Tag: Direction

Intentions

I generally set goals for each day.

Sometimes I am overly ambitious and don’t get to everything. Sometimes there is an emergency or at least something that gets inserted that is urgent and it takes a chunk of time to work through leaving the rest of my list unchecked.

There is tomorrow, after all.

At least I assume there will be.

Now that the days, months, and years are flying by, I need to make sure my bigger goals are being tended to. I have generally been working on them all along, but who really knows how much time there is left to accomplish them.

Of course, God knows.

But on this matter, I am in the dark. I need to keep plugging away. And making sure that He is leading the way. Often, when something is heavy on my heart, that is God nudging — and sometimes pressing — me to make a move.

Setting goals or intentions is only part of the challenge. Then there is the the actions that make them happen. And then the re-evaluation mid-stream.

Is this really the direction I want to go?

Sometimes we set off on a path with every intention of doing that thing and over time it becomes apparent that it isn’t going to happen, no matter how hard we try.

Our effort is not the only factor at play.

Sometimes it is nice to start the day with a blank page. Maybe there are a few anchor tasks here and there but, overall, the day is open to where you are lead. In this case, of course, you want to look to who you want to lead the day. What are those things pressing on you? What adjustments do you need to make on your expectations of yourself and others.

What is God doing in your day, today?

In cloud and majesty and awe

Oh, come, oh, come, our Lord of might,
Who to your tribes on Sinai’s height
In ancient times gave holy law,
In cloud and majesty and awe.
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to you, O Israel!

I love reading the Old Testament. God’s patience with His people is abundant. If I was in a place to see some of the kind of activity He showed in the time of Moses, I surely would have been in awe at His majesty. But I particularly intrigued by how God moved His people with the pillars of cloud.

And the Lord went before them by day in a pillar of cloud to lead them along the way, and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light, that they might travel by day and by night. [Exodus 13:21 ESV]

I am often in awe of the work that God does. And when I am still long enough to consider it all, His majesty comes through loud and clear. His ability to create, resurrect, release, and redeem can overwhelm me because I have seen it in my own life.

But those clouds —

I could benefit from seeing them. Sometimes seeing a very direct message or path is helpful. But, God probably knows it is better for me not to have such direct instruction. When I am seeking Him daily, my days go better. My life may not be smoother but I am more at peace. Even in the midst of some chaos, God calms my heart and gently leads me in the way I should go. With my eyes on Him, my direction is in His direction.

Come, Lord Jesus!
Liz

Oh, Come, Oh, Come Emmanuel
Translated: John Neal, 1818-66

Interruptions

When I was a mom of younger children, it seemed my hours were full of not being able to get something done because one of my precious kiddos had a question or needed something. There were a lot of days that were filled with all kinds of changes in plans. We tried to make be available for interesting learning opportunities and be flexible because we could be. I think I got quite used to being interrupted because I do it to myself all the time now. I switch gears sometimes too fast for myself and then I have this trail of uncompleted things behind me. It is always more fun to finish the fun stuff and start new things!

There have been a few times in my life where I definitely feel like the “pause” button has been pressed.

Stop here and stay a while.

Enjoy the view. Take in the moment. Savor the sunset.

An interruption may take our focus off of a task but that doesn’t mean it is a bad thing. Maybe it is a pause for refreshment. Maybe it is for a change in direction. Maybe there is something we needed to notice.

Regardless of our plans for a day or a week or a lifetime, I think it is important to look to our Creator who designed us. He knows each season we are in. And, sometimes His uses “interruptions” to alter the course of our lives.

8 Better a little with righteousness
    than much gain with injustice.

9 In their hearts humans plan their course,
    but the Lord establishes their steps. [Proverbs 16:8-9, NIV]

Blessings on your day today, including all those interruptions!

Liz

PrayerPrompt: TEAM

Direction

  • One of the areas my family is from in Hungary.

My husband has an excellent sense of direction when we are traveling. He also loves to use tools to help him make the best decision on how to get where he is going. So if Google Maps shows a significant traffic issue, he will make an effort to go around it. He loves to plan ahead and make a wise move with up-to-date info.

