"Refresh" My Soul

This morning in our bible class we were continuing our study on "The Kingdom of God is Like..." and Psalm 23 was read as a reference.  I have known that Psalm by heart ever since my daughter learned it in a 4 year old bible class.  I think they learned the NASB version so I've always remembered it like this... "The Lord is my Shepherd; I shall not want.  He makes me lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside quite waters.  He "restores" my soul."  This morning we were using the NIV and it says, He "refreshes" my soul.  I had never heard that before even though I haven't used the NASB version for many, many years.  I hadn't heard it because I had memorized that scripture years ago along with my daughter.  So every time it was read I never turned to it in my bible because I "knew" it by heart.  So I would just say it along it my head obviously without paying close attention to the words.

Don't get me wrong, I think memorizing scripture is great.  But I was reminded today that even when you have something memorized, there is still much to learn.  God's word is new every morning... even if you do have parts of it memorized.  I love that we have different translations of scripture.  Different words make you stop and think about things in a way you might not have thought about them before.  I love that the NIV says "refreshes" instead of "restores".  While my soul often longs to be restored, sometimes in the midst of trials, in the midst of uncertainty, in the midst of chaos, or in the midst of... you name the struggle, restores seems like something too far in the distance.  Restores seems like something I am unable to grasp, something intangible.  Sometimes restoring my soul seems like an uphill climb, a climb in which I may never reach the top.  Sometimes restoring in the midst of darkness seems like something that will never come.  But refreshes... ah... that is something I can cling too.  The word "refreshes"... just saying it sparks something new in me.  I may not feel like God is anywhere close to restoring my soul in certain times of darkness.  But I know that He never leaves me.  And to know that He "refreshes" my soul gives me just enough to keep going.  It gives me just enough to know that someday, He will restore my soul fully.

The NCV says, "He gives me new strength".  "New strength"... That's another word or words I can cling too.  When it seems that nothing is going right and you don't have any idea what's coming next, you might not even be able to think about "restores", but new strength I can sink my teeth into.  There have been many times when I didn't think I was going to make it, but God has sent me "new strength" for the task or journey that was at hand.  The Message says, "True to your word, you let me catch my breath and send me in the right direction."  "Catch my breath".... wow!  Sometimes that is all I have the strength to do is "catch my breath".   I love that.

I love that God's word can always bring something new and fresh.  I love that God's word let's me know that even when things are crazy, He is there.  I love that we have different translations to help give us a bigger picture of who He is.  Because while sometimes it may seem like my soul is far from being restored, I know that God is there... to help me "catch my breath", to "give me new strength" and to "refresh my soul".  So that one day, my soul can truly be "restored"!

Blessings!

The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing.  He makes me lie down in green pastures,
he leads me beside quiet waters, he refreshes my soul.
He guides me along the right paths for his name’s sake.  Even though I walk through the
darkest valley, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.

You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil;
my cup overflows.  Surely your goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life,
and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.

Psalm 23

Father's Day Thoughts

First of all, I want to say that I have the best husband and father to my children that anyone could ever hope to have.  He has walked with me down paths we didn't know we would take and he has been and Is my rock.  He is a wonderful father to both of my children and is a great example of what unconditional love means.  He is a wonderful father-in-law and he is an amazing "Pops" to a very special little girl.  I love him with all my heart and more than any words could ever say.  And there is no one on this earth I would rather "do life" life with.

But at the same time, Father's Day is always a day of mixed emotions for me.  I lost my dad when I was 12 and in 6th grade to cancer.  It was November of 1973, almost 40 years ago and to this day, I still miss him terribly.  Obviously over time it gets easier, but there are times when I am reminded of how much I truly miss him.  I missed him the day I got married; I missed him when my children were born and during the years they were growing up because he would have been the most amazing "Papa".  I missed him when Eisley was born because she would have just melted his heart.  I miss him during lots of times.  But Father's Day always makes miss him more and stirs up lots of feelings.  It makes me remember all the things I loved about him, but it always stirs up feelings of sadness for the time I missed with him.  It reminds me of the hole that's still in my heart.  And if I'm truly honest, there is even a little bit of bitterness there.  Bitterness because I didn't get enough time with him.  Bitterness because there are people who have had their dad for many, many years and yet they still complain about them and take them for granted.

But it also makes me mindful of others and the situations they have or didn't have with their fathers.  I'm mindful of those men who have not been able to have children for whatever reason but who would have made wonderful fathers.  I'm mindful of those children, who have fathers on paper but have never had a father in their life.  And it makes me grateful that I had one of those father's even if wasn't for as long as I would have liked.  I am mindful of those men who have children they want to be a father to but circumstances have not made that possible.  And I am especially mindful of those men who have children they have lost through death.  No parent should ever outlive their children and so on Father's Day, those men hold a special place in my heart.

One thing I have learned over the years is this... I may have lost my earthly father, but I still have a heavenly father who is there to share in my joys, to listen whenever I need to talk and he walks beside me no matter what struggle is going on in or around my life.  And He is there no matter what I may face in this world.  And because of Him, I know I will one day see my earthly father again.  Because of Him, I know that even though I am missing my dad here on earth, He is passing out hugs and kisses and being a dad to those children who have gone before their parents.  He is being a papa and giving piggy back rides and horsey rides on his knee to all of those precious babies that went way too soon.

If you are missing your earthly dad, you are not alone.  And I know that sometimes the sadness can be overwhelming.  But there is a father who wants to be there for you.  He wants to dry your tears.  he wants to hold you in His embrace.  Most of all He just wants to love you.  And no matter what happens in life He will always be there.

So whether you are a father, a grandfather or one of their children, don't waste a moment of the time God gives you with them.  There are no guarantees about tomorrow.  But there is a guarantee that no matter what happens, your heavenly father will be right be your side.

How priceless is your unfailing love, O God! 

People take refuge in the shadow of your wings.

Psalm 36:7

 For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Romans 8:38-39 

I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.

Ephesians 3:16-19

Blessings!

Finding Treasures that Shape our Thoughts and Actions

I'm sure I have mentioned many times how grateful and how blessed I am to be a part of the ministry team at Highland Oaks Church of Christ.  I know that I work for a church, but I also know that it is a rare thing for even church staffs to spend time on a regular basis in prayer and God's word together.  I am very blessed to be a part of such a group.  And even more blessed to be a part of a group who enjoys getting together and spending time with God and each other.

