First Place

 

It’s Football Season!  There are many joys in autumn.  The changing leaves, the crisp air, apple picking – the list goes on and on.  It’s also the return of football!  I am not an ‘over the top’ fan.  I’m not in a fantasy league.  I don’t have to stop my world to watch a game.  Yet, I do enjoy knowing that high school and college kids are back on the gridiron and that my ‘black and gold’ team is trying for another super bowl.

In football, as in any sport, it is about being first.  Not only do you want to win that game/match, but you also want to string enough of them together to be in first place!  First place – the ultimate achievement!  First place can win you the chance to play in the World Series, the Super Bowl, the Olympics, the NBA Finals, the World Cup, the State Championships, etc!  First place!  It is quite the achievement! 

Even if you are not into sports, first place can be quite the achievement in many areas of life.  First place on the music lists, valedictorian of one’s class, first in someone’s heart!  All of those ‘first places’ are also quite the achievement and are to be celebrated.  Nothing feels better than knowing you are ‘first’ in someone’s life.

All of the above ‘firsts’ are awesome, but they don’t replace the true first – the preeminence!  I love this word and I love its context.  Preeminence – to be first, in the highest place or to have the greatest importance, honor or exaltation.  I’ll give you one guess as to who should reign preeminent in our lives!  Jesus!  Jesus should be THE one by which all our other firsts are compared to.  It is only with Jesus’ love and guidance that any of our first places are achieved.  He deserves first place in our lives.  So how do we ensure this occurs?

·         Prayer – start by praying about it.  Let Jesus’ answers guide you.

·         Worship – yes, on Sundays but every other day as well.  Worship Him through home devotions.

·         Gratefulness – all good things come from God!  Thank Him, each and every day, for the blessings that have been bestowed upon you.

·         Study The Word – a formal Bible study is great.  Yet, picking up your Bible and meditating on verses can also fill your soul.

·         Giving – share your time, talents and treasures with those in need.  Do you know someone who can use a visit, a phone call, a meal or some groceries? 

All of the above are ways we can put Jesus to the forefront of our lives.  Ensuring He is preeminent means He is first in what we say and do.  Jesus has provided us all the goodness and blessings we have – doesn’t He deserve to be in ‘first place’ of our lives?  Let’s get to it!!

Dearest Jesus, help us to recognize you are preeminent in our lives.  Help us to see and do YOUR will and ensure we thank you for all you have given to us.  In you preeminent name we pray – Amen!

Slow Change

 

As I write this post, I am sitting on our deck enjoying the most perfect fall day.  The sun is shining in between the clouds, the air is fresh, a just-picked apple by my side, and the trees are starting to turn.  I do not know if it is due to the fact that I am paying closer attention this year than others, but it seems as if the leaves are truly taking their time.  I am enjoying every minute of it!  As I look at the leaves, they are starting to turn on the edges of the trees, making their way back to the trunk.  Slowly, as each day passes, another set of leaves begins this amazing process, as more of the tree becomes colored in the beauty of fall.  Although I cannot wait for the tree to be engulfed in color, the process of the change is just as beautiful. 

So often, when we offer up prayers to Jesus for something to change, we believe he is not reacting quick enough.  “Where is my answer?  Aren’t you listening to me?  I am not asking a lot, just help me already!”  Whether we have said these phrases aloud or kept them to ourselves, there have been times when the change that we are looking for seems to be coming too slowly.  Our goal to establish our timeline to God’s timeline is one that will never be achieved.  God, knowing our past, present and future, knows the right time to provide us with answers to our prayers, provide us the changes we want to see.  It is in HIS time, not our time.  The waiting can be arduous.  Yet, something happens in the waiting!

In the waiting for leaves to change colors, the miracle of the fall season continues.  It is in our waiting for prayers to be answered that the miracle of our changing season occurs.  It is during this time that the waiting brings us closer to God and the faith in Him that he so desperately wants for us.  As we wait, we pray.  As we wait, we change from a quick fix to a faith that God will give us what we need when we need it.  It is always AFTER the prayer is answered and we reflect upon that waiting period that we realize the growth in faith we gained.  The waiting may have helped us to be more patient, more reliant, more hopeful, and certainly more thankful.

