"I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want."  Philippians 4:12

This morning in prayer, all I heard were the cars zooming behind the house. I ached for quiet. The kind of quiet you find in the country, or sitting at the base of a massive redwood with only the wind sighing above. Everything in my brain is noisy lately.

It is cooling off some, and for that I am very grateful. Here in the desert, it's hard to remember what season you're in. I forget what month it is. It feels more like Spring than Fall. The garland I strung, along with the fall wreath of yellow and orange and brown remind me that it's near. That other places have crisp mornings with the promise of frost, crunching leaves underfoot.

I couldn't hear the birds over the cars either.

I longed for the company of a quail or mourning dove. But then I sensed God saying......"Do you come out here to seek me or hear the birds?" I thought, "Well, to sit in Your presence of course, but the birds are a nice touch." Maybe He allows distractions, and maybe He even sent the birds away for the morning.

And maybe I needed to be reminded that life, and prayer, are sometimes as dry as toast.

And it's perfectly okay.

Because wherever He is, there is beauty and truth, and everything we need.

He is all I need, more than enough like the song says. Somehow, by His grace through the years I have learned this secret. To open my eyes to the extrordinary in the ordinary and lift out the miracle that resides within. All around us are people who need a miracle, and we can give it to them.

Because He has called us "friends.

And the thunder rolled......

"Thus says the Lord......Stand by the ways and see and ask for the ancient paths, where the good way is, and walk in it; and you shall find rest for your souls. But they said, 'We will not walk in it.' Jeremiah 6:16

As I read the words of Jeremiah this morning, reflecting on the wrath of God poured out on a disobediant people, I felt a chill crawl up my spine. Jeremiah had the unpleasant task to be the mouthpiece of God to Israel.

"My soul, my soul! I am in anguish! Oh, my heart! My heart is pounding within me. Because you have heard, O my soul, the sound of the trumpet, the alarm of war!"

Just then, as if ordered by God himself to put a little emphasis on His own words there was a terrible clap of thunder and I almost jumped out of my seat! The anger of God is something I never want to experience personally.

It is easy to feel a little "puffed up" as the Apostle Paul put it, when we read about all those rebellious things the Israelites did, how they strayed from God to worship foreign idols, statues that could neither talk walk or breathe.

How could they, we wonder? After God himself came down in a visual form.....a pillar of fire by night and a cloud by day? After all He had done for them? And all along, there is a loving Father who wants His people back. He longs to love and cherish them and yet they push Him away.

There was another loud clap and in my mind I remembered all those times when I myself have push God away, thinking I knew better....thinking the plan I had for myself was better than the one He had for me. And yet, His mercy and love have pulled me back, over and over again. Not once has He ever refused me.

Oh how He loves us.......His mercy calls us back, new every morning.

As with all things of nature, it thrilled me no end, that clear and powerful reminder. It reminded me this morning who is in control, and it is most definitely not me.

To watch a lightning storm is to watch the finger of God touching down on the earth, and to hear His voice in the thunder a gift, a marvelous thing.

His power, my weakness.

What He said

No, despite all these things, overwhelming victory is ours through Christ, who loved us. Romans 8:37

I had a rough start this morning. I was feeling under the weather, but I successfully made it out the door. I have one more day and then I get on a plane to go see friends and family and one little girl who has been very excited that I am coming. Every day for a month she has been asking....."Lori come today?"  It is somewhat bittersweet......it is hard to leave when I know how difficult it will be without me here. But I have a very gracious friend, and she knows how important it is for me to be there too.

I gave out a relieved sigh as I got in the car and buckled in. I slid the CD into the player, the one I picked somewhat blindly since I didn't have my glasses on. As the notes filled the car I felt the beauty played by Phil Keaggy flow through my soul. Healing.....incredible, the power that music has to heal.

As I watched the light fill the sky and turn it every different shade of violet, I remembered what I heard last night from Ellen Johnson, president of the American Atheists,  as interviewed by Barbara Walters.

"Heaven doesn't exist, hell doesn't exist. We weren't alive before we were born and we're not going to exist after we die. I'm not happy about the fact that that's the end of life, but I can accept that and make my life more fulfilling now, because this is the only chance I have," she tells Walters.

