UP NOT IN

Have you ever noticed a little baby when someone other than their mother or father are holding them? When the parent comes near, the babies arms just fly upward signaling the parent to ”take me, hold me, give me what I need”. They know instinctively where their help and comfort comes from. 

God is not dead, he does not sleep. God does not even get tired so we need to rest and relax in knowing he's got everything in his care. 

Gods strength will always provide us with just what we need for today's problems, burdens and issues. We should never try to take tomorrows problems, burdens and issues and work through them today because God has not yet equipped you for tomorrow. He equips us for coping today with today's realities. He will always be at your side, ready to bear you up and tomorrow He will do the same. He will give us the strength that we need for that day.

When our minds tend to wander over the border into tomorrows realities, the worlds response that we've heard echo in our heads a million times will sweep in to try and take over. It will tell us to ”reach deep down inside yourself and you will find the strength you need within your own self to get through”. Or it may say, ”you can do this because you are great and strong and amazing”. Now, while our heavenly Father may think all of His children are amazing, I’m here to tell you that according to Romans 7:18, we’re not. It says, ”For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh. For I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out.”

God assures us though in Isaiah 40 that even when the youngest and strongest have the strength to keep going or overcoming their obstacles that He (The Lord) will give us the strength we need for that day to get through. We can do nothing in our own strength that will yield victorious results like what God can do in us. He never gets tired. We may even feel our outward bodies wasting away but inwardly God is renewing us day by day. He comes to us through His Word in answer to our pleas or our outstretched arms. He bears us up on ’eagles wings’ the Word says. 

The World may tell us to ’reach down deep inside ourselves for reserves of strength and energy’ but the Word straight from the one who created us and knows us best invites us to ”reach up to the Lord for His supply of strength”. He has plenty to spare and he's only too happy to share because He loves us so. . . . . 

His mercies for us are new every morning and looking to ourselves or someone else to receive will never yield lasting results. They may give us momentary gratification but at some point they will fail. Why not lift our arms up to call the only one who can ever rescue us. Reach up not in!

Grandmas Succulent Wall

I have a very very vivid memory as a child visiting my grandmothers house in the country in Virginia. She was the A-typical grandmother that wore the apron always and her house smelled of wonderful cooking or baking things and she always greeted you with the biggest hugs. That farmhouse was filled with love and extraordinary memories in every corner. One thing that stood out to me for some reason was the stone wall that was outside of her backdoor. It was a pretty ordinary stone wall but grandma had it covered with succulents. They grew out of every nook and cranny that they could find and as a small child I found it a wonderment! Grandma called those succulents her ”hens and chicks” and I never knew why until I was grown that it was the country term of sorts for succulents. At any rate, this wall was covered and I used to go out and sit on the old swing and stare at that wall. How could anything grow out of rock? I didn't see any dirt so my little mind didn't comprehend the ability of a tiny root to find cracks to meander into and latch onto any soil or organic medium in order to thrive. Those ”hens and chicks” you see hold quite a bit of water in their fleshy tissues so it enables them to survive in what appears to be rock or very dry places. It's their built in secret weapon so to speak. Store up water and in the dry times you can thrive! Hmmm sounds like a brilliant design, right! 

You probably know where I’m going here, so, just keep walking with me and I won't disappoint. Gods perfect design with those succulents and how they can survive hard, tough and dry times is built into us as well. For instance, we know that if you go to school or  college, that you will gain more knowledge to hopefully sustain you for future challenges. We also know that if you work a 9 - 5 job and bring home a paycheck that the money will hopefully sustain you through the week until your next paycheck. But what we as followers of Christ seem to miss a lot is that you can't eat once a week and expect that to sustain you all week. We can't just go to church on Sunday and expect to get enough biblical sustenance to carry us through the trials, hardships and challenges that life throws at us on a daily basis. We will wither and die for sure. You see the Bible says in II Timothy 2:15  ”Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.” We need to fill ourselves with the Word of God on a daily basis just like those succulents need to store water for those dry days. It also says in  Isaiah 58:11 ”The LORD will guide you always; he will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land and will strengthen your frame. You will be like a well-watered garden, like a spring whose waters never fail.” Drawing from the well and wealth of knowledge that we have from God Word on a consistent basis will enable us to be like those succulents, survivors! I believe that as a small child the Lord God was imprinting that succulent wall on my mind and heart so today I could understand the beauty of his ways and plans for my life. Lord, make me always aware of my need for you and in that need may I always be extending the roots of my life to search for more sustenance and watering that only you and your Word can give. I pray that I will always stay watered and prepared for the dry spells of life and flourish, giving you glory in the well watered seasons as well as the dry ones. 

Insight Insert: The challenge here would be to make a plan and get yourself into a routine of reading or listening to the Word on audio. There’s a quote that says, “we should treat our bibles like we do our cellphones”. Isn’t it true though that we pick up our cell phones first thing in the morning and they stay close by our side all day! Oh the wealth of knowledge, insight and communication strategies that the Word holds for us instead. It’s hard but technology itself has made it easier for us. Turn the audio on your Bible app and water your spirit on your drive to work. I promise, your roots will latch on to the sustenance it gives!

Word Of Truth: Psalm 63:1 “You, God, are my God, earnestly I seek you; I thirst for you, my whole being longs for you, in a dry and parched land where there is no water.”

Crying “Whose” Name?

You know children are always interesting and ever changing little creations. Recently while holding my youngest grandson on my hip, I asked him to " give Gammie a kiss"! Well, my requests are almost always met with sweet compliance and a hug to go along with it, however, not on this occasion. For whatever reason, when the question was posed he began to reach for my daughter and cried out, "momma" as if he needed to be rescued from me! I didnt know quite what to make of it but gave him over to the arms of his mother so he would be quieted. For whatever reason at that point he just wanted the comfort and safety of the one that he knew always gave it! Don't get me wrong, he allows me to have kisses and hugs all the time but just at some particular times (maybe having a rough or needy day) he choses the familiar safety of his mothers arms. His cry for "momma" brought him just what he had need of at that moment.

