Hope

Eternity in our hearts

Stairway at Butchart Gardens

Living with eternity always in mind changes our perspective on everything else that happens in this life. This is the great challenge, to keep this fixed always in the backdrop of our hearts and minds. In this way, nothing can totally devastate us as it would if we didn’t have this hope.

Everything around us, however difficult or bleak the circumstance may be, continues to be colored with this one idea, this one thought. This is not all there is….. Sometimes we feel as if we have one foot in this world and one in the next and we feel the weight of it when life gets to be too much. Some would say that living like that would taint this life, as someone who goes around with one ear closed, half paying attention to everything around them, but really it turns the volume up. Everything somehow seems more brilliant, more vibrant and alive, like a deaf or blind person who has just got their senses for the first time.

Paul felt the weight of eternity too……

For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain. If I am to go on living in the body, this will mean fruitful labor for me. Yet what shall I choose? I do not know! I am torn between the two: I desire to depart and be with Christ, which is better by far; Philippians 1:21-23

There is no going around it. We will constantly seek more in this life, because we know instinctively that there is more….He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the hearts of men; yet they cannot fathom what God has done from beginning to end. Ecclesiastes 3:11

What do you think? Does knowing we have eternity make you sometimes want to give up on this life? Or does it make it easier to go on?

Jesus is no secret……


In a society that seeks quick fixes and the flavor of the month, along with financial abundance, the movie The Secret became a phenomenon in 2006. This led to appearances on Oprah and other popular television programs and media venues for speakers such as James Arthur Ray, whose book Harmonic Wealth rose on the best sellers lists and drew a steady flow of registrants for his expensive spiritual retreats. It was at one of these retreats held in Sedona, Arizona, that dozens fell ill and at least 2 participants died as a result of something that went awry at a sweat lodge ceremony. Article taken from Examiner.com, Philadelphia

In fact, 3 ended up losing their lives.

Last night on Dateline.NBC they were recapping events from this tragedy. They interviewed some of the participants, all of whom are intelligent individuals with successful careers and bright futures. But there was a common thread wound around all of them.They were looking for something they hadn’t found yet.

The Angel Valley Retreat Center, where the weekend events took place, is owned by Michael and Amayra Hamilton, who rented it to Ray for a five-day “Spiritual Warrior” retreat that promised to “absolutely change your life.”
Participants paid between $9000.00-$10,000.00 for the retreat.

One man emerged from the Sweat lodge halfway through the ceremony because he thought he was having a heart attack, and instead of summoning medical aid, Ray said “It’s a good day to die,” according to a search warrant affidavit. Source: CBS.com news

Participants, at least the ones who made it out alive, continue to be haunted by events of that fateful weekend in 2009. It did change their lives, but not for the better. Three lives ended unnecessarily only because they thought they were doing something good. They put their very lives in the hands of the wrong person.

People do it everyday. We’ve all done it at one time or another.

But there is One who contains within Himself all we will ever need to be fulfilled in this life and that is Jesus. No, I didn’t say rich, I said fulfilled.

What makes Him qualified?

He has been here since the beginning. John 1:1
At the appointed time He came to earth, born of a virgin. Isaiah 7:14
He lived a sinless life. 1 John 3:5
Voluntarily gave His life for us by going to the cross. 1 Peter 2:24
Rose again on the third day. 1 Corinthians 15:4
Appeared to many eyewitnesses after His resurrection. Acts 13:31
Ascended to the Father, where He intercedes for us today. Romans 8:34
Gives us His Holy Spirit who leads us into all truth. John 16:7
At the appointed time He will come back. Hebrews 10:37

James Arthur Ray is charged with 3 counts of manslaughter and faces a minimum of three years in prison and a maximum of 12 for each manslaughter charge.

I pray for those today who continue to be deceived by James Arthur Ray and others like him…….He continues to lecture on his website.

