"The" Light

Good morning and happy Friday. When the stage is dark and the spot lights get turned on, with you in the middle of it, you really can't see a thing. Cops use it in the movies to confuse and disorient a suspect. Criminals do the same with their kidnap victim. It's a tough spot. In real life we walk in a dark world with lots of lights showing us a way. But when our hearts are open to the one true voice, we see "The" Light. He has been lighting our pathway from day one. The world, Satan, has merely added more to the path so has to confuse us. Satan can't talk to our hearts the way God does. Deciding which lighted pathway is the right one takes discernment. That comes from a relationship with God the Father. His light is beautiful and not confusing or disorienting. It leads us to the places He has planned for us. Open the ears of your heart and hear His voice speak to you. Open the eyes of your heart and let Him lead you. In love always. <><

"How Deep Is Your Love"

Good morning and happy Thursday. The Bee Gees had a great song that asked "How deep is your love" ?  What a great question. Every body is at  least skin deep with love. But how deep is your love for your family and friends? Is that how deep it is for your neighbors? Do you even think of your neighbor?  And in case you were wondering everyone is your neighbor. We all live on the same rock. Millions of people, all going somewhere and doing something. Do you see them? They're your brothers and sisters. Our love has to be for them too and it needs to be love at the heart. It needs to be that deep. Imagine God's love, you go to the edge and can't see the edge. It's like the end of a rainbow. You never get to the end of it. I want a deeper love for others around me. It's easy to love the ones who love you. It's easy to have compassion for those who you know. Find it in yourself to have it for your neighbor. In love always <><

Why Do We Pray?

Good morning and happy Wednesday. So how many of you have prayed for rain? How many gave thanks for the little bit we got? We seem to be good at the asking for what we need part but then forget the thank you part. Do you think we need more rain so you're still praying? Could the answer to our prayers be "no"?  Someone else could be praying for no rain at all, who's gets answered and why?  Why do we think we can change the plan God has with our prayers to Him?  Prayer is for us to open ourselves up to Him to accept His will in our lives. It's not to get what you want. He gives you what you need and He blesses you with what you want  in His time. We will get rain. We may get a lot of rain soon, I don't know. But I do know it will be when God wants it to rain. Don't stop praying. Talk to Him everyday about everything. Just be ready and willing to accept His plan and will in your life. "Let your will be done". The very words of Jesus as He asked not to be nailed to a cross. The answer was "no". He accepted God's will and went and died for us all. "No" is the best answer sometimes. In love always. <><

The Good Water

Good morning and happy Tuesday. John 4:13-14 is about drinking water. Around here that's a subject talked about a lot. I used to hear people talk about how bad the water tasted here. I hope that through this drought we learn about the resources we have been given and how to be better stewards of them. But what about the water Jesus offers us that never leaves us thirsty? There's a resource worth protecting.  We have got to find our way to a place of relying on God and not ourselves as we have been in the past. He will not withhold His love for us. But He will withhold the blessings. He's a loving God, but He's just and not a push over. It will be done His way, so why do we fight it. Drink of the Water of Life, quench the thirst you know you have but only now realize. His water is good and never runs dry. In love always. <><

What Would You Give

Good morning and happy Monday. What would you give to have exactly what you want? How much would you sacrifice to have what you want? What if parts of your life were a test to see just how committed you were to what you want? That beckons us to examine what it is we want and how badly we want it. God wants us and sacrificed everything to have us. How much are we giving to be with Him? Is being with Him even on your scope? So if the answer is yes, what are you doing to make that happen? How committed are you really to the whole idea? I think it's good to self examine, but it has to be done honestly. The level of commitment usually determines the amount of success. If you are really wanting an eternity with Him in heaven then commitment has to improve to a point of revival. This is not a test. In love always. <><

Time With the Father

Good morning and happy Friday. It's finally here, the weekend. We look forward to them and the rest they can bring. I want to get that way with my time with God. I want to get to that point where I look more forward to that than anything else. I haven't put that time first and so need to. It's high on the list but if I'm truly honest, it's not first. He is taken for granted by us all the time and still just pours Himself out to us. I know that none of us do that or would do that for people who treated us like that. I can't fathom the amount of love He has. I just want to share an nth of it with others and give Him all the time I can so I can show my love for Him. In this busy world we have got to slow down and make our time with Him first. Man, with the help of Satan, has created a busy world. God just wants us worshipping Him. All else is time away from Him. Make Him first and see if things don't slow down. In love always. <><

Ready For The Rough Water

Good morning and happy Thursday. As we finally get a little rain in the area and with all the requests of prayer for more, I got to thinking about the drought we're gong through. We always turn to God when it's bad. When life is in a drought or the weather we're in, we turn to Him. It can't be just when it's bad, when it's rough, when we're sick. It has to be all the time. When the Jews were in bondage they prayed and prayed to God. He came and saved them. Not right away but came. When they were free He let them decide on their own a few things and while it was good, they forgot what He had done for them. We have the same history book to read that they lived, yet we still try and do it ourselves and only remember when it goes bad. Be great grateful and humble when your life is on the smooth water, because it will get rough again and it's nice for God to already be at the helm. In love always. <><

Only If I Did It Different

Good morning and happy Wednesday. Just how much impact do we have on people. I think back to when I was a kid and the hurtful things I did to people and it got me to wondering, if I would have been different would it have been different for them later. I know that it sounds like I'm giving myself some weight to a persons life but really it's true. We have a huge influence in peoples lives. The things we say and do to people carry more weight than we know. That's why it is so important to show our compassion and love to people. Jesus came and gave us the example for us to follow. His peacefulness transcends our understanding. His love is beyond measure. I wish I could've shown that love more when I was younger. But it's never too late to start no matter where you find yourself. You can't outrun mercy or hide from grace. That's the great gift we receive and need to show others through our love and compassion for others. Be like Jesus. In love always. <><

What Do You See?

