Last weekend I spent Saturday at the beach on a mini retreat with God.
As I was sitting by the waters edge, listening as the gentle waves tumble ashore, watching the water, which was calmer then I have ever seen Lake Michigan, I noticed several fishing boats. Some near, some far, yet all of them seemed so at peace.
I thought of Peter, Andrew, James and John. How God told them to lay down their nets and become fishers of men.
Watching the fishing boats, one close enough I could see the person cast out their line, I thought yes Lord I can be a fisher of men. I enjoy being alone, spending time in thought, relaxing.
Isn't that what fishing is? A hobby? Something we do to get away, relax, and spend time in quietness.......Something we do alone or maybe with another as long as they understand quietness is important.
For some fishing is a sport they do on weekends and vacations. It is about catching the biggest and winning the prize. Or some fish to escape....get away from their life, their problems for a short time....
*************************************************************** To my right something caught my eye.........A group of sailboats, flying across the water, their sails taunt in the wind,........adventure, excitement, teamwork......... a group learning how to harvest the power of the wind in order to soar to victory.
My eyes traveled back and forth between the two.......the fisherman, so calm, relaxing, peaceful.........the sailboats, fast, challenging, stimulating........Lord I know you want me to be a fisher of men but I would much rather sail to adventure powered by the wind of your Spirit. Lord don't you think others would be more drawn to you in me if I was sailing?
People don't usually come to Church, to God, to religion looking for adventure or excitement.......They come when they need peace, to escape their problems and are hungry seeking nourishment.....Is the reason people come when they are broken Lord because we only promote that part of you? ......Do we get so caught up in being the fishing boat we forget to sail?..........Would people come without you having to take them to the place of brokenness if the Christian life looked more like sailing then fishing? .......How do we draw those looking for excitement?
Monday night, sitting writing in my journal, staring off in the distance........daydreaming about sailing........question after question filling my head Lord are we suppose to be fisherman or sailors? I enjoy fishing when I need to get away and relax but Lord is it supposes to be our daily walk with you?
Flipping through the TV channels before going to sleep.......I pause......a show catches my attention....."The Deadliest Catch".......fisherman fishing off the coast of Alaska........In the Bering Sea........
God's voice...........These are fisherman. Sailing looked exciting compared to fishing because of how you view fishing.......change your view of fishing and you will find it much more exciting then sailing.
Observations........danger, challenges, teamwork, dependence on each other, excitement, thrills, nourishment for many, daily life, far from a hobby, no retirement mentality, hard work, strong arms, everyone performing their assignment, reward is not immediate but comes later after the boat returns homes....etc etc.
Jesus spoke to the four....come be fishers of men..........they were commercial fisherman........Did the word picture Jesus painted look more like the deadliest catch then the fishing boats on Lake Michigan?
How do you see fishing? Which does your life reflect more?
Do we fish for our own peace, nourishment, relaxation or do we fish to feed others with passion, excitement, and a working mentality, of someone who has a hard job they love, knowing our effort will be rewarded when fishing season ends?
Where do you choose to fish and with what attitude?
How does being single effect how I fish? Fishing alone on Lake Michigan is possible, fishing alone in a commercial boat on the Bering Sea is foolishness and unproductive........
How do I fish with nets, in less then perfect conditions, putting my life on the line while single?
Last Weds as I was driving home from church I heard the Holy Spirit prompts me to call my sister Holly and share what God had revealed to me.
The chapter I had read in Isaiah talked of God bringing chaos and destruction to the land. He said it would be called the “Land of Nothing”
In the midst of this land of nothing flowers were to begin to bloom. In the desert an abundance of flowers and singing and joy would immerge.
While the flowers bloom in the aired, desolate desert God would transform the land, making it as “green as the mountains of Lebanon, as lovely as Mount Carmel’s pastures and the plain of Sharon”.
God was telling me I needed to learn to bloom in the desert, in the land of nothing, and then he would transform the land of nothing to the land of plenty.
Only God knew less then 48 hours later I would be standing, surrounding by piles of rubble, in the land of nothing.
To see the lesson God spoke to my spirit, displayed so powerfully in the physical, was a humbling experience.
Friday, the day after, was a cold, windy, cloudy day........I spent the day helping my sister and others pick up the pieces of their lives. I watched as reality hit. For so many, my sister included, the tornado had taken almost everything.
