The Future of Awesome

The future of awesome.  That's the tagline for an Xfinity commercial.  If you've never heard of Xfinity, congratulations.  You either don't own or don't watch television - and that's not a bad thing!

Xfinity is the 'rebranding' name of Comcast, an internet and cable provider.  In the commercial, we're shown a picture of a phone streaming a TV show while the voice over tells us 'this is your TV'.  We see people skyping on a TV and hear 'this is your phone' and so on.  A plethora of electronic devises not being used in traditional ways because technology changes so much and so quickly we can never be sure of what we know.  And that is what they define as the future of awesome.

By contrast, my Jesus Calling devotional had this to say yesterday:  "I am yours for all eternity.  I am the Alpha and the Omega: the one who is and was and is to come.  The world you inhabit is a place of constant changes-more than your mind can absorb without going into shock...I, however, am the same yesterday, today and forever." 

As the Rich Mullins song says "our God is an awesome God."  HE'S the future of awesome.  And the past.  And the present.

We are constantly being conditioned to change.  We need to be entertained every moment.  I write commercials for a living.  Studies have shown that I have 3-4 SECONDS to grab your attention before you tune out or move on. 

The same seems boring...stagnant...so, well, predictable!

That's the thing about God.  His character never changes.  It's always predictable.  He is true to His word and His promises.  BUT...His ways are never the same.  Never boring or stagnant.

Ever look at how Jesus healed people in the Bible?  No two the same.  Ever wonder why that was?  I think it's because He knew that we humans, for all our love of change, long for predictable.

Wait, isn't that contradictory?

No.

We long for sameness because we want to be able to say, if I do this and this, the result I'll get is this.  But when we think we are able to control our destiny with formulas, we stop seeking God.

"I got this one Lord" becomes the attitude.  

God likes to shake things up.  His character is the same, but His methods often changed.  Jesus healed those who sought it, but He did it differently each time.  He answers prayer, but creatively and often times in ways we would never expect.

When we long after the unchanging nature of God...when we make it the unwavering foundation of our faith...when we learn to trust that He IS the same yesterday, today and forever - then we will enjoy a life that is never stagnant or boring.  His creativity and variety satisfy our desire for change.  It is the best of both worlds.  It is change in the MIDST of being certain of what we know.  And that is a much better thing.

It's the eternal future of awesome...but it's ours today.

A Year of Lessons

July 9th is my one year 'blogoversary' and I am amazed.  Amazed at what's transpired in a year, amazed at the thoughts and stories God has given to me to share with all of you, and amazed at 'all of you'.  When I started this blog, I invited my circle of friends to take a look.  Never would I have thought that 12 months later I would have written 70 posts garnering nearly 3,000 views from 20 or more countries.   I know that compared to some, that's small potatoes.  But I never set out to become a voice to the world.  I just wanted an outlet to share some life lessons.  A place to laugh and cry with friends.  Somewhere I could express my wonder and joy at what God has done in my life and maybe save a person or two from the heartache of making the same mistakes I've made.

When I get comments to the effect that what's been written is 'exactly what you needed to hear', or see that you've been moved enough to share a post on your Facebook page, I am humbled and thankful that God has used me to speak to your heart.  It's a privilege to have this voice.

I have a couple of posts I'm working on, but for this one year mark, I'm resurrecting the link to my very first  post entitled "Majesty" based on Psalm 8.  Much has changed in a year, but much has stayed the same.  As I re-read the post I find I still love reading the truths in 'Jesus Calling', I still love watching sunsets at the lake, and God's majesty is still a wonderment.

So thank you for coming along on this journey so far.  Blessings to each of you, and I hope you enjoy reading Majesty!

~ Toni

Changing Seasons

Last night I went for my usual walk around the lake.  Spring is definitely here!  All kinds of babies from fawns to goslings have their parents scrambling to feed, care and protect.  Under a foot bridge, the cacophony of cries from nests filled with tree swallow chicks was almost deafening.  Moms and dads darted back and forth, gathering insects for their young.  They seemed none to happy to be disturbed by the noise created as I walked across the wood and iron structure.

