It was that time of the year…. a quarterly dental cleaning.  I always enjoy visiting with the dental hygienist, Jill.  She’s good at her job, thorough, yet very gentle.   As she approached her tools, I mentioned that my back tooth seems a bit different.  I could feel that it didn’t that normal smoothness in its feel.

Upon opening my mouth, she immediately focused on that area to look.  Yep!  There was a deep cave-like hole.  It wasn’t but a few days before that I remember biting into some delicious peanut brittle earlier in the week.  Not good. 

She continued with her task as a dental hygienist in my mouth, and when she was finished, she said she would ask the dentist to have a “look around.”

Dollar signs began forming in my mind as he approached the “Grand Canyon” in the area of my lower right jaw. 

My husband has always shared with me that he doesn’t mind dentists, but it’s doctors he’s afraid of.  When asking why, he simply said this:

A doctor can go anywhere! A dentist has to stay in your mouth.

This dentist had his tour of my mouth and found not one, but two areas that required a “crown.”  They were next to each other (how convenient) as he said they both needed attention.  After a conversation of what that meant, I thought I might as well get it over and done with.  So, I made an appointment for the following week.

I had no idea of what to expect, but suffice it to say that the upcoming appointment would take about three hours.  That surprised me, but not being in that field of learning, I had no knowledge or experience upon which to draw.

The “day arrived.”  I committed the appointment and the excavation and reconstruction work to Jesus.  I knew He would be there “with me,” but I needed His peace and calming balm over my emotions.

Well, after being seated in the chair, they lowered the chair at a level where you can’t escape.  The assistant placed a multitude of topical all over the arena of my right lower gum.  After about ten minutes, the dentist arrived with equipment in his hand.   Honesty prevailing here, I was very nervous inside.  I wasn’t shaking, but if a monitor was placed within me, it would register some elevated number on my “inner Richter scale.”   I quietly just kept saying the name of Jesus…and asking for His peace in all of this.

We all know why we need some level of peace and reassurance when we’re in the dental chair, don’t we? When the procedure is about to begin, they ask you questions and give you directions, like “open up”, and then do their best to camouflage the needle as they approach the destination of impact.  Like they all say, “you’ll just feel a prick.”  Well, this guy was good.  The prick #1 never hurt, nor did prick #2.  As the dentist exited the room, he informed me that he’d be back in about 25 minutes to begin.  He wanted the area to be nice a “numb.”   So did I!

Thirty minutes later both the dentist and his assistant began the entry into my mouth with four instruments and two pair of eyes “up close and personal”.  There were short bursts of rest (about twenty seconds each), and then they’d team up in my mouth again.  This went on for about 50 minutes.

By this time, I was “grateful Girt” at the reprieve.   About 30 minutes later, the assistant placed what seemed like the size of a hot dog and bun in my mouth, moving it around with persistent pressure.  Yes, I was numb on one side, but the other side wasn’t.  It was so large, that when it was placed in my mouth to take photos, it filled any vacant space available.   This procedure was to document the shape of the crown. 

This seemed like an odd moment for humor, but my personality couldn’t resist it.  I told her what I thought the size of this measuring tool resembled…a large hot dog and bun.  She burst out laughing, and so did I.  We all needed a little levity at this point.  I also informed her of my nickname for her….SUSIE SUCTION.   I shared that I appreciated how diligent she was in suctioning out the saliva while the dentist drilled and polished the two areas. Enter the room, Mr. Dentist.  He too was laughing as his assistant told him she had been given a new title!  

I was told that not only would the dentist create the two required crowns for my teeth, but through the equipment in his office, the crowns would be placed on both teeth before I would leave the office.

So, after the “candid camera” event, I was left to relax in the chair for another forty-five minutes while the crowns were being designed and fabricated.  I was exhausted and relieved to have my mouth closed.

It wasn’t until half of the procedure to have the two new crowns was over and I was lying in the chair reflecting on all that was happening, did I realize that I could LAUGH!  A smile, crooked though it was, came across my countenance and I realized that Jesus had given me “joy and laughter”, and an ability to see the humorous points in all this.

At the end of all the work, three hours later, I shared with both the dentist and his assistant, that this party would need to end as the novocaine was beginning to wear off and I would need to go home and pop an ibuprofen and acetaminophen in my mouth to relieve some of the emerging discomfort.

All of this is to give thanks to Jesus, Who not only helped calm my nerves, but enabled me to exude laughter from my demeanor to the people attending me

THE EXPRESSION OF JOY WAS MY TRUE CROWN!

