Category: Trusting God

Sometimes life seems upside-down. When we draw closer to God, we begin to learn and trust that He has a plan for us and we can let go of many of life’s anxieties knowing that He has our best interest at heart.

Psalm Reminders

Posted on by Wendy
We all have the opportunity to spread cool breezes when we listen to the Spirit’s prompting.

This past week has been a long one for me. First, my son was sick with a summer cold which he then passed on to me. We adopted a new pup who is absolutely adorable, but still a puppy and his acclimation to the family, especially to the other two pups, began a little rougher than we expected. 

I normally begin my day with some yoga and a daily Bible devotion, but this week has been all about treading water and avoiding any canine skirmishes, so there was no yoga and although I was usually able to stumble through a devotion, it was not without many interruptions.

I didn’t feel up to my lunch walk most of the week and by Thursday, which began unexplainably with the new pup, throwing up at 4:00 AM, I felt completely worn out and grumpy in general. I was praying about my mental state as I trudged to my office through the sprinkling rain and when I arrived at my desk, a Bible verse that I taped on my computer, months ago, caught my eye. It was from Psalms.

“Listen to my words, LORD, consider my lament. Hear my cry for help, my King and my God, for to you I pray. In the morning, LORD, you hear my voice; in the morning I lay my requests before you and wait expectantly.“ Psalm 5:1-3

I really don’t even remember what prompted me to print it out, but I found it unbelievably appropriate for my situation and so I prayed it out loud and I felt a sense of peace come over me.

We were expecting thunderstorms that day, but the lunchtime weather was beautiful and I took a much needed walk. I was greeted with a delightful cool breeze and I was reminded of working on a roof in the summer heat on mission trips in the past, what a big difference a simple breeze can make when the air around you is stifling.

 I was also immediately reminded of the breezes of the week before. I had received a “Good Morning Sunshine,” text from a friend out of the blue and an unexpected “Just thinking about you,” text from another that resulted in lunch plans. One of my sweet cousins has started making social media posts of Christian encouragement that originate from seeing God in her garden that made me smile and one on pruning in particular, really spoke to me.

As I walked and prayed, God revealed to me that He had been using others to send cool breezes repeatedly during my stifling week and I felt both humbled to have missed them at the time and grateful that He pointed me to them. As the Psalm said, I cried for help and waited expectantly and as always, God provided.

He always does, but we often miss it. Sometimes I need reminding. Perhaps you do too.

Have an awesome day!

Wendy 😊 

  

Having Enough Faith to Let Go

Posted on by Wendy
When we decide to let go and let God take the wheel, we better be prepared for excitement.

I am a planner by nature. I like to know what’s coming and have a bit of a handle on the future, but I suppose like everyone else, the last couple of years has changed that. Masks, lockdowns and constantly changing medical advice made me keenly aware that I could plan all that I wanted, but in the end, I had very little control over just about anything.

I spent my 50th birthday eating take-out with my family, but thankful that we were all well and together. It wasn’t what I would have planned, but one I will treasure all the same.

This past weekend, I celebrated my 52nd trip around the sun. My hubby and I decided to take a trip to Chattanooga and meet up with my daughter who recently moved to Nashville. To add to the fun, we decided to take our two dogs. We have never traveled with them before, but our daughter was really missing her dog.

I let her handle the details and at the last minute, our son was able to join us and what was originally a day trip with a hike, turned into an overnight trip with the two dogs and our two grown kids.

I didn’t plan the first detail; something pre-pandemic me would have never been okay with.

When the trail that we were going to hike was closed and we hadn’t had lunch yet, we ended up getting Chick-fil-A and eating it in the car and I couldn’t have been happier.

We took a family vote and ended up at Rock City, a touristy place with special family memories and we had a ball. It had been ten years since we visited. Our kids had been in elementary and middle school. We had just as much fun with grown up kids as we did back then and unbelievably, our completely unpredictable pups, behaved beautifully.

When we went to dinner at a place with a dog friendly deck, it wasn’t what I would have picked, but the food was delicious, and our pups behaved, although I felt like we had toddlers again.

When we returned to the car and tried to figure out where to go next, we saw the first round of fireworks explode into the air over the river. At first, we all grabbed our phones to try to find out what was going on, but I eventually rolled down my window and enjoyed a fabulous, 4th of July quality fireworks show.

