MUSINGS…..
PASSION DISTRACTION
In reflecting on Good Friday, Passion/Holy Week, all that happened and all that followed, it is clear to me that something always occurs in my life during Holy Week to distract me from focusing on what this week means to me in terms of my personal faith and how it affects my life. Some things are small, others are not so small. And the attack can be relational, health related, financial, or a dozen other things.
Let’s be clear. This is a spiritual attack. So if you’re a spiritual wimp this post may not be for you. This is not a fluff piece about Easter bunnies and a recipe for lamb cake.
I’m not looking for commentary or negativity in your responses because that will just prove my point. If you believe in God, a Higher Power, spiritual goodness, then you must also believe that there is evil as the opposite of goodness. If you look around at what’s going on in our world today, you can clearly see that. Distractions.
The distraction for me this week, and in the past few months, has been extreme stress and anxiety surrounding my personal and professional responsibilities in getting two homes to close escrow – all with impending deadlines, dealing with an aging parent, health issues, a trip to the emergency room on Palm Sunday, and preparing for the logistics of a move across country. I usually don’t reveal too much about personal details in my life, but a devotional I read at the beginning of the week showed me how I can use my distractions, frustrations, pain, etc., to try to identify even a little bit with what Jesus dealt with during that first Passion Week.
There are people, religious or not, who will tell you that if you experience any of the things I previously mentioned in your own life, that your journey of faith has no room for grief. That couldn’t be further from the truth. Jesus Himself understands our suffering because of His own. Long before Jesus walked out of an empty tomb, He wept in a garden.
He knew His suffering was temporary. He knew His purpose. He even cried out to his Heavenly Father to find another way if it was possible. Yet He was determined to fulfill His destiny and not let distractions, attacks, and pain keep Him from doing what He was called to do. His suffering showed His humanness. His resurrection showed His deity.
God gave me the strength this week to do what needed to be done in the midst of my own suffering. And having the down time gave me the chance to focus on what Passion Week is about. Know this – when you allow yourself to be distracted you will not be effective in fulfilling God’s purpose for your own life. He has given me a hope. He has given me a future. His promises are true – both on this Earth and for Eternity.
Some people are content with where they are spiritually – staying on the predictable treadmill of life, having no desire for growth. But those who desire more can be sure they will encounter distractions along the way. Stand strong. Go ahead and celebrate Easter with your lifelong traditions – there is nothing wrong with that, and it brings a whimsical component to celebrate Spring with the little ones in our lives. But if a seed has been planted, nurture it inside yourself and search for more. Celebrate The One who suffered for YOU on that first Good Friday and was resurrected on the third day to give you a hope and a future that is unimaginable!
God Has Not Forgotten…
Be Still…
Decompress…
Peace
MY DREAM HOME…
At first glance this may not seem like an Easter story. But if you keep reading, it will become clear. No matter where you are or what you’re doing, please take a few moments to read and reflect on this.
They say the average person moves 11.7 times during their lifetime. For me, it’s been 11. I’m including the few times I moved back in with my folks at the same address, in between a divorce or a house being built, etc., as one time. Where are you on the spectrum?
Moving can be a stressful time. When we’re kids, we don’t have all the stresses that go along with moving – like packing, changing service with utility companies, notifying the post office and others of our change-of-address, telling our family and friends. And kids are pretty adaptive and resilient.
Not to mention all the memories we’ve made in each place we’ve lived. Each of my homes had special meaning for me. As you take this journey with me, think about each of your homes and about what your dream home would look like.
The first house I remember was a 2-flat in Chicago. My grandparents and uncle lived on the 2nd floor apartment, and my family lived on the 1st floor. Our finished basement (complete with wood paneling) was the place my brother and I would build forts with furniture cushions, where I’d play Barbies with childhood friends, and where some of my birthday parties and youth group gatherings took place. There was a prairie next to the house where we used to climb trees, catch lightning bugs, or ride our bikes on the path. Until progress came along, and the prairie was mowed down to make room for an apartment building and a concrete parking lot.
