Month: September 2017

It’s been a few weeks since I have done a blog post. Life for us has been somewhat on a roll lately. Between helping my son and daughter in law move TWICE in 3 weeks time (long story), having friends and family in for Labor Day weekend, finishing up a few weekend projects, launching our bible study, my body was really beginning to feel things building up last week and I knew that my weary bones as well as my weary soul was in need of some serious REST.  I have tried to do some of just that this weekend and for about the last 24 hours I have stared at this computer screen off and on thinking: What do I write about?  What do I want to say?  Does anybody care? Does it matter if they don’t care? Why did I start this in the first place?  So what if I never write another single thing would it matter at all?

 

Well I know the answer to that last question is a big old emphatic NO!  It would not matter a hill of beans if I never sat down to this computer to write another word out to anyone except ~ to me. And I’m not even sure why it would matter to me except that writing it out somehow helps me to process it. Whatever “it” is that is going around in my head and my heart. I know that when I write, I somehow feel more grounded in my thinking.

 

When I feel God speaking to me, whether it be about leading me to do something or comforting me in things that are troubling me, it always seems to come in themes.  The Bible Study that my group is working on right now, pointed out that God’s voice when He is wanting us to “get” something will always be persistent and consistent.  I have found that to be very true.  When we were praying about the Bible Study and if it was to be, God was consistently and persistently wooing us to do it. He gave me a theme verse and it seemed that everywhere I turned that verse would be there.

Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly, abundantly above all that we can ever ask or think by the power of his name. Ephesians 3:20 

Everywhere I turned that verse would be there.  Whether it was in a devotional or a sermon that was preached or bible study or just someone quoting it to me it was always there.  Don’t get me wrong, I know that that is a pretty popular verse and I am sure it is there all the time.  But for the first time, every time I heard it, it would burn in my heart.  It was like even though I was hearing it over and over and I knew that I had heard it many times before, it was like I had never heard it before.

 

There are two themes that God seems to be teaching me about right now, that keep coming up everywhere I turn. The first is BE STILL AND ENJOY HIS PRESENCE! I am really working this one out right now. I really have no problem with having a daily quiet time.  I just know that if I am not careful it becomes just a request list, and a thank you Lord and I checked that off my “to do” list today, now all I gotta do is wait for the blessing.  Oh I don’t want to be that way.  I so want to spend my quiet time practicing His presence.  I am not even sure what that looks like yet.  But I know that I am falling way short of it.  I am working on it. I want to be more intentional.  Not to make it legalistic, but you see my “ADD” personality can be distracted by so many things. I want to be more disciplined than to look at Facebook or Instagram during my quiet time. “But Lord, I may see a prayer request or someone who needs me to pray for them!” Yeah that’s true but how much time am I wasting watching little videos or liking posts that mean nothing.  I want to focus my time on His presence and not just chasing all of my scattered thoughts. 

The other theme in my life right now is that sometime The Wilderness is not all bad.  Just a few weeks ago in this study that I was doing, I learned something that I had never noticed before. Exodus 13:17 says

When Pharaoh let the people go, God did not lead them on the road through the Philistine country, though that was shorter.  For God said “if they face war, they might change their minds and return to Egypt.”

You see I never realized that God led them out of Egypt through the wilderness intentionally.  Now the Israelites did not have to remain in the wilderness for 40 years. However, God was intentional in leading them there to begin with.  Because if he hadn’t, if they had not seen His miracles in the wilderness and learned to depend on Him for their manna and their water and the day to day leading. Then they would have turned right around and headed right back to Egypt and into slavery. Something else just occurred to me and of course this is speculation but given how Pharaoh was turning up the heat on them daily just because they were asking to leave, if they had gone back, don’t you for a minute think that the conditions wouldn’t have been even more treacherous than before.  They would have thought oh my what have we done, within the first few hours.  When God leads you out of Egypt, going back should never be an option.  Are you stuck in a Wilderness or are you still stuck in Egypt?  Or are you praying for someone else who is?  Depending on that Egypt, the Wilderness may still be hard to go through but if you walk through it and you look for God in it, He will lead you to your Canaan.  Oh Lord my prayer is that I will not return to the many “Egypts” he has led me out of.  I pray that I will learn whatever it is that He wants me to learn in the wilderness so that I can live in Canaan.  I want to LIVE in His presence.

