Get Closer

It’s a dreary day outside and I was reminded of a lesson I learned in photography…

When the light is poor, get closer.

Closer allows you to see so much more. More color. More detail. The dreariness fades into the background as you’re consumed by color and detail. Things you couldn’t see from a distance are not only visible up close but beautiful.

That’s so true in our Christian lives too.

Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. James 4:8

When the light is dim, when it’s hard to see our path, get closer. Closer to Jesus, the Light of the world. Sit with the Word of God and read. Sometimes the only thing we can do when our world goes dark is get closer to Him and immerse ourselves in His Word. We can’t see which way to go. We can’t see where our path is or what’s on it. But we can read His promises. We can meditate the promises of God that we’ve hidden in our hearts. Words of life and light.

We still may not be able to see our path or know which way to go, but we will be closer to God, the One who goes before us and promises to never leave us.

Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the Lord your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Deut. 31:6

On dark and dreary days get closer to God. Up close we see so much more. More color. More detail. More beauty.

Get close.

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How I Established My Devotional Time

For the past couple years I’ve had a word for the year. This last year it was Arise! Complete with the exclamation point, mind you. I have to tell you, I did not figure it meant literally, but it seems it did.

With all the changes going on in my life over the last couple years, my quiet time has bounced around a fair bit. Getting the time and the quiet was…tough. Some days it was impossible…because of how I ordered my days.

When God gave me Arise! I thought it referred to arising to the challenge or arising to a new season in my life, NOT arising early in the morning. I’m fond of my bed in the morning. It’s so warm and comfy and snuggly with my hubs. Being the first one out of bed in the morning is not my idea of fun.

At least, it wasn’t.

Then my awesome Sunday School teacher challenged us to ask God for help doing something we knew we should do but hadn’t been able to. Something like not eating too many Little Debbie cakes in one day or spending time in God’s Word. So, I did.

How I (almost) painlessly established my early morning devotions

1. Ask God to wake me up in the morning.
2. Commit to obeying and getting up when He wakes me.
3. Obey and GET UP when God wakens me.
4. Thank God for waking me.

Remember I said almost painlessly?
There were mornings I groaned when my eyes popped open before I was ready. Those times I would roll over and try to go back to sleep. It never worked for more than a few minutes because I was guaranteed to soon have a massive headache and I’d have to get out of bed simply to relieve it. (Headaches are part of my life.)

I learned to be thankful for not just the days God woke me, but also for the headaches. Often, thanks to them, I had extra time with God and those times were special.

Arise!
It does, after all, mean get up.
Rise to the challenge by asking God for help.

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What’s in your hand?

In my Bible reading I’m in Judges and it’s capturing my attention. Othniel, Ehud, Shamgar, Gideon… men that God used. Men that, as I’ve dug into them a little, don’t look exactly like I pictured them other times I’ve read Judges.

For instance, take Shamgar. The one verse devoted to Shamgar tells us all we know about him.

After him came Shamgar the son of Anath, who struck down six hundred Philistines with an oxgoad; and he also saved Israel. ~Judges 3:31

What’s an oxgoad?
It’s a long stick with a point on one end and a shovel like blade of sorts on the other. One end is for prodding the oxen to keep them moving and the other end’s to scrape off the plow. It’s a farmer’s tool, not a warrior’s weapon.

In those days Israel had been deweaponized by their enemies. So, Shamgar used what he had. And with God’s help, he was successful and he saved Israel.

With an oxgoad.
No, that’s not true. He had more than an oxgoad. He had the Spirit of the Living God empowering him. And that’s what puts me and Shamgar on the same playing field. The Holy Spirit.

When God calls you, He empowers you to do what He’s called you to do and gives you the tools necessary. I wonder if Shamgar thought he had what he needed to save Israel? I doubt it. His enemies had real weapons and he had a farmer’s tool. But God didn’t give Shamgar weapons he probably thought he needed, weapons that would’ve come in handy. God used what Shamgar already had in his hands. An oxgoad. If Shamgar had gone on a quest to find the weapons he thought he needed before obeying God, he would’ve lost his opportunity.

This has had me thinking for days.

Am I obeying or delaying? Like Shamgar, I have the Holy Spirit empowering me. I’m sure I have my own version of an oxgoad—something that God has put in my hands, so I don’t need to go on a quest to find anything.

It boils down to simple obedience. I need to quit waiting for what I think are things I need in order to obey and just get on with obeying.

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Along the Way

The other day I pulled a water jug cap out of my pocket at the end of the day. Today it was a clothes pin that had been on a chip bag. See, I’m a firm believer in “…along the way…”

As in, “You’re going down the hall? Along the way, take this to the back fridge.” And “On your way home could you stop by Rural King and pick up some dog food for me, please?”

