Adversity brings University

Ice skating was something that I learned when I was around 12 years old. It wasn't the easiest quest and after strapping on the skates and wobbling around for a while, I was able to actually glide around. I even, on the same day was able to turn around on my skates and go backwards a bit. I had been a pretty good roller skater, so it didn't take much to get it. One thing to mention in this is that I was on a lake in the mountains of Colorado. If you've ever skated on a frozen lake, its a bit different than a skating rink inside. The water on a lake has little ripples that have frozen and can even have some choppiness to it that can put you on your backside fairly quick.

Do you ever start out your morning with the thought of "I don't want any choppy ice today?" I hope there's no ripples in my plans? Nothing wrong with this thought process, but in reality, we have no idea what our day will fully bring. Just as I started out on the ice, we can set out on the day with our plans, in hand, to start accomplishing them. Things seem pretty easy until....

Then the text comes! the phone rings! the children start coughing, the cable's out...whew! and I could go on with this list. You say this wasn't on my radar and I have things to do today that I don't want interruptions.

When Joseph in the Old Testament woke up one morning, it was just another ordinary day to complete the plans of the day. His father gave him instructions to take go check on his brothers and see how they were getting along. Pretty simple plan and you may have read this account in the Bible, many times, just like I have, but have you put yourself in the story. We look back at these people's lives and know the whole story from beginning to end, but have you considered your own story as you look in?

In a blog I wrote in January, I mentioned that I would share with you the difference between Positive Thinking and Setting your mind on Jesus. They are not the same.

The first one is putting on a happy face no matter what the circumstances are.

The second is a heart attitude of trust in someone greater than yourself, even when things are choppy.

If we think that the Christian life is to always have a smile on your face then what on earth do we do when we read scriptures like these?

This is Jesus' words to Father

John 12:27a

Now is my soul troubled;

This is the Apostle Paul's words

2 Timothy 1:15

15 I’m sure you know by now that everyone in the province of Asia deserted me,

Two of the most incredible men with powerful testimonies, were troubled and had people desert them. You don't hear in either of these accounts, that they were just putting on a smile and continuing on with their plans for the day.

They were both grieved and sorrowful. But what changes everything is that they didn't just pull themselves up by their boot straps, get a new plan and keep trudging on. They both looked to the One, the Father, the Holy Spirit, the Teacher to lead them through where they were at. They didn't go around the "choppy" they had to go through it.

The one thing I didn't mention in the start of this blog, was that I wasn't by myself out there on the lake. I had a teacher that took careful time to instruct me about the lake, like the deeper parts in the middle, the soft edges on the perimeter and Yes! the choppy ice that was created by mostly other skaters around me that had made this choppiness by their skating. As the teaching commenced we held hands and I was led where the safety of the lake was for me. This teacher was my eyes, my ears, my strength, my wisdom as each word came out of their mouth.

You know, I could have learned a few skating techniques and skated away from the safety of the teacher. I had this choice many times, but the teacher’s voice kept calling me to stay close, trust me, let's do this together.

There are many things in this day, that want to intice us to go on our own.

Thoughts like “You don't need anymore lessons from that teacher, just figure it out on your own, you're smart enough and if it feels good to you then just do it”.

Instead, of leaning to our own devices, we get opportunities to trust in One greater than ourselves. Let’s be real, we DON’T want any choppy ice but if we listen to the Teacher, we can learn to navigate through it.

Example:

Here comes the text, the phone call, the crisis......the interuption to my plans.

Before you do anything -

Pray: “Holy Spirit, my Teacher, the One I find my safety in, I give you thanks for this and I know that I can trust you with it, no matter what. Is there anything you want me to know about you in this? and how would you have me to respond (or not respond)?, In Jesus Name, Amen.”

Then wait. Yes, just wait. Don't skate off on the ice ahead. Stay right where you are, do some figure eights while you wait. Practice what you know and then, when the Teacher gives the go ahead, you together make the next glide, together.

One last thought -

Positive thinking isn't going to make Goliath's head fall off. Nope! David had been with the Teacher, who showed him day in and day out, how to face this giant. Earlier that day, it was just another day to David when his dad came to him with instructions for his day. David was to deliver sandwiches to the family. Seriously! just the Door Dash Guy? He had no idea what meal was really going to be served up that day.....

Today's special....head on a platter day! Pretty grusome, but oh so very real.

The next time you wake up with the thought, I really want a good day, just remember, we do have those days, but when we have interuptions, we can either go off on our little plan, or we can stop, pray, put our plan in our pocket and join the Teacher in His plan. You can always pull out the paper in your pocket another day, but be willing to put in right back in the pocket.

I hope this has encouraged you today!

If you want to read these men’s stories in more depth:

Joseph's daily plan went differently than he thought.

Genesis 37

12-13 His brothers had gone off to Shechem where they were pasturing their father’s flocks. Israel said to Joseph, “Your brothers are with flocks in Shechem. Come, I want to send you to them.”

Joseph said, “I’m ready.”

14 He said, “Go and see how your brothers and the flocks are doing and bring me back a report.” He sent him off from the valley of Hebron to Shechem.

15 A man met him as he was wandering through the fields and asked him, “What are you looking for?”

16 “I’m trying to find my brothers. Do you have any idea where they are grazing their flocks?”

17 The man said, “They’ve left here, but I overheard them say, ‘Let’s go to Dothan.’” So Joseph took off, tracked his brothers down, and found them in Dothan.

18-20 They spotted him off in the distance. By the time he got to them they had cooked up a plot to kill him. The brothers were saying, “Here comes that dreamer. Let’s kill him and throw him into one of these old cisterns; we can say that a vicious animal ate him up. We’ll see what his dreams amount to.”

21-22 Reuben heard the brothers talking and intervened to save him, “We’re not going to kill him. No murder. Go ahead and throw him in this cistern out here in the wild, but don’t hurt him.” Reuben planned to go back later and get him out and take him back to his father.

23-24 When Joseph reached his brothers, they ripped off the fancy coat he was wearing, grabbed him, and threw him into a cistern. The cistern was dry; there wasn’t any water in it.

25-27 Then they sat down to eat their supper. Looking up, they saw a caravan of Ishmaelites on their way from Gilead, their camels loaded with spices, ointments, and perfumes to sell in Egypt. Judah said, “Brothers, what are we going to get out of killing our brother and concealing the evidence? Let’s sell him to the Ishmaelites, but let’s not kill him—he is, after all, our brother, our own flesh and blood.” His brothers agreed.

28 By that time the Midianite traders were passing by. His brothers pulled Joseph out of the cistern and sold him for twenty pieces of silver to the Ishmaelites who took Joseph with them down to Egypt.

29-30 Later Reuben came back and went to the cistern—no Joseph! He ripped his clothes in despair. Beside himself, he went to his brothers. “The boy’s gone! What am I going to do!”

31-32 They took Joseph’s coat, butchered a goat, and dipped the coat in the blood. They took the fancy coat back to their father and said, “We found this. Look it over—do you think this is your son’s coat?”

33 He recognized it at once. “My son’s coat—a wild animal has eaten him. Joseph torn limb from limb!”

34-35 Jacob tore his clothes in grief, dressed in rough burlap, and mourned his son a long, long time. His sons and daughters tried to comfort him but he refused their comfort. “I’ll go to the grave mourning my son.” Oh, how his father wept for him.

36 In Egypt the Midianites sold Joseph to Potiphar, one of Pharaoh’s officials, manager of his household affairs.

Just another day for David?

1 Samuel 17

17-19 One day, Jesse told David his son, “Take this sack of cracked wheat and these ten loaves of bread and run them down to your brothers in the camp. And take these ten wedges of cheese to the captain of their division. Check in on your brothers to see whether they are getting along all right, and let me know how they’re doing—Saul and your brothers, and all the Israelites in their war with the Philistines in the Oak Valley.”

50 That’s how David beat the Philistine—with a sling and a stone. He hit him and killed him. No sword for David!

51 Then David ran up to the Philistine and stood over him, pulled the giant’s sword from its sheath, and finished the job by cutting off his head. When the Philistines saw that their great champion was dead, they scattered, running for their lives.

Penny for your thoughts

Or how bout this one....”One track minded” or “narrow minded” could also be a way to talk about how we can think.

I don't know about you, but I have lots of thoughts through out the day and some are up and some are down.

Have you ever thought about what you have available to you regarding your thoughts as a Christ one?

