Category: Life

To Be Remembered In The Heart

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I walked out of the house on Friday without my cell phone. And I did not have time to go back to get it. My husband hasn’t been feeling well and I needed to drive him to his college class because he had an exam to take. And I needed to drop off our son at his college as well. In our treck out the door, I left my phone on the kitchen table. I had the plan to go to Kohl’s real quick on the way home, and what if there was a coupon on the internet I could grab on my phone? What if I saw something for a “stray gift” and I didn’t have my phone/camera to remember it by? What if my dad called me and needed something? What in the world did we do before we had cell phones???  I do remember those days. We lived life and if we were unavailable, well, we were simply unavailable (shocking, I know). And if we did not have our camera and film, well we just didn’t have it. And if we forgot our coupon at home, we went without it or waited until we remembered to bring it.

I did remember to bring a book, however. Because I did not have my cell phone on me, I stayed around at the college to wait until John was done with his test. So it was just me, a book, and the author (figuratively, not literally). I looked up to people-watch a bit here and there, but the alone time was unbelievably restful even with people coming and going. If I had been home and alone, I would have been cleaning, doing laundry, or some other such chore and not really been able to BE STILL. The gift of stillness is a wonderful thing.

So I have no photo. Nothing to commemorate that I had a “stray gift moment”. Does it mean it did not exist because I have no visual proof? Of course not. “Stray gifts”, gifts that cause you to pause in wonder, are not always tangible. Sometimes they are moments to be remembered in the heart.

(The featured image photo was taken a few years ago in front of a local historic museum. I edited it using an ink engraved drawing filter.)

On the Hunt

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I am still looking for those “stray gifts” I have mentioned in a few posts. I wonder each morning what I will see, what will grab my attention. I feel that if God brings my focus to something specific, He is asking me, “Do you see?” I answer with a resounding “Yes” when I physically stop to observe.

I live in a city where everyone always seems to be in a hurry. Confession: I think it is hilarious when someone passes me (speeding, of course) and ends up at the same red light as I do. Is that mean? Not very grace-full, is it?  I always feel ‘pushed around’ when driving around town. I am a rule follower by nature and I have never received a speeding ticket. I think I might cry if I did! I did get a ticket for running a red light once. In my defense, I was behind a big truck and didn’t see the traffic light change until too late. The ticket came in the mail, so I was able to grieve at home in peace instead of in front of a police officer on the side of the road. I have become more aware of my need for these stray gifts in my day. They remind me to slow down. Just because everyone else seems to be going at a frantic pace, that doesn’t mean I have to be.  The unexpected gifts bring perspective. They bring focus to the important, to the beautiful. And I am sure it lowers my blood pressure. Quite sure.

I enjoy being on the hunt for these gifts. It can be anything from flowers, the sky any time of the day, rain puddles (rain is rare around here), to just enjoying some alone time. There is no specific guideline as to what qualifies as a stray gift. God knows just what we need; an answer to prayer, emotional relief from certain problems,  lost keys that now are found, a note in the mail from a long lost friend, an old photo which brings back good memories. To see, to know, to consider, to understand that God’s hand was in this is quite powerful and has the ability to change how we see. It matters to Him that we notice.

Anytime we consider God’s hand and His heart, we carve in the dirt and the muck of this world a pathway to greater faith.

Here is this week’s captured stray gifts.

Top Row (left to right): Roses that hide in the shade;  Stray gifts found in climbing potted houseplants. I had no idea it would climb like this. My dad has one that is stretching all the way around his room. He keeps it away from his bed so it doesn’t decide to choke him in the middle of the night. He is quite serious about this. ((Can plants do that???); Finding gold in my front yard

Middle Row: Morning Glory blooms are finally here! This is the very first bloom of the year on these vines; Again with the Morning Glories..they are seriously popping up everywhere. These are wrapping around the red rose barrel; Filtered sunlight through trees.

Bottom Row:  Stray gifts in blue skies and sunsets; not because they just “happened” to be there, but because I happened to wander outside to look.