 

Thank you for reading.

Until next time.

~Sonia~

 

PS Just as I was about to post I had a friend come looking for a afternoon snack.  I am still in awe that God has given us a place to do life where a deer will walk right up on my patio and say hello.  I didn’t have anything at the time, but I now have her some carrots for when she returns.

This Labor Day weekend, I am so so grateful for this little touch of Fall as I sit here on my sun porch, and watch a beautiful sunrise and enjoy just a few moments of solitude.  My thoughts keep wandering a bit over the last two weeks and I realize how very blessed I am.  We here in Mississippi have been going on about our business while Hurricane Harvey wreaked a bit of havoc on Houston and the surrounding areas.  Oh don’t get me wrong.  We survived Katrina so our hearts and our prayers are certainly with the people of Texas.  I actually have some Texas people who I have been very concerned about.  I am grateful to say that all of my Texas people are safe. I hope that if you have Texas people yours are too.

But, it has been a busy two weeks.  Actually the whole month of August has been somewhat of  a whirlwind.  Working at a school, it’s crazy time.  But add to that launching a bible study, helping one kid move, Fall cleaning at the lake, getting ready for company and it has been a hectic two weeks.  Plus celebrating one of my BFFs 50^th birthday!!. My old body aches just a bit, but my heart sure is full.

My kids are coming today and I am so ready for some family time to just sit and laugh and eat and fish and ride fourwheelers and the boat and do some bonding.  Last year we had my sweet daughter in law’s whole family here but today we will just have our family plus her brother and his girlfriend.  But right now I get to sit here alone and think and reflect.  I love sitting here and listening to the woodpecker in the tree and the geese as they go flying by.  There is another bird out in the trees right off my porch who is being quite noisy this morning.  I wish I could get a good picture of that woodpecker.  He is beautiful.

One of the many swirling thoughts I am having is:  Why is it that we Christians are always so in awe and amazed that God would bless us?  His word says that he wants to.  Yet, we will every time be in awe when He does.  Approximately nine months ago, after the death of my sister I began to feel that God was leading me to do something. I shared with a couple of people that I felt God birthing something in me.  I then forgot that specific statement but kept searching for the answer as to what it was.  See I had prayed this prayer to God that if I had to hurt this bad please let it count for something.  I never knew how bad it would hurt to lose a sibling until I actually lost one.  You see it’s always been the four of us.  There were 4 Seamans girls, and now there are three.

Then, this past week the day after the bible study launch, where 47 women came together to study God’s word together, I was sharing how it went with a few friends at work. One had been there and the others had obligations and couldn’t and one of the ladies made a statement.  “Your baby was born, this is what you have been working on.”  I went back into my office and I remembered that statement that God was “birthing” something in me.  And I realized that we are just a couple of weeks shy of 9 months since we lost our sister.  I am so in awe as to what God has done here and brought together.  I am so looking forward to what He is going to do with all of us.  I am praying for testimonies after this study from women that show God’s faithfulness and what He wants to do with us, with ALL OF US.

I am also thinking about these adult children who are coming to visit today with the sweetest little grandson anyone could ask for.  When he smiles his whole face smiles, just like his Mama and the brown eyes that he got from his Daddy just have that little bit of mischeviousness in them that his Daddy always had.  Every time I look at him I see a picture of his Daddy in my minds eye that brings back a memory and makes me glad all over again that God granted me the privilege to be his Mom.

Just having this lakehouse itself is a blessing that I never thought we would have.  It happened in a quick instant it felt like.  Actually the process took about 2 and ½ months when the first thought crossed our minds and the papers were signed.  I can still scarcely believe it.  Especially if you know my man who puts more thought into everything he does than the average bear. Yet now we have 2 years worth of memories here and we fall in love with the place even more every time we come.  I still love my life back in Madison, but my weekends tend to be here at the Lake where I get to pretend that I am a country girl.

As I get ready for my day, I am so grateful to God for what He has done in me, in my marriage and in my children. Y’all have a safe and happy Labor Day Weekend and Be Grateful!

Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations forever and ever, Aman.

Ephesians 3:20-21