what is your mind set on?

Ever had one of those days? weeks? months? years?

One of the many things I love about serving God is that His peace stills my heart and calms my soul.

Music is one way that this happens.  Music is powerful.  It can either lift you up or keep you down.  I remember as a teen playing a song over and over again as I cried into my pillow over some boy.  The song reinforced my sadness.   It does make a difference what music you listen to.

Lincoln Brewster has a song out that has quickly become my favorite.  In fact, I posted a warning on it when I linked it to my facebook.  WARNING:  DO NOT LISTEN TO THIS SONG IF YOU WANT TO REMAIN MISERABLE!

What a powerful message!

I’m casting my cares aside.  I’m leaving my past behind.  I’m setting my heart and mind on you – Jesus.

Today is a new day.   What I decide to set my heart and mind on will affect the whole day.   I choose to start it out right by casting my cares aside and trusting God.

I’m reaching my hand to Yours.  Believing there’s so much.  Knowing that all You have in store for me is good.  Is good!

Walking hand in hand with Jesus – knowing that He will open up opportunities and go through them with me.  Jeremiah 29:11 — God’s plans are good.

Today is the day you have made. I will rejoice and be glad in it. Today is the day You have made.  I will rejoice and be glad in it.

Saying that a couple of times, I can just feel the weight lifting.

I won’t worry about tomorrow.  I’m trusting in what You say.  Today is the day.

Worry is destructive.  It can overtake my mind and hinder me from seeing the possibilities.  It attacks my trust.  God is in control.   He will make a way.  I won’t worry!!

I’m putting my fears aside.  I’m leaving my doubts behind.  I’m giving my hopes and dreams to You – Jesus

Fear and doubt are right there with worry.  God says “Trust Me.  I will do more than you can even dream.  Walk with Me.”

I’m reaching my hands to Yours – believing there’s so much more.  Knowing that all You have in store for me is good.  Is good!

When I trust Him, even when the situation seems impossible, He pours into my life the peace that passes my understanding.  He is my ever present help in trouble.  He makes a way where there seems to be no way.

Today is the day You have made.  I will rejoice and be glad in it. Today is the day You have made.  I will rejoice and be glad in it.

I won’t worry about tomorrow.  I’m trusting in what You say.  Today is the day!

I will stand upon Your truth.  All my days I’ll live for You!

Truth — Stand on truth!!

Click to hear the song — you will need to click again to hear it on utube.  But remember — if you want to remain miserable then don’t listen. 

til next time

first ride of the season

April 2nd found hubby washing the bike so that we could ‘venture’ out on my first ride of the season. 

It was wonderful.  It was like welcoming back a long lost friend.  Oh Yamaha Venture, how I have missed you.

Here I am heading down the highway with the wind in my face and nothing to do but sit back and enjoy!   God is good!   Life is good!   It is Spring and the Earth is coming alive all around me.

I am still surprised at how much better the bike rides after our breakdown last year.  (click here to read about it)  Bumps?  What bumps? 

The Mississippi looked pretty cold.  There was quite a wind blowing also.  I was grateful to not be on our old 750.  I do not like leaning into the wind.

We stopped to eat at  a new restaurant.  There were these two elderly ladies who were waitressing.  Now they knew how to hustle, be pleasant  and take care of their stations.  We will be back. 

The food was great!  I had some of the best shrimp I have had in a long time.  The strawberry pie was homemade and delicious.  

Next on to all those shops.

The weather man said we could get rain but not until later tonight.  However, he was wrong.   As we came out of one of the shops, we felt raindrops.   Uh oh, no more shopping.   

We almost made it home without getting wet.  We ran into rain the last 20 minutes of the trip.  Where were my rain pants?  In the side compartment.   It was mighty cold.  Ah, but I’d do it again in a minute.  Hmm, tomorrow??

til next time

something has to change

Any of these sound familiar?

Something has got to change!

I don’t know how much longer I can do this?

All I do is work, work, work.

How much more of this can I take?

I don’t have time for me.

Or maybe something a bit more spiritual -

God does not call  His children to burn out.

This is not the abundant life the Bible talks about.

I must be doing something right cuz the devil won’t leave me alone.

Ok, so I have said all of the above at one time or another.  

Long about last April hubby found me starting to use the phrase “Something has got to change”  quite a bit. 

I am all about getting into the solution not wallowing in the problem.  Yet I hadn’t a clue what that solution was, so I found myself wallowing.   Some days were much more difficult than others – pretty much that is how life is.  Good days – not so good days.

I chalked it up to pre-menopausal issues.  It was a viable excuse.  Yet I have heard that this (menopause) can go on for years.  I certainly did not want to  battle such emotional days – at least not in the ineffective way that I found myself dealing with them. 

