Do You Have Fruit Flies Hanging Around?

Hey!   It's been a crazy week here in WNY!  We've had many towns around get record snow falls in a 24hr period and many, many friends are VERY SLOWLY digging out!   More is on it's way over the next 24 hrs... please keep us in prayer!

Something else, not quite so crazy but very interesting, has been happening this week...  Fruit Flies keep coming up!  I've noticed a few comments on FB about them.  I talked to someone on the phone yesterday that was complaining about them.   And today I had one that kept flying right in my face!  Just one, and we have no fruit, or anything else that would attract them, around.   So I started thinking... what's with the fruit fly?   Why one?   Why now?   Why do they keep coming up?    Next question...   Lord, what's up with the fruit flies?    His answer...   Make sure you don't have any fruit flies in your life!    Okay....!??   

So what brings fruit flies around...  really ripe fruit, or anything sweet that is fermenting.   Um... Lord, I have no ripe fruit here or anything fermenting.   His reply...  Are you sure?   I also want you to make sure you don't have anything attracting them in the future.   Okay....!??

So I get my head out of earth and ascend to the clouds.  :)   Is there fruit in my spiritual life that is getting old, too ripe?   Perhaps even rotting and/or fermenting.   This is where fruit flies lay their eggs and become even more fruit flies!   I definitely don't want that!

So is there spiritual fruit that I am letting go to waste?    I'd like to say, no.  But truth is, yes.   There is definitely fruit that God has given that is not being used.

One scripture we are all familiar with...  Gal 5:22-23 "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,  gentleness, self-control."

Do I have love I have left unshared?   Is the joy of the Lord always evident in me?   Did I practice ALL the patience I could have this week?  Was I as gentle as I needed to be when speaking to my family?   Did self-control rule the day when someone didn't listen to me?   and these are just a few of the kinds of fruit we have.   

Fruit also indicates any areas of harvesting/productivity in our lives.   Has God asked me to do something that I am not doing?   Was there someone I was supposed to pray for and didn't take the time?   Or call them to encourage and bring life and didn't bother?   Am I using my time wisely?   Am I leaving things undone that shouldn't be ignored?    Did my day produce ALL that God had for me or did I leave some fruit on the tree/vine and let it rot?

How about you?   Is there fruit you are leaving, letting it get too ripe and attracting fruit flies?

I pray we all strive to be ALL that God calls us to be and to use all our fruit wisely and timely!

Ephesians 5:11-16

Don’t waste your time on useless work, mere busywork, the barren pursuits of darkness. Expose these things for the sham they are. It’s a scandal when people waste their lives on things they must do in the darkness where no one will see. Rip the cover off those frauds and see how attractive they look in the light of Christ.

Wake up from your sleep,
Climb out of your coffins;
Christ will show you the light!

So watch your step. Use your head. Make the most of every chance you get. These are desperate times!

Loving Autumn!

Happy Monday!!  God has an incredible week planned!  How do you plan to participate?   With awe and wonder and thankfulness and boldness and steadfastness and strength?    I hope so!!!    :)     

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.  Romans 15:13

So to start out today's lesson... I have a confession... I DON'T LOVE Autumn!  I can hear the audible gasps coming from so many of you.  :)  I know many of you Love Autumn.  It's your favorite time of year.  Every year people say to me, "Don't you just love this time of year?"   I don't want to respond with "NO!  I don't LOVE it.  What's to love?  Ok.. the colors are awesome but that's about it!"   So instead I quietly smile, and say, "It is pretty."    No lying coming from my lips.  :)

Here's why I have never loved autumn...  (Not that I want you all to agree with me... just sharing)
It signifies the end of summer.  Remember that short few weeks a year (for those of us in WNY) that we enjoy warmth and sunshine?
It means cold is on it's way.  Any of you who know me, know I am cold 350 days a year!
It also means shorter days.   I love long summer nights and eating dinner on the deck or watching the stars late at night.
Another thing I never liked was that the trees and plants died and went dormant.   I always looked at that as a negative thing... until recently.

Now, please don't get me wrong.  I don't HATE autumn either.   It IS beautiful with all the trees turning and I am sure I am prejudiced, but we really do live in one of the most gorgeous places in North America and autumn takes the cake there.    I LOVE that we have 4 clearly defined seasons and am thankful for parts of each one of them.



So the other day, I was driving home and noticed a barn up on a hill that I don't remember seeing before.  I realized that it had been hidden all summer by the trees.   Now that the leaves were falling, it became visible.   As I continued, I saw many other things "uncovered" by the falling leaves... houses that I knew were there, but could not see; smaller trees and bushes that were not visible when the larger trees around them were in full bloom; trails in the woods become more visible; even the landscape is easier to see all the dips and rises.   

