I wish I never had a “turtle day.” I feel like I’ve had two of them in a row, and the timing couldn’t be worse. But wait…first I should explain just what a “turtle day” is! It’s the kind of day when I feel like I should just pull my head inside my shell, and hide for awhile. Because typically, on “turtle days,” my words don’t come out right, and my thoughts feel a little more all-over-the-map than usual. So basically, I feel sorry for anyone stuck in a conversation with me…because frankly, I’m not enjoying listening to “me” either! It happens when I least expect it. And when it does? It can really rob me of my confidence, and make me feel like the shy little girl I was growing up.

Okay, so now you know what a “turtle day” is. So, back to WHY this is such a bad time for me to have two days in a row of “turtility" (the RB word for turtle futility from trying to make sense…but instead, sounding pretty senseless)! The reason is we’re spending the next few days in meetings with people from all over the United States. They’re people who I love and respect…and who I would love to have some meaningful conversations with. I think they’d like that…I know I’d like that. So what’s a turtle...I mean a girl…to do? I need to remind myself to get over myself…to not worry about what I’ll say. But to just be me…word slips, Renee-isms, and all! To not let myself play it safe, and just do a lot of smiling. But to come out of my shell and talk…as best as I can!

So I don’t know if I’ll wake up feeling turtley tomorrow morning or not. But what I do know is that I can only be me…I’m going to give it my best…but now, I better go get some rest!!

Luke 18:14 MSG ~ If you walk around with your nose in the air, you're going to end up flat on your face, but if you're content to be simply yourself, you will become more than yourself."

During the past several years, I’ve never seen so many people experience such financial difficulties. It’s been hard to see people who you love struggle to make ends meet. Maybe you’re one of them. When that happens, it can feel like God is far away, that He doesn’t care…or that maybe we’ve done something wrong, so He’s teaching us a hard lesson. That couldn’t be further from the truth. I remember a time when my husband, Tim, was laid off of his job. We had just bought a home, and our mortgage agent told it told us that now it would be impossible to close on our home. I remember bursting out in tears and crying to Tim, “What are we going to do? How can God be letting this happen?” And Tim’s calm response? “Renee, hasn’t God always taken care of us in the past? Why would you think He wouldn’t take care of us now?”

Later, when he talked to his dad about our situation, his dad suggested he learn how to paint, because there were always people who needed their houses painted. At first, the idea seemed ridiculous. But Tim mulled it over, found a painter who would teach him how to paint…and a few weeks later, he put an ad in the paper. And he got a job…and they referred him to someone else…who referred him to someone else. Eventually Tim even had to hire a couple of guys to help him with all the work that came in…and in the end? He made more money while he was laid off than he would have in his regular job!

So in a way we could have never imagined, God took awesome care of us, and we were able to close on our home. And most importantly, I was reminded that God will never leave me or forsake me…and He won’t ever leave or forsake you either. So no matter what difficult situations you face, whatever you do, keep holding on to Him…and know that He’ll never let go of you!

Deuteronomy 31:8 AMP ~ It is the Lord Who goes before you; He will [march] with you; He will not fail you or let you go or forsake you; [let there be no cowardice or flinching, but] fear not, neither become broken [in spirit--depressed, dismayed, and unnerved with alarm].

I love the phrase, “It is what it is!” So I’ve been known to say it more than my fair share of times. In fact, I said it just last night again! What happened was, I had all my kids over for a family birthday dinner. The party was for three of us who have birthdays coming up, and we all got to pick something we love to eat for the dinner. So Danny picked steaks, I picked cheesy potatoes and Stephanie picked angel food cake and strawberries…with REAL whipped cream! Sounds great, right?

Well, I would love to go into detail, but suffice it to say the dinner was a giant disaster! The grill went on the fritz soon after the steaks went on the grill…so we put them under the oven broiler, but that didn’t work either. Fast forward…finally got them cooked…sat down to eat…phew! But after one bite of the cheesy potatoes, I realized I had forgotten to put in the cheese. These were NOT my favorite potatoes anymore! There’s more…the dressing on the salad had gone bad. And later, the real whipped cream wouldn’t whip!

Was I sad…depressed…upset…crying about it? Nope! I actually thought it was hysterical…and so did my kids. So we laughed our way through the entire dinner, and made the happiest of family memories. It’s at times like that, I especially love to say, “It is what it is!” Not in some sad-sack, Debbie Downer way of thinking that says, “Things will never change, so I need to just accept it.” No! But rather in a way that accepts that things won’t always go right, so I may as well go ahead and make a choice to stop thinking about what I coulda, shoulda, woulda done differently. And instead, see the humor in the situation! Yep! “It is what it is”…it’s what turned MY disastrous dinner into a feast of laughter!

