Archives for February 2011

#Go.Be.Love

It’s a big deal – To Me!

I shared some big news with someone very close to me. (Let’s call them X)

Big news for me, I’m going to run an 8K race. I am not a real runner. I exercise pretty regularly – BUT running 4.97 miles non-stop is a huge thing.

So I shared the news by saying “I started training for an 8K today – I ran 2 miles.” X, whom I love so much it hurts, laughed. So I did what any loving Christian woman would do (not really) - I let X’s comment steal my joy & I responded with “Well why don’t you go run 5 miles then!”

WOW – that was mature…ugh! I immediately back pedaled with “You know, you have to start somewhere” and I promptly changed the subject. I should know better – I have had this experience with X before. I can vividly recall, about 12 or so years ago, when I decided to become a home based party plan consultant…X said “Well, what happens when you run out of church people?”…I was devastated & not nearly as far along on my faith journey as I am now. Then, I just got mad.

While I want to share everything with X. X is not always going to understand why I am doing something or think it’s as great as I do. So – I need to GET OVER IT!

How about you? I know you have your very own “X” in your life, maybe more than one. Sometimes it is the same X that pops your balloon, sometimes it's several different people depending on what it is. Please remember, those people possess many wonderful qualities. This is not about “hatin” on them. This is really about loving yourself & them, anyway. We unfortunately cannot forget that people – all people are broken in some way.

Love says, Love them anyway♥

Colossians 3:22-24 (MSG)
²²Servants, do what you're told by your earthly masters. And don't just do the minimum that will get you by. Do your best. ²³Work from the heart for your real Master, for God,
²⁴confident that you'll get paid in full when you come into your inheritance. Keep in mind always that the ultimate Master you're serving is Christ.

In other words, I don’t need everyone’s approval for everything I do.

I belong to God. I work, I do, I am …for Him & Him alone. All I need to do is ask myself: Am I doing the right thing, no matter what? Am I making this decision based on love?

Here is the 1,2,3:

#1 – Do your best

#2 – Do it with love

#3 – Do it for God

I have found that when I follow the 1,2,3 in whatever I am doing (even the laundry) IT’S ALL GOOD!

GOD IS GOOD-ALL THE TIME!

ALL THE TIME-GOD IS GOOD!

Peace & love,

Mindi

#Go.Be.Love

Are you…

What are you waiting for?

²⁹Jesus said, “Come!” So Peter got out of the boat and walked on the water toward Jesus. ~Matthew14:29(GW)

Peter was the only one who walked on water besides Jesus, but he was also the only one who got out of the boat!

Stop procrastinating, stop putting things or that one thing off. Maybe it’s a big thing – maybe not.

For years, seriously years, I’ve wanted to be able to print from my laptop. Instead I would just email the document to myself then go “all the way” down stairs pull it up on my pc & print it. I thought I would need to buy a special piece of equipment to make this happen.

If you are laughing right now – Knock it off! So I’m not amazingly gifted in the tech department – Trust me, I have lots of other gifts.

Well last week sometime I decided it was time to make this happen. So I did what any self respecting internet user would do – I googled it! Low & behold, I did not need any special equipment! I just had to change a couple settings on each computer – that’s it – years of waiting for something that took me less than 10 minutes. That first day I printed from my laptop like a crazy woman♥ I couldn’t wait to tell my daughter that still lives at home..she too does the “email herself” thing. My husband said “Can you make mine do it too?” So much excitement over something so small. Why did I wait so long? Why didn’t I search the internet earlier?

Ok – how about something a little bigger you are putting off? That same week was the appointment with the accountant. I run my own business and need to keep detailed records of everything. Well I always start the year out saying “This year I’m gonna stay on top of it. I won’t be running around like a headless chicken the day before my tax appointment.” Guess what…an outbreak of headless chicken syndrome! I am not proud of it – but after I put everything together – I realized that I had been keeping better, more detailed track throughout the year & it really only took about 2 hours. How silly of me, if I would just put the 5-10 minutes in every month, at the end of the year all it would take is the time to press the print button!

