47 years ago today….I was born.

My Celebration

Today I will celebrate my life!  My God given life - my abundantly blessed life – my 47 years on this earth – my health – my family & friends – my faith – my future!

I will celebrate with those I love and I will enjoy all the delights of the day! I will probably continue to celebrate throughout the week as well.

Yes, birthdays are a great time to celebrate life but they are also a time to reflect on the past and contemplate the future.

My Reflection

As I look back on my life, there is much for which to be thankful.   Mine is a life truly blessed.

• I was blessed to be born to a father & mother who loved life, loved the Lord and loved each other

• I was blessed to be born in America – land of the free and home of the brave!
• I had the wonderful experience of growing up with two sisters and a brother to play with, fight with, share with (no matter how unwillingly at times) and make memories together!

• I moved many times growing up in a military family which produced positive character qualities in my life as well as the awesome friendships that I made throughout the country
• I had a very unique and amazing high school experience, especially my senior year and senior class.  It was stellar and stands out as a highlight of my youth

• As a 16 year old, I encountered the Lord in a very personal way that has clearly affected most of my important decisions since that day in 1979

• I had a life changing summer at Hume Lake in 1981

• I experienced and got to be involved in  a season of amazing revival at the University of the Pacific through Chi Alpha ministries  in the early 80’s

• I had the honor & joy of being the youth pastor to the most amazing group of teenagers from every high school in Stockton & Lodi for four years.

• After praying for six years,  I was given by God the very best man that I could ever imagine to marry and share a life together. I am still in awe of God’s gift to me.

• I became passionate about the ministry of Christian education during my early years at Brookside Christian . It was my time at this school that molded me, shaped me and caused me to grow immensely.  The students & staff from that era  are precious friends and will always hold a prominent place in my heart.

• I have been blessed by God with children.  Truly there is nothing better in this life than the gift of children.  Sometimes I stop and wonder what I did to deserve these wonderful blessings.  I look at them in awe and thankfulness….they are my life!

• I  was “forced” into homeschooling by our life circumstances (as I would have never decided on my own to homeschool) and this has been the single best thing for my children and our relationship.  I will never give it up now!

• My Creative Memories business has brought a richness to my life that is beyond anything I could have ever imagined.  I have gotten to use and improve my gifts & talents, invest in others lives, experience amazing opportunities and make life long friendships in this committed community of consultants.

• Jim Elliot Christian High School is a miracle and I got the opportunity to be a part of  this one of a kind school.  After 11 years this school and the people involved continue to bring me joy, love and inspiration every day! I can only hope and pray that it will never end.

Now in my reflection of the past there are also regrets, sorrows, things I wish I could change and life lessons to be learned:

• I regret my indiscretions and poor decisions of my youth as well as the way I often treated my mother  & older sister when I was a teenager
• I did not fully use the intellect that I have been given to study and learn throughout my high school & college education years
• I would offer greater grace and show more compassion to the youth who were put under my charge as a youth pastor and teacher
• I would be more humble and vulnerable to those around me
• My older children would not have spent anytime in daycare and I would have trusted the Lord for His provision as He always proves Himself faithful.
• I would have been more frugal with my finances, especially during the more prosperous years
• After years as a high school & college athlete, I would have made healthy eating & daily exercise a life long habit, instead of  a “up & down” lifestyle
• I lost my father when I was 33 years old…I wish I could have been given more time here on this earth with him
•  I would have lost my temper less with my children, not “sweat the small stuff”  and spent more time praying with them and teaching them the Bible as well as studying and meditating on it myself
• I would have held my tongue and attempted to only speak words of encouragement, love and appreciation to my family

 My Contemplation

Reflecting on the past is always a good starting point for contemplating the future.  Looking at the positive & the negative of your past can help you purpose in your heart to plan a better tomorrow. 

The next time your birthday rolls around what do you want your life to look like?

What do you want to do, accomplish and change in the next 5 years, 10 years, 20 years?

What were you born to do?  What is your unique and special purpose here on this earth?

