Morning Light

Morning Light

There is something about the morning light that is unlike the rest of the day’s illumination.  

It is still.  

It is quiet.

It beckons you to sit.

And admire.

This morning, I was awake while my house slept.  Today, my front porch swing called for me to sit.  Though still in my pjs, I couldn’t resist.

In the cool of the morning, there I sat. Swinging.  No task demanding to be done.  No laundry machine fussing at me.  No dogs whining to bust out of the crate.  No family member needing something.  No internal thoughts pounding down the walls of my heart.  Just me. 

The door to the house was shut.  All that was inside.  And here I was outside.  Ahhh.  

The brisk air blew its breeze.  The sun shined brightly.  The windmill twisted.  The plants stood tall.  It was morning and this was their light to bask in.  

And so was I.

There is something to be said about the morning light.  How it is warm against the cool.  How it shines amidst the darkness.  How it shimmers upon the grounds.  The waters.  The lands.  It was meant to be reveled in.

Light also provides nourishment for our bodies.  The needed vitamin D.  The warmth to our souls.  The brightness.

And today, I could feel the whisper of God just saying “be still”.  Stay in this light.  Here I am.

I realized maybe that is why He called Moses to the burning bush.  Away.  

Away from the sheep.  Away from the tent life.  Away from the massive family below.  Just Himself and Moses.  Still.

As I pondered these things, it was like my soul took a breath of fresh air.  The stillness, the quiet, the light was soothing.

The windmill spun and breeze blew again.  It was God there passing over in that moment. My cup overflowed.

Ps 46:10 says for us to: "Be still and know He is God."  

Seldom do we get out and do this.  Seldom to we do stillness.  Our culture wars against the solitude, the stillness, the quiet. Unless, that is, we are on our phones or Facebook.  The time sucks of our day.  

We pour out our time to a digital app, which doesn’t feed.  A connection that gives a false love back and an ego boost up.  But just as a hot air ballon is up and away then back down again, is the same amount of time that we are fed by Facebook and then grave more.  Facebook or anything else, really, just doesn’t feed.  It only sucks our time, hearts and minds away.  It is only our God that fills our time, our hearts, our minds.  And that is why He wants, He calls us… away.  Let us pour into Him.

He calls us to come outside, to shut the doors of our lives and just be with Him in the cool of the morning.  To bask with Him in the  morning light.  To allow ourselves to be nourished by His presence.  Nothing less comes even close to filling our hearts and our core is only a place satisfied by Him and His presence.

I exhaled and felt so internally full.  The church bells rang.  I felt the freedom of having everything else behind and inside and me away.  I felt released. 

And in those few moments, it felt so good.  I realized I needed more.  More of a commitment to bask in the morning light.

As I turned to go back inside, I felt restored.  Refreshed. 

The door shut on the inside and I walked back through the dark house with the morning light in my soul beaming brightly and setting my course for this day.

It’s how each day should be.  The light basked in, absorbed in, and then taken into the dark world and disseminated for all; to those who hear the call and those who don’t.  The light is reflected and then given away.  

Away.  If we will just get away to give away.

It is what He did for us.

If only we would Be still and Know.

The Morning Light.

Savior Politics: Be Wary of the Great “I Will”…

This election season, I watch the television in alarm… and it isn’t at the candidates.

It’s at the followers.

I continue to be baffled at the way the masses have latched onto one candidate and are blinded by promises that can never be fully kept.  They follow like sheep headed to the slaughter.  And why would anyone in their right mind flock to the slaughter? 

They rapidly lap up the promises of wealth, security and growth applauding at every edict of “I will do this” and “I will do that”.  It is one thing to promise to veto a bill, it is another to say “I will make America rich again… You are going to be so rich.”  Who can do that?!  Or to follow a candidate who continually makes promises that, by their track record, are clearly only promising what needs to be said to get the vote.  Confounding!

It is like followers have exchanged the truth for a delusion.  

Voters have fallen for a mirage.

Incidentally, many of these voters are also believers… believers who are warned about following false teachers and gods of their time.  Scripture also warns that many will be deceived and that even believers will fall away.

