Today I as I was praying, I was thanking the Holy Spirit for His presence, instruction, and also for His conviction of sin in my life when He hit me with a thunderbolt almost immediately.

Lately I haven’t been excited about my future.
I have allowed worry, anxiety, and fear to crowd it out.
To move, or not to move, and when……
and other things that I can’t even control.

Forgive me, Lord for allowing Satan to have the upper hand for even one moment. I have allowed him to choke away my optimism and gradually he has worn me down.
How dare he!

It is easy to think that once you reach fifty that your best years are behind you, but I really don’t feel that way. I don’t want to. I remember feeling optimistic when I turned fifty last summer, so what has changed?

When did I forget that my pathway leads me only to more of You, Lord?
When did I stop believing that all the love around me would disappear when I got old?
I hear Your words…..”I will never leave you or forsake you“…..I grab hold.

Thank you Holy Spirit for this new feeling of hope! You alone hold, my past, present and future, Father. You have given me these precious days and years that are now stretched before me with hope and promise…..I bind the power of Satan right now in Jesus name, for he comes with one mission only, to kill, steal and destroy.

His power is now useless here, for You have once again exposed him for what he is!

“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future” Jeremiah 29:11.

“Your eyes saw my unformed body. All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.” Psalm 139:16

Hallelujah!

A Happy and Blessed Resurrection day to all. I am currently on vacation in beautiful Monterey California enjoying God’s marvelous creation! Will be in touch…..

Turn playlist off, music is beautiful and haunting in this video…
“The Sovereign LORD has given me an instructed tongue,
to know the word that sustains the weary.
He wakens me morning by morning,
wakens my ear to listen like one being taught.
The Sovereign LORD has opened my ears,
and I have not been rebellious;
I have not drawn back.
I offered my back to those who beat me,
my cheeks to those who pulled out my beard;
I did not hide my face
from mocking and spitting.
Because the Sovereign LORD helps me,
I will not be disgraced.
Therefore have I set my face like flint,
and I know I will not be put to shame.”
Isaiah 50:4-7

St. Patrick’s Prayer for the Faithful

May the Strength of God guide us.
May the Power of God preserve us.
May the Wisdom of God instruct us.
May the Hand of God protect us.
May the Way of God direct us.
May the Shield of God defend us.
May the Angels of God guard us.
Against the snares of the evil one.

May Christ be with us!
May Christ be before us!
May Christ be in us,
Christ be over all!

May Thy Grace, Lord,
Always be ours,
This day, O Lord, and forevermore. Amen.

Today is my Monday, so Lord I thank you for being here, not just on Mondays, Wednesdays, but everyday! I thank you for your presence and guiding hand. I thank you for showing up at my workplace before I did to pave the way, for giving me the strength and ability to do my job, and help me be a good example and a blessing to someone today.

I can do all these things, but only though You! Thank you also Lord for remembering me as I was long ago, that little girl who loved to read and daydream and just knew that leprechauns lived in the woods!

Happy St. Patrick’s Day today everyone!

“Let all who take refuge in You be glad. Let them ever sing for joy. Spread your protection over them, so that those who love your name may rejoice in you. For surely, O Lord, you bless the righteous; you surround them with favor as with a shield.” Psalm 5:11,12

“In all things that I contemplate as I am consulting You, I find no secure place for my soul except in You. And in You, I pray that what is scattered in me may be brought together, so that no part of me may be apart from You. Sometimes…when You are working within me, bringing my scattered self to You, You draw me into a state of feeling that is unlike anything I am used to…a kind of sweet delight. I know that if this spiritual state were made permanent in me it would be something not of this world, not of this life.” Augustine – Confession 10

My all surrounding Father, how my soul is tempted to search for the meaning of my life in the love of others; to look for security in money and possessions; to strive for acceptance in service and good works. Now I see how these can be temptations, open doors through which my spirit slips out from within you Self in order to trust in my own strengths. I close those doors right now, and place my soul inside your tender might. Here alone with you, I draw together all my concerns…all my responsibilities….all that is broken and scattered and needy…My soul is fed and medicined with goodness from your hand!

Devotional reading by David Hazard, taken from “Early will I seek you.” 40 day journey in the company of Augustine.

