Boldness

What do you think of when you hear the word BOLDNESS?

There are many faces and pictures that flash through my mind. Boldness is a word that many try to define. The greatest picture of boldness was painted by a man who humbled himself. He came to earth to live a perfect life and died a death that we deserved. Even though we may be good, hard working, and try to do the right thing ....realizing that God is Holy and nothing we could ever do would be enough.  Nothing that would be the equivalent of pleasing himself enough to earn or win our salvation and seat in heaven next to Him. No, it took a perfect, spotless Savior. It took a man who considered equality with God something that could NOT be grasped (as Jesus....we have no hope with our selfish, haughty attitudes). It took Jesus knowing why He was born.  To come to earth to die and take on Him the sin of the world. Each one of us in the world. SO that we could stand before the Lord, covered in the blood of the Lamb. What a boldness Jesus had to know what He had to do. AND STILL CAME. He didn’t just come. But he LIVED. He spoke, taught, preached, delivered, saved, raised, healed, discipled, and made it his mission to full-fill His purpose. Boldness that prayed, Let this cup pass from me. Not my will, but yours Lord. Boldness that was NOT OF THIS WORLD.

(Phil 2: 5-8)

That is a boldness type that this world does not know what to do with.  Jesus defines boldness in how He lived. What a boldness. What humility. The courage he exhibited with his life should always serve as our example.

Why do we look or strive so hard to please this world? Why do we exhaust ourselves so much toward missions that have deadlines that never fulfill us? Instead set our sights, our hearts, and goals on Jesus. And living with the kind of Spirit filled boldness to live as Christ lived. Knowing that God was God. There was only one. And Jesus came as the WAY, the TRUTH, and the LIFE. He is the only way to the Father. By no other name are we saved from our wretchedness and our hopelessness. It is the True, King Jesus. The King of Kings and Lord of Lord that is coming again! Jesus, Jesus, Jesus!

Revelation 19:16

Phil 2: 12-16

Phil 3: 20-21

We wrapped up a fabulous bible study by Lisa Harper called Believing Jesus. I wrote this at the end of the study to remember so many things that He taught me through this study of Acts. Wow, just WOW! We need to not just be saved, baptized with water, but baptized through the Holy Spirit! The stories in Acts of how the Spirit moved and the beautiful record of JUST HOW MUCH the Spirit did and still does has to be told. And that is just the beginning if we will latch hard to the gospel of This TRUE King Jesus. The Spirit ignites us. The study also reminded us to Be regospeled. Remind yourself of the what Jesus did for you that is worth telling. Share your testimony. By the blood of the Lamb and the words of your testimony we each have a Gospel to share. Nothing is the gospel like the gospel of Jesus. (There's nothing our life could add to the gospel. The gospel is all about Jesus. That His life, death, and resurrection demonstrate a Savior that loved us before we could love Him. But He still died a death that no one would want. To SAVE us and provide us a way to God the Father.) The untainted story that needs no addition. That powerful story that Jesus came. Did the most incredibly powerful events, miracles while He was here. But when He left, He left us His trusted Holy Spirit and told us that He was leaving so that the Spirit could come. Because unlike Jesus who covered only land now called the Holy Land, The Spirit is everywhere all the time. With each of us. It makes this power in the name of Jesus possible because we have the Spirit living in us. Come Spirit come. And bring us Jesus! 

The Rise of Superman

The Rise of Superman By Steve Kotler

What an unbelievable book! Well written pulling me to the edge of my seat every time I opened it. There is something I love deeply about adventure sports. I love to ski, a daredevil I am not.  Which may strike you as odd that I love this book as much as I do. If you’re an adrenaline junkie in any form, this book is easily addictive. As Steve describes Danny Way’s jump off the China Wall or how a surfer can “know in flow” what to do at the last second to save him from certain death and one wrong move, this book is for you. Throughout the book he tell athlete after athlete that musters up the inner strength, the mental control, the emotional cam in flow to do what has never been done before. To break barriers that most would say is impossible. Crazy. Completely stupid. The underlining message throughout the book, in every story is taking a closer look to see how “flow” is possible in our everyday life. There is such a powerhouse message in this. To tap into flow is to push our mental boundaries of imagination, to look into history at those that came before us and learn from them. To then “stand on the shoulders of giants” (as I have written before in a previous blog several years ago after CFMT testing) and launch ourselves, our fields, and (for me) our faith FAR past what we imagine is possible. To imagine ourselves there is to see it, dream it, and watch it happen. 

