Infinity And Beyond

Isaiah 55:9 -- "For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways and My thoughts than your thoughts."

During our high school production of The Sound of Music, one thing stuck with me more than anything else. There is a line in the play when Maria is talking to her Mother Superior and she is taught that "When God closes a door, somewhere He opens a window."

THAT's the one that really stuck. It goes beyond learning to pray/think outside the box. Isaiah 55:9 puts a finer point to this thought by reminding us that God is so much bigger and better than anything we could ever imagine. In fact, more than just praying outside the box, we really should be seeking out a BIGGER box all together.

How often is our focus so narrow that we can't see beyond a closed door?

What seems like ages ago, my husband went into work just like all the other mornings in our marriage, only he came home shortly after to let me know he'd lost his job. We were devastated. Everything seemed to be going so well with his career. At the time, he was working IT for a HUGE national transportation company. It really looked like he had landed his dream job. But five years in, his department manager died from a heart attack and the department for which he'd been working was completely dissolved. At the time, we were in a bit of a panic because we were just about to sign on the dotted line for our first house. Well, with no job, we couldn't take the leap and buy the home. What seemed to be falling into place so perfectly was suddenly falling into pieces all around us.

Looking back on that moment that seemed so horrible, I can honestly say that we are grateful Steven lost that job. He's been with his current employer for twelve years and they treat him very, very well. We have since moved across the Saint Johns river and Steven's commute to work is now fifteen minutes when it used to take close to an hour. He gets to sleep later [which he loves] and he gets home earlier. I'm within walking distance of one of my most precious friends and twenty minutes away from my favorite beach. If you had told me all of this back when Steven was sent home packing from what we had assumed was the perfect job for him - I just would not have believed you.

Sometimes the things we pray are so very, very small. We don't cling to the HUGE power of our Creator. God is so much BIGGER than anything we could come up with - so when we pray, we should not be afraid to pray big. It's not just a window He opens when a door in our life path is closed. Sometimes, God takes out an entire wall! Who needs a door then?

Bridge Down, People!!

I Peter 2:5 -- "you also, as living stones, are being built up as a spiritual house for a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ."

As an MK [or missionary kid], there is a collection of several experiences accumulated over long miles, foreign lands, and a variety of primary schools. Some of these moments can be called wonderful, while others can only be described as memorable, at best. 

One experience at a school I attended in my teens fits well into the memorable category, though there are times when I wish the memories made there weren't so keen. When I think of life lessons dotting the time line while at this school, I see miles of smoldering, smoking bridges that leave a stale burnt smell in a stagnate air. I can count the friendships lost and some tragic events that, to this day, leave my puzzler quite sore. It's never fun when one can look back at early teen-hood and count so many burnt bridges along a very bumpy route.

An awkward teen occasionally, there were times when I just did not handle a situation in a very mature fashion. One such time was when a would-be suitor asked me out and I fumbled my way through a terrible "no, but thank you." So terrible at turning this poor guy down was I, that he became so angry at me he started a rumor that I was a tease and that I slept around. Let me just say, that while every school I attended could not be called a Christian one, NO school I attended looked kindly on floozies. Thanks to a terrible and misunderstood single moment, the remainder of my time at this particular educational institution was a nightmare. Burnt bridges lay in decaying piles by the way-side and it wasn't until I had graduated from high school and returned to the U.S. that I learned what really happened during that year - and how far reaching the collateral damage. I wanted to pick up a mega-phone and holler in emergency, "bridge down, people! Clear the way for clean up!"

The thing is, no one - and I mean NO one, ever once tried to ask me what really happened between me and so-'n-so. All they had to do was check to see if the sordid story spun about yours truly, was indeed, accurate.   

It never happened. The rest of my time at the school was lonely and miserable.

