Voice

Photo Credit:  dave from morgueFile.com

Isn’t it strange how someone’s voice can provoke all kinds of feelings within us?  From the moment they start talking, their voice can give us strength, courage, hope, and the comfort of knowing that we are dearly loved.  Then, there are those voices that sometimes make us cringe, but let’s not discuss that now.

I’ve heard many stories about loved ones who have died.  The family members that they’ve left behind have never erased an answering machine message or a voice mail left by the departed loved one.  Voice.  It’s an amazingly powerful thing really.

I’m all about texting these days, believe me.  It’s been a great thing, but there is something magical about a real, live voice on the other end of that phone line.  It’s difficult to truly “hear” what someone is saying through a text, isn’t it?

A voice can be one of encouragement.  Here is a precious little story from Mikey:

“While walking in the park one day, I was taking in the beautiful lake, blooming flowers, and just enjoying the oversized path where people could walk, jog, run their dogs, or ride their bikes.”

“As I was coming down a hill, I saw an older woman coming toward me, pushing a stroller with two toddlers in it.  ‘We’re coming to a hill,’ the presumable grandmother said to the children, ‘so you’ll have to help me — are you ready?’”

“I wondered how those little toddlers would be of any assistance, but as I passed them, I heard them earnestly repeating: ‘I think I can, I think I can, I think I can...’”

The voice of encouragement.  We all need it sometime.

The voices of my children bring me much joy on a daily basis.  The other day, their voices brought me a big chuckle as well.  My girls had been chasing each other all over the house.  They would run and hide and then scare each other with a loud, “Boo!”  This went on for what seemed like forever.  I was preparing supper and finally asked them to stop.  It was getting to be a bit much.  I hollered, “That’s it!  No more chasing and scaring each other!”

They stopped for all of five seconds and then continued.  The noise escalated.  Then, my 6-year-old ran into the kitchen with her 9-year-old sister chasing after her.  My youngest daughter exclaimed, “MOM!!!  MOM!!!  I thought you said no more boo’s!”  Of course, it sounded like “booze” and they just could not figure out why I was laughing so hard.  Good times in the Kallus household.

The voice of laughter.  We all need it sometime.

My cousin recently gave it her best shot at getting on the show, “The Voice.”  After hours and hours of waiting in a Houston line and 5,000 singers later, she unfortunately didn’t make the cut.  However, what impressed me the most was that she said the experience only made her want to try all the more to get better and better and give it another go next year.

The voice of determination.  We all need it sometime.

It’s hard to believe, but Lent is here already!   Many of us will give up something or do something extra during this season before Easter.  If we listen closely to the voice inside of us (aka the Holy Spirit), we will be able to hear what special thing that God is calling us to do this Lent.  Let’s take some time to reflect upon the many ways that we can make this a memorable and fruitful Lenten season for ourselves and others.

The voice of inspiration.  We all need it sometime.

I’m kinda giddy about this, so I wanted to share with you that I just celebrated the fact that I have written 200 blog posts.  Yes!  This one you are reading right now is Sips # 201 and I couldn’t be more excited!  It’s hard to believe that I’ve written about 200,000 words on my blog thus far.  I couldn’t imagine writing that many words at once, but week by week, by golly...I’ve done it!

The voice of endurance.  We all need it sometime.

I know I’ve talked about my upcoming children’s book on many occasions now, but I just received the illustrations and they are simply beautiful!  I am one step closer, peeps.  I don’t have a guesstimate on the date of publication yet, but I am practicing patience in the meantime.

The voice of “oh-my-gosh-I-cannot-believe-that-I’ll-be-a-published-author-soon.”  Woo-hoo!  I LOVE the sound of that voice!

This week, let’s listen to each other’s voice.  Let’s listen to our own…the gentle voice nudging us within.  God can certainly speak loudly, but sometimes He’s found in a whisper, so we have to listen closely.

Have a wonderful week, Sunshines!

How Many Stars?

