When I was a teenager my dad had a blue 1950 Chevy pickup that we called the “Blue Goose.”  My brothers thought it was cool; it had a rounded cab, a fifth window and the gear shift on the steering column. It was a classic.  I, however, had a whole different opinion.  The rule at our house was before you could drive a car with an automatic transmission, you had to learn to drive the truck.  If you had a finesse for driving a stick you didn’t have too much trouble with the truck but if you weren’t patient and didn’t do everything right, the gears would get stuck, which required putting on the park brake and getting out to open the hood and fiddle with something under the hood to “un-stick” it. As a teenage girl on the edge of driving I used to have nightmares about that darn truck!  I didn’t want to be the one holding up a line of traffic at the stop sign because I had to fiddle under the hood to make the truck go again.  As I was beginning to prepare myself for going off to college on a bike, a wonderful thing happened.  My high school English teacher who was also my brother’s basketball coach stopped over one day after school.  I remember answering the door in a panic wondering what I could have done at school to warrant a visit from a high school teacher! 
I quickly came to my senses and realized the reason he was at our door had to be because of something my brother did…not me!  As it turned out, the visit had nothing to do with us, but the outcome of that visit impacted my life in a fabulous way!  Mr. Cannon came that day to see if dad would be interested in selling the “Blue Goose”. Much to my life-altering delight, dad said yes, and I was saved from the horror of the stuck gears!
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Looking back, I’m still thankful that I was saved from the “Blue Goose!”  I panicked at the thought of being “stuck” and not knowing how to get “un-stuck” so I could move on.  I think sometimes in our daily life we can get stuck the same way I was afraid that old pickup was going to. We can become stuck in our worry, and our vision of the future and in our fear of the unknown.  Mr. Cannon was the man who saved me from that particular worry, but when the relief wore off, I probably let myself entertain another worry in its place. I’m sure I probably let myself get “stuck” in a whole different spot. 
 
I read the other day that humans are the only creatures God made with the ability to anticipate future events.  As you might imagine, that is both a blessing and a curse!  Some days I’m grateful for that ability and other days I think I’d rather be a puppy, bounding around without a care beyond the current moment. After some prayer and thought on the topic, here’s what I came up with…God gave us that ability so we could trust Him. It is through trusting Him that we grow closer to Him and His will for our life.  How often though do we get “stuck” in our worry?  When the “Blue Goose” came to mind, I realized there are a million times in my life that I got “stuck” in my worry, and it was all such an enormous waste of time and energy.  Sarah Young, in her book Jesus Calling, reminds us to gently call out the name of Jesus when we feel our gears getting stuck in worry or dwelling on future events.  He’s there in an instant when we call His name and expectantly wait for Him to deliver us from our worry with His sweet peace.  We have two choices, we can either enjoy the presence of worries or we can enjoy the presence of Christ working through our worries and stuck gears.  Because we have the ability to anticipate future events, worry is an occasional “given” however, the way we work through the worry is important and it’s the perfect way to build trust in the Father who adores us.  Don’t pray for a day free from worry; thank Him for the worry and then pray for the strength and trust to call out the name of Jesus so He can un-stick your gears allowing you to move forward and come closer to Him.
 
A Seed To Plant:  Write down all the things that are making you feel “stuck”.  Hold that list in your hands and say, “God, Father of Peace, please take the worry of ______from my life and replace it with your peace allowing me to trust You more.”

Blessings on your day!

​Who remembers the commercial jingle that said, “Hold the pickle, hold the lettuce. Special orders don’t upset all we ask is that you let us serve it your way. Have it your way at Burger King.”  It may have worked with your Whopper but it’s not exactly the motto for growing in holiness.  Even though that jingle is 51 years old too many of us expect our relationship with Jesus to be just like ordering the perfect burger.  The truth is, most of us aren’t even sure what it is we really think we want.

Someone recently pointed out that we have so many choices it can be really tough to figure out what we want most.  We seem to chase thing after thing.  We buy stuff and more stuff trying to figure out what that one thing really is.  How many times have we eaten four or five  snacks before we really even figure out what we’re really hungry for?  I read a question not long ago that made me giggle and think.  The gentleman asked, “What do cats like most? Mice, right? So if mice is what the cat really wants why is cat food made from chicken, pork, beef, lamb and fish instead of mouse?  

I’ve given it a lot of thought and I think sometimes I don’t figure out what I really want because its easier to just try several options and complain when they aren’t what I really wanted than it is to really stop, pray and ponder what I want, examining all the consequences and unintended consequences that go with my choices.  Jesus’ question to the crippled man in Johns Gospel was a bit strange but it really digs down to a deeper level; a level I think I need to visit more often.  The lame man had been there on his mat crippled for decades.  Actually being healed would require responsibility and change for the man, after 38 years Jesus asked a very fair question. I’m sure it made the man wonder how much he really wanted the change that meant moving, pain, work and responsibility.  Jesus wanted to know if it was really worth it to him.

Blessed Santia Szymkowiak had the perfect answer to the question, “What do you want?”  She lived her entire life with one motto, “Jesus make me want whatever you want.”  She believed what Jesus wanted most for and from her was holiness.  I don’t know about you, but that isn’t my usual thought process, but it sure should be.  If I want what he wants, then I can’t always have it my way.  If I do things his way, it means change and being uncomfortable; two things we don’t readily sign up for!  Burger King made a fortune by making customers feel like they could have anything they wanted and there was happiness because of it.  I guess that leads me to ask myself the big question; where do I want happiness; on earth so it can last about as long as that delicious burger or do I want the bliss for all of eternal life?  My way will be temporary, his way will be eternal.  It’s really what I want most but what am I willing to do; what changes am I willing to make in order to want what he wants?

A Seed To  Plant:  Make a list of all the things you want, and make a list of all the things you’re pouting about because they didn’t go  your way.  Pray with that list and ask God to show you what he wants for you.​

Blessings on your day!

A wise man once told me that life is a series of blessings and shadows.  I’ve come to believe that neither one is meant to last forever. I’m all about the blessing stage but the shadows are not my favorite.  It’s funny how the shadows can seem like they are gonna last forever and it’s easy to wallow in the struggles and disappointment and feel like the Father has forgotten all about me.  I suppose one of the great lessons of discipleship is to live the truth that God is with us trough all of it and His plan includes the perfect shift between the two.  I realize when I’m in a season of blessing, I can forget to praise and thank Him and when I’m in a season of shadow I can surely run low on trust and hope but my impatience and self-pity can really take a jump!  I’ve spent some time this summer praying about what the Lord might really be trying to teach me, and He led me to a string of lessons that have been helpful in trying to balance the blessings and shadows.

Time moves so fast and our days are so busy that our weeks can just become a blur.  I think a big key to balance is to take time to think back on the day and really recall what happened.  Sometimes our blessings and shadows are big events but more often they are a string of little things.  It’s a really good idea to ponder the day before the next one begins, so before you tuck yourself in and end the day, these three questions can help us pause, ponder, thank, ask and feel His peace.  You can answer these three questions in your mind, or an even better thing would be to share answers with your spouse or family.  I wish I had done this with my kids before bed when they were growing up…what insight it would have given me.