That’s where I will leave you with this thought. In the book, Steve addresses that certain athletes have to have a “zone” where faith cannot enter. That sole focus must happen to channel you into the zone so far that you are committed to the task, the feat, the abyss in a sense and for faith to enter that is just shear distraction. (If you know me, hang with me!) I would have to agree. Faith is what centers you first. It is something that you have done business with far beyond entering this kind of zone. It is something you have squared away and know where you stand with God and daily you are working your faith out with fear and trembling.  Faith, for me, is what fuels that zone. I’ve done the mental, spiritual, emotional business because to bring that in once your attempting to enter the zone or flow would be just that. Distracting. It makes you second guess. Instead of KNOWING that you enter the zone with God, business taken care of, faith grounded, you don’t have to second guess that entering your zone. You can just let it FLOW. And here’s the greater challenge still. Knowing that you are squared away with God, planted and rooted in HIM, who tells us daily that with HIM NOTHING is IMPOSSIBLE. This should be your new zone. You now enter flow with more than your ability and yourself. You enter with the Holy Spirit. And if that does not launch you into spiritual flow and your zone, I don’t know what else would. Because that is a supernatural power source. Plugged into Him, letting Him release your true ability and flow….now that is tapping into the realm of ALL things possible. That’s the kind of daily flow I want to live. Knowing that God is building something bigger and better and I just have to be a focused, disciplined, willing vessel to fall into a zone where I can be used to level far above my ability! Anything IS possible.

The Core: Armor of God Study

If you are looking for a great bible study to do, I would strongly encourage you to look into the Armor of God Study by Priscilla Shirer. It is only the beginning of week 2 and WOW. The particular study has MY name, my number, my principles, my sayings....ALL over it. Why you ask?

I am a physical therapist. No not the standard definition you find if you googled it. I am a manual therapist. A functional manual therapist with training through IPA so this has my particular name in a very, very specific way. I was blessed enough to complete fellowship training in Steamboat last year with this incredible group of therapist. The core is only a part of the discussion, but one near and dear to my heart. Her week 2 Day 1 title is STRENGTHEN YOUR CORE.

Yes. You have my FULL and undivided attention. I love her spin on the core but I have to say. I have so much more to add after reading the jumping off point!!  First let's review the verses in Ephesians again before we dive into a full on explanation of your physical and spiritual CORE.

Ephesians 6:10-14 (emphasis is mine)
10 Finally, BE STRONG in the Lord and in the STRENGTH of His might.

11 Put on the FULL armor of God, so that you will be able to STAND FIRM against the schemes of the devil

12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places

13 Therefore, TAKE UP the full armor of God, so that you will be able to RESIST in the evil day, and having done everything, TO STAND FIRM

14 STAND FIRM therefore, having girded your loins with TRUTH, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness



Here what you have to understand about the core. What do you think of when you hear "core"? Just as a word--- the root, the center, what are you made of. Yep. Now think core strength. I have news for you. If you said abdominals are your core you are ~1/4 right if we keep it simple. The core is made of the diaphragm (roof), abdominals- the deepest being the transverse abdominus) wrapping and blending around to the multifidi (segmental spinal stabilizers) that insert along the spine (the cylinder or sidewalls), and the pelvic floor (as well, the floor). This group should fire together to make you stable, so that you can have balance through the vertebral column (spine), in order to be strong first through your skeletal frame.  ALIGN. BE STRONG. STAND FIRM.

What else do you think of when you think of standing firm? How much firmer would you stand first knowing and remembering  WHO YOU ARE IN CHRIST?  First we must align ourselves, our spine, and at the root- our heart with HIM. I love that verses 10-13 are really the PEP TALK. This is our reminder that we are strong in the Lord. His strength, His might. NOT ours. But as I read those verses it also reminds me WHOSE I AM and WHO is at my core. And that makes me take a taller, stronger posture. It makes me align upright.  When told to be strong and stand firm, the last posture I take is slumped, forward shoulders in a crumpled position.  (I would continue to crumple if ANYTHING came at me if I sit or stand that way!) It reminds me to find my center of myself, God who is at my core and yes through my PHYSICAL posture where I know my stance, my spine, my posture is in the best alignment possible that I can find on my own to be strong.

This is interesting. So as a therapist I correct and help people find a better posture within their own body to decrease stresses, pain, and to find their core strength again. Watching someone correct their posture and feeling me correct my own, I still know that I can correct something, if only I have another set of eyes. If a mirror or reflection for me to see what still looks off or what could still be lined up straighter.) Someone to tell me where the weaknesses still lie in my stance and spine and the subtle (or large) changes that I can make within my frame to strengthen and stand more firm and not collapse.  Because here's why. The last thing anyone wants to do is not know an area of weakness if someone else (or spiritually if the Lord and other believers) could have pointed it out. We would DO something about it hopefully. The test comes when something comes at you and bumps your confidence or your physical frame. The last thing I want to do is to BUCKLE where I don't know I'm weak. I want to align. I want to withstand the bumps.

