God's Word Will Never Become Obsolete

Oh, how I love all you’ve revealed; I reverently ponder it all the day long. Your commands give me an edge on my enemies;
they never become obsolete. Psalm 119:97-98

The Word of God never needs an update!

I love when the Lord reveals His majesty through the beauty of nature! It's difficult to miss the connection to His creative spirit when I am running through a grove of trees in the middle of the forest. Nothing can clear my mind quicker and allow me to focus on the greatness of our God than moving through a quiet piece of the woods.

This physical setting brings to the forefront of my thinking, the enormity of our God and the complexities of His working in and through every situation in my life. Sometimes the Lord reveals His purposes...and other times He does not. I cherish the times when He does unveil His reasons, however, in those times that He remains silent and seemingly unwilling to explain His decisions, I must trust Him all the more. Those are the seasons of my life when following Him translates into the tangible faith of the scriptures. They are the times when I must believe without seeing. I must cling to His word and His promises and know that I have prayed...and He has heard. I must stand up...and when I fall back down...stand up again. As the verse above says...I must know that His words will "never be obsolete". I must breathe in and breathe out and stand firm on His promises.

Father God~

You are the beginning of all things. You are the end of all things. You have spoken us into being and we are Your children. May You continue to reveal your perfect will into our hearts so that we may accomplish Your purposes through our lives each day. Equip and empower us to carry through with Your plans with awe and reverence.

Praise be to the mighty name of Jesus!
Amen 

Keep A Steady Gaze....God Is Always Up To Something Good

Psalm 119:83(MSG)
There's smoke in my eyes--they burn and water, but I keep a steady gaze on the instructions You post.


Hiding behind this tree, I had a rare chance to observe wildlife
and the beauty of God's creation today. 

 

 
 
 
                                             What a beautiful morning here in the Ozarks! 
We have an overgrown field complete with a pond and lots of thickets next to our house.  It provides a constant source of nature viewing pleasures.  Today, as I sat in our office staring out over the water where we often see wildlife sneaking out for a cool drink, I got a rare chance to see some new fawns interacting with her Mama!

I grabbed my camera and sprinted out to this hiding spot behind the tree and kept a very "steady gaze".  It definitely paid off to keep the camera in focus and not move a muscle!  I got to partake in some rare interactions between this doe and her new babies!  What a treat!   

She could hear me, however, she never could find me.

Mama knew I was there.  She kept looking for me, but never did spot me.  Each time the shutter clicked, I could see her freeze and listen, but my hiding place was secure.









Cleaning her little one and giving some words of wisdom.

Here she's stopping to clean the water off her sweetheart and perhaps whisper some motherly
advice about not going to far into the water. 

I think she sees me here, but doesn't seem to sense
that there is any danger, so she continues
her breakfast...as does her fawn.

I'm pretty sure that she saw me at this point, but barely breathing and holding my position steady, she went on to finish eating.  As you can see, I caught her fawn eating, too.  After this shot, I snuck away undetected to allow them to finish their morning drink! 








Most Wonderful Creator,
Thank you for this incredible gift today!  I know that I am surrounded by Your beauty...help me to keep a steady focus on You, so that I can forever see the world through Your lens.
In Christ's name,
Amen
 

The Shape Of Your Life

Psalm 119:41(MSG)
Let Your love, God, shape my life with salvation, exactly as you promised;

This is a hand blown glass bowl from SDC.

This verse draws my thoughts back to the wonderful trips I took to Silver Dollar City growing up!  If you've been there before, then you probably visited the glass blowers shop a time or two.  When we would visit the shop, I found myself, even at a very young age, standing mesmerized as I watched the craftsmen spin the hot glass on their sticks shaping and forming incredibly fragile works of art!  They would drop in tiny drops of color during the process and that liquid would transfer throughout the piece.  The artist knew exactly how much dye to add and exactly which way to tilt the glass to create the effect he wanted. 
Our lives are like these delicate creations that the glass blowers were creating.  If we allow His love to touch our lives, He will shape us into a beautiful work of art.  It will be a life that will glorify His name and build His kingdom just as He promised!  

