The Dance

The last time I wrote, I shared what's been on my heart about it being a year when I really learn to do life my Father's way, instead of my way.  A week or so after I wrote that, I was having coffee with a friend and we got into a conversation about what it means to abide in Jesus...  to live life His way... to do nothing apart from Him.

We had a great conversation, but I continued to think it about long after we parted.  This week I want to share with you what has been on my heart regarding abiding in Christ.  This is the imagery that was so vivid to me...

I love to dance with Scott (my husband) more than anything!  I get so excited when we have a wedding, or some event, when I know there will be an open dance floor.  I don’t like the usual "young people (or "young at heart") dancing, but I love it when he takes me in his arms and leads me around the dance floor.  

In the moments, when I can forget myself and any self-conscience thought about others watching, I totally relax and the dance is effortless.  I feel so graceful (even though I’m not) and it’s so easy…  I’m completing trusting him and letting him guide me.  And it doesn’t take much to guide me, a slight shift in the direction of his shoulders, the change of the pressure of his hand on my back, the nudges are so subtle, no one else can see them, but it is so easy to follow him.  I don’t worry that we’ll run into anyone, no matter how crowded the dance floor is, because I trust him to guide me.  I go where he goes, my steps perfectly mirror his.  And the really cool thing is, I’ve been married to him so long, I’ve danced with him so many times, it just gets easier and easier because I know him so well and I care less and less what other people think! 

But over the years, there have been many times when I’ve remembered where we are and what we’re doing and I tense up and start worrying about getting it right.  It’s then that I trip over his feet, lose my step or cause us to run into someone.  In other words, I try to take over the leading and it becomes somewhat of a tug-a-war!  It’s awkward, uncomfortable and not so much fun anymore.

There is an interesting question though…  While Jesus is the one with the responsibility to lead, I am not without responsibility.  How do I live the life He’s called me to, without taking the lead?  When am I following His leading and when am I taking matters into my own hands?  I think the word that sums it up might be intent.  When I dance with Scott, I have to be intentional about letting him lead, I have to choose and then willingly submit to him.  I have to resist the urge to control our direction, or worry about the obstacles around us.    I have to pay attention and realize when I’ve taken over the dance and choose to follow again.  And if we dance often, his guidance becomes more and more natural and easy to follow.

And it's the same with abiding in Jesus...  the longer we dance with Him (abide) the easier it becomes to sense His guiding, His subtle nudges, His gentle shift in direction...  We can trust Him to lead us through life's obstacles and when we stumble, or try to take over, we don't have to leave the dance floor, we just have to relax back into His Spirit and let Him have the lead again...  every moment holds a choice, will I abide with my Savior?  Or will I take control and do it my way?

May this be a year we all learn to dance!

Blessings,

Sharla

Winter Storm Warning!!!

 

So, today we wake up to a warning for a 'major winter storm.'  If your children are anything like mine, there was much rejoicing.  When they were younger, they would use methods to ensure the coming of snow: putting spoons under their pillows, wearing their pjs inside out, flushing ice cubes down the toilet and repeating a snow chant -- yes, this is the cumulative wisdom garnered from the 8 year old sages at school.  On the other hand, parents are pulling out shovels, finding the 'big coats' and making sure there is enough food to last a day or two.

Yet, don't we do the same things in life.  We anticipate storms in our life and either look for the good or prepare for the worst.  For 'life storms' I would offer different advise: prepare for the storm and find the good.  Not to minimize the impact of storms (whether they be financial, relational, physical, et cetera) because I know that life storms can be some of the most brutal.  All I'm saying is whatever advanced preparation you can do (although occasionally time is part of the storm) may be helpful. 

Before my mother passed away from cancer, she had several bouts with that disease.  One thing I remember is 'wig day.'  When the day came that Mom needed to get a wig, my mother and her best friend had 'wig day.'  In the morning, they scouted out wig shops and shopped until they found the right one.  Then they went out and 'tested' it at lunch.  Don't get me wrong, there were still tears and it was not a 'happy go lucky' day but it was a way of making a very awful part of the storm bearable.  

Years later, I spoke with Mom's best friend and she told me that it was one of her hardest yet most embraced memories.  The other thing she told me is that from the time she left her house to pick up Mom and throughout they day, she prayed.  She didn't simply try to cover up the bad with a diversion, but put it into the hand of our loving God and knew He would walk beside them.

