Yesterday was a banner day! After five and a half years of witnessing about Christ, Polly (the woman that I wrote about yesterday) prayed to receive Jesus!

This proves many things...First that God is able...The Lord is faithful and patient and generous, not wanting anyone to perish. Polly went to church her entire life and yet had never met Jesus. When God sent me to care for her I quickly realized what I was up against...years of "luke warm" training and conditioning. There were layers and layers of strong holds, bad habits and misconceptions to peel away. And underneath all of these, was a heart encrusted with granite like stone.

God had given me yet another seemingly impossible assignment. Working with the elderly is a tough job...they are set in there ways and there really is no moving them on your own. It's the kind of job where one must rely fully on God. All of the folks that I have worked with grew up in an era of prejudice and judgment, and most of them had extremely dysfunctional families. They had unrealistic expectations thrown upon their shoulders as children, spouses and parents....trying to live up to an illusion of a "Norman Rockwell" kind of life.

For these men and women, going to church was all about dressing up and going to a building...it was about organ music and dusty yellowed hymnals...it was about working your way into heaven by serving on a board of some sort or putting a donation in the offering basket. What it wasn't about was having a relationship with the only one who can save us.

Before I came to work with Polly, I worked with a couple in their home for eight and a half years. Ellen, the patient I thought that I had come to care for, was a stroke victim with a full blown case of dementia. Her Husband Jack was much older than she and had taken on the task of  her caretaking. As the years passed, Ellen's memory continued to deteriorate, but with careful and loving initiation, could be led into the present moment in conversation.

One day Jack started to act differently. I prayed for the Lord to reveal what was happening to him...Jack had cancer. He swiftly went from a spontaneous life, taking off on a whim at any given moment, to a bedridden state. As I began to care for him, and as he was no longer too busy to listen, we talked about my life and his for hours on end until we had shared all of our victories and most of our failures.

Jack couldn't understand my joy during many years of struggle and I gave the answer as Jesus. While he lay in his sick bed, I offered to lead him to accept Christ many times....each time he politely excused my invitation. Then one evening at three in the morning my phone rang...it was Jack. He had a horrible nightmare and as we sat in the dark, each in our own home, over the phone I led Jack to receive Christ. I was blessed to hear his first genuine prayer shortly after, and saw miraculous change in his life. Jack died a few months later and I know that he rests with the Lord.

It was shocking to me that God would allow me to lead yet another ninety year old to him. What a privilege and what a ministry...one heart at a time, God chiseled and pressed over and over on just the right places to cause the ultimate rescue of these long lost souls.

If God can reach Jack and Polly after years of worldly conditioning, abuse and dysfunction, how more can he do anything that He sets out to do. What looks impossible merely requires faith in the Lord who can accomplish the task.

"What is impossible with man is possible for God." - Luke 18:27

When God first made known to me the ministry of reaching the elderly for him I must admit that I didn't think that it was possible. What God has shown me is that when we obey His promptings and are bold enough to speak and to deliver His word....that anything is possible.

Most ministries are geared toward younger people, and this makes sense because the effort will be more easily received by a younger, less crusty heart...and these kids have the energy to go and do more work for God's kingdom. But what God has made very clear to me, is that these older ones were once the younger ones....His Spirit has been at work for many years, He has invested time and love into these lives, and He cares for them greatly. He does not want ANY to perish!

"For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only son, so that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life." - John 3:16

Whatever ministry God has put on your heart, He has put it there for a reason, and if you yield your life to Him He will use you to do great things...your obedient life can bring him glory, and that will bring you Joy!

I am so excited to help Polly in her final season of life, to learn and understand more deeply the love and peace of a life submitted to Jesus....and I cannot wait someday to worship before His throne with Jack and Polly.

Many of us are getting on in years...(eh hemm), we are starting to gray and to wrinkle...(ugh), we are no longer spring chickens...darn it we are old! Now just because my body has been walking around on this earth for nearly 50 years, does not mean that my attitude is old...I love to learn new things!

No matter how young you are, if you are not willing to learn, no one can help you. Learning and maturing are a lot about your attitude. Many immigrants who are older, come to America and have a wonderful attitude about learning. They cherish the new customs and language and honor the government and rules of this society. As a matter of fact, they seem to be more willing to try to learn than those who were born and raised here. Ths is because they have the desire to learn.

I know poeple who are just determined to learn. They put everything they have into it...that's the way that I feel about going to Malawi...that's how I feel about Jesus...that's how I feel about living as an obedient disciple in God's kingdom. I want to learn God's ways of doing things, and no one can stop me. But I look around and see so many Christians that don't even know the Lord, they don't know His ways...they go to church on Sunday mornings and as they drive away from the building they turn their hearts back to the world again until the next Sunday.

I also know brand new Christians who are older but have just received Christ as their Lord and Savior and...like me, they are determined to learn, and equally determined to unlearn the ways that they had been living their lives before. It takes an attitude of eagerness and gratefulness to relearn how to live your life...it takes the realization of who Jesus is and what He has done for you!

Currently I work with a woman named Polly. Polly is 91 years old. She has been formed and cemented into  a person who is burdened by worry, anxiety and the need to be in control. She is judgemental and prejudice and bitter....Polly needs to learn how to learn! ( Jesus loves Polly and wants her to be free.)

God put me in Polly's life to help her unlearn a lifetime of habits and hang-ups...it can be challenging to say the least, but there have been many pivitol moments over the years where God has pointed out weak places in the walls surrounding her heart and given me the words of truth to apply pressure to those places...breaches in her walls have begun and piles of ancient stones lay broken and strewn upon the ground around her...God can bring to life this heart that appears too hard to be renewed, and he has sent me to share His Word to do the job. God's Word has power to do what He desires:

"As the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return to it without watering the earth and making it bud and flourish, so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater, so is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and acheive the purpose for which I sent it." - Isaiah 55:10-11

When I share God's word with Polly, (this requires that I know God's word so that I can share it) It's truth and power go to work...and she can learn new things...the old can die and the new come to life, even at 91 years old! We can learn to walk with Christ if our attitude is right. If Polly believes the truth that I share with her, the Holy Spirit begins to convict her, and Polly repents and then asks God to help her change.

"Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come. The old has gone, the new is here!" - 2Cor 5:17
It has been amazing to see how each time that I put God's truth out there, at the moment when it needs to arrive (this happens by the prompting of the Holy Spirit), that the truth indeed sets her free. We can relearn how to live if we are determined to do so...learning requires diligence and desire and intrest...no one can make someone want to learn. It has to come from their own heart...it must be their desire. When it is, nothing or no one can stop them!

So today I challenge you to go out and learn something new...no matter how old you are, or young you feel...go and learn something...If I may, I would like to suggest that you try learning something about Jesus, about who He was and why God sent Him here...to set you free to learn His ways and to have an abundant life....(You can find a bible in any church, library, or bookstore so even if you don't have one that is not an excuse...you can go online...you are already on the computer or your phone or your tablet ...and read about Jesus, there really is no reason not to, unless it's that you don't have the desire...unless your heart is too stoney and crusty...So be young at heart, go learn yourself something new, and have a glorious day!

