Coffee Hour @ Chicklit Power...

Joshua 1:9: “Have I not commanded you? Be strong and of good courage; do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”
I know it’s already the 1^st of May and we’re still on April’s WOW… but I hope you are enjoying all there is to know about the virtue of courage, especially at its testing point! Grab your coffee and your Strand of Faith and let’s get back to a couple more definitions for courage and then I’ll share one more real-life example!
There’s another definition; are you ready for this one? “Obstinate”!
Yep, courage can be used for the wrong things. How? I’m so glad you asked. Courage is used for the wrong things and in the wrong way when we turn our strengths into stubbornness against God! It truly takes courage to defy God, to rebel against what we know to be right … and the more we participate in courage in this way, the harder our hearts become!
There was another reference under courageous and it does refer to Joshua a couple of times and I just loved it so I wanted to share it with you: Position of inner man -- the soul, which is the seat of wisdom and knowledge – and conscience and moral character. Joshua‘s life is one of my favorite, and definitely one of courage. He was assigned the task of finishing what God sent Moses to do, the completion of which made Biblical history.
Speaking of tasks that take courage to complete, have you ever tried to do something you were completely afraid to do? Well, the day after arriving here in Cabo, we set off with our adventurous friends down the beach toward the giant rocks that divided our resort from the infamous Lover’s Beach. Now, the highest point of those rocks is approximately 70-80 feet, maybe higher! Now, I don’t mind telling you I have a definite fear of heights and just looking up at the highest point of the rock made my stomach queasy. As I was looking up, and watching the ocean seemingly angry this morning, Rodney declared we would and could do it! And then he added, you can write about it!
Now I am not one who looks for thrills, nor am I one to take risks, per say, but … uh-huh, I said “but,” I am up for challenges and our WOW came into mind. As I began the ascent up each rock behind Rodney and Cheryl, and my honey behind me, my legs were shaking and there were these gigantic butterfly-like feelings in my stomach. I began to hear, “Be strong and of good courage; do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go,” even to the highest rock!
As we made it to what I thought was the peak, I looked out and over only to realize that in order to get to our destination, we had to go down the other side of what we had just climbed up and go up another mountain of rocks even higher and more dangerous than the first as this set was consistently being sprayed by the waves of the ocean daring to dance with rock climbers!
My heart fell and I began to have visions of going backwards, and not continuing. Talk about discouraging … having climbed all this way only to turn around and not reach the destination? Oops, I forgot who we were with! Rodney told us to stay there and he went ahead to check it out and sort of map out a way to get there. He looked like a gazelle, hopping from one rock to the next, stretching, straining, climbing, reaching … and there was this one set of rocks that were like narrowly hanging that he had to hug and get around and I just knew I couldn’t do it! But within minutes, just like that, he was back. Part of me was hoping he’d say nope, no can do! But, he said, yes, let’s go for it!
And so we began the descent, everything in me shaking worse than a leaf on a windy day, and then we started the ascent, the words of Joshua 1:9 echoing in my soul, granting me courage … until we made it to that one spot I just didn’t know how I was going to get by. I literally felt nauseous, discouraged because courage had gotten me into this mess. But that lasted only momentarily. With Cheryl already past it, and Rodney directly in front of me holding out his hand, my husband behind me promising he had my back, and His promise now reverberating in the seat of my soul, I made it around those rocks, up even further and back down to Lover’s Beach.
To say I felt exhilaration is probably a major understatement. I think it’s more accurate to say that His promise came alive in me again that day. I tied another knot in my strand of faith by believing what He says He will do, He will do!
Take a moment, Coffee Hour friend, and think about a leap of faith and the courage you need to jump … and then … take His hand and jump into His promises that will give you courage, even when you are discouraged!


In His courageous and relentless love,

Evinda

Coffee in Cabo April's WOW

Coffee Hour @ Chicklit Power...

