Seek and Find

It’s clear I keep my eyes and ears wide open for God-ideas that give me content for my daily blogs. And, that content comes from various places -- a scripture reading, praying, scrolling my social media platforms, something a friend said and in my walks. And you know what? When I seek, I find Him!

In Jeremiah 29:13, God made it clear that He isn’t playing the Hide and Go Seek game. He said: "You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart." I was on purpose to see Him in my early morning walk yesterday. He wasn’t hiding. I found Him immediately when I hit the streets. Of course, He was in the trees, the cool morning breeze, (thanking God for these cool temperatures), and other people walking. He IS everywhere AND He is HERE in my heart. The more that I sensed Him, the more aware and conscious I was of His love, His mercy, grace, and most of all, His presence. That's when I started noticing the greatest symbol of His love -- the cross. I started seeing crosses on the street, on fences, windows, and objects -- thus my photo collage for this day.

The Cross -- of course, when we seek Him, we'll find Him, and this day I found Him where Jesus paid the ultimate price for us with His life. I loved seeing that reminder everywhere I walked. I paid attention to it. I purposefully looked for it. Holding on to that symbol, assures us that everything’s gonna’ be alright!

And, isn't that what this scripture means? "You will seek Me and find Me.....when you seek me with all your heart." He's just a thought away, a prayer away, a cross away, and a heart-beat away. How I thank Him for the cross and how I thank Him for the reminder of His love for me.

My friend posted this beautiful story a few days ago. It fits in well with this conversation:

THE BRIDEGROOM IS PRESENT, BUT NOT SEEN
A disciple once asked the holy one, "Where shall I look for enlightenment?"
"Here!" the holy one said.
"When will it happen?"
"It is happening right now," the holy one said.
"Then why don't I experience it?"
"Because you do not look," the holy one said.
"What should I look for?"
"Nothing," the holy one said. "Just look!"
"Must I look in a special kind of way?"
"No," the holy one said, "the ordinary way will do."
"But don't I always look in an ordinary way?"
"No," the holy one said. "You don't!"
"Why ever not?" the disciple demanded.
"Because to look, you must be here. You're mostly somewhere else."
(Story shared by Sr. Pascaline Coff O.S.B.)

Right here, HERE, He's just a thought away, a prayer away, a cross away, and a heart-beat away. How I thank Him for the cross and how I thank Him for the reminder of His love for you and me. God is here, there and everywhere! Let’s keep our eyes wide open!

Don't Quit Till You Got Nothing Left!

More than likely, we've all taken an exam or test that we just made the grade that let us pass the course by the skin of our teeth. Or we finished that project but it certainly wasn't to the standard it should have been done because our heart just wasn't in it. It shows by our half-hearted attitude. It was just good enough. But "a just enough” attitude in anything in life “just isn’t enough”!

If you saw the movie “Facing the Giants”, you'll remember the tough time that the Shiloh Eagles football team had in winning a game in over six years. They were a half-hearted and stinking- thinking team. Now it was a new season and they lost their first three games. Coach Grant Taylor, who was half-hearted in his coaching and in his marriage, had a personal encounter with God after staying up one night praying and studying scripture that gave him a new coaching and life philosophy. He influenced his players to give far greater effort and told them that they could win with a whole-hearted attitude in the game and with God's help. Everything turned around when they went from half-hearted to wholehearted commitment in their attitudes and in their determination. My favorite scene was when Coach Taylor pushed Brock, the team captain, further than what the captain would have ever pushed himself. In the death crawl scene, Coach blindfolded Brock because he didn't want him to give up before he gave it is his "very best". Brock crawled the distance to the end zone (though he thought it was the 50-yard line) with Jeremy on his back. You'll enjoy watching the death crawl scene again here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=8&v=-sUKoKQlEC4

Yesterday I was singing an old chorus that went like this… “With all of my heart, with all of my heart, I will love you, Lord, with all my heart!” I googled it and found that it was written and sung by Morris Chapman who was at my daughter’s church a few weeks ago. He didn’t sing that song, but played the piano and sung many others he had written. He is 85 years young and after illnesses that almost took his life, he is spry and still going strong and is wholeheartedly singing and playing (beautifully, I might add) and serving God with all his heart. That impressed me so much – with WHOLEHEARTEDNESS!

God gave us His whole heart when He gave us His Son. His Son, Jesus Christ, gave His all when He gave His life for us. Shouldn’t we take on a new attitude of “giving our all” in everything we do in life – in our homes, our jobs, our love for God and others? Fully devoted followers of Christ don't know "just enough" or “making it by the skin of our teeth”.

