Woman of Worth - WOW

I just got back from the latest women's weekend of the local Tres Dias community here in Tampa. The theme for the weekend was Women of Worth. All I can say is WOW.

There were 30 women that attended and nearly 100 of us that served them on the weekend.

Imagine those service ratios in a hotel or on a cruise or in a restaurant. That service model can only thrive in God's economy.

Those 30 women left the 3 1/2 day encounter totally transformed. The bold became meek and the mild ones left courageous. It is impossible to be in the presence of Jesus and not be changed by his amazing grace.

While this may have been just a favorite hymn before the weekend, these women left truly understanding the unmerited favor - unearned gift that they have received and their worth does not come from WHO they are but WHOSE they are.

They were set free in ways that would be hard to imagine if you do not know his unending love and amazing grace on a personal basis.

I have plans for you!

Did you ever have someone approach you with that line?

Perhaps it was a spouse asking you to pack a bag for a surprise weekend trip, or an employer who asks you to have lunch and when you look worried, they say "I have plans for you!", you know that you are not facing a pink slip.

Jeremiah 29:11 says

For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.

If there is anything better than knowing that someone has plans for you, it is knowing that those plans are for prosperity, hope and a future!

Especially in these troubled times when it would appear that there is anything but hope ahead, it is just wonderful to know that there is One that not only has a plan for you, but that loves you more than you can ever know.

Hold fast to His promise. Ask Him to guide your every step. He is waiting.

The Trapeze

Last week our pastor talked about how trusting God's leading is a bit like jumping from one trapeze to another. The picture at the left is not as clear as I would like, but then neither is the path that God has for us.

The picture is from an "outward bound" type of management training session. I went to one of these workshops nearly 20 years ago when I was with American Airlines Sabre division. It was put on by a firm called SportsMind™. The picture is from an exercise called the trapeze.

The first thing that happens is that you climb a telephone pole that has "steps" nailed to it. On the top of the pole is a little wooden disk, about 12" in diameter or about the size of a small pizza pan. When you get to the top of the pole, you have to climb up on the disk and stand up, turn around and then jump out about 6 1/2 ft to grab a trapeze.

OK, I'm afraid of heights. Actually it is more than that, it is actually a fear of falling off of high things or worse, being pushed.

Sometimes this is what life feels like - scaling something impossible, only to have to balance on something equally impossible and having to jump from there to something even more impossible.

What if I lose my balance? What if I fall?

What I didn't tell you is that at SportsMind, they start by attaching you to ropes that allow your colleagues to hold on to you as you are climbing, and if you fall, they are able to steady the ropes and the carabiners and beley lines keep you from falling as they control your descent.

This is exactly like faith. God never allows us to take those chances without having a solid grasp on the beley lines of our life. He won't let us fall.

Back to my jump. I was scared. Even though the beley lines were there and I knew my colleagues had a good handle on the ropes. But did I trust them?? We hadn't exactly been working as a team leading up to the executive retreat, which was largely the reason we were all there.

I climbed the pole with relative ease, but getting up on the disk was harder than I ever imagined. And turning around to face the trapeze was even harder. When I finally got steady and I jumped, it was amazing. Someone got a picture of me totally in flight. I reached and I caught the trapeze.

What a rush!

I let go and my teammates guided me slowly and safely to the ground.

I wanted to do it again!

If you are just reading this post not having read the one below it, now listen to the song by Twila Paris. "Do I trust you Lord" is the refrain of the song.

Do I trust you Lord? You bet.

Chicke Fitzgerald

The Warrior is a Child

This weekend as I looked at all of the things that I am facing in my life, at least in the natural realm, I was feeling particularly weak and discouraged and quite frankly, tired.

I am frequently inspired by songs, which is why the best thing I could possibly do each morning is go out for a walk with these songs loaded on my iPod.

The song that kept coming to my mind yesterday was one by Twila Paris called "Warrior is a Child". (click on the link to hear the song on You Tube)

In that song, she says that although people look at her and see how strong she is (which is an observation that many of my colleagues make of me), at her core, she is the the child that "goes running home when she falls down" and that her Almighty is the one that "picks her up when no one is around".

Lately I've been winning battles left and right
But even winners can get wounded in the fight
People say that I'm amazing
Strong beyond my years
But they don't see inside of me
I'm hiding all the tears

They don't know that I go running home when I fall down
They don't know who picks me up when no one is around
I drop my sword and cry for just a while
'Cause deep inside this armor
The warrior is a child

Unafraid because His armor is the best
But even soldiers need a quiet place to rest
People say that I'm amazing
Never face retreat
But they don't see the enemies
That lay me at His feet

They don't know that I go running home when I fall down
They don't know who picks me up when no one is around
I drop my sword and and cry for just a while
'Cause deep inside this armor
the warrior is a child

They don't know that I go running home when I fall down
They don't know who picks me up when no one is around
I drop my sword and look up for a smile
'Cause deep inside this armor
Deep inside this armor
Deep inside this armor

The Warrior is a Child

My strength comes not from who I am, but from whose I am.

I know that no matter what battles I face, his armour is the best.

Deep inside this armour, this warrior is a child. His child.

Chicke Fitzgerald

Living in the Cone of Uncertainty

On a call that I have with a group of executive women in my industry each week, this week a number of us who live in Florida were talking about being residents of hurricane alley. We regularly monitor what is called the "cone of uncertainty" as weather scientists and pundits alike attempt to predict where a hurricane will make landfall.

Ike is the latest of the named storms that Floridians are monitoring. When they first started talking about Ike, Tampa where I live, was smack dab in the center of the cone of uncertainty. This morning, the forecast for Tampa is now clear as a bell.

One of my friends on the call mentioned that life was often like living in the cone of uncertainty. That created a mental picture that over the weekend I haven't been able to shake. I joked about writing a book with that title, but my faith blog is a much better place for this tome.

