Steward and Jeffery had one goal: to swim across the treacherous waters to a beckoning sandbar some 100 feet away.

This was the spot at the end of the island where waves gave way to calm, salt water gave way to fresh, and sand gave way to soil. What looked like tranquil water on the surface was in reality a strong undercurrent that sucked the ocean away from its home. Like a lovesick puppy mourning its master’s absence, I watched as the boys plunged into the water and swam away from shore.

“I want to go too!” I called out after them.

“You’re just a kid!” Stewart yelled back. “You stay there! You can’t come!”

“It’s not fair,” I stormed. “He gets to do everything!

“You stay here with us,” my dad instructed. “You’re too little. It’s not safe.”

My dad’s remarks only made me more determined to prove them all wrong.

“If he can do it, I can do it,” I mumbled. “I always get left behind.”

When my dad turned his back to talk to a friend, I saw my chance and dove into the water. My thin limbs were no match for the sucking force of the undertow and the pull of the current. Very quickly, my lithe body was swept away along with the ocean’s salt, sand and silt into the fresh water. My salty tears mixed with the briny water and my small cries for help went unheard. The strong ropes of current continued to pull me away from my family as they grew smaller.

Dad turned from his conversation to see the boys had almost hit their mark. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed small splashes to his far right. “Oh no,” he cried. “That’s Sharon out there!”

My father dove into the water and cut through the menacing current. Propelled by panic, he reached me in a matter of moments. Like a fisherman’s hook, dad reached out and grabbed my flailing body and reeled me to his side. With one arm, he fought the current once again and pulled us safely to shore.

My dad had rescued me.

Have you ever been in a similar situation?  Perhaps you’ve jumped into deep waters, into strong currents that appeared benignly calm on the surface. Perhaps you envied others who were headed in a certain direction and felt you were missing all the fun.

“Don’t go there,” your Heavenly Father warns. “It’s not safe.”

“But why do they get to have all the fun,” you whine. “I always get left behind.”

Then, when you think God isn’t looking, in you jump! Before you know it you are being swept away in the current of poor choices, sucked down by the undertow of self-centeredness, and pulled away as your family grows strangely small.

Oh friend, my earthly father pulled me safely to shore that day when I was six, but my Heavenly Father has pulled me safely to shore more times than I can count.

When we ignore our Father’s warnings we forfeit the safety of His shore and plunge into the ocean of harm’s way: the undertow of over-commitment, the current of wrong choices, the rising tide of moral danger.

Perhaps that’s where you are right now. If so, there is hope. You only have to call out to God for help and He will pull you safely to shore.

David cried out, “Turn your ear to me, come quickly to my rescue; be my rock of refuge, a strong fortress to save me” (Psalm 31:2).

“Reach down your hand from on high; deliver me and rescue me from the mighty waters…” (Psalm 144:7).

“But Sharon,” you might say, “You don’t know how far I’ve fallen. You don’t know what a mess I’ve made of my life.”

You are right. I don’t know.

But God does and there is no place that you can go where His arm is too short to reach down and save you. 

That’s a promise.

If this post gives you comfort today, leave a comment below. Thank God for being your deliver and rescuer when you are in over your head. I’m going to randomly pick 1 precious comment and send a free copy of our Girlfriends in God book, Knowing God by Name.

And for all you Praying Wives, don’t forget to join me over at the new Praying Wives Club.

Over at my Girlfriends in God devotion, I asked women all around the world to share a moment of Sudden Glory when God made His presence known in a real and personal way.

Over 200 women shared amazing stories of miracles in the messes and majesty in the mundane. I spent my day with a box of tissues — reading, crying, laughing, and praising God for women who recognized God’s fingerprints in their days.

Women who were surprised by God.

Women who were romanced by God.

Women who felt God’s passionate pursuit of their hearts in tangible ways.

To be honest, I don’t have anything to say to you today that would be more meaningful, more moving, or more inspiring than the stories tucked away on one of my most treasured pages of my website.

So today, I invite you to peer in the window of women’s hearts and read the God-moments of your sisters-in-Christ. And while you’re there, I want to encourage you to share your stories as well.

