For Dummies

Proverbs 8:17 

I love those that love me, and those who seek me diligently will find me.




I was at a garage sale the other day and in this lady's garage, on a table full of books, was a stack of 'How To's and 'For Dummies' books. I always find those funny, so I thumbed through them.

The stack of titles read a little something like this:

• How to Get Divorced Successfully
• How to Make a Souffle 
• Religion For Dummies
• Knitting For Dummies
• How to Stop Smoking
• How to Coupon
• Finding Purpose For Dummies

I fought hard to suppress my laughter. After all, the elderly lady was standing a foot or two away to make sure I didn't steal anything and plus, I didn't want to be rude. 

What I found the most peculiar, (and I mean to tell you, I didn't mean to psychoanalyze her, but it happens sometimes...I can't help it) was the range of topics in that little stack. 

From marital struggles, to fiances, God complexes, drug abuse, and time filling, this lady had most probably (judging by the books....YES the covers) seen it all. 

Who knows what was really going on in her life, or what HAD gone on. Only God truly knows, but if there is one thing I do know, I didn't see the one book the owner of that stack should have had in her possession. 

Perhaps it was under her bed somewhere collecting dust. 

Maybe it was on her nightstand. 

Maybe she's up to date with the kids these days and has it on her phone. (Honestly, I would take the real deal over the app any day, but when I have to, that app is pretty nifty!) Who knows?

 God knows.

Personally, I hope she was selling those books because she had no need for them anymore, not because she'd read them cover to cover. 

My prayer:

May you never have need for any other book, or strength, or reason for existing than God's.  

Reason why? God's book, God's strength, and God's purpose for your life is FAR better than anything you'll find in between the cover page and the footnotes of a 'For Dummies' book.

 All that's required of you is faith, trust, and a seeking heart.

Sister and Levi

Priceless Postage

I find myself running to my corner more and more as I see less and less of the world I used to know. As they say, innocence lost is sight gained in the sense of this world..for innocence can often be blinding. Yet, still I am reminded of Paul; blinded for the sole purpose of gaining sight. Interesting, isn't it? But God's sight is not of this world. So how unexpected is it, really?

In these moments, I find myself running to my corner to reign in my thoughts, gather my wits, and to bow the knee. Though more often than not as I make a routine of this, instead of meeting God in our corner and taking Him with me, it troubles me to say I leave Him there. 

Did Paul run with his new gifts of change of heart, name, path, and perspective on life only to forget the Giver? 

If so, I must have missed that part. 

I don't ever want to go a minute anywhere without knowing I've being sent as Paul was, as a letter for every man to see, with God's postage on my outward and His thunderous voice that formed mountains and counts the stars on my inward. Tonight, this is my prayer as I sit in my corner with my knees bowed and heart strings knotted. Tonight, I count my blessings as the stars and am thankful God's faithfulness out stands the mountains even when mine doesn't. 

Redemption

From the very beginning, Earth's chances were non-existent; the odds were always against Earth. Charged with being the throne on top of which the prince of this world sits, Earth is condemned to its consistency. Rotate, orbit, rotate more, orbit again, suffer the inhabitancy of man, rotate.  If the earth had a voice, would it object to its sentence? Would it ask to be removed from under Satan's rod? Or would it, too, accept that God will one day make it anew? That one day, a city of purest gold from God's refinery will be its ornamentation?

God doesn't say He will restore us to our former design. 

 No, Earth will no longer be subject to frail chance and demolished probability, but rather, it will have the strength, power, and eternal glory of God's redeeming love. 

If the Earth had a voice, I'm positive it wouldn't object to that. 

Would you? 

Then He who sat on the throne said, “Behold, I make all things new.” And He said to me, “Write, for these words are true and faithful.” And He said to me, “It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. I will give of the fountain of the water of life freely to him who thirsts. He who overcomes shall inherit all things, and I will be his God and he shall be My son."(Revelation 21:4-7 NKJV)

Kneel; You're Bona Fide.

"Please kneel as we come before our Creator in prayer."
I bowed my head, I folded my hands, and I closed my eyes.
I even scooted forward in the pew, but there I remained; in the pew. It mattered not the positions of those around me, that much I knew. I also knew I didn't kneel. I suppose I  couldn't with my heart as full of things unsuitable for a temple as mine was at that moment.

