A lot can change in just a short while. This time last year I had no idea we would have a cute little furry friend living with us. It was one of my dreams, but all I did was dream. I don’t think I could have kept up with Rocky this time last year. But I kept dreaming. This time last year I was pretty sick. I’d had surgery and I was in terrible shape. I’d always dreamed of getting healthier and returning to my youthful weight. It looked hopeless. I kept dreaming. Oh beloved, keep dreaming. But watch …
You’re No Conditional Winner With Christ
Sometimes I sign up to win stuff. LOL Especially if it’s something that gives a prize that is useful. Like a pickup truck or a vacation. There was one I was looking at that had prizes from our state, so I was especially interested. I clicked the link and then the form to fill out. So far so good. Then I saw that you had to “join” to submit your entry. Okay, it was a good cause for sure. But you also had to pay a membership fee to enter. Okay, the fees go for a great cause …
Birthrights
Recently the word Birthright came up in church. It was part of a prophetic message, but the word has stuck with me I think about myself and my parents. My mother’s brothers and sisters all had many of the same features. It was almost uncanny how they favored. My dad had blue eyes like his father and I have blue eyes like him. Now my dad’s father had fiery red hair, but only one out of all the family got that birthright. One redhead in the entire bunch. That’s a little surprising. Oh beloved, you may have a birthright …
God Doesn’t Hire Professionals
We watched a movie last night about a youth pastor. He had become famous and been on the road promoting his book on reaching youth for Christ. But in the chaos of travel and the entertainment of it all, the message he originally proclaimed got lost. One of the most telling quotes of the entire movie was this, “IF God wanted to be glorified, He’d hire professionals.” Oh beloved, God speaks to our hearts this morning. He wants to remind us that His original message is enough. People respond to the real Gospel. Why? Because it lightens their …
Narrow Gate Of A New Year
It’s a new year. The other night as I was contemplating this new year I heard the words “narrow gate of a new year”. And I like that idea. The Narrow Gate in Scripture referred to Jesus as being the Only Way to salvation. But this morning the Lord refers to this new year as a narrow gate as well. It’s time to drop anything that held you back in 2021. Oh beloved, what held you back last year? What kept you from moving on in your life? What stopped you from fulfilling God’s purpose for your life? What caused …
The Lens of Faith
Yesterday morning we noticed a deer edging along our backyard fence row. Then we noticed another. Turned out to be four deer in all. I tried to get a photo of them, but I never could see but one deer in the photo. I took several photos but only one could be found. The walk of faith is like that photo of deer. There’s much more there than you see in a photo. The Christian life is full of information that is all needed to display the true story of faith. But we have to look beyond what our …
Discard The Leftovers
This morning as I realize our refrigerator is full past capacity and bursting at the seams with leftovers, I am trying to remember what my parents did with the leftover Christmas food. We will keep those delectable dishes for a couple of days – maybe even have a plate or two of the remains. But beyond that I have learned to discard it before it ruins altogether. So not only will our beloved live now crunchy Christmas tree go, so will the holiday food. Oh beloved, we may all want to discard the leftovers of our holiday meals, but there …
The Meaning Of Christmas Continues
This morning I remember the year my mother kept Christmas up until March! She had a lovely artificial tree that she didn’t take down for three months after Christmas. I don’t even remember why now, but I do remember Christmas lasted a long while at her house that year. God speaks to my heart this morning. Christmas, the holiday, maybe over. But Christmas, the meaning, is never over. Oh beloved, whether you put away the festive décor of Christmas today or a month from today doesn’t matter. What matters is that you never put Christmas away – the true meaning …
Something New To Learn
Can you remember going back to school after the Christmas holidays? Everyone would talk about their Christmas gifts and their Christmas visits with family. One thing I don’t remember is it being hard to get back in the swing of things. As an employee who gets nearly two full weeks off for Christmas, I find it not nearly as easy as being a kid returning to school. LOL But just like school, there’s always something new to learn at work. And even the old, regular processes of doing things, I sometimes have to reread the instructions to make sure I …
Snooze Button
Recently the snooze button on the alarm was far too easily hit. As I went to hit it one more time I realized just how many times I had hit the word “Snooze”. It’s always amazing to me just how good the sleep is right about time the alarm goes off. Oh beloved, there are times when you and I would like a snooze button for life. The only problem with trying to snooze through life is that it keeps going. Alarms are for our good. Without them we’d sleep right through till who knows when. We definitely would miss …
Blessings In Motion
Waking up this morning to central heat is wonderful. We have a fireplace and we can use it. But modern conveniences are such a gift. Oh beloved it’s so cold outside. But we have much to be thankful for. From the heat in our homes to the cats in our driveways we are blessed. But we don’t take anything for granted do we? We wake up thankful! Thankful for God’s gifts to us. Thankful for the ability to use those gifts. Thankful even for the opportunities to work so that we can give to the Lord, pay our bills and …
Out Of The Shallows
Not long ago I dreamed that we took visiting friends to the lake. When we arrived at the lodge we could see a bit of water that wasn’t very deep and lots of people swimming. They were not very impressed. “Is this all there is?” I told them the area we were at was just the tip of the iceberg. If they’d get out in the water and look beyond the swimming area, they’d see the expanse of the beautiful lake and be amazed. Oh beloved, truth is we often don’t go beyond the swimming area do we? We are …