Encore!!

As an Occupational Therapy Assistant, I look for routines and habits with my patients. Those habits and routines make up a portion of the Occupational Profile and give me insight into my patient. I can also use those to my patient's advantage when attempting to complete a task.  Sometimes I ask how he or she completed a task prior to injury. Even more frequently, I watch to see what the individual will do when facing a task. Getting dressed is a perfect example. Everyone completes this task differently. Now imagine a hip fracture and a change of environment (the hospital) and the routine becomes more complex. No more bending forward to place those legs through. Suddenly new routines have to be established; now a reacher and sock aid join the session. The task is the same but the processes changes.

Lately I have had a lot of hip fracture patients and have been teaching a lot of adaptive equipment use. The days have been long and monotonous. I come home tired and emotionally drained. I think and hope that this is just a season.  Soon enough the caseload will change and spring will come. In the meantime, I am really enjoying my weekends staying cozy and warm at home. Every now and then I sort through another box. The best weekends are spent hanging out with the boys and not working :)

Spring is slowly advancing; the days grow longer and longer and the temperatures gradually climb. This means I get to see the sun rise and set each day. I am amazed and encouraged every time. My mind drifts back to G.K. Chesterton's passage from Orthodoxy. This is a somewhat lengthy passage but a worthy read! 

 "The sun rises every morning. I do not rise every morning, but the variation is due not to my activity, but to my inaction. Now, to put the matter in a popular phrase, it might be true that the sun rises regularly because he never gets tired of rising. His routine might be due, not to a lifelessness, but to a rush of life. The thing I mean can be seen, for instance, in children, when they find some game or joke that they specifically enjoy. A child kicks his legs rhythmically through excess, not absence, of life. Because children have abounding vitality, because they are in spirit fierce and free, therefore they want things repeated and unchanged. They always say, 'Do it again'; and the grown-up people are not strong enough to exult in monotony.

But perhaps God is strong enough to exult in monotony.

It is possible that God says every morning, 'Do it again' to the sun; and every evening, 'Do it again' to the moon. It may not be automatic necessity that makes all daisies alike; it may be that God makes every daisy separately, but has never got tired of making them. It may be that He has the eternal appetite of infancy; for we have sinned and grown old, and our Father is younger than we. The repetition in Nature may not be a mere recurrence; it may be a theatrical encore."

 I really think God specializes in occupational therapy. I'll have to blog more about that another day because it is rather interesting to think about. But back to Chesterton's passage. The Father thrives on repetition but that repetition varies as well. The sun greets and departs each day; the moon and stars file across the dark sky. But the tilt of the axis and the changes in the atmosphere as well as a billion other reasons cause each sunrise to appear differently. God does it again and again and yet there is always some way in which it is different from the last time.

How do I fit in this encore? As the audience member, can I see these variations? Do my eyes behold how He changes it up for me? Or do I just see monotony-on and on and on? I've been looking for those routines as well as His subtle changes. I am continually amazed. I wish that I could capture it but there is no possible way! Books could never contain it and photographs could never fully do justice to His majesty!

The other day I was moaning and groaning on my way into work. Sometimes I do that... true story. I can be a whiner. My whining that day mainly consisted of blah blah blah... here I go again...blah blah blah. The sunrise caught my eye. Sigh... He does it again and I am amazed. What? Again. He does it again. And not only that, He is asking me to do it again. Will I participate in the dance?

"It may be that our little tragedy has touched the gods, that they admire it from their starry galleries, and that at the end of every human drama man is called again and again before the curtain." (G.K. Chesterton, Orthodoxy)

 
Perhaps our boring moments are not at all boring to Him. Does He look for our subtle changes and find joy? What makes it more interesting to Him? This thought gave me the boost of energy I needed in that moment and in this season. How can I view each day as an opportunity to perform for Him even in the routine? How can I surprise Him? This has literally transformed those blah moments into powerful opportunities to serve Him.

And He in turn blesses me with His ENCORE!

Pressing on in gratitude

 

      The other day a co-worker asked me what I was thankful for... wow if he only knew how my life has changed in a year! Look at this beautiful sight I come home to each day! I took this after our first snowfall out here in South Dakota. Nearly every morning I look out the windows from my bed and smile at the wonder of the Father's love for me. 

     No everything isn't perfect out here. In fact some days and weeks feel difficult and bleak. But I marvel at how He has sustained me and refreshed my soul when I have needed Him most. I see His beautiful rolling hills, the grasses dancing in His presence, the sky with clouds and sunsets reminding me of His never ending encore of love, and the stars that I gaze upon- they declare His glory throughout the universe just for those who look up to see.

      I love this country and I love these people. I have been privileged to be a part in the lives of my patients on their road to healing. I have great co-workers who do their job well and with great kindness for their patients. I have ventured into a new church family (I miss you Valley Springers). And best of all, those quiet gentle folks I love with easy laughs as we sit side by side- God continues to bring us together when I most need the refreshment.

      So here I sit, cozy in my little house in the rolling prairies. This Thanksgiving Day I long to tell you to chase after the Father. When He burdens your heart for someone or something, keep begging Him why and if there would be anything He desires of you to do. If it be prayer, pray. If it be give, then give.  If it be go, then by all means go!

