Another Shortcut?

Shortcuts, shortcuts, and yet more shortcuts..

Today I took a moment to pause... Well, I took several as I reflected on some good moments from the years when I was still at home with my parents. We were living in Alaska at the time and it started a "historic family phrase" that my dad would often use as we traveled from place to place. Every thing was so beautiful, but some of the road maps were not always that detailed. We would head out on what should have been a trip of a half an hour, then find ourselves still on the road after an hour. We would do the typical, "Are we there yet?" Often times our time delay happened because my dad had decided to take what he perceived was "a shortcut"... Often those shortcuts were actually "longcuts" instead. Yet those adventures often took us on very beautiful roads, in very beautiful country. We would discover all kinds of animals along the way and eventually we would arrive at our destination. None of the time spent was wasted, as we chatted, laughed, sometimes whined a bit, but always created 'memories' along the way.

When we moved back to the "lower 48" (at the time) we still took time to travel together as a family. We still took many of dad's "shortcuts" and made many more memories together.

Today my dad stopped by the office where I work. He was trying to send a text to a friend on his "non-smart" phone. I wiped mine out and used SIRI to help me get a quick text to his phone before he could get his sent. He complained as my text buzzed his phone in the middle of his message. Another friend told my dad about many of "smart" phones features including built in GPS. My dad said he didn't need it and I had to tease him that maybe he needed SIRI so he wouldn't need any "shortcuts" any more. He laughed and went on his way.

As I closed up the office, my mind was reminiscing on many of our past "shortcuts". I jumped in my car thanking the Lord that SIRI did not exist when I was young. I thought of all our "shortcut" trips that would not have happened if SIRI's GPS got us there. Then I reflected on how grateful I am that when I try to take "shortcuts" in my walk with Jesus, that He would knows how to turn those "longcuts" in to beautiful memories even if the road takes me longer.

A Weekend of Shifting

The Art Of Thinking Brilliantly with Graham Cooke

I recently attended a conference with some dear friends at North Heights. It was an incredible weekend! It was one of those times where you really get an "upgrade" as Graham Cooke says. Each session took us to the new step. The first was a time of "giving back our stuff". We had been in a season of stress as a family. The dream Graham shared opened up a whole new understanding to me of my own soul. As Graham shared how Jesus dealt with him when he allowed fear and worry back in to his life. He dealt with me as well. Jesus had pointed out to Graham how He paid for those things and were his. He wanted them back - I knew I had some of the same things to give back. It was the beginning of a weekend of re-surrendering the stuff I was "stressing over" back to the Lord. I went home that night with a fresh, clean feeling in my soul. Jeff couldn't imagine how much it would be of benefit to him as well. No husband wants a cranked up wife. :)

Anyway, the new day we learned about how problems don't exist in heaven... only promises and possibilities. We learned to re-frame ourselves and to also let our relationships get re-framed. Part of re-framing was about getting a heavenly perspective on both of those things. Then our final focus was one we all could work on forever - getting to know God's goodness. Wow! It opened up an understanding of knowing the Lord with a new depth, plus sharing His goodness with others... letting that share His love with others by helping them see His goodness.

I have been reviewing the CDs of the message and preparing my heart for the upcoming conference! I can hardly wait for the "Upgrade Life" coming in April.

Moments with Misty Edwards

Misty Edwards is an incredible Christian artist. She dedicated her life to touch the heart of God through song. I have recently been dwelling on the words of two of her songs. The titles are "You Won't Relent" and "Finally I Surrender" both off her album called "Relentless". "You Won't Relent" is about how the Lord pursue's us and how He does not stop until He has our whole heart. 