And I have Jesus to thank for that!

Several months ago, I shared that I may take a twist in how I present what I place on my blog.  We all need people in our lives to encourage us and spur us on in our individual walk with Jesus.  Hebrews 10:24 “Let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works.”

Well, today I’m inviting you into my journal of thought as we continue to wait on the Lord to sell our home.  Back in 2019 we were living in Australia, waiting for our house there to sell before moving back to Canada.  Perhaps you’re not waiting for a house to sell, but you’re waiting for the Lord’s intervention and plans to unfold in other areas of your life.  We all get a taste of the “waiting room” for God’s plans to unfold in our lives.

This particular morning, discouraging thoughts began to move into my thinking.  Like a bolt of electricity, the Lord seemed to bring me back to that year and what occurred in our wait-time.

I recall that Jesus caused a woman in the country of Dubai to notice our house for sale, on line, in the city in which this couple was about to move.  She shared with me that she looked at our home over a dozen times.  Upon their arrival on the Gold Coast of Australia, they found an agent and came to view our home.  It was exactly the style and even the colors which this couple enjoyed.  They came to view the home and made an offer that very day.

You may be wondering the “take away” from that event and why it was recorded in my journal.  We all have experiences where the Lord worked on our behalf, and I think it’s a positive experience to journey in the past to recall God’s faithfulness on our behalf.

Dubai is 7,475 miles or 12, 030 kilometers from Dubai!  That’s more than a tiny trip around the block, but the Lord caused a woman there in Dubai to notice our home on line in Robina, Queensland.  This again articulates to me that God can do anything and use whomever He wishes, regardless of where they are, to meet our needs that correspond to His plans.

Like the sundial in Scripture that moved “backward” instead of the ordinary route of moving forward…. that wasn’t normal or ordinary….IT WAS EXTRAORDINARY.

Do we expect God to do “extraordinary things” in our lives?  I wonder how many “ordinary events” happen in our lives that “seem ordinary, but where God’s hand of care and providence bring the “extraordinary.”

Let’s keep our hearts, minds and eyes open for God to work out of our predictable box of events into the amazing for His plans and purposes.

PSALM 43:5 “Hope in God:  for I shall yet praise Him, who is the health of my countenance, and my God.”

What room are you living in at the moment?  If you’re in the kitchen, let’s get together for tea or a latte?   Sound good?  There are a number of rooms in a house, but currently I seem to be adapting long term to the “waiting room” … God’s waiting room. 

As humans, we don’t care for waiting rooms, do we.  We could dress up the terminology by referring to them as “lounges.”  Yes, that sounds better, but the fact is that you do the same thing there too.  You may lounge around, but you’re still “waiting.”

What’s the purpose for waiting do you think?  To be more specific, what are the benefits of waiting for God?  I don’t know about you, but I find that I can be encouraged if I consider the “benefits of waiting for Him.”

I’ve messed up enough in life by acting on impulse (the wrong impulse) or if too much time has elapsed, move things along myself.  I think that term is referred to as “manipulation.”

God has His own plans and purposes, doesn’t He.  My impatience can thwart the effectiveness He has in mind while I’m in the “waiting room.”

If you’re a baker, you know that you can’t rush a cake to rise.  You can observe some limited action by turning on the oven light and watch things in slow-motion which doesn’t help the rising process.  Or, you can busy yourself with another activity and keep opening the door to observe the progress.  But regardless of your human scheming, it’s best to wait until the timer goes off, indicating that your cake is done.

By waiting, you have a finished product that looks good, tastes good and delicious enough to serve a friend.  None of that would happen if you “rushed the cake to rise and come together.”

The Lord Jesus is helping me piece this illustration together so my heart and mind can rest more comfortably in the “oven time of my current circumstance.”

Waiting reminds me of the GPS’s we use in our cars.  If there’s an unknown, untraveled route we need to take, our hand-held GPS devices sure come into play.  Remember years ago, when we actually held a map in our hands to determine the route from where we were to where we needed to be.  It’s no wonder it took us longer to get there with the fiddling around with those creased maps.

Now we just type in the address of our destination and voila, all the information is available to us.  However, for moment-by-moment directional steps are given one at a time.  A GPS follower (that’s you and me) needs to complete the first piece of instructions before the following details are given.

Yep, it’s a step-by-step dialogue.  And even there, you must wait in your seat for further particulars on how to navigate the best route.

