To find the air and water exhilarating, to be thrilled by the stars at night, to be elated over a bird’s nest or a wildflower in spring, these are some of the rewards of the simple life.
~ John Burroughs
Tend Your Garden
The Lord God placed the man in the Garden of Eden as its gardener, to tend and care for it.
Genesis 2: 15
As I walked through the woods the other day, I was intrigued by the various wildflowers springing up. Miniature blue flowers carpeted the floor of the woods in mounds. Spindly, delicate yellow flowers swayed in the sultry summer breeze. Bold dandelions commanded attention while small white flowers, barely noticeable to my aging eyes, mingled with the dandelions. These beautiful flowers, which some would consider weeds, burst forth faithfully year after year.
To look at nature, you would never know we are experiencing a worldwide health crisis. Flowers open with the appearance of the morning sun and close their blooms when evening sets in. Thunderstorms rush across the mountain, drenching the earth with water. The parched ground drinks in the water renewing the face of the earth with fresh vegetation. Seasons come and go, and nature continues to do what God created it to do.
With all the uncertainty surrounding us in the world, it can be difficult to know what to do next. Life has changed for many of us, and it’s easy to get discouraged and not pursue our goals or use our talents. However, just as nature continues to do what God created it to do, we must also continue to fulfill the purpose for which God placed us on this earth, even in the midst of a pandemic.
Let nature be your guide and continue to faithfully do what God has created you to do. God’s timing is perfect. We are not here during this strange season by mistake. God chose us to be here during this worldwide crisis to do his work.
Our God-given work may look a little different in this season. You may need to be your child’s teacher in this season. You may need to grocery shop for an elderly person with health issues, so they can remain safe in their home. You may need to volunteer to help clean your local church building to make it a safer environment for worship. Maybe you need to make some phone calls or write notes of encouragement to others who are isolated at home.
Pray and ask God what he wants you to do for his glory in this uncertain season of life. Just as God placed Adam in the Garden of Eden to tend it, he placed us here to tend to his divine work during this pandemic. This is our garden. We can either feel discouraged and long for our old normal way of life, or we can accept where God placed us and tend our garden with utmost care.
Longing for our old way of life is a natural human tendency that often leads to frustration and feeling miserable. Accepting where our Heavenly Father placed us, in his perfect timing, will give us peace and joy as we accomplish his plans for us in this season.
Wednesday Wisdom
“Summer afternoon—summer afternoon; to me those have always been the two most beautiful words in the English language.”
~ Henry James
Nesting Near His Altar
Even the sparrow has found a home, and the swallow a nest for herself, where she may have her young, a place near your altar, Lord Almighty, my King and my God. Blessed are those who dwell in your house; they are ever praising you.
Psalm 84: 3-4
One of my favorite passages of scripture is Psalm 84: 3-4. It was one of the first scriptures I highlighted in my Bible, as a new believer, more than 30 years ago. As a lover of birds, I’m thrilled at the thought of a mother sparrow or swallow building a secure nest for her young near the altar of God. It brings to mind images of trust, comfort, and security.
I spent most of the morning the other day watching a male and female bluebird building a nest in the nesting box along the woods. The bird parents took turns bringing twigs and grass to the nesting box. At one point the female tossed a few sticks out the entrance hole. When it comes to nest building, birds can be picky. Much like us mothers, they want everything to be perfect for the arrival of their young. It was a joyful and peaceful morning watching the miracle of nature unfold.
The psalmist who wrote Psalm 84 was expressing a longing for being in the house of God, where he probably once served in some capacity in the temple. He longs to be at the temple surrounded by others who love God, as we see in following passages:
How lovely is your dwelling place, O Lord of hosts! My soul longs, yes, faints for the courts of the Lord; my heart and flesh sing for joy to the living God. (Psalm 84: 1-2)
For a day in your courts is better than a thousand elsewhere. I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of God than dwell in the tents of wickedness. (Psalm 84: 10)
As I watched the bluebird’s nest building adventure the other day, I was reminded of this precious Psalm. My church has been having only online services since the COVID-19 outbreak. I miss being in church and fellowshipping and worshiping with other believers. While I’m thankful for the online option of church, there’s nothing like being in the house of God.
What a joyous day it will be when we can once again walk through the doors of the church into the sanctuary, join together for worship, and lift up our voices in song. As many churches prepare to reopen in the coming weeks, I wonder if we will all sing a little louder and never again take for granted the ability to get up on Sunday morning and go to church.
