I’m sorry to be absent from writing for so long. I have been pretty sick for weeks. So…I’m back and feeling better thanks to some hefty meds that have helped me, and the prayers of friends. Thank you all!
As my energy was kind of low, I had time to consider my year of 2017 and how it has started. A new year always brings excitement and expectation for me. I can’t wait to see what God will do with the new, clean slate before me. Into the year only a few days, I found out how ours would begin. What happened you asked? Prayers answered! I’m so thankful for new beginnings!!!
- Our home refi was completed to get it back to a VA loan. It went through finally, and papers were signed right in our home! What a blessing that was to have off our plate. Our moving of one house and buying another has not been an easy path for us. One thing after another kept happening. But God heard our prayers, and answered. That is off our list!
- I really wanted to make a trip back to Norway. As hubby and I were having coffee and mocha one morning, he said, “Do you think Aaron would want to go to Norway if he could go?” I said, “I think so. But if he went we would also have to consider that Ethan would have to go with
him. That is a big issue for us.” Hubby said, “Why don’t you ask him if he would want to go if he could.” So I did and Aaron said yes. I went the first time and took Jesse, my youngest. Now my middle son and grandson are going this time. Now THIS is pretty miraculous!! Because we are talking our budget here. BUT…God. He has provided. They will have the experience of a life time and we will be doing that together. Something I hope will never be forgotten in the lives of my sons and grandson! - We have siding completed and windows completed on the house. Finally…after months of waiting and waiting. I love how it looks and it is so much more cozy in the house also. My cabin is amazing with all the windows and light that comes into my sweet little cabin! It brings me great joy.
With all He has provided already, I also believe He has called me to dial back. Consider what I involve myself in, and really examine where I need my focus and efforts to go with social media and ministry. I am in the process of closing my groups on MeWe, not that I didn’t enjoy doing that, but I had six very successful groups in that place, and it takes a lot of time to post and create each post, let alone keep the communication happening. When you blog, you are always thinking of what to share next and there is planning to make it all come together. Each small presence in social media I have, is something that burns up time. If we try to do too many things, we are so busy with that, that life flies by us. I have more of my life behind me than before me, and I just don’t want to miss a thing! It’s how I have lived my life and I desire that more than ever now!
My priority has always been God first and then my family and friends, and then my involvement in ministry. So as I have examined my involvement, I have noticed a shift. It has taken more and more time, and stole some time from my top priorities. I believe that God is asking me to streamline my life in many areas and this is one of them. So just so you know, I will be continuing my blog here, but only at journeysofmyheart. I will be closing out my Heart and Soul Escapes blog, or combining them in how I post.
I will be working with the photography through my photography website, JoAnnShiley.com which offers a blog opportunity where I will share basics of photography and
hints I find helpful. I will encourage the MeWe followers to follow me at those places. I will be posting less on Facebook directly. I will post on Facebook, but through the other sites. I’m not excited about seeing all the “garbage” that has become the Facebook agenda. So for me, it is just better to back out of it and clean house. I’m cleaning MY house. Watching what goes in my eye and ear gates. I am actually excited about freeing up time for the direction that God has for me. If I am honest with myself, I may have been doing more of what I thought was best for me. Any thoughts I have to share, are for the purpose of helping others, not about how many social networks I get involved in. I’m asking myself, “What is the purpose of being there? What are you trying to accomplish by your presence in that area?” Taking this step will keep me more grounded where I need to be. I have just completed a study that is all about zeroing in on what is most important, and praying over it. What has always been important to me, is encouraging others to live their best life and to live each moment with purpose.
I have never been in a better place with my heart and soul. I have some work to do as I put these areas into motion. However, I refuse to jeopardize my priorities for busyness. It is never worth it. Don’t get caught up in what you THINK you need to do, or what someone else is doing. Do the hard stuff and examine what your passion is, and where you want to be. If I’m running all the time, I can never be quiet enough to listen where God wants to take me. I’m looking forward to this new perspective, both in my life and home, but in my photography also.
