Dogwood Lessons

Posted on October 21, 2022 by Wendy

If we look, we can find beauty in every season.

We had an early cold snap this past week. We went from temperatures in the 80’s over the weekend to below freezing temperatures in the span of just a few days. That’s really unusual for us in the Peach state. I have never been a fan of cold weather and if it’s below 70 degrees, I’m cold.

Yesterday, I was sitting at my desk, slightly annoyed that I was having to wear a jacket because the thermostat in my office, refused to bend to my will, when the sun began streaming through my window onto my face.

I felt the warmth immediately and as I turned towards the warmth and light, I took the time to examine the leaves on the big Dogwood tree growing outside my window. The green was turning to red in a process that only God can orchestrate, and His artistry made me smile.

I immediately remembered enjoying its beautiful white blooms in the spring and being thankful for the beauty of that season.

As I admired the leaves, I was reminded that we worship a God of order, not chaos and that there is beauty in every season.

The Bible tells us, “While the earth remains, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night, shall not cease.” Genesis 8:22.

While we may have unexpected cold snaps and heat waves, the God of order created distinct seasons that we can count on and while we may prefer one season over another, there is beauty in all seasons. From the flowers in the spring, to the greenery and fruit in summer, to the leaves of fall and the snow of winter, if we look, we can always find beauty in creation.

There’s no way that this beauty is a coincidence. Walking with God has taught me that He is an intentional God not a God of happenstance or whims. When I embrace that notion, I am filled with gratitude.

When God created the earth, He knew full well that humanity would need to know when to plant and harvest even before Adam and Even decided to listen to the lies of Satan. Although man was cast out of the garden, God made a way for us to grow what we needed to eat and seasons to guide the way. In those seasons, He intentionally created points of beauty.

In some seasons the beauty is abundant and in others we have to intentionally seek it, but it’s always there, just as God is. A Dogwood tree reminded me. Perhaps you needed reminding too.

Have an awesome day!

Wendy 😊

 

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Unexpected Blessings

Posted on October 14, 2022 by Wendy

“In the morning Lord, you hear my voice; in the morning I lay my requests before you and wait expectantly.” Psalm 5:3

As I was driving to work yesterday, I was giving thanks for the rain. We have desperately needed it and although it was no fun to drive in, I was determined to be thankful. As I drove, I prayed for inspiration for a blog post.

I know that God is always at work in my life and I often get glimpses of His handiwork, both in big and small ways. However, sometimes He moves in ways that are very personal either to me or my family and I don’t feel free to share those stories with the world at large, so I prayed for what the Holy Spirit might want me to share.

I sat down at my desk at 7:30. At 7:46, I received a picture text from my Mama. It was the tiniest leaf on a stick, but this wasn’t a random stick.

A few weeks earlier, we decided to try to root a pear tree that my grandmother planted over fifty years ago. It’s still producing some fabulously sweet and juicy pears, but it’s very old and not very healthy. We don’t know how much longer we will have that tree that has such a special place in the hearts our family.

I did some research on how to successfully graft a pear and it’s apparently one of the more difficult trees to graft. We needed warming mats and domes and all types of implements that we didn’t have and we didn’t really have the time to get. The days were getting shorter and if we were going to try it, we needed to get it done.

We took eight cuttings and put them in red solo cups. Our domes were Ziploc bags. My Daddy, our farmer in residence, who can grow just about anything, directed us to put them in windows all over the house and he and Mama were in charge of keeping an eye on them.

A few weeks passed and nothing happened. They spritzed them with water a couple of times. Last weekend, just a few days ago, there was still no sign of life, se we continued to wait.

Then, yesterday morning, I prayed for inspiration and less than half an hour later, my Mama texted a picture of proof of life. A leaf had appeared. The cutting was alive.

I sat in my office grinning as my eyes filled with tears, overwhelmed with gratitude. I offered up a prayer of thanks both for the signs of new life and for a God who answers prayers in the most unexpected ways.