“Wholehearted” means complete commitment, dedication, fully devoted, loyal, unlimited, unconditional. “Lord, I want to serve you wholeheartedly. Please forgive me for not having an “all-in” attitude in anything you assign for me to do. I don’t want to be a half-hearted servant. I don’t want to make it to heaven “by the skin of my teeth”! I want to be fully devoted, locked and loaded as your follower and your ambassador.”

Deuteronomy 6:5 "You shall love the LORD your God with ALL YOUR HEART and with all your soul and with all your might.”

Jeremiah 29:13 'You will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me WITH ALL YOUR HEART.”

Psalm 138:1 “I will give You thanks WITH ALL MY HEART.”

Where Can I Go From Your Presence?

Constants: a situation or state of affairs that do not change; remaining the same in all circumstances

I am on the go and where I stop, nobody knows, including me sometimes. How many times have I awakened in the night and run into a wall that I thought was a doorway, or opened a closet door and thought it was the bathroom door? Too many to count!

Thanks be to God that though my surroundings are often in a state of flux, my best friend, companion and guide – isn’t. My
Father is ALWAYS with me. Everywhere I go – He is there.

Psalm 139:7-10 says "Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence? If I go up to the heavens, You are there; if I make my bed in the depths, You are there. If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, even there Your hand will guide me, Your right hand will hold me fast."

The little boy in this photo is playing a game of hide and seek. He thinks he's hidden. And isn't that like us? We think we can hide from God, and we often think He's hiding from us, but I love how Jeremiah 23:24 proves otherwise. "Can any hide himself in secret places that I shall not see him? saith the Lord."

After a whirlwind week, I’m back home in Frisco and into my normal routines and familiar surroundings.

I think about the CONSTANTS in my life no matter where I am or where I go. Me (I can't get away from me -- I'm always with me) and Father God. I think about how blessed I am to acknowledge the real fact that I will never be without Him and His presence. I see Him everywhere -- in the magnificent beauties of His creation -- the hills, the valleys, the marvelous trees in bloom and the beautiful, fragrant flowers. I see Him in His children -- big and small, tall and thin, old and young. I hear Him in the laughter of others. I sense Him when I open my eyes and heart to Him when I meditate on Him as I start to write my morning FB post. "When you seek me, you will find me." Jeremiah 29:13

I think about a story my husband loved to tell. This was back in the days before bucket seats in cars and you could cozy up to our sweetheart when he drove the car. A wife said, "Sweetheart, why don't we sit close together anymore?" The husband said, "You tell me. You're the one that moved next to the door. I'm still in the same seat I've always been in!" And, I think that's what God must say when we declare "I just don't feel God in my life anymore!" He says, "I'm right here with you as I always have been. I didn't move. Snuggle in closer to Me and you'll find me right here where I've always been."

Amazing Grace -- How Sweet the Sound

I turned on my TV first thing yesterday morning and the top story was an 8.1 earthquake had struck Mexico in the night, leaving one million people without power. Mexico's president called it the strongest quake his country had seen in a century. Meanwhile, Hurricane Irma is coming -- the second-strongest hurricane ever recorded in the Atlantic Ocean. And to make matters worse, Hurricane Jose is strengthening and threatens islands devastated by Irma. LORD, HAVE MERCY!!!

Just after I had seen that news, I started my morning readings in Isaiah 43 and these words came alive. "Should you pass through the waters, I shall be with you." God is with us. It is His voice that I hear saying, "You need Me!" And Jeremiah 29:13 says "If you will seek Me, you will find Me."

Whoever you are, no matter what faith you have, or have not, you have undoubtedly heard the song, "Amazing Grace". You probably even know some of the words and can sing along.
The song was written by a former slave trader, John Newton. His early days as a philanderer in the British navy to his conversion of faith and taking up the abolitionist cause is the basis for the song.

While Newton was serving on a slave ship, the ship was caught in a horrendous storm off the coast of Ireland and almost sank. Newton awoke in the middle of the night and, as the ship filled with water, called out to God. The cargo shifted and stopped up the hole, and the ship drifted to safety. Newton took this as a sign from the Almighty and marked it as his conversion to Christianity. The date was March 10, 1748, an anniversary he celebrated for the rest of his life.

After returning to England, Newton and his wife, dramatically confronted the Prince of Wales and urged him to abolish the cruel slavery practice. In 1764, he was ordained as an Anglican priest and wrote 280 hymns to accompany his services. He wrote the words for “Amazing Grace” in 1772. He later went on to renounce his former slaving profession and wrote a pamphlet that described the horrific conditions on slave ships and apologized for waiting so long to stand up for what was right. Under the leadership of William Wilberforce, the English civil government outlawed slavery in Great Britain in 1807 and Newton lived to see it, dying in December of that year.

