Category Archives: Life

A Solitary Place

Posted on by

A solitary place

A Solitary Place

40 Gifts of Lent | Gift 9
Reflections on Luke 1 – 4

At daybreak, Jesus went out to a solitary place… Luke 4: 42

I would find her there, in a secluded place alone. As a girl, I thought she needed this solitary time because she wanted to get away from us kids. But actually she needed this space to get away with God.

My childhood home always had more people living in it than the family that resided there. We had extra cots and air mattresses when there wasn’t enough beds. Our supper table had extra folding chairs squeezed between and I learned to spoon soup into my mouth with my elbows tucked into my side. Mom served us all with joy and grace as our home became a lighthouse of escape for many.

Over time, even the good things will take its toll, clamoring for peace and competing for rest. There’s the danger of pride crowding humbleness, pushing it aside…tempting us to focus on ourselves, thinking we can do it all.  We focus more on the people needing our attention, their voices wanting to be heard and the food cooking on the stove while the sheets need to be washed and the children are asking for help with homework.

All of the good busy things crowd the one best thing.

Now years later, here I am repeating her life in many ways.

I think of my Mom going to a solitary place to unwind her crowded thoughts, to be refreshed and focus her energy off of herself (and others) and instead on to Christ. Taking time to be alone with God was a gift to herself and to her family.

Thank you Mom, your life is a gift that keeps on giving long after you’ve gone.

“Solitude molds self-righteous people into gentle, caring, forgiving persons who are so deeply convinced of their own great sinfulness and so fully aware of God’s even greater mercy that their life itself becomes ministry.” ~Henri Nouwen, The Way of the Heart

A Solitary Place 2

About 40 Gifts of Lent 

I am anticipating the arrival of Easter and celebrating the most amazingly good gift I’ve ever received. I want to focus my heart on the fulfilled expectation of Christ’s first coming and the glorious expectation of His second coming. I want to focus on the freedom I have in Christ to overcome strongholds, yet also to gain strength, hope, and peace as I lean into the trials…To continue reading, please go here: 40 Gifts of Lent

#LentChallenge

Five Minute Friday

Linking up at Five Minute Friday to write five minutes about the word: CROWD

Sacrifice is at the heart of real love

Posted on by

The Shepherd and Scattered Sheep

The Shepherd and His Scattered Sheep

40 Gifts of Lent | Gift 8
Reflections on Mark 12 – end

“…for it is written, ‘I will strike the shepherd and the sheep will be scattered.'”…Then everyone deserted him and fled. A young man, wearing nothing but a linen garment, was following Jesus. When they seized him,  he fled naked, leaving his garment behind.  Mark 14: 27, 48 – 52

Like them, I would bolt in the face of persecution, terrified and fleeing to avoid the same scorn as Christ endured. I think back to the Garden of Eden when Adam and Eve ran away from God, in fear and nakedness. Like them, I forget the safety of the sheepfold and turn away from the protection of the shepherd’s rod and staff.

…and the shame of that and the guilt of that is so hard to bare.

And the Shepherd takes all of that guilt and all of that shame upon himself.

Oh, the sweet gift of the Shepherd to call my name, over and over again. Calling my name to return back to him, for I am one of his scattered sheep in desperate need of the Shepherd.  So thankful that I know his voice when he speaks, “You are loved. You are mine. You are forgiven. Return to me. I will never forsake you.”

Sacrifice is at the heart of real love.

All the apostles had forsaken him. In the garden, at his most sorrowful hour, “They all left him and fled” (Mark 14:50). If you have forsaken him, let him down, offended him, take heart, he is not less eager to repair things with you. Seek his face. Ask him. Receive his grace. (John Piper)

He is a faithful and persistent shepherd.

