Free Spirit

free spirit (definition) n. One who is not restrained, as by convention or obligation

In this age of 'busyness', we all long for some "free time". Personal time that we can waste at our whim.

If you don't think BUSYNESS is a word, look it up (I DID!), :)

Here are some of the busy definitions that made me smile (actually laugh out loud):

1. Busy as a bee —Geoffrey Chaucer
2. Busy as a dog with fleas —Anon
3. Busy as a fiddler’s elbow —Harry Prince
4. Busy as an oven at Christmas —Michael Denham
5. Busy as ants in a breadbox —Anon
6. Busy as a ticking clock —Anon
7. Hurried..like one who had always a multiplicity of tasks on hand —Charlotte Brontë

As jobs, family, obligations (the multiplicity of tasks!) seems to take every bit of our strength, attention and time... we long to be... FREE!

Have you ever said, "I wish I could..."? Go ahead, admit it! We all have wished for those moments of tranquility, reflection... our "Calgon... take me away" times. When you close your eyes while relaxing, where do you wish to be?

What makes you feel FREE?

Recently, I was reading in Psalms concerning "restoration" and loved the ending of this scripture passage...

¹¹Cast me not away from thy presence; and take not thy holy spirit from me.

¹²Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation; and uphold me with thy free spirit. (Psalm 51:11-12, King James Version)

When you are restored and "well again", the scripture then tells us that our spirit will be 'free'.

I LOVE THAT!

I tried to picture a FREE SPIRIT! I imagined laughter and dancing, skipping, with more laughter... and I felt a kindred spirit.

My soul longs to be free! I hope yours does to.

Don't get bogged down for so long that you forget what "light-heartedness" means! That you forget to look up and see the stars at night... or listen for the frogs singing before dusk.

May you find joy, may you find peace and most of all, may your heart and soul be FREE!

These are the things I wish for you...

One Year.. Stronger for it

Life gets busy... like "REALLY BUSY" sometimes. Full. Hectic. Crazy. And not just with jobs and family... but with pressures, needs, demands and expectations.

I have not written a post on this blog for over one year. Where did the time go? I tried to search, dig deep into my feelings during this last year... there were so many highlights, that I staggered at my emotions. How do you share when the 'lessons' are so private, so real, so 'raw', that you are almost afraid to acknowledge them?

But this we all know, through it all, He is with us.

When learning and 'training ourselves' to lean and depend on Jesus, we KNOW that he is with us in the Valleys and on the Mountain top. But it is a whole different journey when these valleys arrive.

Storms. Anguish. Aloneness. Misery. Grief for attacks against us.

I'm the first to want to take the higher ground. Be the optimist. Think positive... ignore the negative. But there are times that 'hardness' cannot be ignored. It is present... in our face... constant... wrapping our hearts in chains. The severity and tightening of the bands around our heart, seems unmovable.

I feel that now, more than ever, we need to let others know that they are not alone. Encourage each other. So that no-one feels abandoned.

Abandoned. Alone. Such lonely words. Conjuring up pity and self-loathing that should NEVER determine our in-ward thoughts.

So, how do we handle the 'hard times', 'worst of times'? These are the moments, experiences that try our very soul. Yes, we all are tempted. But we need to know that we can be over-comers.

No, there is not any "magic answers". Just Faith... the Godly Faith that God gave us a measure of. Oh how strong Faith is!

May you find that Faith. Faith that keeps walking. Faith that believes when there is really no reason for believing. The "knowing" that once the weight is lifted, we will be free again.

Free to smile. Free to pursue those trails that God opens up. Free to tell of "How I got over". Free to see the whole picture and be able to encourage others.

When the sunshine returns after the long drought,

I hope you leap.

I hope you dance.

I hope you smile ever so brightly.

I hope you are able to take what you have learned and "rise above the circumstance".

I hope after the storm, you are "Stronger for it".



One year later, I can say... "In my weakness, He is strong". And it that strength, what lessons we learn... please pass them on.

What have you been through this past year? Grief? Betrayal? Rejection? Fear? Disloyalty?

But you are still standing...

Encourage yourself, save yourself. Encourage one, save many.