Fresh Paths of Adventure

I love the outdoors.  When I lived in Flagstaff, Arizona, there was a National Park trailhead not more than 30 seconds away from my home.  I could hike to my heart’s content, inhaling the woodsy fresh scent of the Ponderosa pines, their fallen needles cushioning my every step as I explored the beauty around me.  The night sky was so clean and clear, I could see the milky way galaxy just walking out into my backyard.  If I took even a few minutes of time, I could easily find a falling star to wish upon.  It was, in a word, gorgeous!

I have also lived in places that were anything but gorgeous.  There was no innate beauty around me to admire, no nearby natural escapes to wander through.  The main parts of town looked unkempt and forlorn.  The landscape was monotonous, boring.

I have found life can be much the same way.  What God wants for each one of us is a beautiful, amazing journey along a pathway specifically designed for us.  Yet all too often, we get so busy making our plans, setting our goals and striving for some future date or situation, that we miss the daily choices and decisions God lays before us that allow our forward movement toward that beautiful, rich path.  Our life begins to feel like drudgery because we keep treading the same old rutted, well-worn road we understand but don’t deeply enjoy.  We know we want better, but we don’t stop long enough to listen each and every day for the ways the Lord is trying to direct us to the bountiful journey He has marked out for each of us.

In Psalm 32:8, God says, “I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you and watch over you.  Do not be like the horse or the mule, which have no understanding but must be controlled by bit and bridle or they will not come to you.  Many are the woes of the wicked, but the Lord’s unfailing love surrounds the man who trust in him.” 

For me, this means taking time out in every day to connect with God, to allow His peace to wash over me, and to be in tune with His voice so I can see the road signs He has laid out for me, not for some future date, but for this very day.  Even if others jump in on my path, making it feel dark and scary, I know God is right there, holding my hand, leading me to “fresh paths of adventure, revealing to [me] things [I] did not know,” to quote Sarah Young.  Then I can say to God in return, “You are my hiding place; you will protect me from trouble and surround me with songs of deliverance,” (Psalm 32:7), and “Blessed be God—he heard me praying.  He proved he’s on my side; I’ve thrown in in my lot with him.  Now I’m jumping for joy, and shouting and singing my thanks to him,” (Psalm 28:7).

For Further Thought:  This week, take some time to get out in nature and be reminded of the beauty God has created just for you.  Think of some ways you can incorporate making space to connect with God into your daily rhythm so you can see the road signs He lays out each day for your life. 

More or Less

Everyday of my life, I have an invitation to be less.  It can come in the form of something as simple as driving down the road and begin goaded by someone else's bad driving behavior into reacting poorly, to something deeper, like allowing negativity to invade my thoughts and shut me down emotionally.  I find there is a daily siren's call to beckon me to a place of being less in my words, my thoughts and my actions.  

Yet every day those very same challenges can be turned into an invitation to be more, even more than I thought I could be.  Cut off in traffic?  I can send out a prayer of peace and blessing upon that person.  Have people's bad behavior emotionally slam against me?  I can set a boundary and realize their behavior is just that - theirs.  See life circumstances knock the wind out of my sails? I can choose faith and hope. See my worst choices decide to go on parade right before me?  I can remember God has already shut down that circus, and His grace is free, abundant and more powerful than any of my actions.    

Day in and day out, there is always one thing I have control over - my decision to be more, to honor God and to take the higher ground, or to get sucked into being less and let go of mercy and grace for myself and for others.  I'd love to say I perfectly choose to be more, but that would be a lie.  I have days where I can seemingly make all the wrong decisions. It's like a slippery slope.  The more I give in, the more negativity can dominate my day.  But I have also learned that the more I make the time to tie into God and His powerful love, the more I am able to avoid the downward slope, and the easier it becomes to choose joy, to choose to be more than my circumstances, both from past and in the present.  

I have learned that God's peace and happiness are powerful tools, as are the truths He tells me about both myself and others.  He reminds me I will never perfectly know some else's story, what their path has truly been like, any more than they will know mine; He allows me to understand that people's hearts and souls are sacred spaces, that I am sacred space.  The more I move toward God's compassion for both myself and for others, the better this life becomes, and I can experience "more" in greater and greater abundance.

