When you can't see the end...

 

 

This was one of the views as I drove up the mountain. When I reached my destination, I sat quietly in my car by the side of the road.  Waiting.  I was picking John after he had completed a 62 mile bike ride that included at 7100 foot climb. (He is training to bike Pike's Peak in September.)

As I sat there playing Candy Crush on my iPad I couldn't help but listen to the quiet.  The only sound I heard was the birds.

The sky was blue. 

The leaves bright spring green.

The sun was shining. 

There was no one around expect me.

Occasionally a light fog would roll thru, then it would pass and the sun would be shining again. 

I waited for 15-20 minutes.  One car and three motorcycles went by. 

On the drive up the mountain it had been exceptionally foggy.  At times, this was all I could see.

As I sat waiting, it seemed strange.  Sometimes, things were perfectly clear.  At other times, not so much.

I was reminded of the times in my life that things were not so crystal clear.  What good could possibly come out of such foggy times?

Like the time we had a garage fire and burned up our cars and everything in the garage. (It was attached to the house.)  Thankfully, the house didn't burn down.

Like the time when Amy died.

Times that seemed so dark.  So distant from Him.  Times that made it seem like there was nothing that could redeem the bad.

I pray for those in Oklahoma today.  I think they may feel this way.  That there is no good that can come out of it.  And it is OK to feel that way.

But when you can't see his hand, trust his heart.

I'm joining Jennifer today

When the nuggets are hidden...

John and I recently celebrated our 30th anniversary with a trip to the Florida Keys and Sanibel/Captiva Islands.  On our last night in the keys we asked the concierge if he could recommend a place for dinner.  He asked where we had been and then recommended a place called the Hideaway Café.  He told it was located about 5 miles down the road and told us the name of the resort. 

He said, "You will have to drive in and park.  Then walk past the office and up the stairs.  It is kind of hidden and it might not look like what you expect.  But it is a great place to eat."

We tried to scope it out before committing to dinner so we drove by. 

Once we had driven about 7 miles we knew we missed it.

So we turned around.

I remembered the guy saying something about rainbow and as we approached a place that said Rainbow Bend Resort I pointed it out.

Sure enough the restaurant was located in this "resort."

Seriously?

YES!  Seriously!

Long story short, we had dinner there. 

Dinner was phenomenal.

The view spectacular.

And I was, once again, reminded that the way things look doesn't always indicate the true character, quality or truth of a situation.

The resort was old.  The building were pink.  The parking lot was dusty. 

But these PHYSICAL appearances did not truly reflect the quality of the food or the restaurant. 

It had white table cloths and the service and food was excellent.

It was truly a hidden nugget.  A "gold" restaurant hidden in the confines of an old, rundown looking resort.

Sometimes, life is like that.

Things are not what they seem and if I make a quick judgment, then I might miss out.

If I choose to take the safe route, I might miss the view.

If I choose to travel a familiar path, I might miss the blessing.

Miss out on something really big.

The Lord is asking me to step outside my comfort zone these days.

He is asking me to say and do things that are uncomfortable for me.

I don't know if I can do it, but I am praying for the courage to say yes.

Yesterday, the priest said "Jesus, is the coach.  The Holy Spirit is your personal trainer.  The one that pushes you to try harder.  To do more."

I work with a personal trainer and some days?  I love him. 

And some days?  I can't stand him.

But when I put on clothes that fit better than they have in years...it is all worth it.

When I wake up with little or no aches and pains, I know it is because I am exercising and taking care of myself.

 

I know that if I submit to the will of the Lord and

follow the Holy Spirit's lead,

then I'll feel better in the long run.

 

In the meantime, I think I want to throw up!

 

How about you?  Is the Lord asking you to do something

that makes you uncomfortable?

 

Joining Michelle for Hear it on Sunday, Use it on Monday

I have not disappeared. I'm still here...

I had a plan for the blog last week.  Really I did!  I was out of town celebrating my 30th wedding anniversary and I had a post that was to be published on Tuesday, May 7th the day of my anniversary.  Due to technical difficulties I could not publish the post.  My plan had been to publish the post and let you know I would be offline the rest of the week.

Oh. Well.  So much for my plan!

I cannot believe how blessed I am to be married to such a wonderful husband.  He is my best friend.

We went to the Florida Keys for 3 days and Sanibel/Captiva Island, Florida for 4 days.  It was a wonderful trip.  The picture above is the view from our room in the Keys.  The resort was nice. 

Beyond nice.  I had no idea how nice when I booked it.

Now...it is back to reality. 

