Have you ever seen a stop sign all out of stops? One that is just too tired to go on? One who has done its duty and ready to rest?

I found an old faded stop sign this week in a trash pile. It held particular interest to me because I had been charged with the duty of being the storyteller this week at the newly formed boys and girls club at our church. I was asked to share my testimony. I don't know why I was picked for this task, but knowing that I asked Jesus to come into my little heart around the age of these children, I said "Yes."

I became a Christian at a Child Evangelism Club in my own home at the age of five and if you know the organization, you already know where I am going with this sign example. Wanting to share some the songs I learned at the club, I looked up the classic song "Stop, and let me tell you what the Lord has done for me." The lyrics are as follows:

Stop and let me tell you, what the Lord has done for me.
Stop and let me tell you, what the Lord has done for me.
He forgave my sin and He saved my soul,
He cleansed my heart and He made me whole.
Stop, and let me tell you what the Lord has done for me.

When I saw the sign, my thoughts were to repaint it and use it as a song board. But then, my heart or perhaps the Holy Spirit whispered to me, "Show them the sign as it is." Let them see that sometimes our enthusiasm fades, our energy wears down and our stops get all burned out. When we first learn about something exciting, we want to tell everyone. We have it on the tip of our tongue. If we've seen the latest movie and it was great, somehow that seems to come up in every conversation.

Often, as Christians, we are reminded again and again of the exciting things God can do in our lives if we just let Him in. We have an incredible story to stop and tell of what He did for us so long ago on the cross. But, we get tired and the world and its worries get in the way. The weather and sun wear us out.  The great news is that God's word is ready to replenish and renew our hearts. By going to church and opening the bible in our private moments at home, we get primed all over again and ready for a fresh coat of paint. Each time we look to the Lord in prayer for our hope and strength, we are turning our face to the ultimate painter who is waiting to paint on the joy and reflection of His glory. He never grows weary.

Isaiah 40:28-31
"28. Do you not know? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary, and his understanding no one can fathom.

29. He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak.

30. Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall;

31. but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint."

The red is gone on the old faded sign. Other than the octagonal shape, the only thing obvious on the sign are the letters "T-O." So, when you are stripped to the metal, exhausted and feeling all used up, turn "TO" the master painter, be refreshed and renewed and go tell the story of what Christ did for you. If you don't know the story, turn "TO" someone who does who can tell you because it is worth eternity to listen.

Today, I got to hear, in person, the lovely and eloquent Lysa Terkeurst share her story and how God has used her yes's to do amazing things. Last night she shared how God had been faithful through a difficult childhood and today she talked about His faithfulness through the experiences where she took incredible leaps of faith and charged on with incredible, inspiring results. She is truly a motivational woman and brings you to laughter and tears throughout the talk.

Lysa is widely known both for her work as president of Proverbs 31 Ministries in Charlotte, NC and for her appearance on Oprah, telling the story of adopting two Liberian boys and how it inspired a community to bring over and adopt many more of the orphaned children. She reminded us that to her friends, she is just a mom of five and wife of one wonderful husband who has been there for her through everything.

Since I just bought it, I will have to wait until after I have read her new book When Women Say Yes to God to let you know how it is. After reading a number of Lysa's devotionals and her blog, I can tell you that it will most certainly be a good read and once again, inspire me in my walk with the Lord to be a better person, a braver person — keeping my perspective balanced between what God wants, what my family needs and what I prayerfully embark on in my life.

Also at the conference was a wonderful singer named Marie Barlow Martin who has left the glamour of Broadway to start an international Christian singing ministry with her husband. If you ever need a great Christian singer/performer, definitely look her up. She sang solos and led the praise worship in a lovely way that had everyone uplifted and joyful and ready to settle into the sessions with peaceful heart.

God is good and I can't wait to see what happens when I say "Yes!" to Him each day. He's waiting for you too!