Uncertainty comes from having external events (or other people) that influence control over your situation. It can come from within as well, when you haven't yet made a decision.

In the hurricane vernacular, the external events are high pressure and low pressure systems, water temperature, winds and the like. And even your own decision to get everything valuable out of the first floor of your home, board up or evacuate.

In life, we have the economy that is swirling around us, often feeling like it is bearing Category 4 winds and metaphorically fearing 10-20 foot storm surge that could result from being laid off, not getting that next consulting contract or not getting funding for a business. For some it is not being able to pay a mortgage, or make payroll or just not having money to make ends meet and having to severely trim or cut your lifestyle.

We also have other people's actions and decisions that impact most everything that we do. This starts as high as with the government and the impact that the coming presidential election will have on our lives and goes down as finitely as the decisions and actions of those that we live and work with, or those that we are responsible for.

For those few days where a hurricane is actually bearing down on a particular area, the responsible thing to do, particularly as it is looking highly likely (e.g. the center of the cone), is to prepare "Plan B". Or you could sit and cower in fear I suppose, doing nothing more than watching it come closer and closer and it getting darker and windier outside.

In those same storms of life, we have the same choice. We can let worry overtake us and give voice to the fact that "I'll never have the money to pay my taxes in April, or I know our current savings will run out in October", or we can make sure that we realize that we aren't in control of the winds and that, while it is prudent to have a Plan B, the best things is to take your worries to the feet of the one that created the winds.

Here are the lyrics from one of my favorite worship songs by Chris Tomlin, called "You do all things well". Listen to it by clicking on the link.

Mountain Maker
Ocean Tamer
Glimpses of You
Burn in my eyes
The worship of heaven
Fills up the skies

You made it all
Said, "let there be"
And there was
All that we see

The sound of Your voice
The works of Your hands
You do all things well
You do all things well
You do all things well

Star creator
Wind breather
The strokes of Your beauty
Brushed through the clouds
Light from the heavens
Touching the ground

Imagination runs wild
And breathes the breath of life
Across the fields
Across the miles

My favorite line of that song is the one about the power of words. "He said let there be, and it was". If indeed we are created in His image, our words have power as well. I want to harness his creative word in my life and for his "imagination" to run wild on my situation, breathing the breath of life into our companies and into our finances!

I take refuge today not in a storm shelter, but in the shadow of the wings of the Almighty God.

If you find yourself living in a cone of uncertainty, take heart. Psalm 57 was written by King David when he fled from Saul into a cave, being fairly certain that he was going to be destroyed.

Psalm 57, verse 1
Be merciful to me, O God, be merciful to me!
For my soul trusts in You;
And in the shadow of Your wings I will make my refuge,
Until these calamities have passed by.

Whatever calamities, percieved or real are facing you, and whatever the velocity of the winds are that are whipping at you, as you work to create your own "Plan B", try also calling on him as your refuge.

Although some days I get caught up in fear as to the effects of my own personal cone of uncertainty, today I woke up knowing that the shadow I see is not the great storm approaching, but the soft underside of the wings of the Almighty.

And I breathe the same sigh of relief as seeing the cone for Ike now far west of Tampa, while at the same time praying for those in His path that they will call on the same power to keep them safe.

Chicke Fitzgerald

Achieving New Heights

I have been very fortunate to have an executive coach and friend, John, that is pushing me to achieve new heights. He speaks from personal experience (http://www.achievingnewheights.com/), having tackled the height of all heights, Everest.

In the picture above, there is a mountain ahead. There is fog at the bottom and there is water on either side of the path. Anyone who has climbed a mountain, like John, will tell you that doing so requires not only preparation, but vigilance and keeping your eyes wide open. On the path above, if you don't remain focused on the goal, the prize, you may stray off the path and find yourself in dangerous waters. Metaphorically of course.

In the quest for the mountain, we can get tired. We get discouraged. Each time we focus on ourselves, we find new reasons not to put one foot in front of another. We look around and feel alone.

If we were in fact alone, it would not only seem hopeless, it would be hopeless.

I haven't asked John specifically about what it took to make him successful in his Everest climb, but I do know from reading his website that the support of others was critical.

Over and over in the Old Testament and New alike, you will find the phrase "Fear not, for I am with you". If we change that to today's vernacular, it would say "Don't stress out, for I am right by your side".

This past year has been an extremely difficult one for me personally, for my family and for my companies. I do know that I am not alone. Not only am I surrounded by friends, family and my friend and coach, I have the God of heaven and earth at my side. He is prepared to hold my hand and guide me, when I can no longer keep my eyes open and when I'm so tired or fatigued that I can't take another step. When the fog is so thick that I can't see the way, He gives me uncanny guidance and the most amazing people come into my path.

One thing is for sure. I will reach the mountain top. No one ever promised it would be easy, but God promised that I wouldn't be alone.

Whew! That gives me courage to face another day. How about you?

Chicke Fitzgerald
Tampa, FL

Hurricanes of Life

This week we went through preparation for what we anticipated to be Hurricane Fay. For those that have watched the news and weather this week, you will know that she never materialized, at least not here in Tampa as a Hurricane.

I was sharing with some visitors to Florida this week who were fearful about the potential hurricane, that palm trees bend with the wind, instead of being broken like some other types of trees, which then become a wind hazard.

Frequently we spend time preparing for the hurricanes of life, looking at what might be, what could be, instead of what is. We worry about what might get broken, instead of standing firm, like a palm tree does in the wind.

Psalm 16:8 (New International Version) says:

8 I have set the LORD always before me.
Because he is at my right hand,
I will not be shaken.

Through the hurricanes of my life, I choose to bend, not break and to not be shaken, because my God is at my right hand.

Chicke

Surprise!

You've been there. Someone tells you that they have a surprise and asks you to close your eyes. Or they put their hands over your eyes, get you to move within view of what they have for you to see and then they take their hands off of your eyes and show it to you. That moment holds great delight for both of you. Quite often there was a lot of planning behind getting things in place, or even keeping it a secret.