Photo Credit:  kandi from morgueFile.com

Over the weekend, I was looking online to book a hotel for a trip we’re planning in March.  I entered the city, dates, number of people and ages, and then it asked for some additional search criteria…star rating preference.  Hmmm…how many stars?  I decided not to enter a star preference just to see what came up.  Here’s where the fun began.

To top off the excitement, I decided to sort by price…lowest to highest.  So, a little 1-star jewel popped up for only 27 bucks a night.  Wow!  Out of curiosity, I decided to read the reviews on this charm.  What does a $27/night hotel have to offer?  Well, at the very least, the following reviews provided my husband and me with an incredible amount of laughter…so much so that I almost fell out of my chair with tears rolling down my cheeks.  Let me share a few of the highlights so that you can giggle in disbelief too:

“They need to tear this place down because it’s unfit to stay.  Take it from me and I’m not picky at all.  There are many guests - cockroaches, rats, and cats to name a few.  The shower didn't work and the floors and walls were filthy.  I would never recommend this place to anyone.  It doesn't even deserve a star.  Whatever you do, do not stay here…RUN, RUN, RUN!  Did I mention cockroaches?   There were no bath towels and we even found bed bugs on our night clothing.  We felt unsafe.  We chose to sleep in our car in a supermarket parking lot until we found another hotel.  It was that bad!  There was dog poop at the entrance of the lobby.  This was the most disgusting place I have ever walked into in my life. It looked like someone had been murdered in the bathtub.  The room reeked of old smoke, so thick that you couldn't breathe. The kitchen was dirty and the walls were yellow and sticky from the smoke. I was afraid to sit down in the place.  I walked in and left 5 minutes later.  Did someone die in here?  You better lock your car and sleep with a weapon. There was one towel in the bathroom and it was paper thin.  The TV didn't work at all.  The door wouldn't close unless you channeled your inner Hulk and slammed it as hard as you could.  It’s so noisy everywhere.  If sleeping at night really isn't your thing, then this is the place for you.  There’s tons of mold and the mattress had wires sticking out of it.  Our ceiling fan almost caught on fire and the elevator looked like a death trap.  The balconies are tilted down as if they're sinking and going to collapse.  Don’t even ask about the bedding.”

Seriously?!  Needless to say, we didn’t book there and I went ahead and revised my search with a star preference.

However, this experience did get me to thinking about star-ratings.  All of us have 1-star days and 5-star days.  Most of the time, our days fall somewhere in between there, don’t they?  There are days when everything seems to be going right and then there are those days when nothing seems to be going our way.  Many things can influence our day’s star-rating like our health, jobs, friends, family, relationships, finances, weather, successes or failures, missing someone, sleep, exercise, etc.  The list goes on and on.

How can we boost our 1-star days into another category?  Not always, but many times, it is mind over matter.  Our thoughts can determine our day’s star rating.  What are we thinking about and how are we thinking?  Is our focus on the good or the bad?  Are we counting blessings or burdens?  Are we turning to prayer?

I recently received this great set of questions from Jesus that Mikey sent in an e-mail.  They helped me to put a few things into perspective when I’m having a 1-star day:

QUESTIONS FROM JESUS
If you never felt pain, then how would you know that I am a healer?
If you never had to pray, how would you know that I am a deliverer?
If you never had a trial, how could you call yourself an overcomer?
If you never felt sadness, how would you know that I am a comforter?
If you never made a mistake, how would you know that I am a forgiver?

If you never were broken, then how would you know that I can make you whole?
If you never had any suffering, then how would you know what I went through?
If you never went through the fire, then how would you become pure?
If I never corrected you, how would you know that I love you?
If you had all power, then how would you learn to depend on me?
If your life was perfect, then what would you need me for?

Love,
Jesus

I absolutely loved these reflective questions…even more than the hilarious roach-motel-reviews.  I hope you’ll join me in attempting to improve our 1-star days by trying our best at a 5-star attitude.

So….how many stars for today? 

Want some great news?  You get to choose.

Have a wonderful day, Sunshines!

