Sanctified Saturdays: A Place in the World

Psalm 16:5-6

THE PASSION TRANSLATION

Yahweh, you alone

are my inheritance.

You are my prize,

my pleasure, and

my portion.

You hold my destiny

and its timing in your hands.

Your pleasant path leads me to pleasant places.

I’m overwhelmed

by the privileges

that come

with following you!

A PLACE IN THE WORLD

When I was younger, I knew I belonged to my family.

Or did I?

My older siblings teased me about being found under a cabbage leaf—as though I arrived any differently from them.

Mom told the story of how she was so certain I was a boy, that when I arrived, she insisted they had mixed up babies in the hospital. Once she saw me she knew right away I was hers. It was reassuring. Mostly.

Throughout my school years, I had varying success at fitting in. Eventually, in high school, I became a part of several groups, flitting from one to the next, like a butterfly sampling each one.

My college dorm was a place I tried to fit in, but my floor was filled with athletes training for the Olympics. Not me. I was the one who seriously bruised her kneecap while typing a term paper. Try explaining that one!

I wanted to be a missionary nurse, but then I met my husband at college and plans pivoted. I understood my place as a wife, and later as a mom. Mostly. I struggled to meet the needs of my family, bosses, and church, often burying my own. It was a demanding life that many times took more than I had to give. Sometimes I fantasized about running away to some tropical island where someone would take care of me for a change.

Jobs came and went, the children grew up and moved out, grandkids came. Retirement assured me I could finally focus on caring for myself. Which was fine. At first. It got boring.

Then a switch flipped when I discovered what the prophetic was about; hearing God's voice on a daily basis. It stirred such a hunger in me to go deeper in God, something I had given lip service to, but never seemed to achieve. Or fully surrendered to. I’d known that He would speak from time to time. I had gotten messages from Him; gentle nudges, ideas that wouldn't go away, scripture that seemed to come alive. But it was random, not often and somewhat mysterious.

Then I learned that He was speaking all the time. I could hear what He had to say any time I stopped to listen. This shifted things for me. Now I was motivated me to tune in. And get closer to this loving God, who was so much better than the one I had grown up knowing about. I wanted to know Holy Spirit, not just about Him. I didn’t want to grieve Him and shut down this new-found connection. I wanted to understand His distinct personality, this third person of the God-Head. And how they all worked together in harmony and unity.

This is where I truly found my place. Not only as part of a group, a family, or a job. But in God's lap, with Jesus and Holy Spirit. A place of intimacy with my Creator. He knew me best, and loved me most. From that happy place of union with Him, I found fulfillment and purpose.

Filled with His love and strength, I stepped into the place created for me. A place of influence and service. My place in the world.

Have you found your true home?

Sanctified Saturdays: LIGHT!

The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness can never extinguish it.

 John 1:5 New Living Translation

Moonrise at sunset in Arizona

LIGHT

Darkness tries to hide so many things. Sneaky plans to derail us. Destructive forces at work. Slimy thoughts and self-indulgent actions. 

But it only takes a tiny bit of light to push darkness aside and bring revelation. Light doesn’t have to work at shoving aside darkness, battling for supremacy. Light is. By being who it is, it causes darkness to slink away, overcome by brightness.  

It’s easy to feel overwhelmed by increasing darkness in our world. Wars, destruction, self exaltation of leaders. I can’t fight the darkness. But I can be a light and shine the love of Jesus everywhere I go. 

I can’t change nations, but I can pray for people in those nations to encounter the love of God. I can’t replace evil leaders, but I can pray for justice, mercy and righteousness to be released. 

Sunset in Arizona with saguaro cactus

Just as God spoke light into our dark world, I can partner with Him to speak light in this present darkness. I can declare the goodness of God. I can read His words out loud to shine His truth into the atmosphere.

When someone around me is grumpy and negative, I can smile and show love and kindness. When news from around the world seems dire, I can declare He is King of Kings and Lord of Lords, even in troubled areas.

Standing strong in faith, trusting God, and finding joy in challenging situations allows His light to shine through me.