When you are at the end of your life (which when you are my age, if you have done the math,  you are aware that there are fewer years ahead of you than behind you)…what will you want your life to have looked like? What will be your legacy? What difference will you have made in the lives of your family, friends, church, workplace, city, country or world?

As I do every year around this time, I will once again be contemplating these questions and be purposeful about making needed changes in my life and making a plan to do and be all that God has for me in this life,  that He has given me.

When the final day of my life…my “deathday” arrives I want to not only be ready but I want to have lived a life that glorified God and I want to leave a legacy to future generations of Lambdin’s that will inspire them to live a purposeful life fulfilling their destiny.

Red Envelope Day is TODAY – March 31, 2009

I have been hearing about this for months and was excited to participate along with my family.  I wrongly assumed that others who believe in the life of the unborn would have heard of it through facebook, email or at their churches.  Just this past week I have become aware of some of my close friends who are passionately pro life had not yet heard of this event.  So even though the day is here…I am hoping to help get the word out and to inspire those of you out there to join in the effort to take a stand for the unborn.

It’s a simple concept: just buy a red envelope(or make out of construction paper or wrapping paper or color white envelopes red as my friend Becky’s children did)  seal it up (yes, empty), address it to the president, and add this note on the back of the envelope: “This envelope represents one child who died in abortion. It is empty because that life was unable to offer anything to the world. Responsibility begins with conception.”   Or do it the EASY way go to this website – pay $1.10 & they will send your red envelope (or as many as you want to send) - couldn’t get any easier & way cheaper than your cup of coffee today  – http://www.redenvelopeday.com/send.html

You may wonder, “What good will this do?” No one but God can answer that, but the campaign reminds me of the “launcher” tactic used by William Wilberforce and others as they fought against slavery in the British Empire. It’s a simple, peaceful way of drawing attention to an evil that needs to be changed. President Obama, as Chuck Colson noted in this BreakPoint commentary, is confused on this issue: he rightly believes that God does not support taking innocent life, yet he is staunchly pro-abortion.  

Here’s the address so you don’t have to look it up:
President Barack Obama
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Ave NW
Washington, DC  20550

My children participated in this at their homeschool co-op and also sent envelopes to our local media telling them what was happening. Then last weekend when all the “Borden” cousins were here for Amy’s Rite of Passage (more on that to come) we had a red envelope party.

The students at Jim Elliot Christian High School also participated – they made their envelopes out of red copy paper and addressed them in my husband’s Bible class yesterday & today.

The girls and I just dropped ours off at our local post office – hoping that you are all doing the same thing (or getting on line and placing your red envelope order) 

Even if you are not reading this post on March 31st – I would still do it – a few days late will not matter as hopefully millions of red envelopes arrive at the White House throughout the next week!  This is an easy & painless way to let your voice be heard for the innocent unborn.

January is National Right to Life Month.

If you have read much of my blog or have known me for longer than 24 hours you most likely are well aware that one of my passions is LIFE!  I believe that all human life is a precious gift from God to be more highly valued than riches, possessions, personal pleasure or pursuits. I believe that every human being has the “right” to life – no matter their size, their level of development, their environment or their degree of dependency.

Do you believe that?

* Size – Are bigger people more human or more valuable than smaller people?  Is a baby born at full term weighing 7lb 11 oz more human than the one born in the room next door at 26 weeks gestation weighing 1lb 6oz? For my dear friend who delivered her baby at 15 weeks and held in the palm of her hand a tiny yet perfectly formed little baby boy and saw his perfect little hands, toes, eye brows and tiny little finger nails- she can tell you that her tiny baby was valuable and human.

Level of Development- Certainly we do not want to live in an elitist society that says only people with a certain level of development are human and valuable?  Are you at a higher development level  - physically, emotionally and mentally –  now than when you were 5 or 15 or  even 25 for that matter. I certainly am.  And as I age, I realize that in many ways my development will actually start deteriorating  (especially in the physical arena) – does that mean I am less valuable or human?  Level of Development does not make a life valuable.  No matter what our level of development, no matter what our disabilities, we have the right to life.