Some of you like surprises, others can't stand not knowing and rather than the smile you see here on the man's face, it actually makes you terribly uncomfortable, particularly when someone else is guiding you along when your eyes are closed.

Faith should be a delight, just like what you see on these two faces.

Today I feel like God is the one with the surprise. He has something that he is maneuvering me over to see. I can feel his hands over my eyes and can sense his gentle nudging in the direction that he has for me.

It is easy to revert to feeling uncomfortable, even manipulated or kept in the dark, but I know Him so well that I know that what He has for me is not only good, but that I will truly delight in the unveiling of what he has prepared for me.

waiting, with a smile on my face and his hands over my eyes.....

Chicke Fitzgerald

Fireproof - the Movie

A friend sent me the link to this trailer today. Very powerful stuff. There are a couple of things here. One, putting yourself in a place where for a period of 40 days, you take one step at a time toward something you see as impossible. Then, asking for God's help to get you the rest of the way.

My marriage doesn't need help, but I can see that this same principle will move mountains in other areas of my life. Do you have anything in your life that seems impossible right now?

Check out the trailer. And mark Fireproof on your calendar. It will be out September 26th.

Chicke Fitzgerald

Clear Direction

Do you sometimes feel like you are facing a sign post with multiple directions? I do.

I am a serial entrepreneur that often is faced with multiple opportunities at the same time. And often, they are all exciting and get me jazzed.

But alas, as with a fork in the road with signs, you can't keep moving and chase multiple directions. I'm quite sure that there is a scripture reference that addresses that. Probably in Proverbs.... but this morning, I'm working on getting focused. Really focused on the plan that God has for me today.

Psalm 139 says that every day of my life is ordered. That means that if I listen closely, God's spirit will nudge me toward the right direction -- to avoid pain, to be as successful as I can possibly be, to be available for the next fork in the road, to be available for someone that needs me down this particular path.

I'm ready. I want to be on the right path. Nudge me Lord! I'm yours.

Chicke Fitzgerald

Life is a Highway - Get to know the Master Engineer

In 1991 Tom Cochrane wrote the song "Life is a Highway", later popularized by its use in a car commercial. To the dismay of the advertising firm that linked the song with the car, I didn't remember which car it was until I looked it up on Wikipedia - Volvo...

Life is indeed like a highway. Lots of different terrain, different vistas, different vehicles, many destinations, different traveling companions.

For the past 20 months, I've been building a company that has developed software for road trip planning. It is hard to plan for all of the things you can come across on the road and the things that you want to find, but we've gotten a good start on it.

For the last 50 years, God has been laying out the plan for my life, sort of a microcosm of what he does on the grander scale as the Master Engineer of the "highway" of our lives.

It has been nothing short of amazing that as things seem the bleakest or I suffer disappointment at a particular turn of events, that right around the next corner is something so amazing that I couldn't have even imagined it for myself, let alone asked (or in the spiritual vernacular, prayed ) for it.

A dear friend reminded me yesterday of the scripture Romans 8:28 "All things work together for good to those that love God and are called according to his purpose". From a practical perspective, what that means is that I really don't have to worry and get all "spun up" about things that don't seem to be working out or fitting together. That is His job (not the worrying and "spun up" part..... the fitting together).

Every time I see construction of bridges or freeways, I always wonder how the engineers can be assured that they are going to get it right and that everything will in fact connect and match up perfectly. But, invariably they do and it does.

I have a neighbor here in Tampa that works for the engineering company doing the new freeway construction near the airport and knowing the precision that he demands in his own life, and understanding his educational background and experience, it is easy to see how the new freeways emerging near Tampa airport are going to come together. His reputation and his firm's reputation depend on it.

Relationship with a builder can make all the difference in the belief that out of dirt and piles of struts, trucks filled with concrete, cranes and workers that by the end of the day are tired and dirty, can come a state of the art new transportation system for a growing area.

In my life, I am totally confident that the master engineer of all engineers will get it right and that ALL the dots will connect and match up perfectly in the end. Even though I can't see evidence today that it will all come together, looking back on my life, I know that it always does.

That my friends is faith. Believing in the thing that you don't see, can't see or that just seems totally implausible or even impossible.

I believe in miracles and wait eagerly for the next turn on the "highway" of life.

Chicke Fitzgerald

The Way Down is the Way Up

You've been there. We all have. You are in the department store and invariably the place where you expect the up escalator is actually the down escalator.

As it turns out, life is like that as well.

Since my daughter was a little girl, she called the escalator the "whee". In truth, my analytical self found it odd that one could come up with the exclamation "wheeeeee!" out of something that moves so slowly and predictably. But nevertheless, she loved going on escalators.

A few months ago, we were in Macy's and she and her brother asked if they could go down and have me meet them when they came back up. Well, at aged 10 and 8, I figured I could trust them that. After all, I just had to walk from one side of the store to the other and be there as they came around. As providence would have it, the up escalator was broken and actually barricaded. Fortunately, my daughter is resourceful and took her brother to the elevator. Meanwhile, at that juncture I figured out that there was only one way up, and so I went to meet them at the elevator.

In life there is only one way up, out of the mire of a lack of hope, of our failures and even our inability to cope with our failures. But sometimes, we have to go down, and around and up the elevator to get to where we are going. If we focus on barricades and the hopelessness of that, we won't see that there is another way.

Popular authors, even those endorsed by Oprah, would have you believe that you are the way up and that by harnessing the Universe or the power of positive thinking that you alone are in control of your destiny. Or worse, you may just believe that it is a cruel world and that in the end if events drive you down, it is down that you have to remain.

I don't know about you, but the thought of my world resting on my abilities is a bit daunting.
Oh I'm talented and even more positive than some, but the fact of the matter is that my natural being is fatally flawed. God's word says that all of us fall short.