In the meantime, we can continue to worship God and sing praises to him at our own personal altars. An altar is simply a sacred place to connect with God. My front porch is often my altar on nice days. I love to take my quiet time basket outside and spend early mornings soaking up the word and lifting up praise and prayers to God. Your altar may be a corner in your bedroom or a bench in a local park where you can be alone with God.
Like the birds, we too can nest near the altar of God, no supplies necessary! Simply find a quiet spot and sit before the Lord offering up your prayers and praises to him. Where do you go to nest near his altar?
A Lesson from the Birds
Pausing in the midst of a busy day to observe the birds is one of my favorite ways to unwind and refocus. Watching the variety of creatures flitting from feeder to feeder reminds me that it’s the small things in life that bring us the greatest pleasure.
An avid birdwatcher, I’m always thrilled when I come across a scripture reference to birds. God uses birds as an example in several scriptures in the bible. One of my favorite bird scriptures is found in the book of Jeremiah.
Even the stork in the sky knows her appointed seasons, and the dove, the swift, and the thrush observe the time of their migration. But my people do not know the requirements of the Lord. (Jeremiah 8:7)
You’ve probably heard the expression bird-brained, which is used in a derogatory way to describe someone who did something unintelligent. I find it quite amusing that the verse in Jeremiah gives birds more credit than the people for knowing God’s requirements.
The people in Jeremiah’s time kept running away from God. They were heading in the wrong direction, sinking deeper and deeper into sinful living. Instead of doing things God’s way, they lost perspective on following God and went their own way. The leaders of the people were twisting God’s truth to make it suit their own agendas.
It sounds a lot like our world today. If we aren’t careful, we can get caught up in the do-it-my way mentality. We can view the bible as outdated and not relevant for the time we live in. We can pick and choose the parts of the bible we like and ignore the rest.
Instead of repenting of our sinful behavior, we may make excuses for the way we act. Instead of taking responsibility for our actions and mistakes, we may pin the blame on someone or something else. Preachers of the gospel may hesitate to preach about sensitive subjects, because they are afraid of offending someone in the church.
Jesus did not preach a do-it-your-way gospel. We are to be his followers. There is no middle ground. Being lukewarm is not an option. We are either hot or cold. We are either walking with our Lord or we aren’t. We either believe what God says in the bible is true or we don’t.
I will never forget a sermon I heard on the radio a few years ago. The preacher stated that the popular song titled My Way is the song they are singing in hell, because nobody in hell did it God’s way.
When confronted with decisions and choices, we must always refer to the truth of scripture to determine what direction to take. God’s word is truth, it’s timely, and it never changes.
The grass withers and the flowers fade, but the word of our God stands forever. (Isaiah 40: 8)
It is more important than ever in today’s world to know God’s word. We must be diligent to study the word and pray for God’s direction as we learn the scriptures. We can’t obey God if we don’t know what he expects of us.
Perhaps we should all aim to be a little more “bird-brained” and observe the ways of our Heavenly Father. Then we will be able to walk in obedience to what his requirements are.
Motherhood-The Highest Calling
I am the Lord’s servant, Mary answered. May it be to me as you have said.
Luke 1: 3
As we celebrate Mother’s Day, I can’t help but reflect on the mother of Jesus and wonder how different our world would be today if every woman accepted the calling to be a mother in the same way Mary did.
When the angel appeared to Mary and announced the power of the Holy Spirit would overshadow her and she would conceive a child, Mary willingly accepted the high calling to be a mother. Mary certainly hadn’t planned the pregnancy and the timing surely must have seemed way off. Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph. In that culture and time, a woman who became pregnant before marriage could have been stoned to death.
Mary wasn’t worried about having enough money to start a family. She wasn’t concerned with how a baby might affect her career. She didn’t complain that she wasn’t ready to be a mother. She didn’t argue that perhaps she was too young or too old to have a child. She simply accepted the blessing of motherhood as a servant of the Lord.
We could argue that it was easier for Mary to accept her pregnancy because she had divine intervention. After all, we likely didn’t have an angel appear to us to announce our pregnancies and we certainly weren’t carrying the savior of the world. However, all life is created by God.
13 For you created my inmost being;
Psalm 139: 13-16
you knit me together in my mother’s womb.
14 I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
your works are wonderful,
I know that full well.
15 My frame was not hidden from you
when I was made in the secret place,
when I was woven together in the depths of the earth.
16 Your eyes saw my unformed body;
all the days ordained for me were written in your book
before one of them came to be.
