Light A Candle

This morning as I peeked out the windows of my home in the great Northwest, it was a cool, crisp and foggy morning. I look over at my little stove burning so warmly, and I decided to set my own ambiance. So for breakfast, I lit a yummy smelling candle to enjoy while I ate breakfast. It tickles my fancy to use candle light in my home. It lifts my spirits, gives a warmth to my home, and delights my senses with its smells. I love it!

When I hear others complain of rain, or cold weather, I want to shout, “Change the atmosphere! Bring the warmth and fun into your home! It only takes one small action to change the whole day. My candle did that for me today! Heat up water for hot apple cider, hot cocoa, invite someone for tea, or bake some bread. It changes how you think of winter. Winter is one of my favorite times of year. I love warm clothes, fires, candle light, hats and mittens. It makes us sink into our homes and do things we wouldn’t otherwise do…spend time together. Add some music to the mix, and you have something going on!

I’m reminded of the song I learned when I was a child:

It is better to light just one little candle than to stumble in the dark. Better far that you light just one little candle, all you need is a tiny spark. If we all said a prayer that the would be free, what a wonderful dawn of a new day we’d see. And if everyone lit just one little candle, what a bright world this would be.

Yes. I’m lighting a candle today for you. It takes only a small action to change a lot of things, including our actions, thoughts and attitudes. If it changes us, then it changes those around us. Make it fun and enjoyable; something to celebrate. It changed my day!

Walking the journey with you…

What’s Your Aperture?

What do you allow to pass through your eye gates on a daily basis? Do you remember the scripture that talks about the eyes being the window to the soul? I was thinking about this again as our pastor made mention of the aperture of a camera in last Sunday’s sermon. I think it’s worth further thought.

Here is the definition of aperture:   aperture |ˈapərˌ ch ər| noun chiefly technical; an opening, hole, or gap : the bell ropes passed through apertures in the ceiling.• a space through which light passes in an optical or photographic instrument, esp. the variable opening by which light enters a camera.

Aperture allows you to specify how the camera chooses its settings when making an exposure, to give great creative control.  It controls sharpness or how much of your image is in focus. A photographer needs to adjust the amount of light that is allowed through the lens in order to get proper exposure and clarity. When a photographer is taking a picture that is in bright light, they will adjust the lens to a smaller opening so a diminished about of light is let in through the lens of the camera. If they need more light, then they will open up the setting of the lens to allow more light to come in to get the shot.

It’s a little different for us in our relationship with the Lord. The way a photographer adjusts the aperture for a picture, is not the same way we want to adjust the amount of God’s light we let in to our lives. The photographer is always in control of the outcome of the picture, depending on their artistic view and outcome they want. We also have control over how much of Him we let into our lives on a daily basis. We need to have an open aperture for the Lord, letting in as much of Him in as possible. The Holy Spirit needs a fully open lens also. Where we need to have the smallest lens opening is when we are among worldly things where the enemy will try to work. We do not want so much of the world in our view that it blinds our eyes to the things of God. We have to use a filter on our lens. That way, we can see more clearly, and the haze that the enemy wants to use, will be made clearer through our view finder.

Think of it like your eye. In a dark room your pupils are bigger, letting in more light so you can see better in the dark. In a bright area, the pupil is smaller and let’s less light in so you don’t get blinded by the light. With God, it is different. We want our God Lens to be open as wide as possible. If our lens is wide open to the Lord, He will help us see clearer, even in the dark. We want our Prayer Lens to be wide open to what God wants to place in our hearts. He wants us to focus like a telephoto lens on the future. That way, you don’t get distracted with your view of the situations up close to you. We have a tendency to look at things through a Macro Lens where we see every fault and wrong we or others, have ever done. But God wants to give you a different focus; one you can enjoy. How? Look through His lens. We need to have a wide open lens to see His beauty and His work, but focus on Him like the telephoto lens does for distance.

Several years ago, I felt like I was supposed to pick up my hobby of photography once again. In that process, God gave me a project a couple of years ago. I was to take a photo every day for a year and to share a thought about that picture on Facebook. I can’t begin to tell you the change that took place in me through that daily photo. I began to see things differently, I noticed things I hadn’t noticed before. He showed me things close up and far away. But, I began to see Life Through A Different Lens. His lens. That is the name He gave me to call the Project.

