Forever Spring!

The weather is warming a bit early this year, and I’m finding myself having a hard time focusing on my school work. This semester is already demanding so much of my time and brain power. And now I’m being drawn away by this beautiful weather. The bird’s song outside my window is hard to ignore. The green grass is calling my toes to walk barefoot through it. The sunshine is tickling my skin and pleading to kiss it with a little color. Nevertheless, the reality of books, papers, projects, and due dates is looming. A part of me really would like to say I’m done and walk away from all this hard work. However, a bigger part of me desires to accomplish my degree and see this through to the end. I must keep in mind that there is a prize at the end of all this hard work and struggle.


Boy did this get me thinking of our Christian walk. I have written about seasons in our life and also seasons with our friendships. My friend I’m here to tell you that there is NO season change within our walk with God. There may be conditions that may become a little turbulent from time to time but there is NEVER a complete change of what a Christian walk is. I will be the first to admit that what felt like the bitter cold of winter, blow by me from time to time or gotten wet from a spring shower that turned into a thunderous storm. The only season change in your walk is when you initially gave your heart to God. Your unending dark, cold, and grey winter turned into the never-ending spring. Your life was reborn as flowers, trees, and grasses are after the long hibernation. Why is this the season we are supposed to remain in?


“When he died, he died once to break the power of sin. But now that he lives, he lives for the glory of God. So you also should consider yourselves to be dead to the power of sin and alive to God through Christ Jesus. Do not let sin control the way you live; do not give in to sinful desires. Do not let any part of your body become an instrument of evil to serve sin. Instead, give yourselves completely to God, for you were dead, but now you have new life. So use your whole body as an instrument to do what is right for the glory of God. Sin is no longer your master, for you no longer live under the requirements of the law. Instead, you live under the freedom of God’s grace.” ~ Romans 6:10-14 (NLT)


We are always in a state of new life. We are no longer held back by the blanket of cold snow and bitter winds. Our beauty is allowed to poke through as people stop to look at it. Yes, we do have storms we must go through in our lives. Again, there are seasons in our life but NOT our Christian walk. There is a difference. The storms are things that give us the change to be stretched in new ways and grow more beautiful. It is easy to allow those storms or tactics of the devil to distract us and cause our attention to be turned from the path in front of us. Small things can grab our attention and make us hesitate to take a step or two. That is ALL the devil wants you to do so he can put his hook in you. All he needs is a second and a small thing to just turn your head. Just to remind you, look past the storm or the enticing pulls of Satan. Past the storm that is currently raging. You still have NEW LIFE! You are STILL a beautiful new creation. You are STILL in your spring season. Remember there are severe storms during the actual spring season that makes us tie things down and bring things in from outside. The very same storms go on in our walk. So tie things down. Bring things in if you have to. Stand and endure them. Through all the struggle and trials, you will be rewarded and receive the prize.


My challenge… do you have little things in your life that has caused you to pause a step or two? Do you have small things that don’t seem like a big deal, and it isn’t that bad? Have you allowed yourself to be distracted from the prize that will come at the end? Little things matter my fellow sisters and brothers.

Take a GOOD look!

I was given a rare opportunity that I didn’t recognize right away.  I was intrigued at how friendly this complete stranger was.  He was waiting for friends to arrive and I was waiting for a friend as she was busy with work.  There was an occasional interjection she was able to make between phone calls.  However, mostly the conversation was between him and me.  The things he said were a typical conversation but struck me later as a HUGE eye opener. 

I could tell by his accent that he was not from the area.  The occasional “aye” was added at the end of his sentences. My mind was trying to not focus on that and tried to pay attention to what he was actually saying.  Hard to do when you hear something that you don’t usually hear from someone.  This was the beginning of me trying to pay attention to more than the words he was actually saying. 

The things he said were interesting.  He was from Canada and was here on business with the company he ran with a buddy.  It started out with him saying that he has been sober for twenty some years.  My friend and I congratulated him for being so brave.  He proceeded to expound on how his life has changed and how he had so much more to focus on and live for now with children.  At some point in time, I’m not sure exactly how the topic changed; he began expressing how his travels in the United States had shown him a few things. 