Joshua 1:9: “Have I not commanded you? Be strong and of good courage; do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”

Welcome to our Coffee from Cabo and more of our WOW! I can’t believe April’s gone … almost. Grab your coffee and your Strand of Faith, and let’s go tie some knots as we learn more about courage in the face of discouragement.
Before I left to come to Cabo, I did do a word study on this word in the Hebrew and Greek concordance and I thought it would be fun and a bit enlightening to share with you a couple of the definitions for this particular context found in our WOW. “Be strong, strengthened; moral strength combined with physical. To be alert physical or mentally in courage; established, steadfastly-minded.”
How many of us are alert physically and mentally enough that when we are in the world we don’t act like the world? How does one find courage to go against the grain without compromising themselves, their faith and their courage? Or how does one find the courage to do what they know they need to do but have struggled to do it? Oh, but this question has plagued me on this trip, truly! In fact, it hit me like a forceful wave in the ocean that pulls at one’s emotions in its hardest hits. See, book signings are a bit of a struggle for me but I have to say this year, it was easier and I think it’s because my focus is now more on/in my calling of helping others in the trenches, and the books were the platform that He used to lead me there. Let me tell you, though, it takes courage to put yourself out there, to invite people to your table to look through the books. But with a little help from my friend, Cheryl, and a whole lot of “Lord, help me’s,” I did better than I ever have at a book signing, and I don’t mean book sales. By the time the afternoon one came around, I was much more confident, and ready to meet more people.
I need to give you this little piece of the puzzle to help you understand why this was courageous, if you will, for me to do what I did: I’m an introvert; in other words, I get my energy from being alone with my God and because I allow Him to pour into me daily, I can pour out. But the more I pour out, the longer I need to sit still and allow Him to pour in. I hope that makes sense. Okay, let’s get back to the afternoon session of the book signing.
As we were finishing setting up, a man stopped by and began talking with me, and out of nowhere asked so why do you write? I was sort of startled by that question and immediately thought, well, do I share my faith? “Courage won and I just said, I write from a place of healing because of an active relationship with my Living God.”
Well, he began to ask me all sorts of theological intellectual questions, and as I rewind the conversation – it was a long one – I realize that with each answer I gave, that prompted another question with a whole host of scriptural addresses. Now, that sort of thing intimidates me just a bit and I didn’t have a problem letting him know that while I’m nowhere versed on all the addresses he had quoted, I was familiar with the context. I also said I had much to learn and study as it relates to the Bible and in my journey, much of what I’m learning has come to life in my life. He then asked me this question: “At what level of spiritual maturity do you write?”
Again, I hesitated, but I know that I know that my God gave me the answer as I pointed to each book: “Well, this one was the first one and so the level of healing experienced when I wrote this one is nowhere near this one,” as I pointed to my latest book. He seemed pleased with that answer, but now there are people starting to come to the table and I need to end the conversation … as politely as I could, but he wasn’t having it! Here’s what he told me: “I’m here to tell you you’re in sin; using your faith to make it big, but I’m here to hold your hand; remember, there’s now therefore no condemnation”! Emphasis on the!!!!
I was stunned… and discouraged, but only for a moment and in that moment God filled me with courage, enough courage to ask him why he would say that and then more courage to reply to him that I was there to not make a name for myself but to offer hope so that others would see the reality of the necessity of our loving God. I also shared with him that the journey I’ve been on has been divinely orchestrated and I couldn’t have dreamt it, let alone created it. Then I invited him to write his email address down and proceeded to tell the others at the table that I would be right with them.
Oh, courage is necessary to push past the discouragement of what others may or may not think of us! Let me share one more example and then I’ll let you go.
It was the day after the book signing and we all were out at the pool and suddenly the whole scene just punched me hard and all I wanted to do was run. It’s not that anyone was doing anything wrong, per say; it’s just that I don’t fit in with the party scene, don’t even want to and yet, I needed to feel like I belonged somewhere! So you know what I did? I got up, told my husband what I was feeling, and got up and left!
My head and heart were a jumbled mess, like seaweed all tangled up, tripping me up so before I blurted something out I didn’t mean or even understand, I needed to go be alone with God, sort of work through all those weeds of thought. Have you ever felt like that, like you just don’t belong where you are currently? It was incredibly discouraging!
I headed to our room and once inside, I couldn’t sit still, so I walked outside our back door onto the sand and toward the beckoning ocean.
Oh, but the sea has a way of singing just the right song at just the right tempo, always different, but doing the same thing: calming me. As I sat there and talked it out with God, wondering why I had such an overwhelming feeling like that of not wanting to be where I was and not fitting in, I realized that I’m getting to understand me better, and my needs, my likes and dislikes and my inner struggle and/or convictions don’t need to change anyone else’s.
I asked Abba to give me courage to stand for my convictions and not get lost in a need to be understood, or in my desire to belong somewhere, somehow with someone. I’m not sure how long I sat there … enjoying the seagulls gliding in for a landing to take a little siesta, right at the ocean’s ebbing, and I thought about the truth that it takes courage to be discouraged, especially when you are still fitting into your new God-given skin!
Yes, Lord, you have commanded me to be strong and of good courage; to not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for You are with me wherever I go! Go ahead; re-write the verse according to this moment of time in your life!
Until tomorrow,

