JoAnn Shiley

I hope all of you are well and happy!  In the Pacific Northwest, we have been enjoying many days of sunshine!  Oh how I enjoy Spring Sunshine!  My flowers are blooming and I love that part.  I will soon have some flowers for me to bring into my house in vases.  Happy me!  So if you don’t have Spring weather where you are and want something fun to make you smile and to enjoy, hop over to my photography website and look around.  It will lift you up, I think; JoAnnShiley.com.

But to share what is on my heart today…

I would like to ask you if you have ever been rubbed the wrong way by a person or circumstance.  Have you?  I know that I sure have!  It may be something someone said, it may be a hurt from a friend, or loss of a friendship, or any number of circumstances we have to deal with.  Sometimes I deal with it well, and other times I am talking to myself; quite loudly.  But… going deeper with God means that I have come to understand that God has big shoulders and comforting arms.  It may not be the way I would like it to be, but I know even the hard rubs are good for me.  Let me share an example that I believe God gave me last week.

My sweetheart just got back from a trip to Israel.  He enjoyed learning about living where Jesus lived, walking where Jesus walked and preached, where He was betrayed and crucified, and the history surrounding those areas.  What a fascinating time he had!  One of the activities the small group got to take part in was communion together in Bethlehem.  When they were done with communion, they got to keep the small communion cup that is made of olive wood.   Such a sweet cup.  I had told Terry before he left to look for olive wood communion cups, and if he found them, to get one for each of us.  So he did that, plus a couple more, and brought them back home with him.  They are gorgeous olive wood cups, each of them from one piece of wood.  However, when I saw them, they were really light, almost bleached looking.  You didn’t really notice the beauty of the wood grain because of how light they were.  But, I have some wood treatment that is food friendly, and you can use it on wooden spoons and cutting boards to keep them from getting dry.  I got that and rubbed the communion cups with it, and wow!!!! What a gorgeous difference it made in the wood!!  I couldn’t believe it!  The rich color and interesting veins that I could now see, are a characteristic of the olive wood.  As I was expressing how beautiful they were, God spoke to my spirit about how my life is like that.  He created something beautiful.  But in the beginning, I was quite pale and maybe even shallow in my walk with  God.  However, as our relationship deepens, and I learn to depend on Him more and more, it is like that treatment I put on the wood; the best in me comes out and hopefully, I am showing my best character.  If it hurts sometimes to be rubbed and polished, He told me to consider it all good because He is at work in me.  What a lesson as I looked at this beautiful set of cups before me and actually saw the difference of before and after!  My life resembles those cups in many ways.  God is so good to show us in ways we can understand.  I had to bleach out the photo a bit to show you how it looked before I rubbed them out.  Unfortunately, when I got that message from the Holy Spirit, I had already rubbed out both cups.  🙂  But, it gives you an idea of what they looked like before.  So if you are feeling rubbed the wrong way, it might just be that you are being rubbed in the RIGHT way, and it’s from God.  He is bringing out the beauty of the grain He created in us.  He is nourishing us through His Word so that our best self shows up and reveals His glory.  I will always remember this lesson, every time I use this cup.

Don’t let the friction of a little bit of rubbing dull your belief that God loves you, and has what is best for you in mind!  What we use the communion cups for in our communion time, is the same message only reversed.  We come to God with sins in our lives that make us feel dirty, and He gives us the cleansing of His forgiveness so that we can shine before men and women.  I am going to let my little cup shine!

How about you?  Feeling the rub?  Thank God that He is working in you!  Look for the grain and beauty and ask Him to show it to you.  He wants to bring it to the surface and do a great work in your life.  Thanks for coming back to read the blog and please leave a comment if there is a rub you need prayer for.  If you don’t have that circumstance now, share what good things He is going.  Blessings!

