XOXO

I'm not a New Year's resolution maker. At least not publicly. I think it is the fear of failure that stops me from blurting out any resolutions. Besides, I take more of a hopes and goals angle at the beginning of the year than the popular resolution route.

I mean seriously...everyone wants to lose the terrible ten that tends to stick to our hips and thighs when the happy holidays are said and done. We want to read the Bible more, cut our caffeine intake (well not me..just sayin'), eliminate sugar, exercise more, devote more and digress less.

We want the new year to mean something. To matter more. To hold hope that somehow it will be better than the year we just said good-bye to.

My son, Jacob (now 28 yrs old)
sporting a Seahawks shirt in the 80's.
Yup..I'm a REAL fan.

Anybody that knows me even a little bit, knows that I'm a big Seahawks fan. I have been for years. If you watch ANY football at all, Russell Wilson is no stranger to you. One of the things about the man behind the #3 jersey is his positive attitude. He always focuses on a perky catch phrase to motivate himself. Last year his mantra was No Time to Sleep and this year's has been What's Next? He drills these into his head and heart and all across social media the hashtag phenomenon picks them up.

There's power in drilling a simple positive thought into our heart and mind. Because of Russell Wilson's catchy sayings, for my diet/fitness goal I've begun to tell myself: Work harder. Eat smarter.

As a pastor's wife, women in our church look to me for leadership. If I am floundering along in life without goals or purpose, it will have a ripple affect on the people I minister to. That's a lot of pressure! So to sum up my 2016 goals and thoughts, I've decided to go with a hugs and kisses method.

To start, I need to HUG by remaining Humble Unto God. (See what I did there? Yeah...I'm awesome like that. :P) Basically, if I can keep from being stuck on trying to do things in my own strength, and humbly let God direct me, that's a great way to operate in 2016.

Second, is the familiar KISS acronym: Keep It Simple Sister. I'm a woman. (duh) And women have a tendency to make things complicated. So my take on this KISS, is to follow my gut instinct and not overthink everything.

My next HUG is to live each and every day with Heartfelt Uber Gratitude. It can be too easy to put on that fake smile, phony concern or give the expected reaction while someone is talking to me. But if I intentionally live my life with Heartfelt Uber Gratitude, genuine care and concern will bubble out of me like a wellspring of pure joy.

My final KISS comes directly from watching the movie War Room: Kneeling Intentionally Saves Souls. We live in a tiny rental home and our closet space is less than desirable...way less. There is no way I can clean out a closet to make a War Room, but I can still post sticky notes on a wall-space and kneel intentionally to do some battle for the souls God places on my uberly grateful heart.

Recently I told someone that I only had one goal for 2016...to be more structured. Being more structured will fix all my other issues (at least I hope so). I truly am ADD so being organized is rough stuff for me. Anyone else feel my pain? So how can I be more structured? Well... Ima gonna give it a humongous hugs and kisses effort.

Humble             Keep         Heartfelt          Kneeling
Unto                  It               Uber                  Intentionally
God                   Simple      Gratitude          Saves
                           Sister                                   Souls

Here's to a New Year!
XOXO 
Mari 

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Great Potential

I recently had a discussion about roller coasters with our guest evagelist, Dan and Marty Womack. I decided to pull this older post out of the archives from my old blog and re-post it here. I hope you enjoy my random ramblings and glean something to chew on a bit.

Do you ever feel like you are riding a roller coaster through life? You feel the anxiety as the cars slowly climb the hill knowing that when you reach the peak you will be sent soaring down the hill on the other side. You sail through the flat part and start another climb up the next hill. It is fun, tense, exciting, a rush, scary, freaky, thrilling…..all wrapped up in one experience. Yet when it is done, you run to get in line to do it all over again. Well, I don’t, but you might.

Let's have a quick science lesson here. The initial lift hill in a roller coaster serves to build up potential energy. Once you start cruising down that first hill, gravity takes over and all the built up potential energy changes to kinetic energy. Gravity applies a constant downward force on the cars.

An object can store energy as a result of its position. Like the roller coaster car at the top of the hill. This is potential energy. An object which has motion (the roller coaster car going down the hill) then becomes kinetic energy.

Every Sunday, as I glance across the congregation, I see great potential energy. Many have strapped themselves into a car of the roller coaster with excitement. They come to church anticipating a move of God in the midst of His people. They are in a position of stored energy; sitting in a worship service that will slowly climb the hill and set them up to become potential energy. After being brought to the peak of the experience, they hear from God's Word and then are released into their daily world.

What will you do with your Sunday experience of potential energy? Sit in the pew avoiding even getting into the roller coaster car? Maybe you will hop in the car and take the lift hill to the top of the ride just to sit and enjoy the view? Or you could take the built up potential energy and speed downhill becoming powerful kinetic energy.

Have you ever been told “you have great potential”? Having “great potential" sounds nice, but I would rather be told I have “great kinetic”. As you take your seat in church this week, understand that you have great potential. As you leave the church, step out into your daily world a bundle of kinetic energy for Christ.

Here is a new way to look at a familiar verse in James 1:22-25:

But be (kinetic energy) of the word, and not (potential energy) only, deceiving yourselves. 23 For if anyone is a (potential energy source) of the word and not a (kinetic energy source), he is like a man (sitting in a roller coaster car at the top of the hill); 24 for he (sits there enjoying the view), goes away, and (never accomplishes much for God). 25 But he who (stays in the roller coaster ride through the exciting yet scary times), and is not a forgetful (potential energy source) but a (Kinetic energy source) of the work, this one will be blessed in what he does.

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