Category: Watching for God

God is all around us. All we have to do is look for Him. If we seek Him, we will find Him at times in the most unlikely places.

Leaf Lessons

Posted on by Wendy
The fall leaves are a beautiful reminder that God is with us.

As I was traveling down the road yesterday, a little grumpy, because I had to drive all the way to another county to pick up some medication for my dog at the vet, I was delighted to see the leaves changing color. I remember wondering just recently, if we would get any bright fall leaves this year. Had it been too warm? Did we not get enough rain?

Our news has consisted of one horrific story after the other lately, so much so, that my first impulse is to tune out. It’s sometimes hard to find the beauty when there’s just so much wreckage. We sometimes wonder if God is still here.

To add to that, my schedule has been incredibly busy, with too much noise and not enough quiet time.

But, as I drove along on my unplanned and quite frankly, unwelcomed detour, I began to sense that God had called me to a time out. It was just me and Him in the car and I had no busy excuse not to talk to Him or to listen. I had no excuse not to reflect.

Those pretty fall leaves reminded me that God is in control no matter how dark the season may appear. He could have created trees to simply drop their leaves with the seasons, but no, our creative Creator, made trees with leaves that turn all kinds of beautiful and vivid colors.

Why?

Because He enjoys beauty, just like we do and He seeks to share it with us. We only need to be willing to see it.

After the flood, God told Noah, “As long as the earth endures, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night will never cease.” Genesis 8:22

The seasons are changing; just as the Bible said they would. God is still here among the chaos, He’s still in control and He still seeks us. The question for us to consider is, do we actively seek Him?

When we do, we will find Him. Sometimes we simply have to look around. An unplanned drive and some leaves reminded me. Perhaps you needed reminding too.

Have an awesome day!

Wendy 🙂

A Call to Bloom

Posted on by Wendy
This bush looks perfectly acceptable unless you know what its capabilities are.

I have the honor of dog sitting for my parents this week. They have two little fluff balls that require leash walking several times a day. While I was walking them over the weekend, we ended up at a raised bed my hubby made for me. In it, he had planted a hydrangea.

It was a gift from a parent at the end of school year. We were still building our deck at the time and I wasn’t sure where to plant it and so he put it there for the time being. To the casual observer, it looks really good. It’s healthy. It has grown a lot. It came in a tiny cup. It’s green. It survived a very dry late summer.

But, I’m not a casual observer. The wonderful thing about hydrangeas is their huge flowers and this one never bloomed. It could be because it was the first year it was planted. Sometimes it takes a year for a bush to get established before it blooms.

But, I suspect the real reason is that it doesn’t get enough sun in that spot and without enough sun, it simply can’t bloom.

I reflected on that hydrangea long after the little fluff balls were safely back in the house.

I thought about how like that hydrangea, there are times on our faith journey when we don’t bloom. I thought about how sometimes we may be getting established. We may be new to our faith, or we may be in a season of a new calling, or a season of rest where we find ourselves at a crossroads of sorts.

There are times when not producing blooms is certainly expected. God may simply be working something out within us.

But, sometimes we don’t bloom because we are not seeking Jesus. We aren’t actively reading the Bible. We aren’t actively seeking a prayer relationship with God. We aren’t attending church or engaging in Christian community. We may not be getting enough of the Son.

In that case, we need to make some changes. We are called to do more than just get by. We are called to reflect the brilliance of Christ back into the world. We can’t do that if we don’t have a close personal relationship with Him.

We are called to bloom.

A hydrangea bush reminded me. Perhaps you needed reminding too.

Have an awesome day!

Wendy 🙂

Everyday Beauty

Posted on by Wendy

Yesterday was one of those days when I felt like I ran around in a circle all day long, getting nothing accomplished. I had computer software issues all day and when I finally got them cleared up, the task I was originally asked to do was completed somewhere else.