I began to look at peace very closely.  During my menopausal days it was my peace that was out of whack.  Stress level high – peace level low.

A few months back I begin to entertain the idea of going part-time at work.  It would open up some much needed time.  Yet I didn’t want to give up sick time, holiday pay, etc.   I couldn’t see past the NEED for my income so I brushed it off, gave myself a good pep talk and carried on.

One day at work (happened to be working on my day off)  it was like God removed the blinders to my problem and clarity landed.  Looking back I think He was trying to do that all along, but it didn’t make sense to me and so I would brush it off.   

Finally it became crystal clear that I was working too much.  I am older now (ugh I never thought I’d use such a sentence) but it is true.  So with age should come maturity. You’d think with all this maturity I would remember that God does things His way.

It still did not make sense to me – oh it was clear alright just didn’t work out  on paper.  In fact, it made even less sense because Curt’s salary has been drastically reduced the last 3 months.  My income is needed now more than ever.  Yet, it was crystal clear to me.  A weight had been lifted.   I would talk with doctor about going part-time.

In making that decision many other issues were also settled.  It was kind of like a domino effect.   It can be easy to get out of balance.  For me it is always in the area of ‘doing too much’.    It is true, by the way, God does not want His kids to burn out.

I had my review last week.  It was amazing.   All I can say is that God showed up and handled it.  (I am grateful that I work for a boss who also loves God).  He did ask me to give him one more week as full-time.  That was a hard week because I wanted to shout it from the rafters, but I knew that he needed to be the one to tell my supervisor. 

Today I go to work and he has indeed talked with my supervisor so now it is official.  My first week as a part timer.  Yes, I have been doing a happy dance. 

How will the budget work out?  I don’t know, but I know God and He will make a way.  I guess this is my next step of faith in the journey of life.

til next time

Repaint Jesus

Andrew had purchased a painting awhile back at a concert he went to.  One of the things that Curt did while we were up at the cabin was build a frame for it.  It  is a huge-o painting.

It turned out exactly as Andrew had pictured.  As you know that is not always the case.  We can have an idea in our head but sometimes……

Here it is

I have to admit at first I wasn’t sure what I thought of it.   Repaint Jesus?

Then the more I thought about it, the more I liked it. 

Think about the last time you saw a picture of the crucifixion.  I am pretty sure it did not display the true picture of the price that Jesus paid.  The Bible tells us that Jesus was bloody and unrecognizable. 

His love for us was so intense that He paid the highest price to set us free.  It is not something to take for granted.  It is life changing.  When we really begin to understand that it cost Him everything, then we begin to repaint that picture in our head.  The picture of His deep love for us.

I am reminded of that old song…… “How can I say thanks for the things He has done for me.  Things so undeserved, yet He gave to prove  His love for me…  To God be the glory….”

 Here is Andrew with his painting on the wall.  Yes it is that big.   I wish that I had pictures of Curt getting the nails on the wall.  I was too busy holding on to his belt and keeping the chair from moving.  (Andrew is leaning on the door to go downstairs)

Repaint Jesus.  I’d love to hear what you think it means.

til next time

day at the lake

 The church had its 2nd annual “Day at the Lake” last Saturday.  It was a great day for sailing.

Wind and plenty of it - makes for good sailing.

Although on the first trip out there was a problem (where the rudder mounts to the back of the boat broke).  Not to be detoured, Curt (with the help of John and Brent) came up with something that would work.

Curt brought  his two  boats.  Ed also brought his canoe.  I took pictures from shore. 

Big fish were caught!!

It wasn’t  cold for a few of the kids.  However, it was a bit too chilly for these ladies.  That is until a heavy warm blanket was found.  That’s my mom on the right.

I’ve already blogged about this picture but I couldn’t write about ‘Day at the Lake’ and not include it.

A quiet moment enjoying God’s beauty of nature and friendship.

til next time

not what i expected part 2

Kind of feeling like Paul Harvey about now  —–  and now for the rest of the story….  unlike radio though, if you missed the first part you can check it out   (not what i expected part one)

Choices – do we continue?  Do we call the tow truck?  Do we have friends come get us?   It is a beautiful day.  There is lots of riding to be done yet. 

We were back on the road again after finding a place to take a closer look and a few phone calls to a friend.  Praise God for the hospitality of strangers.  Worse case scenario – we would ruin our shock.   There is the possibility that it may already be ruined. 

What neither Curt nor his friend knew was that the modifications done by a previous owner  meant that there was no longer a safety to the rear shock.  

We are going down the highway at 65 when we hit a huge bump that sent Curt and I off the seat of the bike.  After we came down there was a very distinctive change in the sound of the bike.  Curt figured it could be  the highway (it can do that).  When it continued though, he figured we must have jarred something loose. 