Here are the words...
You Won't Relent

You won't relent until You have it all
My heart is Yours

I'll set You as a seal upon my heart
As a seal upon my arm
For there is love that is as strong as death
Jealousy demanding as the grave
Many waters cannot quench this love

Come be the fire inside of me
Come be the flame upon my heart
come be the fire inside of me
Until You and I are one

The other is "Finally I Surrender" ("Surrender)

All I want is You to have Your way

You are the Potter and I am the clay

All I need is You to have Your way
You are Creator and I'm what You've made

Finally I Surrender

You are God I am man You are sovereign

This is a simple heart cry, but one we all need to make. It is in a place of abandonment, that He can take our lives and bring us to our real purpose. He knows how each one of us fits in to His plan. I want to "Surrender" my life to change the way He desires, even if those changes are difficult at times.


Pastor Jamey of "The House" in Burnsville talks about how we need to be exactly who He created us to be. He said, anything less would grieve His heart. I want to purse that complete Surrender. I want Him to be the "fire inside of me, the flame upon my heart... until He and I are one."

Dark Night

Summary Can Be Found

There is an old classic that I read bits of when I lived in Spain. I was in placed where this old Saint lived and walked in places where St John of the Cross was... Leaves you wondering if my feet picked up some of their dust and it turned into a bit of anointing on my life. I find some of the experiences are similar, yet I have a long way to go. Joshua 1:3 "I will give you every place where you set your foot..." Maybe the dust brings a good dose of his saturated experiences.


Here are some quote from St John of the Cross...


"In the evening of life, we will be judged on love alone." - St. John of the Cross


"In tribulation immediately draw near to God with Confidence and you will receive strength, enlightenment and instruction. Abide in peace, banish cares, take no account of all that happens and you will serve God according to his good pleasure and rest in him." - St. John of the Cross.


The attached article is a short summary of his book. Takes you through the principles he learned. One can take a moment of good reflection. I found myself revisiting some of his work, putting several things of real value into the Lord's hands and trusting that if they were to no longer be connected to us - that the Lord would know what He was working in us and it would have value in what it would work in our hearts.


"The fire of evil can better be fought with flames of ecstasy than through fasting and mortification." —Abraham Heschel

Speaking the Truth in Love

Ephesians 4:14-16 (New King James Version) ^“14 that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting, ¹⁵ but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head—Christ— ¹⁶ from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love.”

Summer months are wonderful times to get out and do extra things with our family. At the same time it can be times where we may have our patience with each other challenged a bit more.  It can be from having the kids home and them getting “too much” of each other. It can be from times our plans don’t work out the way we would like.  There are lots of opportunities to “grow” and sometimes we just want to “tell each other like it is.”

This can happen between believers as well. Sometimes the words are said that can be hurtful to each other, leaving “bad seed” in each other’s hearts. Sometimes in the church we tell each other “little white lies.” This is not what this verse is speaking about when it says, “speaking the truth in love.” Those words are followed by very important ones – “may grow up in all things into Him who is the head – Christ.” I don’t know about you but I want to fully “grow up.” He is the one who joins us together and causes us to really function the way we are created to be. Being joined & knit together is what causes us to bring about the “growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love.” 

I sure want that kind of growth which will edify those around me in love, but how to keep it truthful. I read an article recently about a Pastor, Phil Callaway,  who took the challenge to tell the total truth for a year. After a couple months he shared that he realized he had a lot to learn. He came up with a key… Phil Callaway, in his book, To Be Perfectly Honest has an acronym for truth-telling: THINK. Is it True? Is it Helpful? Does it Inspire? Is it Necessary? Am I Kind about it? These words became the microscope he used to examine the “truth” he was going to share, before he shared it. I think it was a great thing to keep in mind when we want to share the truth with each other.

A Chance Encounter

It was Saturday night and I had gone to a Gathering with Jeff. It became apparent that I had something different I needed to do. I had an overwhelming sense that I needed to be somewhere else. I jumped in my car and went in search of that something else. I thought about having a coffee at Caribou and seeing who was there. I pulled into the parking lot but it didn't seem right so I didn't go in. I went down a side street and pulled over to the curb to call a friend I hadn't spoken to in quite some time. We had a good discussion which lasted for some time. We finished our conversation and I started up my car.