Today I am enjoy sharing the joy of photography with others as a source of encouragement. I want to have an aperture setting in my life that is wide open to God and the workings of the Holy Spirit. Full light, full sound, full relationship, and full vision. Go ahead. Get your eye gates open, or your camera out, get creative, look for the moment, and press the shutter button. Make a notation of the moments God shows you. You will be amazed, as I have been, how different you will begin to look at your life and what is going on around you. The camera will focus on what you aim it at. Aim for Jesus and the Holy Spirit. Watch your aperture settings. You will never be the same!

White or Chocolate?

Do you like chocolate, white, or yellow cake? Or maybe strawberry? There are so many different kinds now that you can have just about anything you want. So today as I was editing some pictures, I came across this photo and it caused me to pause for a moment as I let the message of this photo sink in.

As I looked, all the cupcakes looked like the same kind. We would like the world to look like this pan of cupcakes sometimes wouldn’t we? We think if everyone looked at life the way we do, it would make it SO much easier! If that other person wasn’t so this, or so like that, we might be able to get along! But in reality, it wouldn’t be at all good if we were just like each other. I think we would get bored and we certainly wouldn’t grow. Scripture tells us, “…iron sharpens iron”, and we know that the process doesn’t feel too good. However, when some of those rough edges fall off, we can begin to live in more and more freedom. More of our unique design begins to show itself. Have you ever made a cake or cupcakes that come out of the oven a little less even? The cakes came out thicker on one side than the other? What do we do? We put a little extra frosting on that side to cover it up! But in our life, that isn’t such a good idea. We don’t want to cover up our differences or even our short comings. Those cupcakes or cakes that are thinner on one side don’t taste any different. They are just as delicious! So it is with what God has put inside of each of us. He designed us to be unique.

Don’t live like this pan of cupcakes where you have unreal expectations of yourself and others to be more alike. In the case of the photo, they aren’t all chocolate cupcakes. Some were yellow and some were chocolate. But you can’t really see it looking at it. So we can all be one in the body of Christ, as in the unity of the picture here, but deep down we are different. We are purposed to be. So, what should we do? Look for those ways you can be yourself. Add some sprinkles to your cupcake of life so that it is colored with thankfulness for how you ARE different in the ways God has designed you. It will slowly begin to change how you look at everything.

Isn’t it fun that God can take such simple thing as a picture of cupcakes and give such a profound message? DO it! We all have something to share. The joy that comes from the simple things you CAN do, will go far beyond the things you feel you can’t do. You know it’s true!

So now, you know what I’m going to do? I’m going to go and make some cupcakes and share them with the neighbor next door! That is sharing a little of my gift…that of giving. Blessings to you as you share your “uniqueness” on your own journey.

Walking the journey with you… ~JoAnn

Chains and Change

Have you ever had an experience where something you heard, watched or experienced had such an impact on you that you knew you couldn’t do anything else but to change some things in your life? I have recently changed churches at God’s leading, and I attended a class on “Belonging” to this particular church and family. However, as I listened to the pastor share his heart about what belonging to this church means, I knew immediately that I would be challenged in a BIG way!  What is it that really reached down into my heart and stirred me up? Let me share some thoughts with you.

We can so easily get seduced into thinking that what we are doing and the way we are living is “ok” with God. God knows my circumstance and He will understand why I do what I do, say what I say, get mad over anything, call someone a name, say words I shouldn’t say or any number of things we justify. The fact IS? He does care. He asks us to follow Him and leave that all behind us when we accept Him as our personal Savior. I can’t look like the world and live my life for Jesus. I have to do life differently.

So as I listened, God began an excavating process and exposed things for me to change. I have lived all my life for God, but there are areas of my life I don’t like much. My challenge? How am I going to change and adjust my life so I live more fully for Him?

You see, we can get caught up on all kinds of moves and activities; so much so, that we get desensitized to our busyness and begin to justify it to ourselves. We ignore that voice that says, “That isn’t going to take you where I want you to go.” And, let’s face it, change is HARD! It’s so much easier to just ignore it. Shoot, we are so busy doing OUR thing, we don’t even hear that voice trying to encourage us to move toward HIS thing.

