Freedom

7 June, 2012 by Leave a Comment
What does the word “freedom” mean to you? 
  •      You’ve just been released from prison? 
  •      You are finally out of that abusive relationship you’d been in? 
  •      You are free from the bonds of an addiction? 
  •      You’ve finally paid off those student loans from school? 
  •      You finally got out of your three year old daughter’s room that she locked you in            with the lock you put on the door to lock her in? (Yes, that really happened…but thank goodness not to me!) 
One of the worse traps people put themselves in from childhood to the grave, is worrying about what other people think. Someone once gave me some very good advice, and at the time I never realized how much I would cherish it. “What other people think of you is their problem, not yours.” 
There are hundreds of ways we feel trapped, and I want to share with you the way to freedom from everything. Twenty-one months ago, I was trapped. Once God freed me from a seven-year struggle with my health, he has shown me how to have freedom in everything. Now stick with me here, I’m not saying it is EASY, but once you get a taste of how sweet freedom in Christ is, you’ll never want to turn back. 
    
Freedom in forgiveness—In Matthew 18:21-22, God tells us to forgive those who have wronged us. How many times? Seventy times seven. When you can let go of a grudge…truly forgive the person who has wronged you and let God be their judge, you would be amazed at the weight lifted from your shoulders.
Then Peter came up and said to him,
 “Lord, how often will my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? 
As many as seven times?” Jesus said to him,
 “I do not say to you seven times, but seventy times seven.”
He also tells us in Mark 11:25, in order for God to forgive our sins, we must forgive those who have sinned against us. Now if that isn’t enough reason to forgive, I don’t know what is! 
And whenever you stand praying, forgive,
 if you have anything against anyone, 
so that your Father also who is in heaven 
may forgive you your trespasses. 
Freedom from worry—God tells us not to worry. By worrying about something does it do you any good? Does the situation change by worrying about it? No. Action may change it, but worry doesn’t. 
Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin… (Matthew 6:25-34 ESV)
Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made know to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 4:6-7 ESV)
Freedom from fear—Everyone is afraid of something. But just like worry, does fear really do us any good? An action that helps us with that fear is good, but the fear itself is in vain. In a previous blog (Life is good, Eternity is better) I shared a story about Jeff Strueker faced with a life and death situation during the gulf war. He could fear death, but instead he chose to look at it like this: If he died in battle, he would get to receive his award in heaven and begin his eternity with Jesus. If he survived, he would gain his reward here, go back home to his wife and continue God’s work. Win-win.  
For God gave us a spirit not of fear 
but of power and love and self-control. 
(2 Timothy 1:7 ESV)
 So have no fear of them, for nothing is covered that will not be revealed, or hidden that will not be known. What I tell you in the dark, say in the light, and what you hear whispered, proclaim on the housetops. And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell. Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? And not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. But even the hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not, therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows. So everyone who acknowledges me before men, I also will acknowledge before my Father who is in heaven, but whoever denies me before men, I also will deny before my Father who is in heaven. (Matthew 10:26-33 ESV)
Fear of the Lord himself is the only fear that should drive our actions. He is our creator, our judge, and our savior, and is the only one who decides our eternity. 
The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge; 
fools despise wisdom and instruction. 
(Proverbs 1:7 ESV)
In the prescribed verse of the day, God tells us that we will have troubles in this world. We know that. The part we need to remember so well is “I have overcome the world.” We get so easily caught up in our troubles of this world. And while we must deal with them accordingly, if we can remember that someday this world will be no more and look at the bigger picture, maybe our grudges, worries, and fears will be a little easier to let go. Freedom in Christ is an amazing way to live.
I have a little leather bracelet that helps me remember not to let my thoughts imprison me. Embossed in the leather are the simple words, “Change your thoughts and you will change your world.” 

Freedom. 
From my heart, 

Celeste
P.S. If you are a blogger and post a blog about freedom, be sure to enter to win a free blog design that Ashley and George are offering over at Tekeme Studios. Click here for the link 😉 Just by commenting on this blog post you’ll be entered for the drawing once! Just be sure and leave your e-mail address in the comment. (No spam, I promise!)
Filed Under: Fighting Your Fears, Freedom in Christ, Living in Faith, Living with Purpose Tagged With: , , , ,

Make-a-change Monday~My Neighbor, the Farmer

4 June, 2012 by Leave a Comment

I love the convenience of the grocery store. One stop shopping, everything in one place. I  try to buy organic when I can, shopping at Whole Foods or Earth Fare, but I do my share of Wal-Mart shopping as well. 


Well, my family and I went on a “Farm Tour” this weekend. That’s a sentence I never thought I’d say. Here in the Upstate, there are about 30 farms within easy driving distance that all participated in a tour to make people more aware of them and their products. There is a Buffalo Farm right here in Simpsonville! Real, live Yosemite Buffalo! And they are a breeding farm only…no killing. So I loved that. 


Anyway, one farm in particular really made an impression on me and got me thinking. Happy Cow Creamery, less than 10 miles from my house, works very hard to provide local, healthy milk to the community. The owner has grown the farm from the ground up. They have their own “closed” herd of cows so no disease or bacteria are introduced from elsewhere. They minimally heat the milk so any possible bacteria are destroyed, but the enzymes that are valuable to our health are not. Tom Trantham, the owner of Happy Cow, lives a good, but modest, life. He cares about people and wants to help provide his community with healthy milk. The kind of milk that has been shown to prevent cancer. The kind of milk people can drink even when they have been labeled “lactose intolerant.” And it’s affordable. He has even been to Washington on our behalf to fight improper labeling of dairy products that make the public think they are making healthy choices. 