"Lord Jesus, we come before you....humbled."

Windows...they're peculiar things. They are portals, put more accurately, but windows all the same.
When a window is closed, things have to pry the window open to crawl in. When it's opened, things tend to grow wings and fly out.

One of the things unsuitable for a temple jumped into the window of my heart, making it thump a bit faster.

That's when I heard His voice in my head, saying, "Push them out. All of the things inside the window? Just, let them fly to me."
But rather than listening to Him, I let another thing unsuitable for a temple crawl in.

How is it that we, the sinful, the terrible, the blemished, could ever....reasonably, with any logic to boot, POSSIBLY feel exempt from kneeling?

I was not exempt and I most certainly didn't FEEL exempt...I just felt unworthy. Which makes little to no sense, I know. Which is why I'm baffled so!
I literally felt unworthy....to come before the Lord.... unworthy.

-That's pretty unworthy- 

But, you see, we all are unworthy. Not one of us is worthy to fall before God and exclaim just how unworthy we are. 

-Yet He loves us anyway- 

 I wish I could doubly italics the statement above, for I do believe there is not enough emphasis in all of the world to rightfully merit those words. 

It's a good thing I fathomed just how unfathomable that is before the prayer ended...'else I would have dropped to my knees and knelt with all of me 'till the sun didn't shine. 

And suddenly, the window flew open, the things unsuitable for a temple flew out, and God, praise His name, flew in. 

My friends, the joy that comes with knowing He loves us anyway is incredible. 

Open the windows to your heart, the portals to what makes you, you, and let God flood every corner of your heart. It's as simple as saying, "Lord, take everything from me and fill my heart." Let no space be vacant of His grace or filled with something unsuitable for a temple. Furnish your temple with God and His mercies; I promise you won't be sorry you did. 

You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous person, though for a good person someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.- Romans 5:6-8

I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.- Galations 2:20


God made you worthy; He paid your ransom and bought your rightful place with Him. You're  legitimate. You're a bona fide child of God, so kneel and give thanks with your heart, your wounds, your scars,  and your dreams all lain humbly upon His feet. 

The Cure for Heart Disease

"Yeah, well, too many people die because of guns," I heard one say.

               "Guns don't kill people, people do," the other countered. 

"Well if that's the case, then America has a heart problem not a gun problem." 

***

There it was; the answer.

  Diseased hearts. 

America's heart is sick. 

***

"Hearts are harder to pass laws for, though," one remarked.

"That is for sure," the other whispered.

***

God made laws for the heart. Ten of them, in fact. 

They are right there in Deuteronomy 5:1-22. 

Not nine, not four, ten. 

They were meant to protect hearts, reverse heart disease. 

Jesus said, "If you love me, keep my commandments." John 14:15

Sounds good to me. 

Reckless Abandon

I bet it went something like this~

*                                                                                                                                                              
"I'll go," The Son said plainly.

The Father shook His head. 

"I know." 

"It's the only way," The Son pleaded. 

God looked down into the world, a tear sliding down His magnificent face; His heart broken.

"Alright," The Father whispered painfully.

*                                                                                                                                                               

Did Heaven grow quiet in that instance? Did God's resolve waver for even a fraction of a second?" Did Jesus even consider what He would be leaving behind?

How could a love like that be? 

A love so strong, so unconditional, that our Creator would give up His heavenly being and place with The Father, to become the sole bearer of our sins? 

Incomprehensible. 

Unimaginable. 

Truly wonderful. 

How can I live without Him, abandoning Him recklessly, when He died for me with reckless abandon? 

It's a rhetorical question; I can't. 

John 3:16 

For God so loved the world He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him, should not perish, but have everlasting life.

When Lightening Strikes

She has Jesus, I saw Him in her heart.
I have a hole; I felt it in mine.
***

The winds had really picked up speed. The wind howled through the bramble and treetops, bending some over, twisting some backward.
"Some weather," one said.
"I love a good, messy thunderstorm," said another.
"Good for sleeping," they both agreed.
***
"Target acquired," relayed the thunder to the lightening.
"Send me the coordinates," replied the lightening.
"Help!" cried the tallest thing in the field.
The crickets scratched their heads.
***
There was a wise man. He built his house on the rock.
There was a foolish man. He built his house on the sand.
The rains came, and you know how the rest of the story goes.
***
In the midst of the raging storm, men sleep. Why? Because apparently, safety is something you worry about after the wind has taken your house and left you the tallest thing in the field.
***
"Both were accounted for," the woman began.
"There was the man I saw, but didn't know, and the man I knew, but wouldn't see."

