Happy Easter Weekend!

These past two days have been colder and rainy. Not the cheery spring days you would hope for this time of the year and ones that make you want to go out and get stuff done. It can be depressing and frustrating. But looking out today at all this dreariness and the mood it seems to put people in, saw it from a different perspective in light of this Easter weekend and its meaning. When Christ died on Good Friday is was a dark, dreary time. The Son of God was crucified and buried in the tomb. Things were bleak looking and depressing. But on the third day it all changed. Christ arose from that grave and walked out into the glorious day. And I think it is ironic how tomorrow, Resurrection Sunday we return yet again to sunny skies and warm temps. So when I look outside today, I don't feel the need to complain about the fact that it doesn't feel like spring. The sun is coming. Without the rain and the dark times there would be no appreciation of the good times. We need the rains and wind to come to make things grow and to encourage new life, we needs those hard things in life to drive us to be better servants for Christ. Because let's face it there will be times this summer with scorching heat and drought, we are going to long for colder temps and rain. No matter what the circumstances we will also want something else. It is just human nature. But don't fret the rain and the dreary sky. We need this. We needed Christ to die. Without there would be hope, now new life. So I wish everyone a wonderful Easter tomorrow, celebrating the One who brings the joy in the dreariest of times. Celebrate in the rain, He is there.

"And the angel answered and said unto the women, Fear not ye: for I know that ye seek Jesus, which was crucified. He is not here: for he is risen, as he said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay." Matt.v28:5-6 (KJV)

GPS

So this weekend's hike was at Paynetown State Recreational Area. My girl and I took two new trails and enjoyed the crisp sunny morning. The lesson I learned today...GPS is a fine thing. The markers for the trails can be very poorly placed or sometimes not even be there at all. And these trails were no exception. Little paths that cut off and were not even on the map at all, makeshift paths due to flooding and overgrowth made this one quite the challenge at times. The saving grace was when I could see on my tracker that I was getting off of the path as I walked. Then I would have to turn around and find the right path again. I found myself continually checking my course along the way just to make sure I was on the right track. 😉 And it reminded of me of how as Christians, God's Word and the Holy Spirit is our GPS system. It guides us and shows us the path to go. Because life will have it's twists and turns, and it will have it's roadblocks and little trails that entice you off the real path that you are actually supposed to be on. You have to continually be in the Word and paying attention to what God is trying to tell you and He will keep you on the right track. If we get complacent or starting taking our own course we are bound to end of up lost and in a place we never wanted to go. Perhaps it's pride, or self-reliance or we may just be feeling pretty good because things have been smooth sailing up until that point. But we cannot lose sight of our compass, our guidebook telling us the best way to go and to follow Christ's will in our lives. There were a couple of times where I would get off the path and I would get this feeling that something wasn't quite right and I would look at my GPS, go back to my original point before things got "interesting" and found my way back to the correct path. In the same way I believe God uses the Holy Spirit to speak into our lives and give us warning signs or feelings. If something doesn't seem  quite right we need to go back to the Word and make sure that we are really on track or not. There is nothing wrong with relying on the GPS, or a compass or maps in hiking. It gets us where we need to go and prevents us from getting lost and ending up in places that we don't want to be. In the same way we can never spend too much time studying God's Guidebook for life and what He is telling us through the Holy Spirit. He wants us to stay on the right trail so that we can be safe and enjoy all that He has in store for us along the way!

"Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path."     Psalm 119:105 (ESV)