No, I thought, I don't accept it, absolutely not.  And everything I see and hear and feel around me tells me otherwise. This is the tip of the iceberg, my friends. And to me, this morning, Heaven felt more real than anything else. And besides, as Elaine said, if we are wrong, then we have simply lived a good life, but if she is wrong......I said, "Yeah, it's gonna be a very long eternity."

I have seen people die with Christ, and I have seen people die without Him, and I can tell you this for sure. The ones with Christ have the lights of Heaven reflected in their eyes when they go, I have seen it myself.

I believe the proof I see all around me, and I take Jesus at His word that Heaven is very real indeed. When people ask me what I believe about Heaven, all I need to do is point to Jesus and say..."What He said."

This is only the beginning.
"But we impart a secret and hidden wisdom of God, which God decreed before the ages for our glory. None of the rulers of this age understood this, for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. But, as it is written,”What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man imagined, what God has prepared for those who love him” 1 Corinthians 2:7-9

Full bodied praise

I love them that love me.........and those that seek me early shall find me. Proverbs 8:17

This is when the rubber meets the road.....summer is digging in it's heels and we are no longer greeted with cool mornings. We have to dig in too. And it's not all bad. The desert makes you tough. It's already hot and sticky in my prayer closet this morning.

As I finish my prayer time, I am ready. I live the words as I put on my shoes to make my trek around the park. "No, I beat my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize." 1 Corinthians 9:27

As I walk, feel my body move, I am so thankful I can do this. I think of dear Briley and Kathryn whom I sit with when I volunteer in the Extrordinary Life kids group, bound to wheelchairs. I think they are the real heroes, they, and their dear parents.

I pick up my pace and think of an old Glen Frey song I played a lot when I worked out........for those of you under 40, he was one of the Eagles......the words come back and the years fall away:

I'm outside runnin' in the mornin' sun
No matter what it takes, I know I'm gonna get it done
I'm pushin' up the hill, fightin' through the pain
Everything to lose, everything to gain
I know I'm on my way, I'm on my way to number one

Feelin' good, gettin' tight
'Cause I'm livin' right, livin' right
Up in the mornin', asleep at night
I'm livin' right, livin' right

Out of the darkness, into the light and I'm

livin right, livin right.

I thought of the worship leader yesterday and what he said, why he wears no shoes when he is up there leading the music. He says it reminds him that it's Holy ground he stands on, and it is a way of keeping his focus on the Lord and not on all the people. He said he sees the ones sleeping, and the ones playing games on their Iphones, the halfhearted worshippers.

"For where two or three gather together as my followers, I am there among them." Matthew 18:20

He is right, the ground is Holy.

The sweat is pouring down now, and I hear the words of Mercy Me singing.......

"Separated until the veil was torn.

The moment that hope was born

and guilt was pardoned once and for all.

Captivated but no longer bound by chains

left at an empty grave

the sinner and the sacred resolved

And this is it, this is full bodied praise, right here and now. How right he is, the ground here is Holy. I think, this is what keeps me going. He keeps us, day after day. We have the strength to get up and do it again somehow, carried along by His Spirit.

This is the promise I cling to, and its true: "The Lord preserves all who love Him....." Psalm 145:20

Counting the gifts and the promises today, with these fine folks.......

I love you God, but.......

"Now Moses was tending the flock of Jethro his father-in-law, the priest of Midian, and he led the flock to the far side of the desert and came to Horeb, the mountain of God.......Exodus 3:1

"I love you, God....." But after I said it, I could hear how it sounded to my own ears. What must it have sounded like to God's? I was weary of myself so I could understand how He could be weary of me. Of my same prayers.......my same requests. I was feeling like a bad actor before a Holy God. And the act of sitting out there felt like a charade this morning.

Here I am Lord, again. Don't you get tired of me Lord? I would if I were you. It was a prayer, but there was a "but" behind my "I love you" that didn't belong.

If I knew how Holy the ground was beneath my feet, these Teva sandals would be off my feet in a New York minute. The truth is, sometimes it is just hard to feel the Holy when we are down here on what feels right now like a grubby little planet. The dirt and debris has piled up near the door from yesterday's dust storm and I stepped through it to make my way to Him, to the place of our morning meeting.

