A Friend in Need

We are not meant to navigate this lifetime journey alone. Our spirits yearn for the satisfaction of sharing our lives with others.

For someone like me, who craves ‘alone’ time, this can be a conundrum. 

While I find solace in peace and quiet, and I know a solitary walk in the woods will recharge my spirit, there are times when my heart aches to share a burden with a friend.

God has placed special people, prayerful people, in my life, in whom I can confide. I honestly believe the prayers of these friends have been life-changing for me. But before I could receive their love, I had to reach out and share my heart.

Being a friend is as important as having a friend. Listening is the best skill we can develop. It’s hard sometimes, to bite my tongue and let the other person finish talking. I want to interject an idea or suggestion. It takes practice, but being a good listener is sometimes the only comfort a friend needs in times of trouble.

Photo courtesy Best Light Photography

I’ve grown to cherish my friendships, and the uplifted feeling I get when I share time with a good friend. When I am having a day when the world seems against me, I remind myself of my friendships, and it soothes my spirit to know that I am loved.

And the truth is, we are never alone. There is One who walks beside us in every step of this lifetime journey. The comfort of knowing that God is near me always blesses my spirit with peace in troubling times.

Even when a friend is not available to talk, I can speak to God and His Spirit sends me comfort. His Presence in my life is a soothing balm. No matter what happens, I am never alone.

I believe we are meant to share our lives with close friends, intimately sharing the joys and concerns of our hearts. But I know God wants to share all of this with us, too. Every problem we share with Him is an opportunity to know His Peace. And the peace that God provides surpasses our ability to understand it. Just savor it, and let it seep deeply into your awareness.

And in turn, when joyful feelings lift our spirits, we should come to God in gratitude for the blessings He provides. Sharing happy times and cherishing our blessings gives us the balance we need in our lives.

In truth, the gift of His Peace in times of difficulty can move us to feel joy, and thus to share our gratitude. This brings us into an endless cycle of connectedness to God. And truthfully, that is what He desires with us, a relationship.

Just as with our friendships here on earth, we give and receive in our relationship with God.

A friend in need is a friend indeed. This saying is so true. Don’t be afraid to share your heart with others. I spent far too much time holding all my troubles inside and trying to weather them alone. As my sweet sister says, “A problem shared is a problem cut in half”, and it’s true! Our burdens are lifted when we share them with a trusted friend.

And remember, God is only a thought away. If we cultivate our friendship with Him daily, just by talking to Him every day, it will be natural for us to turn to Him to share our joys and our sorrows. God is near, and He wants to be the best friend we ever have.  

The Power of Your Name

Photo courtesy Best Light Photography

Sunday Scripture

and a

Song

"He has shown you, O mortal, what is good.

    And what does the Lord require of you?

To act justly and to love mercy

    and to walk humbly with your God."

Micah 6:8 NIV

Lincoln Brewster wrote this powerful song about social justice

which should inspire us to serve the Lord's people all over the world.

The Power of Your Name

Subscribers please click on Hope to find to view this video on my blog

A New Way of Thinking

Does the New Year greet you with trepidation or elation? Are you happily making out new to-do lists and setting goals?

I have not made any resolutions. “I resolve to….” Is such a power struggle, deep within my psyche. I’m done with the disappointment of not living up to my own expectations.

So I’ve decided to work from the inside out, and design my year from a spiritual perspective. I have this feeling that if I align my inner self with God and His purpose for me, then everything else will fall into place.

Sound too simple? Ah, yes, but it is the simplicity that makes it work! I am empowered by forces that are much more powerful than my own free will. You know how it feels when everything just falls into place, when you are purposefully following the path that was meant for you? It’s effortless, right? And we wonder, how can this be so easy?

Well, that’s how I feel about this change in my thinking. My drive is not to be focused on losing that next pound or logging how much I exercised today. Instead, I am taking a spiritual approach, and checking in with my inner self to set my focus.

Does this make you wonder what I"m talking about, or question how this will be accomplished?  Let’s back this story up just a bit to shed some light on what I mean.

I’ve spent my whole life allowing my thoughts to be controlled by my emotions. Believing fully in my feelings, but not trusting my inner guidance. In other words, listening to my head instead of my heart. But it goes deeper than that. 

I believe in the power of our inner spirit. It’s really who we are anyway. This covering of flesh and bone serves us well to navigate our earthly lives, but our spirit is strong inside of us, whether our bodies are working the way they should or not.

