Church Las Vegas style


He (God) works on us in all sorts of ways. But above all, He works on us through each other. Men are mirrors, or “carriers” of Christ to other men. Usually it is those who know Him that bring Him to others. That is why the Church, the whole body of Christians showing Him to one another, is so important. It is so easy to think that the Church has a lot of different objects – education, building, missions, holding services… The Church exists for no other purpose but to draw men into Christ, to make them little Christs. If they are not doing that, all the cathedrals, clergy, missions, sermons, even the Bible itself, are simply a waste of time. God became man for no other purpose. It is even doubtful, you know, whether the whole universe was created for any other reason. C.S. Lewis

When you think of Las Vegas many images come to mind, Elvis, The Chapel of Love, Wayne Newton, Elvis, Siegfried and Roy, The Strip, Elvis…anyway, usually you don’t think of church. Recently we went to visit friends and family there, that being the halfway point between Boise, Idaho and Mesa, Arizona. We had a great time walking, well actually it was more like trotting, up and down the Las Vegas strip. With two kids and two (younger than I) parents of said kids, trying to fit in as much fun as possible in 3 days, I would recommend it as a great workout. Thankfully they had 4 tickets to the wax museum which we happily skipped so we could rest our aching feet for an hour!

I happened to be browsing through the tourist leaflets in the RV resort lobby when I noticed that they offered a church service on Sunday mornings at 11. In the Hollywood ballroom no less! We were met on Sunday morning by a gentle soft-spoken Pastor named Ed Hernandez. We sang familiar praise songs led by he and his lovely wife, both originally from the Philippines. As we went around the room and introduced ourselves I was struck once again by the fact that perfect strangers could feel like family. I guess because we really are! I pray that they will be greatly blessed by their good works. I am thankful they are there and I told them so. I am now putting the Desert Oasis Church on my prayer list, and when I think of Las Vegas I will think of Pastor Ed and his family, doing God’s work in the middle of Neon Desert Oasis.

Food for the soul


When we can’t take a few steps away from the back door and sit amongst the trees and hear their whisperings, feel the yield of soft ground underfoot, take some deep healing breaths, we are robbed of something necessary to the very health and sanity of our soul. We must leave this clattering, modern world behind us for at least a few moments a day, though an hour is better. It’s no wonder those of us who dwell in cities are stressed. We can get alone, we can pray, but God knows that sometimes nature is a healer like no other.

We need it to remember who we are, regain our place in the world, the universe. Something in us needs to look up and see mountains towering to the heavens, hear the groan of giant boughs sighing their prayers to God, our own voice joining to it. We need to hear it carried along to the four winds along with our worries. We need to hear the cleansing wash of the ocean’s roar through our soul and feel it rush over our bare feet. We need to learn to fly a kite again.

We need to remember our smallness in this universe and God’s all encompassing greatness, and in the remembering to feel the height, the depth, the love He has for everything in His creation. “One God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.” Ephesians 4:6
When we try to pick out anything by itself, we find it hitched to everything else in the universe.
John Muir

Evening bird


I never ever post twice in one day but I just heard the “evening bird” and had to ask if anyone ever wonders about this as I do. Why is there always one bird singing in the morning and one in the evening? Do the birds take a vote to decide who will take morning shift and who will take evening? I wonder if they take turns?

I first noticed this in the morning because there was always a singular melody to greet me at first light when I arrived in the parking lot at work; that silly bird always encouraged me. But since I love sitting outside when God paints His evening portrait I noticed this curious pattern again.

It is never more than one bird per area. Why just one and not two? Anyway, I am glad they are there. Maybe someone can solve this mystery.

The Peace of God


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

Good report!


God does not exist to answer our prayers, but by our prayers we come to discern the mind of God. Oswald Chambers

“Cancer free!” Those were the Doctor’s words this morning…..possibly one of the best phrases anyone could ever hear. My best friend heard it today after her latest ultrasound. I feel as if I have had a brush with death myself, that it was me and not her that narrowly escaped it. But when you go through it with them everything they feel is echoed by you. When it’s someone so close, you take the deep exhilarated breath of relief right alongside them. Their fears become your own. So does the relief and joy when the outcome is good.

I wonder about me. Why was I so ready to hear bad news? I know I serve a mighty God and that I prayed for a healing so why am I so conditioned to prepare for the worst?

Going through the last week of this has changed me. My sense of compassion for others going through this has sharpened, all of life has become more precious. My soul is more keenly aware of others still waiting, trying to navigate through this particular shadow of fear.

I will carry this sense of heightened compassion with me; I pray I will not lose it. I pray also that it will be good news for others as it was for Elaine. I am thankful that God will keep them all in His palm of love.

Compassion is the keen awareness of the interdependence of all things. –Thomas Merton

The Doctor will see you now…..


“In the year that king Uzziah died I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up; and his train filled the temple. Above him stood the seraphim: each one had six wings; with twain he covered his face, and with twain he covered his feet, and with twain he did fly. And one cried unto another, and said, Holy, holy, holy, is Jehovah of hosts: the whole earth is full of his glory. And the foundations of the thresholds shook at the voice of him that cried, and the house was filled with smoke. Then said I, Woe is me! for I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips: for mine eyes have seen the King, Jehovah of hosts. Then flew one of the seraphim unto me, having a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with the tongs from off the altar: and he touched my mouth with it, and said, Lo, this hath touched thy lips; and thine iniquity is taken away, and thy sin forgiven.” Isaiah 6:1-7

The vivid imagery here is something beyond what the creators of Avatar, Lord of the Rings, Narnia, and Star Wars combined could come close to capturing!

