Priscilla Shirer's Blog, page 70

Gabby's Hair . . . and Other Irrelevant Things

Did you see Gabby Douglas claim the gold medal in women's gymanstics? The Olympian made history when she tumbled her way into the record books as the first African American woman to claim the coveted prize. I think that all of America, regardless of race, was proud of her stunning achievement on behalf of her country.

Which is why I was surprised to see a front page news story on line yesterday focused on Gabby's hair. Here's a small section of it:

The 16-year-old said Sunday she was a little confused when she logged onto her computer after winning her second gold medal in three days and discovered people were debating her pulled-back look.
"I don't know where this is coming from. What's wrong with my hair?" said Douglas, the first U.S. gymnast to win gold in team and all-around competition. "I'm like, `I just made history and people are focused on my hair?' It can be bald or short, it doesn't matter about (my) hair."

In the middle of a robust celebration for her profound achievement, this sweet young thing had to wade through critical comments about (of all things) her hair. Unbelievably, a few verbal folks concentrated their attention on the color, texture and style of her smooth-backed ponytail. Seems to me like they should have looked away from her head, down a few inches to the big gold medal cascading from around her neck. That medal didn't care what style her hair was when it was slipped past it and onto the athletes strong shoulders.
So, why should anyone else?

It's amazing how small, irrelevant things can cause us to miss out on the brilliance of the bigger, more spectacular things at hand.

Is there something small in your life that is taking your attention away from what matters most today? Is there an inconvenience or frustration or interruption that is causing you to miss the brilliance that this day holds for you and your loved ones?

Don't miss out on what matters most because of irrelevant things, my friend. In the end you'll find that it isn't worth it after all.

You are loved,
Priscilla

Weekend Delights!

Hello GB blog readers. (We need a name for ourselves by the way - don't you think?) I hope that you all had a marvelous weekend. I am holding down the fort here in Dallas while the Shirer clan and Annetta are in NYC visiting with Hillsong Church. This is Priscilla and Jerry's first time to be with their community and I cannot wait to hear what God does and how he blesses their time there. 

I spent all day Saturday organizing and decorating my home - gotta do something to stay out of this terrible heat! I have been living in the cutest house for almost a year now but for some reason I've hardly spent any time actually making it a "home." While I was gone on my four week trip, two of my roommates moved out and two new girls moved in. With all the changes happening, I decided to go ahead and make the most of my time left here in this home, however long it may be. 

So.. one of my new roommates, Lindsay, and I went to town yesterday decorating, reorganizing and setting up our home. We got a TON of stuff done, including the kitchen, our living room and bedrooms. While I was working on my room, I realized that it was time to get my terribly unorganized closet into some kind of format so that I could actually see my shoes, clothes and jewelry. I don't have much space to work with. AND because I'm so excited about it, I want to show you some things that you are going to love and want for your own closet as well. 

This first picture is my new JEWELRY HOLDER. Check it out

This is the "Little Black Dress Jewelry Hanging Organizer". I was expressing to Linsay my frustration with my jewelry mania that was going on in my life and she was so kind as to tell me about this brilliant organizer from The Container Store. But here's the best part. Check out the back:

It holds your necklaces, too! Is this not the most fantastic things you've ever seen? Mine is going to hang on the back of my closet door because I don't have a ton of hanging room to work with, but you could hang it on a rod in your closet as well. Definitely worth the purchase!

The next thing I'm super pumped about is this "Canvas Hanging Shoe Bag" (also from The Container Store). I used to have a shoe organizer that hangs over your door but it was way too annoying and got in my way more than it organized my shoes. I love this because it's so thin and CHEAP. Perfect for summer shoes. 

It's amazing how a few little items can make your life just a little bit easier - and by being able to see everything clearly, I find that I'm more apt to wear everything that I own. 

I'm so grateful that I had time this weekend to make my home a little cosier. What about you? What were you up to this weekend and did you come across something that's worth sharing with us?

Be praying for the Shirer's and Annetta as they are in NYC and we will see you again here tomorrow! 

