Sheshequin Shubbery

Along my drive everyday there is a section of road with a cliff down to the river on one side and a cliff almost straight up on the other.  Last winter I was mesmerized by the ice that formed on the cliff.  Thick, solid ice that clung to the rocky face.  So thick that I was sure it would be June before the ice would be melted away.  It was beautiful in all its solid icy-ness, in some places an icy blue, effected by the environmental effects on the frozen water.

Spring came and the ice soon vanished (long before June), and in its place were trickles of water finding their way down from the hill above.  Depending on the rains that fell there were sometimes waterfalls of assorted sizes tricking, drizzling, or gushing down the cliff.  

As the temperature slowly increased and the days ticked by, we noticed small bits of green appearing on the rocky cliffs.  Some places it didn't even look as if there was room for anything to have a root structure let alone a good soil to grow from.  But grow the vegetation did.  As Spring slipped into Summer, greens of all sorts flourished up and down the cliff.  Trees and shrubs bloomed and were full of blossoms and leaves.  Grasses grew tall.  And "weeds" of all sorts filled in the rocky cliffside. 

I thought of the purpose of all that foliage.  What was its purpose?  It was just going to die. It could die if it was starved of water, baked in the hot sun. It would die when the temperatures dipped and froze them all off.  Did that effect how they grew?  Did the trees hesitate to flourish because their life might be cut short?  The trees further up the hill would flourish and thrive year round as it went in and out of season, living its life.  Did the plants on the rocky cliff look at the pines further up the hill and wish they were them?

No.  Every bit of green strived to be the best plant it could be.  Sprouting, budding, shining in the sun.  I remember driving by one day and the leaves of one of the bushes fluttered and danced in the wind-simply shining and being beautiful.  God created those plants to be what they are and they delivered.

Come Autumn the leaves turned pretty colors and the grass that hadn't dried up during the end of the summer drought began to wilt.  The temperature begins to drop and ice begins to grow up and down the cliff.  Before long the ice will be thick and completely covering the cliff face and effectively smothering and killing all the foliage that just spent eight months striving to grow and go through their life cycle.  Now they are gone.  Their life, a simple, short season.  But they did everything God put them on the earth to do. 

The foliage on that cliffside will not be seen by garden extraordinaries, no tours to see their amazing colors, their timber would never build anything, their fibers won't be turned into a fancy basket.  But they flourished just as God intended.

It's so easy to look at my life and think that what I'm doing is unimportant, that times of my life have no purpose.  But God created me to be what he has chosen for me to be.  There may be times that I am flourishing, shining in the sun.  There may be times where I'm crushed and smothered with cold, hard ice.  Even if my life cycle is cut short.  The time that I'm living and flourishing I want to strive to be the best I can.  To be a shining example that I'm straight on track for what God has for me. Everyday focusing others on Christ.

I'm reminded of  a few verses:

"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, 

"plans to prosper you and not to harm you,

 plans to give you hope and a future."  Jeremiah 29:11

"And we know that for those who love God

 all things work together for good, 

for those who are called according to his purpose."  Romans 8:28

"The plans of the Lord stand firm forever,

 the purposes of His heart through all generations." 

Psalm 33:11

No matter what comes our way and regardless of the ups and downs; we are safe and comfortable in the very center of where God puts us!

Fennel

 Today I was trying out yet another recipe for the fam.  Hubby wanted some eggplant - finding recipes for proper gut and overall healing is becoming an adventure!  The recipe I found looked yummy, so I started to gather the ingredients which included a bucket of spices and I popped out the front door to grab some fennel (My family comments often about me feeding them "yard" in their food!).  I wanted all of the herbs and spices to be combined very well, so they all went into the mortal and pestle.  As I was picking and de-stemming the fennel and the aroma filled the kitchen (I love the smell of fennel) I noticed my hands were thoroughly saturated with the oil and smell of fennel.  

Well, anybody that is going to be around me is going to know I've been dabbling in fennel.  It prompted me to think about my life in general.  What are my hands in and actively doing that is evident to others around me.  Am I dabbling in good things, enriching others, striving to be Christ-like, discipling, etc...

Or am I sticking my hands where they don't belong?  Pulling others down, criticizing, lying, cheating, etc...  What stink have I put my hands in that I think others won't notice?

