Dusting Off Faith

Gratitude Day 324

Thurs., Sept. 12, 2019

2 Thessalonians 1:3:  We ought always to thank God for you, brothers and sisters, and rightly so, because your faith is growing more and more, and the love all of you have for one another is increasing.

Sometimes, it takes time to fully appreciate something. A little maturity can go a long way.

Several winters ago, Hubby Rick built the crème del-la crème of playhouses for three of our grandchildren. Basically, he built a miniature version of Waylan, Ellie and Dylan’s real house for the kids to play in. This wasn’t just any old playhouse. It has a loft, furniture, curtains and even electricity. Shutters on the outside, a chimney and a front porch make the house seem very real. The gate doors on one side of the house make it practical. Rick spared no amount of energy or effort in making this the playhouse one any kid would want in their back yard. For the full story, take a few minutes and read this.

Fast forward several years. A couple weeks ago, granddaughter Ellie asked if I would help clean-out the playhouse. Over time, things have accumulated in the playhouse. There’s sand and dried play dough and leftover bottles and food wrappers inside. The chickens used it for awhile as well as some hornets. While well-loved, the cleaning lady needed to pay it a visit.

After school, Ellie and I went to work to restore the beauty of the playhouse as much as we could. We ran into a few challenges. The sliding windows are broken. Rick put indoor/outdoor material in the loft which was now covered with a layer of sand.  While I was prepared for cleaning, the cleaning lady didn’t bring any tools along to fix a few missing screws. Those fixes will wait for another day.

We hauled everything out of the playhouse and cleaned it all up. Ellie chose what she wanted back inside, which we neatly arranged after a good cleaning. We put in a rug in the center, one I had at home. It used to be at Rick’s mom’s house. As Ellie and I laid it down, I mentioned how she had a little piece of her great-grandmother’s house now in her playhouse.

After we were done, we closed up the doors and reopened them like a reveal. It was so fun to see the expression on Ellie’s face as she saw the playhouse through new eyes and with a bit of maturity. While I know this playhouse has been used extensively, it just needed a little elbow grease to bring it back to a place where books will be read, pretend meals fixed and games played. She laid on grandma-great’s rug and let out a big sigh. It was like she felt home all over again.

Faith is maybe a bit like the playhouse. When faith first becomes personal, we are excited and can’t wait to share our experience with someone else. Initially, faith often feels easy and simple. Over time, faith can begin to feel a little more challenging. It gets bogged down by real life and complications and others who want to root in and take up residence. Faith usually doesn’t disappear. It just gets covered up with a layer of sand or mud or dirt.

When we are able to dust off faith and clean up some of our habits in which we become a bit lazy in practicing our faith, slowly, we begin to feel more optimistic about faith. With just a little work, maybe faith won’t look so difficult or hard and actually will inherit a whole new feeling. Faith never left us or disappeared. It just simply was covered up by other things. With a little effort, cleaning and going through, faith looks refreshed, remade and ready for another whirl.

When Ellie’s dad got home, she quickly asked him to go see the cleaned-up playhouse. Her one caveat? He had to take off his boots before he could enter. She wants her cleaned-up playhouse to stay this way. A little older Ellie longs for it to be used again; this time, with a little more care and attention.

FULL DISCLOSURE: Unfortunately, we didn’t take any before photos. And my helped snapped the photos included with this post.

For the opportunity for faith to grow and mature, I am grateful. 

Holy God – sometimes, we feel like faith isn’t worth the effort. We put our energy into other things or decide that something else is a higher priority. God – forgive us for the times when this happens. And when we’re ready to dust off our faith and explore it again, thanks for always being ready to be a part of this. Help us mature in our faith and find it anew as often as we need to. Amen.

Blessings –

Dianne

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Remembering

Gratitude Day 323

Wed., Sept. 11, 2019

Romans 8:26:  In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans.

