When I got home from work yesterday, I took advantage of the beautiful weather and worked in the yard for about five hours trimming shrubs, clearing out old mulch, edging, mowing the grass, and putting down new mulch.

I took a little break because Kyle and Macy brought me a Ttown Snow 😋 and as we visited, a little bird hopped nearby. I could hear him talking and I asked Kyle to use his birding app to listen and see what kind of bird it was. He did – and the result was a Chipping Sparrow (photo included).

I just paused and had to hold back tears. And I felt Holy Spirit say – “I see him….and I see you, too.”

Life has been hard lately. As a person who tries my best to be optimistic and remain hopeful, it seems like every day has brought a new sort of gut punch. Sometimes they are things in my life; sometimes they are things happening in the lives of those I know and love. And….it just gets heavy. Really, really heavy.

Before I stopped to eat my sno cone, I was literally entertaining the thought of “I don’t know how much more I can take. It’s all so heavy. ” Have you been there? Do you know someone else who is there?

In those moments, it’s easy to feel as if nobody sees. It’s easy to feel as if nobody cares.

So the Lord sent me a little Chipping Sparrow this evening to silence the junk I was rehearsing in my head.

“Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? And not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. But even the hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not, therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows.”
‭‭Matthew‬ ‭10‬:‭29‬-‭31‬ ‭ESV‬‬

REALLY? It could have been any kind of bird…..but He sent a Sparrow.

Thank You, Lord.

I know He sent that little Chipping Sparrow for me…..but he wasn’t sent JUST for me. So I’m writing this to remind someone else of this, too.

❤️🐦‍⬛🎶

Sunday, February 2, 2025

The alarm went off early so I could get up to walk or run – whatever I could handle. My weather app said it was 37 degrees outside, so I decided to head to the gym instead of bundling up to be outside for an hour.

I went to the back of the gym where the cardio equipment was and picked out just the right treadmill. (I could have had any of them – there were only four people in the gym at 5:30 a.m. on Sunday.) I hit start, set my incline, and started my five-minute warmup. Then a 10-minute jog. Then a five-minute cool down before hitting some weights.

I got off the treadmill a bit frustrated with myself. It wasn’t that long ago (I think) that I could run for the entirety of my 30-minute cardio session (yes, I only did 20 today). Here I found myself only being able to hang for 10. The older you get, the easier it is to lose stamina. Purpose. The “want to.” How did I get here?

I can be creative in making all kinds of excuses as to why I have not prioritized my physical health, but they don’t help me. The reality is…..I got here one day at a time. I got here when I quit getting “on the treadmill.”

My frustration today came from not being able to do things for as long or at the same pace that I could do them before. Yes, I get older every single day, but that’s a truth for all of us regardless of age. We can’t neglect things on the daily and realistically expect to hop back in as we were when we did them on the daily.

How about you?
What “treadmills” have you gotten off of?

-Praying?
-Writing?
-Giving?
-Serving?
-Exercising?
-Singing?
-Earing well?
-Reading?
-Leading?
-Spending time with family and friends?
-Studying God’s Word?
-Coaching?
-Being a part of the local Church?
–___________?

The whole time I’ve been away from the gym, the treadmills were there the whole time. I can sit here and rationalize not doing something I really do love to do because I’ve allowed myself to get out of shape and I’ll have to work harder to get it back. But you know what? All I had to do was step back on the treadmill.

You, too, my friend.
Which treadmills are waiting for you?

“Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 3:12-14

This morning, I had breakfast with a few friends. Before we even had coffee on the table, a little gnat made its way into our table space and buzzed around our heads. We politely shooed it away until it got on all of our nerves. I looked at my friends and said, “IT WILL DIE!” Shortly after a moment of laughter, it flew in front of me and I went into Mr. Miyagi mode. (Please watch The Karate Kid if you’re unfamiliar with this legend!) With a loud clap of my hands….IT DIED! I wiped off my hands and continued the conversation. Within two minutes, another one came around. This time, with a loud smash on the table, IT DIED, too.

Those little gnats spoke to me today. Isn’t it just like us to just “shoo away” the annoying things in our lives while they just continue to circle around our heads and distract us? And have you ever noticed how, left unaddressed, those gnats seem to multiply themselves? Chew on that for a few minutes.

As we’ve just started a New Year, maybe it’s time to address some of those “gnats” in our lives. Maybe it’s time to call in the SWAT (Something Worth Addressing Today) Team and take care of those things once and for all. Maybe these “gnats” invade your head and heart space on a daily basis:

✳️ Being offended
✳️ Pride
✳️ Manipulating people
✳️ Jealousy
✳️ Speaking words of death over others
✳️ Blaming
✳️ Insecurity
✳️ Bitterness
✳️ Overspending
✳️ Making excuses
✳️ Overeating
✳️ Endlessly scrolling

When you read over that list, none of them sound like things we would WANT to have consistently swirling around us. However, if we simply tolerate their presence in our lives and “shoo” them away on occasion, they will make themselves at home and just become a part of who we are.

Today, may the “gnats” of our lives drive us to call in the SWAT Team and send them packing. May they be more fearful of your hand clap or table slap than you are of the work it takes to exterminate them!