But there is hope. Hope has a name. His name is Jesus.

For those of us with children, the thought of putting our children in harms way, to pay for the mistakes of someone else is abhorrent. Even if it were the only way to release someone from pain, or sickness or even death, we couldn't do it. We don't understand the kind of love that God has for us that he would in fact do just that. Put his only child, his only son, in a position to pay for what we rightfully should die for.

Hmmmm you say. Well, I'm really not all that bad. I certainly haven't done anything that someone else had to die for. I didn't ask God to do that for me.

You see, God knows something that we don't know. Actually he knows LOTS of things that we don't know. He knows first hand that in order to go UP - to succeed, to win, to lead, you must first go DOWN - to be humble, to serve, to lay down your will and your right to choose.

Matthew 5 paints this picture very clearly - in the Beatitudes beginning with 5:3

3 "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
4 Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.
5 Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.
6 Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.
7 Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.
8 Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.
9 Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God.
10 Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
11 "Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. 12Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

When we are weak, he can be strong in us. And regardless of whether you believe that Jesus had to die for you, it is a historical fact that He did. And while that may seem illogical and senseless, it was absolutely by design.

For those from a traditional religious background, you may remember reciting the Nicene or Apostle's Creed, that says that he was crucified (a horrible death beyond description), dead and buried and that he rose again. There were hundreds of people that witnessed the risen Jesus. It isn't fable.

But he did have to go down in the ultimate act of service, to go up and take his rightful place as the King of Kings.

And he did it, just for you and me. He loves us SO much. It really is incomprehensible. Fantastic really.

I am now a child of God, a princess in fact -- able to come before His throne as an heir to all that He has and all that He is.

And not just able to -- He wants me to and delights in being with me.

I can just say one thing. Wheeeeeeeeee!!!!

The Shack - An Encounter with God

When this book was first recommended to me, it was just done in passing, so I didn't buy it. But again last week, the same person mentioned it to me again and I knew [in the way that that you know beyond the shadow of a doubt in your heart of hearts] that I needed to buy it and read it. In fact, I also knew that this would be one that I would likely be passing on, so I bought 3 copies.

Like many of the books that have been put in my path over the last year of my journey, this one has a set of circumstances that couldn't be further from my life, Nevertheless I know that there is a reason that I needed to reach each one, to take me one step further on my journey.

In fact, the first few chapters were very difficult and even painful to read, as the main character, a man who was the son of a very "religious" man, who was also an abusive alcoholic, took his kids camping and one of them was abducted and brutally murdered. Her body was never recovered, but the dress that she was in was found, bloodied in a delapidated cabin that is called "The Shack" in the book. His wife, who wasn't along for the camping trip, was very close to God and in fact called him "Papa".

After a few years of emotional torment and struggle just to make it from one day to the next, one snowy day, he gets a note, out of the blue in his mailbox, inviting him to visit the Shack that weekend and it was signed Papa.

What ensues in the balance of this book of fiction is an amazing story of his personal encounter with the maker of heaven and earth and the owner of the cattle on ten thousand hills.

While I don't want to give away any of the book's story line, he is introduced to all the different dimensions of "papa" and learns about His amazing nature. By the end of the book, I was so captivated, that I found myself wondering if it was, in fact, fiction or if the write was using third person about his "friend" to actually tell this fantastic story of his own encounter with "mountain maker", "ocean tamer" (see last week's blog on that one!).

I cannot remember another book that I've read that has touched me as deeply as this one. Ever. I am a voracious reader and I've had other books I liked a great deal, but none that I could say changed me from within (which is where all of our change really needs to start!).

This story crystalized the need for forgiveness as a path to true emotional freedom and it paints the clearest picture that I've ever seen that God is ALL about love and actually desires to free us from the bonds of our misconceptions about Him. So much of what we know or surmise about Him is so incredibly distorted as a result of "religion" and so much of what we see in circumstance is not "reality".

For a literary treat, grab ahold of this one for a good read. But watch out, as this book may touch you deeply too. Allow a lot of time too, as this one is one that I could not put down!

To order

The Power of our Voice

One of my favorite songs is by Chris Tomlin and it is called "You do all things well". Here are the lyrics of the first verse and the chorus.

Mountain maker, ocean tamer

Glimpses of you burn in my eyes

Worship of heaven fills up the skies

You made it all
Said let there be
and there was
all that we see
The sound of your voice
The works of you hands
You do all things well
You do all things well
You do all things well

An an analytical type, it is always my tendency to break things down into "proof points". So if I begin with some fundamentals that I believe, I have to be able to apply those truths to statements in the Bible and inspiration from a writer of a contemporary Christian song.

If God is in fact my maker, which I have no doubt that He is (Psalm 139), and if in fact He created me in His image, which the book of Genesis is clear on, then if in fact He can say "let there be, and there was all that we see", another fact that Genesis is clear on, then I believe that in His image I also have the power of creation and of course, the converse, destruction.

There is a silly phrase that we say when someone says something that we really wish was true. It is "From your mouth to God's ears". Actually this is where the power emanates from. It is not that I have His power, but I have been given the right to call upon His power as His child.

As a parent, it is easy to understand this, as if Kiera or Sergey ask for something, as long as it is not something that will hurt them (and yes, too much Easter candy would fit in that category), I will do all possible to give them what they want. Matthew 7:9 says:

"Which of you, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone?

So, by speaking, my Father, which owns the cattle on 10,000 hills hears. He speaks and it is done. It may not happen overnight, but a series of things are set in motion by his voice. Like a small stone thrown into a pond, the ripples of the request are felt sometimes worldwide and certainly the impact of what He declares can certainly have global impact.

Relationship is a gift. I treasure my friends and I treasure more the ability to ask my Father for bread.

Oh and Lord, if we can get LeisureLogix funded with smart, strategic money, that would be great!!

Chicke Fitzgerald

Peace and Clarity of Direction

Ah, just the words evoke a sigh. I found this picture for the blog, as it spoke to me on this specific topic.

