Survival Vs. Living

Are you surviving today?  Or are you living?  It's not a question of semantics but a deep down heart-felt question.  This weekend we went to see the Academy Award Best Picture "Twelve Years A Slave".  Heavy movie.  Be ready for heartache, deep issues of evil in the heart of man and ending with tears mixed with joy and sadness.  A statement made by the lead actor left an impression on my mind.  Solomon, a free man in the north (of USA) is kidnapped and sold into slavery (human trafficking is not new).  Early into this horrific journey he is about to face, he is challenged by another slave to be tough, keep his head down and "survive".  Solomon, in a state of bewilderment and shock at what has happened to him lifts his head and says, "I don't want to survive, I want to live."  Profound.

Egypt was a place of survival and death.  Egypt was where baby Moses was found floating in the Nile, placed there to escape the death sentence of all the male babies.  God then uses this same land as a place where baby Jesus and his parents found refuge the first years of Jesus' life.  A place of death became a place of survival, which led to life.   Interestingly, life changing ministries came out of this place from the lives of these two men.

Scholars differ but the general thinking is Jesus spent around two or three years of his early childhood in Egypt, before returning home after King Herod died (around 4 B.C.).  He and his family were surviving in Egypt.

During this period of "survival" Jesus most likely....

**learned how to walk

**learned to eat with a spoon by himself

**learned to talk

**began to recognize his earthly father and mother

**became attached to his earthy family and developed relationships with them....his early "community"

Places of survival can be places of learning and preparation.  And, they can be transformed into places of life.  Places meant for death can be transformed into life. 

Today, whatever season you or I are in, let's ask God to birth life out of it.  If you feel you are just surviving, barely able to keep your head above water, wondering how you got here in the first place when all you did was take steps of obedience,  let's trust God to bring life out of our Egypt.  Open our eyes to what God is doing in our Egypt - perhaps teaching us something valuable to use later on down the road.  We don't want to survive, we WANT TO LIVE! 

"Lord, in places that once meant death, or seem like death to us, we trust You to bring forth life.  Today, increase my faith in a place that seems to be dying, YOU will cause life to spring forth." 
(prayer from the devotional below)

(Some of my thoughts came from my devotional reading today; a wonderful Lent devotional that is free to download.  Even though Lent is the time period 40 days before Easter, this devotional has 17 days of devotions, so if you begin now or even miss a day or two, there is plenty of time to catch up before Easter.  Enjoy because this is powerful stuff!  Thanks to Ann Voskamp!

http://www.aholyexperience.com/2012/02/what-lent-really-means-free-easter-devotional-book-to-make-a-jesus-easter-tree/

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Where Do The Birds Go?

Firstly, where did I go?  I'm still here, just my energies concentrating on other areas as winter winds down.

taxes
insurance
cleaning
catching up on month-long paperwork
paying bills
sending out newsletter
getting over illnesses from travel
catching up with family

and...

shopping for a wedding dress
finding a caterer
reviewing options for decorations
looking at flowers
invitation decisions

Yes, I am a mother of the bride!  Since returning the beginning of February, the realization has set in that the bulk of the months of 2014 will be wedding preparation (for my daughter and I, at least).  So, if I only write once in a while, you will know why and where I am, more or less.

And I hope to be "where the birds go".  This morning I woke up to pounding rain and a windstorm that threatens to be an all day long event. I enjoyed my morning ritual of Bible, coffee and watching the birds at our birdhouse out our window

Okay, not my birdhouse, I just can't find my photo of mine...lost in my files :)

Only today, there were no birds to be seen.  Rain pelting the window and wind whipping the trees, I wondered "where do the birds go when it rains and is so windy?"  

"How priceless (exquisite) is your love, O God. How eager we are to run under your wings."

Psalm 36:7

"Be good to me, O God; I run to you for dear life. I'm hiding out under your wings until the hurricane blows over."  Psalm 57:1  (The Message Bible)

Birds, like us, know when to run for shelter.  To a momma or daddy bird to cover them; to the cleft of a rock for protection or the branch of a tree for shelter 

We, like our fine feathered friends, also run for shelter in the storms or the seasons of ultra-busyness.  Like birds, doesn't mean we are weak, just shows we are smart.  Hopefully, we know the best place to go to be protected and to receive strength.  So when the rain and wind passes, and the sun comes out again (which is always does), we are replenished and rested to continue.  Take heart, we will see the sun again.  This winter and season will soon be over.  The birds know this to be true.  I know where the birds go...and where I plan to go when things get tough.