The Shepherd

I weep over the sorrows and disgraces of our Lord,
and what causes me the greatest sorrow
is that men, for whom He suffered so much,
live in forgetfulness of Him.
~St. Francis of Assisi

About 40 Gifts of Lent 

I am anticipating the arrival of Easter and celebrating the most amazingly good gift I’ve ever received. I want to focus my heart on the fulfilled expectation of Christ’s first coming and the glorious expectation of His second coming. I want to focus on the freedom I have in Christ to overcome strongholds, yet also to gain strength, hope, and peace as I lean into the trials…To continue reading, please go here: 40 Gifts of Lent

#LentChallenge

Repentant Helplessness

Posted on by

Repentant Helplessness 2

Repentant Helplessness

40 Gifts of Lent | Gift 7
Reflections on Mark 6 – 11

“I do believe, help me overcome my unbelief.”  Mark 9:24

I’m trying to be brave but I’m full of doubts. I am helpless to cure myself, to stop repeating the same mistakes, and to fill my mind with peace. There are many times when I’m running through life at a very fast pace, doing my own thing without prayer…unaware of the danger that lurks around the corner.

The danger ahead is doubting and unbelief and failure to call out to God. I’ve created so many messes because of not trusting God’s plan nor asking for his help. I’ve picked up my own shovel to dig ruts and large potholes just for me to trip over and fall into face first. Why do I do this over and over again? It’s the pain of sin and helplessness that brings me to my knees.

The amazing gift is that I don’t need to wash off the dirt and mud or clean and bandage the wounds before approaching God, just a repentant helplessness. He has already washed me and healed the moral and spiritual wounds. When I am weak and cannot muster the strength to meet these challenges, all I need to say is, “Help me.”

I sense his embrace, my soul is brighter and I’m ready to walk (or run) around the corner to face what life has in store.

Repentant Helplessness 1

Additional Reading: King’s Cross by Tim Keller

About 40 Gifts of Lent 

#LentChallenge

Coffee-for-Your-Heart-150

Being Neighborly

Posted on by

Being Neighborly

Being Neighborly

40 Gifts of Lent | Gift 4
Reflections on Matthew 19 – 24

“[Jesus] said to him, ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself’” Matthew 22: 37 – 39

Love of God and love of neighbor are connected. I often forget that connection, especially if my neighbor’s dog barks at the moon all night long and then I must dodge the dog’s “land-mines” walking through my front yard to get the morning paper. There are no lovely feelings or happy thoughts about being neighborly.

Love of God and love of neighbor are connected when nothing but a wall of sheetrock and a thin layer of insulation separates you from the sounds of crying and screaming children over the beat of “thud-thud-thud…thud thud” from a subwoofer. I admit, I would deliberately avoid being neighborly towards them.

In both scenarios, my heart, soul and mind was bent, twisted and misaligned with anger and resentment towards my neighbors. I was also becoming a miserable neighbor for them to live next to. It continued to grow worse until my attitude began to change towards them.

My attitude began to change when I began to focus on God’s love for all of us. And I began to understand that in no way could I be neighborly without loving God first.

And when I gave God first place in my heart, soul and mind, his love enabled me to love my neighbor. Friendships developed and good things began to happen. I stopped to chat a few times every week with the lady who owned the dog and eventually I noticed my yard wasn’t a mine-field any more and the dog was brought inside at night. We became better friends, taking long walks together, with her dog on a leash…talking and doing life together.

We invited the family next door to come over for supper and to bring their kids too. We shared life with them to the point that we became best of friends. And I’m not sure what happened to that subwoofer because I never heard the thuds again. We had our first child while living next door to this family. I will never forget how they were the beautiful example of being neighborly to us.

To love your neighbor as yourself is a gift…this is the meaning of being neighborly.

Being Neighborly 2

About 40 Gifts of Lent 

I am anticipating the arrival of Easter and celebrating the most amazingly good gift I’ve ever received. I want to focus my heart on the fulfilled expectation of Christ’s first coming and the glorious expectation of His second coming. To continue reading, please go here: 40 Gifts of Lent

#LentChallenge

Slow Down to Notice…on a Road Trip

Posted on by

Barns of Passing Time

I have a hobby of taking photos from a moving automobile. Like the one above of a barn and homestead with a for sale sign in front view. I can only imagine how many memories and stories that have been noticed in that home or the life that fed that old barn’s history…stories and words wrapped up and knotted deep into a legacy.

