A Morning View

Life is not easy. Often it seems downright impossible. Everywhere you look from the valley all you see are insurmountable mountains around you. There seems to be little hope. Have you ever even wondered where God is and why God left? It can become a very lonely place. Although it can be very difficult to remember, God is there and when we trust, we can slowly climb from the valley.  Psalm 22 1-5 currently describes my soul.  “My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?     Why are you so far away when I groan for help? Every day I call to you, my God, but you do not answer.     Every night I lift my voice, but I find no relief. Yet you are holy,     enthroned on the praises of Israel. Our ancestors trusted in you,     and you rescued them. They cried out to you and were saved.     They trusted in you and were never disgraced.” - Psalm 22:1-5 NLT Friends, I do love you all. I pray for you and pour out until there is no more to po...

I wonder how when we battle against each other in our humanity that we are actually fighting a deeper spiritual warfare? We think is is about human disagreement and opinions, but we are actually in a spiritual war taking place all around us. Perhaps we really do not understand what is happening and why?  Do you, do I do the things we need to do to prepare for the actual battle against the spiritual forces in the unseen world? Are we fighting culture and our human selfishness or are we prepared to battle in the greater war we do not see, but is all around us?  Paul's words are vital in our personal and corporate battles against the enemy.  “A final word: Be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on all of God’s armor so that you will be able to stand firm against all strategies of the devil. For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evi...

“Remember, it is sin to know what you ought to do and then not do it.” - James 4:17 Not much else to say. Peace, PB

"Just because you feel it doesn't mean it's real." - Friend It is often so difficult to separate what we think is real from what is real.  It is easy to make stuff up on partial truths. But remember that the Lord your God loves you and it is real.  “For the Lord your God is living among you.     He is a mighty savior. He will take delight in you with gladness.     With his love, he will calm all your fears.     He will rejoice over you with joyful songs.” - Zephaniah 3:17 Peace, PB

Talk too much?  I used to jokingly tell my students, "Silence is Golden, Shut Up and Get Rich." Do you speak before you think? Do you press send and wish you hadn't? Sometimes I can talk too much. Perhaps it is better to be silent and let people think you are a fool than to open your mouth and prove them right.  “Too much talk leads to sin.     Be sensible and keep your mouth shut. The words of the godly are like sterling silver;     the heart of a fool is worthless. The words of the godly encourage many,     but fools are destroyed by their lack of common sense.” - Proverbs 10:19-21 NLT Peace, PB

I have been faithfully praying for a person(s) in great need.  Yesterday BIG steps forward happened. More steps forward still need prayerd for, but I want to stop in the moment and rejoice. “Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good!     His faithful love endures forever. Cry out, “Save us, O God of our salvation!     Gather and rescue us from among the nations, so we can thank your holy name     and rejoice and praise you.” Praise the Lord, the God of Israel,     who lives from everlasting to everlasting! And all the people shouted “Amen!” and praised the Lord.” - 1 Chronicles 16:34-36 NLT Praise the Lord and please God continue your might act. Peace, PB

Sometimes it seems like suffering is all that is happening in our world. It is easy to try to fix everything or escape from everything, but it is not. Life and stuff still happen. So what to do? “So humble yourselves under the mighty power of God, and at the right time he will lift you up in honor. Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about you. Stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour. Stand firm against him, and be strong in your faith. Remember that your family of believers all over the world is going through the same kind of suffering you are. In his kindness God called you to share in his eternal glory by means of Christ Jesus. So after you have suffered a little while, he will restore, support, and strengthen you, and he will place you on a firm foundation. All power to him forever! Amen.” - 1 Peter 5:6-11 NLT Peace, PB

Yesterday I wrote about how I so miss my sister Barb. Her 70th birthday would have been yesterday. I was also honored, privileged and challenged by a sermon from Rev. Abby Lightle emphasizing the crowd of witnesses who have and are making a difference in our lives. She also reminded me that not only are we to receive from the crowd, but we are to be part of the crowd. Yes we absolutely need to be spurred on by others and we are to spur others on.  Have you ever thought about your crowd? Barb was a big part of my crowd. She is gone. I know we shall meet again but I cannot see her face to face in the flesh ever again until Jesus returns. There are so many things we need to talk about and we can't. Honestly, my deeply trusted crowd is extremely small. But my overall crowd is huge. I want to thank my crowd! I also pray I have impacted others as part of your crowd cheering you on.  Please do not wait until it is too late to recognize your crowd and let them know the difference they...

