Question: Have you ever said something and then immediately wished you could take it back?
Answer: Absodarnlutely!
Welcome to Coffee Hour with Chicklit Power and Faith-filled Fridays with Trench Classes United. Come on in for a word picture built with a Lego set.
I love rewinding memories with my favorite little people. This particular memory is as powerful today as it was then. My granddaughter Tyler had some Lego sets for us to build, and one of them looked quite daunting. I suggested we start with the small one, especially since I’d never, ever played with Legos before, but this precious little giggle-maker wanted to start with the big one, so we did.
Oh, my goodness, I had no idea it would/could be so much fun. As we built the castle from the ground up, I was amazed at all the detail Lego thought of, from tables and chairs, to doorposts, to decorations for the outside. It was absolutely amazing. And the crazy thing for me was the time just flew! I sat still, being and building with my granddaughter for three+ hours!
Putting this Lego set together with Ty-Ty was unbelievably therapeutic for me. As we built it together, one Lego at a time – we literally took turns, each of us getting to place one Lego at a time -- it made me think of our words, how every last word that comes out of our mouth has some power, some significance, either to build up or to tear down. The longer we wait to choose our words/pieces carefully, the more accurate we can be, and maybe we’d even say less!
Each Lego piece had such significance, and had to be placed just right because if we tried to put the wrong Lego in, often we wouldn’t know it until we had laid many more so we would have to tear it apart and rebuild it.
I couldn’t help but think what if we were to carefully build one another up with our words, such that when we walked away, we had a sense of accomplishment knowing that what we had planted could/would help them with any other negative messaging they may be receiving from others? See, unlike Lego building, we don’t get to take our words back, and once they leave our mouths, well, there are consequences: building up or tearing down.
Ephesians 4:29 tells us not to let any corrupt word proceed out of our mouths but what is good for necessary edification, that it may impart grace to the hearer.
Oh, Abba, help me, one word at a time, to build others up, and not tear them down. Help me to be mindful of the things that I say so that whatever I say, when I walk away, I know that You will use each word to build them up, to remind them that they are precious in your sight. Help me to remember when I want to tear down and inflict pain with my words that the real enemy is not them, but the Enemy of this world just using them to get to me!
Love,
Kim-Evinda 

Looking forward to meeting you
Kim-Evinda

The other day I saw a post on Facebook that is a quote by Lao Tzu and it really caught my attention as it collided with the cry of my heart: to stay in my moments that I might have more joy and a consistently thankful heart. Here’s the quote: “If you are depressed, you are living in the past; if you are anxious you are living in the future. If you are at peace, you are living in the present,” or as I say, in your moment!
Thanks so much for joining me for Coffee Hour with Chicklit Power and Wednesday’s Word with Trench Classes United. Here are some truths to accompany these wise words of Tzu:
We need to look back, not fall back, that we may recognize unhealthy tendencies and change our choices for we cannot change that which we don’t recognize as a problem.   Looking back can be one of the most valuable tools to change accompanied, of course, with the grace of God! It’s this other tense that got me, the one that says if you are anxious, then you are living in the future, in other words whatever you are doing, you are not really there, or at least all there! Are you catching what I’m throwing?
I don’t know about you, but this is where I struggle, staying in the moments because of all my responsibilities. But is that a crutch of an excuse? Is that just a pass to remain busy, and often too busy? Oh, if we were just given the perfect equation for balance in our lives, huh, some sort of recipe to follow that we would achieve that ability to consistently stay in the present so as to not be ripped off in the future.
I think I found it…the answer to this dilemma, that is! But I must confess, it sounds easier than it is but after trying this consistently, I can say that it is possible! See, this life is just temporary, a sort of practice run to learn how to dwell in eternity with the One whose perfect love will carry us there, so whatever we endeavor to do, wherever we put our most energy, whatever rents the most space in our head…must have eternal value!
Pouring truth into the mind is necessary to keep out the lies that keep us chasing after another thing to check off on our to-do list, or trying to control circumstances, situations or even worse, controlling others. We must discipline the mind with spiritual truths which will then feed the soul so as to not be caught off balance like that of a double-minded, wobbly-legged weakling struggling to stay afloat grasping for air, for a future that is secure.
So as we go through today, my prayer for you and for me from Isaiah 26:3: He will keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on You…because he/she trusts in you!
Until next Wednesday,
Keeping my mind stayed on Him…
Evinda

Join us to learn how to live in the moments and love healthier…coming to a trench near you!
Monday mornings: Yucaipa
Monday evenings: Beaumont; Yucaipa
Wednesday evenings: Redlands/Loma Linda
Thursday evenings: Redlands, San Bernardino
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I was prayed up and emotionally ready for the biopsy, and I just wanted to get it done so I could move forward without this shadow following me.  Welcome to Coffee Hour with Chicklit Power and Monday’s Mantra with Trench Classes United. If you’re new to the blog, you may want to go back a week to get parts 1 and 2 to this so you don’t feel lost reading what I’m sharing, from my heart to yours.
After an hour and a half of twisting, turning and torturing, these words are not what I wanted to hear: “We can’t do the biopsy.” The tears that had been sitting in my throat and threatening to spill out did…like a faucet forcefully turned on.
In an effort to practice not focusing on the negative, but grasping for something positive in the midst of chaos, I can honestly say that though I walked out of there without the biopsy completed, I now had knowledge that I didn’t have when I walked in.
I had an opportunity to talk with the doctor who will be performing the rescheduled biopsy and she showed me the two clusters they are concerned about. The problem lies in where they’re laying! They are close to the chest wall, which is why the nurse had such a difficult time getting a clear enough image, because the image is what will guide the needle to the correct location for the actual biopsy. If they were to have just gone ahead with it, they could have punctured my lung!
You see what I mean about finding something positive in the midst of chaos and confusion? So as you’re reading this today, I will be undergoing another attempt to accomplish this procedure but in the meantime, I have had more time to prepare emotionally and spiritually, to become more confident in my mountain mover and less focused on the mountain – or in this case the little clusters inside my itty-bitty! To look toward healing, and not speak the C word over myself, to be a walking testimony for and about My Healer!
Stay with me in this journey, please,
Kim-Evinda

I just love the simplicity of Jenn’s blogs and I know you will too! Come on in and thanks for joining us for Coffee Hour with Chicklit Power and Faith Filled Friday with Trench Classes United.
I saw this bumper sticker: “If you see me on the ground, please drag me across the finish line.”