Evinda

Coffee in Cabo Aprils WOW

Coffee Hour @ Chicklit Power...

It Takes Courage to be Discouraged!

Joshua 1:9: “Have I not commanded you? Be strong and of good courage; do not be afraid, nor be  dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”

Welcome to our Coffee Hour and our WOW for April! For the next couple of days, we’ll be having our coffee in Cabo and as I write this for you and to you, imagine the sound of crashing waves, one right after the other. There is a seagull flying just out of our view now. The sand is warm between our toes, and all is right in the world in this moment. So before April’s gone, grab your coffee and your Red SOF and let’s go talk about courage.
I actually chose this WOW before I left to come to Cabo and set it aside to begin writing it when I got here, but my interest was truly piqued about this topic from one of my professors who spoke on this subject just last week. He began the class by asking us to shout out one word that described the best characteristic/virtue needed to live a fruitful Christian life … and courage was not up there, not even once! The majority of the virtues given were words all having to do with integrity and faith.
He then went on to share that he felt that courage was the most undervalued virtue in the Christian life. Talk about proving his point in the first few minutes of his lecture! Have you ever thought about it, the fact that it does take courage to live a life of faith-filled fruitfulness? Just two weeks prior, I realized the value of courage as well as the necessity and was able to see that God had indeed given me doses of courage along the journey of writing and ministry, but I don’t think I quite gave it the placement it needs to have in the realm of virtues.
So let me get back to our professor and this lecture on courage. He went on to share a couple of quotes that really tugged on my heart; the first one is by Aristotle: “You will never do anything in this life without courage.” As I rewound the years that had brought me to that night, I could see that courage was a big piece of the puzzle of my life.
Professor Cervantes gave us another quote, only this one by C.S. Lewis: “Courage is not simply one of the virtues but the form of every virtue at the testing point.”
Don’t you just love those truths?
So these quotes, especially C.S. Lewis’s got me to thinking; uh-oh; that’s dangerous! :) Anyway, if courage is the form of every virtue at its testing point, then that means, for example, when tempted to not be completely honest, it takes courage to defy the temptation and keep your integrity. It takes courage to love someone, especially when they are unlovable. It takes courage to work through fears. I mean think about it; anyone can be happy when things are going right, right? But it takes courage to choose joy when surrounded by trouble; it takes courage to overcome sorrow. But how can it be that it takes courage to be discouraged? Because at the testing point of courage is discouragement!
Here’s the definition he gave for courage: Courage is the capacity to persevere through fear, uncertainty, doubt, disappointment, pain and injustice for the sake of something greater than one’s self.
Isn’t that what God told Joshua in our WOW? And not just once; but three times in His pep talk to Joshua He told him not to be afraid, dismayed, discouraged as He prepared him to take over Moses’ position to lead the Israelites into the promised land … finally!
Oh, what courage it takes to get to our own Promised Land. And while everyone’s Promised Land is different, each of us will need courage to go where He sends us, to let go of what He takes, to give what we didn’t know we had, to trust with abandon the One who tells us: “Have I not commanded you, ______?” (Fill in your name.) “Be strong and of good courage; do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go, _________.”
Oh, I can hardly wait to share a dose of courage I gained as I worked through a bought of discouragement, and more than once, on this trip to Cabo!
Join me tomorrow for more
Encouraged …

Evinda

Coffee in Cabo from Coffee Hour @ Chicklit Power

Thanks so much for joining me for Coffee Hour and Cabo memories. I think this is every bit as fun as scrapbooking, actually a bit easier because I can definitely write/type faster than I can scrapbook! Grab your coffee and come on in.