It wasn’t as if any kind of tragedy struck. In the grand scheme of things, I probably won’t even remember it a year from now, but it was frustrating enough to give me a headache. Maybe you have had days like that?

When I got home, I got a cup of tea and grabbed my writing journal. I always keep it close by and I jot down all sorts of things in it, from ideas for posts to Bible quotes, to quotes from Pinterest, and sometimes when I’ve had a tough day, I read back through it.

It’s a road map to the places I have been and there are recurring themes that remind me where I’m going and why I’m here. As I read through it, I felt myself begin to relax. I read line after line about God being light and my day slowly slid back into perspective.

But, then I came across a quote that made me stop, because I had the perfect visual to go with it.

Sometimes it’s almost impossible not to see God.

“Never lose an opportunity of seeing something beautiful, for beauty is God’s handwriting.” Ralph Waldo Emerson

The temperatures have cooled and the leaves have begun to fall, and that quote made that photo immediately pop into my mind. There is beauty in the everyday because God is always with us everyday. Sometimes it’s easier to see Him than others.

Sometimes I need reminding. Today that reminder came from something I wrote down over a year ago, something that God knew even then, that I would need today. Isn’t that amazing?

Perhaps you needed reminding too.

Have an awesome day!

Wendy 🙂

Blinking Cursor Inspiration

Posted on by Wendy
“Be still and know that I am God.”

There are times when I can’t wait to sit down at my keyboard and string together the words that will tell the story of how God has shown Himself to me in one particular way or another. There are times when I can’t write down post ideas fast enough, in the journal that I always keep close by.

Those are the times when I feel absolutely certain that I am doing the work that God has called me to do.

There are times in my life that have been the same, those times when I’ve prayed for a long time about something and waited patiently on Him and then suddenly the pieces fall so perfectly into place in a jigsaw-like puzzle that could only have been created by God.

It’s those times I know that I have made the right decisions and choices and I know I am where I am meant to be.

But, then there are times that I sit at my keyboard and the cursor blinks. I sit and I say a prayer and I can think of nothing super inspirational to share. I can think of no mountaintop experience from my day and I wonder if I’m doing what I’m supposed to. Did I hear Him right?

I have had those times in my life as well. The relationship gets hard. The job gets difficult or boring. The new dog becomes a lot of work. The kids are struggling in the places that I know God directed them to. And again, I question myself; did I hear God right?

It’s tempting to believe that if we decide to walk with Jesus, that the path should always be smooth and exciting. If we are doing God’s will, shouldn’t we always hear His voice directing us onward and patting us on the head?

If that were true, how would we ever grow our faith?

When we prayerfully seek His guidance and will in our lives and He shows it to us and we listen and go, sometimes He steps back to see if we are willing to proceed in faith. His silence can sometimes make us feel frightened, unsure, or even downright frustrated.

But, the key is to never confuse His silence with absence. He’s always close by. He’s always listening. Sometimes He’s waiting, waiting for us to take that next step in faith, and sometimes it’s that next small step that proves to be a breakthrough that changes everything.

Sometimes it’s that step that brings on the very highest mountaintop moment yet. A blinking cursor reminded me to keep walking, praying, and trusting. Perhaps you needed reminding too.

Have an awesome day!

Wendy 🙂

Remembering to Seek Him

Posted on by Wendy
“Finally brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable-if anything is excellent or praiseworthy-think about such things.” Philippians 4:8

A couple of weeks ago, I had to run an errand for work. That errand took me through our tiny downtown where traffic backs up like it does in a huge metropolis. When I finally got my turn at the stoplight, a big eighteen wheeler was on the other side. Of course, I needed to go left.

I found myself seriously grumbling. Why was that truck there? Were those big trucks even supposed to be downtown? As my negative inner-dialogue continued, the driver of that truck flashed his lights, signaling me to go ahead and go.

I was immediately grateful and humbled at the same time. The one thing that I was grumbling about, made it possible for me to get where I was going.

I made a mental note to remember that everything happens for a reason and that God always has a plan.