"And those who wait upon God will get fresh strength.  They spread their wings and soar like eagles."  Isaiah 40:31

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Pausing, Pondering and the Past

I am holding my favorite coffee cup, the steam rising, watching the snow gently fall with a sense of peace enveloping my moment.  I am resting.  Recouping my strength after a four-week, four-country ministry trip.  Internet access was sketchy which is why I dropped off the radar.  In the quiet, I am reminded....

A couple of weeks ago I spent two and a half hours walking through 6,000 years of history - Armenian history.  Looking at ancient maps, walking amongst broken pottery, rudimentary tools & weapons formed 12 millennia before Christ tends to make you feel just a little bit small in this universe.  I kept thinking, “These were lives lived and died; struggling just to survive; souls created by God living thousands of years ago.”  My mind was whirling as I imagined  them discovering how they could dig out rocks, stones and metals and make a weapon...or a shovel...or even a spoon. When did they realize they needed a lid for a pot?  Even to view the progression of tools, jewelry, eating utensils and dishes over the millenniums was astounding. Their first cart with a wooden wheel made transporting so much easier.   A display held the “first shoe” ever discovered in the world....animal skins/leather formed to fit a foot to protect it from the rocky soil.

 Walking through the halls, we edged further into history, rounding the corner of the ages to when Christ was born.  That first century.  Looking at history being lived out while Jesus walked in Palestine.  The same type of crude dish he may have eaten from; the jewelry worn by women of the day, and yes, again, the weapons used to further man’s struggle for power and their kingdoms.  Over and over again, men fighting for their beliefs, their people.  So many wars, battles and conquests of ancient lands.

Our journey took us from viewing “idols” and ritual altars to the first churches.  The buildings housed for new beliefs. Thaddeus and Bartholomew were the apostles who came to Armenia in that first century after Christ. Christianity being declared the official religion of Armenia in 301 AD.   (St.) Gregory having been imprisoned for years, shared his faith with King Tiradates III and officially introduced Christianity to Armenia.  The alphabet for the Armenian language was written around 387 AD, so the Bible could be written in a language uniting the regions, culture and people of Armenia.

Kings and queens evolving into the presidents and prime ministers of current history.  Deciding what to do with “the Armenians” ? The horrific genocide of the Armenian peoples in 1915 - 1918 from the hands of the Ottoman Empire.  Boundaries shifted, peoples displaced and exterminated.  A quote from someone in the Ottoman leadership “No Armenian people, No Armenian question.”  A black tragedy in the history of this incredible nation and still very much remembered today.  A friend told me “it is the identity of the Armenians...this genocide...it is who they are...their history.”

 Rounding the last corner into more recent days....World War II,  Stalin, the “liberation” of Armenia by the Russians, Armenia the Republic, the Iron Curtain and communism.  Culminating in the nineties, the fall of the curtain and the independence of the “republics” and Eastern Europe.

My mind was reeling from 6,000 years of history and a people I have grown to love. I felt like I was in a time warp.  Walking the snow covered streets passing adults and children enjoying the afternoon in an ice skating rink, I was transported back to 2014.  Grabbing some Armenian “fast food” (schwarma - similar to a Greek gyro) we hurried to get to a meeting on time where we were privileged to be teaching God’s Word to young, hungry hearts.

I sat and listened to the testimony of a young Armenian woman whom three years ago discovered how much this God of creation loves her.  Her past struggles of survival and rejection in a world that did not recognize her beautiful life and soul.  I was reminded in the vast expanse of thousands of years preceding my own existence...all those lives and history I just walked through, God has never changed.  He has always loved mankind - through the struggles, wars, genocides and our constant turning away.  I looked at stone idols set up through the centuries.  No wonder God got angry in the Old Testament with idols.  His beautiful creation, His awesome world, the stones He created being made into something to worship when HE and HE alone should be the “worshipped One”.  He isn’t sitting in a museum somewhere, cold, grey and forgotten.

