Category: Story

  • How do you define Joy?

    How do you define Joy?

    There are times in life when my heart and soul feel heavy. A heaviness that I can’t seem to shake. A heaviness that seems to take away my joy at times.

    I know that JOY is a choice. So, how do I choose joy when everything around seems anything but joyful?

    My youngest sister Sara, was confined to the four walls of her home the last 3 years of her life. In spite of all she experienced with her health, she chose joy.

    When asked how she defined joy, she came up with this definition:

    The unwavering trust that God knows what He is doing and has blessed me with an opportunity to be a part of it. Not despite what is happening in my life, but because of it. When everything earthly feels heavy, He gives me an internal lightness that can’t be touched.

    I’d like to break it apart together.

    The unwavering trust that God knows what He is doing…

    Unwavering – When something is unwavering, it is firm. It is unshakable. My trust, my confidence, faith and hope in God must be firm. It can’t be shaken. When life throws me lemons, I can make lemonade. I must be firm in my faith that God knows what He is doing. I must believe it and trust it.

     Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight. [Proverbs 3:5-6]

    …and has blessed me with with the opportunity to be part of it.

    The life I am living is a gift from God. It is a blessing. It is a set of circumstances that I can choose to see as a gift. I have a choice to see the circumstances in my life as a burden, or a blessing. I choose to focus on my circumstances as a gift whether positive or negative. This perspective allows me to see my life as an opportunity.

    Not despite what is happening in my life, but because of it.

    Despite is to see life as a blessing without the affect of what is happening in my life. Regardless of whether I am facing negative or positive in my life, I choose joy because of life itself. Because life is a gift.

    For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. [Psalm 139:13-14]

    When everything earthly feels heavy, He gives me an internal lightness that can’t be touched.

    My life is all about Him! It’s not about me. When I focus on God, I maintain a firm belief in His plan for me and my life. No matter my circumstances, I will find the joy that is down deep in my heart to stay.

    I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. [Galatians 2:20]

    Write out this definition of JOY. Put it in a place that is easy to access and read. Better yet, define what joy means to you!

    We are in a world that needs Him. God is love. He is always with us and never leaves us. He gives us that internal lightness that can’t be touched.

    With joy and love,

    Laura

  • Limited Visibility

    Limited Visibility

    Moments in time.

    One BIG learning I have had in my life is to be intentional in savoring the little every day moments. There are moments that may not seem a big deal at the time. But, they become a big deal when they are gone.

    I learned this very quickly after losing my dad and sister. I realized that the things I missed the most were the things that I deemed little. They were even irritating at times.

    An example for me were the “dad joke’s” we’ve all experienced. Those jokes that we roll our eyes at and laugh a bit out of respect. Well, I would give anything to hear one of dad’s jokes again!

    I had the joy of spending this past week with my 1 and 3 year old grandchildren. I quickly realized that I had forgotten what it was like to get very little sleep! I also forgot that any plans I make might as well be dismissed. The kids’ plans take precedence.

    I don’t know about you, but I catch myself when I am in one moment, wishing for another. Instead of savoring the moments I am blessed with, I waste them wanting something different. When I do that, I am not appreciating the blessings God is giving to me.

    Moments are just that. Moments. Once they happen, they are gone. The moment is gone, but the memory of that moment lasts a life time. I want to be intentional in savoring every moment I have with those I love. I want to make special and joy filled memories for those I love to treasure for a lifetime.

    My eyes, no matter how clear and focused on Christ, are cloudy compared to His.

    I can’t see the beauty God is creating beyond what is right in front of me. I can’t see how He takes something that seems fearful, sad, or unjust, and shines His light in and through to redeem it into beauty.

    I can’t see ahead into the unknown and I have to remember that none of it is unknown to Him. 

    My job is to savor my moments.

    In my limited vision, at the age of 66, dad was taken away too soon. I trust that God has the vision to see where true beauty lies. I have faith and hope that He takes those times of hurt and sadness and shines His light in and through them to redeem their beauty. I choose to look for the beauty.