Yesterday, I had a meeting right after work. As I got into my steaming hot car to drive home, I saw that my dashboard said it was 86 degrees. Now, I’m not someone who complains much about the heat. I loathe being cold. However, it’s mid-October and a little crisp, cool air, would be nice.

When I arrived at home and took my dogs outside, I was treated to a stunning display of blooming hibiscus plants on my porch. Those plants are tropical. They can’t survive the cold and if we were having normal fall weather, they wouldn’t be blooming. I would have missed the beauty.

I felt God really working on my heart. For a gal who considers herself optimistic by nature, I’d been awfully half-empty lately. I reasoned that it’s partly because all of the negative world events going on at the moment. It’s been fairly hard to find the light in all of the darkness.

Yet, the Light is still there. God still remains. God is still in control. God still has a plan. Whether it’s in global disaster, or bumper-to-bumper traffic, or stubborn weather, if we seek Him, we will find Him.

That’s a promise to all of His children. That promise gives me peace. Sometimes I need reminding, perhaps you do too.

Have an awesome day!

Wendy 🙂

The Wisdom of Youth

Posted on by Wendy
One nation under God

Last week was just one of those weeks. You know the ones, the ones where you are just slammed at work and you just never seem to get a minute to breathe? I wasn’t feeling well physically either, which didn’t help matters.

Besides all of that, every time I logged onto Facebook for a little diversion, I was assaulted by opinions on NFL players and their treatment of the National Anthem and the American Flag.

The entire ordeal is mind boggling to me. Sports, any kind, is one of those forces that has the ability to unite people of all colors, classes and political convictions. It doesn’t matter who I have ever sat next to at any sporting event, if we are cheering for the same team, we are friends. It’s the same way at the concession stand or even in the bathroom for that matter.

So what happened?

Last season, one NFL player elected not to stand for the National Anthem. Some media outlet chose to give that guy the spotlight. The other media outlets jumped in. Chaos, division and anarchy sells. I could point out that there’s another dark force that thrives on chaos, division and anarchy.

So this season, the entire NFL jumped into the Anthem fray along with all of the mass media, and social media went wild.

It never ceases to amaze me how easy it is to get people to turn on each other. Who do you think enjoys that the most?

When I think back to the photos of the firemen hoisting that flag from the ashes of the World Trade Center and how it offered a glimmer of hope to an entire nation, I can’t imagine not standing for it.

After Hurricane Irma, police officers in Savannah saved a flag from the marsh and hoisted it back up. The picture was put on social media and was viewed 54,000 times. The flag gives us hope. When we recite the pledge, we stand and we are reminded that we are one nation under God, protected by God and blessed by God. Is the problem perhaps, that we are failing at the under God part and that, that failure is leading to all of this division?

Thankfully, last Friday night, I was treated to a snapshot of hope. Our high school football team was playing its rival from across town. The two bands from the opposing teams came together and played the National Anthem. EVERYONE stood on both sides. The flag and the anthem united us as it always has.

I fought tears as I gave a silent prayer of thanks for small town America and the values that it holds dear. As if that wasn’t enough, when our team came running onto the field breaking through their banner, a player was carrying the flag, waving it proudly. The crowd went wild. He ran for a few extra loops before sticking it in the ground.

I think the Bible said something about a child leading the way. This child got it right and these are the stories we should share. Perhaps you needed a little hope today too.

Have an awesome day!

Wendy 🙂

Tree Wisdom

Posted on by Wendy
A tree large enough to land on a second story roof and tear off gutters, but just happened to fall gently enough to turn on the faucet, had to be a part of Divine intervention.

When Hurricane Harvey hit Houston, I found myself not only praying for the protection of the people in the storm, but also that God would use the situation to show Himself in unmistakable ways, ways that might show those who doubt that He is always present.

When Hurricane Irma came on Harvey’s heels, I prayed the same prayer. Little did I know that He would also take the opportunity to show His mighty hand to me, personally.

