A Little Moment in Eternity

The Pebbles of Life

We have a new edition to the family! A beautiful baby boy! He is one of many that I have watched from within the womb through images, to watching them grow into adults. The moments cheering from the stand at the football games, track meets, band performances, and soooo much more. The milestones of graduation, driver’s license, first jobs, business dreams, marriages, and children. All the pebbles of life I get to appreciate when I think on the fact that at one time, it was just me in the womb waiting to enter this world..

The Valleys and The Mountains

Over this life, there are also the valleys and the mountains. All the lives that have passed on before me that left an imprint on my mind and sense of being. The wonderful insight they have shared by how they lived their life in the valley. How to overcome illness, financial hardship, bad relationships, grief, and lost love. I have heard it said, it is better to learn from other’s experience rather than learn on your own. But, I have found I learn best from my own failures.

To reach the mountain top, I must dig my feet into the crevices and get a foothold on the challenges ahead. I have stumbled on some uneven ground on the various paths that I thought were going to be an easy stroll. I have experienced twisted ankles, stubbed toes, and enduring hip pain on my quest to walk different trails, figuratively and literally.

The hour glass of time can seem to stream at different speeds. On a very good day, it pours rapidly from top to bottom. On a not so good day, it seems like I can count each grain of sand, that is not a pebble, but crushed rock that highlights my faults and my weakness.

But always in the shadows in this strong voice that reminds me, “Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up”. Galatians 6″9

Life may seem gloomy at times as if it were drip- drip- dripping at a very exhausting pace. Life is always worth living to see what good thing may be ahead. Like a new born waiting to take on the world and being there to witness more joy, more triumphs, some pain, some grief, more love.

So I press on in a new day to live boldly, abundantly, and with the confidence of God’s grace through Christ to appreciate all the moments that remain with me for eternity. And the joy that comes with the announcement- ” For unto us a child is born, unto us a child is given..” Isiah 9:6

Always grateful,

The Sticky Note Resurfaced- Splankna!

I am one to have a thought or hear a word and then write it on a sticky note. I have sticky notes throughout the house.

Today, I reached under my laptop and found a note with the word Splanka. Trying to recall when I captured this odd word was an unresolved memory process so I gave up and started my word search again. The AI Overview that came up first defined Splanka as a Greek word that means bowels or intestines. Yes, I have had a recent test but nothing along the line of my bowels or intestines. So, I am certain that’s not why I have this sticky note.

So, I looked for other definitions. Then the trusty internet gave me more Biblical references- In fact, it referred to words like tenderness and compassion. But then it expanded on the word by adding- “The word is synonymous with the hidden, emotional parts of a person.” Okay, now I am getting closer to why I have this word note.

In ancient Greece Splanka was used figuratively to describe deep emotions, such as anger, lust, compassion, and tenderness. The Greeks believed these emotions originated in the intestines. So, I was led to Philippians 2: 1-4 and Colossians 3:12.

Now, I remember why I have this odd word on a sticky note. It’s about those gut feelings I have when presented with something or someone new. It’s about managing the emotions and not reacting to all the noise in the world. It’s about all the hormones, endorphins, and chemical reactions that sit in the gut and filter out that Fight, Flight, Freeze response. There are times when it may feel like my guts are churning within me but it’s just the body doing what the body does- splanka.

Be it my resurfaced word for today- SPLANKA, or that peace that comes as I seek the Lord Jesus daily, let it be said, Be anxious for nothing. Lest I spill my guts all over the place.

Always grateful,

To See or Not to See. That is the question.

Well, I am still learning of the things that lay dormant in my body until such a time as- whenever. At my last vision exam, I went through the lengthy questionnaire of the family history and all the ills I should be aware of. The follow up question that usually follows is do you have any of these? My response- not that I’m aware of.

Well, after being examined with the most advanced technology at my practice, I found out I may have glaucoma in my future. One of those things that is waiting to show itself sometime in the future. According to the optometrist, it may be 5 years, 10 years, or more.

Well, as January 2025 comes to an end, I also discovered it is Glaucoma Month. Vision and all the experiences it brings is beautiful. Even the eye is a magnificent specimen of how wonderfully we have been created.

How all things look so differently when magnified beyond the naked eye is also a magnificent sight. Today, we welcomed another grandchild. A beautiful sight for my eyes and ready to be nurtured, learn and grow into someone ready to take on the world.

