Outside

I'm back from my walk.
I try to go every morning, first thing, straight out of bed, sometimes while I'm still asleep. But today I made the mistake of staying in bed after I woke up, thinking and praying, which gave me time as well to consider whether I reaaally wanted to get dressed and go out in the cold, where I'd have to put enough effort to walk 2 miles. I finally got dressed and went out, wondering at first why I thought this was better than being snug and warm in my bed, with time when I got up for a cup of tea and some quiet.

But something cool happens every single time I go out there. The blood starts flowing, I "wake up" and see the beauty around me, and I can't help but be in conversation with God on a very different level than I can in the busyness and distraction of the rest of the day. I'm energized, at peace, and full of praise. Why would I ever be tempted to miss this time?

But I am. Every morning I fight through the decision of whether or not to go. Every morning I choose whether I will do what takes effort or do what is comfortable.

I was almost home this morning when it hit me. I know there are many times I feel God drawing me to "come outside" with Him. To leave behind the comfortable and the easy, and make the decision to fight through the initial discomfort to see what He has for me. I also know from experience that when He has called me to step out of comfort, He has done exactly what happens on my walks. I am energized, woken up, filled with the peace that comes from having a fresh connection with Him. And, like every morning I take a walk, I am so glad I went. I wouldn't ever trade the benefits of having stepped out for the ease of having stayed comfortable.

So, the next time I hear Him calling me to "come outside" I want to go! I want to put aside my natural desire to stay comfortable (where things are easy, where I don't have to be "uncomfortable", where I don't have to make a big effort) and see where He will take me. Is it a new relationship? A challenge in my parenting? Making myself vulnerable in a blog?

Is God calling you to come outside? Let's talk about this here and explore it together.

Iris

Team Player

I love football! Who would've thought that I would develop this new interest at this stage of the game (word play intended)? Until Ivan started to play last summer, I had a very vague perception of what the aim of the game was and what the rules might be, but that's changed, and I love it! At first I thought it was only a natural interest in my son's world, but his season is over and I still love to watch a game, or even, a movie that's about the game.
What do I love? I so enjoy the whole team aspect-how each player is so important and that everyone has to do their job in order for the play to work. I love that heart and commitment and effort are as important as skill or ability. I love that just because you're losing in one quarter, it doesn't mean the game is over or decided. I love the thrill of seeing a player catch a pass and weave and dodge his way through the other team's line and run for a touchdown, or the thrill of someone intercepting a throw and changing the whole play in a split second. What fun!

While watching a game on Sunday I felt myself wishing I could be a part of a team like that. I wanted to have my hard work and effort make a difference to the success of a team and contribute to a win. What would that be like?

Then I realized that I am on a team. Not football of course (have you seen me run or throw?), but on the more significant team of the body of Christ. And in a smaller focus, the body of my church family. Can I apply the team and game angle here? In my church family, does it make a difference if I do my job (serve in my giftedness)? Does my heart and commitment and effort make a difference to the body? Can I stand in the way of the enemy as he tries to take out my teammate? Can I be a part of deflecting an attempt of the enemy to defeat and watch as Jesus turns it into a victory? Can I encourage my team to keep going, even when it looks like we might be losing? Can I make sure my attitude is one of support to my teammates, even though they fall and maybe miss an opportunity? These are just a few thoughts. Think about it and see if you can add to the list (and post it here).

I'm so excited to be a part of the "team". We should get jerseys! (Trust me to bring clothes into the mix.) But seriously, I'm inspired by the thought that my commitment makes a difference to more than just my little world. That I can "block" for my brother or sister in Jesus. That the victory is sure, even though at times it doesn't look like it is.

I love Jesus and how He loves us enough to allow us to participate, growing and learning and building our "muscle" as we do so. That every effort builds on the last and makes us stronger.
He is so good!

