I’m trying to declutter my house (including purging 20 years of homeschooling “stuff”), so I’m trying not to go to the thrift store. But because my friend went this week, that tempted me! So, I accidentally went to the thrift store, but look what I found!
Reading this above, I closed my eyes and imagined myself as a little bird, my wings (arms!) outstretched, soaring on the wind, with my eagle dad (that’s God!) soaring perhaps just beneath me, holding me on his “pinions.”
But wait.
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WHAT exactly are pinions? And what kind of bird carries their young “on his pinions”? The only bird that does this, as far as science has discovered so far, is the African Jacana.
This bird dad, when it needs to protect and carry its young stuffs the young’s little head up its armpit.
The little chick is blinded to its surroundings, its little legs hanging undignified.
Which is exactly what walking with God feels like sometimes. (Or, a lot of the time, don’t you think?)
Wait – let’s remember another ancient text, below, which also compares us to a bird and which I happen to prefer. This text is often quoted, engraved on book covers, cross-stitched and hung on walls.
(But both aspects of the spiritual life are true).
The only constant is that God is always with us.
What season are you walking in, friend?
Oh! And being undignified by being stuffed up someone’s armpit is still pretty awesome, when you think about it. You’re still in the arms of God, friend. May we remember this each day, even when we can’t quite see our next spiritual step as clearly as we would like.
Feeling a bit “stuffed up God’s armpit” today?
Relax! Jesus has got this. (And maybe being dignified is not as cracked up as we initially assume?)
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A lot of the time I spend praying to God and pouring out my relational problems (people are such IDIOTS nowadays!) to the Holy Spirit, there has been a HUGE surprise in what I sense the Holy Spirit nudging me to do to ameliorate these (many!) relationships.
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The Holy Spirit spends a surprising amount of time encouraging me to shut up.
To be clear, I’m NOT saying that I need to shut up when I pour out my heart to Him. Jesus is super happy to hear all my thoughts, which is why He’s my favorite friend. But in all my other relationships, whenever I pray about it, the primary thing that God seems to whisper or nudge me with is to shut up.
If you can believe it, this is true with my friends, family, and even with my spouse. This is surprising because, of course, I have exceptional relationships, as noted previously:
But I do feel the Lord encouraging me that the reason why these relationships are in seasons of being excellent is that I shut up here and there and there and there (ad infinitum it seems sometimes!) and I DIDN’T say what I wanted to say. So this is quite surprising because, as you know, whenever I speak, I have a lot of wisdom to share! I mean, for example, there can’t be any other reason why you read this stuff, right?
. . . even a fool is thought to be wise when he is silent
This encouraging quote isn’t completely relevant to me, because of course, I’m brilliant, but for those of you who are fools, I hope this encourages you!
You’re welcome!
Good luck!
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Join people in sixty-seven countries who read this! (Look! I don’t know why people read this stuff, either! It must be because they’re cool, too!) Let’s journey together!
So anyway, this family member and/or friend and/or relative and/or stranger once looked at the clock before leaving in the morning.
“Great! I have time to poo today!” the person said, before leaving the house. I thought, but I DIDN’T say (See how wise I’ve become?), “Maybe you should wake up 2 minutes and 30 seconds earlier each day?” But I didn’t say that, because sometimes we get stuck in a rut or an unhelpful habit.
There are other unhelpful patterns that I’ve been noticing – for example, a friend who has been stuck in the same relational problems for 30 years – different people over the years, but the same essential problem. “MAYBE your (potential) emotional wounds have something to do with these broken relationships?” I want to suggest, gently. She is not open to suggestions in this area. Luckily I AM! (See the mountain biking example above or HERE!)
So how do we get out of these unhelpful life patterns that all of us have, if we’re honest?
What have I learned? Oh! I’m glad you asked!
Well, unfortunately (for you), I still have (a FEW!) bad habits I need to recover from, including desperately striving each day to extract enough love from every passerby to fill my unending tank by seeking love everywhere I go. Still, I have been growing in this area! This is what I’ve learned:
When I remember that I am (Me! Little ol’ me!) NOT perfect; ironically, this is when I can finally put down my busy work and rest awhile. So, the surprise is that it’s NOT in building up our fragile self-esteem where the healing comes. Instead, it’s in honestly (Hey! We know this stuff if we’re honest!) admitting we messed up again that the sigh of honest relief can be let out (finally!) along with our stomach fat.
I come in this state, this NOT PERFECT state, and hold up my glass to Jesus. Can You please give me a drink?