“GET RID OF all bitterness, rage, anger, harsh words, and slander, as well as all types of evil behavior. Instead, be kind to each other, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God through Christ has forgiven you.”
‭‭Ephesians‬ ‭4‬:‭31‬-‭32‬ ‭NLT‬‬

LAND MINES.

I’ll spare the definition, but Merriam Webster gives a few synonyms for the words “land mine:”
➡️ booby trap
➡️ gimmick
➡️ gotcha
➡️ pitfall
➡️ snag
None of these have a very positive feel around them (unless you had an Atari in the early 80’s and conquered the game of Pitfall).

A few weeks ago, I was cleaning up my house to prepare for my Sunday afternoon Freedom group. I took the trash out to the dumpster in the fenced in back yard and realized just how much my dog liked to poop in that area.

Every single time we pick up all of his mess from the backyard, he seems to find a new “target” area where he likes to use the bathroom until the next round of clean up. This time, in particular, the drop zone was surrounding where I needed to walk to get the trash bag to the dumpster.

As crazy as it sounds, Holy Spirit spoke to me as I navigated around what was on the ground en route to where I needed to get. It’s almost like I heard Him say….. “Isnt that just what the enemy does? He brings the same old poop – the same stinky poop – in the same old places. Don’t step on the land mines.”

I shared that with my small group that afternoon….because the enemy is LITERALLY a turd (💩) and he brings the same old mess to people’s lives. He will “load up” in all the same places. You know exactly what I’m talking about. He launches an attack on your marriage. Then your health. Then your kids. Then your friendships. Then your workplaces. Then your church. Then your identity. Drop zone after drop zone after drop zone….and it’s all a bunch of stinky mess!

Aren’t you tired of that? Rather than stepping in it and tracking it all over the place…..IDENTIFY IT. CALL IT OUT! FIGHT IT! DON’T PARTNER WITH IT!

“Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people.”
‭‭Ephesians‬ ‭6‬:‭10‬-‭18‬ ‭NIV‬‬

John 10:10 tells us that the enemy comes to steal, to kill, and to destroy. Stop fighting Spiritual battles with worldly tools. Strap on the armor and STAND. Pray and STAND! Speak the Word of God and STAND!

We will not be outwitted by the enemy’s schemes…….and we will not be destroyed or deceived by his land mines.

Armor up, my friends.

It hasn’t been long since Hurricane Helene devastated many places on the eastern coast of the US. I remember watching the news footage of the massively powerful flood waters washing away cars, homes, roads….everything in their path.

This past weekend, I went to Saturday morning prayer. Towards the end of the hour, Pastor Chris Erwin led us in prayer for those in those areas who were still without many things we consider necessities for living. He said this: “We have teams on the ground in these areas who are strapping water and diapers and food on the back of their 4-Wheelers and ATVs to drive their supplies up the mountain and help them.”

In that moment, the Lord put a picture in front of me that closely resembles the one you see here. It was a broken road.

(Now, for all of your Rascal Flatts fans….go ahead and sing it out and then continue reading. 🎤 🎶)

Here is what that picture meant to me:

The people at the top of that mountain had the road washed out from underneath them…..the road representing their self-sufficiency. They literally could not make their way down the mountain….they had to wait and trust in the provision of those precious servant hearted people to be able to make it. I can only imagine the conversation at the exchange sites as the provision was handed over to those in need –
“Thank you so much.”
“We didn’t know how we were going to make it.”
“You are an answer to our prayers.”

Crisis is a great editor.

The picture I saw represents us. We have gotten so self-sufficient. We are able to do a lot of things really, really, really well and have, in many cases, minimized or eliminated our dependency on the Lord. We have technology, we have gifts and talents, we have intellect, we have resources, we have modern medicine. I thank God for blessing us with all of those things and have certainly been on the receiving end of all of them – whether directly or indirectly.

Sometimes, however, the road gets broken….washed out….and those things we put our “faith” in, so to speak, are inaccessible. There we find ourselves desperate again…..waiting on the provision that can only come from Him. The peace that can only come from Him. The calm that can come IN the storm, not just on the other side of it.

I saw me in that picture.

There are a lot of things I can do and handle just fine on my own. Until I can’t.

The road gets washed out and I become dependent again:

I saw us in that picture. There are a lot of things we can do and handle just fine on our own….in our businesses, our homes, our communities, our relationships, our finances, our politics, our _, even our churches. Until we can’t.

The road gets washed out and we become dependent and desperate again.

Don’t miss the picture.
Don’t miss your position in the picture. Don’t miss His provision – always there, but sometimes we only notice it when we can’t provide or solve the problem on our own.

Please read all of Psalm 34, but I’ll close with these two verses:

“The Lord hears His people when they call to Him for help. He rescues them from all their troubles. The Lord is close to the brokenhearted; He rescues those whose spirits are crushed.”
‭‭Psalms‬ ‭34‬:‭17‬-‭18‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Help us, Lord, return to a place of total dependence on You. Daily. Hourly. Minute-ly. 😊 Break us of our misplaced faith and teach us, once again, to fully rely on You. We hear You.
In Jesus’ Name – Amen.