God desires to be so near to me, his chosen one

I was created for his purpose. And each day I have a choice to make.

Every day of these 31 years of my life, I've had a choice to make. From 0 to about 12 I didn't realize the power of that choice. Yet God waited for me. From 13-21 I think I knew I was making the wrong choice. I was not chosing God but myself. Yet my Father waited for me. Saved me from death, literal death and spiritual death. I could've been killed in a car accident, falling asleep at the wheel many times. I could have been murdered like Ms. Zimmerman and the many other women on the Madison campus who disappeared at bar time, only to end up dead. I could have killed myself, driving intoxicated behind the wheel or poisoning myself with alcohol. 

But God carried me through those times, for his purpose. Because he knew eventually, I would turn back to him and he would save me and heal me.

Matthew 13:15
For this people’s heart has become calloused; they hardly hear with their ears, and they have closed their eyes. Otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts and turn, and I would heal them.’

2 Chronicles 7:14
if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land.

These last days of my life and these last two and a half years, I have known more joy than I have ever known. He has blessed me with the most humble man I have ever known, to be my husband. I have experienced the power of his resurrection in the healing of my marriage, the healing of the hearts of myself, my husband and my children, in the healing of the terrible disease that once had overpowered my husband but has now been overcome by Jesus. I have been released from this world. I have broken free and cut the ties to this world and all its evil tactics and traditions. And I have experienced heaven on earth - Freedom and the everlasting love of God.

I chose to turn to God for him to heal me and I choose that daily. And this is my daily miracle, my heart is not calloused. The miracle of resurrection power is alive in me because of my brother and Savior, Jesus. Completely unrestrained.

The Help

Recently, I was blessed with a gift from The Father.  A chance to see 'The Help' for free. I only had to travel to the Cross Plains library to do so. An awesome gift. Our schedule was perfectly clear and the window was just right, inbetween dropping my daughter off at school and her being done with school. Couldn't have asked for it to be more perfect.

The day before it was to show, I remembered this was what I wanted to do in the morning. I had learned about it a week or so earlier and quite frankly forgotten about the showing! Busy times in combo with a very bad short-term memory!! But I remembered and then very clearly was told by my heavenly Father that I was to go there to meet someone. I knew this was my purpose for being there, and the movie itself was just a gift of grace from my Father. All is gift and grace!

So I woke up in the morning, a pep in my step, excited about the time to enjoy a movie I had been longing to see and excited to see what God had in store for me there. I dropped my daughter off to school and headed to Cross Plains. When I got to the room in the library where the movie was showing, it was completely filled, back to front, with cute little grammies and grampies, also ready to enjoy the movie! I smiled to myself and then spotted the ONE open sit in the room, next to the ONE other person who was anywhere close to my age! And there she was....my ordained divine appointment. 

What a sweet woman. My Father gave me no fear about making a new friend and instilled only his will into our conversation. We enjoyed the movie together and connected in the way in which God intended for us.  She left early so our good-bye was sweet and quick. But I know our paths will cross again, as God ordains.

I drove home, in tears, with goosebumps, hands raised to the sky praising my Father for such a gift. The gift of knowing, the Holy Spirit truly, clearly spoke to me that previous day. The gift of the Lord finding favor with me, that he chose to use me (for what is still unknown) in this woman's life. Humbled, honored, grateful, awestruck....to be given the gift of his love, that he would lavish down on me, to be part of his plan for her that day and what a gift to me, to have her be part of his plan for my day.

The day I saw 'The Help' will be forever a day etched in my memory for the gift and grace God poured down from the heavens on me. I pray a day like this for all my brothers and sisters!

Gratitude births deep desire

I feel like I have been drowning in a sea of grace as of late! It's an awesome thing! God has been pouring down blessing upon blessing, so much so that I haven't been able to focus on just one thing to write about! But something I have come to learn, over and over again through his showers of blessings, is that allowing gratitude to reign in my heart opens up the floodgates of his grace.

Malachi 3:10
Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this,” says the LORD Almighty, “and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that there will not be room enough to store it.

Let's just replace the word 'tithe' with 'gift'.

See, everything is Gift and Grace from God. Everything. And when we bring all of everything he's given to us, to give it back to him for use in his Kingdom, he throws open the floodgates!

So much blessing that there is not enough room to store it. The key to this is...what is that blessing? Maybe it's not a tangible gift - food, money, clothing, shelter - maybe its assurance, love, a friendship, a means to an end.

And it's our desire to want to see God's will for what it is, rather than imposing our will on God, that opens up the eyes of our hearts to see those floodgates bursting open.  When our hearts can see that what we have and what we've been given and what we own and what businesses we run and what teams we coach and what groups we lead and the children we have are REALLY God's possessions and God's businesses and God's teams and God's groups and God's children, we allow him to open those floodgates and pour out the blessings.

Because only when we fully surrender ourselves, only when we forget our agendas and surrender our control of our plans to him, do we then have perfect vision of what God had intended us to be doing all along - Loving Him and Loving others.

Only he knows the form his love needs to take on to love others, and we just need to be the vessels, equipped and ready to be used.

And we do that by taking ourselves out of the way!

By being grateful, in the deepest depths of our being, for the second chance we've been given to serve him.

It's not yours to keep.

"I am grateful for sight, sound and breath. If ever in my life there is a pouring out of blessing beyond that, then I will be grateful for the MIRACLE of ABUNDANCE." Andy Andrews, The Traveler's Gift

Sight...sound....breath ~ these three 'rights' (as humankind sees them) are miracles in and of themselves. It is the life-giving divine breath of our Creator God that wakes most of us up with these three gifts. Some of us might be missing sight or sound, but we're still alive if we have breath, and maybe even more blessed to not have sight or sound, as that often allows an individual to be more thankful for what he/she does possess. 

Three things though, just three. Most people I know have more than these three things. Play along with me for a moment:

4. all the necessary body parts

5. a cover over our heads

6. food to eat daily

7. water to drink daily

8. a bed 

9. with bedding 

10. and pillows

11. a choice of what to wear when we get out of bed

12. several choices of what to wear when we get out of bed

13. a shower

14. and a bathtub

15. an in-house toilet

16. with toilet paper

17. coffee for the morning

18. a bible to read

19. the ability to read

20. a computer 

21. a cell phone

22. maybe even a smart phone

23. washer/dryer

24. soap

25. shampoo/conditioner

26. razors

27. utensils to eat with

28. plates to eat on

29. camera (on our phones and traditional)

30. pots to cook with

31. stove

32. dishwasher

33. gym facility

34. classrooms to be taught in

35. classrooms stocked with supplies

36. a job to go to

37. a wage to be earned

38. a car to drive to that job

39. a grocery store nearby

40. paper to write on

41. candles to burn

42. baggies

43. toothbrushes

44. pajamas

45. a TV to watch or play movies on

46. a pantry 

47. a garage

48. an umbrella

49. a garden

50. a christmas tree

51. pets

52. windows that open/shut

53. lights

54. safety

55. shoes

56. radios

57. CDs/DVDs

58. Video games

59. bikes

60. sports equipment

61. chairs 

62. dining table

63. drinking glasses

64. picture frames

65. refrigerator

66. bedrooms

67. remote controls

68. health

69. youth groups

70. postage stamps

71. fingernail polish

...you get the idea. This list took me about 10 minutes to write. And it is not all-inclusive, by any means! 

