All In The Name

A friend of mine told me a story I thought was worth sharing with you.

He and his friend were out shopping. His friend found a shirt he liked and looked to see the price. "How could a T-shirt cost $200.00?" was his indignant reply.

My friend said, "Look at the name. The value is in the name.  I carry the name of Christ because I'm a Christian. That name gives me great value." 

How profound, I thought. I also thought that how I use that name greatly affects whether other people want the same for themselves.

Is there a demand for others wanting to wear the name of Jesus? If it looks good on me, there will be.


12/30/2016

Gifts For Christmas

At Christmas time people exchange gifts. And Jesus has many gifts to give with great expectation of your response. Have you taken possession of these priceless, life-changing gifts? 

Jesus has spent a great deal on these gifts. Greater than gold is the gift of His life. More precious than silver is the gift of forgiveness. Of what value do you place on the gifts of faith, freedom and love? Is there any value worth more than the promise of His presence or His guidance? 

All these gifts are yours, and many more waiting, at the foot of a tree, where the ultimate sacrifice purchased these gifts. Without a moment's hesitation, He pushed forward because He thought you were worth it. He pursued the joy of a future with you.

Have those gifts been useful to you? Have you unwrapped them and read the directions on how to use them?  Have you ever stopped to count how many gifts He's bought you?

This is your greatest Christmas ever! Look at how many gifts you actually have!

Now, what have you bought for Jesus? What gifts do you have to give Him? 

12/15/2016

God Help Me

When we pray, why do we ask God to help us, as if we were the master and He the helper?

How about we get out of the way so the Master can do His work?

12/12/2016

Awaiting Reception

Each day Jesus holds out His open hands to us. Without a word, His eyes beckon us to look in His hands and the gift awaiting our reception. With a twinkle in His eye and a faint smile He waits.

“Go ahead, take it, open it.” 

SURPRISE!  It’s a box full of LOVE!  With chocolate and sprinkles. 

How did He know?  It’s what I've always wanted!

12/10/2016

No Wine?

Mary approached Jesus with a whisper "we have run out of wine."

I decided to devote this day to seeking God for resolutions and prayer, for you see, I have run out of wine. Feeling drained to the dregs where there is not a drop left. So I come before my maker not with a request but with a statement of fact. There is nothing more left within me to give. Have you ever felt this way?

I am waiting in great expectation for my refill. I'm taking a step back away from the clamor and demands to allow Jesus to recharge my drained battery. My prayer is that He has saved the best til last.

Greatest Deception

How could I have spent over half of my life thinking that I was doing the right thing only to find out I was wrong?

Yes, I am grateful my eyes have been opened.  But it goes to show that I was so focused on what was happening around me that I neglected to realize the greatest deception in my life…

…self deception. ugh

12/07/2016

The Greatest Distance

The greatest distance we may be asked to travel is the distance from where we are to where we could be.

When we are willing, Jesus would like to take us there.


12/1/2016

The Gift Of Awe

The Father of lights has dressed and visited the intricacies of nature in colors and sounds that speak of His undying love.

For those who pause long enough to see their order and form, or hear the humming of the wings as the noble geese declare their way across the miles in migrations flight, there is awe.

For the soothing sounds of the tumbling brook on its joyous journey to the sea, there is awe. 

For the mosaic of color swaying in the cool breeze from the hilltop, as the wildflower waves to those transfixed at its beauty, there is awe. 

For the jeweled dance of twinkling lights in the midnight sky, there is awe...and a great silence. 

And yet, all creation shouts, clearly, to hearts open to its call.

If we focus on life's grand potential that is woven into the fabric of all of God's handiwork, then we instinctively recognize the glorious possibilities that lay before us rather than the limitations that bring about a stagnate disillusionment. 

Gandhi once wrote, "There is more to life than increasing its speed."

How powerful is a moment that is met with purpose!

Determine to take a pause for that powerful moment each day to look, to listen, and to breathe in the sweet fragrance that this life still affords us. Relish the gift of awe!



11/30/2016

Days Gone Bye

The days that once passed so slowly,
have turned into years with hardly a pause
before the next year has come and gone.
 
