Love this photo taken by Jenn posted on Arizona Central

This is typical of the weather in Arizona. I had blue sky on one side last night coming home and a black cloud on the other….blessed blessed rain. I know many tire of it, but not us. We need it, we crave it, we long for it!

There was a chill in the air this morning so I put on my “big” robe from L.L.Bean, the one that never fails to take the chill off.

As I lit my candle in my prayer closet, also known as the shed, I looked around. I love this place because He meets me here; amongst the tools, garbage can, shelves filled with storage boxes, saws, Christmas decorations, and everything else that can be crammed into a very organized 10 x 15 room! Anyplace can be Holy where God is, and He is everywhere!

I heard the mourning doves calling as I opened the little door window. I sipped my first cup of coffee and prayed, “Thank you Lord, that I can share my first cup with You.” He smiled.

I think He loves my prayer shed too.

I heard the morning bird call and then….could it be? I heard little gentle rain drops blessing me with their presence. I kept praying. It was a troubled prayer because it was something I was worried about. Then, as if God made His reply in the rain, it came magically, steadily, beautifully down on the roof.

I lifted my arms in praise, that is answer enough for me, Lord! I didn’t miss it today…..thank you God for giving me this moment, a Holy moment. I got to sit and listen to the rain in Your Presence.

What an unspeakable gift.

I’m glad He picked the early morning light to come back from the grave in. Thank you Lord, for the hope of the morning.

We have a God who is infinitely good and who knows what He is doing. He will come and deliver you from your present trouble in His perfect time and when you may least expect it. Hope in Him more than ever. Thank Him for the strength and patience He is giving you, even in the midst of this trial, for it is evident mark of His concern for you. Encourage yourself with His love and thank Him for everything. Brother Lawrence

In my prayer journal today…..

Thank you God for hearing all the prayers of my heart, mind and soul. The ones on my lips and the ones deep beneath the surface that only You can hear. Thank you for bringing Your family together at times when we may least expect it. May we draw encouragement from one another as pinpoints of light in a dark world.

Help me to shine forth your love so that others may be drawn to You, O Lord. Help me more and more, to be a living sacrifice for You as Paul was, knowing that you will never ask anything of me that You and I together can’t handle. I need not fear, knowing that You will lead me slowly gently at my pace and not someone else’s.

Help me to lay all of my trust in You God, knowing that Your gentle Hands are forever cupped around me, keeping me safe; knowing that whatever this world throws at me, it has to pass by You first.

“The beloved of the Lord shall dwell in safety by him; and the Lord shall cover him all the day long, and he shall dwell between his shoulders.” Deuteronomy 33:12

I finally went to see “Avatar” and I was not disappointed. This was my first ever IMAX experience and now I really wish I had gone to pay the extra money to see Lord of the Rings in 3D. I was captivated by the special effects and it is always fun to be whisked away to another world for awhile. Coming out of the theater entering what seemed to be a very dark, drab world after all that vivid color, light and sound was strange.

People have been captivated with what I call the “something else” factor since the very beginning. Billions of dollars have been spent researching other planets and possible other life forms. We just know there has to be something or someone else out there! Eve was no different. She thought there was “something else” too and she had everything. Imagine for just a moment, the world she lived in. It was idyllic, perfect, it could not have been improved upon. All the moisture came up from the ground so it was a very tropical environment, no worry about the elements, the temperature was perfect. They didn’t have to worry about being cold, or too warm. The animals were their companions and friends, as yet there was no need to fear humans. Great creatures we can’t even imagine stalked through the brush. They listened to the music of the angels, they experienced colors that don’t even exist down here. They lived in the light of the very Presence of God Himself, they actually walked with Him in the cool of the evening…..Who needs anything else? Right?

But she thought God was withholding something from her; “something else.” The Bible says the “serpent” was “more crafty than any beast of the field which the Lord had made.” We are not talking ugly snake here, we are talking a very intelligent, otherworldly, and very beautiful creature here. The Bible says Satan worked through this beautiful creature as he always does, by masquerading as an angel of light. The rest is history. The painful result is the world we live in today.

But here is the miracle and wonder of God. He is in love with this world and He came down Himself to get us back. He will also come back again to make all things new. Once again, it will be perfect. That world, God has promised will never end. When we really see that, this world becomes transformed right before our eyes. We begin to live with what my former Pastor Gary Kinnamon called the “eternal perspective.”

Jesus said, “The kingdom of Heaven is at hand.” He looked at this broken world and He knew it needed fixing, so He left a perfect place and made a way for us to join Him there, forever! Whatever magic a filmmaker can dream up today pales in comparison to what God has prepared for us!

