This is not a dinner theater

I am currently reading a wonderful book. It’s called The Sacred Romance by John Eldredge.  It’s not great surprise to anyone who knows me that I am reading a book. I love a good book and, since I was a kid, I have had a tendency to get lost in what I’m reading.  When I start a book the kids all know what’s coming; sandwiches for dinner, no laundry done, don’t ask me to drive you anywhere and don’t talk so loud when you’re in the same room with me! I try not to read books that are too long as I don’t want to miss important childhood milestones like graduation and such.  I’m doing pretty good with this one, limiting myself to about one chapter a week so I can really absorb what is being said.  Recently, the book sparked a revelation for me and I’ve attempted to share it below.  I hope you enjoy it and I hope it makes sense!!  lol

We are all enmeshed in a cosmic drama, a divine romance.  Life is not simply a series of actions and reactions, situations and experiences that we muddle through the best that we can till it is all over and we enter into our eternal reward.  We have all heard the phrase “all the world is a stage” and, in a way, that is true.  We are characters in a play written by the Lord of hosts.  So many times we are guilty of seeing only our small part in this galactic production.  Our focus becomes only our time on stage, our plot line, our lines to learn, when, in reality, we would do so much better to change our view. 

This life of ours, is not, in fact, ours.  God does not come down and invade our life and take part in it, He welcomes us into His life, to take part of it with Him. He did not simply author the play in which we act, then sit out in the audience to see play out.  This is His story and we all have supporting roles in His production.  Because of this fact, we would do well to remember just how intricately involved he is in every aspect of our existence.  I have learned something over the last year or so.  I don’t have to “be spiritual” to be spiritual.  Was Christ less “Christly” when sitting around the fire eating and laughing with his disciples?  The word tells us Jesus did only what His father did and said only what His father said.  That tells me the father enjoys us, just as Christ enjoyed his disciples. 

The challenge, the goal, is to find this relationship with Him in the every day, when there’s laundry to be done and dinner to be made, when the kids are fighting and you’re tired from working all day, or when you’re hanging out with friends being silly, watching cartoons with your kids, when you’re going to the fair or dinner out with a loved one.  Those are all times when we are in relationship with him.  He is there when we are “being spiritual” and when we are not and He loves us the same either way. 

I guess my point would be that while there are times when we are lost in his presence, when words fail us and we are swept away by his love, he is just as close, just as real, working just as much when we’re in the grocery store looking for a can of stewed tomatoes, as in the times we count as spiritual.  He brought this home to me recently in a very unexpected but welcomed way.  I am His, He is mine and nothing can change or lessen that.  I don’t have to conjure up something that appears spiritual, I am spiritual, inside and out, in whatever I do, at all times, good and bad. He is with me, in me.  I only have to relax and let Him be who he is, to do otherwise is to bring in law and judgment and I really don’t want to go back there again! 

So till next time, I'll be here, reading and not cooking or cleaning and trying to remind myself I am responsible for the care of all these younger people whose voices I can vaguely hear in the background saying something about food.  

Soaked in His blessings,

Spokenfor 

What happened??!!? I only dozed for a minute!!!!

The last few weeks have been a whirlwind of activity.  School is finally back in and summer vacation has, once again, passed.  I am thankful to say everyone survived intact. There were no broken bones, no major lacerations (if you don't count Mumble's trip to the ER with the 4 inch thorn embedded in his forearm. he was in Wyoming, not in my care at the time so I don't count it! It's my blog, I get to make the rules!) There were no fires set, no cars wrecked, no hearts broken and we didn't even get tossed out of the pool this year.  All in all, I say it was a pretty good summer.  So now, for the first time in about 12 years I don't have a kid in middle school.  I have 3 in high school and a second grader which still makes for some insanity.  Lately, it's been the kind of  "why is my house so crowded and why is everyone calling me Mom" kind of insanity.  There's marching band and youth band, chili cook-offs (I won 2nd place, thank you very much!), women's events, youth events, sewing class, prayer group and all around teenage drama!  I have no idea how these creatures inhabiting my home morphed into these big, hairy beasts from my beautiful little baby boys!