I’ve learned on this journey, that when we walk with God, we should always expect the unexpected. Sometimes I need reminding. Perhaps you needed reminding too.

Have an awesome day!

Wendy 😊

Categories: Trusting God, Watching for God | 6 Comments

Giving Thanks for Intervening Grace

Posted on October 7, 2022 by Wendy

Seeing miraculous intervention should remind us of the countless unseen times that God intervenes on our behalf.

A couple of weeks ago, I was driving into work. I was traveling on a different path than was normal for me because I had to pick up coffee boxes for visiting employers who were interviewing our students. I was tired. It had been a long week, but it was all good things. My school had hosted a career fair the day before and the interviews were spillover.

I was happy that things were back to normal for our students after two years of slogging through Covid regulations. They were getting in person career fairs and interviews, but it had kept me planning and moving non-stop and I was exhausted.

The road I was traveling on was busy, even at 7:00 in the morning. It wasn’t quite light outside and the cars out on the road raced from stop light to stop light, changing lanes to get around a bus or a slower vehicle.

I was thankful I didn’t travel this road everyday. There was way too much traffic for me. It was like a Frogger game playing out in real time.

As we approached what felt like the 100th traffic light, there was only one car in front of me and I happily realized I was going to catch a green one.

Then I saw the girl on a scooter sailing across the crosswalk with her blond ponytail flying behind her obviously trying to beat the light and it immediately occurred to me that the car in front of me was not going to stop. She hit her and the girl flew off of her scooter onto the pavement.

I sat alone in my car, stunned and repeatedly uttered the only words that would come out, “My God, My God,” as tears filled my eyes.

Miraculously, she jumped right back up. A pedestrian came out of nowhere to assist. The driver who hit her got out to check on her, but she waved both of them away and walked off with her scooter.

The driver who hit her returned to her car. The light turned green again and we all drove away.

I was shaken to the core for the rest of the day. The girl on the scooter was someone’s beloved child and she had been spared. The woman who hit her had been spared of a lifetime of guilt if there had been a different outcome.

I had no words for the horror and despair I felt in that moment. I just called out to God and I’ve no doubt the Holy Spirit intervened.

Romans 8:26 tells us, “In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans.”

Never before had that verse held more meaning for me.

I felt a deep reminder of the graciousness of God deep within my soul. That day, I saw Him intervene and for that I am so very thankful, but He intervenes for us constantly in ways we never see and perhaps the unseen intervention deserves even more thanks.

Sometimes I need reminding. Perhaps you do too.

Have an awesome day!

Wendy 🙂

Categories: Trusting God, Watching for God | 2 Comments

Prayers for Ian Aftermath

Posted on September 30, 2022 by Wendy

I’ve had a crazy week with very little white space. My son came home from college on Wednesday evening because his school went online in anticipation of Hurricane Ian and I wanted to spend some time with him. Although I don’t have a post today, my thoughts and prayers are with the people of Florida who are reeling from the aftermath and for the people in South Carolina who are now in its path. I pray for protection and intervention. I pray that God will make Himself known both through the miraculous and through the simple acts of kindness of His people. Won’t you join me?

Have an awesome day!

Wendy 🙂

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Spider Lily Reminders

Posted on September 23, 2022 by Wendy

When we walk with Jesus, we should always expect the unexpected.

I was taking a walk last week around the campus where I work. As we approach fall, there’s not a lot blooming. There’s a lot of green still and a few leaves are falling, but there’s not much color yet.

The entire world is embracing orange these days. Pumpkins and pumpkin spice are the flavors of the month. We long for the cooler temps and brightly colored leaves that usher in the fall season.

So when I happened upon a patch  of brightly colored hot pink spider lilies I just had to smile and take a photo. The calendar may say it’s time for the autumnal equinox, but nature seems to have other plans.

