A Joyful Hike

The Gift of a Dream on Our Anniversary By: Janet M. Norman Today would have been our 31st wedding anniversary. Thirty-one years. Sometimes I can hardly believe that much time has passed. And sometimes it feels like yesterday. I found myself talking to the Lord about Jason today. Not with polished words. Not with some beautiful, carefully constructed prayer. Just honesty. “Lord, I miss him.” I miss my husband. I miss my best friend. I miss the man who knew me in ways no one else ever could. I miss the life we built, the ordinary days that I didn't realize would one day become some of my most treasured memories. I miss hiking with him. I miss Colorado. I miss the mountains rising in front of us, the sound of our footsteps on the trail, the crisp air, the enormous sky, and the feeling that there was nowhere else we needed to be. There was something about hiking together that I loved. We were moving forward, side by side. Sometimes we talked. Sometimes we were quiet. Sometimes the trai...

  My 5-Year Tribute to My Jason On the eve of your five-year anniversary in heaven — your heavenly birthday, the day you met your Creator and Savior face to face — I find myself remembering the moment I was told we needed to get back to the hospital. My colleagues had just come by to bring dinner and visit, and it was cut short by a phone call. I hadn’t even taken the shower I came home for. The numbness you feel, when deep in your soul you know — without seeing — that the love of your life will no longer be physically with you, hits like a swift kick to the gut. I was in shock. In disbelief. And I simply did not want this to be my new reality. Should I have done more? Questions like that creep into your mind from the enemy, when our Savior is simply waiting for our surrender — because all Jesus wants to do is carry our burden. The enemy keeps us trapped in our own thoughts, trying to fix what cannot be fixed. But patiently, like the truest gentleman, the Holy Spirit waits to comfo...

As another year closes let’s not forget to reflect upon the year. What were some happy moments that left your heart smiling?  Were there moments in which you needed to pause and take time to think things through before making a decision?  How about those valley moments where tears were shed and you realized you needed help?  Well, I can attest, my year has had all of these moments and much more. From January to May I finished my 27th year in public school teaching. June and July required me to be obedient to a calling to shift from public school teaching to teaching in a private Christian academy. I dove in and answered the call without hesitation because I knew the Lord had great plans for me.  From the New Living Translation the book of Jeremiah‬ ‭29‬:‭11‬ says, “For I know the plans I have for you,” says the Lord. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.  https://bible.com/bible/116/jer.29.11.NLT This should bring great ...

By: Janet M. Norman This post is intended for January 15, 2025 around 6:30 at night.   Dear Jason, Why does time seem to fly by but completely cease to exist? Because living without my best friend has had a dramatic effect on my heart and soul. How have I survived 4 years without talking to you, seeing your face, being in your presence, and felt one of your hugs where I listened to your heartbeat? My answers have one thing in common - a love for Jesus. When you died, I lost a part of me forever. God gave me you for a limited time. We packed a lot in over 28 years and over 25 being married. We knew what we had was special. You loved me for my values but because I also loved you for who you were. Flaws and all. We came with personal baggage. Lots of emotional scars, but our love was deeply rooted in loving Jesus. Rejoicing in difficulty takes a mindset. We have to surrender our own thoughts and desires. I know God has a plan for my life. I just didn’t realize I would only have you fo...

I have recently started reading The Believer’s Authority by Kenneth Hagin. I hadn’t heard of Hagin before and was surprised to find out he was the man that started Rhema Bible Training College.  As I began reading, I came to a revelation about the cross. Some of you reading this may have already had this revelation, but for me, it was powerful in understanding the authority given to me by Jesus’ death.  Have you ever considered why Jesus had to die on the cross?  I realize during that time in history the Romans killed people in this fashion, but I believe it has deeper meaning in our Christian walk.  When you look at the cross, it has two beams. One is vertical and the other horizontal. Jesus died for each and every one of us. He was nailed upon the cross, suffered, bled, and died so each one of us that accepts his gift of death shall be rewarded with eternal life.  The cross symbolically is a crossroad. It is a place where a decision has to be made. Choose to f...

 Our God is in the Details By: Janet M. Norman I recently purchased a bag of cherries 🍒 at the grocery store. I was having some with my lunch and noticed two cherries with perfect stems and one perfect tiny leaf attached to each end of the stem.  Each minute edge of the leaves were marked with a sharp peak. I was enamored with them. I even took a picture of them because I thought they were absolutely adorable.  As I was looking quite intently at them, I couldn’t help think about how our God is in the DETAILS of everything. He created this sweet tiny fruit, that contains a pit, that if planted could produce another cherry tree if cared for properly. 🍒  Doesn’t this metaphorically speaking, identify with our lives as Christians and more specifically, disciples of Christ?  We have been created and knitted together by the hand of God in our mothers’ wombs, given gifts, talents, and abilities, that if cultivated and practiced with love and care, could bring about a...