Psalm 30:11 NCV ~ You changed my sorrow into dancing. You took away my clothes of sadness, and clothed me in happiness.

Have you ever asked a child what they want to be when they grow up? They usually want to be something they consider adventurous! I remember that one of my sons wanted to be a water tower man, because he wanted to climb the ladders on the sides of the water towers. And then he wanted to live on a space station, and tell people or visiting aliens about God. I’m glad to say he didn’t grow up to be either of those things. Why? Because God had a plan for his life that didn’t fit either of those job descriptions! And had he become a water tower man or space station preacher, he would have missed out on all the wonderful things and adventure in life that God had in mind for him.

So, I was thinking about that…and how too often we want to be something that we aren’t. Because we don’t really like what we are today…we want to be like a kid again and grow up to be something different than what our life has turned out to be. We want to have a more exciting job or life, we want to be smarter and more well-read, we want adventure, we want our lives to be important, we want to be “someone.” And in all that wanting? We miss seeing all the wonderful things God has in mind for us…as the person we did grow up to be. So since I am grown up, I’m going to act grown up…and enjoy the “someone” God created me to be! Let the adventure begin!

Matthew 23:12 MSG ~ …if you're content to simply be yourself, your life will count for plenty… (and in the RB translation, it’ll be an adventure you don’t want to miss!)

I wish I could say that nothing ever bugs me anymore. I mean, really…I’m almost 55 years of age. Shouldn’t I have developed some kind of “inappropriate comments immunity” from years of exposure to statements that rub me the wrong way? At the very least, shouldn’t I have learned to train myself to “roll with the punches,” even when those punches are just words? Well, I have…for the most part! But the truth of the matter is that once in awhile, someone can say something that just gets past all the years of training…and any immunity I thought I had fails. And those words make me feel hot, they get under my skin, and it’s like I’m infected with an itch to say something back.

So what’s the remedy at times like those? It’s the one I just gave myself a few moments ago. It’s reminding myself that I don’t always get it right either. Sometimes I unintentionally say things that hurt someone. And at other times, I put my foot in my mouth and wind up saying something to make someone mad. And yes…at times, I even intentionally say something biting, or a little caustic or rude. It happens. I wish it didn’t, but when it does, I hope that someone will forgive me, even if they don’t feel like it.

So, truth be known, a few minutes ago, I didn’t really feel like forgiving that person. My “immunity” was down…but I’ve just injected myself with a healthy dose of God’s Word. And it’s taking hold…helping me to forgive…to roll with the punches…to remember that before day’s end, I may some of that same forgiveness myself!

Galatians 6:1 MSG ~ If someone falls into sin, forgivingly restore him, saving your critical comments for yourself. You might be needing forgiveness before the day's out.

Someone asked me today what it means to “worship” God. Is it to sing to Him? Or to raise your hands, with your eyes closed, and say words like, “hallelujah…praise the Lord…I love you,” over and over again? That’s oftentimes what a lot of people associate with the word “worship.” But it’s so much more than just an action. It’s a condition of the heart. By definition, worship is feeling an adoring regard for someone. And because you feel that for Him, you just can’t help it. You’ve got to show it… in whatever form is most appropriate at the moment. And not just in church, but throughout your day!

So, there are times when I worship God’s bigness and greatness by sitting quietly and just breathing in all He’s created and done in my life. At other times, I love to sing…and not just in church! I especially love to sing in the car. Other times, I breathe a prayer…without my eyes even closed! Sorry if that bothers you. Personally, I don’t think He minds…I think He rather enjoys seeing my eyes that He created. Then there are times, when I simply break out into joyous laughter at something I know He just did for me! He knows what I’m laughing about, and I believe He laughs right along with me, with the sheer joy that comes from being a daddy who enjoys surprising his daughter. So has your “worship” been religious and dry? Does it feel forced? Change the way you’ve been thinking you have to worship. You’ll love it so much more when it comes from your heart…and trust me, He’ll love it more too!

Psalm 63:1-4 MSG ~ God—you're my God! I can't get enough of you!...So here I am in the place of worship, eyes open, drinking in your strength and glory. In your generous love I am really living at last! My lips brim praises like fountains. I bless you every time I take a breath…