This woman knows where she is going. It looks like she didn't exactly plan on the wet path, but she was resourceful in realizing that she could take off her shoes and get where she is going.

Her field of vision is constrained by the greenery on either side of the path and the sky is not clear, which means that there could be another downpour just around the bend.

I don't know whether it is her stance, her clothes, the hat or just the fact that she was resourceful enough to roll up her jeans and take off her shoes.... But to me, she doesn't looked panicked.

Somewhere, perhaps when we were young, we were led to believe that peace is somehow linked to everything being calm around us, sunshine, dry paths, clear fields of vision.

But I have learned through some tumultuous times over the past year, that peace is a choice.

Huh??? A choice? Yes.

We can choose to be fearful when we can't see around the bend, or can't see what could be coming at us due to our field of vision being blocked. We can choose to feel victimized when others make choices that thwart our purposes. We can get mad that it has rained and our new shoes will be ruined or our pants will get wet. And we can just plain react when things don't go our way.

But we have a choice. In 2 Timothy 1:7, God's word says that "God did not give us spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline." The New King James version uses the term "and a sound mind" instead of discipline.

When a tradesman sets out to work on a house, he first assembles his tools. He puts on his toolbelt, selects the right tools for the job and assuming that he has the training that has made him competent for the job, he goes to work and successfully completes his tasks.

If armed only with timidity, it is tough to greet a difficult situation with anything but fear.

But if my toolbelt includes power, love and a sound mind (which results in discipline), then there is nothing that I can't tackle.

These aren't just spiritual gifts, but practical ones! The Message translation of the Bible has applied this translation:

God doesn't want us to be shy with his gifts, but bold and loving and sensible.

Oh, I love the picture that creates. These aren't just tools, they are gifts. With them, he wants us to be bold, loving and sensible!

So no matter what your storm, no matter how narrow your field of vision, whether the sun is shining or there is a storm on the horizon, ask him to guide your steps, roll up your pants, take your shoes off and tred on!

He laid down a path for your life before you were even conceived. Psalm 139 is His love story of your life and in particular verses 15 and 16 speak to His plan for your life.

Choose to walk in the path that He has for you and you will find peace. In that peace is clarity of vision. Amazing........


Chicke Fitzgerald

DEEP WATERS and DARK, DULL THREADS

God brings men into deep waters, not to drown them, but to cleanse them.

Aughey

I just finished reading a book called the Grand Weaver, by Ravi Zacharias, that tells the story of how our lives are like tapestries or fine fabrics (in the book he opens with a story about the weaving of wedding saris in the north of India).

Sometimes God uses the dark and dull – black, grey and brown – threads as a part of an overall picture, to provide contrast and the right backdrop for the brilliant threads that make up the design that He has for our lives. At times, we can only see the knots and the chaos on the back of the tapestry and lament at our lack of control over the weaving process. He sees the brilliantly colored threads that are just waiting, out of our field of vision, to be woven into our tapestry.

I firmly believe the story told in Psalm 139 which says that there is a grand plan for our lives, where each segment includes a beginning, various steps along the way (dark, dull as well as brilliant) and an end. Each segment is also a huge learning process and sometimes failure or loss in a particular segment of our lives is the grand teacher, allowing us time to reflect and learn from each step along the way, both good and bad.

As we try to understand a God that can see the beginning, the middle and the end, including all of our choices and the choices of others along the way that impact us, truly caring about the outcome, I'd like to share an analogy someone recently shared with me of watching a marathon.

In the marathon analogy, your perspective is different as a runner and as a spectator. An experienced runner trains, generally gains an earlier start near the front and if they don't run across any external obstacles, they expect an outcome that puts them at or near the head of the pack at the finish line. In fact, really successful runners will tell you that they start off by envisioning themselves being the first to cross the finish line. If we are a spectator, we are either at the starting line, watching the enthusiasm of the experienced and novice runners alike as they begin the race, or we are somewhere along the way, seeing people get discouraged, trip over something, fall or quit from exhaustion or heat and if we are positioned at the end of the race, we see the victors, hose that are angry because they didn't win and those that persevere to the finish line and those that celebrate finishing last, just because they were able to get to the finish line.

God's perspective is that of the person in the helicopter that can see the beginning, the middle and the end of the race and that can zoom in on any circumstance along the way and who has long enough arms to reach down and comfort those who fall and cheer on those that perservere.

When we feel out of control of the weaving of our lives or the running of the race, it is easy to get angry, bitter, frustrated, to lay blame and to live in regret of choices made and what might have been. "If only", "Why didn't I", "Why did he/she" are all refrains of the same sad tune that leads to a very dark place if we follow that line of thinking and don't see God's larger perspective on our lives.

I also read another book this past week by John Maxwell, called the "Difference Maker" that talked about the role that attitude plays in our lives. The one thing that really stood out about the book for me was John's analogy about the elevator of our life and our attitude and that we are in control of that.

Living a life of regret and blame for the past, and worse, talking to everyone who will listen about the injustices that we perceive that we have suffered at the hands of others is like getting into an elevator and choosing to press the down button.

My parents were eternal optimists and always believed the best about people. They choose in their conversations to always press the "up" button in the elevator, leaving their friends, colleagues and even acquaintances in awe as to the peace that they could have amidst the chaos that often surrounded them as pastors of a church. In their lives, unconditional love was the driver of all that they did. I was fortunate to grow up with that as a key "ideal" and a model for my own behavior. I wish I could say that I was always victorious against fighting the "down button" battle, but I do know the long term benefits of choosing "up" versus "down".

When Michael and I got married, his uncle George, who married us, said in our ceremony that love is a choice that you make every day, it is not a feeling. He reminded us that some days we wouldn't like each other very much, but that didn't change the choice to love.