I think of the many times God mentions people's obedience, actions, and worship being a sweet aroma, a pleasing incense to him.  I want my life to be a pleasing aroma rising up to him.  I wafting of fennel incense, a sweet cumin, warm coriander, or hot cinnamon.  

I don't want my actions, feelings, thoughts to be a stench. Every summer the road we travel to work and church is littered with roadkill and leaves a fantastic stick in the hot summer sun. The farmers whose fields fill the miles and miles around us spray their fields with a pungent manure. A skunk randomly gets a fright in our neighborhood and shares his defense with us.  All these scents, unpleasant, and something I don't want God or others smelling on me.

As I was mashing and grinding the herbs and spices together I was also reminded that there are times when we need to be put through a little pressure to get the best results.  I could have sprinkled a little cinnamon here, a little coriander there, but by grinding all the spices together, they were will mixed to spread the most efficiently over the veggies. The pressure of all the grinding and smashing brought out the oils from the fresh herbs.  Sometimes we need a little pressure, a little mixing with those around us to get the best results.  

The next time I find myself rubbed the wrong way, struggling to work alongside someone; I want to remind myself that working together, going through stresses together will only strengthen us all and working together, we can make the best aroma. 

Roux

 Ever made a roux?  I hadn't until recently when I jumped back into cooking because, well, because health and our future demanded I start paying attention and filling our bodies with nutrient dense foods.  A traumatic brain injury and a stroke will cause you to take notice of things. 

Today, as most Sunday afternoons, I was in the kitchen prepping for a busy week and making sure we had lunches for everyone going every-which-way throughout the week.  One of the minors' favorites is "Easy and Comforting Ham And Potato Soup", which requires a roux to finish up the tasty soup.

I start to make the roux:  waiting for the butter to melt, measuring in the flour, waiting for the flour to turn golden, whisking in milk, and then whisking, and whisking......and more whisking.  Every time I make a roux, I'm sure that it's not going to thicken this time; it's taken far too long and it's just going to be a thin mess.  All of a sudden, it's thick and ready to go in the soup; changing the sad looking watery potato and ham soup into a wonderfully, comforting pot of deliciousness to jar up for school lunches.

As I was whisking the roux today it reminded me of all the many times I've been waiting, doing what I was sure was the right thing, but nothing seemed to be happening.  Waiting, anticipating, wondering, and more waiting for God to show me what the end result is.  All of sudden it's there, the wait is complete, the work is complete, and I'm left wondering why on earth I doubted God and His process at all.  Like the roux, watery and thin, I doubt that it's ever going to thicken. Then I turn around and the work that God has been doing is ready for it's next venture.  Sometimes the venture is huge and sometimes it seems small.  But regardless of my assessment on the subject, God is faithful and His timing is perfect.

I was recently reminded of God's timing and not my own while studying Acts.  It's so easy to read Scripture and put our own timeline on things.  A simple day or week from one chapter to another as we aimlessly read.  But a little deeper study and spans of time start showing.  In the second chapter of Acts when they are gathering together and Pentecost had arrived it had been fifty days since Passover and Christ's resurrection. 

Five years after the beginning of God's Church, the Jewish religious rulers, including a guy named Saul, stone Stephen, creating the first martyr of the Church.  Five years the Church had been growing and spreading throughout Jerusalem, while a mere eight chapters of Biblical truths, healings, and persecutions have been shared.  

Persecution breaks out in large, Christians scatter and take God's Truth wherever they spread to.  Saul is threatening Christians and heads out on a "Politically Sanctioned" vendetta, only to have God stop him in his tracks.  He gets some hardcore discipleship and must have had an uphill battle of trying to persuade the Christians he wasn't there for their heads.  In Acts 9:22-26 we surprisingly have THREE years that have passed in three short verses.  

The rest of chapter nine, ten, and a good portion of eleven has the Apostles quite busy:  Peter's seeing visions, Gentiles are seeing visions, God's laying out facts for the new church.  But reading the Scripture without studying it, it's all in a simple blink. 

End of chapter eleven and Barnabas heads out from Jerusalem to get Saul who's been up in Tarsus getting some serious discipling and bring him down to Antioch to spend a year discipling the church there.  Six years Saul was being discipled. in Tarsus.  Six years the church has been growing, learning, teaching.  When Barnabas and Saul arrived back in Antioch they spent an entire year discipling the church there. 

