Shh, let’s just be today. Forget that to-do list. Sit quietly in your chair. Take a few deep breaths and be. Do you realize we check our cell phones an average of 110 times a day? According to Computer World, in the United States we average 16 minutes every hour on social media. Distractions bombard us continuously. Distractions – phone, internet, and pestering to do’s deter us from giving our full attention to the One who most deserves our devotion. I hunger for stillness and quiet and just to be. Perhaps that is why I love to start my morning in contemplative prayer. Usually I ramble off my concerns and a few wants to the Lord, then I just rest in his arms. Heaven doesn’t open up and I don’t see angels ascending and descending – just being in his presence. I don’t hear God’s mighty voice or lean in for his gentle whisper, We just enjoy each other’s company. No agenda. No items to discuss. Just being together. But I fail often. My mind wanders … [Read more...]
Let Every Heart Prepare Him Room – Getting Our Hearts Ready for Advent.
November 30 is the first Sunday of Advent. How will you prepare your heart for this special season this year? The word “Advent” comes from the Latin word adventus, which means “coming” or “visit.” Advent is the four weeks before Christmas when we look with hope and anticipation for the coming Christ Child. This time of year can be hectic, full of family drama, and preoccupations with both comforting and/or sad memories. Yet many of us want to take some time to ponder the true reason for the season and spend time with God. Advent is a wonderful opportunity to be open to prayer to shape our spirit this season. "Advent, like its cousin Lent, is a season for prayer and reformation of our hearts. Since it comes at winter time, fire is a fitting sign to help us celebrate Advent.If Christ is to come more fully into our lives this Christmas, if God is to become really incarnate for us, then fire will have to be present in our prayer. Our worship and devotion will have to stoke the … [Read more...]
WHACK! “A Gentle Whack on the Side of the Head” Kind of God
What a great start to the morning -on my second cup of coffee, checking the third item off my to-do list, and accomplishing numerous jobs. I was a multitasking fiend, zipping along like a road runner. WHACK! Hitting myself on the side of the head I said out loud, “I forgot to pray this morning.” Each morning I try to start my day with the Lord. I sit quietly and praise him. I lift up my prayer concerns for family and friends and I read a devotional. Often I also journal where I feel God is leading me on my journey. Sounds nice, doesn’t it? But to be honest too often I dive into my day without first honoring God. WHACK! Do you watch NCIS? This favorite television show of mine shows the main character, Gibbs, occasionally slapping Dinozzo, another agent, on the back of the head -a mild, loving head slap to redirect Dinozzo’s attention back to where it belongs. Gibbs administers tough love on his agents. WHACK! As soon as I realized I forgot God, I quit all the … [Read more...]
Hidden Clutter
A tip from my Weight Watcher friends is to put the three-pound weights on my desk where I would see them readily and use them more often. While waiting for a video to load on the computer or the printer to print, I could exercise. Great idea! I tried it. It worked for the sum of one day. Then my eyes quit seeing the weights on my desk, hidden among the clutter or amid the normal environment of my desk. Even in plain sight, I never thought of them. On a side note, one lady at the Weight Watchers group said she finally put her dumbbells in her microwave. She has to remove them every time she uses the microwave and then uses them more often. Mmm, don’t think I will try that one. Hidden clutter. Hidden in plain sight but not seen. I read an blog post a few weeks back titled, "The Clutter We Rarely Notice.” My desk may look messy but I can tell you where everything is. I can have a place for everything and still have clutter. My eyes soon only see what stands out, what is … [Read more...]
My War with Weeds
I love the rainbow of colors in my backyard garden – red and yellow roses, black eyed Susans, grape tomatoes, and pink things I can’t remember what they are called – sparkle and dance for my pleasure. Flowers bring joy and beauty to my day and remind me there is more to life than everyday grind of work and bad news. BUT I don’t like weeding. Weeding the flowerbeds is a necessity though, to keep the garden blooming and thriving. Little did I know weeding would also teach me an important lesson this fall. I noticed a few weeks ago a gangly green vine entwining itself among the Black eyed Susans. I yanked that weed out. More appeared the next day. I yanked that weed out again. I told that green stringy nuisance that I am the master of this garden and it better skedaddle out of here. Then we left for a weekend. Guess who came back with vengeful reinforcements. Yep - while we were gone that creeper multiplied and spread its tendrils up and around the trellis. A … [Read more...]
Let God’s Light Shine – Why Our Souls Sparkle.
Don’t you love the energy and fun in the word – SHINE? I heard a powerful story about shine a few months ago that continues to inspire me and fill me with hope and encouragement. “And God said, “Let there be light… And God called the light day and the darkness he called night.” Genesis 1: 3 I never noticed before that God created light in verse 3 of the first book in the Bible, but it wasn’t until verses 14- 18 that the great Creator added the sun, moon, and stars which to our limited perception is the source of light for day and night. Just what did the shining in verse 3? An ancient story may give us a glimpse. Before the world existed. Before the universe was created. Before time, form, and breath of life took shape – God filled everything. In the beginning, God drew in a deep breath, in order to contract his being so there would be room for creation. And the space began to shine with God’s contained light. But God is so immense, much more than what we … [Read more...]
Falling with Grace
I fell with grace last week. Literally. We visited Cedar Point for a great family weekend plus I attended Bloggy Con, a wonderful conference for bloggers. You can’t beat the combination than having fun with my family while learning and gathering new ideas too. By the way for any bloggers reading this post, they are repeating the conference at Cedar Point next year and you really should think about attending. Quite a bargain! Saturday evening my five-year-old granddaughter and I hit the rides appropriate for our ages while my daughter, Kyla’s mom, and my crazy for roller coasters hubby hit the wild, high, monstrous rides. My favorite is the Matterhorn. We spin around, up and down at high speeds and it is a great one to giggle and grin with a five year old. She gets on the ride. Now the car they have you sit in, tips as it spins so of course continues to tilt as you step in. Also some of the cars are already on the sloping track so you have to be careful. Or, as in my case, … [Read more...]
God’s Artistry in Autumn – Thoughts and 9 Quotes
The colors drew my eyes to the display in the corner of the store. What is it about fall colors that attract us? I want the summer to linger on longer, yet the coziness, warmth and eye delight of burnt oranges, mellow yellows, deep reds and crisp browns invite my heart into autumn. Part of me screams to stop the calendar from turning from August to September, yet when I saw those autumn colors my will to fight this change flutter away like the leaves will also soon do. God is quite an artist this time of year. His hues hints of hope and a purpose to the changes we often struggle with on our path. I used to fight fall, dreading the coming winter. Now in the second half of life, I am learning to embrace its beauty as part of the transforming process and rhythm of life. I found some neat quotes about fall to share with you today: Autumn is a second spring when every leaf is a flower." Albert Camus "Even if something is left undone, everyone must take time … [Read more...]