What Do You Reach For First?

It’s morning. What do you reach for first?

I love my morning coffee. As soon as I take my vitamins I need my coffee. Starbucks or Tully's please. Dark roast with a bit of half and half and sugar in the raw.

Sydney my dog prefers grass. Yep. Many mornings she’ll skip her bowl of Little Bites and wait until I take her on a walk so she can nibble around the neighborhood. Perhaps she feels the need for more fiber? Maybe she thinks it will give her fresh breath? Does grass give her the same “kick” that caffeine gives me?...

Considering we live in Washington State, where marijuana is legal, maybe the grass makes her feel a bit like the kind sold in a little place in Tacoma I noticed the other night. I now know a new vocabulary word!

As I sip my morning cup I reach for my two favorite devotionals; Streams in the Desert  and Jesus Calling. Even if I don’t have make time to do my bible study first thing, I always need to read my devotionals. They always seem written just for me.  God’s word and promises help me begin my day in the mind-set that He is in charge of my day and He will be with me.

Sydney is anxiously waiting for her walk and the sun is shining, so I’d better go tie my shoes on. I anticipate looking at Mt. Rainier as much as my puppy dog anticipates her grass.

"Let me hear of your unfailing love each morning, for I am trusting you. Show me where to walk, for I give myself to you." Psalm 143:8

For those days when it’s pouring and I just don’t feel like walking her, perhaps I might introduce her to an indoor version of “Grass” that our store, Charlie Barnes sells...

What do you reach for first?

In His Grip, jane

Sending Love

It is hard to fathom what happened in Boston yesterday and I join our nation in praying for all those affected.

In His Grip, jane

I Need Reminders

I see and labeled Sydney as my baby. Then she reminds me, she’s a dog…

Most of Sydney’s belongings, (her treats, bowls, and her food can) are all labeled as if she can read. Well, apparently she isn't learning her phonics. The other night while I was gone she dug in my tote bag hoping for chocolate and found honey & lemon cough drops instead. They did not agree with her digestive system and the bonus room carpet suffered the consequences. Even though my dear friend loaned me her Spot Bot (thanks Tonja!)  it did not removed the stains…Time to call the professional carpet cleaner again!

Labels can be a good thing when used in a classroom or for organizing. My Dymo Tag label-maker is one of my favorite organizational tools. Labels for people however, aren't always helpful or accurate. 

What if you or I are mislabeled and people keep rooting around trying to find the evidence that you are what others have named you to be?

Are you known as the smart one, the funny one, the pretty one or maybe the shy one?  Who gets to decide what your label is? How long will the label last?

Last weekend, instead of serving in my comfort areas of hospitality or the prayer team at our Women’s Retreat, our group needed someone else on the “fun team”. My new label was one of the “Fun Commanders”. 

Despite forgetting some of my lines and thanks to my teammate’s talent, the women laughed and seemed to have fun. Some women who had “labeled” my friend as quiet and shy were surprised when she didn't seem at all like the label she’d been given.

Yesterday a group from our church left our safe little Harbor town and headed to Guatemala for a mission trip.  The people of Guatemala won’t care what their “labels” are in our community; they will just know that these men, women and even two children came to love and serve them.

Sometimes God takes us out of our usual comfort zones and lets us try on a new label.

Lessons Learned:

1.       Store my tote bag up high.

2.       My phonics teaching skills are never going to help my dog learn to read.

3.       All the labels we have been given over the years don’t really matter. Jesus ignores our man-given labels and reminds us who we are in Him.

I love the song by Jason Gray called, Remind Me Who I Am.  Check it out on You Tube.

Have a great weekend friends and join me in praying for our Chapel Hill Guatemala Mission team this week.

In His Grip, jane