Those two white boards!!

I know, WOW!! A 3 ft piece of wood. Impressive right? It lays at the front of my garage, just inside the opening. It's not a fancy board. It's cut up and has a few splinters and even has visible marks running up and down it. And yet, there is is in my garage, probably the most valuable thing in the garage in my opinion. Okay, the lock on the door would really be the most valuable/important thing in the garage, but this would be second!!

Beaten up, marked up and even small, it is a crucial piece and it's precise placement is hugely important. The fact that it is a solid piece is what makes it work. Without this small plank of wood, there would be serious problems in the Dickerson Garage!!

So, what does it do? As you can see in the photo (sorry not great quality-I took last night with my phone as God shared this with me), it rests beside the tires of the car. It marks the place of boundary. It holds a place a value. It is a guide. It helps show the way in. There is another board at the front of the garage holding another place of boundary, resting just on the other side of the front tires. Without these boards, as small and insignificant as they may seem, we would have some serious damage. These two boards are strategically placed in our garage to set the boundary for whoever is driving the vehicle as they maneuver it carefully into the garage. The side board is a guide in. It provides protection and help for all the many other belongings to be sure they are not crushed upon entering. The front board lets us know when we have reached the place we need to stop, keeping us from crashing through the wall just a few feet away. As the driver backs in, the focus is on the two boards and nothing else. Therefore, it is crucial the two seemingly insignificant boards remain in their pre-determined placement. Otherwise, things will go bad quickly!!

Last night as we were pulling in the Jeep, I almost panicked when I didn't feel the front board. And it looked like we were about to crush some important stuff!! CAREFUL!!!!! WAIT!!! Let me check the board....ahhh, okay, just one more 1" and we would have reached it. Oh how we need and count on those two boards.

Last night, the Lord showed me how crucial having boards in my life are, for all of us. Something that guides me in, shows me where to center myself, where to stop, how far I can go, where my focus needs to be, something solid that if I bump up against it, I will surely know I have gone off course. The Lord God is just that boundary-giver. He strategically places "boards" in our lives to be our guide. The Holy Spirit is our most important guide, " But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you. Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid." John 14:26-27

Through the Holy Spirit, we are given other boards which may be found in our disciplines: how we follow and obey His commandments and rules, the discipline we have in our prayer life, study times, priorities, where and how we serve; and even through our relationships with family, friends and the world. There are "leaders" in your life, those who have gone before you and those who walk beside you today. God has not left us aimless. If we will just take our eyes off everything around us, focus on the solid boards which set our boundaries, we will find ourselves centered in to the place we need to be...a place we were created and purposed to be.

What boards surround you? Emotional boundaries? Physical boundaries? Spiritual boundaries? If you cannot think of any, or you find yourself feeling overwhelmed, you just might need to stop "driving" and find those boards before you crush something of value, including yourself!

God has a plan for you and has provided a way for you to accomplish it. Set your eyes on Him and find your place of true rest, protection and provision. Obedience brings blessings!! Trust Him and do not be anxious!! 

"So we can confidently say, "The Lord is my helper; I will not fear; what can man do to me?" Remember your leaders, those who spoke to you the word of God. Consider the outcome of their way of life, and imitate their faith. Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever. Do not be led away by diverse and strange teachings, for it is good for the heart to be strengthened by grace, not by foods, which have not benefited those devoted to them." 
Hebrews 13:6-9

All about Pink & Blue

Sugar & Spice and everything nice!

Oh the blessings of being a GIRL! Once a month it's not so "fun" but the rest of the time it's pretty great I think! I'm a NOT a super Girly-Girl, but neither am I a Tom-boy. I enjoy dressing up but I can dig down in the dirt and get my nails dirty!

It's the very first question when someone announces they are expecting..."Is it a Girl or a Boy?" And of course after the birth, they always ask, "When's the next one?!" Good Grief!

My husband and I were blessed with 7 babies, four of which I care for here on Earth. The other three are in Good Hands.

In 1997, God blessed us with our first BOY.We spent the last 4 months of the pregnancy at High Risk visits watching the fluid build up in one of his tiny kidneys.Prayers were heard and there were no complications! Just one week early we met our big boy, weighing in at 8 lbs 4oz.  Everything "boy" and blue denim had filled our house. Blue blankets, burp rags, furniture, balls, toys, bottles, bags, pacifiers.

