Too Many Voices

Last night I was introduced to the game Heads Up.  If you are unfamiliar with this game, one individual will hold a tablet without looking at the screen, while others on the team try to give clues to the words that appear.  With approximately 10 people on our team, voices got loud trying to communicate the best way possible to the individual doing the guessing.  There was one big problem in the game, there were 9 loud voices all talking at once, all trying to get the attention of our guessing teammate.

Isn't that like life?  There are so many things vying for our attention. Some good, some not so good, some better, and of course there is the best, but with all the noise, sometimes it is difficult to differentiate the voices.  What are the things that distract us in our every day life?  Do we allow work, school, television, social media, friends, sports etc to drown out that which is the best for us?  It isn't that these things are wrong, it isn't that they aren't good, but when we allow something to take too much of our time, when we allow even good things to drown out the best thing, in the end, we lose out.

"Come to me with your ears wide open. Listen, and you will find life.  I will make an everlasting covenant with you. I will give you all the unfailing love I promised to David."  Isaiah 55:3 NLT

When I first read this verse, I wondered how I could listen with closed ears, but I have come to realize that it is so very easy to allow my mind to get distracted from what is going on all around me. I can be thinking of things from yesterday, or things to do tomorrow, and I am not present in the here and now focusing on listening to the correct voices.  Life itself can get so exhausting that I simply check out mentally, just wanting to be entertained.  Who wants to actively listen?

"Then Jesus said, "Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest."  Matthew 11:28 NLT

Who are you listening to today?  In the midst off all the noise, can you hear the voice of the One who is calling you into a loving relationship with Himself? What good things, what better things are drowning out the Best thing, the Best One for us all?

"let the wise listen and add to their learning, and let the discerning get guidance - " Proverbs 1:5 NIV

I don't know about you, but I know I need to practice more listening to the One who loves me.

Don't Think About It

Do me a favor and don't think about the shoes you are wearing today.  Don't think about what color they are, whether brown, black, or red. Oh a shiny red pair would look stunning with a cute little black dress, wouldn't they?  Don't think about whether they are flats or heels. Don't think about whether they are tennis shoes, golf shoes, or sandals.  Don't think about whether they are cute and comfortable, or gorgeous and feet killers.  Whatever you do, do not think about your shoes. Okay?

Now after reading all of that, how many of you actually did not focus on your shoes?  How easy was it to follow my directions?  Well, had you thought about how great your hair turned out today, best hair day yet, and tuned out the part about the shoes then it would have been a lot easier to forget about ..... oh wait what was it I wasn't supposed to be thinking about?????

It can be so difficult to stop ourselves from dwelling on a situation because it is so important to us at the moment, that job interview, that unpaid bill, the test results from the doctor's office. You name it, we can tend to allow things to overtake our lives. How many times have we heard the cliche, "Let Go and Let God"? It can be really tough sometimes.  The harder we try not to focus on something the more it is in our minds unless we do one important thing, Replace It!

Paul told us in Philippians 4:8, "Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable - if anything is excellent or praiseworthy - think about such things."  So when we are faced with uncertainty and tempted to worry about something, or to allow that thing to steal our joy, we need to take a look at Paul's list and see just where it fits.  If it's not on the list, then forget about it.

A few weeks ago I had to do something I really didn't want to do. I was nervous of the outcome and just wanted it done.  On the way there, I was tempted to pray more, asking God to allow everything fall into place without any difficulties, but that would still have  kept me focused on the situation.  Instead of focusing on me, I decided to spend some time talking to God about a friend's situation. I had the opportunity to go bold to the throne on behalf of my friend and her family, and doing so calmed my nerves and kept my mind off the situation.  I replaced my thoughts with better thoughts.  Praying for my friend and her family definitely fits into Paul's list.  Don't you think?

Is it easy to take our focus off our situation? No, but it is God who tells us to do it. Sometimes it is difficult to watch others succeed while we stay stuck in our circumstances.  Sometimes it is hard to watch while other people's dreams come true and our dreams remain unfulfilled.  I know, I have been there, and am there right now in some ways, but God's ways and His thoughts are much higher than our own.   (Isaiah 55:8-9)

The bigger picture revolves around trust. Do we trust God enough to know what is best for our lives? So often we think we know what is best for us, but in reality we have so little information that we can't know with our finite minds.

"Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight." Proverbs 3:5-6

So what  is the answer to the question on the color of your shoes today? You just have to love great hair days, don't you!

