Eyes on the Horizon

Hello everyone!
So I have an interesting experience to share about my horse Sam. I take Sam a couple times a week to the barn I work at to ride and we often go outside as he and I both prefer the fresh air and open spaces. Sam is truly my horse based off so many different traits and ways that I could go on and on about but something I have learned about him is unlike any horse I have know before. When we go outside we are able to go quite a ways from the barn down the road and to different pastures. He is always eager to go out and explore however, whenever I try to bring him back he is reluctant. When it is time for us to head back to the barn and when most horses would be eager to get back he does everything in his power to turn around and continue to travel away from the barn. Now from a realistic horse person's perspective, he has no sort of bad experiences that would taint his memory of being at the barn or riding inside the arena. He simply tries constantly to turn back around instead of going back "home". I have experimented a little to see where exactly he is determined to go and I truly believe if I just let him he would continue on his merry way to who knows where! If he hits the end of fence he stares off as seeing new lands he wants to explore on the horizon. Now before this gets to sounding too much like a sappy movie...yet again a seemingly insignificant moment has turned into a spiritual insight for me.
     It makes me think of two opposing horses: the one who has the tendency to be barn sour and wants to turn and head back as soon as possible. The barn is a place of comfort, where food is and where close buddies are at. They really hate to leave unless pushed to and are the first to head back at a high rate of speed if allowed. Then there are the other horses, (honestly I can only think I my horse at this point right now :D) who are completely content and actually motivated to leave the barn and stay out as long as you please. It is not until you turn them back that they seem to lose that spark and reluctantly shuffle back looking for a way to get out of it and keep exploring. I think we can identify these as two different kinds of people as well. You have your people who as soon as you ask them to go out away from familiar, the usual routine, and where all their friends and family are they really dislike it and at the first opportunity are cutting out and headed back home. The safe creature comforts found there are far more welcoming than exploring new places beyond their everyday circles. Then you have those people who are eager to go out and explore news places and things; they like home just fine but would rather continue discovering what could be in store around the next bend.
Now I am not writing this to say that enjoying being at home and finding solace there is a bad thing. Home is my safe haven from a hectic crazy world and I am glad I can go there to get away from it all. However I feel that God has been showing me something through this example my horse has given me. Sometimes I have a tendency to be to attached to home. I can be barn sour. God may be calling me to go out and do something or spend time somewhere else and I am waiting around for the first available moment where I can turn and hoof it back home. It is so much easier to shut the door on the chaotic world and live in your own little space of solitude and shelter. Now you definitely need time to rest and recharge but if you are like me sometimes I  have a tendency to make that excuse a little often. It is not that I don't like going out or spending time with people and doing things, it is just some things can be intimidating, or seem daunting when you are not exactly a social butterfly that everyone gravitates to. :) And sometimes God does call you to go out of your comfort zone and do things that aren't exactly your area of expertise. He doesn't want you so wrapped up with the comforts your safe place that you miss out on all the adventure He has in store for you. Maybe he is calling you to leave the "barn" and go to a new place and meet new people, join a new study group at your church, get involved in your community, go on a mission's trip, volunteer at a shelter, or have lunch with a co-worker that looks like they need someone to talk to. Maybe it is going to require some late nights and long days and maybe a weekend or two, but I think what we will discover when we do those things is more than we thought possible. When I go out and do things more, I find myself enjoying life more, becoming more confident, making new friends and feeling more satisfied when I do go home to recharge. I also feel at peace knowing I did something for others and that in turn makes me feel better about myself. I begin to want to do it more and more and home becomes less and less the hideaway hole of security. Instead it becomes more of the place I can recharge and prepare to head back out again when I really need it. Don't let the "barn" become your crutch. Don't be so quick to turn tail, instead like my little Sam be determined to explore. God wants us to seek out new horizons, new places and adventures that He has for us. He wants us to take the quiet time with Him at home and use it out in the world. And when we do we will begin to really enjoy it. We will find ourselves wanting to head back early less and less. We will keep on wanting to press forward and give Him all that we have. When we hit a "fence" we will keep on wanting to go farther and He will use us if we are only willing. But we have to be ready to go. We have to be ready to turn our back on the creature comforts at times and go the extra mile even if it is a little scary at times. Sam and I always have our challenges from time to time outside. Some things are intimidating but our desire to reach what's around the bend becomes greater than that fear and worry. Our desire to follow Christ wherever He takes us will become greater than our fear of rejection, failure, and challenges. After all this isn't our real home anyway. What a shame if we just hid behind our closed doors for the rest of our lives and missed out on all the excitement that lies out there. Yes, it can be a cruel world out there and we do have to be smart and careful. But if none of us who know the truth go out and share and shine that truth then what good are we doing? How are we showing we care if we have our eye on the door the whole time? Or more importantly what does it say about us if we don't care? This has been a conviction for me and I hope that sharing it can help other people as well. Let us be the ones who use our homes as places of rest and shelter for ourselves and others when really needed but let use the abilities that God has given us to "ride" out to the new adventures ahead, eager to keep going and reach the goal our Father has given us, no turning back. (Phil. 3:14) Keep your eyes on the horizon.