My conclusion after hearing all of the above today:

Jesus is both, until you let Him fill the hole in your heart. Don't wait until you're the tallest thing under an electric sky to safe-guard your being; give God your everything, let Him hold down the fort and shield you from the storm until morning comes.

For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor death, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. -Romans 8:38-39

The Call To Answer

I walked past them, eyeing them; my subconscious took over and immediately, I was on defense.

"And I thought you were supposed to be Switzerland," my conscious whispered.

My subconscious argued back, (Don't worry...it happens frequently).

"They look rough...and see, they're smoking". My feet, siding with my subconscious, traveled away from them. 

Everyone of them looked worn out and heavily burdened. 
It was written all over their faces. 

"Do you not have something written on your heart?" came His inquiry.  

My pace quickened. 

Suddenly, the Great Controversy glow tract in my hand felt like a rock.  

Though perhaps...? No. 

Was my heart...becoming the rock? Surely not...

I rounded the corner, then, and found myself in a sea of people. I tried turning around, and I was about to go back, when the Worn Out and Heavily Burdened piled into an even rougher-looking car and drove away. 

"Megan..." His voice trailed off. 

Though I was almost half convinced I had begun to trail off....from listening. 

They were gone. And the glow tract no longer felt like a rock, but an anvil. 

My anvil to carry ...all the way home. 

Shame... That's what I felt.
Shame for holding back. 

Shame for keeping silent. 

And friends, that shame dissipated when I thought of His words, His words that speak for themselves, "That you may be sons of your Father in heaven; for He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. For if you love those who love you, what reward have you? Do not even the tax collectors do the same?" (Matthew 5:45, 46 NKJV).

I stopped dead in my tracks. 

Why have God's Word written on your heart, if you're never going to read it aloud? 

If not me, then who? 

"And if anyone hears My words and does not believe, I do not judge him; for I did not come to judge the world, but to save the world." (John 12:47 NKJV)  

Lord, 

rewrite my nature, secure your mission in me, renew my spirit and cleanse me of all that is not befitting of You. Make me a servant, humble and meek.

Amen. 

Sure Footing

I could ask, 'What doesn't keep us from stumbling?', but the answer would exceed time.
So the better question becomes-

What…..Keeps us from stumbling? 

Nothing. 

No ropes, no safety net, no props to hold us up….. 

Nothing. 

But then I am reminded.

Not unkindly, I might add, but I am reminded still- 

I hold you; I keep you from stumbling. 

Simple, powerful. (Two words I have come to respect when assimilating them to God's direction).

"Ah, yes-  You do, " comes my reply. 

That's when my horse, stumbles.

I lurch forward in the saddle, brought back to the moment. 

A small rock, nothing big. Just a jut in the trail that threw Levi off balance the slightest before regaining his step. 

My vision refocuses and I am keen to watch his footing once again. 

"Careful…watch out for that one…..Good boy.....," my voice flutters to his ears; they swivel at the sound.

I lean forward and pet the length of his fuzzy neck; he tosses his head, his medium-length Oreo mane swooshing with the movement. 

Here's the difference-

If Levi goes down, I go down. We are one like that. 

If I go down God remains still, unmoved. 

His footing is sure. 

Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling, and to present you faultless before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy, 

To God our Savior, who alone is wise, 

be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and forever. Amen.

 Jude 1:24 

"With exceeding joy". 

Did you get that? I did. :)

It brings Him JOY to keep me from stumbling. To keep YOU from stumbling. 

" I'd rather have Jesus," 

I hum the hymn silently.

'Yes, yes I would.'

My gem, Levi. 

"It's bittersweet,".

What does that even mean??

Something is either bitter....or its sweet.

Levi, newest family member.

Right? 

Though, I suppose dark chocolate doesn't fit that bill. It's a little of both.  

It's like awkward chocolate, assuming you've tasted it.  And yes, I just made that up. 

