Routine

One aspect of every single morning for me includes a visit from one of my favorite furry friends, Luke the kitten.  His sister doesn't do this, but Luke and I have a routine.

Richard and I wake up in the morning. Richard gets up and starts getting ready for the day.
I stay in bed.  Luke hops up and cuddles next to me for 20 minutes or so.
I pet him, he purrs, everything is delightful.
I am convinced he enjoys this as much as I do.

I never have trained him to do this.  He started doing it on his own.
Now, I adore my kittens and there is pretty much not a thing they can do that will change that.
Were he to stop, I'd be disappointed but my feelings for my kitten wouldn't change.

I was thinking about how much I treasure our routine today and throughout to myself, how much more does the Lord God of heaven and earth treasure time with His people?

Much more.  I guarantee it.  God is perfect and is love.  So His love is so much more then anything I have to offer to a kitten.  God loves it when we seek His face.  He invites us all throughout scripture.  When Mary and Martha are hosting people at their home.  Martha busy's herself preparing the food and Mary neglects it all to sit at the feet of Jesus.  Martha complains wanting Mary's help, but Jesus affirms Mary's choice as the better choice.  (Luke 10:39-42)

Time with Jesus.  It's the most important relationship you have.  Do you give any of your time to it?
Everyone has 24 hours in a day.
But time spent with Jesus is by far the most precious.

If you aren't, I recommend setting aside time right now to spend with Jesus.
How to do that?  It's easy - it may look different for you on any given day but here are a few good starting points:
Pick up a devotional, allow that to lead your heart to seek God.
Open your bible and read - reflect on what it is you are reading.  Ask the Holy Spirit to give you understanding.
Pray with the intent to both speak and hear from God.
Go for a walk and talk with God along the way.
Put some worship music on and sing to the Lord.

Whatever you do, don't neglect this altogether important routine.  If you are like me, you will intentionally plan to spend time with Jesus and then suddenly find 1,000 things to do first.  This is normal.  No, the 1,000 + things are not more important than this time you've set aside.  Resist the urge to put time off with Him and set aside that time as a daily routine.  Run away from distraction and run to Jesus.

I know that both of you will appreciate the daily routine of connecting.  Trust me, we need time with Him, He is more important than our very breath.

Join me in avoiding living so catastrophically

I've decided that it is best to avoid emotional causing extremist words such as : "always, never, etc." when it comes to predicting the future or describing the past. It seriously never works.

I'm sure you've heard of this.  A friend may say to you, "I can just never get this right", or a family member in frustration declares, "you always do this!".  Oh the fun of stirring the pot emotionally.  The trouble is it rarely solves, assists, or benefits the speaker or the listener and usually just creates bigger emotions on both sides.  

The bible says to live in Today.  That sounds much better to me.  If I lived in yesterday, I would easily blanket paint over everything negatively and say that I never can achieve a goal because I never have before.  But Jesus also invites us to live in the newness of His mercy and grace every day.

So what I was yesterday, is not what I am today, and not what I have to be tomorrow.  We are not prisoners of who we were and have no business becoming prisoners of what we think we will be or not be tomorrow.   Live for today, it is not only healthier it is the grace given to you for the moment.

Yesterday, I became stressed that I could not achieve the goals I have for 2015.  Today, I will choose to do what I can in each moment by the mercy of Jesus Christ.  May the grace of God carry me through until tomorrow.

May His mercy grant you the strength you need for today.

Gift

A tragedy stopped me in my tracks today.
First I prayed for all those hurting.  There was a depth in my heart that felt this pain and so I prayed.
As I continued about my evening, I thought about the impact on so many people.
Yes, one life not present hurts so many.  One more candle light snuffed.  One more family never quite the same.  More friends with a hole that will never quite be filled.  
And while I prayed and yearned for mercy and comfort for this family.
I became aware and grateful for what I have.
Though I am as broken as they come, I am still here.  I get another shot at this thing called life today.  Not because I am particularly special or deserving but because I still have breath.
Yes, I could pull out many things but the most pressing is that in a few minutes I get to look into the eyes of my husband when he returns from work.  Forget for a moment that our schedules exhaust us and stretch our patience.  For a moment, we'll forget about the imperfect and revel in what is right.
Life. Love. Together. Hope.
Oh what gifts.  All of what we have is given by the hand of God.  Yet so often I take it for granted.  Or complain about what is NOT right.  There is so much not right. So many hurting people.  So many frustrations, so many stressors, so many dangers, and difficulties that lie ahead that we may not even be aware of.  But honestly, I don't even have to look beyond myself to see what is not right.  There is so much not right within me.  And all of that will be dealt with.  Thanking God that Christ dealt with what I could never have dealt with and the rest will have their moments.  But only a moment for there is too much good today to dwell in the bad.  I struggle with being upset with the imperfect around me.  But not tonight.  Tonight as I continue to lift up those who are overcome with sorrow.