I’ve bought Happy Cow milk in the past, but just when it was convenient. But Tom Trantham is my neighbor. He started this farm because he cares about me. He doesn’t know me personally, but I am in his community and he started this farm because he cares about his community. 


The second most important commandment in the Bible is this:

 B)”>‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’
(Mark 12:31 ESV)

Let me repeat that. You shall love your neighbor as yourself is the second most important commandment in the Bible. Only behind the first: 

And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul 
and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ 
(Mark 12:30 ESV)

I’m thinking that God puts a pretty high priority on the whole “love your neighbor” thing. 

Today’s prescription verse to stir up one other to love and good works and to encourage one another. 

I never would have realized how much Tom Trantham has done for our community had I not gone on that Farm Tour. He has made me realize the importance of supporting what our neighbors do for us. I’ve always liked to support local business for the sake of the economy. But this goes deeper than economy. This is about community. I will be making a point to visit Happy Cow not only for the great milk they provide, but to support my neighbor in his good efforts. To encourage and motivate him to continue his efforts to make us healthier. He is my neighbor. I’ll be taking that little country drive out to Happy Cow for my milk and cheese from now on. 

Do you support people in your community who are trying to do good works? 

My {make-a-change Monday} challenge is this: Don’t get so wrapped up in yourself that you forget about your neighbor. Do something to encourage and uplift someone in your community who is trying to make a difference. 

Even if it is just buying the milk from their cow instead of someone else’s. 
From my heart, 
Celeste

 

Filed Under: Eating to Live, Making Changes Tagged With: , , , ,

Tips to a Happier You in 2012~What are you afraid of?

2 June, 2012 by Leave a Comment

There really is an app for everything. My kids were playing with my phone the other day asking me things like, “Do you know what Astrophobia is? Or what about Didaskaleinophobia? Katasaridaphobia?” They found an app that listed all known phobias. A smorgasbord of all of the crazy—and not so crazy—things people are afraid of. Did you know there are over 500 identified and named phobias? Here’s a small sample:

  • Astrophobia– Fear of stars or celestial space.
  • Katsaridaphobia– Fear of cockroaches (Who isn’t?).
  • Didaskaleinophobia– Fear of going to school (I had this one in 6th grade).
  • Amnesiphobia—Fear of amnesia (Wouldn’t you just forget you were afraid of it?).
  • Hexakosioihexekontahexaphobia—Fear of the number “666.”
  • Mageirocophobia—Fear of cooking (This is a current one for me!).
  • Alektorophobia—Fear of chickens.
  • Osmophobia or Osphresiophobia—Fear of body odors.
  • Consecotaleophobia—Fear of chopsticks.
  • Vestiphobia—Fear of clothing. 
  • Disposophobia—Fear of hoarding (Now I NEED this one).
  • Gymnophobia or Nudophobia—Fear of nudity (I’m thinking the Gymnophogiac wouldn’t get along too well with the Vestiphobiac)
  • Asymmetriphobia—Fear of assymetrical things (If you ever saw the show “Monk,” you know it was one of his top fears). In fact….
Enjoy this clip from “Monk,” one of my faves 😉

Now some phobias are a little easier to understand: 

  • Thanatophobia—Fear of dying or death.
  • Ochophobia—Fear of being in a moving Automobile.
  • Ichthyophobia—Fear of fish (Miranda has this one).
  • Hadephobia, Stygiophobia or Stigiophobia—Fear of Hell.
  • Dementophobia or Maniaphobia—Fear of insanity. (I experienced this once when I had a drug interaction. I thought I was going to end up in a straight jacket staring at four white walls!)
  • Aviophobia or Aviatophobia or Pteromerhanophobia—Fear of flying. (I recently overcame this one!)
If you are fascinated, amazed, or just want to find the name of your phobia, they are ALL listed on The Phobia Index for your convenience 😉
I’m thinking there are a LOT of people scared of a LOT of things for there to actually be crazy names for this many fears. 
Why? 
If we say we believe in an almighty God, the creator of the earth and everything in it, can we not take him at his word? One of my life verses is John 16:33:
In this world you will have trouble.
But take heart, I have overcome the world.
And in today’s prescription verse from Philippians, Paul (who experience trouble and persecution around every corner) tells us not to be anxious or afraid of anything. Just let God handle it. He has it all under control, even though it’s beyond our understanding.
That’s where our faith comes in. 
I know I have quite a few blogs about fear, but I didn’t realize the prison of fear I lived in until God showed me that He has it under control. I had to learn the hard way, and I’m hoping I can take what I learned and make things a little easier for someone else. 
So today’s {tip to a happier you} is to let go of fear. I realize that’s easier said than done. Just think of the song we sang in Sunday school when we were little…
It’s a good video, I promise…these guys must have created it? 
He’s got this! All of it! 
We just have to let Him have it…
From my heart, 
Celeste
Filed Under: Fighting Your Fears, Freedom in Christ, Living in Faith, The Power of Prayer, Tips to a Happier You Tagged With: , , , , , , , , ,

