Tag: perspective

Standing In The Storm

- dannalundstrom

To be alive is to know pain and heartache. Life gives us many trials, and often they are more significant than our mind and bodies can endure. If we spend too much time looking at the storms, we will drown. We do have to acknowledge them, and sometimes even stand in the very vortex of them, but we do not have to be swallowed up by them. We can choose to fix our attention on something higher.

As an ice skater must set her sight on an unchanging, reliable point when she is spinning to maintain stability; we too must set our eyes on a never-changing rock that anchors us amidst the battering waves of life’s adversity. It is where we fix our gaze that is the determining factor for our level of peace.

Sometimes if we are honest, there can be comfort in the storms, and we find it much easier to reside there.

Impostures thrive in darkness.

We must fight to keep our eyes locked on The Light. Fight for eternal not earthly sight, friends.

Our vision shapes our perspective and our perspective, our thoughts. It is so crucial that we are good managers of our minds, for as the mind regards, the man responds.

For the things we see now will soon be gone, but the things we cannot see will last forever. ~2 Corinthians 4:18

This hope is a secure and trustworthy anchor for our souls. ~ Hebrews 6:19

Show Us Your Glory, Lord

- dannalundstrom

As I was walking to the beach in hopes of catching a beautiful sunrise about an hour ago, I was singing these words from a song, show us, show us your glory, Lord. God showed off for me as He often does! This photograph, (totally raw and unedited), is evidence that every new ending and every new beginning, although sometimes painful, beholds great beauty. Be encouraged, dear friend. If you are confronting a difficult transition from old to new, there are better days ahead. Forgetting is often impossible, but choosing where to focus our attention and perspective is not. Tim Keller says everything given was necessary and everything withheld was not. The former things, realized and unrealized, have fashioned a wide portion of the person you are. Purpose is a predecessor of praise. Pursue the purpose in every ending and beginning knowing that grief and gratitude co-mingle in this life and peace, joy and hope within you will reside. Lord, help us remember your work never needs editing, even when we think it does! You are loved, friend! ❤️

God’s Sovereignty Always Stands

- dannalundstrom

cropped-img_1711.jpgWe all have to die to different dreams and realities every day.  Sometimes they are for ourselves, our children or someone else we love.  Those desires are hard to let go, and often we get up each morning and have to surrender them all over again.  It is painful.

There is a great hope, however, right in the midst of the death of our dreams.  We have this glorious gift of choice that affords us the ability to choose a victorious or victimized perspective.  If we frame our thoughts in victory, we can look our dying dreams in the face and say, that may not be an option anymore, but God’s sovereignty always stands.

Whatever dreams you are dying to friend, instead of fretting about their death, focus on their direction.  This is not always easy; I know!  However, believing in The Lord’s promise that He has a plan that will prosper all His children, (Jeremiah 29:11), we can face those dwindling dreams and say, Father I do not like this new picture, but I cannot wait to see your purpose.

Life is a lot lighter under His yoke!  (Matthew 11:30)  You are loved!  #selfiesermon #preachingtoself

Thoughtful Thoughts

- dannalundstrom

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Friends,
On any given day we can be one wrong thought from falling apart.  We can choose to manage our minds or let our minds manage us.  Within every one of us is an ability to preach truth to ourselves.  We often do not have control over circumstances, but we can select how we view them.  Our thoughts and choice of perspective to fixate on the negative or focus on the positive makes all the difference.  It takes extraordinary faith to choose the high road where freedom abounds, but you my friend are a fighter.

We Do Not Understand, but Someday Will

- dannalundstrom

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Have you ever had that experience where you board an airplane a little nervous because of rain, snow or ominous clouds invading the skies surrounding the runway? I have many times. Every time, I have come to learn that if I can just persevere through the take off endure the turbulence, the jolts, the drops, the bump and the jerks; relief awaits. We have to make it through the facets of the storm, and once above it, the sun is shining and the skies are beautiful. The view from above the storm is peaceful and beautiful. It stands in stark contrast to the perspective from below.

This morning where I am, it is misty and gray thus far. The weather matches the tone of my heart as I wake to news of more violence against innocent people. We are all Charleston, North Carolina, Chattanooga, Tennessee, and Lafayette, Louisiana because we are all Americans. They hurt, and we hurt. We grieve their grief. We are in the remnants of their storms with them.

What I have to focus on is that above the storm is a very different picture that I cannot see; one scripted by The Author of the universe. If I don’t focus my mindset here, the news of more violence and evil becomes too much to bear.

Jesus said in John 13:7 ~”You don’t understand now what I am doing, but someday you will.”

