😎🐫🎤 Christ’s peace be with you. Today our Savior is born! Alleluia Alleluia!

Saturday morning I was sitting in the woods on a hunting trip with my husband and stepson. I was sitting on a small camp seat facing south and up hill along a deer path. Brian was on my right, sometimes sitting on the ground and other times standing while facing north toward the creek. Chris was on my left 20’ in the air on a tree stand, also facing south and up hill near the deer path. We were all in a straight line with only about 200 yards between Brian and Chris. After being in the woods about four hours, we decided to call it a day. Chris had seen 5 deer. Brian saw 10-12. But I didn’t see any. At one point Chris said “You didn’t see that doe standing about 50 yards right in front of you in the field?” Nope, not at all. Chris also pointed out that, “You can see so much more when you’re higher up, looking down.” Brian reinforced that thought when he said he only saw the deer when he stood up.

Our line of sight and perspective play a big part in how we see and view life around us. Like this sign, life may sometimes seem upside down and a bit out of order.

Now, allow yourself to refocus your gaze into the water. Do you see it? The sign can be read perfectly. When we allow ourselves the grace to take a moment and refocus our gaze upon Christ, our Living Water, He will allow us to see more clearly the truth this world tries so desperately to disguise. Where will you allow your focus and gaze to take you this Christmas? Bless others and be blessed.

#CastingCrowns – While You Were Sleeping

😎🐫🎤 Christ’s peace be with you. I was taking a three day class at work last week, that’s building up to a weeklong class in January. At one point in this class I said to myself something that I’m sure we’ve all heard at some point…”Knowledge is power.”  But then I quickly backed that up with…”Actually knowledge is freedom.”  To which God replied…”Yes, knowledge of Me is freedom.”  Knowing Him, we don’t have to rely on our own flawed interpretation of power. He is the source of perfect power.  Not a let Me lord this over you kind of power, but one of peace and comfort knowing that you are secure and protected in His presence. 

We are just one week away from once again celebrating the birth of our Savior.  It’s not a pleasant thought to consider the bloodied Calvary cross at Christmas, but that’s where His power shone the brightest. This Babe was gifted to us to journey and walk with us for the purpose of shedding His blood to redeem our souls. Thank you Lord for such a beautiful and powerful gift. Bless others and be blessed. 

#RendCollective – Your Name is Power

😎🐫🎤 Christ’s peace be with you. 11:02 am Sunday morning as I was at Mass singing the entrance hymn, unbeknownst to me, I received a text that simply said “God is in the details.”  I didn’t see the message until almost 1 o’clock. This intrigued me, so I had to call my friend to find out what it was all about. She too was at church at the time she texted me and said when she heard those words, she had to share them with me.  Monday evening we watched an episode of Forged in Fire. There were two competitors remaining as they started to test the knives they made. Both knives had a good look about them and appeared to be very sharp. They tested the first knife, but that’s where the testing ended. While examining the second knife before testing it, it was noted that a recurve, although specifically listed in the instructions, was not built into the second blade. Missing this detail caused the testing to end and immediate elimination. Regarding this situation, the host of the show said “The devil is in the details.”  So, what is it?  Is it God or the devil in the details? Pondering these statements, I came to the conclusion that God is the detail. He is the design, the action, and the result.  It’s by our own human condition that we try to control the details, thereby try to control the situation. Satan will certainly play off of our control issues to guide us in the belief that it all depends on us. If I don’t do it, this thing will never get done.  Despite our hardheadedness and lack of trust, the Holy Spirit is still able to work in, through, and around us. God is the detail that no matter how much or how many times we put a roadblock in the way, He is always three steps ahead to counteract and build in that recurve to make the path straight once again. But, we could certainly help ourselves by simply allowing Him do what He does best…be the detail.  Bless others and be blessed. 

