By now if you have read my blog for any amount of time you likely know I talk about the Holy Spirit “haunting” me with a song. A song I cannot get out of my head. A song that usually ends up being just EXACTLY what I need for that season of my life.
Here is the latest. I repeatedly kept looking it up on YouTube. Finally purchased it. And now I share it with you. I won’t be climbing up on a horse like Chris Tomlin, though it looks like fun. I won’t be climbing up on a huge rock, but I might get to the mountains soon!
Most recently the song reminds me that no matter how dark I THINK things are, Jesus is right there loving me and helping me carry any burden that I am willing to give Him. More than once lately I have said, “Well, Lord, here You go!”and I cast it into His arms.
Remember that applies to you also. But only any burden you are WILLING to give Him. And if you take the burden back, you must be willing to give it to Him again, and perhaps again, and again, and again.
Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that He may lift you up in due time. Cast all your anxiety on Him because He cares for you.
Here at Siesta Drive I have my island of responsibility.
Even here I find it difficult
to push off the dock
into the quiet river of Living Water
for the renewal of my soul
stilling of my heart, quieting of my mind
floating in Your love
awaiting Your instructions and
anointing for this day.
I want to power up the boat
or maybe stay on the island
ordering about the mundane
resisting the holy and eternal.
Forgive me, again, my desiring
to be in charge and capable.
Take me to a quiet lagoon
with jumping fish
elusive Great Blue Herons
tree branches trialing their leaves at the water’s edge.
Anchor me in Your incredible center-down silence
wash over me with righteousness
grant me the kiss of peace
Your faithfulness and steadfast love
meeting me in holy embrace
of relinquishment to solitude.
Only then
can I meet the mundane
with correct vision
Your holy Kingdom first and foremost
no matter what my activity might be.
So here at Siesta Drive if I will allow it
energy and solace I was hoping for at “The River”
may ebb and flow, around me, within, overflowing,
washing glaring, gaudy colors of importance
off the mundane,
letting those things fall back
into their proper place as incidental
like spoons tossed into the silverware drawer.
Summer is winding down with schools getting ready to try reopening here in Ohio. Sadly, there were not any summer swim meets at the local swim clubs this year. Our family always enjoyed those. Thought you might enjoy this vignette.
ISA 43:4a NRSV “You are precious in my sight, and honored, and I love you,”
[says the Lord your God.]
The journaling question was:
‘When I think about God loving me unconditionally as I am, I …’
Well, I get bashful, knowing Your Word and Your love are true
– but hardly daring to believe You, Lord.
In Your sight I am honored? Why?
I believe, as a servant,
I have only done what You asked me to do –
so, why honored?
And I remember reading Rick Joyner’s book,
the multitudes worshiping the Lord in the heavenlies
– and they – and I – are honored for obedience to the Lamb.
Again I argue,
but whom have I in heaven, but You, my Lord?
To obey is the source of my life –
the Source of all my joy –
honor seems too high a reward.
Perhaps my next obedient step
should be to read Isaiah and
write down Your words of comfort, love and honor?
You say You sing over Your people,
that Your faithfulness is a shield about us.
Oh Jesus, as I come to know You more deeply
there is so much more to learn.
I will never come to the end of your love.
A boundary wall will never appear to stop me from
entering Your unfailing love.
So help me, Jesus.
Finally, I want to learn to dive!
Help me jack-knife into Your love
Triple somersaults of joy into
Your endless bounty of love and mercy.
Back flips – with no fear of knocking my brain out-
empowered by Your Holy Spirit.
I tirelessly race up the ladder
to make another grace-filled, magnificent dive.
Slicing into Your bounty of love and honor
and before Your sight Precious
barely making a splash.
Diving deeper, deeper,
never able to reach the bottom of Your kindness
but surely drenched, washed, renewed in Your water of Life.
And You, on the side
watching with Your cronies alongside my enemies
flashing high scores for me
pleased by my obedience.
You are delighted by my yielded heart.
More of You, Lord
more than my next gulp of air
I want more of Your drenching,
Your overshadowing.
