Morning Journey

 

Make Journaling a Part of Your Morning Journey and Walk a Healthier Path!

Journaling has become such a cherished, rewarding and healthy practice in my life’s “journey”!  I want to encourage you to take this journaling journey as well!

For me it became especially important after 50 and here’s why!  Life is full of intimate, fun moments spent with children, spouse, friends and family. Grandbabies say and do the cutest things!  And those scriptures God gives me at just the right moment, the times I spend “complaining” to God, and most importantly all of the Divine encounters I have with Him as I sometimes sit with tears in my eyes and pen in my hand… those God-Incidences in my life, would quickly be dust in the wind if it weren’t for my journals.  How awesome it is to look back and remember precious moments and what God has done in my life.  He always seems to take me to a page I need to re-read!

Apart from helping us grow in intimacy with Christ and clarifying our thoughts and feelings, journaling has incredible other benefits as well!  Elizabeth Scott, on About.com, in an article on stress says, “. . . it’s also a good problem-solving tool; oftentimes, one can hash out a problem and come up with solutions more easily on paper. Journaling about traumatic events helps one process them by fully exploring and releasing the emotions involved, and by engaging both hemispheres of the brain in the process, allowing the experience to become fully integrated in one’s mind.”  WOW!

And this is so amazing to me!  There are actually health benefits to journaling that have been scientifically proven. Research shows the following:

• Journaling decreases the symptoms of asthma, arthritis, and other health conditions.
• It improves cognitive functioning.
• It strengthens the immune system, preventing a host of illnesses.
• It counteracts many of the negative effects of stress.

Now if it would just take off a pound of weight a page I would be ecstatic …

So if you have never journaled I pray you would gift yourself with this wonderful experience and have a healthier and more fulfilling lifes journey!

Be encouraged today and don’t miss what God is doing!  Journey with Him and don’t run ahead of Him!  Enjoy TODAY and all it brings thanking Him!  May you attain all the wealth that comes from the full assurance of understanding, which results in a true knowledge of God’s mystery, that is, Christ Himself, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. (my paraphrase!) Col. 2:2-3.  Journal your journey so you will have those fleeting beautiful moments of time to cherish forever!

NEW EASTER OUTFIT FROM GOD…with LOVE

Amazing that God the Father of the universe, the One who spoke the sun, moon and stars into existence, the creator of the mountains rivers, streams and oceans, the inspiration for all living creatures, Author of the Word of truth, the giver of the breath of life…CHOSE YOU! He chose YOU… and even more unbelievably He chose me!

Today as I think about the cross and His intense love for us I am humbled to tears!  I am so unworthy of anyone loving me so much, let alone dying for me.  So underserving.  Yet while we were still wearing the garments of sin, He chose the nails and He chose us!

Colossians 3:12 tells me that not only did He choose you and me but it calls us holy and dearly loved.  Hard to believe isn’t it?  That we can be called holy and dearly loved by the Master of the Universe that knows every breath we take and every word we utter?

Clothe yourself with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience, He tells us.  Then in His tender loving way in verse 13 He tells us why.  Because we are a difficult people to live with. We are not always dressed to the nines!  We sometimes forget, “Whose we are” and “Who it was that CHOSE us.  Our clothes are tattered and torn.  We wear the cloak of pride and selfishness.  The soles of our “shoes of peace” are worn, our toes threaten to break through at any moment and claim their independence.  We forget we wear the helmet of salvation and our breast plate is cracked.  The belt of truth is much too loose and our Sword of the Spirit should be as sharp as our tongue!  Our new clothes of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience are dirty and need to be cleaned and pressed.

Yes we can be a difficult people. We forget that GOD is the One who has chosen our circle of family and friends.  He is in control of the old man driving 10 miles an hour in front of us when we are late for our appointment!  He who is in control of the earth turning and tides ebb and flow, places each and every person in our lives just where He wants them… and yes we can be difficult to do life with.  I know this because why else would Paul write for us to “bear with one another” and forgive one another whatever grievances you may have against one another..  Forgive as the Lord forgave you and me! “  He knew how hard it would be to voice those two little words “I’m sorry”-  to put aside our pride and answer, “it’s okay.  I forgive you”. To bear with one another!  To “bury the hatchet”.  Yes bury the hatchet and quiet the tongue.  Recently someone said those two little words with the BIG impact to me.  And out it wanted to come, chop, chop, chop!  Our sinful nature wants to just keep chop chop chopping at those we’ve hurt and those who have hurt us.  But Christ put to death our sinful nature on the cross, now we are to pick up our little crosses, put on our new clothes and follow HIM! 