So what are the false gods that are being so easily followed, it is like they worshiped?  The promises of wealth.  The promises of power.  The promises of security.  

It almost feels like the masses are searching for a political savior of sorts.  It is to no surprise really, because that is how our current president won his two terms.

Remember all of the marketing, the portraits, the “Audacity of Hope” type books that were slewn at the public not to long ago?  Remember the illustrations with the glint in his eye and that hopeful stare?  Remember how many, many, salivated at his every word as though he would be the one to overturn their long term heartache?

I fear that just as then, it is occurring again now.  People are looking to these candidates as a vessel of saving… but there is only one Savior.  

We live in an age where people vote for the candidate who will rescue them… who will give them entitlements, advantages they did not work a minute to receive.  We live in an age where people vote for the candidate that promises to rescue them from being on the loosing end, offering the ability to win.

But that would also require the rest of the world participating and cooperating in America winning again.  Or, that would require America becoming a bully with unrelenting demands and punches.  Neither one is America.  

What’s sadder is that America’s identity is really in turmoil.  The past eight years have demolished traditional American principles, values and beliefs that have been stood on since its inception.  And I’m not just talking about all the things our recent leaders have done.  I’m talking about what we have done.

Simply put… the heart of America (as a whole) has turned its back on God.

This is clearly represented in the symbolic removal of many monuments, like the Ten Commandments.   What does that say about America’s value of God’s Holy instruction for our lives?

How about in the funding of institutions that allow the death of innocent babies or the laws made in the name of the constitution but really go against it?  Truly, there are countless other atrocities that I could point to, but our media is quick and persistent to stay on the constant battles. 

The bottom line issue for me is that America has lost its identity because Americans have lost their identity in God.  

(Granted, I'm speaking as a collective whole here. While there are many believers who seek God in their lives and aim to find their identity in Him, it is still every man who has fallen short of His glory (Rom. 3:23) and wrestle with sin.)

And it is our continual sinfulness that effects everything... even our government.  

As much as we rally and cry out that our government system is corrupt, is not vastly started by the corruption of our own hearts?  The hearts that yearn for self centered promotion, prestige and power?  The hearts that seek to get what they want, or what a powerful someone else wants in exchange for something else? Those issues don’t start in the Senate or the House.  They start in the very soul of man, affecting us every minute of every day.   

Let’s take a quick snapshot of the everyday world in which we live.

—We are perfectly fine being Biblically illiterate but crave knowing how many likes our recent status has on FB. 

—We can’t give someone who needs some grace to get ahead of us in the grocery store line because we were there first, have our own agendas, etc. 

—We are completely rude and disregard common courtesies. 

—Scroll to any comments section and see venomously hateful statements to those who oppose our sides.  It’s like an open gladiator ring full of blood and death.  Why is this behavior allowable?  Can’t we disagree respectfully?

—Many people are more gratified by their work than their own children.  The masses applaud the parents who spend 90% of their time away from their families when their incomes turn a high profit saying they have it all.  This is the modern role model and it is lusted after. 

I could go on, but you get the point.  American values and priorities are out wack leading to America becoming a highly dysfunctional nation.  Then add that to poverty, capitalistic oppression for small business owners, high output with little return and a growing resistance of how it should be and is not... and you get.... modern day America.  (How is it again that we consider ourselves so advanced?)

Then, add an election year.  All of these issues together gives any candidate the perfect fodder to take advantage of the situation and generate a mirage as themselves as the political savior. 

What a harvest for a candidate who promises they will make us rich…. how you might ask?  Well, honestly, it probably doesn’t matter.  Just the salivation for wealth is enough to hook a voter.

A candidate promises they can make our nation secure.  How?  To make another country pay for a wall?  Has this country agreed to it?  Otherwise, the way to enforce this is costly.  But whatever.  The voter is already hooked at the idea for our ability to lord power. 

A candidate promises they will make America great again…. that Americans will win again with the example of the fact that they are a billionaire and lives in a peach and gold marble skyscraper.  Definitely not a hard sell to the voter who, for the most part, is not rich, does not live in peach and gold marble and by the way, who, for the most part, also happens to desire to be rich, powerful and live with prominence.   Selling celebrity is relatively easy.  

