Canoeing Obstacles

So yesterday was my solo float! I try super hard to go at least once a week and canoe alone to just clear my head, hang out with the Lord, and absorb a bit of God's creation!! Honestly, this is the best stress reliever EVER (followed closely by wood splitting and stacking!)!! 

And it's about wayyyy more than relieving stress, its about being able to take a couple of hours and step out of the day-to-day and be immersed in beauty. 

It's about carving the opportunity to slow down and notice.

And it's about the water!! 

I was a bit surprised at my immense and immediate love of all things RIVER!  But William said that considering my amazement with the ocean, he wasn't. :)

Anyway....back to my story!!

So as I began my journey I was praying and just asking the Lord to clear my head and fill it only with His thoughts and ideas and I pretty quickly figured out what He wanted to teach me.

You see, due to rain that we had recently received, the river was running pretty swiftly and being that it was my first time to float this spot I was surprised at the high and frequent number of obstacles that came up. That was when God began to gently speak into my soul about life...about obstacles.

When canoeing, I make great effort to avoid obstacles and was rapidly becoming distressed at the number of them I saw ahead. I couldn't see it well enough to know which side would be the best to pass by on or how best to handle what was coming. 

I saw just enough to know that it was coming.

That is when the Lord taught me my first lesson regarding obstacles. There was a huge mound of tree branches that I could see down stream and I had no idea how to proceed and like I said, I quickly became distressed. Then He showed me how much I was missing!

I was missing the beauty of where I was at...what I was passing through because I was so caught up in what I "thought" was coming. 

In actuality, once I got there it was pretty easy to steer around.

My second lesson was a good one too. 

Since this was a longer float I had ample time to get to know the water better, and I noticed something. When there are obstacles hidden by water, the surface changes. Sometimes it looks more smooth than the rest, and sometimes more turbulent, but there is usually some slight difference from the surrounding, obstacle free waters. 

Kinda like in life. Some of our obstacles are hidden, but if we look carefully we can see signs. For me, the biggest surface change that indicates trouble is coming is when I neglect to start my day in the Word and in prayer. That is my tell-tale sign.

For others of you it could be trouble sleeping, listening to negative thoughts in your head, etc. But we all have some type of surface change indicator. 

The final lesson He showed me was in perception of the obstacle. You see, by the end of a two-hour float...I had to potty!!  And the sound of the rushing river was making it worse :)

So as I began to become annoyed by the noise God helped me notice something. At the beginning of the float I adored the sound of the water. It was peaceful and calming, but at the end it just caused me misery and pain (that may be a bit dramatic, but you know what I mean!).

But you know what He showed  me? The sound never changed!!  It was just my focus. 

It was the same sound I heard at the end of the trip that I enjoyed at the beginning but instead of focusing on the beauty of the river, I was thinking about my need to go to the bathroom!

And in life when I focus on something other than Jesus, my perception changes. A beautiful journey can become one of annoyance and despair.

At this point I was pretty sure I was done with the obstacle lessons and then BAM!!  I ran smack dab into a tree!!  

I turned a bend, the wind picked up, the current picked up, and there was nothing I could do but hold on and run into the stinking tree!

So now I'm stuck in the tree and I start trying to figure out how I'm going to get out of it and it is in said tree that I was taught one more...fabulous lesson!!

Canoeing isn't so much about avoiding all of the obstacles as it is about staying balanced.

You see, that tree was an unavoidable obstacle. I really see no way that I could have not run into it. But the key came in trying to maintain my balance.

And what a great life lesson that was for me.

Sometimes no matter how much I try to avoid them...obstacles are going to come. 

And there are times when we just have to hold on to the sides of the canoe and run into the tree.

But that doesn't have to destroy my float. If I can allow God to keep my focus on the beauty and His glory...If I will seek Him to keep me in balance...I can overcome the obstacle.

I might be stuck on it for a while, like a giant tree in the river, but by letting Him take over, I can maintain my balance and overcome.

Lessons From the Canoe....

I think I am going to begin this post with a story, so bear with me....

A young girl...okay maybe she is not so young...takes a canoe trip.... 

Alright, you got me.... it's me!! 

Moving on...

This canoe trip is not a long one, but one down a beautiful river in hopes of having some peaceful time to draw closer to the Lord.

So I take the first step and get into the canoe without tipping it over and boy did I feel a sense of relief and accomplishment! Honestly that was my biggest worry!

Now I am ready to begin the peaceful float. The scenery is beautiful, the sun is warm, and the water beautiful.

But I quickly learned something... It's REALLY hard to canoe if it is windy.