His travels had taken him to many different states and cities.  There was one thing that he took with him from all these places.  The attitude from people and how they treated one another was surprising to him.  He didn’t understand why people would talk about other individuals with such disregard.  He spoke of how life in his hometown differed quite a bit.  He said people in Canada, no matter where they were from, had a bigger goal in mind.  Instead of individuals thinking they were better than others around them and speaking down of them, people actually helped others no matter what background, race, or education.  Coming to the United States was nice but he said he would much rather live and work in his hometown than here.

WOW step back!  YIKES!!!!  I have not been able to get what he said out of my mind.  It keeps ringing loudly and begs for recognition.  This blog goes along with my last one posted so well.  It also goes along with what my husband has been preaching about.  We NEED to wake up!  We NEED to t look at people differently.  We need to treat them with such a love and compassion like we have never done before.  It doesn’t matter if we know them or not.  We sometimes think that our way is the better way or the right way.  Why do we seem to have this attitude in America?  Greed?  The “American Dream?”  All I know is the scriptures tell us different.

 “Do to others whatever you would like them to do to you. This is the essence of all that is taught in the law and the prophets.” ~ Matthew 7:12 (NLT)

We as Christians are called to something different.  Something set apart from what America tells us is normal.  You like it when people talk nicely about you and when they treat you warmly.  So what about that person that you can’t seem to get along with?  How do you treat them?  EXACTLY how you would want to be treated.  That person that is driving slowly in front of you when you are trying to get someplace on time?  The list goes on but I think you get the idea. 

My challenge this week… think twice before you get irritated with someone.  Ask yourself if this is how you would want to be thought about or treated.  God commands us to shine HIS light and spread it to the end of the world.  Are you shinning in your community or circle of friends?  

What do your eyes see?

A woman is sitting on the side of the road with a bag in her hand and a child at her side.  People drive by with not even a second glance.  Nobody notices that she is crying and her child is trying to comfort her the best way he or she knows how.  She has no clue where to go or what to do.  The only life she has known for ten years no longer exists.  She has no other family members, and all her friends have turned their backs on her.  She picks herself up and walks on. 

 A man is walking around in the store with a pair of ripped jeans, holes in his shirt, and a hat turned down.  People walk past him without seeing him.  They don’t see he is trying to add the prices of the milk, eggs, and bread to see if he has enough money to feed his family.  People walk by on their phone with a call from a friend who wanted to complain about their job or a family member.  “How dare that person be in my way?  He is just standing there looking at his cart!  UGH I’m in a hurry, and he is making me late!”  This is what the man hears as a tear slowly finds its way down his face.  He quickly decides that he doesn’t have the money for one of the items but is unsure which one is least important and walks off.

The person returns home after driving past the woman with her child and passing the man in the store.  They put their few items away and sign on to their computer.  They spend the next two hours catching up on all of their “friends” on whatever networking page they have.  They have a hard time picking who to say what to and how to respond to a post. 

My heart is troubled by a couple of things.  It is interesting how they seem to fit together most of the time.  Years ago I’m sure there were other “good reasons” not to notice.  However, in this day and age, we have become more of a technology-driven society.  The two examples I provided about people not being seen, happens every single day.  Maybe not in the same exact circumstances but there is always pain.  The person rushing by his or her day not noticing, for one reason or another, happens more and more every day.  We have become so busy with our own lives that we don’t even notice or pass judgment on the appearance of others. 

Another thing I have noticed, we are people that if a good friend is in need or trouble, we do everything possible to help them out.  Our hearts break for them, and we wish we could take their pain away.  This is a really good thing, don’t get me wrong.  Nevertheless, there is hurt and pain all around us.  There is always somebody that is in need of something.  It just may not be as evident as others. 

I am reminded of how God tells us to look at others:

“Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.” ~  Philippians 2:3-4 (NLT)

It tells us that we must VALUE others.  What does value actually mean?  It means, the regard that something is held to deserve; the importance or preciousness of something.  HMM so basically again He is telling us to treat them more important than ourselves.  He tends to say that a lot!  Look a little further.  He tells us not to do it with our own interests in mind.  We don’t do it to make ourselves look better.  We need to do it because we genuinely WANT to do it and because, in the words of an old song, we may be the only Jesus, some may EVER see! 

So, my challenge to you is …… put down your phone, pay attention at the store or where ever you may be and REALLY notice people.  OPEN your eyes and see into a person.  This week as you are out and about, I’m going to ask you to not be on your phones while checking out.  Talk to the clerk.  Say hi or smile as you pass people.  You can ALWAYS call that person back or chat with him or her online another time.  See with the eyes of God and you might be amazed at what you see!