Today is what would have been my sister Barb's 70th birthday celebration. Three and a half years ago she transitioned her eternal life to go home to be with Jesus. I miss her so much. We didn't talk regularly, but when we did, it was the best. So often I want to pick up my phone and call her number which is still saved in my phone list. She was my go to person who always listened to and loved me no matter what. She was my Agape person. Life is different without her.  I truly believe she is still cheering me on. She is a Saint gone home and is encouraging me from her spot in eternity. God knows I can use all the help I can get. She is a huge witness to a life of faith. She always did challenge me yet loved me. It didn't matter what it was she was honest and encouraging to me. She was more than a sister, she was my Agape friend. I miss her.  What must I do? Keep on running the race. There are recent times when I have been ready to completely give up running. I believe she and...

“Worry weighs a person down;     an encouraging word cheers a person up.” - Proverbs 12:25 NLT Does worry overwhelm you? Does anxiety dominate your soul?  Do you know someone who struggles like this?  Share encouraging words with them, they can never hear them enough. “Don’t be afraid, for I am with you.     Don’t be discouraged, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you.     I will hold you up with my victorious right hand.” - Isaiah 41:10 NLT Although it is often difficult to see and remember, God has this all for us. Peace, PB 

In the Wizard of Oz there really is no Wizard with great power. The curtain gets pulled back and there is just an old man manipulating the equipment to portray a great wizard with power. In reality he is just another man who is lost on his life journey and giving the image of someone he is not. This does not diminish who the man really is, in fact he is a very nice man with good intentions. But the curtain hides who is really is to save him the embarrassment from whatever he is hiding.  Very often I live behind such a curtain. What about you? We may be ashamed of our past. Perhaps it is to protect others or even ourselves from the pain of our hidden lives. It could be that we are positive images of life models and we know what we really are under the surface. It may be likely we are hiding behind the curtain to save our integrity. I know that I wonder what people would really think if my curtain were to be yanked back. Sometimes we just flat out struggle and find it safer to just h...

I love all the Christian t-shirts with positive quotes. I love all the positive Christian quotes we read on Facebook, paintings and other novelty items at a Christian book store or online purchasing. As a matter of fact I wear the t-shirts and have many items either given to me or purchased by me in various locations of my home or office. But often I struggle with wearing the t-shirt and the balance of what is going on inside of me.  I have a t-shirt that says "Faith over Fear." I often wear it wishing I would allow my faith to be bigger than my fear. Often I wear it not realizing that I have it on while internally am a mess of fear. I can have strong faith in certain situations where there is no doubt God is in the midst and doing what God does in healing, helping, nurturing others and is in the midst of miracles. But I also so often fear of failure, fear of letting others down and especially a fear of deeply hurting others. I care about people and I spiral when I believe I ...

In my world people who intentionally hurt you and especially those whom I love deeply, do not deserve the time of day. People who are manipulative and deceitful, in my world, are people who do not deserve grace. But I do not live in my world. I live in a world of grace. God's grace.  So how should I live? (I do try!)  “You have heard the law that says, ‘Love your neighbor’ and hate your enemy. But I say, love your enemies! Pray for those who persecute you! In that way, you will be acting as true children of your Father in heaven. For he gives his sunlight to both the evil and the good, and he sends rain on the just and the unjust alike. If you love only those who love you, what reward is there for that? Even corrupt tax collectors do that much. If you are kind only to your friends, how are you different from anyone else? Even pagans do that. But you are to be perfect, even as your Father in heaven is perfect.” - Matthew 5:43-48 NLT Seriously, I will try!  Peace, PB

I have been told I often overthink and try too hard.  It is easy to forget that God is God and I am not.  I try to trust God, I really do.  So God, I am going to do better praying and trusting you. “Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.” - Philippians 4:6-7 NLT God you have this. Peace, PB