Come upon me, power of the Most High
soak me, enfold me, permeate my very cells.
Then guide me forth
to do Your will upon this earth.
But wait!! I must clamber up that ladder
one more time in joy and glee
and as Your child
do a tremendous cannonball –
sending Your love splashing out
on all those around.
I’ve even gotten the grouchy old lady
who never wants to get wet!
From my post July 25th remember about how the fear had no power unless she gave it to him by swatting at it in fear? Been trying ever since then to get a good spider web photo. This time of year the spiders seem to spin the largest webs. How’s this? See the body about center of the center tree?
How much power are you giving to your fears? Are you able to sit still in their presence and know that fear is a choice? There is a debate now how many times the Bible says ‘Fear not.” For me, whether it is 100 times or 365, reworded as be not afraid, we are instructed how to cope. We are also told not to entertain thoughts that draw us away from the Living God. (2 Corinthians 10:5) We are told to LET NOT our hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid. (John 14:1) The choice is ours. Whether reading Genesis 15:1 or Revelation 2:10 fear is not our best choice.
“Molly Lin, the spider is fear. It has very little power on its own. But you give it your energy by flailing and struggling and assuming it is more powerful than it is. Think through this same scene and SEE that had you chosen to sit still and watch that spider, it would have dangled from strings and been as impotent to harm you as the one holding its frames. He has no power over you unless you give it to him. Fear is a choice!”
I wanted to post this on Sunday, but I had not yet found what I was seeking. I have heard this Scripture set to music. The melody and part of the words were floating about in my mind and spirit. I could not find the song or the reference for it!
I had opportunity to listen to the book of Romans while sewing on Saturday. And POW! there was the verse! Just like that!
O the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways!
Romans 11:33 (NRSV)
And Monday I finally found the song again! This is what I am referring to when I say the Holy Spirit haunts me at times, leading me to Scripture and Scripture songs or hymns. All glory to You, Lord Christ!
“Faced with demoralization, gratitude has the power to energize. Faced with brokenness, gratitude has the power to heal. Faced with despair, gratitude has the power to bring hope.” -ROBERT EMMONS
Demoralization: The pharmacy workers where I get my prescriptions are exasperated by the rudeness of the public. The pharmacist cannot figure out if it is this prolonged pandemic or the way society has given up on being polite? Some of the techs have even quit. Some of the workers that are most experienced have had to leave to provide child care for their children. The new employees are green and new. They need time to find their way through the insurance mazes and medicare technicalities.
So we took them three balloons and a dozen donuts. On the balloon shaped like a gold star I wrote “Be kind.” Really, kindness does not cost us anything. Hopefully our gratitude towards them with energize them in their work.
Brokenness: Well I have a friend whose daughter is terribly ill. For several weeks they did tests and scans and more tests. Finally the surgeon said okay. He is very experienced and did the “Whipple” procedure. She had a tumor wrapped around several organs. The first few hours of the surgery went well and were done robotically. Then he found the tumor had almost completely blocked an artery and some veins around her liver. When they called in the vascular surgeon he had to open her belly. When it was all over, she had endured something like 14 hours of surgery. She remains in ICU. They had to remove part of her stomach, part of her intestines and part of her pancreas. There is great concern over the length of time her organs were exposed. She and her husband always like to watch Monty Python and have memorized many of the lines. When her mother finally got to speak to her on the phone the patient quoted the movie where they were loading bodies during the plague. One man being carried out lifted his head and said, “I’m not dead yet!” Both mother and daughter had a good laugh. This family has been broken and ground into a dust that now completely depends upon the Lord and His servant the surgeon. Surgeon said this was the worst tumor he had ever dealt with. Praise God, there is NO sign of cancer. The two teenage daughters are struggling with not seeing mom at all. Only husband can go in her room due to pandemic. She continues to get units of blood. This photo was taken the first time PT had her stand up. Still struggling with lots of pain. Father, help their gratitude heal their weary hearts, I pray. Heal her and strengthen her I pray.