What? I much prefer milk chocolate. (Just saying)

Describing something as bittersweet...is like saying,

"Hey, this is really terrible, but i'm glad it's happening,".

What even...?

Matthew 26:54-

"How then, could the Scriptures be fulfilled?" 

While in the arms of the men there to arrest Him, Jesus asked this of one of those who had been with Him who had cut off a servant's ear, ready to fight for Jesus by sword. (The metal kind).

Jesus reprimanded the man, knowing that in order for the Bible and its foretelling, written BY God, to be realized, He had to be taken to the judges, convicted, and crucified.

Fighting was never in the plan. 

Everything Christ endured...was for us. 

Now that's, awkward chocolate.

If there was one word on Jesus' mind as He allowed Himself to be arrested, rather than praying to His Father for those twelve legions of angels he mentioned in Verse 53 to come swooping in to the rescue,(Matt 26:53), it had to have been the one and only word: 

"Bittersweet".

 Ending one day, to start another.
How's that for bittersweet?

The Surrender

"..Be still and know that I am God..." Psalms 46:10

Such simplicity, such power.

Yet..still, I don't.

Why?

Because I have yet to surrender.  Surrender everything...

I am still holding on to portions of my heart.

Profession without concession leaves very little room for honest intercession. I can not possibly profess my faith without conceding all of me to God.

It's time to be still, surrender all, and know that He is God.

It's time to give Him every portion of my heart.

Point-Blank Metaphors

"For I know the plans I have for you," says the Lord.
They are plans for good and not for disaster,
to give you a future and a hope.
In those days when you pray, I will listen.
If you look for me wholeheartedly, you will find me."
Jeremiah 29:11-13

~~~ Feeling as though I couldn't take one more minute of shutting Him out, I pulled off my socks and unlocked the back porch slider. Pushing it open, I stepped through the threshold and onto the deck. The old greenish wood—damp from the rain—underfoot. ~~~

Now, I was going to say "I stepped through my humanity and accepted God's grace", but not EVERYTHING is a metaphor.  Besides, I already used the word "threshold".  And that would spoil the moral...sort of like I just did. . .

English-brains...We honestly prefer metaphors over point-blank statements! It's just more fun that way. I guess that's why parables reach us so... Jesus was an expert in speaking metaphorically, you know.

 BUT anyway, back to the moment.

~~~ My Bible in hand, I sat down in the the white wicker bench just beneath the kitchen window; the light from the house spilled out into my lap.  

I never know what I am going to read when I open my Bible in moments like this one. All I know is that I come to God and ask Him to show me what He needs me to read, and without fail, He does. 

I flipped to Matthew 20, The Parable of the Workers in the Vineyard.

A group of workers was hired to work in a man's vineyard for an agreed upon wage of 1 denarius a day. The workers worked for 11 hours and were paid. Another group of workers was paid the same amount, but only worked for 1 hour, for they came late to the party having only been hired hours before. When the workers who had worked 11 hours found out that they were paid the same wage as those who had only worked an hour, they got a little bit upset.

Okay, a lot upset; it was a hot day and they worked 11 hours. You probably would have been angry, too.  The vineyard owner told them that it was only fair, for he paid them what they agreed on. 

I took a couple of things from this parable, but the most important of these are as follows: 

Moral #1 All are equal in the eyes of God; this goes for judgement as well. 

Moral#2 Many are called, but few are chosen. Matt 20:16

Moral#3 Even if you're just now learning about God at the part of your life you're living currently, your reward in Heaven will be the same as those who have known God their whole lives.
Moral#4 Better late than never, so start now. 

I'm going to expand on the last three. 

I've always known God, but we were always more like... forced acquaintances, never acquired friends. 

In fact, growing up with God can sometimes have the opposite result of the desired effect. Instead of holding Him dear, children, teens, adults, doesn't matter how long that they have known of God, they can live a majority of that time shutting Him out. Sometimes, they don't even know they have. 

When I realized that I wanted to fix our relationship and acquire a friendship with God along the way, (because it most certainly doesn't come over night), I decided that I needed to refocus. So, I quit school extracurriculars that were dragging me down spiritually and other things that held my attention time-wise. Once I had freed up my time, I decided that I wanted to do mission work and down the line, I would minor in Theology while majoring in English. (After all, I am an English-brain). Then, the vision grew and twisted, then suddenly I needed to take a year off from school to mission, go overseas, solve world hunger and BAM. I lost focus. I lost focus quickly.