I lived there the longest of anywhere else I’ve lived. All of the childhood memories up until I turned 21. We then bought a ranch-style home in the suburbs. All that space! Grandma and Grandpa were also nearby.
From there I lived in a small townhouse during my newlywed years. A few years later we bought our first house that was so special because it was where I brought my son home from the hospital after he was born.
Is this my Dream Home?
But then we bought a piece of property and had an architect draw plans for what I thought was my dream home and that it would be the last place I would ever live. It was on a half-acre of land on a quiet, tree-lined street. It was the first 2-story home I had ever lived in, and I was excited about decorating the banister with garland for Christmas and hanging stockings on the fireplace.
Is this my Dream Home?
I only lived in that house for two years before my marriage ended and the house was destroyed by fire. It was a devastating time but made me realize that home is not just a building where you live. It’s the place where the people who love and support you also live. Relationships are always more important than material things.
So it was back to Mom and my Stepdad’s house for five years to heal and rebuild our lives. I was determined to, literally, rise from the ashes like the Phoenix.
After those five years, Mom and my Stepdad decided to retire to the Southwest. I had always wanted to move there, but there would be a 13-year detour before that would happen. So now, it was just me and my son, and we needed to find a place to live. The coach house we found was near where I had lived with my parents and was on a pond surrounded by willow trees.
Is this my Dream Home?
It came about in a Divine way. I had put in an offer on another place that was getting no response from the Seller. Then my agent got a heads-up about that coach house on the pond before it went on the market, so we went to see it and I withdrew my offer on the other place that day and bought the pond house.
There were always beautiful sunsets reflecting on the pond. I remember making friends with a mother duck and her babies. They would gather on my patio to eat flower petals that fell from the crab tree nearby. One day after returning home from work I went out by the edge of the pond to watch the sunset. The ducks were across the other side of the pond, but when they saw me, they got into the water and swam over to me.
This was a fresh start for me and my son, and we lived there until he finished high school.
With my second marriage came my parents’ move to Arizona, a new job for me, retirement for my husband, and my son leaving the nest. We bought a townhouse 20 minutes further away from the city to be closer to my new job. It was new construction, so I got to pick out all the finishes. It was another great location in a small town on a river but was also close to shopping, restaurants, and expressways.
Is this my Dream Home?
Unfortunately, that marriage ended. I had also lost my job, as it was during the economic downturn of the mid-late 2000’s and no one was hiring, so I had a decision to make.
Remember that 13-year detour I mentioned previously? This was the end of that time frame. It was time to rise from the ashes. Like the Phoenix. So it was to Phoenix I headed to live with Mom and my Stepdad. Again. I took a part-time job at a huge pay loss, but at least I had a roof over my head and a support system in my parents.
It was hard to leave behind my son and all the rest of my family, my friends, my church, and the familiarity of the city I had known for my whole life. But we don’t always see the reasons for God’s Divine Plan for our lives.
I continued living with my mom for a few years after my Stepdad died. But then I got a job way across town that had a very long commute, and I made the decision to get an apartment that was halfway between work and my Mom’s house.
Is this my Dream Home?
It was hard to believe that at that age, it would be the first time I had truly ever lived alone. I got a 2-bedroom apartment that overlooked the mountains. Every month during the full moon I would see it rise over the mountain from my balcony.
There was also a lot of hot air balloon activity nearby, so it was a very peaceful setting. I didn’t have a garage. But at least I was in a desert climate and didn’t have to worry about brushing snow off the car in Winter.
There was something about each place I lived that I thought I would miss when I moved on to the next place. But that didn’t really happen. I was always content in my new circumstances. The old was gone, and a new chapter was being created.
A few years later I was in a position to purchase a house, and with an influx of people moving to my state and rents going up at an alarming rate, I decided to make the investment. I loved my neighborhood and bought a house overlooking those same mountains that was off a hiking trail.