The Eternal Prize

26 May, 2012 by 1 Comment


I know, I know. I said I was taking a break til next Saturday. But I guess the over-achiever-talks-to-much-excited-little-girl me just couldn’t do it. 
Last week I went to the Blue Ridge Mountain Christian Writer’s Conference. The name in itself is quite a mouthful to say, but it fits the conference well. For one thing, it’s on a mountain. And believe me, we were all climbing a mountain all week. Physically. Mentally. Emotionally. From the moment we checked in, there was one pace—the speed of light.
And I have to share my excitement with you. Awards night is the last night of the conference and my blog won second place! And to think, a year ago I didn’t even know what blog was. Little by little, I’ve learned so much over the last year. One small step at a time. 
When I came home from the conference Thursday, full speed ahead was still the pace because Miranda graduated from high school at 5:30. First of all, how am I possibly that old???? Second of all, yay Miranda!I am such a proud mama! She didn’t graduate Magna Cum Laude, or even Cum Laude—David says it’s more like Thank Ya Laude—but if you know Miranda, you know what will make her succeed in life. She has personality on steroids, and she loves the Lord. Grades? Not so much. She is all about people. God made her exactly who she is and I wouldn’t trade a 4.0 for any of it. So what if the titles of “biggest flirt” and “fastest text in school” don’t have the colleges knocking down our door. God has a plan for her. 


If you read the prescription verse, you’re probably wondering what it has to do with anything I’ve written so far. After my full week (including my stomach) I decided to go for a run this morning. If you read my blog regularly or keep up with me on Facebook, you know I started running in November of last year. It’s a slow and steady kind of sport. To get the best results, you must eat right, stay hydrated, and run regularly. About a month ago I ran nine miles! Yet today, I struggled to hit two. The busyness of everyday life, a stone bruise on my heel, and the writer’s conference last week has kept me from having a disciplined running schedule. Today, as I struggled to hit two miles, I was reaping the results of this last month. My goal is to run a 1/2 marathon someday. I really want that “13.1” sticker on the back of my car. It’s a great goal, but truthfully, I don’t know if I’ll ever make it or not. And that’s okay. 
As I ran this morning, though, the verse I used for today’s prescription verse kept coming to mind. That “13.1” sticker would be really cool to have on my car, but just as everything else on this earth, it will someday disappear. What does not disappear, however, is eternity.It is in our future no matter what. It won’t be okay if we don’t meet our goal there. How and where we spend eternity depends on what we do here to prepare for it. We need to have a disciplined running schedule. 

Earthly goals are great to have, but the eternal goals are the ones that matter. 
How are you preparing every day for your eternal prize? 
From my heart,

Celeste
Filed Under: Have an Eternal Perspective Tagged With: , ,

A Little Time for Learning and Celebrating

19 May, 2012 by Leave a Comment

Okay my friends; I’m taking the advice of Matthew here…
I leave for the Blue Ridge Mountain Christian Writer’s Conference on Sunday. When I went last year, I had no idea what I was getting myself into. This year, I’m a little more prepared on what to expect, but I have my work cut out for me! 
This last year of blogging and writing has been a year of learning. I feel a little like I’ve gone back to college! Now if you know me, you know I can be impatient, and I know this is all on God’s time, but I really hope God thinks it’s time for me to take this writing thing to the next level! Like with an agent? Publisher? Contract? I’m thinking big, I know. But God does big things…when the time is right. 
So with that being said, I’m taking the next two weeks to soak in all I can learn at the writing conference so that I can produce exactly the product that God has purposed for me. 
As soon as I return from the conference (literally that same day), Miranda graduates from high school. So we shall be celebrating her walk across that stage! (If you only knew how glad we are she is getting to walk across that stage…)  Wow, I’m getting old! 
Anyway, I will be back with you on June 2nd with more {tips to a happier you} and {make a change Mondays} and whatever else comes to mind in between. 
Hope everyone has a great few weeks as we end this school year and begin summer! 
{Talk} to you soon! (((Hugs)))
From my heart, 
Celeste

Filed Under: Making Changes, Uncategorized Tagged With:

Make-a-Change Monday~A Time for Bubbles

14 May, 2012 by Leave a Comment


Well, if you read my post on Saturday, you know I stayed off the computer for the weekend so not too much thought went into the {make-a-change} for today. 
I will share with you what I did instead of writing a post for today, which might just be a {make-a-change} we all need to make sometimes 😉




 
Who say’s you can’t put bubbles in a
Jacuzzi?!? 
Hope you had a wonderful mother’s day! 
From my heart, 
Celeste
Filed Under: How to be Happy, Just for Fun, Life Through the Lens, Make-a-change Mondays Tagged With:

Tips to a Happier You in 2012~Have a Happy Mother’s Day!

12 May, 2012 by 5 Comments

To all of you who are mothers, Happy Mother’s Day! To all of you who are not biological mothers, you have the opportunity to be a mother to someone. All it takes is love…unconditional love.

Every child has a love language, and all three of my children get their love tanks filled with my undivided time and attention. So this mother’s day, whether you are a child spending time with your mother, or a mother spending time with your child(ren), or just spending time with someone you love, my {tip to a happier you} for mother’s day is to fill someone’s love tank.

I’m filling my kid’s (and hubby’s) love tank this weekend by putting away my computer. It may seem like a vacation for me, but trust me, it’s a sacrifice…especially with a writer’s conference coming up next week.

So fill someone’s love tank this weekend. Remember, doing something for someone else helps you take the focus off of yourself, and altruism actually has been proven to increase those good hormones in your brain to make you happy!