Giggling children once played and chased
together through yesteryear seasons,
when shared innocence leapt into adulthood.
 
Many stories and events make up a life.
Each diverse from the other, each a unique
chronicle of growth, loss, joy and heartbreak.
 
Now I arrive at the place of recollection.
Plans are not as grand and hold less complexity
but are arranged for their ultimate simplicity.
 
We begin to see the past as an intricate plan.
All the unanswered questions of why things 
came about the way they did become known.
 
When vision grows dim, one thing becomes clear.
We see that our journey has a grander purpose
that can only be seen with seasoned eyes.


11/20/2016

Celestial Knowledge

The crescent moon forms its smile,
the stars twinkle and wink.

They stand aloft and far away,
with the knowledge of a better day.

The Spirit At Work

Down the canyon corridor,

over rock and dessert grass,

travels the undulating wind.

Pausing only to take a breath

before commencing its aspiring 

journey toward the unknown.

It brushes our cheek and tousles our hair,

before leaving us with the sense

of a growing distant dream.

It is the spirit of God, caressing the soul,

guiding us to believe

there is so much more to learn.

We stretch out our open arms 

to catch it's mighty power,

as it sweeps it way through earth.

Never to be captured and held still,

only to be seen at its work

in sculpting a delicate new design.

11/11/2016 

Higher Still

Within the meditations of my spirit,
I hear the whispers of your sweet voice.

In the sanctuary of my quiet heart,
I breathe in the fragrance of your presence.

As the hind finds its path on rocky steeps,
I reach beyond all pain and fears. 

To seek thy face much higher still,
away from covering darkness here.

Awake my soul to morn's new peace,
to walk the street where tears will cease.

Ride with me on rainbow's brilliant crest,
along the shores where freedom rests. 

Amid His garden's lingering glow,
ne'er again to dwell below.




11/6/2016

Another Season For America

Spring, a time of beauty when the days were fresh and new. The trees budded in the morning's light and the leaves burst forth in vibrant green.  When the sun glistened on the dew that watered the sucklings as they grew. Each day brought forth a kaleidoscope of dazzling color on an earth in harmony with its maker.

Then came the heat of summer, a new season, where flowering things now called upon the rain or watering hands to prevent their withering. The gardens cried out for others to clear the weeds and thistles that threatened their very lives. We witnessed the earth's first fruits and were satisfied that our labor was not in vain.

As summer faded into fall the silent leaves began their fluttering dance to form their mosaic masterpiece 'neath tree and sky. The wind took a deep breath and began to exhale, cooling the now naked trees as in preparation for harder times ahead. The slowing down and the silence that is the essence of fall seems to lend itself to meditation and preparation. A prayer for winter's blasts.

Now here life stands. Another season. Another time of anticipation, awaiting the unknown before us. The winter promises to be as no other. Did we prepare? Will this land of the free still remain? Will the wheat fields still sway to the anthems of the past?  Is our time of plenty over, and we stand only as a season that is now past, as a candle that gasps for breath in the wind?




11/07/2016

Pool Of Self-Pity

The enemy of our souls speaks no truth. There is no truth found in him. I know this, and yet the darkness seems at times to tell the truth, and I allow myself to listen. 

I have been struggling, of late, with this overpowering, heavy spirit. I seem to have hurt a couple of people with my words. Totally unintended, but nonetheless, hurtful. You know how it goes, when one thing goes wrong the devil piles it on until you feel that nothing is going right. And you allow yourself to sink into a space of darkness that seems preferable to the light. And here I am sitting in a pool of self-pity.

Of course, I'm out here in the country where I house-sit. It is very quiet. Most of the time this is exactly what I want, but when things are dark I find myself feeling very much all alone, listening to the reminders of all my failings. Trying to remind myself of what I am so quick to remind others:  You can't go by how you feel. 

You must go on what you know about who you know. 

Whenever the voice of condemnation speaks, I know it is not the voice of God but the enemy trying to bring me down. And yet I linger in the dark, as a form of self-punishment, I guess. unfortunately, Self-pity then invites his brothers to the party and Doubt shows up, along with Blame and Impatience, as well as many more negative brothers as I allow.

