first Zumba class today......

The college is offering free Zumba classes for employees so I got my courage up and decided to go for it.....

I was so proud of myself at my first Zumba class today,

the music started,

I felt like I caught on quickly,

managed to avoid looking at my roly-poly self in the mirror,

was getting down and boogieing....it was fun!

....after a while I was sweating and really feeling it but I was thinking, man, this isn't as bad as I thought.....

then I saw the clock....we had only been doing it for 4 minutes.

TRUE STORY....

after that I thought this class is NEVER.GONNA.END..... D: !!!!!

Forgiveness.....?

"To be a Christian means to forgive the inexcusable because God has forgiven the inexcusable in you."
— C.S. Lewis

Wow. 'Nuff said......

So, what kind of woman am I, anyways?

I got this in an email from a dear friend (Thanks, Mary) and had to share it here. Thank You Lord, for reminding me of just who You have called me to be.

"The wise woman builds her house, but with her own hands the foolish one tears hers down." Proverbs 14:1 (NIV)

Boiling point. That is what I had reached as I sat on the floor in my office thinking, "How did I get here?" Was it the discovery of a third needed root canal in my son's mouth only one week before he started college? Maybe it was the discussion of who was going to take over his room when he left? It was also my daughter's new job which required me to provide transportation right in the middle of the day. I guess at that point it didn't really matter. I could feel a slow boil in my heart and I feared an explosion was nearing the surface.

Proverbs 14:1 instructed me that morning with exactly what I needed to hear, "The wise w oman builds her house, but with her own hands the foolish one tears hers down" (NIV).

The choice was and is mine: to be part of the divine design or the devil's demolition. My kids don't make me blow up. My husband doesn't cause me to feel exasperated. Proverbs makes it pretty clear, it's my choice.

That is a lot of power. I think, at least in America where for years women have fought for equal rights, we've missed this enormous amount of power that we have held since Eve was created: the power to build a home.

We hear of women who build innovative businesses and women who build influential ministries, but how about women who build solid homes, investing in lifelong marriages and raising up godly children as the next generation? Proverbs says this woman is wise. Never mind what society says is valuable and praiseworthy. This power is of utmost importance. This tremendous power that is within us is the power to build or destroy and we, the women of the home, hold it.

Learning to wield this power isn't something that just happens. Jesus gives insight in Matthew 12:34 when He says that out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks. Our mouths are one of our primary tools. So, what is the mouth's source? Our heart.

That is why we have to be so careful what we allow to linger there. Is it positive thoughts about our kid's, their behavior, their future, their friends? Do we think good things about our husbands throughout the day, thankful for their hard work, grateful for their companionship?

If our mouths are currently being used to tear down instead of build up, it's time for a heart overhaul; time to get the thoughts that we dwell on lined up with the good that is right under our roof.

Friend, I hope you will join me, inviting the Holy Spirit to empower you today to build your home. Look for ways to invest and opportunities to hold back those words that tear down. He wants to make us builders. Let's say "yes"!

Lord, I want to build today. I can see what this day holds: driving in carpool, washing dirty clothes, making another supper and learning third grade math...again. Open my eyes and shut my mouth when my actions are leaning toward destruction. May I choose inspiration, not irritation. Make me a builder empowered by your Holy Spirit with strength and wisdom. Thank You for this incredible opportunity. May I make You proud! Amen.

My Grandfather's Flag.

Yesterday an American Flag came to rest at my home. Not just any American Flag but the Flag that covered my Grandfather's casket when he died in 1994. (William Broadrick a.k.a. Bill, a.k.a Papaw)

My sister Debby called me Sunday on her way back from Lakeland to tell me she had it. I was shocked. My Grandmother (Annie L. Broadrick)had died in 2006 and so much of what she had was lost or missing. I had not thought about that flag for a very long time. And yet here it was...on it's way to my house. My Daddy (Eddie) and Step Mom (Lisa) had what they could find of my grandmothers possessions in storage and were gradually going through it. They found the flag last weekend while Deb was there.

