"Seek the LORD while He may be found; call upon Him while He is near; let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts; let him return to the LORD, that He may have compassion on him, and to our God, for He will abundantly pardon." Isaiah 55:6-7   When I was a little girl, I loved playing hide-and-seek. Before we moved to PA, we lived in a large, rambling Victorian home in Parkton, MD. The house had a servant's staircase leading from the kitchen to the upper floors, and like many Victorian homes it had dozens and dozens of nooks and crannies and great places to hide. I was a master at this; being tiny, I could squeeze into tiny places; being mischievous, I knew where the best hiding places were, and being secretive, I kept those places to myself. Usually, I hid long past the time Rose & Hans (younger siblings) gave up searching for me, at which I would make my grand entrance!   You may hide from God as much as you want, but you will be found.     God seeks us. We can run, we can hide, we can deny Him, oppress His gentle call upon our spirits; but He will pursue us with the fierceness of his love, like C.S. Lewis's Hound of Heaven, seeking you wherever you try to run. You cannot escape Him! And that is a good, good thing!   Isaiah's constant call to repentance, and the LORD'S gracious response to our repentance is written in a manner that draws and calls and longs and woos us into His loving arms, with very firm statements on the consequences of following our wicked ways. God's patience for His people looks nothing like my own poor, sad attempts!   Seek the LORD while He may be found--in other words--God is out there. You may have felt the urgency of His call. If you seek Him, earnestly, profoundly and sincerely--He will be found. God doesn't hide himself from us. He is right there! Seek Him!   Isn't "seek" a funny word? There are many definitions to it. The first, most common one, is: : to resort to : go to; : to go in search of : look for; 2 : to try to discover : to ask for : request seeks advice, 3 : to try to acquire or gain : aim at 4, : to make a search or inquiry for (Thanks, Mr. Webster!)   There are many definitions! God tells us to 'seek Him while He may be found.' Maybe that's a relief to you--perhaps someday He'll leave you alone, and you can get about your life, so you think. But did you know, that if you are His, you were chosen before the beginning of time, before your parents ever met, before you even existed--you were His. Nothing will take you away from Him.    So just know--if you are running from God, it is rather a lost cause (in the best kind of way!) and a silly thing to do! You may play Hide-and-Seek all you want, but He knows where you are every second of the day or night. And your lost cause will become the best cause for which you ever lived! Give up your wickedness, your unrighteous thoughts. Turn your heart to your Heavenly Father. He knows you and loves you, no matter what you have done or what has been done to you, where you have been; no matter the evil you have seen or participated in, no matter what the reason you have been running from Him--He hears you, sees you, loves you--and has mercy and compassion on you. He will abundantly pardon and forgive you.    Do you feel Him burning in your heart?! Or does the thought that He might possibly care for you and love you make you want to run, run, run?! He seeks you. And because He loves you and created you--He will find you! So you might as well come out of your hiding place and run to Him, for He is waiting and will never turn you away.   But don't despise this great God! He calls and He calls and He calls and calls! Seek Him while He may be found and give Him the praise and glory He deserves!    And if you have met this wonderful, living, passionate God--remember that He cares for you. No matter how far you may have wandered from the fold, or how distant He may feel--He is there! He loves you! Seek Him while He may be found! He is right there--and His arms are open wide.   Have a blessed and beautiful day!

