(Out of) Balance

Have you ever been on a seesaw? It’s been a while for me, but I remember how hard it was to get in balance with the rider on the opposite side. The heavier one ended up sitting on the ground while the lighter person was suspended in the air. Getting in balance required some delicate redistribution of weight. I have found that to be true in my life with the weight of my various commitments as well. That has never been more obvious than in the past few weeks when my pace essentially went from “rabbit” to “turtle” overnight!

Two Extremes

Rabbit

The weight of my “to do” list last fall nearly grounded me. It’s not that any of my commitments required too much of me, but rather, it was the sum of those commitments that pushed me to my limit and beyond. I didn’t know if I was coming or going some days. God was faithful to provide, as always, but I knew I needed more balance in my life—less Martha, more Mary! What kept me going was knowing that January, and a chance to catch my breath, was right around the corner.

Turtle

It’s January! I am enjoying the life of a snowbird once again. Fewer commitments equals less stress and more margin. That’s all good, but the drastic change of pace has been a real shocker. I’m not good at sitting still, but I’m getting some good practice this month!

December and January have been extreme, in opposite directions, and I could use some balance.

How Do We Find Balance?

Jesus perfectly demonstrated balance in His life here on earth. The demands placed on Him were FAR greater than anything I’ll ever experience, yet a 24-hour day was enough for Him. How did He do it? He looked to God, not to people, to determine His priorities. Sometimes that meant that He had to say “no” so He could say “yes” to what was most important.

“Very early the next morning before daylight, Jesus got up and went to a place where he could be alone and pray. Simon and the others started looking for him. And when they found him, they said, “Everyone is looking for you!” Jesus replied, “We must go to the nearby towns, so that I can tell the good news to those people. This is why I have come.””

Mark 1:35-38 CEV

When we’re “out of balance,” let’s learn from Jesus. He not only modeled it, but He also taught it:

“But more than anything else, put God’s work first and do what he wants. Then the other things will be yours as well.”

Matthew 6:33 CEV

I frequent Aldi and one of my favorite cereals they sell is called “Balance.” The cinnamon version is my preference. Balance, at Aldi, is comparable to “Life” cereal made by Quaker Oats. If you’re of a certain age, you may remember a commercial for Life featuring Mikey back in the 70s. Much to his brothers’ surprise, he liked it!

Balance—like Mikey, I like it!

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December 10, 2021December 10, 2021

Blurry Vision

Earlier this week, I went for my annual eye exam and vision test. Once upon a time I had that eye chart memorized from all my trips to the ophthalmologist, but not anymore.

I had LASIK a number of years ago and never expected to need glasses or contacts ever again. Then I hit middle age! In the last few years, I found myself in need of trifocals because I couldn’t see well from any distance! It was somewhat concerning that my distance vision was in need of more correction with each yearly exam.

A Change in Prescription

When my eye doctor asked me to read the third line down on Monday and I had to guess, I knew I was in trouble. I wasn’t completely surprised since my vision has seemed somewhat blurry for a while now. The exam continued—better 1? better 2?….you know the drill. When it was all over, I was left speechless, but not for the reason you might think. It turns out that I could see the eye chart better with my naked eye than with the prescription of my current glasses! My vision has actually IMPROVED since last year, with no real explanation. But guess what? Blurry is blurry! It doesn’t matter if the prescription is too strong or too weak. If it isn’t the right one, the vision isn’t clear!

So, how is your vision? Can you see enough to take your next step without stumbling? Do you need more light on the subject to make things more clear? If your vision is blurry, I know just the prescription for you—His Word!

“Your word is like a lamp that shows me the way. It is like a light that guides me.”

Psalm 119:105 NIRV

The Bible is like an instruction manual for this thing called life. God knows we need it! And as always, He provides. His word guides us and shows us the way forward.

Instructions Necessary

I’m currently reading the instruction manual for our new microwave. What a great read—LOL! I will admit that I started using the microwave before consulting the manual. I found out the hard way that microwaves have come a long way in 34 years. Let’s just say I did my share of cleaning up messes last week!

First or Last?

After purchasing something new, do you read the instruction manual first, or only as a last resort? How about when life presents challenges? Do you seek God’s direction through His Word first, or only after you’ve tried (and failed) to solve the problem yourself? Admittedly, I often approach my problems much like the microwave. I try to figure it out myself first because I think I can handle it. Do I think God can’t? Do I not want to bother Him with my petty problems? What is my reason for getting it backwards? If you can relate, what is yours? It seems I give myself too much credit and don’t give God enough! I think they call that pride.

“Every scripture is inspired by God and is useful for teaching, for showing mistakes, for correcting, and for training character, so that the person who belongs to God can be equipped to do everything that is good.”

2 Timothy 3:16-17 CEB

How is that for purpose?? If His word can do all that, we would be fools to ignore it! This passage inspires me to sit the microwave directions aside and dive deeper into His word so I can look more like Jesus. All I need is my new glasses so I can see those directions clearly!

January 26, 2021January 27, 2021

Source

My Word for 2021

It’s that time of year again—time to choose a word and verse for the new year! Unlike last year, this word came to me rather quickly…and directly. In fact, it all started before I even went to church on the first Sunday of 2021. The devotional I used that morning talked about God as my SOURCE. I remember making a mental note of that word before I headed off to church. When my pastor announced his word and verse for the new year during the service, he encouraged us to choose ours too. At that time, I put the word SOURCE in my message notes as a definite possibility for 2021.

