By the power of GRAYSKULL...I have NO POWER??

We lost power on the 5th of July….it was just restored last evening. During the time the power was out, it reached over 100 degrees so we stayed in a hotel a few days..just making the best of an uncomfortable situation. I went back to the house a few times during the outage, and it was eerie. The dead quietness was deafening. No TV’s, no radios, no computers, no dishwasher humming, no dryer tumbling, no iron steaming…nothing. The house didn’t even feel…well for lack of a better word…"alive".

You could quickly tell the difference between the houses in our area that had power and those that didn’t. Those that did, were happening….animated…active..those like ours…were dark and dead. There was a house or two running on minimal power with a generator, but not for long. They soon joined the ranks at a nearby hotel until the power was restored.

When that power came back to our house...you would have thought we could take over the world..if we had a mountain, we would have yelled just like HE-Man...By the power of Grayskull...I HAVE THE POWER!!!  Why, because when you are empowered..you can DO things. Flat Irons started heating, music started playing, washing machine started swishing.. And just like He-man (who had the authority after getting power to change his pet into a roaring Lion) you can also then empower OTHERS.

Three valuable things I learned:

1. You quickly can tell the difference between those that operate in power and those that don’t. People whose dreams, ambitions and purpose have been back-burnered, sidelined or trampled on, live without any light in their eyes. You’ve seen them. They have no hum of activity or growth, just doing the day in, day out. As the kids would say “get yo’ life”. Translate: Things are in disarray, out of order, out of balance and messy in your life. Fix it.

2. You can only run on a generator for so long. THIS is where most of us are. We are operating at minimal power from a temporary source. From us on the outside, our neighbors’ light in the window looked like a beacon of hope. But on the inside of their house, things were still out of whack. Most appliances were unplugged, they all slept in the living room with one fan and everything was shoved into a smaller frig to conserve energy. You can only run like this for so long. You can only fool everyone, and yourself for a short amount of time. Eventually you need let go of the temporary and seek the permanent.

3. The power was available all along…WE just weren’t connected to it. It was evident when the power company did the testing, fuses were blowing and sparks were flying. All of which was an indication that the source of power was where it was supposed to be…there was nothing wrong with it, there was something wrong with the connection. The power and favor of God is available to us that ascribe to living a godly life. He says that there is no good thing that he will withhold to those that walk uprightly. Get connected, not to the temporary, fleeting or flawed…get connected to HIM.

Like them that dream...

This week is an important, pivotal week for our family. Our church is culminating "dream season" on this Sunday with a special service and offering. The offering will be used to fulfill the necessities of the dreams of the church as a whole. More importantly each family/individual was asked to consider working on their own dreams. What is it that you are dreaming about doing, achieving, completing, starting, changing???

One of the things the Superfamily is "dreaming" about doing, is being the subject of our own reality TV show. So.....Sunday after church we sat at dinner and 'dreamed" aloud what it would be like. It was hilarious!! They were coming up with episodes such as "Tune in next week...Jayna Returns! (She's lives away for college, but was home this weekend for cedar point). They were thinking of the conversations that people who watched the show would have..."Like girl, did you see the Superfamily last night? It was so good, I think the Jerica's are about to snap!" They were imagining their fan clubs, their websites, their new my space pages, who would be the most popular, would they have to act like they were in a disagreement to keep the show interesting. They talked about being followed with cameras to work, to school, to church, to the mall and around the house. They dreamed up tours, interviews, wardrobes, everything you could think of. They laughed, they created, they dreamed.....

While they were talking about it, my husband and I sort of well...watched. Laughed and watched. They were so excited. You almost thought that whatever they said was a possibility. They were so vivid, detailed and complete in thought. They went from one "what if" scenario to another just to be sure all the bases were covered. We didn't walk away from the table new TV stars, but we had a hope that maybe one day, at the right time it could come to pass. Right now, its a dream, but after we talked about it, laughed about it, came up with ideas and angles, for it to become a manifested reality doesn't seem too far off.

