3 Ways to Restore a Sense of Wonder

Restoring Wonder

Day to day life has a way of making us feel jaded. Many of the tasks that demand our effort can feel mundane or frustrating, and far from wondrous.

As I read Psalm 9 this morning, I stopped on the word "wonders" and pondered how to restore the joyous awe that can fuel my soul.

Three things came to mind from recent experiences.

1. Noticing beauty in the world God created. 

The photo is from a recent trip to the north shore. But we can spot amazing nature in our own backyards. A leaf. A cloud. A raindrop. They all coax us to praise God for what He's made.

2. Marveling in other humans that God designed.

We have a new grandson, and each picture of him, each sound of his cry over the phone line fills me with awe. New babies are an easy source of wonder. But so are friends, family, even strangers. The relentless uniqueness. The precious points of connection. The mystery of love. Relationships also call us to praise.

3. Worshiping the One who loves us completely.

Time spent focusing on God can work deep change in our spirits. In a gathering with others to sing and praise. As we read God's love letter to us in Scripture. In our quiet moments of prayer. Soon, like the Psalmist, we find we are once again praising Him with all our hearts.

Lord, open our eyes and our souls to Your wonders! Amen.

Would you like to move toward more wonder at God's interaction in our lives? I invite you to download and explore this free devotional guide that digs into the amazing ways God uses ordinary people on extraordinary faith journeys.

    Blessings!
    Sharon Hinck

His Voice

Lord, You speak to us in whispers and thunders, through the might and beauty of nature, and the quiet compassion of a friend. Help us to hear You today. Amen.

Blessings!
Sharon Hinck

The View From Here

On a recent hike, my stamina was exhausted and I lay flat on the trail to rest. When I recovered enough to open my eyes, I was astounded by the view of golden birch leaves against a clear autumn sky.

There are times when problems flatten us and knock the stuffing from us. But even when we're prone, weak, and empty, God can coax us to look up. He can help us discover beauty from the midst of our pain. Those glimpses of beauty encourage our souls as they remind us of His power and love.

How is your view today?

Blessings!
Sharon Hinck
www.sharonhinck.com

Loud Clashing Symbols

Loud Clashing Symbols

One Sunday we sang the hymn, "Earth and All Stars."

The second verse proclaims - "Trumpet and pipes! Loud clashing cymbals! Sing to the Lord a new song!"

But the person who typed the lyrics for the screen projector wrote, "Loud clashing symbols."

I got the giggles. I poked my poor hubby and whispered, "It's like a comment from one of my critique buddies telling me I'm mixing metaphors. Clashing symbols. Get it?"

I was giggling all day. Maybe it's just warped writer humor, but I love the image of my writing being full of loud symbols that offer the Lord a new song.

Do you ever find delight in a typo?

Blessings,
Sharon Hinck

Conquer

When each day dawns with a new mountain to climb, it helps to remember that we are loved, that we never travel alone, and that our strength comes from the Savior who has conquered every evil.

What is your daunting challenge today?

Dear Lord, we need You. Help us to more than conquer each hardship today because of Your love and mighty presence in us. Amen.

Blessings!
Sharon Hinck

Mighty Fortress

Sabbath Prayer

Today I read John 5, where Jesus was criticized for healing on the Sabbath. I take great comfort in knowing that He is always available, always at work, always willing to hear our prayers.

Blessings!
Sharon Hinck

Sharpening Pencils

Fall is a time that makes me want to sharpen pencils. Perhaps it's the
ingrained rhythm of back-to-school, but each September I'm driven by a
strange compulsion to clean closets, organize my desk, and buy new
office supplies.

Writers often develop rituals of preparing to write. In all honesty,
sometimes we're just avoiding the hard, hard work of putting words to
paper. So we make sure the house is tidy, throw in a load of laundry,
defrost the freezer, sort coupons, clean out computer files, buy a new
day-planner, and sharpen those pencils.

There's a deep-seated belief that if we can get our environment
perfect, the words will flow. Truthfully, we're stalling.

Today I read Romans 5:6, "You see, at just the right time, when we
were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly."

It made me realize I take the same approach to my relationship with
God. I want to get my act together. Get organized and tidy before I
spend time with Him. The truth is, I'm a sinful human mess in my very
nature--forgiven, holy and precious only because of Christ's great
love. He didn't wait for me to get organized and sharpen my pencils.
He came into my life when my soul's laundry was dirty and my heart's
desk was piled high with unfinished projects.

Since Christ came into my messy life, I want to follow His example. I
want to serve a messy world. I want to grab a few minutes to write the
books He's called me to write, even when the circumstances aren't
ideal. Sure, I'd rather have hours of interrupted time at a tidy desk
with an alert mind and stacks of sharp pencils lined up at hand. But
if I have twenty minutes with a muddy brain and that's all I
have--I'll use it to give the best I can.

