I couldn’t believe my ears – as a frequent Target shopper, I had grown used to the melodic chimes that thanked me for my purchase and for using my card, each and every time.  After my post, “your noise police at work”, I felt confident that this change from buzzer to chime was a positive one and was here to stay.  Other stores had even followed suite shortly after, switching from abrasive buzzers to more melodic tones at their checkout counters.  So you can imagine my complete shock when a buzzer unexpectedly demanded that I remove my credit card immediately from the machine at the Target checkout.

I was totally unprepared!  I had come to enjoy the beautiful tones of the chime that would thank me for my purchase while at the same time reminding me that I had not yet taken my card back, but, not to worry, there was still plenty of time and opportunity for me to do so.  It was a kinder, gentler time that Target ushered in for its’ customers with the arrival of the chime to bid us each farewell and come again soon.  The departure of the buzzer had been widely heralded (meaning I noticed, did anyone else?) as a gesture of goodwill to customers sensitive to the alarming, demanding sound of the buzzer, which essentially screamed to the customer, ‘why are you still here?  you are holding up the line! get your card and get out!’

So you can see why I am both surprised and confused as to why the buzzer is back?  Was too much goodwill generated?  Were the checkout lines slowed down because customers weren’t as quick to grab their cards and go but rather lingered to enjoy just one more chime before going on their way?  It is a mystery to me – I much preferred the chime.  Am I alone in this preference?  This will remain an unsolved mystery for now.  Perhaps faster moving lines trump sweeter sounding checkout noises?  Maybe the noise police are no longer on the job to protect us from the stress caused by loud, repetitive, abrasive sounds assaulting us periodically throughout our day?

Doesn’t Target want to eliminate any possible stressors for its’ shoppers?  Checkout is the final phase of the shopping experience – Target should want to send us off with a kind, melodic ‘come again’ rather than an insistent ‘get on out of here, now!’   Take heed – Target!   the noise police may yet return!

“Make a joyful noise unto the Lord, all the earth: make a loud noise, and rejoice, and sing praise.”  (Psalm 98:4)

“Pleasant words are a honeycomb, sweet to the soul and healing to the bones.”  (Proverbs 16:24)

sincerely,       Grace Day

seen a meadow of mustard?  a field full of faith, mustard seeds waiting on the wind to send them out into a world filled with mountains that must be moved –

have you seen that meadow of mustard standing, shimmering, shining in the sunlight like Rapunzel’s hair or Rumpelstiltskin’s straw spun to gold, with the majesty of the kings of old, the mystery of their tales untold, Solomon’s temple was never so bold as the splendor of the mustard meadow which I see before my eyes unfold – more beauty than one heart can hold – this mustard meadow filled with gold

” . . . See how the lilies of the field grow.  They do not labor or spin.  Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these.”  (Matthew 6:28-29)

” . . . I tell you the truth, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there’ and it will move.  Nothing will be impossible for you.”  (Matthew 17:20)

sincerely,      Grace Day

 

no one saw the empty space, nor knew there was such a space that needed filling- not even I knew of the emptiness’s existence; for the space had always been as it was, I knew nothing different.  What might have filled the empty space had things been different than they were?  A father’s presence and protection, kind words of comfort or of praise, a hand to hold or shoulder for strength and reassurance?  I did not miss what I had never known.  The space had always been empty, that was what was real.

He was drowning in his own sorrow, a sorrow I could not see, did not know, would not understand until years later, when hindsight’s reflection reveals those hidden mysteries a child cannot carry until it be another season.  And so I watched him drowning, day after day;  I, a captive audience to his pain, to his daily battle with a bottle – and I had not the means to rescue him nor provide him any peace amid his pain . . .

mine to watch in hope and wait – his pain spilling over into the empty space left by his absence from my life, his pain seeping in, soaking everything it touches; pain filling the space where a father should be, and those special spaces reserved for joy and childhood wonder . . .