#Unspoken – Human Condition

# ForgedInFire

😎🐫🎤 Christ’s peace be with you. Something I realized walking through the woods this fall is that I actually prefer the fall look of the woods. You might be thinking I’m a little weird. I mean, who doesn’t prefer the lush fullness of the trees and plants in bloom?  Something I really took notice of is the depth of the woods when it’s not hidden by the foliage. It was like I was looking straight into its heart. It had nothing to hide. That got me to thinking about how we cover ourselves to keep others from seeing into our depth and not allowing our heart and faults to be exposed. We’re much less vulnerable if we keep those masks up and don’t allow others in.  Exposing ourselves and being vulnerable can certainly get messy.  It may feel kind of like getting your teeth cleaned at the dentist. Someone is all up in your face, poking around, picking at you, and sometimes injuring you and drawing blood. But God is all about the heart.  Fully exposing Himself to us, allowing us to dive into and get lost in His wonder and awe.  Put down the mask, open your heart, and give the Lord full access to all that you are and all that you are to be.  As you become more comfortable and confident with allowing God full access in your life, you will find your mask will start coming down around others as well. Bless others and be blessed.   

#SanctusReal – These Things Take Time

😎🐫🎤 Christ’s peace be with you. Last Wednesday I was feeling very drained and needed a refill of God’s presence. It had been months since I last walked at Charleston Falls and I knew that was where He was calling me to meet Him. I took a bit of a slower pace, just so I could breath in His presence and really look at and experience His beautiful creation around me. He gave me one lap around to clear my head and be open to what He had to show me.   As I started my reverse lap His words started to flow.

Think about one relationship you have that you experience 90% or more of your communication only through the written word, text messages, emails, and letters. Now wait a minute, did you really think about a relationship or did you just keep reading? (Imagine the Jeopardy theme playing in the background) Some things that came to mind for me were that I can have more contact, at random times, without having to truly commit to a response if I don’t feel like it, and that type of relationship is less personal. You may find some of these to be true for you as well.  What God was telling me was that I had stayed away from visiting with Him personally at the Falls for too long.  I have been reading His Word, which is a good thing, but by just being in His Word, there is so much that is missed. Think about it, when God create man, did He put a book in his right hand and say “Everything you need to know about Me is in there.”?  No, they walked together and talked together. I imagine they had some Father and son type discussion and laughed together over some of those strange looking animals He created. All throughout the Bible we read how the Lord kept coming back time and again to interact and have a relationship with His people. God created us to be in a personal, interactive relationship with Him.  He calls us to come play with Him, talk with Him, and even just sit quietly soaking up His presence. You know, it’s not just about you going to Him, He wants to play, talk, and sit with you also.  So much of your relationship will be missed if you don’t get personal and in His presence. As I was passing by the stream the thought came to mind, and I imagine you’ve heard this before, “You can never step into the same river twice.” That’s because it is constantly flowing and changing. Then He shared with me that I will never meet the same person twice. As I thought about that, I thought hmmm that’s very true. Our lives are constantly flowing and changing. Even with close friends, my husband, my children. From the time you part ways until you return together, both your lives have changed by the conversations you’ve had with others and things you’ve seen and experienced.  You could be apart for only two minutes and come back changed.  Yes, the written word can be a very convenient method of relationship, but I encourage you to seek and pursue some face time and personal interaction with the Lord. He never stops amazing me with what He tells me and shows me when we’re together.  I never want to leave our time together like that, but at some point I have to return to the reality of life as we know it here on earth.  But one thing is for sure, He loves you so much and can’t wait to be with you again. So much so, that He’s counting the minutes and seconds until you return to Him.

Bless others and be blessed.

