My baby is graduating college!

Oh my, where has the time gone since this photo was taken? Wasn't it just yesterday she was graduating from Mrs. Guy's Kindergarten class at The King's Academy in West Palm Beach, Florida? Though time passing can make us feel "old" and worn; I desire and choose to look at it as the blessing and gift of many days...days that blended into the next, ultimately bringing us to this pride filled day. Oh, yes, we surely made it through those moments filled with both tears and laughter. There were days we didn't see eye to eye, and a strong-willed little girl would try her best to cross the line. But always in the end came the apology, sometimes written on paper with miss spelled words and stick figure people, but always with a sincere and broken heart. No, we more than made it 'through'. We are today so much better because of them. We come to this day a little more wiser and a lot more humble for the journey. And, I have come to believe within my heart of hearts that each and every one of those days was a stepping stone, a building block that had been orchestrated for me to make me a better mom to my little girl. Many times I questioned God and wondered why, but I always knew that if it were not for His providential love for my children and His guiding hand upon them, they would not be the same young adults they are today. Certainly there was no good thing within me except that which was guided and propelled by His Holy Spirit. I look at her today, and I thank Him for answered prayer. For there is no greater answer to a mother's prayer than to see her child's heart overflowing with love for God..for a walk that has chosen to first honor Him and to desire to please Him in all she does. This is my greatest joy in all of life.

As I watch my Sabrina graduate this Saturday at Liberty University, I will give thanks for this young lovely lady, and I will pray that her future will see all the desires of her heart come true. Oh, I can only say it but one way, with simple words: ~ thank you Father God for Sabrina and the honor of being her mother. Oh please be with her; guide and protect her as she steps out into a world that is confused,needy and hurting, may her hands be filled with your touch and her lips overflowing with praise for You oh great God. Amen.

Beauty in the darkness...

Today, I realized just how blessed I am to truly be able to see God's creation... While at work today, a father came in with his young teen aged son. However, this young teenager was not like most his age. for as he walked around, he kept his arm tucked tightly around his father's -- this young man could not see. He could not see the beauty of this day; the bright blue skies, the flowers beginning to bloom in all their glorious hues...the birds as they flew from budding tree to tree. From that moment early this morning until this one, I cannot get this young man out of my mind. how he held his daddy's arm, how he trusted his every step, and just how his face smiled and glowed with happiness and contentment even through his dark world.

That precious boy reminded me today in a very tangible way, that though I have been blessed to see the beauty all around me, I pray that I never, ever take it -- and above all -- the Creator who lavished it upon us, for granted. And, I pray that my heart shines with joy from within even in the darkest of moments.

Our hope of glory...

Essex, CT

Father God, I have so many hopes and dreams that cannot be fulfilled in this hollow life. I have hope of seeing loved ones who have died and hope of life without suffering and sorrow. It is Christ who first rose from the dead, and because He did, He is my hope of glory in this life and in the next. When I am most inclined to despair, I reflect and remember that You have poured out Your love for me on Calvary, and I respond with hope and gratitude. Amen

"Christ in you, the hope of glory." ~ Col. 1:27

You are all I need...

"Better is a little with the fear of the LORD, than great treasure with trouble." ~ Proverbs 15:16

Father God, when You are all I need and want all else takes a back seat and my world becomes less frightful. I don't need to work extra hours and add stress to my life trying to keep up with the neighbors. I don't need to be a millionaire to find satisfaction in life. I desire and ask Your help to be happy and content with the gifts You give me...the simple pleasures that make my life worthwhile. Help me to say 'no' to overloading my schedule so that I will have time to enjoy being Your child. You alone can satisfy my heart -- no other person, no perk, no place, no possession. In You alone can I know perfect peace. Thank you that You put no price on what You have to offer me, but that I surrender my heart, bow my knee, and seek you with all that is within me. Thank You Father God that You are all I ever need, may I live every moment with this prize set before me. Amen

Margaret Becker's 'Along the Road'

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C6qKo7k9QFY

This is one of my all time favorite Christian recording artists performing one of my all time favorite Christian recordings! The song is the first I heard by her on the album of the same name. Christian recording artists Christine Dente and Susan Ashton also join Margaret in it. I believe I bought the "cassette tape" in 1985 and to this day I know each word to each song on it. What a blessing this project has been to me.

