The Most Important Thing You Do Everyday

Do you spend time with God everyday? If so, what does that look like? If not, why not? Yes, life is busy and we have a lot on our “to-do” list, but how far in that list would you get if you gave up sleep and food because you were just too busy?


Being a Christian is more than a title, its a way of life. Its like paying for a gym membership, never going, yet expecting to be fit. Time with God is our oxygen for life. For me, I admit, I don’t always have that quiet time everyday. Some days its letting my phone read me by daily passages while I run around town, but that can’t sustain me on a daily basis! I need quiet, quality time with God.


Whether you are talking about God or people, you can’t trade quality time for quick sound bites here and there or on social media and expect the relationship to deepen or grow. Quality beats quantity every time.


This year, I am reading the Bible chronologically. There are definitely benefits to mixing up my Bible plan each year. Maybe you don’t read the Bible in a year, but its a great goal to work towards. Daily time with God is very crucial to our walk as a believers and if you aren’t used to it, starting small is beneficial. Eventually you need more. Brad Edgar hits the nail on the head when he says, “You can’t be a good egg your whole life. You either need to hatch or you will rot.” Simple daily devotionals are great, but they aren’t all we need. We need time in God’s word. Those devotionals stay pretty superficial.


We weren’t created for the superficial. We were made to grow in our relationships, with God, with others and with ourselves. It takes vulnerability to do that, and we are losing our ability to connect in this fast-paced, social media-driven society. A lot of us out there are rotting eggs. If this is you, its not too late to start over.  God says when its over (sorry fat opera lady), and as long as you are here on this earth, you have a chance at a new start with God. Knowing God means knowing his Word and allowing that word to permeate your life.


Monday, I took my daughters’ two hour nap time slot and just delved into God. I was about 3 days behind in my reading and I am at the beginning of the New Testament. Sometimes, reading chronologically can be monotonous when you reach a story told in several places and you have this major deja vu experience. Monday, I found it refreshing. Each gospel writer told a story slightly different and I felt the entirety of their shared experience gave me more understanding in what was happening and why. When Matthew’s account left me with questions about some of the reasons for why something happened, I found Luke or Mark would give more information to answer my question.


I had been struggling with some blog topics and how to even handle certain situations in my life and as I read, God just spoke to me. It was as if he said, "this is all you need to get the jobs in life done."  I now have pages of ideas and quotes and answers to questions. They aren’t all answered, but God gives us our daily bread. So my questions will get answered as I need them as long as I continue to spend quality time with God.

What Are You Doing With Your Dash?

I was recently looking through a jewelry catalogue.  They sold merchandise that could be personalized.  As I perused the back section, I noted a column of symbols that could be added to one’s medallion.  There was a variety of symbols: sports related, nature, animal, hobbies, religious, feelings related, et cetera.  People identify themselves with areas of devotion or likes and hobbies and use symbols to communicate about who they are.  

Beyond the catalogue, there are a lot of symbols in our world.  Symbols can be used on signs to tell you where to go, symbols can be in each country to signify patriotic allegiance - symbols are all around us.  Some symbols have more significance than others. A flag may hold significance for someone who fought for their country.  When I think about a cross,  I see two lines intersecting and yet, it speaks to a powerful sacrifice and gift for us all.  A cross is a life-changing symbol in my life.

Yet today, my attention was brought to another symbol that bears great significance. The dash.  Typically, I just think of the dash as a part of our grammatical library.  I recently listened to an episode of the Grammar Girl podcast all about dashes.  You can use it in some instances instead of a parenthesis or commas.  But where is significance in that?  The dash holds great significance in one use only - in between two dates.  

Yes, today, I went to a funeral.  I heard the stories and character of a woman, who had lived 90 years.  She did a great deal to make a positive impact on this world, and yet, her life is represented on her tombstone by a dash.  

Maybe we should be engraving dashes on our jewelry instead of a heart or fleur-de-lis.  It could be a reminder to make that dash count.  We should make each day count and live with intentionality.  Remembering the dash may keep us aware that we should put down the phone and play with our kids.  Remembering the dash may protect us from acting on the negative self-talk we hear in our heads.  Remembering the dash may motivate us to write that check to support a child in poverty.  The dash is not just our legacy but its perspective.  Life is a marathon, not a sprint and we need to let the small, petty things go and embrace those things that last.  

