Facets of Faith

Conversations about life, faith, and friendship.

What Lessons Has Life Taught Me?

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What lessons has life taught me? Just a small question, small like the climbing of Mt Everest. Since we are always in the process of being transformed by the renewal of our mind (Romans 12:2), change is ever under way. Change means lessons learned always, if we’re listening, if we take heed.

Rather than become overwhelmed by the question, I thought I’d focus on one area of life. Still, it feels big, looming like the ocean when you set sail on a cruise and find yourself far from shore. Looking out, all you see upon the horizon is where water kisses sky, waves reaching upward. Vast. That’s how big marriage feels and the lessons God has, and is, using it to teach me.

IMAGE: Life Lessons, T Stella, teal

This month FACETS thought we’d approach the question in a timeline fashion: “Where I’ve been, where I am, and where I’m going”. Our hope and prayer is that God meets you as we share our hearts and what God is doing in our lives. We pray God uses our writing to help us and you remember where we were, but more importantly where we are going. With that in mind, back to my life lessons as it relates to marriage.

Where I’ve Been

At 28 I got married. I thought I waited long enough to know what I wanted, to know who I was. I thought I knew things, more things than I really did – especially when it came to marriage!

I thought I’d married my Prince Charming. The shoe seemed to fit perfectly. Glass slipper turned into shattered hearts, mine, and I imagine his too. But I’m getting ahead of myself.

We started off well enough. In love.  We thought that would keep us afloat. It didn’t. Sometimes, the water gets choppy and you need more than love, the way most people think of love. Marriage takes sacrificial love. It takes dying to self. It takes setting aside pride and seeking to understand. I knew none of these things.

I’d read a lot of Cinderella and virtually nothing of the Bible.

Neither my ex nor I knew the Lord, but we had each other. Us against the world. We eloped secretly to Jamaica and its sandy shores. Ocean, sky, salty air and us. We didn’t see the impending doom upon the horizon. It would take over a decade to implode.

So what happened?

How does love get lost?

How do things turn from ocean, sky and salty air to just, well, salty (before forgiveness sets in)?

For me, one of the reasons things turned so far off course had to do with fear. I feared marriages where fighting was part of the dynamic. I didn’t want volatility, so I avoided conflict like the plague. I didn’t want to argue, so often I would stuff things down. What I didn’t talk about wouldn’t become real, never mind when one little problem, upon one little problem, upon another isn’t dealt with in a healthy fashion.  Life can get sucked out of any love relationship.

If we’re not being real about what we want and need and how we feel, we’re not loved for who we are. We’re projecting what we want things to be or what we think the other person wants them to be─codependence at its finest─rather than what they really are, which ends up in shipwreck. After all, we’re made to be truly known, seen and loved. God gives us marriage as a picture (and tool) of His love for us. Man and woman, not to be separated once joined.  (Matthew 19:6)

It’s gut wrenching when they are ripped apart. I know. Perhaps you do too.

I denied any issues by not looking at them. I was too naïve sometimes. I was too afraid others. I was lost, in a big world and, like Christopher Columbus, had one version of how things should look and was wrong.

A marriage devoid of fighting isn’t necessarily good. Perhaps, a marriage devoid of fighting means people aren’t communicating enough.

Fear told me fighting was bad.  My faith now says, dealing with conflict in a healthy fashion with Jesus at the center is desirable.

I denied his problems. I denied mine. If I had it to do all over again, I’d deal with my junk. Junk leads to sin, shame and sorrow. Unhealthy people inflict pain. Those who get hurt most? The ones closest.

After a big wrestle with all that was wrong, my pride said “divorce him”. Others affirmed my choice. I had no Jesus. (He was there, I just didn’t know Him.) I obviously had no faith. I had nothing solid to stand on, and because the ship was sinking, I jumped off the side. I imagine the impact of a plane crash landing in the ocean. It hurt that much! Maybe more.