I have realized this week that I won't always like the situations that I find myself in. But like love, personal peace is a choice, not a feeling. It is getting in on the 3rd floor of a 20 story building and deciding to rise to the penthouse, rather than sink to the basement, taking all those around you with you on that same journey.

Over the course of the past number of months that I have been facing extreme challenges in my business life. Fortunately, God has been doing some deep surgery on my soul and is helping me understand the purpose of the deep, dark water, to use Aughey's analogy, to spur growth and stability and even to cleanse out some bad behaviors that have been holding me back in my personal and professional growth.

I have seen a miracle occur in my husband and in our marriage as a result of being able to jointly have a level of peace and clarity of direction amidst the chaos. Some of the events of the past few months have brought me literally home, working out of the house, so I now spend more time with my children and my husband, traveling less. So where I saw a detour in my path, God meant it for good.

Romans 8:28 says "And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose."

The clarity of direction that comes when you choose to trust the Grand Weaver to guide your steps provides the peace that truly passes all understanding, even when there is no illumination to show the full path ahead.

And finally, Philippians 4:8 says "whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable -- if anyting is excellent or praiseworthy -- think about such things.

My paraphrase: Choose the up button in your thoughts and in your conversations and in your dreams, and you will be choosing peace in your soul.

Be encouraged, be cleansed, be reconciled with the deep waters and the dark threads that have been plaguing you or those around you.

Chicke Fitzgerald

I

The Source of Significance

Significance. A very important word in the English language, but not one that we spend a lot of time pondering.

I love this image of a person searching for significance. Keep this in your mind as you read this post.

Wikipedia defines significance as it relates to people as:

• People who are the world's best at something significant.
  
• People who have helped us understand or think about who we are.
  
• People who have made a significant, lasting difference or impact - meaning that the world is a different place because of them.
  
• People who have captured the public imagination over a significant period of time.
  
• People who have created, invented, inspired or contributed something of long term significance.
  
• People who have achieved something.
  
• Those admired for rolling up their sleeves and doing something .
  
• People who have achieved something, rather than drawn attention to themselves and maybe achieved some passing fame in the process.

Let's look at each of these. Think about where you are in each of them and who comes to mind as you read each one.

Being the best in the world at something takes an investment in time and sometimes in money. And once you've achieved that level of significance, it takes more time and hard work to maintain that level. Finding significance in something you have done is often fleeting.

Being the best at something significant, well that is a little more difficult. First you have to find someone to help you understand who you are and how what you are relates to others. Usually that would be someone who in and of themselves were significant, making the world a better or different place just because of who they are. It could be anyone, it doesn't have to be someone famous.

Mine was my mom. She was the best in the world at the most significant thing of all, unconditional love. She made me believe that I could be or do anything that I wanted, just because she loved and believed in me. She planted significance in me when she planted love and didn't attach it to performance or achievement.

In history, think about those that have made a lasting impression, capturing public imagination over a significant period of time. Often it is those that have created, invented, inspired or contributed to our world. Each of them are remembered for achieving something special and are often famous, such as those winning the Nobel Peace Prize.

If rolling up your sleeves and doing something were the only measure of significance, much of the world's unsung heroes would find themselves in the "significant camp". Often these are the ones that allow others to achieve something because of making it possible by something they have done (while not attracting attention to themselves). My mom again....

Lasting significance would appear to be the most elusive of the bunch.

As I was out for my walk this morning, I was listening to a song (I could sing of your love forever by John Tesch, from his album "A Deeper Faith") written about the most enduring and significant thing on our planet - love, as outlined in 1 Corinthians 13. Love you say? Yes love.

Creation is an act of love. God created the world itself and has spent the rest of time since creation trying to show Himself to us, to show us His love. He sent a piece of Himself, Jesus, who Himself made a lasting impression. He not only captured public imagination over a significant period of time, but we even mark time with his birth (BC) and his death (AD).

I have enjoyed a life of personal significance and yet, have had the privilege of seeing and knowing that everything that I do is not of my making. All of my talents are a gift from the creator of the universe Himself. And if He uses me to start something, He doesn't need me to finish it!

Most of the things that we do in life eventually fade from memory. In some cases, other people even take credit for what we ourselves have done. Finding significance in titles is fleeting, as jobs and companies can easily disappear. Thousands of people daily lose their jobs. Finding significance in a relationship can be equally disappointing. Divorce is rampant in our country. Even the various roles in our lives (mother, sister, brother, daughter, son, friend) that provide a source of significance can change overnight when loved ones are taken from us.

As you continue on your search for significance, I encourage you to not start with WHO you are, but determine WHOSE you are. Like the picture on the cover above, look up, lift your hands to the heavens.

Serving the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob provides not just significance, but eternal significance. Being a daughter of the King of Kings, who owns the cattle on 10,000 hills is just about as significant as it gets.

Who I am can change over time. What I do can fade away. But I am HIS forever and the beauty of that is that He never changes. He is the same yesterday, today and forever (Hebrews 13:8).

My significance is sealed in Him.

Chicke Fitzgerald

Moses 2007 AD

Imagine Moses in 2007. The Red Sea in front of him (with the Promised Land on the OTHER side). Hundreds of thousands of Jews behind him, fleeing the oppression of the local government. What would the dialogue in his head have sounded like??? Let's take a glimpse....

Big problem... Insurmountable even! The circumstances are dire. The proverbial "no way out". Look at that water churning. We'll never get across. What was I thinking to bring them here????

But there has to be a way. Do I dare even venture to believe that God could rescue us before the government changes their mind?

What if I didn't really hear from God to go plead with the leaders to let my people go?? What if I really did all of this on my own steam just to show everyone how powerful I am?

Well, it worked didn't it?

Moses then began to reminisce about how it felt to demand "Let my people go" when he met with the leaders of the government. It was a pretty powerful feeling.

OK, maybe God is punishing me for those feelings of pride. And now I'm here in this mess, no way out, nowhere for my family to live and all these people depending on me.

What a mess.