There are many scriptures that point us to what our thinking can be like. Here is one we can look at today.

Philippians 4:8

.... whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.

There's many things we can set our minds on throughout the day. One way I like to ponder God's Word is to look at the opposite of a word.

Taking the words from the scripture we just read into the dictionary - True, Honest, Just, Pure, Lovely, Good Report, Virtue, Praise could be expounded like this.

True is not - false, fake, phony, mock, counterfeit

Honest is not - dishonest, false, lying, mendacious

Just is not- unfair, unjust, irrelevant, incorrect, unjustified

Pure is not- mixed, contaminated, polluted, diluted, spoiled, tainted

Lovely is not- poor, vile, lousy, terrible, pathetic, rotten, awful

Good (Report) is not - bad, wicked, wrong, sinful, indecent, improper

Virtue is not - evil, sin, iniquity, immoral, badness, villainy

Praise is not - blame, criticize, censure

Wow! what a list of heaviness on the mind if we go to the opposite thoughts of where we find Life! When you do a quick study like this, it can really open up to you what a verse is wanting you to know about our heavenly Father. All of the words we just looked at, in the verse, speak of attributes of God, Himself.

As you look through all of those negative words that leave you with a bad taste or a heaviness in your mind, we are instructed in 1 Peter 5:7 to cast all your care upon Him, for He cares for you.

How can we cast our cares (relationships, decisions, health concerns, etc.) on Him? Best place to start? Prayer! Just start opening up and telling God all about it. Then look or press in, by listening to him as He shows you in His Word His truth, His honesty and so on. He doesn't just say to do these, He IS these! I love the end of the First Peter scripture, because it tells you why?

He cares! FOR YOU! in every situation and every relationship. He's not a far away God who looks down on us, He's available 24/7 in us as his child. When the Holy Spirit moved into our spirit, we gained all of these in the treasure box. It tells us this in:

2 Corinthians 4:7 NLT

We now have this light shining in our hearts, but we ourselves are like fragile clay jars containing this great treasure. This makes it clear that our great power is from God, not from ourselves.

Heaviness isn’t to be apart of our daily life experience, it truly does not belong to us. So if you’re feeling a weight, I would encourage you to think about, what your thinking about. When you identify it, look at what the exchange from Jesus is. Let me be clear, I’m not talking about positive thinking, or just get it over it. I’m hoping you’ll see through what I’ve just shared, that we can go through difficulty and still think on the things we just mentioned. Instead of dwelling on a list of the “is nots”.

If you’d like to spend some time with me talking through this subject more, please contact me to set up a phone call or schedule a face to face meeting.

I’m going to expand on this a bit more in my next blog.

I hope you found this encouraging.

Growing In Him,

Surprise!

I have a sweet aunt that lives in a town named “Surprise”. Throughout the years she has been a faithful steward of kindness by sending celebration Hallmark cards for each birthday and Christmas I’ve had. Although, I know she will send the cards, I’m always somewhat pleasantly surprised when I open the mail box and see it waiting there for me. Thankful for her, my dear aunt Jeanette!

What does this have to do with Christmas, besides card giving?

The wisemen were bringing gifts to Joseph and Mary. These wisemen, if you want to say, were the mailmen bringing packages for them from far away. Although, this was a one time event, this family was still very surprised, I’m sure. They weren’t expecting these packages but non the less they were on the way.

Do you ever wonder what is on the way for you today? I’m not just talking about your Amazon boxes, I’m talking about the anticipation of starting your day with a humble heart. “Father, thank you for all you have for today”. This could be a set appointment or an unexpected one. This could be bad or good news! Whatever comes to your life today, I encourage you to open it up in God’s timing and kind care for you. God’s gifts are very valuable and hold things in them you can’t even image.

Joseph and Mary had to trust every moment of every day with their new baby boy. My hope is that we will not be skeptical or naysayers through this next few weeks of December. Open up yourself to Jesus and be surprised by what he shows you and has for you all throughout your day. We all get bad news and difficult situations - no one is exempt! But we get opportunities throughout the day as to how we respond. Is this package of news full of a loving Father’s provision or do I think it’s a dud. I choose the first, how bout you?

In the midst of this season, I hope you grow and know Jesus in a very special way! One day He will surprise us with His return for His church. One thing I know about Jesus is that He’s the best gift giver - He gave His life! There’s no surprise there!

Merry Christmas everyone,

Dayna

Luke 21:27-28

27 And then shall they see the Son of man coming in a cloud with power and great glory.

28 And when these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh.

You’ve got mail

Do you remember the movie "You've Got Mail"? It was a fun movie about sending and receiving email between two people. Every time the computer chimed, there was a new email waiting for a response. The more the emails went back and forth, the more the two people got to know each other.

This got me to thinking about how God sends an initial invite and then waits for a reply.

We see this in John 3:16. I know we all probably could quote this one, but did you ever think that God sent an invite through His Son, Jesus? And there is the hope of a response from us.

Until the email is opened up, it will remain "Unread" in your inbox.

Now maybe, I'm being silly with this analogy, but I think it can help us to see that God is not out of touch and that He's the one who originally starting texting and emailing us.

Yes, Jesus is the Word. This is found in:

John 1:1

In the beginning there was the Word [the Word already existed; The Word refers to Christ, God’s revelation of himself]. The Word was ·with [in the presence of; in intimate relationship with] God [the Father], and the Word was [fully] God.

What are words? they are texts from God to us. I love this, because I know that I have struggled with reading the Bible through the years. I thought it was a book I needed to read or should read, but then I started to see it as a message for me from Someone who loves me.

Some of the mail (scripture) I've opened through the years have been these:

1. He invites us into His family. John 3:16

2. He invites us to know Him. Phil 3:10

3. He invites us to rely on Him. I Cor. 1:9

4. He invites us to a true love relationship 2 John 1:16

5. He invites us to life everlasting John 12:50

You just start by opening the mail and reading. Pretty simple!

But let me be clear, just reading the Bible, doesn't give you connection to God. You first have to open up your heart (spirit) and respond in faith to the invite. God says that we must believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and then we will be saved.

Once we receive the initial invite and respond, there is now a relationship established for emails to go back and forth. You can now send Him an invite and He can respond. Is this too simple? Isn’t this what pray looks like?

I start my day with "Thank you Father for your invitation to join you in another day". I then invite Him to direct the day and show me Himself more deeply.

A relationship is not a one-way street, it’s a continuous movement back and forth.

Taking this a little wider:

I volunteer at a little thrift store and I had an opportunity present itself to me this week. I thought it might be fun for you to see how we can also have mail to open with people through out a day, too.

(chime) You’ve God Mail

Yesterday a Christian woman I know, invited me to pray for someone she knew.

Email waiting (blinking)

I had an opportunity to open that invite or leave it unread.

I chose to open it (by listening). She began to share with me the content of the need. I listened as she shared her heart for a young man her church family is praying for.

My Response

I replied to her that I would be praying for him.

I then had a choice, pray or move on with my day. I chose to pray!

Just because you read an email from someone, doesn't mean relationship. There has to be a response to move things forward.

Invitations are calling for us to be apart of truly great gifts - The Kingdom of God has many benefits throughout our day.

My hope is that we are not just readers, let’s be receivers and responders.

Have a thankful season in Him,

Dayna

P.S. I’m going to share the prayer request with you that was shared with me, so you can join in this very serious situation.

A man in his 20’s, named Micah, was on a ladder a few days ago putting up Christmas lights and was electrocuted. He’s at a hospital in Omaha. He was spared his life only because he was on his tip toes on the ladder which kept the electrical current from going all the way through his body. He has 3rd degree burns on his hands and has undergone surgery to repair the skin. This young man is attending college to become a pastor. He’s in serious condition. I’m praying for a miracle and full recovery for him. Please add his wife to this prayer request. Thank you!

I see you!

Matthew 18:10

The Parable of the Lost Sheep

“Take heed that you do not despise one of these little ones, for I say to you that in heaven their angels always see the face of My Father who is in heaven.

Luke 1:76

“And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Highest; For you will go before the face of the Lord to prepare His ways,

1 Corinthians 13:12

For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part, but then I shall know just as I also am known.

2 Corinthians 3:18

But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord.

2 Corinthians 4:6

For it is the God who commanded light to shine out of darkness, who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.

1 Thessalonians 2:17

But we, brethren, having been taken away from you for a short time in presence, not in heart, endeavored more eagerly to see your face with great desire.

