Inspiration!

Inspiration! I think it is essential for life. Not merely in a physical sense but also in a spiritual and emotional sense. I think we are beings created for inspiration. I don't know about you but I feel truly alive when I'm being inspired. 

Inspiration, as defined by Merriam Webster, is: the act of drawing in; specifically: the drawing of air into the lungs. This of course means that if you don't have inspiration, you aren't breathing and therefore will die. Hence, inspiration is essential to your very existence.

This, however, isn't even the first definition of the word; it is listed as number two. Coincidence? I don't think so. The first definition listed contains three parts.

a :  a divine influence or action on a person believed to qualify him or her to receive and communicate sacred revelation

b :  the action or power of moving the intellect or emotions

c :  the act of influencing or suggesting opinions 

When I first read part "a" I think I read it six times and just ruminated on it. Divine influence, and sacred revelation. If those words grouped together don't move you, that's okay. But they get to me. They speak to a place deep inside me that I'm not even sure I knew was there. I believe the fact that "a divine influence" is the first thing you read under the definition is because we were created to live inspired.

Part "b" of the definition speaks to the ability to share and communicate the "sacred revelation" with others. It is a power. You can move the intellect or emotions of others. Think back to a time you were moved either by a concept shared by another or by something you saw or felt created by another human being. The architecture of a building.  A beautifully crafted photo or painting.  A well-made film.  A different culture.  A piece of music.  A fabric with a different texture.  A poem or a story that moved a part of you or awakened a longing in you. For some of us, recalling this emotion will be easy as we are more emotionally wired and feel connections easily. For others this may be more difficult but I bet if you sift through the recesses of your mind you will recall a moment when you felt truly alive and dared to dream, even if it was only for a moment. If you've never had one of these moments, contact me and I'll take you on a roller coaster or we'll go to an art gallery or the philharmonic or hike to the top of a mountain.

I think part "c" really breaks it down into the every day. Suggesting an opinion could be a point of inspiration to someone. This isn't license to just start telling everyone "how it is" or "how you 'think' it is.”  This means that connecting with someone and sharing your view of life or events could speak to them. And why not? After all, you were created for a divine influence. It doesn't always have to be a booming voice from the heavens or an angel delivering a scroll to be something that is divinely inspiring.

For each person, finding the thing that makes you tick, that inspires you, will be different. But I want to encourage you to find something that inspires you. Even if it’s something small in everyday life like the leaves on the trees, a cup of coffee or the snow falling, and spend some time feeling inspired. If on a regular basis, you take a few moments to dwell on that inspiration you feel, when you believe anything is possible, it might just change your outlook and ultimately your course in life.

Starbucks, Snowbanks and The Sink

I love how God teaches lessons. For me they usually come when I least expect them and oft times I find them rather comical. With each lesson I am determined to learn what I am meant to from that experience and take that growth into the next experience and build on it. I believe that our Heavenly Father does things for us to learn from just about every day. But we often times don't pay attention or put a pin in our timeline and come back to that situation where God was faithful and got us out of a tight spot or showered us with the visible love we needed at that moment. Also I'm chief among sinners when it comes to explaining away an event that happened as "well that person would have been coming by anyway," or "it might not have actually been my prayers that God answered..." But in my old age I'm learning that God is ever present in my life because I have invited Him to do so and He really does have my best interest at heart and He is always faithful. I could go on for hours about this subject because I at the ripe old age of 30 I have seen enough and experienced enough to know that God is always faithful. But allow me to share three instances where God did what He does in my life and these events I have put a pin in and come back to them when I'm having a bad day and don't feel like He's there.

Starbucks

Those of you who know me know that Starbucks is my place of choice to purchase coffee. I have passed my love of the coffee chain on to several members of my family including my 6 year old nephew and my 4 year old niece. They are not allowed to consume coffee but still enjoy the atmostphere, or perhaps its the treat they get to pick out and their totally amazing aunt purchases for them. Whatever the reason I'm happy to have tiny Starbucks Buddies.

