One day at a time . . .

Today as I am pondering what to blog about, I am looking over at my calendar and contemplate the next few weeks.

Next week includes a graduation luncheon for our son at the Focus Institute, my youngest daughter's orientation, and our family leaving for Yellowstone. The Friday after we return, our son leaves for Oklahoma the same day as we have a end-of-summer, new college student send-off barbecue. The following Tuesday, the 7th, youngest starts school.

Then on Saturday, my older daughter has a study-prep session at the college while I have an all day Writer's Summer Camp session. On the 14th, oldest daughter moves on campus. And in between, I am trying to write, prepare for trip, paint youngest's bedroom (hopefully!), help oldest daughter sort and pack, hit doctor's appointments, and shop for all three kids for school needs.

The reason I listed all of that is to stop for a moment and ask why I allow a calendar to dictate my days and how I feel about them. I like being busy, productive. However, when I look at the full weeks ahead, I start to get stressed. But the Lord never intended for the days (or weeks) of schedules in front of us to set our moods or our days. A song I love says, "All of my days are held in Your hand, crafted into Your perfect plan."

Yes, we need to plan, but ultimately, He is the One who is to tell us what each day should contain. Each day I am learning anew how to ask Him, "Lord what would You have for me today?" As I do that, even when the calendar is full, I relax, knowing that all I have to do or take care of is what's right before me now. The next hour, next appointment, next day, will take care of itself. I only have grace for this moment.

Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice! Let your gentle spirit be known to all men. The Lord is near. Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus (Phil. 4:4-7).

May you find rest, refreshment, and peace to walk through your days as you allow Him to show you what's to do each moment of every day.

Do You Smell?

My daughter arrived home from work, frazzled and frustrated. She is working with a young woman who is one of those prickly people who constantly send out barbs to everyone around them. Well, this day my daughter had become the unfortunate target.

The person in question started a conversation with my daughter and then began to mock her for her friendships with other coworkers, her purity, and finally her Christianity. While my daughter is well aware that there will be persecution in this world, this still took her aback. As she said, "Mom, I have never had someone spew so much hostility and venom at me for who I am." The final clincher was a childish insult hurled at my daughter: "You smell."

Well, my daughter knew she didn't smell and yet that barb found a way in under her armor. Funny how the devil can use even little things to penetrate when the full-frontal assault is failing. But God is so gracious to redeem. That night as we gathered with our church for prayer, my daughter's best friend came up behind her to give her a hug and without knowing anything of my daughter's day said to her, "You smell so sweet."

When my daughter told us what her friend had said later in the night, I just smiled. As she said, "I knew I didn't stink, and yet to hear that affirmation from someone who was unaware of my day totally disarmed it."

As we were talking, the Lord reminded me of a verse which I quickly looked up. "But thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumphal procession in Christ and through us spreads everywhere the fragrance of the knowledge of him. For we are to God the aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing. To the one we are the smell of death; to the other, the fragrance of life. And who is equal to such a task?" (2 Cor. 2:14-16)

After that I had to tease my daughter, that yes, she DID smell! To that coworker, it is a smell of death, to her dear friend, the fragrance of life. And she laughed with me as we agreed that our prayer for each one of us is to be "smelly!"

Tight Places

Last Saturday my husband and I went mountain bike riding at a new state park which just recently opened south of Colorado Springs. What we had seen of trails from driving past a few weeks prior looked fairly easy. There were wide paths traversing through some beautiful meadows. Okay, I can do that. Mind you, I have only been riding a bike for about one year. The only other bike I have owned was the purple banana-seated one I got as birthday gift when I turned six or seven.

So we get to the park, and take off on one of the more narrow trails heading away from the parking lot. Not any are marked with difficulty level. Yep, you can see what's coming. After about 5-10 minutes (not the hour it seemed!) we climbed out onto a narrow, at times rocky single track trail. I don't know how to ride over rocks, I am not particularly fond of riding uphill, I HATE consticted places!

But we kept riding. I struggled a lot, battling fear and feeling completely overwhelmed. Not feelings I like. As a matter of fact, usually when I feel these emotions, I panic. Not a good thing to do on a mountain bike.

Not a good thing on skis either. This is the same feeling I get when I have tried to ski down black runs (Difficult classification!) with David and the kids in the winter. I have always maintained that the moguls (big snow-covered hills on a run) are okay if they would just spread them apart. I hate feeling trapped in the gutter (the bottoms between the hills).