John Newton had some glitches in his life. He was a philanderer and a slave trader. St. Paul had some glitches. He was a Christian persecutor. King David was an adulterer and murderer. St. Peter was a coward and denied Christ. The Bible is full of those who had glitches. We all have glitches -- maybe that come from a dysfunctional family tree, but God uses those glitches to turn us into radical followers of Christ that when the storms come and the ships of our lives nearly sink, we STAND. And, we not only stand, but we become those who sing the loudest and most heartfelt -- "AMAZING GRACE, how sweet the sound that saved a wretch like me. I once was lost, but now I'm found. Was blind but NOW I SEE!" I pray for that AMAZING GRACE to all those facing storms of life and heart today.

Make Me a Channel of Your Peace

Day 239 of Photo Inspirations -- Make Me a Channel of Your Peace
I love that song -- the lyrics are from St. Francis' Prayer that goes "Lord, make me an instrument of Your peace".  That is sincerely my prayer -- to be a peacemaker AND to live in that peace.

How do we do that when the world is full of clamor and noise and so many distractions -- not to mention cranky, mean-spirited, angry, and unhappy people?

We have to MAKE peace our priority. We have to practice peace. We have to exit the room when conflict presents itself.  It really is a priority.

We can find it sitting in a peaceful scenic area, in a cozy chair, in a chapel, while rocking a sleeping baby OR in a monastery.  A monastery?  Talking about peace ON PURPOSE, I found it yesterday.  It truly is a house of prayer and peace.  I was attending a mini-retreat at St. Joseph's Monastery, but before the retreat started, I was able to visit one of my mentors and dear friend, Sister Marie Pierre.  Oh, how I love this precious saint.  After 50+ years of ministry, she retired and lives in a small space at St. Joseph's but it is everything she hoped for in this season of her life.  We made each other cry as we shared some sweet memories, but even more so about our future.... getting to graduate to heaven. We talked about how our loved ones and the saints and Jesus are cheering us on to the finish line.  I could tell she is longing for the day when she'll go home, but in the meantime, sitting at her feet, feeling God's presence and His peace all around her, and in her, is the season she is in.  God continues to use her to touch our lives.  She has MANY children -- of course, not biologically, but she sure had a hand in raising many of us in the ways we should go.

Before I left her side and headed on to the retreat, she wanted to show me her garden that many of us contributed to when she moved to St. Joseph's.  A labor of love created it for her -- the one that her labor of love touched us so much.   Her garden is her daily retreat -- the water splashing from the fountain, the serene place of peace and quiet where birds and butterflies are abundant.  It's a place of contentment, rest and PEACE.

"You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart."  Jeremiah 29:13.  I found Him today in the form of one of His precious daughters. She looked like Him.  She smelled like Him.  She sounded like Him.  That's because she lives with Him in such close proximity.  No wonder I left there wanting more.

"Favor is deceitful, and beauty is vain: but a woman that fears the Lord, she shall be praised."  Proverbs 31:30

The song "Make Me a Channel of Your Peace" -- is so befitting of Sister Pierre.  Oh, that we are that peace channel, too!

Seeing God in the Ordinary

Day 231 of Photo Inspirations -- Seeing God in the Ordinary

Yesterday, at an advisory board meeting at church, we were praying and seeking God on some important matters -- desiring wisdom and understanding on the direction He would be guiding us to go.  One of the ladies left the room for a few minutes and said  "I just went down the hall and when I returned, I found this $20 in the hallway!"  Great find!  We agreed to give it to the Pastor tomorrow.

But, as I was sitting there, I sensed there was a greater message in finding that $20.  I held it up and showed them the side that said, "In God We Trust".  Perhaps God was ADVISING this Advisory Board to TRUST HIM in everything we're seeking Him for.  I love that.  We seek God with our hearts and minds, but He's not hiding.    Our EXTRAORDINARY God is right there with us......in the ORDINARY of life.  Finding this $20 bill was more than a donation to the church......just maybe it was God sending us the message "TRUST ME"!!  And when ORDINARY people trust God with their whole hearts, He will do EXTRAORDINARY things through us and for us!

"You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart."  Jeremiah 29:13

Let's Play Hide & Seek

Day 157 of Photo Inspirations -- Let's Play Hide & Seek
I love stopping in to see my little great niece when she has her weekly visit with my mother-in-law, her Great Granny.  On my way home from Texas, yesterday, I stopped in to see her before I made it home   She'll be two this month and, oh my, does she ever provide non-stop entertainment.  I told my sister-in-law that they need to charge for visitors to see her.  She's got quite the personality AND charm -- not to mention that she talks like a 3-year old!  Yesterday, she was entertaining herself, and us, as she played in Mom's water hose -- thus, my photo inspirations for today.

