Thursday's Ten: MORE!

has anyone else felt that air of excitement yet?
it's a different feeling than i've ever felt at a simple flip of the calendar
it's...more anticipation.  more amazement.  more delight.
i can't explain it...but in talking to some of my friends i know i'm not alone in this.

i've decided on my word of the year.
more

it's not a material thing at ALL.
more of a spiritual, relational, and well-being thing.

and here's what i want more of in 2011

1.  God, Jesus, Holy Spirit.  MORE -- way, way MORE.
2.  healthy habits.  more water, more veggies, more fruit, more sleep, more exercise
3.  more provision, more opportunities to make money while still allowing me to continue investing in people that i love
4.  more opportunities to give, more money to tithe, more ways to help
5.  more time with anthony, more time spent in purposeful love and connection
6.  more trips to see family (his and mine), more time spent with loved ones here
7.  more girlfriend time.  more cell group, more chick flicks, more glasses of wine, more mojitos, more road trips
8. more communication with those i love via face to face, phone, email, facebook, text...whatever way keeps me in touch!
9.  more writing, more reading, more reflecting
10.  more opportunities to practice and use the gifts that God has blessed me with. 

what do you want more of this year?  join me in believing that there is MORE to be had in 2011.  as one of my friends said the other night: "2011...open heaven".  meaning it's right there ready to drop down.  come ON!

Titus 2 Tuesday

Everyone seems to be getting into it early this week, so I'll follow the trend :0) See the original Titus 2 blog to participate!

What have learned from another woman this week? (or ever)

Today I'm going to share my friend Kathryne with you.

Kathryne is one of the first people I became close to at my church. I remember a few of us sitting around talking about 2 years ago and her stating "I don't remember ever meeting Lora. I think she's just always been a part of us." And honestly--I have no recollection of meeting her either. But I know we have a strong connection, and always have.

Kathryne is a mother--her son is in college, her daughter a junior in high school. I was actually privileged enough to have her daughter in my mentoring group when she was in middle school, which was pretty cool. Kathryne is the kind of mother I want to be--nurturing, but not smothering. Her children are well loved, but they have been brought up to make decisions--and even mistakes--in a safe environment. I have remarked to several people (including the boyfriend) that when I have children I will be sitting at her feet to learn. And anyone who knows her understands why I say that :0)

Kathryne is an amazing prayer warrior, and a beautiful example to anyone who is seeking in faith. She doesn't have all the answers, and she doesn't mind telling you she doesn't. But she's the first person who will sit with you, cry with you, pray with you and just BE with you...no matter what. She's lived enough life experiences to be empathetic and kind through it all.

This is why when I asked her to drive me home after having my wisdom teeth removed a couple of years ago she refused. She insisted that I instead come stay at their house for at least 24 hours after the surgery. It's what I needed.

This is also why she was one of the first people I called when I lost my job in August.

I don't have any "good" pictures of the two of us, but here are a couple. The first is of the two of us the year we shared a cabin full of 7th grade girls for a week at youth camp (the best co-counselor I ever had...hands down). The second is from this past fall when we led worship at our church's women's retreat. (I look suspiciously big around the middle, but I assure you it was a camera not a baby or anything!) Incidentally, the 3rd woman pictured with us? Jennifer, from my very first Titus 2 blog.


Kathryne has become a true spiritual mentor to me, and I'm going to close with one of her favorite verses to share--from our favorite translation, the NLT:

Don't worry about anything; instead pray about everything. Tell God what you need and thank him for what He's done. Then you will experience God's peace, which exceeds anything we can understand.

- Phillipians 4:6-7

I laughed, I cried, I sang

Praise Team Retreat -- one of my favorite weekends of the year! We always gather at one of my old stomping grounds: the Nazarene campground for the TN district. It's a great facility, with one aspect that always makes me giggle. If you come in the back way, you literally drive through the creek. See? I took a picture on my way out this morning!

Anyway, retreat was amazing as usual. It was smaller as far as participants this year, but we still packed a lot in. I was asked to help lead worship with some great friends on Saturday evening, which was great. We got in some good reading of new music, input on the worship ministry, and even an intimidating session of being critiqued by our peers and worship minister! Then there were the times of silly games like Catch Phrase, which we took to an entirely new level of crazy (I laughed), serious talks about things that matter (I cried), and wonderful times of worship (I sang). It was a great way to connect with my good friends (and learn some exciting baby news as well as some sad moving-away news) and with my Father who is always ready to connect with me even when I forget.

It's always good to get away. But I'm glad to be blogging from my couch again as I catch up on a few tv shows that were waiting for me when I walked through the door this afternoon. I feel like I've hit the "reset" button for the next few days. Kind of a fresh start all in itself. It's a beautiful thing :0)

Word of the Month: Connect

You know, awhile back I wrote this blog about my word of the year, which is BLESS. I am still striving daily to bless others--by the words I say, by the things I do. I can honestly tell you that I've received even more blessings personally by being more aware of what I can do to bless others.

So I've decided that to really take this seriously and to a new level, I'll focus on a different way of blessing others--and my Lord and Savior--each month. So every month will have it's own word, relating back to BLESS. I chose to do it monthly rather than weekly, because let's face it--life gets busy. I want each focus to be given the amount of time and attention it deserves.

This month the word and focus is connect. Here's how it's going to look:

I will be connecting with my Creator each week at church. I will try to be more focused on my worship, more attentive to the words my pastor and other church leaders give, and more focused on the students in my youth lifegroup that I help to mentor.

I will also connect with my best girlfriends here in town by calling, texting and making a concentrated effort to get together if not every week, every other. It's so easy for us to say "we'll get together soon" because we know we can--but we need each other. That's why we're friends :0)

I will call or send a personal email to my beloved friends who don't live nearby at least once this month, to let them know that I still love them and still value the connection we share.

I will be sure that my boyfriend knows how much I value him and his impact in my life by making sure that we have real conversations--the kind that truly connect us--even during our chats that seem relatively mundane. I will also let him know how appreciated he is in my life. This should be a good month to focus on that--not only is Valentine's Day in a little over a week, but we also celebrate 6 months later on in the month!

I'll make sure to keep connecting with those friends that I hang out with often--the ones I play rock band with, the ones with whom we break bread with, the ones who ask how things are going and genuinely mean it, and the ones who I'm just getting to know and love.

And for those who I call "friend" who don't see or hear from me often even though we live in the same city...I will try to do better at deepening our connection. I'll return the phone calls, send an email to let them know I'm thinking of them, and try to hang out more.

You know, it all sounds SO simple when I write it out. And once the habit is there, I think the actual practice will be pretty simple too--and rewarding beyond measure.