Two words that don’t belong in the same sentence are “Tami” and “motorcycle”… 🙂  But, actually, I have been on a motorcycle twice in my life…yes, twice!  I’ve shocked you, I know!  The first time was when I was in high school.  A cute boy took me on a moonlit, night time ride out in the middle of nowhere..we went so fast I could feel the dirt particles hitting my cheeks (did I say “cute”, Mike?  I meant nerdy!) That was super exciting…maybe a little too exciting!!  The second time was when I was in college and my friend, Pete, took me on an amazing ride through the redwoods near Santa Cruz!  Kinda scared, I held on to him probably too tight, but I still remember how exhilarating it felt to go so fast…and I also remember the feeling of FREEDOM!  It’s a feeling that you don’t experience when you’re driving the same road in a sedan. 🙂

With that being said, it was a little strange that last night I dreamt I was on a road trip…on a MOTORCYCLE!!!  Me!  I know!!  In the dream, I was fully prepared with my phone’s GPS, water, and only the provisions I needed along the way stowed in my pack.  The most exciting part though was that I hadn’t a clue where I was… I knew I was heading home, but I was going an unfamiliar way…on tiny roads through farm country!  I wasn’t worried at all because I had directions on my phone.  I was excited for the journey ahead!!  

You know how dreams are…in the dream, this was totally normal.  But in real life, I would have been freaking out!!  No directions or plan made ahead of time?  How much water did I have exactly??  On a motorcycle no less?  By MYSELF???  Oh no way, Jose (shaking my head NO)!

While driving home from a bridal shower this afternoon, there was so much traffic on the freeway that I decided to take the back roads home!  Marsh Creek road is just beautiful with it’s oak trees, ranches, horses, hills…you name it!  It’s a gorgeous drive…and whether it was the curves in the road or the feeling of being out in the middle of nowhere…I suddenly remembered my motorcycle dream.  I was thinking how wonderful it was not to be worried about where I was going (but how in reality I worry about things a lot).  In the dream I was prepared with provisions for the journey (but in reality I often feel unprepared for what’s ahead).   Just as I was thinking about my dream and the possibility that maybe God was speaking to me in it, a man on a motorcycle passed by me going the opposite way.  I had to laugh out loud!  Timing.  You can’t tell me God doesn’t have a sense of humor.

So then I began to think:  God’s heart for me is freedom!  He doesn’t want me worrying about finances, Mike’s stressful job situation, the success (or lack thereof) of my business, my kids’ future…any of that.  He’s got me on a “ride”, and He wants me to enjoy it!  He’s provided me with water (His spirit), and food (His Word)…and GPS directions…He will tell me where I need to go and what I need to do as I spend time with Him and listen for His voice. I won’t miss it.  Just like I felt as a teen and in college on those motorcycle rides…He truly wants me to enjoy the excitement and freedom He has along the way!

I’d just like to pause here and say that in no way, hubby, am I saying we need to get me a motorcycle or anything…just in case you were getting excited!! 😉  I’m good with my “mom mobile”!

I’m back!  I was getting excited about this new revelation, and just as I was turning left onto Deer Valley Road, I said outloud, “Yes, Lord, I want to ride like that with You…without a care in the world!!” Get this: the words no sooner left my mouth than another motorcylist suddenly appeared coming toward me in the opposite direction and turning right onto the same road I was turning on…only this time it was a man and a woman together on the bike!!  They pulled over to let me drive by because, hey, they were just out “enjoying a ride”, of all things, and weren’t in any hurry!  I call that “God timing”. 🙂  I think it was His funny way of saying, “Okay, Tami…you’re starting to figure this out…we’re on this awesome adventure TOGETHER!”

I thought I’d blog this today to encourage anyone who feels as I did…a little worried or unprepared for things ahead.  God’s got a plan…and we’re to enjoy the ride!! 🙂  Can you “feel the thunder?!”  Sorry…I got carried away.  Mike always asks me that when a Harley Davidson goes by.

Psalm 84:11, “All sunshine and sovereign is God, generous in gifts and glory.  He doesn’t scrimp with His traveling companions.  It’s smooth sailing all the way with God-of-the-Angel-Armies.”

Waiting…I feel like I’m waiting for 42 different things right now.  From big things like the job change for my husband that we’ve been praying for…to little things like “will my ancestry story submission ever be selected for Genealogy Roadshow”? 😉  Actually, that’s a big one for me too! 🙂  I’m waiting for my card boutique season to start, for my upcoming dentist appointment to arrive (so I can get it over with…I’m getting a filling!), for the results of a DNA test to come, for that Amazon order to arrive, for emails about ancestry research to be returned, for fall break with the kids home, for my jeans to not feel so tight, for parent teacher conferences, for my hair to grow long…it just goes on and on!  I feel like I’m in this constant state of waiting…and get this:  I’m just waiting… to not feel like I’m WAITING all the time!! 😉

Clearly, I don’t wait well…not well at all.  I wish I were more patient and not in such a hurry for things to happen. Today while driving home from school in all the hectic parent picking up their kids traffic, we got behind a real slow poke and I heard myself say out loud in front of my little audience, “Come on…hurry up!  Ugh!!”  The little listening ears in the backseat could feel my impatience, I’m sure.  I failed big time, and I know it.  Why am I like this??!  Why am I always waiting???