To trust You...

Father God, thank you that you guide me day by day. Help me to choose to trust You here and now, right this moment, for You are always there, step by step, even as I cannot see the road ahead. Guide me to not run ahead or lag behind, but stay at your side. Remind me in my moments of doubt and fear Father that anywhere this journey takes me, you are already there, waiting for me. Thank you that your mercies are new every morning.

"Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble." <> Matthew 6:34

In times of loneliness...

Thank you Father God that in times of loneliness and solitude, You draw me closer to You and I discover gladness in our intimate conversations - and through it you help me to understand myself better; and in its confines you teach me how to be a more caring and compassionate sojourner with others.

"I will not leave you orphans, I will come to you." <> John 14:18

"Prepare our Hearts" pre-vent showing

"For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do." Eph. 2:10

Exciting evening at Church tonight as we viewed "Preparing our Hearts" with Beth Moore in preparation for the live simulcast on April 24th.

Well, it sure will be a great deal of work; as it has already been! But I so sense God's moving in even this preparation. He has put this on our hearts, and He will lead as we listen for His next step. In all the busyness of such an endeavor, may we earnestly be in prayer for all the ladies that God will bring out to this. May it be a day of encouragement, equipping and empowering in the name of our Lord Jesus for those who know Him...and a new beginning for those who do not. Praying for all those involved in the planning; for His wisdom, strength, endurance and that ALL glory and honor goes to Him. Praying that we continue to rely on Him even as Beth shared tonight... for everything that has touched our life has had a profound meaning toward our equipping -- He has called us out of and not in spite of...He repaired us even as He was repairing us. Father may this day be yours... all yours.

At the foot of the Cross

"We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure." ~ Hebrew 6:19

The following song first touched my heart at a Women of Faith conference in 2004. The words so perfectly and beautifully described the total transformation that my lost heart underwent when I came to the Lord in March of 1984. So often since that time, I have through my own selfishness, fear and prideful desires taken back and chosen to wear the ashes rather than to glow in the beauty of total forgiveness which the death of my Lord Jesus on the Cross lavished upon me. Hearing the song this morning in Worship, once again brought me to that place of brokenness and recognition that only the foot of the Cross is big enough to hold ALL my burdens as I lay them down.

At the foot of the cross

Where grace and suffering meet

You have shown me Your love

Through the judgment You've received

And You've won my heart

Yes You've won my heart

Now I can trade these ashes in for beauty

And wear forgiveness like a crown

Coming to kiss the feet of mercy

I lay every burden down

At the foot of the cross

At the foot of the cross

Where I am made complete

You have given me life

Through the death You bore for me

I lay every burden down

I lay every burden down

At the foot of the cross.
~ Kathryn Scott

Father God, thank you that You lift me up. When I am tormented with shame, You tell me that the Cross covered all my shame. When I feel like a failure, You tell me that because of the Cross You see a precious and beloved child. Even now, I come to You asking forgiveness, and I thank You that You not only forgive me, but also remove my sadness and shame. My heart can sing with renewed joy because Your love lifts me up from the depths into your cleansing light. Amen.

Everywhere I look...