What happens when our weeping to stays awhile? To "tarry" means to stay awhile, to linger, or in more modern terms, to hang out. Do we really want our weeping to last like that?! I think most of us would say no. But I think--I think--that at some point in our weeping, when it is selfish and turned inward, there occasionally comes the thought: "Oh, you poor thing! Look at how hard you worked! And yet the whole thing's a failure! See God--see how hard I'm weeping?! See how broken I am?!" And we feel sorry for ourselves. Or perhaps we cry and weep out of temper because we feel so helpless and out of control--everything is a swirling mass of uncertainty, a vortex with no beginning or end. And usually--it's all our fault. "Help me, God!" we cry, "I don't know what to do!" Fear and danger enclose us. Someone we love is injured; ill. Or it is we who are ill; sick, weak; with no strength or hope. No medication will heal us, no technology has been invented that will thwart the disease. Who can rescue us from this fearful thing called Death? Then there are times of overwhelming grief, thoughts dark and filled with a blackness and emptiness we cannot see through; there seems to be no future. And we weep because we don't know where to turn, for it is too scary to turn to God. And sometimes we are simply at the end of our rope; trusting but too exhausted to open our eyes and see Jesus there at the foot of the bed. There seems to be nothing left. There is acquiescence and exhaustion and numbness. We are simply too tired to care.  I've been functioning on far too few hours of sleep. I can barely function like a human being. Too much coffee, too much tea; I missed a favorite weekly activity because I did not feel safe to drive there and back. And while I received 7 hours of blessed sleep, I feel as though I could sleep for 7 more! I linger in my weeping, moaning and groaning over my predicament, selfishly thinking only of myself and all I've been through. And the more I linger on the hurts and sorrows and illnesses of my past, the more the dark clouds close in, the fog smothers all light and thought. I am in a cave where all thoughts and dreams are lost. I allow my exhaustion to determine my stumbling path; until I hit a boulder and down I fall. I feel very, very sorry for myself. I linger in my tears. But today, with God's grace and mercy, I am kicking off that weeping which wants me to linger and feel sorry for myself. I have nothing more or less to cry about than the rest of the world! My burdens are considerably fewer than many others. I have no overwhelming grief or sorrow at the moment. No shadow of death or loss, no destruction or calamity has entered my life; other than stress, everything is good. But sometimes it feels good to weep. Stress can build up in the human body, until it simply must come out. And tears of rage, disappointment, loss, guilt, despair--are as much a part of our humanity as our ability to love. There is only one answer in this world for the blackest types of grief. There is only one answer for the tears that fall from hopelessness, or helplessness, or any and all of the range of emotions we feel. Jesus is the answer. Only Jesus has the power to heal, to forgive, to bring second chances. Only Jesus can return hope to the heart, peace to the soul. Only Jesus can take away the deepest of our fears, show us the pettiness of tears of anger or rage, soothe our heartbreak, calm our calamities--from a dropped ice cream cone to the loss of a loved one. Only Jesus. I remembered that today. In my own darkness and depression and lack of hope, I remembered Jesus. I remembered what he can do for me, and better yet, I remembered what he HAD done for me. He has saved me and brought me from death to life. He has healed me of cancer. He has brought me love and joy and happiness. He has given me a funny little home that I love. He has given me words, beautiful words to share with the world. And I realized that the dark had faded away, and the sky was alight with silver and gold and mauve and peach, and there was light--dazzling, beautiful, glorious sunlight-- Jesus is ALIVE! A wise king in Ecclesiastes once said, there is a time for weeping, and a time to rejoice. I have been through the night. But now, it is morning, and the dark shadows melt away. The mockingbird sings in my sweet gum. The air is crisp and clean (for NJ!). The sky is blue, blue, blue! I will not tarry in my grief. And so my joy comes with the morning. Not happiness--oh, no! Happiness is temporary, like the blue of the sky. But joy! Oh, joy! It holds me even as the tears roll down my face and I struggle onward.  Joy comes in the morning!    Rest in God's grace and mercy today. Hope you can get out and enjoy the sunshine!

Our God is so vastly different from us, His power so incredible, the things He wills and accomplishes often make no sense at all. Yet over and over He proves His love for us. Over and over and over and over... No matter how often we stumble and fall, nor how lonely and abandoned we feel, OUR GOD IS WITH US!  Count your blessings. Name them one by one, starting with what God has done for you. He saved you from the pit of hell--quite literally! He washed away your sin! You are pure and clean in His sight; even though these sinful hearts still need refining. And He refines us--sometimes slowly and painfully.  During my cancer, once everyone was gone for the day, I would sit on the couch and try to read my Bible. But sometimes I couldn't even do that. Just to sit up sometimes was to invite a swirling pool of nausea and dizziness to take over. I cried, many, many times. I struggled partially under what I felt was God's chastising, until I began to see the greater purpose in what He was doing.  After that, while it took me a long time to embrace God's truth, He showed me over and over his love for me. He showed me that it was an honor to suffer, for Jesus had suffered for me. It was a blessing to suffer--God was teaching me humility, how to find strength in weakness, how to trust beyond trusting. I learned that suffering is a good, good gift, even if I don't understand it, feel I deserve it, or want it, because all God's gifts to His children are good. I learned to set fear aside--for even if I were to die--I will die to this flesh someday anyway. If I leave this world behind--Oh, Joy! For to leave this world behind means to leave all sorrow and suffering and pain, and to go home to my Jesus! Where can there be fear in that?! God's thoughts are so much greater than our puny attempts at understanding. And likewise, we cannot know or comprehend His ways. But we know He loves us. As I laid there upon my couch, staring out into the branches of our sweet gum, God sent little birds to cheer me. I watched my garden as it bloomed--and became almost overcome with weeds! I did not know if I would be able to do that simple chore ever again. Slowly, slowly, God opened my heart to acceptance, then peace. The worries and anxiety, the fretting and loneliness, the physical weakness of my body were forgotten as I learned to rest in my LORD. I can truly say now that God's presence was very near to me. I slept, I read my Bible, I prayed, I slept some more. Hours that seemed long and anxious flew by. There was that deep and abiding peace and joy that the Bible promises us, the peace that passes understanding. And I didn't understand. I still don't! But God gave to me a sweet, sweet time with Him, as I sang, and prayed, and slept and read.  I pray that peace and rest for you today, as your body fights your cancer, and you are forced to rest physically--and spiritually as well. He does all things well, and He is shaping you to be more like Him! Through your tears and helplessness, praise and worship Him today!