This little scene brought a story to mind that has always been hard to imagine for me of how the following incident could ever have happened. The story is that of the day of Jesus' crucifixion and specifically the incident of Pilate. When Pilate decided to give the choice of who would be crucified, Jesus or someone else of the crowds choosing, the crowd chose another prisoner named Barabbas. We've seen in the making of many great movies of the Life of Christ, that scene with multitudes of people watching as Jesus stood before Pilate and the crowd and we heard the question, "who should be released Jesus or Barabbas?" and without hesitation you then saw the multitudes cry out, "Barabbas, Barabbas. . . . " . I always watched in amazement at those sad, misguided people who would choose Barabbas, a convicted prisoner, over the sinless, blameless and loving Christ! What had the people of the world become? What were they thinking? Why couldn't they see the "not guilty" banner over my Lords head? What kind of a choice was that anyway? But, nonetheless, the choice for Barabbas was made! Isn't it true too, that many times in our lives when faced with making a right or a wrong choice that we sometimes choose "unwisely" and it changes everything! Today, as you sit here reading this story are you on a diet and are you following it to the letter or have you said, "what the heck, this one little cookie won't hurt me"? Or, do you have important work to finish and you are surfing the Internet instead? Or, well, I could go on but I won't, because you get the picture I'm sure! You see, whose name you cry out WILL make a difference! It could be the name "desire" instead of "discipline" or it could be the name "procrastination"  instead of "work". Whatever name you cry out will be the chosen course for your life at that moment. But here's the good news. . . . . Courses can be corrected! You can decide to choose "peace" over "anger" and you can decide to choose "discipline" over "self" and you can decide to cry out the name of "Jesus" instead of "Me"! It's the name that we cry out that dictates the courses of our lives. It's the name that we cry out that could change everything either from good to bad or from bad to good. Whose name is on your lips today? Is it a cry to others around you to pull you to safety from the pit you are currently in or is it a cry to Jesus to save you and your life from future pits? Is the name that you cry out one of safety and comfort in loving familiar arms like my little grandsons cry? Or, is the name you cry out one of "money", "fame" or fortune that you believe will change everything for the good in your life? Now, back to Barabbas. . . . .you see that day, as I look back, the name that was cried out (Barabbas) was the name that was meant to be spoken. You see, if Jesus' name was the cry at that time then we wouldn't have the hope for the future that we have now. So, NOW is the time to cry out his name because his name holds far more than we will ever know or realize that we have need of. And like my little grandson, the safety and constant love and care will always be felt in those arms.

Insight Insert: You know that saying " you'll know them by their fruit?", well that means you will be able to recognize who and what a person is by the things that are growing out of their lives. Whose name is on your lips continually will be someone who is probably the most influential in your life. Stop and take stock this week of the things that you seem to talk about the most and the subjects that most consume your conversations. That will say a lot about your "fruit" and give you pause to make the judgement to whether it is fresh healthy fruit or rotten fruit. If you need to make a course correction then make it but make sure that whose name you cry out to change things in your life is the one who made the ultimate change for us! 

Scripture:  Psalm 57:2.  I cry out to God Most High, to God who fulfills his purpose for me.  NIV

Living in Splendor

What does it actually mean to live in splendor? Webster’s define ’Splendor’ as magnificence or grandeur. When I think of grandeur it evokes visions of mansions on high cliffs overlooking the sea or castles perched on rolling hills in places like England, Scotland or Ireland. Magnificent homes that possibly kings and queens would dwell in. To use the adjective ”Breathtaking” would probably be an understatement.

As I spoke to some good friends yesterday I was recounting some of the places that I have been blessed to live in. While they were not castles of splendor perched on green cliffs overlooking the ocean they each held a beauty in their own right or at least many beautiful memories. I never looked at my dwellings as places of splendor but they were. You see, it wasn't what the outside of the homes looked like but it was the things that were inside that were grand and magnificent. It was the family, the laughter, the late night movies, baking Christmas cookies  and decorating the tree and the dinners around the Thanksgiving table. These all contributed to our dwellings being grand and magnificent. It's always what's on the inside that counts more you know. It's never about the facade but about the heart. 

Recently I was listening to an old hymn written by Fanny Crosby in 1873. She was blind but she had a magnificence on the inside of peace and contentment even though she couldn't see. In 1873 she penned the lyrics to the old hymn ”Blessed Assurance”. Her words captured the essence of joy, hope and contentment as we look forward to our home in heaven. It looked bad for her on the outside because she could not see in the physical but oh, how she could see on the inside in the spiritual realm. Her words just penetrate my spirit: ”blessed assurance Jesus is mine, oh what a foretaste of glory divine”! The chorus of that beautiful hymn though is what strikes me so hard when it says, ”this is my story this is is my song, praising my Savior all the day long”. When that chorus is sung my mind flashes back to a little girl of 5 or 6 years and she is sitting on the church pew behind her grandmother as she plays that song on the church organ. I used to love hearing her play and I would sing that chorus all the time because it was my favorite. At 5 or 6 I believed! I believed in all the things that I was being taught and held them even then, very close inside my heart. My story, my song started back then. My dwelling place of splendor was built the day I believed. The building started the day the door of my heart swung open and I allowed the one who holds the book of life to come in and dwell with me. My house is a house of ”splendor” and it's grand and magnificent because of who dwells there. So, you see, a king does live at my address and it's absolutely splendid. 

Psalm 96:6

Majesty and splendor are before him; strength and beauty are in his sanctuary.

”I See You”

I am super happy every morning to be able to get up and usually straight away go out on my back deck and fill my bird feeders. The birds here in East Tennessee are hungry, let me just say, and have voracious appetites but they are also beautiful. Ive seen multitudes of blue jays, cardinals, red headed woodpeckers and finches. They're all so beautiful in their brightly colored suits and they are all vying for position at my feeders. The blue jays are the bully's of sorts as they are the largest so they make sure all the others wait their turns until they are quite full. When the jays leave the others then feel safe to come and eat. But the ones that melt my heart every time are the patient, sitting on the sidelines, little brown sparrows. They wait patiently until all the others have eaten and then get their fill and fly off to their next adventure. 

Sometimes in my life, if I can be honest here, it has felt like I am living out the brown sparrows life. The big guys, the ones with wealth and power just swoop in and rule the day so to speak. They get the best things, and have the pick of whatever they choose. The others are right there behind them to get or attain what the power players haven't gotten. And then, here I am, the brown sparrow, patiently waiting on the sidelines to get whats left over. 

In truth, as the Lord reveals to my heart, even though the other birds are bigger, more beautiful with their colorful suits, I "see" the brown sparrow and I make sure she has what she needs. She patiently waits, so I wait and watch and I make sure always that she receives what she has need of. 

So, God "sees" me! He "sees" you in whatever place or suit you find yourself in. The truth is that God sees us all and takes care of us accordingly. But if you are feeling a bit like I have at times, like a little brown sparrow, just know that God will also provide for you what you need when you need it. Sit back patiently on the sidelines if you must but you will have what you need when the time is right.

It says in Luke 12:7  "Why, even the hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not; you are of more value than many sparrows."

There are days when you may feel like a "plain Jane" or in this case, a brown sparrow, but take it from me and the Word of God, "He sees you"! 

Edifices Of Stone

Today I ventured into two cemeteries that were local to me. Of late I have found such a fascination and beauty in the old carved stones and statuary there. I especially love the carved angels that can be found in the older sections. The artists’ handiwork during the 1800’s was just breath taking. Today stones are laser cut and worked a small bit by hand but the older carvings that grace the rolling hillsides of the historic sections are unmatched. 

As I drove through the winding lanes it was very somber to say the least but as I continued down lane after lane I found myself compelled to take photos of the beauty of the art there. These carvings were very sizeable as well. Oh, some were two foot high but most were towering over their place and stood at least 10 feet high and more. 

It was very thought provoking to imagine a 10 foot statue being commissioned and placed to mark where someones life was laid to rest. Beautiful memorials carved out of timeless stone to mark that life and stand watch through the years over them. 

As I slowly drove on through the memorials I began to imagine what it would look like on the day Jesus returned. As quiet and sobering a place as it was today, the pictures that played in my mind of that day were a bit unsettling. 

”For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first:”

I imagined that very moment, if I was a witness to it, to be amazing and awesome unlike anything I've  ever imagined or Hollywood has tried to portray. The dead that are in Christ will come up out of their graves and be changed.  Can you even imagine standing there to be a witness to that? Well, not for long right! Because it would just be a blink and I'd be right behind them. 

