This is from the devotional Jesus is Calling by Sarah Young
When some basic need is lacking – time, energy, money – consider yourself blessed. Your very lack is an opportunity to latch onto Me in unashamed dependence. When you begin a day with inadequate resources, you must concentrate your efforts on the present moment. This is where you are meant to live – in the present; it is the place where I always await you. Awareness of your inadequacy is a rich blessing, training you to rely wholeheartedly on Me.

The truth is that self-sufficiency is a myth perpetuated by pride and temporary success. Health and wealth can disappear instantly, as can life itself. Rejoice in your insufficiency, knowing that My Power is made perfect in weakness. James 1:2; 2 Corinthians 12:9 (NASB)

Have you ever described someone as being reliable, dependable, loyal or faithful? To describe someone like this is a compliment, or at least it should be when used in a positive way. Faithfulness could be negative, for example you could say “you can be sure, he will be drunk everyday by four o’clock”. That is being faithful; certainly not in a good way though.

God is faithful, reliable and dependable. Look at these verses describing his faithfulness to us.

“The Lord, the Lord, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin. Ex 34:6-7

 Your love, O Lord, reaches to the heavens, your faithfulness to the skies.
Ps 36:5

Love and faithfulness meet together; righteousness and peace kiss each other.  Faithfulness springs forth from the earth, and righteousness looks down from heaven.  The Lord will indeed give what is good, and our land will yield its harvest. Ps 85:10-12

Your unfailing love will last forever. Your faithfulness is as enduring as the heavens. Ps 89:2

O Lord God Almighty, who is like you? You are mighty, O Lord, and your faithfulness surrounds you. Ps 89:8

 He will cover you with his feathers, and under his wings you will find refuge; his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart. Ps 91:4

For the Lord is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations. Ps 100:5

Lord, you are my God; I will exalt you and praise your name, for in perfect faithfulness you have done marvelous things, things planned long ago. Isa 25:1

The Lord rewards every man for his righteousness and faithfulness.
1 Sam 26:23

Jesus is our faithful high priest. Heb 2:17 When we are tempted, God is faithful not to let the temptation be more than we can bear; and when we are tempted he will provide a way out so we can stand up under it. 1Cor 10:13

God expects us to be faithful to him, to our spouses, to our employers, and to each other. This is not from us; it is the fruit of the Spirit. Gal 5:22-23 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.

Ps 31:23-24 Love the Lord, all his saints! The Lord preserves the faithful, but the proud he pays back in full.  Be strong and take heart, all you who hope in the Lord.

We know God is faithful and for us to be faithful to him we must trust him even when we can’t see that light at the end of the tunnel.

 I need these reminders. Everyday is filled with distractions from all directions and if I don’t keep the Word in my heart at all times I know I will end up on the wrong path. I want to be one of the ones the Lord preserves.

Have you had any close calls lately? I had one yesterday and I’m still thinking about it!

After bible class yesterday, I rode to Tulsa with Karla. On the way home, just a few miles from the church parking lot where I left my car, we had a very near brush with certain disaster. We took the back roads home from Tulsa and as we were attempting to turn south toward Skiatook. There was a car on the wrong side of the road in the lane where we needed to turn, he was waiting to turn east and a white pickup was approaching us from the west. Karla had not noticed the pickup. I was watching it and the car that was in the wrong lane. (My heart begins to race and I am tensing up). Karla was waiting for “wrong lane guy” to move so we could make our turn. I looked in the right side rearview mirror and the pickup isn’t slowing at all, it is barreling down on us and I bent over, absolutely terror struck, waiting for impact. At that moment Karla saw the pickup as did the other driver, and finally the pickup saw us. I could hear and smell the rubber burning, black smoke swirling past us and the truck literally flying past us. WHAT WERE THESE OTHER DRIVES THINKING??? Are driving laws not applicable in the country?

I am still a bit unraveled from the close call yesterday and I have thanked God several times for keeping us safe. It would be interesting to see a video of our faces in slow motion as we all realized we were possibly facing our last moments on this earth. That is how close it was, and as fast as the pickup was traveling it would have rammed us right into the middle of the “wrong lane guy” and smashed Karla’s car (and us) like crumpled up tin foil.