This week during out prayer time, Pat, our lead minister, gave us a prayer to read over and think about.  We often go through a process called Lectio Divina to help us focus on the words of the reading and what God is trying to tell us through it.  This week we read the following prayer by "Jacob Boehme".

Give me, dear Lord, a pure heart

and a wise mind, that I may

carry out my work according to your will.

Save me from all false desires, from pride,

greed, envy and anger, and let me 

accept joyfully every task you set before me.

Let me seek to serve the poor, the sad and those unable to work.

Help me to discern honestly 

my own gifts that I may do the things

of which I am capable, and happily 

and humbly leave the rest to others.

Above all, remind me constantly that

I have nothing except what you give me,

and can do nothing except

what you enable me to do.

As I read through that on Monday certain phrases stuck out for me.  Now, only 2 days later there are others that are staring me in the face. When we read the bible regularly, certain things we have read a million times can mean something totally different to us every time we read it.  It depends on what is going on in our life at that moment.  This prayer does the same thing for me. There are so many treasures in this prayer.  So many things to help slow our minds down and to help us focus on the things that matter.  Things that can direct us personally and things that can help us to see the world and those around us through the eyes of Jesus and not through the eyes of man.

I wonder what it would look like if we all prayed this prayer everyday.  If we prayed this prayer everyday anticipating and even expecting for God to meet us in this prayer.  I wonder what we would look like to the world and to those around us.  I wonder if our actions would change.  I wonder if we would begin to truly see what is going on all around us.  I wonder what our churches would begin to look like if all the members of churches were praying this prayer.  Would we look and smell different?  We would look and smell more like Jesus?  Would the things that break the heart of Jesus begin to break our hearts in ways we didn't even know were possible?  Would we begin to serve others and do things we never thought we would or even could do... things we didn't even think we were cable of doing?

I can't speak for other people, other churches, my own church, even my own family.  But I can speak for me.  I am challenging myself to pray this prayer daily.  To let the words sink in every day and to allow God to use the words to shape me and to mold me into who He wants me to be.  To train my eyes to see what He sees.  To train my heart to feel what He feels. He is God, and I am not.  But He can do things through me than I cannot even imagine and I want my heart to be open to receive whatever He wants to do with me.

Yet  you, Lord, are our Father.

We are the clay, you are the potter;

we are all the work of your hand.

Isaiah 64:8

Blessings!

Blessed are Those Who Mourn, for They Will be Comforted

As I sit here at my desk this morning, I am finding it very difficult to focus on work as I think about all the devastation and weeping going on in Moore, Oklahoma.  Literally our neighbors.  I am a Christian who believes and trust in God, I work for a church, I am a parent and a grandparent and I am a child. Even still, it is all so hard to imagine.

I have close friends who have lost children and I have seen the agony and pain that brings.  I think about my own family and I cannot even fathom it.  The thought of kissing your children as the get out of the car for school in the morning, not realizing that the next kiss they receive would be from their heavenly father.

I just wrote a blog this week entitled "Through the Eyes of a Child" thinking about my granddaughter Eisley.  I cannot even imagine the pain of my own family, of my own daughter and son-in-law in the circumstances the parents of Moore are facing.  My heart literally aches for them.

The only thing I KNOW through all of this is this, He is God and I am not.  While I cannot imagine what these parents are going through, I know that God knows.  I know that He is right there beside them, wrapping them in His arms, holding them close to His heart.  My prayer is that each of these families, will feel God's presence in ways they never have before.  That even through the tragedy, especially because of the tragedy that they will not lose hope.  That they will cling to the Father like never before and that they will be able to have some peace in knowing their children are with Him.  That they will continue to praise God even in the storm that rages around them... because the tomb is empty!

Our dear friend Jenny Bizaillion went home to be with God a little over 3 years ago.  She absolutely adored and loved children with all her heart.  Her precious daughter Malaya was everything to her.  I can see her now surrounding each and every one of those precious children with her loving arms and covering each one of them with love and kisses.  Not only are they surrounded by their heavenly father God, but they have a heavenly mother in Jenny.  As my heart aches, those images make me smile through the tears.

May God bless each family beyond measure and give them the comfort that can only come from Him.

Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.

Matthew 5:4

The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.

Psalm 34:18

He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds.

Psalm 147:3

Through the Eyes of a Child

Ok, let me just start out by saying, yes I am an adult, and yes I LOVE Disneyworld!!  We recently spent 8 days at Disneyworld.  We also had the privilege of taking our daughter and son-in-law as well as our almost 2 year old granddaughter!  I cannot tell you how much that was!  Getting to see Disneyworld through the eyes of a 2 year old is special.  It's even more special when it's your own kids first time to experience it; and it is beyond amazing to see it through the eyes of your 2 year old granddaughter who is witnessing it all for the first time!  I am beyond blessed!

We have been home now for almost a week.  And as I look back through our pictures from the trip, the magic of it all is truly amazing.  Disney really knows how to do things right when it comes to kids.  They know what kids expect, they know what scares them, and they know how to react to them.  It's quite amazing.  My granddaughter Eisley, had a wonderful time.  We were all a little worried that the reality of all of the Disney characters might scare her.  But she absolutely loved it from day one.  She would get so excited with all of the anticipation of waiting for someone to come around the corner.  She loved the parades and would just clap and get excited waiting for the next character.  She loved the princesses and would just light up when she saw them!

As I reminisce about our trip and see the excitement in her face it reminds me of Jesus saying in scripture to let the little children come to Him.  Children have such pure joy and excitement.  They are not tainted by the harsh realities of the world.  They still see things with pure love and excitement.  Eisley was so excited to see and spend time with the Disney characters.  And it makes me think... as adults do we get that excited? 

There are some things we as adults get excited about.  Some of us get excited about Disney :-), some of get excited about sports, :-) some of get excited about music, some of us get excited about fill in the blank.  But... do we get excited about Jesus?  Do we get excited when we get to worship and sing praises to Him on Sunday morning?  Do we get excited when we take the time to sit with Him and soak in His word?  Do we get excited to sit and be still with Him?  Do we get excited when He opens a door for us and provides us with a wonderful opportunity to serve others?  Do we get excited when He puts people in our path that need Jesus with skin on?

Children see things in such a unique way.  Their excitement is genuine!  Their joy is contagious!  What would it look like if we looked forward to spending time with Jesus in the way Eisley looks forward to seeing Pooh and the Disney princesses.  What would it look like if we were always that excited to run to Him and spend time with Him by studying His word.  What would it look like to be that excited to sit in the quiet and be still with Him.  If we got half as excited about spending time with Jesus as we get watching sports, seeing a concert, spending time at Disney, etc, we just might be able to experience Jesus through the eyes of a child.  We just might get to experience Jesus in a whole new way.  We just might be able to experience the pure joy of being in His presence, the joy of knowing that He is in control of our lives.