Are you ready? Grab a cup of coffee, a box of tissues, and get ready to praise God for the wonderful ways He shows up in our lives…when we take the time to recognize Him.

Visit this page and click on the “Read Glory Moments” button to begin.

P.S. Congratulations to the winner of a copy of A Sudden Glory: God’s Lavish Response to Your Ache for Something More, Russelyn Westmoreland. She was the winner of the random drawing from the comments of my February 18th post.

But I never want you to think better of me than I really am. The snow melted. The mud remained. And the ordinary bread-and-butter plain days were back.

There were a few days between then and now when I wasn’t exactly sleuthing for God’s fingerprints throughout my day. Life just got back to “normal.”

Deadlines. Emails. Laundry. Cooking. Cleaning.

Life is  so daily. One foot in front of the other. Bread-and-butter plain.

Where are the glimpses of glory in all that?

What did Jesus do with all that? Before you answer, consider this:

Jesus’ ministry, the part of his life that we read about in Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, consisted of about three and a half years. That’s 1,278 days. If you go back and count the days recorded in the four gospels, you’ll come up considerably short.

So what was Jesus doing on the days that were not mentioned by Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John? He lived His life. He worked. He ate. He washed. He partied. He prayed. He studied. He meditated. He listened.

The Sacred lived in the midst of the secular in the one step in front of the other… bread-and-butter plain.

And that is exactly where we can see God…where we can glorify God.

Paul wrote: “Whether, then, you eat or drink or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God,” (1 Corinthians 10:31 NASB). Whatever you do…

Cleaning bathrooms to the glory of God.

Vacuuming the floor to the glory of God.

Reading my Bible to the glory of God.

Singing praises to the glory of God.

Being intimate with my husband to the glory of God.

Cooking dinner to the glory of God.

Helping in the soup kitchen to the glory of God.

Shopping for groceries to the glory of God.

Mailing packages to the glory of God.

Filing my taxes to the glory of God.

All things…to the glory of God.

What does  “to the glory of God” mean? The Greek word for glory is doxa.  It denotes honor or splendor, a reflection of God’s character.

We are to reflect God’s character, His ways, and His splendor in everything we do. Discounting sinful behavior, such as sexual perversions, gossip, drug and alcohol abuse, or any number of immoral acts that contradict the life of a Christian, our entire existence both in the secular and the sacred realm could and should be an act of worship…could or should be a reflection of God.

When that happens, words such as “do everything as unto the Lord” and “pray without ceasing” become clearer and more within our grasp.

Even in the bread-and-butter plain days, we can see God, we can reflect God.

In the spin of the laundry.

In the cleaning bathrooms.

In the vacuuming the floor.

Reading my Bible to the glory of God.

Singing praises to the glory of God.

Being intimate with my husband to the glory of God.

Cooking dinner to the glory of God.

Helping in the soup kitchen to the glory of God.

Shopping for groceries to the glory of God.

Mailing packages to the glory of God.

Filing my taxes to the glory of God.

All things…to the glory of God.

And when you do all thing to the glory of God, you begin to see the glory of God in all things.

How will you see God in your bread-and-butter plain day? Where will you look for God in your bread-and-butter plain day?

For some of you, that is not a big deal. But for me, living in the South, it was a shining display of glory all around.

I breathed in the majesty of creation; breathed out the gratitude of grace.

Thinking of the power of the gospel to cleanse.

Pondering of the grandness of it all.

Musing in the smallest of it all.

A simple snowflake.

A lacy crocheted masterpiece fashioned with the skein of ice by the hand of God.

A simple soul.

A fearfully and wonderfully made girl crafted by the fingertips of the Creator. (That would be you.)

Seeing God in the big.

Seeing God in the small.

Opening eyes to the glory all around.

He says to the snow, ‘Fall on the earth,’ and to the rain shower, ‘Be a mighty downpour.’ Job 37:6 NIV

“Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.” Psalm 51:7 NIV

“Come now, let us settle the matter,” says the Lord. “Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool.”  Isaiah 1:18 NIV

“As the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return to it without watering the earth and making it bud and flourish, so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater, so is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.” Isaiah 51:10-11 NIV

Stoop down.

Look up.

Lean in.

Turn aside.

