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Remember this…. the King has called for you!
Cultivating Thankfulness with Ann Voskamp
#267 my bills paid
#266 A good sweaty workout
#265 Knowing that He values me
Linking up with Hear it on Sunday
When Feeling Small…
27 Monday Aug 2012
Monthly Archives: August 2012
The God of Alreadies
24 Friday Aug 2012
Posted in Christ centered
Tags
When my heart is gripped with uncommon fear because of what I see and feel and am afraid to understand,
And when I can’t contain the joy that bubbles up because I realize the gift that stands before me,
He is already there. Yesterday, today, and forever.
He is the God of Alreadies.
Before the foundation of the world, He already knew me. Before I was a thought in my parents’ mind, He already had my name inscribed in the palm of His hand. And before I became a person with a heart and a body, a mind and two hands, He already knew all about me. He already knew what would make me smile, or cry, or stretch my mind beyond all that I thought was possible.
I know, I know… this is old news. It’s been revealed in the Big Book thousands of years ago. But to me, on this very day, it’s like a gentle summer breathe upon my sweaty face. It’s life. It’s sustenance. Bread for the journey.
Because if God is really the God of Alreadies, I am going to be just fine.
He already is in my future. He knows how it’s going to end. He has it all figured out. Even the parts that make my head hurt when I try to line them up with the nitty-gritty of life.
And on the day He calls me home, He will already be there, waiting for me. All I will need to do is take His hand and walk on into eternity.
He is already there. He is the God of Alreadies.
This fills my heart with joy, and relief, and delight. So if you’ll excuse me now, I think I’m just going to go do a little dance…
Cultivating Thankfulness with Ann Voskamp
#264 Sore muscles
#263 A scrubbed kitchen floor
#262 Time to write today
#261 Revelation from His Word
linking up with EOA, SDG, WIP, WLWW, Faith Barista, God Bumps, Denise in Bloom ,Rediscovering Domesticity, Growing Home, Domestically Divine, Just Write, Monday’s Musings, GratiTuesday, Consider the Lilies, Play Dates, Jumping Tandem, Faith Filled Fridays, Friday Faves, Still Saturday, Graceful Summer
Noise
21 Tuesday Aug 2012
Posted in beauty, Christ centered
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Sometimes, it feels as though the noise all around me swallows me up and I can’t figure out what to cut out and what to keep in. Like I can’t hear myself think–too much stimulation, too many distractions. My heart gets unsettled and I can’t seem to get back to a place of peace.
Until I walk away.
From the noise, and the extras, and the superficiality, and the smiles and loud laughs.
Yet not all noise is bad.
Last year, I purchased my very first ipod. It’s a tiny little thing, about the size of a postage stamp. I loaded it full of worship music and turned it on when I went for my next daily walk. There’s nothing like hearing worship right in my ear, and joining in, and letting it change me. I love it. I became addicted to it. I looked forward to it every day… until one day, I forgot to charge my ipod. It went silent on me, and I had to take a silent walk. it was a bit scary after months of music blasting inbetween my ears. But since my walk is a non-negotiable part of my day, I went on a silent walk.
I heard the birds sing, the leaves rustle, the little creek flow, the deer rush away from me.
I let myself get all quiet on the inside. I opened myself up to God.
He gently filled my mind with His truth. I meditated on it. No noise to interrupt, just the gentle breeze all around me. His presence was loudest in the deepest of silences. It fed my hungry soul. It filled my empty places.
His presence joyed me with Himself.
I came home settled and energized. Hungry for more of Him. Unafraid of the quiet. Looking forward to more of it.
I still love to run with my ipod full of worship songs. But there is indeed a time for everything under the sun, and silence is one of these beautiful “things.” In getting all quiet on the inside, I can hear the One who loves me perfectly. I can hear the One for whom my heart beats. And nothing beats that.
Cultivating Thankfulness with Ann Voskamp
#260 my daily walk where I can be with Jesus
#259 a quiet minute in the middle of my work day
#258 plenty of water
Linking up with Cornerstone Confessions, WIP, Teach me Tuesday, Domestic Bliss, Hearts for Home, EOA,Unwrapping His Promises, Titus2sDay, GratiTuesday, SDG and Just Write
Cheated
18 Saturday Aug 2012
Posted in Responsibility
They messed with me and cheated me and acted as though nothing was wrong. They robbed me and treated me like an idiot, thinking I wouldn’t see and react.