The thing is, once you begin to spend more time with Him, the more you "want" to spend time with Him.  The more you spend time with Him, the more excited you get when you get an extra chance to be with Him.  The more you spend time with Him, the more you will choose Him over other things.

I pray that we will all be able to experience Jesus with the eyes and excitement of a child.

May the Lord make your love increase and overflow for each other and for everyone else, just as ours does for you.  

May he strengthen your hearts so that you will be blameless and holy in the presence of our God and Father when our Lord Jesus comes with all his holy ones.

1 Thessalonians 3:12-13

Blessings!

Choosing to Love...

Working in a church you see all kinds of things come through the mail.  Some times things come through the mail from other churches or "religious leaders" that just have me scratching my head.  They claim to be all about Christ and living the way Christ lived, yet their entire publication does nothing but put labels on people who do not worship "exactly" as they worship and do not "do things" exactly as they do things.

This is going to be short because I do not want to be one of those people.  What I want to say is this... If those who stand back and critique or criticize and judge others, would spend one fourth of the time they spend talking about others and start reaching out to their community, reaching out to help the poor, just treating people with kindness and love, they would not have the time to write such judgemental things.

Yes, we may have differences in styles, we may have differences in many things, but if we are all following God's word, the "style" in which which follow God's word is not what's important.  What's important is that we are following God's word.  It is important to follow Jesus and His teachings, not teachings of men.  It is important to love others and not to judge them, that's God's job.  It is important to help those in need, not to judge their reasons for that need.  Jesus says to "Love One Another".  He doesn't say love them if they look and smell like you.  He doesn't say love them if they do things the way you do them.  He doesn't say love them if they have the same social status as you.  He doesn't say love them if... fill in the blank.  He simply says, "Love Them".  Our job is to be Jesus with skin on to the world. Our job is to Love as Jesus loved.  I just don't see Jesus in some of the publications I see.  If we start with Love, all the other "stuff" won't matter nearly as much.

 “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”

John 13:34,35

 

Blessings!

Reflections on Easter

I have been reflecting a lot the last few days on this Easter season.  I am so grateful for my church, Highland Oaks Church of Christ for many reasons.  The people there are amazing, their love for God and His people is evident and this Easter and the week prior I became event more grateful.  The way our ministry staff continually chooses to think outside of the box and the way in which they allow God to speak through them blesses me everyday.  But this Easter season was amazing.

One thing we have done the last couple of years is offer a prayer experience the week prior to Easter.  There are 8 stations set up in our Fellowship Hall that intentionally and purposefully direct you to Jesus and the cross.  Some of the stations are listening to specific music while allowing God to take you into His space, some of them are reading God's word and then asking yourself specific questions about what you've read, some of them require you to use different senses, but all of them require you to sit and be still with Him.  It takes about an hour to go through all eight stations. I finally was able to participate in this experience this passed Thursday.  I cannot tell you the blessing it was to me.  To be able to take an hour and go through the stations and just spend time resting with God's word and allowing Him to fill my soul was amazing.

On Friday, we had a Good Friday Memorial Service called "an there was darkness".  It was more than I could have ever anticipated.  There was funeral procession of "the family" of Jesus.  One of our ministers lead the procession carrying a cross with a veil draped over it that was placed at the front.  Then we heard from "the prostitute" who Jesus saved from stoning, "Simeon Peter" who denied Jesus 3 times and "Jesus' mother Mary" as each one told their story and how they felt like it was their fault that Jesus was dead.  We were also told to go through the service imagining that we did not know that Sunday was coming.  To imagine as if we were there on that day not knowing what was to come.

That service was more overwhelming that I could have ever imagined.  To put yourself in a frame of mind of not knowing that Sunday was coming and to witness the testimonies of those who walked with Jesus, and to imagine that His death was the end was something I really cannot describe.  There is such darkness, such hopelessness, such sorrow when you have no hope of a savior.  Our family has gone through some personal struggles over the last several years.  The thought of having no hope during those times was overwhelming.  I would not have made it without my faith; without knowing that God is control; without knowing that the tomb is empty and that because of that truth that all things are possible!

On Sunday, we had an amazing message and testimony of God's grace and faithfulness working among us.  We have windows that surround the balcony of our worship center.  As the message concluded and promise of the empty tomb was proclaimed, the shades to those windows were lifted and the light burst forth and shined brightly across the worship center as though Christ himself had lit up the room.  It was amazing; it was emotional; it was evidence of the empty tomb!

The hope that comes from the resurrection is the only thing that gets me through on days when it seems like God is silent, when it seems like he's far away.  And it's because of that hope that I can look back and see that even when I thought God was silent, He right there every step of the way.  Some things can only be explained by the grace of God.  Without the hope of the resurrection, there is no hope.

I am thankful and grateful for that hope!  I cling to that hope always!  The tomb is empty my friends!  And because of that, we all have hope... always!  That's truth!

Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade. This inheritance is kept in heaven for you!  

1 Peter 1:3,4a

Blessings!

Do We Live in the Twilight Zone?

It seems like every year during the holidays there is ALWAYS a Twilight Zone Marathon being played on TV.  Chris and I have always loved the Twilight Zone.  Some might say we were obsessed with it!  At one point before we had kids the Twilight Zone came on fairly regularly on TV.  We used to record every episode so that we could get the collection of all of them.  I know this really dates me, but this was back in the days of VHS tapes and there was no such thing as being able to "buy" TV shows!  (Who knew!!)

Even today, every time we see an episode on we get totally engrossed in the episode.  I know this is weird, but we usually even know the name of the episode just by seeing what's going on without looking at the info button!  So... when there was a marathon on over New Years, we found ourselves watching numerous episodes.

Most of the original Twilight Zone episodes, were made it black and white; which tells you how long ago they were made.  At the end of every episode Rod Serling always had a moral to the story that had just played out on the screen.  What was interesting to me in watching it this time was how relevant the "topics" and "morals" of the stories still were today.

From people being forced to have plastic surgery to look like everyone else, to a librarian being called obsolete (even back then) as well as others being called obsolete just because certain people didn't deem them necessary anymore, to people so afraid of what might be happening to them, that they chose to believe everything that came out of a physic machine, to people thinking that because they looked different than everyone else that somehow meant there was something wrong with them that needed to be fixed, and on and on I could go.