Now that I've put you there on a hilltop, on a light stand - shine! Keep open house; be generous with your lives. By opening up to others, you'll prompt people to open up with God, this generous Father in heaven. Matthew 5:16, The Message Bible.

He is my light. He has filled my life with His light. I must BE a light.

Take that, darkness!

Sanctified Saturday: Getting Out of Sideways

Moonrise at sunset near Bouse, AZ

In the Spring, when the nighttime temperatures warm up past 50 degrees or more for several days, the Sidewinder Rattlesnakes come out of hibernation. I’ve only seen a few since we are not down here for long once it gets hot enough. But to watch them in motion is a marvel. How do they move sideways so rapidly? They make it look easy, scooting along leaving a distinctive pattern behind them. How do they know what direction to go and how do they keep going that way?

It brings to mind those times when I have been moving sideways, not going in a forward direction, but lateral, marking time without a clear direction. Did God look down in his love and say “Oh, child, come this way! Come forward! I have so much more for you than this sideways dance, back and forth in place”? I think he must have, because eventually I felt the tug of more, of destiny, of direction and purpose. I felt his love pull me into a place where I connected with his heavenly GPS to guide me into a course correction. Pulled by that loving, bigger-than-life Heavenly Father into his presence, his better ways and purpose, I move in the direction and course he had planned for me all along.

I leave behind the cloudy self-focus, the time-wasting activities, the negative thinking, the circular questioning and step into the identity he created just for me. Now I joyfully dance along the road, sometimes running, sometimes walking quietly in contemplation, always trying to be in step with him, moving forward with purpose. 

He has called me, I have answered with my life.

Sunset near Bouse, AZ, camping with Boondocker BOF

Sanctified Saturdays: Waves of Peace

Storms make waves. Big waves, crashing, furious, energetic waves. I don't mind watching from the shore, but I sure wouldn't want to be out in a boat, in a storm, battling the waves. The risk of getting swamped and going under would seem pretty high. Still, I've had storms in my life that felt like that; where the waves were powerful, pushing and pulling me up and down and all around, threatening to take me under, to pull me beneath into the unknown depths. Storms where I didn’t know if I could make it. Or if I even wanted to. 

Jesus’ disciples experienced such a storm. Many of them were experienced fishermen, used to the moods of the water and weather, so for them to become terrified means this was no puny squall.   

Mark 4:37 TPT “Suddenly, as they were crossing the lake, a ferocious tempest arose, with violent winds and waves that were crashing into the boat until it was all but swamped. But Jesus was calmly sleeping in the stern, resting on a cushion. So they shook him awake, saying, “Teacher, don’t you even care that we are all about to die!” Fully awake, he rebuked the storm and shouted to the sea, “Hush! Calm down!” All at once the wind stopped howling and the water became perfectly calm. Then he turned to his disciples and said the them, “Why are you so afraid? Haven’t you learned to trust yet?” But they were overwhelmed with fear and awe and said to one another, “Who is this man who has such authority that even the wind and waves obey him?”

Image from Pastor Michael on Digging Daily on Wordpress

He’d had a full day of teaching and was tired, so he took a nap. Then out in the middle of the Sea of Galilee, this ferocious storm threatens to swamp the boat and take them all down under the frothy waves. How could he sleep through all of that? They had to shake him awake. That’s some deep sleeping. In their panic they questioned whether he even cared about them, cared about their lives. Their Friend was asleep when they needed him. But when he spoke to the storm “HUSH, Calm down!” they were blown away by his authority, his calm. What did they expect that he was going to do once he was awake; huddle with them as the boat took on more water, be sympathetic? Maybe they were just irritated that he could be so at peace in the midst of this calamity. He challenged their thinking, challenged their fear, questioned their trust.

Here’s a few points that jump out at me. 

1. Storms happen. We will go through difficulties. It’s a given. 

2. Jesus in the boat makes every storm one that we can weather. 

3. Jesus can and does calm the storm when we cry out to him. 

4. He seldom does it as quickly as we’d like. But his timing is perfect.

5. He can sometimes be dramatic even with simple words. Calming a storm at the height of its fury is a bit dramatic. More so than calming it when it’s just a bit windy. He does this. Expect it.