I use a test called the Vertical Compression test to first check physical vertebral or body/frame alignment. By pressing gently, progressively down through the shoulder girdles from above, I can start to tell where someone is weak and where they may buckle under stresses and daily loads. It also teaches us that with good alignment our frame and posture is able to withstand some pressure because we are ready to resist some of the forces. Now slump and do the same test when you are not ready and you will crumple under the pressure and see how weak you are (potential in multiple places) when you are not ready and not standing firm.  Stand up straight again.

Picture yourself in a crowd walking against the flow of people. What happens when we start to move forward against the flow if we are floppy vs standing strong, pressing into the flow giving purpose to our steps like we intend to hold our ground and move forward. If we start taking bumps and hits from all directions we eventually get tired of being pushed around and something in our core decides to work a little harder so we can hold our position, our ground and continue pressing in. You are feeling the core engage where muscles starting syncing and working together to keep you strong from the inside out. This is much like the Lumbar Protective Mechanism I use to test core response from front to back, back to front, and multiple diagonals. (Sound familiar went you feel like things are coming at you from all directions?) What is the initial response? Does your core come on? Do you have the muscles that are responsive if you get bumped or do they protect you at all? Are the delayed and Do they take a second to figure out...I'm being pushed, I should start working if I want to remain stable and hold my ground. Or Do they come on quick and last a total of 2 seconds before the inevitable collapse happens where the spine buckles or rotates or shears under the resistance or load. Do you get my picture???    :)

So for me as I read the study and she stressed the core so much, I have to say, yep that sounds right. But wait! First we are told to first BE STRONG and in the STRENGTH of the Lord. It's your pep talk to Stand UP straight and prepare yourself. Be ready. Know your CORE. Have a core. Let the things of God be your center and core. But within your physical frame and posture, you feel yourself STAND FIRM. Things start to align. You start to take a stance that has no intention of losing your footing and leave you staggering to the sides. You center yourself. Your core can work for you here BEST. When you Take the POSTURE that is going to WORK. It makes you stronger because you are LINED UP FIRST. You are ready for the bumps and shoves and pushes that will challenge you but it makes for a stronger CORE in the long run. It builds stability, awareness, endurance, balance, and RESISTANCE to being tossed around. And we don't just want to be strong where we are strong. We want to be strong where we are weak too. HOLD YOUR FRAME. BE STRONG. STAND FIRM.

Now that you're ready. Put on your armor. You have found your core. And that, I point out, is a posture and frame that found the core, feels it working and growing stronger and WILL NOT buckle under the weight of your ARMOR you are about to put on. The first piece this week was the belt of truth. Gird your loins. A belt of Roman solider day fashion was no joke. It was huge. And heavy. It is the perfect weighted resistance to strengthen the core more. To further add stability to the core. But I have to point out here one vital detail that is worth stressing. Prayer activates the armor. But if you lose your footing and your frame starts to crumple under the weight of the armor.......do you get my drift? Your core in God's truth, God's word must remain strong. HOLD YOUR FRAME. STAND FIRM. Be ready for the weight and do not crumple. Do not fear. Stand firm. Every single piece of armor has a purpose, but never, never, never forget WHOSE you are and WHO activates the armor to give it power. HOLD your ground. HOLD your posture. Find your CORE. Make it stronger. Build your strength, stability, endurance, balance through resistance. And resistance usually comes with pressing in or holding a weight or being resisted. Hmmm.. The heavy belt of truth! Root yourself in His word so that you know the TRUTH and that strengthens you further.

