I have been watching a lot of baseball lately and I love the sights and the sounds and the emotions filling the stadium when the player reaches home! The crowd roars!  The lights flash! High fives and fist bumps and every other kind of bump out there abound! There is a HUGE celebration!

Where is your home? No, I don’t mean your address… Where do you hear people cheering for you? Who lights up when you cross the plate?  Where do you take a deep breath and rest where you belong?

This earth may not offer you that pleasure right now.  Or you may be between homes.  Or you may be living somewhere you never thought you would be.  With the Lord, wherever we are, we can be home!

“But now, this is what the LORD says— He who created you, Jacob, He who formed you, Israel: “Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you are mine.”  Isaiah 43:1

I had the precious opportunity last week to reconnect with friends I hadn’t seen in a while.  A long while.  A lot of life had transpired since our last gathering, but we were able to pick up right where we left off.  How can that be?  It was easy because we have a long relationship together.

Actually the question is: How can we get so wrapped up in our lives, the minutiae of the daily, that we focus on petty grievances and inconveniences? How can we hyperfocus on what divides or isolates us rather than seek out what unites us!?

Jesus lived such a short time on earth and He made the very best of every day.  With every person He encountered!  How can we make the most of the time we have today?

“Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.”  Colossians 3:12-14

Goliath was the enemy.  Goliath was giant.  David seemed to be ill equipped.  And David was small.

What’s going on in your life?  Have any enemies?  Any giant issues?  Are you feeling not ready or small compared to the battle at hand?

Grab some popcorn and get ready for a really big show!  Read how God provided as David faced his giant!  And then re-read the passage inserting your name and situation.  Especially consider my underlined passages.
“David said to the (Giant) Philistine, “You come against me with sword and spear and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the Lord Almighty, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. This day the Lord will deliver you into my hands, and I’ll strike you down and cut off your head…All those gathered here will know that it is not by sword or spear that the Lord saves; for the battle is the Lord’s, and He will give all of you into our hands.”

As the Philistine moved closer to attack him, David ran quickly toward the battle line to meet him. Reaching into his bag and taking out a stone, he slung it and struck the Philistine on the forehead. The stone sank into his forehead, and he fell facedown on the ground.”  I Samuel 17:45-49

How many times a day do you check your weather app?  What if you have an outdoor event coming up?  A trip?  Or a big game?  The draw to check the weather tempts us with some sense of control….but in reality we are very out of control.  (Ask me how I know!)

Watch small children…boots in the summer?  Sandals in the winter?  Bathing suits with winter coats?  No problem!  Kids don’t read the app, therefore they don’t stress like we do!

What other apps/channels/podcasts receive too much of your attention and time?  How can you surrender them all to the ONLY ONE who knows everything?  The Lord Almighty is His Name!

“God made the earth by His power;

He founded the world by His wisdom

and stretched out the heavens by His understanding.

When He thunders, the waters in the heavens roar;

He makes clouds rise from the ends of the earth.

He sends lightning with the rain

and brings out the wind from his storehouses.

Everyone is senseless and without knowledge;

every goldsmith is shamed by his idols.

The images he makes are a fraud;

they have no breath in them.

They are worthless, the objects of mockery;

when their judgment comes, they will perish.

He who is the Portion of Jacob is not like these,

for He is the Maker of all things,

including Israel, the people of His inheritance—

the Lord Almighty is His Name.”   Jeremiah 10:12-16

While on vacation I saw a row of boats tied up.  What image just came to mind?  Boats being held prisoner, deprived of their greatest ambition?  What if I worded it this way:  While on vacation I saw a row of boats safely and securely moored in the harbor before the impending storm…..?  Perception is everything!

How do you perceive what God is doing in your life?  Are you prone to have a worldly mindset, relying on your own logic and strength?  Or are you willing to have a Kingdom mindset, denying your desires and living life through the lens of God’s endless love and mercy?

Try it today!  One baby step at a time.  God is generous!

“Let us not grow weary in well-doing, for in due time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.”  Galatians 6:9

Hats off to truck drivers and late night workers and parents who drive all night in order to get their sleeping children to a far away vacation destination!  Driving in the dark is so difficult!  Driving while you are supposed to be sleeping is so, so difficult!

And yet, our walk with faith in Jesus should be the same way!  We should be like the children tucked in safely, entrusting their destination to their Father!  God knows the direction.  God can see the way we should take.  God even provides beautiful and amazing rest stops along the way!

Are you a back seat driver to God?  Do you whine to Him, “When are we going to be there?”  Do you sleep on the journey or are your eyes wide open?

“For we walk by faith, not by sight.”  2 Corinthians 5:7

September brings the beginning of PLENTY of new!  New life!  New healing!  New retirement!  New jobs!  New to college!  New to high school!  New to grade school!  New to preschool!  And new to day care!  How exciting!  And how wonderful!

New beginnings symbolize potential and hope!  But then reality hits.  Hiccups, weariness and doubt come barging in.  How can we make our new beginnings GOOD Beginnings?!  Certainly not in our strength!  It requires Superhuman strength!

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight.”  Proverbs 3:5-6

Yes!  Let’s do this!  Pack your bags!  And drop them off!  And leave them there.

Nope – we are not at the airport destined for a tropical island or a European excursion.  We are destined to enter the throne room of God in prayer!

Let’s gather up the cares and concerns, the headaches and heartaches, the suffering and the pain of our loved ones – and ourselves – and entrust them/leave them/give them to the One who is the BEST Baggage Handler ever!  Infallible!  Trustworthy!  Merciful!  Generous!

You and your prayer requests will NEVER be lost or mishandled!

“Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.”  Galatians 6:2

This time of year can cause some melancholy feelings of inadequacy, loss and fear.  Necessary endings, new beginnings and change.  That’s all hard to manage!

With Jesus we don’t have to approach them with our strength, because face it – we are weak!  Each time you get dressed – for work, school, play, bed – get dressed in the covering that will give you God sized strength and grace!

“I delight greatly in the Lord; my soul rejoices in My God. For He has clothed me with garments of salvation and arrayed me in a robe of His righteousness”  Isaiah 61:10 

When was the last time you studied a rope? A jump rope? A construction knot?  A rope connected to a boat anchor? The stakes are pretty high when we rely on a rope! OK – maybe a sting on the leg is the worst thing to happen with a jump rope, but construction and boating can have costly and life threatening consequences.

God is pretty serious about ropes, too. Cords. “A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.”  Ecclesiastes 4:12  We can’t be lone rangers as we follow Jesus. We need each other.

Who are the 3 strands God has given to you?  A spouse?  A parent?  A dear friend?  Be sure you keep God in the center holding you all together!“For where two or three gather together in My name, there am I with them.” Matthew 18:20