A sunflower faces and follows the sun. It’s a wonderful sight displaying God’s beautiful design!  The sunflower relies on God’s presence and power!

We have a sunflower in our yard that is a bit confused…you see, the sunflower is facing our white shed! It turns its “back” to the sun and faces the reflection of the sun! It is being fooled by a representation of the true light.

This is an easy analogy these days. We can allow ourselves to get easily distracted or deceived or we can seek the presence and the power found in the One True Light – Jesus!

“I am the Way and the Truth and the Life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.”  John 14:6

Do you want to do the right thing?
How do you know which choice to make?
What is God calling you to do?

Don’t ask a bunch of people.  Don’t even Google.  Go to God.  Actually, you don’t need to go anywhere because He is already right here with you!

God sends us over 7,000 promises in His Word!  He is ready and waiting to hear from you.  His answers are always best!  And right!  And good!

Tune out the world and lean in to the Word.

“Then you will know the Truth, and the Truth will set you free.” John 8:32

Do you dread them? Do you cringe and get angry every time you approach a bump in the road?  Or do you take a deep breath and enjoy the ride?

Life has a lot of speed bumps and potholes. Sometimes a LOT more than others. Is God surprised? No He is not. Will the road EVER smooth out? Yes indeed it will. Eventually.

In the meantime, keep your seatbelt snug, fix your eyes on Jesus and wait on Him.  Memorize one of these verses to remind yourself with every speed bump and pothole:

“May Your good Spirit lead me on level ground.”  Psalm 143:10

“Lead me, O LORD, in Your righteousness because of my enemies; make straight Your way before me.”  Psalm 5:8

“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″

He guides me in the paths of righteousness for the sake of His name.”  Psalm 23:3

What are you raising these days…. 
Children?
Chickens?
Tomatoes?
Awareness?

We experience so much pressure in our culture to keep raising the bar…efficiency, productivity, fortune, assets, etc.  What does God call us to raise?

A dear senior saint works at our church.  You can often hear the faint melody as Mr. Frank comes down the hall.  “Raise a Hallelujah” is his anthem.  It’s on his lips.  In his heart.  It’s in all he does!

What do you need to put down so that you can raise up a Hallelujah to God today?

“He must increase, but I must decrease.”  John 3:30

Oh, the gift of time!  Precious moments captured!  Memories sealed for a lifetime!

Did you ever have one of those moments – one of those experiences you juuuuuuuust knew was a priceless gift?

Our amazing son was married a few weeks ago to his wonderful, beautiful wife!  The day was so special!  Yes, the bride!  And the groom!  And the sweet ringbearers and flower girl!  And the venue, the food and so on!  Most of all, God did something beyond the planned event.  He brought together family:  Biological family, married-into family, “like” family, deep friendship family, work family, etc.  And the most amazing part was that we noticed!  We noticed that our togetherness was a gift.  God’s provision was to be honored.  His blessing to be cherished.

It doesn’t take a wedding to receive this perspective, though.  Observe a hummingbird.  Kayak and drift away into the silence.  Climb a mountain higher than you ever thought possible.  Sit closer and longer with an ailing loved one.  Sing louder.  Whisper softer.  And definitely hug a little longer!

“The Lord has done it this very day; let us rejoice today and be glad.” 
Psalm 118:24

Well, the rains have come – and gone! – so now is the time to pull weeds!  The ground is so soft, the roots should come right out…..unless…..the plant is firmly rooted and established.  Maybe the dandelions have lived in your yard for a few years.  Maybe your fertilizer has fortified both the good grass AND the ground ivy.  And maybe the lilies and the poison ivy have intertwined and built a garden together!  

As you pull the weeds and enjoy the glorious sunshine this week, consider how your life has been established…Where/how are you rooted?  What have you chosen in the garden called your life?  What have you established as your foundation?  And what abounds out of you as a result?

“Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, rooted and built up in Him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving.”  Colossians 2:6,7

I wonder how you felt when you read that announcement: It’s Official!  

Your graduation is official!?  New home!?  Engagement!? How do you celebrate God’s goodness?  Do you shout, “It’s Official!” but the silence around you is deafening?  Do you jump up and down in front of a mirror?

Of course not!  You grab a loved one and do a happy dance! (or maybe a happy high five!)  Jesus ran His race with His disciples all around Him!  We should do the same!

“Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the Founder and Perfecter of our faith”  Hebrews 12:1-2

My brother shared an important thought with us today….this the day our mom passed away 2 years ago.  (How can it be 2 years already?!?)

Are you running your life or is your life running you?

If you are in the fog of newlywed or post partum or empty nest, that’s a tough question to answer.If you are in the thicket of t-ball and gymnastics and jiu jitsu, that’s a tough question to answer.If you are in the party of just graduated, just engaged or just busy, that’s a tough question to answer.

Our mom used to say, “Oh honey, just get through it”, but I would remind her that God gave us His Son, Jesus, so that we could have much, MUCH more than bare survival!  

Are you running to Him?

“For God so loved the world, that He gave His only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life.”  John 3:16

And Jesus Himself said, “I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.”  John 10:10

My nephew, Trey, was the love of everyone’s life.  He was silly, fun, lovable, funny, (a tiny bit naughty!), charming, etc. everywhere he went.  We miss Trey every day, but yesterday was his birthday, so we think of his life even more.  We remember Trey for who he was.  We thank God for the gift of that precious little boy.  We thank God for His faithfulness through Trey’s cancer journey.  We PRAISE THE LORD for the HOPE of HEAVEN found through the love and sacrifice of Jesus Christ!  We know our Young Warrior is healthy and happy and whole in Heaven.  

God loves YOU.  He rejoices over YOU.  He will quiet you by His love.  God is singing over YOU.  God is singing over Trey.  

And we can only imagine the loud singing going on if Trey is singing a duet!  (If you knew Trey’s volume, you know it is LOUD!) 🙂 

“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

When this fast paced world swirls all around us, it is easy to get lost, stuck in rut.  Negativity ruminates.  Poor choices abound.  Hope seems lost.

Where can we turn?  Social Media?  Ummmm…probably not.  Overindulging in whatever guilty pleasure numbs your temporary pain?  Nope.  

What if we venture out in faith, taking even a 1 minute peek into God’s Word?  It WILL help!  Every time!

Isaiah 55:1 begins with:
“Come, all you who are thirsty….and you who have no money,”

Can you relate?  Keep reading…
“so is My Word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty”. Isaiah 55:11

Get out of that rut and watch God work!

“You will go out in joy

and be led forth in peace;

the mountains and hills

will burst into song before you,

and all the trees of the field

will clap their hands.”  Isaiah 55:12