Month: December 2019

After six days Jesus took with him Peter, James and John the brother of James, and led them up a high mountain by themselves. There he was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun, and his clothes became as white as the light. Just then there appeared before them Moses and Elijah, talking with Jesus. Peter said to Jesus, “Lord, it is good for us to be here. If you wish, I will put up three shelters–one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah.” While he was still speaking, a bright cloud covered them, and a voice from the cloud said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased. Listen to him!” When the disciples heard this, they fell facedown to the ground, terrified. Matthew 17:1-6

Have you ever had the chicken pox? Since I was a little one a wee bit before 1995, no vaccinations were given to me for keeping them away. In fact, some parents would be quite eager to have their child around others who were dealing with this itchy plight, hoping to get them over with. It always seemed to be worse if we got them when we were older. Unfortunately, it wasn’t always in our parents’ control since the most contagious phase was two to three days before any spots were even seen. Once we experienced them, we usually developed an immunity. I noticed it was common to get them around the time we were in kindergarten.

I remember my mom calling up the neighbor and trying to diagnose the rash that was developing on my body. Oh no! Was I going to have a hot potato put onto my ear again? Nope, wasn’t an ear infection. Their verdict…chicken pox. Oh, the sweet, cooling relief of cotton balls and that pink bottle of calamine lotion. What a great way to get a good count of all those spots! The potato wasn’t needed, but the mittens came out. Yes, I was in mittens during the night to keep from scratching those itchy things while I slept.

Would the itching ever stop? The excitement of counting the spots and novelty of having what other kids already experienced wore off quickly. There was hope though! Those blisters would turn into scabs, and the itching would lessen. What a rough, itchy transition phase. The scabs would eventually heal with the whole ordeal being nothing but a memory that I could pull out to tell my kids how easy their lives are nowadays. I really don’t believe that though because it may not be chicken pox, but there’s always something that we’re going through, no matter the age.

As we transition through things as individuals and as families, I’m reminded that there are different phases just like when we have chicken pox. There comes a time when things are really uncomfortable and not rainbows and unicorns as I’d hope. I can figuratively become quite itchy! They can be terribly rough times, leaving us wondering if the best is behind us. It could be with a job, in faith, physically, financially, mentally, or even with our children. How easy it would be to throw our hands up and say that we tried, but it just wasn’t good enough.  We become blind to that sliver of sunshine that has been put in our path to keep us going because we stopped looking.

If you happen to be going through a particularly tough time today, I’d like to ask you one question. Could it be possible that you’re going through a transition phase? Sure, it’s a time of misery, and you’re about as uncomfortable as you can get, but is it possible what you’re going through can be used as part of your arsenal for immunity to future attacks that come along? Could it be that if you never dealt with it until you were older, the situation could be even worse?

I challenge you to see things in a new light at this very moment. This is your wake-up call to recognize the healing and wisdom that is being poured into you right now. This is your sliver of sunshine. Welcome to your Transition Phase!

But if serving the LORD seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the LORD.” Joshua 24:15

My pup is four years old now and has experienced many new sights, smells, and opportunities to succeed or frustrate me to no end. There have been times when I get so excited with his progress, but we’ve also had our fair share of times where I wonder if he’s learned anything in all the training that’s taken place.

I wanted to get back into our routine that got blown to smithereens during the move, so we’ve taken up our morning walks again. It was time to challenge his attention and my patience by making things a bit more challenging.

As we turned off the road and onto the sand, I really wasn’t sure if he’d be able to focus on me how I wanted him to. This wasn’t our normal route and the overload to the senses could be a very real thing. The sound of the waves crashing against the shore, the sight of seagulls and pelicans flying overhead, and the feel of all those shells on the paws could be quite a distraction for any pup.

It was with great excitement when I recognized we were having quite the enjoyable walk. He was following commands and not pulling! I figured it was time to let him free to do what he wanted to. I still had the leash on him but said, “Free.” That’s his command for making his own choices. He doesn’t have to stay right beside me once it’s given, and he’s always up to a good romp or sniffing out the interesting scents around us.

This time was different. He wasn’t following a command to stay with me, he was choosing to get even closer than he was before through his own free will. When I let him go to make his own choices, he decided to turn towards me instead of away from me! This was huge, and it touched me on a level that was new in our relationship. It meant that he wasn’t listening because he had to but because he wanted to! He chose me.

Suddenly, I was hit with how special it is to be chosen when it isn’t required. I know God’s desire is for us to choose Him, but did I realize how special that can be? There wasn’t anything wrong that the pup would need me; he wanted to be close even though everything was going right. Does it mean as much to God that I would choose him for no other reason than who He is? Wow!

