Crescendo of Spirit

 CRESCENDO OF SPIRIT

     Moments. They tick by us so rapidly as do the seconds on a clock. If we blink we’ll miss most but the important ones we will hopefully pause and take note of. The ones that we should never miss are what I like to call the “ crescendos of the spirit”. THEY are the significant times, the times that ring loudest and are like vitamin shots to our souls, and nourish our spirits and highlight our lives. 

     “Crescendos of the Spirit” may come in the form of watching the birth of your children or walking your daughter down the aisle or just standing in the middle of nature and breathing it in. Whatever your ‘crescendo moment’ looks like, well, you’ll know it when you’re in it! A wave of emotion like no other will sweep over you and take your breath and there may even be tears. The ticking of times clock will seemingly stand still and you won’t even care. The man of your dreams could drop to one knee or a college professor could hand you or your son/daughter a significant piece of paper or there may be a long hike and the pinnacle of the mountain is realized and you gasp at the beauty that stretches in front of you. The height of human emotion is met face to face with your life’s script. 

      Some of my crescendo moments have been in nature. I know there are many others that have ticked by for me but in my later years it seems to involve nature and the beauty that surrounds me. One I particularly remember is a morning recently where the trials of life had washed over my spirit and I had been up nearly all night crying. I was feeling so overwhelmed that I know the Lord knew I needed an uplifting of spirit. I got up out of bed and went outside to stand near my garden. Literally as I stood there the sun burst from behind the clouds, birds were flying around in mass and singing their hearts out and the flowers that I had planted were beginning to bloom. You can’t make this stuff up but that’s exactly what happened . Like the crescendo in a song I heard it all quite loudly. The lament of loss in my spirit melted into peace and contentment. The songs of the birds brought instant mirth to my tear stained face and the flowers made me lose all sense of my surroundings . The only thing that mattered was the moment I was in and like a vitamin shot  my spirit was renewed and I was smack dab in the middle of my crescendo! I didn’t miss it because it was meant to be significant. The master time keeper laid this crescendo out for me and it came at just the right time. 

     Crescendos of Spirit come in the timeliest of fashions and if you would it would behoove you to pay attention, bask in those moments as long as possible and never allow distraction to rule the moment. Soak, bask, linger, absorb, relish, and cherish are the important hands on the clock of your time in that crescendo. Stay as long as you can. Soak in every sweet moment of your time. These are the moments that make It all worth it! Your song needs pinnacles of hope to keep you climbing. Listen and keep your eyes open  and today may be your day for a ‘Crescendo of Spirit’. 

Romans 15:13. May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. As you continue to place your trust in God, He will continue to fill your heart with joy, peace, and a hope that overflows into the lives of the people around you ...

A New View

 There are days that come when all can look cloudy and dreary and rainy. We grow sad, apathetic, and depressed. How do we snap out of that place in order to get a new perspective on our outlook? I believe the answer is to “change our view “! We can choose to stand and gaze out at all of the dark and dreary things that currently may be taking place in our lives or we can choose to push back the curtains of darkness and allow the light and love that are present, even when we can’t see it, to come in and penetrate the darkness . It sounds so simple, you say, but easier said than done. Yes, it does take effort. It does take stepping out of our darkest places and times and making the choice to do it differently. How? Small steps make for big changes I’m thinking. Let me share my story and current situation if I may. It may help to relate to what I’m saying. 

A short time ago My dear husband of nearly 50 Years starting exhibiting signs of physical decline and it began to worry me a bit. Then he took a fall and broke some bones which in turn required surgery. He’s hold up in our house now with a cast on his arm and a faraway look in his eyes that tells me he is struggling to find the hope in things. I have been attending to his every need and taxiing him to Dr. Visits and physical therapy appointments and the dark cloud that rested over his head now has taken up residence above mine. In the middle of it all we were told that we would have to move from the house we’ve been renting because it was being sold and we would only have 30 days or so to accomplish it all. Well, I don’t know about you but if you’ve been married for any length of time you know that you can accumulate things. And that was true to a great extent in our case. Our three children and their families have been wonderful and have come alongside us to help us to downsize and make choices in our later years here. To say that this journey of late has been very very hard is quite an understatement. There have been tears there have been angry moments and there have been amazingly good ones as well. Our family, our church family and our friends have shown us love beyond measure. Now here is where my advice on changing your view comes into play. My husband and I have been offered a place to live in my daughter and son in laws home. That gesture alone is chocked full of love and care and honoring that is hard to comprehend. Nonetheless, we are getting ready to change our view, literally. Through all of our dark clouded moments God placed different loved ones at different times to pull back the curtains and let the light in for us. They have held our hands, held our arms up, prayed and encouraged us all along the road. And I am here to tell you that those curtains were very heavy and hard to push back but they were pushed back and now the light is streaming in and the hope lights up our whole room.

