Joy in the Journey

  Your word is a lamp to my feet, a light to my path. Psalm 119:105 A year or so ago I gave my grandson Abram a devotional book that had some great science tie ins.   He loved it and when he and his dad finished reading it he told me that he needed another “important book.”   We were pretty close to Christmas so I made sure that one of his gifts was another devotional book.           The other day he told me that his daddy is bad. I assumed my son had said no to something Abram wanted and I was partially right. The night before Abram had asked to read his “important book” and his dad told him he would have to wait. Abram has two younger siblings, one of whom is just a few months old, and he made his request right at bed and bath time on a night that dad was home alone with the kids. Abram is six and has the tenaciousness that is unique to boys of that age. Dad’s delay was not an acceptable situation.   ...

    Rejoice in the Lord always, I will say it again; Rejoice! Let you gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:4-7   Anyone who knows me, know that I am very skeptical of anything that presents itself as a formula to get closer to God. It’s as if we have to follow certain steps in a certain order to get His attention or receive His mercy. I am much more an advocate of crying out from the naked, transparent depths of my heart. Trusting that the God who created me and loves me is not checking the order of my steps as I run to Him.           Today I’m going a little bit of a sidestep from that. This morning while praying three phrases came to my mind and...

  Do not be misled: Bad company corrupts good character. 1 Corinthians 15:33 There is a season for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven. Ecclesiastes 3:1 For the last several days I’ve had a lot of pain in my neck.   This isn’t the first time I’ve had this and I know eventually it will ease up. This morning while we were praying my husband prayed that God would take away the pain in my neck.   I absolutely appreciate his prayer and I am so grateful and thankful for his support but the first thought that went through my mind was, “Well, there goes somebody.”           My Bible Babes and I have had a few discussions about toxic people. It is so hard to get rid of them. Sometimes because of them but just as often because we won’t let them go. As much as we complain and bemoan the toll that they take on our lives we have myriad excuses why cutting them off feels wrong.     ...

  In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven. Matthew 5:16 This very clever play on words is not mine. I am borrowing from Brennan Manning. Given what I know of him, he would be happy to share it with me and let me share it with you. After all that is the whole point of “Son bathing.”            It seemed very appropriate that I would come across this term in a season when those of us who live in the sunny South are exhibiting signs of outdoor activities. We see glowing skin from days at the beach or pool as well as tans from hard work in the great oven that   is Florida in the summer. We see these changes in complexion and we comment, we inquire.   Have you been to the beach? Pool?           How lovely it would be if as a result of our Son bathing people were seeing, commenting and asking? ...

  Bur concerning Israel he said, “All day long I have held out my hands to a disobedient and obstinate people.” Romans 10:21 This morning in prayer I was reminded of one of my most difficult students. This little guy had a hefty side dish of autism in addition to his more obvious syndrome. He could easily become violent, growling, hitting and scratching, with little or no provocation. On the other hand he had the sweetest smile, the best laugh (when it was a true laugh, not an evil one) and I believe a kind heart. I absolutely loved him. Still to say that I was a bit terrified of what he could do to me is not an understatement. Oh my boy!           There were so many times as he was gearing up for destruction of property or persons, that I thought,   if I could just grab him and hug him close he would calm down. Not so. On rare occasions he would let me give him a hug. Admittedly I was leery, as we never knew when sweet...

    Saul answered “But am I not a Benjamite, from the smallest tribe of Israel, and is not my clan the least of all the clans of the tribe of Benjamin? Why do you say such a thing to me?” 1 Samuel 21 “Pardon me, my lord,” Gideon replied, “but how can I save Israel? My clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my family.” Judges 6:15 Discouragement is an ugly, insidious disease.   Looking around and feeling that all you have attempted has failed, that every effort is met with defeat, every relationship a fraud and all hope just slightly out of reach is completely debilitating.   That being true, think of what a fine tool discouragement is for our enemy.   If we can only see what we can see and not what God sees, we sometimes, too often for many of us, have to ask, “Why bother?”           For a long time Gideon has been one of my favorite citizens of the Bible.   He is quick to sa...

  God rejoices over you with singing. The Lord your God is with you, the mighty warrior who saves. He will take great delight in you; in his love he will no longer rebuke you, but will rejoice over you with singing. Zephaniah 3:17 For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. John 3:16 This is how we know what love is; Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. 1 John 3:16a   Years ago I played a game with my oldest grandson, Joey. The game was “I love you more than….” And we filled in the blank, each time upping the prize a little until Joey would say his current favorite thing, soccer, the Pooh movie, French toast or whatever he dearly loved at the moment and I would say, “You win!”           This morning I was reminded of that game while in prayer.   I felt the deep love of my Savior and I thought, no matter how much I lo...