I have good memories of those times when my boys were all small.  When I brought Monkey Boy home from the hospital I had a newborn, a 1yr old, a 2yr old and a 5yr old all to myself.  There were days when I thought if I have to make one more pbj or fix one more sippy cup, or change one more diaper or.........  Okay, that's enough, you get the picture!  I do have some fond memories of those times though.  It can't be verified that what I remember actually happened and is not just side effects of the medication, but I think of them fondly nonetheless.  We had trips to the park and story time, snuggles on the couch with cartoons and laughs at the appearance of the tickle monster.  One of their favorite games we would play was the standard hide and seek. I have admit to occasionally encouraging them to hide under a blanket on the couch and then I would be unable to "find" them till the fell asleep while hiding.  Hey! don't judge I was outnumbered!

I will never forget how cute they were with their pudgy little hands over their eyes while they informed me that I could no longer see them.  In their toddler brains they figured if they couldn't see me, then I couldn't see them.  As I was spending some time wandering down the paths of yesteryear's sleepless nights of frustration  joys, I couldn't help but see a parallel between those cute little toddlers and our walk with the Lord.  How many times have we placed both our hands over our spiritual eyes and announced to the Lord "you can't see me!"?   I've got news for you, guys, we can't actually hide from God.

 How many times has the Lord been patient with us as we played spiritual peek-a-boo?  Lets get real with the Lord, ladies.  We can't hide things from Him, he already knows what's there and has decided to love us anyway!  We don't have to try to cover over our wounds, our scars, those less than perfect things in our life, like a child covering her eyes.  Many times the Lord, like a patient parent, will allow us to believe we are successful in our attempts to keep things from Him.  He knows when we will be ready to let him deal with what's underneath.  He never asks a question he doesn't already know the answer to, so if we would be unable to give him the right answer he waits and works with us until we are ready to surrender these areas when he asks for them. 

This week my focus will be on putting my hands down and uncovering my eyes before the Lord. I will continue to come to him just as I am, warts and all, because he knows all about me anyway.  It's in honesty and authenticity that we come boldly before his throne of grace.  If we are busy pretending we have it all together, then why would we need the faith that he would accept us with open arms?  We would simply rest on our "all together-ness" to get us there. 

So raise your hands, women of God, but not to cover your eyes, but to lift, open handed to Him to give Him praise and receive from Him grace, peace, mercy and love. 

Until next time, I'll be here looking at baby pictures and remembering the days of diapers, potty training, no sleep, no privacy and no way I would have traded a single minute!

Soaked in His blessings,
Spokenfor

Sugar crazed preschoolers and 9th grade algebra

It's been awhile since I sat and put fingers to keyboard and shared some of the strange musings from my brain.  My life has been so crazy busy this summer!  That doesn't mean there haven't been many strange musings, it just means I haven't had time to sit down and share them.  At this point, it's getting crowded in my brain so I thought I should let some of them out.

One of the things that has kept me so busy this summer is my new found love of sewing, quilting to be exact.  That's right, you read that correctly; quilting.  Would somebody please tell my grandmothers in heaven that I finally know how to work a sewing machine.  One of the coolest ladies I know at church is a avid and very talented quilter.  The Lord lead her to start a beginners class at church, and since she is so awesome, I took her class simply to hang out with several of my friends who wanted to actually learn how to quilt.  Imagine my shock and surprise when it turned out I had a blast!

My first few quilt blocks were a little less than perfect........ ok, a lot less than perfect.  There is this little thing called a quarter inch seam that, evidently, is pretty important.   A couple of my blocks looked more like the drawings of a crazed pre-schooler  on a three day sugar high than something created by an adult.  The real problem came in when all the blocks were completed and it was time to put it all together.  Who knew it would suddenly become so important that all the blocks be square and the same size?!  I mean, really!  I know have great respect for cuts that are actually straight and seams that are actually the same size.

The biggest problem I had was the fact that my seams were never straight.  They looked more like the doodles I made as I sat in 9th grade algebra.  It took a couple of weeks to figure out what I was doing wrong.  It seems I was having a focus problem.  I was watching the needle. I couldn't help it, I have always been fascinated by little dancing flashy things!  What I wasn't doing was watching the fabric as it moved under the presser foot.  (those of you who have ever worked a sewing machine know what that is, those of you who haven't just work with me here and pretend that you do!)  As long as I was more careful about how my fabric moved towards the needle and less focused on the needle itself, my seams came out nice and straight, for the most part. (Hey! don't judge! only the Lord is perfect!)