“When the Lord saw that he turned aside to see, God called to him…” Exodus 3:4 ESV

Could it be that we are so busy bustling about that we don’t turn aside to listen? To notice? To see?

Could it be that we don’t slow down enough to investigate as a sleuthing child expecting Him to speak through what He has made?

Glory moments abound when we tune into God’s frequency and listen for the timbre of His voice. As Elizabeth Barrett Browning said, “Earth is crammed with heaven and every common bush afire with God. But only he who sees, takes off his shoes.

Will you sit with me like the blind beggar by the road, with face upturned?  ”Lord, I want to see.”

If  you’ll join me, leave a comment and say, “Lord, I want to see.”

Time for a give-away. I am going to randomly pick one person from today’s comments and send a free copy of A Sudden Glory: God’s Lavish Response to Your Ache for Something More.

I

While it is touted as a day filled with red balloons, boxed-chocolates, Hallmark cards, candlelight dinners and sexy lingerie, it is also a day of disappointment for many because there are no red balloons, boxed chocolates, Hallmark cards, candlelight dinners and sexy lingerie.

Here’s my word to you. Don’t let the enemy win. Don’t listen to his lies. God is so enthralled with you! And the enemy wants to distract you from that truth.

I want to encourage you to pay attention to God’s love song to you today– His passionate pursuit and relentless romance of your heart .

Let me share one of my “Valentine”  moments from God.

I  was riding on a chairlift at Keystone ski resort in Colorado. “Single,” I had called out while standing in line—the proper etiquette for those skiing alone. No one took me up on the offer to share the chair…and I breathed a sigh of relief.

I was alone.

I was glad.

As the gears churned and the cables strained to pull my metal chair up the mountain, I sensed God’s presence surrounding me. I wasn’t alone after all. Wrapped in the down of His love and zipped up with the security of His grace, I settled in for the brisk morning ride. The great Rockies dressed in winter’s garment of glistening snow stood tall all around me. Strong. Powerful. Majestic. Sure.

The lapis vault of heaven canopied the earth with wisps of feathery brushstrokes. Delicate. Winsome. Graceful. Changing.

It seemed as if the breath of God kissed my cheeks with the tingling crispness of that Colorado morning.

As the braids of metal drew me higher and higher, I heard a mother and her daughter begin to sing. “Shout to the Lord, all the earth let us sing. Power and majesty praise to the king. Mountains bow down and the seas will roar at the sound of Your name.”

Like an old couple that warms with remembrance when “their song” comes on the radio, I basked in knowing that God had specifically pushed G-5 on the jukebox just for me. For they were singing our song—God’s and mine. It had been our song since I first heard the words in 1994. And it seemed God had just commissioned two of his children to serenade me. He was wooing me once again with music that wafted from behind and embraced my heart.

“He will take great delight in you, He will quiet you with his love, He will rejoice over you with singing,” (Zephaniah 3:17 NIV, 1984 ed.).

God sang His love song and I drank it in.

I closed my eyes, captivated by His evident love for me. A moment of sudden glory in the Rockies. I didn’t want to get off the chair lift.

I thought of Peter’s words to Jesus after he had seen the transfiguration up on another high mountain two thousand years ago: “Lord, it is good for us to be here. If you wish, I will put up three shelters—one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah” (Matthew 17:4).

Like Peter who had seen Jesus’ sun-drenched face illuminate and His body clothed in light, I didn’t want the moment to end. I wanted to pitch a tent and settle in.

But just as Peter had to return to the valley below, I had to return to the flatlands.

Treks down the hill are always part of the mountain peak moments of sudden glory. That moment in the Rockies, when God wooed me with our love song through the timbre of two of his children, He was simply giving me another reminder of His love for me.

Remember, He whispered. I have loved you, with an everlasting love; I have drawn you with loving kindness, (Jeremiah 31:3).

I slid off the chair lift and onto the snow packed ramp. With a push of the poles and a dig of the skis, I headed back down the mountain once again. And our great love story continued from the peaks of the Rockies to the muddy, slushy, slopes and masses of people below. God had pursued and romanced my heart once again.

God has pulled out all the stops in pursuit of your heart. But many, I dare say most, don’t see it, don’t hear it, and don’t taste it.