On Thursday evening, we went to the Beach Party put on by the resort. I was anticipating another fun time, hoping to laugh like no one was listening and dance like no one was watching, just like we had unexpectedly at the Fiesta. Right after dinner, the Emcee got us up and out of our chair into a conga line. The party was definitely starting, but this time, George and Rodney stayed back and Cheryl and I joined the line.

The song hadn’t even finished and Roberto stopped everyone and began explaining the Limbo. The more he explained, the more people left the line. I was up for the challenge, and so was Cheryl, though she was a bit hesitant. When it came my turn, I confidently walked forward, practicing the positioning that Roberto had explained to us: bend down, thrust hips out, shoulders back and walk!

I got closer to the bar and bent down, thrust my hips back and began to walk forward, that is until a pop that I swore everyone heard stopped me. For a brief second, my body broke out in a sweat and instantaneous paralysis, but pride pushed me forward. The crowd cheered their approval for me to continue on in the contest, but I went straight to our table not stopping to collect $200. I was in excruciating pain. I don’t know if I pulled my groin or thrust my hip out of its socket, or what. All I knew in that instant was pain. I literally had to take both my arms and lift up my right leg to get it stretched up and out on the chair in front of me, which was empty, thank God!

beach party fun…b4 injury!

The rest of the night passed in a blur. I did manage to get up and dance a bit, but it certainly wasn’t as if no one was watching. In fact, as I tried to move in the sand, I probably looked as though there were invisible restraints attached to each of my legs while the rest of me sort of swayed to the beat!

We managed to stay through the end and my pain lessened a little bit but if I moved a certain way, it would begin to rear its head and cut at me like a razor-sharp knife. I think this was the night we went up to their room at The Ridge – no, that was the night before. Oh, that was another hysterical memory. Have you ever tried to walk through a screen door in the dark? OMG, we all laughed so hard over that one that I nearly had an accident.

Rodney & Cheryl dancing like no one’s watching

Anyway, the night after my injury, we went into town so George and I could get a massage. We knew right where to go: to the place we had been last year where for only $25, you got a one-hour massage! And it was really good. Or at least it used to be.

When we walked in and saw completely different people, that should have been our first red light, but we proceeded anyway. The language barrier should have been another flashing red light. Last year, we were able to hold a conversation with almost everyone in the place. They motioned for us to follow them and they put George in the room next to mine. Let me tell you, when you don’t speak the same language, or any part thereof, there’s a problem, a cultural problem.

To make this long story short, here I was supposed to be relaxing through a one-hour massage

Looking 4 hats!

but instead of laying down in an attitude and atmosphere of relaxation, I spent the next 60 minutes grimacing, clenching my fists and even at times grinding my teeth. And just when I think this had to be the worst massage I’ve had, and I’m fighting the urge to just get up and say I’m good, you will never believe what happened: She began pounding on my face! I thought she was going to break my face bones. If I wasn’t so shocked, I might have broke out laughing at how ludicrous it was. Now I know there was minimal lighting and it’s hard to really see, but you would think that she would have noticed the terrified look on my face, the gritting and grimacing and grinding would have caused her to stop, but no, she kept on pounding. And when her sweat dripped on my face, I nearly jumped off the bed, but sat there frozen in disbelief and pain. I couldn’t move because my hip or groin or something was killing me!

enjoying the pool at The Ridge

I have never been so relieved in all my life to know one hour of massage was finished and I have had more than my share! Before she left out of the room, she thanked me. All I could do was shake my head.I was so tempted to ask her where in the heck did she learn to do what she had just done, but I bit my tongue, reminding myself it is better to speak into someone’s life than out of it!

In a couple minutes, George came in to get me. “Get me out of here,” I gritted through my teeth fighting back the bipolar urge to scream and laugh at the same time. I couldn’t get out of there fast enough, and oh, the look on Cheryl’s face as I told her about my massage experience was priceless, almost worth the facial beating.