Okay, I see what's going on. Time to turn on the light. Thank you Jesus for waiting here with me. 


10/28/2016

My Prayer

Dear Lord,
 
As I come to you on the morning of a new day, teach me to acquiesce my stubborn will for your will.
 
Give me the courage to abandon self for the betterment of others.
 
Give to me, oh Jesus, the strength to be weak in your hands, allowing me only to be still while You fight the enemy on my behalf.
 
Grant me the wisdom to know when to speak and when to let silence rule my tongue.
 
Let my words never be drawn from the well of humanity, but from the river of life.
 
Open my eyes to the view you see and not through the world's dark glasses, to see the beauty in all your children, regardless of what seems to be in appearance or action.
 
Give to me, this day, the ability to accept the gift of joy you set before me allowing the filling of your love to overflowing.
 
Be my heart's ever faithful guide, my mind's appointed wisdom, and my spirit's boundless praise to the glory of Your holy name.
 
Amen


10/31/2016

Imperfect House

I've found the house I've been looking for. It's not perfect, but with a little work, it could become an amazing home. Armed with a deposit, I enter the bank with confidence, because I know with good credit and a substantial down payment, I can pretty much guarantee I am good for all the payments to come.

Jesus looks at you and me and says, "I've found the house I've been looking for. It's not perfect, but with a little work, it could become an amazing home." He also comes with a substantial deposit as a guarantee of more to come. 

The deposit He wants to make isn't money. This deposit is of far greater value than that of monetary means, and not only that, there is an endless supply. It's there every time we need it and the more we give from the supply, the more we receive. 

Jesus says, "I am making a deposit of the Holy Spirit within you as a guarantee." A guarantee of what? It is a guarantee of spiritual growth beyond what you now think possible, a guarantee of "what I've begun in you, I am able to finish." (see Philippians 1:6)  "You will believe me," Jesus says, "when I reveal things to you that in this world would not make sense."

The Holy Spirit is a very special gift. A gift of exactly everything we need for success. I know I need someone to guide me, I need someone to correct my course when taking the wrong path, I need someone who comforts me when struggling. And most of all, I need someone who will never leave me or forsake me regardless of what I do or don't do.

You see, when Jesus found me I was a tattered, broken down, sin infested shell of a house. Surely not fit for a King! But through the challenging mess He somehow saw in me potential, and wanted to make me a temple for His Spirit to dwell in. 

Guess what today is?.....DEMO DAY!

It's Just Not Fair!

What does it mean to be fair? It means to be just, honest, upright, honorable, and trustworthy.

How many times have we used those words? When someone mistreats us and blames us for what seems to be an injustice, we quickly react in frustration: "It's just not fair!”

Unfortunately, life is not fair. No matter how much we wish it were, it is not and never will be here on earth. Sometimes we spend a great deal of energy and expense trying to present our case of being treated unfairly. But I want to talk about how often we blame God about being unfair. 

If you and I believe in God, then aren't all the circumstances of our lives in God’s hands? And if all circumstances are in His control, does He not adjust those circumstances to work in our favor even though they appear to be working against us?

Really, even if our neighbor is suing us because we built a fence 2 inches over the property line, it is still a matter that God will take care of if we let Him. Remember "all circumstances" are in His control.

Then it begs these questions:  Why do we get angry? Why do we sometimes blame God for what's happening in our lives? Are we ready to say that God is not just? That God is not equitable, honest, upright, or honorable?  Do we believe He is not trustworthy? 

It boils down to what I've talked about before but bears repeating. How I respond to any and all the circumstances in life, fair or unfair, shows me what I think of God. Take the time to think about it.

Was Joseph treated fairly when his brothers sold him to the Egyptians? Was Daniel treated fairly when he was thrown into the den of lions? How about the 12 disciples? All but one died a martyr’s death.

 The time has come for us to realize that the most unfair things will be perpetrated against us. What we believe about God will make all the difference.

10/15/2016  

Tears

Tears...a reservoir where the wounded and broken draw. A storehouse that releases pent-up emotions of hurt, anger, sorrow, pain, and even gratitude and joy.

