Today the Eldest Son of Thunder turns fourteen.  Now that part isn’t so easy.

It is not because of his age so much, but rather that we are in the throes of puberty here at the Winters Villa. White means black, up means down, no stands for negotiations, and well, you get the point.  It is really crazier than normal around here.  Welcome to our life. Yippie ! !

The SON’S  birthday reminds Winters and I of a time when we lived in Alaska and life seemed simpler.  It’s hard to believe as I look back. But as I always say, you can’t look back too long or your life will get off course.

We can’t recapture Eden as M. Scott  Peck stated in his book Further Down the Road Less Traveled.  Yes, too many people try to recapture a moment.  A time they thought was perfect, but was it  really that perfect? We forget what all transpired during that “perfect moment.” We forget all the trials and tribulations that went along with it. We remember the outcome. We forget everything else.

Months before the Eldest SON was born, Winters and I led a bible study in our home for high school students.  It was some of the best times we ever had teaching together.  He gave all the DEEP THEOLOGICAL WISDOM and I provided the “life application.”  Life application being how you can apply the word of God to your life.  The gospel must be applied, lived and integrated into the very fiber of our being or it is like seeds thrown among stones.   The Word of God is alive and active.  It can and will transform your life if you allow the word of God to change you! That was usually my take on the “life application” moments and I still believe that as strongly today as I did then.

The best part of the bible study was I had twenty or so teenagers agreeing with me that I would have a “quick and easy” delivery.  That baby Winters would come, yes, “quick and easy.”  They prayed with me and prayed with me and prayed with me week after week.  Young, beautiful and impressionable teenagers ironically in the throes of puberty themselves.

So finally it is time, the first-born SON of Thunder was three weeks late.  He was quite content and was in no hurry to be born.  Well, all I can say is once he decided to come all our prayers were answered. I had the quickest and easiest delivery a women could have ever prayed for.  But the best part of all was the testimony to all those young people who faithfully prayed for me.

It showed that prayer works.  I do not know why some prayers are answered and others aren’t.  I don’t know why God was so faithful to answer our prayers  for a “quick and easy” delivery, but I am so grateful He was.  It was certainly a testimony to all those teenagers so long ago and yet resonates in my heart like it was just yesterday. Everytime I think of how God answers our prayers it stirs the flames of my my faith everytime!

So on this Thankful Thursday I am thankful for so many things, especially The SONS, and for Winters and answered prayers.  I am grateful that we will all survive puberty – but with the help of really hard prayers.

James 5:16 says “The prayers of a righteous man are powerful and effective.”  I don’t consider myself righteous, but I sure consider myself dedicated and committed.  I think God probably just gets tired of hearing me ask again and again and again. So the way I see it we just need to keep on praying, seeking, asking and believing.  I pray that each of us can be mighty intercessors for Christ and Power Prayer Girls and just wait and see what God is going to do!

Be blessed and encouraged abundantly today as we remember – what a gift it is to be lifegivers!

And to my Eldest SON of Thunder, your dad and I love you. We are so fortunate that God gave you to us.

Happy birthday my first-born.

Ask yourself today “What is one thing that is holding me back from fulfilling my purpose”

Then ask the Lord to help you tackle just that one thing.

Surrender that one thing to God this week!  Every time you think of that problem, issue or thorn in the flesh surrender it again to God!

If you are thinking to yourself that there are several big things holding down, then ask the Lord to help you move past those stumbling blocks too!

It is time, dear friend to move past them, through them or over them!

Today, take back the power you have given your problem or addiction.  I promise you, you can do it.

Be blessed and encouraged today as you and I begin to walk in freedom and purpose!

*I wrote this almost a year ago to the day.  I came across it and felt it was a perfect bit of inspiration.  We must seek God with all our heart and all our strength and trust Him for the power to do all that He has called us to do!  Dear friend, if you feel your dream is just our of reach remember all you need is a hope and a prayer and some awesome friends to encourage you wouldn’t hurt either. I believe in you but most of all so does Jesus! So go ahead, lay down what is holding you down and get up and do what you are called to do. 

