When our daughter was little, she had a thing about hearing our instruction and finding the cutest way to circumvent it. We laughed, but we soon realized it did her heart no good to do a good thing instead of the right thing. I'm sure, like me, you have found yourself doing good things instead of the right things that God has called you to do. Two things. That's it. There are really only two things we really must do in life.
I want to retain in my conscious mind that the Presence of God is always with me and tangible and not allow God to get relegated, even for a short time, to my subconscious. Come learn the deliciously simple way my Friend’s advice helps me and can help you too in your endeavor to pray without ceasing.
Frequently, I’ll go out for brief moments to stick my feet in or even get in up to my clothes. It irritates me with myself—my hesitancy to just jump in. I’m working on it…. It reminds me of the vision Ezekiel, found in Ezekiel 47:1-12…. Come read the rest of the blog post and ponder the depth of relationship you’ve accepted with the Lord!
I have highs and lows like nearly every other person on earth. I know that no matter how pumped I am today, in a few days I may feel completely deflated. It’s called life. Because I know this about myself, I prepare. But all my efforts to keep my attitude good and keep going are hampered if I am not also doing one very important thing. Come read about the secret sauce that keeps me going!
I relish meandering through hours of recorded decades of my littles growing and then having littles of their own. A more difficult time to relive was our granddaughter’s stay in the NICU after birth. We are grateful that our little Princess shows no signs of her early difficulties with her lungs, but it is painful to see the videos of her hooked up to IVs, breathing tubes and oxygen tents. Read about this journey and what it taught me about receiving healing from the Presence of the Lord!
Everything in the process of developing and refining seems to take much more time and effort than I had bargained for. But my Abba Father, the Potter, knows what He is doing..... Read the full blog to learn about the essential journey of process and how we can trust the Potter in the midst of it.
One cozy Fall day, I was snuggled in, watching “Persuasion,” a Jane Austen novel set to film. I was struck by a line in the movie that a young woman says to a young man. It goes something like this, “I’d rather be tossed in a ditch by the man I love than to go steadily along without him.” (Caveat: “tossed in a ditch,” was not referring to abuse, but rather living a thrillingly adventurous life alongside her husband.) It made me think of my own adventures with God.
Each of us has a nearly gravitational pull, urging us toward what can make us whole. And yet, we seek out less fulfilling sources that tantalize us with empty pledges of wholeness. But why would a loving Father create us with a hole in our hearts that causes such longings that we seek to fill it with painful things? How can this be considered loving?
Here I am, once again, mulling over a current pain until I’ve injured my heart. I may lay it at the Lord’s feet momentarily, but within the blink of an eye, there it is, its full weight in my hands as I preen the beast with a fine-toothed comb. What makes it continually come back to mind and heart? I’ve found two major barriers that keep my mind wandering back to handling the beast of pain.
Trying to hear our Heavenly Father often comes with real effort and practice to press in to feel that whisper stirring in our hearts. At other times, life seems to be collapsing at our feet or an immediate decision is required, but it seems we’ve suddenly lost our connection to the still small voice that guides us so gently. Why?
What Was So Wrong About the Israelites' Complaints? We know that the common explanation is that He had done so many miracles for them along the way, they should have been more grateful and trusting. There is some merit in this theory, but I believe it only tells part of the story.
A couple years ago the Hubs bought me a telescope. Calibrating the “finderscope” that came with it, we had to make sure that what was a close distance away was perfectly in focus. Only then could we look into the depths of space. Very interesting and profound. Read the blog to hear how the Lord showed me the knowable things in life that made the unknown things clearer.
As is true for all of us, there was a war being waged over my childhood heart and mind: Whose words would I allow to shape and mold me in my formative years and even in my adulthood? I believed the words of others. I accepted the labels others plastered onto my identity. In the process, I betrayed myself, my true self.
Yes, Jesus laid His life down to save us. What a mind blowing Truth! Yet, are we aware that He is still giving of Himself? A good husband doesn’t just lay his life down for his wife in the ultimate, take-a-bullet-for-you way, he also lays his life down in smaller ways daily. In the same way, Jesus is laying His life for you TODAY!
It is the shortest verse in the Bible, yet, in my view, one of the most powerful and I love how it stands alone – that two-word verse – almost forcing the reader to pause over it in a “Selah” moment. Take the journey with me as I discover new depths to this brief passage of Scripture.
God doesn't need us to pray polished prayers. When we are hurting, even angry with God, will He accept our honest prayers? Will He turn a cold shoulder, recoil from our honesty or give us the silent treatment?
Life often threatens to pounce. I am often, way too gullible and unaware that “the game is afoot” and, in my ignorance, get tagged into running and chasing and left huffing and puffing. Learn what tools the Lord offers to keep us from the wearying, out-of-breath life!
If God is speaking by using imagery that we don’t fully understand, it behooves us to LEARN IT! That’s where understanding COVENANT comes in. It is the imagery God has used from the beginning of time, imagery with which we have become unfamiliar. Let’s learn a few things about it and why it is important to us NOW!
