To Be Still and Know

As we rushed about our weekday evening, me making dinner, signing school papers, helping with homework, running one kid here and another there, the kids doing homework, chatting to me about their days at school, and working on their daily chores, I nonchalantly said out loud, "There is no rest for the weary."  My oldest child, a 13 year old boy, stopped in his tracks to wherever he was headed and replied "That's not what God says.  He tells us that He gives rest to the weary."  Feeling like I had been shaken awake I stopped what I was doing and looked him in the eyes and said "You are so right.  Thank you for that reminder." He chuckled and looked a bit proud that He had "corrected" his mom and went on his way.    You see the world tells us that old saying about there being no rest for the weary but that is the exact opposite of what the Bible says.   Matthew   11:28 says "Then Jesus said, 'Come to me, all of you who are weary an...

"When I look at the night sky and see the work of your fingers-the moon and the stars you set in place- what are mere mortals that you should think about them, human beings that you should care for them? Yet you made them only a little lower than God and crowned them with glory and honor.  You gave them charge of everything you made, putting all things under their authority." Psalm 8:3-6 Last night my husband kids and I made a fire in our fire pit in our back yard and enjoyed the cool crisp fall night.  I love where we live, out in the country. It's quiet and private and away from all city lights which means we have a breath taking view of the night sky and all the stars and beauty it brings. "He counts the stars and calls them all by name." Psalm 47:4  As I looked up in wonder and awe of God's handiwork, seeing hundreds of thousands of brilliant twinkling stars it came to me that this is just like what it's like with our lives and the distractions we ...

Psalm 27:14 "Wait patiently for the Lord.  Be brave and courageous.  Yes, wait patiently for the Lord." If there is one thing I am really bad at, it's waiting.  I just don't wait well.  I am always in a hurry to get to where I am going, to be at the destination, to have checked the items off on my to do list, to see God's promises fulfilled and have already achieved the goals I set.  Here's the problem, we usually spend more of our lives in the waiting phases than we do having arrived at the destination.  If you think about it, our Christian life is one big waiting period until we see Jesus face to face! ( Hebrews 13:14 "For this world is not our permanent home; we are looking forward to a home yet to come." ) But I want to take it to the nitty gritty of our every day lives.  Those times of waiting for a job opportunity, a clear direction in which God wants us to go, good news from this or that source, healing both physically and mentally, the...

I am going to let you in on a little secret of mine.  It's something I have lived with for as long as I can remember but I didn't know exactly what it was called until five or so years ago.  I discovered that the feelings I carried around since I was a child had a name and that I wasn't alone in these feelings. That secret is ANXIETY.  I live every day of my life with general anxiety.  It's not just worrying or fretting about situational things as many people tend to think when they hear this word.  No, it goes so much deeper and influences every thought, feeling, action and reaction.  I read somewhere recently, and try as I may I cannot remember where I read this, that anxiety is the backdrop to every emotion you have, when you struggle with anxiousness.  How very deeply this resonated with me.  No matter how happy I am, or how good things are going in my life, there is always, ALWAYS, anxiety in some corner of my mind worrying about this or that...

"Let us think of ways to motivate one another to acts of love and good works."  Hebrews 10:24 My heart has been broken by all the stories of hate and bullying I hear both in the news and in my own community and on a more personal level, directed at my children.  None of this is new.  Cruelty has been around since sin entered the world in the garden of Eden.  It comes in many forms.  It comes in the obvious forms we hear about on the news and see in inflammatory comments on social media but it also comes in more subtle forms, of which we are all guilty of at some point in time. Think about the last time you spoke badly about someone to another person?  That just plants seeds of no good in other peoples mind regarding the person you were speaking about.  When was the last time you posted a rant on social media about how someone treated you badly or did you wrong?  Remember two wrongs don't make a right.  When was the last time you got an atti...

" Now all glory to God, who is able, through his mighty work within us, to accomplish more than we might ask or think."  Ephesians 3:20 "Take delight in the Lord, and he will give you your hearts desires...Be still in the presence of the Lord, and wait patiently for him to act.  Don't worry about evil people who prosper or fret about their wicked schemes."  Psalm 37: 4 & 7 What a truly amazing year 2016 was for us but that didn't come without years of struggle, praying and waiting.  As 2016 began my husband came to me and told me He felt that this was going to be the year we finally sold our house and moved.  See, we had tried to sell our small starter home twice before, coming so close the second time just to have it fall through at the last moment.  When he told me he felt God telling him this, I was skeptical to be honest.  I didn't want to once again get my hopes up just to be let down.  I couldn't see how it was going to be any differ...

There is a new song out by Lauren Daigle called "Trust in You".  The first time I ever heard it, it totally struck a chord deep inside my soul. Now when this song comes on the radio I go into full on worship mode, tears streaming and hands lifted pouring my heart out to God.   The chorus goes  "When you don't move the mountains, I'm needing you to move.  When you don't part the waters I wish I could walk through.  When you don't give the answers as I cry out to you, I will trust, I will trust, I will trust in you."   Click Here To Listen to Full Song   If you have been walking with the Lord for any length of time, I am sure your faith has been tested.  If it hasn't, just wait, it will be!  And I don't say that to scare you because as James 1:2-4 says "Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles of any kind come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy.  For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chan...