One of the most beautiful sights I witnessed was this gorgeous creature perched as happy as you please on a rock.  Pretty sure it's a Great Blue Heron.

I slowly, quietly, made my way to the waters edge, carefully testing one of the larger stones to see if I could get a footing.  I lifted my camera phone and voila! A picture worthy of a postcard.  Within seconds, he was off, and I quickly snapped a few more.

As I rounded corner away from the lake and into the wood, I was suddenly struck by how lush everything was becoming.  It had rained the previous two days and everything had a more intense color.

The brown tree trunks appeared almost black, and the leaves were a deep, rich green.  Everything smelled clean and fresh.  I remembered coming this way not much more than two months before when the trees were barren and the only leaves were brown and crisp and strewn across the forest floor.  How very different it looked today. And I know in another two months time it will appear different still. The vegetation will be even more thick, filling out the gaps and totally blocking the view to the lake just beyond.








As I pondered all the changes, I thought back to a conversation I'd had a few days before with a young woman interning in my office. She knows my penchant for baking and to a lesser extent, cooking. She asked me if I'd always been so passionate about it. "No" I laughed. "I HATED to cook when I was younger." She seemed shocked. "It was a different season of my life" I explained. "The kids were young, I was working several jobs to make ends meet. The last thing I wanted to do was spend time in the kitchen when I got home." I went on to explain that I'm a very different person these days.
I love spending a Sunday afternoon cooking and baking for the week.  I get tremendous joy from creating yummy treats to give to family and friends.  Tangible evidence that I've spent time creating something just for them, to make them feel special.

I've discovered a new found joy in being outdoors experiencing nature.  I've taken to having my camera with me on my walks to capture simple and amazing beauty right in the local park. (Okay, it's just a camera phone, but you can't deny I've gotten some amazing shots with it!)  I feel like I'm beginning to develop a bit of an eye for capturing God's incredible beauty in nature which is a totally new interest for me.









I've become an even greater lover of sunsets...reveling in the rich golds, pinks, and purples painted across the sky and the shimmering glow dancing across the face of the water as the sun slowly slips down behind the edge of the lake to ultimately be swallowed up by the trees.  I have always led a busy life, and my calendar is still very full, but I have learned the benefit - the absolute necessity - of slowing down to enjoy life.  Of experiencing it with all my senses.  Of being quiet before God to hear what He is whispering to my soul.  It is an exercise I wish I had learned many years ago.

I've also discovered the importance of friends.  True friends who will laugh and cry with you.  Who don't care if your house is a mess - they come running when you tell them YOU'RE a mess at that moment.  Who when they say they will pray for you, actually do...and you know it because you feel the peace, the calm, the presence of God when you can't utter a word in prayer.  I now say "I love you" unashamedly and often to those friends because I truly do. 

Yes, I'm in a different season in my life.  It is rich, and full, and beautiful - much like spring.  But it wasn't all that long ago that I went through the winter.  Things were barren and often looked bleak.  However, I've learned to see the pockets of beauty that still existed during that time.  And I now appreciate spring all the more because of it.

Author and speaker Priscilla Shirer (daughter of preacher Tony Evans) shared in one of her studies something that stayed with me.  She said her entire single life she had longed to be married.  And when the day came that her now husband proposed, she was elated...for a few minutes.  Then she looked at the ring on her finger and realized that for all intents and purposes, her single life was now over.  And suddenly, she wondered what she had done with all those single years.  Now that she's the mother of young children she sees it happening again.  The temptation is to wish away the time - waiting for the day your baby can crawl, then walk and talk, then head off to school and before you know it, they are married and you wonder where?  Where did the time go?  Each season of life is to be lived to the full and appreciated for what it teaches us.

Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 are the well known "a time for" verses.  "There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven."  Verse 11 goes on to say "He has made everything beautiful in its time.  He has also set eternity in the hearts of men; yet they cannot fathom what God has done from beginning to end."

The devotional Jesus Calling put it this way a few days ago..."Here and Now comprise the coordinates of your daily life.  Most people let their moments slip through their fingers, half-lived.  They avoid the present by worrying about the future or longing for a better time and place.  They forget that they are creatures who are subject to the limitations of time and space.  They forget their Creator, who walks with them only in the present."

Don't let another moment slip away.  Begin today walking with Him in the present.  He has made everything beautiful in its time, so live the time you're in right now to the full...the seasons will most assuredly change down the road - don't miss a second of the one you're in.

Life, Death and Birthdays

Saturday is my 51st birthday.  I can say that without too much crying these days, but I had a lot of trouble wrapping my mind around that big 'ol 50 number last year.  Perhaps people are being kind, but I'm generally told I don't look it.  I don't think I act like it, and my daughter often buys me clothes to make sure I don't dress like it ("No mom jeans, mom!").  Most days I don't feel like it - although I've noticed that it takes longer to heal from a strained muscle and I'm a little more tired than I used to be after a full day on my feet.  Rainy weather also brings out a few more aches and pains than it used to. 

The optimists say "it's just a number!"  The pessimists say "you think 50's bad...wait til you hit MY age!"  But most often, when I think about my age, I can't help but think that the number is 5...now almost 6... years more than the age my mom was when she departed this life.

I've been thinking about life and death and the years we're given a lot this week.  Two years ago, my mother's sister, my beloved "Aunt Ro", died on my birthday.  Ro had been gifted with 74 years.  Yesterday, I attended the celebration of life for a friend of mine who passed away last Thursday. Daveida had been gifted just 41.  While my aunt was far too young to die in my humble opinion, losing my mom and Daveida in their 40's was and is extremely difficult.  I took Daveida's passing hard, in part because it rocketed me back 25 years to when I said goodbye to my mom.  Like my mom, Daveida valiantly fought breast cancer for a number of years, even as it infiltrated other parts of her body.  Like my mom, she left behind 3 children and a grandchild.  Like my mom, she left this world far too soon for those who loved her.  And like my mom, she loved Jesus with everything in her, never wallowing in self pity over what she was going through, but rather spent her time encouraging others despite her own pain.

When we're young, we're contantly wishing we were older.  We want to reach those milestones of "double-digits", "sweet 16", "17 and driving", "18 and considered an 'adult'", 21 and "legal".  We're in such a rush to age we add fractions to the number...I'm 10...and a half, 12...and three quarters.  Then we hit 29 and we want it all to slow down.  Now we're 29 with a years' experience.   Why are we never satisfied to enjoy where we are in life? 

Job 14:5 says "Man's days are determined, you have decreed the number of his months and have set limits he cannot exceed."  And Psalm 90:12 says "Teach us to number our days aright, that we may gain a heart of wisdom". 

We are given...gifted...a certain number of hours, days, months, years.  They are determined and we cannot exceed them.  I don't know why some are given more on this side of heaven than others, but that is the way it is, and the way it will always be.  BUT...no matter how many we have, we should "number our days aright - that we may gain a heart of wisdom."  We need to live knowing that they are numbered - not in fear of their coming to a close, but in consciously living them to the fullest, doing what we are called to do, and gaining a heart of wisdom.

My mom, my aunt, my friend...they got that.  Those who came in contact with them left in better spirits than when they came.  They left encouraged by the faith these women had, by their love for their Lord, by the knowledge - the wisdom - they had in knowing they were fulfilling God's purpose for their lives for as long as they drew breath on this earth...and that they would hear 'well done, good and faithful servent' when they finished this race and crossed into eternity. 

You may have heard the about "the dash".  There's the year you are born, and the year you die on your gravestone...and between them is the dash.  It's all the time you've spent here on earth in between those 2 dates.  It's the lives you've touched, the difference you've made, the legacy you've created.  We need to live each one of our years in the dash to the full. 

