Journey on

We are close to celebrating the day Jesus started his journey on earth. What an amazing event!
 The whole decision to leave heaven behind, become flesh and blood, be bound to earth by gravity and limited by time and space.....

As I thought of his journey and how completely and wholeheartedly he embraced it, I started reflecting on how good we are at embracing ours.....

It seems we are always on the move, even at a standstill, our mind still works on moving.
Be it planning for the future, hoping for a change in our current state of affairs - whether it be a longing for marriage, be done with school, freedom from debt, to move from sorrow to joy, from feeling lonely, from sickness to health.
The desire to move on from any of these is completely understandable, I've been in each one and spent much time trying to get to the next stage.

We forget we are on a journey - or rather we cease to embrace the journey we are on.
It is easy to journey on summer days when a gentle wind kisses your chin and the blue skies reflect in your eyes - and even knowing not all days will be like that doesn't stop us from trying to skip ahead when the cold rain pours with no end in sight.

But right there, in the trying, in the longing for the new tomorrow, - in the time spent pining for what we don't have or what we aren't yet, etc. right there we lose our connection to the 'here and now' on our journey and even more,

         I think we miss out on something deep and valuable that only the 'here and now' can give.


Jesus left heaven to, through birth, journey on earth as a human being. It was far from an easy journey. Isaiah 53;3 "He was despised and rejected by men; a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief...." Surely there were days of laughter and merriment, but there were many other days as well.

                          Jesus changed throughout his journey on earth .....

Heb. 2:17 says he had to be made like his brothers in every respect SO that he would BECOME merciful and faithful ..... and further in Heb. 5:8 "... although He was the son, He learned obedience from the things He which suffered. And having been made perfect..."

            Through suffering and hardship, Jesus became something he wasn't before!


If we decided to embrace this 'day' on our journey, if we, instead of trying to escape it, chose to explore it, I believe we would become 'richer'.
And I mean embrace, not with the intent on getting stuck and settling down there for good ..... keep the balance.
Think of loneliness....
Loneliness creates emotions nothing else does, as does sorrow and illness - if we  avoid/ignore or pretend them nonexistent we will be void of not just the emotions, but what they create.
Because what they create in us, in our character, in our heart, in our thought pattern - that will stay even after the emotion is gone.

When we go through hard times on our journey, being sifted, hewn, molded, something beautiful is being created in the process. That we can't see it doesn't mean it isn't.
Romans 5:5 "....knowing that suffering produces endurance and endurance produces character and character produces hope....." Something eternal is being produced!!

Philippians 1:6 "For I am confident of this very thing, that God who began a good work in you, will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ."

Take courage dear heart, embrace every part of your journey -  know and trust that God is with you every step - he set you on the path, and will walk you to the exit.


Merry Christmas

-b

Christmas is not in the meat....

"In the season that is meant to fill us with peace, hope and joy, we are surrounded by the call to buy, spend, be something for everyone, join the race of getting all for all! It requires attentive thought to step out, slow down, see the little things and hear the quiet that needs less......"

Sharing these words the other morning before running out the door, kept me thinking the rest of the day, so here is the extended version. 

It is everywhere! In the stores in sparkly, flashy, 'lookatme' wrapping,on billboards, in news paper adds, in your car if you have the radio on.
                                                              It is everywhere...
 even as you walk in the door after a long day with a sigh of relief you shed your coat and shoes -
you are home......but even here, in your own little sanctuary, it comes seeping out through the tv.

Some commercials are ridiculous, others hilarious but each one is put together and on multiple layers selling the intangible and invisible things ......... joy/peace/status/respect/ visibility etc. etc.

I see beautiful long tables, decorated and set with everything perfect, ready to wow a king. I get sucked into this dream, my mind working on how to make this happen until looking into our dining room and reality lands, because there's no way a long table would fit.
               
               And this is just coming from the outside adding to what goes on inside you!

 What about tradition?????? Or; this year needs to match or be better than last year????

For a few years I've tried to have the Danish traditional flæskesteg as the meat for our Christmas eve dinner. There is a story connected to each year about this tragic piece of meat that seems to be impossible to get here in Portland.
The time spent, not only trying to find a place that will sell it, but then explaining what exactly it is to the butcher, then answering phone calls from the butcher with follow-up questions, to picking up a piece of meat looking no where near the piece I was expecting to get, to one having the order canceled on me a week before needing it, left with the; now what......

                    

                                           We are having pulled pork this year!

why? because it is easy, it is delicious, it is doable and most important: Christmas is not in the meat!!

And here's a thought;

 - In all the running around, in all the busyness, in all the striving to make that evening/day  special 

               
                  - how many little moments am I missing that could have been special..........

I realized how easy it is to get caught up in the frenzy, to get stuck in tradition,  get sidetracked from the simplicity of this season, and the fact that we need to be alert to what we see/listen to and discern not only what it is saying, but also to what it is doing inside us.
It takes conscious thought to be present and focus on what matters

         
         - to not forego the special in the here and now in my aim to make a future day special.