Walking the journey with you…

A few days ago, I saw the most amazing thing I have ever seen! As my sweetie and were driving, I saw this beautiful eagle way up high and it was absolutely still in the air!  The wings were spread out but it was not moving; just resting on the current!  Everyone once in a while it would flap the wings maybe three times and then rest.  This eagle must have done this without moving for at least three or four minutes.  I was amazed!  I have never seen an eagle do that before ever.  I have seen them glide on the wind currents, but never be still.  It was fabulous!  Of course at the time, I didn’t have my camera, but then I have come to know that there are some things God gives me that are for my eyes only.  Whenever I see something when I don’t have the camera, I just thank God and say, “Ok, God thank you for giving that to my eyes only.”  I just knew there was a lesson there.  It was hard to even explain the feelings I had when I saw that, but I knew God was speaking.

Then…yesterday I just got back from a road trip with a friend.  We were gone for two days with our cameras and boy did we have a blast!  When we got up to Mount St Helens and drove around one of the first corners where we got a glimpse of the mountain up close and personal, we both just gasped at its beauty!  It was just gorgeous!  I just remember thinking, “Now THIS is the life!  Being able to ride along in this beautiful country and experience all that God has for us and take a view photos of what God shows us!”  Nothing better!!!  I experienced that same feeling I had watching that eagle.

So here is the lesson…we can go through seasons that are so difficult that we lose sight of everything beautiful around us.  Instead of gasping at the beauty, we are crying in our own pity party room in the dark.  We aren’t looking up, and we certainly aren’t resting in God’s hands.  We may not like our season, but God’s hands are there holding us up with His Mighty Wind, or, giving us the beauty to lift our heads.  It was amazing to see the area some thirty years after the mountain blew, and be able to see the beauty of it now, rather than the devastation.  God has restored the area.  Listen to this…that eagle didn’t just rest there expecting not to have to do something to maintain on the wind.  He took part in flapping the wings and working with the Wind so that he could rest in it.  When we were driving, we didn’t just pass that beauty by.  Are you KIDDING me???!!!  She pulled that SUV over and we ran (well, not quite..but our hearts were willing) to catch that beauty!  The eagle cooperated with the Wind.  My friend and I didn’t just sit in the car and say, “I sure would like a picture of that.”  We climbed down hills and back up, through sticker bushes, in and out of the car, in order  to enjoy what God gave us to see.  And…it will be different for each of us!  I bet not too many others saw that eagle that particular day.  But I did.  God allowed me to see it.  I let it speak to me.  “Rest in me.  Relax…don’t fight the Wind..cooperate with the Wind…enjoy the journey.”  Let that speak to your soul.

My friend and I sure did!  We laughed, we shared great conversation, lifted burdens, ate snacks we enjoyed to the last bite, and even giggled like we were back in high school about doing it.  We looked at each other and knowing we probably shouldn’t be eating it or drinking the pop (she was much better than me with a Sobe), but then we both laughed and took a swig!  We were lifting our snacks to the good times!  That is how God wants us to live…enjoying what is around us at each moment.  I can’t eat that way every day, but I can sure enjoy it once in a while.  The snacks might not be so healthy, but living the moment is always healthy when God is leading us.  And I certainly don’t want to miss those God moments when He whispers in my ear, “Watch this.”, OR “Look at THIS!”  I want to be season and camera ready to catch it each time!

You see, we can stay in that dark season if we want to, and we can dwell on what isn’t right or working.  OR, we can choose to stop and watch the eagle rest in the Wind or the mountains that speak of His majesty and the colors that show off His artistry.  I choose the latter.  I hope you do too!

Walking the journey with you, resting on the Wind…

Happy Tuesday everyone! This week after Easter reminds us, and should lead us, into the newness of life. I hope that you, either through Easter Service attendance or time with family, have received that newness of life as you look towards these next several months.  Just as we couldn’t have imagined if we had been there in Jesus time, that in three days so much could happen, I believe that we don’t realize what we are missing out on because we don’t trust Him with everything TODAY.  I pray that you will let that newness of life penetrate your hearts, so that, you live on in victory over your yesterday, and begin anew today!  He delights in our progress to become more and more like the person He designed us to be.