Answers from the Psalms


You cried to me in trouble, and I saved you; I answered out of the thundercloud and tested your faith when there was no water at Meribah. Psalm 81:7

Counting hope today in expectation of the answers……”In the morning, O LORD, you hear my voice; in the morning I lay my requests before you and wait in expectation!” Psalm 5:3 We can pray in expectation because we know He is faithful. I love the idea of David laying his requests before God in the morning…..He wasn’t afraid to be open and transparent before God….and vulnerable. He knew that God would answer because of all the times He had answered in the past. He also knew that true faith means coming before the Lord with full assurance that God had already worked it out!

David made some big mistakes just like we all have, but he still knew that he was God’s child. He knew that his help truly came from the Lord and no one else. Maybe you had a parent you could never count on. You always had hope that at least one time they would come through for you, but they never did. One time give a word of encouragement. One time, show up for the game. One time, say they loved you, were pulling for you, were on your side. You gave up, on them, on yourself….feeling you must not be worth it.

But take heart, because our Heavenly Father is not like that. He is in the bleachers cheering you on. He always has been. He says, you are mine and you are worthy! We need to look no further than Calvary to remind ourselves that God thinks we are indeed worth it.

“For you have heard my vows, O God; you have given me the heritage of those who fear your name.” Psalm 61:5 #361

“They cried to you and were saved; in you they trusted and were not disappointed.” Psalm 22:5 #362

“I waited patiently for the LORD; he turned to me and heard my cry.” Psalm 40:1 #363

#364 flowers in summer, #365 laughter when all else fails, #366 answers, expected and unexpected, #367 the gift of health, #368 time off work, #369 air-conditioning when it’s 112 in the shade, #370 parents that were there……

holy experience

Lo, I am with you always…


This morning right before I awoke I dreamed I was staring at the sky much like the one above, and as I was gazing at it, a very large hand came reaching down out of the clouds. It was huge, a God-sized hand, the biggest thing I have ever seen in the sky. I gasped and turned around, hoping someone else was seeing it too. But nobody did.

I think sometimes God sends us little messages to let us know that He is with us. He knows we are weak, get tired, lose hope, need our spirits lifted. I know it lifted mine this morning. I don’t think there was any deep message in it, except that God was saying, “I am here.” Maybe this message of hope is for you today.

“The angel of the LORD encamps around those who fear him, and he delivers them.” Psalm 34:7 Even Jesus needed angels to comfort Him in the garden before He went to the cross. If He needed their comfort, what makes us think they don’t tend to us as well? I think if we could really see the spiritual activity all around us, it would greatly change how we live from day to day.

Jesus knew of it, and the demons who greeted Him knew of it too, but most of the time we are woefully ignorant. And sometimes, the here and now is painful, blinding us to it even further. All we can see is the hopelessness of our circumstances. Sometimes though He breaks through and reaches us where we are.

I had just lost my husband and I was walking around in a black vacuum. The grand-piano sized grief had settled on my chest and I carried it everywhere. One day I was checking out at the grocery store. As the checker handed me my change and looked at me, I felt some undescribable. It was as if Jody himself was looking out through his eyes saying, “Everything’s gonna be fine.” I have always thought it was an angel. “Are not all angels ministering spirits sent to serve those who will inherit salvation?” Hebrews 1:14
All these years later, the memory has not dimmed. I was shaken by the encounter and rocked by emotion. I fled the store. But at the same time it gave me hope. He was right of course, everything was fine eventually. Everything will be fine for you as well. Whatever it is you’re facing, He is with you!

The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord, And He delights in his way. Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down; For the Lord upholds him with His hand. Psalm 37:23,24

Keep looking to the sky!

Blogging Benefits……

There are two ways to live; one as though nothing is a miracle. The other as if everything is. Albert Einstein

Since the day I passed my one year milestone on blogging, I have been meditating on what this whole experience has meant to me, and done for me. I have learned some things about myself. This whole process has taken me by surprise at times, by how much joy it has given me, what a blessing it has been. I get a comment and my heart soars because I know someone understands, someone relates, someone is encouraged. That makes it all worth it. Then there are times of discouragement when I feel my words are falling flat, going nowhere. Why does that affect me so? Should it? I ask myself a zillion questions. I get caught in a self destructive cycle that spins and goes nowhere.

