christian living, faith walk, friendship, life experience, Listening, perseverance, Prayer, relationships, spirituality
I love my yellow boots. Although they are perfect for mucking through garden mud and planting pansies, they could hardly be called the “right shoe” for a day at the office or a night out when I need a more polished look. Understanding the “right shoe for the job” has many helpful implications.
There have been many times when I failed to choose the right “shoe or tool” for a situation.
- What tone of voice is best? House shoes or Military boots?
- What facial expression communicates my heart? Brightly colored sandals?
- When is a hug needed more than words? Fuzzy slippers might do the trick.
- When does listening have a greater impact than speaking? Sneakers are multipurpose and particularly good for listening due to their quiet nature.
I’ve been on a quest to identify the right shoes for the job. Some tasks call for shoes that are comfortable for more than 2 hours, ( wouldn’t it help if they were labeled by their hours of wear time!) but I’m also learning that what is most comfortable for me, isn’t always best for the situation. My yellow boots may be great for stomping through the yard, but the lighter footprint required at times, means a shoe change for me.
It’s ironic that I can learn so much when wearing my garden stomping boots and yet I can fail at the finesse needed in more delicate circumstances.
If you also need a little help choosing your shoes, or communication tools, spend time with these encouraging words of wise counsel from God’s Word, the Bible.
“The heart of the wise makes his speech judicious and adds persuasiveness to his lips. Gracious words are like a honeycomb, sweetness to the soul and health to the body.” Proverbs 16:23-24
“If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him.” James 1:5
Lord, help me to seek your wisdom about the right tools and shoes for the job! May I know when to step lightly and when to quietly listen.
christian living, faith walk, friendship, life experience, parenting, perseverance
Once upon a time there was a mom with three young kids who didn’t know how to ask for help. Even when her legs and joints stopped working, as the pain of Valley Fever attacked her body, she put on the “I’m okay” mask and tried to carry on with life.
However, in this chapter, “carrying on” was hard because her body wasn’t cooperating. It needed time to heal and healing meant she needed to rest. And ask for help.
Rest and Help were both foreign words to this energizer bunny, mom. Thankfully, those who knew her, also knew she needed help, whether she asked, admitted or not.
- Laundry. Meals. Picking up kids. Taking them on school trips. Band practice. More meals. Dance. School. More laundry. Weeks turning into months.
All such gracious gifts. Gifts she was humbled to receive. Gifts that would be hard to repay.
As the next chapters were written, the mom had wise women in her life who would remind her that the gifts “could” be repaid, as occasion permitted, but they were offered without strings. The mom was humbled and challenged to accept them as such.
The Greatest Gift we can ever receive is also offered without strings.
Chapter upon chapter, the mom was learning more about grace and gifts – deserved and undeserved.
christian living, faith walk, God first, impatience, Listening, perseverance
For someone who wants to be heard, I am a terrible listener at times. I’m determined to make a change in this behavior, so I started looking through my wisdom book (the Bible) for the word listen or hear. I discovered authors often paired listen with “they did not”!
How many times I’ve gone to the Lord in prayer so full of my own words, but I did not stop to listen to His words. I pray with a checklist of my hurts, hang ups and hopes. I spew them out rapid fire, asking God to fix it all, make it better and then…
end my prayer –
Because I have “stuff to do”. I’m busy. Overwhelmed.
I don’t stop and listen.
Listening applies to so many areas of life. I’m not good at listening to what my body is telling me. Without adequate rest, I push myself. I push myself emotionally, thinking, “I’ve got it all under control”. A reset in listening is what I need.
For the past several years, rather than resolutions each January, I have adopted a word to focus on through the coming year. The word is one I hope will help frame my actions and behavior toward maturity in meaningful ways.
I don’t know if choosing a word is like asking for patience, but the word listen has been a recurring theme lately. Exposing both my desire to be heard and my shortcoming as a good listener. ouch. If I want others to listen to me, I must practice the art of listening.
Like the people I was reading about in the Bible, I’m slow to listen but quick to speak or act. Listening is a skill gained with practice. This year I’d like to practice being quick to hear/listen and slower to speak and act. I know my husband would appreciate this intentional focus. My body might function better and emotionally, I’ll be better equipped to love and serve others the way I’d like to.
“Know this, my beloved brothers: let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger.” James 1:19
A positive side of listening, particularly to God in His Word, is added wisdom. Proverbs tells me to listen so that I can gain wisdom. “Listen to advice and accept instruction, that you may gain wisdom in the future.” Proverbs 19:20
An action with a promise.
I don’t know if you make resolutions, or choose a word of the year, either way I’m praying you “listen” well to what the Lord wants to show you in 2023. The beauty of our faithwalk is how much we can learn about God and His character. In a million lifetimes we could not know it all – but given the chance, I want to develop the skills of a good listener, so that I can apply His knowledge and wisdom to my choices.
Lord, let me learn to listen and grow wise mentally, spiritually, physically and emotionally! In all the ways you created me, let me listen well.
Advent, christian living, faith walk, God first, Prayer, restoration, spirituality
When was the last time you were out in a field in the middle of the night and the heavens opened with angels singing? Me either! It’s no coincidence that of all the characters included in the Christmas narrative, shepherds received a center stage moment. I don’t have to know much about a shepherd to realize the night watch requires a special person. One who remains alert, attentive and ready to protect the sheep from any enemy lurking in the shadows.
Tim Keller, in his book Hidden Christmas, points out that their inclusion isn’t just to set the pastoral scene, but they are there for us to learn from. The shepherds didn’t just “see” the star, they also experienced the angelic heavenly hosts. Luke tells us when the angels left, the shepherds wanted to “go and see”. They also “returned and worshiped”. Protectors, by vocation worshiping the Incarnate Creator of the Universe, Immanuel, God with us. I believe we are all hard wired to worship. The question is, what will be the object of our worship? The shepherds chose “… glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen.” They saw, they believed, and they worshiped. What joy must have filled their hearts that night.