"I have decided to follow Jesus; not turning back, no turning back."  

 

Stand Out

Hi everyone!
So do you ever feel like you stick out like a sore thumb? No matter what you say you feel like the odd one out in social situations with your peers. You feel like you just don't think and see things the way they do? You feel left behind in the normal "expected" milestones of  your life as others seem to chug along in success?
Maybe you haven't but true confessions from me: I certainly have. In this day and age especially. It has become increasingly difficult to relate to my peers. In a day and age where everyone is glued to their electronics I tend to daydream about the days of Little House on the Prairie and how hard yet simple and satisfying it would be to be completely self-sufficient. When they are talking about celebrities, I'd rather talk about philosophies and the real issues with politics. Instead of going to parties I'd much rather be in the woods and in nature. Often instead of talking, I like sitting, watching and observing people and getting to know them through their body language, expressions and actions. I'd rather be out stacking hay and hauling wood than having a inside, air conditioned job. I love the 80s and am almost a quarter of a century old without having any romantic prospects. (Maybe the 80s music is the problem :D) From the modern day person's perspective I can seem quite strange and it can be easy to feel left out sometimes. It can be hard to relate to others and can feel down right lonely at times.
I wonder if this was how many of the men and woman felt like in the Bible. They had different views and different outlooks on life that in some ways alienated them from others. How hard it must have been sometimes to have to walk alone and be the one to stick out like a sore thumb. But yet what would they have missed out on? Ruth would have never met Boaz if she had chosen to follow her sister back to "find" a new husband. Esther would have never become queen or saved her people if she had not been different than the other girls and stood for what she believed in. Daniel would have never have found favor with the king if he had not decided to be different and not eat the king's food.
Sometimes standing out from the crowd is hard and uncomfortable because believe me, you will have eyes on you and people will notice it. Sometimes that will be greeted with astonishment and pleasantness and other times it will be with contempt and alienation. I have had people surprised and have gotten appreciation from the fact that I make a choice not to bury my face in my phone in waiting rooms and public places so that I can perhaps strike up a conversation with someone who needs it. Other times when I spill information about my beliefs or my stance on politics I get looks of disdain. But in the end it isn't about how we fitted in with this world. It is about how we stood out for Christ. That may make us weird, old fashioned, and crazy by many people's standards but who's is it that we are really trying to meet? The world can't save our souls. The world cannot give us what we truly desire and need. Only God can and He should be the one we are following and He has called us to be different. He has made me with all my little quirks so that I can use those to be a testament to others. I have four young girls at work that help me and it is my hope that I can be a positive example to them and show them the values that truly matter. And I can't do that by blending in with everyone else my age or even older than me. I have to be who God intended me to be and stand by it.
Yes it may be hard sometimes and lonely and I may feel like I am getting left behind. But in all actuality maybe in a fast paced world  what we need to learn again is to hold onto to what has carried people through the generations before. People who held to what they believed even if it wasn't popular and they made their lives with their own two hands and with their faith. They didn't care about fitting in or following the trend.
So be weird, be different, be counter cultural, and stand out. I used to want to blend in because it was safer, no rejection or eyes staring at you. But I have realized...I'd rather die having loved fiercely, worked relentlessly, and stood strongly than having lived a "safe" empty life without God's fire in my heart. So will you join? Because we really aren't alone...we "sore thumbs" have each other and we have God. And we aren't really sore thumbs at all...we are Jesus's hands and feet made to do amazing things. But we can't do that if we are trying to be like everyone else.

"Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect."                    Romans 12:2 (ESV)

A Clean Slate

Hi everyone,
So my post this week is kinda going to go down a different path. Most of my stuff has had sort of a horse connection to it, but this week is going to have a different concept behind it. A little hobby that I have picked up on the side is refinishing furniture. It is very satisfying to take something that needs a transformation and make it useful and fresh again. There is something fun about looking at a piece of furniture and seeing beyond all the chipped paint and worn finish to the potential it has to be new again. I am currently working on a dresser that has had a lot done to it in the past. It has a couple of layers of paint, a broken drawer and looks pretty rough at first glance. Last night I was scraping away at it, slowly taking off the old paint and as I was sitting there thoroughly coated in paint chips I got this image of Jesus as a carpenter sitting and scraping away all the residue off with a smile on His face as if seeing something in this broken down object that no else could see. It was like He could see something underneath all the ugliness and He was intent on revealing it. That was of course when I realized that this image in my head was the picture of Jesus and us. We are like the dresser for lack of a better way to put it (so glamorous I know :) ...we have all these layers of past troubles, experiences, scars, sin, and filth that has coated our soul. The raw beauty underneath is covered up by all the mess. And then Jesus comes along and He looks at us. But instead of quickly glancing and walking on by like many people do, He stops and really sees us. He sees all the potential and the beauty behind the brokenness and what everyone else has forgotten or given up on. And He wants to take it and make it into a masterpiece. But now you have a choice to make. Will you allow Him to refinish you? When you allow Him to take over you have to realize that not everything is going to come easy. You have to let of go of that old "paint" and let Him peel back the layers. (Rom. 1:9, 1 Peter 2:1, Titus 3:3) In order to refinish something often times you have to scrape, strip, or sand down the old finish to the point where the bare, clean wood re-appears. Only then can you apply the new finish with complete success. Sometimes we just want God to "paint" over our old finish in hopes that it will be quicker, less work and less painful. But in the end, as I have found out,  the old residue still over time creeps back through your new finish rendering it useless. In the same way our old habits and sin will creep back to the surface if we refuse to let God cleanse us from them completely. And sometimes that isn't fun. Sometimes parts of those layers just don't want to come off easily. They take time and extra care. But He never quits as long as we are willing and eventually we get back to the clean slate that is ready for the new. Our hearts and souls may be raw and exposed for Him to see yet He smiles because now He knows we're truly ready for His best. He begins to apply a new way of thinking for us with new habits, characteristics and layers of strength and faith built upon His Word. (Eph. 4:22-24, Gal. 5:22-23, 1 Peter 1:5-7, Col. 3:12-15) There is nothing like getting a piece of furniture sanded down and finally ready for the new and exciting plan for it. We become God's work of art as He creates us into what He intended us to be. We still have to be "touched up" from time to time, but He never stops seeing the beauty He created and He wants to show it off to the world. And at the end of this life hopefully we can stand before Him as His beautiful masterpiece.
     Another quick little lesson I learned while refinishing a table was that we need to resist the urge to "fix" God's work. I struggled with this table because I could never seem to get the layers of paint on it to blend just perfectly and so I kept on slapping more paint on it, trying to fix it. Finally I realized something. How often do I try to fix what God is doing with me in my life? He is working on me and I am going along behind trying to perfect everything as if I know better. As if what He is doing isn't good enough. I mean everybody still doesn't love me and I am still not the life of the party. I think I'm doing God a favor but what I  am actually doing is covering up the amazing work He is trying to do. We aren't going to be these always perfect human beings that grace the planet with our very existence. We will always have those little imperfections that poke through from time to time. But I think God knows that if we were these picture perfect people walking around all the time no one would see the real us. The dirty rotten sinners saved by the grace of God alone. And if we are these perfect human beings walking around like Pharisees how is this going to look to the broken who are still in need of Christ's craftmanship? How welcoming is that really? We have to let Him do the work and not try to tweak things to our liking. It, much like that table will only leave us frustrated and empty.  Does this mean that we don't strive for excellence in our lives? No. But I think we need to discern the fine line between striving to be like Christ and allowing Him to work in us without taking a hold of the reins and saying I can be perfect exactly like Christ.
     God wants to make us His pièce of résistance. He wants to take our old layers, and broken parts and make them new again. But first we have to let Him turn us into a clean slate so don't resist. We have to offer up our hearts, endure the struggles, keep the faith, and refuse to "fix" things ourselves.  He will never leave us and He will always look at us and see the true potential that no one else sees. I also think it is a calling to see the world through His eyes. In the way I look at broken down, worn out furniture and see the opportunity to give it another chance, for it to be beautiful again, I need to view those broken around me the same way. Because we all have our layers that need to be chipped away. I need Jesus's eyes...smiling at what I see underneath and reaching out hand, and deciding to do something about it.

"And I am sure of this, that He who has began a good work in you will continue to perfect it until the day of Jesus Christ." Philippians 1:6 (ESV)