This is all ABUNDANCE.  And much of what is on the list is not had in singles but in doubles and triples and quadruples in our homes.  The homes of God's children.

-------------------------

A missionary going across the world is blessed by others that share of their financial abundance so this missionary can be sent into the mission field. That seems like a logical way to share the abundance. 

It's easy to drop some loose change (clearly not even a tenth of what most have at their disposal) into a red kettle when the bell is ringing in your ear. 

It's also easy to bring a nice spread out for a family member's birthday/graduation/retirement/baby shower/bridal shower/baptism party.  And there's always leftovers. Would you do that for a stranger?

----------------------------

It's quite easy to share what we have with others in these two primary situations 1) when we feel we'll get something in return or 2) when sharing requires of us much less than what we actually have so as not to involve any sort of perceived sacrifice in order to give that gift.  

But God doesn't give abundance to whom he does so that they may keep it to themselves, in essence becoming 'better off' than one of his other children. Has that ever crossed your mind before? Do you think you deserve to keep the abundant gift to yourself because somehow you've earned it, from God (if that part of the equation even comes into your mind)?

Today, we were witness to one of God's children distributing a gift of abundance to another of God's children. It was a moving, grace-filled moment for all of us involved.

We were also witness to a body of proclaimed 'Christ followers' trying to hold onto their abundance, as if it's their God-given right. Out of a body of thousands of people who proclaim Jesus is their Savior, not enough people have stepped forward to distribute the abundance God has given them to support the church body's attempt to love an international group over a Thanksgiving holiday.  There are not enough people who are willing to submit to God and let go of the abundance they've been blessed with (which is not truly theirs to begin with) to feed/host the expected group of Internationals they were hoping to love over this holiday,  a holiday in which everyone superficially proclaims their thankfulness! They don't even have half of what is needed to accomplish this mission - and Thanksgiving is four days away. Have any guesses as to what this body of believers will be doing instead?.....

It's easy to love those who love you back. It's easy to share with those who give something in return. It's easy to share with someone who is not in desperate need or appears to not be in desperate need. It's a lot easier to pass judgement on why someone who clearly appears to be in desperate need is truly in need and to come up with the reason that it's their own fault; and clearly, if it's self-induced, why should you bother sharing with them. They'll have to learn the lesson on their own, the hard way. Right? 'My abundance is mine, I earned it and I'm not just going to hand it off to someone else who appears in my book to not be doing their part.'

There is a message God has for all of us regarding the abundance he provides. He doesn't provide the same abundance to all of his children. Some are blessed in the area of finance, some in skill, some in spiritual gifts, some in people skills, others in personality, others with a business, etc. And some are blessed with a humble state. A humble being of poor state and lower on the economic ladder. And yes that is a blessing to ~ no matter how poor and humble someone is, there is always something to give away freely - LOVE.

I'll end with a few simple questions:

Why do you think you need this world in abundance?

Whom could you be sharing your abundance with, for nothing in return?

Why do you think you need to keep some, half, three-quarters or even all of it to yourself?

Have you ever tried to give without TRULY expecting anything in return?

2 Corinthians 8:14-16 (English Standard Version (ESV))

¹⁴your abundance at the present time should supply their need, so that their abundance may supply your need, that there may be fairness. ¹⁵As it is written, "Whoever gathered much had nothing left over, and whoever gathered little had no lack."

God Speaks Anywhere, Even in the Bathroom

I have talked with many who have been able to recount a time when God spoke to them, either through a dream, a voice, in the stillness of their head. I've had a few instances where my thoughts have been guided by the Holy Spirit, but the other day I experience God speaking in a way unknown previously to me.

I had spent a bit of time in his Word, preparing for our bible study this Saturday morning. I had a great time digging into scripture as I always do. God reveals so  much to me through his word and I get excited about spending that time with him. But I had other things to get to and so I closed my books for a bit and was in the bathroom brushing my teeth. Usually while I do that I'm staring into the mirror. And I noticed for a small space of time, my mind was totally blank. I was able to notice that because it was an odd feeling!! My mind is never just blank space. Never. I've yearned for it, tried to stare at one point to focus my mind into blankness many-a-times to no avail. So I noticed this blankness!

And then it came into that empty space:

'There is justification for you. There is no justification for your sin.'

It was a morsel of wisdom, on the very topic I was building and supporting for our bible study group, and it was straight from the mouth of God! Uber awesome.

The other time God met me in the bathroom was not in such an obvious way. But my husband and I have this ongoing discussion over toilet paper. When I go to get the groceries, I look at the square footage of the toilet paper to see which one has more. And although Scotts is not the softest toilet paper, it is the 'longest' and so I buy that. And it will last through at least one week of groceries, if not another half a week. But when he goes, he says he looks at the number I do, but he thinks that Northern Quilted has more square footage. So that's what he gets. And the package never lasts an entire week. But after two trips to the store and the same discussion, I just let it lay and left him to his own choosing; it's not worth ruffling feathers about really. But it is kind of a bummer to have to make a TP run mid-week when it runs out. So this time, before he went to get groceries, he let me know he was going and we made our list which included TP. At some point in that day before I was going to the bathroom, noticing we were on our last roll of TP and it was not that big and I thought, I wish he would just get the Scotts TP. But I simply took it to God. I know that if it's God's will he get Scotts, it'll happen. And I know that when I delight in God, he'll give me the desires of my heart.

Psalm 37:4
Take delight in the LORD, and he will give you the desires of your heart.

So I just prayed, 'Lord, if it be your will, please have him bring home Scotts.' And I left it at that. No need to bring it up or try to drop hints about it. It was a silent prayer between God and me. And later that evening, he came home with the groceries and I saw it... the answer to my prayer.  And this prayer was not about an answer to a problem, per say, or a need that needed to be met, or a miracle or anything. It was really just asking God to fulfill a promise: if I was truly delighting in him, that he would give me the desires of my heart as he promises. And it was not about winning a debate, in fact, unless he reads this blog, my husband will not know about this God-moment because I will not boast in it to him and to me it was not an argument, but rather simply his point of view and my point of view; it is not a life or death issue we needed to come together on. I desired this brand of toilet paper, simply to spare our budget, to be able to see our toilet paper last longer, plain and simple. My motives were pure and I delighted in God. And he was faithful.

When we delight in God, he is always faithful. Always.

Tiny Morsels, so so 'tasty'

Often, I'd dreamed of having home-schooled children, but the thought of me doing that homeschooling always scared me. See, my perspective on school was teaching my children, exactly as they are taught in a public school, which seemed way beyond my league.
But God opened up a whole new world to me, when he brought the opportunity to my daughter to be home-schooled in someone else's home. What a concept, I had never contemplated that before. And I soon began to realize, once I saw inside to the world of home-schooling, is that it's not about schooling exactly like public school. So much can be learned in the home, about life, and all that is important, and sometimes, most times, that looks nothing like 'school' - through the eyes of the public school system.

I became inspired to start doing school with my youngest. A bit daunting at first, but I came across many great resources online and through the library, all free, that have given us a stepping stone. He is learning things that I take for granted, things I know, that of course at some point had to learn, but I never thought I was the one to teach him.  They learn that in school, right?!

But spending that time with him, is not just about learning, it's about bonding, playing, having fun, showing him he's got my attention for that time, undivided. And it's a heck of a lot better than pretend playing with tools, cars, war sounds, gun games and whatever sounds little boys can make that my mouth just does not do! I like that I can enjoy our school time and I'm not dreading disappointing him because I can't make the right sounds while we play.

