Perspective

Today I search for a topic that catches me. One that will allow my further thought and allow me to contemplate so many things that I would not normally think of. I sit in my chair itching to complete my duty so that I may venture outside. And while we are still pursuing our ideal plan for this wonderful land that we live on, I can see the imagery of what I feel when I step out and fell the wind through my hair and the warmth on my face.

"...I shall not want, He makes me to lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside the still waters. He restores my soul; He leads me in the paths of righteousness..." (Psalm 23:1-3 NKJV)

Can you imagine this? Can you feel the cool grass and the warm sun? Can you hear the brook bubbling on it's way? I can, and I long to be there all the time. So when that opportunity arises, I venture out and walk. I thank God that in the midst of His almighty creation, I can again see my life and all within it in perspective.

Renewal, A Road or A Season?

Renewal...At a moment in time I feel a need for renewal. What kind? Where? When? I long for something in my soul to be refreshed, young, revitalized. I know where to go to find the pathway, though I must step up and possess it.

Do you ever feel that way? Do you ever just want the rain clouds to open up and drop the rain upon your face and cleanse your soul? It is so easy to want to be still and be refreshed and renewed. That isn't how it works. Restoration, renewal, vitality all require a conscious effort on behalf of the party seeking them.

In other seasons of my life I remember experiencing renewal through writing. To purge my heart of the emotions that tormented me through pen and paper.

What is truly renewing is the walk in the fresh sprigs of spring. The light sprinkling of green that has begun to venture forth through the soil that has laid dormant.

I am finding refreshment. May I share it with you? These are mere excerpts that I offer.

"Create in me a clean heart, Oh God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me." (Psalm 51:10 NKJV)

"Restore to me the joy of Your salvation, and uphold me by Your generous spirit." (Psalm 51:12 NKJV)

"Wash me thoroughly from my inquity, and cleanse me from my sin." (Psalm 51:2 NKJV)

I realize that there are many of you that are not understanding the correlation between the puzzles of my life and how the instruction I take from the Bible can fit and work. I dare you to step up and look into your heart. Can you cleanse it yourself? Is there anything else of this world that renews you and restores you? I challenge you to pick up a Bible and read it for no other reason than for the story it tells.

Open your heart and your mind to the possibilities.

Wisdom Leads to Sweet Life

Some people believe that if they take the time to learn or seek knowledge that they will lose the excitement in their lives. What most of these people don't realize is the life that opens up in their mind once they begin to release it. All it takes is the right topic and the right information and every thought becomes a river, sweeping them away.

When I met my husband he could not begin to understand why I would work a full time job and juggle night classes around being a single mom. Then he also got to experience the emptiness I felt when I had overdone it and had to drop my classes. The point here being that with learning and knowledge come the fulfillment of wisdom. Fulfillment of wisdom brings things that you would be surprised to hear of. Self confidence, self worth, the reality that there is life beyond the shallow minded masses and prosperity. Incredibly, when the situation seems hopeless to the completely unaware, it is interesting the amount of money that they will pay a wise person or "geek," to resolve the situation that ignorance put them in. This is when wisdom barely begins to show it's value.

While I am now on a path of learning that is outside of most educational institutions, I still look to learn. My country boy husband has to sometimes suppress his frustration when I ask for every detail of setting a fence post or why we till up the garden every week before it's time to plant. There is knowledge around every corner whether we realize it or not. Don't forget to seek it.

"Know also that wisdom is sweet to your soul; if you find it, there is a future for you, and your hope will not be cut off." (Proverbs 24:14 NIV)

What is Wisdom?

The question comes to me with curiosity. We all take for granted that we understand what wisdom is. It is widely accepted that wisdom is "the quality or state of being wise; scholarly knowledge or learning." That prompts me to ask what does wise really mean? Most would agree on the answer of "having or showing discernment and good judgement" or "having or showing scholarly knowledge or learning." While the dictionary is a great friend to have in deciphering these commonly used words, I have to wonder where the additional instruction is on how to attain them or how their meaning fits into my everyday life.

In my reading this morning I came across an amazingly clear example of why we should seek it and the benefits of an often complex journey. This one passage provides a refreshing light on the importance and benefits of wisdom.

"Happy is the man who finds wisdom, and the man who gains understanding; For her proceeds are better than the profits of silver, and her gain than fine gold. She is more precious than rubies, and all the things you may desire cannot compare with her. Length of days is in her right hand. In her left hand riches and honor. Her ways are ways of pleasantness, and all her paths are peace. She is a tree of life to those who take hold of her, and happy are all who retain her." *

This passage truly creates a visual image of the life that is attainable through wisdom. It also provides the path that is created when you are willing to secure the knowledge that creates wisdom.

Let's recap what you get when you grasp wisdom.

1. Happiness
2. Profits beyond that of silver and gold
3. More precious than rubies
4. Length of days
5. Riches and Honor
6. Pleasantness and Peace
7. Growing life in strength
8. and once again Happiness

There is significance that happiness is mentioned twice. I think it is evident that much of our society is endlessly searching for happiness. Can you imagine what would happen if everyone finally found the right path to happiness?

Are you traveling on a path that leads to wisdom? Or are you continually moving in circles because you are unwilling to accept knowledge, and in turn wisdom in your everyday life? There is more out there than what you see and what you feel, but you must pursue it to attain it.

My hope is that this brings questions to your mind. That you will consider this and do your own searching and questioning. Open your mind to that which on the surface is out of line with the world we live in.



