iFly Away

November/2014

iPray eVotional iPray eVotionals exhorts those who pray.  It's the glass of water held out around each month's turn for the runners who can use a quick and easy quench in order to finish strong. iFly Away Approx. reading time: 5 minutes I have experienced living things fly away. BUTTERFLIES When I was in third grade I gathered some caterpillars from the church yard where my grandparents worked.  I created a habitat for them and invested hours into cleaning their cage, giving them fresh leaves to eat and making sure there were enough sticks and twigs for them to hang their cocoons from.   All of that work for the moment to let them go and watch them become free.  I enjoyed the journey, but I knew that ultimately I would be letting them go.   I felt exhilarated to watch them fly off.  One found a bush for a moment before taking off.  Another flew off into the wind quickly.  I tried to keep my eyes on them for as long as I could, before I couldn't see them any more.   I remember I was also left with a little bit of strange grieving.  A feeling of loss although I knew they were where they were ready to be. I didn't remove their habitat right away.   After a week or so I noticed that at least one of the butterflies had returned.  I didn't see the butterfly, but the butterfly had come back to its habitat and left eggs spread across one of the left over leaves.  I felt overjoyed to know that the butterfly was alive and well.  It was living just the way God intended. BIRDS When I was in my mid-twenties at a camp ground, a trailer arrived with a bird's nest full of baby birds.  Without realizing it, my dad's cousin had left a mommy bird wondering where her babies had disappeared to.  She had tended to them perfectly, all five of them.  They were healthy and waiting for her to give them food.   I remember my heart breaking at the thought of this mommy bird having to let go of her babies before they were able to fly away.  I wondered if she watched the trailer drive off, and how long she was able to follow it.  Could she have followed for the entire two and a half hour drive, all the way up the mountain where we were camping?   After a full day of no mama bird I made it my mission to keep those little birds alive.  With my niece's baby formula, bits of soggy bread and a straw, I answered their chirps for food.  I continued at home and after two weeks they started spreading their wings for flight.   One morning, one by one they took off, clumsily making it to a nearby tree.  I was sad that I couldn't help them like a mama bird could, and I prayed that God would take over.  I heard their chirping in that tree for a couple of days and soon they were gone.   Again, a feeling of loss, letting go and wondering if they would be okay.  The next spring I was astonished when a couple of birds came right back to my balcony and started making a nest near the place their box had been.  By then I had a cat and it chased them away from the balcony, but for that spring I heard the birds in the nearby tree.   Joy filled my heart knowing that they had lived!  Would their mom ever know the full life they were able to live when she was forced to let them go?  I thanked God for that glimpse of His sovereign design. LADYBUGS When my daughter was two we had a ladybug party for her.  I ordered thousands of ladybugs that came with containers for the children and directions on how to let them go in their gardens.  When I opened the ladybug boxes we watched thousands of ladybugs take flight.  Many of them crawled on the grass before flying away.  Some crawled all over our hands and arms.  Others took off right away.  It was a memorable experience and made for a great party. The children captured some to take to their own gardens.  When they had some in their containers, I read The Lazy Ladybug.  A storybook that told of a ladybug that found temporary homes that kept her from flying away.  Eventually, after one of her "homes" sneezed, she was forced to fly away.  I explained to the kids that their ladybugs needed to fly away to find their home. I could tell that many of the little ones would have a hard time letting them go when they got home.  It is hard to let things go, but it is easier when we know that they need to go. That park was not known for ladybugs before that day, but God gave us another wonderful glimpse into his design.  Every year since, that park has been full of ladybugs in the spring.  Hundred of thousands fill the trees and at the right time of year you can walk past any tree and find ladybugs crawling on it.  I know that none of the ladybugs we had let go that year are still alive, but I can see the beautiful result of their lives after they flew away. PEOPLE People?  I have talked about living things with wings, can a person fly away?   My parents put me and my siblings on a flight to California to visit our grandparents when I was seven.  I remember being told that I had earned my wings. Really? Where were they? I certainly couldn't fly away with them. People's bodies can catch a flight that brings them from point A to point B, but in order to fly away we need to earn spiritual wings. In the 1980's my grandfather had a heart attack and with it a near death experience.  He flew away for a brief moment, and came back proclaiming what many others have.  That God is real, and He has a design.   The experience was so powerful, he never again viewed this temporary habitat the same.  A few times I have had the privilege of hearing him talk about the change that happened in him after that experience.  He gained a deep realization of human imperfections coupled with the overpowering knowledge of grace, love and mercy as God's design.   God gave him 30 more years. For the past few days loved ones have been gathering to say good bye and let him go, to permanently fly away.  Today he earned his spiritual wings. Have you been by a loved ones side when it was time for their spirit to fly away?   It's a strange bittersweet moment when a loved one's spirit finds its flight into God's presence.  I wonder if any language on earth has the words to express it just the right way.   Today, I thank God for little glimpses.  These little glimpses into God's beautiful design reminds me of how our bodies house a real spirit that are meant to someday fly away.  A spirit that lives beyond this temporary habitat.  Our spirits are designed to someday leave the nest.   It makes me ask, "Am I prepared for this flight?"   Those on the ground grieve the loss and are left to trust God's design.  With each fly-away, marks can be left that fill hearts with joy.  Sometimes the mark can be seen "on a single leaf," other times it can be seen "filling the trees in a park." Alison Krauss - I'll fly away iPray... Dear Lord,  We praise You for Your sovereign design!  We praise You for the investment of time and work put into our lives, guiding us and pulling us back on Your path.  Give us just what we need to feel the weight of human imperfections and then the freedom found in Your grace, love and mercy.  May we understand what is dinky winky next to what is holy and made perfect.  Lord, when we face a fly-away may we be overwhelmed with your presence in the grieving process and increasingly trust your sovereign design.  May the fly-away be a memorable experience and make for a great party.  Fill our hearts with the joy of eternal life.  Gift us with reminders every spring, and may those marks be multiplied in the years to come.  iPray that when iFly Away, others will be exhilarated and will know that a living thing has just taken flight. In Jesus' Name, Amen! Michelle Fozounmayeh