Replace With Grace

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Broken. Unworthy. Weak. Shattered. Incapable. Ruined.

…All name tags either someone else gave to me or that I gave myself. Either way, at one point or another they had become an identity. Different losses in my life have made confidence fragile… in God, in others, and in myself. Through time and spiritual growth, some of the ink on these name tags have faded and I don’t pick them up off the table so much anymore.

As I grow in the Lord, I realize more and more the Bible is full of the broken, the weak, the seemingly incapable. Yet God defined them as righteous. Justified. Purified. Profitable for His glory. If He so then through grace changed the description of so many in the Bible, why wouldn’t He replace mine?

I need to change the conversation.

If this has been you, today..this week, together let’s change the conversation- the lies which Satan replays in our minds and hearts to distract the children of God from fulfilling His purpose. Let’s lay down the false narrative for good. Just one to begin with. Exchange it for one that God wrote with His own redeeming blood:

Beautiful. Loved. Confident. Restored. Useful. Saved.

2 Corinthians 5:17, “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.”

It Doesn’t Take A Professional

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“Do you realize what you’ve done?”, I asked my son Jonathan. His History class had just ended and we were on our way home talking about the class lesson. He shared with me that the students had been studying about religious persecution of the Jews throughout history; jealousy of the Jews because they could read and write, envy because they were financially successful. Some throughout history blame the Jews for Christ’s crucifixion even though the Romans were the ones who nailed and speared Him through. The class had been discussing who was actually to blame for Christ’s death. “We are all responsible for His death on the cross”, Jonathan spoke up. “Since Christ died for all sinners, all are responsible.”

“You just shared the Gospel with the whole class!”, I said.  The look on his face was priceless. He was amazed. He was simply taking part in the discussion sharing what he knew to be true through the Scriptures.

It doesn’t take a “professional soul winner” to share the Gospel.

It doesn’t take a seasoned “door knocker” or  Gospel tract distributor to give a testimony.

There were about sixteen others in the class that day who heard the Gospel in a few sentences. And within seconds, seeds were either planted or watered in veterans, teenagers, young adults, and a professor.

I call it the ‘Dandelion Effect’. I think of it when I share posts on my Facebook page and here on the blog. I compare it to blowing the seeds of a dandelion which the wind carries off in all directions and lands only who-knows-where. Anything and anywhere we share of the Gospel, of Christ’s love and forgiveness, is like God’s breath blowing the seeds to only-He-knows-where.

It was just a comment in class, but praise God, He can and will give the increase.

I. Corinthians 3:6-8, “I have planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the increase. So then neither is he that planteth any thing, neither he that watereth; but God that giveth the increase. Now he that planteth and he that watereth are one: and every man shall receive his own reward according to his own labour.”

A Closer Look

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On Facebook and Instagram, I started tagging different posts with the tag #straygifts. A few weeks ago, I posted this quote, “Pleasure is spread through the earth in stray gifts to be claimed by whoever shall find.” -William Wordsworth, 1806. While a great quote, I questioned if anything was really a ‘stray gift’. These gifts throughout my day are things I notice that “just-so-happened” to be within arm’s reach. Something that stops me in my tracks to look a little closer at the details.  Are they there by accident or by Divine design? I’d like to think the latter. Here is a collage of just a few this week that caused me to stop and say, “I know that was you, God. Thanks.” For instance, out of a bag of wildflower seeds, only a few have done well. This collage is of the same plant within a week. I was stunned to see the flowers! I was curious to see what in the world this was going to look like. I felt as if God was drawing me outside whispering, “Look what I made for you!”. A friend of mine thought they might be four o’clock flowers.

Here is another collage I made with just some of the stray gifts in the last week. From left to right:

Top Row: (left to right) 1) Raindrops on roses (It rained!!), 2) Morning Glory vines winding their way up and around, 3) Puppy paws stepping through puddles (Did I mention it rained? It’s a big deal around here.)

