Driving on a beautiful country road….searching for peaceful music….and the car radio produces…static!  Voices, slow songs, fast songs, white noise – all at the same time!

Sort of reminds me of life today.Can you hear it?  Can you feel it?
The constant influence of people and media and agendas and goals and thoughts and hopes and etc…all at the same time!
It’s easy enough to turn off the power to the static in my car.  How do we tune out the static in our minds and in the world?
Get a clear signal with the Author and Perfecter of our faith.  God Himself is waiting for your undivided attention and loyalty to Him.   Next time you go to reach for a device to fill the time, seek the Lord and His Word of His unfailing love!

“Let the morning bring me word of Your unfailing love,

for I have put my trust in You.

Show me the way I should go,

for to You I entrust my life.”  Psalm 143:8

Drive Thru coffee
Online banking
Robots vacuuming your house

We live in a VERY fast paced world!  (Except for these lazy summer days – let’s keep them creeping by…)

What do you do with all the extra time you have now that automations are working for you?  What?  You are still so busy and out of time?

A watching world is hurting.  Waiting for someone to notice their pain.What can we do?  You don’t need a master’s degree in order to follow Jesus.

Find Him in His Word.  Follow the leader.  Live like Jesus.

All we need to do is LOOK and LOVE.

“Jesus looked at the man and loved him.”  Mark 10:21

United States of America

United….hmmm….if you’ve spent any second driving around looking at yard signs or browsing news channels or scrolling through social media you can clearly perceive that we are not a very united country.  We aren’t even playing as nicely as a bunch of toddlers in a sandbox!

What do we think God means when He calls us to be united?

“being united in spirit and purpose”. Philippians 2:2

“we have been united with Him in a death like His” Romans 6:5a

“be united with Him in a resurrection like His.”  Romans 6:5b

“be perfectly united in mind and thought”. I Corinthians 1:10

“But whoever is united with the Lord is one with Him in spirit.”  I Corinthians 6:17

Doesn’t sound like God is kidding.  He wants us to be united with Him and with those who call on His Name.  How can we possibly do that while living in this world?

His Truth

His Name

Above ALL other names!

“Teach me Your Way, O LORD, that I may walk in Your Truth; unite my heart to fear Your Name.”  Psalm 86:11

Ever wish you had something to show for this summer season of fun in the sun?  Something other than a tan that will fade and a camera roll of photos you WILL one day make in to an album?

Choose a Psalm.  Any Psalm.  And memorize it this summer.
Write it on notecards and leave them in strategic places to help you practice.
Include the Psalm in texts and notes of encouragement.
Claim memorizing as a shared family experience.

Create a legacy of summer adventure that will last a lifetime!

Here’s a short Psalm to get you started:

“Praise the Lord, all you nations; extol Him, all you peoples.
For great is His love toward us, and the faithfulness of the Lord endures forever.

Praise the Lord.”  Psalm 117

Dawn Dish Soap:  Tough on Grease, Gentle on Wildlife – We are in the middle of verifying this one as our daughter’s dog was sprayed by a skunk tonight and they are on wash #4 or 5!

Windex: Big Fat Greek Wedding would use it for literally everything!

And then there is Apple Cider Vinegar!  A shot a day keeps the doctor away!  Aaaaand you can use it as a window cleaner or fabric softener!

These commercial cure-alls are fun to consider, but God has the ULTIMATE Cure-All for everything and everyone, every time and place:  Prayer!  
Talk to Him.
Listen to Him.
Spend time with Him.
Trust Him.

Whatever is going on….He IS able!

“Look to the Lord and His strength; seek His face always.”  I Chronicles 16:11

Let’s talk about ice cream.  REAL ice cream!  Not the frozen dairy dessert or soft serve confection popular at this time of year.  I’m talking about the kind of ice cream that freezes rock solid and bends your spoon as you try to sneak a little scoop!

Real ice cream is costly – it’s an investment!
Real ice cream takes patience to scoop – it’s worth the wait!
Real ice cream has good ingredients – it’s better for you!
Real ice cream is delicious – it’s worth it all!

How are your friendships these days?  Like real ice cream?  Or like a frozen dairy dessert?
How is your relationship with God?  Soft serve?  Artificial?  Cheap?
Or a sweet investment worthy of your all?

“Taste and see that the LORD is good; blessed is the one who takes refuge in Him.”  Psalm 34:8

Good Beginnings is the name of our Preschool at our church.  (It actually should be called GREAT Beginnings!)  As you can imagine, there are many wonderful celebrations of a child’s firsts at Good Beginnings: first teacher, first recess, first time reading, first time owning a Bible!  🙂

Life is filled with good beginnings – even when they feel like endings.  Ohhhhhh, all the emotions and hopes and dreams and fears and unknowns woven in to a life-changing ceremony like graduation from kindergarten, high school and college; a wedding; new baby; retirement, etc.

Cheer!  Enjoy!  Weep!  Gather with friends!  And always remember:  God is good!  All the time!  ALLLLLLL the time!

“Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.” James 1:17

By the sacrifice of Jesus, God does not see our weeds and our messes – He only sees our beauty!  Ohhhhhh how He gazes at us with such undeniable and undefinable love!  We are His handiwork!  (Ephesians 2:10) and He rejoices over us with singing! (Zephaniah 3:17)

Whatever season you are in today, rest in His beautiful promises:
“You are precious in My eyes, and honored, and I love you” Isaiah 43:4

Oh, how I love to sit on my porch early in the morning….to enjoy the beautiful flowers, the hope of vegetables and berries, and to appreciate my husband’s care of our lawn.  I can easily default to see only the weeds and the overgrown messes, but I intentionally choose to focus on the beauty.

Which version of God do you see?  Does He stare as a judge, ready to condemn us?  Or does He look at us with admiration?  With anticipation of sweet fruit?  

Psalm 23 – a very popular and comforting passage of Scripture: “The Lord is my Shepherd. I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters.  He restores my soul…”  Ahhhhh….can you feel the comfort?  The Heavenly Father gathering you in His arms?  Could you use a little soul restoration about now?

Let’s keep walking through the Psalm: “Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death” Psalm 23:4
Wait a minute!  I was just secure in the Shepherd’s care!  Now I’m facing death!?  “Yet You are with me;”  Also Psalm 23:4.  Phew!  God is with us and we have nothing to fear!

Keep going: “You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies” Psalm 23:5What a wild ride!  Now I’m sitting with my enemies?  Deep breath!  Let’s remember just one verse back:  God is with us and providing for us – even in the presence of our enemies.

Are you exhausted yet?  Do you see why we can’t focus on our emotions or our circumstances?  All throughout this Psalm (and many others) the writer teeters back and forth between faith and doubt, fear and hope.  Can you relate?  Regardless of your circumstances, seek the Lord first, most and only!

“Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever.”  Psalm 23:6 

Spring is springing all around us!  The canopies of trees are bowing down with their rain-laden leaves.  The wildflowers are starting to pop out along roadsides.  And the beautiful songs of birds FILL the air!

Wait a minute – are they allergens or are they beauty?
Are they weeds or are they flowers?
Are they nuisance animals or are they God’s amazing creatures?

What lens are you wearing today?

I hope and pray that whatever you have going on in your life you can put on the lens of beauty and praise to God for His eternal power and divine nature found in everything and everyONE!

“For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—His eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse.”  Romans 1:20