Have you been waiting for circumstances to line up and conditions to
be perfect to serve God? I'm all for tidying and organizing life (and
desks) when we can. But sometimes life just won't clean up for us. So
let's learn to serve God in the midst of the mess, too.

Blessings!
Sharon Hinck

Wings of the Dawn

"If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast." Psalm 139:9-10 (NIV)

Lord, when I feel lost, forgotten, or invisible, remind me that You know where I am, that you remember me in your love, and that You see every struggle in my heart. Thank You for holding me today. Amen.

To Utter the Unutterable

On days when I ask myself (again) why I write novels, I try to remember this:

"As Christians, we constantly struggle to utter the unutterable. We long to share concepts beyond our human ability to understand--the transcendence of God's holiness, the potency of forgiveness, the depth of God's love for us. Fiction helps us find ways to express those truths of magnitude because it is relatable, symbolic, and engages the emotion--unique qualities that make it a vital art form."

    ---Sharon Hinck in A Novel Idea: Best Advice on Writing Inspirational Fiction

My Only Hope

"And so, Lord, where do I put my hope? My only hope is in you." Psalm 39:7 (NLT)

Do you ever feel hopeless? Yesterday I was putting excited expectation in something that could effect positive and needed change in my life, but I soon saw the answers wouldn't come--at least not from political committees, medical advances, or my own efforts. I felt a wave of hopelessness. 

As I prayed, God reminded me of His love, and the many ways He has enacted that love in my life. I have had other times when I've lost hope in people, organizations, my abilities. They can all let us down. But God's relentless love never stops. I can have faith in what His love is doing behind the scenes...in my life and in the world.

Sometimes it's good to lose hope, when our hope is misplaced. 

Lord, today we look to You. We lay before You every hurt, every need, every plea. Our hope is in You. Amen.

Preparing for the Work of the Day

Dear Lord,

I stop. I hold still. I wait for your Word to me. I'm here in the vineyard, ready for another day. What would you like me to do today? 

Thank you for your love that is as constant as the air I breathe. Thank you for your amazing creativity at bringing glory from ashes . . . especially the ashes of my failures. 

Help me walk with a light tread today, listening for your change of course at any time. Whether you ask me to prune, to weed, or to harvest. Whether you call me to a crowded row of laborers or to a solitary corner of the vineyard. 

I am here to serve you with joy in my heart . . . and gratitude for the gift of another day of life. Amen.

Safe Harbor

William Shedd said, "A ship is safe in harbor, but that's not what ships are for."

Life isn't safe. Even those of us who prefer to drop anchor in peaceful ports can still be capsized by sudden storms. That's an uncomfortable realization. We'd rather believe that we have control. That if we eat a healthy diet we'll never get sick, if we have an alarm system our house won't be robbed, if we make smart financial choices we'll never be poor. That our storm-tracking radar will somehow protect us from wind and rain, and that the plans we make for ourselves will unfold per our schedule. Yet there are times that despite our efforts, the illusion of safety fractures.

A bleak and scary thought if our time on planet Earth were our only lot.

But there is a much bigger picture.

Jesus said, "I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world." (John 16:33)

Our time on this planet is only a small piece of our destiny. While we're here, there will be trouble - even sudden, inexplicable tragedy. We grieve. We mourn. We hurt. We realize that life isn't safe. We hold and comfort each other.

And all the while we look to the horizon. Because our overcoming Jesus isn't done with the story. One day we'll be with Him. One day we won't have to battle cancer, crime, and craziness, fires, floods and storms. One day we'll sail into our home port and He'll joyfully welcome us to the safety of His presence.

Even today, I nestle into the truth that while storms brew, my soul is safe in His care. "I will lie down and sleep in peace, for you alone, O Lord, make me dwell in safety." Psalm 4:8

Invasion

It started with the strawberries. Lots of holes in the leaves. I'm a haphazard gardener so it took me a while to identify the culprit. But on a sunny day when I was weeding and wondering why the strawberries were such a mess, I spotted them. Nasty red bugs. Everywhere. Huddled in masses. Destroying my Granny's rose bush, my strawberries, and everything else in their path.

Being an organic type, I squashed as many as I could before they scurried away out of sight. But there were too many for me.

What made this battle particularly poignant for me (besides the fact that I won't be canning any strawberry jam from the garden this year) was that I've had some nasty garden bugs chomping at my spirit lately, too.

It started small. Wanting my book to sell well. Not an evil desire. After all, God called me to write the book, opened the doors for it, and wanted people to read it, right? But soon more little bugs gathered. Wanting my book to sell better than others. Worry that it's not doing well enough. Craving approval from people. Obsessing over its ranking. Tiny bugs of idolatry. Sin.