The Confirmation

Several years ago, I read a book written by Lysa TerKeurst titled, “What Happens When Women Say Yes to God.” In this book, Lysa devoted a chapter to how we can determine if God is speaking to us by asking ourselves five questions. One of those questions is to ask yourself if you are hearing the same thing from different sources. The very next day, the word SOURCE came up again in the daily story in YouVersion. By this time, I was feeling pretty confident that my word for the year was to be SOURCE. The kicker is what happened next though. After my quiet time with God, I went upstairs to get a shower. When I stepped in, there was a freshly unwrapped cake of soap waiting for me with the word SOURCE written on it. If you aren’t an Aldi shopper, that is the brand name of their soap. That was confirmation enough for me! I literally laughed out loud and said, “Ok, God, I get the message!”

“I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.”

John 15:5 NIV

Selecting My Verse

The verse for 2021 was not quite as obvious, as many could serve as a reminder that God is my SOURCE. I had it narrowed down to three and finally settled on the verse above, John 15:5, just over a week ago. This happened to be the same day that my dad was admitted to the hospital and I was 1000 miles away from him. What a helpless feeling! With my mind racing and my emotions all over the map, I certainly needed the reminder that God is my SOURCE. He is the SOURCE of everything I need. The list is extensive, but peace was my greatest need that day. As always, the Prince of Peace provided. What I want you to take away from this post is not my word and verse for the year, but rather that He is the SOURCE of everything you need too.

Our Part and His Part

The Bible is packed with promises from God. Many of those promises come with a condition though. We are not just passive observers; we have a role to play. In John 15:5, our assignment is to stay connected to God. If a branch is separated from the vine, it’s dead wood. And that makes it powerless to bear fruit. Apart from Jesus, we are also powerless. He is our power SOURCE! The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control (Galatians 5:22). It is only through the power of the Holy Spirit that others will see this fruit on display in the lives of His children. That is assuming we do our part. To bear fruit, we must remain connected to the SOURCE of our power.

Bear It and Eat It

All this talk of fruit is making me hungry for a different kind. I’m dreaming of my next trip to the strawberry farm. I find this fruit especially delicious this time of year in Florida, especially when shortcake and ice cream are connected to those strawberries!

May 26, 2020May 26, 2020

Predetermined

What should I wear?

Does this match?

Which of these look best with this?

I get these questions frequently from my husband, Todd, when he chooses his outfit for going out and about. For someone who says he doesn’t care what anyone else thinks, he sure puts a lot of thought into what he wears! Now that our outings are limited, I haven’t been asked those questions recently. Surprisingly, he hasn’t even asked me which mask to wear!

The Test

In our 30+ years of marriage, I can tell you how this scenario generally plays out. “Whatever you want” or “I don’t care” is my answer to the open-ended question. If we proceed to the next portion of the test, my odds of answering correctly increase, or so you would think. That’s because we move to the true-false (yes/no) or multiple choice section. Guess what? I rarely pass this test! If you would like to know why, read on.

Who Has the Answer Key?

You see, long before the first question is asked, Todd already has an answer set in his mind. He is just looking for confirmation from me. This is a subjective test and Todd holds the answer key! When I don’t give his predetermined answer, my test is marked incorrect. That leaves me feeling frustrated, wondering why he ever bothered to ask if he already had the answer.

Who is the Teacher?

Now that I’ve poked fun at Todd, I will assure you that he’s not alone. Just recently, while reading my current reading plan in YouVersion, I was convicted of having predetermined answers too. The plan is called “Trusting God – A Prayer Journey” and trusting God’s communication was the topic of the day. It became evident as I read that I sometimes do the same thing with God that Todd does with me when choosing his outfit. The situation is magnified by a horrific role reversal though—I appoint myself the teacher and God is the student!

I’ll pray about some concern that is heavy on my heart and ask for God’s direction in the matter. But, when it comes right down to it, do I really want His answer? Or do I just want God to affirm my predetermined answer? After all, I have the answer key. This has far more significant consequences than choosing an outfit! Ugh.

Who is Right?

Dare I get my red pen out along with my pride and mark God’s answer wrong when it doesn’t match the one on the key? Or do I humbly surrender to His will, knowing His answers are 100% correct. He NEVER got one wrong. Ever. And never will! I have gone the former route more times than I care to admit, but, as I continue to grow closer to God, I find myself choosing the latter more and more.

Voice Recognition

As you and I spend time with God, the perfect teacher, we will more readily recognize His voice. It can be heard in a variety of forms. For me, the struggle is to be still long enough to hear what He wants to say. That is probably a lesson for a different day! Nevertheless, it’s hard not to act on my predetermined answers. The beautiful thing is that God will redeem even that. His answers come as we listen along our journey.

“You will hear your Teacher’s voice behind you. You will hear it whether you turn to the right or the left. It will say, “Here is the path I want you to take. So walk on it.””

Isaiah 30:21 NIRV

Leading From Behind

God is ready, willing, and able to provide direction. But, isn’t it curious that He leads from behind? I believe that’s because He has no intention of ever taking away our free will. He will tell us which way to go, if we tune in, but, ultimately, that decision is ours to make. When we make a wrong turn, our route is recalculated to get us back on the path. The trip just takes longer. Just ask the Israelites! They wandered around in the desert for 4 decades when their journey to the Promised Land could have been measured in days, weeks, or months. I’m thinking they made a few wrong turns along the way. But they made it nonetheless!

We will reach our destination too. ETA is TBD. It all depends on how many wrong turns we make! Remember, the shortest distance between two points is a straight line.