So each time we do 'school' we begin with a prayer for the day and then a devotion out of his preschool devotion book. And this may sound silly or whatever else you might call it, but that little book has some fantastic, very easy to understand wisdom in it! It could be that my eyes are just now being opened, too. Either way, I have learned A LOT from this time in school with my son, and in school with my brother, Jesus.


For instance: Treasures in Heaven

Matthew 6:¹⁹ “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; ²⁰ but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. ²¹ For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

Many times, I've heard this verse. When the devotion message was treasures in heaven, it clearly told me how to store up treasures in heaven. My AHA moment ~ you store up treasures in heaven by doing good things FOR GOD. And if I'm doing good things for God to store up treasures, that means my heart is wholeheartedly following God. AHA!

Or how about: Delight in God

Psalm 37:4
Take delight in the LORD, and he will give you the desires of your heart.

Note this says, the desires of your 'heart' not your mind! Very important distinction.  This is another verse I have heard many many times. How is it, exactly, that you delight in the Lord? Well, now I know: 1) Love God more than anything else in the whole world 2) Obey him happily (willfully without complaining) 3) praying to him.   These are three very clear, concise ways to delight in God and then your will will be his will, so that the desires of your heart can be realized.


Another great one: A Clean Heart 

Psalm 51: ¹⁰ Create in me a clean heart, O God,
         And renew a steadfast spirit within me. 

Another simple but profound message for me. We clean our bodies with soap and water, but we can't clean our hearts that way. Our heart is on the inside and we can't clean that ourselves. But who is the only one who can clean our hearts?  God. And how does he clean it, wash it and make it pure? When you tell God you are sorry, he washes your heart. 

And these three examples, which are just a few that I have clung to, by his design all have to do with one thing: your HEART.  And here's what the bible says about your heart...

^{Matthew 12:35} A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good things, and an evil man out of the evil treasure brings forth evil things.

 
Proverbs 27:19 As in water face reflects face, So a man’s heart reveals the man.

 Your faith is not about anything LESS than a complete heart transformation. If your heart is not right, it will show. So take to heart these tiny morsels of wisdom, the miracles of my mornings, and allow the miracle of a heart transformation to be done in you.

Imposters???

Genesis 1:27

"So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them."

Colossians 3:10 

Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices ¹⁰ and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator.

Today was an amazing, heart-stopping, beautiful day. Blue skies, a nice breeze, 83 degrees, sunny ~ who says it has to be fall-like during Fall?

Instead of filling my head with 'garbage thoughts' of the day, things like, 'I wonder how long this will last?' 'I wonder what is happening in the atmosphere that's allowing these awesome, abnormal temps?' 'It's probably going to be freezing in no time.' 'The snow will be here next week because that's how WI is,' We filled our day with praise and delighted in God.  For a split second when I woke up, I felt like I needed a to-do list because I didn't have one for the morning, not even school with Gabriel was on the list today. Instead, today we truly lived by the moment.

It started out with an unplanned trip down memory lane with him, strolling through picture albums of births and his older siblings as babies. He took so much pleasure in seeing his siblings as babies and knowing now that they are 'big'. He loved seeing grammie and grampie and his auntie, like they were at our house in person. Then we took a nature walk to the library to have 'school' working on colors and that started out with an ubber-intense display of the Creator God, a snake, right in our own front yard! Ah!! But we made all the right moves and survived the encounter, unscathed. And the snake was identified as matching our yellow block. Bonus! We shared our love with neighbors on the way, pointed out creation matching other colored blocks, found the perfect walking sticks and enjoyed a morning of perfection in our small little town, we've affectionately called 'home'.

Our day was overflowing with love from our Creator, not only in the abundance he provided, but magnified in our own hearts as a result of recognizing Him as the source of all this goodness and in the undeservedness of it all.  

A day where, although it began feeling 'off' because I did not have a to-do list, it quickly turned into the most peaceful day we've had in the last week. We've no doubt had a busy week, as have many of you, I'm sure. But by accepting my assignment to let myself be free of a list, we live our day as close to 'the image of the Creator' as I feel we could have.

And there is wisdom in the bible that shows us, this is not a random phenomenon of a day that I have experienced ~ for those of you who think these types of days can't happen to you because you are simply too busy: (again in Colossians)

¹⁵ Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. ¹⁶ Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom through psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts. ¹⁷ And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him. 

When we ask Jesus to be the savior of our lives, this peace is available to us, every day, at any time. And by thanking our Creator, God, for our days, our hours and minutes ... the peace that passes understanding is ours to bask in daily.  When you trust in Jesus to be your savior this should be your reality:

Colossians 3:3 For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God.

Hidden in Christ

Are you walking around an imposter of who you are really meant to be? Do you have a shell of this world? Can you recognize these behaviors in your life daily ~ negativity, anxiety, impatience, greed, a gossiping tongue, sarcasm, bitterness, disdain, a lack of gratitude, a split-personality depending on the circle you find yourself in, excuses, 'it' is never enough....

Maybe you can intentionally bury the imposter and come back to who you are in Jesus - and that is none other than FREE. We are made in his image, we are hidden with him and we don't need to posture to make it through this life.

Christ is Peace. And Thankfulness (directly to him and for him) is our path.

There is no other way. If you want to chat about Jesus, I'm here for you.

Sometimes a simple list will do

Not every moment needs a profound explanation, a long, detailed account to prove a point. Sometimes, a simple list will do...

This weekends miracles:

an unplanned, last minute campfire night allowed God to work out the previously hairy details of a group of women coming together to know him more

said campfire also connected a woman with a gym just after finding out her classes were cancelled at her long-standing gym due to lack of participation

and said campfire continued to forge new relationships built on the foundation of God

weekend landscaping continued to forge new friendships, refresh a tired yard and it's owners, new skills were learned, truly good-hearted people served a landscaping crew they hadn't previously known, and maybe even some free Badger tickets were acquired...


a last minute outdoor cookout provided deepening of wonderful friendships and great wisdom was shared in a loving environment

said cookout also revealed God's majesty in the sky - an amazingly bright and awesome double rainbow that just kept growing in the sky as the rain slowly let down

Faith was tested, prayers were prayed, babies were covered in prayer, fires were ignited for Christ and doors were set in place ...

waiting to be opened.

Aliens and Strangers on Earth

 

 ^{Hebrews 11:13} All these people were still living by faith when they died. They did not receive the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance, admitting that they were foreigners and strangers on earth.

'These people' were not living for the red part, as Francis referred to it. 'These people' are the righteous ones recounted in the 'Hall of Faith' - Hebrews chapter 11. They knew what was in store for them in the part after the red part of life. 

Many times feeling like Aliens and Strangers in this land, as far as human tradition goes, means there's something wrong with you.. maybe you're depressed, need to have some 'fun', need to go spend some money, need to find some one/some way/something to give you love or for you to love...

I honestly love feeling like a stranger in my own land and do not want that to change. Knowing that my heart does not jive with this world and the human tradition in this place brings joy and comfort.  I do not belong in a world of broken pieces, as the song goes.

But being human, made of flesh that is sinful and rotten, I am broken and there are days where the world suffocates and overwhelms and then that feeling of alienation turns on the self-pity and the oppression and I feel some sort of victim. These are the days when, leading up to, I have not concentrated my time on living for Jesus.  Leading up to these spiritual droughts, I have taken on my own agenda, like my master plan is so much better than God's.  'Have you not heard?! Do you not know?' (Isaiah 40 comes to mind!)

