Joy in the Journey

So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets. Matthew 7:12 Grace is an amazing thing. It comforts us, protect us, provides for us and certainly enables us. Just a few days ago I was given an opportunity to walk in grace, to offer grace to another person. My flesh wanted to scream! I wanted to rail against a clear injustice. See, the other person is wrong. That person is hurting not just me but many other people I love. Sadly, it's her choice to do that. The circumstances are such that all the power in the situation are in her hands. There it was, an obvious offense, an affront and my humanity reared up ready for the fight but before I could throw the first verbal punch the Holy Spirit intervened. I spoke the truth in love. There was no sugar coating. I said what I needed to say but I said it in kindness, leaving room for future conversations and hope for moving past the hurt into a more loving place. N...

  Be careful what you think, because your thoughts run your life Proverbs 4:23 NCV Your thoughts run your life. We know this is true because it comes from the sacred word of God, every word of which is truth. But do you agree with it? Do you think it's true for you? Look closer. You hear a song on the radio. It reminds you a great time you had at the beach when you were a kid. Your mood brightens and you feel a little burst of happiness, maybe even energy. The beach, you think, hm, when was the last time I went to the beach? If it's been longer than you want to think about, your mood starts to shift. Poor you, you haven't been to the beach in far too long. Now how's your mood? Still happy? Still energetic? No. Now you're feeling a little sad. What just happened? Did your life in the moment change? Not at all but your perspective did and you became dissatisfied. Letting go of the joy of the Lord. All around us there are things vying for our atten...

  Fix these words of mine in your hearts and minds; tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Teach them to your children, talking about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Deuteronomy 11:18-19 The other day I had a wonderful opportunity to talk to my granddaughters, Faith and Madelyn about God's Word. Unfortunately the opportunity arose because someone had given the girls some very erroneous information about God. Thankfully they asked me if what the young man had said was correct. It took everything in me not to scream... No! Instead I walked through the door they opened. Faith started the conversation by telling me that this young man had told her there is no peace in heaven. I quickly countered that one by paraphrasing Revelation 21:4. When she went on to say that he had told her there aren't any houses there either I quoted John 14: 2-4. That is when Madelyn chimed in...

Because I Said So In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God. John 1:1 Are you a parent? Teacher? Boss? Have you for any reason ever used the expression, “because I said so”? It's a cop out line sometimes. I'm out of good reasons, patience, time or whatever else so I go with “because I said so!” – usually in a fairly loud voice. Spoken that way “because I said so” doesn't sound very inviting. Let's turn it over. My child comes to me frightened or worried and I promise that things will work out. Unfortunately I can't tell her why in that moment, so I say, “I promise you.” And when she questions me, I add, “because I said so.” There's nothing to worry about because I said so. If my child can trust me, she can trust my word. Used this way, it's an assurance not a way out. Now, let's look at what happened when God “said so,” there was light Genesis 1:3 there was sky Genesis 1:6 there was la...

… . And lead us not into temptation but deliver us from the evil one. Matthew 6:13 Are those words familiar to you? They come from the answer Jesus gave when his apostles asked him how they should pray. He instructed them with the words we refer to as the Lord's Prayer or the Our Father. It is an all encompassing prayer, acknowledging God's sovereignty, submitting to His will, asking for His provision and His protection. “Lead us not into temptation.” I saw a t-shirt once that said, “Lead me not into temptation. I can find it myself.” Amen! I don't even have to look! I woke up this morning steeped in temptations. I was tempted to be fearful due to the content of my dreams. I was tempted to feel sorry for myself with no apparent motivation. I was tempted to complain, though about what I'm not really sure. That's where the hint that all of this temptation was piling up and needed to be demolish, came to mind. The overwhelming feeling of dissatisfac...

To Compare Or Not To Compare I am not saying this because I am not in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. Philippians 4:11 Spoiler alert, the answer is don't compare, ever for any reason. There is something that I really want. When I say “really want” you should picture a two year old's tenacity and stubbornness, the emotional dedication of a teenager asking for a later curfew and the hunger of a puppy left home alone all day, all rolled into one. I really want this thing. Really. So I pray and hope and stand on biblical promises and trust my Abba and badger my Abba and cry out to my Abba.... I'm pretty sure you get the idea by now. There are a few people of whom I am painfully aware, who have exactly what I want and have it in neon letters, on steroids and with great potential to continue right along their happy way. To say that a couple of those people, one in particular, annoy me is a vast understatement. What i...