Waterways and Trees

I borrowed this from Kaiti's FB post after she finished reading South of Broad, by Pat Conroy. One of the best reads from last year - and I had forgotten how this passage spoke to me. We are salt waterways, but what kind of tree are we or do we need to be???

You can bury all the streams and creeks you want to, but salt waterways remember where they came from." "...the palmetto tree has more natural flexibility and can bend all the way to the ground and still survive, but an oak knows only how to stand firm against the amazing blasts of wind, and makes itself susceptible to the perils of uprooting." - Pat Conroy

Shifting Gears

This was in my email this morning. I love Holly's writing and wanted to share it. I need to learn to shift gears. I so feel like I am in a very different and new season of my life - for so many reasons. I know that many of you are in the very same place. New jobs, new ministries, new friends, sadness, new physical challenges, changes, dealing with our adult children, dealing with relationships, new life in your families - everything is changing so quickly. Last night I was able to spend time loving, eating, praying and laughing with some very dear friends. I was reminded me of how very precious this life is - and how quickly any of our circumstances and places in life can change. Today my prayers are with the Wilcox family as they walk through a very different season in their lives. I pray that God will place his power of healing on Kristin, and supply strength to each in her family. May we be there to help them shift to an easier gear. K Heart to Heart with Holley

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When you're looking for a little more joy... Posted: 11 Oct 2010 04:22 PM PDT This morning my husband and I set our for a bike ride. A brilliant blue sky hung above us and the first kiss of fall found its way onto our cheeks as we began to zig-zag down the trail. Biking hasn't always been easy for me (okay, never). I do enjoy it—especially on flat pavement. But we live in a hilly part of the country and every ride is full of ups and downs (anyone else feel a spiritual analogy coming on?). My husband is a great biker and my big break through came when he taught me how to use my gears. You see, I had been doing everything in the hardest gear. I was showing off, really. I thought if I could tackle the biggest, baddest hill in that gear then I must be good. But that's just silly. And I understood why when I learned you can make it easier to pedal just by a little flick of your fingers. Now my gear fits the terrain...I can adapt, shift, make the most of of where I am at the moment. And when I flip it into just the right gear and it feels a little bit like flying...I feel JOY. God has been given me some "gear lessons" in the rest of my life the last few months too. As on my mountain bike, I can be a bit intense. I think, "I'll just do it all in the hardest gear. That will prove what a good little Christian I am." Can anyone say "craziness"? Instead the One Who Loves Me is gently showing me how to shift, adapt, allow seasons of rest with seasons of pushing hard. It has changed everything for me. And when I flip my heart into just the right gear with Him and it feels a little bit like flying...I feel JOY. What helps you find a little more joy? by Holley Gerth