The start of Summer fun and renewed hope!

Well Ken and I are once again, a two kayak family!  Ken had purchased a kayak last summer, but I wasn't sure that it made sense for us to own two kayaks.  Let's face it, we have a one car garage and just a bit more stuff than we should have to try to store over the winter.  But as the weather got nicer, I realized just how much I missed being out on the water.  So, there you have it!  Two kayaks to store next winter!

I confess that I did breathe out a bit as I was paddling across that little lake.  I just love the water.  I grew up on Lake Maud and spent a fair amount of time every year on, in or around that lake.  So it does refresh my soul to glide across the water.  Our garage will be pretty crowded next winter, but sometimes it is worth the trouble to have so much enjoyment.  

I needed that time to just float across the lake.  It has been a busy and kind of crazy last month!  We have had so many milestones pass by - some that I have blogged about and some that I have missed.  We passed by Ken's 65th Birthday and I somehow didn't blog about that!  These days, being 65 does not mean that you get to retire (sadly)!  It was also our 43rd Wedding Anniversary, and I didn't really blog about that.  

Then this event happened!  It was actually Lia's 8th dance recital! She has been dancing since she was 3 years old and this recital was actually ON her 11th birthday!   This year Ellie also danced!  I missed blogging about that also.  And then last week, this cutie pie turned 4 months old!  

Just to add to the "milestones" in our family, last Friday was Gwen and Tim's 16th Wedding Anniversary!  My gosh, where did that time go?   Seriously, Gwen and Tim just seem way too young to be married 16 years!  It is one of those things that seems almost impossible to fathom when that wedding seems like it was just a few years ago!  

Yes, time marches on.  And those special dates just seem to roll around faster and faster.  I confess that this busy time has left me feeling a bit buried.  It is hard to begin to blog when there is SO MUCH that you want to talk about.  It just becomes easier to not write anything.  Then today I saw this .....

This gave me so much comfort and hope!  Even though I missed blogging about these special events as they happened, that doesn't mean that I can't still share my thoughts and feelings and all that the Lord has been speaking to me!  In fact, as I let those thoughts sit and "germinate" something much bigger and better just might grow!  

Another "milestone" that I didn't mention yet is the anniversary of this blog.  I actually began to write this blog four years ago.  I really didn't know how long I would continue to blog - or if I would even blog for a month.  Here it is, four years of blogging.  So many new and wonderful connections and friends from around the world.  So much encouragement and so many kind words.  When I started this blog I had been in a season of feeling very buried.  It had been a few dark years, wondering exactly what I was supposed to be doing for Jesus.  This blog grew out of those dark years,  Looking back over these four years, I can see just how much Jesus has done in me from that small seed, sown in darkness.  It hasn't always been easy to keep on truth telling and being honest on these pages.  I have shared through the good times and the bad, through the happy and the sad.  In it all, I have been growing up....toward that marvelous light of Jesus.  It gives me encouragement to keep on... and to press for even more. Yes, I love this picture.  I will keep that image of the new little seedling, drinking in the rain, yet remembering the dark times, hidden and alone.  I will see myself pushing onwards and upwards towards the light.   

Yes, sitting in that Kayak is a great place to remember that seed being watered by the Spirit.  Resting and floating across the water, feeling the sun on my face, is just what this little plant needs! I am so thankful for the reminder today!

Jesus, thank you for helping us to see from your perspective.  What a powerful reminder this is for us to know that we are your seeds.  When things seem dark and we feel buried, you are doing an amazing transforming work in us.  Holy Spirit, keep us always looking towards the light of Jesus.  Thank you for milestones and anniversaries and birthdays!  Thank you Jesus for your love.  Amen

Today was a milestone kind of day....

Last night, after I had posted my blog, I happened to look at the statistics page for my blog.  I don't always do this, as a matter of fact sometimes it is weeks between my visits to these pages.  The first thing I noticed was that my blog last night was my 600th blog post!  WOW!  I mentioned that to Ken and he was also surprised.  I have been blogging since May of 2013.  So I suppose that over 3 years I should not be surprised by the number, but I was.  And then today these came in the mail............

I decided to have my blog posts printed into a book form to preserve them in a "readable" format for my own library.  I debated for a  long time about doing this since it was not an inexpensive thing to have these books formatted and printed.  But today, I was so thankful that I had actually gone through the process of getting these books printed.  It is really something to hold these very weighty books in my hand and know that every word was put on the page by me!  And this is only 2013, 2014, and 2015!  I am praying that the same format will be available when the end of 2016 rolls around.   I would really like to have a matching set!  Yes, this was a milestone kind of day for me.  Seeing these blogs actually on paper is really something.  I suppose that seems a bit silly, but I am a "book" person and I love to hold books in my hand.  I do have a Kindle and Iphone and Laptop and I do read a lot of material "electronically", but there is just something that pleases me about holding a book and flipping the pages.   Now I can flip through the pages of my life and all that Jesus has given me through these posts.  I have a lot to look at!  

The story behind this blog is really a simple one.  I felt that I had something I was supposed to be sharing - somewhere/somehow - and I couldn't figure out the where or the how to share!  I had been feeling a strong call to go to the nations and yet I was in a place where that didn't seem really possible or probable.  I simply did not have a platform to share my thoughts, my revelations, and my words or the things that Jesus was speaking to me. I remember telling someone that I felt like I had duct tape over my mouth.  My very first blog is titled "Feeling Stuffed and it isn't Thanksgiving".  I started this blog as a way to vent - more or less.  Here is the thing.  Little did I know that somehow this blog would go around the world and reach people in the nations.  I had been feeling called to write but really didn't think I should be writing a book or a story or a devotional.  I couldn't figure out who might even want to read anything that I had to say.  I guess that I had to get "stuffed" enough to just begin to put words on a page.  I am incredibly thankful that I live in this era when blogging was so simple.  I had decided that blogging might be good, but had put it off for several months because I couldn't come up with a "catchy name" for my blog.   Finally Gwen told me to just use my own name and be done with it!  Wasn't that good advice? I could procrastinate no longer.  And so it began.  

At last count I have blog readers in 178 countries.  That fact alone stops me in my tracks every time I think about it.  My blog is not one of those "viral" blogs that get millions of hits.  But I know that Jesus is sending my blogs to exactly the people who need to see these words and be encouraged and inspired by my daily life and struggles. And let me tell you there have been plenty of ups and downs in these blog posts. I promised total honesty when I began this blog.  So nothing has been left out of my posts.  There have been births and deaths and lots of grief and tears as well as laughter and joy.  Times when my faith was low and things seemed dark, yet Jesus was always there. Just like my life, it always comes back to Jesus.    I do not "promote" my blog, but somehow the Holy Spirit is doing the work of spreading my posts in ways that surprise me and leave me in awe.  I certainly did not think that I would be reaching the nations while sitting in my chair at home, but that is exactly what is happening.  It puts a new spin on the term "missionary" doesn't it?

When I was four years old, I had a dream that Jesus told me to share his story with everyone.  When I was eight someone told me "someday you will be a missionary".  As an adult I heard the message that I was called to go to the nations.  But I really never thought it would look like this. And I feel as if there might be even more on the horizon.  It leaves me a bit breathless....and filled with hope and expectation! 

So that is my thought for today.  Expect the unexpected.  If you have had a dream or a vision in the past and you can't quite imagine how or when that dream or vision might come true, just be open to whatever comes along.  Keep your focus on the giver of those dreams and visions, JESUS, and believe me, you will be amazed.  I can assure you that there is a plan and purpose for your life and Jesus is all about you fulfilling your destiny!  Don't limit yourself and be open to new things and new ways.  I am sure glad I was!  Keep on dreaming!

Jesus, thank you so much for your continued prompting to share your story with the world.  Holy Spirit, it is amazing how you bring each of us, exactly what we need, when we need it.  Keep us filled with hope as we hold on to those dreams as we wait for your perfect plan and perfect timing.  Thank you Jesus for who you are and your great sacrifice for us.  Thank you for always being with us. Amen