"For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life." - John 3:16

Tomorrow will be exactly one month until I leave for Malawi! It is hard to believe that I have been planning and preparing for over three months now. I have gotten all of my shots...I have my malaria pills... I have purchased gifts for my interpreter and the widow that I sponsor...I have learned many Chichewa words...I have practiced "bible storying" (a way of spreading the gospel used in many areas where the people don't have access to bibles of their own)...I have practiced giving my testimony in 30 seconds or less...I have prayed, and prayed, and prayed....I am as ready as I can get without losing all spontineity.

God has provided for me continually and creatively. I am not only ready to go, but fully expectant for the things unseen and unknown that God has planned.

For those of you who read this blog (it's strange because I can see how many people read this daily but I have no idea who you are...let me take this opportunity to thank you because I never would have believed how many people are reading...writing this blog daily was something that God asked me to do for discipline)...and for those of you who pray, I would ask that you pray that God would use me, both on this trip and during my life time, to reach a great multitude for His kingdom.

My life has been bought at a price, and I am waiting to be spent exactly how, where and when, Jesus desires to spend me.

"Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price.Therefore, honor God with your bodies." - 1Cor 6:19-20...and your minds, and your emotions, and your spirits....and your money...and your pain...and your will...and your attitude...and your (be creative and add some more things here:  ____________________________________________________________________ ).

As I await the day of departure, I consider that no matter what I am doing, or where I am going, God requires of me to be an encourager. 1Thes 5:11, and Hebrews 10:24-25 tell me so. The word encourage in the Greek  is parakaleo. Jesus said that when He went away, He would send another "comforter", the Holy Spirit. The word comforter (paraclete) comes from two Greek words: para, which means "with" or "along side of", and kletes, which means a "call". When you put them together, it means that Jesus gave us the Holy Spirit  be in us, to walk with us through this pain filled life as our Encourager! God says that you and I can be a praraclete, an encourager, to those we encounter.

Verbal encouragement includes the idea of one person joining another on a journey and speaking words that inspire the travelor to keep pressing on, depsite obstacles and fatigue. As a parent and a mentor, I walk alongside those whom I am discipling and do just that. As a disciple, Jesus walks along side me and encourages me.

Today I choose to be an encourager as I have been so well encouraged!
Have a blessed and glorious day!

Ten men came to Jesus for healing. They had leprosy. Lepers were outcasts from society. They were estranged from their families...hidden away in caves, their deformities wrapped in linen rags. Their physical and emotional pain was beyond words.

"Jesus was walking past their village, and these ten tragic men stood at a distance, crying out to him, 'Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!' Jesus looked on their deep physical and emoitional pain and said, 'Go show yourselves to the priests.' And as they went, they were cleansed of their leprosy. One of them, when he saw that he was healed, came back to Jesus shouting,'Praise God!' He fell to the ground at Jesus' feet, thanking him over and over for what he had done. This man was a Samaritan. Jesus asked, 'Didn't I heal ten men? Where are the other nine? Has no one returned to give glory to God except this foreigner?'" - Luke 17:11-19

What do we learn from this story?...Jesus heals!...But we also learn that when we get what we want, we, like the nine lepers, can easily go on our own way, forgetting to give thanks to God. We pray for God's intervention in our lives, and then congratulate ourselves rather than God for the results.

Please don't miss the other truth from this story...Jesus equates giving thanks with giving glory to God. I wonder...would I have returned to thank Jesus...would you? Or would we walk on with forgetful hearts?

Years ago while I was going to school to be a trained Spiritual Director( basically one who points out where God is in someone's life through scripture, prayer and listening...a big "arrow" always pointing to God) I was meeting with three ladies in Spiritual Direction. My role was to listen prayerfully as they spoke and reflect back what they were unable or many times, unwilling to see themselves. One particular woman was struggling with drinking and depression. She, like the lepers, was living in a cave, wrapped up and stolen away from friends and family. She was insecure and afraid and life had no meaning...We met together for two years, and during that time I prayed for her, listened to her and made suggestions of scriptural truths to read and gave assignments of ways that she could spend time with God. Throughout that time the stigmas attached to many failed relationships and poor choices began to peel away layer by layer, until one evening I led her in a prayer to accept Jesus as her Lord and Savior.

She had just revealed a heartbreaking moment and I felt God's Holy Spirit prompt me to ask what I had asked many times before, "Do you want to pray to accept Jesus as your Lord and Savior?" "Yes", she said this time, "I do". I could see the pain on her face and sense her sincerity, and so we prayed together, and she opened her heart to the glorious healer.

Instantly she felt a new peace. I remember the look on her face as if it were yesterday. I was filled with joy for her, remembering how my own life had changed years before...But, despite her instantaineous deliverance from alcholisim and depression (which has proved to still be gone after many years to this date) she began to fall away from Jesus as quickly as she had come to him.

I was heartbroken...so was Jesus. She had believed for that one moment, that Jesus could and would, heal her...and He did. As I said, I still know her and she was completely delivered and changed...but her family and husband were not believers, and she quickly fell away.

Several months after that tear filled evening, where I was privy to the joy and peace that she had received, I spoke with her on the phone. "You know", I began, "This is not going to be something that you want to hear, but I need to tell you." I recounted to her the story about the ten lepers..."You are one of the nine who just walked away" I said sternly. "I love you dearly, but you just let Jesus heal you and moved on without thanking him" I said. "Have you ever stopped to think that he saved your life?...That He has a purpose for you?" I asked... There was complete silence on the other end of the phone. I am challenging you to stand up for Him", I pleaded. I know that no one else in your life but me believes in Jesus, but Jesus believes in you!"

She agreed surprisingly enough, that I was right, and does still talk to me. We dance around this truth uncomfortably each time that we see each other, without saying a word...I can see it in her eyes. Being around me is convicting, and she tries to brush it away with light banter and the news of the day, but it is there, in her eyes, the truth of it all.

I pray for her daily. I have not given up on the seeds planted during our time together. God's word has power to accomplish what he wills, and he most certainly loves her. I know that someday, perhaps when she has children of her own, she will allow herself to truely remember the direction that her life was ging in at that time, and how graciously it has been altered by a God so willing to heal her. Eventually the truth of that merciful love will scream so loudly that she will not be able to shut it out any longer....I pray for that day, when she will thank the Lord and leave everything and follow him!

You see, you can share the truth with many people...but only some will receive it with thanksgiving. Only a few will drop everything and follow. Only a portion will sit "right minded" at Jesus's feet.

Part of being healed, is realizing that you are different...and walking as if you are no longer sick. If you are a leper, you have physical and emotional pain. People can see your physical ailments, but not the emotional ones. There are millions of emoitonal lepers in this world...slinking behind shadows in their self made caves...wrapped in the suggestions of abuse and the moldings of other people in their lives....standing at a distance from their families and friends...There is a healer...He is able and willing to heal...many receive Christ and then walk away without saying thank you, without glorifying God. These people have encountered the one who could set them free, and yet they walk cloaked in a prison of ungratefulness, thinking that they are experiencing freedom.

Do you have a relationship with Christ? Do you truly realize what he has done for you? Are you thankful?

 He will not force you to come to Him in gratitude...it has to come from your own heart to actually be thankfulness...

