What will flow forth?

John 7:38..."He who believes in Me, as the Scripture said, 'From his innermost being will flow rivers of living water.'" 

What you put in you is what will flow forth. What do you believe? What do you surround yourself with? What do you listen to? What do you read? Who do you fellowship with? What do you watch? 

To grow in faith and be filled with more of the Spirit you must be intentional. Every day there are countless opportunities and decisions about what to fill yourself with. What you choose to put in will inevitably have a direct affect on what will come out. It is only a matter of time. 

Our culture wants to act like their is no correlation. Listen to crude music, watch filthy television, surround yourself with course language - it doesn't make any difference. This isn't so. These things influence and ultimately shape our thoughts. If we put garbage in how can we expect a sweet aroma to emanate?

Each day we are each given options. Will we surround ourselves with things of God, furthering our knowledge and understanding of him; growing in our spiritual maturity? Or will we waste another golden opportunity to become more of the person God intends for us to be? 

We have free will. The choice is ours. We can claim to believe the things of God and claim the salvation of his Son, but our faith will remain stagnant and our growth will be stunted if we do not choose to immerse ourselves in the things of God. 

We cannot wade at the shore line or stand waist deep in the shallow end. To experience the fullness of God we must get in over our head, completely overtaken with the things of God. 

Encouragement for your journey

We all need some encouragement from time to time.
Here are some quotes, scriptures and pictures to lift your spirit and give you a little push when times get tough.....


If you aren’t in over your head, how do you know how tall you are?  - Unknown

I ask not for a lighter burden, but for broader shoulders. – Jewish Proverb

James 1:12 "Blessed is a man who perseveres under trial; for once he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life, which [the Lord] has promised to those who love Him."

Romans 8:35-39 "Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? Just as it is written, "For Thy sake we are being put to death all day long; We were considered as sheep to be slaughtered." But in all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord."

“Adversity is the diamond dust heave polishes its jewels with”  ~Robert Leighton

Pain insists upon being attended to. God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks in our consciences, but shouts in our pains. It is his megaphone to rouse a deaf world.” ― C.S. Lewis

Just keep swimming

I wish I could honestly announce that I have saintly patience. I wish that I could tell you that I don't get frustrated. I wish I could say that the peace I experience washes away all negativity, worries or concerns.
But I wouldn't be being entirely honest.
Yes, my patience has increased as I've aged, matured and grown in my relationship with God. My patience was paper thin. Let's just say that now it is more like a plaster wall. This isn't good enough. I need a heavily fortified, brick barricade keeping me from myself and my impatience. Psychologists love to say that the first step to overcoming a problem is admitting you have one. I suppose this is the approach I am taking when it comes to gaining patience. I am admitting that I am still very much on the road to getting to where I want to be and I'm trusting that God will do the work in me. But first I had to admit it.
Admission #2: I get frustrated. Case in point being my weight. I had started to put on weight. 7 pounds in a month and a half. Not too shabby, right? But in the past week I've lost half a pound and my energy has taken a dip due to my digestion going completely off whack. Why is this happening again? Why is my progress being stalled and even backpedalling? I'll be honest, I'm beyond frustrated! I'm down right saddened. The progress I was seeing was lifting my spirits in ways I hadn't experienced in years. Now they are crushed. My mood has been crushed with them. I am trying to pull myself up by my boot straps, continue the good fight and embrace the promises of God found in scripture. But it is an every moment struggle.
Peace has been hard to come by. It feels like I am in a constant battle to be at ease. I keep praying, I keep asking God to sustain me and be my joy. The moment I stop the prayer the peace is gone. Shouldn't it last a little longer? Am I going to have to become a monk, calling on God day and night just to keep myself emotionally whole and peaceful?
I don't have any answers for these difficulties that plague me. The cry of my heart is to simply be pleasing to God. But in the midst of my trials I don't feel pleasing to him at all. I feel like I'm floundering.
And then the silly little tune from that beloved kids movie "Finding Nemo" pops into my head: "just keep swimming, swimming, swimming...."
"What do you do when life gets you down?....just keep swimming, swimming, swimming"

When life gets frustrating, your patience runs dry and peace is hard to come by, just keep swimming. Simply forge ahead. It may not be easy and it may feel like you are trapped in a tide that won't let you go, but just keep moving. The moment that you stop is the moment that you lose the fight. If you don't keep pushing against the negative feelings and the difficulties they will overtake you. So just keep swimming. There will be smoother waters and brighter days ahead. To get to them you must simply keep swimming.

