Encouraging Deep Roots

Days rush by and I realized today that it's been over a week since I've posted here. I love to write and often my writing is connected to something going on in my life. This is my way to process through it, figure out what God wants me to learn from it, and then in turn, encourage someone else with that same truth. But it's hard to find inspiration when the things I take inspiration in are no longer available to me. I hear best from God when I'm out in nature and yet, I can't do much walking because of my knee. I attempted to walk today but made it less than a mile. My knee kept giving out on me and I knew if I attempted to go further, I'd end up with a setback. But thankfulness came when I realized that two weeks ago I wouldn't have even been able to hobble that far.  I'm taking two classes this year. They take place once a month on a Saturday and I drove back to our previous area, spent the night with a friend and then drove on to the class in the morn...

I woke up at 4 a.m. mulling over various situations in my life and struggling with feelings of anxiety. After tossing and turning for about a half an hour, I decided that I needed to get up and spend some time in reading and prayer. I opened my Bible and my eyes fell on a passage in Hebrews 5:7-10.  During the days of Jesus’ life on earth, he offered up prayers and petitions with fervent cries and tears to the one who could save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverent submission.   Son though he was, he learned obedience from what he suffered   and, once made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him   and was designated by God to be high priest in the order of Melchizedek. Jesus, who was the Son of God, chose a posture of humility and obedience as He went through suffering. At any point He could have said, "Enough is enough!" But He didn't do that. He willingly chose to submit to God's will...

I realize that my past few posts may seem like I'm sitting here in my house wallowing in self-pity. The reality is that while I do have moments of sorrow, most of the time I get back up, dust myself off and move forward. My sense of humor remains intact so I can find humor in most things going on in my life. I told someone the other day that one of the side effects of my covid-related lack of taste and smell is NOT losing weight. I said that I just keep eating, hoping the next bite will be the one where my taste comes back! So far that's not working. 😉 My biggest dilemma in life is figuring out what I should do and what I shouldn't do with my time. I have so many good opportunities that come my way and quite often I leap before I look. I'm learning to slow it down, pray about things and figure out what fits into the bigger plan that God has for my life. So rather than just say, "Yes!" to opportunities, I need to figure out what is the best yes I can give.  So...

Click. Last Monday night as I was walking up the steps from our family room I felt something give in my knee. Instantly I was transported back to a time when pain, knee braces, hobbling around and crutches were my norm. It seems as if I've re-torn my meniscus and after a visit to the doctor, who wasn't very helpful with a solution, certain things in my life have come to a halt.  There are no more markets for the rest of the season. No more walks through the woods. There is not much of anything except sitting. I have moments when it doesn't hurt so much and I can almost walk normally and will get a few things done. However, after a few minutes of this, it flares back up, and I'm in my recliner with an ice pack on my knee. It feels like insult has been added to injury. The season I'm in has really taken on a nightmarish quality in many ways. I miss taste and smell. I miss walking and breathing in the fresh scents as I walk through an open meadow. I miss my mother. I m...

  Summer is coming to an end and even though it's been a very hot and humid week, you can tell that autumn will be here before we know it. The leaves are starting to get hints of brown and yellow. It's getting dark a bit earlier and the sun is rising later in the morning. Even though it wasn't the summer I planned for, I am still thankful for many things.  💗 Good days at the market when I could get there.  💗 Backyard visitors every day. They are foraging for seeds and bugs and keep me entertained. Juncos are funny little birds.  💗 We had an outreach event a couple of weeks ago and I'm thankful that I'm still hearing good things about it from our church people and the community. One of our visitors came back to a church service as a result of the event. 💗 God continues to bless me even when I don't deserve it. I find that I can spiral very quickly into whining and yet, because He is a good father, He continues to give me good things. 💗 I had an opportunity t...

This road has been a familiar sight lately as we travel back and forth to check in on my father-in-law and take him to visit my mother-in-law who is in a rehabilitation center for her fractured pelvis. We have all been taking a couple of days to do this each week. My mother-in-law is slated to come home on Wednesday. It's been a rough time for her as she is in pain, depressed and anxious and wanting to be home. This week has been a rough one for me as well as the anxiety and depression in my own life has flared up. There are stressors going on that have caused some of it. Others are health issues - I think I reinjured my knee somehow, 6 months after getting Covid, I still can't taste or smell, and I'm dealing with carpal tunnel problems in my wrist.  And I know I'm not the only one. So many people are dealing with far worse than these issues. So what is one to do as a Christ-follower when there is so much hardship in this world? The prophet Habakkuk was facing calamity ...

One of the things that I find interesting about my walk with the Lord is that when I allow Him to work in me, He never allows me to stay stagnant. I add the caveat "when I allow Him to..." because unfortunately, many never allow themselves to stretch and grow. It's easy to be so comfortable in the way things have been that growth never happens. Yesterday, we had an outreach event at our church. It ended up being a very successful time as we watched different people in our church have the freedom to use their gifts in ministry. We saw lots of new people attend. And it helped to build relationship bonds as we all worked together.  However, the weirdest thing for me was that I had no role to play in the organizing of the event. In every single church we've been a part of, I've always initiated and led these type of outreach events. The only role I had in this particular one was bringing a dish to share and running the kid's craft booth. It was so different for me...