One of the most life-enhancing abilities we can develop is the process of enjoying the journey.  We sometimes forget that life is the journey and the journey is life. The French call it joie de vivre - the joy of living. The Italians express it as nienta sense gioia - nothing without joy. To the Greeks, it's kefi - the spirit of joy, passion, enthusiasm, high spirits. Whatever we're doing, let's do it for the joy.

Psalm 118:24 - "This is the day the LORD has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it."

When I first saw this picture, taken by Gracie, I had to focus a moment to find my sweet Emrie at the end of the tunnel.  This set in motion a whole bunch of thoughts about perspective and how we see things.

So many times, we can completely change our lives without actually changing anything in our lives.  Perspective and focus are that important.  Change the way you see your life and you'll change your life.

When I was a single college student, I spent a summer working at a christian camp.  There was one week that I had a particularly difficult group of campers.  I had a bedwetter, a thief, a constant rule challenger, a cryer, a fit thrower... Did you know homesickness is contagious?  It is.  When one camper gets it, everybody gets it.  Even I had it.  It was B. A. D.  I remember going to the camp director and pouring my heart out about the challenges I was facing.  I was overwhelmed and it was getting the best of me.  The camp director listened quietly and when I was done, she said to me, "I know you have a tough group.  That's why I chose you.  I knew you were a person who could do hard things.  I wouldn't have given you this group if I hadn't known you could make a difference."  Wow.  Talk about changing my perspective.  Suddenly I went from overwhelmed and upset to determined and ready to meet the challenge.  I squared my shoulders back, asked the Lord to give me more understanding and strength, and I faced my group determined to make something of our week. 

If I could do anything for you today, it would be to give you perspective.  The tough things you face, the hard times... they aren't meant to defeat you.  They are meant to refine you.  To grow you and strengthen you.  You are a person who can do hard things.  That's why He chose you. 

"So we don't look at the troubles we can see now; rather, we fix our gaze on things that cannot be seen. For the things we see now will soon be gone, but the things we cannot see will last forever."  2 Corinthians 4:18

Josiah is trying to say everything.  My favorite right now is his version of "Oh Well."  It comes out kinda like "Oh lell."  For diaper, he says "Biper".  "Eww" and "bah-ll" are his faves.

  Around age two most children have a vocabulary of 100 to 200 words, and the ability to form simple sentences. So you might say that you’ve been saying words all your life. But the real question is, “What have those words done?” Sure, most of them, are gone and forgotten. Others, though, had profound and lasting consequences.

We are responsible for what we speak into other people's lives.  Our words can be balm that brings healing or our words can be nuclear and destroy everything in sight.  We should use them with caution. We have the power to heal through the words we choose.  The Bible mentions the healing power of the tongue several times. In Proverbs, the Bible mentions the "tongue of the wise brings healing" (12:18); "tongue that brings healing is a tree of life" (15:4); "pleasant words are ... healing to the bones" (16:24).  The Bible also warns us to be wary of the destruction that our words can bring (James 3).  We’ve all been hurt by words, and sometimes the effect lasts years. Proverbs 12:18 tells us that reckless words pierce like a sword.

We can't deny the power of words.  In our tongues is the power to build or destroy; to bless or to curse; to heal or to wound; to instruct or to corrupt.  Choose blessing.  Choose to build.  Choose to heal.  The Bible tells us that words are the expressions of our hearts. What are our words expressing about our hearts?  Choose carefully. 

(The beautiful waterfront @ Beaufort, SC)

At the young age of 10, Jesus saved my soul.  I was thankful for the gift of salvation.  I wanted to go to heaven.  I wanted to be saved from an eternity in Hell.  But deep down, I was afraid of God.  I wanted to be good.  I wanted to “behave” to please Him and my parents.  But He wasn’t my best friend.  He saved my soul but it wasn’t until I was 16 that He won my heart.  At the age of 16, I fell in love with Him.  I fell in love with His word.  He became my best friend.  He became my joy.  My peace.  He was my comfort, the one I depended on.  Have you had an experience like that with Jesus?  Cause if you had, you’d know.  You would never be the same!  I was never the same!

So many times we as Christians become lethargic.  We burn out and we’re living lives no different than those who don‘t know Him.  We need to fall in love with Jesus.  

We are guilty of “going through the motions,” “business as usual,” and boredom.  Being a Christian is not boredom.  Never ever boredom!

When we stop spending time with God, it is noticeable, it comes out in our attitudes.  If we don’t spend time with God that day, we know it. If we don’t spend time with God for a couple of days, our family begins to notice. If we don’t spend time with God for about a week, everybody else in our lives notices. It comes out in our attitude because we’re sharp, we’re not loving, we’re critical, we’re impatient, we can be cranky.  But when we are filled with love it pushes all those things out the back door. The only way you get that love is spending time with Jesus.

Let's live the rest of our lives serving God's purposes.  Let's refuse to waste anymore time or energy on shallow living, petty thinking, or faithless worrying.  Let's do the best we can with what we have for Jesus today. 

(The Chief was bombarded with birds at a recent trip to the zoo.)

I was sharing with the Chief over breakfast about a certain prayer concern I have been praying for someone at their request.  I was feeling frustrated to still be praying that same thing because I believe that I serve a powerful living God who hears and answers prayers.  I can't help wondering if maybe God has something else (something better) in mind for their life?

"A stagnant life will produce stagnant prayers. Prayer is mobile and empowers the vision." - The Chief

The Chief is so God's gift for me.  He made the above statement to me in response to that conversation.  I believe he is on to something.  I think we can get stagnated in our lives.  We get stuck in ruts praying the same things over and over.  But.  Maybe God wants to move us in an entirely different direction.  Maybe we are so caught up in what we've been persuing we can't see the answers God is providing?  So, if it seems like God isn't answering prayer, we should try praying a different prayer.

What say you?

Often times in life we find ourselves in difficult situations.  Enduring great grief or stress.  Our tendencies are to withdraw.  Our tendencies are to isolate ourselves because we just don't feel like doing the things we've done.  We just don't feel like participating in the things we've been a part of.  We're hurting.  We feel forgotten, abandoned, and cheated. 

Matthew 16:24-25 says,

Then Jesus said to his disciples, “If any of you wants to be my follower, you must turn from your selfish ways, take up your cross, and follow me. If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake, you will save it.

The Message translation says it this way,

"Anyone who intends to come with me has to let me lead. You're not in the driver's seat; I am. Don't run from suffering; embrace it. Follow me and I'll show you how. Self-help is no help at all. Self-sacrifice is the way, my way, to finding yourself, your true self. What kind of deal is it to get everything you want but lose yourself? What could you ever trade your soul for?"

That is some messed up mathematical equations!  Lose your life = saving your life.  Self-sacrifice = finding yourself.  Giving more = having more.  It doesn't add up but it's true.  When your instinct is to withdraw, dig down deep and give more of yourself.  Immerse yourself even more in doing for others and ministering to others.  You have needs?  Meet the needs of others.  Then watch God meet your needs.  You have hurt?  Help others in their hurt.  God will heal your hurt.  You feel unloved?  Love others.  God will love you and bless you with loving relationships. 

We just want to be happy but we don't know how to find happiness.  If you pursue happiness, it will elude you. But if you focus on your faith, your family, your friends, the needs of others, your work, and do the very best you can, happiness will find you. 

I love this quote from Barbara Johnson author of Laughter from Heaven,

We should not arrive at death's door all prim and proper in a pretty and well-preserved body.  Instead we ought to arrive breathlessly, skidding broadside through the pearly gates, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming, "Wow!  What a ride!"

 

"So do not throw away this confident trust in the Lord. Remember the great reward it brings you!  Patient endurance is what you need now, so that you will continue to do God’s will. Then you will receive all that he has promised."  Hebrews 10:35-36

Are you enduring a great fight right now?  Is the enemy determined to shipwreck your confidence?  You may be tempted to quit the fight and sink in despair but our Father is so full of love for his children he can't be stopped from bringing something out of nothing.  All it takes is one word from him and everything changes in an instant.  That's all it takes with the Lord.  He speaks one word and suddenly everything is transformed.  No matter what you're going through.  Give him your total confidence.  Hold on and don't give up.

It was spring but it was summer I wanted; the warm days and the great outdoors.

It was summer but it was fall I wanted; the colorful leaves and the cool dry air.

It was fall but it was winter I wanted; the beautiful snow and the joy of the holiday season.

It was winter but it was spring I wanted; the warmth and the blossoming of nature.

I was a child but it was adulthood I wanted; the freedom and the respect.

I was twenty but it was thirty I wanted; to be mature and sophisticated.

I was middle-aged but it was twenty I wanted; the youth and the free spirit.

I was retired but it was middle-age that I wanted; the presence of mind without limitations.

My life was over but I never got what I wanted. -

author unknown

Some things I'm learning about living in the present:

1.  Dream about the future, but work hard today. Dream big. Set goals and plans for the future. But working hard today is always the first step towards realizing your dreams tomorrow.

2.  Stop worrying. You can’t fully appreciate today if you worry too much about tomorrow.

3.  Fully appreciate the moments of today. Soak in as much of today as you possibly can – the sights, the sounds, the smells, the emotions, the triumph, and even the sorrow.

"You must live in the present, launch yourself on every wave, find your eternity in each moment."  - Henry David Thoreau

All Christians base their faith upon the Rock – Jesus Christ, the Cornerstone of faith.  It doesn't matter the color of our skin, the depth of our spirituality, the length of our infusing (my parents started me in church at 2 weeks old, that's a lot of infusing), or the degree of understanding.  What does matter is that we are part of the Rock – the everlasting eternal Rock.

"My flesh and my heart faileth: but God is the strength of my heart, and my portion for ever."  (Psalm 73:26)

"Trust is the Lord forever, for the Lord, the Lord, is the Rock Eternal."  (Isaiah 26:4)

"There is none Holy like The Lord, there is none besides Thee; there is no Rock like our God." (1 Samuel 2:2) 

"My God, my Rock, in Whom I take refuge, my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold and my refuge, my Savior; Thou savest me from violence." (2 Samuel 22:3) 

"To Thee, O Lord, I call; my Rock" (Psalm 28:1) 

"Thou art my Father, my God, and the Rock of my salvation." (Psalm 89:26) 

"O come, let us sing to The Lord; let us make a joyful noise to the Rock of our salvation! " (Psalm 95:1)

There's quilting folklore where you leave a mistake in the quilt, because life isn't perfect but it's still good.  Of course, I don't have to plan for imperfections in my work.  My quilting mistakes come quite naturally on their own.

The fact is that when we make a mistake, there is a lesson for us to learn. Mistakes are gifts. They offer us the opportunity to explore an area where perhaps we are lacking, need better knowledge and training, or need to reevaluate our approach. Mistakes give us the opportunity to learn what we need to correct the situation and to put systems in place so that the same mistakes are not on auto-repeat. After all, every experience in life is just a lesson that we will keep repeating until we finally learn from it.  Do find yourself in the same situation time and time again? 

A life spent making mistakes is not only more honorable, but more useful than a life spent doing nothing. - George Bernard Shaw

There will always be lessons but the real beauty lies in the fact that we are all given the opportunity to grow and learn.

You know what?  I make lots of mistakes in life.  I'm going to live, really live, because life isn't perfect but it's still good - really good.