All life matters and I don’t believe that the quality of the dash equals the quality of the person.  I do believe we get one shot at life and we need to give it 100%.  So much of my dash speaks to the God I serve because much of what I have accomplished is because he equipped me to do it. What do you want your dash to represent?  If you head out to the cemetery, you will see a lot of dashes and yet all dashes weren’t created equal.   Some dashes were wasted by addiction or selfishness, others were impactful but in a cruel and negative way.  Other dashes brought about positive change or gave more than they took.  Some dashes were loving and kind, full of all that is great in the world.  Isn’t that the dash you want for your life?  Remember the dash and keep living, for one day your life will be summarized by two dates, separated by a dash.  

What God Can Do With A Sock?

Last weekend, I was up at Hartland Christian Camp to lead a seminar on Saturday during their weekend Women's Retreat.  I always look forward to the experience because I get to meet and hang out with a lot of great people.  Hartland always has fun activities and games amongst the prayer time, worship, and Bible teachings.  

As we were leaving the service the first night, it was announced that there would be ladies in the back handing out socks.  You were to take one sock, then find the woman that had your sock mate.  When you did, you were to talk until you found something you shared in common.  You could then bring your pair of socks back to the ladies with the baskets.  This exercise would earn you a ticket in the drawings they had going during our time together (I won a great succulent arrangement). 

 I grabbed a brightly colored, striped ankle sock, placed it over my hand like a mitten and began to walk around the room with my hand in the air.  After some time of finding no mate amongst the women, I headed back to the ladies with the baskets and looked inside; my match had yet to be taken out of the basket.  There it lay waiting for someone to grab it.  

I decided to camp out by the basket so that when it was nabbed, I could easily connect with the women who grabbed my match.  After a bit of a time, a women took my sock mate.  Then she spoke and I inwardly screamed like an excited teenage girl, because she had an Australian accent.  Even though I have seen a great part of the world, Australia is my number one desired location to one day experience.  As we began to talk we each went down our list of places we had travelled trying to find something we had in common.  Then it came up - India!  

India, while not my number one lifetime desired destination, is the place God has put on my heart to go to for the last three years or so.  My youth group has a map of India displayed on the wall where we meet so that we might pray for a city each time we meet, or choose a city that starts with our name initial to pray over the next week.  It has deepened my heart for this country.  

Lo and behold, my new friend, Janine, travels to India each year to two different regions in a mission effort to widows and orphans.  That is a people group I have a deep love towards in a region where I want to go, where I do not have a ministry connection; could this be a better match?  

We exchanged our socks for a ticket and got more than a chance to win a prize, we exchanged information and hope to connect later to discuss India and maybe even get to know each other better as sisters in Christ.  Who knew God could use a sock to do all that?! Okay, so I knew he could, but its still fun to experience. Thank you, God!

Two Things That Could Change Your Prayer Life

Paul tells us in I Thessalonians 5:16 to pray without ceasing, but what does that really look like? I will admit that there have been times in my life where that sentence seemed a daunting task. How does one pray all the time? As I have grown in my relationship with God, I can say, I understand that it is more about planning and perspective than anything else. Yes, we are to always be praying but when we are focused on Christ, isn't it easy and simple? There is a lot to pray about, the list really is infinite. It can at times become overwhelming and the overload can cause us to shut down. That is why a plan is so crucial for us to succeed in achieving a prayer life. Last month on my Facebook page I featured thirty-one days of praying for our kids. My mentor, Laurel, provided me with this list of spiritual qualities that the Bible says our kids should obtain. This list includes corresponding scriptures, and its been a great addition to my time with God. It really is too good not to share, so I chose to make a photo for each day of prayer for these qualities in our kids. That is one way to cover our kids in prayer, and the great thing is many of the qualities can be modified as targeted prayers for our spouse, a friend, other family member or even ourselves. Last spring, I got some spiral-bound index cards and fun pens and had the teens in my youth group use them for a prayer project. On one side they wrote a person or subject that needed prayer, and on the back they added bullets of ways they could pray for what was listed on the front. This is another great way to create a plan for your prayers. Another option is a day of the week topic assignment: Monday’s is our family, Tuesday’s is our church, Wednesday’s our neighborhood, Thursday’s our government, etc. However, you want to do it, is fine, but adding some order to your prayer life really covers more ground and ensures you aren’t forgetting anything. I also mentioned perspective because when we put on our prayer goggles, we see situations in spiritual terms. Tonight, after my whole family was in bed, I chose to walk some trash out to the curb to add to our cans for pick up tomorrow. As I was walking back into the house, I looked out along the street and it was quiet. I noted the absence of people out at that hour and I thought, I really should pray for my neighbors. Earlier that evening, my daughter and I went for a walk and I realized that would have been the perfect time to pray. Its seeing a walk as more than just a chance to get out of the house or get exercise, but an opportunity to bring those living closest before the throne of God. A simple act with powerful spiritual impact. That my friend, is perspective. Prayer perspective allows us to see beyond circumstance to the spiritual battle that rages on in the invisible realm. What would this world look like if we prayed with purpose? I can guarantee if each of us sincerely took our job to pray seriously, we would see some major changes in this world. Maybe instead of throwing opinions around on social media sites, we should be on our knees in prayer over the matters that matter most!

