Tag Archives: Psalms

Opportunity

Colors 10 minutes before sunrise. Rocher Percé...


The Gypsy Mama

1. Write for 5 minutes flat – no editing, no over thinking, no backtracking
2. Link back here and invite others to join in.
3. And then absolutely, no ifs, ands or buts about it, you need to visit the person who linked up before you & encourage them in their comments. Seriously. That is, like, the rule. And the fun. And the heart of this community.

Today we are writing on: opportunity.

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I love watching the sun as it breaks across the horizon, in all its blazing glory.

A new day. A fresh slate. New opportunities.

Always wondering what this new day will hold.

On some days the surprise opportunity comes in the form of a necessary conversation.

On other days the opportunity comes with a few moments of “extra” time.

And sometimes the opportunity is disguised as a trial. Not really looking for it…but, there it is.

Waiting for what I will do with it.

My times are in your hands… Psalm 31:15 NIV

 

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Perspective

The Gypsy Mama

1. Write for 5 minutes flat – no editing, no over thinking, no backtracking
2. Link back here and invite others to join in.
3. Please visit the person who linked up before you & encourage them in their comments.

Give me your best 5 minutes on: Perspective

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Perspective comes from change and withchange.

Sunrise 3

The birth of a child. The death of a spouse. The loss of a job. On and on…..different things for each of us.

Looking at life in a different way. Realizing that I am not the center of the universe.

Knowing that the “big” things, really aren’t all that big….and the small things are more significant than I ever could have imagined.

Enjoying the good. Knowing it is a gift. Enduring the bad…knowing that it will not last forever.

Smiling more. Laughing more. Hoping more. Loving more.

Learning to just breathe.

Allowing God’s sovereignty to reign in my life.

Taking it all, one day at time.

He says, “Be still, and know that I am God.” Psalm 46:10  NIV

 

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Facing The Fear

Storm Clouds June 17th - 1

The day starts as any other.

The routine is comfortable.

I know what to expect.

Knowing what to expect…that is important to me.

I cannot control everything. I try. I fail.

And it scares me.

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I stood in the living room, vacuuming the carpet….back and forth. Back and forth. Back and forth.

My husband was dying. He wasn’t going to live to be an old man.

My son’s father would not be there to see him grow up.

My soul gripped tight. Knuckles white with the fear of it.

Control slipped through my fingers like water through a sieve.

I was exhausted.

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I hung up the phone after hearing the words….

“Your father is dead.”

The details didn’t matter.

My heart was heavy.

As much as I wanted control, it wasn’t mine to have.

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Fear and Faith.

I am not too proud to admit that I struggle. Even still…

I long for security and control. Sometimes I try and grip it too tightly…until it hurts.

Even though I continue on with my life, there is that dark thought that tries to live within me.

The question, “What if?” What if something happens to my now husband?  What if something happens to my children? What if my family members are hurt?

Living in that question… always brings fear.

When the dark fear of  loss wells up in me, when I’m unable to voice what sometimes grips my heart…

I am reminded of the One, the only one, who can calm my soul, and bind the fear when it threatens to overwhelm.

Faith takes the place of fear.

Faith in Him who casts out all fear.

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For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline. 2 Timothy 1:7  NIV

It is the Lord who goes before you. He will be with you; he will not fail you or forsake you. Do not fear or be dismayed. (Deuteronomy 31:8)

I sought the Lord, and he answered me, and delivered me from all my fears. (Psalm 34:4)

The Lord is near to all who call on him, to all who call on him in truth. He fulfills the desires of those who fear him; he hears their cry and saves them. (Psalm 145: 18-19)

These words are a balm to a tired spirit. He gives rest to me…

and His grip on me is far stronger than any fear I might have.

Thank you, Jesus.

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Letting Go

Vlčice (Wildschütz) - old gravestone

Image via Wikipedia

This week, we are discussing “letting go”. (Click on the Walk With Him Wednesdays/One Thousand Gifts on my right sidebar if you want to read more.)

Letting Go…

So hard for me. I struggle. I cry. I’m stubborn. It hurts.

I hold on until my hands ache. My muscles spasm. I can hardly breathe.

NO, GOD!!!

My grandmother laid in her bed. Family gathered around. We knew her time was short. She was ready to go home, but only days away from being 20 years old, I didn’t want to let her go. The memories washed over me, salty tears coursed down my face. I watched, sadly, as the funeral worker came to the house to take her away. She was buried on my birthday. The day I turned 20. The day I told her goodbye.

In November of 2000, the hospital lights glared as I stood over my husband’s bed. The nurse asked me if I wanted my husband’s wedding ring? And did I want to say a final goodbye to him before they took him away? My pastor friend was there. A friend from Sunday School. I explained to my 5 year old son that Daddy was with God now, and he wasn’t coming back.

I got the call early, before I left for work. It was a chilly March morning, that day in 2002. My aunt’s voice carried hundreds of miles across the phone line. “Dawn, I called you first. Will you call your sister? Your father is dead. He took his own life.”  The air sucked out of my lungs. “What?!” My brain was numb as I attempted to process what she had just told me.  My dad left….and he didn’t even say goodbye.

I got a call from my husband, Scott, in January 2009. We had been married for just a tad over 3 years. Scott had a good job (he worked remotely) with a company that he had been with for 22 years. We were in the process of building a house out of state. Exciting times…..until that fateful phone call. His company was letting him go. No fault of his own. Economy. Since he worked remotely, he couldn’t be put in a new position. I was trying to process the news….we were a single income family, we were in the middle of building a house, what were we going to do?!  I had to say goodbye to the life that I had known.

Letting go. Saying goodbye. Starting over.

My knuckles were white from the grasping hard.

And yet… it is when I let go, give up, release, that I can watch God in action. When I stop wrestling with Him for control, I can see Him at work.

When I stop saying “me”, and start saying “YOU”, I give Him glory.

Letting go is not easy. Humanly speaking, I don’t know if it ever is. But, it is only when I let go and rest in Him that I fully begin to understand who God  is.

Psalm 34 …4.I sought the Lord and He answered me; He delivered me from all my fears…..8. Taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the man who takes refuge in Him. 17. The righteous cry out, and the Lord hears them; He delivers them from all their troubles. 18. The Lord is close to the broken hearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.

God is good. All the time. Even when we have to let go.

 

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