First of all, I am celebrating that I found my way out of a corn maze last Friday night. A group of fourth graders and some moms tackled it as a part of a friend’s birthday party. The darkness had fallen so we were equipped with flashlights. I scanned a QR code with my phone to help us navigate through the maze, but after 15 minutes, my phone died. We were left with our instincts and a paper map. Mist rose from the patch causing the light from the flashlights to break apart and distort my line of sight. I was shorter than the corn but could see the blackness of night very well.
The girls and moms trudged along hopping over corn and dodging mud patches, but at one point, one of the girls became very scared, not of the corn patch, but of the sounds outside of the patch. An ambulance blared as it raced down a nearby road and a helicopter hovered nearby for a few minutes. I calmed her, gave her a hug and let her know that we were okay. The helicopter was probably observing a nearby high school football game. It was really a moment, though, when I realized that I was helping by coming alongside of her and comforting her. She recovered and relaxed then moved on through the patch.
The Holy Spirit of God also comes alongside of me. Earlier in the afternoon, I had dealt with a stressful situation. At first, I was like that child in the corn maze, feeling like I was bombarded with confusion. My day had been great, then came a phone call which can be compared to the sounds of the ambulance and helicopter in the maze. I felt like crying but also felt aggravated about the message on the phone. I made another phone call which began my calming process. God’s Spirit stayed right near me and even allowed me to feel peace as I stopped being aggravated and began to find a solution.
I shared the whole problem and its resolution with a friend at the start of the party. I am so thankful to not only be comforted, but to also comfort another all within the same day! As I have reflected on the comfort theme, I have realized that the purpose of my blog is to offer messages of comfort and a feeling of connectedness to my readers. As I share how I’ve spent time in God’s word and received inspiration, I want to share it. When I share how God has touched a situation in my life, it is my hope that readers of my blog will also be encouraged and view my words as my testimony. My words testify of the truth found in God’s word. I am not a theologian nor do I wish to be perceived as “churchy”, but my goal in writing about my life publicly rather than in a personal journal, is to allow a glimpse into how God is at work in me and through me.
Another reason that I want to blog is to connect with people about what I enjoy and my memories of my family and neighbors. I have written in this blog about times spent with my family, Mrs. Oliver (a dear neighbor while growing up) and plan to continue to share memories of time spent with loved ones. I grieved when my friend, James, passed away and shared the moments that I spent around his bedside near the end of his life. I process my feelings by writing about them so having a blog is helpful to me so that I can share and make sense of life’s events. It is through my blog that I also hope to celebrate and spread hope. We hear such discouraging news in the media so my blog should be a place of refreshment as my readers hear about life through my lenses.
I have had some moments in the evening during the past week when I was able to read for a while before bed. I wish that I had time to read each book quickly, but have decided that I will allow myself some time to read when I can and enjoy. I met Sarah Jakes a few weeks ago at a Women of Faith conference where she signed her book for me. It is such a joy to read when you have connected with the author as she spoke and shared her life story. I am already hooked just from reading the first few chapters of her book and Shelly Pearsall’s book, “The Seventh Most Important Thing”. I can hardly wait to hear more from both authors!
Getting to hear the real life and realistic fiction stories of people is a way that I study words. It is my goal that during my blog posts in the coming year, I will be able to share books that I have read and discuss them with readers of my blog.
I am also a fan of food so I like to read food books, magazines and blogs. I want to keep learning and sharing ways that I am living a life with a proper blood sugar level. I never blogged about it before, but will let you know that I was diagnosed with diabetes in March. I can reverse diabetes if I make the right choices. I think that I will dedicate some of my future blog posts to celebrate successes and share struggles that I have with food choices.
Everyone is walking through the maze of life. My blog is meant to be a place along the way that you look forward to visiting, a place to see how God is at work in me. I enjoy coming alongside of readers of my blog and sharing what I have noticed. It gives me great pleasure to be in your company. I hope to blog every other week and post my new blog entry at the same time every other week. I plan to post by Sunday. I hope you plan to subscribe and read the new blog posts. I enjoy linking up with Ruth Ayers and her weekend celebrations like I did today.
Great post Lisa. I really enjoy reading our post.
Wonderful connections made through blogging friends at Celebrate This Week. Our Mock Newbery group (after school book club) is reading The Seventh Most Important Thing, and I loved it. Fun to read about your experience in the corn maze and connections to your spiritual life. Welcome!