Environment – Does where we live determine our right to life or our value as a human being?  I have lived -

• under my parents 14 ”roofs” (in seven different cities, in four states)
• in a dorm room at UOP
• in two different apartments and a rental home
• in my own home (well ok, really the banks home)

….and in my mothers womb! I have been a valuable human being with the right to life in each and everyone of those places. Why would anyone suggest that an 8 inch trip down the birth canal somehow makes you human?

Degree of Dependency - Dependency is irrelevant to value in human beings.  My 21 month old precious baby boy (I refuse to call him a toddler yet) is completely dependant on others to sustain his life.  My 19 year old amazing daughter is completely dependant on insulin to stay alive. Someday I just might be completely dependant on my children due to the loss of my health or ability to work t0 provide for my needs – will that make me not valuable or have the right to life? In many ways we are all dependant on someone or something to sustain our life. And for those of us who have others depending on us to sustain their lives….are we not morally and ethically responsible to provide that need?

Bottom Line – Why is it ok to end the life of  a baby before they are born?

My passion for life is not something I just talk about – it is something I have actively lived out by -

• praying, praying & praying
• sharing my passion for the unborn with young people for the past 25 years
• teaching & training those same young people to defend the rights of the unborn
• having the privilege of being able to “rescue” a teenager literally right from out of an abortionists hands (her beautiful daughter is now 20 years old & living a wonderful life!)
• being arrested & going to jail for peaceful civil disobedience while protesting abortion (no signs, no words,no threats)
• being personally open to every life the Lord wants to bless us with – at any age, under any circumstances, at any time
• being willing to adopt any baby (no, not just a “perfect” baby) that a mother is unable to raise for whatever reason (really!  If you know of someone with a “unwanted” pregnancy we would love to raise their baby in our loving home)
• having an “open home” policy for anyone in a crisis pregnancy (or any other crisis for that matter)
• donating baby clothes, diapers and money to the Pregnancy Help Center in Stockton
• participating in fund raisers for Pregnancy Crisis Centers
• teaching, training, influencing and inspiring my own seven children to be actively pro-life
• and this past Saturday our entire family participated for the first time (but not the last!) in the Walk for Life in San Francisco with over 30,000 others who are taking a stand for the right to life for the unborn. 

These type of events help to solidify your and your children’s convictions in every way – from the inspirational speakers, the testimonies from women who regret their abortions, the warm, wonderful & diverse fellowship with fellow walkers and even listening to the angry protesters rhetoric ignites passion & purpose.

My eldest daughter, Michelle,  participated in the March for Life in Washington DC two days prior to our event (and I have to say I am one proud Mommy – she has been passed the baton & is running with it!)

She got to hear incredible “right on” speakers like Pastor Luke Robinson -

If you too believe in the right to life for the unborn,  I would ask you today….what are you doing to “talk the talk” AND ”walk the walk”?  Together we can – stop the killing of innocent life.

 * The SLED acronym was learned from Scott Klusendorf one of the best defenders of life in our country!(www.prolifetraining.com)

Four years…will fly by!

How do I know?  Well after dragging my kids out of bed last Tuesday to watch the historic inauguration of our first black president (which we would have watched the inauguration events no matter who was being sworn in – to me it is patriotic!), I began to reminisce on past inaugurations.

• Just four years ago in 2005 three of my girls – Michelle, Amy & Rebekah attended the inauguration of George W Bush for his second term
• 
• Four years previous to that in 2001, Michelle, after working for months volunteering her time for the Republican Central Committee (as an 11 year old….mind you!) raised the funds and secured a ticket from our congressman to attend Bush’s first inauguration! 
• 
• of course I can remember the 1997 inauguration of Bill Clinton because my four girls ages 7, 4, 3 and 18 months and I made & ate an entire batch of chocolate chip cookie dough to drown our sorrows. (ok, so the girls were happy even before the cookie dough except for perhaps Michelle who even at seven was already political)
• 
• During the 1993 inauguration I only had two little girls…just a “starter kit” family
• 
• If you go back to the 1989 innaguaration of George H Bush I was pregnant with Michelle just beginning my nine months of non stop “morning sickness”.
• 
• And in 1985 I was single (not even considering matrimony or motherhood!) & a youth pastor for over 100 teens
• 
• 1981, after voting for the first time the previous November for Ronald Reagan, I was an 18 year old freshman at the University of the Pacific
• 