The enemy is sneaking around… hunting for prey.  Can you picture it?  Just like a cat when he/she is ready to pounce.  Searching for a weak spot, a move, a habit, a thought, a chain to yank…whatever it might be for you.  Refuse the enemy an inch of ground!  Remember what has been shared with you this last week and take that victory into the months ahead.  Tell the enemy to take a hike!  You have been shown what Christ did for you on the cross.  Allow Jesus to set you free to enjoy what God has planned for you!  Even one step forward is a positive change!  If things are not what you believe they should be right now, don’t lay blame, but look to understand what is happening and learn from it.  Ask God about it. Listen. God wants us to live in victory, but we can only do that if we are willing to turn from our old ways of doing things, and let God direct us in new ways!

I hope you will do that today.  Remember…don’t give the enemy an inch of ground; He will take a mile if he can! Stand!  Draw your Sword of the Spirit! (The Word)  Then…speak it out!  Boom!  Take that devil!

Walking the journey with you…

This last week when I went to Bible study, I was inspired by a portion of a video teaching.  It really brought a great visual home to my heart.  There were other excellent points in last week’s study, but this was a home run for me.  Let me ask you this question to get your wheels turning:  How often are you in the Word each week?  Once, twice, daily, Sunday only?  Is your Bible a bit dusty?  Do you think it really applies to your daily life today?  Is it just stories to you?  What is your priority in reading the Word?  How important do you think it is to be in God’s Word on a regular basis?

This particular teacher was likening the idea of being in the Word with going out on a walk in rattlesnake country with a gun to protect yourself, without a bullet.  To help you understand this visual a bit better, I want to share that there are other teachings out there that think that you could have time with the Lord walking in the morning, enjoying the sunset, walking the beach or whatever might come to your mind.  You don’t have to be in the Word that often, or maybe even at all.  Now, don’t get me wrong.  You can enjoy a time of refreshing with the Lord that way.  I do too.  I have been given many insights at times that I have walked a beach somewhere. Great conversations with the Lord.  Those are times meant for that purpose.  I am just saying that it shouldn’t take the place of reading the Word.  A beach walk or sunrise may be a way you receive from God, or talk with God, as it is with me, but that shouldnt be where it ends.  He wants us to know His Word so we can be strong and encouraged.

So, fast forward to the meeting up with the rattle snake.  This is a rather loose paraphrase of the visual she shared.  It rears its ugly head, and you say, “Look at this gun Mr. Snake!  Look at this gun!  It can shoot you down!”  OR, “Don’t try that with me, I saw the sunrise this morning!” OR, “You better watch out!  I walked the beach today!”  Now how silly would that be?  You have no bullets in your gun in which to shoot the snake and protect yourself.  Getting the picture?

Now, let’s think if you have a situation where you meet your day, and the devil is really getting in your business.  He loves to do that and make you miserable at the same time.  So, what are you going to do?  You tell the devil,  “I watched the sunrise this morning!” OR,  “You better watch out!  I walked the beach today!”  How’s that going to work for you?  No.  You need the Word (bullet) to come out of your mouth and speak against that devil!  You carry the Word with you where ever you go, so that, when the need arises, you can speak truth to your situation!  You are prepared!  “You pull that bullet out of your pocket and aim low”, as she said.

I loved this analogy!  This idea was such a word picture for me that it really caught my attention!  Let’s be purposeful in time in the Word.  Don’t be caught without your bullet!  Put it in your pocket at all times ready to pull out and aim at your situation. Walk your days out prepared because you never know when you are going to need it.  Get it focused in your site, don’t look to the left or the right, and let the bullet go!   We find in God’s Word this scripture, “I have hidden your Word in my heart that I might not sin against you.”  Ps. 199:11  That is what we want to be saying!  Let us endeavor each day to see what God has for us to learn, to know, and to activate in our lives.

Don’t let this post make you feel condemnation in not being in the Word, but an encouragement to do more of it!  You will begin to develop a relationship with the Lord that you may have never experienced before, or even thought possible!  His Word is living!  It’s for you today!  I know I have experienced days that it seems like I am having more time than usual, and yet I know that can’t be true.  But it just goes to show that He will help you in your day if you put Him first and be in His Word.  He can stretch those days to meet your needs.  Don’t let the willy nilly of worldly thoughts and relationships be something you apply to God.  He tells not to have any other gods before us.  Think about it.  It is different.  It is important.  It’s a time that belongs to Him and to you.  Enjoy it.

