Take Your Vitamins

A vitamin regimen requires daily action. You must take a vitamin every day to keep consistent doses of each vitamin in your system. Doing so maintains proper health and keeps your energy levels strong.

You couldn't just take 7 vitamins on Sunday and call it good for the week. Yet, so many of us do just that for our spiritual health. We get a little dose of God on Sunday and call it a week. Or worse, we attempt to make up for lost time taking in large doses of scripture that instead of giving us teachable moments, overdose or overwhelm us.

When I take in daily doses of the Bible I maintain a steady communication with God, and maintain my spiritual health and energy. If I try to take in a huge dose once a week, I lose the opportunity to see daily glimpses of God in my every day life. I need to be consistent.

Next time you hear someone talking about vitamins, consider if you've had your Vitamin B (Bible!) for the day!

Don't Stop, Fleetwood Mac

Don't stop thinking about tomorrow,
don't stop, it will soon be here.
It'll be better than before.
Yesterday's gone. Yesterday's gone!
Don't Stop, Fleetwood Mac, 1977

I have a past. I have alot of things in my background I'm not proud of. I'm sure I could make many Christians shutter with tales of my sinful life. But that sinful life is a testimony to God's grace. God's love has changed my life and I will never be the same again!

Looking at my background, I have two choices. I can continue to condemn myself and never be one of God's workers, because I'm not good enough. Or, I can think about the person I am now, and use that past history as my testimony.

The devil accuses me, and makes me embarrassed of my past, and not want to share it. But Jesus says, "Yesterday's gone. Yesterday's gone!" So I won't stop thinking about tomorrow. It WILL be better than before!

Fleetwood Mac's song, simply echoes the words of Paul, "Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus." Philippians 3:13,14.

Forgetting what is behind...yesterday's gone! Straining toward what is ahead...don't stop thinking about tomorrow!

Don't let your past hold you back. Yesterday's gone. Look forward to tomorrow, and celebrate today. God loves you and has a plan for your life. Don't stop!

Which Way?

Have you ever had too many ideas, and not sure which way to go? I have lots of blog ideas. I have titles and tidbits written on little pieces of paper. I have a sentence or two written in saved blog posts to remind me of what I want to blog about. And they are good ideas. Yet, I'm unable to pull these good ideas into a post. It's like I'm not in the "zone."

I know what I want to say, and almost how to say it. The words would fly from my finger tips onto the keyboard into a post that teaches a lesson while holding the readers interest, making them laugh, or contemplate or say "Oh, yes, I get that!"

I am thinking about skit writing, women's retreat talks, conferences, Spring Break, our family schedule, Bible study completing, and more. My mind is a jumble of thoughts. I need to step out, but on which path?

Like Martha in the Bible, I feel myself bothered about many things. But like Mary, I need to know that only one thing is needed. Only one thing is necessary. The One. I need to put my focus on Jesus. He will clear my thoughts. He will calm my soul. He will show me the way, because He is The Way.

Help From My Friends, Beatles

Oh I get by with a little help from my friends...
Mmm, I'm gonna try with a little help from my friends.
Help From My Friends, Beatles, 1967

I hate asking for favors! Just the thought of that I can't do it myself in my fragile mind evokes the feeling of weakness, or worse, failure. I am (after all) woman - hear me roar! I can do anything, I am strong, I am invincible, I am woman! Okay, it's a Musical Monday WITHIN a Musical Monday! Where was I? Oh yes, getting by with a little help from my friends. Helen Reddy will be back with I am Woman another day. Today, it's the Beatles.

Last week with the death of my mother-in-law, and subsequent travel of my husband, I was forced to ask for help. Because the truth is, I'm not invincible. Only God is. I am flawed and in need of help, especially when my helpmate (husband) is gone.

I am thankful for Christian friends who come along side me, and help with meals, carpool, childcare and emotional support. It's been a hard week, no doubt. But I got by with a little help from my friends. I still don't like asking for help, but I'm gonna try with a little help from my friends.

Proverbs 27:10
Do not forsake your friend or a friend of your family, and do not go to your relative’s house when disaster strikes you— better a neighbor nearby than a relative far away.

