Savor your food

"What day is it?"
"It's today," squeaked Piglet.
"My favorite day," said Pooh.

I am a big planner, I like knowing where I'm going next. Camp is a big one, so it creates a lot of anticipation. The minute summer commenced, I was up in my room thinking about all the unimportant stuff, clothes to take, photos to print, shoes that match and toiletries to last. I have learnt that anticipation can take away...
It speeds up time, it prevents other memories from existing.
All the time in wait for this one event can take away any reason to be glad for the present.

It has been a huge challenge for me to resist the long stage of packing and the endless moments lost, thinking about camp. I recall when I was small and sometimes now at dinner, my mom and I would be eating and I would finish much faster then her. She'd look at me and say that it was healthier to eat slowly, chew, swallow, process the tastes, textures and not be out of breath by the end of the meal. haha.
I can relate that to now, I had to slow my rollers, sit down and think about other stuff besides camp (which was like pulling teeth at first). There is great value in excitement, but only when it doesn't neglect the present. Today is sunny with some wind and clouds floating around, the trees are dusty green from the city blowing into them, my dog is laying on my lap, and my teeth hurt a bit from an orange I just ate. What is so great with today is that I will never have today again! It's all it is, right now, and each moment following until my head hits my pillow. So why think about camp now, or then or a month ago?! That time will come and no other time will be like then.
Today is my favorite day.

I will praise you in this storm

I said good-bye to my sunny days of Spring under the willow tree.
Our first lightning storm of the season erupted and it was incredible. I gathered my bedding and my pock-a-dot pillow and knelt snuggled against my large opened window. I stared at the dark pink sky with intensified eyes. It was going on eleven when the rain came. In sheets and blankets of water. I heard the thunder race across the now orange sky. I heard the rain pelt against my little rooftop. My curiosity kept tempting me to climb on my roof, but logic kicked in and I stayed put. As my arms dangled out my window I saw giant bolts strike the sky and ignite the world. It was going on midnight, but I couldn't pull myself away from the window. I was a little child again. I couldn't stop staring because I was convinced that any second something remarkable would happen. I couldn't miss it. I couldn't! If I looked away, it would happen and I would miss it! I remember when I thought thunder was angels bowling and lightning was simply magic, not just thunder as electricity that vibrates through the air, or lightning being an expansion of rapidly heated air. No, I had a childlike wonder.

When I was little I thought the saying, "fear God," meant fear Him, tremble like He will hurt me! I remember looking at the sky and being scared, wondering if one strike would hit me...if the angels would miss and a bowling ball would fall right on top of me. I do fear God, but not with terror, with praise. Fearing God means having such a reverence (deep respect) for Him that it has a great impact on the way we live our lives.

During the night, when thunder was so loud my house shook, and the light so bright that it could of been day, I praised my feared God, I praised Him in this storm.

Then I woke up on the floor of course.

Gone Fishing.

Today I went out and got my first tattoo. I had been planning on getting this for 3 years and finally did it! Here on my foot is a fish, that has many different meanings to me.
The history of the Christian faith is a history with such beauty and trust in Jehovah. In the time of the first Christians, there was a lot of war and murder and brokenness, but the strength of God provided these people with the ability to trust Him. To trust that their love for God would save them. Even though many were being persecuted by the Romans, they persisted to meet secretly for communion and worship. In order to do this they created a special sign, the Jesus fish. Two people or two groups of people would meet and one would draw the first arc in the dirt and if the other was too a Christian he would draw the other arc forming this fish.
Now, I didn't get a tattoo just because I like history that much! But I got it because it reminds me of the courage they had, to do whatever they had to, to come together and worship their One God. I am so blessed to live in a time and a country that allows such diversity and allows me to worship and pray and express my passion for Christ under my own terms, and it gets me thinking everyday whether I would be able and willing to still do that, if it was my own life being threatened.

I call myself a follower of Jesus. I look everyday to follow Him and what God is calling me to be and do. That is something so important and also so hard to do. I think about the fishermen that Jesus encountered. He told them,

"Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men."