As I buzz around the house, I pick up all those little miscellaneous things that are just left lying around. I grab them as I run past and if I’m not going to where the item is supposed to be, it gets dropped in my pocket. When the kids were little, at the end of the day I would empty my pockets and find a lego, a marble, a tissue (used, of course), a dolly spoon, and anything else that I’d scoop up along the way then forget to drop in its right place. It didn’t take long to accumulate quite a pile if I didn’t deal with it right away. Sure, picking up all that stuff left scattered around the house is good, but it needs to be dealt with or it creates a mess of its own.

It reminds me of sin. I take my “along the way” lifestyle and try to apply it to spiritual things and it doesn’t work well at all. Why? For the same reason I end up with a pocketful of stuff. I forget about it.

I’ll see things I need to confess to God, scoop it up and drop it in a pocket without paying much attention to it but knowing I need to deal with it. At the end of the day, if I don’t intentionally take time talking with God about those things, they just get piled up, creating a mess all their own. The longer I put off taking care of those things, the bigger the pile seems to multiply.

He who conceals his transgressions will not prosper, but he who confesses and forsakes them will find compassion.
~Proverbs 28:13

I keep a devotional book in a spot I know I’ll land in for a few minutes here and there. I like to read the day’s devotion at random times throughout the day, as I have time. And prayer? That’s a huge along the way item. Living in the country gives me lots of drive time some days—my preferred prayer time. But if I have a chatty child in the car with me, guess what happens? I don’t say “Would you puh-leeze quit yacking cuz I’m trying to pray here.” Although sometimes I feel like it.

But Jesus Himself would often slip away to the wilderness and pray. ~Luke 5:16

My Bible reading and study? That’s when I sit with brunch (because breakfast is a busy time here and I can’t make it until lunch time without food). But even that time gets shoved off to the side if things are going fast and furious here, as they sometimes do.

Our relationship with God is one of those things that must be more than just along-the-way. It must be intentional, too.

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Use a Fire Hose

My kids know nothing about water conservation or water bills. We have an artisan well that we've never been able to empty, even when we tried. The water table is close to the surface on our property and digging the well and setting the holding tanks in the ground was quite an experience--when my husband drilled holes through the concrete tank, water shot into the air. So my kids have never given water conservation a thought and are amazed that people usually pay for the water they use.

The other day, one of the kids had three times the amount of water running than they needed, so I turned it down and tried to explain to them about conservation and water bills. I could see them thinking “But Mom, our well never gets low. Why should we live like it could run out?”

I was laughing about it later when a truth was driven home to me. I have an unlimited supply of Living Water available to me, but sometimes I live as if I were living in drought conditions and had to conserve water, and pay an outrageous water bill. The truth of the matter is that Jesus paid the bill, for eternity, giving me access to a bottomless well of Living Water that can never run dry.

And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that always having all sufficiency in everything, you may have an abundance for every good deed. 2 Corinthians 9:8

I need to stop limiting the flow of God's goodness into me. I need to stop limiting God's work in and through me. When I live my life in 'conservation mode' I allow just a trickle to flow through the tap, when in reality, God's given me great abundance for all that He's called me to do.

Does a fireman sprinkle a bit of water here, and bit there? Does he use a drinking straw to put out a fire while a fire hose lies at his feet? No way. He grabs onto the hose, holds tight and directs the stream of water shooting out the hose. He's not responsible for paying the water bill—it's already taken care of. He's just letting the water flow and using it effectively to put out the fires.

It's time for us (for me!) to throw out the piddly straws we've been content to use and pick up the fire hose God has given us. His Living Water is freely given to us and we need to stop conserving it and restricting its flow. When God is given free reign to flow in our lives, His Living Water has far reaching effects not only in our own lives, but in the lives of others as well.

Here's our chance to be a firefighter and more! Let's set down our straws and grab onto the fire hose and let the Living Water pour through. Don't worry about conserving it, just let it flow and flow and flow.

Now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us, to Him be the glory...forever and ever. Amen Ephesians 3:20-21

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Wade in!

Cows in pond Uploaded by Allen Gathman

There's a cow pond we pass on our way to church. The cows use it for more than just drinking in the summer. When they get too warm, they just wade right into the pond and stand there contentedly chewing their cud and watching life. I get such a kick out of seeing them in there. But you know, they're smart!

When life starts heating up I can do the same thing those cows do. I can wade right into the pond of Living Water and cool down. Just standing in that pond will keep me from over heating.

“Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest.” ~Matthew 11:28

That's exactly what those cows are doing. They're going to the place they know they find relief from the heat of their lives.

The side note of my Bible says “Come to Me, all who work to exhaustion...” When I read that note, that's exactly what I was feeling—exhaustion. All I had to do was wade into the Living Water. No fancy dive and no big waves were required, simply wading in. Let me tell ya, I think I know how good that pond feels to the cows on hot days. Refreshed and content.

