He’s Rock Solid

I had written this post and then in my City of Frisco "Waterwise" email for yesterday was this paragraph: "Solid as a Rock". The long, hot, dog days of summer are upon us! Rain is less frequent and the high temperatures are taking their toll on our landscape. For many people not familiar with life in North Texas, the sight of their clay soil developing cracks is cause for concern and they start to wonder, “how will this affect my foundation?”

I love how God gives me a "thumbs up" to let me know I'm hearing from Him. But "He's Rock Solid" is a statement I've heard made about someone who is stable, reliable, confident, unlikely to change or fail. They have a moral compass that keeps them grounded with doing what's right and you know you can count on them -- at a moment's notice.

In the real estate business for years, we would confidently say about a property's foundation "The foundation on this house is as solid as the Rock of Gibraltar", and about a man, we might say, "Joe is such a dependable guy. His word is as solid as the Rock of Gibraltar.”

You may be scratching your head to try to think of who those people may be in your life. But my point is -- not WHO those people are, but are WE considered to be "rock solid" when others are asked that question about us?

If not, and if they see us as temperamental, moody, indecisive, unpredictable, and we shift from sad to glad and grumpy to happy like the changing of the wind, we can change that. Yes, we can!

We can be determined to be "rock solid" in our faith, our commitment to love others, our determination to be trustworthy and being reliable and unwavering in our attitude of who a true friend is -- and then being that friend who others can count on -- at a moment's notice. Every day is a new day to be the best version of ourselves that we can be, for ourselves and for others.

The best news ever, there is One who IS not just "rock solid", but He is THE SOLID ROCK that we can always count on . He is “the ROCK that is higher than I” (Psalm 61:2). He is reliable, strong, immovable, eternal and unchanging. In Him, we can find that place of comfort, shelter, peace and, above all.....the faith and strength we need to carry on -- strong and determined and with great expectation for joy and victory in our todays and our tomorrows!

Psalm 62:5-8 "But I stand silently before the Lord, waiting for Him to rescue me. For salvation comes from Him alone. Yes, HE ALONE IS MY ROCK, my rescuer, defense, and fortress—why then should I be tense with fear when troubles come? My protection and success come from God alone. He is my refuge, A ROCK where no enemy can reach me. O my people, trust Him all the time. Pour out your longings before Him, for He can help!"

This photo of my two little guys and me in Cabo San Lucas was taken just a week after my sweetheart went to heaven. I can't begin to tell you, from personal experience, how much God was my ROCK then, and continues to be my ROCK today.

Time to Recalibrate

The navigation system on my phone and in my car is one of the greatest technologies to be invented. I can't even begin to tell you how many times that the sweet lady's voice saved my day when I'm trying to find a particular address.  Oftentimes, she’ll tell me to turn at the next exit or the next street, and I’ll miss the turn.  That’s when she’ll say “recalibrating” – which means I got off course and she needed to give me the new directions.  And, then there are those times when I think my way is better than hers so I’ll just ignore her directions, and she has to “recalibrate” again.

So here we are.....five days into this exciting new year of 2016 – and I’m starting to recalibrate – make course corrections and go in new directions.  Shawntel and I were laughing yesterday as we talked about our mindset over the Christmas holidays.  It’s a “go ahead and eat up, enjoy yourself – eat as much as you want, because soon, you will be on a new track.  It will be 'sensibility again'".  So, we enjoyed our pizza, chocolate chip cookies, popcorn, and Brennan’s world famous chocolate shakes the night before.  LOL!  Yesterday morning it was a new conversation, “juicing, Daniel Fast, nutritious eating, etc.”.  Recalibrating.

Recalibrating – time for setting goals, resolutions and some real aspirations for this new year.  Here are a few of my recalibrations: Drink more water, be consistent with exercise, eat less sugar and make healthier food choices, connect more with old and new friends, purposefully laugh out loud even when "it's just not that funny", play my piano more, AND above all else spend more time in sweet fellowship with Father God.  That last one is the BIG ONE, Martha!  Keeping Him as our Moral Compass, our DUE NORTH, our Central Focus, will keep His voice the ONE we hear when we need to recalibrate our journey.  Here’s the way to know we’re on course throughout this year – from our daily walk of faith to the life-altering decisions we must make, If all directions begin with Him as our "due North",  we’ll know we are ON COURSE by:

1)  Having an overwhelming, supernatural peace that goes beyond logic.
2)  Abiding in His Word and listening to people who are on course (are tight with Him) and we love and trust the most, who will help us stay on course.
3)  Recognizing providential circumstances, open doors, aha moments, divine encounters, and a sense of knowing when we're on or off track.

Psalm 23 – “The Lord is my shepherd” chapter is a perfect example of how to stay focused on Him.  Sheep are dependent on their shepherd – just like a baby is dependent on his parents or caregiver.  The faith that says…”Where He leads, I will follow.”  I love this song by Twila Paris:

Lord, I'm keeping my eyes on You.
Following You. Following You. My Lord.
I won't look to the left or right
My only goal is keeping You in my sight.