What if on this Thankful Thursday …

You lose your keys …

You lose your dog …

You can’t find your purse and you’re late to a meeting …

You get home with all the hamburgers and no fries …

Or you’re at the checkout at some grocery store and realize  you forgot the eggs in the deepest darkest part of the store. So you have to haul all the way back to get them.  Worse yet, you fill your cart and get ready to check out and you realized you left your wallet at home.

The inconveniences of life.  The stuff of life. They can be a real pain in the neck.

You know what I mean.  That is the stuff that drives you crazy. I wouldn’t be surprised if one of those crazy things happens to you or me today on this Thankful Thursday.

Yet, we must remember that it is in those crazy inconvenient  moments, when we are convinced we can’t learn anything from what’s happening that God can use any experience to make us better women of God. As I have said before He can use the good, the bad and the ugly but we have to let Him.

We can learn peace, patience, kindness, gentleness, self-control and so much more. But we must just remember to call on the Lord when the stuff of life is getting us down or overwhelming us and yes driving us crazy. Francesca Battistelli has a really cute song about this very topic. i hope you will check it out.

The ever-present world is always watching and our children also look to us to see how we handle the difficulties of life.

What kind of woman will you be when you are inconvenienced on this Thankful Thursday or any other day?

God can use everything to make us better and stronger women of God, but we must let Him.

Life is Life and Life is full of things that don’t always go our way.

So on this Thankful Thursday, remember that the stuff that drives you crazy just might be the stuff that God uses to change your life and the lives of others around you!

Be blessed and encouraged abundantly today as we learn to be crazier about God than the stuff that drives us crazy!

Well, at least I think it is pretty wonderful.

As a child we had a huge rope swing in our backyard, and I mean it felt like you could fly all the way to heaven.

The breeze in your face, the wind in your hair and pure freedom in the sky – like a bird! My brother and I would swing for hours.  I think he pushed me more than he actually got to enjoy the ride himself.  Sometimes we have to do that in life!

I was swinging several weeks ago with the youngest Son of Thunder and I was transported to another place in time … 

A place where the cares of this world were far behind me and gravity did not exist.  For a brief moment I was free. Like a child again, free to dream and believe in the impossible.

Today why not try to bring that freedom into your everyday life.  That feeling of being free to dream and be inspired by the sights and sounds of this beautiful life around us.

What a treasure to be loved and to love.  To be free.  To be safe in the arms of Jesus no matter what we face.

So whether you can run out and jump on a swing or simply stop for a moment and remember what it was like to be a child again, let all the cares of this world fall off of you as you fly effortlessly through the air. Take a deep breath… and let go… feel the breeze…

I say be free sister and fly!

Be blessed and encouraged abundantly today!

However, this Thankful Thursday it was a bit different for me.  My heart and my mind seemed to spin with ideas but I was devoid of a confirmation, that was until I was returning an email to the middle Son of Thunders music teacher early this morning. 

You see, it has been a long, long seven days for the middle Son, since he has been fighting a virus starting late in the evening on Friday.  He was checked for strep early Monday but it was negative so we began the process of a slow recovery but thank God he should return to school tomorrow.

Seven days is one thing, missing school is another.  But not being able to be an Oompa Loompa in the fifth grade play, well, that is quite another thing altogether especially after a month and half of rehearsals. 

The middle Son is a strong soul.  But when he has “hit his wall”, well, I can read him like a book.

It is one thing when another has to tell you can’t do something you have worked long and hard to do but is quite another when you know it yourself.   We tried everything to get him well but to no avail. So on Tuesday the day before the musical he looked into my eyes with heart-sick eyes and said ” I can’t do this.  I am just too sick”.  I already knew it but now he knew it for himself.

Last night was the big night and all his emotions converged. Tears were shed over missing the musical but we are on the other side of it now which will make it a bit easier.  But disappointment and grief does not dissolve over night.  I know that all too well from personal experience and I am sure you do to.

So when I emailed his music teacher this morning I was positive this was my Thankful Thursday staring right back at me in black and white.

Here is what I shared with his teacher~There I sat with the middle Son and he simply said “Mom, this was a once in a lifetime opportunity.  Because I will never have the chance to be in the 5th grade play again because I will never be in 5th grade again.

Painful words, but Oh, so true. 

That opportunity is gone forever.  He was right about that.  How many times have you and I had to face that in our own lives?  An opportunity lost forever…

 We processed a lot last night while the cast of 70 friends were singing away at the performing Arts Center. We tried to make sense of “it”, the bug that is and why did it had  come during the week of the musical.  Somethings we will never understand.  We will never be able to reason ourselves out of  some of the things that have happened to us.  It simply is what is… and we must move on.

Funny thing is, I am not always very good at that, “moving on” part.  I get stuck sometimes, really stuck and friends, books, prayer, the Bible and writing are the only way I can get out of it. 

Everything is a learning experience isn’t it?

But last night, my sweet Son and I set our eye’s on the other opportunities God will give us.  There will be more plays, more musicals, more “something’s” that the middle Son will get to do and so will you and  so will you. 

We can’t recapture that moment in time again but I am confident God will give us new ones!

On this Thankful Thursday I am reminded of what I said to the Middle Son of Thunder this week;  I am thankful he tried out for the musical. I am thankful he took the part he was given and did not drop out.  I am grateful he was recuperating on the sofa and not in a hospital bed like before when we were in Oklahoma.  I am grateful we have had this time together and I am grateful that there will be more opportunities to sing and dance again!  Those are some of the things I am thankful for on this Thankful Thursday!

So on this Thankful Thursday, if you find yourself today on the other side of a broken dream or a disappointing outcome of wonderful moment, remember my sweet friend, God is ready and waiting to give you a new opportunity to enjoy life again!

Be blessed and encouraged abundantly today for you are treasure!

Ask yourself today “What is one thing that is holding me back from fulfilling my purpose”

Then ask the Lord to help you tackle just that one thing.

Surrender that one thing to God this week!  Every time you think of that problem, issue or thorn in the flesh surrender it again to God!

If you are thinking to yourself that there are several big things holding down, then ask the Lord to help you move past those stumbling blocks too!

It is time, dear friend to move past them, through them or over them!

Today, take back the power you have given your problem or addiction.

Be blessed and encouraged today as you begin to walk in freedom and purpose!

You may call it something else at your house, but we call “It” that.  The thing you feel when you know you can’t take one more step, one more move, one more phone call not returned, one more whatever.  It is when you’re flat-out “spent”.

You have nothing left to give yourself – or anyone else for that matter.

To be honest friends, I have felt that more than once in the last several years.  Starting over a life is not easy. Losing my parents, who were such strong Godly pillars in my life, and simply having to make so many decisions about our life and life’s work has been flat-out exhausting at times.

But I know many of you are walking through the same journey as Winters and I are.  I also know it could be even harder and I am grateful it is not. On this Thankful Thursday I am grateful for the friends that have chosen to stand beside us and face our future, or “giants” as Winters calls them, together with us.  I am thankful for those friends that say” how can I help,” and “what can I do,” or simply “I love your latest post or Winters’ interview”.  Words that speak hope and words that speak life to weary journeyman.  I pray I give the same encouragement to you and those I meet.

In Everyone Needs A Sam, Winters writes that many will go to the mountain top with you.  There are many who want to tag along when you are important, but few will walk life’s dark valley with you.  He talks about those faithful friends that will join you in your lowest and darkest hour as you are searching for a  light switch, and they bring the flash light.  I pray I am that kind of friend, packed with a flash light and willing and ready to turn it on at a moment’s notice. I thank God for all my flashlight-carrying friends.  You are a blessing to us.

We have been on the mountain top of success and we have been in the deep valley of despair.  We have been rich and we have been poor.  But as the apostle Paul said, “I have learned to be content no matter the circumstances.”

This past week was a week of reflection.  That can be a good thing, but only if you come out the other side with more perspective and understanding.  And so I did, have more insight and perspective that is.  I wish some of the events of the past could have been different, but they weren’t and if they were different I would probably not be sitting here typing this post.  So again, I have a deeper appreciation for the here and now.