It seems a very strange thing that God thought important, this capacity to cry. Even Jesus cried. You've probably noticed that most of us are fairly private when it comes to crying and I wonder why that is. Considered by some as a show of weakness they, and me included, fight back tears not wanting them to be seen or known. Which leads me to ask, “What are tears for?"

Are tears the body’s way of healing?  Are tears a way of showing how deeply we love or care?  Are they to express how significantly something affects us, whether overwhelmed with frustration or overcome with joy?

This tear thing holds some kind of importance, otherwise God would not have made a point about it’s future absence when He said He would “wipe every tear from [our] eyes.” (Rev 7:17)  It seems as though He wants to be the one to personally wipe away our tears.

In the case of this verse, I think He is referring to all the tears of hurt.  Because I cannot imagine not shedding tears of joy at the first sights and sounds that await us as we walk through those gates to a heavenly abode.

There must be an important reason we have been given the ability to cry. David talks openly about his tears, multiple times. Was that an endearing trait that God loved about him, a man after Gods own heart? Was it his vulnerability and openness that God adored?

I think He just wants the kind of relationship with us where we find it comfortable to express all our emotions in front of Him. And He wants to be there to comfort us when those emotions are hurting His child. 

It's a wonderful thing when we have a spouse or loved one with whom we trust enough to share our tears. But when there seems to be no one present, and you feel very much alone, just remember there is Someone who sees the tears of the heart and who is ever ready to listen and comfort those tears away.



10/11/2016



   

A Blessing Prayer

May the Father’s GRACE 

visit your dreams throughout the night.

May Jesus' LOVE

greet you at the dawn’s perfect light.

May the Spirit's VOICE

guide your journey through the day.

May the sum of your LIFE

be in His mighty hands, I pray.

Amen 

10/1/2016

To Say I Love You

Saying I love you for some is a private matter that is reserved only for a few, and only on rare occasions. For others, these words seem to roll off the tongue with regularity.

I remember vowing to never let a day go by without telling my children that I loved them. I can’t say I always kept that promise, but I do know that while they were young, I made every effort to do so. It was very important for me that they knew I loved them because I very seldom heard those words spoken to me as a child. If I asked my mother if she loved me, she would tell me.  But I don’t recall my father being vulnerable enough to speak in such endearing terms. The lack of hearing I love you, in my early life, created some adverse affects in my later years.

Fortunately, I found a Father who is not afraid to tell me He loves me. Just to know I am loved and accepted, results in feelings of value and gives me a confidence I never had as a child.

He tells me He loves me when He commissions the birds to serenade me in the morning and brings me a lullaby at the twilight. He tells me He loves me when He reveals His thoughts in the clouds, during quiet moments in His presence.  He tells me He loves me by surrounding me with loving friends.  He tells me He loves me when He teaches me of His ways and lovingly corrects my stubborn course.

There is no one who lavishes me with love like my Father. There is no one who says I love you throughout the day as often as He does. His love motivates me to say I love you in my actions to everyone I meet and in everything I say. Everyone needs to know they are valuable and worthy of love.

To love others is my goal.  To be just like my Father is my desire.


9/30/2016

Behind Bars

I visited a young friend of mine in jail today. He is hurting. His younger brother died a weeks of weeks ago and he is trying desperately not only to make sense of his brothers passing, but now to make decisions in his own life that will get him back on the track that leads to his heavenly Father. 

The enemy wishes to shake us and sift all of us out of Jesus’ hand. Satan is very specific about what he targets in our lives. He unfortunately knows where we are the weakest and hones in on those weaknesses, hammering away in order to pry us loose from the hand of God. Once we have made the decision for Christ, no one can shake us away from God, except when we, ourselves, allow it.

When my young friend was arrested this time, (yes, there have been other times) the officer who came to arrest him for violation of parole, actually asked him what was going on with him. The officer encouraged my friend, saying that he was a good man that shouldn’t be experiencing these kinds of things in his life. 