I don't know if you are facing a storm, in the middle of a storm or enjoying a time of peaceful breezes but from my experience with 'storms' I have learned a couple of things.  You can't avoid storms - you don't control life.   You can't pretend that a storm is not raging around you - you must walk into it with strength knowing God will guide your steps.  You can't obsess about the likelihood of a huge 'storm' coming - you can't predict what may or may not happen.  The biggest lesson of all: talk it over with God.  And I don't mean offer up lofty prayers with stilted holy language.  I mean pour yourself a cup of your favorite beverage (tea, coffee, juice, bubble water....), find a comfortable place (preferable private....audible conversation with God can be disconcerting to others) and have a conversation with God (actually speak to Him because he is in the room).  

May you find our God faithful in all your storms -- Cynthia

the potter & the clay

{via ceramicartsdaily.org}

part of isaiah 45:9 says "does the clay say to the potter 'what are you making?'" i love this verse. for better or worse i have always been the type of person who likes to see people get put in their place. more so when it is not me, and i think someone needs to be brought down a peg or two, but anyway, i think this verse [and many others] do just that. they put us in our place.

it's kind of like that snide little all-too-true remark that hits at just the right spot. "um, excuse me, does the clay talk? no? i didn't think so. and you're not the potter are you? huh, funny how that works…" okay, maybe i'm the only one who hears it that way, but most of the time it's because i need to hear it that way.

how many of us don't struggle with pride? with wanting to be in control? i struggle daily with these things. day in and day out i have to remind myself that life does not revolve around me. i am not the hero of the story. that part has already been cast, and it has already been played. and played infinitely better than the mess i would have made of it. 

sometimes i catch myself getting lost in the individualistic american dream. and i keep trying to find a way to reconcile it to what God wants for me. but if i'm being honest that can't really happen. the american dream puts all the marbles on being happy. by and large we think that being rich and having the best cars, and the best house, and being in love all the time will make us happy, but that is simply the clay telling the potter how it'll work best.

God tells us to love him with all of our selves, and to love our neighbors. the american dream puts me ahead of everyone else. it says you must sacrifice everything and everyone to get ahead for yourself. God's plan flips that paradigm upside-down. he says it's not about my comfort, or my house, or my car, or anything else except what he wants for me. 

i may sit on my haunches all day declaring to the maker that i'm a coffee mug, or a flower vase, but if he made me to be a wash basin it's going to be tough for anyone to drink coffee out of me, or stick flowers in me.

part of the american dream says that we all want to be somebody. we all want to matter. and usually we don't think of living a quiet life striving hard after God as a life that "matters." but "mattering" in the world's sense is entirely different from mattering to God. he created each one of us. he knit me together in my mother's womb. he knows me better than i know myself because he created every fiber of my being.

a wash basin works best when it's used for the purpose it was created - to wash. all too often i find myself questioning God because i think he doesn't know what matters, and he doesn't know what he's doing. all too often, i am the clay asking the potter what the heck he's doing.

and then he reminds me that he is in control. he is the creator, i am the created. and i function best when i'm on his side, and doing his work.

xo,

katie

My Wish For December 31, 2014

Most years, I seem to end the year with some kind of a theme on my heart for the coming year.  And over the years I've come to recognize that as the Spirit working in my heart.  It's never about fixing anything, it's always about growth...  One year the song, "Give Me Your Eyes," by Brandon Heath, captured my heart and that became my prayer for the year...  It was that year that I went to a garbage dump in Africa to meet mothers and grandmothers who went there to feed their children.  It was that year, more than ever before, that I began to see others with His eyes...  compassion and mercy grew.  One year He gently showed me where I was not living in freedom, and while that continues to be a daily journey, my heart soars more than ever before.  Another year it was about joy, that year was a year of healing and forgiveness...  I could go on and on...

But maybe, for the first time ever, it has been a deep conviction of sin that has brought me to my theme, my prayer and pursuit for 2014.

What God has been showing me is that, sadly, far too often the song that characterizes some areas of my life is "I Did It My Way."  The section of lyrics that really hit home are these... "I planned each charted course, each careful step along the byway.  And more, much more than this, I did it my way.  Yes, there were times, I'm sure you knew, when I bit off more than I could chew.  But through it all, when there was doubt, I ate it up and spit it out.  I faced it all, and I stood tall, and did it my way."

It's funny, this song doesn't characterize EVERY single area of my life, in fact, it's probably only overwhelmingly true of a few, but what God is showing me is that even if it's only true of ONE area, it impacts my relationship with Him and steals my joy and peace...  One bad apple really can spoil the bunch!

