I dreamt of being a flower, blooming and then fading away… Perhaps the fragrance I leave behind will remind you of Him…
To Be a Flower…
Category: Godly
Investigating Truths…
Episode 8
Looking Up!
Believe it or not, this flower is actually a good three feet above my head! I would not have even noticed it, had I not paused for a moment to rest my aching back. I am not sure that I want to go as far as to say that I am glad I injured my back. But I can certainly appreciate the lessons gained from my recovery process. One of those lessons is that I need to slow down!
I learned to slow down both physically, as well as mentally. In the physical realm, too much of a good thing (walking) is never healthy without taking the time to make sure you are capable of pacing yourself. I am learning to slow my walking down, and also to take days off for a refuel. Selecting regular days to rest is something I have to force myself to do. Mentally, I think it is also very necessary to do the same thing…
Take a day off!?!
While realizing that it can be difficult, it’s so very necessary that we take a mental day off, once in a while! You know, shut the brain door… close the shutters to our internal house windows.
I hope you weren’t’ expecting me to expound on the mental day off, as there are too many self-help resources that have already saturated the market on this subject. Actually, I am not even going to spout anything useful in the physical activity department. I just like to “walk” you into an insight I’ve gained, rather than just throw it at you like a water balloon.
Beauty and goodness are all around us! Each and every day, the sun rises to reveal these things. It carries on toward darkness, til it’s replaced by the rising of the moon. Over and over, again and again, this happens. We’re given so many opportunities to see and experience all that God’s created just for our pleasure and enjoyment.
My insight, if you have not already figured it out, is this: Slow down, and take the time to LOOK UP!
Keepin it simple…
One would imagine that a writer would have a list longer than ones arm, readily available to regail you with insightful pearls of wisdom. Ya….No! Don’t get me wrong, I am a writer and I have read enough books to fill a small library. And trust me, I have many things I could pull from them to impress.
What I will do, is share my three favorite books with a quick why attatched. No fancy bells or whistles...
Hinds Feet on High Places by Hanna Hannard – It brought home to me who God was, to me, at a very delicate time in my life.
The Lion The Witch and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis – For me, this book was almost a preparatory step towards my salvation.
The Five Love Languages of Children by Gary Chapman – This book not only opened my eyes in how to love my girls, it has shaped how I try to fulfill love in others, children and adult alike. For me, this book was a life changer!
Talk about the GOD…
Yup! I am just going to fling it out there! I used to fear being laughed at, judged, turned away from, and the like, if I had the balls to stand up for Jesus!
How did I overcome it, you ask? I got brave…
How did I get brave? I got serious about speaking the truth…
How did I get serious? I burned out…
I burned out in the church, I burned out as a mother, I burned out being a plaything to others…
Then I quit! I told God to screw off!
I ran into the wilderness, where no one knew His name so I need not speak of Him…
I found myself in a place where the only name that would come to my lips was His…
The enemy knew His name, just as I did…
When I shouted out of my God, the earth shook and the enemy fled…
I am a terrible judge of character in people and it has cost me almost all of ME…
I speak the name of God everywhere I go, because if you stay, then I feel safe in His name, His presence…
If I speak of God, Jesus, and The Holy Spirit, you should only feel good after our encounter…
If not, then go…
I will still speak of Him for you…
I will stand in the gap…
for HIM!
Do You Remember…
Ahhhhh…… The life of the Homeschooler!
Sooooo, I homeschooled my children for a number of years! There, I said it! I get a mixture of reactions from folks, when I mention this fact. It ranges from an encouraging smile to a distrustful, and often judgemental frown. I am, however, very proud of what I accomplished with my kids! My past is filled with so many fun adventures. There are memories of camping for weeks at a time, trips to endless zooz and parks of this sort or that, and many different arts and educational groups. If nothing else, at least I know that my kids were never bored! As I write about my perspective on this subject, I also realize that my kids may not have entertained the same pleasant recollections as I did.
The other morning, while enjoying my morning coffee and music, I was pondering this different viewpoint. I can tell you for certain that I hated at least 3 different hairstyles my mom made me wear! I also have a plethora of stories recalling my perceived trauma at the clothes I was forced to wear, and to some of the most embarrassing moments I had to be a part of (western pictures with my parents) …it was aweful!
With fresh memories in my head from my own childhood, I perused the memory storybooks I keep of my homeschooling adventures. I was able to revisit some events that I realize my kids probably cringe at, each time they remembered. There were a good number of memories, however, that restore my faith in believing I did right by my girls. Here is one in particular that I thought you might find humorous…
It had been a pretty nice morning so far. With the classroom workbook session finished, I sat in my office with a cup of coffee, having sent the little ones outside to play in the yard. I finished the article I had been reading, and set it down next to my now empty coffee cup. It dawned on me that I had been reading for nearly 20 minutes without interruption…not normal!!! Just as I reached for the front door handle, my oldest was opening it and coming inside. The look on her face was that of guilt, fear, and anger all rolled into one!
Apparently, her sisters had hopped on their bicycles and gone for a bit of a ride. She wanted it to be very clear that she had tried valiantly to block their escape, but was overwhelmed by the treachery, and she had decided to come get me! With that information I grabbed my slippers…yes, I know, wrong shoe choice! Don’t blame me, there was no time…my little hooligans were on the loose…on wheels!!!