So what will I be working on? I will be transparent with you for a minute because I know that is the first step to changing what God wants to change in me. Here I go:

▪                I love to serve, help and encourage people. I love being involved in my church. But in my involvement, I have to be under the authority of the pastor who has a God-given vision and leave my agenda behind. I don’t think that my ideas are the only ideas. I just get excited about what could be! It’s hard for me to keep a lid on it because I’m a visionary! I get all excited about what could be done to help others in their walk with the Lord. But I’m going to work on that submission area.

▪                I’m asking God for control over my mouth, where it can be easy for things to come out that aren’t edifying to anyone.

▪                I’m putting my message that God gave me three years ago and is on my wall, back to work in my life. It says, ” To JoAnn…praying without ceasing. ~God”  Oh, I pray all the time. But I have had a season of time where I have not been as consistent as I was.

▪                I’m expecting that because God is asking me to change these areas, that He will give me the grace to do it; expecting answers to prayers and needs.

▪                I am watching my associations and situations which would get me agitated or riled up. I want the things that stir me up to be God’s agenda.

▪                I will learn with God’s help to be consistently content with what He gives me and also the home where I live. Sometimes, I can get off track when I see others who have more or seem to always have “it”, as my pastor shared last Sunday. I want to be consistent in the area of “living satisfied”.

• I am creating an environment in my home that says, God lives here, and what I have, I owe to Him. So my husband and I are working on areas that will improve our home to make the atmosphere cozy and inviting. We want our life to me just like a door header I saw that said, “We live to make God famous.”

I’m excited! It’s not going to be easy. But I know God spoke, and He asked me to step up to this challenge from Him and see what He will do! I talk about the journey of my heart on this blog; this is my heart. I’m hopeful that my journey will inspire you to take up the mantle and ask God for the changes that YOU may need in your life, SO THAT, you will have both feet on the side of Jesus! Get your expectation motor started! He will take you to places you never dreamed of! I would love to hear from you! Let me know what God is working on in you! Blessings on your journey!

Are You Watching The Road Signs?

Do you ever go through a period of time that has been hard, and when you look back you wonder why it happened or even how you made it through? I know this has been true for me. As I was out on a photo shoot the other day by the railroad tracks, a thought came to me, “What if you didn’t HAVE to go through it like you did? What if you were watching the road signs I put out there for you? I gave you the signs.”

As I walked along the water, I thought about that. How many times has God given me road signs to warn me and I haven’t paid attention. I went ahead on my own steam FEELING like I was doing the right thing or going the right way. I can even talk myself into believing that God told me to go that direction. Well, maybe He did. But maybe He didn’t. God gives us warnings in our spirit when things aren’t quite right. It may be that still small voice that says, “You shouldn’t be here” or “You know this isn’t right”. Or maybe you are where you are and doing what you are doing because you don’t want to hurt someone. God has been tapping on your shoulder to tell you, it still isn’t where you should be, or what you should be doing. Can you relate?

So what can you do to be more in tune with His direction? God gave me a lesson on road signs when I went to a Beth Moore conference. I have adapted what I learned into my life and here is what I have learned. Watch for the STOP in your life where God wants you to STOP doing what you are doing, acting the way you are acting, or sliding in under the radar with things you shouldn’t be a part of. The things you need to STOP are the very things that can really get in the way of a deep relationship with Him.

Maybe you need to YIELD in areas of your life in order for you to hear where God WANTS to take you. It could be warning signs like the case of the railroad tracks where I was that day. He wants to tell you to be careful before you just set off. There could be danger there!

It could also be the GREEN LIGHT that tells you to go! I have given you what you need and now you just need to move forward with Me. Go where I have told you to go and do what I have told you to do. Be bold. Step out. If you listen, you will know the signs.

So ask God today where He wants you to STOP. Where do you need to YIELD? Ask Him to help you listen to the warnings that protect you. Lastly, ask Him for the boldness to GO where He would have you go, even if it might not FEEL like you want to. He says He will never leave us, and so we need to walk with Him and be in tune with His road signs.

I hope that as you journey through these days, that you will realize that you have something to share with someone else that they need to hear. So listen intently to His voice and let Him guide you with His road signs. You will never have to be concerned about a wrong turn; His ways are perfect! But should you miss a sign like I have, He is there to lovingly bring you back to the station! God bless you as you GO!

Do You Live With A Locked Door?