It takes effort to slow down our whirlwind lives and shift our focus to our inner selves, but it is time well spent. This calm can be achieved through the practice of various breathing techniques, as well as through meditation and yoga.

Anytime we can block out the busyness of the world around us, and send our focus inward, we begin to connect with our inner spirit. Breath work is an easy and pleasant way to calm our bodies and our thoughts, and starts us on the path of our inner journey.

Once we find what soothes us, whether it is calm music, a yoga practice, or a walk in nature, we can use this time to connect with our inner being. It should feel relaxed, and not forced.  There is no fear in facing your true inner self.

When you have created calmness away from the outside world, you may begin to focus on whatever may be your most prevalent emotion or thought. By the guidance of your inner spirit, you may solve your problem, or not. But you will certainly gain some insight.

Hopefully, you will come away with the realization that what matters most is seeking your own inner peace. We have so little control over what the rest of the world is doing. We only have control over how we respond to the myriad stimuli around us.

As we learn to trust our inner guidance, our thoughts and actions will reflect our beliefs as we honor our inmost selves. 

By regularly practicing this focus on our inner journey, we begin to more quickly connect with our inner power. We become familiar with the inclinations of our true self, and respond to the tugging of our spirit when we need to make a decision. In short, we learn to trust ourselves.

I’ve spent the last couple of years meeting my inner self for long walks in the woods, and learning to shift my focus inward when I need to evaluate my outward situation. By learning to trust myself, I find I feel more confident and self-assured. 

Even though I’ve made the switch from allowing my circumstances to control the outcome of any given situation, it was a revelation for me to realize a new outlook for my new year. An epiphany, if you like.

No longer will I rely on my strong self-will - which crumbles at the sight of chocolate! I will use the strength of my inner being as my compass, to guide me to make right choices, and to steer me into the wellness I’ve dreamed about for years.

By nourishing my inner spirit, and giving my body the rest it needs along with the healthy foods I already eat, I know my goals will be obtained. Yes, goals. This is a new word for me. I’m more of a “let’s see what happens” kind of girl. But this year, I am setting goals, milestones that will further my cause of wellness. Perhaps this starts with de-cluttering, and in fact I have already begun to purge what is unnecessary.

But even more than what I achieve in my physical world, my emphasis and focus will be to keep in constant connection with my inner world. After all, I am the only person I am going to spend my whole life with.

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For those of you who waited to see our Christmas tree decorated for the holidays, here is a photo. I’ve made all our holiday visitors make a guess as to how many ornaments they think are on the tree. Now I have to take them all down and count them!

 Happy Holidays!

O Tannenbaum

Cold rain pelted down as we trudged through row after row of trees at the Christmas tree farm. The wind blew relentlessly, further dampening our spirits with each downpour. Our quest for the perfect tree was relentless, until we finally settled on a huge white pine.

Out came the chain saw as the tree was unceremoniously cut down. In my excitement, I thought it looked even bigger as it was carried to the trailer. But we finally had our tree!

Rain fell continuously all day, so the tree was too wet to bring into the house that day. Peering through the dark when I came home the next evening, I saw that the trailer in the driveway was empty. They had brought the tree in!

I walked into the house and immediately smelled fresh pine. Its heady scent was wonderful! As I went into the living room, I stopped in my tracks. This tree was enormous! How is it that the trees always seem bigger when we get them home? I walked around the tree, looking up and feeling astonished at its height, but secretly joyous, too. I felt confident I could make it into the most beautiful Christmas tree ever!

We always have to have a really big tree, and this one might just be the biggest one we’ve ever had. It towers into the peak of our ceiling, in all its wild and natural beauty. Even undecorated, I welcomed this beautiful specimen into my living room.

It’s never easy to decorate a tree this size, and the living room is filled with ladders as we try to drape lights over boughs more than a dozen feet off the ground. This tree tops out at more than fifteen feet tall, and there’s really no way to reach the peak to add a tree topper. That should dispel the annual argument of angel-verses-star for the top of the tree; there won’t be either one. It’s just too hard to reach!

Finally the lights are on, and the boxes of ornaments begin to empty. It will take most of my collection of more than 400 ornaments to make this tree look full. And believe me when I say it takes at least a few days to hang this many ornaments on the tree.

But with diligence, it’s beginning to look like a Christmas tree as cherished ornaments are unwrapped one by one along with the stories they hold. In addition, a few new ornaments are also added each year. Some treasured ornaments are older than I am. Others commemorate the first Christmas of each of our sons. 