Christ tells us to forgive as the Lord forgave us.  To take our dirty laundry to the Laundromat of the cross .  On Good Friday, the day we remember what He did for us, I encourage you to think about who you may need to simply say “I’m sorry to… Who may have said it to you  and you chopped with the hatchet of your tongue.  Put on the Easter outfit Christ bought for you today!  Let us clean and wash our tongues and dirty clothes in the blood of Jesus;

Forgive as He forgave us… And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in PERFECT UNITY and let the PEACE of Christ rule in your hearts…  Colossians 3:12-15  Remember, He chose the nails and He chose YOU!

Colossians 3:12-15

(NIV)

 ¹² Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. ¹³ Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. ¹⁴ And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.

 ¹⁵ Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful.

 

Put some POWER in your WALK!

A few years back “Power Walking” became really popular.  Power walkers were everywhere! They were in the park, on the boardwalk, the beach, the track at the local high school… Even in the shopping malls! ( I don’t think I could keep my heart rate up doing that one.  I’d be too tempted to window shop!)  They were everywhere from California to the New York Islands: From the Redwood Forest to the Gulf Stream waters!  Their heads held high, shoulders back, arms pumping and feet moving as quickly as possible without breaking into a run!  It was the new trend, mostly, for those who were runners in their heart but whose bodies could no longer take the hard pounding of the pavement.  Power Walking was a very effective and powerful way for one to get their heart pumping and their blood circulating with less chance of injury.  To make your workout powerful and effective!  There are power walking clubs, power walking for beginners through advanced, power walking events, power walking holidays!  It was literally a fitness movement!

As I thought about the scripture verse in James 5:16 which says, “… The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective,” I couldn’t help but think how our world would be transformed if we all became “power pray-ers”  What if we were as dedicated spiritually to praying as those walkers were physically?  What if there were more prayer meetings where we encouraged those who had never prayed a sentence to walk with us; prayer teas; prayer events and perhaps a National Day of Prayer held the first day of every month not just May?  Wouldn’t it be great to see people praying not just in churches but on jogging paths, beaches, boardwalks; restaurants and in shopping malls.  What if we prayed while in grocery lines, backed up traffic, having a hot flash or couldn’t sleep at night?

Notice the similarities in “Power Praying” and “Power Walking”!  The Greek transliteration of that word is energeo… sounds an awful lot like energy doesn’t it?  And if there is anything those walkers seemed to have it was energy, and lots of it!  Energeo is used in the Bible to mean

1) to be operative, be at work, put forth power

             a) to work for one, aid one

2) to effect

3) to display one’s activity, show one’s self operative

Wikipedia states, “Power walking or speed walking is the act of walking with a speed at the upper
end of the natural range for the walking gait”. What if we began to pray at the upper end of our natural range for prayer…

The beginning of James 5:16 gives us a hint of something that could happen.  No not what could happen… What would happen!  It says this in the New International Version (NIV)

¹⁶ Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.

As we confess our sins to one another we will be healed!  And our prayers will be POWERFUL AND EFFECTIVE!  Our prayers will put forth power, they will aid others, they will be at work and be operative.  When our walk is weary we can pray in power KNOWING when we do God will answer. 

What would our world look like if we all became Power Pray-ers and prayed about everything?  Philippians 4:6 says, “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.”  Or followed the advice of 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

¹⁶ Rejoice always, ¹⁷ pray continually, ¹⁸ give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.  (NIV)

When we are in a bad marriage, having difficulties with children, are physically ill, hurting, anxious or stuck at a cross road we might be tempted to stand paralyzed in fear but that doesn’t have to be the case!   We are told to pray… about everything… continually… rejoicing… thanking God as we do!  So while it appears we are standing still we will be praying powerfully!  What is truly amazing is that Paul penned those words to the Philippians from his prison cell!  God has given YOU the power to pray.  In fact He mandates it!