I was posting some of the photos from a recent beach trip with my grandson and ran across this picture that I had taken. Often I will take pictures and it seems God tells me I want you to write about that later. I was drawn to take this picture as soon as I saw the lock. It is one of my favorites.

It makes me think of our bodies being the temple of the Lord. He says He lives inside of us. Wow! What does my temple look like? Do I let His Word keep my temple clean? How does my temple/body behave? What might others learn or think of the way my temple appears? And most importantly, do I allow God into ALL parts of my temple or do I have some locked doors where I don’t go, let alone, let God enter into.

He wants to shed light into our dark places. He wants you to trust Him with all of your rooms; even the dark places. I want to throw the doors wide open to His forgiveness, His faithfulness, and His sacrifice for me that I might have the Light that will so shine among men/women, that they will see His glory.

Do you have a place where you keep your secrets, hurts or feelings hidden and no one gets in? God wants to open that locked door and enter in. I pray you will trust Him and allow it. It’s up to you. He knocks. You have to unlock the door. Part of a hymn just came to mind that I used to sing as a solo and it fits here: “You must open the door, You must open the door. When Jesus comes in, He will save you from sin, but you must open the door.”

Does Your Life Need Balance?

The other day, I was out by the water here in Whatcom County and witnessed an interesting situation. Out on the channel there was a log with three seagulls perched on it. They were in perfect balance and enjoying the ride as they floated down the channel. I raised my camera to get a picture when all of a sudden, one decided to take off. What happened next was pretty funny but also an interesting life lesson. One of the seagulls decided to lift off and it left the other two struggling to maintain balance as the log shifted and moved. So I got the picture of the two seagulls who were left trying to work together to save themselves from having to leave the log. They raised their wings to maintain balance as they slowly moved up on the log. However, as they moved to correct themselves, the log also rotated, and so they were doing some pretty fancy foot work as they worked to stay on. Eventually, after each trying to right their position, it failed and they flew off. This whole scenario seemed like a great lesson in a balanced life for me.

We hear so much about the importance of keeping balance in our lives. We have a lot going on, and if we don’t maintain balance, one area of our life can get out of control and take over. We all know the story, right? Let’s think about the seagulls for a minute. Before the “situation” happened, they were just floating along enjoying the free ride down the channel. Then, the one decides to take off. No warning, no discussing it, just doing what that seagull wanted to do. But what was left in the wake of the one seagull leaving were the other two picking up the pieces of that one seagull’s decision. The other two of them scrambled trying to stay on for the ride. It was so easy when they were all together and no one else is messing around. Our life gets like that. One person does something, or a situation comes up, that sends us spinning out of control. Our life balance is totally off and we are dangerously close to upending our log and hitting the water in a belly flop. Oh, we try to adjust our lives at times with things such as time management, charts, clean and organizing our house, quit one thing to free the schedule, but then start something else. We try for a while to have more family time or time for the Lord in an effort to right our log, but it doesn’t last much longer then the float down the channel did for the seagulls. We flap and flutter, trying to do it by ourselves. We do the dance to stay on, flap our arms trying to keep from losing it, and end up leaving the log or, in other words, running away from the truth of what is really going on or how we feel.

So what is the answer? We need to have God on the log of life with us! I mean really. We trust Him with everything that is in us. Are we going to believe IN God or are you going to BELIEVE GOD? Just like He calmed the storm on water, He can calm the storms in our lives. If we partnered with Him to give us balance, we would have a different reaction when one decides to go off on some tangent of their own or life hits us full face. We still have God on our log to help us maintain balance. So we don’t have to do the happy feet to stay on, we can do the happy feet because God is there. He is reaching out to us to say, “keep your feet firm and stretch out those wings, catch the air and slowly move forward with me. I’m here.” You know what will happen?

He will give you a picture like He gave me that day! If our hearts are open to Him, He will speak to us through the simple things in our lives. He wants to remind us of His presence and to help measure our steps and stay on the log of life with Him. Lift your wings and let God be the wind beneath them, trusting that with His help, you can float down the channel of life and enjoy the scenery of life as you go! He may even ask you to dive in with Him! OR maybe you are the one leaving the log of the status quo to be lifted higher with Him!

God bless you as you invite Him onto your log to dangle your feet in the water together!