1 Peter 3:12

For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, And His ears are open to their prayers;

2 John 1:12

Having many things to write to you, I did not wish to do so with paper and ink; but I hope to come to you and speak face to face, that our joy may be full.

3 John 1:14

but I hope to see you shortly, and we shall speak face to face. Peace to you.

I was having coffee with someone I love dearly, recently. As we began to share things about our lives, we were quickly talking about someone very near and dear to us. His name is Jesus! He's our Savior, He’s our Lord and He’s our Life! He's everything to us.

As I reflected on this day, I was brought to the thought that we could have talked on the phone, which we have done many times. We could have written a letter or a card to share our things, this we’ve done also. We could even have texted a quick update…. again, we've done this. But, there is a depth that has so much more meaning as we share, face to face. I had been waiting to go and see her and to look into her eyes and have her look into mine. We could see the lines of time that had knitted us together through so many years of prayer, tears of joy and sorrow, and over abounding sounds of laughter between us. We have seen each other! But more that that, we have seen Jesus in each other!

As I looked into the scriptures I started with at the beginning of this blog, they show us many things and many scenerios of face to face importance.

Jesus, Paul and John were very desirous of being face to face with people. They knew the importance of it! In 2 John 1:12, you can hear in John's voice how he longed to be with these believers in Christ. He tells us that there is a joy of fullness that can be apart of the time appointed to be together. It's not just a "hang out session" it's an intentional heart to heart, face to face, love for one another.

As we have longed to be together with people we love, let me say, it’s can be so much more, when we long to be with Jesus. I’m shifting the subject but it will come together in the end of this blog.

A friend said to me recently that it had been a hard season of waiting in her life circumstances and I got to share with her that Jesus has been waiting, too. What? Yes, Jesus is in the waiting room!

What is He waiting on or for we may ask?

He's waits for people to accept Him as their Savior. He's knocking and waiting.

Revelation 3:20

Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him ....

He's waiting for us to trust Him with our whole hearts. Not just pieces of it.

He's waiting for us to ask Him questions and bring our inquiries to Him.

He's waiting for His Father to give Him the go ahead to come get His bride.

Yes, He's very familiar with the waiting room.

Do you know who else is in that waiting room? the Comforter (John 14:16).

As we pray for those we love and wait for change of circumstances and desire “face to face” with them, we can draw on the Life of Jesus, through His Holy Spirit, and take Comfort.

In 1 Corintians 13:12 there is a reality of seeing things dimly here on earth, meaning we can’t see ahead to the solved problem, but we can see Jesus in the midst of our waiting.

So, what are you waiting for? and do you see Jesus in your waiting room? He’s right there!

Take a look at the italicized list above and see what He may be waiting for from you.

I hope this has encouraged you to make more face to face conversations with Jesus and people in your life, no matter what you’re waiting for.

Blessed to share this with you today!

Looking forward to our next face to face!

A new view

I'm so over this!

John 16:32-33

“A time is coming and in fact has come when you will be scattered, each to your own home. You will leave me all alone. Yet I am not alone, for my Father is with me. “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”

As I begin this blog, I want to express that in this season of stressful challenges, Jesus has given us his encouragment for them.

He tells of what he was experiencing and what was to come as we read through the verses above.

Have you ever said.... I'm so over this? maybe it is a circumstance that continues to happen over and over or a trial that just won't come to an end.

These verses in John can bring you a new perspective as a Christ-one on how to face each challenge.

I remember in 2020 when Covid first came on the scene, I saw the letters C O V I D from a new perspective.

At the time there was a chalkboard in the lobby where I work and I wrote this message on it.

Christ

Over

Virus

In

Deed

This was to be an encouragement with a new perspective on the challenges at hand. We could walk it out in a Full Confidence of Christ as the overcomer in everything. Did we have a "head in the sky" casualness, No! We experienced loss, hardship and great suffering, but with these was “Peace” in knowing that Christ knew all that would be needed for every step. We could trust Him with all of it.

We don't know what each day may bring, but we can know that Jesus made THIS day and no matter what, we can choose to see it from under... or over.

This is a devotional that I think will bring you hope and joy in the midst of your storms that want to take you under.

SIMPLE TRUST

Trust in the Lord with all your heart,

and lean not on your own understanding.

Proverbs 3:5

There will always be secrets and motives of God that lie beyond our grasp. God knows everything; we do not. Only in Heaven will we understand God's ways more fully. As Paul Said, "Now I know in part, but then I shall know just as I also am known. (I Corinthians 13:12)

But based upon what we do know about God's character, demonstrated supremely in the Cross, we can trust that God is doing what is best for us. God says in His Word, "I know the plans I have for you... plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future" (Jeremiah 29:11 NIV).

As Corrie ten Boom once explained, "Picture a peice of embroidery placed between you and God, with the right side up toward God. Man sees the loose, frayed ends; but God sees the pattern."

God is in control. Whatever comes into our lives, we can confindently say, "We know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose" (Romans 8:28).

Billy Graham

We all face things we can't understand, but for those of us in Christ, we can look down on "the things" with a completely full overcoming view and perspective.

For a deeper understanding of this, please reach out and let's discuss how you can have this assurance.

Love In Him,

Dayna

If you are not familiar with Corrie ten Boom, I would highly encourage you to read her story. We really have no excuses when we see what she walked through. Christ was her anchor in each storm. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corrie_ten_Boom

The inside Door

Have you ever been watching a television show or athletic game and have this come on the screen?

" We pardon the interruption but...."

then after the interruption starts, we may go through a meriad of emotions, like…

anger, frustration or fear. The emotions that don’t usually rise to the top are joy, gratefulness or peace.

This happened to me recently as I was watching a basketball game, that I had eagerly been wanting to watch. Right in the middle of the NBA finals, a huge thunderstorm was moving through my area and it had the potential of damage involved with it.

Although, the meteorologist was apologetic, it didn't change his course to warn me and those in my town. He did say several times that he knew the game was on but this was a much more pressing matter.

This brings me to our next door. So far we've looked at the door of the Ark and the Passover Door. I encourage you to go back and read those blogs.

The Temple's Inner Door is what we will focus on in this blog.

After digging in and learning about this door it has taken me to look at the Inner Door of our Heart, not our physical heart, but the inner spiritual heart of a person.

Have you ever thought of your heart having a door associated with it? The bible has a lot to say about the spiritual heart.

The hurts and wounds of life can take up residency in there. That's why it's so important to know what Christ's answers are for these as we attempt to walk through each day not wanting to look at them. Or, even worse, not really knowing what to do with them. We've all had things we experienced in our upbringing that left a mark of some kind of hurt, and as I know from my own life, that hurt can be damaging to me and those around me.

Just like the meteorolist, I think the Holy Spirit wants to interrupt our thoughts with a warning.

The inner door of our heart (inner temple door) is something that we have the ability to open or close.

Ezekiel 36:26

I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh.

This verse tells us that if we are in Christ, we've received a new heart and spirit when we opened the door to him and let him in.

This verse is a statement of fact. Not how I feel! I may not feel new or have new thoughts about myself or others, but the fact still remains that I have a NEW HEART.

So, where do I go from this fact to an actual reality in my life?

The first thing I would ask you to look at would be if you have a repeating thought about yourself that might sound like this....

"I'm always a disappointment"

"I should have know better"

"I'm trying to figure out my life"

and the list can go on for days, like this.

These are just a few of the thoughts that I have had to work through in my own life.

Take a good look at the 3 things I’ve just listed - they all start with "I". That is my first issue!

Galatians 2:20 says -

I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.

Christ is the end of my "I" that starts and ends a sentence in my mind. This verse tells us that my "I" in now joined to Jesus and we have become "We". What do I mean by we?

I love John 14:20 that tells us that as a Christian we have been placed into Jesus and Jesus is in us. What a wonderful picture of knowing how safe and loved we are. Yes, I've had hurts and wounds in my life. But, now I can turn my attention or mind on my new Heart that Jesus gave me and trust that when I have a thought that wants to take me back to that hurt, I'm not alone there. Do you know how many times Jesus was hurt by others? I don't think we could count it. Jesus was fully man as was he fully God and in his humanness, he had to continually turn to his Father and be in constant reliance that his Father was enough for everything.