But you have to go to Jesus before you can receive relief. The rest that Jesus was talking about only comes once you have gone to Him. The passage doesn't end there...

“Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.” ~Matthew 11:29-30

When we go to Jesus, we find rest—rest that we desperately need. But it's when we submit and obey and learn from Him that we find rest for our souls. We can have all the sleep our body needs and not be at rest—but when we obey God, that's when we rest in Him and in His sovereignty.

“For I satisfy the weary ones and refresh everyone who languishes.” ~Jeremiah 31:25

We don't have to just sip the Living Water, we can wade right in! When we do that—that's when we really feel the relief and refreshment from the heat.

So, anyone want to go wading with me? We're sure to find refreshment in the pond of Living Water!

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More Than A Splash

I love my house plants. They bring me great joy as they thrive, adding color and texture to my home.

Over the years I've noticed that my plants seem to go in cycles—they'll be beautiful for awhile and then they start dropping leaves and getting ugly. One of my favorites is a ming aralia—a miniature palm tree, and it's definitely in an ugly stage right now. The main trunk is severely leaning and there's a pile of branches around it and more are dropping off. I was pulling off dead leaves and branches, mulling over the idea of composting it and just filling that spot with something else, and that's when my eye caught a sliver of green. Right where the old branches were connected there was new growth pushing up, even before the old was gone.

I'm tired of constantly having to clean up after this little tree, even if it is my favorite, so, I googled to find out what mings need to flourish. I determined that if it this shedding continued I'd toss the plant and move on. My research was a 'duh' moment for me.

What I thought was a cycle of the older branches making way for new growth, turns out to be...not enough water. Can you tell I'm not a botanist? I don't even have a green thumb, I just happen to have a house that's ideal for house plants.

Yes, my plants go in cycles, and those cycles are directly linked to me. When I remember to water them, they flourish and are beautiful. When I forget to water them for a long period of time, they get ugly, which reminds me to water them--but by then the uglies have set in and I have to deal with ugly consequences.

But his delight is in the law of the Lord,
and in His law he meditates day and night.
And he will be like a tree firmly planted by streams of water,
which yields its fruit in its season,
and its leaf does not wither;
and in whatever he does, he prospers.
~Psalm 1:2-3

My life is like my house plants. I need watering from God's Word to flourish. Without that watering, I get ugly. My leaves wither, turn brown and die, leaving me with a pot full of dead leaves and empty, meaningless 'works.'

Consistent watering is key to healthy healthy Christians. That doesn't mean subsistence amounts of watering--a splash here and a splash there. It means watering on a regular basis. If I do this, when I miss a watering, it's not so life threatening for my plants. It also means the plants can handle the extra heat of summer without much problem.

Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord and whose trust is the Lord. For he will be like a tree planted by the water, that extends its roots by a stream and will not fear when the heat comes; but its leaves will be green, and it will not be anxious in a year of drought nor cease to yield fruit. ~Jeremiah 17:7-8

Have I been consistently watering my soul by spending regular time in God's Word, soaking it in? If I haven't, I'm not prepared for the heat life throws at me and I certainly won't be able to bear fruit.

Have I been just quickly splashing my soul, hoping it will be enough? It might be enough to keep me alive, but it's not enough to grow and flourish on. I need to determine to water my soul regularly, so I can grow.


Father, please help me to sink my roots deep into Your Word, so that my soul can be well watered and flourishing with fruit for You. Thank You forYour Word which is refreshment and life.

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Heart Highways

In 2009 God blessed me with a dog I never thought I'd have and I named her Gracie because she's a tangible reminder of God's grace in my life. In the many months I've had her, she's provided comfort and reassurance of God's constant love, presence and purpose in my life and she's taught me many things. Like most dogs, Gracie is a creature of habit. Although not all of her habits are good, one of them is stellar. She watches over us and protects us with her big bark. Her consistency in this became crystal clear early one morning. There, across the road, was a path Gracie had worn through the snow with her constant trotting back and forth. That got me thinking about a verse I had read just moments before...

How blessed is the man whose strength is in You,
in whose heart are the highways to Zion.
~Psalm 84:5

All of us have paths in our heart. Some of those paths might lead to a friend's house and sympathetic ear, or a family member that has always been a source of strength and comfort to us. Other paths might not end in such nice places. They might lead you straight to worry or depression or fear. The path you want to make into a highway is the path you take to the throne of God.

The inhabitants of one will go to another, saying, “Let us go at once to entreat the favor of the Lord, and to seek the Lord of hosts; I will also go.” ~Zechariah 8:21

Sometimes the landscape of my heart looks like my yard does after the kids have been outside to play in the snow. Tracks everywhere. There's no way I could follow their path after they've been outside playing for a few hours. That's not how I want my heart to be. That's not how I want my life to be either. I want those around me to be able to easily follow my path to a favorite place—the throne room of God.