Slowly changing, whether it is the leaves or us, brings beauty.  Think about the beauty in the waiting.  When life changes slowly it helps us to appreciate the end result even more.  Much like today’s verse, in our waiting for Jesus to return, we can see the beauty of how our faith can be strengthened.  As we enter this fall season, and we wait for the beauty of the leaves, may we also see the beauty in the waiting!  May our faith grow in Jesus as we wait for him to arrive in the heavens one day.  It will all happen; we just need to have Simple Faith.

Heavenly Father, we know that everything happens in YOUR time.  Help us to be patient and watch all the goodness that happens in the waiting.  In your ever-present name we pray, Amen!

 

Early Blessings

 

It’s coming early this year, they say.  All the conditions of the weather have set us up for an earlier than normal fall foliage season in New Hampshire.  The hue of the trees started to change a few weeks ago.  The yellows and the oranges started gracing the tips of the trees.  You would be able to see one tree fully changed among the green leaves of other trees.  It was as if the trees were saying, “It’s coming!”  As you all know, I look forward to this time of year.  The cool breeze brings just the right nip to the air, begging for a sweatshirt to be donned.  The cloud cover lets the leaves pop even brighter. 

As I thought about this early gift, it made me ponder about other gifts or blessings I have received earlier than I anticipated.  My plans had activities happening in MY timeline, but they showed up early.  The birth of my first child – three weeks early.  The work promotion that was not anticipated.  The arrival of guests earlier than anticipated, providing a chance to chat before the party started.  Those and many others provided such happiness and joy – coming early.

Today’s verse is one of my favorites.  It has numerous interpretations, numerous meanings.  It has often provided me peace when I was unsure of future events.  Knowing that God had my future fully planned for me gave me reassurance that whatever the path was ahead of me, God would be there for me.  It has also provided me an understanding that although I may be going through a difficult journey, God would not let me fall.  His plans are not that of harm, but of hope.  I continue to live in that hope every day.

I also hold this verse close to me when my plans go off course.  Instead of looking at MY plans not being met, I realize that HE is providing me early blessings.  The examples above were just a few of the ways our Lord has said to me, “This is your path, Susan, and it is coming earlier than expected.”  I used to find those moments frustrating and full of anxiety.  I have learned to embrace them – and see them as the blessing God has intended.

Much like an early autumn, the gift of having God’s plan roll out in your life, earlier than planned, can help us realize the many blessings He has for us.  We just need to have Simple Faith that His plans will always be the best!

Dear Jesus, thank you for always having our journey mapped out for us.  May we have simple faith to follow it!

Reflection

 

It is finally here – autumn!  We have moved through three seasons of faith, and we are entering the last one, my personal favorite, autumn.  The senses come alive during fall in New England; the leaves, the pumpkins, the apple cider, the crisp air, the geese squawking as they fly through the air.  All of it makes me smile.  Yet, it is also the ‘feeling’ of fall that moves into my soul.  Reflection, thanksgiving, caring, comfort.  That will be where our season series will take us – the feelings that come to us during autumn and how our Lord is so good to us.

Reflection – serious thought or consideration.  Time for reflection can yield many emotions.  Reflecting can bring us joy as we think back on times together with loved ones.  Reflecting can bring sorrow of missed opportunities we did not pursue.  Reflecting can bring frustration of relationships that were estranged.  Reflecting can also bring pride, a sense of achievement for the goals when we have succeeded.

This sense of pride, although wonderful, needs to be tapered with how the goal was achieved.  Our success is not ours; it is God’s.  His hand in our lives is everywhere, in everything we do and in everything we say.  If we live our lives as Jesus has asked us to, reflecting God to others, we will be living out the life God had planned for us.  It is when we utilize ‘free will’ that our lives can take a different turn.

Living life as a ‘representative of Jesus’ is not always easy.  Turning the other cheek against our enemies, taking time to lay down our personal goals to help others in need, being bold to share God’s word to a non-believer, all of those examples can be daunting!  I know when those situations have been presented to me, I have questioned God.  Really?  Do you want me to do this?  I am not comfortable doing this!  Then it is the gentle nudge of the Holy Spirit that says, “Yes, you!  YOU need to do this.”  When I have stepped out with God in those times, the results have always been wonderful.  Those are not MY achievements, though, they are God working through me.  Giving HIM praise in a job well done helps to direct the pride I may feel in the right direction.