Those of you who are familiar with me know there's more to the story.  Once again, as I was musing, I realized the parallel to our walk with the Lord.  I have said it before, you all know it's one of my favorite subjects, we become like what we focus on.  Our hearts and our lives are changed as we spend time in His presence and focus on Him.  You could say that our path becomes straight when we place our focus where it belongs, on Him and not on the dancing flashy things in our lives!  If the enemy can cause us to lose our focus we will become adrift and without purpose.  That's no way to live!

My prayer this week is that the Lord will remind me every time I sit down at my sewing machine to check my focus.  Too many times in my life my path has resembled that preschooler doodle because of my tendency to be distracted by little shiny things!  Where is your focus today? Where are you placing your eyes?  Are you looking at the sparkly distractions in your life or is your focus firmly centered on Him?  Don't be distracted by what the world tells you is right, look to Him and he will keep you on that straight path.

Meanwhile, I'll be here, happily sewing away and trying not to become hypnotized by the pretty, flashy needle!  Till next time, I'll be,

Soaked in His blessings,
Spokenfor

Pecked to death by a flock of ducks......

I have kids, lots of kids.  I am the very proud mother of 5 young men in various ages and stages of development, but the majority are teenagers.  Things have changed since I was a teenager in more ways than I could have imagined they would.  We now live in a world of computers and smart phones, internet, facebook and twitter, and the ability to be connected in ways that are sometimes, just plain crazy.  I would have loved to have that as a teenager!  I wanted to take just a minute and write a little note to teenagers and children everywhere.  It's my blog, I can do that......

Dear teenagers everywhere,
We are your parents. We love you. We want the very best for you in every aspect of your life.  However, that does not mean that we are your bank, your taxi, your maid or your cook.  We are your parents.  It's not our obligation to give you computers, phones, cars, game systems, or money whenever you want it for whatever you want it for.  It's not our job to drive you and your friends all over town whenever and wherever you want and pay you way at the same time.  It's not our job to clean up after you, to do all your laundry, to do all the housework, to cook all your meals while you do only what you want to do. 
It is our job as parents to raise you, to teach you, to prepare you for life on your own.  It is our job to make sure you have food to eat, a roof over your head and clothes on your back.  It's not our job to make sure it's steak every night, a 10,000 sq ft mansion or designer clothes.  If you want that, go get a job and buy your own steak, your own 200$ jeans and get your education that allows you to get the kind of job that buys you that mansion.  That's not our job. 

You are loved, never doubt that.  Never doubt that, if I could, I would want to give you all these things and more, but I can't and if I could, I wouldn't.  Why? Simply because you are loved.  It is in the struggle that we grow and learn.  We have all heard the story of what happens if you open a chrysalis for a butterfly.  The wings don't mature and they can't fly.  It's my job to be sure you can fly.  Sometimes that means not giving you the things you want and think you deserve.  Life is hard and you will never succeed if you are handicapped by having everything handed to you.  If I could keep the house in perfect condition, fix you gourmet meals every night and make your life run perfectly I still wouldn't.  Why? Because it would not be fair to you.  It is by learning to take responsibility for the home you live in and the family you are part of  that you are prepared for life as an adult.  That doesn't mean that you are thrown to the wolves and left to fend for yourself at all times, but as you grow, more and more will be expected of you.  That is the way it is. 
So the next time you want something and you don't get it remember this; it's because you are loved.  It would be easier to just hand over what you want and stop the barrage of  of asking.  Sometimes it's a little like being pecked to death by a flock of ducks.  You are just as dead, it just takes longer and is much more tedious.  But to give in would, in the long run, handicap you and you are too loved for me to allow that to happen.  Sometimes you don't get what you want simply because we cannot afford it. Life is not perfect for us parents either, it's not perfect or easy, but that doesn't effect our love for you. There will be times when, because of that love, I will surprise you with money or that fancy pair of shoes you want or funds for that trip to the movies with your buds, but one thing must be understood.  Those times will come more often if they are not expected.  Oh, and gratitude is an awesome attitude and you will be surprised at how it can move the heart of a parent.

The bottom line is this: we will not be here forever.  If you reach adulthood and are a responsible member of society, able to provide for yourself and the family God gives you, then we have been a success.  If getting to that place means that you don't like me and don't understand me, then so be it.  My heart is always for you. I will always believe in you. I will always be proud of you. I will never, and I mean NEVER stop loving you and, if all this means you grow up and want limited contact with me, my heart will be broken, but at least I will have done the job God entrusted to me. One day, when you are a parent you will understand, you will love, and you will do the same.  It's hard, but it's the job of a parent.

