As I neared the end of my run today, I turned off my music. The weather was perfect, low 70s with a gentle breeze. I ran along and listened to the leaves as they rustled and brushed together in unison. It occurred to me that it sounded like applause.
I smiled
Creation was clapping…
for Him!
You will live in joy and peace.
The mountains and hills will burst into song,
and the trees of the field will clap their hands!
Isaiah 55:12
It’s Friday and time for another link up with The Gypsy Mama for Five Minute Friday…a time when we “just write for five minutes not worrying if everything is just right.” If you would like to link up click HERE.
PROMPT: Perspective
“So David left Gath and escaped to the cave of Adullam. Soon his brothers and all his other relatives joined him there. Then others began coming—men who were in trouble or in debt or who were just discontented—until David was the captain of about 400 men.”
1 Samuel 22: 1-2
I read these couple of verses this morning and the first thought that popped into my mind was:
Isn’t that just like God?
David was on the run from Saul. He was hiding out in a cave. And yet, God still placed him in a position to lead 400 men!
So often, we are looking for ideal environments before we serve.
This has to be right.
That has to be right.
But David was in a cave.
What a great reminder that God can and will use us anywhere and anytime. What we might perceive as an inconvenience; He perceives as an opportunity.
As I continue my journey through the Bible this year, I read one of my favorite accounts again this morning. It’s the story of the man who was born blind. (John 9) One day Jesus came along and completely transformed his dark world. The forever-skeptical Pharisees questioned the man. How did this happen?
The once blind man’s response is one of my favorite responses in the whole Bible. He replied, “Whether he (Jesus) is a sinner or not, I don’t know. One thing I do know. I was blind but now I see!” (John 9:25)
I love these verses. You know what it reminds me of? It reminds me of one of those cardboard testimonies I’ve seen in church. If you’ve never seen one you can watch one here.
Today, I was reminded that we often make sharing our faith harder than it needs to be. But really, it should be simple.
1.Jesus touched my life.
2. I am forever changed.
The end.
So of course I’m curious. What would your cardboard testimony say?
An intelligent person is always eager to take in more truth;
fools feed on fast-food fads and fancies.
Proverbs 15:14 Message
The quick solution results in temporary satisfaction…
you’ll soon be empty and hungry again.
The drive thru will recommend many popular choices…
it just doesn’t offer The Choice.
Faith is a sit down meal
You pull up a chair, you make yourself at home and you feast.
It fills you up.
It satisfies you.
Consume His Truth today
I am honored to have Melanie Dorsey sharing her journey of hope on The Scenic Route today. Melanie enjoys speaking, teaching and writing. She also loves running, which is just icing on the cool cake! You can connect with Melanie at her blog Melanie Dorsey & a Faith that Endures.
Unlearning
By Melanie Dorsey
My twelve-year-old son, Andrew, went to be with the Lord in December 2009. Before then, I thought I had learned who God is and what to expect from Him. Before our world was rocked by the diagnosis of stage 4 brain cancer and Andrew’s passing, I thought I had some answers. Afterwards, all I was left with is The Answer and He is Jesus Christ.
However when I was faced with the very opposite outcome of what our family had hoped and prayed, I felt greatly disappointed. Disappointed with God? Yes. I remember receiving an email from an acquaintance who had prayed for our son. She seemed to have many questions of her own and wrote, “…but God does not disappoint.” I remember thinking, “You feel that way because it was not your child who suffered and died.” I wrote back to her, “I feel VERY disappointed.”
Months later I received a copy of Philip Yancey’s book, Disappointment with God. I dove head and heart first into the text. Yancey dealt with the questions that few Christians voice aloud.
These questions were the very painful crux of what I shared with many others who had also faced hurricane level storms in their personal lives. Yancey writes, “True atheists do not, I presume, feel disappointed in God. They expect nothing and receive nothing. But those who commit their lives to God, no matter what, instinctively expect something in return.”
As the overwhelming heaviness of living without Andrew lifted enough for me to venture outside my door, I hit the pavement in my neighborhood. Each evening I laced up my running shoes and ran in the dark. Weaving up and down, I always avoided one particular spot. There were too many painful images associated with the top of our street. Andrew had spent hours playing outside with his friends who lived just a few houses up from ours.
