The other day, I was coming out of my local grocery store pushing my cart filled with groceries. I was deep in thought and felt overwhelmed by the circumstances surrounding my life. I felt like no matter what effort I put in, things were just not turning out the way I had hoped for. As I took a few steps out of the door, I realized that I was parked on the downhill side of the parking lot. Usually, at this moment, I would feel the urge to give my cart a push and jump with both feet up onto the cart and take whatever wild ride it would give me. But, not on this day.
As I continued walking, I decided to take the ride even if I did not feel like it. Maybe it would lift my mood and lighten up my heart. So I proceeded and realized in the middle of the ride, I was smiling. It is funny how smiling can change everything. In Proverbs 31, it describes the characteristics of an amazing woman. Verse 25 says; "...she smiles at the future." This word smiles in Hebrew means; to laugh, to play, to rejoice, to amuse. Although my day had not started out great, this action of riding the cart changed my attitude. It caused me to gain perspective by shifting my thoughts to something I loved. I don't know why I love to ride grocery carts, but it is part of who God created me to be. I have loved these rides since childhood and the amusement has not worn off.
As my ride came to an end, I opened up my car and began to unload my groceries. A young man who was collecting the carts came up behind me and said, "Not enough people do that." As I turned every shade of red, I asked him in a quiet voice, "What did you say?" And he came a little closer and with all sincerity, he answered, "Not enough people ride the carts." I smiled at him and saw that I had also lifted his spirits and added a little joy to his day. He took my empty cart and he walked away with a skip in his step. As I reflected on this encounter, I realize he had observed my joy. He could have said, "Not enough people have joy." At this moment, my mind was flooded with all of the opportunities around me. With each step into life, I have endless opportunities to make myself smile and help those around me smile too!
What is it that you love to do? Paint a picture, play a guitar, skip, jump, dance, sing a song, swim, ride an elevator, run up the down side of an escalator? I don't know what does it for you, but I do know when we do some things, we can't help but smile! Many times in life, we cannot change the circumstances around us, but we can embrace the things God has given us. We are surrounded with opportunities to find joy. In Nehemiah 8:10, it says; "...the joy of the Lord is our strength." If you are feeling down today, as I was the other day, what can you do that will make you enjoy this day? No matter how bad things look and feel, we are always in reach of a moment of joy that could lead to a smile! And, a smile can change everything!
Monday, April 25, 2011
Monday, April 18, 2011
Heavenly Moments
Recently, I was looking over some pictures from my daughter's wedding which took place last summer. I ran across a picture of a time at the end of the wedding where everyone in the room had a smile on their face. We were preparing for the bride and groom to leave for their honeymoon. Some of the kids had handed out bubbles for everyone to blow as the bride and groom walked through a tunnel of guests to their awaiting limo. But that is not what happened.
The music was playing and the dance floor was filled with guests and everyone began to blow bubbles. The room was filled with a sort of magical feeling as everyone smiled and quietly got lost in blowing bubbles. When my daughter and her new husband came out to leave, they joined in the bubble blowing fun. It was one of those times that could not have been planned, but just spontaneously happened. It was beautiful! The room filled with floating bubbles. It felt like all thinking had stopped as we surrendered to this moment of renewed youth, love, and pure enjoyment. This moment stretched out to forever.
I believe this is how heaven will be. No deadlines. No rushing. Nothing pressing to worry about. Simple enjoyment! Appreciating the moments, loving the people, taking in our surroundings with all of our senses; just being. And all of this in the pressence of God! Amazing! It states in Revelation 21:4; "He will wipe away every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain. All these things are gone forever." Hallelujah!!
I know it blessed God that day when we all got lost in the bubble blowing moment. We threw out the schedule and the plan. We filled the room with love and wonder. We gave in to our childlike, carefree nature. We trusted and did not think seriously about anything. We were all together BEING in the moment. I believe we worship God when we can truly surrender to BEING in the moment. He is the Creator of the time that we live in. He is the author for these heavenly moments. His presence is with us and He is enjoying our childlike freedom!
I love the story of King David coming into the city of Jerusalem with the ark of God. It was a moment that he had waited for. In David's day, the ark of God was the place where God's presence dwelled. He had tried to bring the ark into Jerusalem at another time and it had not worked out. So, when the ark came into the city, he rejoiced. It says that he was dancing and celebrating in 1 Chronicles 15:29. David's life was filled with many tough decisions. He had experienced much pain and sorrow in his lifetime and he would experiece more after this moment. But, he put all of his cares aside and he surrendered to the freedom of dancing in the streets. He gave in to the joy in his heart and let it out!