“Blessed are your eyes because they see,” Jesus said, “and your ears because they hear,” (Matthew 13:16).

We yearn to be cherished as a rare treasure. We dream of a love that is fresh every morning with anticipation of what the day may hold. We long for a love that will not wane with time or diminish with the doldrums of everyday life.

And that is exactly what God wants to give you. I pray that you will hear God’s love song and find His love notes lavishly tucked in the moments.

That you will recognize the romance of God in the routine of your life. That is exactly what you can expect when in him we live and move and have our being becomes a reality in your life. It is then that you experience a sacred union with God.

“As the Father has loved me, so I have loved you”  - Jesus

How does knowing that God pursues you make you feel? Leave a comment below.

Interview by Linda Rooks
FEBRUARY 5, 2014

“Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise,” (Psalm 100:4).

Right in the center of my Bible, I find an invitation into God’s presence. And while there is nowhere we can go away from God’s presence, we can certainly feel distant from Him.

In Genesis chapter 2, we read of Adam and Eve’s original sin of disobedience to God’s one command not to eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. But have you ever wondered what whet their appetite for wanting something more than constant communion and union with God?

Have you ever considered what stirred the desire for more and made them vulnerable to the serpent’s attack? I think it was ingratitude.

They were not thankful for all that God had provided. They were not satisfied with the glory life.

So when Satan slithered into the Garden and introduced the idea that God was holding out on them, they were ripe for the picking.

“When you eat of it your eyes will be opened,” the serpent hissed (Genesis 3:5).

But in the beginning, Eve’s eyes already were open. Eve saw God in all His goodness, spilling out gifts at every turn. She saw nothing but the glory of God unspoiled.

Eve was lured away by the lie that there was something better, something more. “When you eat of it your eyes will be opened”…and they were. Eve’s eyes beheld the ugliness of sin and shame that she had never seen before.

We are in the same danger of believing Satan’s lie of “you would be happy if…” when we are not grateful to God who “richly blesses all who call on him” (Romans 10:12).

We are vulnerable to temptation when we neglect to thank God who “richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment” (1 Timothy 6:17).

As we live and move and have our being in Jesus, if the song of gratitude is not playing on our lips, we will be in the same danger of listening to the enemy’s lies and thinking our glory ache could be satisfied by something other than God Himself.

Gratitude keeps us grounded in the truth and alert to the lies.

Ingratitude is the infection of Eden that closes eyes shut tight to glory moments to experience God and leaves us groping about in the dark for that which will never satisfy the longings of the soul.

The cure comes in capsules of praise, thanksgiving, and a grateful heart.

Gratitude is the antibiotic of the soul to cure a variety of the world’s ills. It cuts the bark of our hard hearts and nourishes the very spot where we are grafted into Jesus Christ Himself, and restores a sense of closeness and intimacy with God.

Today, practice praise. Think of thanks. Go with a grateful heart.

Here’s a challenge for you today. I did this over at my Girlfriends in God group and it was great fun…well, maybe not so much fun…but enlightening.

Put a rubber band on your wrist and wear it like a bracelet. Every time you complain, grumble, or simply talk negatively about anything and anyone, pop the rubber band. That’s right, pull it out and let it pop your wrist.

If you really want to see how much you grumble, get a girlfriend or family member to do it with you. Agree to tell each other, “Girlfriend, you need to pop that wrist.” Sometimes we all need a little help from our friends.

If you’ll agree to do this, leave a comment that says, “I’ll wear a rubber band today.”  I’d love to actually see the rubber band on your wrist. Take a picture and send it to me at sharon@sharonjaynes.com! I’ll post it on an upcoming blog.

Seeing God through the lens of gratitude and grace is one of the themes of my book, A Sudden Glory: God’s Lavish Response to Your Ache for Something More. It’s a great book to help you experience God’s presence on a daily basis. But if you have trouble with grumbling, complaining, and controlling your tongue, I’d suggest delving into my book, The Power of a Woman’s Words.

They walk ahead of me.
A man I’ve known for thirty-four-years.
A man I’ve known for thirty.

