Here in the land of “50 shades of green” we’re enjoying ourselves.
While we admired the beauty here, it’s been suggested the sun is chasing us. We just experienced one of the longest, sunniest, warmest stretches in Ireland’s recent history.
I’ve been helping one of my dear friends pack up her house to prepare for a move to another community. It has been my pleasure to watch she and her husband embark on this adventure. They’ve lived in this valley for so many years. They raised their children here, owned businesses, know many people and have more memories of this place than I can imagine. Yet, they heard God say it was time to move.
I heard she told her son how thrilled she is to have someone help with the packing, one that had moved many times with the military. Wow! I think so seldom of those years and when I do, my thoughts are of places I traveled to or people I met who impacted my life. The rigors of packing, moving and unpacking are not high on those memories. Yet God in His infinite grace makes something out of what we may perceive as nothing. I’m honored that a friend can use something past, which seems like part of another life, today.
While in Haiti I was impressed by the people. They are poor. Poor beyond anything I could imagine. Yet these people were dignified, gracious and grateful. The following photo is a candid shot of one of these couples. I also shot the formal pose, which was their preference.
I volunteered with Poured-Out, installing bio-sand water filters in homes. The people have requested these filters, signed up for and paid 200 Gourde (approximately 4.00 US dollars.) This small contribution to the cost of the filters denotes ownership in the process. These people were interested and invested in learning about the benefits of the filters and the maintenance. As part of the extensive survey they participated in, they were asked if there were things they wanted shared with people in the United States to understand what the filters mean to them and why their contributions are so meaningful. I was blown away by the responses! Below are some of the responses I would like to share. Hopefully these words will give you some insight into the gratitude I was able to witness during my work in Haiti.
The Sunday I felt God calling me to go on this Haiti trip with Poured-Out left me filled with many fears. Previously, I would have used all those ‘fears’ as the reason to just stuff the thoughts and go on with life. I was just finishing up a Bible study with an amazing group of women on discerning the voice of God. We were on the lesson about God’s expectations when you hear from Him. Simply OBEY. Yikes! Knowing the truth and not complying is sin.
I asked a friend if she would go with me. She said yes. So with much fear, I signed up for the trip and started praying about the adventure and what God would have.
Without going into tons of details, it is safe to say my list of fears was long. Some of the issues were:
What I found was one at a time, as I turned to God in prayer I was able to see my fears listed on a sheet of paper and each one was slowly being erased from the list.
In Haiti, I realized as I had turned my thoughts to Jesus and what He was asking me to prepare for and focusing on those aspects of the upcoming trip – He was working to take care of each of those issues.
When Jesus is the focus and you are worshipping Him and focusing on what He wants you to do, there is no room for fear.
1 John 4:18
There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love.
It is my prayer, that God our Father will continue to work His love in my life. May He do so for you also!
Just a short greeting this evening–to all my family, friends and the new friends I’ve gained over the last couple of years. Thanks for sharing and making memories with me in 2014. It is my hope each of you will reflect on the events of 2014 and as you ponder the good memories, to also think about the lessons learned. Then while looking to 2015, think about how those lessons will be applied to the goals and directions you plan to take.
Blessings to each of you!
Yesterday we were motorcycling in Alabama. Thanks to the generosity of a fellow biker, we were able to ride a Triumph through some of the hills and back roads. Few of the leaves have changed colors, so we were met with lush green most places we went. I kept thinking how much I always enjoyed the verdancy of the mid-west and southern states and realized I had been given my “green fix” on this weekend ride. It was a great day!
This weekend, my daughter and I talked about the different ways people look at life. We both agreed, those who have an attitude of gratitude are people who are much more pleasant to be around and elude a much more uplifting persona.
For me, I know my life didn’t start out as such. I tended to compare my life to others and felt I had to strive for, whatever…. The list was long!
I cannot point to a time when this changed, but found it to be a gradual transition, which left me in a place where I cannot stop finding things to be grateful for. It is easier to laugh and I don’t take myself so seriously; not taking myself so seriously has allowed me to enjoy life more!
I’ve also found, on those days when I awake and it feels like there is a cloud hanging over me, once I find something to be grateful for the cloud starts to abate. The more gratitude, the less room there is for the cloud.
What are you grateful for today?
Yesterday was Valentine’s Day! It was a time of reflection for me of the great love I’ve been blessed with. God has surrounded my life with love. Sometimes when I’m struggling with an issue or a person I love, I tend to forget how much love is poured into my life through other sources. I have been blessed! Today provides the opportunity to be grateful for each of these people. You know who you are – and thank you!
Summer has arrived! I’m loving it! The vastness of the sky, the green of the hills and the snow capped mountains are captivating. I’ve heard it does not get much greener than what we are experiencing this year. It matters not. This is my first year here and I’m appreciating every day. (The scene is the same location as my header for the blog so you can see the change from winter to summer.)
Seventy-two hours – no phone, no watch, no laptop, no camera!
I recently returned from a women’s retreat where those were the rules. I did not miss a watch, but there were so many times where the beauty surrounding me was awe-inspiring and I simply wished I had my camera to capture the moment. I confess, I found being without my laptop a little challenging. I was not aware how connected to it I had become.
It was a wonderful weekend! I’m still meditating on all that happened in those seventy-two hours.
I would like to share one impact the weekend had on me. As a culture, we are busy and in such a hurry. So much so, we rarely take the time to share with people why we value them, or what they mean to us, what we appreciate about them or how they have impacted our lives.
Late in the weekend, I was given a bag of letters written by people who knew me. I had no idea how or why they wrote the letters, but reading them was overwhelming! They filled my heart with love and provided an insight into what my life meant to them, or why they valued me. There were aspects of my life or personality that were validated through those letters. The power of the written word to speak life into another is so strong.
My husband and I have tried to implement a tradition at least during the Christmas holidays where letters are written to our children and their spouses and they are to write us highlighting something special about the person the letter is for. Our efforts have resulted in varying levels of success. It is a lot of work, and I have caught myself wondering if we should continue the task. My weekend experience was confirmation for me we need to continue writing letters of affirmation to our children.
I realized affirming others is something needed in our culture. Instead of just identifying this is a need in our culture I can do to promote a change even if it is only in a small part of our world. My goal is to write at least one letter of affirmation to someone each month.
Have you found power in the words written to you? Did those words uplift and encourage you? I would enjoy hearing about your experiences.
Journey to the Heights 