Seasons

by Sharon O | Jul 27, 2010 | Uncategorized

This morning I woke up
way earlier than normal.
It is quiet and cold.
Yesterday the air conditioning felt good
the days temp was in the high 80’s.
This morning the air is cool and I need a sweater.
Reminding me how much
I love fall.

I am longing for days of coolness
flannel shirts and a fire in the fireplace.
I am by nature
not a summer person.
For a small season of time I enjoy it.
Then …
My soul needs cool days
and crispy leaves outside to step on
while the wind snaps against fall trees dying
for the season is for resting and slowing down
and going dormant.
It requires a change…and renewing a spirit that is parched from
summer days.

I love cool days
and hot tea or coffee
and a warm blanket and book.

Summer doesn’t allow that time
for hunkering down and snuggle.
Summer is about hiking and camping
and water and sand.

Fall is a time for books and stillness
and candles burning.

This morning I miss
flannel sheets
warm cocoa
and crisp fall days.

As the seasons change
so do I
Lord help me
to grow and change in a direction towards you.
Help me to be encouraging
challenging and prayerful.
As the seasons change
so do I…
do you?

A new name

by Sharon O | Jul 24, 2010 | Uncategorized

You’ll get a brand-new name
straight from the mouth of God.
You’ll be a stunning crown in the palm of God’s hand,
a jeweled gold cup held high in the hand of your God.
No more will anyone call you rejected,
and your country will no more be called Ruined.
You’ll be called Hephzibah (My Delight),
and your land Beulah (Married),
Because God delights in you… (Isaiah 62-2-4 the Message)

Can you imagine the picture with me;
you will be a crown in the palm of God’s hand.
A crown is often coveted by someone who is in competition striving for winning the price.
It is beautiful ~ shining ~ and full of great value.
That is what this verse is saying about YOU.
You… (Insert your name) will be a stunning crown in the palm of God’s hand.
That means he would hold his palm out and SEE you…
How awesome… of a thought.
You will be like a jeweled cup held high in a place of honor and delighted by God.
Can you grasp that he delights in you?
Are you getting it?
The concept is very hard to receive.
When we go through a process of growth with God we become different and renewed.
Often those who served God in the Old and New Testament received a new name to ‘symbolize’ the change in their heart and the change in their lives.
Jesus changed the names of those who he entrusted to do the finished work.
A new name… given along with a changed status and responsibility.
What a wonderful promise for us as we wait and long for a new name in Glory.
Do you wonder what your ‘new name will be as he delights in you?’

He brought me into a spacious place; he rescued me because he delighted in me. Psalm 18:19

The quiet

by Sharon O | Jul 22, 2010 | Uncategorized

“In the morning, O Lord, you hear my voice; in the morning I lay my requests before you and wait in expectation.” Psalm 5:3

In the quiet of the morning…
the start of a new day…
There are choices to make
to walk, to read, to pray, to write, to rest more.

I am beginning to enjoy the quiet of the morning.
There is no TV, no music from the radio… nothing but quiet.

In the quiet I can hear the soft whisper of God.
In the quiet I can allow the struggles of my heart to be real.
In the quiet I can TRUST that HE who began a good work in me will complete it…
In the quiet I become new and restored.

Before the day starts in the quiet of the morning…
I wait with expectation.
Lord do your good work… teach me and show me all that I need…
to be still and KNOW that YOU are God.

Home

by Sharon O | Jul 20, 2010 | Uncategorized

I love being home…
Don’t get me wrong I don’t mind going away for a while for short trips.
But in reality I am a home body.
I will stay home before I will rush out and leave.
Especially since semi retirement has been a part of my ‘life’. This last year has been life changing and different. It has taught me to slow down, and pace myself. It has been good.
The new comfort zone is safe and peaceful.

We went on a canoe trip a few days ago.
It was a new experience for me… I don’t know how to swim and the water scares me.
Years ago we went with some of the same people but it seemed like the adventurous spirit that was with me back then some 30 years ago was gone.
This time I had new fears.
I could feel them close whispering their ‘chattering voices in my ears.’
The older I have gotten it seems that fears are often a part of my life.
Often times prayers are sent up …
“OH GOD protect us… Oh God give me a still quiet heart… Oh God send your angels… Oh God help me feel calm and peaceful.”
Arrow prayers sent up quickly to save the moment so peace and calm can quiet my anxious heart.
The canoe trip was nice once we were settled in the water…
as I sat on the hard seat the words to myself were… “BREATHE IN and BREATHE out…
Listen to the birds…feel the air and the soft wind…breathe.
Take hold of the boat and let the guide behind you do the work.”

It was actually peaceful once the canoe was floating and following the water.
The air was fresh… the wind gentle… we saw 4 bald eagles.
They were beautiful and majestic and so serene as they sat perched upon the trees branch.
There were deer along the waters edge…
mommy ducks with their babies swimming right next to our canoes.
It was very peaceful once I let go of the ‘what if this happens’ thought process.
God blessed us with safety and nothing went wrong.
It was fun and the fellowship with the others who went with us was good.
(The mosquitoes could have been out of the scene bug bites are no fun to deal with. We all came home with many).
Next year my husband said we will have a motor home for the tent camping days are over for me. I can truly say I have “BEEN there and DONE that.”
It was my last effort to go and do what my husband enjoys. As we were packing up to leave I looked at him in the freezing morning chill and said while holding onto my hot cup of coffee, “I deserve my good sport medal.”
The morning air temp was below freezing.

Next year a motor home will be our ‘home away from home’ with a furnace and fresh water and a bathroom with shower. A warm comfortable bed with flannel blankets.
We will go again since I really don’t mind going now.
But next year it will be in our home away from home.