-b

Allegory in the morning

    A perfect morning; a run on the beach with waves crashing and seagulls flying by my side!

There is something about the waves that always makes me think - they speak so loud. And as I was running this allegory took shape.

Waves are powerful - if you've ever been caught in one, you know how frightening it can be as you are being tumbled about at total loss as to what is up and what is down and more important, when will you be released from its grip and tossed onto the shore....

There has been times when God has been reconstructing/tearing down/rebuilding my life and it feels a lot like being caught in a wave.

 There is a sense of complete loss of control, and without knowing when it will end or even how much will be torn down, there can be fear and apprehension. It can be painful and a question will simmer in your heart; 'will there be anything of me left?'

And I have to ask myself; do I trust my maker - do I trust Him in the tearing down?

                          If what I see as discipline, he sees as religion....
                   If what I think is a quiet attitude, he knows to be resentment....

                         We so readily agree on Jesus being our healer, but
          do I trust Him to be in control of both the tearing down and the rebuilding?

I must trust that the wind and the waves still know His name in order to lose my fear of the tumble.
                                 - so let go my soul and trust in Him....
-b

Voices of Living stories

                                                           Voices of living stories.


There is only one you - and your voice is one of a kind as well, completely unique, given to you by the Maker of all things as he formed and knit you together in the womb, out of sight.
A voice unlimited by vocal cords, a voice that goes deeper and speaks louder than words!

      With this voice you tell your story without making audible sound. Unique and beautiful!


You are always heard by God, - always!
It is a promise that he hears us, sees us, and is never far away. Not just because he is omnipresent and can't help it, but rather because he loves us and is genuinely interested in us.
We don't have to yell to be heard!! Neither do have to act out, perform etc. to be seen.

As you live out your story, your voice is both a soloist and part of a choir.
At times you may be leading - a group, a project, a person as a mentor, but
at the very same time that is happening, you are also part of the most beautiful choir ever created, where the intertwining of stories and blending of voices happen.

Wow - picturing that leaves me amazed and filled with wonder at the incredible creativity of our Creator. Oh, to be able to see and hear this from above for a day. What a symphony we must make.

A choir sounds amazing when all the voices blend, become one, and yet if you let all the different harmonies wash over you it makes you feel like being touched by a wind-gust, not quite knowing where it came from or when it started, only you felt it surround you, touch you and almost go through you.

With these pictures and metaphors in place, a question rises to be asked;
How do you know when to be a soloist in the choir and when to blend in?
There are many leaders, and many we wish would step back and be part of the choir.....
It is always good and sobering to check the motives of the heart before stepping out and in to a leading position. What is driving the motivation to do this, what is fueling my desire. Don't let yourself be deceived, don't be satisfied by easy answers - be willing to let the Holy Spirit reveal truth.

If you are the laugh of the party....... if you are the talker of the group...... if you are not just the silent, but through silence a skeptic......if you are always waiting to be asked for your opinion versus partaking in the discussion etc.

Are you willing to follow the path to the underlying current leading your voice - to truth?

Another question also rises:
Are you able to recognize when your voice is being drowned out - your story overtaken?

You have seen this taking place in the plant world.
 This spring walking through the woods I came upon a green plant with cute, star-shaped white flowers, from each branch, tendrils like telephone cords making loops in the air, catching itself or whatever was within reach. Fun and beautiful in its quirky way, it was stretching sky bound and also slinking along the ground, spreading and slowly overtaking plant after plant, bending and chocking it in the process.










And most likely you have encountered friendships or couples where one is choking/dominating the other, leaving you wondering why they allow this to happen.
                                                  Or maybe they don't feel it ...... anymore.

This doesn't normally happen overnight - so how do you detect the 'tendrils'?
How to you recognize that you are in a relation/friendship where your voice is being drowned out, your story dominated and slowly being consumed by another's?

The signs are innocent and murky and can start as simple as choosing differently - choosing not according to your liking, but discarding  that over what you think your friend/fiancee/spouse would prefer. Does this sound innocent and no big deal?
It totally can be just that - if it's a once in a while occurrence, because we do many things out of goodwill and love etc.
But there is a fine balance. You have to listen - listen if the tone in our mind has changed subtly to a question like; "this one or that one",  and then to the reason your choice is based on
 
  Are you defending your choice one way or other? Making vague excuses, pulling reasons out of the air to cover up the true reason...... then the scale is unevenly weighted.

Your voice is no longer harmonizing, but either being drowned out or taking over

How much is too much...... I don't have your answer for that - but I do believe you know when you are compromising, when your dreams are dying, desires no longer followed. Then your story has become so overtaken by 'the other living story' that your voice can no longer be heard......

