Keep On Going!

Yesterday I walked out of the doctor's office feeling like a new person. I had been nervous about this appointment. After the exam, the doctor said, "Everything looks great."

Whew! Relief. Joy. And much gratitude! 

Good news makes me feel energized. I wanted to celebrate. When I returned home, I decided to go for a run.

It was about 46 degrees, cloudy and very windy. "I'll just do one mile," I said to my husband as I was headed out the door.

(If you read the previous post Cool Running, you know I'm not as fit as I'd like to be.)

It was not an easy run. Before completing that one mile, I wanted to stop and walk and catch my breath, but the desire to reach my goal was stronger than that desire to quit. I was determined, one step at a time.

For me to run is a celebration. I do it simply because I can, and out of gratitude for good health. And I will persevere for as long as I am able.

"Alive and Breathing" is a song I love. It's another Matt Maher song, but his lyrics really speak to me and I am pleased to share it. Happy to be alive and breathing!

Jesus is the Way and He is the Destination. To follow Him is challenging - not always easy - but the joy of journeying with Him, wherever He takes us, is truly awesome, beyond description.

It's Almost Spring

On my walk the other day, I stopped by a nearby brook. It was flowing powerfully after the snow melt.

Today I thought about that brook as I read, "Grace is flowing in my direction, and I yield myself to its powerful current that's taking me places beyond my wildest imaginations." Brian Orme

Today "grace is flowing in my direction."
Grace is God's love coming after me.
His love is coming after me in whatever circumstances I find myself.
His love is coming after each and every detail of my life.
He never gives up seeking me - longing for a real personal

relationship with me.
He doesn't want us just to be acquaintances, but the closest of friends, of family.

I have called you friends, because I have made known to you everything that I have heard from my Father. John 15:15.

God is faithful, who has called you into fellowship with his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. 1 Corinthians 1:9.

Today I take the time to be still before Him and let His love

flow in my direction. As in a strong current, I'll let myself be swept off my feet and be carried along in His grace "taking me to places beyond my wildest imaginations."

It's almost Spring.
Come, Holy Spirit of God's love, come!

Lesson from the Fig Tree

I never liked figs. Fig Newtons - ugh! A few months
ago, I mistakenly bought a big bag of dried figs,
thinking they were dates. I didn't read the label.

Fig trees were very common in Biblical times.They
lined the roads leading to Jerusalem. Even today,
figs are abundant in the Middle East.

There's an account in the Bible about Jesus actually 
cursing a fig tree. It happened in the Spring of the
year as he was heading to Jerusalem with his disciples. 
Jesus was hungry and he saw a fig tree in the distance.
There were leaves on the tree, but it was not yet
the season for ripe fruit. He went up to it looking
for figs. There were none. He must've been very
disappointed. He said to the tree, "May no one eat
fruit from you again." Matthew 11:14. The fig tree
withered.

The lesson I take away from this is that the Lord
expects "good fruit" from me at all times. It may
be the kindness I extend to others, generosity,
helpfulness to those in need, prayers, etc. I sometimes
say, "This isn't the right time." Or, "the circumstances
aren't quite right." Or, "I'll do this at a more convenient
time." I often want to wait for the "perfect time" to 
get things done.

Scripture also says, "preach the word; be prepared in
season and out of season..." 2 Timothy 4:2. So when
I am inspired to share an encouraging word or make
the effort to do something good for others, even
though the time doesn't seem quite right - and I
question myself - I need to just do it. Otherwise it
may never get done. 

About that bag of figs, I ate them even though I 
didn't like them. By the time I got to the last of the
figs, I discovered I actually developed a taste for
them. I no longer dislike them.

Maybe that's something else I now have in common
with Jesus. We both like figs. 😊

Let the Children Come

We had a great visit with the grandkids. They are healthy, happy, energetic, loving, and so much fun. After coming home, I missed the excitement of being with them.