"Being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus." Philippians 1:6 NIV

When you least expect it, you find yourself among humble giants. They don't ask for applause or encourage attention. You don't even realize who you are meeting at first. Or if you know the name, you don't know why these individuals make such an impact in the world around them, until they begin to talk.

This last week, I had the opportunity to sit with several women from throughout our region to plan a seminar for area pastors' wives. These women I met with have been very influential throughout their lives in public speaking, missions, women's ministries and some as pastors' wives themselves. And yet, graciousness ribboned every word. Every smile was measured with love and grace. I felt such an honor to rejoice with them, pray with them and commit our activities to the Lord together.

Another such experience happened last week on my final training day as a volunteer counselor a week ago. Several older volunteers came by to say "Hi" to us newbies and though their dress, their speech or their words did not convey seniority, the years of godly witness and experience flowing from them about knocked me to the floor. I was among humble giants for the Lord. They had spent years ministering to the needs of hurting young girls and now they were sharing the burdens and joys with us.

On a different note, I am currently in a state of flux deciding what to do for income, what to do for the community and what to do in service for the Lord. We learned in church today about glorifying the Lord everywhere we go whether out to the mall, to work or to the blogosphere. (See Musings for a more in depth discussion of this same sermon.) I agree that while we don't end every blog in some deep thought any more than co-workers end every discussion in deep thought, there is definitely a place and a time to be challenged in God's word. Our pastor has such a way with sharing the truths of God's scripture and telling us in love exactly what God wants us to be and how He will get us there.

My decision now is whether what I seek for profit is directly in service for the Lord or to work in a secular field and serve the Lord in my volunteer work. I am even throwing around the idea of selling Pampered Chef as a flexible option in my life for a little extra income that would allow me to be here working on other things part-time too. (Anyone out there sell Pampered Chef?) I wish I could just have money to give away and all the time to volunteer for needy organizations. I struggle with being profit motivated but that is what is going to help pay the bills.

Most importantly, I am learning through these humble spiritual giants to pray above all things, on all things, about all things, under and through all things and that God is faithful if we believe in Him. He knows our comings and goings and will see us through.

Easter morning, I sat down with a whooshing sigh of relief. I could almost hear the stress of the morning, even the week, breathing out and the warm comforting relief of the word of God filling up my empty tank. The girls were washed, dressed and pressed with toes and fingernails painted, bibles in hand and safely tucked, almost on time, in Sunday School. The fruit I cut this morning and the blueberry muffins I cooked last night were neatly added to the church refreshment table. I was enjoying spiritual nourishment now since I would have nursery duty during church. Everything was good and in the quiet moment I began to reflect, which is always dangerous.

The week has gone quickly. My husband was asked to be a "staff for the week" during Spring Break down in Mississippi where kids come on holiday to make a difference in the lives of those still suffering from Katrina hurricane damage. When my husband shot me a quick e-mail telling me about the request for his own volunteer service about two months ago, I said "Sure, fine." What I didn't realize what that he would be away the same week of spring break as our daughters and that his Sunday flight home would mean missing Easter morning and most of the dinner I had planned at my home with his parents and sister and family. Next time, I will check the calendar more closely. I am truly glad he enjoys this type of service but it would have been nice to have him home at least by the holiday morning.

So, my mind cycled in and out of the wonderful words about grace and suddenly it hit me, "What happened to the big muffin?" Last night, I cooked all the little mini-muffins for this morning and I had just enough batter left to cook one big muffin in the corner of the muffin tray. I know the big tray wasn't in the sink when I had my daughter wash dishes last night. My mind started whirling. "Did I turn off the oven?" "Did I leave that last tray in there?" "Was it burnt to a crisp?" I know the oven wasn't on this morning and if for some crazy reason it was, I couldn't do anything about it now.