Then, in 1999, we lost our first little Angel baby only to unexpectantly find ourselves carrying our next bundle of energy! I LOVE being pregnant, such a gift, however, the pregnancy was not easy. My hormone levels had not returned back to normal ranges so when I became pregnant, my body responded as if I was already 4 months pregnant and I began to have contractions early, and I spent 6 months on bed rest hooked up to a monitor. After several trips to Labor and Delivery to settle the contractions, after 6 months of getting out twice a week in my wheelchair to go to church only, and arriving two weeks ahead of schedule, God slipped our blonde haired, blue-eyed baby boy in our hands, weighing 8lbs 1 oz.

Over the next several years, two more babies returned Home to their Heavenly Father and I cannot wait to meet them!!!

In 2005, a sea of PINK flooded our home, over powering all the denim. Lace and ruffles, bows and softness filled our home and life with all things GIRLY!! Such sweet clothes and blankets. This Tinkerbell of a Princess arrived three weeks early, weighing in at albs 5ozs. It definitely awoke the sleeping Princess within me! I found myself matching her colors and trading some of the jeans for some cute skirts!

And to our surprise, God gave us another blonde haired, blue-eyed bundle of joy, weighing in at 10lbs, 7ozs and this boy still surprises me to this day, taking his time arriving one week LATE and still continues to take his time.

When we got married, we attended marriage conferences as an enrichment to our marriage. We both have parents who are divorced and have committed to truly let God be at our center and reason! We just wanted to know HOW!  Once we entered Parenthood, we attended with the same fervor and desperation how to do it right and not to mess it up!! 20 years of marriage seminars, 15 years or parenting seminars, and today I sit in one about Womanhood. Week 1 not even completed and His Word and the insights fall fresh on me! I almost can't formulate the words to express it. Wow! Amazing God! I could go on and on with this and maybe I will blog some of this out but for now, let me tell you this: You most certainly DO have a purpose. You were created as a Masterpiece. You were created in Divine Design, in your specific role.

We were created male and female. We have a role and purpose. We are a reflection of Christ and the Church. If I understand my role as a Helpmate to Christ, it helps me understand how to be one to my Husband. If I understand my role as a woman, and I honor God through my Womanhood, won't I be a better Mommy? A Wife? A Church Member? A Friend? YES!!! He tells us "Seek FIRST His Kingdom." This is not just in how to live out day to day life, but with who we are...seek out who you are in Him first. Know the Hands that made you, then learn who He made you to be, then learn how to use the tools He gifted you with as you live the life He designed for you, as you live to honor God above all others. Your How To is The Word!!!

I tell my kids all the time, if you are living a life pleasing to The Lord, you know without a doubt that Dad and I will be pleased! If their focus is to please God above all others, all the "others" will be happy too. If they only focus on being a student and friend and Dickerson Child and yet never look towards fulfilling their role in the Kingdom which highlights the glory of God, how will they ever be satisfied? Our greatest joy is being in the center of God's Will for our life! Not having a happy marriage, earning several commas in the paycheck, being a popular and envied Parent or being a social-lite respected and known. Where does our heart's joy come from?? The Lord!! Our Peace. Our Comfort. Our Joy!

Are their roots digging deep into a sold foundation or are they spreading themselves out in shifting sand?

Maybe you have never gone all the way back to the very first question of and for yourself...Are you a Girl or a Boy in Christ? Beyond your special "parts", were you created for Manhood or Womanhood? Boy or Girl, there is a gifting only you can fulfill in all of creation. There is more to life than being the best at serving others (and ourselves if we are honest). How would our life change if our only desire was to bring honor and glory to God alone? Above all others. Understand there is a God. Beginning to End, He created everything, and in everything, with a purpose. The purpose is to reveal His beautiful Glory. To reveal Himself to us. To Love. Are you a man of God or a woman of God? Let's learn "how to" do that!!

SIDENOTE: Seminars are great, not saying we should not attend or that we won't gain practical advice, cuz we certainly have; what I am saying is that it is crucial that in order for us to understand "how to" do our our many roles we serve in this Earth right, we cannot skip pass what ought to be our first step...understand how and why we were created. Before we understand our spiritual giftedness, before we ask how to be a better "whatever" may we find out from The One Who created us, with what purpose in mind were we created, male or female.

"Then God said, "Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth." Genesis 1:26

Day Four, Week One...here I come!! Only Week One!?!?! It's gonna be good!!! :)