How We Hear....

You guessed it! Whitewing are cooing, flowers are blooming and all is peaceful out back…just sitting back and hearing God’s creation amazes me every time.
Sitting out here always has me thinking about “how” we hear.  Cuz “what” we are hearing is important, yes… but the “how” determines the “what”, the depth of our hearing. Guess, as I sit in the calm of our garden, this all really amplifies the contrast of the world outside our fence. The world is soooo noisy, it is easy to go thru the day and only hear the clatter and clutter of things. It becomes “what” we hear and can form a wall that dampens the whispers of God to our soul.

He is God, He doesn’t have to yell, He speaks to us in so many unique ways! Nature, literature, people and places ~ the list is endless ~ He is always speaking to us, no doubt, but can we hear? Are we listening?

One of my favourite verses is….

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.

Romans 15:13

Just love this! It was written by the apostle Paul, yes…but since all Scripture is inspired by God, then that means that God wrote this, and all the rest, to us! For me, when I read this word with that in mind, it is like God is saying….

May the God of Hope (that’s Me, Your Holy Father and Friend, btw)

fill you with all ( ⇚it all belongs to Me, so yeah I can do that!)

Joy and Peace (whatcha get when you hang out with Me)

as you trust in Him, (you can do that…trust Me, lean on Me, I got this!)

so that (here comes the good part!)

you may overflow (no skimping on things for my kids!)

with Hope ( ⇚ that’s Me!)

by the power of the Holy Spirit. (You’re not in this life alone, I will never leave you or forsake you! I will always, always love you…come on kid, lean in, trust Me)

That’s my prayer for us all ~ that we will learn to lean in and “hear” God speaking His love over our souls. That each one will seek and find the unique way that God is speaking to us…

Wait…Listen…Do you hear that? ♥

He Reaches

So, I went out to feed the birds yesterday afternoon, after the rain. It was beautiful! Whitewing cooing, rain drops collecting on the leaves and slowly dripping into the puddles the sparrows were drinking out of. I just love watching how God provides for His created. ♥

It was then, just as I stepped under the edge of the outdoor roof, I noticed rain drops on a bamboo leaf….but the bamboo is over 20 feet way?! But oh, this branch was reaching all the way from the labyrinth to the place I stood. Such a life picture, right? God does that…He reaches out and reigns right where we are!

Like life, when I think I’m too far, or there’s a storm coming thru my life, He reaches down and reigns all over the situation. He pours out His Peace, washes away the worries and stills my soul. He is there to celebrate with us in the Joys of life He brings. He heals our sorrows in the paths of prayer…

 

All this is for your sake;

and as God's grace reaches

more and more people,

they will offer to the glory of God

more prayers of thanksgiving.

For this reason we never become discouraged.

Even though our physical being

is gradually decaying,

yet our spiritual being

is renewed day after day.

II Corinthians 4:15 & 16

 

He reaches, He always reaches…all we need to do is reach back and take hold of His promises and trust in the reign.

Stepping Out of Our Comfort Zone

What a phrase! …and it sounds so uncomfortable! But, when I think for a minute, it shouldn’t be uncomfortable. If when, where, and how I am stepping is when, where and how God wants me, then why the lack of comfort? As a Christ follower, the more accurate application of the phrase could be that when I’m moving somewhere in life I shouldn’t be, then I’m out of my comfort zone.

…for the Joy of the Lord is your strength…Nehemiah 8:10

I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength…Philippians 4:13

They’re not just bumper sticker slogans, I know. And as I am sitting in the garden this morning, it is peaceful and quiet. The doves are cooing and the sun is just rising and peeking thru the trees…I can see it shining at the other end of the path, so bright compared to everything else!

That’s our life, isn’t it? Sometimes shining brightly, other times we feel like we’re peeking thru the darkness and being the light for another.

As I’m still thinking on this comfort zone thing, it really seems that at times we can also make people around us uncomfortable, when we point out that we’re “stepping out of our comfort zone” to do something for them. When really, in my day, in what I do, the words I choose and how I act, He is right there…so? Should I not be bringing others closer to God? After all, He is the source of comfort.

 

God will take us plenty of places we might not have chosen, or even realized existed, but those steps can be joy-filled ~ celebrating His presence and power in the moment.

…where the Spirit of the Lord is present, there is freedom.

2 Corinthians 3:17b  GNT

THAT is…

~ freedom from fear and worry

~ freedom to live fully

~ freedom to trust Him in something new

~ freedom to breathe

It’s the life lived from God’s perspective, not our own. Like when I look at this gorgeous bloom on our royal palm. It just towers over everything! I wouldn’t choose to perch myself up there and I can think of all kinds of reasonable reasons that I shouldn’t be up there. I wonder how often we miss the beautiful views God has for us in life, all because we thought we were being reasonable!

The danger, the mis-step is when we define our own zone, choose our own steps and seek our own reasonable comfort. However, when “our comfort zone” is living and being with Christ in every moment…that is life, the steps we are called to walk joyously in. When The Comforter is Who defines our comfort zone, our steps are aligned and secured by Him…and that’s the zone to stay in!

All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is our merciful Father and the source of all comfort.  He comforts us in all our troubles so that we can comfort others. When they are troubled, we will be able to give them the same comfort God has given us.

2 Corinthians 1:3&4 GNT