 

     Sometimes on the hard days, I stop and think... if I died today or this very moment, am I where I feel the Father wants me? Am I doing what He wants me to do? I have no regrets on this choice. I do miss you my friends and family...  

But - I am well and it is well with my soul...

I send you my love friends and family!

Press on...

An Experiment in Faith

An Experiment in Faith

Where does one begin telling of an adventure? I tend to tell long stories full of details that may seem insignificant to others but I feel are a part of the beauty of the story.  I’ll fast forward this tale trusting you already know of our passion and deep appreciation of the Lakota and the prairie. That seems somewhat tragic to leave out those very huge realities because they are the weight and essence of our plan. Those realities are framed with the Father as our sure foundation and carpenter of His plan. Tell me you get that already… let me see your eyes shine with agreement before I continue…

Now I need to know that you also are full of a desire for adventure. Yes, you might not travel far within your community and live a rather ordinary life. But don’t you have a side that longs to do something completely irrational and reckless. If you knew at any time you could snap your fingers and the adventure could be reversed (just in case things went south), wouldn’t you like to really LIVE wild and free. I think we all feel that way regardless of age. Perhaps I read it in Lewis or Chesterton- but I believe it is another truth of the reality of the Father’s creation.

So, this tale begins with a choice, a very clear and decisive choice. Through the many details and events of the past seven years as well as some other huge defining moments, I found myself with a degree as an Occupational Therapy Assistant and began looking for a job. This is no easy task and the recruiters were less then pleased to learn I wasn’t really sure where I would like to work. On a whim and whispered prayer, I checked the area of SD hoping that just maybe God would say yes. Fast forward through all of those miracles, and you find me faced with one of the hardest decisions of my life. A job is available and hour from the community I love, the interview goes great, the pay is small, and I am standing on the brink of a life changing moment.

Now obviously to those who know- I took the leap of faith towards God. He has never failed me and I decided to risk my future in His hands. I know I possibly could have misread His intentions and have made some error along this path. But I believe that God can and will correct me. I would beg you to not minimize the mighty hand of the Father to do this in your life. He is able to save- able to redeem, and able to move. Our choice in all those matters, are similar to a relationship between a two year old and a father. God is bigger than your mistakes- and all the ragamuffins shout “AMEN!”

I write this surrounded by the hills, prairie, and mixture of the Lakota I love and the other locals I am coming to love. My mom is keeping me company. Together we have settled on a newsletter/blog of sorts. I am hoping we will share this platform and you will get a chance to hear her words as well. I’m not sure there will be much of a chronological sequence to the posts. As the words come, we will record them. Our desire is to convey the results of our experiment and allow the reader to know more about our journey of faith. I’ll close with this:

·         Romans 1:17 “For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, “The righteous shall live by faith.”

·         Hebrews 11:1 “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for the conviction of “things not seen”.

·         Hebrews 11: 6 “And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe He exists and that He rewards those who seek Him.”  

Come and join us on this experiment of faith in the Almighty God…

 

the woman with the alabaster jar...

You ask why this woman, why she would throw such extravagance in a leper's house... I guess I wonder why more of us don't...

If she was Mary, THE Mary who chose better and sat at that feet of Jesus rather than worry about lunch...

If she was Mary, THE Mary who looked Jesus in the eye and said "if you had been here..."

The Mary who wept two days as her brother lay cold...

The Mary who watched Jesus grieve...

And then, here comes the catalyst,

The Mary who saw with her own eyes death triumphed on this side of the River...

Why wouldn't she do something so raw and yet beautiful, fearless and dangerous... Won't we all when we see Him conquer death... Real death!? Won't we all cast down our crowns at His feet!?

Have you tasted death? Have you had that moment of raw pain when after weeping for days? The Messiah drops by and you cry out... "If only you had been here..."

In precepts, Karla talked about living between this world's "life" (our best moments) and "death" (those moments of intense pain). That we strive to avoid "death" and seek only "life". Our own little version of living. And how pitifully small that world is. Those words have stuck with me.

I have read about Him resurrecting the dead, read about Him defying His own grave, met Him in front of my Father's real tomb, and my brother's figurative tomb, even my own "death" tombs... I have said to Him, "if only"...

I have spent much time living in that shallow land of my poorly defined life and death and decided no more.

I've been stepping out in faith and joyfully realizing that it wasn't death.

My father's death five years ago... (Can still feel like death but only if we think tombs are the end of the story!)
talking to people isn't death (still a work in progress!),
going back to college isn't death (I actually love it quite a bit!)
Nate's illness when he was little (even if arthritis continues to lurk in his life)
my oldest boy, in anger, leaving home the day after Christmas... (that continues to be a huge stretch of faith in the face of a really large rock blocking that tomb... How I long to see what He is doing)

And this moment I am in right now... It is not death!

Well you get the idea. Some things have been little steps of faith and others huge agonizing hardships I haven't understood... But none of it has been real death! And I have found great joy in telling the Father thank-you each time I realize the lies I had believed were only smoke and mirrors.

