Sunday, May 12, 2019

Our Mama on Mother's Day.....She is a Part of All of Us


Mama....she lives in each of us


For the past 57 years, I have been blessed to have Shirle Sue Perry Millstead for my Mother.  I say blessed because I cannot remember a single time during those 57 years that I did not know of her Godliness and purity of heart toward me, my siblings, our father, and you, too, if she knew you.

My brother Jay quotes frequently “to whom much is given, much is expected” and I think he has this as a favorite because he understands that each of my siblings has been given much in the gift of our Mama.

If you look closely at each of her children, you will see her in us….

Chuck is our stalwart oldest.  He made Mama a Mama and shared with her all the firsts which come from having that first little bundle.   The Mama I see in my brother Chuck is his ability to “round the troops” of his many siblings with insight and wisdom which comes from being the oldest.  He, more than any of us, has spent the most time being our Mama’s son, and you can see already his rising in the family and ensuring we honor her vision for us.  Chuck often goes about quietly doing/achieving/being and magically turns up with amazing awards, accolations, and kind comments from others about his great work ethic similar to our Mother’s.  He is his Mama’s son.

Jim a/k/a James is Mama’s son whom she named after her beloved Daddy and oldest brother.  Jim is our wise scholar and sibling-friend.  He and our mother have a special bond regarding physical health and I genuinely believe one of the reasons our mother is in such good shape is because of her shared love of walking and weight watchers which she shares with our brother, Jim.  The Mama I see in my brother is desire to stay very close to God not only by reading His Word daily, but by applying it to his life.  Note writing to Jim is what handmade wash cloths are to our Mother.  I suspect if you’ve known him long, you have been blessed by a Jim note.  He emulates our Mother in this loving gift-giving.  He is his Mama’s son.

Jay is our “lively and quick/kind and gentle” brother.  Jay was named by our Daddy, but I think that Daddy named him this because of these traits he saw in our mother.  If you don’t know this, our Mama is a “mud dobbing, horse riding, card shark playing daredevil”.  Mama has hit a hole in one, given many wonderful speeches, and has shaken her booty in ways we cannot share here.  That same love of travel, adventure, and fun is what I see in Jay that I know comes from our mother.  Jay uses words to share his excitement just like our Mama and when he is excited, he makes the whole world come alive, just like our Mama makes her children’s lives alive by her sharing with us.  He is his Mama’s son.

Jill is the reason our parents have lived to their eighties, I am convinced.  While I know the truth is that “with all of these brothers, can’t you please send me a sister” was my constant 12-year old prayer to God, I really think he sent Jill to us to be the light of fun and joy which our parents have as they enter into this season of life.  Mama and Jill have many things in common:  they love people, they love parties, they love themed-anything, and they especially love monogrammed everything.  Jill can whip up a party/BUNCO/celebration which lights up the heart of our mother like no other person can.  Our parents are in good hands being the neighbors of our sister.  We know without any doubt that if our parents need anything, Jill and her family will take care of it and that it will be done to perfection because that is her gift.  She is her mother’s daughter.

Erwin, Bruce, and Tashula are God’s gift to our family by filling our Mother’s heart.  Each of them has loved our mother in exactly the way she has needed to make her life full and complete and I know it is no accident that they became our brothers and sister so that our Mother could spread her ever-flowing love to them.  They are our mother’s sons and daughter.

Daddy.  What to you say about a Daddy who has loved our mother in the presence of his children for over 61 years?  There is no greater love a Daddy can give his children than to love their mother.  Daddy, you have done that, and it has made all the difference to us, your children.  You are our mothers’ precious husband.

Finally, to my Mama….you and I know the ways in which I am like you.  We know this because we have talked about all of it these past 57 years.  Your love for me is second only to God’s and for that, there are no words except “I love you as only your oldest daughter can”.  Thank you, thank you from all that is in me for loving me, for standing behind me, beside me, and in front of me.  What a blessing, privilege, and honor to be called Shirle Millstead’s daughter.

ILYAOYODC,

Mama


Thursday, November 24, 2016

“Live the Life God Called You To”


I found myself listening to Keith Green recently…he was singing a song his wife wrote, “Let My Life Be a Prayer”….which is a beautiful song.  However, it was at the end when Keith said this words that I was most touched..





Make it easier for Jesus to come back this next year by living the life he asked you to live so others don’t have to make excuses for why Christians don’t live like He asked you to”

These words have been laying on my heart with great weight these past five years as Ian and I m
ade the hard decision (financially) for me to go back to graduate school to become a mental health counselor. 

Logic and perhaps common sense defied my returning to school at age 49…..on paper, so many things did not really add up if you measure them on human scale.  But, Ian and I chose then and today not to measure things on worldly terms…rather, we chose to walk in faith. 

My motivation for returning to school was perhaps one of the most obedient things I have ever done in my 54 years….I felt called to walk that direction in faith and God carried me through…

I had a sibling say to me this year that he was not certain why I would become a counselor, listening to the problems of others all day.  He further went on to share that others he knew who had walked this direction had come to regret it and felt burnt out very quickly post-graduation and early into their practice.  I confess his words did hurt my feelings for a second.  

But, I knew something this brother did not know….I didn’t go back to school purposeless….I became a mental health counselor because I felt called to do so….and, that has made all the difference.

I didn’t go for financial gain, ego boosting, or the ability to share with the world my new profession because none of those things come with being a therapist…you will likely not become wealthy, you have to remain humble to do your job, and you are bound by confidentiality so that even if you have a “light bulb” moment with your client, no one outside the therapy room can ever know.

I like that about my new profession…..it keeps me on my knees, my ego in check, and my heart tender.

