"Whys" of Life

They're waiting for their adopted son to come home.  His homecoming has been delayed because of the inefficiency of two governments.  So. A U.S. senator tried to kickstart the process.  Even so, the little boy remains caught in the sludge of bureaucracy.   It doesn't make sense.  It's one of the things that I've added to my "why" list.

There are times the stuff of life doesn't make any sense.  The list of "whys" is long and challenging. BUT.   Despite our unanswered questions, God will make a way through the "whys" of life.  Throughout the years I've learned more about how to get through the "whys" including the time we waited for our son to come home during the adoption process:

• Completely trust God.  We will get through the "whys" when we trust God, even when something doesn't make sense. 

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, NIV). 

• Believe God is always at work. The "whys" produce the opportunity to look beyond our immediate circumstances, developing a perspective through God's promise to bring all things together to accomplish His plan, which has been set before time. 

And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose (Romans 8:28, NIV).

• Be strong.  There's unexplainable divine strength given to those who trust God.   The ancient Hebrew language explained the word, strength,  as the process of an army being equipped and prepared for battle.  So.  When we're armed with the strength of God, we're in an ongoing process of receiving what we need to win the battles of the day, even when we have more "whys" than answers. 

But those who trust in the Lord will find new strength.
      They will soar high on wings like eagles.
   They will run and not grow weary.
      They will walk and not faint (Isaiah 40:31, NLT).

God will make a way through each and every "why" of life.  Trust.  Believe. Be strong.

Learning to Kickstart the day with trust, belief, and strength in the midst of the "whys" of life.
Kerrie

(written by Kerrie Carlisle Palmer © 2011 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED)

Value

I've been engaged in discussions with people who have felt dismissed as they've aged.  There's often a disconnect between the young and the old when it comes to doing life together in our culture.  Years ago, I had a very heated discussion with a doctor about my grandmother, who had been hospitalized with several health issues.  When I asked him about the plan for her, he responded that there was not much left to do except to ask hospice in  and make her comfortable in the last few weeks of her life.  I had no idea she was at the end of life; however, he explained that there was nothing to do because she was old.  I was mad and responded, "Someday you will be old and sick.  I wonder if you will want people to give up helping you because you're old."

But.  My response was nothing like my grandmother's reaction.  She was furious, dismissed hospice, and lived six more years.  The doctor would be in his eighties now.  I wonder how he sees himself now.  Just saying.

The thing is . . . it seems the youthful spirit is often dismissed . . . because  of an aging body.
One individual told me to look at top photographer web sites.  I did.  The sites do not showcase anyone with wrinkles.  It's eye opening and worth thinking about our own responsibility when it comes to how we perceive aging.

And, when you come down to it all, how we perceive aging reveals how we see the gift of life.  God has something more for us to experience each day of our life.  We have a daily opportunity to powerfully be used by God in the most simple ways wherever we're at in life.  

Consider. 
 I will pour out my Spirit on all people.
Your sons and daughters will prophesy,
Your old men will dream dreams,
Your young men will see visions.
Even on your servants, both men and women,
I will pour out my Spirit in those days (Joel 2:28-29). 
And.
So he said to me, “This is the word of the LORD to Zerubbabel: ‘Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit,’ says the LORD Almighty (Zechariah 4:6, NIV).  

I love how the book of Joel tell us the Spirit will be poured out.  It creates a picture of a powerful connection between heaven and earth for all,  changing who we are and what we do as servants of God.  And.  Zechariah 4 makes it clear that we are not to measure ourselves or others by what we do on our own.  What really matters comes from the presence of the Spirit.  

Look at the true gift of life.
Determine your own value as well as others to be from God.
Receive the Spirit pouring out in the day.
Live through the Spirit . . . dream and see beyond the moment. . . empowered to be and do more than any could imagine in the most simple ways.

Learning to Kickstart the day as God pours the Spirit out.
Kerrie

(written by Kerrie Carlisle Palmer © 2011 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED)

Step Back

I don't want to minimize anything; however, sometimes we need to step back and take another look at life.  It seems to me that we need to look at all of life to be a good gift, including the difficult times of life.  Writing this statement makes me stop and underline the fact that I don't want or welcome hard times.  There are times when nothing feels easy, making it hard to put one foot in front of the other, painful to do what needs to be done, tiring to do the most simple tasks.  Even so, I've come to realize that life itself, regardless of what's faced, is a gift.

