Navigating the Rough Seas

 Navigating the Rough Seas

"You can't surf with an anchor." Kelly Stephens M.D.

     Life will throw all of us some turbulent weather and most likely we are not going to drown - at least not right away.  It is the reliving of that same storm over and over that just might take its toll on us.  Here is the problem so many of us face: floods of memories and regrets - which I call stinkin' thinkin'!  However, it is like telling someone not to stress, and we all know that's easier said than done.  Regrets do have a purpose and I think it is crucial to understand and learn from them.  Regrets are a part of life and they hurt for a reason - so we will not repeat them!  Ah but more often than not we do.  Why?  Because we are in a pattern of behavior.  We perceive from past experience other peoples' behavior and patterns and we put them in roles, as well as ourselves.  When we put others in a role they have no power to take themselves out of that role, at least not in our mind's eye.  We imprison people all the time by our regret and memories of our turbulent weather in our relationship to that person!  "Bore Bore Bore, Life marches on Chelsea ; so I suggest you get on with it."  Katherine Hepburn  "On Golden Pond"  Great quote , great flick!  The premise of this movie is about this exact subject and the damage and lost time it cost those loved ones.  We all will have times we are hit off guard with waves of regret and sadness, but what we do with it is crucial.  Often when I lay down and rest eludes me it will hit out of nowhere.  This is not good. I'm tired, I'm vulnerable and now I'm sad and my mind is running!  If this doesn't  sound familiar be glad but if it does hang on and we will work through it.  We must understand and change what we are doing if we want to move on and we can only do that while we are living.  

Time in a Bottle

This is my example, but you can come up with your own method of noticeable change.  If you don't know who Jim Croce is, he was a singer in the 60's and 70's who sang the song "Time In A Bottle".

A song of regrets and heartache.  It went something like this.   "If I could save time in a bottle, the first thing that I'd like to do, is to save everyday like a treasure just to spend it with you.  If I could make days last forever... You get the drift.  I can't save time in a bottle but I can put my priorities on relationships!  Working on relationships is love, and God commanded us to "Love as I have Loved".  I have a bottle for each of my close relationships. It will receive a coin for every time I have spent time with that loved one on my initiative for the purpose of enjoying them!   OUCH!  I can tell you this is scary because it will show how little effort I put into my relationships and I bet I'm not alone.  Cell phones and texting are great tools with the potential to do great damage to relationships.  We substitute them all the time for quality time so in this case they do not count!  We are all busy but doing the same thing over and over is just stupid!  I must get out of my lazy comfort zone, pull up my anchor and learn to surf.  I want less regrets and more joy in my life and I'm the only one who can make that happen.  It will require sacrifices, it will change my lifestyle dramatically and it took some pretty regretful moments to come to this conclusion but... I can't wait to pull anchor, lift the burdens, release the prisoners and get on with my life! I hope this sparks a fire for someone else as well.  Is it well with your soul?

     Heavenly Father please jolt us out of our spirit of business comfort zone before it is too late and all we have left is regret.  Refocus our hearts on loving others as you have loved.  Thank you for the new hearts and understanding you have given to those who believe so we may be lights in a dark world.    In Your name I pray  Amen

                                                                                                              Love to all in Christ Jesus C:)

                                                  

The No-Habit Life

A child walks by faith because he knows no different and his life depends on it (so does ours!). We need to sit loosely on our days and leave wide margins.

For it is written: “Give your entire attention to what Go is doing right now, and don’t get worked up about what may or may not happen tomorrow. God will help you deal with whatever hard times come up when the time comes.” Matt 7:12

We are taught the opposite - to plan, to take control of our lives, to be responsible for the outcome, so that we may be successful in our endeavors, make something out of our lives, leave our mark, be remembered, etc. Let’s call it what it is: Hogwash! Because we do not leave the control of the outcome where it belongs. “For I know the plans I have for you…plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”   Jer 29:11

This is not saying that we do not study or work hard, but our origin, our beginning, often does not stay with us. We listen to all the other voices and forsake the only true Guide we have! “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding.”

