Peaceful Water

 

"He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside peaceful waters.He renews my soul."  Psalm 23:2-3a, God's Word Translation 

I am a product of Charlotte County, NB.  For me, there is no better smelling sea air than found in the coastal regions of Charlotte County.  It doesn't matter if I'm at the Block House in historic St.Andrew's by the Sea, visiting "The Island" (Grand Manan, for you uncultured swine), or going to the beach my wife went to as a child, the air smells better here...smells different!

I live in Saint John and I'm pretty sure most of you are familiar with that smell, but even the coastal portions of the city smell different.  It's not quite the same.  Like Dorothy  in the 'Wizard of Oz,' there really is no place like home!

The above picture is of coastal Charlotte County.  Notice how the water is calm with barely a ripple on the surface   I took it while walking a mowed pathway recently.  For the duration of my stroll, the familiar refrain of Psalm 23 kept echoing in my heart, as well as my soul.  It was a time of rest, as well as restoration.

As I mentioned before in a previous post, we need to come to a place where we find rest and peace.  It may be the shoreline of the best place in all of Canada, or somewhere completely different (and wrong) for you.

The rest offered in Psalm 23 is a body, soul and mind rest.  It is meant to restore you completely.  It chases away the chaos of life and recharges your batteries to keep fighting.  It is meant to help you, not hinder.

I'm writing this in the middle of a busy work week, yet, I have found some restoration in a simple trail walk.  

We live busy lives.  Maybe it seems like you're stumbling from one disaster into another.  I want to encourage you to find the rest mentioned in Psalm 23, found in the One that inspired Psalm 23.  

It's not exclusive to coastal Charlotte County BUT I highly recommend it!

Refreshed

 "If you are tired from carrying heavy burdens, come to me and I will give you rest."             Matthew 11:28, CEV

    If you have ever said to yourself, "Self!  We should buy Fred a gift as a way to say "Thank you!" for his awesomeness and blogging skills.  What should we buy?" let me say you can never go wrong with a Starbucks gift card!  In fact, I would ENCOURAGE all four of you (I know who reads these things) to pool your resources and feel free to splurge!  😁

    In all seriousness, I do enjoy Starbucks, whether supplied with free resources, or not.  I've noticed that many coffee establishments, Starbucks included, have added "refreshers" to their summer menus.  What is a refresher?  Most seem to contain a fruit juice base and served cold, with ice. In theory, it's a sweet, cold treat to help energize you during those hot, muggy summer days.  Some will that cold beer is made for the same reason, but I digress.  

    During the dog days of summer, finding an avenue of getting away from the heat is essential.  A day at the beach can be just as refreshing as a $400 fruit-based beverage at a high priced coffee shop.  The same can be said about sitting in an air conditioned room.  When the heat is on, we need a way to avoiding overheating and breaking down.  That's true, not only for summer, but all year long.

    Being refreshed, or finding a time and place to rest is necessary or we run the risk of breaking down.  I need rest.  You need rest!  We all need rest!  

    After I post this blog, I am going to tackle the song "Hymn of Heaven" on my guitar.  The opening line of this song states "How I long to breath the air of heaven..."  That sounds so peaceful to me.  It sounds so refreshing.  It sounds like a great place to find rest.

    It's been a busy last few weeks for my family.  Meagan has graduated from high school.  We hosted a graduation party for her.  Work has been INSANE with vacations and the never ending pandemic related sicknesses.  I am TIRED!  Today I am looking for rest and refreshment, not from a coffee shop, but from the One I believe offers it freely.  

  Rest is there, whether you believe in God or not.  Take the time to get away from busy schedules and hazy summer days.  Invest in rest,  It's and investment in yourself!

    Melissa encouraged me to do something restful.  In fact, she told me to either write a blog OR play my guitar.  I'm choosing to do both.  We both know how easy it is for me to go without proper rest.  I have faced physical, emotional and spiritual burnout a few times over the years.  Resting, and being refreshed, keeps me level headed and emotionally balanced.  

    If you've read this far and STILL want to buy me a Starbucks gift card, make it out to Melissa.  She deserves the credit...and I will still USE the card!

    

Black Sheep Syndrome

 

This is a story about the black sheep.  You know the story, right?  It's a tale of a sheep that gives away it's wool to the master, the same and to a little child (I forget if it's a boy or a girl).  The sheep gives away it's best to comfort and support the people around.

Then again, the black sheep can bethe outcast in the family as well.  Regardless of how hard they try to fit in, they feel like they can never truly be accepted.

In fact, back in the 18th and 19th centuries the wool of a black sheep was undesirable.  Unlike white wool, black is a hard colour to dye. It was often seen as the mark of the Devil.

Take the tale of the black sheep mentioned in my first two paragraphs. There have been times where I have felt like both sheep.  I have given of myself only to feel like anything I had for someone else was as worthless as black wool.  

The thing about the two sheep, however, is how each one dealt with it's circumstances in life.  The giving sheep, even with its worthless wool, still have of itself because that's what he/she was meant to do.  It had a purpose in life.

The reclusive black sheep may continue to feel left out and abandoned.  He/she chooses to look at the others around them, and fail to see they have something to contribute to this life.

Feeling like a black sheep can be both fulfilling and draining at the same time.  It's a great feeling when you are wanted for the skillset you have BUT it hurts to be alone when the only time people want to around you is at shearing time!

This week, if I'm being honest, is a "black sheep week!" I think we all feel that way from time to time.  There are days when we give until it hurts because that's who we are.  Then come the days where we feel more worthless than black wool.

If I can encourage you today somehow, it would be this.  In a world that looks for conformity, embrace the fact that you stand out!  Forge ahead and be different.  If some people find your gifts worthless, then find those who will love you for you!

Don't hide away and feel unwanted.  Seek out ways to give of yourself.  Give to the little one that lives down the lane because, chances are, they're feeling like a black sheep too!