Think of it though, their spirits would meet with their new bodies and they'd be raised to perfection and glory. That moment would be one of profound worship standing there on Holy Ground. That gloomy, sad and somber place would suddenly become a glorious piece of Holy Ground where one of Gods greatest miracles will unfold. From those quiet rolling hills will come resurrected, glorified and well memorialized believers I might add, that will be snatched up and taken to their glorious reward in heaven. It was as if the edifices of stone we're poised, waiting and whispering, ”soon, soon our watch will be over”. 

The beauty of the statues, the beauty of that moment in time, the beauty of His great love for us is unmatched. 

If you get the chance, go, go stroll through those hallowed places and admire the handiwork of the carvers and makers but particularly, if you don't do anything else, make sure you'll be a heaven bound traveller when the clouds roll back and King Jesus calls us home. The beauty of that trip will far surpass a trip down the angel guarded lanes of the Memorial Gardens you can be sure of that!

Tight Fisted

The oddest memory flooded my mind today as I was doing my quiet time. It was a visual of my daughter in her high chair in my kitchen some 40 something years ago. It made me smile because I think God reminded me of it to simply illustrate what I was studying. He's good at that you know. She was in her high chair and was a bit fussy and I was preparing dinner for everyone at the same time. I was making her a bottle because it was growing close to her bedtime. I did possibly the ”unspeakable” in some mothers’ eyes. The thing was that it was simply out of desire for a little contentment and peace from the crying. So, I gave her a little jelly smeared on a crustless piece of bread until I could juggle the rest of my duties. Well, it was magic! The crying ceased, there was a happy baby and I could finish prepping her bottle. Well, once the bottle was ready and dinner put on simmer I went to take the jelly bread from her little fists and she wasn't having it! Have you ever tried prying yummy food from a tight fisted baby? Not so easy. The battle ensued the war was waged but in the end I won! Yay! 

Here's the thought. . . . If she would have just let go easily of the thing that she was holding onto, the thing that she thought was the best thing in the world, well then she could have more readily had exactly what was needed to give her peace and eventual rest. 

Today I was reading in Luke 14:26 and it read, ”If anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple”. What! I read on and what Jesus was saying was that you can't hold onto things, things you think are more or of most importance and still follow him fully. It also says in I John 2:15-17 ”Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride in possessions—is not from the Father but is from the world. And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever.”

This world does hold everything that would try to seat itself ahead of God or become of more importance than He is on the throne of our hearts. And ”yes” that would include our families and even ourselves. You see that is a very very hard pill to swallow or wrestle out of our fists because we hold onto those things most tightly. It's our family that we count most dear and when push comes to shove for most, we would even take a bullet for them because they are of such importance. But what Jesus is saying to us seems to be quite the opposite doesn't it? But let me say with assuredness that what he's saying isn't hopeless at all but instead very very hope filled.  You see, he wants ALL of us and if we hold ”tight fisted” onto things or people while trying to serve God then that just doesn't work!

You see, if my daughter had not given up the jelly sandwich in her little fists then she couldn't have held the bottle of warm milk which had everything she needed to sustain her and bring her to that place of peace and rest. We’ve all probably heard the term ”Let Go And Let God” but never truly saw the depth of it. It says also in Philippians 3:8,  ”Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ”. Paul spoke truth here in saying that it's all rubbish (the things we hold on to). Nothing, I repeat nothing can have place in our lives higher than God. You see, those family members, those things, those possessions they all being to Him anyway and he cares for them. We must let go of holding so tightly to them because we are afraid of losing them or think that we are the only proper caretakers of them. Who's a better caregiver than the one who cares for all? It is put to us then, choose to hold onto our jelly sandwiches and be tight fisted or let go and open our hands so that he can add things back to us that are good and nourishing and hold all we need to sustain us and bring us peace and life! Deuteronomy 30 says, ”See, I have set before you today life and good, death and evil.”  So, open those hands and choose life!

Chosen To Wait

Have you ever been part of a large crowd in a banquet hall or possibly a wedding and the table numbers were being called in an order so that you could get your food. Ok, so then maybe you know that feeling of being the last table called as your stomach rumbles and your patience level plummets. Or maybe it's sitting in the DMV and your number seems to be ”305” and they're calling out ”99”. Your ability to be patient and hold on is tested beyond belief. Whatever the situation I think we all have moments when we have had to learn to wait. So, what if you are supposed to wait? What if you aren't first? What if the plan calls for you to be number ”305” in the plan of the day? And here's a really funny scenario for you. . . . . what if you were number ”5,000”’who sat on the far away hill on the day Jesus and his disciples fed the 5,000? Hmmmmm, What would you have looked like that day? 

Would there be a dry patch of earth at your feet from all the impatient pacing around while you waited?  Would you have fallen asleep and missed the message and the meal because of weariness in waiting? I'd like to believe I would have sat and listened and hung on Jesus’ every word until the bonus of lunch came my way but truthfully, probably not. Do you ever wonder if there was grumbling In the crowd on that far away hill as they all waited for the meal? Would there have been people saying ”when are we going to eat?” like the people in the banquet hall waiting for their table to be called? 

But here's a thought for you, ”What if you were ’chosen to wait’ ”?That's right, ’chosen’! Ridiculous thought right! Maybe not. 

Here’s another, maybe impatience has put us in the same place as the person on the far away hill, the person that was there because they actually had a need for something that they weren't readily recognizing. They didn't see that what they.needed was healing. Maybe they were ”chosen to wait”! You know Jesus himself said, ”many are called but few are chosen!” (sorry my pinach for the ridiculous gets in the way sometimes ) 

Well, what if we were chosen to wait because Jesus needed to perfect something in us that was lacking? Here's the really beautiful part though. It's 2 fold! In II Corinthians Jesus said, ” my grace is sufficient for you for my power is made perfect in weakness”. So, while Jesus is perfecting something in us, He is being glorified and it's because of our weaknesses that his power is made perfect and he is glorified. Just chew on that for a minute! It either tastes good and nourishes you or you still need to wait for the revelation of that. Whatever it looks like,  I believe that there is a time that it will come to you and maybe the longer the wait the greater the revelation. 

The greatest and deepest need that you and I have in our weakness should not necessarily come in the form of quick relief or a quick fix. It's not necessarily being given number ”99” by some kind soul when number ”98” is being called. Perhaps the greatest and deepest need is for us to be number ”305” or that person on the far away hill. It's doing something in us! It's producing something beautiful that will not only bring healing to us but power and glory to Him. 

So, if your frustration in the waiting is causing you to squirm, grumble or exhibit tendencies of a entitled princess just know this. . . . know that when the things that we need that give us sustenance (bread & fish) are being passed out, that Jesus can see you in your far away place and He knows all too well what you have need of. You were most likely chosen to be number 5,000 on that far away hill for a reason. You were most likely ’chosen to wait’!