Do you give people freedom to choose you or do you demand it? The results we feel aren’t the same when we command it. If we give the freedom to choose, it might not be what we hope for.  There is a way to lessen that disappointment by being conscience of our decisions of who we are choosing out of our own free will.

If our focus is on choosing God, we won’t have our emotions all out of whack because people in our lives might not be choosing us. It will be a pleasant surprise when they do want to be near to us…not because we insist upon it, but because they want to simply be in our presence.

I challenge you to focus today on your choices.  Will you draw nearer to God by focusing on Him, thanking Him, and wanting to be nearer to Him?  It’s how you can open yourself to fulfillment.  Seems like a healthy choice to me!

Doing things this way, we’re no longer thinking of how lonely we might be because of others’ actions.  I know God never rejects us!  He is always waiting for us to make that free choice to draw nearer to Him.  If we’re glowing with love from that special relationship that is such a personal and free choice, I have a suspicion we’re more likely to have others choose us without demanding it.

While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no guest room available for them. Luke 2:6-7

Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. Luke 2:11

It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas! With barely a month into setting up our new home, it was time to head out for our annual holiday excursion. The amount of reflection that needs to be done is at an all-time high. So much has taken place this past year that I know some space is needed to count my blessings without rushing on to the next item on the mental list.

Sometimes we must force ourselves to slow down to give our brain time to process through events. I don’t know about you, but I find it difficult to be in deep contemplation with all the noise around me…noise that maybe I create so I don’t have to think too deeply. Something to consider on this trip!

So far, I’ve experienced fireworks in “surround sound”, visited raptors, toured a college with my oldest, forced my “kids” to get our picture taken with Mr. and Mrs. Clause (much to their dismay), had a few dinners with friends we only see once a year, met awesome new people, and stayed three different places. Whew…have I even mentioned we haven’t made it to our final destination yet? Tomorrow it’s time to slow down to have that quiet time.

In the meantime, we went to a restaurant today that I’ve been wanting to go to for a year now. Because of my excitement, the boys decided it was going to be my Christmas present. I couldn’t wait! They put on their “death” clothes without complaint this morning, which was a gift in itself. I know, I’m sorry about the moniker, but it’s what they call their clothes when they’re getting dressed up since they tend to wear them for funerals. I need to get them out more.

Please let me tell you why I wanted to go there today. Last year, while I was walking down the sidewalk during our Christmas trip, I heard the most beautiful music coming from an open door of a restaurant. I looked through the window and saw bright color clothing and heard the most glorious sound. It was an exciting worship experience through song! As I turned to continue on my way, I caught the name written on the side of the van that carried those musicians. I recognized it! I’d been listening to them for quite some time.

I found out this was something those wonderful singers do every Sunday and was hoping I could be one of the guests to listen on our next trip. For a whole year excitement built as we talked about going. It wasn’t about the food, it wasn’t about getting dressed up, and it wasn’t even about the singers. It was about the experience with my family. I was looking forward to all of us being able to enjoy a special time together that would allow us to make an awesome memory because how could it not me amazing with hymns and carols of the Christmas season being sung by those with voices of angels? We’d be celebrating together!

Interesting thing about our plans…they don’t always work out quite as we expect them to. There can be another side to things that look good on the outside but aren’t as pretty on the inside. It’s important to remember that perfection in human work is impossible. Too many people forget that the special comes from what’s inside rather than what’s outside. Were my boys too worried about the perfection for me that they forgot what would make it perfect? Yep.

You see, an ugliness can take place inside pretty trappings and a beauty can take place in simple, humble, and sometimes smelly trappings. Unfortunately, while waiting, customers felt they needed to be comparing their material possessions. Odd…seems like a lack of confidence inside those dressy clothes. Also, I figured I’d walk around the pretty city while my hubby waited. A seemingly beautiful city can have some dangers lurking within. Although everything turned out fine, things could have ended differently because of not having my eyes opened clearly enough.

When we got into the restaurant, we found out they accepted reservations from certain people, just not us. We were able to get a seat because we arrived so early, but my jaunt around the area made my hubby think we wouldn’t get a place. Oops, some weird rules. The food was good, but the feeling of aloofness was there. Finally, nobody was singing; they weren’t there. Could it all be salvaged? Sure! Laughter, fun, and being with my guys would be all it took. Unfortunately, the stress of perfection made that go out the window.

