Encouraging Deep Roots

  I love spring as it ushers in song birds, blooming flowers, greenery every where I look and the renewal of all things. Nature comes alive and everything is fresh and new. Of course, here in the northeast, we still have chilly days and nights but overall it's refreshing to know that warm temperatures are on the way.  I have renewed energy and renewed hope. The extended and brighter days also reveals corners in my house that need a refreshing and cleaning. With a very quiet few days ahead of me I plan on doing some spring cleaning out of those corners and a refresh and reset in my house.  I got out and walked at the local audubon center the other day as that is one of the places that is a healing balm to my soul. Ministry is hard and sometimes, people can be difficult. And for me, being able to connect to the Lord while out in creation is essential. I find as I walk and pray, think and photograph my spirit is renewed and refreshed. I come home better able to deal with iss...

I've been hearing a lot about surrender lately in my reading, my prayers as the Holy Spirit speaks to me, in different messages I've heard. Philippians 2:3-8 ~ Do nothing out of rivalry or conceit, but in humility consider others as more important than yourselves. Everyone should look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others. Make your own attitude that of Christ Jesus, who, existing in the form of God, did not consider equality with God as something to be used for His own advantage. Instead He emptied Himself by assuming the form of a slave, taking on the likeness of men. And when He had come as a man in His external form, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death— even to death on a cross. Surrendering to God requires humility and a laying down of my will.  It is daily - moment by moment. It means setting aside my pride and my need for others to notice. It means staying in a hard place in my life until the Lord has taught me...

I was reading in Galatians this morning when I came across this little verse in chapter 5. Galatians 5:25 says, " Since we live by the Spirit,  let us keep in step with the Spirit." I was reminded of the game, follow the leader, that we used to play as a child. The point of the game is to follow behind the lead person and imitate whatever they do as you follow behind. If doing it correctly, you will move as one unit.  As we walk in the Spirit we will put away those behaviors that belonged to our former way of life and will begin to see the fruit of the Spirit developed in our life. Our lives will reflect joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. But Paul gives this reminder to keep in step with the Spirit. In other words, our lives should be so reflective of the Lord that we move as one unit - much like the game of follow the leader. Paul makes it very clear in this passage that every attitude, action and word we speak is to be ...

I lay away in the wee hours of the morning on Sunday, unable to sleep and stressed about a situation. Psalm 23 began to run through my head and as I recited it to myself I walked through the verses and what they mean.  The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I lack. He gives me everything I need. He watches over me. He is my protector and provider. He is my defender. He lets me lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside quiet waters. I find this verse interesting since the pastures of the Old Testament wouldn't look like pastures here in the states. They weren't green and lucious. They were just intermittent tufts of grass near where moisture collected by the rocks.  So the sheep had to keep moving to find nourishment. That's true of our lives. As we follow the shepherd we will have moments of nourishment and rest, but we need to keep moving to grow.  Shepherds didn't drive the sheep, they led them. God isn't pushing us forward, but He leads us and it's ou...

I had to laugh this morning as I thought about a blog post to write. Every so often I think that I need to keep this blog focused, but that just feels boring to me. I am creative. I have many things going on all of the time and they are an eclectic mix of ministry, cooking, crafting, business, writing, and on and on it goes. It is how the Lord has hard-wired me and I feel like my blog has lost a bit of ME as I try to stay focused on one direction. I really am just going to start posting so that it's more reflective of who I am.  This post is going to be a glimpse into my creative head space. Perhaps some of you can relate to me. Some of you may be cringing and thinking, "Here she goes again!" "Hopping down zig-zagging bunny trails." That's the challenge of my brain. Everything ties together. As I walk and take pictures, ideas for writing or scripture passages pop into my brain. As I sew and craft, I often am problem solving ministry or business issues. As I ...

This beautiful sight was ahead of us the other night as we drove home. It was a good reminder to learn to appreciate the many blessings we see each day. At times, we don't notice because we are so consumed with our problems. Other times, we take them for granted. I want to learn to be thankful for each moment of my day. That takes intentionality and awareness. And if I spend my life looking down at the problems, I'll never look up to see the bigger picture. This week I'm thankful for many things... 💓 Getting to know a new friend. We had our missions conferenct his past week and I spent Friday with our international worker. I took her to the local Audubon to walk and then to a restaurant and a local museum. It was enjoyable.  💓 Because I had been invited to a local business leader gathering, a woman reached out to me to have lunch. She wanted to discuss a local ministry she had and the possibility of me coming and speaking. It was nice getting to know her and finding a fel...