Learning Along The Way

Family Flashback Friday

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Alliteration is fun.  Having words start with the same letter can be helpful for memory’s sake.  If you use Instagram with your smart phone or tablet, you may have seen friends posting older pictures.  It’s fun to see younger versions of my friends.  There’s Throwback Thursday and Flashback Friday.  I thought I’d jump on the bandwagon sort of, by putting this particular photo both here and on Insta.

I am in this picture.  If you know me, you know which one is me.  If you don’t yet know me, look on my website to see a recent portrait of me and you’ll know which one is me right away.  This has always been a favorite picture for me; my grandparents holding my brother and two cousins at Christmas in 1962.  That’s right, 50 years ago.

That’s a flashback.

By no means would I take the time here to flash forward through all of life that has been lived; that would be a volume not a blog post!  Suffice it to say, there are lots of joys and sorrows that have been lived in each of the lives represented in this photo.

At the center of it all, the girl with the big smile has hung on…to Hope.

I am happy to say that gift of Hope is one thing that has helped me, like a beacon of light for a storm tossed boat; there is a grounding, a solid place that the storms cannot destroy.  My Hope.

“My hope is built on nothing less than Jesus’ blood and righteousness”  The Solid Rock.  He has been in this with me and for me even when I wasn’t in it for myself.

“I dare not trust the sweetest frame, but wholly lean on Jesus’ name.”  People let you down.  People who say they love you can hurt you, intentionally.  Knowing full well they’re hurting you.

“When darkness veils His lovely face, I rest on His unchanging grace; in every high and stormy gale, my anchor holds within the veil.”  When terrible things happen, where do you turn?

“His oath, His covenant, His blood, support me in the whelming flood; when all around my soul gives way, He then is all my hope and stay.”  When the bottom falls out of life, where is your grounding?

I didn’t work at this Hope.  I didn’t muscle through tough things with a dogged determination to be hopeful.  It is a gift I have received from the Generous Giver of all good gifts.  Even as a child when I didn’t fully understand, He was hovering and protecting me and giving me Hope.

He longs for you to receive His Gift.  We have been practicing Thankfulness for a season and now it is the season of giving and receiving gifts.  This is a Gift for which you can be eternally thankful!  Won’t you receive the Gift of Hope today?

Focus. Practice. Sacrifice.

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A constant focus on adversity defeats many Christians. They walk through a day that is brimming with beauty and brightness, seeing only the grayness of their thoughts. Neglecting the practice of giving thanks has darkened their mindsIt’s Monday. Sometimes just saying ‘it’s Monday’ can bring a deep sigh; a ‘here we go again’ mindset about the daily grind. After a longer break from routine for most, this Monday may have more challenges than usual. This morning I read the day’s entry from the devotional Jesus Calling by Sarah Young and was reminded of a few things.
* Giving thanks takes focus give thanks in all circumstances for this is the will of God for you in Christ Jesus (1 Thess. 5:18)

* Giving thanks takes practice … and be thankful; …with thankfulness in your hearts; …giving thanks to God (Col.3: 15,16,17)

* Giving thanks is a sacrifice Through Him then, let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that give thanks to His name. (Heb. 13:15)

Focus. Practice. Sacrifice.

These are words that are associated with training, with work; and work takes effort.

Many friends have made the effort and used social media this month to name what they are thankful for on a daily basis. I have been blessed and encouraged by their posts. You may be one of them. I am thankful to God for you as you live out …let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good deeds (Heb. 10:24)

So if today you’re focusing on the drudgery of your responsibilities, may I suggest a shift in focus? Look for things to be thankful for. Name them. Thank God for each one.

Practice thanking God for the little things. This work has a promise attached to it:
And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. (Phil. 4:7)

And who among us couldn’t benefit from a peace that passes all understanding in the middle of our day?

Black Friday Focus

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Today’s entry from My Utmost for His Highest quotes a portion of Malachi “Take heed to your spirit that you do not deal treacherously”. Chambers goes on to say “Our state of mind is powerful in its effects. It can be the enemy that penetrates right into our soul and distracts our mind from God. There are certain attitudes we should never dare indulge. If we do, we will find they have distracted us from faith in God. Until we get back into a quiet mood before Him, our faith is of no value, and our confidence in the flesh and in human ingenuity is what rules our lives.”

On this Madison Avenue marketing day, as we look for great deals on things we ‘need’, what will you do to demonstrate you are a person of faith?

Let someone with less in their arms go ahead of you in line?

Give money to the Salvation Army bell ringers?

Slow down and smile at the store employees dealing with people who are way too intense and frantically grabbing at items to get the most and the best?

Pause while you are in line to thank the One who gave you the ability to breathe, stand, carry, think, earn money, etc.?

Any or all would probably be a way to battle the ‘attitudes we should never dare indulge’.

As I’m getting ready to pile into the car for a shopping extravaganza these are great reminders for me, so I’m sharing them with you. Let me know how your day went; I’ll be praying.

Thankful for Meltdowns?

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Today’s blog post is being written in the back seat of a rental car hurtling through California eastward toward Utah. Gotta love technology!

Spent the morning working down my to do list. Getting things prepped for our trip and simultaneously battling the temptation to allow the ticking clock to ruin my focus on being thankful.