Prov 3:5. These words are written for our good, our peace, and no matter the times in which we are living. The key to a life that is not stressed or affected by this chaotic world is one that is grounded on and devoted to Christ Jesus. If we confess He is our Lord and Savior, then we must ask ourselves the haunting questions, ‘why am I not living like that? Where is my peace?’ We know, for it is written, “My peace I leave with you”. Our problem is that we think we know what’s best for us and for our loved ones and we set out to see that it become reality and like the song goes “Nobody knows the trouble I’ve seen, nobody knows my sorrow”. Our Father knows for ‘His eye is on the sparrow and I know He watches me.’ Our problem is that we become distracted, and then when we find ourselves in deep water we cry out for a lifesaver of His truth. God wants the relationship! Do we? Do we get up each morning looking forward to walking with our Lord, knowing full well that He will direct our paths? “And He walks with me and He talks with me and He tells me I am His own”. Our Father wants for us to have this! He longs for us to have this, just as a child longs for the attention of a parent. Let a parent get on the phone and you will see what I mean here. A child will act out in any way to get that parent off the phone and their attention back on them. God is not going to act out to get us to walk with Him, He doesn’t have to. Anything apart from Him will end in death. It is so humbling to know that I have been saved; Jesus came and paid the price so I may grab my Daddy’s hand and walk with Him each and every day! Yes, I get distracted. Yes, I need reminders and I know I am not alone and for this reason I write. Because I know the joy of grabbing my Father’s hand and the joy of being His child, my heart longs for my Father just as a child longs for his parent. He knows the plans He has for me and I need not be dismayed.

Jesus made sure I have my Daddy and to Him I owe my all. Every day, every endeavor.

Sit loosely on your day, leave wide margins.

Father, we are your children each and every day, let us rejoice and walk with You and I see a revival of Your children walking by faith. May the world be set ablaze with Your love. In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.

Love to all in Christ Jesus    c  : )

Counting the cost

Luke 14:33,35:”any of you who not give up EVERYTHING cannot be my disciples.” “...He who has ears to hear let him hear.”

Have we gotten to a point in history that we think this is humanly impossible – to give up everything? Are we the sad rich young ruler who turned and walked away? Much of the time we would probably say yes, because much of the time our minds wander off where they do not belong. We tire of being a saint strained by God, aimed at something we cannot see, so we aim ourselves at something we can see. We throw caution to the wind and do not count the cost. Counting the cost is painful because we are broke and cannot afford our own carnal desires. If we are honestly going to count the cost we will discover the world is a scary prison to which to be indebted. Over and over again we find ourselves in this prison trying to dig our way out and if we make progress we are taunted and tempted to bite off more. We deserve it; we worked hard to get where we are and on and on only to end up right back where we started, or worse. All around us it looks like friends and family are able to have and do the things we think we would like to have and do, so we bite the bullet and take the plunge. Oh, deception, and misery does love company. We could not identify with others’ lives or see it for what it really was because we were too busy coveting those lives. ‘Be careful what you wish for’ has a definite sting to it and it should, but that sting comes when we have demanded our own way, without counting the cost. If we refuse to count the cost the sting of deception will eventually lead to death. The more we buy into the world’s view the more we die spiritually. We have been given hope in forgiveness and repentance. We may go bankrupt before God and find that our debt is pain in full.

‘To see the law by Christ fulfilled and hear His pardoning voice, turns the slave into a child and duty into choice.’

God is straining us on His bow. His aim is accurate but He will not shoot a rebellious arrow. The cost of our arrow landing somewhere God did not intend is a price we can never afford nor should we want to pay. We all have pictures of better lives, wants, and desires. The challenge is to take this picture from the flesh /carnal one to the true spiritual one. They both contain sacrifices and rewards but only one is everlasting and is already paid in full.