The pain didn’t set in right away. I was too busy running. I ran to Hawaii. I ran to the Caribbean. No matter where I ran to, I couldn’t outrun the pain of my broken heart. Who knew? I WAS invincible. I didn’t have the intellectual aptitude to deal with all the emotion threatening to take me away, like the tide carrying debris off the shore into the inky ocean.

There was danger lurking too. I encountered even worse relationships after my divorce. Wounded women are easy targets. I might as well have put a big bulls’ eye on my back.

And then I met a gentleman. He changed things dramatically!

Where I Am

How did I meet this gentleman? What was his name? What does our love story look like?

This Gentleman’s name is Jesus. He saved me! He saved me from harmful relationships. He saved me from harming myself to escape a sea of shame, sin, and pain. His love invaded and consumed me, and my life has never been the same.

His love reached into my heart and spoke all the words I’d longed to hear my whole life. I felt seen. I felt known. I felt understood – for the first time. Miraculously, my pride collapsed, and I knew I didn’t know everything (or pretty much anything). I didn’t need to. I knew, and know, the One who does.

He tenderly loved me back to life. I was limp, left for dead.  The enemy comes to kill, steal, and destroy (John 10:10). That almost happened. But God. The truest, most real, Prince Charming swept away His bride. His love left me breathless. It still does.

When we really let God’s love invade us, we are never the same. It’s His love that leads to life transforming change. It’s only when we deeply experience God’s love that we can convey love in a meaningful fashion to others.

If your relationships are amiss, explore whether you are fully abiding in God’s love.  In Jesus’ words:

“As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love.” ─John 15:9 NIV

If love relationships start to slip, go back to the above. Repeat until things are set right once again.

If we are unable to give and receive love to others, sit with God. Experience His love. Experience Him. Don’t move into a love relationship before you know as you know the love of God. It’s reckless. It’s consuming. It’s the sweetest, most precious gift He gives us. His love, it’s really beyond explanation. As much as I have experienced it, I desire to experience it more. Because when I do, I am a kinder, better version of me. His love helps us become the best version of ourselves.

God’s love gives us confidence. His grace and mercy tangible evidence of His love.

Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.─Hebrews 4:16 NIV

His love is perfect, and it casts out all fear.

There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love. ─1 John 4:18 NIV

What I’ve found about myself, and others for that matter, is when we react badly to each other, the real reason often is rooted in fear. We’re afraid of getting taken advantage of. We’re afraid of getting hurt. We’re afraid we won’t get what we want, or we won’t get our way. We’re afraid of – fill in the blank, because there is no shortage of things we can fear.

But God’s love casts out fear. God’s love gives us confidence. God’s love helps us to trust in His goodness, which leads us to trust others too.

Trusting God led me to first kneel at His altar, to humbly seek Him, and to listen to what He has to say. Certainly, I try to anyhow.  And even in those very early baby years of my Christian faith, I grew to know I could trust our sweet Jesus. Because of His love, I believed Him when He asked me to “trust Him”.

God asked me to “trust Him” to get married to my current husband Sam. As terrified as I was, God’s perfect love cast that fear aside in my heart. I was consumed with the truth that I did trust God and I would obey what felt like walking on a plank that could send me plunging into an inky abyss. I would never have taken the risk it takes to be vulnerable in marriage a second time had God not fostered in me first a loving, trusting relationship with Him.

Out of God’s perfect love that casts out ALL FEAR, I was able to love another human being again.

I met Sam at church, saved only 2 weeks before we met. Skittish and scared, I embarked upon dating my first Christian at age 40. A lot different than my other dating experiences, for sure. I remember being so afraid I was going to mess things all up. I remember not even wanting the relationship at times, not because Sam wasn’t good and kind, sweet and loving, but because of the aroma of fear that God kept fanning away.

I believe the enemy knew how strong Sam and I would be together, how through the love God gave us and poured into us and our marriage, we were going to be a hindrance to the kingdom of darkness. Guess what, marriages forged in the strength, power and love of Christ are a force to be reckoned with!