I replaced the cold, hard, tile flooring with a warm, beautiful wood floor that would begin to transform my home into the rural European farmhouse style that was so pleasing to me.
Is this my Dream Home?
We all want our homes to be a place of respite for us, probably more so over the last two years with everything going on in our world.
Many people are, or have been, working more from home or home schooling their children. Many are remodeling and staying in their current homes rather than buying something new. If you are also at the place where you are comfortable again having small gatherings, you want your home to be welcoming to others.
We can count ourselves lucky if we even have a safe haven in the shelter of our homes. I, for one, don’t take these four walls for granted.
As I have spent so much time in my home in the last few years, I look around at all that I have collected. Pottery, art, and accessories. Things I’ve brought back from travels. I have become somewhat attached to these things, not only for their aesthetic appeal to me, as someone who appreciates design. But also for some of the memories they evoke if they have taken the journey with me from one home to the next. But they are just things.
And the thing that I’ve failed to acknowledge, in this and every home in which I’ve lived, is that this is not my Dream Home. NONE OF THEM WERE.
My Dream Home was created for me when Jesus Christ rose on that first Easter morning. He conquered death and made a way for ALL of humanity to do the same and to have a place in Heaven, which is really my Dream Home. No matter what your religious belief, you can look at the Bible as a historical book that documents hundreds of people as witnesses to the events that took place.
We are spiritual beings in physical bodies. Our physical bodies are dying from the day we’re born. You don’t think about that when you’re young, healthy, and full of energy. But after you’ve lived for many decades you start seeing changes of all kinds.
If you are at all familiar with my blog site, you know that I always try to bring everything back to relationships. And because this is Holy Week and Easter is upon us, I want to encourage you to examine your relationship with God.
Easter is not really about the Easter bunny, although he is a cute symbol for kids, Easter egg hunts are fun, and Springtime is here. That is the more “acceptable” meaning of Easter for much of the population. (That’s not to say that it’s wrong to incorporate that into your celebration. My grandmother had Easter egg hunts for me and my brother until I was 20 years old!)
But can you imagine a place, a HOME, where there is no sadness, no pain, no division, no politics, no sickness? A place that is not only BEAUTIFUL beyond what we can imagine but a place where there is nothing but love. That’s the thing…our human minds are so limited in what we can comprehend. But God made a way, through what Jesus did, for us to have access to such a place.
If you are a Believer, take some time to reflect this week on what your faith really means to you. Don’t let the distractions of life or of this world keep you from focusing on what’s important. If you’re on the fence, I implore you to do the same. Take some time to investigate, to explore the authenticity of that historical event. To open your heart to the relationship. Because that’s really what it’s all about.
Your children may appreciate the money, property, or material things you may leave them after you’re gone. But the best legacy you can leave is the hope of something eternal after life here is done. When you, and they, cross the threshold and hear the words, “Welcome Home.”
ALIGN
Fear of the unknown, concern about the future, and regrets of the past are all swept away when I trust God. With faith in God, I do not burden myself with anxiety about my life or the lives of loved ones. I do not need to know ahead of time every detail of a coming event. Faith in God brings about the perfect outworking for every challenge and the right answer to every prayer.
When I trust God, no condition or circumstance has the power to upset me or make me fearful. Prayer reinforces my faith in God. Faith in God fortifies me against outer turmoil. Trusting in God, I am guided triumphantly through all situations. I am sustained, uplifted, and strengthened.
___Daily Word, 1989
BE STRONG!
Some people always avoid things that are costly, or things that require self-denial, self-restraint, and self-sacrifice. Yet it is hard work and difficulties that ultimately lead us to greatness, for greatness is not found by walking the moss-covered path laid out for us through the meadow. It is found by being sent to carve out our own path with our own hands.
Are you willing to sacrifice to reach the glorious mountain peaks of God’s purpose for you?