There is so much the eye sees at a quick glance. There is so much the eye sees when convoluted with the thoughts of past experience. The field of vision changes and our outlook on life may be hindered by the breakdown of the body, in the case of glaucoma, or breakdown of our mental capacity to see situations clearly.

Well, in my reading this week I am reminded that my field of vision is not predicated on the image of my past, my family history, or any self-doubt. It is predicated on the truth of God’s word. In Genesis 3:11 God asked the question, “who told you were naked”? I am grateful for the question asked by God because it is the light that opens my eyes to see my self and others as God sees.

Yet, in another conversation in1 Samuel 16:7, the LORD says “…people look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.”. Well, I am grateful for the creative people that put pen to paper and deliver lyrics for songs that remind me to see myself as the creator God sees me.

So, this is my song to sing today. Thank you Megan Woods for the lyrics to clearly see God’s truth in my mind, heart, and soul.

Thank you Lord, for new birth and your everlasting presence through the generations.

Always grateful,

Walking on an Intentional Path to Care for Others

Have you ever begun the day feeling a burden to get something done? That is me today. I woke up and listened to a teaching from Isaiah 15-17, titled Weep for Them. As I went about the day more news, more request for prayers, and more joy followed me.

These days come and go. The fires that rage in the world come in various forms. It may be in the workplace, in the home, in the community, and at times- in the church. The fires that burn in me and those that I care for can lay heavy on my the heart and mind. It is those moments when the stomach begins to churn, the tears make their way to my eyes, and my neck and shoulders become tense. And the question is presented- what can I do to extinguish the fire from within?

I must come to the LORD in prayer and seek his quietness, his peace, his wisdom and his direction. I must come out of my comfort zone and walk with intentional faith to be a disciple for Christ. I must use the skills and gifts I have been blessed with to walk along side others.

I am grateful to have others to walk along side me. There is a community of health ministers that stand ready to be there for others. It is a community of people that comes in various forms. They are nutritionist, musicians, artists, healthcare professionals, barbers, stay at home parents, lawyers, accountants, coaches, outreach works,health promoters and many others.

I am most grateful for the words in Isaiah 11:3. “and he will delight in the fear of the Lord. He will not judge what he sees with his eyes, or decide by what he hears with his ears…” I am grateful for a God that is just.

I am grateful for the gift, skills, and talents that have been given to me to walk alongside others with empathy. That I may see beyond the visible and listen beyond the words for God’s guidance in how to care for others. For if I walked by my own accord, my intentional path would wander off to some far off wilderness where I see and hear the faults and not the glory that is within everyone of us.

Lord, thank you for the peace you provide. Thank you for the prayers that come by the leading of your Holy Spirit. Thank you for showing me the intentional path you have laid out- ” To love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. The second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.'” Matthew 22:37-39

Always grateful,

Living Life in the Nakedness of Winter & the Beautiful Wardrobe of Spring. What do you prefer?

When asked, what is your favorite season, I always respond- Spring. It is the season of new growth, new bloom, and great appreciation for moving forward. But when I consider winter, it is a season of preparation and contemplation.

There was snow in my area this past week. A large snow fall is not typical in my region so I always hope for one big snow that changes the landscape of everything around me. I tracked the weather forecast with the experts, hoping one of the systems would be true. One forecast said 3.5 inches, another said 5 inches, and another predicted 9.5 inches. I went to bed with the anticipation of a child waking up on Christmas morning. I woke up to see the snow had fallen throughout the night. I went to the back window, as I do every morning, and saw the tracks of things that had wandered on the property and I wonder what made that trail.

But just a couple of days later, I wandered to the front and see how the sun shines and announces the grass that lays underneath waiting for spring. I see the tree standing strong and naked waiting to bloom into a beautiful wardrobe of pink petals.

I see my self in the contemplation of winter.I contemplate on the tracks I have left in other’s lives. Were may words edifying, were my actions meaningful, were my thoughts pure? Are my tracks of life leading me along a good path of understanding others or selfishly making my own way?

There is the beautiful restoration of spring. All those thoughts and worries that may seem like dreary episodes of melting snow is preparation for the new growth of a life living in full bloom.

This is why spring is my favorite season. I can look back at that tree that stood naked surrounded by melting snow, and know the seasons of life, when pruned, make me grow stronger. The tracks of my life may wander in different places, with different people, and in different pursuits, and bloom in every situation.

And when I am asked, what is a favorite scripture, I sometimes answer with Philippians 4:12-13. “I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do all through him who gives me strength.”

I am grateful for all the seasons. They each have a purpose for us to admire and appreciate.

Always grateful,