Hey friends-

As many of you know (because part of my responsibility has been to talk about it,) I am being featured on Focus on the Family Wednesday morning on their radio broadcast. This was taped about two weeks ago and will be heard in a LOT of places on Wednesday morning. We are talking about THE HUSBAND PROJECT. It’s a light hearted interview and was a lot of fun.

This morning, I will be flying to Colorado to work with the team at Your Family Live (the TV/Webinar part of Focus on the Family)for their broadcast on Wednesday where I will be the main guest (they have a couple other people coming in on Skype.) During and right after the broadcast, Focus will be having its first ever Twitter Party featuring me, my book and a ton of giveaways. Focus is teaming up with my publisher Harvest House, and MOPS International. (MOPS is using this to promote their convention where I’ll be speaking with (gulp) Max Lucado.)

So at this point, you are probably saying, “Um, Kathi… Awesome. But why are you telling me?” (I’m sure the guys that I sent this to are especially scratching their heads…)

I would really, really love your help in one or two of the following ways. Because I want the Twitter Party to be a success for both MOPS and Focus, and I want the broadcast to do its part in encouraging women to encourage their men!

1. You could join the twitter party: If you follow www.Twitter.com/YourFamilyLive on twitter, you will find out all the details. Don’t have a twitter account? Don’t worry. You can sign up for one and then never use it after Wednesday (that’s what Roger did when he signed up for one!)
2. You can listen or watch on Wednesday: for the radio program(10 AM CA time) http://www.focusonthefamily.com/radio.aspx for the webcast (11AM CA time) http://www.focusonlinecommunities.com/community/webcasts
3. If you are one of my web savvy friends, you could let other people know about the party. Here is a little script you can post, email, carrier pigeon:
Your Family Live is also having their very first Twitter Party with Kathi! Prizes include Kathi’s book, The Husband Project, “My Husband’s A Hottie” T-Shirts, Focus on the Family’s Essentials of Parenting DVDs and several resources from MOPS, including ten free Storyboard Tickets and two free Registrations to the MOPS 2011 Convention in Nashville, TN on August 4-6th! Make sure you “follow” Your Family Live by going to www.Twitter.com/YourFamilyLive, and then respond to the tweets on the day of the show for your opportunity to win! You can find out more by going to the Your Family Live Facebook page!

4. Finally, if you have no interest in getting a Twitter account, and have a full time job and can’t randomly take off to listen to me on the radio, perhaps you should consider changing jobs…
Actually, I am writing because I believe that God is going to do something powerful with the listeners on Wednesday. I know there are a TON of men who have no soft place to land in their lives. I want women to be called to a higher standard in their marriages, but I know that a lot of them are hurting as well. My prayer is that women will join together to not only pray for their marriage, but take daily action steps to improve their marriage.

Thanks to each of you. I am blessed.

Kathi

It was a full blown panic.

A start-calling-the-name-of-Jesus panic.

I had two speaking engagements on Saturday; one was a breast cancer research benefit for my fellow author Susy Flory in her home about an hour away. The other was for a local church in my hometown of San Jose.

I was packed up and ready to  go. In fact, I had time to stop at Starbucks with plenty of time to get to Susy’s.  So I am sitting in the drive thru line at Starbucks, and realize I had left my iPod at home. No problem! I could listen to some tunes on my iPad that I had brought for my notes. (Yes. I’m like all those hipster pastors who preach from their iPads. Word.)I hooked up the iPad to my car’s stereo and…

The problem?

I touched the power button and nothing. Nada.

How could it be? I had charged it all the night before. I should have had battery to spare. But there I was, staring at a blank screen.

AGGGGHHHH

Yes, I had plenty of time to get to Susy’s. But not if I had to go back home (20 minutes) boot up my computer and print the speech (10 minutes) and then recover the lost ground, (another 20 minutes.) I would love to say that I started praying. But really, it was panic and a lot of pleading.

“God, please help me recall my speech. I will do anything if you help me remember it all. Help me, Help me…” And that’s when I heard his voice…

Andy Stanley’s voice. It was coming from the car stereo.