After Deb left I just looked at it. The memories came flooding back....

William Broadrick was a Drill Sergeant who served in the United States Army for 21 years. He served in the U.S. and abroad during World War 2. I lived with my grandparents from the age of 13 to 16 yrs. old. During that time I joined Army JROTC at my high school and that made him really proud of me. I really liked it plus it gave us a bit of a special connection. By the time I moved in with them he was retired and spent most of his days hunting, fishing and breeding and training bird dogs.

He was pretty hard core even as a retiree. He had a no-nonsense-take-no-bull attitude 24/7. Sometimes I was scared of him but I loved him very much. He stayed in my life consistently from my birth til his death in 1994. He also loved me very much but was not good at showing that kind of thing. That was OK. I KNEW he loved me.

One memory I have of him was when my sister and I had moved from Columbus Ga. to Houston TX. with my Mom (Linda) and Step Dad (Johnnie). Prior to that we stayed with our grandparents most weekends and we missed them so much. I remember seeing them after we got off the plane and running through the Atlanta airport into his arms. He saw us and started whooping and laughing and dropped to his knees as we began running. We almost knocked him over. Grandma said later that all he had talked about in the days leading up to our arrival was how much he missed us and couldn't wait to drive to Atl. to pick us up.

He hunted and fished on the Ft. Benning Ga. reservation, Drove an Army green Volkswagen Thing and a huge Ram truck, and loved Krystal Sunrisers for breakfast. Actually he loved Krystal any time. Sometimes we would make a Krystal run before Grandma got home from work and would have to be sneaky about it because she would get mad we would spoil our dinner. He kept live quail in the backyard to teach his hunting dogs how to hunt, would bleed game by hanging it from the big tree by the back door, and liked to smack Grandma on her butt when I was looking so she would yell at him while he winked at me and laughed.

He liked hot toddies at night and an occasional glass of Blue Nun wine. He loved eating cornbread crumbled in buttermilk. He liked to hang out at the gas station where they did car repairs on our vehicles. He thought it was funny when I would kiss his sunburned bald spot on top of his head. He kept loaded rifles all over the house and liked pocket watches. He snored like a freight train. He had a great sense of humor and his best friends all served with him in the Army, Sgt. Acock, Uncle Montgomery, (not a blood relative but out families were so close we called him and his beautiful Japanese wife June our Aunt and Uncle) Sgt. Porter and others whose names elude me. He had a moonshine still on the Ft. Benning reservation and kept moonshine under the kitchen sink. I don't recall ever seeing him drink it but he liked to give it to others to drink when they visited. Sometimes Grandma and I would ride out to whatever Ft. Benning lake he was fishing at and we would fish a little bit with him. He wore camouflage a lot but what he wore most were pale blue or white button up short sleeved shirts and navy blue dress pants--always creased and starched.

One time he told me a story about being stationed in France with Grandma. They were fighting and he was so mad he didn't even want her to cook for him. He decided to make a pan of fried okra for himself. He got the okra ready, found a canister that he thought was cornmeal and used that for the breading. He heated the grease on the stove til it was ready and dropped in some okra. He said he knew something was wrong when the okra started sort of exploding all over the pan. Turns out that wasn't cornmeal. It was grits and Grandma had the last laugh in that fight. He said he never tried to cook for himself while he was mad again because he should have noticed something strange about that "cornmeal".