The Old Testament speaks of the good shepherd who is to come, and his purpose is seeking the lost sheep (John 10:10). He tells us Jesus is a good shepherd; He knows his sheep. He leads them to cool waters and green meadows for nourishment and rescues them when they are stuck. We sheep can’t get more stuck than being bound by stubbornness and independence, separated from God, wanting to control our own destiny and believing we can do it.
As sheep, we inevitably find ourselves stuck with no way forward or back. A situation only a Savior can fix. This Shepherd/Savior brings us to a fold of safety by declaring His righteousness over us – not because of our own doing. We can never “do” or “be” enough. It’s His sacrifice alone. He is the protective caregiver desiring that none should perish or stay separated from Him.
Jesus, is our Good Shepherd & Protector. May we choose to worship and adore him, knowing He is forever alert, attentive and gave Himself to protect us, His sheep.
Psalm 80:1-3 “Give ear, O Shepherd of Israel, you who lead Joseph like a flock. You who are enthroned upon the cherubim, shine forth. Before Ephraim and Benjamin and Manasseh, stir up your might and come to save us! Restore us, O God; let your face shine, that we may be saved!”
Matthew 18: 10–14
John 10:11 “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.”
John 10:14 -15 “I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, just as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I lay down my life for the sheep.”
Sing: Savior like a Shepherd Lead Us & Hark the Herald Angels Sing
Advent, christian living, faith walk, forgotten, God first, life experience, perseverance, Prayer, relationships, spirituality
I remember when my husband and I first moved to Portland, Oregon: Lush evergreens flanked our drive; the Cascade mountains, covered in snow, surprised us at every gap in the forest and two large rivers made its bridge city nick name obvious. I remember asking him if he thought our new views would ever feel commonplace – familiar.
Author, Paul David Tripp challenged me with these words: “When we become familiar with things, we begin to take them for granted… we quit examining them… we quit noticing them. We tend to not celebrate them as we once did. Familiarity tends to rob us of our wonder.”
As a believer in Jesus Christ, his gift of salvation through faith alone, I never want to lose the awe and wonder of what these words mean:
- My faith means I trust even when I can’t see.
- Believing goes beyond physical senses and includes a spiritual connection to truth.
- The word salvation implies a need to be saved from something to something better.
I talk and write about it, but do I stop in my tracks at the wonder of it all? Do I examine and ask: “Has the reason for the Christmas season become such a familiar tradition that I no longer celebrate with awe and wonder, the Shepherd of Truth that walked among humanity, teaching, loving, giving, and calling us to follow Him?”
So how does one ignite the wonder in their heart, mind and soul? They focus on the One who placed the stars in their heavenly orbit and the seabirds along the shore. The One who calms the storm with a word, speaks from burning bushes and parts deep waters for dry land passage. The One whose love caused Him to send His only Son from heaven to earth for us.
Lord, our Savior, help me slow down and gaze at your holiness. To stand in awe of your mercy and grace. To tell others the peace you freely give. Remind me to celebrate the hope I’ve found in knowing you. May I be ever thankful for your perfect gift of love this Christmas.
“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.” John 3:16-17 ESV
“In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him.” 1 John 4:9
Light the 4th Advent candle.
Sing: Joy to the World
Ask: How do I ignite the wonder of this Child born to save us?
Advent, christian living, Christmas, faith walk, impatience, life experience, perseverance, Prayer
I don’t have excellent survival skills. Don’t misunderstand, I have my emergency food, water, flashlights, and batteries ready, but true compass use, as in my only option of finding-my-way from point A to point B, is an unfamiliar skill. My GPS and I are good friends. Which is why I’m captivated by the Bethlehem star and the wise men who followed it. I love star gazing, but using the stars in the sky as a compass? I know it can be done, but the way of navigating by the stars fascinates me. One must intently study the heavens to know the constellations and where they live in the sky in which season.
I see a parallel between the imagery of the star the wise men providentially followed and Christ being our compass today, the One who illuminates through His Spirit and His word of truth. Like the wise men of old who studied the stars, I’m learning. The more I know of Him, the better I’m able to trust His light of truth to give direction to my angsty heart. His compass brings peace to my soul. Christ who came, Christ, the bright and morning star. His light exposes darkness.
Darkness says, “You can do this on your own.” Light says, “I’ve already done it for you.”
“The morning star appears just before dawn when the night is coldest and darkest. When the world is at its bleakest point. Christ will burst on the scene, exposing evil with his light of truth and bring his promised reward.” Living Word AG, Ohio.
I read this and laughed. Not because it’s funny, but it’s so like me to try to work something out on my own. Then, when my next move is still unclear, all appears bleak. It is then I ask the One who placed the stars in the sky to be my compass, my survival guide, and the light to my path, giving direction and peace to my heart and mind.
Getting “directions” isn’t just about where I’m going, but also how I go. I can physically move, but not always in peace. I believe with all my heart, Jesus, our Bright and Morning star, also wants us to experience the peace that passes understanding. When all seems chaotic and hard, even bleak, my heart can move forward in peace because of His direction.
“You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you”
Isaiah 26:3.
“Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you. For behold, darkness shall cover the earth, and thick darkness the peoples; but the Lord will arise upon you, and His glory will be seen upon you. And nations shall come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your rising.” Isaiah 60:1-3
“I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world”
John 16:33.
Ask: Listen for answers to the who, what, when, where, why and how questions as you read and write them down.
Ask: List the names of Jesus Christ and their significance referenced in the song.