This song says it so very well!

People are Seasons!

It is awesome to me to look back at my life and remember the people that have walked into my life!  I have had some pretty AMAZING people that I have known over the years.  It started at a very young age and still continues to this day.  I have not forgotten any of them.  Once in a while I find that my mind will be drawn back to a memory of an individual.  It could be while I’m in the middle of doing something that may spark a recollection.  I then find a smile fall across my face as I remember the time gone by.  I cannot even begin to count how many people I have encountered in my life that has made some sort of impact on me.

  

Some of those people’s impacts have not been as pleasant as I would have liked though.  There have been a few individuals who left a mark that shows along the way pain was caused.  Unfortunately, my mind falls to those people as well.  Some of those people left big scars that, to this day, I have to deal with and make a conscious choice to overcome daily.  

Funny that as the holiday season is drawing to a close, my mind seems to have been captured by such thoughts.  Maybe it is because this year and season I have enjoyed a life filled with love and compassion.  There have been a lot of things my family has gone through over the last several years.  Some of those things were caused by those very people that have caused some bruising and scaring.  Every time something has happened though, God seemed to find just the right person to bring to our door, figuratively, and help us through.  Sometimes it felt like God himself showed up.

“For everything there is a season, a time for every activity under heaven.  A time to be born and a time to die.  A time to plant and a time to harvest.  A time to kill and a time to heal.  A time to tear down and a time to build up.  A time to cry and a time to laugh.  A time to grieve and a time to dance.  A time to scatter stones and a time to gather stones.  A time to embrace and a time to turn away.  A time to search and a time to quit searching.  A time to keep and a time to throw away.  A time to tear and a time to mend.  A time to be quiet and a time to speak.  A time to love and a time to hate.  A time for war and a time for peace.” ~ Ecclesiastes 3:1-8

Many times I have found myself wondering why so many people have come in and out of my life.  Wonderful and not so wonderful people that have made a visit to my door.  Why the need for so much pain?  Why a friendship that didn’t really end just moved to something different?  Then I am reminded that everything has a time and a purpose.  People come into our lives for many different reasons.  God is the only one that knows the duration of how long they will stay.  The difficult ones are to help us learn something about ourselves.  The wonderful ones are usually to help us walk the path and have a hand to hold as we do.  We go through so much in our lives that God knows we occasionally need someone to go through them with us.  When that time is over, sometimes He says it is time to move on for both individuals.

My challenge this week is this… are you holding on to a person for longer than you should?  Are you not allowing that difficult person to teach you something you need to learn?  Have you found yourself afraid to make new friends because of the pain that was caused?  Remember that you must have diverse types of people in your life to teach you different things.  God made us unique for a reason.  To understand different aspects of walking a Christian walk you must allow different people to be allowed at your door.  If you have been blessed to have a good friend last a long time, don’t take them for granted.  That is a HUGE gift that God has given you.  However, make sure there is room for others as well.  

Saving Birth

The days are getting colder and the threat of snow is in the air. As I have said before, I am not a fan of the cold. If I could have a cordless electric blanket to wrap around me everywhere I went, I would be one happy girl. Take a look at a blog that I wrote at the first of this year and you can see why being cold is a beautiful thing.   http://randomordeep.blogspot.com/2011/02/cold-and-beautiful.html 

Too many times we lock ourselves up in our homes to try and shield ourselves from the cold. Don’t forget that God made this season as well and remember He made everything perfect!

When the cold sets in we start to feel the warmth of the holiday season. The love of friends and family can be found as we gather for sharing and remembering Christmas past. We as adults cling to memories and traditions we grew up with, as if trying to hold on to a bit of our childhood. We try to make new and lasting memories for our children, so they can pass them along to theirs. Yes, this season is by far, my favorite time of year. The cold doesn’t seem to be as bitter during this time.

However, this season does pass and all the decorations get packed up. Friends and family go home and life returns to normal. We remember all the things that were put off doing and we cringe at the thought of shoveling snow. The days are grey and we feel the sun has forgotten how to shine. When it does and we see the rays beaming down through the clouds, we find a smile fall across our face. We look up to allow it to warm our faces and hope that it will penetrate into our inner core. We find ourselves hoping that the warmth will last. When it doesn’t, we slip back into our funk and rush through the cold to find warmth of any kind.