This is a picture of an ancient cistern in Israel. Jeremiah the prophet was thrown into a cistern (Jeremiah 38:1-28)


When have you felt as if everyone were out to get you? Can you identify with Jeremiah's feelings...In this story, Jeremiah was a prophet with a message that people didn't want to hear; "This is what the Lord says:'Whoever stays in this city will die by the sword, famine or plague, but whoever goes over to the Babylonians will live." The officials proposed to the king that Jeremiah should be put to death, and King Zedekia said "He is in your hands". They took Jeremiah and put him in the cistern of Malkjah. They lowered him by ropes into the cistern; it had no water in it, only mud, and Jeremiah sank down into the mud. But the story doesn't end there...a Cushite official heard that what they had done to Jeremiah and went to the king. He convinced the King that the men had acted wickedly, and that Jeremiah would starve to death in the cistern. The King had second thoughts and told the Cushite to take 30 man and go retrieve Jeremiah.

Jeremiah had good reason to be a weeping prophet (this was his nick-name). Four kings succeeded Josiah, but each of them served as a puppet for a larger empire and each of them gave Jeremiah a hard time. Jeremiah had been beaten, put in stocks, under house arrest, and had his written words burned in his presence.

The mistreatment however, only served to harden Jeremiah's resolve. The events in this chapter take place in Jerusalem, in the midst of a terrible two year siege by the Babylonians. The following chapter (39) tells of Jeremiah's prophecies coming true. Babylons army does breach the walls and then captures and tortures the king. The conquerors treat Jeremiah with respect, however, hearing of his counsel to surrender.

The prophet Jeremiah had a tough life. God used him in a significant way to speak his words of both punishment and hope to the people of Judah, but much of the time Jeremiah struggled with his role. For the most part, people didn't like him. Jeremiah's temperament, sensitive and moody, did not help. At times he complained to God loudly and struggled with his lot in life.

What can we learn from this prophet, who was clearly loved and chosen by God for important work, yet struggled so intensely? God told Jeremiah,

"Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations." - Jeremiah 1:5

Despite his frequent outbursts, Jeremiah loved God too, and he embraced the truth of the messages he delivered.:

"When your words came, I ate them; they were joy in my heart's delight." - Jeremiah 15:16

Following God faithfully and doing His work won't be easy...It wasn't easy for Jeremiah...it won't be easy for me or you. We may suffer, experience unfair treatment, and feel unpopular. Jesus said that if he himself got such treatment, his followers should expect the same (John 15:20) When we feel discouraged as Jeremiah did, we can be honest with God. We can reveal our questions and voice our complaints. God can handle our true feelings. Maybe God chose Jeremiah, and chooses people today who have sensitive spirits, precisely because he needs those with soft hearts to complete the assignments he is giving.

Yet as we mature in our walk with God, we can hope and pray to reach a place of deepened trust and fulfilment in the place where he has put us. Struggles are never easy, yet as God hears our cries and shares our pain, he can also bring us to a place of oneness with him, where we can rise above the hard times and find God's promises more real than our circumstances.


The most difficult times in my life have produced my character and strengthened my trust in the Lord. Sometimes it feels as if I have been thrown into a muddy cistern somewhere in the desert, where I am simply waiting to die of starvation( those are my emotions)...but God is always moving someone to come and help me, he will send men to "pull me out" just like he sent help for Jeremiah(this is the body of Christ). We need to remember not to base our lives on "feelings" but on the promises of God. As the body of Christ, we need to be encouragers when we see our brothers and sisters wallowing in emotional cisterns, and go quickly to help them climb out.

When we stand up for God and are obedient to his ways, we are not going to be popular. If popularity is what you want out of life, you might as well turn around right now and leave, because choosing Jesus over the world is one of the least "popular" decisions that you will ever make. But life is much more than what other people think...life has more meaning than what millions of people in this world think....life is eternal and we are either going to be "with God" eternally, or "separated from God" eternally. To be with God is heaven. To be separated from God is hell. Where do you want to spend your forever?

"Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything." - James 1:2-4

I have spent the morning listening to worship music....I did not get much sleep and so writing here is taking a great risk...who knows what goofiness will leak out...I feel a bit giddy. Nevertheless, I have promised to try to write daily.

I saw these photos and in my current state, found them hysterical...So today instead of scriptures and "heady ponderings", I am going to share with you  (hopefully) my giggles...Here are some comparison photos listed under the catagory "Nailed it"!

I pray that you will have an awesome day...laugh and be light hearted...enjoy your life today!
See you again tomorrow : )

"A joyful heart is good medicine." - Proverbs 17:22

"A glad heart makes a cheerful face." - Proverbs 15:13

I know many people who are locked in a prison of bitterness. They spend their lives focused on the things that have hurt them and never move forward. Although I have been through a myriad of difficult times, I can confidently say that the worst of times produced strength in my character, faith in my God and tenacity in my spirit.

In addition to the growth in myself, difficult times are often what God uses to affect non believers in our lives. They see us going through hardship with peace and joy in our spirit and cannot reconcile the two. It allows the concept that being "in Christ" actually changes a person and makes them new.

"But thanks be to God who always leads us as captives in Christ's triumphal procession and uses us to spread the aroma of the knowledge of Him everywhere. For we are to God the pleasing aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing. To the one we are an aroma that brings death; to the other, an aroma that brings life. And who is equal to such a task?Unlike so many, we do not peddle the word of God for profit. On the contrary, in Christ we speak before God with sincerity, as those sent from God." - 2 Corinthians 2:14-16

I have family who don't believe in Jesus. Well, let me qualify that statement, they believe that a man named Jesus lived...and that he was a good man, somewhat of a prophet...a wise man, who helped some people...ugh

When I became born again I was nearly 37 years old. My conversion was very similar to the Damascus Road conversion of Saul....I went from negatively persecuting the thought of the bible as the word of God and Jesus as God himself, to being an insatiable reader of God's word and thanking  Jesus for not only being God, but for coming to die for me.

You would think that family members who saw me up close and personal...who saw the struggles and insecurities and poor state of my soul, would have immediately praised God for the changes in me. Suddenly I was bold, confident, and focused. I was reading the bible, praying out loud, declaring God's truth. I was going to church and bible studies and starting prayer groups. I was helping the less fortunate and concerned with the problems of my neighbors.

Some of my family members did see the drastic change and accredit it to Jesus...others saw it and tried to accredit it to me. I refuted the thought and assured them that I could never be "that good". I told them about Jesus and what He had done for them and for me. I told them that this wasn't just the mere act of me maturing (remember I was 37 with two children!), but the act of being saved and changed by a loving Holy God.

This never made sense to me until I read this scripture from 2nd Corinthians..."to one we are the aroma that brings death; to the other, an aroma that brings life."

The things that brought me to life in Jesus were the broken things about me. It was my inability to help myself, change myself, that showed me that I needed Jesus. It was the seeds of truth planted years before in church that had germinated and begun to sprout with life that resonated in my spirit. It was the glimpse of my true self that led me to kneel in a state of humility and ask God to help me...to thank Him for sending Jesus, and to admit that I was wrong, a sinner who needed help.