And another aspect of autumn that I have always known but not really contemplated much...  that what appears to be dead is really just resting, rebuilding and preparing to bring forth new and more abundant life in another season.

So how does this apply spiritually?   Have you ever had a vision/dream seemingly die?   I have.   There have been several times that God gave me a vision for something... a ministry, a business, a passion for new outlets of creativity... many different visions.   Often, there comes a period when it seems as if that vision is not going to come to pass and I've asked the Lord, "I was so sure that was from you, God.  What happened?"  I begin to doubt myself, my ability, doubt if I heard correctly, doubt the way I was going about it, etc...

Then, later the vision comes to life again.  It begins to grow, then blossom, then become fruitful.   Most often when I've completely given up on it!  :)

When I look back on the season between the birth of the vision and the fruition of the vision, I see a season that to the human eyes looked dead.  But with spiritual eyes I see many things that were 'uncovered'.  Areas I needed to grow in.  Things that needed to be removed and make way for new things.  Times when the Lord was rebuilding for even bigger and better things to come.

So, I can genuinely now say, "I LOVE Autumn!  It means God is making way for incredible growth and new life!"   I welcome His caring, shaping, removing, changing of me.  It's another step closer to being like Him.

How about you?   It may be easy to Love the earthly autumn but have you come to a place of loving your spiritual autumns as well?

I thank my God upon every remembrance of you, always in every prayer of mine making request for you all with joy, for your fellowship in the gospel from the first day until now,  being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ;  Philippians 1:3-6

A New Day!

Hey!   Once again... it's been too long since I've posted anything.   Not for lack of nudging by the Lord, simply a lack of obedience and an excuse of time!  But.. today's the day!   And I have the perfect post for this NEW DAY!, which I'll share in just a moment.  :)    First, a little note for those of you that are new to my blog....  I started this blog several years ago as a way to share myself with my business partners that were out of town and most of whom I've never met in person.   It transformed into a place to encourage other women in my shoes... stay at home moms/homeschooling moms.   Then it transformed into a public journal of sorts...  What's the point in God transforming us if we don't go and help others do the same?   And that's where I continue.  Since it has been so long, I spent some time this morning updating the blog and reading old posts.   Ahhh... a written archive of just how much God's changed me over the last few years.   If you decide to read old posts... I encourage you to start at the oldest and read on up... you will hopefully see the transforming as well!   And that is my prayer for each one of us... that we are constantly being made new, growing in understanding of the mysteries of God, growing in awareness to our surroundings, growing in love for our Savior and for each other!  Forever changing to His image!   Love to you all!

Now... here's the way my day started...

Nope, first a small amount of background... for the past 2 years I have been driving my husband to work 3 days a week. (a 45min drive 1-way = 3hrs driving/day)   The reasons are a story for another day, so I will suffice to say, it's not because I want to or even choose to but because I love him enough to.

Ok... back to this morning.  Wakened while it's still dark to "You awake?  It's time."   First thought... "Ugh, this is getting old and I don't wanna any more."  (Yes, it was with a thought, not verbalized for husband to hear.  But God knows our thoughts before we even have them.  And, yes, it was in a whining 2 yr old voice).    Determined not to be snotty or make him late, I got up, got moving and headed out.   As we were driving down our road, the sun was just beginning to paint the sky in glorious colors.  I could tell it would be a beautiful sunrise.   This... just a fleeting thought as I went back to wallow in my own self-pity.   On we drove with the sunrise at our backs and the beauty and message NOT on my mind.  

I dropped him off, turned around and headed for home.    What awaited me as I turned the first corner was a brilliant, colorful, amazing reminder that this was a NEW DAY!

Yes.. I stopped to take the picture!  :)

I was not only reminded of it being a New Day, but was reminded of a message this week about being Thankful.   OUCH!   I had not started my day thankful, nor had I remembered the blessings I've had in these driving times for the last 2 years.  I have spent many wonderful hours alone with the Lord... worshiping, praying, seeing His creation.   Other things I'd neglected to be thankful for this morning... I have a newer, safe, good-running car; I am able to rise each day and take on whatever tasks lie before me; I have family and friends that are more than willing to help when needed; I have a husband who is able to work and he has a great job to go to every day; and on, and on, and on.
So.. I asked the Lord to forgive me, then I spent the ride home enjoying the view and thanking the Lord for many things.

And, I prayed for all the other souls driving with me.... many of whom, I would guess, starting their day just like I had.  Grumpy, sleepy and ungrateful.   I asked the Lord to open their eyes to the beauty of the day He'd given us.   I asked Him to remind them, just like He had been loving enough to remind me.. instead of chiding me!