I want to:
- enjoy each day I’m given
- a deep prayer walk
- go on adventures with my hubby more
- be aware of nature God has given to me to enjoy
- never trade my top priorities
- see life through the lens of my camera more often
- enjoy every moment I have with my family
- more communication with my kids such as texts, cards, notes
- have more coffee with friends
- help and encourage others
- be the best example of this “life style that I choose”
- live my life in gratitude
As I look over this post, it isn’t my usual type of post, but I think it is an important one. This is just my story. You have your story. However, don’t buy into the busyness that seems to be the way of life for 
so many these days. I don’t believe that is the life that God would have us to live. If you think often, “I’m just so busy, I don’t have time for anything”, then stop it. You will pay a price at some point in time. I was a young mom of three boys, and many exchange students in our home, I worked two and sometimes three jobs that I felt I had to work to make ends meet, and I was very involved in church and Bible study. I did it. I rarely said I’m too busy to give God my time. So I’m not speaking out about something I don’t understand. The idea that life is so different these days, just isn’t so. There are more distractions young families are dealing with now that we didn’t, but we still had electronic games and other types of games the kids played. We still had to monitor what we felt was right for our kids. However, we still had time for things that were important. New beginnings begin with me.
Now… if I look back on that time and had to do it all over? I would most certainly have lived within the means of a stay at home mom and lived that out. Why? Because my kids would have enjoyed having me around more than what I could buy them. Consequently, since I kept myself busy making it all work out (on my own at times, I might add), my rest wasn’t so great; I was tired. That in turn, had repercussions for my family. I share that with you from a point in my life where I can look back and see where I could have made changes and… didn’t. Worse than that, I wasn’t trusting God to take care of my family and I. Yet, even then I always saw His hand in my life over and over again. I’m not sure what made me think I couldn’t trust Him to take care of me if I stayed at home. OR, maybe I do…satan is quick to sneak in a whisper of, “You won’t have enough money for groceries, or bills if you quit, let alone give to God.” I listened. I would tell you don’t buy it. If God is asking you to slow down, be more available, or to give to Him, HE WILL provide for you. It’s His economy. It’s His way. Now I am not saying that every mother has to stay home with her children. You are in charge of your own story. What I really want to share is, IF you have that little voice telling you to do something different, then by all means do it! It could change your future for yourself, and those around you, and future generations in ways you can’t imagine! I hope if any of this resonates with you, it will be something you pray over.
Thanks for being a part of this space! I love your consistent support and responses! Watch for the changes coming up! I hope you will continue to follow along! Life teaches us some fun experiences, but there are also some hard lessons. Let my experience and hard lessons be of some benefit to you!
Depositing to my heart and soul escapes…
I have seen His favor in my life, ALL my life. He has been so good to my husband and I! However, I believe that when we live as He would have us to live, and our joy is in Him, He wants to give us His favor over and over again. Now, I know we have made some mistakes, but if we are quick to repent and ask Him to forgive and get us back on track, He will. He IS faithful. Here is the kicker…am I willing to accept His favor, or better yet, am I willing to SEE His favor in my life? Or, do I just think I have what I have because of how hard I have worked, or how good I think I have been? If we know that God is right in the middle of where we are, and we know that nothing can happen apart from Him, then God is going to lavish favor on each one that believes that truth. How does that look? We walk closer with Him than we did last year. We are in His Word daily. We begin to see Him in the very things that are around us everyday. We ask for His wisdom and guidance. AND…we ASK for His favor. Yes we ask for His favor over our lives, family and in every step we take. That is what it looks like, friends.
God has in store for me. I am thinking He wants to me operate in favor towards others more than I do. THAT may be harder. 🙂 But I am willing to walk through that door with Him. I have seen His faithfulness in my life in BIG ways, even through all the struggles.
It is much the same with our lives. We try to hold on to something in our lives that God has long since told us to let go of, but we still have a death grip on it. We need to let it go; melt away. Give it to God, so that, we can experience all He has for us. I tried to get a picture of the diamonds on the trees this morning, however, what I saw wasn’t what I saw through my lens. You see, sometimes what we see is for our eyes only, not to keep, but just to enjoy. But other times, He allows us to see something for keeps, like my picture above.