Most of the things that "hurt" me growing up, are the things that I held so tightly that I became hard, rebellious, and prideful. I had convinced myself, that only I could be trusted to help myself, or care for myself. In my mind everyone else had a condition or a need that they wanted met and they would eventually take advantage of me. All people were selfish and narcissistic. I needed to look out for myself, to strike before I was stricken and to run ahead of the pack. I would build walls to protect myself from future hurts and be the watchman on top of those walls, ready to sound the alarm any time that I saw someone trying to get close...convinced that their ultimate goal was attack.

Jesus changed me. I am a new person. No credit is due me...everything new was from God.  

"Therefore,if anyone is in Christ, the new has creation has come. The old has gone, the new is here! All of this is from God who reconciled us to Himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to Himself in Christ, not counting people's sins against them. And He has committed to us the message of reconciliation. We are therefore Christ's ambassadors, as though God were making His appeal through us. We implore you on Christ's behalf: Be reconciled to God. God made Him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God. As God's co-workers, we urge you not to receive God's grace in vain. For He says,'In the time of my favor I heard you, and in the day of salvation I helped you.' I tell you, now is the time of God's favor, now is the day of salvation." - 2 Corinthians 5:17-6:2

To the people who cannot understand why now that I have received Jesus as my Lord and Savior, I want to talk about Him all of the time, and want them to know the truth about Him...It is because; it isn't just enough for me to be free....I want them to be free also!

So, this morning was interesting to say the least...I was in the midst of worshiping...I had gotten down on my knees, my arms were lifted up to the Lord, tears were streaming down my face as my spirit acknowledged what Jesus had done for me on the cross...It was one of those moments when you are lost in the wonder of God's presence, time and space dissolve into each other and with arms raised and eyes closed, you feel almost as if you could understand what heaven must be like. I was in a state of joy and thankfulness, and as I brushed my hair back from my face I felt it...a tiny little scabby feeling lump on my scalp. I slowly got back up onto my feet and as I started towards the bathroom, I already knew that familiar feeling...I had a tick on my head.

Now if you don't worship it may be difficult for you to understand how completely immersed in God one gets...it is as if we are not present here in the moment and yet totally present beyond our normal use of our senses at the same time (hahaha, glad I cleared that up for you! Seriously though it is impossible to articulate, but I tried).

So "why are you writing about ticks?" you ask...Well, because once again God showed me a truth through a common experience. Everyone knows what it is like to get a tick...I am sure there may be someone who never had one, but lets agree that we have all heard of them, know what they do, and ugh...how they do it. Even if your only experience of a tick is getting one off of your pet, you understand the creepiness of these little fellows. They are indeed gross and sometimes seem almost sinister.

As I desperately tried to confirm my situation I found myself contorted trying to hold back my hair and place the hand mirror at just the right angle so that I could see the parasite in the large vanity mirror. I got out peroxide and put some on a cotton ball and placed it over the tick...nothing happened. Next I searched for the tweezers, which of course, were not where they were supposed to be. Then I stopped and prayed. I should have prayed first, but I was jolted out of worship and my knee-jerk response was to get this thing out off of my head! I prayed "Lord, I know that you can help me. I can't seem to get this taken care of on my own. Jeff and Lauren aren't home and Jackson is sleeping. Please direct me to what I should do...I refuse to allow this to interrupt my time with you today Lord, and I continue to worship you right now, tick and all...You are awesome and Sovereign, Majestic and Good. Thank you Lord that you have dominion over all things. I give this situation to you and I trust you, Amen"

I knew that I was helpless to fix this on my own...there are just some things in life in which you require assistance. I needed another set of hands and eyes...I went into Jackson's room to wake him. My son Jackson is 15 and a half...he hates ticks...I had no idea where the tweezers were...this was going to be interesting...


"Two are better than one...If either of them falls down, one can help the other up. But pity anyone who falls and has no one to help them up." - Ecclesiastes 4:9-10

Jackson woke up quickly (not a usual occurrence) and put on his glasses. He parted my hair and found the culprit. We both cringed at it's existence and moved forward to planning. I explained that the tweezers had vanished from the bathroom and we decided that Jackson was going to have to use his fingers..Ewwwwww...Gross!

We went into the bathroom and I silently prayed, "Lord, thank you for my son who is willing and able to help me despite his own fears....thank you for being there to talk to...if it's your will you can tell that tick to let go and back out of my scalp...it would be easier but we will do whatever we have to do." I could feel my scalp and hair pulling as Jackson worked, hunched over my head....here I was again, on my knees but this time not for worship, but to give Jackson the ability to see what he was doing...it felt ironic, to say the least, and yet here in this strange circumstance, was yet another image from God. I was on my knees, unable to  extract the evil little parasite from myself, and standing over me was someone who could...gently and carefully with patience and precision, Jackson was able to pull it from my head....God stands over us with the skill of a surgeon, he can see things that have attached themselves to us that are parasites to our spirits...we are unable to do anything on our own...we need help. And as we are on our knees in humility, yielded, having admitted that we are powerless to help ourselves, God comes and stoops down to tend to our needs. He patiently removes the parasites and with precision and love helps us to acquire freedom from their grip!

A very strong image...us helpless, under attack from an enemy who wishes to suck the lifeblood from us...being tended to by God, tenderly and skillfully...just amazing!

In the end Jackson was able to get the tick onto a tissue...it had completely backed out and let go...it was still alive and crawling when we took a lighter and burned it and then flushed it down the toilet. I know that sounds harsh, but if you don't completely kill this particular parasite...it will come back. It may be you, a family member or a pet who would suffer the repercussions of it's survival. When a tick fills with the blood of its "host" it has babies, and the home is inundated with parasites. I realize that this isn't an exact representation of what I am going to share next, but this is where God took me next in the Bible when I was able to get back to my quiet time.(The leading of God's Spirit is mysterious and wonderful...how we are taken from point A to point B is just amazing!)

 "When an impure spirit comes out of a person, it goes through arid places seeking rest and does not find it. Then it says,' I will return to the house I left. ' Then it goes and takes with it seven other spirits more wicked than itself, and they go and live there. And the final condition of that person is worse than the first. " - Matthew 12:43-45

Jesus was describing the attitude of the nation and of the religious leaders. Just cleaning up one's life without filling it with God leaves plenty of room for Satan to enter. The book of Ezra records how people rid themselves of idolatry, but failed to replace it with love for God and obedience to him. Ridding our lives of sin is the first step. We must also take the second step: filing our lives with God's word and the Holy Spirit. Unfilled and complacent people are easy targets for Satan.

What an unusual morning I have had! I am strangely thankful...even for the tick! (Ewww)

For those of you who read these posts...Yes, I am still waiting! The mama Robin laid these eggs over a week ago. Each day we try to co-exist on my balcony. If she were to be given a test on "nest placement", I am afraid that she might have gotten an "F"...You see the nest is in a precarious place at the far corner of the balcony railing. In addition to that, there is no natural covering there to keep the babies safe from the heat and the rain. I have since rearranged things in order to keep the eggs safe...I moved my deck umbrella to cover the nest.

Yesterday it was 100 degrees outside. I decided to move the umbrella after watching the mother for awhile, she had her beak open and was barely able to keep her head up (although she did manage to stare me down through the window each time I that looked out to check on her) The news of impending thunder storms got me moving in the excessive heat pushing tables and chairs and pulling planters in order to make room for the umbrella and it's base on the far side of the balcony. Sweat rolled down my face as I worked diligently to help the new little family. Any one watching me probably thought that I was crazy...the air was thick and heavy and none of my neighbors were outside. Everyone else was sitting in their air conditioning, but I was determined to make shelter for these baby birds. After all it wasn't their fault that there mother failed nest placement 101...they were innocent, and they were going to be born vulnerable and needy.