One I spied at a college Bible study.
Sitting on the floor with his back against the wall.
Dressed in scruffy jeans and a red flannel shirt with
the sleeves rolled up his muscular forearms.
A well-worn Bible opened in his lap.
An easy laugh escaped his lips.
Chocolate eyes melted my heart.

The other man I met in the delivery room on February 4, 1984.
Jet-black hair.
Ridiculously long eye lashes.
Cherub lips.
Love wrapped in the flesh of a man-child we would call Steven.

This is not a blog that will change your life.

It’s just a peek into my mother- heart as I remember the journey that changed mine.
Thank you for indulging me.

The following is something I wrote the day I took my son, Steven to get his driver’s permit.
I hope you enjoy it. I pray it causes you to pause  and enjoy  the journey of motherhood or grand-motherhood.

Store the memories in the treasury of your mind.

To Steven: I Thank God for the Wonder of You
-mom

I crept into your room today as the sun was peeking over the horizon.  A single ray of light reaches through the blinds and illuminates your angelic face like a lone actor on a stage. Two tiny fists frame your olive face as you snuggle peacefully under you yellow blanket.

A small head, capped with black busy hair. Long Bambi-like eye lashes. Perfectly formed cherub lips. A red forceps mark on your forehead. Knees curled and tucked under your tummy.

A mound of love that just three days before kicked my ribs and moved inside my tummy, now sleeps in a crib and moves my heart.  Yellow gingham bumper pads framed this picture of sweetness, tranquility and love.  I drink in the scent of baby powder, fresh wipes, and lotion.

A Noah’s Ark soft sculpted toy with ten bulging pockets carrying animals two-by-two. A bunny shaped rattle. A tinkling music box.

Stuffed animals with bright satin bows huddled in a corner. A beckoning white wicker rocker.

I stroked you head and watched you breath, finding my chest in sync with yours.  Three days old. My precious gift from God. What journeys await our family of three?

I crept into your room today and thanked God for the wonder of you.

___________________________________________________________________

I crept into your room today before my little man awoke. In just a few minutes you’d be calling out in your two year old voice for mommy and daddy to get you out of you now too small crib for a little snuggle time before dad is off to work.

The black hair has been replaced with golden corn silk capping your precious head.
Long thick eyelashes now dubbed as “angel wings,” rest on chubby cheeks.

The yellow blanket that once kept you warm now keeps you secure as you clutch it tightly to your side.
Somehow your thumb has found its way to your mouth and I hear the sound of gentle sucking.

Big Bird and Ernie wait patiently for their little friend to stir. A train parked in the corner. A stick horse tethered to the doorknob. Rubber balls and wooden blocks in a basket. Pop up books, Richard Scarry, Lowly Worm, Busy People, Things that Go- all familiar friends crowded on the bookshelf.

Wooden puzzles, plastic trucks, cardboard tubes for jousting.  A well-worn wicker rocker that has become my favorite spot in the house.  I stroked your blond head and watched your gentle breathing, still amazed that so much love could be found in one small package.

I crept into your room today on this your first day of school. In Superman pajamas, hugging a well-worn Teddy bear, you dreamed of new friends and adventure.

A new shiny red lunch box sits on the dresser. Stiff new jeans and a crisp striped knit shirt laid out on the floor. A blue backpack stuffed with fresh crayons, unopened markers, and wide ruled notebook paper, hangs from the door knob.

Plastic swords, Playmobile Indians, nerf balls, a sheriff’s badge, cowboy boots.  All would be motionless this day.
A T-Ball trophy on the dresser.  A team picture of twelve miniature athletes smiling back at me from a red frame on the wall.

I stroked your sandy blond head and tears streamed down my cheeks. In just a few minutes, I’d be walking you down a sidewalk and entrusting my most valued possession into the hands of another woman.

Would your teacher know that you were the most creative child that God has ever fashioned?
Would she know that you already knew your ABC’s and could count to 100?
Would she know that you had already asked Jesus to come into your heart and could recite the Lord’s Prayer and Twenty-third Psalm?
Would she know that you needed lots of hugs?

Would she know that this was one of the hardest days of my life?
O how I’m going to miss my little man today.

I crept into your room today and thanked God for the wonder of you.