Then I swim in the deeper water of His love.
And the irony is that the more broken I am, the more healing is His love.
If only I could remember stuff like that, because USUALLY, I’m pretty awesome! (Not gonna lie). As the song below sings, consider asking Holy Spirit, “If I had time to rest, where would You want me to sit with nothing else going on, and take 5 minutes to receive a glass of Your comforting love and water from the deepest well?”
(What do you sense in the depths of your soul?)
And may you be transformed, friend.
Receiving a few more drops of the love of God MAY not solve all your problems (like setting your alarm a bit earlier, now that I think of it), but you would be surprised how much transformation happens this way! And hey – maybe you can even become a little more awesome! Like me! (just sayin’)
It’s surprising what you can learn (from me!), friends!
I don’t know why I’ve never thought of this for the last 25 years we have been married, but I DIDN’T ask my husband for advice in ONE area where he excels. Why didn’t I ask for his advice? Well, who can figure out stuff like that!
Join people in sixty-seven countries who read this! (Look! I don’t know why people read this stuff, either! It must be because they’re cool, too!) Let’s journey together!
Anyway, although when we met, I was a MUCH stronger downhill skier than him (AND cribbage player! Proof HERE! – Thought I should briefly mention this), he is definitely a much stronger mountain biker than me.
(Why would you wear face and body gear when you mountain bike, anyway?)
And we went mountain biking yesterday.
I had been wondering why I started as a moderate mountain biker in my twenties, and now, YEARS later (not saying how many!) I am still at approximately the same level of mountain biker as I was ALL those years ago! Then, my brain had the (surprising!) idea – why don’t I ask my husband for a tip? And he gave me several tips! And these tips helped me a lot!
Here is one example: He suggested that when you mountain bike, you need to look further ahead and plan exactly where you want your bike to go. We need to look further ahead than directly where the wheels are RIGHT NOW. (Who knew?)
We need to find out where to go and then go there.
God can do anything, you know—far more than you could ever imagine or guess or request in your wildest dreams! He does it not by pushing us around but by working within us, his Spirit deeply and gently within us.
Now the mystery is that I have a strong feeling there is an application of that mountain biking tip to living a well-lived life (see the quote above, for example!), but for the life of me, I can’t figure out what it could be! (If you know, please let me know!)
Anyway, as the song below sings, “I can hear a voice . . . reminding me of who I’ve always been,” consider asking God what’s ahead for you, friend! Who knows! Maybe we can learn NOT ONLY about mountain biking from an expert, but maybe we can ALSO learn something about life from God, too!
You’re welcome!
Good luck!
Let’s journey together!
Photo Credits – May Your Path Be Beautiful, Friend by Didier Weemaels on Unsplash, They Go Mountain Biking WHERE? by Fernando muñoz on Unsplash, and Me! Mountain Biking With A Great Instructor by Me.
What? I had heard of people- mysterious people- somewhere ELSE, who would purchase a coffee for the next person behind them at a drive-through. After I heard that, I went through drive-through after drive-through, crossing my fingers that THIS time it would be me who got a free coffee!
Life is short. Why not laugh a bit more? (Wait! WITH me or AT me? Whatever!) Let’s journey together.
Nope.
Nada.
Nothing.
Until today.
I was sitting alone1 at the coffee shop at a table that could seat up to four people. So when a smaller table opened up, I thrust my coffee and other stuff over the barrier between the tables to quickly claim the table. To walk to the new table, I would have to walk AROUND the barrier, but what if someone else claimed my space?
Even if I AM thinking of others, to help ensure there is more space available for those who wanted to sit at the busy coffee shop, I wanted that table for ME before anyone ELSE got it – THANK YOU VERY MUCH!
But in my haste, my large coffee fell over, covering half the table and a similarly sized spot on the floor in my delicious beverage.
And I felt a bit dumb about that, as people around the table jumped to avoid the splash, and then made eye contact with me. I (obviously) was henceforth known to all as “The Spiller” of the beverage. But while I was trying to pick up my pride and self-respect (who CARES about the coffee on the floor when I have bigger things to think about!):
He had already (!) asked an employee to help clean up the mess.
She had already (!) walked over to me to tell me she was going to buy me a new coffee.
And oh – the “he”, “she” and “she” above were all strangers. Did I mention that part? That was also kind of cool.
I chatted with the lady whose eyes showed compassion for me (Who wouldn’t like a person like that?) and before long she asked me to pull up a chair at her table. Why not? She then shared some of the pain in her life.