God, 
Thank You for Your love that is so powerful it can change lives and shape future generations!  Empower us today to stand strong in the face of adversity and live a life that reveals Your glory and draws observers to You!
In Christ's name,
Amen  

Secret Keeper Girl

Psalm 119:2
You're blessed when you stay on course, walking steadily on the road revealed by God.

What a treat last night was for my daughter and I!  We had the opportunity to attend a Secret Keeper Girl Pajama Party.  If you've never heard of them, feel free to check the link out here.  It is a group dedicated to teaching girls of any age about the love of Christ, but their focus is on the "tween" girl (8-12) age range. 

The event is specifically designed to facilitate mother-daughter interactions.  The evening centered around God's love for each one of us and paved the way for candid talk about some of the pitfalls we as "girls" can fall into.  I listened to the teaching, which was saturated completely with the Word of God, and felt the burdens grow a little lighter.  Here in the midst of a chaotic world with lots of confusing and just plain old wrong teaching, a group of devoted ladies are spurring on the Christian mother to follow God's direction for their life and the life of their daughter!  Amazing!

At one point in the evening, one of the leaders came out on stage in a long robe with lots of words stuck onto it.  She explained to each of us how we can get "labels" placed on us  from a very young age and we then wear them around...especially as women....and that they can be very hurtful.  Words like ugly, fat, dumb, weird, clumsy...and the list goes on.  I have pondered this all day, because at that point in the event, we were to turn to our daughter and ask them if they had any labels attached to them.  To my surprise my daughter shared with me a few she is carrying. 

While ironing this afternoon, I dutifully smoothed out a pair of pants with the hot steam.  I mindlessly placed the iron on the label of the back pocket.  This  is one of those that is made of the paint like stuff that you aren't supposed to iron.  Guess what?  Yep, you guessed it.  It melted and I proceeded to smear those markings all over the rest of the pants.  That ugly stain melted from one end of the garment to the other.  I realized then, that's exactly how it is with these careless names that are applied to our lives.
They stick and smear all over until pretty soon we're completely stuck to them, unable to break free! 

The challenge given to us was exactly what today's verse is telling us to do!  Listen to who God says you are not who the world says you are!  Follow His names for you and allow the blessings to flow!  Below are just a few verses that we are planning to print out in bold letters and tape as a border around our mirror, as a simple reminder with each look into the mirror each day, of who we really are in Christ.  We will not listen to the world's labels for us!!

Psalm 139:14 (ESV)  I praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.  Wonderful are Your works; my soul knows it very well.

Psalm 45:11 (NIV) The king is enthralled by your beauty, honor Him, for He is your Lord.

1Peter3:4 (NIV) Instead, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God's sight.

Father,
It is my prayer tonight that our daughters shall see within us a longing and love for You.  May we model a confidence in Your Word and in Christ that is tangible in a world where it is increasingly unpopular to honor Your name.

Praising and loving You tonight.
Amen

He Will Lead You Right Down The Middle

Psalm 136:14(MSG)
Led Israel right through the middle, His love never quits.

The crackling flames of the fire sent warmth jetting through my entire body as our family sat gathered around the brightly glowing pit.  We watched the luminous moon as it hung highlighted by the stars that danced in the sky over our heads.  We listened intently to the sounds of night.  The water from the lake gently lapped at the edge of the bank making a gentle whooshing sound against the back drop of the Circadian music.  Knowing that summer's end was fast approaching made this evening all the more special.  Suddenly, my daughter, looking off in the distance, pointed towards the dark.  She said she saw something moving and thought it was a dog.  We all strained our eyes to try to focus in the inky blackness that was night. 

Then, slowly, one by one we could see them coming "right down the middle" of the hill heading for the water's edge.  They moved silently...effortlessly across the grass until they met with the cool crisp water.  They stopped and drank before they began what was probably their nightly walk along the gently sloping bank of the lake.  We all sat motionless, understanding that this was a rare treat.  There were three deer that had meandered right in front of us, seemingly in their own little world, on this beautiful night. 