_________________________________________________________________

I crept into your room today before the sun made its way into the morning sky.
You, my little soldier, lay tangled in the sheets with Beary the white polar bear tucked under your arm and staring admiringly into his charge’s tranquil face.

The cars and trucks wallpaper has been replaced by plaids and coat-of-arms. Baseballs hats hang from the corners of your four-poster bed. Soccer pictures line the walls. A Boy Scout handbook.

Well-worn matchbox cars parked in a slotted carrying case. Stray Legos peek from under the bed. G. I. Joe’s back from their latest mission share a shelf with hard to part with stuffed animals. A flashlight rests on The Chronicles of Narnia.

I stroked your head and wondered if you had any idea how much I have loved being your mom for these past ten years.

I crept into your room today and thanked God for the wonder of you.

______________________________________________________________

I crept into your room today before the day was new. Breaking all the new rules of privacy and personal space, I gazed at my twelve-year-old young man with a sense of awe. A knowing Michael Jordan smiled at me from a poster taped on the closet door.

Muddy baseball pants hang over a chair. Inverted tube socks wadded up and tossed in a corner. A CD player, headphones and magazines. Deodorant, boxers, and fuzzy legs.

Five feet nine inches of muscle and bone-a man-child metamorphosing before my very eyes.

A school yearbook open to page 87 where Rosemary’s smiling face had been the last thing on your mind.  A new era was on the horizon.

I whispered a prayer over your sleeping form as I rubbed you sandy head. A prayer of protection, purity, and purpose.

I crept into your room today and thanked God for the wonder of you.

___________________________________________________________________

I crept into your room today before the alarm signaled the dawn of a new day. Your six-foot frame lay angled across the mattress. A man’s hairy leg peeks out from under the tangled sheet.
Your face needs a shave.
A muscular arm hugs a willing pillow.

The chubby cheeks and pug nose have been replaced with handsome sharp angular lines. A strong jawbone. A determined nose. A thick shock of unruly hair.

A Geometry book leans against the dresser. Ribbons and plaques from races won proudly hang from the floor lamp arm. A rack of neckties and khakis mingle with T-shirts and jeans. A track team warm up suit slung over a chair. A basketball letter and pin leans against the mirror.

An electric guitar, amplifier, distorter, and Christian punk CD’s.
A TARHEELS license plate rests on an easel, pointing to future dreams.

My little boy has become a man-in the twinkling of an eye, in the flash of a moonbeam; in the time it takes a shooting star to traverse the night sky.

I smooth your thick hair and watch your chest rise and fall. What a gift you have been to me. How will I ever let you go?

Today I drive you to the Department of Motor Vehicles to pick up your license to new freedoms. I go as a driver, but return as a passenger.

A tear escapes my eye and trickles down my chin as I am reminded once again that this chapter of my life is coming closer to an end.

I crept into your room today and thanked God for the wonder of you.

___________________________________________________________

Friend, thank you for indulging me as I’ve remembered. I wonder if there is someone in your life that you need to remember today? Is there someone that you need to gather in your arms? Someone for whom you need to whisper a prayer? Someone you need to tell just how much he or she means to you?

Can I encourage you to do it? Right now? Today?

Leave a comment and tell me one person you are going to tell, “I thank God for the wonder of you.”

(The picture above is of my husband and son walking in snowy Chicago last weekend.)

My husband has not filed for divorce and he continues to pay bills (as I’m currently unemployed). However, it’s tough, as he’s staying with his mother right now. I desire for my husband to come home, I desire for us to begin marriage counseling (I have started by myself) and I pray for full reconciliation. I do not believe in my spirit we will get divorced. My husband is a very stubborn man and is not good at communicating his feelings. I admit, I do realize where I allowed the foothole of satan to enter into our marriage. Starting today through valentines day I’m sending my husband gifts of love to his job to let him know I’m thinking of him (kind of romancing him). To this point when he does come home I’ve been crying and begging for him to stay and I have not taken care of myself. I’m also texting him the ideas Sharon Jaynes had in the Girlfriends In God devotion.

I’m asking for prayer and the Lord continues to invade his mind, thoughts, and spirit and that my husband restores himself to God to be the man of God he is meant to be and the husband he is meant to be. I know God is good and I know God brought us together for his purpose.

Thank You,