Some seeds we plant we will never sow – they are our legacy for the next generation. Legacy is written by our choices and actions, not by fruitless words. Weed out disappointment and sorrow, Plant love and gratitude.
Some people come into your life as blessings; others come into your life as lessons.
A few days ago I mentioned that I was starting The Draw the Circle 40 day prayer challenge again. When Mike returned home, I asked if he’d like to join me, and this time around we are doing it together.
As we looked at our calendar to plan our upcoming week, we were jolted with the realization of the significance of Labor Day weekend to our prayer challenge. I was fasting part of that weekend: we had a son deployed to a hot spot and I was praying hard for him. That night God woke me with a vision of him in his dress uniform and he was smiling and happy to be home.
The next day, 10 years ago today, we went to this place called Burney Falls for the first time. We looked at a ranch for sale that day as well, although it was an impossible dream for us. It was too far out of our price range and we did not have our house sold yet.
That visit to the ranch would not let go of me. I prayed daily for a miracle. Then I was given the Draw the Circle 40 Day Prayer challenge. I started it sometime in mid-September. The first week of November was the day I met Mike with a cup of coffee and said, “drink fast, I’ve got something big to tell you.” When his eyes were open I told him I reminded him of the prayer challenge I was doing and told him I felt i was supposed to pray for 3 things: That we’d be living at the ranch by Christmas, that we’d have an offer on our house by Christmas, and our son would be home by Christmas.
The next week we went to lunch with a cousin and when Mike shared about the ranch dream, they offered a down payment to make it happen. We called the realtor, found out the price had dropped $50,000; there was one offer on the property, and another coming on Tuesday. After a bit of negotiation, he accepted our offer: he remembered us and loved chatting with Mike about all involved in running the place.
Thanksgiving week, we had an offer on our home and our son returned from deployment. In fact, HIS WHOLE UNIT returned – he had been making fun of me for praying that because he said the army doesn’t work that way. Oh ye, of little faith, do you not remember the prayers for the army to change your graduation so we could attend yours and then your brother’s two days later? Yeah, that happened too.
The ranch prayer taught me to be more specific. An offer by Christmas is not the same as closing escrow by Christmas. I have shared often that I (with my bookkeeping background) still have no idea how we made double payments (and double property tax payments) for four months. But it happened.
The 10-year anniversary of that miracle, coinciding with another go at the 40-day prayer challenge, coinciding with the week my schedule finally clearing up enough to work on finishing the book (Inspiring Life’s Journey) about the whole ranch adventure…
I’ve no idea what God’s up to, but He’s provided so much encouragement these past two weeks that I know we’re going to love it, even if it’s in the midst of a storm. Storm? Yes, miracles don’t come cheap, there’s often God’s booming voice and a bit of lightning attached.
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Sometimes adversity is the enemy trying to hinder or discourage us.
Sometimes it is God saying, “Slow your roll, you are settling for less than My full blessing. The challenge is knowing the difference: discernment of the Holy Spirit and prayer are our tools in this battle.
Shed some light on this please – I’m tripping in the dark!
Living the question between the lines…
My guess is as good as anyone’s.
Theirs might be more educated,
But when answers are lacking,
Guessing is what’s left
Tho praying is best.
When I am in a difficult place, experiencing life’s storms can be at times overwhelming. This year has been particularly stormy, but when the clouds gather, I look for the light and am so grateful that God is faithful.
Years ago Robin Fields gave me The Circle Maker, and the Draw the Circle 40 Day prayer challenge. Those prayers changed many lives and it’s time to re-up on the 40 Day prayer challenge.
The promise at the end of that rainbow is far greater than gold and, as Casting Crowns wrote, I will praise God in the storm.
Is your love, your identity only skin deep?
Man looks at the outward appearance,
God looks at the heart.
Learning to live and love like Jesus looks like living and loving deeper.
Grace
God’s Race
Ready – on your knees and pray
At your mark – get set
Can – God CAN accomplish that which He began in you
E – Eternity waits at the finish line. You win when you cross the line. Time doesn’t matter.