Insight insert: Calling on those of you out there who may be encouragers. Before you run headlong into situations that call for your encouraging heart to rush in and rescue, take a moment. Ask the Lord for wisdom and guidance on how to proceed. We encouragers tend to lead with our hearts at times which can prove a bit reckless if temperance isn't applied. Pray and ask the Lord if the situation calls for ”waiting” because God is trying to do a work in that persons heart. In the waiting we can also learn to be better listeners and glorifying God all the more. 😊

Scripture:  Romans 5:3-5

”More than that, we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.”

 

A Scrim Life

If you’ve ever been to a theatrical production or have ever seen “shadow dancing” Then you will possibly understand what “scrim” fabric is all about. Scrim is a fabric much like gauze that allows us to see shadows or the outlined images without exposing exact detail. It’s a beautiful fabric used in the theater quite a lot to project the images of scenery, vague shadows of people or background scenes. When backlit it becomes quite magical.

Recently a friend sent me an image of a tree that I loved very much. It very much took my breath away. I have an extraordinary love for trees and she knew that so she sent the picture that you see above. It is quite magnificently backlit by the sun, which in turn reveals all of its glorious features. Every branch, every limb, every leaf, every inch was revealed as the sun shone through its boughs. Quite noticeably as the sun was the backlight for the wondrous display of this tree, the sun itself was presenting a glorious show. You could see it’s centermost bright spot and it’s rays extending like arms surrounding every branch. It was as if the suns extended arms were enfolding the tree in an embrace and at the same time giving applause and gratitude for its performance. I know I know, my thoughts are quite dramatic here but it does evoke all sorts of wonder and awe if you keep looking at it. My thoughts though, however theatrical they may be, take me right to the thought of my own life. You see, I believe when we allow the light of the Word of God and the illumination of the Truth of that Word by the Holy Spirit to shine through us then our lives will become like this tree. We will be like the scrim fabric in a way, an instrument to display his glory. When we allow Him to back light our lives, every detail of who He has made us to be will be spot lighted. Every gifting, every trait he’s given us, every creative talent, every piece of fruit or things we’ve produced in our lifetimes will be showcased. Every detail of our lives will be illuminated and the light of the Word that shines from us will be a glory and an honor to his great name. It is a dramatic but a most glorious production of sorts. Our own tree or the story of our life illuminated puts on a magnificent reveal here so that we are His wonderful creation displayed.   It says in John 8:12.

Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”

His promise to us is that if we follow after Him and live for him that we will forever be illuminated by His light, His love, His discernment and understanding, His care, His provision and His presence. All of that and more! 

We will be displayed for His honor and glory for all to see. What a beautiful picture of how he loves us. We can’t live in darkness and display who He is but we must be that wonderful and magical fabric like ”scrim”, and showcase Him! A beautiful life taking center stage in a story entitled ”The Gospel”. 

Fill The Need: Water & Seed

I was sitting out on my patio this morning and I asked the Lord to show me something to imprint me that I could possibly write about. Well he hears me before I speak! All was quiet for a while as I drank my coffee and then the friendly little chipmunk that graces my patio each morning stuck his little head up over the edge of the step and was staring at me. Well I began to talk to him

as I always do but he disappeared as quickly as he had come. “Ok”

I said. Then, 30 seconds later his head popped up again and he looked at me and again he disappeared. This little ritual went on for about 5 minutes before it occurred to me that he wanted something. The lightbulb came on finally and I knew immediately that it was the birdseed that I usually sprinkled in the same spot each morning. I put it there so that I could watch him eat. His glaring at me was my signal to get up and get him some seed. As I rose from my cozy spot with coffee in hand to fetch the seed

I noticed that my Celosia flower was drooping  badly from lack of water. The phrase “Water and Seed, Fill the Need” came to me. I stood there and chuckled because God had indeed seen this whole little scene before it happened and that was my “imprint” for this writing. 

You see that little chipmunk had become dependent on my giving him seed and now he expected it so that he could add to his winters stash. My flower was of course in need of water because it was potted and positioned to not get the rain. So, they indeed needed what I had to give them. You see, there are always those outside of our own little worlds that have needs and whether you know it or not you may be the one who can fill their need. Whether it be financial because God has given you an abundance or to be a physical presence in someone’s life because they are lonely. Whatever that may look like, you have something to fill someone’s need or to seed into someone’s life. God is ultimately the provider of all things but He indeed uses people. He uses us all the time. So, if you see a need take time to ask God how you can be a part in helping to fill that need. If you see someone struggling with situations of this thing called life then ask God also what kind of seed you can sow into others to encourage and help them along in their journey. We all need seed to grow and we all need water to flourish. So, water and seed and fill the need. Like my little chipmunk, those in need will be glad you did when the winters of adversity come beating hard on their doors. It may be just the thing to “imprint” their lives in order that they too can water and seed. 

Insight insert: Today I challenge you to look around you, look at the needs that are knowingly present in your circle of family and friends. Ask God what seed you have to offer and/or how the water of kindness or encouragement or friendship might be applied as well in someone’s situation. Truth is, we all have something we can give. 

Scripture: I Corinthians 3:7

“So then neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but God who causes the growth.”

Luke 6:38

“Give, and it will be given to you. Good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap. For with the measure you use it will be measured back to you.”

Harvest Hands

As I was reading the scriptures this morning I landed in the book of Matthew, specifically chapters 7, 8 & 9.  I found it very interesting to note that Jesus at this point in the writing had been all over the place touching peoples’ lives and healing the sick. These chapters contain the healing of the blind men, the woman with the issue of blood that touched the hem of his garment, the calming of the storm and at the end of chapter 8, he drove the demons out of two mad men and sent them to dwell in a nearby herd of pigs. Well, the pigs ran over a cliff and were subsequently drowned in the sea. 

Here’s the part that made me pause though. It said, starting in verse 28 that when Jesus arrived on the shore and got out of the boat that he was met by two madmen (demon filled) coming out of the cemetery area. It states that these demon filled men had terrorized the area for so long that no one from the town considered it safe to even walk down that stretch of road anymore. So, the freedom to go wherever they wanted was cut short by the demons that occupied these men. The townspeople were limited and held captive to their town area and could not enter the land of the demoniac men for fear of their safety. That’s pretty clear to me. So the story goes that Jesus moved on the behalf of the men and set them free by sending the demons fleeing into the pigs who in turn died in the sea. Now, here’s the strange part, or maybe not! When the townspeople found out what had happened you would have thought they would have run from their houses to see and to thank Jesus for giving them back their freedom to go down that road once more and also for giving freedom back to the men who were probably residents of their town at one time. But. . . . . . . . Wait for it.. . .. .. . . .the people came down that road but they came in the form of an angry mob. They wanted Jesus to go away and never come back. And do you know why? They were angry about the drowned pigs! Yes, you heard it right. Something that was insignificant and didn’t matter a lick in the whole scheme of what had just happened. They were thinking about themselves and maybe their pocketbooks or their bellies or who knows what else. And here’s a note for you to study if you want to take it that far. . . . . .the townspeople may very well have been Jews and by Jewish custom/law, they were not permitted to keep swine! Hmmmmm But truth be known they were merely acting like the rest of the world and doing what they desired over what God desired them to do. We can see a very clear picture here of worldly mentality versus Godly mentality. 