We laughed all the way down the boardwalk. That’s the beauty of traveling with friends like

Rodney never met a stranger

them; laughter can come when you least expect it but it always comes!

There are many more Cabo memories that I’ll always treasure, but pictures speak a thousand words. Thanks for allowing me to recapture the moments that made this trip so special.

Join me Monday for the return of Nana Holds. Wow, are things ever changing in that series!

Joyfully,

Evinda

Coffee in Cabo-from Coffee Hour @ Chicklit Power

Thanks for joining me for more Cabo highlights and revelations. Grab your coffee and come on in.

When I woke up on Tuesday, the ocean’s voice beckoned me to be still. This was book signing day. I fixed our coffee and went to sit on the couch, the place I came every morning to be still, work on my Bible study, and journal. George had turned on the IPod and Michael W. Smith’s voice rose above the sound of the ocean.

George came and sat beside me as “Your Grace” began to play. Suddenly, yet ever so naturally, we both began to sing the lyrics, lost in worship song after song. Oh, how I had yearned for connection like this and it happened. I could have stayed there like that for hours.

We made our way to the lobby for the morning session of the book signing. My heart dropped a bit when I saw that I would be sitting by the back sliding doors again. That is where I was last year, and it was really difficult to engage with anyone because most people are walking in and out so fast that they don’t look to the right or the left; they just keep going. I could fill pages and pages full of all the emotions I kept finding myself stuck in, but suffice it to say, at this point in the day, I am hiding behind my tablet playing solitaire, looking like I’m having fun as I relentlessly remind myself that it’s not about books but about hearts.

To be perfectly honest with you, that truth is still making its way down from my mind to my heart, but I am determined

Book signing day!

to push it on in there! 

But despite my inabilities and flaws, God showed up. He brought a couple of divine appointments that reminded me of His purpose. There was a lady who came in from the pool purposefully to purchase all three of the books and she let us know that she was there because of what she had read on Amazon about the books! I was so encouraged! Shortly thereafter, Dinorah, a young lady who headed up the tours for the Solmar Helping Hands charities, came over to check the books out. She said she had heard about the book signing from several people and wanted to come take a look.

We talked about the Helping Hands foundation which opened the door for me to share each of the books and the respective charities that they are dedicated to. She nodded her head in open appreciation and picked up A Cup of Hope, exclaiming how cute the cover was. She glanced through it and got so excited. “These look like what I would like.” She picked up A Cup of Encouragement and then handed them both to me.

I had my first sale in pesos! I got so excited figuring it out I could have sworn I had a hot flash, but then just as quick as it came on, it was gone! I signed them both, and thanked her. When she asked if we came every year, I assured her that we did. “Well we need to stay in touch through email and I will bring you out to all the timeshare representatives and the helpers for the charity. They love to buy and they need your books.”

I had to remind myself to shut my mouth before a Cabo mosquito flew in it! Talk about an unexpected gift! By now, it was just about time to wrap the morning session up, but before we packed it up, Rodney and George suggested that I ask Paula, the Chief Concierge, if there was any way we could move to a better location. I prayed for courage as I made my way toward her across the lobby. I don’t know why I felt so inept and awkward, because she really is the sweetest and most accommodating concierge I have ever met.

For those of you who were with me last year, do you remember the fiasco with the books being stuck in customs and not making it to us? Well, she was so incredibly helpful through that whole thing.

Anyway, she stood as I approached her and we hugged, and then I asked her, “Paula, is there any way that we can move for the afternoon session?” I went on to share with her about the first year I was in the lobby and where they had put me, which was an amazing spot at the end of the resort receptionists and definitely a prime location in comparison to where we were now.

“I understand, Ms. Lepins. Let me talk with my manager and see what we can do. I don’t think it will be a problem as long as the spa staff does not mind.” I thanked her and walked back to our table.

Rodney and George could tell by the smile on my face that the attempt had been well-received, but I still couldn’t stop from exclaiming how incredibly understanding and receptive she had been.

Cheryl and I began to pack up the books, and we agreed to leave the signs out with a “Back at 3” sign taped to the table. We were about to leave and Paula came over with the General Manager, Rodrigo. We all shook hands and he then went on to say that Paula had told him we wanted to move the table. He said, “It will be no problem to move you, Senora Lepins. I will see to it myself that we move everything by this afternoon.” Talk about humbled. Rodrigo’s kindness rang a bell of truth in my heart: You can’t be genuinely kind without humility!