I pray as we go through life, we look for and give into these times of pure enjoyment! God gives us the privilege of calling Him; "Abba, Father." This word translated is; "Daddy." (Galatians 4:6) When I relate to God as my Daddy, I can live in a childlike place knowing that He is looking out for me and taking care of everything. This gives me the freedom to take the time to blow more bubbles and find more of these heavenly moments!
The music was playing and the dance floor was filled with guests and everyone began to blow bubbles. The room was filled with a sort of magical feeling as everyone smiled and quietly got lost in blowing bubbles. When my daughter and her new husband came out to leave, they joined in the bubble blowing fun. It was one of those times that could not have been planned, but just spontaneously happened. It was beautiful! The room filled with floating bubbles. It felt like all thinking had stopped as we surrendered to this moment of renewed youth, love, and pure enjoyment. This moment stretched out to forever.
I believe this is how heaven will be. No deadlines. No rushing. Nothing pressing to worry about. Simple enjoyment! Appreciating the moments, loving the people, taking in our surroundings with all of our senses; just being. And all of this in the pressence of God! Amazing! It states in Revelation 21:4; "He will wipe away every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain. All these things are gone forever." Hallelujah!!
I know it blessed God that day when we all got lost in the bubble blowing moment. We threw out the schedule and the plan. We filled the room with love and wonder. We gave in to our childlike, carefree nature. We trusted and did not think seriously about anything. We were all together BEING in the moment. I believe we worship God when we can truly surrender to BEING in the moment. He is the Creator of the time that we live in. He is the author for these heavenly moments. His presence is with us and He is enjoying our childlike freedom!
I love the story of King David coming into the city of Jerusalem with the ark of God. It was a moment that he had waited for. In David's day, the ark of God was the place where God's presence dwelled. He had tried to bring the ark into Jerusalem at another time and it had not worked out. So, when the ark came into the city, he rejoiced. It says that he was dancing and celebrating in 1 Chronicles 15:29. David's life was filled with many tough decisions. He had experienced much pain and sorrow in his lifetime and he would experiece more after this moment. But, he put all of his cares aside and he surrendered to the freedom of dancing in the streets. He gave in to the joy in his heart and let it out!
I pray as we go through life, we look for and give into these times of pure enjoyment! God gives us the privilege of calling Him; "Abba, Father." This word translated is; "Daddy." (Galatians 4:6) When I relate to God as my Daddy, I can live in a childlike place knowing that He is looking out for me and taking care of everything. This gives me the freedom to take the time to blow more bubbles and find more of these heavenly moments!
Monday, April 11, 2011
When God says "No!"
Last Monday morning, my phone began to ring off the hook. I was in the process of planning a barbeque and carnival for 500 people. Many of my volunteers, such as; the band, the train owner, the bounce house owner, etc. were calling to ask if we should cancel the event. They had watched the weather report and we had a 70% chance of snow for the day of our event. My answer to each one was; "I don't even want to talk about this until we all ask the Lord to change the weather!"
So, ask I did! I spent every moment I had asking the Lord for this miracle. Why did I ask Him? Because He can change the weather. Because He was my only hope in changing the weather. Because I wanted a sunny day! I am sure most of us are familiar with the story in Matthew 8 where Jesus calms the storm on the lake when the disciples think they are going to perish. Verse 27 says; "The men were amazed and asked, 'What kind of man is this? Even the winds and the waves obey Him!'" This is the God that I know today! He has changed the weather before in my life. In fact, there was a 70% chance of rain on my daughter's wedding day this summer and we did not see a drop!!! I have asked for practically everything from God and have seen so many amazing miracles!! So, I kept asking the One who could help me!
There is something exciting to me about waiting on God in a circumstance that is impossible without Him. This week, I often thought of the movie; "Braveheart." In one scene, the main character, William Wallace, is leading an army into battle. The opposing army is charging at their line and he is yelling; "Hold, hold, hold!!" The men are looking at him anxiously but with trust and respect waiting for his signal. This was how I felt! I was holding and waiting on my leader, Jesus, to give me my orders. When I was sure about the snow, then I would act based on the answer that God was giving me. Until then, I would believe in God's ability knowing who He is and trusting His judgement as to the outcome of the day. This is the kind of excitement I feel when I am waiting in prayer on the Lord.