Slow Down to Notice

So I take a photo from a moving automobile because I slow down to notice this image of a story that is posted for sale. It’s there, off the road where it’s waiting to be noticed, captured and remembered.

Recently, my husband and I packed the car for a long road trip to home. It was pleasant to be the passenger with my main man and talk about our kids, our grandkids, life, work, politics…we talk about our parents that are living and the ones that have passed to a better place. Memories are shared on road trips. Road trips give us time to slow down and notice, even while the pedal is to the metal.

We slow down on this road trip to notice each other through the stories we share. It’s a verbal embrace. There is a connection when we laugh at each other’s corny jokes or disagree with the other’s opinion about a politician’s decision.

When we slow down and notice someone by listening to spoken words, there will be community, friendship, and a feeling of being safe.

Road trips are good for this. He is not looking at me while I talk, yet he notices me.  He is listening to my words…my voice, my story. And when he shares a story, I may glance over at him, but mostly I’m looking out the window with my head leaning back and resting against the headrest…slowing down my thoughts to hear him and notice him.

It’s ironic that we own a house with a for sale sign in the front yard. Of course I know that bricks and mortar or beams of wood cannot contain life and stories but it’s the people with the stories that walk through an opened back door to have a cup of coffee at the kitchen table.

Slow down and notice them.

We may be selling a house but we are not selling the stories that happened in that house.

We’re on a road trip. We are slowing down to notice a lot more than just the two of us sitting in this car. We slow down to notice and talk about the goodness of God demonstrated everyday in our lives and the peace we have through Christ while enduring trials and a life transition.

When we slow down to notice…to remember the stories of God’s forever faithfulness to us, we are filled with awe and flooded with peace.

Stories are like a road trip. The years fly by at high-speed and there are twists and turns and potholes that slow us down. An unexpected and sometimes unavoidable crash stops us cold. We run out of gas. We have a flat tire. We need help with the repairs. We are forced to slow down and notice the grace and love from God, no matter what the circumstance.

So yeah, I want to slow down and notice my husband and family. I want to notice their stories and words, to embrace them and travel with them on a road trip wherever it may lead. I want to slow down and notice the beauty of God’s grace and his majesty…to hear his words. To be embraced and know that I am noticed by God.

The Flight of the Butterfly

Posted on by

We delight in the beauty of the butterfly, but rarely admit the changes it has gone through to achieve that beauty.

In order to live, a butterfly must fight its way out of the cocoon on its own. It is only through this struggle that it gains the strength in its body to move its wings and fly.

Life is like a butterfly – You go through changes before you become something beautiful.

The following are photos of one particular butterfly I spotted while vacationing last year at the Broadmoor Hotel and Resort in Colorado Springs, Colorado. While the views of the beautiful resort are breathtaking in grandeur, I found myself captivated with following one particular butterfly gracefully move, carefree from one hanging pot of Impatiens to another.

So many hanging pots of flowers and so little time for a butterfly to taste the sweetness.

I wondered how long this beautiful fluttering of wings would last.

“You can only chase a butterfly for so long.”
― Jane Yolen, Prince Across the Water

Once upon a time, we had a Golden Retriever puppy. The cutest little puppy ever! Finding the right name for the newest member of our family was very important yet none of us could agree on the right name…until that day while in our backyard, our puppy began chasing a butterfly. The dog was running and jumping and zigging and zagging chasing the butterfly all about. That’s it! We had a name for our best friend to be. We named him, Chase.

I chuckled considering that I was running (not so much jumping) but definitely zigging and zagging to chase after this butterfly! Finally, it stopped for refreshment…I was ready for some, too.