In the process of all the darkness and change, when those curtains were pushed back and change came the light came with the change. If we had chosen to look out on the gloom of it all and no one ever pushed back the curtains then we would still be standing in the shadow of hopelessness and dread. But change brought about the joy. Now, here’s another thing to “tweek” your thinking. Every bit of that darkness that settled in over us I believe was ordained, orchestrated with purpose to accomplish something. That’s right! Even those dark moments that seemingly cloud out anything “hope filled”are happening in order to do something in us. It’s true!

Look at this and remember . . . . 

The veil was the heavy curtain in the Temple at Jerusalem which was torn when Jesus died. Matthew 27:51 says, "Behold, the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom; and the earth did quake, and the Rocks rent. 

The darkest day on the face of this earth yet there was a curtain that would be drawn back, in fact this one was torn in two. It was a darkness like no other, a sadness that couldn’t be equaled yet there was a curtain, a curtain that was torn in two in order for the light to be revealed. Every bit of it , every tear, every agonizing moment was ordained and served a purpose far greater than we could possibly comprehend. The darkness mattered. It was a precursor to the light of hope that Jesus was giving his life to bring. 

My situation pales in the shadow of this story but it’s still very sugnificant in the eyes of my Father. It’s meant to make me stronger and exhibits the extraordinary love that he has for me. And all it took was for me to change my view! Spring is upon us, the Winter of our season of hopelessness is over but only if you choose to let in the light! 

One last note: Theses a line in an older song called “Remind Me” that says, “roll back the curtains of memories now and then, show me where you brought me from and where I would have been”. 

Ask God to remind you today of where you could have been or could be if your curtain was rolled back. Maybe, just maybe you need to change your view! There’s always light when the curtains are pushed back. 

Shattered Cup

 I love pottery. I’m not sure what it is about it but I just love handmade pottery. I have a very vintage shaving mug rack that was from a barber shop in a town near me. It held shaving mugs for the barbers’ customers. When they would come in for a haircut and a shave each one had their very own mug with their name on it and a small cake of soap in the bottom that the barber could whip up into a froth and slather it on their face for the cleanest shave that they ever had. Well, this mug rack now holds all of my special pottery mugs for coffee, tea or whatever beverage anyone chooses.  I have a favorite, of course that I gravitate towards every time. It was taller than most of my 40 or so mugs, had a tree painted on it ( my weakness is a love for trees) and it just felt “right” in my hand  you know! One day as I routinely headed for my mug rack to grab my favorite mug for my morning cup of Joe I noticed that it wasn’t there. I turned and looked at my hubby who had been unloading the dishwasher and he had that ‘ deer in the headlights’ look on his face and he slowly produced , you guessed it, my favorite mug. However, this once perfect vessel was now in 3-4 pieces. I was as crushed as that mug! I quickly ran for the glue and started trying to make it look as it once had. When the last piece was set into place I could see that it would never look as it did before and most assuredly would never serve the same purpose that it had in the past.  The last piece that I’d tried to glue back into place looked ok but something about the mug was off. My thought was that the glue would get hot when the mug was filled with coffee and the glue would release. I picked up my shattered and broken mug and walked into my sunroom and sat down. My sunroom is where I sit and watch nature and get inspiration for my art. I took my favorite mug and sat it Next to my chair. I sat there looking at all of my paintbrushes scattered everywhere so I pick them up in a nice bundle and put them down inside of my broken mug. Now my broken mug would hold my favorite tools and I could still look at it everyday. I know it seemed silly and childlike but I asked God, “Why? Out of all the 40 other mugs did it have to be this one that was shattered?” Sometimes in life things don’t seem fair, they don’t seem like they serve our best interests. Oh, but they do! You see, as I sat there feeling sorry for myself and mourning  the loss of a coffee cup, the Lord was doing something in me. I looked at that mug holding all my beautiful paintbrushes and looked at it and looked at it and realized that I could look at it. I realized it was still here! It was still my favorite, but it had just taken on a new purpose. Instead of holding my coffee it held my tools. Its usefulness was still intact. It wasn’t the mug that was shattered but my expectations of what made me happy and what was normal in my mind that was shattered. Sometimes things change. Sometimes our thoughts of what a perfect picture can be can get shattered just like my mug.  Sometimes we lose things that are dear to us, sometimes we lose people that are precious to us or sometimes we have to move on from our comfortable and normal spots in order for change to be realized. The mugs’ purpose changed and it was a good thing. But the good thing was that I realized in my heart that God has more than one reason for things happening to us and it’s how we resolve it in our hearts and move on and embrace the change that actually makes the difference. God always knows what he’s doing and why he’s doing it. It can be sad, it can be depressing, it can be hard and it can test your mettle at times but ask God to show you and renew your mind and your thinking about all the questions of why? I have a paintbrush holder that I love, it’s my favorite and it has a tree on it ! It reminds me of the days when I drank deeply of the pleasures of my morning coffee and time with my Father and  now I have a wonderful memory of that PLUS a new smile because I now realize that by drinking deeply in the presence of my Father that my eyes can now see that His ways and His purposes reach much farther than the shattered brokenness that is evident in front of me. 