In This Issue iFly Away Butterflies Birds Ladybugs People iPray Join iPray eMailing List Michelle Fozounmayeh Michelle Fozounmayeh A joy filled wife and mom that enjoys writing, praying, speaking at women events and being an Area Coordinator with the ministry Moms In Prayer International. Blog: 7tothirty7.blogspot.com Website: http://7tothirty7.com/ 4 Traditions 4 New Years 4 Traditions 4 Valentines 4 Traditions 4 St. Patricks 4 Traditions 4 Easter 4 Traditions 4 Mother's Day 4 Traditions 4 Father's Day 4 Traditions 4 Fourth of July 4 Traditions 4 Summer 4 Traditions 4 Back to School 4 Traditions 4 Halloween 4 Traditions 4 Thanksgiving 4 Traditions 4 Christmas iPray Links: Dec. 2011 iPray link: iTeeter-Totter   Jan. 2012 iPray link: iPray Newness Feb. 2012 iPray link: iLove DEEP and WIDE March 2012 iPray link: iPraise April 2012 iPray link: iEmbrace  May 2012 iPray link:   iSmell a Stain June 2012 iPray link: iPray 4 Purity July 2012 iPray link: iPray 4 Protection August 2012 iPray link: iReminisce September 2012 iPray: iWork Out   October 2012 iPray:  iFollow November 2012 iPray: iThank God for That December 2012 iPray: iFinish Strong   January 2013 iPray: iNeed a Reminder   February 2013 iPray iPray in One Accord March 2013 iPray: iRest April 2013 iPray: iListen May 2013 iPray: iHold On June 2013 iPray: iStretch July 2013 iPray: iDream August 2013 iPray: iGet Dressed September 2013 iPray: iSurrender October 2013 iPray: iSpill November 2013 iPray: iMad Pray December 2013 iPray: iMine January 2014 iPray: iColor February 2014 iPray: iClip Show March 2014 iPray iShelve Not April 2014 iPray iKnow in Part May 2014 iPray iRespond June 2014 iPray iHope July 2014 iPray iPray Head To Toe August 2014 iPray iPromote Up September 2014 iPray iWill Grow Up October 2014 iPray iTell the Story Poem links: Time to be Free Ms. Marry McMoo Only You I Delight in You A Bat's Perspective The Ins and Outs Green Things Treasures in the Darkness To My Mom No Longer Hidden 70 Years of Marriage Saint Sadie Discovering Little One Wide Long High and Deep My Son Knowledge Hoard Short Stories: Cream of Corn Battle of the Food Face Singing the Night Away See You Later, Alligator Don't Touch Fried Nuts Annoying Brother Missy's Puppies High Dive Something Big! Stretching First Rainbow Promise

