Tuesday, September 3, 2013

Miss Me?

This Get Real, Woman! blog has been ignored by me for many months probably because I was just overwhelmed with other life commitments. It lost it's place in the non-existant, only in my head, list of priorities for this summer. ha!  I do want to apologize to those of you who have been checking my blog  each day for these many many months. I haven't forgotten this blog, I just did not have the quality time necessary to get a new blog post out.

Here are the highlights of my life since I last posted.

I have survived an entire summer as the mother of a three year old boy and I'm still going! Yay!  My son is wonderful and super sweet, but I will not hide the fact that it has been, at times, very challenging and stressful this summer to parent our wonderful, sweet and smart little boy. I'll just say...UGH! But I sure do love our little guy SO MUCH that the stresses of this summer could never out-weigh the goodness of parenting our little son.

I have become, since the last blog entry, even more aware of the need to be real with my friends and family and those I meet here and there. I am seeing so much more of my society seeking a deceptive lifestyle---trying to "save face" and keep people unaware of their pains and habits and losses. It clearly creates more pain for people, more agony, more mis-understandings and heart-break for those of us who keep things hidden and UNreal.  I am not sure why people are persuaded to be so deceptive in their expression of who they are........I mean, some of this I am sure of the reason why, but it's even among the people who say they believe in God--the source of hope and truth and joy and LIFE. So, that part of my observations still puzzles me. (the rest of this thought will just have to be it's own blog post)

I have been on a summer "break" from the full time job and privilege of collegiate ministry. My husband is the director of a collegiate ministry and I am the associate director. The summer months for our town are very scarce of college student involvement, presence, and energy. But school has started up again and the town is bustling with college students and our ministry is back in full swing. It is so wonderful to meet young women and young guys who are seeking to find God in their life.....who are interested in knowing more about why they were created, why they are talented in the specific ways they are. I very much enjoy spending my days encouraging and challenging young college women to seek truth---and as usual GET REAL with themselves and their world.

I have been enjoying the gift of family this summer. Relishing even the worst of days. I am so grateful to have the husband and son that I have. This summer, I have seen all the more how protective I am of my family and our time together.  If I notice anyone stealing too much of our family time, I struggle to have a good attitude about that person for what seems like days. haha! Yeah, I know. That's probably not good, but I value the little family God has given me and I am jealous when people get more quality time in with my man and my boy than I do. It's like, game on. Let's go. Boxing gloves on, ring the bell. Phfff! Phff! Juke left, juke right, under-cut.  haha! Not really---that was a bit of humor. I just REALLY love spending time with my family because ministry is an on-going thing that has a funny way of stealing family time. It's the battle and balance of time management that happens weekly.  Family and ministering to my friends, my family, and my community AND the college campus is where I love to be.

I have been writing my first novel this summer. So, instead of blogging. I have taken my free time later in the evenings to write....a novel. It has been very fun. Hopefully, I will continuing writing my novel and actually complete it.....instead of just letting it disappear from my lists of creative things to do.

Lastly, I just want to say....
If you are new to this blog, please read the first five or ten posts I have written.....from way back in the day of the birth of this blog.  It will help you know my heart for my postings and help you to really "hear" me on why I write this blog in the first place.

A little inspiration:
Get real, Woman. Love your neighbor. Treat others like you would want to be treated. Truly live, even if you have to wear bandages and nurse your wounds while you go on breathing. It is so much better to truly live your life than to embrace a fake version of you and constantly be on the stage acting. Acting is fun, I know, when it is on a theater's stage. But it is not fun when it's in the place of your real life.  We can live with discretion and not blast the world with all of our problems (by having self-control) and STILL be real with our world and our families. The one way....the only effective way I know how to really do that discretion and control piece is to seek out the God of heaven and to believe His Son Jesus as the Savior. Then, we are able to "real"-ly live.

Tuesday, May 28, 2013

Looking and Longing

How many minutes have passed since the last time you thought about something that you are looking for...that you are longing for to happen in your life?  Most likely, once you've researched this briefly, you will find that not too many minutes have passed since you thought of that something.

