WHEE or WHOA?

Our family spent quality time in the ocean this summer with every day filled with playing, laughing, swimming, paddling and generally just hanging out in the ocean waves. 

There were many firsts that week:

• The first time my kids found live sand dollars by the thousands
• The first time my husband rode a paddle board
• The first time my kids saw a manatee swimming in the ocean next to them
• The first time one of them had ridden a jet ski
• The first time they kayaked in the intercoastal waterway
• The first time my car held two paddle boards and a kayak as I drove over the intercoastal waterway with the hatchback open - making the drawbridge operators smile every time I went by!

It was a great week.  But the most common word heard that week was this:  WHHHHHEEEEEEEE! The word was expressed out of pure joy.  The fun feeling of riding the waves as you bob up and down in the water and it made the rest of us smile as there was nothing but exhilaration found in the sound.

It was heard every time one of us floated on or over a wave.  We laughed about it too.  There were four of us in the ocean, and every few seconds you would hear one of us loudly exclaim - WHHHHHHEEEEEEE!

And it got me thinking as I watched this storm roll in...

Where does the threshold exist that the WHEE becomes WHOA and I get scared and forget to enjoy the ride?  

When does the wave transition from joy-filled to fear-filled?

When do I stop looking at the horizon and seeing the beauty and instead turn all my attention to the waves themselves and question my sanity for wanting to "play" in them.  

Storms change your perspective of the simple wave.  The wind, the clouds, the sights and sounds of the storm cause you to rethink the fact that these waves are still just waves.  

When Jesus was asleep in the boat - FILLED WITH PEACE - and the disciples - LIKE US - were freaking out over the storm...Jesus simply rebuked the wind, but only spoke to the waves.  

The waves in our lives are not the problem.  They are a symptom of the wind.  So when you are riding the waves of life and you find yourself saying WHOA - not WHEE - ask God if the wind is blowing because He is breathing something new over you or if you need to rebuke the wind and watch the waves settle back down. 

I bet He will tell you which and then you can rest in the peace that He is sovereign.

Words mean things

As a marketing professional the phrase "words mean things" permeates my world.  

Many phrases linger in my head as I perform my daily tasks, but none is truer than "words mean things".  Power is released through words.  Words have a specific meaning.  Words leave an impression.  Words are transformational.  Just ask any kid who was hurt by a mean girl or lifted up through a sincere compliment delivered in their dark moment. 

Carefully selecting the right word at the right moment is not only magical in marketing it can provide life to those who need it - or curse with death.

From the beginning, it was the spoken word that created every single thing we see today.  God said - and it happened.  His words sparked the very existance of a variety of wonderful, mysterious and amazing creatures as well as the immense natural beauty that surrounds us. Sunrises, sunsets, waterfalls, oceans, stars, forests, rivers - all came to be because words were spoken.

Today's words from THE WORD are a reminder to me to "push through" to perseverance and do it with joy.  Trials are only trumped when you push through the darkness. And God is truly glorified if you push through with joy.

James tells us to "Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything."

Joy in trials...come on now...who does that???

Well in Hebrews 12:1-3 we see that as we become more like Jesus, WE CAN DO THAT!

"And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart."

Three words stuck out in both of these passages, consider, joy and perseverance. If we CONSIDER what Jesus endured, we can CONSIDER it JOY- pure joy - when we experience any trial - because that trial, when pushed through, will eventually be trumped and develop the PERSEVERANCE we need and keep us from growing weary and losing heart.  

This world is troubling.  You will have trials.  You will fall.  You might fail.  People will disappoint. Jobs will end.  BUT GOD...my two favorite words have the best meaning of all!  If God be for me, who can be against me and if He works all things together for my good, then no matter the challenge, trial, or disappointment I face in this life, God trumps it. 

How can I not push through to perseverance with pure joy? 

His words say I can. 

And His words mean even more than mine! They are magical and majestic full of consideration, perseverance and joy.

Where do you hang your hat?

Since I am in between seasons in EVERY area of my life at the moment - this phrase hit me hard - right between the eyes. Where do you hang your hat Sherry?  

So often we think in terms of where you live - your house, apartment, the place you go at the end of the day and call "home".

But in this world, so often we spend more time where we work than where we live - well that was until 2020 came crashing into our lives and work and home intertwined in a way like never before - and what we used to call "working from home", quite literally became "living at work".  

I am living through an in between like no other.  I have had many in betweens in this crazy messed up life and they are all rather uncomfortable because lets face it - we all want to control the uncontrollable. But when things happen to us and we feel like we are losing control, sometimes the very best thing to do is to remember that you are not falling apart, but that God is doing a new thing and you just need to surrender.

I need a new place to hang my hat in almost every area of my life, so instead of trying to control it all and bend this world to my will, I want to change my perspective and live a life that shows that I understand that where I hang my hat is the dwelling place that scripture speaks of - the refuge, shelter and sense of belonging and home that can only be found in my heavenly Father.  

"Dwelling" or "Dwelling Place"...the writers of Psalms use it several times to describe the God of the universe.  They remind us that God is our dwelling place, our refuge, the true origination of the "feeling at home".  

How can one so magnificent, so vast and expansive, so holy and so pure be a safe place, a dwelling place, a refuge - a place to hang my dirty, sinful, stained, wrinkled and wretched hat?  

Because He loves me.  He loves me like no other.  He bought this dirty, sinful, stained, wrinkled and wretched hat.  He has a plan for me.  He knows my every need and desire of my heart.  He knows what I was designed to do.  He knows my pain.  He knows my fears.  He knows my insecurity. He knows my joys.  He knows my struggles.  He knows my shortcomings.  He knows my strengths.  He knows it all - and yet - He chose me.  He loves me.  

I needed a reminder that my identity is in WHOSE I am not WHAT I am or what I can DO - or even where I hang my hat - as long as I chose to hang it where He is - my dwelling place.  

Maybe you needed to hear those words today too.  Everything I just said for me is true for you too.  No matter your circumstances, your choices, your successes and your failures, He knows it all and still loves you too.  He wants to be the place where you hang your hat every day.  He wants to show you all that He has for you.  

Will you let Him show you your real worth, His real plan for you and the beauty in surrendering to the God of the universe as your hat rack?