I'm still the same old me. I have not lost the ten pounds I wanted to lose by the trip to California in July and the month is half over. I will shock everyone with the blinding white of my skin when I put on my bathing suit. I also need to dye my roots.

And today my prayers sounded more like exasperated sighs than reverence for you.

I wasn't feeling it today. But I know better now. I have learned you can't always trust feelings. I am, however haltingly, learning to trust Him.

I turned where He directed, to the story of Moses. I wanted to read about the bush that God lit with Holy fire and it didn't burn up. And then God taught this slow learner another lesson. He showed me that Moses was a big bundle of inadequacy and nerves and fear just like me.....

The words were truth.....leaping out through the pages. Moses was just like me. Over and over again, he tried to convince God of all that he wasn't.

But Moses protested to God, “Who am I to appear before Pharaoh? Who am I to lead the people of Israel out of Egypt?” 

God answered, “I will be with you."

And later on......after God explained all the wondrous signs and miracles He would do, Moses protests once again......“What if they won’t believe me or listen to me? What if they say, ‘The Lord never appeared to you’?”

Lesson number two came when God told Moses to grab his staff which has now turned into a snake.

Sometimes you have to grab hold of that snake before God produces the miracle.

Moses then proceeds to work on God's last nerve, and boy don't I do that every single day?

Yet God is so full of love for Moses that he produces some help in the form of Aaron. Then the tears came and once again my love for God was as real as the flame in that bush. And there was my prayer, and this time it was real.....

And no buts about it.

In the wee small hours

Lying in bed, I think, 'When will it be morning?' But the night drags on, and I toss till dawn. Job 7:4 NLT

It always amazes me that I can find a Bible verse that applies to each and every situation. I was up once again at 2:00 AM. I was also up yesterday morning at around the same time. I scared Elaine to death because she thought she was being really quiet when she snuck into my bathroom at 2:30 and I said, "What you doing?" She almost jumped out of her skin. She was trying not to wake me but no worries there. She was really trying not to wake her Mom on the other side of the house. You learn with an Alzheimer's patient, you do anything in the world not to wake them at night.

Elaine has spent many hours awake since her Mom took over her bedroom. She now sleeps in the Arizona room which has walls and a ceiling but not much in the way of insulation. It is like sleeping by the Indianapolis Speedway. People drag up and down the street all hours of the night. She has a radio on at all times to mask the noise and her tinnitus.

I couldn't believe I was up once again this morning,  tossing and turning. My thoughts were like fireworks going off in my head. The more I thought about getting up at 4, the wider-awake I remained. I prayed.....I recited the 23rd Psalm which usually works like a tonic. Not this time.

I dreamt of that blessed blessed sleep that comes. The Bible calls it "sweet sleep."

I finally got it at around 3:30. Right before the alarm went off. I got up and started the coffee and layed back down for a few minutes. As I sat blinking, fuzzy-headed, sipping my first cup, the chorus of an old hymn was playing through my mind and it comforted me.......

Jesus is tenderly calling me home

Calling today, calling today

Why from the sunshine of love will thou roam

Farther and farther away?

Calling today, calling today

Jesus is calling, is tenderly calling today.

Jesus is calling the weary to rest

Calling today, calling today

Bring Him thy burden and thou shalt be blessed

He will not turn thee away.

I looked it up just now.......Turns out it is an old Jim Reeves song, lyrics written by Fanny Crosby.



I was thankful once again, that I was raised singing those old hymns.....I love the modern praise songs, but somehow when one of these slips quietly into my mind, I feel a peace like no other.

I think of my heritage, my Grandparents, all my Grandmother's sisters, and I really feel they are cheering me on from Heaven.

I can do this thing.

Chasing God's Reflection

And the happy life is this: To rejoice in You. To rejoice for you. To rejoice because of you. I say it again: Life is joy in You, who are the truth, O my God, the light of my soul, health of my body!

Those who think there is a different way to find a happy life are pursuing something quite different from happiness--how sad that they do not even realize it. It is true they will find some reflection of joy. But they will not find the true thing, and in the end they will be sadly disappointed, as I once was. Augustine, Confessions 10

I was thinking of the truth and beauty of Augustine's words yesterday as I sat in the quiet. I was remembering Saturday night and how Elaine and I raced all over the golf course across the street looking for that perfect shot of the Big Moon......She was my human tripod. She calls herself my camera caddy. And she doesn't mind a bit......As darkness closed in she said, "Let's go and find the water so we can get a shot of the reflection."