GRACE
G-Race: It’s God race
Get ready – on your knees and pray!
Get out of His way – let Him lead…
Grab His hand and hang on…
God’s got this and He’s got you!
So often our best efforts are spent not on what we should have done, but rather what we can do from here going forward.
Sometimes there is that one thing your heart has longed for – that one thing on your bucket “list” of only one thing that is within your ability to do for yourself. When that has been pushed aside for so long while you waited for the right time, the money, etc. But still, you had time and money to spend pleasing others who took it for granted that you would. Look around: those who accomplished those dreams made it a priority. They let others take care of themselves and didn’t wait for the “right time.” If you wait too long, there will never be a time. As the ad says, “Just do it.”
That which trips you up in the darkness is easily removed in the light. Remove it, or keep tripping?
When funds are tight, so is the belt: frivolous food and trips are out. Count what you want and make your resources count.
Sometimes your gift is your absence not their presence. We don’t always get what we want.
If nothing changes, nothing changes.
So often those difficulties in life are God’s roadblocks – you are going the wrong direction, there are some drastic changes in your life that will lead you down a better path. Pursuing that which doesn’t make sense, which would take a miracle to accomplish, often is the very path God has in mind for us. For this purpose, you have come to this hour. Find that new purpose regardless of what the cost appears to be.
-The saying “They don’t care what you know until they know you care” is highly relevant. Show by your actions that you care and people are more willing to hear what you have to say.
-The flip side of that is those who want to tell you what you should do but have no skin in the game.
“If their actions don’t show they care for you, why care what they think?”
-Sometimes when you quit caring, it is for the right reason – they want to control but their actions show caring is not their motive and it’s time for you to start caring for you instead of throwing yourself on the altar of their fickle opinions.
July
Sometimes you need to wake up, quit dreaming, and take care of the necessary.
Sometimes you are the elephant in the room no one wants to talk to or about.
When children are young, couples often long for a quiet romantic dinner.
After children have their driver’s licenses, a quiet dinner for the two becomes a frequent event.
After children leave home, a quiet dinner is just one more of 365 quiet dinners and there is a longing for the energy and interaction of family dinners.
Our weaknesses become our strengths when we expose them to the Son and let Jesus grow them. (Buried deep, they rot our roots).
You can face your fears or let fears be your faith (face)
Happiness is an unfulfillable life goal – happiness is fleeting, it evaporates. Purpose, however, continues to refill with every step of the journey and brings joy to the journey regardless of the circumstances. It brings the ability to press on even through the hard places.
When you say you are in a great place but erupt in anger at every small breeze that blows your way, your actions disprove your words.
Men and their achievements are celebrated throughout their lives. Why is it that at a certain age, society seems to feel it is not socially appropriate for women to be celebrated – especially on birthdays? They offer the assumption, “She doesn’t like birthday celebrations” or other excuses. They don’t want to point out that the woman is aging, so they leave her alone – too old. Maybe some women are just born old. From their mid-20s to about 79, birthdays don’t exist. It wouldn’t be so bad if that meant the years didn’t still take a toll, but the toll has penalties due when abandoned.
Life is short. How tragic to skip those opportunities: birthdays, anniversaries, and other important dates. You never know which will be the last opportunity and if there will be another opportunity.
Life is lived like a meal
How you eat is frequently how you live.
Some gulp it down, in a hurry to be on with the next thing;
Others crush and grind, chomping like it has no flavor, and spray pieces all over anything in proximity;
Some hover over their plate as if to protect it and keep others from seeing it;
It seems more common for us to slow down and savor the flavor as we age, but not everyone is common.
Others savor the flavor and the presence of others.
When we are angry, when we are grieving, when we give up on God – HE STILL DOES NOT GIVE UP ON US.
We are not punishing Him with our anger, we are punishing ourselves. Self is hard to get over, but it is very freeing.
Whether we believe in God or not does not in any way increase or diminish who God is. It does, however, greatly change who we are.