I wanted to be a princess like those in my childhood fairy tales – but there was no king to care for me;  (though the queen’s love was steadfast and sure).  I awaited the prince who would one day rescue me – but he turned out to be a cruel impostor . . leaving me more empty spaces than before . . .

” And God placed all things under His feet and appointed Him to be head over everything for the church, which is His body, the fullness of Him, who fills everything in every way.”   (Ephesians 1:22-23)

” . . . His name is the Lord – and rejoice before Him.  A father to the fatherless, a defender of widows, is God in His holy dwelling.  God sets the lonely in families, ” (Psalm 68:4-6)

“Though my father and mother forsake me, the Lord will receive me.”  (Psalm 27:10)

“How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God!  And that is what we are!”  (1 John 3:1)

“The Lord Himself goes before you and will be with you; He will never leave you nor forsake you.  Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged.”  (Deuteronomy 31:8)

now, from hindsight’s clearer view, as I reflect on these verses, words that reassure me that my Heavenly Father has been with me all along, I know that it is His presence that fills my empty spaces – spaces left empty by the absence of those I love . . .  He has always been with me in those spaces, even when I thought and felt them empty, He was there . . . He who fills everything in every way,  my Heavenly Father is omnipresent –  the train of His robe fills the temple, His majesty fills heaven and earth and His mercy, grace and love fill not only my heart, but all the empty spaces that living life here on this earth, leave for Him to fill.  My Heavenly Father is able to fill all my empty spaces to overflowing out of His abundant, infinite supply.

“You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies.  You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.”  (Psalm 23:5)

sincerely,          Grace Day

 

 

 

seen a field filled with fireflys flickering on a summer’s night?   heaven’s living lights twinkling, stars come down from the sky to move about the meadow – free to frolic in the twilight deepening, their lights dancing in the darkness – lighting the earth like the sky

the meadow a reflection of the starlit space above, till earth and sky are one, nothing in between – stars who hold their course through every season and fireflys who shine so short a time in summer’s all too brief appearance – yet in this one moment stars and fireflys alike are one and the same – stars light the earthly meadow as fireflys fill the heavens  . . .

until the dawn, with her appearance, brings the magic of the million twinkling, dancing, living lights to an end – this miracle amid the mundane of an ordinary summer’s night, now only a memory in the mind of anyone so fortunate to have beheld at all — the night that heaven and earth merged in the meadow –  the night the stars came down to dance with the fireflys and the fireflys flickered, floating, frolicking, filling the fields of earth so full that they overflowed ever upward, joining the stars in their eternal dance, filling the sky above as well – on that most magical of moments in the meadow, once upon a summer’s night  . . .

“Lift your eyes and look to the heavens; Who created all these?  He who brings out the starry host one by one, and calls them each by name.  Because of His great power and mighty strength, not one of them is missing.”  (Isaiah 40:26)

sincerely,         Grace Day

 

seriously?  Apparently it’s true. My cat is now on anti-anxiety meds to help her deal with her stress.  I am baffled.  What stress?  I mean all my cat has on her calendar is eating and sleeping and sleeping and eating, in no particular order- with an occasional trip to the litter box thrown in.  She has food and beverage available 24/7, I never let her bowls get empty.  She can sleep whenever she wants, wherever she wants.  She has the run of the house and no other pets to compete with for my time and attention.  She doesn’t have to share her toys or her favorite place in the sun with anyone.

So the mystery of why my cat is stressed out continues to elude me.  I mean she doesn’t have to hunt for or to shop for her food, it just magically appears in her bowl each day!  She has a roof over her head, plenty of toys, and she is her own boss.  (cat’s pretty much do what they want to do, when they want to do it)  She has no demanding schedule and plenty of alone time while I am at work each day.

What am I missing?  Does my cat have stock that I don’t know about and she’s been following the stock market this past year?  Is that why she’s supposedly anxious and depressed?  Does she see other cats on the TV commercials and wants what they have, thinking they have better food etc. than she does?  Does she see the neighborhood outdoor cat and want to be outdoors like her?  Maybe the news I watch on TV about what is going on in this world is making her sad, causing her to worry and stressing her out?  Let’s face it, the news today would make anyone anxious and stressed.