A turn toward glory

As Christians, totally devoted to our Lord and Savior, seeking to live a life that satisfies and obeys him, we are often looking for discernment in decision making. The question of what to do next, what answer to give, or what direction to take is not ours to make, but God's. We want him to direct our paths.
That all sounds so simple and straightforward: allow God to guide you. But how does one go about doing that? How do you know what God would want you to do? He rarely comes in a burning bush. Don't get me wrong, he could come in any form he'd like. He could literally send down a map with step-by-step directions, fully equipped with flashing lights and colorful road signs. But this would be a highly unusually way in which God would reveal himself. Ask most Christians and they'll tell you they haven't received such a map from God. They would also probably tell you that God has been far from absent in their decision making. He can still lead, guide and direct without having to intervene in our physical day-to-day world.
How can he do this? How can we tap into his direction and make the right choices and follow "his will"? How in the world are we supposed to know what that will is?
Christians are constantly praying for answers. Do I take this job or that job? Do I live in this house or that house? And the Christian girl's most fervent cry, is this the person I should marry?
All of these questions make our heads spin. We look for a sign in the clouds, an answer washed upon the shore and written in the sand. We are seeking his will, can't God just give us a simple answer?
Then there comes another question that throws us for another loop...is there only one "right" answer? If I pick poorly and take the job in Minnesota instead of the job in Maine will I be falling off of God's path, doomed to destruction and a life of wandering aimlessly? If I buy the house with a pool instead of the one without a pool am I putting material possessions over God, making him an after thought and not my top priority?
And what about marriage? Is there only one, single, solitude person out there that I am supposed to end up with? What if this one person isn't "that" one person? He looks good, fits the criteria, is spiritually mature, equally yoked, but what if he's not the "one"? Am I looking for a specific one, anyways? Or am I looking for a man of God who will be the spiritual leader, picture of Christ in the household and provider for the family? Maybe there are many "ones"?

All of these questions can become overwhelming. They can drag down our spirits and make us utterly confused. Confusion is not of God. It is a trick and trap of satan. He loves to use it to pull us off course, make us question our faith and, ultimately, make us question the relevance and reality of God in our lives. Is he active and truly alive today? Satan wants to raise doubts.
God is surely alive and more active then we even know. He isn't sending out flares for directional guidance but that doesn't mean he has grown silent or unconcerned.
The truth is he has already given us all the direction we need. He has given us his WORD. In it is the secret to decision making. Okay, so it really isn't a secret. It is right there in plain black and white. Our lives are to glorify and honor God. That is the direction. Glorification of God is our path.
When faced with a decision one choice may not look any worse than another. "Danger" signs might be no where to be seen. That does not mean there isn't a better path to take. We must ask ourselves, "What will bring the utmost glory to God in this situation?" With each yes or not, right or left, there is always a way to honor God more fully and purely than another. The decision won't be hard when we are truly honest with ourselves, rooting out the selfishness of our hearts and the lustful desires that we have kept hidden from the world, and look to what would be most honoring to God. What would bring the most glory to his kingdom? What would bring the biggest smile to his face?
The scriptures aren't silent about the purpose of our lives. Within their words comes the ultimate guide to making decisions. Instead of trying to answer each individual little question that will come up in the course of our lives, the Bible seeks to give us a basis for making any and all decisions. We can never be faced with something that we don't have an answer to. In the scripture, there is an answer for everything: honor God, first and foremost.


