I love the fact that when my heart is right I see God-sightings all around me.  Not a day goes by when I don’t see God’s had in something that touches my life.

Today is no different.

For the past several weeks I’ve had a “service” warning light that occasionally comes on when I’m driving.  When it first happened I had just picked up my car from the shop because of a broken fuel pump.  I called the dealer and inquired about the service light and was told not to worry about it because it was probably just resetting from the replaced fuel pump.  So, I didn’t worry about it.

However, as the weeks went on, the light came on more frequently.  Several days ago I noticed that when I would make a right hand turn while braking my brake light came on as well.  “Humph, that’s interesting,” I thought “but, I’m not gong to worry about it.”

It seemed with each passing day both lights came on more than they went off.  I began thinking I needed to get my car back to the shop.  But, several people had advised me that neither light was a big deal and that the car was fine, after all, it drove well.  Besides, I don’t have time to take my car to the shop.  I’m preparing for a client workshop, have several meetings each day this week and am helping my daughter prepare for her missions trip (she leaves on Friday.) But, my intuition kept nagging me telling me I needed to get the car serviced.

So, I made time to take it to the shop first thing this morning.  I had a great chat with one of the men who works there (we are both from California so we have a natural affinity for each other) and enjoyed talking with the shuttle driver who brought me home all the while wondering if I was over-reacting to these lights.  “Better safe than to be sorry,” I reasoned.

A short while later I received a call saying that indeed there was a problem with the car.  The brakes were about to go out and needed replacing.  A few hours later the shuttle driver was back in my driveway and off we went to the dealership (I take my car to the Saturn dealer.)

After I picked up my car I was driving my daughter on an errand for her upcoming trip and I was overwhelmed with gratitude.  “Thanks God for keeping me safe despite my failing brakes and for prompting me to take the car into the shop.”

Had I not listened to my intuition who knows what awful thing may have been awaiting me.  At the very least, I could have been greatly inconvenienced had my brakes failed on the way to my client workshop or next week on the way to my personal retreat 200 miles away from home.  However, now I can drive with confidence knowing my car is safe.

Choose a Better Life by choosing to listen to your intuition.  It may just be God’s still small voice protecting you from a disaster.

As you know my posts have been absent for the last two weeks (I did give fair warning.)  For 12 of the last 15 days I have been on a 1600 mile road trip with my mom and youngest daughter.  We visited the gorgeous mountains of western North Carolina, drove through the rolling hills of Tennessee, enjoyed both sides of the great state of Virginia, visited the harbor in Baltimore and ended up on the beach in Virginia Beach.

Throughout the trip we stopped and visited with friends and family … some I had not seen since I was a child - over 30 years ago.  What a joy it was to spend time with them again.

One thought repeatedly rand through my mind while I was on this trip, “Wow, this is amazing!”  Whether I was standing at the top of a 2280 foot mountain in the Blue Ridge Parkway, at the bottom of a 404 foot waterfall, or sitting on the beach looking out into the Atlantic Ocean I was mesmerized by the beauty of creation.  And even though my eyes saw my surroundings I could not fully comprehend the beauty.  The more I tired to take it in, the more I realized I just couldn’t digest it all.  Thinking of just one color … there are hundreds, if not thousands, of shades and hues of green.

The night before we left for home, I was sitting on the beach watching both kids and adults play in the ocean as the waves rolled onto shore.  In the distance I could see a few boats and cruise ships pass by.  All the while I was thinking that for as much as I see above the water, there is another world below it as well.  A world full of colors and animals I’ve rarely seen.

As I was trying to wrap my mind around this bounty of life, I realized that I am but a minuscule part of creation.  In light of the universe I am but a grain of sand.  And the “issues” that I deal with are virtually non-existent by comparison.  I realized just how small I really am.

And yet, as tiny as I seem I know that nothing matters more to the Creator of this amazing universe than I do.  I am not dwarfed by creation in the eyes of God.  He sees me, He knows me (warts and all), He loves me, and He is overjoyed by the thought of me.  And with everything that happens each second of each day, God is not distracted from me.

The same is true of you.  Despite the enormity of creation, God knows the number of every hair on your head.  He knows every thought that passes through your mind and every emotion you feel.  And amazingly, his love for you never waivers.   He loves you with a love that is deeper than the oceans and higher than the tallest mountain.

