Celebrating my twin girl’s birthday this week has been so much fun. This is what a birthday means to me:


1. Remembrance of the exact moment life (or in this case lives) entered this world.
2. Stories of coping with the new family member.
3. Laughing about the joys this person(s) has brought to my life.
4. Reflecting on the challenges they brought to me and how they molded me into who I am today.
5. Celebrating the relationship that has matured as the years pass.

As you can see we are serious birthday folks at my house! Looking over my list I see something special. Let me write it again for you.

1. Yearly we remember the birth of Christ.
2. Most everyone knows his birth brought huge coping issues for his parents causing them to flee the country.
3. The joy Jesus brought to the earth is told over and over in the friendships and miracles he engaged in.
4. Jesus challenged the people of His day to shift their thinking about God and experience Him for themselves.
5. Today and every day I celebrate with a grateful heart the personal relationship He offered to me that I accepted at 8 years old. It has sweetened so much over these many years…………….

What can we blame it on- the economy- the heat-the unpleasant encounter with someone you thought loved you- the weight we haven’t lost- unfulfilled expectations from another-unfulfilled expectations from ourselves…………the list goes on and on doesn’t it? Planet Carol has a new quest; Living in peace and contentment regardless of the list. Giving others room to sputter and jerk on their journeys while I make swift adjustments with my new repairs to stay out of their way (unless of course they choose to contact this vessel for assistance!)


So much joy is lost in the world because it seems so much easier to make the negative remark and go with the flow of society feeling safe in numbers. I have always considered myself the optimist and refuse to give in when I know that I am having faith for something God desires to manifest. People have always liked being at parties at our house because we are fun! But even “perfect little me” has an ocean of joy available that sits in the universe beautiful, sparkling, and inviting me. Too often I have chosen not to jump in even though I have experienced the refreshment it brings over and over. A niece of mine recently said it so well, “If my mind consumed data as much as it consumes my worries I would be a genius!” For me I realized I was guilty of blocking data meant to free me from worry.

At the pool the other day I had a $20 bill to use to get in. They didn’t have change so I got to swim for free. It was one of maybe 2 days this summer cool enough to leave the house and I took it! Later that afternoon my granddaughter came over and asked if she could have the $20. Her Mom and I both explained that the snack machines wouldn’t take a $20 and we had plenty of stuff already. She remained distracted and worried and came back later and asked again if she could have the $20. This time we asked specifically what she was going to do with a $20 bill. She said that she was going to offer it to some boys who were being mean to her brother and ask them to be nice to him.

Grandparents, parents, aunts and uncles and close friends: Join me in my quest to seek God openly and become an example of a planet that can live in peace, joy, and contentment regardless of whatever comes. Our children need role models of the reality that God is with us. They are drawn to our joy as instantly as if we were a wrapped present they can’t wait to open as pictured above………………..

This morning I woke up at my daughter’s apartment. What I am about to say sounds like fiction, but I am absolutely telling the truth! Tuesday afternoon both back car windows fell down into the doors and wouldn’t come up. After working out car credit (which is easier than root canal credit to get) I was told it would be 3 hours. My 9 year old grandson was along so we walked about 4 city blocks in intense heat to reach the local bowling alley! After hydrating myself and breathing normally again we enjoyed ourselves in a very “cool” setting. My cool meant cool, his cool meant moving lights and shining stars in the alley. We made it back more comfortably and all was well as “I signed my life away one more time!”

Wednesday I woke up early to attend a wonderful piano teacher’s workshop put on by Mr. Faber himself! I left there and the temp was 102 with heat index of 118. I had to drive 15 minutes to reach a bearable temperature in the car. Picked up my mom (soon to turn 80) and left car running so she could stay cool. After her appointment I went out to start the car only to find the left front tire almost flat. I drove to my house close by knowing I wouldn’t make it to her place on that tire. After a couple hours of sharing pictures on face book with Mom and (to her delight) chatting with some family, I realized that I was still hot even though mom seemed fine. About that time my husband came to deal with the tire accompanied by my sister who was taking Mom home. They noticed the house wasn’t as cool as usual and upon checking my husband said the compressor may have burnt up. A minute later my sister said my copier wasn’t working. Cable was also malfunctioning when I tried to turn the news on for mom. I looked at my husband and said “We are going to be like Job.” and he interrupted declaring, “You are not going to die!” Laughing I let him know I meant we were going to trust God no matter what!”

It is 11:15 Thursday morning. The air is fixed- it was the capacitor which I am told is the motor that runs the compressor. The check’s a “little hot” but we are cool again! Many are the trials we face, but when faced with peace that God has us covered and we humble ourselves to receive from Him through loving family and caring friends we can retain our peace that passes all understanding and carry His joy in the midst………..

Bathing suits rarely hit the wardrobe, but Saturday I bit the bullet, pulled hard, did some deep breathing and humbled myself to allow someone else to hook the final hook! After 5 minutes with my daughter and grandchildren in the local pool I was like a goldfish that had been dumped out of his bowl and left to long out of the water only to finally return and happily swim circles in the fresh clean water!

Friday was a miracle day at Planet Carol’s house. There was peace and prosperity over a family member and a beginning of restoration that is nothing short of a direct gift from God! There are a hundred thoughts to attack our brains, but we are resisting and following the advice of Paul that whatsoever things are of a good report- think on those things!!!! Other things tried to go south Saturday, but I made a choice to dwell on the good report at the pool and it was great!