I am awed by so many brilliant, creative talented writers out there, “Real writers,” I call them. I think how much better their words sound than my own. But then God whispers: your words matter too. All of our words are precious to Him. Like your childs first words, perfect no matter how they sound. And when we join our words together, we become one unified voice in praise to Him. All different, all beautiful.

So I draw back, I dip into the Wellspring of His Word, and I am refreshed, inspired, bowled over by God’s love for me. I remember why I do this, I have to share Him.

It is humbling, this process. And that is good for me because it leads me back to Him, back to where I started. Back to knowing that without Him I can do nothing. He is my strength, my song, my hope, and His love never fails. He gathers me in His arms and sings over me with joy and I am renewed again.

So I am celebrating the blessings of blogging today, and want you to know I pray for everyone following this blog, and everyone who may come across it another way. I continue the counting of the gifts today…..#341 He is my shield, #342 my hiding place, #343 my strong tower, #344 my hope, #345 keeper of my dreams, #346 collector of my tears, #347 my strength, #348 my deliverer, #349 my desire, #350 my inheritance, #351 my salvation, #352 my inspiration.

holy experience

God’s furious love…..


Are you struggling to forgive yourself today? Maybe for something you did in the past? Some wrong decision? A turning away from God? Something you have given yourself a life sentence for? Maybe your kids are grown and you see the scars they carry, scars you think were inflicted by you. Maybe you think you’ve failed God, blaming yourself for a failed marriage. You think your verdict is just, fair. You heard the hollow echo of the metal doors you slammed on yourself. You threw the key far away, out of reach. After all, you messed up, right? Here is what God laid on my heart the other day in prayer: “When you don’t forgive yourself you are making yourself into the God you think I am, but I am not that God, I have already forgiven you!”

So many times the guilt we feel is totally false. Useless. Destructive.
If the guilt is real, confess it! He will not only forgive you, He will forget you ever did it!

Our God loves us with a relentless love we can scarcely understand. We are so used to living in a performance based world that we think God is that way too. We even make our churches performance driven! The church should be a safe place. A place we can expose our imperfections, our vulnerabilities, our sickness, a place of reconciliation.

“He (God) is not moody or capricious; He know no seasons of change. He has a single relentless stance toward us: He loves us. He is the only God man has ever heard of who loves sinners.” Brennan Manning, The Ragamuffin Gospel

He loves us! Right now where we stand, without us changing one single thing about ourselves. When that love is grasped, really grasped, only then can we begin to live the life He calls us to live. A life that seeks to please Him, obey His commands, not because it scores us any points, but because we want to return the love that He has so mercifully shown us. We won’t reach perfection, but it’s okay. He will still love us, and there is nowhere His love won’t go to reach us.

His love chases us out to the desert wilderness like He followed a distraught Hagar, whispering His great mercy into her desperation. It sends Jonah to the Ninevites, even grows a shelter for him when he gets ticked because the Ninevites repent. His love is Hosea to our unworthy Gomer. Ultimately it went to a lonely hill and there it reaches us. Outside the gates……at Calvary.

When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your sinful nature, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins, having cancelled the written code, with its regulations, that was against us and that stood opposed to us; he took it away, nailing it to the cross. Col. 2:13-14

The hope of God is eternal

Bridalveil Falls,Yosemite National Park. Being here is like visiting an old friend, having camped there many times over the years.

I found these verses today when I was reflecting on the last two weeks away….so many memories made, so much joy, and also the sorrow of parting, always mingled in. Why must life be so hard for so many? Why must we always have problems, sadness, mixed in with all the goodness? God answered me this way through the prophet Isaiah….