As Alisa shared her story of God’s love and forgiveness, her own heart and life being set free when she discovered His fatherheart towards her, my heart rested in knowing that in thousands and thousands of years of history what still matters most is God loving us. Jesus coming for us. Forgiveness. Redemption.  Reconciliation.  Relationship. Freedom.  HE was there in the beginning and HE will be there at the end.

Proverbs 8: 22-31 puts this into perspective :)

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Grace, Thankfulness, Day by Day

New Year, new week, new word....living day by day.  I started a new devotional which is based off a best seller.  I have wanted to read this book for some time, and came across her devotional.  Day to day suits me right now.

I have a birdhouse right out my bedroom window and as I am having my devotions each morning, I see the tiny sparrows alighting and eating.  Yes, this is for me right now :)  It's all about grace and thankfulness in each day.  In every moment.  Day by day.

Just a few thoughts...and I am quoting Ann Voskamp :

"Eve's thanklessness for all God does give and her resentfulness of the one fruit He doesn't give, this is the catalyst of the fall."  In typing this, I realized I read it wrong the first time; I read her 'restlessness of the one fruit'.  Still rather fits, I think.

"Our fall is always a failure to give thanks."

"All the wickedness in the world begins with an act of forgetting."  (Mark Buchanan)

In the proverbial nutshell - When we FORGET, we don't THANK GOD.  Paul begins his letter to the Romans with "First, I thank my God..."  Romans 1:8

Thankfulness.

Day by Day.

Not forgetting.  God tells the Israelites OFTEN to write it down, write it down, write it down, lest they FORGET.  This is why.

I love journaling.  Going to do it even more this year.  Day by day.  Lest I forget.  Not a difficult thing.  I can do this. Not just in November.  Day by day.

In the mess of the day....in the busyness of getting ready for a month of intense ministry....in the joys and in the struggles.

"First, I thank my God...."

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2014 One Day At A Time

2014...Wow!  Not sure how this year snuck up on me but here it is staring me in the face and I am expected to "welcome" it.  I do welcome the year, with open arms, but I kind of feel like when you open your door to a guest, knowing they were coming, but they showed up an hour early.  "Hi, come on in; I'm not quite ready, but have a seat, I'll only be a minute."  So, as soon as I wipe the shocked look off my face and gather my thoughts, those arms will open wide and 'come on in 2014'

I always look forward to a new year.  New beginnings.  New goals.  New ideas, plans and visions.  A fresh page to write on.  Leaving the past behind and moving on to the new.  But when that clock struck 12:00 a.m. January 1, 2014, my book hadn't opened to that first page....yet.

Closing off 2013 was not as easy as past years for me.  Disappointments, unfulfilled expectations, and the realization that I did not accomplish all I had set out to do in these last 12 months. Some things I could control and others totally out of my hands.  Not a terrible year, but one I would like to let go of and move on.   And yet, in the middle of each and every moment of those 365 days, God was right there, holding, supporting, encouraging and making his presence known when I stopped long enough to acknowledge Him and His truth in my life.

Sometimes the "big picture" and the "visions and plans for the year" can overshadow the moment of each day and we, or I, can get overwhelmed.  I love plans, goals and writing down those resolutions for the new year.  However, when you look back and see what you didn't do, the to-do list for the coming months can become disheartening.  Not necessarily fresh to-do, but the same things which hadn't yet quite reached completion.

But in the early hours of a brand new year, God shows up and reminds me not of what I DIDN'T DO in 2013, but WHAT HE DID.  He reminds me of His goodness and faithfulness.  His constant companionship, even when we don't "feel" it.  His plans according to His timetable.  His day-to-day friendship, which by the way, is the life source of which all my/our plans should flow.

Day-to-day.  One day at a time.  One dream at a time.  One moment at a time of His goodness being revealed to me, so that when I look back, my days are literally overflowing with dreams, plans and desires being fulfilled....one day at a time.  Seriously, friends, if I look at the year in total, it kind of scares me.  But if I take today, and then tomorrow, and the next day, life gets done.

