FROZEN PEAS

Yesterday was a day filled with the blessing of friends.  I spent a few hours in the booth of a quaint coffee shop tucked in the village of Saugatuck with a beautiful friend who is literally glowing with love and excitement over what God is doing in her life.  I spent time on the phone with another dear friend discussing various issues we’re both concerned about.  Later in the day, I spent an hour sitting on a couch with a friend who’s going through some tough “life stuff”.  I’m not the world’s most social person really, but I DO cherish my friends and consider them… a blessing. 

  

I realize it’s a crazy time of year to talk about growing peas, but they are "snow peas" after all, so bear with me!!  I put this thought into words last spring after a night in my garden before Beauty In Brown Eggs.  It came to mind after reflecting on my day yesterday and I’d like to brush the snow off it, thaw it out, and share with you some thoughts… on peas.   

I was working in my garden the other night and was getting just a tad bit frustrated at the way snow peas are.  Seriously, have you ever grown them??  What appears to be the main, thick part of the stem is SO insanely fragile… you hardly have to touch it and SNAP… it breaks in half.  Personally, I thought those plants would be much better off climbing a different part of the trellis I had so diligently built… but every time I tried to move them, the buggers cracked in half.   HOWEVER… they have these hair-fine tentacles that reach up and out… grabbing on to whatever sturdy support they have near them… and upward-ho-they-go!!  The entire plant is supported by these little hair like fibers… allowing it to continue its climb upward.  Try to move THOSE and I swear they cling for dear life!! 

Isn’t it the same with us as people??  Our outward appearance can look so strong… a complex fig leaf of sorts.  But the slightest upset… or change in direction… can leave us broken and misguided.  We also NEED something to cling to… to hang onto for strength… to guide us on our path.  And this, my friends, is an intimate walk with Jesus Christ, prayer, the Word of God… and Christian friends.   

Hang on FOR dear life WITH them.  

Hang on for dear life TO them. 

For TRUE life.

The only LIFE.

Look around you… there are lessons to be learned everywhere.  Even in a simple garden.

 

I love you too, God.

p.s... stay tuned for some pictures of my unique garden in case you need a winter project.  

WONDER While I WANDER - Part III

Do you think it's on purpose???

Was He intentional??

OR is it purely coincidental that SO many things in nature reflect our walk with God??

Possibly it's just the way my quirky brain works,  I don't know.

But it makes me WONDER... once again.

It was the cactus this time.  While wandering through the deserts of Arizona, looking at what I call the "people cactus" dotting the dry, arid and brown landscape, I couldn't help but think of the Israelites... and our own personal deserts.

Something I learned this past year while attending a series by Ray VanderLaan (www.followtherabbi.com) was that God left his people wander in the desert for 40 years for a reason.  The reason wasn't so much to get them out of Egypt (because there certainly were shorter routes), but to get Egypt... out of them.  That was powerful to me.  What HAD been just another Old Testament story, really came alive.  The reality that God still does that today with His people.  With us.  When we need it, He brings us out into our own deserts... to draw us closer to Him.   And I knew He was doing it... with ME.

Nothing much grows in a desert, does it.  From what I remember of biology class, the only way a cactus survives is by storing up water in it's core.  As I rode by all those "people cactus", I wondered if it wasn't the same for us.  When God brings us out into the desert of our own lives, the ONLY way we will survive is by soaking Him up.... the Living Water.  And He loves us enough to keep us there until we do.

So what do you think??

Do you think it's on purpose??

Was He intentional??

Hhhmmm.... I WONDER.

Thanks for wandering with me a bit.




 

 

WONDER While I WANDER - Part II

WONDER some more with me.   But first, please come with me on some of my WANDERING this past week by way of this short slide show:

I came across the following quote the day before I left on my week of wandering.  It came to mind often.

"People travel to wonder at the height of the mountains...

At the huge waves of the seas...

At the long course of the rivers....

At the vast compass of the ocean....

At the circular motion of the stars...

And yet

THEY PASS BY THEMSELVES WITHOUT WONDERING."

(St. Augustine)

Take time to wonder at this:

The creator of the mountains... is the SAME GOD that created you and me.

The artist behind the sunsets...  is the SAME GOD that created you and me.  

The author of the seasons... is the SAME GOD that created you and me.  

Take time to wonder at this:

The SAME GOD that created you as the crown of His creation not only designed you... He wants an INTIMATE relationship WITH you.  

How can it be??

With ME??

Sometimes I don't think I truly "get that".

Do you??

WONDER While I WANDER - Part I

I've been wandering the Southwest corner of our nation this week by Harley.  Traveling by motorcycle is a very sensory based experience.  Not only do you see the world without a roof over your head or a car frame around you, but you can literally smell a change of landscape that will make you look around for cedars... or feel a sudden change in temperature that is completely unexplainable.  I love the rare opportunity to pull in the clutch to silence our loud mufflers and quietly drift down a winding mountain road while listening to beautiful praise music.  How can you not lift your hands to that!!

Another beautiful thing about wandering is it gives you a chance to WONDER.  A few things came to mind while wondering and wandering that I'd like to share.  These won't be sequential like "Pink Doors" was, but just a bit of wondering... while I wandered.  

So let's get going.

My favorite roads to travel on by motorcycle are those that just keep going... and going... and going.   No exits to worry about, no heavy traffic to maneuver, nothing to do but sit back and enjoy the scenery.  There is no question where you're going... you just follow the road laid out before you.  We took several roads like that this trip, where the route was very clear.

Inevitably, by choice or happenstance, you will encounter a big city.  On this particular trip, we spontaneously decided to find our way through downtown San Diego and onto Coronado Island.  Cars were weaving in and out of 5 lanes... multiple signs flashing overhead making you question your route... exit options every quarter mile... sensory overload of the unnerving kind.

