From Victim to Survivor to Thriver

Let me tell you about my Jade doggy and our walks. She is a fine walker for a short-legged Corgi.  I compare her to Gimli, the dwarf, in the Lord of the Rings...great on short sprints but miserable on long distances.  Picture this.  If she is bored or uninterested in walking the neighborhood, she walks behind me, reluctantly, with her head down in the smells of other dogs.  At our local state park, she is engaged to the fullest with all the smells and sounds.  She loves going at full speed with her head lifted while not missing a smell or small vole on the ground. I have a hard time keeping up with her.

As Jade and I walk, I am thinking of what use to be, what is now and what may be in my future life.  I use to be a victim; blown about by every wind of circumstance, what people thought of me or didn't think of me.  Today you'd meet a secure person who knows who I am.  My identity has been shaped by Whose I am, not who I am.  I simply belong to someone else...Jesus. I am not content to be a survivor of my past, I want to thrive in my present and future.  How about you?  

Aren't you glad I asked?  When I persist in lowering my head to sniff at the bad memories and those current situations that get me down in the dumps, I am not engaged in lifting my head.  When I lift my head and look UP, I am a thriver with a different perspective. 

This is what Jesus says, "But when these things begin to take place, straighten up and lift up your heads, because your redemption is drawing near." Luke 21:28 NASB. He talks of the signs of his second coming prior to this.  He warns his disciples not to miss the signs by walking with their head down.  

Is your head bowed down with worry, distraction, fear and misery over your circumstances?  Look up and see the signs, not only of Jesus second coming but His presence now.  Be a survivor and thriver.
Thriving in Jesus,
Nancy B

Lessons from Quilting

God intended His way to be perfect because we are not.  Yet I have perfectionist tendencies.  I sent this to my mentor in all things quilting, as I learn this new skill. 

"Good morning!  The books you loaned are so full of information.  I copied some pages I had marked, like the pattern for a Double Irish Chain. The pattern looks quite beyond my skill and experience.  But skill and experience can be acquired.

So the snafu is the middle long pink strip. I was putting a 1/2” straight stitch in the 3” strip but it measured 2 3/4”. The 1/4” lack made for wonky spacing.
I woke up last night wanting to get up and rip it out for a do-over.  But I stayed in bed and went back to sleep.  Jade (dog) slept by me all night but kept moving from the end to the head.  Hence, it’s a two cup of coffee morning.

To rip out or not to rip out? That, my friend, is the question."

She responded with grace and enthusiastic encouragement!  I am so grateful for friends who can understand and have been there and done that.  She reminded me of an Amish proverb, "Only God is perfect."  The Amish deliberately put mistakes in their crafts to remind them that only God is perfect...and they are not.  

In fact, God was so perfect, He sent Jesus to take away our imperfection, called sin.  The God of the universe Who had every right to condemn us, paved the way for us to spend an eternity with Him.  Why did He do that?

Because of love and relationship.  

Love: "For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son, that whosoever believes in Him should not perish but have life eternal." John 3:16 ESV  

Relationship: "Holy Father, keep them in your name, which you have given me, that they may be one, even as we are one." John 17: 11b

Lest you think this is an Easter message, it is an every day message of redemption and deliverance; love and relationship.

So from imperfect quilts to a perfect Heavenly Father, if you didn't before, that God does not require perfection but relationship bound in love.

Happy Resurrection Day!

Nancy B