All of this maneuvering and concern for these fragile little ones got me thinking (uh-oh...you know what happens when I start "thinking"...scary!)...I went inside to cool off and opened my bible...Jesus was born as a little helpless baby...The one with Dominion over all the heavens and earth, the uncontainable Holy King was born helpless and vulnerable...He was born to an every day run of the mill couple...he was born in a stable among common animals...He was born into a broken world.

This Robin is the most common of birds. Jesus was born into a common family in a little common town, to common parents of common means...

"While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no guest room available for them." - Luke 2:6-7

But this wasn't any common child...it was Jesus, the Word, who had created even the place where he was to be born, "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through Him all things were made; without Him nothing was made that has been made. In Him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. " - John1:1-5

God provided a stable for Jesus' birth. Among the created things he came into the world as a common child in a common place...but there was nothing common about Him.

This Robin's nest has been a gift. I watch the mother bird diligently sitting on the nest in the rain and in the severe heat. God has given her an instinct to protect and tend to her babies until they can manage on their own. I was glad to provide some shelter for this little family. It was the least that I could do. Every mother needs a covering for her and her children's protection. God reminds me that He is our covering...if we step out from under His covering the rain of chaos can sweep us away, the scorching heat of being disconnected form His protection can lead to death.

I am left with a concrete image of a mother and her children under a large red umbrella...God is my covering as I cover my own children...Thank you Lord for the things that you show me through your creation.

In Malawi, I will encounter mothers, fathers and children...There will be orphans and widows and complete families as well...all of them need to be under God's covering, the blood of Jesus...I will take the image of the bird's nest and the big red umbrella with me :) I will share God's covering with them.

"Martha, Martha", the Lord answered, "You are worried and upset about many things, but few things are needed - or indeed only one. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her." - Luke 10:41

This is my favorite time of year...the time for planting flowers and feeding hummingbirds. My children joke about me and my hummingbirds...they say, "One of these days we are going to come outside and you will have them on all leashes and drinking out of their water bowls". That is probably not far from the truth. (the tiny creatures fly right up to me and practically sit on my shoulder...they know somehow that it is OK to fly close to me and as I sit in stillness they move about me reminiscent of the Holy Spirit....smoothly dodging and flitting from here to there...able to move in any direction with out notice). Over the years I have hung feeders and planted lantana, salvia, bee balm, cup-phea, and various other nectar producing plants. I joy in loading my balcony with strategically placed sugar feeders and enticing blossoms. I even have a bright red umbrella to lure the little birds closer. To say I am obsessed is an over statement, but to say that I am enamored, well, that would be closer to the truth. God creates such amazing things! It isn't the birds themselves that amaze me, it is their creator. He takes my breath away with the detail and ingenuity of his engineering and strategy. Every creature is connected to every other in a woven tapestry of dazzling colors, lilting sounds, and life sustaining relationships...These are the things that draw me to sit at Jesus' feet. When I am outside in Nature...sitting in the midst of God's creation, I am able to shed the "Martha" mentality, and sit in awe and wonder...listening.

"Be still and know that I am God." - Psalm 46:10

God asks us to sit...still and unmoving...to focus our minds and spirits on him. In this fast paced day and age we all have a bit too much "Martha" and not nearly enough "Mary" in our lives. I see people overloading their schedules with; work, sports teams for the children...church activities...PTA meetings...on and on the list grows...To tell you the truth, it was even hard for me to come up with those things because I don't do that stuff any more. Happily I limit my extra circular endeavors as well as my children's. I do not live a sedentary life. I work in ministry. I disciple women. I am active in a community group. I have a family. I blog daily. I am going on a mission trip to Malawi. (You get the point, I don't just sit around all day eating bon-bons, although that sounds tempting!) But I have also made time to sit and listen to God. I get up at 5 a.m. every morning. I worship, I pray, I read scripture, I journal...I watch hummingbirds...I sit quietly and allow my spirit to settle and listen for the Lord.

I understand that not everyone is a "morning" person. I am not a "morning" person, or at least I wasn't until God impressed on my heart that He wanted more time alone with me. At that time in my life the kids were younger and the only way to spend time with the Lord was to get up early before everyone else did. And so, I got up. I have found that it is better for everyone that I spend hours with God before walking out the door into the world. I am able to focus on His character. He is able to fill me and challenge me, to convict me and renew me...He sits with me and we talk about many things.

I used to be like Martha. I used to be a bit obsessed about how things were done. Everything had it's place and I actually walked around the house "fixing" things that were askew...(seriously, what was wrong with me?!?) I wasted energy trying to control things over which
I would never have control. I cared about what things "looked like". But God wrecked that for me when I accepted Jesus as my Lord and Savior. Things got messy as I addressed the sin and the strongholds in my life. Someone with as much baggage as I had needed to spend time quietly watching hummingbirds...quietly sitting at the feet of Jesus...in awe...in wonder...speechless.

For those of you who know me, "speechless" is just about the last word that you would ever think of using to describe me. I am a verbose person with much to say about everything. It bubbles out even when I try to contain myself. You see, God gave me a new boldness when I left my old self behind. 2nd Corinthians 5:17 says, "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come. The old is gone, the new is here!" That was certainly true in my case. Those of you who knew me in high school know that I was shy and insecure. People thought that I was "stuck up" until they got to know me because I never spoke. I was uncomfortable talking in crowds and if I didn't already know you I wouldn't be caught dead starting a conversation. I didn't really "believe" in anything, so I had no forum to speak from. I bobbed and tossed bk and forth in an ocean of insecurity and fear daily...just waiting for the day that I would eventually drown. I tried to hurry things along by drinking and doing drugs...I desperately tried to "feel" something, anything...instead I merely existed, day after day after day...they ran together. And the "business" of my life ended up being yet another way that I was trying to escape my reality and not "feel" anything.

Now I want to experience everything. I think the difference is that I no longer have any fear. As I go through new things, or talk with new people, I come in confidence. I am a daughter of the most High God. I am loved and highly favored. I have been redeemed. I am chosen and well loved.

In peace I start my mornings, sitting at the feet of Jesus. He helps me lovingly deal with my problems. He tells me of His great plans for me. We watch the hummingbirds and enjoy the vibrant colors of freshly opened blossoms as their fragrance mingles between our spirits. We sit together and share our hopes and dreams for each other...our nation...the world. 

"But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. She came to him (Jesus) and asked, 'Lord, don't you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!' 'Martha, Martha,..Mary had chosen what is better and it will not be taken from her'." - Luke 10:38-42


Sometimes my family is dismayed that I will let dishes collect in the sink now, or not vacuum every day...they notice that the dusting is done less often, and that the laundry sits folded a bit longer before it makes its way back into the drawers... But hopefully what they notice even more, is the peace and strength and faith that allow me to choose Jesus over being "so busy" in my life. Hopefully my actions do indeed speak louder than my words. As a mother, it is my job to show my children how to be disciples. I have to be discipled by Jesus within their sight. I have to choose sitting at His feet over busy work.