I read Hebrews 11: 13 yesterday, the Spirit foreshadowing the trials of today. And I was slow to listen. I did not hear with my ears. 

And a lesson has been learned. Mental note: I am not living for the red part. And any time this world wants to pull me back into that red-part-thinkin', I will now train myself to shout back to the darkness - 'I am an alien and a stranger on this earth, and you can't take that away from me!'

What part of the rope might you be living for? At the end of the day, was all your striving for your agenda or for God's?

Throw Away Pride, Accept and Yearn for Wisdom

 Seeing the miracles in a day is all about accepting the Truth found in the wisdom of God.  Miracles come in small packages and the small packages add up to one big, mighty God. But there are too many things in this world of darkness that can keep us from ever seeing those miracles, that can keep us from seeing God.  We must pray that our souls yearn for wisdom from the one True King.

This is a wise woman: When it's hard to find time for God & prayer

I want to echo Ann's wise words today to you so that you can take a step closer to seeing God for who He wants to be in your life.

In case you wonder, this is how God works!

Last year I was able to find this bookshelf/desk for our daughter on craigslist; love cragislist ~ we ended up with a desk, chair and matching dresser for $30! It was one of those shiny off-white lacquer looking with funky old gold/white plastic handles kind of piece from 20 or so years ago. And this weekend, we were able to transform it, for less than $3 worth of paint and some miscellaneous hardware samples from grandpa into a really cute piece of furniture for her room.

But ever since finding this piece for her, her older brother has been wanting a desk. And I'd still been searching craigslist periodically for a desk we could afford that was decent looking or had potential, as this one did.  And finally I found one on Thursday night and it was only $12!! So I emailed it to my husband and asked him if it was something we could pursue. So he took care to send an email and find out if it was still available.  And we waited... for a day.. and heard nothing. So I sent an email, letting them know my husband had emailed and maybe they didn't get it, but we were interested and was it still available. I'm so used to my emails not getting through, it's not even funny! I think about 80% of my emails get lost in cyberspace somewhere. So I heard back right away, and they hadn't gotten my husband's email but someone was coming to look at the desk that morning and they'd let me know if it was still available after that. This was Saturday, and that night I heard, the desk indeed was taken.  So now, at this point in my life, I know that meant God had something else in mind and that this desk was not meant for our household.

So Sunday morning we went to church on our usual route, around 8:30. We went to get a few groceries and then to church for a few hours and then headed back home the same way. And at our Pine Bluff turn, where we had just been not more than three hours earlier, there on our side of the road outside the lovely bar (ha!ha!) on the corner, was this desk! Almost EXACTLY like the one we fished for on craigslist, just wood instead of metal looking. My husband was talking to me and out of the corner of my eye and in his sideview mirror I nearly shouted, I was so excited, "Did you see that desk!?!" He was mid-sentence and I literally threw the truck in reverse and sped back to it! Hazards went on and less than three minutes later we were headed home with a perfectly good conditioned desk for our eldest.

The first thought or feeling I felt was the surest sensation that this desk was almost dropped there from heaven just for him. I just felt the love in this gesture from God. How he knew that we couldn't truly afford the craigslist desk and that he had another one in store for us, just that next day for free.


We are big fans of putting things out on the curb with 'FREE' written on a sign for them. We know God has someone in mind for each piece we put out there. Being on the receiving end of that, and KNOWING it came from God, is just as awesome a feeling as being the giver. Whether the person who put it there felt moved by God or not, we KNOW this was His gift to us, a very sweet gift.  Be still and KNOW that I am God, he said. 

Do you chose to 'KNOW' God and watch to see how he works? Or do you chose to think all is 'coincidence'?


ALL IS 'gift and grace'. Christ is ALL and is in ALL. What an awesome confirmation of God's love that filled our Sunday.

Simple Life

For those who know us and have known us for longer than, say a few years, you might label our lives as simple right now.  For in the past, we both were clock punchers for a long time, like most of you reading this post I'd imagine. And at some times, double and triple clock punchers! Again, like most of you.  And our lives then could be summed up with these labels: paycheck-to-paycheck, trying to find breathing room, struggling to make ends meet, feeling like we'd never get ahead, typical double-income family struggling to get by with kids in daycare, car payments, and jobs just to pay the bills. Free-time, unheard of! Are you kidding me?! It was come home from work, make dinner, do dishes, bath time, kids to bed, make lunches for the next day, wake up and do it all again, early rising, scramble to get the kids ready for daycare/school, just to rush to work to accomplish something for someone else. Weekends were for catching up with sanity and the laundry.

How did this get simple? All is 'gift and grace'. (this is my new favorite truth!)

There was a point in our lives, just a few years ago, where we had a decision to make - it was a definite moment of decision, there was no gray area about it. And it was a test of our faith, and we knew it completely, there was no question; we needed to make a choice to follow and EXPLODE on the faith path we'd been slowly following OR deny it, deny our Creator God, and leave Him in the dust.  This moment was a gift from our Father and how we chose to open and use that gift was the determining factor for the other gifts he had waiting for us.

This moment of decision was not, by any means, SIMPLE. It was surrounded with fear, tears, questioning of sanity, blind faith, the unknown and a giving up of control. 

And this blog should give you a hint of the choice we made ~ together. Speaking of 'together', our marriage today is a direct result of this choice and the gifts our Father bestows on just our marriage alone each day.
All is 'gift and grace'. ALL - EVERYTHING - EV'RY-THING IS A GIFT OF HIS GRACE.

So today our life is Simple.  Because we CHOSE to open the gift of God's grace. When you open a gift, that's just the first part of a gift. You must accept the gift then too. And once you open and accept it, then you decide whether to use the gift or lay it to the side and let it collect dust and be forgotten.

We did not forget this gift of grace, which brings along with it a deeper wisdom, a spiritual discernment that goes so much deeper, a heart transformation where life is not about going through the motions but living it out in actions to show a true romance with our Creator.  Oh, no, no - forget it, are you kidding me?

Our lives are simple, not because, we don't do anything, but because we do the work of the Lord. We are still living paycheck-to-paycheck. Isn't that funny - you think, 'they were working the daily grind for so long and were hard-pressed for money, now they are doing the work of the Father and are still hard-pressed for money'. Goes to show a few things: 1) whether you've got 'secure' income as most call a 'job' or whether you put your 'income' in the hands of God, the outcome is still the same - and that is whatever GOD's plan is for you, not how much you think you earned or the world tells you your worth. 2) Now we know God, in his faithfulness, WILL provide as he ALWAYS does.  3) It shows that 'security' of a job is false security and when you give the control to God, life can become simple, the more you losen your grip on the control, because your life can be secure in God.

Our lives are simple because we trust in him, we dwell with him, we love him and we claim him as ours and name him as our source of everything.  And for this, his love overflows and out of his unfathomable love for us as his children, he provides according to his will for us.

As some of you know, YouFactor (our gym), is at a decision point; sign a lease at a monthly payment we, by way of our own means, can't afford, or, what, move to another place? Is there another place for our gym? We can't really afford any place at the slow place the gym is at currently.  Is the stereotypical moment of panic for most. And most would look at us and say, most businesses make it or break it in the first year. Gyms have never thrived in that location. You have no more money to invest in your gym, how will you keep it going? And that's just it - 'we' will not keep it going. Remember that choice we made way back then .... 

