Tag Archives: #obedience

Wide Open Spaces

I dismantled my coffee bar.

Didn’t see that coming did ya? Neither did I, and it all fell apart so gracefully. It’s was about a month ago when I began to feel a tug at my heart every time I walked by it, so I knew this was coming. It’s like God always gives me a heads up before anything big is going to happen, and I was pretty quick to follow suit this time.

I was asked to take on a project by my guys over at Zen Habits, and it was an overwhelming thought at first. They want me to assemble, pack up and mail 24 gift boxes for their Fearless Mastery program participants before the end of September. Our house is less than 1,000 square feet, but I’m a big believer in, ‘you have everything you need.’

The space was there, it was just being used as a coffee bar. I took a day and moved coffee paraphernalia piece by piece to it’s new location near the kitchen. How did I know this was divine intervention? Because it all fell together seamlessly, and it’s better than before.

Chemex Coffeemaker

We’ll find our creativity in wide open spaces.

That’s My God

It’s the little things in life that never cease to amuse me. Standing at my kitchen window after an hour’s worth of steady rain, looking at the plants I just watered yesterday. A smile came to my lips as I chuckled at the conversation I was having with God in my heart.

The weather forecast wasn’t calling for rain, but I can’t rely on weather predictions. The best way to know the weather around here is by noticing what it’s doing. God wants to be noticed and it was like He was saying, “If you’d waited Barb, you would have seen my plan for those plants.” We have conversations like that more than we should.

I depend on God in every situation, but sometimes I run ahead. One of my most spoken prayers is, “Here’s my life. I lay it at your feet. Your will be done, not mine.” Then I go on about my day with my plans and actions, so I’m grateful when God shows up with a similar plan, only better.

Life is amusing when it comes down to my plan versus God’s plan, and it’s instances like these that continue to amuse me. That’s my God.

Sharing is Caring

My daughter and I love receiving packages.

We’re slowly getting our life delivered to us, instead of going to public places. Bath and Body Works came in the mail, and my mail lady walked it up to my front door. (It wouldn’t fit in the mailbox) She does that with a lot of our packages, no matter the size.

She laughs when I squeal over the package.

Opening the box, I felt God nudging me to give some away. It was just lotion, but it was my favorite lotion, and this scent has been retired. I’ve worn it for years, and it’s become my smell, but why would God be prompting me to give a bottle to my mail lady?

We don’t know each other very well, and I didn’t know if she would like something so girlie. This is me looking for a reason.

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I wrapped a bottle of the lotion in a note and placed it in mailbox. Then went for a walk.

About halfway through my walk, I looked up to see the mail lady’s car coming down the road. She was beeping the horn to get my attention, and I walked over to her car. Her window was rolled down a bit, and looking inside, I could see she was rubbing her hands together.

The smell of the lotion, tickled my nose through the open window.

She was so excited! She thanked me and said, “I never buy myself girlie stuff like this!”

When God gives us more than we need, give it away. This has a different feel than giving something I don’t use anymore. With it being out of the box new, it’s more like sharing.

As I finished my walk home God reminded me, sharing is caring.

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Defy All Logic

When I’m being a Virtual Assistant during the week and need instant inspiration, I pull up Pinterest. It knows what I like and displays a soothing meme within seconds. Gotta love that stalker algorithm. 🙂

Pinterest is good to me and for me.

I saw this and it resonated.

logic

When I have an idea and begin thinking logically, soon the idea is easily dismissed. Here’s what I do to stay away from logical thinking.

I pray/ponder the idea for three days.

Wait for peace to become an anchor.

Lay out the steps and start doing.

Create or gather the material needed to bring the idea into reality. Hold on tight as I step out in faith. (That is the scary part) My God is not big into logic. When He calls my name to do something, He knows it’s gonna be done to the best of my ability. (Even scarier part)

The most important thing I do is what I don’t do. I don’t tell anyone, except my daughter, about the idea. I don’t seek advice, or encourage opinion about it. When I have a good idea that makes me nervous, it’s already planned.

Live a life that’ll defy all logic.

The Shopping Cart

I want God to do big things in my life.

