Waze. A Traffic & Navigation App. .

I love living in Los Angeles; great beaches, diverse people, chic boutiques, fun coffee shops, and the lots of traffic. Just kidding, the traffic is what I like least about living in a place where people from all over the world vacation. No matter what time of the day it is, no matter what day of the week it is, there is usually traffic. If you need to drive 20 miles to your destination, plan for your journey to take you at least an hour. Some days you will be surprised and you will zip your way along without using the brakes, but those are just "some days." My husband BJ  loves his iPhone and is always downloading new apps. A few months ago, he downloaded a FREE App called 'Waze.' Waze is a fun, community- based traffic & navigation app. What this App is designed to do is, navigate you around traffic. When he first started using it, I wasn't buying it, how can you possibly navigate your way around traffic? But, time and time again, this app has helped what would be a 60 minute journey take us only 20 minutes. 

Our Waze. 

On our way home from visiting our friends in Orange County, we did like we usually do and plugged in our destination into the Waze app. She (Waze has become a part of our family and travels with us wherever we go & goes by the name Waze or She, haha) calculated our journey and we began our 1hour and 30minute journey home. Our friends followed behind in their car. Once we got into familiar territory, we were surprised Waze was telling us to go a different route, one we had never taken before. We took the suggested route and continued on our journey. We quickly noticed that the car behind us was no longer following us. We thought this was a great opportunity to put Waze to the test! We arrived at home almost 20 minutes before our friends. We promise, we didn't speed! It worked, Waze's crazy navigation actually worked. In that moment, I had a "BLOG moment." There have been so many important decisions we as a family have had to make in the past two months that we know are life decisions. We, like the 20 million people who use Waze to navigate our way through traffic have been seeking God in prayer to see what route He wants us to go. To be transparent, His route, like Waze's routes, have not made sense and have been routes we have never taken before. In the moment they have seemed really ridiculous. We have listened to the best of our ability and have followed no matter what it appears to look like. It has not been easy and there have been a few times where we have been faced with the opportunity to do what "we think" is best! 

His Waze.

When we arrived before our friends, BJ looked at me and jokingly said, "Her waze are not our waze!!" It made me laugh because it sounded a lot like a scripture I've heard many times before.

“For my thoughts are not your thoughts,neither are your ways my ways,” declares the Lord.- Isaiah 55:8

This scripture has never been so clear and so true in my entire life. If I believe that the Waze app is not out to make my life more complicated, I have to believe the same is true with God. His ways often seem crazy, but I know that He wants the best for me. Waze calculates every route and then chooses the route with less stops, detours, or bumps along the way. When you and I decide to trust God's leading, we are saying yes to a route with less stops, detours or unnecessary bumps along the way. Will we still experience hard times, or even stops? Absolutely! But, His way is the best route to get us to where we need to be. 

Taking it HOME.

Sitting in traffic has a way of wearing on you. I know that any time I have sat in traffic I feel drained and almost always need a moment to refresh. That is why I love our traffic and navigating app, Waze. Every time we travel, we use it, whether we are going on a 10 mile journey or a 100 mile journey. These past two months I have used my life and decision making resource, The Bible more than I have in a long time. It has become so very necessary as I have tried to navigate through complications, disappointment, and faced with life-altering decisions. It has kept me refreshed and joyful through some of the most discouraging days. If your life is anything like mine and you are needing some guidance or a moment to refresh, I want to remind you that you are not alone in this journey called life. You have a resource so valuable! His name is Jesus, and today He wants to help guide you and lead you. His ways will often seem ridiculous, but I promise, if you trust His leading, you will find yourself exactly where you need to be. 

Every week I highlight a TRUTH about you, your life, or about a situation you may be facing and then I DARE you to believe it.

Here is this week's TRUTH or DARE.

TRUTH: 

"You can make many plans,

    but the Lord’s purpose will prevail" Proverbs 19:21

DARE: Trust His leading today, no matter what it looks like. 

Layovers.

Yesterday, while driving in the car with my parents, we began to tally the number of times my daughters have flown on an airplane. In the past 20 months, my girls have made 10 trips on an airplane (20 times if you include both departing and returning flights). My girls have flown more times than most people do their entire life. That is a lot of flying! Each time has been a different experience, some great flights and others, not so great flights. We usually prefer the flights with the least number of layovers and if we have to make a stop, we prefer the least amount of "wait time" before boarding our next flight. No matter how much we have tried to avoid them, I don't remember the last time we took a direct flight.
 
Puerto Rico.

This past summer, we had a great opportunity to vacation with my big ole family to the beautiful island of Puerto Rico. It was such an amazing trip, filled with so many lasting memories. On route to Puerto Rico, we noticed that we had a 2 hour layover in Philadelphia. Philadelphia? Yes! We were departing out of Los Angeles and our final destination was south of Florida, why in the world would we stop in Philadelphia? It really made no sense. Once we boarded the plane, found our seats, and listened to one of the flight attendants explain the "what to do in case of an emergency" procedure, the pilot told us to enjoy our trip to "Phoenix." Phoenix? I thought we were going to Philadelphia! What they failed to mention was that airlines do not include a stop on your itinerary if you do not deplane. We were so excited and very eager to meet our family in Puerto Rico and really not looking forward to making a stop we had not planned for.
 
Surprise.

When we arrived in Phoenix, two very familiar people boarded the plane. It was my brother Vinnie and my sister in law Nina. What a surprise! We thought we were meeting them in Philadelphia, but instead we actually met them in Phoenix. 
 
Unnecessary.

After our recent trip to North Carolina and the what seemed like unnecessary stops along the way, I realized something about Layovers. I realized that just like layovers on an airplane, there are "layovers" or "seasons" in our lives that although seem unnecessary or insignificant are very important as we journey towards our dreams, plans, or final destinations.
 
Why Layovers?

• Layovers allow us to refuel and recharge certain areas in our lives so that we can have enough for the journey ahead.

• Layovers allow certain things to "deplane" making room for other things to board.

• Layovers are a part of the journey!

I don't know where you are in the process of seeing your dreams come to pass in your life, and although I have written countless BLOGS encouraging you all to step out and take big risks, today I want to encourage you to be still. Sometimes the biggest acts of faith are the times we choose to stay when we want to go, relax when we want to panic, and stand when we want to step out. This past season has been one of the most daring seasons we have walked through yet. This too might be your season to stand, to "layover" and simply trust that what He is doing in you is greater than anything you can do for Him. Just breath and trust His leading. He will not fail you.

Every week I highlight a TRUTH about you, your life, or about a situation you may be facing and then I DARE you to believe it.

Here is this week's TRUTH or DARE.

TRUTH: "Be still and know that I am God." Psalms 46:10


DARE: Stand still.