Archive for August, 2008

Don’t Miss the DANCE!

Posted: August 19, 2008 in Mama Says Namaste
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I just finished reading my mom’s blog on puzzle pieces. Funny that she uses this analogy, and I have used the same one for relationship! If you haven’t read hers yet, read Joanne Miller’s blog—she paints a beautiful picture of your personal journey through life.

I want to take this a step further. In all of God’s creation, He has created intricate and unique forms all throughout nature. I’ll focus on humans since we tend to be most interested in ourselves! Each human being you come into contact with is their own matchless puzzle. As they grow, their puzzle continues to grow and change in shape and size. Each of these distinctive puzzles forms a piece in a much larger puzzle that is all of creation.

I think this is where God throws in a beautiful art called “the Dance.” If we were to look at the world from the Creator’s eye, I believe that what we would see is a glorious dance of motion between continuously changing puzzle pieces. Maybe as one gives in a little in one area, another piece reaches out and fills the void. This is the miracle of relationships.

Maybe I’m biased toward my own interests (go figure), but I’d like to say that God is very wrapped up in the arts. His creative mind loves the concept of a dancing puzzle, and watching the beauty of His creation not just merely exist, but to LIVE and GROW and EMBRACE each other in love and true life.

Every person you meet is a part of your personal dance. Every one of them affects your personal puzzle. And every one of them is an irreplaceable puzzle piece in the larger puzzle of life. How you interact with them shapes not only your own puzzle, but theirs, and ultimately, everyone’s. How is that for a mind-boggler? You have the ability to learn and grow from every single person you come into contact with. Not only do you benefit from them, but they can benefit from you. Even negative encounters still may benefit your ultimate puzzle.

I could go on and on with this analogy—creating art through a puzzle, making art every day through the dance…but the final puzzle—the big, grandiose picture…that is the true heart of our Creator.

Always Pour Your Blessings Down

Posted: August 5, 2008 in Mama Says Namaste
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We’re having a riverside baptism for Ladybug Girl, where members of the church and our family and friends will gather on a farm and have a laid back event honoring seven precious children and committing to raise them to know God and what it means to follow Him. I was asked to write a 1-2 sentence blessing to be incorporated into the program.

How do you condense all your hopes and dreams for your precious child into a mere two sentences (one sentence is completely a joke for me–17 pages, no problem). How can you convey your heart–the one you wear on the outside when you have a child–and all of your deepest longings for them to understand your depth of love for them…can they ever grasp the incredible love of being a parent until they are a parent themselves?

I want her to live with the zest for life like I do now…it’s funny, what we want for our children is to get to the mature realizations that we now, as adult parents, understand and appreciate. It’s all of those things we learned by going through the dreaded teenage and young adult years. It’s hard to allow a child to go through situations that you know the answers to…to experience puppy love knowing her heart may be broken…to try being a skater because his friends are, knowing he isn’t, or making fun of a kid, not understanding that next week these same “friends” will make fun of her… in the struggle to find themselves in life, kids need to be able to experience all the emotions in life–the same emotions we went through that has strengthened us to be what we are today.

My desire for Ladybug Girl is not to limit her or protect her from pain (although it would be oh so nice!). Instead, I want her to embrace life. To be able to see through the drama and pain of teenager-dom and see that there is something she can learn through it all. I want her, above all, to always be teachable. So how can I do that? All I can do is walk with her on her journey. For a short time she’ll look to me to guide her. My goal during these childhood years is to show her security–in our home, in God’s love, in our relationship. These are constants to fall back on when she walks independently. Then, for a while, I’ll basically walk by her side where my input may or may not be acknowledged (but I will still be a constant). Then, it’s time for her to lead her own way. I will always be there for her, and my prayer is that I can help her see the roses in the world despite the thorns.

My blessing for her is written out today. Tomorrow it is in my heart, and every day for the rest of my life I will pour blessings on this incredible child God has placed in our family. I want her safe in the knowledge that we are family. What a precious word to encompass those who are bonded by love, not always blood, but always love and commitment to grow and learn together—there’s always more to life to embrace, and it’s so much sweeter when you share it.

“May you always see the world with open eyes and open arms, embracing the beauty of God’s creation with the joy you have today. We pray for wisdom and discernment as we walk with you, that we may encourage and promote a desire to continually learn and grow in God’s love.”

A-List Ingredients

Posted: August 5, 2008 in Mama Says Namaste
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Getting started in a new career can be a challenge. Forming positive relationships with others is also challenging, but embracing challenge is what life is all about, right? I’ve found that two key ingredients (along with that oh so positive attitude) help to make this process easier.

First off, taking action. We’ve heard it over and over again with 48 Days–in order to make a dream into reality, you must first ACT. In relationships, sometimes we become stagnant, waiting for the other person to do the things we want them to (“If only my husband would write me love letters”, “I wish my daughter would just talk to me about her life”). Well, get this: people live up to what you expect of them. Don’t set them up for failure, and don’t wait for them to read your mental script! Instead, go ahead and act. Write your husband love letters. Talk and confide in your daughter—show her the respect and love you want her to give you. Actively nurture your relationships the way you want to be nurtured. The cliché of walking in another’s shoes is crucial to really making relationships work.

Secondly, adaptability. When a new business grows, it undergoes constant changes and improvements that can really make or break it. As you progress you need to keep re-evaluating your needs and those of others to make sure your business is still in line with your goal. When it comes to relationships, being adaptable is what keeps us all from pulling each other’s hair out! We all have our own written scripts on how we want life, and our personal relationships in that, to pan out. Unfortunately, not everyone has the same goals or motivations. To really look outside of yourself and see what motivates another can really be the key element in communication. How can you approach your child in a way that connects with them? How can you speak in “layman’s” terms to the public market to promote your product? It doesn’t matter if YOU get excited by cleaning house; if that is what creates tension with your spouse, then don’t try to have ‘clean-up time’ be an all-day event where you talk about your goals while dusting the fine china.

Step into other’s shoes. Reach out and act toward them in the way that best connects you. Adapt to their language. And when you’ve got their attention, you can share your language. Relationships are a two way street, but breakdowns happen. Sometimes you need to go ahead and cross in their direction and walk withthem to the middle.