Beauty and Peace

I’ve had the pleasure of doing a little traveling lately.  I’m once again amazed at God’s handy work.  We recently traveled through Kentucky and Tennessee.  Such beautiful land, and there really are rolling hills in Kentucky.  Next to the Carolina’s, Tennessee is the 2nd place I think I would like to live.

When my husband informed me he was taking a trip, I, of course, invited myself to tag along (my part was a much-needed vacation).  While he worked, I spent a couple of days reading Redeeming Love by Francine Rivers.  Note:  If you have not read the book, you should.  It was that good. The other days I roamed the local mall (move along, not much to see there) and went on a little adventure.  If you read my blog, then you know how I love adventure.  I landed on a little slice of Heaven called the Land Between The Lakes.  Not a lot to do there but enjoy the land and of course, the lakes.  Wranglers Campground was such a find, and I loved the fact that it’s a campground where most people bring their own horses there.  Talk about loving horses.  I went horseback riding myself while there.  I also found sSuch joy driving in the hills on the curvy tree-topped roads.  It was therapy.  With the wind in my hair and Monarch butterflies migrating through, I had a blast.

Another great part of the trip was Nashville.  We drove in for a long weekend after Doug finished working and stayed in a little area called Brentwood (haha… little).  I’ve never seen so much money in one place.  The houses were gigantic and everywhere.  Literally.  We Googled some of them to see what the sizes were.  One in particular was almost 20,000 sf.  Yes, 20,000!  MASSIVE homes!  And there were lots of houses this size too.  As we drove down street after street taking in these huge homes, I could only think of one thing:  I wonder what God thinks?  Was He as impressed as I was?  The churches were grand with immaculate grounds.  After finding our way to downtown Nashville, we walked around taking in the atmosphere.  The churches were equally grand downtown only without the property.  We ate at Jack’s BBQ…delicious!  Since we aren’t big country music fans (sorry David St. Romain), we didn’t really know what we were looking at.  When we returned home, however, my Dad gave me the low down on everything we walked right by.  He IS a big country music fan.  I think deep down he was disappointed that we wasted the walk down Broadway.

Let me back up, I almost forgot.  Wish I had a picture of Moes (hope I spelled it right).  We met him on our flight into the area earlier in the week.  He was a very cool 17-year-old guy sporting the hair swoosh.  He was quite knowledgeable about Nashville since he grew up there and was returning home from scouting out Tulane to possibly attend school in New Orleans.  We traded stories about places to see. He told us about the Firefly Grill (a great place) and the Loveless Cafe.  Man, oh man!  Home cooking at it’s best!  I’m not sure why they called it ‘loveless’ because, let me tell you, that food was FULL of love!  We waited for over an hour to be seated.  The biscuits were amazing, and I’m not really even a fan of biscuits.  So glad Moes sat by us on the plane.

Speaking of hidden things, on the last day we found a little treasure in Brentwood on our own that many didn’t even know was there.  Lake Radnor.  It is a small lake nestled in a wildlife refuge among the hills and trees of the area.  In fact, if you didn’t know it was there, you would most likely miss it.  Honestly, I think it was a little secret of the locals, but I found it.  It’s a beautiful walk around the lake with deer, squirrels and birds.  We didn’t see one deer, but we were told they were all over the ridge that morning.  I wish we would have found this before the last day because I definitely would have walked the ridge.  Lake Radnor was a beautifully maintained area.  The leaves were just beginning to show a little change of color.  I bet it’s beautiful when they are fully into fall.

As I walked through again marveling at God’s creation, I began to think, what if I had ignored the map?  Would I have noticed the unmarked roads?  Would I have missed out on the beauty and peace?  It leaves me with this:

Am I missing out on the beauty and peace in my own world?  Am I passing by unmarked roads in my own journey of life?  Am I relying on God’s direction?

I hope so!

Crazy Love

I’m reading the book Crazy Love by Francis Chan right now. It’s challenging me to the core, and this is a good thing. I read the 5th chapter about being lukewarm and wow, did it cause me to really reflect on my spiritual temp. Am I lukewarm? I certainly hope not.

Just like the hot/cold game, as you get closer to the object someone tells you “you’re getting warmer, warmer, no cold, ok warmer”, I hope when God’s giving me direction His line is “You’re hot! You’re on fire!” I certainly hope He’s isn’t saying “Connie, you’re just cold.” I’d be heart-broken.

If you have not read the book, then you owe it to yourself to get a copy and READ IT. I’m so glad I have. Thanks for the book, Kaycee!

Obedience is key!

Thursday night on the chat.live set I heard Lee Domingue say it. “Obedience is key!” That’s what I keep hearing. I run across it when I am reading. The topic comes up in discussions. Podcasts are mentioning it. Even my email Bible verses for Pete’s sake. By the way, who is Pete? I cannot get away from this theme of obedience. This left me with one thought: God, am I missing it? Am I being disobedient?

In a discussion with a close friend, we discovered we were both hearing the same. The funny part is we’ve each come to the conclusion we aren’t being disobedient to what God is calling each of us to do. In fact, we feel like we are being very obedient DOING what God has asked of us. However, we both were not full on embracing it. (ouch!) We were doubting, not believing, even questioning some. Doing isn’t enough.

Faith and obedience go hand in hand. If I simply do what I am told but deep down inside doubt what I am doing, is this honoring God? If I’m only getting my gloves a little dirty, is this obedience?  I think God’s showing me that true obedience is pure and is not tainted with unbelief. It’s more than a simple action. With that in mind, I am going to start monitoring my attitude and motives in obedience.

Lord, let me bring You honor and glory!