I think I would be embarrassed, pleased, but undeserving if someone said: 'Katrina fears the LORD, and this is why she's so wise!' (Snort!) If I were foolish, this would seem very wise and wonderful to me! However, I am not very wise--and this I know!  What is it that makes one wise?! The world would say: experience. Experience and cunning, shrewdness, astuteness, the ability to discern other's motives and to hide your own. Those things, when used for self, are selfish and self-centered. Any 'wisdom' we have that serves our own ends is not wisdom at all!  But what if wisdom could be gained through these things? Experience certainly teaches us when the stove is hot, or whom to trust and when. And cunning and shrewdness and astuteness are not necessarily bad things--when used to catch a thief or sort out evil or escape from a snare set for yourself or others. But those things are still the wisdom of this world, and are limited in the sense that we can never know or see or understand everything-- This is where people get tangled. We love to acclaim worldly wisdom, but in Psalm 2 it says that God laughs at all our raging and scheming and attempts to deny him. It is the height of vanity to assume that God needs us! Ah--God! The FEAR of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge.  Isn't that a lovely thing?! The world refuses to fear God--and remains foolish in all its 'wisdom.'   But the man (or woman!) who can get past their own fat ego to acknowledge that their own wisdom only goes so far, and that there MUST be a wisdom and a power and a glory forever--greater and higher than they--who can understand this?! What is that glory? What is it that fills us with awe and wonder at a rose unfurling, a tiny ant with the world on its back; the immensity of the universe, the depths of the sea?  The foolish refuse to listen to wisdom and instruction: they despise it. And at the end, their knowledge will crumble into less than dust, for who can hold a memory in his hand? The fear of the LORD is the BEGINNING of knowledge. Those who recognize the greatness and power, the glory, the immensity, the knowledge and wisdom and love and kindness and justice that is God--there is no breath within them! God knocks us to our knees--literally and figuratively. We are so helpless before God's magnificence that we fall to our knees involuntarily. Who can stand before God?! Not the righteous or the unrighteous. For there is only one who can stand before God--Jesus!  As the Son of God, only Jesus was worthy to be the perfect living sacrifice to clean us up from the mess of our sins. The sins that lead to death. And by dying for us, the unrighteous, Christ made a way for us to stand before God--clean, pure, righteous and holy. And then we fall to our knees in worship and awe and amazement, and fear is cast out, for there is no fear in love. Wisdom is the ability to understand that you are nothing before God. Despite this, despite His wisdom and power and majesty, he cares for us--for us! He loves us deeply, passionately, recklessly. That is just the beginning! When our eyes are opened, we slowly, slowly begin to know him (although we will never completely know him!), and to comprehend the incredible power and love and sacrifice he made for us, and how HE ALONE is worthy of our honor and praise and glory! Let's reach for wisdom today and leave those foolish thoughts behind! Don't be a fool! Do not despise the LORD'S wisdom and instruction! Praise Him for His wisdom and the tiny portion of wisdom He gives to us!

