Tag: Directions

What A Difference a Day Makes

July 2026

Fifty years ago, I was born to a couple in the far north part of the United States. They had taken a position in a church, and I was their first child. I would be a girl, the oldest daughter, and the oldest granddaughter. Word on the street says that is a difficult combination; actually, some people that know me would agree with that. Not only am I a firstborn, which tend to have the wonderful characteristics of a born leader, reliable, perfectionistic, and organized; I only had brothers and only have sons. So those characteristics lean more towards bossy, selfish, and black and white, no gray. Also, emotions are suppressed without a sister or daughter to keep me well rounded. Have sons and brothers? You understand. My husband who is second born has helped me see more to life than the one-track mind I tend to stay on. Unfortunately, I was diagnosed in a pretty crucial time of mental development. Survival mode was the only option, mainly mental survival mode. Physical survival was up to God.

Reflections have been the name of the game on this blog, but life reflections have topped the chart in the last few weeks. Once a person has hit the age of fifty, there is not as many years left as have lived. What a time of reflection on how life has gone for us. Have we done a good job financially, getting ready for retirement? How are our kiddos doing as they hit adulthood? We cannot really change anything, but we can help them navigate their steps as they make life changing decisions, like starting on retirement savings. At their age, my decisions put me on the path that I have traveled, and if I had made a different decision at that time, my life would look way different. God has brought me through those decisions and put me on a path of ministering to others in His work.

Other questions. Did I tell enough people about the Lord? Surprising how many people do not know about His saving grace and His forever life with Him in Heaven. Was I willing to invite others to visit with us at church to hear that message? How many more people did I let pass? In the same space, was I an example of love, of grace? I failed many times, got back up and asked forgiveness, but hoping God could use me daily to show grace. Galatians 5:22, 23 gives each Christian the blueprint of Christian living. We hear it over and over and over again and I feel at times we let it go in on ear and out the other. Yet it really is a reflective aspect that should be on repeat. “But the fruit of the spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance…” Do I have joy in my life? Many times, I feel like joy is a choice. Our surroundings affect our life and joy but how we choose to respond to them, can be crucial. Choose Joy? Yes, grief if needed but choose to see God in the areas of grief and ask for God’s help. Those around us are there for that help as well. The Bible tell us in Romans 12:15, “Rejoice with them that do rejoice, and weep with them that weep.”

Peace. Let that settle in. Breathe. In through the nose out through the mouth. It is interesting that when I want to settle things down in my life, I use the same actions I will take when I am in pain, in discomfort. It is a mechanism that brings the situation at hand into focus. Where are we at in our peace? We may say that peace alludes us, but we have to make our own peace. Young moms with little kids, multiple sporting events for older ones, and activity night after night. Find peace, make peace. Breathe until the peace comes and make the peace come.

After peace in the verse above is longsuffering. This is patience when the peace is allusive, this is patience when our surroundings are complicated and difficult either of our doing or others. If it is others, what are we doing to make those relationships better? Do we have relationships that are meaningful, that are supportive, and that build us up in a world that can tear us down and be discouraging. I am grateful more than my friends can know of each of their friendships. They are uplifting and put me in a place of comfort and love. Each one is unique and is an amount of stability in my life brought to me at different points or for different aspects.

Our God has done this for us. He has given us a free will with stipulation as Christians. We choose our path for the most part, our attitude, our joy, our peace, oh, and do not forget the longsuffering… He is there for the directions and makes the path open for viewing and to walk down, or closed for the time being, or to wait. Grateful for the path, the journey and the choice. What a difference MY day made Looking forward to the reflection of the past and the direction of the future.

Sow, Then Reap

12/17/22

I visited a verse this week that I saw in a different light. II Corinthians 9:6 tells us, “He which soweth sparingly shall reap also sparingly; he which soweth bountifully shall reap also bountifully.” What are the immediate thoughts when this verse is used, which many of us have heard hundreds of times in our lives?