“EX-SEEDING” THE NEED

 Well, this morning held yet another little visual life lesson from the Lord. They come so often now that I scarcely can write them all down. But here goes, you’re gonna love this!

While sipping my coffee and having my quiet time, I noticed that just inside the window of my bird garden area was one of my bird feeders that looked like it had something in it. It was very empty looking and upon closer examination, as the breeze spun it around, I could see that the feeder did indeed have something in it. Although it wasn’t birdseed but a little sparrow sitting quietly snuggled safe and warm inside the clear glass walls . of the feeder . He had somehow managed to get himself up over the walls, probably under the roof eaves, and inside the feeder. I noticed that he was trying every once in a while to fly up or get up so that he could get out but it was fruitless. He was either dazed because of the experience or he had plainly eaten enough seed to weigh his little bottom down and he couldn’t get off the ground. His ‘motherload’ of plenty didn’t just give him a taste but it far exceeded his need. When the light of day brightened the sky this morning I’ll just bet that this little fellow who was looking for his breakfast meal never expected to find himself in this predicament. (Not to worry, my husband lifted the roof and he was freed) Today, this 

Little sparrow was met with an abundance that far exceeded his need. Isn’t that a bit like our lives sometimes? We wrestle with where the next dollar will come from to pay the bills yet our “handbook of truth for living” tells us “he (God) shall supply all our needs”. We wrestle and finagle things trying to ‘make it happen’ ourselves. The fact is that if we would just trust Him for it all then we would surely see His hand move on our behalf. Now, I’m not talking about sitting back on our laurels snd doing nothing and waiting for FED-EX to drop a box of money onto our front stoop. Nope!

I’m talking about continuing to move forward in our day knowing that it will all be supplied. There is no

need for striving or straining nor ulceratibg our guts to make sure that we have everything to meet those needs. We can go too far sometimes, like this little sparrow, and find ourselves in a pickle because we step over the line in pursuit of the need and land straight into the sometimes 

Messy ‘greed’ part. We get greedy to do what isn’t ours to do. We work late hours to make up the difference and in the process precious moments with our families are missed. We take out loans to pay off overdue balances and pay dearly for years robbing us of vacations and fun outings. We push ourselves over the tops of the walls of safety and provision and find ourselves stuck inside the clutches of the greed as we try to do it all our way! 

When will we ever learn? Freedom and provision walk hand in hand with trust and believing. 

As my husband lifted the roof and the little sparrow flew away I thanked my Father for once again showing me just how much he cares for me. 

I Peter 5:7

“Cast all your (anxiety) cares on Him for he cares for you.”

It Makes Perfect ‘Cents’

 Today as I was randomly going through some coins looking for early silver ones, I ran across this 1998 Quarter. Now 1998 quarters are only worth 25 cents but this particular coin today held so much more valuable things to me now than it did 5 minutes ago.

You see, I found myself looking at it, examining it closely with a magnifying glass and turning it over and over. I thought to myself, “ what in the world has this quarter seen to make it look this bad! Scars and dents and mars and divets. Wow! If only this quarter could talk, it surely would be crying or moaning about it’s improper handling and care. George even looks like he taken a direct hit in the head! What stories it could probably tell. I mean, look at those edges, they are chewed and dented as if this coin was used as a tool or well I just can’t imagine. 

