Yesterday I was 30 minutes late to my folks house because I stopped at a grocery store to buy food for a homeless man that was standing at the freeway off-ramp with a sign that read:
“Hungry. Please Help. Psalm 41.”
How can I ignore “hungry”? I’m Norwegian. We feed people. [Read more…]
Recently, I had an ‘episode’. My episode involved my collapsing into a heap on the floor after I ate a food that, apparently, I was allergic to. Scary. Especially for my hubby who watched the episode and had to decide what to do for me.
It was a dark moment. A scary moment. [Read more…]
So, walk…. So simple. So, why do I complicate it?
“Just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, so walk in him…”
Colossians 2:6
I love the picture of a simple walk as an illustration of our faith. Not a run. No perspiration here – just step-by-step movement; one leg going forward, then the other. Makes the ‘walk of faith’ seem doable. Straightforward. No complicated dance moves involved. Even a wee one can do this!
Just, walk….
Sometimes I complicate my walk of faith. I picture it more like a Hot Yoga or Zoomba work out – I expect and prepare for the worst!
I must dress for the occasion – special clothing built to wick the moisture away from the highly anticipated sweat that will be pouring out of my body. Soon, I’ll be hearing the thump-thump-thumping of my heart in my ears as my heart rate rises towards 200. Others around me will be hearing me, too – mainly, my gasps for breath as I attempt to fill my lungs in answer to my strained muscles now working on lactic acid, and screaming ‘More oxygen. Now!’.
Is this what faith requires? Momentous movements – huge leaps of faith – Bible pounding in far off lands. Sometimes.
But, most often, His call to me is for right here and right now.
You see, I tend to think in Big Events. Large impact. Huge dramas. But, in my life God’s callings are most often in the smallest corners of my world. Quiet places, where nobody is watching but God.
Recently, I have felt called to do a small act toward a difficult person. I’ve been ignoring the call. I’d rather do a Big Thing elsewhere – than this small act. Not. Wise. Do you ever prefer your idea of a faith act – as opposed to God’s small call to your heart?
The faith walk requires I walk in His way. Not. Mine.
That’s the simplest description. Following Him. Not leading. Not easy.
Is there some place you sense a small calling – a place perhaps to be faithful – or to be kind, to pray, to forgive someone’s mean act – you know the quiet whisper to your heart.
May you and I listen.
And, so walk…
I remember it like it was yesterday – being woo’ed – is an experience you don’t forget…
….Each morning within minutes of the clock’s black arrow pointing to 8:00a.m. I walked into my temporary corner office with its huge bank of wall to wall windows overlooking the university campus’s manicured lawns and garden beds laced with wandering brick paths.
There waiting for me on my desk was one white bakery bag containing the gooiest almond croissant – wildly sticky to the touch, with an almond glaze that lent a shiny sheen to the golden brown swirls encasing the flaky center. Ahhhh. [Read more…]
Ever Have a Bad Hair Day?
‘Bad Hair Day! I get it‘ – I think it each time I drive past one particular pasture on the highway littered with sheep, and, invariably, I notice the tangled and matted ‘hair’ that ensconces them. Perhaps, that gives you an idea how often I lament the troubles of having curly hair and living in a rainy climate.
By ‘rainy climate’ I refer to the Pacific Northwest – and it is damp. Those of you with curly hair will understand – damp climates, moisture in the air, makes straightened, styled hair an impossibility for us with curls.
Our natural state is not always our most desirable state, as in the case of my curls.
The dilemma with curly hair is that moisture releases previously styled hair back to its most natural style – wild abandon, in my case! It doesn’t take much. A five minute walk through Pacific Northwest mists from my car to a store or dining establishment is all it takes for nature – chaos – curls – to ‘set’ in.
What do you and I do with those flaws that keep popping up and causing us angst?
As we near the end of January, we may be experiencing some extra bad hair days or just bad days, as many of us who made resolutions or plans may be waning (or failing, if you’re like me!), I thought I’d throw myself and you a lifeline – a small reminder –
God’s got this!
I don’t so much mean our hairdo’s – as I mean our mess ups, our confusions, our missteps and mistakes, our very heartaches.
The longer I am a Christian the more I find I need it – I crave it – I can’t do without it – ‘it’s’ grace, I’m talking about.
And, I don’t mean a once a week dose – I need it daily, hourly, moment-by-moment. And, even though I need it, I often don’t offer grace to myself – because I’m too busy trying to ‘fix’ it (me, that is), or tweak the trouble (me, again!), instead of wait at God’s footstool and receive it – all that I need.
There is a Bible verse that reminds me of all this:
“but God shows His love for us, in that
while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us..” Romans 5:8
The ‘Sandra J’ commentary for this verse might read…
“On our worst hair days, God loved us and gave Himself for us…”
Somehow this makes sense to me – it hits my emotional center, since how I look, sometimes translates into how I feel.
When I am at my worst – not just hair – but worst decision, worst mess up, worst parenting day (I’ve got quite a log of these), at my lowest points God offers me His very best.
A clean slate. A kind word. A second chance. His loving heart.
God takes us today – as we are – where we are – and offers us grace in our Here and Now. Our as is life.
Sometimes I just need to hear it again – that I can choose grace – undeserved favor for the place that I find myself. He’s not waiting for me to get it all together – He doesn’t want me to try to ‘look’ the part – He asks, rather, for my ‘as is’ heart.
I can choose to forget my shame and even the untamed mass of out-of-control hair that I wore to church last week (if you witnessed it – pour some grace my way, please!).
Fresh starts. Straightened paths – curls or no.
May His grace be yours, this day.
Linking up with Holley’s CoffeeformyHeart, Deb’s Faith’nFriends, Lyli’s ThoughtProvokingThursdays, #ThisDayGodsWay, ,