I had noticed some gals sitting on the back steps of the house near me. As I drove off the one gal waved like she knew me. I wondered if they thought I was "stalking" the neighborhood and swung my car around to let them know I had parked to make a call. They laughed and told me they thought I was their neighbor who lived in a nearby house. I drove back to Caribou - still with coffee on my mind. When I got there, there were only men having coffee. While in line, I remembered a time when a friend did a random act of kindness and bought the next person's coffee. It came to mind I should buy some coffee coolers and take the ladies one, to enjoy while they talked. I drove back to my previous spot with three flavors of coffee coolers. I jumped out and headed across the street, only to realize I was missing one as the two gals had been joined by two guys. I told them my little tale of wanting to give them "a random act of kindness" like my daughter had done. They openly received them and told me I had the perfect amount as one gal did not like coffee. As I went to leave they invited me to stay and have a beer, which I declined because I am not "a fan" of beer. I turned to leave, but by the gal who waved at me in the beginning asked quickly, "Do you like wine." I felt this was an "open door". I had time to spend with them, so I accepted the invitation. 

It turned out to be a wonderful evening - lots of talking, laughing and sharing stories. Here with four strangers - we enjoyed an evening of open conversation. When Jeff finally sent me a text to come pick him up, and I got up to go, these four new friends made me promise to come back and see them another day this summer.

I left pondering the Lord's leading, being very glad I followed. There are four new friends in my life and I look forward to seeing them again.

Morning Stop Points – A Reflection of Unfailing Love

“Let me hear of your unfailing love each morning, for I am trusting you. Show me where to walk, for I give myself to you.”  Psalms 143:8, NLT

This is a verse that I hope will warm your heart as it does mine. It seems with so much going on in the world over the past months that this verse is like a cup of cold water on a hot day. It sure has been to me.

F

irst unfailing love, stands out and it reminds me that even if the circumstances around me or in my life seem difficult, that God’s love for me has not changed. He is totally unchangeable in His love for each of us. It may be that we feel dry or disconnected, but He is faithful to us. What a wonderful reminder to have each day as we wake.

I

nclination to listen is key. We listen when we hear our name. Here the writer requests to hear the Lord reminding him of His unfailing love each morning. His is putting himself in the position to listen. He wanted to hear the Lord speak, so he was focusing his attention to listen. It is important we cultivate hearts ready to listen. You will be amazed at what you hear and how much the Lord knows you and loves you.

R

emember  to look to the Lord and give Him time to guide my day. I don’t want to just bolt out in to the day without His guidance. It may be I am just heading out to work, but I want His guidance in what my focus is to be for the day. I also want myself to be ready to be “detoured” by Him if there is a someone to whom He wants me to reach out to and share His love in some way.

S

urrender myself and my schedule each morning. “Our mindset (for our day) should not be the prevalent one of taking God with us wherever we might go. It must be instead, that we join God in his mission.” (From Right Here, Right Now, by Alan Hirsch & Lance Ford.)  It means I give Him my life each day and I let Him be the one who is in charge. After 9-11 I became convinced of the importance of hearing the voice of the Lord and obeying it. If it is part of our daily practice, we can rest assured the Lord will guide our steps.

T

rust in the Lord can be a real challenge in the midst of difficult circumstances. If we keep guard over our heart and choose to keep trusting no matter what goes on around us, it keeps hope alive in our hearts. Hope is the key to having faith begin to grow. The Bible defines faith as the “certainty of things not seen.”  I have a piece of jewelry I have worn for years which reminds me to “hope.” For me this is a physical reminder of who I set my hope (trust) in each day. I get reminded when I put a shoe or sandal on before I leave the house.

These “morning stop points” are ones that are easy to take with you. If hope that even when the storms come, you will remember to keep the FIRST things first at the beginning of your day!