I headed down the block at a soft trot…you would think that I would be sprinting, as these were my tiny little vulnerable babies. Why did I not do said sprinting, you may be asking? First of all…SLIPPERS! Besides, I could already hear them singing from 3 blocks away! The hilarious reason I could hear them from such a distance, was due to the amphitheater style baseball field that rested just below our local elementary school! And NO, it was not recess time! The whole of my neighborhood had to know exactly whose little escaped convicts these two were! As I rounded the corner leading into the above-mentioned park area, they were belting out their own version of some childhood song. It was being broadcast loudly across the park by my little Tina Turners. The speed at which their little bikes were racing from the top of the hill all the way down to the bottom was impressive! So was the speed at which their little hind ends raced home to get there before I did!
In honesty, I think my oldest daughters’ lecture and judgement had a bigger impact on them than mine, lol! And lets face it people, my kids are just as wild as I am! Perhaps, more so…
Live Wire…
Daily writing prompt
Describe one simple thing you do that brings joy to your life.
I walk…
I try to get out on the trail nearly every day. I walk for a variety of reasons. Aside from the health benefits, it does really provide me with a great amount of joy for such a small effort. I can honestly say that I feel blessed each time I set out.
As I was walking down the path yesterday, I had the sweetest experience and decided to share it with you. I see people on my outings all the time, some days more than others. On this day, coming down the path towards me was a gentleman accompanied by his two young sons. When I say young, I mean they were tiny little guys. The smaller of the two was at the walking age of a tiny drunken sailor. The older boy was not much bigger.
The closer the family got, the more apparent it became that these little adorable bundles knew what a “MeeMaw” looked like. Me! Their smiles got bigger and bigger as I approached. Just as we passed each other, both boys simultaniously shot their arms up and waved at me. Their father graciously slowed, allowing the boys to greet me. I think I probably wore a smile for a good five minutes after we all went our seperate ways.
Sometimes, it really is the little things…
Self-Check…
What are we looking for???
“He who seeks good
Proverbs 11:27, 28
finds goodwill,
but evil comes to him who
searches for it.
Whoever trusts in his riches will fall,
but the righteous will thrive
like a green leaf.”
Hmmmmm…
How do you practice religion anyway? I guess if you compare it to a soccer practice, then church or religion would probably look similar to that, I think. Alot of folks milling about, drinking coffee and socializing with the other parents. Getting all of the little ones into the right sunday scchool classes, finding a place to sit in order to see and shout out words of encouragement. Watching the coach teach the rules, and either agree with what they say, or sit and judge them for being no more than Timmy’s dad. Yup, this does kind of sound like practicing religion.
I think I would have to say that, no, I do not practice religion! I do however, practice walking a life of Faith! It’s just how I roll!
Live Wire…
What does the worker gain from his toil? I have seen the burden God has laid on men. He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the hearts of men; yet they cannot fathom what God has done from beginning to end. Ecclesiastes 3:9-11
Answers From the Past…
Daily writing prompt
Share a story about the furthest you’ve ever traveled from home.
I found an old post from last spring that I thought rather fitting, if you twist the daily prompt’s meaning just a smidge…
This was one of my ‘Investigating Truths’ episodes, but it seemed fitting, somehow.
For as long as I can remember, I have made sense of myself and this world two realms of thought. One realm of thought is in the actual and physical sense. What we see, do, talk about, eat and feel are in the here and now… The second realm of thought is what I think of as my storybook, or cartoon version if you will. Let’s call this part the “Behind the Scenes of My Truths,” the adventure version.
What follows is written in storybook version…….
I am wild from the top of my head all the way down to my toes! It is all that I can seem to remember of myself. My journeying, or running if I am being truthful, has always found me far out in the desert. For as long as I can remember, there has been a path worn, from one hidden oasis to another, by my feet. I have hidden them well, though, so most that wander by are unaware of my presence. As the years of my life rolled forward, I found that there was One who had been following my footprints, always leaving little packages of love for me. On one of my journeys along the outskirts of the Cities of Souls, I came to realize that the One whom I had sensed, was in fact my True Father! It was both joyful and difficult to become aware of Him.
I stayed…
Before I knew it, time seemed to have sped forward in my journey, by a great many years! I discovered that I had settled down right inside the walls … building relationships with others, and trying to live and do things the way all of the others thought was right. My Father showed me the gifts given to me, but instead of being at peace, I became fearful…I believed that I was losing myself, and would simply become a nothing…moving along by habit…so this wild child ran!!!
I fled into the desert with as much speed possible, for my feet had become softened over time. I tripped many times, stumbling over rocks and debris that had been left on my paths. Had it really been that long? I was not sure if the way had become obstructed or if I had simply forgotten my exact path. Many seasons were spent wandering, clearing out my old and unused paths. Time rolled on…
Oh, I would come near the outskirts, just close enough to remember what I left behind. The intensity of my pain and fear, along with the guilt over my failure, drove me away again and again…
My last act of running into the desert, or defiance as I see it, nearly cost me my very life, but that is for another time. For now, I leave you with this thought…I am still that wild child inside, but my Father has been revealing to me the graceful Phoenix that He is rising up from the ashes of her truth…
You didn’t think I would forget your cookies, did you?
Journey With Me! 