I know! Perhaps we build a human bridge. I saw an old army movie last week where they did that to get across a river. That's it, we will get one person to hold onto something stable on this side, then each person holds hands with the next person and the next.

Wait a minute! We don't know how deep the water is. We'll never make it in time. The current is too swift. And besides, now that I remember, in the movie, lots of the people actually died trying to cross the river.

No, that will never do.

Wait! I can send someone upriver to buy or rent a boat.

No.... it will take too long and besides, we would have to barter our things because we don't have money.

Oh, it will never work. It is just hopeless. We should just give up now while we still have something to salvage. I'm sure my job making bricks out of mud is still open. It wasn't such a bad job.....

What am I saying (never mind who am I saying it to!). Have I forgotten the Promised Land?

Hmmm... the Promised Land (looking across the river).... It sure looks dusty over there. In fact, it looks like sand. I thought God said something about milk and honey.

What if I'm making this all up and none of this came from God to begin with. Not the promises, not the plagues, nothing.

Oh no. What if it was really from the enemy, trying to lure us all out into the desert?

Our luck, we'd get there and get lost. 40 years... yeah, that's what will happen if we try to cross the river.

Maybe we should just follow the river south? No.... I remember that awful story on CNN about the Sudan. that would never work.

Maybe I could just quietly slip away and no one would notice.

MOSES?

Yes?

You have not because you ask not.

Lord, is that you?

My sheep know my voice.

Sheep? I'm busy here. A lot of people are depending on me to get us out of this awful place.

You? Depending on you? Are you sure?

Of course. I'm in charge here. If I don't figure it out, who will? There is no other way.

I am the way.

I love you Lod. You know that. I'll pray when I'm done. And for sure will give thanks when we're on the other side, away from our oppressors.

How will you get there?

I haven't figured that out yet.

I have.

You what? How?

Just ask.

Ask who?

Me.

Lord I ask you for things. Spiritual things. Why, just last week.....

Moses.....

Lord, you were the one that gave me the guts to go plead with the leaders for your people, right? And they aren't my people and they never were. I think I'm starting to get it....

Now you are back on track.

I have exhausted all my options. I have no more ideas.

GOOD.

Good? What am I going to do now?

Ask and it shall be given to you, seek and you shall find. Knock and the door... no make that the river will part..

No way. Part? Do you know how wide it is? Where will the water go? We'll all be drowned. The people will be afraid. They won't cross! Oh, this is impossible.

No, you are impossible, but I love you anyway.

Do you really believe that I would leave you here in this place of despair, hopelessness and let you die, or perhaps worse be humiliated in front of everyone?

Ummmmm no.

I love you. I care about more than just your spirit. I care about you and every one of those that you are leading.

I care enough to part the waters so you can just walk across.

Oh, but the mud.. we'll get stuck. The animals will never make it.

Moses, stop second guessing and trust me.

But they will be scared!

Let me comfort them. Walk, lead them and don't stop until you get to the Promised Land!

From the moment you were conceived Moses, there was a plan for every moment of your life. I crafted it just for you myself. Just ask and every day I will show you the way. It won't always be easy and you do have the freedom always to ignore me, or worse, to try and do everything yourself., relying on your own intellect, the counsel of those that you believe to be wise in the ways of the world, your instincts and all the other things that keep you so occupied that you don't hear my voice clearly and you don't ask for my help.

Right-o Lord. Now can you please just part the waters now? We've got a Promised Land to visit!

OK, but just one more thing Moses. Please ask me for directions once you get to the other side. The desert is big, but it shouldn't take 40 years to cross.

Sure thing Lord!!

Pressure yields beauty and strength

Most of us know that diamonds are the hardest known natural material in existence. Their beauty and strength is no accident.

One of the laws of nature is that pressure yields that beauty and strength. This is true not only of gems that come from the depths of the earth, but when we go through what seems like the depths of depression - from that comes strength and beauty as well.

Those that know me will attest that I rarely get to a place where there seems to be no hope. My faith carries me through most anything and even through difficult storms, I know that my life is in God's hands.

But about a month ago, I found myself in a funk that I just couldn't shake. The last year has been a difficult one, building a new company, keeping the team motivated while we raise the funds necessary to get our new product launched. I was feeling the pressure and the responsibility and it was a difficult time.

Over the past few weeks though, I have been reminded that I don't have to carry that weight and that the company wasn't mine to begin with. In remembering God's promise to not give me more than I can bear, I found that diamond strength that I needed and emerged stronger than before.

Isaiah 40:29

He gives strength to the weary, and increases the power of the weak.

During that time where I didn't see that strength and wondered if I was indeed strong enough to make it through, I remember saying to my husband that I can't imagine living with that kind of depression and despair every day without hope.

Pressure is an every day part of life. We can choose to rely on our own strength or we can remember that He who created the earth that yields diamonds has stronger and broader shoulders than we could ever have.

Phillippians 4:13

I can do everything through him who gives me strength.

I am grateful that I serve a God that cares not just about the spiritual things in my life, but the practical as well. If you suffer from depression, I pray that you will find His strength to see you through.

I hear you loud and clear!!!

Sometimes in order to get our attention God has to talk to us in ways that we don't expect.

We all recognize the shape of a stop sign. In fact, there are many things in our lives that cause us to stop dead in our tracks. Fear, worry, a lack of resources, a shortage of time, discouragement, disillusionment.

There doesn't seem to be any shortage of those things when we look at the natural circumstances around us.

God's promises are not subject to natural circumstances. The sign isn't red and it doesn't say STOP. When you have clearly heard His direction, no matter what signs you see along the way, His sign reads totally differently. It reads DON'T STOP.

The message is clear. Don't stop believing. Don't stop moving toward the vision and the prize. Don't stop showing people that there is more than what they can see. Outside of the natural realm is the realm of the spiritual and it is the only place that we can find hope and that we can see our dreams fulfilled.