First Question:  What was a blessing today.  It could be a success or achievement, a fun moment, a kind deed done or received or something lovely that brightened your day or surprised you.
Second Question:  What was a shadow today.  Maybe it was a disappointment or a discouraging event.  The shadow could be a worry or an activity that wrinkles your peace. Perhaps the shadow is a result of a bad choice made by you or someone else that has led you to feel hurt, embarrassed or angry.
Third Question:  Where did you see God today?  Some of the Father’s fanciest work comes in the quiet still moments when things just seem to “fall in place” and we might think such things are “random” or “coincidence” but in truth all things come from God, so we need to give him the thanks and the credit for touching our day.  The more we get in the habit of noticing all the ways He touches our days, the more we begin to see how mighty and busy He is in our lives.

If all we did was ask and answer those three questions each night, there would be so much joy in our blessings and our shadows.  When you answer these questions and let the Father speak to your heart, you might be prompted to apologize or thank or acknowledge things.  He can use this time to show us how to draw closer to Him and discover that all the events of our day are designed to bring us so close to Him that we can be lost in His shadow.
 
A Seed To Plant:  Pray about these three questions and think about how you can make them a big part of your day.

Blessings on your day!

Every now and again I run across something that just doesn’t seem to belong or have relevance anymore.  I was cleaning closets recently and found an old rotary dial phone with a long spiral cord.  I also have a potato slicer and French fry cutter that belonged to my Grandma Thelma.  She used it in her kitchen when I was little girl.  Both of those items have been replaced with more modern, convenient, efficient updated models so the old ones are cast aside as if they are no longer useful.  There is a key word in this scripture passage from St. Matthew’s gospel that might seem as irrelevant as those old treasures hiding in my closet.  That word is meek.
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We strive to be strong and successful.  We pray for the grace of patience, perseverance and wisdom.  We admire people who are confident, powerful leaders with vision.  To tell others our goal is to grow in meekness would be a little like seeing a rotary dial phone in a Verizon store!  To be honest, when I came across the word meek the other day, I decided to give it a look and some prayer.  I think I need to change my opinion about that word.  I think it’s a word we might all be able to relate to better than we thought and I’m certain it’s something we could use more of.

Long ago in biblical times the quality of meekness was highly respected and aspired to.  We tend to view it as weak, timid or passive but that was not the message Jesus was teaching when he shared the Sermon on the Mount.  Meekness in its true meaning is the opposite of those things.  Being meek doesn’t mean you are weak and have to take everything like a door mat, it means an active and deliberate acceptance of undesirable circumstances that are part of a bigger picture we can’t see.   Being meek doesn’t mean throwing in the towel, it means giving God authority to do what he wills with our life.    True meekness can be measured by how closely related we are to the will of the Father.  When we make that relationship first, we are content in his love and his control of our life.  If we let him be in charge, we realize everything happens for a purpose and we trust in his plan.  If we are more centered on ourselves and our comforts and our pride we tend to fuss and complain and point out all the things that don’t go our way.  If we are low on meekness, we tend to see the world through the lens of poor me instead of God’s got it all figured out!

If someone rich in meekness is treated unfairly or wrongly it doesn’t mean that doesn’t sting, but vengeance or revenge isn’t part of their reaction.  Their first reaction is to pray for the person who has wronged them and give the rest to God.   A meek soul realizes that God is the source of justice and that all situations contain lessons.  Sometimes the lesson is for us and sometimes the lesson is for somebody else and taught through us.  In order to grow in meekness, we have to admit regularly that we are not equal with God.  Through our great dependence on Him we grow and we trust and we think WAY more about him than about ourselves.  I suppose meekness is a bit like realizing we truly need to settle into second place and stop trying so hard to be in charge, on top and number one.  I don’t know about you, but I have a lot of meekness building to do!

A Seed To Plant:  What are some of the areas in your life that could use a little more meekness? Spend some prayer time this week with this old word with a great and misunderstood meaning. 

Blessings on your day!
 

August feels very different than it used to.  I remember those feelings that bounced back and forth from, “I love my job, I’m so excited for a new school year” to “Oh my gosh…I’m not ready yet”.  I’m entering my second school year of retirement and August is so peaceful but every time I pass school supplies, I wonder what God has planned next.  I’ve discovered time after time that He is so full of fancy surprises and I’m left saying, “that wasn’t how I thought it would be!”

When I retired, I spent months re-branding and re-building Joyful Words thinking I would launch across the country doing ministry in giant places.  I did everything I felt He asked me to do but some weeks the garden is the fanciest place I go and it’s not how I thought it would be, but my life is wonderful. He still calls me to do ministry, and it is such delightful work, but it isn’t the impressive stuff I thought it would be. One day in prayer a question popped into my head that hit me hard.  I felt the Lord ask who I was trying to impress!  I spent several months writing a book and had visions of being a fancy author but it takes a year to get a book through all it’s stages so I’ve done lots of quiet waiting and that wasn’t how I thought it would be but there is so much peace knowing I did something really hard that was all His idea and if the book doesn’t sell a single copy, I’m at peace because I did what He asked me to.

Growing up, I wanted to be a wife, mom and most of all a grandma. God blessed me with all of those things, and it wasn’t how I thought it would be…it’s so much better!  My husband is amazing, my kids have grown into fabulous adults who married amazing people and the four grandbabies that fill my heart are not what I thought they would be…they are infinitely better than I could have ever imagined. 

I think back on my life and all that I planned and remember the disappointments, frustrations and failures and realize they didn’t turn out like I thought they would…there was always more to the story.  I think about the hurts and frustrations with dating and planning and test scores or friendships which were so tough to wade through and I realize they didn’t turn out how I thought they would.  I look back over the last three and a half decades of marriage and family and recall challenges, hardships and frustrations.  We were met with bills, budgets, schedules and expectations that left us frazzled and fussing about things we never thought of, but we didn’t stay stuck there.  As the kids grew up there were games, fair animals, friendships, report cards and dates that were marked with sadness and joy.  A few things along the way felt tragic and countless things weren’t at all the way we thought they’d be, but great lessons came anyway.  There have been so many times it has felt like the rug got yanked out from under us but by the Grace of God, we always got back up and almost every time, things turned out even better than we thought they would.

