Day 94 – Knotted Up

Day 94 – What a tangled mess! No, I'm not referring to my life. I am talking about an actual tangled mess – my daughter's hair!!! I kid you knot (lol – yes, I know I spelled that wrong)…the knots in her hair rival the state of Montana. No exaggeration – it was one huge mess. So, as I asked her if she had combed through her hair after her shower, she screamed at me and said, "OH MY GOSH MOTHER!!!" as she protested that she had done as I had asked. It was clear that she hadn't since it looked like she was hiding small rodents in the caves of her hair. She went off to get some detangler and a comb. I started to comb and quite frankly, I'm surprised the comb didn't break in half. It was truly a royal mess.

How often are our lives like that? We go along just lightly brushing the surface – meanwhile a huge ole mess is brewing beneath. We hope that no one will notice as the mess becomes larger and larger. Eventually, we fall apart because the mess is causing us to crumble inside.

Psalm 143:8-10

 ⁸ Let the morning bring me word of your unfailing love,
       for I have put my trust in you.
       Show me the way I should go,
       for to you I lift up my soul.

 ⁹ Rescue me from my enemies, O LORD,
       for I hide myself in you.

 ¹⁰ Teach me to do your will,
       for you are my God;
       may your good Spirit
       lead me on level ground.

Instead of getting caught up in hiding from ourselves – we need to place our trust and hearts in the Lord and know He will take care of our big mess. Otherwise, it will continue to grow out of control until it chokes us to death.

Day 93 - Exhaustion

 

Day 93 - I'm truly speechless as to how tired I am today.  Lack of sleep and then a poor drama day makes for one tired girl!!! 

I began thinking about when Jesus slept.  He WAS human after all.  Ok - superhuman but you know what I mean.  I'm sure he was tired after healing all those people and walking from city to city in sandals no less.  In my wondering, it took me to the story of the Samaritan woman in John. 

John 4:4-10

⁴Now he had to go through Samaria. ⁵So he came to a town in Samaria called Sychar, near the plot of ground Jacob had given to his son Joseph. ⁶Jacob's well was there, and Jesus, tired as he was from the journey, sat down by the well. It was about the sixth hour.

 ⁷When a Samaritan woman came to draw water, Jesus said to her, "Will you give me a drink?" ⁸(His disciples had gone into the town to buy food.)

 ⁹The Samaritan woman said to him, "You are a Jew and I am a Samaritan woman. How can you ask me for a drink?" (For Jews do not associate with Samaritans.^[a])

 ¹⁰Jesus answered her, "If you knew the gift of God and who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked him and he would have given you living water."

It clearly says that he was tired from his journey and yet he still had the energy to help this young woman be filled with the Living Water. It is nice to know how God will be our hands, feet, and heart when we have no energy left to give anything. He truly is our strength.

 

Day 92 – With His Stripes – We Are Healed!

Day 92 – So often things happen in our lives that we just do not understand. I got a text from my best friend this morning asking for prayer. They board horses and one of the horses they just obtained was pregnant and due any day. Unfortunately, she delivered and the foal didn't make it. They have no idea why and it just caused a shockwave of grief to the owner. She wailed and screamed and held onto the little foal trying to will him back to life. She couldn't hear anyone around her or understand reason.

There is so much that we face that we won't understand until we cross over to the other side. I don't always understand death or life for that matter. There are people that live in such misery and that is difficult for me to understand. However, I do cling to God saying that he works all things for good. If I hadn't seen it for myself, I am not sure I would completely believe that.

Bottom line, our healing lies with Him. We can only do so much on our own without Him healing our hearts from things we have faced.

1 Peter 2:24

"He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; by his wounds you have been healed."-

Day 91 – Places Everyone!

Day 91 – Places – Places everyone! Today, we had drama rehearsal for our Wizard of Oz production. It strikes me so many times to not get overwhelmed because there are so many moving parts to a play. Every moving part relies on another moving part to make the entire production work and look good. While we are the middle of production, it is hard not to feel like it is one big mess. Instead, I try to step outside of it and have an overall vision or else it really will be a mess. As director, I have the distinct ability to see how pieces will come together to make a beautiful picture but I'm sure those that are involved are sometimes confused as to how their part is important to the overall picture. An example would be a talking tree and how small but how important that part is. If even a small bush is out of place, it can impact how an actor walks in and out of the set. Therefore, EVERY single prop, costume, person and set piece is critical.

