Dragon Breath

I'm usually the level-headed, rational person everyone comes to for advice or guidance. I'm rarely shaken and have a great capability to remain calm during chaos. Recently I was presented with two situations of conflict that involved my child. I discovered the rational woman that everyone knows can turn into a fire breathing dragon when it comes to my daughter. Instead of wise, well thought-out words, an emotion driven approach blazed from my mouth and probably singed an eyebrow... or two. While my true desire was to bring resolution to both conflicts my motherly instinct to protect my child took over my senses. It's not that what I said was so awful but my approach was nowhere near humble. I realized my subconscious felt if I didn't spit a bit of fire and draw my talons I was not protecting my child, therefore my parenting would be in question. In both situations the sparks that flew from my mouth were met with matching heat from the other parties. Not a good recipe for peace. My inner dragon prevented me from remaining humble and gentle. Bringing peace and unity to the situation, quickly became a harder task to achieve. I realized that when it comes to my daughter I can have a bit of "dragon breath." The next time the sleeping dragon is awoken by my motherly instinct I think I'm now better equipped to brush the flames from my mouth and take a more gentle approach. What awakens your inner dragon and how do you tame it? 

Stereo of Our Hearts

Have you ever started humming a tune which seemed to come out of nowhere? You don't remember when the last time you heard that song but now it's stuck in your head. This happens to me all the time. Thanks to my 4 year-old daughter instead of humming the hottest new track to hit the radio, I'm usually caught singing the theme song to a cartoon. Music has the ability to stimulate memory and alter your mood. Music is said to be the universal language, speaking to people and crossing cultural boundaries. It has the ability to bury its melody in our hearts and minds and come out when we least expect it. 

Lyrics to "Stereo Hearts," by Gym Class Heroes

I heard the song "Stereo Hearts" by Gym Class Heroes today and had a thought. What if we made God the stereo of our hearts? We could turn Him up when we feel low, hear His thoughts through every note and have His sweet melody on our minds and lips. Stereos create the feeling of being surrounded by a sound. Psalm 119:11 says "I have hidden your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you." If we could instead allow God to surround us and embed His melodic word inside of our hearts we would see sound manifest into something tangible, leaving a trail of harmony in our lives. 

God's Campaign

I'm embarrassed to say that I'm not very intelligent when it comes to politics. For some reason political information may enter my brain but there is not much evidence of absorption. As I've gotten older and more mature I have realized the value in exercising my right to vote and have put forth an effort to make sense of the political world so that I can make educated choices. 

The 2012 presidential election was of particular interest to me because I have a 4 year-old daughter who is learning about current events at school and is aware of the choices mommy and daddy make. We took her to the polls so she could participate and of course earn the desired "I voted sticker." She even participated in a mock election at school which involved favorite ice cream flavors. For a 4 year-old child that can be a complex decision. According to my daughter, vanilla won the popular vote. Luckily her classroom voting system did not involve electoral votes otherwise there may have been some kiddos just as confused as I was watching (for the first time) the projections for each state on television. I thought that your vote counted individually and the person with the most votes wins. I realized that the presidency is won by electoral votes, not by popular votes. (I told you I'm slow on this subject). So the way it works is each state is worth a certain amount of electoral votes based on population. States such as California, Texas, New York and Florida have the most electoral votes compared to other states with smaller populations. A presidential candidate may have won in more states but it is the states with the larger number of electoral votes that weigh more. As a Christian our lives can mimic a presidential election. Living a life that is pleasing to God may not always be the popular choice. But like the voting system we have in America it is not the popular vote that holds the most weight. It is the quality of our choices that count more in God's political campaign than the popular ones. Whether you are choosing an ice cream flavor, the President of the United States or finding your way on your Christian journey, choose what weighs more in God's house. It's a lot bigger than the White House. Make your choices count today!