Middle Row: 1) An ‘organized’ spider web which belongs to an orb weaver spider. An organized spider web, I was told, means that ‘a friendly spider lives here’. 2) Surprises in wildflowers

Bottom Row: 1) Something new growing with my marigolds. I have no idea what it is. A weed? A flower? I don’t know..but I like it. 2) Crepe Myrtles doing well in the heat 3) Sunbeams shining bright through front windows

 

 

Sometimes Life Isn’t Fair

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Sometimes a critic can cause us to lose courage, but we can choose a different way.

Sometimes man-made rules or unmerited expectations hinder our sense of self-worth (or confidence in who God says we are), but we can choose a different way.

Sometimes a seed of doubt planted in a passing comment grows deep and rooted as an oak tree, but we can choose a different way.

We can choose to see negative thoughts and opinions as fact and be held captive. Living in fear, hurt, or shame because we didn’t “measure up” leads us nowhere.

But we can choose a different way.

We can choose to be the complimenter.
We can choose to be the grace-giver.
We can choose to be the planter of seeds of love, joy, peace…

And be set free.

Sometimes life isn’t fair. But we can choose to be.

Alive, Effective, Capable

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“It hurts because the muscle is still weak,” the physician’s assistant said to my dad. We were together for a follow-up appointment to review my dad’s physical therapy progress after his shoulder surgery. The first thing he did when the PA asked him how he was doing was to show off the movement he had on his arm. Up, down, behind, to the side he moved his left arm. I found it comical because I knew what he was doing. He was trying to escape more therapy, more hard work, more discomfort. He has been in physical therapy for a few months now and is weary. Three days a week is hard on the body as exercises get more intense. I saw the look on my dad’s face as it was recommended that he continue just a little bit longer. Disappointment. He was told if he doesn’t strengthen that arm, he could lose all movement of it. He took the advice and made it to the physical therapy office to hand in the doctor’s request.  Albeit reluctantly.

My heart skipped a beat when I heard the PA’s words. A spiritual application came to mind as I thought about my recent thoughts/posts on thankfulness, faith, trust, confidence. When I lose faith and it hurts and I become deeply discouraged, my confidence-in-God’s-plan muscle needs a bit more work. When I feel continually disgruntled and dissatisfied and I hurt, my feeling-thankful-muscle requires more practice. I must put to use my faith when things seem unhinged. I must focus my heart to look for the good and the glory of what God is doing. I can tell God I’m fine and show off my strength with a brave face. Until the next test. That’s when I know just how much a specific muscle has weakened or strengthened.

God is actively working for our good even through the pain of it. We cannot let hope, faith, and thanksgiving die while there is still breath in us. My dad took the PA’s advice because he knew he would not be disciplined at home enough to do the necessary hard work because it’s tough, and it hurts. And he is deeply afraid of losing his arm’s movement. He knew he needed the aid of one more experienced to help him along this journey.

We are not alone in this pilgrimage. And when we feel we are, it is a lie from Satan because he is out to destroy and bury any hope we have in Christ. Christ says to the weary and burdened to come to Him. With experience and skill, He will aid and strengthen so that our walk with Him will be alive, effective, and capable.

“Why art thou cast down, O my soul? and why art thou disquieted within me? hope in God: for I shall yet praise him, who is the health of my countenance, and my God.” Psalm 43:5

Begin Again

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“Failure is an event, not a person”. – W.D. Brown

If things do not go my way this week, I will not “beat” myself up and hinder myself from moving on.

If I did not lose that one pound or gain miles on my Fitbit, I will not let it hinder me from continuing on with healthier choices.

If I didn’t, if I forgot, if I couldn’t do …I will not label myself a “failure” but simply see it as an event on a day in my life that can be easily overcome. And begin again tomorrow.

