30 May 2014 Happy Birthday, Ben!
Psalm 56:4
I praise God for what he has promised. I trust in God, so why should I be afraid? What can mere mortals do to me?

Today is my last kid’s eighth birthday. Time is flying by.  

I praise God for what he has promised... When I was a little girl, I knew I wanted 4 kids of my own when I would be a mom. I don’t know who is responsible for planting ideas that turn into dreams into the minds of little girls. But since so many of them have come true, I’m beginning to wonder!

We had 3 kids really close together. And then one night they all started praying for me to have another baby. The youngest at that time was 4. We were on the older side of the biological clock and hadn’t conceived in 4 years and were only getting older. But our kids kept praying every night. My husband and I thought it was amusing. Then they got more specific; the baby needs to be a boy so there would be another boy for our other son. Who put that dream out there for my three kids to pray in agreement on and believe wholeheartedly every single night?

As almost a year went by we were about to explain to the kids that mommy is older and we could get them a puppy, of course, we found out that not only a baby was on the way, but also, OF COURSE, it was a boy!

Who planted the idea that our family would have another baby? An idea that I had had 30 years ago, or the same notion that got my kids praying very specific prayers to God at night sure looks like an answered promise to me.

I trust in God... It honestly never entered my kids’ mind that I would not have a baby and a boy baby for sure because they told God their need. They trust in him. And he showed them in grand fashion what the Bible says in many places:  No one who puts their hope in God will ever regret doing so or come away disappointed (Psalm 25:3 & Romans 10:11).

I trust in God AND I praise God for what he has promised.

Matthew 19:14
Jesus said, “Let the children come to me. Don’t stop them! For the Kingdom of Heaven belongs to those who are like these children.

My kids know this firsthand. They freely come to Jesus all on their own, and he doesn't hide himself from them or disappoint them at all. THIS is the promise that I see God fulfilling in my life. We teach our kids about God’s love and faithfulness and they choose HIM for themselves. 

Psalm 128:1-4 A Promise from God:
How joyful are those who fear the Lord--
all who follow his ways!
You will enjoy the fruit of your labor.
How joyful and prosperous you will be!
Your wife will be like a fruitful grapevine,
flourishing within your home.
Your children will be like vigorous young olive trees
as they sit around your table.
That is the Lord’s blessing
for those who fear him.

Dear God,
Thank you so much for a house full of children! Thank you for the joy of celebrating Benjamin’s birthday together today. Thank you for the big kids loving to tell our little guy of how he came to be. They all know YOU did this for us. They all know that you generate, keep, and fulfill promises. I praise you and thank you for being so amazing to my family. None of us have ever regretting putting our hope in you. I love you so much and I just can’t thank you enough! Amen.

28 May 2014 “Healthy People Don’t Need A Doctor”
Luke 5:31-32
Jesus answered them, “Healthy people don’t need a doctor—sick people do. I have come to call not those who think they are righteous, but those who know they are sinners and need to repent.”

The spiritual significance of this passage is obvious and relevant and helpful. In Luke chapter 5, Jesus is being ridiculed by pious people for eating and visiting with Levi, the cheating tax collector, and his cheating tax collector friends. But everything about Levi is going to change (including his name!) He leaves his corrupt and cheating ways and follows Jesus wholeheartedly for the rest of his life. He was “sick.” And Jesus healed him.

I think it’s funny that Jesus’ response to the Pharisees is that healthy people don’t need a doctor since every single one of us qualify for and are in desperate need of the “medicine” of Jesus’ forgiveness from our sins. We all need saving. And Jesus, just Jesus, makes us righteous (Romans 3:22). Then, the righteous (the ones who believe in Jesus) aren’t sick anymore.

This is so difficult for our society to grasp. People voluntarily adopt very specific medicinal and dietary changes in their life so they won’t get sick. And people who take medicine when they’re not sick actually create disease as we have seen with antibiotic resistant bacteria that can’t be eradicated from modern operating rooms.

Healthy people don’t need a doctor. And healthy people don’t need to live like a sick person anymore. People who don’t have celiac disease do not need to eat a gluten free diet. Yet we have a HUGE (way huge-er than the population of people with the disease) eating on gluten free diets. So much so that there are menu pages dedicated to these not diseased people in restaurants. These Paleo-dieters are feeling sluggish, not shaking common colds, and losing their hair 6 month into it. There are so many healthy people living like sick people. Does anyone consider the consequence might actually be disease from this unnecessary self-preserving lifestyle changes?