Heavenly Father, give us clear vision and a heart that is devoted to You. Put Your loving protection around us as You strip away the carnal flesh and make ready our arrows for Your good work. Let us rejoice in what seems to be the painful dying of our flesh knowing full well Your Son has overcome the world and our debt is paid full in Him. May we live in Him. In Your Son Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.

Love to all in Christ Jesus     c    : )

Learn to enjoy the wait

Yeah, right! I know it’s all about the attitude of Christ – blah, blah, blah…isn’t that exactly how we feel at times?

On Christ the solid rock I stand? If I were standing on that solid rock there would be no despair of sinking sand. We live in a very fast-paced life of go-go-go. If we are not actively contributing, producing, or working in some way we are lazy. Work hard so…you can play hard. No time for rocking chairs in this culture; and when you do become useless to this society don’t worry; our society will stick you in a nice retirement home that is neither nice, clean, nor comforting. I see this all around me everyday, so the question comes – “ How do I live to make a difference?”

Just maybe it starts with ‘enjoy the wait’! Hmmm…OK, something to think about. How many times have I secretly wished for time to do nothing? Take a walk, embrace God’s beauty, be in the moment, do the thing my heart desires, really savor how incredibly precious this gift of life really is.  God knit us in the womb, breathed life into our nostrils. He gave us gifts and abilities and we have no problem using them to meet our needs and our wants. Satan’s lure is indeed alive and well. We find again and again we have slipped off that solid rock into sinking sand with our agenda and not God’s. Despair overwhelms us until we fall prostrate before our God and we will not know the hand that can raise us up if we never get to the end of ourselves. Only then will we see how glorious the wait is! We are like children throwing a tantrum and God is not turning a blind eye – He is letting us exhaust ourselves and when the heaving subsides we will feel His hand, the loving hand of a tender Father, secure and everlasting. The delight of our despair is knowing that in our flesh dwelleth no good thing – Oswald Chambers.

Delight of despair? Doesn’t sound right. How can one have delight of despair and can that help me to learn to enjoy the wait? Do I have to grow old and weak to understand and relinquish my own selfish agenda to God? I know of a few who seemed to delight in God’s agenda for a large part of their lives. Billy Graham, Mother Teresa,
Brother Lawrence, Oswald Chambers, Henri Nouwen, on and on. So, no, we don’t have to be old and weak but sadly many of us will be. Even the most saintly of people were still mere men and had their struggles. The end of our despair will look different for all of us but the conclusion will be the same – in our flesh dwelleth no good thing. We must accept and delight in this, knowing we are saved from own deep despair and we cannot know this if we are not focused on the salvation we have received from our Lord and Savior, the promise of a Father Who loves us and Who is there all along to lift us up when we are receptive and ready to enjoy the wait. It is no longer about any of our own desires that are only filled with despair. The waiting becomes beautiful, peaceful, restful, without condemnation and it will be well with our souls. We will be given a new strength - not of human origin but a spiritual strength. Blessed are those whose hope is in the Lord and not the world. Yes, our strength will be renewed and we will run and not get weary. Let us wait for the best and not settle for exhausting ourselves for things of this world that are destined to perish. Boy, am I ready for that!

Heavenly Father, open our eyes so we might see visions of eternity. Let us wait upon the Lord with great joy and anticipation. Give to us the single desire of You so we may be well equipped for Your good work alone. May we walk by faith and not by sight. Let us ask and receive according to Your good and Holy will. I pray these things in Your Son Jesus’ name. Amen.

Love to all in Christ Jesus    c : )

O victory in Jesus, My Savior, forever. He sought me and bought me With His redeeming blood; 

The waiting is the hardest part

Before we relinquish ourselves, the waiting is the hardest part!