That makes me wonder, have we traveled the path to God often enough to etch a path? On days when the going is rough and it's dark or foggy all around us, having a well beaten path to follow to God's throne room is a great help, especially when we're so exhausted it's hard to place one foot in front of the other. In fact, when we're that tired, a highway is what we really want. Smooth going and easy to follow.

Come and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord and to the house of the God of Jacob, that He may teach us about His ways and that we may walk in His paths. ~Micah 4:2

Let's wear wide, smooth paths to God's presence by traveling there many times a day. We want our paths to be as easy to follow as Gracie's path through snow was.

I was glad when they said to me, “Let us go to the house of the Lord.” Psalm 122:1

If we want highways in our hearts then we need to consistently walk the same path. An occasional trip may leave enough footprints to see and follow but it will not wear a path.

Gracie's highway went to the far edge of the orchard, one of her favorite places to hang out, and it was a perfect example of how I want my heart to look.

I want a clearly defined path straight to the throne room of God. Don't you?

So tell me, how's your path looking? I'm gonna go work on mine... 

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When There's Nothing Left to Give

Times come in life when living drains you. Family. Home. Work. Church. Everything takes a piece, not even leaving you crumbs. The thought of adding even one more thing into the mix is enough to make you cower in the corner.

Physical, mental and spiritual exhaustion can exclude us from many things because we have nothing left to give. There are seasons in life when we're too exhausted to even look around and find a way out of the pit we've fallen into.

So what do you do when you're run dry and have nothing left to give? The only thing I've found that works for me is to immerse myself in God's Word. Every bit of spare time and even time I can carve out from other things is spent in reading my Bible. I don't stop with just my daily Bible reading, I keep reading. Sometimes I just read, other times I'll do a lot of cross referencing, but I stay in the Word. Other times, sleep needs to accompany the times of Bible reading, because not only am I spiritually run dry, but I'm physically wrung out.

When I feel like I have nothing left to give, my soul is like a hard, dry sponge. It takes a lot of time to recover from being that dry. A lot of soaking in God's Word. If I just quickly dip into the Bible and then run off, it's not enough and in a matter of moments I find I'm just as parched as before. Immersion and soaking is the only thing that restores me and gives me something to give to others.

Times when I try to press on through the desert, I've found that I quickly reach the burn out phase. One thing about burn out—it takes longer to recover from that scorched place, and sometimes recovery isn't forthcoming.

If there's one thing I've learned, diving into God's Word before I hit burn out is crucial.

God's Word is crucial to weathering the droughts in our lives.

Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord and whose rust is the Lord. For he will be like a tree planted by the water, that extends its roots by a stream and will not fear when the heat comes; but its leaves will be green, and it will not be anxious in a year of drought nor cease to yield fruit. ~Jeremiah 17:7-8 NAS

When you feel like you've nothing left to give, let God and His Word restore, refresh and fill you up. Nothing else will do.

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As of Late

 This is one of those memes I love. It only happens on the third Thursday of the month (which is why I almost always forget it. ugh.) and it always makes me pause and contemplate what's really going on--yanno, what's going on deep-down inside. It's a journey as I peel back layers to find it.

Be sure to join us at Critty Joy's for links to more As of Lates...

• Lately crunch time has settled on me and I'm feeling the need to increase my productivity.
• Lately I've been editing an old project and doing character creation on a new, short project that sprang up on Monday. And loving both.
• Lately it's a struggle to keep from freaking out over what I still need to prepare for the Faithwriters conference. I'll be glad when both sessions are ready to roll.
• Lately organization has been a big thing for me. It's paying off.
• Lately I've drifted from something that I need like water.

And therein lies the crux of the issue for me. Time spent in God's Word is crucial and yet I've let that slide. It explains much. Pastor Mike said once (at least) that when you find you've strayed from the path you need to turn around and go back to where you stepped off and take care of things there. Then you can move forward again. I did that this last week and worship on Sunday was a balm to my soul. I'm so thankful for my church. Even more, I'm thankful for God's patience and mercy and forgiveness. Where would we be without those?

So tell me, what have you been doing lately?

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You Gotta Be There

I've been trying to get back into walking this spring. It's been tough with all the topsy-turvy rush of everyone's work schedules, but I need to walk—for my body, mind and soul. There is just something about being outside first thing in the morning, walking that tunes my heart to God's channel. Since I've been posting a lot of pictures for the a2z meme as well as at The Barn Door, I left Puppers at home and brought my camera, never dreaming all I'd see.

I was crouching in weeds, getting a picture of a cluster of wild roses—I had actually taken one shot when I realized there was honeybee on the far rose. As I watched, it moved to the other roses, flew away and came back.