I would've had no idea where to go if it hadn't been for the use of a GPS.  It told me what road I was on, how far I needed to go before the next turn, and what direction that turn would be.  It told me what lane was best and safest for me to stay in at the moment and alerted me to what the current speed limit was.  Having this in my hand, I was able to navigate and give direction.  It was a life saver.

Life can be like this, can't it.   Sometimes the road seems easy and clearly laid out before us.  But inevitably, we WILL encounter high traffic areas now and then.  Unfamiliar territory.  Options for exits we aren't sure are ours to take.   Confusing signs that make us question our direction.  Awareness that a wrong turn could result in us being... LOST.

What I "WONDERED while I WANDERED" successfully through SanDiego was this:

Is God my "GPS"?? 

Do I let Him navigate my life??  

How often do I just try to find my own way??

To me, these questions are worth wondering about.  Preferably... while I wander.    

AGAINST THE WIND...

I love a windy day.  

I love the sound of the wind.  

I love watching the trees bend and strain.  

I love the feel of wind on my face.  

I’ve sat in the woods alone on a windy night filled with awe.  

Wind, to me, is a special gift.  

BUT, ever drop a receipt or an important piece of paper in the wind??  THE CHASE IS ON!!  Chase, stomp….  chase, stomp…. chase, stomp.   Got the visual??  Just when you think you caught it, you reach down to grab it and swoosh, another gust of wind comes and it flutters out of reach once again.  

A couple weeks ago (December 16^th to be exact),  I woke up with a pretty intense thought that I needed to read Ecclesiastes.   Now you have to understand that this is ODD for me.  I’m working on reading my Bible more regularly, but admittedly it hadn’t been as much a part of my life as I wish it had been.   So for me to wake up thinking about Ecclesiastes… well, let’s just say it caught my attention.   It wouldn’t have been so odd if I had woke up thinking about reading the Christmas story or something like that…. but Ecclesiastes??  Had to be a fluke.  I responded to the thought with “Ecclesiastes??  REALLY???  Hhhmmm… He must mean Ephesians” (a friend of mine had mentioned a couple weeks prior that she had read  Galations and Ephesians).  Well, the “prompting” actually responded back!!  I heard “No… I said Ecclesiastes”. 

As I’ve mentioned before, I’ve been struggling with some feelings of unsettledness in my life.  Stirrings I’m trying to pay attention to and listen to.  Since I was pretty sure there wouldn’t be a crystal ball or leather bound book entitled “Sandy’s guide to her life” under the Christmas tree, I have been praying often for God to put people, situations and conversations in my path to help show me His will.  So when you wake up hearing an inner voice say you need to read Ecclesiastes… well then, YOU READ ECCLESIASTES.  I had no idea what I would find, until I started reading.   Once again, our God amazed me.

What I found was King Solomon lamenting over the futility of life.  Each chapter repeatedly went through the things people were chasing in life WAY BACK THEN… power, intellect, pleasure, work, money… and how it is all meaningless.  How it is all: empty.  How it is all:

STRIVING AGAINST THE WIND

Gee… it struck me as a real downer.  But reading a little deeper and using the study guide notes in my Bible I got the real meaning.  All of these things people chased back then are the same things we can chase today.   Isn’t that amazing??  Chase, stomp…. chase, stomp… chase, stomp.   Reach out to grab it and true happiness, satisfaction, fulfillment, flutters away once again.   HOWEVER, Solomon’s message wasn’t one of despair.  The point of Ecclesiastes was that all the things in this world and life that we chase are meaningless WITHOUT GOD.  The point is that there is “a time for everything”… but it has to be God’s timing.    The point is that it is GOD alone we need to chase… and He wants to be caught. 

SO there I sat. 

All the things I fret about, strive after, chase. 

All the things I look to, to fill the empty places inside me. 

All the timing issues I struggle with. 

All these things were laid out before me in this book I was prompted to read. 

On a simple Friday morning in December.

A message for ME... from the Maker of the universe.

And the message I heard was loud and clear:  

“Just walk with ME, Sandy”

Human instinct kicks in and I right away start wondering what that means.  What does that look like??  What should I do?? What shouldn't I do?? What about this?? What about that??  And the most beautiful thing happened.  Again, that same simple message came:

"Just walk with ME, Sandy"

I look to the year ahead with anticipation.  I have a lot of the standard resolutions going through my head:  eat healthier, exercise daily, lose weight, slow down, simplify.  But I KNOW that while all these things are good things, important things, things of value when done in the right context… the most important resolution I can make is to WALK WITH GOD daily.  It is the ONLY resolution that will calm the unsettledness I feel inside.   It is the ONLY resolution that will lead to… LIFE.   The LIFE He wants to show me.  Everything else when done without HIM is just striving against the wind.

I’m guardedly excited about this resolution.  I wonder where the walk will lead??  Will it be smooth?? Or rocky and hilly??  I don't know, but I'm strappin' on my tennies and I'm ready to go.  

Have fun with your own resolutions.  Challenge yourself with them.  But keep them in their place.  I encourage you to make a daily walk with God what you TRULY chase in 2012.

CHASE… STOMP…. CATCH!!!! 

 Thank you, God… I love you too.   

Merry Christmas!!!

For unto YOU is born this day.... 

YOUR savior....

  

Who is Christ YOUR Lord.  

Hallelujah!!!  

DAY 1 - What's In A Name??

Isaiah 9:6  "And He shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace".

DAY 1:
Ask yourself if you truly KNOW HIM by these names.
If you've claimed Him by these names.
What other names is He to you??
Tell Him.
Take time to silently praise Him with all the names that describe who He is to YOU... personally.