Turns out, no matter what, believing life is a gift, focusing on the Giver of life rather than on self, brings a new perspective and ability to manage what comes at us. 

In the ancient days, the people sang Psalm 92 on the Sabbath, the day they stepped back to focus on God, rather than on the stuff of life.  Consider:
For you make me glad by your deeds, LORD; 
   I sing for joy at what your hands have done (Psalm 92: 4, TNIV). 

When we step back from the pressure of the moment, taking notice of the presence and work of God, we're changed, released from thinking we need to control it all, freed from fear, able to move forward in faith, focused on God rather than the stuff we're facing.

We're renewed and refreshed, despite the challenges, when we step back and acknowledge God with the simple words of gratefulness from Psalm 92:4:  "You make me glad!" 

When we come to the place where we know God is present regardless of our circumstances does not remove the "whys" of life but gives us the perspective that regardless of how things are going, God is present, faithful, and will not leave us, which is reason enough to be glad rather than to move into a distressed state of being and missing the gift.

So.  I'm not saying the battles of life disappear when we step back to focus on God, but that our perspective changes, enabling us to face all things differently, trusting God to oversee the "whys" of the day, glad for the gift of His presence.

• Refuse to be driven by the circumstances of the day, acknowledge the Giver of the good gift of life. 
• Intentionally step back. 
• Focus on the gift of the day.
• Tell God, "You make me glad."

Learning to Kickstart the day stepping back to see the presence of God.
Kerrie

(written by Kerrie Carlisle Palmer © 2011 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED)

Time

I have this thing with keys.  I lose them.  All the time.  I don't pay attention to where I put them and then spend a ridiculous amount of time looking for them.  Friends and family know I have this problem.  So.  They go about doing their own thing while I'm frantically searching for my missing keys.  It happened again last night.  I'm not sure why I've let this bad habit continue for so long, wasting a good portion of time.  It's time to make a change.

There's no reason to waste any amount of time, which is a divine gift given to each one of us.   

The time of our life is to be lived well.  But, and this is a big but, we often are confused about our responsibility with the time we're given, thinking we've got to do everything.  It requires a change of thinking:

Time is not given to do it all but to do it well.  To live well, we must turn away from the mania of wasting life with things that don't matter, giving our time to what counts for the purpose of why we are living today.  

There's a process in changing some things in our life to intentionally say no to the things that waste time.

Consider: 
Put on your new nature, and be renewed as you learn to know your Creator and become like him (Colossians 3:10, NLT).

The verse is clear . . . we put on the nature of Christ, studying the way He used time on earth, intentionally changing what needs to be changed, with the goal to live like Him.  The word, "put," not only indicates an intentional action but a choice to do it.   To make a complete change we need to evaluate each area of our life, honestly determining what we've done with the gift of  time.   Change requires intentional action . . . removing what does not belong . . . purposefully putting on the nature of Christ, determined to make time count.

Live well.
Evaluate how your time has been used.
Determine how you waste time.
Change what needs to be changed to live like Christ.
Put on the nature of Christ.
Study the Bible, learn how Christ lived on earth.
Make each day count.

Learning to Kickstart the day determined to live well.
Kerrie

(written by Kerrie Carlisle Palmer © 2011 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED)

"Breathe."

"Breathe."
I often tell people to just breathe.  Their stress is obvious.  The thing is . . . the stuff of life collides with busyness and overbooked schedules . . .  which opens the door to stress invading life.  No one is immune to it, everyone needs room to breathe in order to experience the gift of the day.  But.  When we're not attentive to slowing down, to pacing ourselves, something will tip us over.  It's usually something that's not a big deal, something that's a part of the ordinary stuff of life, something that's nothing but becomes everything, pushing us past the limit of the manageable, leaving us breathless and questioning the point of it all.

So.  We need to breathe . . . to be aware of the presence . . . the power . . . and the peace of God.  It's a powerful moment when we let go, surrendering all of it, trusting God to be God, living in the midst of the miracle of the day rather than on the edge.  