This dented and marred quarter certainly got me to thinking about my own life. Do I look the worse for the wear on the outside like this 23 year old quarter? Are my edges gashed and mis-shapened due to numerous accidents and mishaps? Are my scars visible to all who look at me? Does the wear and tear of my life exhibit itself for all to see? I certainly hope not! But this sad 1998 quarter is a beautiful illustration to me of how sometimes we wear our scars and they become “badges” so to speak of the hurts and the trials in our lives. Now, here’s something to note; this quarter, as beat up as it is, is still worth what it was created to be worth. It’s still worth 25 cents. It hasn’t lost its value!

Life can beat us up and life can beat us down but no one has to know. If we don’t bring it up or constantly remind them of our hurts and strugggles. Is it even necessary for everyone to be aware of our scars? Funny thing is in my humble opinion, if we constantly bring up our hurt and pain to the point that people begin to avoid us, and well, we could be in danger of devaluing ourselves. The thing

That we must always remember is that we are of great value to God and how we exhibit our lives reflects on Him! I for one want to be the shiny new looking coin in his pocket that brings him glory even though it is older and very used. The age of my coin might say 1954 but I want it to look like a 2021 coin, minted just recently. The world doesn’t have to be constantly reminded of our pain and hardships and we are of great value in Gods kingdom so, let your light shine and unlike this coin, let all who see it know that it’s shining bright in order to honor God. Don’t allow the ‘dings’ and ‘bruises’ and ‘gouges’ that this life can bring to be on display so that you can have others stroke you and take pity on you. 

Second note: just above George’s head it says “Liberty” and below his chin it says, “ In God We Trust”! So know this, even though you are worn, marred, scarred, scratched up, beaten or tattered, place your trust in God and shine for him regardless of what life has dealt to you. My friends, just like this coin, you hold value! And just like this coin proclaims, there is ‘Liberty “ for us all so let’s walk in that and SHINE!

Increase My Appetite

     I know in today’s world of slim, abstinence of and self restraint living it may seem very counter productive to ask the Lord in your prayer time to “ increase my appetite”. But I find that is the prayer on my lips every morning and one that stared me in the face with a visual clarity as I watched my squirrel friends feasting at my windowsill today. You see, I have this old chicken feeding trough that my husband mounted under the window of my sunroom where I sit and have my quiet times and watch nature sitting down for breakfast every morning. The squirrels come and literally sit next to me as I sip my coffee and they stuff their bellies with the black sunflower seeds that are supplied. As I sat watching this morning I was reminded of my prayer to “increase my appetite” as I watched a squirrel shoving seed in as fast as he could and noticing his belly that had grown so fat that he could hardly sit in the trough. 

I’m sure he was taking full advantage of the plentiful seed as he fattened himself up for the impending days of winter and it’s meager food supply. But I was also reminded of my prayer and it revealed a picture of Gods provision and how in the harder days that I was to approach things. 

I was asking God to increase my appetite for Him and the knowledge of things in His Word that I would need to know for the difficult days that seemed to be looming on the horizon. 

But here’s the truth of the matter:  if the squirrels didn’t come down from the trees seeking to find the black seed in that trough then it may have been harder for them to have what they needed for the cold winters days. Oh they would probably have had enough to get by but what if it were an extra harsh winter. Well they may not survive as is the course of nature sometimes. But they did have more than enough right now so they ate veraciously at the trough of blessing. We have at our fingertips the greatest treasure that will forever satisfy our hungry appetites and “fatten” our spirits if you will for any impending days of hard times but we fall short of climbing down from our comfortable trees of contented living to eat hungrily like the squirrels. We can’t seem to see the value of it like they do when preparing for winter. So we sit on our limbs of comfort and look at our bibles gathering dust on the tables of our contentnent and think that we have enough. But do we have enough. Are we ready when plenty and provision comes to an end? Will we be ready when sickness or death knocks on the doors of our dwelling places? Will we know what to do when we are at a crossroads of critical decisions of life? What if the coffers of cash ran dry? What if our secure jobs ended and weren’t so secure after all? 

All of these things are never expected or anticipated but that doesn’t stop them from happening when we least expect them to.