God is in control. We handed over that control to him...remember that choice.

I once was told that God would not ask us to live beyond our means, that he would not lead us in a direction where the means we had currently could not support the direction God was leading us in. What a fatal mistake - can you find a smaller box to put God in? When God leads, anything is possible. Do we have the money, right now, to keep YouFactor going another month let alone a year - absolutely not! Does that mean God can't show up tomorrow with the means for that too happen? Absolutely NOT! And this again, is where life is simple. We know, if it is God's will, he WILL provide for YouFactor. And if it is not his will and YouFactor's doors need to close, then he has a different plan for our lives. It's as simple as that.

Simple = Trust

And this is how it plays out:

Husband lies in comma in hospital - God provides peace for me and rest and restoration for his body
8 months preggo and landlord says after 5 yrs, time to leave - God provides shelter and a way for us to own our own home
Husband has a passion to start a gym - God's house he provided is the perfect set-up for a starter gym
Gym gets too big for the space - God provides a tax return to afford a retail space for us to lease
Deer totals only car - God provides our trusty steed, the 'truck'
Children need godly friends to follow - God provides local church with just that
School kids are just plain yucky to Ashlynn, to the point I'd pray for God to just bring her home where she can feel loved all the time - God provides the closest thing this side of heaven, homeschooling by a family who fears God and lives by love
Mortgage is coming due in 2 or 3 days - God provides a landscaping job or some other means
Relationships need attention - God's Word provides wisdom
Souls needed to be fed and grown - God provided a new venue

The world, human tradition , would label us as lazy, maybe moochers, maybe saying we're expecting handouts - I'm sure lots of labels are running through our minds.

But when God leads and we follow life is simple.

Have you all forgotten? We are all part of God's plan. Have you forgotten, you are living on this earth by 'gift and grace' and your purpose is not to serve yourself but to serve God's purpose. He's just waiting for you to unwrap his gift and make that choice for yourselves, sometimes more than just once, too.

Somethings our lives are NOT filled with - not a lot of material things, none of our closets are even halfway full, we do not have possessions boxed up in storage,  we do not have tons of 'extra' space in our house, no clutter, no duplicates of items or clothing or shoes or toys and for me personally, I do not have a space filled with things I'd love to do if I had the time. I did stamping for a while and had a good collection of supplies - but after kids, there is not time for that. I had scrapbooking stuff and lots of art supplies and paper goods, etc. for those - 'what if I want to do that sometime?' moments. What I learned after letting all that go, letting go of the control of my time, is that my time is not spent thinking, oh, I should be doing this project now instead of sitting here with my kids, I should be using those stamps I have sitting in the closet instead of spending time talking to God or seeking wisdom in his Word, I should be crafting instead of spending time next to my husband enjoying just him. My time is now spent on what truly matters, the truth of why I'm here, for those relationships God has place in my life -my husband, my kids, my friends and Him.  It's not a struggle to know where to spend my time now.

Our lives are simply filled with lots of love, lots of mystery (ie. faith) in how bills will get met, lots of excitement in waiting in expectation, lots of time to sit and read scripture, lots of time to memorize scripture, lots of time to spend focused on our kids, lots of time to spend focused on our health and fitness, lots of time to spend focused on our relationships - not because we have no jobs (do you forget we own two business, volunteer at many different locations, serve the local Fire Dept and community?) - and certainly not because we're lazy...

Because WE CHOSE to accept 'gift and grace'. We name it and give it the praise it deserves, DAILY. We've simplified life (through God's gift of grace).

Really, it IS SIMPLE.  MAKE TIME FOR THE ONE WHO MAKES TIME.

Taking time to be still

It's quiet time in our house right now. One is napping. One is making a box about how God made her and why she is special.  And I am reflecting on this quiet time, this time to be still, this time to listen.

There are not too many times in the day of a child or an adolescent or an adult, that we'll CHOOSE to be still and stop thinking about past or  future to just be, right here, right now.  As an adult, you might be familiar with Psalm 46:1o:

He says, “Be still, and know that I am God;
   I will be exalted among the nations,
   I will be exalted in the earth.”

Many focus on the part 'be still' and quickly give up because it's impossible to be still, it's so hard to not let the mind wander or to think of the to-do list. And this is true for me, in the sense that I cannot find a place where my mind does not think about anything, my mind cannot be still. And so that is something I pray for.

But right here and now, the part he's pointing out to me is not the stillness but this... 'and KNOW that I AM GOD.'

KNOW - that's a definitive, concrete word; he didn't say 'contemplate, wonder, figure out if I am God'

NO, he said 'KNOW' that I am God. That leaves no room for doubt. The rest of Psalm 46 speaks of the power and majesty of GOD.

¹ God is our refuge and strength,
   an ever-present help in trouble.
² Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way
   and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea,
³ though its waters roar and foam
   and the mountains quake with their surging.^[c]

 ⁴ There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God,
   the holy place where the Most High dwells.
⁵ God is within her, she will not fall;
   God will help her at break of day.
⁶ Nations are in uproar, kingdoms fall;
   he lifts his voice, the earth melts.

 ⁷ The LORD Almighty is with us;
   the God of Jacob is our fortress.

 ⁸ Come and see what the LORD has done,
   the desolations he has brought on the earth.
⁹ He makes wars cease
   to the ends of the earth.
He breaks the bow and shatters the spear;
   he burns the shields^[d] with fire.
¹⁰ He says, “Be still, and know that I am God;
   I will be exalted among the nations,
   I will be exalted in the earth.”

 ¹¹ The LORD Almighty is with us;
   the God of Jacob is our fortress.

He is a refuge, he is strength, he will not fall, he is our fortress, he is Almighty, he is an ever-present help - this is what he wants you to KNOW (not wonder about, not doubt, not think maybe this is what he is but I don't know for sure).  Therefore, DO NOT FEAR (vs 2), but be still, still the innards, calm the butterflies, chase away the fear because you KNOW who God is.

And you want to KNOW who else he is:  (from Exodus 34 - God is describing himself to Moses)

⁵ Then the LORD came down in the cloud and stood there with him and proclaimed his name, the LORD. ⁶ And he passed in front of Moses, proclaiming, “The LORD, the LORD, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, ⁷ maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin. Yet he does not leave the guilty unpunished; he punishes the children and their children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation.”

He is GOD. He reigns sovereign in each of our lives from beginning to end. To KNOW him means to have faith in him, without doubting who he is. To KNOW him means to have faith in what he can do, which is far more than anything we could conceive of ourselves, to KNOW him means not to limit him by putting him the Bible Box and telling him he can only do what he has shown he can do in the bible.

To KNOW God means to not know what your tomorrow brings and to trust him with your today.

So put to rest the fluttering, the worrying, the list-making and ACCEPT that he IS GOD. KNOW HIM.
Practicing quiet time for everyone, adults and kids alike, allows each one of us to observe how God is working in our days and helps us to turn over the control, giving back to the one whose hands it is best in.

A life that lives for God's glory is FREE

A life that lives for the glory of God (that in all and through all he will reign majestic) frees, is freeing and is free.

Today we got to experience some of the cutest of God's creation, some beautiful horses, ducklings, chicks, bunnies, a very friendly and cute goat (yes, this goat was cute!) and chickens.

