Learning to Follow

In my late teens and into my early 20's, I rebelled against all the instructions God laid out for us so as to lead us through life. It wasn’t obvious to me that I was rebelling; in fact, I was actually quite zealous in my faith and was not afraid to share it. I thought that I was asking God for guidance in every step of my life, but I didn’t sit still long enough to listen for an answer and so I went with what I really wanted.

If I am honest with you and with myself, deep down, I knew what I was doing was wrong.


When I was twenty I fell in love with a self-proclaimed atheist. I thought he was really the most interesting person I had ever met. He talked intelligently on all kinds of subjects and we had many friendly religious debates, which I loved.

When I realized I was pregnant, we got married.

After our second child turned four, our relationship ended. I can’t claim that I regret my decision. That would be like saying that I regret my children. However, I would never recommend single parenthood for anyone. It’s the hardest journey I have ever walked. That man I fell in love with and the father of my children, is not altogether a part of our lives: the kids go to see him on occasion, but spend over 90% of their lives with me.

Did I sin? Absolutely.

Do I feel I’m being punished for my sin? Not really.

See the thing is, as hard as I feel my life is sometimes, I know that it was because of my personal decisions. I feel that if I had given more time to the instructions in the Bible, I probably wouldn’t be in the situation I’m in now. It took me a few years, but I now realize that God’s laws are not put in place to restrict us, but to help us live safe, full and happy lives.

I feel sure that a lot of my stress and unhappy times would have been eliminated had I just followed God’s way and prompting. You see God gave us the gift of free will. We can do anything with our lives. He knew that our praise and honour would mean much more coming from someone who gave it freely and gratefully.

I can’t take back what I’ve done, and seeing the gift I have been given in my kids, I wouldn’t.

What I can do now though, is live my life according to God’s desire for my life.

Before making life decisions, I look through the Bible, and seek to find my answers there. Most often I find something that relates to what I am going through. I’m also learning how to listen and where to listen. Is it easy? Not always, but the rewards far outweigh the restrictions.

“Now, O Israel, what does the Lord your God ask of you, but to fear the Lord your God, to walk in all his ways, to love him, to serve the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, and to observe the Lord’s commands and decrees that I am giving you for your own good?”

Deuteronomy 10:12-13

Awesome

Lately I have been reading The Book of AWESOME, by Neil Pasricha and it has inspired me to take notice of the small things that give me joy. Here are some of the many AWESOME things Pasricha mentions:

flipping your pillow over to the cold side

popping bubble wrap

fixing electronics by smacking them

bakery air

the scent of crayons

when the socks from the dryer all match up (that makes me very happy when that happens)


So I have decided to notice some of the small things around me that I would consider AWESOME, things that remind me of God's goodness, his care and how he gives me joy...


Having your dad carry you from the car to your bed after falling asleep.

Two of my children singing at the same time - different rooms.

Realizing how big my baby has grown. He is too big to carry back to his own bed after falling asleep in ours because of a bad dream.

Feeling the warm sun on your skin after a long winter.

Seeing leaves on the trees and tulips springing out of the dirt.

Hearing the birds songs in the morning and the frogs croaking at night.

Having just enough baking powder left for the recipe you wanted to make.

Having my car start, when it has only been doing so sparatically.

Hot showers.

Waking in the morning without aches or pains.

Waking to the same wonderful guy for 22years.

Marvelling at how good God is to take such different, young and self-centered individuals from broken homes and make my husband and I into one happily married couple.

Eating food that someone else has cooked.

Coming home and finding that someone has done the dishes.

My son waking me at 5am to wish me a happy Mother's Day.

The excitement in the air on Christmas Eve.

Giving someone the perfect gift, and it actually surprises them.


In the bible we read, "Come and see what God has done, his awesome deeds for mankind."


I desire to take notice of these little things that God has done in my life,
and I thank him for giving me so much to enjoy.

TODAY I CHALLENGE YOU TO DO THE SAME.

But let me tell you, God is not limited to the small things,
God really is the epitome of awesome.

"How awesome is the Lord most high, the great king over all the earth."