That is only eight inaugurations since my being old enough to vote.  Then I began to do the math….our children will be at home with us for,  a mere four or at the most five inaugurations.  FOUR!!!???  Does that not seem like an incredibly small amount of time when you put it in perspective?  I know that when “your guy”  is not in office four years may seem like an eternity.  But it really does just fly by like all of life once you enter the “adult world”. (When I was a child everything seemed to take forever to get here…is that still the case today?) 

So wether you are lamenting or rejoicing in the next four years under our current administration

• Take a moment to realize and let it sink in how very short four years is and how incredibly fast it will go by
• Take a moment to count how many innaguarations your kids have left under your roof (Michelle is already up & out, this was the last innaguration for Amy & Kristen to be at home….<big sigh & gulp>, Rebekah has one left, Grace has two, Joy has three and Daniel has four)
• Take a moment to decide what are you going to do with that time you have left, Lord willing, with your children?

Be purposeful in your parenting.  Have a plan and inact that plan! You have four short “terms of office” as their parents to

• mold and shape them into people of character & conscience
• teach and train them in the principles of the Word of God
• disciple and mentor them to fear the Lord and glorify Him in all that they do
• influence them to be life giving and show love to the “least of these” – the orphans, widows, elderly, disabled, depressed, outcasts, enslaved and the unborn
• inspire them to live a life of service that will make a difference and have a lasting impact

Take an oath today that you will be purposeful in your parenting during the term of office you have left.  Don’t let these years just pass you by – all too soon your term will be up and your legacy will be carried on….for better or for worse by your children. What will history write about your parenting?

This past weekend fifty two excited students marched across the platform to receive their diplomas and become the 10th graduating class at Jim Elliot Christian High School.  We now have over 350 alumni who are making a difference in this world after  being trained, taught, discipled and mentored at this exceptional school.

Dan and I are proud to have been a part of the beginning of Jim Elliot and each year as we witness another class graduating our hearts overflow with joy and thanksgiving to God for the great things He is doing in and through these incredible young people. 

 This years class was an awesome example of the kind of sacrificial giving and life of service that we hope to instill in our students.  They were continually giving of their time, talent and resources to bless others.  They volunteered at children’s homes, pregnancy crisis centers, emergency food banks, retirement homes, hospitals, churches, tutoring elementary school students, special olympics to name a few.  They opened up a snack shack during lunch and ran it all year raising over $11,000 for student tuition assistance.  They held a talent show to raise funds for college scholarships for next years senior class.  Several young men spent the entire year helping a handicapped girl learn to ride a bike and roller skate and in the process gave her the confidence to begin to communicate more effectively with everyone around her.  And the list goes on.

One of the best examples of the type of stellar students we have is this -  When I asked the student body president a few months back if he would do me a favor, without hesitation he enthusiastically responded, “Of course!”.  I looked at him and said, “But John, you don’t know what it is I am going to ask you yet.”  To which he replied, “It doesn’t matter what it is Mrs Lambdin, I will do it for you.”  How refreshing!

It is amazing to me that these mere eighteen year olds have often done more to serve and give to others in their four years of high school than many adults have done in a lifetime.  I pray that their legacy of service will touch and inspire others to begin to live a rich life that is centered on God and service rather than self centered pursuits that are ultimately empty and unfulfilling.

Congratulations Jim Elliot Christian High School Class of 2008!

My upline Cathy recently promoted to Executive Director with Creative Memories.  For a look at what makes an exceptional leader I’d like to share with you the letter I wrote for her in honor of her promotion. We should all aspire to such leadership.

Dearest Cathy,

 

 

CONGRATULATIONS on promoting to Executive Director! I could not be more excited for you as you achieve this CM milestone.  I am filled with so much joy and excitement, only wishing that I could be there in person to celebrate with you! Enjoy every moment of being the shining star.