One day in the recent past I was taking both my niece and nephew to their grandma's house and promised them that if they hurried to get ready they would be rewarded with a stop at Starbucks on the way to Grandma's House. As we drove through town and headed towards the highway my nephew informed me that this was not the way to Starbucks. It's a pain that he has such a good sense of direction. I explained to him that we were not going to the Starbucks he was familiar with and that I knew where a different one was and we would indeed make a Starbucks stop. After a few minutes he started telling me again that we were not going the right way. And an hour later we were still hearing from the peanut gallery and he was adamant that we needed to turn around and go back to get to Starbucks. I was laughing to myself "as much as I love Starbucks (and trust me, I like it a lot) I would sooner skip getting coffee than turn around 1 hour into a 4 hour drive to go back for coffee. That's just silly. My nephew was still concerned that he knew more than I did and I was not listening. After an hour and a half I asked him "do you trust me?" he replied to the affirmative. I asked him if I had ever promised to take him to Starbucks and didn't. He thought and replied, "no." Then I asked him if he knew that I loved him and he replied with a yes. Then I told him that I knew a little bit more than he did and he needed to trust me and just enjoy the ride to Grandma's house. My interrogation produced about 15 minutes of silence from the lad and then he emphatically tried to impress upon me the need to turn around and go back to Starbucks. A few minutes later we pulled into our one of our beloved coffee shops almost 2 hours into our trip and I heard this gasp from the back seat "Oh, Aunt Bekah, this is my favorite Starbucks! Thank you!" I felt God smile and He asked me "do I love you? Do you trust me? Like you know the road to Grandma's house I've seen the road of your life and I know what's up ahead. I've been there already." I laughed and told God, yes I get the point. I thought how silly I must look from the back seat whining "God can we stay here? I'm comfortable here! Daddy, do we have to keep going? I'm tired. Abba, I don't want to be here, there aren't any husbands here. You promised me a husband." As silly as a 6 year old's reasoning was that we should turn around 2 hours into our drive to go back to a familiar place my pleadings and whining to God must look as childish when He knows the road. He built it for crying out loud.

So when I start to get anxious about my future and it seems like I'm waiting longer than I want to for the promised Starbucks, I remember this lesson with my nephew and try to enjoy the ride because it will probably turn out to be my favorite Starbucks.

Snowbank

Another pinned moment for me came 20 minutes before a night shift for the ambulance. I pride myself on being a good driver but this particular stormy winter night I was tired from being over worked and just wanted to get to work so I could set up my bed and get some rest. I had just passed the plow truck because he was being to slow for my liking and took a rather excessive curve a bit too fast for the conditions, something I don't normally do. My car's rear end started to fishtail and using my expert driving skills I thought I had just pulled my car out of a James Bond type situation when my front end decided that it would be happier cooling off in the snowbank. I was stuck. I just in the bank just enough that I couldn't back out. I sat in my car, feeling the stress of being late to work, over tired and having no way out of this predicament I was moments away from a sob-fest 2014. Just before the tears and despair set in I said "nope, I'm not giving up. God has always been faithful, so God, how are you going to get me out of this one?" I crossed my arms and started to think. I could start walking but the nearest place to get a phone was the town I was heading to for work and that was still a good ten miles out. There is no cell service where I was and the road is rarely traveled, especially in a storm. I can count on two hands the number of cars I have passed on that road all winter. Then, not ten seconds after I prayed/whined, a big 250 pick-up truck came in the opposite lane. He stopped and asked if I needed help. I was quite embarrassed to be in the snowbank but graciously accepted whatever help he could offer. To make a long story shorter after a couple attempts to pull me out and the plow truck catching up to us and laying down a few more layers of salt before continuing on, a couple more people driving by stopped to lend a hand. I was amazed that the amount of people that were there. I ended up getting freed from the "banken" and sent on my way to the station, albeit at a bit slower rate of speed and pulled into work just in time for my shift to start. That night I reflected on my recent experience and instead of saying to myself, "well the nice people going by probably would have been going by at that moment had I not prayed." But I quickly dismissed that thought and instead replaced it with the assurance that God is on my side and He will always come through. Even now when something arises and I don't know how its going to work out I think back to the snowbank and remember when God answered a prayer for a tired, cranky girl who was driving too fast and He did it in 10 seconds.