And they did, not knowing what would happen next. His disciples were ready to give up and sacrifice every bit they possessed in order to follow Jesus. I live in a world of possessions and greed. A time that I hope I can say in past tense some day. All I want is to follow. To be the last of the pack, where everyone in front blocks my view and I have to wave my arms and jump up and down to be seen. Then... at the end of the day, to be approached and told that my desperation to get a glimpse of Him is all He wants and longs to see in all His children. I want to remember each day, that nothing of this world amounts to eternity with God, not a thousand years or the greatest hour.
I chose to put this fish on my foot because it reminds me of
"The footprints in the sand." 

One night I dreamed I was walking along the beach with the Lord,

Many scenes from my life flashed across the sky.

In each scene I noticed footprints in the sand.

Sometimes there were two sets of footprints, 

other times there were one set of footprints.

This bothered me because I noticed

that during the low period of my life,

when I was suffering from 

anguish, sorrow or defeat,

I could see only one set of footprints.

So I said to the Lord,

"You promised me Lord,

that if I followed you,

you would walk with me always.

But I have noticed that during

the most trying periods of my life

there have only been one

set of footprints in the sand.

Why, when I needed you most,

you have not been there for me?"

The Lord replied,

"The times when you have

seen only one set of footprints,

is when I carried you."

By  Mary Stevenson

I remember that in times of hurt and destruction, God is so powerful and will hold me close and place my feet on solid rock once more. 

All this wrapped up in a tattoo the size of a roll of quarters. Wowza! But even an ink engraved thing is nothing compared to God and all His majesty and even having a permanent reminder on a body part, doesn't distract me from looking first to God and not through something else. 

All this was quite an experience!! 

Springing with Joy

In less then one hour it will be the season of new creation! Of fresh buds, misty mornings, longer days and RAIN!!!!! I love the rain!!! There is something so pure and so refining as rain. I wrote a while back in a post about this and I said that while the rain was pelting down on everyone else, I felt like it was shining on me. My own liquid sunshine. 

Spring is the time of year when I was born, and I believe that is why I feel so connected to God through a great downfall of fresh water. 

I want to share a few near perfect memories I have in the rain... When I was a young girl, me and my dad would go up north to our cottage for the weekend in the Spring time. For every storm that came through we would head down to the docks and link arms and swirl into the water. We would do this as the thunder pounded across the sky and the lightening was still unseen, then that first bolt would send us out of the waters, but I would keep dancing around on the docks. 

Another wondrous memory I have of the rain is up at camp this past summer. There hadn't been any rain all summer and the camp was really suffering from it. Or at least I was! Then near the end of August giant gray clouds swept across the camp and thunder's powerful voice grew as did the voices of all my friends there. It was bible study at the time, but no bibles were open, only people outside, only arms embracing the drops of rain and only palms facing heavenward reaching for Abba. It was quite a sight to behold.

We were springing with joy to our Mighty God. 

Oh Spring, shower down on us.

no author for my thoughts, only an illustrator

            A well spent vacation

  

"All around you, people will be tiptoeing through life, just to arrive at death safely. But dear children, do not tiptoe. Run, hop, skip, or dance, just don't tiptoe."

Giving up a Verb

It is the time of Lent and each year I usually commit to giving up my straightener or social media or some other meaningless object or what most teenagers would say "Their Lifeline!," but for me this time around I was a little late choosing that one thing to give up and it came down to texting or television. I thought about it longer, I knew that none of that would challenge me... it would take some getting used to, but I wouldn't be learning anything about myself or things I need to work on, within myself.
I decided to give up something invisible, but something that I do far more often then texting of watching the telly. I judge others far too often. I thought for the longest time that it was alright to judge if it was kept to yourself, but it really isn't! Judging others makes you bitter, simple fact, because I know from experience that my face never smiles after I look down at someone!
And even judging someone in a positive way...it can quickly turn into jealousy and lust. So, I thought about giving up my judgment towards others and myself and it has been challenging so far. I didn't realize how much I looked at people with a mouthful to say. It is a pointless habit and deserves no attention. I feel more and more, free from a life of disappointment and anger, because I'm looking at God and wanting to be more like Him rather then the people I see around me.