From my heart, 
Celeste
Filed Under: Parenting Tips, Tips to a Happier You Tagged With: , ,

Make-a-change Monday~It only takes twenty seconds…

7 May, 2012 by Leave a Comment

Make-a-change Mondays is all about making small changes to become the person I want to be…or more importantly, the person God wants me to be. 


The greatest of all journeys begins with a single step. 


A few months ago the {make-a-change Monday} challenge was to Just Do It. In that post I talked about writing a book and how it took small steps—changes a little at a time. I’m know I’m on a great journey, but yes, I’m still working on the small steps. But what a great journey it has been! 


Have you ever wanted to do something you just couldn’t because you were afraid you would fail? 

  • I was afraid to begin blogging, but one step at a time, I’m getting the hang of it. 
  • I was afraid to attempt to write a book, but God has given me confirmations along the way to let me know I’m on the right track.
  • When I had to take the step to conquer m addiction to Lortab, I honestly didn’t see a way I wouldn’t fail, but one step at a time, with God’s infinite mercy, I did it. 

Now I’ll tell you a goofy little secret about myself: I’m a granola wanna-be. 


Yep…I’d love to: 
  • Be a crunchy-salad-eating-vegetarian,
  • Wear no make-up
  • Have get-up-and-go hair
  • Wear simple, comfortable clothes (which never require spanx)
  • And the hardest of all…be a runner.
Now let’s be real. No make-up is a little scary, and unless I’m abandoned on a deserted island, I’ve got to have my hair products, hair dryer and curling iron. And I probably could be a vegetarian fairly easy, but I have a family of carnivores. And I love steak. But I do eat lots of salad! 

But I am determined to become a runner. But just like anything else that’s worth accomplishing, it’s all about one small step at a time. 

My family and I watched the movie We Bought a Zoo tonight from which I have adopted a new favorite phrase: “It only takes twenty seconds of incredible courage and amazing things will happen.” 

I started running in November of last year. I didn’t know how important those twenty seconds were, or how much courage they took. My first run, I thought I would die within the first twenty seconds. 
Then twenty seconds became a minute. Then two minutes, Then five minutes. Then two miles. Then three miles. Then five miles. Then six miles. Then one day I ran nine miles…only because I lost my car key on the run and had to keep running til I found it. But still…. nine miles! 

I haven’t been able to run very often during the last three weeks, so I’m back to the three-mile run and working my way back up again. But the road to a flawless experience is always under construction.

The secret to those twenty seconds of courage and those small steps is Christ. The ultimate goal is to spend eternity in Heaven with Christ. 
  • Blogging each day hopefully inspires others and gets me writing practice for the book.
  • The goal of writing a book will hopefully help others, and God will use it to expand the boundaries of His kingdom. 
  • My granola-wanna-be desire is a little more selfish. I’ve never seen how my desire to be “crunchy” could better my relationship with Christ.

Until I started running.


Yes, God wants us to treat our bodies well because they are His temple…He lives within us. 

Do you not know that you are God’s temple and that 
God’s Spirit dwells in you? 
(1 Corinthians 3:16 ESV)

But for me, running is a spiritual challenge more than a physical challenge. God has to give me those twenty seconds of courage just to get my running clothes on and get out the door! I started out with music like, Eye of the Tiger (from Rocky) and some other fast-paced 80’s classic rock. It failed me. Now my running music consists of Mercy Came Running by Phillips, Craig and Dean, This is Home by Switchfoot, and Courageous by Casting Crowns. 

My grace is sufficient for you, 
for my power is made perfect in weakness. 
(2 Corinthians 12:9a NIV)

When I feel like I can’t run anymore, I depend of Christ in my weakness. Running becomes not only a physical challenge, but also a spiritual one. And I can do all things through him who strengthens me (Philippians 4:13 ESV).

So if you are still on this train of thought with me, my {make-a-change Monday} challenge today is to take that twenty seconds of courage. Take the first step to an amazing journey. If it’s a journey that takes courage, it will also take Christ. And any journey that takes you closer to him is one to be taken. 

From my heart,
Celeste
Filed Under: Make-a-change Mondays, Making Changes, Physical Wellness Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