This was such a gift to us! A woman, committed to God shared her abundance with us.  She runs a daycare and a summer camp at her home, which is on several acres of land. And she gives God all the glory for the way he's turned her gift for children and her passion for animals into a livelihood.  She was not shy to declare this today and it was awesome to experience.  And because of her devotion to our Father and the faithfulness she witnesses each day working out all the details so that she can keep doing what she's doing, she extended God's grace to us and allowed us to come share in it as well.

Though she always has her financials in mind, as her husband has been out of work for two years and the bills still need to be paid, she did not ever ask for a dime for us to come and share in God's gifts.  She could easily charge a fee to each person that comes to visit her but that is not what God asks of her.

Although she has to face her financials and look her unemployed husband in the eye each day, her trust in the Father allows her to be free, unencumbered by the money. God's faithfulness frees her from having to be a 'penny pincher' because to her, she's been given these gifts of time to share, passion for animals and kids and she is just giving back what God has given her so freely.

And in turn, we, along with all the others she entertains at her place, got to give our children a gift, that all too often is unaffordable when payment is required. We got to let them spend time being free with our Father's creation, to experience the joy his precious animals can give, all soft and furry, cuddly and playful as they are. And it was absolutely Free. As a mom on a very tight budget, moments like these, are memories I cherish forever.

And I'm forever grateful for the grace God bestows on us to allow us to have this experience and the grace he bestows on her that she knows him too, and knows the power in his freedom which he freely gives to those who seek him.

Thank you Joan!

The miracle too often overlooked each day -

There have been many situations/events in my life that many would consider 'serious' as far as the implications of the outcome, but God delivered me so much peace, those times almost seemed simple.

Or for instance, it has never been a question for me to wonder if God exists. This is something my heart has always known. More recently, I've opened my eyes to see that not only is God real, but he is really involved in every moment of my life and I want him to be in control. And fundamentally I do not  question this either.

These are graces God has bestowed on me. I realize, not everyone sees God for who he is without questioning his existence and his majesty and the fact that he will reign sovereign to the end, when heaven is made new on earth.

I realize not everyone is blessed with the faith and trust in God that I have been given. God tells us it is time for my husband to quite his FT job - our major source of income.  My response was simply - okay. God allows a deer to total our car, our only car. My response was simply - okay, I know he'll make it right. God says it's time to take on a car payment again and buy a truck for the landscaping business. My response is simply - okay, I know he'll provide for it.  God says he'll provide for us, making a living on two small businesses, both dependent on having clients, both with seasons of ebb and flow. My response is simply - okay, I know he will provide.

This should not be mistaken as a careless, lazy or 'hand-it-to-me' type of attitude. There is a difference in trusting God enough to allow him to be in control and simply sitting back and expecting God to hand the riches down to you. The biggest difference in the two attitudes is your heart.

And he knows your heart, what's really on the inside.  He knows if you are trusting his sovereignty or if you are mocking him. And people around you who do trust God know the difference as well, they can see it in how you live your life. And if you don't trust God to the degree that you allow him to have control and you see someone who claims to trust God and it appears they're just sitting back and everything somehow is going well for them... well then maybe you're missing the boat!

The boat called G R A C E.

Grace is the daily miracle that 99% of the time is overlooked.  God works all things by his grace, all things. Know this, as sinners, we deserve not one ounce of the life we live.  It's God's grace that let's us wake up with breath in our lungs. It's his grace that puts food in our mouths, his grace that gives us a shower to use, clothes to cover us, a car to transport us, a ski show to entertain us, a church building to worship in, a sun to light our days even when it's stormy. It's his grace that's allowed you to have the job you have which provides a paycheck and maybe even health insurance, his grace that affords you the wisdom and knowledge you need to do that job, his grace that has given you the spouse that you love and that loves you. It's also his grace that brings you hardship, because by these hardships he's challenging us to grow and learn - just as we challenge our kids to grow and learn through discipline. He loves us, perpetual sinners, so much that he wants us to grow to be more like him and the only way we simple-minded humans can learn to be more like him is by messing up or facing hardships and coming through them as he designed, by his grace.

Every moment of every day can be considered a miracle of God's grace - but that's an attitude you have to chose.
The other side of it - well it's GREED.
Thinking you deserve the car you have or maybe even a better one, you deserve a raise in pay (telling God what he does pay you is not good enough), you deserve a vacation, you deserve to have more 'toys' or electronics or the latest iPhone or iPod or laptop or the biggest flat screen out there or a summer house on the lake or in another state, or that you deserve more attention at your job or in your family, you deserve to have better food in your fridge or more time to yourself or more money to spend on yourself or more money so that you can go out more often....

Need I go on? The human race is sick with greed and it's God's grace that waits, patiently, giving all of us every last opportunity to turn and see his grace and respect his sovereignty so that we may come to know him for who he really is and accept his son as our gift, to live forever in the new heaven on earth.

For those of us who have been blessed with an inherent understanding of God and his grace, we are able to live lives a bit more free of this greed each day we are still here on this earth.

So each day I choose the attitude of gratitude - cliche - but oh, so POWERFUL. This life is a battle of the mind. When you choose to focus on grace by way of being grateful for every moment of each day, one moment at a time, you are giving the control back to God - where it should be.

If you know me personally, then you're witness to what God's grace looks like played out on this earth. It's not sitting back and expecting handouts, it's giving the wheel back to the one in control and thanking him for loving me enough to spill his grace on me.

Look for your miracle of grace today! Maybe tell me about it in a comment.
Remember, Grace means getting something you don't deserve.

Back to true customer service...not the bottom line; Mazo locals, this is for you!

How many times have you been afraid to try something new - a store, a gym, a restaurant, a church, a hangout - because, well, the unknown is, dare I say 'scary'!

I distinctly remember adopting this attitude, dismissing a new restaurant in town because I knew nothing about it. It's a one of a kind, with not much outside advertising or information, and let's be blunt, the front of it is a garage door. Not the most inviting place in town, from the outside!

But, ON THIS INSIDE, it was one of the most love-filled places we've eaten at in a long time.

Bay 5 Diner, right on Hwy 14 in Mazomanie, across from the eating joint where we usually chose to go, because we know it well.  But we took a chance, since I had my bravery on my right arm (and the funds), who said, let's give it a shot. It's definitely a garage door on the outside, but on the inside, it's a very warm, welcoming, simply but sophisticated design and it's family-owned.

The miracle in this was not that we made it out alive with no food poisoning; man, what the devil can do with idle thoughts about what the unknown could turn out to be....

No, we walked in on a budget, not knowing what the menu was like having never been inside before. And what we walked into was a place who cared about us as a family. The miracle was that we got a meal for our family with a strict budget and they completely accommodated us out of the kindness of their hearts, because we were people to them and not a bottom line.  We were not treated any different because we could not pay full price for their goods.

As a result, we had a chance to see God work through them! He provided a meal for us. He loved us through them. And he again reminded us that it's what's on the inside. The unknown is only unknown to us, but not to him. Think of what we could have missed in terms of a gift from God, had we chosen not to enter into the unknown.

And in turn, I have been and will continue to pray for them and their new business. I will spread the word that this is a place to be visited and invested in, as they care about who they are serving and how their customers feel while they are in Bay 5 Diner.

And to me, this is exactly what I hope our clients would say about our gym, after they've spent one night in their with our family.  So I get it....just as they broke the rules to love a family in need, so will we do as our Father directs to assist those who walk through our doors and show them His love.

