Tag Archives: God

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My “Fantasy Island”

I have a fantasy, which I visit when I feel I am being pulled in every direction and need a “Calgon Moment.” In my fantasy, I am spending the winter in a large summer “cottage” on the back-side of Michigan’s Mackinaw Island. The walls are made of golden pine logs, with original wood floors that are covered with worn Persian Rugs and hand-made rag rugs. The living room is furnished with a well-worn leather sofa and comfy over-stuffed chairs, complete with cozy red Native American wool blankets thrown over the sofa’s back. There is a wood-burning stove in the living room, topped with a simmering pot of soup.

In my fantasy, it is snowing outside, with big white, fluffy snowflakes drifting to earth, and the water of the lake outside the window is rough and grey, but inside the cottage, the light is golden and warm.

I am snowed in for the winter, armed with stacks of canvases and paints and I spend my days painting wonderful, artistic pictures. There is no television, no radio, and no internet. I am content to be snowed-in alone with my art.

This is totally a FANTASY! In reality, my cold-induced asthma would take me out the first time I had to reload the wood box. And, despite the pretty surroundings, they would become a lonely cage. I need to be involved with other people.

Nothing has brought that need for human interaction into crystal focus better than spending a few months in an RV park in northern Florida. Instead of being a “jeans and tee shirt” winter, it has been “sweater and jacket” weather. One night, the wind-chill was actually zero!

Winter weather here in the panhandle is cold and wet and people stay holed up inside their rigs most of the day. Temperatures may top out around 70 for about 30 minutes in the late afternoon, but quickly plummet once the sun start to set. Folks bundle up, walk the dog, and scurry back inside where it is warm. The best place for conversation and chance meetings seems to be the laundry facility.

There are only so many books one can read, so many pod-casts one can hear, and so many hours on Facebook before the need for human interaction drives you out. And rightly so! God created us for relationship, both with one another and with Him. We are called to be conduits of God’s blessings instead of reservoirs. Life is intended to be shared in fellowship.

Do you know people who are “shut-in” at home? It might be health issues, age, or a new baby in the home that confines a person to their house. When I was a young mom, at home with two little ones, I had a friend in a similar situation. When the Mr. Rogers television program came on, we had a scheduled daily thirty minute phone date that carried us through the rest of the day. Nearly thirty years later, and living in different states, we are still in contact and consider ourselves friends.

We are blessed when we bless others. Who is in your circle of influence that would be blessed by a visit, a phone call or a note? I encourage you to reach out, brighten someone’s day, and be a welcome blessing to someone else.

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What’s YOUR Story?

I am meeting new people on this snowbirding journey. Protocol for meeting new folks covers the same questions: “What’s your name?” “Where are you from?” “What do you do for a living ?” (Or “What did you do for a living?” – because most of the people I am meeting here are retired.) And, “Which rig is yours?”

There is the usual mental sizing up and rating system: Yankee vs. Confederate, blue collar vs. white collar, urban vs. country dweller, those who camp in huge, shiny RVs vs. those who stay in older ones. We tend to classify and pigeon-hole people as if we are scientists cataloguing plants. We smile and nod, are polite and play nicely, but it takes time and shared interests for real friendships to develop, so conversations rarely move on to deeper things.

People shut down if the conversation moves into tricky waters, such as religion or politics, too quickly. You look for little clues and nudge the conversation, all the while being ready to side-step the issue if they are not receptive to the nudge. So, we stay in the shallow end of the pool and tread water instead of diving in an risk alienating a potential friendship. Everybody has a story, but you have to build that bridge of trust before they are willing to share it with you. Trust takes time to develop. As a result, most stories remain untold.

Last night I had a dream about heaven. I was with a huge crowd of people, from all ethnic backgrounds. We were all wearing whatever “street clothes” our culture or time period deemed, and we were all roughly the same age. There were no children, teens, or elderly in the group. Folks were clad in jeans and tee shirts, prairie dresses, sari’s, buckskin, and silks – a wide assortment of humanity, both men and women,

There were people standing shoulder to shoulder as far as the eye could see in any direction. We were all facing the same direction, and way off in the distance was an elevated platform with some people seated in fancy chairs. We in the crowd were all very excited to be there, and were eagerly sharing our stories with those standing near us.

These stories were intense, personal, and vivid. There was no reference to names, places, jobs, or titles.. Instead, the question was, “How did you meet Him? How did you meet Jesus?” And, we talked, sharing our stories in heartfelt, deep details, giving glory to Jesus for His grace to touch our lives. There were no half-hearted, “Well, my grandma used to take me to Sunday School, so I decided I was a Christian” or “Well, my family all went forward on an altar call when I was little and I didn’t want to stay in my pew, so I guess I’m a Christian.” stories. These stories were rich, detailed, personal, and powerful.