Have you ever done what you thought was the Godly thing, acting as Jesus would have, and instead of being met with thankfulness and kindness filled with gratitude you were met with anger and harsh words of ingratitude? Well, I’m here to tell you that it does happen and if you take a long look at the situation you would probably see that the bad reaction was rooted somehow in selfish and entitled feelings. Worldly reactions with empty and self centered undertones. It happens. It happened to Jesus so it will most likely happen to us at some point in our lives. Chapter 9 then begins “. . . . Back in the boat, Jesus and the disciples recrossed the sea to Jesus’ hometown”. He left! There was obviously nothing he was going to do to change the hearts and minds of an angry mob at that point so he went on about the Fathers business somewhere else. 

We can’t change ungrateful or self centered hearts. Only God can do that. Don’t stay where you are not wanted or stand and get beat up and persecuted. There are far too many others out there who need what we have to give them in Christ. 

Later on in chapter 9 it says that Jesus continued touching and healing those in need. He was still of course criticized by the Pharisees. It says in verse 36 in the Message that “when He looked out over the crowds His heart broke”.  He then said how huge the harvest was and told his disciples “on your knees and pray for harvest hands”. That’s what I’m doing today, that’s my prayer focus. “Lord, send HARVEST HANDS and make me a better worker, one that doesn’t faint in the midst of the heat that the world brings”. 

Insight Insert: In order to bring in a harvest you must first

be willing to get your hands dirty. It isn't going to always be easy

but it will always be rewarding. I challenge you to call someone

this week that you know has been struggling or that you know 

needs your loving hands to get down in the trenches with them 

and help them out. I don't know what that looks like for each of you

but it could mean getting your hands a little dirty or doing something that isn't so very pleasant. Be willing to do what Jesus did for those men but also be ready to be met with resistance possibly. It might be tough but I'm here to tell you that the beautiful harvest won't come if you don't get your hands a little dirty. Trust me, it will be worth it if you endure. 

Scripture: John 4:35. ” Look, I tell you, lift up your eyes, and see that the fields are white for harvest”

Matthew 24:13 “He that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved” 

What Does It Matter Anyway

As I was having a conversation with someone on the phone very recently they asked me how old my children were now. I just laughed, because you see, my children are well into adulthood with children of their own. I told the person, ”Im not sure because math has never been my favorite subject”. She thought I was joking and couldn't quite believe that I just couldn't spout their ages off as if they were 6, 10 & 12 again. My oldest (now 46) was born in 1973 I told her and my second child in 1976 and the third in 1982. Now I know that doing the math isn't terribly hard but with all the years behind me I guess I just thought that knowing their exact age didn't really matter anyway. Besides, nobody can actually tell you the exact age of Jesus when he died so what does age really matter for? It was said that he was approx 33 years old when he died but they aren't really sure. I guess my point here is that sometimes we put too much emphasis on the details and not enough on the ”main thing”. 

Now, if you were to ask me about the details of each of my children's’ lives then I could have spoken all day. I would have told you how proud I am of each one, where they are at present in their dwelling places, or how many children do they have or are they married or single. The things that matter the most to me are the things about them that I choose to recall the most. Age, well age is just a number and like I said before, I don't particularly like to do math. What I do like to do is ”mark” in my memory all of the highlights that life has had to offer. That would include the good and the bad. The good is easy but the bad moments are just as important for me because they also contribute to shaping who we become, how we’ve overcome and the strengths it has built in us as it developed our character. It all matters. 

When I think of Jesus for example, I recall his amazing birth on that glorious night. I see the maturity from a young boy in the temple speaking. I recount the eyes of a blind man opened and sight comes. There is the beautiful story of 5 thousand people having a meal because he multiplied a little boys lunch so they could eat. Then, not to ever be forgotten, the account of his death on a cross. It's hard sometimes to tell of the horrific way that he died but it matters. It matters to recall the bad part because it was actually the ”main thing” that mattered about his life. Without recalling the bad then we would tend to forget just how wonderful and miraculous the good truly was. When asked how old he was in the big scheme of his life it just doesn't seem to matter that much. Generally the age, somewhere in his mid thirties, seems to pale in importance in the glory that was his life! 

So, find the things about life that truly do matter and recall them always. Remember the good, the bad and all the in between moments that have happened to define the landscape of the portrait. How old it is seems a bit unimportant on the gallery walls of life when the big picture is the painting and the story that it illustrates. That will be the thing that captures your memories and even takes your breath when the spotlight illuminates it for all to see.

How old are my children? . . . . . Does it matter anyway?

Insight insert: Take a moment here to think about the life of someone you know. That person doesn't have to be a family member but maybe just an acquaintance. Recall all that you can about them, the good and the bad parts. Then take another few moments to pray for them. Pray that God will use the good parts of their life to enrich them and pray that he will take the bad parts and build in them priceless character traits that will also enrich them.

Scripture: Romans 12:2

”Do not copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.”

In The Waiting

So, let’s talk about waiting! There’s the waiting room in the doctors office, the waiting on the birth of a baby, then there’s waiting on a favorable response to all of the job interviews you’ve probably been on, and the waiting for a much anticipated visit from loved ones who are far away and lastly, there is waiting for Christmas morning as a small child. The anticipation runs wild! However you are waiting, the honesty of the waiting can be grueling. Our hopes, our want tos,  our ardent desires and longings can cause our hearts to strain at the bit while reality pulls back on the bridle to hold us suspended. We can think that the waiting will actually be our undoing at times. But in the anticipation there is a lesson I think. There is occasionally the lesson of self restraint or maybe  the lesson of selflessness and quite often the lesson of patience. Whatever the outcome we must always believe that God has a purpose and a plan in the waiting. Waiting, I believe, according to God’s Word affords us way more benefits than we could ever count or realize. “Waiting” renews our strength; waiting   produces endurance and character and hope; waiting helps us to become compassionate and merciful; it produces joy. In the waiting God hears us and pulls us up out of our trouble. In the waiting God hides us and shelters us and delivers us. In the waiting we are made better. So, “in the waiting” is where we walk in the blessings of the Lord for our lives. So, even if it’s hard, even if it seems unimaginably painful and even if we think we will burst, “ the waiting” is the reward. The waiting and your response to it are where your victories lie. In the whole plan of our lives Gods blessings alone make “waiting” something worth enduring. In your waiting I pray that you find the treasure that Christmas morning holds for a child and in the waiting I pray that you see and experience the gift of love that your Father has for you. It’s sooooo worth “ the waiting”.

Insight Insert: I challenge you to make a list of the things that you are waiting for. After each entry, when your waiting is over, write down a prayer of thanksgiving beside that entry and date it. I’ll be waiting to hear how many moments of anticipation are met with good news. I’m thinking it’s a sure thing!

Scripture:  Psalm 27: 13-14  “I believe thatI shall look upon the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living! Wait for the Lord; be strong, and let your heart take courage; wait for the Lord!”