Three years later Barnabas and Saul head out on a Holy Spirit sanctioned, church approved Mission Trip.  Halfway through the book of Acts and we've gobbled up almost two decades!  

It's so easy to read and not realize the time that God is diligently setting up His Church.  The patience He demonstrates as he works through the people as he brings things from a watery, sloppy pot of ingredients to a beautiful golden thick roux.  The reminder that whatever we're going through and however long it may seem, God has a plan for us and if we just let him keep whisking the proper ingredients, the proper heat, for the proper time a fantastic finished product will appear.

So, I'll stop repeating, "just keep swimming..." to myself, and replace it with "just keep whisking." 

It's Game Night!

 

What family doesn’t enjoy a little game night now and then?  But at the same time who doesn’t dread a Monopoly Game that just. won’t. end?   Our family enjoys an assortment of games but can also get a little competitive resulting in our evenings not being as fun as we had anticipated.  I am very guilty of just wanting a fun game night with no scores. 

Recently we’ve been striving to make more designated family time for us to all spend some quality time doing things together as opposed to just being in the same house together.  We’ve found a few rounds of Dutch Blitz to be a great evening of “loving” name calling and fun.  Our 10-year-old daughter can’t say no to a game of Uno-any version will do, but she is partial to “Uno-Flip” at the moment.

I just picked up the old classic “BOGGLE” and have had fun playing it with just the hubby and I (of course once he gets in the groove, he kicks my butt).  We did find that the 90-second timer isn’t enough, so we do the 3-minute version of the game.

In my craft supply cupboard are a dozen boxes of Dollar Tree “Tumbling Tower Games” (aka Dollar Tree Jenga) that I have on hand to make holiday decorations and gifts (lots of fun and I’m sure I’ll post about them sometime).  Last week our daughter asked for permission to have a box to play with and off she went to play a game by herself and then to building towers and houses on the kitchen table. 

Getting the blocks out had reminded me of some fun jenga game twists I had seen in my Pinterest meanderings and prompted me to get another box of “tumbling tower” blocks out of the craft cupboard.   Hubby and I have been married for close to 18 years, have two teenage boys, a tween daughter, work in ministry, I manage one of our family’s multi-generational businesses, and sadly our personal relationship with each other isn’t always focused on like it should be. So, we've been trying to be more intentional with our time spent together.

I took to (carefully) scouring the internet for some fun idea/prompts to turn a simple game of “jenga” into a lot more fun for Hubby and I to play together….alone….when the kiddos are sound asleep, or at Grammas, or school, or just somewhere else…..   I got out my ink, poured the box of blocks on my desk, and stamped a pair of hearts on each end of every block so that this box of blocks is very easily distinguishable from any others, and then spent an evening brainstorming and looking up fun prompts, ideas, etc…. to write on each block. 

Hubby picked about my silly craft night as I concealed what exactly I was writing and looking up.  When I finished my creation and teased him by showing him a few blocks he suddenly was a touch more interested in this future game of “Jenga” between the two of us. I've shared a photo of our "Couples Tower Game", showing just the mildest prompt I included-creating this game allowed me to push aside the "ho-hums" of an evening spent together while still having control over what the prompts and ideas are going to be - unlike if we were to purchase a ready made "couples game" that we may find ourselves partially or fully uncomfortable playing.  

After finishing the creation of our ”2 player only-Couples Tower Game” (which is clearly labeled and stored safely in our bedroom) I took out another box of blocks to create a Family set.  Looking up prompts for this tower was fun and challenging as I want it to be fun for a 10-year-old girl, two teen boys, and us ol’ parents.  Hopefully I’ve succeeded.  I got the ink out again and divided the blocks into five piles, stamping a “v” on either end of each block in each of our favorite colors.  With a combination of physical activities, some brainy questions, a few open-ended questions, and a handful of animal sounds it should be a fun game to play around the kitchen table this summer.  

Even if our new tower game gets boring over the summer, it was a simple $1.25 purchase for some time spent with each other being silly and laughing together.  What are some fun things you do to intentionally spend time together with your family people?

What If?

