Humility, Humor & Honesty

A lot has been going on lately including a trip to Colorado to visit a dear friend. Since Mike and the kiddos stayed behind, my friend Georgina and I had lots of interrupted conversation. It. Was. Awesome. We talked about everything. Our families, friends, life, work, travel and most importantly our relationship with God and others.

One thing that really occurred to us was that in all of our relationships (God included) if we keep the following three things in mind, we can get far!!!

Humility, Humor & Honesty.

It is amazing how many walls will break down if we all employ these attributes...

Margin: what is it? how do I get it? is it even necessary?

MARGIN: for some reason I keep hearing this word lately- it's possible that I am saying it to myself but nevertheless it's there, ringing in my ear.

Dictionary.com defines margin as follows: an amount allowed or available beyond what is actually necessary. Today, I am thinking about margin in terms of applying it to our own personal time. So, as I understand it, margin with regard to time means that if I "have margin," I have extra time in my schedule, an "amount (of time) available beyond what I need." 


Now I ask you: Do you have margin? Do you/we need margin? Why? The reason I am asking is because I feel like I should have margin but I really don't. Two things happened recently to make me examine my (lack of) margin.

1. At the missions conference I attended recently, the speaker discussed the story of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10). This story is just filled with busy, important people- they saw the injured man but just couldn't be bothered-OR did they just not have any margin?! 
2. About a week ago my sister saw a woman crying by the side of the road and she just couldn't drive by. She tried to help the woman but the woman didn't want any help. She had had a fight with her husband and he had just kicked her out of the house and she didn't have anywhere to go so she was just sitting there, on the sidewalk, crying. She was thankful to Tiff but didn't want to leave her kids behind; her husband will let her back in eventually. My sister couldn't help her but she didn't pass her by either.

As I have thought about both of these scenarios, I ask myself: would I have stopped? Am I a selfish person if I hadn't? If I am being really honest here I think the answers are No to the first and No* to the second (notice the astrix). This is tricky because in 2011 there are 1000s reasons to drive right on by and only a handful of reasons to stop. We really need to examine why we are passing by human need so easily?


I would venture to say that we have no margin.  We are good people, we are Christians, we care about other's suffering and needs but we have no extra time to address these injustices. People, you and I need to MAKE TIME. CREATE MARGIN. Leave that door open so we can be available to others when the Father leads! One thing I do know is my "No*" could quickly become a definitive yes if I am not actively examining my motives and actions.


The missionary said one other thing: Do not pass by the reality of human need in 4 major areas: Family, the Church, our Community, and the World. Do you know the names and needs of your neighbors?


How to create margin: Say no. If you must say yes, wait 24 hours- you may change your mind. If you have any other ideas, please comment!!!

Our house in San Jose, Costa Rica... We always left our door open.

God Doesn't Wear a Watch

Originally posted on our website February 9, 2011
I have been excited about this opportunity to blog a little bit and what I want to share today just wouldn't let me go... so I guess that means it's blog-worthy?!

So I love watches. I love to make lists, calenders, charts. I love to check things off and then I like to look at the list with all the checks and smile. ahhhh... the thought of that just makes me happy! While training for the NYC marathon, I enjoyed following the training chart set out for me and even though there were always difficult runs on the horizon (20-miler anyone?!) I loved knowing what was coming, what was expected of me, and how I was gonna get that marathon under my belt!

The thing is, although I know the Father loves to see us accomplish our goals, his process and end goals are not mine. His "watch" looks way WAY different. 

I have been encouraged this week by two passages:

Exodus 2:10-15- Moses gets "kicked out" of Egypt (hmmm sounds a little familiar) and verse 15 ends with him just sittin' by a well with no idea what he is supposed to do next!

Hebrews 11:8- By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going. Yup. Had no idea where he was going. NOT A CLUE. 

These men were loved by God and but had times where things didn't quite add up. The timing seemed "off." It would have been easy to fall into those feelings of homelessness, loneliness, and directionlessness.... Is directionlessness a word?!... well I'm makin' it one :) These men chose to have faith in God, to follow in times of uncertainty and believe that God would provide.

Nope. God doesn't wear a watch... His timing is perfect.

A Perscription for Contentment

Originally posted on our website March 15, 2011
On September 15, 1999 I lost my dear friend Kim Jones in a tragic event. The weeks that followed were mostly a blur of tears, questions and prayers except for a few key events that made a huge impression on me. One of those came in the form on an e-mail from Kim's dad Stan. When he returned to the family home after the funeral he went into Kim's room and found some profound words written on the back of her bedroom door. After finding these precious words, he e-mailed me to share about it. Over the years, I lost that email and was very sad about it! The words spoke about being content but I had often thought about that email: what were those exact words??

This last week in Houston afforded me a special privilege of visiting Kim's parents once again. Stan, Stephanie and Kim's brother Tim are extremely special people and have been such an encouragement to me through these years. I absolutely adore them and every time I see them, I feel loved, encouraged and thankful to know them.

On this particular visit Stephanie gave me a book (among other words of wisdom) called Calm My Anxious Heart by Linda Dillow. She told me Kim had read this book and really loved it. It had encouraged her through the years and everyone she shared it with. She also told me that Kim herself said "Mom, this book is very powerful and would change our world if the people that read it would really live it out in their day-to-day lives."

Well, today I cracked this book for myself and was absolutely floored to discover the following words:

A Prescription for Contentment

• Never allow yourself to complain about anything- not even the weather.
• Never picture yourself in any other circumstances or someplace else.
• Never compare your lot with another's.
• Never allow yourself to wish this or that had been otherwise.
• Never dwell on tomorrow- remember that (tomorrow) is God's, not ours.

Unbelievably, these were the words Stan had sent me from Kim's bedroom door over 10 years ago. I have been challenged today and and sincerely pray that I can (once again) embrace these truths and move forward with a spirit of contentment.

If you are interested in reading this book with me, email me! If you are interested in learning more about my dear friend Kim Jones, please go to her website!