Who would have thought that all of the topics from a TV show in the 1960's (actually it started in 1959 - which by the way was before I was born!)  :-) would still be so relevant today.  Who would have thought that you could watch those shows 40+ years later and still find great value and ways to live in them.

Any yet... isn't it the same with God's Word?  The bible was written about events that took place thousands of years ago and yet if we take the time to read it, it is still relevant today in every aspect of our lives.  From teaching us how we should treat others, to telling us how to help those around us, to telling us not to judge others because they might be different than we are, to showing us the many ways that God worked and still works today, and on and on I could go.

It's really easy to get caught up in a TV show.  Maybe it's time we get just as caught up in reading God's word.  It's still relevant today.  It can still teach you a great deal.  You can read a passage that you thought you knew and it can mean something totally different to you based on what's going on in your life which makes it fresh and new every day.  It still tells us how to love others and that above all things God is about Love.

Maybe in 2013 we can get back to what God commands.  To Love everyone, to not judge others, to put others before ourselves and again LOVE!

Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.  

It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, 

it keeps no record of wrongs.  Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.  

It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails.

And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.

1 Corinthians 4-8, 13

Blessings!

Words Matter...

Predictive text on my phone usually drives me crazy.  It's always "predicting" things that are no where on my radar!  Today something happened in predictive text that has happened to me before, but today the word caused me start thinking about the word it chose instead of the word I was typing.

Now that you are totally confused....!  I was typing the word praying into a text message and predictive text popped up the word orating.  While the obvious first conclusion is that I can't spell, or more accurately I am beginning to have trouble seeing the letters :-) it was really strange to me that the word orating was the word that it chose.  And, I have noticed that every time I typed the word praying wrong, the word orating comes up.

So... I decided that since I keep seeing it, and even though I know what the word means, maybe I should look up the actual definition.

The actual definition of the word orating means to "speak pompously"!  Wow!!!  That really got me to thinking.  So, I looked up the word pray in the dictionary (also knowing what pray means) and saw the following...  too offer devout petition, praise, thanks, etc. to God; to offer; to bring; to make earnest petition; crave.

That is even a bigger WOW!!  To think that the word orating comes up every time I "mistype" the word praying and yet they are such complete opposites and contrasts to each other.  And yet... How many times do we "orate" instead of pray.  There is nothing about prayer that should ever cause us to "speak pompously".  God already knows everything about us and everything we are going to say.  To "orate" our thoughts to God reminds me of the scripture in Matthew and how God warns against it.

⁵ “And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. ⁶ But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. ⁷ And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words.

I find it equally interesting that in the definition of pray not only are there words like "to offer petition, praise and thanks", "to bring", but the word "crave" is also there.  Crave by definition means... to long for; want greatly; desire eagerly.  And the most interesting part of all to me is that those definitions for crave are not only what we should feel when we offer prayers to God, but those are also what God's feelings for us are! 

I do not want to be the type of "pray-er" that orates, but rather one that seeks God's wisdom in all things.  I want His ways to be my ways.  I want to look and smell like Him.  I want to have the compassion for others that He does.  I want to get out of His way and let Him work.  I want to crave Him as much as He craves me!

Lord help us all to be the type of people that move past ourselves and begin living into the passions of God;  The type of people that have the passion for loving all people more than we love ourselves; The type of people who have the ability to see others the way you see them.  And help us to realize that You are God and we are Not no matter how much we "orate" our thoughts out in public.  And most of all, help us to crave you as much as you crave us!

1 Corinthians 13 

⁴ Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. ⁵ It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. ⁶ Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. ⁷ It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

⁸ Love never fails.

 

¹³ And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.

 

Blessings!

Perspectives from 50 Something

 Well, I hit the big 5-0 last week.  And I must say, I have been dreading that number for a while.  But... it came and went and I'm still the same... at least until things start falling apart!  I realized that the most important thing about being 50 is that I have my husband, children and precious grandchild still with me on this earth.  I know for some of my dear friends that is something they long for.  I have family who loves me and I have friends (our small group) who would literally walk through fire with me.  I know they are always there no matter what life holds and I know that I can call all of them at a moments notice and KNOW they will be there!  For all of things I am extremely grateful!  And I realize extremely blessed! So because of these great blessings, I realize that 50 is just another number.

For my 50th birthday Chris and I had planned a trip to New Orleans.  We have been once before and love the history of the city and the amazing food! Initially we had planned to ride our bikes, but when they started forecasting rain, we decided we would drive. But then, Issac decided to blow in so we had to cancel our plans literally the day before we were supposed to leave.  Since we were initially supposed to ride Chris decide to just plan a spur of the moment ride away from the storm!  He said, "It may be a tough ride."  I said, "Let's do it!"  So, we began our trip Thursday, August 30th, which just happened to be my 50th birthday!

We left Dallas and headed out towards Oklahoma.  A friend had told Chris there was a good hamburger place in Meers, OK so we made that our first real destination. (It's not a bike destination if there is not food involved!) If you ever happen to be traveling that way, stop in!  You won't be disappointed!!  From there we traveled on to Dodge City, Kansas and stayed for 2 nights there.  Another worth the stop place if your passing through!  We hit the road again around 5:30 am on Saturday and headed for Colorado.  We had planned to stay in Pueblo, CO because it was on our path, but they happened to be having their state fair so everything there was booked. So we drove about 40 miles out of the way of our destination and stayed in Colorado Springs for the night.  The next morning we were up early again and traveled to Roswell Mexico and then headed home on Monday morning back to Texas.

Inside the Royal Gorge

We traveled 1905 miles, across 5 states, in 5 days! We even traveled on more than 150 miles of the historic Sante Fe Trail! And it was absolutely one of the most amazing things I have ever done!  We saw the hills and windmills of Oklahoma, we saw corn galore through Kansas and passed more manure farms than you can imagine!  We were literally holding our noses through about 15 miles or more of Kansas.  In fact one area we passed literally had a cloud that was settled over the land!  Yes... it was bad!  We saw corn fields, cantaloupe fields and chili pepper fields and the most amazing mountains I've ever seen through Colorado.  We saw the hills and mountains of New Mexico and then traveled through over 125 miles of cotton fields in Texas! 