My heart is overflowing with thanksgiving. Incidences like the one yesterday make me take notice. Live is but a vapor and it can be over in the blink of an eye. I have many thoughts, yet for now I thank God that he preserved our lives, he kept us safe.

My circumstance yesterday were different from the Psalmist yet I can say these words with a heart full of thanksgiving – For you, O Lord, have delivered my soul from death, my eyes from tears… Ps 116:8

For he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways; they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone. Ps 91:11-12

I believe we were looked after by angels yesterday.

Don’t you just love to be right sometimes, delighting in your little moment of glory? Last night our Thursday bible class was hosted by friends who live in a secluded place and it has been several months since we were there. If you don’t know exactly where to turn you can easily get lost. Karla and Karen rode along with us and when it was time to turn, I recognized the spot and told Larry “this is it”. He gave a small glance and said “no, I think it’s up over the hill” and drove on. Insert evil laugh here… I was right! We had to turn around. The three of us girls were teasing Larry and laughing and practically high-fiving each other. Larry is a good sport and took our teasing in stride.

I have heard jokes my whole life about men being unwilling to stop and ask for directions, remember this one…
Q. Do you know why Moses wandered in the wilderness for forty years?
A. Because he wouldn’t stop and ask for directions.

This little incident made me think about seeking direction from God in all areas of my life. Too often I am guilty of making plans and not asking for his guidance or direction and things can get messy when I try to do it myself. Why, oh why do we like so much to be in control? I think I know the answer, we have big egos.

Faith and prayer should go hand in hand. When I talk to God and ask for his direction, I usually already have a blueprint of how I would like the answer to be. I am working on this friends!  My most exciting times are when I share what is on my heart with God and then leave myself open for his will, not my own.

I need direction, guidance and help from God in all of my plans, and most of all I need to learn to empty me of me and be filled with him.

Commit your way to the Lord, Trust also in Him, And He shall bring it to pass. Ps 37:5

The following is from Oswald Chambers writings which I enjoy immensely.

Don’t plan without God. God seems to have a delightful way of upsetting the plans we have made, when we have not taken Him into account. We get ourselves into circumstances that were not chosen by God, and suddenly we realize that we have been making our plans without Him— that we have not even considered Him to be a vital, living factor in the planning of our lives. And yet the only thing that will keep us from even the possibility of worrying is to bring God in as the greatest factor in all of our planning.

In spiritual issues it is customary for us to put God first, but we tend to think that it is inappropriate and unnecessary to put Him first in the practical, everyday issues of our lives. If we have the idea that we have to put on our “spiritual face” before we can come near to God, then we will never come near to Him. We must come as we are.

Don’t plan with a concern for evil in mind. Does God really mean for us to plan without taking the evil around us into account? “Love . . . thinks no evil” (1 Corinthians 13:4-5). Love is not ignorant of the existence of evil, but it does not take it into account as a factor in planning. When we were apart from God, we did take evil into account, doing all of our planning with it in mind, and we tried to reason out all of our work from its standpoint.

Don’t plan with a rainy day in mind. You cannot hoard things for a rainy day if you are truly trusting Christ. Jesus said, “Let not your heart be troubled . . .” (John 14:1). God will not keep your heart from being troubled. It is a command— “Let not. . . .” To do it, continually pick yourself up, even if you fall a hundred and one times a day, until you get into the habit of putting God first and planning with Him in mind.

Hope you all have a great weekend!

You will show me the path of life; In Your presence is fullness of joy; At Your right hand are pleasures forevermore. Ps 16:11

A friend on Facebook mentioned Johnny Cash yesterday and the following song immediately came to mind. It really is bittersweet and brings back many memories of heartache and very bad choices. I certainly don’t know Kris Kristofferson, he wrote the song, or Johnny Cash, one of many who sang the song; still it seemed at the time it was written especially for me. Too many times this song described me.

Those who have followed my blog know that I battled drugs and alcohol. Those days are long behind me and I am ever grateful they are. God’s grace reached me and continues to cover me. Everyday I see college kids/friends/family taking this road and it breaks my heart. They know they are making wrong choices and many who love them have tried to warn them of the destruction that lies ahead. Still they “party” on, living recklessly, living for the moment, living as though they are invincible.