Winters is a deeper, more compassionate and wiser man than he was and for that I am so grateful. Because of the path we have chosen Winters Writes.  It is his gift.  His calling. Non-conventional as it may be.

I recently read a phrase on an artist friend’s business card the other day, it simply read:

“Sometimes on the way to the dream you get lost and find a better one”

I love that.

I think it can be so true , often we have a plan. We think we know what we want and we head out on the journey, dreams packed, prepared and ready. We have great plans.  However, along the way you find an even better one.

New passions, new purpose and new opportunities may pop up right in front of us and we must be open and willing to see the new dream God may have for us.

If the word of God says “He will give you the desires of your heart”, then the way I see it He will either give you the desires of your heart or change your heart’s desire.  I really do think it is that simple.  There may just be a new dream God is just trying to birth in your heart and life.  It might be right around the corner. One prayer time or devotional away from being birthed.

So if you have “hit your wall,” you have lost your “whatever” and you feel completely spent and on top of that you are afraid  your dream is just out of reach …

Be open.

Be willing.

Be restored and renewed.

Ask God for eyes to see and just wait, any moment your friends will start turning on their flashlights.

You are not alone.

On this Thankful Thursday dear friends, be renewed as you step into new purpose and new dreams! Because frankly maybe the new dream is better than the old one anyway.  And thank God for the friends with flashlights.

Be blessed and encouraged abundantly today on this Thankful Thursday as we remember that what ever we are walking through, God has not been taken by surprise, you are not lost, but found.

And the Dream, whatever it may be, is still alive and well in your heart and soul whether it be an old one or a brand new one!

It is as simple as that or is it?

On this Thankful Thursday some of you may be saying to yourself  - “I know what God wants me to do but I am just not doing it.” Others may be  saying “I have no clue what I am supposed to be doing with my life.” And others may know what to do, but are afraid to move forward out of fear of failure.  Life has a way of killing the dream we dream.

The reasons why we do not do what we are called to do goes on and on and on …

But we must fulfill God’s call on our life,  we simply must!

That was the passionate plea to the SONS of Thunder from Winters and I  last night as we watched American Idol.

I have to be honest, I cannot remember what prompted the  passionate and dramatic discussion about fulling God’s call, but there it was!

I think we watched a couple of the singers and it was obvious this was their God-given talent and they were in their purpose.

The bottom line is God has a call on your life and you are the only one who is able to fulfill that call. You have a gift and purpose that only you can do as God created you to do. So go do it! But again, so often we don’t.

If we do not do what God has called us to do then it is most likely that others will not be able to fulfill God’s purpose in their life as well.  I know that may sound odd but we are the body of Christ and if you choose to not follow God’s leading it, could alter the lives of others around us forever.  Sad I know but true. Think about that for a moment because that is how important we are in the lives the other.  If Satan can kill your dream then he can kill the dream of another close to you! 

On this Thankful Thursday I know beyond a shadow of a doubt we are to follow Him at all cost!

Where He leads we must be willing to go and how He serves we must be willing to serve.  We must be willing to trust God to direct us and He will direct us, but we must trust Him and seek Him.  But we must also remember that we battle not with flesh and blood but principalities.  Yes, I believe Satan wants to keep you from your purpose. The Bible says he comes to kill, steal and destory.  That is Satans  mission and you are his target.

And if, when we leave this earth, we did not do our purpose and our part, then the opportunity is lost forever. I know that may sound a bit theatrical, but we only get one life on earth.

Satan or the enemy or whatever you want to call him will do anything to keep you from what  God has called you to do.  He wants you to believe the lie and the lie is different for everyone.  He is tricky that way.  For one person it is one thing that holds them back, for another it may be something completely different. He will throw anything your way to get you off track.  It is spiritual warfare, plain and simple.

As the Irish Blessing so beautifully puts it, “You are a significant part of God’s plan.”  We are not ”insignificant’ but rather “significant.”  We are” important”, not “unimportant.”

WOW!  I pray you will hear me  today. You are called and you have a gift and a purpose for such a time as this!

Most of all I pray you step into what it is that God has called you to do.

Refuse to give up.

Refuse to give in.

Refuse not to move.