Life isn’t about “me” when I am about making the most of life, it’s about “we”.
Perseverance is the proving ground of faith.
Matthew 17:20
He said to them, “Because of your little faith. For truly, I say to you, if you have faith like a grain of mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move, and nothing will be impossible for you.”
Sometimes it takes a whole lot more shovelfuls of dirt than we think we have in us, but one shovel at a time, and at some point the mountain is moved.
Sometimes hope takes putting it out on the table and letting God work.
Hope ALWAYS requires discernment in which table you put it on. It also requires a willingness to hear God’s answer: yes, not now, not ever.
June
Had a conversation with a friend recently where we were discussing purpose. Purpose often changes, and what we envision as our purpose in the next chapter may not fit with the plans others have for us. Dreams don’t always come true, sometimes they are morphed by the expectations of others into nightmares.
This I know: when I pray for God’s dream for my life to be fulfilled, He has some amazing surprises. Sometimes even the hints of what could be are enough to evoke silence so as not to stir up the critics.
Often dreams are God’s to tell.
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If walls could talk…
Actually, they do: Our words often speak of that which fills our hearts.
Whose pictures are on our walls,
How many?
Which walls?
Our walls speak of our focus, that which we love, or that which we compartmentalize and allow only to occupy a small space.
For example: often the photos of a dearly departed are in every area when grief is fresh. Over time, that grief and those photos are often compartmentalized.
Walls can speak words of self-focus or words of love, words of beauty, and encouragement.
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The world is full of promises;
Remember: every promise has a cost.
What does it cost?
Who does it cost?
Nothing is free.
For example:
better roads- higher fuel tax
free medical – is free for some, but those who buy into the plan pay double.
Medical facilities and doctors also pay as they agree to charge less for their services. Some actually accept less, while others engage in pass-through billing where they charge their patients the difference between the agreed-upon amount and the actual amount.
higher minimum wages = higher costs for goods and services = being able to afford less goods and services
What about God’s promises?
Eternal life in heaven = the cost is responsibility: accepting our call to be a good steward of the resources, gifts, and challenges God has given to us. The cost is considering the impact our actions have on our relationships, our spirituality, our integrity. It is living a life of obedience to God’s laws.
The problem is, we can’t do that, we fail constantly and sin.
The cost of that failure to live 100% pure is an eternity in hell.
Jesus has agreed to pay that penalty – the cost is that we admit we sinned, we believe that Jesus, as God’s Son can and will pay that cost, and we accept Jesus’ payment for that sin.
What is the cost to us? It costs us change. We cannot accept payment for so great a debt without it changing our hearts and lives and this difference is the evidence of a true believer in Jesus Christ.
Our desires change: we no longer embrace the evil (Ra) of this world;
Our heart changes: as the love of Christ grows in us, we learn to love with God’s love instead of the world’s lust after material and physical gratification.
There are those who spew anger towards God – He is mean and hateful or He would let us do/be what we want. Why would a loving God put restrictions on us?
As usual the ra is tricking us into asking the wrong question. What is love? Love is about loving the person, not accepting destructive behavior or attitudes.
The visual I have of this is a childhood memory. Our family was exploring a ghost town in Colorado. My younger brothers saw a tunnel in the mountain and started to run through the small cave. My dad yelled, ‘STOP!!!’ The first miracle is that they did. The second miracle is that my dad stopped them from hidden destruction. This tunnel was maybe 15′ long and you could see daylight on the other side. It appeared perfecting harmless even from 5′ in. What you could not see was a pit so deep that we could neither see the bottom, nor could we hear the bottom when we cast a large rock into it. That would have been a dark, crushing, agonizing death for both anyone who fell into it and loved ones who could not prevent the fall.
God’s laws are warning boundaries around destructive pits – loving, not punitive or harsh. Jesus loves us and feels the pain of believers every time we sin, that is what His payment looks like.
May
Is your theology based upon the opinions and interpretations of life by man, or is it based upon your relationship with God and your study of the word of God?
