Month: February 2018

“So I say to you: Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened. “Which of you fathers, if your son asks for a fish, will give him a snake instead? Or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!” Luke 11:9-13

I used to often visit my great-aunt when she was no longer able to stay at home by herself. When I arrived, I’d have to press a button and wait for someone to let me in. Depending if someone was at the desk by the door, I could’ve been waiting outside for a while. That didn’t bother me at all except when I was shivering in the cold weather!

There was a double door policy. The first door had to be closed before they’d allow the second door to open (which was locked also). It wasn’t a favorite time of mine, but there wasn’t much of a wait in that little area before being admitted in the rest of the way. Unfortunately, it was when I was already inside that I’d start thinking about how I was dependent on someone else to allow my exit.

The worst times for me were when I got to the doors to leave, only to find nobody around. I could see the outside, but I was stuck on the inside. It made my chest tighten a little with a bit of anxiety. I was always so relieved when an employee came to let me out. One evening in particular I was there for quite a long time before I went searching for someone to help me out.

I didn’t like how I felt in that situation, so I imagine I wouldn’t do very well being locked in a small room. My sister thinks it’s great! She paid to have someone shut the door with no way out. She went to one of those mystery escape rooms where there are clues to help you reach a predetermined goal, and you have a limited amount of time to earn your freedom.

Many groups will even use these popular rooms as a team building exercise. It’s great fun to not just sit back and watch other people providing the entertainment, you’re immersed in the action yourself. My issue: you’re locked in! Actually, I was looking into this further and apparently there’s a button beside the door that allows you to leave whenever the need arises. I guess that’s really not so bad then.

I got to thinking about how I feel safe when I’m locked inside my house, but how would I feel if I couldn’t get out whenever I wanted? Then, I started contemplating if we ever lock ourselves into situations where it feels like we’re powerless to get out on our own. How many people would just stand there extending the imprisonment or go searching like I had to for help?

So many people believe they’re locked into situations that they can’t get out of. These can be from our own actions and guilt or someone else’s. When we do that, we’ve given our freedom to the devil. He’s holding the key because there isn’t anything that he likes more, and he certainly isn’t planning on releasing us any time soon. The good news is there’s a solution (our button) to get free.

If there’s something holding you captive today, I challenge you to ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened…the button!

Once that key is taken back from the devil, our anxiety can finally ease. Since we need to be dependent on someone for that to happen, I can’t think of a more trustworthy Someone I’d trust to open the door every time.

Our Father in heaven is ready to give the Holy Spirit to us for our escape! Are you ready for that freedom today?

Even so the body is not made up of one part but of many. 1 Corinthians 12:14

Excitement comes along when the beginning of the winter season takes place for me. It’s nice to see that snow! It’s great to curl up in those warm, snuggly blankets with a mug of hot chocolate. There’s more time for reflection and thinking, right? The guilt isn’t on you if you’re not working outside because it’s dark and cold out.

There gets to be a time when enough is enough! I start needing to see green and feel the sun on my face again. I want to slip flip flops onto my feet instead of big, bulky boots when I’m just taking the dog out to do his business. I begin to see the benefits of getting out and interacting with others even if I’m only thanking them for holding a door or nodding with a smile at those going past. When winter gets to this point, it feels like a mission from God to have the opportunity to get groceries instead of a chore!

There’s a phrase for the way I was feeling. It’s called cabin fever! Do you know what I’m talking about? The walls were closing in on me, things were starting to look bleak, and I was feeling trapped. If I didn’t get out of the house for a while, I knew it wasn’t going to be a good situation for me or my family. I could tell the boys were getting tired of the winter too because of all the bickering. Since they went camping last weekend, I figured it would cure them for a bit. I was wrong.

I was determined to stop the slump I was in and take some action last week. I got ready and headed out all by myself with no distractions and no bickering. I was probably three minutes into my journey and enjoying my escape while singing “Born Free” at the top of my lungs when an eagle gracefully flew right across my path. It was low enough that I could see the white on its tail and head but high enough that I remembered what it feels like to soar when you realize you’re on the right path. Yes, I was free indeed celebrating God’s grace on me!