She shouldn’t be worried about her wardrobe.  My cat has a beautiful fur coat that keeps her cool in the summer and warm in the winter.  She never has to shop or do laundry!  What is my cat’s problem?  Is she worried that I will forget to feed her? (that has never happened, so she has no reason to think that it will)  Does she not trust that I will continue to provide for her as I always have?  Is that what causes her anxiety and stress, her lack of faith in me as her owner and provider? Is her stress issue really a trust issue?

I am feeling stress just trying to figure out the cause of her stress, which to me appears to be non existent based on her circumstances.  I could alter her circumstances if I knew what in them caused her stress, but trust is an issue of the heart and is not so easily treated.  So for now, this will just have to remain an unsolved mystery.  One I will continue to ponder but try not to stress over.  One stressed being in this house is enough!

“So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’  . . .  your Heavenly Father knows that you need them.  But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.  Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself.  Each day has enough trouble of its’ own.”  (Matthew 6:31-34)

“Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.  And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”  (Philippians 4:6-7)

Perhaps assurance is the ultimate antidote to anxiety.  Paul expressed that best in his letter to the Philippians saying, “That is why I am suffering as I am.  Yet I am not ashamed, because I know whom I have believed, and am convinced that He is able to guard (keep) what I have entrusted to Him for that day.”  (Philippians 1:12)

“An anxious heart weighs a man down, but a kind word cheers him up.”  (Proverbs 12:25)

“Cast all your anxiety on Him because He cares for you.”  (1 Peter 5:7)

“Praise be to the Lord, to God our Savior, who daily bears our burdens.”  (Psalm 68:19)

“Cast your burdens on the Lord and He will sustain you; He will never let the righteous fall.”  (Psalm 55:22)

Jesus invites each one of us today, in our anxious, stressed-out, worry filled conditions, to come to Him just as we are and lay our burdens, fears, anxieties; even our very lives down at His feet, turning all over to Him.  This is His promise to us when we do;

“Come to Me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.  Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.  For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.” (Matthew 11:28-30)

sincerely,       Grace Day

 

 

 

yes, the job of the offensive lineman is to cause offense to the opponent by blocking their way, by causing them to stumble and to fall, so the opposing team can’t do harm to the fellow teammates of the offending, offensive linemen, particularly – the quarterback.   The job of the offensive lineman is to be a stumbling block to the enemy but not to those on his own team.

Paul gave the same advice in his letter to the church in Rome.  He said, “Therefore let us stop passing judgment on one another.  Instead, make up your mind not to put any stumbling block or obstacle in your brother’s way.”  (Romans 14:13)  The offensive lineman is to be a stumbling block to the opponent and in doing so, clear the way for his teammates to advance and to succeed.  He is more of a bridge than a block for those on his own team.

so should we be in our daily lives for everyone we come into contact with;  we must be not a block but a bridge . . .

Lord make me a bridge, let others walk on me – may I never be a block, though You gave me liberty

free from the law, I’m a servant of grace; but a block prevents others from seeing Your face

a bridge lays down, making a way for all; a block causes others to stumble and to fall

may I never be a stumbling block by doing whatever I can; while my brother needs a bridge to walk according to Your plan

In You, Lord, I have freedom to do so many things; help me choose to be a bridge, though I desire wings

I may help my brothers more by laying down my liberty in this life, than by standing as a stumbling block, which can only lead to strife

in my liberty let me choose – what helps my brother not to loose

his faith, his way, nor cause him doubt – that’s not what liberty’s about

this liberty Lord, You’ve given me, not just for me alone;  may I use it only if it strengthens my brother on his long journey home.

so a stumbling block upon no man’s path, may I ever be  – let me be the bridge lying down in the gap, making clear the way to Thee.