A bit further, and we found it. I balanced the camera on her shoulder and she clicked away on her IPhone......it was magnificent, and yet, it wasn't the reflection itself that held us captive, it was what it was reflecting that continued to turn our eyes upward.

We can get so caught up in the reflection of God through all the wonderful things He has made that we can actually miss God Himself. Augustine was right. And yet, as Elaine pointed out, the fact that someone created all this times doesn't factor in to many folks pattern of thought. Their minds don't go there.

Why did I? Why did she? Why do any of us?

Therein lies the whole miracle of the conversion experience.......And how could I not be bursting with Gratitude each and every day. It humbles me to the point of silence.....

And He did it all for us, "See, what I made you......" Everything we see around us is a reflection of His love for us. His hope is that we will look just a bit further. To lift our eyes to Him so that we may not only know Him, but be One with Him through Jesus.....

My list continues........Big beautiful moons that take the breath away......a garden springing to life......still cool mornings for which I am oh so grateful......a great follow-up conversation with our girl Heather.....another week to worship with the fellowship of believers.......another great lunch after church.....watching Mama feed her baby bird while taking a break at work......answered prayers as I looked back on my journal of two years ago......another day off! #877-887

We are smart, but God's smarter

We do things in this building, and all others on our campus....fantastical things. Things never thought possible even 60 years ago. We create all sorts of wild imaginings and then put them into form. We think, "what if....." And then we do it. That is, at least the creative brains do that. I am just a small cog in the wheel of technology....but I do my part.

And it all changes and grows so fast, that by the time a new process comes out, it is already outdated....
Considered obsolete.


People are creators because God made us that way....

All of us have that God spark that seeks to create because He put it in us.

But, with all this human achievement and rushing around, what we call progress; we still can't even come close to making a moon or setting the stars in place.

Or calming the sea with a word.

We aren't so smart.......

And as long as we have been alive, there is a danger, a temptation in worshiping that "created thing" instead of the One who put it all in motion to begin with. "And they exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator--who is forever praised. Amen." Romans 1:25

Don't get me wrong, I love technology! It has been my bread and butter for 16 years now and the industry has treated me well. I don't feel as my Mom does, that computers are the Antichrist. But ever since the golden calf and before that, we have been tempted to put things in place of God.

The idols may change over the centuries, but the temptation is the same.

This whole train of thought started with the radio this morning. There was a discussion about our gadgets. The female commentator had left her IPhone home and was feeling a bit lost. I can relate to that. I never felt that way about a phone before I got mine. She further stated a quote attributed to Steve Jobs that said something like:

"When people can put their wedding pictures on their phone, they will be emotionally attached." Or something like that.

She was saying that it troubled her a bit that she felt an emotion, an attachment, like something was missing because she didn't have her phone. I can relate. I am ashamed to say I feel the same way.

She said all her friends were having a great time playing "Words with Friends." She didn't start it. She didn't want to feel like she had to respond every time the phone dinged.

Well, I succumbed.

I started......I am addicted. And now I have to go.

It's my move.

Maybe it's time for a gadget fast.

Just after I play this word.

God Whispers Things

And the LORD will continually guide you, And satisfy your desire in scorched places, And give strength to your bones; And you will be like a watered garden, And like a spring of water whose waters do not fail. Isaiah 58:11


Sometimes God whispers things in the dark and silent moments between breaths.....and prayers. I was feeling so dry this morning. As dry as toast. Hollowed out. Like someone took my dreams and hopes for the future and blew them away with a puff of air.
 
I know I have Heaven.......I know what awaits me is better than anything I can imagine. I have nothing but hope there. But I need hope now, and for the rest of my life. Hope that it will all work out. Hope to fill in the holes.
 
He whispered........"Those holes and empty places you feel? That fear of the future? Those holes are all the better for Me to fill."
 
Sometimes He does empty us out so He can fill us with Him.
 
The reason I know it was Him?
 

It was still

It was small

It was immediate

 

And it put my fears to rest.................as only He can.

A repost from 2009......

Jeremiah 31:1-6

 

1 "At that time," declares the LORD,

"I will be the God of all the clans of Israel, and they will be my people."

