Are you blooming? The day I took this photo, I was sitting outside on the deck having time in the Word and kept looking at this new spring flag on our deck. I loved the vivid colors, but more than that I want to do what this says.
My Soul
I have learned why my soul blesses the Lord.
David understood this too and says…
Speak with Boldness
Now, after seeing God’s movement in healing, I am inspired to live in a new way.
Change Within My Heart
Purifying. Refining.
These are godly words that sound good and they are good… in the end.
But have you been through it?
I have.
Refining can… hurt.
Strength of My Heart
Recently, I was walking behind a grandmother holding her granddaughter’s toddler- hand.
The hands intertwined were a precious picture… two extreme ages, with the aged lending strength to stabilize the young.
The visual made me realize… aging is not what I expected.
The Gift
I struggle with needing to feel… needed.
But sometimes this is a way that I make myself feel important.
It is a way of showing what I can do in my own strength… making it about me.
PEACE JOURNEY
No suspicion of a cancer diagnosis was in my mind that day—it was just a routine checkup. The shock of the radiologist’s brief clinical explanation caused me to sense a surreal atmosphere. I visualized to-do lists and calendar pages flying through the air like paper airplanes landing directly into the wastebasket. Recovery from shock was gradually realized in a few days when a reservoir of inner peace began to flow.
Unity
A small rock sits on my kitchen window sill as a reminder of a recent summer day. I attended a prayer gathering on our downtown square.
Side by Side
My heart soars when I watch a certain young man joyfully assist the worship minister rehearse with the choir before entering the sanctuary. His body bends over his crutches, yet he stands as if his posture was perfectly straight. His face reflects the joy and love of Christ with an unguarded smile. His eyes look to Heaven as he sings. Christ’s radiance on his face inspires me every time I see him. This man is famous to Jesus. Jesus is famous to this man.
Found!
At the moment of realization that I had left my wallet in a busy interstate highway gas station two hours earlier, my heart began racing while my brain began rehearsing the rapid steps of what to do next. Call the bank card company. Call the credit card company. Call the station where I left it. Tomorrow, go to the driver’s license office to reorder my license.
FERVENCY
Have you ever listed the women who have most influenced your life? Luke’s list makes me wonder why Mary, Joanna, Susanna and the many others who served Jesus during his life were notable in first century AD. Surely these women suffered. I’m not sure if I could have endured an exorcism administered over Mary to cast out seven demons. Who would have the stamina to serve and live in the household of Herod?
Thereto I Pledge Thee My Troth
The depth of the love story in Hosea certainly caught me by surprise when my girlfriends and I studied it in the fall. Prophecy has a way of sneaking up on you like that.
Covenant Love
It is finally dawning on me that God’s love is beyond definition: “For I am God and not a man—the Holy One among you” (11:9).
Way back in Hosea 2:14-15 God hinted at His tenderness, at the renewal of Israel’s blessings and their hope, at the restoration of His intended relationship with them. “In that day” (2:16) He will be like the dew to Israel, refreshing its roots and its blossoms, its splendor and its fragrance. His covenant love will kick into gear; He can’t go back on His promises.
Return and Repent
Unfortunately the lessons of the thornbushes can be many and exceedingly prickly if you wander your own way, as the nation of Israel persisted in doing. Sin became our downfall way back in the garden.
Thornbushes and Brick Walls
Well, Hosea did as God told him to and married Gomer. She conceived and bore him a son, a daughter, and another son (1:3). Then things went awry. Gomer became restless, in spite of the love of Hosea: “I will go after my lovers, who give me my food and my water, my wool and my linen, my oil and my drink” (2:5). She had totally forgotten who had rescued her, protected her, loved her, and supplied all her needs.
Looking for Love in All the Wrong Places
Ah, January—fun fact: “January was named for the Roman god Janus, known as the protector of gates and doorways which symbolize beginnings and endings. Janus is depicted with two faces, one looking into the past, the other with the ability to see into the future” (almanac.com). Time to put on our two faces of Janus this week and dig into the book of Hosea to build some godly wisdom for 2024.
Pillar People
A very wise man once referred to a young couple as “pillar people.” They had fostered five siblings for an extended time and had grieved deeply when the time ended. The wise man encouraged them to see themselves as a stable pillar God had placed within the lives of these children. The siblings would forever look back at that time of stability as a frame of reference.
Genuine Faith
The withered little plant appeared dead, but I smiled and accepted the gift in faith. A friend assured me that it only needed planting and watering. Even though my faith floundered, my friendship did not. So, I dutifully complied.
Persevering Faith
The tiny pond needed fish and could provide the perfect habitat for Koi, those large multi-colored goldfish. Feeding them would provide such fun for the grandkids. The adventure began with four Koi fingerlings.
An Unexpected Treasure
Downsizing required sorting multiple boxes of yellowed childhood treasures. The task felt daunting. One item, though, made the experience worth the effort—a folded piece of manila paper with a title scribed by a child. “Prays and Verses.”