So…go get a cuppa and crack open that Bible.  Ask Him to show you what He has for you today.  Don’t rush…

Walking the journey with you…

Have you ever been in a position where you followed the crowd or group, and don’t even know why or what it was about it that made you fall in?  A week or so ago, my hubby and I went for a drive so I could take some pictures.  We stopped out by a reserve to watch all the snow geese in the field.  The field was totally white!  I couldn’t get them all in one photo without being far enough away that they were specks.  However, watching those geese whirl around in the sky as they flew from place to place was amazing!  I took some pictures and noticed some things about them as I watched their behavior.

They obviously came to eat and with that many of them, I got such a kick out of the behavior!  If there was one or two that took off for another section of the field, you would see one, and then two and three, and then a group of them take off over to that area.  I mean, if there was something better over there, they were going for it.  Pretty soon, one would take off and the same ritual would take place and a big flock of them would go away from the others to another area.  Now, when the larger flock took to the sky, it was pretty amazing!!!  I also loved watching their landing gear;  their web feet straight down for ground touch down.  I watched them for quite a while.  Then, all of a sudden, everyone fell in to formation and they were ALL moving in one direction, honking and feeding as they went.  If one was the dreamer type and wanted to experience this movement, it was soon bit or goosed on the hind end to let it know to fall in and quit goosing around!  Or if one was looking to see what the others were doing, the same thing would happen.  They are honking like crazy.  SO noisy, even as they eat!   I had to laugh at it, but then I thought, can we relate to that behavior?

Have you ever strained your neck to see what was going on in the life of another just so you could be in the know?  Are you a dreamer type, and everyone keeps trying to get you to fall in and be like everybody else?  Do you have someone in your life who keeps goosing you to get you to keep moving ahead and paying attention?  Or maybe you are rubbernecking to see what might be better out there than what you have where you are?  I know I have been guilty of some of that.  I have been, and AM, a dreamer and creative person.  I don’t think like others and I don’t always do what others expect.  Then I am the one getting a goose in the back side and sometimes a bit of honking to let me know I’m not doing what is expected.  I have also sometimes been the “gooser” to someone else I thought might need re-directing.  Now I’m not saying we don’t all need re-directing at times.  We do.  We may need that goose to hurt a bit if we are to stay focused on what we are supposed to be doing.  As for rubbernecking?  I have certainly been guilty of rubbernecking and comparing where I am to where others are, or having or not having what another may have.  As for the honking?  Well, some of our conversations can be like honking.  We are making noise but no substance to what we say.  It would be like blah, blah, blah, only honk, honk, honk!  So… it was quite a lesson to watch life happen in a field with snow geese as the teachers.  God will use anything, anywhere, if we listen!

What I decided is, that I have pretty much always been the one to fly to the other spot, or the unknown, and see what I can see and learn what I can learn.  Eventually, others may follow when they see what I have found.  I don’t mind going alone.  I like to explore new places and new ideas.  I believe God made me that way.  So when I fly off, it makes me happy to see others follow; not that I am that great, but that God has used me in some way, so that, someone else sees the benefit of flying over to see the new thing God is doing.  If He takes care of all the birds of the air, and ALL of these geese that fly in, we should never worry that He won’t take care of us, even IF we have to get goosed once in a while!  God, through the Holy Spirit is great at goosing us when we need it!  As I watched the geese move in mass as they fed, most of those geese in the back would have to get what was left when the whole group had gone through it ahead of them.  However, the crowd was pushing them on so they couldn’t get too greedy about eating it all in one spot.

I decided it was pretty awesome to be the one flying in first!  I have the best chance at the good stuff.  I’m doing a new thing and trusting God with new places and experiences.  I’m trusting God with new ground.

Tuck your wings in and walk where God places you to walk.  When it is time, He will tell you.  Then,  spread those wings, tuck your feet and even honk a bit!  But remember, you may have to fly in alone at first, but we know we are never alone, because we have God by our side.  Ask God.  And then…spread those wings, catch some air, and fly!!!!