Choose a Better Life by choosing to embrace your standing in this universe and in the eyes of the Creator.  Nothing is more important to God than you are.

I find it interesting that when life is the most hectic we tend to cut out the things that are the most beneficial to ourselves – time alone, time to exercise, quality time with our families, time out with friends.  Unfortunately, these things tend to fall into the “not mandatory for survival” category.

Yes, it is true that we can survive life without the richness of time spent with friends or family.  We can survive without exercise.  And we can survive without time alone.  But, surviving isn’t living.  Living is what makes life enjoyable.  It is what makes life fun and eventful.  And, living should be our goal.

I have been reminded of this over the past few weeks.  I am in the process of re-branding my business – new company name, new logo, new website, new messaging, just about everything is new.  Although this process is very exciting it is a lot of work, more than I expected honestly.

And because I have set a deadline for this Friday, June 13^th, to have the majority of my messaging redefined and my website content rewritten (I am going to be unavailable for two weeks starting the 14^th) I have been feeling the pressure of not enough hours in my day.   As this pressure has been building I have been forced to cut some things from my schedule.  Unfortunately, I had been cutting the wrong things.

The first thing to go was my morning quiet time.  This is time I take to pray, journal, bless those who are brought to mind and just rest in the “peace that surpasses all understanding.”

The second thing I cut was some one-on-one time with my daughter.  She is on summer break now and she would love to spend days on end with me.  Although I treasure my time with her and recognize it will not last forever, I have been saying no to time with her in lieu of “focused work time.”

But, interestingly, because I have cut two of the most precious things in my life, my “focused work time” had not been very focused.  I’ve been struggling to get my thoughts together and have not been nearly as productive as I need to be.  So, the pressure continues to build.

Finally, it dawned on me … in order to be productive during the work-day, I need to nurture my personal life - my mind, my spirit and my soul.

So, several days ago I decided that no matter how jammed my day was, I would start each and every day with my quiet time; time to get myself focused on the really important things in life.  Then I decided that I would let my daughter pick one weekday, any day before the 14^th that would be spent with just her and me.  No calls.  No email.  No work.

And amazingly, but not surprisingly, the pressure has begun to release.  I still have the impending deadline and I still have a lot of work to get done, but my mind is renewed.  I am refreshed and refocused.  I do not have more hours in my days, but my days are much more productive because I work much more effectively.

Choose a Better Life by choosing to keep time to nurture yourself in your schedule.  Choose to live life instead of just surviving it.

Having spent most of my life in Southern California, tornado warnings are not something I am accustomed to and definitely not something I am fond of. So this morning (a few hours before my alarm clock went off, thanks to my dogs) when I found out my county was listed as one of those under a tornado warning, peace was not the first thing that flooded my body.

After putting my 100 pound Golden Retriever, Murphy, in my daughter’s bed (that is where he sleeps when we have storms – it provides comfort for both of them) I went back to my own bed and tried to go to sleep. Since my husband is out of town I had no where to direct my many tornado questions.

I remembered a friend and former weather man saying that right before tornadoes hit everything gets calm. So, I figured that as long as it was raining hard I was in good shape.

Just as I started to fall asleep the rain stopped. My mind immediately went to what I should do next. Do, I wake my daughter up and do we go downstairs into the laundry room? Will we fit in there with the dogs? How long will we have to stay in there? How will I know if a tornado is coming or not? Will my Blackberry still work? Will I be able to get an updated weather report on it? Should I take food in there with us? What about water? What about my computer? If a tornado hits our house and takes my computer all my work is gone. Will I have enough time to unplug it and get it downstairs?

At this point I remembered that animals have a great sixth sense about them. They always know when something like this is going to happen. So, I decided I’d just go to sleep and trust that if a tornado is coming my dogs will wake me up.

Then it hit me, my dogs aren’t even in my room. They are hiding in my daughter’s room!

“Ok God, you’ll have to come up with some other way to let me know what I should do.” Just as I finished saying that I heard the most amazing sound. I’ve heard this before so I knew exactly what it was. It was a chorus of birds singing in the trees outside my home. I knew that if the birds were singing and not taking cover everything must be okay. They are smart animals. They live outside and they’d know when it was safe. I can trust them.

So, to the melody of a beautiful choir I rested in my bed and fell fast asleep … until the alarm clock went off.