Be blessed, my friends, be simply blessed! :)

Ready, Set, Stop

You try and you try, then finally the door opens and you begin to walk through the door. Everything has fallen into place for you and all is well, but suddenly a roadblock stands in your path. Have you ever felt that way?

A few months ago, one of the pastors at church saw  me working on some homework for a Bible College course I was taking and he stopped to chat.  He had some great encouragement for me.  He told me that I need to step out in faith, to Go, but that God would send a roadblock to test my faith, to mature me, to make me ready for what he has for me, to make me humble, to teach me what I need to know so that I am fully ready to walk through that door, to keep moving forward.

So often we think that when a door seems to be open but becomes blocked that must mean that it wasn't an open door for us after all.  How often do we give up because it gets difficult? Sometimes we just need to persevere through it all to get to where God wants us to be.  Far too often we want to know what the end is before we get there; we want to know how, what, when, where and why everything is going to end up, but we don't always get to know those answers.

I love Romans 9:33 in The Message, which says, "Careful!  I've put a huge stone on the road to Mount Zion, a stone you can't get around.  But the stone is me!  If you're looking for me, you'll find me on the way, not in the way."  What a beautiful message from God.  It is all about perspective. We see the stone on the road and we think of it as an impossibility, God says, "Wait, it's Me!"

Do we trust God enough to get us to the end of our journey? Do we trust Him enough to allow Him to get us past the roadblocks? Are we willing to allow Him to do what He wants to do in us to prepare us for the next leg of the journey? Do we trust His timing?

“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.

God has great plans for our lives and when we are ready to seek after Him with all our hearts, that is when we will find Him.  Choose today to trust Him, no matter what He brings your way, even if He says, 

"Ready?

Get Set.

Stop!"

Don't worry, if you keep your focus on Him, one day you will hear Him say, "GO!"  That will be an exciting day indeed!  

Thanks for the chat, Paul Black. It was God's perfect timing. 

A New Season Indeed

I can't believe it has been almost three years since I started this blog. I think the greatest thing that I have learned through the process is that we are blessed with new seasons all the time. Some seasons are difficult, others are pure joy, but when we invite God to walk alongside of us, the journey is a sweet one indeed.

I love to ask friends to bring me back one thing when they go on vacation, a digital picture that reminds them of me.  When my dear friend Sarah went to Costa Rica this year she sent me back this picture.

The subject line of the email was "Which road will I travel? Which way?"  What I love about this picture is that you don't get to see what is just around the corner, you don't get to know what is ahead. If you choose to go to on the paved road, you don't get to know where it will take you until you turn the corner.

That is the way it is with God sometimes, isn't it?  He leads down a path that we can't see, a path that requires us to trust in Him.  Proverbs 3:5-6 says “Trust in the Lord with all your heart,  and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.”  Sometimes those paths can be scary, but when God is on it with you, it is the best path to take.

I am at the beginning of another new season in my life and I am excited about where it will take me.  I am not sure exactly what is around the corner for me, but I just take one day at a time, one step at a time.  The thing I do know is that God is on this road with me and I am safe in His hands.  Tomorrow is a new day indeed.

Wheat Fields

I love that I live in a small town in middle of farm country.  I love getting to drive by the fields as they begin to grow.  I think wheat is my favorite to watch because it is one of the first crops, having been planted in the fall.  After the gloom of winter, it is a breath of fresh air to be able to see the stalks of wheat reach for the sky.

This year I loved driving by blankets upon blankets of green fields, but oh the joy that filled my heart as they ripen to a golden brown.

The fields were beautiful this year, hardly a weed to be found anywhere. How wonderful that the fields aren't overtaken by weeds.  Then it hit me; they were gmos.... genetically modified organisms.  Their genes were spliced to make them resistant to bugs and weeds, allowing farmers to get larger yields from their crops. Many people are scared of what the genetically modified crops will do to them long term. This reality made me cringe.

Suddenly I was reminded of something that truly made me smile.  As God's child I am a new creation; the Bible tells me so.   Second Corinthians 5:17 says, "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come."  The Holy Spirit works in us to change us from the inside out.   The old me is gone, the new genetically modified, or shall I say Holy Spirit modified me is here.
God calls me to  put on my new nature and be renewed as I learn to know my Creator and become like Him. (Colossians 3:10)  Suddenly, I want to be a modified creation of God.  I want my life to be weed and pest resistant.  I want to be a larger yielding crop for my King.

Maybe some GMOs aren't that bad after all!

One Lonely Star

As I walked out the door this morning for my walk, I looked up at the night sky hoping to see it filled with beautiful stars shining down on me, but that was not to be. I did however see one star, one lonely star in a sky filled with clouds.