Eighteen years ago today, life changed. For some, it stood still. For others, it was clouds of disbelief. We felt anger, sadness and grief. Our emotions could not keep up with the quickly changing world around us.

Normal life changed. Today’s normal is not the same as 9.10.01 normal. Now, we are aware of different things, live by enhanced laws and no longer question if something can happen here in the United States. Because it already has.

It was a terrible day. An awful day. A day that seemed to never end. One day seemed to stretch into a continuous day that soon became days and then a week. We were awed by the stories, the bravery and the sacrifice. Some people were motivated to make decisions they might not have otherwise made. We discovered that life can be very short and every day truly is a present.

Yet in the midst of all the yucky, some amazing things happened. We hugged a little tighter. We checked in with others out of pure concern. We expressed our faith and were not afraid to pray: out loud, in public and with others. We tried to make sense of the evil, only to discover there are times when there simply are no answers.

Some blamed God. Some blamed God for not stopping the awful. Some blamed God for allowing such awful things to happen. People yearned for God to speak, to say something, to help us hear the right voice. And when it appeared that God was not speaking, it seemingly became more challenging to defend our God.

And then, I discovered this one verse tucked quietly away in Romans 8. A verse that I had probably read countless times … but never really embodied. But this time, post 9.11, the words became my mantra. When I do not have words to speak or words to pray, it’s really OK. In these moments, the Spirit steps in and groans with me. For me. On behalf of me. My need for words is put on hold. I only need to sit at Jesus’ feet and pray for strength.

Wow. What a gift.

What a generous and wise God I serve. I don’t always have to have words. When my words run out, I still have an Advocate, the One who intervenes for me. This Spirit knows my thoughts, my feelings and my emotions. This Spirit

I pray we remember today. We honor those whose lives were cut short. May our prayers for those who survived and those whose families are missing a loved one continue today and days forward. Don’t worry whether or not you have exactly the right words. For if you don’t, the Spirit will step in and groan with you.

What a gracious God we have. Thanks be to God.

For a gracious God who always knows where we are spiritually, I am grateful.  

Dear God – Surround those who struggle with today. Be with those who can’t quite make sense of what happened 18 years ago. Help us hug a little tighter today, contact someone we haven’t been in touch with for awhile and not be afraid to pray. Amen.

Blessings –

Dianne

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We All Need Sabbath

Gratitude Day 322

Thurs., Sept. 5, 2019

Leviticus 16:31 – It will be a Sabbath day of complete rest for you, and you must deny yourselves. This is a permanent law for you.

My Dear Friends –

Hubby Rick and I are taking a few days off. We’re visiting friends and checking out a part of the country we aren’t as familiar with. We plan to laugh, eat, tell stories and share our lives. The guys will talk smart and the ladies will ooh and aah over all the right things.

I’m just ready for a little Sabbath. A time for my heart to find peace. Quiet. A time of rest. I’m discovering that over time, I need moments of more being and less doing. I know; I’m a slow learner.

Maybe I’ll check in along the way. If not, I haven’t forgotten about you. I’m just taking a short Sabbath.

For opportunities for Sabbath, I am grateful.

Dear God – Thanks for the opportunity to spend a few days with less obligations in my life. Time to rest, relax and enjoy great company. Thank you for the wonderful example of Sabbath. May Your example inspire me. Amen.

Blessings –

Dianne

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10 Reasons Why Friends Are Important in Life

Gratitude Day 321

Tues., Sept. 22, 2019

Philippians 4:1 – Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stay true to the Lord. I love you and long to see you, dear friends, for you are my joy and the crown I receive for my work.

I am a fortunate woman. I have dear friends.

On Labor Day, a few friends and their spouses spent the afternoon at our house. These ladies and I were roommates our senior year in college. We shared the third floor of an old house in downtown Madison and made many special memories together.

Yesterday, we laughed, talked, shared and enjoyed a lovely afternoon together. It had been awhile since the four of us were together. Yet, it never feels like it’s been long, as we pick up conversations basically where we left off the last time that we were together. It is also deeply meaningful for me to have our husbands join us.