Walking (and sometimes flying) the journey with you…

Someone asked me this week if I was having any doubts about our decision to let our dream of the church/house go.  So, I thought I would share a thought with you about that.  I want to encourage you that there is life after the dream you wanted to have happen, and… it doesn’t.  God is so good about closing doors and opening doors.  He may have closed the door on this dream, but I know, He has other doors for us to walk through.  Do you believe that?  I do.  We have peace in the decision we made.  We believe God spoke, and we followed his leading.

We have an even deeper trust in God and His provision.  We recognize that when we are in obedience to Christ, He WILL direct us in the way we should go.  Do you remember that scripture?  “Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, this is the way; walk in it.”  Is. 30:21  The last part says, walk in it.  To me, when He gives us a directive, He knows what is best and so He expects us to walk in that path with Him.  However, He will bless our obedience.  You may be asking the question, “Does that mean that we will immediately be shown something else?”  No it does not.  God’s timing is not our timing.  His ways are not our ways.   He will let you know when you need to step through the next door.  I just wanted to let you know how we are feeling about the “loss” of the dream.  We are doing great.  You know why?  We trust Him.  And…we don’t know what He just saved us FROM! 

We would all love to have a Life Guide Book, like a product guide, only, for our lives, wouldn’t we?  Something that shows us what to do and how to do it?  Tells us about each step?  But, we sometimes forget there IS one that will tell us how to live, how to have relationship with Him and those around us, and what we should avoid, and how we need to live out our love for Him on a daily basis.  We have many of those answers!  That is found in our Bibles.  We have them in our homes; some may gather dust.  They aren’t just to bring to church on Sunday my friends.  Some, don’t even do that.  It saddens me to see so many come to the house of God without their Bibles.  That IS our Guide Book.  Carry it.  Expect God to speak through it.  Show the world you believe it enough to carry it with you.  It isn’t that heavy.  If it is, find another one.  The cost of a life lived wrong is much more heavy than that!  Get those Bibles out and carry them with you to church, and in your life as well, so that, you are prepared when you meet someone and can share the Word with them.  Not sure where that came from, but I’m going with it!  🙂  God wants that out there I think!

Listen for His voice.  Get quiet enough to do so and, He will take you places you never dreamed of!  (I think Joel Osteen says that.)

Walking the journey with you…

A few weeks ago, I shared with you about a dream that I have had for quite a while regarding buying a church house and living in it with the idea of using the chapel/sanctuary for ceremonies, services, bible studies and that type of ministry.  So… I want to share this process with you because I think everyone has times where something comes along that really touches our hearts, and our feelings can quickly want to go there.  We can dream and plan, and plan and dream, but we may be doing it for not.  God has the plan for our life.

So here is what happened.  We decided that we would take a trip over to see it.  We love road trips and it was our anniversary weekend, so we made the plans and left on Thursday.  Had beautiful weather going over and I was taking pictures along the way.  We visited a thrift shop in town and the ladies knew we weren’t from around there and so they asked.  They invited us back any time to come back for a visit.  They would love to see us!  Now that is pretty special!  We went by the property as we went through town just to check, and I had called the agent and set a showing for Friday morning first thing.  After seeing it on Thursday, we were really excited about the prospects and dreamed all evening with our plans.  The bottom line for both of us was, if God chose this opportunity, then He would make it clear.  That was also our prayer Thursday night.

Friday morning arrives to beautiful sunshine and we meet at the church.  The realtor just happened to be a former member and had been raised in that church.  So fun to get some of the history of the church.  It was also generous of the seller to offer all stained glass windows, pews, altar, chairs, tables and organ if the buyer were keeping it as a church/chapel.  Wow!!!  As you know, things of history and antiques are a love of mine and so this got my juices flowing.  Where ever  I turned, I saw light filtering in through colorful windows.  It was just uplifting to walk around the upstairs.  I walked through the sanctuary touching all the pews and the altar and thought of all the goings on there over the years and the hands that built it.  I could see various uses for this sweet little church that had been attended by faithful followers for years.  We went downstairs and walked around and envisioned making it our home, but also, something that could be used for small gatherings and would be something like a hotel lobby decorated with our furniture and things.  I would make the kitchen into a farm type kitchen.  We would be installing bookshelves across the whole back-end of the social hall.  We walked the property line which was quite large and found out that half of the property could be sold if we desired.  That meant we could gain return on the investment of purchase if we chose to have less property with the church.  Yes.  We were intrigued and actually pretty excited about it.