My last point. And it is a good one. Anyone knows that has done resistance training that there comes a time to bump up the reps, add more weight, or hold it longer.  We will talk in planks. Plank holds, table tops. You feel it already and I only typed the word! Hold it 5 and your a champ, hold it 10- oh please, hold it 20, no 30 and oh my goodness I'm shaking through this. No I won't give up. I'm going to press in and hold it through. And now I just might make that minute, 2! Yep, got it. SHAKE. In whatever forms that comes in. Shake because you're scared. Shake because it's just flat hard to hold your pooped out posture and frame and that core needs some work. Shake because that simply what it is going to take. To build endurance. To strengthen through and through. To find your stability needs a little beefing up. You need to find the true depth of core and develop a stronger layer of muscle. Because you had no idea that even after all that strengthening you were still weak in that ONE spot, at that ONE level OR that you had developed such bad habits that you had no idea you were doing that were masking real strength!! SHAKE AWAY. Build it up. Because the beauty of shaking is that there is one glorious moment. You are recruiting and turning on MORE MUSCLE!! Where you feel the burn, you feel the tremble but you keep holding if you can. Stick to the plan. Come back to it daily. Shake, shake, shake away. And suddenly you feel something in your core click together. Like it has all just become ONE AGAIN and it is working together and it suddenly just got a little bit easier. You're stronger now. You move as one connected unit!
Don't quit. Bump it up. Shake, keep working. God is not done with you yet. I'll be right there with you, strengthening and pressing in and pressing on. Shaking my way to develop more muscle, better muscle, where I'm weak...to be strong before I put that armor on. He's got something REALLY REALLY good for us. But let's tell the Truth and get back to the core of Him so we can really get somewhere. Flex those spiritual muscles this week. Somebody else is shaking in his boots. Make Him run. He does not have what it takes. He has already lost the battle because the Victory has already been claimed.
WOO-HOO! Be strong. Stand firm sister. I want some new muscles to show of God's Strength. This is going to be so worth it!

#ArmorOfGodStudy

What a year! Once again it flew and here I am again at another New Year's! I'm always so thankful to sit at home and reflect over the last year. Last New Year's we spent the final countdown with Kirk & Tracy dancing it up at Aurum in Steamboat. I'm definitely missing the atomsphere, the cold, the snow, the eats, and just that town!! It is a very very special place. I'm thankful to be where we are now, but there is no replacing Steamboat for me. One day I will go back. It is in my blood, I've got the bug and there's no curing a mountain draw except to return. So much of my heart stayed there, but I'm thankful for the many things we have in Texas again also.

Being near family has been so fun. We have all enjoyed being closer and seeing everyone more often. We love our new home and sweet puppy Blue.  He was the perfect addition as we made our transition back to Texas.

There's so much stacked already for 2016! So many things to do yet again and things that pull my heart back to the books, to courses, to serve, to write, to draw, to sing, to simply love having the time again to hang out with my kids, my family more and more and watch them grow in their loves.

Here's my list so far. I love writing it down. I love praying over what I hope the year brings and seeing where the Lord ultimately leads and allows me to do.  One thing is for sure. I have to buy a bike.....I'm going crazy here because I liked the outdoors of Steamboat WAY too much to be cooped up!

APTA- SOWH committee
Lab assist SOWH courses
IPA assignments
Start a residency program :)
Draw again!
Kids- Dance and musical theatre
Buy a bike (a real one)
Get involved in a women's bible study
Go hunting/shooting/targets more
Visit family: Tulia, Dallas, Portland maybe?!
Visit: Steamboat/ski/hike
Visit: Tracy in Raleigh :)
Vacation: Coast/Beach; deep sea fishing

Things I plan on enjoying in this area:
Riverwalk
State Park
Perini's!
The Mill
Antique Stores/art/Grace Museum
The country and outdoors
Concerts

To do:
basement or cellar! (I hate this weather!)
teach Reece to sew/craft
Cale: build a car
have a garage sale
get rid of junk- see my 40 bags in 40 days post!
Purge my stinking closet. Good grief!
READ!!! For fun, for work, for me!  :) :) :)

Just getting started y'all and that is the fun of it!!
Happy 2016!! Pray your way into it. There's no better way to celebrate the time He's given us on earth and there's no better way to dedicate it back to HIM! Happy NYE!

Much Ado about red cups

So after an incredible osteopathic manipulation course in Chicago I wake up to Facebook letting me know all about the red cup controversy. What did I miss? What are all the crazy posts about? Red cups. Orphans. Guys wigging out in their car about the cup. I'm lost in the sea of posts. Summary: Really nothing. Most of us apparently are coming to that. Just one more post going viral and well....nothing.  There are some things that should not surprise us. A world that is cutting Christmas out should not. Jesus still came to a world that was not ready for Him and had no idea He was coming to welcome Him. If prayer is being continuously cut from school and government, what shocks us about a plain red cup. It is not about cramming Jesus into the world and getting mad when it does not accept the things of Him and start to cut things of Him out. It does not mean that much to world.  It is precious to the Christian because we know Him personally. We understand what He did for us. We have to be Jesus.  And Lord help us everyday to be the representation we should be. To think if all the post went viral about that instead of about cups.