Sometimes, we can get stuck in our muck and need a little help to find our way through it. If this is where you keep finding yourself, I encourage you to contact me and set up the classes that I teach. These classes are designed for you to know how to take those hurts and wounds and exchange them for the New Heart. God wants to show you that your inner door is a Person. He is the Door!

The interruption has now become an intervention.

Blessed to walk Life with you!

Dayna

Take the dive!

I've never actually water skied, but I've seen it done many times. It looks so cool as the skier is gliding on the top of the water and going over the wakes from the boat pulling it around the lake. I learned to swim at a young age, so anything to do with water, like a swimming pool, ocean or lake always excited me.

While at the beach a few years ago, I remember seeing people go across the top of the water with surfboards and boats. As I stood scanning the horizon, I saw a very large, hump backed whale, jump high out of the water. It was fantastic! and although he was very far away, he still looked very BIG! I had a thought about how small those people on the boards and boats looked compared to this magnificent creature of the sea.

One afternoon while at the beach the water rush up on my feet and I started to wade around in it a bit. It was so powerful and very inviting! I knew there were things under the surface that were much bigger than me, so I was a bit timid at first when I decided to go snorkeling for the first time. As I put on a mask and snorkel I started walking toward the water with some hesitancy. I saw others moving toward the water too, so it encouraged me to keep moving forward in my uneasiness. I really did want to see what was below the surface and the only way that was going to happen was to step beyond my fear and take the plunge. On top of the water, I could see a few things, but what was waiting for me to discover below….were many beautiful fish, gliding turtles, brilliant coral, I even saw a few reef sharks and an eery eel.

What if I had just stayed on top of the water, saw a whale every once in a while and never went into the depths of the all the ocean had to offer? Yes, I saw a BIG whale, but that was just skimming the surface.

Let’s take a “dive” into a spiritual view on this.

These two scriptures give us deeper view of God’s love and care for his children.

In Romans 8:38-39

For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Ephesians 3:17-19

that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height— to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.

Growing in the Depth of God's Love

When we are in a new relationship with someone, there can be a time of just skimming the surface and sharing what you're comfortable with. As you spend time with that person, you may start finding out that you have some common life experiences, likes, and dislikes. Continuing on in the time you spend together, there can become those moments where you have a choice to go a little deeper, maybe by sharing something in your life that makes you feel a bit vulnerable. This isn’t something you do right away, you wait until trust has been established, to share.

So, the same is with Jesus! When we first come to know Him, (metaphorically) we may strap on some water skiis and begin skimming the top of the water with our Christianity. Just like when I was timid at first with snorkeling, we can be timid in how to start our walk with Jesus. In the beginning we just need to show up at the beach or in this case, show up for time with Jesus. Start a simple prayer with Him right away in the morning. Nothing complicated, just “good morning, Jesus”. Then as you continue to show up in the morning to be with Him, you can go a bit deeper and add more dialogue with Him. He’s a great listener. I love in Genesis where God would come into the garden and walk and talk with Adam. He wants us to know Him and He loves to share Himself with us. Then the more we learn and grow in the relationship, we can start to share some deeper things with Him.

We see that Jesus had those deep times with His Father in the Garden of Gethsemene.

John 12:27

“Now My soul is troubled, and what shall I say? ‘Father, save Me from this hour’? But for this purpose I came to this hour.

The word BUT is so important in this verse. It shows us that Jesus had already spent those times across the table in deep conversation with His Father before this moment. I love the humanness of Jesus as he reveals to us his thoughts and emotions and then shows us how we can choose to step beyond our fears, our struggles, our disappointments and lonliness and take the plunge into God's incredible love for us.

How could He do this? First, he took off the skiis and dove in! I know this can be scary, especially when we've spent all of our time perfecting our skiiing skills, but God want us to dive in and swim in His love and care for us.

If our Father can be trusted in the shallow, he can most definetly be trusted in the deep. Has he been talking to you? Has he been wanting to share His Life with you? I encourage you to take the plunge! Step out, start a conversation and He will be there!

Let Jesus become your entry point into a fullness like you've never known! Going to church, reading the Bible, hanging with church people, feeding the poor, going to conferences about Jesus are just on the surface. He wants us to dive in and give Him our attention for a beautiful, eternal-life long relationship. Let’s go Diving!

In His great Love,

Dayna

More than a pinky- promise

Who would have ever have thought DOORS could be an inexaustable subject?  This year as I continue sharing with you 7 different doors of the Bible, I'm finding that each one has me leaning into what I will learn and share with you. If you didn't read my blog on the Ark Door, here is the link: https://www.opendooraccess.com/blog/arkdoor

Jesus is the Door, the doorway, and the hinges that hold the Door. 

He's everything that we need!

As we dive into the Passover Door, I'm eager to share with you what the night held when the God came through Egypt for the first born of every household.  I have a first born child and you may, too, but, even if you don't you wouldn't be able to read this account and not be pulled into the seriousness of what was about to happen in Egypt.  For the full account of Israel’s deliverance please read Exodus 1-15. It’s a story well worth reading, especially in the Easter Season.

In the Bible we find in the book of Exodus that the children of Israel were crying out to God to be delivered from slavery in Egypt.  God sent them a man named Moses to be the deliverer from their bondage.  Moses went to Pharoah, the leader in Egypt, and asked him many times to let God's people go.  Over and over Pharoah said, "No", and God would send a plague after each denial, to help change his mind.  Infestations of flies, frogs, locust and the Nile River turning to blood, were just a few. The one that rises to the top of all of these plagues was the one that would bring death to the firstborn of every home in Egypt.  

Since the Israelites were also in Egypt, God gave specific instruction to them of how they would not be touched by this final plague. 

Exodus 12:13 NLT

.... the blood on your doorposts will serve as a sign, marking the houses where you are staying. When I see the blood, I will pass over you. This plague of death will not touch you when I strike the land of Egypt.

There were very specific instructions given to them, from what kind of lamb was to be used, how they were to apply the blood, and also what was to be eaten of the lamb that night, for the upcoming journey out of Egypt.

These Scriptures show us the True Lamb -

John 1:29

The Lamb of God

The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, “Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!

Revelation 5:6

And I looked, and behold, in the midst of the throne and of the four living creatures, and in the midst of the elders, stood a Lamb as though it had been slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God sent out into all the earth.

We all have a physical heart or we wouldn't be on this earth.  Did you know that we all have a spiritual heart that has a place for the blood of The Lamb.   The door or entry of our heart requires that we simply ask, and can receive Jesus and then spend time in getting to know Jesus as we journey forward.

Matthew 7:8

For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened.

Have you every made a pinky promise with someone, by hooking your pinky fingers together and swearing to each other about something?  or how bout this one, did you ever spit on your hand and your friend spit in theirs and then you shook hands to seal a deal or a promise between the two of you?  That one is just plain yuck! but pretty sure we've all done it or knew someone who did.  

God’s promise to us is so much better than any promise we could make. Just like the people putting the blood on their door post, we can receive Jesus’ sacrifice and feast on Him through His word for our continued journey of faith here on Earth. He promises that He will never leave us or abandon us on the journey.

Would you open your heart and invite Him in?

Easter is so much more than a church service and dinner with friends and family -

It was! and continues to be The Only Door for us to walk through.

Grace isn’t people pleasing

As I sat at the bottom of the stairs in our family townhome, I can remember the fear and angst that I felt, as I heard my parents arguing upstairs. These kinds of childhood experiences led me to a people pleasing way of doing life. Although, I don't remember what my parents were arguing about, those kinds of experiences began to take hold in my life.

I was a kid that had been trained from an early age to behave well, do well and all will be well. At least, that was my early belief in my life, but as I found out continually, that formula, didn't always work out so well. I would behave but still get the blame and I would do well but not get noticed or validated. It was a cycle that I continued into my adult life, that brought me much pain and frustration.

Pleasing people as a mode of operating life can be so heavy. Everything I would do in life, and I do mean "everything" was always with the motive of how can I get loved, validated, seen, accepted....and the list goes on and on. I'm sure I've hit on something here that you may struggle with from time to time in your own life. I was always on a fix up job in my life in one way or another. I was either letting myself down, other people and primarily God. The bar of expectation for acceptance was always moving and I could never get where I wanted to be.