Refuse to listen to the nay sayers

Refuse to listen to your own fear and negative self talk.

Refuse to listen to Satan whispering, “you can’t do it.” Rise up men and women of God! Be bold because our confidence is in Christ and Christ alone.

Life is short. We pass this way but once so “trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding, but in all your ways acknowledge Him and He will direct your path”.

So on this Thankful Thursday ask “how do you wish to use me Lord? And press in to the Lord and discover the call the Lord  God has on your life and most of all pray – “not my will but yours, Lord”.

If we choose not to be used by God then God will use someone else.  He works that way.  How does the old saying go – use it or lose it.  God is faithful and just and He wants to use you in a specific and mighty way to change the world for Him if we are willing to be used by Him!

So on this Thankful Thursday be blessed and encouraged as we choose to used by God and allow Him to fulfill His purpose in us and maybe change  the world at the same time.

We can’t just stop the clock and start over.

We can’t take back the words we said or the words we did not say. We can’t get back the missed opportunity to hug our children, say I love you or share the gospel with a stranger on a plane.  That moment is gone…

We can spend a lot of time torturing ourselves trying to get something back we once had or at least think we had.

I can’t undo the progression of my parents health decline and the decisions they made, we made or wouldn’t have made.  They are done. Those choices are final and in the past.

Life is fragile.  We must handle it with care. Most of the time we can’t go back and fix things. We can say we are sorry. We can ask for forgiveness. We can try to re-do what we have done but it is done.  We can do a lot of thing but rarely do we get a “do over”.

Yesterday I wrote on my Facebook page that “Sundays always feel like a new beginning. Whatever you did last week is behind you and the week ahead is a chance to have a fresh start. If you long for a fresh start with our Lord and Savior all you have to do is ask. He is there waiting and ready to help you walk through any and everything!

That is the beauty of our relationship with Jesus Christ, we get a “do over ” in sorts because God is the  God of new beginnings.  What a gift to have a loving Savior who forgives and forgets.  He says ” I will never leave or forsake you”.

As I write in the Power Prayer Girls Handbook, walking in forgiveness, freedom, purpose and power are key tools to being a mighty intercessor for Christ! As well as letting go of the past and the things that hold you captive.

Embracing and celebrating who you are in Christ is key to your spiritual success!

You must also celebrate your gifts, your talents and your treasures! Today look at what is ahead of you~Focus and think on that which is good, pure, right and lovely… Think on these things… Phil 4:8.  Focus on what you have and not on what you don’t!

The story of the prodigal son is the best story ever about starting over.  The prodigal Son basically got a “do over”. No questions asked~No lecture, no “I told you so” . Just celebrations, killing the fatted cafe and putting on the royal robe and ring!

That my dear sweet sister is what Jesus offers you and I!

Jesus welcomes you and I into a life we could never truly comprehend.  One of forgiveness and unconditional love.  One where rules and regulations are more commandments to help guide us to a more intimate life with Christ.  We are the prodigal Son and the Father, well, is the Father. A Father with an embrace that can change your life forever!

So if today you find yourself in need of a “do over” and in need of the loving touch of a forgiving father remember that He waits with His arms wide open to receive you~ no questions asks.  We must simply come putting the past behind us!

Remember your brokenness makes you more beautiful! We are new creations in Christ!

Be blessed and encouraged abundantly today as we walk in new freedom, forgiveness, and a future full of hope and praise God for Do Overs!

P.S. Winters the Writer and editor is out of the office, so please forgive any errors!

I also love that we have wonderful cooking utensils to create great meals.  Winters would say it is a must for any wanna be chef to have the best knives, blenders, and other gizmos. I have a few special cooking utensils that, when I pull them out of a draw, they always put a smile on my face. Not because they are so spectacular, but that they hold so many memories.

Winters has many talents and one thing I love about him most is old Winters LOVES to cook. Every time he is in the kitchen he cooks up something special. Years ago as a young reporter he worked in a French-Creole restaurant in Augusta, Georgia to help make ends meet.  I am sure this is where  he learned so many tricks of the trade.  When I am telling you this guy can cook I mean this guy can cook.