If you’re a mother, I encourage to you embrace it, cherish it, and enjoy it. No career or other endeavor is as important as nurturing children and spending time with them.
We should all be inspired by Mary’s response to learning she was about to become a mother. We should accept it as a gift from God and rejoice that we were chosen to be entrusted with the high calling of motherhood. We are blessed!
Wednesday Wisdom
Don’t dig up in doubt what you planted in faith ~ Elizabeth Elliot
Don’t Waste Your Quarantine
So be careful how you live. Don’t live like fools, but like those who are wise. Make the most of every opportunity in these evil days. Don’t act thoughtlessly, but understand what the Lord wants you to do.
Ephesians 5: 15-17
Are you struggling to stay focused with all the discouraging things going on in the world around you? I know I am. I feel like life has been turned upside down and everything I took for granted has changed.
I had big plans for this month. After working two jobs at home for six years, I was finally able to semi-retire the first of March and cut down to one part-time job. I envisioned getting up early in the morning and spending hours living the life of a writer, working long hours on my book, and taking a walk through the woods when I needed a break. I joined a few groups at my church and was excited I would finally have time to get out of the house a few evenings a week and socialize. I was looking forward to attending my grandchildren’s sporting and school events and have the grandchildren over for sleepovers, which was difficult with my previous work schedule.
My first week of semi-retirement got off to a bad start. Instead of waking up to start working on my book, I woke up not feeling well. A sore throat led to a fever the next day followed by several more days of a bad headache, chills, sweats, exhaustion, and a nagging dry cough that developed on day seven. Whatever I had knocked out my plans for a solid two weeks. My days consisted of going from the chair to the sofa. Week three arrived and I was finally feeling well enough to go out when the COVID-19 virus began ravaging the country. With my low immune system, my doctor advised I limit my outings to a single trip to the grocery store each week and remain at home the rest of the time. No visits from anyone, including children or grandchildren. This was disheartening, as I had already been isolated due to being ill.
I’m used to being at home most of the time due to working from home for six years, and I would rather be home than any other place. That being said, I miss being able to get out for church and lunch with friends, etc. As each day passed, I found myself struggling to get motivated to do much of anything other than watch the news, answer text messages, and talk on the phone with friends and family about what was happening in our world. I lost all desire to write and found myself coming to the end of each day wondering if I had accomplished anything at all. Each evening I had good intentions of starting fresh the next day and being productive. However, when morning arrived, I found myself back in the same dreary cycle of news and phone calls. I found myself feeling grumpy, lonely, and depressed.
My pastor posted a mid-week update online, and it brought a smile to my face when I heard him say, “Don’t waste your quarantine!” It helped me put things in perspective. While this new season of life is anything but normal, I need to choose how I will use my time. I was wasting a lot of time I could have used for doing the work the Lord gave me to do. It was my wake up call.
This morning I woke up to fog and rain. The weather has been dreary more than not the past few weeks. As I looked across the mountain I thought, this is the day the Lord has made. I’m going to choose to rejoice and be glad in it. In the midst of all the uncertainty and discouraging events taking place in our world, I still have so many things to be grateful for. I have food, a home, beautiful scenery outside my window, friends, family, and plenty of things to do.
There are so many positive ways we can use our time wisely while we are practicing social distancing. We should be spending more time praying for our country and for all the healthcare workers and for those who are ill or have loved ones with this virus. We can reach out and encourage someone with a note, an email, or a phone call.
It’s also a good time to do something new to keep our mind focused on positive things. I know a friend who is reading the entire Bible in 90 days. My son-in-law is working on writing the lyrics and music to a song since he isn’t able to be at church practicing with the worship team. Some people are learning to make homemade bread and are doing crafts with their children.
I just signed up for a Bible journaling class online. I’m excited to learn a new hobby that will help me focus on drawing nearer to God through spending time in his word in a creative and artistic way. And I’m going get back to writing my book. There’s no reason to sit around and spend my days in front of the TV or scrolling through the news online. Keeping up with the news is important, but it should not be my main focus. I want to make sure I’m using my time wisely and not foolishly.
These are uncertain times for sure, but we should be making the most of our days, whether we are living with a pandemic raging across our country or not. None of us are guaranteed tomorrow, even when life is going well. If we wake up each day, it means God isn’t finished with us yet. He still has us on this earth for a reason. Only we can decide whether we will choose to use our time wisely or whether we squander it foolishly doing things that distract us from what is truly important.