Well, I must endure the presence of two or three caterpillars if I wish to become acquainted with the butterflies ~The Little Prince

This butterfly has certainly done its fair share of work! Flitting from one landing pad to the next, searching for the best nectar.

“…butterflies lead you to the sunny side of life.  And everyone deserves a little sunshine. ” ~Jeffrey Glassberg

We should bask in the sunshine of God’s grace and goodness. We should notice God’s power through the tenacious strength of a butterfly. Count the moments you have each day to experience the Lord’s presence, to be strengthened by his grace. For the more your heart is strengthened by grace the more it will beat for God’s glory.

These photos are borrowed from my photo blog, Remember the Year, a scrapbook and journal of visual memories. I hope you will visit there soon. http://photolog365.wordpress.com

Winter Inspiration

Posted on by
Patchwork Barn

Patchwork Barn

Red Barn

Brown and Red Barn

Our God manifests Himself in our mangers and muck, our mundane and mess. Ours is the God manifesting Himself in the unlikely and unbearable, in the surprise and the second-chance. The God Who bears the burdens and brings the hope. ~Ann Voskamp

DSC_0844

“Listen to your life.
See it for the fathomless mystery it is.
In the boredom and pain of it,
no less than in the excitement and gladness:
touch, taste, smell your way
to the holy and hidden heart of it,
because in the last analysis
all moments are key moments,
and life itself is grace.”
~Frederich Buechner

DSC_0836

I prefer winter and fall, 
when you feel the bone structure of the landscape–
the loneliness of it, 
the dead feeling of winter.  
Something waits beneath it, 
the whole story doesn’t show.
~Andrew Wyeth

Bare Trees in Winter
DSC_0657

Weeds in unison
Move with the sun
Balancing the snow

Searching for Sanctuary

Posted on by

Redeemer Presbyterian Church, PCA (www.redeemindy.org) Indianapolis, IN

While standing in the check-out lane at the grocery store, I watched the young lady who was robotically scanning labels and punching in price codes for fruit and vegetables and with meticulous organization, bagged each item that I was about to purchase …she never turned her eyes away from that task.

To be honest, I wanted her to hurry-it-up and not to be so careful with the bagged lettuce and carrots. It didn’t matter to me if produce was mixed with dairy or if a jar of tomato sauce was placed in a bag with paper napkins.

But I stopped that impatient urge of aggravation to notice her. To appreciate her methodical and calculated process of scanning and bagging food.

So I spoke to her:  “Hey! Thank you so much for organizing this chaos of food and stuff! I guess you have been standing here for a long time already. How’s your day going?”

WOW! Her comments almost brought me to my knees. She looked up at me with clear eyes and a beautiful smile. “Thank You!” was her reply.

She proceeded to tell me about her day as a cashier (I will never take grocery store cashiers for granted again) and she gave me a peek into her family. She is also attending a community college and working for a better life for her children.  Our conversation continued as I shared with her some tidbits about my family and the peace that God has given me through the trials I am facing. I noticed that she slowed down scanning food. She slowed down organizing the bagging procedure.

She felt that I wanted to listen to her…and she wanted to listen to me.

I continued to compliment her, to praise her work ethic and striving to succeed for her family…and I sweetened all of that with nuggets of God’s grace and the peace He gives to them that search for all that.  And while we chatted, the strangers standing in line next to me had their ears opened and eyes watching us, with pleasant expressions on their face.

So you see, we are all searching for sanctuary. A better place to be.

The photo I shared of this post is of a sanctuary, a photo of the interior of a grand and humble church.  Perhaps it’s the image you may think of when you consider where to go for sanctuary.  But sanctuary can be found wherever you are.

I discovered sanctuary while standing in line at the grocery store talking with a stranger about God’s love and grace because God was with me…with both of us.

She is searching for sanctuary. I am searching for sanctuary.

Our deepest and most enduring peace and happiness…a sanctuary–can only be found in God.