Light in Darkness

I can't see my chocolate labs in the darkness.  I once bought a blinking light to keep on Nay's collar so I always knew exactly where she might be when I stepped outside.  I just needed a glimpse of where she might be and I'd feel okay, I knew she was safe and in the yard.

I think of so many suffering this time of year.  My co-worker just told me that his friend went to Michigan this morning to bury his mother who died over the weekend.  I know the hospitals are filled with those close to their own death.  And then there are those that are dying inside.  Hurting and in pain.  Families that are shaken by financial, physical and personal problems. 

How can this time of year, we call Christmas truly be celebrated? I believe it is because of the Light in the darkness.  It is the Light in the darkness that guides us, and the Light in the darkness that comforts us when we feel we are lost.  It is the Light that brings warmth when needed. 

Sometimes I like to sit and stare at the Christmas tree.  People drive miles to neighborhoods to stare at lights.  There is something about the light in darkness that brings joy, hope, and in the quiet of the night peace.

I pray that this Christmas, no matter where you are in life, that you find the true Light of the World, Jesus and celebrate and search the joy and peace only He can bring.

Merry Christmas,


Debbie

Little Yellow Monsters

 
 

Yellow monsters are brought to me on a regular basis.  Zeke and Nay like the little guys.  The ones that squeak live on the fire place mantle most of the time but the ones that don't squeak anymore get to live in the baskets and under the bed.  These little yellow monsters have the longest life of all the dog toys.  The stuffies (stuffed animals) never last long and we find pieces of the poor stuffies all around the house.  The little yellow monsters may get torn a little but they tend to live a long life.   Zeke brings them to me, I throw them.  Zeke brings them to me, I throw them.  Zeke brings them to me, I throw them....over and over and over again.

Monsters under the bed.  Monsters in the closet.  In my childhood mind it wasn't about the monsters as much as it was about what I couldn't see from where I sat on my bed.  My imagination took over and what I feared is not the monster but more "what I could not see".

We all have little yellow monsters in our life, creeping up on a regular basis.  We take them and throw them out of our lives and yet they show up again.  It is constant surrender, taking these little yellow monsters and ridding our lives of them.

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And so we "fear" what we cannot see, and yet we do not "faith" what we cannot see.  Hebrews 11:1 "Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen."  

Evidence is usually considered tangible.  Things you can touch, things you can see and yet faith is called evidence.  Evidence is for proof.  Evidence usually tells a story.  And this faith is evidence, it is evidence of things not seen.  Faith and hope remind me of two hands with fingers intertwined, swinging back and forth with happiness. Faith is the substance of things hoped for...so it is like the ingredient that makes up hope. So I have hope but I can't have hope without faith. The object of faith?  God. 

It is our God that performs miracles.  I don't imagine God measures the miracles like we do but in our finite human minds may I say HE performs little miracles, big miracles, all kinds of miracles.  We have to have faith in God because it is God that performs, that works, that moves, that changes.

We let little yellow monsters of fear, doubt, sadness, shame, guilt, unbelief, self-sufficiency, selfishness, anger...and so many other little yellow monsters and we cast them out over and over again.  And we fear what we cannot see.  Doubt what could be.We have to let faith take over.  Faith that is of a God that conquers and defeats. 

May we not let what cannot be seen create fear, but rather encourage faith. 

Soak Up the Sunshine

I just love seeing the sunshine pour over a sleeping lab.  Sometimes I even hear him snore a little. Resting almost as comfortable as he would on the couch he is not suppose to be on.  My labs like the sunshine.  I am not sure if it is the warmth of it, or possibly the happiness of it.   Maybe it is both.

When Nay has been on the porch for so long she'll come in and I can feel the warmth of the sunshine where it soaked into her fur.  I rub her down and she does that "lab speak", almost a mumbling of thank you's coming from her.   She settles in for as much love as I am willing to give her, for as long as I am willing to give it to her. 

We are affected in this life by family, friends, and other loved ones.  We are affected by work and church.  Sometimes there is drama in our days, conflict with others and stress over finances.  We allow ourselves to be congested with media, music, television to pass the time, to relax.

So much affect our days, hours and minutes and we neglect to stop and soak up the sunshine.  Literally, soak up the sunshine.  Feel the warmth of the sun as it rests on us through the car window.  See the brightness of light as it peaks through the curtains in the morning.  See God's creation.  See God's gifts.  Really, for me it is seeing God in the details and soaking it up.  I am often busy balancing my checkbook that I miss the other gifts in life. I don't settle in to soak up the sunshine.  To know and feel and be aware of the love that God pours over me.  I am too busy wanting and needing that I am not busy enough ACCEPTING what He is already giving me.  

Seeing Hope

It starts with finding one sock and rummaging through the drawer for the matching one.  My tennis shoes are pulled off the shelf and I sit, lacing them up one at a time, making sure they are tight enough to run in but not so tight it hurts me.

Zeke observes.  Zeke knows.  Zeke anticipates. Those shoes, those are my masters walking shoes.  His ears perk up and he wiggles his way to my side, rubbing up against me to express his enthusiasm, his excitement of the walk he's about to take. 

Zeke saw the signs.  In Zeke's canine mind they were signs of a good thing to come.  He had hope. 

And so through this life I stumble, deep breathes as I trudge ahead.  Shoulders dropped, head down, moving forward.  I forget to lift my head, look around, see the signs of hope.  God has placed them all around me.  In the early morning as the sun begins to rise, a sign of the new day.  In the evening, the dawn turns into dark, revealing the sparkling jewels in the sky.  When the summer was dry and the grass was brown, when the rain came.  I didn't see the green. The rain was the sign of things to come.  I blink and it seems my lawn is bright green in the dead of fall.  I should see the signs of hope. The spattering of rain against the glass window, being soaked up by the dry earth.  With each rain, a different shade of green.