Ever burn a bridge before really checking it out, first? I'll never forget how terrible that feels and yet, I found myself doing this very thing recently. I leaped head-long into a prickly situation, guns blazing and hackles raised only to realize the details weren't exactly what at first they had appeared. I feel horrible. The other party involved feels horrible and there is no way to pick up the warm embers of a burnt bridge and make them usable again. No - in a burnt bridge scenario, the entire bridge must be rebuilt with brand new, stable and sturdy material that has never been compromised by raging temperatures. This can only happen with real forgiveness - and in this case, time will only tell if forgiveness is on the table.

Billy Graham once said of a friend that it seemed like the days of Job had come crashing down on him. The man lost his job, all of his nest egg and financial stability, his house, and just about everything else. This broken man happen to walk through a construction area at a huge local church. He looked up at the building that seemed in pretty good repair when he noticed one of the workers chiseling a way at a piece of stone. The shape of this stone intrigued the broken man so he asked the worker, "what are you going to do with THAT piece?"

The worker looked up, squinted into the sun and pointed his finger at a space between some of the masonry on the church. It left an odd triangular shaped gap. The worker then said, "you see that gap up there? I'm chiseling this stone down here so I can put it in up there."

Sometimes, I guess - it really IS that simple. Whether it be a burnt bridge or a church in need of repair  - sometimes the stone has to be chiseled in order to match the shape for which it is intended. We ache as living stones that require chiseling. It's more than uncomfortable at times, in fact, often it's just downright painful. But there will come a time when we living stones match the space reserved for us in the presence of our Lord, Jesus Christ. On that day there will be no more burnt bridges and no more need for repair.

Tiwalan

Romans 15:13 -- "May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in Him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit."

Tiwalan - Tagalog word meaning HOPE.

The room smelled of hot, buttery popped corn and in the dim light of the satellite menu screen we could see the spritely bubbles jumping up out of our glasses, bursting with the effervescence of freshly poured soda. Now, we were sure the move would be wonderful - if only the satellite tuner would cooperate.

Lately the television signal has been hit or miss and it takes several minutes for Steven to go through the tedious steps of realigning the dish by remote. As it turns out, it's not worth the frustration and on movie night we skip the television channels and put in a favorite DVD or check out what Netflix has to offer. I have to say, I'm a huge fan of Netflix. You would not believe what we save by NOT having a satellite bill.

When I was young, it wasn't about a digital anything. We didn't have movies on disk and we certainly didn't have a satellite. Those things just hadn't come into being, yet. But I CAN remember Dad or Uncle Charlie Hawkins having to climb up on the tin roof to mess about with the huge unsightly antennae. One of them would do the climbing while the other one hollered out into the air to notify when a clear signal had been obtained. Yes, life as a missionary kid was, indeed, chock-o-block full of adventure. When a clear signal was somehow captured, we could all sit around the analog television watching re-re-re-runs of black and white Elvis movies. It was either that, or Filipino soap-operas.

The thing is, while yes - technology has come a very long way - there still is not a lot of picture if one is unable to "tune in" properly. And to this day - it comes down to proper signal adjustment. It's just a different kind of signal now than it was when I was a kid in a third-world country.

I love Romans 15:13 because in this verse we learn that there is hope, peace, and joy! We've been given a direct pipe-line to THE ONE who can provide these things in our lives. However, like a misaligned satellite dish, we have no hope of obtaining those things unless we tune in properly. This verse tells us that there is enough hope and joy out there that we can actually OVERFLOW with them! .... BUT we have to TRUST in Him! The verse doesn't say if we work hard enough at our jobs, or if we serve enough at church, or if we provide for our families well enough or volunteer in our community enough we will overflow with joy. Nope. It says as we trust in our Lord, we can overflow with hope and joy by the power of the Holy Spirit.

How do we tap into the power of the Holy Spirit?

We tune in!

Adjust those rabbit ears of ours by staying tuned in to God's Word. Dedicate our focus to Jesus Christ and we will be properly aligned! We will overflow with Gods amazing and abundant joy!

Joy In Full

John 16:24 -- "Until now you have asked for nothing in My name; ask and you will receive, so that your joy may be made full."

It's been said that laughter is the best medicine. I've watched as children undergoing chemo light up in sheer delight when service animals enter the room wagging happy tails and licking eager hands. I've seen my own children smile from head to toe though recovering from flu, all because they received a get-well card or a cheerful balloon. 

