Posted on in 2013 Posts

Not By Might, Not By Power…But By My Spirit, Says The Lord

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Image courtesy of dan at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

I remember when I was a new Christian, my children were young.  I bought them praise and worship tapes and they carried them around in their tape recorders blasting music throughout the house.  One song keeps ringing in my head tonight.  The words say, “Not by might, not by power, but by my spirit says the Lord.”  I have to remind myself that even though I am a very strong person, I am nothing without the strength and guidance from God and The Holy Spirit.  In fact, God has designed us to depend on Him…not on ourselves.

On Friday, Cincinnati got a lot of snow.  Did I say a LOT of snow?  I am not usually afraid to drive in the snow, but this was the first day I had ever driven my new car in the snow.  I’ve had a four-wheel drive SUV in the past and I never feared the weather with that.  But now, I am driving a smaller, more gas-efficient car and was a bit nervous about how it would handle on the slushy streets as I traveled for work.  When I headed home, I said a prayer, hoping to get back all in one piece.

I encountered cars sitting sideways in the road, others spinning their tires without going anywhere, and even a semi stuck on the back roads not able to move up the hill.  I was traveling the back roads because I knew the highway was jammed up with accidents before I left.  Though, my preference is always to go the highway on good weather days.  It gets me there in half the time and is a familiar route.

As I reflect on 2013 and look forward to a new start in 2014, I feel as though, I’ve been traveling the back roads all this year.  Instead of taking the high-speed, easy highway through life, I have been forced to get off the path of familiarity.  I have had to find new routes and sometimes have even had to be pushed out of a slick spot on the road.  There have been times along the path that I even felt cold and alone, in the quietness of my travels to a destination unknown.  Perhaps you can relate.

Don’t we all go through times like that in life?  There are some things in life that we can’t change in our own strength.  We can’t take away the pain that we are suffering.  We can’t always change something one of our loved ones has to go through in their life.  We can’t hold onto a life whose time it is to die.  We can’t heal someone just because we want to, even when we are a doctor.  If we could change these things, I know we all would in a heartbeat.

In reality, God doesn’t expect us to travel these unknown roads alone. He wants us to go with us and be our Guide.  He nudges us to get off the path of normalcy at times so that we can find Him on the back roads.  For it is when we are in situations of the unknown, in fear, or stuck in a rut not able to move forward or backward, that we are most likely to call out to Him to help.  God even gives us snowy days to remind us of our need for Him.  I can hear Him saying, “Trust me.  You may not be able to see where you are going, what you’re traveling on, or how you’re going to get there.  However, stop.  Look around.  My love and grace covers all.  I have enveloped you in My Spirit just like the freshness of the newly fallen snow.  Isn’t it a beautiful thing?”

snow windowWhen I got home after two hours of treacherous driving, Jim was here to greet me.  In fact, he had fixed dinner and handed me a plate as I walked through the door!  I was a bit disheveled from the tenseness of the past two hours traveling only twenty-six miles in total.  What a relief it was to see his face and not have to cook too!  We sat by our big window in the living room to eat.  As I turned around in my safe and comfortable surroundings, I could now see the beauty of the snow outside my window.  It had terrorized me all the way home, but suddenly now, it held me in awe of its beauty.  We turned on the fireplace, turned off the lights and marveled at the quiet and majestic glow of the snow as it lit up our room from the outside.

When we are traveling the back roads of life, we may not see the beauty.  It may be a huge inconvenience and not take us exactly where we thought we were going to go.  It may even be scary and be life-threatening at times.  However, looking back someday, I expect that we, too, will be able to see the beauty in the journey.  With the snow as our reminder, let us not forget…

God is everywhere…

He’s got it covered.

Psalm 9:10 (NIV) Those who know your name trust in you, for you, Lord, have never forsaken those who seek you.

Posted on in Uncategorized

I Sure Am Thankful for YOU!

thankgivingI just wanted to stop by during the day to wish you all a very happy Thanksgiving!  Jim and I have a quiet day today, as we won’t be having the family in until Saturday for our celebration.  One of my friends mentioned on her Facebook page this week, “Thanksgiving is fine, but thanksliving is even better!”  This is so true.  So even though I’m taking the time to tell you how thankful I am for you today, that statement is true every day, no matter if it is a holiday or not.

I have been writing my blog now for over two years.  Often a blogger wonders if anything they write makes a difference.  I appreciate hearing from each and every one of you that has responded to tell me how my words spoke into your life that week.  My ministry has been one of encouragement, but even the encourager needs encouragement sometimes!  I’m thankful for those who give feedback and kind words.  Others have unhappily disagreed with my thoughts and challenged my stance causing me to dig deep to defend my thoughts and values.  I thank them as they have helped me grow in my faith without even knowing it!  There are times when I write what I think was an exceptional piece and never hear a word from anyone. I am even thankful for no response as it challenges me to look back–did I say what I needed to say?  Did I miss the mark?  At the end of the day, though, I need to just write and trust that God has it all under control.  If I were writing for the applause of men, I would not have lasted this long.  I do what I do for God and I am THANKFUL He has entrusted me to be His spokesperson.  His inspiration will be what keeps me going.

As you know, 2013 has not been an easy year for us.  We got the first call about my cancer diagnosis the day after Christmas last year and it has been an up and down kind of year since then.  I am thankful for your prayers, concerns, notes, well-wishes, and even gifts in the past several months.   My ministry title is, “I’m just trying to be a blessing.”  You aren’t trying, you’ re the real thing!  Thanks again for reading, encouraging, challenging and even in silence.  I hope to be back real soon, full-force ahead with lots of encouragement, laughs and most of all…pointing your thoughts towards God!  Happy Thanksgiving!

Philippians 1:3 (NIV)  I thank my God every time I remember you.

Posted on in 2011 Posts

Unexpected Visitors

Here’s an old post I thought I’d re-publish since I don’t have a new one this week for you.  Thanks for reading and for your patience as I struggle to get clear and encouraging thoughts for you!  Your prayers are much appreciated!  For now…here you go!  Enjoy!

025This time of year creates a love-hate relationship with me and my surroundings.  I am definitely most happy when I am outside in the warm sunshine of summer with blues skies.  I just love the  blooming flowers and I don’t care if they make me sneeze.  I just live with hopes of another beautiful day the same, tomorrow.  When fall starts creeping in, I like the change in temperature until it gets below my comfort level of 74 degrees and then I start to go into a panic because this weather is telling me summer is over and winter is on its way!

One good thing about fall is that at any given time, you can go to my pantry and find way too many marshmallows for anyone to ever eat, before they go bad and start tasting like the plastic bag they are packaged in.  I get so excited thinking about fall and bonfires, I want to be ready for when the whim hits us and we want to go out and sit around the fire pit and get a sugar high.  I like to think I’m always prepared for a party!

Fall also begins to give me an excuse to come home earlier in the evenings since the sun goes down faster and the days are shorter.  I love to come into the house with my 5-hour stew almost done in the oven, cook up some cornbread, put a fire in the fireplace, and snuggle in for the evening with a good book or movie.  Our home is our sanctuary and it is so nice to spend time relaxing and enjoying its surroundings.

When the kids were little, we were home one day hanging out.  It was one of those mornings where we didn’t have anywhere to go, so were a little slow getting around and I was still in my pj’s much later than what was normal.  I  don’t know how many times I told my kids when they were small, “Don’t go to the door without me or your dad.”  Well, that morning, one of them forgot the rule.  I had been back in the bedroom gathering dirty clothes up to do some laundry when I came barreling around the corner in my nightgown, only to find two men in black suits standing in my living room!  The kids were looking at me like, “I don’t know how they got in here!”

I was shocked as I stood there in my nightgown with these two strangers in my house!  I looked at them dumfounded and they said, “Ma’m, we are here to get the body.”  My mind was racing and I was trying to understand what they just told me, as it was quite an unusual request to say the least.  I still wasn’t comprehending and asked them to repeat since I was sure I had heard them wrong, totally forgetting that I am standing there in my nightgown at this point.

“We are here to get the body”, they repeated.

I began stuttering around and one of them said, “Is this the home of Mildred Peirce?”  Relieved and dismayed all at the same time, I realized they were wanting the older lady two doors down.  Mildred had apparently passed away in the night and the undertakers had the wrong house!  I directed them to the correct house and they left as quickly as they came.  They were noticeably embarrassed by their mistake and probably very uncomfortable with my appearance as much as I was, too!

That day, our cozy, comfortable, safe home was shaken up a bit by our visitors.  Even though they meant no harm, they entered into our space, unannounced and ready to take action.  Had they been knocking on doors for other reasons, the kids opening the door and allowing them to come in could’ve been a disaster.  I was thankful it was not the latter.

As I think about this season of retreat when we all begin spending more time in our homes because of the upcoming weather, I think it’s also important to consider how we can best spend our time.

Image courtesy of franky242 at FreeDigitalPhotos.net
Image courtesy of franky242 at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

At all costs, we should protect the doorways of our homes and lives.  Pray for God to give you the strength and courage to keep doors closed on things that aren’t healthy or uplifting to you and your family.  Ask Him to help you open doors that encourage and nurture your walk with Him.  For when we guard and protect what we allow into our homes and lives, we can rest assured that someone’s not going to come knocking on our door looking for the dead body!  Rather, they’ll be knocking on your door asking why your home is so full of life and joy.  They’ll be wanting to know your secrets to true happiness and contentment.  My suggestion would be… start a fire, pull out the marshmallows, and take the time for a fireside chat about opening doors!   Yes, friends, it’s time for a party!