As we wake to every tragedy, and there will be more, John 13:7 has to be enough for us today and tomorrow and every day as long as we call this world home.

Stay rooted in truth, friends. It is only by living as we say we believe that we can live at all.

Still a Child

- dannalundstrom

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I have to be honest; there are days I find myself wishing I was not an adult.   Today is the perfect example.   I have a meeting that I am not looking forward to handling.   It is a continuously challenging situation that chides and chisels away at the depth of my joy if I am not attentive to it.

Like many days, I am fighting to choose the beauty of perspective.   Perspective is a priceless art.   It tells me that if this is the most difficult thing I encounter today, it will still be a pretty good day.

The reality of life is that some days responsibilities are heavy, and difficult situations arise that we have to navigate.   I catch myself thinking, how wonderful to be the child again and have an adult handle all the arduous assignments.   This morning God tenderly reminded me that I am still the child-His child.

As a believer, we never enter strenuous situations alone, and I am not called to figure it all out, just to rest and receive.   Whew is that hard! It seems illogical that rest should be so illusive, but we all know it to be, friends.   Maybe like me, you find resolving much easier than resting.

I am very forgetful to remember that I, like you, have a faithful and loving Father, who goes before and with us.   He enters into those anxious and scary places as the adult, and we like the child if we allow ourselves to abide in his authority.

I am so thankful for the truth in Exodus 33:14 this morning~ The Lord replies, “My presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.”   When I can not just read this, but also reap it, my day becomes so much lighter.   I shrivel to think where I would be without the soul stabilizers of God’s promises.

Whatever is confronting you today, tomorrow or next week, may you find the grace to concede as a child of God and find peace in His assured provisions.

Wait Expectantly

- dannalundstrom
JH Ranch
JH Ranch

In life everything begins and ends, succeeds or succumbs, in the perspective of our thoughts. We can view the minute and the magnificent through the lens of miraculous or mundane. We control very little in this world, but we do have the power to control what and how we think. I have been trying to get a very important picture blown up for over a week now. I only had a small thumbnail because it was taken on Instagram by someone I did not know. After tracking down the photographer, I learned she no longer had the original. I don’t understand all the photography jargon like resolution, pixels, etc….However, every place in town told me I would be lucky to get a clear 5×7 and possibly a blurry 8×10. They all told me my request was impossible! Feeling frustrated and out of options today, I had a little talk with God this morning. I told Him that I was going to remember today that He is bigger than any and every NO from man. After that, I prayed, and then went online and ordered a 20×30 of my tiny picture. Ambitious-right? I have waited all day expectantly to pick the enlargement up. One word-perfect! I am choosing to believe this was a miracle because the picture itself represents the power of prayer and the presence of miracles. Psalm 5:3~Listen to my voice in the morning, LORD. Each morning I bring my requests to you and wait expectantly.

Your Need List

- dannalundstrom

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A couple weeks ago, I woke up at 4 Am, as often happens. When I could not go back to sleep I was thumbing through my phone in the dark, and I hit something on Facebook. I don’t know what I pushed, but it took me to the post at the bottom. It was my last post of 2013. I had chills as I read it, and I have since gone back and read it several times in amazement. Thank you, Lord I did not know what was ahead of me, and thank you, Jesus that you did!

As December opens its doors today, I encourage you to begin thinking about all the things, the hard things that you would have never chosen in 2014, but you are now thankful they chose you. You might be surprised what you realize. I have several events, big ones, I would have never elected to endure.

In hindsight, they did hold a lot of grief, and some still do, but as I have learned, grief and gratitude are prone to intermingle. Where the two reside, it is your perspective which one will reign. Think about those unwanted intruders in the context of Romans 8:28~And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them.

Here was my post on that last night of 2013:
It is after midnight, and I am up on the last day of 2013. I am reflecting on 2013, and this was on my mind: Often the trials we face are things we would have never chosen, but they are the journeys that we need to refine us. They are the means that build character, perseverance, wisdom and so much more. So as you look back over your past year, I hope you can view it through this lens and feel blessed! I heard this quote in church recently, and it impacted me. As I was looking over my journal tonight, (today), I read it again, and I love the truth contained in these words.
As you look back over this past year, there may be some things that were not on your want list, but they were on your need list.~Danny Wood, SMBC 12/22/13 Shades Mountain

Good Company

- dannalundstrom

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If you are suffering today, remember the lives of Jesus, Naomi, Job… If you have been waiting a long time for something, remember Abraham, Sarah, Moses…You are never alone in your pause or your pain. We can not always choose our position, but absolutely our perspective! Be of good courage friends, and never loose hope.