How do you see yourself?

Dan just left for work and on his way out the door he heard these words,"You're the best man in the world."

Then came his reply, "You're the best woman in the world."

Oh really? Who says? We do. It's our little offering to one another, from thankful hearts. I want to remind you that you also are the best and that you are a winner. I know you are in at least one thing--Remember the first page of this site? That little girl posing like she's a star in the universe? Well she is. And so are you. The challenge made on that page is to be yourself. Today I am raising the bar by asking you to CHERISH yourself for your very own uniqueness. I challenge you to consider yourself a wonderful person made in the image of God. Not one other person has your DNA and there is a simple explanation for that--your creator deemed it so. You are that special to him.

But we tend to search the world over for affirmation...

Tears of joy fell from my eyes recently, at the discovery of long-awaited news: I would become a multinationally published author by having a story placed in a Chicken Soup for the Soul series. Yea! This was very exciting and one of my happiest occasions as a writer so far. I had been declared a winner by someone other than my own family. Woo-hoo! But you know what? When I received the first copy in the mail, my name was misspelled, my website listed incorrectly, my story was on page 170 in a 210 page book, AND one clunky sentence jumped out at me like a slimy toad. A bit of disappointment paled my sunshiny day. But I considered that stuff for about one minute and moved on.

Because I know something much more important than all that.

The silly things that we sometimes use to measure success are not really success at all. Staying up all night with a sick child or holding someone's hand and listening when a loved one has died, those actions make you a success. Putting dinner on the table every night for your family - success. Taking the dog out when no one else wants to - success. Scrubbing toilets, digging ditches, grading papers into the night - success. Wouldn't you say so? It's doing whatever you do - especially when you don't feel all goose-bumpy about it. It's accepting the everyday that makes you a success. When I send a story to ten (or more) different publications and a form of 'rejection' comes back every time this means I'm working, risking, learning - and that's my career success. When Dan goes off to work, where he knows he'll be barraged with problems, and he does this out of love for his family - Hey, that's being a success and a winner. Doing what you have been given to do in this life, for this time - maybe praying for future changes, but still keeping the faith - that makes you so the greatest. I hope that whatever you do today, you will remember this: It's not what the world judges about you that matters - most things are entirely subjective anyway - it's what you believe about yourself. The apostle Paul talked about you in Philippians chapter 2:14-16 "Do everything without complaining or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation in which you shine like stars in the universe as you hold out the word of life..."

And the psalmist David said something about himself which goes for all of us: "For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place. When I was woven together in the depths of the earth, your eyes saw my unformed body. All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be." Ps. 139:13-16

Today, my friend, rejoice - You are God's absolute greatest and He infinitely loves YOU.

Autism Conference at Graceview Baptist Church

Wow. Today was a spin-back to almost two decades ago... an autism conference in Austin...Well. Time flies. Caleb turned 23 in August. I feel I have lived three or four lifetimes in his lifetime. We tried so many things back then, many of which had booths in the resource hall today - Auditory Integrative Therapy and S.I.R.E. (therapeutic horseback riding), among others. I never feel I'm doing enough and most of the other parents scurrying around the hall, bagging pamphlets and pens, receiving free advice, don't either. An outsider could see it on our faces: looks like sorrow covered up in smiles. Looks like tension relieved for a little while, but not, because we are focused on the very things we cannot seem to fix in our autistic children. Like stemming and other bizarrities; obsessive or aggressive behaviors; brain allergies; seizures; lack of, poor, or inappropriate communication; no friends (for the adult especially); siblings hurt or plain left out. Heavy subjects. How about marriages dissolved? That too. Water under the bridge. All sorts of failures one must leave behind in order to move forward into some sort of productivity and usefulness.

Do you know what I mean? We all have situations in our lives that we cannot, no matter how hard we try, fix. At the moment I am overwhelmed with information from this conference. I want to undo all of my son's medications, get the toxins out of his body, and start over. This is pretty much what both of the workshops I attended said to do. But they also said not to try all this detoxing stuff at once, but come to them (naturopathics mainly) for help, and take caution. Pay thousands for the hyperbaric chamber treatments if you can afford it, since insurance doesn't cover. Buy the expensive electromagnetic blanket and hook it up three times a day. Never give milk or gluten. Keep away from 10,000 chemicals in our environment. Your child is toxic... my brain spins and feels like an explosion of pain. My mother has cancer. My husband lost his father. My grandmother needs rides to the doctor and attention. My daughter got a divorce and has three little children. Puzzled? Look at my bio. Did I say I was not a perfect person with a perfect life? Now, believe it. My life is tough. So is yours I bet.

Okay. So here's the good part of all this: God's unfailing love surrounds those who trust in Him (read Ps. 32, 33) deliverance is from Him (Ps.3:8) and He will hear our cries and deliver us from all of our troubles (Ps.34:17). He is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit. (Ps.34:18) This is me right now. Have you ever been where I am right now? God is our help and our strong deliverer--"The salvation of the righteous comes from the Lord; he is their stronghold in time of trouble. The Lord helps them and delivers them; he delivers them from the wicked and saves them, because they take refuge in him." Ps. 37:39,40 Take courage,friend, along with me. God is good and forever will be.