The Rhythm Of Sunflowers

I don't know about you but sometimes my sleep at night is very broken. On one such night a few days ago I awoke with a sketchy but somewhat familiar term in my head. It was ”Circadian Rhythyms”. I know, say no more. I truly don't know what depth of thought well that one rose to the top of but nonetheless, there it was. Circadian Rhythym refers to the natural wake-sleep cycle or internal clock that we were created with. That cycle repeats every 24 hours. This ”circadian rhythm” can also be found in some plants, animals and bacteria. Sometimes light or temperature can cause a fluctuation in the circadian rhythm. Hence my broken sleep. As I lay there thinking on why this ridiculous term was in my head a myriad of thoughts still flooded my brain. I wondered if my broken sleep had anything to do with too much screen time on my iPad or the intense heat while working in my garden. Maybe, but then I had a picture of a sunflower pop into my head. Again, like a good friend of mine says, ” I can't make this stuff up” so I pay attention. It seems Sunflowers are one of the plants that exhibit a definite circadian rhythm on a continuous basis. You see when the sun rises in the east the sunflowers’ blossom turns to face the sun and all throughout the day their faces are turned towards the sun. At the end of the day they they are facing West where the sun sets.During the hours of darkness the blooms make their way back to eastward facing just in time to greet the sun once more. Now, if this wasn't enough, just wait there's more. Now if the rhythm is somehow messed up or interrupted in the sun flower they face each other to share their energy. Ok this is good stuff! My friendwhom I was sharing all of this with  found a picture online and posted it to illustrate what the sunflowers do. It said, ” imagine if humans could do this too”. What a Godly concept that I'm sure our Creator built right into the Circadian Rhythm that he gave the sunflowers. I say, ” we humans do have it too!” When the rhythm of one is thrown off by tragedy or sickness or whatever then God sends another human to them to draw strength and comfort from. He sends them to hold the other up until that rhythm is restored. You see as long as the sun flower keeps facing the ”son” then its’ rhythm is beautiful. So, we will keep looking towards that son whose name is Jesus and encourage one another and face each other for strength and wisdom. It's such a great idea given by the great Creator and we don't wanna mess up that rhythm now do we? 

Insight Insert: The next time you are awakened in the middle of the night I encourage you to make the best use of your ”awake” time. Pray for someone you know that is struggling or is having a difficult time. Then, when morning comes give them a call or go see them. Let’s get the ”rhythm” that the Creator gave us back into the proper cadence, keeping our eyes on the ”son” at all times.

Scripture: Hebrews 10: 23-25

”Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful. And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.”

Crazy Quilt of Life

Recently a dear dear friend was talking to me about making quilts. She is an avid quilter and has many quilting projects just waiting to spring to life and wrap their corners of artistic love around someone’s heart. 

In our conversation I shared that there was a quilting expo in the town very close to where I lived and suggested that she should come and we could go together to see the beautiful and very professional side of this art. Surprisingly she told me that she doesn’t like going to those shows and expos because they remind her how very inadequate her work is next to the quilts in the professional arenas. Well I was taken back a bit by her response but after she explained I could understand how she may have arrived at such a conclusion.

She told me that while she loved making quilts, cutting out triangles, squares and circles, she could never perfectly line up the corners and the points so that they looked flawless. Her hand quilting stitches weren’t perfectly the same length and stitch spaces weren’t quite consistent. When she would go to the expos and look at the perfection and the high quality of the show quilts it only proved to make her feel very “less than” in her talent. 

As I was thinking about her feelings and the parking spot where she had parked her final thoughts and opinions I was deeply concerned. I have seen some of her projects of love that she has stitched and shaped and given life to and I have to tell you that by professional standards that they would most probably never be placed in the arena or the expo center venue. But  I can also tell you this, by the standards of quilters that have traversed the landscape of this country and have stitched pieces of their hearts and pieces of their old tattered calico skirts and homespun shirts, well, her quilts speak “home” and “hearth” to me. Their imperfections remind me of how very imperfect I am and we all are. The stitches and their “unevenness”remind me also of the uneven paths that we all have been called to tred. Sometimes those paths are easy and sometimes not so very easy! With her long and short stitches you see the times when she may very well have gotten sleepy as she stitched into the wee hours of the night just to finish her project. The points of her stars may not have been sharp and the bars of her log cabin squares may not have been perfectly symmetrical but neither are our lives. We search too often for pure perfection and all that is required is our best ability. It says in the book of books, “ my grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness.” Our weaknesses, our imperfections and our edges that do not line up quite right are all of the things that shape who we are. We can give it our best ability and newsflash. . . . . .we will never become perfect. Wiser and more skillful, yes, but never perfect! That description was reserved exclusively for the Lord of Lords. God gives us grace so we must also give ourselves some grace, some room to fail and get back up and try again. Those times when we fall and get back up are the times that prove to build character and strength. We learn to live our eneven, patched worked lives moving from strength to strength. In the end it produces in us a beautiful pieced and stitched together work of art called “our life”. 

So I share here with my friend to look at the beautiful quilts. Look at all the perfect corners and straight and consistent stitches. See how beautifully the color choices are and how they take your breath away. But my dear friend here is a final “factoid” for you to remember. I can most probably guarantee you that if you looked at each very closely you would still find imperfections and if you spoke to the quilter they would probably share the areas where they had to make “do-overs” because the corners didn’t line up. There was most likely a price to pay for their beautiful creations so don’t look at what you see as perfection and think there were no errors. Your “ errors” tell the story of how imperfect we all really are and your quilts when complete declare, “I Persevered till the end”and that’s what saves us and declares His glory in us. What a beautiful quilt every time, stitched with love and pieced together with grace!  Now THATS a show quilt!

Perched Beside Provision

There are days when we are met with great challenges and tests to the mettle of our lives. We have unexpected hardships that knock on our door, we gaze at a checkbook that holds a single digit balance while looking at a stack of unopened bills or we receive a report from the doctor that tells us that our time frame of life has suddenly changed causing us to count the blessing of virtually every minute.

Life is fraught with hard times and challenges that test the stuff that we're made of and that's just a fact, however, we have been given every tool of provision that we need to get through the tough times. 

I have a hummingbird that paints the picture of that provision every single morning for me. He comes and lands on the iron rod that holds my hummingbird feeder and I smile. He comes knowing that I'll have placed the sweet nectar that he craves into that red bottle. He comes and sits and looks at me as if to say ”thank you for being an instrument of provision for me”. Now there are most certainly other places for his provision had I not hung that feeder and he would still be cared for by his maker but these days he comes if only to remind me of the faithfulness of provision that he perches next to. 

If we as human beings could only get a handle on the truth of that like my little humming bird. We have also been provided with a tool of provision that will carry us through and at the same time provide us with sweet nectar that will soothe our pain  and blanket us with care on the hard days. That provision is Gods Word. How many times are we in distress and sit, tear filled on the sofa, smack dab beside a Bible and have never picked it up? How often do we sit in our family rooms right next to a bookcase where dust gathers on the greatest treasure of care and provision that we are privileged to have?

We are like that hummingbird in every way being provided for yet we are perched and seemingly never notice the red feeder. We don't open the book to read the red words that were spoken by Jesus to teach us how to pray and how to love and how to endure. 

We become filled with doubt where our next dollar and meal will come from and we cry ourselves to sleep with the words ”why God” on our lips.

You're perched right beside your provision and its there waiting for you to ingest the sweet nectar of healing and comfort. The red words point straight to the one who has already provided and sacrificed it all so that you can know and trust exactly like that little hummingbird. 