That star reminded me of something. How often have I felt all alone, without a friend in the world who would care to walk beside me?  Because so many of my friends live on the other side of the River, in another country, sometimes it still feels like I am walking alone.

This morning as I looked up and saw the one lonely star, I was reminded of one simple fact: things are not always as they appear.  Although I could only see one star, one lonely star, that did not mean that the others did not exist, they were just hidden from my view.  About a half hour into my walk I looked up and saw something beautiful, the clouds had parted and I could see a sky filled with stars. A great big smile took over my face. I knew it! I knew that there were more stars behind those clouds. I knew that just because it seemed like that star was alone the fact remained that was a lie.

Far too often we believe  the lie. Because of fear, we guard our hearts to the point where we don't allow others into our lives; we don't allow others to make an investment in us.  We shut out the people who God wants us to walk with on this journey called life. We live in fear of living.

I love how Deuteronomy 31:6 says it, "Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the Lord your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you."" So even if I feel alone, the truth is God is with me, he will never leave me, he told me in his Book.  He has surrounded me with friends who love me and want the best for me, friends who invest in me and I in them.

Am I alone? No, absolutely not! Does it feel like it sometimes? Yes it does.

As I arrived home from my walk, I looked up at the sky again. The clouds had rolled back in and there were far fewer stars visible in the sky. I still had to smile, because I knew the truth; that one lonely star wasn't so lonely after all.

Abba Father, today as my friends read and think about the truth in this post I ask you to allow the truth that the are never alone to penetrate deep into their hearts. Help them to know that they are deeply loved. Thank you, Father. In Jesus' Name... amen!

Gotcha Covered

The other morning as I walked out the door I looked up at the early morning sky and didn't see any stars, the cloud cover was so thick you could feel it; literally I could feel the moisture in the air as I walked.  It was much warmer than the morning before. As I looked up, I was disappointed that I couldn't see the morning stars, but my Abba Father spoke straight to my heart and said, "I gotcha covered."  I just smiled.

So often when we are faced with a cloudy day we get discouraged by the lack of sunshine in our lives, both in reality and figuratively. It is in those days, however, those times of discouragement that God can be there in ever increasing ways, showing us that He is there for us.

Lately, I have been having a number of those days, but what I know is that He has surrounded me with some really amazing friends who are helping me walk the path I am on.  They are difficult but necessary days of retrospection, that are allowing me to figure out where I went off the path so that I can get on the right path instead.  I came across a verse last fall that seems to be popping up everywhere lately. Jeremiah 6:16 says, "This is what the Lord says: "Stand at the crossroads and look; ask for the ancient paths, ask where the good way is, and walk in it, and you will find rest for your souls."  It has been through the words of this verse, the prayers of my soul over this verse, that God has been doing a healing in my heart like never before.

There are many verses that are great reminders to me of God and his promises for my life.  I love John 10:10 which says, "The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full."  The enemy of my soul has done his best to steal my peace, he has tried to kill my spirit, he has tried to destroy my life, but that is where Jesus work on the cross comes in, He died to give me a full and complete life, a life of love, joy and peace; a fulfilled life in him.  I am working on it; I am getting there. I am in the process. I just smile.

How about Romans 8:37-39  which says, "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."  Nothing I do, nothing I say can ever separate me from God's love for me. How amazingly comforting is that? I just smile.

Or Jeremiah 29:11-13 which says, "For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart."   If I seek God with my whole heart, I will find him. He is not some distant God who is unreachable, I just need to seek him and he will definitely be there. I just smile.

Who am I that He would choose to invest in me the way He has? I am His beloved child. When I feel like I am not enough on my own, I need to remember, with him I can do all things. I need to remember who I am to Him.  A song that has really spoken to my heart lately is Remind Me Who I Am by Jason Gray. No matter who I see myself as, who others see me as, God sees me as His beloved child. That really makes me smile.

A friend of mine recently commented that he is a "real piece of work", and I had to agree; he is God's masterpiece in the making, His "piece of work"!  Ephesians 2:10, in the NLT says, " For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago." Just as my friend is God's masterpiece in the making, so am I. I just smile.

So when I am faced with a cloudy day, a cloudy, discouraged by life kind of day, I just need to remember that I am not alone. God is speaking straight to my heart and He is lovingly saying, "Hey Cathy, I Gotcha Covered!" How can I do anything but smile?

If you ever want to know more about Him, please don't hesitate to ask. I would love to share Him with you!!!