MONDAY GRATEFUL

Happy Monday!
Again, it is that time of the week. It really does resemble an opening act.
An opening to possibilities of good, so-so, or bad; to each its time
Mondays and I have an interesting relationship. “To love or not to love” Shakespeare re-mixed.
As I’m sitting here with a pillow supporting my back, I am truly grateful. For you especially!

The counted thanks:
•A new week bringing news of loss here below but gain upstairs
•Well-worn black sweaters. Thick and stylish, just like that girlfriend of yours.
•A face marred with break-outs because it brought with it the realization that beauty is not a thing of the outside.
•Grass that used to be lush green rapidly turning uncompromising beige.
•The once-upon a time fiery hot sunny days being replaced
by darker skies and freezing breeze
•A cellphone that found its end in a flood in my purse. A seeming curse now more clearly seen as a blessing hidden in plain sight. Time-out from being mobile.
•Intentionally making the mind acute in preparation.
Preparing to be in the front lines.
•Covenants made lightly that now act as steady,
hard reminders to be full of integrity.
•The emptying to be filled. Again. And again.
•Permission to STOP FAKiNG IT. Yes, WE CAN. Drop the act. Just be.
•Exciting opportunities to step and grow into. Grow into that woman.
•Job descriptions posting “courage” as a requirement. Do I have what it takes?
•Breaking the valve of bitterness that only poisons and imprisons.
Life is too fragile to stay angry forever.
•Women of substance living BIG, rich lives by how they build their people up. The endless cooking, cleaning & rearing are really the hard labor of love. It’s a beautiful sight to witness.
•Getting back into gym-ing and nudging the memory of my muscles to remember exercise
•Nap time. Even though I don’t seriously now how to nap.
•Words & their power

That is all.

MONDAY GRATEFUL

Welcome back!!
I’ve missed sharing more with you last week. It was a GREAT week, full of newness.
I was busy planning, shaping and executing.
It was a busy week, and an even busier week-end. But oh-so-worth-it.

My Monday thanks:
•The beginning of a season of learning to want what has been given
•Out-of-town trips in yellow school buses
•Left-over socks littering, literally left over here and there
•Youth and young adults unashamedly encouraging, inspiring, approaching, seeking
•Honest life stories that peel the layers of pretense off.
•Declaring that I’m the BEST.
•Don’t worry, so are you. You’re the best at being you!
I couldn’t do you the way you do you.
•Hearing with the ears of the heart. Seeing with HIS perspective. Hearing the deeper questions of the soul that are hidden between the angry, blistering words.
•Choosing love, the hard love. The love that hurts to give.
But that is the very thing needed to muscle hearts; the only offering required.
•Telling her she has value. That I value her.
It was one of the kindest yet hardest of things.
•The voluntary turn of the other cheek, to offer mercy. Undeserved mercy.
But is that not the only way of mercy?

“For our struggle is not against flesh and blood” – Ephesians 6:12

•The heavy eyes telling a tale of rest and restoration to the rest of the body
•Getting backpacks ready for back to school
•The bittersweet promise of grade one. Less time to play, but so much to discover
•Tight good night hugs
•Blessings given over e-mail. Thank you
•Broken homes and families within the reach of redemption. It's never too late
•Thinking, really thinking of what is needed to make the world a better place
•The intentional plucking from the very best of me to give something of worth. After all, how can one learn unless showed?
•Home-made cake & clean kitchens

What are your Monday thanks?

MONDAY GRATEFUL

This week, Monday came way too fast.
The alarm was happily ringing as if to spite me out of sleep.
The day started on a slow pace; grumpiness
consistently at my heel ready to wreak havoc.
I flirted with the idea of not writing my thanks today.
But isn’t that the first step towards locking the heart in a bitter cage?

Today, I am intentionally thankful for:
•Moments like this
•A week-end spent building bridges
•Taking beliefs out of the box to wear them as convictions.
•Backing my words up with actions.
•Big and small surprises coming our way
•The weak courageously facing a week screaming uncertainty and instability, because all things are indeed possible
•Paths running straight & crooked, leading us in different directions
•Quick meetings in train stations
•Randomly running into friends and savoring time spent reconnecting
•The things that do not come easy
•Ironing - one of my favorite chores, by the way.
(I know you don’t get it, but it’s ok.)
•Heated debates over how to properly pronounce the word “iron”
•Growing up inside; the insides growing stronger really
•Learning from my mothers, the women that went before me. The ones that lived well, not perfect.
•Friends choosing the best for each other
•Learning that I am third, that others come second, and He is first
•Him, the hero of my story; His story
•The freedom to admit that “Yes, I am a mess. A huge one.” But the beauty is that He isn’t, & I am in Him.
•Guarding my heart

“Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life.”
~ Proverbs 4:23

How are you giving thanks, guarding your heart today?

Monday Grateful

Welcome to a new week!

