Today I have some time to write a bit in the midst of unpacking boxes. Sometimes we push oursleves beyond what our bodies can take, and we are forced to rest. So I thought I would write about a couple things on my heart today. It has been a good day to reflect.
A life map...don’t we all have times when we wish we had a map for our life? It would tell us where we are going and how we can get there. We could even determine how long it might take for us to reach our destination. Why would we want a map, you ask? Because most of us want to know what is going on in our future, and what our life is going to look like. We can’t see where our life is going. But we have certainly seen where it has been and would like a few clues for what’s ahead. Kind of rough for us not to have one of those maps, isn’t it? The truth of the matter is, we don’t get to have a detailed map. We aren’t the captain of our souls. If we could see ahead, It might be something we can’t handle right now, but God will enable us to handle at some point in our future. It may be way to scary for us to see further down the road. Look at it this way…if it’s in your rear view mirror, you can know what your life looks like, but ahead is risky for us. We all have an average of 75 years or 27, 375 days. We are given points in life of: birth and ending with death. If we have found Jesus, then we have a wonderful life touch point to help direct us. It is how we live in between those points that counts the most. We know that. But we don’t often examine it. Each point in our life is very important to our life story and the person we become. Often times, the road we travel is preparing us for a new season; whether it be a long one or a short one. Unfortunately, we don’t have a life map to tell us how long it will be. We have to give Him the wheel of our lives to help direct us.
I don’t know about you, but when I come face to face with Jesus, I want Him to find me doing well; faithful and living my life with adventure and joy. It won’t be because of something I make happen, but because of what He has given me, and the His love FOR me. It will be about how willing I am to be obedient to what God has for me. Our move is a prime example in my life. The hardships are hard. If we had known about some of the hardships in our lives before hand, we may not have accepted the adventure period. However, when we do, He is faithful to bring us back to the road He has set before us. I want Him to find me more dependent on Him for direction in my life, as well as, obedient to His leading. What we would have missed out on if we had let our “moving again attitude” take over what God was going to graciously give us? Wow.
The question: How is God going to find me when the time comes? Does that question stir you up, or challenge you a little bit, as you think about what God is going to find in you when the time comes? Are you ready? Will He find you continually looking, searching, and maintaining an attitude of expectancy? Or, will he find you down in the dumps, feeling disappointed in your life? It could happen anytime, you know. We are seeing in the world around us that life can change in a moment. A life of change is an engaged life, so stay engaged! Ask yourself, “How will He find me?”. Ask it often, I do.
What are some of the keys to this kind of living? Here are a few:
- Be of good personal character. Is it guided by the Holy Spirit, or your flesh?
- Be diligent.
- Be eager.
- Be zealous.
- Be found in peace.
- Be determined.
- Be in total trust of God’s plan
- Be in a harmonious relationship with Jesus.
- Be a life long learner.
If we want to have a good relationship with God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit, we need to be a consistent, ongoing learner. Ask God for wisdom about who and what you listen to. In these times, we can easily get side-swiped by some off-the-wall teaching, or someone taking the Word out of context. Ask the Holy Spirit to be your teacher.
Another area to consider that will have bearing on your relationship with God is grace. Get your Bible out and read Romans 5:15. Sometimes, we think that if we sinned this much, we get this much grace. But… that isn’t true because as sin increases, grace abounds! If you think about grace as a bath, for example, you would drown. Wow! Jesus wants us, and there is no sin, scandlous act, or darkness, that Jesus won’t give you an exit out of it. How would it be if you had all the grace that God can give you? It covers more than you have ever done. Now that is some good news!
So don’t live in worry and doubt. You may not have a map of your life in front of you, but you certainly can know Who walks your road with you as you travel. He pulls up to the curb of your life, opens the door, and invites you in for the ride of your life! We will have some big curves on our road at times, which means we have to slow down to take those curves, but boy its great when we hit that straight-a-way! We can let the wind blow on our faces and feel the freedom that God gives us as He navigates us through. Remember as a child when you might have rode in the back of a pick-up truck? It was fun and you felt so free being back there. We feel that joy! We can lift our arms through the windows of our life and let the wind catch us and blow our hair straight back not caring what it looks like, and yes, let the laughter bubble over! Yes! We can celebrate that we have a God that cares about it all; everything.
GET. IN. THE. CAR.! Happy adventures!
