S'More

Year 8-Day 220: Today, I am grateful for S'mores.

Friday night traditions often include a fire and s'mores. We love our traditions. Tonight, the temperature was just right for both. 

S'mores require a graham cracker, a toasted marshmallow and Hershey's chocolate. 

It is a perfect little desert sandwich. It makes me wonder who came up with the idea? Some Mom on a family camping trip? I tried to research it. It has been around a long time, but it's history is a mystery. 

Our Ryan and Anna insist that Reese's Peanut Butter cup is a great substitute for the chocolate bar. I would certainly give that variation a try. A s'more is more than a dessert, it is fun. It is as much about the fire and the fellowship as it is about the food. 

Graham crackers are good on their own. So are toasted marshmallows. Chocolate, I believe, was inspired by angels. On their own, they are delicious. Put them together... suddenly they are MORE. The sum is more than the parts. 

Is our God is like a s'more? The Holy Trinity... Father, Son & Holy Spirit... HE is so much more that we can imagine or truly understand.  I see a children's lesson in the making. The Graham Cracker holds it all together like the Father. The Holy Spirit... warm and sweet... and then before you know it, it is everywhere. The chocolate is obviously a food directly from heaven. Jesus experienced life in human skin, the bitter and the sweet. And when we were at our worst, His heart melted for us with unconditional love and sacrifice. 

The scriptures tell us that our "God is more". 

"God is more glorious than the moon; he shines brighter than the stars." -Job 25:5

He is more.

Today, I am grateful for S'mores.  

Safer In His Hands

Year 8-Day 219: Today, I am grateful to be safer in His hand. 

"If my life is surrendered to God, all is well. Let me not grab it back, as though it were in peril in his hand but would be safer in mine?" -Elizabeth Elliot

Read that quote again; read it until it sinks into your soul.

Surrender requires a decision. Surrender requires us to give up control to the one who holds all of our tomorrows. Why is that so hard at times? He actually holds the whole world in His hands, as the children's song taught us. Yet... I fight to keep control over my little corner. Do I think I can do it better? 

"In his hand are the depths of the earth; the heights of the mountains are his also." -Psalm 95:4

The ocean deep and the mountain heights are not unknown to him. Neither are my troubles, trials and concerns. He knows us from head to toe. Learning to listen and learning to let Him lead requires us leaning into His goodness and grace. It is more than lip service. It is giving up our own agendas to explore the adventures He has in store for our lives. 

We still fight him at times... at least, I do. There is a freedom in letting go that changes us from the inside out. We can trust His hand and His heart. 

Elizabeth Elliot returned to the Amazon after her husband and his friends were murdered by the people very people with whom they were determined to share the Good News of the Gospel of Jesus. I've often wondered how she did it. Not only did she return as a widow with small children, she never lost sight of the mission her husband help write on her heart. 

People thought her nuts, but she knew she would be safer in His hand than choosing her own path. Her decision and her witness will echo into eternity.  

Today, I am grateful to be safer in His hand. 

God Is Constant

Year 8-Day 218: Today, I am grateful God is constant.

This image was good for my soul today. 

I have never lived through a season where everything seems to change weekly, if not daily. The year 2020 will certainly be one for the history books. Change is constant in life, but this year... the changes seem to arrive, at times, in rapid fire. We adjust. 

Most of us have some routines in our lives that provide us with structure and comfort. When I have a little extra time, I love to French press coffee. The routine and the ritual feed my soul for the day again. When I feel overwhelmed, music matters. When singing a favorite song, you know what line comes next. The lyrics, rhythm and tune do not change. 

I surround myself with encouraging and inspiring quotes and scriptures. I started collecting them in my youth. Some of the those quotes and scriptures have become a part of my DNA. They hold truths that challenge and inspire. Others, fill me with peace. 

Two of my favorite passages go hand in hand. In one of my Bibles, I wrote down this old quote, "The Old Testament is the New Testament concealed. The New Testament is the Old Testament revealed."

Old Testament: “I the LORD do not change.”Malachi 3:6

New Testament: "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever." -Hebrews 13:8

Finding an Old Testament prophet's words echoed or unwrapped in the New Testament has the same kind of appeal I find in solving a good mystery. I love the challenge of digging a little deeper for truth, clarity and understanding. 

In this every changing world, I am grateful that our "True North" does not change. 

Today, I am grateful God is constant.

Keep Going

Year 8-Day 217: Today, I am grateful we can keep going.