So guess what is already happening this year – I’ve bit the bullet! I spent a whole 7 minutes compiling January data. February is in the inbox…waiting for the end of the month. Two things in one week that I’d been putting off, thinking that they would take too much..time? money? Either way – I was wrong.

So what is it that you aren’t doing? Why? Stop making excuses to yourself. You deserve MORE!

Peter was the only one who walked on water besides Jesus, but he was also the only one who got out of the boat!

Get out of the proverbial boat – take the first step – in faith.

Be light, be love, be Peter!

Mindi

#Go.Be.Love

enjoy the journey

"What about________?" "Maybe I should__________." STOP IT! Today is! If you are continually mulling over "the past", past decisions, mistakes, words said...stop. If you are still blaming your parents for something that happened years ago - stop. Move on - ask for forgiveness if you should, GIVE forgiveness for your own sake, make sure you think long & hard before making the same bad decision. But the past is past, let it go. You can't change it. You can learn from it, BUT only if you take the lessons to heart and go forward.
"I'm worried about tomorrow, next week, my job, how my child will do in kindergarten/college".... STOP IT! Tomorrow has enough worry for it's self. Worrying never accomplished anything, anything good that is. Oh it will accomplish things - things like a stomach ache, terrible frown lines on your face, a bad attitude. None of which you want in your life♥

Matthew 6:34 (MSG)
³⁴"Give your entire attention to what God is doing right now, and don't get worked up about what may or may not happen tomorrow. God will help you deal with whatever hard things come up when the time comes."

Planning & being prepared are very different from WORRY. When you worry, you miss the moments. When you plan, you don't. When you worry, you don't enjoy the journey. When you are prepared, you do. Will having a plan stop you from losing your job? NO. Will having a plan stop your spouse/child from making mistakes? NO. But it can take the anxiety out and make you able to say "If 'what if' happens I'm ready". Clearly not worrying is a choice. You make choices everyday, all day long. Why not decide that this is just another choice you will make. Will you back slide & forget & start to worry - yes. But, then you can stop & pray instead of worry. Turn it over to the one whose shoulders are (arms stretched out wide) So Big!

Matthew 6:31-33 (AMP)
³¹Therefore do not worry and be anxious, saying, What are we going to have to eat? or, What are we going to have to drink? or, What are we going to have to wear?
³²For the Gentiles (heathen) wish for and crave and diligently seek all these things, and your heavenly Father knows well that you need them all.
³³But seek (aim at and strive after) first of all His kingdom and His righteousness (His way of doing and being right), and then all these things taken together will be given you besides.

Today I am your worry expert...I honestly am pretty skilled in this area - at least I don't worry for very long. When worry grips me I only let it hold on for a few moments then I say "God - handle this. I trust you & I know you have a great plan for______. Please grant me wisdom to see the direction I need to go."
Now I have had those things that I keep picking back up & up & up. Eventually I lay them down for good. You can too. I have faith in you. Take baby steps - take giants steps - just take the first step!

Philippians 4:6 (AMP)
⁶Do not fret or have any anxiety about anything, but in every circumstance and in everything, by prayer and petition (definite requests), with thanksgiving, continue to make your wants known to God.

The End...not really, make sure you are enjoying the journey - your journey...this funny thing called life.
Be light & love,
Mindi

#Go.Be.Love, Change and Growth, Life on Purpose, Transformation Tuesday

Extravagant Love?

Life on Purpose and Extravagant Love.
His love was not cautious but extravagant.

Watch what God does, and then you do it, like children who learn proper behavior from their parents. Mostly what God does is love you. Keep company with him and learn a life of love. Observe how Christ loved us. His love was not cautious but extravagant. He didn’t love in order to get something from us but to give everything of himself to us. Love like that. - Ephesians 5:1-2 MSG

Wow - excessive, ridiculous love.

I receive it from Jesus! I want it. I need it. I bet you do too. Wouldn't the world or even just your house be a much nicer place with that kind of love?
Well what are you waiting for?
Some simple steps to put into action?
The 1,2,3 of it all?