God will still be good, His love will still be present, and I will still be able to say, “The LORD hath done great things for us, whereof we are glad”. Psalm 126:3

God Heals the Broken

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Recently, I went with my dad to his VA mental health appointment. Because of some of the medication he is on, he is required to see this doctor every few months. She checks to make sure he is sleeping well, eating right, living productively, and that medications he needs are working for his benefit.  This doctor always tells my dad how wonderful he looks. He never drank alcohol, never smoked, never took drugs. Dr. L is always so glad to see him because his life has been lived by faith. She is encouraged by his many years in the ministry and that he is doing well in life. He has not forgotten the Viet Nam War, but he has worked hard to put the past behind as much as possible. We talked about when she was young in her career. She used to take it personally when she could not help every patient to the fullest capacity. She had chest pains early on in her work and believes that if she had kept taking on blame, losing sleep over what she felt were her failures, she would not be alive today. “One day”, she shared, “God spoke to my heart and told me I was trying to do His job. It is God’s job to heal. God put me in this place to be His helper, to pray for the ones He sends my way, and to tell people that God loves them.”

It is God’s job to heal. It is His job to bring back the wandering, to bind the broken, to strengthen those who may be spiritually ill.  We were put in a particular place to guide the broken in heart to the Heart Healer, to pray for the ones in need of the Great Physician, and to tell them that God loves them.  No matter our profession in life, we will never be qualified enough to make another person whole. When we take on that responsibility, we take the place of God which can lead to despair when results are not as we wish them to be. To reach out with care and compassion is what we are called to do. Pressure is lifted when we let God have His perfect place and when we are faithful to keep a proper perspective.

A Big Shadow

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Last week, I was posting on Facebook on the topic of ‘worry’ and I am sharing the thoughts, Bible verses, and quotes here as I hope they may be of benefit. I will say that by the end of the week and the reading/studying I had done, I felt a bit more relieved of my need to worry over things. A few points to consider when tempted to worry:

Look for God’s steady hand:

 When I fix my sights on trials we are going through, I tend to become insecure, anxious, worried. When Jonathan was little and would become restless, sometimes all it would take was for me to place a steady hand on his to calm him. A few verses to meditate on when we are feeling disheartened and needing a calm touch:
~ “Rest in the LORD, and wait patiently for him..” Psalm 37:7a
~ “And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4:7
~ “For I the LORD thy GOD will hold thy right hand, saying unto thee, Fear not; I will help thee.” Isaiah 41:13

When I am tempted to let insecurity, anxiety, and worries rule my thoughts, I will look for God’s steady, calming hand and let the peace of God keep my heart and mind at ease.  Colossians 3:15, “And let the peace of God rule in your hearts…and be ye thankful”.

Drag your thoughts away from your troubles:

“You’re a little upset by your troubles, and that’s natural enough, but don’t let your mind run on them any more than you can help; drag your thoughts away from your troubles—by the ears, by the heels, or any other way, so you manage it; it’s the healthiest thing a body can do; dwelling on troubles is deadly, just deadly—and that’s the softest name there is for it. You must keep your mind amused—you must, indeed.”

~Mark Twain, The American Claimant, 1891

Move from worry’s shadow: 

Move over from worry’s shadow to the place of peace… under His wings. Psalm 63:7, “Because thou hast been my help, therefore in the shadow of thy wings will I rejoice.”

 

Instead of going to bed tonight with all the things that could possibly go wrong, what if I imagined all the things that God could possibly make right? Jeremiah 33:3, “Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and show thee great and mighty things, which thou knowest not.”

 

 

 

This study and these posts have helped in keeping my mind on God’s peace more than on my problems. Worry robs of joy, time, and energy. It can shadow thoughts and even conversations. When I ‘roll up my sleeves’ and choose faith, choose to trust God’s guidance, my hands are too busy to be wringing with worry. I want to go into this week stronger, confident, trusting. I want to rest words and whirling thoughts to listen when He invites the weary to rest, to let Him take the load of care. Let my words reflect that God is my strength. Let my thoughts echo the Redeemer when He says His yoke is easy and His burden is light.

Psalm 19:14, “Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O Lord, my strength, and my redeemer.”