It is easy for us to allow the grey of winter to darken our mood and steal our joy. I find that it is times like these that I have to work even harder to rejoice throughout my day. Everything around me is begging me to focus on the grey in life and take my eyes off of the things in my life I have to be thankful for.

One of my favorite scriptures for this season is…

“And she will have a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.” ~ Matthew 1:21 (NLT) 

This scripture gives me something to be thankful for year round. Not just during the Christmas season. His name was to be Jesus, why, to save US from our sins! How AWESOME is that? He saves us daily not just once a year. How wonderful to know that He is there for me whenever I call to Him. He is there day or night, in the middle of a crowd, when it is as loud as can be or in the stillness of quiet. ANYTIME ANYWHERE!

So this is my challenge to you… this winter as Christmas comes to a close, remember why our Lord and Savior came. When the day seems grey, and you can’t find your sun beam to look up to, look up to God and thank Him for His Son. Thank Jesus for laying down His life for YOU! Remember Christmas every day in your heart and practice the joy it brings. Be blessed this holiday season my friends and may you find a sweet peace and rest!

STOP thief!

Last week was one of those weeks where something really awesome happened and then almost right at the same time something terrible happened.  This happened so many different times last week.  It got to a point where it was almost comical, well maybe not because I wasn’t doing too much laughing.  I would have just a few minutes to enjoy and bask in the wonderful news and then something would come crashing down and find me crying.  I found myself actually saying, “Why is God doing this?  Has He forgotten us and our situation?  Did we do something wrong?”  In the same breath trying to still rejoice in the great news that I just got an hour ago.  This past week has been a struggle to say the least.  There have been so many ups and downs. 

I do not remember what I was doing and where I was when God reminded me of this.  All I can remember is that He reminded me and I’m so very glad He did.  Sitting among people God wanted me to hear Him loud and clear and I did.  He brought this scripture to mind:

“The thief’s purpose is to steal and kill and destroy. My purpose is to give them a rich and satisfying life.” ~ John 10:10 (NLT)

So what does this scripture have anything to do with the week that I had God?  Well let’s look at exactly what it is telling us.  The thief, being the devil, has come to steal some things from us.  What is he stealing?  We know that stealing belongings will not serve him any purpose.  However, stealing those moments of happiness and excitement will gain him a lot.  If he can cause our joy filled moments to become moments with tears and sadness, it brings him great pleasure.  We start to focus on how things are and that things have gone so wrong instead of life being a gift.  He comes to kill... really?  He tries to kill our bodies?  No!  He wants our love and faith in God to die.  If we allow those moments of joy and happiness to take our eyes off of what God has done for us, our faith slowly dies.  He comes to destroy what has been built up.  When things start to pile up and we start to focus on that, we tend to forget all the things God has done for us and what He continues to do.  Our eyes only see how bad things have gotten and how rotten our lives have become.  We can’t forget what the rest of the scripture says.  It tells us that God’s purpose is to give us a rich and satisfying life.  So when all those wonderful things were happening, it was God showing us that He loves us.  He promises us that our lives will be satisfying.  Starting to question and doubt doesn’t sound like a satisfying and rich life to me.

My challenge for you this week… we all have those moments in our lives.  Have you allowed them to take your eyes off of what God is doing for you and allowed the thief to steal those moments from you?  Remember what His purpose is and that He follows through with His promises.  It is us that don’t follow through with our part.  It’s time to get back up and dust the dirt off and say “GET BACK SATAN!”

Don't say anything!

Want to know a really good way to see if you have the patience of God?  Well try this verse out.  I DARE YOU! 

“Understand this, my dear brothers and sisters: You must all be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to get angry.” ~ James 1:19 (NLT)

How many times have you talked instead of listened?  When someone really needed you to hear what they were saying.  You thought they were asking you for help instead of listening.  Maybe they just needed to get their feelings out and you were quick to speak instead.  Or maybe someone “did you wrong” and you need to set them straight.  You may not know that their reason for saying or doing what they did was because they themselves are struggling and are reaching out for help.  Sometimes we get so wrapped up in “I need to be heard” or “He/she made me mad” that we are blinded to the real needs around us.  Christianity isn’t about US being heard or even our feelings that matter.  It is about the OTHERS being heard and our feelings taking a back seat sometimes.  I’m not saying that your feelings don’t matter but what I am saying is let God take care of your feelings, He will!  Let God take care of your needs while you tend to someone else’s needs.