Just a season

Can you tell I have spring on the brain? It could possibly stem from me being cooped up in the house for 6 days,count them 6 days..with a sick husband and 2 kids.How I have not come down with anything is an absolute miracle.Besides having everyone I know in a 100 mile radius praying protection over me from germs, overdosing on Zicam and Vitamin C, and short of purchasing one of those space suits that astronauts wear (the ones with the big glass bubble for a helmet)I have made it through all of this.Did I mention that it has been 6 days? 6 very long days?

Anyway,the one thought that I am reminded of is from my friend Susan As she would say "Its just a season and seasons end" Thank goodness for that! How many times have we wished a season in our life away? Probably more than once.

A funny thing happened during this season of my life.The entire time I was taking care of my family, shut off from life beyond my house in the woods. Did I mention it was me,3 sick people and lots of squirrels ,and trees and thats it. After whining to my self that it was the Christmas holidays and everyone I knew, most likely not everyone,but almost everyone I know was probably doing something fun with other friends and family. While I... was trapped here taking care of 3 people who were not in good moods. Did I mention it had been 6 days?

I decided one night that this was a season,I couldn't do anything about it except run away,take the next plane to somewhere warm with no squirrels,trees and sick people. But that was not an option. I have a conscience and what would people say? Most of my girlfriends probably would have understood. We've all thought of running away at times,and if say you haven't had those thoughts,your a big fibber. But they are my family and they needed me.So I decided the Bahamas could wait.

The Lord allows seasons in our life for reason,they may be uncomfortable,annoying or they can be downright painful. But the one thing we know is that seasons end.Sometimes they seem very long,Like those cold snowy winters where every day is windy and cold,the sun seems to have disappeared for weeks ,will it ever end? And then one day,we walk outside and notice the air is a little warmer,the sun is peeking out from behind a cloud.If we look on the ground there is something tiny and green poking out of the cold bare dirt. Our spirits lift and we realize that the season is coming to an end, a new one soon to begin.

This is what life is like.While some of the seasons are not what we would chose . They are necessary .Think of spring, would we appreciate the warm weather ,the flowers in bloom if winter did not come before it? probably not.Hard times make us a little more appreciative, a little softer, a little more closer to becoming like Jesus.

So when your seasons change and you are perhaps in one thats a little difficult.Just remember Its just a season and seasons change.But while you are there remember he has you there for a reason and you are not alone.He is right there with you.You will emerge a little wiser, a little stronger,and you will be thankful.Trust me, as they say at Christmas,"Jesus is the reason for the season".There's a reason for your season and Jesus is right there with you.

I am thanking him right now that my season seems to be ending,but soon I will enter the next one.Maybe I should buy that plane ticket in advance....Just kidding.
Im praying its not stuck with sick people in the woods.But if it is ,I know I am being perfected,Im not alone and the season will come to end sometime.

James 1:3-4 For when your faith is tested,
your endurance has a chance to grow.
So let it grow, for when our endurance
is fully developed.
You will be strong in character
and ready for anything.
Blessings
Dee

Bring your burdens to me

I am always captivated by pictures of sad people,surrounded by stormy skies.I feel a kinship so to speak with them.While my life at this moment does not resemble that nor do I walk around covered in a cloak of sadness.As a matter of fact at this point in my life I am experiencing great joy.One that I have not really ever known.

But I do remember times in my life where that was how I felt most of the time.No one knows when these times will come upon us.One day were just fine,everything seems to be going well and all of a sudden it is like someone pulled the rug out from under us.We feel like all our joy and hope has left us, never to return again.

It could be devastating news that comes in a moment,knocking the wind out of us with disbelief, fear sets in immediately and the downward spiral begins.
Perhaps its been an on going trial,we have grown weary of our uphill battle. We have run the marathon so to speak and we are just plain wore out.We have given up, not one ounce of energy left to come even close to the finish line.
We have questions,upon questions we have no hope ,where is God? Whats our purpose? and we wonder if we will ever return to what we once were.

Just like the story of hansel and gretel they wander into the woods,leave a trail of crumbs which are eaten by the birds.They can't find their way back,its getting darker and darker,the forest is full of scary shadows and unknown things.They just want to go home,but can't find their way back.Have you ever felt like that? You just want to go home, but it seems an awfully long way off and you can't remember how to get back there?

Matthew 11:28 -30 Come to me,all you who are weary and burdened.and I will give you rest.Take my yoke upon you,and learn from me.for I am gentle and humble in heart. And you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.

So many times we are in the wilderness,a place of fear or great sadness.Wandering in unknown territory.But Jesus is there and he is saying"come to Me" Give me your burdens, give me your depression,I know right where you are and I will bring you home,I will bring you out of the forest that you cannot find your way out of. Come to me and I will give you rest.He is the one who can restore your joy.He is the one who will carry you through it all.Go to him all who are weary and burdened.Go.

