What my friend didn't know is - I had lost something and had been searching all weekend. Last night I was seeking to find it again, I typically do pray when I loose something for the knowledge to remember where I left it. On a whim I thought I'm going to look in here one more time...... While I was sifting and searching I recalled the earlier conversation and as I looked I asked myself "Who was the saint of lost things...." and I kid you not, moments later when the name St. Anthony came out of my mouth, onto the floor from I do not know where!!! Fell the item I was looking for (for days looking for!). I looked down and looked up and then looked around. I paused Smiled and said "Thank you". As I picked up the item I paused again and said "Nicely done God! I know that was you" Today I am going to educate myself a bit more on the Saints. I have a few metals my dear Catholic friends have shared with me over the years. I don't believe I have ever really taken the time to understand them, nor clearly appreciate them. Today I feel I'm being moved to dig deeper and to understand others and their beliefs better ~ Catholic or Baptist. Jewish or Methodist...Aren't we all in this together? Seeking to understand one another is a gift, I'm ready to open!
I am not Catholic, so I do not fully understand the Catholic faith or the Saints. Yesterday a friend and I were visiting -I inquired about a metal I'd received. A St. Christopher, for which I do understand is the Saint to protect and go with you. In our conversation she shared her mother always prayed to St. Anthony (her mother was not Catholic either) when she lost something and that was the only real association or knowledge she had about the Saints or metals.
What my friend didn't know is - I had lost something and had been searching all weekend. Last night I was seeking to find it again, I typically do pray when I loose something for the knowledge to remember where I left it. On a whim I thought I'm going to look in here one more time...... While I was sifting and searching I recalled the earlier conversation and as I looked I asked myself "Who was the saint of lost things...." and I kid you not, moments later when the name St. Anthony came out of my mouth, onto the floor from I do not know where!!! Fell the item I was looking for (for days looking for!). I looked down and looked up and then looked around. I paused Smiled and said "Thank you". As I picked up the item I paused again and said "Nicely done God! I know that was you" Today I am going to educate myself a bit more on the Saints. I have a few metals my dear Catholic friends have shared with me over the years. I don't believe I have ever really taken the time to understand them, nor clearly appreciate them. Today I feel I'm being moved to dig deeper and to understand others and their beliefs better ~ Catholic or Baptist. Jewish or Methodist...Aren't we all in this together? Seeking to understand one another is a gift, I'm ready to open!
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My sister is in the process of trying to sell her house. She had an offer and they backed out. She had great interest from a party and they pulled back....oh the terrible roller coaster of the SALE OF A HOME. I was recently there, I know the thrills of a buyer and the ache of the no. Having been there I shared this with my sister - as I don't give advise, I share my thoughts... my friends know it's a take'em or leave'em gig...not advising them.
Loving my sister, I have been very prayerful that GOD'S WILL BE DONE over this situation -meaning I'm prayerful for a larger situation than just the sale of the house. THAT being said.... my sister is growing impatient and a bit frustrated. I completely understand this feeling. Monday when she was sharing I thought long on our conversation and later I sent her an email sharing this; MAYBE God isn't so concerned with your selling the house. Perhaps God is PREPARING THIS HOUSE for the person He has already placed it in the heart of. Perhaps God is working to BLESS SOMEONE who will truly love and be gifted with this property. Perhaps his timing has nothing to do with you at all. Not that God isn't going to look out for you, He is! However, your house need not sell to complete the purchase of your new home, knowing this God is working to bless someone with your home and just maybe in the process He is working on your patience and trust in Him. God is preparing your heart to receive the news of a sale which has been orchestrated by Him! And God is working in the heart of a buyer who has been longing for such a beautiful place to call home. In the end, God has worked the situation out to bless all those involved. I share this with her, as I was in her shoes months ago. My husband and I didn't pray for THIS HOUSE. Our prayer was God would bless us with the house HE HAD ALREADY CHOSEN for us. And we didn't pray for a buyer, we prayed God would bless someone with our home. And we prayed for the sellers of the house we purchased as well. We didn't just want to receive the desire of our hearts, we wanted everyone in the situation to be blessed and feel the presents of God through the process beginning to end. We purchased our house from a Christian family ~ we had a few conversations over being prayerful of what was happening. HOW AWESOME IS THAT when BOTH SIDES are praying God's will! The person who purchased our house, was not a person who voiced much faith... HA! Like that stopped me from letting them know we were grateful God had blessed them and we were prayerful in the process for them. God is AMAZINGLY GOOD. Sometimes we (ME!) need to pause and realize He isn't just working something out in a situation - He is working it out in us (me!). It isn't always all about us (me) and we (I)need to be patient and trust and know GOD IS GOOD... ALL THE TIME. ALL THE TIME GOD IS GOOD Stop Right There!
