Not Spring Yet

 

On my side of the mountain in Montana, we have grown accustomed to at least one spring snowstorm.  About the time we are teased into thinking spring is just around the corner, we receive the biggest snowfall of the year.  That very thing happened this week.  On the weekend the temperatures were in the 6o’s tempting us to thoughts of cleaning the garage or planting something.  Then it happened.  On Tuesday morning we awakened to snow on the ground, and it snowed all day—hard, steadily, and unrelentingly.  Twenty inches later, we wondered why we even considered that spring was on the way.

I love snow.  At least, I love snow falling.  I love the hush that settles over the earth when snow is falling.  I love the sense of peace that snowfall brings—the ceasing from activity and the “permission” that comes to stay inside and rest.  I love how snow covers the browns and grays with a blanket of white.  There are no variables with snow.  Snow is not off-white; it is not eggshell; it is not cream.  Snow is white.  It falls in stark contrast to the muted tones of the earth.

Like the browns and grays of the landscape before the snowfall, there seem to be so many brown and gray areas of life any more.  So many uncertainties, so many indefinites. 

Then there are the brown and gray areas of my heart—the areas that aren’t really black, but not really white either.  Like the habit of making myself appear better than I really am, the desire to be preferred, or the need to be approved.
 

In a few weeks we will celebrate the resurrection of our Lord Jesus.  The landscape will take on another hue as the results of today’s snowfall turn the grays and browns to green.  There will be an emphasis on hope and new life.

The time between now and Easter is a wonderful opportunity to identify the browns and grays of our life—the sins that are not perhaps blatant or obvious, but put Christ on the cross, nevertheless.  It is a time of self examination and repentance, a time of surrendering completely to the Lordship of Christ, not holding anything back. It is a time to pray, “Lord, show me sin that I am not even aware of that separates me from You.  And use the snowfalls between now and then to remind me that only the absolute “whiteness of your rightness” can make me whiter than snow.”  Isaiah 1:18   

RomaLee

Cabin Fever, Concussions, & Contusions

This time of the year I start to get what is known as “Cabin Fever.”  It’s not quite spring yet, (at least here in Colorado) and when there isn’t any snow on the ground, things seem brown, dirty and messy.  I have to admit, it’s my least favorite time of year.  It’s not really warm enough to open up the windows and air things out for very long either!   It can get a bit depressing.

In my attempt to make it feel like spring is on the way, I try to get outside every day for either a walk, or a trip to the dog park with my favorite canine Husky friend, Lakita.  Last Saturday I was babysitting my daughter’s puppy as well.  She has an adorable little Shih-Tzu / Malti-poo mix named Half-Pint who is full of grit and vinegar!

Now usually my dear hubby braves it and goes with me to the dog park, but since he has been down with this nasty cold that is going around, we decided it was best for him to stay home and rest.  So I loaded up the dogs and attempted to make the trek myself.  We have a gorgeous 16 acre dog park that is about a 15 minute drive from our house, and it is always a nice getaway.   The dogs can run their little hearts out while we get our exercise as well. 

I arrived at the park and everything seemed to be going smoothly.  I had already walked my three times around when suddenly I saw several big dogs running full force after little Half-Pint.  Since rescuing things (people, animals, etc.) is in my nature, without thinking, I bent down to grab Half-Pint before the big dogs could get her.  Well of course they weren’t paying attention, and Lakita ran full force into my head, jamming my neck and leaving a huge bump on my head.  Oh course those who saw it were concerned, and asked me if I was okay.  To save embarrassment, I said “Oh I am fine.”   What I didn’t realize, until I got in the car, was that my eye was hurting too.  Evidently, Lakita’s tooth must have caught right below my eye, leaving a nice little gash.  As of today, it is a nice black and blue color.  My head has been pretty painful the past couple of days, so I am pretty sure I have a slight concussion.

Needless to say, I am seeing my chiropractor today to work out some issues, but it just goes to show, from one day to the next, we never know what life holds for us.

But what I do like about this time of year is that I know spring is around the corner.  It gives me a sense of hope and anticipation.  Again the trees will be budding, the flowers will be in bloom, and the grass will once again be green.  My daughter and I are already planning our weekly hikes, and I know that before long, I will be able to pull out my summer clothes, and feel that warm sunshine on my skin again.

This may be a season for you in your life where things aren’t going the way you had hoped or planned.  You are feeling like “spring” may never come.  Maybe you are struggling in your marriage.  Maybe you have a teenager that is challenging you.  Maybe you have been dealing with an illness.  Whatever the case may be, let me assure you that spring is on its way.  Things don’t stay the same forever. 

There is a favorite scripture of mine that says: “I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you, and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future."

When things aren’t going my way, I try to remind myself of how blessed I truly am.  I know God has my life in His hands, and is working all things together for my good.  It may not be in my time, but He will see me through the tough times and the good times, and He will see you through as well.

I’d love to have you share a time when you thought you weren’t going to make it, but God has been there to see you through your circumstances.

Janna

‘Tis the Season

Today, as I write this blog entry, it is Ash Wednesday.  I did not grow up observing Lent.  In fact, for all the rules and regulations that were a part of my religious upbringing, somehow Lent was never mentioned.  Maybe it was because I was neither Catholic nor Lutheran.  Maybe it was because I was unaware and uniformed.  As an adult, I began to be surrounded by people who took Lent very seriously.  Two cherished Catholic friends began to open my eyes to the meaningfulness of the season. 

