Do What You Can Captain

Be prepared. You’re up against far more than you can handle on your own. Take all the help you can get, every weapon God has issued, so that when it’s all over but the shouting you’ll still be on your feet. Truth, righteousness, peace, faith, and salvation are more than words. Learn how to apply them. You’ll need them throughout your life. Ephesians 6:13  Message Bible Years ago, we had a family reunion at a beach house on Galveston Island.  My nephew and niece were about 6 years old and they were standing looking out over the Gulf of Mexico … Continue reading Do What You Can Captain

How’s Your Appetite?

 O how love I thy law! it is my meditation all the day. Psalm 119:97 I planned what I thought would be a wonderful summer project for the kids I work with – composting with worms.  My great idea was that they could recycle leftovers from their lunches by feeding it to the worms and by summer’s end they would see the beautiful compost the worms made of it. I made two assumptions that proved to be wrong. 1.     Not all kids like to handle worms.  In fact, out of 25 kids, I could only get two or three to … Continue reading How’s Your Appetite?

The Me Jesus Loves

One disciple, the one whom Jesus loved, was near him at the table. John 13:23 Five times in the gospel of John, written by John, John is referred to as the disciple that Jesus loved or the beloved disciple. John is not described this way in the other three gospel accounts. I find this endearing. John grasped something that the others seemed to have missed, something that perhaps, we miss also. While other disciples were professing their undying love and loyalty, John was basking in the love that Jesus had for him. Maybe John described himself this way because he … Continue reading The Me Jesus Loves

Fall Season

There is a time for everything,    and a season for every activity under the heavens: Ecclesiastes 31:1 Fall has arrived here in the PNW. Oh, it’s not quite as colorful right now as that picture, but the leaves are changing colors and some have started to fall from the trees. In due time, the beauty of fall will be evidenced all around us. Fall is a time of shedding off the old, not just leaves from the trees but those things in our personal life: thoughts, feelings, behaviours that may have served us well in a previous season but may hinder our … Continue reading Fall Season

Battle Strategy for Victory!!

And at the seventh time, when the priests blew the trumpets, Joshua said to the people, “Shout! For the Lord has given you the city. Joshua 6:16 It’s a rather familiar story, the Israelites were beginning the process of taking over the Promised Land. They weren’t trained for battle but God devised a plan that required three things of them – walk around the city, keep your mouth shut and at the appointed time let out a shout! The appointed time for the shout was before the walls came down, not after! They were used to walking having spent years in the … Continue reading Battle Strategy for Victory!!

God Will Not Forsake You

I will lead the blind by ways they have not known, along unfamiliar paths I will guide them; I will turn the darkness into light before them and make the rough places smooth. These are the things I will do; I will not forsake them. Isaiah 42:16 Today I drove around trying to find garage sales. Turns out that some of the signs were for sales that had happened previously and had not been taken down. Some of the signs had arrows pointing a certain direction but no address and no further signs to discover. I got so turned around … Continue reading God Will Not Forsake You

Cheerfulness is Good Medicine

A cheerful heart is good medicine, Proverbs 17:22 Years ago, when my son was 4 years old, he told me out of the blue me that Jesus just wanted us to play with Him.  At the time, I thought it was cute, it wasn’t until later that I realized how truly profound it is. Watch a child play and you will know they aren’t thinking about tomorrow, they aren’t dwelling on the past, they are focused on right now. My son asks me to play with him quite regularly.  And I do play with him a lot but sometimes I … Continue reading Cheerfulness is Good Medicine

Power in the Word

Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful. Joshua 1:8 I’ll be honest here, sometimes, days go by and I haven’t picked up the Bible one time. There have also been weeks and months when that happened.  I can say I treasure the Word of God, that I believe in the Word of God, that I have been transformed by the Word of God, that I have been healed by the Word of … Continue reading Power in the Word

Finding Peace in God’s Presence

Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4: 6-7 I don’t seem to be able to turn it off – the cacophony of words, thoughts, accusations, speculations and doubts that are running through my mind and seemingly never ending. I know better – I know God is in control. I know God is with me and that God loves me, has forgiven me and … Continue reading Finding Peace in God’s Presence

Turning Pain into Praise

Not all of my days go the way I planned them.  Some fall short of my expectations.  Sometimes pain interrupts my plans.  Sometimes it is because of something I did or did not do; sometimes it is because of something someone else did or did not do.  Sometimes my long term projects fall short of completion.  Sometimes my goals, my hopes, my desires get lost in the shuffle of today and all that it offers.  This verse speaks to me for those days: Though the cherry trees don’t blossom and the strawberries don’t ripen, Though the apples are worm-eaten  and the wheat … Continue reading Turning Pain into Praise