Tag: God’s plan

One Can Hope

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Standing at the kitchen sink, staring out the window I see God took care of one more thing in my life today. There’s a Bougainvillea hanging under one corner of the house, in hopes it will grow it’s way up onto the roof. It has a couple of long branches reaching that way, but this morning they had drooped from lack of water. It’s on my morning rounds with the watering hose.

After giving it some water I came in the house and started work. I didn’t give the Bougainvillea another thought until now. It soaked up the water and the long branches are tucked up under the roof again. I think it would be beautiful to have Bougainvillea blossoms all over the roof. I don’t know if that will happen, but that’s what came to mind when I hung it there.

God probably has something better in store, but I’m doing my part by keeping it watered. It’s in the right place for endless possibility, but we’ll have to wait and see what transpires. As I walk away from the window back to my desk I smile and think, one can hope.

We plan, but God decides.

Proverbs 16:9

Practice the Always

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Always holds big meaning to have six letters.

I have a few things that I always do, like I’ll always drink in house cold brew, and always brush my teeth before leaving the house. If you don’t, you’ll run into someone you haven’t seen in years, and they’ll want to hug and stand around and laugh, so it’s best to have clean teeth.

I’m becoming more comfortable with empty spaces. What works for me is looking at an area full of stuff, and emptying it out completely. Wipe the surface down and only put back the meaningful. It’s funny but even after putting back what was meaningful one day, they begin to lose some of their meaning the next. I’m excited to see what our house looks like by the end of the year, or better yet, one year from now.

After framing some art and having a wall of it in my room, I removed one painting and put it in the kitchen where it belongs. That’s where it was originally, but I used it to fill an empty space. I’ve been looking at that empty space along my bedroom wall all week, and knew what I wanted to put there. It’s a page from a magazine that was in another frame, but I utilized that frame and laid this clipping aside.

When people see it, they scream, “Is that Justin Bieber?!!” He was just a kid in this photo, and you can’t see his face, but his name is underneath the quote. I have signs hanging throughout our home as reminders of what’s important, and this is of the utmost importance.

It says, “I always thank God for giving me this opportunity and blessing me with this talent.” ~ Justin Bieber

I bought a frame for it and filled in the empty space. This frame looked lighter in the store, so it’s probably going to be exchanged for another one, but it works for now. The word ‘always’ is what jumps out at me from this quote. We have all been given at least one gift and should be on the lookout for ample opportunity to use it. I’m guilty of not thanking God nearly enough for the opportunities He’s given me, but I’m willing to practice.

I see this photo as soon as I wake up in the morning, so at first light, let’s practice the always.

The Flower Cart

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Lastnight, my daughter opened the backdoor and gasped. There was a Tarantula perched on the doorframe outside. I’ve seen them in stores, and know people have them as pets, but to see one that closeup was exciting to say the least. Then my daughter said, “They’ve always been out there. We’ve just never seen one until now.”

This morning, while it was cool and overcast, I spent some time cleaning up the yard. Just straightening things up, kind of like we do inside the house, but this was outdoors. I had sat the empty flower cart up against the fence for Winter, but it was time to pull it out. Even sitting empty it emanates character. It’s one of those vintage pieces you wish could talk and tell you where all it’s been.

I wanted to move it out into the yard, but didn’t know where. Then it was like God showed up beside me and pointed out a good place for it. I rolled it across the yard and positioned it in a barren spot covered in yesterday’s birdseed. Walking away I thought, “That’s a good place. The birds can use it as a perch while taking turns to eat the seed below,” and went on with my day.

I finished washing the dishes and stood by the kitchen window gazing at the flower cart. That’s when I noticed a Blue Jay sitting on the handle checking it out. He hopped down to the bed of the cart, and then onto the ground to eat some seed. It was exactly as I’d envisioned, but if I wouldn’t have taken that pause at the window, I would have missed seeing what God had planned all along.

Have faith there’s a plan, and God will use anything to show us. Today, He used the flower cart.

The feature photo is a notecard created by artist David Arms and you can view his work here.

Feel the Music

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This man holds an undying love for the Rodeo and wanted to be a part of it any way possible, so in high school, he chose to learn about bull riding.

When he wasn’t riding bulls, he kept singing, but his dream was to be a famous bull rider. There’s a movie about this song that you can watch on Amazon Prime for free entitled, “Dear Rodeo” co-starring Reba McIntyre. ‘Dear Rodeo’ is a love song where Cody lets go of his dream, but God still puts him in the Rodeo on a much larger scale and with no broken bones.

Rodeo Houston 2022-Sold out arena.

