The Game of Life

I've been really into playing games with my family lately. It can be challenging to make & take the time to be with others you care about. Cranium, Trouble, UNO, Catch Phrase, Balderdash,  Scattegories, etc. This is when you find out more about yourself & others. How to get along with each other, how to lose with grace, how to feel confident; but most of all... how to love & accept others.

I was thinking about an acrostic for LIFE & this is what I came up with. The acrostic model is one that comes from Celebrate Recovery. (Newell is the Ministry Leader for CR at our church in Boulder & what a wonderful one he is!) 

L ove of God I am not alone F amily & Friends E ncouragement

Life is easy, in The Game of Life, when you're an entertainer or a doctor grossing about $70-100 K/annually. Or is it? Don't they still have trials & sufferings? Don't they also feel alone & hopeless, too? I'm sure they do. Without the grace of God & His Love for us, how does one live fully? Life seems empty when we focus on the temporal things in life, but the eternal things. How often do we get excited about where we'll spend eternity?

In our busy & crazy rat race of Life, there are several things that one can chase. We can focus on knowledge & education (like Cranium). Do what feels right & get into the game of Trouble. Live for yourself only, thinking of numero UNO. Get what you can in Catch Phrase, race to get ahead like Balderdash &/or feel scattered like Scattegories. Saying & being Sorry! is totally ok in my book. Are you saying this when you were wrong? I'm saying it more than I ever have. Humility & forgiveness are tickets to freedom & grace. Play it...

I've been encouraged tremendously by a book called Heaven by Randy Alcorn. It exhilarates me to know that those who believe in Jesus will live forever with God, with new bodies, on the new Earth. My grandma died a month ago. My mentor's husband died six months ago. My best friend is dying from Lou Gehrig's, AKA ALS. How does one live with grief & tears because the love we have for others?

So, participate in the game of Life. It's not always fun but with people in it, it's very fulfilling! Choose to have an intimate relationship with Jesus, with your spouse & child(ren), & with close friends is the Only Way to an Abundant Life!

Year in Review

I've been on leave for the past year with much traveling and getting well. 

We went to four destinations last summer to Labor Day Weekend: Washington, D.C. & Roanoke, VA; West Falmouth & Martha's Vineyard, MA; Fabens, TX & Juarez, Mexico; and finally, Scottsdale & Williams, AZ... plus, the Grand Canyon by train. 

Here's one of my favorite Christmas photos of our 3 sons [Ian (9), Trevor (7) & Seth (14)-from L to R] in front of the Christmas tree. They are amazing & precious gifts to us from God.

Gratefully, I've been getting better recently. I've been ill since last November and have had 3 viruses, where one caused a low white blood count. I have never been so idle since I was a baby. God is teaching me how to offer more grace to myself & how to Rest in Him more often. Truly, an answer to my prayers.

Matthew 11:28-30 are my special life verses. Check it out...

I will try to post more often but will not make any promises. It seems that I tend to only do this once a year. Life is about seeing our progress in the following areas of spiritual, emotional, physical & mental. What are you desiring more in your life?