"It is for freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm, therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery." Galatians 5:1   When I was an itty, bitty baby Christian, this verse fascinated me, and it still does to this day. It is for freedom we have been set free!  I remember my high school years, and even my first year of college. I worked very hard to be 'free'. I had determined at the end of 8th grade that high school would be different. I wanted a 'do-over,' although they didn't call it that back then. I would remake myself, be the funny, intelligent, inspirational and awesome writer that I was, and conquer the world, or at least four years of high school.   Ugh! I was an abject failure, because, in case you didn't notice, it was all about me. My first summer of college and the next spring & fall of my sophomore year were similar. I was getting better. At least, I was doing the 'do-over' better and faking it very well. I was still full of pain and hurt from my childhood and teen years, and although I longed to be free, I was still held down by the constraints of myself and society--and sin.  I did not know what freedom was, until I was free.    Free! Free from what? You may well ask.    The more I attempted to set myself free, the more entangled I became in my life. The pleasures of this world did not set me free. I thought they would, but they didn't. They couldn't. I was trapped, but did not know it--until Christ set me free.   Freedom is knowing who you are in Christ. I thought I knew me, but I didn't know anything about myself! I thought I was a 'good' person. I thought I was better than other people. I thought I was prettier, more talented, more intelligent, more interesting than other people. What a foolish, silly girl I was!   But when I met Jesus, I realized how much a captive I had been. But now--WOW! Now, I may actually be some of those things (but most likely not anymore!) I also may NOT have been those things & only thought I was. But Jesus tucked me under his arm, dunked me in a sea of blood and washed me, cleansed me, purified me so that I would be Onesimus* to Him. I now knew that I had never been 'good'. And I realized that all my words, if not written for Him, were empty and useless to Him. He had given me whatever smarts I had for me to serve Him, not to serve myself. And like a child on the first warm and sunny day of Spring, I threw off my garments of wickedness and sinfulness, of selfishness and arrogance; all the hurts and bitterness and excuses and guilt--God yanked those things away from me and dressed me in garments of righteousness, clean and pure and royal and righteous. For freedom He has set me free.   When I realized that my salvation did NOT depend on me or anything I could do--that was so freeing! Life was suddenly filled with joy! Maybe that sounds corny, but it's true. Laughter is beautiful! Life is beautiful! I had become a child of the King and would never be disinherited or thrown away. For FREEDOM Christ has set us free! You may not feel much like praising God today. You may feel overwhelmed by life. Your family may be a mess. You may be a failure at your job, at life, at everything. You may feel worthless, depressed and alone. You may feel too sick, too weak, too nauseous, too tired, too, too, too--too everything. The good news is that God's love is not dependent upon your circumstances or how you feel. It is steadfast. It does not change, even when our feelings or circumstances change. Even if we cannot pray or worship or praise Him, Jesus is the same from before, and now and forever. And it is for freedom you have been freed!   Even if all you can do is cry your hurts and needs into your pillow, if you have believed in Jesus Christ; if you have begged and pleaded for His forgiveness--and have received it--you are free. FREE! It is for FREEDOM you have been set free! If nothing else, rejoice in that.   But if you don't know the freedom and joy, the peace and amazement, the power of rebirth and forgiveness--if your heart is hard with manger or hurt or hate-- It is for freedom that Christ has set you free. Believe in Him. Accept His sacrifice. And live in the freedom and joy of obedience. Yes, there is joy in obedience. Set your burdens down and push them away. You will be free, free, FREE! Turn away from your life of bondage into the freedom that is only found in Jesus. Then you will be free indeed!   *(See the book of Philemon in the New Testament to learn about Onesimus.)

