The things we cannot change

There are so many things that are done and cannot be undone.

Sometimes, it is heartbreaking to realize that. But it is reality.

A word that has been spoken.

A deed that has been done.

Of course, there are times we can change course and somehow “fix” it. And while that may be helpful and useful and healing, the original wholeness that was messed with won’t probably ever be whole again.

There is a wound. A scar.

The memory of what was done or left undone.

But, there is always God and what He can do.

We just need to recognize that the power rests with Him.

We cannot “man handle” someone else’s response. No “sweet talking” our way in or out of things.

Accepting a reality doesn’t mean we have to like it. But, acknowledging it is a step in the right direction.

Knowing that God goes before me and behind me and hems me in makes the difficult parts of life’s journey more acceptable. It isn’t always fun, but there is joy in the journey.

Lord, help me to trust You to redeem those hard things that cannot be changed. Give me wisdom to know when things are out of my control and trust that You will work out the details.

Respecting Rest

Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Matthew 11:28 NIV

Do you find yourself feeling guilty about resting? I find that my mind has been trained to think that rest is for the weak. I don’t always notice my own subtle thoughts along those lines but sometimes I hear them in conversations with others: “I slept in and was lazy today.” or “I feel lazy when I sit for just a few moments.”

Those with busier personalities may have a harder time with sitting still. And others of us may do a good job resting and recovering as they prepare for the next thing. Do you allow time for physical and emotional rest?

Not all situations are demanding physically. Some circumstances require heart and soul work, but they each use our energy. I am just thinking about regular life here — you know, when things seem to be ok. We are working and doing life and day-by-day things are going smoothly. But throw in something that is demanding either short term or long term and we will find we need even more rest.

If we are living and breathing life on this Earth, we will all experience something that is demanding and maybe even soul crushing. I pray that you are in regular communication with God before that happens. Or that you start resting in Him now. When we are weary and burdened He will give us rest. As we seek God’s will and wisdom for our circumstances, He will give us the rest we are desperate for.

Sit a while and consider His offer for rest. Rise refreshed with renewed strength for your day. Let Him carry you through your circumstances.

The storms…

The storms will come. They might be literal ones like we saw last night ripping through Arkansas, Illinois, and Indiana. But there are always those times in life when things happen that rock us to our core; the figurative storms.

They will come. They do come. They are coming. And sometimes they seem to come one after another. I love this quote from a song by Scott Krippayne, Sometimes He calms the storm and other times He calms His child.

I don’t know what you have been through, what you are in the middle of, or what is coming down the pike for you. Life is not easy for anyone. But I take courage and hope that God is with me when the storms come. He holds me close, He provides peace, comfort, and, most importantly, rest for our hearts and souls. He is my shelter in the storm. And I pray you find He does that for you, too.

If you have anything specific you would like me to pray for, let me know!

Enjoy the song.

On high alert…

If you have lived with someone who has intense medical needs you know what it means to be on high alert. You have to sleep lightly, ready to come to their aid…

Or you need an organ transplant and you are on the list, waiting and, theoretically, ready…

Or you live near a creek or rover that routinely floods during the Spring rains and your house or animals are too close to the banks…

Or you live near the various wildfires, never knowing when the wind will shift and it will be your turn to evacuate…

Or there are layoffs in your company and the entire process is taking a year or more and you are waiting, not knowing, when or if that day will come…

Living on high alert is exhausting. We aren’t meant to be able to do it long term. When God tells us to rest, He means it. As our Creator, He knows how He made us.

Where, when, how, and how often do you rest?

Midnight promptings

When we sleep, we are more relaxed and our minds release the struggles of the day. Rest is so important for our bodies and our minds and our spirits.

Sometimes, the busyness of the day has fallen away, but the mind hasn’t unwound enough before sleep. There are times when rest is interrupted by a midnight prompting.

For me, a midnight prompting is a situation I need to pray for. I may not know any specific need for this person or situation. But I know God knows what they need, so I ask God to cover their needs and be with them during this time. I might follow up with them during the week to check in on them, but I don’t always. I probably should follow up more than I do, but life gets crazy and I get distracted.

Have you ever received a “midnight prompting” to pray for someone? Did you pray? Did you follow up?

Adjusting the Sails

I have only been on a small sailboat once. It was fun but, man, was it a lot of work. I am glad I had an experienced person with me because I definitely didn’t know what I was doing.

I had to trust the person I was with.

I had to allow for the changing wind direction.

I needed to work with the sails and the wind.

I needed to think ahead and anticipate the changes.

Have you been thrown off by the daily changes? I don’t have kids in school but I would go crazy having classes change from being online …

…. to being in person …

… to only two days a week …

… to all the screen time …

… to all the ups and downs of the kids trying to adjust and readjust …

… to all the daily change ups in decisions (like lunch and who is home and who needs to be home and who has the computer and do we need more computers in our home?)