Irma deposited a tree on our house, but it did very little damage which made us very thankful. However, we had a live power line on the ground for over a week. We had power, so I wasn’t complaining, but I’d heard way too many stories about live power lines and electrocution, so I completely avoided that side of my house.

When the power company did come out, the lineman had me walk to the side of the house with him. What he showed me brought tears to my eyes. There was a rather small metal hook that attached the power line and the cable line to the house. The huge tree that fell because two larger trees, fell on it, creating a domino effect, simply nicked the side of the hook and broke it.

The lines fell to the ground, unbroken.

The tree also hit a faucet on the edge of my house, turning the water on. It didn’t break the faucet off the wall. It merely hit the faucet at just the right angle and just the right amount of force, to turn the water on.

I stared at the broken ring and the faucet in disbelief. What were the chances?

The lineman looked at me and said that we were unbelievably lucky. But, I knew it had nothing to do with luck and everything to do with God.

How often do we miss it? How often are we showered with blessings big and small that we simply attribute to good fortune or luck?

As people of faith, we are called to pray. But, aren’t we also called to acknowledge the answers to prayers and the blessings that we are so freely given? How can we acknowledge them if we don’t actively seek them?

It would have been easy to miss the Hand of God in the tree, if I had just dismissed the tree as an unfortunate accident, but the tree was meant to show me much more. God was at work, just as He always is, but I had to be willing to seek Him. And when I did? Wow!

A poplar tree reminded me of God’s mighty hand in our daily lives even in situations that we might consider unfortunate. Perhaps you needed reminding too.

Have an awesome day!

Wendy 🙂

Hummingbird Wisdom

Posted on by Wendy
Some hummingbirds reminded me to always lean into God, especially when the storms come.

Last week in Georgia, in preparation for Hurricane Irma, we were told to secure all of our deck furniture, lawn furniture, outdoor potted plants and anything else that might become a projectile in the raging wind.

We did as we were told well in advance. We even moved our chiminea, which I thought was way too heavy to be an issue, but better safe than sorry.

However, when it came to my hummingbird feeders, I decided to wait until the last minute. I sought advice from my mama who was further south. She and my daddy have like twenty hummingbirds or more every year. She told me she had taken theirs down for the storm.

I kept watching mine and planned on taking them down midday when it was supposed to get bad. I didn’t want them to become missiles. But, we have around ten or twelve this time of year and they are in a feeding frenzy. They have to double their weight in preparation for their flight to Mexico or South America, depending on the bird.

As the hours passed, the number dwindled to four, but still I was hesitant to remove their source of food. What if the ones that remained were behind because they were very young or very elderly? I kept watch and as the wind whipped the trees, the feeders didn’t move much.

I kept telling myself as soon as they stopped coming, I would run out to the deck and remove them.

The storm came and went and the birds never stopped feeding, so I never removed the feeders. By the next day, they were all back. They were all in a frenzy again, dive bombing one another and fussing at each other.

In the days that followed, when people were without power, and trees and limbs were down in our area, I couldn’t stop thinking about those four birds. The wind was whipping. The rain was pouring, but those birds relentlessly continued to feed.

Where were the other ones? Did they just take cover somewhere?

I am reminded of times in our own lives when the storms come and life gets bad. Those are often the times that we become so overwhelmed that we stop our spiritual practices. We stop going to church. We stop meaningful prayer time. We stop reading our Bible. We attempt to take shelter from everything including the One source that can feed us and sustain us.

Four little hummingbirds in a storm reminded me to be vigilant and to always lean into God, especially when the storms come. Perhaps you needed reminding too.

Have an awesome day!

Wendy 🙂

Fallen Poplar Tree Reflections

Posted on by Wendy
Sometimes blessings show up in the most unexpected circumstances.

Last weekend as the state of Florida geared up for Hurricane Irma, those of us in Georgia did the same. We were told to secure all of our deck furniture and anything else that might not be able to withstand the hurricane force winds that we might be getting. We were expecting the winds and rain on Monday.