I’ve always enjoyed those whimsical flowers. They look like something Dr. Seuss would have dreamed up. The fact that they appear in the fall, really makes me smile.

They remind me that it doesn’t matter how much we plan. We can want a new season to begin with every fiber of our being, but in the end, it’s all in God’s hands. Our desire for control can be so very costly, because in the end, we have very little of it. God apparently likes a shot of bright fuchsia in His fall palette of colors even if the retailers do not.

I’ve learned to expect the unexpected when walking with Jesus and I’m even learning to embrace it. So, I smile at those whimsical bright spider lilies and peacefully wonder, what other surprises might be in store in the coming season. There’s really no way for me to know, but He knows and that’s enough.

Have an awesome day!

Wendy 🙂

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Ruth Reminders

Posted on September 16, 2022 by Wendy

When we listen daily for God’s whispers and follow His nudges, we are often rewarded in ways beyond our imagination.

I’ve recently been reading through the book of Ruth. It’s one of those books of the Bible that doesn’t come up that much. Seas don’t get parted. Manna doesn’t miraculously fall from Heaven. God doesn’t speak in a booming voice, but He’s there just the same and I suppose that’s why it appeals to me so much.

Ruth is a foreigner, a Moabite girl, who marries a Hebrew boy. He and his brother, mama and daddy are foreigners living in her land. They moved there to escape a famine. The daddy dies and within ten years both of the sons die too. The mama is left alone with her two daughters-in-law. She decides to go back home to Bethlehem, (yes that Bethlehem), and tells the two young women to return home to their fathers. One goes, but one, Ruth, refuses.

She speaks words to her grieving  mother-in-law which go on to become some of the most quoted in the Bible.

“But Ruth replied, Don’t urge me to leave you or to turn back from you. Where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay. Your people will be my people and your God my God.” Ruth 1:16

Her oath to a God she barely knew, would seal her fate.

There’s something called prevenient grace and it’s a term that means that God is pulling all sinners towards Him and providing for us before we even know who He is. That grace is always at work as it was with young Ruth.

Her husband was dead and she didn’t know the first thing about Bethlehem, yet she felt drawn to her mother-in-law and to her God.

Big miraculous moments always make the headlines as well they should. When God moves in huge ways that we can’t miss, we tend to take notice. But, the truth is, He most often moves in nudges and whispers. Ruth felt some kind of nudge to stay with Naomi. After arriving in Bethlehem, she felt the need to go and gather grain for food for them.

God led with a nudge and Ruth followed every time and in the end, He sent her a new husband, Boaz, and due to her obedient listening, our sweet Ruth, a widowed foreigner, got to be in the direct bloodline of Jesus. Ruth had a son named Obed. Obed had a son named Jesse and Jesse was the father of King David.

The seemingly helpless, hopeless and lost, put into God’s hands, can always be redeemed. Ruth reminds me that God is always at work and even when all we can do is take one tiny step at a time, when we walk with Him, He will always provide and quite often, in ways completely beyond our imagination.

Sometimes I need reminding. Perhaps you do too.

Have an awesome day!

Wendy 🙂

 

Categories: Biblical Wisdom, Trusting God, Watching for God | 2 Comments

Rainy Day Blessings

Posted on September 9, 2022 by Wendy

As people of faith, we never walk alone.

One day last week, the school where I work, hosted a welcome back event to kick off the fall semester. We engaged the Chick-fil-A truck and our school mascot. We invited all of the students as well as our faculty and staff. It was a beautiful day and we had a big turn out.

For about an hour, it was an ideal event.

Then the clouds quickly moved in and we heard a loud thunder clap. In almost no time, the rain came down in buckets and most people scattered. We took down the tables and chairs and moved inside. The sweet Chick-fil-A people brought us all of the remainder of our sandwiches in warming bags.

The event was effectively over an hour earlier than advertised.

