Month: March 2021

Full Circle

Full Circle

Today I had the opportunity to sit with a friend, a new and beautiful friend that God has placed in my life. As we sat and shared, cried and laughed, there was a phrase that came out a few times – Full Circle. To begin at one point and go around and then come right back to that same point. In our conversation the reference to full circle was a rewarding one, a blessing as oppose to one where you’re spinning in circles. It began with obedience to do a task that you knew in your heart needed to be done, even if it was a little hard or a little uncomfortable. As that one task was completed, it rippled to another task and involved others. That effect happened a few times till it came right back to the original person who began the task and in return was blessed, along with those blessed along the way. One gave not expecting, but in return was filled.

ONE GAVE NOT EXPECTING, BUT IN RETURN WAS FILLED…. How often do we give only to expect to receive in return? Or, we return because we were given to. That’s all good and well but to give and not expect in return is another level. A level that says I am content, I am good wherever I am at and with whatever I have. I may barely have enough that day but I will offer up what I have if the Lord calls upon me. It’s an unselfish outpouring of time, of encouragement, of talent, of food, or whatever is required that one is able and called upon to give. At times it may be a sacrifice, at times an offering, and at times an overflow of excess. No matter what it is or how it is given, when given with a humble heart and given unto the Lord in obedience the blessing will at one time or another come back full circle.

Full circle…a series of developments that lead back to the original source. As my friend and I spoke it was apparent that the circumstances that came full circle always included our Heavenly Father – what He began He finished. He finished in sweeter and more abundant ways than we could even dream possible.

His request – our obedience – His blessing

What is the Lord asking of you? What is he prompting on your heart? Are your listening? Are you acting in humble obedience or are you responding so that you may in turn receive? Think back to a blessing that you received, an unexpected blessing – can you trace it’s full circle? What was the Father’s request and how did your obedience play out?

ONE GAVE NOT EXPECTING, BUT IN RETURN WAS FILLED. What do you have to give? How can the Lord use you today?

Alignment

Alignment

Are you a person of order or are you free spirited and let things come as they do and go with the flow? Maybe you’re a little of both. I tend to be a person of order and thrive on organization, schedules, and plans. As a mom, wife, and friend I cannot always have the order I function well on, and as of 2020 well any order I had was quickly gone. Learning to go with the flow has been a skill I am acquiring and have learned to really enjoy. Being free spirited at times has allowed me to relax, lighten up and laugh a little more. It has taught me to not worry about what is next and that a perfectly lined up schedule is not always needed to be productive.

There is an alignment however that is needed if I want to thrive and be fully fulfilled in the life I live, and that alignment is my body, soul, and spirit. Though I have always been a “type A” or “Enneagram 1” if you like to categorize personalities, the inner workings of my soul and spirit have often been in dissarray causing improper function in my body. How I felt, thought, and acted were often scattered even though I longed for them to be in sync and properly in place. What I knew and wanted, as well as what I believed, didn’t always line up with what I did and how I felt. I’m not talking the big things of life but the little things, the everyday decisions, the thoughts that are within. The little things that over time build up to big things and can cause problems if they aren’t in place. For example, when someone injures their back, it may be just the back that hurts at that moment, however if the back is not fixed over time it may cause the hip to be out of alignment and so on. The same is true for our inner selves. When our body, soul, and spirit are not aligned properly we are not able to function as we were meant to. In Thessalonians 5:23 it says “May your whole spirit, soul and body be preserved blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus” Our soul is our mind, our will, our desires, while our spirit is what connects to God. In order for us to live in peace we must have proper alignment of our spirit, soul, and body in Christ.

To align our spirit means to develop our walk with Christ in an intimate and personal way. We are to read and study the word of God, commune with our heavenly Father, as well as pray in the spirit. To truly seek him with all our heart and walk in the way the spirit leads. When we align our soul, we are training our mind, our emotion, and our will through the alignment of our spirit. This alignment only takes place however when we CHOOSE to walk with the Lord, when we CHOOSE to seek him and when we CHOOSE to follow his ways. When we align ourselves in spirit and soul it is then that our body can properly align as well.

Alignment is a continuous process. It is not a one and done fix. Just as we care for ourselves daily in brushing our teeth, or visiting the chiropractor when your physical body is not aligned, we must do the same within. Our spirit and our soul need proper care as well as our bodies so that we can live the life the Lord has called us to. When our spirit is neglected through the lack of time with the Lord it then causes a ripple effect into our soul where our emotions, choices and reactions respond not according to the will of the Lord often leaving us in despair, without hope and in disarray. Without proper function of our spirit and soul we often begin to see, though possibley not noticed at the beginning, a decline in our bodies.

Alignment refers to a position of agreement. Today’s alignment I speak of is the agreement of body, soul, and spirit. If you are struggling physically or emotionally, I challenge you today to reflect on whether or not you are properly aligned. How are you developing your spirit? your soul? your body? I challenge you to start by spending time with the Lord in study of his word, and in communion with him. Ask for His guidance to train your mind and emotions. Nothing will change until you take the first step and make the choice. To thrive and to be fully fulfilled is to be aligned in Christ.