The battle really isn’t obvious (for the most part), but is internal; fought on the battlefield of the mind. That’s the place where I, where we, can make choices. Do we believe time controls us or do we believe the One who controls time? God invites us to be at peace in His abiding Presence at the same moment as the ticking clock tries to distract us.

I don’t always make the restful choice; for about 15 minutes today I had a meltdown. The issue was a missing wallet and a time obligation colliding. True confession: I have too many purses. Good thing for me I keep them all hanging on parallel racks on the back of the closet door so it’s easy to switch from one to another. Except when I don’t use a purse at all just to confuse things and keep me on my organizational toes. That was my recent mistake. So I didn’t know where I had put said wallet. Clock ticking. friend waiting. Peace slipping away.

I stood in my closet and cried. Out loud I apologized to the Lord; telling Him I was wrong to launch in to this hunt without asking Him first where that errant wallet was hiding. Sniffing, I went back downstairs, looking through my office where I had already hunted and come up empty. I knelt down to look through a basket, again, and saw the illusive wallet peaking out of the pocket of my briefcase.

Was it the position of bowing low and slowing down or the tearful acknowledgment of my control issues that helped me see? Either or both. Whatever it took for the Lord to get my attention was good. I smiled, thanked Him for directing my steps and moved ahead.

When you are thankful during this Thanksgiving week, who are you thankful to?

Thankful For What Is

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Slow down
Look around
See what is
Give thanks

Thanksgiving Week begins. Is it full of to do lists? Grocery shopping lists? Packing lists?

Mine is.

Time limits and controls my actions.

Or does it?

I am practicing the fine Art of seeing what is and being thankful for what is.

Not what I wish. What is.

Not what I regret. What is.

Sometimes the best place to start my thankful list for this day is for this moment.

What is.

Laundry? Sure. Be thankful for the feet that fill the socks.

Grocery shopping? Sure. Be thankful for mouths to feed, for means to purchase, for transportation to get there, for arms to carry, for paper and pencil to make the list, for a brain that remembers (most of the time!)

See how easy it is? Once you take your eyes off the “if only” and focus on “what is” you have much for which to be thankful.

Next question: to whom are you thankful?

Love, Loved, & Lovable

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Quia amasti me, fecisti me amabilem Augustine

Augustine wrote these words about the One who loved him best. God.
The same God who spoke to Abraham, who talked with Moses, who inspired Rahab to hide the spies, who led Ruth to follow Naomi home, who called David A Man after His own Heart, who gave Solomon wisdom, the prophets something to talk about, and Who Came in the Flesh so that we could comprehend Him.

Jesus. He came first as a babe and will come again as a conqueror. The in between is where we live. It’s where Augustine lived. And Thomas a Kempis. And Brother Lawrence. And Galileo. And the millions who have gone before and who are walking here today. God was. God is. And God will forever be.

How do we relate to this very other being? We learn to love.

“Because you loved me, you made me able to be loved.” These are Augustine’s words translated to english.

Because God has loved me I am able to be loved. God has not gotten a great deal in me being part of His family. I am wayward, unfocused and generally a problem child. But He chose me. He calls me Friend. I am His beloved. If you claim His saving grace, these things are true of you too.

Because God has loved me I am able to be loved. He offers us gifts throughout the day. Love gifts. A stranger’s smile. The sight of a beautiful bird. The laughter of children at play. To simply say Thank You for each gift is a beginning. An acknowledgement of His Presence, His care, His love. He offers out of love. It’s His very nature.

The acknowledging of God’s gifts can be part of our day, part of our rhythm. Pausing the music or talk radio in the car and saying Thank You for your ability to hear, to understand, to appreciate the sounds coming out of the radio. Saying Thank You for the good scent of food cooking, or the warmth of a sweater on a cold day. All these are simple ways to be in the process of learning to love, learning to love the One who gives you life.

How will you adjust your rhythm to acknowledge God and His good gifts today?

Quia amasti me, fecisti me amabilem

The Band-Wagon of Thankfulness

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I don’t like to be thought of as a band-wagoner.  (one who jumps on the band wagon)

But it is the season of thankfulness and many bloggers are encouraging their readers to be thankful.  I want to do the same.  Yet it is a hard season for many.  Even me.

I was thumbing through our local magazine, SLO Journal, and came across the article by Claire Aagaard titled “Living with Grief and Loss During the Holidays”.

This is for me.  Still.  Five years later.

The article is 12 simple tips long.  You can read her full article here.  She gives credit to a book she read by James Miller titled How Will I Get Through the Holidays? (which also sounds good)

These tips are lessons I have been learning in the crucible of life while at the same time experiencing some of the greatest joys that this life has to offer.  How are these two opposites: joy & sorrow, able to coexist and not cancel one another out?

Perspective.

Well, is it half empty or half full?

Tip #9 ‘Search out and Count your Blessings’ from Aagaard’s article reminds me to mention the life transforming book that came to me two years ago: One Thousand Gifts by Ann Voskamp.

If you haven’t read One Thousand Gifts, you need to.  She poetically tells her journey out of the pit of depression and grief through accepting the challenge of a friend: Count your blessings.  Ann’s story is compelling.  Many agree.  Her website has great resources to encourage your counting. Check it out here.

Focusing on thankfulness is not denial of how hard, difficult, painful, depressing your circumstances really are.  It is simply adjusting the lens of your perspective to have a clear view on all that is also true. Even when you are grieving.

Start counting your reasons to be thankful.  I am.

 

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