So, I sat through more excellent words and reminders to us on how special we are in the eyes of God as His elect and what "the elect" means (which ended with some tough questions about children on this Easter morning). The topic appropriately sent me flying to relieve the staff at the nursery so they could get their morning coffee and fellowship. I was rewarded with holding beautiful children and rocking one precious boy to sleep who would never know I held him but might someday get the overpowering sense that we as a body of believers loved him and his family, and therefore God loves Him too.

After a lovely morning, the girls and I headed home. I started lunch and it hit me again – the  muffin! I whirled around. The oven was thankfully off and I opened the door tentatively. There as fresh and sweet as could be sat my little big muffin, not burned or even crisply. It must have cooled in the tray after I somehow remembered to turn off the heat. I was amazed that it didn't burn since the mini-muffins got crispy just in the short time recommended on the box.

I thought there must be an Easter analogy here somewhere. I thought of Jesus' followers who left Jesus thinking there was nothing more they could do. When they returned, he was in fact whole and alive. Then I thought that comparing Jesus to a blueberry muffin might be little hokey so I continued down the thought path and realized a better comparison is the necessity of taking the time to stop and reflect on what we are doing with our lives. Whether through a quiet time of prayer or a peaceful walk, our minds need time to catch up and take care of the loose ends. When we spend our time running around with our heads barely hanging on, things do get left behind, forgotten. Details get missed.

The day ended with a wonderful dinner with family and my dear husband blew into home base as the dessert was being served. We enjoyed hearing about his week and the people whose lives were changing through the efforts of individuals working during their vacation to see to the details of making a stranger's house a home once again.

It's Monday. God Bless you today as you stop and take the time to catch up. Breathe. Exercise. Pray.

Randy Alcorn's Heaven explains what he has learned about Heaven from reading the Bible, studying Christian scholars and working out the details. Honey, I plan to be there.
His rich description of colors, sensations, and the world out from under the curse makes me want to run, skip and jump all the way home. If I didn't love my family so much and know that God has me here now for a reason, I might be heading out for parachute-free sky jumping.

The funeral I went to this week of course brought to the forefront of my mind exactly that – Heaven. If Randy is right and we are going to be productive individuals fulfilling what our sinful natures could not, I know exactly what Molly is doing right now. She is scooping chocolate chip mint ice cream to all of her friends and even the strangers that pass by. She is wearing a suit and pearls with high heels.

Once, when asked what she wore during physical therapy, the inquirer had the nerve to suggest tennis shoes and warm-up pants. "Heavens, no. I wear my heels and skirt," exclaimed the ever lovely Molly, all the way up to 95.

In Molly's belongings, a little diary was found. It was from 1929 when she was 17. It listed all the boys she liked and little stars indicated which ones had "returned the affection." One listing noted that she would not let a particular boy kiss her goodnight. The next day's entry said, "I am still heartwhole." What a beautiful picture of purity of this young impressionable girl who loved to date and though she enjoyed the company, never did get married.

When I am in heaven, I will sing with Molly by a piano or perhaps with harps played by angels all around us. When I am in heaven, I will also spend time writing. I will write down everything I never wrote on earth, filling papyrus after papyrus and wrapping them into neat scrolls tied with golden ribbon and tucked neatly onto golden shelves. I won't worry about copyright issues and trademarks and infringements. I won't worry about marketing or money because I will be writing for God, fulfilling the desire he has put in my heart and that is all that will matter.

Whatever I will be doing, I am so excited to know the Lord and know that I will be with Him in heaven and I will never be bored being there. Why? Because I'll be hanging out with Molly scooping ice cream.

“God, make a fresh start in me, shape a Genesis week from the chaos of my life.” (Psalm 51:10, MSG)

I have just changed the header of my blog to Genesis Moments-A Writer's Journey, since the second part of the current header wasn't too original to start with anyway. I was reading a book on writing novels last night that talks about the writer being in his own private Genesis, creating scenes, people, places from nothing except the experiences and imagination in one's own head. Pretty cool, really.