And my blood boils on the inside of me. And I want to scream. And hit someone. Hard. Or break something. How dare they? Don’t they know who they are dealing with? I’ll show them, I’ll…
But He would not let me.
Because it’s not about what I have or don’t have, what I lost or gained, how I was treated or not. It’s about living as an alien in the world and being an ambassador to another Country that is my Home.
So I call upon the Lord that I might not sin with my mouth, my mind or my actions; that I might represent Him well in this situation. And I feed myself with obedience instead of choosing to retaliate.
No, they really don’t know who they are dealing with. They probably think that they got away with it, and that I never noticed.
My flesh hates it.
I don’t want people to think I’m stupid.
But I choose to lay it all down at His feet. The anger, and the temptation for revenge, and the humiliation. I trade it all for peace with God.
So I look like a loser. But I won at the game of life. My heart is not stained. It’s good enough for me.
Cultivating Thankfulness with Ann Voskamp
#257 Daily protection
#256 My sweet daughter-in-law
#254 Avocado Mousse
Linking up with Thriving Family, Tell Me a Story, What Joy is Mine, Graceful, A Mama’s Story, Rediscovering Domesticity, ,Denise in Bloom, Play Dates, Heart Reflected and True Wine
Wednesday’s W: Which Beauty am I seeking?
15 Wednesday Aug 2012
Posted in beauty
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I realize that our view of what is beautiful changes with time, and that beauty is truly in the eye of the beholder, but I think that I can safely say that all human beings were created with a thirst for beauty.
Beauty is peaceful. Beauty creates harmony.
Beauty has a way of healing us.
Which beauty makes you happy? Outside beauty? Inward beauty? Nature’s beauty? Beauty of soul? Body beauty?
One way or another, we all seek beauty. And the kind of beauty we individually seek determines a lot. It has everything to do with the kind of life we will live.
Which kind of beauty are you seeking?
Cultivating Thankfulness with Ann Voskamp
#253 Zucchini pizza
#251 Hummingbirds
#251 Fans
#250 Teatree shampoo
Linking up with Denise in Bloom, The Alabaster Jar, Graceful Summer and Our Simple Country Life
Down the Street
12 Sunday Aug 2012
Posted in Carelessness, Death
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It is a quite Sunday morning on my street with birds gently waking up the neighborhood, and I imagine fathers stretching and moms changing diapers, and the smell of coffee and the giggles of children as I walk past the houses.
But not for 126.
It looks so normal, so Sunday morning-ish.
But two days ago, the son died tragically, a victim of foolishness, lack of control and despair. And yesterday, a father and a mother had to go pick a casket in which to lay his stiffened body.
Their house looks just like it does all of the other days: drawn curtains, cut grass, cars parked neatly in the driveway. But my heart hears the wailing behind those quiet windows.
And my hands feel so helpless in the face of such tragedy.
I slip a note in the mailbox and I call on the Lord for comfort.
Tomorrow, they will bury their son, and their hopes and their dreams for his future and theirs. Tomorrow they will stand in the scorching sun while they lower his body in the hole freshly dug. They will get back in their car and come back to my street, park their car neatly in the driveway, enter the house and close the door behind them. But the son won’t be with them–gone forever.
It will look all so Monday-ish, normal, uneventful. And most of the street won’t even know the difference.
My gut hurts through and through, and I can’t find relief. How do I reach out to my neighbor in mourning when I never took time to talk to them in the normalcy of life?
Oh, I know that my prayers do count; but they are not enough.
Only love played out in the nasties of life will interrupt the cycle of indifference. He said to love my neighbor as myself.
Father, have mercy on me.
Cultivating Thankfulness with Ann Voskamp
#249 a breezy afternoon
#248 the report that the tumor is not cancer
#247 My friend being kept through an accident
Linking up with Hear it Use it, a Mama’s Story, Hearts Reflected, In and Around Mondays, EOA, New Life Steward, What Joy is Mine, Play Dates, Tell Me a Story, Just Write, SDG
Wednesday’s W: What’s in a Name?
08 Wednesday Aug 2012
Posted in question
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The name I give something determines its value to me. This is so real that my perception of a situation can totally change depending on the name I gave it. And its result as well.