So here's a question... do you wake forgetting the things you have to be thankful for.   Or even worse... getting so involved in the cares of the day, the hustle and bustle of life... that you miss the reminders God puts in front of you?   If you have, I will not chide (for we are all guilty of all things at times), but I will lovingly share God's reminder and encourage you to treasure EVERYTHING around us and become more AWARE as you move through life.

Blessings!!   Geordie

Lessons From The Beach - Friday

Well... my morning walks on the beach this week got waylaid for a few days with an intestinal bug but I was able to go again on the last day of our trip.

I have always enjoyed watching the Sandpipers.  They are fun little birds with oval bodies, short legs and long beaks.   They run just along the edge of the water in and out with the waves.   They remind my of my oldest Jordan when we first started going to the Outer Banks.   He was 2 and he would run right up to the edge of the water and then as soon as a wave came in, he would run back again.   He would do that for hours!   But he never went IN the water!

Anyway, I was watching the Sandpipers, enjoying their little game and then got to really thinking about what they were doing.   They were getting food.  In fact, I watched one get a fairly large beetle, I think, and gobble it down.   The waves were bringing in their food.   They would stand right on the waters edge and as soon as it would start to go back in, they were right behind grabbing any good vittles before it got too far down into the sand.   

Little sand crabs do the same thing, only at night.   If you ever go the beach, go at night with a flashlight.   The sand crabs are all over the place.   During the day, they are burrowed deep into the sand.   My husband caught some one time and we looked up what they eat.   They get their food from the sand and what the waves wash up onto the beach each day.

Both these creations get their provisions from the daily washing in and out of the waves.   God provides all they need.   They just have to be there when it comes to grab it up.   And they trust that everyday those waves will keep coming.

Just as we can be sure that God will always provide!   We just need to trust it, and be there waiting on Him when He does.   Even in the midst of our storms, the waves are bringing in things that will provide for our needs.    He will never leave us or forsake and He is ALL we ever need!

This week has been a time of refreshing for my soul.   And a time of seeing tempest and turmoil in a different light.   I pray that some of what I've shared with you will be a blessing and encouragement to press on and stay close to Christ.   No matter what you face today or will face tomorrow or have faced in your past, Jesus knows; Jesus cares; Jesus understands; Jesus longs for you to cling to Him with every fiber of energy you have, great or small, and TRUST!   Trust He is and always will have your best at heart.

Blessings,

Geordie

Lessons from the Beach - Tuesday

Hi!  Another walk on the beach this morning and another lesson God showed me....

Have you ever really looked at broken pieces of glass?   Jagged, sharp, possibly painful, worthless... all things that come to mind.   Certainly not something of beauty!   

As I walked along this morning, there were a ton of shells pieces and stones that had washed up on shore and I began searching for sea glass.    Last year, my son found a piece while walking along the beach and he and my Mother made it into a beautiful necklace for me for Christmas.

So what happened to make something so worthless and ugly and jagged into something of beauty and treasure?    Agitation!   Time!   Being constantly churned in the waves and the sand of the ocean began to smooth the rough edges.   The grating of the sand brings a softness to the surface of the glass and gives it a lighter hue.   It takes a while but eventually the ocean washes the piece back on the shore and it gets picked up by people and treasured for themselves or sold for much value.

So it is with us.....   before Christ, we are jagged, sharp, sometimes ugly in our actions or behavior, often causing pain to others or ourselves, even considered worthless to some.   But when Christ comes to us and we allow complete control to have him work with us, we become something beautiful, treasured and of great worth!   

While the glass is in the ocean, it has no control what happens to it.   It is tossed too and fro, with no ability to stop what is happening to it.    So must we be with Christ.... surrendering control to Him, allowing Him to work out all the areas that are rough and need softening.   And when the working out is finished, we are found to be precious.    Even rare... it's quite hard to find sea glass.     I found none this morning.   But I will keep looking, this week, as I continue to be polished and softened by God's loving waves!

Lessons from the Beach - Sunday

Hi!   It has been quite a while since I added anything to my blog but the time seems right to start posting again!   I am on The Outer Banks this week with my family.... our annual trip, and I am using my time wisely... spending some time with family and time alone with God.    I was walking the beach this morning, praising and praying with our Awesome Creator and He gave me a good lesson from the beach.   I'm anticipating more lessons this week so I thought it would be fun to share them.  I pray it encourages, convicts, edifies... whatever it is that it's supposed to do for YOU!  :)

It is quite stormy here today.   Windy, rained all day yesterday and into the night, dark and dreary this morning and cold.   NOT a typical September day on the beaches of NC!!   As I walked along the shoreline I felt the wind blowing sand in my face and mist in my eyes.   I saw debris littering the beach.   Broken  shells, sticks, seaweed, foam, even 2 large logs, one a small tree with the roots sticking out of the sand.   Also some trash and a large plastic storage container all torn apart.   I'm guessing alot of it was from hurricane Irene that came through a few weeks ago.   Looking out to sea was a constant churning of waves and whitecaps as far as you could see.