Shout out to Bay 5 Diner!! Stop in and get some awesome food! Every day is a different menu - tacos, italian, pizza, BBQ, prime rib, fish fry - yuuuuummmyy!

Human Tradition - What is it and why it is a fatal mistake.

I think it's very important for me to present the scripture to you first in this post, as when I was reading it, I completely missed the lesson the first time through - due to human tradition.

A quick set of background details:
After Israel asked for their first real-life king (instead of continuing to call God their king) and received King David they began learning why the difference was between following God as their king and following a human being as their king. Shortly thereafter, Israel split away from Judah (formerly part of Israel's collection of territories and the line of Kings I am discussing is the line of kings for Judah). King David was a great king. And God promised that Israel would always remain under a ruler from the house and line of David, so as each king passed on, their son would follow suit and take the throne as ruler. This continued on down the line. It went - King David, then Solomon his son, then Rehoboam (this is where Judah and Israel started to be ruled by different kings) his son, then Abijah his son and then Asa who was Abijah's son. I learned a very important life lesson when reading, for the second time, about King Asa. Here's what I was reading

2 Chronicles 15

¹ The Spirit of God came on Azariah son of Oded. ² He went out to meet Asa and said to him, “Listen to me, Asa and all Judah and Benjamin. The LORD is with you when you are with him. If you seek him, he will be found by you, but if you forsake him, he will forsake you. ³ For a long time Israel was without the true God, without a priest to teach and without the law. ⁴ But in their distress they turned to the LORD, the God of Israel, and sought him, and he was found by them. ...⁸ When Asa heard these words and the prophecy of Azariah son of^[a] Oded the prophet, he took courage. ...¹⁴ They took an oath to the LORD with loud acclamation, with shouting and with trumpets and horns. ¹⁵ All Judah rejoiced about the oath because they had sworn it wholeheartedly. They sought God eagerly, and he was found by them. So the LORD gave them rest on every side. ...¹⁷ Although he did not remove the high places from Israel, Asa’s heart was fully committed to the LORD all his life.

¹⁹ There was no more war until the thirty-fifth year of Asa’s reign.  

Why the 35th year?

Well, Asa lost his way; don't we all?

2 Chronicles 16

¹ In the thirty-sixth year of Asa’s reign Baasha king of Israel went up against Judah and fortified Ramah to prevent anyone from leaving or entering the territory of Asa king of Judah. [Asa was being threatened by King Baasha of Israel.]

So he took matters into his own hands:  ² Asa then took the silver and gold out of the treasuries of the LORD’s temple and of his own palace and sent it to Ben-Hadad king of Aram, who was ruling in Damascus. ³ “Let there be a treaty between me and you,” he said, “as there was between my father and your father. See, I am sending you silver and gold. Now break your treaty with Baasha king of Israel so he will withdraw from me.”

 ⁴ Ben-Hadad agreed with King Asa and sent the commanders of his forces against the towns of Israel. They conquered Ijon, Dan, Abel Maim^[a] and all the store cities of Naphtali. ⁵ When Baasha heard this, he stopped building Ramah and abandoned his work. ^{So his bribe worked and the threat was removed - good right? If you had the means wouldn't you have done the same thing?}

^{This is what I missed...}

⁷ At that time Hanani the seer [prophet] came to Asa king of Judah and said to him: “Because you relied on the king of Aram and not on the LORD your God, the army of the king of Aram has escaped from your hand. ⁸ Were not the Cushites^[b] and Libyans a mighty army with great numbers of chariots and horsemen^[c]? Yet when you relied on the LORD, he delivered them into your hand. ⁹ For the eyes of the LORD range throughout the earth to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him. You have done a foolish thing, and from now on you will be at war.”

 ¹⁰ Asa was angry with the seer because of this; he was so enraged that he put him in prison. At the same time Asa brutally oppressed some of the people.[Typical pride-laden reaction, ever seen something similar?]

I know that's a lot of scripture on a topic, most likely only I am into. I've been reading the bible from Genesis since the beginning of the year. Not as a challenge to read from the start, but because I was curious as to how the bloodlines began forming after the flood of Noah's day. It's a great gift from God to have the curiosity and then the understanding to follow it through like this. So here's why I love this story of Asa.

He is a good king. Fully committed to the Lord, doing good by removing idols and idol-worshipping and trying to recommit the people of Judah to following the Lord after they've taken a slight detour. Sounds like a good path, right? Lasted 35 years. But then God tested him with a challenge in the way of King Baasha. So Asa, thought his only option was to do a little name-dropping - our fathers got along so we should too - and took care of the matter himself. Sounds like an easy solution and it worked; Baasha backed off by way of a break in treaty and some threatening forward action by the King of Aram and all was well again for Asa and his people. 

I read this and thought, great, problem solved, nice work Asa.  See, even I, who is committed in a very big way to God (only he knows how fully), subscribed readily to this human tradition -  

Step #1: Brainstorm how I can solve this matter myself and quickly. Aren't we supposed to be Independent, Problem-Solvers, Self-Reliant, Self-Sufficient, Resourceful human beings; that's what we learn in school.

WRONG, wrong, wrong, wrong wrong!!!!!!

^{2 Chron 16:7} At that time Hanani the seer [prophet] came to Asa king of Judah and said to him: “Because you relied on the king of Aram and not on the LORD your God, the army of the king of Aram has escaped from your hand.

There was not going to be piece in his 36th year because he handled matters himself instead of seeking out God's will FIRST, before anything else. He relied on himself and his resources instead of relying on the Lord. And because of that, the King who just bought him his peace, was now out of his hand, and my guess would be, at some point, this is going to come back and bite him in the bum!

Let's see if it does:

2 Chron 16:9b You have done a foolish thing, and from now on you will be at war.” 

Yep, 'from now on you will be at war.' And then God chose to afflict Asa with a disease in his feet.  

^{2 Chron 16:12a} In the thirty-ninth year of his reign Asa was afflicted with a disease in his feet.

But Asa was too full of pride and too angry now to have learned his lesson...

2 Chron 16:12b Though his disease was severe, even in his illness he did not seek help from the LORD, but only from the physicians. ¹³ Then in the forty-first year of his reign Asa died and rested with his ancestors. 

To make this all very clear, as it was made clear to me:

God wants us to rely on him. To DEPEND on him, for our lives to be contingent on him. And we do not rely on God when we first choose to consult a physician, seek a counselor, brainstorm our options in despair, or even simply brainstorming options when not in desperate need of an answer or solution, mybe we're simply looking for a next step or next option. 

We rely on God by coming to him in praying, being with him, seeking him, as our FIRST step. 

The LORD is with you when you are with him. If you seek him, he will be found by you, but if you forsake him, he will forsake you.

He will be found and then we let God use physicians, counselors, his own strength, his own mercy, his own power to transform, whatever he chooses to use to lead us to our next step - but we have sought him and given him the lead. We let go of the reigns, hand over the control and ALLOW ourselves to be GUIDED by him. And if we don't seek him, he will forsake us. He will allow us to feel the consequences of attempting to control our own lives or our own situations that we think need fixing. 

So remember, when searching for a next step/solution/fix to a big or small moment in life, bend down first and seek him, pray, tell him what you're facing and give him the space to do what he needs to, let him take the lead. Human tradition will always fail but God's will will always prevail.

