Change of Scenery

I remember noticing how my children, as infants, would always take a huge leap in development whenever we took them on a vacation.  There was something about experiencing new places and people that brought this about.  


We've just returned from such an excursion at a beach along the Chesapeake Bay.  I'd taken a book to read, but found I was so overwhelmed with all the new things to look at I did not want to bury my nose in a book!  Between the pleasing sights, soothing sounds of the waves, the feel of the constant cool breeze and the fragrances it brought I could not settle.  The first morning there I sat on the 3rd-story porch and watched the sunrise (Sound Effects):

There was a different view from every side of the house:

And activities different from our daily norm, like walking on the beach:

Kayaking:

Catching crabs in the estuary:

Exploring the shoreline:

Bicycling down country lanes:

And sitting around a campfire making smores:

I always come home from a vacation with a change of heart.  I see things differently and therefore think differently, too.  I know more of what I want out of life because I've discovered there is more to life than just my own little spot.  I may encounter different kinds of people new to me and have my prejudices squashed because I realize they are just like me at my core.   And there's always something about home I've missed and therefore appreciate more.  

God provides changes of scenery for us in other ways, too, to help us grow.  They are not always as pleasant as the weekend we just had.  I can look back on my life and see many unpleasant situations that helped me to see things differently.  I'm becoming so adept now at understanding how God works in my life, I often have to give myself a good talking to in order to remind myself I have a choice.  "Just do it" or else God will find a way to "encourage" me to change my mind about something I'm resisting....and depending on how pliable I am it will either be pleasant or not so pleasant. 

Father, thank you for the wonderful weekend with my family, for the memories created, the new things learned, and the discoveries made.  May I not waste any of it. 

Link to scripture:  James 1:2-4

Take action:  Chesapeake Bay Foundation

Losing Control Part II

"We turn to God for help when our foundation is shaking, only to recognize that it is God who is shaking it."  Charles Weston

This tree fell across our driveway several years ago after a violent storm.  It came out by its roots.  Here's the rest of it:

As you can see it was not a small tree.  


Alan Cohen says, "The purpose of change beyond our control is to shake us up so we must hasten in a new direction.  Upheaval is a gift of love.  When it comes, ask to see the blessing in what you're being forced to release, to make way for something new and better."  In the case of our tree it was a lot of hard work to cut it up and remove it, but it provided a winter's worth of firewood.  


It has been said that a miracle is a shift in perception.  I think a shift in one's thinking can be quite an upheaval.  In fact, for people to change their thinking once they've made up their minds about something IS a miracle.   Do we not depend on things to stay the same when it comes to our little worlds so we can be comfortable?  When Ken traveled for work he'd often come home to furniture rearranged.  He had to be careful not to stumble over something that wasn't there when he left.  


I'm beginning to realize that when I feel restless it's because I'm on the verge of some great change.  There's a stirring in the air that I must sense or something within my spirit that cues me in.  I used to be one of those people who feared change--unless I was in charge of it.  But I am waking up to the realization that surprises can be fun if I just change my perspective about them.  They can be like treasure hunts where clues are left along a trail to guide you to the bounty.  The search itself can be just as exciting as finding the treasure.


Father, thank you for helping me have a change of mind about the restlessness I feel so that I don't miss the joy in the journey.


Link to scripture:  James 1:2-4


Link to "Joy in the Journey" Michael Card

Imagine Part II

Alan Cohen tells about the time he asked the waitress if he could have the garlic toast like the people at the next table.  She explained that it came with their dinner.  He asked if he could have it as a side order.  She said she didn't think it'd ever been done before.  I love his reply:  "Then perhaps this is our opportunity to change history and create a new destiny."  He got his garlic toast.


What I love about his reply is that it stands up to every argument made that starts with "But we've never done it that way".  I'm forever looking for new and different ways to arrange my house.  This is my dining room at the moment:

But it has also looked like this:

Yes, that is an entirely different room!  Sometimes I switch the living room with the dining room and I'm constantly rearranging furniture within a room.  This satisfies my need to see things in a new and fresh way.  Even as a child I remember lying on the floor looking up at the ceiling and imagining the room upside down where in my imagination I walked on the ceiling and saw things from that perspective.  I always felt there had to be more to life than I was able to see at any given moment.


God has given us our imaginations in order to move us along.  Too often we become stagnate in our thinking which presents itself as non-action which in itself is an action--the choosing not to change the way things are done even if we know things aren't the way they should be.  


Father, help me to see that when things are rearranged in my life You are showing me there is a better way.


Link to scripture:  James 1:2