Then, just a little further down the road, I stopped to get a picture of the milkweed. Once I got one of the whole plant, I waded into the weeds to see if I couldn't get some of the flowers. I stayed there a long time snapping shots, thrilled with God's detail of each individual flower that made up the whole.

I was amazed at what I was seeing. Things that I only usually saw as a whole, from a distance, were much more intricate and beautiful up close.

Yanno, it's a lot like my spiritual life. Just like I had to purposefully go out and walk to put myself in a position to see and experience the beauty of the morning and the flowers, I need to put myself in a position where I can see the things God has for me to see.

I love those who love me; and those who diligently seek me will find me. ~Proverbs 8:17 NAS

You can't see it if you aren't there. And you can see it in greater detail if you're there yourself and not seeing it second hand.

As beautiful and wonderful as some pictures are, it's not the same as experiencing it yourself. When you are in God's Word, digging for yourself, you learn things in greater detail than you do when you're listening to a recap or a lesson after someone else has done the digging. Those times are very good, like seeing a picture, but it's not quite the same as being there yourself.

I don't know about you, but I want to put myself in the position where I can see the things of God. That means being in God's Word, looking and listening. 

You gotta be there to yourself. It's better than any picture could ever be.

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Check the Guages

In the recent cold snap we had our furnace worked hard. It ran constantly but it only got colder in our house and the heat unit that sits outside became ice encrusted. My hubs called our repairman friend and a few days later he was able to stop by with his gauges. Once the ice was off (it took the torpedo heater for that!), he put the gauges on and checked the freon level in the heater. There was so little it didn't even register on the gauge. No wonder we were cold!

It's made me think of my life recently. I've been feeling down in the dumps and it's just no fun. I feel like the furnace of my life has been running constantly but it's not putting out. It's left me exhausted and cold. So I tried the repairman's trick and put some gauges on my life—yanno, those little check and balances that we think to look at when things get out of whack.

You know what I found? There's no freon in my pipes—the Scripture level is too low. In the midst of some changes I've been implementing, I've neglected my Bible reading and Bible study and it's left my pipes running low. There's not enough to regulate my internal temperature because I've not been constantly replenishing it like I need to. Sure, I've been in the Word, but it's been hit-or-miss with more misses as time passes. No wonder I've been dreary and cold!

Let the Word of Christ richly dwell within you, with all wisdom teaching and admonishing one another with psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with thankfulness in your hearts to God. ~Colossians 3:16 NAS

It's time to put the freon of God's Word in my pipes so it can work through my heart and life and regulate me.

How about you? How's the Scripture level in your life right now?

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Freshness

Easy Street. Some of us are living there. Our lives are more like a gentle brook than the pounding surf or a river in flood stage. Sure, we have things in our lives that are wearing some rough edges off us, but it's a gentle action.

Tranquil Stream Uploaded by bsmith4815

Easy Street comes with it's own set of cautions. Complacency. Pride. Laziness. Freshness.

Recently in my cover-to-cover Bible reading, I came across Asaph and his relatives. Do you remember them? David assigned them to be gatekeepers and singers in the temple so there would be continual praise offered up to God.

They are to stand every morning to thank and to praise the Lord, and likewise at evening. ~1 Chronicles 23:30

When I read this my initial response was “What a cool job to have!” but the more I thought about it, the more I wondered if they struggled with just going through the motions. Show up, do the job, go home. No joy. No blessing. Just doing the job.

This is something that many of us struggle with. So how can we stay fresh? Should we just stop and wait until our heart is in it? No, I don't think so.

So many times when I sit and do my Bible reading I find my mind wandering, or I find myself reading, but not really catching what I'm reading. For me, that's going through the motions. Showing up and doing the job. No joy. No blessing. Stale. And it's not what I want. A relationship with God is not just Bible reading and prayer, it's connecting with Him. That's where freshness is found. It's pushing through the crowd so I can reach out and touch the hem of His cloak so I can feel God working in me.

For me, freshness is found by focusing completely on God, His attributes, His holiness, and all He's done for me. When I'm focus on God like that, it's easier for me to remember that Easy Street is from God and not from something that I'm doing right or because I'm so special.

Praising God with our lives while on Easy Street can become routine and stale, and we can be lulled into complacency, laziness and pride if we're not careful. Let's not use Easy Street as a time to rest on our laurels. Let's use it as a time to sink our roots deep into the Living Word so when storms blow in and when a flash flood comes crashing down on us, we'll be grounded in God and already clinging to Him.

Don't let Easy Street lull you into the land of humdrum and rob you of joy.

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Wowzers! What a Year!

What a year this has been for me!
As I look back over the year I'm amazed at all God has done in my life. There's been twists and turns that I never, ever would have guessed. Last year around this time my heart's cry was 'Pick me, Lord! Pick me!' I wanted to be used by God so I spent 40 days before my birthday 'celebrating' and preparing for the year, and I'm astounded by God's answer to my prayer. Totally blown away by it!