When my grandmother was diagnosed with breast cancer some years ago she said to me that one of the most important things she could do to beat the disease was to maintain a positive state of mind. She clung to laughter and consistently, routinely counted her many, many blessings. She has been in remission for some time, now.

A thing that I think is overlooked in our daily grind is the ACT of claiming real joy! Jesus came not only that we may have life - but that we may have it more abundantly! In John 16:24 Jesus says that our joy can be made full if we ask for it in His name. His desire in that verse is that we not only have joy, but have it to the full! This means that God puts a great importance on joy in our lives.

I think there are times when we have to reach out and claim it. Sometimes, THAT might not seem so easy - but it IS necessary. 

I know I've mentioned the book by Ann Voskamp several times and in fact, her book 1000 Gifts was the inspiration behind this blog - the truth is, there is great joy in our world and it's sad that so many of us trudge through this life without ever really seeing it. So often my focus is on what can go wrong - which puts me in a defensive state of being, rather than focusing on what HAS and WILL go right. Often I've observed that we humans tend to see the spot of negative in our lives when the bright positives often far outweigh the number of things that didn't go as we planned or turned out to be a complete disaster. And - like our physical bodies that need joy when we are sick, our spirits need joy to grow, to be healthy, to spread the Word of God and bare fruit.

That's why, when things get a little tough or I seem to be climbing a slippery slope with no end in sight - I've started the habit of keeping a gratitude journal. Daily I strive to put at least two things in that journal. What has surprised me is that once I put pen to paper - those two little things often turn into ten, twenty, and sometimes I have to make myself stop writing them down in order to finish other things that need to be accomplished. 

I challenge you - keep a gratitude journal. Reach out and claim the joy that God wants for you! I think you might be surprised how very much this little act can turn into a BIG change in your life!

Love Is As Love Does

I John 4:19 -- "We love, because He first loved us."

Tucking the sheets in around the bed I watched a dryer sheet fall from the folds and land on the floor. While picking it up my eye caught the shimmer of something under the bed. Reaching for it, a huge smile spread across my face because I recognized the fabric covered heart shaped box with the crystal on the bow - a valentine gift from my husband last year. I'm not really sure how it ended up under the bed but the thought of it reminded me of the gentle surprise in the brightly gift-wrapped box of Russel Stover.

It's been a while since any of us in the Dalton Gang truly celebrated Valentines Day. It was five years ago on February 14th that we made the slow march from our church to Jacksonville Memory Gardens where we buried Steven's Dad. Valentines Day just hasn't been the same since. It isn't that we made some sort of silent agreement that the day would pass without flowers, balloons, or chocolates - we just collectively didn't FEEL much like celebrating anything. 

But last year Steven came home from work with the prettiest, biggest satin red heart shaped box of candy I'd ever seen in my life. I knew I was going to keep the box once the contents had been eaten. It was too pretty to throw away, true - but most of all the box became much more than a beautiful heart-felt gesture.

Letting the sunlight refract off the crystal in the folds of red satin I smiled and remembered with great fondness that I looked up in surprise when Steven handed it to me and said Happy Valentine's Day. My heart skipped a beat because not only did I get a wonderfully sweet sentiment from my husband, but I relished in the joy that he felt like celebrating the day for the first time in so long. It made my heart sing.

Putting the box up on the dresser I thought of something else: my husband loves me because his Dad taught him how to give and to receive love. In the very short eleven years during which I was granted the precious gift of knowing Bobby Dalton, I watched him love his wife, his children, his Creator, and his Savior. I watched him demonstrate love in a remarkable way. Because of that amazing gift of love - Steven loves. Steven is a wonderful husband, an amazing friend, and an incredible father. He learned those things because his Dad first loved him. 

You and I love only because we were loved first. We would not know love had it not been given to us, shown to us, poured over us in the first place.