Do you say to your friends "we should do lunch sometime". Are your friends quick to say when seeing you, "hey we should do lunch!" WHAT exactly are you waiting for? I love my friend Tracy and the fact she is so true and real and it's not about making you feel warm and fuzzy but just loving you. All of you, flaws and all. If she wants to see you, she makes time for you...it's not what works for you - it is let's make this work FOR US. She loves her friends with all her heart and she is amazing at letting them know it. We may go weeks or months without talking, but then on the fly she's right there and ready - LET'S DO THIS. I have other friends who I do so love and adore, but the fact is ... it's mostly lip service. The "we should get together soon" and we never do. **I too admit to being guilty of this! TODAY...let's stop talking about making time for one another and DO IT... pick up the phone, shoot a text and invite someone to meet you for lunch... or coffee. It's time to put down the excuses and pick up the sandwich and enjoy some quality time with a girlfriend... READY, SET... LET'S DO THIS Stop worrying and planning and making life difficult. Start dreaming, and gazing and laughing... life is too short to be so defined. Kick off your shoes and walk in the grass, deep your feet in the water and for Pete's sake... pull someone into your happy bubble and SHARE YOUR JOY! Life is good, you are alive & you are loved... be bop your way through today would you, let go of your struggle! let go of your pain and let yourself LIVE : ) Now, where did I put my sidewalk chalk .......
I LOVE YOU & Jesus loves you and together we pretty much think you are AMAZING! Have you ever stopped to really look at and contemplate a wheat field? My husband clearly has confirmation I'm crazy.
Last week on my walks it occurred to me how even and symmetrical the wheat is that surrounds us. It is all about the same height. It is as though it grows to a certain point and STOPS. You never see reallllllly tall wheat among all the other, here and there a head will poke up, but there is a conformity to how tall it gets. I asked my husband about it who didn't answer but shook his head when I asked "why does the wheat stop at the same height?" WEIRD! Trees don't all stop together, grass doesn't all stop together and my daisies they are shooting up at all sorts of heights, but the wheat, its as though you could walk with your hand extended and hit the top of every shaft. hummm do you think the wheat & the tractor have a deal for harvest? Sometimes I feel like wheat. I don't want to stand out, I don't want people to notice me. But there are more days -when I want to peek up just above the crowd and be the one that is IN THE WORLD but NOT OF THE WORLD. I want to be apart of my field, but I want to stand out a bit and be an example - to be brave and peek above it all and say LOOK WHAT IS POSSIBLE! I want people to point and say SEE HER! That's because God waters her soul and shines his SON on her daily. SEE HER, see how she is strong and stands so tall, God fills her with His strength and courage. And although they are looking at me, THEY SEE GOD. I don't want to people to look at me, I want them to see GOD IN ME. I want to cultivate an amazing harvest in His kingdom, I desire to grow in Him. I desire to stand among all the others and yet stand out just enough that when people look at the field they see the amazing nurturing and giving of "the farmer", they see the love and never ending attending to. They see a magnificent crop~ they see THE BLESSINGS OF SEEING GOD. My heart aches. I am facing a rather difficult situation for which I feel my back it against a wall ~ I'm being mindful in seeking God's guidance in my reaction, as I don't want to make the situation escalate into something bigger and yet I don't want to stand back and not do anything. My responsibility is to stand up and face this difficult situation.
This morning as I'm feeling defeated, unsure and confused why people do what they do and questioning why we are placed in the position of having to deal with a toxic behavior ~ I took a break and read my devotion. THANK YOU JESUS It read "When you feel anxious about something, relinquish the situation to Me. Back off a bit, redirecting your focus to Me. I will either take care of the problem Myself or show you how to handle it. In this world you will have problems, but you need not lose sight of Me" HE will take care of it, or HE will equip me to handle it... ohhhh my entire morning has changed, Letting Go and Letting God ~ knowing full well HE IS CAPABLE and I AM WILLING. this morning as I watered my garden - I was overwhelmed by God. How He has put into place every detail of our life. And it occurred to me, I never asked for THAT GUY or THIS HOUSE or THAT JOB. I prayed God lead me to the man He chose for me. Jeff & I prayed for the place GOD would put me. We prayed for the home HE HAD ALREADY CHOSEN for us. And as I look around and see how He has fined tuned to all from the smallest of details, I am in awe. My husband is beyond words amazing ~ oh we have our moments but we have our moments too! We pray together daily, holding hands, out loud sharing our hearts hurts & desires. We pray over our family, our friends, our animals and our co-workers...what an amazing gift EVERY DAY! A few years ago we prayed over my work situation, asking God to show us what I was to do. In the most incredible way, He brought someone right into my bubble who said "God has laid you on my heart, I know this isn't anything you've ever done but I believe you are supposed to be here" and I was moved to a new career. And our home, we prayed for the home God had already chosen for us...we didn't pray for 10 acres, beautiful garden area, big barn, a move in ready splendid home with all of our hearts desires wrapped in a bow ~ God had already looked into our hearts and allowed us to be gifted such a place as we trusted Him. In each instance, it was NOT OUR AGENDA, but our desire for GOD'S WILL in our lives that brought us to such amazing gifts of blessings. Today I stand in awe of an amazing, giving, loving and incredible God who I choose to follow and live for daily ~ thank you Jesus for blessing me far more than I deserve, THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU
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Author"Author" sounds so ... adult! I simply like to write my thoughts, it is free therapy of sorts ~ a coping mechanism maybe even... I have always kept a diary or journal. It began when I was little after I was told "write it down it will make you feel better". As a child I wrote to "vent" the pain. As an adult I write to release the joy. Archives
January 2022
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