I couldn’t figure it out? How was I listening to one of Andy’s podcasts on leadership if my iPad was out of juice? And that’s when I made one of those “slap-yourself-on-the-forhead-it-would-be-hilarious-if-it-happened-to-someone-else-discoveries”…

I couldn’t see that the iPad screen was on the whole time because I was wearing polarized sunglasses.

All I had to do to see that the iPad was working the whole time was to take off my sunglasses.

UM – are we talkin’ metaphor or what?

It’s like my prayer earlier. God is there waiting the whole time – asking me to come to him with every single need. (Even an iPad that’s on the fritz.) But because of fear, it’s as if I can’t see Him. I just resort to fear.

And that’s usually why I can’t see God: fear. Or it’s close cousin, bitterness.

What gets in the way of you seeing Jesus?

“Mom, don’t freak out…”

Yes. Those are the words that every mother longs to hear.

One of my kids, (who has asked to remain nameless,) had a little accident.

OK it was more than a little accident. I mean, just look that that license plate.

Thankfully, no one was hurt. No one, except for my car. (BTW, I have to give it up for my 11 year old Toyota Sienna. It has had rocks reign down on it, a tree fall on it, and taught teens to drive. That is the Energizer Bunny of Automobiles.)

All this occurred just hours before I am suppose to leave for a retreat. On peace.(Go ahead. Laugh ironically. I did before I cried.)

I have to tell you honestly. I wasn’t feeling it.

There have been work issues, family issues, and health issues. Plus, we have been moving rooms around. (Want to test a family’s peace level? Have them switch rooms around. I. Dare. You.)

I was jumpy, my heart kept racing, and I was on the verge of tears all the time.

But if there is one thing I have learned about peace it’s this: You don’t get to choose your circumstances, but you do get to choose who you let handle them.

When I respond with my oh-so-human response, I continue to be jumpy, my heart keeps racing and I am on the verge of tears all the time.

But when I finally, eventually, start praying and remembering what God has promised me, that is the only time that I can even begin to taste anything resembling peace.

The verse I go to in times like this is Isaiah 26:3

You keep him in perfect peace
whose mind is stayed on you,
because he trusts in you.

It is conditional. I get peace because:

1. I keep my mind on Him
2. I trust in Him

And when I do those things, I have peace.

So here is my question for you: What are the verse you rely on when you need to keep the peace? Because really, I am going to paste them up in my car. When it gets back from the shop.

It has been a busy couple of years. Panic-inducing, crazy-making busy.

But this year (my just keep swimming year…) I am trying to figure out how to love my God more, love my husband better, be more present for my kids, live a nourishing life, and grow my business/ministry in  healthy and God-reliant ways.

And that is where my garden comes in.

You see, I was challenged by someone important in my life that I need to have something outside of ministry and family in my life. I spend a lot of time trying to do for other people, and have not set up healthy ways of replenishing. (And watching a steady stream of Bravo TV doesn’t seem to be doing the trick.)

So when said person asked me what my hobbies are, I just stared back blankly.

“You know, what do you do for fun?”

Blank stare.

So this week, I’m trying to incorporate some fun into my life – the only problem? I kinda forgot what it looked like.  So I started to think and dream and consider what I really loved to do that had nothing to do with writing or speaking.

And then that is when I saw the gardening magazine at Safeway. Score.

It has been a long time since I took a day off. But today I did. I spent some time with my magazine, and started to plan for my container garden this spring. Can I tell you how restoring it was to read about dirt, and tomatoes, and to take a pad of paper and just dream a little bit.

I would love to know what you do to have a little fun in your life. It scared me a bit that it took me so long to figure out what I needed. My question is this: As a grown woman with a family or a career or both, what do you do for fun?

As I keep mentioning (because let’s fact it, I’m still pretty bitter,) we have gone from being the techie-st house on the block to the 1970′s.

Remember when, back in the 70′s when you only had four channels coming into your house. We’re back to that.

I don’t think you realize what I’m saying here.

No Project Runway.

No White Collar.

No Mythbuster.

No nuttin.

I would love to say that I’m using the extra time for memorizing Greek translations of the Old Testament, or going to Pilate’s.

But I need some fun stuff to watch on the internet.

So my question for you is: What is a can’t miss must watch. Please let me know the videos, sites and blogs that you can’t live without.

Give a girl some love here.

Oh – and we gave up Tivo. You see how bad it is around here…