We women have deep secrets that we don't even share with our closest friends. Some of those things are great longings and lookings that saturate our minds...in the deepest parts. Ever so often, one of those longings will be exposed simply because of life circumstances and stress. But for most part, we women are resilient to keep those things locked away and hidden from everyone.

However hidden we think we have these things, these hopes and dreams (that seem to be too silly to share with even our dearest friends or our spouse) are seen and known intimately by someone. That someone is the One, the Lord Jesus Christ...God the Father...and the Holy Spirit. These three persons are one; in the form of the Trinity. God knows our longings and lookings.

Secrets and heartaches and unspoken hopes and dreams can be very taxing to carry along. I encourage you to first, bring them before God...since He knows and sees them in your thoughts already. The effort to speak them out to God in a prayer is still a powerful thing. God knows. And God cares about them because He loves you with an everlasting love.

Has it always been this way in the history of women? Have we always kept so many things so far away from the ears of our closest and dearest friends...even our spouses?  Why do we do it, when there is so much freedom and peace in knowing someone else hears us and can help carry that dream and vision to completion.  So what, if our hopes and dreams sound silly to someone-- once they are spoken. I believe we should first bring them to God, as I have already stated, and allow God to minister to our hearts and minds about the content. Then, if there is a peace in our minds and hearts about it, we can learn ways in which to share our hopes and dreams with others. Perhaps one of our dearest and closest friends is the very person who can help that dream or goal become a reality.

This blog post is somewhat simple and completely 'out of the blue', but it is so important that we spend a bit of time on a regular basis allowing the Light of God shine into the depths of us and allow that light to illuminate those dreams and hopes we suppress. It very well might be that those dreams,...those hopes...those grand aspirations were planted there by God because He knows we will able to accomplish it!  We must not live so superficially that we miss out on really sharing life with those we call our confidants. And if you do not think you have a confidant currently--a dear friend who you can share anything with. You already do--in God.

The part about you trusting God...believing He is the true God...believing His Son Jesus is true---that's completely up to you. However, once you do believe...and trust, the Lord Jesus is the best friend, teacher and counselor to ever be. Even before his birth, an angel spoke about Jesus; that he shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Almighty God, Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace.

So, now I have to say it: get real, woman! You only live once. Let the glorious grace of God wash over you and your mind. Let him sort through the things rumbling in your heart. Allow Christ to look into your life and show you the great potential you have for great things; the things you have been dreaming of for years and years.  You have a grand purpose. Let us not let our insecurities and our cultures hold us back in this thing....this reality of admitting our longings, our hopes and dreams.

There is life in the truth. For us, it starts at the heart; being truthful with ourselves--about ourselves, then declaring those things to God. This is a beautiful way to embrace and proclaim truth to the world in which you live.

Get Real.
And I will strive to do the same.
Blessings.

Monday, April 8, 2013

A Big Shout-Out to THE ROSE

Today is a special day because I am welcoming a whole other group of ladies to join the Get Real, Woman family!  THE ROSE is a group of women who have received a beautiful red rose from me or my friend Sarah today at West Chester University.  Once a woman gets a rose from us, they are forever welcome to be in THE ROSE.  It's like a club, but more like a common bond. Women who share a common story.

Speaking of story, that is exactly what I am wanting to write about today. We all have a story. Some of us like to share their story as much as possible and find ways to relate to their friends and....even strangers they meet. Others like to NOT share their story...ever...because it brings too many questions from those listening and thus is exhausting just to get through the story un-interrupted. Some of us have never thought that you have a story...one that is unique to you and that has power to encourage, challenge, strengthen and...well, even entertain and bring joy to others. Welp, whoever you are, dear one, you have a grand story!

My story is unique. Your story is unique. Our story of coming together with this common ground of a blog called THE ROSE is unique. Sharing your story is important. Over the next few posts, I will be writing about this STORY thought.

So, even if you are the woman who loves your story or who thinks your story is no good or that your story is old and boring.  If you are a woman who hasn't thought, up until you read this blog post, that you ever had a story to tell. NOW you all most definitely have a story; your story of receiving a beautiful red rose from a stranger with a tag on it that led you to THE ROSE blog and then led you to us, here at Get Real, Woman!.