There may be many applications, but my immediate thought has taken me to gardening. I have proven this verse to be wrong. I plant an over-abundant amounts of seeds and plants in our small garden out back, and then I proceed to over-fertilize, under water, leave the weeds and then cross the tomatoes with the corn. I am the worse gardener ever, but I am a pro at growing the weeds! Actually, the plants and seeds I put in the ground typically come up and they are perfect, but I hardly reap anything. Except one year I planted jalapenos; it was amazing! There were so many, I did it the next year because, hey, why not, I can grow something. The problem is we do not eat jalapenos. Seriously, our taste buds do not do super spicey, but I made some salsa. Then after a couple of weeks and more growth, I passed the jalapenos on to friends who use them often. I was super proud. I have to say my succulent journey has been pretty much the same. I have some growth, then barely alive for months, then death, then trash; many times over.

II Corinthians is definitely not proven wrong by my lack of green thumb, of course, but the amount of sowing and the correct sowing and the amount of reaping are in direct correlation with each other. Now, what else comes to mind and what does this verse really mean to us? Sow sparingly, reap sparingly; sow bountifully, comes back to us sometimes ten-fold, even the sparingly part. What areas can we apply this to in our lives today? Absolutely everything! Our pastor spoke to our teens on Sunday about decisions they make today are crucial to their future. I have told teen girls that multiple times. Their whole future is ahead of them and what will they choose today to make a Godly go at it? If we as adults apply this verse today, let us wake up and throw out the seed of quiet time with God. How much we sow gives to us encouragement, joy, strength; anything that we are as Christians to move forward in our day. Makes us think about having sown quiet time. Then our harvest will be an amazing day. Well, if it turns out not to be so amazing, at least we sowed Christ into our soul and spirit to draw peace and strength to face what might be the hardest day/days of our life.

Been there, people, and I wish my thirteen-year-old self had Jesus, because the discouragement that came with my cancer diagnosis was other-worldly. Thoughts of taking my life were never a part of my brain activity; I have to say I cared about me more than to take my life, but dying in my sleep? That would have been a peaceful way to go, was my thinking. I knew of God and how He could have made that happen. I just did not know God like I do today. I have learned to say, God is sovereign and has each and every step orchestrated for me. At thirteen, I wanted those steps to be my steps and the orchestration written out my way, so I did the only thing I knew to do and that was survive. God may have been in control, but that hair loss was not going to keep me depressed. I wore a wig. That chemo treatment was not going to keep me out of school, I went every day except the day after chemo. I was not sick, and no one could convince me otherwise. This was just an inconvenience. Sowing Jesus in my life was just what I heard in Sunday school, so I realized I needed Him almost a year after my diagnosis, and I saw Him as my Savior. Then in college, He got a hold of my heart and made me realize I had nothing to do with being alive, healthy, and with the ability to serve Him. He challenged me to start sowing my quiet time, then He started reaping in me a soul and spirit that truly depended on Him for every single day. One that looks to Him for joy, strength, health! My mantra: everything, everyday has God’s hand on it.

God asks us to sow. He asks us to throw out the seed of giving; of our finances, of our time, our lives to service. We could give lunch with a friend, gifts to others, or maybe coffee to a coworker just because. We should know if we sow, we are going to reap benefits. God sees and He may not bless financially now when we give financially, but who has ever given a gift just because and did not feel a ping of joy? There is the reap. We reap what we sow in our time. I have been hustling on to get something done and been stopped numerous times because that person needed time. I came away with a happy heart, a blessed moment in that relationship. Granted, I blew past a majority of people, but that is where I need to work on my sowing. People need us, people need time, people need love. Why are we too busy to give to people, or should we say, why do we not give to people and make the “busy” excuse. The verse, “A man that hath friends must shew himself friendly,…” Proverbs 18:24, then show friendly and reap. We have had conversations with our boys multiple times about this very same thing. Need encouragement, show encouragement. Reach outside of our self and be nice, be helpful, and be someone to someone else when they may not have someone, because THE SOMEONE asks us too. The amounts of sowing opportunities in our lifetime are abundant, whether right or wrong, we really should be aware and calculated with our lives, determining our steps ordered by God. “The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord: and he delighteth in his way.” He is for us.