Tips to a Happier You in 2012~Learning What’s Urgent vs. What’s Important

5 May, 2012 by Leave a Comment



This morning I heard a poem on WLFJ that one of the morning hosts wrote, and once again found my self in tears driving down the road. 
The older I get, the sappier I get. 
But anyway, it really goes well to illustrate my {tip to a happier you} today: 
The Letting Go Test
 By Leslie Nease
Nine months of growth inside of my womb
And in what seemed like an instant, she was there in the room
My heart was just bursting – I could barely compose
As I looked her over intently and counted fingers and toes
Eleven days later, I remember so well
Was my first “letting go test” – her umbilical cord fell
The pain in my heart, I could not ignore
As I realized this test was the first of many more
I nursed her eight months, and then it was time to move on
So I gave her some cereal – yet another era gone
When she was five, it was time to let go again
As I walked her to the school bus, she wore a huge grin
“Oh, God! Please protect her! I cannot be there.
But I trust you are with her and you’ll keep her in your care!”
And I was grinning, also, though my heart broke in two
As I watched my little girl learn to tie her own shoe
Little by little my girl needed me less
As she picked out her clothes and got herself dressed
A few months later, she lost her first tooth
(I cried like a baby, if you want to know the truth!)
This “letting go test” was a challenge indeed
When she took the storybook from me and started to read
I blinked and in an instant I realized much time had passed
As she went off to middle school – she was growing so fast!
The “letting go test” intensified, I remember with dread
When I drove her to the DMV, and she drove me home instead!
Her face lit up with excitement as we handed her the keys
And she drove off alone as I dropped to my knees
“Oh, God! Please protect her! I cannot be there.
But I trust you are with her and you’ll keep her in your care!”
My prayers were more often and more intense, I must confess
As she was gone more often now, and I saw her much less
My girl was growing up and I was completely shook
As she picked her favorite photos for her Senior Yearbook
And just a few months later, my girl turned eighteen
A young woman she was becoming now – what a sight to be seen!
“God, where did the time go?” I began to pray
As our family dressed up for Graduation Day.
She walked across the stage with her head held high
And as she took her diploma, I began to cry
But these tears were so different, more like tears of delight
My girl was a woman now and she was going to be all right
All the “letting go tests” that I’d had over the years
Helped me let go, trust God and release all my fears
The “tests” were sent by Him to prepare my mom-heart
For the ultimate test – when we’d begin to live apart
The day quickly approached and we loaded up the car
We drove her to college – it just seemed so far
We unloaded her things and we hugged her goodbye
And I tried not to do it but I couldn’t help but cry
This “letting go test” was the hardest test yet
The drive home was long – one I’ll never forget
But the sadness I feel is not the same as before
I feel such joy for her – there’s so much in store!
“Oh, God! Please protect her! I cannot be there.
But I trust you are with her and you’ll keep her in your care!”
 Are you crying with me yet? With an {eight-year-old-going-on-sixteen-year-old} daughter, and a {thirteen-year-old-girl-crazy} son, and an {eighteen-year-old-soon-to-be-graduating} daughter, this poem really hit home, as it would with many moms. 
When our children are graduating, getting married and having kids of their own, what will we look back and remember?
  • Our little girl asking us to sit down and read a book, but we were too busy checking emails? 
  • Our teenager wanting us to meet her for lunch, but we have too many errands to run? 
  • Our kids begging to go to the pool, but we say it’s just too hot outside…so we stay home and mow the lawn instead?  
 What will they look back and remember? 
  • How the cabinets and floors sparkled every Saturday night in preparation for a new week? 
  • How much fun dad always had playing golf every Saturday?
  • How mom sat at the computer every waking hour of the day? (Stepping on my own toes bigtime)
  • How dad’s coworkers respected him because he was at the office by 7:00 am and didn’t leave work until after 7:00 pm? 
  • How there was always one more thing that had to be done before they could go out and play? 

There is a huge difference between what is urgent and what is important. In our fast-paced days, the line between the two gets easily blurred. 
My hubby and I can open up our emails at any given moment and have a thousand or more. The urge to clean out that inbox is intense, but how many of those emails are really important?
I have to stop and give God some praise for blessing me with such an awesome husband. I’m sure if he reads this post he will be difficult to live with for a few days, but nevertheless…he loves to play golf, yet he rarely does. To be good at golf, he says you have to play often, which usually means Saturdays. He decided when our kids were little that having a good golf game was not what he wanted to look back on when he was old. He wanted to look back on Saturdays spent as a family. Hiking, movies, swimming…whatever we did, we did it together. And we still do. For David, family comes absolutely first. Not to say that we haven’t had tough times. We’ve had our share of marital issues, especially when I was battling addiction and depression. But by the grace of God, David persevered. And God delivered me. Whew! I sure am glad those years are over! 
Back on topic…urgent vs. important. 
  • The grass is up to my knees, but my kids want us to bake cookies and watch a movie. The grass can wait. 
  • I’m really not hungry and need to go to Wal-Mart before Marlee gets out of school, but Miranda and her boyfriend want me to meet them for lunch at La Fogata. Am I going to remember going to Wal-Mart (again) or having lunch with my soon-to-be-in-college daughter? So what if they only want me there so I will pay? 
  • I have to be up early to work Friday morning, but the premier of the Hunger Games movie is at midnight Thursday night and Trevor really wants to go. 
I was really sleepy on Friday.
But it was important.
We made a memory. 
So that’s my {tip to a happier you} for today. Make memories. The good kind. The emails, the grass, and the dog hair on the floor will all still be there. Even when you do accomplish those tasks, I promise they will all return again.
The opportunity to make memories may not.

From my heart,

Celeste

 

Filed Under: Living with Purpose, Making Changes, Parenting Tips, Simplify Your Life, Tips to a Happier You Tagged With: , , , , ,

Plane Crashes, Drug Addiction, and Tomorrow

3 May, 2012 by Leave a Comment
Sitting here in tears. I just finished reading Heaven is Here, a memoir by Stephanie Nielson, author of the blog, NieNie Dialogues.
In my last post, I told you I’d share a funny story about our flight to Florida last week—the one where I overcame my eighteen-year-old fear of getting on an airplane with my hubby while leaving our kids at home. 
Since I am attempting to write a book and actually get it published, I’m doing a great deal of reading memoirs. While at Wal-Mart doing some last minute shopping for my trip, I noticed a new book on the shelf: 



I made the cover of the book really big for you to see…it is a memoir of inspiration and hope. Not unlike the message I am conveying in my book. So I bought it. 