Why not?
We all have pain every day. We might as well share it! And that’s what happened just before Rhianna (the 3rd stranger in the bullet list above) and I clasped both hands together and prayed together, tears flowing.
“It’s about energy flowing,” she offered. I agreed with her that God is love, and His power is carried on the wings of His love.
. . . let us continue to love each other since love comes from God
So we prayed together for another person she loves, and I do not doubt that God heard our prayer, whatever His answer may be. But while we wait, He is growing our hearts in love for a fellow stranger.
Maybe that kind of stuff can happen HERE too, where I am, because God’s Spirit lives in me (Oh! And you, too, if you love Jesus!)
Here is a prayer to help begin your journey with Jesus, if you haven’t already. Oh, and she also, this stranger, prayed a shorter version of the prayer above with me, as tears flowed, and we held onto each other’s hands for dear life, as the love we both needed to breathe pulsated between our clasped hands.
Maybe God’s power and free coffee DOES happen right HERE where I am (and by logical deduction – where you are!), too!
So, spill your coffee, friend! Do this on purpose! As people feel sorry for you, clean up after you, serve you, and buy you stuff, it turns out this is a great way to make new friends!
You’re welcome!
Good luck!
Life is short. Why not laugh a bit more? (Wait! WITH me or AT me? Whatever!) Let’s journey together.
Join me in being successful at BOTH life AND chess, friends!
I enjoyed playing cribbage for quite a while until my husband won too frequently and then (for some reason that’s hard to explain) cribbage lost some of its joy for me.
Before his (short!) winning streak, I happened to be a much better cribbage player than my husband and consistently would win! Not that this matters, of course. But it’s fun to play games with our spouse, and to enjoy each other!
Join people in sixty- seven countries who read this. (Look! I don’t know why people read this stuff, either! It must be because they’re cool, too!) Let’s journey together.
I do like to win, yes, and I know that doesn’t matter.
But still, it was time to find a new game. Something that I am good at. “Extra good at,” is what I was thinking.
NOT like playing Settlers of Catan, which I will NEVER play with him again! (Yes, he wins WAY too often, which isn’t helpful for my self-esteem!)
I think he should let ME win because it’s (objectively – he agrees after the game is over!) good for our marriage!
So, we began playing chess together, instead. Now I’m at the same level as my husband. But I’m learning how to win at LIFE because I played CHESS!
“How?” you ask, mesmerized.
Well, let me explain.
For example, that day recently when my husband and I were driving in the car and he (mildly) challenged me about something, I DIDN’T DO what I normally would have done BEFORE we started playing chess!
My temptation WOULD HAVE BEEN to immediately fire back a challenge at him (to keep the power balance in my favor – see the helpful explanation HERE!). However, I didn’t fire back a sharp rebuke, because I remembered that that was actually how he won when we played chess!
Learning in chess was helping me learn in life!
“But I will NOT lose in life!” I decided!
So the next time my husband mildly challenged me in the car that day with something I could do differently, I thought, “Ha! I’m not going to let him win! I’m NOT going to challenge him back!” And THAT’S how I won that argument!
(Wait! Do you think it’s possible that he knows me well enough to use my – decidedly minor – character flaws against me? No. That could never be. That’s MY tactic, not HIS!)
Well, you know, you want to marry someone who has a similar level of emotional intelligence to you, because it makes sparring more fun together, just like playing chess together!
. . .our foremost efforts should be to help others live well
I showed this encouraging quote to my husband, and I hope it helps him enjoy playing chess with me more! And I hope this article helps you, too! May you, too, be increasingly successful at both life AND chess!
You’re welcome!
Good luck!
Life is short. Why not laugh a bit more? (Wait! WITH me or AT me? Whatever!) Let’s journey together.
Photo Credit – THIS Is The Purpose Of Playing Games! (To Have Fun, Of Course!) by GR Stocks on Unsplash
Shh . . . My top tip for eating less sugar is something that I will never admit to doing!
But I will tell you what it is in the article published earlier this week HERE (I will never confess to doing this, though!).
AND two MORE (!) helpful tips for eating less sugar are coming soon! What is the definition of ‘Helpful’?” I can hear you asking. The definition is confidential, of course!
You’re welcome!
Good luck!
Join people in sixty-six countries who read this! (Look! I don’t know why people read this stuff, either! It must be because they’re cool, too!) Let’s journey together!