Some people have needs they try to fill by raising their voice with which they tell their story, and leave no room for other voices to be heard, no break that would allow you to speak, - any attempt would be swallowed up and quenched so the focus would again be on them......
Simple truth in a quote by Simon Sinek;
"There is a difference between listening and waiting for your turn to speak"
There are people who leave no space for anybody but themselves in their story.
What a lonely, boring and exhausting way to live.

So beware dear fellow sojourner - your story is meant to be told through that beautiful and unique voice of yours.Sometimes as a soloist, but  always as a significant part of the human choir.

But whatever part your voice has in your story, be it a soloist for a season or the unique part of the human choir - let God's voice be heard simultaneously with yours.
               You live  because he desired you be and your story is part of his story.

-b


A peek at the 3rd. and final part of Living Stories

                                                       Three words........a sentence.

 Arriving suddenly out of nowhere it landed gently in my thoughts leaving me stunned that so few words, with blunt accuracy, managed to sum up the depth of consequence in events that happened long ago.
For years my heart has searched for and tested words to frame - not describe what happened - but in one sentence somehow sum it up in all it's width and depth.

                                                         
A sentence tugged away waiting,,....... like a dress waiting for the right occasion on which to be worn.

Writing: Living Stories, there was a point where my thoughts went reeling, not only with the incredible layering of colors as our stories meet and intertwine (yes, you should go back and read it) but also with the affect this intertwining has. Good or bad.

........

Walk with me

As I sojourn this earth
on paths well trod
each step is new, a birth
and different from yours
remember this as you watch and look
you may see my footprint
but the journey happens in my heart.

~ We walk by faith and not by sight ~
-b

Living stories

       Moss covered, overturned, old.....a story to be told

We all have stories to tell.
Stories, rich in joy and laughter or sorrow and tears - not only that, but we ourselves are stories.

Living stories, that's what we are -
living, breathing, beautiful stories, being painted, not in black and white, but rather overflowing with every color charted, and beyond.

You are a living story -
continuously unfolding, told page by page as you live day by day.

There are stories that read like monologues, some biographies can make you feel that way. The way I see your story (or mine) is more like a conversation filled with ever changing participants.
 This happens when your story becomes part of other stories
                                             
                                                - which happens constantly -

Stories meet everyday, sometimes barely touching, like two strangers on a country road going opposite direction and, without stopping, give each other a nod of acknowledgment.
Other times stories become intertwined, woven together creating a story within a story.
This blending goes on, not just with one other story, but with many.....

             - the colors and texture this creates is beyond what my mind can conjure up...

- incredible, as indescribable as a sunset igniting a fire on the sky, that slowly spreads across the horizon. Constantly changing, blending, casting hues that touch both clouds and the earth below.


Constantly changing, like natures seasons ......
I see our story unfolding in the coming and going of different seasons, just as in nature with spring, summer, fall and winter.

There are joyful seasons, filled with the excitement of a new adventure awaiting, like spring - other seasons can be like the time between fall and winter; Everything was a blaze of glorious colors, but then slowly faded, died, fell to the ground leaving trees to stand naked in a landscape of muted grey, appearing void of life.
Isn't it curious how we are often caught unaware in this shifting of seasons within our story- seeing that it happens from the day we are born!

What season is your story in right now?
                                          Will you take the time to read the 'signs' and find out?
I believe it helps to know. When we know we can adjust and embrace the season. When the cold winds arrive in November, we adjust our attire accordingly - our dress code differs from what it was in August.
If we take the time to find out what season we are in, it will leave us less confused. Instead of pressing on per usual, ignoring/suppressing feelings, understanding will help us adjust our attitude toward ourselves.
If your story is in the end of fall - you can't expect to feel like spring. If a dream has died, if a job ended, an uprooting and replanting, if a story that was intertwined with yours comes to an end.......

Feelings of sorrow. Thunderstorms of grief, Cold winds of loneliness .Showers of tears.
                                                    They belong in this season!


                                 "Tears are words waiting to be written" ~ Paulo Choelho

        - don't be afraid of tears, don't suppress them, let them rise, let them fall, let them flow
                                     - let their words become part of your story.                                      

                                         

I walked through the woods in the middle of spring, saw new life mixed with old and even death - I saw the importance it all. Old, dead leaves, moss and branches in different stages of disintegration, turning to mulch, feeding what lies underneath unseen, yet alive and growing.

Can we embrace death?
That is very hard - but can we accept it as part of a season, part of our unfolding, ongoing story and trust that what died, can eventually become nourishment to a new life growing deep within, to be seen when spring shows up again.


                                               I believe each season has a reason!


So live confident in knowing that your story is important, and never doubt that it is impacting other stories, if even for just a moment.

                                           Your spring might have touched someone's fall

If you are in the bleakness of fall - embrace it. 'Bundle up, light a candle' and remember;
                                                         spring will arrive in time.
     
                                                         
                                                                    Lest we forget.....

 Psalm 30:5 ".....weeping may last through the night, but joy comes with the morning."

2 Cor. 4:17 " For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all."

~b