 

As my upline in Creative Memories you have been amazing!  From the very beginning when I was not interested in pursuing CM as a business, you called me regularly just to check in.  You did not push me, but simply offered the opportunity to take my career to a new level through motivation, encouragement, enthusiasm and your personal business success.  When I did decide to jump in with both feet, you provided everything that was needed to soar to the top!  You were there to provide wisdom and advice from your years of experience as well as outstanding training. You role modeled a balanced and successful hard working business. You offered incentives and you showered me with praise, recognition and rewards.  You challenged me and cheered me on every step of the way.  When we hit bumps in the CM road, you offered a listening ear, supporting and being there every step of the way.  Your leadership is one to be commended, rewarded and recognized.

 

You are much, much more than simply my leader and upline in Creative Memories –

 

• You are my friend.  We have shared so many wonderful times together over our CM journey.  We have laughed, jumped up and down, screamed with delight, danced, embraced and cried together.  We have gone on the most incredible incentive trips, had the time of our life at conventions, relaxed and scrapbooked together at retreats and enjoyed great fellowship in each others homes. The memories are warm and wonderful and will be forever cherished!
• You are my sister in the Lord.  Our common faith in the Lord Jesus has been such a great blessing to me.  You are a woman of virtue and solid moral values. What a joy to have a leader whose priorities include serving the Lord.
• You have given generously of your love to both me and my precious family – Cathy your love is truly the best gift that you have given me over these past 12 years. You have been there to welcome three new babies the Lord blessed us with. You were there as we scraped and struggled to start Jim Elliot Christian High School – always believing in the vision.  You have walked with us through some tough times as we have had to deal with the loss of our employment, major health issues and serious financial struggles. You have celebrated with us through many of our milestones – wedding anniversaries, birthdays, the start of JECHS, graduations and much more. You have been so kind and generous to the girls – showering them with little gifts, passing down your daughter’s fun toys and beautiful clothes and always making them feel special and welcomed to CM events.

 

Cathy, I pray that the Lord will continue to bless you in every way as you have blessed so many others.  As you continue to celebrate this promotion over the upcoming months may you be filled with great joy and fulfillment as you are given recognition of the leader you have been for years. Here’s to you!

 

With much love, appreciation and admiration,

 

Beth

Last week as I was taking my morning walk, I suddenly began to notice a starfish here or there that had washed ashore.  A few steps more and there were five, then six, then 10 to 15 starfish.  Everywhere I looked there were starfish – large ones, tiny ones, green, white, red and purple ones.  They were beautiful and amazing!

I ran back home to get the girls to come out to the beach and see the starfish for themselves.  They quickly grabbed a bucket and filled it with ocean water to gather the starfish and put them back into the water. (after naming a few of them!)

When I first encountered the mass of starfish on the shore that morning I was immediatly reminded of a story that I had been told years ago, here it is -

 ”An old man walked along a shore littered with thousands of starfish, beached and dying after a storm. A young man was picking them up and flinging them back into the ocean. “Why do you bother?” the old man scoffed. “Surely you cannot expect to save enough to make a difference.” The young man picked up another starfish and sent it spinning back to the water. “I just made a difference to that one”.

A short but potentially life changing and inspiring story. More often than not we have that same scoffing voice in our own head – telling us that what we do will not make a difference.  Those voices often sound like this -

Why would you bother…..

• volunteering your time to teach Sunday School or coach other people’s children?
• occasionally stopping and giving your change to the homeless when they might use it to buy drugs?
• donating your “mere” $15 to a charity, church or a missionary when others could give so much more?
• picking up stray garbage as you walk down the street when you can never make a dent in it?
• to work so hard for so little money at your full time ministry vocation with little visible results?
• powering through all the hassles of adoption when you already have children?
• sponsoring a child in a third world country when hundreds if not thousands of others will die of starvation?
• spending countless hours giving pre-marital counseling knowing that according to statistics one out of every two couples may divorce?
• sharing words of wisdom, inspiration or motivation to many when only a few will actually do something different with their life because of it?

Why bother?  Because if it will make a difference in at least one life - then to me – it is worth it!

Who will be the one you make a difference for today?