God’s Today Assignment

     As the cool of early morning covers my yard I see activity in my filbert tree. Every year there comes a harvesting time for the local squirrels. We have grown to expect and joyfully watch when these few days each year arrive. It is fascinating to watch the acrobatics and diligent work that begins at sunrise and continues to sunset for several days in a row. Every nut is gathered, checked, shelled and tucked away for future use.

     However, that tree has now grown to be nearing 20 feet tall and this morning I found myself holding my breath as my little woodland critters began this tenacious dance. They teeter on thin branches pulling and shelling nuts, then as if the height doesn’t matter; they jump and swing from branches high in the air to reach the next tiny treasure.

     They have no fear and nothing distracts them – even my yapping dachshunds who circle the base of the tree. Their eyes are focused on the assignment at hand.

            Prov. 4:25 Let your eyes look directly ahead and let your gaze be fixed straight in front of you. (ESV)

     We can learn a spiritual lesson from these little squirrels.

     They woke to have one assignment today and that has been their job – and only job – all day long. Nothing distracted them from that purpose.

     Jesus walked with so many needs and expectations circling him every day but He chose to focus on the voice of His Father. Only doing what He was called to do – thus when His short three years of ministry was complete, He could say “I glorified you on the earth, having accomplished the work which You have given me to do.”

     We allow everyday expectations and needs to pull us, run our lives and distract us into exhaustion. We must choose to listen and obey the Spirits voice. When we say no, begin to manage our own expectations-as well as realign others expectations; we are then allowed to joyfully pick up His specific assignments, stay on task and with joy have plenty of strength to accomplish what He desires for us.

     Just as my little squirrels focus only on the prize – the tiny nut treasure – our forward focus on God’s assignment for TODAY will bring an eternal treasure and allow us to rejoice with the words that Jesus spoke – “I glorified you on the earth, having accomplished the work which You have given me to do”.

     Join me today in a choice to jump and swing from the highest branches – reaching for the next treasure – HIS assignment set up just for you to complete. Willingly lay down those urgent things that distract and open your eyes to His eternal plans for your TODAY.

Philippians 3:13-14 Forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what is ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. (ESV)

A Gorgeous Bouquet Surrounds Us!

     Recently I was on a hunt for just the right flowers to add into a few new borders in my yard and the Holy Spirit began to highlight my love for flowers.

     I love flowers – they just draw me in. From the tiny to the huge – crocus and grape hyacinths that sprout through the frozen ground in early spring to the huge dinner plate size dahlia’s, that stand in strength and presentation. The beautifully scented – freesia, wisterias and jasmine as well as the ones with no scent or even the adversely scented ones.

     I am continually amazed at the beauty and diversity that God created in such a gorgeous bouquet, all just for us to enjoy.

     BUT that’s not all. What about the bouquet he has made out of all of us? Just like the flowers he created, each flower being completely different – so are we.   Enjoying the differences in flowers is easy – but when it’s differences in people, we pull away from those who are different. Instead of pulling away, separating and isolating into the “right” groups, He has created us to be a world changing bouquet. Each of us with all of our differing sizes, shapes, and scents complimenting one another.

     Look around – spend time with those who are different from you and you will walk away smiling. Those you think are so different are pretty amazing. We were created to compliment each other – to enjoy the differences of our brothers and sisters and most of all to love each other. Take time to enjoy the human bouquet that surrounds you.

“Where’s My Keys?”

 

     “Great, they were just here, where are they?” I mumble to myself, my frustration growing as I rummage through my purse for my keys. Unceremoniously I dump the contents into the grocery cart full of my now, getting warmer by the minute, groceries. Not there, anywhere! I look in the car window and there I see them lying on the console.

     Ever been there? Keys are important in our lives for just about everything. When one goes missing we are thrown into chaos, our normal life is disrupted.

     Without a key – the exact key – all entry is unauthorized and creates damage. Breaking, prying or any way in is forceful entry. That’s not why or how keys are made to function.

     The car fueled with gas – ready to exert power to move you forward is stalled without the key. A warm house filled with electricity is ready to provide you with heat, protection and comfort within its power-filled spaces but if you can’t get through the door you still stand out in the cold.

     Likewise as we walk through the open door Jesus created we find many doors placed before us. Some are easy access and then there are those that require the exact-fit key to open.