How busy are you? When was the last time that you sat with Jesus? When was the last time that you stopped to smell the roses, or sat still long enough for a hummingbird to feel safe enough to fly right up to you? Life is filled with peace and joy when one takes the time to have a strong relationship with Jesus.

Jesus taught these truths about the act of worship:
*Prayer flows out of worship
*Because God is Spirit, He must be worshiped in spirit and truth.
*The body is to be an instrument of praise.

When the disciples asked Jesus to teach them about prayer, He gave them the Lord's prayer. He said, pray like this: "Our Father which art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, thy will be done in earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory forever. Amen" Matthew 6:9-13

Many repeat this prayer in church services, but this is a pattern for prayer...not meant to be spoken in rote repetition. Jesus' words "Pray like this" mean pray according to this pattern. When I was growing up people in my church treated the Lord's prayer like something magical; say the Lord's prayer and you had somehow repented and become right with God...No, this is merely a pattern for how we should come to the Lord in prayer, and those prayers should be organic and heartfelt, not memorized and cold. (Repentance is repentance and to those people I say "you have fooled yourself, get right before the Lord.")

The pattern starts and ends with worship. The essence of prayer is worship! You may be surprised to discover that of the sixty eight words in the Lord's prayer, thirty six are words of worship. (Yes I counted). More words of worship than words of request, this is the pattern of the Lord's prayer.

The first three statements concern God's honor, while the second three concern our interests. In true worship, the Father must be first. God must be all.

One of the ways that I pray the Lord's prayer is to personalize it..."My Father, oh, it's so wonderful that you are my Father... I love how that sounds... Your name is holy... You are perfect and sovereign and good... The great desire of my heart is for your kingdom to come here on earth. Father I long for your will to be done - here in the world - but also in my life. I want to bow my will to your will. Oh gracious and loving Father, I am asking you to give me what I need today... Please lead me away from anything that would tempt me to forget you... Guard my heart and deliver me from the evil one. May your very presence be a hedge of protection around my life. Oh my Lord, yours is the kingdom...You have all the power, and deserve all the glory for eternity... Father, please, let it be so. Amen"

Worshiping God in spirit and in truth means that I worship Him "truly". It means that I must have a mind filled with the truth of who God is. I must know God's word and be sincere. I worship God on the basis of my understanding of the truths about Him. Who He is, His character, determines how I worship. My knowledge of God limits my worship. If I don't know that He is wonderful, how can I say "You are the Wonderful One Lord"? If I don't know that God's word states that He is in control of all things, how can I praise Him with "You oh God, are Sovereign, the one whom I trust"? So to worship in truth, I must first fill my mind and heart with scripture which bears the complete truth of Jesus.

I must worship with a sincere heart. Spirit worship flows out of my human spirit. When Jesus says that we must worship the Father in spirit, the Greek word indicates He is referring to the human spirit, the inner person. It is the essence of who a person is. The intangible real part of who we are must reach out and touch the Father, who is Spirit, in worship... We are to commune, spirit to spirit.

"The one who joins himself to the Lord is one spirit with Him."
- 1 Cor6:17

According to watchman Nee, "Since God is Spirit, we must use spirit to worship Him."

Spirit worship must involve the Holy spirit. While everyone poses a human spirit, not everyone poses the holy Spirit. Apart from the Holy Spirit, it is impossible to worship God in the fullness of spirit and truth that Jesus spoke about in John 4:4-26 to the woman at the well...(to paraphrase...) She says "I thirst". He hears, "I yearn for face to face intimacy." She says, "I've had four husbands, but they have not satisfied my thirst." He says, "I can give you special water, living water that will become in you a perpetual spring from which you can drink so that you will never thirst again. This is spiritual water...it is from God - it IS God." She says, "As a Samaritan, I worship God in this way." He responds, "I can show you a new way to worship that will satisfy your thirsty soul." Jesus is saying that when she drinks of Him, the Holy Spirit will be inside her. This is where worship comes from, the inside out...When the living water of the Holy Spirit infuses our human spirit in worship, it becomes a spring that bubbles up producing a river of praise that delights God and blesses us in the process.

We also are to worship with our body. The word "rejoice" in Hebrew literally means: to spin around in joy. When you worship... when you praise God, your body should also be expressing your feelings, we should see lifted hands and bowed torsos, we should see people spinning and skipping and stretching and dancing (maybe even climbing up on chairs or laying prostrate on the floor)...worship should be filled with movement, as our spirits yield and soar and dance with God, so should these spiritual things be reflected in our faces and our bodies. I am not sure why some see this expression as too "charismatic" or "over the top"...God sees it as worship. Even King David danced in the streets, striped down to his very own self, without His kingly robes of definition, he danced naked before the Lord. (Now please don't get me wrong, you need to keep your clothes on at church), but your inner self, your spirit, should be naked before God, unconcealed and openly yielded to His Spirit.

Why so much contemplation about worship? Because God's word says that "God resides in the praises of His people"...I want to be wherever God is...if  worshiping in Spirit and truth is how I encounter God...then that is where you will find me...

So don't be surprised if you see me spinning down the aisles at church. If you do, don't judge me, join me instead!

Through the years God has made a way for me in what have appeared to be "impossible" situations...when I doubted or when I had faith, either way, He still came through for me. As the years have passed we have built a relationship and it's foundation has been the Lord's trustworthy character.

I can't begin to list the litany of situations in which He has come through for me, yet each time a new problem first raises it's ugly head, my natural instinct is to fear or worry...I stop and remind myself of who God is, sometimes by worshiping Him, sometimes by remembering how He has helped me in the past, sometimes by the encouraging stories of how He has assisted other Christians. I hold onto scriptures which promise me victory because of my standing with Jesus...I cherish the very loving nature of God...I believe in what I cannot see...a my feelings change to confidence and peace.

"Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see. This is what the ancients were commended for. By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God's command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible. By faith Abel brought a better offering than Cain did. By faith he was commended as righteous, when God spoke well of his offerings. And by faith Abel still speaks, even though he is dead. By faith Enoch was taken from this life, so that he did not experience death...By faith Noah, when warned about things not seen, in holy fear built an ark to save his family...By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went." - Hebrews 11:1-8

Throughout the ages as people have encountered the living God, they have acquired a sturdy confidence in things unseen...Because of who God is, and because what He says is true and trustworthy, a terrible situation can turn around into something which gives you peace and gives Him glory.

One of the most difficult times that I had only God to rely on, was when my youngest son Jackson got suddenly sick. He continued to get worse as the doctors tried to figure out what was wrong with him. It all began early one summer morning. I was asleep (but mom's have kid radar) I woke to a deep whistle like gasp followed by an eerie silence. I immediately got up and headed for the kids rooms. When I got to Jackson's he was standing up next to the bed, his eyes were watering and he wasn't breathing. He motioned towards his throat and I saw that he wasn't swallowing or breathing (my heart stopped!...adrenaline began to flow through my body...I went into triage mode) "What is wrong? Can you breath?" I shouted. Jackson nodded his head no. "Are you choking?" I pleaded. Again Jackson shook his head no. Then all of a sudden his body began wrenching and convulsing...I had no idea what was happening and started praying to God. Jackson pushed by me and quickly made his way to the bathroom. He threw up the toilet seat and began throwing up violently.