To start it off right, let’s take time to choose & count joy.
Counting joy doesn’t come naturally, I know.
Instead, our default is to grumble grumble GRUMBLE
like the Israelites.
Be thankful? For what?
Be grateful because that is how we hold on to truth.
Truth: Only good comes from his hand; even that thing you think is bad
It’s a lesson I’ve had to tightly hold on too; especially this year
I keep forgetting. Do you remember? I need reminders. Daily reminders.
The simple, complex, easy and hard moments we choose to be thankful result in our awakening to God’s intimate touch in our daily living.

So, this soggy gray-ish day, I’m thankful for:
-Mornings even though I wouldn’t be described as a “morning person”
-Life’s pesky things that reveal the ugly parts of me I try hard to hide
-Daily trials (the stuff that drive you & I crazy) because through them God consistently seeks to create perseverance, then character, then hope. Then, better you and me.
-A missed express bus that results in a short drive and time to listen
-Hot red shoes like Dorothy’s
-Wishing happy belated; you’re never forgotten
-Budding pink rose boldly opening itself up to the world; true beauty
-Piled emails
-Cocoa butter hand lotion ‘cuz I wash my hands a lot
-Being present in each other’s lives; just being there
-Courageous people that spill their hearts out for others to grow strong
-International calls
-Unexpected opportunities masked as hard work
-Answers to come for the people of Somalia; for Mama Africa as a whole
-People that fearlessly accept to become world-changers.
(The fear is always there but it is simply silenced)
-Strong legs that work hard so that weak hands can eat


What joys can you count this Monday?

MONDAY GRATEFUL

Hey you!
Here I am. Sitting down on a hardwood chair listening to world music
Here I am contemplating & reflecting – reflecting on a day half gone but not wasted
Here I am choosing to have an attitude of gratitude.
Today, I’m thankful for:
-Unexpected early risings that are really veiled blessings
-More time to get ready physically & spiritual: to nurture & be anchored
-Morning high fives that chase away grumpy moods
-Love that stands firms forever (yeah, it’s f’real!)
I know. I need to remind myself of this every day.
My bucket constantly needs re-filling
-Faithfulness established in heaven itself.
He is a credible Father full of integrity
-“Good mornings” & the sharing of wild weekend adventures
-Coming to my desk to find a lunch-style brown bag surprise.
(I thought it was a muffin)
-Just bunches cereal (yum!)
-Difficult relationships smoothed over and made easy through perseverance
-Tackling the hardest tasks first; facing the giants to find that its’ only mirage
-Silencing procrastination (Yes, right now.)
-The happy laughter & chatter of co-workers
-Discovering that sometimes professed
enemies & frenemies are but a figment of the imagination.


“And now these three remain: faith, hope & love. But the greatest of these is love.” -1Corinthians 13:13

-Mastering high heels & punctuality (I know I make it sound easy)
-Being trusted to plant-seat

Jump in! What are you grateful for today?

Monday Grateful

A new tradition is starting on the blog
Mondays will be devoted to express gratitude: for the easy & complicated
So here it goes
I’m thankful for:
-Dreams remembered with an insistent déjà-vue feeling
-Bright shining warm light
-A new day, a new month, a new life season
-My morning devotional. Taking time to open my well-worn Bible
-Mondays that bre-ak the office routine
-Living simple. Simply being. Or at least learning to be present now.
-Intentionally taking time to nurture, even the ones with thorns
-Cooking up a storm, just because
-Traditional foods like oxtail (trust me it’s real good!)
-Time outs to talk with sisters about everything and nothing
-Trial and error. I didn’t appreciate the concept quite as much in my chemistry days!
- Festivals celebrating heritage & elephant ears
-Teenage boys wanting to become men…such bravardo
-Little girls learning to be daring...yes, you can
-Coral Rose lipstick because it’s pink & girly
-Friends that are there for each other; especially in the messy times
-Grace wrapped in its mysteries
-You. Just for being special you. I mean it!

Your turn! What are you thankful for this Monday?

Gritty Gratitude

A prayer of thanks to my Abba:

Thank you Father.

Thank you for allowing me to see myself clearly through the lens of grace.

I saw that have been self-indulgent. I have been the girl who takes little responsibility for her actions.

I have worn malice and the pointing finger as a second skin.

I have refused to take small steps of faith; steps leading to a life full of God’s big-ness.

I have snubbed growth and maturity.

I have greedily accepted to be pampered, nurtured, cared for, loved on 

without fully committing to doing that for others.

I have been selfish. Selfish with my time, myself & my energy.

That has led me to miss opportunities to speak strength and possibility into the lives of those around me.

I was too busy believing that I couldn’t initiate.

My actions have fallen short of my intentions to do good.

My doing tell a tale of me focusing on me—what I think, what I want, what I need, what I think I need.

ME. Me. M.e.

But I want more of YOU inside small me.

Thank you for showing me that in order to be filled with You, I must be emptied.

Thank you for emptying this vessel.

Thank you for calling, choosing and justifying this leader in the making.

Take a gentle look at your life for a moment. Who have you been lately?

All’s love,