Category: healing

Just a Bag

Arrival

It seems only yesterday that we embarked on our adventure, and yet, here we are walking barefoot in the sand toward our village destination.  What a journey it has been getting here, all the highs and all the lows… rogues and bandits, the Otterfolk, and a baby dragon, of all things.  So many experiences I never saw coming when it all began.  I am also astounded, at the commitment of all my faithful friends.  I feel that I can call you my friends after all we have experienced together, don’t you?

I can say that if I have to be a human burrito with someone, I would choose you, Bubbles.  Crocket, I can’t think of anyone I would rather have my eyebrow singed off by a dragon with.  James I shall forever think of you as my favorite sword wielding front runner, always clearing a path.  Christine, without your voice to enrich and encourage us, we might well have lost heart on more than one occasion.  I am certain that the little otter babe Milka, will never forget you singing for him that night at the village. 

Last night was such a wonderful time, sitting around the fire and sharing our favorite bits of the journey.  I will forever cherish the beautiful dragon figurine that you made for me, Carver.  It will carry the memories of all we accomplished together.  Cate my friend, none of us would have fared as well, had it not been for your gifted skills at healing. I can say that we all are eternally grateful that you stuck to the journey with us.

Though I am unable to speak for any of you, I know that my life will be forever changed because of you, and I hesitate to leave this moment. It feels a bit strange standing here, looking across the sand to the shore.  My stomach is filled with butterflies, unsure of what to expect when we arrive.

Look there at the waters edge…  I think I can see the one that was lost to me, and they’re waving for us to approach.  The sun makes it difficult to see the people clearly from here.  It looks as if there is quite a large group of others there, as well.  Come on, hurry!  Let’s go join them…

Beyond the story lies our truths…

As our party approached our lost companion, we were shocked to discover we saw our very own images reflecting off of the surface of the ocean.

All along it was us, and that which had been lost was a part of our soul that has now been recovered and restored to each of us.  That which had been running away in fear, had been our very own courage! Courage to believe in ourselves, or perhaps courage to step out in faith doing something that we know we should… it is not for me to say.  

We are now able to see the gift we had been delivering, though it will be unique to each soul who looks within their own bags. Consider your bag to be God’s Spirit! It is with you at all times, whether you carry it within your heart (belief), or choose to carry it on your side (searching). Either way the bag (God’s love and provision) will always be faithful to you, so my hope is that you will keep it with you, even though I travel on and you return to your lives. Now that we have been given our courage back, it is for each adventurer to determine the path before them.  I leave you here, in order to process, understand and choose your own path.   Remember that I am always near, assuming you keep your bag handy for contact.

Perhaps one day, some of you will tell me what your gift was and what you chose to do with it. As for me…

For now, I have been called away on matters of importance to my Commander.  This little brute has a journey of his own that must be undertaken, and it has been asked that I go along to assist.

 The Commanders parting message for me was this, “Do not be afraid, little flock, for your father has been pleased to give you the kingdom. Sell your possessions and give to the poor. Provide purses for yourselves that will not wear out, a treasure in heaven that will not be exhausted, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” Luke 12:32-34

So, with that, I must leave you here and journey on toward that which I have been commissioned…

Fear not for we can be assured that our paths will cross again… but a small boy is in need of a Dragon, I think, so this storyteller has much work to do.  Keep your eyes open for my lantern out there on the paths you travel.  I will keep the light burning bright for you …

Yes folks… this is what I decided it must look like when I try to do self recording videos out on the trail. So for everyones sake, I have made the executive decision to avoid talking or selfies, as I am either going to trip, scare someone, or drop my phone… or heaven forbid, drop my COFFEE!!!

I came to several insights this morning as I walked. One insight was that, perhaps the virtual part is more important than the mouth part. I simply don’t find anything important enough to say, because I am too busy listening. While walking, God whispers to me both in words, as well as music. This morning, as I was walking along, listening to music and trying to record a video without falling into the river, I was taken aback by the words of this song…

It is called, “Never Walk Alone” by Hope Darst. https://youtu.be/UlBKx8hlFp4?si=QWrXwlRSI9oqfRYQ

I realized that when we walk together and I am taping it, God is there the whole time, quietly spending precious moments with this wild daughter of His. So, when you walk with me, you are near to the God of Ages… the maker of everything… this orphan’s Father! You’re spending a precious 3 to 5 quiet moments of your time with Him… along with me, the camera holder.

From now on, every time you click on those videos I post, I am praying that God breathes love and blessings into your worlds, simply by being near Him… just like He does for this child.

The second insight that arrived during this walk, was just that, the walk! I asked myself why walking is so important to me? I mean, why do I feel the need to keep bringing you along, and yet have nothing of value to say? This isn’t rocket science for crying out loud! I think it might have to do with who is doing the walking and who is doing the talking. My favorite part of the walks are usually when God shows me things, and if I am talking … I am not listening, nor am I learning!

The question God asked me this morning was, “Who are you walking for?” What a loaded question! That sort of stuff, ladies and gents, is the reason I am most often on the trail for 1 to 2 hours a day. I walk because I know that I cannot talk at the same time with the pace I keep. God knows this, and my suspicion is that He chooses these precious moments when my mouth is shut, to whisper His guiding and sustaining words to my spirit. I found that my spirit knows my human body needs the activity for many reasons, but somehow my body responds wholeheartedly, desiring to give my spirit its quiet time, for God to rejuvenate and refill my reservoir.

Walking, for me, is all about the balance I guess. My hope in sharing a few precious moments with you each week, is perhaps you will maybe get a top off on Your spiritual love tank too.

Here, have a protein smoothie…

Mine was Mango flavors this morning… so good!