On the early morning of our event, I woke up at 3:23am. I got up and looked outside and there was no snow. I thought God was going to answer my prayer for a sunny day! But, just as my hopes were high, I saw the snow begin to fall. And it was falling hard!! At this moment, I had two choices: I could act like a three year old and ask the notorious question; "WHY?" or I could trust God with His answer which I knew at this point was; "No!" I chose to trust God to make this event a success in spite of the snow.
We served over 325 people that day. We treated many kids to carnival events, such as; face painting, fishing for toys, etc. We gave away prizes! I can say for sure that we lavished the love of Jesus on all that came!! We had the best indoor carnival and barbeque possible and our cooks stood out in the snow grilling the chicken and tri-tip for 5 hours. It was not what I imagined, but it was fun!! And all of the volunteers showed up with great attitudes!! We were in it together and we had a victory!!
I don't know why the Lord did not change the weather on this day. But, I do know that He could have!! I ask God all the time for things that only He can do. I believe that it blesses Him when we have faith in who He is and we know that He can do anything we ask of Him. I also believe that it blesses Him when we can take; "No!" for an answer. How do we do this graciously? We remember that He is God and we are not. And we receive His; "No!" as the BEST answer even when we don't understand. After all, His perspective is so much greater than our own!! So, we trust Him!!
Hebrews 11:6; "And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to Him must believe that He exists and that He rewards those who earnestly seek Him."
So, ask I did! I spent every moment I had asking the Lord for this miracle. Why did I ask Him? Because He can change the weather. Because He was my only hope in changing the weather. Because I wanted a sunny day! I am sure most of us are familiar with the story in Matthew 8 where Jesus calms the storm on the lake when the disciples think they are going to perish. Verse 27 says; "The men were amazed and asked, 'What kind of man is this? Even the winds and the waves obey Him!'" This is the God that I know today! He has changed the weather before in my life. In fact, there was a 70% chance of rain on my daughter's wedding day this summer and we did not see a drop!!! I have asked for practically everything from God and have seen so many amazing miracles!! So, I kept asking the One who could help me!
There is something exciting to me about waiting on God in a circumstance that is impossible without Him. This week, I often thought of the movie; "Braveheart." In one scene, the main character, William Wallace, is leading an army into battle. The opposing army is charging at their line and he is yelling; "Hold, hold, hold!!" The men are looking at him anxiously but with trust and respect waiting for his signal. This was how I felt! I was holding and waiting on my leader, Jesus, to give me my orders. When I was sure about the snow, then I would act based on the answer that God was giving me. Until then, I would believe in God's ability knowing who He is and trusting His judgement as to the outcome of the day. This is the kind of excitement I feel when I am waiting in prayer on the Lord.
On the early morning of our event, I woke up at 3:23am. I got up and looked outside and there was no snow. I thought God was going to answer my prayer for a sunny day! But, just as my hopes were high, I saw the snow begin to fall. And it was falling hard!! At this moment, I had two choices: I could act like a three year old and ask the notorious question; "WHY?" or I could trust God with His answer which I knew at this point was; "No!" I chose to trust God to make this event a success in spite of the snow.
We served over 325 people that day. We treated many kids to carnival events, such as; face painting, fishing for toys, etc. We gave away prizes! I can say for sure that we lavished the love of Jesus on all that came!! We had the best indoor carnival and barbeque possible and our cooks stood out in the snow grilling the chicken and tri-tip for 5 hours. It was not what I imagined, but it was fun!! And all of the volunteers showed up with great attitudes!! We were in it together and we had a victory!!
I don't know why the Lord did not change the weather on this day. But, I do know that He could have!! I ask God all the time for things that only He can do. I believe that it blesses Him when we have faith in who He is and we know that He can do anything we ask of Him. I also believe that it blesses Him when we can take; "No!" for an answer. How do we do this graciously? We remember that He is God and we are not. And we receive His; "No!" as the BEST answer even when we don't understand. After all, His perspective is so much greater than our own!! So, we trust Him!!
Hebrews 11:6; "And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to Him must believe that He exists and that He rewards those who earnestly seek Him."
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