Until next time,
~JoAnn
It will definitely change how we look. The leaves are most beautiful when they fall off the branch…they are vibrant, in fact. Do you know that the color of yellow, orange, or even red, is present in the leaf all through the growing process? This means while the leaf is green, the colors are still there…BEFORE it turns color. The color has been there all along! That could preach right there!!! That means that through the process of letting go, our true colors or gifts or talents or passions, can show itself in us!! We will become vibrant with new life! I love that! When we allow God to move us and change us, we are best using what He has given us for His purposes.
Words…
This is where my thoughts have been lately. If I want any of the above to occur, I must be willing to take on the path of peace and joy. I have to forget living in the past and what has been done to me. I have to leave the hurts where they belong…in my past, and at the feet of Jesus. Why? Because God tells us that we are to give it ALL over to Him when we accept Him. We don’t have to carry them anymore! What a blessing that is! And…when we do carry them, guess what? We know that satan has entered the building. He is the author of confusion, doubt, and disbelief. Don’t let him rob you over and over again by reliving it. Open the door wide and I mean WIDE open, and let Jesus take it on! If its everyday you have to do it for a while, its everyday. One day it won’t be that way. A life surrendered, is a life of joy and peace.
though. It requires you and me to live our lives in such a way, that they see Jesus in us in ALL circumstances. All that you see out there in media world, is NOT the real world. We DO however, have a chance to be a change agent; a steady example of how to live for Him. The best thing is, you will have a relationship grow between you and God that is unshakeable. What do you see? What is your chosen perspective? Do you trust God enough to know that He is with you through it? Do you see it as a necessary journey or circumstance in order to push you through to the other side? The more we feel shaky in our faith, the more advantage the devil has to plant those thoughts in your head. Get with people of faith and share what God has done. There is nothing more faith building than to hear and see God working in the lives of those around you. Be honest with yourself about where your trouble lies. It is the only way the Holy Spirit can do his work in you. Go some place where you can have time alone to have a good conversation with the Lord. Mine is the beach. What about you? Where do you seem to hear from the God the best? Special place in your house? On the deck? In the mountains? Go there and talk God’s ear off! He wants to hear from you!
I want more and more to have God’s perspective as my own. I want Him to keep shedding light on my path to guide me. After listening to the messages the last few Sundays on James, that is enough to make me say, “Wakey, wakey, JoAnn!” I have become more diligent to ask Him daily to show me what to say, what not to say, and how I need to act. I don’t always get it right. I can be critical of people at times. I can get real down like this last week. I can say things in a way to my hubby that doesn’t exactly show the kind of love I want to show. But I don’t have to live in regret of that. My pastor said last Sunday, “If we learn to control our tongue, then other bad habits will fall way”. I have become very quick to ask forgiveness of God for those things. And I am wanting to be quick to ask forgiveness of others. Then, I can move on in joy and allow Him to take away those down feelings, and…take action! I turn on the good music, read an uplifting book and scripture, working on a Bible Study, and God will bring me out. Stop trying to do it yourself. You can NOT. You just beat yourself up trying. Don’t look at things that take you there. Don’t hang with people who take you there. Don’t do the things in your daily life the same way anymore. Do something different. Ask God to show you what it is, and then do the thing!
I don’t know who this is for today, but once I started writing, it just came out. So maybe it was just for me. But I kind of doubt that. So I hope someone finds help, encouragement, or a kick in the behind out there from this post. I speak from a place of experience and have had to do all of the above at some time in my life. Actually, I lot of times in my life. But I have a Holy Determination to never give up and never give in. And God, He has been my Rock. Stay close to the Rock, and you will see your feelings of despair flowing down stream, away from you and in to God’s capable hands.