Then I turn on the TV and see images of Ukrainian children who are like our grandkids, who are walking long distances and some being carried, many crowded into busses - all leaving behind the security they have known. Leaving behind toys and friends and routines, their homes, and even their Dads. Children and babies clutched by anxious mothers who are fleeing terror into an unknown future. Then there are the orphans who have no relatives to care for them. They are all refugees. As I am writing this I see video of a maternity and children's hospital that's been bombed by a massive explosive. 

What is happening to Ukraine is evil. More than a million children are displaced from their homes and millions more may follow. Even millions more will be left behind, unable to get out of a country under military attack. Many will die.

Last night I listened to this seven minute Meditation on Ukraine of a personal account of how children are being received in Poland. It ends with a way we can respond in a spiritual way to support the children. I am taking up the challenge and also doing what I can, even in a small way, to financially support humanitarian efforts.

Jesus said, let the children come to me, and do not prevent them. Matthew 19:14. I can imagine Jesus gathering the children to himself, smiling and laughing with them, placing his hands on them to bless them.

I am grateful for all the children in my life and I thank the Lord for each one. May Our Lord bless the Ukranian children and make a way for them that they may have a future full of hope and peace.

Keep Leaning

So worth seeing, praying, meditating on again, and again.

Especially when we feel we can't stand on our own, when we feel helpless - even in seeing senseless evil destruction sadly happening in the Ukraine.

Be inspired. Have hope. Keep trusting. Keep leaning on the One who saves.

S-T-R-E-T-C-H

On this the second day of Lent, I asked the Lord, "What are the 'nets' that I should leave behind?" (If you missed it, please see the post from May 2, 2022: Resolutions: Now is the Time .)

The words that came to me were: "Be flexible." So I admit that I can be stubborn at times, wanting my will to prevail. Stubbornness is something I need to leave behind.

One of the prayers of the church today is, "Prompt our actions with your inspiration, we pray O Lord, and further them with your constant help that all we do may always begin from you..."

My resolution today is to be flexible and to respond promptly to the needs I discern, to be open to the fresh and ever new blessings of the Lord and to the unexpected ways he may want me to show his love.

Just as I exercise by stretching to maintain and increase flexibility, I need to stretch spiritually, and by Holy Spirit's inspiration, to reach out to meet needs, even those that seem beyond me. Come, Holy Spirit, come.

Free image from Unsplash, courtesy of Rowan Chestnut

Now is the Time

Sometimes I find myself wishing for a do-over. Regrets. If onlys.

"If only I had not said that."
"If only I had listened."
"If only I hadn't done that."
"If only I had taken the time."
"If only I weren't so..."
"If only things were different."

We are now beginning a season of Lent that gives us dedicated time to change for the better, for a real transformation. Change, however, is not always easy. That's the suffering part.

From grade school on, I remember being reminded to give things up for Lent. Usually it would be candy. Or maybe a favorite TV show. One year I gave up coffee. (That was tough.) Some years it would be more about being generous, like what can I give rather than what can I give up. It has always involved some sacrifice.

This year the Scripture verse keep coming to me, the disciples "left their nets and followed him (Jesus)." Matthew 4:20. The first disciples left behind a most familiar life, that of fishing. Fishing was something good. But they left it behind for the possibility of something so much better. They were drawn to a person. They were drawn into a new life. It was far beyond what they ever could've imagined.

So I'm thinking, what are the "nets" in my life? What are some of the good things I could leave behind for the sake of something better. What do I not want to give up that keeps me at a distance from that intimate relationship with Jesus? 

What are the opinions I hang onto that keep me from listening?
What are the activities I engage in that keep me from being available?
What possessions do I cling to that keep me from being free?
What are the "nets" that occupy so much of my time?
Can I let them go? 
Can I leave them behind without turning back?

Why would I? Only for the possibility of something so much better, out of love for the sake of another, to follow Him, for a truly new and transformed life, one far beyond what I could possibly imagine.

And so I will be asking Holy Spirit to show me what I need to give up to leave my "nets" behind me on this Lenten journey. Come, Holy Spirit, come.

Behold, I make all things new. Revelations 21:5.