When next I look upon the calendar and see that Valentine's Day is just around the corner once again, I will celebrate the gift of Dad's legacy - I will celebrate the love that he instilled in his boys. I will celebrate that all love as we know it is a response to a precious and most amazing gift - the first love - God's love. For these things there is much reason to celebrate, indeed.

Snatching Joy From The Jaws of Victory!

Mark 4:38 -- "Jesus Himself was in the stern, asleep on the cushion; and they woke Him and said to Him, "Teacher, do You not care that we are perishing?" 

It wasn't a very long trip as cruises go, but I'll never forget our bold undertaking of "the high seas" when we sailed from Manila to Davao after a mission meeting in the Philippines.  It was a spontaneous adventure put together by my parents and our dear friends, Glen and Marvella Thompson - the sons of whom were much like brothers to my sister and I - as we had very literally grown up with them on the mission field.

We didn't see very much of them on the cruise, however - as all eight of us were confined to our quarters with the worst case of sea sickness I have ever personally experienced. I suspect that a little bit of food poisoning had also been tossed into the mix - but I have no hard evidence to support that suspicion. I have only the wrenching terrible ache of a very sour stomach to present to the jury in that regard - and THAT could very well be due to the angry ocean in the midst of a doozy of a storm. A storm whose fury was unleashed the entire trip - as it followed the exact path that did our ship. [Trust me when I say I'm using the term ship very lightly].

The things that I can bring into sharp focus through the fog of so many collective years between now and that nautical journey were the scratching pitter-patter of the rats at night in our cabin while we tried to sleep, the glasses being knocked over at the dinner table due to high, angry waves, and the horrible smell that permeated the air on an overcrowded deck the one time we managed to take a venture topside during the trip. Oh - AND the advise of my parents as they flipped the light off in the cabin after tucking us in - "keep your feet and arms tucked into your blankets tightly, maybe the rats won't bite us"..... I don't recall sleeping until we reached the safety of our beds at home.

Let's just say that the adventure was not "as advertised", and it was not what my parents and their dear friends had in mind when they booked the journey. It will, however, ALWAYS be remembered. 

During the heavy rocking and pelting rain on that cruise I can remember one of the earliest desperate prayers I'd ever muttered in all of my eight to ten years of existence. As I peeked out the porthole in our tiny room, the waves greeted me at almost eye level [if you been on a ship you know that's very high, indeed] and the spray all but completely blocked my view of the horizon. I wondered if God would get us home safely - and I prayed earnestly that it be in His will to do so. I allowed myself to cry in sheer panic and kept telling myself that God appointed my family to the Philippines for a reason - and that reason surly didn't include drowning in a run-down ship in the middle of the Philippine Sea. 

As I read Mark chapter four this morning, I could relate to the sheer panic of the sailors aboard the boat that violently rocked on high waves. Suddenly my focus was drawn to the fact that Jesus was fast asleep. How in the world could anyone sleep through one of those storms on a few planks of wood in open water? I turned back to the memory of our Philippine cruise and immediately felt akin to the sailors shaking Jesus to wake him in a desperate plea to provide help. 

That's right ladies and gentlemen, Jesus slept.


Why?

As each sailor was clambering to rid the boat of the sea that collected in the bottom of their vessel, adjusted sail, and "battened down hatches", why was Jesus soundly asleep?

Perhaps he knew there was no real reason to be afraid. Perhaps, Jesus knew that it wasn't a time for worry and panic. He had faith in his Father's ability to always keep him safe.

Ready to make a move into a new house - yet again - this Dalton Gang found ourselves once again on bended knee, asking the Lord to provide. Jesus DID. He provided! And as all the dominoes fell into perfect place we danced in excitement, in thankfulness, and in sheer joy. That is, until I realized our little boat of four passengers began to rock in what turned out to be a rather tight dead line. Then I felt the panic creep high up into my throat, I felt the tidal waves of packing boxes and lost Sharpie markers crash against our vessel and wondered how we were to get everything we need to accomplish done in such a short amount of time. I peered out the porthole and saw nothing but high water and pelting rain. The dancing stopped. The room once filled with joy and laughter went quiet and all eyes turned to me as I opened my mouth to the very ugly panic hidden just beneath my tongue. 