After time spent with these special ladies, I began to think about why friends are important to me. Here’s a few reasons why friends help me in my life.

They are people I can turn to when I need to process something or just need someone to listen. I am well aware that I do not have all the best ideas or thoughts. Sharing a situation or my perspective with another person is helpful because they can help me see what is going on from another direction. Maybe I am missing something. Or need another person’s insights. Yes, it’s always my choice about how to handle a situation. But hearing someone else’s take is always beneficial.  

They accept me for who I am. I certainly am not perfect and make mistakes regularly. Thankfully, I have friends who overlook these errors on my part. Yep, they are OK with pointing them out to me. I just need to be humble enough to understand they are trying to help me become a better person.

We have a shared history together which allows for levels of trust and respect. When you spend time with another person and you get to know them, often, there is sharing at a deeper level. Making ourselves vulnerable is not always easy. Yet, when we allow ourselves to do this, we connect on a new level.

They make me laugh. Sometimes, I take myself too seriously. I may take life too seriously. Having friends who help me laugh and find the lighter side of life is oh, so refreshing.

They are truly concerned about me. When life has a lemon or two in it, sometimes, we just need someone to tell us, “You will make it through this.” Thank goodness I have friends who will do this for me.

Together, we celebrate life milestones. When you have friends for multiple decades, it means that a lot of water has gone under life’s bridge. I appreciate being able to cheer for my friends and their accomplishments. And appreciate when they have returned this favor with me.

We care about each other. We explore life together and what gets us down. We also share our dreams and future ideas with each other. This happens because of mutual love and care for each other. We ask about each other’s families and truly are interested in what’s happening in each other’s lives.

We appreciate each other’s gifts and graces. I love that my friends are different from me. I celebrate their unique and special gifts. I’ve drawn upon their areas of expertise to help me.

We understand that quality of time is far more important than quantity of time together. Each with our own lives and jobs and priorities, friends understand that other things often come first. When we can have moments together, we celebrate and enjoy them.

As important as our relationships are, we also celebrate other friendships that we have with other people. I’m so fortunate that I have friends from so many different aspects of my life. I never feel like one group of friends feels like another group of friends is more important to me. We understand these various friend groups are what allows us to experience more of life. And this is a good thing.

I never tire of reading about Jesus and his group of friends. I truly believe they embodied many of these same concepts as friendships do today. Jesus gives us such a great example of how to develop, maintain and keep friends. They were the cornerstone of his life and ministry. I pray this is true for me as well.  

For deep and meaningful friendships, I am grateful.

Holy God – thank you for the various deeply meaningful friends that are a part of my life. Bless each one of them today. Thank you for the example and model of friendship through Christ’s life. Amen.

Blessings –

Dianne

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All Things September

Gratitude Day 320

Mon., Sept. 21, 2019

Genesis 27:4a – Prepare my favorite dish and bring it here for me to eat.

My Favorite Things About September:

• Wearing a sweater
• All foods with apple
• Winter squash soup
• The smells of cooler weather coming through the window
• Soft sunsets with gorgeous colors
• Hydrangeas blooming
• The need for a hot drink to keep you warm in the morning
• Pumpkin muffins
• Watching the school bus drive by our house
• Anticipation of a short fall vacation
• The dog days of summer that stretch into September

What are YOUR favorite things about September? Love to hear them.

Enjoy these glorious days of September; with a hint of warm summer tied together with cooler evenings and chilly mornings.

Lots to be thankful for. Lots of blessings.

It’s a new month. Celebrate all things September.

For turning the page on the calendar to a new month, I am grateful.

Dear God – It’s amazing how you designed the season of fall: a reprieve from the heat and a bridge before it gets terribly cold. May we enjoy and celebrate every single September day as a gift. Amen.

Blessings –

Dianne

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