The Master Gardner

The Master Gardner

A post from June 2020…

Sitting in the garden the other night deadheading the plants I began to ponder its similarities to our own lives. You see, the purpose of deadheading plants is to regenerate new growth, to rid the plant of negative energy use and to redirect more productive use, such as growing new blooms. It also gives better eye appeal as the worn and dying blooms have reached their end. Beautiful for a time, yet no longer thriving. When properly deadheaded the plant has the freedom to grow and bloom again. Its new blooms give off fragrance, catch the eye of onlookers and for a period show forth the beauty intended, but in time the deadheading process must once again occur. Sometimes it is just one or two blooms within the plant that are cut back and other sometimes it is all of them at once. When we deadhead a plant, we get rid of the blossom that no longer blooms. Another process that can occur is pruning. Pruning is ridding any part of the plant, even new growth. This is done to train a plant in the way you want it to grow, to restrict growth you do not want to happen, or to just help it grow healthy.

As I look within, I am reminded of the same process of deadheading and pruning that needs to occur. What in me is no longer thriving? What in me is taking up energy that could better be served elsewhere? What reshaping do I need so that I can grow properly? Am I living in freedom and new growth or am I trying to survive and bring forth beauty from old blooms? In John 15:2 the Bible states, “Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit, He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit, He prunes it so that it may bear more fruit.”

Our Heavenly Father is the master Gardner. Just as I needed to take the time to deadhead and prune my garden, we need to let the Lord do the same within us. As we allow Him to rid what is dead within us, what is taking up unnecessary space, we will have the freedom for new growth, new blossoms, and new beauty.

I recall a time in my life when things were busy…not necessarily bad but just nonstop. I was working full time at a job I loved, raising kids, attending sports events, church ministry and more. Life was good and I was busy doing but my inner garden had become so overgrown. There were blooms that needed deadheading and so much that needed pruning. Yes, my garden was full, but it was not properly thriving. My roots were not getting the nourishment they needed, and many dead blossoms lingered on until I allowed the Lord, the Master Gardner, to come and change things. As I began to rest in him and allow the process of deadheading and pruning to occur within me there was a rebirth in my garden. New life was growing and a sense of freedom from within as my roots were now being properly watered. The once overgrown spaces were carefully managed allowing light to come in.

What does your garden look like? Are you in need of the Master Gardner to do a work within? We have that choice to release it all to Him and to let him deadhead and prune. I challenge you today to let go and let God.

A New Season of Hope

A New Season of Hope

A writing from August 2020…

It’s hot!   The sun beats down, the oppressive humidity without end, the beauty around that once flourished now covered in drought and longing for a little rain, a little refreshment.  The excitement for summer days now overshadowed by a season that seems to have started too soon, yet doesn’t seem to be ending.  The release of children from their normal school days in March is now extending through the fall with many unknowns still in sight.  One season meshes into another, one hope shattered by the next delay, plans unknown and schedules in disarray.  

2020 has been a year…  I don’t think I need to say more than that.  Life has been altered for each of us in some way and for some in many ways.  If you are a planner like I am, the plan book has more crossouts and scribbles than a child just learning the joys of writing!  I’m sure I could continue on to list what has changed, the disappointments, the frustrations and more, but my heart is already too heavy as I’m sure yours is also.  Instead, there is a soft whisper within that says, “I am here…I have been here and I will continue to be here.  I am your light in the darkness, I am your way through the storms, I am your drink when you thirst and your peace when anxiety knocks at your door.”  To the soft whisper that speaks within I am thankful.  When the noise of life gets too loud around me and there’s so much flashing that I’m blinded, I am thankful that the Lord chooses to speak to me and to you in a still, soft whisper.  His gentleness and unwavering love is our guide, our anchor for the soul.  

As I look ahead with still so many uncertainties and can feel my hope crushing in the weight of delays and unknowns I am reminded that Christ goes before me as it says in Deuteronomy 31:8, “ The Lord is the one who goes ahead of you; He will be with you.  He will not fail you or forsake you.  Do not fear or be dismayed.”   In this my hope is renewed, my spirit rises and my plans drop because I know He has me and that His plans and ways for me are greater.  Like a little girl following the lead of a trusted adult that goes before me, I grab hold of my heavenly Father’s hand and trust Him in my today and in my tomorrow. It may be through a storm, it may be over a mountain or through a valley, but knowing that he guides me, that he will not fail me nor leave me is enough for me to continue to press forward.  


Today I challenge you to grab hold of your heavenly father’s hand and not let go.  He will carry you, he will guide you and he will never leave you. His plans are not our plans and though at times it feels scary, seems weird or even impossible the journey with Him is far greater than the journey without Him.  When you want to cry out “Why me?” I instead challenge you to cry out
“Lord what do you want to show me in this?”  God has a plan and His love for us is far greater than we can imagine.  I pray and believe that 2020 will not be just a year that we remember for Covid 19, but more importantly I pray that 2020 will be the year we remember for what the Lord did in us!  Grab hold…his hand is waiting for you!