“But as it is written, Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God has prepared for those who love him. But God has revealed them unto us by his Spirit; for the Spirit searches all things, yes, the deep things of God.” 1 Cor. 2:9, 10

Please join me in prayer today for the people of Haiti……

In many ways and for many people, 2009 was a tough year. I think everyone has been affected one way or another with the economy. Just yesterday for about the 3rd time I heard someone say, “Let’s hope that 2010 is a better year.” I dealt with many of the same issues that I dealt with in 2008, general worry about not living close to my aging parents, being conscious of time slipping by too fast. I battled depression off and on; sometimes felt as if it was surrounding me like a cloak. I continue to watch my best friend suffer through Alzheimer’s and senility with her Mom and Dad. But through all these things, I can honestly say that it was a good year, because it was a GOD year.

The one thing that I did differently in 2009 than 2008 was a regular prayer time and that one thing made ALL the difference. When I look back I can see that the dark moments are victoriously overshadowed by the Presence of God in the little moments when I least expected it. I can even say that I am thankful for the depression because when the sun did come out, it came out in a blaze of glory and with the absolute clarity and knowledge that it was God that did it. In that He is glorified.

So this year as last, I will continue to pray and experience the wonder of communion with a God who wants to know me even with all my failings. I will rise and start the day with my eyes fixed on Him and I will make hope a conscious decision each time I catch myself leaving Him out of it.

“But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body. For we who are alive are always being given over to death for Jesus’ sake, so that his life may be revealed in our mortal body. So then, death is at work in us, but life is at work in you.” 2 Corinthians 4:7-11

Do feel tired, world-weary, stressed, bogged down and over-loaded? Feel like you need a bailout? God has the answer……and His bailout plan is eternal, the best kind! That is the Good News of Christmas!

For while we were still helpless, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. For one will hardly die for a righteous man; though perhaps for the good man someone would dare even to die. But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Romans 5:7,8

When we were powerless to save ourselves, He came down and did the impossible, awful, terrible, unthinkable thing. God Himself died for us so that we could be with Him forever. Not only that, this plan was in the works from the very beginning, before man took his first breath. He knew we would fail, He knew we would stray from Him, He knew this even as He breathed the breath of His own Spirit into our nostrils. Given the choice, each one of us eventually turn and go our own way, away the very One who loves us the most. It’s insane, it’s crazy, it’s radical!

It’s a God who loves us so much it hurts Him.

So not only do we not have to fear death, we don’t have to fear this life either! At any moment during the day we can stop, reflect, pull back from the stress of life and know that we can draw a ready supply of strength and help from our Comforter. Now that’s what I call a bail-out plan!

The Son of God became a man to enable men to become the sons of
God. – C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity

This is the best movie I have seen all year, amazing, powerful, awe-inspiring. Order this now, you will be glad you did. Well researched and thoughfully done. Guaranteed to produce chills when the presentation unfolds and you see how the backdrop of Scripture leaps to life. I was filled with a renewed appreciation for how God has meticulously planned everything right from the beginning. Nothing is random here!

The image above is called “Sunlight on Snow,” with the footings of the Granville Street Bridge in the background by Mark Hamilton, journalism instructor at Kwantlen Polytechnic University.

I was originally looking for a peaceful snowy sunrise, but this fits even more with what I wanted to capture with my thoughts today. Thoughts of my trip back home. As the out of state family member, I feel sometimes like I need to be all things to everyone when I am there, and of course I can’t. I get irritated with situations and then frustrated with myself when I don’t react the way I think God would want me to. It is so easy to get wrapped up and bogged down with “earthly” situations and heartache down here and forget who is in control. Moments become lost forever. The Holy Spirit spoke to my heart and said, “I am still here.” I listened.

I stopped…..I prayed….I gave it back to God, and I felt my time redeemed. I had returned everything to it’s rightful owner, at least for a time. Why is it sometimes so easy to “lose our religion” so to speak? After I gave it back, I started loving again. It was a wonderful Thanksgiving day spent together, eating, praying, enjoying the blessing of each other. It is fleeting, it is precious.

And over all too soon.

In looking again at the photo I have to remind myself to see not the graffiti on the bridge, but the beauty of the sunlight on the snow, and know where it comes from.

Colossians 3: 1-5 (New American Standard)
“If then ye were raised together with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated on the right hand of God. Set your mind on the things that are above, not on the things that are upon the earth.For ye died, and your life is hid with Christ in God. When Christ, who is our life, shall be manifested, then shall ye also with him be manifested in glory. Put to death therefore your members which are upon the earth: fornication, uncleanness, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry.”