We continue going down the highway at 65 until we get to our exit to get back on the River Road.  It is then that I notice something is not quite right.  There really is no wiggle room when you are tooling down the highway.  I tell Curt that he needs to pull over. 

“We are two miles from Galena can you make it that far?” he asks.

Um well I suppose, um no no you need to stop now!!!!

He pulls over and I hop off.  Black smoke is coming up from the seat.  It is then that I realize my rear is very very hot. 

He looks at the tire and gives me the news I don’t want to hear.

“We are done.  This bike isn’t going anywhere.  There are pieces missing from the tire.  The tire has been rubbing on the rim.”  — the sound that we couldn’t figure out

This was not how  I saw this trip ending.  This was not what I expected. 

Yet we are within walking distance of a place to wash up, get something to drink and wait for the tow truck in the wonderful air conditioning.  

The final leg of the journey from inside a tow truck was not how I envisioned our trip.  Yet it didn’t seem to really matter.  The realization that this could have played out so differently made even all the waiting not a big deal.

It was not what I expected.  It was so much more.  It was another reminder that life is precious. 

Try hard not to take things for granted. 

Enjoy the journey even the bumps that are along the way. 

p.s.  Curt took the bike back to the dealer who sold it to us a year ago.  He has offered to split the cost with us.  Not only will they do the repairs but they will reverse the modification so that this won’t happen again.  In addition, the guy told Curt just today that he also noticed the brake line needed some work and a few other things that he was just going to take care of with no additional cost to us.  Thank you God for favor!!  From what I am told this is nothing short of a miracle.  God is good!!  Not what I expected but so much more!

til next time

not what i expected

Expecting too much or not expecting anything – neither one is a good idea. 

I’d like to think that I have the expectation thing pretty much at a livable level.  That is until I have the rug pulled out from under me.  Ah, but that is another story.

I think that how one handles disappointment says at lot about that person. 

Our 23rd anniversary was coming up.  We decided to take the cycle and leave after work on Thursday.  We would be home sometime Saturday.

We decided to do another ‘Great River Road’ trip.  The weather was picture perfect – beyond my expectations.  With each bend in the road came another great view.  Everything was so green and alive.  

I love riding along the river.  It is breath taking.  As I mentioned the weather was wonderful. 

We drove further up Wisconsin this year than last year.   We crossed over into Minnesota at Winona. 

Yes, this trip was going great!  We even crossed a bridge that has the holes so I could see the water below.  That was a bit freaky. I didn’t get a picture of that one.  I was too busy trying to stay calm. 

On Friday night we had hoped to stay at the same motel that we stayed at last year.  However, they were full.

It was really a blessing in disguise.  If we would have stayed at the desired destination we would have missed this beautiful sunset over the river.  It was amazing.  Truly it was one of those ‘riding off into the sunset’ moments.

We went back over the river and spent the night at Prairie Du Chen.

  Saturday we  stopped for lunch at Ball town.  The oldest restaurant in Iowa is in this little tiny town.  This is the second  time they have rebuilt the restaurant in the last few years.   As you can see it is a huge biker attraction. 

It also has a great view.  Last year the clouds were dark and stormy.  Once again picture perfect weather. 

It was here that we noticed that we must have a leak somewhere.  I was getting black stuff on my legs.  This was not part of the plan.

Now what?     to be continued………..

til next time

justice, mercy, humility

Ever since I can remember I have had a soft spot in my heart for those who are mistreated.   In a perfect world all would be fair.  Ah, but I do not live in a perfect world.

Micah 6:8  “He has shown you, O man, what is good and what does the Lord requires of you.  But to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with our God.”

…to do justly –  to do the right thing.  It is more than that though.    It is to treat people fairly.   I have heard it said that respect has to be earned.  I understand what is meant by that.  Yet I think that some people use that as an excuse to treat people poorly.   

I think that everyone should be treated decently.   How I treat someone is not a reflection of what type of person they are, but it is a reflection of what type of person I am.  This is more challenging at times.  Yet it is possible to treat people (yes even people who rub you the wrong way) decently.   

….to love mercy –  not getting the punishment that I deserve.  I love mercy! 

 I try to demonstrate  mercy by not being critical,  judgmental, or harsh in my dealings with people.  What is it that I hand out to people?  mercy or judgement??  The tongue can be a powerful weapon used either to build up or to be hurtful.  It can be used to offer mercy or it can be a cruel weapon.    Oh that I would always pick mercy.

…to walk humbly with our God — recognizing that without God I am nothing.  With God I can do all things, but it is not by my ability.  It is by the grace of God.   The opposite of humble would be prideful.  When pride steps in, humility steps out. 

I remember as a kid befriending this girl who was being picked on.  Kids can be so cruel.  As I grew up I learned that adults can be cruel also.  Some people feel the need to make others look bad so that in some warped way they look good.  I could never understand this.  

It does matter how I treat people.  It does matter how I talk about people.  It does matter if I choose to do the right thing or choose to do nothing.  (Unless, of course, nothing should happen to be the right thing for that situation.)  It does matter.

do justly 

love mercy

walk humbly with God

til next time

who is your God?

Webster’s dictionary defines God as - supreme being.   That’s it.  Maybe that is because to truly describe God would take more time and space then they felt could be devoted to defining one word. 

Who is my God?  He is the Almighty, Creator, Sustainer, Provider, Healer, Wonderful, Counselor, Prince of Peace, Omniscient (all knowing), omnipresent (ever present) and that is only the start.  My heart swells when I think that God, being so much greater than I can even proclaim, reaches down through space and wraps me in His embrace.  He knows my every thought and loves me just the same.  

God is an ever present help in whatever trouble I face.  The road I walk down I don’t walk down alone.  Life as a pastor’s wife can at times be a lonely road.  I don’t know how to get around that.  It just has it’s season.  Ah, but it is just that a season.  Yet it is in those seasons that faith grows deeper.    For you see God truly is enough.  I don’t serve a mamby pamby God but a God who is able to do more than I can think or even dare to dream.  He is not limited by those things that I think limit me.  Nothing is too difficult for Him. 

For some their God is money or status or an accumulation of things or even worse some supreme being without any real power to impact their lives.  That is so sad to me.  God is not some far off deity that in unconcerned about His creation.  There is no where a person can hide that God is not there. 

God sees inside my heart and hears me even when I have no words to say.  

God is amazing.  Chris Tomlin nails it with this song.

  

til next time

mink coat

God has an interesting way of doing things.  Many times I will just step back for a moment and stand in awe of what has just happened.  It has been my prayer lately to be more aware of God’s finger prints in my life.  I don’t believe in coincidences.  I do believe that God is in control and things happen for a bunch of reasons.  God is not some far off Deity that isn’t concerned about His creation.  He blesses in amazing ways.  Sometimes I am aware of His blessings right away.  It is my desire to be more and more aware of the wonders of God.

So here’s the story of the mink coat.

Before my father-in-law passed away there had been numerous challenges and situations that we were dealing with.  Life in the parsonage is not ever boring here.  In fact I was pretty much at my breaking point.  Yet God promises to not give me more than I can handle with His help.  It’s just that I really have no idea just how much I can handle.  Therefore there are  times I  think I  just can’t take one more thing.  Well, that is pretty much where I was at.  I was holding on to God tightly (Deut. 30:20 “…by holding fast to Him…)  and looking for that rainbow.

Then we get the news that Curt’s dad is at death’s door.  We begin preparations to head up north.  With four jobs that is not a simple task.  Before we leave we receive the news of his death.  We then make additional preparations as we know now that we will be gone for x amount of days.

I am more than a bit concerned about how I will cope.   It has been a most difficult couple of months.  Add to that all that a funeral entails and the fact that there would be no ‘wiggle room’.  Since we were staying with family, there wouldn’t be any alone time either.  I am most definitely a person who needs down time.  This had the makings for a disaster. 

My prayer became “Lord please help me to not do anything that I will need to apologize for later.”   I prayed that a lot.  

(Due to a prior committment we took a trip to Des Moines in the middle of all the funeral preparations.  That turned out to be a huge blessing from God.  I was able to have lunch with a very special friend.  Only God could know just how important that would be.  He does make a way for us.)

After the funeral everyone but Diane stopped by the cabin.  Grandma was in her glory, going through and giving away some of grandpa’s things.  The grand kids drug out the sled and did some sledding.  It was a highlight of the week.  Curt’s brother and family are from Georgia, so it’s not like they are going to be getting back to the cabin anytime soon.  If ever again. 

As we were getting ready to leave, Grandma asked me if I was interested in her mother-in-laws mink coat?  I was sure it wouldn’t fit but I tried it on and wa la.  It fit!!   Her daughters are quite slender and Jan (daughter-in-law) is much taller with longer arms, so in this case I was Goldilocks and it was just right. 

It was later that it dawned on me that God had answered my prayer.  He had helped me to successfully not do or say anything that I would need to apologize for.  The mink coat is a warm (very warm) hug from God.  Now each time I wear it I am reminded that even in extremely stressful situations God is a present help and with Him I can handle way more than I thought possible.  It is just like God to go above and beyond the helping point right into the blessing point!!!

til next time