I am assuming this person was a marathoner. At first, I chuckled because that would be me if I attempted to run a marathon. :) There's a bigger thought here however.

As some of you know, I am big on sharing my journey, the ups and downs, even my struggles with faith. I believe in being real, authentic. I am incredibly grateful for the prayers others send up, for the inspiration I find everywhere, and the family/friends who talk me off the proverbial ledge. I like to think I return that favor when needed.

The Bible says in Thessalonians 5:11 "Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing."
This is what we are here for. This is what we go through struggles for. So that in turn we can be of help and encouragement to a fellow runner.

Life is like a race; sometimes one of us lags behind, maybe even lays on the ground until another comes along and “pulls us towards or over the finish line.”
I’ll do it for you; will you do it for others?
Thoughtfully,
Jenn

It’s okay to not always be okay, but wouldn’t it be great to feel great even when life is hard?
Learning how to live fueled by hope even when life is trying to knock us down, coming to a trench near you…

​Hope to see you there

Have you ever received a message that you know that you know it was from God? Did you know He talks to you in your own language?
Thanks for joining me for Coffee Hour with Chicklit Power and Wednesday’s Word with Trench Classes United.
Last week I shared some unexpected news I received after a 3D mammogram and another very specific mammogram to reveal the need for a biopsy but what I didn’t share with you is a very specific message I received in the most unexpected place and time.
We were making our way back to the boating dock after a great day on the lake. For the most part, I had left my news at home, but every now and then, it would weigh in on my thoughts like an anchor holding a boat in one place while bouncing up and down, side to side in response to the passing boaters. 
I was up front with one of my friends, and I remember sharing my fears about the biopsy, still in disbelief that I have to have it done but then again, I didn’t linger there long.
I relaxed in the bow of the boat, listening to the steady sound of the engine on the water, the music of the waves splashing as we crashed over them, and Pandora blaring Country music which had been playing the entire time…until all of a sudden, I’m singing the words to a Christian song, and at the same time, sort of puzzled by the change in genre but nevertheless I kept singing.
When the solid ground is falling out from underneath my feet
Between the black skies, and my red eyes, I can barely see
When I realize I've been sold out by my friends and my family
I can feel the rain reminding me
In the eye of the storm, You remain in control
In the middle of the war, You guard my soul
You alone are the anchor, when my sails are torn
Your love surrounds me 
In the eye of the storm
As the words came out of my mouth, their meaning warmed my soul and tears ran down my face, the wind drying them almost as fast as they fell.
I continued to sing along to this song I hadn’t heard in a very long time
When my hopes and dreams are far from me
And I'm runnin' out of faith
I see the future I picture slowly fade away
And when the tears of pain and heartache 
Are pouring…
 
In the eye of the storm, You remain in control
In the middle of the war, You guard my soul
You alone are the anchor, when my sails are torn
Your love surrounds me 
In the eye of the storm
As soon as the song finished, Pandora returned to the Country genre and my girlfriend looked at me, I looked at her, and I’ll never, ever forget her affirmation: If that wasn’t God talking to you, girl, I don’t know what was!
My hope is that I’ll have only one more blog to write about this storm, sharing how I get thru the biopsy and thereafter receive positive results…but only He knows when my next storm will come and He promises to be there with me.
I pray that you take time to listen to God speaking to you, for you and about you
Love,
Kim-Evinda 

Why is it not okay to not always be okay? If you are experiencing a low because of a setback, join us for a comeback and learn how to live your life fueled with hope, loving healthier and laughing more.

​Coming to a trench near you

​ I’m so excited to feature one of my favorite bloggers this week, Jenn Woosley, and I know you will enjoy her blogs today and Friday as well. Thanks for joining us for Coffee Hour with Chicklit Power and Monday’s Mantra with Trench Classes United.
The other morning I was sitting on my couch, as I do nearly every morning. In the quiet, I read inspirational things, talk to God,  and think. My thoughts are all over the place…and often there are tears. Today was no different... I was thinking about the people I love most, and the loneliness that comes from their absence. 

Then, I read something, the gist of which is that God is thinking of ME every single moment, and that I am in His thoughts constantly. Now, supposedly I know this; it's in the Bible, how God cares for me, but for some reason, it stood out to me today in a different way. 

Suddenly, I pictured Him wishing to be with me the way I was wishing to be with my loved ones. Does He wish to be next to me, give me a hug, hear about my day, my thoughts? Is He lonely without me? What if He is? 

In church, the sermon was on Romans 8:16-17. In The Message Bible it says: "God's Spirit touches our spirits and confirms who we really are. We know who He is and we know who we are: Father and children."

The tears came but this time because it hit me how beautiful this is. God gives us relationship with others to help us understand Him. It's true that He longs to be with those He loves, me and you. And the warmth of this truth, knowing we're never really alone washed over me and filled me to overflowing!
May you always know you are never alone!
Jenn