M'kay...Woah, slow down. "Many are called, but few are chosen". What does that mean?
*English-brain scratches her head*

It means, not everything is a metaphor. Go and serve, stay faithful to God? I can do that anywhere. 

Point-blank. It means, that my mission may be here, doing what God wants. Not what I think I need to be doing, where I think I need to be doing it. In the end, a missionary here is a missionary there, doing the same things, right? Showing people the love of God, winning hearts for God. That could be a task in my own home! So...it shouldn't matter where; if God calls, I'll answer. If God chooses, I'll take it in stride. 

About #3, I have always known of God, but I never knew God. I'm changing that slowly. Though 

sometimes I get discouraged by my humanity and ignore God's grace. I ignore His endless grace and love and mercy...because I think I'm unworthy. Who am I to decide that??? Jesus DIED for me, to make me worthy. He DIED for me! HE decided I was worthy. Enough said. God promises eternal life, if we would only accept. How could we refuse an offer like that? 

#4. You know it well, the saying, "Better late than never". I can choose to ignore God for the rest of my life until I am no longer strong enough to do a thing about it, or I can choose to open my heart and finally stop shutting Him out. I've already determined He made me worthy for His love, so...what's keeping me? Who's holding me back? 

 I am. 

So, tonight, while sitting on the deck on the wicker bench, my Bible in my hand and my burdens at His feet, I dropped the metaphors and grand precepts I hadn't consulted God on and shut out my false reservations, trading them for— you guessed it— God. 

You know the story metaphor of the marriage with Christ, right? The one where we become one, "exchange vows", and our vows are weaknesses and His are glory. 

