Category: Trusting God

My daughter recently came home from college for the night and brought her pup, Marshall. We recued Marshall from the pound during quarantine and he added some much needed excitement in our daily lives. We watched him go from a little guy who was shy and afraid of almost everything to a rambunctious, ray of sunshine who never fails to make us smile. Needless to say, he has a very special place in our hearts.

Now, our other dogs do not share our affection for him. They usually tolerate him, but will growl at him, when he tries to play with them. They too, were rescues, but they are old now and I guess they have forgotten.

We always have to watch Marshall around the other dogs’ food because he will eat it. I walked in the room during Marshall’s last visit to find our smaller dog, Piper, guarding her food. I smiled at her, scratched her head and reminded her that even when he eats her food, we always refill it. She never goes without and has never known hunger since she came to us almost eight years ago.

As all three dogs, finally settled down to a nap, I thought about how I wish I could make them understand that I love them all equally and truly appreciate all of their unique personalities. I wish they knew that love is limitless and there will never be scarcity for them while under my care.

As I was thinking, I felt a nudge reminding me that humanity isn’t much different that my pups when it comes to understanding the love of Jesus for us. When we find ourselves in not so good times, and we see others around us doing well, isn’t our tendency to feel jealous or discouraged? It’s as if we too, believe that Jesus’ blessings are finite. We forget that we too, have been rescued and blessed many times over just like my older pups.

And if we are asked to share what we have, don’t we find ourselves holding on as tightly as we can with both fists, just like Piper? I once read that the point really isn’t whether the glass is half full or half empty; the point is that the glass is refillable and more importantly we worship the God who we cannot out give.

These are dark days we have been trudging through, for many of us, the darkest we have ever seen. Our instinct may be to hold tightly to all we have, including the gifts of encouragement, patience, forgiveness and grace from a world that is desperate for them. May we not forget like my two older dogs to share them. After all, Jesus has shared them with us.

My pups reminded me. Perhaps you needed reminding too.

Have an awesome day!
Wendy 🙂

On a recent visit to my parents’ house, we decided to take a walk. There’s nothing like heading out into the woods to clear my mind and see God’s fingerprints. I debated about whether I should bring my phone or not. Lately, I have become very intentional about putting it down. The cyberworld is loud these days and the loudest voices tend to be the angriest ones full of the most venom. I have learned that my soul needs regular breaks from the noise and chaos.

But, I felt a gentle nudge to take it. I sensed that God wanted to show me something and I was well aware that He has the ability to use any form of technology for His glory. I have learned that when I follow God’s nudges, I am never disappointed. I was rewarded with a beautiful blue butterfly that held still and posed for a picture as well as tiny wayward flowers that seemed to pop up out of nowhere. Each little gift of Creation filled my soul a little more.

I definitely felt lighter after the walk, but it wasn’t until later that evening that I discovered what God wanted to show me. I was on the porch scrolling through my photos, when I came across one I had taken of a path dappled with sunlight. It looked so inviting that I showed it to my mom. She commented that she had taken a photo there on a previous walk of her own, but that mine was much nicer because of the lighting.

She found hers and we compared. Sure enough, her picture showed a dark path. It was the same exact path, but it wouldn’t be one I would be drawn to take. We laughed and talked about how all professional photographers will happily tell you about the importance of lighting.

I thought about our conversation days later, as I was scrolling through those same pictures and landed on that photo finding myself once again mesmerized by the light. The Bible is full of references of God and light. One of my favorites is, “This is the message we heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all.” 1 John 1:5

We walk on many paths during our journey here on earth. Some are well lit and we can skip and run down them or just stroll and happily enjoy the scenery. Others are quite dark and we dread every step, wondering if we will ever reach the end. For many of us, 2020 has been one of those paths. Yet, as Christians, we are called to remember the light of Jesus is always available to us even on the darkest paths.

Hope is alive. God has a plan and we know that in ALL things God works for the good for those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose, because the Bible tells us so.

So, take each small step in faith and look for the light. It’s there. A picture reminded me. Perhaps you needed reminding too.

Have an awesome day!
Wendy 🙂

A couple of weekends ago, my kiddos were both home from college and we decided to go on a hike in the North Georgia Mountains. Hiking is something we have always enjoyed as a family, even when the kids were little. There’s just something about getting outside and exploring, completely surrounded by nature, that has always fed our souls.