The past two weeks have been amazing and I’d be remiss if I didn’t share some of the ways I’ve been blessed.

Several weeks ago I noticed a problem on my roof.  A patch of shingles looked to be wavy.  “Interesting,” I thought.  Not too long afterwards I noticed a hole in the same spot.  Holes and roofs never go together well, especially when it’s raining.  But, through a referral of a referral I was introduced to the most amazing roofer who not only fixed my roof for a wonderful price, but he also let me slow pay because I had other pressing financial needs.

The same time our roof was beginning to look more like Swiss cheese than a solid roof, my husband’s car died. … completely died … at 11:45 pm … on the freeway on his way home from a business trip.  Never a good situation.  However, just a few days before I had mailed in our AAA renewal.  Although we did not have our AAA membership cards yet, AAA agreed to send a tow truck out to tow my husband and his car home.  Both made it home safely at virtually no cost.

Also around the same time, we received two medical bills in the mail that were unexpected.  These two bills totaled about $400.  We believed our insurance was covering these costs, when in fact, these bills are our responsibility.  “Ok, those were unexpected, but Woohoo, I have health insurance now … something I didn’t have a few months ago.”

This brings us to two days before my husband and I were leaving for our trip to San Francisco.  One of our dogs became quite ill and miserable.  So, off to the vet we went.  A few hundred dollars later I was bringing home my pup and a host of medications and supplements.  We were blessed with two sets of friends who graciously came over several times a day to take care of our dogs while we were gone.  One of our friends had to give our pup medicine at both meals as well as mix supplements into his food.  How thankful we were for friends who would do this for our beloved pets.

The night prior to our flight home from San Francisco we were told that our flight was canceled. (We were part of the American Airlines debacle) and there was only a possibility that the airline would be able to fly us home 2 days later.  But, because we were slotted to sign refinance papers for our home the day after our original flight, we had to get home on time.  There was nothing American Airlines could do.  But, a dear contact of my husband’s was able to get us on a Southwest Airlines’ flight that delivered us home just 60 minutes after our original flight schedule.

Because my husband’s car was officially dead, we knew we needed to replace it.  Three days ago we visited our local Saturn dealership.  The owner is an acquaintance and he recommended a terrific salesman who also happens to work in the finance department.  After two test drives we found a car we wanted to purchase, but were not sure we could afford it.  Not only did the dealership take our dead car as a trade-in, but they worked with us to get us into the car we desired with payments that fell within our budget.  We were blessed to drive away in a beautiful 2007 Aura.

While we were at the Saturn dealer I mentioned an issue I was having with my car, also a Saturn.  The Service department agreed to take my car and fit it into their schedule.  In the end it turned out that I had a bad fuel pump.  Replacing this fuel pump cost $600.  Not a minor amount considering the other outlays of money we’ve had lately.  But, the Service department was more than gentle in their dealings with me.  And, it turns out; I had been given a gift certificate to Saturn a few months back that helped offset the cost.

A key piece I forgot to mention … we signed the paperwork for refinancing out house on time. Because we have only been in our home for a little over a year, we were not able to pull any equity out of the house.  However, as a direct result of the brokerage firm working with us we are able to skip two months’ mortgage payments enabling us to cover the costs of all of the above.

As I’ve been thinking about all these things I am overwhelmed with God’s provision and how he uses other people in our lives.  And it is with an amazing amount of joy and gratitude that I realize I didn’t allow any of these circumstances to make me grumpy (that would not have been the case a few years ago) instead, I choose to have a good attitude believing everything would work out in the end.  And it has.

Our attitudes are self-fulfilling prophesies.  What we believe will happen often does because we create that reality.  Choose a Better Life by choosing to embrace situations and believe for positive outcomes.

As you know, a few days ago was Valentine‘s Day.  My husband took me to lunch at a nearby country club.  We had a great view of the golf course, the food was wonderful and our time will be treasured.  Aside from getting away with my husband, one thing that really stood out to me was an older couple sitting a few tables away.

I’m not the best at guessing age, but I say this couple was in their 70s.  They did not speak English, but that did not keep me from gazing over at them and “eavesdropping.”

The love and pride they have for each other obvious.  Although I could not understand their words, there was no doubt they were verbally caressing each other. They both smiled as they talked and very rarely dropped eye contact.

I watched as the husband gently reached across the table grabbed his wife’s hand and gave her a gently squeeze.  They let go only when dessert was brought to the table and placed between them for them to share.