Linnae

Goodbye Katie Mae

Today is a bittersweet day for us! As you may know, our friend Katie came here 4 months ago to help out at Going Beyond (she basically came to our rescue) and I cannot imagine what we would have done without her.

In 4 months Katie has totally transformed our Resources Department: if you've ordered anything from our Store lately you know what I'm talking about. Our packages look BEAUTIFUL thanks to Katie's amazing wrapping skills. Not to mention that all of our bookshelves are so organized now. It's lovely!

Also, give Katie a project and you know that she'll get the job done and do it WELL. All the while wearing heels and some spunky jewelry. ;)

Having Katie here has been a breath of fresh air. She is quite possibly one of the sweetest people I know, who cares very deeply for her friends. She has helped us not take ourselves too seriously around here, but challenged us to do things with excellence and authenticity. 

I've gotten used to having her cute self sitting beside me every day. I'm quite sure there will never be another Katie Mae and I'm going to miss her greatly. While we are sad to see her go, it is evident that God has SO much in store for this one as she continues her life adventures in Baton Rouge. 

Join me in thanking Katie for all she has done and cheering her on for this next season of life.

YOU WILL BE MISSED MY FRIEND!

(that's Katie on the right - isn't she a beauty?)

Linnae

Celebrate Me, Celebrate You

If any of you follow Priscilla on twitter, you probably saw her pic of a few of us girls yesterday.  We had an office "meeting" at a fun restaurant in Dallas...a VERY rare occasion for us.  It's rare because we're always in different places with all the travelling everyone does....and if we're not travelling, we're working on our eternal to-do lists at the office.  There's always something that's gotta be done!  

But when our team "let's our hair down" and shares a meal, we do it as we do everything in life:  with passion.  AND with laughter; TONS of laughter.  

We would imitate the way Katie wraps & packages the resources (perfectly I might add...but she uses $35 worth of wrapping paper for a $15 BOOK!),

OR Linnae eating habits & meticulous organization habits (mostly vegan, please, don't cry!),

OR my crazy style preferences & off-the-wall ideas (I think they're perfectly NORMAL!)

OR Priscilla's summer schedule (iI mean, she juggles 3 kids who are currently out of school and at home, a husband, study, travel and even gets in some time for her friends...we're convinced she hides her superwoman cape under that size 4 pair of jeans!), 

and of course, Jerry's having to be in an office with all girls.  QUITE the entertainment for a guy who's clearly a "man's man."

And through the whole glorious meal, there was laughter.  We just plain LIKE each other.  And more than that, we can see all of each other's flaws...I mean, we office and travel together.  You know each other's habits, what kind of tea we drink, when someone has reached the point of exhaustion and when NOT to pick on someone because they're just having a bad day.  We KNOW each other.   We LOVE each other.

And occasionally it takes a meal to get us back to this place.  

Priscilla talked about "seeing" your special someone earlier this week.  I wanted to echo that...and add a bit.  We all "saw" each other today, but we were also all fully present.  No one took out an iPhone or checked an email.  Other than the occasional glance at the Olympics score on the restaurant television there was no distraction from the table.  We were loving being a part of relationship with each other.  In fact, we were SUPPOSED to have a meeting while there, but we forgot all about it in our enjoyment of each other.

Don't get me wrong, I drive our team CRAZY sometimes.  I am the creative one that comes up with ideas that no one can track with sometimes.  They look at me like I've got antennaes because I can't explain something well.  But today, instead of bemoaning my odd side, my team celebrated it.  Instead of seeing the frustrating and head-shaking-eye-rolling oddness of me, my team just laughed as if to say, "that's what makes Annetta, Annetta."  And we all walked away just glad to be a part of this team.

Would you celebrate the good AND the seemingly bad about the people in your life today?  Who knows, it may give you a good laugh just like it did for us yesterday.  And while you're at it, comment below on a few things that make you and your family unique soe we can celebrate with you!  We'd love to hear your quirks that make you, well, YOU.