Sick people need a doctor. Sick people need medicine. Sick people. Perfectly healthy people shouldn’t be taking medicine just in case. They are not sick. Medicine and radical diets should only be taken if you’re sick. It is not for keeping diseases away.




Spiritually speaking, Believers aren’t “sick” anymore. We don't need to try and impress God by what we do anymore. We shouldn’t be living like “sick” people. 

Consider what Colossians 2:13-23 says:
You were dead because of your sins and because your sinful nature was not yet cut away. Then God made you alive with Christ, for he forgave all our sins. He canceled the record of the charges against us and took it away by nailing it to the cross.  In this way, he disarmed the spiritual rulers and authorities. He shamed them publicly by his victory over them on the cross.
So don’t let anyone condemn you for what you eat or drink, or for not celebrating certain holy days or new moon ceremonies or Sabbaths.  For these rules are only shadows of the reality yet to come. And Christ himself is that reality.  Don’t let anyone condemn you by insisting on pious self-denial or the worship of angels, saying they have had visions about these things. Their sinful minds have made them proud, and they are not connected to Christ, the head of the body. For he holds the whole body together with its joints and ligaments, and it grows as God nourishes it. You have died with Christ, and he has set you free from the spiritual powers of this world. So why do you keep on following the rules of the world, such as, “Don’t handle! Don’t taste! Don’t touch!”? (WE ARE NOT SICK ANYMORE!) Such rules are mere human teachings about things that deteriorate as we use them. These rules may seem wise because they require strong devotion, pious self-denial, and severe bodily discipline. But they provide no help in conquering a person’s evil desires.

And, spiritually speaking, for the unbelievers... they are in desperate need of the Great Physician!

Dear God,
Help me not to ever get caught up in trying to “save my own life” by trying to conquer my own selfish desires apart from you. Thank you that by believing in your Son, my heart is made good and healthy. Thank you that I am not bound to jumping through any hoops to make myself right with you. Thank you that Jesus is all that I need. Help me not to do things the way society dictates for “good” living or to fall into the trap of what pious people think Christians should do or to search for ‘medicine’ to make my life better -because I am not sick. Jesus rescued me! Help me to do what you want me to do set by the example that only Jesus gives. I love you and praise you and pray in Jesus’ name. Amen.

27 May 2014 “The Meaning of Life”
Acts 20:24
But my life is worth nothing to me unless I use it for finishing the work assigned me by the Lord Jesus—the work of telling others the Good News about the wonderful grace of God.

What’s the meaning of life? Have a restored relationship with God! (2 Corinthians 5:18-21)

What’ the purpose of my life? Tell others the meaning of life! (Finish the work assigned me by the Lord Jesus - the work of telling others the Good News about the wonderful grace of God.)

That’s why Believers are encouraged in Ephesians 5:15-17 to make the most of every opportunity to share the Good News about God’s wonderful grace. Be careful how you live. Don’t live like fools, but like those who are wise. Make the most of every opportunity in these evil days.  Don’t act thoughtlessly, but understand what the Lord wants you to do.

Understand what the Lord wants you to do... He wants me to finish the work he assigned us.

Otherwise, the  Believer’s life is meaningless (worth nothing to us) unless we use this life (and every opportunity presented) to share the Good News about the wonderful grace of God!




It really is GOOD NEWS!




I can share with people who don’t know about God’s grace and how they can get relief from their guilt and forgiveness from their sins. I can share with Believers to reminding ourselves that the reason we’re Christians is that we not only get relief from Jesus’ life, but we, in fact, get to live HIS life! His GRACE continually and constantly is available to Believers as well. We fill our hearts up with how much we love and appreciate what Jesus has done, and he is able to seep out of us! That is how we are able to follow Jesus’ marching orders for us to share the Good News of God’s grace. (Matthew 28:19-20)




And THAT is my very purpose for existence, AND it is, indeed, the Meaning of Life.




Dear God,

Thank you for revealing your purpose for our lives here. It’s not only for the joy of preparation of being with you for eternity, thanks to what Jesus has done, but also for me to share with others -  Believers and unbelievers alike. Help me to encourage one group and inform the other. Help me today to take advantage of every opportunity I get today to share your unfathomable grace to both groups. I love you and thank you and pray in Jesus’ name. Amen.

22 May 2014
Galatians 5:13 “Selfishness v. Love”
For you have been called to live in freedom, my brothers and sisters. But don’t use your freedom to satisfy your sinful nature. Instead, use your freedom to serve one another in love.