He loved cable T.V. Heehaw and Lawrence Welk were watched faithfully, along with TBS (Charlie Chan, The Bowery Boys, Little Rascals, Abbott and Costello, Three Stooges,) and Headline News. He read the entire newspaper every single day and retired from his second career at the Columbus Ledger and Enquirer Newspaper. I think he worked in the print department. I can remember driving there with Grandma to take him his dinner at sunset. He always came out and waved at me sitting in the car. Debby remembers Papaw making us hats out of sheets of newspaper and she thought that was the coolest thing. He was a Mason. His hands were huge. He had a very Georgia southern accent. His people were from Dalton Ga. and he had a book that showed where his great great great great (I don't know how many greats) grandmother was the first female school principal in the entire state of Georgia. He was very proud of that. I remember him and Grandma coming to Atlanta and watching me graduate, afterward going to the 57th Fighter Group restaurant to celebrate. I was 17 years old. I knew they were both so proud of me because I had been making some pretty stupid decisions and almost didn't graduate. Education was important to him.

I remember getting him in hot water one time with Grandma. She would leave for work in the mornings before I left for the bus stop. I would pass through the living room on my way out the door and he always had these aerobics shows on T.V. Skimpy leotard-you get the picture. Well one day I asked my Grandma why he just watched if he wanted to lose weight? Why not get up and exercise too? She got mad as a hornet (I understand why now but at the time I was not sure what the heck made her so mad) and when we got home she sure told him off. I felt really bad for him and it wasn't funny then but it's funny now.

I remember he outed my Aunt Bea's cooking one time. Aunt Bea was Grandmas older sister and quite a character in her own right. By "outed," I mean she didn't exactly tell me the truth about what I was eating. I never could get past the idea of eating rabbit or squirrel. I'm sure they snuck it past me but I never caught it til Aunt Bea visited. As we sat down to eat I didn't recognize the gravy covered meat on the table so I asked what it was. Before anyone could answer Aunt Bea said, "Pressed turkey." I believed her. And honestly it was delicious. At the end of the meal Papaw wiped his mouth with his napkin and said, "Bea? That was some GOOD rabbit." I almost died. I was so mad. She yelled, "Turkey! it's pressed turkey!" but it was too late. I got really upset and left the table. I eventually got over it but was a very suspicious eater for a long time. It is funny now though, the look of uh-oh on his face, Grandma laughing and Aunt Bea trying to recover.

After I grew up I joined the Navy and moved far away for several years but tried to get back there some. Papaw got cancer sometime during the late 80's early 90's but that information was not really shared or talked about.

In the early 90's I went to visit with my husband Chad (who was also active duty Navy) and Papaw called us aside and gave me a beautiful gold nugget ring with a solid gold Mexican peso in it. I was a little surprised because I wasn't aware of just how sick he was. He didn't look bad, just older and a bit tired. He said he knew I had always liked that ring and wanted me to have it. He also said that he was afraid if he didn't give it to me while he was still alive that Grandma wouldn't part with it and he really wanted me to have it. That threw me a bit. I shushed him and said he wasn't going anywhere anytime soon and Chad agreed. It was then that it began to dawn on me things were not going well with the cancer treatment.


I found out later that he had been given six months to live but he actually lived six years. It had to be the fact he was so hard core and no one tells an Army Drill Sergeant what to do, including giving up the fight to live. The last time I saw him and he was still at living home he was walking with a cane, miserable at not being able to hunt and fish and so unhappy about his lack of mobility. I found out later his cancer and spread from his prostate to his bones. An experimental chemo cocktail that he agreed to take had ended up doing more harm than good. His immune system shot, he succumbed to pneumonia in the summer of 1994.

I noticed he had mellowed in the last few years of his life. He began to say I love you more, hugged longer, became almost touchy-feely, which was so unlike the man I lived with. He became softer and easier to love. He was slower to anger, as a matter of fact his temper seemed to disappear altogether.

Chad and I had just separated and were discussing permanent dissolution of our marriage when Papaw died. It blindsided us both. Chad and Papaw had a great relationship and much mutual respect for one another. Our families did not know we had separated and Papaw's passing was not the time to tell them so we kept silent about it. Grandma asked that Chad do the military honors for my Grandfather and he did. At the funeral I watched Chad perform; under enormous emotional pressure, an act of service to my veteran Grandfather that I appreciate to this day. Even as our marriage was falling apart, with so many questions looming about the future of "us," and our two-year old daughter Alyssa, Chad brought honor, dignity and grace to my Papaws funeral and honored my Grandmother's wish that not just any soldier do the honors-she wanted him honored by Chad.

