Rambling Thursdays

We had our first snowfall on Sunday. It looks and feels like winter now. To be honest, I’m not a big fan of winter. I just miss sitting on my porch basking in the sun and warmth. I miss tending my flowers. If it were possible, I would be live in warmer climates through the winter and I wouldn’t miss it at all. 

Anyway, there are some things I do enjoy through the bleak winter season that gets me by until spring. 

Birds. Yes birds. I am a avid birdwatcher. I have bird feeders located at strategic areas around my house. Various woodpeckers, chickadees, titmice, white crown sparrows, bluejays, finches and juncos visit everyday. You know it’s really winter when the juncos come. They truly are snowbirds. 

My feather friends bring such enjoyment. Put out a bird feeder and they will come!

Reading. This is the season when I settle in with a good book. I so love my books. It truly is an escape. The characters in my favorite books inspire me time and again. I have a small library of favorite books. I also discovered that I can download older books free on my I Pad. So I’m checking out some classics. 

Sunshine. Whenever the sun pops out it really gives me a lift. If I am outside or in the car I soak it in. Vitamin D, you know. 

Weekends out. I look forward to weekends with my husband. Usually we try to go out to eat. Or just walk through the mall. Nothing fancy, just a break from the routine. 

Comfort food. This is the season for hearty soups, stews, casseroles...well you get the idea. Good food makes me happy. And I enjoy creating something yummy in my cozy kitchen. 

Projects. Usually I try to tackle a new project for my house in the winter. This winter I’m finally redoing my laundry room. It was way overdo. I threw out old ugly pvc shelves, replaced them with a cute table, and bought some signs from Hobby Lobby. I’m not done yet, but I’m loving what I’ve done so far. 

Football. Football is the ultimate reality tv. I love watching it. It especially heats up in December and January, deciding the playoff fates. After the Super Bowl, my attention then shifts to Basketball which occupies me till Spring. 

Seed Catalogs. Probably in a few weeks I’ll start getting these beauties in the mail. It’s so fun to look through them and plan out my garden. You can get most of them free. If you order, you’ll be guaranteed to get them every year after. 

My Study/Office. This is my favorite room in the house. This was a project I tackled a year ago. I bought a new desk, put pictures up and bought some wall gallery stuff, (from Hobby Lobby of course.) My desk looks out over a bird feeder and the side yard. This is where I write, study and pray. I’m surrounded by my books, Bibles and journals. 

So as you can see, these small things keep me going and also inspire me. But truthfully, long about March, I’ll be longing for Spring to return. What about you? What keeps you going through the winter? If you are blessed to be in a warm climate, enjoy! I wish I could be too, but I’ll make the most of my winter season. 

I’ve included a link to a blog post I wrote about seed catalogs. Click right here. Enjoy. 

Burr of Rejection

I've been struggling of late with myself. You'd think after fifty years I'd have it all together; maybe I look that way at times, but yes I still struggle sometimes. My own blog encouraged me this evening
and I hope it does the same for you. So here is a post from a couple of years ago:

I guess if I pinned down when it began, it would be in elementary school. I felt the sting of rejection then. The girls usually would shun me out of their groups, the boys constantly told me I was ugly. I heard their pointed laughter and sneers. 

It continued throughout the rest of my school years. I had very few people I considered friends. I usually hung out in the library, hidden away with my precious books until I had to go back to class. 

The only true friends I had were in my church which was in another town. It truly was the bright spot in my life. 

I’m not sharing this with you so I can gain your pity. I’m not a drama queen by any means. To be honest, I’ve never really shared this with anyone before. But, I heard a video blog recently from a friend who shared about struggles with inferiority. Her video stirred my heart.

When you face rejection like I did for a prolonged time, it can be like a burr stuck in your soul. You may pull it out, but there are still residual effects that leave us feeling inferior and worthless. 

I can still feel inferior sometimes, to other people and in my self. I’ve never been the type of person who is a social butterfly. Usually I will not reach out to people I don’t know. My train of thought is that, “They probably won’t like me anyway.” Or if I do reach out, then it’s, “They are just being polite, they don’t want to be my friend, because they don’t like me.” 

Silly isn’t it? It seems like it anyway when I read it now. Thanks to the Lord’s gentle touch in my life I’ve come a long way.  I’ve learned not to be harsh with myself. Don’t beat myself up. Speak gently to myself. After all I wouldn’t dare talk to other people like that. 

In the video blog, my friend mentions that when you say inferiority, you hear the word fear. That’s the underlying problem isn’t it? It’s all about the fear. Fear of being hurt and rejected again. And when you fear, you shrink back. It paralyzes you. This has to be a great weapon the enemy welds to keep us from the abundant life God wants us to have.  We miss out because of lies! I’m not inferior and neither are you.