Shoulders slumped, faces drew downward in subtle frowns, and I watched the air flow freely and quickly out of a balloon that was so bright and plump only moments ago. 

I had managed to snatch all the joy out of our recent victory and our every reason to be thankful. I shook the shoulders of Jesus as he lay sleeping on a cushion while our vessel rocked a little in the midst of busy waves. I could hear him scold the sailors on the boat; "why are you afraid? do you still have no faith?" [Mark 4:40].

After lining up the perfect property manager with a great and reputable property management company, an immediately available home with just the right amount of space AND a discount on monthly rent - why did I see fit to worry - and doubt that God could manage all the packing and the tight dead line, as well?

I owed my dancing family an apology. Jesus slept on a cushion because He knows this is not a time to panic. He rested after answering our need because He KNOWS His Father is in charge of every storm, every high wave, every wind blowing into an unfurled sail. I had no cause to wake him. He is our rock, in whom we can place every faith with the utmost of confidence. 

I guess I just needed a gentle reminder - perhaps, in the shape of what I perceived to be a storm, God reminded me NOT to snatch the joy from the jaws of victory! He reminded me that there is, indeed, a time to dance - and that I should NOT let those moments get by me without getting at least a little bit foot-loose myself!

Feel like Jesus is taking a cat-nap while the waves rage on around you? Maybe, just maybe, He does so for a reason.

Updraft

Isaiah 40:31 -- "But those who trust in the Lord will find new strength. They will soar high on wings like eagles. They will run and not grow weary. They will walk and not grow faint."

My eyes open in the dark and I hear the rain. Big fat drops of water hitting the roof and blowing in on the glass of the windows.  The chimney echos with the torrent and I think of the birds outside. Where do they go when there blows up a storm?

Eagles seem to sense when a storm is coming. They seem to smell them out. When a doozie approaches, the magnificent bird will fly head first into the winds and catch the updraft, riding it all the way to the top, where the winds hit the Troposphere and peter out. They can hurdle the winds and the torrential rains until it's calm enough to return to the nest.

It would be great if we could do that. We could predict a life storm, see it coming and jump over it like children jump a wave breaking onto the beach or a runner jumps a hurdle during a race. We could hide out until the winds calmed and the rains stopped - popping our heads back out when the rainbow stretches across the sky and the sun blinks away all the chaos.

But there are also moments - storms - that the Eagle will face. He'll hunker down, head tucked low and ride it out. It's amazing that they know when to bunker and when to flee. Oh to be an Eagle.

In Isaiah, God tells us that we can find new strength, we can soar high above our storms like eagles. In the same verse, it says there are also moments when we run or walk.  Moments when we don't skip the storm, high in the clouds and avoid the winds, the heartache, the stress, or the frustration. Moments when our trust in God will allow us not to grow faint, but that there are moments we need to hike head first into our storms and allow God to navigate us through. I love the way God wants us to need him.

And then? ... When the tumult is over - when the birds sing again and the air is calm and clean - the Eagle returns to flight. It doesn't remain in the Troposphere or stay flattened out in the nest with it's head bowed low.  It lives. Not in fear of the next storm, never coming out to enjoy the sun light. It lives and enjoys the peace.

Those who trust in God will find new strength.

I won't hide from my life. Avoiding certain situations or interactions because I know there will be other storms. Down here in Florida - we are good at preparing for the next hurricane. But when the winds die down, the shutters come off the windows and we set our potted plants back out in the light. We don our swim suits and hit the surf and maybe pick up a little debris. We don't keep the shutters on all year. We don't avoid the sunny days because we fear the next hurricane.

This is what God wants of us.  To totally trust in Him. To cling to Him when the storms come and shine for Him when we come through the other side.

A Walk Through The Clouds

Psalm 36:5 -- "Your faithfulness reaches to the clouds."