When I went back outside to see if we had missed anything, there were two disappointed girls walking slowly towards the now empty area where all of the fun had been. They were wearing raincoats and looked a little shocked. I asked them if they had come for the event. They said they had been walking our way when it began to rain, but they were so close that they just kept walking.

The only thing they saw was an empty lot, but I knew there was more.

I told them there were plenty of sandwiches and drinks left inside the building and I invited them in. It was a joy to see them light up at the news.

There were other students inside who welcomed them. They were excited to learn they hadn’t missed it after all and they sat down and ate.

I thought about those two late arrivals long after I went home and changed into dry clothes. I thought about how often we give up on something because we think we missed our chance. How often was what we were looking for just right around the corner?

Rain is a guarantee on this side of eternity, but as people of faith, we never walk alone. God walks with us and He sends us people along the way to point us to shelter when we need it and sometimes He sends us blessings when we least expect it. Sometimes I need reminding. Perhaps you do too.

Have an awesome day!

Wendy 🙂

 

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Plant Anyway

Posted on September 2, 2022 by Wendy

When we plant, we are placing hope and faith in the future.

I was recently eating a pear that I had picked from a tree at my Mama’s and Daddy’s house. It was sweet and super juicy, so much so that I had to grab an extra napkin. I have looked forward to eating those pears every year in late summer, since I can remember and it made me think of my grandmother who planted it.

I wonder if she had any idea that over fifty years later, her grandchildren and great-grandchildren would  still be enjoying the fruit from that tree or that the tree would still be producing so much fruit that its branches have to be supported because of all of the weight.

I am told that she ordered that tree from a catalog. She planned for it, waited for it to arrive, dug a hole and planted it in just the right spot.

She also planted scuppernong vines in several different places. One of them in particular, had big delicious golden berries. When I was growing up, my mama, sister and I would fill huge bowls with them in the early fall. I looked so forward to it. We would eat as many as we picked and when I remember those moments, my heart always fills up with joy and gratitude.

My brother is nine years younger than I am and he also has wonderful memories of the fruit that vine produced.

My grandmother didn’t live to see or taste the fruit of the many trees and vines she planted. A heart attack took her away before I was even born, but the fruit she planted lived on long after her physical body had passed and some of it still does.

My hubby and I have even been talking about taking a cutting of the pear tree to create a whole new tree, something that would have never even been possible if  my grandmother hadn’t decided to take a chance and plant something.

We live in a world of instant gratification. We like to see the fruits of our labor immediately, from our careers, to weight loss, to relationships, if we don’t see measurable results fast, we consider our efforts, if not ourselves, a failure.

Maybe our high-tech busy living, has given us a faulty sense of reasoning. That old pear tree reminds me that God sometimes calls us to move a little more slowly, to take the time to plant many things and to become comfortable with the fact that some of what we plant won’t grow. We should plant anyway.

It also reminds me that we may never see the fruit of some of what we plant, but that doesn’t make the fruit any less amazing. Sometimes I need reminding. Perhaps you do too.

Have an awesome day!

Wendy 🙂

Categories: Building Christian Character, Trusting God | 4 Comments

When the Prayers Went Up the Smoke Went Down

Posted on August 25, 2022 by Wendy

We worship the God of possible.

I recently attended a weekend conference for my job. I went prepared to meet lots of people, eat lots of food and to participate in light chit chat for a couple of days, which I did. What I wasn’t prepared for was a beautiful testimony of God at work.

On my second night there, I met a woman who has a son at the University of Georgia. She shared with me a fun story about how his summer internship took him to the maker of the Heisman trophy and he actually was able to hold one. They even gifted him with a big gold bulldog. We laughed about how she told him it needed to come back to her house and not go to his fraternity house.

Dinner was announced a short time later and we ended up in line together and I asked her to share her story with my co-worker. We all shared a laugh and ended up at the same table for dinner.