In the gospel of John, we find that Jesus shared with his disciples that he was all they needed. He loved, validated and shared with them all of the time so that they would come to understand that their works were not going to get them what they wanted. What this means is that faith in Jesus had to come at the beginning of any work that they did. If that key componant isn't in place first, nothing behind the comma matters in the Kingdom of God. When we put faith in God, through accepting his beloved Son, we say that we are in agreement that Jesus is enough for all of our lives. He paid the full penalty of our sin, He loved with his whole self, He provided a fullness in completing the reconciliation that was needed to get back to God. When He said it was finished, it was FINISHED!

Some verses that I have grown to love through the last 15 years of growing in Jesus are these-

John 1:17

For the law was given through Moses, but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.

Acts 20:24

But none of these things move me; nor do I count my life dear to myself, so that I may finish my race with joy, and the ministry which I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of the grace of God.

Romans 1:5a

Through Him (Jesus) we have received grace...

Romans 4:4

Now to him who works, the wages are not counted as grace but as debt.

When I began to see that living “in Grace” was different that “Pleasing Others” my whole life changed. It all starts with the heart! I lived most of my life to the age of 40 with a heart that had been mistreated. I thought it was my job to get my heart fixed. What I didn't realize was that Jesus had already healed my broken heart at the age of 5 when I accepted him as my Savior. But, you may be thinking that a 5 year old doesn't have the wounds of the heart yet, so how does this work? I was always trying to get others to tell me I was worth something, when Jesus had already done that. Life's stuff always got the vote until I came to know that Jesus on board (in my heart) brought all that I ever needed. It's all wrapped up in Him…COMPLETELY! Since he is in my heart or putting it another way, I had His heart in me, we were fully loved and valued by our Father. No matter what I am feeling! Oh, yeah, those feelings are usually what is getting the vote. For example: I don't feel loved, or valued, so I must not be loved or valued. Our feelings can lie to us when we listen to them as the compass.

People pleasing is born out of an old system of feelings verses a gracious spirit toward one another.

People pleasing has an expectation of something at the end of the task. Grace is a gift towards another with no applause required. We can have a desire for fellowship with one another, on the backside of graciousness, but we can't make that happen.

John 3:16 shows us this - God gave His one and only Son and He desires for all to come to Him, but not all will say yes to his gracious gift.

I am so grateful that I have the opportunity to share with you God's grace. We have an enemy that wants you to think that you're just too far gone and that you just need to try harder. Please don’t buy into this anymore. If you'd like to talk more about this, please contact me.

It took a time of crisis in my life to reach out for help regarding this. You don't have to wait for the crisis to come, just reach out. God is Love and Grace to all who call upon Him.

Prayer: Thank You, Jesus, for dying for my sins and thank you for Your grace, forgiveness and love. I receive You.

Ark Door

Plan - Preparation - Purpose, all around a Door?

I’m sure you may have guessed from my previous email that I was going to share with you, about the door of the Ark. I’ve loved diving into this door journey already and hope you are inspired and learn more. We will start our time in:

Genesis 6:14-22

14-16 “Build yourself a ship from teakwood. Make rooms in it. Coat it with pitch inside and out. Make it 450 feet long, seventy-five feet wide, and forty-five feet high. Build a roof for it and put in a window eighteen inches from the top; put in a door on the side of the ship; and make three decks, lower, middle, and upper.

17 “I’m going to bring a flood on the Earth that will destroy everything alive under Heaven. Total destruction.

18-21 “But I’m going to establish a covenant with you: You’ll board the ship, and your sons, your wife and your sons’ wives will come on board with you. You are also to take two of each living creature, a male and a female, on board the ship, to preserve their lives with you: two of every species of bird, mammal, and reptile—two of everything so as to preserve their lives along with yours. Also get all the food you’ll need and store it up for you and them.”

God's Plan

22 Noah did everything God commanded him to do.

This seems pretty straight forward with what the plan was for Noah's boat building project. God even told Him what the boat was for. But, as I read through this story, I started to think about what was not recorded.

- God didn't ask Noah how he felt about the plan

- We don't hear about what Noah's creditials were for building something, much less a huge undertaking such as this.

- For at least 120 years, Noah's sons had no children?

- The daughter's in law married into a family that they most likely didn't understand

- Noah had to keep his attention on the task at hand, no matter what was being said to him or about him

- Noah didn't know that God would be the one to shut the door of the ark, did he?

- Did he have thoughts about being able to actually close the door on people and not open it when the flood waters came?

These are just some of the things that came to my mind.

God said Noah was righteous, but He also knew he was just a man, with thoughts and emotions.

I encourage you to ponder these things as we look deeper into the Door of the ark and what it might tell us about the human heart.

God's Preparation

Noah was 480 years old when he started this building project. He was 600 when it came to use! There was no instant gratification, just one day at a time for a long, long time.

The plan was spoken to Noah with specific instruction for the materials needed. Starting with what wood to use. It was Teak wood or Gopher wood. This wood was a tropical hardwood tree, which would make sense as it would need to be waterproof for the ark.

Have you ever been given a plan in your life? Then realized that the preparation for it was out of your wheelhouse or would take some education and diligenge to make it happen.

God didn't tell Noah how to find the wood, how to cut the wood, or how to transport the wood. God just told him to build it, with specific dimensions, mind you.

Sometimes, I get inspired to start a project, but quickly start to realize I may not have the proper tool for it. I will get creative, I think, and attempt to do it without the proper tool, because I'm inspired and just want to get started. But, as I'm sure you know, the thing I'm making or building wouldn't stand up to a brisk wind by the time I'm done. I then have to re-evaluate what I have and then proceed to get what’s needed to bring the best project to fruition. Some of us are slow learners and have to be taught this over and over again, myself included.

In Genesis 6:9

...Noah was a righteous man, blameless in his generation; Noah walked with God.

I think it wasn't just that he was righteous, it was also that he was going to get the proper tools and build this ark according to what was asked of him. No, skimping, or “I don't feel like it today”! He knew that this was to be a testimony to what God had for the safety and rescue of himself, his family and the animals. Can you imagine Noah, saying, well....... Let's just use what we have on hand and then realize once the flood came, he had just sank his family?

Noah was very familiar with God as we see in verse 6. They walked and talked together in life all the time. Up to this point in Noah's life, he was just a regular guy, living his life as a son, a father, a husband, a friend, a church attender and he had neighbors he had to live by, that were evil.

Do we really get this? He just walked with God in his life day to day, and obeyed. He prayed for the people who didn’t listen and he shared God the whole time he was building.

I'm sure Noah had all sorts of thoughts about the people around him. He probably had to direct and re-direct his sons a time or two back to the plan. But, according to the passage, he kept in his lane, served and did what God told him to do and he did this with a good attitude!

This doesn't mean you stick your head in the sand and act like nothing bothers you. It means that we get choices all of the time as to what we make ourselves available to. I could give you a list on this, but I think you get what I mean. If you don't see God, hear God, smell God in what your doing, might wanna reconsider.

God's Purpose

Time to bring the door in!

What do we see when we think about the ark? or even better Who do we see when we think about the ark? You are right - Jesus! He is the ark.

I love these next verses that speak of those people who put there faith in Jesus.

Romans 3:24

they (Christ ones) are now justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus,

Romans 6:23

For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Romans 8:1

Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.

These are just a few of my favorites.

We see there is salvation, eternal life and no condemnation if you have entered into Jesus. For many years, I knew Jesus was in my heart when I had asked him to be my Savior. This is very true! but it has a whole new level of truth and life, if I'm….in Him.

John 14:20

Jesus says: 20 When I come back to life again, you will know that I am in my Father, and you in me, and I in you.

How does this connect to the ark?

Genesis 6:18

18 But I will establish my covenant with you, and you shall come into the ark,

Do you see what God's purpose was? He wanted to make a new promise with Noah. Our will is always apart of God's purpose!

We have to choose to enter into Christ just like Noah had to make a choice to enter into the ark. Noah could have built the ark and never got on. He would have died with every other person, but, he would have known alot about boat building. Our works don’t matter, it’s only by faith and then working out of that faith that gets the vote in God’s economy.

Genesis 7:10-16

10 One week later, when Noah was 600 years, two months, and seventeen days old, the rain came down in mighty torrents from the sky, and the subterranean waters burst forth upon the earth for forty days and nights. 13 But Noah had gone into the boat that very day with his wife and his sons, Shem, Ham, and Japheth, and their wives. 14-15 With them in the boat were pairs of every kind of animal—domestic and wild—and reptiles and birds of every sort. 16 Two by two they came, male and female, just as God had commanded. Then the Lord God closed the door and shut them in.