Can you tell me who sings “Born Free”? It’s not one of the Christian artists I’ve talked about before; it’s Kid Rock. If you know who he is, what was the picture that went through your head? Did you see Kid Rock, the artist who puts out songs that can shock and make you dive for your computer to hit stop, or did you see Robert Ritchie, a person?

It’s easy for us to point out what we don’t like about somebody, but do we stop to find out what we can learn from that person? Do we judge so completely that we’d refuse to even have a conversation with them? I think this is one of the biggest disservices we can do to ourselves, let alone to another person. When we’re willing to have a conversation, are we going in ready to show them the error of their ways and to debate them, or are we going into the conversation with the intent to hear what they’re saying?

I challenge you to enter a conversation with someone who looks different than you or doesn’t have the same thoughts as you. Even though I don’t believe in everything Mr. Ritchie does or says, I listened to a fascinating interview with him that made me look at many of his views with lots of respect. There were parts that I fully agreed with him and he helped me look at things in a better way. We had many things in common and I liked him.

Every person has value. It isn’t about who’s right or who’s wrong, it’s about what YOU learn from it. Don’t get trapped in a type of cabin fever that has nothing to do with the weather and everything to do with a judgmental mind. When we yell it from that mountain high that we were born free (and will use that freedom not to be bound by small thinking), that’s when we soar with the eagles.

Today, let’s open our mind, rise higher, and stop this outrageous outlook that we can only converse with people just like us. Let’s recognize how important each person is. You just might be surprised what you have in common with someone and what you can learn from them. Remember that just as the body isn’t made up of only one part but of many, the world is the same with God’s children.

The LORD your God is with you, the Mighty Warrior who saves. He will take great delight in you; in his love he will no longer rebuke you, but will rejoice over you with singing.” Zephaniah 3:17

In the past, I used to watch for my boys’ buses to come down the road when the snow hit because I was remembering my bus rides. We had hit our share of mailboxes, gone in ditches, and even got stuck on a hill because we had no traction. One thing I have to say, we always made it home. It may not have been the way we were expecting or the time frame that was set, but we ended up getting to where we were supposed to be.

Do you ever feel like you’ll never get to where you’re supposed to be? You think you have the path to follow, but something keeps stopping you? I think this is when frustration and a spirit of quitting wants to come in. We don’t understand why things aren’t working out when we’re following all the steps and keeping our eyes ahead.

I know there’ve been times when I’ve felt like saying, “I’ve tried. I’ve given it my all. I must’ve had the wrong path. There are too many factors that don’t allow the vision any more. I need to let it go because all I’m feeling is frustration, and that isn’t what I should be feeling.” Have you ever felt that way? Sometimes I feel like there’s a rubber band attached to my waist. I move forward, but something is holding the other side.

When I used to work in an office that my great-uncle owned, there would be the occasional shenanigans that would take place…especially since the office consisted of all family members. Rubber bands were the favorite of a couple people. They weren’t necessarily used for office work either.

My uncle had a sense as to when that silent projectile would go flying. He would step out of his office in that dignified manner he had and say, “It’s all fun and games until someone gets hit in the eye.” Everyone would hear his wisdom and get back to work. The launch would be halted. It wasn’t the right time to fly.

I had to question if that rubber band around my waist would ever be launched. If it didn’t feel like it would be, I started to wonder if I should just except my life the way it was. It was a wonderful life, but I just had a vision that didn’t quite match the current circumstances.

Here’s a word that kept coming up to me…hope. Do you remember the verse to trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding? I thought that verse would go perfectly with my circumstances just the way it was, except I was hearing to hope in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. I wanted to find out what the difference between trust and hope is.

I learned that both trust and hope are optimistic. The dictionary says that trust is the firm belief in the reliability, truth, ability, or strength of someone or something. Hope is a feeling of expectation and desire for a certain thing to happen. It’s a feeling of trust. I strongly believe it’s important to have both. Hope would be worthless if we didn’t have the foundation of trust.