Despair: In this prolonged isolation and rapidly spreading pandemic we each need more gratitude to help us combat despair. To me, it seems this despair is being poured over the earth like hot tar. Robert Emmons says gratitude has the power to being hope. Are you familiar with the lyrics to “Great is Thy Faithfulness”?
His faithfulness will see us each through this weird year of 2020 and beyond. Gratitude can heal and restore us, energize us and give us hope. Find three things each day to give thanks for. Be kind. Give thanks.
During a recent rain shower I saw a child playing in a water-filled ditch. As a mom I first checked, and no, there had not been thunder or lightning that day. My second thought was how delighted I was to see her and how she reminded me of myself at that age. Once I found a crawfish in a puddle and brought it home as a pet. It was about 3/4″ long. I put it in the bathroom sink with a little water while I tried to find a container for its home. My sister unstopped the drain, not noticing my pet and all was lost. I was sad and mad. Fast forward to today!
“Maybe what God really wants are grown-up kids who dance in the puddles, who aren’t afraid to get their hands dirty, who dare to ask why a whole lot. Maybe we are far too proper. Maybe it’s time to take a page from Dainty doodlebug’s story and give in to the way we’re created to live—for our sake and for the gospel. Little else is as compelling and glorious as a giddy child, mud-covered and grinning, because they know how loved and safe they are even while thunder sounds in the distance.”
Embraced by Lysa TerKeurst
Giddy child of God, relax and enjoy creation again! Don’t those boots just remind one of Mike Powell?
“You were made from dust and to dust you shall return.”
Genesis 3:19
“Dance in the puddles, get your hands dirty, ask why a whole lot more.” Recently I had the opportunity twice in one week to counsel two different women on the fact that we are allowed to get angry with God. He can take it! He would much prefer we be genuine with Him than pretend some sort of proper piety. After all, He reads our hearts and knows our thoughts and our words before they cross our lips.
You have searched me, LORD, and you know me. You know when I sit and when I rise; you perceive my thoughts from afar. You discern my going out and my lying down; you are familiar with all my ways. Before a word is on my tongue you, LORD, know it completely.
Psalm 139:104 NIV 2011
Why not make an effort this week to get real with God? And if you have the opportunity, try jumping in a puddle, just for fun!!
And these photos on July 31, 2020. Same corn field!
Tried to get same tree perspective for your comparison!
What a grass!
Other things have been growing, too. I have never tried to grow a Hibiscus, but some around here do. One person had a ditch full of pink, white and red ones! This is one Lucky and I found while walking the street.
And another
I think the red is my favorite!
Remember this photo of the milkweed from May 14th?
Look at it today! The tall ones in the back are about 5’8″!
Big guys in the back!
Has your spirit grown and prospered so far this year? Are you feeding upon the Word of God?
“All people are like grass, and all their glory is like the flowers of the field; the grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of the Lord endures forever.” And this is the word that was preached to you.
In March I was horrified when the death toll from Covid-19 in America reached over 700. In April 100,000 to 200,000 deaths were predicted. The AMA came out with guidelines for doctors in the event there is a ventilator shortage – how to decide who gets one, i.e., who lives and who likely dies. What an awful thing to have to decide.
Now the deaths in America due to Covid-19 are over 144,500+ and cases are rising rapidly in almost every single state. We are seemingly getting callused to the numbers. Do we numb ourselves as a way to cope with the staggering power of this virus? So many families grieving. So much loss of life and work and pay and rent. We could not have imagined this one year ago in this day and age. I heard the economics being compared now to the Great Depression.
We need one another now more than ever. We need the Lord Jesus Christ to touch us by the power of His Holy Spirit now more than ever. I have spent months going through the stages of grief and found myself lately bordering on the stage of acceptance. This might really kill my husband or myself or a family member. Gratefully, our daughter, who tested positive for the virus, is so far only suffering a fatigue that she cannot shake. Praying she regains her stamina soon.
I cannot afford to live in a fantasy that this will be over in a week or two. This virus is real and it is killing people. Many people.