For Further Thought:  In 2 Corinthians 10:3-6 it says, "The world is unprincipled.  It's dog-eat-dog out there!  The world doesn't fight fair.  But we don't live or fight our battles that way--never have and never will.  The tools of our trade aren't for marketing or manipulation, but they are for demolishing that entire massively corrupt culture.  We use our powerful Good-tools for smashing warped philosophies, tearing down barriers erected against the truth of God, fitting every loose thought and emotion and impulse into the structure of life shaped by Christ.  Our tools are ready at hand for clearing the ground of every obstruction and building lives of obedience into maturity."  Think of two areas, one big and one small, that you can be tempted to be less in.  This week, pray and look for opportunities to reach for being more in these situations.

NOTE: Saturday is the last chance to join my fall class, "Renewed: How to Find a Window When Life Has Closed the Door."  Reach out to me at ennoiaministries@gmail.com if you're interested in attending.  Hope to see you there! 

Where the Sidewalk Ends

Sometimes I find myself walking along in life, doing my best, striving to stay connected to God and to those I love around me, when all of the sudden it feels like the sidewalk ends.  I’ve run out of direction; I’m low on drive.  My time with God has become scattered.  I start to wonder why I’m doing what I’m doing to begin with.

I have some choices at that point.  I can keep running full steam ahead, rationalizing in my mind that it’s just for a time; it won’t always be this way.  It’s just a phase.  I can choose to break down, and start snapping at the world around me, looking for excuses and reasons to vent out some of that internal steam.  Or I can do a little Jetson walking.  Remember the Jetson's cartoon?  They had conveyor belts they would walk on.  They felt like they were moving, but they never actually got anywhere different.

One of the best things I’ve learned to do when I’m losing perspective is to simply take a moment and stop.  I know that seems simplistic, but for me, I’ve found it can actually be hard to do.  My brain will immediately want to go to the laundry list of items in my to-do pile, or start regurgitating back up all the negative garbage from my past, or, if I’ve really pushed it, my brain just feels  numb.  For me, stopping requires I take a moment, recall my worth before God, and acknowledge I need Him in this space.  I remind myself of the value of our relationship.  I think of it as a spiritual time-out, not because I’m in trouble, but because I need time out of the free fall I’m in to get centered again with God.

I take a deep breath.  I let the stress of the here and now melt away.  I center my thoughts on God’s deep, abiding love for me.  I remind myself of all my many blessings.  I thank God for them, and for His remarkable care for me.  I pray to Him, pouring out all that’s in my heart, both good and bad.  I ask Him about the sidewalk, about how I lost the feel of it under my feet.  Then I listen.  Listening for me can be the hardest part, especially if I don’t sense God’s presence right away, but I wait patiently, receptively for Him to answer.

Sometimes the answers come in a deeper sense of peace about my path, and a confidence that though I’m moving forward in the direction I should be, I need to be sure I’m still creating space for what most matters and letting go of what doesn’t.  Sometimes it’s in an awareness of where I may have taken a wrong turn, a direction I took that led me away from God and back onto that Jetsons walkway.  My favorite times are when I sense God directly answering me, encouraging me with either scriptures or new ideas and thoughts about my path, my growth, or anything in particular. 

However God answers, I find it’s always worth the wait.  As I set aside the moments I need to re-engage with the creator of the sidewalk I find myself on, He has an incredible way of setting me out in the right direction again, centered and ready to give.     

For Further Thought: Proverbs 22:5 says, "Thorns and snares are in the way of the obstinate.  He who guards himself [with godly wisdom] will be far from them and avoid the consequences they suffer."  Let's fact it--sometimes we're the ones who are obstinate!  Make some time this week with God to evaluate your path and be sure the sidewalk you're walking on is headed in the right direction.   

CLASS OPPORTUNITY!  THE DENTED FENDER IS PROUD TO PRESENT "RENEWED: HOW TO FIND A WINDOW WHEN LIFE CLOSES THE DOOR."

October 15-December 17, 2016

Location: The Healing Center 

                     11345 Century Circle West

               Cincinnati, OH  45246

       *No class Thanksgiving weekend & there's an optional class on 

"Parenting through Crisis"

INTERESTED?  KNOW SOMEONE ELSE WHO MIGHT BE?  CLICK ON THE LINK BELOW:

http://thedentedfender.weebly.com/sign-up-form.html