Last week, my precious mother went to be with her Jesus in heaven. As there were many tears at her bedside I found myself oddly standing there in a place of peace and joy. I felt guilty for a brief moment because I wasn’t crying but having these good feelings. But as suddenly as the guilt came i was reminded by the Lord of my veracious appetite of prayer and feasting on his Word in the impending months before her death. My appetite for more of Him had been satisfied with peace and joy at the moment I needed it most. It was the answer to the situation. It was the provision for the difficulty to come. 

So, today as I watch my friend the squirrel I am reminded to keep praying the prayer that begs me to “ increase my appetite”. The table of provision and promise and needs met will only be satisfied when we feast on his Word which gives us EVERYTHING we need for days to come. I pray that you will as well seek to pray that prayer. Then, pull up a chair my friends because you won’t go away hungry!

Psalm 63:1-5

O God, You are my God; I shall seek You earnestly;

My soul thirsts for You, my flesh yearns for You,

In a dry and weary land where there is no water.

Thus I have seen You in the sanctuary,

To see Your power and Your glory.

Because Your lovingkindness is better than life,

My lips will praise You.

So I will bless You as long as I live;

I will lift up my hands in Your name.

My soul is satisfied as with marrow and fatness,

And my mouth offers praises with joyful lips.

ROOM TO ESCAPE

Have you ever found yourself with lots of “downtime” on your hands on cold and bleak winter days? Well I know that sure has been the case for me. One of the things that I have found myself passing those dreary hours with is a game that I play on occasion on my phone. The game is one that challenges me to escape from different situations in different rooms, I love a good challenge and gathering the clues and solving the puzzles in order to get the key that unlocks the door for my escape, well, it’s stimulating to say the least. There are word clues, number clues, color clues and the list goes on  but I’m sure you get the point. It’s all about the thrill of the hunt I suppose, the pushing myself to find the answers so that I can reach the goal. It causes me to think outside the normal thought processes to see what is really “hidden in plain sight”. When the key finally appears and I place it in the door and it opens I can almost hear the theme to “Rocky ” playing. 

What is it about a game that can challenge us from the comfort of our chairs causing us to play on so that we can win or get to our destination point? We can’t seem to put it down until we achieve that goal yet, when life throws us a challenge we find ourselves lost at times, crumpled up in a heap on the floor in tears or in a pit of depression ready to give up? Why? What’s makes the difference? I know life is real and it’s not a game but the challenges we face are just that, challenges! What would it look like in real life if we met our challenges with as much tenacity and vigor as we do with those games? What if we viewed each small victory as something that propels us forward instead of allowing it to cripple us with anxiety. What if each small “clue” or hurdle that was accomplished propelled us towards the next one with a desire to get to the freedom that awaits us when we arrive at our goals? And there is an end! There is freedom and it just waits on our proper responses. 

In Matthew chapter 5, Jesus was just about to enter into his challenge if you will. His cousin John the Baptist has just been arrested so he moved towards Galilee and set to gathering the ones who would help him along the way. He called Simon and Andrew and they followed him then James and John and they likewise came. From there he went over all of Galilee finding synagogues and places to teach and touching all that needed healing.  More and more people came to hear him, momentum gathered . Then here’s the part that jumped out at me. It said, “when Jesus saw his ministry drawing huge crowds, he climbed a hill.(obstacles/trials) Those who were apprenticed to him, the committed, (support team/small victories we are given) climbed with him”. Then the answers started pouring in. . . . He spoke:

-You’re blessed when you’re at the end of your rope, with less of you there is more of God and his rule in your life. 

-You’re blessed when you feel you’ve lost what is most dear to you, only then can you be embraced by the one most dear to you.

-You’re blessed when you’ve worked up a good appetite for God. He’s food and drink in the best meal you’ll ever eat.

And the answers (clues) kept coming.

They were given the keys that day. Keys that would unlock doors to their freedom. They stayed, they listened, they heard what they must do and the key to their feeedom was handed to them. Who wouldn’t want the key! Isn’t that the goal? 

Then He wraps up the challenge in John 14:27 “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.”.

What a key! What a freedom when the door of those trials swing open to our victory! But, we must persist, we must be driven by his leadings in Matthew 5. He has made a way of escape if we follow through all the way to the end, never giving up but pushing through for your answers. He has provided! He will give help along the way. Please know that there is a key but you must persist! That door will open and you May very well hear the theme to “Rocky” as well! 

Matthew 24:13

“But the one who endures to the end will be saved.”