Make no mistake, the enemy LOVES to attack marriage. When things are going wonky, we always need to look for evidence of the crafty serpent slithering away. He doesn’t want love and relationships to exist. The enemy’s plans are to destroy, to rip apart what God joined together.

God’s plans are that no one separate what God has joined.

So they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let no one separate. ─Matthew 19:6 NIV

I pray God forges all of our marriages, current – or if you are single, future – in the strength, power and love of Christ. I pray God covers us and our marriages under His protective wing.

Communication is critical to healthy relationships. We can’t make assumptions. We need to clear the air. We need to convey how we feel.

Recently, I shared with my husband how I was feeling about a scenario. He is a kind and good man, but sometimes he doesn’t readily entertain what I’m saying. Like all of us, we can start to plead our case before hearing the other side. What’s different about this is that I don’t let that response silence me nor do I typically let it create World War III.

Sam will encourage me to “believe the best”. I try, but sometimes I question it (generally if my feelings have been hurt in some way).

I’ve learned to express myself, to appropriately “stand up” for myself with words something like this…

“No. It’s okay for me to express how I feel. I heard such and such when you said so and so.”

It’s important to ask questions and clarify what was said and the intention behind the words (or actions).

Sweeping my feelings under the rug is a lousy idea. It’s better to acknowledge them in a healthy fashion.

Admittedly, I don’t always understand them.  The best advice I have for myself and you is to seek God in those moments.  When we set pride aside and inquire of God about how we are feeling and why, He is faithful to share the root. I might not always get an instant answer, but He is faithful to reveal truth to me in a loving fashion. God’s heart is always to heal us, and He uses our marriages to do that. It’s part of the purpose of marriage.

I am blessed in my marriage, but it’s because we have Christ at the center. Beyond that, keeping communication open and being intentional about spending time with one another, investing in our marriage helps us to stay the course.

I am not naïve enough to think that a healthy marriage will be a guaranteed outcome without additional investment on both our part. What we don’t pay attention to withers. We need to be intentional with each other. We can’t take each other or our love for granted.

Where I’m Going

In my case, I feel like the above should read “Where We’re Going”.

Recently, Sam and I were asked to help launch a marriage ministry at our church. The first study we plan to do is called The Meaning of Marriage. I don’t know how God will use that study in our marriage and in the marriages of those He calls to it, but I DO trust God will show up in the midst of it all.

We don’t have all the answers to the meaning of marriage. We don’t have a perfect marriage, but we have one vulnerable enough to share with others the lessons God has taught and is teaching us along the way.

We do know the One who possesses perfect love that casts out all fear.

If you live in the area, consider attending. It starts the end of October. And if you feel you have a solid, Christ-centered marriage and have a heart to help others see Christ at work in their marriage, we’d love to connect with you.

We are praying in advance for you and your marriages, even as we ask that those reading this pray for us, our marriage, and the marriages God is calling us to serve. In Jesus’ name.

Join the conversation here or on our Facebook page.

Signature Image: Tracy Stella

How Does Prayer Fuel Our Hope?

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Welcome, friends! This month FACETS of Faith is talking about one of my favorite spiritual topics─prayer. But before you get some picture of stuffy, formal displays, scrub that imagery from your brain. That’s not at all where God led me on this month’s writing journey. I can’t help but think God is going to bring people in need of hope to our posts this month. Know that you are getting prayed for by our team. We pray you have hope as an anchor that helps you hang on. We pray you have hope for today, tomorrow, and your future. We pray you have hope for  yourself, your family, and your friends. We pray that, even in hard seasons of life (and especially if you are in one RIGHT NOW) you are able to feel the love and hope of Christ alive in your heart.

My first house was a cute Cape Cod in a small lakefront community. I loved the place! Cute as a bug! (Ladybugs are cute, right?) Anyhow, it sat perched high on a hill overlooking the lake.  It was adorable. Fenced yard, a huge deck to take in all the water views, my first home a little slice of heaven. Except.