The truth is, the Father and I don’t always think alike.  I may not be traveling to giant venues in impressive places, and I probably won’t have books with my name on the cover in bookstore windows or on a bestseller banner on Amazon like I thought I might, but I’m good with that because I know I’m right where I’m supposed to be doing exactly what He needs me to do.  My target audience isn’t a classroom or a fancy place like Hawaii or Los Angeles, but His plan for my life right now is playing out in my house rocking babies, writing blogs, cooking and playing with little people and loving my big kids.  When I saw the picture on my camera roll of the grandkids and me, I couldn’t imagine anything greater and I’m pretty happy that this season of my life didn’t turn out like I thought it would.  Trusting in His plan brings great hope and with that hope comes the peace of knowing things shift and change.  As long as I’m standing upright and drawing breath, I know He has work for me to do and I have to be willing to follow where He leads me and serve who he leads me to.  I hope I never quit saying, “this isn’t how I thought it would be!”                                                                                                                                                                                               A Seed To Plant: Make a list of the times God hijacked your plans and things were not how you thought they’d be…and make note of how he blessed you in those times?
Blessings on your day
 
 

​I remember hearing a long time ago that if you were dating a person and you wanted to really understand if they were the “right person” you should read this passage from 1 Corinthians and insert their name.  I thought that was excellent thinking, but I was already married so I didn’t give it much thought.  I have no idea what made it pop into my head the other day, but it just sat there.  I began to see the power intended in this verse from St. Paul as all of social media simmers and steams with opinions about the Presidential race.

As the latest political commentary bubbled in my heart I came across this quote by St. Teresa of Calcutta. "Spread love everywhere you go: first of all in your own house. Give love to your children, to your wife or husband, to a next-door neighbor... Let no one ever come to you without leaving better and happier. Be the living expression of God's kindness; kindness in your face, kindness in your eyes, kindness in your smile, kindness in your warm greeting.”  I’m not sure we understand how important it is to love one another.  It was the basic command of Jesus yet we seem to get it so very twisted up.  

As all of this tumbled around in my heart and my head, I remembered that I have absolutely no control over anyone else’s actions but my own and it made me start to think about how I loved others.  The teacher in me thought about a scoring rubric or grading scale for judging my “love ability.”  Somewhere in the middle of a really long bike ride on a beautiful Sunday afternoon this reading had a purpose, and I realized the rubric already existed.  I pulled out the New Testament, found 1 Corinthians 13:4-8 and began to read it slowly inserting my own name.  It sounded like this, “Sheri is patient, Sheri is kind.  Sheri is not jealous; Sheri is not pompous…” I’ll be honest, there were parts I really couldn’t say out loud because they weren’t consistently true.  I wanted to say, “Sheri is not quick-tempered…most of the time or Sheri endures almost all things.”  It was not an easy read!  It was glaringly obvious where I fall short.  

I can’t change the world, but I can change me.  There will always be awful stuff going on in the world;  there always has been and one grandma from Michigan isn’t going to end world violence but God isn’t asking me to.  He’s asking me to love others as he loves me.  This reading from St. Paul’s letter is a great place to start.  The cool thing about it is, if I try harder to get it right, not only will I feel better, but the Father will be pleased and who doesn’t want a new way to please the Father.  It might sound so simple, but I really believe the world will get better if we all learn to love a little harder.

Blessings on your day!​

A Seed To Plant:  Spend some quiet minutes reading this passage and inserting your name and see where the Holy Spirit leads your heart.

​I was preparing for a staff training I will be presenting in August and came across some “warm-up” questions.  One question on the list made me snicker was, if you could be any animal which would you be.  I pondered lots of choices and dismissed most of them for silly reasons.  I didn’t want to be a lion or gator because I didn’t want people to be afraid of me.  I didn’t want to be a cheetah because I hate running and I didn’t want to be a skunk for obvious reasons.  I wondered about being tiny like a hummingbird and giant like a hippopotamus.  After much thought I settled on a dog.

Dogs are loyal, enthusiastic, friendly and affectionate.  Puppies especially are adorable and tend to bring laughter and delight.  Dogs are also intelligent, helpful and easy to get along with.  They don't need a lot of expensive stuff and they are usually very content.  In my mind, it was the answer that made sense.  The funny thing is that those are all qualities I really admire in people.  I thought about this question far longer than I care to admit so then I turned it to prayer and wondered what the Father was teaching.

Animals have characteristics that are meant to help them survive and take their place in the order of creation.  The same is true for each of us.  We aren’t supposed to all be alike.  Each of us was perfectly created by the Father who loves us to be, act and think differently.  Our differences were meant to make us stronger and to help us grow in holiness.  We seem to have lost sight of that.  We would never expect a shark to be as cuddly as a kitten or a giraffe to snuggle up at the foot of our bed.  We wouldn’t expect a tiger to help bring in the cattle and elephants perched in trees chirping delightfully would be a little terrifying.  Maybe God was reminding me to open not only my eyes but my heart to the differences he purposefully designed in each of us.  We have so much to learn and appreciate and respect when we walk among God’s sons and daughters, but we have to open our eyes and notice.  

As I pondered the silly question that started all of this, I realized it helped me notice the beauty in everything God created. The next day I found this line in a prayer book and it seemed like the perfect lesson.  Lord, Lord, I could learn so much if I would notice before I nag and pray before I panic.

A Seed To Plant: Spend some time this week with that line from the prayer book and if you really want a distraction think about the animal question too.​

Blessings on your day!

It’s hard to believe that we’re already slidin into the last bit of July! It’s been a lovely summer and I love all the great summer things there are to do in this beautiful lake dotted state.  A few weeks ago, I was sitting by a lake watching a beach full of swimmers and dozens of boats pulling skiers and tubers. One thing the boats had in common was no matter how big or small they were, they left a wake.  I spent a long time peacefully watching the waves from the wake make their way to shore.  I hadn’t thought much about that afternoon until last weekend when one of the readings was from Psalm 23.  Someone wise once told me that at the beginning of each Mass or service, ask God for at least one nugget to take home.  I don’t always remember to take that good advice but last Sunday morning I did and verse 6 of the 23rd Psalm was that nugget.

That one line jumped into my ears and stuck in my mind like glue!  I thought about it all day and then I remembered the day at the lake and the wakes from the boat.  I gave the Psalm, and the boat wakes some thought and realized there was a lesson.  As a boat moves through the water with any speed at all, a wake is unavoidable and that wake spreads and touches many things.  I suppose what the Holy Spirit was trying to tell me was we are just the same.  As we pass through life and go in and out of people’s lives, we too leave a wake.  What we do and say spreads farther and touches more than we know.  In this one verse, God reminded me what should follow me and what I should be leaving in my wake…mercy and goodness.
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A boat never looks behind and once the wake has been set in motion, there is no taking it back…it just keeps speeding along.  Sometimes the wake can be a lot of fun for the tubers or skiers but sometimes the wake can be harmful or hurtful.  I had to stop and think about what I leave in my wake.  We all leave a wake and quite often, like the boat, we aren’t even aware of what’s happening behind us.  I thought about people in the same aisle of the grocery store…what do I leave in my wake as I speed to the end of the row?  Since the number of places we leave a wake is large, it just might be our biggest opportunity to grow in holiness and discipleship.  I wondered how many times I have sped by people so fast I didn’t even notice the person that needed a little help or encouragement or even a simple smile.  How many people do I leave in my wake unnoticed who simply needed someone to acknowledge them?  This Psalm did a great job of describing what we should be leaving in our wake…mercy and goodness. The Father is so fancy isn’t He!  Heaven doesn’t depend on giant things like building an orphanage or feeding a village.  Thank goodness He makes it simpler than that.  Mercy is love in action and goodness is the definition of the thoughts and actions of Jesus.  That’s what we should be leaving in our wake.  I think I’ll spend some time paying attention to what I leave behind instead of being so worried about charging full speed ahead.
 
A Seed To Plant:  Pray about your wake and pay attention to those who leave good things in their wake…let’s see if we can’t make a difference before summer ends.

Blessings on your day
 

I was walking through the living room with a load of laundry the other night and paused to see a hunting show Dave was watching.  A small group of men were following a guide through brush and up inclines and through tall grass in pursuit of some kind of wild game.  The guide led the way whacking out a path with a machete.  All along the way the guide was pointing out the dangers and beauty of the trip and it really made me stop and think.  The men following the guide had no idea where they were or where they were headed.  They were unfamiliar with the path and had only a mental vision of the destination.  They were fully dependent on the guide to lead them to the bounty or prize of the day.
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I couldn’t get that show out of my mind for several days.  All I could keep thinking about was how dreadful the whole adventure seemed to me.  As the guide pointed out snakes and bee hives the size of Volkswagens and loose gravel near cliff edges I know for certain I would have turned around within the first few hundred yards and gone back to the camp to drink coffee. 

On my next pass through the living room, I noticed that the guide had indeed led the hunters to a beautiful clearing with a breathtaking view and exactly the game they had been in search of.  After an adventurous hike filled with peaks, valleys, danger, delight and blind faith, they got exactly what they were hoping for.  I walked out of the living thinking there was probably a lesson.

I have been blessed to share a rough journey with a few friends this summer.  Each of these beautiful, strong women has faced fierce battles of different kinds.  I’ve laughed, cried and prayed with and for these friends as they picked themselves up and trudged on after each setback.  I’ve been inspired by their courage and faith and then it dawned on me; their lives were a little like the hunting show Dave was watching.  Isn’t life like that sometimes; tough, dangerous and tricky to maneuver.  The wrong turn can lead to more difficulty and forging off in an unknown direction without a guide would certainly not end well.

God is an awful lot like that hunting guide.  He’s always ahead clearing a path and offering direction and warning.  Even in the thick of it all, the only thing he asks is that we stay close and follow his lead so he can guide and protect us on our way to a destination far more beautiful than we could ever imagine.  Just like the guide on the TV show, nobody was forced to follow but it sure made sense to do so.  I had to ask myself what kind of follower I am. As I think back on that show, I see so many places in my life where I felt like I was stuck in thick brush, and he led me through it every time and led me to a place greater than I had imagined.  I suppose the next time I get stuck I’ll remember this image of God as my guide and trust and follow a little more easily.

A Seed To Plant:  Are there some adventures going on in your life that you need to invite God to lead you through?​

Blessings on your day!

I have a terrible habit of dragging my feet about doing things I think are going to be hard and frustrating.  Instead of just jumping in and getting down to it, I procrastinate and make the whole thing seem big enough to swallow me.  I recently had to tackle a problem that required a consumer service department, an IT specialist and three computer downloads.  I had put it off for nearly a week before I made myself get to it.  As it turned out, the folks were very friendly, and the project wasn’t nearly as difficult or daunting as I thought it would be.  I felt pretty silly for wasting a week and making such a mountain out of a mole hill.  My faith in my ability to tackle the job was pretty small.  I truly made it a much bigger deal than it needed to be.  As I was thinking about it all the verse about the mustard seed popped into my mind and made me wonder how many times I made things harder than they needed to be.

God calls each of us to love Him and love each other.  His mission for us is pretty straightforward but we sure can complicate it can’t we!  We are each called to discipleship which means we are tasked with spreading the love and the story of Jesus and what He’s done in our lives.  Sometimes the Lord presents an opportunity to evangelize but we talk ourselves out of it.  We don’t tell the story of Jesus because we are afraid we’ll say the wrong thing or people will think we’re weird.  The truth is, we often overcomplicate the process completely.  I heard a visiting priest tell a story that was a great reminder of what God can do with our mustard seed of faith…and it isn’t as difficult as we think.

According to the priest, the story first appeared in the New Your Times and it was about seeing the love of Jesus at a Dunkin Donuts.  As the story goes, there was a long line of customers waiting and a woman began to speak out in a loud voice sharing her troubles.  Loudly she said, “I don’t know what I’m going to do.  I don’t sleep, I can’t get well, everything is falling apart.”  Everyone heard her but everyone either looked down or glued their eyes to their phone.  The distraught woman looked around again and shared more of her fear and said, “I have no place to go, I have no family, I don’t know what I’m going to do.”  Again, everyone shifted nervously and looked anywhere but in her direction.  It was quiet enough to hear a pin drop when everyone noticed the sound of a tall, well dressed womans high heels walking toward the troubled lady.  She simply bought a cup of coffee and gave it to the woman then put her arm around her, walked her to her table and said, “Sister, sit down here and tell me your story.”  I don’t know that the well-dressed woman had all the answers or solutions but I’m not sure it mattered.  All it took was a two-dollar cup of coffee and one question to share Jesus and change a hurting persons life.  Her simple Christ-like compassion no doubt changed everything that day. 

That story has been sitting on my heart for a couple of weeks and once again I realized God isn’t asking us to be Scripture Scholars or Theology majors reciting facts and information…He’s asking us to simply share his love and notice His children.  One simple question, one simple act of connection offered because we’ve seen with His eyes can make all the difference to someone in a tough spot.  Who knows what that tiny seed of faith shown to a hurting woman that morning turned into...the Father knows and rest assured, He turned that little something into something marvelous.

A Seed To Plant:  Prayerfully make a decision to respond kindly in even a tiny way to one of God’s children this week.  Offer Him your mustard seed of faith and know He will do something great and it won’t be as difficult as you think.
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Blessings on your day!

My grandkids are the light of my life!  I have so much more time to notice and enjoy my grandkids.  When I was a mom and the kids were sleeping or content, I was running Mach 10 with my hair on fire trying to get things done but with the grandkids, everything else just gets put on hold.  I’m thrilled with they come and sad when they leave but after they go home, there are always little traces of them left behind and my favorite is their little handprints on the doors and windows.  The other day after they all went home, I was trying to read, and I just couldn’t seem to focus on the book.  Once I took off my glasses to rub my eyes, I realized the problem…fingerprints, nose prints and water splashes from the kiddie pool covered my lenses.  Once I cleaned them up things were good as new but as I stood there wiping my lenses clean, I soaked up the memories of an awesome, smudgy day.
 
Those clean glasses changed everything, and it got me to thinkin.  Sometimes we see life like I was trying to see the words on a page through my smudgy glasses.  Things can get so cloudy and distorted and if we look at things that way for long, everything we see seems cloudy. Maybe it’s time to clean our lenses a little and clear away some of the fuzz that can not only bother our eyes but our hearts and attitudes as well.  Later this week, we will celebrate Independence Day.  It’s a lovely summer holiday that has such a deep meaning.  During an election year things have a tendency to get fuzzy for sure!  Maybe we need to clean up our lenses as we celebrate on the 4th and realize that the truth about our Independence, is that it was deeply steeped in God and faith and religious freedom.  The great part about our independence is that it should make us completely dependent on the Father.  If the days and times we’re in the middle of seem pretty fuzzy compared to what our Forefathers intended, maybe we need to stop looking so much at Washington D.C. and start focusing in on God the Father and pray for this great nation.

