Study with Friends Blog

I like to think of myself as a Yes-girl. I’m flexible, willing to go with the flow, and small change doesn’t throw me for a loop. I can often say yes to last minute plans and go along for the ride. (Don’t get me wrong–as a mom of twins I now also thrive off of a routine and a schedule!) But I like to be the fun-loving gal who’s down for anything.

In my younger days, I took lessons in English horseback riding.  I will forever remember one of my instructor’s frequent sayings:  When on horseback, when the horse is doing everything right, “the hardest thing for the rider to do is NOTHING.” 

The amazing thing about walking on the beach is that fact that you leave your mark clearly behind. You can’t walk without leaving footprints. I tried. No matter how gently or carefully I tread, there was evidence of my presence to anyone who walked behind. The beach was covered in footprints – children jumping and skipping, adults with serious fitness goals, birds, dogs, and wanderers like myself.

In many churches, there is an element of worship called “passing the peace.” Those sitting nearby may shake your hand, speak a word of peace, share the peace sign, or (if you’re especially close) offer a kiss. The expression, “passing the peace,” conjures up images in my head of sprinkling a little peace on our friends, like we would shake salt or pepper onto our food. If only it were that easy! People would be lined up in grocery stores, scarfing up boxes of peace from the shelves, just in time for the holidays.

If Jesus came back today how would you react? Would you be prepared or would you be running around trying to gather oil or get your cleats on? Would you be like most trying to push it off to another day? 

This past Christmas, my sister gifted me a plain metal bracelet with two words stamped on it: trust GOD. I wear it practically every day and it has been a great at-a-glance reminder to do just that. I have walked some tough roads these past few years, trusting God even when life has been hard. I have trusted Him for healing and deliverance for myself and others and He has shown Himself strong.  Although I’ve grown in faith, there are still instances when I fail to trust Him completely. I too easily choose to ignore the deeper trust He is calling me to. 

There’s a Trisha Yearwood song from many years ago titled, The Song Remembers When. It’s a favorite of mine, as it talks about how connected music is to our life experiences. God created our amazing brains that attach memories to our senses.

It’s harvest time. We’re experiencing a very warm autumn here in Southeast PA. The leaves have finally started falling. The once green, full trees are now thinning and the landscape is starting to change. At about this time a few years ago I wrote my first blog for Study With Friends.

How often are we so distracted by the “extras” on the sandwich of our life that we forget the main thing?  I am a wife, a mother, a daughter, a sister, a neighbor, an office manager, a stranger to passers-by, and the list goes on.  Each of these roles brings its own set of responsibilities and expectations.

Jesus’ miraculous “Feeding of the 5000” is the only miracle recorded in all four gospels.  I guess it made an impression on a myriad of those who witnessed the miracle, as each gospel writer (or his historical interviewees) remembered the incident and had it included it in his version of the gospel.