The Sink

I was staying at a friend's house and when I got up in the morning to make breakfast and do some dishes the first rinse that went down the sink produced a clog. I texted my friend at work informing her of the issue. She said if it was grease hot water might work but that there was drain cleaner in the cupboard. I tried all of it through out the course of the day. When she came home from work it was still clogged. Nothing was going through. By now a half of an inch of water/drain cleaner was standing in the sink. It wasn't even very slowly moving like it had been earlier. We went out that night and come home. No change. The following morning it hadn't moved at all. Out of desperation I said "Holy Spirit, please unclog the sink. We really don't want to call a plumber." Not a minute later I came around the corner to see her standing over a completely unclogged sink. I stood in awe. Then I felt sheepish. Why didn't I ask Holy Spirit yesterday? Now at this point my mind wants to jump to the thought "well, maybe the drain cleaner did its thing over night and just broke free at that moment after sitting all night." But I again pushed that thought aside and put a pin in that moment. It is no coincidence that it finally cleared following my prayer. It was just another moment where God used to show me that He is always there and does care about the little things. So the next time I'm faced with something big I'm going to remember Starbucks, the snowbank and the sink.

...Continued

NOTE: I wrote this blog about a month ago and somehow never posted it. Upon reading it today I decided it was still pertinent.


Since I have been home the adventures have continued. Two weeks ago I was supposed to have a friend over to catch up and have tea. I set my alarm so I could get things ready before she came. Two hours before my alarm went off I was awakened by my father informing me that I needed to get out of bed because the cows had gotten out of the fence and my help was required. I stumbled out of bed, found some old shoes and grabbed a pair of sunglasses because it takes a while for me to see straight in the morning and the bright, early morning sun was not helping. It took a few minutes but I finally ended up seeing straight and eventually, with much ado, we finally got the cows in. It was still an hour before I wanted to get up but I was already awake so I just made some coffee and started my day. As the day progressed my friend Amy showed up and somehow we got roped into helping throw hay bales instead of catching up properly.

Amy was a good sport though and jumped in with both hands and proved to be a worthy farm hand...all with a smile.

The thing about adventures is that they aren't often convenient. Being rudely prodded out of bed far earlier than I wanted to chase cattle on foot isn't something I would ever choose to do on my own but it ended up being an adventure and when told in person always makes for a fun, embellished story.

 

Amy and I finally were able to sneak in a few minutes for tea alfresco.

A friend of mine is a paramedic and we were talking about mellow work days vs. busy work days. I love mellow days because it means no one is getting hurt. But I love busy days, although I never wish for them, because it makes the day go by quicker, I get a chance to keep my skills sharp, I get to meet new people and I am thrown into different and sometimes difficult circumstances that challenge me and help me grow.

As my adventures continue stateside and I'm trying to process the things that I learned abroad, God is allowing current events to reinforce what I'm processing so I truly do learn the lesson.

Last Sunday I felt impressed to invite a friend up to my house for a campfire so we could visit, catch up and play guitars. Next thing I know someone invited another person who invited another person who invited six people....you get the picture. To make a long story short, a bunch of people came that I didn't even invite and they were all blessed by the fellowship. And the people that came were strategically picked by the Holy Spirit. Those that came hadn't seen each other in a really long time. It was evident by the end that it was God ordered and the single invitation turned into a party which was meant for "kingdom" purposes.

