Let it snow…um…you can quit now

Posted on by Gary Fultz

This week I have watched the wonder and beauty of a snow storm. I took pictures until they all looked the same. Snow looks like snow. Always wonderful, bright and dazzling, alarmingly deadly at some point. I will plow out our drive this morning for the third time.

One snowflake at a time, millions perhaps, until a bough breaks or a tree snaps. Oh the weight of carrying all those snow flakes. How can a few snowflakes be responsible for breaking a tree?

One sweet bite at a time, an ounce on the lips, a pound on the hips. What??? Mirror mirror on the wall, a look of appall.

One word at a time, nibbling at the spirit of a spouse, until something breaks inside. Oh the damage of nibbling words. How can a few words be responsible for a broken marriage?

One tiny slip at a time, a stray thought, a loose word, actions and reactions change gradually. Sin is like that. Why is my spirit heavy? The weight of life is a season I guess. I drift as the winds blow. I once was blind and now again. Some say I don’t know it. I say I’m OK.

This long winded storm alone is a book of insights and parallels to life. I was just reminded of various progressions that seem to flirt with us, dazzle the mind, fleeting beauty, weigh down, break the weak in nature and overstay it’s welcome.

Our deck Christmas trees are still standing.

I love snow. The pure white blanket is mesmerizing. A little snow is good for the soul but not for the road (like a bit of wine?). It’s fun to look out the windows from a warm house and see the beauty. The little dog Buddy thinks it’s fun to be thrown in the snow and disappear as long as he is rescued quickly (the leash helps find him).

I’ll post some of these pictures on unsplash for free down load (just look up unsplash@garyfultz) they will be larger format. I have found using the “gallery” feature in word press is friendlier to cell phones as well as computer screens. I don’t know why but when using a slide show feature, every click counts as a view in your stats which in my view tells a wrong story but that’s how it works. Click on any picture to enlarge and use the slide show buttons. The captions give context.

I decided to rescue some trees from their weight of snow, especially the ones who were bent over so far they could break. Isn’t that the Christmas story? God becoming human starting out as a baby to experience everything human except the breaking weight of sin. I can just kick a tree to relive the weight of snow (at some cost). Jesus died (really big cost) to pay for and remove our weight of sin should we accept that invitation.

I did put my hood up to kick the second tree…fast learner here.

“Come to Me, all of you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. … Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest Matthew 11:28 (Jesus).

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Again

Posted on by Gary Fultz

I have a heart condition. It’s a secret to most. Those who have deeply known me over a long period of time know I get a seasonal depression. It stalks me each winter, trying to spread into my winter season of life. Eyes dim, thought delays lengthen, shorter strides gimp as the former wings of my heart and soul grow slowly defluttered. I want a good heart again.

I want to walk through the woods with unspeakable joy again.

I want to see the un-see-able as I gaze through the treetops into the heavens, past the galaxies again.

I want to rescue desire and wonder to mountains above, to wrist away warring-fear-demons smog. Again.

I want my acidic tears of grief to be purified by joy into refreshing life drops where they fall again.

I want my hearts strong rhythm refreshing and cleansing every cell, so what’s dying may live again.

Oh Lord, I need your heart to beat in me again. You can have mine. Again.

“Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me.” Psalm 51:10

Again

Ahh, the heart of new life

Oh friend, have you ever searched your heart and found it shriveling? After the rocks of life have so cracked the looking glasses of reality, how do we see clearly? Eternity is seen with the heart, but only clearly with the creators heart in us is life and eternity in focus at the same time.

Some reflective Thoughts as I watch the sunset on and beyond. Life is on and beyond

Gary

Mind Muddles

Posted on by Gary Fultz

I’ve been sick. too sick to think with any speed or accuracy I guess. Long pauses are my friend. Lot’s of things like questions, coughing spells and too many vitamins give me the mind muddles. I have a sneaky suspicion that those little viruses that cause me so many problems are a lot like what the preachers describe as the character of sin in one’s life. “Sin will take you further than you want to go and keep you longer than you want to stay.” I suspect another point would be that sin creates a “mind muddle” on the spiritual end of things. What do I know? I have a muddled mind.