So as you sit perched from wherever you are today, stop and notice! Notice the beautiful provision. I promise you it will feed your wounded soul and gratify every hunger pang that you'll ever have. It's beautiful and right there at your fingertips. 

Midnight Weavers

There is a sort of magic that happens outside of my house in the wee hours. That's when the weavers come out. They can't be seen too many times during the day but they work their magic when all gets quiet and the darkness settles over the mountains. It's sort of a wondrous thing to behold. The sun comes up over the horizon and floods the nooks and crannies of my front porch and their handiwork becomes visible. At times their weaving is highlighted by little droplets of dew that make their amazing works of art sparkle when the sunlight hits them. I find it simply beautiful. Now, I haven't always found it beautiful. When I first moved into this house in the country I saw these striking works of art as "nuisance cobwebs". I would come out onto the porch and find them everywhere, every morning! I could go around with my broom and sweep them off of the chair rungs, the storm door and my plants on the rails grumbling as I swept away their industrious nights work. I soon realized that it was simply fruitless. As I sat down to drink my coffee with the sunrise one day, sighing that I had to brush yet another cobweb off of my rocker, I succumbed at last to the futility of my morning task. I sat rocking and noticing really how gifted and creatively talented that God had made these little midnight weavers. In my quest for web-free living, I had not stopped long enough to see the beauty of their work. Every fiber that they wove had to be attached to something. Every circle that they spun connected to every anchor strand as if a master architect had painstakingly designed it. They worked their weaving towards the center forming a beautiful tapestry of lines that are breathtaking when I took the opportunity to actually notice their form. Their little canvases were formed everywhere; they worked their magic between my porch rails. Their creative work could be seen on my wicker settee  and they even connected the branches of my potted jade tree on the post. There seemed to be no nook or corner that was left untouched. The morning light revealed their nighttime spinning and it was really quite glorious. Their soul task and focus was to weave their web, the tool that God instinctively designed in them so that they could capture their food. Small bugs and insects get caught in the web and the midnight weavers gather their sustenance from the prisoners of their handiwork. It all is wonderfully thought out and planned so they can be provided for as our Masters plan. The birds of the air do not toil or spin but they know that their Creator has provided food in nature to meet their needs. The deer find the streams when they are thirsty and the eagle has the sharpest of vision allowing him to soar and swoop down to find his provision. Our creator designed all of it and it's a perfect and beautiful dance. It allows us to see and be reassured that He will do the same for us when we need our provision. And just like my little midnight weavers, my life needs to have anchor points. I need my relationships and family to anchor me. I need fellowship with other believers to encourage me. I need to study and read Gods Word to truly anchor me in my faith. All of these things form the warp of my life's tapestry. God will then make a finished work of me with all of the other strands of life situations, struggles, tears, joys and triumphs to form the weave of my tapestry. It's alll a part of the Master Architects design you see. Purposeful and perfect. It's all, I'm totally convinced of, a part of the amazing plan that once more points us ever to Christ and His perfect work. Col. 2:2 says, "I want you woven into a tapestry of love, in touch with everything there is to know of God. Then you will have minds confident and at rest, focused on Christ." How beautiful and purposeful and perfect is his plan for us. It's intricately woven for us, for our benefit. Isn't that just like a good good father, always and ever thinking of his children. I love his plan, woven just for me! It makes my heart smile. Now, every time I come out with my coffee to sit I purpose to see the handiwork of my little midnight weavers and be reminded of my own tapestry of love that is still 'under construction'. I truly desire it to be as glorious with every mornings light as the spinnings on my front porch. Thank you God for allowing me to see that beauty through your little midnight weavers. 

Beautiful Agony

This morning I saw a picture in my gardening magazine of the most beautiful flowering tree. My breath was literally quite taken at the beauty of its colorful yellow blossoms. But, upon closer research I found that there was an enormous “agony”, if you will, to having this particular beautiful flowering tree. You see this tree, for all of its beauty on the outside has massive thorns looming just under the blooms. These thorns can actually grow up to 10 inches in length. This tree is known as a “Jerusalem Thorn” tree. 

It’s funny how my eye was drawn straight away to the blossoms, the exterior. I was so taken by their beauty that what was lurking on the inside of all the beauty simply went unnoticed. Isn’t that true of a lot of things. King David found himself looking upon and craving the beauty of Bathsheba and fell pray to the ugliness of sin that lay in wait for him, ensnaring him into the darkness of murder, death and adultery. Eve saw the beautiful apple and secondarily noticed the serpent that cunningly caused her and Adam and the rest of humanity to forever deal with the reality of pain and death. 

There is beauty in this life but many times there is the agony that can come along with the beauty. Sacrifices made to make things better can be painful. The allure of sin can be tempting and hard to overcome but there is also the agony that follows temptations selfish decisions. This is where love steps in! All the hasty, knee-jerk, self-centered and self fulfilling moments are redeemable and it was an act of love that set the stage for the beauty to shine amidst the agony of the price. And there is always a price! But, the price was covered, paid in full and it was done by the greatest act of love ever recorded. And “yes” there was agony that we can’t even begin to imagine that followed. In the words of singer/songwriter Stephen Curtis Chapman. . . .

“And it's beautiful agony that He believes it's not too late for me. This is how love wins, every single time, climbing high upon a tree where someone else should die. This is how Love heals, the deepest part of you, letting Himself bleed into the middle of your wounds. This is what Love says, standing at the door, you don't have to be who you've been before. Silenced by His voice, death can't speak again, This is how Love wins!”

Beautiful Agony redeems! For all the agony that we know He went through, a painful crown formed from a beautiful tree, made  the beauty of that act illustrate His great love for us. No deception here, just a love that remains  and a hope that forever lingers leaving a beautiful scent for all who stay and get lost in its fragrance. This is how love wins! 

Troubles of Rocky Rubble

As you may know now if you've been with me for awhile, I love gardening. But I have to be honest with you, this particular year has been a year fraught with obstacles. We moved back to Pennsylvania and of course I wanted to put in a garden. So, I had a very good friend bring his Rototiller to my house and proceed to turn over a plot of land that had never been turned over before. It was a relatively small plot but nonetheless it took him several hours to turn it over. As it turns out, the ground is severely rocky. The soil looks exquisite and rich and perfect for garden soil but “ugh“the rocks are beyond belief. Between the rain making the ground constantly soggy and the rocks making it feel like I was digging into concrete, well it’s been a tough year already. It seems that the elements are against me. The relentless rain and now the rocks. Never have I wanted to give up and walk away more but I look at the trays of vegetables that I have purchased and have been given and I just can’t do it! I know it will be rewarding but the obstacles are almost too much to bear.

As is the case in every scenario of my life there’s a lesson or a story to be told. As I hoed the soil this morning and the rock completely bent the tine of my hoe in half I couldn’t help but hear a voice saying “keep going, it will be worth it in the end I promise you”! Well, whether that was God revealing his extreme great sense of humor or whether it was my internal “never say die” voice, it really doesn’t matter. The lesson here is loud and strong. We will have obstacles in our path in this life. We will have roads of rock and rubble and trouble that try to bend us like the tines on my hoe or break us. In this life we will have trouble, guaranteed! But my word of the year and actually word of my life if I were to be honest,  is “perservere”. It says in Romans 5 ““And not only this, but [with joy] let us exult in our sufferings and rejoice in our hardships, knowing that hardship (distress, pressure, trouble) produces patient endurance; and endurance, proven character (spiritual maturity); and proven character, hope and confident assurance”. 