31 Days Of Praying For Your Kids

One day, my mentor, Laurel, brought a resource to me in our biweekly meetings that was (and still is) AMAZING! It was a list of thirty-one traits God desires for kids to embody and a list of corresponding scriptures for each trait.  Then one can take the list and use it to pray for one's kids each day.  It's great because if you miss a day, you can always catch it again next month. 

This was just too good not to share, so last month I turned each day into a photo and invited people to pray with me.  

Here is each photo, may this be a blessing to your prayer life and your family!!!

God bless!!!

 

Open Letter To Grace VanderWaal

Dear Grace VanderWaal,

I have only watched America’s Got Talent in sound bites until now. I’ve watched acts here and there on YouTube, but never sat to watch an entire episode or season. I saw some posts about you after auditions, went straight to YouTube to see for myself and was immediately on "team Grace." I decided then and there to tape the show and watch. I will be honest, after watching some other acts I thought, “I wonder if she will stand out in this crowd?” Then, there you were last week, the final act, and I was blown away. I had just put my 18 month old down and was standing by the tv to watch you and I started to cry. Even now, as I write this, there are still tears in my eyes. You struck a chord in me and its touched a piece of my heart that doesn’t get awakened often. I have been thinking about what it is that you evoke in me. Here is why I love you:

1. You are flawed. 

 This is not to say you aren’t amazing, beautiful and all over wonderful, but its your imperfections that make you so. That is the beauty of humanity and yet as a society we have become these beauty zombies forsaking our individuality for the latest trends of the masses. We end up doing whatever we can to look the part of everyone else on planet earth. Where is the fun in that?! We tell this to our kids and even to ourselves and yet so often those words get exchanged for the latest trends or must haves to fit in. That is wrong and that is why you are so right. I love that you aren’t some picture perfect, manicured, every hair in place performer. You have a real, genuine soul. Who you are is exactly who you should be. You wear who you are with such confidence and humility that it speaks volumes; the kind of volumes I want my kids to see and become. 

2. You echo our hearts. 

 When I watch you its like the former girl version of me appears. I see that awkward preteen girl again who was more amazing than she ever knew. I wanted to fit in, but have never been normal. Its taken me years to embrace who I am in the midst of being misunderstood. You reflect an image of that kid that doesn’t fit the cookie cutter mold. Seeing you being celebrated makes me rejoice. I believe this heart cry is even more needed in our current culture of faulty connection. So many people are living online and lack real relationships and are unable to connect with the life before them. That has grown a desire to be heard and find one’s voice. You write from your heart and you display those words so eloquently in the way you carry yourself. You are vulnerable in your genuine journey and that is pure gold! I write and speak about reclaiming life, discovering freedom and finding your voice and you are a perfect depiction of those goals. My heart is happy to hear you sing! 

3. You have talent. 

I recently read an article about Michael Phelps. It talked about the challenges he faced and how his solace became the pool. Finding what made him happy, shaped him into the amazing athlete he is today. We wouldn’t know you if you didn’t have that thing that makes you so special, but we do because you do! You write meaningful songs, you can play the ukulele and sing with a unique vocal quality. Its a total package and its beautiful. 

Grace, you continue to say you think you will wake up and it will all be over, well I say, don’t wake up! Enjoy the ride, but be sure to stay true to yourself and stay focused on the beauty of you because no one else can duplicate it or be it quite like you!!! Can’t wait to see what happens next for you, Miss VanderWaal. Sending all the love, prayers and well wishes your way! 

 Sincerely, 

 Carrie Guy

Baby, Maybe?