On Saturday, my hubby and I attended a prayer service at our church specifically focusing on the hurricane. As people of God, we believe that the Creator of the wind and the rain also has the power to contain it.

When we returned home, we battened down the hatches and waited. It was amazing how beautiful the weather was on that Saturday before the storm. It was difficult to believe that calamity was heading our way. But, isn’t that always the case with life? Aren’t we usually happily sailing along blissfully unaware, when disaster strikes?

When Monday arrived and the forcasted weather with it, we kept watch. We lost power, cable and internet around 4:00. The giant oak trees in my backyard swayed with the wind gusts and I prayed that they would stand. My family and I made the best of our situation and played cards and board games.

At around 6:00, when we were eating sandwiches for dinner, we heard a crash. A neighbor’s poplar tree had fallen on the corner of our house, pulling all of our power, cable and phone lines from the house, onto the ground.

When the storm passed, we were amazed. Not one oak tree fell. We didn’t even have huge branches down. Those trees would have done some major destruction and possibly even caused injury, but they held.

While we braced for days without power because we had lines on the ground, our power was restored within 24 hours. On the following Friday, the cable guy came and looked at the damage and told us they couldn’t touch their lines until the power company got theirs off of the ground.

Saturday morning, we had cable and internet restored.

As I write this, all of the lines are on the ground, yet we have power, cable and internet. While I know there’s an explanation, I also know that God had His hand in it.

The tree has been removed and the insurance company has been contacted.

Honestly, I don’t know when I have felt so blessed. The tree stayed on the house for a week and every time I saw it, I was reminded of how bad it could have been. I was reminded of the people who lost their homes and people who lost their lives and I was prompted to offer prayers for them.

That fallen poplar tree made me more thankful than I have been in a long time. It’s falling, reminded me of the power of prayer and the power of God. It reminded me of what’s important and what’s not. It reminded me of the beauty of the generosity of neighbors. It reminded me to be at peace because God is in control.

Perhaps you needed reminding too.

Have an awesome day!

Wendy 🙂

Faith Family Reflections

Posted on by Wendy
Christian community helps us shine our light brighter.

Last October Hurricane Matthew hit the United States. South Carolina incurred a lot of damage. I remember being incredibly worried about my friends there, or as they say, friends who have become family.

My daughter attended a Salkehatchie mission trip in South Carolina four years ago. The following year, she wasn’t going to attend. There were some financial considerations. We had changed churches and she kept trying to back out, but God clearly wanted her there. Forces beyond her kept pulling and not only did she attend, I went too.

It was life changing for me and the next two years, our entire family of four went. The people there have become part of our faith family and they are very dear to us. So when Hurricane Matthew came through, I reached out to them and told them they were in our prayers.

I diligently prayed for them as well as for the people who’s homes we had worked on together. I even got a special, specific prayer request from one of them and I prayed without ceasing. They all ended up being okay. No one was hurt and they didn’t even have much property damage. I celebrated their blessings with them.

This year, as Hurricane Irma headed towards Georgia, I got a text from one of them offering us a place to stay if we needed to evacuate. She said her home was open to us. The next day, I got a Facebook message from someone else telling me he was thinking about my family and praying for us. I fought tears as I shared it with my family. That night, someone else put out a prayer request on the group Facebook page asking for prayers for their Georgia Family. We truly felt covered in prayer as yet another person offered us a place to stay if we needed it and told me to bring my parents too.

I can never express how strongly I believe in the power and importance of prayer. I can also never truly show my gratitude for the faith family that God has blessed me with or to that faith family for prayer when I desperately need it.

Christ-centered friendships are different. They are special and they are blessed. We need Christian community. It makes us stronger people. It makes us better people. It makes our light shine brighter. It makes us more effective Kingdom Builders.

Isn’t that something we all should want?

Have an awesome day!

Wendy 🙂