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.

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?

California Dreaming????

So this one never got posted and there is some fun stuff in here...so I am posting it now.

After an unbelievably long flight, I arrived in my hotel on the "wrong" coast at around 2:00 am Atlanta time.  I slept for about 4 hours before my phone started it's insidious pinging with emails, text messages and phone calls.  I awake to the craziness, trying to brush the cobwebs from my head, and find a way to handle the "emergencies" of the morning and I then I attempted to go back to sleep.  California dreaming right???  No dice.  So I started working and by the time lunchtime had come and gone without me eating, I decided to take advantage of the rest of the afternoon.

I was a lonely adventurer who set out by boarding the public bus where I quickly determined that chivalry is most certainly dead and I recommitted myself to instilling that character trait deep down into the soul of my son.  I sat on the floor of the bus for an hour as it drifted down the highway towards the beach.  There were several things that spoke to me throughout the day of gratitude, thankfulness and the fact that sometimes it is ok to be lonely.  

I was somewhat overwhelmed by the panhandlers in the city.  They were everywhere and it was a constant reminder to me that if people do not have meaning in their life, that is exactly what they look like on the inside.  They can be unclean, disorganized, sometime frantic, and always unsure of the future.  During this trip, God spoke to me that I should always remember to find a way to be thankful for the fact that I have a purpose.  I am loved.  I know the creator of the universe is in my corner and I have nothing to fear.

I finally made it to the beach where I was able to enjoy the sensation of the sand between my toes, the sun on my face and the wind in my hair.

The majesty of the ocean is always a welcome sight to both my physical eyes as well as my spiritual ones. It refreshes my soul.  It awakens that sense that the more things get messed up in life, the more God is able to reset everything to look new again. Just like the footprints in the sand are washed away with the tide.  It is a fresh start.  It is restoration - and it heals me. 

As I sat there taking in the beauty around me and appreciating the differences of this coast vs. the right coast, I pondered the last few months of my chaotic mess and I came to a few conclusions:

• Kids these days are really quite spoiled - Some parents let them rule the home and do not set things in order to train them to be the well rounded functioning adults that we need to have running the next generation.  So I set it in my heart to seek God daily to help me raise my children remembering the gifts they are but also honoring the one who created them so they will know their place and purpose in this world and respect others.
• A $10 day pass on a public transportation system will provide an amazing adventure filled with smiles, tears, scenery and even a decent slice of pizza.
• It truly is good to be lonely every now and again and I am learning to embrace those times so I can lean in further to my Abba Daddy and remember that I may be lonely, but I am NEVER alone.
• And finally, I was reminded of a friend who has a knack for wandering around meeting new people and trying new things.  I rarely do that when I get the chance to travel and for the first time I think I know what it felt like to be Corey and I thoroughly enjoyed it!

Thank you Lord for the freedom to be adventurous, to do some "California Dreaming" and then to remember that it is really all about you.  Everything I do is because of you, and that makes me smile - especially when I am dreaming.