The throne room of God; in our wildest imaginations we can’t conceive of what it would look like and yet the Bible describes it very clearly several times as a physical place. Angels described here aren’t the chubby little cherubs like we see in the Hallmark store either. There are several different kinds, and they all have different purposes. Anyone in the Bible that has ever encountered one has fallen on their face and trembled in fear, and then tried to worship.

When Isaiah approached the throne he was dismayed because he didn’t feel worthy. But because of our redempton through Jesus we have Open Access Plus to The Throne. Sounds to me like the best kind of insurance we could ever have. He is the burning coal placed on our lips straight from God’s Holy throne-fire.

We have all heard statements like these:

“I’m sorry, we have no record of you here.”
“We have no vacancies at this time.”
“We don’t have an opening but we may have a cancellation.”
“There are no rooms available.”
“I can’t seem to find your insurance information.”
“Your card won’t go through.”
“You will have to wait.”

But God’s Throne is always open and we can be assured there is a reservation with your name on it. No waiting. All we have to do is accept the invitation!

“Let us therefore draw near with boldness unto the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy, and may find grace to help us in time of need.” Hebrews 4:16

I lift these dear ones up today before the throne: Elaine, Rick, Will, all standing in the scary place of waiting for upcoming tests and results, my brother for his diet, my Mom for her ongoing recovery, Sebastian for recovery as well. Join me at the throne today for healing for these and many others.

"I am with you always"

I knew something was wrong. I could hear it in her voice, there was a sadness behind the words. When I talked about our trip she said, “We’ll see.” Other comments like that were said along with normal conversation. I wondered, but knew when the time was right it would come out.

She brought out a folder, ever the organized one. It was a place to put all the fears, keep them in one place, organize them, make sense of it all. She said, “We have to talk.” And I felt the fear then, as tears spilled over, the dam that had been held at bay, kept inside for 3 days let loose. For the first time, the mammogram really hurt, and there was a reason why. They saw something they didn’t like and left the room really fast.

Everything suspended as the gravity of the situation and what it might mean took hold. She said through tears, “I don’t even care about myself but why should you have to go through this?” A caretaker of others her whole life, still putting herself last.

Life can change overnight with one bad test result. Uncertainty rears it’s head suddenly and everything is colored with it. Ordinary things are treasured like never before. Life is suddenly more precious. The word “precious” means something it never meant before. I said it but I hadn’t understood the weight of it’s meaning. Now I do.

Now there are more tests to come. Already we are surrounded by a circle of prayers, dear loving arms to help hold us up.

Today I tucked this in her medical folder so it is the first thing she sees and not that other “stuff.”

Jesus our healer……Jehovah Rapha the God who Heals….Never will I leave you, never will I forsake you……Lo, I am with you always…I have loved you with an everlasting love.

I rejoice over you with singing……”Thou hast enclosed me behind and before, And laid Thy hand upon me. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is too high, I cannot attain it. Where can I go from Thy Spirit? My frame was not hidden from Thee When I was made in secret….Psalm 139:5,7,15

Our circumstances may change, but God never does. That is what I cling to today. That is what my best friend is clinging to as well. We will walk this road as the sisters in faith that we are. As we clasp hands and pray we will navigate this uncharted, uncertain place not knowing what lies ahead, but knowing Him. Not liking the circumstance, but rejoicing in the knowledge that we don’t walk alone. Today I am claiming healing for my best friend and for all others who read this, because really, we all need healing.

Promises from He who is faithful: #211 He will never leave us, #212 He will carry our burdens, #213 He will give us the strength of eagles, #214 He has inscribed our name on the palm of His nail pierced hand, #215 He rejoices over us with singing, #216 There is no place we can go that He will not find us #217 He has secured our salvation, #218 He sympathizes with our weaknesses, #219 He keeps our prayers in a golden bowl, His treasure #220 He is in control of everything, even when we feel out of control!

Still counting blessings because He is worthy of our counting!
holy experience

Starting the day right


“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.”

Grow a garden of friends

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

Refreshment for the soul


Paul, a bond-servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ, for the faith of those chosen of God and the knowledge of the truth which is according to godliness, in the hope of eternal life, which God, who cannot lie, promised long ages ago, but at the proper time manifested, even His word, in the proclamation with which I was entrusted according to the commandment of God our Savior…Titus 1:1-3

For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men. It teaches us to say “No” to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age, while we wait for the blessed hope—the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good. Titus 2:11-14

But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life. Titus 3:4-7

In the muck and mire of life it is easy to forget these wonderful promises, but this morning they ran through my soul like cool clear water. Life is hard sometimes. We are so furiously treading water we forget to take a drink of the eternal water that is all around us. Sometimes I have no confidence at all that I am doing what God wants me to do. How can I be sure? But here is the hope. He knows how it feels to be human, he knows that we are weak because He has been weak, and tired. He knows that our frame is dust. Here is what I cling to:

For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus. Phil. 1:6

This is one project that He will see through to completion!