Honestly, it's not a fair trade; my reservations could never compare in magnitude. They are so....pitifully small... in comparison to God's fullness! So, metaphorically speaking, I am sold on Christ.

~~~I stood up on the deck,  after hashing out this mental battle. I made a promise then, to take God's love without question, striving only to let Him shape my mind. The feeling that came over me as I walked back to the door, my bare-feet stepping in small puddles, the breeze picking up my curls, can only be described as peace. 

Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid. John 14:27

Lift With The Legs And A Little Bit Of Trust

Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding.
 In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will direct thy paths.
Proverbs 3:5-6

So there I sat in the only patch of awakened grass in my sleeping Michigan yard. It's funny, Michigan's tagline goes from "Pure Michigan" in the warm seasons, to "Michigan, where brown is the new green" in the cold, though the tourist signs only ever show the first. 

I ran my hands over the new grass and looked into the aging night sky; it wasn't very cold out, but it was a rather dark night and useless for moonlight reading, for the moon was masked by clouds, unlikely to show anytime soon.

 It hadn't been an easy week, and with Sabbath already opened, I wanted my mind cleared. I stared up into the heavens, praying for a glimpse of a star, or a silver lining, anything that would take my mind off of the things it seemed stapled to.

Nothing.

A bit disappointed, I began to get up. My phone in one hand and my Bible in the other, I stood and looked through the darkness at my surrounding neighbors. All lights were off and the neighborhood, like most of everything, was asleep. Except for me, of course.

I said my final prayers, watching the clouds drift languidly, my heart sinking. Right as I was about to turn back towards the house, however, the sky illuminated a little, and so did my yard, then so did the scripture in my opened Bible.
This caught my eye:

The righteous cry out, and the Lord hears, and delivers them out of all their troubles.
The Lord is near to those who have a broken heart,
and saves such that have a contrite spirit.
Many are the afflictions of the righteous,
but the Lord delivers him out of them all.
Psalms 34:17-19

A small, grateful smile grew not on my face, but in my heart. I glanced up into the sky again, and just for a moment, the moon was unveiled, shining, casting light down onto my part of the world.
The smile spread to my face.

Once I felt lighter, I watched the moon dip silently back behind another mass of clouds, returning the darkness to the night.

With comforted aches in my thoroughly soaked heart, I stepped out of the revived grass onto crunchy lifeless earth, my bare-feet leaving prints behind that would vanish by morning as if I were never there.

The Lord knew I was there, though, for He heard my prayers; He always does.
I don't know why the things that happen, do. All I know is that when they happen, I can't trust myself or my own instincts, for I'm human; I can't see the whole picture. I look into the night sky and see darkness, where God sees the absence of light in my location, for its being allocated elsewhere only to return shortly. All I have to do is trust in Him, for if I could see the whole picture, I'd understand.

He can, so He does understand. He knows far more than I could ever dream of knowing,
so why bother with my own strength?
Lift with the legs, right?
If your back is broken, let God carry you; let Him be your legs. Trust Him, for He knows what He's doing and He will never let you down.

Scratch That; Reverse It.

"Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest." Matthew 11:28

Once in a while, I have so much time and so little to do.

No....Wait-

Scratch that; reverse it. 

I have so much to do, and so little time. 

Ah- Much better. 

If  you're like me, you get overwhelmed by having a lot to do and a little time to do it all. 

I think they call what ensues...Chaos.
I would call it that, for I get thrown into a frenzy and don't know where to begin, so habitually, I don't. 

It's a habit I don't suggest picking up.

Example:
I run around and go from being somewhat task-oriented to-WhereOnEarthDoIBeginThisIsImpossible 

followed by self-imploding,

then nothing.

Yes, as I said prior: chaos.

Ever finish a puzzle to find one piece is missing? 

You know that feeling of shear frustration that follows? I'm too familiar with it. 

BUT I'm working on it.

***

What I find humbling about these moments of frenzy in particular, though, is that when my thoughts are at their max volume in my head, they plug my ears and God's voice is muted, but every time this happens, realization hits, I stop suddenly, and am brought to my knees.

 I pray. 

I have to, for God whispers to me acting as a bullhorn to my thoughts, saying, "Hey, it's okay. Start here".

Then suddenly I am somewhat task-oriented again and I can breathe. 

The traffic clears, and I can cross the road that is my mind without having to play Frogger. 

Though, it's only after I've shut down my thoughts long enough, that I can hear God's direction. He's always there, ALWAYS. 

All I have to do is go to Him.

Bad Rider

Sometimes, I get thrown off the horse.

So to speak.

It's in those moments when I have only to ask myself what it is I'm doing.

A lot of the time, I don't have an answer. 

When I'm "thrown off of my horse",  I usually take a beat to sit in the dirt and stare at the horse, wondering why it threw me off.

Bad horse.

It won't defend itself, saying as how it is, well, a horse, but in a way it does. Its silence is rebuking. 

Sometimes I get too caught up in what I'm doing. Too focused on what's ahead, I look at the horizon, and what is to come or what I wish would come. 

I don't focus on the things in front of my feet and I trip up; I slip, and I throw myself off. 

Bad rider.