iTell the Story

October/2014

iPray eVotional iPray eVotionals exhorts those who pray.  It's the glass of water held out around each month's turn for the runners who can use a quick and easy quench in order to finish strong. iTell the Story Approx. reading time: 7 minutes When I think about telling my God-story I am reminded of the chorus of a hymn I use to sing as a child:  "I love to tell the story, 'twill be my theme in glory, To tell the old, old story of Jesus and His love." Story Telling Passion I just got a call from my son, Fosi.  It's lunch time at school and he was still hungry after eating, a quick reminder of a snack I packed solved the problem.  Right before hanging up he said, "This is Fosi's evil twin and Fosi is absent from school.  Ok?  Goodbye."  At age ten his love for creating stories and living them out invades every conversation. For years my son has been interested in story telling.  In my 2011 Christmas letter I wrote, "He also writes his own books, his favorite story-telling creations are a series called, "Golden Soot" where the characters are animals."  In my 2012 Christmas letter I wrote, "Being a creative boy that loves to make stories and draw pictures, Fosi finds ways to develop his Golden Soot series and map out his character's journeys."  In 2013 I wrote, "His love for creating stories and making books was enhanced this year as he drew from his Disneyland experiences."  By the end of that year Fosi had created a company name, movies, TV series, books, theme parks and more. Two summers ago Fosi asked me to help him write and film his movie.  We started on a script and then stopped short.  Last summer he had the idea of doing a film camp where we could do scenes from his movie and his sister, who loves to act, could be in it.  It never happened.  The disappointment of two summers without a film project started to weigh heavy on his heart.  I did not want him to lose that drive, that ambition and vision.  I decided that I would do something to aid him in learning how to tell his stories by buying annual passes to the giant of movie-making theme parks, Universal Studios in Hollywood. Visiting Universal Studios has increased Fosi's drive to make his ideas come to life, now he has vision like never before.  "I want to film all of my CrazyBopBoom movies on the Universal back lot, including the Golden Soot series!"  As the tram toured the sets I could see the stories running wild in his head. That passion to make something inside him come alive makes me think about our own God stories.  Each of us have them in there, waiting to come alive.    I missed organizing a film camp for my son.  Why let anymore opportunities slip by? We should be getting annual passes that lights a passion to tell our God-story. Story Telling Action A great example of someone living out their God-story is the talented writer Marshal Younger. Mr. Younger is a screenwriter with credits such as Adventures in Odyssey: Race to Freedom (2003), Meant to Be (2012), and A Greater Yes: The Story of Amy Newhouse (2009). In these films, Marshal Younger helps present a clear God-story for his audience.  One that moves them to live a worthy life and to make good strong choices.  He has clearly used his gifting to set others on a path of right choices. Perhaps the most intriguing example of Mr. Younger's commitment to telling the story comes from a recent script I read of his. Unlike the movies cited, the script was not labeled Christian.  Nobody gets saved and Jesus isn't even mentioned. So why do I see it as an intriguing example? Not only was it entertaining, made me laugh out loud and allowed me to think about the humor in my own daily life as a mom, what I enjoyed the most was how the convictions if what he believes were not compromised.  It even highlighted the very real conflicts we face when we strive to live lives of high moral value and presented an honest God-honoring resolve.  Marshal Younger told a story with great conviction and honesty which ultimately adds to God's story. "Now I'm glad- not that you were upset, but that you were jarred into turning things around. You let the distress bring you to God, not drive you from him. The result was all gain, no loss." 2 Corinthians 7:9 (The Message) In a world bent on selfishness and egos, all of us face the temptations to conform.  To build a "golden calf" and create our own "festivals" out of fear of what might be done or said against us.  "Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is--his good, pleasing and perfect will." Romans 12:2 In Marshal Younger's script proposal he wrote, "At times, we will be uncomfortable in our faith and in our family life.  We are compelled to make the uncomfortable choice, because it will lead us to gain." Love to Tell The Story I recently watched an interview with James Denton, known for his role on Desperate Housewives, after his second roll in a Christian film.  He explained that he was attracted to the character, adding that it was a coincidence that he had done two in a row. In his interview Mr. Denton said, "I'm always very private about what I believe." Still he was compelled to do these films when he was approached with something that spoke to him.  He explained why and how the two roles attracted him.  The first family film was about a father and daughter that he wanted his kids to see.  The other gave Mr. Denton the opportunity to play the dynamics of a "bad guy".  He also talked about another film he would be doing with the same film makers. James Denton's Interview on Access Hollywood We love to post publicly on social media the meals we just made, who we are engaged to, the latest accomplishments made, how we are spending our Friday night and so much more.  It is in our nature to tell our stories in some way or another. I believe that God provides us with compelling opportunities to honor and trust Him by telling our God-story.  When that means stepping out of our comfort zone, God's love and purpose will replace the fear and uncertainty. James Denton was invited to be a part of God's story and he said yes, even when it opened doors for public (and possibly uncomfortable) conversations about his faith.  Marshal younger said yes as well.  He honors God in his story telling, with opportunities to have an affect on a wide range of audience members.  The story of what God has done and is doing; the story of hope and freedom can be the most compelling thing we want to share.  Like my son, I want to have passion and a desire to talk about my God-Story.  With it on the front of my mind, I want the story to invade my every conversation; I want to be ready to take action when given the chance. I want a genuine love to tell the story. Praise the Lord that He values us greatly as His children, and helps us overcome any fears in our lives. Our "story-telling" can oozes out from the choices we make and how the positions, gifts and talents given to us are handled.  Let's not miss that every day we are given opportunities to tell His story, even when we are working on something that is not labeled "Christian."  From our first "good morning" to our evening "nighty nights." Let's love to tell the story! "I love to tell the story, 'twill be my theme in glory, To tell the old, old story of Jesus and His love." iPray... Dear Lord, According to the way you have created us, bring out that passion again.  May we consider our story with You the most relevant, compelling and life changing post ever.  May we not give up, but find new and fun ways to keep that inspiration going.  May we not get distracted or let our fears become irrational phobias. Because our time is limited, may we consider who we are in Christ the main course and not just a side dish... iPray that we will long to tell the story, and that we WILL tell the story. In Jesus name iPray, amen ALL for Him, Michelle 818-268-5915