Please join me tomorrow for more Cabo highlights and revelations. And I can’t wait to tell you who I met at the pool!

Joyfully,

Evinda

Coffee in Cabo from Coffee Hour @ Chicklit Power

It’s a new day, a brand new day and His mercies are new for you and me! Thanks for joining me for a little coffee break today. I thought it would be fun to share the highlights of Cabo with you for the next few coffee hours, so grab your coffee and come on in.

Sunday: I came downstairs with my last bag and there in the entryway were our four-legged children Sparky and Baraka, wagging their tails as soon as they saw me, but little Baraka had that look and she didn’t hesitate to direct it right at me. She looked up at me ever so adorably and wagged her tail with obvious anxiety that reached all the way into her eyes. It reminded me of the night before when she had hopped into George’s packed suitcase on the closet floor. She was on to us and pleading with us not to go. Sparky, named this because he’s such a happy dog, also had that look, only his wasn’t a ticked-off look but more of a sad one.

please don’t go…

These dogs definitely don’t make it easy to leave. As George called them both into the hallway, I reminded myself of how attached they have become to Jene’ and the relief of knowing they’d be okay helped me out the front door and into Rodney and Cheryl’s car that was now packed and ready to go.

We arrived at the airport with plenty of time to spare. I so appreciate that about Rodney; he’s always plenty early whereas I can cut it too close at times! My first heart-squeeze happened right at the curb with Omar, the guy who checked us in. He was so full of joy and peace and he had such an infectious smile, I just had to ask him if He was a child of the King! His smile got bigger. “Yes, I most certainly am,” he exclaimed.

While we talked, he began to print our boarding passes and the luggage tags and I reached for the one packed with books and started to put it within his reach but he just continued putting the luggage tags on everything. I asked him, “Aren’t you going to weigh them?” His grin went wider. “Oh, no; I done took care of everything. We’re not doin’ none of that!”

I breathed a sigh of relief. Had God given him a video of my fretting over the possibility of having to pay $50 for any and each over-packed suitcase?

I heard “A Cup of Encouragement,” and I reached down into my carry-on and pulled a copy of my first book out, asked for his wife’s name, signed it and handed it to him. “Thanks for blessing us with such happy service.”

We were on our way with a reminder that He was going ahead of us!

on our way…

The flight was quick and easy, which was another blessing for me as I am still not a fan of flying. After going through customs we headed for the luggage terminal. I was prepared to wait, thinking our luggage was at the bottom of the pile since we were one of the first to check in. Well, we waited about five minutes or so and then I saw the pretty mulit-colored pieces of yarn and there were Rodney’s and Cheryl’s suitcases, too.

George walked over and pulled the first one off the turntable and set it down in a way that made me yelp at him! I was immediately sorry for my sharp tone and apologized. He turned the luggage to steer it toward me and I gasped. There on the side was a huge white mark and then three jinormous cracks. It was obvious that someone either ran it over or dropped it a long way down! Talk about a joy stealer! My brand-new Samsonite large suitcase, destroyed.

I saw an attendant and waved him over and showed him my problem. He took pictures with his cell phones – don’t you just love technology! – and then he asked us to follow him to their office, so we did. While he was getting some info for us, George decided to open it and see whose it was, mine or his.

“It’s yours,” he said. Right after that, a memory collided with an understanding that sent chills running up and down my spine. See, just the day before I actually prayed about whether I should carry my laptop with me and go through all the hassle of taking it out of my carry-on, out of its sleeve, into a plastic tub, through the scanner, back out of the tub, into the sleeve, back into the carry-on . . . blah, blah, blah, blah – just talking about it makes me cranky — or should I just put it in its sleeve and check it in my suitcase as I have done many, many times. I heard “Take it with you,” so I did.

I know that I know that I know that had my laptop had been in that suitcase, it most likely would have been destroyed! Talk about another hear-squeeze from God! I just love when He shows up like that to let us know He is watching us, and watching out for us!

Join me tomorrow for more Cabo highlights!

Evinda