I put my trust in God. To me, that’s the most solid, unmoving foundation I could have. Hope isn’t as solid all the time in my mind. I struggle with that a little more. I trust God, but when things don’t seem to be moving forward, do I give up hope? When we give up hope, is that saying we don’t trust God enough?

Let’s go back to those buses. If we attempted to keep moving when it was stuck, we would’ve gotten stuck even more in the ditch. If we would’ve kept pushing to go when we were stuck on the hill, it would’ve put us into the woods instead of waiting for something to be put down for traction. It would’ve taken us even longer to get to our destination.

There are times that we can’t rush to our destination, but we trust that God will get us there. We can’t sit and say, “This is taking forever, we’re going to be stuck all night…or all year…or all our life.” We need to keep hoping that the next try is the one that God has for us.

Will you let disappointment overwhelm you or will you take the time to grow and learn during the period that feels you keep getting thrown back to your old life? That’s how we’ll be prepared for the destination. I trusted that I would get home eventually, but if I took all the stuff out of my backpack because I gave up hope that it would happen soon, I’d be the one extending the time on the bus when I arrived back home.

I challenge you to not give up hope. Let go of your past bus rides and hope for better today. If you do head back, use that time to grow and keep hoping because that rubber band that keeps flinging you back to where you were, will eventually launch you into where you need to be going!

But the LORD said to Samuel, “Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The LORD does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.” 1 Samuel 16:7

I’m one of those people who can’t stand not to have their bed made in the morning. It’s usually the very first thing I do after getting up. This is one of those things like when a mom is cold, her child must wear a jacket. Even if my boys don’t see the purpose of making their beds because they’ll just be messing it up again, they still need to make them!

My hubby was helping me one day and decided to do something kind and make the bed. Now, this is when I’m supposed to be appreciative and keep my mouth shut. He made the bed…period. I’m telling you that I tried to keep my lips zipped, but I knew what he’d done.

He didn’t start with the sheets and work his way to the top. Nope, he just made it appear like the bed was ready for the day. How did I know? I recognized the signs from my boys’ beds. They think that if they make it look good on the outside, nobody will ever know the mess that’s going on inside. What my hubby and boys didn’t realize was that the mess tends to spill out when you’re not paying attention.

So, there I’m standing looking at the sheet and blanket trailing out the side and down across the floor A LOT. I believe my hubby caught me with my head tilted to one side looking at the “stuffing” bursting out because it couldn’t be contained. He may have started with the famous, “Whaaat?” But as he looked from my face to the bed clothes that were doing their best to escape our room, he kind of chuckled.

It was at that moment that I knew where my boys get it from. I looked at that hubby of mine and said, “I guarantee your youngest’s looks the same way underneath.” He followed me into that bedroom and when I revealed the masterpiece hidden beneath the comforter, he was in the process of a full out belly laugh.

Why do I worry so much about what’s under the covers? It isn’t about what people will think, it’s about what I must deal with at the end of the day. I don’t want to be crawling into a bed where I’m having a battle just to get covered up. I certainly don’t want to be uncomfortable because the fitted sheet is all bunched up under where I’m to sleep.

I admit the bed issue isn’t a big deal, but what’s underneath the top layer can be. When I was a teenager, we’d gotten a phone call in the winter that the neighbor had his snowmobile out. He told us to come up if we wanted to go on the tube he tied to the back of it. My friend and I didn’t have anything else happening, so we made our way up the hill.

We had lots of fun being drug around the field by the snowmobile. At one point, I fell off. Not a big deal since there was snow to cushion the fall…or so I thought. It wasn’t what was on the top, it was underneath that mattered. Everyone wanted to know if I was alright. I didn’t understand because people fall into the snow when playing all the time. What was the big deal?

Remember how I said we were in a field? Well, the field had been planted with corn which had been harvested, but the ground hadn’t been turned over. You probably know where I’m going with this. Underneath that fluffy white snow was chopped off corn stocks. The big deal was the blood dripping down my face! The problem was that my face was frozen, and I didn’t feel a thing.