Those evenings under the inky sky, I put my heart on the line with God.
“I don’t understand you. You are NOT who I thought You were. I’m mad, sad, hurt and confused but I’m not leaving you.”
Painful emotions and questions welled up within me. “Losing my son is unfair.” “God, why can’t I hear from You?” “Where are You in this?”
Night after night I ran. Night after night I scanned the indigo sky. I showed up before God in running clothes and damp hair from the sweat that dripped while running in Florida’s humidity. Often as I ran, there was still a bit of sunset. Brilliant corals, azure blue and peacock purple decorated the western edge of sky. I talked to God and I talked to Andrew. But it was always a one-sided conversation.
Until one night.
Oswald Chambers writes in My Utmost for His Highest, “It is not true to say that God wants to teach us something in our trials: through every cloud He brings, He wants us to unlearn something.”
One night I was almost at the end of my run and was nearing home. It had been months since I had offered God my praise. But that night God spoke sweet words to my heart and in response I slowed my pace and lifted one hand…and then the other. Both hands upraised, I stopped in my tracks.
God was no longer silent. No longer hidden.
Before the trial…before the “cloud,” I thought I had learned who God was. In the dark cover of night, I was unlearning.
My hands lifted to the sky and my tears intermingled with sweat.
I whispered to God, “I was right. You are not who I thought You were. You are MORE.”
Then Samuel said, Do you think all God wants are sacrifices— empty rituals just for show? He wants you to listen to him! Plain listening is the thing, not staging a lavish religious production…Saul gave in and confessed, “I’ve sinned. I’ve trampled roughshod over God’s Word and your instructions. I cared more about pleasing the people. I let them tell me what to do.1 Samuel 15: 22, 24
As I read through, 1 Samuel 15 this morning, I found myself feeling sorry for Saul. I think I felt sorry for him because I could see that his sin was one that each of us is capable of committing. Saul was given a mission with specific instructions. He carried out the mission but in the process he twisted the “rules” and moved forward the way he was comfortable moving forward.
Don’t we all do that sometimes? We say to God: “Look, God, I’ve done what you have asked me to do. See, I’m doing it 90% your way. I’ve only changed 10% of the plan. What’s wrong with that? Come on, God.”
But God doesn’t want 90% of our heart. If he did, then that verse in Proverbs 3 would read: Trust in the Lord with 90& of your heart and lean not on your own understanding…
My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. John 10:27
It’s kind of funny how the simplest things can bring a smile to your face. We recently purchased a hula-hoop. Yesterday morning my son stood in the living room and practiced spinning it around his waist. After a very short amount of time, he had it! He was able to keep it up and spinning for multiple turns.
When we first brought the hula-hoop home, I tried a couple of times but couldn’t do it. Yesterday, after seeing my son pick it up relatively quickly, I decided to try again. And, like my son, after a few times of practicing, I did it too. I hula hooped. I haven’t successfully done that in 30 years!
I was unusually pleased with our accomplishments. I even shared a couple short clips on Facebook of our spinning abilities! Those few minutes of learning something again was so fun. It made me laugh. It made me smile. It made me happy. And, most important, I made a memory with my son.
Our shining hula-hoop moment reminded me of a post I wrote last summer about having a pillow fight with my son. Here’s an excerpt:
I understand one of the reasons why Jesus stressed to his disciples the importance of becoming more like children when it comes to our faith walk. Adults become fixated on important business… not the pillow fights. But Jesus says, the pillow fight, the one you think distracts from the important… is the important.
We need to engage in the moments that seem less than pressing. These details, these interactions, help to shape a relationship into a relationship. Take time to connect with others, that’s the important business.
So this weekend, tend to some important business. Fling a pillow or spin a hoop. You won’t regret it.
Sharon Eileen Muldowney
1936-1991
This is a picture of my mom. It was taken many years before I was born and even before my mom and dad were married. But, for some reason, it’s my favorite picture. She looks so happy. This July will mark 21 years since my mom went hope to be with the Lord. In honor of Mother’s Day, I thought I would share 21 memories with you today:
1. Sitting at the kitchen table and playing countless games of Scrabble. And yes, I credit my love for this game to her.
2. Listening to her sing and play guitar while she shared with me a new song that she wrote.
3. Watching her as she sat on the floor in our hallway with our shivering dog who feared thunderstorms. She would cover his eyes with a pillow and gently stroke his back.