sincerely,      Grace Day

prayer is cries in the dark, hallelujahs in the light, songs in the night

prayer is praise in the pain, gratitude without gain

prayer is remembering God’s goodness,  prayer is confession and repentance

prayer is – listening, resting, seeking, searching

prayer is – waiting, watching, abiding, persevering

prayer is pleading  –  Holy Spirit interceding

prayer is calling out to God – knees bended, arms extended, palms open, fists clenched, head bowed, eyes toward heaven

we pray for forgiveness and we are taught how to forgive

we pray for abundance and we receive our daily bread

we pray for understanding and we learn to walk by faith

we pray for revelation and are told to trust in Him

we pray for our enemies and find friends where foes had been

we pray out of our fear and feel His peace that passes understanding

we pray for what we want, God gives us what we need

we pray when God is silent, when we don’t think He hears  –  we pray without words, we pray with our tears

with only a mustard seed, we see our mountains moved, by the One on the cross, where divine love was proved

Jesus says, “go into your closet and there be still, go into your closet, there to seek My will;  go into your closet where no one sees, meet with Me there on bended knees, there I will hear your silent pleas.

what you’ve asked in the dark, I will answer in the light; hastening the day when your faith will be sight.”

and so we pray  . . .   we pray in obedience to God’s word, He tells us to pray

we pray out of our need, out of our desperation, out of our fears . . .

we pray in our belief, we pray in our unbelief;  we pray out of our faith and we pray out of our lack of faith

we pray for our circumstances to change and we are changed instead

we pray to receive the desires of our hearts – but in the praying our hearts’ desires are changed

we start out praying for our own agenda but end up praying God’s will be done

we pray knowing that God is able but not knowing if He will; and it is in that place that we must join with the three who faced the fiery furnace in saying, “the God we serve is able to save us from it, and He will rescue us from your hand, O king. But even if He does not,  . . .   we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up.”

we pray what seems good and right to us, yet remembering that His ways are higher than our ways

we pray knowing that God already knows what we need but He wants us to ask Him anyway  –  that we might grow in faith and that He might be honored and glorified in how He answers

we pray when God is silent, we have His promise that He hears – we pray when lost in darkness, in spite of all our fears

we pray when we are filled with joy, we pray when filled with pain;  we have to learn to praise Him in the sunshine and the rain

and so we pray . . .

we pray for the tangible and receive in return the intangible (joy, peace, comfort, mercy, hope, His gifts are infinite like He is)

we pray for the temporal and receive the eternal (His forgiveness, salvation, redemption, eternal life with Him)

we pray out of our worry and receive God’s peace

we pray with hearts broken over those we love, over a lost world, over the consequences of our own sin

we pray when nothing changes and the answers do not come – we pray knowing the answers may not come in our lifetime

we pray when the answer is “no”-we pray when the answer is “not yet or not now”

and still we pray . . .

We pray to the One Who knows our words before we speak them,  we pray to the One Who hears our hearts when words won’t come, we pray to the One Who knows our name and our every thought, the One Who never slumbers and always hears us

we are called to lives of prayer . . .

and so we pray  –  we pray in faith, with hope and perseverance; trusting our Heavenly Father with our prayers and with our lives

“Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.  And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”  (Philippians 4:6-7)

“Call to Me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know.”  (Jeremiah 33:3)

“Pray without ceasing.”  (1 Thessalonians 5:17)

sincerely,      Grace Day

 

 

 

 

 

first I have to get out of bed.  I want to change the world but . . . first I have to turn off the TV.  I want to change the world but . . . first I have to get up off this couch.  I want to change the world but . . . that means I have to actually leave my house and go out there.

OK —  I’m up, it’s off, I’m off, I’m out   . . .     now what?

Oh world!  you need so much and all I have is a box of bandaides.  and that’s not nearly enough to cover all your wounds  . . .

BUT

I do know Someone who has what you need, who has everything you need and more!