Last night at Jr. High girls’ Bible Study class we were reading about Jesus’ invitation to us from Mark 8:34. He said, “If any of you wants to be my follower, you must turn from your selfish ways, take up your cross, and follow me.” Our sinful nature is our selfish ways. All of our sins stem from selfishness or Jesus would have added more ways from which we need to turn. Turn from your angry ways, your lying ways, your cheating ways, your prideful ways... But all of those things, anger to pride, are rooted in selfishness, aren’t they?

So if the opposite of following Jesus is following our selfish ways, then the opposite of selfishness isn’t unselfishness. The opposite of selfishness is love. Jesus said to turn from our selfish ways and follow me, and we know that all of Jesus’ actions are rooted in love. So the opposite of living in selfish ways is to live like Jesus, who acts in love.

Instead, use your freedom to serve on another in love. See that? Love.

Dear God,
Help me to not be directed by the selfish things I would prefer to do and say today. Instead, I want to be like Jesus and have all my motives be rooted in love. Thank you for giving me the option to even be like Jesus through the power of your Holy Spirit whom you graciously give to all Believers. Help me to use this freedom you give to love everyone by letting Jesus’ love seep through me. I thank you so much that this is your plan and purpose for me! And I praise you and thank you and pray in Jesus’ name. Amen.

19 May 2014 “Be My Carotene”
James 1:17
But the wisdom from above is first of all pure. It is also peace loving, gentle at all times, and willing to yield to others. It is full of mercy and good deeds. It shows no favoritism and is always sincere.

This passage is not a checklist for me to critique myself by to see if I’m being godly enough. This passage is describing what godly wisdom looks like. I can see it in Jesus as he is described in the New Testament, I can identify it in others by their actions, so how can I get me some?

Wisdom that is pure, peace loving, gentle, and willing to yield sounds really good. But when I consider these behaviors a checklist, then these wonderful things would be products that I can manufacture by my own will power, strength, and resolve. But from personal experience I have found that trying harder almost feels like failing faster.

Jesus says, “Yes, I am the vine; you are the branches. Those who remain in me, and I in them, will produce much fruit. For apart from me you can do nothing.” Jesus is the one with the pure, peace loving, gentle, yielding wisdom, not me or anyone slick guru selling a how to book. Without Jesus IN me I can do nothing.

Babies who love carrots and sweet potatoes look hilarious to me. Their cheeks are actually tainted orange for a little while. It’s the carotene in the plant that gives off that orange hue, and a kid exuding a bit of that orange hue must have consumed a ton of it!

I need to consume a ton of Jesus. Then he can eek out of me like carotene. I need to read all about him often in the books Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. You can’t read those accounts of his interaction with others and not just be totally in love with all that he is. I need to think about Jesus often. I need to just verbally tell him out loud and often that I love him. I need to remind myself all the time and often how much he loves me. This mindset changes everything. It allows Jesus to be my carotene. I’ll be different on the outside because of what I have consumed on the inside. Wisdom that is pure, peace loving, gentle and willing to yield will be successfully available to me. It will come out of me. It will not be a set of chores that I have to try and accomplish because Jesus already accomplished it and promises to graciously pour it out through me.

Philippians 2:13
God is working IN me (We are not working side by side in some kind of partnership.) giving me the desire and the ability to do what pleases him (Without HIM I can do NOTHING!).

Dear Lord Jesus,
You are in my heart. Please seep out of me today. I love you so much. I love how kind and compassionate you are when I read about you. I love how comforting you are to me when I call out to you. I love what you did for me so that I can have a relationship with you forever. I love you so much and I want to be just like you. Thank you for working in my heart that I might ooze your character today. I love you and thank you and pray in your name. Amen.

15 May 2014 “It’s a Mystery”
Ecclesiastes 11:5
Just as you cannot understand the path of the wind or the mystery of a tiny baby growing in its mother’s womb, so you cannot understand the activity of God, who does all things.

People don’t like mysteries. I think it’s because our human nature is prideful and arrogant, and a “mystery,” by nature, means we don’t know everything.

1 Timothy 3:16 describes the Trinity as the great mystery of our faith. People don’t like this mystery; they’d rather say God isn’t real. But just because they say it doesn’t make it true.

Ephesians 5:31-32 describes another mystery:
“As the Scriptures say, “A man leaves his father and mother and is joined to his wife, and the two are united into one.” This is a great mystery, but it is an illustration of the way Christ and the church are one.” How two people turn into one person has invisible qualities; it can’t be explained - people don’t want to trust this invisible alliance anymore, so what is now being redefined in our day and age...marriage!