I will also rest and be grateful for all the good I so often ignore or overlook to rest in my complaints or burdens.  No, not today.  Life is a gift.  I will be grateful.  May we not forget, no matter how dark or trying, the breath we have been given is a gift.

Marriage is:

Marriage is:

Discussion  of things that were formerly yours alone to decide
Compromise for the good of the whole

Sacrifice for love of the other

Investment of time and energy

A lot of hugs and 'I love yous'

Forgiveness on both sides

Humbling admitting needs or faults

Laughter at odd hours of the day

Being willing to do what you don't want to do

An adventure everyday

Imperfect and messy

Accountability for tasks or actions

Building a storage house of inside jokes and memories

Learning and growing together

Worth every ounce of effort 

A glimpse of Christ's love for us.
Beautiful

Day by Day

A calling to join God in his work, however that my look for each individual person, does not negate our close intimate relationship with Him.  He is of utmost importance and calls us to seek after Him.  With all my breath and in all my days, I never want to lose sight of what is far superior over everything else – walking with Him.  It is not walking with him to avoid misstep or to gain wisdom in a situation though that is a part of it, but the joy is walking with Him in the coolness of the day as one journey’s with a friend.  One of my favorite activities with friends is finding a beautiful trail to wander along together while our conversations drift from one topic to another.  This is no different than my treasured moments with The Lord.  This walk is not for the purpose of a destination but a settled enjoyment of one’s friendship with the King of Kings.  It is a return to Eden, a return to perfection, where humans were with God in freedom and enjoyed full access to the relationship with their Creator.

This quiet daily walk will not excite the media and may never make history but it is the quiet walk that I live for.  The world may never know me, but I will revel when my Father in Heaven calls my name.  He is calling to you, will you meet Him today?

© Dainis Derics | Dreamstime Stock Photos

My coloring book

Photo taken from: http://www.art-is-fun.com/free-abstract-coloring-page.html

Life without emotion would be like having a coloring book without any color.  It would seem simply boring, mundane, and overall unbearable.  Yes, any good coloring book has some great designs and perhaps some beautiful images, but color must be added.

As I allow emotions to color my world, I find life to be filled to the brim with excitement, last minute deadlines, frustration, happiness, sadness, and everything in between.  For most of my life, I have colored my life as the equivalent of a toddler with a book.  No matter what the lines said around me, I was intent on scribbling green all over one page and red all over another until a feeling faded and I went onto the next one.

It made for a life filled with color but not always the easiest to manage.  Sometimes I would get stuck on one color, despite having a whole array of colors to use.  That being said, I am learning!

I am learning that while emotions are fun and definitely add splashes to life - they do not define life.  The challenging emotions or even downright awful emotions that come at times help me become aware of my thoughts and feelings on a situation but the emotions do not get to do all the choosing of how I will act or continue feeling.  Why in the world would I just grab at the first crayon that jumps out of a box to use, when there are so many choices?  As an artist and daughter of the most High God who has an ability to think, navigate, and create, shouldn't I choose which colors to use?  Shouldn't I decide where, how, and for what purpose to use them? Absolutely, which is why an emotion that arises does not simply get to rule the moment, instead it must be considered, tested, and controlled.  Trouble is, I'm not sure where the colors belong all the time.  Other times, I'm longing to use a pretty pink crayon but find only broken up blue crayons in my box.  The good Lord helps me find the appropriate crayon or teaches me which one to use and together this disorderly scene turns into absolute beauty.  I still don't always color in the lines but I also don't color strictly sporadically, instead I live a life that has purpose, meaning, and order.  Or at least, that's what I intend.