Isaiah 41:10 Do not be afraid for I am with you .Do not be dismayed for I am your God. I will strengthen you,I will help you.I will uphold you with my victorious hand.
Blessings
Dee

Bloom where your planted

Its December and we are in the beginning stages of winter,I am already to start planning for spring.You might see me on the first day of warm weather at Lowes or Home depot wandering around looking for anything that resembles a flower.Which I can tell you from experience in March there are no flowers out yet.Not even a single seed packet.

But once they do arrive it becomes a never ending cycle of buying , planting, moving them, buying some more,pulling them out of the ground because every bug known to man is living in my yard and has turned these once beautiful flowers into chewed up sticks. Thus the cycle starts over again and again.

I am constantly moving things .looking for more sunlight, better soil,(im in the woods,the soil is composed of sand and grubs) or maybe less bugs (only if i moved to the city perhaps) Half of the time I think its the moving thats killing them.

Which makes me think of the saying "Bloom where your planted".How many times are we not happy where we are? The Lord wants us to bloom where we are .The definition for bloom is a condition or time of great development,vigor or beauty.

At times we feel we are not accomplishing much,we're bored of our lives,we look at other peoples great lives that seem so glamourous or exciting and think maybe we aren't where we are supposed to be,maybe I need to be somewhere else, perhaps with someone else, working somewhere else ,going to church somewhere else. But in fact the Lord has us right where he wants us, he wants us to develop ,to do his work right where he has us.

But since we are human and are constantly looking over the neighbors fence so to speak,to see what they have or what they might be doing thats more exciting. We long to pull up our roots and move to another section of the yard.Maybe for a while it has better sunlight, or soil, a more exciting view, but after time it becomes the same as our last. We long to move again, not acomplishing much because we weren't in one spot long enough to see why we were there.And we aren't paying much attention to whats around us,because we are too busy looking somewhere else. We might have been there to strengthen our roots, to become vigorous or just to rest or encourage someone.
But we continue to look around the yard, longing to be over where the rose bushes are,or maybe in the front yard,where everyone that walks by can see how beautiful we are,because we are not content being in the backyard hidden from view.

Until one day after our constant moving,our roots ripped up one to many times,we become worn out,stripped sticks,hanging on by one little tiny threadlike root.We have a choice in this life.We can bloom where he has planted us and eventually grow vigorous and beautiful, we can enrich the landscape, brighten someones day.Or we can become the stripped stick,who moved one to many times and now lies in the compost heap.too worn out to do much of anything.Think about where he has you right now.If you listen to him and stay put,he will provide the sunlight, the nutrients,all that you need to accomplish what he wants you to do.You will become that beautiful flower that you were born to be.But if you choose to move around so much that you become that stick don't be surprised if you end up in with the crabgrass surrounded by sticker bushes.Bloom where you are.

And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God.all are called according to his purpose for them.Romans 8:28

Are you leaping for joy?

Consider it pure joy my brothers,whenever you face trials of many kinds,because you know that the testing of your faith develops perserverance.

How many of us head into our trials full of joy? Uh, how about almost none of us.
Sounds a little crazy,
Oh yippee here comes some horrible trial, I'm so happy and full of joy! Our friends would take us on a little road trip to the psych ward don't you think? But thats what the Lord wants us to have when we are facing trials.Sounds a little far fetched,a little unattainable.But yes, its true,we can have joy in the midst of some pretty tough times.

A few months ago I was sharing with a friend some of the things I had been thru in my life.Im 45 so thats quite an accumulation of stuff, you can pack a lot of trials,wrong choices,big mistakes and some nail biting,heartbreaking twists and turns in 45 years of living.Some things I wouldn't wish on my worst enemy( I don't have any at the moment) but if it did,I wouldn't wish any of it on them.

As I spoke i realized I had never heard all of them kind of lumped together ,I thought Oh good grief how in the world did I live thru all of that? Then I thought,If I had been able to for see my future years ago,would I have wanted this life,or would I have chosen a different one? While a different life might have been easier and more pleasant,I would in fact have become a different person.
I realized then that even though the road I had traveled was not fun at times, and that I would emerge from it with some regrets, some scars,I would grow weary at times, shed many a tear but thru it all I would emerge a little stronger, a little wiser with more compassion and a stronger faith.Then yes, i would do it again.

Am i leaping for joy when a new trial comes my way? Sadly i'm not there yet, but the one thing I do know is.That we are never alone while we are going through it.Don't ever think that he is not with you..He longs to take you to a place of comfort ,peace and victory.Even when you cannot see him he is working on your behalf.Trust him.

So remember when your next trial arrives, consider it pure joy
blessings
Dee

Prayer warrior or worrier?

How many of us are prayer warriors? ready for battle at a moments notice, on our knees before the going gets tough? Praying with confidence and knowing Its all going to work out.

Or are you a worrier, one who hopes for the best, worries yourself half to death and thinks I guess we will see what happens, i hope it works out. All the while quaking in your shoes and waiting for the outcome.Which one are you?