A month-long ministry trip ahead, continued support-raising for the life He has called us into, one still in college, and one returning; one living her life thousands of miles away,  And our newest exciting news of the year, our youngest daughter getting married in August!  Just the wedding plans can intimidate me :)  Heart dreams....writing...teaching....photography....big deep breath.

Jesus is calling me to...

One   Day   At   A   Time

One day at a time....to rest in Him; enjoy Him; walk, talk, dream with Him; feed on His Word...one day at a time.  One day at a time.....to enjoy family.  One day at a time....to give to others....feed others....give time, energy, resources, life to others.  

One day at a time....BEGINNING and ENDING WITH HIM.  I can't go wrong with that.  I won't wear myself out.   I won't become overwhelmed.  One day at a time...to dream. I can still plan, still write down ideas and visions....but the tackling of them is.....one day at a time.

This post is probably not 'practical' with a lot of how-to's in setting up your year; yeah!  I don't need practical right now, I need breathing room, space to dream and think through ideas, time to process and take on only today.

JOY awaits us in 2014.....that I firmly believe is my WORD for the year from the heart of GOD.  

My friends, let's not just "do" 2014, let's plan, dream, hope, rest and live

one  day  at  a  time

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God Has It Covered

Recently I have been hoping for someone.  Carrying a burden for a loved one.  Believing, trusting, praying.  Grabbing onto those Words meant to give us hope.  

Cast all your cares on Him.

Take My yoke upon you, for My burden is light.

Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding.

It has been a year of walking in someone else's skin and believing God to come through for them.  Hoping, hoping, hoping.  And seemingly down that road of obedience, there was disappointment, mislaid trust, unrealized dreams.  My well of hope, their well of hope was running pretty dry.

At one point, I came upon a realization, "I don't know how to hope any more." Where do I go for hope when the Place and Person I was going to seemingly isn't listening?  Seriously, I don't remember a time in my life when I felt so incredibly hopeless in my walk of faith. This just wasn't me wanting to inspire hope within my spirit, but someone I cared about.  There are many years of faith under my belt and this was something quite foreign for me.  Hope always remained on the forefront of my heart.....something I knew would take me to the next level of my life.  Where do you go when the ache in your heart has found a home and will not leave?

On a walk a few weeks ago, one of these times of looking towards heaven and asking Him...where in the world...in my world....are You?  A quiet walk.  A lonely walk.  I came back not with many answers, but a deep sense of

I cannot GIVE UP........because.......

HE does not GIVE UP

I had no new answers....no new hope, per say.....but all I KNEW was despite circumstances, despite what I "felt", and no new words of encouragement to give someone, GOD was still in control and does not give up.

Last week, as I was sitting quietly with my Bible on my lap, once again just listening.....a sparrow flew up and sat on the edge of my birdhouse.  And yes, HE spoke....."never fear, as I take care of them, I take care of you and all you care about."

A few days later our pastor shared his story of the very early hours one morning that week, a sparrow landed on his window sill and God spoke to Him of taking care of him and being very aware of his burdens.  As tears welled up in my eyes, once again a seed of hope entered my heart. It was growing!  God kept a little bird busy that morning....just for me.....just for you.

As I drove home from church that same day, waiting at a stop light, I was talking to God again of my heart.  My eyes were drawn to the writing of the license plate on the car ahead of me... "No Worries" - I love it because that is the way the Aussies of my husband's family express that it's not really a big deal. Okay....nice; then....the bottom of the license plate revealed a bigger slam/bang......"GOD HAS IT COVERED".   

Despite theology of how and when God speaks....I KNEW He spoke that very moment to a wounded spirit in the process of being restored.  My heart was overwhelmed.  I do not give up....because HE does not give up.  He is aware and He cares. Yours and my burden is not too big and you know what....He really does see farther down that road than I do.  

I am seeing hope rebirthed in my heart....in the heart of loved ones, as He arranges circumstances and our lives according to His purposes and plan.  He never left me during my "questioning" period or in my despair, He was holding my hand and asking me to relax, trust and hang onto a simple thread of hope.