Romans 14:17-19 “For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit, because anyone who serves Christ in this way is pleasing to God and approved by men. Let us therefore make every effort to do what leads to peace and to mutual edification.” (NIV)

Isaiah 43:7
“Even every one that is called by my name: for I have created him for my glory, I have formed him; yea, I have made him.” (KJV)

1 Corinthians 6:20 
“For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s.” (KJV)

Colossians 3:23
“Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men.” (NIV)

Psalms 35:27 “Let them shout for joy and be glad, Who favor my righteous cause; And let them say continually, “Let the LORD be magnified, Who has pleasure in the prosperity of His servant.” (NKJV)

Psalm 115:1 "Not to us, O Lord, not to us, but to your name give glory, for the sake of your steadfast love and your faithfulness!"

Waiting for my plane to take off

Have you ever been in the airport, prepared to start your journey to an island or long anticipated vacation, only to find out that your flight has been delayed? Even worse, has it been canceled? Maybe you've experienced the sinking feeling of having the airline crew come over the intercom of the waiting area informing you that, "This flight has been cancelled. We will find you all alternate flights or accommodations." Uh, huh...sure you will.
Until that blessed moment where a new plane arrives or an alternate flight is booked, you are stuck.
Sometimes life can feel a lot like that airport terminal. Things come to a screeching halt. You think you know where you're going, when the next step is supposed to take place and then everything is put on hold. You are suddenly stuck in the terminal of life and the plane is no where in sight.
In these moments life looks hopeless. You have no agenda for the future. There is no time table for things to change. You wake up each morning stuck on repeat. Where is the light at the end of the tunnel? Will this waiting end and the task of living begin?
It can be overwhelmingly lonely to be in this transit period. Inside you are busting to make something out of your life, be something to somebody and accomplish great things. But the reality is that you are stuck in the terminal, just waiting for a grounded flight to take off.
When will the pilot and crew arrive?
When will they start the boarding process?
The screen tells the story. Delayed until further notice. Stay tuned.
In transition it is frustrating to have to be glued to that screen, just wondering when the words will suddenly change, giving you a time, something to count down to. But there is no guarantee. There isn't even an estimated time-table. It could take a year, it could take a month, it could all change tomorrow with the simple act of someone walking through the door at the coffee shop. You just don't know.
Inside you are dying for a different environment, some sense of purpose and normalcy that seems to be lightyears away. Your family isn't there. Your friends are off on their own paths, journeys of their own. Your daily agenda doesn't look remotely like it used.
The cold, hard chair in the terminal waiting area is nothing like home.
Everything is changed and now you must change, too. Your expectations of what will make you content and fulfilled must change.
When you discover that you are in this stage of life, figuring things out for the first time truly alone, everything around you will look like one big question mark. You will feel directionless and lost. There won't be a map and the departure screen won't give you any reassurance.
But this too shall pass. I can't promise you when or how. I don't know if it will be a person that will change things or simply the passing of time. I don't know if it will be a steady process or if it will all happen in the blink of an eye. One thing I can assure you of: this time in life, difficult as it may be, is a passing season. Fall always gives way to winter. Spring always gives way to summer. Sometimes it takes longer then we'd like, but the course of creation and its seasons never fail.
So, too, in your life, you are not stalled out without any hope of a different future. There are brighter days ahead. The darkness that you now feel will give way to clear, blue skies. Your plane will come. That trip may be bumpy, possibly turbulent. But you won't be grounded. You won't be stuck looking out at all the planes taking off wondering when it will be your turn.
Until that day comes, enjoy the view from those big glass windows. There is so much to see while waiting. There is people watching. There are planes taking off with a thunderous roar. Don't miss all the excitement because you are too impatient to appreciate the life surrounding you while you wait.