Soaked in His blessings,
Spokenfor

How far away is Roswell New Mexico??

This has been an interesting week.  It's only Wednesday and I have already driven for 9 hours over 2 days, spent those days closed up in the car with 5 boys, 6 if you count J, had dinner at Charlotte motor speedway, toured the Billy Graham library, toured the country's largest private home, and then quit my job.  No teenager was hurt in the making of this road trip and no one needs to start me a legal defense fund.......... yet.

You learn a lot about people when you road trip with them.  Now you would think, since it's my own kids that I'm talking about I would know the pretty well by now.  However, I am convinced that when a child turns 13 aliens sneak into your house during the night and take over their body.  The creature that slinks from the bedroom in the morning bares little resemblance to the sweet child you tucked into bed.  Their brains no longer function as they should and their language needs a translation dictionary to be understood.  I am convinced these aliens actually communicate by rolling their eyes as your child will suddenly become very skilled at it.  Given that 3 of my 5 boys are currently possessed by these intergalactic invaders and 1, while no longer officially a teenager, has not yet completed the exorcism process, you can imagine there is a lot to learn.

I try to look at any time forced to spend in close quarters with my offspring as research, studying the creatures in the wild, in their natural habitat.  It is fascinating to see how they interact with each other, not as they meet at a common water hole, but as they meet over the nearest electronic device.  I am convinced that what we see as a common cell phone is actually their powerful energy source.  Think about it, have you ever seen one without it in their hands???  It would seem that when sleeping is the only time you see one without a phone in their hands.  In crisis situations, a computer will act as the same source of power for them, but the portability of the phone allows them to easily roam around spreading their surliness.

Do I sound bitter? I'm not. I'm frustrated, but not bitter.  I love my children, all my children, even those who are currently serving as a host to the brain sucking parasite known as adolescence.  It's a difficult time of life, as I'm sure we can all remember.  We can learn a lesson from our kids as they struggle through it.  I find there are ways I can really identify with them.  No, I do not suddenly has an insane desire for Mt Dew, or strange music, or Ramen noodles.  What I do understand is the feeling of being trapped between two worlds, no longer a kid, not yet an adult.  I mean this in a spiritual sense.  I am not what I once was, but I'm not yet what I will be.  I haven't arrived, but I have already left.

The Lord continues to work on me, changing me and bringing me more into line with what He desires for me to be, but I still struggle with my carnal nature.  I think Paul said it best in Romans 7:15
¹⁵ I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do. 

It's as if I, too, have a parasitic visitor inside messing with my head.  I have seen the struggles my kids have had as they moved in that gray area of half adult/ half kid and I see those same struggles mirrored in my own life as I make the transition from living in the flesh to living by the spirit.  

The Lord is gracious to me in those times of struggle.  He understands our frailty, our human-ness, our tendency to mess things up.  He is the ever patient parent, leading us on that path to maturity that seems to take so much longer for some than for others! (don't judge! I'm getting there!)  Just like with our natural development, I believe one sign of maturity is the willingness to admit we don't know everything, we don't have all the answers, and we become willing to be taught.  That is my desire this week, a teachable heart, a spirit ready for instruction.  

Where are you in your walk?  Are you still in the know-it-all stage or have you moved into being more willing to listen than to talk?  Pride is the hallmark of so many teenagers today.  Is there spiritual pride in your heart?  Are you willing to allow the Lord to use whomever He desires to instruct you?  

This week I'm asking the Lord for a spiritual growth spurt!  I'm asking Him to take me beyond my spiritual teenage years once and for all and move me into a new level of maturity with Him.  Will you join me?  


I don't know about you, but my body is too old to withstand the rigors of the teenage lifestyle!  I need my sleep, my veggies, my peace and quiet.  So until next time, I'll be here, being a mom and keeping my eyes peeled for UFOs.  I've still got one at home under the age of 13 and I'm holding out hope the little green men don't find him too soon! 


Soaked in His blessings,
Spokenfor

The day I was brought low by an Easter egg.