Except that one neighbor. You know the one (especially if you are familiar with unincorporated living). He never took care of a thing! His home sat disheveled as his lack of care and concern for his property diminished the value of everyone else’s. He was a nice guy. He just didn’t pay attention to what he had and how his lack of upkeep negatively impacted everyone else in the neighborhood.

Thankfully, I had a buffer. One home sandwiched between mine and the neighborhood eyesore. It got so bad at one point that my next door neighbors, the ones who took exemplary care of their yard, were forced to plant huge lilac bushes to block the sight of junk piling up in the backyard. Before long the neighbor whose property was diminishing returns for everyone else’s home values ran out of room in his back yard.

His neglect was smack dab in the front yard for all the world to see.

His boat and trailer sat front and center for years. Not sure how many. Enough to start growing weeds inside. Not quite the flowerbed you’d see on HGTV giving that home curb appeal.  Nope!  More like, more clutter and visual chaos than the eye can easily consume. His grime-covered boat with wild flowers (aka weeds) growing out of it sat so long on his driveway that it sank into the asphalt and would one day require a tow truck with a lot of torque to remove it once the “red tag committee” got involved.

That boat and trailer sat. Years. No love. No care. No fuel. Only neglect.

We can be like that sometimes.

We can have a shiny, new boat sitting in our driveway. However, without taking care of it, the boat loses its luster. Without adding fuel, we go nowhere. Fast. We need fuel to get where we’re going. How can we get anywhere on empty? Over time, without fuel our boat and trailer sink into the inky asphalt. Tires go flat, melting in the warm sun, becoming one with the driveway. Before we know it, there are well-worn ruts from the weight of the boat. Sinking. Sinking. A slow sink, unseen to the naked eye on day one, day two, day twenty. But before long, people begin to notice, even if we don’t.

“I wonder what’s going on at the neighbor’s house. Things are looking pretty shabby over there.”

Condemned houses don’t start out that way. Somewhere along the way someone just stopped caring. Perhaps, the people living inside lost hope. Life can get hard. Sometimes when life gets hard we curl into a ball, hide inside our houses, and don’t come out much. We think staying inside where the world can’t see us, and we can’t see it, will somehow make our situation better. But it doesn’t. It get’s harder. Lonelier. More isolated. Right where the devil wants us. He may even fertilize our futility.

“You don’t need them anyhow. You’re better off by yourself. No one will hurt you ever again. Just stay right here, locked in this cage that you think is freedom. Keep thinking that way.”

Weeds grow up entangling our hearts in hopelessness.

Heartbreaking to watch. We all need someone! All of us! We try to hide, but we can’t really. People eventually see what we think is a secret. People notice our neglect. The weeds that people once thought might be wild flowers are seen for what they are. Weeds.

One weed turns to two turns to ten. Condemned. Because, again, that’s right where the devil wants us.

But it doesn’t have to be that way. Through sadness and despair we can see hope peering through the far off distance if we squint our eyes and look through the haze of hard things. Like a star to the naked eye. We know it’s there, fuzzy, distant, but it’s not false. It really does exist.

Hope really does exist!

I’ve seen people hide under a blanket of futility. It’s hard to watch. So hard! As I see them sinking, I want to impart every ounce of wisdom-infused, hope-filled message God has ever delivered to me. He’s certainly pulled me out of several ruts I was sinking into over my lifetime. I want to say, “See? Look where I’m standing! I didn’t think it was possible. Hang on! Have hope! Keep going! You’ll get there!”

God’s love, grace and mercy infuse hope. Like an IV drip, He gives much-needed nourishment.

How, you ask?

How did He give me hope?

Prayer.

How does He give me hope?

Prayer.

Whether for me or for someone I care for, prayer gives me hope.  It helps me hang on.