As I said, the trip was amazing!  What was even more amazing were the things we were made aware of or reminded of while traveling through all of these places.  The insights into history and the recognitions of God were amazing .  I start spending some time with the spiritual formations minister at our church a couple of weeks ago.  Sometimes my schedule gets so crazy that I either don't have the time or I'm too exhausted to spend what I call "real time" with God. She helped me realize that the times I am closest to God are in nature, the outdoors, the smells of things around me. She challenged me to start "seeing" God in all of the things around me.  I am convinced that God caused just enough to happen with Issac to cancel our trip.  Because He had something much grander in store for me.   

It began in Oklahoma, just seeing all the hills and yes small mountains.  (I know it's Oklahoma, but they do exist!!) It continued all the way through the trip and even into the Texas heat the last day.  About 90 percent of our trip was off of the main highways!  That in and of itself was a blessing! We traveled through the farmlands of Kansas and felt like we could hear the faint calls of Auntie Em through the wind. We traveled on roads through the mountains for hundreds of miles with mountains literally every where you looked in Colorado.  Sunsets and sunrises that were incredible.  We traveled through a stretch in New Mexico called Apache Springs with incredibly flat top mountains.  You could just picture the Indians sitting all along the top ridges of those mountains. That was the one places we could not take pictures.  There was literally no place to pull over. So we just traveled in awe!  We traveled through a lot of open prairies and you could just imagine the covered wagons and horses riding across the land. There were amazing stretches of over a hundred miles at a time when we would see maybe 2 other vehicles on the road!  It was like we had stepped back in time 200 years.  Totally amazing!  

Some of the gorgeous mountains in Colorado!

The entire trip was the most surreal thing I've ever experienced. When you travel by motorcycle (at least when you take the roads that we did) you see things you would never see in a car.  You travel roads that are off the beaten path.  It's about the experience not about how fast you get there. As we traveled through the quiet mountains of Colorado and the prairies & mountains of New Mexico where those before us traveled so long ago, it was if God had given us this incredible gift!  There were no cars on the road, the wind was so tight around you it was as if God himself had His arms wrapped around you saying, "Behold, this is what I created just for you!". It was as if were traveling someplace that was private, some place sacred, that had been saved just for times such as these. God's presence was everywhere and it came at a time when I needed to be reminded that He is everywhere.  In fact there was one time when we were riding along the road and I started feeling this overwhelming awe of the gift that was all around us.  Tears began flowing down my face as I thanked God for all that is His and all that He has given to us.  

Colorado Sunrise!

We can make sure a mess of things in our busy, sometimes messed up world.  But out there, on the bikes, in the presence of the Almighty, His creations and nothing more, we were reminded... How Great Is Our God.

Yes, at now 50 something, I am blessed beyond measure and God gave me the greatest gift of all for my birthday weekend.  The incredible gift of seeing things as He created them, before we messed them up.  It was an incredible gift and an incredible trip.  One I will never forget!  Thank you Chris for coming up with it at a moments notice... and thank you God for your amazing gift.

For the Lord is the great God,
the great King above all gods.
In his hand are the depths of the earth,
and the mountain peaks belong to him.
The sea is his, for he made it,
and his hands formed the dry land.

Psalm 95:3-5

He who forms the mountains,
who creates the wind,
and who reveals his thoughts to mankind,
who turns dawn to darkness,
and treads on the heights of the earth—
the Lord God Almighty is his name.

Amos 4:13 

Blessings!

Resting in God with the "Things" Around Us

I am so very blessed to work where I do!  As you probably know, I work for Highland Oaks Church of Christ.  Every Monday we have an hour of staff spiritual formation time.  Sometimes singing, sometimes contemplating, sometimes using word pictures.... and always resting with God.  I am so thankful for Monday mornings!

Today, our spiritual formations director gave us the following scripture...

But God made the earth by his power, 
and he preserves it by his wisdom.

With his own understanding he stretched out the heavens.  
When he speaksin the thunder, the heavens roar with rain.  
He causes the clouds to rise over

the earth.  He sends the lightning with the rain 
and releases the wind

from his storehouses.

Jeremiah 10:12-13

We were then asked to choose something from a table.  Some of our choices were a rose, cinnamon, dirt, and a slice of a lemon.  We were ask to look at, touch, smell, maybe even taste (depending on what it was!) the thing that we chose.  We then spent time in silence with whatever "thing" we chose and reading over the scripture from Jeremiah.  We could just sit in the quiet we our thoughts, we could write, it was totally up to us.  The point was, we were free to let God take us wherever He wanted to take us during that time of quiet & rest with Him.

For some reason, I chose a slice of lemon.  I first read through the scripture several times.  And then I began to smell the lemon.  Generally, a lemon makes me makes immediately think of something sour.  But today, when I smelled that lemon while reading the passage above, I found myself at the ocean.  The lemon smelled clean and fresh.  I even in my minds eye envisioned squeezing the lemon and the mist of juice that would be created and spraying out.  It made me think of the mist coming off of the ocean.  I kept going back to the ocean.  Feeling the wind blow in my hair; breathing in the smell of clean, crisp air; feeling the mist of the water on my face.  It was an incredibly peaceful place.

As I read the scripture and thought about the storm, I again thought about the ocean. The ocean can be one of the most calming, peaceful places imaginable; but is can also be a place of raging storms, of crashing water all around.  Yet in the midst of the raging storm, a simple touch from God and the storms are still; the ocean is again calm and peaceful.  As I think about the storms in my own life, today's spirtiual formation time is so meaningful.  One minute you can be in the midst of a horrific, raging storm.  But one touch from God, maybe even through the touch or gentle word of a friend, and the waves are gently crashing into the shore, the mist is hitting your face and you are relaxed again by the calming sounds of the ocean; by the calming spirit of God.  

I wish everyone could experience what our staff experiences on Monday mornings.  There are no Monday morning blues for us.  We ended our time together today by singing the following song.

Had it not been the Lord who was on our side
Had it not been the Lord who was on our side
The anger of the enemy would have swallowed us alive
Had it not been the Lord who was on our side

Had it not been the Lord who was on our side
Had it not been the Lord who was on our side
The waters would have engulfed us, we would have surely died
Had it not been the Lord who was on our side

Refrain:
Blessed be the Lord who would not give us up
Blessed be the Lord for His unfailing love
The snare is broken and we have escaped
Our help is in the name of the Lord
Blessed be the Lord!

My prayer for this week is that I will remember to find God in everything around me.  And I know it can be done.  After all, I found God today in a lemon!

Blessings!

With a Heavy Heart...

I don't even know where to begin this post.  I just know that my heart is extremely heavy.  My heart hurts for those who are hurting and especially for those who are fighting cancer.  Cancer is one of those unexplainable things that touches so many lives.  I lost my dad to cancer when I was 12 so this particular disease has a strange place in heart.  

