A garden of God’s Blessings
My two favorite seasons are Spring and Fall. Fall because I love the colors as the leaves change and Spring as everything comes to life and I hear the return of my favorite birdsongs. “For as the soil makes the sprout come up and a garden causes seeds to grow, so the Sovereign Lord will make righteousness and praise spring up before all nations” (Isaiah 61:11, NIV). God promises us a garden full of life and blossoms filled with righteousness and praise…what an amazing garden that will be. In order for this to happen, the soil has to be rich and ready for the growth. I feel like my faith is the same. The soil continues to be nurtured from others as well as from the roots as my relationship with God continues to grow.
Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks
Life has been a whirlwind lately. It doesn’t happen all the time, but sometimes it feels like all my worlds are at full throttle at the same time. It has felt that way these past few weeks. I know time will slow down and I know these are the moments that pass, but I don’t want to rush to the next day or the next moment. I want to be present in the here and now, no matter how hectic or stressful it may seem. I don’t know if you have those days, or how often they may come, but Rob reminded me that it is these moments when we need to double down in our rejoicing and thanks.
A refreshed soul…
I don’t know about you, but sometimes life just gets hectic. It feels even more hectic when I am away from my home, my tribe. Our whole family has Oura rings and my first night away from home was a late night and my Oura ring, that never tells a lie, said my sleep was the worst I have ever had. I had a full day of training ahead of me and I knew it would be a long day. The next night, another night away from home, I slept better, but I had a long way to recover. Still, I woke up early in the morning, did my workout routine, and took on the day. Focusing on rest enabled me to face the day with a new sense of energy and it led to amazing connections.
When God changes what was meant for evil to good…
Every Saturday I put together a plan for what I plan to write on during the week from my inspirational moments or thoughts that I jotted down in my notes. Today, I had a plan to write about this chaotic world we live in and the noise that invades our lives. I have been leading my neighborhood in the John Eldridge study of “Get Your Life Back”, and one of the items he shares is that we humans are not meant to bear all the negativity that we get exposed to in the world. As our worlds have expanded, we have increased our exposure to hardships that we would have never personally experienced. When a tragic event happens across the world, we see it, hear about it, and feel it countless times as it is shared across news platforms and social media. It’s exhausting. That is what I was going to write about…and then God happened, doesn't he always?
A solitary place to pray
During one of Rob’s deployments, I found this amazing little mountain house that was built in the 1920s. It was a home that I dreamed of as a kid. She had good bones and I imagined all the memories created there through all the years. It was a two story white farmhouse with a front porch that faced the road. It sat on over 20 acres of land and had a creek running down the middle of the property. The minute we drove up to the property, I knew this would be our home. It was a solitary place, you had to drive over 30 minutes to the nearest grocery store (that has its own challenges when a dog steals your Thanksgiving turkey-story for another day!) To anyone else, it looked like an old farmhouse in the woods. To me, it was peace.
God wants a personal relationship with you
So many moments to share today! Someone asked me if God is more active now than in the past or if I am seeing God in more things now that I have a relationship with God. I personally think the answer is yes to both. Everyday I find more and more people that are open about their faith and willing to talk openly where many used to be cautious. I also see God at work in ways that I overlooked in the past. I had a couple of those moments today. It was a hectic day- it started early and I had to travel for work which always puts an additional stress on the day. When I landed at the airport, my stress level was high as I was trying to figure out where I was going for my first meeting realizing I was already late. As I loaded the vehicle and turned on the car-remember, I was late before I started and had to exchange vehicles, praise music began to fill the vehicle. I just smiled and whispered a thank you God for reminding me that He was there. Godwink.
Godwinks everywhere
Sometimes we overlook the small things, the things that seem insignificant. Today was a day of a lot of small things that continued to remind me how God is always there. These small moments remind me that nothing is coincidence as I stand in awe of God’s miraculous creation of this perfect harmony that we call life. Each instrument playing its individual part and coming together to create music that could never be created on its own. “For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or auhtorities; all things have been created through him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together” (Colossians 1:16-17, NIV)
Get comfortable with being uncomfortable
I recently heard these words from a senior leader in my civilian job. The timing of these words didn’t feel coincidental as my transition to a new role was announced that same week. In less than five days, I would be leaving a role where I served for greater than five years. My children became teenagers in this role. I watched teammates go from individual contributors to leaders and mentors to those that stood in the shoes they once filled. I remembered when I took the role wondering what in the world someone was thinking when they put me in as the lead of a Fleet organization. And here we are, five years later, feeling like I am leaving home and a family forged through trials, tribulations, and celebrations. I sat in the audience of hundreds feeling like the message was meant just for me…get comfortable with being uncomfortable.
Go be a witness
I think one of my favorite outcomes from this blog has been how many people reach out and share their Godwinks and stories of their own faith journeys. When I started writing this blog, I knew it was for a greater purpose than for me to see my words in print. I felt God calling me to share and in doing so, to encourage others to share. I have reminded us to be bold in our faith, that now is not a time to sit in the shadows. In the Book of Acts, Christians are reminded that the power they will receive from their faith is not for their own purpose, but for the purpose of being a witness to others, to spread God’s word. “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witness in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth” (Acts 1:8, NIV). In the past week, I have heard and seen the boldness of faith and many that have become witnesses to others.
Some days, I’m just tired
I don’t know about you, but some days I just feel tired. These last few weeks have been full speed ahead in all things. We have been in the midst of winter storms which requires me to be engaged both with civilian job and the military and that also means our girls are usually staying home from school. On top of all that, I am in the middle of a transition with my civilian employer since I was recently identified for a new role that is a significant change from my last. . Just a normal day, right? I get asked all the time how I do it all and the simple answer is, I do not. Through the years I have come up with a few simple steps that help me find balance in this chaotic world, accomplish what;s important, and not burn out. Today, I am going to share the one I used to help me make it through the day…even if all I wanted to do was take a nap! (Sign up for my free guide on my web page to receive the reaming tips!)