We have an interesting history with this particular trail. The first time we attempted it, we weren’t prepared. We stumbled upon it when we were driving around and just parked the car and hit the trail. It was late when we started and we didn’t bring water, but the trail was shaded and it wasn’t that hot. We had a late breakfast, so we hadn’t eaten lunch. The trail follows a stream the entire way and there are waterfalls along it. It’s beautiful, but it’s a five mile hike round trip and we didn’t know where we were going. We finally gave up and turned back.

When we got home and Googled it, we missed a pretty waterfall at the top and we were very close, when we gave up. But, how could we have known? There was no cell service there and we had never been before.

The next time we went, we were prepared. We brought water and snacks and we got an earlier start. We were a little discouraged because there were tons of cars when we arrived, but when we got on the trail, it wasn’t crowded. We saw people, but there was plenty of space. I am always amazed at how friendly people tend to be out on a hiking trail. Most people smile and speak. Folks seem visibly relaxed as if Creation somehow brings out the better part of all of us.

This time, we made it to the top, but it was Fall of 2016 and a large part of the mountains were on fire. We had no idea that there was a fire just over the ridge and a lot of the people there were hoping to see it. We got down off of that mountain trail in record time.

Fast forward to 2020. We decided to give that trail another go. My children were now a sophomore and senior in college instead of high school like the time before. The entire world had been in some level of quarantine or lock down from Covid-19 since March, not to mention, reeling from months of social unrest and it was now Labor Day and we wanted to get out, to escape the news and the noise. This time, we brought provisions and my daughter’s precious pup.

When we arrived, there were cars everywhere. They were parked all up and down the road so close together that we wondered if our truck could even get by. It seemed a lot of other people needed to escape as well. We almost left, wondering how it would be possible to safely hike with all of those people, but we didn’t. We found a spot and hit the trail.

We were pleasantly surprised. While we did encounter people along the trail, there was plenty of space and masks. We saw old and young. We saw people of every color and as I have come to expect while out on a nature trail, there were friendly smiles and greetings. There was no tension or politics. No one seemed to mind if they had to wait for others to snap a photo. No one seemed to be in a big rush. There were simply people trying to enjoy some beauty and quiet and to soak up Creation.

This time, we made it to the top and sat and rested for a bit, taking it all in, so glad that we had come. Thankfully, there was no fire, just lots of fellow travelers who like us, seemed genuinely pleased to be there.

I have learned a lot from that mountain trail. I have learned that on our journey here, it’s okay to rest when we get tired, but if we want to experience all that God has for us, we have to get back up and we can’t turn back. I have learned that we need to plan for some provision both physically and spiritually. I have learned that the path rarely stays exactly the same, but God does. Perhaps most importantly, I have learned that in God’s economy, there’s always room for one more. His space is unlimited.

Sometimes I need reminding. Perhaps you do too. Have an awesome day!
Wendy 🙂

A few days ago, I was heading out to my backyard when I encountered a big garden spider on a huge web. I’m in my backyard almost everyday and it seemed like she appeared overnight on her web and all in all of her glory. If I’m completely honest, I will admit I have never been a fan of spiders, however, as I’ve grown older, I have come to admire their craftsmanship.

Have you ever really examined or stopped to appreciate, (from a respectable difference of course!), the intricacies of a spider’s web? They are so precisely made, like natural works of art. Besides their artistry, those webs are very effective as well, as anyone who has had the misfortune of unknowingly walking into one can tell you.

So, I paused for a moment to admire nature’s art, and I was reminded what seeing a spider in that spot likely meant. It’s late August in Georgia, as I write this, and we are easily hitting ninety degrees on most days, yet spiders on large webs, begin to appear every year as summer nears its end and fall draws closer. I chuckled to myself and wondered if this particular spider was mistaken. Fall feels very far away at the moment, despite what retailers would like for us to believe. It’s hard to think about pumpkins spice when it’s ninety outside.

But, a couple of days later, when I was out on a walk, I saw another spider on a large web, high up in the trees and I knew that the first spider wasn’t out of sync somehow. Why would she be?

As humans, 2020 along with the corresponding virus, social unrest, masks and divisive politics that will forever be linked with it, has created havoc for us. The human world is in chaos and nothing seems normal and sometimes we wonder if it ever will be again. We don’t trust the news, or our leaders or even our health officials, who seem to change their minds on a daily basis. It’s enough to make us want to throw up our hands and just give up. What’s the point of trying to make a difference in this crazy world?

Yet, God shows us another way. God is a God of order, not a God of chaos and when we want to find Him and some order, which is part of His plan, we can always look to His creation. Nature is completely unaffected my the chaos currently plaguing humanity. Spiders are building their webs. Fall is coming. God is still in charge despite what humanity might think.