During dinner, she made a comment about having a keen sense of smell before her accident. My co-worker asked her what happened. She casually told us that she had been hit in the head by a fork-life and showed us the indention in her head that she still carried.

Then she told us her story. She told us about being in the hospital for a month and not knowing who her  children and husband were. She told us about a long recovery and as she did, she leaned over and put her hand on my arm and looked me in the eyes with tears in hers and said, “Don’t let anyone tell you that God is not still in the miracle business.”

She said that it all happened in 2007, when much of South Georgia was on fire. When the paramedics arrived they knew immediately that she need to be life flighted to Florida, but the helicopter pilot told them there was way too much smoke to fly.

She said, “but as the prayers went up, the smoke went down.”

She arrived safely in Florida, but they didn’t hold out a lot of hope with her head injury. When she went back to the hospital many months later, her care team was astonished to see her fully functioning. Her surgeon told her he had no explanation for her recovery.

But, she knew and fifteen years later, she was still sharing her story of God’s mercy and glory with complete strangers.

I learned a lot at that conference, but I’ve no doubt that the story of faith and grace shared by a complete stranger will remain with me always, along with her words, “when the prayers went up, the smoke went down.” They serve as a simple, but powerful reminder that nothing is impossible with God. Sometimes I need reminding. Perhaps you do too.

Have an awesome day!

Wendy 😊

Categories: Biblical Wisdom, Building Christian Character, Trusting God, Watching for God | 1 Comment

Exodus Reminders

Posted on August 19, 2022 by Wendy

When we freely give in obedience, there is always more than enough.

I’ve been reading an online Bible study on the Book of Exodus. Exodus is one of those books with lots of action. There are ten plagues; the Red Sea parts; manna falls from Heaven and the Ten Commandments are given, just to name some highlights.

There are accounts in Exodus that people just never forget no matter how young they may be when they hear them.

As I get older and read Exodus, the more subtle details jump out at me. In Chapter 12, the Israelites are leaving in a hurry. They grabbed their dough before they even added yeast or had time to bake it. Yet, Moses tells them to go and ask their neighbors for silver, gold and clothing.

Moses was just following orders. God told him back in Chapter 3, “Every woman is to ask her neighbor and any woman living in her house for articles of silver and gold and for clothing, which you will put on your sons and daughters. And so you will plunder the Egyptians.” Exodus 3:22

Then in Exodus 11:2, “Tell the people that men and women alike are to ask their neighbors for articles of silver and gold.”

These people were finally getting out of slavery. Moses was leading them to the Promised Land. I just find it odd that God wanted them to take the time it took to knock on their neighbor’s doors, (their neighbors who had just lost their first born son) and ask for silver and gold and clothes.

But, God is not a God of haste or panic. He is always working and always has a plan. The Israelites obeyed and they took all of that silver and gold and eventually took it across the Red Sea and into the desert.

What in the world were they going to do with those things in the desert?

When I read Chapter 36, the dots all connected. God had plans for a tabernacle and the Ark of the Covenant and they were elaborate and ornate. Moses asked the Israelites who were willing, to bring their jewelry of all kinds and linen and yarn and the text says they gave freely day after day. The skilled workers told Moses they had more than enough and and Moses commanded them to stop.

I’ll have to admit, I have skimmed over this chapter in the past.

There are quite a few chapters that give exact measurements for every nook and cranny including the clothes for the priests and I found it kind of boring, but two things really spoke to me this time.

The first is that God always has a plan. Even when we think that we are performing mundane or ridiculous tasks, He will use our obedience for His glory. The second is that all that we have is His. The Israelites wouldn’t have even had all of that plunder without God’s intervention, but they didn’t hold on tightly to it. They gave it freely, day after day and there was more than enough.

These are lessons worth remembering. Sometimes I need reminding. Perhaps you do too.

Have an awesome day!

Wendy 🙂

 

 

Categories: Biblical Wisdom, Building Christian Character, Trusting God | 1 Comment