It's the week after Easter and I have survived another 8 hour drive closed up in the car with all my kids, my husband and the dog.  I won't admit which one smelled worse, that's another story entirely.  It was a quick trip. We went down on Friday and came back on Sunday night, but it was worth it to be able to spend the holiday with family.  Scamp had a blast running wild with his cousins and participating in the annual Easter egg hunt.  This is an event that is taken seriously around my folks house.  My dad always buys plastic eggs and fills them full of money, lots of money.  I think the total this year was around 70$.  That's an egg hunt I want in on! lol  Unfortunately he cuts it off at age 12.  After that you get moved up to the big kid hunt.  That's where he takes one egg, we all chip in to fill it and one lucky grandkid makes off with about 25$.  This year it was my beautiful niece who bested all the boys and made off with the loot.  Scamp didn't care, he was having too much fun with his haul.  He was excited about his money, about his candy and also about the hard boiled colored eggs he had made with his dad the night before.  That's our tradition. 

The problem is, since we left later that same day, Scamp wanted to take all his treasures home with him.  One week later I discovered, the hard way, what happens to hard boiled eggs that roll under the back seat out of sight and sit in the heat for seven long, hot days.  My poor car now smells as if I have been transporting a dead body!  I think next year we'll jut stay home! lol

As I sit and ponder this adventure into the world of stankiness I was struck by what an enormous impact can be made by something relatively small, something as small as a simple, blue Easter egg. 

I am also reminded of another story I heard this weekend from J.  It seems a local Royal Ranger outpost wanted to have some t-shirts printed up for their boys.  The scripture reference they wanted on there was 1Corinthians 11:1 -"Follow me, as I also follow Christ", but there was just a bit of a mix-up at the printers.  When they picked the shirts up, they discovered the reference said 1 Corinthians 1:11 and that reads just a little differently; "for it has been declared to me concerning you, my brethren, by those of Chloe's household, that there are contentions among you"

It's a little thing, the colon, but look what a difference it can make.  By moving it over only one little spot everything is changed.  Now look at your own life, your own walk.  What little things are you letting change what should be in your life?  Is there an attitude left unchecked?  Is there an offense you are harboring in your heart that you would just as soon not deal with?  Are you entertaining a thought, an idea that's not good for you? Are you allowing music, or tv shows or movies to influence you in ways that aren't the best?  These things seem like little things, no big deal, right?  Wrong!  So many times it's the little things that eventually cause the greatest damage?  Have you ever seen a termite?  See how tiny they are.  Now look at the damage done by so small a bug.  When they attack a weight bearing wall they can bring a house down and you wouldn't know there was a problem until it was too late. 

Take some time today to look for the little things in your life that may have escaped your notice.  I'm asking the Lord to shine his light and show me the things that seem small but have a big impact on my life and then I'm asking Him to give me the strength to deal with them by His grace. 

As for the rest of my day, I'll be here enjoying this wonderful spring weather, gazing on my lovely flowers, sipping and iced coffee and trying to get the stench of rotten eggs out of my nostrils.  I think I'll be fine unless the cops come looking for the source of the dead body smell in the back of my car.  If that happens, things could get dicey.  I'm just saying........

Till next time!
Soaked in His blessings!
Spokenfor

Don't Jump!!!

I have stepped out recently, no, I don't mean I'm stepping out on J, I mean I'm trying something new.  I come from a long line of women who sew.  Both my grandmothers were incredible seamstresses, making suits and quilts and any number of wonderful creations.  Me, not so much.  I can sew a button on if I have to, and I have even been known to fix a drooping hem, but that's about as far as it goes.  I once made curtains and pillows and covered the cushions of an entire set of outdoor furniture using only my trusty glue gun.  I have decided a glue gun is to a woman what duct tape is to a guy.  Give me enough time and an outlet and I can fix almost anything! lol  Despite my ingenuity with my outdoor decor, I have never taken the time or patience to learn to actually sew.  Recently, though, a dear friend of mine at church started a quilting class.  Something prompted me to sign up so I dragged my butt into gear and my sewing machine out of the closet and went to my first class.  I am hooked!  I loved it!  It's so much fun seeing something come together like that.  Despite the attention to detail needed I am finding it a great outlet for the creativity the Lord has plunked down in my soul.

There are quite a few things I like to put my hands to whenever I get the chance.  You might find me doing needlework, or crochet, or candle making, or even a little painting.  I am really hoping someone decides to teach a class in pottery.  I've always wanted to learn how to do that!  There's something quieting about working with your hands, something so fulfilling to see something spring to life beneath your hands.  No wonder the Lord loves to create!  It's fun!

