Westwoods

It's been a whole series of wonderful, weird weeks since becoming empty nesters. Days and Nights are taking on a different rhythm than the past 25 years. We still wake up to do a days work, 5:00 a.m. early... on the days Bruce leaves the house for work. My fingers hover over the keyboard on my phone, tapping out a message to one of the kids, I stop myself from sending it just in time. It is still too early? Or maybe it is intrusive and irrelevant? I'll wait to send it and ask the Holy Spirit to do a little editing while I have one more cup of coffee. Not that I am an intrusive or irrelevant person. I know this is not true. I have confidence that I love and have loved them all to the best of my ability. But I also see and remember the thing of letting go. Our parents did that well. Now, I wonder if it was harder to do than they made it seem. Wisdom, O God. The house woke up slowly while the kids were still home. I always snuck out for my morning quiet and had Bible and coffee be...

I have let this topic steep too long. And now it has turned into this impossible thing to explain. And it's not. It's simple. Before you get into this mini sermon I will tell you, I am talking about a song that got stuck in my head and why it did. The song is 'I Will Sing of the Goodness of God' by Jenn Johnson-Bethel Music. I tried to link it but it won't. I guess its up to you to find it if you want to.  I was recently awestruck by God in 2 Chronicles chapter 20. Because it gave me hope for an impossible situation of my own. And the parallels for my own life were...In-My-Face-Real. In other words...the parallels were obvious to me. I urge you to read it for yourself. And I hesitate to summarize it because the facts and the lesson get all jumbled in my head. I will attempt to briefly mention the things that grabbed my attention and name the way it resonates with me. Verses 2-4 NIV  Some people came and told Jehoshaphat, "A vast army is coming against you from ...

  It's good to be home. It's been a long time coming with all the trips and weddings. I kept landing and repacking for the next thing. Since February I've been living like that. And in the weeks at home I've been in the garden and at the sewing machine or watering the flowers God provided for the weddings. And don't forget the food prep and canning and freezing and hosting events. Needless to say, it's been a lot. A lot of "a lot" is good and fun. Blessings and praise...as well as grieving and loss of what was... but that thought is only briefly landed on. Like a bee on a flower. Mostly it's blessing and praise because that's where the goodness of God is best noticed. I got home to a mattress still leaning up against the bedroom wall because we replaced the old and are now waiting on the people that want it to come pick it up. There's a chair also taking up prime real estate in my bedroom because we did a living room shuffle yesterday. Whic...

Because confidence is only quiet when it is anchored in Jesus. It's the kind that doesn't have to figure out why something happened as it did, and who didn't get it right. It isn't busy fixing things, straightening crooked pictures, fluffing pillows just so, or joining someone in their drama or extra noise of the day. Quiet confidence is able to know a thing and not have to explain or expound on it because you gave it to God Almighty and now trust the work of the Holy Spirit to do its work.  Without any more "help" from you. Goodness, we need this today in politics and churches and in homes. What if we prayed about it....(bring it before the throne of grace)...much much more than we talked about it? How important is it in God's eyes, for you to know and share your thoughts and opinions to others? What I think or feel doesn't change who God is and what He will do. We better be praying a whole bunch more.  Quiet Confidence in Jesus is hope and trust and ...

   I sat in this chair at the lake yesterday and pondered HOPE. I don't know how to explain it. Hope. It is ELUSIVE to those who see things 'realistically and practically'. Often these are the two words that pop into a conversation one might have concerning an especially hopeless situation.  If you are in what feels like an ongoing difficult situation remember these facts:  Hope is mentioned 129 times in the Bible.  49 times are directly from the original Hebrew.  It is mentioned alongside faith and love and other virtues like peace and joy.  God is a God of hope. Romans 15:13 NIV May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in Him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. To me it seems like too many times we are like Garrison Keillor's Lutheran hometown. If ever someone is too positive or happy or joyful they are due for a reality shock and probably not living in victory. Because being a good Christian m...

  Be ok with the things of life that give you: A lump in the throat because you can't have what you wanted ...You put in so much effort and it still blew apart...You have daily unanswered prayers. A gnawing in the pit of the stomach for more. More rest. More peace. Answers. Light and Joy. Longings. Cravings. Hunger. Learn to sit with these uncomfortable things. Not for punishment or pity or exaltation or attention. But for wonder. What does God want to fill me with if I turn all those things over to Him each time they appear. For praise...turn your eyes upon Jesus. For trust...The Mighty Right hand of God. He goes before you. He is doing a work we don't have eyes on. He does tho. Trust Him to fight your battles for You. ******************************************* It's not fun. It's not easy. It takes practice. But here's a thing I'm learning...If you can be strong and very courageous, moving forward in faith, and also by the power of the Holy Spirit, you can r...

  My sister once time told me, she hates when writers talk about their writing or their blockages and inspirations. Every since then, I have been sensitive to not doing this. Mostly, because I didn't want to be on her bad writer list. But also because I kind of agreed with her. There is nothing worse than hearing someone express thoughts as if its a real problem and no one cares. It's just noise in an already noisy world. Anyway, I am a writer. I know this because I write about everything. I write to sort out life and why people behave as they do and what makes sense or doesn't make sense. One important lesson for a writer, is to not take too much advice from non-writers. Don't let others' opinions dissuade you from creativity, character growth, and from expanding your art-form. Keep after wording correctly. I am drawn to teaching as well. I am eager to learn so I expect others are too. If I have learned and relearned a very important lesson, I feel the deep need to...