As I listened to him pouring out his heart to me, I realized that if there were jail sentences meted out for every sin we commit, we would all be serving time behind bars.  I then realized that, without Jesus, we all are confined behind the bars of sin. My friend and I are not so different.  But the only true freedom that he and I can possess is the freedom Jesus offers as a free gift.

                                           

Difficult Times

This has been a very difficult couple of weeks for me. I know I’m not the only one going through difficulties because just about everyone I know and love are experiencing new and extremely challenging times right now. Some experience emotional struggles, some physical and some spiritual. No one struggle is greater than another because they all have the ability to bring one to their knees. 

In my personal journey, I suffered the loss of a very special friend a week ago. I never had a son, but this young man was as dear as a son would have been to me. His family is very dear to my heart as well, so to watch them experience their loss breaks my own heart.  However, God has offered all of us a beautiful consolation since this young man’s love for God was made so evident to us since He accepted God into his life.  He had a heart that was on fire for his Dad (which is what He called his Heavenly Father.) Yes he struggled, but I know where his heart was.

In addition to that loss, my daughter also had major surgery a week ago.  The invasive surgery lasted for a longer time than we expected, threatening to bring my anxiety levels to challenging highs.  But I kept picturing warrior angels, with flaming swords, surrounding and protecting her from any evil intrusion and my heart could rest. Everything went well and she is now in the healing phase, enduring the pain of recovery.  It is no easy task to watch your own child endure pain without being able to relieve their suffering.

And then as the icing on the cake, every once in a while, I, inadvertently, consume some kind of wheat product that my body proceeds to reject in very unforgiving ways.  My allergic reaction results in extreme weakness with no energy, which then complicates my ability to be of value to anyone else. So now I’m weak…and useless.  

So last night I was talking to God about it all.  I also was feeling a little sorry for myself and was about to ask, “Why did you give me such a difficult path to follow?” But He interrupted my thoughts with: “This is the only path that will lead you home.”  

Well, Home is definitely where I want to go so I guess I’ll take the good with the bad.  So much for feeling sorry for myself. Instead I can praise my God for holding me through all the trials and walking the path with me.

9/9/2016   

Where Rivers Run

Along the path where rivers run,
where glitter sparkles over glistening rocks,
I find a sanctuary for reflective worship.

A series of meaningful memories stored
delicately in my mind for moments as these. 
I become aware of the purpose of living.

And I give praise for the pain and sorrows.
And I give praise for sweeter times before
today, along with ones as yet to be offered.
 
For in all my days of living and learning,
where the road turns and comes back again,
I give thanks for the wonder-filled journey.


9/4/2016

Love On Display

If there is no passion in your life,
you are missing the touch of Jesus.
For every moment with Him is a 
passionate display of cascading love.


9/3/2016

Little Things

I love it when Jesus does things that are so obviously His work. It's like He gets great joy out of surprising us with unexpected things.

I was scheduled to speak at our church and as I was studying in preparation, I needed to locate a particular verse.  I could not recall the location of the verse so I took out my iPad to search for it. I opened my Bible app and stared at the list of Bible books.  I asked Jesus which book I should start with. Thinking it must be in Galatians or Ephesians, I went to click on Galatians, but my little finger accidentally pressed 2 Timothy.  So I paused and thought, Okay, I’ll try 2 Timothy. But which chapter?  I randomly chose the third chapter.  But now the iPad wanted me to select the verse.  I started with verse 1.  

And there, on my lit-up screen, was the very verse I was aiming to search for.  

It gave me chills to think that the God of the universe was so intimately connected with what I was doing that He decided to hand-deliver the very verse I needed.  I’m sure I would have eventually found the verse, so for some it might seem like such a little thing to have it pop up right in front of me.  But that goes to show, that with God, there are no “little” things.  

8/31/2016

Treasures To Gather

Patterns, patterns in Autumn's tree,

sun and shade play in the rhythm of the wind.

Colors in harmony upon the distant hill,
once brilliant, subtly fading in evening light.

Bringing honor and grace to the whispers
Of God's breath upon the canvas of life.

God's love language dances through
forest and glen creating moments to cherish.

Gather them as wood for warmth.
Gather them as reminding treasures for winter's frozen hours.