Life as a Comma

Low, yellow lights flickered inconsistently, buzzing with annoyance. The four surrounding walls felt enclosing, and the clock had frozen in place. I was sitting, uncomfortable and uncaring, while a teacher held up a stack of newly-graded essays and lectured on punctuation.

Apparently, a semi-colon separates two independent clauses, while a comma isn’t capable of doing that. A comma isn’t strong enough. It isn’t significant enough. Semi colons are stronger and mean more. In other words, a semi-colon gets used when a comma just won’t do.

The grammar lesson didn’t concern me all that much, and a quick glance around told me that nobody else was that concerned either. But I couldn't help thinking that I was just like those commas we were being lectured on. Sometimes I think we all feel like we’re living the life of a comma.


Allow me to explain.

We can do small chores, right? But when it comes to more important tasks, us comma folk just won’t cut it. We’re not significant enough. There’s smarter, better, people who would do a better job than us. We’re just commas. There’s others who, like semi colons, have to take over sometimes because we’re not good enough.


Not only are we incapable, we’re also easily forgotten or missed. Some people have the ability to make a large noticeable difference in the world. It’s like they’re exclamation marks. They don’t go unnoticed or unappreciated. Others, people who are like question marks, lead to deep conversation and thought processes.


But us comma folk, we can’t do those things. We do small, unimportant tasks that nobody really cares about. We get skipped over and misused, but nobody really seems to notice. And who could blame them for not noticing? After all, we’re just commas.


But the thing is, we’re not just commas. The Message, an 'everyday modern english' translation of the bible, has a beautiful passage in 1 Corinthians 12...

"God's various gifts are handed out everywhere; but they all originate in God's Spirit…Each person is given something to do that shows who God is: Everyone gets in on it, everyone benefits. All kinds of things are handed out by the Spirit, and to all kinds of people! The variety is wonderful… All these gifts have a common origin, but are handed out one by one by the one Spirit of God. He decides who gets what, and when.”

In other words, God created everybody different. He didn’t make us all have deep insight like we might see question mark type people have. He didn’t create us all with extreme stories or experiences like we might see in people who could be labeled as exclamation marks. Sometimes what God has created us to do might seem unimportant, small, or petty. But he created everybody for a purpose, and gave them all specific tasks to do. Sometimes we don’t see how those tasks make a difference, but God does.

Commas might not be able to lead into deep conversation or make an explosive point, but try writing a list without commas. Try connecting your thoughts without commas. Try to write stories, essays, reports, anything, and not use commas!

The tasks we may be called to do can seem very boring, but God has it planned out so that every part of our lives really does make a difference. Sometimes we don’t see it. Actually, a lot of times we don’t see it. But just like a piece of writing wouldn’t be the same without the use of commas, this world could never be everything it was meant to without each and every one of us.

Life Changing Moments

 She couldn't believe she was standing there crying.  It's not like she didn't see it coming.  Really, she scolded herself, she should have known.

The office buzzed with the sounds of the fax machine, pages rhythmically flowing through the copier, the phone ringing off the hook, feet padding up and then back down the halls, doors opening and doors closing.  But standing there with that paper in her hand, all those sounds faded except the closing of one door - the one that meant her life would never be the same.

Shaking, she re-read the doctors note through her tears - clinically depressed. 

"Sara, are you alright honey?" the nurse paused from rushing past her and softly placed her hand on her Sara's shoulder. "I can give you a room if you need a minute."

Sara drew her tears back in, wiping the ones that had escaped, onto her sleeve and pulled out her infamous smile, "Thanks Mary, your very sweet, but I'll be fine," and with that she tucked the small, doctor scribbled note into her side coat pocket and slipped out of the office and into her new reality.

Perhaps you can relate to Sara. Have you ever been told something that you knew would change everything in your world as you know it?  A diagnosis, a betrayal, a loss... How do we handle these life changing events, what do we do when our future completely changes in an instant...

Seclusion?     Or how about substance abuse?      Anger?      Or even denial? 

Have you ever considered Faith?