The way we see things is more important than what we actually see.  We don’t have to look very hard to see troublesome things and worrisome people but there is always another lens to look through.  When all we see is rotten, everything we see is fuzzy like my glasses were the other day.  It’s not a new problem for sure.  Think about Adam and Eve.  They lived in a huge and luscious garden.  That garden was a paradise filled with more trees, plants, animals and beauty than we can even imagine.  In the midst of all the splendor of the garden, God said they could have it all except the fruit from one tree.  Now, there were more trees than they could probably even count and more delicious food to eat than they could stuff down but they couldn’t take their gaze from the ONE thing they were told wasn’t for them.  It’s no wonder we lose track of all the things we have when we get stuck on the one thing we don’t have.

Why is it that we can receive many positive comments and compliments and enjoy many lovely conversations in a week, but we stick like glue to one negative thing someone said or suggested?  How many times do we go to Google or to friends for answers and grab the information and ideas like they are golden, but we don’t pick up Scripture and seek the Father’s truth and encouragement.  I wonder how many times we put more stock in memes and quotes than in the words of Jesus?  The truth is the words that clear up the fuzzy lenses we go through life with are so simple.  Jesus said in times of trouble, stand firm and trust in the Father.  Jesus said, trust in the Lord with all your heart.  Jesus told us that His ways are not our ways and He said again and again, look and act with great love.  If Adam and Eve had done any of those things the story would have looked so different.
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The Lord NEVER gives us less and even when His ways aren’t clear, His plan is perfect and the first step to seeing this is to clean your lenses and focus on the things you have and not the things you don’t, or the things others have. The second thing is to ask the Father what you need to do to fulfill His plan instead of worrying about what others are or are not doing. The third step is to ask constantly for the Lord to soften your heart and help you see with His eyes, ask Him to help you see the good because that’s HIM, the rest is not of Him. Things don’t always look like they seem, ask the Father for clarity and the ability to see Him in all things because If you can’t see God in all things, you won’t be able to see God in anything.

A Seed To Plant:  Make a list of situations or people you need to look at differently.
Blessings on your day!

​Retirement from teaching has brought so many beautiful things to my days, the greatest being time with grandkids and the second thing that I have truly enjoyed is reading.  I went to the library for the first time in more than twenty years looking for books to read for fun.  Not books for an article I was writing, a class I was teaching or a talk I was preparing for but books simply for the pleasure of reading.  I forgot what it felt like to get lost in a book and turn page after page not worrying about papers to grade or lessons to plan and it’s been delightful.  I’ve been reading from a series of Christian fiction books that connect Scripture to real people and time periods and events.  One was literally the book of Tobit set in the California gold rush days.  Another series followed a group of Roman, Jewish and Greek characters living about thirty years after the death of Jesus.  It’s amazing how so many of the places and events from both the Old and New Testament come to life through these fictitious folks.  The story revolves around the characters who are new Christians and the ways they are working to tell the story and bring others to the love of Jesus.  Their courage and passion is inspiring and I often finish a chapter thinking I have so much discipleship to gain.
The people in the story live with a peace and a faith that blows my mind.  They face persecution and death with such joy knowing choosing to follow Jesus is everything.  Many times lately I’ve had the thought, sure I’m faithful when things are going well, but I often fall asleep wondering how my faith would look if I really faced hardship.  It doesn’t take me long to be honest and admit I probably wouldn’t be the towering pillar of strength and courage I might imagine I’d be.  The Lord is really using these stories to make me think and pray.  In the middle of these thoughts a few Sundays ago we heard the words from Paul to the Corinthians at Mass where he urged and encouraged the early Christians to bear up against their struggle and “light affliction”.  For the early Christians, light affliction included things like floggings, public humiliation, prison time, starvation, slavery or a trip to the arena with lions and other wild animals.  They referred to all of this as light and momentary because they longed for the Glory of God.  Their love of Jesus totally washed away their fear and they would be held in the dungeons below the arena for days or weeks waiting and all the while they were singing songs of praise and spreading the works of the Lord to every guard or prisoner they could.  I’m pretty sure I’d be curled up in a corner!
 
St. Paul also encouraged the Corinthians to live with a spirit of joy, peace and forgiveness in the midst of affliction.  I don’t know about you but if I’m being “afflicted” I’m usually trying to think about how to make it go away not about how to be joyful and forgiving.  St. Paul’s words are for us too, even today.  It’s probably a really good thing I wasn’t one of the first Christians; thank goodness God knew that and didn’t create me to live then.  It would be easy for me to think about all this and feel like a lousy disciple because I couldn’t do what they did or that my life today is such a piece of cake compared to theirs, but the truth is, God has a different plan for me.  I got stuck comparing afflictions and that never works out well.  I think I was missing the point!  God doesn’t love us more if our afflictions and struggles are bigger or harder.  We don’t “get a better seat” in heaven if we’ve slugged our way through a really messy life.  His love is the same…the reward is the same but it’s about  HOW we include him in our affliction and not HOW BIG the affliction is.  Scripture promises we will have trouble but what do we do with it when it comes? Let’s be honest, we never invite it or desire it, but it shows up…that’s life. Sometimes the trouble is gigantic and sometimes it’s a mole hill we turn into  a mountain.   Instead of growling at it or hiding from it or blaming 5 dozen people for it. we need to face it for what it is…a chance to trust, a chance to hope, a chance to grow and above all else…offering and inviting Jesus into our affliction is how we bring Glory to God and get to heaven.  One of the book characters again and again says, “Lord, whatever pleases you, allow me to be a part of it.”  I think my prayer would add, “Just drag me through it because you know what’s going on and what lies on the other side of this affliction that I’m trowin a fit about!” When one of the characters was sent into the arena with hungry lions, she said, “Lord, send the hungriest lion my way so I can call out your name and come home to you.”  Thank goodness there are no lions in my life so perhaps I’ll start with “Lord, send the ridiculous drivers, or the cranky person, or the car repair, or the broken washer, or the illness, or the squabbling kids, or the ungrateful boss so I can call out your name and use this affliction to grow closer to heaven.”
 
A Seed To Plant:  Make a list of your current afflictions and talk to the Father about how to include him in them.
 
Blessings on your day!

I’ve always loved this verse from Psalm 119, and I associate it with that picture of a sandal footed man carrying a lantern walking down a dark path.  The thing about that lamp though, is that it really only lights up the next step and not much beyond it.  The lamp is great, but it doesn’t illuminate the whole journey…it just gives enough light to do the next thing.  God is that light for us but like the lamp, he only reveals the next step, and we have to trust him with the rest but there are so many times I think I’d be a better disciple if I knew what was coming so I could prepare and make a plan. 
 