Lessons were and are being learned, faith is strengthened, hope is being restored and a deeper level of trust is emerging.  Not easy, painful, dark much of the time, but one thing I know in the "in-between" and "waiting" times, if we hang on, we WILL SEE in His timing

HE

HAS 

IT 

COVERED

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He Determines My Steps

Oh my, it has been awhile....life happened and besides not blogging, I have hardly touched my camera or computer to write.  The months sped by and here November is peeking his head into my life and reminding me the holidays and quite possibly "the busiest time of the year" is upon us.  No worries...we'll grab that turkey by the horns (or is it "grab the bull by the horns") and keep moving.  I was reminded this morning of a post I did quite awhile back and it needed reposting.  Possibly for me more than anyone.   Enjoy and I will be back.... :)

SEEING BEYOND THE FOG

Driving down the road in the early morning yesterday, I was enveloped in fog.  I was amazed that I really couldn't see much except the grey concrete in front of me with the yellow stripe down the center.  I knew if I stayed in the lane to the right of the yellow line, all would be well.  It reminded me of a camping trip our family took two summers ago and I wanted to share it...as it also reminded me of a conversation I had recently with a good friend.


Our family went on this camping trip mainly because we missed doing them.  The kids are nearly all grown and a couple of them convinced us we needed to do it again before they were all busy with their lives and it wouldn't be as easy.  Plus our oldest daughter had returned from a year in London and she missed the great outdoors of the Pacific Northwest (that was nice to hear :)


Our biggest draw was Crater Lake...having lived in Oregon for so many years and we had never visited.  So my husband, myself and the two still at home went down on a Thursday evening, the others joining us when they finished work on Friday.  We found the perfect spot right on the river, outside of Crater Lake National Park, and everything about the area made this camping experience one of our best as a family.  The four of us decided to take a day trip up to the crater and then bring the others the next day when they arrived.  


Friday dawned cloudy and we headed out.  By the time we got up on top of the mountain, we were able to get some good photos, but soon were enveloped in clouds and fog.  We figured this was alright as we were still going to be there for 3 more days and the weather was sure to improve (we hoped!).  We opted to drive at least half-way around the crater and then do a hike.  As we drove on this very narrow road, we were surrounded by thick fog and clouds.  You could see the lake a bit, but on the other side, only fog.  It was eerie to be driving slowly along and not knowing what was on our left side.  We turned around because we knew we would be driving again the next day and hopefully see more.  Now, I am in the passenger seat on the right side staring at white fog, wondering what the view would be like. We did take our hike that day, staying strictly on the path, passing others doing the same, and found sunshine further down the mountain.


Saturday dawned beautiful and sunny and we ventured up to the crater...all 6 of us.  What a difference!  It was gorgeous!!  Bright blue sky, and the most incredible blue lake, with that famous island in the center.  We went nuts with photos.  But what surprised us most was what was on the other side of that road...nearly a drop off!  A beautiful forested valley....way way way down below!  Even as we drove further, I gripped the handle on the door as it was a bit disconcerting being so close to the edge.


What struck me then (and yesterday) is there are times we find ourselves in a "fog" of sorts, not knowing or seeing what God is saying to us.  We started out on a path in obedience to His word to us, understanding our way.  When sometimes suddenly, sometimes not so suddenly, we only see the road in front of us, a few steps ahead perhaps. We don't see beyond that - too much fog. But this I know...and the two experiences gave me a visual...if I stay on the right path of His last word to me, I will get through the fog and find the sunshine again.  If I get scared or try to find my way by deviating off the road, who knows what is there...maybe a drop off - of which could really delay me!  I walk this road of faith knowing the One who is directing me, if I just stay on His path and try not to make my own road. Not always easy, but more often than not, I just need to relax and let Him do the driving.

Proverbs 16:9 says "In his heart a man plans his course, but the Lord determines his steps."  I love that I can plan my way, and if my heart is really geared towards Him, he will determine those steps and direct them to His will for my life.


So, today my friends, if you find yourself in a fog...or your circumstances don't seem to let you get too far down the road, remember He can and will determine your steps and....the sun is out there waiting to break through! 

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