Good morning and happy Tuesday. What does the cross mean to you? What does it bring into your mind?  And so then, what does it mean to take up your cross?  There are so many different ways of seeing and feeling about all that. The moments before when His friends had denied knowing Him and they were just in the garden together before. His prayer in anguishing pain that he was sweating blood. What does it mean to go to the cross? We have a lot of Christian phrases we toss out from time to time. I wonder what we are saying to others by that. I would love to hear what it means to you and what you think it meant to Jesus and His disciples. This is a very real subject for us today and as this country continues on the road it is on, it becomes more of an issue in the battle for our souls. The wars of this earth are not the war I'm mostly concerned with. Not to take away from them but merely to expound on the most relevant for all lives. Think these things over. Really think about what it is you feel when you look at a cross. Let me know so we can see the diversity and the commonness we have. I love you so much. As a people of God we should all be in love with each other. In love always. <>< 

Tired And Run Down

Good morning and happy Monday. It was a short weekend and I'm tired. Very tired and sore form the chores I had to get done in that short time. I want to sleep for a few more hours. It reminded me of how limited we are, how much we really can't do. I am amazed at how much we can do, but we really are limited. It's a reminder to me of how little we can do apart from God. With Him is how we do what we do anyway. But if you notice I said how much "we" can do. We take credit for everything and give no glory back to God in anything. Maybe the big stuff but never all the little things. But just getting through a day is done with His help. I'm gonna be working more on the little things and giving God glory for them. As tired as I am this morning I think He's telling me something about the limitations of a human body and how much I really need Him daily. In love always. <><

Count All Your Blessings

Good morning and happy Friday. It's good to be back in the routine of living again. Now just getting caught up with work and home stuff so that it's all back to normal. Really, thats my big problem for today?  Two blessings in that, a job and a home. But I'm used to those so I don't count 'em anymore. They're a blessing every day. My car and my kids all these are blessings I don't count every day. I'm thankful for them but am I just expecting more. "Ok God thank you for those, but where's the next one?". That's how I see us living today, with an expecting attitude. Not an I need to do more for others and be happy in what I have received frame of mind. This is in the extreme mode to some but it's not far off the mark with our society in general. We can impact that by how we live for God daily. Those in the shadows are watching our every move. If it's not right then they see us as hypocrites. Be thankful of the blessing you have received and the ones that are with you daily. Keep your heart focused on God, not for what He gives you, but what He uses you for to give to others. In love always. <><

Our Real Home

Good morning and happy Thursday. Home. I love being home. Seeing new places going to old places is fun and needed but when you get home it feels so good. It's comfort. It's familiar. It's your place you've made to be all yours. We tend to like our stuff better than the hotels or friends stuff. But this isn't about us really. Home is not here. Think what that home will be like. John, in Revelation, says it's beyond our wildest imagination. I've got a pretty good imagination and if it's better than that, well let's just say I wanna be there. But I'm making it again about me. It's for God all this is done. It's His glory we have to show here so when we get there we know how to do it better. This is all temporary and we know it. But we live as if it w can't live without it. Home is what I've built it and made it to be. Living without it is what He's asking me to do. To live only for Him. There's a lot in that and some how I've got to find it. We've got to find it. In love always. <><

He's Easy To Find When It's Hard

Good morning and happy Wednesday. Been up driving all night and came to realize something; I can't do it all night and when I get in the construction, I really have to concentrate. When I'm on the regular non-construction it's nice and easy. It's the same with God, when it's hard going I can find Him easy. When things are good, I don't call on Him as much. It's in those long easy times I really need more time with Him. That's when it's the best to grow with Him. But we seem to rely on ourselves then way too much. We forget we need Him so He puts up some construction signs and makes us concentrate more on Him. Enjoy the drive today; especially the tough spots. In love always. <><

God Makes it Good

Good morning and happy Tuesday. Well the trip is over and I'm glad to be home but I miss my friends already. It's funny the long term plans God has for us and the people that come into our lives. If a lot a bad things didn't happen in my life I wouldn't have been on this trip to begin with. He takes our bad and makes it good for us when we do for Him. Things that may not be seen for many years sometimes. He has blessed me with new people in my life since the first time I became divorced. Good friends and good people. Events that are happening in everyday lives come together at a point and time He puts together. Finding the good in what God does is a gift we all need to open and use daily. He surrounds us with Himself all the time. Find the joy of His presence today. In love always. <><

We're All Different

Good morning and happy Monday. Well vacation is over and it's time to get back to real world. It's cool to get away to another part of the country and see and hear another culture. Just a small trip and not too far away you see how different and diverse people from the same country are. It reminds me that God has made us all unique and for a purpose of our own. His plans are as diverse as there are people. The ways we think and feel and see the world are so different all over. So the plan he has for us is one we need to be listening to and acting on the will of God in our lives. Together all of us will be working for the purpose of God. Do your part today. In love always. <><