Ok, here it is, straight from your resident love expert♥
1. Love is not proud (extravagant love doesn't ever have to be "right' or have the last word).
2. Love does not run, hide or keep locked inside (share it excessively, unreasonably, unabashedly - hug, kiss, smile, dance, write thank you notes, take out the trash, pick up the check).
3. Love matters the most and it never ever fails (do it, be it, stay quiet when you want to argue, smile when you want to cry, forgive when you want to forgo sanity and smack someone or everyone).

You guys know how I feel about music - slightly obsessed.
Love never fails by Brandon Heath is a classic for me. His beautiful lyrics help me put my thoughts into words.
Clearly Brandon was inspired God's love. Isn't that what is all about?
Finding some light, some love and sharing it. I'm always working on my love walk, on loving anyway.

I'm listening as I write this and I'm tearing up, thinking about the way I have been pushed to the edge of NOT loving some people. You too I bet. That's real. Life on Purpose looks that way. Some people make it so difficult to even smile at them much less love them. But why do we want to let other peoples actions control our ability to be extravagant with our love?
I want to love, not to get something, but to give everything I have/am - like Jesus did.
I can keep at it, keep making progress. After all, we are all being built as a dwelling place for God and God is love!

Love is the way, the truth the life - Brandon Heath

Love with all you've got - be silly, crazy over the top.
Why not? What's the worst thing that people will say about you?
Yikes - what's up with her/him and all that love stuff?
They must be fulfilled/joyful/confident that love matters the most.
Oh, wouldn't that be awful? To be known for your extravagant love♥

No excuses - you got the 1,2,3.
GO BE LOVE! Extravagant Love!
Jesus loves YOU & so do I.

XOXO,
Mindi

Mindi Huebner is Co-Founder of Pure Grace, a professional conversationalist and crazy forgiver. Mindi is scandalously obsessed with leaving people and things better than she found them. If you think LOVE is always the answer, join her as she writes about her road trips with God at Back Row Faith - The Pure Grace Blog. If you don’t think love is always the answer, join her anyway. Go.Be.Love

#Go.Be.Love

So refreshing!

I'm a Christian! If you know me or if you have ever read anything here you already know that. Sometimes I feel sadden and truthfully super irritated about how political correctness covers everyone but us Christians. I know it probably just feels that way BUT..... This morning I was watching my favorite local station FOX 6 and the morning show was on: Real Milwaukee. They shared a great story about the Green Bay Packers quarterback, Aaron Rodgers. All about how he is a Christian & his favorite book is the bible & on & on. I was ecstatic that no one was worried about "offending" non Christians with this story. I was so thrilled I sent an email...here it is:

Love the show...FOX 6 is always my channel of choice.
Thanks for the story today on Aaron Rodgers and for not being afraid to do a positive piece on a Christian. It sure can seem like everyone is always so worried about offending someone else... but no cares if Christians are offended. Part of being a true Christian is taking that in stride 🙂
Thanks for showing Aaron as he is. Keep up the great work.
Mindi Huebner
Delavan , WI

I received not one but TWO responses from Fox 6....

Hi Mindi!

Thanks for watching Real Milwaukee and sending along your kind words.

I completely agree with you and have also passed on your email to Jen Lada (who wrote the blog about Rodgers).

Have a great rest of the week!

Best,

Sara Smith

Producer, Real Milwaukee

414-586-2315

Sara.Smith@fox6now.com

and

Thanks for the email to Real Milwaukee. I’m really happy we shared that story too.

Jen didn’t have to write that blog but I’m so glad she did.

Thanks for watching and growing the faith,

Katrina Cravy

Host of Real Milwaukee

Contact 6 Reporter

(414) 586-2133

katrina.cravy@fox6now.com

How awesome is that! I have a choice everyday about so many things. Being a Christian dictates the direction of my choices. It feels so good to know that I can watch my favorite local show & at least two of the folks working on it are faith filled and ready to share!! Dare I say they are risk takers! I invite you to be a risk taker & marinate on this beautiful scripture:

"Be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid or discouraged. For the Lord your God is with you wherever you go." Joshua 1:9 NLT

Be love & light & peace♥ Mindi

Archives for February 2011

It’s a big deal – To Me!

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Are you…

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enjoy the journey

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Extravagant Love?

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So refreshing!

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