Here's a quick recap of this past year:
250 posts here at Patterings (!!)
30+ devotionals at Exemplify and At the Well
25 posts at Adding Zest
(and I've been whining to God that I haven't been doing much writing. What was I thinking?? That adds up to a lot of writing, even if it wasn't in the area that I planned. LoL)

I entered 4 fiction writing contests and received confirmation that my writing is in the ball park and some great feedback from the judges!

I did preliminary edits on my husband's book and learned so much through the process.

God dropped a huge blessing on me in the form of the Author Spotlights and the Book Bonanza. Interacting with all these great people has been a tremendous learning experience and blessing for me!

This summer I ran from God's leading, wised up, turned around, and teamed up with Heidi to start Adding Zest where we've seen God working in soooo many ways. What an awesome God we serve! This one is a huge thing for me. H.U.G.E. I wish I had journaled more throughout those weeks before, and as Zest was formed. God showed Himself in countless minute details, details that would've hung me up and stalled me out. He took care of those things in ways that left no question in my mind Who was working them out.

Another blessing came in the form of my tagline, which I'm carrying with me into this coming year, confident it will provide clarity and guidance as I write.

This is just what's been going on in one area of my life—an area that's easily measured. The other areas, well, even though I can't really measure what's been going on and the changes that have come about, I know they're there. I can feel them and I can feel the result of them all through my life. God's goodness and grace has been overflowing in every area of my life.

I have to tell you,though, there have been days during this celebration that were bleak. Days when all I wanted to do was to crawl into my cave and hide. But God didn't let me. I've struggled with doubt and fear and worthlessness even as I continually turned back to Scripture and read about grace and boldness and courage and persistence. If I had not been celebrating as I were, by focusing on God's Word, I'd be up to my earlobes in quicksand and sinking fast.

My birthday celebration this year was to spend more time in God's Word and finish my cover-to-cover read through of the Bible, and I did. I finished Revelation yesterday and started Genesis today. I am awed by God's power, holiness, grace and mercy. These things have jumped out at me time and time again over the last 46 weeks, which is how long it took me to do my read through. And now as I look forward to my next year, I honestly have no idea what to expect. I'm excited even as I tremble, because after all, I'm a scaredy cat. But what I do know is that I want to be used by God. I want my life to glorify Him.

What about you?
What do you want for the next year?

Sunday, November 22, is the 40 day mark to New Year's and I'd like to challenge you to take those 40 days and spend them preparing and celebrating. Like Moses did when he spent 40 days on Mt. Sinai. Like the spies did when they spent 40 days spying out the Land of Promise. Like Jesus did before starting His public ministry. Think through and decide on something you can do during those 40 days to prepare your heart for next year.

I realize we're entering one of the busiest seasons of the year with Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's, but dedicating some time every day to celebrating and preparing for the upcoming year is an investment you'll never regret. I really believe it's an investment that will change your life.

So how 'bout it?
Are you up to 40 days of investing and preparing?

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40 Days of Celebration

Last year I started something and I liked it so much that I'm doing it again this year. My birthday is in November and to celebrate, I'm taking these 40 days before it and spending extra time in God's Word. Last year that was part of my intention, along with reading some of my special, favorite nonfiction books and revisiting my past with some missions posts (which are archived in the Missions tab above). This year I'm not doing any special posting here on Patterings—as much as I enjoyed it, I found it too distracting and I don't want to be any more distracted than I am on a normal basis. :^)

Throughout the Bible we see that 40 is a significant number. A quick walk through the Bible shows us:

Noah—40 days and 40 nights of rain.

Moses—his whole life went by 40 year increments--starting with being 40 when he fled from Pharaoh and started a new life, 40 years on the backside of the desert, and 40 years leading Israel, then also 40 days on Mount Sinai.

Israel—ate manna for 40 years while wandering in the desert.

Spies that Moses sent out—in Canaan for 40 days.

Elijah—in the wilderness for 40 days.

Jonah—warned Nineveh they had 40 days to repent.

Jesus—fasted and was tempted for 40 days in the wilderness, appeared for 40 days after His resurrection.


During this 40 day celebration my goal is to finish this year's cover-to-cover read through of the Bible, to immerse myself as much as possible in God's Word in preparation for this upcoming year of my life.

So tell me, how's your Bible reading coming?
I know many people lose momentum through the summer months, if that happened to you, have you gotten back into the routine of Bible reading? Are you doing a cover-to-cover read through? Where are you in your Bible reading?


Don't forget to check out and leave a comment Amber Stockton's and Christina Berry's book giveaways. Also, I'm extending Nikki Arana's and Debbie Fuller Thomas' book giveaways until tomorrow, Sunday, October 4th in celebration of the Book Bonanza finale. :-) I don't want you to miss them! :-)

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Got Holes?