The bottom line is, God wants our best and as our Creator, He knows what is best.  Through His Word, He has given us principles and truths that reveal His way...  Through the Holy Spirit, just as Rick talked about, He will speak to our hearts and guide us in His way...  If we will surrender our lives to Him and commit to knowing and seeking Him and living His way, we will find our lives overflowing with peace, joy and all that comes from living the abundant life.

As I look forward to 2014, it is time to get some areas back on track...  I'm sure it won't be easy because there are consequences when I choose "my way"...  I'm sure I'll be tempted to give up and go back to "my way."  But I pray that on December 31, 2014, I will look back on 2014 with a smile, and with my heart full of joy and peace and deep gratitude (because it will be His grace that enables me, equips me and empowers me) and I will sing, "I Did It HIS Way."

Blessings in the New Year,
Sharla

Brrr…Brrr…wish I had fur!!!

That was a silly rhyme I used to say to my kids when we were at the bus stop and it was abnormally cold.  As teenagers, they are thrilled when I once again recite it (and they are especially over-joyed when their friends are around to hear it).

With the crazy cold weather about to hit, I am thinking about what I need to do to keep my pipes from freezing, make sure my kids dress appropriately and other 'cold related' tasks.  At the same time, I stop and think how blessed I am to have warm clothes and a house to retreat to -- which reminds me to be thankful for all the basic needs that God has provided me with.

As I am having that conversation with God, He reminds me that not everyone has it as good.  There are numerous homeless people, those without adequate heat and many who will suffer as a result of the cold.  Consequently, I redirect my prayers to include those that don't have as many benefits.

So, although wishing to have some fur to fight off the cold is silly, that small rhyme has reminded me of a couple of things:
- thankfulness for our blessings is important to our hearts
- intercession for others helps us have compassion

Ultimately, I have the opportunity to be a blessing as I have been blessed and it may be that an extreme weather pattern will give me that opportunity.  I am going to let the cold remind me to bring some warmth into another's life in the next day or two -- there is need all around me and I have been truly blessed.

With warmest thoughts - Cynthia

In the Fog

The other day Steve and I walked on the bluffs above the beach, and he took this photo. I like it because of the fog. I've always loved fog, at least the physical, cloudy stuff. But mental and spiritual fog I don't care for much. When I first came to know the Lord, my mind was clouded with confusion, doubt, bitterness and uncertainty. Fog can exaggerate some things and camouflauge others. Objects hide in the mist. This was the way my soul felt when I began to read God's word and understand his ways - I needed a lot of help clarifying the parameters of my thinking.  Slowly, he set my thoughts in order, gave me a sense of perspective. As Kathryn mentioned in her post last week, an eternal perspective.

One thing I've learned from living by the ocean most of my life is that sunshine burns away fog. When the day warms up, the clouds usually dissipate. Sometimes we go along and run into a spiritual fog bank. This can happen to even the oldest Christians, and not necessarily because of some wrongdoing - often the trials of life simply leave us not knowing for sure which direction to take.

I am so thankful that we can trust God even when we don't fully understand what is happening in our lives. Paul tells us in Colossians 3 to focus on things above - on things eternal. In eternity I don't think there will be any fog - just the shining light of God's love.

I miss you all - and pray you have a blessed new year - Barbara

Last one for Kathryn

This is my last Vine Life blog post.

I need to say "no" to some good things - like this blog - to say "yes" to the best things.

I need to focus on strengthening my relationship with Tom, my husband. Twenty years into our marriage, I am still learning how to love. I am thankful for Tom's integrity and determination, Biblical marriage counseling, and God's promise to complete His work in us. I want to do my part in protecting and building our marriage.

I have heard the pastors of StoneBridge mention several times recently that some marriages in our church are really suffering. I have been praying a lot about that. Now I need to do something to strengthen my own marriage. Ladies, I would encourage you to do the same. Pray for the marriages of our church! Pray for your own marriage (if you are married). And obey God in whatever He tells you as you pray.

For me and Tom, there's no crisis. We're just a mess and always have been. A long time ago someone told us that Tom and I share a conscientiousness and an eternal perspective that have held us together. Praise God. I'd just like more of the glue holding us together to be fun memories, holding hands, walking the dog together, and serving in the Kingdom side by side.

So it's time for more of that. And it will happen according to His grace.

- Kathryn Truden




P.S. I have really enjoyed contributing to this blog! I hope you all will continue to read the musings of your sisters in Christ. They encourage me so much.