christian living, faith walk, God first, perseverance, Prayer, spirituality, Uncategorized
It was stunning. Right out of a magazine-redone with impeccable attention to detail. Backing up to a green space and public park, the mid-century modern home had the right balance of warm wood and airy simplicity. It was a recent trip to visit our Pacific Northwest kids, that my husband, Darrell and I went to a neighborhood open house. It’s always fun to dream what it might be like to live near any of our kids since none of the live within driving distance. Dreams are fool proof. They don’t cost a dime and are full of grand adventures, even if they never happen. This summer however, we are enjoying a bit of the dream by temporarily being “near” our kids.
We worked on many details, to make the “be near summer” happen. As new grandparents, we wanted the chance to be just across town Papa and Gaga; to see our granddaughter and kids regularly–as if we really lived near. It’s been a gift, but not something that happened on a whim. “Being near” meant being out of our own community for a while. To do that, we had to think through far more details than we would’ve for a typical vacation. I made lists for us, and I checked them off. I researched places for a longer stay, flights for my husbands work schedule and started making all the arrangements -months ago. Planning. Investigating. Deciding. Doing.
Some have teased me I missed my calling as a Travel Agent. I enjoy the challenge of pulling lots of details together. Ironically, I don’t use that same energy on everything I do, even other things I value. I wonder if you can you relate? Is there something you value in words but struggle to show that value with actions? What would it take to apply some “summer plan energy” to other important items on your list?
I observed several in my family complete their master’s level of education. I learned one doesn’t simply wake up saying, “I want my Master’s Degree this week” and place an Amazon order. There is no Prime delivery for education. No short cuts and lots of hard work, with determination, to reach the goal.
So why do I approach my personal time with God (an activity I say that I value) as if it was something I could check off my list via rush order? I’ll repeat this to myself: there is no Amazon delivery that gives me a shortcut to time with Jesus. In order to “check the box” of time with my Savior, I need to plan for it like I do a family adventure. If I want to “be near” to God, like I wanted to “be near” my kids, I have to make space, prepare and follow through.
What does making space and preparing look like?
- Cozy place to sit? Check.
- Favorite beverage? Check.
- Supplies? Bible, pen, headphones, paper, instrumental music selection. Check.
- Time blocked off on my calendar? Check.
- Willing heart and determination to stick to the plan? Check.
I’m looking at this list and I’m thinking how many other things I do this for but NOT always my time with Jesus. It frustrates me to acknowledge this. Even when I write it into a calendar slot, if I’m not paying careful attention, other things fill the space meant for relationship building with the God of the universe.The enemy loves to keep us away from this relationship building time. I can’t comprehend missing a flight for a family adventure or departing a day later than planned. I wouldn’t arbitrarily miss a coffee date with a friend. So why, oh why don’t I guard my time with God Almighty, who wants to have a relationship with me? If this is you too, take heart.
I’ve been working on this. Something I have tried recently–and by gosh it is helping. Don’t laugh, even though my husband does on occasion. I put bulky headphones on when I want to tune out the world and tune into Jesus. I do. Why bulky headphones? Why not just earbuds? Good question–glad you asked!
- For one: they take more effort. That goes back to my intentionality.
- Two: they remind anyone near me I am unavailable for random conversation. (this may or may not work with littles, roommates or in coffee shops, but it’s worth a test drive. Susanna Wesley, mother to famed brothers John and Charles Wesley, literally sat with her white apron thrown up over her head and face to show to her brood that she was not available while under the apron. She and Jesus were having a very important meeting–a VIM!)
- Three–classical or instrumental music is something I can play as background that helps me tune other things out. Your music choice might be different or not at all.
- Four – nothing on my list is “required”. You have a hotline to Jesus anytime, you need him, you just talk to him anywhere, anytime. This list is for that intentional relationship building time. To get the most out of it, we put thought into it ahead of time.
Okay–here we go! ACTION PLAN time. Let’s make our VIM (very important meeting) happen!
Not only am I going to schedule my VIM with J.E.S.U.S. but I am also going to guard it and pray about guarding it. I’m going to skip lesser things to make it happen. I’m going to communicate to those in my household that this time is uninterrupted. Even blocking it off on my physical and digital calendar. Note–we aren’t talking hours here. Being consistent with 15 minute chunks surprises even me, how much easier it is to keep making it happen.