After ten minutes or so he settled down and was able to talk. Tears from not breathing had streamed down his face. We hugged each other and his body was limp in my arms from exhaustion. This was to be the first of 8 nights of unknown trauma.

Jackson explained that he was asleep and woke feeling as if he had no breath. When he sat up he said it felt like his throat had closed and he couldn't breath or swallow. We both shared with each other that we had prayed and asked God to help us...and agreed that we had felt His marvelous presence and that His peace had kept both of us level headed.

I took Jackson to the doctor. After explaining what had occurred, the doctor prescribed liquid steroids and nebulizer treatments as Jackson has asthma. When Jackson described the not being able to swallow feeling the doctor assured us that an attack can be so severe that it can "feel" that way. We went home and followed the doctors orders. That night, I awoke to the horrible gasp again. Same story...Jackson unable to move air, eyes tearing and bulging, we held each other and prayed. After what felt like days, Jackson's air way would open again and he could breath.

The next day I called the doctor desperate and tired (Jackson and I didn't sleep for the next week). He assured me that eventually things would settle down. They didn't...they got worse. It started happening during the day. It happened when we were out at a store. Suddenly my teenager need around the clock surveillance. I couldn't leave him home alone. We were fearful to be out somewhere in case we needed to get to a hospital. Night after night I held my cell phone ready to press "911"...night after night just when I started to call, Jackson would again be able to breathe.

Finally I made an appointment with an allergy specialist to address the "asthma". When I called, they didn't have an appointment for another week. I sent out a prayer request to everyone I knew who prayed, and within an hour the doctor's office called me back with a cancellation. Jackson had an appointment that day!

We spent an hour answering questions and when we were through, the doctor handed me a pamphlet. "He has Larynpharengeal Reflux" he said. "What is that?" I asked feeling a bit puzzled. "It is when the acid from the stomach travels up the esophagus and past the Larynx to the vocal chords. The vocal chords close together from the shock of the acid touching them and the patient can't breath or swallow. Eventually they open again." "How long will it last? Will he pass out? Will he need to go to the hospital? Can he die from it?"...Ugh so many questions. The final answer was that every case was different. We left the office with prescriptions galore and a diet change and headed home. Several more days passed with night time awakenings, but eventually the diet and medicines began to work.

Over the years we have learned to live with this strange disease. The most amazing thing is how our faith was strengthened, and our bond was strengthened too. This wasn't just a parent saying "You need to pray and trust God"...this was a parent praying as a child stood breathless. This was a child confessing peace and assurance when he could speak again, that he knew God was with us and in control. Not being able to breath or swallow, Jackson had peace.

We were able to believe in something that could not be seen. God is Spirit. His people must worship Him in Spirit and in truth. His people must trust in Him and believe that He is able.

The most difficult times in our lives can be a training ground which strengthens our faith and our resolve. God makes a way where there is no way. God is worthy of our trust. God is able!

From the moment that I accepted Jesus as my Lord and Savior, I have been hearing how "over the top" I am. "There is no need to change your entire life" some say..."Why do you always have to talk about God so much? It makes me uncomfortable", others muse..."Because it is all that I can do" my spirit yells out at the top of it's lungs.

I grew up in a Church that never reached me. My memories are of a long and boring service peppered with garish organ blasts and hymns that made no sense to me. A scary looking man would ascend to the peak of his wooden pulpit and drone on endlessly...no one ever explained what he was saying...we didn't read the bible at home...our prayers were cold and rote...is there any wonder that I didn't love Jesus (I don't think I was ever introduced to him at church or at home)

My family had it's own stellar dysfunction as every family does. I was lost and bobbing in a sea of hypocrisy and boredom that eventually led me to rebel in every way that I could find. My life was as far from understanding the truth as a life can be.

I sought unconditional love over and over...each new relationship more broken than the last. In some sick way I feel that I sought out broken men to shock and dismay my parents at the time, to let them know the rage that my heart contained...it was a dark life, filled with sullen looks and void of any real joy.

Decades passed and still I was wandering through life. The only good thing that I managed to do was have children, and yet I did not realize where the gift had come from. In my lost and prideful state I managed to find the only unconditional love of my life which poured from me to them...yet still I yearned for that kind of love to come from someone else to me. I am not saying that my parents didn't love me that way, they did, but somehow though their inadequacies and shortcomings, the love never got interpreted by me that way. My brother was a special needs child and my sister so many years older than I that we had no real connection...I had come to the conclusion that this is what life had to offer, and politely waited for it to end some day.

When I had most definitely wandered as far from God as I think one can get...He began to relentlessly pursue me (well He had always been pursuing me, but this is when I became aware of His pursuit). All of the seeds that had been planted (even though my church and home life didn't teach me about God, the truths contained in his perfect word could not be damaged...even in a lifeless place, the life contained in His word remained dormant in my heart until I was ready and longing to receive it!) God's love pursues us, especially while we are still sinners.

"You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous person, though for a good person, someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrated his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us."

- Romans 5:6-8

Here is the truth...no matter how far you run, you can't outrun God. He is with you whether you realize it or not. The truth of God penetrates hearts (even stony cold and crusty ones like mine) and begins to free them and soften them, making them pliable and warm. Even if you are making a face as if something smells and shaking your head at me as you read this...even so, the word of God that you have read will reside in your heart, the seeds will sow, and my friend, someday, they will germinate. The truth is that the word of God is alive and active. The bible is not merely a book, but the truth of Jesus Christ and all of his glory in written form. The honest truth is that Jesus was not "just some man" but God himself, willing to forfeit his power and standing to come into this world as a baby, live among men, and die at their hands...all to conquer the death that they themselves had brought into the world that He had created. The truth is that even if you do not recognize the truth, that cannot take away it's power, and that truth has the power to save each and every one of us.

The book of Isaiah says that "So it is with my word that goes out from my mouth: It  will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it." - Isaiah 55:11

Whether you realize it or not, God sends His word into our lives. His truth speaks in scriptures... through people... through nature....there is no escape, or excuse. The only thing that keeps us from turning back to God is the rebellion of our own hearts...the refusal to acknowledge our neediness, the pride of our fallen souls.

God is pursuing you. God loves you. God is able and willing to redeem you...all it takes is your belief and acceptance. All it requires is your desire to be free...He is waiting for you.

I have a balcony at my house. Every summer I delight in nature as I plant flowers and feed hummingbirds. It is the place is where I can be found from Spring until Winter...sitting outside...breathing the fresh air...marveling at nature.

Five days ago I was watering the planters along the balcony railing. As I did, I looked inside one planter and saw a perfect round nest...so perfect that at first I thought it was a joke, that someone in my family had "put" it there (as if one can just go out and buy a bird's nest somewhere...well, this is America, one probably can...anyway it was perfectly round!). One minute it wasn't there, the next minute"poof" there it was! I was intrigued by the prospect of baby birds beingg born on my balcony (that sounds a bit  like a Dr. Suess book title...lol) and began my daily "watching" of the nest.

