On Eagles' Wings

The best part of ice coming off the lake (besides the hope of spring) is when the bald eagles camp out near the open water.  The spotting scope is stationed on the kitchen table and we watch as they do what eagles do.  I don't have a camera as strong as the scope, but this picture is of an adolescent.  So cool!

Interesting that my devotional today takes me to Isaiah 40:31 "but those who hope in (wait upon) the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint."

In ancient Hebrew culture eagles were revered as strong warriors, birds of prey that also hold a tender side for their young. Eagles were known to carry their young to safety in times of threat from predators. Eagles were also thought to shed their feathers in a type of rebirth/regeneration to invigorate themselves to a form of their youth. Eagles were also known and revered for their strength and courage in high winds and stormy weather. They had the ability to fly about the prevailing weather patterns and soar over the storm to safety.

I have witnessed the tender side of a mother eagle for her young. She "brought home the bacon" and stood aside as her children enjoyed the meal first. (ie: diver duck met it's match).

The other scripture that spoke to me today was Lamentations 3:24-26 I say to myself, “The Lord is my portion; therefore I will wait for him.”

²⁵ The Lord is good to those whose hope is in him,
    to the one who seeks him;
²⁶ it is good to wait quietly
    for the salvation of the Lord.  NIV

These are the words that jumped out at me:
Wait
Hope
Seek
Wait

Interesting. The eagle:
Waits and hopes with anticipation of the prey.
Seeks the meal and apprehends.
Waits until her young are done eating before she does.

Bringing this to what I think He's trying to say to me today...

There's a whole lot of waiting going on. 
Waiting with expectation and hope of outcome.
Seeking while waiting.
Wait some more.

An important piece to this waiting equation comes in words before - Lamentations 3:22.
The Lord's....compassions never fail.

The Lord has a track record. Isaiah remembers.
As must I.  As must we all.
He is faithful.  As we prepare for Easter, how can we not help but be reminded of how He loves us!

Seek Him all the while.  Dig into His word always. Know His thoughts. Know His character. Know He is there during the waiting.

Lovin' me some "in your face" eagle moments.
On eagles wings...not sprouting your own and flying off, but soaring in His strength.

Blessings,
Amy

P.S.
Yes, the de-cluttering continues!
It's slowed now that I have started to sell items, but continue to dig out in the recesses of closets, buffets, and all the unforgotten closed doors.  It's humbling, invigorating, and time consuming.  But it will all be worth it.

482 items
1,518 to go!  Wahoo!

Clean Sweep

Clean Sweep. It was on Saturday mornings on TLC. I used to watch it religiously.

The team chose two rooms to "sweep".  Literally, every single item from the two rooms were hauled outside onto tarps.  The homeowners were given two days to sort their clutter and pitch what they didn't need. Items were place on separate tarps in piles labeled Keep, Sell and Toss. Meanwhile, two rooms in their home were redesigned by professionals. The items placed on the Sell tarp were then sold in a yard-sale on the second day, with anything not sold going to charity. The rooms were redesigned with the carpenter on-hand to design beautiful new furniture, or modify existing. When the rooms were done, the transformations were usually so amazing that they were hard to believe. 

The biggest change, of course, was the elimination of heaps of stuff.  And the professional organizer helped the couple work through several emotional attachments and other issues connected to their belongings.  

How freeing it was and what joy to see a clean, swept room!  Pun intended.

I like this philosophy.
Each item must be handled intentionally and dealt with.  

An audio book I have been listening to is The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up by Marie Kondo.  This was recommended by 2 of my friends that have read my blog. I am about a 1/3 of the way through it.  (I like a lot of her ideas although there are several things she says about the "life" of objects I raise my eyebrows over.)
I have, however, picked up several good tips so far.

1.  Handle every item. Every single item.
2.  Ask yourself this question, "Does this spark joy?" 
3.  Get rid of it if it doesn't. 
4.  Gather ALL like items together in one area.  ie:  Clothing (all seasons--start with off season first), all books etc.

As you handle each item, carefully and mindfully listen to your inner dialogue.
For instance, I picked up a jacket that I own and thoughts that ran through my mind were:
This is so cute. I bought it on clearance. What a good deal I got! It was on my birthday. I was with my dear friend. Have I ever wore it? It makes me look pale. But I bought it and better wear it. Why did I buy it? I better hang it up and make myself wear it. Maybe if I put a cute scarf with it... And so on and so on.  
Did any of this dialogue bring me joy?  Uh, no. Except the memories of spending the day with my girlfriend. 

So, how about hang onto the good memories and get rid of the item. Wow! The baggage of emotions that are spurred by this ONE jacket...crazy. Baggage of remorse, guilt, putting myself down, and feelings of inadequacy.

I know, I know...this may seem a little over the top.  