This Ecclesiastes passage declares the mystery of the womb. There is a full blown life in there. It’s a mystery how it happens, the cel division, the space, the perfection of it all taking place with no committee oversight. A world that can’t stand mystery wants to destroy the mystery by destroying the meaning. So they say life doesn’t begin at conception. Although it defies all logic and betrays all common sense, it’s worth it because it makes us feel like we know everything.

But just because someone states something doesn’t make it true. It makes them suckers in the hands of the Enemy. The very people who think they are so smart not to be an instrument of God chooses still to be someone else’s instrument. They think they’ve made themselves free by dispelling all mysteries when in all actuality they are being played by the Enemy who wants their pride and arrogance to keep them from having a relationship with the Creator of the Mysteries.

A person can lie on their online dating service profile all they want - even post a false or enhance picture, but that doesn’t make their stats true. And the truth will be revealed at the date!

God is not providing mysteries for us to solve. It’s more that we should be mulling these things over and consider DEEPLY just how amazing God is!

Dear God,
I like your mysteries! There are many! I can’t figure out so many things, but it sure does relieve my anxiety trusting in the One who knows everything about everything. I love you so much and I thank you and praise you in Jesus’ name, amen.

13 May 2014 So I'm Beautiful
Proverbs 31:30
Charm is deceptive, and beauty does not last; but a woman who fears the Lord will be greatly praised.

This passage, of course, reminds me on a couple of New Testament passages geared toward womenfolk.

Like 1 Timothy 2:9  ...Women should adorn themselves in respectable apparel, with modesty and self-control, not with braided hair and gold or pearls or costly attire.

There is nothing wrong with hairdos, jewelry, and I new duds, but these things are not what makes one beautiful. I’ve seen plenty of people all fancy on the outside, but they’re just not beautiful people; not a person I’d want to have a conversation with or even be around. Beauty is inviting by nature. So a beautiful person draws me to them not the opposite.

And how about 1 Peter 3:3-5 ...Don’t be concerned about the outward beauty of fancy hairstyles, expensive jewelry, or beautiful clothes. You should clothe yourselves instead with the beauty that comes from within, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is so precious to God.  This is how the holy women of old made themselves beautiful. They trusted God and accepted the authority of their husbands.

I must say that the people I’ve encountered over the years (few in number) who have gentle and quiet spirits are incredibly inviting, captivating, and beautiful regardless of their age or physical features. I also think it’s interesting to note that according to this passage from 1 Peter, trusting in God makes one beautiful. That sounds way cheaper than a night cream.

But what about the “and accepted the authority of their husbands” part? Does this puzzle anyone? That would make a women beautiful? Yes. Yes, it does. It doesn’t say here that these women agreed with every single thing their husbands said or did, but just that they accepted the husband’s position. Humility is beautiful. Everybody knows that. The feministic, get ahead, ball-busting, she-dragon of the modern workforce is not an attractive person. Remember the movie The Proposal? The Sandra Bullock character may have been attractive, but nobody wanted be around her because of her personality - not beautiful. And that movie character is simply an amalgam of what women think they want to be in our day and age. 

But Jesus is humble. He accepted his position. When he appeared in human form, he humbled himself in obedience to God (Philippians 2:8). That is the example set by our Lord, and King David labeled that as beautiful in Psalm 27:4.
One thing I ask from the Lord,
this only do I seek:
that I may dwell in the house of the Lord
all the days of my life,
to gaze on the beauty of the Lord
and to seek him in his temple.

The REAL secret to being a beautiful woman...
According to Ephesians 3:17, Jesus dwells in our hearts through faith. And Proverbs 27:19 says that the heart reflects the real person. Therefore, Jesus in my heart is what makes me beautiful!

Dear God,
My husband tells me all the time how beautiful I am and you and I both know where that comes from! Thank you for your presence in my life, your Holy Spirit in my heart teaching and reminding me all that Jesus says, and THAT is  being reflected in who I am. I love you and praise you and pray in Jesus’ name. Amen.

7 May 2014 Walking in HIS Shoes
Hebrews 4:15
This High Priest of ours understands our weaknesses, for he faced all of the same testings we do, yet he did not sin.

Jesus is God. He already understands us because he understands everything. But so that WE may know he identifies with us and our problems, Jesus became a person for our benefit. And we have seen him face the things we are faced with and then some. And we have seen him overcome them all.

Jesus battled with the flesh. He experienced hunger (Mark 11:12), fatigue (John 4:6), misunderstandings (Mark 6:4), family problems (Mark 3:21), poverty (Matthew 8:20), persecution (John 10:39)... He endured these things not in order to know what I know but in order for me to know he knows what I know, ya know?