Yes, sin. It's not a popular word. But when I take my eyes off my Savior, that's where my fallen nature take me. Self-centered, anxious, distracted, unavailable for God's changes of direction--chewed up by nasty bugs. The bugs in the garden reminded me of how ugly sin is.

And as in my strawberry patch, the infestation is beyond my ability to squash.

But the good news is, it's not too much for God. His sunlight reveals the pests. His forgiveness wipes them out. Completely. And soon He can bear fruit through my life again.

Have you spotted an invasion in your spiritual life recently? Let's ask Christ to forgive us and restore the garden of our heart.

Blessings!
Sharon

Rebuilding

Today I turned to Nehemiah for encouragement. So much of his struggle
resonates with me. Especially chapter 4, verse 10. "The strength of the
laborers is giving out, and there is so much rubble that we cannot rebuild
the wall."

Do you ever feel like there's just too much rubble in the way?

Nehemiah started out strong. He rebuilt the wall to half its height, "for
the people worked with all their heart."

But Sanballat and his pals continued to jeer, to mock, and to plot against
Nehemiah and the other people in Jerusalem, making the job that much more
difficult.

I hear Sanballat's echoes almost every day. "What are those feeble Jews
doing? . . . Will they finish in a day? Can they bring the stones back to
life from those heaps of rubble--burned as they are?"

Nehemiah spoke a response to the weary builders. "Don't be afraid of them.
Remember the Lord, who is great and awesome, and fight for your brothers,
your sons and your daughters, your wives and your homes."

A friend once reminded me that if a theme in one of my books touches
someone's heart and encourages them, my work has value. She helped me
realize that in my writing work I am "fighting for my brothers, sons,
daughters..." I want to offer stories that draw eyes to God. Just as
Nehemiah issued a call to courage by saying "remember the Lord," I want my
stories to reflect and remember the Lord - His love, His grace, His
strength.

Nehemiah doesn't throw his words out flippantly. Sweat ran into his eyes,
blisters grated his hands as he lifted the next brick, and threats
continued to ring in the air. "Those who carried materials did their work
with one hand and held a weapon in the other." Not optimal working
conditions.

Whatever building or repairing God has called us to, the key to getting
through the times of overwhelming discouragement are found in Nehemiah's
clarion words. "Remember the Lord."

Maybe I CAN write one more paragraph today, after all.

Blessings,
Sharon Hinck

The Bridge

"For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus," I Timothy 2:5 (ESV)

Lord Jesus, thank you for being our bridge, for restoring our communion with the Father. Help us walk with You today. Guide our steps and let Your light shine in our hearts. Amen.

Blessings!
Sharon Hinck

Seeking

I have sought your face with all my heart;
    be gracious to me according to your promise. Psalm 119:58 (NIV)

Lord, thank you for promising that when we seek, we will find. Thank you for wanting to be found by us. Reveal new things about Your nature today. Help us see more of Your grace. Amen.

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Sunlight and Storms

Years ago, I took this photo of a storm blowing past in Manasota Key, Florida. A beautiful sunset had begun to color the world. Then clouds banked in like a dark hand wiping across the sky. Soon after, the storm traveled onward and the threat disappeared down the coast.

Sometimes my life holds the contrast of breath-taking sunsets and frightening storm clouds. The wind whips my hair and if I stare into the dark, it seems to absorb the entire known world. Yet if I wait, it blows over and vibrant colors return, and I wonder what had me so frightened.

Our lives take courage. Courage to see both beauty and darkness. Courage to stand on the shore and wait for the clouds to pass.

Lord, help us all today. Give us courage to serve you in our roles as parents, waiters, managers, receptionists, salespeople, artists, singers, ministers, construction workers. Everywhere we walk on this planet we see reminders of the amazing beauty of your creation, as well as the devastating clouds of our fall and rebellion. Thank you that the storms are temporary and your grace and love are eternal. Amen.

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So Great a Love

"For as high as the heavens are above the earth,    so great is his love for those who fear him." Psalm 103:11 (NIV)

Lord, You beckon us to look up, to look beyond, to embrace the knowledge of how complete and boundless is Your love. May that awareness strengthen us for the less-than-ethereal challenges of our pilgrimage on this earth. Amen.

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Remarkable Breakfast

^"Jesus said to them, 'Come and have breakfast.' None of the disciples dared ask him, 'Who are you?' They knew it was the Lord." John 21:12

The Gospel of John recounts a beautiful reprise of previous fishing experiences with His disciples. After His resurrection, Jesus directs their catch and then serves them breakfast. 

Lord, when You provide my nourishment today, let my heart rejoice in knowing it is You who grants every blessing. Amen.