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

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

“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

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

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

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

Faced with a tough situation?  In over your head?
Don’t fake it until you make it!

FAITH it until you make it!  🙂

“Be on your guard; stand firm in the faith; be courageous; be strong.”
I Corinthians 16:13

What if your stillness is caused by a delayed flight – again!?
Or a summer sickness imprisoning you in your bed?
Or in a holding pattern waiting to hear news from the doctor…or the bank?

In Psalm 23 the Psalmist begins with, “The Lord is my Shepherd; I shall not want.”

That doesn’t sound frantic or frustrated, does it?  It sounds like his focus is on what the Lord is doing right now.  He trusts that God cares and knows and is leading him to what is best.

“He makes me lie down in green pastures.”  God provides and we are blessed.

“He leads me beside still waters”   Rest in God’s grace and care.  
He knows.  He sees.  He loves you!

“He restores my soul.”  Psalm 23

I hope you enjoyed some refreshmentS this weekend:  Nice cold beverages and savory and sweet treats!

But I really hope you were able to enjoy some refreshmenT this past weekend:
Hot days!
Cool nights!Rugged mountains!
Crashing waves!
Peaceful kayaks on the lake!
Fast motorbikes!
Quiet books on the porch!
Loud gatherings of family and friends!
Sweet days at home!
Awesome adventures away from home!

Most of all, though, I pray that you are always refreshING in the Lord!  Abiding in Him, resting in Him, Jesus being your joy and peace!

Don’t wait for next weekend or the next holiday – begin right now!

“Remain in Me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in Me.”  John 15:4

Which of these is your favorite:
Strawberries?
Raspberries?
Blueberries?

As I look forward to this fruit season I am reminded of the discipline required to grow a healthy garden:  the soil, the seeds, the water, the money (!), the effort, the time….and then….the fruit!  🙂

Until….
the weeds
the thorns
the birds

But yet….the fruit!

And so it is with following Jesus: the discipline, the investment, the commitment, the care, the time….the fruit!

How is your growing season?

“I am the Vine; you are the branches. If you remain in Me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from Me you can do nothing.”  John 15:5