Not Quite Goodbye

This was a my first blog home. My new blog is now designed and live. http://purepurposebook.wordpress.com/

It's like moving to a new home. Well, not exactly. I don't have to pack up boxes - or unpack them. But emotionally, saying goodbye to my first blog site is sad yet exciting. The new blog is exciting because it coincides with the release of my first Bible study for women, Pure Purpose, which has definitely been a God-journey. I'm still tweaking the new blog, adjusting colors, design and posts, just as I'd move furniture and accessorize a new home. But I'm leaving my boxes behind.

In other words, you'll still be able to access my blog archives here. I've linked this blog to my new blog, so new visitors can easily explore older posts. So if you're a new blog-follower, welcome - enjoy my early blogs! And if you've been following my blog for awhile...welcome back. I hope you'll follow my new blog, too.

And as always, I enjoy sharing thoughts, so leave a comment or personally connect with me any time :-)

Besides Still Waters

God is in the rushing - and still - waters.

I sat in the Viestenz-Smith park near Loveland, Colorado, on a narrow stretch of land between two waters. On one side was the rushing Big Thompson River. On the other, a calm pool. The water all came from the same source - travelling from high in the Rocky Mountains - but the experience was different.

Both were beautiful, one in its glassy serenity, the other in its rough fluidity. One showed little variety in color except the shadows from surrounding trees and faint outlines of deeply-bedded rocks. The other was peppered with colors, from the jutting rocks to the foaming water created by them. Many stones and pebbles shone from the river bed. The water glistened in hues of green and brown, reflecting the surrounding environment.

We often seek peace and serenity, but I noticed, even in its beauty, I couldn't see as deeply into the calm pool. The edges of the water were littered with vines and moss-covered rocks, and the rocks climbing the edges of land were soaking in algae.

The moving water was clearer. I saw no stagnancy. Rapids are powerful and more difficult to walk through, but the rapids swept away impurities and smoothed the jagged edges of rocks. Foaming waters indicate a change under the water - rocks or change in depth - and serve as a warning. Moving water is diverse, creating contrast between quickly and slowly flowing water.

Do you prefer calm or rushing waters in your life? Why?

I want to make a difference for Jesus. I want to ride the rapids, conquering challenges and fears in God's name. I want to fully rely on God so that my life reflects his power.

As I round the next bend down the mountainside, will I ask for peace and serenity...or boldness, presence and provision? What about you?

This was in accordance with the eternal purpose which He carried out in Christ Jesus our Lord, in whom we have boldness and confident access through faith in Him. Therefore I ask you not to lose heart at my tribulations on your behalf, for they are your glory. Ephesians 3:11-13 (NASB)

Rapid Ready

Once you’re in the rapids, it’s too late to plan. Planning occurs in smooth waters. We waste time in smooth waters. We relax in the sun and look around at the scenery. We need moments of relaxation, but God provides those times to rejuvenate us for what’s coming next. We need to be attentive. God knows what’s ahead. He doesn’t need the sound of the crushing water or the sight of the churning rapids. He knows beyond the limits of our hearing and sight. God uses moments in smooth waters to rejuvenate us, renewing energy and strength in us…so we’ll be prepared.

In life, we journey the river with others. Are we working with people in the smooth waters to prepare for rapids? Do you feel at a loss of what to do when in crisis? You enter the rapids, and your heart races. You try one thing. It doesn’t work. You try something else. It makes the situation worse. You’re in a raft with someone, both trying the best you can, but you’re not working together, which guides you straight into the most dangerous rapids, headed for the jagged rock or capsizing into hungry waters. You can’t hear each other screaming instructions. You can’t pry the oar out of your hands to gesture to each other. You can’t make eye content. Your focus is on the surrounding danger.

You somehow survive the rapids, soaked and exhausted. Now, you have a choice in how you use the next stretch of smooth waters.

Focus. Will you focus on what’s behind, blaming each other, or will you focus on what’s ahead? Reflecting on experiences can be helpful if your goal is to learn and move forward. When we get stuck in our trials, we’ll soon find ourselves in a similar situation. Refusing to reflect, learn, and move on results in unproductive repetition.

Focus on what’s ahead. You may not know exactly what’s coming, but you can make plans to work together, watch out for each other, and trust each other. Trust comes with experience. Spend time together in the smooth waters. Getting to know each other will give you insight into how the other responds to stress. Share yourself. Know each other’s strengths and weaknesses, so you can work together.

Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into him who is the Head, that is, Christ. From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work. – Ephesians 4:15-16

Heal. Trials leave us with sore muscles, raw emotions, and exhaustion. We’re bruised by getting knocked against rocks. We might need to paddle to the shore to bandage a cut or wrap a sprain. Admit your need for healing. God knows what you need to prepare you for the next trial, but you must approach him and fully rely on him. Spend time in his care. Ask him and then allow him to heal and comfort you.

Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God. – 2 Corinthians 1:3-4

Train. Condition your muscles. Work through soreness. Stretch. Work together, testing what works and what doesn’t. Turn your oars in different directions at different depths to become familiar with the tools you have. God will always provide tools and resources for you to use. He will help us use them effectively, but we must be willing to be instructed. We must listen and then try, so we’re sure we heard correctly and can apply what we heard. Then, we’ll need to listen and try again and again. Training is a process.

Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last; but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. Therefore I do not run like a man running aimlessly; I do not fight like a man beating the air. – 1 Corinthians 9:25-26

You approach another set of rapids, and your heart races. Will your time in the smooth waters affect your experience in these rapids?

Warm and Fuzzy

I saw an adorable sweater Easter morning. It was a cute, fuzzy bunny. It looked soft enough to touch. (But I respected the woman's personal bubble.)

Easter has become such a warm and fuzzy holiday. Soft pastel colors. Warm Spring welcome. Cuddly bunnies and chicks.

There's really nothing warm and fuzzy about Jesus. I suppose you could rationalize that because God loved us so much he sent Jesus to earth is warm and fuzzy...but God sent Jesus to die for us. And not just die...but die an excruciating, tortuous death. Sure, Jesus returned to life. But the power of his resurrection isn't warm and fuzzy either. Can power that defies death be warm and fuzzy?

What have we done with Easter? Let's get more specific. What have you done with the death and resurrection of Jesus? Have you replaced it with emotions and experiences easier to live with or more convenient to your schedule and your faith? How would you explain Easter to someone who has no idea what it's about? How would you explain your traditions and the reasons behind them?

Please don't consider for a moment that I'm writing this from a holier-than-thou perspective. I'm not suggesting Christians withdraw into cocoons and reject all celebrations that aren't focused on Jesus. I'm simply challenging you to let God invade your heart through Easter...and every day of the calendar. You can pick and choose when to acknowledge God's presence in your life, or you can acknowledge the reality that God is present...in every moment, during each holiday, throughout your entire life.

How are you acknowledging who Jesus is and the reality of God's presence? Not just to yourself, but to others? Not just when it's convenient to you, but consistently, constantly?

We know that we live in God and he lives in us, because he gave us his Spirit. We have seen and can testify that the Father sent his Son to be the Savior of the world. 1 John 4:13-14 (NCV)

My Trademark

Two of my childhood friends and I decided we each needed a trademark. Each time we'd write our names, we'd add our trademarks - on pen pal letters, artwork, and schoolwork. My trademark was a fuzzy caterpillar.

I could quickly scribble vertical lines and add two antennae to portray a caterpillar inching across the paper. As I scribbled my caterpillar, it came to life to me. As my trademark, it became part of my identity during a season of my life. Where my name was, a squiggly caterpillar followed.

Fast forward several decades. Serving at a girls' day camp, I needed a "camp name," something for girls to call me, a way for them to identify me. The choice was a no-brainer for me. Butterfly. Over the next several years, I was introduced to many young girls as Butterfly, and I still meet young women who only know me as Butterfly. It is my identity to them.

Throughout my life, I've "trademarked" myself many times through a variety of relationships and situations.

My most important trademark, the only one which is constant and sound, is the stamp of Christ-follower on my soul. I stand firm in my identity in Jesus. Every time you see me or my name, I want you to see God. I want to have an inseparable identity in God. God is God without me. I am not fully Susan without God, because he IS my identity. He created me, guides me, fulfills me. God is my trademark.

I'm thankful my childhood trademark was a fuzzy caterpillar - and I later chose the butterfly as part of my identity. As insignificant as a camp name or childhood symbol might seem, they've been meaningful reminders of God to me.

And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord's glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit. 2 Corinthians 3:18

Allow God to unveil you. How is unveiling connected to transformation?

How has God transformed you in the past week? Month? Year? Your lifetime?

Be unveiled. Be transformed. Give all glory to God.

But whenever anyone turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away. Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. 2 Corinthians 3:16-17