April 10

There are times when you realize just how important it is to have friends in the faith and their dedication to jump in and help at a moments notice. Sometimes the best help is the easiest to accomplish, prayer! A simple word lifted up to the Father may be all that’s needed, after all, where does our help come from? It comes from the Lord. I’ve been shouting for joy since yesterday’s big win before the county commissioners, and I attribute it to my friends interceding before the throne. Whatever direction God chose to take this, would have been the right answer to prayer, but being it was the direction our minds had been set on, it made the answer so much sweeter. There have been times where we’ve felt blessed, and times we’ve felt abandoned, but at no point has our faithful Father ever left our side, He just offered us challenges that He knew we could overcome because it is He who strengthens us. Thank you from the bottom of my heart for sharing in our burden by taking a moment to pray.

Please read the scripture. It’s incredible to me how the pieces so closely match my situation.

I rejoiced in the Lord greatly that now at length you have revived your concern for me. You were indeed concerned for me, but you had no opportunity. Not that I am speaking of being in need, for I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content. I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need. I can do all things through him who strengthens me. Yet it was kind of you to share my trouble. Philippians 4:10-14

April 9

When the Holy Spirit gives you a word to define the coming year, you better put on your seatbelt if that word is “adventure!” When I got that word from Him, I politely asked for a different word, but it turns out, that word has defined my year thus far! The surprises and extraordinary happenings of this year, haven’t stopped, and this is only April! The peace within me has been challenged by the gauntlet of things God is taking me through. An athlete doesn’t just show up to play a game, they must first hone their skills. Even though there have been challenges, I have never felt alone, and the peace that passes all understanding, has been the guard of my heart and mind through it all. If I focus on the things that could go wrong, I might end up on the floor in a crumpled mess, but instead, God has brought to my mind the good things that can come from the year of adventure. The lesson in this is to set your mind on the good, and peace will accompany you.

Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. What you have learned and received and heard and seen in me—practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you. Philippians 4:8-9

April 8

My husband and I have a project being considered by the county commissioners at their meeting on Tuesday. We did a rezoning many years back, but we weren’t financially ready to build at that time. Now the rules have changed, and what had been acceptable then, is no longer acceptable. Our attorney has been working closely with the planning commission, architects, and engineers, trying to come up with a plan that could be approved. We were rejected by the area planning commission, then the county planning commission, and now it will go before the county commissioners. We aren’t doing anything out of the ordinary, and their reasons for not approving it doesn’t make any sense, being that what we want to build is surrounded by the same kind of construction. Needless to say, the anxiety is building! The stress level is through the roof! What’s the point of this story you ask? The next segment of scripture that I’m feasting on!

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

Here is a prime example of why you should always read your Bible! He speaks and His timing is perfect!

April 7

I had a pleasant surprise as the last of my snowbird tenants left my vacation rental, the place was spotless! Imagine walking into the smell of bleach and cleaning supplies, and being able to relax without the worry of slaving over someone else’s mess. I was able to unload the owner’s closet and put my things back in their place without a second thought. Our lives are a comparison to that clean feeling. Someone may have come into your life like a wrecking ball, destroying whatever peace you may have had, but Jesus came in and cleaned it up for you. The problem is, we try to keep cleaning, even when the job has already been done. The hurt is so deep, and the filth that was left upon us was such a stain, that we think we can still see its outline when it’s not even there. The blood of Jesus is better than bleach, not even a shadow of a stain is left; we just need to relax and accept it. Jesus took on all of your burdens when He went to the cross, it’s up to you to accept that cleansing.

how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God, purify our conscience from dead works to serve the living God. Hebrews 9:14

April 6

After waking up early because Richard was invited to go fishing, I tried to go back to sleep to no avail. So at 5:30 this morning, I got my coffee and started my day with the Lord. I opened the windows because it was drizzling and I wanted to hear the rain. By 6:45 the birds began to awaken and the peacefulness was broken by the joy of song. Though it was still dark, they lit up the trees. As each minute passed, the skies began to brighten as if their voices were ushering in the light. Matthew Henry said “There is enough in God to furnish us with matter of joy in the worst circumstance on earth... If good men have not a continual feast, it is their own fault.” Think about the birds, they must wake early because if they don’t work, they don’t eat, yet they find time to sing praises to the Lord before they even begin to forage for food. After hearing the peacefulness transition to the joy and excitement of a new day, I believe it would do us well to wake up in the same manner as the birds, and begin our days with a new song of praise; and just maybe we will usher in the light of Jesus.

Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice. Philippians 4:4

April 5

This may seem like a coincidence, but because I know the Lord, I know that nothing is a coincidence. You may or may not have noticed that I’m studying the book of Philippians, and the next few verses that I’m meditating on are about death and the resurrected body. My friend who has been battling liver disease, passed away this morning. She had fought for her life long enough, and God called her home. When you’re saved, this earth is not your final destination. We were given bodies that would eventually wear out and lose their usefulness here on earth, but salvation gives us eternity with our Savior and a newly transformed body that can inhabit the environment of Heaven. Even though we must traverse this life, we should keep our conversation with Heaven open and continuous because that is the realm we will spend eternity in. Don’t get caught up in worldly things, it will all be burned up at the end. Set your face toward Heaven, and never lose sight of your destination.

But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body, by the power that enables him even to subject all things to himself. Philippians 3:20-21

April 4

The world has a misconception about Christians. They think we feel we are better than them or “more holy than thou.” This couldn’t be further from the truth! We know that we have failed God, and know that we need a savior from all the grief we’ve put Him through. We have made it our goal to strive to become a better child of the Almighty. It’s like having a job that requires you meet a standard for a bonus, you still get your pay if you don’t, but if you want the bonus, you strive toward a goal. This motivates a lot of people who have a driven mentality. As Christians, we want to become better, so we strive for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. An important part of this equation is that you continue moving forward and forgetting what is behind you. How can you reach a goal if you keep looking back? Paul knew this, and knew he wasn’t perfect, but pressed on because of Jesus. Don’t fret if you think you’re not moving forward fast enough, as long as you are moving in His direction, your life is changing.

Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own. Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. Philippians 3:12-14

April 3

Our company has had several closings in the last few days and one of the joys of selling homes is doing a final walk-through. It’s exciting because you know it’s ready to close and all you have to do is make sure the home is what your buyers expect. Two of the homes viewed by our clients still had items in the home, leaving them far from being ready for occupancy, and leaving my clients wondering if anything will be damaged when they are ready to move. Our final walk-through ended up not being the final, they were more of a pre walk-through! Both clients ended up having to go in right before closing to see the end results, leaving us no time to have the repairs completed. Thank goodness everything was okay. While doing one of them, we encountered two cats that were frightened because of all the commotion. They had a favorite hiding place under the sink in one of the bathrooms. We got such a kick out of watching them open the door with their paw and scoot in and hide. Even though the stress level was high, the bright spot amid the chaos was those cats, even though they shouldn’t have even been there. Set your mind to look for the good in everything, and you’ll find it!

And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. Romans 8:28

April 2

Some time back, our church had a comedian come to entertain us. Not only was he a jokester, but he was also a missionary to Haiti. There are people in Haiti that live at the dump, find their meals there, and make their shelter from the debris. He and his wife go there and feed them so they get a good meal once in a while. The people they’ve fed have become our fellow believers, and still live there. My thoughts today are not to condemn anyone, but just because you pray for the perfect home, the perfect life, or the perfect marriage, doesn’t mean you are entitled to receive it just because you are a believer. God doesn’t work that way. What makes you better than the believers who live at the dump in Haiti? They still love the Lord and their lives are dismal. Jesus loves all of us, and our American privilege doesn’t give us any more rights in the kingdom than those who live in squalor. Just a wake up call to those of you who are expecting a corvette to magically appear in your driveway.

For who sees anything different in you? What do you have that you did not receive? If then you received it, why do you boast as if you did not receive it? 1 Corinthians 4:7

April 1

What is your life goal? I have a few: live in peace, love those whom God gave me charge of, and do that while living on the beach. Two of those came from God, and the other from the flesh, but you know the beach would sure give me a lot of peace. There is one life goal that we should all want, and that is to attain the resurrection from the dead! Paul was a driven man and jumped in head first in whatever he did; first killing the Christians, then agreeing with them, and becoming imprisoned because of his change in belief. He had an incredible encounter with Jesus that changed his prospective about what it meant to live. He stopped living for himself, and began living for Jesus. Being an American may prevent us from suffering as Christ did, but a time may be coming, where our freedom of religion no longer exists. Whether our culture changes or not, our goal should be like Paul’s, to know Jesus and the power of His resurrection, and to attain the resurrection from the dead for ourselves. Only through Jesus and salvation will that happen!