I was feeling pretty good about our trip. We gave the kids a loving, “so long” as we dropped them off at school, and off to the airport we went. We boarded the plane; I said my trusty trust prayer: 

“God, I’m putting my trust in you today. 
No matter what happens, good or bad, I know you have it under control,
 and it’s all part of your plan to create an eternity beyond my wildest dreams.”

…And off we went. 
There was quite a bit of turbulence, so I pulled out my new book to keep my mind occupied. There really should have been a little more information on the cover of this book, or maybe I should have turned it over to read the back. Here’s how the book starts: 

 

 

A voice whispered, “Roll.”          

I fell to the ground and crushed the brilliant flames that licked at my clothes, my skin, my hair. The mangled wreck of our airplane blazed nearby. 

Really God? Of all the books I had to bring with me to read it had to be a memoir about a horrific plane crash? And she had gotten on a plane with her husband and left her four kids at home. Literally, my biggest fear. 
But, as all great writers do, Stephanie Nielson had me hooked with the first sentence. So I kept reading. I couldn’t put it down until I knew that she would be okay. I realize since it’s a memoir, and she actually wrote it, that she is alive and well today, but I had to hear it from her. Life has been crazy since we returned from our trip, so I just got a chance to read the Epilogue, and I think she has convinced me to take my book in a different direction. 
My story, a seemingly perfect life as a wife, mother, and pharmacist turned up side down by grand-mal seizures and depression, my desperate search to cure myself, and ultimate realization that God is the ultimate healer, is a book in itself.

And it was originally what I’d planned to write.

As you know, prescription drug addiction plowed uninvited into my life and turned a snowstorm into an avalanche. God had to really work on me a while on the whole “transparency” thing for me to be able to make addiction part of my story. Some of my closest friends didn’t know I was dealing with addiction until recently. And I don’t know if I’ll ever work as a pharmacist again. What pharmacy would hire me?

But God didn’t tell me to worry about my future. He told me to be transparent right now. 
In writing about addiction, I thought my job was to draw people in with my story and finish the book with the miracle God gave me. I hoped to appeal to a secular audience, so I have not written much about God’s part in my life before he healed me in 2010. But God has always been a huge part of my life, even though I didn’t realize it. He has always pursued me; I just had not always pursued Him back. My life was perfect. 

It’s hard to realize that you need God when everything is hunky-dory. 
In Heaven is Here, Stephanie tells of her life before her accident, during her immediate recovery in the hospital, and life after she returned home. God was a part of Stephanie’s whole story, and through the heart changes He walked through with her, her relationship with Him was deepened to a whole new level. 
So in my book—and my blog—I hope to share on a more personal level. It’s easy to share the lessons I learned on this journey, and I will continue to do so. But I hope to share more of myself with you. 
I think Satan loves to get in our heads and tell us,” People don’t really care about that. Why do they want to know about you? You’re not famous, just an everyday person. People will just laugh at you.” 
Stephanie Nielson was just an everyday person who had to overcome extraordinary circumstances. She writes that she never would have survived without God. I’ve never had to survive a plane crash (thank goodness), but I learned so much from her journey…only because I got to know her personally through her book. If I’d simply read a newspaper article highlighting the details of her accident and recovery, I’d have learned nothing of her heart and her relationship with God. And it was God that saved her…completely. 
Prescription drug addiction is the fastest growing drug problem in the United States. In 2010, enough painkillers were prescribed to medicate every American adult around-the-clock for an entire month. Although most prescriptions are deemed necessary for medical use, many end up in the hands of people who misuse or abuse them. In 2010, about 12 million Americans over the age of twelve reported nonmedical use of prescription painkillers in the past year.
There are a plethora of self-help books out there on addiction. There are tons of memoirs about drug abuse—mostly by famous people addicted to illegal drugs. But prescription drugs are legal. Prescribed by doctors every day. To Christians who would never dream of misusing or abusing prescription drugs. Until they are addicted, that is. 
It won’t be pleasant digging up emotions that I’d really rather leave in the past or the constant struggle going on in my brain the entire time I struggled with addiction. But I want people to be able to read what I write and know me—like I know Stephanie now.

It will be hard to write; but today, I’m writing this post. 

Tomorrow will take care of itself.


From my heart,

Celeste

Filed Under: Fighting Your Fears, Living in Faith, Living with Purpose, Making Changes, Overcoming Addiction Tagged With: , , , , , ,

The Road to a Flawless Experience

2 May, 2012 by 2 Comments

When we must endure hard times in our lives, it’s usually impossible to envision what good could possibly come of it. If you regularly read my blog, you may have read a recent post on Blind Trust.

Believing in God is easy. Putting our complete trust in Him is not. 

In today’s prescription verse above, Paul tells us how our trials and struggles actually make us better. 

You couldn’t say anything Paul didn’t have a comeback for: 

People: “You know preaching about this Jesus is going to get you killed. “
Paul: “To die is gain.”

People: “Okay, then we’ll let you live.”
Paul: “To live is Christ.”

People: “Then we are going to torture you.”
Paul: “I don’t compare my current sufferings to future glory.”

People: “We will put you in prison.”
Paul: “Then I’ll bring a hymnal and sing songs and convert all your guards.”

