Every year about this time I begin to plan out my garden. I love looking outside and visualizing Zinneas & Dahlias in bloom, some of my favorite flowers that I will once again be planting very soon. My heart fills with anticipation of vases filled with their bright vibrant colors in my house. I especially like to give bouquets away to family & friends. Flowers always bring a smile! This morning was no exception. My longing for planting is increasing. But as I looked out of my window this morning and saw Huckleberry Mountain behind my house covered with snow and the light sprinkling of white on my deck and all over my yard, I decided to let my thoughts linger on winter today. It won't be long and the days will be warmer and my mountain home backyard will be filled with "Forget Me Nots" and the plum trees will be a delicate pink in bloom as they are already in the valley...but for today...it's time to sift and sort my heart and mind. Is there anything I need to do before the spring comes? I think I need to write, or begin to write...to put my thoughts to words regarding the journey I have been on and the release of my very first CD called Songs in the Night. I've been in a spiritual winter forever, it seems. Really it has been only about 3 years, about the time I came to live here at the foothills of Mt Hood. The Lord spoke to my husband Darcy and I just a week before we moved here that we were entering the season of "winter". A time of "deep abiding rest". It has been a place that has been private for the most part. A time of transition. A time of seeking God. A time of struggle at the beginning but then of healing and release. Up to now it has been difficult to put to words. The words and the desire to share has begun to form and so I begin this blog. It has been a time of adjustment. Thoughts of "that was then, this is now and what is next?" I have spent endless wonderful hours at the piano with Jesus, writing songs...completing the old and writing new. And then a time of recording (yea) and now ready to release! (wow) :) I find that I want to sing of His faithfulness more than ever before!!! It is bubbling up inside of me like a fountian that could possibly form a river! Rivers of living water springing up from inside of me, just as His words says! I want to sing, "run into the arms of Jesus!" He is waiting to renew our souls! There is no one truly like Him! No heart who listens and understands like His does. No beauty or loveliness in friendship like His. No light that shines brighter! No song that sounds sweeter. No place that is or has ever been or ever will be as safe to rest in. We are held in the palm of His hands! It is in the winter that I realized the depth of these truths. May His Word in me, that which was deposited in my heart in the season of winter be released!
Seasons. Change. Movement. The only thing that remains is Him. God never changes. He moves with us through the seasons of life. His faithfulness is constant.
The steps of the believer are steeped in
constant change. Fingers are painfully
peeled away from the security of sameness
one at a time. Again and again. Great wisdom
lies in freeing our fellow sojourners...
cherished though they are. With hands
freshly loosed we find liberty to embrace the
One who will never change, and courage to
release to Him those who ever will.
Beth Moore
3 comments:
Karen, thank you for such honesty in your blog. Listening to Him as He directs our paths is so important. The Lord has really been working on me as well and He has really gotten my attention. I long to draw nearer and nearer to Him. I also need to listen more closely. So, if you have any suggestions, I am so open to them.
Love you, Trish
Hi Trish! You are the first to comment on my new blog! :) Thank you! This is all new for me. Recently, I have heard God ask me to open my mouth and to share about His faithfulness in my life. He has given me a new boldness to do this that was not there before. I LOVE to talk about the Lord. He is my favorite subject! Talking and writing are so very different. What takes me a moment to say takes me much longer to write, but I am hoping to get better at it :)
My thoughts about drawing near to Jesus... For me, it is worshipping through music along with His Word that brings me closer to Him. I am so blessed to play the piano and get lost with Him in prayerful worship, but often I use different worship CD's to help me focus on Him. He has been training me in prayer for awhile this way. Again, it is when I turn on the worship music or begin to sing in worship and purpose to draw near to Him, that He draws near to me. Bless you in your seeking Him. May you feel Him very near you. Once when I was praying and seeking Him I saw a picture of God in the air...like when He created the earth and the air...He was the air, is the air, the air that I breathe. Breathing Him in...life. He is that near. love you. Karen
Hi Karen.
I'm looking forward to knowing you better!
God bless,
Lisa
Post a Comment