The opposite of feeling inferior is knowing I am significant. So do I seek after someone to love me and give me that significance? Will a human being give me that security? I’ve looked for that in many people and was found lacking. It wasn’t that they didn’t love me, but no human can sate my thirst, fill my emptiness. 

“The nobles send their servants for water; they go to the cisterns but find no water. They return with their jars unfilled; dismayed and despairing, they cover their heads.” Jeremiah 14:3

Anything or anyone other than Jesus is an empty cistern. Jesus is the Living Water. I drink of Him and I thirst no more. So I need to take my eyes off people and fix them on my Jesus. Also simply knowing the Truth has made a difference in the way I look at myself. 

I may digress at times when that old nettle sticks me. But not for long. The truth rises up within me and I say to myself, “This is not so. The Word says, I am this...” 

I am blessed in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. I was chosen. I was adopted. I am an heir of God. God’s grace has been lavished on me...etc. And this is just in Ephesians chapter one! 

This is how you “encourage yourself in the Lord.” I guarantee that any feelings of inferiority will dissipate when you speak the Truth to yourself. 

Knowing I am significant, fixing my eyes on Jesus, not people, and getting the Word in my spirit. This has helped me to walk in confidence knowing who I am and Whose I am. Of course it’s a journey not a three day cruise! I’ve not arrived yet. I still struggle sometimes; perhaps I will still have remnants of that burr sticking to me till I leave this earth. 

Beloved, you are not inferior. You are a confident woman of God. Don’t believe those lies the enemy hisses in your ear. Nothing scares him more than a woman walking boldly with her God! 

2 Timothy 1:7  says, “For God did not give us a spirit of timidity (of cowardice, of craven and cringing and fawning fear), but [He has given us a spirit] of power and of love and of calm and well-balanced mind and discipline and self-control.” Amplifed 

Immanuel, God with us.

I’m slowly getting into the Christmas Spirit. I’m in recovery from my food coma from Thanksgiving, playing Christmas music, and in the process of getting the decorations up. 

I realize some of you may not really be looking forward to the holiday season. Maybe you are going through a rough season of your own. Hey I get it. I haven’t exactly been spared myself. I’m going through conflicts of my own and it’s not fun. 

I want to encourage you today from God’s marvelous Word. Isaiah 8 is an amazing chapter that has such relevancy for us today. It never ceases to amaze me how powerful His Word is and how it speaks to my heart just in the right moment. Let’s dive right in. 

In verses 5-8, it tells of evil sweeping over the land like a flood. It will rise up to even the necks. Evil may plot against God’s people, but guess what?

“Plan and plot all you want—nothing will come of it.

    All your talk is mere talk, empty words,

Because when all is said and done,

    the last word is Immanuel—God-With-Us.” The Message

Do you see that? Get that in your spirit beloved! Through the rivers, the fire, the flood, whatever....He is with us and that is enough. What are you facing right now? When all is said and done, the last word is Immanuel, God with us. He is with you, you are not alone in this. You. will. get. through. this.

Verses 11-15 tells us “Don’t be like this people,

    always afraid somebody is plotting against them.

Don’t fear what they fear.

    Don’t take on their worries.” The Message

What are other people confessing around you? Or worse yet, to you? Hopelessness? Fear? Worry? Anxiety? What are you confessing to yourself? Are you stuck on negativity like a nagging ear worm? What or who are you listening to?

Don’t be like them. Without a hope. Don’t fear what they fear. Don’t take on their worries or anxieties. When all is said and done, the last word is Immanuel, God with us. You have Jesus. Trust Him, rest in Him. He has you. He is your refuge.

Verses 16-18 tells us “While I wait for God as long as he remains in hiding,

    while I wait and hope for him.

I stand my ground and hope,

    I and the children God gave me as signs to Israel” The Message

Don’t give up beloved. Don’t give up. Stand firm. Don’t compromise. Wait on God. Know He will move on your behalf. 

Verse 19-22 says, “When people tell you, “Try out the fortunetellers.

    Consult the spiritualists.

Why not tap into the spirit-world,

    get in touch with the dead?”

Tell them, “No, we’re going to study the Scriptures.”

This is how we build up our faith, “Faith comes from hearing and hearing through the Word of Christ.” Romans 10:17  Let others search elsewhere. We will stand on the Word. We will speak it out. The promises are “yes in Christ” 2 Corinthians 1:20 We will anchor our lives in the Truth. The Living and Active Word, Living and Abiding Word. 