Then, the most wonderful devotional came this morning from The Purpose Driven Life. I would highly recommend subscribing! It is always so motivational and encouraging.

Anyway, today's devotional encourages one to start fresh and new and let God pour grace into the chaos of our lives. This really spoke to my heart since I have just quit working full time. Creating structure in my day is really tough when I am studying how to write, writing, learning more about writing, writing, and oh yeah, doing laundry, cleaning, cooking and catching up on exercising and seeing friends.

Yesterday I heard on the news that it was the day most couples decide to call it quits if they are going down that path anyway. It must be something about the new year. Got through the holidays, winter blues set in, make a change now or never. I just pray that if you are reading this, you get encouragement to start fresh in positive ways. Don't make decisions too hastily. Watch from whom you get advice and be filled with God's joy in what you do today. Be creative, productive and have fun doing it! You have to start somewhere!

"When do we get to take communion?" "Does this gingerbread cookie count?" "When do I eat it?" "Why?"

How do I tell my precious children that communion is a sacred sacrament of the church, a time to join the ancient tradition of participating in the Lord's supper, a time to join the body of believers surrounding us in refreshing and renewing our minds, a time to put aside all distractions and focus on . . . .
"Mom, can I .  . .?"

Before I had kids, I would bow my head during communion and pray for renewal in my mind and spirit as the elements were passed. Once I had children, the all-seeing eye took over while one eye still shut in solemn reverance. Communion is a special time for me on Sunday morning and I don't want other church-goers to be distracted by my kids.

How do I pass on and leave a legacy of respect to my growing girls when so many distractions tempt us all? I sit there, bowed, wondering about knats at the Last Supper. If my children and I get  distracted so easily, I can only imagine what the disciples dealt with. They didn't even have windows. Darn, I got a  cracker piece with a burnt edge today.

Back to the reverential bowed head, serious this time. "Mom, psst, hey mom." I look up wearily,  hushing my child and scanning the rows in front of me.

What is that? Green, gooey? It can't be a hearing aid. No, that teenager has green spearmint gum behind his ear. No, oh, no. He can't possibly be . . . going to put that back in his mouth after communion. Sure enough, moments later, it was gone and the boy was chopping and smiling. Oh gross.

Forgive me Lord. Communion is over but at least I have a lesson to teach my children on distractions in communion and in life in general as we  get carried away with the details and forget  where our heart should be.

I think I'll tell me daughters about communion just the way I told you. It may not all sink in now but they'll get it someday and hopefully keep on learning like their mom.

Have you ever heard the term "a false sense of security?" People use the term when they are not wearing enough suntan lotion and think they can stay out in the sun longer. Or, children might have a "false sense of security" when playing on the local iced-over pond, not watching for thin spots.

This morning I became well acquainted with the term when I sat in my car, took a sip of coffee and proceeded to pour lukewarm, creamy coffee down the front of my pants and car seat.

Now, you ask, why would a grown woman pour coffee down the front of herself? It's all about the false sense of security I got when I first filled the cup. At the time, the only lid I could find was not big enough and I decided to chance that I would remember that and put it on anyway to catch any precious stray drips on the way to the car. I depended on my own common sense and short-term memory that when I got to the car that I would know I would have to take the lid off to drink it or I would do exactly what I did.

Gathering children, belongings, and everything else to get them to school and myself to the Y, my ever-increasingly short memory was caught by the blunder and now, instead of heading to the Y, I am home writing this blog on the dangers of a false sense of security with creamy coffee colored sweat pants drying uncomfortably on my leg.

It is amazing how many of the mistakes we make could be corrected with a moment of caution or care to start with. When we hurry, we justify our hasty actions and take risks that could potentially harm ourselves or others later. I would have been better off leaving the lid off of the cup so I would know to be more careful or better yet, leaving the coffee at home since I would be returning within the hour. Who needs coffee that bad anyway?! Okay, me, but that's another new year's resolution.

What has given you a false sense of security lately and what resulted?