Oops, did I say he was a cook, I meant to say he is chef.

But let me be perfectly honest, when I met Winters I thought to myself, he’s smart, great looking and he can cooks. Hello!

But believe it or not this post isn’t really about Winters, but rather about the experiences we have in the kitchen.  As we wrote in Winters’ latest book, “The Little Black Dress And The SONS Of Thunder~Recipes on Life and Food, in our opinion one of the most important rooms in your house is the kitchen.  Many wonderful memories take place there.  I am always telling the SONS to savor their food and enjoy.  Yes, enjoy it and celebrate the meal with each other.  It may sound a bit pollyannish, but that is what almost every culture around the world does but ours.  We also try very hard to take a dance around the kitchen every so often.  It is good for everyone even the chef!

In the kitchen, Winters cleans as he goes.  It is hard to know that he was ever in there except for the fact that you have a smile on your face and your belly is popping out from eating too much.

Now when I’m in the kitchen, picture Lucille Ball, the chef on Sesame Street,  my mom and just enough of Julia Childs or Martha Stewart to throw together a great meal. The operative word here is throw.

But here is the bottom line:  It may look like pandemonium in the kitchen when I get finished, but the end result from my creation is just that – a creation!

Yes, I am trying to be modest, but a am a pretty darn good cook!  Most of my recipes have the word healthy in them, but that does not mean healthy can’t be delicious too.

Winters and I have had a few friendly feuds over who created what dishes and who is responsible for what recipe, but in the end who cares? All that matters is if the food is fabulous!

However, the pork chop recipe is mine, all mine!

Winters has been known to say that The LBD does the whole entertaining thing and he is the chef, but don’t let him fool you. I am in that kitchen with Winters and I must say it is one of my favorite places to be, right alongside of him.  Whenever I cook without him it just doesn’t seem right.

So when my Mom and Dad went into the nursing home we had to go through all their stuff and decide what to keep and let go of.  Winters was ready to let it all go, but if you have read my posts you already know that. I mean he really was shocked when the movers drove away with my parents’ “things” in an 18-foot UHaul, especially when his favorite line was “Let it go, Let it all go”

So here we are back in the present in our kitchen in Newnan, Georgia, and I am stride for stride with Winters.  He needs a spoon, a measuring cup and a strainer.  Fear Not! I have them all.  One is old and tattered, one is still shiny and new, the other just the perfect size.  These are not necessarily perfect, but they are perfect to me. Not all chef’s would love them, but we do for they are not just any ordinary utensils.

I had held these things  in my hands a million times when growing up. Now I hold them as a women and my children hold them just like I did.  Each of these cooking utensils were seasoned with love, food, memories and time. Some of them even belonged to my grandmothers. Who would have thought that a simple measuring cup could make someone so happy and put a smile on their face each time they held it in their hands and used it.  The simplest things can ground us and remind us of our past as well as our future.

On this Thankful Thursday I am reminded of the many, many things I saved from sweet parents’ house.  Some of the things I knew I would be thrilled I kept, but I never could have imagined how somethings so little, something so seemingly insignificant, could have left such a strong impression on my life.

Each time I use something from my mother’s kitchen I smile. Yes, it is sometimes the simple things in life that make us smile and even change our life forever. Yet, it could be so easily overlooked .  The simple can become extraordinary gifts that leave a lasting impression on us and even others.  I will never forget keeping up stride for stride with my mom in her kitchen holding those very measuring cups and a variety of other kitchen gadgets.

So now it is my turn to create memories as I get to keep up with Winters, stride for stride while we create with those same cooking utensils.  One thing I know for certain is that Winters is thrilled we hung on to the kitchen gadgets and didn’t let them go!

Time passes and memories fade, but a heart touched by love is a heart that is changed forever.

So on this thankful Thursday I pray that God fills your life, your home and your kitchen with memories that will last a lifetime or even longer as well as put a big smile on your face!

Be blessed and encouraged abundantly today as we remember that even the simplest things in life can be the most precious and unforgettable, whether it be cooking it up in the kitchen with someone you love or simply using a spoon full of memories of a dearly loved one.