We are not promised clear sailing, perfect weather or easy lives. We are promised Jesus in our boat. We are promised to not have to go it alone. We are promised his strength, comfort, wisdom and perspective. Does this matter? Absolutely. It shifts our view, gets us to see the possibilities, the solutions. When we get our eyes off of the circumstances and onto him we step into his shalom, his peace, and leave fear behind. Leave that confining, paralyzing fear and step into the plans and destiny he has for us. 

My life is relatively calm these days and, having weathered many a storm, I am thankful for the reprieve. Now the storms I mainly feel are on behalf of loved ones. I feel their pain, sorrow, sickness or distress. But I have learned, through my own storms, that when I take all of that and lay it down in his lap and lean into him and rest, he takes all that I give him. I rest knowing his answers will come at the perfect time. It’s a wonderful exchange. I give him all this distress, he gives me his joy in return.

Flooding me with his waves of peace.

Canon Beach, Oregon. Haystack Rock.

Sanctified Saturday: Life Stories

I recently joined a Christian Writers group and it has been full of Zoom meetings, daily writing prompts, new friendships and encouragement. So much fun! Hopefully you'll be able to see an improvement in my writing!

Yesterday we did a new thing for the group, complete with technical issues! They worked to get a Zoom meeting live on Facebook so seven writers could share their Life Stories in seven minutes each. It was an amazing experience, and I enjoyed being one of the seven. I had to be ruthless in my editing to keep it within the guidelines, but I came in under the seven minute limit! Since I don't know if the replay will be available to share, I decided to share my story here.

LIVE!

“Live to be 100?! I don’t think so!” I scoffed. “Why would I want to prolong the agony that long?”. I was reading a book on how your emotions and thought life affects your health. In it, was a series of questions to probe your thinking and bring issues to the surface. Having spent too much of my life already dealing with a chronic, undiagnosable and invisible illness, I didn’t look forward to having a long life.

And, yet, the question lingered, poking at me. I chewed on that for awhile. “OK”, I admitted, “I don’t really want to live, I’m just going through the motions.” Since childhood I knew that dying meant going to be with Jesus, so who wouldn’t want that? Paul says in Phil 1:21 “For me to live is Christ and to die is gain.” I got the ‘die is gain’ part. But that first part? A familiar rallying cry for Christians, but what did it really mean? I had no clue.

Shortly after that, I was jolted with fear. How was it even possible to bleed from lady parts I no longer had? In a panic, I cried out to God, pleading in desperation for answers. Into my mind popped the reference “Ezekiel 16”. I’d heard a message before about this beautiful reference to God’s tender care for Israel. I got out my Bible and started to read. Then I got to verse 6 “... I said to you in your blood, “Live!” Yes, I said to you in your blood, “Live!”. I sobbed with relief. He had heard me! He knows my situation! And he is speaking to me! LIVE! Twice!

OK. Got it. Kind of. Well, not really. What does that actually mean, to ‘live’?

Clearly just going through the motions like I’d been doing wasn’t going to cut it. I had to dig deeper. The first step was to realize that if God My Healer just told me to live, then I wasn’t going to die from this weird bleeding. So, I sent fear packing and the bleeding stopped and never returned. Well, off to a good start!

Then a year or so later came the diagnosis of cancer. That lump near my knee turned out to be a sarcoma, a rare form of cancer. But I had this mandate to live! It was firmly lodged in my head. So, I determined that I would live every moment to the full. I never once thought I would die from it. (Suffer maybe, but not die.) How could I? I was too busy learning to live! Embracing LIFE!

Cancer is wonderfully focusing. All the extraneous things we tend to add to our lives fall away and life becomes about the essentials. I was well on my way to understanding what living is really all about.

A pivotal time came when I felt this tug to step across the line, to be ‘all in’, holding nothing back from the Lord. Up to this point, I had let fear and doubt keep me from being totally sold out to Jesus; playing it safe, not getting too crazy. But finally, his love was so compelling I just didn’t want to hold out any more. “OK! I’m all in, Lord. I’m all yours no matter what. No more trying to play it safe. It’s your way or not at all.”