As I later reflected on the many blessings of our trip, I was struck at how the best parts were completely unplanned. They were products of being open to something different that may have been better than what I could have possibly planned myself. It was a beautiful reminder of God’s plan for us. 

His plan is always infinitely better than we could ever plan for ourselves, even when it doesn’t seem that way. All I have to do is have some faith. Jesus said, the size of a mustard seed will do. Sometimes I need reminding. Perhaps you do too.

Have an awesome day!

Wendy 🙂

 

The Relentless Pursuit of Jesus

Posted on by Wendy
When we pursue relentless faith, the miraculous can happen.

I recently heard a sermon about the four friends and the paralytic, found in Mark, Chapter 2. It’s a familiar story to most people raised in church. I have vivid memories of it playing out on the black flannel board at Sunday school. Quite honestly, I never gave it that much thought. Whenever we talked about Jesus, there were miracles. This one was one of the many.

I suppose that can happen when you get comfortable with the Gospel stories, which is why we need to celebrate Easter every year, to truly remember what exactly it is we believe. There’s nothing comfortable about the Gospels. The stories in them are lifechanging both for the people in them and for those of us who have the privilege of reading them and who really try to wrap our hearts and minds around the miraculous and bold love that God has for His children.

In the story of the paralytic, four friends decide to take their sick friend to Jesus. They are carrying him. He must have been dead weight, because it took four of them. The story doesn’t say how long the man had been paralyzed or how far the friends had carried him, but these friends were relentless. They were determined to get this man to Jesus.

They believed Jesus could heal him.

Interestingly, the text doesn’t tell us what the man believed.

When the house was too crowded to get him to Jesus, they carried him to the roof and dug a hole, relentless in their pursuit of getting their friend to Jesus. They lowered the mat in front of Jesus and here’s the part I can’t stop thinking about, “When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, ‘Son, your sins are forgiven.'” Mark 2:5

There were some religious people in the room who were thinking that Jesus didn’t have the power to forgive sins, but Jesus read their minds  and called them out. He then told the man still lying on his mat, “I tell you, get up, take your mat and go home.” Mark 2:11

The man got up, took his mat and walked out.

It’s a familiar story, yet there’s a twist. The paralytic was made well because of his friends’ faith.

I wonder how long they had carried their friend around. How long had they hoped for healing?

I am reminded of the power of praying for healing for my own friends and family. Sometimes we pray and pray and we don’t see results. Sometimes the person we are praying for looks way too far gone for healing or redemption, but are they more far gone than a paralyzed man being carried on a mat by his friends?

The truth is no one is ever too far gone for the grace of Jesus. If they are still breathing, there is still hope and if we are still breathing, we are called to pray relentlessly because that’s how we bring people to the feet of Jesus.

A paralyzed man who was healed because his friends had relentless faith, reminded me to be relentless in prayer for the people in my life who need it. Perhaps you needed reminding too.

Have an awesome day!

Wendy 🙂

 

 

The Call to Pray Without Ceasing

Posted on by Wendy
Christians aren’t called to consider the possible outcome. We are called to pray without ceasing, knowing that nothing is impossible for the God we serve.

The online Bible Study that I read in the mornings, has been going through the book of Ezekiel for Lent. I’m going to be honest; this book is not an inspirational, uplifting read. It’s about sin and its consequences, (especially in the beginning), which is what we are all supposed to be reflecting upon during Lent. It does eventually, get to reconciliation and redemption and points to the hope of Christ, but it’s definitely not one of my favorite books.

One morning last week, the reading was in Chapter 37 and for me, it was very timely. The passage is often referred to as “The Valley of Dry Bones.” In chapter three, God leads Ezekiel to a valley full of dried up bones and then asks him a question.

“He asked me, “’Son of man, can these bones live?’”

(Ezekiel gives the perfect answer.)

“I said, ‘Sovereign Lord, you alone know.’”

Ezekiel knew that it wasn’t about what he knew or thought he knew. It wasn’t about science or the rules of nature. It was about God’s will and His ability to do what is impossible for man. Ezekiel knew and acknowledged, if God wanted those bones to become living breathing beings again, God could make it happen and in the subsequent verses that’s exactly what He did and He used Ezekiel to accomplish His Divine goal.