The next window to go in was our bedroom and the guys find some concerns. I had just asked them if they wanted a cup of coffee to warm up, and he said, “You might not want to give us coffee after we tell you what we found.” I said, “Ok. Just lay it on us.” I handed them their coffee cups. Our windows all the way around the house, were built with vents with a door at each end of all the windows for air circulation. They were cool looking and kind of fun, but I wondered about the leaking. But, we were assured the rot the inspector found was at the window sill only with the front windows and we would just have to replace the sill and base. What they found was rot that went all the way down the walls of both ends of our master bedroom window. They now tell us that this window can’t be installed until we fix the wall. It could mean a whole wall rebuild, or just a section. They have to tear into the wall inside and outside to see how much damage there is. This is the second window that we had big issues with. Our son Aaron fixed the other one. But he won’t have the time to fix this when he comes down this weekend with everything else. So, we will have to pay extra for them to do the work to fix the wall.
was in order! I am driving along and having quite the conversation with God. I’m saying, “I mean seriously? We just tithed and now this??? That is what happens when we are faithful? What?!?!???” As soon as the I said those words, a thought came to mind. That thought was, “Yes you were faithful. But do you think the devil is going to roll out the red carpet for you because you have been faithful to ME? I don’t think so. Just the opposite. He wants to make you discouraged and wish you hadn’t done that. Then next time, you won’t, or you will fear doing it.”
We can really get ourselves tied in knots about life can’t we? It doesn’t take much. We are happy with the way things are going, but as soon as something trips us up, away goes our joy. So I decided that my Gratitude Jar needs some hearts.
You may be thinking, “I sure wish I had the TIME to sit and think about those things!” Well, you may have had to fall back in time, but we each still have the same amount of time we are given. It is in how we spend that time. Yes, I am retired and that makes a difference. However, I am also busy even though I’m retired. So I still have to schedule my time or I get can caught up in other things I enjoy and not make time for time with the Lord, or time needed with family. The other day, I just went out on the front porch and had my mocha where the sun was shining. It was so nice. I pulled weeds from my garden of succulent plants, and sat and enjoyed what I observed going on around me. I heard the train going through. I heard the deer and then saw the deer as its head poked out of the bushes and then ran away. I could hear the birds sing in the trees…yes it was only for maybe 15 minutes, but it WAS 15 minutes of wonderful. We all need it. We just don’t make the time for those little things to happen.
So take a few moments out on the porch tonight with your coffee or tea or whatever, and take a deep breath. Or build a fire and enjoy watching it together. Whatever it is, bring that feeling of contentment in to your heart to live with you. Imagine your chair and you are looking out, just like my friend asked, and what do you see? What is your tomorrow going to look like because you changed something in your today?
That is the key…keep moving ahead. Let me use the window above to illustrate a point. This window above reminds me that I can choose how I look at it. I can choose to see only the wall behind it. OR, I can choose to add something enjoyable to the view by adding the figurine on the shelf, and/or put in a photo that will give me a total different view through my window. I decided that I am going to choose to look through my window and see the view going forward instead. That means I looked forward to a
friend who is came to visit. I planned for a fun few days with her to bring her joy. We had a total blast! I did the very things that bring me, and that of my friend, joy. We did some shopping and I found a couple of good finds for the house. I had an early morning delicious chocolate croissant at a bakery in Seabrook. I enjoyed a wonderful lunch and conversation by the ocean with her. I took pictures. I drove The Captain; even down on the beach. Today, after all that is over, I continue to work on it. I will persevere, and it may take me a few days, but I will move forward.
Why? Because God knows the end from the beginning. To stay in the dumps means I don’t trust God enough to turn this around, or to use it for my good. Did I pray about it? Not like I should have. I know we will have troubles. I am no different from anyone else in the trouble department. However, I CAN choose to have a different view. I know what that means. I also know that God wants me to trust Him with everything. Not pieces of me, or certain places of my heart. He wants me to trust Him with it ALL.
So I will keep designing my life to have meaning by enjoying the things each day that bring me joy! I will put some hot water into my sweet tea-pot that is one of my finds, and enjoy some chamomile tea, and start my gratitude hearts dropping in my jar. (It had kind of went on the back burner the last month or so.) I do that because I know by experience, that is what works for me. I also know that taking those steps changes my focus from me to Him, and that is what will honor God the most.
