Zumba is like....

1. Getting your freak on - on the "dance" floor, without having to go to a club
2. Being reminded of just how much jello you got jigglin
3. Getting an ab workout...and not intentionally.....it's because your crackin up at yourself as you get a glimpse in the mirror of you gettin low (or at least trying to - Hello)
4. Feelin like family.....cuase you ain't the only one crackin up at yourself
5. Being reminded that exercise does NOT have to be boring.

Thanks to @mandisaoffical for loving Zumba and hooking me up with her video link. If you want to see it, click here.

Happy Zumba ;)

Big vs Small & Small vs Big

Funny how we tend to see "small" sin or "big" sin. Like if God categorizes sin into sections.

"Hey, all you who just judge a little, come over on my left and all you who put your eyes on men, get behind me........and those that "can't keep it together" - get on my right."

NOT....Sin is Sin - period......There is NO such thing as small or big sin! So....before we point a finger at someone else's junk, we need to take a LONG hard look at the junk in the mirror!

Father, please forgive me for judging others that are not like me, others that are not running as fast or as slow as I am, forgive me for thinking (even for one second) that I'm better than anyone (especially those that are younger than I). Thank you Father, for you not giving me exactly what I deserve. Thank you for showering me with your Grace, Mercy & Love each and every day. May I be filled to be emptied. In Jesus' name, AMEN!

The F word

FEAR.......has a way of crippling a person. Fear also has a way of masquerading as Doubt & Disappointment. They hold hands, embrace, and dance till there hearts content. What if we made the decision to see ALL disappointments as God's appointments? What if we lassoed that fear of what people think, that doubt that we are not usable, that disappointment of the should have's and could have's and roped them in and replaced them with Truth? What if.......

Sometimes we feel so caught up in our failures & repeated attempts to live the way we know we should. Nagging bad habits, persistent personality flaws come to mind..........We feel trapped in the presumption that we can't change. Experiencing the Grace of Jesus means we feel His strong hand on our shoulder as we hear the words, "My child, you are FREE".

Grace has set us free from our failures.

Francis Chan - Catalyst 2009

If you don't know about Francis Chan, I encourage you to check out info about him Here. I recently listened to the audio version of his book, Crazy Love...So I was looking forward to "meeting" him/hearing what he had to say.

His intro went a little like this:

"I got a phone call from the people at Catalyst inviting me to come - and I asked, What would you like me to talk about? The reply was, "Jesus". And I was just TOTALLY blown away; saying, "you just want me to talk about Jesus"?"

As "Funny" as that may sound, I could totally understand where he was coming from. Sometimes things/life become so fast paced, "structured", thought through, "set up"; that we can almost "forget" what it's like just to BE with Jesus......to come into His presence with NO distractions or noises. Well, let me just tell you, Francis Chan did an absolute Bang Up job getting all 13,000 people to be still and get into the presence of Jesus - and then lead us all into communion. You could just sense the peace throughout the arena.

Here are just some Highlights/Notes/Thoughts from Evening 1 of Catalyst. However, let me first give you a "warning". You know how it is when you read a book, piece of scripture or hear something that just "Rocks your world" - and you just want to share it with all? And then when you do, the person you're sharing it with is not so "taken back" by it, as you were? Well.....just keep that in mind ;)

• Ephesians 2
• "If your not soaking in the Grace of God, your not giving it to others"
• "Pray for grace, beg for it, get on your knees and beg"
• "When you're filled with Jesus, you cannot help but pour it out"
• Romans 5
• "We are Reconciled, Saved; We've been given Hope, Love, Grace, Faith, Justice"
• ~ Now, I understand that that one sentence or one note is not so "profound", but I encourage you to dig into that scripture and ask God to speak to You - and I guarantee you, that He will!
• 1 Peter 5:6 "Humble yourselves, therefore, under God's mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time"
• We must first humble ourselves, under His Mighty hand.
• We must be watchful and self controlled!
• We must stand firm!
• He (and ONLY He) will restore us...........After we have suffered a little while (AMEN!!!)
• He confirms us & establishes us
• "Giving the grace that God himself gives us, allows people to see who our Father is"
• Galatians 6
• We are NOT slaves, but co-heir's with Christ, known by The Almighty God!