Sometimes the danger isn’t what can be seen, it’s what’s underneath the surface. Do we ever try to be all put together, but are a hot mess on the inside? There’s danger in the cover-up.

If we’re always trying to make everything perfect on the outside but ignoring the heart, our hearts will get harder and harder. We’ll even delude ourselves and won’t feel what is happening because we’re too frozen on the inside. That’s when the mess will eventually spill out from under its cover. This is when people will see what we can’t feel.

We may be able to fool people for a while, but God sees what’s inside. We need to get our hidden mess straightened out with His help so that we don’t lose the ability to feel. Even when things look good on the outside, if the inside is a disaster, we can be everything from uncomfortable to dangerous.

I challenge you to not just worry about outside appearances, but take care of the heart today!

David also said to Solomon his son, “Be strong and courageous, and do the work. Do not be afraid or discouraged, for the LORD God, my God, is with you. He will not fail you or forsake you until all the work for the service of the temple of the LORD is finished. 1 Chronicles 28:20

Last week my pup had an exam scheduled with the vet. I received a letter telling me to bring a stool and urine sample with me. Alrighty then. The morning arrived, and I had a mission. Armed with containers, I was ready to complete my task whether the pup would appreciate it or not. I positioned myself to swoop in and catch whatever might come out, while trying to look natural so he didn’t suspect my motives of being a little closer to him than normal.

All seemed to be on track until he started going. As I made my move, my pup had a startled moment where he wasn’t too sure what world he landed in because my behavior was just not normal. All he knew was that I should cease and desist immediately. I was able to make my first collection, and we headed back to the house without him fully finishing what he set out to do.

A couple hours later, the pup rang the bell to let me know he had to go back out again. I grabbed another container and he sighed thinking not again…what has gotten into her? He wearily trudged down the yard casting glances my way as he made it to his area. He’d act like he was about to go, peek at me out of the corner of his eye, then stop what he was about to do. He did this several times before he decided to take his chances.

His eyes told me everything that was running through his mind. I came up with this monologue just for you. It went something like this: Seriously, what is wrong with you lady? I put up with a whole lot and let you do just about anything you want to me, but really? Why do you have to get all up in my business during the one time that is a bit private? Do you like it when I push open the door when you’re having your private moment in the bathroom? Nooo, but you think this is ok? Let’s just pretend this never happened. It’s embarrassing, and frankly, really uncomfortable. How about we keep this part of our relationship separate. You leave me to do my thing and all will be good.

What he didn’t realize was that I had to get into his business to keep him healthy. If I kept his grooming up, his behavior on track, but left his health go, he wouldn’t thrive. This got me thinking about when we allow God into our lives, and how He doesn’t just stay in certain areas. Nope, He gets all up in our business. Every area. No exceptions. These include the ones that we want to keep separate from Him…the ones that we’re uncomfortable with when He starts invading.

Even if we except God getting into certain areas and making changes, the people around us might not be comfortable with that because things aren’t going how they used to. We’re changing and that makes them reevaluate their private areas.  Many people can handle the storms of life hitting from the outside easier than the blasts from the inside.

My hubby was called into work a week ago due to a buildup of pressure in the water lines that caused some to burst inside the building. Something that really was a bit of a disaster was contained to minimal damage compared to what it could’ve been.

A few weeks before, they were dealing with flooding due to weather that went from the outside in. There was some joking going on to a guy that seems to accumulate his fair share of “junk” in his office. He was teased that the flood from the outside in couldn’t clean out all his stuff; it took a flood happening from the inside out to do it.

My hubby was just chuckling when he told me that, but that was huge in my mind. It made me realize that it isn’t always the stuff that hits us from the outside that creates change. Most times, it will take God on the inside clearing everything out because when it’s coming from the outside, we end up with more of a mess. However, when God starts blasting away that pressure that has accumulated in our lines is when we get free of the junk that we might be embarrassed that God would even see.