This last Friday, hubby and I were going down South of our home to attend a training about helping people walk through the process of grief. I was all ready on Friday night with only toiletries to put in my bag, take the direction paper from the fridge, and grab my purse as I went out the door. However, hubby sees no need to get all excited about getting ready…after all, we aren’t leaving until tomorrow morning. :p. So… it made it rather rushed going out the door on time Friday morning. As we drive and are way too far out to go back, I realize that the post-it note with the name, address and phone number of the place we were staying that night down south, is not with me. Now, I tried to think of the name of the place, but couldn’t recall it for the life of me. I looked at recent calls on my phone because they had called to confirm. But when I call them, they have turned it to fax-line. As hubby is telling me that we need to have an address or name to know where to go, I’m saying, “Ya think??!!??” I’m searching the internet to see if a name rings a bell…nothing. It’s a pretty helpless feeling when you know the area is very busy with many conferences and you have “one chance place” to stay and you can’t find it. I thought I recognized a name as I looked, but looking at the picture, that didn’t seem like the right one. I prayed and asked God to open the line back up for a phone call. I tried four other times to reach them and the same thing happened. Finally, by the time we were about thirty minutes out, I reached them. I got the name and address, and put it my phone maps and we were able to drive right to it. Given that there were a couple of large conventions going on in the city, there was not another room to be had…so I was one happy lady to finally get through to them to confirm. Now… even though it is me who has to handle all these arrangements, and usually my fault if I forget something like this, somehow, it seems like if we were all ready like I was the night before, things would have been smoother going out the door, and I would have remembered all that I needed to. So was this another one of those lessons that I am being taught? What do you think?
Ask God sooner so He can show you another time of His love and power to change things in my life! Note to YOU: Don’t wait to turn things over. Be in the Word so you recognize Him and build trust in Him for the Lifetime Trip He has you on. Know where you are going before you leave home. If I had turned my morning over to Him before even getting upset over not being ready to just go out the door as I planned for us, then maybe my head would have been in the right place, and I could have avoided it all! Our journey may look like this ring that has its ups and downs, around a mountain or two, but that journey goes up and that’s how I wear this ring! I do like the other ring too that says, pray always, and I know my prayers go up. What I’m learning is how quick I send my prayers up determines how free I am going to be from the stress of the journey!
God isn’t afraid to take us to school when we need it. So what are we afraid of when we hear living in the moment? It almost sounds irresponsible, or flying by the seat of our pants, doesn’t it? But really, that is not what it means, or at least not what I refer to when I talk about it. What makes us so afraid of it? And…why is living in the moment so hard for us? It could be that if we stopping running, or stop our hurried steps, we might FEEL. We don’t want to feel. So we keep so busy with life and responsibilities so that we don’t have to reflect on our true feelings or hurts. All our “tries” never seem enough. We may feel that we don’t measure up or we don’t feel worthy enough. But all this running is keeping us from dealing with the fact that it is a heart issue. We don’t want to deal with the feelings or the knowledge that comes from understanding that we really do know that we need to change something. So to keep from doing that, we keep busy, put a smile on our faces, and keep pretending things are ok. My hubby and I made a “live in the moment” decision for me to make the trip to Norway, and take my son and grandson with me. I called on ticket prices, asked my son if he would want to go and if my grandson could go, and booked the tickets. That all happened in one day’s time. If God gives you an idea, let Him work out the details. He put this opportunity to go on my hubby’s heart. God will work it all out when it’s His idea and His will!
His masterpiece. So just like that example, I ask God to reveal what is keeping me from happiness or joy when I have those feelings. He will then tell me and start the whittling process…chipping away at those things in my life that need to fall off.
But the one thing that I took back home with me from my trip to Norway is the connection with family and friends. How important it is for me, and for those around me to stay connected. It makes my soul happy and contented, even when life gets hard. Sharing life together. We need it. Dinners together, drives to do something as a family, and even putting down our phones long enough to really listen and share with each other. Making the effort to drive several hours two times in a week or so to be with your niece to love on her in a most difficult time in her life. God designed it that way. When we are running so busy that we don’t have time for stopping to comfort a child who is having a bad morning because we have things to do, or when we listen with our ears only instead of listening with our hearts to someone who is hurting, we are not living in the moment. We are too busy to even notice when God gives us an opportunity to minister to someone who needs it. Maybe not even with words, but just a hug or holding a hand. It can unlock the heart of the one who is needing a listening ear. That’s what slowing down our lives can look like. I saw those examples of support and listening when I visited Norway. They make an effort even when they may live further away from each other to stay connected. Connection is important to them. It is to me too. I take every opportunity to stay in touch with friends and family. One never knows when your call or text, or not in the mail, will be the one thing that gets them through the day.
