Don't get up to fast....

It happens oh so fast.  One minute you are standing firm and the next you are face down in the dirt.  Quickly we jump up, glance around at who might have seen our fall, and then begin to brush ourselves off.

With the sun streaming down this beautiful morning, God has brought more light in to my life.  Light which brings knowledge.  Knowledge which brings yet another crossroad.  The choice to follow or to turn on to my own path.  Should I choose to apply this knowledge to my life, then there I will find peace, contentment, unbridled joy.

What could such a revelation have been?  Perhaps nothing that would be earth shattering for you.  Perhaps something you have already learned and known.  For me, it was just yet another revelation of Himself and how much He loves me.

Today's lesson is: do not rush to get up when I fall.  Couldn't have shocked me more.  Why on earth would I not want to immediately rush to my feet and get back on the path He is leading me on?  The answer is so simple when you think about it.

I fell.  There was and is always a cause for the fall.  Most often, the cause lies within me; sometimes deeply hidden and sometimes quite flagrant.  The reason is the great I.  No, no, no.... pay close attention.  Not the great I Am, the King Eternal - but the great I.  Or at least great to me.  I, of course, am referring to myself.  The I.  The Me.  The one who wants to have it be all about her.....me, me, me.

The simple truth is, when my eyes and my heart are focused firmly on my God, my position in Him is secure and firm and there is no stumbling and no fall.  When I place my eyes on myself, my wants, my wishes, my desires, the fall comes up faster than the speed of light.

As painful as all of this was to admit, the worse was yet to come.  There was stil the issue of the "why" of the fall.  Here is where God called me to search myself.  Instead of rushing to my feet, being concerned with any embarrassment I might have suffered, or brushing myself off in a hustle to get back on the path, I need stay.

kw:   Stay Lord?  Are you sure?  You want me to stay face down in the dirt?

OMEGA:  Stay my child.

kw:  Why would you want me to stay?  Do I need to learn humility through embarrassment?  Do I need to learn patience through suffering? Why Lord?  ( geesh calling me child was sure right on the mark on His part )

OMEGA:  Stay my child and take that moment to worship your God for protecting you during your fall.  Then come to just your knees and turn your heart and ears fully to Me.  Listen as I reveal the cause of your fall.  Take the time to repent the cause and allow Me to instruct you and grow you so that you do not fall again to such.

Silence....because there is only weeping from me.  Silence....because I am indeed such a foolish child.  Always inclined to rush.  But my Father is one of great patience who loves me fully.  With a hand full of love, He draws me to Him and comforts me.  He shows me a portion of His plans for me.  He brushes away my tears and assures me that His love will always win over my foolishness.

What an awesome and amazing God I serve.  So yes.... I will lay with my face in the dirt, thankful for the great Jehovah Jireh that always provides for me.

It is always my prayer that by sharing a bit of my heart with you my friends, that you will be touched to seek the face of God who longs to show you all the love He has for you.

katrina.....

Seasons ......

Each of our lives can easily be marked by a metaphor.  For my much loved aunt, her metaphor is "cheer leader".  She has a beautiful gift of encouragement.  She is an encourager by nature and has allowed God to develop that gift even further in her life and she blesses all those she is around with it in abundance. 

My life's metaphor is "the seasons of nature".  

You see, being a country girl, I am well familiar with the ebb and flow of the seasons.  More importantly, when I contemplate the seasons and how each season works to bring to perfect fruition all growth processes, I can then begin to truly appreciate all the growing seasons in my spiritual life.

Spring is a time of new birth.  The temperatures begin warming, the grounds are watered with rain, and those things that have been planted come "springing" forth.  That new beginning is marked by our acceptance of Christ as Savior and Lord of our lives.

Summer heralds the arrival of rapid growth and warm temperatures.  These are marked by long days filled with sun, plants stretching to the heavens, producing large amounts of fruit, and a time of lushness.  This rapid growth is our maturing process as Christians.  We begin to experience relationships, discover love, and establish ourselves in a church family.

