Personal stories

I dare you to notice God at work

Posted on February 1, 2012May 14, 2015 by Carol Hulbert

Now that we are turning the calendar page to February, how are your New Year’s resolutions coming? I personally have already given up on daily exercise. (Such lofty thoughts!) There is one area however, where I am going full speed ahead: Noticing and counting God’s gifts.

I’m pursuing the “Joy Dare”

A real dare! It goes like this: in 2012 can I make a conscious effort to write down one thousand gifts? (That means roughly three a day!) These gifts are more than just things, they are graces from God.

Can I mark that many ways that God shows me love?

I’ve been writing down gifts for the last three years. But my annotations were intermittent. (It took me two years to get to 500.) Climbing to one thousand more in 2012 takes an effort! But this dare is aptly named: A Joy Dare, because I’m finding real joy even on days filled with chaos and confusion; I look for beauty in the ugly mess. It’s become for me a habit: repeatedly giving God praise – for everything.

Then it occurred to me that this tallying of thankfuls is a way to notice God in our lives! Exactly what we are trying to teach kids in our current Rotation on Moses.

It’s not too late to start this dare. Perhaps it could be reworded?

I dare you to notice God at work in your life.

Click on this button to find out more about the dare.

Some of my list (from its beginnings back in November 2008 but with up-to-date photos)…

a family gathering

6. A healthy family

11. Authentic refried beans

35. Blue sky days

a blue sky fall day

702. Texting blessings

279. Family discussion with tears

833. Smiles noted when someone unexpectedly lends a helping hand

1010. Foot pain

1013. A cheerleading friend.

Want to start this dare in your family but worried about where to find God’s graces? Might I point you to help? Click here for a wonderful list – a way to capture God’s gifts – three a day all through February!

Photo credits:
Photos are from my archives.
Button from onethousandgifts.com

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Is blessing your child awkward? Practice blessing yourself!

Posted on January 1, 2012December 31, 2016 by Carol Hulbert

Perhaps you never heard words like this when you were growing up…

You are very special in God’s eyes. God loves you very much!

Could that be why saying blessings to your child(ren) feels awkward?

Would it help if you first received a blessing for yourself? I’ve written one just for you! It’s a little gift to get you started on blessing your kids.

Sunset through the trees

(Are you ready? Just insert your name in the blanks as you read this to yourself.)

A blessing for caregivers…

_______, may you see every day as a new gift.

A new chance to be guided by God through all the moments,
both the taxing and the tranquil.

God is constantly whispering to you.
Do you hear?

“Hello _______. Today, let me use you to touch the lives of little ones around you.
(And the not so little ones too.)

You are perfect for the job I have for you.
Did you see the way I painted the sky with shades of pink, purple and orange?

You too are one of my limited editions!
I love you just the way you are.”

~~ Love, Carol

Photo credits:
Sunset photo is from my archives.
Stained glass was adapted from a photo offered in the Public Domain (CC0 1.0) at Pixabay..

363 days until next Christmas!

Posted on December 27, 2011 by Carol Hulbert

Christmas is over for another year; it’s the perfect time to plan for next year!

Really. I’m not kidding.

While everyone is still thinking about Christmas, is an ideal time to pitch a different way of doing gift-giving next year.

Reduce the number of gifts under the tree and change the way we celebrate.

I’ll let this short video from an organization with a radical name – The Advent Conspiracy – explain it…

Can’t see the video? View it here.

It’s about moving away from the shopping, and lines, and lists that go along with Christmas gift-giving, and replacing presents with presence. (It’s what kids really want/need.) You’ll be less frazzled, frustrated, and flat-broke. You’ll have more time to celebrate God with us. And the best part: reduced spending on gifts allows us to give more – to those with real needs.

This Christmas the adults in our family got a small gift and a note about a donation made in their name. I actually enjoyed the “shopping” this year – choosing charities! It made my happiness run wild when I received an email from the Executive Director of Community Action Network (CAN), our gift to my brother and sister-in-law, excerpted below:

I cannot tell you how panicked I was last week Tuesday, December 13, when I discovered 40+ CAN families had not been sponsored for Christmas. I could only imagine how devastated parents would be when we told them we had no presents…But after we put out our plea for help, the response was overwhelming…
Here at Community Action Network, we experienced our own Christmas miracle: you. You made Christmas (for the) families come true this year. You saved Christmas.

The way we celebrate Jesus’ birth can change the world.

Photo credits: Click here for info on banner photo (not visible in readers or email).
Advent Conspiracy poster and video from here.

Joy to the World?

Posted on December 16, 2011December 7, 2015 by Carol Hulbert

I think it’s appropriate that the theme of the third Sunday of Advent is “Joy.”
Right about now, in the crazy, busy preparations of the season, I need to slow down and remember: Joy.

But joy can be strangely difficult to find.

What joy is there in agonizing over the best gift to select for each person. (Will she like it? Will it be good enough? This is so tiring and I haven’t even headed to the mall.) Where is joy in not having time to bake the prettiest, yummiest cookies. (Will my kids/friends hate me for not producing?) And the Christmas tree? Still.not.up.yet.

Christmas is about joy? Have I have fallen victim to the Christmas blahs?

I’ve allowed a heart-takeover; an unrealistic view of what Christmas should look like. I have forgotten the true “joy” of Christmas.

It is a struggle in today’s world, to keep Advent focused on religious tradition. I need to turn from these nagging, guilty feelings and remember the real reason for joy:

Love came among us.

God must have been so excited on the first Christmas! Finally, the time was here, the time that had been planned for, since the beginning! Finally he would come amidst his people and be the one to teach them all about radical love.

I need that reminder: joy.

Joy banner ”

Joy to the world, the Lord is come!
Let earth receive her King;
Let every heart prepare Him room…

Our family together, will be a worthy substitute for plates full of cookies.
The gifts will be mostly radical.
And the tree will be put up, eventually. Maybe.

What are you doing to focus on real joy?

Joy!

— Carol

Photo credits:
Photos are from my archives.

How does God get our attention?

Posted on January 3, 2010January 5, 2020 by Carol Hulbert

I have started a reading plan from The Everyday Bible. Each day there are a few short passages to read and a statement for further thought. Today’s passages involve angels and Jesus’ birth. The statement is: “If an angel had told me of Jesus’ birth _____…” with the assumption being that I’ll fill in the blank.

I know how I’d answer that! I just plain wouldn’t believe it! Joseph being told by an angel while he slept? (I’d just think that I’d had a weird dream.) The Shepherds? (I would be looking for the wires and other accoutrements of a stunt.) It seems like today’s high tech world would be trouble for God.

How would God get our attention?
How does God tell us that he is now among us?

Thankfully God is always reaching out to us; always trying to get our attention!

One way is through nature. Take a walk and look around you. (Yes, even if it’s cold or rainy!) Look at the intricate details around you. Dried seed heads waving in the wind? Or perhaps some wild flowers. Red berries on a bush? A cultivated corn crop.