Standing at the front door of my mother-in-law's house I could see the sun light up little droplets of water on flowers that grow around an old tree stump at the front of the house. I could stick my arm out from under the front porch and feel the warmth of the sun make the hairs on my arm stand up. Two houses down the street it was raining.

Not just a sprinkle in the sunshine, a hard pelting rain that blurred the lines and made steam come up off the black top. I love the moments in our lives when the things we take for granted and consider normal take us a bit by surprise. For a moment I wanted to take off running down the street and jump in and out of the rain.

Standing on the balcony of the dorm in the Philippines my fellow dormies and I watched a storm roll in over the bustling city of Manila. Located in the hills, we were able to to look out over the clouds and watch the heat lightning bounce through them like huge dancing fireflies. The wind might kiss us on the cheeks now and again, but the air up in the hills was still and quiet - without the electric buzz of the storm below. Somehow, that calm was comforting and I'll never forget standing there on a balmy tropical night.

The thing is, stormy weather is often very localized. It's never storming everywhere on this great blue marble of ours. In fact, in a airplane high above - it's possible to miss a storm all-together by flying over it.

Psalm 36:5 tells us that God's faithfulness reaches to the clouds. It's so vast that while we might be forced to turn into the wind and ride out the weather for a time, God is sturdy, strong and stable - in the calm, ready to be our anchor. He is there before the winds whip up and the rains pour down. He is there to keep our sails from tossing us like toys. Steady as she goes - God's faithfulness will be there long after we brave the high, shifting seas and the storm has passed us by. Who better to lead us through than our Faithful God who can see beyond our troubled waters? If we keep our compass on our only True North, we will make it through the storms that seem to take us over so completely.

My sweet friend Cathy likes to tell me "this too shall pass. It might pass like a kidney stone, but it WILL pass." And she's right.

It's never storming everywhere. And it never rains all the time.

Running The HUMAN Race

Deuteronomy 31:6 -- "Be strong and courageous, do not be afraid or tremble at them, for the Lord your God is the one who goes with you. He will not fail you or forsake you." 

Landing was always one of the most nerve-racking things about flying, if you ask me. I can handle turbulence, hitting those pockets that take the bottom out of your stomach as the plane lurches in a surprise loss of altitude. I can handle lighting that pops all around the plane, making the hairs on your arms stand up with added static. But landing .... that's something I don't think I'll ever get the hang of, no matter how many, many times I fly.

A good distraction for me was to look down at the rat race rushing about like ants on a recently disturbed mound. That crazy HUMAN race that everyone seems to be rushing about to win with no unified finish line to coordinate our movements into a smooth and flowing progress - very much like those crazy and shocked ants that seem to loose their barrings when their world gets turned upside-down. Even those of us in the big metal bird up in the air hit the ground running once the wheels have come to a complete stop and the doors are open. We all just keep on moving, moving, moving. 

I wonder if the ants get tired of re-building the mound. Is there a moment when - as the dirt walls crumble in around them for the umpteenth time they throw their hands up in the air and give up? I know the people do. I know that the crazy gets to some and they throw in the towel. They get tired of lacing up their running shoes and jumping all the hurtles. I think it must have been that way for the people in Deuteronomy. Joshua was told by Moses that he would lead the people into the land that God had promised them. But they had been wondering in the desert for so very long. They had to fight their way into a land that was filled with huge obstacles and then they had to fight to keep it. They were tired. Even before they reached the promised land they were ready to throw in the towel. More than once.

But here, Moses reminds us that we have a most powerful weapon. We have One that will go before us and lead the way. We have One that will never leave us - never forsake us. In fact, this is so important that Moses says it again in verse 8: "The Lord is the one who goes ahead of you; He will be with you. He will not fail you or forsake you. Do not fear or be dismayed." 

It's a difficult thing for a human to comprehend - NEVER. No human is able to NEVER. But our Father will NEVER leave us. He will NEVER fail us. We really CAN cling to him with all our courage. We really CAN march forward without fear because we know that no matter how many times the dirt walls of the mound come tumbling down around us - God will ALWAYS be the first One in to pick up the pieces.