Random Thoughts of a Supersmock

My company has an intranet where employees can post announcements, photos, and occasional blog entries. Last week, a colleague shared a post about Milton Hershey and the legacy of love and generosity he left behind. It was a wonderful tribute to how Hershey used his wealth to serve others and how his life continues to impact people long after his death. The post moved me to leave a comment: "The great thing about a legacy is that we never quite know what it will look like. And ultimately, the only legacy worth having is one that points back to Christ." It's easy to become discouraged when you're not a wealthy business owner or someone with the financial means to support large charities and organizations. We often measure legacy by influence, titles, accomplishments, or the size of a bank account. Yet even during my relatively short time here, I've witnessed powerful legacies in action. I've seen people quietly invest in others, encourage coworkers, extend kind...

As an occasional painter, I've been known to take an old painting and paint over it. There's a product called white gesso and it's purpose is to prime a canvas for oil painting and pre-prime and old paintings to be used again. It hides all the color that is under it but it doesnt hide the texture or previous strokes. Often times in life we have to somewhat start all over again.  Perhaps it's restarting after a bad relationship, or a medical procedure that had left you different than before, or a job or career that hasn't really fulfilled you.  Most of the time we find ourselves wanting to cover up a major mistake. Sometimes we wish life had a gesso option.  Something that could cover up everything that was there before.  A new start... As for me, I know it's my sinful heart that longs for the whiteness and freshness of a new clean canvas.  One thing that often gives me great comfort is... Jesus is my gesso.  He paid for my sins and his life ma...

When I was a kid, I loved building things out of wooden blocks.  Mostly I would build houses and lay down blocks to design floor plans.  I would lay out each room, then I would bring in with my little wooden people and have them occupy my creation. Lately, I've been thinking about building people rather than building things out of blocks. People can be just as fragile as my houses built out of kid blocks.  One easy brush and they fall down.  It's far too easy to year people down.  I'm constantly looking at ways I can do the latter and build people up.  I challenge my (hot tempered) husband to do the same.  We both struggled with tearing people down rather than building them up.   It's too easy to tell your teenage daughter that she's not capable of doing something rather than inspiring her to reach for the stars. When you think about the life of Jesus.. He always built people up (except for the hypocritical Pharisees......

13 years ago... My husband and I were in the process of becoming overseas missionaries.  We were pretty far along in the process, approved by our mission agency, blessed by our elders, and waiting the call from missionaries in Latin America. We knew we had many things to overcome to make it a reality but we were willing and able.  We never thought God was going to shut the door as far as he opened it. Spring of 2006 - was the worst season of our lives.  When we heard the word "cancer" we crumbled.  We didn't know what to expect but we also found out we were "expecting." Between having a baby, termites, job loss and cancer - we closed the door in great great sadness. God used us in some pretty amazing ways but there has also been a small void in my life wondering what it would been like to serve him in the field.  Almost every day of my life, I keep asking God ... "What am I supposed to be doing?" Why does it feel like I'm fail...

I've had some great people on my life who've really been there to encourage me when I needed it the most. There have also been times when I had no one really there encouraging. When going through a trial or even just a season of disappointments it important to find people who help encourage you.   However, it's almost more important to remember that you're also called to help build people up and encourage... Even when you yourself are feeling a bit down. It doesn't cost anything to tell someone they're awesome or doing a great job or they are valued.   I'm sure most people feel unimportant, useless or redundant more often than they would like to admit.  We're human and vulnerable. So be there reason someone smiles today... Might even make you feel pretty good yourself.