___Streams In The Desert
RISE UP
TRUTH…
PEACEFUL PLACE
LET IT ALL GO
AWAKENING
KNEEL…
DROWNING…
WASTED DAYS…
MATURITY
TEACH
DISCOVERY
QUIETNESS
“He gives quietness in the midst of the raging storm. As we sail the lake with Him, reaching deep water and far from land, suddenly, under the midnight sky, a mighty storm sweeps down. Earth and hell seem mobilized against us, and each wave threatens to overwhelm our boat. Then He rises from His sleep and rebukes the wind and the waves.
He waves His hand, signaling the end of the raging tempest and the beginning of the restful calm.
His voice is heard above the screaming of the wind through the ropes and rigging and over the thrashing of the waves. “Quiet! Be still?’ (Mark 4:39) Can you not hear it? And instantly there is a great calm. “He giveth quietness’ – quietness even in the midst of losing our inner strength and comforts. Sometimes He removes these because we make too much of them. We are tempted to look at our joys, pleasures, passions, or our dreams, with too much self-satisfaction. Then through His gracious love He withdraws them, leading us to distinguish between them and Himself. He draws near and whispers the assurance of His presence, bringing an infinite calm to keep our hearts and minds. He giveth quietness…”
Streams In The Desert___L.B. Cowman
POWER
QUIETNESS
HE HOLDS THE KEY
Is there some problem in your life to solve, some passage seeming full of mystery? God knows, who brings the hidden things to light. He keeps the key.
Is there some door closed by the Father’s hand which widely opened you had hoped to see? Trust God and wait – for when He shuts the door He keeps the key.
Is there some earnest prayer unanswered yet, or answered NOT as you had thought ‘twould be? God will make clear His purpose by and by. He keeps the key.
Have patience with your God, your patient God, all wise, all knowing, no long lingerer He, and all of the door of all your future life He keeps the key.
Unfailing comfort, sweet and blessed rest, to know of EVERY door He keeps the key. That He at last when just HE sees is best, will give it THEE.
_____ Anonymous, from “Streams In The Desert” by L.B. Cowman
“Imagine a pot with a lamp in it and a lid on it. Even though it may be filled with light, no one can see the light within it. Yet if the pot is cracked, the light will shine through the cracks. In this same way, God works through our imperfections.”
___ Joyce Meyer, The Confident Woman Devotional, “Cracked Pots”
-5
“And what is it but fragments of your own self you would discard that you may become free? If it is an unjust law you would abolish, that law was written with your own hand upon your own forehead. You cannot erase it by burning your law books nor by washing the foreheads of your judges, though you pour the sea upon them.” ___Kahlil Gibran, The Prophet – on Law
“If a law seems unfair to us, we should not criticize its authors without firstly looking at ourselves if our own injustice is not covered by it. The discriminatory laws are among the most unfair that can exist. Now, do we not all conceal to an extent discrimination within ourselves? And burning such laws will not remove the division that prevails inside us. Before wanting to change the world, even to save it, let us start by changing ourselves to save ourselves.” ___Interpretation of Kibran’s poem by Skynet.be, a Belgian publication.
Silence says a lot. It can mean suffering. It can show defeat. It can be used to diffuse a heated discussion that is going nowhere. It can be perceived that you don’t have an opinion, when what you’re really doing is sitting back, observing, and processing. It can mean that you don’t feel the need to share your thoughts with an unsafe person. It can mean you’re listening for God’s voice.
“Deep within man dwell these slumbering powers; powers that would astonish him, that he never dreamed of possessing; forces that would revolutionize his life if aroused and put into action.” ___Orison Swett Marden (1848-1924), Editor, Success Magazine
“If peace be in your heart, The wildest winter storm is full of solemn beauty, The midnight flash but shows your path of duty, Each living creature tells some new and joyous story, The very trees and stones all catch a ray of glory, If peace be in your heart.” _____Charles Francis Richardson
THE WINTER OF OUR DISCONTENT
We are nearing the end of 2020. So much has happened this year, not only to us collectively as a nation, but also to us individually. The bad news keeps coming, and you may feel that there is no end in sight. Discontent, COVID, family illness, political unrest, uncertainty about the future.
