Star-fish

      Since my husband has not been feeling well lately and has many questions for God, he's been spending more time reading his Bible. He paced through the house this morning looking for his glasses. He left the kitchen and returned from the bedroom with bent, wire-framed glasses with a lens missing. "What happened?" I asked. "Well," he responded, "I was making the bed and knocked the Bible onto the floor. I found my glasses."      Isn't that just like Satan, he brought sin into the world so we have illness and other things to worry about, but when we go to the Word of God for comfort, he smashes our glasses so we can't see! In this case, using my husband's own Bible to break his glasses. Of course the analogy here is that often when we begin getting closer to God and learning about Him and making a difference for Him, Satan will try to throw roadblocks in our way whether illness, discouragement, temptation, or even breaking things that w...

     My longtime friend left an email for me today stating that her daughter had gotten married today. I was shocked! How did this happen and I didn't know about it? Why did it happen so quickly? Questions filled my mind as the day went on and I waited for the right time to call my friend and get the whole story.      She noted being disappointed that her daughter got married and she wasn't there for the wedding. She said she was trying to have a "glass half-full" mindset about it. She said, "Life happens." Really? I seemed to be more ticked off than the bride's own mother. I knew the times she had gotten dreamy-eyed thinking about her daughter getting married and the preparations that would go along with that memorable event. She was putting on a brave face, even though her heart was hurting.      How often we must hurt the heart of our Father God. He has such great and wonderful plans for us and we short circuit them. We get impatient and...

     Our regular pastor was gone this morning and a gentleman named Randy Wiliams (that's how it was spelled in the bulletin) preached. As far as I know, I've never seen the man before, but he said he was a youth pastor in an area church. Part of his introduction was that he was a man of little faith, even his family members would agree to this confession.      I thought to myself, How can a man who is a pastor for young people, be a man of little faith? As I listened he made a number of good points: 1. God is always at work doing something even when I'm convinced He is not.  (John 5:17,  2 Corinthians 4:16-18) 2. God provides comfort on the deepest emotional level no matter your Bible knowledge or even your track record with God.  (Luke 17:11-19) 3. God never ceases to amaze me that somehow He chooses to use me to do things that I thought only super spiritual people could do. (Matthew 14:13-21)       Randy made the poi...

     Today is Saturday and the doctor's office left an automated message for my husband to retrieve regarding a recent CAT scan on his lungs. After listening to the message, which said the scan indicated a nodule on his lung and a referral to a pulmonary specialist, we both felt a bit stunned. Now what do we do with this information for the entire weekend and until we can get into the doctor and get more information?        What do we do with life's lumps? We begin with prayer, we send out prayer requests on email, I'm asking you who might read this to please pray and now?....We wait... and worry! I know, we're not supposed to, but the unknown is always so scary, even when we know God knows the big picture and has our best in mind. We still worry, it's a weakness of ours and we both do it quite well.      Lord, please bring us your peace and reassurance in this time of questions without answers. Please lay your healing hand upon ...

     Today I read through the book of Malachi in the Bible . It's a short missive at the end of the Old Testament. I'm reviewing a women's Bible study for my pastor's wife on Malachi and thought I better start with the original Author.      This little book is succinct, yet powerful, the best kind! Chapter one of Malachi discusses the issue of the Israelites bringing God inferior sacrifices to the Lord's table. The author writes in Mal. 1:7, "When you sacrifice crippled or diseased animals, is that not wrong? Try offering them to your governor! Would he be pleased with you? Would he accept you?" says the LORD Almighty.       How often have I given God second best in my life? After all the Lord has done for me, I need to prioritize my daily routine to include Him. God must come first. My day needs to reflect how grateful I am for His blessings, mercies, provisions, and interventions in my life. Elk in a field near the Oregon Coast. M...

      One of the things I love about Christmas is all the wonderful smells. Cookies baking, spiced cider, peppermint candies, and evergreen trees are some of my favorites. When we moved to Arizona from Oregon, we quit buying "real" Christmas trees because they were expensive and dried up too quickly.      But my stepson posted on Facebook the other day that he helped a friend remove an evergreen tree from his yard in Oregon. Afterwards the two went out to eat. When the waitress arrived to take their order she exclaimed, "You two smell like Christmas!" (Their smell came from the pitch, bark and branches rubbing against them when they removed the tree.) I don't think there is a better compliment!      As Christians though we can actually "smell like Christmas" daily by "rubbing up against Christ" through prayer, reading our Bibles and spending quiet time away from the world, "listening" to the guidance of the Holy Spirit for our liv...

     Struggling with some issues lately, I prayed for God to bring me His peace and insight. He did both. While I sat peacefully waiting to hear from God, what I heard was, "Just be you. Quit striving." The thoughts brought tears to my eyes. He seemed to be encouraging me to just relax and live in the now. Content in His presence. Content in the present. What a gift to rest in the Lord! This flower was given to me by a friend and tries to die on any given day in the AZ heat. I watch for wilting and add water. It perks right up! It's beautiful and tough, weak and strong, like so many of us at any given time in our lives. Ecclesiastes 3:11 He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the human heart; yet no one can fathom what God has done from beginning to end.

      I read an email recently that noted ways women can remain safer in their environments by being more aware of their surroundings. It mentioned that women should remain alert and watchful when walking in parking lots, checking the area in and around their cars before getting in and not staying in the parking space to check receipts or make phone calls, but rather driving away immediately as assailants might be watching them.      This world is a scary place and it is important that we are consciously watching for danger, not just while out in public places, but also in the comfort of our own homes. With television, computers and other influences in our lives, we can become complacent forgetting to pray and spending more time entertaining ourselves then edifying ourselves with the Word of God. We quit watching for danger. We allow ourselves to slip slowly into old habits and fleshly ways that require daily coverage in prayer to keep them at bay. Tak...

     We have what the weatherman calls haboobs here in Phoenix, Arizona. From what I've read the word "haboob" comes from the Arabic word habb , meaning "wind." With the wind, comes the dust, rain, hail, and humidity, weather we generally get only in the summer months or our monsoon season. Yesterday we had a big dust storm and our pool went from crystal clear to resembling a pond with dirt, sticks and loads of leaves in it.       Today we turned on the filter, brushed the dirt off the steps and skimmed the leaves off of our pool. It was looking pretty good by afternoon, just in time for another storm to begin brewing on the horizon. But isn't that just like life? The wind blows, the hail falls, the debris of everyday living sometimes builds up and storms come into our calm homes.       But with God in our lives, the storms are easier to ride out and the effect is often not so much devastation as it is cleansing of the junk tha...

     Each day poises such possibilities, but many of mine wander away down the proverbial "rabbit trail." My cocker spaniel, Abby, has much the same problem on our morning walks. She loves to walk, so much so that the word "walk" must be spelled out unless I'm willing to do the deed. Yet, while on our morning excursions, she's easily distracted by r-a-b-b-i-t-s and b-i-r-d-s (words which also must not be spoken:) and forgets altogether about walking.      I caught myself telling her, as she tried to get the lowdown on a nearby bush, "Come on, we don't have time for this!" My reason for saying this was that it was already 90 degrees at 9:00AM in Phoenix, Arizona and I could tell the heat was rapidly rising. She can't walk on the sidewalks once it gets that hot and I don't want to!      Later, I pondered my comment and realized a few other things. First, we didn't have time because I spent too much time in bed. Second, I perceived t...

     Today, in the USA, is a sad day. One of our citizens turned on his fellow Americans. He single handedly ruined and destroyed the lives, families and futures of many. But what I know about Americans is this, they band together when evil raises its awful head and strike it down with prayers, love, kindness and compassion toward one another, even if total strangers. We are a band of brothers.      What God does with the man who made these gruesome choices today is unknown, but will be fair and completely correct as only the judge of the universe can be. We need not waste our time on hating him, but instead expend our energy on loving those who are hurting and mourning.       God tells us not to even speak of what the evil do in dark places. Ephesians 5: 6    Let no one  deceive you with empty words, for because of these things  the wrath of God comes upon  the sons of disobedience.   7  Therefore...

