Hearts in Service Blog

  I've hit the ground running in June and have some traveling that is going to be happening over the next few months.  I started by spending the weekend (which was technically still May) with my daughter and son-in-law to celebrate her 27th birthday. It was a fun weekend which involved some hiking, some shopping, eating out and going to a graduation barbecue (my son-in-law's brother graduated from college). I was home for two days and this morning I'm headed out to Ohio for a conference. Since I'm on our national Alliance Women's team this is a working conference for me so I'll be busy the whole weekend. In two weeks I have a leadership retreat and then two weeks after that another event. Both take place in the middle of the state. This summer will be full with the farmer's market, working on a coaching certification, vacation, and other activities. Then the exciting thing is happening in September when I head to Senegal for ten days. I'm nervous, but lo...

One of the reasons I love hiking so much is that it forces me to slow down and live in the moment. As I walk through the forest all I hear is the sound of my footsteps, the birds and the breeze blowing through the trees. I'm disconnected from technology and as I take pictures I'm noticing the details.  I spot things I normally wouldn't see. I can spend as much time as I want just listening and looking. I'm not enslaved to my to-do list. It also allows time for some self-reflection. I am thankful we live so close to some beautiful hiking trails. I can walk in our neighborhood, but as someone who connects to God best out in nature, it's something that is necessary for me. As the car climbed the mountain and came up out of the fog on Monday, I could feel the cares falling away. I find that my head clears on these hikes, I'm able to find solutions to a situation or gain clarity on how to proceed. Disconnecting for a bit helps me to reconnect and center myself to fac...

It's been cold and rainy the past few days here in the Northeast. Normally Memorial Day is the start of the summer season and a time for barbecues, picnics, parades and outdoor events. In fact, it's been so dreary that it even slipped my mind that it was a holiday weekend! I participated in our local farmer's market on Saturday and I was thankful it was indoors as it was a torential downpour when I first arrived. It was kind of a slow day there and I think the rain kept many people away. I haven't planted anything yet and really need to start thinking about making our yard look welcoming instead of bare and bleak. It's hard to be in the mood for flowers and gardening when it's cold and rainy. I have started some clippings indoors, but that's about it. I attended a memorial service along with my brother-in-law at the facility my father-in-law is living. It was to honor those who lost loved ones this past year and was a meaningful service. They planted a butte...

  What is your response when facing an obstacle?  Is it to become fearful and anxious?  To spend hours worrying and replaying it over and over in your mind?  To spiral into depression? To feel like you are going to be crushed by the burden? Or something else? As I read in 2 Chronicles 20, I found a better solution for the problems we all face. 2 Chronicles 20:1-4 (HCSB) ~ After this, the Moabites and Ammonites, together with some of the Meunites, came to fight against Jehoshaphat.   People came and told Jehoshaphat, “A vast number from beyond the Dead Sea and from Edom has come to fight against you; they are already in Hazazon-tamar”   (that is, En-gedi).   Jehoshaphat was afraid, and he resolved   to seek the   Lord . Then he proclaimed a fast   for all Judah,   who gathered to seek the   Lord . They even came from all the cities of Judah to seek Him. Jehoshapat is facing a huge obstacle.  Three other nations were on thei...

Isaiah 49:6 ~ He says, “It is not enough for you to be My Servant raising up the tribes of Jacob and restoring the protected ones of Israel. I will also make you a light for the nations, to be My salvation to the ends of the earth.” Revelation 7:9 ~ After this I looked, and there was a vast multitude from every nation, tribe, people, and language, which no one could number, standing before the throne and before the Lamb. They were robed in white with palm branches in their hands. My first intense exposure to missions was as a student in college in the early 1980’s. I remember sitting in rapt attention as different international workers would speak and share their stories. I would feel a deep desire stirring within my soul. God had instilled within me a heart to reach the nations. I wanted to go overseas as a missionary.  And yet, due to various circumstances, that was not to be. But that same stirring is still within me. I do my best to support missions in other ways. God, in His g...

Acts 20:24 ~   I count my life of no value to myself, so that I may finish my course and the ministry I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of God’s grace. I've been reading Acts lately and have been inspired by Paul's missionary journeys. As he approaches the end of the record of his travels he talks about knowing what he is going to face - beatings, jail, torture and even death, and makes this statement above. His only concern was finishing the ministry that he was given and staying the course of sharing the gospel. Most of us will never face the things that Paul faced, and yet, so easily to veer off course. We allow worries, finances, family and a whole host of other things to get in the way of the ministry we've been given or get in the way of following where God leads.  I know there have been times when I've allowed that to happen in my own life and when it does, I need to adjust my course and get back on the path that I know God has set me on...