Single's town

Chagrin Falls is the dog town. Everywhere you walk, any time of day, any day of the week, you are sure to meet at least a handful of dogs - and that isn't even counting all the dogs you will see but not be formally introduced to. The dog to human ratio here is stunning. There are at least as many dogs as people, if not more. Some people walk with a special leash designed to control their two or three dogs at a time. Others have mastered the art of walking with a leash in each hand. Either way, they manage to include all of their furry friend in their strolls about town.
Chagrin Falls is also middle-aged singles town. This may seem to have nothing to do with the previously described dog town, but stick with me on this, it is all related.
When I moved into my house I realized that my singleness was far from a rarity on my street, in fact I joined the majority. Both of my neighbors, middle aged women, are single. The woman two doors down to my right and three doors down to my left are also single. The man three doors down to my right and the man with two kids across the street are, you guessed it, single. Are you sensing a trend?
The foot-loose and fancy-free crowd isn't just on May Court. They are all over Chagrin Falls. I can't even count how many single men and women I have met in Starbucks. It seems with almost every visit I come across another middle aged person without a ring on their left hand and no spouse waiting at home - maybe a dog, but no hubby.
And this is where the two worlds, the dog world and the single world, collide. It comes down to companionship. We are all born with the desire to share our lives with someone. I assume this is why God created Eve, to give Adam someone to go through life with. He thought it was better that they experience things together rather than as a solo, lone reed.
Even those of us who are single understand this principle. That's why dogs are so popular. Not everyone finds the man or woman of their dreams, or even someone close enough to make "I do" appealing enough to say in front of a crowd of witnesses. So, for those who don't find a person to settle in with, some of us bring a dog home instead.
There is still a third element to my theory of singles with dogs making up an overwhelmingly large segment of the population in Chagrin Falls. That is community. Not only does the single population want a dog to curl up with on the couch and take walks with in the evenings, but they want the community interaction that comes from living within a few feet of your neighbor, walking to the same shops in town and attending the same town events on the weekends.
There is a sense of community and closeness that comes from living in a small town where walking is more convenient than driving and the Popcorn Shop is a local hang out. A town any larger would make this kind of interaction hard to come by. But the small town of Chagrin Falls gives its residents constant opportunity to interact and be a part of something without the commitment of a relationship.
It fills the void of loneliness without having to recite vows.
I haven't seen any statistics regarding the percentage of the population in Chagrin Falls that is married versus single. Maybe the statistics would look the same as almost any other town in America, big or small. Maybe this is all just a miscalculation on my part. But it is undeniable, the singles in this town aren't on their own. They are part of something bigger: a community with which they are invited to share life.
Man wasn't meant to live alone. But that doesn't mean that every man was meant to marry. Paul reassured us of that. In 1 Corinthians 7:36-38 he says, "If anyone is worried that he might not be acting honorably toward the virgin he is engaged to, and if his passions are too strong and he feels he ought to marry, he should do as he wants. He is not sinning. They should get married. But the man who has settled the matter in his own mind, who is under no compulsion but has control over his own will, and who has made up his mind not to marry the virgin—this man also does the right thing. So then, he who marries the virgin does right, but he who does not marry her does better."
Paul doesn't claim that everyone should marry or that everyone shouldn't marry. Some people actually should be married. And some people shouldn't. There is no one size fits all solution to the single vs. married quaundry. It is a case by case situation, as individual as each unique person.
For Paul, it was better that he remain single. But Paul was certainly not alone. He had God, yes. But he also was constantly surrounding himself with community. His mission in this world was to travel about, sharing the Word of God. This put him in contact with all sorts of people. He wasn't alone. He had brothers in Christ who were messengers with him and he had countless lives that he touched along the way as he was used as God's hands and feet.
But he didn't need a wife. Marriage wasn't in the cards for Paul's life.
It may not be in my cards either, it is far too early to tell. I am learning, and slowly accepting, that if marriage never happens for me I can be fulfilled and content. I don't have to be lonely. I can stay in this little town and frequent the places where community is thriving. I can engage in the world around me and with the people around me. I can be used as God's hands and feet as a messenger for the Gospel and salvation found only in Jesus Christ. I can take my dog on walks and meet new friends each time.
Being single doesn't have to equal being alone, Chagrin Falls is teaching me that.