Symbols that are near and dear mean something to us. They define what we believe in. We set them throughout our home, our space, and life to remind us and charge us on. But they are not the thing that we believe in. They are not the being. They are not Jesus in the flesh. Reminders yes. The thing we should discuss so passionately more than Him, no. He would tell us the same if He were here. Such petty discussion over things about me when I'm right here. You talk about things about me and fight over them but I'm lost in the process. It's really throughout the Bible. Read it for yourself. Dive deep into the stories that make you flip back to the cover and say, "Wow I had to check the cover twice.  Didn't know that was in there."

The symbol is in our life.  Whether it's on fb or not. Disconnect from the world for a moment. That's really my purpose in writing this. I'm bothered by the excessive number of likes or shares that happen everyday. I'm an addict over it some days. There's some really good stuff out there too. Sometimes I share just so I can find it and read it again later because it hits home. I love writing whether anyone reads it or not. Writing means it mattered enough to sort it out, even if it was just for me. It really has more to do with God and myself. If it benefits anyone, awesome. If not, no worries. Writing also shows an intention. Whether it is to go deeper or fully think through thoughts over something, it is important because writing for some is the next level of where God is taking you as He teaches you. Here's my most recent eye opener.

My trip to Chicago was awesome. Got to see many old friends and work with amazing therapist and be taught by a leader in the field of manipulation. Set in a city. From the stink of the streets, to the L, to the grub that Chicago is famous for, I walked away with this. People live in the streets. Under cardboard, snatching blankets, playing music in the stations, trying to survive. They all have a story. They are people that God loves too. I've been to multiple cities and multiple subways and systems but this one stuck. They were right there along the sidewalks, the street a concrete barrier away, each with their own space saved. It hit hardest last night when I missed a connecting flight and got stuck in DFW. Inconvient and out of pocket with no bag. Just my backpack. None of my stuff. The clothes on my back. It gave me a feeling that reminded me of the people in the streets for a moment and suddenly all my out of pocket seemed minuscule. Because it was. There is nothing that I wasn't getting back by morning. Inconvenient yes. Nothing I couldn't change by walking in a store to buy what I needed or ask the hotel that was comped by the airline. Thankful for a shower and bed to sleep. Warm. Inside. Safe. All the things that some people go everyday without just surviving one more day. It broke my heart to walk by them in the streets as they slept and realize it's growing colder. People freeze in the street, alone.

So post on your page because you have one. Drink out of your red cup. I have one too.  It's a cup.  It's a cup that someone else might be grateful to get no matter where it is from or what is on it. Save your money. Further the kingdom. Pass it on when you can. Pray for the lost and homeless and broken. Pray that you do not become hardened. The largest cities where people walk and don't hop in their car and little world are great reminders that there is a much bigger world out there. Sure I felt the momentary discomfort but I'm so grateful for all my blessings and how the Lord blesses me with the people I know. I learned more on this trip than most simply as a whole. Rushing back to catch the train I realized that I had no ticket downtown and had no clue where to buy one.  (I'm usually on top of this!) A total stranger, a dad with 2 kids, let a friend and I through.  Wanted nothing in return and would not take what I offered him.  He said to pass it on to someone on the street. He got it. Hard working, earned his dollar, but never forgets the one with less. Neither should I. Shame on me just because I live where driving by is easier than walking by.

No one cares about the cups. Fill your pages with anything besides the nonsense we get ourselves into over our "intellectual" discussion about cups and our other "stuff" that does not deserve a spotlight. Let your cup runneth over into the lives around you.  And into anyone the Lord places even momentarily in your path. Spread the red. Let this plain red cup with a circle in the middle simply be another avenue that you share the blood of Jesus if given the chance over coffee or offering a cup of warmth on the street. Yes I'm taking the cup conversation to a level I can tolerate. Yes the beautiful crimson blood of Jesus.  (Yes when the red cup is gone and we get hung on the white cup for other reasons, let it be the beautiful reminder of the how His blood washed us white as snow.)  The circle nailed to the hands and feet. It just about perspective and seeing it all through the eyes of Jesus. Even if it is through a cup.

Psalm 24:1 The earth is the Lord's and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it.

Now looking at it that way......nothing is left off the cup. We don't need the words. Or a symbol. Or even the brand or name. Everything comes full circle whether it's the circle on the side walls to the base that holds the contents, to the top that provides and spills out if we let it.  A circle. Three in one. An eternal circle that holds life. A cup in any form usually set the stage to intentionally encounter the Lord for me. Quite time, devotional, coffee with friends, offering a cup of water for the thirsty. God always provides a way to share even in the midst of completely ridiculous arguments if we will simply bring it back to Him and not our hang ups.  It's not about OUR version, it's about HIM. That's the gospel.
Spread the red. Love deeply. Because He first loved us.