God showed me what He will do with a person who is open to His plan. I didn't have any great epiphany about those I should invited to the bonfire or who's spirit God is stirring and who needed to fellowship with whom. I just responded to the prompting to invite one person and God did the rest. Like when I was in Europe I gave the trip over to Him and although I didn't hear the thunderous voice of God telling me where I should be, or even feel the whisper of Holy Spirit leading me where to go, my steps were definitely ordered and as I look back I was in each place exactly when I was supposed to be there. And it all just happened. Circumstances pretty much directed where I went but it is evident now that God controlled each step even if I wasn't aware at the time.

The End...Or Is It?

I have finally landed back home for good...well for the fall anyway. I seem to have this pattern of not staying in one place for very long...and I'm okay with that...for now.
I arrived back home from Canada on Sunday night, which technically now is two days ago but since it is 0400 hours on Tuesday morning and I haven't gone to bed yet it feels like yesterday. I'm sipping a cup of Irish Breakfast tea and thought this would be a good time to reflect on the last 10 weeks and catch all two of my followers up on the last two and a half weeks. On my way back from Dublin my connecting flight from Philadelphia to Boston was delayed due to weather. People were not happy and making a huge fuss. My brother was going to be late picking me up in Boston so it didn't matter to me. It was kind of a fiasco as they boarded us, deboarded us, told us we were leaving several times and then told us it wouldn't be possible so to sit tight. Someone came and sat next to me. I asked her what she was planning on doing in Boston and she shyly said she was going on a missions trip to Boston. I exclaimed that I was very excited for her and shared my recent travels with her. Then she told me about what was going on in her life and I she let me pray for her. Except for a couple instances on this trip most of the people I have prayed with have been Christians, but it is always exciting to get a chance to pray with someone no matter who they are. She told me that she was having some anxiety about this trip for several reasons and that meeting me was just what she needed at that moment. I was excited for her.

These clouds were what caused the bad weather causing our delay.

When we finally got to Boston (two hours later than originally scheduled) I found out where she was staying and my awesome brother graciously agreed to drive her to meet the group of people she was to meet up with on our way out of town. She kept telling me that if she was inconveniencing me she could get a shuttle later. After all the hospitality I had received over the last 8 weeks I couldn't leave her alone at the airport for two more hours. We dropped her off and headed home. I stayed at my sister's house Tuesday night.

This was the sunset that greeted me after we landed in Boston.
You can't have a sunset as pretty as this without a good storm.

On Wednesday my baby sister and I drove up to my parents arriving late in the evening.
Thursday I tried to pack but just couldn't get my head around it as I was tired and a bit overwhelmed at having to pack right after getting home so we went horseback riding instead.

Jordann and me horseback riding.

Friday I drove over to Vermont where I shared lunch with my "Other Mum" and best friend, got a much needed haircut and filled our paperwork for a place that had employed me over 3 years ago and drove home noticing that my brakes were making a funny noise. My brother said that were desperately in need of repair and that he could do it if he got the part first thing in the morning. I got the bulk of my packing done late into the evening and went to bed.
Saturday, after my awesome brother saved the day and replaced my break pads, my baby sister and I embarked on our 10 hour drive to Canada to be counselors at a Christian hockey camp for the week.

My final passport stamp for this adventure. I didn't have a Canadian stamp in my passport after all these years of going to camp so I figured since I was on a roll collecting stamps I'd add this one to my collection. After passing through customs Jordann and I had to go inside the customs station and "ask nicely" for a stamp. I think I was just as excited to get this stamp as I was European ones. I'm easily excitable.

So many good things happened at camp to tell you everything would be rather laborious to read so I'll give the overview of the week.

Trying to catch some sleep on the bus to the rink...it wasn't enough.

Drew Macintyre's first official signing. He signed the page of our hockey new testaments that featured him sharing his journey with Christ.

 My sister and I were co-counselors of twelve 10-11 year old girls. The week had its challenges because half of our group was homesick one night (turns out homesickness is highly contagious) and I also spent the better part of my birthday in the emergency room of a French speaking hospital in New Brunswick with one of my campers who had a sprained hand turns out. That was an adventure to say the least.

Our group of 12 girls for the week.