Mark 2

This evening I went to a worship service at a church I am foreign too... it was incredible! Please all, read this very long collection of verse! What the pastor spoke of afterwards was beautiful.

Now after some days, when he returned to Capernaum, the news spread that he was at home. So many gathered that there was no longer any room, not even by the door, and he preached the word to them. Some people came bringing him a paralytic, carried by four of them. When they were not able to bring him in because of the crowd, they removed the roof above Jesus. Then, after tearing it out, they lowered the stretcher the paralytic was lying on. When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, "Son, your sins are forgiven." Now some of the experts in the law were sitting there, turning these things over in their minds: "Why does this man speak this way? He is blaspheming! Who can forgive sins but God alone?" Now immediately, when Jesus realized in his spirit that they were contemplating such thoughts, he said to them, "Why are you thinking such things in your hearts? Which is easier, to say to the paralytic, 'Your sins are forgiven,' or to say, 'Stand up, take your stretcher, and walk'? But so that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins," - he said to the paralytic - "I tell you, stand up, take your stretcher, and go home." And immediately the man stood up, took his stretcher, and went out in front of them all. They were all amazed and glorified God, saying, "We have never seen anything like this!"

 So, you made it through this.... There was a question being tossed around and I will repeat it now, "Who do you relate to in this story?" Some say Jesus, others say the paralytic man, or his friends lowering him down from the roof. But then he told us that his senior pastor said.... "I would be the home owner." The home owner isn't even mentioned in this story, not once. Then I thought about it more. I have never been a home owner, but one day I will be and I reckon it will be very hard and then after I am one, I would cherish my home and protect it. It would be my comfort, my sanctuary, my safety net. How would I or you feel if you invited Jesus, a great teacher into your home and then huge crowds of people gathered everywhere!! Probably knocking over things and helping themselves to the pantry, and yet you remain silent. Then, four men pull back the roof of your house, destroying it, to lower a sick man in the middle of what was probably your living room, right in front of Jesus. And still you remain silent. The home that you worked so hard for, is being invaded and destroyed and you don't say a word. Why? ...
This home owner was putting himself in discomfort so that a sick man could meet Jesus and be healed! That's pretty crazy if you ask me. He let his safety net fall so that one person could meet Jesus.
These four friends that were lowering this man to Jesus were so persistent so that this man could be healed. It's not like they tried to shout to Jesus from outside the house, or to wait outside to catch him after when he snuck out the back door, but they knew that he needed to meet Jesus right then! So they climb up on a roof, which would of been extremely hard, and they ripped a part a roof and lowered a man to Jesus. And Jesus doesn't even start off by healing the man's physical illness, but he says, "Son, your sins are forgiven." I think that these men knew that they're friend needed to meet Jesus. This man probably accepted the state he was in and was depressed and said to his friends, "I don't want you to take me any where!' But the men knew they had to, so they got him on a stretcher and probably traveled a long way through the desert, in sweat and discomfort, to presented him to Jesus and from that this broken man met this great Healer.
Sometimes when we think about a Christian's duties, we think that we have to create this perfect speech on a silver platter and  in our words intrigue others to God...but we aren't suppose to seal the deal with people and God, we are only suppose to set up the meeting! Does that make sense? We don't have to get others to buy the product, we just have to set up the conference. When we make ourselves last and show them Jesus and bring them to a meeting with God, He will do the rest! What we say doesn't matter, it could be the worse sermon or speech, and still God will use it for His work. We pull them along and bring them to Jesus, but remain silent and let God take it from there. So the challenge for us all listening and for you all reading is to choose someone that you feel deep down needs to meet Jesus and meet with God and then do whatever you need to do that is uncomfortable and without a safety net to get them to that meeting! To lower them from a roof and surrender them to the greatest Healer of Jesus.