An author/coach I respect insists that some of her best ideas make it onto paper or into her laptop, in dedicated 15 minute time slots. Don’t underestimate a well-planned, 15 minutes. Put it on the calendar, pick the best of your cozy spaces–this might be your favorite chair, the patio, your car or even the closet. Then don your headphones, get paper, pen, Bible, favorite beverage and go!
- First, pray that your time would honor God and grow your faith, which will also grow your desire to keep meeting him.
- Read a passage one or two times through. Don’t know where to start? Try the Gospel of John in the New Testament. It tells about Jesus life.
- Ask a few questions about who, what, when, where, how, and why. If you can’t answer them from within that passage, it’s okay!
- Write the answers you can and anything else that stands out.
- End your time with another prayer, thanking God for His faithfulness to meet you where you are.
- Check, check and check. Now do it again tomorrow. 15 minutes. Let’s do this!
Go “be near” God, get cozy. Talk to him and read his Word back to him. Allow him to show you He is near to you, always.
The Lord is near to all who call on him, to all who call on him in truth. Psalm 145:18 ESV
faith walk, forgotten, God first, life experience, perseverance, Prayer, spirituality
I love a good story. Don’t you? Adventure, mystery, fantasy, historic fiction, memoir – all gripping styles of storytelling. Some of my favorites drop you into the middle of the action, and the writer goes back to fill in distinct details, paint landscapes with words and describe characters in colorful text.
However, our own stories happen in real time, with details we’d like to leave out. We don’t get to choose the action or the characters. I may love part of my story, but on those harder than hard days, I want to switch characters and be written into a more pleasant tale…the one with the fairytale ending.
As I learn from reading one of my favorite books, which recounts tales of heroism, crisis, and redemption, my story isn’t over until the last punctuation of the last sentence, of the last chapter is penned. I am not a one chapter book and neither are you. There is a new one coming. You may not get to choose the characters or circumstances, in fact, you might loathe that chapter and love the next, but another chapter will be written.
Life is unpredictable, but you and I always get to choose how we respond to scenarios life writes us into. If you are happy in your current chapter – I’m celebrating with you. If you are struggling with the plot line you wish was over, hang in there.You are not alone. Know that you are seen, known and loved. Jesus understands all the struggles. He can relate because he lived them. His love is real and so is the rejoicing ahead when the chapter you love is penned.
The saying says, “Don’t judge a book by its cover”, I say, “Don’t judge a life by one chapter.” Redemption can be your next chapter. Hope is real. The book that is you, can encourage others to press on, look up, rest, trust, persevere and cling to hope.
I love a good story and I can’t wait to see how your next chapters are written.
christian living, forgotten, life experience, perseverance, relationships, resilience
A family trip, station wagon loaded. Two adults, five kids, a lightning-fast refuel and potty stop. Back in the car there was unexpected elbow room. With 5 kids, elbow room is prime real estate! In the typical mayhem of doors opening, closing, all the skooching and shifting, bodies settling into travel position, one must ask, who is supposed to count heads? It might have been the prequel to the Home Alone movies. This story ended well enough- we went back for my older sister and she gladly took up that extra real estate in the back seat.
Often, we find ourselves left at the gas station wondering how God could be so unaware of our predicament. Forgotten. Unremembered. Set aside. Out of sight, out of mind. Circumstances beyond what we can bear, much less control. The questions fly.
God, why did you… (fill in the blank), Why God, didn’t you (insert thought here) When will you???? How?? What on earth were you thinking God, really? All the questions and all the feels. It takes time for understanding to settle on my heart and in my mind. In some situation’s there is no understanding, only acceptance. Accepting that we might never understand.
Hard stories, survival, observing others overcome difficulty gives one hope. Because they endured, we can too. But none of us sign up to be the poster child for getting left at the gas station, being single, raising a special needs child, having no children to raise, death of a loved one, outliving cancer, divorce, abuse and the list goes on. Life is rarely what we expect, but scripture reveals that God does not forget us, He would not be God if he did. His Holy Word tells us he cannot forget his creation.