    He has the perspective. We have the life we are given by our circumstances. And if we trust Him, really trust Him, I believe He will always make sure there is beauty beyond our limited vision.

    And I will always praise Him for that.

    I am grateful for savoring many of the moments I had with my dad. The trips with him in the semi. The rides on the tractor when he was in the field. The days I was able to follow him around the farm and learn many life lessons. The calls I would receive from him when he was in the field. There are so many memories I savor.

    I want to create those same treasured moments for my children and grandchildren. I want to continue to create those treasured moments for me.

    I savor those moments and realize now more than ever the importance of those moments in my life. It’s those moments that I can turn to and fill my heart with joy.

    Be intentional in savoring the little everyday moments!

    With love and joy,

    Laura

  • A Long Way From Your Heart

    A Long Way From Your Heart

    It is January and the temperature this week has been in the upper fifties! When that happens in Iowa, you must take advantage of it. So, I went on a walk and was praising God.

    For some reason, I started thinking about something my dad use to say. Whenever we would get hurt, he would try to make us feel better by looking at our hurt and saying:

    “You know what the good thing about this is, don’t you? It’s a long way from your heart.”

    Then he’d laugh while trying to get me to laugh and think about anything else but my hurt. As I’m sure many of you can relate, those dad sayings were frustrating at the time.

    Eventually, I understood his lesson behind the distraction. That no physical ailment could change my heart. That every hurt would pass and I would still be the same on the inside regardless of the outside.

    I’ve had opportunity to put that saying to the test in my adult life, and I’ve realized something about Dad’s theory…

    I realize that some hurts aren’t a long way from my heart. Some hurts reside there. But, they don’t have to change who I am inside.

    They don’t have to change my faith.

    Every lesson I learned before the hurt remains the same after.

    Nothing is different. God is the same. Love is the same.

    No matter how much my heart hurts.

    I get to choose my perspective. I get to choose between faith or fear; victory or victim; joy or despair; bitterness or hope. It is my choice and what I choose will decide the healing of my heart.

    Through the many hurts I have experienced, I have chosen to trust in Him. Trusting in Him, is an all or nothing decision. If I choose to trust Him, I can’t choose fear or bitterness. I can’t choose to be a victim or filled with despair.

    It’s an all or nothing decision.

    Going through divorce, cancer, and loss, didn’t change my choice to trust in Him. I know better, so I can’t pretend to be ignorant simply because my life was suddenly altered.

    Even in the hardest times, I trust that God has never changed. His grace surrounds me every moment of every day. He knows all, sees all, and understands all. I trust Him with everything. I can walk through this life aiming to fulfill what I realize I may never understand.

    This life may seem random to me, but it is not random to Him. And that is enough for me.

    It’s in Christ that we find out who we are and what we are living for. Long before we first heard of Christ and got our hopes up, he had his eye on us, had designs on us for glorious living, part of the overall purpose he is working out in everything and everyone. ~Ephesians 1:11 MSG

    I pray you know that you can make the choice for it to be enough for you too.

    With love and joy,

    Laura

  • Hiding Sonshine

    Hiding Sonshine

    My my son Thomas, now 31, was maybe seven at the time. His partner-in-crime and cousin, Alex, was about eight. And the third amigo? He was in his 50’s. And their grandpa.

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    Dad, Thomas and Alex

    It was Memorial Day weekend. We were all at a cemetery next to the small country church my mom attended as a child. We were placing flowers next to the headstones of loved ones who had gone to heaven before us. As with every year, we walked around the cemetery. We tried to remember who was related to whom. We also tried to recall how they were related to us.

    And off in the back corner huddled Dad with his two oldest grandsons. We could tell by the way Dad was standing. His hand gestures showed he was telling a big story. Believe me, those boys were paying close attention.

    Before too long, Thomas came running over to me, declaring, “Mom! You aren’t going to believe it! Grandpa used to hide sunshine in these stones!”