I hope this encourages you today. I know it’s greatly encouraged me You know, I can’t control what happens around me. But I can choose my actions. What I confess in my thoughts and words. This message in Isaiah encourages me and challenges me that I don’t have to be like others who without hope. I can be intentional. I don’t want to be merely reactionary. I’d like to set the pace. 

You can too. I hope you enjoy this upcoming Christmas season. Remember this:

When all is said and done, 

     the last word is Immanuel,

God-with-us. 

Broken Cisterns and Living Fountains

“Why have you sought the gods of a people who did not deliver their own people from your hand?” 2 Chronicles 25:15

Why indeed? King Amaziah of Judah just defeated the Edomites, with God Almighty’s help of course. So does he return with a grateful heart full of praise for his God? No, instead he brings back their idols and sets them up as his gods and worships them. 

God then sends a prophet to ask this striking question to the foolish king. How absurd is this? To worship the gods of those he just defeated? What did he see in these things that he would look away from the Great I Am and worship idols? 

What do we see in these things that we devote ourselves to? If we would just consider their inability to fill our emptiness. 

I’m no different. I allow my heart to be swayed in other directions. I devote my heart, time, energy, etc...to things that do nothing for their devotees. They are like “broken cisterns that can hold no water”. Jeremiah 2:13 

So I “forsake the fountain of living water” for these things. I look elsewhere and wonder why I feel empty and soul hungry. Then inevitably I feel that tugging at my heart. His woos me back. Then wonder why I wandered astray in the first place. 

The Edomite idols cannot deliver their own people. Why should King Amaziah expect any different? Why do I expect anything different? Why should I seek after things that cannot deliver their own followers? 

It’s humbling to consider the wanderings of my heart. But even more humbling is how faithful my God is, even when I am faithless. 2 Timothy 2:13 

Beloved, you will only find satisfaction, security, joy and peace in Jesus. Only Him. You won’t find it in anything else. To know Jesus is to know life everlasting. 

There are certain things I do enjoy and even have a passion for. I don’t live in a cave. But I don’t devote my heart to them. They are only temporary. My heart belongs to Jesus. He has me. I wrote in my last blog about being stable. It’s Jesus who holds me secure. He has my heart, my life. And I will never be disappointed. 

Loosen your grip on these things that can do nothing for you and fasten your heart on Jesus. You will not be found lacking. 

There is none like You, O Lord; You are great and Your name is great in might. But the Lord is the true God; He is the living God and the everlasting King. Jeremiah 10:6+10

Yes amen, there is none like You Jesus. 

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Shock Absorbers

My car is bucking like a mad bronco. The shocks are shot. Do you like the play on words? Anyhoo, it makes for cautious driving. Normally I’d fly down the back roads around here with nil a thought. Not any more. 

It started with a banging, thumping sound in the rear. A bit alarming, but I wasn’t too concerned. But then one day it sounded so bad I thought a vital piece may fly off the rear end. Adding to the onslaught, the back end was bouncing like a wild trampoline. 

So I need new shock absorbers. You don’t think about shocks until they are broken, and boy you know it then. I can’t drive down the country roads. I have to crawl over bumps. 

Check out this definition of a shock absorber: “A device used to absorb mechanical shocks, as a hydraulic or pneumatic piston used to dampen the jarring sustained in a moving motor vehicle.”  The Free Dictionary

Are you dealing with some serious bumps in your path? How about jarring potholes? Rough roads? Yea, so am I. What absorbs these violent bumps? What keeps me even keeled? 

My life is anchored in Jesus. He is my shock absorber. Without Jesus, I would not be strong and stable. Without Him, I have no peace, no joy...I could go on but you get the point. Without Him, the bumps and and potholes of my road would leave me unstable, tossing here and there. 

Just because I am a Christian doesn’t mean I’m immune from trouble. There’s going to be trouble, pain and hurt. But I can be strong and rise above this. 

I so love the passage in Romans 8 that tells us, 

Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? As it is written:

“For your sake we face death all day long;
    we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.”

No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

If I want my car to be stable again, I have to take it to be fixed. It needs new shocks. Obvious I know, but I make a valid point. 

If you want to be stable and secure through this life, then you have to trust Jesus with your life. You have to let Him hold you secure. 

You will keep in perfect peace

    those whose minds are steadfast,

    because they trust in you.

Trust in the Lord forever,

    for the Lord, the Lord himself, is the Rock eternal. Isaiah 25:3-4

He alone is your anchor. He holds you secure. You want to go it alone? Push Him away? It’s your choice. 