And yesterday as I was pondering these things it occurred to me that this is a common fear I have in many situations ranging from physical activities to financial to emotional and spiritual. God came to set us free. He never intended for me to be bound in fear.

"It was for freedom that Christ set us free" (Gal. 5:1)
The definition of the word freedom, eleutheria, here is freedom, generosity, independence. It is a distinctive blessing of grace. The exact opposite of slavery or having to follow a prescribed course. The Lord also showed me this is related to trust.

"When I am afraid, I will put my trust in You" (Ps. 56:3).
The word for trust, batach, means to attach oneself, to trust, confide in, feel safe, be confident, secure, careless. It represents the feeling of well-being from knowing the rug won't be pulled out from under you.

I still need to have both of these worked into me because no matter what the circumstance may be, no matter how tightly constrained I may feel, the Lord always has freedom for me that flows as a result of the grace I receive in trusting Him.

And by the way, I actually gained some new skills on the bike and surprisingly enjoyed most of the ride through beautiful country, taking it slow and learning along the journey.

Blessings.

Mouse in the house

O little mouse,
Why are you hiding in my house?


Cute, isn't he? (she?) Problem was this little guy somehow found a way into the house. I had just climbed in bed early, weary from a busy day. My youngest daughter was getting ready for bed as well and my husband was working on his laptop in our family room.

I hear the call, Kerry can you come down here? I need your help. Grumbling mildly to myself about climbing back out of bed, youngest daughter and I head downstairs. My hubby is very carefully setting down his laptop and getting off the sofa. "Are you hurt?" I asked at his ginger movements. "Nope, there's a mouse hiding under the entertainment center."

After shutting the dog in our bedroom, my husband uses a broom and yardstick to "sweep" the little mouse toward the daughter and I who are trying to shoo it toward the door. The mouse ran out and back under after spotting my hopping feet. (I'm not scared of any old little mouse, it's just that rapid scuttling, not knowing where he's going to go!) At this point our daughter is draped across the kitchen counter looking down at the floor. Lot of help she is!

Well, after doing this dance for a few times, the mouse decided to make a run for it. Only he didn't run for the open door, nope. He headed under the stove. Well at least he's contained we thought. My husband swept under the stove with the yardstick. No mouse. Swept again. No mouse. I know I saw him go under there. David finally pulled the drawer out and looked. No mouse. Where could he be?

David decided he better look in the drawer amid the pots and pans. So he took the drawer outside (smart man!) and started lifting out pans. Sure enough, there was the little guy hiding terrified. David tipped the drawer and the mouse jumped free and scrambled away.

We breathed a sigh of relief. Until I realized the mouse had been in the pans!! Everything had to be sterilized that night, of course. So no early to bed that night. But at least the mouse was out!

Perspective

This morning I spent some time going through an old journal I wrote over the last two years. Amazing the things I have learned, the things I have been healed of, the things I am still stuggling with. I see the prayers over quitting my job to be home more for my family as I am now considering going back to work. I see things I prayed over my son as he prepared and left for college; some answered already, some still in process. I read the things I asked of the Lord for each of my girls. Some complete, some just beginning to blossom, some no hint of yet.

And through it all, I saw the Father's faithful hand, guiding, encouraging, strengthening, supporting. How good He is to us. There were many things I prayed over and over and didn't think I saw any change. But now, two years later, I can see the change.

Day in, day out life has a tendency to clutter our view. I think that the distance we can gain either from time away from a situation or from a new physical location can help us to see more clearly, to gain new perspectives. In the moment, I am usually reacting to the situation or my own emotions. With a different perspective, I can begin to disearn those things that I made wise choices in and those that I may have been overreacting to. Only a different perspective offers me that vision.

Sometimes the Lord also uses others to bring that full vision to us. As I wrote of earlier this week, time spent with family and friends helps us to pick through the messes we can find ourselves in and offer us a new outlook with renewed focus and passion.

I would encourage each one to take time to look back to see how far you've come. And how far you still have to go. Just remember the Creator is busy at work in your life, adding another color here, another line there. Using everything, the good, the difficult, to fashion a great work of art for Him to delight in.

“My life is but a weaving between my Lord and me. I cannot choose the colors, nor all the pattern see. Sometimes He chooses sorrow and I, in foolish pride, forget He sees the upper and I the underside.

Not till the loom is silent and the shuttles cease to fly, will He reveal the pattern or tell the reason why. The dark threads are as useful in a weaver's skillful hand, as the threads of gold and silver in the pattern He has planned.”
(Author unknown)

Blessings.