Star-fish

     I had a long talk with my sister-in-law yesterday morning and watched the movie, Secretariat last night. The theme of both was the idea of overcoming difficulties and coming out on the other side wiser and stronger than you were before the experience. Human nature often calls us to avoid trials and tribulations,  to make our lives easier even at the expense of greater character.  An easy life doesn't always equate to a good life.     Proverbs 30 says it best: 7 There are two things, Lord,    I want you to do for me       before I die: 8 Make me absolutely honest    and don’t let me be too poor       or too rich.    Give me just what I need. 9 If I have too much to eat,       I might forget about you;    if I don’t have enough,    I might steal  and disgrace your name.   ...

     Today we drove to Santa Barbara, California walked on the beach, ate fish and chips and now I'm typing to the sounds of the sea. Although I live in the desert, my heart belongs at the sea. The Bible says in Revelations 21:1, " Then I saw “a new heaven and a new earth,”   for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away,  and there was no longer any sea.                 I'm curious as to the reason God is not having a sea in the new earth. My husband and I discussed it may be because God needs room for all the Christians past and present or maybe it's so people will no longer be separated by large bodies of water. I really don't know, but I know God has His reasons and that's good enough for me! (Sorry no photos until I get home as I can't figure out how to get them on this devise:(

      Upon waking this morning, I wondered how all that needed to get done today would really happen! I prayed the day into the Lord's hands and told Him all my concerns. As the day unfolded, unbelievable blessings were dropped into my lap, but they added to my already busy schedule. I continued to just enjoy the way the Lord was unfolding the day and at one point even stopped to assess the calm I was feeling in the midst of my chaos. Thank you Lord for stopping time, giving me time with friends, and answering a prayer that I have been praying about for nearly four years now.      Things done in God's will and His timing have the benefit of strengthening our faith and showing us ways to mature in our walk with Him. Praise you Lord for your faithfulness, especially when I am faithless:) This was me, early in the morning, as we found a spot to watch our cruise ship navigate through the Panama Canal. I prayed for the right spot and the Lord saved one bett...

      A friend of mine and a friend's husband are both on the go and active most of the time. They talk, move and seem to think fast! And yet, after an email with my friend and talking over lunch with my other friend about her husband, both of these energetic people find their calm in nature. They can "be still" best when surrounded not by man-made, but God created environments.       My husband and I started discussing that idea of finding peace in nature and how that might be the case with many people. I had read an email from a woman at my church who had received a recent brain injury and her doctor didn't want her using the phone, watching the television or working on her computer because these electronic devises "interfere with the brain's ability to heal."       I told my husband about when I first became a Christian and invited the pastor over for dinner, he asked me if I "ever just turned off the television, radio, and ste...

      You often hear people speak of "coming to a compromise," and that's usually a good thing. But in my two readings today the authors indicated that compromising as a Christian can also be a bad thing. Joanie Yoder in God Alone page 51 writes about a man named John that wanted to work as a salesman without "compromising his Christian integrity." The story goes that he gets the job and "did not waver in his commitment to be a godly witness in the business world."      John soon became the top salesman and later the branch manager, "John and his team became the company's largest branch worldwide--all without compromising Christian integrity." The author reminds the reader that if we are struggling in a difficult workplace to follow the directives of Colossians 1:29, "For this purpose also I  labor,  striving  according to His power, which mightily works within me."      As I read Beth Moore's revised study, David...

     Happy 60th Wedding Anniversary Dad and Mom! I can't imagine the commitment it must have taken to stay married, through thick and through thin, for sixty years. I remember asking dad one time whether he had any regrets in life. If he could get something different for his life, what would it be? He calmly replied, "The only thing I ever wanted, was your mother."      Loving someone really does require you to commit to falling in love over and over with the same person. Because falling in love is relatively easy, since it's based on feelings of giddy excitement and discovery. But remaining in love, once the freshness has worn off and the cute habits have become annoying, requires remembering why you fell in love in the first place. This advice was essentially what my dad shared with me one time after I'd been married five years.      I shared my dad's advice to me with a woman I met in a medical office. She noted that she and her husband ...