2 This is what the LORD says:

"The people who survive the sword

will find favor in the desert;

I will come to give rest to Israel."

3 The LORD appeared to us in the past, saying:

"I have loved you with an everlasting love;

I have drawn you with loving-kindness.

4 I will build you up again

and you will be rebuilt, O Virgin Israel.

Again you will take up your tambourines

and go out to dance with the joyful.

5 Again you will plant vineyards

on the hills of Samaria;

the farmers will plant them

and enjoy their fruit.

6 There will be a day when watchmen cry out

on the hills of Ephraim,

'Come, let us go up to Zion,

to the LORD our God.' "

When I read Jeremiah 30-33 the compassion of God seemed to leap from the page this morning as I was reading in my "prayer closet" I selected just a portion above....when I think of how many times Israel turned their backs on God and yet, He reached out to them with hope and healing, longing for their restoration.
What are you exiled from today? A child, a church, God, a marriage, a friendship? It seems in life there are many forms of exile we face, but God seeks to restore us; always there is hope. Cling to His word, there is promise there.
I close with this verse, again from Jeremiah, 33:3...."Call to Me, and I will answer you, and I will tell you great and mighty things,which you do not know."

The God Who Sees

"Then she called the name of the Lord who spoke to her, “You are a God who sees”; for she said, “Have I even remained alive here after seeing Him?” Genesis 16:13


El Roi.....The God who sees. One of the names of God. Isn't it wonderful that we have a God who sees us? Who notices what we do?

We all want to be seen......be noticed. Even nature commands our attention........

It invites us to look.....deeper. And it always points toward its Maker.........the Grand Designer of us all.

Our God is the God who has searched us and known us......just as we want to be searched and known by others.....especially the ones we love.

Something in us wants to be remembered........and we want others to remember the ones we have loved......even little cats spelled with a "K"

Few words this week folks.......one of those "treading water" weeks.

As timing would have it I came down with a killer cold the day before I got a new trainee at work. So I have been drugged up with Dayquil and fortified with Vitamin C during the day, and knocked out at night so I can sleep and get up by 4 am.

Two more days to go......God is good. He has kept me going. I can almost see the end of the week in sight.

Prayers please for my caregiving friend who just may head off to parts unknown really soon if she doesn't get some relief......

all pics taken in and around Payson, Arizona by me

Nature as prayer......

In an interview with Mother Teresa of Calcutta, Dan Rather asked her, "What do you say to
God when you pray?" She thoughtfully said, "I listen." Flustered, he tried again. "Well, then what does God say?" Mother Teresa smiled......."He listens."

Yesterday I felt like the whole day was a prayer. God spoke through His creation once again......

..........and I listened. Nature speaks more clearly of God than anything else I can think of. If we only open our eyes and ears and let Him speak through it. So I give you some photos from yesterday's trip north to a place I used to live.

The Psalmist wisely says......

"The Heavens are telling of the glory of God; and their expanse is declaring the works of His hands. Day to day pours forth speech.....

And night to night reveals knowledge.

There is no speech, nor are there words; where their voice is not heard.

Indeed, God has touched every last corner of the earth with His nature, and only the coldest heart is untouched by it.....

Their line has gone out through all the earth, and their utterances to the end of the world.....

In them He has placed a tent for the sun.

It's rising is from one end of the heavens, and its circuit to the other end of the world.

Down to the smallest detail........God has brushed our earth with His divine fingerprints. It is up to us to find His mark.....it is everywhere!

My soul exults. I breathe a prayer of thanksgiving once again for His marvelous works.

All pictures taken in and around Payson, Arizona and Tonto Natural Bridges State Park

Waking up in the Desert

“But forget all that—it is nothing compared to what I am going to do.

For I am about to do something new.

See, I have already begun! Do you not see it?

I will make a pathway through the wilderness.

I will create rivers in the dry wasteland.

Isaiah 43:18,19

The rest of the world is tucking in......preparing for the winter,

enjoying things like crisp mornings and the smell of woodsmoke.

And hot cider.

The bloom of color on tips of leaves,

and the anticipation watching them twirl down.......

orange frost crunch underfoot, and

Pumpkins peek out from green patch along the country road to town.

In the desert we are just waking up again.

The barbeques come back out.