I saw the mother bird, a robin, sitting in the nest one day. She was, how can I say this nicely, "HUGE", the fattest robin I had ever seen. She sat in the nest and looked at me... barely tolerant of my incessant peering through the sliding doors windows at her. I tried to be ninja-esk but that is not one of  my gifts. Each time I tried to see what she was doing she gave me a look as if saying"you again, don't you ever sleep?...ugh" and then she would hop off the nest and fly down to the ground below. When she left the nest she watched me intensely...I was almost afraid to water the plants, picturing her flying directly at me, pecking my face furiously...instead she just watched, her tiny little eyes following my every move.

The first evening when I checked inside the nest, there was a perfect blue egg. I was surprised that she had left it alone. I had thought that once an egg was laid, the mother had to sit on it for it to hatch.
Day two, same scenario...mama bird sits on nest...mama bird gives me the evil eye when I come out to water plants...mama bird flies away from nest...mama bird freaks me out with thoughts of the movie "the birds"...I rush through watering the plants and quickly turn the balcony back over to her. At the end of day two...there were two eggs. This continued until yesterday...now there are four.

The prospect of baby birds residing just outside my bedroom window is exciting. The placement of this nest makes it so easy to see everything. How often does one get a gift like this. I begin (as I always do) to ponder...what does this mean?...what is God trying to show me?

Everything in life has a lesson wrapped up neatly inside of it...a parable of sorts. All of the truth of God's kingdom plays out in nature. Watching what happens in nature helps me understand God's character and creative abilities. It proves His order and great attention to detail. It showcases His love and His Sovereignty...

Over the years I have noticed the trend of God using nature to exemplify a point to me. As I prepare for my mission trip to Malawi, God has been reminding me that He is "doing a new thing"...now literally He is doing many "new" things...but there is an underlying maturation going on that will be used in my ministry for His kingdom. As this unfolds, the revelations that I am having seem to be corresponding directly to the robin and her eggs...

Each day God reveals a new "egg"...each egg looks the same, but inside are completely distinct creatures. The nest in which He is placing this newness seemingly popped up in perfect form overnight just like the new things that He is speaking into my heart...and as He delivers one egg at a time, He makes me wait...each day He watches me from a nearby place as I peer inside and look at what has been birthed...it is an extraordinary experience.

God is not using a fancy bird, but the most common of birds in this region; a robin. God is not placing the nest in a tree high above me where I can only speculate what cool things are happening inside, but has given me an up close and personal "birds eye view" (sorry I couldn't help myself :))...God hasn't distanced me from the birth, but rather included me somehow in the process...He is doing a new thing!

"the former things have taken place, and new things I declare; before they spring into being I announce them to you." -
Isaiah 42: 9

"He put a new song in my mouth, a hymn of praise to our God." - Psalm 40:3

"Because of the Lord's great love we are not consumed, for His compassions never fail, they are new every morning." - Lamentations 3:23

"Whoever has ears, let him hear what the spirit says to the churches. To the one who is victorious, I will give some of the hidden manna. I will also give that person a white stone with a new name written on it, known only to the one who receives it." - Revelation 2:17

These are merely a few scriptures from God's word that speak of newness...God is constantly doing a new thing. He is the only one capable of creating something new. He wants to create in us a new heart...He wants to birth a spirit who yields their will to His and lives in a new peace along with Him...through the shed blood of Jesus Christ all of us can be "new".

I am excited to see the babies hatch and grow...I know that God will be teaching me many lessons for my life from this wonderful little gift. As I prepare for Malawi and for my service to God in all capacities, I remain willing to experience the "new" things that He generously is birthing in my life.

Thank you Lord that you are willing and able to make all things "new"!

What good is a wall of protection that has a hole in it? How will it keep anyone out? Isn't a wall with a breach in it as bad as salt that has lost it's flavor? It has become useless for it's intended purpose.

In the bible God talks about a "hedge of protection". When I first heard the words I as any good American, pictured  a bunch of trimmed hedges surrounding a person or a place (not very fortified...you can just step over a hedge right?). I eventually looked up the word and it's definition in the Hebrew language from the time that it was written. It turns out that a hedge was a wall. A vineyard for example, would have a hedge built around it. Many times there would be thick thorny briers placed on top of the high wall. Not only was it difficult to climb, but if you did manage to get to the top, the briers like a natural barbed wire, would keep you from getting over the wall.

God mentions a hedge of protection in the book of Job when Satan is proposing all of the reasons why Job remains faithful to God. He suggests that God take the hedge away and see how thankful his servant Job would be then.

"Does Job fear God for nothing? Satan replied. Have you not put a hedge around him and his household and everything he has? You have blessed the work of his hands, so that his flocks and herds are spread throughout the land. But now stretch out your hand and strike everything he has and he will surely curse you to your face." - Job 1:9-11

Just in case you haven't read the story, Job still doesn't curse God, but because the hedge of protection has been removed, his children and his flocks are killed, and great illness befalls him...every good blessing gets attacked.

When God chose Israel to be a nation set apart and Holy, he put a hedge around them as a nation. He qualified that "if" they remained obedient to His ways they would thrive. They fell away and eventually God took their hedge away and they were held captive by the Assyrians.

When we stray from God as the Israelites did, God tries to bring us to repentance, but in our pride and rebellion we move further and further from His truth and His ways.

God appointed watchmen to warn Nations of their rebellion, he sent prophets, and eventually He sent His Son. Many continue to rebel. Many have chosen to live outside of God's protection. God sent a new hedge...a perfect protection...a covering that is impenetrable...He sent Jesus.

We each have a huge hole in our hedges...a breach of bricks blown away by our sin. Anything can easily get through that broken place and we are vulnerable to attack. But there is wonderful news!...God sent His son to cover us. The Holy perfect blood of Jesus is our hedge, our impenetrable wall of protection. By accepting Christ as Lord we are able to once again be safe from the enemy. Christ keeps us until His return.

There is a gap in the wall of our Nation as well...God looks for those willing to stand in that gap and pray. He looks for even one, not wanting any to perish. (Ezekiel 22)

God is forever giving us chances to get right with Him...He relentlessly pursues His lost ones with love and kindness. Those who have turned from Him are still the love of His heart and He wants to bless them. But God will not bless forever. The day will come for judgement. Only those who stand within the protection of Christ will be able to stand - not for anything that we have done other than to accept and declare His reign over our lives. The choice to acknowledge Christ as our only refuge is indeed our "only refuge".


When we begin to trust in our own abilities, the bricks of God's protective wall begin to loosen. As we begin to take pride in our own accomplishments forgetting God who has given us every resource and ability, the bricks begin to fall. When our pride cuts us off from relationship with God, our bricks lay piled on the ground, having left a damaging hole in the wall left open for any one who wants to to enter. We stand fully vulnerable to attack.

People, there is an enemy of our souls. There is a war going on for our lives. There is a need for protection. Are you standing inside a broken wall, believing that you are secure?...You are not. Your life requires the perfect protection of Jesus, the only protection from the enemy.


In the book of Nehemiah the people began to rebuild the fallen wall of their captive Nation. "Above the horse gate the priests made repairs, each in front of his own house." - Nehemiah 3:28 (each man repaired his own part of the wall and eventually the wall for the entire Nation was repaired) We are each responsible for our own brokenness - as we become whole...so does the Nation.

Does your hedge look like the picture in this post?...Or are you securely covered by Christ...