have fun

I love to laugh and joke and cut up and tease people. I appreciate Caleb's sarcasm, miss my dad's dry humor, and think news bloopers are hilarious.  I love people who don't take themselves or life too seriously.  I've been bungee jumping with my friend Laura, parasailing with the hubs, ridden a camel with my pastor, and had the driver intentionally throw me and my girl friends off the banana boat.  And don't get me started about roller coasters.  I love roller coasters.  I once rode one a dozen times in a row. Put me in the front seat and let me scream in terror and delight. My favorites are the wooden ones that go 60 mph and make the creaky, clangy sound that convinces you that the whole thing is about to break apart.

I don't think there is enough fun being had in our modern day stressed-to-the-limit days.  There is plenty of stuff that brings us down.  Are we making room for what lifts us up?

And David was greatly distressed; for the people spoke of stoning him,

because the soul of all the people was grieved,

every man for his sons and for his daughters:

but David encouraged himself in the LORD his God.

1 Samuel 30:6

Modern versions say David strengthened himself in the Lord.  This tells me two things.  One, God puts some stuff on us to do.  We have a part to play in getting the encouragement and strength we need.  And two, how do we get strength?

.....the joy of the Lord is our strength.

Nehemiah 8:10

How many times has a good laugh brought some relief during a crisis?  The bible says a cheerful heart is good medicine (Ps. 17).  Is your life full of tough things?  Are your days consumed with responsibility? Then make sure you leave room for fun.  It will help.  Joy will strengthen you. Have an arsenal of coping skills that lift you up when you are down. If you take the time to enjoy yourself today, you will be refreshed and stronger for tomorrow.  Do you have a strained relationship? Find a way to create some light-hearted moments together and see if that helps.  Rent a comedy, hang out with friends, play Twister, ride your motorcycle, borrow your brother's convertible and take a ride on a sunny day.  Go camping, swimming, boating, skiing, dancing, hiking.  Ride the roller coaster. Lighten up. Have fun.  Live life!

Here are a few funny videos if you need some laughter right now.  This instant.  I need some joy, April.  Okay my darlings, I got 'cha......



"Tonight" by Rush of Fools

where are you?

Some precious soul is heavy on my heart today. Whoever it is, I have a prophetic word for you......

God wants to meet you, right where you are.

Sometimes, in the midst of sin, anger, disappointment, despair, etc. we find ourselves in a lonely place. We think we cannot get to God. We think the barrier between us and Him is too big. That we've been too bad.  Gone too long. Not spiritual enough. Unreachable.  Unlovable.  Unworthy.  All of that, my darling, is a lie from the slimy snake.  There is nothing you can do that would prevent God from wanting you.  There is nowhere you can go where His love cannot find you.  There is no sin that He is not willing to forgive.  There is no one that can change how God feels about you.

Where are you?  Spiritually?  Physically?  Emotionally?  That is where God wants to meet you.  In the bar. In your frustration of yet another surrender to addiction. Outside some place you shouldn't be.  In the doctor's office.  On an airplane.  Inside the cell. In the throws of depression. On the bathroom floor.  The hospital waiting room.  Funeral home. In the midst of a bad decision. College dorm.  Court room.

You don't have to be inside a church.  You don't have to clean yourself up first (let God do that, He does a better job and it's much much easier).  God loves you.  He is not mad at You.  He is calling somebody.  Answer Him......right where you are.

Never Alone Martin

let God do the math

I get very pensive every January. I have trained my spirit to fast and pray at the beginning of every new year.  The church that groomed me for ministry always provided women's retreats the first week of the new year.  I miss those days.  I found it easy to hear God speak to me when I was sequestered away like that.  While I don't always get a yearly retreat, I still petition the Almighty for fresh wisdom and direction for me and my family as we begin another year.


I don't know if you do this too, but if you don't, let me make a suggestion.  Take a good hard look at your life.  Take inventory.  Perform an evaluation.  Is there anything from 2010 that you don't want to carry into 2011? It could be anything, spiritual or natural. Is something nagging at you, disturbing your peace, weighing you down? Then maybe you need to subtract some stuff.  Lay something down. Let something go. Leave something behind.


Or, is there something new that you feel like God is calling you toward?  Maybe you need to add something to your life this year.  If it's something that you feel completely unfamiliar with, I assure you,  I can relate.  When I was sixteen years old, I knew God was calling me to worship dance ministry. This was back in the 1980s, when dance in the church was not a common form of worship. In fact, I had never heard of it before. Since I'd never seen it before, with my eyes, I could not figure out how in the world this was going to happen. I felt like Noah, building an ark because God said to, but having never seen rain.  However, my spirit could see it happening and I trusted God to do His thing.  I took the first step (pun intended).  I signed up for dance classes.  That was all it took.  God took over from there.  Within four months, I had mastered the basics of ballet.  Within six months, I was dancing in pointe shoes.  Within nine months, I was a student in a bible college that welcomed me into their dance ministry (oh, they do exist!).  Within one year, I was dancing on a team.  After fifteen months of that original calling, I was ministering worship dances and introducing a new form of worship to churches in Georgia, Alabama, and Florida.  After an eight-year hiatus to get married and birth children, I was directing my own dance teams.  Two years after that I was teaching dance conferences.  Another year later, I was teaching Christ-centered ballet classes in the community and holding recitals where people got saved.  All it took was me being willing to say "yes" and let God add something beautiful and powerful to my life.


I hope that encourages somebody.  As you have been reading, has something popped into your mind?  Talk to God about it.  Take the steps to make it happen.  Whether it's overcoming an addiction, mending a relationship, or serving God in a new, unfamiliar way, let me encourage you to go for it!  Do the math.  Finish the equations that God is writing on your heart.  Add or subtract as needed. 


And may the end of your 2011 feel amazing.

new year's blessing

My prayer for you, my blogging darlings, is that the new year will bring you peace, prosperity and good health, but also......

That you will come to trust God in new ways. Find treasures in darkness and riches in secret places. Experience new dimensions of love. Bless everyone around you. Turn things over to God that you cannot change. Find freedom and healing in painful places. Grow stronger in faith as you believe even when you don't see. Let go of the past. See the hand of God make rough places smooth. Have your desires satisfied by Him with good things. Become stronger physically, spiritually, and emotionally. Offer forgiveness when people don't treat you quite right. Enjoy new and exciting experiences. Speak the truth. Refuse to give up.

Happy 2011. I love you.