Tears in Heaven, Eric Clapton

Would you know my name, if I saw you in Heaven?
Would it be the same, if I saw you in Heaven?
Tears in Heaven, Eric Clapton, 1992

It is never easy when a loved one dies, regardless of the situation. My mother-in-law, Mary, died yesterday. (Not to be confused with my sister with the same name.) My mother-in-law was more than ready to go. Her body had betrayed her in the last few years, first sending her to walker, and finally to a wheelchair. She had rheumatoid arthritis.

Last year she said she didn't know why God was making her stay on the earth, she was ready to go home. She and her husband, Joe, had to move to the nursing home. Her independent spirit didn't like her increasingly dependant situation. She'd had a long good life, she loved Jesus and she was ready, at the age of 86.

So, it isn't with sadness that she is now walking on her own two feet into the presence of Jesus. She is filled with joy. I can't help but think of the children's song, "He went walking and leaping and praising God, Walking and leaping and praising God, 'In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth rise up and walk.'" Though she was never one seeking attention, I picture her walking and leaping and praising God. And it's a good thought.

But still we are sad. We will miss her. Having never had a loving mother figure of my own, she helped fill that void. She loved me, not because I was John's wife, but because I was Kelly. She encouraged me to be the strong woman I am.

She took in a scared 11 year old boy, who was my husband, and raised and loved him as her own. Her headstone, which she & her husband pre-arranged, is engraved with the words, "Parents of Richard and John." He was their son, regardless of birth.

I know there are no tears in heaven. But excuse me if I shed a few on earth. Still, I know I'll see Mary again and we'll be reunited...in heaven.

Charged Up

His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness. 2 Peter 1:3

I HAVE A RECHARGABLE VACUUM that is great for quick cleanups around the house. I say quick cleanups because while it starts off strong, after a while the motor begins to slow down, and the vacuum requires a recharge. It has to be plugged in for its battery to get more power. After a recharge its power is increased, and it’s ready again.

Our faith is like that vacuum. To find out how, join me over at Titus 2 in Action where I am a guest contributor today.

She Speaks Entry

"Kelly is a top student, when she isn't talking."
"Does good work, but could cut down on talking."
"A pleasure to have in class. Talkative."
"Kelly is talkative!"

Those who know me well would not be surprised by these actual comments on my high school report cards. It seems I've always had a big mouth, and liked talking. And no surprise, my blog is called Chatty Kelly. It just fits.

But who could have imagined all those years ago in high school, that my "gift of gab" could actually be a gift from God? Not my teachers, certainly! Who could blame them?

Yet here I am! Just a chatty girl who loves Jesus! And who is using that "big mouth" to tell people about Him. And that's why I'd like to win the scholarship to attend the She Speaks Conference, Speakers track.

Three years ago, an older woman encouraged me that I should try to be published. She'd read my article in the Mothers of Preschoolers newsletter and saw something in me I had never seen in myself...potential. At first I thought she was just being nice, but after some more encouragement I sent off my first query letter to my favorite Christian women's magazine, P31 Woman. Imagine my surprise when they responded they liked my article...but it was too long!

Imagine that, "too wordy," they said. Me? Chatty Kelly? I cut the article by nearly 900 words, resubmitted it, and my first article was published, called "My Perfect Parent" in the November, 2008 issue. I've continued writing, but now hear the call to start my speaking ministry.

Proverbs 31 is very near and dear to my heart. I started blogging because I wanted to participate in Lysa TerKeurst's (P31's president) "swap and hop." I became a Lysa TerKeurst "groupie." My first article was published in P31 Woman magazine. And I attended She Speaks 2008 on the writer's track, where I learned the nuts and bolts of effective writing, which led to more publications, including a recent publication in Guideposts Extraordinary Answers to Prayer, Closer to God.

She Speaks sounds like the perfect place for me, because when people think of Chatty Kelly, they think "She speaks!" Seriously, I'd love to have the opportunity to fellowship with other Christian women who feel the same call in their life, and have a chance to learn from the gifted and talented P31 staff and their conference guest speakers.

I hope to be able to win the Cecil Murphey Scholarship this year. God gave me the gift of gab, and I want to use it for His glory.

If you'd like a chance to win this scholarship, visit Lysa TerKeurst's blog post. To learn more about the conference, visit She Speaks.