Cody’s love for the Rodeo is where it began, and he stayed for the bull riding, but bull riding wasn’t his destiny even though the rodeo was. The call came in from Houston Rodeo where their headliner had to cancel and they asked Cody to step in. In the movie, he talks about people thanking him for this song. How it changed their lives and saved many.

In this video Cody is singing to a sold out rodeo arena, but watch until the very end. After his performance, there’s a horse waiting for him at the bottom of the stage. He was supposed to mount the horse and do a slow ride around for the crowd, but instead, he dug his heels in and asked the horse to give him all he’s got. As the horse gallops around the arena, Cody says if felt like his past was flying off of him and he was able to let it all go.

God’s plan is so much better than ours. Our plan might actually prepares us for His plan which is far greater than anything we could ever imagine. The key is knowing when to let go of ours, to make room for His.

Cody Johnson Live-Dear Rodeo

To view ‘Dear Rodeo’ sang by Cody Johnson and Reba McIntyre, click here.

Cody is no stranger to Feel the Music. You can view two more here and here.

Be a Dreamer

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One of the most difficult parts of dating over fifty is finding a dreamer. Most men are semi-retired, already retired, or looking forward to retirement. They want to travel in an RV, or on a motorcycle, but here’s an update. You don’t have to wait to travel. It’s available at any time.

I have big dreams for my life, but sometimes I wonder if they’re big enough. As humans, we tend to dream attainable dreams. Things we know with some hard work and planning, they’ll come to fruition. My dreams are merely stepping stones to a greater plan, and that plan is a mystery.

We’ll use writing as an example. I don’t want to be famous, but I do want to write, and God can use my willingness to write in a big way. That’s the scary part. What is His plan?

Maybe you think you’re too old for dreams, or they were a part of your youth, but I’m not buying it. As long as there’s breath in our bodies, we still have a purpose. Don’t give up on your dreams, because if you woke up to a new day, your dreams are still in you. Be a dreamer.

The Put Off’s

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I took my dog to have his nails trimmed.

It’s one of those things I’ve been putting off, but then remembered saying that prayer. “Hey God. Open up a space one day this week to take him.” Friday morning, standing at the kitchen window, I knew it was the day.

I’ve been looking at those type things fondly called, ‘the put off’s’. During the winter months, I put off walking until evening, letting the day become as warm as possible. I’d put off waking up with the dawn, just to get a little more sleep. I’d put off meditating until I was fully awake, instead of taking advantage of that sweet spot where the brain isn’t alert and engaged.

Now mind you, I completed my intentions and morning ritual, but it felt like a wrestling match of putting it off, if only for a moment.

And then I decided to stop.

I woke up and sat up in bed before dawn. Drank my bottle of water and did a body scan. Moved to my desk for the Morning Pages, and then went for a walk. Yes, I had to bundle up, but this offered a chance to wear my favorite fuzzy scarf once more. Now I remember why I was so enamored with walking in the mornings, and taking in the new day as it’s coming to life.

All of my put off’s were small, but faithfulness in the small things, prepares us for bigger. This is me, putting a stop to the put off’s.

P.S. If you haven’t met Michelle GD, you need to. She’s a blogger here at WordPress and hosts a monthly workshop entitled, ‘The Quiet Page.’ I just signed up for April 20th, and would love to see you there.

P.S.S. Thank you Collette over at Wine to Water for recommending the app Abide. It’s a lovely part of my evening wind down ritual.

I Am Second

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“Did you write today?”

“Yes.”

“Then you’re a writer today.” Julia Cameron ~ The Right to Write

In a recent staff meeting with the Zen Habits Team, it was suggested for each of us to go through one of Leo’s courses like a student would. I chose his ‘Beautiful Mornings’ course. I love waking up early and seeing the first light of day, but to do that and feel rested, I needed to reel in my bedtime.

In the course Leo’s asks that we implement something into our morning to make it more beautiful. There’s a book that’s been laying on my bedside table for years. You can tell by the cover it’s been well used, and the pages aren’t as bright, white as they once were, but it’s been laying there waiting to be used some more frequently. I’ve re-inserted it into my morning and praying over my adult children.

Most mornings I wake up and my mind begins rolling through the day, but last year I promised myself I’d ‘watch the day unfold‘. Being in need of more practice, I’m sticking with it this year. There’s one thing I feel the need to do before anything else, (even coffee), and that is to spend time with God.

No matter how the day unfolds, or what I see on my plate, by putting Him first I’m trusting His plan instead of mine. When it comes down to it lovely, the only reminder I need today is, I am second.

Credits:

Julia Cameron~The Right to Write

Stormie Omartian~The Power of Praying for Your Adult Children