Wow! Why in the world had I been holding back? THIS is what it really means to LIVE! Jesus at the center, really and truly at the center. Now I understand all the superlatives people use. Now I know what it is to struggle to put into words the sheer wonder of walking closely with him, hearing him speak to me in all the myriad ways that he does. Seeing things through his perspective. Now scripture comes alive like never before. No longer just words on a page, but Life and Truth! How I love to read it. How I love to spend time talking with him. The more I become like Jesus, the more I become my best self, the one God designed me to be, with purpose and joy and wonder.

Thank you Lord! Thank you for this mandate to LIVE, thank you for the Life you have brought to me. For the healing you have done. You have said that when we seek you, we will find you. What a find!

LIVE! There is such a wealth of meaning in this word and I have spent the last decade mining its depths. What treasure I have found! What Life I’ve found.

Yes, LIVE!

Sanctified Saturdays: Mosaic Canyon, Death Valley

I love those "God Moments" that happen unexpectedly. In Mosaic Canyon, I had one of those when I was between a slower and faster group and I had a few minutes with a section of the canyon all to myself. It was one of those moments when the clamor of the crowd disappears and in the quietness, the presence of the Creator is very near. As I slowly walked along drinking in both His presence and the beauty of this canyon, trailing my hand along the amazing marble sides, I was struck with such awe at His creativity and imagination! I'm so humbled that He thought up this amazing planet for us to live on just because He loves us so much! He didn't have to make it beautiful, but He did because that's Who He is! The unimaginable power it took to crush these rocks together, to carve out the canyon, to form all of this causes me to stand in awe of Him, because as huge as all that is, He is so much bigger! He is not a distant God as many suppose, but as near as our breath, longing to be in relationship with us. As I’ve drawn closer to Him and learned more of His character and of His vast love, I see Him in all kinds of unexpected places. As I felt the rock wall, I thought of how He is called my Strong Tower, and the solidness of the rock was but a hint of His strength.

"He alone is my rock and my salvation, my defense and my strong tower; I will not be shaken or disheartened." Psalms 62:2 The Passion Translation

 I think of His faithfulness, of His mercy, of His kindness. When the vastness of creation overwhelms me, I think of how He has chosen me. Out of this enormous planet, solar system, and galaxy. He chose me. Wow. And to think that He loves me enough to not only create this amazing planet I call home, but He made a way for me to be restored. Restored not only to a right relationship with Him, but restored in my heart through healing and forgiveness and letting things go. Restored in my body as He touches places that need His healing touch. Restored relationships that had gotten broken. Restored sense of purpose that had been trampled and left behind somewhere. Abundantly restored! When He goes to do something, I’ve discovered that He doesn’t just do almost enough or barely enough, but more than enough! This is an extravagant God! He loves with more than enough, with abundance of goodness and resources. He brings order from chaos not just in the universe, but in our lives. His power is beyond what I can imagine, but I get a glimpse here and there, like in that canyon, and it gives me hope. This hope does not disappoint because He has promised and He is faithful.

"And this hope is not a disappointing fantasy, because we can now experience the endless love of God cascading into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who lives in us!" Romans 5:5 The Passion Translation 

Perhaps to some who have never experienced His goodness, it might seem a bit too good to be true. In this world which is fairly cynical, it seems crazy to have such hope, to know such love. Satan has been very busy defaming God so that people won’t see how good He is. Once you have tasted of His goodness, you totally get it! Not only that, you don’t want anything else because you discover how much He satisfies every longing of your heart. He is more than enough! There is such rest in that. Such rest in knowing that I don’t have to strive to please some angry God waiting to strike with lightning if I blow it. Rather, I can rest in His goodness, rest in the work that Jesus did by dying on the cross and then coming back to life to make a way for me to be friends with God. He did all the work. I just have to believe and trust.

 How amazing is that? I get to believe and accept and rest. I get to trade my sin, sadness, brokenness for His forgiveness, joy and restoration. It’s pretty clear to me that I’m getting the best part of this trade! Clearly I'm His favorite. But then, you can be His favorite, too!

"Are you weary, carrying a heavy burden? Then come to Me. I will refresh your life, for I am your oasis." Matthew 11:28 The Passion Translation.