My journal laying beside my Bible.  The notes I scribbled from Pastor's messages. the black letters of  hope.  The promises in the large black leather Book.  Messages of hope. 

I had gone on vacation in August and the flowers had died.  I yanked them out of the pot.  Days later, the fall rain God has graced us with, brought forth green.  More flowers, still growing.  Signs of hope.

What do we hope for?  Money, things, places, people.  We hope for so much but really our hope is in the Lord.  Through the Lord is our satisfaction.  He's giving us signs all around, reminding us each day.  In looking for hope you will find God, in all His glory, looking right at you.  Sovereign and in control.  Knowing that what He has for you today......is enough.

Testing the Boundaries

I walked Zeke two nights in a row.  He's been to doggy boot camp.  Our trainer (and yes I say "our" because Jeff had to train both myself and Zeke) told me that Zeke has been imprinted with what to do and how to behave.  He's a sneaky dog though.  Sometimes, he likes to walk just "a head" in front of me when he's suppose to be right beside me or just behind.  He's smart though, he knows not to go so far as to start pulling.  It's interesting this game he played tonight.  Getting ahead but not so far ahead that I just barely miss being able to correct him.  He's not usually like this.  He's usually obedient and takes little correction but tonight....he decided to test the boundaries.

In this life we are tested and sometimes God allows us to get ahead of Him.  We often find it exciting at first, bouncing along like Zeke did, glancing back once in a while to see if He's still there.  What ends up happening is something makes us uncomfortable and we got to get back to our safe zone, to the side of our Master.  Jeff, the trainer, told me that it is important that I establish leadership with Zeke.  He gave me examples on how to do so and he proceeded to tell me that it helps Zeke understand his role in the "pack" and helps him relax instead of being stressed out over it.  (Because if you've ready my blog long enough, he is not alpha material!)   It is a lot of pressure to lead, to make decisions that can affect long term.  That is why we need to let God be the leader, let God guide the way, let God weave us through the streets of life.  The pressure is off, the stress is gone, we find our safe place....slowly move to the side of our Master as He takes care of us.

Running to God

I was a school teacher.  I was a school teacher ten years ago on September 11, 2001.  I didn't know how to react and I didn't quite understand what was going on when people told me what was happening.  I couldn't visualize the planes and the buildings.  I had my students sitting in front of me and I was at the point where I had to figure out what to do, how to act, what to teach.  The seniors had explained to me the buildings as they had been to New York.  It was incomprehensible.

It was incomprehensible until I found myself in front of the television that night.  It was heartbreaking.  It was confusing.  It was enough to make one angry at all the very innocent lives that were taken.  It was.....terrifying. 

I remember the faces of those kids in my class that day.  I see where they are in their lives today.  Some of them are married with children. Some have careers.  Some have or are serving their country.  I did not know that day on September 11, 2001 that some of those young people would go across the world and serve our country.  To fight terror.  I am so very proud of those that have sacrificed.  That have stood face to face with the pains and terrors of war.

The only thing I wish we could relive is the way I felt like we were all RUNNING TO GOD.  Confused, scared, upset....many in our country turned to God for answers, for security, for intercession, and some...for salvation.  Running can be a beautiful picture.  When Zeke runs to me it is in eager anticipation of love and attention.  Running is sometimes created by fear as you run away from some things.  Running TO something or someone is an act that below the surface..within the heart has so much emotion and so much expectation.

I pray that I can always be near to God and when I am not near, I am RUNNING, I am seeking the great God I so greatly need.  I pray our country will RUN to God.  That as we look back on ten year ago, a day so difficult to describe, a day that when I browse pictures and stories I am choked up with overwhelming emotions....that when we look back, America runs to God.

Who Are You Waiting On?

My labs wait for me.  It is a form of love and trust.  One that was built when I began providing for them. For Nay Nay, our rescue lab, I provided food, love, shelter, good health....I met her most basic needs.  She was starved and recovering from heart worms. It took a lot of time for Nay to trust us but as the months past the bond become greater.  For Zeke, as a puppy the bond happened instantly.  The provisions were the same and for most of his life he has known no other master.  My labs know I provide and so they wait for me.  They don't look to the neighbor for provision....though they wouldn't turn a treat down!  When Zeke needs to go outside he waits silently at the door.  When Nay wants water she waits by the empty bowl.

So who are you waiting on?  We wait on so many things and so many people.  We wait on our family, but our family is human and not always in full understanding of our needs.  We wait on our friends, but they can't always be there for us.  We wait on those in leadership, but they don't love us like the One that we should be waiting on loves us.

There is One who is holy, righteous, full of grace, ever-loving.....that we wait upon.  For when we wait upon the Holy One, we have nothing to be weary of, we have nothing to be fearful of, we have nothing to be needful of.  The Holy One knows our hearts and most basic needs.  The Holy One knows our fears and doubts. The Holy One knows our hopes and desires.....the Holy One knows....knows everything about us.

I was taking photos of my Bible to use as "wallpaper" on something I was working on.  I wanted a passage that was inspiring and common and when I found myself at Isaiah 40, I snapped a picture to include verse 31.  Before long I found myself meditating upon it.  I found myself saving it as my screen saver.  I found myself being inspired by a passage I have heard for years.  I asked myself, do I wait on the Lord?  To wait on the Lord is freedom....as soaring like an eagle....imagine being as an eagle, taking flight in the sky that knows no limits.  Freedom.

"But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they small mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint."  - Isaiah 41:31