At first, as I walked along, I was enjoying the wind and waves.   The waves spoke of the power of God in a tangible way and reminded me, too, that in an instant He can calm the sea with simply a word!!   And the wind allowed me to walk along singing praise songs as loud as I wanted and no one but God heard me!   It was kinda fun to be singing so loud and yet God and I alone enjoyed the moment.   And a few chuckles as I would hit a wrong note or forget the next line and still find joy in knowing God was pleased with my attempts!

Then something changed.   I began to take my eyes and mind off of God and look around me.    I began to view the storm differently.   It was no longer something enjoyable.  It became something harsh and ugly, turning things around me into a mess and even dirty.   It was the thing that was going to spoil our first day on the beach.   No fun playing in dirty sand and having it fly in your face.   No fun jumping in the waves and swimming out to sand bars to throw balls.    No hanging out, soaking the sun and reading a book.    It was mean and nasty and unwelcome!

But again, I started praying and got my eyes back on our Creator.   And I had a different outlook of the storm again.    The storm was clearing unwanted garbage and debris out of the ocean.   The churning and wind was bringing things that didn't belong, in the water, to the shore to be cleared away and removed.   There was a purpose to the turmoil!   It was a cleansing!    And then as I looked out to sea, to the horizon there was a break in the clouds.   I could see blue skies far out and, just at the break, rays of light were shining down.   It was a visible end to the storm!   I could see that, by the afternoon, the sunshine would be here and the storm would calm.

Are you in a storm of life?  I am.  And when my focus is on Jesus, I can see the good of it, even in the midst of it.   I can understand that there is a cleansing that is needed.   Without the turmoil, the churning, the debris would just continue to float around my life.   Bumping into things, causing damage.   Lots of broken pieces taking up space, cluttering things, causing pain.   It is not always "fun" during the storm, and at the end, there is a time of cleaning up and removing what was washed into the shore.  But it's good to remove all that junk and be freed from it.

Unfortunately, when I take my eyes off Jesus, all I see is a mess!    All I care about is that my fun is being spoiled!    And the storm becomes an ugly, nasty thing that I just want to go away!!

But, take heart, if you focus on Jesus again and accept the clean-up and look to the horizon, there is Hope!   Jesus, shining down on you, enjoying a cleansed YOU and ready to use you for His Glory!   

Keep your eyes on Him, and find pleasure in knowing you are worth cleaning up!    Your storm WILL end and you WILL be able to bask in His Light and it WILL BE WORTH IT!

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year!

I thought I might share some thoughts I had last night with you.Hope you don't mind! :)

I have to admit... I've never really been one to "reflect on last year" on New Year's Eve or Day. I've always just enjoyed the holiday and moved on to the new year. This year was different....

I spent some time last night thinking over the past year. As with most anyone looking back on a significant period of time, there were ups and downs; things I am proud of and things I wish I had done different; good times and hard; etc...

I was able to make a small list of things I want to improve in 2011. Not resolutions per say... more like learning from the past and making some changes to make them better next time.

I also made a list of things that I am really grateful for and posted it on my mirror so I will be reminded often of how good God has been to my family.

And of course there was the couple of things that I resolved to do... exercise, go to bed earlier, etc... One thing I have learned to do well, through my business, is make goals and then make them happen. So I am feeling much more confident in the things I'd like to improve actually happening this time!

But, something that I got to thinking about that I found a bit interesting and you may too.... The phrase "Happy New Year". This is most often said to others as a passing comment that we mean to be "I hope you have a Happy New Year coming your way!"

Well... instead of saying that to you, I am making a minor adjustment... "MAKE this a Happy New Year!"

We have the ability to have a Happy 2011. We know from past experience that stuff is gonna happen. Some of us are going through good times now and hardships or struggles are just not in our vision. Some of us are facing those struggles now and good times seem something of the distant past or even worse... someone other people have, but not you. But either way, we know there WILL be ups and downs; things we are proud of and things we will wish we did different; good times and hard. How we face ALL these things and in what way we react will ultimately decide if we have a Happy 2011.

So... if you only make one resolution this New Year, let it be this... "I will make 2011 a HAPPY NEW YEAR!"

One more thing... but definitely the most important one... never forget the ONLY source of TRUE, unfailing happiness... Christ! I pray your year is filled with Christ's Happiness!

Blessings to you!