Shaking

At 3:20 am on Sunday, Steve and I woke up to a jolt. Our bed was shaking and the doors were rattling. Earthquake! I declared, sitting up in bed. I walked through the house, but detected no damage. Our main concern was a tidal wave, as we live about 2 blocks from the beach. When there is a tidal wave, a loudspeaker announces it and there is a loud siren. I know this because they do a drill on the first Wednesday of every month at 10:00 am. I didn't hear a siren or a loudspeaker telling me to run for my life, so we went back to sleep. 

I’ve lived through lots of earthquakes, so they don’t scare me too much. When I first moved to North Carolina, the thunderstorms scared me, but after experiencing many of them, they didn’t scare me either.

Life is full of surprises that are often frightening, trying or painful. Difficult changes require flexibility and optimism, but after we learn to face challenges in faith, we have a much greater tolerance for life’s hurdles. So that eventually we can say, like Paul, in Romans 5, “. . . we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.”

I’m still not hoping for another earthquake to wake me up, though!

Barbara

Life & My GPS

I am one of the most directionally challenged people you might ever meet.  I rarely go somewhere new that I don't also have to ask my GPS to take me home too!  But one thing that is so hard for me, when it comes to following my GPS, is that it only shows me the next turn!  I want to see the whole route to my destination!  I want to be able to alter the course, if I don't like the way it's taking me.  But it has occurred to me more than once, that's exactly the same thing I struggle with in day to day life, when it comes to following Jesus!

I want to know God's will for my life, I want to obey Him, I want to fulfill my calling, my purpose, but I want it all now and I want to know exactly how I'm going to get there.  But rarely does God work like that...  He calls us to live this life one day, one step at a time.  He shows us the next turn, but rarely beyond that.

But here's what I'm learning...  every step in life has a purpose, every turn He directs us to, is leading us closer to and preparing us for another part of the journey.

So what does that mean for right now?  Are you struggling to know your calling/purpose?  Are you frustrated because you think you should be doing more with your gifts?  Do you feel like what you're doing is small and insignificant?

Let me suggest that you change your lens for how you view your life...  Nothing in God's plan is small and insignificant, no part of the journey is less important than another.  The people you encounter each day along the way are part of your purpose.  Don't be so focused on what's to come that you miss the opportunities that are right in front of you to bless others and to show the love of Jesus to them.

Instead of worrying and fretting about what comes after the next turn, live this part of the journey to the fullest.  "So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God." 1 Corinthians 10:31.  You never know how God will use the lessons and experiences of today to prepare you for what He has for you someday.

Happy journeying,
Sharla

elusive contentment

{found via pinterest}

we are supposed to be content with what we have. we are supposed to be content whatever our lot is in life. we are supposed to do a lot of things. and honestly? i come up short in the vast majority of the "supposed to"s. i also know that we're kind of supposed to come up short because we can't do it on our own. we are broken people. we are born broken. [if i ever doubted this before, i look at my 21 month old, and no longer doubt...]

and to top off the fact that we try to do it all on our own and get frustrated when we cannot, and only when we're completely unraveled do we come back to God and ask him to fix it, to fix us, to weave our unraveled mess back together; to top it all off, we live in a culture that could easily define itself as the antithesis of contentment.

have you noticed that they started selling bathing suits in what? march? that back to school supplies make their way onto the shelves of stores on july 5th? that fall clothes will pop up as soon as august hits [if not before]? that back-to-school gives way to halloween shortly thereafter, and then christmas decorations come out even before the halloween paraphernalia makes its exit? magazines send out the issue for the next month when you've hardly entered the one before.

we are constantly pushed toward what's next. we are constantly encouraged to move on to the next thing. to strive for more, and to strive for what's coming instead of taking the time to enjoy the thing we strived for moments earlier.

we live inside the antithesis of contentment.

and yet we are called to be content whatever our circumstances. we love and serve a God who says "my timing is perfect" and that timing doesn't always match up with our own. we love and serve a God who sometimes calms the storm, and sometimes calms the child while the storm rages on. it is hard to stay content when we want something counter to the plan God has for us. but he calls the shots because he is actually in control. we are not.

and in my limited experience things tend to go a little bit better if we go with his plan instead of trying to come up with a better one ourselves.

contentment is a struggle, yes. contentment eludes us. but God does not elude us.

too often we feel we have to figure it all out, and then go to God. i often feel lost and wonder - where does God want me to be?

a wise woman once told me: "God wants you at the center of his will more than you want to be there."

God is not all about tricking us. he wants us to follow him even more than we want to follow him. he wants what is best for us even more than we want what is best for ourselves.

so breathe, and be content with that.
God wants you at the center of his will more than you want to be there.

xo,

katie

Give Poetry a Chance!

OK, so we've all been burned by studying poetry in some English class where we had to analyze "Ode to a Grecian Urn" or explain some obscure Shakespearean sonnet (PS - I don't speak Elizabethan English).  If you're like me, it kinda makes you give up on poetry -- such a bizarre art form that is more trouble than it's worth.

Yet over the years friends have shared poems with me that are particularly moving and impactful - in times of joy, struggle and sorrow.  Surprisingly, I have found many poems quite compelling and comforting.  One of my favorites is by Wendell Berry:

The Peace of Wild Things

When despair for the world grows in me
and I wake in the night at the least sound
in fear of what my life and my children's lives may be,
I go and lie down where the wood drake
rests in his beauty on the water, and the great heron feeds.
I come into the peace of wild things
who do not tax their lives with forethought
of grief. I come into the presence of still water.
And I feel above me the day-blind stars
waiting with their light. For a time
I rest in the grace of the world, and am free.