I imagine God's perspective is much the same. He has an overall picture of how everything weaves together to make a beautiful tapestry. Each thread (person) relies on another to make a picture to reveal His glory. Sometimes we don't understand what our role is in the whole picture but we need to sit back and understand that we each play a part that is so crucial to what He needs us to do. We don't need a starring role to be important. EVERY part is a starring role when He lives within us.

Colossians 2:2-4 (The Message)

^2-4I want you woven into a tapestry of love, in touch with everything there is to know of God. Then you will have minds confident and at rest, focused on Christ, God's great mystery. All the richest treasures of wisdom and knowledge are embedded in that mystery and nowhere else. And we've been shown the mystery! I'm telling you this because I don't want anyone leading you off on some wild-goose chase, after other so-called mysteries, or "the Secret."

Day 90 - Dead Men Awake!

Day 90 – We have begun the final countdown…only 10 days to go. Are there ever any days that you just want to complain? Or how about how people act? Aren’t there some days when you just want to smack them?! I know, I know…not very Christ like.


It is really more of a statement regarding people with their head in the sand. I have two friends on crutches right now and it floors me how people will see them struggling and yet not bother to help with a door or even let it slam in their face. Even last week when I was chasing a receipt and no one offered any help. Have we really become that dead?

Perhaps the reason why people cannot see miracles in everyday activities is because it has to knock them off their feet for them to get it. The very fact that we wake up and can breathe is a miracle. The fact that our brain tells various parts of our bodies to just operate without a single thought is a miracle. And yet, we cannot open our eyes to the amazing things around us. Instead, we become so self-focused that we cannot see what is right in front of our face. Even as simple as someone struggling to get around and cannot open a door.

I don’t want to be dead and I certainly don’t want to be lukewarm.

Revelation 3:16 says:


So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth.

Let us WAKE UP to hear and see God all around us so that we are alive in Christ and on fire with His word so we can wake the dead around us. Most people are not aware of the spiritual warfare going on all the time around them. Imagine if we could hear that chatter and see the actual battle. However, most of us cannot appreciate the pure and simple things around us so we certainly can’t see the great battle for our hearts and souls. Do NOT sit back and be dead any longer, wake up and really SEE what God wants you to see in your life. Listen more intently and see more clearly as He is trying to reveal many things along the way.

Day 89 - Reconcile

Day 89 – As my 100 days draws quickly to a close, I have been reflecting on my days spent with God. So many things have been revolved around reconciling different feelings and thoughts I have with regard to God. I know that I needed to take these 100 days and appreciate the time with Him as well as understand just how close He wants me to be with Him. It is for that and the lessons that I have learned that I am thankful.

It has been a rather full day and I am so incredibly grateful for every waking moment.

The Bible verse that came up today was:

Romans 5:10

For if, when we were God's enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life!

Isn't it fun how that verse came up in the midst of reconciling things with God?! God is good! I pray that you can grasp the magnitude of what He has done for you and how he loves you THAT much!!!

Day 88 – Home Sweet Home

Day 88 – Home sweet home! The girls and I left a foot of snow in Colorado to come home today. The wind was pretty severe as was the snow at certain times. When we got on the plane, there were a few people that were very concerned about the bumps we might feel in the air. They kept wondering if they would die. When you are on a plane, dying is kind of out of your control. However, at what point is dying actually in your control?! As in true form, our flight was extremely bumpy and made people very nervous. I just closed my eyes and slept. I could hear the woman behind me say, "How can she sleep at a time like this?"

While I am thrilled with knowing where I will go some day, I can't say that I can imagine myself dying now. There is so much more to experience. I want to watch my kids grow, enjoy my grandkids and travel some more of the world. I know that I would be going to a much better place, but it is so hard to fathom the end being now. So, I usually enter a plane with anticipation of landing. I say a prayer and leave it in God's hands. I guess I need to do that with more than just a plane ride.

Galatians 2:20

"I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me."-

I need to just have faith in God and let Him live out what life he needs me to live while I am still here.