Joy in the Journey

  “ But Lord,” Gideon asked, “how can I save Israel? My clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my family.” Judges 6:13 I am the youngest child in my birth family. While I was raised within spitting distance of some the wealthiest and most influential people in our city, my family had no wealth or influence. As the years passed I became a wife, a mother, not a wife and a wife again. I remained the last child, the oops baby, the mistake of older parents who had no interest in another child, let alone another girl. More years passed and in them I’ve worked in a job that I love but that carries no allure, level of respect or notoriety. Doesn't sound too glamorous does it? It isn't. I came from inauspicious beginnings and have continued along in a fairly average life or at least that's how it looks. If you know me at all, you know that my life has been full of ups and downs, some very nice moments, some real triumphs, some heartbreaks and some f...

If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and forgive their sin and will heal their land. 2 Chronicles 7:14 This has been a horrible week in Florida, with more than one tragic and sad event happening very close to where I live. I know that the tragedy that happened in Orlando has been all over the news but I have a fairly good idea that it has been a bit more prominent here, so close to where it all occurred. We've had a front row seat to the carnage of hatred. Earlier while I was praying I was taken by a verse in Scripture that used the words, “Jesus Christ” not hard to find that name in Scripture, so a bit odd that it would just stop me in my reading. I sat for a few minutes just thinking about that name, about other verses about the name. The two that kept running through my mind were Proverbs 18:10 where it says, “The name of the Lord is a strong t...

And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. Romans 8:28 Someone very dear to me is going through a horrible experience right now. To protect her privacy I will call her Ann. The situation that she faces now is the stuff of nightmares. There are several possible outcomes and in Ann's shoes I can imagine that I would be allowing those awful eventualities to creep in and ruin even my best moments. Not Ann. Ann is not a look at the bright side, leap of faith kind of person either. Ann is an ignorer. In years past this has made me insane! You can't just put on your blinders, pick and choose your truths and decide that is the whole reality. Life just does not work that way. I hate the expression, “it is what it is” but God help me, that is too often all any of us can say. Again, not Ann. She refuses to see what is, creating for herself, an alternate scenario and literally choosing...

  Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, in our likeness...”              So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him, male and female he created them. Genesis 1:26a, 27 In the past few days I've been asked to read the same book over and over. It is the current favorite of one of my students. I'm okay with reading it every day, sometimes more than once because it is adorable. It's the story of the cutest little dog, Alfred, who thinks that he is unlovable. These thoughts are not unfounded. The cat and the parrot are quick to tease him and tell him he is unlovable. When he leaves the toxic environment of his home, poor little Alfred meets other dogs who tell him that he is too short, too fat, too much this, not enough that. Sound familiar? Then one day a new dog moves in next door. He and Alfred become fast friends. Alfred is sure it's because a fence separates t...

“ God I thank you that I am not like other men.” “ God have mercy on me, a sinner.” “ I tell you, that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.” Luke 18:11b, 13b, 14 My daughter Laura is an amazing and interesting person. She's very into, hm, let me use the word trends. It isn't that she follows them so much, as that she likes to be aware of them. She knows a little bit about a lot of things and she has some very strong opinions. Recently, I'm seeing that she also knows a lot about a few very important things. I'm pretty sure she isn't aware of that. She has this capacity to love and forgive that just doesn't leap out when you have a casual conversation with her. In those conversations you might perceive her as judgy, given those strong opinions but on closer inspection you can see that she is the first one to offer a second chan...

By faith, the walls of Jericho fell down after being encircled for seven days. Hebrews 11:30 A little while ago I saw a quiz about IQ and several people’s responses to their results. It made me laugh as some of the people are very close to me and finally, maybe, seeing something I’ve been trying to tell them for years. As usual I was taken by how quick we all are to measure ourselves in comparison to others. Shortly after seeing the quiz and the reactions, I was deep in prayer when God revealed to me that one of my biggest strongholds is allowing the opinions of one small, particular group of people to shape who I am and how I see myself. Through a very pointed Scripture He reminded me that I am His, His daughter, His creation, His beloved. Lyrics from three of my favorite songs ran through my head, all about belonging to God and how deep and great is His love for us. ( 1 John 3:1) What a blessing! I have a little journal that I use every morning to write down ten b...