Part of me knows that unfortunately, for the larger part, I’m just impatient and want things to happen NOW.  However, there is a smaller part of me that knows that God has good things ahead…and like a child, I can’t wait for them to get here!  I’ve got this wonderful expectation of His goodness because He’s proven time and time again how wonderfully generous He is!!  It’s like waiting for Christmas to arrive!  Like the job thing…I know God has a good plan for Mike and when that perfect job for him arrives, we will nod in agreement and say it was “worth the wait”!

But mostly, I just want to learn to wait well.  Instead of my hope and fulfillment being in an anticipated phone call, an email or something to arrive in the mail…I want my attention to be on the One who can bring all things to pass.  Thank goodness I don’t have to wait for THAT! 😉  Rather than focusing on what isn’t here yet, I want to focus on what IS…Jesus!  I know that when I spend time sitting in His presence, I’m filled up…and in no hurry whatsoever.  Waiting WITH Him…now that sounds nice, doesn’t it?  “Okay, Lord…take your time…I know You’re timing is perfect.  Can I wait with You awhile?” 🙂

“Those who wait upon God get fresh strength.  They spread their wings and soar like eagles, they run and don’t get tired, they walk and don’t lag behind.”  Isaiah 40:31

Good things come to those who WAIT! 😉

The other night, Mike and I stayed up way too late watching the American Ninja Warrior episode we had previously DVR’d (the contestants finally being in Las Vegas and all). 🙂  By the time we were finally climbing into bed for the night, we were startled to hear a loud crash outside our window!  Two seconds later we heard running feet taking off!

Now, I can’t begin to tell you how creepy it is to be startled by a loud crash outside and hear RUNNING FEET!!  We both froze, then asked if the other one had heard the same, and Mike was up in an instant! “Stay here!  Have your phone ready just in case…” he said as he got up to start investigating what was going on!

Okay, um…wait for it…

“Aaaahhh!!!  Have my phone ready?!  Ready for WHAT?!!”

“Don’t go out there!!”  I frantically whispered to Mike!!  I was just concerned someone might get hurt out there if he went outside…NOT HIM, of course!  I know he can defend himself…I was looking out for the intruder’s safety!  😉

As my brave husband disappeared into the darkness of the hallway, I did what anyone else would do in my position…I quickly recalled to mind every creepy alien movie I’d ever seen on t.v.!  Then I started worrying, followed by some replaying of the creepy “running away feet sound” in my head…till I was good and afraid!  Yep…that about covers it.  🙂

Two minutes went by.  Then I heard the running feet again!!  YIKES!!  It sounded like a small person was running in our back yard (that makes it even creepier somehow, doesn’t it?!  I know!! )  It just sounded like two feet…not four…I’m just saying!

Now, I also have to tell you…if this same thing EVER happens to you… I think you should know that your sweet and wonderful brain (the brain that during the daytime helps you get through your day) can suddenly become the worst of TRAITORS in the middle of the night!  It lays out a welcome mat for your imagination to take over and begin to play tricks on you!!  I’m just saying…I wasn’t expecting that. 🙂

I was trying to calm myself with rational explanations like… “a person would not run THAT fast… it’s probably raccoons in the backyard trying to get into the garbage cans…it sounded like two feet, but it was really four feet…” but I was so freaked out by the running feet that I allowed myself to become afraid.

Picture me sitting up in bed… in the dark, holding my cell phone, and just shaking with fear.  God suddenly interrupted my thought life…PHEW! Just in time!!   I suddenly began to ask myself why I was so afraid?  Is God asleep and not able to help us?  Of course not!  So, I began to pray… yeah, I know…what a concept!  😉  If only that had been my FIRST reaction!  I then looked in my Bible App and read one of my favorite Psalms…Psalm 91…and I read it out loud there in the darkness.  As I read it, the words soaked in, and I noticed that I began to stop shaking. As I read, it was like I suddenly remembered that the God of the Universe was bigger than whatever was outside…even if it was only silly raccoons!! I had forgotten that important fact as I was listening to everything that fear had to say!!  I began to recall to mind His goodness, His promises of protection, His incredible love for me, and I MADE my brain surrender to the TRUTH of God’s word.  

I began to feel like I was armed.  Hebrews 4:12 says, “For the word of God is alive and powerful.  It is sharper than the sharpest two-edged sword, cutting between soul and spirit, between joint and marrow…”  In that moment, I decided to trust God and not be afraid…and guess what?  It worked!  It was a battle of the mind, I won’t lie…but I came out victorious!

Mike came back after a while (he had turned lights on outside, looked all around…double checked doors, windows…all of that) and had found no trace of anything.  Whatever was out there had left.  It took me a while to fall asleep…my mind kept listening for the sound of running feet…but each time I felt fear trying to creep back in, I shoved it out with the word of God. “You will keep me in perfect peace because my mind is fixed on YOU” (Isaiah 26:3).  “He who watches over me will never slumber nor sleep.”  (Psalm 121:4)…and the next thing I knew it was morning, and I had slept in perfect peace. 🙂

We think it was raccoons, or some other animal who jumped our fence and ran up the hill.  We did some investigating in the morning and that’s what it looks like.  We will never know for sure (and I’m a little embarrassed that I got so fearful over a few little animals…sometimes we fear the dumbest things, right?), but what we DO know for sure is that God is bigger than any fear and His word is a sword that we can use anytime!