Throw out the seed of kindness. Our families deserve our kindness, and we reap abundantly what we sow in this area. It actually is an immediate reaping, right? Throw out the seed of love. Love is a choice, it is a feeling, too, but if we do not feel loved or want to give love, that really does not determine our love for someone. But we choose to love, and our God has shown us the ultimate love, so who are we not give back to Him and others? Throw out the seed of joy. “How are you?” I submit to you, let us start saying what an old friend used to say every time, “Super Fantastic.” instead. Throwing out a joyful response really helps us feel better about what is going on around us at any given moment. Throw out the seeds of peace. Our generation today has a huge entitlement issue, thus keeping things volatile. No one is entitled to anything when we have Christ in our lives and when we do not, we still are not entitled because God has the whole universe in His hands and controls everything. Each person is on this earth because of one God. Finally, just throw out the rest of the seeds of Galatians 5:22, 23; “…against such there is no law.”

What are we sowing today? There are many people in my life that have taught me the seeds to throw out so that I may reap. I am grateful and truly blessed to have them in my life, because I then can testify if I sow abundantly, I will reap abundantly.

Where Is That Place?

forest_pathway_detail

9/22/18

Because there are so many details that are pertinent in a story like mine, I do have to start quite a few years before my cancer diagnosis. My mom grew up in a Christian home and accepted the Lord as her savior early on in life. My dad was saved and surrendered to be a preacher by the time he was nine years old. They both went to Bible college, got married, graduated, and headed out to serve in a ministry in North Dakota where I was born. Shortly after, they moved to another ministry in Oklahoma where my brother was born, and then back to Texas where they met. My dad was asked to be the pastor at a church in their hometown when I was five, and because this was where they grew up, their parents and siblings all lived in the same area. Everything was so wonderful in the eyes of a kid my age. Grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins all lived nearby with many of them attending our church, and there were many family gatherings were exciting and memorable.

My brother and I attended the Christian school across the street from the church. We lived one street over, and walked and rode our bikes to school and all over the neighborhood to play with friends. My mom had our youngest brother during this time, and we stayed busy playing with him after school, as well. One day, my parents came in my room, and said they needed to tell me something. My dad had decided to take the family and go see a church in far southwestern Wyoming. I remember asking why and thinking, “I am not quite sure I really know where that state is.” I looked it up because I knew Colorado and Wyoming looked just alike, and I wanted to make sure I knew which one it was. After we returned home, my dad accepted the call to the church, and we loaded up a moving truck and a minivan and headed away from family and friends on a new adventure.

We, or should I say I, had no idea what the Lord would do in our lives from this point on. I know He had already been directing our paths and showing my parents that He was in control up to this point, but at twelve, I was a little disappointed and confused but mainly nervous. Sometimes I think about current decisions that my husband and I face right now and wonder if that was what my parents were going through at the time. I can imagine that it might be similar, and I appreciate their step of faith into the unknown.

If I recall correctly, we arrived a week after the public school started, so I headed to seventh grade and my brother to fifth grade. I remember walking in after school had started that morning, and the principal greeting us. After a conversation, they took me down this long hallway and outside of Science class I think, I was introduced to a girl. Cliché, we became fast friends. No, really, we did not leave each other’s side for years. Who knew I would need that introduction to this girl that would be a support to me, and who introduced me to other seventh graders that would eventually, outside of my parents and church family, be the support on this earth to walk through a valley. God knew. He had guided the steps of my parents up to this point in our lives. He had brought them together, showed them a path to take serving Him in the ministry, have a family, and move them to a small, remote town in Wyoming. This move was truly important in our lives not only because of the church my dad accepted, but for the proximity it was to a place we would visit often. We truly had no idea how important.

Psalm 37:23 tells us, “The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord; and he delighteth in his way.” It is hard to know God’s direction sometimes, but if we stay in His Word and seek counsel through those He places in our lives, the path will seem more clear to us. God wants us to follow Him, because His path is right. Whatever the journey, whatever the circumstances, whatever the outcome, He will show us the way, and then He will show us why.