You will make many discoveries about our Lord as you walk this journey that God has given you (Yes, GIVEN you! Think on that!). The road ahead is dark and scary, and the boulders and darkness and the very future is filled with obstacles which you must surpass. Christ's light may seem very dim, but He is there, and He loves you! These verses are squeezed in between verses in a Psalm where David is one minute pleading for his life & triumph over his enemies; the next minute he is praising God. This verse became so true for me during my walk with cancer. Blindly, imperfectly, stumbling, falling, crawling--rising up & staggering on--I learned to trust God beyond my weak human trust, with a trust that came from the Holy Spirit, and not my own weak, fleshly vessel. "You are my God" is an indisputable fact. And because He is our God--every millisecond of our time here on earth is in his hand, and his hand does not tip so we slide off; He does not toss us away like chaff--He holds us safe from the storm, and there is peace beyond peace when we rest & trust in Him. We cannot trust or rest in our own strength--but in HIS strength--Oh, baby! He knows every second, minute & hour of our lives, for he ordained them. Your times are in His hands! “But I trust in you, O LORD; I say, ‘You are my God.’ My times are in your hand...” Psalm 31:14-15a

"Open my eyes that I might see wonderful things in your law." Psalm 119:18 (NSB)   It is hard to 'see' when there is pain or sorrow, struggle or vexations. We can all see on a superficial level what God's Word has to say. Sometimes we don't want to see or hear what it has to say on a deeper level--for then we are faced with the reality of who we are without Christ, of sin that needs to be purged, and of the good plan that God promises us, but which often entails fire and storm and angry seas.  In a Psalm about God's Word, and how precious and beautiful it is, as both a life saver and a dividing sword, the writer of this Psalm almost seems to gasp out his longing and prayer to his Savior. "Open my eyes that I may see!" He doesn't long for the visible World--He longs to see the world through God's eyes, to see and understand with an insight that is impossible without the Holy Spirit. What a prayer to cry out! "Open my eyes!" Help me to see beyond the things of this world that are false and deceptive! Help me to see with a sight that sees beyond the material, eyes that see spiritually, by the grace and power of your love! Give me your Heavenly vision that I may discern what is evil, and pull others from the wretched wreck of this world! Help me to love beyond love, to speak your truth, to bring joy and encouragement to others, and with your power, to vanish evil to the darkness where it belongs! Oh, open my eyes that I may see the wonderful things in your law--your salvation plan, your names and character, your steadfast promises that seem almost too good to be true--and yet they are true! When caught in circumstances beyond my control, turn my eyes to you, O LORD! Let me not walk the path of wickedness or foolishness. Open my eyes so that when I turn the pages of your Word, your love and guidance flow from the pages to me. Help me to SEE, LORD!  Look toward the LORD. Ask for Him to open your eyes to see. Thank Him for any insight or wisdom that He imparts to you. We are none of us worthy in the world's eyes--but in Christ's vision, we are the precious souls He loves and died for. There are wonderful things in His law! No matter what your circumstances today, find a few moments somewhere, somehow, to praise Him and rejoice in his Word. It is as powerful as a double-edged sword, but as soft and sweet as a baby's cheek. It is Life, it is Hope, it is Conviction, it is Truth, it is Steadfast. There are more wonders in God's word than will ever be discovered! Isn't it amazing that He gives us eyes to see into His Word?! He gave us this awesome gift that we may know and discover and love Him. What a God! What a Savior! What hope and joy for the world! Open our eyes, LORD, that we may see wonderful things in your law.   I pray your time today with Him will be very sweet! *Unless otherwise noted, all scripture quotes are from the ESV version of the Holy Bible.

"Praise the LORD from the earth, you great sea creatures and all the deeps, fire and hail, snow and mist (& rain!), stormy wind fulfilling His word! Mountains and hills, fruit trees and all cedars! Beasts and all livestock, creeping things and flying birds! ...Let them praise the name of the LORD, for his name alone is exalted; his majesty is above earth and heaven." Psalm 148: 7-10 & 13   Good morning, All! Do you love to sing? I'm sure your joyful noise is much more beautiful than mine! I learned something recently: plants & trees and grass & vines--every green and growing thing--sings as well. I suppose even poison ivy has a song! Scientists attach these tiny little sensors to plants, and the sensors produce the songs of the plants at a frequency we can hear. Without the sensors, we hear nothing of their songs. And the songs are beautiful! I wonder--are the songs as lovely in a dry, weary and dying plant as they are in fresh, young plants? Somehow, I think that perhaps when they are suffering, their song is the most beautiful of all--! It is not a day to feel much like praising. But as you go about your day, notice especially the beauty of the world around you. The grey skies, the rain, the dead and ugly earth, just barely beginning to believe that life can come again-- Precious babies! Their little hands and fingers and toes, those precious eyelashes that flutter as they sleep; the view out your window; the trees and plants, your loved ones--God has given us many precious things in this life, and this whole world cries out in praise to him--and even the parts that are sin sick and dying cry praise to His beautiful, holy name. Yet just think--this world is but a shadow of our future glory. It is a shadow of what is to be, when it will appear whole and pure and holy and as we are made clean and pure and holy-- Through your tears, if there are tears today, bless and praise His name, like the plants and trees and all creation around you. And He will fill you with His peace. Praying for you today.