4. Curling up together in the evening and reading a book to her…usually a new Beverly Cleary book.
5. Sitting in Carl’s Jr on Friday afternoon after school, drinking a Coke and sharing an order of fried zucchini.
6. Eating popcorn and watching The Sound of Music together…year, after year, after year.
7. Riding home from school one day and watching my mom pull off of the rural Arizona road to talk to a young man whose car had broken down. She cracked the window when he reached for the door handle and said, “I’m sorry, I can’t give you a ride, but when I get home I can call someone to come pick you up if you want to tell me who to call.” The man gave my mom his mom’s phone number. That mom was thrilled to receive my mom’s phone call.
8 Making her lunch when she became ill. Velveeta Shells & Cheese was the most popular request.
9 The hours I was blessed to spend with her on the Sunday she died.
10 For all her reminders to seek the beautiful in the midst of life’s struggles. Not so much with her words, but more by the way she lived her life.
11. Laughing together about things that only a mom and her daughter would find funny.
12. Taking walks together
13. Lying down in the bed next to her when she was having one of her painful migraine headaches. She had a water-bed (remember those) and I always had to climb onto it slowly and gently to assure I didn’t make too many waves.
14. Stretching out on the couch in the evening while she read. One hand would hold her book, the other would tickle my legs while I stretched them out over her lap.
15. The conversation we would often have.
“You know, Mom, you’re my favorite Mom” I’d say.
And she would respond, “And, you’re my favorite daughter.”
As the only daughter (I have two brothers) it was our little, silly way of saying we loved one another.
16. One summer my mom was called for jury duty. I accompanied her every day and sat in the court room to listen to the attempted murder case. The woman on trial was convicted and sent to prison. My mom was touched by her situation and reached out to the woman. They wrote letters to one another for years.
17. Listening to my mom share her testimony at church one Sunday morning. It happened to be Christmas that Sunday.
18. Going to a sleep over at a friend’s house and drifting off to sleep thinking about my mom…convinced that, surely, she was missing me as much as I was missing her.
19. Sitting on our back deck with two other teens from our church as my mom led us in a summer Bible study.
20. Having her incredible support and her guidance during my shy and awkward school years. She was definitely this teenager’s best friend.
21. Her beautiful smile.
So what about you? What are some of your favorite Mom memories? And, if you are a mom or dad, what do you hope your children will remember about you?
Every person the Father gives me eventually comes running to me. And once that person is with me, I hold on and don’t let go.
John 6:37 (Message)
“A huge crowd kept following him wherever he went, because they saw his miraculous signs as he healed the sick.”
John 6:2
I read this verse today and thought:
We tend to follow things that yield results.
In terms of following Jesus, what first caught your eye about Him? Was it His hand of healing that got your attention? And once you took notice of Him and began to follow Him, what is keeping your attention now?
Today, I was reminded of a choice we need to make every day. It’s the choice to keep following Him even when the “show” is over. What happens to our enthusiastic following after the miracle occurs and life goes on? What happens during the seasons when we feel as if God is dragging His feet?
These are the seasons when we discover something about our faith. Are we simply a groupie or are we truly one of His followers? What happens to our desire to follow Him when He seems to be silent? What happens to our enthusiasm when He seems to be leading us down a difficult or painful path?
These are times are faith is tested. These are the times when we must decide.
Do we follow Him for who He is and not for what we think He should do for us?
Years ago, I had a friend ask me if I ever thought I was missing something by adhering to one doctrine. I thought about that question again this morning and a couple of thoughts came to mind.
First, I don’t want to follow a doctrine, I want to follow Jesus.
Second, falling in love with Jesus is kind of like finding Mr. Right. When you find Mr. Right, you don’t keep searching for a Mr. Right # 2. Instead, you grab hold of Mr. Right, remember that moment He swept you off your feet, and commit to sticking it out for the long haul…”for better or for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health.”
His love hasn’t failed me yet. He’s got an amazing track record.
Linking up with Tracy for Winsome Wednesday