Live Like You're Dying

WHAT a WHIRLWIND the last 8 months has been: - Moved to Houston - Started a new job - Grandma passed away - Moved into a new house - 9 weddings in 4 months - Broke up with my boyfriend - My aunt passed away - Death of a high school friend (and my best friend's boy friend)               [I think that's about it.. not a whole lot though right? JK] In that time, one of THE most important lessons I've learned is God is in control.  I've never considered my self to be prideful, but this past week the sermon was about humility.  And I can truly say the year of 2011 has been a year of humility.  God has consistently and conscientiously reminded me that I can't do it on my own.  In the past, I feel like I've gotten by being "happy" through friends, life, and external things of this world.  It's almost like until we are broken, our life will be self-centered, self-reliant; and our strength will be our own.  It's in that time of br...

 Joyce Meyer had a good sermon the other day about “why”.  WHY -  is there child sexual abuse? a young woman at 25 who passes away unexpectedly? a child is born disabled?  What Joyce says is we are not able to answer those questions – only God knows.  But Joyce says what she does know is that God gives us grace and strength to go through these situations.    Well here's another one.  Why does a 27 year old man die one week after taking his bar exam; 3 months after graduating law school and why did his girl friend, one of my best friends, have to be the one that found him?  I don't know the answer to any of those questions and I won't know on this side of heaven- I'm sure of it.  But I know God has a purpose and a plan and I know that He is going to heal my girl friend through this difficult time.  And I'm writing this to ask you to join me faithfully in prayer for healing and comfort for my friend, Michelle, and for Ryan's ...

One of my guy friends asked me the other day, "Lynne, why is it that you're friends with all the good guys but you never date them?"  To which I responded, "I guess it's because the good guys never pursue me."  The next day, one of the people I follow on twitter wrote: "To all the single women wondering where all the decent guys are:  they are in the friend zone- right where you left them." So it really got me thinking about the guys that I am friends with versus the guys I date. Why am I attracted to the guys I date versus these amazing guys I call my friends?  I mean, clearly whatever I've been doing hasn't been working out..  It's not like I'm dating these horrible guys-  I'm not.  I've definitely had my fair share of bad apples but not all of my exes are like that. I guess my purpose in writing this is just to tell other women to really evaluate what you want in a relationship and don't budge.  If you are ABSO...

Thanks to a friend, I read this fabulous article about trimming people out of your life that aren't really "friends".  I told her how much I absolutely loved it because there comes a time in life when you have to let go of all the pointless drama and the people who create it and surround yourself with people who make you laugh so hard that you forget the bad and focus solely on the good.  After all, life is too short to be anything but happy. Recently, I did a lot of what this article calls "trimming the friend fat" and I can say I have never been happier (in Houston at least) then what I am right now.  I still have a ways to go, but I'm beginning to find 'me'.  Let me share part of a letter my best friend, Chelsea, sent to me: "I just wanted to let you know that you are an amazing person. I am so happy to have found a friend like you. You have one of the most generous, non-judgmental hearts of anyone I have ever met and that truly endears ...

A girl in my Bible study painted an incredible picture of faith last night during study.  She said faith is like standing at the top of a 10 meter diving board and looking down at a waterless pool.  God says "jump and trust that I will fill the pool with water before you get there." Would you jump? To be honest, I don't think I would.  I get scared jumping from the 10 meter when there is water below me!  And asking me to jump with no water?!?!  I just don't think I could do it. That fact, that feeling is hard for me to deal with/swallow, because I know I've trusted God in the past and He has been faithful.  But have I really said, "ok God I trust you COMPLETELY.  Where you lead I will follow"? No, I haven't.  You know why?  Because I'm afraid of where He'll send me.  What if He says "Go to Haiti and be a missionary", "quit your job and go work with the homeless"?  The truth is I trust God just enough to follow His path ...

Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.    1 Peter 5:8  My parents' pastor shared a story about back in the late 80s, when he was in Dallas, Texas a group of about 50 ministers met to talk about the war on drugs. One minister’s wife stood up and spoke to all of us about her own story. She told them about her addiction to Valium and prescription drugs and how it almost destroyed her marriage and her husband’s ministry.    Addiction can happen to anyone. And as I look around today, I see so many people with so many addictions. There are drugs, yes. But there’s also addiction to work; there’s addiction to social media; there’s addiction to pornography; there’s addiction to sports, to name just a few. Addiction can be to anything that owns you and owns your affections. And today’s passage tells us that addictions that steal away our rational thoughts are evil and cripple us ...

They say two things in life are certain: death and taxes.  And yet, when some one dies, even when we know it's coming because of something like cancer, it doesn't make it easier.  My good friend reminded me that "Death will be a celebration for those who believe."  I have no doubt my Aunt Pat is celebrating with our maker in Heaven right now, but I'm still upset that she is gone.  I'm still in mourning. This has been a tough year, and it's hard to see people hurting like my family.  Praise the Lord I'm in such a better place right now than I was two months ago when I first heard about my aunt's diagnosis because I know that this too shall pass... WHAT CANCER CANNOT DO Cancer is so limited... It cannot cripple love  It cannot shatter hope It cannot corrode faith It cannot destroy peace It cannot destroy confidence It cannot kill friendship It cannot suppress memories It cannot silence courage It cannot invade the soul It cannot steal eternal lif...