My God My Everything

I’ve learned over the years that when you pray and asked for God’s leading it’s important to watch what God does next. Does He give a bible verse that provides direction? Does a door open or close on an opportunity? Does He give you peace of mind and a clear purpose? When I prayed for His leading on goal setting several things began to come together and I knew what I was to do. Now with the goals set the next step is to keep my focus on achieving them. One of the verses that I was given is Philippians 3:12-14, “I don’t mean to say I am perfect. I…

As I continued on with my 2020 goal setting I noticed that 20/20 also means perfect vision. Thoughts of how nice it would be to know what lies ahead crossed my mind and how much easier it would be to set goals with that knowledge. I may not know what lies ahead, but I know the one who does. A very popular bible verse reminds us that God has a purpose for us and His intentions are good. Jeremiah 29:11 reads, “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” God is leading…

On one of my sleepless nights I was lead to begin a bible study series called Running the Race in the Last Days, it also had questions for thought about the goals I would be setting for the new year. “How are you finishing this year?” “How do you want to finish the next?” “How’s your heart towards God?” If I’m going to be setting goals for the new year, it would be wise to consult the One who knows what the new year will bring. The vision board planning kit that I googled, suggested making goals in all areas of your life such as: Spiritual, financial, intellectual, occupational, physical,…

It’s the time of year when we begin to think of New Year’s resolutions and what goals we would like to accomplish by this time next year. Goal setting has been on my mind for the last several weeks and I keep getting the feeling that God wants me to take some time and think through the process and be serious about really making some changes with that will require strong commitments. I purchased a Christian planner because the format of the book was intriguing to me. Each day had detailed goals that would lead to achieving the larger monthly goals and finally to the year end goals. In addition…

I received the book Jesus Always from a friend for Christmas. As I read the introduction I was surprised to read about the health issues that the writer Sarah Young has been dealing with for several years. Yet in her condition she finds her greatest joy to be time with Jesus. Her writing is so heart felt and comes from a place of personal experience and a desire for others to know Jesus personally. She mentioned that she has a “Thanks Book,” which is where she daily takes notes of the blessings she receives. She writes, “looking for good things and thanking God for them cheers me up and changes…

Saturday morning began with a list of things that needed to be accomplished. The house was a mess, the dogs needed a bath, Christmas shopping still needed to be finished and groceries purchased for the week. I started with the bedding and after it began washing I turned on some Christmas music and began cleaning. The whole atmosphere seemed chaotic and I felt like I was going in circles. Then I heard the words, “seek first His kingdom,” in my head and knew that I needed to stop and first spend my quiet time with God. I turned off the music, kenneled the dogs then sat on the couch and…

The other day I read a Christmas card from one of our African Tour vendors. Each year they feature a different animal and this year it was the Zebra. The message was: “Zebras. They stand out. No two are alike. Just like human fingerprints, a zebra’s stripe pattern makes each one unique.” “Yet on the savannahs of Africa , zebras don’t stand apart. They huddle together. They form clusters and their stripes make it hard to tell where one zebra ends and another begins. Which makes each of them safer from predators.” “Because as different as they are, zebras know they are stronger when they stand together.” “This holiday season,…

One night while on vacation I didn’t sleep very well and had several strange dreams that clouded my mind. I walked around the hotel room trying to clear my head and settle down so I could go back to sleep, but God had a different plan for me. He invited me to meet Him for an early morning display of His wonders. The morning air was so clean and inhaling it brought a new calmness with each breath. “Be still and know that I am God,” was the invitation before me and His peace is so inviting and desirable that I couldn’t refuse. While sitting on a beach chair I…

One of the fun parts of traveling is looking for souvenirs that will remind you of your adventure long after it has passed. I often joke that the souvenir I want to bring home is a tan and I usually do. In time the tan will fade, but the memories will remain. As I was looking through pictures and trinkets that we purchased I re-lived the trip until those were stashed away. Then one morning I was flipping through my travel bible just reading the highlighted sections and notes in the margins when I remembered reading a particular verse on a previous trip. I continued to turn pages and other…