Waiting is not relaxation; waiting is spiritual boot camp and we prove we are there by all our moaning and groaning. There is no warning and no time frame or idea of when we will find reprieve. Are we willing to wait? When we have the vision of God we feel we can march into battle and sacrifice with joy for His glory, then the wind knocks us off our feet, we get bunged up, our vision gets blurry and we moan and groan, complaining ‘woe is me’. It is natural to walk by sight but we are in the boot camp of faith and demanding sight is not going to teach us to walk by faith. ‘Oh, ye of little faith’ is proof that I am there, every time I utter a complaint!

Lately I have become dissatisfied with my surroundings. It really has little to nothing to do with how much or how little I have but instead it has everything to do with my faith or the lack of it. I’m betting there are many in my same boat because I see and hear it every stinkin’ day! That is exactly what discontentment brings – an ugly stink to the gift of life that God gave you. We always want more and better and when we fixate on these things we are on the road to ruin. We no longer have the fruits of the spirit; they flew out the window when we took our focus off our Savior and put it on ourselves. Darkness spills in without any warning and immediately we must walk by faith. When it is well with our soul the joy spills in and we become that bright light we were designed to be. Guess what? We are all afraid of the dark! No one wants to find himself in spiritual darkness, but that is our opportunity to put our faith into action! The vision of God is the source of patience. What does your vision of God look like? God is love and love should encompass our vision.

If God gives you a time spiritually, as He gave His Son actually, of temptation in the wilderness, with no word from Himself at all, endure, and the power to endure is there because you see God. Oswald Chambers

Heavenly Father, I know you will never leave us, even when You seem so far away. Help us to rest in Your strength in the darkness, knowing full well it is well with our souls and our faith shall become a light to our paths. Let us stand strong together when the storms blow. In Your Son Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.

Love to all in Christ Jesus      c  : )

Mental Games

We all live with the onslaught of our thoughts and the voices all around us – the media, friends, family, coworkers, and even strangers. Quite frankly I’m surprised we are a people with any sanity left. My husband and I were talking the other morning about how sometimes others’ needs are just too much to put on top of everything else we are dealing with at the moment. It is true for all of us at times…we simply take on too much. Do I dare say most of the time we take on too much?

There are some of us who seem frozen by all the need around us and are unable to be much help at all. We are bombarded by the noise of the world and it is simply too much, let alone someone else’s needs. While we are here on this earth this noise is not going to go away. Most of these voices are from people who love us and are well intentioned. Praise for doing well in school, warnings of all kinds, be careful who you hang with, stay in school, be involved, practice hard, work hard, plan wisely…Deep down we all want successful lives, ‘well done’, noticed by others. We aim to please. The problem is our aim. People speak into our lives, most with love and good intentions, and yes, some with cruelty, jealousy, and downright meanness. We will never please both man and God. Man will never be satisfied or pleased by this world.

Henri Nouwen put it this way: “When I pay careful attention to what goes on in my mind from moment to moment, I come to the disconcerting discovery that there are very few moments during a day when I am really free from the dark emotions, passions, and feelings”.

Do I dare say hell on earth originates in the onslaught of our thoughts? Sometimes I want to put my fingers in my ears and shout lalalalalala; but the noise will be there when I take them out. Yes, we all have to deal with hurt, rejection, and not measuring up to our own lofty expectations or those of others. We all at times fall into the trap of feeling sorry for ourselves and we have all dreamed of a perfect worldly life – the perfect house, family, car, job, etc.….”All these mental games reveal to me the fragility of my faith that I am the Beloved One on whom God’s favor rests. I am so afraid of being disliked, blamed, put aside, passed over, ignored, persecuted, and killed, that I am constantly developing strategies to defend myself and thereby assure myself of the love I think I need and deserve. And in doing so I move far away from my Father’s home and choose to dwell in a ‘distant country’.” Henri Nouwen