“No person [should] walk out into the world to begin the day until he or she has stood beneath the cross to receive God’s love.”
— Max Lucado
That’s where everything fades into the background, as that image of God’s love and provision fills our perspective we begin to see clearly what matters.

Everything we face in life, every joy, every burden, every tear is safe there; can be taken care of there, can be celebrated there. Sometimes we dance to it, sometimes we drag ourselves to it, sometimes we find ourselves at its foot wondering how we even got there, but always He meets us there and says, “I got you covered.”

Print by Charles White

“When you are in the final days of your life, what will you want? Will you hug that college degree in the walnut frame? Will you ask to be carried to the garage so you can sit in your car? Will you find comfort in rereading your financial statement? Of course not. What will matter then will be people. If relationships will matter most then, shouldn’t they matter most now?”
Max Lucado

When my Mom was in the hospital I realized again how true this is. My Mom has some awesome friends, but that is because she has always gone out of her way to make them. Everyone to her is a potential friend with a story to tell. Each time I went to her room she was out visiting someone else. There is risk involved in this. When you reach out, you never know how you will be recieved. You have to like yourself enough to be okay with the possible rejection. You have to trust God enough to obey when He whispers for you to seek a person out. My Mom has lived her life, sometimes stepping through fear to venture out into the uncharted territory of humanity, and it shows.

They showed up, were there; some of them bearing gifts that came with personal sacrifices of their own. Some waited just outside the door, not wanting to disturb, but praying just the same. Letting her know softly that they were there. When I think of what some of these people have been through in their own lives, it moves me so much that they continue to give and give. They supplied food, presence, support and laughter, especially laughter. These are the things that make someone rich in old age.

Remember those who led you, who spoke the word of God to you; and considering the result of their conduct, imitate their faith. Hebrews 13:7

He brought me out into a spacious place; he rescued me because he delighted in me. 2 Samuel 22:20

I always wanted to know how I would feel to see ocean but no land. I have always been a bit afraid of open spaces. My heart always drops a bit when I am going around a steep mountain road and it unexpectedly opens into a huge vista. It is a feeling of loss of control, heart in throat, plunging into the unknown.

But not when God is there…..I will never forget taking a cruise and stepping out onto the balcony for the first time and seeing nothing but water. It was a bit like the first time I crept to the edge of the Grand Canyon and looked out, but not quite. It is something everyone should experience once, and it was one the highlights of the cruise for me.

Not the food, or the entertainment, or the beautiful decor of the ship. It was stepping out, just seeing that water. Sea, sky, me and God.

Another thing was the strange sensation of sitting in the room and seeing water rushing by. Ship going one way, water another. It was captivating……walking on deck and seeing the light in the sky at midnight, the splash of a whale’s tale rising from the deep; the anticipation of seeing it come closer (that never happened.) The island where the Puffins live, bald eagles in flight landing in their “car-sized” nests.

I fell in love with the clear air and sapphire skies of Alaska….God’s creation is really something to behold! A reflection of His love for us. Just imagine, show and tell in the Garden of Eden……”Hey Adam, hey Eve, just wait till you see this!” And not only that, our God loves us so much He actually rejoices over us with singing!

Zephaniah 3:17 The LORD your God is with you, he is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, he will quiet you with his love, he will rejoice over you with singing.”

Our confidence lies in the fact that God hears the whispers we pray when there is no time for anything else. Whispers in the daylight and Whispers in the dark when all is silent and the heart slows its beating in the calm of “lights out.”

We throw arrows up and He catches them and puts them safely in His Heavenly quiver…He knows when there is no practical time to pray and we are running here and there doing things that need doing, and yet our heart is praying without ceasing and our soul is on it’s knees.

Miraculously we rise up with eagles wings and soar with the Spirit, somehow we get everything done, our bodies going through the motions and His Spirit carrying us through.

Prayer is the soul catching it’s breath.

“but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.” Isaiah 40:31

Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you. Philippians 4:4-9

I will be gone for two weeks helping out my Mom who is having her second knee replacement surgery tomorrow. I hope to get a few posts in here and there. May the Lord bless and keep you and make His face to shine upon you all!