And in the world of social media, everyone wants a selfie of themselves as a celebrity.

It just seems like the main line of capitalism isn’t America’s growing wallets but instead a reverse capitalism… what is being taken from the American's wallet.  

It is the voter that is being capitalized on.  Not the other way around.

The mirage is this:  The political savior is feeding your ego to feed their own.  They offer a delusion to get from you what they want.  It definitely happened in 2008, 2012 and by the way things look, it is happening again in 2016.  By business standards this is called “strip mining”; where a company gets your land and strips it of all its natural valuables to build a man-made money maker.  

The massive political movement is no different.  Certain candidates get your vote, then do what they want for their own gain, regardless of you.  But, because it is you who fell for their mirage, due to the false gods you sought after, you gave them your vote and you allowed it to happen!  

So, I beg you fellow Americans.  Wake up!  Do your own research.  Don’t buy into who will give you what.  Find out what these candidates stand upon, how they have lived their lives, what their record shows, how they conduct themselves and what they consistently believe upon.

Don’t fall for the mirage and vote for false promises.  Don’t vote for a political savior.  Recognize you already have a Savior who has given you hope, who has provided for your every need and who has already secured your eternal future.  Realize no man -- or woman-- no matter how powerful, wealthy, or prominant can give you anything more fulfilling.  Don't fall for their polished, strategically marketed words.  Vote upon their actions.

Vote for a candidate who can operate as President.  Vote for the person who doesn’t pose as a savior but points us to the one true Savior of the world.

Most importantly, follow the Savior in your own lives.  This nation became the greatest and won not by its characteristics, but from where the characteristics were founded... in Christ.  

If every American had this same foundation that America was founded in, then our nation's identity would resurrect and united, we would be able to stand again.  

©Candice Irion, 2016.  All Rights Reserved.

One Foot In Front of The Other

“We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned, struck down, but not destroyed," (2 Corinthians 4:8).

The life of a creative can be very complex.  As a basis to the spectrum, creatives continually deal with being visionaries; seeing something that isn’t and engineering ways to bring it to fruition.  They are much like inventors.  

Probably also like inventors, they are continually having their work judged, criticized, rejected.   And bonus, sometimes their work gets through only to have the new owner say “See you later” and reject them.

There are many voices internal and external that creatives, especially, deal with.  Course, you may be the furthest from a creative and struggle in the same ways, days in and out.   It happens to everyone.   It even happens to my dogs.

Without fail, whenever we go on a walk, there are bigger, meaner dogs, barking their heads off at my pups.   I watch my dogs shrink up and stiffen, wanting to freeze and return home NOW.  

However, I gently say: “Just keep walking.  Come on, you can do it.”  As little as they are, I see their bodies buck up, grit their teeth, and they walk on.  But if they look over at the mean madness while passing, they’ll shrink up again until I instruct them once more to just keep walking.  They get past the loudness time over time.  

But even still, I gotta say that one of these dogs has a bark that is, in particular, LOUD.   I almost can’t even hear myself think.  And it occurred to me yet again today that this is the world in which we all live. 

A world where a loud bark can rip away at our souls, paralyzing us from where we should be going.  Do you have a loud bark in your life?  

Keep in mind, that these barks could be your very own thoughts.  Sometimes the criticism that hurts the worst is our own.   Then, we tend to project that feeling, whatever it may be, onto someone else (likely those we love) manifesting it in one way or another.  Catch yourself one time and you’ll see.

The Bible instructs us in "bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ," (2 Cor. 10:5).  There are many reasons for this.  But, for today, capture the very thought you are thinking right now and ask yourself:  Does it line up to what Christ says about you?  If not, chuck it out.  

Ask again.  Does this thought line up with any of the promises of God?  If not, you know where it goes.  

Ask again and again.  If the thought is anything counter to Christ you know it’s outcome.  It’s gotta go.  

Then, it is almost like you are released, to go where you need to go.  At least, one thought at a time.

Here's one reason why:

“We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body,” (2 Cor. 4:9).