We scalp summer lawn down to bare dirt.

and Home Depot sells manure by the ton

as our desert turns golf green.

But......as I hang my fall foliage indoors,

Set ceramic pumpkins here and there....

Hang my wreath of Autumn on the door

and get out the harvest flag.

The joy of fall wiggles glad in my heart.

I remember it.

Flannel shirts.....

cracking walnuts with my Mom in the garage

I cracked and we both sorted.

I remember......cool mornings

bright maple leaves against brilliant sky.

Wind that bites.

And wood piled in the driveway.

As I plant my perennials out front in the warm sun

Fall is alive in my heart.

and for some reason I can't stop singing.

Today I celebrate desert fall

Because God called it all good......

and it is.

Very good.

photos from google images

Evening walk

An evening walk among giants......

Cicadas were the symphony backdrop, with an occasional bullfrog and the sound of ducks splashing across the pond and dragonfly wings whirring overhead.....

Fall in the desert is a bit different......no evening chill yet, the heat of the day leaves reluctantly....it hangs on until the morning hours.

Two ducks heading to communal evening bath time

Still, we know that summer is coming to an end at long last. It is slow going, and yet when we get up and are greeted with the cool air that greets the morning,

we are graced with new life....

new hope.

By the time we headed back to the car, the mosquitoes were out in force.......

but we know that soon summer will lose it's grip for good. Soon we will have the desert chill, and

fires in the firepit.........hot drinks and

everything fall.

When the Desert Loves

As a pilot calls on winds and a storm-tossed mariner looks
homeward, so the times call on you to win your way to God. As
God's athlete, be sober; the stake is immortality and eternal
life. St. Ignatius the God-bearer

I have never read much of the desert fathers (and mothers) but I understand the appeal the desert held for them. The desert has a way of calling to you after awhile. I never would have believed this, having been raised with weekends on the Pacific coast and the majestic Sierra Nevada mountain range. These call too, very loudly........it is easy to see God there because the grandeur of that beauty speaks with a megaphone.

The desert is big sky.........and filled with remote and lonely places that only the cry of the coyotes fill.

And the desert is fierce and moody and relentless. At once brutal, so hot you can feel it in your eyeballs, and powerful and violent as the thunder rolls, the lightening flashes against the backdrop of eerie sky sending both human and animal alike running for cover as the hardened ground fails to contain the water that pours out of the sky in sheets. The wind blows and the dust swallows everything in its path. I challenge anyone to doubt God in a desert thunderstorm.

You feel the fierceness of the relentless heat like the Old Testament's descriptions of God's wrath in the summer time. You think you will never get through its oppressive agony. It is merciless, the way it beats down on you, month after month.Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God....... Then just when you think you can't stand one more minute.......that He may exalt you at the proper time.....1 Peter 5:6

And then.......miraculously.

It cools. You feel the release of its grip like the whisper of God's mercy. You walk outside and you realize something monumental has happened, something wondrous. It is the desert waking up.....The hope of that awakening is something a non-desert dweller could never understand.

We rejoice because we have made it through to the other side. It's a bit like rebirth......Doors and windows are once again thrown open, and new life begins once more.

Flowers appear on the earth; the season of singing has come, the cooing of doves is heard in our land. Song of Solomon 2:12 

I open the screen door for the first time today....Hallelujah!

The Human Condition

I was swept along by a terrible dust storm last night after fighting through my 12 hour shift with a head cold. I was literally running down the hall trying to make it to the bathroom to the kleenex box by days end. Then, I had to go back in after I got all the way out to my car because I forgot something in the fridge at work. Part of dinner, actually. The picture above is one that was posted all across the country after our "big" storm on July 5th. I found it on a Google search, and it turns out this one came from "The Ecuador Times," of all places!

Last nights storm wasn't nearly as bad since I did have visibility on the freeway, but you have to be aware of debris hitting you. Birds were trying to fly and being carried off course....and when I was almost home I noticed a dust cloud, we call them "dirt devils" touching down on the freeway, right in my path. I watched the other cars (Yes, I realize this is faulty logic) as they cautiously drove through, and so I figured it was safe enough for my little bug, which holds the road like a tank. I gripped the wheel, all the while visualising my bug and me being sucked up into the vortex like Dorothy.