    We’d all heard the stories before. It didn’t take long to realize Grandpa had been telling inappropriate stories of his own youth. Stories to the youth whose ears were too young to be listening (according to me anyway).

    The intricate tale Dad wove was of long ago. It was a time when alcohol was outlawed. People made their own brews in bathtubs and bottled up liquor on the sly. He spoke of secret stashes and horse riding. He included anything else he could to make his true story a little more lively.

    Dad explained to these impressionable little lads that some of the headstones were hollow inside. He showed them the panels on the sides. These panels could be unscrewed. He told them about the times they would sneak into the graveyards. They hid their stashes of tub-brewed liquor inside the headstones of people who had long since left the earth.

    He told them of moonshine.

    Thomas told us of sunshine.

    And none of us corrected him as we all scolded Dad and knew it would do no good.

    My thoughts today are not of hiding the moonshine, but of hiding the “Sonshine.”

    In January of 2017, my journey with breast cancer began. I don’t talk about the journey much, and I’m not sure why. I’m not good sharing about me as I really don’t like attention. The memories are definitely hard, but by not sharing, I am hiding the “Sonshine.”

    By not sharing, I am hiding the opportunity to show you joy. The blessings that also comes from the difficulty. I am hiding the opportunity to disciple and share God’s goodness. Even in the most difficult times, He is good, all the time! He is the “Sonshine.”

    By not sharing, I am not providing the opportunity to let you know that I am here to listen. I can pray, comfort, or be whoever you need, for whatever you may be going through. Mine happened to be cancer. Whatever yours is, I would like to share the hope and joy that is still possible, even when life hurts.

    During the most difficult times in life, we may not always recognize the blessings. Burdens can make these blessings hard to see. It reminds me of the poem footprints.

    FOOTPRINTS

    One night I dreamed a dream.
    As I was walking along the beach with my Lord.
    Across the dark sky flashed scenes from my life.
    For each scene, I noticed two sets of footprints in the sand,
    One belonging to me and one to my Lord.

    After the last scene of my life flashed before me,
    I looked back at the footprints in the sand.
    I noticed that at many times along the path of my life,
    especially at the very lowest and saddest times,
    there was only one set of footprints.

    This really troubled me, so I asked the Lord about it.
    “Lord, you said once I decided to follow you,
    You’d walk with me all the way.
    But I noticed that during the saddest and most troublesome times of my life, there was only one set of footprints.
    I don’t understand why, when I needed You the most, You would leave me.”

    He whispered, “My precious child, I love you and will never leave you. Never, ever, during your trials and testings.
    When you saw only one set of footprints,
    It was then that I carried you.”

    During the hardest times in life, we must be intentional. Intentional in focusing on our blessings in the midst of the burden. We must be intentional because the blessings are often overshadowed by the burden.

    In 2017 it would’ve been easy to let the world pass me by. I thought that if everything was going to be taken from me, I might as well act like it.

    But my true intention in life is to be open to whatever God has in store for me. My biggest fear is that He has a purpose for me and if I’m not paying attention, I’ll miss it.

    So I pray for guidance and pray that I can be intentional in all things. Through my breast cancer journey, God has showed me an important role. I can fulfill the role of an encourager. I believe in people when they don’t believe in themselves. I believe in God’s plan when others lose their faith. I encourage and, hopefully, leave someone feeling better than when I found them.

    So, I pray that as you join me on this Choose Joy Adventure, you will be encouraged. Encouraged to seek out God in the blessings and the burdens. Trust Him even when He feels far away. Believe that He is not far away, but carrying you through it.

    The LORD himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged. ~Deuteronomy 31:8 (NIV)

    I pray the tales that we hushed dad from telling back then get told years down the road. That they will tell their own grandkids about their Grandpa Mike. How he weaved them stories of moonshine and filled their spirits with “Sonshine.”