8/27/2016

Of Today

How can God speak to us of today?

When our worry is left from yesterday?

And our dread is for tomorrow?

8/28/2016

Blessing

May the wings of the Almighty shelter you.

May the words of the Almighty speak to you.

May the arm of the Almighty protect you.

May the vision of the Almighty direct you.

And may the love of the Almighty surround
you and give you the assurance of tomorrow. 


8/22/2016

Unrequited Holy Love

When Jesus stopped at the crest of the hill, overlooking the city of Jerusalem and the grandeur of the temple with golden pinnacle glistening in the rays of the setting sun, He was overcome. With cries and moans that shattered the joy of what seemed to be the inevitable crowning of the long-awaited promised one, Jesus sat rocking back and forth in agony of spirit. Everything stopped. every song was silenced, every hallelujah and homage to the king came to an abrupt halt.  The only sound that now wrenched the air was the sound of grief and loss. In that moment of unrequited holy love, Jesus cried out:

"Oh Jerusalem, Jerusalem, murdering the prophets and stoning those who were sent to you! How often I would have gathered your children together as a mother hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you refused!"  (Matthew 23:37)

Why, "oh Jerusalem"? Why not, "oh people of Jerusalem"?

Because, God chose the temple in Jerusalem as His dwelling place. God's chosen, God's ambassadors to the world, God's blessed people refused Him entrance into their hearts. The temple which He Himself had chosen in order to be with His people, He now would leave desolate, empty and void of His presence.

We, too, are the temple of the Holy Ghost. Chosen ambassadors to the world, blessed above all His creation, we wander about as sheep without a shepherd. 

Save us Lord!  Save us from our miserable selves. Save us from the hardness of our hearts. 

Come and dwell in this earthen vessel that you have chosen.

Amen 

  

What We Cannot See

The glorious wonders of nature we see. But do we see the wonders that are invisible to our human eyes? 
 
Do we see the heart that catches a glimpse of the goodness of God for the very first time?
 
Do we see the mother's prayer making its way to the listening ears of our Father?
 
Do we see the flight of angels hastening to the one bowed down in discouragement?
 
Do we see the intensity of the armies of God in battle against the forces of evil on our behalf?
 
Do we see the hand that gently lifts the fallen from guilt and shame to a new morning?
 
Do we see the tears pouring forth from Jesus' eyes as He grieves for our blindness?
 
Oh, so many things we cannot see that takes place everyday for you and me. 
 
Wonder of wonders, behold the love He proffers!

Making Sence Of God

If I could wrap my head around the concept of infinity, where there is no beginning or end, to the existence of God…

If I could grasp what it means for God to be present everywhere at the same time…

If I could comprehend His omniscient ability to know everything past and future… 

If I could...then I wouldn’t end up with a headache every time I tried to make sense of such divine concepts.  

I’m not the only one, you know.  Many people continue to search for answers to all these unanswerable questions, as if it were even possible to scientifically reduce God into a standard formula or definition.  So many people want to know the things God knows and want to be able to do the things God does.  It kind of makes you think that most of the world would be happy if they could just be God. 

Being God seems to be a popular aim since every religion (outside of those that serve Creator God) direct their followers to find the source of power within their own self-guided existence. 

But for me, the greatest blessing of all has been to know and experience the one and only God of the universe.  Allowing Him to be God, and not me, has freed me up to reflect on the awesome revelation of His character.  And with Him as my God, I can rest in the knowledge that I don’t have to play God.  Besides, I’m capable of giving myself enough headaches!  Why would I want to take on His holy purpose, as my own, as well?


8/04/2016

      

Calling Me

Treasured within the recesses of my mind
is your holiness.

Treasured within the recesses of my heart
is your gentleness.

You take my hand and lift me over mountains,
You set my feet in the way of living light.

Can it be,
it's all for me,
this love you give,
for me to live,
Where you are.

Calling me, calling me
away from pain.

Calling me, calling me
 from fear and shame.

You keep calling me, calling me 
from afar,
to where you are.

I hear your voice,
no longer far,
I feel your touch,
now here you are.


7/26/2016