As thoughts of this couple has entered my mind over the past several days I couldn’t help but think that this is but a glimpse of God’s love for us.  God invites us to join him at his feast and when we do, his eyes lock on ours as he reaches across the table to hold our hand.  Love and pride gush from his eyes as he speaks gently with words that only our hearts understand.

It was a privilege to sit near this couple on Valentine’s Day and to bask in the love they have for one another.  And I’m immeasurably thankful for their reminder that the Creator of the Universe is that in love with me.

Choose a Better Life by opening your heart to the One whose love for you is beyond measure.

“There can be no friendship where there is no freedom.  Friendship loves a free air, and will not be fenced up in straight and narrow enclosures.” 

William Penn

I have been blessed with several dear friends throughout my life.  At this very moment I can pick up the phone and call on any one of several women knowing they will laugh with me, cry with me, pray for me or support me in whatever way I need.  I know this is not the case with everyone and I don’t take my dear girlfriends for granted.  I treasure them and pray for them often.

In fact, as soon as I knew I was moving to Raleigh, NC I began praying for kindred spirits, special girlfriends.  I didn’t know anyone in Raleigh, but I knew I needed a friend, or two, with whom I could be completely open and honest.  I needed a friend who would love me for me and not judge my actions or decisions.  I also needed that friend to love me enough to be willing to hold me accountable and “call me on the carpet” when I need it.

My treasured girlfriends are ones who give me the freedom to be myself, good qualities and bad.  They listen to my heart’s cries and don’t try to change them or “fix” them.  They don’t tell me I’m wrong for feeling a certain way because they understand feelings are neither right or wrong, they are feelings.  When the time is right, they do, however, help me to see that sometimes my perceptions are wrong and those wrong perceptions may lead to unnecessary pain or wrong thinking.

But mostly, my kindred spirits just love me and allow me to love them in return.  This is the freedom William Penn talks about in his quote.  And friendship thrives in freedom.

Are you giving your friends the freedom to be their authentic selves?  Do you feel the freedom to drop your walls and take off your masks with others?  Most of us have been hurt along the way so authenticity can be frightening at first.  If that is true of you, pick one person with whom you feel safe and share your heart.  You may be surprised by their response.

A few days ago a girlfriend said to me, “Stephanie, because you were so open with me the first time we met, I knew it was okay for me to be open with you too.”  This friendship has blossomed since then and I truly count this woman among the great blessings in my life.

Choose a Better Life by choosing to be authentic with others understanding that authenticity doesn’t require you to divulge your deepest pains or darkest secrets with everyone you meet.  But, by removing your masks and being “real” you will know when you are in the presence of a kindred spirit.

I know I shouldn’t be, but I am always amazed when God does something so personal there are no words to describe it.  This happened for a special friend of mine Wednesday morning and I was blessed to be a part of it.

My friend and I meet once a week for brunch.  It is a great time of sharing and encouragement.  Although I will see her again before Christmas I felt moved to give her her gift this past Wednesday.  The gift itself was not a big deal, just a simple ornament that my daughter and I had made placed in a simple gift box.

The night before, I was contemplating exactly which ornament to give … the pink and white one or the purple and white one.  Even though I was leaning towards giving the purple ornament I choose the pink one.  I carefully placed it in the gift box and set it on the counter for my morning delivery.

But, before I was able to deliver the gift, my daughter opened the box to see which ornament I had chosen.  As she did, the ornament fell and shattered on the floor.  Although I was disappointed, I knew I had the purple ornament left.  So, after cleaning up the broken glass, I carefully placed the purple gift in the box.

When my friend opened the box at brunch she began to cry.  I had no way of knowing, but her Christmas tree is decorated with only purple and white ornaments.  As she carefully admired the ornament I had just given her, she explained the significance of those two colors in her life.

After years of pain and anguish, God began healing her heart.  In May of 2007 she took a personal retreat similar to the one I went on in October.  During her time away God began pouring his salve of grace on her wounds and enabled her to forgive those who caused her so much pain.  Just before she left her retreat God gave her a special message just for her.  As part of that message he told her that purple and white represented who she was to him.  White because she is pure before him and purple because she is part of his royal family.