One final piece of wisdom: 

^{Colossians 2:8} See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the elemental spiritual forces^[a] of this world rather than on Christ. ...²⁰ Since you died with Christ to the elemental spiritual forces of this world, why, as though you still belonged to the world, do you submit to its rules: ²¹ “Do not handle! Do not taste! Do not touch!”? ²² These rules, which have to do with things that are all destined to perish with use, are based on merely human commands and teachings. ²³ Such regulations indeed have an appearance of wisdom, with their self-imposed worship, their false humility and their harsh treatment of the body, but they lack any value in restraining the indulgence of the flesh.

Depend on Christ! Be fully committed to him, not this world.

When this truth was revealed to me a few days ago, I had been seeking worldly solutions for a problem God can be trusted with and relied on to work out. The miracle of The Truth found in The Word.

Miracles of Abundance

a beautiful day, hot sun tempered by cloud cover

finding friends for all of us at the pool

husband kind enough to stay home while littlest one tries to find slumber; rest of us enjoying the gifts of pool and summer

three landscaping bids in one weekend

sharing God with friends, new and old

a full, full fridge

seeing God work in the gym

16 minutes well-spent keeping my temple healthy

husband with endless ideas from the Holy Spirit to help keep our temples healthy

biking around town, for multiple purposes

mint sun tea from God's garden

loving a friend, even though a favorite snowglobe was broken today

seeing my daughter find the forgiveness and move on in love; earthly things - no big deal, love - eternal

green smoothies - more good stuff for the temple


talking with my step-son, a genuine, real conversation

reading 'The one and only ever you' to sweet boy before bedtime

In the words of Anne Frank via Andy Andrews: "I am grateful for sight, sound and breath. If ever in my life there is a pouring out of blessing beyond that, then I will be grateful for the MIRACLE of ABUNDANCE."

Is 20/20 really what's best for us?

Just before the end of school, Ashlynn broke her glasses; it was the day before a field trip to the Old School House having something to do with Laura Ingles Wilder. And she was reading one of the books of Little House on The Prairie, so she was super excited to be going to see this school house. When I called to see if she could be squeezed in to see the eye doctor, the appointment they made up (literally stuck us into the schedule on top of someone else) was for that next day, during the field trip. The horror!!! Do I decide she's not going on the trip or do I decide the glasses could wait, or more so her eyes could wait to get new glasses, for a good three-week wait? We prayed about it and were convinced she'd be fine without them for a few weeks.
As the weeks went on, she was asked by every new face two questions every time: 1) what happened to your glasses?! 2) can you see or is everything fuzzy? how many fingers am I holding up?

She would always say  she didn't know what happened to her glasses or how they broke (curious?) and she would always say she could see fine and it wasn't bothering her to not have them. So she went from wearing them all the time to wearing them never and was fine. Not once did she complain about not being able to see.

(Back history: she found out she needed glasses in Kindergarten after the school screening and having to go through it twice. :) So she's had them on her face for over 1.5 years.)

So we finally had our appointment and today was the bid day to pick up the new glasses, which I have to admit, are super cute. Especially since with our insurance, we usually get a selection of about 5 frames, none of which could be classified on their best day as super cute! And she is not wearing them all the time, just to read or watch TV or maybe for something else, but not all the time and not when she's playing. So there you have it - -

Me, on the other hand, I've been wearing corrective lenses for 21 years! yikes! Mostly contacts, though my current set of contacts is over two years old. Kind of a Guinness Book of World Records I might be attempting to set - how long can you make a one-year supply of disposable contacts last? They're getting down there, got some deposits on them that refuse to come off anymore, so I wear them for specific things only: working out (thought now at home I just go blind, no contacts, no glasses; but at our gym I wear the contacts) or if I want to wear my shades outside and still be able to see or go swimming. These are the only reasons I will attempt to wear them. Trying to preserve them for as long as I can. Why? Because when you have limited funds and limited insurance, contact fittings as you know cost $$ I don't have and so I make do.  It is what it is and until one tears (that would be devastating!) I'll deal with the discomfort.

So today I was mowing the lawn and wanted to wear shades but not contacts and I thought, if Ashlynn can go without seeing perfectly I should be able to handle it. Yeh, I need to follow lines pretty carefully but I'm not that blind! So I cut the grass today with no corrective lenses. This meant I had to focus on my line closer to the mower rather than looking ahead, down the line, a little farther into the distance.

And this is when my blog post started.

We, our family, has been very focused for the last year or more on living 'in the now' where Jesus is. Not in the past, not in the future, not tomorrow or next week, but now, which quickly turns into the past, mind you, by the second. :) Don't worry about where the money for our monthly bills will come from for the entire month, but do what we can with our provisions for today to take care of what we need to TODAY. Make plans for the future, tomorrow, next week, next month, but hold them LOOSELY, because we really don't know what God's will is for the future and can only live out what his will is for RIGHT NOW, IN THIS MOMENT.

It's like not being able to see 20/20 perfectly. For me, I'm nearsighted, so seeing in the distance becomes blurry. So I can choose to squint to get the best sight of what's in the distance as I can, or I can choose to aim my focus to what's right in front of me and take it in in smaller chunks. Looking off to the distance means digesting the scene in larger chunks, possibly missing the finer details because the picture is so large. Taking my focus off the blurry distance and the need to squint until I can't squint anymore, and placing my focus right in front of me means taking in smaller scenes at a time, constantly reassessing the scene according to the new pixels I've just moved into focus. Much smaller scenes, much smaller set of details to observe/digest and much more refocusing/readjusting with the constant changing of images/information.  At first it felt a bit tedious mowing that way, as I had to keep stopping and looking up to check my lines, to make sure I wasn't leaving 'mowerhawks' in our lawn (I like that, I think I just coined a new word ;)) but it was refresher after the first fives minutes or so, as I let it soak in that what I was really doing mentally was refocusing my eyes and my mind to now and I was not focused on the end of my row - or to translate - trying to control the uncertainty of what's in the future.

And, this also something we are strongly focused on as a family and what we share with our gym family, when we focus on now - what we need to accomplish in this moment, with what we've been given - that hands God the control (which he has anyway through his Sovereignty but he still waits for us to hand it over to him). Control of our lives, control of the situation, control of the finances. Instead of us always trying to fix/solve/figure out the future, we're living by the moment, for the moment which allows us to live in God's will for us and live out his plan instead of ours.

Maybe we aren't meant to see 20/20?

I believe something I've always heard, I'm sure you've heard it too - God's got the bigger picture, we only are a very small part of that picture. Reminds me of a manual camera. Those who aspire to be photographers (as I once attempted to be by self-teaching), like really good manual camera handlers, usually aspire to manipulate the focus to make the picture more interesting. Usually, the focus is on the important/eye-catching 'thing' and the rest is a blur or out of focus in the background. Right? Those auto shoot and point cameras put everything into perfect focus - almost a false reality if you think about it.

Sounds a lot like God's plan for us. His plan is the big background blur and we are the little in-focus spec. We can't see his plan because it's not meant to be seen by us. We aren't meant to have God-vision, A.K.A 20/20 vision, auto-focus on everything. We were created to live in the now, with Jesus who is in the now - the present. And our now moves us along in his ever-present big picture plan.

Maybe try it out. Take off the specs, take out the contacts and try living a day with your focus on what you can see without them. Maybe, quite possibly, it is what God had meant for you to see all along.

It's the human tradition that comes in and demands 20/20. Is it a sin to leave a mowerhawk?! I haven't come across that one yet in the bible!

All praise be to God for this post.