Steadfast Love

"Because your steadfast love is better the life, my lips will praise you." Psalm 63:3 (ESV) So I have been pondering lately what love really means to some people and I have come to the conclusion that human love is fake, cheap, conditional, and as shifty and unreliable as the waves on a beach. What is said and meant one day is tossed to the wind the next. And I began to wonder as human beings are we truly capable of true, un-relentless love? It doesn't take long for us to look and find broken souls who played the "love" game and found themselves empty and deserted. And then I came across the Psalm 63:3 in my Bible reading and it spoke to me. "...Your steadfast love is better than life..." David wrote this Psalm while he was in the wilderness of Judah. He was in a "dry and weary land" (vs. 1) and feeling the weight of his enemies upon him. He felt alone and faint and just needed a break. And we know from David's life that he played the "love" game and ultimately paid for it. But yet even in these bleak circumstances he proclaimed God's unfailing love and that He would praise Him for it. And that is when I fully realized. Many people in this world do not know how to love at all and may never. Now I know that may sound harsh, but you must understand. People cannot truly love unless they know what love truly is. And who is the ultimate Author of love? God Himself. Unless someone has experienced the pure, undeniable, indescribable, uncontainable love of God they can never truly love anyone else. Because the love that God has for us is a steadfast love that is better and stronger than even life itself. It never quits, it never gives up, it never walks out, it never replaces, it never fails. We as human beings until we have accepted the gift of God's love in our lives can never love another human being fully and it is ONLY by God that we can do so because of His presence in us. So we go around chasing down love with multiple partners, approval by family and friends, likes on our social media posts, and followers pleading for the love that they can not give us because they may not truly understand it themselves. Unless someone has fully understood the sacrifice that Christ made on the cross for them and have been filled up with His love and affection anything that they pass on to us will be flawed. God's sacrifice of His Son and Christ's obedience to the cross is true love. Sacrifice that knows no bounds.  And only until we understand and offer MUTUAL sacrifice in our relationships then we will always be left wanting. When you find a love that is better than life itself like David did then you have found LOVE my friends! So I pray your will search your heart and ask yourself if you have opened yourself up to God's steadfast love? Or are you grasping for it in all the things, places, and people the world has to offer? We will never be perfect and the human heart is deceitful above all things, but if we have the Author of love actively flowing through us we will be able to have the capacity to love beyond this world's capability and we will be able to recognize real love for us through flowing though someone else's life. Fight for real love, He has the victory. Share the life-giving love that you have in you to those who may never have experienced it. Sing with joy of the love that He has for you, the blood that was shed while we were yet sinners and how much He wants to offer that to every human being no matter how far they fallen. But remember it must come from Him ultimately, He is the cure, not us. 

"Although the battle, it rages on

The war already won

I know the war is already won....Your love defends me."

-Your Love Defends Me, Matt Maher https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=witKT8Y6Da8

Beauty Under Water

Hi everyone, So I had a morning hike with my best girl at Lake Monroe's Amy Weingartner Branigin Peninsula trail(what a mouthful, haha). Unfortunately the beach was gone from all the flooding we have received as of late so in order to not lose her to the lake, she had to mainly just admire the water.🤣

This trail out onto the peninsula is quickly becoming one of my favorite spots to relax and spent quiet time with the Lord. It never fails I find a little spiritual tidbit to take home. This time as I am staring out at the feet upon feet of water that has enveloped the beach that is no longer visible, He didn't fail: Just because I can't see the beach any longer doesn't mean it isn't there. I know, super life-altering right? 😆 But just follow me here...even though the waves of water have seemingly engulfed the once idyllic beach doesn't mean is has ceased to exist, never to be enjoyed again. In time the water will recede, the dam will be opened, and the beach will reappear yet again. In the same way there are perhaps things in our lives that seem to be "under water". The once beautiful things in life we had, now bashed and covered by the waves of turmoil and testing. We look and we can no longer see them and somehow we feel as if they are gone, never to return. But be patient, just because you cannot see something right now, doesn't mean it isn't still there. Once our hearts open to Christ's plan and our trust is place in Him, our struggles with eventually receded and our hopes and dreams and joy will come back. We will see the shore again.

But we must also remember. When I go back once the waters have receded, the beach will not be the same as before. It will have changed. But I guarantee it will be as beautiful as before if not more so. It will be fresh and ready to provide joy yet again to its visitors. When the waters of turmoil recede in our lives, we will not be the same. We may bear the evidence of the struggle in us for a time. But we will be beautiful and I believe even more so because of the God who washed us clean and new. He will use those troubling times to bring about His grace and goodness in our lives and we will yet again see the beauty He has had in store for us all along, even when we couldn't see it. It may not be exactly what we envisioned before, but I believe it will be even better because He is so much greater than our finite minds can comprehend. Tumultuous waves create smooth, shiny stones, a piece of dirt becomes a beautiful pearl inside an oyster, wind beaten, twisted trees I've seen on the California shoreline still grow and reach for the skies, and our greatest dark spot and struggles can become a glorious testimony to God's redeeming power in our lives. Never forget it. The beach will return and when it does it will be oh so sweet.

 

New Chapters

So I just got a little thrill of excitement in my chest...ordering seeds this morning for the garden! 🤣 I am so excited to get out and get my hands in some soil this year.

Now is a good of a time as ever to say that I have been being romanticized by the idea of homesteading and I feel God's push to learn more and more about using the resources He has provided for us to become more self-sufficient and to teach others these priceless skills. I hope to begin sharing this new journey and my experiences and the spiritual insights I learn along the way in my blog and maybe a little bit of vlogging???🤭We'll see... It will be an adventure!

Bread of Idleness

Hi everyone!