I found out something else I didn't know about my Papaw at the funeral. I did not know he was a man of God-that he had accepted Jesus as his Lord and Savior before he died and it wasn't a deathbed conversion. He had been saved for a good while before he took a turn for the worst. Even though I was not a Christian at that time it gave me great comfort to know that he would spend all of eternity in Heaven. Six years later I totally surrendered my life to Christ and it gives me so much joy to know that I have all of eternity to spend with Papaw and Grandma in Heaven, making up for the time lost and wasted apart here on earth.

I wanted to put my memories of Papaw somewhere because it was important to me for many reasons. I want my younger siblings to know things about him that they never got the chance to experience first-hand. His wit, his patriotism, and even his mistakes. I wanted a preservation of what I knew of him and any other family members who want to email me your memories or pictures of him I will gladly post them here.


robinmcnew@aol.com

Yeah.....I love ya.......

Growing up, I did not tell the boys I dated that I loved them. Just a couple and we were serious. I did not toss "I love you" around like "hello" and "goodbye". Because. Well. LOVE was really a word that represented strong emotion and ties to me. And I didn't LOVE everyone.

I am a people person or extrovert…. I have always found people to be amusing and felt great fondness for some others but loved very few. (outside of family obviously)

After a radical salvation come-to-Jesus encounter I realized one of the ways God really changed me was He put in me a love for other people that I just do not understand but it is real. It is irrational, lol. It makes no sense to really love people you really don’t know. But it's REAL. I didn't toss IloveYou around before I got saved because it would not have been real--it would've been fake and a gross overstatement. Now I say it to lots of people and laugh when I say it because it just fills me with a lot of joy to share the love God has put in me with others….. I cannot deny what I feel nor do I think it is something God would have me to keep inside.

My love for others (which I do realize is a gift from God) spills out of me in sometimes awkward ways and I really don’t seem to be able to do much about it, lol. So……If I say I love you to you please know that it’s real, not trite or just a convenient phrase that seems to be everywhere….And I may not even understand it myself, lol…But I DO understand that I MEAN it when I say it and hope you understand that too….

and…

um…..

I love you. <3

MTV 16 and Pregnant

How to Be 16 and Innocent


Does anyone find it just a little bit odd and humorously ironic that the show about the negative consequences on unwed and unwanted pregnancies is aired on MTV???
Just to put it in perspective:


In 171 hours of MTV programming, analysts found 1,548 sexual scenes containing 3,056 depictions of sex or various forms of nudity and 2,881 verbal sexual references. That means that children watching MTV are viewing an average of 9 sexual scenes per hour with approximately 18 sexual depictions and 17 instances of sexual dialogue or innuendo. (Source: www.parentstv.org)


So in other words, for 167 hours a week, MTV blares out a “Hey kids! Have sex and have sex, and after having had sex, have more sex! Oh and don’t worry about the consequences, because of course we’ll never show that part!”


Then one hour a week: “Look kids! If you’re 16 and pregnant, there’s a bunch of bad stuff that gets dumped in your life!”


Isn’t this sort of like a cable channel sponsored by the American Beef Council having a weekly show about the health benefits of being a vegetarian?

And in a related quirk of fate, MTV.com links to Stayteen.com, which links to Truelovewaits.com - which effectively is like finding a Bible inside a Maxim Magazine.


Don’t get me wrong, I think it’s great that someone out there is finally revealing the dozens of reasons why it’s a bad move to have a kid when you still are a kid. And if you’ve watched 16 and Pregnant, there is definitely a common pattern of “What the heck was I thinking???” moments.