Today, I was in a slump. I kept thinking about futuristic things that I want, wishing I could have them now. My thoughts were so loud, I couldn't hear what was going on around me like my family and what they were doing, or thinking about, worried about, dreaming about.

That's when I hit the dirt, but I didn't stare at the horse, and I didn't ask, "hey, what was that for?"

I knew what it was for.

My sister played mini basketball in the kitchen, home from a trip to Ohio; I didn't ask her how it was. My dad talked about his sports bracket to no one in particular. Maybe to the dog, even though she was unconscious and snoring quite loudly; I didn't ask him who he picked. My mom drank a milk box (It's like a juice box...but milk. Straw and all) by the fridge, reminiscing and looking at the pictures of us as kids. Her eyes lingered on my brother. I know she misses him, as we all do and I know her heart was heavy, wishing his deployment would end early; I didn't hug her and tell her he'd be home soon.

"What, am I doing?" I asked, but the horse just stared, flicking its tail. 

Life is too short to dwell on tomorrow, or to stare at the horizon of life. Watch where your feet are going before you trip and fall. 

Don't wonder why your "horse" threw you off, reflect upon why you fell, then pick yourself up and get back on. 

Don't miss out on what's going on right in front of you; the result doesn't help you.

I asked God, a while back,  to give me someone to talk to. Loneliness bring out the natural human response of turning to the divine. But, prayer should never be a last resort.

 Anyways, you know what He said?

Talk to Me. 

So, I did. And you know what He said then?

"You do not know what will happen tomorrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away." James 4:14

Your life is short. 

"Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me." Revelation 3:20

But My life, is eternal. 

Come, dine with me. 

Get back on the horse. 

Puddle view of my suburban backyard sunset.

Post-Script:

I didn't know God would be giving me a horse a week after writing this. :D

PTL

Converting A Cave Bat

While my mind is still focused on the enrapture of light, I reflect.

I sit cross-legged, staring at an illuminated computer screen on my bed; an uncertain ray of light spills out onto my bed from my window through the break in the wall of curtain hanging in place to hinder such rays. The little leak of light lands on my face. The curtain moves a fraction and the ray finds my eyes.


Sigh.


Blinded.


Yes, I'm a cave bat.


I back away from the light as to open my eyes, reach forward and reassert the curtain's former light-countering posture.

I sit back and continue on.

My eyebrows furrow, my nose crinkles, and I can't help but laugh , then, as I read in my Bible later on.

The city had no need of the sun or 

of the moon to shine in it,

for the glory of God illuminated it.

The Lamb is its light.

Revelation 21:23

Huh.... God's very presence is light.

Yeah I better suck it up. 

I immediately rush to the curtains, then and throw them apart.  

Consider me persuaded.

God's Glory over  Lake Champlain, NewYork

 Lamar enjoying some sun.

Light Switch

In Him was life, and the life was the light of men." -John 1:4

 Do you ever walk into a dark and unfamiliar room and search  for the light switch, but to no avail?

                                                             ***

That's when I see it. I see it in a face. No... not "it", but "Him". I see Him.

When I see His face...My inner dark corner is suddenly illuminated; my eyes can see.

Ah...so there's the light switch. 

"Excuse me...Sir, do I know you?" I ask. He nods and answers me, His eyes smiling, "Yes, and I, you." 

I can't help but wonder how, for I know ...surely, that I've never seen this man before. 

But, I have seen this man before. 

I've seen Him in the face of pure and humble men, I've heard Him in my parent's prayers, and I've spent time with Him in His word...for He IS the Word. 

Yes....oh yes, I know Him.

Oscar Wilde said once, "Most people are other people. Their thoughts are someone's opinions, their lives a mimicry, their passions a quotation". 

What if- who I was composed of was just one person? What if that person was Jesus? 

All who see me, talk to me, spend time with me, would they know Him, too? 

"I have come as a light into the world, that whoever
believes in me should not abide in darkness." -John 12:46

If then, when they saw Him and looked into His face, would they have to ask who He was if they had seen His face reflected in mine? 

No; They wouldn't have to live in a dark corner with their hands feeling the walls for the light switch, they would already know.

This is my prayer today-

Lord, help me to live in You, so that You can live in me. Change my heart and fill me with your love and light so that the only face they see when others look into mine, is Your's. Amen. 

I smile at the man, then; I am overjoyed. 

"You are Jesus." 

It isn't a question. 

He smiles, holds His nail-pierced hand out to me,

and bids me follow; I go. 

"Awake, you who sleep, 

Arise from the dead,

And Christ will give you light." 

Ephesians 5:14

Glimpses Of Heaven

Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning. James 1:17

A tiny puddle with great big reflection. 

However ironic, traditions are ever subject to change. They change with age, through circumstance, they are upgraded, degraded, substituted, and sometimes...merely forgotten. From that of my experience with traditions, this is so. But- there is one tradition, a family tradition,  that has only ever brightened in my mind's eye. A myriad of my most fond memories have been born out of this tradition.