I walked the area looking at the pain etched on faces, the grief, the hopelessness.....a neighborhood of the walking dead.........
An older lady sat on the ground, surrounded by piles of mangled metal, trees, wood, all entrapping the few items recognizable as her history....her life.
The piles dwarfed her, though she was a big woman, almost as if they were a huge monster towering over her, taunting, laughing at all it had stolen from her.
She reached in and pulled out a picture frame with bent wood and shattered glass.
Tears on her cheeks as a small smile curved her mouth.....what was she seeing? What was it which could remove such pain from her face for a brief moment?
A flower blooming in the land of nothing.....in the midst of such destruction.....a simple smile….. Hope blooming from a picture.
Sunday morning they asked for volunteers to help clean up........so many came they had to turn away 2500.....yes that is correct they had to TURN AWAY 2500 because so many came……..kindness blooming.
When I arrived after church I was shocked. The yards cleaned, everything piled at the side of the road, much already picked up, houses down and new ones coming up…..strangers pitching in to help…….service blooming
Two ladies approached my sister, explained how their hearts were touched by what they saw on TV, and asked if they could give her a small gift to show they cared.......My sister said yes.....they handed her an envelope and left.........inside were two gift cards to Kohl’s.......100.00 a piece......two givers blooming
An Amish lady shyly asking if she could give some homemade bread……..an offering blooming……
A lady, who didn’t have much, bringing her best clothes to anyone in need…….a sacrifice blooming…, . What a transformation........the land of nothing, though still a desert, is being transformed by the beautiful flowers blooming through out.
Though people still struggle as they grieve the past, accept all they have lost and focus on the future.....as the landscape proclaims loudly it is the desert of despair.......A new voice is hear…..one of new hope and determination ... as daily more and more flowers of love, kindness, service and the spirit of giving are blooming.
I know, without a doubt, that the land of nothing is being transformed into the land of plenty.........Holly reminded me of what we talked about Weds night. We believe soon the desert will be as “green as the mountains of Lebanon, as lovely as Mount Carmel’s pastures and the plain of Sharon” and the Lord will display His glory.
Over the next several weeks...
2 comments:
Last weekend I spent Saturday at the beach on a mini retreat with God.
As I was sitting by the waters edge, listening as the gentle waves tumble ashore, watching the water, which was calmer then I have ever seen Lake Michigan, I noticed several fishing boats. Some near, some far, yet all of them seemed so at peace.
I thought of Peter, Andrew, James and John. How God told them to lay down their nets and become fishers of men.
Watching the fishing boats, one close enough I could see the person cast out their line, I thought yes Lord I can be a fisher of men. I enjoy being alone, spending time in thought, relaxing.
Isn't that what fishing is? A hobby? Something we do to get away, relax, and spend time in quietness.......Something we do alone or maybe with another as long as they understand quietness is important.
For some fishing is a sport they do on weekends and vacations. It is about catching the biggest and winning the prize. Or some fish to escape....get away from their life, their problems for a short time....
***************************************************************
To my right something caught my eye.........A group of sailboats, flying across the water, their sails taunt in the wind,........adventure, excitement, teamwork......... a group learning how to harvest the power of the wind in order to soar to victory.
My eyes traveled back and forth between the two.......the fisherman, so calm, relaxing, peaceful.........the sailboats, fast, challenging, stimulating........Lord I know you want me to be a fisher of men but I would much rather sail to adventure powered by the wind of your Spirit. Lord don't you think others would be more drawn to you in me if I was sailing?
People don't usually come to Church, to God, to religion looking for adventure or excitement.......They come when they need peace, to escape their problems and are hungry seeking nourishment.....Is the reason people come when they are broken Lord because we only promote that part of you? ......Do we get so caught up in being the fishing boat we forget to sail?..........Would people come without you having to take them to the place of brokenness if the Christian life looked more like sailing then fishing? .......How do we draw those looking for excitement?
********************************************************************
Monday night, sitting writing in my journal, staring off in the distance........daydreaming about sailing........question after question filling my head Lord are we suppose to be fisherman or sailors? I enjoy fishing when I need to get away and relax but Lord is it supposes to be our daily walk with you?
********************************************************************
Flipping through the TV channels before going to sleep.......I pause......a show catches my attention....."The Deadliest Catch".......fisherman fishing off the coast of Alaska........In the Bering Sea........