I thought about my last visit to see her and she was playing Hide & Seek with me.  I counted and she hid -- well, not exactly -- before I finished counting, she was coming back around the corner, saying "I'm here!"  Then she had some plastic eggs left over from Easter and she'd hide them from us, but when we'd go looking for them, she'd lead us to them to show us where they were at.  In reality, she really wasn't "hiding" and we didn't really have to "seek" too hard at all.  

On Sunday, I posted about having a "God-consciousness" -- an awareness of Him with us, around us, and in us all the time.  The scripture reference I used was "You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart." Jeremiah 29:13.  After I posted that message, an exclamation point was placed on what I said, as I heard the minister quote this scripture:  "And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who SEEK HIM."  Hebrews 11:6

Somewhat like my little niece, God likes playing "NOT HIDING, BUT SEEKING".  He's not "gaming us" -- manipulating us.  He's giving us the clues, the secrets, the keys, the absolute answers to "Where is God when I need Him?"   He's right here.  Right now.  He's exposed Himself to us and He's even leading us to the treasures in secret places.  All He asks in return?  To seek Him with our whole hearts; to trust in Him and believe in Him.  And here's the real deal -- He always plays fair.  He doesn't cheat.  He doesn't hide from us where we can't find Him.  And, like my little niece, He says -- loud and clear....."I'M HERE!"

Seek Me and You Will Find Me

Day 155 of Photo Inspirations -- Seek Me and You Will Find Me
"You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart."  Jeremiah 29:13.  I went along with my kids for their evening walk.  This night, we were on purpose.  We were praying and seeking God as we walked.  He wasn't hiding.  We found Him  everywhere.  We saw Him in the trees, in the warm Texas sunshine, the green grass, the birds flying, little children playing, people eating at an outdoor cafe, and we heard and saw Him in the waters of a beautiful fountain.  I saw Him in the love that my two kids share.  He IS everywhere AND He is HERE in my heart.  

The more that I sensed Him, the more aware and conscious I was of His love, His mercy, grace.....and most of all, His presence.  That's when I started noticing the greatest symbol of His love for us -- the cross.  I started seeing crosses in buildings, in fences, in objects -- thus my photo inspirations for this day.

The Cross:  of course when we seek Him.... we'll find Him, and this day I found Him in the greatest symbol of love that explains it all.  It's where Jesus  paid the ultimate price for us with His life.  I loved seeing that reminder everywhere we walked.  I paid attention to it.  I purposefully looked for it.

And, isn't that what this scripture means?  "You will seek Me and find Me.....when you seek me with all your heart."  He's just a thought away, a prayer away, a cross away, and a heart-beat away.  How I thank Him for the cross and how I thank Him for the reminder of His love for me.

Where Can I Go From Your Presence?

Day 113 of Photo Inspirations -- Where Can I Go From Your Presence?
Psalm 139:7-10  "Where can I go from your Spirit?   Where can I flee from your presence?   If I go up to the heavens, you are there;  if I make my bed in the depths, you are there.  If I rise on the wings of the dawn,  if I settle on the far side of the sea,  even there your hand will guide me,  your right hand will hold me fast."

Today, we're heading North passing through the Bay of Biscayne that lies along the western coast of France.  We'll enter the Celtic Sea toward the south coast of Ireland.  We'll be docking in Cork, Ireland tomorrow morning.

I think about the constants in my life today -- Me (I can't get away from me -- I'm always with me) and Father God.  I think about how blessed I am to never know what it is to be alone or lonely.  I acknowledge the real fact that I will never be without Him and His presence.  My Lord and my God.  I see Him in the oceans and I saw Him in the sunrise as a took to the treadmill and watched the sun rise early this morning.  I hear Him in the laughter of people around me.  I feel and sense Him when I open my eyes and heart to Him as I meditate on Him when I start to write my morning FB post.    "When you seek me, you will find me."  Jeremiah 29:13

Are you lonely today?  He's standing at the door and knocking -- desiring to come in a fellowship with you today.   He desires to be the CONSTANT in your life.  Notice there is no door knob on the outside of that door.  He will not barge into your heart. He is simply waiting for the invitation to come in.  Go ahead -- open up your heart and invite Him in.  He'll always accept the invitation. "Behold I stand at the door and knock."  Revelations 3:20