Once on the other side of that, the rain started along with the wind......along with a healthy amount of lightning striking all around. Meanwhile, I had used the last of my Kleenex and was resorting to my sleeve to catch drips....Ughhhh!

I looked to my left off the freeway and noticed smoke. I followed it down to ground level and it led to flames which were shooting through the roof of a house! I could see them even from the freeway. I assume it was started by the lightning. I could see the lights of Emergency vehicles already on the scene. I said a silent prayer, hoping that all had gotten out safely.



I was starting to feel like I was driving home in the middle of a disaster movie!

I thought of it all, the little and big things we go through in a day and how much of it would really matter if someone told me I was terminally ill. I also thought that I would probably treat the people in my life better if I were terminal. See things a bit differently.

So many times I feel like a kid trying to work up tears when I commune with God and tell Him I'm sorry for mistreating one of His people. I want to be so sorry that it motivates me to change.....Sackcloth and ashes kind of sorry. The kind that leads to repentance and doesn't ring hollow.

This is the human condition. The thing we all have in common. And the things that we have in common, also have the power to bring us closer together.

Help me Lord, to treat my friends, my family, myself better. To treat my friends like treasure instead of trash, knowing that each one you brought into my life, you brought there for a reason. Help me to love more. Turn my heart of stone into one of flesh. Help me to treat others as better than myself and to not be afraid to be honest. To myself, and others and You. And help me to remember that we are all weathering storms of some kind, help me to be sensitive to that and keep my heart ready to listen. Amen

The Fear Factor

Do not fear, for I am with you; do not anxiously look about you, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, surely I will help you, Surely I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.’ “Behold, all those who are angered at you will be shamed and dishonored; those who contend with you will be as nothing and will perish. Isaiah 41:10,11

If we could see God's grace all around us.......just imagine. I envision something like these Palo Verde tree blossoms which fall everywhere here a certain time of year......we would see it everywhere we walked, for He has promised to hem us in on all sides with His love and protection.

That doesn't mean that our path will be trouble free and easy. In fact, Jesus promised that in the world we would have trouble. But right after that He tells us to take heart because He has already overcome it. That means, if we belong to Him, so have we! Whatever the world dishes out, we can take it my friends.

And I love what He says right before that......"I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace."  

We can rest in the hollow of His hand. Of that we can be certain.

And when we close our eyes at night, can't you just feel His grace keeping you? For He neither slumbers nor sleeps.

There is much fear and uncertainty in our world today, but we don't need to pay attention to it. We don't have to worry about the economy......

our health

our jobs or lack thereof

or anything else that keeps us up at night.

Our Heavenly Father knows we need all these things. So, whatever you are worried about today, give it to Him, He can handle it!

"Who did this? Who made it happen? Who always gets things started? I did. God. I'm first on the scene. I'm also the last to leave. Isaiah 41:4

The Message

And a special prayer for Elaine, my best of friends. You take care of everyone else, but today and every day He will take care of you! He walks behind you and before you today..... May He keep you in perfect peace today and cast away all fear! Me

Morning Journal

When morning gilds the skies my heart awaking cries:
May Jesus Christ be praised!
Alike at work and prayer, to Jesus I repair:
May Jesus Christ be praised!

When you begin the day, O never fail to say,
May Jesus Christ be praised!
And at your work rejoice, to sing with heart and voice,
May Jesus Christ be praised!

German hymn, author unknown

The birds were busy this morning,  as they crisscrossed staccato clouds. Roused from their nightime secrets places of slumber, they now have places to go, things to do.

Bunny is busy too, zig-zagging further down the street. It was a gilded sunrise, everything washed in peach......I had a great night's sleep and I feel rested, first time in four days.

The moon still hangs lazily above the cloud bank to my right. I guess she is not ready to wake up on the other side of the world just yet.

What a luxury it is to sit here and watch the world wake up.

In my memory, I see myself, my Dad, a group of us standing in a circle holding hands on a green lawn, still damp with dew. We are singing the song, "Morning Has Broken." Celebration in the air......

It is Easter sunrise.

Today I had another.