Today got me thinking about those times of stopping for an unexpected ice cream. We’d spend a few dollars at a little custard stand and have the best time ever. The outside might not have been the most beautiful but the joy inside was. That joy in people can travel with us wherever we go. Simple or elaborate. We can even be in some pretty smelly situations. It doesn’t matter though when the beauty is within. Sounds like a certain barn holding the best Gift offered many years ago.

I challenge you to remember the Gift that can always bring love and joy to any situation because of what’s inside compared to what’s outside. When the inside is devoid of the Gift, no matter the look of the outside, true light won’t shine through. The lack of worship from those wonderful ladies today created a void that wasn’t able to be filled because it seemed like the light went out. The light is you and me. It’s people. It’s love and joy that shines from us. Take away the fancy, and if the light is still shining, you know the Gift was accepted.

Will you embrace the Gift today?

Then he said to me: “Son of man, these bones are the people of Israel. They say, ‘Our bones are dried up and our hope is gone; we are cut off.’ Therefore prophesy and say to them: ‘This is what the Sovereign LORD says: My people, I am going to open your graves and bring you up from them; I will bring you back to the land of Israel. Then you, my people, will know that I am the LORD, when I open your graves and bring you up from them. I will put my Spirit in you and you will live, and I will settle you in your own land. Then you will know that I the LORD have spoken, and I have done it, declares the LORD.'” Ezekiel 37:11-14

When the doorbell rang after moving into our new house, I got excited! Oooh, we had a visitor. Two things made me happy about this turn of events. First, someone rang our doorbell. Doesn’t sound too thrilling, right? For me, it was! At our old house the doorbell was located at our front door which NOBODY used, so it was something new for us. I felt quite fancy and made me want to ask the person in for tea. Second, this was a surprise, and who doesn’t like a nice surprise every now and again? Anticipation built as we went to see who was on the other side.

There was a sweet lady standing there holding a gift bag. She was our new neighbor! I did a quick introduction when I saw her outside on the first day we arrived, but that was a bit of a blur, for her and for me. However, there she stood welcoming us into the neighborhood. I have a neighbor! I have a neighbor who isn’t a mile away, and she’s nice! We exchanged greetings, names, and phone numbers while she handed me over an incredibly kind gift.

The boys wanted to dig in something fierce to see what was inside, but they contained themselves until she went back to her house. They looked at me as if it were already Christmas. Please note, these are teenagers. I nodded my head, and they dug in so quickly that I started to think they were deprived of gifts. When I saw one of the first things they pulled out, it all made sense. There they stood with light shining all around them and the Halleluiah Chorus playing while they held out warm, freshly baked banana bread. I’m telling you they can sniff out food a mile away!

I felt so incredibly blessed for having such a thoughtful neighbor. You just never know what you’re going to get when you move into a new house! I was amazed at what all they kept pulling out. There was a perfect gift for every person in our family. There was even fresh thyme and rosemary. Well, if you’ve read any of my previous blogs, you know Julia Child I am not, but how I appreciated their wondrous smell. I was determined to use these fresh herbs.

It was on Thanksgiving when the opportunity came to put that wonderfully smelling gift to good use. I put the rosemary on the turkey and thyme in the stuffing (or dressing). I usually use the dried stuff, but this time it felt so good to use fresh. It tasted delicious too!

This got me thinking about the word dried-up. It often has a negative connotation to it. I had to look it up in the dictionary. I found out it means old and dull, suffering from lack of water, or empty of water. I don’t know about you, but once in a great while I might feel a little dried-up. How depressing is that! Do you ever feel you aren’t as fresh as you once were? You think that your wisdom was at its greatest previously? Well, I think that’s a bunch of bull.

Let me give you another way of looking at things. In that dictionary it also talked about being shriveled with age or wizened. There ya go! Wizened sounds like wisened to me. Wisened would be the past tense of wisen. Wisen means to become wiser. Look at that! Dried-up doesn’t mean a shell of what has been; it means something preserved so it won’t go bad.

My dried herbs are a wonderful seasoning, and they don’t “expire” as quickly as the fresh do. They don’t need thrown away because as soon as you mix them into your food, I realize the aroma and deliciousness was waiting there the whole time. The way I look at life is simple. Use that freshness when it comes to you because it’s an amazing thing, but don’t get depressed when you feel dried-up. Mix yourself right into the excitement of something new and see yourself be transformed into a necessary ingredient.

If you feel dried-up, remember the wisdom. Get out there and become relevant again. It’s up to you if you sit on the shelf or ask for God’s breath to enter you and allow you to live again. Check out Ezekiel 37 today!