Luck

When someone says I'm lucky, I correct them and say I'm blessed. I'm blessed with a great family, a great income, a great life. I could agree that I'm lucky, but that suggests a randomness to life. Like it's some sort of lottery everybody plays but only a few win. I'll agree only on the point that you cannot win if you don't play.

It has been said that luck is where preparation meets opportunity. You cannot take advantage of opportunities if you aren't prepared. So, I'm preparing everyday for an opportunity that will surely come along. Opportunity is everywhere. 1 Peter 3:15 says "always be prepared..."

A couple of months ago Oprah had people running around the country giving away money, it always struck me that, when asked what they needed, most people didn't know. One family went so far as to complain that the money that was spent on them could've been spent better. Excuse me? You were asked what you needed and you didn't know, the opportunity was there for a short time, the money HAD to be spent and you were not prepared with an answer, so while you were complaining that you got nothing worthwhile, you did get exactly what you asked for.

I'm thinking everyday about the things I need. What I need in my family, in my home, in my ministry, in my business, in my heart. I have only recently expanded this thought process throughout my entire life. I have always been very decisive about the things that are important to me, I've expanded my arena of importance. My husband will tell you that I've been decisive about my wants since the day he met me. I do not want what I do not want, and we've driven around many a town getting me what I want. While it is on one hand annoying that I won't compromise, he's in awe of my dedication to getting what I want when I really want it.

I will "always be prepared to give an answer...." no matter the question, and when opportunity comes I will be blessed.

Monkey Shocker

I will admit to being a documentary junkie. I love the monkey behavior trials, they claim we are so close to monkeys that if we study them we will learn about ourselves. Of course when straight behavioral challenges are done between monkeys and children, they've proven that they perform the tasks totally differently, but we'll save that for another day.

Today we discuss monkey shocking. Since we cannot inflict any physical pain on kids, we do this with monkeys, we show the monkey something they want. We let them play with it, fall in love with it, throw it around, have all their monkey friends join in the monkey fun, then we remove the object. Now the monkey is looking for it, and we give it to him, only with a slight twist. Every time he reaches for it, he gets shocked. How many times will he reach for it before he gives up?

I bring this up because I got a little shock today, after several weeks of missed connections I finally got ahold of the property manager for my old grocery store. Yes, I still claim it as mine. Property manager informs me that it is under contract. Little shock threw me off so I forgot to ask all the questions I wanted. Is this the first contract they've had, it's been vacant for 2 1/2 years. Why would I be shown something so clearly only to have someone come and take it from me the week I finish my business plan? Did they take the whole building? I only want 1/3 of it, for now..... Is there any chance they won't go through with the contract?

I didn't freak out, just went about my day. I figure that the contract will either not go through before they start, or it will go through, they'll get the build outs done and run out of money, or in a year I'll be able to rescue them from a poor business decision with my AWESOME God inspired vision. This is just a little shock to see if I'll stop reaching for it.

Since I've been knocking on this door we've received quite a few shocks, I guess I've been oblivious to them because I'm focused on the object. People who read my other blogs where I've explained what's going on, are freaking out for me. We have three kids we're trying to adopt, we think we're getting closer, then no. Our insurance is cancelling our homeowners policy. Baby girl may have some serious health concerns. Those three kids have such a special calling on their life that God is working through very special circumstances to show us. God worked a miracle on our mortgage, brought on by the shock of the insurance. Baby girl was born in the right place at the right time and has access to the better medical care than 5 billion other people. God is good, all the time.

This center is mine, that grocery store is mine. I see it clear as day, I know that God is not a monkey shocker, or a carrot dangler or anything of the sort. He has shown me what is behind the curtain. He's allowing me to be tested to see how far I'm willing to go to get it. I know that God is working out the How and the When. My job is the What.