Just like I needed to get all up in my dog’s business to keep him healthy, God needs to get all up in our business to keep us healthy. It isn’t easy…it’s downright uncomfortable most times, but it’s for our own good. This is when we can show our courage be allowing the work to be done rather than running the other way, which I’m sure my pup wanted to do. He didn’t though, even when I just know some grumbling was happening in his mind.

I challenge you to take David’s advice to Solomon. Be strong and courageous, and do the work. Do not be afraid or discouraged, for the LORD God, my God, is with you. He will not fail you or forsake you until all the work for the service of the temple of the LORD is finished.

Aren’t our bodies now God’s temple? Isn’t that where He resides? Let Him into every uncomfortable area inside you today. It’ll be an adventure you won’t soon forget, and I guarantee the ending will be well worth the uncomfortable period!

Every valley shall be filled in, every mountain and hill made low. The crooked roads shall become straight, the rough ways smooth. Luke 3:5

On the last night of our trip in the fall, we were in no hurry to pack up. We wanted to keep that time as special as we could for as long as we could. We visited the beach that day where my oldest wanted to cast his line out just one more time…over and over again. It was like when he was young and wanted just one more cookie. Umm, maybe that was yesterday.

Anyhow, I couldn’t bring myself to head back to the house to pack after our time at the beach, so I suggested one more ice cream trip. There weren’t any complaints as everyone was excited for our detour. We normally don’t go for the milkshakes, but I think we might have found a new tradition before we leave!

When we did get back to the house, we decided we needed to eat those delicious clams and oysters just one more time after gazing at the beautiful full moon from the dock. Talk about procrastination! We packed up a few things but didn’t need to be in a rush to leave the next day, so we headed to bed. I woke up in the wee hours of the morning and couldn’t get back to sleep. It startled me when my hubby’s phone beeped at five o’clock in the morning.

I woke him up to ask him why his phone was making noises. He checked it out and it was a warning that we were to experience flooding due to super high tides from the full moon. I was concerned that we wouldn’t be able to leave the section of the island where we were staying if we didn’t get out of there before high tide. It was starting to come in as it was.

We rustled the boys up and everyone packed in record time. We all worked so well together to beat the flooding that I started contemplating why it always took us so long any other time. As the sun came up, I realized that the dock was already covered in water! We later learned if we hadn’t left when we did, we would’ve been stuck on the island because the road in and out flooded and closed.

On our last trip over the holidays, I looked out front to see the tide had come up so close to the house that it went over the drive leading to where we were staying. There was a marsh in front of us with the ocean beyond that. Behind us was a creek that had water coming in farther than I’ve ever seen due to another full moon and super high tides! For that bit of flooding we just stayed put until it receded, allowing for a clear drive again.

Since experiencing another full moon, I was thinking back to our experiences with the tides during our trips and the flooding that was caused. The roads didn’t disappear; they were there the whole time. They did get covered up by water making them invisible to us though. Isn’t that a little like our lives? Do you ever feel like the road that God has for you is invisible even if you really want to see it? Have you ever gotten a look only to have it disappear again?

There are times when we haven’t even found the road yet. There are times when we’ve seen the road but need to get a move on to take it while the opportunity is still there. Other times we just need to be patient and wait until the road clears. God makes our paths straight and will eventually show them to us, but it isn’t always so simple because they can get covered up by obstacles. We’ve all been there!

I challenge you to not get overwhelmed by all the roads in your life. I’m going to pray for patience (since I surely struggle with that on my own) and wisdom to make my roads visible and the supernatural knowledge on when to travel them. Will you do the same?

If you simply don’t want to travel the road because of fear, think of what Nathan Fillion said: “Saw a little girl touch a big bug and shout, ‘I conquered my fear! YES!’ and calmly walk away. I was inspired.” Be inspired too, and conquer your fear.

Let the full moon (God’s illumination) and high tide (God’s push) help you get moving.  If the road is already covered, keep looking forward to the obstacles receding and staying in joy with faith right where you are until the time comes to take that road.