My God My Everything

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…

One of my favorite things about getting away is the extra time in the day to just be still and reconnect with God. I like to get up early and go for walks on the beach and then find a secluded place to sit and have my quiet time with Him. As I sat and listened to the rhythm of the waves I noticed that I was slowly drifting into a beautiful place of peace and reflection. I watched as the sun rose above the horizon and listened as seagulls squawked each time the waves touched their feet. While sitting in the beach I buried my feet in the sand…

I just returned from a weekend get-a-way to Cabo San Lucas. While driving through the desert terrain I was taking in the sights of the many different businesses, homes and people in the area. One site that surprised me was a Christmas tree lot. They had several different sizes of trees and even white Christmas trees. In the center courtyard of the resort was a very large Christmas tree and other decorations like snowmen and presents. At the entry way was a beautifully landscaped cactus garden with a nativity scene in the center. Throughout the weekend I kept thinking of how it didn’t feel quite like Christmas without the snow…