That passage at that moment, hit home with me because the night before, there had been a Facebook plea for prayer from the wife a sweet friend that I met on a mission trip. They found a mass in his lung and it was scheduled for immediate removal. He is a retired fire fighter and no doubt, his decision on a career to save others, led to damage to his lungs. They are both people of deep faith and as fast as I could pray and comment, other comments came flying in, promising prayer.

Then, when I got to work, there was a frantic text from a friend of mine asking for prayer for a two-year- old with Down Syndrome who had gone into respiratory and then cardiac arrest and had been life flighted to the hospital. She said they needed a miracle and I prayed for that child who God had knit together in her mother’s womb.

As I prayed during that day for the healing of two of God’s precious children, I thought about the valley of dry bones and the part Ezekiel played. God told Ezekiel to prophesy that the bones would come to life. Ezekiel obeyed and witnessed a miracle right before his eyes. Ezekiel trusted God and had complete faith in His abilities.

As Christians, the Bible tells us repeatedly to pray and to pray without ceasing. We may not be prophets, but we have been given the spiritual tool of prayer, a power we too often take for granted. Ezekiel’s valley reminds me that only God knows the outcome of any situation and He has no limitations. Our part is to pray with the hope of complete restoration. Perhaps you needed reminding too.

Have an awesome day!

Wendy 🙂

Seeking Shalom

Posted on by Wendy
We don’t have to know what lies ahead, because God does.

Every year around New Year’s, I pray about a new word to focus on in the coming year. This year the words peace and prayer kept coming up again and again. I figured the Holy Spirit was trying to teach me something, so I went with it. I wrote them on post its on my desk and in my journal. As I spent more time thinking about peace, I began to feel drawn to the concept of shalom.

As I studied more about the concept, I was fascinated. Shalom is the Hebrew word for peace, but it means much more than the Western concept of the absence of war or to wish someone a good day. Shalom means complete peace, harmony, wholeness, completeness, contentedness, prosperity, welfare and tranquility. Shalom is not partial. It’s not about circumstances. It’s about the whole.

As I began praying about moving towards shalom in my life, I was called to put into practical use.

In January, my Mama got sick and gave us quite a scare. In February, my annual bloodwork revealed some questionable results and I received a packet from the Department of Labor informing me that they were fighting an unemployment claim that I never filed. Yep, I had been a victim of some kind of identity theft.

I can’t say I was surprised. I’ve been on this faith journey long enough to know that if you pray for rain, you better get an umbrella. If you pray for extra peace in your life, especially complete peace, shalom, the peace that can only come from walking with Jesus, it would be foolish to expect smooth sailing. We can’t learn to swim if we don’t get wet.

There have been times in my life when the circumstances listed above, would have set me in a tailspin, but I found myself praying before panicking and meditating on shalom. I am happy to report that both mine and my Mama’s health are fine, so being emotionally distraught would have been for no reason. It would have been a complete waste of time, time that could have been better spent doing Kingdom Work.

Worrying wouldn’t have changed the outcome either way.

As I write this, my identity situation is not yet resolved, but I am reminded that Jesus warned us of troubles on this side of eternity. He said that we should be at peace anyway.

Having shalom is a daily intentional choice that begins with prayer and is strengthened with scripture. It’s a challenge, no doubt about it, but I think it’s a challenge worth pursuing. Perhaps you might like to try it too?

Have an awesome day!

Wendy 😀

Having Faith in Abundance

Posted on by Wendy
Annie reminds me that we need to trust in the abundance in God’s economy.

We recently adopted a pup from the pound. We saw her online and went to meet her and just had to have her. We named her Annie. When we first brought her home, we noticed her ribs were showing and we joked about how we are always good at fattening up our pets. When we fed her the first time, she ate like she hadn’t eaten in days. She wolfed her food down in no time flat and then she went after our other dogs’ food.

I figured it was her first time in a real home and it would take some time for her to trust that there will always be enough. I knew it would take some patience. It’s been a couple of weeks at this point and she still eats like every meal is her last. There are lots of treats and plenty of food, but she still doesn’t really believe in abundance.

There was a time in my life when I would have been frustrated with her lack of trust, but I have to admit that she reminds me a little of all of us on our faith walk. When we become Christ followers, we are given this unbelievable amount of grace. In fact it’s so abundant, we have a hard time accepting it.

We are given gifts and talents to further the kingdom and yet, we are reluctant to share them. Whether it’s financial gifts, the gift of our time, the gift of encouragement or even hospitality, we have been given countless gifts, but like Annie, we tend to be tight fisted with them. Living in this world, on this side of eternity, has made us believe in the principle of scarcity.