Reflecting on the moments of achievement can make us feel great – like we have truly accomplished something!  That feeling is good and should be celebrated, as long as we ensure we include God in that celebration!  Giving Him the credit of the nudge and preparing us to do what He asked is where our joy should come from.  God does incredible things through us.  Reflecting on those good things is important.  It can continue to drive us to Him, asking the important question, “What can I do for you next, God?”

Heavenly Father, help me to reflect on the achievements I have accomplished through the lens of YOU.  May I continue to praise you for all you have helped me to achieve and continue to bring things my way so people can continue to feel your love.  Amen!

 

Falling Flowers

 

 

It is that time of year when the vibrant colors of spring and summer start turning brown.  The flowers that graced our gardens and lawns have a tinge of tan on their edges.  This leads us to know that it is time to pick off the flowers that have passed their time and think about preparing for fall and winter.  Folks in New England know that these preparations mean that within a few months, colder weather will be here along with the arrival of snow.  As we approach this time of year, many eek out the last few days of summer.

As I was picking off the wilted flowers, I realized that for my ‘annuals’ (the flowers that only bloom once), they will never bloom again.  For my perennials (the flowers that come back every year), I know that I will see their bright blooms again next year.  Yes, the annuals tugged at my heart.  I thought about us humans and how fortunate God created us as ‘perennials’ and not as ‘annuals’.  He did not create us as ‘one and done’ – we hit our big moment in life and then we pass on.  He put much greater value in us, realizing that every season of our lives creates more beauty, more bright blooms as we pass through life on Earth.  What blessings our God gives us.

What if we are going through a wilted flower season?  What if we are at the end of our summer?  What if our faith is drying up and we do not seem to have enough to continue to another season?  I am certain we have all felt these moments in our lives where we did not believe we had enough energy to move to another day; we did not have enough strength to see another season.  Yet, here we are!  How did we get through to the other side?  How did we pass through the wilting flower season to see another day?

My friends, that is our Lord guiding us, giving us what we did not think we had – strength, energy, hope and love!  We find these blessings in many parts of our lives.  The Word never fades like the flowers.  The Word never passes on and never returns.  In Matthew 24:35, it says, “Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.”  There is reassurance that the gift of God’s word will live with us, in us and for us forever.

When we pass through the season of our life where we feel like wilted flowers, lean on the word of God.  His word will always be there for the taking.  Having a tough day?  Pray to our Lord, open up your Bible to your favorite passage and meditate on the goodness He provides for us.  For His grace, His mercy and his blessings are new every day!  Living with this hope can give us the strength to move through to a new season!

Seasons of our lives present us challenges and blessings.  If you are in the season of falling flowers, please let me know.  Let the prayers of others surround you.  May you feel God’s hope reaching out to you through the smile on a stranger’s face, the sun that is shining upon you, and the warmth of a kind word.  God reaches out to us in so many different ways, and His word is ever present.  Just have simple faith!

Heavenly Father, thank you for the Word you have given to us – the Word that will endure forever.  As we move through seasons in our lives, help us to return to your Word for guidance and strength.  In your gracious name we pray, Amen!

Overflowing Hope

Zucchini!  Typically, gardeners who start their gardens in spring have an idea of space, what they want to grow, and an idea of the number of plants they will need.   My father started this annual tradition in winter.  He would go through the seed magazines and determine exactly what he was going to grow and how much of it.  There were pole beans, bush beans, three types of radishes, cherry tomatoes, plum tomatoes, beefsteak tomatoes, pickling cucumbers, salad cucumbers, etc.   The list was endless. 

Of course, Daddy’s Garden would not have been complete without the zucchini.  We would carefully plant each seed in the spring and by the middle of summer, the zucchini would start coming in.  My poor mom would try to find one hundred ways to use it.  Yet, it continued to populate like bunnies!  Inevitably, we would put the zucchini out in our front yard in hopes that our neighbors who did not have gardens would share in our harvest.  Our garden overflowed and others benefited.  It was a wonderful way to share the abundance of zucchini.