It is a disease that touches so many; a disease for which a cure has made great strides; a disease that seems to continually change. Quite frankly it is the disease that scares me the most.  But it is also a disease for which many are in remission and for that I praise God with all my heart. 

I have 4 friends who are battling this disease at this very moment.  And each one of them is fighting a different battle.  Each one of them is walking a journey that was not of their choosing.  But each one of them is walking though this journey with a Faith and Trust in God that is an inspiration to those around them.  

Cancer is not a fight that easily won.  It is a fight that takes everything you have and then some.  It is a fight I pray that I never have to fight.  But it is also a fight that I will choose to help those in my life fight.  While I cannot physically do much for them, I can continue to hold them up to the One who Can.  I can continue to pray prayers for strength, peace, wisdom and courage for the journey they face.  I can continue to ask God to hold them in a way that no one else can.

I know that there are many who are fighting this disease.  And I know from my own experience with my dad, it can be a lonely place.  If you know someone who is battling this disease, let them know you are thinking about them.  Let them know you are praying for them. Let them know they are not alone and that you have not forgotten about them.  It will mean more than you can know.

I know this is not a typical post.. but as I said, my heart is heavy for those in my circle and my outlet is to write.  I pray God's blessings on each of you.

The Lord is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer;
    my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge,
    my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.

Psalm 18:2

Because He is God... and i am not...

 

Time... It's a Curious Thing

I have found myself thinking a lot about time lately...  And in the words of Alice - from Wonderland... It gets curiouser and curiouser!

I was thinking about some events that happened earlier this year.  It seems like they were a lifetime ago... when in reality they took place only 4 months ago.  We celebrated our granddaughter's first birthday last week and I can't believe a year has already passed since her birth.  Time is one of those things you can never really wrap your mind around.  No matter how hard you try!

You may spend a year planning a vacation and it seems like it will never get here.  Then suddenly it's here and before you know it, it's over!  There are times when you are waiting in line for maybe 5 minutes in a store and we are always rushing around so much that 5 minutes seems like 5 hours. We put something in the microwave for a few minutes (or seconds!) and stand around tapping our fingers because we don't think it's heating up fast enough.

Then you have the other side of time...  Time when you are waiting for news on a job; or maybe you are waiting on the results of some tests.  Maybe you are waiting in hospital waiting room for answers.  Maybe you have been praying over something for years and you continue to wait for answers.  Maybe you are going through treatments for cancer or some other illness.  Those times in life, time can just seem to simply stand still.   

Sometimes you wish you could go back to a certain situation so you could do it over again.  Sometimes you wish time would speed by so that you can get past a particular situation.  Sometimes you wish you could go back in time to see someone you've lost, to tell them one more time how much you love them.  Sometimes you wish you could make time stand still because you are in a particularly wonderful moment.  All of us may find ourselves in any one of these circumstances at any given moment.  Time is one of those things it seems like we never have enough of; and yet at the same time, it's one of those things we seem to waste so often.


Time is one of the most valuable and precious gifts we receive and yet one of the things we squander the most.  One thing is for sure, we never know from one minute to the next how much time we truly have here on earth. We need to make the most of the time we have.  We need to remember to tell the people we love how we feel about them.  We need to let grudges go.  We need to stop saying what if and start saying what can I do. We need to stop saying someday and start saying how about now. We need to love more and judge less.  


Time is a precious, precious gift with no promises of how long it will be here...  But we can promise to use it wisely and not waste a minute of it!

There is a time for everything,
    and a season for every activity under the heavens:

a time to be born and a time to die,
    a time to plant and a time to uproot, 

a time to kill and a time to heal,
    a time to tear down and a time to build, 

a time to weep and a time to laugh,
    a time to mourn and a time to dance, 

a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them,
    a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing, 

a time to search and a time to give up,
    a time to keep and a time to throw away, 

a time to tear and a time to mend,
    a time to be silent and a time to speak, 

a time to love and a time to hate,
    a time for war and a time for peace.

                     Ecclesiastes 3:1-8

Blessings!

Realizations

On my way into work this morning a guy passed me on a motorcycle who was wearing shorts and one of those thin summer casual button up shirts.  I admit, I have on occasion ridden my bike in shorts when the weather is really hot.  But my first thought when I saw this guy was "he's crazy for wearing those kind of clothes when he rides.  If he falls his skin is toast.  Literally!"  I know the reason I noticed was because of the thin type of shirt he was wearing.  But what really hit me in the next minute was that I was asking that question of him when I myself have done the same thing.

Of course, God loves to use those "moments" to "call me out" because I immediately thought, "how often do we do exactly what I just did in our own lives?".  How often do we question someone else for something they are doing when we ourselves are doing or have done the exact same thing?  How many times do we criticize someone for their actions, when in reality they could be criticizing us for the very same thing.  How many times do we think someone should be doing "more" when we ourselves are doing nothing?

Why is it, that as Christians we are sometimes so quick to point out what others are doing or not doing as the case may be; what we think is "right"?  Why do so many Christians feel the need to judge other people and their actions rather than looking inward at their own actions first?  I know that sounds like a blanket statement and I know very well that all Christians are not like that.  But sometimes, sadly, that may be the only "Christians" the world sees.


I really want to try and live my life seeing things, and more importantly people, how God sees them.  God does not judge you when He sees you... no matter what your circumstances or where you are... He only loves you.  God does not treat us the way we sometimes treat others.  He treats us better than we deserve.  He treats us All with the same grace and mercy that He wants us to show to others.


I really want people to know that I am a Jesus follower and that I want to love His people the way He loves me, unconditionally.  And quite frankly, as long as they know that about me and can see that in me, I don't really care if they know what church I "attend".... because they will know I "belong" to Jesus. It reminds me of the old song, "They Will Know We Are Christians by our Love".  If we don't love everyone... how will they know?


As I said, God calls me out in the strangest ways sometimes.  Who would have thought that me seeing someone riding a motorcycle in shorts and a thin summer shirt would lead to my "rantings" today.  :-)  Oh yah, God did!


I pray that God will always "call me out" when He sees something in me that does not look like Him!

Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew

a steadfast spirit within me.

Psalm 51:10

Blessings!

Hallways

Today in worship our minister, Pat Bills, spoke on Habakkuk.  It's an old testament book, one that some people may not have heard of.  And even those of us who have heard of it, don't really choose Habakkuk when we want to read or study scripture.  But after today, I have realized that Habakkuk is a place to camp out; a place to find hope; a place to be reminded of God's promises.  