Together, the Lord and I are making this little life beautiful one page at a time.  As for the pages I've screwed up, mysteriously His beauty and grace makes even those pages look great.  One day this book will be complete and what will be definitive will not be the strayed lines or the pages full of scribbles - but instead the story of His grace will be whispered across each page.  I am an artist, but He is the master artist, and His story will be told.

Trust or Terror

Life has been feeling an awful lot like a test of balance.  I look down and find myself walking on this super tall high wire with nothing but death-defying space between the ground and myself.  The only thing between sudden death and me is a very thin wire.   As long as I maintain proper alignment, doing the exact right things, it will be okay, or so I hope.

Photo Credit: http://www.thebettermom.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/tight_rope_walker_530w13.jpg

People treat life in this way quite a bit.   We act as if we can just figure out the proper life algebraic equation, then we can achieve the results we want. While  y=mx + b and can define the slope of a line, we are desperate to figure out the equation that can help us achieve the particular life outcome we are seeking. 

Photo Credit: http://mathforum.org/cgraph/cslope/pictures/intercept/blueslopeonethird.gif

As if our lives could truly be graphed, predicted, or controlled!  Life is a whole lot messier than that!  It is actually far more beautiful.  If there is one thing we can learn from our friend Frodo Baggins, it is that the adventure of life is far from a tightrope of clinging to the right steps.  It is characterized by a willingness to both begin and continue the journey.  Once a journey is begun, friends come along, and together choices are made with resulting outcomes.  But not every choice can be defined as the right choice.  No, it is the willingness to journey forward that is important.  Sometimes there are miraculous rescues, terrible losses, and anecdotal fun that become characteristic of such journeys. 

Photo Credit: http://meonthemovie.blogspot.com/2012/12/the-lord-of-rings-fellowship-of-ring.html

So, I too journey forward.  This week, I put notice at work.  Curative will no longer have this employee effective January 3^rd.  And, for at least a short while, I will no longer have a regular paycheck.  Who is my provider?  The Lord on High.  But it sure was nice seeing Curative’s name in my bank account every other week for the past 5 years.

Each day is a decision.  Will I trust the Lord today, or will I live in terror and fear?  My enemy takes every opportunity to threaten me with death and despair and he has plenty of material for accusation.  Sometimes the choice between trust or terror is made multiple times a day.  Some days are better than others.  But God is always on the throne and He is always willing to meet me even in my messiest moments.

http://www.steamboatsmyhome.com/blog/mud-season-in-steamboat-springs-co/

And so this is the lesson He teaches me:  His love, providence, and care are not dependent on the steps I take on my imaginary tightrope.  There is no tightrope for the people of God.  The God of Moses, Jacob, Daniel, David, Mary, Peter, Paul, Martha and all the rest saw His name glorified and His purposes revealed through the mistakes and successes of His people.  The God of Stacey is that very same God.  You see, it is not about the person that trusts God, but it is actually about The God who is the same yesterday, today, and forever, who people have found trustworthy for centuries.  This God who has revealed his grace towards us time and time again.

I love Him, more than words could say.  I’m so glad He rescued me from the tightrope of a works-based lifestyle.  I’m thankful for the kingdom of grace that allows for the beautiful adventure He has given me and I’m amazed at His story of grace that has characterized my own life and the lives of so many around me.  I am where I am today because of Him and tomorrow will be the same.  Though situations may declare that I have failed and faltered – it pales in comparison to His ever-present Goodness and Grace.  The question is not – have I failed God today?  But rather, God – where are you leading today?   I seek to follow Him, knowing that through the trail may not always be simple or easy, I will never be left alone.  Mistakes will be made, but better than a fancy gps phone that can find a new route – He always has a way for the journey to continue even if it means fording a river.  The fallen trees along the road often bring me nearer to Him, and that is far better than “getting it right”.

Photo Credit: Stacey Beckman

Do not allow despair to overwhelm or overtake you.  Choose in this moment to trust, and if you have to, in the next moment again.  Allow the King who gives peace in all circumstances to guide and protect you.  May you have grace on your journey and may His Kingdom come.

For further reading:

Philippians 4

Psalm 91

Psalm 34

John 10