Well, I woke up Sunday morning
With no way to hold my head that didn’t hurt.
And the beer I had for breakfast wasn’t bad,
So I had one more for dessert.
Then I fumbled in my closet through my clothes
And found my cleanest dirty shirt.
Then I washed my face and combed my hair
And stumbled down the stairs to meet the day.

I’d smoked my mind the night before
With cigarettes and songs I’d been picking.
But I lit my first and watched a small kid
Playing with a can that he was kicking.
Then I walked across the street
And caught the Sunday smell of someone frying chicken.
And Lord, it took me back to something that I’d lost
Somewhere, somehow along the way.

On a Sunday morning sidewalk,
I’m wishing, Lord, that I was stoned.
‘Cause there’s something in a Sunday
That makes a body feel alone.
And there’s nothing short a’ dying
That’s half as lonesome as the sound
Of the sleeping city sidewalk
And Sunday morning coming down.

In the park I saw a daddy
With a laughing little girl that he was swinging.
And I stopped beside a Sunday school
And listened to the songs they were singing.
Then I headed down the street,
And somewhere far away a lonely bell was ringing,
And it echoed through the canyon
Like the disappearing dreams of yesterday.

On a Sunday morning sidewalk,
I’m wishing, Lord, that I was stoned.
‘Cause there’s something in a Sunday
That makes a body feel alone.
And there’s nothing short a’ dying
That’s half as lonesome as the sound
Of the sleeping city sidewalk
And Sunday morning coming down.

Below is a verse written to me and all who have been cleaned up.

1 Cor 6:11 A number of you know from experience what I’m talking about, for not so long ago you were on that list. Since then, you’ve been cleaned up and given a fresh start by Jesus, our Master, our Messiah, and by our God present in us, the Spirit. (from THE MESSAGE)

I have been under the weather with severe allergies for about a week, and today I am feeling more like myself as opposed to a body with a fuzzy-headed out of focus dripping faucet sitting on top.

While I was staring out the window wondering what to write about today these words came to mind “Glory Hallelujah”. They didn’t come as a whisper or as a glance; they came loudly and with a full stare.

Many times I have asked God to put something on my heart to write about, something that will encourage not only me, but my readers as we go about our daily walk. Naturally I turned to the Psalms. As I began reading,  joy and excitement surged through my very soul and I am looking at these words with new eyes.

My first stop was here: Ps 111 Praise the Lord! I will thank the Lord with all my heart as I meet with his godly people. How amazing are the deeds of the Lord! All who delight in him should ponder them. Everything he does reveals his glory and majesty. His righteousness never fails. He causes us to remember his wonderful works. How gracious and merciful is our Lord! He gives food to those who fear him; he always remembers his covenant. He has shown his great power to his people by giving them the lands of other nations. All he does is just and good, and all his commandments are trustworthy. They are forever true, to be obeyed faithfully and with integrity. He has paid a full ransom for his people. He has guaranteed his covenant with them forever. What a holy, awe-inspiring name he has!  Fear of the Lord is the foundation of true wisdom. All who obey his commandments will grow in wisdom. Praise him forever! NLT

These are the things that caught my attention… the praise in this first Psalm seems to be while assembled with others who love the Lord. “With all my heart”, indicates with undivided attention. I am guilty of being easily distracted. How often I take for granted “everything he does”.  “His righteousness never fails,” mine does! Too often I let worldly matters dim my view of his glory and majesty, his wonderful works, the food and everything he provides, his covenant, yes, his promises that he never breaks. I have broken promises, he never does. Every thing he does reveals his glory, got me again, as I am made aware that everything I do does not reveal his glory. His judgment is always right and we can always trust him completely, again I have fallen short here too. As I read on I am reminded that he gave his life for us and that he will be with us forever, and that our fear, reverence, honor and respect is the foundation of true wisdom. “Praise him forever”! He will never change, and he will always be worthy of our praise. He does not leave us, lie to us, forget about us or disappoint us.