I’ve grown to love prayer so much! It’s my lifeline. It also helps me to be a lifeline for others, not in some unhealthy, co-dependent way. Rather, healthy helping.

When I’m praying, God will put someone on my heart (basically bring them to my mind), so I know that’s who He wants me to pray for that day. Often, I’ll quietly ask in my head, “How should I pray?” And then I get a sense of what God wants me to pray for that person and the situation they’re in. You see, I used to want to fix it for people, to solve all the world’s problems and to wear the weight of that all by myself. (Even before I was a believer, I wanted to help people.) But helping people in dire need of hope is just flat-out too hard, too much to carry without Christ. We can’t! We can’t fix the world. We can’t even fix our own little world, the one that sometimes turns upside down in each of our lives.

Nope.

But we don’t have to. It’s not how God designed things.

He desires to help us! He desires to give us hope!

How do I know?

Time and time again He’s demonstrated it to me. All along He was, I just didn’t hear Him in my younger days. I tuned Him out. Tone deaf. But once I started having conversations with Him, for that’s what prayer is, a conversation with God, I have been astounded at how much He has to say about me, about life, about big things and little.

I’ve been blown away at His sweetness, His sensitivity to me and my heart. And He’s helped me to not only hang onto hope for myself, but for others. I’d venture to say that’s almost harder.  Hope for others.  You see, I know what’s in my brain. I know where I’ve been and I have a sense of my own struggles (even if I don’t always fully understand them). With others I pray for, I can’t see inside their heads. I don’t REALLY know what’s in their heart.  People can be a mystery. People can be misunderstood.

But with prayer, I hear things on their behalf. God can (and does) reassure me. He helps me have hope for others who don’t have it for themselves. Through prayer, God will help me to know what’s next, not every step to get to the final destination, but what’s next.

Without prayer which fosters a deep, intimate relationship with Christ, how do we not give in to the futility the enemy wants to shackle us in? “Sink lower, deeper. Deeper still. And let your lack of care and concern start to contaminate everyone around you.” We know darned well the enemy wants to wreak havoc in every relationship. It’s his specialty, and one of the areas he is at his sneakiest, twisting and distorting truth to hinder any sense of healthy relationships with others.

Prayer gives us hope in those scenarios too.

Changing of hearts doesn’t happen through what I say or even what I do. God may give me an assignment in a situation, but the miracle-working power of transformation only happens when someone allows God to change their heart. Our prayers are spiritual fuel to change hearts. My energy is best spent praying on others’ behalf.

Prayer is also our spiritual buffer, protecting us from absorbing other people’s problems in an unhealthy fashion. Prayer is for our protection, so we can help without hurting others or ourselves in the process.

Something that gives me unbelievable hope is how I’ve seen God answer my prayers. Countless answers. I trust Him. I trust He hears me. I trust He loves me. And I hope you do too. Better than that, I pray you do!

And remember what can happen in unincorporated areas. Weeds grow. Sinking into ruts. Condemned. Instead, let Christ live in your heart.

Join the conversation here or on our Facebook page.

If you would like Christ to live in your heart, pray this prayer.

Jesus, I don’t really understand all that it means to let You live in my heart, but I do know I need Your help! I need Your hope! So I surrender my heart and my life to You. I will grow to know You over time, and I thank You that You will help me to learn how to hear Your voice. Show me through prayer and through others how to experience You, Your love for me, and Your love for others. Help me to follow You forever and to embrace all that You have to show me, to teach me, and to heal within me. Instead of sinking deep in despair, help me to sink deep in Your love! Thank You for your gentleness. I pray You show me how gentle and loving You are, like nothing I’ve ever experienced before. Thank You, Jesus, for living in my heart from this day forward, forever and ever. In Jesus’ name, amen!

Signature Image: Tracy Stella

What do you do for fun?

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Welcome to Facets of Faith. This month we want you to dive deep with us into fun. Our prayer is you take time to explore what fun looks like to you. We hope you’re inspired to try one or two of the things we love. Look for Jennifer’s and Kim’s posts later this month to get a few more ideas to help you find your fun.

