Turn It Down!

What kind of noises influence your life:
People?
Places?
Things?
Thoughts?
Dreams?
Fears?
Love?
Money?
Work?
Play?

How’s the volume working for you?  Can you hear the Lord speaking to you?
Maybe it’s time to turn these things down a bit so you can hear His voice singing over you!

“The LORD your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save; He will rejoice over you with gladness; He will quiet you by His love; He will exult over you with loud singing.”  Zephaniah 3:17

Her Majesty

Isn’t it amazing to witness the living history unfolding in the passing of Queen Elizabeth II?  The honor!  The formality!  The reverence!

Yes, Queen Elizabeth led an extraordinary life…which God clearly ordained for her….but God created each person for His extraordinary purpose!

Maybe you won’t have a crown resting atop your coffin when you die, but you are worthy of attention and respect as you LIVE for God today!

“But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His wonderful light.”  I Peter 2:9

Come to Mama!

Beautiful sunshine
Two precious grandchildren
Thundering ocean waves!

A perfect recipe for fears and tears – except not with my grandchildren!  🙂

As long as their Mom was nearby the kids could face the wildest, wettest waves!

“Come to Mama,” I would hear, and the children would scramble and scamper to get safe and secure in their Mom’s care.

Having a tough day?
Getting beat up by life?
Understood and underappreciated wherever you go?

Come to Papa!  Call on Your Father God – He is waiting with open arms to rescue you!

“In my distress I called upon the LORD; I cried out to my God. And from His temple He heard my voice, and my cry for help reached His ears.”  2 Samuel 22:7

Keep It Out of There!

Would you offer your bank account info to strangers?
Would you shop for groceries in the trash dump?
Would you open your doors and windows to a flea and tick invasion?
Hopefully your answer is “no” to all of the above!

Then whyyyyyy do we subject ourselves – the precious creation and vessel of God – to other types of dangerous substances?
Hurry
Worry
Stress
Fear
Bitterness…the list is long!

Call the security system, lock the front gate, and barricade your mind, body and soul from intruders!

“Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it.”  Proverbs 4:23

Quenched!

It has been quite the summer in PA.  Long, hot spells coupled with lack of rainfall  left lawns and trees and gardens dry and crunchy.  The flowers weren’t blooming well.  The corn stalks looked like pineapple plants.  And the creeks and ponds looked like small puddles.

But GOD satisfies!
Can you just hear your grass and your flowers saying, “Thank You God” after this week’s rain?!
Can you feeeeeeeeel the refreshing relief from the dry, parched drought?Doesn’t everything seem healthier and happier after being revived?

How’s your spiritual life?  Stuck in a drought?  Dry and crunchy sometimes?  Not blooming?

Perhaps it’s time to spend some time with The Living Water.  He alone can satisfy your every need and desire.

“The LORD will guide you always; He will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land and will strengthen your frame. You will be like a well-watered garden, like a spring whose waters never fail.”  Isaiah 58:11

Stand

“Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes.”

Get yourself ready:  Truth, Righteousness, Peace, Faith, Salvation, the Word of God and Prayer….

Passport ready?
Labor and Delivery bag packed?
Mortgage papers signed?
First day of school outfit ready?

Big moments of our lives require us to get ready.  Lots of details need to be figured out!  

But what do we do AFTER we know we are ready?  We take a deep breath in recognition of our preparation.  And we stand.

That’s how our Christian life needs to be:

“…and after you have done everything, to stand.”  Ephesians 6:11-13

Road Trip!

Whether you are traveling across town, cross country or looking out the window  today, pause and consider the amazing privilege you are encountering.  See God’s creation with a new perspective – even if you have seen that same view every day for years!

What do you see/hear?
What catches your attention?
What is the biggest/oldest/God-est thing around you?

Fill your tank with praise and glory to God!

“You are worthy, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for You created all things, and by Your will they were created and have their being.”  Revelation 4:11

Poor August


I feel bad for August – it doesn’t get a fair chance….it is soooooo misunderstood!

All August wants to offer everyone is a few more weeks of fun in the sun, but nooooo….the hauntings of the dreaded return to “normal” consume and distract to the point of wasted time and opportunity!

And then there is poor July!  The demands!  The pressure!  The graduation parties and weddings and reunions and vacations and pool trips and romps in the great outdoors all smashed in to one month!

All we have is today!  How can you and your family celebrate God’s provision right now?

“There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens”  Ecclesiastes 3:1

Social Security

No, don’t get any ideas – I don’t qualify for federal Social Security – yet!  🙂

But we all, however, are under the influence of social-security every day of our lives.  Whether we believe in social media, social circles or anti-social attitudes, we are social beings wired with the need for community/belonging/connectedness.  We need to find security in the people that God has woven into our lives.

Likes, followers and subscribers aren’t any indication of your social security.

Seek first God’s Kingdom.  God’s wisdom.  You are His.

“I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.”  Ephesians 3:17-19