When I first learned the meaning of the idiom "you are the apple of my eyes," I was thoroughly enchanted. The apple of your eye is the tiny reflection of yourself in another's eyes, and the only way to see these tiny 'apples' is to physically be very close to their face. So close your noses are basically touching! That is a closeness, an intimacy not shared with just anyone. Only those who truly love you, whose hearts are in accord with yours are allowed so close--husband and wife, sisters, parents and children. To be so close that you see the reflection of yourself in the eyes of another is to be so close you see every flaw or perfection in them, and they in you. To be so close is to love them as they are, with all your heart, and to be known and loved as closely as well.  I don't let anyone to get up in my face like that. Less than two feet away and I am backing up. Anyone who tries this--especially a man (my Bob excepted!)--causes a great amount of fear and anxiety in me. I really hate it when people 'invade' my personal space, unless I know them and love them deeply.  David cries out to God with this longing of his. "Keep me as the apple of your eye, O God! Be so close to me that I am reflected in your eyes, and you are reflected in mine. Know me, LORD, know me closely, intimately, completely! And hide me. When I run in fear or don't know where to go--hide me in the shadow of your wings! And let me know you as well!' Like little chicks flock to a hen and hide beneath the soft, fluffy and protective warmth of her wings, so David cries out for that privilege. To be able to hide so close to the Creator of the universe, to our LORD, our Savior, our Heavenly Abba--what a gift! What an honor! And what a place of safety and rest! It's funny how we humans tend to pull away from those who love us when we go through hard times. Yet our plea should be like David's. Instead of running FROM God, we need to run TO him! Clasped safe in his heavenly arms we can know of his deep and profound love for us, and rest as the apple of his eye!   I pray you find rest & peace & joy in Him today!  "Keep me as the apple of your eye; hide me in the shadow of your wings." Psalm 17:8a

I am a great planner. When I was younger, I would "plan" out new scenarios in my head to help me figure out how I was to behave, and practice in my head the things I could say and do. As a shy person (not anymore!) this helped me in new social situations. As I grew older, I discovered these lovely things called day planners. I love them, because I can have the spread of an entire month at my fingertips! It gives me great satisfaction to open my day planner and add things to my schedule; to see them neatly written within their little square. But I am not privy to God's plans, and sometimes He has plans for my calendar of which I am completely unaware!  A flat tire here; two weeks of ear infections there. A surprise visit to the farm because I am needed there. A phone call with bad news. A cancer diagnosis, or some other terrifying illness. There is a part of me that wishes God would let me know ahead of time, so I can prepare myself for these Heavenly appointments. A little tap on the back or a message in the clouds... 'Tomorrow you will come down with flu B.' 'Next week Aunt Mary will die.' 'On Friday, I'm sending a young mom your way who needs to hear the gospel and words of encouragement.' If only I could prepare myself ahead of time! But isn't it enough to know that your Heavenly Father is in control, and that there are NO surprises in your life that He has not already arranged?! He knows you and loves you from the latest hair to fall to your most terrible sickness. He has a good and perfect plan for you--for He knows the plans He has for you. They were pre-arranged from before you even existed. Somewhere in one of my first serious illnesses, I began to understand that God has heavenly appointments for me. He has scheduled an amazing array of events in my life--none of which I have a clue about. Yet as my car breaks down on the edge of the highway, and God gets me safely to the berm and sends a policeman less than five minutes later--it suddenly occurs to me that this is His heavenly orchestration. Nothing--nothing is unscheduled, unplanned or unknown to my Abba.  Some days flow full of love and joy and blessings. Others contain heartache and sorrow, fear and anxiety. But no matter what occurs on this day, rest secure in knowing your Heavenly Daddy has it all planned out for you. Your job is to trust, to believe, to be faithful and thankful to Him, and to look to the Holy Spirit for His guidance and help. Know that He loves you! And this love He has for you was also planned--before the beginning of time God knew exactly what He would do to draw His children back to Him.  Wow! What a mind-boggling thought! No matter your circumstances, God has a good, good plan. Rest in his heavenly calendar, knowing it is full of appointments for YOUR good--and His glory!  Have a blessed day!