Habakkuk had lots of questions for God.  And sometimes, don't we all have lots of questions for God?  I know I do!  Habakkuk asks of God, "How long, Lord, must I call for help, but you do not listen? Or cry out to you, "Violence!" but you do not save?"  Habakkuk questions God and reminds me that when I have questions for God, or I don't understand why God is silent, it's ok to question Him. It's nice to be reminded that God can take whatever questions I have for Him.  That doesn't mean that we will get answers right away, but someday they will come.  God tells Habakkuk concerning his questions... "Though it linger, wait for it; it will certainly come and will not delay."  The Message says... "If it seems slow in coming, wait.  It's on its way.  It will come right on time."  There are days when I really need to be reminded of that statement.  God's timing, is not my timing.

Pat mentioned today in his sermon how people like to use the phrase, "when one door closes another one opens".  He also mentioned that a preaching mentor added to that statement by saying, "yes, but what we don't know is, how long the hallway is in between doors"! Truer words were never spoken.  We live in a society of quick fixes, quick answers, quick service and waiting can be extremely hard at times.  Sometimes your hallway may be short; sometimes it may be so long you think it's never going to end; sometimes it may take you to a door you never thought you would have to go through and sometimes you may just collapse in the hallway because the next door just doesn't seem like it's ever going to be there.  But God reminds us in Habakkuk that no matter how long the hallway may be, we are never alone.  It's like I've said many times before, it's what we "choose to do" in the hallway that defines who we are and whose we are.  We make a choice every day of what our response will be to whatever hallways we find ourselves in. And even when the hallway seems to have no other door in sight, we choose to continue to trust and we choose to continue to wait.  Because God will not delay; and because He is God and we are not.  As Pat said today, "Faithfulness is not something that comes from us - faithfulness is what comes from God while we are waiting in the hallway." I choose to allow God to fill me with His faithfulness while I wait in the hallway!

We all have hallways in our lives.  I'm going to choose to let God lead me through my hallways no matter how long they may turn out to be!  I will wait for God's open door and until then choose to continuing walking the hallways because I know He is there with me; even if I can't see or feel Him.  I know He will give me glimpses of Himself, and He will shed light through the hallway when it's at its darkest point.  And I will continue to choose to walk the hallway because one day, the open door at the other end of the hallway will show up... right on time.

"Though the fig tree does not bud and there are no grapes on the vines,

though the olive crop fails and the fields produce no food,

though there are no sheep in the pen and no cattle in the stalls,

yet I will rejoice in the Lord, 

I will be joyful in God my savior.

The Sovereign Lord is my strength; he makes my feet like the feet of a deer,

he enables me to tread on the heights."

Habakkuk 3:17-19

Blessings!

Rejoicing and Questioning...

Over the past couple of weeks, my family and my facebook friends have been fervently praying over the Mock family.  Their daughter Bekah who is 7 months pregnant contracted Pneumonia and consequently Acute Respiratory Disease and had to be totally sedated.  Her initial prognosis was not very good, she was extremely critical, and things were touch and go for quite some time.  Today, Praise God, she is finally awake and back to her old self!  Her lungs and heart are strong and her baby healthy!

We are rejoicing and overjoyed with the news and my heart is extremely full!  But at the same time, my heart is extremely heavy and my heart hurts deeply for other friends I know who fought those same battles with a child but did not get the same outcome; and whose journey was changed for ever and taken down a road they did not want to go.

I know that God has a purpose and plan for everything.  That God's timing is not our timing and His ways are not our ways.  I know that only He has all the answers and only He knows the reasons for why things happen the way they do... but it doesn't make it any easier to understand.

What it does do, it cause us to make a choice.  There are many times in our lives when we pray for things, pray for people, pray for circumstances.  Sometimes the answers are exactly what we prayed for... sometimes we don't understand the answers... sometimes we wait and wait for answers that still haven't come.  But regardless of what those answers are, we have a choice to make.  Are we going to trust in God no matter what, even when we don't get the answers we are searching for, or are we going to turn our backs and walk away because we think God doesn't listen anyway?

I have learned in my own life, that preparing is the most important part.  You can't prepare for the journey, for the events or actions that happen in your life, but you can prepare for how you will deal with it.  You can prepare by talking to God every day; by searching His word when things are good, (not just when they are bad) so that when trials come His words will hold you up and get you through.  You can prepare by surrounding yourself with people who can hold you up when you cannot stand.

I am thankful for a God who is bigger than I am.  I am thankful for a God who is always there even when I may not talk to Him as often as I should.  I am thankful for friends and family who stand in the gap with me and pray along side of me; especially when I have no words left to pray myself.  And it's because of all these things, that my choice will ALWAYS be... to trust in God, no matter what!


So through tears I rejoice with Bekah and her family and so many others who are receiving good news in their own circumstances; and through tears I continue to share the pain of those whose journey's took them on a different path and who are still choosing to continue to trust in God... No Matter What!

For you have been my refuge, a strong tower against the foe.

I long to dwell in your tent forever and take refuge in the

shelter of your wings.

For you, God, have heard my vows;

You have given me the heritage of those who fear your name.

Psalm 61:3-5

Blessings!

Weeding

Today after an amazing worship service, I came home and decided to pull the weeds out of our flower beds. Wow, what a daunting task that can be!! I was amazed at how many weeds had just overtaken what just last fall was full of flowers and blooms. Even the pots on my porch had tons of weeds growing in them!

I admit, once winter starts hitting, I don't do too much with my flowers. I kind of figure, what's the point? Nothing is going to last through the winter anyway. But as I continued to pull more and more and still more weeds I began to realize, if I would pull even just a few weeds each day, even through the winter, when spring gets here my flower beds & pots would be in much better shape! Especially since there were a few flowers already blooming among the weeds!

And then I realized, isn't that the way we sometimes are in our walk with God? We go through stages of really trying to be more intentional about our walk with God. We pray more, we read more, we praise more... we just generally put more focus on God, we are more intentional. But then we let ourselves get comfortable, or we get busy, or you fill in the blank. And before you know you it, we suddenly have lots of "weeds" that need to be pulled. What would our walk with God look like if we were more intentional about keeping "the weeds" out all year long? What if we didn't wait for special times (like Christmas or Easter for example) to read more, study more, sit in quietness with God, etc.