😎🐫🎤 Christ’s peace be with you. Something that I receive a lot of pleasure from is serving others, not only to help make their day seem a little lighter, but to show them they are important, have value, and are loved. I especially receive joy filled pleasure when serving others during Emmaus team formation and the Emmaus Walk weekends. I’m part of the February 2020, Women’s Walk 107 team as the Board Rep. When I accepted this position back in August, I knew it was more of a quality control, fly on the wall team member position and I thought…”I’m okay with that.”  Monday night we had our first team meeting and as I was scanning the assignment sheet, set up, clean up, food, devotionals, Communion…my name wasn’t anywhere on the sheet.  I had a sinking kind of feeling as I thought to myself…”What, I don’t even get to bring food in?  Oh boy, this being on the team, but not really on the team is going to be harder than I thought.”  But then, a wiser voice entered my head…”Pray”.  My role is to be a silent presence. Those of you in my Emmaus family that I’ve served with will understand how much of a challenge this will be for me. During my conversations with the Lord Tuesday, He was telling me to be “a quiet presence.”  His quiet presence.  Don’t be bold, but make myself available for those that need encouragement, a listening ear, a shoulder to cry on, a prayer said, and to feel His presence.  This will be a challenge, but thank You Lord for choosing to grow and stretch me in Your service as you prepare me for what lies ahead and the joy this blessing carries with it.  Bless others and be blessed. 

#JonnyDiaz – Joy

#GreaterDaytonWalkToEmmaus

😎🐫🎤 Christ’s peace be with you.  1 Samuel 9: Kish’s donkeys were lost, so he sent his son Saul and one of their servants searching high and low throughout the country looking for these donkeys. Saul was getting discouraged with not finding them and was ready to head home.  But his servant wasn’t ready to give up. He even suggested going to see Samuel, a man of God, for guidance in finding the donkeys.  Those must have been some important donkeys.  Saul wasn’t sold on the idea, being that he didn’t have anything to offer this man of God. The servant then offered his own silver to bring as a gift in exchange for guidance on “…what way to take.”  Interesting that they wanted to ask “what way to take”, not where the donkeys were. Saul agreed and they headed to town to find this man of God. Unbeknownst to Saul, God already told Samuel the day before to be expecting Saul and anoint him king over Israel.  When they meet, Samuel invited Saul to be his guest of honor for dinner and told him that in the morning he would tell him “…all that is in your heart.”  Oh, and by the way, the donkeys that had been lost for three days have been found. Interesting fact, Saul was from the smallest tribe of Israel, Benjamin, and the smallest clan within the tribe of Benjamin. So, Saul was from the least of the least of Israel. 

I read this chapter last Thursday night and Friday morning, lying in bed awake waiting for the alarm to go off, God had me literally laughing out loud. He had Saul searching for jackasses for three days, just to bring him to the place that God wanted to meet him.  Part of what made this so funny was that back in February when Brian and I made a road trip to an area in Tennessee that had quite a few farms, something we noticed was that every farm we passed had at least one donkey standing in the field. It kind of became a joke with us…Every family has at least one jackass in it.  Even now, it still makes me laugh.  I’m sure we all have those times in life that feel like all we’re doing is chasing after lost donkeys. But something I found interesting about this story was the importance of the sidekick, the supporting actor.  Saul was tired of searching and was ready to cut his journey short and head home, but it was his travel companion, the supporting actor that encouraged him to seek God’s wisdom before giving up the search. He even offered his own silver in order to encourage Saul along the path chosen specifically for him, by and for the Lord.  If Saul was from the least of the least, then I guess that makes his servant the least of the least, of the least.  We aren’t all meant to play the leading role, but that doesn’t make us any less important.  Take some time to think about those supporting actors in your life, the obvious and the not so obvious ones. How is God really using them to help you along your journey and moving forward toward what He has anointed you for?  Do you believe that?  He has anointed you!  You are His child that He loves very dearly.  Bless others and be blessed. 