Many ornaments are hand made, but the collection includes lot of glass ones, too. Three have broken already this year, slipping off the smooth pine boughs even as they were hung. It seems to be an annual ornament casualty count at our house.

Sometimes ornaments are given to me by friends and family, knowing that I have a large tree and might have room for some they no longer wish to display.

All are welcome on my tree, and the finishing touch will be to drape the garlands of beads and ribbons. To be honest, my first thought for decorating this tree when I saw it in m living room was to keep it a rustic woodland tree by simply stringing popcorn and cranberries in garlands to drape over the boughs.

While that design would have been simply lovely, it wouldn’t have been our traditional tree. You see, we really decorate the tree, putting more decorations on our tree than anyone I know. Each treasured ornament gets placed lovingly, proudly displayed for the holiday.

When the decorating is complete, I will share some more pictures. So, if you’d like to check back, you can see what the finished masterpiece looks like. It truly is a labor of love, and I wouldn’t have it any other way.

Well, I’d better get back to decorating my tree. I hope you treasure the simple joys of this holiday season; spending time with family and friends, and all of your special traditions. I pray the greatest gift you receive this Christmas is the gift of Peace, which comes if we keep our focus on the true reason for the season.

Many blessings to your and your loved ones. And a very Merry Christmas! 

The Best Laid Plans...

We sat around the Thanksgiving table, tummies full and satisfied, and contemplated our next Christmas Tree Adventure. We could all go the next day! The whole family was together, and after all, it used to be our tradition to cut our Christmas tree on the day after Thanksgiving.

No, we decided, let’s go on Dec. 8^th.  Everyone will be home again so we can all go together, just like old times. While everyone made it home, Dec. 8^th came and went with other projects taking up all the hours of daylight. So new plans were made for the following  morning to get our tree.

I awoke before dawn, excited and happy that we would finally go looking for our Christmas tree. I had made many calls to area tree farms, and scouted out the biggest fir trees. Unfortunately, the best ones were an hour away, and no one wanted to drive that far. It was raining, after all, with snow falling further up north. One son was too sick to go. And so on.

So a smaller group of us ventured out.  We weren’t told the truth about the size of the fir trees at the alternate place I chose to go, so we trudged around in the icy rain trying to find a pine. The rain gradually turned to snow, and finally was looking pretty, but by that time we were all soaked to the skin, frozen, and ready to go home. Without a tree.

You see, I had to get ready for performing in a concert that afternoon. And none of the trees met our height criteria. So sadly, we left without a tree. It was a quiet ride home.

I haven’t given up. We will get our Christmas tree. It’s just that sometimes all the best laid plans often go astray. I still have hope. I know I will find the perfect tree. I have to. It's my favorite job, and I won't give up.

The desire for a perfect tree has led us on Christmas tree adventures in four different states. Our first family adventure began when we chose a wild specimen in California’s Sierra foothills. It was the two of us then, and our firstborn son all bundled in blankets, trekking through the beautiful, mountainous countryside. We were quite adventurous in those days.

Our next adventures led us through long treks in the rolling Oregon hills looking for the perfect tree, now with two little ones in two. Over hill and dale, first carrying the little one and then, as they grew, letting them run on their own. Sometimes it took hours to find the perfect tree. But it was a wonderful family adventure.

  

The next state had us toting three boys along; and finally, back in our home state, I remember a very snowy December day when our last baby had to be bundled in so many blankets I could hardly hold onto him. It was snowing like crazy, and the trees were so laden with snow that we had to brush them off with our mittens to see what their shape was like. That was 15 years ago, and that baby is a teenager now.

Oh, there have been so many Christmases and so many Christmas tree adventures. I have gained a reputation for taking way too long to choose a tree, but it must be the perfect tree! And while I get chided for taking too long, they are the first to refute if the tree I choose isn't a big enough when I choose a nice ten footer!

So, back to the drawing board. We will get our tree. This week. I hope. With a tree that large, it takes time to decorate. I'll keep you all posted on our progress. And yes, of course I'll provide pictures. 

Until then, happy decorating (and baking and shopping). In all of our preparations, let's make sure to take time to prepare our hearts for the true Joy of the Season. However you celebrate, remember the reason for the season. We need to make time to focus our hearts on the Peace that this season brings. That will carry us through all of the best laid plans.