Leadership Thoughts: First of all, my definition of a leader is not just for someone leading out in ministry. While I have not always even seen or considered myself a Leader in any respect, I have been honored with some amazing leaders who have not only called leadership out in me, but have demonstrated that being a Leader goes way beyond the walls of a church building. If you are a Christ Follower, than You're a leader - period! And as a Leader, we MUST always keep our eyes Fixed on the Author and Perfecter of our Faith! How can we truly, effectively lead without that? Don't get too busy doing things for God and forget to be with Him. No matter where you lead, know this; You ARE leading, you are sowing and most importantly, He is watching. Every second matters and every second strikes a cord in eternity.

Father, thank You SO much for speaking to each individual person at Catalyst. I pray right now for the very eyes that may stumble upon this blog. That they dig deeper Lord, asking You what it is You want to speak into their lives. I pray for that leader that might be frustrated or exhausted - I ask that you re-direct their gaze to be fixed on You and You alone. For we are in a race along a narrow road that requires our very best. Father, I pray for those that may have felt forgotten - I pray that see any form of rejection as you wooing them back into your presence. May we continually rend our hearts and not our garments. In Jesus name, AMEN!

Catalyst 2009

Well, let me just say it's been way TOO long since I've taken a walk on the wild side of Blogger Life! In an effort not to bore anyone with all the why's & why not's, I'll just dive right into the most amazing conference I've ever been too.

Catalyst 2009. The name itself defines EXACTLY what I personally got "out" of Catalyst. A part of Catalysts' vision is to ignite and unite the next generation of leaders allowing their passions and gifts to flourish and have maximum impact in our churches and culture. Just typing that gives me chills....WOO! Ignite & Unite....Powerful Words. And the words are still yet plentiful (it's a process to process). Over the next few day's, I'll be posting my notes from Cat09 because I know, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that I cannot keep this all to myself. As God so mercifully used this conference to speak to me, I know He can do the same for you - even if It's "just" my notes.

I will tell you this, however; the first morning of the conference, I journaled this (at exactly 9:00am):

• "God, tell me how, show me how to REMAIN passionate, not apologize for it, while remaining submissive, humble, merciful and forgiving?"
• At 9:13am, I received this text: "Hey buddy...got a heaviness in my heart this a.m and prayed that God speak to your heart and you get confirmation for what you are seeking. Love you:-x"
• And if that wasn't enough, one of the first things Andy Stanley quoted was Joshua 23:8-10, "⁸ But you are to hold fast to the LORD your God, as you have until now.⁹ "The LORD has driven out before you great and powerful nations; to this day no one has been able to withstand you. ¹⁰ One of you routs a thousand, because the LORD your God fights for you, just as he promised.¹¹ So be very careful to love the LORD your God.

Swimming Up Stream in Faith!

Kickin it OLD school!

Music. Oh, what a beautiful thing! Especially these past couple of weeks (man, have I been jammin in my head). It's been like 80's throw back. From, LL Cool J, Run DMC, Salt N-Pepa, Beastie Boys, Doug E. Fresh, to Biz Markie, and many more.

I've been "Jammin" so much that my kids are looking at me side ways (oh wait....that actually happens a lot). Anyway, I began to ask, why? Why am I thinking of all this Old School music? Why now, all of a sudden, for a couple of weeks straight?



And then it HIT ME. The greatest commandment, (LOVE). You see, I needed to be reminded to go "BACK" to the basics. Faith, Hope and LOVE, above all is LOVE! Sometimes I think we get bogged down, busy with life and simply forget that we are commanded to LOVE above everything else. If God created us in His image, then everyone we have the opportunity to know, is an extension of Him, therefore, reminding us that we must always remember the "basics" of our faith. Above all else, LOVE!

What are some way's you are reminded of these basics?

Connection Cravings

In us all, there is a desire to connect. Weather it's Twitter, Facebook, Blogs, My Space and or any other social media aspect, we all want to connect. In fact, we yearn to connect. And don't let those that "seem" distant or even "anti-social" fool you - because there actually, in the closet, relationship seeking, twitter tracking, facebook phene'n, and My Space seeking individuals.

This past few weeks, the connection bug has been giving me the sweats - big time. I re-connected with my brother via facebook, and found a dear friend (my guardian angel) via facebook as well. It's been awesome! I even had a chance to visit with a very dear friend of my husband's (and mine..Haven't seen him in a while). It was like a class reunion you would spend weeks preparing for (but only better because you don't have to diet or buy an expensive outfit..LOL).

• What about you?
• What is it about connecting with people that you like/dislike?
• How important is connecting to you/how does it make you feel?
• Just click the comment button, and share (I'd love to hear your thoughts).