I looked at a couple of other Psalms too and will share just a few more verses that touched me so much this morning. From Psalm 113:3 From the rising of the sun to the place where it sets, the name of the Lord is to be praised.

Next I read Ps 146 and I especially liked verses three through five from the NLT-Don’t put your confidence in powerful people; there is no help for you there. When they breathe their last, they return to the earth, and all their plans die with them. But joyful are those who have the God of Israel as their helper, whose hope is in the Lord their God.

We can find ourselves way off track if we get caught up in the daily news and politics. I’m not suggesting we have to ignore it, just remember that God is in charge and always will be and our hope and our trust should remain in him no matter what happens to us in this world we live in.

Finally I read Psalm 148 and I  will close with this – Ps 150:6 Let everything that breathes sing praises to the Lord!

I was re-reading my post (April 14th)  “Bored” and in the seventh paragraph I picked up on something I had not noticed when I originally posted it. I don’t normally read from The Message, yet there are times when I do like the way it seems to jolt my comprehension. As I read it again, I caught something I hadn’t caught when I first read it and I decided that Peterson’s particular translation of Col. 3:4 is a bit distorted. Perhaps I’m wrong, perhaps not. Note the area I underlined.

His rendering of verse four reads like this – Col 3:4 When Christ (your real life, remember) shows up again on this earth, you’ll show up, too — the real you, the glorious you. Perhaps I’m over thinking, but by adding “shows up again on this earth” as he did, seems to promote pre-millennialism, and if it does, I strongly disagree.

Here is the same verse from other versions –

Col 3:4 When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory. NIV

Col 3:4 And when Christ, who is your life, is revealed to the whole world, you will share in all his glory. NLT

Col 3:4 When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.ESV

Col 3:4 When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with him in glory.

The following verses seem to strongly dispute Peterson’s take on Christ showing up on earth.

1 Thess 4:16-18 For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever. Therefore encourage each other with these words. NIV

2 Peter 3:10 But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything in it will be laid bare.

Help me out here; am I looking at this correctly or incorrectly? I urge and encourage any comments on any of my articles. I do not want to be distorting, adding to or taking away. Keep me on my toes!

It has finally happened! I can’t log onto my Facebook account. Last night there was a message on my FB page that one of my granddaughters had written on my wall. She sends me hearts from time to time but this was different, it was a little box that suggested she had sent me a cyber gift. My gut told me to send her a message and tell her “thanks for thinking of me” however I wasn’t comfortable opening applications. Then I thought, “oh, it will be ok” and I didn’t want to hurt her feelings. Let me digress and say if your gut is telling you something you better listen! As soon as I clicked on the box I noticed that messages were going out that I had written on several of my FB friend’s wall.

I immediately deleted the application and posted a message on my wall that if anyone received a message saying I wrote something on their wall…I didn’t….and to ignore it or delete. I can’t remember the exact wording. Then I decided to be on the safe side; I would change my password. After doing that, it was late and I went to bed.

This morning I can’t log into my FB account. I keep receiving a message of “incorrect password”. I was very careful when changing it making sure I typed and retyped the new password correctly. So, for the past three hours I have been waiting for FB to email me the “confirmation” code. During the wait I have Goggled FB and how I might contact them and get help. Lo and Behold! FB does not offer “human” customer support. I’m sorry, but I think that is beyond tacky!!

I finally found a place on FB ”help” to let them know I haven’t received my confirmation code and that I need to reset my password. That was over an hour ago. Now I just wait, patiently, um, make that semi-patiently.

I am learning something about myself that doesn’t quite thrill me. I’m feeling a bit antsy being unable to access my FB account. Could the antsiness  be that I’ve not felt good for the past 2 days; semi-sore throat, very scratchy chest and my head feels like it might explode. I’m pretty sure it is all allergies related, there is pollen and other thingy’s from the trees EVERYWHERE around here. I feel like all of my friends are having a party without me, oh…boo…hoo.

Eccl 7:8-9  Endings are better than beginnings. Sticking to it is better than standing out.  Don’t be quick to fly off the handle. Anger boomerangs. You can spot a fool by the lumps on his head. (from THE MESSAGE)

I’m hoping to find no lumps on my head!