Happy Sunday!! With the help of my favorite random number generator I've picked the winners of Dana Mentink's books. They are: Terra H., Catrina Bradley, and Connie! Send me your addresses, ladies! And many thanks to Dana for being with us and running these THREE book giveaways! It was wonderful having you, Dana!
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We've been working at the state fair this past week and, to keep things simple, I'm in charge of the money. I like to keep some change handy in my pocket so I don't have to pull out the money bag all the time. Early in the week I wore a pair of jeans that had a hole in the pocket, the pocket that I keep the money in. It wasn't too big of a deal since the hole was barely big enough for my thumb to fit in and we didn't have to worry about coins for change. I didn't give it much thought until someone paid us with quarters. When I put them in my pocket I remembered the hole and knew if I didn't want to lose them I had to take a moment and visit the money bag.

Israel had holes in their pockets at one time, too. They had spent 70 years in exile and some of them had finally returned to the Promised Land. Haggai 1:2 says that people had decided that God didn't want them rebuilding the Temple at that point, so they had turned to their own pursuits, to rebuilding their homes.

But the people were wrong. God did want them rebuilding the Temple, He wanted them busy about His business. So even though the people of Israel had decided they were doing what God wanted them to do, they weren't and they were baffled by the way things were going. They were spinning their wheels and seeming to get nowhere fast. God said they had holes in their pockets.

“You have sown much, but harvest little; you eat, but there is not enough to be satisfied; you drink, but there is not enough to become drunk; you put on clothing, but no one is warm enough; and he who earns, earns wages to put into a purse with holes.” Thus says the Lord of hosts, “Consider your ways!” ~Haggai 1:6

When I read that recently it jumped off the page at me. How many times have I decided that God didn't want me to do something? How many times have I turned my focus to my own pursuits when God wanted me busy about His business? I know that I've done that far too many times, and not all that long ago, either! So many times I've started something then decided that maybe God didn't want me doing that after all, so I'll change my focus and start working on one of my own projects, only to find myself spinning my wheels and feeling less fulfilled than ever. I need to consider my ways, just as God said through Haggai, and get to work doing what God wants me to do—not what I want to do. There's a promise to go with doing God's work, one that gives me courage when I'm trembling:

“But now take courage... and work; for I am with you,” declares the Lord of hosts. “As for the promise which I made you when you came out of Egypt, My Spirit is abiding in your midst; do not fear!” ~Haggai 2:4-5

How about you? Got holes you need to mend?

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Surrender

One of the highlights of my year has been reading through the Bible from cover to cover, in chronological order. I've enjoyed it every time I've done this, but this year has been one blessing after another for me. Just this last week I finished reading Jeremiah, and I'm still chewing over some of the lessons I found in there.

Jerusalem was under siege, again, and things weren't looking good. (Jeremiah 38:14-28) King Zedekiah called for Jeremiah and asked him what he should do. Jeremiah gave him very clear instructions.

white flag bandiera bianca By portobeseno

He said to surrender and not only would Zedekiah's life be spared, but so would his family's, and Jerusalem wouldn't be burned. He only had to obey.

When the time came, instead of surrendering as God had told him to King Zedekiah and his ruling officials ducked out a hole in the wall during the night and ran. There were great consequences, just as Jeremiah told him there would be. He was hunted down then forced to watch his family's execution. That was the last thing he saw because they gouged out his eyes and hauled him off into captivity. (2 Kings 25:1-7) Jerusalem, his city, was burned, too. Instead of things going well for him even though he was in captivity, as they could have, they went horribly wrong.

All Zedekiah had to do was listen, trust and obey. He had asked for God's direction and received it, but he ignored it. He didn't act on what he knew to do. How many times have I done the same thing? I've known what to do but chose to do things my way. The consequences might not be as immediate nor as severe as Zedekiah's were, but there are still consequences. At times there may even be lives at stake or spiritual lives—whether I know it or not.

Can you imagine what Zedekiah's life was like in captivity? Put yourself in his shoes. He knew what he should have done and he knew that if he had obeyed, his family would not have been killed and his city burned. Instead, I'm sure those images were freeze-framed in his blackness.

I S U R R E N D E R By rajiii

There are times in life when we'll be able to really live only after we have surrendered –even though it seems to go against logic. Just like it was only by surrendering themselves that the people in Jerusalem were spared and allowed to live, it's only by surrendering to God Almighty that we truly live. Surrendering allows God to work in and through us.

I don't know about you, but there are things I need to surrender so that I can really live.

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To Run Smooth

These last two weeks I've rediscovered just how essential my daytimer is to my life--at least if I want my life to run smoothly. Without my daytimer open, filled in and close at hand I tend to wander aimlessly and forget more things than I remember. Little things, big things. My brain turns into a sieve and only holds whatever is right in front of me at the moment. It's not a good way to live. It leaves me feeling harried, stressed and scatterbrained. All of which are not things I like feeling!