Give thanks with all JOY! "May you be strengthened with all power, according to His glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy, giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in light." Colossians 1:11-12 "May you be strengthened..." Do you remember the difference between the words 'can' and 'may'? The word 'can' means that you have the ability to do something.  "Can I go to the bathroom?" my students often ask me. "I don't know, CAN you?" is my response! They then realize their error and ask properly, "May I go to the bathroom?" Yes! You MAY! (I'm really tough and mean with my students, tee hee!) The use of the word 'may' is to ask permission. Yes, you CAN go to the bathroom, as in, if your kidneys and digestive system are working properly, you are ABLE to go to the bathroom. But by asking 'May I?" you are asking permission to do something.  So, to get back to Colossians. We all know Paul meant every word he wrote! And in this instance, he used the word "may." What does this tell us? It tells us simply that God has already granted us His full permission to be strengthened with all God's power, according to His glorious might. That is another phrase granting us permission: "according to His glorious might." I'm not a Bible scholar, and I don't know the ancient Greek or Hebrew or Aramaic, etc. But as a grammar nerd, I sure do know what "may" means!   This begs the question: if we have been granted permission from our Heavenly Father to be strengthened with all his power, why don't we use this power?! The Bible says it's attainable.   Along with that, another question needs to be answered. We have to have a reason as to why we are granted permission to accept this power from God. The second part of verse eleven tells us: "for ALL ENDURANCE and PATIENCE WITH JOY." In other words, this incredible, amazing power from God, which He has given us permission to use is not to be used for ourselves. It is to be used as a witness to others of all that God calls you to endure in your life. He gives us peace and patience with joy, and in all these things, we are to give thanks and glory and honor to Him! Why? Because we are qualified. Jesus Christ has rescued us through the power of his blood. We are now one of God's family, his beloved children. Because of these reasons we are qualified to be strengthened with His power, and able to share in His inheritance with all saints. That is news to wake me up! News to make me jump to my feet and start my day. I don't have much strength. But my Heavenly Father does, and He has given me permission to use it! Will I utilize this endurance with all power?! Will I let myself accept this gift, and rest in Him, in patience with joy?! Will I glorify his name in all I do? I pray that I do, and you too!   Praying for you today. Use that power!

"Whoever loves discipline loves knowledge, but he who hates reproof is stupid." Proverbs 12:1   I dislike the word discipline. I used to see it only as the idea of punishment, and I often chafed (still do, sometimes!) at the idea of punishment, because often as a child we were punished unjustly. As I grew older, I began to realize that discipline is more than just punishment. In fact, it is only punishment in the sense that it hurts the receiver to a degree, but the hurt is there to make the one disciplined learn from their foolishness! It is not meant to be cruel, or unjust, or vicious or an outlet for the discipliner's anger; rather, it is meant to teach a lesson with just a hint of a sting, as a reminder to not make the same kind of foolish or stupid mistake again. I had to relearn the definition of discipline, and because I love Jesus, I have tried very hard to take His lessons to heart. Sometimes discipline hurts a little. But our Heavenly Father does not toss us away once the discipline is complete. Instead, after confession and forgiveness, there is great rejoicing on His end and my end too, because He always welcomes me back into love and fellowship in His arms that are ever waiting for me to fall into.  A fool hates reproof. He hates discipline. For Him, to be caught in the arms of his heavenly Father is to be squeezed and suffocated by His love. The stupid man does not understand (nor wishes to) that his rebellion is foolish. He does not realize that the cords he feels are strangling him are the loving arms of God. He resents the reproof, resents the love that awaits him, not realizing that the path he is choosing leads to heartache and pain...and death. Reproof is not the same as punishment. Reproof and discipline have mercy behind them. The deliverance of a reproof to the sinner is one of gentleness, a reminder of what that sinner has left behind and is missing out on as he runs away from his Creator. It is so wrapped up in God's truth and love and grace that to love reproof (usually we do once the reproof is finished!) is to bring knowledge, and whoever has knowledge has discipline, and he who welcomes the reproof is wise. This is how we grow. We fail. We run from God. But He is there, pulling us back, gently reproving and disciplining us for our own good, until finally we acknowledge our sin, and fall into His loving arms. I pray I'll not be stupid! But I am human, and often do foolish or silly or stupid things that build a wall between me and my Father. But His reproof is loving, and He plucks apart that wall between us until once again, I am resting and basking in His love.   Praise God for His great love and mercy toward us! Praise God that his punishments, no matter how hard they seem, are reproofs that draw us back to Him, into His perpetual love. What amazing grace I have found! What amazing discipline, amazing reproof! Our King Jesus is a good, and kind and merciful king! How I love Him for all He has done for me!