Here are a few of the “minor” ways Paul suffered for the sake of Christ: 

2 Corinthians 11:24-28~He received thirty nine lashes on his back for the sake of the gospel.
He was beaten with rods three times for the sake of the gospel.
He was stoned one time for the sake of the gospel (He was not HIGH on rocks. He was HIT with rocks! A group usually did this in the old days!)
He was shipwrecked three times in travels for the sake of the gospel.
He was thrown in the belly of a ship for a day and a night, (the deep), for the sake of the gospel.
He had many dangerous trips, (among highwaymen and robbers), for the sake of the gospel.
He had to travel through dangerous rivers for the sake of the gospel.
He was often in danger from his own people for the sake of the gospel.
He was in danger from Gentiles for the sake of the gospel.
He was in dangers in the city for the sake of the gospel.
He was in dangers in the wilderness for the sake of the gospel.
He was in danger from false Christians for the sake of the gospel.
He suffered toil and hardship for the sake of the gospel.
He spent sleepless nights for the gospel.
He was hungry and thirsty for the sake of the gospel.
He was in fasting often for the sake of the gospel.
He was in cold and nakedness for the sake of the gospel.
In addition to all of the above, as an Apostle, he had the worry of all of the churches daily on him for the sake of the gospel.
And yet he still trusted. He knew that all of the persecution he faced would be worth the day he would encounter Jesus and spend eternity with Him in Heaven.  

David and I went to Florida last week. Yes, I overcame My Irrational Fear and actually flew on the same airplane as David…leaving our kids behind at home (I’ll share a story later this week about our flight—God definitely has a sense of humor). We stayed at a fabulous resort in Orlando where his convention was being held and we came upon this sign as we were exploring the hotel: 



I couldn’t help but apply that to life. 


Just like Paul, we are always under construction. God uses every situation to make us better…if we let Him. 


As we travel life’s highway, we need to remember there will always be construction paving our way to a flawless experience in Heaven! 

From my heart, 

Celeste


Filed Under: Fighting Your Fears, Freedom in Christ, Living in Faith, Living with Purpose, Making Changes Tagged With: , , , , , ,

Make-a-change Monday~Shift Your Paradigm

1 May, 2012 by 4 Comments


Do you know what a “paradigm shift” is? It must be a fairly important concept to understand. When I looked up the word “paradigm” in the dictionary to give you a definition, I actually found “paradigm shift” in the dictionary. I expected to find “paradigm,” but not “paradigm shift.” 

paradigm shift
noun
a fundamental change in approach or underlying assumptions.
I believe the term probably became worthy of a space in the dictionary when The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People by Steven Covey was published. 
Here’s the example of a paradigm shift he shares in the book: 

I remember a mini-paradigm shift I experienced one Saturday morning on a subway in New York. People were sitting quietly—some reading newspapers, some lost in thought, some resting with their eyes closed. It was a calm, peaceful scene.

Then suddenly, a man and his children entered the subway car. The children were so loud and rambunctious that instantly the whole climate changed. 

The man sat down next to me and closed his eyes, apparently oblivious to the situation. The children were yelling back and forth, throwing things, and even grabbing people’s papers. It was very disturbing. And yet, the man sitting next to me did nothing. 

It was difficult not to feel irritated. I could not believe that he could be so insensitive as to let his children run wild like that and do nothing about it, taking no responsibility at all. It was easy to see that everyone else on the subway felt irritated, too. So finally, with what I felt was unusual patience and restraint, I turned to him and said, “Sir, your children are really disturbing a lot of people. I wonder if you couldn’t control them a little more?”

The man lifted his gaze as if to come to a consciousness of the situation for the first time and said softly, “Oh, you’re right. I guess I should do something about it. We just came from the hospital where their mother died about an hour ago. I don’t know what to think, and I guess they don’t know how to handle it either.”

Can you imagine what I felt like at that moment? My paradigm shifted. Suddenly I saw things differently. I felt differently, I behaved differently. My irritation vanished. I didn’t have to worry about controlling my attitude or behavior; my heart was filled with the man’s pain. Feelings of sympathy and compassion flowed freely. “Your wife just died? Oh, I’m so sorry! Can you tell me about it? What can I do to help?”

Everything changed in an instant. 

Did it give you chills to read that story? 
Not to completely stereotype myself, but I grew up as a Southern-Baptist-only-child-goody-two-shoes kind of girl. My life was wonderful. I succeeded at most anything I attempted, and I held myself to very high standards. You know…the perfectionist. While I am grateful to my parents for the wonderful childhood I had, being a perfectionist did not serve me well. 

When my world was turned up side down with the onset of grand-mal seizures and the following drug addiction, I spiraled into adeep depression. I really believe I could have handled the seizures and all the came along with them—no driving, no bathtub/swimming alone, bumps and bruises—but the fact that I “allowed myself” to end up addicted to pain medication was just too much. It was the infamous straw that broke the camel’s back. 