For as long as I can remember, year after year my family has gone camping together in Ludington, Michigan around August. Ludington is a beautiful city that is full of life, bright flowers, summer cliches like ice cream shoppes, fudge and taffy stores, and bed & breakfasts, but is loved most of all for hugging the shores of Lake Michigan. (If you haven't visited, I strongly urge you to do so.) Upon entering the city, my favorite thing that I was always sure to take note of growing up, was the drop in temperature as we drove into the heart of Ludington, approaching the beach. Ludington is no California, but it tastes just as sweet, if not sweeter for a Michigander. :)

As for traditions, every good one has small habits engraved within. Completion steps, if you will.

 For us, watching the Sun sink into the horizon and melt into the water from atop the tallest sand dune, the city and all of our troubles to our backs, the sun and all of its precious radiance on our faces, was and still is one of those small, but glorious habits. 

Lake Michigan, 2012

Ludington, 2010 (Mom always says she prefers sunrises over sunsets, for they tend to be the cheerier of the two, but as for the rest of us, we've never seen her up early enough to greet the sun!) :) So, with the sunsets, content we remain. 

For me, that small habit, or step to completing our tradition, is as close to Heaven as this world can muster. There is no greater feeling then being with the ones you love most in the world while looking at an extraordinary view hand painted by the Creator Himself, and feeling for a moment that all is right with your part of the world.

2010

As I sit on the bed in my room, now, and look out over my back yard, I watch the sun sink into the horizon...then blend into the treeline...then disappear completely from view.

Back Yard

 My sunsets each night here pale in comparison, but .....

Every so often, in the process of setting here to shine elsewhere, warm rays poke through a break in the trees, over a cluster of slumbering branches, and onto the back yard.

Every so often, as the sun sets in my part of the world forgotten by time......I see a momentary glimpse of that glorious Ludington sunset, through my bedroom window.   

Every so often, I see a glimpse of Heaven. 

So with my suburban sunsets, I am content. 

Sometimes, I think that God moves the branches with His own hand so that those stubborn setting rays can be seen. He knows I need it; he knows it makes me happy. :)

Similarly, God made man a weekly tradition. He knew the Sabbath would make man happy. He knew, we'd NEED it. 

God gave man the Sabbath for that very purpose; it's a glimpse of Heaven. A piece of arbitrary time meant to be spent with Him in thought, in spirit and body, in praise, in worship, and in complete togetherness.

Spent with nature, too! 

Though, we are not to just be...content. No...for the Sabbath here on earth is only a portion of what God has planned for us. We are to spend our Sabbath days longing for the whole picture...for the whole sunset... for all of eternity with our Creator! We are to spend them studying in His word and in intercession. We are to gather our friends and the ones we love most in the world and join in complete togetherness with the Lord. We are to hold dear those precious rays and glimpses of Heaven until the day we see the whole picture!

Lake Michigan, 2012

If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God.  Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth. For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.  When Christ who is our life appears, then you also will appear with Him in glory. Colossians 1:1-4

2013

Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me. In My Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.  And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also. John 14:1-3

Mountain Removal Service, Free Of Charge

Goliath. 

He was big, right? 

I'd imagine he was probably a little scary-looking, too.

When I picture Goliath,

I picture this ...

Mountain of a man....

All brawn...

Deep bass voice...

Sort of like how Marvel depicts the Hulk...but, not green. :)

Can you picture him?

I can not (by any means) imagine being David... Marching up to Goliath in all of his fierce Philistine war armor with his larger-than-life sword raised, his feet firmly planted, being this shepherd boy, armor-less, holding a stone that I had just picked up from the creek-bed, and... a sling-shot.                           

Yeah...Right.

Beyond a doubt, I would have stood before Goliath for a half of a second and then fled. I would have said something along the lines of, "Ya'll signed up for this, I however, did not. God speed..."

And then I would have ran back to my sheep as if I HAD God's speed.

Yet, that isn't how it went down. . . 

David stood before Goliath, and with all of the power of God, swung his sling above his head, and let loose one small stone that hit the giant square between the eyes. 

Goliath fell, dead, undone by a shepherd boy and a slingshot. Can you imagine THAT?
Mini mushroom cloud in my brain...I just can't even comprehend that!

Yet, I can, because David did it by his faith in the Lord's strength. The incredibility of that entire story ... is to the credibility of God. Do you think David could have defeated Goliath...without an unlovable faith in God? 

No. No way.

Everyone of us face different forms of Goliath. Our very own giants we can't defeat... on our own. 

You know the song Jesus Loves Me, right?

"I am weak, but He is strong" 

Well...it's true. We..are..weak. So weak. That's why we have to have God's strength and intervention to send our stones flying straight for the spot in between Goliath's eyes. We need God to help us get passed our trials and hardships.

Are you standing before Goliath on that battlefield, holding only a stone? If so, know this:

 "....If you have faith and do not doubt.....if you say to this mountain, 'Be removed and be cast into the sea', it will be done." Matt 21:21

God can not only remove Goliaths from your path, He can move MOUNTAINS.

Ask in His name having unmovable faith and that unmovable mountain will be removed as easily as Goliath fell.

Is that not wonderful? :)