Sanctified Saturdays: Oceans of Love

Soaking in the sound of the pounding surf, and the mesmerizing motion of the waves.

When I was a teen we often went to the ocean. I loved it because standing there on the beach, feeling the wind, listening to the surf pounding and seeing the magnitude of the ocean put my problems in perspective. I loved it when there was a storm because as the storm raged outside, my insides got quieter and more at peace.

I got a glimpse of how BIG God is, just a peek, but enough to bring the troubles in my life to a better perspective. That’s the place I see God most clearly, see His majesty and recognize that any problems I have are so small compared to Him. He is big enough to handle it, to help me. This is my happy place, the place I go in my mind when I really, really need to feel His presence and comfort. In my imagination I sit at His feet, hearing the surf, tucked away from the wind, telling Him what’s on my heart. And He listens and loves.

Last Fall I got to stop at a beach on our way home from the cabin. As I stood with my toes in the sand looking out across the wide Pacific Ocean, I felt the Lord whisper to me ‘Look at the vastness of the ocean. My love for you is bigger! Look at the grains of sand on the beach. My thoughts towards you are more! My thoughts towards you are good.’ Wow. How can I take that all in? How do I wrap my mind around that?

Psalm 139:17 in The Passion Version says, “Every single moment You are thinking of me! How precious and wonderful to consider that You cherish me constantly in Your every thought! O God, Your desires toward me are more than the grains of sand on the very shore! When I awake each morning, You’re still with me.”

Jeremiah 29:11 in the Amplified says, “For I know the plans and thoughts that I have for you,” says the Lord, “plans for peace and well-being and not for disaster to give you a future and a hope.”

As tears streamed down my face from the sheer wonder and magnitude of His love for me, I listened to the pounding surf. The Psalm came to mind of deep calling to deep. The deep voice of the ocean called to something deep inside of me, pulling my heart closer to His heart. “Come closer, feel the depth of My love.” Each wave seeming to wash away another pain from the past, smoothing away rough places. Restoring life and hope and joy. So very healing. What a Good, Good Father!

In Psalm 42:7a of the Amplified, “Deep calls to deep at the [thundering] sound of Your waterfalls;”

Lord, I hear You calling me deeper. Deep into the depths of Your vast love for me. Deeper into knowing You. Deeper into what You are calling me to become. Your love is irresistible!

I love getting sand between my toes.....!

NOTE: I also write for my church's blog. After it's published there, I can publish it here. If you'd like to check out other blog posts there, click here.

Sanctified Saturdays: The Water Makes a Difference

Walking the rocky road, going higher and higher....

As I was on a walk recently....
I was pondering the effect of so much rain here in the Southwest this winter. This normally dry, barren and largely brown region is greener than I've ever seen it! There are other areas of the country that are much more flamboyant with color, but in this region, the contrasts are more noticeable. There are predominantly several shades of brown with clumps of green scattered about, so it's a delight to come upon purple, orange, yellow or white blooms. As I walked along, I saw these flowers growing in the middle of the rocky road. It got me thinking about how a little bit of rain, a little bit of water makes all the difference. Sunshine they get aplenty, but water is the key. Then these little flowers just push their way up between the rocks toward the sunshine to bloom.

Bloom in unexpected places!

In life, we can find ourselves in similar circumstances. Places that seem overwhelming or barren. Rocky places full of rocks of difficulty, with boulders of impossibility. That's where we can invite the Living Water to pour over us. We can receive that Water of the Holy Spirit to nourish and feed us, infusing us with Life. Splashing us with sustaining Hope. We don't have to keep our eyes on the circumstances, on the rocks, on the dust. We can turn our gaze to the Light of God and ask for His rain to pour over us. When we invite Him into our impossible circumstances, we invite the miracle of Life to invade, to give us hope, strength, endurance, and persistence. We invite Him to help us bloom where we are, even in the midst of the circumstances. The flowers didn't move, they just received the water and bloomed right where they were! Bringing life and color to the barren places. The Water makes all the difference. Let Him make all the difference in your circumstances, too.

Happy blooms dressing up the rocky region, giving testimony to the goodness of God and the blessing of rain.

"Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, flowing with water clear as crystal, continuously pouring out from the throne of God and of the Lamb. The river was flowing in the middle of the street of the city, and on either side of the river was the Tree of Life, with its twelve kinds of ripe fruit according to each month of the year. The leaves of the Tree of Life are for the healing of the nations." Revelation 22:1,2

Sanctified Saturday: "Exchange"

A place of serenity where I feel the Lord's presence.

Exchange!

I recently had a dream where I saw the word "Exchange" hovering in the background as the ideas of what God exchanges were floating up in front of me one after another. What He
has done for me takes my breath away! What kind of crazy, extravagant love is this?!

Where once:
     I was entrapped by anger----->He filled me with His peace and forgiveness
     I was threatened with destruction----->He established me in His safety and protection
     I was trapped in sin------>He set me free with His forgiveness and His righteousness
     I was a captive----->He gave me freedom
     I believed lies----->He spoke Truth, and taught me to hear His voice
     I compromised----->He filled me with His Holiness and and taught me integrity   
     I felt I was an incompetent failure----->He taught me to walk in victory
     I was dying----->God gave me Life!
     I was in despair----->His hope lifted me up
     I had fear and axiety----->He taught me that I could really trust Him and be at peace
     I was awash in sorrow------->He filled me with Joy
     I was wounded and in pain----->He poured the oil of healing over me
     I had a life of chaos------->He brought order and peace
In my areas of lack----->His abundance overflows
In my sickness------>He restores my health
In times of confusion----->He gave me His clarity and wisdom
In the midst of my weakness------>His strength overflows
From my life's pile of ashes----->He created beauty
Where once I was so broken----->He restored me and made me whole

Whatever my need, He is there with His exchange. There's no limit! I don't have to prioritize the top five needs and settle for living with the rest. Wow. Jesus nailed all of it to the cross, He gave His life, His blood for me, for all of it. "It is finished!" It's a done deal. My part is to believe it and receive it, to walk in it. His resurrection life is alive in me and as I walk with Him He renews me; my mind, my body, my emotions. As I seek Him with all my heart, as I put Him before everything else, He exchanges more and more.  I just ask. "Papa God I'm feeling anxious right now about something, I need Your peace", "Papa God, this situation seems pretty bad, I need Your hope and wisdom." As I seek His presence, as I rest in His company, fears evaporate, hope springs up, strength arises, joy explodes. There is nothing to compare with His presence, with hanging out with Papa God, sitting in His lap, getting loved on by the One Whose love is so perfect, so complete, so indescribable.

Exchange!

Sanctified Saturdays: Musings on Fall

Musings on Fall

Posted on November 15, 2018 by Linda Heath

Colors. Change. Rain.

I love the colors of Fall. The dark green of the fir trees contrasting with the changing colors of the maples, alders, and other deciduous trees. It’s a feast for the eyes. Especially on a sunny day; the sun turning the leaves a brilliant gold or a fiery orange to contrast with the blue of the sky. Spectacular!

I love the changes that come with Fall. I like that some things stay the same, but I also love that there are changes to spice things up. Changes in weather, changes in colors, changes in daylight hours. We often don’t welcome change, but we need it! What new season is God going to take us into?

And then...

Click here to read the rest of it.....

(Note: because of our travel schedule this is being published a day early)

Sanctified Saturdays: Childlike Trust in God's Love

For my first Sanctified Saturday post, I'd like to share the post that recently ran on our Church's Blog (Restoration Church) that I wrote several weeks ago. I've been doing more writing lately, and was encouraged to submit it to the church blog and was accepted as a regular contributor! Sometimes what's in my heart just has to get out on 'paper' or into a document. And then it must be shared!


Childlike Trust in God's Love

My almost 2 year old grandchild captured my imagination with her beautiful dependence on her Mama. There was a house full of people and several times she felt a bit overwhelmed, so she just got closer to her Mama. When Mama went into the bathroom, she plastered her face against the door and called "Mama? Mama?". And when we were praying over her Mama, she planted her face in Mama's lap, pressing in, in a beautiful picture of serene dependence. Even when eating and taking on foods she couldn't chew and spitting it out and creating a mess, she knew she was loved and safe........
click here for the rest of the story!





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