Tsh Oxenreider
About the Author

Tsh Oxenreider is the author of Notes From a Blue Bike and the founder of The Art of Simple. She's host of The Simple Show, and her passion is to inspire people that 'living simply' means making room for more of the stuff that really matters, and that the right,...

(in)side DaySpring: things we love
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(in)side DaySpring:
things we love
& you will too!
Find more at
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  1. What is is Lord? You are giving majority of the blogs I visit this message. Okay, so, what is it? Lord I am tired, I jsut want to be happy all the time. Anton should not have to deal with my unstable mind! The Zoloft is not working, do I need it increased again! What do I have to do? Aaaahhhhhhhh

  2. Hmm. I’m not sure I’ve ever heard this idea presented this way before, but I like it. Except that I think it’s real and means I’ll be climbing some seemingly useless hills. I suppose right now it’s the hill of getting over MYself and MY time in caring for small children 24/7. Seems like I can’t get a minute to think or get sane or even pray.

  3. I am on my way up a very high and seemingly pointless mountain. I want to climb a different one. I want off this road and I want to take the path of least resistance as I’ve always done. And I can’t and I won’t. But I do need help, I do need that strength that only comes from God. Thanks for sharing. I know many women struggle with depression, and I am one of them. This is a rough, tough, and complicated mountain.

  4. Oh Tsh – Exactly! When we look back on our spiritual journey, it’s the times where we had to climb these mountains, sometimes sliding back down, only to climb them again. It’s there where He meets us, reaches out His hand and helps us make it to the precipice. Imagine if we just lived on top of the mountain all the time..the beauty is staggering, but short lived…it was the journey that took our breath away. 🙂
    I am straddling a few different climbs all at once right now, and can’t wait to flex these biceps and quads when I’m done. :0

  5. A verse that always comes back to me is from Psalm 112:7 “He will have no fear of bad news; his heart is steadfast, trusting in the Lord”. It is amazing to me that when I focus on God’s will and not my own I have peace in the midst of the storm. What a relief it is to know that we can trust Him and His ways.
    I couldn’t help but think of the book Hind’s Feet on High Places by Hannah Hurnard while reading this beautiful post. If you haven’t read it, do so!

  6. I am doing a Beth Moore Bible study on Esther. Just this morning I read that “strength comes from a muscle and muscle develops with a workout. What we don’t work – we lose”
    What is true physically is also true spiritually.

  7. I love the way you explain the “randomness” of life. Sometimes it really is about getting that perspective. Thanks for sharing your story!

  8. Oh, my, that sounds so similar to what I went through with PPD…and I would be strong for days and days, then finally just cry out, “WHY is this happening?!?!” It was very frustrating. BUT…you are so right, I worked muscles I never knew I had. God was always with me. I now have tools that help me cope with the ups and downs of life like never before…and I have a new sympathy for people going through similar situations. I am stronger. And I am walking more closely to God than ever. He is amazing!

  9. Tsh, I don’t know you, but it’s obvious you know some of how God works from this article. My mother passed a month ago Monday at 55. Caring for her brought me back in the path of a former boyfriend who holds atheistic beliefs. I keep feeling like I’ve already climbed this mountain getting over him. Why am I on the same mountain? And why am I on the mountain of viewing life without my mother? I don’t know, but I do know that even if God never brings a husband in my life, he is showing me that my former boyfriend’s life and pursuits are hollow and never to look back again on him as a land of canaan forbidden to me. Being with my father and seeing how he pursued business as my former boyfriend did revealed that to me. And hearing the hollow words of comfort of this guy also showed me how deeply I desire to share my faith with a spouse. And I do know now that I want a husband who treats me with respect and openness in finances in a way that was foreign to my parents. So even though I the other mountains I want to climb in the range seem far off, the mountains of marriage and a suitable career, the perspective on this mountain is important in order for me to appreciate what I’m leaving behind.
    Thanks for your well put metaphor.
    DZ

  10. Tsh, thank you for that. I have a mountain I have been climbing for a while. Sometimes I just want to throw my hands up and say, “That’s it…I give up!” Those whispers you speak of NEVER let me and I’m grateful for it.

  11. Tsh, I am so sorry for going off in my comment earlier. Please forgive me, please. I am not asking you to excuse my behavior, but just know that I have been going through it lately with my depression!
    I also apologize for making it all about me when I should have been thanking you for courageously sharing this and writing it in a way that is easy to understand. You have also offered much comfort! You really did well with this post. I am looking forward to reading more from you!
    Thanks.
    smooches,
    Larie

  12. Thank you!! During this climb I desperately needed the encouragement I got from your post. Thanks for being so open and honest.

  13. I think you wrote this post for me! I can so relate even though my particular circumstances are different from yours. I’ve been going through such a season of depression. It is situational as life has turned upside down for me lately. I used to hike a mountain behind my house every morning and now I’ve not had the energy to do so. But when I hiked to the top of that mountain, I was so aware of a different perspective. And I always came down from the mountain with much to write in my journal. Your post has inspired me and helped me. So, now that you touched another today with your words. Thank you from the bottom of my heart.
    Debbie

  14. I am climbing that mountain that seems to go on forever and is so confusing right now. My husband and I feel that we are playing the guessing game with God and He is not answering. We are both so stressed that our bodies are wearing out. I know we are not alone and that God is working it out ahead of us, we just have to be still and have faith.

  15. My family and I are trying to climb, but it seems unending and we are tired. We have been hit with so many more bills and needs this month and our income is at the lowest it has ever been in 9 years of marriage. We know that God is here with us, but I am struggling with the mountain of what if. How do you be still and let God fill your needs? How do you wait on the Lord when the fridge is getting empty and you need diapers? My heart knows “My God shall supply all my needs according to His riches and glory through Christ Jesus,” but mind is not convinced.

  16. Wow, God speaks to us in very unique ways. Thanks for this post. I too feel like I have been climbing from mountain to mountain. Over the years God has made me experience things that have made me stronger in faith. My brother’s illness, a miscarriage, my daughter’s scoliosis, my husband telling me he had a daughter after four years of being married,and the list goes on. Through all situations, God has always been there helping me along the way.