Next?  City Hall.  We talked with them about some of our ideas and what they would allow and not allow.  If we kept it as a church and put another home on the property, would that change anything?  We also found that downstairs where we would make a home, we would have to put insulation and sheet rock on the whole thing; the tongue and groove ceiling also…IF we wanted to live in it.  So now, we are talking about a purchase, then remodeling before we could even move in.  Or, if we were keeping it as a church, moving in a home and living in that home, we wouldn’t have to do any remodeling except to update some things here and there.  So if we live in it, BIG money, if we put a home on the property, we have to have money for the home plus the cost of purchase of the church.  Getting the idea????  A lot of lay out up front.  Quite a big of adventure for us.  The city was VERY excited to have someone interested in keeping it as a church and using it.  We would have total support.  But when we did the pro and con sheet, and talked it all through, and became a bit more realistic for us.  Is this God asking us to depend on Him for something that looks impossible to us?  Or, are we looking only through our own eyes?  So we prayed and decided that God would let us know what to do.

We drove home and discussed again some of the pros and cons, our family and friends at home.  All these things play into the idea of a move; especially in retirement.  God places people in our lives to encourage and assist us along the way.  We would be moving away from that and starting over.  But it could easily be the opposite where God is asking us to make that sacrifice in order to do something beyond what we are thinking.  He may be asking us to make this move, just like He asked us to do that when we moved to Missouri.  Humm… as we drove along in the Lime Squeeze, we had times of quiet on the way home; each with our thoughts about the church and the information we were now armed with.  What does God have in mind for us?

This morning, my sweetie shared with me that during his prayer time, God put something on his heart about the church house.  He felt God told him that we were possibly looking at this in the wrong light.  He gave him some examples, one of which was when satan tempted Jesus by showing Him all that could be His IF He would follow him.  It became clear to my sweetie that this was one of those times.  It looked good, we could have a blast making it into something enjoyed by many.  It would be a great ministry opportunity!  We were full of ideas!!  We both saw it as positive.  But not everything we think is for us, IS.  So we ask ourselves, “Is this a test for us to listen to God in spite of our excitement?  Is the financial aspect a bit over the top given our goals to live the Dave Ramsey lifestyle?”  We have worked hard to live debt free and this situation would put us at a place of riding the edge of a cliff possibly without the assurance of return.  It is about ministry, but you have to pay the bills.  Yes, if it is God’s will, it is God’s bill.  But we feel He made it clear that all that we could do was possible, but not right for us.

So in prayer, we blessed the sale of that little church house to someone who we know God has in mind, and turned our dreams over to Him.  He knows what we need, and He knows the direction He wants to take us.  That means there is something else ahead and only He knows which door we need to open.  We rest in that.   The disappointment we may feel, will be turns into joy as we are obedient to Him.  His still small voice speaks the first thing in the morning to let us know the way we are to go.  I’m thankful that I can live knowing that without a doubt He hears and will speak to us.

I hope you can learn something from our experience.  What looks good isn’t always good.  What feels good isn’t always best.  What dream doesn’t happen at one point, might be because the dream you have had will come to fruition in another way.  Or, He just wants to know you are listening to His guidance.  Hold on to that.  Don’t let go of His hand, no matter how it looks to your head and heart.  We have.  We have peace, knowing He gave us His answer.  We only have to obey His leading.  After all, what good would it do if He tells us what He believes to be best, and we just go ahead and do what our feelings dictate anyway?  Never worth it.  Listen.  Obey.  Move on knowing He has spoken.  He will never let go of your hand.  When we DO listen, it builds our faith also, because we hear, obey and see God work in our lives.  We begin to recognize His voice more and more as we see what our obedience does in our relationship with Him.  Isn’t that awesome?!?  I think so.  I hope you will be encouraged through our experience to trust Him more tomorrow than we do today!

Walking the journey with you…~JoAnn