I shared that to say that some of us have stopped dreaming. My husband and I didn't even "dream" about the things we wanted to accomplish, we just took pleasure in watching the kids excitement. They had no problem going over and above anything they had ever imagined. But my husband and I, and you too...have something that you have dreamed of doing, dreamed of having, dreamed of accomplishing but are afraid to talk about it or even think about it. The kids had no fear, nothing was too outlandish, far fetched or unbelievable. Learn from them, I know I did. Dream it up...write it out...laugh about it, hope about it, broadcast it, take small steps to see it come to pass. The sky is not the limit, the sky and beyond is the destination!

I have a picture of them from that "dream session"...I'll post it soon.

Juggling

I am always working on 3-4 things at a time. For example, I am reading two books, writing 3 books, publishing our family newsletter and working on material for this blog. I think that I have a new superfamily post ready, but in the meantime I would love for you to read an excerpt of a book that I am fiddlin' with. It is a life management type book and it covers prioritizing, refocusing and cutting off dependence and loyalty to things and people not crucial to your destiny. Let me know what you think. Be kind :-), its a rough draft........

“I am campaigning for myself for awhile…” This statement captured my attention and diverted my thought process for the days and weeks that followed.

It had begun as typical office fodder and spirited discussions among co-workers on our economy, the mortgage crises, gas prices and finally politics. It was not uncommon for one, if not all of us to be a part of the political process in some form or fashion. It could be petitions, attending meetings, researching candidates, reviewing news reports, or sending donations. All of us were advocates of not allowing things to just happen. We believed in being a part of the process to help bring about the outcome you desire. So, when Ilinda said that she “wasn’t really going to be involved in the presidential election”. The nature of this group wasn’t to just say “oh, ok". We prodded; we probed and questioned ourselves into an impromptu lecture on the importance of involvement and having your voice heard in the political process.

After we climbed off of our “social responsibility” soap box’, Ilinda softly explained that there were things she needed to do to work on her career that needed her attention. She reminded us that she has two young boys and a husband that needed her time. She stated that she was working on “her” life strategy now, not just helping to fulfill somebody else’s. She was not being selfish or standoffish. She even mentioned sending a donation to the candidate of her choice thus letting her money work as a voice for her. But her more valuable resources, her time, her energy, her thoughts and her presence had to be focused differently. She was her own campaign manager, strategist and PR consistently operating in the position of CEO of Ilinda, Inc”.

My sister and I were talking and sharing our woes about over committing ourselves and trying to fulfill the expectations of others while our to-do list got longer. We shared about how we found ourselves making poor choices so we wouldn’t let down “important” people that counted on us, but noticeably at the expense of the people that truly mattered. For example, I had spent a week before a trip to Cancun taking my daughter back and forth to auditions and call-backs for movie. She didn’t land the lead role, but she did get a great supporting role and taping was an all day marathon session scheduled for the day after I returned. I was responsible for her costume, hair, makeup, and transportation. I was so incredibly exhausted on the day of taping, I actually thought of what excuse I could come up with to not take her. I know…BAD MOMMY! I agree it was horrible, after the fact I couldn’t believe that I even thought it. Why? Because I know that if other issues came up that may have had nothing to do with family, for example my church, or my job, I would have dragged my tired self wherever it needed to be to help with the crisis for people who actually may not have noticed, appreciated or cared about the sacrifice. I made the right choice. I put the time into my daughter and I am so glad I didn’t miss the opportunity to see her shine. I was utterly wiped out, but her energy and appreciation rejuvenated me and yet made me ashamed.

Since when has the smile of a child taken a back seat to the half hearted kudos of a boss? When did it become ok to spend all afternoon in church, because it’s “church”, even though your wife needs you at home. Why does the phone call of a manager or leader evoke an immediate response when your husband’s call rings at an annoyance to you? Why do you know your company’s missions statement or your church’s vision, or your neighborhood block club goals and yet you have no idea what the mission, vision or goals are for your own life? Where is the same diligence that you spend grandstanding and campaigning for the dreams of other people when it comes time to move forward in what you should be doing for yourself and your family? Let’s face it, for some of us if our lives were a business we would be bankrupt. Or even a more chilling thought, if you were running for the office of “You”, you would lose.