While my life seems full of traditional red stop signs right now, I know in my heart of hearts that I have heard His voice and that He will see things through to completion, despite turns and bumps in the road. He has said as clearly as if He were here beside me in the natural not to stop, not to be discouraged, not to worry.

He never changes. He cannot lie. His word is true and He is faithful. So, once again, I have only one choice. I will be desperate for Him and as for me and my house, we will continue to serve the Lord.

IS IT ALL JUST ONE BIG COSMIC VIDEO GAME???


Does God really care? Is my life a game to Him? Does He just care about spiritual things, like being "good" or getting "saved" or does he care about the practical things in my life?

So, what if God only cared about our soul and not the practical side of life??? Yikes. Somehow I don't think He would have many followers.

Tonight I was thinking about all the ways that we limit God. In many ways, when we worry it is like we are confirming that he does not really care about our day to day issues and only about the life or death ones.

If that were true, they would have to change all the great worship songs:

"How great thou art (except as it relates to my finances), How great thou art."

and for the more contemporary worshiper:

"My God is an awesome God (except as it relates to non-spiritual things)
He reigns from heaven above (except as it relates to my job)
With wisdom, power and love (and accolades for the things I manage myself since he is too busy)
Our God is an awesome God."

Sort of loses the tempo, doesn't it?

God cares about every aspect of our lives. Matthew 6:28 says:

"And why do you worry about clothes?

See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin."

And remember the old hymn "his eye is on the sparrow, and I know he watches me". Luke 12:6-7 says:

Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies?
Yet not one of them is forgotten by God.
Indeed, the very hairs of your head are all numbered.
Don't be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.

A God that cares how many hairs I have on my head cannot be unconcerned about my finances, my work, my children or even my weight. He wants wholeness for me.

Even the old testament (Deuteronomy 5:33) promised us prosperity if we would be obedient:

Walk in all the way that the LORD your God has commanded you, so that you may live and prosper and prolong your days in the land that you will possess.

The God that I serves cares about every area of my life. Oh, I am SO glad that is true. Otherwise the weight of it all would more than I could bear and I would be destined to live in depression constantly. Thank GOD I don't have to bear it alone.

one who seeks his face,

Chicke Fitzgerald

Passion


Passion is a funny thing. It can mean so many things. It is hopefully obvious to all that know me that I am passionate about my love for my husband and my children. At times I am passionate about my work or about a movie that I've seen or a particular red wine that has just the right amount of spice and fruit.

In one of my favorite songs by Isa Couvertier called My Passion she describes her passion for her Lord. I know it may seem really foreign to those that don't consider themselves at all religious, but there is nothing like the passion for the one that I owe everything to. The song says "who can compare with you?" and declares "you are so beautiful to me!".

Think about loving the way the wind feels on your face when you are riding down the highway on a sunny day in a convertible. It is really very similar to that. Just as you can't see the wind, but can see its effects, so is the way of God in my life. I can't see Him, but the effects on my life are as clear as day to me.

Today I thank God for the people that He has brought into my life (or back in my life) this week. I don't always know how it will play out, but I am SO thankful that He is in control and not me. I am passionate about the possibilities!

Chicke Fitzgerald - one who seeks His face

Life Lessons in Faith: Muses from London

This morning at 6am, as I caught a cab from my hotel in London to the train in Stansted, it occurred to me that traveling abroad can be an interesting mirror of a walking a life of faith.

In both cases, the rules change.

Driving on the wrong side of the road is, of course, all subjective. What works well in your native land, is "backwards" when you are abroad.

So it is, that a life of faith is perceived to be "backwards". Matthew 20:16 says "the last shall be first and the first shall be last", which in the natural makes no sense whatsoever. In 2 Corinthians 12:9, Paul recounts God's words "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness" and later in verse 10 says "That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong." Talk about not making sense and appearing backwards to the world!

Matthew 5, known as the Beatitudes, says it best:

3 "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 4 Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. 5 Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth. 6 Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled. 7 Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy. 8 Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God. 9 Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God. 10 Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

If you are "driving" down the road of your life and you hit severe bumps in the road and shaken, you encounter someone "driving" on the other side of the road that is not only unshaken, but peaceful after encountering the same bumps, it could just be that they have found that amazing grace is more than just a song, it is a way of life.

Indeed, I know that in my life that I can actually get excited about encountering difficulties. It means two things. One, that I am on the right track and someone wants to knock me off that track and second, it means that I have to opportunity to become strong through a power much greater than I could possibly possess on my own.

The other thing that strikes me is that the "currency" in which we trade abroad is much like the difference in what is valued in a life of faith.

Matthew 6: 25 says:

25 "Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? 26 Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? 27 Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?

While everyone scurries about trying to take care of their natural needs - food, drink, clothing, bigger and better jobs and places to live, in a life of faith, it is possible to rest - secure in the fact that if God in heaven will take care of the birds, how much more will He meet my needs. It is not just words, it is a peace that passes all human understanding. Whew...... why choose to worry instead?

Stephen Curtis Chapman has a wonderful song, called His Strength is Perfect.

His Strength Is Perfect

I can do all things Through Christ who gives me strength, But sometimes I wonder what He can do through me; No great success to show, No glory on my own, Yet in my weakness He is there to let me know . . . CHORUS His strength is perfect when our strength is gone; He’ll carry us when we can’t carry on. Raised in His power, the weak become strong; His strength is perfect, His strength is perfect. We can only know The power that He holds When we truly see how deep our weakness goes; His strength in us begins Where ours comes to an end. He hears our humble cry and proves again . . .

So now, as I await my plan to go home after a long week away from my family, I rest in the power that His strength is perfect to get me through the search for funding for our new business, for search for the perfect executive team, through making it through technical difficulties with foreign outsourcers and with trying to make content "perfect" for our rollout and most importantly, for finding the life balance that allows me to be more present for my family when I am home.


Chicke Fitzgerald
wife, mom, CEO and "One who seeks His face"