What do you think our world would look like if we all took God’s advice written by Paul and James?  If we began to confess to one another and began praying from California to the New York Islands, from the Red Wood Forest to the Gulf Stream Waters this land just might look like revival!  Hearts, bodies, minds, spirits and families would be healed!

Have you Googled God lately?

When at a cross-road and you don’t know which trail to take, “Google God!”

 Choices… Life is full of them.  There are choices to be made every second of every day!  Some of us are much better at this than others.  We are seasoned over time and we learn not to “sweat the small stuff”.  Even so I still find myself in decision dilemmas!  For instance.  I thought I wanted to buy an Ipad2 the other day.  I went online to the Apple store thinking “this is great! No crowds or distractions, I’ll just place this order and in a few minutes I’ll be checking this person off my Christmas list!”  Not so! Choices, choices, choices.  I had no idea there would be so many!  Do I want black or white?  16G, 32G, or 64G?  Do I want WiFi or WiFi with 3G?  Would I like it engraved and what would I like it to say?  So I Googled hoping to get some quick answers.  Ha ha!  Now I’m not even sure it is the Ipad2 I want.  Maybe it’s the Sony S.  Needless to say four days later I have still not made the purchase! 

Life is like that but sometimes the choices demand that we are much more intentional in making them. Some choices have eternal consequences and will rivet us on a path in life we may someday regret if we are not careful.  Just like the Ipad2 decision, listening to others can confuse us and take us down the wrong road.  While others opinions are sometimes helpful there is One other that we can count on 100% of the time. 

Why not Google God? God’s tool bar is always waiting to be typed into!  This is what the Lord says: “Stand at the crossroads and look; Ask for the ancient paths, ask where the good way is and walk in it and you will find rest for your souls…  Jeremiah 6:16. He tells us to Google Him and He will listen to us.  Amazing that the God of the entire universe is waiting… for me… to ask Him… Seek Him through prayer and His written word, the Bible.  He wants us to ask Him for answers to tough choices, for direction in life and He promises us rest and peace along His path.  

Recently praying for a meal I happened to throw into my prayer a request for God to reveal any hidden problems with the plane my daughter would be traveling home on.  Someone at the table said, “Really Jeannie do you think God is concerned with a problem on the plane?” ABSOLUTELY! He wouldn’t tell us to pray about everything if He didn’t mean, Pray about EVERYTHING!  Some choices are more important than what kind of car we buy, mascara we use or restaurant we eat in.  While I am convinced that God wants to be a part of every choice we make, it is when we are at a crossroad in life that He is just waiting to be Googled!.

An Attitude of Gratitude fosters Thanks-Living!

This is the time of year when there is MUCH talk about being grateful and thankful.  But lets face it.  Life is hard!  We don’t always feel like being thankful and content in our circumstances.  We get into our little funks and before we know it the grass is looking much greener on the other side of the street;

If we’re honest we’ve all been members of the “IF ONLY Club”.  If only  I had a better job; a better boss; a  loving husband; a more respectful wife; children that listen or didn’t drop out of school; a bigger house; a newer car; more money; more time; a dog that was house trained; a vacation home… If only I could eat more and weigh less; live in the tropics; have a paid vacation; have a longer vacation… and the list goes on and on… we can all fill in the blanks. 

Are you familiar with the “If Only Club”?  If so the following list and link helps us to realize that the grass is not always so green on the other side of the street.  It always looks greener until you have to mow it.  Then it’s back to the club house meeting with the audience in our minds! 

A fellow Life Coach, Harley Storey, sent me this link.  I encourage you to click on it and see just how wealthy you are compared to the rest of the world.  It is really interesting and put things in a clearer perspective for me and I hope it does for you to!    http://www.globalrichlist.com/

So here is the list I promised by Dr. Bob Hoffman, co-founder of The Masters Circle.

- If you woke up this morning with more health than illness, you are more ‘fortunate’ than the million that will not survive this week.

- If you have never experienced the danger of battle, the loneliness of imprisonment, the agony of torture, or the pangs of starvation, you are ahead of 500 million people in the world.

- If you can attend a religious meeting without fear of harassment, arrest, torture, or death, you ‘have more religious freedoms’ than 3 billion people in the world.

- If you have a refrigerator, clothes on your back, a roof overhead and a place to sleep, you are richer than 75% of the world.

- If you have money in the bank or in your wallet and spare change in a dish someplace, you are among the top 8% of the world’s wealthy.