Sometimes our human nature wants to plan, organize and prepare.  We like to have choices and weigh our options, usually looking for things that are most comfortable and convenient.  Those things chip away at our surrender and trust and make it more difficult to be overwhelmed by the loving care of the Father.  We pick straightforward and He chooses loops and sidetracks which always contain surprises.  We pick what’s good for us and He gives us tricky and yucky and sad in order to draw us close to his love and protection.  We pick predictable while He picks surprising.  We pick comfortable and He picks bold and uncomfortable.  He does all these things because He knows what we need beyond the next step, and He knows how we need to be formed so we can take that step.
Twelve years ago, He led me to write the first Joyful Words post and He’s been leading me ever since.  Each post is literally like that lamp just showing the next post and not beyond.  I don’t have a file of pre-written future blogs; I just trust Him to send me what He wants typed always hoping I’m careful to use His words trusting they will be the message one of His beloved needs to hear.  A dozen years is a long time to do something you never planned to do in the first place but as long as the Holy Spirit keeps sending words, I’ll keep typing them. As I prepare to write the 12th year of posts, I decided to do a little googling and discovered that the number 12 in Scripture is symbolic of perfection, entirety and order.  I giggled thinking this blog is not those three things but maybe He can use my perfectly imperfect words to touch a heart.  The blogs don’t contain His entire message and teaching but hopefully He’ll help me pick a piece that speaks encouragement and truth.  As far as order goes, I hope the posts are a weekly reminder about putting God first in the order of our days. The googling also reminded me that there were 12 tribes of Israel, 12 gates and 12 foundations to the New Jerusalem, and there were 12 Apostles.   That’s a lot of important twelves! Again and again, He reminds us he is the gate, the foundation, the leader and the way the truth and the light.  Thanks to the number twelve for some great reminders.
 
As each blog anniversary rolls around, I wonder how much longer He’ll ask me to write, and I realize the answer is much like the lamp that just shows the next step. As I begin writing for the twelfth year my understanding with the Holy Spirit remains the same; I’ll keep writing as long as people keep reading.  Hopefully we can all grab a thought or two that can help us take that next good step.
 
A Seed To Plant:  Spend some time praying with this scripture verse and the image of illuminating the next good step.
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Blessings on your day!
 

​Do any of you have a person in your life that is brutally honest with you?  You know, that person who will tell you just like it is and is not one bit afraid to call the kettle black!  This type of person has an amazing ability to leave you breathless with one quick sentence.  The outcome is often the same…we stop, steam a bit, and then take some time to realize they just spoke a truth.   We may not like the sound of it but it turns out very often to be something we need to hear.  I heard a story several years ago about a person just like this. 

The story goes like this; a wife told her husband that she wanted to take part in a new Bible study group at the church on Tuesday nights.  He replied “another one? “ “Yeah” she snapped, “You got a problem with that Mr. I go bowling and hunting and fishing and never go to church with my wife on Sunday?”  The husband smiled and said, “I wouldn’t mind at all if you went to another Bible study, but I don’t see any evidence that you’ve used anything you’ve learned at the last 12 Bible studies you’ve already gone to.”  Ouch!  There was that one honest line that left her breathless!  After four days of not talking, no cooking, sleeping on the couch and no communication what-so-ever, she realized he was right!  She hadn’t changed one bit despite all the time, energy and resources she’d invested in her former studies.  On day 5 she got up the courage to look him in the eyes and tell him he was right!  She surprised her husband even further when she told him she wanted to make a deal with him.  She said she would be willing to spend her time reviewing all the materials she already had instead of going to another Bible study if he would agree to go to church with her if he began to see her using what she had learned.

I don’t know how the story ended, but I have a hunch!  St. James used some very simple words in this verse, words many of us, just like the lady in the story are challenged by; being doers of the word and not just hearers.  I may aspire to be the town’s greatest cook and I may buy cookbook after cookbook, and I might discuss cooking and recipes with others but none of that will really make me a great cook!  I have to DO it…I have to roll up my sleeves, dig into the words and put them into action!  I have to take a risk and be willing to get messy and goof it up a few times before I get it right!  God doesn’t want to hear what we know; he wants to SEE what we know.  Easier said than done for sure but now is the time to dig in and be a DOER of the word!

A seed to plant: Read James Chapter 1 and pick two things that hit your heart.  Write down how you will “DO” those two things this week!

Blessings on your day!

I’m sorry for the “delay” in todays post but it seems “delay” has been the word of the week.  As I type, I’m sitting in an airport waiting again.  I’ve logged 20 hours of airport waiting since Monday afternoon and it’s been full of lessons.  I’ve been booked, re-booked, stand by assigned and bumped off a plane because the storm we were heading into required two passengers had to leave the flight and I was picked.  It’s been such a strange trip and my quick “there and back the next day” to Knoxville has taken on a design of its own.
 
I went to Knoxville to present a retreat on the theme of “Being Formed by the Father” which focused on the scripture image of the potter and his clay.  One entire section of the retreat focused on being patient while the Lord was molding, shaping, and then re-forming us.  It is a process that constantly allows us to be made into the person we were created to be.  This waiting is part of the process that the Father uses to mold and change us so we can become more focused on Him and less focused on the world. Sometimes it’s as if the potters wheel stops spinning and we need to be still where we are and soak in the struggles, blessings and the lessons.  It might be easy to look at these seasons of waiting on the Lord as a delay and we might be tempted to think the Lord needs to hurry up and change things, but we have to remind ourselves that the clay never leaves the potters hands and the Lord is truly doing something during the “delay”.  God is so fancy because this whole trip has been a giant lesson in “practice what you teach”!
 
I’ve had plenty of opportunities to live out this thought in the last few days. My prayer has been to use the unexpected delays and changes to practice peace, joy and trust. Honestly, it’s been a grace-filled time. I’ve realized a few things; all things work for good but they don’t always work for our convenience.  If we ask for patience and peace, He will most assuredly give us opportunities to practice them.  When we expect the potter to mold us into His design instead of our preference, He will and He does it in some very fancy ways.  As I stood in the re-book line late last night after being removed from the flight, I took a minute and offered my three big hiccups (one being where will I sleep) in prayer and one by one each was resolved.  I trusted Him to put all things in order and He did.  The surprise at the end of a long wait was a customer service agent who handed me a Starbucks gift card and a travel voucher with a thank you for not yelling at her. She looked like it had been a very long day with lots of yelling.  There were so many people to pray for who were put in difficult situations by the delays and many times I heard peoples story and I silently prayed that the Lord would intervene with His peace and more than once I heard a ticket agent say with great surprise in their voice, “Wait, something just opened up on that flight, I can get you there.” The delays gave me so many chances to see Him working.
I’m hoping to be home by the end of this day but if I’m not, I’ll remind myself that I can offer the trials and delays for the good of someone else because a delay gives us an opportunity to think about Him and what He might be inviting us to see, do, hear or learn.  I’m currently watching a mama teach her toddler how to sing the ABC song and it’s cracking me up, I’m pretty sure that little guy is gearing up to give a concert at gate G13 and I’m glad I have a good seat!  And on a really happy note, I’ve got a Starbucks gift card to use.
 