The ironic part of being sick, with high fevers for awhile, is there is so much time to think. Let the beauty of that statement sink in (believe me, I’ve tried). Right now, deep thinking works about as well as shoving off from shore in a canoe with no paddle. I have experiences there and it’s a good idea to bring your fishing rod for something to do until you drift to the end of the lake. Remember to bring your cell phone to let the family know you might be late for supper and possibly breakfast.

This downy woodpecker has a muddled mind. See his beak? He keeps beating out tunes on my grill cover

Now my fevers are gone and recovering is real slow. I have actually gained some insight about myself, God and life in general. I felt good one day, rushed outside, worked in the garden and went on a photo-shoot to the lake. I’m quite sure it was the garden work that cost me about two weeks of extended recovery time. More thermometer in mouth and parking under blankets on the recliner in front of the picture window time. Again. Sigh, a familiar reoccurrence.

I think much of my time looking out the window was in worship on the lowest level one can get. Seriously; on my level of muddled mind, all I could do was look out the window and see the trees, birds, sky, new buds and leaves and say “wow”. Nature is sure beautiful. Look…Oh look! that squirrel is climbing a tree! “They do that sometimes” said my wife.

My prayer has been “thank you Lord for making such beauty, and thank you for even a muddled minded sickly guy being able to enjoy it.”

I’m getting better every day. I can get out for short periods of time, rest awhile and go again. I can now take off the 30 foot retractable dog leash off my ankle without getting dizzy bending over. This means I am more responsible now for how far I go beyond the deck. If you do not hear from me in awhile, again, I am probably in the canoe.

I do have a few pictures to share from a few of my short outings…enjoy and stay healthy!

Click on any picture to enlarge and for slide show.

Gary

Writers Drift

Posted on by Gary Fultz

They do. They drift. Okay, so do I, maybe, I guess…Lot’s of life applications here.

I thought of this while shoveling out our driveway and then three more driveways on our road. The winds created a ground blizzard and made huge packed drifts where cars and trucks once passed through. All our drives are 100 yards long (give or take some distance). At this point I need to show you a picture of my shovel in case you think a retired guy is superhuman. Disclaimer: I wrote that for me as I know it never crossed your mind.

My snow shovel.
Yep, snow piles are everywhere this year.

Think about how easy it is to drift in life. Life’s storms and winds come up and change our direction. things pile up and our energies are used just to cope and get by.

I write this to encourage those of us who write to consider how grounded we are to the message we have set out to get across. It’s easy to drift with the winds and react to the times. If we write just to be read, it is like me shoveling snow (with the skid steer bucket of course) because I like shoveling and piling snow. Anywhere, everywhere. It’s fun! I’m afraid I have accomplished many things in life needlessly.

Truthfully, I have heard many public speakers who just like to hear themselves talk. I have read many a blog with a sigh thinking “and your point, encouragement, entertainment value or motivation is…?”

My last point is a spiritual consideration directed at those who follow Jesus.

I use a skid steer to shovel snow as it’s not humanly possible to move that much snow after a storm with hard packed snow drifts. We have no business tackling jobs without making sure we are onboard with God’s will and God’s power (not from asking God to be onboard with us). This is the power of the Holy Spirit in our lives. This is from a conviction that this is what God wants us to be about. This is from our walk and living relationship with a risen Christ in us.

When we drift from operating on God’s leading and his power, we fall into the big drift of powerless mediocrity.

So, watch out for those prevailing winds of time, the storms and blizzards of life and the drift that so easily happens. “We must pay the most careful attention, therefore, to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away.” Hebrews 2:1

“Except the LORD build the house, they labor in vain that build it: except the LORD keep the city, the watchman wakes but in vain.” psalm 127:1

  1. Take a walk 2) have a talk 3)get right 4)Stay tight!

Gary