When God seems distant...

" Then the angel of God, who had been traveling in front of Israel's army, withdrew and went behind them. The pillar of cloud also moved from in front and stood behind them, coming between the armies of Egypt and Israel. Throughout the night the cloud brought darkness to the one side and light to the other side; so neither went near the other all night long. " -Exodus 14:19-20

This is written as God has been directing Moses over & over again to go to Pharoah to plead with him to allow them to go & worship God....plague after plague, Pharoah doesn't allow it...but finally after the first born males are killed, he sends Moses & Aaron on their way with their people. Then God, who was guiding them as a cloud by day & fire by night, moves from in front of them--where they can see Him to behind them....where He is really needed since Pharoah's men are approaching them.

As I read this today I realized this is so common....we tend to want everything right in front of us--CLEAR--so it's easy to have faith...but God always is working in our best interest and although we may not see clearly what He is doing, He is there...time after time He is always there, right where we need Him to be.

Lord....please help my unbelief and forgive me for ever doubting You!

Miracles....each moment is one

wow....listening to the news this morning and hearing the stories of the survivors as they truly thought it was the end....one man wrote a note to his mom & sister quickly and stuck it in his pocket so it would be found.....this brings me to tears thinking what if it was my last few minutes....what would i say to my loved ones, to those i know but have never said much to, to my enemies......one man said it best "we were given another chance at life!"How many mornings are we given another chance at life? yet, we in our daily grinds dread the mornings, the day, etc etc. Let's remember today is a day we are given...not owed or due, but given and be thankful.....Lamentations 3:22-24 (New International Version)22 Because of the LORD's great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. 23 They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. 24 I say to myself, "The LORD is my portion; therefore I will wait for him."

Breath of Life

My hope is to read the Bible through this year (as well as continue the various studies) so please pray that I accomplish this. Today I was humbled at the realization that God breathed into man....He breathed His breath into us.....WOW.....Isn't it amazing that He never took that breath back, so to speak but that over thousands of years, His breath is still in us, in me. Lord how I pray and ask for Your help in becoming daily the person You would have me to be! I also pray for you in this new year that God use you & myself in mighty ways that only He could do!

Pleasing Aroma

As I visited a dear friend at the funeral home last night we hugged....nothing odd but what intrigued me was that I could smell her long after our contact. I immediately thought wow....in the Old Testament days the Israelits were required to present sacrifices to God with hopes that they would be pleasing aroma's to Him and then that today we are to be living sacrifices to Him.....so I asked myself what scent am I leaving....first am I a pleasing aroma to God and secondly, what scent am I leaving on others that I come in contact with? Do they see Him in me?
What scent are you leaving on others?
you will offer special gifts as a pleasing aroma to the Lord. These gifts may take the form of a burnt offering, a sacrifice to fulfill a vow, a voluntary offering, or an offering at any of your annual festivals, and they may be taken from your herds of cattle or your flocks of sheep and goats.-Numbers 15:3

digging a grave...

As I was digging a grave for Jack--our beloved chocolate lab whom we have had for years, I was brought to tears (yes I was emotional already)! But as I breathed in the smell of fresh dirt and felt the cold air flow throughout my lungs, I was brought back to God creating man from the earth.....

then His Son, Jesus...being born to take on human form...and then dying such a death as crucifiction...all for someone like me...me?!?!?! As I placed Jack in the ground...his body bruised and lifeless I was overcome with emotion and saw the facts of Jesus death play out in my mind....and to think....His death pleased God so that I may know Him..may I never forget this!!!

Then as I covered Jack with dirt....I thought...one day back to earth we will all go (unless JC comes first) as if we were never even here at all.....unless we have invested in people and them knowing the mighty Jesus Christ--why I call myself a Bridge Builder....I hope I lead people to Jesus --no matter the cost!

Where are you leading people? See Isaiah 53 for further reading...

Be Still...

"Be Still And Know That I Am God, And That I Will Be Exalted Among All The Nations" -Psalm 46:10 (Shannon's rendition)

This morning as I sit quietly before the Lord, I am brought to tears at how it's so often in the quiet moments we hear the loudest. I am so thankful today at answered prayers. My Dad is very sick with polycythemia and his heart has been having mini heart attacks for awhile now along with mini strokes....so on the way here, Ben and I prayed that Dad would have some good days with his heart and feel good and up for having us (2 active people-ha! one being an 8 yr old boy) around. Well God worked on all of us...Ben was much calmer than normal and as my Dad spoke to my brother on the phone last night his words were, "Yeah, my heart hasn't acted up the last few days, I don't know why but I've had some good days!" PRAISE THE LORD! I just smiled to myself because Ben and I knew that the Lord was providing us--what may very well be our last visit with my Dad--a fun and pleasant visit just reminicising and time for he and Ben to really get to know one another. I sit here as they all sleep just humbled by our Lord and softly crying as I see it's these little things that are so often taken for granted that we need to grasp and comprehend that the Lord is good, his love & grace abound and sometimes its in ways we like and need and other times His answers are harder to understand but still they are in our best interest.

Lord today I pray for Dad's heart and that if it be your will, healing to come to his body....he says he knows you and is ready to go....Lord give him peace in all ways...whether it be here on earth or in your arms.-amen

Friendship with God

Being a Christian is not about do's & dont's and many of us have grown up thinking so (for whatever reasons) but praise the Lord---it's about a relationship with Christ---a real relationship---where we are real and honest with ourselves first and Him!!

The following is an exert from a Proverbs 31 devotion by Micca Campbell & it resounded with me today about how we must be active in the relationship instead of expecting God to carry it....
It took a long while before I realized that the Christian life isn’t about following a bunch of rules. It’s not even about trying my best to be good. The Christian life is all about relationship. It’s about knowing and loving the God who already knows and loves us. It’s about being a friend of God. This changes everything.

Friendship requires commitment. The same is true in our companionship with the Lord. We often neglect vital portions of our relationship with Him. Sometimes that neglect is due to a lack of understanding in how to commune with Him. Other times it is sin or apathy in our lives causing us to overlook our need to fellowship with God.

In order to stay passionate about our faith, and live an empowered life free from sin, you and I must participate in our friendship with God by:

1.) Abiding in Christ. (John 15:4, NIV)
2.) Praying daily. (Mark 1:35, NIV)
3.) Meditating on God’s Word. (Joshua 1:8, NIV)
4.) Putting off the old and putting on the new. (Ephesians 4:22-24, NIV)
5.) Being continually filled with the Spirit. (Ephesians 5:18, NIV)
6.) Exercising God-given gifts. (1 Corinthians 12:4-7, NIV)
7.) Actively sharing the gospel with others. (Mark 16:15, NIV)

Which of these areas are you lacking in? Could that be the key to jump-starting your empowered-by-the-Spirit life?

The Christian life is real, satisfying, and available to all who are willing to have an on-going daily relationship with the Lord. Once I came to understand my role and participate in the relationship, I found the empowered life I was looking for. I’m convinced you can too.