God's voice...........These are fisherman. Sailing looked exciting compared to fishing because of how you view fishing.......change your view of fishing and you will find it much more exciting then sailing.
Observations........danger, challenges, teamwork, dependence on each other, excitement, thrills, nourishment for many, daily life, far from a hobby, no retirement mentality, hard work, strong arms, everyone performing their assignment, reward is not immediate but comes later after the boat returns homes....etc etc.
*****************************************************************
Jesus spoke to the four....come be fishers of men..........they were commercial fisherman........Did the word picture Jesus painted look more like the deadliest catch then the fishing boats on Lake Michigan?
How do you see fishing? Which does your life reflect more?
Do we fish for our own peace, nourishment, relaxation or do we fish to feed others with passion, excitement, and a working mentality, of someone who has a hard job they love, knowing our effort will be rewarded when fishing season ends?
Where do you choose to fish and with what attitude?
How does being single effect how I fish? Fishing alone on Lake Michigan is possible, fishing alone in a commercial boat on the Bering Sea is foolishness and unproductive........
How do I fish with nets, in less then perfect conditions, putting my life on the line while single?
Where do I find boat mates?
Who do I fish with?
Who do you?
Last Weds as I was driving home from church I heard the Holy Spirit prompts me to call my sister Holly and share what God had revealed to me.
The chapter I had read in Isaiah talked of God bringing chaos and destruction to the land. He said it would be called the “Land of Nothing”
In the midst of this land of nothing flowers were to begin to bloom. In the desert an abundance of flowers and singing and joy would immerge.
While the flowers bloom in the aired, desolate desert God would transform the land, making it as “green as the mountains of Lebanon, as lovely as Mount Carmel’s pastures and the plain of Sharon”.
God was telling me I needed to learn to bloom in the desert, in the land of nothing, and then he would transform the land of nothing to the land of plenty.
Only God knew less then 48 hours later I would be standing, surrounding by piles of rubble, in the land of nothing.
To see the lesson God spoke to my spirit, displayed so powerfully in the physical, was a humbling experience.
Friday, the day after, was a cold, windy, cloudy day........I spent the day helping my sister and others pick up the pieces of their lives. I watched as reality hit. For so many, my sister included, the tornado had taken almost everything.
I walked the area looking at the pain etched on faces, the grief, the hopelessness.....a neighborhood of the walking dead.........
An older lady sat on the ground, surrounded by piles of mangled metal, trees, wood, all entrapping the few items recognizable as her history....her life.
The piles dwarfed her, though she was a big woman, almost as if they were a huge monster towering over her, taunting, laughing at all it had stolen from her.
She reached in and pulled out a picture frame with bent wood and shattered glass.
Tears on her cheeks as a small smile curved her mouth.....what was she seeing? What was it which could remove such pain from her face for a brief moment?
A flower blooming in the land of nothing.....in the midst of such destruction.....a simple smile….. Hope blooming from a picture.
Sunday morning they asked for volunteers to help clean up........so many came they had to turn away 2500.....yes that is correct they had to TURN AWAY 2500 because so many came……..kindness blooming.
When I arrived after church I was shocked. The yards cleaned, everything piled at the side of the road, much already picked up, houses down and new ones coming up…..strangers pitching in to help…….service blooming
Two ladies approached my sister, explained how their hearts were touched by what they saw on TV, and asked if they could give her a small gift to show they cared.......My sister said yes.....they handed her an envelope and left.........inside were two gift cards to Kohl’s.......100.00 a piece......two givers blooming
An Amish lady shyly asking if she could give some homemade bread……..an offering blooming……
A lady, who didn’t have much, bringing her best clothes to anyone in need…….a sacrifice blooming…,
.
What a transformation........the land of nothing, though still a desert, is being transformed by the beautiful flowers blooming through out.
Though people still struggle as they grieve the past, accept all they have lost and focus on the future.....as the landscape proclaims loudly it is the desert of despair.......A new voice is hear…..one of new hope and determination ... as daily more and more flowers of love, kindness, service and the spirit of giving are blooming.
I know, without a doubt, that the land of nothing is being transformed into the land of plenty.........Holly reminded me of what we talked about Weds night. We believe soon the desert will be as “green as the mountains of Lebanon, as lovely as Mount Carmel’s pastures and the plain of Sharon” and the Lord will display His glory.
God is so amazing..........
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