What Do You Do for Fun? (T. Stella)

Feel that? It’s sunshine warming after winter’s thaw. I (Tracy) turn my face toward the sky like a flower in search of photosynthesis-producing rays. I want to soak it all in, like life.  There’s much to see. There’s much to feel. There’s much to experience. If we are going to encounter difficulty, and we will, it’s imperative we are intentional about finding fun. We all need joy. We all need laughter. We all need those things which are good for our soul.

Toes touching sand cooled by the ocean’s waves and the smell of sea salt air to fill our lungs.  Stress strips away as frothy water laps on shore before it retreats into the ocean.  The beach has always been one of my happy places that fills my soul. At one point in life, I wanted to quit my job and operate a catamaran in the Caribbean, transporting tourists to interesting destinations. (It’s true.) I think the only thing that stopped me was knowing I needed to be responsible for my son’s sake. My previously impulsive nature harnessed, because I had someone who needed more stability and structure than that lifestyle would have allowed.

That desire does speak to a part of me which hasn’t changed even though decades have elapsed since then: it’s my spirit of adventure. Adventure is what intrigued me about the idea of running a catamaran tour in the turquoise waters with palm trees waving me toward the islands. Imagine the people I’d meet. Imagine the sights I’d see. Imagine the pace at which I’d live life – not go, go, go. Rather, go a little and enjoy life while you’re getting to where you’re going.

I do a lot more of that now. I’ll run fast and hard sometimes, but I’ll feel the need to slow down and have fun. When I feel the need, I give myself permission to have fun. Take a break.

In various seasons of life I’ve even scheduled fun into my calendar (which doesn’t sound all that fun when you like to be spontaneous like I do, BUT it’s better than the alternative of not getting in some good times while we’re going). Sometimes, we need to be intentional with our fun finding.

My idea of fun looks different that it used to in many ways. God continues to align my heart with His, purifying my desires. It’s true what Scripture says: God gives us the desires of our heart. (See Psalm 37:4) Not every wish and dream and fancy. More like, “Let me show you something I know you will love.” He puts a pure desire in our heart and then shows us how good it can be and how very much it will bless us. God is generous in His goodness. If you don’t know that already, I pray you get to know Him─really get to know Him─and His goodness.

Yes, we are to honor God. We are to worship Him. We are to do what is right and holy and good in His eyes. But what if we ARE honoring Him and worshipping Him by enjoying the good gifts He gives us. I suggest to you that is exactly the case. Having fun is a form of worship. The Lord loves to see us delight in the good gifts He gives. When we enjoy Him, His presence, and His gifts we are giving back to God.

Every time we say, “Thank You, Lord, for Your goodness”, we show Him that we don’t take Him or His gifts for granted.

What do we really have to give God that He hasn’t already given us first? Not money. It’s His in the first place. Not love. We only love because He first loved us. (See 1 John 4:19) I am not suggesting we don’t give God our money or that we don’t give God our love. Of course, we do! I’m just saying we only are ABLE to give them because He gave them to us first.

We can, however, express our heartfelt gratitude to Him for His goodness.  We can give Him that gift. When He’s generous with us, we should thank Him. And when we’re looking and paying attention, we’ll notice how lavish His generosity is in our lives. That certainly has been my experience.

On your feet now─applaud God!

   Bring a gift of laughter,

   sing yourselves into his presence.

 Know this: God is God, and God, God.

   He made us. We didn’t make him.

   We’re his people, his well-tended sheep.

 Enter with the password: “Thank you!”

   Make yourselves at home, talking praise.

   Thank him. Worship him.

 For God is sheer beauty,

   all-generous in love,

   loyal always and ever.