So after a furious almost six hours of wind and blizzard like conditions we have waken up to a winter wonderland here in the Midwest. Now anyone who has gotten to know me, is well aware that I am not a big fan of the winter time. But I have to admit the past couple of years God has being thawing my heart a little to simply enjoy every season and the benefits that they provide for the rest of the year. However the winter brings a particular set of challenges that seem to test me, especially as a country girl who works and plays mostly outside. And I believe this season breeds a particular vice of humans the best. I want to park on that particular topic that I have been thinking on this weekend as I enjoy having a rare full two day weekend at home. And that is idleness. If you work a lot like me you tend to think you deserve the right to slouch around on the couch for two days sometimes, but I have discovered how "detrimental" that mentality can be. Don't get me wrong, it is not wrong to rest, you definitely need to, but as I am discovering, now that I am putting myself on a schedule I don't need it so much. I try to make sure I take care of myself in the week regarding sleep and keep the same schedule during the weekend(yes that means getting up early still ;). If you use your whole weekend to be the only time you recuperate every week then you are missing out on 
all you can accomplish. And what I have realized, especially in the times when I am stuck in the house due to inclement weather such as this weekend, I have to keep busy! When the time initially approaches you look forward to just doing nothing but when the weekend actually comes if I don't feel like I have accomplished anything, I don't feel rested in my mind. I also have realized that when I am idle that is when anxiety has a tendency to try and creep in. I have to keep my mind busy otherwise the devil seeks to get me off track. Now to clarify what I consider idle for me is to sit around and watch mindless entertainment and eat. But that is not productive and this year I am all about goal crushing (in a good way ;). So to combat that temptation of idleness when I am stuck inside for me includes: baking, cooking elaborate meals because I have the time, deep cleaning, organizing, crafts, research and watching things that are actually beneficial to my brain such as homesteading, gardening, and new skills, reading books/articles that increase my knowledge in certain topics, studying God's Word more intensely, and making plans for my future goals. I am not saying it is wrong to watch a tv show or movie now and again but for me I realize I feel much more at ease and accomplished when I am filling my mind with knowledge that will actually benefit me in real life and keeping my hands busy. I am reminded of Proverbs 31:27 "She looks well to the ways of her household and does not eat the bread of idleness." (ESV) And honestly I believe this verse can be for everyone. I may live alone but I have a "household", I have a home to upkeep as a responsible renter. I have 4 animals that depend on me to take care of them whether the weather is ideal or not. It doesn't matter if the wind is blowing like crazy, it feels like 2 degrees, and the snow is pelting me in the face. They need to eat and be protected from the weather. And instead of feeling like I can't enjoy my weekend I feel this sense of strength and rejuvenation because I accomplished something, fixed something, improved something, made something, protected something, or made it one inch closer to my goals. I think back to the much earlier times and the frontier days which happens to be my favorite time period. They didn't have time to rest on the weekends except for observing the Lord's Day and even then they chores. They couldn't slack off because their very lives and homesteads depended on it. And look at all they accomplished for their families. They built their own homes, planted and harvested their own crops, raised and hunted their own meat, took care of their health and well being, learned to make due with basic materials and handed these skills down to the next generation. Of course today's time is different (and I can't say it all for the best) but for me the mentality is the same. We have the choice to decide what is important to us. The life I personally have chosen isn't easy especially in the winter. The "simple" life may be doing more with less but it isn't no less hard but often harder. But in order to achieve those simple life goals I have to let go more of  the unimportant things the world has now for us at our fingertips and dip deeper into the things that are actually going to drive me to those goals. And I want to pass those things on to the next generations. But I have a decision to make. When I have time off in my busy schedule what will I do with that time? Will I binge watch another show or study aquaponics? Will I spend money on another item I don't really need or spend it on ducks so I can start my own egg production? Will I rack up a grocery bill every month or plant as much as I can myself in all seasons? Will I lose myself in fake novels or dig deep into God's Word to become a better follower of Christ? Not to be hard anyone or be judgmental, it is just that I have looked at myself honestly and found the crutch to my productivity and I have to fix it. And boy do I need fixing! And your goals and the things you replace your crutch with are going to look vastly different than mine. But we have to choose. Life is short and we have to decide what it is that truly matters to us and listen to the convictions that God has given us. Sometimes you have to go gradually or sometimes you just have to go full cold turkey. Start making decisions now that are going to get you one step closer to where you want be. You won't get there overnight but an inch at time is better than none. Sitting around idle won't get you anywhere. And realize that once you do reach your goals it is not like they are going to be able slack off and stay there. They will need your constant tending to keep them there. So this is a lifestyle you must decide to choose. Start making a goal plan now for the whole year. What you want to accomplish each month. Be bold, just understand that God has His own plan mapped out and things are subject to change. Perhaps in greater ways than you even imagined. But don't be slothful bout it. Foolish people are slothful. Prov. 6:6-11 Kingdom minded people are go-getters. So go get, no matter if you are stuck in the house on a frigid winter day. ;)
                             "A sluggard's appetite is never filled, but the desires of the

diligent are fully satisfied." Proverbs 13:4