     I have amazing friends! I put out an email four days ago that noted I wanted to collect 60 pairs of socks in honor of my parents' 60th wedding anniversary tomorrow. Today, I have 121 pairs of socks! The great thing about it, is that the Hanes company is going to match all the pairs turned in by tomorrow to the Phoenix Rescue Mission so that will be 242 pair of socks for the needy! Thanks to all my friends, you are the best!      Speaking of feet, let's read Ephesians 6:14   Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist,  with the breastplate of righteousness in place,   15  and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. My husband watches the History channel and a recent show on King  Tutankhamun noted that King Tut had a degenerative foot disorder in one foot which may have led to his untimely death. They surmised that he used one of several walking staffs found in his t...

      Doubt can be debilitating. I appreciated the article written by Russell Helwig, Doubt is a given for everyone , in the Arizona Republic Newspaper today. Here's an excerpt from the column, "Doubt causes us to stop moving forward, inhibits us from believing in our dreams and goals, and can cause us to give up and retreat from those things we want to accomplish." How many of us at times have questioned our purpose and direction in life?       The Bible talks about doubt as well: Matthew 21:21~ Jesus replied,   “Truly I tell you, if you have faith and do not doubt,  not only can you do what was done to the fig tree, but also you can say to this mountain, ‘Go, throw yourself into the sea,’ and it will be done. Hebrews 11:1~ Now faith is confidence in what we hope for   and assurance about what we do not see.       Although I may not know what my future brings, I know who holds my future in the palm of His Hands. I may...

     I went to lunch with some lovely godly ladies today. During lunch one woman seemed completely baffled by the way people were raising their children today. She noted that when her daughter was young, she told her what was acceptable to wear and not wear. She said that her daughter had consequences if she misbehaved. Another lady said that parents are afraid of Children's Services Division today and don't discipline in fear of their kids getting mad and reporting them for abuse that didn't actually happen. The third woman raised her children well and yet her son seems to take no interest in her or her husband any longer. She's sad and confused.      In 2 Timothy 3:1-5 we are warned, " But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days.   2  People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money,  boastful, proud,  abusive,  disobedient to their parents,  ungrateful, unholy,   3  without love, unforgiving,...

     The Our Daily Bread for today, September 3, 2012, Labor Day really summed up how we should work and think about work. The article spoke of our motives for working and who we are trying to please or glorify with our work. Since I spent much of the day cleaning, grocery shopping and cooking, I'm going to go to be early and get some rest. So I'm leaving you the link to the Our Daily Bread reading for today. May you be as blessed as I was when I read and pondered it~  http://odb.org/ Ice carvers on a cruise ship. Their work is art and entertainment! Colossians 3:23  Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters,   24  since you know that you will receive an inheritance  from the Lord as a reward.  It is the Lord Christ you are serving.

     Last night there was a cricket chirping in our bedroom. I look all around the room and finally realized it was in our AC vent. I knew at that point there was nothing I was going to do about it, at least while my husband was sleeping in the bed next to me. So I put in my earplugs and went to sleep. In the morning I mentioned to my husband the cricket making a racket in our air conditioning vent and he said, "You should have told me about it." I laughed, wondering what he would have done, our attic must be nearly 200 degrees at any given time in the summer. That's probably why the cricket was hanging out in the AC duct!      Sometimes I just have to give things, even crazy things like annoying crickets, over to God as I know no one, even my well meaning husband can do anything to fix the problem. I have to have faith that God cares about the big and little issues in my life. Just like any good parent who wants to know how a child's day went at school, G...

     Today I received a flyer from our local Phoenix Rescue Mission asking for donations of new pairs of socks from men, women and children. They noted how many homeless people suffer from foot problems due to spending so much time on their feet and not having proper coverings and healthcare for their feet. They needed their donations to be turned in by September 7th for the Hanes Company to match their collection package for package!      So I sent out an email to friends and asked them to join me in collecting 60 pairs of new socks in honor of my parent's 60th Wedding Anniversary which is September 7. If you have a homeless shelter in your area, maybe they too could get in on the sock matching by Hanes. In any case, I'm sure you have plenty of people in your community, even church, who could use a nice new pair of socks, (actually new underwear are often in great need as well). Let's help others start out this fall with clean socks and maybe just a littl...