Good isn't as great as HE

I am, in some ways, blissfully behind the times.
Twitter is a foreign land I have yet to discover. The whole concept of #(insert every possible thought here) alludes me. And I don't have a thing to say about Instagram.
I do, on the other hand, understand that MySpace is the place where predators stalk their prey and trashy girls go for hookups. I also am aware that Craigslist can contain killers, so beware.
But my internet, social media, friend-following knowledge is quite limited in scope. It starts at email and ends at Facebook with no pit stops in between. I am an avid Pinterest follower but I don't follow anyone I actually know and no one that I know is even aware that I have a Pinterest. It is for my own personal enjoyment, not for people in my past to see what kind of home decor I like or what recipes I'm adding to my "must try" list. I just don't see the point in needing to share every detail of my life with the people who used to be a big part of it. They aren't now, so why do some feel the need to keep sharing?
I've determined that it is a case of showing off. I don't mean to sound judgmental. I'm actually not judging at all - I'm simply calling it as I see it.
How often do you see people posting their boring night at home? The night where they sat around and watched 5 reruns of Boy Meets World while eating a bowl of Raisin Bran and hitting the sheets by 9:30 - where are the pictures to capture the thrill of that evening? Yet, log onto Facebook at any given moment and you'll see countless posts about exciting beach vacations, date nights out on the town, countdowns to big events, or "shout-outs" filled with inside jokes.
People post the good stuff.
This phenomenon has given a microphone to a trait most of us can claim, whether or not we have a Facebook account. Most of us want to stay quiet about the bad, negative, not so glamorous aspects of our lives. But we are more than happy to shout from a mountaintop all that is good and right in life. When things are going our way - when we get a job promotion, hit the perfect jean size, become an aunt or an uncle, start dating Mr. Dreamy, get a new car, realize the perfect level of tan without that embarrassing hint of lobster red burn - when our lives are filled with what we categorize as desirable we start bursting at the seems to make sure everybody knows it.
But when life isn't so hunky-dory our news feed grows cold. The play-by-play updates go silent. Why would we want to share about the gory details of our breakup? Who really wants to tell the social media world that they just got fired for bad behavior and poor performance? Is it enjoyable to detail the symptoms of your latest illness? Failure, defeat, disappointment...they just aren't fun to share, plain and simple.
What good does all this posting do us anyways? Is it healthy and beneficial to give the world constant updates on our life happenings, achievements and exciting plans? Who does this truly benefit?
The self.
The poster.
The one with the hot date on Friday night.
The one who is posing as if they were on a cover of a fitness magazine.
The one with a group of friends out on the town in NYC.
The one on a plane to an exotic location.
The one with a pay raise.
The one with a new Lexus in the driveway.


....But not the ONE who bestows the blessing.
Facebook, social media, Twitter, Instagram....you name it....has given a microphone to every man, woman and child's self-obsessed tendency. We all have that side to us but we don't have to indulge it. But with the rise of every man being a his own celebrity the voices of obsession have only grown in volume.
There are countless dangers to embracing the "look at me" culture of social media. There is the danger of overexposing yourself, having your account and personal information hacked or, even worse, having a predator stalk you.
But there is a danger that every poster faces whether they know it or not: letting their good fortune become their life's focus.
Blessings are just that, blessings. We would be silly not to enjoy them. But is that where our focus should be?
God does bless his children, this is undeniable. He gives good gifts. But he also allows heartache and suffering. Just look at Job. He was lavishly blessed with children, land, and possessions. And then it all went away. God allowed everything he had in this world, including his health, to be stripped from him.
If Job was only focused on the blessings that he had accumulated in this world then he would have been up a creek without a paddle - I'm sure that would have been taken from him, too. He didn't have blessings to rely on or revel in. All he had was the hope that God was still the God of the universe, all knowing and all seeing.
If and when our blessings seem to disappear will we take the road of Job?
Don't let the Facebook culture distract your attention away from what is truly important. Blessings are great but they are not meant to be where we cast our glance. Our eyes are to be set on God, constantly seeking more of his face. Our hearts are to soak in HIS goodness, not simply the goodness of a blessing he bestows. When we are constantly seeking more of him we find that our obsession to point out more of our own blessings diminishes, it becomes less important.
A heart truly after God's own heart won't be after the things of this world and won't be searching for the next blessing. It will be wholly devoted to doing God's will, obeying his Word and getting to know him more. That is God's desire for us....that our focus not be on our own good fortune, but on his ultimate greatness.