You are loved, 

annetta

Swimming Faster

I've often thought about what it takes for women to juggle their lives successfully. Whether married or single, stay-at-home moms or career women, all of us have a teetering pile of activities that vye for our attention. My life is certainly no different and this very issue has kept me on my knees.

As we try to do life in a way that is honoring to God it can be easy to get swept up into the "bigger, faster, more" mentality that permeates our culture. In our rush to keep up with those around us and stay in step with the ever increasing speed of life, we are exhausted, stressed and wilting under the pressure.

That's why Jill Brisco's words to me many years ago changed my life. I wrote about our conversation in detail in "The Resolution For Women" because the impact it made on me was staggering. As a young woman in motherhood and ministry she encouraged me to reorganize my life according to God's priorities for me in that season and then make the hard choices necessary to devote the best of myself only to those at the top of the pile.

This would mean that so much would remain unattended though, wouldn't it?

I remember feeling that all too familiar sense of guilt creep up in the back of my neck, then quickly over my shoulder as it made a bee-line to sink it's claws into my heart. There would be a lot of "no's" I'd have to say in order to achieve what she was suggesting - a lot of opportunities I'd have to decline and relationships I'd have to all but ignore for a season.
Seemed rude and inconsiderate.
But reserving my energy in this way, she surmised, was critical to long-term success in my life and the health of every thing that matters most.

Missy Franklin knows this well. 

She backstroked her way to the gold in Monday night's Olympic meet. The 17 year-old was stunning above and below the waterline and did the US proud as she brought home the victory for us all.
And yet, only minutes before, she'd been in another meet - the 200 meter freestyle - and she was far from first.
She wasn't even in second.
I felt disappointed as I'd watched her hand touch the wall several seconds after other swimmers from different countries. Missy was the one I'd come to see and I'll admit, I was disappointed when she seemed to straggle behind the others.

Which is what made her backstroke win so exciting.
. . . and what made her strategy so powerful.
Her slower speed in the former race was deliberately calculated in preparation for the latter. She knew that if she expended all of her energy to come in first during the 100 meter backstroke, which was only a semi-final meet, she'd be a goner in the next one - the final - the one where a gold medal was at stake.
So, she held back. Reserved her energies. Intentionally declined to give everything.

She moved slower in one race so she could swim faster in the other.
And she brought home the gold because of it.

Missy's lesson is clear, isn't it?

What are you saying "no" to today so you can bring home the gold in all the ways that matter most?

Priscilla

The Will of the Father

What is God’s will for my life? Am I going in the right direction? Is this the right season? Should I be pursuing this? Should I walk through this open door? What’s next?

Do any of these questions sound familiar at all? They definitely sound familiar to me. Quite familiar actually.....like, I’ve been asking the Lord these exact questions for the past few months. Every prayer has been filled with me asking Him these questions.....over and over again. In addition to me asking Him these questions, I would also throw in a few scriptures that supported my need to know. Lord, your word says that if I ask you something, you will answer me. Your word says that you will reveal great and wondrous things that I don’t know. Your word says that your promises are yes and amen. Your word says that anything I ask in your name, will be given to me. Your word says that you will give me the desires of my heart.....

But the more I prayed and the more I rehearsed and repeated the above scriptures, the more silent I felt the Lord became and the deeper my desire to hear something......anything.... from Him grew. I was desperate and my prayers began reflecting just how desperate I truly was. The more desperate I became, the more my prayers began to shift from me asking Him 101 questions, to crying out to Him and pleading with Him to simply speak to me. Lord, please let me hear your voice. Lord, your servant is desperate for you. Lord, where are you? Your word says that if I draw near to you, you will draw near to me. Your word says that if I remain in you, you will remain in me.

Do you see the major difference? I didn’t then, but I sure see it now. One focuses on seeking the Lord in order to receive something from Him, while the latter one focuses on a desire to simply hear His voice and be near to Him. 

I had transitioned to the most perfect and delicate place. My heart was ripe. And that’s when the Lord spoke to me through His word and I clung on to every word as they leaped off of the pages and penetrated the depths of my heart. Will you allow me to share with you a few points that the Lord placed on my heart?