This is such a great truth of safety and security in Christ our ark. There wasn't an anchor, there wasn't a helm for steering or compass for where the boat was going. This was a complete action of faith in what God promised Noah.

Ephesians 4:30

And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption.

To close this blog, as a Christ one, the sealing or closing of the door of your heart, is done by the Holy Spirit. God asks us to enter into His Son, then God closes the door between you and eternal death and you are now in Eternal Life. No one can open that door once it's shut.

The door is such a great reminder of the separation between us and the eternal death that is on the other side of that door.

My hope is that you have asked Jesus to be your Savior, your rescuer and to take the ride of Life, in Him. I know that this can be a moment when you may think about what people may say about making this choice. But, just like Noah, he stayed focused on God and didn't let other's opinions or mockery detour him.

I hope this has given you much to ponder this month and I also encourage you to go and read the whole story of this great rescue mission in Genesis 6-7.

Bon voyage and happy sailing!

Love In Christ, the Ark and the Door,

Dayna

Mounting up brings confidence

Isaiah 40:31 KJV

But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.

This is a verse that many of us know. It has much truth to look at, but the one I want us to spend time with is "upon the Lord".

I remember as a child when I would go to church camp, we would have a day that we got to go horseback riding. I looked forward to going to the corral and having a horse that I could call my own, for at least an hour. There was a bit of intimidation of being around such a majestical animal and a bit of fear would also be present. The horse handler would show me how to approach the horse, tell me it's name and give instructions on how I was to mount up. To me, this whole process each year was as grand as the first time. I would be in anticipation of leaving the ground and trusting the whole way up as I mounted this great steed, probably named "Brownie". From that point, the rest of the kids and I were directed into a line where we would start heading towards the trail. The feeling of being up on that horse, was like non other. I felt powerful and that my horse could do most anything. There would be moments when we would have to go down a slight incline or up a rocky old dried up creek bed, but because I was up on my horse, I had confidence that we would make it through. I can remember having such confidence in the horses ability to walk the trail that I could actually turn around and talk to my friend behind me. As we would be heading back to the corral, we were told to hold tight to the reigns as the horses knew where they were going and could take off to run back home. It would be a little bumpy but oh what a ride it was. I could hardly wait until the next year!

We all have situations in life that we would love to be able to get on top of. The verse in Isaiah tells us that as we wait for things to work out, or come to a different level, we can wait - up - on the Lord. Yes, just like when I mounted the horse, we are told that in our waiting that we can mount UP! and in actual spiritual reality, we are already mounted. He is the beautiful steed or incredible eagle that we can ride or glide on as those difficult situations, places and things are below our feet.

Prayer is a big part of the Christians life and it is where our mounting up is very real. We can tell God all of our ideas, struggles and dreams as we are on the trails of life, learning to trust Him with every detail. We can start to have such confidence in His ability it enables us to begin to look around and talk to others about Him as we go down and up the trails of life.

I end this blog with this Powerful and Magestic picture -

Revelation 6

And I saw when the Lamb opened one of the seals, and I heard, as it were the noise of thunder, one of the four beasts saying, Come and see. And I saw, and behold a white horse: and he that sat on him had a bow; and a crown was given unto him: and he went forth conquering, and to conquer.

My dear friends, as we enter this year, may we have full confidence in Jesus more and more. We are not below, but upon Jesus.

Happy New Year!

A couple of verses for relection:

Hebrews 1:3

Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high:

Ephesians 2:6

And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus.

We have a balcony seat looking down!

“Oh” - one little word that can pack a real 👊 punch!

As we enter into the Christmas time of celebrating Jesus' birth, we may find ourselves singing one of the songs from this following list:

O Holy Night

O Christmas night

O Christmas Tree

O Come All Ye Faithful

O Come O Come Emmanuel

O come, little children

O come, Redeemer of mankind

O Jesus, King of Glory

O Little Town of Bethlehem

What wonderful praise we can give our Lord through these songs.

I was reminded of how important a word like "Oh" or "O" can be used in our English languange. The actual definition of it is:

used as an expression of surprise, pain, disapproval, etc.

As beautiful as these songs or hymns may be, we can also use this word in a way that can be harmful and of no benefit to another person.

Have you ever seen the movie "Home"? It's an animated movie with aliens called "Boov's". The Boov's move to Earth and begin a takeover by Captain Smek, who is very self-centered . There is also a Boov named "Oh" who meets a young girl named Tip. Their meeting starts out rocky, but they end up on a quest to find Tip's mom and rescue her and the other Earthlings from complete anilation. As they are on the journey a question comes to Oh about how he got his name. He answered that he didn't have a mom and dad so he got his name by being “called” his name.

A quote from the movie:

Oh : When the other Boov's said, "Oh!" I knew they were not happy to see me. The truth is that among the Boov, I do not fit in - I fit out.

Although this was to be a funny movie, it really does have some insight as to what we may go through ourselves in our daily lives on Earth.

How can one little word change how you think about yourself? Or how others relate to you?

Have you ever heard this?

Oh, it's just you.

Oh, I forgot you were here.

Oh, you're still here.

Oh, you’re a mess!

I'm sure this list could go on in great length if we really let it, but....

Let's take another look at the word "Oh" and what it can truly means for those who know Jesus.

The word Oh is found 100 times in the bible (KJV) and 52 of those times is found in the Psalms. David, the writer of most of the Psalms, was quite experienced with this word, Oh, both in his vocabulary and in his own personal life.

In I Samuel 16 we see a prophet named Samuel go to annoint the new king of Israel to replace previous king Saul. He went to Jesse’s house and asked to see all of his sons. After seeing all 7 and not finding the one God has sent him to annoint, he asked Jesse, if he had any other sons. He replied, “Oh, I have another son that tends our sheep”.

I know I’ve taken a liberty on my interpretation from I Samuel 16, but I think after you would read the story, you'd come to the same. David wasn't a thought! But, it didn't detour him from what God had for him. David was named by God as "a man after my own heart". We see it in this passage:

1 Samuel 13:14 (NKJV)

14 But now your kingdom shall not continue. The Lord has sought for Himself a man after His own heart, and the Lord has commanded him to be commander over His people, because you have not kept what the Lord commanded you.”

David could have had the same Oh's that I listed out, but in the Psalms he repeatedly took his Oh's and Wow's and turned them over to God.

My encouragement for you would be to not give your attention to the list above, but instead, if you hear someone say anything that starts with Oh..... just remember David’s words…

Psalm 31:19

Oh, how great is Your goodness, Which You have laid up for those who fear You, Which You have prepared for those who trust in You In the presence of the sons of men!

Psalm 31:23

Oh, love the Lord, all you His saints! For the Lord preserves the faithful, And fully repays the proud person.

Psalm 34:3

Oh, magnify the Lord with me, And let us exalt His name together.

As we move into this Christmas season, I hope you've now seen that you are not just an "Oh". You have a name given to you and it is backed up with all of the love that Jesus provides. You're never an Uh-oh in Him.

I'm so grateful for you and your support of this ministry.

Have a wonderful time singing the songs and giving praise through this Christmas season.

Oh, what a wonderful Life we have in Jesus!

Unusual Collection

An “Unusual Collection” was the theme on display at the Aldrich House in Elmwood, NE this past fall.

Many people submitted their unusual collections to be used so that as people toured the house they could see them. There was a description of what the collection was, who the collector was and why they started collecting this particular item.

For example: My cousin, had been collecting all sorts of Pez candy dispensers since he was 10 years old. From the presidents, to Star Wars, to KISS.

My granddaughter, had collected feathers from walks we would take when she was a very little girl.

Another couple of collections by friends of mine were some old cameras, with flash bulbs and cases. A wonderful collection was “Into the Woods”, showcasing books, a bonnet to the doll that Laura Ingalls had (not the original).

My son-in-law, collects old vintage jean jackets and overalls and has pulled them out of the most disasterous places to put them on display. He enjoys finding them and then learning all about their maker and time period.

There was a collection of Perler beads that had everything from sunglasses to a pirate boat. This sweet collector is a friend's daughter who made me smile everytime I walked by it.

One last to mention, was from a friend who loved to take walks and search. She would look for rocks in the shape of Nebraska. From little to big, it was a sight.

Why do I mention all of this? it's because yesterday was the day we took down all of the collections to make room for the new Christmas display.

This got me to thinking and then it turned into a conversation with God and then it turned into this blog.