The quality of your life, the joy you receive from life is directly related to your attitude. What is a challenge or an adventure for one, another considers a horrible experience; what is a normal procedure for one, another considers a frustrating hassle.
Change your life? Change your attitude.
God makes beauty from ashes – and often even our leftover thoughts/efforts. When i have leftover paint on my palatte, i often swirl it around a canvas.
i was talking to a friend, Diane, a counselor at a crisis pregnancy center. I had promised her a painting (one of these days). As we were talking, she mentioned she likes impressionist paintings – they mean something different to everyone. over the next few weeks, as i stared at my leftover paint canvas, a painting began to evolve.
This one is God’s love – Finding Peace in the chaos.
Psalm 139: 13 For You formed my inward parts;
You covered me in my mother’s womb.
14 I will praise You, for [c]I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
Marvelous are Your works,
And that my soul knows very well
Those times when you’re exhausted, frustrated, and ready to quit, look up! that is usually when the finish line is in sight. Whatever race you are currently running, finish it with all you’ve got, and when that isn’t enough, ask, and let the Holy Spirit fill the gaps with His strength.
Philippians 3:13-15
Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. Therefore let us, as many as are mature, have this mind; and if in anything you think otherwise, God will reveal even this to you.
Some days we sit and drink in God’s words to overflowing. On other days we are swimming hard and fast to keep our heads above water. On those days, I find God often gives me strength and motivation as He pours out His healing words like oil on water to keep me afloat. As I run between tasks, He brings to mind this verse:
Mark 6:4 But Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honor except in his own country, among his own relatives, and in his own house.”
Often it is those who are closest to us who know and see us the least clearly. Often they are our biggest critics and judge through the lens of their own hearts instead of clearly seeing our own. This type of criticism is not constructive.
I am so very grateful for our amazing God who created my heart and knows me intimately. In that knowing, He brings those precious people alongside to give us the encouragement, help, love, and truly constructive criticism that we so desperately need.
This is a blessing beyond words – grateful, so very grateful for these blessings.
How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time.
Every bite is a victory, and that which you can’t swallow today is a victory God has already provided for tomorrow.
April
Feelings are warning gauges, not permission to dump on others. You can’t just ride in on your high horse, spread manure all over someone, and then move on as if no one else matters. Passive aggression is messy, and refusal to communicate is messy. Cleaning up your mess, the emotional carnage wrecked by moodiness is the first step in restoring trust. Unfortunately, initiating communication with a passive aggressive often results in retaliation.
There are pillars of faith: those steadfast faithful who stand strong in the storm and encourage others to be faithful.
Then there are flags of faith: those who fly at every breeze and chase every new wind.
Flags are more showy, but I think I’d rather stand with the pillars.
There are those who are our beloved, faithful, trustworthy inner circle – we invite them fully in to share our joy and our sorrows.
Then there are those who are second-hand or superficial friends – they are neither fully trustworthy nor faithful, but can be fun friends to be with occasionally.
Each has a valuable place in our life and it is important to our own heart and mental health to acknowledge the difference. When not sure which is which, look at the value they have assigned to you. Your relationship can never be more than the value BOTH parties assign to it.
Mar
Stress is so often a cycle. I am stressed because of things I cannot change, so I become heavily involved in activities that I can control, and activities that help de-stress, which in turn creates a schedule chaos to balance my time between what I can do, what I must do, and what I need to do to de-stress.
Many are willing to die for Jesus, Not as many to live for Jesus.
I wonder if concurrent with the freedom of speech trials re: social media, if there is also a truth in advertising link. I.e. the name facebook should be changed to faceBLOCK.
I am painting one of the most difficult painting I have ever painted… a desert scene. It needs to be sparse and I keep wanting to fill it up with stuff.
God has created each of us with talents and gifts. Sometimes the gift is not so much that we are remarkably talented, but rather how that gift speaks to our heart.
Some paintings have a story to tell, others are just an expression of a feeling.