Today, I have two beautiful babies, but for five years I was unsure I'd ever get to this place. Since this is "National Infertility Awareness Week," I thought I'd share my story.  

My husband and I married ten years ago and I had an instant family with his two girls. I love my role as stepmom, but felt like an outsider looking in at times as my husband and his girls had traditions and memories that didn't include me.  I was coming in late in the game and didn't know what my stepdaughters had been like as babies.  I missed out on the process and it was a challenging reality.  I hoped adding our kids to the mix would give us a better sense of family. I've dreamed of having kids since girlhood, and I was devastated when we weren't getting pregnant.

People tell you if you, "relax and don't think about it, you will get pregnant." 

First of all, that's just not true! Yes, stress can be a negative factor in conceiving and there are things you can try to help your chances (and I did most of them), but it isn't simple enough to just say, "relax." There are a lot of factors as to why someone isn't getting pregnant and pinpointing one element as the easy fix isn't fair or accurate.

Second, "just relax" is impossible! Each month you get this reminder that there is no baby when you get your period. Periods aren't fun to begin with, but when it mocks you in your desire to have children, it's even less fun!

I'm a Christian, raised in church and Christian school and I know the passages in the Bible that speak of children being a blessing and it was a blessing I deeply desired.  I struggled with how God could keep me barren and what that meant about me and my value to him. I began to feel less of a woman because I didn't have my own kids. 

The reality was, I may never have a child of my own. That gut wrenching truth plagued me and forced me to face my God to get answers. Instead of asking,"Will I have a baby?" I went to God wanting to know, "who am I if I never do?"

When life turns upside down, the best course of action isn't to run from God or lean in, in hopes of getting what you want, but instead lean in to discover Him in a new way.  Trust me when I say this is easier said than done, but it's what we were created for, a relationship with our Creator! 

I cried out to God and bawled my eyes out and finally came to a place where I accepted that I may never be called "mom" from my own flesh and blood. I was able to meet God there and tell him, I would trust him, follow him and love him, even if I never had a baby (usually said in tears).  This was an amazing crossroads, not because I could now get the magic key to have a baby but because I saw God beyond a baby. I trusted God to fulfill my purpose, even if that meant biological motherlessness. 

My day did come. I was elated when I found out I was having a baby, I called everyone I knew before the pee on the stick could dry.  I posted on Facebook and shouted from every mountain that I was having a baby. I started my doctor visits and readied for my new reality. 

Then one day, the doctor had a concern about the heart beat and ordered another ultrasound. I went in to discover the baby wasn't going to make it and I was going to have a miscarriage. That night I woke up in excruciating pain and after several hours of contractions, I miscarried my baby. 

The horror of having to wait years again and losing this baby, whom I already loved, seemed unbearable! Suddenly, as if on cue, everyone I knew seemed to be getting pregnant and it was hard not to be jealous of the babies they had in their bellies. I wasn't sure I could go on, but I chose to praise God for being all-knowing and all-powerful and all-loving in the midst of my deepened pain. I again told him, I trusted.

Six months later, I was pregnant again.  This time I waited to tell people to make sure I would sustain this baby.  I was nervous the whole time waiting, hoping this time would be different. Then four months early I ended up in the hospital with early contractions nervous of what would happen.  They were able to give me a shot and help me make it until delivery day.  Four years later without any plans to have another, we were blessed with a second baby! 

Hindsight truly is amazing because now I look back and am grateful that I was able to give my attention to my stepdaughters and now, that they are grown, can give attention to my little ones as they need it. I don't think I would have been capable of that juggle and I see God had a plan.

 I know not every story ends like mine. Some who seek motherhood, never find it, at least not in the traditional sense. But God wasn't silent on this matter.  Many nights I was comforted by scriptures like Isaiah 54:1 that reminded me how many children I've mothered who never came from my womb but needed me all the same and I consider that role a great honor. 

““Sing, barren woman, you who never bore a child; burst into song, shout for joy, you who were never in labor; because more are the children of the desolate woman than of her who has a husband,” says the Lord.”

Isaiah 54:1 NIV

My heart will always grieve with the woman who longs for a baby, maybe even going to great financial lengths only to find themselves without that desire met. There are no words to ease your pain, but I wish a life of joy for you in your journey, may your life birth a purpose that encourages you through the heartache. For truth is despite the pain, your value is not based on the number of children you have. You are a beauty of great worth on your own.