What I had not counted on when I walked across the stage at EKU with my new diploma in hand was the monumental responsibility you have when you work with others at some of the most sacredly challenging times in their lives.

And, it is in that moment that I have to be the Counselor God called me to be…

              The woman God is working on me to be

                             The humble heart God as worked hard to break in me


And I remember Keith’s words…

“Make it easier for Jesus to come back this next year by living the life he asked you to live so others don’t have to make excuses for why Christians don’t live like He asked you to”

All God wants me to do in my daily living, in my role as Wife, Mom, Daughter, friend, and counselor is to live as He called me to…

I am not old to coming to the understanding of God calling us to live such as this….but, I am old coming to the putting to committed practice in my own life living as He calls me to live….

But, I get it now….

Be who God calls you to be….then, live in the way God calls you to live, so that others who see you, who witness your words, your actions, your faith…..see Him

Blessings,
Lesa





Friday, July 8, 2016



Today I realized I Had Stopped Holding My Breath …..

As I walked our puppy, Doc, around the block today, I realized that I could feel myself breathing again.  Not the kind of breaths you give when your physician says to “give me a few good breaths” nor that kind which you feel when you lay your hand on the chest of your child to see if he/she is still alive, but rather, that kind of breath when you know you are present in the moment God calls you to be…..

I do not remember when I started holding my breath….I did not do it consciously

I did not realize the holding, until that moment I could feel it’s release…

But, today, as I took that stroll, I could feel it

Chest rising and falling…..

Keeping pace with ……

Nothing

Right in the moment God would have me to be

It was not me who realized I had been holding my breath and had now found its release, but rather, a new friend of mine….

He whispered in the quiet of my sanctuary, “I want what you have”

“And, what is it you think I have?” I asked

“Peace.”

I confess, his words caught me off guard, but in considering our conversation later, I realized the truth of his words..

I have found peace

“not as the world giveth” because honestly, there is very little peace to be found in this world
But, I have found that peace “which passes all understanding”

Which comes from our ultimate peace-giver

And, that is what I asked him….

“Are you a man of faith?” just for clarification, because he had shared earlier that he was…

“That is where my peace comes from….faith…in Him”

And, today, as Doc and I walked and talked that silly talk you do with your new puppy, I realized that I am in that sweet spot of life where your recent trials are momentarily behind you and your future lies awaiting God’s leading….

In counseling, we call that “mindfulness” or “being present in the moment” 

Where you are who you are, where you are, when you are…..

And, that is a very healthy place to be

The difference for me is that I know in this thing we call life, peace will ebb and flow if we define it by our moods, or emotions, or thoughts

But, I think what my new friend found in me is that realization is that my peace does not come from this world, but rather, from the one who made this world

God

Jesus

The Holy Spirit

And, somehow, that came across in my spirit in a way my friend could see….

I have had the privilege of “having my mettle tested” much in this life.  Some of it brought on by my own human sinfulness, some of it brought on by sheer chance or misfortune, all under the providence, supervision, and at times, by the direct hand of God

But, none of it wasted…..

For I realize that every single moment of our life, just like the hairs on our head, are accounted for…with the same tender, extravagant love from a heavenly Father who wants us to find our personal peace
 
In Him

So that when good times nod their head in our direction, we give Him praise

And, when trials come and bring us to our knees, we shout His name in thanksgiving

And, especially when we are sailing on the seas of calm and peace, as I am today, that we don’t forget to feel His presence

To call on His name

To spend this time with grateful heart

Knowing that peace is not a place we should aspire to ascertain

But, rather, a choice of soul and spirit

Where we chose to place our heart

Into the Hands

Of the very one who gave us breath….

And, in that, our job is to let go.

Blessings,

Lesa

Thursday, December 31, 2015





Giving Our 2016 to God

I love the start of the movie, The Notebook when the narrator says,

“I am nothing special; just a common “wo-man” with common thoughts, and I’ve led a common life…But in one respect I have succeeded as gloriously as anyone who’s ever lived: I’ve loved another with all my heart and soul; and to me, this has always been enough.”

I used to think that was Ian….my children, my parents…my friends
But, I know that in actuality, that means God


I love God.

And, He is, always has been, and always will be enough

As I head into 2016 with my family, for the first time in my life (that I can remember), I am NOT setting any New Year’s Resolutions.  I am not making any promises to myself or to anyone else.  I am not setting high and lofty goals

I am not

And, here is why…..

Rather than do all the above….I am choosing to do only one thing

To love God

Because what the past few years has taught me is that when I love God, make Him first in my life, make Him my priority, all else in my life happens according to His plans, His will, and for my greater good.

I say this as a woman who, oft times, has taken it upon her business-like, organized self to take control, to make lists, to make promises….to make…to make…to make….

And you know what I learned?

That all of my planning, making, taking, organizing, scheduling, etc. mattered not on whit if I didn’t have God in my center, as my first love, as my One and Only.

He is my one and only

He was my one and only before I even came to be
He was my one and only during my good times and my bad
He was my one and only when I was being Godly and when I was not
He was my one and only when I was lost into this world, and he was my one and only when He left all you other sheep and came to find me and bring me back into the fold

So, as I hit the midnight plus one second mark of 2016, I want to end the old year and start the new year by sharing that I have learned without Him….I am nothing, I have nothing, I know nothing, I can give nothing….

But, with Him……I am everything, I have everything, I know everything important (He loves me), and I can give all of myself to others

That is my prayerful hope and desire for 2016….

I grow in Him, for Him, and closer to Him

I pray to “be a blessing and be blessed”

Amen, Amen, and Amen!
Blessings,
Lesa