As I thought about the spiders on my way home, I felt some peace settle into my heart as I always do when I truly seek God. A dear friend of mine recently reminded me that when we intentionally seek more of God and less of man, peace will always be close by. She was right. Some spider webs reminded me. Perhaps you needed reminding too.

Have an awesome day!
Wendy 🙂

My son is moving into his first college house in August. He was in a dorm last year and so it was completely furnished. The house he is moving into is not, so he needs some furniture for his bedroom. When his sister moved into her first house a couple of years ago, I refinished furniture that had belonged to my grandparents that was sitting in my parents’ barn.

Quite honestly, I didn’t think there was any furniture left in that barn. My mama casually mentioned that she thought the pink furniture was still down there. I laughed. That furniture had been hers when she was a little girl. I really didn’t see how I could make the pink furniture work for my 19 year old son. But, we went and took a look anyway. It was in surprisingly good shape for furniture over 50 years old.

It was covered in grime. A mouse had moved into the night stand, but it had potential. It was solid. It took lots of scrubbing and disinfectant; the night stand was really gross; but I felt excitement building when we loaded it up in the truck.

I love to redo furniture. We live in a world where just about everything it seems, is disposable and our landfills are a testament to that fact. But, our disposable mindset can spill over into our personal lives too. Our relationships have even become disposable. If things get tough, we toss them out and look for someone new. How did people become disposable?

In the disposable world we live in, there’s something almost spiritual for me, when I can give brand new life to something that has been tossed to the side. I can scrub off grime, evict the mice and paint or stain. I can add shiny new hardware and something that was considered beyond redemption, becomes redeemed.

As followers of Jesus, I suppose many of us can relate to the old furniture. Jesus sometimes finds us when we are a complete mess, tossed in a corner, covered in the grime of our sin with little to offer to the world. But, our Savior who once nicknamed the man who would deny Him three times, “Petra,” of all things, which means the rock, sees our potential, just as He saw Peter’s. He sees what we can become. His love for us and our future with Him is in no way tied to where we are or where we’ve been.

When we reach for Him, He cleans us off and turns us into something new and exquisite and teaches us to use gifts we didn’t even know we had to serve Him and share the Good News with a world that desperately needs to hear it.

Some old, grimy, pink furniture, reminded me that if we are breathing, Jesus has plans for us. We are not disposable to Him; we are loved. The redemption business is His business. Sometimes I need reminding. Perhaps you did too.

Have an awesome day!
Wendy 🙂

This week, I harvested my first batch of blueberries for the year. There weren’t very many, but once I got the first ripe ones, there were more everyday. I only have one bush, but it’s so full of fruit that it’s leaning to the side.

Growing things always teaches me so much about my faith walk and blueberries are no exception.

It takes a certain amount of faith to plant anything in a hole in the ground and expect it to grow. There are so many factors that can stop any type of growth, from weather that’s too cold to birds and other animals that can destroy what we have planted.

But, even after I take the leap of faith to plant, there’s more to do. If I want to have lots of fruit, I have to take the time to water it and feed it with the right kind of fertilizer. Some years, nature provides plenty of rain and I have to do less on my end. In drought years, I have to work extra hard just to keep my plant alive.

Some years, no matter what I do, I have very little fruit and in other years, there are more blueberries than I know what to do with.

When I first see the blooms in the spring, it’s always a a sign of hope for the fruit to come, but I also know that the blooms are vulnerable and a late freeze can kill a lot of them. When I finally have fruit, I have to wait patiently before I pick it. Any fruit picked too early is sour.

When the time finally comes to harvest, I have to be very vigilant because I often miss some of the ripe fruit on my first time around the bush. I have to look underneath and at the very top and sometimes even after I have been around the bush several times, I will still find one I missed.

Our faith walk can be a lot like growing blueberries. When we walk closely with Jesus, we are often asked to step out in faith and plant something that may or may not grow, but despite our fears, we are called to plant anyway. Sometimes what we plant grows seemingly on its own and other times, it requires lots of prayer and work on our part. Like my blueberry bush, sometimes what we plant produces an abundance of fruit and sometimes it produces very little.

But, we need to remember that God’s economy is different than our own. He’s interested in all of our hard work and all the fruit that grows because of it, no matter the size of the crop. As Christians, we are all called to plant and then we let God do the rest. A new blueberry crop reminded me. Perhaps you needed reminding too.

Have an awesome day!
Wendy 🙂