But the other type of moments that the show regularly delivers is an “I can’t believe I’m pregnant” vibe from some of the girls. Now, perhaps I wasn’t paying attention in Health Education class, but doesn’t getting pregnant involve at least a couple phases that aren’t typically accidental? So for pregnancy to take someone by surprise is, well, quite surprising to me.

I think the shocker moments arrive when what started as relatively innocent affection transforms into an overpowering chain of events that the Creator of the Universe intended to occur in the context of marriage.

Which then begs the question: how far is too far? And if I had a dime for every time I was asked this question, I would be retired and living in a Cabana in Cancún.
Surprisingly, the Bible is somewhat silent on the subject of where couples should draw the line. Obviously God condemns sex outside of marriage because He wants you to enjoy and experience it to its full potential, but what about those “phases” we talked about earlier?

Well, perhaps you weren’t expecting this, but God’s Word is crystal clear on when to cool your jets:

It is God's will that you should be sanctified: that you should avoid sexual immorality; that each of you should learn to control his own body in a way that is holy and honorable, not in passionate lust like the heathens, who do not know God; and that in this matter no one should wrong his brother or take advantage of him. The Lord will punish men for all such sins, as we have already told you and warned you. For God did not call us to be impure, but to live a holy life. Therefore, he who rejects this instruction does not reject man but God, who gives you his Holy Spirit (1 Thessalonians 4:3-8).

So how does this passage define the line? You have to look closely or you’ll miss it. Most people define “sexual immorality” as sex, but in fact it begins much earlier than the technical definition you learned in school and see referenced on MTV every 3.5 seconds.


According to God’s amazing blueprint for sex, sexual immorality begins the moment affection turns into lust, and yes, any “turned on” exploration outside of marriage is defined as lust. So in other words, it is “too far” when you follow your sexual impulses.
So what’s up with God? Is it so bad to violate His perfect plan? Well, when you think about it, His whole motive for having such a strict line before marriage is for your benefit and the honor of your future spouse. Every moment invested in feeding your illegitimate sexual hunger is a moment stolen from your future that would have bonded you with your husband or wife. Instead, you will pay a price, which is typically a feeling of guilt, and I can guarantee you it will start the process of your relationship disintegration.


Haven’t you noticed that when a couple starts dating, it’s all fun and enjoyment until they start getting physical? Then you see the fighting, the gossip, and eventually the break up.


So please consider the advice I’m giving you…you simply cannot go against God’s design for sex and win. You may be called names and considered an idiot because you’re not going with the flow of the hook up/friends-with-benefits crowd, but believe me, that flow is headed straight into the relationship sewer.


The best way to avoid sexual immorality is just that…avoid it. You know when the temperature is rising, and that’s the time to split the scene and leave it clean.
Trust me, God will bless you, your future spouse will thank you, and you can focus your mental energy on reaching your friends for Christ, instead of raising a baby.


Ask your friends how life would be different if they were suddenly given the responsibility of parenthood. Use that as an opportunity to ask them why they think Jesus used the term "born again" in John 3:3, as a description of the Christian life, and how God becomes our heavenly Parent when we trust Christ. Pray for an opportunity to share the gospel.


For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander (Matthew 15:19).

Let us behave decently, as in the daytime, not in orgies and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and debauchery, not in dissension and jealousy (Romans 13:13).

Flee from sexual immorality. All other sins a man commits are outside his body, but he who sins sexually sins against his own body (1 Corinthians 6:18).

*this post courtesy of Dare2Share Youth Ministries. I find them useful and relevant in furthering the cause of the Kingdom.*

Alyssa....

Labor Day Weekend 2009 included a Girl's Day Out for me and my baby girl, Alyssa. Bill was at work and Chris was away at a friend's house....We went to church, and afterward went to Pier Park at Panama City Beach.