Wow! Do I ever need to let this sink in! We are a frail bunch with no strength or power outside that of Christ Jesus. The examples of lives that bring me hope are not at all of those who are rich and famous or who have some great worldly success. There are two women who come to mind and neither was rich or successful in the eyes of the world. Neither had great earthly possessions or letter of education by their names. Yet they are the ones my heart admires and who I feel so blessed to have known. Yes, I want to be like them and the truth is, I am not. My struggles are my own and I am sure they had theirs. Yet I desire to be like them. They lived simply, they trusted greatly on the promises of God and they loved unconditionally and gave all of themselves in service to those they could help. These two women were my aunts! God loves me so much that He gave me them so I might see Him! If I practice the presence of God I just might stand a chance of someone seeing through my light. That, my friend, is success, that is our aim. When I catch a glimpse of God through the light others shine for me to find my way, I too know I long shine.

This little light of mine, I’m gonna let it shine…one of my aunt’s favorite songs and yes, it is one of mine, too.

Heavenly Father, I am so very very thankful for the lights on my path. I pray we all will recognize the lights in our lives with joy and thanksgiving. Renew our strength and sharpen our focus so we will run the race as a shining bright light. In Jesus your Son’s name I pray..Amen.

Love to all in Christ Jesus cJ

Our Babylon

We choose to be carried off into captivity. We choose like the prodigal son to take our inheritance and leave. We have been given strength, intelligence, gifts and abilities and youth but we haven’t a clue what to do with them except for what the world shouts at us to do. We desire to be accepted and loved by the world and expend ourselves to exhaustion to receive it, only to find it did not satisfy the deepest longings of our hearts.  We let the world put its spin on God’s will for our lives. This is very disturbing to me for even though I know the truth, it is a daily struggle for me not to fall victim to the deception of the world’s captivity! I have even heard well-meaning sermons in which a formula was applied to help you figure out God’s will for your life.  It bothered me then and it bothers me now. God can never be put into a formula. God doesn’t fit into the world, the world fits into its Creator! ‘Love as I have loved’ – this, my friend, is the beginning, the middle, and the end of God’s will for our lives. It is the one string and Paganini…the balance.

We are so busy proving our worth to the world, looking for its praise, we do not realize the chains and bondage that is tacked onto that which we seek. We are lured willingly off to Babylon in hopes of a better and more materialistic life with false promises of satisfaction. Only when we realize our fate and despair can we be of use to God. Humbled repentance is the only road that leads to home where our Father is waiting with outstretched hands to receive us. It is a choice and you will travel it alone with the guidance of the Holy Spirit. You will encourage others on this road and others will encourage you but the journey is personal. It is a very real spiritual intimacy between the child and the Father. It is a complete shift in thinking and the second we take our eyes off the road we veer off the path. Practice the Presence of God! Love as I have loved!  If you read my blogs, by now you know I state this over and over. I do this because I need this daily reminder and I believe we all have ADD with our focus if we live in this world. The Lord’s path is straight but we wander off into the valley and on to the cliffs of Babylon quite easily. We must become like children and learn to listen to our Shepherd’s voice so we will stop getting lost.

It takes time and desire for relief from this world of bondage we are born into, but it is there and our Father is waiting for us to come home. Just think how different this world would be if we all went home while we were still here on this earth! What is it that you need to surrender, put to death, that causes you to veer off the road that leads to home? Food for thought…I am making my list…why? Because just reading or hearing something I agree with and thinking I’m going to try harder (like many diets) doesn’t work. It simply doesn’t stick with me. I need to look at things the Lord shows me in black and white. I need to know that I laid them at the foot of the Cross to be crucified with Christ, only then can I realize when I start to pick them back up; and I will many times. It will take longer than I want, it will hurt but I know the new flowers that will come will be nothing like I could have ever imagined and this is worth my life’s work; all else falls short.

Heavenly Father, I pray that You will not allow Your children to continue to toil in vain. Open our eyes and hearts; let us hear Your voice so we may be led home! In Your Son’s name I pray. Amen.

Love to all in Christ Jesus cJ