Consider what Jeremiah wrote in the book of Lamentations, a story of high stress in the midst of devastation and hopelessness:

Yet this I call to mind
and therefore I have hope:
Because of the LORD's great love we are not consumed,
for his compassions never fail.
They are new every morning;
great is your faithfulness.
(Lamentations 3:19-21, NIV)

The Spirit has used these words, over and over in my life,  reminding me of God's all consuming love.

 I imagine Jeremiah to be speaking the words of Lamentations 3:19-21, loudly reminding the world to stop and breathe, to refuse to let the stuff of life to be all-consuming, to intentionally wake up each day to God's great love, to trust this great love to be fresh and new every morning.  These words capture the gift offered to us each day.  It makes me wonder how often I've wasted this gift on stuff that doesn't matter.  

So.

• Stop.  Stop right now. 
• Breathe.  Take another breath.
• Intentionally become aware of God's great love surrounding and invading you.
• Take note of the gift throughout the day.
• Tell God "thank-you" with enthusiasm and genuine gratefulness. 
• Celebrate the gift of each day.

Learning to Kickstart the day taking a breath,
Kerrie

(written by Kerrie Carlisle Palmer © 2011 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED)

Not Yet

Parents are waiting for governments to give the okay to come pick up their children and begin their life together. The wait seems long.  So.  We had a party for two of the babies, twins, who need their legal consent to be released to their waiting family.  Waiting for the "not yet" of life is a life-changing reality.

In some ways waiting feels like we're holding our breath until something happens as, if, life has paused.

Even so, waiting is a time of growth, a season of asking the "whys" and "what" of life when we realize we're not in control of the world around us, when we struggle with what we want and what might be, when we beg God to work circumstances out, when we want more in the "not yet " than what we see in the "now," a time to decide whether or not we will trust God.

Consider:
But those who wait on the LORD
Shall renew their strength;
They shall mount up with wings like eagles,
They shall run and not be weary,
They shall walk and not faint.
(Isaiah 40:31, NKJ)

Look at the picture Isaiah depicts when we wait.  It's a picture of movement towards God, believing what Jesus said, "With God, all things are possible (Matthew 19:26)."

To live well in seasons of waiting, we must seek God first, surrendering what we want and when we want it, trusting God to be God in the "not yet" of life, receiving supernatural infusing strength and power to manage it all, believing all things are possible.

So.
Wait on God, renewing your strength to mount up above the stuff of life with wings like eagles, running without weariness, walking without becoming faint.

Learning to Kickstart the day trusting God for the "not yet" of life,
Kerrie

(written by Kerrie Carlisle Palmer © 2011 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED)

To-Do

I'm a list maker.  I love to make a to-do-list and to check it off.  Even so.  A list is a list.  There's always something to do, there will always be more tasks to do than time to get it all done; however, the gift of the day will be missed when our priority is checking off the list.

We need to know what's ours to do and what is not.  And.  I've learned, especially in the last few months, to enjoy the process of doing what's mine to do. 

Of course, doing too much is nothing new.  It was an issue for Moses in the ancient days.  Consider what Jethro, his father-in-law, told him:
You’re going to wear yourself out—and the people, too. This job is too heavy a burden for you to handle all by yourself. Now listen to me, and let me give you a word of advice, and may God be with you. You should continue to be the people’s representative before God, bringing their disputes to him. (Exodus 18:18-19, NLT)

Moses needed to make a change in his life.  He had become burdened by the doing, unable to see beyond the tasks.  When we focus on the to-do-list we'll eventually experience stress, feeling overwhelmed.  In other words, we become enslaved by what needs to be done, weighed down by it all.  So. It's imperative to seek God first, asking for wisdom and direction, letting go of what's not necessary to do.
Experience the gift of the day, refusing to miss it. ~Change the way you see what needs to be done. ~Lay down the burden of doing. ~Ask God what's yours to-do and what's not yours to-do today. ~Enjoy the process of doing what you're given to-do.

Learning to Kickstart the day freed from the burden of doing.
Kerrie

(written by Kerrie Carlisle Palmer © 2011 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED)