I took my vitamins today….to work….in my pocket…but I never took them with my lunch!  Do you think the vitamins did any good going for a ride to and from work today in my pocket?  Has my health improved because of me “taking my vitamins”? (for a ride?)

This makes me think of my walk with Christ.  Just because I have a Bible/wear a cross necklace/have a Honk if you love Jesus bumper sticker/etc doesn’t mean that I am truly becoming more like Jesus every day.  I need to continually ingest Him.  Consume His Word.  Drink in His sweet presence.  Humble myself to walk with other believers.

As Lent begins tomorrow, it might be a good season to spend some time considering if you are carrying Jesus in your heart?  Or in your pocket…

“Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them.”  John 13:17 

Arms loaded with diapers and baby toys…..backs bent helping a friend who needs personal assistance…..hands weary from unloading boxes and boxes and boxes of donated produce…knees bent in fervent prayer….THIS is the Body of Christ!  THIS is how we follow Jesus!  THIS is how we can love and serve each other!  But wow – it can be messy at times!

Just like our message in church on Sunday about the men who lowered their friend who was paralyzed through a hole in the roof so he could be seen by Jesus.  A what?!?!  A hole in the roof?!  That’s not easy!  Or neat!  Or probably very popular to the homeowner!  What a mess!  All so that friend could be made spiritually (and physically) well!

Is sharing the hope and love of Jesus worth a little clean up to you?  A little physical recovery after an exhausting day of service?  A sleepless night so you can support a friend in prayer?

“Follow God’s example, therefore, as dearly loved children and walk in the way of love, just as Christ loved us and gave Himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.”  Ephesians 5:1,2

Gone are the lines at the telephone booth (picking up the white pages or dialing 0 to ask the operator for the phone number you wanted to call), paying for your call by inserting a pocketful of coins (not an easy app!) and then the navigation of the rotary dial (yes, touching the very public phone – 7 times!).  Now we carry constant communication with us 24/7!

Which do you think God prefers?  The complicated methodology or the endless messaging? He wants to hear from us every moment of our lives!  He loves us so much He wants to be with us in all we do!

Maybe for today we can talk to God every time we touch our phones: Abide in the company of Christ!  Rest in God’s deep love for you!

“Seek the LORD while He may be found; call on Him while He is near. ”  Isaiah 55:6

Can you see it?  Can you smell it?  Can you taste it?  The crisp, warm, buttery, toasty crunch oozing with cheesy flavored goodness?  Smashed together and heated up – the results are divine!

But what if the ingredients weren’t combined?  What if they weren’t heated up?  Just imagine the cold slices of lunch meat sitting on a plate.  The cheese in a block still needing to be put to use.  Any other toppings alone in their jars in the fridge.  Not quite the same.  Not warm.  Not delicious.  Not good.

How are you and your relationships?  Feeling all warm and cozy and united?  Or kind of separated and cold?  Even if it means you need to get all squishy, messy and heated up, God wants you to be a Panini!

“make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and of one mind.”  Philippians 2:2

Long lines and long names sometimes make ordering a coffee a chore…..even if the sweet treat at the end is worth it!

But then I consider a good cup of tea.  The slow boil, the flavor selection, the special cup and thennnnnn the peaceful sip.  Totally different than coffee, tea has its own special role to play.

Like beverages, God has given us seasons to embrace and celebrate!

If these days of February seem long or cold or dark, acknowledge the power and plan of our Almighty Creator, Divine Wisdom, Loving Father and rest in Him!

“Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for Him”  Psalm 37:7

I was trying to get settled in church on Sunday….my coffee cup in one hand, my phone appropriately silenced (but let me check a few more times juuuuuust to be 100% sure), my purse filled with a million “just in case” comforts and my notebook and pen….now to find my husband who was already seated.  I come sliding in during the second song and prepare my heart for worship.

Looking around I giggled realizing the similarities between church habits and travel habits.  Some people travel very “smartly”.  Matching bags, easy access, all the wheels spinning in the same direction.  No snack bags or leaking water bottles.  They walk on to a plane and sit down.  They are prepared. 

And then there are the rest of us!  Ultimately, just as prepared – it just looks a little different!

What about in our walk with the Lord?  Our attitudes and our habits?  Do we prepare daily for the journey God has planned for each one of us?

Get your own seatbelt on first and get ready for take off!

“So prepare your minds for action and exercise self-control. Put all your hope in the gracious salvation that will come to you when Jesus Christ is revealed to the world.”  I Peter 1:13

Consider trying on a bathing suit cover up in January….The tag says, ‘One Size Fits All’, but we ALL know that one size NEVER fits all!

So why do we do it?  Why do we judge?  Why do we push our expectations and preferences on others?

God made one of you.  And one of your co-worker.  Aaaaand one of your “you know who”.  Each person is an individual.  When there is only one of a kind it can’t be better than another.  There isn’t another!  One can’t be ahead and one can’t be behind.

Next time you look in the mirror or across the room, consider God as the wise and all-knowing Creator!  One God Fits All!!!

“So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.”  Genesis 1:27

Has your New Year been smooth and easy?  Everything going your way?  Ummmm….probably not.  Some people are suffering….other people are realllllly suffering.  How are we supposed to navigate these days of sickness and tragedy and trauma?

When life doesn’t make sense it’s a natural reaction to dig deeper.  Try harder.  Find answers.  What else can we do with the anxiety?  How do we process the pain?  

I wish I could send you all a RESET button.  A STOP sign for worry.  A DETOUR sign for despair. (and keep one of each for myself!)  But better than that, we can seek the Lord.  Seek His Word.  Proclaim His promises.  Put down our phones and hold tight to Him with BOTH hands!

“I removed the burden from their shoulders; their hands were set free from the basket.  In your distress you called and I rescued you,”  Psalm 81:6,7

I read recently that yesterday, Monday, January 6, 2025, was called the New York New Year!?  It is the beginning of the first full week of the new year.  (I don’t know what that has to do with New York, but that’s beside the point!) 

Isn’t it funny that God would send a snowstorm on that Monday?  Our first full week started with…a day off!  🙂

I just love how God continues to remind us over and over again – in the silly little date things and in the huge life changing traumas and trials, that HE IS IN CONTROL!  HE KNOWS!  HE SEES!  HE LOVES YOU!

“Cease striving and know that I am God;”  Psalm 46:10

Ready or not here it comes!  Not 2025 – but every next year, month, day, hour, minute, second.

How will you spend each moment?  Growing closer to Jesus or growing away from Him?

Positive growth IS possible – even the Grinch’s heart grew 3 sizes!

“growing in the knowledge of God, being strengthened with all power according to His glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience, and giving joyful thanks to the Father”. Colossians 1:10-12