*(Proverbs 4:13-18 NKJV)

Continued Obedience

In the short break of the weekend, I have had only a few moments to contemplate continued obedience. It doesn't ever seem to be difficult when you first begin, the first few times that you follow directions. It's when you have to begin to work and truly take time to decide and commit to being consistent.

Yesterday I realized that obedience may also require more than one step. We as humans like to take the easy way out, to do only what is required to squeak by. Having held a supervisory role in the corporate world and knowing how frustrating it can be to have an employee with amazing potential barely put forth effort, I can't begin to imagine how our Heavenly Father deals with our languor.

Sometimes that step out in obedience is more like steps, many steps. I am amazed that it is possible to walk out in so many directions at once to see where God wants to put us. The first step is simple and even the continued steps in that direction are not quite so difficult. Though the additional steps require that we put aside our fear, step up to the way that God sees us, and use what we know is within us. Even though we have never shared this little part of us, we are fearful of stepping out of the status quo. What will people think? What will they say?

My response is simply "...If God is for us, who can be against us?" (Romans 8:31 NKJV)

I encourage each of you to reach out of your comfort zone and see what unexpected blessings are in store for you. If you need a cheerleader, let me know, I'm really good at it! (Some things never change.)

Work is good for the soul.

I have always enjoyed a day of hard work when the accomplishments are personal. These days my work consists of getting kids on the bus for school, ensuring that the two year old doesn't redecorate the brand new house yet and keeping the laundry from running amuck. Most days I don't stop at the end of the day and consider my accomplishments. Today however, I was able to appreciate the time spent at the sink doing dishes and was lucky enough to assist my husband in our continual quest to fence our new 10 acre property. While most of the true physical work was done by my other half, mine consisted mostly of chasing that outdoor boy across the pasture while still trying to provide the right tool at the right time.

The idea of cooking on a wood burning stove without the benefit of a computer chip to control the temperature does not begin to hold my fancy, I try to imagine what it was like to live in a time when almost all work required being outside for some reason or another. Is that why we have lost so much value in nature and wildlife? That we have been indoors in our self created bubbles so long that we have come to dislike the fresh air and the scents of the countryside? I have better come to accept and appreciate the scent of a skunk (so long as it isn't my dog that is wafting that smell) and the smell of hay that has laid in the field too long when it rains. I expect that one day when my three young children are grown I will have an opportunity to explain to my grandchildren why I love these smells.

To each of you I offer the challenge of getting outside and enjoying the beauty of nature.

Blessings and peace to you all.

Following the road of the word.

Today I am reminded that when it comes to following God's directions it is important to listen only to God and to consider everything else against the word of God. God's only plans for us are "...thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope." (Jeremiah 29:11 NKJV) If there is need for discipline, it is done with love and with kindness, not humiliating harsh words, thoughts or statements.

I am also reminded that "A friend loves at all times." (Proverbs 17:17) Even when you are wrong, unbearable, mean, and just plain unlovable. We all have our days when we fit into one or more these categories. Friendship in itself is a ministry. God's design is for us to love our friends through all things and sometimes with our sacrifice for their greater good. "Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down one's life for his friends." (John 15:13 NKJV)

Though short, today has brought me much contemplation, and for that I am thankful.

Peace be with you.

Continuing down the road...only a block on my way

Have you ever ventured down a road that you have no idea where it leads? I'm on it now. I know this is the road I am supposed to be following though cannot begin to fathom what I will encounter or where it actually leads. I like to imagine that I know where God is leading me, though I know that as any good parent, He is sitting back giggling to Himself knowing I don't have a clue.

This is merely the very beginning, hardly even having started out, looking over my shoulder and still being able to see where it is I began. This is where I must step out in faith and trust the plan and success in my life have already been divinely appointed. Now I am only required to follow the instructions that have been provided to find the prize that is still unknown.

Hmm, how much trust does it show when you try to hold to the inspiration of yesterday and not grab hold of what is being offered today? Today's lesson must be to remember to open my heart and my ears and my mind to hear the answer to the questions I have posed. I cannot help but think of the irritation I feel when asked a question and the petitioner does not remain to obtain the response. A query that is never answered because the requester was never open to the answer.

I know many people who ask God for answers, and refuse to open themselves to hear what He has to say. They claim to pray but do so without believing for the answer, or reject it because it is not what they want to hear. That is a road I have traveled and I can tell you it is a dead end. You will have to complete the five point turn (for those you who have seen me drive you know what this means) to accomplish the 180 degree u-turn required to go back and try again.

So today I will leave you with this. "You ask and do not receive, because you ask amiss, that you may spend it on your pleasures." James 4:3 NKJV Perhaps you just need to reconsider your motives for asking and He is just waiting for you to understand that He has purpose and wants you to listen to His solution.

The beginning of obedience

To those of you that live a spiritual Christian life you will certainly understand the challenge of becoming and living out obedience. For those of you who might have never heard of this I offer this to you for contemplation.

I believe that we will all agree that writing is a gift. I believe that writing is a gift that God has given me. It has laid dormant for several years from the effects of betrayal and hurt. Thankfully I have found forgiveness and healing that has reopened this gift to me.

In obedience to using this gift that I have been given. Today I begin this blog and pray to effect the Nations in my own way. I am beginning to understand my purpose and my gifts and how they relate to not only my life, but of the lives of those around me.

While I encourage any and all CONSTRUCTIVE criticism, please note that my faith will not be moved. I am truly hoping for those critics that will help me to develop my writing and that their thoughts will be those of developing my gift and not to tear down and destroy.

Blessings and peace be upon you.