It's not long before I reach a turn in the river where I was taken by surprise. The wind whips around  and whoosh!!  My canoe spins! 

Suddenly I am completely turned around and going down the river backwards.

I tried and tried to turn it, but every time I would get seemingly close the wind would spin me again. Luckily for me I had brought my phone to listen to some music, so I texted a friend that I knew had more canoe knowledge than myself and asked for some advice.

Following the advice I was able to get more control and get turned around. But...I was continuously caught by wind and had to repeat the whole turning process a gazillion more times.

I finally made it to the landing area and was able to get out of the canoe without tipping it over!! But boy was it far from the peaceful trip I had anticipated! It was rough :)

After the trip I remembered a scripture that I had read a couple of days before...It is from Psalm 31:21....

Blessed be the Lord,

    for he has wondrously shown his steadfast love to me

    when I was in a besieged city

I kinda felt like my canoe trip was closer to being in a besieged city than the peaceful float I had hoped for. I looked up the definition for besiege and it is - to surround, overwhelm.

Yuppers...definitely closer to that!!

I started to think about the fact that sometimes we see things differently when we are overwhelmed. Sometimes it's easy to get so focused on the battle that we lose sight of what is all around us and the many ways God is wondrously showing His steadfast love to us!

Like on my canoe trip... I was fighting so hard that for a while I forgot  to take time and behold the beauty of creation that I was passing through!  

It was there all of the time, but I was missing it.

Also, had the wind not tired me out and whipped me around, I would have missed the wondrous view I had of a huge, bald-eagle sitting behind me watching :)

I would have also missed being able to hear! You see, my intent was to use my phone and blare my worship music during the ride, but I can't concentrate well when I have music playing. Thus when the wind sent my trip in a different direction, I took out my earbuds. What I was blessed to hear was silence!!

And it was also because of that silence that I was then able to hear the rustling of the brush and see a huge deer hiding and watching! :)

All of this was just a great encouragement for me and a reminder....that when I am in a city or stage of life where I am being besieged or overwhelmed I need to remember that sometimes that is the best time and way for me to see God's wondrous, steadfast love.

A reminder to slow down and look at what I am passing through and to see the beauty.

A reminder to allow myself to be turned around and see where I am coming from...not just where I am headed.

A reminder that sometimes I need to take out the earbuds and listen to God in the silence.

A reminder that sometimes the way He wants to love on us with a wondrous, steadfast love is through our being in a city under siege.

Too Good For A Testimony?!

Wow! It's been a while!! :)

We are surviving the winter here in Wisconsin. There have been some really cold days, but for the most part they tell me that this winter has been really mild.

One thing that we enjoy doing is snowshoe hiking! I gotta tell you....it's really fun!!

Yesterday I was out hiking and I noticed how bright my red snowshoe was compared to the snow. The verse came to mind:

"Come now, let us settle the matter," says the Lord.

"Though your sins are like scarlet,

they shall be as white as snow;

though they are red as crimson,

they shall be like wool."

Isaiah 1:18

         

I started to think about the difference between the red in my shoe and the white of the snow. It's a huge difference. It's a drastic difference. It's a difference that one can't help but notice, even if they themselves know nothing about snowshoeing. 

As I thought about that for a while another verse came to mind:

        

 “‘I know your works: you are neither cold nor hot. 

         Would that you were either cold or hot! 

         So, because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, 

         I will spit you out of my mouth." 

         Revelation 3:15-16

How much of my life have I spent being lukewarm for God?

More than I would care to admit.

For years I would tell people that I didn't really have a testimony because I was raised in the church and grew up with the teaching. What a misguided and frankly wrong way of thinking!

It doesn't matter what I did or didn't do before I gave my life to Christ, my transformation should be drastic! It should be like scarlet compared to white snow. People, no matter what their beliefs, should be able to see a difference. 

You see, many, many times we think that when we give our lives to the Lord what should be different is our actions (physical) or our thinking (mental). But what we fail to realize is that the initial transformation is in our heart (spirit), and that transformation should be radical. 

No matter what we have done, good or bad, or how we have behaved, right or wrong, there should be a noticeable shift in our hearts. We can do good things and we can behave in a right way without the Lord. But only God can purify and clean our heart

Create in me a clean heart, O God, 

And renew a steadfast spirit within me.

Psalm 51:10

And no matter how "good" we were before walking with the Lord, our hearts were all the same, dirty, stained, and sinful.

"But the things that proceed out of the mouth come from the heart, 

and those defile the man.

"For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, 

fornications, thefts, false witness, slanders."

Matthew 15:18-19

Therefore our transformation from scarlet to pure, white snow should reveal a difference that can only be attributed to God. 