I remember years ago being the worrier.Most of us were at one time,perhaps you still are.It is one place i hope to never return.There is fear (from the enemy),unrest, not to mention added stress which subtracts years from your life , causing sickness,and adds wrinkles to your face! Then you will start to worry exactly when you will die because now it will be sooner, and how you are going to come up with the extra cash for the botox shots to remove the wrinkles.Do you see the stress that comes from worry? Its a never ending cycle.

The one thing I have learned this year is the power we have when we pray.Most of us have no idea we have it.I have learned how to pray with that power.
I remember praying and while i was in the middle of it, wondering if the Lord was really going to answer it.Wow ,thats what I call lack of faith.We are all guilty of it.Most of the time it stems from not seeing prayers answered, lack of trust,or just doubt which we all have at times.If the prayer isn't answered how we expect it to be,then we assume it wasn't answered.

One night as I was trying to come up with a devotion for Titus 2,I kept seeing the word PRAY written in large black letters on white poster board. We used this visual at our next meeting.We held up the poster board after each question. Marriage not how you want it? PRAY, Don't like your life? PRAY, hate your job? PRAY, teenagers making wrong choices? PRAY, get the picture?.

Its so simple.But we as humans ,and as women who carry the weight of the world on our shoulders,complicate things so much. What do we do? We analyze the situation. call 15 friends to discuss it to death, worry some more ,call some more friends who give us all kinds of advice,most of it is not good, worry alot more., lose some sleep and worry lots more. Sound familiar?And the funny thing is after all that ,the problem is still there,nothing was solved and we are more worried than we were a few hours ago.Not much fun is it?

The Lord has blessed me this year with an awesome friend, trina ,who I pray with each thursday.She has taught me to pray with power,with perserverance, boldness and confidence. I have kept track of our prayers since last March and let me tell you I am blown away at the answers to prayer.God is doing amazing things. I want to encourage you to pray boldly and thank him in advance for answering your prayers. Keep track of what you pray for and be prepared to write how he has answered next to that request.He wants you to come to him,hes waiting for you. I encourage you to put the days of lukewarm half hearted prayers behind you.And to pray with the power and boldness he expects.Be a warrior not a worrier.

James 5:13
Is anyone of you in trouble? He should pray.
Is anyone happy? Let him sing songs of praise.
Is anyone of you sick? He should call the elders of the church to pray over him and annoint him with oil in the name of the Lord.
And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well.The Lord will raise him up.If he has sinned he will be forgiven.
Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed.The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective.

1 John 5:14
This is the confidence we have in approaching
God,
that if we ask anything in according to his will,he hears us.

Pray at all times and on every occasion
In the power of the Holy Spirit
Stay alert and be persistent in your prayers
for all Christians everywhere.
Ephesians 6:18

Blessings
Dee

Last night as I was out for an evening walk. My entire family has been sick with the virus for several days and i was out for my second walk of the day, to escape the germs and the requests for more tissues, more drinks, a bucket( i dont need to explain this do I?) the thermometer again..... The sun was setting , the sky was beautiful as it usually is in the winter on the river. As I stood there looking out over the water, listening to the whoot owls,trying to pray away the boredom ,the miserable mood that had taken over from waiting on 3 sick people for 4 days. I noticed a bird house that we have out in the marsh.It is on a very long pole, It stood out against the darkening orange and pink sky.It looked so lonely, the weather was chilly and I thought,There is stands all alone in the dark, in the cold all by itself. I thought how many times do we feel like that lonely looking bird house? The world is going on around us,we are busy with so many things to do,there are people all around us,we have friends,families etc .But there is a feeling of loneliness, a coldness. Maybe we have lost a loved one, a job, maybe we have an illness, or things just aren't going as we had hoped or planned. The coldness creeps in and we feel no one knows what we are going thru, no one cares.Why are we even here? Oh but how wrong we are.

As i stood looking at the birdhouse I thought its not lonely,it may be standing by itself but it is surrounded by all the God has created.A beautiful sky, a marsh filled with animals and fish,The whoot owls settling in for the night, the wind , even the cold air that comes during one of the 4 seasons that the Lord created. It wasn't alone, It was surrounded by so many things,and it (the birdhouse)was put into that landscape for a purpose,as a home, a resting spot,a place for new life to begin.It had a purpose.Just as we do.

Jeremiah 29:11 is one of my favorite verses. "For I know the plans i have for you" declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future.

We need to know that no matter what we are going thru he has plans for us, and they are wonderful, more wonderful than we can imagine. So even if you are feeling a little like a lonely birdhouse out on the marsh, or an overworked mother who for the past 4 days has done nothing but care for her family with no relief in site, Remember,you have a purpose,he has a plan, just sit back an watch the amazing life he has in store for you.And remember when the darkness comes and the day ends,pretty soon a new day will be here,a day filled with purpose, a wonderful new day he has planned out just for you.
Blessings
Dee