I know the One who has the answers to your questions

the One who has food for your hunger, who has water for your thirst-

I know the One who has healing for your heart, the One who offers rest for your soul –

I know the One who will give you hope and take away your despair –

I know the One who will bring light into your darkness – the One whose forgiveness will wash away your guilt for good

I know the One who brings truth to replace your foolish, darkened thinking

I know the One who brings reconciliation to your broken relationships

I know the One who brings comfort in your pain

I know the One whose Presence brings joy and peace

I know the One whose Presence is life itself

Yes, all I have is a box of bandaides,  but I know  The One

so let me introduce you, oh poor, broken world that you are to The One . . .

Jesus said, “I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.”  (John 10:10)

“For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through Him.”  (John 3:17)

“For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many.”  (Mark 10:45)

“Come to Me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.  Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.  For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.” (Matthew 11:28-30)

Jesus doesn’t offer you bandaides, oh you weary, wounded world.  Jesus offers Himself instead, then you won’t need the bandaides  because Jesus is the cure, the solution to every problem, the Healer of every heart.

sincerely,       Grace Day

 

 

maybe life is like mountain climbing, moving upward is slow, hard work and takes a long time.  Reaching the top is wonderful; a beautiful view and time to rest.  But you can’t live on the mountain top.  The air is too thin, there is no level ground on which to spread out and get comfortable – there is no place to set up camp and make a home.

which means after every journey of ascent there is a corresponding journey of descent which must follow, it is inevitable.  The journey of ascent is so long, the journey of descent so quick that we must take care not to fall too far.  Why do we climb the mountains in our lives at all?  Maybe because those we cannot move, we climb, as climbing them is another way to conquer them.

I am told God can move mountains, so why does He leave so many mountains in the path of my life for me to deal with?  Why can’t they just disappear?  Climbing them takes so much time and energy and intention.  I have to depend on God to help me conquer my current mountain, I can’t succeed in my own strength, so I draw closer to my Creator for the journey.  I become strong as I climb ever upward each day, learning new disciplines to sustain me in my journey.  Climbing requires my dedication and my perseverance.  God is my coach, teaching me, training me, preparing me for the next mountain in my path while enabling me to climb my current one.

My life has purpose and meaning as I push onward to my goal.  And by the time I summit, I have become a different person than I was when I began the ascent from my past position.  I have grown.  But I can’t stay there. The summit is not my final destination.  There will be other hills, other valleys, other peaks to enjoy, other pits to dig myself out of.

Yes, I said pits.  We all know about those pot holes in our road, some of which seem to catch us unawares, then grow and deepen around us, ultimately engulfing and entrapping us.  It is then we cry out for someone to rescue us.  King David knew all too well this experience of being in the pit.  “I waited patiently for the Lord; He turned to me and heard my cry.  He lifted me out of the slimy pit, out of the mud and mire; He set my feet on a rock and gave me a firm place to stand.”  (Psalm 40:1-2)  Isn’t that what we all want?  a firm foundation on which to stand.

We can’t stay on the mountain top, we don’t want to live in the pit – we need level ground.  “Teach me to do Your will, for You are my God; may your good Spirit lead me on level ground.”  (Psalm 143:10)  And God does lead me just as Isaiah 45:2 says, “I will go before you and will level the mountains; I will break down gates of bronze and cut through bars of iron.”

Isaiah 40:3-4 talks about the way of the Lord being prepared much like He goes before me, preparing my way.  “In the desert prepare the way for the Lord; make straight in the wilderness a highway for our God.  Every valley shall be raised up, every mountain and hill made low; the rough ground shall become level, the rugged places a plain.”  There’s that level ground again.  So sometimes God levels my mountain but other times He helps me to climb it.

“It is God who arms me with strength and makes my way perfect.  He makes my feet like the feet of a deer; He enables me to stand on the heights.”  (Psalm 18:32-33)  “He will not let your foot slip – He who watches over you will not slumber.” (Psalm 121:3)  This is good to know and for me to remember when I am in the middle of climbing that mountain because I need that reassurance when the climb is steep and I want to quit.