Here's a question for you. Did you know that you and I are God's unsual collection?

Psalm 139:14 VOICE

I will offer You my grateful heart, for I am Your unique creation, filled with wonder and awe. You have approached even the smallest details with excellence; Your works are wonderful; I carry this knowledge deep within my soul.

Collections we have here on earth can be fun for a moment, but then they go right back in the box and get stored for another occasion.

God says that we are His unique designed person and that we have a purpose. We don't just have a shining moment and then get put away, we get to be on display all of the time. Some of us were found in disasterous places, some of us on a gentle walk, some of us went on a journey and some of us were wooed by His colors and fun. But, all of us are unusual and purposefully brought into His family, when we say “Yes” to His Son, Jesus! You can be unique and be on diplay in a museum of dead things, or you can be displayed at the right hand of Jesus, with His Life, for all to see.

John 3:16 is our way out of death and into Life.

I remember reading in Rest of the Gospel, a book I highly reccommend, about how God uses every dimple, scar, wart and color for His glory. Do you ever think that your oddity could be an open door for a conversation with someone? or how bout that crooked tooth you have that sticks out? Could it be that there is someone who might be drawn to it. I know this sounds silly, but believe me, I've had people come up to me with the most uniqueness that drew me to them. We are not to be cookie-cutter Christians, but to be the wonderful Christ-one that God made.

Today, is the day that we can praise Him for our uniqueness and be encouraged that we are apart of his family.

Let Him Shine in you today!

One of my favorite songs as a child was "This Little Light of Mine". It might be a good one to sing outloud and share with your kiddos and grandkiddos. It's simple truth shared in a fun way!

Weight training

Have you ever signed up for a gym membership?  I have!  I remember the whole process like it was yesterday.  It was most likely in the early part of the year when the gyms offered a reduced rate to join.  I had only to buy some new workout clothes and make my appointment to sign a contract and give them my monthly payment. 

After I arrived I was directed to a desk and listened to the person explaining all that the gym offered. As I began to take the tour, I was always a little intimitated when they would walk me by the area where you could lift weights.  I usually saw many people picking up weights and putting them down over and over again.  Questions I may have had were...how did they know how much weight to pick up?  how did they know how many repetitions to do?  how on earth did they get the muscles they had?   Then the person showing me around would ask me, if I'd like to have a personal trainer to teach me all about lifting weights?  I would think about it and then usually end up on the treadmill or the stationary bike.  It just seemed too much for some reason.

A few years ago, I remember thinking about how the Holy Spirit is likened to a trainer.  When we accepted Jesus as our Savior, we received a teacher or trainer, called the Holy Spirit.  Unlike working on the physical body, He is a trainer for spiritual growth of the body of Christ.

The verse that show us this is in John 14:26

(Jesus said) ....the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost (Spirit), whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.

When we are in difficult situations or relationships, we have a great trainer who will teach us things through them.  We are encouraged to come to Jesus with our weaknesses.  I have many weaknesses in my life that I've tried to lift and carry on my own, but I've failed miserably.  When I pray and share my heavy situations with the Holy Spirit, He reminds me that I'm to let Jesus lift the weight for me.  This is so awesome!  At the gym on earth, I had to lift the weight and always walked away feeling like a failure.  But the holy heavenly gym is where I can share everything with Jesus and he will manifest himself through the Holy Spirit by giving me His strength.  Everytime I trust Him with a situation, I start to see my heavenly muscles develop.  Maybe you're asking ....what are heavenly muscles?

In Galatians 5:22-23 it says as Christians we have:

the fruit of the Spirit which is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.

To have my heavenly muscles worked out, it's when one of these is put under pressure, just like at the gym.  The only way a muscle can grow or be shaped is by bringing a resistance to it over and over again.  As we experience difficulty we can have one of the fruits or several be pressed in to for development. 

For example:

If it was easy to love everyone, we wouldn't need Jesus' love for people.  Each time I exchange my weak love, He gives me His strengthened love.  Every time I exchange my lack of patience He reminds me that He is my patience.  Do you see how this works?  I have all of the Spirit in my spirit and He and I are walking IN this life together.  That's how we can live through difficultly in this life and know that our Trainer is working with us through to the otherside.  Sometimes it's a short time and sometimes a longer time, but our spiritual muscles are being defined each and everyday, if we let Him lead, guide and direct us.  

The Apostle Paul says in:

2 Corinthians 12:9

But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.

Over and over throughout our day, we can lift weights and not be intimidated because Jesus is lifting them for us, in us and through us.  We soon find that we are able to love the not so lovely, be patient with things that make us wait and so on.

My cousin, Pastor Mike Roncaglia spoke on this very subject just last Sunday.  He shared that "God purposes that pressure should lead to enlargement"  IF you would like to watch it, the sermon is only available for one week, so watch before next Sunday.  The sermon starts at the 37:00 minute marker.  https://thurston.church/home

The next time you're under a weighty situation, instead of running away or skipping the weight, embrace your weakness in it and ask Jesus to strengthen you through it for your maturity in Him.

He's the best trainer out there.

Counting that matters

Psalm 130:5 NLT

I am counting on the Lord; yes, I am counting on him. I have put my hope in his word.

There was a children's show I watched as a child on television that had a character I liked. He would count everything! He was actually a "Count". I can hear him right now as I write this, saying, " one, ringy-dingy, two, ringy-dingy, three, ringy-dingy, as he rang a door bell. I wonder if you can guess who I'm talking about? Although, this is a fun memory, and we may laugh a little bit, I'm reminded in Psalms that it is Him we count on. How often do we count on things and people to meet our needs in life, only to have disappointment quickly set in?

Did you know that God counts all the time? He uses numbers all throughout the Bible for us to know this. The word "count" means to reckon up, calculate or compute.

For example; when Jesus paid our debt for sin, God was counting. What I mean by this, is that as far as God was concerned He counted our debt and pulled out the big rubber stamp, through Jesus’ accomplishment at the cross, and said "Paid in Full".

When we have financial debt in our lives it can feel weighty. When we think we owe people it can seem it will never come to an end. But with God, when he says paid in full....He truly means it!

I once heard a story about a couple that had oil discovered on their land in Texas. When they were informed of the discovery, the couple had been living in extreme debt. Although, they moved on to the land years before when they purchase it, they had no knowledge of the full wealth they possessed. I think as Christians, God inheriter’s, we can live like these people. We are in Christ, and in Him is the fullness of God, but we get stuck looking beyond Him to the circumstances and measurement sticks. We put our gaze on the bank to be reliable, or people and places to be our answers, but He is the only reliable One and the only Authentice Debt Payer! Whether you live in uptown, midtown or downtown, the question is this: Are you relying on you and your accounts, or are you reckoning with Him.

The next time you find yourself wanting to count on something or someone, you can ask yourself this, has God already settled this? Did He put it in the paid column? If the answer is " yes" then you can hold that thing or person with an open hand instead of clutching tightly.

His bank is full and you can cash your spiritual checks each day, in complete confidence.

Who’s on your mind?

Are you a mind reader?

What a question to start out with right? Ok, here's another one....

Do you think other people can read your mind?

If we are very honest with ourselves, we would have to answer "Yes" to both.

How refreshing it is to know that the only one who knows what we are fully thinking, is ourselves and of course God, who made us.

In the following verse, it says exactly that.

1 Corinthians 2:11

For what man knows the things of a man except the spirit of the man which is in him? Even so no one knows the things of God except the Spirit of God.

Our minds are very important to God and he has a lot to say about them.
Here's another verse to look at:

Romans 8:5-6

For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit. For to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.

Focus our time thinking on Jesus, instead of what we think others are thinking? Wow! this a huge game changer to living in peace and joy.

Let's look at one more:

Psalm 115:12a

The Lord has been mindful of us;

Here is a verse worth spending time with! God thinks about us with His mind. He loves to think about us! Right now He is thinking about us.

I heard a statistic about how many thoughts a person has each day. Somewhere around 70,000 thoughts!

If we practice setting our minds on God through out our day, we are thinking alot about Him. What an incredible way to get to know your Creator, the One who loves you.

One more thought, we could speculate with our minds on what others are thinking, but what a waste of a perfectly wonderful day.

I'll close with this last verse -

I Peter 1:13 AMP

So prepare your minds for action, be completely sober [in spirit—steadfast, self-disciplined, spiritually and morally alert], fix your hope completely on the grace [of God] that is coming to you when Jesus Christ is revealed.