So, when you’re in the middle of your “rocky rubble” or troubles, just hang in there! Keep pressing in through the rocks and obstacles and stay focused on the end goal. It WILL produce something in you that is good and wonderful. You will become stronger and learn to handle those troubles with a new determined maturity the next time you face them. Your character will be built up and “sured up” and reinforced for the next bump in your road. My tine (my spirit) my be bent but my previous trip down rocky roads has caused my character to persevere on! 

So, rejoice and be glad if you will and actually give thanks for those “troubles of rocky rubble”! Now, I’m off to hammer out the tine of my hoe and pick up the rocks. This story will be continued and my garden will thrive, I’m sure if it! Stay tuned. . . . 

SINGLEHEART

I've had many people ask me about my user/screen name that I have used for over 20 years now. ”Where did it come from?” ”What does it mean?” And the best one, ”are you single and looking for love?” I truly laugh at that last question because my user name seems to spur on all kinds of spam mail and emails from dating sites.  Truthfully though, I have been happily married for almost 47 years now and I may have been ” looking for love” at one time but I've certainly found it over 50 years ago now. When I could be referring to my husband here, although he's the love of my life, I'm referring to my truest love and that is my Jesus. The truest kind of love can only be found in Him. Now my husband loves me in all the ways a husband can love but my husband can't give me everything that my truest love can and did. You see, I deal with battling dark days and depression and although my husband can love me by praying with me and taking care of me in every way he can, there are still dark days and only one person can rescue me from that darkness. When I seek peace in the midst of my storm, I cry out to Him and he brings peace and dispels the darkness. Oh there have been times when I questioned His presence and questioned whether he saw me in my depression. But His love never fails and His care for me is evident when I feel His peace flow over my spirit in a way that I can't understand. It soothes just when I can't handle another blow. His love and peace embrace me when my strength is gone. What He gives holds me up when I cant stand. There was an old hymn that we used to sing in church when I was young. It was called ”Wonderful Peace”. The lyrics said, ”Peace, peace wonderful peace, coming down from the Father above, sweep over my spirit and help me I pray, with fathomless billows of love”. What a perfect and exact description of what He does for me. Is it any wonder He is my truest love. So, back to the ”singleheart” thing. Many years ago I remember praying and asking the Lord for a heart after him and what would that look like fully? He took me to the bible to Jeremiah 32:39 where it says, ”I will give them one heart and one way, that they may fear me forever, for their own good and the good of their children after them.” Jeremiah spoke ’exactly’ what a heart after God would look like here! I will give them ONE HEART and One Way. That was my desire. I didn't want to be a double minded, fickle follower of Christ but my desire was to be in one accord with Him. That's what happens when you find your truest love I believe. You begin to think alike, act alike and in every way your hearts are so bound together that the two hearts look like ”One Heart”! Something clicked in me so many years ago. I was even privileged for a while to direct our youth drama team and you've probably guessed, we were called ’ONE HEART”. It is the word that I've chosen to chase after a true love relationship ;with ’singleness of heart’. So ”Singleheart” has been the name I have used. It's deep and rich in meaning for me and reminds me, every time I see it or type it in, of the way I choose to love Him. So, on my deepest and darkest days when my heart beat slows down and I feel sadness and dejection slipping over me like a heavy blanket, I know I can speak the name of my truest love and he will do exactly what that old hymn says. ”Sweep over my spirit and help me I pray with fathomless billows of love”. Fathomless means ’unable to be measured or understood’. I will never understand how He does it but I'll never question it because when I call Him, He always does it because we have ’ singleness of heart’ and an immeasurable love. 

IMMERSED

Today, while sipping my morning coffee, I watched a Dove as she fed at my bird feeder on my deck rail. My feeder is a sort of makeshift feeder if you will, one that isn't so pretty but it does the job. It consists of a birdhouse that I purchased at the flea market and on either side, two plastic food containers for holding the bird seed. Yeah, like I said, not pretty but utilitarian completely. As I watched the dove feasting on the seed I noticed that she must have been hungry because it seemed that she couldn't get it fast enough. Then I laughed out loud because she stepped over the edge of the container and sat down right in the middle of the seed and just ate around herself. I think one reason I laughed so hard is my complete relating to her situation. There have been days, I thought to myself, that I was lonely or depressed or just bored and I have spent the day surrounding myself with food to alleviate the problem. I felt like I was eating around myself being fully immersed in the middle of my stuff! This dove was a vivid reminder of just how "immersed" we can get in our issues. It's as though nothing else matters or we don't even notice how consumed we  can get while trying to alleviate our pain by eating around ourselves. It's a funny and ridiculous picture but I'm sure it happens to others as well. Honestly! Tell me I'm not alone in this! At any rate, if you can relate at all just ask yourself this question. . ."what is it that I feel that I've fully immersed myself in and I am mindlessly medicating myself with?" You may be so immersed in your work that you are sleeping all the time and you feel that life is passing you by. You may be suffering grief so badly over a loss of someone that you are self medicating with drugs or alcohol. Or maybe you are so caught up in the mundane things of life like house cleaning, wiping little noses and picking up endless toys or laundry that you feel like you are immersed and drowning in your own weariness. Whatever that looks like just know that the issue isn't in what you are immersed in but the problem or issue comes from our response to that immersion. We can sit in the middle of our stuff and mundanely eat around our pain or we can be like that dove who, just now I might add, stood up and stepped out of where she was and flew off to the rest of her day. We can respond by changing our responses. We can change our obsessive working hours of overtime to get more of the almighty dollar and spend more time with our families instead of sleeping the time away from fatigue. We can grieve for those lost loved ones but reach out to others for companionship and help in the midst of our grief instead of closing the door and sitting alone in our stuff. We can get some housework done, maybe not all of it and then allow those toys to lay there on the floor while we take time for ourselves and our children by getting outside or going to the park. That stuff will always be there to do but our children won't. So what are you immersing yourself in and what is your response to that immersion? The best answer I can give you is one that either you've heard. many many times or one that you don't desire to hear at all. The truth of it, for me at least, has been to fully immerse my self in my relationship with God through worship, fellowship with him in prayer and by the reading of His word. This was the crucial key to my responses to problems and issues when they arose. I no longer want to "eat around myself" medicating my pain with food but what I have immersed myself in and fed upon has been the thing that has equipped me to step out of the seed bin and go on with my day in a victorious and purposeful manner. It has been the answer! You know that little term " you are what you eat?", well, it's true. When you immerse and eat upon the word of God and feast in His presence and worship Him and send up your prayers to Him He will fill you and guide you through your pain, problems and issues. The more deeply we are immersed in a relationship with God the more you love Him and the more you'll look to Him for help. It says in II Timothy 3:16-17" All scripture is God breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be throughly equipped for every good work". So, your immersion question is answered! Immerse yourself in Christ, his word and a relationship with Him and He will be the only medication or remedy to your issues or pain. Praying for you today my friends that you will be free from "eating around yourself" and equipped with His bread of life for newness of life!