But the week also had many great moments, like when three of our campers stayed behind in chapel to accept Christ. And the many moments that involved a well-timed joke resulting an roaring laughter.

The camp trainer getting in her workout in between treating blisters.

Everyone bowing their heads in prayer after our final scrimmage.

 I also cherished the moments that my campers would come up to me for their morning or bedtime hugs. God showed me a couple things personally over the week and although someone had mentioned in the beginning of the trip that I should stay in Europe until August I felt like I was supposed to come back in time to for hockey camp. And while I was there I felt confirmation that God wanted me there for such a time as this. I am constantly amazed at how God uses even the little things to touch someone. On the way home my sister and I stayed with a friend from previous camps who had not attended this year because she had a new baby. We didn't really do anything spectacular the day we were with her. We did a tiny bit of shopping and watched Anne Of Green Gables.

Jordann, Rebecca and I trying a beaver tail for the first time. Miles declined on account of him waiting on teeth.

Then we left the next day for our 10 hours journey home. She emailed me that night and said "It was so good to spend time with you. I love how your love for God is so apparent when you speak. It was encouraging to me!" I was really surprised because the day we spent with her I was exhausted, I had a bad cold coming on with a sore throat, felt miserable in general and didn't feel like we had any deep spiritual conversations in the 36 hours we were there. My prayer has always been that I would be a blessing to others and share the love that I have so graciously received and He constantly answers that longing for me. On the way home we were able to stop and share lunch with my baby brother which was really nice. We rolled in to my parents later that evening and I was full on feeling miserable and found it hard to breath due to the cold. It got worse the following day. But even in the midst of one of the worse colds I've had in years I looked back on the craziness of a week at camp only a few days after returning home from such an adventure abroad and really felt that it was worth catching a cold (mostly due to lack of being able to sleep especially since my best sleeping hours are between 0600 and 1000 hours every day and our camp schedule had us up at 0545 most mornings). All day today I was just so thankful that I didn't have this type of illness while I was overseas. I did have my bouts of other things while I was gone but at least with this I was home, with my family, the required vitamins and my own bed.

In short I am so blessed to have had the past 10 weeks experience with its many lessons learned and those I'm still processing. I learned that even if you don't have a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night to lead the way God is always at work, He is still guiding your steps and weaving the fabric that is your life with every seemingly insignificant thread.

Interesting...

I still don't understand something. I've been looking at my webstats and something doesn't make sense to me. My blog post entitled "A Rainy Day In Wales" collected 67 page views. Now I realized that I would probably only have 5 followers of this blog, at best, and I was ok with that. However, when blog posts involving things like London only made it into the double digits and "A Day Of Firsts" accumulated only 20 hits it "wrecks my head" (an Irish saying) that a post with a dreary title incurred, by far, the most hits of all more than doubling the second highest number being 27, for "A Change In Plans."  I'm trying to figure it out so maybe I could up my readership. Not that that has been my goal really, but if 67 people will read it at one point why not get 67 to read it again? Do I need to make more soggy posts? That will be a little hard since it hasn't rained here in Ireland for about three weeks now. So much for being the Emerald Isle.

Next Week

In six days at this time I'll be leaving Boston, driving north with my baby sister who will have landed only a couple hours earlier from South Carolina. I'm really excited to see her. I'm excited to go home, but not as much as I thought I would be after two months. I'm also sad to leave, but not as sad as I thought I would be given how I felt the last two times I left. I feel pleasantly neutral almost. I'm really happy to be right where I am at the moment and I think when I get on the plane and head home I'll be happy to be there as well. I am a planner but I'm getting good at just enjoying the moment and not wishing to be somewhere else because all too soon I will be somewhere else wishing I hadn't wished away the time I had here when I had it.

This door has nothing to do with anything. People love the pictures so I figured I couldn't post a new entry without a picture. I did find it interesting though because they left the door natural. It is the first natural door I've ever seen in Ireland. Doors are usually painted bright greens or blues or reds or yellows. They love bright colours for their houses and if you can't paint your house because it is brick you paint the door a bright colour. So in leaving the door natural they made up for it by painting the door posts blue. I like it. If I lived in Ireland I would want to do this to my door because I love the natural grain of wood but would want to keep with the traditional colour on the doors.