What if it doesn't?

Well, I don't really have an answer for that as it is something you need to take before the Lord.

For me personally I think it came down to a misunderstanding and to pride.

You see, I gave my head to God.

I learned about Him, believed in Him, and tried in think of Him.

I gave my physical self to God, though through my pride I mistakenly thought I was already doing pretty good on my own. 

But I had not given my heart to God. 

I had not let Him truly transform my heart. 

I had not let Him make it like His own.

When God transforms our heart we take on His priorities.

A heart that breaks for the lost....and is willing to be obedient in doing something about it.

A heart that loves the Church...and is willing to be a part of it.

A heart that cares for the poor, widows, and orphans...and is willing to put that into action.

A heart that forgives...even when our perpetrator isn't repentant. 

And that, my friend, looks radically different.

Walking Dead

Death....we are born into it. We walk in it, like zombies walking the streets. Many times we don't even realize we are the walking dead.

Dawning...a realization that there is more than roaming looking for ways to feed our dead souls. A realization that there is another option...another way to live that actually involves being alive.

Drawing...a force so powerful, so beautiful, so all-consuming that draws you closer. The closer you get you begin to see something...light, life.

Daybreak...the first beams of that beautiful light that begin to illuminate the darkness. Once you realize there is something to see, you want more!

Desire...you begin to realize that though you try and try you cannot add more to the light you see. But you also begin to understand that you NEED more.

Dazzle...the moment you learn that all you must do is ask and the light, Jesus, breaks all darkness and is all consuming.

Deploy...how can you not? You remember the darkness and you know the beauty, peace and joy that comes from the light. You also know that the Light's desire is to illuminate for all, and you love the Light.

Death...we are born into it, and as we draw our last breath on this earth, our bodies succumb to it. But it no longer has a hold on us. Instead, death is our gain, our final step from this life into glory!

Condemned Woman Walking

This past week there has been a theme to my Bible readings and studies. Picture this with me....

Jesus approaches the woman at the well and is able to tell her life story. It's not pretty. 

                                      

The woman in John who is caught in the act of adultery and dragged into the temple to be stoned. Adulterer! 

                                                        

The woman who pushes through a crowd, unclean because of constant bleeding. The law says she is to remain in solitude until seven days after her bleeding stops. Anyone she touches becomes unclean too. She reaches out and touches Jesus. 

                                   

The woman with the alabaster jar. In Luke it says that she was a sinner. In all of the Gospels it is implied that the people eating with Jesus at the very least saw her as ignorant for wasting such an expensive item when it could have been used for other "greater" things.

                                      

These women...these stories...they have one thing in common. 

Each woman, for a passing moment of time, set themselves up in front of the Savior of the World to walk in...Condemnation. 

The woman at the well is living in sin, as is the adulterous woman in John. The woman that is bleeding blatantly breaks the law. Everyone in the room considered the woman with the alabaster jar ignorant and a sinner. 

These women deserved condemnation from Jesus. They were law-breakers. Sinners. 

The people around them were there, ready to throw rocks at them. Rocks that scream CONDEMNATION! Rocks that break people.

                                    

We, like these women, deserve condemnation. We sin. 

Sometimes our sins are hidden or they might be more "acceptable" sins.

Sometimes our sins are blatant. Out in the open for everyone to see.

Sometimes we are surrounded by people holding rocks. Ready to scream CONDEMNATION at us. To break us. 

Sometimes we feel like Jesus is standing with them. He deserves to be doesn't He? He is the only one with no sin who can throw the first stone.

So many times in our lives this is where we rest. Where we walk. This is where we find our identity. 

But if you finish reading each of these stories you will notice that though He is worthy of throwing that stone He doesn't.

My fellow Child of Christ, you might be walking today in condemnation. Thinking that you know the heart of God and that is what you deserve. And you will be correct. You do deserve that....the women from scripture did....we all do.

But Romans 8:1 speaks of a different heart "Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus." 

Jesus came to reconcile. To restore to favor. (Strong's Concordance)  2 Corinthians 5:18 says "Now all these things are from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation,"

Romans 5 tells us that God's heart for us was reconciliation even when we were His enemy! When we hated and despised Him, He planned for our rescue. He planned to draw us into Him. He planned to reconcile us to Himself!

So if you are walking today in condemnation, step out of it!! Walk in the reconciliation that is calling to you! Calling to you with the sweet voice of His Word. 

Walk in Christ.

He, the only one worthy of throwing that stone, has dropped it. 

Stop standing there waiting to be hit and broken. 

You are restored and whole!!