The Plan I Have For You

     Boys, they have no fear.  When my son was smaller, his greatest joy was for his Daddy to throw him into the air and to catch him.  He would scream with delight, “Higher, Daddy!”.  Even now I watch him race down the hills at warp speed in front of our house on a scooter, jump the three huge steps off the porch in a single bound, play tackle football with kids twice his size.       Somewhere along the way into adulthood we lose that invincible feeling.  I remember going roller skating not to long ago.  As the kids whizzed past me, I teetered along, praying I didn’t take a spill.  When one of the youngsters bobbled, I felt my motherly instincts kick in as I fought the urge to put both hands out to break their fall.   There once was a time when I too made some pretty hasty tracks around a rink.  What changed?      Fear.  A four-letter word that changes lives. ...

Psalm 37:4 Take delight in the Lord , and he will give you the desires of your heart. My radio alarm sounded this morning with a song of praise, and immediately God spoke Psalm 37:4 through my dull, throbbing ear directly to my heart.  God is so good to provide for our needs, and I know that very well.  He's provided again and again and again.  But I have always had a bit of guilt about asking for my desires.  I've posted before about the challenges I've faced trying to sing since my first ear surgery.  A few weeks ago a bad inner ear infection really took a toll on my hearing overall.  Its been difficult because I felt I had just gotten comfortable with my new normal, only to lose the footing again.  I've been quite disheartened about it.  I went yesterday for a hearing test and another round of surgery.  This morning through the dull, muffled sounds I knew to expect, there is hint of the return of a certain range of sound ...

"And the Lord turned, and looked upon Peter. And Peter remembered the word of the Lord, how he had said unto him, Before the cock crow, thou shalt deny me thrice. And Peter went out, and wept bitterly." (Luke 22:61, 62) The Easter sermon contained the message I've been needing to hear.  It was the story of Peter. We all know Peter as the one who denied Christ three times.  One of Christ's chosen ones...and he openly denied his relationship at a critical time, after giving his word to Jesus he would never do so. I know Peter had tremendous guilt, and he wept bitterly over his mistake.  I needed to be reminded he went on to lead thousands to Christ after this memorable event.  Take a look at the eloquent message from Acts 2. A couple of weeks ago, a conversation included "I thought you were a better person than that" and some other words that made me feel pretty low.  Whether it was truth or not is beside the point.  It hurt because not only did ...

I apologize for the delay in blogging.  I've had a sinus infection that has just zapped the life out of me.  There hasn't been a moment that I've had free the last week and a half that I didn't want to crawl into the bed and sleep.  God has kept this passage on my heart for the time when I was ready to sit down and share it with you. Ephesians 3:20-21 Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen. Prayer.  What an awesome tool.  I can't imagine going through life without that communication line to my heavenly father. I know each of us have seen amazing things happen because of prayer, I certainly have.  This week in all that down time I've taken, I've been thinking about the greater things we miss out on because of a prayer life that's not as full as it should...

Remember that saying, "Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me?"  The truth is words can hurt.  They can tear right through the very fiber of your soul.  Sometimes its not even the words that hurt but the context in which they are said. This morning, I crafted a quick, smart reply on instant message to something that struck a cord with me.  Finger ready to hit "send," conviction hit me like a sword in my chest.  Words, they do hurt.   Deuteronomy 2:2-3 Let my teaching fall like rain and my words descend like dew, like showers on new grass, like abundant rain on tender plants. I will proclaim the name of the Lord . Oh, praise the greatness of our God! These words in Deuteronomy speak of the words of God, how they should fall gently and be nourishing to the soul.  Our words should be too. Not only do we need to guard our tongues from the harmful words we say, we need to make mor...

There may be a lonely valley, waiting just around the bend. Many trials will come, before I reach my journey’s end. But through them I’ll be faithful, as I walk in victory. Pressing toward to the moment when my father says to me: Well done my child, your race is over You have fought the fight, and you’ve kept the faith Enter in to the joy of the Lord. Well done my child, you crown is waiting. Here is your robe of white, your mansion is just inside. Come in to the city of the light, well done my child… When I finally see the streets of Gold and the gates of pearl. I know that I’ll forget my every struggle in this world. Every pain and heartache will quickly fade away. In that glorious moment when, I hear my Savior say: Well done my child, your race is over You have fought the fight, and you’ve kept the faith Enter in to the joy of the Lord. Well done my child, you crown is waiting. Here is your robe of white, your mansion is just inside. Come in to the city of the l...

Its been one of those weeks.  The weather has been terrible, and I just have a bad case of the blahs.  The mountains before me this week seem a little taller, and a lot more intimidating.  I have struggled to write, but I made a commitment.  So this morning, I sat down in front of my computer and prayed again for a message to share.  After reading another passage and praying for guidance, it still wasn't coming.  I decided to scan through facebook for a few minutes to clear my mind.  In my news feed was a verse: Psalm 66:5 NLT   Come and see what our God has done, what awesome miracles He performs for people! And below the continuing story of a family and the provision of God after a serious car accident: https://www.facebook.com/UnwrappingHisGrace Part of our responsibility as Christians is to encourage one another.  Every one of us has a story of God's amazing provision in our lives.  Today, I want you to help me write the...