“For You have delivered me from death and my feet from stumbling, that I may walk before God in the light of life.”  (Psalm 56:13)  So He helps me not to stumble to my death as I ascend and as I descend on my journey and search for level ground.  That is where most of life is lived, between the depths and the heights – on level ground.  “My feet stand on level ground; in the great assembly I will praise the Lord.”  (Psalm 26:12)

God doesn’t move all my mountains for me because He knows I need the exercise of the climb to grow strong and to stay in shape, prepared for whatever will come next.  Without the challenge difficulty brings, I would grow weak, lazy and complacent and much more easily fall into a pit just when I was least prepared to escape it.  (no wonder they are called pitfalls)

Sometimes I long for the view from the mountain top, but the life I live on the level ground, in between the mountains, the molehills, the pitfalls and the perils is full of miracles as well.  (hence blog name – miracles amid the mundane)  The fact that God shows up everyday in my everyday is miracle enough for me and far more than I deserve.  But He does.  And I’m so thankful.

It is in the ordinary of the everyday, the mundane, that I most experience His presence and His miracles.  “In repentance and rest is your salvation, in quietness and trust is your strength,”  (Isaiah 30:15)

“Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.”  (Psalm 46:10)

sincerely,       Grace Day

 

 

 

 

technology and I are at war again.  actually, we have never ceased.  there has been no truce, no cease fire, no negotiated peace.  We are like the Middle East, technology and I, continuously in conflict.  But this time she has gone too far; she has deceived me, she has outpaced me, she has injured me and she has caused me undue distress.  I have spent far too much time and energy engaging her in battle, leaving me wary, weary and wanting to return to a pre-technology existence.

But I don’t even remember my life before technology, do I?  Life without my best friend who is also my worst enemy?  How did I survive?  How did I communicate with others?  Snail mail?  I want to plead with technology, “slow down, take a break, wait for me to catch up!  Then we can talk about this reasonably.  But you don’t want me to catch up, do you?  You win by staying ahead of me so I can’t get to you.  (coward)

You continuously update, knowing I can’t keep up.  That is one of your favorite attacks.  You just want me to spend more money on things I don’t know how to operate, but when I do (and you win) you just update again.  You are never satisfied and you won’t let me be either.

I want to call a truce between us.  I need your help and you know it.  But beware, technology, perhaps a day is coming when we will all put down our phones, come out from behind our computers, turn off our TVs and deal with each other directly, face to face.  Body language will again be more important than an emoji.  Tone of voice more important than capital letters, face to face conversation more satisfying than Facebook, the sharing of real life experiences more satisfying than the sharing of cyberspace images we create for ourselves.

You heard me right, technology, you better be nicer to me or I will abandon you all together.  (talk about your idle threat)  I don’t trust you right now, but I want to be friends again.  so what do you say?  truce?  I need you to help me stay connected to others in this cyberspace world.  And right now no one’s emails are getting through to me and my emails are not being received by those with whom I am attempting to communicate.  Your tactics are those of a shrewd enemy, cut me off from all who could come to my aid, “isolate and destroy”, that is your game plan, isn’t it?

But thankfully I don’t depend on you, technology, to communicate with my Heavenly Father. That’s called prayer and I don’t need you for that, technology.  So keep running if you want, I will eventually catch you ’cause I’m not giving up. Consider yourself forewarned my best friend/worst enemy!

“In my distress I called to the Lord; I cried to my God for help.  From His temple He heard my voice; my cry came before Him, into His ears.”  (Psalm 18:6)

“I love the Lord, for He heard my voice; He heard my cry for mercy.  Because He turned His ear to me, I will call on Him as long as I live.”  (Psalm 116:1-2)

“This is what the Lord says, He who made the earth, the Lord who formed it and established it –  . . . ‘Call to Me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know.’ ”  (Jeremiah 33:2-3)

sincerely,      Grace Day