 

Taming the tongue

Greer, Arizona

On June 11th, what has now become Arizona's largest wildfire in history was started. It was human caused, reportedly by a campfire. Around 534,639 acres have burned. The Wallow Fire, as it has been named, is dying down at last. My heart was broken when I read about some of the most beautiful country in our state going up in flames, not to mention the houses and towns threatened. No human deaths occured, which is a miracle. I am happy to say that one of my very favorite towns, Greer has been spared. Go here to check out a great place to stay if you ever find yourself in our State.

Such a devastaing fire, started by one small flame......that's is what was on my mind when I read this verse from James:

In the same way, the tongue is a small thing that makes grand speeches........

But a tiny spark can set a great forest on fire. And the tongue is a flame of fire. It is a whole world of wickedness, corrupting your entire body. It can set your whole life on fire, for it is set on fire by hell itself.

People can tame all kinds of animals, birds, reptiles, and fish, but no one can tame the tongue. It is restless and evil, full of deadly poison. Sometimes it praises our Lord and Father, and sometimes it curses those who have been made in the image of God. And so blessing and cursing come pouring out of the same mouth. Surely, my brothers and sisters, this is not right!

The other morning I illustrated the validity and truth of Scripture with my own actions. I wasn't planning on it, of course, but I did it all the same. It happened as I pulled into the parking lot at work, where we have recently installed solar panels. The fact that they are a wonderful power source is a side note to what really matters to those of us who leave our cars out there in the baking sun for 12 hours now that it is approaching 108-110 in the shade. Covering. They only provided us with two rows of them, in a virtual sea of spaces, however. To say that these are much sought after spots is an understatement.

So now I leave at 5:10 instead of 5:20.

I had just finished praying as I approached what I thought was an available spot. There was a motorcycle parked there. Immediately I cursed them. Yes, I did. And then I had to pray again.

For forgiveness.

How quickly my heart and my tongue can turn from blessing to cursing, Father, forgive me. Sweet and bitter water out of the same fountain.....

And yet, He is faithful to forgive....once again.

I think of that devastating fire, all the damage that will take so many years to restore. I think of all the destruction that negative words can cause and how maybe someone can never ever be restored, repaired from the hurt that goes so deep. I think of how much good that wonderful words can do. How a face can light up from a simple compliment.

It is humbling.....makes me want to do better.

The Desert Speaks

For the LORD’s portion is His people;

Jacob is the place of His inheritance.

“He found him in a desert land

And in the wasteland, a howling wilderness;

He encircled him, He instructed him,

He kept him as the apple of His eye.

Deuteronomy 32:9,10

Monday was a tough day......It was a day where months, actually years of stress caught up and culminated in words that have been bottled up far too long. It had to be said......and she had to get out. So we went.....fast. Destination: Anywhere but there. Caregivers of the very demanding understand this need to escape.

Who knows whether the words stuck. They were probably forgotten within 10 minutes.That is the thing with Alzheimers, you never know what sticks and what doesn't. She is not at the stage where she would be in danger alone......yet, although that will come. So we went.

No one tells you. The rules change daily. What is okay one day is met with anger and denial the next. A day trip was necessary, crucial.....sanity was precariously balanced on the edge of a very fine line.

Grabbing my camera I said, "Let's go to Globe, they have old buildings and it's not too far away."

And God gave one of His unexpected little surprises, well actually two. A call came on her cell while we were driving around......cousin Sandra, two states away. A welcome voice from someone who understands the situation and everyone involved. Healing balm for a hurting heart.

Driving along I saw some pretty plants and a sign that said, "Botanical Gardens." We stopped and found a neat surprise there, a place called  Besh Ba Gowah "Place of Metal" Archaeological Park. The name is referring to the mining that took place there. It was an old Salado pueblo ruins that had been excavated and partially reconstructed.

We paid our 4 dollars and were invited to watch the 15 minute video, which we skipped. My camera was itching in my hands....God gave a gift......Sometimes He speaks in desert blooms. It was like He was saying.........."This is for you........."

and so is this........

This one reminded me of a fire-cracker.....

As we walked through, we heard the Spirit speak in birdsong.....saw the glory of Him in the blooms that even thorns do not prevent.....

heard His whisper on the breeze,

Telling us all the while that He loved us and longed to give us rest......

In His Presence......

it was very good.

Thank you, my friend. I am so glad you insisted we get away.

You knew how much I wanted a camera day.  

It was one of those God things that it turned out like it did.