May My Heart See...

Did you ever find it hard to tell the truth?   I mean, that sounds like a ridiculous question, but seriously, think about it.   Your best friend asks you if you like her new blouse (uhhh, YUK!) – you open up a present and it’s the LAST thing you would EVER like . . . . get my drift?   Sometimes, the truth is just NOT that easy.   Its not popular either.   Hearing the truth today is a rare gem if you ask me.   Where can we find the truth?   The news?   TV?   Isn’t that someone’s “version” of the truth (“versions of truth?” - that’s scary!).   Even churches “vary” on their “truth”.   John the Baptist came to prepare the way for THE TRUTH.   For isn’t Jesus the WAY, THE TRUTH AND THE LIFE?       “A voice of one calling in the desert, ‘Prepare the way for the Lord, make        straight paths for Him. Every valley shall be filled in, every mountain and        hill made low. The crooked roads shall become straight, the rough ways        smooth.    And all mankind will see God’s

There is one “little” word in our English language that has a BIG meaning, that is, the word, “thanks”.    I’ve found that being thankful isn’t that popular anymore.   I hardly ever hear a “thanks” in everyday conversation (sorry to say).   There was a time when an attitude of gratitude was a way of life, and I hope that in my parenting I taught my boys to say, “thanks”, but I’m not sure they (or I) follow through. Its amazing to me that the holiday, Thanksgiving, is celebrated nowadays with hardly a word about its beginnings.   Oh, I know all about the Pilgrims and the Indians and the story.   I’m not talking about that.   I’m talking about the reason behind the FIRST LEGAL holiday celebrating Thanksgiving. General Thanksgiving By the PRESIDENT of the United States Of America A PROCLAMATION WHEREAS, it is the duty of all nations to acknowledge the providence of Almighty God, to obey His will, to be grateful for His benefits, and humbly to implore His protection and

Before the age of 5, my parents divorced.   My mother abandoned us to our father and then when she returned, we never saw our father.   My sister says we lived in 26 different homes!   I used to have dreams that we moved and no one woke me up to bring me along.   I suppose that’s when I developed a huge case of “belonging longing”.   So what is “belonging longing” anyway?   (I made it up btw)   My definition is “the need or want to belong somewhere or to someone”.    Its all I knew since I never settled down or called somewhere “home” until marriage.   Looking back, I never knew I had it.   But now, as I look back, my heart aches with memories of belonging longing. Through the prophet Isaiah, God says:   “Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you are Mine.” I think the Israelites had a case of belonging longing too even though they were told by God Himself through His prophets that they belonged.   They had 40 years of wandering around you know.  

Did you ever wonder what life WITHOUT God’s Presence would be like?   I mean, really truly WITHOUT HIS PRESENCE?   In my reading this week (Ezekiel) the exiles are coming home.   They are moving back to their “homeland” and to top it off, God’s Presence has returned.   Wait – what do I mean by God’s Presence returning?   Isn’t He everywhere?    Where did He go if He wasn’t there with them?   That’s a good question !   I have been thinking about that this week and the importance of “God’s Presence” in my life and in OUR lives as Christians. In the Old Testament, God dwelt (on earth) in the tabernacle first and then in His Most Holy Place in the temple that King Solomon built for Him in Jerusalem.   By “dwelling”, I mean He was there to worship and confess to.   He spoke to (and through) prophets.   He accepted sacrifices and worked in tremendous ways for His people.     Jerusalem was captured and the Jews went into exile.    He left them to their own devices.   And you know wha

I guess I’m a real pain sometimes.   YEP, my friends’ husbands say I am, my brother-in-law reminds me of it and I’m sure my sons (and even my daughters-in-love) have found me to be a royal pain!   I don’t mean to be a pain.   I mean, I don’t wake up in the morning and say, “today I am going to just drive somebody nuts!” – but somehow I do!   Its like a second nature for me.   And as far as “pain” goes, I don’t know much about it and I don’t want to know (if you get my drift!). I was remembering Isaiah 53 this morning and recited the word, “pain” a few times.   There it was, my word for the day:   P-A-I-N!   He grew up before Him like a tender shoot,  and like a root out of dry ground. He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to Him, nothing in His appearance that we should desire Him. He was despised and rejected by others,  a man of suffering, and familiar with pain. Like one from whom people hide their faces, He was despised, and we held Him in low esteem. Surely He took up o