There is a saying we have all probably heard that says to “live your one life well”. That means that where ever you are, be right there. I think the Norwegians have things right in that they work hard, and relax, and play hard. They know that the balance is needed for them to have joy in their lives. They balance the long, dark winters with being out in the light and sunshine as much as possible when Spring and Summer come. I saw a man in a large city in Norway sitting on a bench on a busy street with his shirt off just taking in the sunshine while it was there. Eyes closed, soaking in the sunlight. He lived in the moment. They make the coziness of their homes a priority so they DO enjoy the those long nights during winter…warm fires, candle light, and coffee or hot chocolate abounds. Knitting cozied up by the fire. They plan and do the things that prepare them for the winter months. They also look forward to the Holiday of Christmas and all being together. Balance…the key to joy.
to have connection, and THAT turns out to be priority. However, it took me some days to get that message. I was mad at myself for not getting better photos when I took them. I mean, who doesn’t want to come home with fantastic photos from such a beautiful country???? I missed some, and others were like on tours where you are moving through an area, and spending time setting up a photo isn’t necessarily what you have time for. I got pretty upset with myself. As I prayed about it, God showed me that the pictures I was taking were to remember. I’m not in a contest for the best photo. The connections are what is important and remembering them. So even though many of my photos were from a car window, that was ok. Because I had that memory. It also transferred to when I am at home. It isn’t important for me to be some great photographer. What is important, is that I DO hone my skills, but it is to take better photos in what ever circumstance, not to be in any competition for the best photo of the day or to BE the best. I love photography and I want to keep enjoying it. When I start putting undue pressures on myself to do it differently, that is when I realize, that I’m getting off course. A person could see my whole life through my photos. That is what I want with my photography. That others will see how I live and my philosophy and maybe be encouraged to take some of the steps I have taken to have joy in living.
I believe, I’m in another chipping off season in my life, and that is ok. He gave me a trip to Norway to show me what is important in the way I live MY life. So I leaned in close in Norway. I learned about the ways of making coffee can be an art. Now I know that from coffee shops, but it can be like that at home also. I don’t like coffee that much, but I learned to like it the way my cousin made it. So I asked how she did it. I loved many of the foods I ate, and I asked how to make it. I wanted to absorb as much of the culture as I could. Not just BE there, but to live in the moment of every day there. I learned about the history of the immigrants, like my grandparents on both sides of my family and why they made the decisions that they made to move away from everything they knew to come to the unknown in the U.S. How those that were here in the U.S. would work so hard so that they could send money home or tickets home for their family to come to the U.S. I learned how some couldn’t stay in the U.S. because they missed the beauty of Norway and they came back home. Some were so destitute living here that they took their lives before admitting to family at home of their despair. We as kids who grew up around our parents talking about the depression, and all the fun many of us made out of them walking to school with holes in their shoes and walking miles to school, isn’t so far of a stretch. I know it to be true of my father’s parents and even his older siblings. I have found a new respect for each of them searching for a better life, and their tenacity to keep going. It’s amazing, actually. I don’t take that for granted and wished as young child, I would have known more about what they went through. I think I would have been a much more attentive granddaughter. But they didn’t talk about it at all. Neither did my parents. As children we missed so much. I don’t want my kids to not know about them. Thus, I took my two sons and my grandson with me the two times I have gone. I want all my ancestor’s hard work to make a life for their families, to survive as a story and testament to their courage. I am here because of the hard work of all who came before me, including my parents. What work ethics they had! Families stuck together through thick and thin, and helped each other. That is legacy.
I hope this last trip is not my last. I have more to learn…more to experience…more time on the beach in Norway with neighbors and relatives around a bonfire! More letters to read. I copied 
some of my mother’s letters to relatives in Norway that were written to my cousin. Sometimes I find out more about my mom through reading them. I took pictures of old pictures so that I can share them with family, and they will know who they are. I have decided that writing on as many of the pictures I have, is important, since many of my parents’ pictures did not have names on them.
Recently at our home, we had a beautiful couple days of soft snow fall. I loved looking out my cabin windows, which run all the way around my cabin, and watching the snow. Everything is covered in a blanket of clean, white snow. The Holy Spirit reminded me of how Jesus covers our sin through His death on the cross, and we are washed as white as snow. I had just been reading something that came to mind as I watched that falling snow. The thought was that our life changes at the moment we accept Christ. It isn’t just about sin. It means, that as an example, a new JoAnn is created at the time I accepted Christ, and now God has a relationship with that new JoAnn. So.. it isn’t just about being forgiven of sins. It is also about a brand new relationship as this new person. As this new person, I now have a relationship with Him; not as the old me, but as the new me. He relates to the new me! 
we can go in. God wants us to step into the water in faith, and then see Him part the waters and bring us through. 
journeysofmyheart.com 