Just as we crucify the thoughts that are not of Him, what wells up in us is all that He promised us:  new life.  

Part of that new life is generating new growth in your life -- like finding an activity that is safe, your own, where you can feel good.

Richard Bass known as "Dick Bass", chose hiking as a means to get away from the loud barks.  At age 52, he was the first ever to summit the seven highest mountains throughout the world.  He was also the founder of Snowbird, a ski resort in Utah.  Interestingly enough, in his book, “Seven Summits,” it is chronicled how even he was constantly battling potential failures and an overwhelming amount of naysayers.  Ironic that he climbs the tallest peaks of planet specifically to get away from it all.  

When asked in an article in Forbes magazine, if he hiked professionally, his answer is enlightening.  

“All I did was put one foot in front of the other until I got there with a big pack on my back, reciting poems,” he said. 

www.engenmuseum.org

Amazing.  

This summer, I lived out these very words before ever reading them on these sites or in his book.  My husband and I traveled to Montana and climbed to the top of Grinnell Glacier, six miles high.  It’s no Everest, but it’s the highest peak I’ve ever climbed (and, we still had to travel 6 miles back down the mountain.)

http://www.glacier-national-park-travel-guide.com/grinnell-glacier.html

Good grief, a 12 mile hike was nothing short of tough.  We walked through different terrains, climates, in and out of rain, through waterfalls, up the rocks, back down the rocks and around plenty of switchbacks (which I’ve decided I don’t really like.  Kind of like those zig zag lines at a place you really want to go.  UGH!  Just get me there, please.)

©Candice Irion.  All Rights Reserved. 

Trekking up, I quoted Scripture to myself, I counted numbers, I huffed and puffed and sometimes my exhaustion would puff out a poor attitude to my sweet husband.   No bueno.   But, aside from those couple of missteps, I did everything I could.  It seemingly took forever!  At some points, I just closed my eyes and put one foot in front of the other.  And it was in this action when I realized…

that’s all it took. 

The force to just place one exhausted leg in front of the other combined with the determination not to give up was what got me up that mountain.  Granted, my strength was not my own, but the Lord’s for sure, because little ol’ Candice could never get herself up that mountain.

©Candice Irion.  All Rights Reserved. 
The best cold water ever!  My summit on Grinnell Glacier. 

I believe the same is true for what you want to accomplish and for what you battle every single day.  With God’s strength, you too, can make it.   Just keep walking.  

Not to say that whoosh! all fear and timidity in doing so will evaporate.  No, not at all.  In fact, if you hop over to one of my previous blogs, you’ll see, sometimes, you just have to do it afraid.  You can also check out 1 Corinthians 2 where Paul attests to the same.

Like Dick Bass, I truly admire people who just go forth and do it, despite their fear, despite the loud barks and accomplish such enormous heights in their life.  People like him set out to do the impossible… 

Just like all the creatives who see the vision and table all the “don’t quit your day job” remarks, rejection and self loathing to get the piece made, the film produced, the painting drawn.  

So, as a fellow creative, here’s what I deduce: 

Art demands to be born.  It shouts for freedom and won’t release you until you give it wings, then let it go.  

So just keep walking, drawing, painting, producing, day in and day out.  Ignore the big mean dogs and capture each thought and hold it up to Christ. See if it is even truth.  

Then base your beginning on what is truth and just keep walking, placing one foot in front of the other, with the strength from on High.

And you too, might just summit your Everest.

Summiting his mountain.

©Candice Irion.  All Rights Reserved. 
Me summiting mine.

www.robertferrone.com
On top of his beloved Snowbird.
"Bass said he felt blessed to have developed Snowbird "in a fantastic piece of God's creation".

Godspeed to you friend!

All the best,

Candice

This blog is written in part as a tribute to Dick Bass, a dear family member who just passed away.  As accomplished as he was, Dick was always humble, kind and loved to share relative stories, if not, his poems.  But, maybe it was his outlook that is his greatest accomplishment.  For he continued day in and out in stride, always trying harder, envisioning the greater, and never giving up in life.  Not even when he died.  He is a man who lived fully, loved hard and one who could always put a smile on your face.  I know he did mine.  Every. Single. Time.  And if there is no greater gift an interaction could hold, it is the exchange of good cheer, a reflection of our Creator and a smile with which to face the day.  Thanks Dick!  I'll miss you always. 

www.lanabird.com
Just how I remember him.  Always happy, kind and smiling.  