But I challenge you to do it.  It takes a little practice.  Listen to you talk to you.

2000 item challenge. (Get 2000 items out of the house in 2015...maybe we should make it 2015 items!)
Here is an update:  448 items

Many more are sorted out but not bagged up.  
I think I better start selling some stuff.  :)  
I was on a roll in the spare bedroom until it came to the Legos...that will be another day's blog.

May God bless you during this time.  Forgive yourself, He does.  It's okay that you and I have made purchases that weren't so good. It's okay that the item has served it's purpose for you.  It's okay.  Let it go! Keep the broom going!

For fun I Googled "clean sweep in Bible" and found this...

1 Peter 2 ^1-3 So clean house! Make a clean sweep of malice and pretense, envy and hurtful talk. You’ve had a taste of God. Now, like infants at the breast, drink deep of God’s pure kindness. Then you’ll grow up mature and whole in God.  MSG

Make a clean sweep and be sure to "fill up" again with God. (Luke 11:25-26)

Keep on Keepin' On,

Amy

Tip:  Recycle vases...check with your local florist and see if they will take them back!  I found 14!!!

Schedule time to de-clutter!

 

It's a no-brainer

"Lord, help!" 4 times in Psalm 107 this exclamation is stated. NLT  

"they cried out to the Lord in their trouble" NIV, ESV,

"Then you called out to God in your desperate condition" Message

And each of the 4 times the Lord :

"delivered them from their distress,
saved them from their distress,
brought them out of their distress,
rescued them from their distress"  NIV, NLT, KJ, ESV
"got you out in the nick of time" MSG

I thought this was interesting.  
He responded, every time.
A way out.
Freedom
Healing
Calm
Leading
Rescue


 
I have the privilege of reading aloud scripture with my teen son for school.  What a blessing!
Psalm 107 was part of the reading today.  I noted to him as the passage repeated itself..."each time they turned to God, He responded with help."
It's a no-brainer, was the look my son gave me back.

Why then is it that we keep thinking we can go about it alone? Or that we need to?
Why not just turn to Him immediately in our saddened, maddened, resentful, pity-party state?

This Psalm was written to celebrate the Jews' return from their exile in Babylon.
Descriptions of the people taken from this reading: They wandered, sat in darkness and gloom, rebelled, and were foolish.

Then they called out to God in their desperate condition.

A praise song that touched me this week by Michael W. Smith,
Breathe
I'm desperate for you, I'm lost without you.

Your holy presence living in me...
This is my daily bread, your very word, spoken to me.

What if we truly, truly made Him and His Word our daily bread.
What if we really made Him a part of our sustenance? 
As important as our morning cup of coffee (or tea, or pop)?
As important as our snacks, meal times, or desserts?
What if we made Him the air we breathe?

4 times they cried for help
4 times He responded and rescued

4 times they praised Him
Thanked Him with singing, exalted Him publicly, acknowledged that the goodness came from Him.

Drawing close to Him, calling out to Him, letting go of self...always turns to praise.
It's a no-brainer.

I needed this. Thank you to the Lord of Heaven's Armies,

Amy

Junk Drawer

The Junk Drawer.
Everyone has one...or so I hope.
From what I've seen, this drawer is usually located in the kitchen.

I haven't quite figured out why I had broken rubber bands and pencil erasers stashed in this drawer. I do however, understand the Rubik's Cube key chain. Could be one of those emotional attachment issues. 
Rubik's Cube = Tie to Youth
Yep, I kept this item. Took off the key chain though and moved to the game cupboard.

I threw many, many small items out of this drawer. I did not count them all because I thought that would be cheating so I put the number 10 on it. There should be some reward just for tackling that job.
Really, do I need 35 pens, 10 highlighters, and 5 expo markers in the junk drawer?  No. I didn't throw, I moved them to my office supply storage area.  (Dangerously close to only moving clutter to new area?)

Update: I just counted up the items for 2000 challenge.  Only 34 more added.
I have gotten rid of 147.
1853 to go.

This is more of a struggle than I thought. 

I better start listening to some of the advice in all of these organizing books I have.
1.  De-clutter for 15 minutes/day.
2.  Pick a room--any room.  The one that is causing the most stress and start there.
3.  Find 2 friends I am going to be accountable to and get on a texting/reminder schedule.

A note about possessions:

I attended a funeral of a dear friend this past week.  Yesterday in church our worship leader mentioned that at the end of his life he wasn't gathering his earthly possessions and surrounding himself with what he had accumulated, but rather his family gathered around him.  Relationships. Souls. That is eternal. 

Luke 12:15, NIV says, "Then He said to them, 'Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; a man's life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions."

Let's do it!

Amy

Tip:  I heard a great tip this weekend. 
Get a tension rod or towel rack and hang scarves along them, rotate scarves from left to right as you wear them.