that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead. Philippians 3:10-11

March 31

When the computer geeks come up with new technology, I usually fall for it. A while back I purchased the Apple Pencil. It allows you to write on your iPad in some apps. It is a wonderful tool, especially because you can easily erase your mistakes. I can scribble, doodle, fill in blocks of color, and so on, and when I’m finished, I can correct any errors, or completely erase it. If only our lives were that way! Wouldn’t it be great if we had a magic eraser that would allow us to go back and correct the errors of our past? Our lives are like a bad tattoo, our mistakes are written all over us and if you have ever seen where someone has tried to cover one up with another one, you know that there are still remnants of the old one that can be seen. No amount of good we do can cover up the bad. The truth is, not one of us are good enough! However, there is One who is, and if we choose to trust in Him, we can hide within Him and be perfectly pure! This is a decision that you have to make for yourself, your momma can’t do it for you. Make today the day you turn your life over to Jesus, and like a magic eraser, He will erase your past from the sight of God!

and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith—  Philippians 3:9

March 30

There is an owl couple that lives in the trees surrounding my home. Sometimes they make their presence know by screeching, other times they quietly watch the squirrels, and my little dogs, waiting for the perfect opportunity to snatch one up. My son-in-law captured a picture of them snuggling, trying to convince me that they were more than predators that scoop up their victims while they are still alive. I must admit that they are cute when they nuzzle one another, so I decided to name them! Now, I have Ahab and Jezebel keeping watch outside my home. I used to rebuke them every time I heard them, because they remind me of the presence of evil, but I’ve relaxed a bit, being we are always surrounded by evil. We have to pray for protection, and trust that God has us covered. The lesson today is to remain in communication with the Almighty, and never take your eyes off of Him, follow His lead, and you will be victorious over the likes of Ahab and Jezebel.

And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. Matthew 6:13

March 29

As I was sitting on my porch contemplating what to write about this morning, I took a look around, and realized that I have surrounded myself with things that bring me joy, like the smell of coffee, the birds chirping, flowers in bloom, and my blanket that’s keeping the chill off, just to name a few. There are things I would like to eliminate, like the sound of vehicles, and the dogs barking in the next neighborhood over, but if I concentrate on those noises instead of the sound of birds, then some of my joy has been snatched away. Sometimes we get so caught up in the negative things going on around us, that we forget to enjoy the good. We’ve all met people who are negative, you might be one, their minds are set on what is wrong, and their brain goes down that path with everything. If this is you, make it a point to begin to concentrate on the good in every situation, and you will slowly begin to renew your mind and see your life from a different perspective. You’ll be a lot happier, I guarantee it!

Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. Philippians 4:8

March 28

What are your goals for this lifetime? Is life just something you are surviving or are you thriving? We all disappoint ourselves, but we must not let our disappointments define us. We are who God says we are, and if we set out to please Him and let Him set our goals, rather than surviving, we will thrive! I watched my four year old grandson try out a new sport; he’s tried baseball, but lost interest in it very quickly, however, he got to try out karate to see if it was something he might like, and took to it like a fish to the water! Baseball didn’t define him, and karate won’t define him, but it may be a means to teach him discipline, and give him a place to exert his energy. He had survived baseball, but with karate, he will thrive. It’s amazing that God will begin a good work in us even at a very tender age. He may not stick to karate, but he will learn lessons through it that will last a lifetime. Train yourself to look for the lessons in your trials, rather than sulk in your losses.

And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ. Philippians 1:6

March 27

Anxiety is one thing that each of us has to deal with at some point or another. Some people are more susceptible to bouts of anxiety than others. I believe that fear is the major cause of it, sometimes making it debilitating. The Bible mentions that we should not fear, and that we should be anxious for nothing. The remedy for this is easier said than done, but faith in God is what we lack when we become fearful and anxious. The solution is to strengthen our faith, but to do that, we must step out beyond ourselves, put our trust in Him, and practice taking steps of faith. Whatever you are anxious for today, you can be sure that it is nothing new to God, He knows all and sees all, and is present with you while you are overthinking your problem. You must still be diligent in your efforts to resolve the issue, but you must trust God for the outcome. I pray that whatever you are anxious and fearful about today, that God would give you the peace you need to overcome it.