So live, boldly and fearless for Him. And encourage others to live likewise! Each of us have a tomb we long to meet Him at. A tomb where the death stench keeps us away. Won't it be awesome to watch "Lazarus" come out and help unwrap death to life in each other... And won't it be even more wonderful on the other side when all this world explodes in His glory!

And when we fail, as we will, He offers us His cup of forgiveness... And we pick up our crosses and follow Him...

Thanks for helping me send this boy to Nepal with great joy... He is one of my five highly treasured perfumes. Be it to sickness, a journey of hardships, or to the heights following God, I want to pour these jars over Him ... With much boldness even in the face of fear.

"The LORD is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear?"

Some day ... some glorious day all these tombs will crack open and we dead will LIVE

We are the sheep of His pasture

Up early this morning. Listened to an old clip of Rich Mullins talking about a trip to Asia where he heard a sermon on the Good Shepherd. He said how interesting it was to hear the sermon from the perspective of someone who has never seen a sheep or knows about shepherding. They don't have those in the particular country he was in. The pastor then put a lot of effort into understanding what these creatures were and why they were raised. That part got me.

Sheep are raised for wool, milk, or meat. Now granted there might be one or two places that keep a sheep or two for a pet. But the main reason to have, keep, and put up with sheep are for wool, milk, or meat. And wool is only for so long... eventually they all are butchered for the shepherd. wow...

Here in America, I think we tend to view our little Christian selves as cute little lambs, frolicking on the plush hills (or at least we would like to), finding ourselves hunted by the big bad wolf, and occasionally rescued by the Good Shepherd. We are His pets that He created to hang out with. Right? It really is all about me! Right?

But to think about the real reason a shepherd has sheep. To think about Him wanting us for what we can provide to Him or His family. To think about my fluffy coat being taken (with or without my offering it) to be used by the Shepherd. To bless, to comfort, to give to others. My fluffy coat are the words, deeds, and things that God can use to provide for His family. That I can offer all of that in complete joy to His cause knowing that is why He keeps me around.

Or how about that milk. Has God gifted you with the ability to nourish others. I think of teachers, parents, pastors, etc that God feeds on His abundant hills so that you can lay around gorged? No, He has given to you that you might give life to others.

And lastly to think of why most sheep were kept in Israel. To be sacrificed at Passover. God keeps us to eat us.  He intends that we will die. Die to our little worlds that we fabricate. Die to our dreams. Die to our plans. Die to what we want or demand that God give us.  Die. Die. Die.

We are all going to die. We can die on some forsaken hill by a shepherd who could care less for us or we can die healthy and fat by the Good Shepherd's hand, fulfilling what He has asked of us. People like to talk about God having a plan for you, and how great it will be. Yeah... it's death. Only through death will there be abundant life.  That is His plan and God doesn't have a plan B. You can either accept it and be a part of His plan and experience pure JOY in that, or you can die on some forsaken hill, ravaged by disease and not even be worthy to be eaten.

He is the Good Shepherd and I want to be His lamb...I want to experience real joy. I want to be with Him. I want to be fat and healthy enough to be chosen for sacrifice. But until then, He can have my coat and milk to share. That is why He's keeping me around. I want to be useful to Him.

Of course that means I need to stay out of the briers and follow His voice. Ouch... my toes hurt too.

exchanging the Christmas gifts

Have you exchanged any gifts this year?

Today I received a gift my sister sent me. It was a perfect gift for me. She knows me so well and found just the right book to keep me busy for awhile. Her gift says that she knows me, sees me, and is confident enough of that to go out and get this for me.

Today we also began studying Romans in community. Chapter 1 talks of exchanges. My eye caught on that word. I kept thinking of all those gifts we give and receive. I thought of the real Gift we have been given.

"For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son..."

In Romans and even today, "they" exchanged

• the glory of the immortal God for idols
• the truth about God for a lie
• natural sexual relations for unnatural ones

And God, who gives, gave them over...

• in the sinful desires of their hearts to sexual impurity
• to shameful lusts
• to a depraved mind

I thought about what the exchange says. I don't like this. It won't fit me. You don't know me very well. You don't see me. In our rejection of God, we state that to Him. I will not take death, this accident, or this event from your hand. I can't believe you would ask this of me. You don't see me. All these are lies given to us by the father of lies.

I want to continue in faith. I want to trust the Giver. I know that might seem crazy when the world around me falls apart. If I fall apart. But He has never lied.

This year I don't want to exchange His gifts.

"For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, 'The righteous shall live by faith.'"

How "much-afraid" is becoming "Grace in Glory"

for your viewing pleasure... precepts and Hinds' Feet expanded... If you click on the first picture, blogger will put the pictures in an easier to view slide show format. You can see my awesome drawings better :)




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Now I know the real "Much-Afraid" became "Grace and Glory" in the book... but I liked my typo "Grace in Glory" and kept it... because this is my blog and well... I can :) May you jump off the cliffs of insanity safety... and join me here in the Shadowlands. If you don't jump that is ok... I didn't either. He will get you off. That's the breaks... He loves us just that much... Oh look, there is another flower!