I’m also hoping I don’t have to wait until December ~ : D

One time a warden asked a man on death row what he would like to eat for his last meal. The inmate said, “I would like to have a huge piece of watermelon.”

The warden said, “You must be kidding? This is December. Watermelons have not been planted, let alone harvested.”

The inmate said, “That’s okay. I don’t mind waiting.”

If you leave a comment, please leave it here since I can’t get on FB. I don’t even know if you can still see me on FB at this point.

Over the past few months I have observed several young people post on their Facebook status that they are bored. So much so, that even though I understand what boredom is I decided to look it up in the dictionary. The first definition is - tired of the world; bored with life and the second  is uninterested because of frequent exposure or indulgence. Opposite of interested. Boredom is defined as an emotional state experienced during periods lacking activity or when individuals are uninterested in the opportunities surrounding them.

I too have said “I’m bored”! I wonder if Jesus ever said he was bored or even thought it? I doubt it!

Boredom seems to say, there is an empty spot with me that wants to be filled and we get to choose what we fill it with. If we choose carelessly, that can be dangerous…

I believe it will be spiritually profitable for us to consider the following verses from Colossians next time “boredom comes knocking”.

So if you’re serious about living this new resurrection life with Christ, act like it. Pursue the things over which Christ presides. Don’t shuffle along, eyes to the ground, absorbed with the things right in front of you. Look up, and be alert to what is going on around Christ — that’s where the action is. See things from his perspective. Col 3:1-2 (from THE MESSAGE)

Pursuing, “setting your heart on Christ” involves continuity. Our flesh is fighting hard for the affection of our hearts.

Your old life is dead. Your new life, which is your real life — even though invisible to spectators — is with Christ in God. He is your life. When Christ (your real life, remember) shows up again on this earth, you’ll show up, too — the real you, the glorious you. Meanwhile, be content with obscurity, like Christ.  And that means killing off everything connected with that way of death: sexual promiscuity, impurity, lust, doing whatever you feel like whenever you feel like it, and grabbing whatever attracts your fancy. That’s a life shaped by things and feelings instead of by God. It’s because of this kind of thing that God is about to explode in anger. It wasn’t long ago that you were doing all that stuff and not knowing any better. But you know better now, so make sure it’s all gone for good: bad temper, irritability, meanness, profanity, dirty talk. Col 3:3-8 (from THE MESSAGE)

Next time you feel bored…Look to the Lord and his strength; seek his face always.  Remember the wonders he has done, his miracles, and the judgments he pronounced, Ps 105:4-5

There was an article in our newspaper Friday which brought back a flood of memories for me.

This is the headline that caught my attention-Last survivor of California kidnapping saga dies at 35. The victim was Timothy White. He was the youngest victim and last survivor of a widely reported California kidnapping. Mr. White died of an apparent pulmonary embolism. Timothy was five when he was kidnapped while walking home from school in 1980, by child molester Kenneth Parnell. I remember it because of the Steven Stayner story.

I’m sure many of you are familiar with the story. Parnell abducted Steven Stayner in 1972 from Merced CA. At that time I was living in Hornitos CA, a very small rural community a short distance from Merced. I didn’t know the Stayner family personally, but had friends who did. Fear absolutely gripped every parent and we all started watching our children a lot closer. These kinds of things weren’t supposed to happen in our backyard.

 Two weeks after White was abducted, Steven Stayner, who had been kidnapped by Parnell seven years earlier, escaped with White from the remote location where they were being held and hitchhiked to safety. Stayner was 14 at the time.

Stayner, who only could remember his first name when he escaped from Parnell, was reunited with his family in Merced, California. He was killed in a motorcycle crash nine years later in 1989.

Parnell served only five years in prison for the kidnapping and molestation of Stayner and White. He died in 2008 at age 76 while serving a life sentence for trying to purchase a 4-year-old boy for $500 in Berkeley, California.

Steven’s brother, Cary Stayner, is on death row in San Quentin for the murders of four women in Yosemite National Park in 1999.

My heart has always ached for the families of these two victims. The heartache and the tragedy are unimaginable.

My prayers are with their families and I ask that you will remember them in your prayers too.