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Rambling Thursdays

It’s been awhile since I wrote a Rambling Thursdays post, so I’m indulging today. This time of year is always kind of bittersweet. I’m sad to see summer end, but I love Fall. 

It’s been a great summer. The flower gardens have put on a wonderful display. I’ve ate some tasty tomatoes. Gazed on Yosemite. Sat around some campfires. Ate savory BBQ. Rocked on my porch. Ate homemade ice cream. Had some awesome cookouts. Is it any wonder I’ve put on a few pounds? 

Fall is here. It smells and feels different. Wet leaves. A whiff of smoke. Tangy apples. Crisp air. Yes, crisp; lovely crisp air. What a wonderful sensation that is after enduring hot, humid, sticky days. Combine this with hot flashes and you have misery. 

I pulled out my Fall/Winter clothes and decided I needed a couple of pieces to add. Of course there may be the occasional “I have to get this now”. You’ll always have that right? Will this be the year I buy a poncho? 

I hesitated last year due to the hot flashes I mentioned above. Why would I wrap a blanket around me? #hotmeltingmess 

I received a box of Tulip bulbs and Grape Hyacinth bulbs in the mail. I  ordered these in the spring. I looked at the catalog with excitement, Oh wouldn’t that look great in this garden? I love this combination. Then reality hits in October. This means I have to plant the bulbs. I’m talking about approximately eighty bulbs. What was I thinking???

Football is here and I’m loving it. I miss it so much after the Super Bowl. But alas, my beloved Colts have sputtered at the beginning and lets not talk about Notre Dame. I’m not even going there. Nevertheless, I am enjoying it.  I am a loyal fan regardless. Best reality TV EVER! 

It’s soup making time! I made chili last week and I’m making chicken noodle soup tomorrow. I love soup. A large pot will last a couple of days. Saturday was our annual Chili supper/Hayride. We have had this for years now and what a time we have! Such fond memories of pushing the hay wagon up a hill, to avoid being stuck. Then the time the tire blew a mile from home. There’s always some unexpected excitement. 

This hayride was amazing. A beautiful sunset glowed on us, with the moon adding to the aura of the evening. The silhouette of a deer on a hillside with the glow of the sunset behind. Seeing the sparks of our bonfiire from afar flying upward. It was wonderful and I’ll never forget it. 

Anyway, I hope you get out there and make your own fall memories. Take a hike, gaze on the autumn colors, drink apple cider, go on a hayride, enjoy a football game. You get the idea. Fall lasts just so long. Enjoy it. 

Wait for it...

This has been a summer of waiting, with some anxiety mixed in. Throw in fear of the unknown, some sleepless nights and a dab of family drama and you have a nasty tasting stew.

Don’t get me wrong, it hasn’t been all bad. It’s been a great summer. I’ve made some great memories too. But I am ready for a change of season, just as I am for fall, football, chili soup, sweaters and autumn colors. 

Perhaps you’ve noticed I haven’t written much this summer. I just haven’t had the inspiration much. But today I’m feeling it. Let’s talk about unbelief, about waiting. 

In 2 Kings 6:33 this unbelieving captain sent from the wicked King of Israel spoke these words to Elisha, “This trouble is from the Lord! Why should I wait for the Lord any longer?” 

Samaria was surrounded by the Syrians in a siege. It was really bad. But instead of repenting and seeking God’s face, the King blames Elisha and ultimately God for this mess. And then like a slap in the face, why should I wait any longer? 

Here’s where I’m going to get transparent and admit to you that I’m no super spiritual giant who has done and said all the right things through this challenging summer. I haven’t. I’ve doubted, and perhaps even entertained the idea of just giving up. I’m just tired of getting my hopes up and then have them crushed to the ground. 

But then, I raise my head and pray “I believe, help my unbelief.” Sometimes that’s all you have strength for. And you know, it’s enough. It was enough for the Father with the demonic bound little boy. He said this to Jesus in Mark 9. Did Jesus get upset and disappointed with him? No. He freed the boy and he was healed. 

I do believe, really I do. But I feel weak. I don’t want to give up on You Lord. Why should I wait for the Lord any longer?  The best answer I have for this is in Psalm 73:25-26.

Whom have I in heaven but you?

    And earth has nothing I desire besides you.

My flesh and my heart may fail,

    but God is the strength of my heart

    and my portion forever.

Indeed, yes, amen. Wait for the Lord, be strong. Let your heart take courage. Wait for the Lord. Psalm 27:14

This is my anchor through the storms. This holds me steady and strong. Are you going through a tough season? I pray this encourages you. Don’t give up on your God. 

He has delivered us, He will deliver us, and we have our hopes set on Him that He will deliver us again. 2 Corinthians 1:10

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