A Seed To Plant:  What seems to be on “delay” in your life right now and how can you invite the Father into the wait or the re-route?
 
Blessings on your day!

A couple of weeks ago I watched out the laundry room window to soak in something that truly made my heart so happy.  I was watching Dave and our 3-year-old grandson Lewis plant the garden.  They were digging and planting and chatting like a couple old farmers.  I loved watching them enjoy the dirt, sunshine and each other. It doesn’t really matter if the harvest is great because the planting was awesome.  Lewis had a lot of questions and Dave had a lot of answers, but “Will we have lots of corn?”  was a question Dave couldn’t truthfully answer.  He could hopefully answer but a lot of factors that Dave and Lewis have no control over come in to play as we wait. 

Whether we’re talking about growing vegetables or growing in discipleship, truth, trust and unwavering faith are things that require depth.  In our walk with Jesus, we crave those moments when we “feel” him.  We love those warm, sweet “He’s got me in His arms” moments but true discipleship is so much bigger and deeper and more meaningful.  Those cuddly feelings don’t last forever and if they are all we’re in this for we will wither and be scorched by the trials of life so we have to dig deeper.

My first year as an elementary teacher I had a mentor who told me that some lessons were meant to be a mile wide and an inch deep but the important lessons…the ones the kids would need for a lifetime needed to be a mile deep and an inch wide.  Those are the lessons that carry us through the trials and temptations and noises of the world. Love, surrender, humility; these are the things that need to take root deeply in our daily prayer and our daily living.  Allowing these things to take deep root requires daily focus.  When we find ourselves fretting about the past or stewing about the future, we aren’t allowing the Father to root us firmly in the space where we are and where He is; the present.
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I have recently been reading a lot about an amazing saint named St. Francis de Sales who truly lived a life of wisdom and prayer.  I was thinking of him as I watched Dave and Lewis working in the dirt and realized the whole wonderful afternoon would have been ruined if the two of them had been worried and fretful about the harvest instead of enjoying the beginning.  Today is a good day to ask the Father to help us be firmly and deeply rooted in Him as we think about some wise words from St. Francis de Sales who said, “Let us think only of spending the present day well.  Then, when tomorrow shall have come, it will be called today and then, we will think about it.
 
A Seed To Plant:  What things cause you to dwell in the past or drift to the future? Make a list of those things and then slowly and prayerfully sit with the words of St. Francis asking God to help you let go of those things and help you root deeply in the present.
 
Blessings on your day!
 

There are a lot of things I’d like to do.  I want to see Niagara Falls, go to Hawaii and sit on a sunny beach.  There are even more things I don’t want to do like visit a reptile farm, run a race and climb a mountain; all three of those things sound equally as awful to me!  I know for a fact that I don’t have what it takes to do any of those three things…especially climb a mountain.  As I get older, I have discovered that there used to be more things on the “I don’t want to” list but sometimes life just gives you no choice.  For instance, I always said I’d never design and build a house or rent a car in an unfamiliar state, but I have done both in the last couple of years because it’s just how it had to be.

It's funny that when it came to doing those things I didn’t want to do, help came along at the right time and the task was way better than I had imagined. I heard a man recently whose life goal was to climb Mt. Everest and I listened with fascination as he shared all the planning and prepping, he’d been doing for the last couple of years to prepare.  After listening to his long list, I easily came to the conclusion that I indeed was not a mountain climbing kind of girl.  When asked if he was worried about the danger, he explained all about the role of a Sherpa.  He explained that a Sherpa was an expert climber and guide.  Sherpas are from mountain areas, and they are used to the climate, the climb, navigation, and terrain.  He felt assured that a Sherpa would make the adventure successful. 
I thought about this guy and his adventure for the next several weeks and decided some days I could really use a Sherpa of my own.  Sometimes staying on the path to sainthood is rough going!  There are many times I could use the expert direction of someone who was familiar with the route to heaven and could help me avoid the dangers and pitfalls of the journey.  I daydreamed about how much easier holiness would be if there was a Sherpa directing me, protecting me and teaching me every step of the way.  But then I realized I do have a Sherpa…actually I have several of them in fact, and so do you.  Now, they aren’t the kind of Sherpa who will carry our things, set up our camp and walk ten steps ahead of us at all times but they are there to guide us nonetheless.  I decided to make a list of all my Sherpas and here’s what I came up with.

The Saints are like our Sherpa.  They lived a life that honored and followed God just like we’re trying to.  They didn’t always take the right path or the most direct route, but their example of service and devotion serves as a guiding light for us.  Mama Mary is absolutely our Sherpa…she has only one mission and that is to lead us to her Son. Regular people can also be our Sherpa.  There are people filled with wisdom and strength and faith.  There are people who are suffering with grace and trust.  There are people who are teachers and leaders who share their ideas and insights with us.  When I really think about it, sometimes God chooses a little person to be a Sherpa.  Kids can be wise and cut right through to the heart of things.  The thing is, we can have as many Sherpas as we want but if we don’t listen to them, trust their wisdom and follow where they lead, we’re not going to end up reaching our destination.  A Mountain Sherpa is constantly checking, observing, adjusting and has enormous respect for God’s might and creation.  I certainly can’t climb a mountain even with the help of the most spectacular Sherpa ever but tuning in to the wisdom and direction of the Sherpas God has put in my life is something I can do with a little trust and surrender.  I think I’ll begin with some wise words from a Sherpa that crossed my path recently and said, “If you can’t see God in ALL things, you can’t see God in ANYTHING.”
 
 
A Seed To Plant:  Where are some places in your life you could use a little direction from a Sherpa? Take that to prayer and pick one to follow!
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Blessings on your day!

When I was young, I wore leg braces that had cables and hinges on the inside and outside of my legs.  They ran from the bottom of my shoes up to my waist, and they were connected to special corrective shoes.  Needless to say, I hated them for so many reasons, one being the shoes were just so ugly.  Any time I wanted to throw a pity party when someone in my class got fancy new shoes my mom would remind me that shiny shoes were not going to help me walk properly then she’d wink and let me know that I would outgrow pretty shoes, but I’d never be sorry I could walk better.  It was a choice even on the days it didn’t feel like it! To this day, I always notice people’s shoes and if I wasn’t so tight with my money, I’d probably own a dozen pairs!

Those braces were a great teacher.  They taught me about humility and patience and gratitude. They also taught me that we need to think carefully about how we see things.  Michigan spring is such a crazy season.  The past couple of days it was sunny, gorgeous and in the 70’s but today it’s rainy, cold and in the 50’s. It would be so easy to grumble about the yucky weather today, completely forgetting about the beautiful days we just enjoyed.  We can be such pouty babies when things don’t line up with our wishes can’t we!  I was trotting through the grocery store feeling completely annoyed this afternoon because my shoes got wet in the parking lot and I was soggy and chilly when all of the sudden I rounded the corner and saw a lady with leg braces and a guide dog.  My mind went back many decades to my braces, and I ducked into a quiet aisle to have a chat with myself.  As I thought about my soggy feet all I could feel was overwhelming gratitude for feet that could easily tromp through the puddles.  After I said a prayer of thanks and got ready to take off again, I realized I had ducked into the coffee aisle, and I couldn’t help but smile and thank Him again for one of my favorite things…COFFEE!  And just because He’s so fancy, my favorite kind was on sale. Rain and coffee were the perfect example of what I like and what I don't like smushed together to make me pay attention.