The Wind

Photo Credit:  Alvimann from morgueFile.com

As I listen to the wind howling outside, I’m thinking about how much of an influence wind can have.  It can be beautiful in just the right amounts.  Too much or too little of it and we grumble.  Strong winds have the potential to be incredibly damaging, while just enough of a breeze can enable our kites to soar.  The right dose of wind can allow us to tolerate our South Texas summer days without melting into a puddle on the pavement.

The other day, my uncle and cousin were planning a Sunday bike ride.  What is the very first thing they checked on their phone to see if a bike ride was a good idea?  Yep.  The wind.  Once my cousin found out there were going to be 17-mile-an-hour winds on Sunday afternoon, they opted for an early morning ride instead.  Wind makes a difference.  It would have been great if that wind was pushing their backs the whole time, but there is that funny part called the return ride when it’s blowing in your face at the exact same speed.  Not quite as exhilarating.

You’ve heard the idiom, “They took the wind out of my sails.”  And, most, if not all of us, have had someone take the wind out of our sails by making us feel less confident or less determined to do something.  Right?  Did you go ahead and mark them off of your birthday party list?  Ha!

On the flip side, have you ever been the wind that someone needed in order to set sail?  Has someone given you just the right amount of wind in your life so that you could really start to soar?  Wind can make all the difference.

My 6-year-old daughter brought home a booklet the other day from school.  On the front, it read – “I’m a Star!”  Inside of this packet were letters written to her from each of her classmates.  Each child in first grade gets a chance to be the Star Student of the week and have show-and-tell by sharing different things about themselves and bringing favorite items from home.  It was my daughter’s turn that week and I thoroughly enjoyed reading through the notes with her. 

I want to share a few of them with you.  The children’s unique spelling is just precious, so I’m sharing that too:  “You are special becase you are nis and giving.  You are the nicis prcin I have ever met.  You are very talitid at math.  I like the way that you act.  You are special because you can dans.  You are pritey.  You are koot.  You are the best lrnr in are class.  You are kind to pepl.  I never met a frind like you.  I like to play with you.”

You should have seen the smile on my daughter’s face as she read these letters out loud to me.  It was priceless.  I watched the wind fill her sails.  I saw the wind make her soar.  There was an extra skip in her step that evening after reading these heartfelt notes.  The wind was visible as she flew through the house that night.

I don’t think it’s coincidental that the right people seem to come along at the right time in our lives.  I rather think it’s Providential and heaven-sent.  Aren’t we sometimes that sailboat out there in the waters of life just tossing back and forth, to and fro, but not really moving anywhere?  We know we need to move forward, but we just can’t seem to find a way to do it.  We need the wind to move us.  We need God-given wind and I think many times that comes in the form of a friend, family member, or other loved one who gives us the strength to do just that…to move forward.

Maybe some of you out there suffer with white-coat-syndrome?  Maybe you have it so bad that you’ve put off going for a check-up for many years now because of it?  Maybe you miraculously found the courage to go on Monday?  Yes.  I did.  I totally did.  One of my friends sent me a sweetly simple text that morning saying, “Praying for you.”  And, my husband left me an encouraging voice mail just minutes before I walked into the doctor’s office. They both knew I needed some wind that morning and it came at just the right time.

I love the “Pay It Forward” movement that describes the beneficiary of a good deed repaying it to others instead of to the original benefactor.  We can certainly pay it forward and we can also PRAY it forward.  I love that idea as well.

Another friend of mine had an appointment recently and I wanted to pray it forward.  I knew just how wonderful it felt knowing that I was being prayed for at a time when I was too nervous to pray for myself.  So, I called her and sent her a text to let her know.  I prayed it forward.  Who can you pray it forward to this week?

As I listen to the blowing wind, I think I’ll stop and say a little prayer.  Thank you, God, for sending people our way to be our wind…just the right amount…exactly when we need it most.  I’m grateful that you want us to soar.  I’m glad you find the ways and the people to fill our sails.  I’m thankful for you, Lord, and all those special ones in our lives who are the wind beneath our wings.  Amen.

Have a wonderful week, Sunshines!