 ─Psalm 100 The Message

When I’m having fun, you’ll hear me laugh (perhaps from miles away … my laugh is pretty loud!).  Our laughter is a gift to God. We can wrap it up in all its splendor and give it to Him as a gift for all His glorious goodness. He is so generous toward us; we should be generous to Him in return. Laugh. Laugh a lot! You will be giving your Father great joy.

We enter His presence with the password “Thank you!” I love that! We have a not-so-secret password to usher us into God’s presence. Thank You! In God’s presence is where we will find fun. He shines His light on the path He wants to lead us along. He is not a slave-driving task master. He’s a lavish, love-giving God who delights in sharing His goodness with us. And since He made us, He knows what will bless us. He knows that far better than even we know it ourselves.

My husband and I just returned from vacation. I like exploring, taking in fresh sights and experiencing new adventures. And if you even try to take me to a chain restaurant, especially on vacation, just ask my husband how much I’ll stubbornly stomp my feet in revolt! He now knows better than to suggest such an outlandish idea … if he wants to have an enjoyable vacation.  He’s learned a thing or two about his wife over the years.  (giggle) No chain restaurants will keep her happy. And happy is a good head start to having fun!

This year we did something new for vacation. We drove down to Branson, MO. Our primary objective was to take our motorcycles and go exploring down winding roads that would definitely qualify for “the road less travelled”.

Often, we were the only two on the road. For miles and miles.  At times, the road conditions were technical in nature.  That’ll get your adrenaline going! I can’t lie. At first, I was a little nervous rounding all the curves and navigating all the ups and downs of the terrain. Not knowing what’s ahead can be scary. True in life as well. But we keep going. We stretch. We grow. We go slow … until we can accelerate and our muscles ease as we relax into the unknown, open road.  It’s far easier to navigate the turns when we’re not tense. Every once in awhile there’s gravel to look out for, but as long as we see it and can make adjustments we’re still in for a fun-filled day without risking a crash.

My eyes absorbed nature’s hues as my engine hummed. I wished I could blink my eyes and take a snapshot of all the beautiful scenery as we went. Some of the views were absolutely spectacular and I was wishing for a way to help me remember them all. If I looked long and hard enough perhaps they’d permanently etch upon my mind.

God knows I love nature. And God knows I love new things. He knew I’d love this trip! But He needed to start preparation a year ahead. You see, I only learned how to ride a motorcycle last year. While we were on vacation, a Facebook timeline memory came up from the previous year of me learning to ride a small cycle in a church yard. I had just learned how to shift the bike into second gear. It felt exhilarating and a little terrifying, because I didn’t want to crash into anything. When I managed to successfully shift into 2nd gear, I shouted “I did it! I did it!” laughing all the while.

Because God had prepared me for our trip to Branson a year in advance with over 4,000 miles underneath my belt, I was able to settle into a new experience with Him and have a lot of fun while doing so.

Maybe your fun will require some advance preparation too.  Any future marathon runners out there?

While we traversed the Missouri roads together, I couldn’t quit thanking God for His goodness and for the beauty of His creation. There were a few times when I was so thrilled that I visualized myself doing a pirouette for God, twirling for Him in my imagination, a special thank You dance in my mind. I giggled at my silliness, but then I thought to myself, I bet you God rather likes that I am having so much fun with Him out on the open road.

I know it. I felt peace. I felt pleasure. I felt the desires of my heart being met out on the open road. And it felt good. It felt like a fun I didn’t know I needed until I got to experience it first-hand!

How has God shown you how to have fun with Him? What new desire is He growing in your heart? Commit to having fun with God. You have a summer assignment from me if you are up to the challenge. Go on at least one new adventure with God to explore a new way You can experience Him and encounter something fun You haven’t yet done.  I’d love to hear what you try and what you thought of the experience. Stretch out of your comfort zone.  And don’t forget to get to your feet and applaud God for His goodness at the new gifts He gives you. Thank Him as a form of worship -for His all-generous love and goodness!

Be blessed. Have fun. Life is short here on earth. Let’s enjoy it!

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Signature Image: Tracy Stella