I Spy WIth My Little Eye

  Driving has become part of my life in the last couple of months. Every week day I drive a total of 90 minutes, 1 hour and 30 minutes. At first the drive was like an adventure. And then as the months wore on it became more of a chore. When I found that I was getting tired and bored of the drive I gave myself a goal. Look for a new "picture" on each trip.
  In the beginning of this new endeavor, it was difficult to see beyond the normal pictures of the trip. All the buildings appeared the same, the scenery was the same, and so on. And then one day as I was traveling to work I saw my first amazing picture. Oreo Cookie Cows! I gave them that name because no one could tell me what they were really named. They have black on their head and rump and then around the middle they have what looks like a painted white stripe. And they all look like this! I have found other scenes that my mind has snapped pictures of as well: a little red barn off the beaten path, a house that always seems to be surrounded by emergency vehicles, a tree that looks like a large T-Rex towering over I-35, and a tiny house boat I wish I had the money to buy.
  This new looking endeavor has put a new out look on traveling back and forth to work. I find something new and then thank God for the little silver lining to the beginning or ending of my day. It also has got me in search of other times through out the day when He surprises me with a hidden blessing. Who knew a 90 minute drive could turn out to be so much fun. :)

A Loving Whisper

   As I looked at the clock for the 14th time in one minute I could feel my heart start racing and my anxiety get dangerously close to an uncontrollable level. In only 15 minutes I was going to be leaving for an interview I had been feeling very unsettled about. I closed my eyes, tried to breathe a couple of times, and I unsuccessfully attempted to steer my focus onto anything else. Opening my eyes I glanced down to my purse one the floor and realized that my Streams In The Desert was calling my name. I picked up the well used book and flipped it open to the day's devotion. As I read, my heart calmed its strained pitter patter, my anxiety vanished, and I began to smile.
   Those words had been whispered into the author's ear a long time ago and obediently they wrote them down never knowing whose name God had placed on that particular day's reading. Yet when I read those words and then repeated them over and over in my mind as I drove to the interview, I heard Him whisper "I love you, you are not the only one who has been here."


     ---Excerpts from November 18---
  "It is sometimes very difficult not to be offended in Jesus Christ, for the offense may be the result of my circumstances. I may find myself confined to narrow areas of service...when I had hoped for much wider opportunities. Yet the Lord knows what is best for me, and my surroundings are determined by Him. Wherever He places me, He does so to strengthen my faith and power and to draw me into closer communion with Himself. And even if confined to a dungeon, my soul will prosper.
   When I gave myself to Him, I had hoped that my skies would always be fair, but often they are overcast with clouds and rain. But I must believe that when difficulties remain, it is that I may learn to trust Him completely -- to trust and not be afraid. And it is through my mental and emotional struggles that I am being trained to tutor others who are being tossed by the storm.
    Once I arrive at my heavenly home, I will look back across the turns and trials along my path and will sing the praises of my Guide. So whatever comes my way, I will welcome His will and refuse to be offended in my loving Lord." - Alexander Smellie-

Words

     She had been following the blog Heart to Heart with Holley Gerth for sometime. She had stumbled upon her blog while going through a rough patch at her previous job. It was something about how the words painted across her soul that caught her attention.
     She began contemplating how words have more importance than we might think. Our thoughts slip out of our minds and into listening ears quite often. She thought often do we allow those thoughts to slip out without taking into consideration feelings and the effect they may have on someone else. She had too often wished that she could take words she had said back and crumple them up. She had read how God us commanded to be slow to speak and quick to listen. Such a simple command and yet it became such a complexity simply because people don't always follow it.
     She had become a victim to this complexity. Words had been carelessly said to her. Casually spoken words, words that struck deeper than had been meant or imagined. Slowly she hid them away to hopefully to be forgotten in some cobwebbed corner of her mind. Although it was easy to forgive the carelessness. It was not as easy to forget how those words felt.

Sunday Blessing

     I walked through the doors of the little country church Sunday morning. I picked up the bulletin and sat in my usual spot on the back row, near the aisle. As people began to filter into the church I scanned over the announcements, knowing they would be gone over more thoroughly during the service. Notes about turning in cans to raise money, the pastor and his wife had successfully moved, so on and so forth. But it was the two lines at the bottom of the bulletin that caught my attention. The pastor preached his sermon but it was those two lines that I remembered later in the day. And have even stuck with me through this week. You never know how God is going to speak to you. It could be through something earth shattering or as simple as a few words. For me it has always been the little blessings, the little occurrences through the day, a small bit of poetry or song lyric, that have always spoken volumes to my soul. God spoke to my heart as a small child  through the lyrics of a song. I could not sing it in its entirety without tearing up. I remember walking down that aisle scared to death but the desire to be able to sing those words with truth behind it, compelled my little spirit to go up front.
     Today a co-worker shared a quote that she has posted on her desk. Matthew Henry was the author and the verse was from Psalm. It spoke directly to the situation at hand and gave both of us a sense of peace. I was able to share my little quote from Sunday with her. She smiled as she said, "God is good." Yes He is. I hope each one of you has a blessed week and feels God's voice whispering to your heart.

'When life knocks you to your knees,
         You are in a perfect position to pray!'