August of NEW Beginnings

There are new beginnings happening all around us.  God is bringing new opportunities into our path and giving us surprises into the NEW thing is He about to do!

Get ready!  Here's a short poem – declaring the new season!

It’s a time of new beginnings, of choices and of chance. 

A time for love to blossom, for hope to rise and dance.

For the song in your heart, to finally find its voice.

No longer being plagued by the always-nagging choice. 

Where the bitter patter rain won’t silence your sound. 

And the rumble of thunder won’t keep you confound. 

A time of fresh anointing awaits at your door. 

A time of new beginnings is all that’s in store. 

So grab it and hold it and embrace all of it. 

Because you’re about to find the perfect, perfect fit! 

Are you in transition? My secret to Transition Tranquility!

Transition is a funny one. 

You are not quite gone, yet not quite there. 

Transition.

Often hard, yet usually needed.

Transition. 

Moving mentally, physically, and spiritually. 

Transition.

From point A to point B.

It seems someway or another we are always in state of transition.

Only briefly does there seem to be moments of stillness, rest, and normalcy.

Transition. 

How did Paul learn to be content no matter what the circumstance? 

How did he learn transitional tranquility?

The past 5 years have been a bit of transition for me, as I have moved to a new city, then a new country, then back to the first country, and then to a new state and city.  Yet through it all I am learning like Paul this mastery of being content.

My secret to transitional tranquility is this... 

Faithfully Thankful.

To faithfully keep walking where He leads.  Faithfully listening to His voice.  Faithfully responding to often just the one thing I know He’s asking me to do. Faithfully doing my best to love, trust, hope and believe.  And in all things being thankful.  Thankful for water to drink, a family to come home to, friends that I love, sports to watch, good food to eat, and the list goes on and on.  

Transition isn’t always easy and being faithfully thankful isn’t always easy. 

This picture below has continuously found its way into my life these past few years, whether I see in a store, in someone’s house, or even on cards people send me, I can’t escape it.  

It's been a reminder that in transition you often can’t see what’s ahead but must choose to keep walking faithfully, thankful. 

Faithfully Thankful. 

One secret to transitional tranquility, however long the season may last.  

How Flying Just Might Change Your Life!

Do you remember your first time flying?

Maybe you do.  Maybe you don’t.  I don’t remember mine but then again I was 5 years old headed to DisneyWorld so I think my main concern was Minnie Mouse. 

Recently, as I was flying through the air in route to the Schaefer farm, I realized what a privilege it is to fly.  Here are just a few of the reasons that sprang to mind:  

1.     It takes money.

2.     You can fly across the world in a day.  Seriously!

3.     You are served a free drink and pretzels while FLYING through the air. 

4.     You might have an opportunity to watch a movie.   

5.     If you are lucky your flight has Wi-Fi - posting on Facebook at 20,000 feet!

6.     If you have a lot of #1 you are probably in 1^st class – endless drinks and snacks!

A few days ago as I found my way to exit row seat 13A, I was soon joined by my seat buddy who I will call Bob.  I never got his name, but he looked like a Bob, as he was decked out in a cowboy hat, boots, and even had dirt on his jeans, as if he literally just walked off the farm.  Come to find out, this was Bob’s first time flying. 

It was obvious as he listened intently to the flight instructions, securely fastened his seat belt, and when the pilot let us know there might be turbulence ahead, he made sure his seat belt was buckled, firmly around his waist.

Bob also couldn’t stop looking out the window.  Who can blame him?  The first time you see the view from a plane, it’s breathtaking, especially as we watched the sun go down.  Every time I am in a plane the view never ceases to amaze me.  Like clockwork, as I am staring out the window, seeing the world from a new and bigger perspective, God always seems to remind me of His bigger perspective which overlooks the earth and overlooks my life.  No matter what’s going on at the time, I feel a sense of peace and reassurance reminding me who’s in charge, knowing He sees every big and small detail.

As Bob flew for the first time, I imagine his perspective got a little bigger, and even on my 54^th flight (or whatever it is) my perspective increased as well.

Flying is a privilege we often take for granted, and likewise so is perspective.  Every time I fly I sit amazed and alert to the beauty and brilliance of the view, and likewise I want to stay amazed and alert to God’s perspective, knowing there’s always more and new “views” He wants to show me as well.

Ding! Ding!  Once again the seat belt sign rings, and Bob quickly makes sure his seat belt is secure for landing!  

Did Jesus have a belly?

We live in world consumed with weight and waistlines.  Magazines, commercials, and billboards are quick to let us know that who we are is not enough.  We must be healthier, thinner, and stronger.  We must look younger, toned, and fit.  We must, we must, we must be something more. 

Has this always been the case?  Was how you looked that important in Jesus’s day?  Were Martha and Mary constantly sizing one another up wondering who looked better that day?  Regardless of the struggles then, I think our hearts have always been the same.  We want to fit in, we want to belong, and we want people to like us. 

I don’t know if Jesus had a belly.  My natural assumption is to think He was the fittest man to ever live (being perfect and all).  What I do know is Jesus lived life to the fullest yet with great wisdom and discipline.  He knew how to respect His body and at the same time knew how to enjoy Himself.  How do I know this?  His first miracle was turning water into wine at the point in the party when most of the guests were already too drunk to enjoy it.  Man, I bet that was some good wine!

Jesus knew who He was and who He wasn’t and because of that He lived in complete freedom.  He lived free of the opinion of the others and acted from the command of one voice, His Father’s. 

For many of us, this freedom is what we long for, dream about, and hope to one day live from.  We want to be confident in who we are, who we are not, and because of this walk in confidence. 

I would have hated to been the guy/girl at the party who missed Jesus’s first miracle (and some great wine) because I was consumed with what others thought of me, and therefore probably drunk. 

I wonder what times in my life I have missed a miracle because I was too pre-occupied with what someone else thought of me? 

It scares me to think about it, but I am praying that my motives would be different and my guess is your hope is the same.  

So, grab a glass of wine and let's toast!  A toast to freedom.  Freedom in knowing who God says we are, and not to what the world says we should be.   Freedom to walk in this confidence, always ready to drink His best wine!

And on another note, what do think?  Did Jesus have a belly - even just a little one?! :)

What's the question you never want to hear as a writer?

What exactly are you trying to say? 

I mean, I think I know, but what do you mean?

There they are, the dreaded questions every writer hears at some point in their life.

Translation?  Your attempts at communication have failed.  Try again.

Recently, I had TJ (my sister-in-law) read my latest poem below and her first comment was, it's good but what do you mean?

Now normally, as stated I might be crushed but with poetry this is sometimes just the response I am looking for.

I then asked her, what she thought it means?

After throwing out a few thoughts, she said she liked it, but it makes you think.

EXACTLY! I hope this poem makes you think.  Ponder it, chew on it, and digest it deeply.

And I want to know, what do YOU think it means?! :)

Soul’s Beat

There is a beat within my soul,

It burrows within, much like a mole. 

Deeper in, it moves, further down,

Oh, what is inside, what will be found?

It thirsts, it hungers, I speak no more,

So dry, so tepid, so rustic, and sore.

Homesick I cry, for who could be able?

To meet all my needs and render me stable.

This beat forever awakening me,

Never silent, but always, buzzing as a bee.

Swish, swish, there it goes, like waves on a shore.

Leaving only one thing, me starving for more. 

It won’t go away, not now, not ever,

It’s constant, you see, like everyday weather.

I look to those waves, the ocean so vast,

It’s here I am at home, for it’s silence at last.

No end in sight, so much to behold,

I peer at the ocean, or do I peer in my soul?