You have control over your thoughts, so choose right now to think about Him, cuz, He's thinkin' about you.

Blessings and honor in Him!

He knows where He’s going

Did you know that transporatation is important to God?  He uses it all the time to move people and things from where they are to where He wants to take them.  

I was reminded of this when I read the story of Noah.  He was instructed to build an ark for rescue from the upcoming flood.   What He didn't realize was this would be an object to get him to where he needed to go.

What an awesome faith journey for Noah, as for 100 years he listened and obeyed God as he built the transportation needed .  It would eventually take him, his family and many, many animals where they needed to go.

What can this mean for you and me?  In Acts 17:28 it says: For in Him we live and move and have our being.  It means that if you are In Him, He is your Transporter, He moves in our lives!   His gift of Jesus was a way He moved and continues to move people from death in Adam to Life in Christ.  He always has places for us to go with Him! 

In Matthew 7:13,14: Enter by the narrow gate; for the gate is wide, and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and many are those who enter by it.  For the gate is small, and the way is narrow that leads to life, and few are those who find it.  

God is a transporter who made a map, has a compass and reads and adheres to road signs.  I love what Mike Wells said in his book, Problems, God's Presence & Prayer.  He uses a funnel as an illistration of how God transports us.

"Jesus indicates there are two roads men can follow:  the wide path heading to destruction and the narrow way directed toward life.  Believers are moved out of the wide path and into the narrow way through what I like to call God's funnel".

Today I was reminded of how we can have our day all planned out with what we think is a good road map.  Then you get a "detour sign" through a text asking for help with childcare.  I then looked at the road map for the day and saw I needed to talk through the detour option with my Transporter for the day.  He showed me how to adjust and move in a different direction.  Did you know that a detour is set up to protect you from something?  I heard Dr. Tony Evans last year talk about the subject of detours in our lives.  We can think they are an annoyance or hinderence to where "we" want to go, but He has a different plan that always involves our safety.

One last thing to think through...did you know that transport also means rapture?  I find this encouraging, because eventually our Great Transporter will take His family to live with Him in heaven.  Our final destination!

There are many great examples of  what it means to be transported when we look at the life of Jesus.  He was transported into in a womb.  He was carried on the hip of his mother.  He was taken to the cross.  He was moved to a tomb.  He was raised and ascended to the right hand of Father.  This is a small look at how Jesus was transported through each day as he lived here on earth.   The main thing to be aware of is that his Father was always His driver.  In the book of John we see this.

John 5:30 YLT  I am not able of myself to do anything; according as I hear I judge, and my judgment is righteous, because I seek not my own will (road map), but the will of the Father who sent me. (my words)

Some times the roads are clear, sometimes they are bumpy, sometimes they are narrow, but the most beautiful views are usually the roughest roads to be travelled on.

Today is a new day to let God drive your life to where He knows the best road to get you where He wants to take you.  

Let Him drive, He knows where we're going and He's always great company on the trip. 

Let's enjoy the ride.

Making a Joyful Noise

Romans 6:13

Do not offer any part of yourself to sin as an instrument of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer every part of yourself to him as an instrument of righteousness.

When I was 9 years old, I received a piano, I got signed up for lessons and began learning to play. It was quickly that I realized I was not going to be able to just sit down and play any ole song I liked. There was steady practice involved with lots and lots of scales. Oh, the scales! For me to get better though, I had to show up for each lesson, and I also needed to practice during the week. As time went by, I began to actually do well with the scales and learned to play pretty songs.

One thing about playing an instrument I found is that it never had any feelings about me playing it. What I mean by this, is that it was a thing that I put my hands on and it made music with each stroke of the keys. Feelings were never involved, atleast for the piano.

When I read this passage of scripture, I find that there is a word that goes along with this instrument it speaks of. The word "offer" is used 3 times, so that's got to be important, right? My piano never had to offer itself to me, it was always there. We are an instrument that has a living soul and thus we have a mind, emotions and decisions we can make. Think about this...the maestro or musician, namely, Jesus Christ, wants to play his instruments (his children) everyday. How do you think this happens?

Here's a thought...

In the morning, we wake up, and say "good morning, I'm here and ready for every tune you want to play today, Lord". This is how we offer ourselves to Him. It's really just a simple heart attitude toward our Father. Then, He will sometimes play soft music, other times he may take a rest, then other times he may bring in other instruments. Just like a concert. I don't know if you've ever thought about this like I'm describing, but it's kinda fun. The next time you look at a sheet of music, you will see that there are so many options for a complete and harmoneous song to be played.

One final thought, I can choose to offer myself as an instrument to God or I can choose to play my own tune. Even the "triangle" has a perfect spot in a band, that when called upon adds much to the song. But, if the triangle wants to only be a soloist, it can become just a loud clangy noise, that takes away from the other instruments, instead of adding something beautiful.

May His song be an opportunity for us to be apart of what He wants played today.

All glory and honor to Him!

2 Chronicles 5:13

It came even to pass, as the trumpeters and singers were as one, to make one sound to be heard in praising and thanking the Lord; and when they lifted up their voice with the trumpets and cymbals and instruments of music, and praised the Lord, saying, For he is good; for his mercy endureth for ever: that then the house was filled with a cloud, even the house of the Lord;

A Question For Gramma

One of my favorite verses in the Bible, is Philippians 3:10. The first five words of this scripture is where I want to spend some time with you.

They are...That I may know you.

I was with my oldest granddaughter this past week and she asked me a question that brought such a deep joy to me.

She asked, Gramma, will you tell me some things about yourself, because I don't really know things about you?

I chuckled and said I'd love to tell you things about me and I shared with her something from my growing up years.

Here is a question for us as God's children. Do we come to Him in prayer and ask Him a question like this?

Father, will you tell me something about yourself today?

I know for so many years, when I prayed I may have had many things on my mind I wanted to share with God. Not until a few years ago, did I see that Phil. 3:10 starts with - That I may know Him! This was something new to me and I welcomed the mind shift.

Many people grow up in church settings, and may see the Bible and prayer as tasks to complete, instead of a Person to know.

My granddaughter has been around me for her entire life, but it's not until now, at the age of 10, that she's realizing, I'm a person to get to know.

She and I have had many, many days together that we’ve shared our lives together. I've loved on her, I've snuggled her, fed her, taken her places, I'm sure you're getting the point. I've been being known to her throughout her life by what I do with her, but it's now that she's seeing me as more than her Gramma.

As Christians, this is applicable for us, also. We get saved, we go to church, we're taught to pray, and taught many other things to do as Christians. There comes a time though, when we see beyond our parents and the church people and have a question for God himself.

I became a Christian when I was 5 years old, but I can remember a time at the age of 21 that I had a question in my mind for God. I wanted to know if He really existed. I remember talking out loud to God in my car outside of a church building one day. There I sat, just having attended a funeral of a sweet woman our family knew, when suddenly I began to wonder if she had gone to heaven. I knew she loved Jesus and He was her Savior, but for some reason I was now having a question. This question was for God! So, I said out loud to Him, I know I prayed for Jesus to come into my heart when I was 5 years old and I believe that happened. I'm now having a doubt about it. What if I believe in You only because my mom and dad and the preacher told me to believe but You're not real. Wow! This was just like my granddaughter asking me her question that day. I had come to a point where I started to see God as a Person and I wanted to know Him, beyond salvation. The last thing I said to Him that day was I want to believe and I'm asking you to show me that you are really real.

Then, the clouds opened up and I heard God's voice....No, that's not what happened, ha, ha! But what did happen was through the next several years He began to show me how I couldn't make my life work apart from Him. I always looked to other people in my life to confirm my worth and I tried to use "things" to make me feel better. I also strived to make relationships work, and that didn't work either! Once those people, places and things came up empty, I finally came to the point with God that He was enough! and He loved me through it all as He showed me I was enough, too.

A book I read during this time of discovering God, as a Father, was “Captivating”, by Sherri Eldridge. A book that taught me how God spends each day, highlighting things with the sole purpose of captivating our hearts. He used this book to help me see how intentional He was and is toward me and that I get to know Him in a deeper way.

I hope this encourages you today, to ask God the Father a question about Himself. He delights to answer us!

Matthew 19:14

But Jesus said, “Let the little children come to Me, and do not forbid them; for of such is the kingdom of heaven.”