On the other hand, I tend not to fuss with technology too much when I am driving alone. Our trusty vehicle, Luna, is a 2008 Highlander (240,000+ miles) with a map program built in and is a little clunky (we have updated her maps but I-69 to Indianapolis still isn’t in there). She sports an older model of map technology and isn’t hooked up to a satellite so she doesn’t show “real time” traffic. That is fine with me – when there is a slow down I can tell because the cars are all slowing down in front of me. I don’t get the latest information on traffic issues. I experience them.

Either approach is fine. Even a good, old-fashioned road map is perfectly fine.  Or, if you have no particular place to go, just taking off without a map is great too.

It all depends on if you have a place you need to get to within a particular time frame.

But, aside from how you get TO a specific place, how do you travel? Do you like taking direction? Do you like to blaze your own trail? Who or what guides your path? What fuels your journey? Is it anger or justice? Is it pain? Is it love or thankfulness?

Let love and faithfulness never leave you;
    bind them around your neck,
    write them on the tablet of your heart.
4 Then you will win favor and a good name
    in the sight of God and man.

5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart
    and lean not on your own understanding;
6 in all your ways submit to him,
    and he will make your paths straight. [Proverbs 3:3-8, NIV]

May your sense of direction come from True North!

Liz

PrayerPrompt: SOWING

Where are you going?

Night Flight w
Night Flight! 

Recently I have needed to travel quite a bit. I appreciate a good but flexible itinerary and I also like time to explore on my own.

The most important thing to keep in mind when I am “on the road” is that things often change. A flight might be delayed or cancelled. If I am traveling by car there might be a traffic delay or a problem with my vehicle. There may be a detour that allows for an unusual adventure, if I quit stewing about the delay.

Life can be like that too! You’ve got a plan and you seek to execute it but something interrupts the itinerary. Maybe someone else inserted their agenda. Maybe your destination changed because you made some choices that took you on a detour.

This is life.

There are some things we have control over but not everything. You might think you are going one place but things aren’t adding up to that.

Where are you headed?

This seems to be the better question. If you think about what you are hoping to accomplish, are the things you are doing now heading you in that direction? Are the people you are spending time with encouraging you in your goal? Have you asked God for His insight on the matter? Sometimes He speaks through prayer and Scripture and sometimes He uses people in our lives to influence us.

Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light on my path. [Psalm 119:105 NIV]

Lord, face me in the direction I need to go and direct my footsteps and clear my path. Amen.

On the way,

Liz

Where are you going?

WHERE are you going?

Where are YOU going?

Where are you GOING?

 

Emphasis makes a big difference in each of those questions. Sometimes we don’t necessarily have an end goal in mind–we are just out and about. Sometimes it’s ok to not know the destination because, truth be told, we often think we have a place where we will end up and we are really disappointed when we don’t ever get there. Or we don’t get there the way we imagined we would.

Sometimes we strive for a goal and find we never get there because we took the wrong path or we had a misinformed goal. For example, if one grows up in a family with a lot of tension or sadness due to money struggles, one might think that amassing a lot of money will lead us to “happiness”. It rarely works that way.

Where do you hope to be and how do you think you might get there?

It is always good to think about our life’s direction in general, but the Lenten season is a great time to consider if we have strayed off the path of forgiveness, grace, mercy, love, service, prayer, kindness, sacrifice, self-control, or [fill in the blank]. Drifting away a bit may not seem so bad when we can see the road but we can quickly lose sight of the road altogether. Sometimes we need to “reset”, get re-oriented, and start again.

GOD’S WORD informs our LIFE and impacts the decisions we make.

So let’s get informed! What does God have to say? Grab your Bible or download a Bible App on your phone. Look for a verse or two you might want to commit to memory during this Lenten season. Write it out on an index card, in your journal, or make a digital image so you can have it on your phone. I would love to see your verse and if you do anything creative with it. Of course, being creative isn’t the point but pondering it is! When we take the time to read God’s Word, ponder, and pray, He changes us. And, we likely will find a new perspective on our travels–both on  where we are going and where we have been.

So, where ‘ya headed?

~ Liz

Quick note: Don and I will be “on the road” and I will be posting things as we travel. We would appreciate your prayers for a safe journey!