Our emotions have been tossed back-and-forth. It’s like driving around in an unfamiliar city, trying to find your way. Who do you ask for directions? Ask five people and you’ll get five different answers. So you choose a direction and continue driving, only to end up right back where you started. When is peace going to come?
For most of my life I’ve lived for what the future held, rather than living in each moment, each hour, each day, looking for the blessing in moments and in what I had in my life that was precious instead of looking toward the future for happiness. A new job, a potential relationship, having children and grandchildren, that much-needed vacation. Or putting off things that I really wanted to do because of the opinions of others, lack of funds, or some other reasons that were just excuses for fear of failure.
We only have today. This is me today. No makeup other than tinted moisturizer and a little lipstick, no hair done, pensive, reflective. And the way I look doesn’t matter. There is no one to impress. In this moment sitting in my home office, I have a cute tabletop tree behind me with flocked snow and lights, and a picture of my grandson just out of frame that remind me that it’s all about relationships. I know we can’t hug each other right now or hang out casually with friends as we have in the past. Things we might have taken for granted before are the things to which we cling in the present.
That small Christmas tree in its simple beauty is a reminder to me of what this season is all about. Peace, joy, giving, and showing love to others, but for me it’s about the love God gave to us in the form of a child born whose purpose was to show His love for all people.
As you process your thoughts, you may feel the need to write them down. My free gift to you is printable journal pages on which you can write your thoughts. Words are powerful. They can hurt or they can heal.
Feel free to browse through the images, quotes, and stories on my Sunrize Connection site. Perhaps something will speak a word that you need to hear today. All of the pages have a link to the printable pages; when you fill out the form you will be redirected to the pages to print.
If you are at a point where you feel like giving up, let Jesus take the wheel. If you are not a Believer or a person of faith, cling to whatever gives you hope, and I will keep you in my thoughts and prayers. Let this Winter of discontent turn into a promise of peace.
I’D RATHER BE IN THE DARK. OR WOULD I?…..
Does anyone remember the days before social media, when you either had to watch the news, go to the library, read the paper and other publications, or be friends with the “neighborhood” gossip, to be able to find things out that are so readily available because of the Internet today?
What prompts this is some searching I was doing on Facebook, because I wanted to catch up with what’s going on with people who don’t often come up in my News Feed. You can learn a lot about someone by the pages they like, the comments they make, etc., that you might not otherwise learn, or that they wouldn’t volunteer about themselves for whatever reason. Maybe they want to keep their known public persona because truly revealing who they are would cost them, whether it be financial, loss of friendships or family support, or loss of followers, since we live in a time when that seems to be important for a lot of people.
I don’t admit to searching others’ pages lightly; it makes you seem nosy or insecure or that you have nothing better to do. I don’t know that I would call it an admirable trait, unless you want to be a private detective. But sometimes you have a nagging feeling in the back of your mind, perhaps regarding a marriage or relationship, that things are not what they seem – something seems “off” and you are tempted to further investigate to validate your suspicions. BE CAREFUL WHAT YOU WISH FOR!
My past “investigative abilities” have revealed one ex-husband who was involved in something illegal and another ex-husband (who was a boyfriend at the time) who was cheating on me, and had even taken the woman on a vacation at the very same time that I was at the same location vacationing with my family! Do you think his subconscious wanted him to be found out? Would it have been better for me to remain in the dark? Did knowing some of the things I did affect my own actions?
Staying in the dark might have given me a false sense of security for a while. But I believe that truth always comes to light. Perhaps not right away. But it always comes to light. My own feeling is that it’s always better to deal with the known than the unknown, no matter the potential hurt it may cause us. In the long run, the hurt will lessen, and we can always gain something valuable from the situation. And we can put ourselves in a position to help others who are going through some of the same things we have, so they can see there is light at the end of the tunnel.
