O.K., O.K., for those of you who have asked, now you get the answer:

I had the awesome privilege of working with the Staff of The ROCK of Wilmington in North Carolina. Hardworking, dedicated, passionate-for-Christ people who NEVER knew when to stop talking shop. Lunch times and break times I would try to introduce a topic unrelated to ministry or work and after a sentence or two someone would take us back into the workplace shop talk.

We had a HUGE event coming up and everyone wanted to have their area of ministry at its very best so, being stressed out, we started whining and complaining about work to one another. This spilled over into times and meals away from the office, too. I went to my office and prayed, “Lord, please give me something to get us laughing!” Well, this is what He gave me….

Sung to the tune of the Oscar Meyer Weiner song:

“Oh, I wish I had a healthy boundary,

Oh, that is what I’d truly like to see,

‘Cause if I had a healthy boundary,

Then everyone would be in love with me!”

(Hey, if it’s not spiritual enough for you complain to the Lord…He gave it to me!)

I then became the “Self-Appointed Mental Health Advocate” to the staff. Any time anyone slipped into shop talk at an inappropriate time I would sing this song. Soon, all we had to do was start to hum the tune to one another and we’d laugh and change the subject.

It is easy for me to get intense with ministry responsibilities and no one loves me when I am intense! Kingdom work is hard, intense, and fulfilling, but hey, sometimes the Lord says to us, “Go get a life! I’m God and you’re not!”

A friend of ours recounted her experience with a short term missions team going to China in 1997 to smuggle Bibles.  One of the team members was a pastor.  As he stood in line to go through the border crossing check point into China he began to rehearse in his mind the things he had taken care of  -  just in case something happened to him on the trip. 

He recalled getting his financial house in order; having everything, all the paper work ready, for his wife in case he was imprisoned.  Then he moved on to fretting about whether he had gotten enough insurance, would his family make it O.K. without him?  Then anxiety set in as he pictured himself spending the rest of his life in a Chinese prison.  He had heard the horror stories of many ministers held and tortured. 

His turn came to show I.D. and be questioned by the border guards.  He was passed on through without any problems.  He immediately began singing in his heart and mind saying, “Hallelujah, Jesus, thank you, Father, You are so good to me!  You do all things well!”

 The Lord then spoke clearly to him saying, “Right song…wrong side!”  He instructed the pastor that the thankful heart, the peace that passes all understanding, even great joy would have been his if he had sung his song on the side of fear and the unknown, not waiting to sing it in relief as if God might not come through.

Next Monday a dear friend of mine, Vicki, is facing major surgery.  During a visit with her this weekend I could hear her working to choose the right song on the right side of this fearful and unknown medical procedure.  I am confident God will honor her with peace that passes all understanding!  She’s singing the right song on the right side!

My husband, Ron, and I have said for a long time that our family put the “fun” in dysfunctional!  Our son, Scott, and his wife, Natasha, have given us three beautiful grandchildren…Trinity, soon to be 6, Brayden, just turned 4, and Israel, will turn 2 tomorrow!  My, how time does fly!  We were living in North Carolina when all these babies were born and dear friends provided me with a plane ticket to be in Arkansas for each birth!  What a joy!  Our daughter, Wendy Rebekah, lives in Fayetteville, Arkansas, and our son and his family live in Bentonville.  Geography doesn’t hinder our “inside” jokes, or the pranks we like to pull on one another.

Ron’s twin brother, Don, his wife, Kay, and WonderDog, Jessy, came for a visit last week.  They live in Dallas and have four adult sons.  After years of living too far away to visit each other we have had the joy of having them in our home three times as they traveled to the northeast for business and ministry.  Don is an apostle in the marketplace and has a powerful ministry called “Fatherpower.”  Kay is a writer, editor, mighty woman of God, and brightens every conversation with witty comments.  Jessy and our dog, Gracie, became great friends and it was an awesome family visit.

Both our families love to read books.  As our two were growing up we read aloud from books every night.  When Scott was about 12 years old Ron read us the book titled, “A Day No Pigs Would Die” by Robert Newton Peck.  It is a coming of age story of a young boy and his family on a farm. His dad is also a butcher.  The day the father passes away is the day no pigs died.

The young boy was always hurrying from one chore to another to get on to his adventures.  Each time his dad had him repeat the chore until it was done right.  He would say to him, “Son, one done good beats two done ragged!” 

As Kay and I visited I was reminded of all the times we said “family phrases,” mostly quotes, to our children and now they say those same things to their families.  Time and distance may seem to affect our relationships but plugging back in and making new memories together is a wonderful gift!

Dysfunctional or not, we only get to have the family we have and in everything we do with and for them “one done good beats two done ragged” every time!

Thank you, Bryan and Jennifer, for this AWESOME birthday present…my very own blog!  Yesterday Bryan (Yoda) gave me (Jedi) a digital orientation, in-service training and general instructions.  WOW, my brain cells got a down load and I am still very intimidated by this whole cyber-world. 

A song I love has the words “from one generation to another” and it is a real delight of my life to have friends of all ages. Those that carry me on into the future are dear to my heart.  As I walk a bridge between analog and digital my vocabulary won’t always be exactly right for all you Yodas but my heart sure is singing as you soar on toward things we’ve prayed and believed for you to walk in.

I LOVE reading blogs and you will see names of some of my favorites on my blogroll.  Please visit these and meet some of my truly amazing friends.

 Somehow the “sayings” I quote seem to give me a reputation.  Not all of them have wisdom in them…some are just fun.  Here’s one from a professor I had in college, Dr. V.C. Miller, and it does have wisdom…

“What you feed grows. What you starve dies. You never satisfy anything by feeding it. You merely increase its capacity.”

This is true whether we’re dealing with our thought life, food issues, or daily habits.  I hope that today you will feed all your areas of creativity and vision and starve out anything that steals your joy!

Oh, and check back so you can find out the story behind The Boundaries Song, meet my wonderful husband, Ron - he’s the one I’m kissing in the photo, pick up a few quotes and share yours with me!