“Yes, my child, right now in this life there is always some sorrow, some disappointment mixed in with all the blessings, but, look now at what I have done! I have pointed to the hope and assurance that there will come a time when all will be restored, as it was meant to be, for I have promised it! And in the meantime, I have poured out My Spirit who gives a comfort that will never leave you. So that in spite of everything, you can have this perfect hope, and have it now.”

“Until the Spirit is poured out upon us from on high, and the wilderness becomes a fertile field, and the fertile field is considered as a forest.

Then justice will dwell in the wilderness and righteousness will abide in the fertile field. And the work of righteousness will be peace, and the service of righteousness, quietness and confidence forever.

Then my people will live in a peaceful habitation, and in secure dwellings and in undisturbed resting places; and it will hail when the forest comes down, and the city will be utterly laid low.

How blessed will you be, you who sow beside all waters, who let out freely the ox and the donkey.” Isaiah 32: 15-20

This is the hope of His Word and it never fails! It cuts through everything with a hope that will last beyond this life, and this world. It will never die.

Hope in exile….

Originally posted last year….

Jeremiah 31:1-6

Jeremiah 31
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, [a] 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.”

Earthen Vessels

“For we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the surpassing greatness of the power may be of God and not from ourselves.” 2 Corinthians 4:7

“What do you do when you are always comparing yourself with other people? What do you do when you always feel that the people you talk to, hear of, or read about are more intelligent, more skillful, more attractive, more gentle, more generous, more practical, or more contemplative that you are? What do you do when you can’t get away from measuring yourself against others, always feeling that they are the real people while you are a nobody or even less than that?” Henri J. M. Nouwen, Genesee Diary

Sometimes I am surprised to know that successful people who have accomplished what I consider great things have the same feelings I have and I confess, it makes me feel better! Sometimes I feel like I have two selves, one that I concieve in my mind, the way I would like to be and react to people and things, and the real one, the one I actually see living my life. It’s crazy. Sometimes being human makes you feel crazy.

I open my Bible for a sanity check, I need God’s reality not my own. I read: “We do not dare to classify or compare ourselves with some who commend themselves. When they measure themselves by themselves and compare themselves with themselves, they are not wise.” 2 Corinthians 10:12 and then in verse 18, “For it is not he who commends himself that is approved, but he whom the Lord commends.”

Our world system is set up to disappoint us. It is a system masterminded by the enemy and will throw us into turmoil every time. There is always another who is smarter, better looking, more talented, one who does everything wrong and still gets rewarded, even one who seems be be more favored by God. But God’s kingdom has knocked Satan’s system off it axis for good. Everytime we try to live by that “old” system we get discouraged.

So today I bring you Good News…..you are a unique individual fashioned by God Himself and you are perfect! Nobody can do the things you do exactly the way you do them! Don’t fight the Potter, praise Him for His excellent workmanship instead! He has given us the honor of placing His precious Holy Spirit in our humble vessel, this humble clay jug, filled with Heaven’s light.

Forgive me, Lord for comparing myself to anyone else!

“I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.” Psalm 139:14

Our future home…..

Grounds, Mt. Angel Abbey, St. Benedict, Oregon

What is the thing you most look forward to about Heaven, other than eternally being in God’s presence? For me, I think it is that there will be a sense of being totally “complete.” There will be a sense of rightness about it all. In this life we are always confronted with something that is just not fair, not right; there is a sense of something out of balance, even when things are right in our world, they are wrong for someone else.

I know people who are extremely happy about the immigration bill that just passed and some who are extremely upset by it. Some think it is “just” and some think it is “unjust.” Until we get to Heaven that is our reality on this earth. But here is true justice, there is a way we can all go to Heaven, because God is just!

Jesus made it possible. He took all that was wrong and made it right, permanently. This is not wishful thinking this is fact……”And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am.” John 14:3

Lord, I pray for people to find hope in You today. Circumstances change, but You never do. Thank you for the light of Your Word and Your Holy Spirit who guides us into all truth, comforts us in our distress and magnifies our joy. I pray that where there is confusion and darkness, Your light will shine forth as the noonday sun! In Jesus name, Amen.