When I read this verse, my mind went to the zucchini.  I was amazed at my dad’s thought process.  Although we would have more zucchini than we knew what to do with, he did not ‘pare back’ the following year.  Nope, we continued to plant the same amount.  It was his opportunity to give the overflow.  Some years we would also have cucumbers and tomatoes to give away.  Yet, there was always zucchini. 

Giving others our overflow can be a terrific way to share with others.  Yes, we could ‘store up’ our treasures and save them for a rainy day, but as Jesus said in Matthew 6:19-20, “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal.  But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven. . ..”  The idea of not ‘hording’ for myself but ‘giving’ to others is a cherished thought. 

I love the idea of overflowing with hope!  I thought about this for some time, asking myself if I overflow with hope.  It is a question I ponder even as I write these words.  Hope, for me, is trusting in God so boldly that I know He will provide the joy, the peace, and the blessings I need to live out his love.  Hope is knowing, unconditionally, that no matter what I may be facing, God has me in the palm of His hands.  I pray that I exude hope and know I will be thinking of this more often in the coming days.  The joy, the peace, the love, the hope that only God can give us needs to be shared!  It needs to pour out of us, not for us to ‘store up,’ but to overflow with those around us.

The hope that we confidently receive from our Lord is one that provides us with life each and every day.  Our simple faith assures us of this hope.  May we take the time to ensure that this hope is shared, abundantly like zucchini, for all to have.  May your hope sit in your front yard for all to benefit from.

Heavenly Father, thank you for providing each of us with an overflow of hope.  Give us the opportunity to share the hope you so richly provide for others that are around us.  In your name we pray.  Amen. 

 

Peaceful Nights

 

 

Summer evenings on the deck.  Weekdays are busy, but weekends at our home provides us the opportunity to enjoy our deck.  Morning coffee time has me on the deck enjoying the beginning of the day.  Afternoons can find us stretching out, even catching a quick nap.  The evenings, we tend to have dinner out on the deck and even bring the tv out for a quick movie.  There are other evenings when we just sit.  We let the peacefulness of the evening wash over us, listening to the birds, the breeze as it rustles through the leaves and just ‘be.’

I enjoy those evenings as they are wonderful preparation for a routine of peacefulness prior to bed.  They start that way.  The winding down of the day.  I may actually close my eyes in rest.  THEN IT HAPPENS!!  The peacefulness I experienced throughout the evening turned into a nightmare of trying to sleep.  My eyes are wide open at 1AM, 2AM, etc. and before I know it, my feet are hitting the ground, and I am out of bed for the day.  I wake up from a sound sleep, thinking!  I think about issues at work, worries from home, general unrest.

I pray to Jesus, “Please take all these thoughts away from me.”  Briefly, that happens.  Within 15 minutes, I decide “I” can manage these issues better and my mind starts racing again.  My husband and I were talking about this today.  I give it to God, and then I take it back!  It is not just during the time when I should be sleeping, it can happen throughout the day as well.   I KNOW God has my worries.  I KNOW God has my issues.  Yet, I can have difficulty to give it to God fully!  I play ‘tug of war’ with God – giving and taking – until my soul cannot manage it anymore.  When I give it to him fully, God gives me back all I need, FULLY!

Giving our trials to God, asking him for peace, knowing he delivers, will provide us the rest, the sleep, the safety we all need.  We know this but doing it can be tough.  So where do we go, what do we do?  I know I am going to try some of the following:

·         Write it down to give to God – send him a letter!  Writing things down can help us to commit!

·         Prayer – talk to God, ensuring you pray when your soul needs it most.  Ask for the peace you need!

·         Meditate on His word – adding verses to your toolbox and bringing them out when you need peace!

Life can be hard, and we cannot do this on our own.  God wants us to have peace, the type of peace that passes all understanding.  He gives this to us freely when we go to Him!  We need to go to Him completely, fully, and give him everything – and not take it back.  Have the simple faith that God has it!  When He has it, you have peace!

Heavenly Father, help us!  May we give you the trials and tribulations that trouble us so we can, in return, have the peace that only you can provide.  Help us to give to you fully so you can give back to us fully.