Tag: joy

Intentions

I intended to post these reflections last February 2022…apparently I never followed through.

Intentions are these things that hold me in place. Inner desires are these things that prompt me to pursue something that matters; inclinations that matter to me and possibly to others. I find that when my intentions are at odds with my inner desires I feel disjointed, restless, awkward…not at ease with myself or my surroundings. It feels hard to explain or put into words, but I feel an emptiness that can’t be filled, while at the same time I know in my deepest being that I am fulfilled and my desires are often met by my intentions.

When we travel in our boat, by necessity we walk to stores, restaurants, etc. After being immersed in a walking lifestyle last summer in Alaska, I came home wanting to see if I could walk to places I normally drive to in our neighborhood. Pure convenience of having a vehicle has kept me from this intention.

Today, I acted on my intention. I gathered some packages that needed to be mailed. I checked the map app, and it said the post office was 2.4 miles away and would take 53 minutes to walk there.

Two obstacles presented themselves immediately, the distance and the time to get there, which would be doubled in order to return home. The distance doesn’t bother me, I enjoy long walks. The time factor takes more to overcome because doing things quickly has driven my life for so long. Hurry up! Don’t be late! Don’t waste time or dawdle! You don’t have much time! I refute these “time bullies” by saying to myself…Yes, you do have time! What would you be doing if you “saved” time? Probably watching TV. What if I weren’t in a hurry?

So, I listened to myself, and set out for the post office, with the encouragement of also spending some time at a nearby coffee shop after I mailed the packages.

Surburbia was not designed for pedestrians. Not a revelatory insight, but one that I experienced first hand today. While I did have sidewalks most of the way, I did have to walk out of my way to get to safe crosswalks. Thankfully, there were crossing signals to navigate under the major highway that intersects our neighborhood. At the post office intersection which is directly diagonal from the coffee place, I couldn’t cross safely. I had to walk almost a 1/4 mile to get to the next crossing signal. At first I was frustrated, but then told myself that I just got more mileage in, which from an exercise point of view was good. I rewarded myself with a pumpkin muffin to enjoy with my medium latte.

The coffee shop is in the basement of a church. It’s simple, open and serves flavored coffees, teas and homemade baked goods. I enjoyed the ambience, and had a relaxing break for an hour or so before I headed back home. On the way to my destination the wind blustered in my face, on the way back the wind carried me home. I stopped occasionally for a sip of water or to pick up a stick or snap a photo with my phone. I was away from home from about 8am-12pm. Four hours to mail a package, ramble around the neighborhood, enjoy a coffee break and fuel my need to move.

My day started with a text from a friend, who asked this question: What creative joy will come into your life today? I think her question sparked my desire to act on my intention to walk to more places. Consequently my intention merged with my inner desire, and I met Creative Joy along the way.

So now I ask you, “What creative joy will come into your life today?”

Restore to me the joy of Your salvation,
And uphold me by Your generous Spirit. (Psalm 51:12 NKJV)

Posted on by kelrohlf 1

(re)plant: to plant again or anew

Consider it a sheer gift, friends, when tests and challenges come at you from all sides. You know that under pressure, your faith-life is forced into the open and shows its true colors. So don’t try to get out of anything prematurely. Let it do its work so you become mature and well-developed, not deficient in any way. (James 1:2-4 The Message)

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a little baby watermelon plant just replanted today!

My friend, Jeanie Kelley, provides us with some words to munch on over at her blog. Her real life struggles return us to the heart of the matter. Her tenactity to trust makes me think of gardening. We buy our baby plants at the nursery or in my case some wonderful friends gifted me with seedlings from their winter greenhouses. We replant them trusting the growing process to produce good fruit.

Jeanie does the same thing in her life when she faces trials; she replants her faith in our trustworthy God. Thanks for the encouragement, friend.

Click here and here to read what God has been planting in her life.

 

Posted on by kelrohlf 0

un(stoppable): incapable of being stopped

Consider him who endured from sinners such hostility against himself, so that you may not grow weary or fainthearted. (Hebrews 12:3 ESV)

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Unstoppable, Jesus set His face toward the steep hill. Step by excruciating step. Searing pain emanating from His back weighed down, under the burden of His cross. Carrying death on His raw, bleeding back, so we could rest easy. So we might not grow weary. He endured it all without regret, for us to embrace peace, experience joy and cling to hope in the face of our own versions of suffering.