The day after Daveida went home to be with the Lord, I read this in my devotional, Jesus Calling:  "Try to view each day as an adventure, carefuly planned out by your Guide.  Instead of staring into the day that is ahead of you, attempting to program it according to your will, be attentive to Me and to all I have prepared for you.  Thank Me for this day of life, recognizing that it is a precious, unrepeatable gift."  Daveida is living the ultimate adventure today.  She, along with my mom and aunt are face to face with their precious Lord and Savior.  But for now, I still have days gifted to me here.  God's work in me is not yet done, and to bemoan the time I've been given, to complain about 'my age', is not a good use of my time.

So as I reflect on life and death and the time we're given inbetween, I'm learning a few things - don't be in a rush - don't tack on halfs and three quarters.  Don't live in the past thinking of what might have been - you will miss today's adventure.  Be grateful for the age you are - it is a gift - whether the years are 41, 74, 45 or 51.  Your days are numbered, and they are to be used 'aright'.   Love God, love others, make a difference, and gain a heart of wisdom.

Mindful Majesty

Last Sunday, I heard a sermon on Psalm 8 which opens and closes with "O Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth!"

Majestic.  

What vision does that word conjure up for you? 

Do you think of people?  Royalty decked out in 'majestic' robes and finery? 

Or does a vision of nature come to mind: the vastness of the Grand Canyon, towering giant redwoods, the power of Niagara Falls, or"purple mountains majesty?"

The dictionary describes majesty as "regal, lofty, or stately dignity; imposing character; grandeur" - certainly words that reflect either a royal person or a natural wonder. 

But those words - lofty, stately, imposing - also create a feeling of something untouchable. They don't exactly give you the warm fuzzies.

Now read on in Psalm 8 - verses 3 & 4 . "When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars which you have set in place, what is man that you are mindful of him, the son of man that you care for him?" 

Again, we're reminded that God is a majestic God who created everything.

But wait...He's mindful of man? 

Back to the dictionary!  Mindful means "attentive, aware, or careful" - in fact, the Bible goes a step further and says who is the son of man that you CARE for him! Care..."to make provision or look out for."  Now the warm fuzzies are beginning to rush in where dignity fears to tread.

All day these thoughts were batted around in my mind...majestic but mindful...lofty but attentive...only God could take things so seemingly at odds and have them make perfect sense.  

Only God could be the majestic King over the universe, worthy of praise and honor and yet bend down to turn an attentive ear and caring gaze to those who fall so short of His glory. 

As the day drew to a close, I found myself outside in time to see a most glorious sunset.

I rushed to the lake so I could watch it in all its grandeur. I brought along my favorite devotional book, "Jesus Calling," and randomly opened it to an entry that brought tears to my eyes. It was based on Psalm. 8:1-4 as well as Psalm 19: 1-2, 1 Corinthians 6:19, and Jeremiah 29:13.  

It said "I speak to you continually. My nature is to communicate, though not always in words.  I fling glorious sunsets across the sky, day after day after day (yes Lord - I see it...I hear you!)  I speak in the faces and voices of loved ones. I caress you with a gentle breeze that refreshes and delights you. I speak softly in the depths of your spirit, where I have taken up residence. You can find Me in each moment, when you have eyes that see and ears that hear. Ask My Spirit to sharpen your spiritual eyesight and hearing. I rejoice each time you discover My Presence. Practice looking and listening for Me during quiet intervals. Gradually you will find Me in more and more of your moments. You will seek Me and find Me, when you seek Me above all else."

At the water's edge, as the sun slipped behind the trees and the golden light that shimmered on the water faded. The sky was painted in royal hues of red and purple. 

But even as His majesty was written across the sky for all to see, His voice gently whispered in the breeze..."I love you."  

Majestic and mindful...lofty and attentive...King over all the universe and my dear, sweet friend.