Friends, I have had a lot of trouble deciding what I am supposed to be doing with this space.  Just about the time I think I have it figured out and I know what the Lord wants me to do, something strange and crazy happens to make me doubt that I have accurately discerned his will.

I have several things rolling around in my head.  I have spent many hours praying, reading, journaling, trying - desperately trying - to figure things out.

So...I ask for you patience and your prayers.  And one more thing...I realize that I don't have a lot of readers, but for those of you that DO read my blog, what type of posts do you like the best?  What would you like to see me write about? 

I am not promising that I can accommodate you, but I have decided to ask because it might help me decide what direction the Lord wants me to go.

So...are you in?  Can you help me?  Please...pretty please?

Thanks!!

Hugs & blessings~

5 minute Friday...

I'm joining Lisa-Jo for 5 minute Friday.  I write for 5 minutes on a word prompt supplied by Lisa-Jo...no editing, no backtracking...just writing. You can join too, check out the details here.

TODAY'S PROMPT:  BRAVE

Some days I do not feel brave.  But I know deep inside that some days I am.  I was brave the day I walked into the emergency room and saw all the blood and my son's face so torn up I didn't know if he would ever look "normal."  Whatever THAT is!

I was brave the day I buried my daughter.

I was brave the day I picked up my life and all my belongings and move to the other side of the country.  Yes, I know some people move to the other side of the world.  But that day, for me, moving from the Midwest to the east coast WAS like moving to the other side of the world.

I was brave the day I attend the Allume conference not knowing a single soul.

And other days I am not brave.  I just crawl inside my shell and stay there. 

I want to be brave and live my slowly, developing God-sized dream.  But I am not that brave...yet...but I am getting there.  And someday, I'll be brave enough to share my dream with others.

Right now, I am just brave enough to continue exploring, praying and waiting.  I know what I am afraid of and I wrote my fears on a rock and slowly, I am releasing those fears.

 

Are you brave? 

Do you know what you are afraid of?

 

Read more 5 minute Friday posts on BRAVE here.

 

Links and photo added after 5 minutes



When loving is hard and I don't want to do it.

 

“A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you,

so you must love one another.  By this everyone will know that you are my disciples,

if you love one another.”

John 13:34-35

 

Love one another.  It sounds so easy.  But I find that it isn't nearly as easy as it sounds.

Oh, I find it easy to love the people that act like me.  That believe like me.  That have the same lifestyle as me.  That like the things that I like.  Those people...no problem.

But what about those that are different from me?  What those that make choices that I wouldn't make?  Do I have to love them too?   Yes, I do!

Jesus didn't tell the disciples, "Love those that act, look and believe like you do."  He said, "Love one another. As I have loved you..."  He loves everybody.  ALL PEOPLE.  Not only those that obey him.

He died for all of us.

This world is full of people NOT. LIKE. ME.

I work with people NOT. LIKE. ME.

But I am called to love all people.

My neighbor who is noisy or has a yard I don't like.  My co-worker that makes my life miserable at times or chooses a different lifestyle than me.  The person who cuts me off in traffic. 

I am also called to love those less fortunate than me.  There are many bloggers and people I know that minister to the less fortunate.  They travel to Haiti, Guatemala, Honduras and many other place to minister to those with much less than themselves.  And most of them come back changed.  No longer the person they were when they left home.

God hasn't called me to do go to any of those places.  He hasn't called me to do anything really big.

But he has called me to love.  All people.  And to be honest, I find that hard to do.

I expect the Lord to forgive me of my sins.  Can I not pardon my neighbor?  The co-worker that makes life difficult.  The person that chooses a lifestyle different than mine.  The rude store clerk, the person that cuts me off in traffic, the person in the security line at the airport that does travel by air often and doesn't know the rules...the people I meet during the day that are different than me.  I am called to love them.  All of them.

I find it hard to do...but I am working on it.

Do you find it hard to love those that are different?

 

I am joining Michelle for  

 

 

I had the privilege of hearing Michelle speak at Jumping Tandem the Retreat last weekend.  I had met her personally in 2011 and loved her, but hearing her talk about following her dream, her faith journey and honing her craft of writing was such a privilege.  I hope that I can incorporate some of the skills she shared in her writing workshop.

 

This call to love all people is truly a challenge for me.  Just one in a series of things I believe the Lord is calling me to do and trying to teach me.  My writing in this space may be sporadic over the next few weeks as I am trying to discover my God-sized dream and learn how to implement it into my life.  If he is calling me to write, then I want to do that...but if this is not his call, then I must do that too.

 

Pray for me, please, as I walk this path.

 

Hugs & Blessings~