In This Issue iTell the Story Story Telling Passion Story Telling Action Love to Tell The Story iPray... Join iPray eMailing List Michelle Fozounmayeh Michelle Fozounmayeh A joy filled wife and mom that enjoys writing, praying, speaking at women events and being an Area Coordinator with the ministry Moms In Prayer International. Blog: 7tothirty7.blogspot.com Website: http://7tothirty7.com/ 4 Traditions 4 New Years 4 Traditions 4 Valentines 4 Traditions 4 St. Patricks 4 Traditions 4 Easter 4 Traditions 4 Mother's Day 4 Traditions 4 Father's Day 4 Traditions 4 Fourth of July 4 Traditions 4 Summer 4 Traditions 4 Back to School 4 Traditions 4 Halloween 4 Traditions 4 Thanksgiving 4 Traditions 4 Christmas iPray Links: Dec. 2011 iPray link: iTeeter-Totter   Jan. 2012 iPray link: iPray Newness Feb. 2012 iPray link: iLove DEEP and WIDE March 2012 iPray link: iPraise April 2012 iPray link: iEmbrace May 2012 iPray link:   iSmell a Stain June 2012 iPray link: iPray 4 Purity July 2012 iPray link: iPray 4 Protection August 2012 iPray link: iReminisce September 2012 iPray: iWork Out   October 2012 iPray:  iFollow November 2012 iPray: iThank God for That December 2012 iPray: iFinish Strong   January 2013 iPray: iNeed a Reminder   February 2013 iPray iPray in One Accord March 2013 iPray: iRest April 2013 iPray: iListen May 2013 iPray: iHold On June 2013 iPray: iStretch July 2013 iPray: iDream August 2013 iPray: iGet Dressed September 2013 iPray: iSurrender October 2013 iPray: iSpill November 2013 iPray: iMad Pray December 2013 iPray: iMine January 2014 iPray: iColor February 2014 iPray: iClip Show March 2014 iPray iShelve Not April 2014 iPray iKnow in Part May 2014 iPray iRespond June 2014 iPray iHope July 2014 iPray iPray Head To Toe August 2014 iPray iPromote Up September 2014 iPray iWill Grow Up Poem links: Time to be Free Ms. Marry McMoo Only You I Delight in You A Bat's Perspective The Ins and Outs Green Things Treasures in the Darkness To My Mom No Longer Hidden 70 Years of Marriage Saint Sadie Discovering Little One Wide Long High and Deep My Son Knowledge Hoard Short Stories: Cream of Corn Battle of the Food Face Singing the Night Away See You Later, Alligator Don't Touch Fried Nuts Annoying Brother Missy's Puppies High Dive Something Big! Stretching First Rainbow Promise