I had known my friend went away in May for a personal retreat, but I didn’t know about her special message, and I didn’t need to.  Because God knows each of us intimately, better than we even know ourselves, he knew what my friend needed that Wednesday morning.  He knew that because of a difficult Tuesday night she needed to be reminded of who she was in Him.  And He used the brokenness of a pink ornament to bring wholeness and encouragement through a purple one.

I am honored that I was able to be a vessel for God’s message to my friend.  And I am truly amazed by the ways he meets our heart’s deepest needs.  The intimacy found in a relationship with the Creator of the universe can be compared to nothing else.

Choose a better life by choosing to allow God to meet your deepest needs and experience the abundant joy that can only be found in a relationship with him.

In follow-up to my post, Estar’s Gift, I wanted to update you on Estar’s surgery.  She went in for surgery on Wednesday, September 26^th to have hardware (metal rods) removed from her back, new hardware put in and a bone graft done.  The recovery process is very extensive and rehab can take up to a full year

On the Caring Bridge site dedicated to Estar (http://www.caringbridge.org/tx/estar/) her mom reports on Sunday, September 30^th that, “We are home, amazingly early, buoyed by all of your many prayers. Estar was released yesterday, only 4 days after surgery. At the end of our stay, there was a steady stream of doctors and nurses who wanted to stop by and see how well Estar was standing and walking. I cannot tell you how many time we’ve heard, “I’ve never seen a spinal repair patient who did this well.” Just a few days after surgery, she is eating, walking, and back to her old self. Her mobility is limited and will continue to be, but she is not in an enormous amount of pain. She is already asking to climb stairs, work on her writing, and catch up with missed school work. There was no infection found, so we anticipate a continued speedy recovery. We’re now more worried about keeping her from doing too much! We may be going into bone stimulation therapy as early as next week. Thank you to everyone who is praying. Please focus now on praying that the graft and bones will heal.”

What strikes me most about Estar, is not how well she is recovering – although this is a miracle in itself – but her attitude.  Only four days after a very invasive surgery she is asking to catch up on school work and work on her writing.  Amazing!  This gal is unbelievable.  She really is the epitome of good attitude and passion for life.

May we all Choose a Better Life by following Estar’s lead, allowing her to be our role model in not being discouraged by life’s circumstances.  Thank you Estar for being a tangible example of amazingly good attitude and God’s grace.

Through email and a series of God-events I have been introduced to a remarkable young woman.  Her name is Estar Hester (No, we are not related.)  She is a freshman in high school and is more of a blessing to those who know her than words can express.

Estar battles multiple life-threatening illnesses that are far too numerous and complicated for me to explain here.  I will say, though, that she has a lengthy surgery scheduled for Sept 26, 2007 in which metal will be removed from her spine (from a previous surgery and bone graft), replaced and her spine fused to keep it from curving to the point where she can no longer breathe.  After several days in the hospital Estar will have 3 months of recovery at home and one year of rehab after that.

Because of her daily challenges, Estar has insight and understanding that most adults never obtain.  She has shared some of her insight in an eBook that was published just this week.  Here is an excerpt from the book:

One thing that’s true for every person is that sometimes things go wrong. Sometimes the worst possible thing happens, and we are all caught off guard and don’t know just what to do. We struggle, we worry and we cry. Yet even when things go horribly wrong, very few things stay wrong. No matter how wrong a thing, no matter how bad the hurt, no matter how scary the news, things do get better. If you cut your finger, almost the very next second it has already started to heal. Our biggest hurts and losses fade with time. Broken toys get fixed or you get new ones that you love just as much. Things you tried to do and messed all up help you learn to do new and bolder things. When things are wrong and we are hurting, it is not the end of the world. Our hearts might hurt like the world is over but really those times are beginnings not endings. It is doors closing and new doors opening, often to nicer, happier places. When things are wrong, that’s when we get to discover who we are, and who is with us. When bad times come, you find out you are really a brave person who can fight through terrible things and come out on top. You discover your strong supporters and true friends. You find God. And you see that you have a powerful hero living inside yourself. Don’t hope for things to go wrong, but when they do, don’t waste your pain. Use it to carry you upward and onward to better, brighter things.

There is nothing else to say, but Amen!

Even in unthinkable circumstances Estar is Choosing a Better Life.  She is a role model for us all.

To order Estar’s book visit: www.lessonsfromawishchild.com

To find out more about Estar visit: www.caringbridge.org/tx/estar