It's such an important part of family life to create memories of closeness.  Times like sharing the simplicity of a quiet hour in front of a warm fire in the middle of a dark night will be engraved forever in our hearts and minds.  It is so like God to show up right in the middle of it all and remind us of just how great and enormously creative and loving He is! 

Lord,
Thank you for these quiet times that You bless us with.  Help us to to slow down and open our eyes and acknowledge the gifts You have placed before us.  I am so very thankful tonight for my family and the beauty of life.  Thank you for showing up and leading us right through the middle of our toughest battles!  Your love truly NEVER QUITS!
Amen

Ocean Foundations

Psalm 136:6(MSG)
The God who laid out earth on ocean foundations, His love never quits.

I've said it before...but I have to say it again...I love Sundays!  There's just no better way to start off the day than in God's house worshipping with other believers in Christ.  The strength that is gained through standing together and calling out His promises in "one accord" is impossible to measure.  The confidence obtained by hearing the Word of God and speaking His truth over your situation is so profound that it's hard to even compare it to any earthly thing, but if I were to attempt it, the ocean would be a good place to start.

The ocean is such an incredible object in it's calm beauty and yet at the change of the tide it can turn to a monstrous fury.  You can stand at water's edge one minute and let gentle waves run over your toes and in the next minute be running in panic from the massive wall of water that can be stirred up by unseen forces.  As I see the waves form so intricately into delicate towers of water, combined with today's verse, I have to stop and thank God for His love that never quits!  He has given it all to us for our good pleasure.  What an awesome and amazing God we serve!

Happy Sunday!!

God's Beautiful Thoughts

Psalm 139:17(MSG)
Your thoughts - how rare, how beautiful! God, I'll never comprehend them!

Isn't that the truth?  God's thoughts being beautiful and me never understanding them, that is!  It's another gorgeous day at the beach.  Enjoying the majesty of the ocean and doing a lot of thinking.  Thankful for time away.  Also grateful to my friend who just happened to need a house with a big back yard to corral her four large dogs in while we were gone.  She is "house sitting" while we are "sand sitting".  Humor...

Thanking God today for His love, goodness, faithfulness, and wisdom....

My Life Spread Out Before You

Proverbs 139:16(MSG)

Like an open book, you watched me grow from conception to birth;
all the stages of my life were spread out before You,

The End Of The Rainbow

There it is...the end of the rainbow... spread out before me like a beautiful splash of color painted across the water.  I caught this yesterday after a storm had blown over.  Isn't it incredible?!  I was too lazy at that point in the day to climb down the stairs and venture out into the wind to capture it clearly, so you are looking through screen from the back deck where we are staying....but you can still get the idea of the beauty of it.  I wish now that I would have made myself walk down and get a better shot.  Oh well.  Maybe next time.

We are at the beach this week.  Not sure how much writing I will do, but thought I would post a picture here and there to share the beauty.  It's wonderful to think about how the Lord watches over every stage of our life.  I find great security in that.

Lord,
Thank you for the Your love and watchful eyes over every season in our lives.  Teach me to be aware of Your presence.
Amen

Wonderful Works

Psalm 139:14(NIV)


Beauty in the mountains!

I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;  your works are wonderful, I know that full well.

Nothing like a good nature walk to remind me of the creativity of the Creator!  His works are incomparable to anything that we could come up with on our own, that is for sure.  Strolling through the woods and marshes this past week allowed me to take it all in.  The smells, sounds, the feel of the warm gentle breeze, and sights were a real treat to experience.  

I'm going to keep my eyes open this week for more of His works.  I will be traveling to Joplin tomorrow to work in the clean up effort there.  The goal is to prayerfully deliver hope through action to those who most certainly must feel overwhelmed and exhausted.  I know that it will be challenging to see the destruction and loss that these people are experiencing, but I believe that through the power of Christ and the perseverance of each one of us doing what we can to help, they will overcome!

Praying for the people of Joplin and once again praising God for the miracles that have taken place there.