A Little Piece of Heaven

I have been slightly distracted lately. It’s not every day an angel comes down from heaven and graces your presence.
We have been blessed with a precious new grand ANGEL: Princess angel Savannah Joy arrived on May 20th. She is the firstborn to my youngest daughter.
To  say I am smitten is a huge understatement. If hearts are capable of melting, mine has done just that.
I will never cease to  be in awe of God’s amazing creation, the perfection of His handiwork never ceases to amaze me. I am pretty sure my world has shifted on it’s axis, never to be the same again.
I may get my wits about me again soon and begin blogging about pertinent topics, but for now, my head is in the clouds.

XO
Praying all is well with you!
Sherry

BY FAITH

"Ever find yourself wondering what the next step is in life? Feel like you are just not sure what God wants you to do next?
That is exactly how I have been feeling in this current season of my life.
I poured myself whole-heartedly  into creating Soul Steps then launching it, and hosting 3 seven-week sessions. During this time I was also training to become a Christian Life Coach. I have since received my certification. I have been diligent, devoted, nose-to-the grindstone, busy,  getting it done.
And now.
Now I am finding myself in a strange season of life. Not at all because I have nothing to DO. I doubt I will ever find myself at a time in life when I do not  have a lengthy to-do list waiting to be checked off. I am ever productive and always have a project or ten that I am working on. But there is something different about this little lul I am in.  Which by the way comes in very handy because I have a precious grand-angel about to arrive.  ;)
This morning I went to the Word for some direction and clarification. I figured I would finish where I left off in Hebrews and after I did that I would look for further inspiration. Yea, well it was all right in front of me all along.
You see I have been reading and journaling in my new journaling Bible and as I read Hebrews 11 & 12 and then looked back over some of the notations I have made in the journaling column I found the very answers I was seeking. Isn't that just like God!? Confirmation that God wants us to share, to "stir up one another." The Word reminded me that He does not want us to "throw away our confidence." That "we have need of endurance to do the will of God."
Of course while reading all of this my ever questioning mind of mine was already working overtime.  Questions popping into my head while I was reading verse after verse of inspiration. Then I flipped to the pages that points  out how the "people of old" did the things they did BY FAITH.  Verse after verse tells of those who acted BY FAITH: Abraham, Noah, Sarah, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, Joseph. BY FAITH the Egyptians crossed the Red Sea, BY FAITH the walls of Jericho crumbled. (See Hebrews 11)
The questions I have about the details, the things that I cannot figure out are apparently to be dealt with BY FAITH.
Hebrews 11:8 says "BY FAITH Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to a place that he was to receive as an inheritance. And he went out not knowing where he was going...by faith...."
So I may not know where I am going or how to navigate my way there but I do know the One who does. Today I will begin taking the first steps of faith forward into this land unknown. Trusting that He knows and He will show me the way.
Let me encourage you to do the same. Do not continue standing with your feet planted in fear. That dream, that vision, those things you have meant to do...start today. One step at a time. BY FAITH. Believe me you will not be alone if you invite Him as your travel partner.

Happy Mother's Day

As we embark upon this sweet holiday of honoring MOTHER'S, I want to wish each one of you a very happy day.
My heart is truly thinking of the broad range of women that might read this; some who are moms with healthy relationships with their children, some bearing the terrible pain of children who have died far too soon. There are moms who might not know where there child is. Mothers who live with regret at the way they raised their children. Women whose hearts and wombs desperately long to have a child of their own.
There may be some of you who no longer have a husband in the home to make sure a Mother's Day Celebration is had or maybe he is right there and still there is nothing special being offered up. Maybe you cannot be with your child or children on this allocated holiday and it breaks your heart.
There are those who have never had a mom to celebrate, and you wish like crazy you did. Some have had the greatest mom ever but she is no longer here and your heart aches desperately as you miss her terribly.
Whatever category you fall into ladies I want you to know that although Mothers Day is a precious holiday to celebrate in the best of circumstances, if you do not find yourself in that particular situation, that's okay! YOU are still worth celebrating.
Whether you are a mom, have a mom or want to be a mom, I hope that you take  time this weekend to honor yourself in a way that feeds your soul. What would that be?
Do you know what feeds your soul?
I talk to the women about this in Soul Steps; We need to know what the things are that re-fuels us and energizes us body, spirit and soul. In knowing what that is you will always be able to tap into that source that refreshes you. For me it will be going to church then driving up to the mountain and taking a little hike and having a picnic. That will feed my soul tremendously.
Think about what you can do this weekend to refresh your Spirit and honor YOU, whether you are a mom or not.
I would love to hear what YOU would do to refresh your soul.
Happy Weekend
XO
Sherry

Near Misses and How They Make You Pause

This wasn't the first near miss in my life but it shook me just the same.
Last night after a very long day of travel I had an experience that shook me to my core. I was a mere mile from home on a residential side street when I noticed two sets of headlights in front of me. One set in my lane. I no sooner made this discovery when in a flash the car owning the headlights in my lane swooshed past me, barely making it into the other lane without colliding into me. The vehicle was gone in no time, traveling at a very high speed. I felt like I stood still in time. My home just the other side of the orchard I was slowly passing.
Thoughts of this moment have haunted me today as I have pondered my husband, children, grandchildren and friends.
When I received a KIK message from my son this morning with a picture of the moon hovering in the cloudy Japan sky my heart leapt to think, his momma would not have been here to receive this message and that would have broken my sons heart.
When I was speaking on the phone with my very pregnant daughter giving me the latest doctors report, my heart broke to think of a grand angel that would have arrived without her mimi present in her life.
As my other daughter who just became a mimi herself sent me a photo of her precious angel yet another tear slipped from my eyes.
Oh and the man I came home to. I cannot imagine the heartbreak of not having the one who he has spent 38 years of life with not being here beside him.
I realize how dramatic this all sounds. Yet I recall the way I almost could feel the breeze as the car swooshed past me on a dark street I travel quite often.
The message that is ringing in my heart is one of pure gratitude. This time in a way I do not normally focus. Far too many times I find myself forgetting to remember that I matter. I would be quick to think about how missed one of my loved ones would be if they told me this story happening to them. Yet it is not often I take a moment to realize the important role I play.
Many of us spend our lives valuing others and not ourselves. We are the only one of US that will ever exist. We hold a role that no one else ever will again, EVER.
Lest you think this is a selfish-over dramatic tale. Let me just challenge you to think about it. Put yourself in the leading role of my story of last nights event and think about what it is YOU need to realize. Maybe you too have forgotten to remember your tremendous value and worth? The impact you have on hearts and lives all around you every single day?
As you go along in your day today do not forget to remember your true value and worth to EVERYONE around you.
May you be blessed as you are also a blessing.
XO
Much love,
Sherry