There was no classifying, no judging, no rating system of who had the “best” story. Instead, there was a deep excitement, acceptance, and overwhelming joy. Everyone had a story and everyone was intensely interested in hearing what anyone had to say.

One day we will all be called to tell our story, to give a personal account for our life. What will your story be?

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Christmas lights in November

Today is November 4. It was dark and frosty as I drove to the office this morning and the sun was just beginning to peek over the horizon. Amidst the piles of leaves and rotting Jack-o-lanterns, I passed a house that was already decorated for Christmas.

Every tree and bush around the house was lit with multicolor twinkle lights. And when I saw them, it made me smile.

Some people say that decorating so early is “pushing the season” and rail against the department stores playing holiday music in November. Holiday music in November makes me smile, too.

I’m not talking about adopting the whole “Santa is coming to town” commercialism mentality, but am referring instead to the phenomenon of “God coming to Earth!” Those little twinkle lights remind me that Jesus Christ, God in the flesh, came to rescue sinful man from spiritual darkness.

The promise of Jesus the Messiah began in the garden of Eden, after Adam and Eve sinned. Later, Abraham was told that through his offspring all the nations of the earth would be blessed. God in human flesh, Jesus Christ the Messiah, is a descendant of Abraham. He lived a sinless life and paid the total payment for all of our sins. Anyone who trusts in Him will be saved from damnation.

Those twinkle lights remind me that Jesus is the light of the world. The music at the mall reminds me of the angels singing in celebration of His birth. When I see Christmas lights and hear Christmas music, I smile and thank God for His incredible sacrifice for me. Christmas is THE gift to celebrate: God Himself coming to earth to rescue sinful man.

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Feeling Sheepish?

“We all like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way;” Isaiah54:6

Last summer my family and I visited a Celtic Festival. It was an afternoon filled with great bagpipe music, River-dances, cooking lessons (haggis!), jousting, games, and sheep-herding.
Of all the events, the sheep-herding demo was the most impressive. One shepherd and one border collie v.s. a flock of ornery, strong-willed, cantankerous sheep. As the shepherd signaled the dog with whistles, hand motions and calls, the little collie rounded up the band of sheep and deposited them safely in their pen. The sheep tried everything they could to outwit the dog, breaking formation and running in the opposite direction of where they were intended to go, but eventually were secured within their safety zone.

Sheep are obstinate, stubborn animals and are determined to do what they want to do. They lack discernment and will happily eat poisonous plants, and will nibble the grass down to the root if the shepherd does not move the herd to prevent over-grazing. When one sheep decides to run off a cliff, the rest of the herd will devotedly follow the leader. The shepherd and his dog must be on constant guard for danger and take immediate action to protect the herd.

Interestingly, the Bible often calls US sheep, and there are definitely similarities that we share with these creatures.

For example, we know that some things are just not good for us, but we insist on trying them anyway. We reason, “I won’t EAT it, I just want a LICK! One little lick won’t hurt.” And before we know it, the carton of ice cream is empty!

We are obstinate and strong-willed. These can become the great traits of determination and single-focused mindset if they are used to accomplish great things for God’s Kingdom, but too often they are used to satisfy our own fleshly desires and prevent us from achieving God’s best.

Despite God’s great love and plans for our life, we rarely cooperate on our own own, forcing Him to “herd” us by means of the Holy Spirit. Have you ever been “herded” by God?

I used to attend a little country church in Pennsylvania. The small congregation felt like a family, with everyone concerned about one another and involved in each other’s lives. When one person stubbed their toe, the rest of the congregation said, “Ouch!” I loved that little church family and was deeply grieved when my husband’s job relocated our family to the metropolis of Hampton Roads, VA.

We found a much larger church (4,400 members) and fled after a few weeks in desperate search of discovering a little country church in the big city. Although we visited many smaller churches, we always felt a strong “NO” in our spirits until we surrendered and returned to the larger church we had originally found. Transitioning from the little country church to that big city church was a culture shock. It was much like moving from a one-room schoolhouse to a university. But it was there that the Lord moved us into ministry and taught me how to lead small groups and teach. He had good things in store for me, but I had to be “herded” there to find them.

One would think that a sheep would reason, “Every where that dog herds me, I find a soft bed, good drinking water, great food and safety. I think I’ll just cooperate with him.” But, the sheep is always looking over its shoulder, wondering what it is missing. Every time God “herds” us, He has good things in store for us, too. But how often do we surrender and cooperate with the Holy Spirit? Whether out of a lack of trust, or out of our own self-centered desires, we often act like those Celtic Festival sheep. We race around, expending unnecessary energy, trying to avoid the very things that our shepherd has designed for our good.

Our God gives good things to His children. He has a wonderful plan and future for us if we will only cooperate with Him. Remember that God always has your best interest at heart and is completely trustworthy. Cooperate with the leading of the Holy Spirit and don’t act like an ornery, cantankerous sheep.