Watching the weather channel this morning as we ate our continental breakfast at our hotel, I was dismayed at how much of the news they reported was devastation.  So little of it, if any, was encouraging.  No attempt was made to put any positive spin on a single story it seemed.  Even stories that hinted at some amazing human who was overcoming the odds was wound down focusing on the negatives and not the battles won.  Following our breakfast, we spent some time relaxing in our hotel room and I turned to watching aerial videos of the surrounding area and it’s beauty.  As I relaxed to the music and the beauty of God’s Creation and re-creation of our big blue and green orb floating in space called Earth, I was struck with what God has gifted us with and how much of it we take for granted. 

What if we spent time looking to our Creator and what he has gifted us with instead of what our “friend” on social media is doing, or said, or is complaining about?  What if we stopped comparing our lives to “all the people” and focusing on “all the things”?  What if we focused on what God did for us, truly focused on it and what it means for us?  What if we realized that our focus on the negativity that is exuded from the culture around us is affecting us on every single level of our lives?

I grew up reading Little House On The Prairie and other similar books.  I always remember the romanticized “simplicity” of the characters’ lives.  As an adult I understand that the hard, strenuous lives they lived were far from “simple”, but the emotional and mental strain they endured was focused mainly on their small little world.  I envy that.  Our Global mindset has us focused on EVERYTHING, EVERYONE, EVERWHERE.  God created us as amazing images of himself and in his awesome perfection and all powerfulness HE is able to be everywhere at all times.  I don’t believe our humanness, in it’s brokenness, is designed to mentally, emotionally, and spiritually deal with and process all the EVERY’s.   

I am just as guilty of this as anyone, and while our heartfelt reaction to trials and problems around the world is often to try to help in some way, how often do we actually reach out to help those close by?  Our world is so full of negativity and downward views that it has seeped into every facet of our lives.  Recently a good friend of mine commented on another friend’s social media post, and while they didn’t respond to our friends post online, they took the time to discuss, correct, and complain about the post with another friend.  Again, just as guilty myself of very similar acts.  Prior to social media, what our thoughts on a friend’s morning musings were, made no difference to anyone, but today, it’s part of our daily conversations.  Not uplifting, not encouraging, “just conversation” to fill dead air possibly?  It sure has me thinking about a lot of other ideas, ideals, and habits.  What if we start filtering the content we allow into ourselves, as well as filtering the content we allow to come out as well?  Isn’t there a childhood proverb in there somewhere, “garbage in….garbage out….”?

Privacy Lost

As I recall my husband’s proposal to me, a “couple” years ago, the details flood back.  The memories of him working behind my back to schedule my employees so I could take the night off from work, him whisking me away, the location and event he took me to, and the moment he started fumbling with something in his pocket during the encore song of the concert.  My delight in the box and the amazement that he was indeed asking me to marry him.  He had succeeded in accomplishing something I had always desired-a proposal I was 100% unaware was coming and a ring he had not only purchased without my knowledge, but had designed just for me.  I can share all the details with whomever I want, but that moment is forever ours, in our memories, and captured purely there without care of how we looked, how the camera angle was, how many likes, clicks, swipes, the information received on social media.  I cherish that.  Now, in all fairness, at that point in history, there was almost no social media.  I’m not sure MySpace was even a “thing” yet.  I DID have an e-mail address that I am sure I used to share our exciting news when I wanted to.  I once asked a good friend how he proposed to his wife shortly after he announced their engagement.  His response shocked me a little, “That’s our private story.”.  At the time I thought, “how silly.”.  Today, I applaud him for protecting his memories and story as our world goes crazy and narcissistic in feeling that everyone must need know our every move and piece of our story.  We have become a culture that has completely given up its ability to live in private moments.  Our precious times, shared with those closest to us are no longer shared simply between the few people in that moment. 

I remember reading an article, when my almost adult sons were very tiny humans, that encouraged NOT stopping to immortalize EVERY SINGLE event in photographs.   At first I thought it was a dumb suggestion.  We had digital cameras now and the ability to catch every exciting, silly moment and new step forever was too good to be true.  Why not use it!?  But, what was I missing scrambling for the camera or my phone to grab a picture before it disappeared?  I was missing the moment.  Sure, I could “re-live” the moment looking at the photo, but was I really IN the moment in the first place.  So often we stage our lives to make sure they are social media ready.  We invite people into some of the most private moments of our lives via social media.  Why?