He has done many big things for me over the years, but the big things are easy to notice. It’s the small, everyday things I tend to take for granted.

Over my life, I’ve listened to a lot of Joyce Meyer teachings. Her words stick with me. She is the only person who can yell and make me feel better!

Early in Joyce’s ministry, God prompted her to put her grocery cart back in it’s designated area after shopping. This seems so small, but to God it’s big.

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It’s simple obedience.

I’ve stopped at this local store twice this week. Both times there was a shopping cart sitting on the sidewalk of the store in my path. I grabbed it and walk it inside.

I do the same thing at the grocery store.

Maybe that’s make it easier on the next person.

Thank you God for keeping an eye on me with the little things. God begins small and gradually builds from there. We have to be prepared for big.

A lot of small steps lead to big, and a better life may be disguised as the shopping cart.

Feel the Music

There was a time in my life I stopped feeling the music. Sure, I would listen to the lyrics, but to let the music get inside and move you. That’s what this series is about.

When this song comes on the radio, my daughter grins.

My feet start tapping as I turn up the volume, and yell, “Whip whip!” It’s impossible to sit still during this song!

My daughter has watched me begin writing less. She wants me to continue writing, but there has been a shift. Writing isn’t the forefront of my life today. I’m living life and taking time to jot it down.

There have been many changes this year and there will be more. I’m to a point where I just want to be used by God however He sees fit. He has used me a lot in life and I have done and been a lot of things, but He’s not done yet!

I don’t want to step gracefully through the pearly gates. I want to take a running start and slide through head first. To live each day and roll with what He lays in front of me.

To make God proud. I’m willing to do whatever it takes.

 

A Good Morning

I was standing at the counter of our local store, waiting to checkout. A more mature gentleman was standing behind me, and I turned around to wish him a ‘Good Morning.’ He asked, “Is it?”

I said, “Well, God woke me up to another day, so yes.” He looked at me and scoffed. Then said, “Oh, you must think you have it easy then.”

I was nice, and smiled at him with my most gleaming smile and said, “No Sir. There isn’t anything easy about that.”

treats

When people ask me what faith, or religion I am, I just say, “I love God. We have a fascinating relationship.” Then comes the awkward moment where they don’t know how to respond. I just want one person to exclaim, “SAME!!!”

It hasn’t happened yet, but that man made me ponder. Following God, and doing what He wants, is not easy. It’s much easier to ignore all signs He gives me, and just keep forging straight ahead.

God saves me from myself, and this world.  To follow our hearts and listen to that still small voice beckoning us to let go, and let God.

Use Your GPS

We have a fenced yard, and there has been a plastic bag blowing around it for a week. The wind blows it to a different location, and it sticks to the fence. Everytime my little dog goes outside, he sees it, and charges toward it barking his little head off. I may not know much about the direction of my life, but at least I know, that’s the same plastic bag!

I don’t have a good sense of direction. When I am planning to drive somewhere, the GPS gets plugged in. Even if I have driven there before, I will still turn it on, and click ‘recent destinations.’

path

I get distracted easily while writing this Blog. They start with something I believe God wants me to share, but then I get distracted by everything going on around me, and I lose it.

When we stop writing our story, WordPress saves it as a draft, kinda like God.

It’s unfinished, and we pause to reflect on where we are. We have an internal GPS that we need to follow. I will use the Tom Tom I had plugged in yesterday as an example.

 

It was cloudy yesterday, so my GPS didn’t have a clear signal. When it announced an upcoming direction to take, it started stuttering. I laughed, but that upcoming direction makes me stutter sometimes too.

I love the ‘rerouting’ capability of the GPS. My daughter and I were driving the other day, and while I was using the GPS, it wasn’t telling me where to go. I asked, “Why is it so quiet?” My daughter said, “Because you passed your the street, so she keeps rerouting.”

How many times have I passed by somewhere God wanted me to turn?

God is our GPS. Sometimes where He wants us to go, is uncharted territory, and it makes us stutter. My Tom Tom has gotten me lost before, by giving me wrong directions, but those times landed me right where I needed to me. Feeling lost doesn’t last.

If we continue not to listen, or stay distracted too long, God is always there. He just clicks, ‘Reroute.’