My guess is, if we "weeded" all year long it would profoundly change who we are! Just like my flower beds would change if I pulled the weeds all year round instead of slacking off in the winter. We all have "weeds" that pop up from time to time... just like those flower beds. But, if we will take the time to take care of the weeds as soon as they start popping up instead of ignoring them hoping they will go away, it will cause us to grow more deeply and intimately with Christ. It will cause us to grow in ways that will help drown out the weeds. It will cause us to bloom more and wither less.

God wants us to keep our spiritual garden weeded so that there is room for Him to bloom in us! Now that spring is upon us, maybe it's time for some spiritual weeding as well as physical weeding. Even though God can still bloom amongst the weeds, just think of how beautiful the blooms will be if we actually do a little spiritual weeding! I say... let the weeding begin!!

The righteous will flourish like a palm tree,
they will grow like a cedar of Lebanon;
planted in the house of the LORD,
they will flourish in the courts of our God.
They will still bear fruit in old age,
they will stay fresh and green

Psalm 92: 12-14

^Blessings!!

Time Spent in Prayer is Never Wasted Time...

I have been thinking a lot about prayer over the last few days. I think about those in my life who have had prayers answered; those who in my life who have not had prayers answered; and those in my life who like me are still waiting and wondering if God's answers will ever come.

It's easier to continue praying when you see God's hand at work. When you are with a loved one who is sick or going into surgery or you are asking for specific things to make them well and you can see God's hand moving through the situation it's easy to continue praying. It's not as easy to continue to pray when you feel like God is silent; when you are asking for specific things but the answers don't seem to be what you were praying for. It's not as easy to continue to pray when you see God's hand one moment and then the next moment you feel like he's not there.

But no matter what the outcome of prayer, it is never wasted time. God longs for us to be close to Him and there is no better way than time spent in prayer. When you are in prayer with God, when you are talking to God, crying out to God or even screaming at God... He is there. Even though at times it may seem like He is not there, that He is not listening... He is there. And while we may not get the answers we are looking for or while we wait to see what those answers will be, that time is never wasted.

God wants us to be in relationship with Him more than anything else. And there are no stipulations on that relationship. He simply wants us to come to Him. There are days when all I want to do is praise and thank God. And there are days when I simply don't understand. But I know that even if I am screaming at God for answers, He still loves me and cares about what is going on in our lives. I know that even when I'm not sure what's going on or why, there is a peace in prayer that I can not explain. There is a comfort in KNOWING that God is there. There is comfort in knowing that God has a plan... even when I can't see it yet.

So even when you think God is not listening... He is. Even when you think God doesn't care... He does. Even when you think there is no reason to pray any more... there is. Even if you have no words left and you think what is the point... there is a point. Some of the greatest times with God are spent in silence... when we have no words left and we simply sit in His presence. Sometimes it's not about the answers. Although believe me, I would like answers as much as anyone. Sometimes it's about just being with Him. Sometimes God just needs you to be still, He needs you to be with Him and He needs you to be content just to be with Him. So time spent in prayer is never wasted... no matter what we think of the outcome. Because time spent with God, even in silence, is one of life's greatest blessings.

The LORD will fight for you, you need only to be still.
Exodus 14:14

Blessings!

Your Path

In December I got to travel to California to meet Chris on a business trip. While he was at work that Friday, I went to the beach. My plan was to sit by the ocean and read. I did sit by the ocean, but I didn't do much reading. I always plan to read, but once I'm there, the beauty of God just takes over! I was out there for over 2 hours by myself. I found myself watching the birds, watching the water, listening to the wonderful sound of the waves crashing in and then as I was laying there on the beach I became mesmerized with the sand.

The sand on the beach was cool. I love squishing my toes and feet into the sand! On this particular day, I started playing in the sand with my hands. It was cool to the touch, and it was actually kind of shiny and glistening. I noticed how many tiny and billions upon billions of grains of sand their were and thought about the scripture in Psalm 139 that says,

"How precious to me are your thoughts, God! How vast is the sum of them! Were I to count them, they would outnumber the grains of sand — when I awake, I am still with you."

God's thought are so numerous that they outnumber the grains of sand! That is something that we cannot even comprehend! As I lay there playing in the sand, I began digging out a hole with my hands. I dug it deeper and deeper and as I dug deeper, I pushed the sand out to the sides to make the hole larger and wider. Then, I just laid back and watched the sand. Some of the sand would slide right back down the center of the path. Other parts of the sand would take a path on the outside on it's way back and still other parts of the sand would would travel down a path and be diverted by a larger piece of sand in it's path. Those pieces of sand would take a longer and travel a more difficult path, but they would still end up back in the same general place.

As I watched the sand I thought, isn't that how we are with God? God has a plan for us, a purpose, and He knows we are going to end up exactly where He intends for us to be. Some of us take the shorter path; Others of us, take the more scenic route, enjoying what life and God has to offer us along the way. Still others take a path not traveled by many. Their path is more difficult and has many more bumps and detours along the way... some by our own choosing. But by the grace of God and the plans He has for us, we still end up right where He intended for us to be.

We all traveling through life at our own pace, at our own speed, on our own journey. But we are all guided by the One who can see the whole picture! And while the picture we see, may not look like much, God is still moving us to the ultimate goal! God sees the whole picture! Praise God that His mercies are new every day!

For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD,
“plans to prosper you and not to harm you,
plans to give you hope and a future.
Jeremiah 29:11

Blessings!

Real Faith

I ran across the picture today and it reminded me that sometimes, and quite often most times, having real Faith means to wait, to listen, to watch for God. I think we can get so caught up in how the world operates, (express lanes, fast food, microwaves, etc.) that we forget that all things do not come quickly.

In our spiritual walk sometimes things not coming quickly can be very discouraging, it can be hard, it can even be painful. It can even cause us to lose our way if we get caught up in waiting for answers that do not come. It's hard to remember that God's timing is not our timing. It's sometimes hard to remember that God has a plan even if we can't see it yet. But sometimes real faith, means waiting. Real faith means years of tears and wondering if God is really listening. But most of all, real faith means trust. It means trusting in God even when we see no answers. It means trusting that God has a plan even if we can't see it yet. It means trusting that God's timing is perfect.

This picture reminded me of that today. It's reminds that faith is more than just belief. It's trusting, waiting and fully expecting what we pray so desperately for. It's knowing that God's timing is perfect because He is GOD and I am NOT!

but those who hope in the Lord will renew
their strength. They will soar on wings like
eagles; they will run and not grow weary,
they will walk and not be faint.

Isaiah 40:31

Blessings!