Lunch at Five Guys Burgers and Fries, then shopping, then the movie Julie and Julia. We sat in that theatre and laughed together the entire time. (word of warning--2 inappropriate comments came up during the movie which I really wish were not there and there was a little bit of cussing.... but over all the movie was excellent)

Money can't buy the togetherness of our day and we really needed to spend some un-distracted time together. (as in: turn off the cell phones) We are normally surrounded by her friends or mine or both so this day was a rare and unique treasure.


This movie brought a couple of things to glaring clarity for us. One--I have a lifelong love of cooking and two-Alyssa has a lifelong love of eating so together we are quite the team. Alyssa has been dabbling in cooking for several years now and this movie really set her feet solidly back on that path, I think.... The scariest thing about this day was Alyssa has decided I am going to make her Julia Child's famous Beef Bourguignon. That recipe is an intimidating, all day affair and yet Alyssa is determined. At least one of the ingredients looks very hard to find. Alyssa is determined. So I am seriously considering trying it. Did I mention Alyssa is determined?

After the movie we rushed to Borders Bookstore to see if Julia's book was there and it was. One copy, to be exact. I have no desire to master the art of French cooking (I'm no chef nor do I have the desire to be) so I am not interested in the Child cookbooks to have for my own. We saw display after display about this movie. We kept stopping and laughing at the trailers being shown. The movie was really good even though it bordered on being a chick flick.(those that know me know that I cannot stand chick flicks)


This movie had a couple of things seriously going for it that really blessed me for Alyssa to see.


Marriage in this movie was portrayed awesomely!

Both Julie and Julia's marriages were portrayed as fun, committed, sexy, exciting, a full partnerships with mutual support by both husbands and wives. We really talked about marriage after the movie and how God intended for sex to be within marriage and how good it could be as ordained by Him. We talked about her seeing the same qualities or lack of qualities in the marriages around her.

We talked about how awesome it made husbands look in a time like today-where TV and movies portray husbands as looking foolish, dumb, unnecessary, replaceable, easily-mocked, pansies. We talked about how the wives really valued what their husbands had to say and treated them, for the most part, with respect. (see the movie for the explanation of "the most part" i don't want to spoil it for you.) The wives did not dominate their husbands or treat them as fools. The were not shrews and sarcastic with their men. They were tender and trusting towards their husbands and their marriages. It was wonderful to see.

The movie did a favor for the image of marriage in Hollywood and I hope we see more movies like this. A movie portraying marriage as a full partnership of mutual love, support and respect? Unheard of in media today. What a blessing to see this with my daughter and be able to have such in depth and thoughtful discussions later.

So today, as Alyssa lies sleeping peacefully in the next room, I recommit to regularly tasting/reviewing recipes and posting to my food blog.

http://lordofthefork.blogspot.com/

And I will begin my search for those hard-to-find ingredients for that Beef Bourguignon.

Blessings, ya'll!

Robin

Snapshot 7/3/09

Tonight I spent a wonderful evening cooking in my kitchen for tomorrow's fourth of July celebration at Jack's place. . Background noises provided by my daughter, son, nephew and little brother. A clamorous blend of laughing, screeching, yelling and gunshots as they played some kind of video game tournament. Alyssa was kicking everyone's butt, much to the boy's dismay.

The last time I got to hear this symphony of sarcastic, hysterically funny verbal exchanges was August of 08. Seems like a lifetime ago. Since then Jesse has moved out and gotten his own home, Christian's voice is cracking and changing, Alyssa started driving and Jordan, well he is still Jordan but older and different too. His voice has done the opposite of Christians. it has STOPPED cracking and changing. He now sounds like a manly man. Which cracks me up because he is still so boyish looking.

Time waits for no one and tonight it seemed important to capture this moment. Jesse has been absent for much of the year, having started a very grown up full time job and being tied up with his personal life. I can't remember the last time he came over and just hung out with us like this. I am so grateful he is here. I have missed him. And it's important to my heart that I stop in this moment and simply say so.