After several of my “discoveries” I almost wished I could turn back the clock and just let ignorance be bliss. But we humans have this insatiable thirst for information – even if it’s unfavorable. It’s as though it elevates us somehow if we know something before someone else does. And it’s so easy to come by.
Okay, back to searching. I was looking at the Facebook page of an acquaintance this evening who doesn’t post that much, but I had remembered accidentally (really) coming across information a few years ago that her daughter had identified as male and was going through a transition. I hadn’t heard any updates, but some posts were apparent that the family was going through some tough times, so I did a search of the daughter, which was fairly easy because she is a successful writer.
I then learned more information than I really wanted to know. Most of this family, whose children are grown, is now fractured because of betrayal, pedophilia, and other secrets that have torn this family apart and cost the pastor his livelihood. What a mess. I’d rather be in the dark…
When someone is in a position of leadership – whether a teacher, politician, or pastor, I think they are held to a higher standard of accountability and responsibility because of their influence. What had me shaking my head was the condition of our world and how people that we have looked up to and considered our leaders seemed to have lost their way, even those who have embraced and taught biblical values and a relationship with God. There is so much confusion in the world. Teen suicides are at an all-time high. Even political parties seem to have changed the values for which they once stood. What has happened to the condition of peoples’ hearts? When did the lines between right and wrong become so blurred?
All I could do in those moments was to pray for this pastor and his family. During his tenure at my previous church, I served under his leadership for several years and found great value and humor in his teachings, and his books contributed to my spiritual growth. I wanted to put him and other leaders up on a pedestal. But we live in a fallen world. We are human beings and none of us is perfect. We will all have to answer for our actions.
We have to stop looking to people to be our answer. Your husband or wife is not the answer. Your pastor is not the answer. The president is not the answer. For me, Jesus is the answer. I don’t just look at him as a prophet or a wise teacher. I am a Christ follower and believe in the Trinity of God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Those of you who may be reading this may have other beliefs, religious or otherwise. Even though I was raised in my faith from childhood, my faith is very personal and real to me. There comes a time in one’s life when you make a choice as to what you believe. Who or what you will follow. To those who want to lump all Christians into a specific category of others who profess this faith but don’t show God’s love to others, that is not who I am.
I don’t care what your religion is, what your color is, or what political party you follow. If you claim allegiance to any organization, belief system, political party, have wealth and material things but “have not LOVE”, it is all for nothing. (I Corinthians 13). If you think I am foolish for what I believe, what I can tell you is that what I believe is a WIN-WIN for me. If I am trying to be more like Jesus in the way I live my life, and if what I believe isn’t true after I leave this earth, I will have lost nothing. But if what I believe IS true, I WILL HAVE GAINED EVERYTHING. If you are someone who is on the fence, I would encourage you to pick up a Bible and start reading the gospels to start understanding who Jesus is.
What people are doing today is worrying too much about what others think of how they look physically, how many “likes,” followers, and views we can get from people we don’t even know, will probably never meet, and many who have ulterior motives. Perhaps people should look inward and focus more on the spiritual aspect of their lives and how pretty their hearts are, instead of constant selfies with their pouty, glossed lips, long eyelashes, and new high heels. There are few people who can do both well.
Once you have a more spiritual focus, you will experience the peace and acceptance you’ve looked for in other things. And I don’t believe that everyone is all good or all bad; we all have many facets to our personalities as the complex human beings we are. As far as that pastor, I choose to take with me what was positive that I learned from him instead of dwelling on his failings.
So, would I rather be in the dark? My answer is “no.” I always joke that I would have made a great private investigator. And some of the things I uncovered in my own relationships made me angry, sad, and even scared. But my gut instinct in those situations told me something was not right, so finding out what I did allowed me to know the reality of a situation and then decide how I was going to deal with it. I would rather be in the light, and Jesus is the Light. The Light that has overcome the world.