How could I possibly miss Kathleen's smile?  She was like an angel in white as she took me in her arms and gave me a hug.  I don't know about you but that means so much to me when I'm feeling so weary.

We sat with Kathleen's home group and I was warned that it might be loud.  The music started playing and a young man was rapping.  (You can see this first song for yourself, if you click here.)  As I looked up at the screens, the words he was saying were giving glory to God.  The style may not have been what I'm used to in church, but I have to say there was standing room only and this was only one service out of three.  I loved seeing all of the young people singing to the Lord, no matter how loud this Southern Baptist gal might think.  :)

Have you ever gone to a church service and felt like the pastor was speaking directly to you?


Pastor Greg was talking at me or at least that's how I felt.  Can you guess what the title of his sermon was?

When You're Feeling Overwhelmed

I think God has a sense of humor.

He was preaching out of Daniel 6.  Daniel had been taken into captivity from Israel as a young boy when the Babylonians invaded.  Fast forward to years later and now there was a Mede king named Darius in charge.  He promoted Daniel as one of three administrators to rule throughout the Kingdom.  Daniel  distinguished himself among these administrators and you know what always seems to happen.  They were jealous and tried to find fault with him.

They tricked King Darius into signing a law.  Anyone who prayed to any god or man other than the king in the next 30 days would be thrown into the lion's den.  Daniel was in the habit of spending time with God.  He prayed three times a day in his upstairs room.  This was something he did on a daily basis.  Despite the new law, Daniel continued in his usual habit.

Daniel was arrested and thrown into the lion's den.

Daniel trusted God ...no matter what.

I can only imagine how I'd be feeling in the midst of ferocious lions licking their lips staring at me.  Oh my; talk about feeling overwhelmed.  (Somehow my situation doesn't seem so earth shattering by comparison.)

I'm sure you know the end of this Bible story.  God shut the lions' mouths so they couldn't hurt Daniel.  The king was so glad when he saw that Daniel hadn't been harmed.  And the best part was that King Darius now issued a decree that in his kingdom the people must fear and reverence the God of Daniel.  He acknowledged and saw for himself how the One Almighty Living God rescued Daniel and had power over the lions.

In the midst of feeling overwhelmed and challenged from so many fronts, I just pray that I would be a Daniel. 

Pastor Greg gave two application points in this message:

1. Develop the habit of spending time with God.
2. Determine to trust God.

Well, I have to say that I'm already in the habit of spending daily time with God.  I've written many blog posts on Heart Choices about my early morning time with the Lord.  May I encourage you to begin this habit today?

On the second point, trusting God is a major theme in my life this year. 

Trust and obey! 

Do you think God is trying to drive this home for me?

After the service, Kathleen took me with her as she had to speak with Lori, the pastor's wife.  The whole family was there as the crowd was dispersing.  After introducing me, Pastor Greg, his wife Lori and Kathleen joined together and prayed for me.  Oh what a blessing that was for me!

I have to say that God is so faithful.  He is my Rock and my refuge.  No matter what may happen, He provides me with His presence and His strength for each new day.

I know exactly where to go when I'm feeling overwhelmed.  And for that I'm so grateful!

Blessings and love,

 It's Then Sings My Soul Saturday when I link up with Amy of Signs, Miracles and Wonders. This week I chose a song that I used to sing but haven't heard for some time now.  It may be new to some of you.  It's called "All Hail King Jesus".   Since I've been studying "Praying the Names Of God" by Ann Spangler, I'm more aware of how big our God really is.  One day every knee will bow and every tongue confess that Jesus is Lord of All. 


Happy Saturday!

Blessings and love,

Happy Friday and don't forget to laugh.  After all, it's good for the heart and soul.

Blessings and love,

 
I had to smile as I realized that God knew each one of His creatures and they weren't worrying about where tomorrow's food was coming from.  They were looking for food for today.  An  important lesson to jot down in my journal.

I'm so excited to have my friend Kathleen of Sassy Granny write a guest post for me.

If you've not had the pleasure of reading her pearls of wisdom, I can guarantee that you will love her.  I can't help but return to her blog to read her posts.