So Jesus’ life is for me. Jesus’ life shows me what responses to trials and temptation looks like without sinning. I already know what trials and temptations are like without his example. But Jesus’ example shows me how to live; he didn’t go through all he went through just to see what it’s like to walk in my shoes. No, he wants me to walk in HIS shoes. Do these like HE would. That is why he faced all the same testings we do, so that I would understand that he understands.

Dear Lord Jesus,
Thank you so much for showing me how to live. You didn’t have to, but you did. Thank you for not only the example you share but also the power you share as well by your Holy Spirit helping me to face trials and temptations without sin. I love you and thank you and pray in your name, amen.

6 May 2014 “The Believer’s Prayer”
James 5:16
The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and produces wonderful results.

Believing in Jesus is what makes a person righteous. (Romans 3:22) So it’s the earnest (sincere & faithful) prayer of a Believer James is speaking of here. Not a Believer plus some other stunt they can do or level they’ve unlocked. Just a Jesus following Believer. 

The power lies in the One to whom we pray! God is amazing and imaginative (1Corinthians 2:9). He can find solutions we never knew existed. He can change hearts and ways of thinking. He can do things people just can’t do. He has more power (abilities and ways) to meet my needs better than anyone who has helped me in the past like my parents or my husband. As wonderful as they are, God’s help and solutions are a million times more effective.

And the wonderful results produced is God answering my prayers! He gives me what I ask (John 14:14) because I am a Believer and I’m not asking for things that break any of God’s laws. 

Yes, ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it! Look at that exclamation point; I didn’t put it there!

Jesus also said, “Keep on asking, and you will receive what you ask for. Keep on seeking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened to you.” (Matthew 7:7) God answers me in the affirmative all the time. He takes care of the problem, or he changes my heart about it.

This is the private, intimate, personal attention Believers receive when we pray. We’re not just throwing words into the wind. No, Believers see God’s power and wonderful results because Jesus put us in a position to be able to interact with him and tell him what’s on our minds.

Dear God,
Thank you so much for your kind attention you give to me everyday. Thank you for the power of prayer that can not only change my circumstances but also my heart. Prayer changes me. You tell me to ask you and then you show me and give me what it is I really and actually need. Perfect. You are perfect for me. I love you and thank you in Jesus’ name. Amen.

2 May 2014 “Recognize It”
1 John 5:14-15
We are confident that he hears us whenever we ask for anything that pleases him. And since we know he hears us when we make our requests, we also know that he will give us what we ask for.


We are confident... Confidence comes from experience, personal or otherwise. 

I know that I used to be nervous when my husband and I first started leading worship because it was in front of a lot of people. But with experience (aka: the more I did it), I realized that the world didn’t end if I messed up, so my nervousness eventually faded into confidence.  Confidence can be learned, and it’s great!

Confidence can also be gained through someone else’s experience. A child might dive off the high dive at the community pool after first seeing others do it without perishing. 

Jesus’ personal friend, John, assures all Believers that God hears and answers our prayers because he found his prayers to always be answered. So that means 2 things: One, God heard him, and two, God answered him.

If John ever prayed with no response he could assume that God either didn’t hear him or just didn’t bother to answer him or both. But since John is CONFIDENT about this, it must be that time after time, without fail, he’s been receiving what he’s asked for in prayer. So, God heard him and did something about it. It’s a certainty. John definitely wants us to know that God hears us and gives to us too. I can assume his confidence same as I can assume the confidence of the high diver who dives before me. 

Psalm 116:1-2
I love the Lord because he hears my voice
and my prayer for mercy.
Because he bends down to listen,
I will pray as long as I have breath!

When people who love and trust God pray, God answers them. Sometimes, I am too specific in my ideas for a solution when I pray, but the One who loves me and hears me doesn’t ignore me. He truly does give me what I’m actually seeking.

When someone prays to get well, don’t they really mean they need God to sustain them? When a broken car needs fixing, isn’t the actual need to be able to get to work. Would a commuting buddy or a new found love of public transportation also be an answer to the same prayer? Yes.

God ALWAYS meets the needs behind our prayer requests. Always. I confidently know this. He will give us what we ask for when we love and trust him. We just need to recognize it!

Dear God,
Thank you for bending down to hear me. You certainly don’t have to, but you do. And I appreciate that about you so much! Thank you for always answering the need behind my specific prayer requests. Never, ever have I regretted entrusting a worry or a problem to you. You always help me and your solutions are truly imaginative and infinite! You’ve done it so many times for me that I can be personally extremely confident in you now just like John. Thank you so much! I love you and praise you in Jesus’ name. Amen.