I honestly cannot remember if I shared this before, but here I go. I use a meditation app that provides either nature sounds, guided meditation prompts or just a timer for meditation. It is called Insight Timer. There is one presenter named Andrew Johnson who leads a meditation much like one of my counselors used to do with me.
Every time I work with Andrew I seem to arrive at a different place with a different lesson. On April 28 of this year I followed Andrew’s instructions as he took me to what he calls “a favorite place” – it was fog so dense I could not see. Moist sweet fragrance, and nothing but fog.
I was impressed by my lack of control and direction. Eventually I saw the Lord’s hand extended to me. Knew I was to follow and cling to Him. (Abide). He is in control of this journey. I do not need to know where we are going. I need to cling to His hand and abide with Him. It was eerie but also a comfort to let down my shoulders, release myself into His care. Be content to be His and go along with His plan.
The photo below is NOT the best, but a great memory.
This statue at the Oklahoma Cowboy Museum gave me pause. Was this some terrible joke upon Native American men what with the parasol and tassels? To reach them here is their link. https://nationalcowboymuseum.org/ and the actual title is the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum in Oklahoma City.
When I walked around to the side of the statue my opinion of the sculpture changed drastically. The sun was not kind to my photo.
He is shielding her!
I cannot decide if it reminds me more of my husband of almost fifty years (YEP, I typed that right. 50!) or my Lord and Savior. He too shields me and asks only that I abide and trust. Abide, remain, stay joined, live in – how easily we often get distracted and wander. Lord, help us to abide in You.
As time moves on towards our anniversary and our birthdays none of us know what the future holds. I do know Who loves me best and who on earth loves me the most!
For the LORD God is a sun and shield; he bestows favor and honor. No good thing does the LORD withhold from those who walk uprightly.
Psalm 84:11 NRSV
But you, LORD, are a shield around me, my glory, the One who lifts my head high.
Psalm 3:3 NIV2011
Call upon Him. He is able to keep us no matter what befalls us.
For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.
2 Timothy 1:7 KJV
I saw the devil as a decrepit, weasand, impotent old man, stooped over, no strength in his backbone, but malice in his eyes. He worked his way up an open-stair metal ladder to the catwalks along the lights above a stage.
I sat on the stage in finger curls and white eyelet ruffles looking much like the storybook picture of Miss Muffett. I was happy, contented and apathetic (having or showing little or no emotion).
Using seemingly his last ounce of strength, this old impotent being reached the spot on the catwalk above me which he had chosen as his point of power. From inside his dirty trench coat he pulled a marionette – it was a hideous, hairy spider with spindly octopus-like legs and invisible strings. The catwalk was edged with a railing made of steel tubular pipes. He rested his weight upon the cold steel, too weak to stand on his own. He dropped the marionette half-way down and adjusted his hands in the wooden frames that controlled the strings for moving the spider’s body. Then he dropped the spider all the way down, near my face.
As I caught sight of the hideous hairy spider from the corner of my eye, apathy fled, and emotions stormed over me. The spineless, weak being up in the catwalk had little strength to hurt me, but he chose to use my own power against me. I flailed out in fear and anger and my actions made that spider jump and fly through the air with more energy than the old fart could ever have put into it.
At that juncture, the loving voice of my Lord broke into the scene and said, “Molly Lin, the spider is fear. It has very little power on its own. But you give it your energy by flailing and struggling and assuming it is more powerful than it is. Think through this same scene and SEE that had you chosen to sit still and watch that spider, it would have dangled from strings and been as impotent to harm you as the one holding its frames. He has no power over you unless you give it to him. Fear is a choice!”
My life has never been the same. I am not always fearless, but I do know that when fear comes I can choose to have it go. Seeing things in a new way … choosing another perspective or point of view … RESPONDING instead of reacting are all keys to maintaining my peace and experiencing the comfort and presence of my Lord Jesus.
“I sought the Lord and He answered me and delivered me from all my fears.“
Psalm 34:4 HCSB
Perhaps the title should be “Don’t Give Your Power Away.”
Treasures in Plain Sight, A Christian Blog 