Another note... if you want to see a story about another person who was inspired by Dick Bass, check out the upcoming movie, Everest, about a man (Beck Weathers) who climbed insurmountable odds and achieved his dream.  He and Dick knew each other and Beck credits Dick as his inspiration.  For more on the life of Dick Bass, click here. Here is a photo tribute from Snowbird.  

Forbes Online Magazine, July 27, 2015, Jim Clash

http://www.forbes.com/sites/jimclash/2015/07/27/seven-summits-pioneer-snowbird-founder-dick-bass-dead-at-85/

#dickbass, #dickbassisawesome, #onefootinfrontoftheother, #everest, #everestmovie, #sevensummitts, #facebookeverestmovie

Empowered By God

As Christians, we are challenged to stand in solidarity with our those who are being persecuted for their faith in Christ by remembering them, praying for them and standing up against the crimes against them.  

Considering this call to commitment to remember, pray and stand for them, it is also a call to continue to stand for the hope we have in all of our lives.  

Further, it is to continually remember that no matter the trials we face, we are empowered by God.  Today's message comes by way of a graphic I created, easy for you to print or share on your sites.  

It is a list of truths that embolden us for the days we face.  It is a tool for you to remember that:

You are predestined.
You are entrusted.
You are equipped.
You are prepared.
You are protected. 

And to go forth boldly!  

Remember these truths.  Wrap your mind around them.  For they will strengthen you in the deepest of hurts and in the fiercest of circumstances.  

Photo and All Content © 2015.  Candice Irion.  All Rights Reserved.

The No-Bake Vacation: Recalibrating Life's Drama without Leaving Home.

You name it, it's happened. As my Granddad would paraphrase: "It's been a hell of a spring." And it has been.

The betrayal of a close friend. The loss of a family member. Then another death; this time a friend. Disagreements with those at work. Having a project consume every bit of you for countless reasons. 

Anxiety.

Fear.

Doubt.

Burnout.

And that's just the half of it. 

Health issues. Medical bills. The feeling of the loss of control. The unshakable anger when others perceive you falsely and treat you not just unfairly, but harmfully. STRESS.

Unbelievable stress.

I didn’t even go into all the other issues involved with those near to us and all the fear, anxiety, doubt we take on because we are invested in their lives.  Wow. 

It's been a hell of a spring.

Not to mention the torrential storms the South has endured. Seems to be a parallel.

Indeed a parallel. 

I need to get out. I need a vacation.  Know the feeling?

Don't we all desire that escape from the myriad of problems which circulate through our minds relentlessly like a cyclone and its destruction? 

Better yet, wouldn’t it be great to find that full proof way to vacate our never-ending issues without the expense of a vacation.  Ha! Sounds to good to be true? It is.  Never Ending=Never Ending.  

But what if we were to recalibrate the issues? 

Try this on for size:

"Drive out the mocker, and out goes strife;" 

This small, simple phrase in Proverbs 22:10 is huge in value. It helps us understand that simple boundaries around the drama are key for containing the massive monster. 

Never Ending + Scripture = Not Without Hope.

Think about it. When you go to the theater, where do you go? To a stage, to an opera house... to a contained four wall venue. Some go to a black box theater. Four black walls with actors and casual seating; not a lot of overhead. There is a reason drama is in a box.

There's a parallel there too.

Our drama-riddled lives also need boundaries. They need containing. In order to put Proverbs into action, we must decide to back out of whatever is causing us that drama. Maybe the friendship (as tough as it is) needs to go. Maybe the work issue or relational argument just needs to stop, regardless of who is right or wrong. Maybe the project just needs to be let go of, sending it on its way. Maybe the expectation needs to be lowered.  Maybe.... the issue is you and you need to step away to reassess.  (Ouch, I hate when it turns out to be about me!)  Whichever the case, boundaries are required to harness the drama. 