Luke 12:6-7 “Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? And not one of them is forgotten before God. Why, even the hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not; you are of more value than many sparrows.”
The only hairs I ever counted were grey, and I couldn’t keep up. God counts them all: the grey, the bleached and those that fell out due to stress. He knows and he sees.
Psalm 34:18 “The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit.”
Do I believe this?
Phil 4:19 “My God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus.”
Every need. It is easy to confuse needs and wants. I struggle with this one often. God is always teaching me that His ways are higher than mine. He sees and He loves.
Romans 8:38-39 “For I am sure that neither death not life nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
Nothing means No thing. No one. Zip, Nada.
Deuteronomy 31:6 “Be Strong and courageous. Do not fear or be in dread of them, for it is the Lord your God who goes with you. He will not leave you or forsake you.”
He cannot.
Deuteronomy 31:8 “It is the Lord who goes before you. He will be with you; he will not leave you or forsake you. Do not fear or be dismayed.”
You might not see him friend, but he is there. He cannot be otherwise. He sees you – always.
Proverbs 3:5-7 are my life verses. Life-not my verses for a season. These are verses I will cling to until my last breath here on earth. “Trust in the Lord with all your heart. Do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will direct your paths. Be not wise in your own eyes; fear the Lord, and turn away from evil.”
Evil is not just out there — often it is in my heart, my thoughts. Thinking too highly of myself. Thinking that God’s “plan” for me should be easier than it is or has been. I do not know the mind of God, but He knows the mind of man and He calls us to trust him, acknowledge him, fear him–reverently and turn from evil. He knows us better than we know ourselves.
I do not presume to know the depth of every hardship faced in this life, but I can say with certainty that the God who designed and created us in his likeness, knows everything about us–and loves us still. Standing outside the gas station waiting for your family to return might feel like an eternity, but God knows, He sees, and He loves you and me. He promises to never leave us.
That includes gas stations.
John 3:16-17 “For this is how God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. God sent his Son into the world not to judge the world but to save the world through him.”
life experience, relationships
The late 20s are contemplative years. College, if you attended, is often behind, adulting on the daily is well underway and that next decade, the 30s is looming on the horizon. I was asked what are some things I wish I knew or understood better in my late 20s. Here are my thoughts.
Don’t take things personally. Laugh more, stress less. You can’t control all that you think you can. Don’t wait to go on adventures. Do what you can afford – get outside, hike, walk, climb, camp, swim, star-gaze – live! Be wiser with your money. You can save no matter what you earn. Don’t hold grudges. Don’t carry other people’s guilt trips. Understand manipulation vs persuasion. Pay attention to what’s yours to concern yourself with and what’s not.
Yes, and No are both acceptable answers.
Relationships have seasons and in seasons some things flourish and other things naturally taper off, becoming less active. Some die back completely. I remember spending lots of emotional energy on relationships that had already died back, but for whatever reason I didn’t think letting go was okay, good or even right. Ugh. I hadn’t yet learned to manage my expectations of myself and others.
New relationships are a natural progression of life but I have some significant “evergreens’, those long-standing friendships in my life and I’m thankful for them. I have friendships that could be described as weekly, monthly, quarterly & annually. Not a definition of the depth of connection, just the reality of life, proximity and time together. Not all relationships have the same requirements for tending. I love having friendships that pick up where we left off, no matter the time gap between . What a gift those connections are.
The truth about relationships: it’s not physically possible to maintain every relationship we begin.
The takeaway is not flippancy, but honest evaluation. Relationships can be beautiful forests with old growth and new growth. All of it is full of adventure and encouragement.
christian living, faith walk, Prayer, relationships, spirituality
Friday Golgotha, the hill of the Cross,
Death and Darkness, senseless loss.
Saturday’s grief, none could bear.
Sunday morn came, he was not there.
He had risen, no longer dead,
Empty the tomb, just as He said.
Hallelujah! He’s risen, indeed,
The power of God sets me free.
This gift of grace, loves bond restored,
Proclaim Him now, Savior and Lord.
He knocks, do you hear? Don’t delay
Love so secure, a whisper away.
Rejoice in this hope, He’s on His throne,
All things restored, our Eternal home
Easter meditations. 2021