     I was blessed the last few days to spend one on one time with some of my favorite women. These friends are wonderful listeners, insightful and wise. Yet today, I woke with a sense of foreboding. I couldn't put my finger on it, but I just needed a "good cry." Seems like an oxymoron to use "good" and "cry" in the same phrase, but when I can't get to the bottom of my hurting heart, God can.      I love that God even saves our tears and records our trials. A song on the radio yesterday by the group, Mikeschair, in which the lyrics noted that we must believe we are "Someone Worth Dying For," touched me. Obviously this reference was to the fact that even though we were, are and always will be sinners, Jesus chose to sacrifice His life so that we could one day walk with Him in heaven.      As I listened to this song again today on YouTube ( http://youtu.be/oF5CjtrIl_c ), tears flowed in rivers down my cheeks. I feel so unworthy and the t...

     The following script comes from my friend Helen:  "...Why bother the teacher anymore?" Mark 5:35  Some men thought it was too late and useless to pray about a hopeless situation.  Jesus heard and ignored them.  He took action and changed a hopeless situation into a glorious example of mercy and power.  Don't stop praying.  He can turn your life around.  He is the God of HOPE.       It reminded me of the movie, Finding Nemo , where the female fish character, Dory, was an eternal optimist with a poor short-term memory. As difficult situations would arise for the main character, Nemo, Dory would encourage him to "Just keep swimming."       For Christians, we should feel like fish out of water when we are not in prayer. As we pray during life's troubled times, "our oxygen" as the oxygen fish get out of water with their gills, should come from our connection to the Holy Spirit of God while in prayer....

     I'm not really a fan of bugs. Today floating in our pool was a huge (4 inch) beetle. As I walked the yard to clean up after my dog, I found a large dead cockroach. Ants have been circling our pool lately, I suppose looking for water in the desert heat. I really do not like ants. Ants and I have history and they make my skin crawl. Bugs bug me, what can I say?!      All that being said, I know God has a purpose with insects and it's not for me to determine their worth. He even mentions ants in the Bible, "Ants are creatures of little strength, yet they store up their food in the summer," (Proverbs 30:24). My "history" with ants comes from when I was little and had hid my Halloween candy under my bed to keep my brothers from eating it. At night I heard rustling sounds under my bed, (where as a child I already believed monsters lived) and after turning on the light and bravely investigating, there was an army of ants making waste of my candy. ACK! It giv...

     My husband has not been feeling well for over three weeks now. So today as he lie in bed, he yells for me to come quick. I'm thinking something awful has happened to him as I rush into the bedroom. He points to the sliding glass door and says, "Isn't that a bat?" I go to the door and view a small bat flapping his wings frantically as he flies up to our door, attempts to hang on the door frame and flies away. He makes this maneuver several times so I go for my camera. It's difficult to get a photo as he won't stay still long enough. Finally when he rests on our wall, I get the shot.      His frantic coming and going and just acting "batty" reminds me of myself. Rather than praying then waiting on the Lord, I fly here and there and everywhere trying to land on just the right thing. I lost track of the bat and while looking out the window, I spied a beautiful rednecked hummingbird sitting on a tree branch. Usually hummingbirds are busy flying to a...

      "Heads or tails" as we say when we toss the coin into the air. A person has a 50/50 chance of winning the toss. Some would say those are good odds, others would say it's just plain odd. Some people are gamblers and others like to control their own outcomes.      My friend, Laura, and her husband, Mark, left our home yesterday for Las Vegas, Nevada. They aren't gamblers, but like to see the sights, go to shows and eat at the many unusual restaurants. I gave Laura two rolls of quarters for her recent 50th birthday to spend in Las Vegas. I knew as frugal as she is she wouldn't blow 20 dollars on the slots even for her mid-century birthday. She still struggled with spending the quarters even after I insisted they were "fun money."      Now I have other people in my life that wouldn't have made it to Vegas to spend the rolls of quarters on gambling. They love to gamble and take any money available to spend on the chance of winning the big ...

     Today I was struck by how simple things we say about ourselves can end up defining us. We say we are slow readers, poor at math, picky eaters, born chubby, nervous nellies, worry warts, hovering moms, from a dysfunctional family, animal lovers, vegetable haters, etc. Once we have this label we feel the need to fulfill it.      I do this with many things in my life and today it struck me that I'm living the label. The label can be different at different times whether forgetful, nervous, impatient, needing space or even needing chocolate. What I'm telling myself is that my God is too small to make my label go away and to make me a victor in Him. Even if the labels aren't necessarily bad, I'm letting the labels tell me who I am in the world verses who God wants me to be. Rather than believing my labels today, I'm ready to believe My God. Grand Canyon, AZ Luke 1:37 For nothing is impossible with God. 

     My girlfriend, Laura, and her husband Mark are here visiting from Utah. Laura and I have gone to school together since junior high. She and my mom have the same birthdate. Something Laura asked me today made me ponder the question, "What makes a good friend?"      I'm blessed to have many friends of varying ages with different interests so it's difficult to put my finger on those specific qualities that first attract me to people who become close friends. My friend Laura has a strong faith in God, an abundance of common sense, genuine concern for others, she laughs easily, loves her family, isn't drawn to drama or pretense, and is a great listener. She has many other wonderful qualities (hard worker, smart, thrill-seeker, beautiful inside and out, thrifty, to name a few more), all of which make her the right friend for me.      But Ralph Waldo Emerson put it best, "The only way to have a friend is to be one." Happy Birthday Laura, ...

     As I ran errands today, I came heard a conversation on the KLOVE FM radio station. I jumped into my hot car (due to it being 111 degrees here today), and heard a caller saying how when we are doing what we do in alignment with God's will for us, rather than our own desires, we will feel satisfaction in our situation. He and the announcers agreed that we often want things that are not what God wants for us and when we finally let go and line up with God's direction then we have the right interactions in our lives.      A story earlier in the day was proof (also part of a Living Proof Ministries competition) of how God works in our lives when we are calling on Him and believing Him for the outcomes He knows are best for us. The story was that a woman went to see a dining room table she saw advertised on Craigslist. When she viewed the table she exclaimed a "thank you to God" for how beautiful the table was and the seller asked if she was a Christian. Af...

      Today I went for tests at the cardiologist's office. They are basically baseline tests since I have a family history of cardiovascular disease and on our recent trip to Israel I had some small issues. So they took blood, looked at my heart through an ultrasound and my neck arteries through an MRI then had me run on a treadmill while attached to electrical leads monitoring my heart. All seemed to go well and the final step was to strap on a device that I wear for 24 hours which records any irregular heart patterns.      All that seems a bit much, but I'm glad my doctor is thorough, just like my God. God knows my heart without the need of any wire devices. (Luke 16:15, Psalm 44:21) God knows when my ticker is off, not beating to the right drummer. It's reassuring to me to know that when my heart is aching, breaking or jumping for joy, my God knows immediately without monitors or recordings of my heartbeat.      I can give my heart to Go...

     It's amazing to me the protective gear they have for kids today. Actually the direction the world is going in today makes me think we should all wear this equipment! According to the Phoenix news channel lately, we've had people shot randomly coming home from work in the early morning hours, walking down the street at night and even in their own homes by family members. I realize in a city of over 3 million people, even if one percent are violent, we'll have our share of murders, but it's still alarming.       We can't walk around in a suit of armor or a Kevlar bullet resistant vest, at least not as a normal, everyday citizen, especially since it was over 110 degrees here today. So what can we do to protect ourselves and our loved ones? Yes, we can wear our seat belts, not drink and drive, etc., but for the most part, anything can happen no matter how much we've done to avoid injury, harm or assault.       What we can do i...