" 1 Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us. 2 We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith. Because of the joy awaiting him, he endured the cross, disregarding its shame. Now he is seated in the place of honor beside God’s throne. 3 Think of all the hostility he endured from sinful people; then you won’t become weary and give up. " Hebrews 12:1-3


Let me know what you think!
Iris

Sunday

It's Sunday and my first thoughts were that I didn't want to go to church. Without even trying, I could think of all the reasons that I wouldn't want to be there. I hate that. I know that it was an attempt by the enemy to distract and discourage me, but I have to ask myself why I was vulnerable to that attack. I'm used to my first thoughts of the day being about Jesus and full of joy and expectation. That's why this threw me and makes me ask myself if I've made myself vulnerable. Not beating myself up, just asking myself some honest questions. But be assured, I will go to Worship this morning. I will bring my sacrifice of praise and will expectantly wait to hear from Him. He is worthy of all my praise (and so much more) and I will gladly serve Him. There. I feel better already.
"Put on a garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness....."

Thanks for listening,
Iris
 

Jewels

I've just had the most amazing thing happen. My sister and mother-in-law left last week for a trip to Thailand, in which they would be joining a missionary friend in ministering to women trapped in prostitution. They work with an organization that offers women an alternative for making a living, 
since so many of these women have no 
choice in their vocation, since it's the only thing available to them.
Anyway, they were in touch by e-mail last night and filled us in on their night spent
meeting some of these women. They spent some time in a bar they felt God leading them to and spent time talking to a beautiful, friendly young woman. They were blown away by her beauty and honest smile 
and sweetness. They called her a "jewel".

The day that Mom and my sister left, while having my quiet time, I got the idea to buy them
some tangible reminder of our prayers. The idea of an angel pin came to mind. Now, I often think those can be a bit, how do I say it, "tacky", but on this day they just seemd like the right thing. I wanted them to see it and have it on all the time and remember that we were praying. The fact that the idea came while I was praying seemed significant to me, since I've been known to get caught up in "hairbrained" ideas before that just got me more tired and into trouble, so I'm learning to discern when the idea is His. Anyway, I planned to go later in the day to buy the pins, but as days have a way of doing, this one got away on me. And the doubts started coming-
maybe I was wrong about it being His idea, maybe I was just creating more bother for myself and spending money needlesly, maybe they would wonder why I 
bothered. So I ran the idea past Bob, thinking that as a man, he would  give me the advice to just drop it. It's jewelry for goodness sake! But he didn't. He encouraged me to and so off I went. It took me a while to make up my mind as to what to buy, and for a while I had talked myself into something else, but I felt God pull me back to the pins. So I bought them and delivered them and was confident that I had at least not wasted my time and money. Mom and my sister-in-law were blessed by them and I thought that all was accomplished.

Guess again! Our God is bigger than that! My sister had mentioned while travelling that if God prompted her to give the pin to someone, she would. You guessed it-that "Jewel" is now the owner of that reminder of my prayers! They offered it to her and she wanted it pinned on right away, so when it was her turn to dance, there it was, on her skimpy "bikini", flashing and reflecting light.

What if I hadn't obeyed the prompting? I was so close to talking myself out of it. What if I hadn't been before Him that morning for time alone with Him? I would have missed the quiet in which
to hear Him.

The significance of light in that setting blows me away. Jesus is there-He loves these women and is there. He IS light and He is there.

So, now I am praying for a lovely woman on the other side of the world. I have to- I said I would pray for the person who had the pin! What a privilege to have this connection and opportunity to intercede for a special person so far away.

One of my favorite things about God is how He weaves our lives and experiences together in ways that bring such amazing blessing to us.

I'm still processing what happened-I'm wanting to soak up every ounce of Truth and revelation from this. I have a feeling it will change my perspective and draw me to my quiet time more 
expectantly.

In the meantime, I will bask in one more reflection of His glory! 

That's it for me today. Take care.

A journey of a thousand miles

...begins with a single step.

So this is where I begin my journey into blogging and into a new world.
I'm excited to begin and truly hope that this blog will grow and evolve into something that will encourage my friends, give me a place to pour out the overflow of what God is doing in my life, and bring Him glory.

I welcome your feedback and insight and invite you along on the journey!

Walking with Him,
Iris