There are days the temptation is real to simply quit! When the plate gets too full or the feet are too tired, the idea of "jumping ship" might be appealing. The truth is, going AWOL rarely provides escape. Troubled thoughts tend to follow us wherever we go. 

I have learned that when the going gets tough... those who press on and push through find peace much faster. We don't have to be perfect. We do have to do our best. The person in the mirror at the end of the day is a tough critic. Knowing we did our best is satisfying, even if we wish our best had been better. 

When life gets tough, you can't give up. You must gather your strength and keep going. 

There is no need to beat ourselves up on the learning curve. When we keep going, we find ourselves gaining new skills, new perspectives and new opportunities. These are gains we would never experience, if we quit when the going got tough. Press in and press on. 

"Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own." -Philippians 3:12

We don't need to be perfect, but persistent. 

Today, I am grateful we can keep going.

The Beauty in Kindness

Year 8-Day 216: Today, I am grateful for the beauty in kindness.

Kindness is beautiful. It is the young man allowing a senior citizen to take his arm to avoid a fall. It is the small child attempting to share an already licked lollipop. It is the grades school child who splits a pair of gloves to share with a friend who has none. Kindness softens every harsh corner. 

"Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you." -Ephesians 4:32

Choosing kindness can at times wrestle with our human nature. The truth is, the more we invite the Spirit's control, the less we struggle. It is absolutely a joy to pour out kindness on others when I am well rested and spiritually energized. Yet, for me, there are times of weakness. Weariness is when the choice to be kind is less natural and must become more intentional. In those seasons, prayer is a lifeline to renewal and restoration. 

Whatever comes your way this week, don't hesitate to pause. Remember, there is power in the "semicolon" moments where we wait upon the Lord. He never ignores us. He is waiting for our call. His heart if full of mercy and compassion. He wants our hearts to be like his.

Today, I am grateful for the beauty in kindness.

Look No Hands

Year 8-Day 215: Today, I am grateful we can ride with no hands.

Most of us have to practice a bit before figuring out the balancing tricks to riding a two-wheeled bike. It is a right of passage for most children. It is a victory when those training wheels come off. When do the training wheels get removed? When they are no longer a help, but a hindrance.

The sweet freedom of sailing down the road is bliss. It isn't too long before the skill is mastered. What happens next? Most children will attempt to ride with no hands. Why? Because... they can. Because, they trust the bike, their balance, the road and their skills.

If you spend long enough on a bike, it is possible there will be an incident where you fall and get a bit scrapped up. That, too, is part of childhood. Do you abandon the bike forever, and go back to walking everywhere?

No! That bike means freedom. The injury may be a result of loose gravel, wet pavement or items carelessly left on the road. Not the bikes fault and not the driver's fault. It isn't God's fault, either.

Yes, He may allow us the occasional cut, bump or bruise. We learn to be more careful. We learn to watch for the signs of danger. In this season, I feel as if we need to learn to be more diligent and more watchful than we ever have before.

Good news. Our God is bigger and better. He will sustain those who put their trust in Him.

"Cast your burden on the Lord, and he will sustain you; he will never permit the righteous to be moved. But you, O God, will cast them down into the pit of destruction;men of blood and treachery shall not live out half their days. But I will trust in you." - Psalm 55:22-23

With Him, we can get back up again. Because of His grace, love and mercy, we can ride with no hands. Be brave. Be strong. The Lord our God is with us.

Today, I am grateful we can ride with no hands.

All Our Needs

Year 8-Day 214: Today, I am grateful for a God who supplies all our needs. 

Another Elizabeth Elliot quote: "God has promised to supply all our needs. What we don't have now, we don't need now."

Sometimes I need the reminder. I know it in my head... without a doubt... that our God is able to provide for us. 

"As for the rich in this present age, charge them not to be haughty, nor to set their hopes on the uncertainty of riches, but on God, who richly provides us with everything to enjoy." -1Timothy 6:17

God's provision is always a blessing. It might not always be in abundance, pressed down and overflowing, but sometimes it is. It is good to pause and reflect on the difference between wants and needs. 

Culture tells us we "deserve" more, more and more. It is an endless cycle of advertisements and messages designed to create a dissatisfaction in our souls.  

The scriptures explain our cravings tells us where our heart and treasure is placed. Do our hearts long for the one who spoke the stars into place and separated the land and see? Do we seek the One who gave us our soul breath? Do we seek an intimacy with with the Father, Son and Holy Spirit? 

We only have this day. Make the most of it. His wants us to trust and obey. The hymn says "there's not other way." That is true. It is not hard... but it isn't easy, either. 

Today, I am grateful for a God who supplies all our needs.