If you’re quarantined at home, what can you do to use your time wisely? Don’t waste your quarantine!
The Beauty of Storms
The Lord does whatever pleases him, in the heavens and on the earth, in the seas and all their depths. He makes clouds rise from the ends of the earth; he sends forth lightning with the rain and brings out the wind from his storehouses.
(Psalm 135: 6-7)
I wrote this in the spring of 2017 but thought this would be a good time to post it again as a reminder to trust God in the midst of the storm our world is currently experiencing in the form of the COVID-19 outbreak and the uncertainty we are facing.
This morning, I woke up to the sound of thunder rumbling over the mountain and lightning flashing through my bedroom window. Between the loud claps of thunder, I was quite amused when I heard a bird singing. If a bird can sing in the midst of a powerful storm, why shouldn’t we sing when we are going through the storms of life?
It was quite timely when my morning Bible reading contained Psalm 135. As the storm raged outside, my scripture reading reminded me who is in control of all storms – the storms that shake the mountains and rattle the windows, as well as the personal storms of life we all encounter at times. Storms are the perfect reminder of the power of God. No matter how far technology has advanced, man still can’t stop storms.
Nature’s storms have a beauty of their own, even though they can be frightening and unpredictable. It’s breathtaking to see the night sky illuminated by flashes of light and watch the power of the wind sweep rain across the landscape.
Natural storms and personal storms are similar because:
-
- They often arrive suddenly.
-
- They bring darkness, uncertainty, and a sense of foreboding disaster.
-
- They do not last forever.
-
- At times they bring devastation requiring clean up.
-
- We have no control over them.
- They may be followed by sunshine and rainbows.
Like natural storms, personal storms often arrive with little warning. Broken relationships, the loss of a job, a health crisis, financial hardship, the death of a loved one, or a tragic accident can change our lives in a moment. Storms uproot our lives and leave a behind a path of destruction in the form of rearranged lives, depression, discouragement, and lifestyle changes.
Thankfully, storms pass in time. Some of the darkest moments in our lives happen just before we experience a breakthrough to better things. It is difficult to find beauty in our personal storms when we are going through them, but we can take comfort in knowing they will eventually end.
Natural and personal storms can leave a long trail of destruction behind. However, when followed by a rebuilding process, new things are brought about that would not have been possible before the storm. As survivors of storms, we can grow in our faith if we continue to trust God in the midst of the storm.
One of the most beautiful things in nature is the appearance of a brilliant rainbow following a powerful thunderstorm or rain shower. I always look at a rainbow and feel it’s God’s way of saying everything will be okay. A rainbow is God’s promise to his people.
And God said, “This is the sign of the covenant I am making between me and you and every living creature with you, a covenant for all generations to come: I have set my rainbow in the clouds, and it will be a sign of the covenant between me and the earth. “
Genesis 9: 12-13
How should we handle the storms of life? During nature’s storms we tend to hunker down and wait until the storm passes. When faced with a personal storm we must wait it out, knowing God has to power to start and stop storms. We have to trust God while we weather it out.
I was reminded of this a few weeks ago at an appointment with my gynecologist, who happens to be one of the most wonderful christian doctors I’ve even encountered. She has been with me through some of my most difficult health issues. I hadn’t seen her for several years. She lost her husband recently to a massive heart attack at the age of 56. When she found out I lost my husband last summer, she hugged me, held my hand, and said, “Joni, you have to trust God in this. It’s hard. I know how it feels, but God does not make mistakes. We have to keep trusting in Him, no matter what. Promise me you will never give up on God.”
I was having particularly bad day that day. I was sick and discouraged. I know the importance of trusting God when things don’t make sense, but that day I just needed to hear it. I needed that reassurance coming from someone who understood exactly how I felt. I left that appointment feeling stronger in my faith. Yes, we must trust God, even when things are falling apart around us. He is in control of the storm.
We can drive ourselves crazy trying to figure out why certain things happen, but we don’t always need to know why. We don’t always need an answer. Contentment and peace come when we surrender our storms to God and trust Him for the outcome.
Then, like the bird I heard singing between the claps of thunder and the flashes of lightning, we can sing in the midst of the storm, because we know the creator of the universe is the one who calms the storms and cares for us.
Are you going through a difficult personal storm? Trust God. Sing a song of praise while you wait out the storm, and never stop watching for the appearance of your rainbow.
Merry Christmas
And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger. Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, “Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests. Luke 2: 8-14