Listening for the New Year

New Year's Eve... with many thoughts swirling through my mind, I sip another cup of coffee and reflect.

My dad at his favorite watering hole; Dunny's in Nooksack.
He met many a friend there for coffee several times a week!

Nine years ago this morning Dad passed away. I wonder how many cups of coffee he's enjoyed with Jesus since then? (I'm sure I acquired my love of coffee from my dad. After all, he started me on it about the time I was weaned!)

 I don't spend a lot of time wondering what heaven is like but when I do, I'd like to think we'll still drink coffee. Can you imagine sitting across the table from Jesus, and chatting over a steaming latte? Perhaps some biscotti to go with it. (Calories and gluten intolerance wont exist in heaven, of this I am certain!)

I do love a coffee date with a friend and many a great conversation takes place while we sip. What do you suppose one would talk about with Jesus? Oh, the possibilities are endless.

Speaking of talking, Jesus has been. Talking I mean. To me. I've been choosing a word now for the past several years, a word that would be my focus for the year. Love, Grace, Relationships, have been some of the words I've committed to. So, of course as this month started to close in I began thinking of a word for 2016. There were a couple of words that immediately came to mind. I even had a word for my sweetie (of course he was ever so grateful for me sharing that with him! HA!!) After I have a few words, I then bring those words before the Lord and ask Him to direct me.

He did. He brought me the word "listen". 

What? That wasn't on my list. I shook my head when I heard it. "Listen? Really Lord? That's what you want me to focus on in my new year?"

Well, now look. I like to talk. I mean, coffee dates, hello!
I'm often guilty of interrupting, in my enthusiasm for sharing my opinion or ideas. And I admit, when I'm tired or my internal battery has been depleted, zoning out is much more likely to happen than giving rapt attention to whomever is talking.  As a creative introvert, I am constantly processing internally all that is going on around me. Sometimes this results in getting lost inside my head and I begin to tune out the noise around me. Even when the 'noise' is the voice of a loved one.

But the Lord keeps reminding me that he gave us only ONE mouth and TWO ears so there must be a reason... which is to listen twice as much as we speak. He also convicted me in that its not just my earthly companions I need to listen better for. I need to be listening more for HIS voice....

This is what I read in my daily devotional a few days ago. "Are you interested in praying a prayer that could revolutionize your life? Try this: Begin each day by asking God a series of questions. "Lord how can I love you today? What acts of worship can I do? What words can I utter that will honor and bless you? What act of service can I do to represent your love? How would your scripture inspire me to pray today?" *

Whoa. That's some serious questioning and it will require intentional listening to discern the answers. It almost feels like too much to ask for. Because revolutionizing ones life sounds a little intimidating! Scary! Risky!! But, conviction gripped me and I knew this was meant for me to undertake at this point in my spiritual journey.

A day after this reading I learned from my boss that they were keeping me on after the holidays! I am delighted as this job has turned out to be a blessing in many ways. And when you are in the retail/customer service arena listening is very important. It's not about me, it's about serving others.

Then, just after I informed my husband I was pretty sure this was the word God has given me for 2016, I went on my phone to play a word search game and the very first word that I found was.... "LISTEN". Say what? Oh, God has such a sense of humor and I just chuckled... and the word was cemented in my heart.

*At His Feet; the one year devotional by Chris Tiegreen, Tyndale House Publishers Inc.

If it's May We Must Be Going to Tall Timber!

It's become an annual thing! Memorial Weekend while other folks are going to parades, lighting up the Barby, competing in the Ski-to Sea race, or paying tribute to those who died for our country, my sweetie and I will be heading east of the mountains to our favorite camp for the weekend. We're taking a whole bunch of our favorite people with us as we have the last few years. It's the weekend better known as "Work and Worship", a time well spent doing a myriad of things to spiff the place up in time for summer camp.

For us its also a great opportunity to take our small group out on a service project. We think of it as a mission trip that does not require a passport. A time for our group to better bond and share adventure, a time to serve and be blessed as we bless.

Of course, for Bruce and I Tall Timber Ranch is a special place and we love any reason to get over there! We leave tomorrow and I am excited to see what God has in store for us this year!

meanwhile, here on the homefront...

To say I feel blessed by the people in my life is a giant understatement. And to think I have done anything to deserve it would erase the grace factor that carries me. What is happening in Honduras, with my husband and his team is a*m*a*z*i*n*g and what is happening in my own yard is blowing me away as well.

To read Bruce's latest blog post on the work of the team in Honduras, please use this link. I posted 2 entries in one day, one is full of great pictures, but the other post is a heart breaking, heart stopping, heart warming account of all they are experiencing and I don't want that to get lost in the shuffle.

Meanwhile, here on the home front, I was on the receiving end of a service project of my own. Every Saturday my husband attends and helps lead a men's breakfast/bible study and at least once a month if not more, they also do a service project of some sort, helping people in the community with whatever needs fixing. Yard clean up, trips to the dump, home repairs, you name it, these guys jump in with strong backs, willing hands and humble hearts. But this time, these men were all about giving back to their fearless leader; my husband.

And so, they came, with lawn mowers, weed eaters, rakes and excavators. They mowed and weed whacked and removed dead trees, they cut up wood and cleaned out gutters and the chimney and even fixed hubby's spark-plug missing car.

 But the Piece de resistance was 2 truckloads of gravel poured and smoothed out in our lumpy bumpy driveway. Lakes be gone!

I am tickled beyong words for the work done here today. I know how much these guys love my husband and today they showed it in action.

This is friendship. This is church. This is joy!