Fall is a time of gathering the harvest.  Maturity is a reality at this time and the fruits of such can be gathered by all those around.  Love has been learned and is freely shared, acts of service are a natural response, and we begin to share our learning and experiences with others.

Winter is a time of rest and dormancy.  Winter does not necessarily represent death although it can.  Winter is that time in which things are quiet and still.  That time in which we are moving neither backward nor forward.  Winter is that time when we become dormant.  We can often experience winter after times of loss or hurt.  Winter can be a healer in that the time of dormancy and is spent in restoration, preparing us to move forward into spring once more.

You see the seasons are not a single occurrence in my spiritual journey but rather a repeating process that God uses to keep me active and growing in my relationship with Him.  After all, that is the very foundation of my walk.... RELATIONSHIP.  

Early mornings......and dirt

I have been an early riser all my life......  As soon as there is light, my body is awake and ready to move.  Can't really tell you if this is due to a predisposition of physical make up or if this is simply in an born reaction to the life of a country girl.

What I can say, is that there is nothing in the world like the silence of the mornings when people are not yet stirring.  I wander outside and listen to nature which is already in the midst of it's own awakening.  I mean honestly, have you ever made it awake and out before your rooster does?  Odds are not likely.

As I walk around our property, I enjoy the chickens as they scurry out from the safety of their coop and hurry to be the first to take the treats I am scattering.  The goats are calling me to hurry and come spend time with them, preferably their morning ration in hand.  The lgd's are scampering around begging for a pet as well as checking on all the critters with me.  A stray - well really, can Bull even be called a stray any longer? - waits in the barn for breakfast.  The rest of the dogs are all arguing over who gets out for play time first.

Yet even amongst the murmurings of the animals, there is such peace that just floods over me.  A calmness that this is where I was created to be.  During my life I have lived in many different situations and circumstances.  I have walked many roads.  Some of these roads where smooth and marked by love and some, well, they were more of a rocky crevice than a road and brought along their fair share of pain and hurt.  Trailer parks, country homes, military bases, subdivisions, apartments, trailers:  I have known them all.

I have been; the scruffy country girl climbing on hay bales and sitting on fences watching horses, the urban girl always stylish and enjoying the finer things, the military brat / military / and military wife, the mom in the suburbs making the rounds of soccer games, the AQHA rider / 3 day eventer / dressage queen / endurance rider / and trail riding guru, yet all these times - all these circumstances the ones that stand out the most and brought the most contentment were those marked by dirt.

You see, I am well and truly a country girl.  Always have been, always will be.  It is where my heart longs to be and my body finds satisfaction.  I am a woman like others in that I enjoy things that sparkle ( could very well be the silver on my bridle ), I like dinner and wine, I like to dress up upon occasion, and love to catch the eye of my man.  Nothing appeals to me more than a shadowed jaw, his hands rough from work, sweating together working under the rays of the sun, and knowing that his eyes are looking at mine from under his hat brim.

You may see me in town sometime, dirt on my jeans, dust on my face, hands rough, hay in my hair, face shining with sweat, but you know what?  That is okay.  I have learned that those things that radiate beauty are those things that reflect the Creator God.  I have learned to appreciate and value that God has made me to be uniquely me.  He loves me completely the way I am.  The best gift I can give to the One who loves me so, is to surrender all that I am to Him and reflect Him in all that I do.

So I will treasure the dirt, the grass, the hay, the dust that seems to always follow me.  I will put in an honest days work, follow Christ with all my heart, and seek His pleasure above all others.

Perhaps it is time that we as a nation and a unique people remember the basics of what is truly important in life.  It is so simple.  God, family, friends.  Anything else is a blessing from the hand of the Almighty.

I pray that today finds your hands a bit dirty, sweat on your brow from honest work, your feet on a country path, and that your heart is full of the Father.

Boot prints and prayers to you all.....