A house fire can be the end of me or the opportunity to overcome adversity.
My birthday can be a beginning or an end.
My tendency to overeat can be a curse or a blessing in disguise because it forces me to practice self-control.
A storm can be depressing or exhilarating.
My life can be a drag or an adventure.
How are you choosing to name your events and situations?
Cultivating Thankfulness with Ann Voskamp
#242 The evening golden hour
#241 A week-end away
#240 My children’s thoughtfulness
#239 A phone call from a friend
#238 A divine idea
Brain Tumor
07 Tuesday Aug 2012
Tags
“It’s a brain tumor.” That could almost feel like a death sentence.
“As I faced the terrifying surgery last year,” beautiful Naomi said to me in her lovely British accent, “I figured that this was pretty much the worse thing that I would ever have to face. So I said to myself, ‘What are you going to do?’”
The 20 year old stopped for a few seconds, wiping a tear out of her left eye.
“Well, I decided that I was going to bless the Lord,” she simply stated.
“So when I woke up after the surgery, I blessed the Lord. And when I realized that my facial nerves were damaged for now and that my face looked different, I blessed the Lord. Every opportunity I got, I blessed the Lord.”
She looked at me with her crooked smile.
“And you know what? He is amazing! He is wonderful. He is beyond my understanding. And I love Him.”
Naomi, your walk with God challenges me to the core. May the Lord burn your words deep within my heart. Today, I am choosing to bless the Lord with you whatever may come.
You make me proud to belong to the family of God with you.
Cultivating Thankfulness with Ann Voskamp
#246 my amazing body
#245 The family of God
#244 Naomi’s parents
#243 Naomi’s faith
Linking up with WLWW, EOL, WIP, Unwrapping His Promises, God-Bumps, Denise in Bloom, Pieces of Amy, Titus 2 Tuesday, Faith Filled Friday, Beneath the Surface, Consider the Lilies and Friday Faves
I Don’t Wanna Go
06 Monday Aug 2012
Posted in beauty, change, Christ centered
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Everything in me wants to stay home and dig into my book. But He calls me. Like He does every day. It’s that time of day when God and I meet together and talk things out; when He fills me with the strength I need; when He straightens some of the crookedness in my soul, and He infuses me with Himself.
It’s the time I can’t breathe without.
But today, I just don’t wanna go. I am lazy. I don’t wanna lace my shoes, get in my car, drive to the spot where I park and then start walking up the hill and talk with Him. It’s hot; I am tired, and my book is calling my name.
But I go.
Begrudgingly, I go. I go because I know it’s the right thing to do, and I go because I would feel guilty otherwise. Not very good motives, but I go anyway. I show up.
And when I get there, He is waiting for me.
He takes me deep into the woods, one little step at a time, and He gently begins to wash my mind, and my heart, and even my soul with His sweet presence.
I cannot hold on to my pout.
My tiredness is swept away as He tells me of His love for me.
I drink Him in.
I breathe Him in.
Deep.
His heart is filling me. His life within awakens me. And I can’t help but giggle like a school girl. I raise my hands to the sky and twirl and twirl and twirl until I am dizzy with joy.
It is well with my soul.
Cultivating Thankfulness with Ann Voskamp
#237 His unwillingness to let me go
#236 Conquering a lazy spirit
#235 The joy of reading a good book
#234 The pearls my husband gave me
Linking up with Play Dates with God, Extraordinary, OYHT, GratiTuesday, Titus 2sday, SDG, Tell Me a Story, Hearts 4 Home and What Joy is Mine
Relax!
04 Saturday Aug 2012
Posted in Christ centered
You’ve got to be kidding! How am I supposed to relax? I’ve got a million things to do, and there are so many pressures on me…
Are you a child of God?
Well, yes, but that’s really irrelevant right now. You don’t understand. I don’t even know what to do first, and life is just so hectic these days…
Are you a child of God, cared for by the King of the universe?
Then just relax.
Hmm…
Be still my soul. Only one thing is important.
Choose wisely.
Cultivating Thankfulness with Ann Voskamp
# 233 a great eating day
#232 Revelation from God that changes my heart
#231 a trip to NYC with my friends
#230 a summer
Linking up with Still Saturday,a Mama’s Story, Hear it on Sunday and Jumping Tandem