“My Father is always at his work to this very day, and I, too, am working. I tell you the truth, the Son can do nothing by himself; he can do only what he sees his Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does. For the Father loves the Son and shows him all he does. Yes, to your amazement he will show him even greater things than these. ” John 5: 17, 19-20.

The Lord is always at work. Always. No matter how many times we feel that the Lord is silent and we grow weary and frustrated because we aren’t sensing and feeling His active movement in our lives and we aren’t seeing the manifestations of our prayers come alive, HE IS NEVER STILL!! He is always working behind the scenes on our behalf. Always.
I can do nothing by myself: I don’t know about y’all, but when I continuously ask the Lord a question and I feel that He isn’t responding, I start pouting and I have a tendency to “try” and take matters into my own hand, which ends up being a complete disaster. We can do NOTHING without the help, direction, guidance and leadership of our daddy:) 
I can only do what I see my Father doing: ;This means that we have to stay close. Abide. Seek. Press in and continue to press in even when we don’t feel like it. Keep our eyes and focus fixed on Him so that we can join in and imitate what we see Him doing. 
I know what my Father is doing because He has shown me: We can rest assured that if we do those things mentioned above.....abide, seek, press in......we will know what the Father is doing because He will willingly show us:) Why? Because He loves us and He promises to show us even greater things than these. 

I hope this has encouraged you as much as it has encouraged me. Please know my friend that the Lord hasn’t forgotten about you. He hears you, sees you, and as His word says, He is always working on your behalf. Don’t loose heart. Keep pressing in and keep abiding and as my Pastor always says, “He who is willing to do the will of the Father, will know it.”

 

Lifting you up in prayer,

Antrenette

I See You

I just got back from a two day get-a-way with my beloved. Jerry and I skipped town on a spur of the moment decision and headed south, down Hwy 35. We drove for 2 1/2 hours and ended up in Austin, stopped at a hotel and holed ourselves up for 48 hours of "nothing-ness".

It was fun.

Reminded me of those silly years in our early twenties, before children, when we did things by the seat of our pants - unprepared and unplanned - enjoying every spontaneous moment of it. 

 

Our first night away, we nestled into a cozy booth in a quaint Austin restaurant and looked away from each other only long enough to look at our menus. Then our eyes were locked again - on each other. The sight of his smooth skin, deep-set masculine eyes and strong grin sent a chill shimmying from the top of my spine right down to the very bottom.

I hadn't seen him for a while. . . 

. . . except that I had.

I always do.

Jerry and I do life together in every sense of the word. We raise our children together, live together, do ministry together, travel together. Our lives are more intertwined than many couples who separate for 60-80 hours a week to work their corporate jobs. We are constantly in each other's presence doing life on parallel tracks.

It works well for us - thank the Lord. . . except when I get still long enough to look at him and realize that I haven't really "seen" him in a while.

We can often be like ships passing in the night - close enough to get tossed by the waves but far enough to slither by without serious acknowledgement.

So. . . I sat across from my man and just stared.

He stared too.

And then. . . our mouths decided to get in on the action and conversation from our souls burst forth like Niagara Falls against a dam made of pick-up-sticks.

We talked about things that had gotten tucked away underneath a pile of activity in the last few weeks and got to know each other all over again.

It was refreshing and sweet and a reminder of how important we are to each other. 

We can't always drive off into the sunset together. Our sons would hold on to the back of my skirt 'til it ended up around my ankles before they'd let Daddy take me away without more advance notice. But at least we can try to be more intentional about spending a few moments before bed - or in the early morning or over lunch - looking at each other and then seeing where the road of conversation takes us.

Gotta make it a point to do that.

 

Stop long enough to "see" somebody you love today,

Priscilla

"I'm Full," Take 2

WELCOME to the weekend friends!  

And a special howdy to our Freedom Friday Gals...we single GB girls miss your conversations!

I spent a few minutes today cruising old blog posts and just soaking in all the wisdom (silliness and humor too!) our team has shared over the years.  I was particulary struck by one post Priscilla wrote in July 2010.  Take a quick read and tell me what YOU think!