*****We interrupt our normal broadcasting of Monday Messages, to tell you a hilarious story about something I did the other night*****

I thought I had missed a call on my phone, but with my one good eye, I clicked the wrong icon in my contact list. I hit redial and when the call picked up, it took me through an odd walk through of setting up a message profile… just like when you set up voice mail. I thought it strange, but I thought the number said STATE of WASHINGTON, so I assumed it was for messages from my doctor. I finished the walk through, hung up, and my phone immediately dinged with a message alert. I went to my text messages and saw a new message from my own security on the phone.

I opened the message and read it. It was informing me that someone had just gone in and changed the password and message for my voicemail. It then dawned on me that I had called myself, and set up my own voicemail. The number actually said, WASHINGTON STATE… because it was my own number, duh… so reading is very fundamental folks!

I did go back and find the actual person who called me, but this time I was wearing my glasses… hahahahahahahahaha…

Now back to your previously recorded show

I have no idea what Tuesdays Talk and Walk will be, as it is pegged to be raining heavy for a good bit… you might just get a rendition of Singing in the Rain that you can never un-see, who knows.

Wednesday is the final episode of Just a Bag, and then we will be heading to Live Novel Fridays in October. Sorry, no spoilers.

Our Note to Self series continues on Saturday… don’t miss out on #6.

Live Wire is just that… Live… so I’ve no idea, as of yet, what we will be looking at. But the virtual potluck will be good, so no matter what I talk about, there will be free virtual food… so everyone virtually wins!

Did ya see what I did there… huh? Did ya?

Ever throw a pebble in a pond, just to hear the kerplunk sound, and then watch the ripples play out across the water? We don’t really think about where the pebble goes after it disappears, as we are busy looking for another rock to throw next. We usually don’t even follow the ripples to see how they change the shore surrounding the pond… why? We simply like the sound made, and the initial ripples that came as a result of the rock hitting the surface.

At my age nowadays, I don’t throw much of anything anymore, especially rocks… I’m too tired. Besides, the pond and pebble example has been used enough times, that I’m sure most have heard it at one time or another. With that being said, I’m hoping my brief explanation is enough to connect you with todays Live Wire … the life of Jacob.

Much time has been spent this week, studying over the life and journey of Jacob, who may have been a bit of a bad boy, I think. Talk about a world of drama… from stealing his brothers birth rite to marrying two sisters, only one of which he loved. The struggle was pretty real for him. Granted there were things out of his control in much of it, but he still did not help things at times… often tossing pebbles into the pond of his life, that only ended up making the situation worse for himself.

Chapter by chapter, we follow Jacob through some seriously disturbing marital and child rearing situations… none of which he handled well in any shape or form. While Rachael and Leah fight over his love and favor, flinging their maidservants at him to one up each other in the children department, Jacob just keeps fathering babies left and right without a thought. It was apparent from the beginning that Jacob was not letting God lead him in this mess… how on earth are you gonna work 7 years for someone, in order to marry the woman you love, and then sleep with someone else on your wedding night… hmmmm. Then, when you wake up and discover the truth, you then work another 7 years for the girl you really wanted. My mind went from thinking Jacob was an idiot, or he was still being that bad boy I mentioned earlier.

Either way, there was a great amount of what I refer to as good bad and ugly, during the years of Jacobs journey. I am not for certain, but I don’t think that Jacob really truly followed God for himself, until after the night that he wrestled with Him… I noticed a marked change after this point. All of the earlier times that God spoke to Jacob about what to do, it was always repeated as “the God of my father Isaac”, or “the God of Abraham”. After that night, Jacob changed… seeking to make peace with his brother Esau, whose birth rite Jacob stole.

This didn’t mean things were all better however, as we learn further on in the story of Jacobs life. Pebbles cast, ripples must still play out…

If God was so faithful in the life of Jacob, then there is hope for this girl too. If he could still walk his journey, through all his own folly and mess ups… so to can I. God made provisions for Jacob and faithfully carried him all the way through his life, regardless of mistakes, misdeeds, or out of control circumstances. So too will He make provisions for this girl, this orphan child… with all her flaws, failures, and scars to tend.

By the time I finished reading through his story, I found that I love Jacob more with all his flaws and bad boy history. It leaves me feeling so hopeful, that even though I stand upon the shoreline of my own pond, where the ripples have come to lap at my feet… God chooses to work through broken things to suit His purposes.

I leave you with this song to wrap up my thoughts and hopes for us all… Broken Things, by Matthew West https://youtu.be/CgvsGJwVvK8?si=YYhMUjGXFQLKpkyp

This Sundays Potluck theme is surrounding Jacob and his story… in honor of broken things, let’s break bread together and turn some broken frowns upside down…

There are times in our lives, when we have felt like our efforts don’t seem to match up with the outcome of doing good… things we thought would make a difference, didn’t… good works we hoped would bring forth fruit, but the ground was barren and dry.

I will be honest in saying that there were times where I actually considered my efforts to be invisible, as if I could evaporate into nothing and there would be no loss felt by those I sought to help. In a world overrun by selfishness, it is easy to get discouraged by the overwhelming odds at making a difference…

Until we remember a very simple basic truth… the continued effort to do good, is what gets us through the journey. When we commit to do good, regardless of the result… we empty out a place in our soul for God to refill. We also need to remember that just because we do see the result we expected, does not mean that God did not do good somewhere else with our efforts…

My desire is to make a conscious choice in doing good, simply because God asks me to… whether I know how it ends or not! My goal should be to please Him in the here and now… I will wait til I get Home to see the results!

Note To Self #6

Do not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up! Galatians 6:9

Sometimes people make me laugh…

I find it hilarious to see a young man wearing his pants so low on his hips, that when he bends over to pick something up, it is as if I get to see what he looks like when he walks around his house in his underwear… You know?!