"Say to those who have an anxious heart, “Be strong; fear not! Behold, your God will come with vengeance, with the recompense of God. He will come and save you.” Isaiah 35:4

March 26

Squirrels are very sneaky, and they drive my dogs crazy. They are as cute as can be, chasing one another around the trees, but in the minds of my dogs, they are the enemy. They will sit just high enough in the tree so that they can’t be reached. My dogs think that it’s their job to protect us from such creatures, and they make a racket trying to frighten them off. The truth is that even though my dogs are both under eight pounds, they think they are big, and no matter what size the animal is, they do their best to try and defend our family from such evil. They are fearless! We would do well to follow their example. As warriors of the kingdom, we are safe, and those who come against us are the ones who should be in fear. They may be successful in injuring us in the flesh, but nothing can destroy us forever, because our salvation comes through Jesus.

and not frightened in anything by your opponents. This is a clear sign to them of their destruction, but of your salvation, and that from God. Philippians 1:28

March 25

Saturday morning took us to the park where we joined the festivities of our grandson‘s karate school. It was an interesting mix of people from all different walks of life, joined together to support the students, and have a little fun. You could see the heart of the instructor who owns the school and his love for what he does. Karate is not a cheap sport, but you could tell by some of the students and their families, that he probably barters to help them afford the training. It was a feast! I expect that one day when God has prepared a table before me in the presence of my enemies, it might look something like that. It may be a little more posh, but the mix of people, and the common bond will be similar. The funny thing is that it’s not at all what I pictured the feast before my enemies to be, but God reminded me that it would be very similar. Is it ever what we picture when it comes to the things of God? Keep your heart open to people different than you. You will learn new things, and you will be exhibiting the behavior of Jesus.   

You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. Psalms 23:5

March 24

I’ve started my post four times this morning and have four different stories going. Some days are harder than others to get things together. I’ve prayed, studied, drank my coffee and I’m still finding it hard to come up with a devotional. My mind seems to wander off, thinking about what I’m going to wear to church, how long do I have before I start getting dressed, and how much I really don’t want to engage in activities away from home today. I know that God will sometimes send me through a trial just to give me a lesson to share. I believe today is one of those days. I need to relax and let Him take me on this journey, not worry about what comes next; it’s not my plan anyway. Here’s what I got: get up, wash your face, put on some clothes, and don’t worry so much about what others think of you. Go to church and worship God in spirit and in truth. Make today all about Jesus, set your face toward Him and Him alone. 

But the Lord GOD helps me; therefore I have not been disgraced; therefore I have set my face like a flint, and I know that I shall not be put to shame. Isaiah 50:7

March 23

There is no peace in our souls without Jesus. The sooner we recognize that, the better off we will be. One of my favorite stories in the New Testament is when the disciples were crossing the sea and a storm came up and began to overtake the boat. The disciples were frantic, and in fear, but Jesus was with them in the boat! He was asleep in the stern, and they woke him and said to him, “Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?” He rebuked the wind, and the sea calmed. He said to them, “Why are you so afraid? Have you still no faith?” We have storms come up all the time, but how do you react? Do you panic, as if Jesus is not with you, or do you rebuke the storm and sail through it with ease? Inward peace springs from a sense of divine favor. We are privileged to have Jesus, and He is for us, not against us! When you are afraid, remember who you belong to. Run and hide behind Him when the storms rage around you, because we have no need to fear! What can mere man do to us?

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Philippians 1:2

March 22

Since January 2, I’ve been following the ketogenic diet, and finally reached my goal weight, losing almost seventeen pounds. I have learned some powerful lessons following such a plan. It is a high fat, moderate protein, and low carb way of eating. Changing my system from burning carbohydrates for energy to burning fat for energy has been the biggest turnaround. Not only is it burning my body fat, but my energy has increased, and is sustained for the whole day. It takes some willpower to start, but after you make the change, and realize how much better you feel, sugar and high carb foods no longer draw you to them. It is a physical comparison to how your mind becomes when you fill it with the good things of the Bible; it feeds your soul, burns off all the negative things that torment your mind, and it’s full of lasting power. It also takes some willpower to change to a diet of God’s Word, but once you do, you will realize how fulfilling it is and won’t want to go back to your old lifestyle.

"But he answered, “It is written, “‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’” Matthew 4:4