     In the Kingdom of Heaven we often try to get in doors we don’t have access for because we are using someone else’s keys and end up with damage control instead of living and walking in His favor and freedom. Just as my car key only fits my car, my friend’s key will not work. No matter how hard I might try, her key won’t work on my door. The only solution is either to cause damage getting in or go get the right key.

     Finding the exact-fit keys that He has designated for you is a matter of going to get them. They are there for the asking!

     Remember – no one else’s key will fit! Don’t’ try to borrow one or quickly follow through another’s door that looks more appealing. He has specific ones just for you.

     Step into a life filled with keys to doors you never knew where available as you walk out the story Jesus designed for you.

     Walking out that story is all about living in His presence, listening (not striving), doing as HE directs, and allowing ALL that He has placed within you to bring glory to Him. In faith you begin stepping out when, where and how He directs. Doors (His pre-planned assignments) will present and with confidence you will use the keys HE has placed within you to accomplish the great things HE planned before you were born.

      Let’s go get our keys and move with power through those doors!

Let the Dust Disappear

My recent rock garden project sent me on a hunt through tons of stone. All sorts, shapes and sizes waited my unearthing; and an “ah ha” moment ensued.

I was overwhelmed as I saw beauty hidden both inside and outside of what was present but unseen all around me every day, just simple rocks. As I began collecting “just the right sizes and types”, my fascination grew; they appeared to all look the same, covered in tan dust.

Once home, the washing began and the beauty emerged – all-different vibrant colors materialized. As the day continued the same process brought more wonder as I began the sorting of buckets of agates for my gardens riverbed. Again, one by one, I scrubbed away the sledge that had accumulated on them, revealing the glistening colors beneath. I was amazed by what lay in my hands.

Often God gets my attention in the midst of my daily activities and this was one of those times, with a still small voice that whispered, “They are just like you.”

Each of us are created by his hand with care and individuality, each getting covered with the dust from the environment around us, each needing a washing to reveal our hidden beauty, and each of us totally different in size, shape, colors and purpose.

We are like a chosen rock – ready to be found, ready to be washed, ready to sparkle and shine and ready to be placed into His planned purpose – His rock garden.

He created, He chose, He died for each of us before we were ever aware.

He has a life story for you that is just waiting to be revealed. The simplicity of it requires only for you to BELIEVE and say YES!

Just like the rocks in my garden – we walk under the cleansing water of Christ and become what we were created to be – our story begins to be revealed as all that glistens and sparkles materializes as the dust disappears.

Unearthing What Treasures?

Our lives begin the search for treasure as we gasp for our first breath, growing and learning, fine-tuning our search engine to include every aspect of life from beginning to end.

There are many forms of treasure that can be searched for, those hidden deep in the earth, laying out on top of the surface, laying on the ocean floor and those within books and lives.

Who hunts them? We all do, in one way or another. Almost all professions are in search of something, looking for treasure in hidden places; accountants, lawyers, doctors, electricians, archaeologist, ecologist, pastors and on and on it goes.

My desire is finding treasure of eternal value, life changing both in the spiritual and the natural, found in the intimate presence of God, the bible and time in prayer, hidden in his gifts and treasures that are in my life and lives I have impact on.

I love finding treasure in unexpected hidden places. One treasure that I am continually amazed by is found as I open my bible and read, having done so for over 4 decades, I find new revelations that I have never seen, even having read the same passages over and over. The bible is truly new every morning, for we are new every morning, as we listen and are led, new directions and revelation change us. However the word of God-Jesus is the same – unchanging – yesterday, today and forever BUT it is new, an oxymoron for sure.

So, my treasure hunt begins afresh every morning as I unearth his treasures.

Hebrews 13:8 Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever. (ESV)

Treasure Hunting

My love of treasure hunting must have been ignited as my sisters and I dug in the  mud, making mud pies and hoping to dig all the way down to China.  That love, being passed on to my children as we hunt for hours on beaches, looking for the best shell or the one special rock that had to come home with us, ending up in piles of memory-filled rocks that now lay embedded in concrete on our back yard path, always a reminder of those wonderful hunts.

How does that relate?  Well, it is the beginning of the one true hunt, the one hunt that lasts throughout a lifetime journey, the one where searching for the purpose I was created to express drives me on, the one that I have found as I willingly exchanged my life for the one that Christ purchased for me.

His treasures fill each of us – let’s dig, let’s make mud pies and see how He directs us to find the best shells and perfect rocks that He has planned to use to adorn His kingdom.

Matthew 13:45 Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls, who, on finding one pearl of great value, went and sold all that he had and bought it. (ESV)