I'm Full

I've eaten too much.

I'm serious.

The fourth of July ushered in an array of fabulously sloppy, greasy, enormous and delightful dishes that made my mouth water - and I ate IT ALL. Every single delicious bite of every single meal (or snack) that I could find. And it seems that the more I ate, the more I wanted; not because I was hungry mind you, but just because I felt a license to indulge. Know how that happens? A ripple effect of over-eating? I don't think I've actually felt one hunger pain in over four days.

Why? Because I'm full.

Shameful, isn't it?

I'm feeling the effects of all that ice cream and cake, barbecue and bread, cheese and choice steak. It's taking its toll, and my digestion system is just barely making it moment by moment. And one of the downsides of eating so much is that I can't really enjoy any food right now. No matter how appetizing or delicious it may be. Any meal that is before me isn't quite as appealing - simply because my body hasn't processed what it's already been given.

Hmmm. . .

I guess that's kind of gross if you think about it too long (so don't) but it's really got me thinking. . . ..

Not just about my body - but about Christ's.

You see, we are so full. There are more churches on more corners and more conferences on more calendars than ever before. We've got more books and DVDs and CDs and Bible studies then we can digest. And we are taking it all in at record speed. But could any lack of passion we are feeling be, at least in part, attributed to the fact that the body isn't doing anything with what it's already been given? Maybe we are packed too full of information that needs to be put into motion before we can enjoy another banquet feast that He may place before us. Then maybe church won't be a duty anymore, and the conference won't just be "something to get me out of the house" this weekend. Those things will become delectable delights that our hungry souls desire more than anything else.

I want to enjoy what's on my plate. So I want to get busy. . . putting this body in motion.

What are you learning right now in your Bible study, and what are you doing with what God is teaching you?

Priscilla

 

WOW!  I live smack dab in the middle of the Bible belt...and I have such a strong Bible-teaching church, that it'd be hard to walk out of church UN-fed.  I am convicted to look for more and more ways to serve others out of the overflow of what I'm learning.  I guess this is why I was thinking about my sweet Freedom Friday family when I was reading it...as a single, we have a little disposable time.  And this weekend?  Well, I'm looking for ways to spend that time on others.  Join me?  

Have a relaxing, God-filled weekend...you are loved!

annetta 

But Even If He Doesn't...

I spent a few minutes watching the news this morning and walked away completely dejected.  All the stories of violence, fighting amongst political parties, and dissention on social issues seem to be an onslaught on all the things of Jesus.  It just hurt my heart to watch and think, "And I want kids to RAISE in this?"  

So when I received an email with my friend Jeanette's update on her bout with cancer a few minutes later, I was ready to call it a day and have my own little pity-party of "woe is us" in the corner. That is, until I read her email.

Jeanette is on round 2 of an aggressive form of cancer.  Next week she is back to seeing specialists, taking all sorts of special medications and undergoing procedures.  Throughout the entire thing, she has said she has one thing she desires:  to glorify God.  In fact, this testifies so strongly in the way she's approached this season that a friend from home just wrote her saying,

"Hi Momma B,

I wanted to let you know we will be praying for a complete recovery and that this will be more like a long vacation than treatment! I also wanted to share with you how God is using your illness for good. 

We have a guy who comes to our church who has been out of his 9th trip to rehab for drugs now for 6 months. Last night he said, “Today I realized how selfish I am. For months I have been praying and I realized today that all I ever pray for is my self. Then today Brent mentioned a lady who is about to be isolated for 3 months for treatment of her cancer and it hit me. I was in prison and rehab because of choices I made but this lady did nothing to deserve cancer. Then he asked the other men to pray for “this lady that I do not know but who God used to show me that I need to start focusing on others not just me!” He had tears in his eyes and needless to say, so did I! Many times people ask, “why me? or why do bad things happen to good people?” I don’t really know why, but this is a case of God using one of those bad things for good. "

I read this and just started to weep.  My friend is sick in a bed in Houston, impacting a broken man back home simply because she is choosing to believe that:

1. God is bigger than this cancer

2. He is Good. 

3. He has a plan.  

This instantly reminded me of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego...King Nebuchadnzzar was mad because they would only worship the One True God instead of worshipping him.  He told them he was gonna' throw them into a pit of fire, to be killed.  These 3 men looked at him and replied, "The God we worship can save us from you and your flaming furnace. But even if he doesn’t, we still won’t worship your gods and the gold statue you have set up.”  BUT EVEN IF GOD DOESN'T.   What's interesting here is that these 3 guys were just having their daily quiet times when the king noticed them.  They were just doing everyday, ordinary life.  But they believed, like Jeanette, that God was bigger than their circumstances, that He is good, and that He has a plan..

Can we sit here for the rest of today?  Because if we really truly believe that God is bigger than our circumstances, that He is good and that He has a plan, we can approach the most horrifying of circumstances with confidence that HE HAS GOT IT.  We can live our everyday, ordinary lives in a way that the world is shifted to look more like Jesus.

Would you join me today in offering our circumstances up to God?  Can we ask Him to glorify Himself in our everyday, ordinary circumstances?  Whether they be good or bad or "bleh", He has a plan.  He is good.  He is able.  Take a few moments and tell us what your circumstances are below.  We'd love to pray with you...for breakthrough, for His Presence, for Himself to be glorified.  

And most of all, that you would know:  

You are loved.

 

annetta 

 

"Little children, you are from God and have overcome them, for He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world...in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us."

**Special thanks to AB1 for keeping me in the loop on Momma B.  

Who Am I?

Friends,

It's been quite some time since we've spoken. I left for a four week mini sabbatical right as the summer blog series was beginning and it seems like you guys have had a ton of fun ever since then. Amber, I am completely jealous of your Anthropologie gift card. If you need help making shopping decisions, you know who to ask =) 

I feel like the luckiest girl in the world to have had the opportunity to take time and seek the Lord on vision for my life and what I feel He is doing in this season. I got to attend a worship school in California, one of my best friends got married in Denver, I spent time with my sister and brother-in-law in Colorado Springs and ended my trip in Seattle with one of my roommates. I know... tough life, right? ;)

It seems like many of us are in a season of feeling like God is on the move in our lives, our hearts cries and passions are burning within us, but we have no idea what to do with it all. I completely understand what you are feeling. Please know that you are not alone!

If there's one thing that I have been processing since my trip (perhaps we will get to talk about the other details sometime) it would be the theme of identity. I went on this trip hoping to come back with some brilliant plan about how I can do the things I'm most passionate about in my day to day life, but every single day that I was gone God kept speaking to me about who He says that I am: Linnae, an original, a worshipper, a temple of God, carrying a song of freedom. . . the list kept going and going. 

There were no specific directions about what to do next. No "stay right where you are" or "move here and do this" type of conversations with God. He just loved on me. Told me what He thinks about me. Made me feel known.

He knows us well, doesn't He? People say that a lot, but I can attest that it is certainly true. 

It is hitting me just now as I write this post that God is so faithful! I shouldn't be so surprised as that is basically the story of my life. But I'm realizing that He wanted to take me away for a few weeks to tell me about who He has created me to be, and then wants me to sit and watch how He so beautifully puts all of the pieces together. 

Yea.... He's faithful. And He's faithful to you, too. And He's putting the pieces of your heart together just like He is mine. He just wants us to know who we are, and then He wants to be the One in control. 

I think that sounds pretty good, don't you? You understand who you are created to be and let God be the One to plan out your adventures!

I lift up my eyes to the mountains, where does my help come from?

My help comes from the LORD, the Maker of heaven and earth.

He will not let your foot slip - He who watches over you will not slumber;

indeed, He who watches over Israel will neither slumber nor sleep.

The LORD will keep you from harm - He will watch over your life;

The Lord will watch over your coming and going both now and forevermore.

Psalm 121

(had to show you a picture of a sunset in Seattle - this is my friend and I watching it from the beach! If you've never been you've got to go!)