- If you hold up your head with a smile on your face and are thankful, you are a ‘beacon’ because the majority can…but most do not.

- If you can hold somebody’s hand, hug them or even touch them on the shoulder, you are graced because you can offer ‘the Creator’s’ healing touch.

- If you can read this message, you have received a double gift in that someone was thinking of you, and furthermore, you are more ‘educated’ than over 2 billion people in the world who cannot read at all.

Paul writes in Philippians 4:11-12: “I have learned to be content with whatever I have. I know what it is to have little, and I know what it is to have plenty. In any and all circumstances I have learned the secret of being well-fed and of going hungry, of having plenty and of being in need.”

It really is a matter of being content and fostering an attitude of gratitude.  Membership into the “If Only Club” only holds one pre-requisite.  That we are discontent!  Discontentment in our lives, in our jobs, in our relationships, the street we live on the home we live in…

The truth is most of us are better off than the person with the green grass on the other side of the world, the neighborhood on the other side of town or even across the street. 

Being grateful and content for every thing is not easy but I want to be able to say, like Paul, “I have learned to be content with whatever I have.  I have learned to live on my side of the street where the grass isn’t always so green or maybe there isn’t any grass at all!  I am thankful for what God has given me at this moment in time and will walk this path with an attitude of gratitude” 

So while we are surrounded on Thanksgiving with an abundance of food, family and friends my prayer is that we will really understand the importance of being content.  We will cherish the riches God has given us and understand just how wealthy we are.  Let’s shut down the “If Only Club” together and perpetuate a spirit of Thanks-Living all year long not just on Thanksgiving Day!

GOD MET ME ON THE ROAD!

Recently my middle daughter had a birthday! Thirty two years old! Wow. However, what was always a time for celebration in the past was, this time, riddled with depression. I was getting old. She was living eleven hours away. Of course, I sent her a card and a gift. Yet I put off for days sitting with God and writing out my usual birthday prayer for her. I just could not bring myself to do it! Her birthday was on Saturday and Monday morning I had still not pulled out my “Mothers Prayer Journal”.
On Monday morning I busied myself getting ready to go to work. So busy I didn’t take time to sit with Jesus and seek His direction for my footsteps that day. I left for work and about a mile and a half from my home my car just decides to turn off! Fortunately it died right next to a policeman who after trying to start it with no success, most graciously pushed it to the side of the road. “Okay God” I thought on my mile walk home, “what is it that I should have been doing?” Instantly my daughter Melissa came to my mind… I knew what I needed to do. Immediately when I got home I sat with my “Mothers Prayer Journal” and as I did the tears flowed…. I realized that I was grieving my daughter’s absence on her birthday. Grieving all those childhood birthday parties I had planned for her and her friend her sister and brother. Grieving her laughter and devilish childhood antics. Grieving the times my three now grown children had laughed and played and tried to kill each other… Grieving an empty home… I had been avoiding my feelings. As I sat and told God how much I missed her and that I totally trusted Him with her life, that I would not ever pray for her to come home because He knew what was best for her, I was able to write Melissa’s birthday prayer.
Letting go of our children is one of those Cross Roads in life! Why is it so hard? I learned (AGAIN) that when I go to my Father in sorrow with my heart and hands opened wide, He is able to fill me with peace and reassurance. He is in control. After all, He is the One who created my children. He is their Father too! Yet, do I trust Him? Really really trust Him with my most precious possession? I thought I did. But I was reminded as I sat with Him that prayer for my children, no matter what their distance from us or Him, is the most important gift that I could ever give them. It is a gift that I can give them every day no matter where they live and no matter what my relationship with them is like . . . Talking to my Father in heaven, prayer, is very healing when circumstances are a little different than I would like.
Are you avoiding talking to God about one of your children because perhaps it is too painful? I want to encourage you to sit with Him, talk to Him, and you too will experience His soothing presence. The comfort and peace that surpasses all understanding. The Lord is near to all who call on Him… Psalm 144:18
God wanted me to come to Him! He used my car problem to change my direction (which I might add started with no problem when the serviceman got to it) God literally met me on the road, turned me around and prompted me to sit with Him. After crying on His big God shoulder, I was now joyfully able to move through the rest of my day! Amazing that He cares that much for me. But He does. And He cares that much for you too!