'Take a good look at God's wonders--they'll take your breath away.' ~ Psalm 66:5 MSG

So often I get carried away and detained from doing my daily tasks as I look around me and see the simple wonders of nature. Whether it be a floating cloud, leaves rustling in the wind, watching the birds visiting my feeder, being mesmerized by the gently floating snowflakes dancing outside my window pane or delighting in a flower's unique beauty or the striking colors of the sunset as it radiates on dusk's horizon. As it is usually very nearby, I pull out my camera and I try my best to capture the gift before me. I don't consider myself a photographer by any means, but in these moments I cannot stop myself from taking picture after picture of all that my eye beholds. On many a sleepless night, I find myself going to the comfort found in His Holy Word. Next to it lays a photo album with my favorite shots. What He has promised me in His Word and painted in His creation slowly but surely soothe this tossing soul. Praise and prayer join in the early morning worship as the darkness is illuminated and once again I am reminded I have been given so much. Often I am compelled to pick up that unique looking stone, shell, twig or pebble and keep it to myself so that I can see it every day and be reminded of God's gift of creation on those days when nothing looks so inviting. Or, I'll be taking out our husky, Lila, one last time before bedtime and my gaze is automatically pulled upwards. And there they are on a clear night, those beautiful diamonds shining and piercing through the darkness. In that instant, I think of God speaking to Job and asking, "Where were you when I laid the earth's foundation? Tell me, if you understand. Who marked off its dimensions? Surely you know! Who stretched a measuring line across it? On what were its footings set, or who laid its cornerstone - while the morning stars sang together and all the angels shouted for joy?" (Job 38:21) And with the Psalmist I ask, "what is man that you are mindful of him, the son of man that you care for him?" (Psalm 8:4)....

Father God, I thank you for the beauty of creation You have so magnificently bestowed upon us. I ask that You continually open the eyes of my spirit to see and appreciate these tangible reminders of Your great and inexplicable love for me. And in all their majestic grandeur, may I always give praise not to the creation, but to the Creator who had me in mind when He spoke them into being. To You, oh my God, be the glory and praise and power forever and ever. Amen.

When in Doubt

‘When doubts filled my mind, your comfort gave me renewed hope and cheer.’ - Psalm 94:19

Another day, and what I know for certain without a doubt is that I can see the world You created around me. I can easily close my eyes and hear the rhythms of Your unrivaled symphony all about me, I can taste the richness of Your bountiful nourishment which I have never been in want of, I can feel the softness of my favorite four legged pals and the gruffness of my husband's unshaven beard. Those are the easy no-doubters indeed. The tough ones are those that come in direct conflict and attempt to seize and bring down my faith like the wrecking ball bringing down yesterday’s obsolete downtown office building. Such as the wrecking ball of fear, as it brings doubts to Your promises, and then it continues it ravaging path down the road to bring doubts to my faith, capitulating with the voice of failure and that screaming, nagging, doubt that says ‘you’ll never amount to much, stop wasting your time, just give it up’. And alas, the king of all doubts, the wrecking ball that keeps me isolated in my corner, always doubting my worthiness and the direction of my next step. The gears seem to get stuck on that one all too often. But then You step in. Gently You remind me that doubt is natural. That without it our faith would have no foundations. You tell me in Your Word that faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see (Heb.11:1). You ask me to remember that guy named Thomas who doubted who You were even as You stood before him in his very presence. Yet, in his doubt, You did not scold him or turn away in contempt, but asked him to stop doubting and believe (Luke 20). You focused Your attention on him and asked him to examine for himself Your nail pierced hands and side -- the evidence set forth before him. In the same way, You ask me to bring my doubts to You, and You will listen and reassure me even as you did Thomas on that day…

Father God, I thank You that in my doubt You continually challenge me in a new way. I pray that through my doubts, I continually draw closer to You and not further away. Father I ask that as I desire to draw closer to You, that You give me the strength to trust You through the journey. I rejoice that no matter what my situation, You help me take that next step in faith. Even as Thomas did, I long to bring my doubts directly to You, and know that You will not leave me alone as I candidly pour out my heart to you. And as Thomas, give me the common sense to review the evidence set before me, remember Your faithfulness throughout the generations, and to go forth in firm and undeniable proclamation that You are indeed my Lord and my God! Amen