I've also had the distinct pleasure of getting to know her in real life.  What a blessing that has been for me. I've gone to church several times with Kathleen, we've done lunches, day trips to Prescott, Arizona and hopefully much more before she's moves off to the state of Washington in July.  Boo hoo; just when I was getting to know her.  But that's what's so great about blogging friends.  No matter where we live, we get to share our hearts with each other.  So without further ado, here's Kathleen or Sassy Granny's guest post ...

This is what the LORD says:

"Let not the wise man boast of his wisdom


or the strong man boast of his strength


or the rich man boast of his riches,


but let him who boasts boast about this:


that he understands and knows me,


that I am the LORD, who exercises kindness,


justice and righteousness on earth,


for in these I delight,"


declares the LORD.


Jeremiah 9:23-24

It’s been my privilege and pleasure to get to know Debbie over the course of some months – both virtually and in reality. Thus I am deeply honored that she’d invite me to put in a guest appearance on her blog.

Since Debbie’s request was specific, I’ll begin there:

Spending time alone with God.

First a confession or two:

I have absolutely no credentials apart from Christ. I’m not a Theologian. I’m not even an expert on any one subject unless, of course, it would be about ice cream. Oh, I could provide a litany of things I’ve done, or books I’ve read, or people that have taught me, or me them. But altogether, and in sum, they’d not equal or compare to the enabling grace found uniquely in Christ, and in Christ alone.

Years ago, one of my sisters said to me: “Don’t worry too much about books or conferences; this teaching or that. You get grounded in God’s word and maybe then those other things will have value. Apart from His word, they could be a sad substitute at best, a crafty counterfeit at worst.”

I’ve never forgotten it.

Much is said and touted about “quiet time”, or “doing devotionals”, but I often wonder to what degree those good things are fully embraced. It concerns me that so many of us run to-and-fro to hear this one speak, that one lecture, or another perform. We can always quote our favorites, and sometimes the scriptures. Our nightstands are filled to the lampshade with umpty-umpty books on various – and worthy – subjects. Our experience and knowledge stores are filled to capacity, yet our itch is often not scratched.

I wondered why that is myself some years ago; my own itches somewhat plaguing. It then occurred to me that my priorities were out-of-order - both in sequencing and in function, like the “out of order” soda machine that refuses to give up my beverage, or my change.

That’s when I thought of something truly novel:

Why not spend time alone with God?

No books, no agenda, no list of wants or needs - just He and me. At first I thought it may be a wee bit boring, but nothing could have been further from the truth.

Furthermore, another light-bulb flashed when I finally (I’m often a slow learner) figured out I might live a better horizontal existence if I could get the vertical one to work first. As if a liberal application of Calamine Lotion had been applied, the itch subsided. It continues to subside in direct proportion to my time alone with God.

Neither concept is new. They’re as old as creation itself, and fully embedded in the New Covenant. Love the Lord … Love yourself … Love your neighbor …

My thoughts now shift to: What do I leave you with? “Ten Easy Steps to Spending Time Alone With God” won’t do. It’s exactly what I’m attempting to avoid. After-all, it’s our prescriptions that often jam up the flow of His lavish love, or the enabling word He wants to speak into our lives. We can rest assured that we sheep know, or will know, His voice! Quiet listening sure helps.

Besides, you know yourself what works best for you. If you don’t, then what a great adventure you’ve got ahead in discovering what that is. The only thing I might suggest is that you free yourself of expectations, be consistent, and have a Bible and journal at the ready.

Then I hope you’ll settle in for the adventure of a lifetime. For truly …

Blessed is the man who does not


walk in the counsel of the wicked


or stand in the way of sinners


or sit in the seat of mockers.


But his delight is in the law of the LORD,


and on his law he meditates day and night.


He is like a tree planted by streams of water,


which yields its fruit in season


and whose leaf does not wither.


Whatever he does prospers.


Psalm 1:1-3

Kathleen
Sassy Granny

It's In Other Words Tuesday and our host is Jennifer of Scraps and Snippets.

Jennifer chose the following quote for us to write about today:

• 
  
  God chose to use David, a lowly shepherd over Saul as King of Israel.
• 
  
  God chose to use an ordinary girl named Mary to be the mother of Jesus.
• 
  
  God chose to use Peter, an uneducated fisherman to preach a mighty sermon on the day of Pentecost when the Holy Spirit came upon them.

God delights in using the humble, lowly, ordinary people who recognize that they have nothing to offer in themselves. 

Blessings and love,