What we have to remember is that even though we live in this world, we are not of it. We are only travelers here. We are citizens of heaven and in God’s economy, there is no scarcity, only abundance.

Keeping that in mind, we are called to live not with fists held tight, but with hands wide open, open to receive blessings and open to give them back to a world around us that desperately needs them. We have to learn to trust abundance and believe there will always be enough.

It takes time. Building faith takes time and so, I am patient with Annie, because honestly, she reminds me of me and maybe she reminds you of you. Sometimes I need reminding. Perhaps you do too!

Have an awesome day!

Wendy 🙂

Seeking the Wonder

Posted on by Wendy
“After the earthquake came a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper.” 1 Kings 19:12

A couple of weeks ago, I was driving to work. It was foggy out, but it was a normal day. There was nothing going on good or bad for me, but I was tired and I was running late. I prayed that God would show Himself to me in some small way.

Years earlier, I read a book called, “Wonderstruck,” by Margaret Feinberg. It was about rediscovering the wonder in her relationship with God. She prayed that God would show her a piece of the wonder He was capable of and He obliged.

That premise stuck with me, so from time-to-time, when I find myself in a spiritual doldrums of sorts or I feel that God is far away, I pray for God to show me His wonder. So, that morning, I said that prayer.

As I made the next right turn, I was greeted by a burst of sunshine. It was really hard to miss. I smiled and said a quick prayer of thanks as I whipped into a spot in the parking lot. I jumped out of my car and headed towards my building, I found myself looking over my shoulder to catch another glimpse of the wonder, as I kept walking. I was running late after all, but something deep inside urged me to stop.

So, I did. I stopped and I turned around. I took a deep breath and I took that beautiful light in. I said a heartfelt prayer of thanks. I even snapped a picture.

This time, when I turned around to walk to my building, my soul felt lighter and I didn’t feel like I was rushed. I felt truly thankful.

I thought about my morning encounter for the rest of the day. I thought about how often we ask God to intervene and how often He does and we miss it, because we are busy and distracted. I thought about how often He shows up in a whisper instead of a roar and again, we miss it because of all of the noise.

I was reminded of Elijah’s interaction with God in 1 Kings 19:11-13; “The Lord said, “Go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the Lord, for the Lord is about to pass by. Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. After the earthquake came a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper.”

A morning sunrise reminded me not to miss God in the quiet. Perhaps you needed reminding too.

Have an awesome day!

Wendy 🙂

The Courage to Choose Restoration

Posted on by Wendy
The path to restoration takes courage.

I recently had a gum graft. I put it off for a long time, but my dentist finally told me my time was up. My gum recession had gotten to the point that I was going to eventually lose my tooth if there wasn’t an intervention. I reluctantly made an appointment with a periodontist. The procedure was successful, but there was a lot of scraping to prepare the tooth for the new skin and I went home with a bunch of stitches.

I was really sore the next day as expected, with a good deal of swelling and a huge purple bruise on my chin. As I was sitting on my porch, reading my daily devotion, feeling the morning breeze on my skin and listening to the birds singing, it occurred to me that restoration is rarely easy or comfortable and is always a decision that takes courage.

I was reminded of my Daddy’s knee replacement years before. He was in a lot of pain and walking with a limp, before he finally agreed to the surgery. His rehab was painful, but he always went and in the end, it was all worth it. He no longer limped and and the daily pain that he had resigned himself to live with, was gone. Nothing would have changed if he hadn’t had the courage to seek restoration.

Whether it’s something physical like a knee replacement that can restore normal movement and quality of life or something even harder like the decision to restore a broken relationship, restoration takes commitment and hard work. It also requires faith because the in between can be grueling. There are bruises and scars that take time and patience to allow them to heal.

God calls us to restoration in our hearts and souls with Him and with each other. But, sometimes the emotional and spiritual restoration can be more painful than the physical stuff. Scraping away years worth of baggage like anger, pain, guilt and bitterness that we have allowed to accumulate in our hearts, takes hard work and courage, but the results, the freedom, the joy and the life, that comes from restoration is worth every moment.

My recovery from a gum graft reminded me that it takes courage for restoration to be possible. Perhaps you needed reminding too.

Have an awesome day!

Wendy 🙂

 

Encouragement for the Journey

Posted on by Wendy
Be encouraged! The view in the end, will be worth every difficult step.