So today I've pulled out my handy-dandy daytimer and I'll be filling in the things that need writing down and holding on to it, making sure it's close at hand. That's today's goal.

There's something even more important than my daytimer, though. It's my time spent in God's Word. Without that continual refreshment I become dry and dusty enough to rival the Sahara Desert. Without my time spent with God, I fall apart even more.

Summer schedules tend to trick us and make us think we can coast—and we can, for a short time. If we let ourselves coast for too long life goes downhill fast. My short time of coasting has come to an end. I may run a lighter schedule for another week or so, but I'm making sure the framework stays firm and that the essential things get done.
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This week's winner of Margaret Daley's book is Linda. In her comment Linda said, “Margaret is the lady who introduced me to the world of this genre of books by contacting me about being at the MOA in 2008. If not for her, I'd never have opened my horizon of books. She is one neat lady inside and out. Thank you, Margaret!” I've heard similar stories from others, also. What a great example and help she is to us! Thanks so much, Margaret. And congratulations, Linda!

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Running in Circles

...it's something we all do. Especially me.

This last week I ran in circles. Circles that I didn't have time for. Circles that made me dizzy and my knees knock. I spent the week thinking and praying. In that order. Big mistake.

This morning when I sat down for my Bible reading I turned to the next reference on my list (I'm reading through chronologically) while asking God to direct me. My mind was full of seeking God's will, and here's what I read:
Wait for the Lord;
be strong and let your heart take courage;
yes, wait for the Lord. ~Psalm 27:14

Did I mention that the circles I was running in terrifies me? When I read Psalm 27:14 I was struck all over again by it (this is a favorite verse of mine).
Wait.
Take courage.
Wait.
I'm not a patient person. I tend to leap before I look and then scream all the way down. I do NOT want to do that this time. So, once again, I followed my trail of verses on this topic. (Isn't God good!! He knew I needed to be directed to that verse and that wait/take courage topic today.)

I still don't know if I should leap, but that's not the issue any longer and I have peace. All the Psalms I read this morning were from the time when David was fleeing Saul. David knew he was God's chosen and anointed king, but he didn't rush and snatch the throne. He waited for God's timing and God taught him great things during those years. That's what I want. God's timing for doing God's work—whatever that work is.

As I continued to follow my trail I was directed to Psalm 25:3, but I ended up on verses 4-5. “Make me know Your ways, O Lord; teach me Your paths. Lead me in Your truth and teach me, for You are the God of my salvation; for You I wait all the day.”

I'm claiming those verses especially as I wait and seek (and take courage). But not just those. As I continued on with my reading schedule I was directed to Psalm 31. I tell ya, God is so good!

For You are my rock and my fortress; for Your name's sake You will lead me and guide me. ~Psalm 31:3

God WILL lead me. I have His word on that. I don't need to worry about it. I don't need to run in circles. For His name's sake He will lead me.
Thank You, Father God!

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Chosen

The first two kings of Israel were chosen by God and anointed by Samuel. Neither man was looking for honor, let alone looking to be a king. Both men were going about their father's business. Saul was searching for his father's donkeys and David was tending his father's sheep. Sounds rather everydayish to me.

When Samuel anointed Saul king in I Samuel 10, he also gave him very specific signs as confirmation from God—right down to how many loaves of bread and young goats men would be carrying and the specific instruments the prophets would have along. God made it abundantly clear to Saul that it was He who had chosen him as king. He gave Saul solid evidence of His hand.

But Saul, as he was, wasn't ready to be king. God took care of that detail, too.

The the Spirit of the Lord will come upon you mightily, and you shall prophesy with them and be changed into another man.
~I Samuel 10:6

That phrase jumped off the page to me—and be changed into another man. God equipped Saul to assume a king's responsibilities just God enabled those chosen to judge Israel before Saul's reign.

God doesn't choose those who are qualified
...He qualifies those He chooses.

How many of us have stood before God with our knees knocking and said, 'I can't do that!'? If God calls you to do something He will enable you to do it! Rest in that.

Even after God confirmed His anointing, Saul slips back into his everyday life. When Samuel calls the people together to choose a king, and Saul is chosen, the man is hiding in with the luggage. We do the same thing! God chooses us for a task, and we say 'I can't!' and then run and hide, forgetting, or refusing to believe, that God will enable us to do what He has called us to.

When it was time for Saul to step up, it says “God's Spirit fell on Saul” and he was able to rally the people and lead them as a king. God enabled him to do what he had been called to do. God does the same for us.

He will enable you to do what He called you to do!
Rest in that knowledge
and get to work.

He who began a good work in you
will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus.
~Philippians 1:6

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