Some may scoff and say: "There is no way!! I can't get out of this. I can't get away from this loss I'm enduring! There is no containment to the heartache I feel." How true this is so many times in life.  I’ve been there more times than I’d like to have been.

Yet there is still hope. No matter the spectrum of drama you are facing, there are moments where you must step back and recalibrate. Look at it from another angle.  

Anne Graham Lotz says: “that when there is a storm moving through your life, God is moving.” She's right.

When our worlds are being uprooted and our lives are swirling, we feel like we are in the eye of a twister.  But from a different angle, we can see that we are also in a position to see the hand of God carrying us through. We are in earshot of hearing our Savior say: “Come," to walk with Him on the tumultuous waters and away from our boats. 

And with every step, we, like Paul, will wrestle with anxiety, fear and doubt; our vision absorbed with the rough winds and frightful seas. But those are exactly the same moments when Jesus reaches out for us and says: "You of little faith, why did you doubt?” (Matthew 14:31).

Because the only thing that really allows us to walk through the cyclones of life is the fixation upon the eyes of the Savior. For while we maintain that hard, unwavering stare, the distractions of the death-defying events surrounding us (like those deep seas that just want to swallow us alive) are simletaneously diminishing.   The effects of our drama lesson as we walk toward Christ, not toward our problems.  

Also realize, that in doing this, fixing our eyes on Christ it isn't just through an external glare, but an internal one too. I’ve come to the conclusion that we have two sets of visions: what our eyes see, and what our minds display.  Think about this example.  You see a beautiful rose, pink, yellow and it smells amazing.  You are visually stare at it while your mind's eye takes you back to a vivid memory with that same flower.  Thus, you see both the flower and the memory at the same time.  

Hence, it is our internal focus which must be that much sharper than our external one, because it is that focus, fueled on faith alone, that will help us recalibrate our views and stance despite what we are visually seeing (and experiencing). In super hero terms, it is our x-ray vision that will help us overcome. 

Even though, and I don’t know about you, but, I'm no superhero.  Although, it would be fun to be Wonder Woman with her great hair, and I gotta hand it to you, She-Ra was really pretty cool too.  

But “what am I smokin?”  Those women were made up.   She-Ra was drawn.  Wonder Woman’s hair was done by a stylist and redone after each take. They both are characters developed in someone’s internal vision of what they --and subsequent viewers-- wanted themselves to be.  The only reality to Superheroes is the desire we share to take on the world and overcome.  How mistaken we are to expect ourselves to be a fictitious characters.  No wonder the devastation when everything falls apart. (Note to self: Nix trying to be Wonder Woman.  Just take the Stylist.) :)

Truth be told, we don’t need the cape or the vacation to overcome our problems. We don’t even really need ourselves.  We just need to get out of the way and let the only One who can deal with the drama, do His job.

You know Who I’m talking about.

And, when we recalibrate our gaze on Christ, when we change our internal perspective and dwell on the promises of God versus the problems of our spinning worlds, we will then see our drama differently, by which containing it, and we can find ourselves free.   We can find joy amidst our problems.  

Say what?  

Yup.  You read it right.  J-o-y.  Joy.  Never thought you’d find it here, did you?  Nor did I.  But what a treasure to find and only in faith is it found. 

Look, I’ll be the first to attest that battling drama is never easy. It constantly feels like a restart from square one. I thought I learned years ago what I'm relearning today. Such is the human condition. Honestly speaking, it is probably my perspective of myself that needs a restart. Do you feel the same way about you? Thank goodness for grace! God knows our hearts!!

So, if I can offer any encouragement for battling drama, it is to recalibrate. 

Realize that God is moving in your life. He is using the bad for good. 

Refocus both external and internal visions upon the promises of God. 

Restrain the drama with boundaries. See it differently.

Then, inhale some fresh air and take the step of faith with an unwavering focus upon the Savior. 

And you, too, will find yourself upon the rough waters, walking through the storm... and without the temporary vacation.

What a hell of a spring, indeed.

Copy and Photos ©2015, Candice Irion.  All Rights Reserved.