Anyone who reads my ramblings on a regular basis should know that there is another side to my musings.  You see, I was having some trouble with my quilt block the other day.  I was trying to sew it without using pins to hold it in place before running the seams.  The fabric kept slipping around and making it very difficult to complete the project cleanly.  That made me think. (I hate it when that happens!)   How difficult would it be if a potter were trying to form something on the wheel, but it kept jumping off?  It's a funny image, but that is exactly what we do the the Lord so many times.  We find ourselves on his wheel with the water of the spirit running over us to soften our hearts and as soon as he starts to mold, to form, to work with us, we jump right off the wheel while it's still in motion.  The Lord is faithful, he grabs a spatula, scrapes us up off the floor where we've gone splat, puts us back on the wheel and starts all over again.

How long do you think it will take for the finished product to be usable if we continue to jump off the wheel time and time again?  I know I am guilty of taking that flying leap more times than I would like to admit to.  My other favorite thing to do is to try to mold myself into what I think should be.  How weird would it be if the potter was working his lump of clay and suddenly the lump gave a little grunt and out popped a handle or a spout?  I have to admit the image makes me giggle just a little bit.  Now, we all know that is impossible, but it is what we attempt to do to ourselves.  How many times have we tried to inform the Lord how we should look or just what needed to be changed about ourselves?

There is nothing the clay can do to hurry along the needed changes or to make any of these changes for itself.  Such it is with our own hearts.  The work is the Lord's, not ours.  Sure, we have our part. Our part is to remain on the wheel, to remain in His hands.  It's our job to be open to Him and the work He is doing in our lives and in our hearts. Our job, our focus, should be to stay in and to strengthen our relationship with him.  It is through that relationship that we are changed.  It says in

 2 Cor. 3:18  But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord. 

When you read the above passage you can see the way we are changed is by beholding the glory of the Lord.  That is when we are changed by the Spirit of the Lord. This speaks to relationship.  It is by spending time with him, beholding him, if you will, that we are changed from glory to glory.  It is not by working at it or exercising self control or willing it to happen. It is simply by resting in Him, by spending time with Him that we are changed.

Philippians 2:13 tells us:
for it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose.

Notice whose doing the work here?  It is God who works in you.  If we allow Him (that's our part in the equation, the allowing part)   to work in our hearts He will make the necessary changes there.  That doesn't mean that we then don't have to walk them out.  I tried and tried to quit smoking to no avail. Then I quit, not smoking, I quit trying to quit!  I stopped trying to do something in my own power that I was unable to do within myself.  I started praying about it, submitting my heart to Him and, one day, He did the work.  I knew the moment it was done and I simply walked up to a trash can and threw away my pack and my lighter and I have been smoke free since.  This didn't happen in the middle of a great and mighty revival service at church. It didn't happen after I fasted and prayed and spent a month crying out to Him. Nope, I was simply sitting in the grocery store parking lot talking to Him about it and BOOM! It was done.  I'm not saying I didn't have to decide to walk it out. I had to make the decision not to buy any more, to not give in to the cravings.  The difference that time was I had submitted it to Him and I was walking in His strength.  He had done the work in me to cause me to will and to act in order to fulfill His good purpose.  It was not accomplished by my struggling against it, the work was done as I simply spent time with Him.  I stayed on the wheel and the potter did His work. 

So this week my goal is to act more like a big ol lump of clay!  I will attempt to remain on his wheel no matter how fast it spins.  I will remind myself of the times I jumped off that wheel only to go splat on the floor. 

I don't know what's going on in your life, but I have a feeling you are probably on His wheel too, most of us are.  I pray that when you start to get dizzy and the world starts to spin and you are feeling Him molding you, forming you, creating you to be what you were meant to be, that you stay put!  Stop trying to will yourself into His image and get to beholding your way into it.  Spend time with Him, rest in Him.  Relaxing into Him is the best way to stay out of His way and let Him work! 

Till next time, I'll be here, beholding, creating, giving my glue gun a work out and trying to stay put on His wheel.  So, the next time someone calls you a dizzy blonde, look them straight in the eye, smile and say "Why thank you very much!"

Soaked in His blessings,
Spokenfor