Star-fish

     While watching television tonight, I heard the sound of things being blown around the patio. I looked out our back door to see a cushion from a chair laying on the ground and a pool chair pushed over. Since it was dark out, I couldn't see the palm fronds blowing. But the familiar rustling sound they make when the leaves brush together was an indicator of the strength of the wind. Nothing on the weather report indicated high winds.      I have heard it said that we cannot see the wind, but we know that it is windy due to the effect it has on other things. Right after checking outside, I picked up my Bible to read and came across the following scripture from Ecclesiastes 11:5, "As you do not know the path of the wind, or how the body is formed in a mother's womb so you cannot understand the work of God, the Maker of all things."      My responsibility as a child of the Maker of all things is to believe in His Son Jesus Christ, follow the...

     Snuffling sounds woke me from my nap. Thanksgiving preparations had left me tired and I tried to take a nap while others were out doing Black Friday shopping. As I looked toward the bottom of the door, all that was visible was a dog's black nose. As my cocker spaniel has gotten older, she has become my constant companion. I had to smile, when crouching down to see under the door, where two furry paws and a sniffing black nose filled the space.      This morning, I read about God's desire for us to stay close to Him and build relationship with Him. It seems easy for my dog, she wants nothing more than to be in proximity to me. How much more should I desire to stay near my Lord Jesus Christ?      You might think, "Well, it's easy for a dog to trust and obey its master since the owner feeds the dog, bathes it and keeps it safe." Exactly, just as the Lord does for me and much, much more! But the difference is my dog keeps a singular focus ...

     Trapped! I saw it struggling to get loose and gently released it from the trap. A Cactus Wren, the State Bird of Arizona, but barely alive. Our new home seems to attract rats with the citrus fruit growing in our yard. My husband put out traps to catch the rats, but this bird decided to crawl into the trap and try to eat the cheese.      I stroked the birds feathers and released it into a large bougainvillea where it stretched its wings to fly. My husband noted, "I didn't know they would eat cheese." I know how much he enjoys the birds flitting around our yard. My heart was heavy too for the suffering creature and I said a prayer for God to heal it.       As the day went on, I pondered the bird's situation and thought about times I had gone where I shouldn't have gone and gotten into things that were not the best for me. Those times often ended up with me feeling lost and trapped by my flesh and sin's webbing of consequences that...

     As noted in the previous blog entries, I've been studying Acts through the study guide, The Unexplainable Church by Erica Wiggenhorn. Today, as I read the last section of the study, I was inspired to write my own story for God. I had listened to several preachers on television this morning and the trend was "self-control," and "finishing the race." Since I have issues with self-control, perseverance, and exercise, I was all ears. Now Erica was cheering her readers on and noting, "Now it's our race. Are you ready?" It seemed as the Lord felt the need to convict me and then remind me of my need to commit to Him and then push me to step out...all in one morning!       So I wrote the following to the ladies in my Bible Study group, (probably more for myself then to them):  This is our last session with Erica in this study. It is again powerful and convicting! She challenges us to write our own “Acts 29” ending by beginning with writing our name...

      As I noted yesterday, our Women's Bible study is reading,  The Unexplainable Church  by Erica Wiggenhorn. Today's reading on pages 238-243 included a look at Acts 28:11-29. It's a convicting lesson regarding the sacrifices of Paul in his willingness to obediently follow God's will for his life.       Yesterday, we saw Paul shake off the viper and spend three months on the Island of Malta where even though he's shipwreck on his way to Rome, he prays and performs miracles of healing on the people of the island. His Rome or Bust tour had it’s fair share of toils and troubles, yet Paul persevered on his journey. He apparently walked 130 miles on the last leg of the trip from the Port of Puteoli to Rome. Erica notes at the bottom of page 239, “These early believers received the good news of the gospel with such joy they couldn’t help but share it with others—even when it included sacrifice.” On page 240, she follows up with questions ...

     A woman at our church has written and published three Women's Bible Studies. The one we are recently working on is called, The Unexplainable Church by Erica Wiggenhorn. It is a study of Paul's journey through the reading of Acts 13-28.      Today, we read Acts 27:39-28:10, where Paul is shipwrecked on the Island of Malta. After enduring treacherous seas for two weeks, the ship is about to crash onto a sandbar. But if that's not enough trouble for the 276 on aboard, the soldiers are planning on killing the prisoners so they can't swi m to freedom once the ship wrecks!       But God uses the favor of a Roman Centurion to save Paul's life and the entire 276 men make it ashore alive, a miracle in and of itself. Once on shore the devil is working overtime with a viper striking out and hanging from Paul’s hand to kill or cause him illness, but God steps in and turns another bad scenario into a blessing for Paul and to glorify Hims...

     The media hype is that the holidays are the best time of year. Pictures of family dinners, kids unwrapping presents under the tree, and couples enjoying romantic dinners ending in the giving of sparkling jewelry are everywhere. Those who are watching these commercials or television programs though may be going through just the opposite holiday experiences. So then what?      People who have recently lost loved ones, or are struggling financially, or are hurting physically due to illness can look at these displays of wonderful times and wonder, "Why are others so happy while I am hurting?" When in reality, many more are suffering from holiday depression and demise then let on.      So now what? Lower your expectations and increase your gratitude. I know that our society is all about high expectations, setting goals and reaching them, pushing through the pain, and all the jazz, but sometimes pain has a purpose. Often we won't know the pu...

     As I was reading through Facebook entries, one comment struck me as sad and all too common. A person on Facebook had a photo of an amazing holiday display in their home that was obviously expensive and time consuming to put up. A viewer commented that they had only put up a few decorations and noted, "I feel inadequate." My initial response was to comment back to her, "That's the point of Facebook!" But I didn't want to diminish the efforts of the initial person who was sharing her labor of love.      It's easy these days to feel inadequate. Everyone around us appears to be super-sizing their lives either through fancy displays, home makeovers, over the top vacations, etc. And there we sit, going about our daily routines with little to show for them except clean and organized homes, well fed families and pets, and routines that bless others in small ways as often as we are able. Hmmm...that's not exactly skydiving off a Swiss Alp or preparing a...