Growing up we were always warned about “keeping up with the Joneses”.  Now, instead of keeping up with the Joneses or in our circle of friends, we have also weighted ourselves with keeping up with the Joneses all around the world.  Some of our most private moments must now be shown to the entire world to see how many likes and/or comments we receive.  And it’s become so commonplace that I don’t think the current generations, Millennials and Gen Z, even realize it’s anything but normal.  I joked recently with my husband that we are the tail end of the generation that has any privacy left at all and even we have succumbed to giving it away frivolously.  

I love to share in people’s joys and exciting moments, but open a social media app and it is flooded with, advertisements-they work that market flawlessly, and everyday happenings, private moments, precious moments, and more.  But my dear friends, are any of us actually LIVING in those moments?  Some of the people I know who are living some of the fullest lives and are the most content are the ones who post on social media the least.  Our need and desire for people to see us and know our story at all times has become a disease of sorts.  We invite everyone into some of our most private moments: our quiet times with God, our honeymoons, our intimate evenings with our spouses, our conversations with our children.  I find myself fighting with my desire to stop contemplating life and the trees and the fire in front of me as I enjoy a quiet evening outdoor with my family to take a photo because the world needs to see I am having a good moment.  Our inability to exist and enjoy life without others having to like or see what we are doing is becoming damaging to our psyche.  Are we able to exist without shouting to everyone that we are?  Are we able to simply take time to be in the moment, enjoy it, and carry on-sufficient in the knowledge that we did what we did, accomplished what we did, and no one may ever know about it?  Don’t neglect to share your joys and great news, but at the same time, guard yourself from inviting all the world into all your private moments with your loved ones and yourself.  Take time to LIVE in the moments instead of staging them and sharing with the world-it’s narcissistically focused on itself anyway.

Worry?

 

I recently stumbled upon a series of "worry" verses and realized how appropriate the timing was that I was finding, and in turn reading through, the verses and studying around them.  The very first selection I looked at was Psalm 127:1-5.  It always makes me smile when I realize that GOD is apparently putting something in my path over and over.

1

      Unless the Lord builds the house,

    those who build it labor in vain.

Unless the Lord watches over the city,

    the watchman stays awake in vain.

2 

It is in vain that you rise up early

    and go late to rest,

eating the bread of anxious toil;

    for he gives to his beloved sleep.

3 

Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord,

    the fruit of the womb a reward.

4 

Like arrows in the hand of a warrior

    are the children of one's youth.

5 

Blessed is the man

    who fills his quiver with them!

He shall not be put to shame

    when he speaks with his enemies in the gate.

It is so very comforting to know that no matter how hard we work, how hard we strive, how good we are at something; if GOD isn't in it, if our faith isn't in GOD, then it's all vain.   I am a person who does not like "the unknown".  I like to know how my day is going to go.  I want to know how customers are going to act and react.  I want things to be predictable, smooth, and running like clockwork.  GOD has an amazing sense of humor and dropped me smack dab in the middle of a world of unpredictability, where I so often find that I am just along for the ride.  

But knowing that if my faith is fixed on GOD and His truths, then nothing else really does matter.  I would much rather focus on the Peace that GOD gives, working on the tasks He directs, and building towards His Kingdom regardless of human regards; then to labor in vain on my own goals and aspirations.  

The second half of this Psalm turns around and looks at our children.  I've heard people so often talk about having a quiver full of children and the fact that a full quiver is such a blessing. I've never really understood what this verse was really getting at other than "you're so blessed with your full quiver.....".

Just today I was reading some notes that tag along with this verse in my Study Bible and now I see the verse in a whole new light:  This verse is referring to the gift of children that GOD gives us.  The children that we raise to be faithful members of GOD's people.  The children that then stand by us when they are grown as we face the enemies that come to our gates.  My job as a parent is to raise my children to focus on GOD, to have a Christ-like, servant heart.  And when the time comes, they will have the opportunity to stand side by side with us facing Satan and his demons, the trials of this world, the temptations that come our way; and boldly continue to proclaim GOD and his promises.

As I finish reading, meditating, and praying about these verses, my thoughts of worry and concern are pretty much washed away.  Replaced with excitement in the truth that GOD is on His throne, and through following Him not only I can stand boldly against the world and troubles, but my children and future generations can stand as well.