Where am I looking?

I sat quietly with the Lord early watching the snow falling soft in the dim waking light.

He wanted to know if I would fix my eyes upon Him or upon my troubles.

"Upon You, of course" was my quick reply.  I'm not sure if I heard Him laugh.

The day grew light, snow continued to fall, exceeding the forcasts, and though beautiful, it spoke of potential dangers.

I have found joy in finding myself beginning to form an fitness habit again since we now have a recumbent exercise cycle in the basement that we purchased for an excellent price.  It was reduced due to the fact that the person who first tried to assemble it stripped the threads on the pedal crank.  It was returned to the store in Winnipeg where it was purchased, fixed by welding the pedal on permanently, and sold to another resaler in a town nearby.  This is where we found it.  If the only problem was a pedal that was welded so it couldn't be removed, well, that wasn't a problem at all!

Silly to think that anything is permanent...

Yesterday the pedal began to wiggle.  Today it has broken off.  Problem.

I decided to try some strength training floorwork instead.  Ouch!  The floor is too hard, my body too stiff, the lump on my backside too sore.  Problem.

I'd like to make plans to travel South to spend time with Mom but still await the scheduling of medical tests of my own.  Problem.  Problem.  Problem.

And now I truly do believe I hear His charming snicker and I remember His pre-dawn question, and I'm fixing my eyes, fixing my heart, casting it all upon Him.

Sharing with Jennifer and feeling the God-Bumps

and sweet loving Emily and the others imperfect but loved

 

Stuck - dvd based study by Jennie Allen

When Stuck was first released I received a sampler version of the book and dvd to review. This was my review of the little bite I received:

As I clicked the play button I was quickly set at ease by the soft music and the tone of Jennie's voice as she humbly presented herself as a woman just like the rest of us, broken, unsure and tired of hiding her "stuff" from those around her. In the introduction Jennie writes:

So my prayer is this study will be a safe place to explore God and your own heart. The state of our hearts and what we believe about God are the two most important things about us.

This study is intended to be shared in small groups that create a safe place for women to openly share the things they may have been hiding for years and allow God to begin to bring healing and wholeness to those places inside that are broken.

The workbook provides opportunities to dig deeper into scripture, pray, spend time pondering with the Lord, even draw pictures.

I feel as if I have been given an appetizer and it has indeed made me hungry for the rest of the meal. I need this study and suspect that most of the women I know need it as well. My mind is busy churning the idea of hosting a small group at my home, seeing a vision of freedom as we break through and become un-stuck!

Thomas Nelson soon made available a limited number of the complete study and my idea of a home study became a reality. The study kit includes:

• 8 sessions on DVD
• Study Guide with story-driven teaching, Scripture study, and short five-day-per-week lessons
• Leader’s Guide for facilitating group study
• Conversation cards help to facilitate more spontaneous and authentic conversation
• Promotional resources for churchwide campaign

I am happy to tell you that this study is practical and easy to use. The leader’s guide supplies valuable tips and the box of questions fit into the lessons well and provide great openings for honest sharing.

One of the most valuable tips was to bathe the entire study in prayer.

 

I look forward to using this tool again with other groups of women and celebrating again the joy of freedom as God helps them become “un-stuck”.

I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. 

 

 

Freshness in the ancient ways

Bread rising, baking, cooling on racks
flowers, sweet and vibrant
citrus oil from fresh cut oranges
all fill a house with the warm scent of fresh

and we hunger

We are a people easily bored
seeking new without a moment to absorb old
crying out to the Lord for a fresh word
a change of direction

This is what the Lord says: “Stop at the crossroads and look around. Ask for the old, godly way, and walk in it. Travel its path, and you will find rest for your souls. But you reply, ‘No, that’s not the road we want!’ Jeremiah 6:16 NLT

May we find our delight in the ways He leads us
as He seasons this new season
with His Spirit
always fresh.

Joining Peter Pollock and the rest where the word is fresh
 

Obedience's reward

In the middle of work at the computer

I felt a nudge to start dinner heating

It seemed a bit early, but I didn't argue

This is the sight that met my eyes

as I looked out the kitchen window

Day's end streaking the sky

What else might we be missing

in our slowness to hear

reluctance to listen?

This evening's lesson learned -

He always rewards obedience



But Samuel replied, “What is more pleasing to the Lord: your burnt offerings and sacrifices or your obedience to his voice? Listen! Obedience is better than sacrifice, and submission is better than offering the fat of rams. 1 Samuel 15:22 NLT

 

As long as...

As long as the earth remains, there will be planting and harvest,

cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night. 

Genesis 8:22 NLT

Breathing in His truth today with Deidra and others

 

A place for everything



                                 Image by istorija via Flickr

Spring may be the time we feel drawn to clean our houses, but there is also something about the start of the year that calls out for a new order.

Today was the day to attack the kitchen pantry, sorting, sifting and placing things back on shelves.  There is something so satisfying about stacking beans with beans, grains arranged side by side, cereal boxes pressed close to the back wall, cans placed neatly like with like.

There is a freedom that descends
when chaos departs
the ability to breathe deeper. 

Inhale. 
Exhale. 
Peace.

Now, to sort through my thoughts in like fashion...

 

Less of me

Twelve years ago
I surrendered
to the Son of God/Son of Man

The small, hard pebble
that was my heart
softened and swelled as He entered

good, this is good indeed
my spirit heard His approval

Then the flesh
surrounding the pliable heart
softened and swelled also

twelve years on
my spirit has learned to submit
while my flesh has run wild

Yesterday, in exercise and praise
I was singing a familiar chorus
"more of You and less of me"
and my spirit vibrated
a resounding "yes"

I am getting ready
to be ready
to jump when He says jump
seeking lightness
the ability to fly
when He gives me wings

In all ways of the spirit
I have tried to live the words of John
now I resolve, with the strength of Christ
in a tangible, physical sense
"I will decrease"

He must increase, but I must decrease.

[He must grow more prominent;

I must grow less so.]

John 3:30 Amplified