A member of the 2014 Winter Olympic Team really made me think. Were there things in my life that I thought I ‘couldn’t live without?’ Because chances are, I’d be fine. I might even learn to thrive without them.

Nick Goepper, a men’s Slope Style skier had an unfortunate accident. Skiing in New Zealand last year, he broke his hand. He couldn’t hold on to the ski poles due to the pain of the break, so he decided to keep skiing without them.

He qualified for the Winter Olympics, skiing and jumping without the poles. And he won a Bronze Medal doing the same thing. It was unheard of to participate in Slope Style without the balancing help of ski poles.

Nick took a huge negative and made it work for him. He thought he had to have those poles to succeed. But he was able to turn that negative into a huge positive. (I wonder how many other skiers will try it?)

This Olympian was a perfect example of experiencing a door that closed. He couldn’t rely on a piece of equipment he’d been using for years. I think I might have given up. How can I go on without the tools I need?

But God provided a window. He gave Nick the strength he needed to persevere. Even though it looked hopeless, he continued to practice and eventually excel with his handicap. He refused to see that closed door as the final answer.

What liability has God given you that gave birth to a new asset?

Have you ever faced a slammed door? I’m sure you have. Maybe you’re staring at one right now. It’s not a fun place to be.

I can guarantee Nick didn’t come to his decision immediately or lightly. I’m sure he had his dark days. The “Why me?” and “What now?” days. All of us who wake up to find a brick wall instead of a door have those days too.

Every day moves in rhythm with the Spirit. Each moment breathes with the sure hope that there is a window. Yes, God will provide that next step, along with his help and a new direction.

To identify the new way, I must sit quietly in prayer. I have to listen to my heart and the words of encouragement and instruction that the Lord sends. No matter what is facing me today, God will show me the way to shine in it. I was created to overcome with him, not sink into despair.

The new perspective will come if I persevere, just like Nick did. Climbing through that window, I’ll succeed in ways I never thought possible. And like the Lord planned all along, I’ll gain the wisdom that tells me God had to brick up that door. If he didn’t, I’d never leave it.

There’s so much more planned for you and me. Let’s not let one locked door stand in the way. Come on…let’s find that window!

Surrounded by the Spirit on Facebook

Linking today with Roxie at Living From Glory to Glory

I can’t believe it, but it looks like spring has finally sprung. All the snow and ice is a memory. Flowers are starting to poke their heads out of the ground, peeking to see if it’s safe to bloom. I’ve seen robins all over the place.

But along with the signs of promise, I see the damage the weather has left behind too. The streets in my town look like a war zone. Driving my usual path to the library or post office has now become a test of my sight and reflexes. Yes, the pothole season in upon us.

Local TV and newspapers breathlessly report the phenomena like it’s the first time we’ve ever seen one. But it is a problem. Some are so large they are dubbed ‘car eating’ and ‘alignment killers.’

I know that the roads were constructed with care. Very talented engineers worked on the plans. But they are no match for the extremes of weather and water. A constant temperature, with little moisture, keeps the pavement flat and constant.

Well, I don’t live in a place like that.

My spirit doesn’t live in a place like that either. Breathed into me at birth, my spirit is strong and peaceful. It sure is easier to keep the peace when everything around me is the same way. But that’s not always the case.

Job losses, broken relationships and illness are just some of the examples of the ‘bad weather’ that I experience. All the emotions and strife shift and buckle my spiritual foundation. Pretty soon the craters start appearing. My soul is starting to look like a moonscape. I’m left wounded and empty.

I’ll see the holes and pull up the truck to fill them in. Not understanding that it’s the base layer that’s the issue, I start cramming each hole one by one. I try stuffing it with activities, busyness and distraction.

It helps for a while, but it never lasts very long. In the end, the patch is going to crack again. And I’m right back where I started.

In my town, sometimes the streets can’t be patched anymore. The blacktop has to be stripped and a preparation for a new substructure is evened and prepared.

It’s the same in my spirit. I have to go deeper than just a patch job. I have to get to the bottom of my soul and face the reasons for the erosion of my peace.

I know I can’t fix it myself. I have to invite the Master Builder to come and repair it for me. He is the Ultimate Restorer. And he’s never too busy to take my call.

Because of his extravagant love, he always makes good on his promises. “Every valley shall be filled in.” (Luke 3:5)

Now that my soul is strong and restored, and my potholes are a mere memory, I can start down the spiritual path again. With a strong and unified foundation, I am renewed.

I’m ready for the Lord to lead me.

“For my thoughts are not your thoughts,

my ways not your ways says the Lord.”

~ Isaiah 55:8

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I would like to thank my friend Delvalina at Falling in Love with Jesus for nominating me for the Sunshine Award. Delvalina blogs from her home in Indonesia, and she is proof that blogging makes the world just a little bit smaller!

We have been blog friends for some time now, and she is such a faith-filled person. I hope you will all go and visit her. You may remember her name. I was one of the winners of her blog contest a few months ago.

As part of her rules for the nomination, Delvalina has provided some questions for me to answer. I am very glad for the direction. It’s a little easier than trying to think of interesting things to say…

1. Your most favorite Bible Story in Old and New Testament?

Wow. Great question.

Ok, Old Testament first. I love following the life of Moses. One of my favorite stories is the battle against the Amalekites. In order to win the battle, Moses had to hold up his hands. As long as he did that, the Israelites would do well.

It was so tiring that Aaron and Hur had to support his hands as he sat on a rock. It shows me that God gives us the key to success, but the path is not always easy. And we need each other’s help!

New Testament. I am always drawn to the courage of the woman with the hemmorhage. I suppose working in an OB/GYNE office makes me more sensitive to this poor woman, but there are so many themes at work in this small story. She had so much faith and courage! She was desperate. To me, that’s when we are the most reliant on the Lord. We try our best, but it nothing works, we have to rely completely on our faith. Just like she did.

2.    One favorite thing you do in the morning.

I am not a morning person. I’m more of a late afternoon/ evening person. So…my favorite thing in the morning (besides prayer) is coffee and the crossword puzzle. And quiet. Love that quiet.

3.   Do you have a blog you love to visit by you won’t leave a comment (secret             admirer of another blog?)

Nope. If I visit, I generally comment.

4.  Your current favorite worship song and singer?

I mentioned in a recent post that I am enjoying Better Than a Halleluja by Amy Grant.

5.  Your comfort daily style?

I usually wear jeans and a sweatshirt. I’m always cold. I might wear a teeshirt and sweater just to switch it up.

6.  Who is the person that you really want to meet now?

Well, I harbor this dream that someday, everyone who visits this blog would meet and go out to dinner with me. That would be so much fun! And so many of you know each other, it would give everyone a chance to visit.

7.   Are you in kind of 40 days of Christ’s Passion?

My husband and I do observe the season of Lent. We attend the Stations of the Cross on Friday evenings, and do not eat meat that day. Rather than ‘give up’ anything for Lent, I am trying to establish some good habits in faith, especially in prayer.

8.  Book that you are reading currently?

I tend to have about three books going at once. I did just finish Dad is Fat which was very funny. I am also reading Joel Osteen, who is such an encouraging writer. And I am in the middle of a historical novel.

9.  What country that you most want to be visited?

I have never been to Australia. The photos I see of Sidney Harbor are so beautiful.

10.  Foreign language that you have wanted to learn?

When I was younger, I took a class in American Sign Language. I really don’t remember any of it now, but I’d love to take some classes again.

Thank you for those thought-provoking questions! And thank you Delvalina, for naming me as one of your ten Sunshine Award nominees.

I would like you all to be nominated too! Just grab the image, and answer the same questions that I answered. (They are such good ones!) You can name five to ten bloggers yourself to receive the award, or open it up to everyone.

I wish we could go out to dinner…do you like Italian food? (If not, what kind of food do you like to get at a restaurant?)

May God bless us, and continue to grace us to be sunshine for each other.

My pastor gave a wonderful Easter sermon. I’d like to share it with you. The main idea is his, and then I added my own interpretation.

He said there sure was a lot of running going on in the Scriptural account of the Resurrection. The guards outside the tomb ran away, afraid of being arrested for letting Jesus ‘escape.’ Mary ran to the Apostles to tell them the Good News that Jesus had risen. St. Peter and St. John had a footrace to the tomb in response to the news.

Why so much running? And what’s the significance of this hurried pace?

Jesus had risen! He had conquered death. He proved his might. He has shown us, in his dying and rising, that he has conquered all sin. As the old hymn goes, “The battle is won, the strife is over.” The Lord has proven that he is in all, and for all. And we are forgiven.

The only question now is: What’s my response to this miraculous message? Well, I can find the answer in the Easter Scripture.

I run.

I think we all have a good idea of what God is calling us to do. Yes, each one of us has a story. Not just the story of what has been, but more importantly, the story of what’s ahead today. There is a daily call to complete the works the Lord lays at our feet.

So how fast am I in engaging and completing that work? Unfortunately, sometimes I leisurely walk down my chosen path. I take side-trips that look more interesting. I look forward to rest stops and linger there, taking it easy in the heat of my struggles. Well, I should rethink that rate of speed. That’s not the pace I’m being shown.

When Jesus rose from the dead, he was alive in the world. That event is the starter’s pistol in the race to love. It’s time to run. Run for my life.

Putting my slow pace behind me, I accept the urgency of the call. The Lord wants me to fill his vision for me now . Not in a week, not in a month. Today.

St. Paul understood this call.

“All I can say is that I forget the past and I strain ahead for what is still to come. I am racing for the finish, for the prize to which God calls us…”      ~Phil. 3:13-14

He knew he had to get moving. St. Paul was a tireless preacher, moving by boat and road. He never stopped in his mission. He knew the importance of every day, and every minute.

My leisurely pace, side trips and long hotel stays are no longer an option. The Lord has a great plan for me today. With my new perspective in place, I can’t wait to see what he’s planned, and I can’t wait to do it.

The Good News is that my life can be lived like that everyday. There’s only one thing I have to remember. I have to live it at Easter Speed.

Linking today with: Playdates with God

Lord, the resurrection of Your Son

has given us new life and renewed hope.

Help us to live as new people

in pursuit of the Christian ideal.

Grant us wisdom to know what we must do,

the will to want to do it,

the courage to undertake it,

the perseverance to continue to do it,

and the strength to complete it.

~ An Easter Prayer

May the Lord bless us with his joy, peace and hope on this Easter Day!

Wishing you a Blessed Easter.

In this Holy Week, may God bless us with his love and strength, as we trace the steps of our Savior.

God of such unwavering love,

how do I “celebrate” the passion and death of Jesus?

I often want to look the other way and not watch,

not stay with Jesus in his suffering.

Give me the strength to see his love with honesty and compassion

and to feel deeply your own forgiveness and mercy for me.

Help me to understand

how to “celebrate” this week.

I want to be able to bring my weaknesses and imperfections with me

as I journey with Jesus this week, so aware of his love.

Holy Week Daily Prayer

“Who’s going first?”

My instructor yelled up to three very nervous divers on the three-meter springboard. I was about ten years old, my sister was nine, and Tommy was nine too. We had been practicing 1½ somersaults off the low dive for a few weeks now. We could all do that just fine.

Then our coach got the bright idea that we should move on up to the high dive. It made sense I guess. If we could complete the rotations in a one-meter space, three meters should be no sweat.

Except we were really high up on that narrow piece of flexible plastic.

The three of us stood toward the back of the board. Occasionally one would anxiously tiptoe to the end of the board and look down at the water.

“Its not that far!” bellowed our teenage coach from the deck below.  “Quit looking down, you’re just psyching yourselves out.” Well, he was right about that anyway.

After repeatedly asking each other to be first, Tommy decided he’d go for it. I think he practically ran off the board and tumbled in the air. One…one and a half…and splashed safely, if not clumsily, into the pool.

Oh, the howling and clapping! Every parent there stood at the pool fence to cheer. Tommy has taken a deep breath and led the way. He made it look so easy. I decided to go next. Seeing Tommy do it, I knew I could do it too.

I made my approach, bounced up, and I don’t remember what happened after that. Next thing I knew, I was popping up from the pool floor, breaking the surface of the water. More cheering! My sister followed me, performing the dive with ease.

That day, I learned a new dive. I learned something else too. Tommy showed me that going first serves as a powerful witness.

I think the Lord calls everyone to be that kind of leader.

Christ challenges all his children to be witnesses for him. If I live my life in grace, love and mercy, many will follow. Think about the effect of one nine year old going first off the diving board. It sure got me off my heels.

How much more inspiring is a life lived in love?

I’m a part of family, civic, and faith communities. In all those places, I can be an agent of change. Quietly living in peace and working with compassion, I can make a difference. Nothing is more attractive than a life lived that way. It’s just naturally going to turn heads.

Are you ready to lead? Let’s all grab on to the grace of courage and take that plunge. Let’s all go first! There we’ll be, running off the board while putting our faith in the Lord. He’ll use our leadership to spark the next diver. And the next.

Pretty soon, we’ll all be tumbling in mid-air, with the angels and saints standing at the fence. Can you hear the clapping and whistling?

Sometimes a little laughter is good for the soul!

I found this at Deb’s blog, Breathing In Jesus . Thank you Deb for the smile.

Surrounded by the Spirit on Facebook

My husband doesn’t want to join a gym.

So every morning, he comes down the stairs in his workout clothes. After a kiss ‘good morning’, he snaps on the TV, and I hear the marching feet. He walks in place until the commercials.

Then he walks around the first floor in circles.

It struck me that he was doing all this walking, but really not getting anywhere. Around and around he goes until the program comes back on, and it’s time to march in place again.

Puzzling this idea in my head, I finish my breakfast and gather my things. Another kiss, and I’m out the door to the gym.

It’s cardio day for me, so I step up onto the treadmill. Adjusting the settings, the machine comes to life and I start my own marching. It becomes clear to me that I am doing the same thing as my husband. The runner below my feet is making it’s own circles, and I am propelled forward.

Around and around it goes. And I’m not going anywhere either.

My husband and I are doing the same thing. Yes, we’re performing our workout routines. But it sure looks like we’re not getting anywhere.

Isn’t life like that? Go to work, exercise, drop the kids off at school, start dinner, clean the bathroom (yet again). Just about anything I do in my day can look repetitive and pointless.

The Circle of Life can start to look a lot like my husband’s laps around the house, or the gym treadmill. Get up, do the same things, go to bed. Rinse and repeat. It’s very easy to get into this negative way of thinking.

And the sad thing? It can lead to a feeling of hopelessness too.

I know sometimes I wonder why I keep doing the same things. But the saving grace for me is that I have eyes of faith. And I have goals. It keeps me from any kind of discouragement.

Work gives the satisfaction of using my gifts and talents.

Exercise helps maintain the body given to me by God.

Dropping the kids at school shows them that I prize their education.

Preparing food is my labor of love in feeding the family.

Cleaning shows respect for the gift of my living space.

God didn’t make my life a ‘Bridge to Nowhere.’ Everything I have and everything I do has meaning and purpose.

So the next time I puzzle at how it seems like I’m just not getting anywhere, it’s time to think again. The daily ‘to-do’ lists might not be very exciting or innovative. But it’s anything but empty, repetitive motion.

These ‘burdens’ are really blessings. They are my joyful, meaningful assignments from God. But how I ultimately see them is up to me.

If I choose, my heavenly chores will look like a vicious cycle. But that’s just the surface. I don’t want to accept that shallow view.

A blessed Circle of Life. Yes. That’s my choice.