I spent the next five aisles thinking about all the times I rumble in my head when things aren’t just how I like it and then I remembered the remedy!  Fr. Ruotolo is famous for a prayer called the Surrender Novena and it is comprised of one simple line repeated ten times.  O Jesus, I surrender myself to you, take care of everything.  I pray that simple prayer on repeat and when I forget to be grateful or I try to manage things that are not mine to manage, it draws me to peace and truth.  When the prayer is said with love and trust the outcome is powerful.  It serves as a great reminder that life comes with things we love and things we don’t; things we’d choose and things we’d like to take a hard pass on.  If someone tries to give us something, we do a quick evaluation and run through questions like; do I like it, do I need it, do I want it, is it valuable?  But when we offer something to the Father, he gladly takes it all.  When we surrender to Him, and offer Him our very self, he doesn’t just pick the good parts or the pretty parts or the put together parts…He wants ALL of us…every single part of our life.  He wants our bad days, our distractions, pain, sadness, frustration, disappointment, rotten sleep, quick temper, half-hearted attempts, doubts, fears, impatience and pridefulness.  He’s not like us…he doesn’t just want the sunny warm lovely days; he wants our storms and puddles. I guess you could say he wants our yucky rain drops as much as our wonderful, comforting coffee pots.

In case you’re wondering why He would ever want us to surrender all our mess and offer it as a gift to Him, the answer is easy and definitely worth remembering…He wants it so he can replace it with something so much better…His peace and His love and His joy!  Doesn’t seem like a fair trade but then again fair is a human concept.  With God it’s all about helping us navigate and surrender the junk so we can experience his mighty, perfect love.

A Seed To Plant:  Write that simple surrender prayer down and put it several places so you remember to say it often and soak up the peace as He walks with you through the sunshine and the puddles.

Blessings on your day!
 
 
 

​This verse made me remember a plastic suit of armor the boys had when they were little.  One of the boys would wear the armor and the other would wear the Detroit Lions shoulder pads and football uniform and pretend to slay all the bad guys in the county.  They were invincible in those get ups.  They felt strong and brave and confident as they rode their bikes up and down the lane defending the land.  It didn’t matter to them that it was just cheap plastic, what they wore convinced them of something.

That memory and this verse made me think about what our wardrobe says about us.  It seems like a simple thing, get up, get dressed and go on with your day but when you think about it WHAT we put on can send a message.  We identify police officers, doctors and nurses by the clothes they wear and we automatically assume they will be helpful because of the way they are dressed.  We will approach a total stranger in a store to ask for help based on a simple plastic name tag pinned to their shirt.  We have the potential to trust, mistrust; judge and misjudge people every day based on what they wear.  Does that seem crazy to anybody else?

I guess the big questions are what does God’s armor look like and how often do I wear it?  Then it hit me, it’s not really about fabric at all.  The clothes we wear may reflect something about our style, profession or personality but they don’t necessarily tell the whole story.  I think the armor of God is something we put on from the inside. It can be pretty easy to look at someone’s clothes and assume a thing or two about them that may or may not be correct but the armor of God is unmistakable. Putting it on is intentional, never just a quick grab and go outfit.  The boys always needed my help putting on those get ups they used to wear and so it is with Gods armor; we need him to assist us.  If we intentionally ask God to protect us and defend us we have to be willing to let him.  Wearing his armor means we are protected and safe, but silly humans that we are, we think it means we are now prepared to charge into the world and defeat all the evils much like two little boys I remember in my back yard.  God is the defender and we are the defended; the armor of God doesn’t give us a job it gives us peace.  

God’s armor is not heavy or clumsy; it’s powerful and designed to fit perfectly.  I realized that if I woke up each morning and asked God to dress me in his armor, I would be more confident and peaceful and content.  I realized I wouldn’t have to worry about harm or evil because nothing is stronger than God.  It doesn’t mean nothing bad will happen, it means God will protect me no matter what the circumstance.  If I puddled my way through each day without worry or distraction about all the things that might happen or could happen or shouldn’t happen I would have so much more time for great things!  I would have more time to pray, more time to help and WAY more time to love.  I think I’ll ask God to help me put on that armor right now and leave the defending to him while I get busy with trusting bigger and loving harder…talk about dress for success!

A Seed To Plant:  Stop right now and ask God to suit you in his armor and then give him a list of all the things you’d like to be defended from.  All that’s left is to trust and be protected.​

Blessings on your day!

Would everyone who ever had a mother look into their eyes and say, “Just do it… because I said so!”, please stand up.  If you are a reader who follows directions, you’re probably now reading this post standing up!  Somewhere early in mamma school the women in my mother’s generation learned how to say that phrase with such authority and strength it was simply a conversation stopper!  When my mom launched that phrase from her lips it was a done deal…mamma said do it…case closed!  Lucky for me, my mother passed on the talent.  As I fast forward lots of years, I have said those same words to my own children at the end of a debate I had to come out the winner of.  It’s like the motherhood trump card…do it because I said so!

 Why is it so powerful…why does it work…why do we say it?  I think the first thing that makes it so powerful is that it’s biblical…if Mary, the mother of Jesus could use the line successfully all mother (and fathers) should be encouraged to use it too! I think it works because it’s simple and I think we say it because we love our children, and we know what’s best for them.  Mary’s words had a deeper meaning; they were an invitation to the servers to be a part of something amazing that was about to happen.  Mamma Mary knew great things were about to begin with her son…she knew best that night, so she used those powerful words and the servants at that wedding did what they were instructed because Jesus’ mother “said so!”

Those words from John’s Gospel have a strong tie to our lives even today.  We are the servers…we are those called to be Christ’s hands and feet on earth.  We are called to live and spread the Gospel message so Mary’s words are as relevant to us today as they were to the servers in Cana the night Jesus performed his first miracle.  Our mothers told us to “do what they said” because they knew there was more to the situation than we could see.  Mary knew that too.  Mary knows that still.  Whenever we hear the words in this Gospel message, we should be reminded to “do whatever He tells us”.  That really is our job…to do whatever He tells us.  He has every last detail about our life sealed in His heart why wouldn’t we listen and obey?  We are a stubborn people.  Lucky for us, Mary reminds us through this verse to do whatever Jesus tells us, and even luckier for us, because of God’s great love and wisdom, we are invited back again and again to try to do it the right way…the way He tells us.
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A Seed To Plant:   Before you go to bed tonight, recall a situation where you didn’t “Do whatever He said”. Think about the outcome of that situation and prayerfully sleep on it.  Tomorrow morning pick one tricky or difficult area in your life and specifically ask God to help “do whatever He tells you”.

Blessings on your day!