The thing was, when I finally admitted to the world that I’d had an addiction, so many people said, “Of all the people I thought could become a drug addict, I never would have believed it would be you.” And I say, “Me either!” 
Anytime I had to go to the hospital for anything (usually seizures, but once a bad stomach bug I picked up in Florida), I told them no narcotics because I had been addicted. Now, this was after I got off the Lortab. While I was still struggling, I welcomed pain meds at the hospital! Anyway, as soon as I was labeled an “addict,” I was treated differently. And no, it was not in my imagination. 
Its really funny—and yet not so funny—how God gave me a serious paradigm shift. For the first fourteen years I worked as a pharmacist, I was judgmental of my customers who came in every month for pain medicine. I didn’t want to be, but I couldn’t help it. I could not understand how they were so dependent and desperate for their pain pills every month. WOW did I get some empathy lessons. My perspective changed completely when I learned first hand how they felt. I found myself walking in their shoes. 
So my challenge for you today is to not be judgmental. Let God be the only judge. Know that no matter how a situation seems, there is always more than meets the eye. When you find yourself passing judgment, remember that God loves everyone, and he is the only judge. It’s very freeing to be able to love people for the messed up humans they are, and let God do the judging!
Don’t wait for something to shift your paradigm, shift it yourself.  
From my heart,
Celeste




Filed Under: Freedom in Christ, Have an Eternal Perspective, Make-a-change Mondays, Making Changes, Your Relationship with God Tagged With: , , , , ,

Tips to a Happier You in 2012~Stretch Your Way to Happy

28 April, 2012 by 15 Comments

When Marlee was just a toddler, she would stretch endlessly. When I would go to get her up in the mornings, she would stall saying, “Hang on, I’m not finished stretching yet.” And she would stretch to one side, then the other, procrastinating because she didn’t want to get out of bed. 


But she always got up in the best of moods! 


Stretching does so much for our mind and body. When I get up in the morning, I try to take lessons from Marlee and stretch for a minute. I’m immediately energized and awake. At night, if I can’t sleep, I stretch my arms and legs as far as I can, hold the stretch, and then relax every muscle in my body. 
There is something that happens when I do this that feels like peace washing over me…which is why I picked the prescription verse above. 


I’d like to think that I’ve had the peace of God many times in my life, but nothing like I felt when He healed me in 2010 of seizures, depression, and addiction. I was in the car listening to a song by Phillips, Craig, and Dean called Mercy Came Running, being totally thankful for the mercy that God showed me when He chose to heal me, and I literally felt peace wash down over me, starting at the top of my head, running down my hair and face, then over my shoulders—kind of like the green slime kids get poured over them on Nickelodeon, only not so gooey! 😉


When we stretch out our muscles, we release endorphins in our brains that give us a peace of sorts…a sense of well-being and calmness. Maybe not as good as God’s peace washing over you, but he did create the hormones in our brain, so in a sense, it is His peace! 


Here are a few other ways stretching is good for you: 

  • Stretching relieves your body of stress, therefore decreasing your cortisol levels and increasing your serotonin levels.
  • Stretching helps put your muscles in a more relaxed state, therefore helping you sleep better.
  • When you stretch, you are focused on your muscles…contracting and relaxing them with a regulated breathing pattern, which also increases serotonin.
  • Stretching increases blood flow in your body, therefore reducing the stress on any particular system in your body (cardiovascular, respiratory, nervous system).

So the tip to a happier you for today is simple—stretch. If you read Monday’s post, and you have your post-it note up to remind you to say your “trust” prayer, just use it to remind you to stretch too. Again, it only takes a few minutes and what do you have to lose? 

From my heart, 
Celeste
Filed Under: Beating Depression, Brain Functions, How to be Happy, Overcoming Addiction, Physical Wellness, Tips to a Happier You Tagged With: , , , , ,

Make-a-change Monday~Blind Trust

23 April, 2012 by Leave a Comment


When I was little, I remember playing the “trust” game with my friends. You know, the one where you stand in front of someone and blindly fall backwards, trusting them to catch you? It’s really hard to do. 

•   Sometimes they catch you
•   Sometimes they are just mean and decide to let you fall
•   Sometimes they claim they didn’t know you were about to fall back

Either way, sometimes you turn out okay, other times, not so much.
How would it feel to know that no matter when you decide to close your eyes and fall backward, there would always be someone there to catch you? 
You see where I’m going with this…there IS always someone there. God. 
If you believe in our almighty God, it’s not hard to know He’s there. The hard part is actually trusting Him—having the faith to know that He is there and He is in control, no matter what the situation. 
Bad things happen we don’t always understand. 


If you click on the links to the stories above, you will see something they all have in common. No matter how hopeless the situation seemed, God used it to expand the boundaries of His kingdom. That’s His plan. 
As humans, we live bound by the limits of time. Everything in this world has as beginning and an end, and it’s hard for us to comprehend eternity. God created time, and His desire is to spend and infinite amount of it with His children in His kingdom—a paradise we will know as Heaven. 
So today’s make-a-change Monday is to work on our spiritual self—and I promise when our spiritual self is in good shape, our physical self follows along. 
Every morning when you wake up, pray this short prayer:
“God, I’m putting my trust in you today. 
No matter what happens, good or bad, I know you have it under control,
 and it’s all part of your plan to create an eternity beyond my wildest dreams.”
And just so you don’t forget, get out that all-purpose post-it note, write “trust” on it, and stick it on your alarm clock. Gotta love those post-it notes! 
Just in case you are thinking, “If God has this big plan, it doesn’t matter if I pray or not,” let me say this: 
Prayer doesn’t change God. Prayer changes us.
 Praying “tunes us in” to God and His plan,
 and makes us more aware of His presence in our lives.
Just try it. Even if it’s just words starting out, God will begin working in your heart. Remember, it’s all about small changes. Try it for 3 months and see if your thinking changes. What do you have to lose? 
I’ve got my post-it note up to remind me! 😉
From my heart,
Celeste


Filed Under: Living in Faith, Make-a-change Mondays, Making Changes, The Power of Prayer, Your Relationship with God Tagged With: , , ,