This was challenged this week as it become very apparent that my sweet vintage range is not going to be something that I can keep. (I am going to sell it though, if anyone is interested.) So begins our search for a range. We have looked at so many, trying to find information and make a decision about what would be best for my kind of cooking. It can be overwhelming. Of course, money is an issue also. I’m trying to be gracious about what I get and the money that is spent. I am also having to get a fridge and so in order to do both, I may have to spend less on my range. I could feel my attitude tanking a bit after going around to see so many different ranges that I would love to have. My attitude surfaces: “I mean, how many times do I have to compromise?” And THEN… the Holy Spirit taps my shoulder and reminds me of what He HAS done:
I once again heard a song this last week called, “Leave It There”. Boy! That is so fitting for me this week. Take all my burdens to the Lord and leave it there. So, once again, God knows what the desires of my heart are… He cares… and He will do what is best for me.
Well, yesterday, I experienced that feeling all over again! I was privileged to receive an advanced read for the book, “Maybe It’s You” by Candace Calvert, Tyndale House Publishers, Inc. As soon as I figured out the technical side of downloading it, I started reading. No housework catch up, a few hours break to hurry up and make something for hubby to eat, and back at it again. All. night. long. Laying in bed this time with no covers over my head, but the room is dark and only lit by my Kindle, but the feeling is the same. I felt just like a kid with a great book that I just had to finish… in the dark… but this time, on a device that would have shocked my parents. I think secretly, they liked that I read so much.
love, truth spoken out of the mouth of a babe, doing what is right even when you know it will cost you, and how grace makes way for forgiveness. Absolutely loved this story. I have been following Candace’s books for years and like all others, this one really spoke to me. God allows u-turns and second chances. What is in our past doesn’t have to determine our future. God will see to that if we allow Him. Candace weaves the story like no other and her personality comes out in her characters. You will find yourself laughing out loud, and then crying along with the characters…yep tears in the dark lit by Kindle light. So… you just have to read until 5 a.m. to find out what happens…just like when I was a kid reading under the covers. AND…you know what? Washington State is mentioned. Tickled me pink!!!!
I was thinking this week of how often we want something to be different, and it doesn’t matter if it is in our home, in our hearts, in our minds, or in our family and friends. We want change. We often wish something was different that what it is. If this or that would change, I could be happy.
As I sat in the chapel and listened to friends and family share what they loved about my cousin, it wasn’t about what she looked like, where she lived, or what she owned, it was about HER. What they noticed about her life. It was about her love of life in spite of the hardships, it was her baking of cookies and cakes, her love of flowers and gardening, her hospitality in her simple home, her gentle ways, neighbors and family around, and always seeming to have enough for the extra people to join her around her table. I personally remember her always making sure everyone was well cared for when we visited. Perfect hostess. Loved…because she loved well. Never a fancy life, but certainly a well-lived life.
about? Or will we complain because it is less than what we would like it to be, or expected it to be? Last Sunday in a message by Pastor Doug Cotton, he shared about faith having a voice. That makes perfect sense to me! There is a moment when God speaks. We have that same moment to be used of God or He will find someone else who will do it. Pastor also talked about the verse where God talks about “faith that comes through hearing”…you are hearing right now as you read this. It is why I continue to blog. I want to share some ideas that may encourage you to step out. I want to do that often enough that it might make a difference for you, and build your faith that you can do it. We all have that window of time when God is speaking to us. Satan wants to confuse you about where it is coming from, but don’t you allow it! Your window of time is when God speaks. Say, “Yes Lord, I am willing. Guide my steps.” He will. Walk through that door He placed before you and keep your gaze straight ahead.
What about you? Is there something bugging you that you need to take action on? Is your legacy building a life well-lived? I know I want my life to reflect those ideals. I want to be used of God. I want my home to reflect what God has blessed us with, and part of that is a feeling of warmth and love to every guest who enters our home. I want to be gracious in hospitality. I want my home to be a place of refuge to dial down and feel comfortable from the time someone walks through my door to the time they depart. That does my heart good. 🙂
