I've been thinking about motherhood...

Some of the Best Mothers I know are not Mothers at All!

I have been well loved over the years by many good women and I am thankful for the countless ways I have been blessed. However, I have become sensitized to the fact that some of the women who have loved me the best are not the women who most of us would expect to have "motherhood maturity."

I am speaking of women in my life without children of their own who have turned their loving nurturing toward me and expressed it meaningfully. What would we do without these women who selflessly serve us without expecting much in return in the natural sense of things?

I found a piece of art in a downtown Scottsdale store window that captured my interest. It is a brass faucet with glass spilling down like water into a small pool. The brass faucet is not visibly connected to anything. It is just a faucet spilling forth...

There is no connection to an earthly source so I automatically make a connection that there is an invisible source of water flowing through this faucet. For me, this piece of art is a picture of the outflowing of love from a life that is plugged into the amazing resources of God.

These same resources are available to all women no matter what our circumstances. What a wonderful - hopeful - satisfying picture of a life well lived because of the possibilities available to us as God's daughters. Today, I rejoice in being a woman who has the joy of knowing and experiencing this truth!

Because tomorrow is my birthday and I am turning 60, I have the privilege of once again reviewing and assessing my life. As I do, one of the things I MUST do is acknowledge the generous love of my friends who are not physical mothers but mothers none-the-less. This is a tribute to you Jacque, Mary Jane and Cindy. You come immediately to mind when I think of being well-loved. I am so very thankful for you all.

I've been thinking about excellence...

Excellence is Like an Impressionist Painting with Millions of Dots

Pointillism is the practice of applying small dots of color to a surface so that from a distance they blend together. I viewed the work of a pointillist artist in an art gallery in Sedona a few years ago. I could not help but be enthralled with the amount of patience involved in working with this artistic style. Stepping back from the painting, I did see a beautifully blended picture.

Speaking of dots, Dara Torres says, "Sure, a dot is a dot. What's the big deal? But, if you care enough to make each dot the exact right size and the exact right color in the exact right place, something amazing occurs."

Dara ought to know since she is the first American swimmer to compete in five Olympics. Her philosophy is that swimming is about having the mental discipline to get every detail right, every single day.

In the book entitled Champions: The Making of Olympic Swimmers, Daniel Chambliss wrote, "If you swim sloppily 364 days a year, nothing great is going to happen on the day of the next big meet, no matter how excited you get... These little things matter not so much because of their physical impact but because psychologically they separate the champion from everyone else... Most swimmers choose every day not to do the little things. They choose, in effect, not to win... In some sense, everyone 'could" win in the Olympic Games, but 'could" doesn't count. The gold is reserved for those who do."

I like the way the metaphor of the dots helps me understand that when I give something my best effort each and every day, then I can be assured that the finished product will be my most excellent work. Colossians 3:23 even reminds me who I am to please. Whatever you do, do your work heartily, as for the Lord, rather than for men. Whew! No guessing, no wondering, no anxiety. Just peace and rest with no regrets!

I've been thinking about energy...

Doling Out the Energy in Precise Doses!

Energy is power efficiently exerted. The study of energy and how it works itself out through a human body is fascinating to me. I have long been a student of my own energy supply. That is why I like a month-at-a-glance calender. I can better anticipate the energy ebbs and flows throughout the days ahead and manage my life more responsibly.

A good synonym for energy is strength. Having studied my energy flow, it is apparent to me that I do not have an unending supply of strength. It is so easy to become physically and emotionally exhausted. Therefore, how I use or conserve my strength is a matter of stewardship.

Olympic swimmer, Dara Torres, shares an interesting concept about energy in her book, Age is Just a Number. "One of the most important skills for a competitive swimmer is the ability to dole out energy in very precise doses. To win in the finals of a race at a big meet like the Olympic Trials, Olympic Games, or World Championships, you have to burn up enough speed in the preliminaries to make it to the semifinals, and enough speed in the semifinals to make the finals, but all the while conserving juice."

I like her metaphor of "juice" to describe energy. I remember a character in a movie once being described as having "lots of juice" and sure enough, when we were introduced to that character later in the story, he was fascinating.

As God's daughter, shouldn't I have "lots of juice" too? I have the unique privilege of replenishing my energy supply from the pool of His vitality as often as I desire. Scripture tells me this is so in Psalm 73:26, My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the STRENGTH of my heart and my portion forever. (ESV)

I wonder if the reason I have limited energy is to remind me to come back to Him?