James 1:12 MSG Bible has been on my desk all year. “Anyone who meets a testing challenge head-on and manages to stick it out is mighty fortunate. For such persons loyally in love with God, the reward is life and more life.” Our family is moving on to more life and our hearts are full of gratefulness to God. I know many people whose circumstances are much worse than ours have been. I can pray. I can love. I can clearly say stay loyally in love with God! This generation must see that we can trust God no matter what and life can be lived with peace and happiness. We must demonstrate that in the midst of a thousand things we cannot do anything about we always have and will always have the choice to trust God and receive His life- this planet is set free to have joy……….

Few of us don’t appreciate fully a gorgeous sunset, ocean waves crossing our feet, majestic mountains or a peacock with its feathers fully displayed. At the same time we are horrified by tornados, hurricanes, tsunamis and earthquakes. Both sentences describe nature, but there is a significant difference. One describes things specifically and uniquely created and the other describes results of changes in the earth and atmosphere. Planet Carol is human so created as a specific being, but has been altered by changes in her thinking, emotions, atmospheres and circumstances around her. Daily I am in contact with people who are deeply insecure about themselves and their circumstances and it is very easy to empathize with them in a world that is so unstable. It has been very refreshing to be reminded of two things in our first sessions of Vacation Bible School:

1. I am God’s greatest creation. I can praise Him! Psalm 139:14 says I am remarkably and wonderfully made.


2. God cares about me. I can trust Him no matter what. 1 Peter 5:7 says I can cast all my care up Him because He cares about me.

(Direct quotes from Saddle Ridge Ranch VBS materials I am teaching in the pink cowboy hat!)

I never cease to be amazed by how much I learn when teaching children. There are simply basics and truth that are foundational and sure. Just like a car won’t run without gas in the tank I have often sputtered and spurted instead of operating as I was designed to due to lack of filling my heart and mind with God’s word of truth. In addition I have allowed circumstances to run my thinking instead of directing my own thoughts into the spiritually healthy truth of God’s thoughts. As my planet orbits having accepted repairs that have truly altered me renewing my strength I plan to keep my eyes wide open and watch for distractions and make an immediate decision to steer clear………………….

If you have children you have played one of a hundred versions of “What do I See?” We all know the routine- give the color and everyone guesses something different and we all suspect the “leader” may be changing their mind in the course of the guessing. In the photo above I saw 2 girls sharing a moment at the Zoo. When my granddaughter saw it she asked me why I took a photo of their bottoms! What do I see today- a life with too much to do and no possible way it will all get done. A life with needs that can’t possibly be met with what I have and know. Friends and family hurting for a variety of reasons including financial stress, physical pains, mistreatment coming from a former source of love, overload of responsibilities on their plate- just to name a few. I see a world that used to be fairly simple as such a complicated place there is no way to find your way through the maze. Just like the leader in the game who has named the color I keep changing my mind about what it really is I want to draw attention to!


Rereading the above paragraph I find it very reasonable for any of us to choose to withdraw from dealing with circumstances so overwhelming. However in my orbits over the years I have found a solution that has worked when life was easier as well as in the hard places. It is simply this:

1. Make a list of the top 5 things bothering you.

2. Choose which one of those things is bothering you the most.

3. Address that one thing and life takes an upward turn!

Sometimes the thing bothering me the most was not the most serious thing on the list- it was having not mailed birthday cards sitting on the counter for several weeks or a call to someone I care about. Other times something bigger- like doing the taxes or dealing with a financial issue turned out not to be as big as I had built it up on the “to do list” and I would feel almost foolish for the amount of energy the I had used up worrying over nothing! When I freed my mind from one stressor it increased hope and confidence that others that remained overwhelming might also be conquered in time.

Jesus felt overwhelmed as a man on the earth. He is not without compassion and empathy for what each of us face. And I will fly again in the universe because He has not left me alone. He filled me with His Holy Spirit to be my comforter, my wisdom, my navigator who can take my wrong turns and make corrections that put me back in orbit……..

Most of us are blessed to take a break- go to a ball game- see the fireworks, poolside barbeques and apple pie- The perfect fourth! How is it then that as soon as the fireworks are over they start up somewhere else! The car battery has to be replaced – the computer caught a bad virus-$125 to clean it up not including a couple days work lost and a few scrabble plays missed! Then to top it off the dentist hits a nerve with the Novocain shot! It’s like mumps on the right side for a few days! In the middle of this scenario I taught my 7 and 9 year old grandchildren how to play Life. They loved getting a salary and getting married (receiving gifts). However my granddaughter declared there was no way she was taking twin boys so we exchanged for one boy and a girl. My grandson, the proud banker kept trying to sneak us money from the bank thinking he as the banker had that privilege! (Is this true-ha) They fussed at paying bills, but made a huge deal of collecting money! We never finished, but the point that life doesn’t always bring what we want was clear.


Colossians 1:17 “He is before all things and in Him all things hold together.” Hard to believe when things so easily fall apart! Yet God was, is and always will be. It is our free will to lay all things broken at His feet knowing only He can repair His creation. I am thinking I’ve made a mess of some stuff. I am feeling bad about myself because of it. However I am believing that not only can God fix it- He wants to very much and repairs are happening!!! In the movie “How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days” the boyfriend comes up with the winning phrase for the jewelry company “Frost Yourself”. At the party his girlfriend gets to wear something she could never buy for herself and it’s beautiful. Planet Carol is spending more time at God’s party- His “frosting” is free, powerful, and life changing. Once we taste of it we want more and there always is more! We may live frustrated with cars, computers and cavities, but our joy can remain with us as we frost ourselves with God.

“He who refreshes will himself be refreshed” Proverbs 11:25. Going to store up a bit extra to squirt on the next faltering planet that crosses my orbit……