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The Winds a Blowin

February 15, 2015trishLeave a comment

Yesterday we had another snow storm with strong winds. No surprise for those of us who live in Michigan near the lake. My power flickered on and off three times during the day. The blowing snow caused poor visibility and high drifts. Even though the sun is shining today we have a wind chill advisory.

Winter wonderland — Today the sun is shining and we are enjoying the beautiful snow.

On my many trips to Indianapolis, I travel on Route 65 through a corridor of wind turbines. I have seen their blades being transported on the expressway on huge flatbed trucks. The blades are massive! According to energy.gov the energy in the wind turns two or three propeller-like blades around a rotor. The rotor is connected to the main shaft, which spins a generator to create electricity. Wind turbines are mounted on a tower to capture the most energy. Wind turbines can be used to produce electricity for a single home or building or they can be connected to an electricity grid for more widespread electricity distribution. When the wind isn’t blowing, the blades don’t spin. You can’t just turbines on and off.

A few weeks ago I experienced a warmer wind while visiting my parents in Florida. I am wishing I was there now to escape this subzero temperatures in Michigan! The palm trees where swaying back and forth. My last day I was determined to get some sun even though it was only about 65 degrees and very windy. I headed over to the pool in the golf cart. It was blowing so badly that the cover for the cart blew off. Once at the pool I dragged a lounge chair by a post to block the wind. Without the wind is was actually warm enough to lay in the sun. I was determined!

The Holy Spirit is compared to wind in the Bible. The Holy Spirit is God. He is not an ït.” He is not a divine influence, nor a cloud, or a ghost, or a concept. He is a person possessing a will, intellect and emotions. He is the third person of the Trinity–co-equal with God and the Son. There is one God but He manifests himself in three persons. The Holy Spirit is given to us when we place our trust in Christ as our guarantee of eternal life (2 Corinthians 1:22-23, Ephesians 1:13-14), teach us all things and will remind us of everything God has said (John 14:26).

We can hear the wind or see its perceptible effects. We can’t see wind, but we know there is wind because there is sound, or pressure against your skin, or branches and leaves flying in the air, or wind turbines moving, or the golf cart cover blows off, or a tree falls on your house (happened to me twice). So it is with the Holy Spirit. We can’t see him but we can see his effects, changes in us. The Holy Spirit blows where he wills, not where we deserve his blowing, and not where we think he should blow. We do not originate the movement of the Spirit, and we do not control the movement of the Spirit, just as we cannot control the movement of the wind. The Spirit works in ways we do not fully understand. The Holy Spirit works in the lives of those that are followers of God and his ways. He transforms, heals, empowers and equips us to do God’s work in the world

May we allow the Holy Spirit to blow in our lives where and however he see fit.

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On the journey,

Trish

Remix

January 18, 2015trish5 Comments

Have you ever tried something brand new that you’ve never done before? I know I would never try parachuting out of an airplane but I always thought learning how to be barista would be fun. The church I have been attending has a coffee bar. They serve drip coffee but also lattes, mochas, etc. Yesterday a friend and I were trained how to run the coffee extraction machine, add syrups and froth milk. It was so much fun! Although, I came home with a caffeine buzz! This morning at church we volunteered to serve in the coffee bar. We didn’t do too badly!

After the death of a spouse the support groups have told us that you have to discover your new identity. After Neal died I was no longer “Neal’s wife,” didn’t work at Bridgman Family Dental Care but was single in a couple’s world, a widow. For me, to discover my new identity meant going to a new church, making new friends or connecting with old friends, finding new hobbies, or rediscovering old ones. It meant what did i want to eat? How did I want to spend my time? Becoming a barista at a new church is part of my journey to discover a new identity.

I have gotten back into sewing! I made some mittens out of old sweaters.

Neal always wanted meat at dinner. Now I can eat just fruits and veggies if I want.:)

Who would have thought mason jars would be such popular drinking glasses?

This past week I started in a Beth Moore bible study called “Children of the Day: 1 & 2 Thessalonians with a group of women I didn’t know. In the DVD Beth was talking about how Paul and Barnabas did ministry together but after a sharp disagreement they split ways. Paul then took on Silas and Timothy to travel with him. It may have been that Paul and Barnabas were too comfortable together that they didn’t want to seperate into two groups. But through this disagreement two groups were formed which ended up to further advance the gospel. God used a tough situation for good.

Remix: a new or different version of something that is made by chaning or adding to the original.

Death of a spouse definetely launches you into a remix. If you are in the midst of a difficult situation you are right where you should be for God to use. He will put us into a remix if we let him. If we aren’t open to a remix we may miss out on what God wants us to do and become bitter. We may miss out on meeting new people who will become our dearest friend. We may miss out on trying new adventures that will become our favorite hobbie. We may miss out on blessings that we receive during the remix. Sometimes renewal comes through the remix.

Maybe its time for something new. Maybe its time to stop repeating the same old thing. We aren’t here to stay the same!

I pray that you will trust that God knows what he’s doing and be open to his remix in you.

On the journey,

Trish

“Instead of becoming discouraged, depressed or angry when people disappoint us, God wants us to lift up our eyes, look around, and trust him to lead us into an even better situation. He wants us to look around and count our blessings instead of focusing on what we do not have. He wants us to fix our eyes on him, not on the work of the enemy, because he has plans to bless us.” Joyce Meyer, Everyday Life Bible, page 23.