I'm not going to tell you how it will help you, but I can tell you that it will.  I'm not going to tell you that the instant you have faith all your problems will disappear, but I am going to tell you that you won't walk through them alone.

I have been in Sara's shoes.  I have felt those tears stain my face as I wept in the reality of a life changing situation.  And here is what I know to be true in those times when the world seems to stop...

You can call out to God, in the midst of your very weakness you can cry out to God with the harsh truth of the very situation you are facing. Tell Him your fear, your anger, your frustration, your confusion, your temptation.  He is not here to judge, he is here to hold you.  Simply open your heart, than open your mouth, and speak to Him.

 "He will be gracious to you at the sound of your cry,

when he hears it he will answer you..."

Isaiah 30:19

The social media community

Today's post is a feature post from one of our author's personal blog;
There is A Time. 

Social media has had its critics.

A waste of time.

A brag book.

An unhealthy social tool.

Come and explore these words as Manda shares a personal experience when social media brought her into a time of honest and open community...


http://thereisatimeunderheaven.blogspot.com/2010/11/time-for-honest-community.html

Learning to Persevere

Twenty seconds was reasonable.


Forty was pushing it. 


One minute I considered pure insanity. 


I held up my red boxing gloves, looked my trainer straight in the eyes and then  with every last ounce of energy I had - I punched, one glove at a time, until that minute was up. 

She was pushing me a little harder, encouraging me to make it a little longer, because she knew I could do it and she knows the end results of the perseverance of hard work - great gratification and great arms . 


I don't think I've never felt better than when that minute was up; partly because i was finished, but mostly because I had succeeded in determination to struggle though the exercise and in the end felt such an amazing sense of accomplishment that I made it without giving in.

There is a great old saying, "Life likes to throw us punches". How true is that?  Each one of us will have a situation, relationship or struggle come to mind the second we read that. There are situations and circumstances in our lives that we will have to endure through...


People are going to say the wrong things.


We are going to take the things they say the wrong way.  


Friends will disappoint us. 


Relationships will be broken. 


Trust will be lost.


Faith will be tested. 


I find encouragement in the midst of the struggles in my life when I remember that everything that happens to me, good or bad, plays a role in me becoming who I am, more and more every day.  It doesn't make the hurt go away, the trust come back easily, or heal relationships; but it gives me the strength to persevere.


I find encouragement in the midst of the struggles in my life when I remember that there is a God who uses all things for good. That He orchestrates everything in my life to play a role in me becoming who I am, more and more everyday. 


And you know what? He can make the hurt go away, renew trust, heal relationships and give the strength to persevere.


He is my ultimate encouragement.


In the bible, Jesus the son of God says to us, "Here on earth you will have trials and sorrows..." John 16:33b. He said this not to discourage us, but "so that we may have peace in him." John 16:33a.

Friends, persevere through the times in your life that feel like they are enough to take you down.


Put up your gloves and punch through it - one knock at a time. God, the creator of heaven and earth, knows that the finishing result of that perseverance is for your good and for a purpose.  


Women!  Lift up those gloves! Look life straight in the eye and knock out that minute - one punch at a time. 


"Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised."  james 1:11 -13 

The Journey

Last week I went for a little walk around a beautiful lake along rambling wooded paths.
I had never been around this lake before, and I was not quite sure which direction to head.
But just as soon as my heart would pick up its pace, my mind worried I wouldn't know the way to go...

...there would be a sign.

The sign comforted me, letting me know that I was heading in the right direction. Sometimes it would offer me alternate routes. Other times it would offer me a place of rest and reflection.

We are all on a walk, a journey.

But life does not always take us around a beautiful lake, sometimes the waters are not calm at all. Life can take us down harder trails where the wooded paths may not be gently rambling, instead they feel large and intimidating.

As women walking on this road, we can be signs of encouragement and direction for each other. A voice of comfort that says, "it's ok, you're heading in the right direction". A yeild sign of discernment for what might be ahead. A map showing that there are other routes.

As writers of this blog, we share a desire to encourage, support and walk with you on your journey. Come and join us every Monday and Wednesday as we explore this walk together.

Welcome to A Woman's Walk... a place where we can journey together.