All of that.

Who can adjust all their sails so many times in a day? Week? Month? Year?

Thinking about all of it makes me tired.

And when I am tired, I know I need to find rest!

We often laugh about our grandbabies who are just over a year and definitely both still need 1-2 naps a day. Sometimes they fight those naps like crazy. I am sure I did it too when I was little. Maybe it was FOMO (fear of missing out) and maybe it was just not accepting I had done what I could do and now I needed to rest.

What do you think of when you think of resting?

²⁸Then Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. ²⁹Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls. ³⁰For my yoke is easy to bear, and the burden I give you is light.” Matthew 11:28-29 NLT

Lazy Days

Back in January I was thinking that things had become a little too busy. Of course, November – Mid January is an incredibly busy time for our business. And we had a short reprieve in February and then we started to move into the busy Hungarian festival season. And then add two tours to Hungary in the mix. I was wondering how I was going to pull it off and still stay sane. Don’t get me wrong — I love what we do. I love the opportunity to be innovative and responsive to the needs of the people who care about their Hungarian heritage. I love creating. I love to help people connect to their Hungarian roots in a variety of ways.

I also like time to think and process and plan. I am fairly introverted, too. And, we also have the blessing of living near our two grandchildren — we want to see them as much as we can.

There has been some stress as well as financial readjustments and reorganization of plans due to the current Coronavirus situation. But, I am welcoming these “lazy days”. Of course, I don’t really feel like we are being lazy, we are processing at a much slower pace than we typically do and it has been refreshing. This crazy pause in life and business has given me a greater freedom to think and dream and plan without constant interruptions.

My salvation gives me peace in the midst of the turmoil. I have also found rest.

I don’t know what the future holds but I know who holds the future. God is steady. He is my Rock.

Have you found a new perspective in the last six months? Have you been able to find joy in something new? Have you been able to find new pathways to rest?

Truly my soul finds rest in God; my salvation comes from him.
Psalm 62:1 New International Version

Are you coming or going?

I was thinking about the verse I want to rest upon during Lent. There will be a lot of movement in my life in the upcoming months so this one seems appropriate:

“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.” Matthew 11:28

And this one is always good to keep in mind because while we are not “of this world” we certainly are here in this world for a purpose:

“Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation.” Mark 16:15

But here is where I have settled:

be-stillp

We are often coming and going and not taking enough time to reflect, rest, and be restored. The focus for 2017 Lenten PrayerPoints will be devotional thoughts that relate to being “On the Road”. Certainly, a part of traveling means rest and standing still. Sometimes we choose our times of “still” and other times we do not. “Being still” might be an uncomfortable place to be–especially if someone is known as a “doer”.

If you decide to have a verse or chapter or book of the Bible to focus on during this season of Lent, I would love to hear what it is! Write it out, sketch it out, go to canva.com and create some digital art, or do whatever you need to do to connect with the verse and tuck it away in your heart and mind. And then pay attention! Whenever I do this, I see God’s connecting points for me in conversations with others, in sermons, in songs, and in my life. Ruminating on Scripture is always a good idea.

I am praying for all of us as we journey with God and spend time with Him during this season. May He find hearts willing to learn, grow, and change to reflect His love and grace and forgiveness more accurately. As we travel through life we will meet many travelers. We can give more to others when we ourselves are refreshed.

On the Road!

Liz

“Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.” Psalm 46:10

PrayerPoints ~ Sunday, February 28th

James 3-17-18w

Today’s PrayerPoint ~ Psalm 62

“My soul finds rest in God alone; my salvation comes from him.” Psalm 62:1

Sometimes it is hard to find a moment of rest from either the things we are doing or the things others want us to do. I feel like the world expects me to be busy accomplishing something tangible all the time!

Do you struggle with that as well?

I am learning to intentionally pace myself. It isn’t that I can’t get in there and go “full speed ahead” when something requires time and energy but that is not how I want to live my every day. True “Soul Rest” can transcend our circumstances and is only found with God.

Have you intentionally carved out time for your soul to be rested and encouraged? Working your way through Scripture is one way. Weekly worship in a healthy congregation is another way. If you have fallen out of this habit, let me encourage you to get back into it. It is like having more life-giving oxygen in your day! The world has so many toxic pollutants that we absorb on a daily basis that it is even more important to breathe deeply of God’s life giving Word!

Blessings on your week!

Below is a song I have liked for a long time and the words are printed below. Enjoy!

Chorus

My stronghold my Savior

I shall not be afraid at all

My stronghold my Savior

I shall not be moved

Only in God is my soul at rest

In Him comes my salvation

Verse 1

Only in God is my soul at rest

In Him comes my salvation

He only is my Rock

My strength and my salvation

Verse 2

Only in God is found safety

When my enemy pursues me

Only in God is found glory

When I am found meek and found lowly