My family enjoys hiking together. We don’t love the same music or the same movies, but we do enjoy the gift of nature. When we decide we want to go somewhere, one of us will usually Google it, get a few reviews and some directions and off we go. This system usually works well for us.

There was a time when we didn’t pack any water and gave up before we got to our destination. There was another time when we unknowingly hiked into the edge of a giant forest fire. Needless to say, we made it back off of that mountain in record time! But, for the most part, our system works.

On a recent hike, when we finally found a place to park on the edge of a gravel road, we headed across a bridge where we saw other people going across. But, when we saw a sign for the Appalachian Trail, my hubby questioned if we were heading in the right direction. My son happened to have some very spotty phone reception and figured out that we were going the opposite way of the waterfall that we were seeking.

We  laughed as we turned around, but I’ll have to admit I felt a little frustrated. I like to plan our excursions a little better, but we had spent time debating what we wanted to do and we had ridden around lost with no cell service, before we actually found the turn off. Then we ended up going in the wrong direction.

Once we got on the right trail, the scenery was beautiful and we got into a rhythm when my foot hit a hard root. It was just a minor injury, but my big toe began to throb. The hike was taking longer than expected and I began to regret not bringing water along.

Just as I was thinking about grumbling, a woman passed by coming back down the trail with a big grin and she said, “The view is totally worth it.”

Those few words of encouragement were all I needed. I got my second wind and walked again, with purpose. She was right. The view was stunning.

I thought about that sweet lady long after our hike. I thought about how a few kind words made all of the difference and how we would have missed out on something truly amazing if we would have turned back. She didn’t have to say anything at all to us, but something led her to share.

The longer we live, the more trails we have walked. There’s wisdom that comes from living. We can choose to keep it to ourselves. We can choose to grab the megaphone of social media to tell others how they should be walking or we can choose to encourage the people who God puts in our path, to keep going, one step at a time, reminding them that the view in the end, is worth every difficult step and that God has a purpose for their journey.

God has a purpose for your journey too. Be encouraged. The view will be worth it. Sometimes I need reminding. Perhaps you do too.

Have an awesome day!

Wendy 🙂

Appreciating the Waterfall Journey

Posted on by Wendy
It’s sometimes difficult to imagine what the end of our journey looks like when we are stuck in the middle.

My family recently went on a hike to a waterfall. It was beautiful and an easy walk and so it attracted many people. The viewing platform was full when we arrived so we went to the base of the falls. We had a a few minutes to take pictures and appreciate the beauty before we were joined by more people. We headed back to the platform to snap a few photos and again, in a few minutes, it was full.

We were a little disappointed. When we go to the woods, it’s to enjoy nature away from crowds not fight with people for a little space. To be fair, I’m sure the other people felt there, the same. It truly was a beautiful and I could see why folks were drawn to it. There’s a certain majesty found in both the sight and sound of water crashing into rocks below. Waterfalls are one of those places in Creation that tend to make us pause in awe at something so much bigger than ourselves.

But, as we stood on the platform for a few minutes, we noticed a couple at the top of the waterfall, a little off of the beaten path, so instead of heading back down, we decided to head up there. It was much quieter away from the crowds. It was an entirely new perspective at the top of the waterfall, yet still breathtaking.

I wondered what it was like a little further upstream. Was it still just as gorgeous and dramatic? I felt the nudge to check it out and so I walked a little further.

What I found was a little mountain stream. It was pretty and clear, but it wasn’t large or in any way special. There were parts where it was almost completely dammed up by a fallen tree or debris. If you were to look at this little stream at this point in its path, you would have no idea it was destined for greatness. If you stopped here and walked away, you would completely miss its awesome destiny.

The thought of the journey of that mountain stream stayed on my mind for days after we returned home. We all have the tendency to celebrate greatness. We like to focus on the finish line and we often compare the middle of our own journey to the finish lines of others, but no one’s awesome waterfall moment ever started there. Nope, that journey started long before. There were likely twist and turns and sometimes they may have even gotten almost completely stopped, but the waterfall moments are proof of what happens with faith and perseverance.

Sometimes the majesty that awaits is more than we can possibly imagine, but God can.

They remind us to to the same on our own journey at whatever point we may find ourselves. Sometimes I need reminding. Perhaps you do too.

Have an awesome day!

Wendy 🙂