Another Week In Review

It's been almost a week since I last blogged. It doesn't seem that long when your days are not bursting at the seams with excitement. I haven't done much this past week. Just did some praying and drinking of tea and helping Johanna and Eva with stuff for camp. Both Johanna and Eva have been preoccupied with camp stuff so I've pretty much kept out of the way except to do the odd project. The biggest project for me has probably been the paint job. Johanna asked me to sand and paint this stick she was going to use in the "circus" this week at camp. I really don't like painting. I can't say I've ever liked painting, not even finger painting as a kid. But I said I would do it to help her out. I did manage to do the whole project without getting paint on myself or on anything permanent so I was very proud of that and found enjoyment in the process. Suffice to say I won't be signing up to be a painter's assistant any time soon. I also did a few other things to help them out but the weren't picture worthy.

On Thursday we went to Waterford for some business and afterword met up with Eva's niece and nephew. I have now met more family of my friend Rachel (who introduced me to Ireland in the first place) than she has. It saddens me, but next time she'll have to come with me so she can catch up.

Waterford is indeed where Waterford Crystal comes from. We didn't stop at the visitor center as it looked super busy and it was too hot to stand around in a queue all day but we drove by the building. I did take a picture of Waterford from the car.

It was a nice day although sticky and hot. While Eva was visiting with her family at the coffee shop I went next door to TK Maxx (it's like a TJ Maxx but this isn't a great store. The ones in Dublin and Belfast are better.) and was amused by this sign.

You will note the sign on the left that says jumpers. A jumper is what they call sweatshirts here but I guess they couldn't rely on people figuring it out on their own so they put the jumper sign on as well so people could know where to look. I mean the jumpers hanging on the rack under the heading Sweatshirts wouldn't be a dead give away that they were actually jumpers? After perusing the whole shop twice I didn't find anything I had to put back. (I usually gather an handful of items I'd like to have and have to talk myself out of buying them but not in this store) I then went and joined the others for coffee. Then we went to a second hand shop and I again didn't find anything except a child's atlas which I would have liked but figured in the interest of not having an overweight piece of luggage I returned it to the shelf from whence it came.

I went to town a couple times this week but nothing exciting to report. Sometimes I bought something for someone back home and sometimes I didn't.

Camp started on Sunday so on Saturday I rode up to the camp facility in Durrow with Liz and Johanna who were each bringing a car load of camp stuff. I came long for the moral support and to be the muscle. It took two hours to get there because I rode with Liz and her car was making a funny noise so she drove slowly. On the way back I rode with Johanna. We went through a town called Inistioge (pronounced inishteeg). It is an old town and very cute. I found this posted on a building and thought it was interesting.

 

 

This is the building it was posted on.

It's so cute. I could totally see a Methodist meeting being held here once a fort-night on a mid-week evening.

More pictures of Inistioge

There were some flowers around town.

People were swimming in this river as it was a pretty hot day. The movie Circle Of Friends with Chris O'Donnell and Minnie Driver was filmed in Inistioge and this bridge is easily recognized in the movie.

This Church and Clock Tower have an incredible feel in real life. *sigh* Pictures never compare.

I would have loved to see inside this clock tower because this building looks really old. Maybe next time.





Front View


                                                          Rear View

Two different views of the same ruined bridge. It was just a little piece of wall with a bridge crossing this waterway to the river. Undoubtedly all that  remains of a beautiful  ancient castle which overlooked the valley that was destroyed in some battle between the ancient tribes due to a desire for domination.

                                                                                                                      

That was an overview of my past week with the pictures being the highlight of said week. Inistioge is one of those places I'd love to go back to and just sit and enjoy for hours.

FYI: Chris O'Donnell does a terrible Irish accent. It was painful to watch.