#Needtobreath – Won’t Turn Back

😎🐫🎤 Christ’s peace be with you. Saturday at Mass our gospel ready was about Zacchaeus, Luke 19:1-10.  Jesus was heading into Jericho and like with many celebrity, people lined the streets just trying to catch a glimpse of this man so many have been talking about.  Now Zacchaeus wasn’t just a tax collector, but the chief tax collector, so probably not on too many people’s friend list.  Being on the shorter side of life, Zacchaeus was challenged trying to see through the crowd as he searched for Christ.  I imagine some folks in the crowd may have taken advantage of this situation to get Zacchaeus back, by purposely blocking him, pushing him back, or holding him down, for all the times he and the other tax collectors cheated them. But Zacchaeus was persistent. If he couldn’t make his way through the crowd, he’d out smart them all and get a bird’s eye view above them, from a tree. There was a very different perspective from the tree compared to ground level, flying elbows, and bodies all around. It can be downright tough in the trenches of life. Many times people are quick to judge us on our past, without even considering any possibility of growth and change.  Yep, that crowd was rather surprised and I’m guessing some were even jealous when Christ chose Zacchaeus to share a meal with Him that night.  What a life changing moment indeed.  We’re given many opportunities to persevere through the trenches of life, seeking and reaching for the tree that will provide us a resting place with a clear line of sight upon the Lord.  Persevere and strive through the flying elbows of the crowds. Persevere and rise above the noise of the crowds and listen for the Lord calling your name.  Persevere and rejoice in His mighty, loving, comforting presence. Bless others and be blessed. 

#DannyGokey – Finish Strong

😎🐫🎤 Christ’s peace be with you. Sermons about tithing. We’ve all heard them and they’re probably not on our top 10 sermons wish list.  But listening to a sermon on tithing this past weekend, God led me in a direction other than money.  So just to clarify, according to an online dictionary, a tithe is “one tenth of annual produce or earnings, formerly taken as a tax for the support of the Church and clergy.”  Let’s think about this…one tenth of your produce for the support of the Church. 

So, what is my produce?  My relationship with my spouse, children, grandchildren, parents, siblings, friends, coworkers, random encounters. My work, play, learning, teaching. My alone time, rest, and prayers. God offers us all these opportunities to flourish and produce. Now, what if I took just a tenth (a tithe) of my efforts in these forms of produce and gave it in support of the Church?  How would my marriage change if I intentionally focused a tithe of my thoughts and actions on bringing Christ into our relationship?  How would my attitude and quality of work be if I intentionally tithed Christ into my job?  How would my alone time change and grow me if I tithed my thoughts on Him?  How much more rest would I actually get if I tithed it to the Father?  How much more would the Spirit lead me if I tithed my prayers for the Lord’s Will instead of my own?  Can you imagine the freedom, peace, and joy you would experience, if you would only tithe?  I know, 10% could be a big leap of faith and may seem out of reach. Don’t worry, you can work on this one step at a time. Even if you started from zero today and added 1% a month to your tithe.  By the end of August next year, you will be offering a tithe and thriving. Bless others and be blessed. 

#JeremyCamp – Here I Am

😎🐫🎤 Christ’s peace be with you.  Reading about Samson and Delilah in Judges 13, I found myself saying out loud, “Seriously Samson?  Why are you telling her secrets about how to overcome you?”  Every time he would tell her something she does it to him and then calls the Philistines in to take him down.  🙄  Yes, I think I may have even rolled my eye.  Samson was the one being attacked, yet every time Delilah would play it off like Samson was the one making a fool of her.  Samson finally gave in and told her the true secret of his strength.  Once again, she called the Philistines back. They shaved off his hair and his strength left him.  Samson thought he could bust free like he had done before, but he didn’t realize that along with his hair and strength, the Lord had left him.  I can only imagine how many times Samson might have replayed that situation over in his mind.  It’s in moments like these, when we let our focus shift away from the Lord, that we become blinded to Satan’s manipulation.  It’s incredible how easily we are lured away and seemingly stuck in a rut, just flinging mud every time we hit the gas a little harder.  Keep your focus sharp and your eyes on the Lord. Allow yourself to recognize Satan’s deceptions and trickery. Those gut feeling aren’t really your gut, their God feelings. He’s sending out His warnings to help keep you out of the muddy ruts of life. Bless others and be blessed. 

#Newsboys – Enemy