God has created each of us with talents and gifts. Sometimes the gift is not so much that we are remarkably talented, but rather how that gift speaks to our heart.
Feb
As I watch the ponies prance, I remember some great times horseback riding. My greatest challenge is that I’m not very tall and my mare was.
Life lesson learned: When you ride in on a high horse, sometimes it hurts to get down… it hurts even more when your high horse is bucking.
Which is worse? Saving your body so it’s not used up at 90 years old or living it and using it up?
Life has seasons. But even within a season, every moment is not the same: sometimes there are intense storms in May-June, and sometimes there are 60-degree days in January. Sometimes God is clear that you are in a season of resting at His feet; Other times it is a season of growth and learning. Throughout the seasons there are different crop harvests depending on the type of crop nurtured that year.
Luke 12 says: 54 Then He also said to the multitudes, “Whenever you see a cloud rising out of the west, immediately you say, ‘A shower is coming’; and so it is. 55 And when you see the south wind blow, you say, ‘There will be hot weather’; and there is. 56 Hypocrites! You can discern the face of the sky and of the earth, but how is it you do not discern this time?
Some storms and seasons are easy to discern. This is not one of them. This is a season of transition: both planting and harvesting. This is a season where the wind pressure changes and your breath catches in your soul: “I see your Spirit moving God, and ya’ll are about to do a thing, aren’t You…”
There is a saying that blood is thicker than water. In this era where we see so many families in crisis, we must remember: it is not human blood that binds us together, but the redeeming blood of Jesus Christ.
a truly intelligent person is one who can take a complicated subject matter and teach it to a child.
When God stretches our hearts and minds: truth lovers grow while those imprisoned by lies grow angry.
Jan
Friendly Fire
I was recently observing a Facebook interaction between individuals with different theological ideals. This is not a salvation issue they were debating. This was also not a friendly disagreement. I confess to not fitting into either box. I see truth and discrepancy in each. Since it’s not a salvation issue, I observed all I care to observe and am not investing time in this debate.
What caught my attention was not the debate itself. One of the debaters used the term friendly fire. That struck a chord. Nothing hurts worse that getting shot in the back by those you trust to have your back. When the enemy can cause confusion in God’s camp, (and he’s really good at that), we invest our time, energy, and resources fighting each other instead of confronting the actual enemy. This happens far too often – we are focused on the task at hand and get hit from behind by not-so-friendly fire because we didn’t stay in our hole and keep our heads down. Hiding is not an effective strategy for victory either.
Someone jokingly said this week, “You’re on your way to becoming an apologist…” Not if this is what an apologist looks like. Mud-slinging is ugly in politics, it’s worse amongst family. Ya’ll are brothers in Christ – get over your need for dominance. Souls are drowning all around you, how about reaching out to them instead of fighting each other?
Lessons from hospice care: vitamins are for the living not the dying. Define living please. How do we know when we go from living to dying? What about just breathing or just existing? Are those in a zombie-like state, just watching others live considered living or dying? Sigh. I’ll take my vitamins today and figure it out tomorrow.
This is the generation of soundbites. By the 3rd sentence they have tuned out.
When a runner experiences life obstacles, they literally run their heart out. At least as we age we’re running on the down side of the hill… faster, right?
The truth will set you free… but the birth pains before you get there are excruciating. Truth often hurts.
When you pray to dream God’s dream for your life, grab a pen and paper to start planning because the Holy Spirit will pour out in abundance
What the enemy intends for harm,
Jesus transforms to blessing
*when we ask and when we let Him*
Spiritual discipline is not about me, it’s about training our hearts and minds to be more like Jesus.
Ancient man considered the stomach the seat of emotion. Modern man considers emotions are seated in the heart. Are they not connected?
You cannot fill your heart through your stomach, it drains out too quickly. Neither will your stomach be filled if your heart is empty.
A happy heart = a happy stomach.
Consolation plans often provide little consolation.
Sometimes there is risk in pursuing your dream.
Often there is a greater risk in sharing your dream – someone, somewhere will shoot it down.