    I’ll spread “Sonshine” to each of you. I will do this through stories of what I have gone through. These stories show how my relationship with God has deepened. This deepening happens when we choose to open ourselves up to Him and each other.

    With love and joy,

    Laura

  • Love in the Details

    Love in the Details

    Hello. My name is Laura and I am a Martha.

    Jesus and his disciples visit a village where Martha welcomes them into her home. Martha serves Jesus, but becomes distracted and asks Jesus to tell Mary to help her. Jesus responds, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and distracted by many things; there is need of only one thing. Mary has chosen the better part, which will not be taken away from her”.

    Luke 10:38-42( NIV)

    I have the spiritual gift of hospitality. I almost took my perspective of hospitality too far this Christmas. Which, is what makes me a Martha.

    Last week, I wrote a post on “Surrendering our Moments.” In the post I talked about moments when life isn’t showing up how I would like. This Christmas, I almost let my gift of hospitality lead to disappointment. Christmas Eve did not turn out as I initially envisioned.

    I love going with my family to the Christmas Eve church service. It has become our tradition. After the service, we would come home, share hors d’oeuvres, play games, and open one gift.

    Just as in years past, I spend days preparing the perfect Hors d’oeuvres. Everything from scratch of course! It would be cheating to buy something frozen or prepared by the store. At least that’s how my hospitality brain works.

    Christmas eve day, was spent getting everything set up. The tables looking perfect. With just the right decorations and placement of dishes. Lighting the house so it felt inviting and placing candles to show the perfect ambiance.

    Let me set the stage a little more for you. Christmas eve of the past was mostly adults. This year, I knew that Christmas eve would include my one and three year old grand kids. I planned for that as well.

    I made hors d’oeuvres that included homemade popcorn chicken as well as pull apart pigs in a blanket. I also pulled out the bible stories book from when my kids were little. We were going to read the Christmas story and it would all be just like a Hallmark movie.

    NOT!

    My daughter in law and her parents were involved in both Christmas eve services. This meant they wouldn’t get to the house until 7:30. So, I had to adjust a bit. The grand kids would be hungry and would be too tired by 7:30. So, I began heating up the food I knew they would like and feed them early.

    Needless to say, they didn’t want what was prepared. Made from scratch was not the food they were typically used to. Which I should’ve known since my own kids only liked Kraft mac and cheese. The kids wanted to play and were excited about all the activities of Christmas!

    I began feeling a bit overwhelmed.

    What I am proud to say, is that I showed up and shifted my perspective!

    I knew that how I perceived the moment would be my reality. I wanted my reality to be filled with joy, blessings, and wonderful memories.

    I let go of the perfect table setting and ambiance. I put all the food on the table and told everyone to just help themselves. I played with the grand kids and joined the conversation. We looked at pictures of past Christmas’ and reminisced on the joy filled memories.

    Now, I also didn’t throw the baby out with the bathwater, as the saying goes. I also saw the love in the details.

    Love was shown in the time I spent to make everything beautiful for the beautiful people I love. How I took joy in making everyone feel special. With just the right decorations and placement of dishes. Ensuring the lighting in the house was perfect, which made it feel inviting. Placing candles to create the perfect ambiance.

    The point wasn’t to show off my pretty things or to show people what I could do. But to show the affection I feel for each of those who showed up to celebrate Jesus with me.

    I shifted my perspective. My perspective wasn’t one of having everything perfect for them. My perspective was the joy I had for three days of preparation, showing the love I have for them.

    I opened my eyes to see the blessing in the midst of the rubble. He changed my heart. He created that desire in me to let go of what I perceived to be the perfect Christmas. He instead created a desire in me to see that I already had the perfect Christmas.

    I learned first hand what Jesus was saying to Martha. I also learned that it wasn’t about what I displayed for them. It was how I showed them love.

    I will always treasure the memories I shared this Christmas with those I love. The joy I experienced in the preparation and the love I felt this Christmas will stay with me forever.

    I pray your Christmas was filled with joy and love filled memories too.

    With love and joy,

    Laura