A Penny in the Dirt

I kept walking by this penny the other day not picking it up. About the 5th time I passed it, I started to think about why I hadn't picked the penny up. Then I realized that the penny was there for a purpose, to help me see a life lesson.
I hadn't picked up the penny because, I felt it had "no" value to me, it was only on cent, so what does that matter? However, that penny combined with other pennies would add up to more value. Then I started wondering, what if it was a collector item? Something with more value. Well I didn't pick up the penny but it taught me some life lessons.
In life people are like pennies, sometimes I take them only at face value. Then I brush past them, valuing them as less worthwhile then I need. So in reality I'm devaluing that person. Like a penny, people have individual worth. Though pennies may not be of much value to me by themselves they add up. Likewise, people with individual worth add up to increasing value when I allow them to be a part of my life, because their value plus mine adds up to more then what I was before I chose to see them as valuable.  Unlike the penny I found, which was made of cheap metal, people are all like collectors coins, worth more than what we see at face value.
So from a penny in the dust, I learned a life lesson. Don't pass over the people in front of you.

Taking off the Sandals

The beauty of a once a week Church gathering is that once a week we're reminded that we're in the presence of God. What if we made it a point daily to remember that we are in the presence of God. With that, comes the removal of our shoes. To come into the presence of God we have to remove the dirt that has traveled with us. That dirt is the sin that clings to our imperfect selves. By checking our hearts, similar to taking off the shoes, we remove the sin that makes us dirty. If we did this daily, what freedom would we experience? When this is done regularly it becomes, routine and easy. Then with sin that tries to build into footholds we don't allow it to gain strength. The clarity in our relationship with God grows as we first remove the distractions that fill our hearts.

The Beginning of "Free"

This is a fairly personal post from last summer...


This summer God is working in my heart to show me how much He loves me.  For all to long I have been distracted by seeking out my worth and my value in others, always hoping for the day I would find "the one." Not knowing that I was seeking my worth in the wrong place. 
So at the beginning of the summer when I started feeling this contentment in my soul, I got a little confused. This was a new feeling for me. I didn't give it much thought until a few people asked me, in that genuine way, "how i was doing?"  So my reply was; "content which is new and exciting!" Then during an extended time alone with God, He began to reveal the truth and freedom behind this contentment. That this contentment mean I had this freedom to be pursued and loved more wholly by God.
Then it really came to mind when I was driving and listening to my favorite song, "Free" by The Zac Brown Band. this song had been a theme for my life in hopes of a companion. This time though it hit me that God wants me to feel free to adventure with Him. So my summer's goal is to find freedom and adventure with God as He shows me through the adventure that He loves me.




My first adventure was a run... I love to run and sometimes I talk to God as I run, but today I thought I'll invite God to just love on me and speak to me during my run. He did, He made the wind enjoyable as I could listen to it blow through the tops of the trees and gently brush my face. Then the roar of the creek, who needs music with this sound. The majestic peaks that speak of His greatness. The pristine sky which reminds me how beautiful I am. Then to end and look out over the clear spring fed ponds just enjoying the creation around me.  All the whild in my head ringing the words "I was made for this!"