Jane Hinrichs
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Just a bit of rambling and God's perfect timing

12/15/2016

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PictureI am definitely not superwoman!
A friend loaned me a book a couple weeks ago called Choose Joy: Finding Hope and Purpose When Life Hurts by Sara Frankl and Mary Carver. I wasn't particularly thrilled to read it because I find that a lot of books about people which share their journeys with Christ and talk about their tragedies and triumphs often elevate the people so we leave the book thinking they are super saints. I detest that (maybe it's my own prejudice and maybe I am bit jaded in the trial and triumph department).

This book is different. The author/editor Mary Carver comments on Sara's own blog posts. Sara was an incredible woman, but what makes this book different is that Sara shares honestly -- her struggles, her challenges, her bad attitudes at times. She's real. And yes, there is that part where she is an inspiration to everyone who knew her and who read her blog posts, but she would never have called herself a super saint. She is a person I wish I could have met. 

Why I share this is that this book is helping me come to terms with something today.

I travelled to Rapid City yesterday with two of my sons: Pete and Hawken. We each had an appointment with a doctor/therapist. 

That is the last time we all three will go together. It was really rough on me physically (so of course emotionally) to handle Hawken and Pete. Hawk is in a wheelchair and Pete uses a walker. Pete and I had great conversations there and back (so much so that I forgot to take a turn on the way there and didn't even notice until we ended up in the wrong town), and that was wonderful; but the actual physical work it took me to get both my boys places has gotten to be too much for me. This makes me sad.

A lot of Sara's blog posts talk about her continually coming to terms with the inability to do the things she used to do (after a while she daily lost skills). Her situation was much more severe than mine will ever be, but reading about how she dealt with it (how at first it was hard but then she found peace in the midst of her limitations) is helping me today. 

Some things help me in this: I am thankful my husband is here full-time now (last winter he was only home part-time due to his main job being somewhere else). He does the daily driving in this snowy winter which makes my day-to-day life with Hawk easier. And I am so thankful for the physical strength God has given him (he is physically the strongest person I have ever met). And I am thankful I can still sit on his lap (we will be married for 23 years in May) and rest against his chest for this coming-to-terms with limits can be tough (even when it is a little limitation). 

I believe that if a person really wants to do something, there is nothing that can stop her. I believe we should pursue our dreams wholly. I believe we should not settle for second-best. If we have a passion for something, we ought to go for it with everything we've got. 

Yet, this must be balanced with the understanding that sometimes we can't do everything. Sometimes we can't do all we want to do. Presently this sounds kind of self-defeating to me, but it isn't, because this life isn't about me. It is about God. It is His story, not mine. Mine is woven into His but my story is just a vignette within the Story. 

Two scriptures come to mind:

"And He said to me, 'My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness.'" 2 Corinthians 12:9

(and)

"'All flesh is like grass, and all its loveliness is like the flower of the field. The grass withers, the flower fades . . . But the word of our god stands forever.'" Isaiah 40: 6-8

There is comfort for me in those verses. 

God is good, so very good. 

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It's Perfectly OK To Change The Why

6/5/2014

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Picture
It's perfectly OK to change the Why.

What the heck do I mean?

When we start a new chapter in our lives or learn a new skill or begin a new activity we often have reasons why we start these things.

It is okay if those reasons change.

It is called flexibility and flexibility keeps us strong.

Almost two years ago I began to draw daily in the hopes of becoming a children's book illustrator. I love Quentin Blake's work and would love to open up some picture books and see my work. What a gift that must be.

And that still could happen. I really don't know.

But, I've found a new reason to draw and I'm so thankful for it. It is an activity that is good for my brain, good for my emotional and spiritual states; and just plain fun. Maybe when I began this was the reason for it. Or, maybe God has more plans I am not aware of. Whatever it is, it is OK.

God is in control. 

Do you have things you began in hopes of one outcome but then that outcome was replaced with another?

Often we are on roads of self discovery. Creativity and flexibility can bring freedom into our lives. It's a matter of sticking close to Jesus, letting Him lead and being open to change. We serve a mighty God, a loving God, a God who knows us better than we know ourselves.

"Jesus therefore was saying to those Jews who had believed Him, 'If you abide in My word, then you are truly disciples of Mine; and you shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free.'" John 8:31-32

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My first time

7/12/2013

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We have a lot of firsts in life, firsts we look forward to anxiously and firsts we dread.

A lot of firsts happen with technology. For good or bad technology is a huge part of our world. In fact, the cyber world is much more real to some people the the flesh and blood world. Whether that is good or not is immaterial....God meets us where we are at.

I'm having a first time moment right now. Most days I use my son's laptop to post on my blogs, but I haven't had access to it for a few days. So again I decided to try and use my 13 year old son's iPad to post. Prior to today it wouldn't let me.

But today is a new day, and I am using the iPad to post on this blog (right now as I type).

Will you experience a first time moment today? Whether you are excited or anxious about it, God is waiting for you there. 

He's got it under control. Just enjoy the ride.

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Be a cork

5/30/2012

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"To know wisdom and instruction,
To discern the sayings of understanding,
To receive instruction in wise behavior. Righteousness, justice and equity;
To give prudence to the haive,
To the youth knowledge and discretion,
A wise man will hear and increase in learning,
And a man of understanding
will acquire wise counsel,
To understand a proverb and a figure,
The words of the wise and their riddles." Proverbs 1:2-6

"Do not envy a man of violence,
And do not choose any of his ways." Proverbs 3:31

My son Hawk and I are reading a book about Pierre Auguste Renoir written by his son. One of Renoir's main ways of living life was to "be a cork" in a stream, go where it takes you -- meaning we need to stay flexible with the changes about us.

This is so important to the one who wants to lead a spiritual life. We have to stay flexible.

(And I'm not talking about compromising your faith -- a cork stays a cork no matter how fast that stream is moving).

Read the verses above again. Look how we gain wisdom. Look how we learn how to live a godly life. It is never through force or manipulation or rigged doggedness. It is by knowing, discerning, receiving, giving, hearing and understanding."

Contrast these actions with the person mentioned in the last verse

This person gains by violence, by forcing a situation, by forcing his will, by manipulating her circumstances.

This isn't God's way EVER.

If you find yourself in a situation that cannot change, that will be your reality for a while, learn from it. Flow with it. Let it teach you. Enjoy it. Find Jesus in it. Let it mold you and shape you more into God's image.

Life is truly full of seasons. Maybe you aren't in your favorite season of life, but it is as necessary as the one you find so fulfilling. Just as the seasons are necessary for the earth's vegetation to grow, so the seasons in our lives are necessary for our spiritual growth.

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Be

5/15/2012

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"'Take My yoke upon you, and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart; and YOU SHALL FIND REST FOR YOUR SOULS.'" Matthew 11:29

What do we need to be to grow in Christ? 

Flexibility.

Another name for flexibility is humbleness. 

If a person is bitter, rigid, religious, stiff, that person is in need of humbleness and flexibility.

If we don't have flexibility we are going to have a rough time with following God.

For God is creative and works so outside the box -- He never works in the way we think He will.

The only way we can be content in Him and be free enough to let Him work in our lives is to stay flexible.

If you need flexibility, ask God for help.
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     Who is Jane Hinrichs?

    Jane is a wife, a mom, a writer, an artist, a lover of the Word of God. She has been studying the Bible since 1987 and has been writing about it almost since then. She loves to hear from her readers. Email her at:
    JaneHinrichs@mail.com

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