Thursday, April 4, 2013

Where We've Been Planted

Since I'm on a horticultural focus from the re-debut post of this blog, I will continue!  ha! Let's continue thinking upon the concept of rising out of the junk and the sin that so easily entangles us; just as a plant rises up out of the ground in spring time. The plant pushes through the soil and digs it's roots deeper into the soil below--thus searching for light and the nutrients the light brings and digging for nutrients and water in the ground.

As you well know, plants do NOT have a choice where they get planted. They are planted by the gardener--the one tending to their development, their nourishment and their harvest.  Plants do not have a say in the amount of sunlight they are given or how much water is or will be available to them. But according to however much nutrients and sunlight they are attributed, they grow upward and outward and dig their roots in deeper. Basically, they respond to it.

Some plants are fruitful; life givers in one or multiple ways. Some of them are strong and useful for others to grow in.  Other plants are fast growers, but wilt and fade away quickly; returning to compost soon after.  Just as some fruitful plants are good, there are plants that are poisonous. And there are plants we call weeds because they grow wherever they end up and take over the space provided choking out the other plants availability to sunlight/nutrients.

Plants trust that where they've been planted is the best place. You might say, "Well, of course, Becky. They can't just get up and move." But think about it. It is something that we can learn. God is our Creator. He knows what is best for us. He knows if we are okay in a smaller pot, a smaller garden or if it is His desire for us to be planted in an open field or a large country garden with space all around. Since God is our Maker, HE KNOWS OUR NEEDS. He tends to our needs and sends rain to sustain us and storms and wind to strengthen us. Since God is our Maker and the Great Gardener, then we can trust Him where we are currently planted. He will tell us to move from our current situation as we grow toward Him. He is the LIGHT of the world.  Jesus tells us in the Gospels that he is the Bread of Life. God is spoken of many times in the Bible as a rock we can stand on. So, God is our foundation, our sustenance and our power source.

There are so many things to learn from the plant world.  The Lord Jesus used analogies about plant life many times in his teachings, too. Since He is the Maker of the heavens and the earth, Jesus must know the best ways to get his points across. We should allow the teachings of Jesus penetrate us found in the Holy Bible, even the stories about seeds and hard ground or fertile ground.

The world around us is most obviously available to us to look deeper in and see what we can learn from the creation.
So, while we are planted WHERE we are planted, we can (if we so choose to) trust God where we are. haha!  Plants cannot rebel of their surroundings; they are stuck until the gardener or some force of nature moves them. However, if they have access to light and water and good soil---they grow and flourish until their time on this earth is done. Since we are people, not plants, things are a bit different. We COULD move away from the blessings of God. We can put ourselves in places that choke out the Light. But I just wanted you to think about two things as I end this post:

1. God has given us everything we need to grow and flourish in this life, but we must choose to receive it.
2. We have the choice to trust that God knows where we are "planted" and that when we are seeking Him and growing in the knowledge of His Word, He will guide us to the next "place" or opportunity whenever or if-ever He wants us to move.

Here are some verses from the Bible on this thought.  BLESSINGS TO YOU!
Hebrews 4:16
John 6:33 & 35
2 Peter 1:2-4 *****
1 John 5:11-12


Tuesday, April 2, 2013

RISE

Hello, everyone!
I am back from an unplanned break from writing on my blog!!! Family life and ministry life got priority over this blog for several months now, so I haven't written much in quite awhile. I apologize for my neglect of this blog. Let us start again. Spring 2013.....re-start.....GO!

It's spring and obviously things are coming into bloom all around us and we should take note of this and follow along. It is time for us to break forth out of the things in our minds and lives that have kept us down and "underground" out of the Light's delightfully warm rays. It is time for us to break out, rise up, look to God and seek His face. Hebrews 12:1-2 says,

"Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God."

 We will gain strength for times of adversity, whenever they come. We will gain lasting hope for this  life and we will gain nourishment we need (physically, spiritually, emotionally) when we look to God in heaven by reading God's Word, the Holy Bible. It is time for us to "up" our prayer life, to become women who pray to God, talk to Him, about anything and EVERYTHING. It is time for us to break out of old habits like bitterness and deceit, and rise into a life of truth, openness, hopefulness and love.

It is time....to RISE.