— Wendell Berry 

As I found my own personal renaissance with poetry as an art form, God reminded me that poetry is used throughout scripture to communicate His truth and love.  Because God is so Holy and so Other, it makes sense that poetry communicates something about Him that is outside of our common use of language.

Poetry is all around us - beauty in words, language, experience and intense emotion.  Through poetry, I have found the truth of another idea expressed by Henry Miller, "Art teaches nothing, except the significance of life."  God gave us art (even the odd form of poetry) as a way of getting past the practical and pedantic parts of life and helping us find the significance of our existence.

Glad that I gave poetry a chance, I am affectionately yours - Cynthia   

Shouldn't Good Count For Something?!

Last week I was out running errands with Abby, our 12 year old daughter, and we pulled up to the Dairy Queen for a treat.  And right behind me was a policeman, lights flashing, he even blocked me so I couldn't make a run for it!  I wanted to laugh out loud... a middle aged mom, with her daughter in the front seat, driving a Terrain...  yep, a real threat!

 

I knew for sure I hadn't been speeding (I saw him when I passed him and double checked my speed)...  The light was green when I turned, what on earth was the problem?  And EVERYONE was staring!!  A little girl even stood eating her ice cream riveted through the whole thing!  Turns out my tag was expired and somehow, when we bought our car last year, it never transferred properly in the system, so we never got a notice about renewing the tag.

 

I was so frustrated...  I am a good driver...  nothing on my record...  careful, no accidents...  I go to church...  I volunteer...  I... I... I...  shouldn't good behavior count for something?  But when I go before the judge in September (yep, have to go to court), all my good deeds and good behaviors won't matter...  it won't even matter that the DMV messed up...  I was in violation of the law.  I think my best plan will be to just own it with the judge and pay the fine.

 

But as I considered all that, it occurred to me, someday in the future, I will have to stand before THE Judge, and on that day, none of my good deeds or good behavior will matter either...  I would be guilty as charged...  BUT God, rich in mercy, while I was still a sinner, gave His Son for me...  And because of what HIS Son Jesus did, He will pour out His mercy on me and I will owe NOTHING for my sins, because they've all been paid for!

 

The fine that I will have to pay when I go to court will be small compared to what God demands as payment for our sins and I am so thankful that my Savior declared that my debt has been paid in full!  

Grateful,

Sharla

lumps of coal

a few days ago i was looking through my phone for music, and came across an album that i hadn't listened to in a while. so, i had a listen, and came back across a song that i love: plumb's "nice, naive, and beautiful." if you've never heard it you can have a listen:

the end of this song is the part i think of and sing over and over every time i hear it. 

if you've been there you know

if you're still there hang on

we're all dealt our lumps of coal

what you do with it can turn beautiful

well there's a life outside of your madness

and there's a face behind every scar

but there's a love overflowing with gladness

get out of that place that's restraining your love.

there is a beautiful truth to that - and in that sense the name of the album is apt. beautiful lumps of coal.

we all have something to deal with in our lives. we are all broken people. our humanness means that we are broken. those two things go hand in hand. but it's the next line -- yes, we all have our lumps of coal; we are each dealt a share of "stuff," but it's the part about what you do with it. that is the beautiful part. coal is ugly and dirty. there is a reason why "naughty" children get coal from santa at christmas.

but it doesn't have to stay ugly and dirty. it can be refined. and redeemed. we can be refined and redeemed. too often i miss that on a daily basis. i forget that i have been redeemed. i forget that i'm in the process of being sanctified.

the other piece of this is the reminder that there is a face behind every scar. we have to stop looking at people and getting scared off by the scars. we all have them - visible or invisible. we need to stop acting like we don't. and more than that, today and everyday we need to remember the love that's overflowing with gladness.

get out of that place that's restraining your love.

xo,

katie

Takin' my own advice....

Very often when my children, friends, mentees (is that even a word?) and others tell me they are stressed out, I ask about the commitments they have made.  When my children were in grade school, I felt that if my children were involved (church, sports, school, social activities) I needed to volunteer or be involved.  You can see where this is going.  I was totally stressed out by running around trying to be super-woman (e.g. - tutoring, class-momming, cub scout coordinating, teaching, craft doing, mentoring, meal making, et cetera) -  you get the picture.  God let me know that a need doesn't constitute a call and life needs margins to be lived well.  It's been said before and more often than not when God was speaking to me it was the lips of my husband and friends that were moving.  Consequently, I often advised others regarding that lesson I had learned.

Over the past several months I've gone through a period of time when I over-committed my time - in a big way.  After I emerged from the harried malaise, I looked back and realized that I did exactly what I have done at various points in my life.  I have a very bad habit of over committing.  But why is this a bad thing?  Well, having an over scheduled life prevents me from taking the time to have that extra cup of coffee with a struggling friend, sitting with my kids and catching up, being available for someone in need.  Most importantly, it prevents me from keeping in touch with the Holy Spirit.  When I am so consumed with my to-do list, my focus shifts from listening and looking for God to concentrating on 'what's next.'

Each of us has a tendency toward behaviors that keep us from God.  Whether it is being overly-committed or overly-lazy, both distract us from seeking God throughout the day.  Our lives are His but when we are too lazy to look for Him or too distracted to pay attention, we are no longer the salt and light Jesus asks us to be.  It's an ongoing process and as disciples of Christ a process we must continually work through.

Takin' my own advice - Cynthia