Before Jesus offered Himself on the cross, before He died, He challenged the disciples to follow Him by denying themselves and taking up their cross daily. He was using this metaphor to foreshadow the way He would die.

Yet, I often wonder, what the disciples thought He meant. Why would He make a reference to taking up the cross, how morbid? That was how criminals died. They weren’t criminals.

Yet, haven’t we been robbing God since the beginning of time? Stealing His glory. Congratulating ourselves. Look at me! Look what I did!

All in vain, because the Father isn’t interested in our accomplishments, He wants our company. Jesus invites us to give up our self-effort. Then we will be unstoppable, just like Him!

 Then he told them what they could expect for themselves: “Anyone who intends to come with me has to let me lead. You’re not in the driver’s seat—I am. Don’t run from suffering; embrace it. Follow me and I’ll show you how. Self-help is no help at all. Self-sacrifice is the way, my way, to finding yourself, your true self. What good would it do to get everything you want and lose you, the real you? (Luke 9:23-25 The Message)

 

 

Posted on by kelrohlf 2

Thrilling Guest Thursday

Consider it wholly joyful, my brethren, whenever you are enveloped in or encounter trials of any sort or fall into various temptations. Be assured and understand that the trial and proving of your faith bring out endurance and steadfastness and patience. (James 1:2-3 AMP)

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Join us today over at Jeanie Kelley’s place…where she desires to Stop the Negativity.

How do you overcome negativity?

Posted on by kelrohlf 0

Christmas is Over?

Jesus, undeterred, went right ahead and gave his charge: “God authorized and commanded me to commission you: Go out and train everyone you meet, far and near, in this way of life, marking them by baptism in the threefold name: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Then instruct them in the practice of all I have commanded you. I’ll be with you as you do this, day after day after day, right up to the end of the age.”

(Matthew 28:18-20 The Message)

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This is one of my favorite photos from Christmas 2012. The wrapping paper announces the abundance of thought, love and expense that went into creating this special moment.

Yesterday, we were talking to my sister and her family in New Jersey, and she posed this question: “What I want to know is how we can do all the shopping and all the wrapping and then in 30 minutes it’s over?”

And we all laughed. And I tried to come up with some wisdom about the magic being in the wrapping and unwrapping of the presents.

And today the trimmings of Christmas still adorn our home, but the anticipation is gone. The gifts are tucked away for now. But Christmas is not over; it’s just beginning.

According to the liturgical calendar, Advent was ushered out with our festive feasting on Christmas day. And now we are in the season of Christmas, a time to reflect on the joy of His salvation.

In the past, I often fell into a funk on the second day of Christmas. But now I look forward to finding ways to keep the celebration alive. To devote time to thinking about the Christ Child and what the new year may bring.

I can give in to the despair of the winter doldrums or I can look for the potential and promise of new birth. I can receive the joy and happiness that God offers each day, if only I would attend to and anticipate it, like I do on Christmas morning.

In The Liturgical Year, Joan Chittister wrote a chapter about joy, subtitled “The Essence of It All.” The essence of the Christmas season is the joy found in relationship with God. I can contemplate who the newborn baby is and what His birth means in history and now.

Joan Chittister equates happiness with this “journey to the joy” that marks the entire liturgical year.

“Happiness does not require choice some of the time. Happiness requires choice all of the time. It requires learning to choose between what is real and what is fleeting, what is worthless and what is worthwhile. But that does not make the effort either impossible or unacceptable. It simply requires discrimination.”

When the winter blues come knocking on my door, and they will, I have choices. I can choose to invite them in and have a good old-fashioned pity party. Or I can send them on their way, and instead invite the Spirit of Christmas to infuse my life with the abundance of hope, peace, love and joy that He offers everyday! The presents may be long forgotten, but His Presence abides. And don’t dismiss the presents, they can be tangible reminders of His grace, as well as the relationships that exist between the giver and the receiver.

Merry Second Day of Christmas!

Posted on by kelrohlf 4