Are Your Blinders On?

You've heard the expression, "they must have their blinders on." This is usually in reference to someone who looks clueless as to what is happening around them, things others think they should be paying attention to. I think there are times, however, when wearing blinders is exactly what we need to do. Too often we get caught up in what is happening around us, and that distraction keeps us from focusing on what is really important.

When worries about family, jobs, health, or even what's going on in the world overwhelm us, it is time to put our blinders on to keep us focused. Blinders do not block our sight, they narrow our focus. Our focus should be on the One who who is creator of all things and is above all things. He knows our every situation and already has has a plan for us. We need only to focus on Him and not on what is going on around us. He will carry us through whatever our current circumstances are and can give us peace in the process.

There is a story in the Bible about Peter being in a boat and seeing Jesus walking on the water. Peter said, "Lord, if it's you, tell me to come to you." Jesus said "Come" and Peter stepped out of the boat and walked on the water. But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, “Lord, save me!” (Matthew 14:30). You see, as long as his focus was on Jesus, he could walk on the water. When he took his focus off Jesus and focused on his surroundings, he began to sink. Jesus reached out his hand and saved him. Jesus can reach out his hand and save you, too.

In Proverbs 3:5-6 it says"Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight." We are not to focus on our understanding, our perception, or our circumstances, but instead focus on Him and trust him, with all our hearts. We can submit our ways and concerns to Him, and He will make a way for us.

Friends, when circumstances and our surroundings are overwhelming to us, let's "put our blinders on" and narrow our focus to the One who can give us peace and will carry us through.  

Sometimes blinders are a good thing!




Prov 3:5

Giftwrapped People

Don't you love a beautifully wrapped gift? The colored paper, the multi-looped bow with curly tendrils cascading over the side all seem to say "open me, first!" What about a gift wrapped in plain brown paper with a homemade bow? Let me ask you this...is the gift any better in the fancy wrap or any less in the plain wrap? I know you are probably thinking what matters most is what's inside and the meaning that is behind it. 

People are a lot like this. Some may be fancy, some may be plain. Some may be sparkly, some may seem dull. Some might dress fancy to be better accepted. Some might dress plainly so as not to be noticed. Some may even dress in a seemingly attention-getting way, but it may be more about the attention on the wrapping and less about the attention on them.

Too often we judge someone by their "giftwrapping" and don't take the time to get to know them. When we judge someone by what we see or by our rules and feelings, etc., we miss out on the treasure they really are. Each person is unique with their own "amazingness" built in. Each and every person is a gift. People are put in our pathways for a specific purpose and reason. It is our job to learn more about their gift. 

What happens, though, when we judge our own giftwrapping and think "I'm not good/pretty/handsome enough" or "I'm no fun, I'm boring"? Maybe we need to take time to look beyond our "giftwrapping" and see the gift we really are. Each of us was created with our own gifts, talents, and "amazingness." 

Always remember, whether it's about others or about ourselves, it's not about the giftwrapping, it's what's inside that counts.

The Perfect Puzzle Piece

Do you ever feel like you don't fit in? Like a puzzle piece that doesn't fit no matter which way you turn it? Even if you could force it to fit, you know it wouldn't fit the picture. 

Well, there's a reason why it doesn't fit. You may be trying to fit your puzzle piece into the wrong picture. God created you to be unique, special, gifted with your own talents, your own ways, your own smile. You are exactly perfect for the picture of your life he is creating. Even though you may only see small sections of the picture, trust that each piece is carefully planned, carefully placed.

Sometimes we look at another's life picture and wish ours could be just like it. They seem to have a perfect house, a perfect job, and a fun group of friends. The thing is you can't see the work behind the picture, and all it took to build it. What might work for their picture may not be right for yours.

Your puzzle picture is a masterpiece in progress. Get excited about it coming together. Live in full color! Take time to admire the picture as it builds. Don't be a missing piece in your own picture. You are the perfect puzzle piece for your masterpiece!

Palm Sunday: A Time of Celebration, a A Time of Reflection - His Love Cannot be Canceled

Palm Sunday...a day of celebration, a day of reflection. "They took palm branches and went out to meet him, shouting, "Hosanna!" "Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!" Blessed is the king of Israel!" " John 12:13

Jesus had come into Jerusalem during Passover and the crowds were shouting and celebrating him. They had either seen or heard of the many miracles he had done and of his message. They thought he was coming to be their king. Yet...in less than a week some of the crowd called for his crucifixion. What happened? Did he change? No. They did. When he didn't meet their expectations, when he didn't "fit" their perspective of how things should be, that crowd not only no longer supported him, they sought to cancel him completely...and they thought they did. But God had other plans. God cannot be canceled. His plans were and are beyond any this world can conceive.

On the morning of the third day after Jesus' death on the cross, they came to the tomb, saw the stone rolled away, and found it empty. "Two men in clothes that gleamed like lightning said, "Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here, he has risen!"" Luke 24:1-6

Jesus came to show God's love for each of us and that love is beyond anything we could think or comprehend. Beyond "group choice", beyond societal agendas, beyond cancel culture. Before you or I came to be, before we could even make any of the mistakes we would surely make, he had a plan to show us his love for us and to reconcile us to him.

"But God demonstrates his own love for us in this:while we were still sinners, Christ died for us." (Romans 5:8) "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the wold, but to save the world through him." (John 3:16-17)

You see, God had a plan to include us...not to cancel us. We can be forever loved, forever His. We need only to accept this incredible gift of love that He offers us. Believe. That's it. Believe. His love for us cannot ever be canceled. We cannot be canceled.

"Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height  nor depth, nor anything else in ALL creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 8:38)

Do you feel canceled? Feel unloved? Run to the Father today and receive the love he already has for you. Bask in that love. It will never go away, you will never be canceled, you are loved forever ❤. 

It is Finished - Turning the Page

Well, it's finally done. My sister and I completed the sale of my mother's house. In August, it will have been two years since she's been gone. It has been a difficult two years. A long journey. A journey we did not choose.

God could have made the journey go quicker, but quicker isn't necessarily better. He knew that in order for us to get to the other side of this journey, we would need to go through it...and he would be beside us every step of the way.

Emptying a house of lifelong memories, and all that entails, feels almost like you are erasing your loved one. You are afraid to let go, afraid you'll "forget." Navigating through those two years required us to revisit the different decades of our lives with our family. With every picture, every memento, every saved birthday card, we paused...and remembered. There were a lot of memories, relived and reloved.

The closing of the house was difficult. With this pandemic, only the people signing the papers were allowed to attend. Since my sister was the estate representative, I could not go with her. I waited in the car in the parking lot and prayed for her. While waiting in the car, the thought came to me, "It is finished." As time passed, I opened up my phone to Facebook, just to think about something else. The first thing that appeared was a friend's "like" of a pastor's message called "It is finished." I had the distinct feeling that this was a message for my sister and I, that the long journey we had endured was finally over.

We had spent nearly two years enmeshed in the journey and saying good bye to what once was. We were stuck in time and couldn't even allow ourselves the chance to grieve. There was so much that had to be done. If you've walked this journey, then you know it's kind of a "put one foot in front of the other and keep going" mindset. So when the "It is finished" thought came, it was like a message saying, it's ok. This journey is finished. It's time to breathe, again.

Going through the house contents and the memories, saying good bye to the house, handing over the keys, were all hard things. We couldn't rush through it. God knew we needed the time. Time to remember, time to heal. With the keys handed over, it was time to take a step into our new journey. The journey where there would be new memories made. We will never stop missing our mother but she will always be with us in our hearts. We know that we'll see her again, one day, in heaven.

If you've lost a loved one, you know how hard the journey is. Moving on can feel like you would be "forgetting them" and leaving their memory behind. The truth is they were always a part of us and will always be a part of us. They are a part of our story.

Each of us has our own journey to follow and each journey takes its own measure of time. I know now, that "It is finished" is not a closing of the book, it is merely a turning of the page into a new chapter. I can go back and "re-read" the memories any time I want to, but it is ok for me to step forward and take those memories with me.

May God bless those of you in the midst of your own journeys. I pray that you are held by the one who will never leave you and who will walk with you through your own journey, to help you as you "turn the page."

The Scenic Route

I don't know about you, but I'm a planner. If I'm going on a trip, I make a list and check off the items as I complete them. If I'm going to be traveling by car, I check which route would be the best to travel. Even if I'm just going someplace in town, I'll check the maps to make sure I'm going the right way. If I am in town, I want the shortest route possible, because I'm probably trying to get someplace on time. If I'm going on a road trip, however, I may choose a longer route to see other places along the way.

The other day, it occurred to me that I tend to live my life the same way. I plan things way ahead of time so there are no "surprises" along the way. If I have a plan, I know what to expect, right? Maybe planning ahead helps me to feel that I have some control over the way things happen in my life. Maybe if I'm "always prepared," I can avoid the stress of sudden changes because "I have a plan for that."

The only trouble with that, is that life rarely "goes as planned" and if I'm always following "the plan," won't that be boring?

I've notice something else. God prefers the scenic route.

When I'm all about getting from "Point A to Point B," He's all about what happens BETWEEN "Point A and Point B."

All this time I've been so busy planning when He's had a plan for me since before I was born. In Psalm 139:16, it says "You saw me before I was born. Every day of my life was recorded in your book. Every moment was laid out before a single day had passed. (NLT)  Not only that, but He has GOOD plans for me! (Jeremiah 29:11)

So, why I am so busy trying to plan every little detail?

The thing is, I LOVE road trips and the scenic route!!! I love seeing new places and all the interesting things along the way. I love going through the little towns with the "mom and pop" stores. I love seeing the different types of trees and flowers as I go from place to place. I love meeting the people in the different places, too.

Just maybe...God already knows that. Maybe He's trying to tell me to leave the planning to Him.

It's OK to have a plan and to plan for things. Trying to have a plan for everything, though, means that I might miss some really wonderful things along the way.

Yes, there might be some surprises and changes, but maybe the plan is for me to travel through them. Maybe there are valuable lessons to be learned that I wouldn't know if I took the shortest route, or even a longer route around them.

Oh, I'll probably still have a plan for a lot of things, but I think I'm going to leave most of the planning up to my Travel Agent (since He already has a plan). Wherever it takes me, I'm going to do my best to enjoy the Scenic Route!

Act Your Age?

Have you ever heard someone say "Act your age!"? Now I ask you, how can anyone act their age? It's the first time they are that age. They've never been that age before. There are no manuals or guides telling you how to act at any particular age. There are, however, countless people with opinions of how one should act, dress, or live, at every age. I'm not sure where they get their information from or how they became the "Age Sage," but they sure seem to know how everyone else should live.

For example, growing up I would overhear things like "She should cut her hair. At her age, she shouldn't have long hair." Or something like, "Is she trying to look younger? She's too old to wear that outfit!" I'm quite sure that there are no rules for either. And how would you know the cutoff dates, anyway?

This year, I've decided to start acting my age. The only problem is that I don't know which age to act. Should I act my chronological age? Should I act my creative age? (I feel like I'm just getting started so that would be closer to 6 years old.) Should I act my fun age? (It would be hard to choose just one, as I have had many fun ages!) Should I act my "just graduated high school with the whole world ahead of me" age? (That was a good one, too!) I have so many ages to choose from and since I have so many...I can choose a different age for each day!

I have a very good friend that lives her life to the fullest. She has, and continues to be, an inspiration to me and to many others. She is a joy to be around! Several years ago, my friend started referring to Tuesdays as Tutu Tuesdays. On the day she retired, someone gave her a tutu and she wore it! What fun! (When I grow up, I want to be just like her!)

Yes, I know that there are times in life to be serious and to think as our "chronological age" should think, but for all of the rest of the times, we should be free to think and act whatever age we feel like!

Life was meant to be LIVED, so I'm going to do just that!

How about you? What age do you want to act today? Pick one and go have fun!

Wait...I think I hear laughter at the playground. Gotta go, there's a swing with my name on it!