     Today was a typical Sunday for us, church, rest, newspaper, all that good stuff. Our pastor's message was exceptional as well. He spoke to the idea that we are to do all our work as if working unto the Lord (Colossians 3:23:24). That even if we have bosses that don't know the Lord or worse they are not nice people in general, we are still to do our work in a way that glorifies God.      He also mentioned the political scene today and that even if we had all Christian ideals in the laws and all Christian leaders, that wouldn't be enough to lead all the people to salvation in Christ Jesus. So rather than get caught up in the division that politics can cause, be a godly citizen, make a difference and yes, vote your viewpoint. But don't allow a difference in your political views with another person be the reason that person will be turned off by you and thus "your religion." It's more important to save souls than to gain votes. Liberty works best whe...

     What would it mean to you if you were stripped of everything you had, much like Job, except for your relationship with God? How would you define yourself, your life? Who would you say you were? In this economy, people are losing jobs, marriages are falling apart and some are considering suicide. Why? I think about Judas in the Bible, he committed suicide because he betrayed Christ for thirty pieces of silver. (Matthew 26:14-16) Many speculate as to his motives, but in reality it was that he did not believe in Christ as his Savior and Lord.      The world is actually black and white in the sense that there is believing in God or believing in the devil. There are no fences to walk up to heaven on. We make choices and will live eternally with our choices. Sometimes being stripped of our "stuff" is a good thing. It gives us clarity about what really is important to us. We make idols out of our stuff, careers, relationships, finances, etc. Then we no longe...

     I've had a lot of different jobs and thus a lot of different bosses. I've been a boss, but of course, someone has always been just a rung above me. That's what having a job is all about, doing your best, in spite of all the different expectations of those around you whether bosses, clients, employees or service personnel. You will never please everyone, it's futile to try. What you can do, is the best you can do and when that's not good enough, find out what else they'd like you to do and how they'd like you to do it.      Trust me, humility does not come easily for me, and truly it's what got me into trouble with my bosses in the past. If I felt I was doing the right thing for the right reason, I wouldn't back down. Of course, God finally allowed that attitude to catch up with me, since He had already told me in His Word about being submissive to those in authority over me. But that's a story for another time and hopefully one you'll n...

     After yesterday's rain, we have high humidity in our otherwise dry desert area. The skies, though, are bluer and our plants are a brighter hue of green. Things got a good cleaning from the heavy downpour of rain. As I mentioned yesterday, our temperature of 91 degrees yesterday was the coolest in 100 years on the 4th of July. That's what rain does, cool things down.      For some people the rain, brings them down. The dark skies and inability to readily get outside causes them to get "cabin fever." Since we get so little rain here in Arizona, most of us get outside and enjoy it! The fresh smell and soothing sound of rain takes us to a "happy place."      But isn't that true of anything, if we have it day after day, we can get accustomed to it and even bored with it. I retired early and although the stressful work days are behind me and my life is truly blessed, I have to fight off stagnation, restlessness and discontent. The way to get...

      Today is Independence Day in the USA. We celebrate our freedom from the British Empire when we signed the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776. I pray for America as a nation and ask God to forgive us our sins against Him through our sins against each other. May we once again seek Him and live to please Him in all our ways and all of our days by serving one another in love. Amen. We were blessed with rain and the coolest temperatures on this date in 100 years! Galatians 5: 13   You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free.  But do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh;  rather, serve one another  humbly in love.

     My friend Sheila called today to share the highlights of her recent island vacation. We talked about the struggle to be content in the present and not get caught up in worldly desires. She said they saw these amazing homes with yachts docked out front and then the local people that were so friendly and godly, but had little of monetary value. She wondered if the rich people were giving back with all their financial abundance. I told her the one thing that God won't be concerned with, when we go to the judgment seat of Christ, is what "the other guy did" whether with his life or his money. God will only want to know what each individual did with what He gave them.      As a middle school teacher for over 35 years my husband had heard every excuse in the proverbial "book." So his response to the students' complaints or excuses always started with one of the following comments: regardless or never-the-less. In other words, there is no excuse. It's re...