So, what did you do today?

I had an absolutely wonderful day!

First of all, we had a beautiful day here in God's Country. It's 7:30pm and still 70 degrees. I should really be out on the front porch reading more of 'The Shack'. But I'm probably in for the night and off to bed really early.

I woke up late this morning. My plan was to carpool to the Mt. Lebanon Ladies' Day with friends. We were meeting at 9; I woke up at 9:02 according to my alarm clock. I honestly don't know if I snoozed it to death or if I turned it off before I was truly awake. But I did NOT get up in time to join the caravan. I called the ladies and told them to take off without me and promised to be a short 15-20 minutes behind them.

Driving down by myself gave me some studio time. I've said it before and I'll say it again...and again and again. If I'm in my car, I'm probably singing. My car is my studio. I LOVE studio time.

I arrived at the church only five minutes late and they hadn't even started yet. There were so many people there, they were setting up folding chairs in the isles. I arrived when they were still in the middle of that process. Lucky me!

Lauren Biggs was the key speaker today. And she was wonderful. The word for the day was 'LIGHT' and she covered it beautifully. She's a really funny lady, spontaneous and well-spoken. She kept us laughing and thinking. She said lots of things that touched my heart, but I have two favorites.

1. The light of Jesus should ooze out of us like the Gatorade in those commercials. You know the ones. The athlete drinks the blue Gatorade. Then as he or she works out, they sweat in the color of the Gatorade they drank. Well, Lauren's point was that if we fill ourselves with the light of Christ, as we live and breathe and do our thing, the light of Christ has no where else to go but to ooze out of us and onto those people in our world that we serve. But remember, you can't share something you don't have. So, hone that light in you.

2. Nickel-a-day ministries. Sometimes God gives us the equivalent of $1 million. And sometimes we're expected to do something amazing with that gift. Now this is just an example. The 'gift' doesn't have to be money. Imagine saving a child from a burning building. That's a HUGE thing. God gave you the strength and calm and knowledge to jump right in without fear and do something amazing. You take the gift and do something... well, HUGE. A $1 million WOW of a feat! Well, it's not like we always (or even often) have something amazing like that in front of us. Sometimes... God just wants us to do the nickel jobs. Showing patience to someone who has pushed every button in you, biting your tongue as opposed to gossiping, washing that sippy cup for the fifty-eighth time today. Anytime you sacrafice what YOU want to do or say for something that someone else needs to receive or hear, you've ministered to them. You've been Jesus in their life. And that usually happens in the small, even tedious things in our days. A nickel-a-day.

I also had a BIG LESSON IN FORGIVENESS today. I don't really want to ellaborate because it's kind of a personal thing for me. But I do want to share this...

First of all, you can't wait until you FEEL like you're ready to forgive someone before you just do it. You need to step out on faith that God can cleanse your heart and soul...UNTIL the feelings of comfort come. He knows our hearts and our hurts. But He is bigger than all of that...if we simply trust in Him.

Then there are three steps:

1. Forgive the person. Out loud. Just flat out say it.
2. Release them from any hurt they may have caused you, whether intentional or perceived.
3. Lift them up in prayer as a child of God, an instrument in His plan. Ask God to bless them.

For me, the three steps didn't stop there. I needed to ask God for strength to keep me from speaking badly about this person, to stop me from thinking negatively about them all the time, to give me the strength to remember that I HAVE FORGIVEN THIS PERSON and I refuse to let it weigh me down any longer. Period.

Suffice it to say, it was a lovely day. Great music. Inspiring ministry. A wonderful meal cooked by the men of the church. THEN I drove home with the windows down. First time this year! How freeing is that?! I could have driven for hours! But 35 minutes later, I was home.

I topped my day off by taking my son out to dinner. He makes me laugh sometimes. I LOVE it when he makes me laugh. And I love it when I can make him laugh. Sometimes, we're really good together. It used to happen much more often...when he was young. But there were a few years in there when it didn't happen at all! So, I'm thrilled that we're getting back on track again.

One of my best days. What a blessing!