I heard much talk yesterday of what people were “giving up” for Lent.  The idea of giving up something for the forty days prior to Good Friday is to remind us of the ultimate sacrifice Christ made in giving up His life on our behalf that we might be able to have relationship with a holy God.  This is where Lent takes on meaning for me.  I, who had no hope of ever being in relationship with a holy, sovereign God, now enjoy peace with Him, right relationship with Him, because of the sacrifice of our Lord, because of His holy life being offered up in my place.   I think it is important to note that no amount of fasting or sacrifice on my part makes me right with God.  He already approves of and loves me to the fullest extent.  Not because I am worthy, but because His Son Jesus is.  That being said, it is good and right to set aside a season of time to especially remember and reflect on Christ’s sacrifice.  The key is to focus the time on repenting from our sins and consecrating ourselves to God, not on trying to earn God's favor or increase His love for us.
  I remember that He is God and I am not.

As we start into the Lenten Season, I am look forward to slowing down the hectic pace of my life and to, once again, bring my focus back to the mighty God whom I am privileged to know.  It occurred to me that Lent is not always about giving something up but about offering something up to Him with grateful hearts for all that He has done for us.  Perhaps it would be purposing to do something we are not currently doing, or doing something in greater measure than we are doing now.  Time in prayer on the way to work or school, an act of kindness in the grocery store, kind words to the discouraged, sitting in solitude or quiet reflection on God and His ways are all examples.    

The word “intentional” keeps showing up in my conversations these days.  When that happens, I have learned to pay attention.  In thinking about how I will practice Lent, I decided to be intentional about noticing new things about God in this Season.  Every day I am going to expect that God is going to show up in my life in some way on that day, and I am going to try to be careful to recognize and acknowledge it when He does.  In the end, I hope that it will be more about God and less about me.  I hope to have a greater knowledge of Him and His ways.  I hope my relationship to Him will be deepened and strengthened.  

Are you observing Lent this year?  If so I’d love you to share!

RomaLee

Ahh…The Simple Life

We all long for “The Simple Life.”  But what does that mean, and how do we ever achieve it?  When I think of the simple life, the Amish community always comes to mind because of their innate ability to live with so little.  They are truly an amazing group of people, and I admire the simplicity they’ve been able to pass down for generations.  Every farm is immaculate and in perfect order.  They work tirelessly from sun up to sun down.  They have no electricity.  Their laundry is neatly hung in a row out on the line, and the gardens look like photo shoots for a Better Homes and Garden magazine.  They wear plain clothing.  They don’t have telephones in their homes.  

It sounds like a simpler, less hectic way, but is it really?  While I’m sure that it does have its many advantages, for me personally, not having some of our modern conveniences, would certainly add more stress to my life.  I don’t know that I would want to live without electricity, or any of the conveniences that I take for granted.  For example, being without a phone for a while may be nice, but I love technology when it comes to communicating with my son in Texas, or daily chats with my daughter, or touching base with my hubby when he’s in another country on business.  (Skype then becomes my friend.)

So…how do we live a simple life in 2011?  Is it even possible?  Well let’s look at what “simplify” means.  There are several definitions that I came across when looking up the term, but the one I like the best is “to make less complex or complicated; make plainer or easier.”

Can we do that?  I believe we can.  We can certainly make our lives less complex or complicated by cutting back on activities that have no meaning or value.  How many things are you doing because you feel obligated, but your heart is really not in them?  Now granted, there are things in life that we need to do that we don’t necessarily like to do.  But I am talking about activities we put upon ourselves that drain us and we could just as easily do without.  Being involved in too many groups, too many sports activities, too many fund-raisers, etc., etc.  We need to set boundaries and learn to say “no” when appropriate.  We can know our limits and stick to them and teach our children how to do the same.

We can also make our lives less complex or complicated by being organized in our home, our business and our life in general.  I don’t know about you, but I cannot function in clutter.  I feel like a whole new person when my house is clean, and I know where to find things.  Is it always clean and tidy?  No.  (Especially with a Siberian Husky who is shedding right now)  But I try to carve out some time each week to re-organize and get things back in order again for the next week.  Taking 15 minutes to plan out your week can also be a lifesaver and make things run much more smoothly.

We can make our lives plainer or easier by letting everyone in the home know what their responsibilities are and by following through to make sure they carry them out.  When everyone pitches in, the load becomes much lighter, and working together can provide great times to connect with one another.

We can make our lives plainer or easier by preparing meals ahead of time, (the crock pot is also my friend) and sitting down to the table together as a family to share about the day instead of sitting in front of the television.  Turn off the TV and take time to enjoy one another's company.  Family relationships are well worth investing in.

There are so many ways to simplify our lives, but I believe this wise Amish farmer says it best.

“We realize that not everyone is cut out to be one of the plain people. Many have not the opportunity:  but here is the challenge:

If you admire our faith, strengthen yours.

If you admire our sense of commitment, deepen yours.

If you admire our community spirit, build your own.

If you admire our simple life, cut back.

If you admire deep character and enduring values, live them yourself!”

--An Amish man writing in Small Farm Journal, Summer 1993

Do one thing this week to simply “simplify” your life!  Be sure to tell us about it. Or maybe you have some other ideas you could share with us to help us all simplify.

Janna