Are you formulating in your mind the same illustration as I am about God’s guidance and direction for each of us.  We may inaccurately feel that His timing isn’t right, yet He is always right on time…” His Time!”  Meanwhile, day-by-day, hour-by-hour, moment-by-moment we do what needs to be done.

He is directing our steps and the steps of those He brings along our path for His reasons.  In the very area of my anticipation, my Father weaves sideline information to encourage me in the journey. 

Just yesterday morning I was reading my Bible and I was parking my vision in the book of 1 Kings, chapter 17, verse 2 where God was giving specific directions to Elijah.  “Then the word of the Lord came to him saying, “Get away from here and turn eastward, and hide by the Brook Cherith, He told Elijah to head East and hide by the Brook Cherith, which flows into the Jordan.”  

Then instructions were passed along as to drink water from that brook.  For there was no dew or rain for about six months. 

This was no surprise to God, but God had plans for Elijah and part of the map puzzle was for this man of God to have some liquid refreshment.  Not only would there be something to drink, but in that there were no cafes along the route, God has other methods.

You can check out the following in your Bible (1 Kings 17: 3,4).  God’s next go-to directives were that God would be providing the cuisine delivery.  But it wouldn’t be through a human resource.  He orchestrated the delivery to be through ravens! 

Am I joking?  No, look for yourself at verse 4.

“And it will be that you shall drink from the brook, and I (God) have commanded the ravens to feed you there.” 

1 Samuel 17:6 “The ravens brought him (Elijah) bread and meat in the morning, and bread and meat in the evening; and he drank from the brook.”

I think it might be a good time to pause there and look for application to our lives about this information.

At first, I asked the Lord what can I take away from this portion of His directive to Elijah.  Plain and simple, God can use anyone or anything to accomplish His provision.  It also conveyed to me that God doesn’t operate on our terms or in our ways.  He is God and I sometimes forget that.  He made the ravens and He made Elijah and he can operate “out of the box” whenever He wishes to.   God is not limited by our expectations. 

In these two verses alone was a “sermonette for me.”  That being, don’t expect God to respond to your prayer request in the manner in which you imagine, or through the vehicle you’d expect.  In the mystery of His will, He does His work in ways that may seem foreign to us. 

And as I think about that, it tells me that He is unlimited in how He desires to meet our need.  So, I guess we need to stop trying to pin-point God’s Modusoperandi of how He will handle what we are waiting on Him for. 

The important fact that came next in these verses is that Elijah did exactly what God told him to do.   I often think of GPS as God’s Positioning System.  1 Kings 17:5 “So he (Elijah) went and did according to the word of the Lord….”

Results were:  Elijah was obedient to this request.  It wasn’t complicated, but it was a clear instruction.  Elijah didn’t require further instruction.

Then in verse 6 came another set of directives, but not for Elijah, but for the “ravens of choice.”   Well, there we have it.  God can, through his sovereignty and providence, orchestrate whatever or whoever to do His bidding to provide for Elijah.

We (me too) can often read a sentence too rapidly and miss the deeper understanding of God and His ways.  Here’s an appropriate time to pull out a verse from Isaiah 55:9 “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.”

Here’s a thought:  God can do whatever He wants to answer our prayer and meet our needs.  Remember – He is God, and I am not.

As we slip down to a latter time frame when the brook “dried up” we see God positioning another assignment for Elijah. 

1 King 17:8 “Then the word of the Lord came to him (Elijah) saying, “Arise, go to Zarephath, which belongs to Sidon, and dwell there.  See I have commanded a widow there to provide for you.”

“The way of faith is step-by-step obedience before the Lord, as He instructs.  His servants obey one command, and then He gives another.  Christians need not ask about tomorrow when today is before them.  1 Kings 17:2-5 Jeremiah Study Bible Commentary

This widow had next to nothing as she was preparing, what she thought would be her and her son’s last meal.  

Elijah came to her asking for a little water in a cup and while she was getting that ready, Elijah put in another request for a “morsel of bread in her hand.”

Her response was not expected by Elijah, for she advised him that she only had a handful of flour in a bin, and a little oil in a jar….   That isn’t exactly a loaf of bread to share with this stranger.  In other words, she was preparing what she thought was a last meal for two.  Now Elijah appears on the scene, per God’s “divine assignment.”

Can you notice, as I do, this doesn’t make sense!  Or does it?!

Here again are more surprises.  1 Kings 17:13-16

“And Elijah said to her, “Do not fear; go and do as you have said, but make me a small cake from it first, and bring it to me; and afterward make some for yourself and your son.  For thus says the Lord God of Israel:  The bin of flour shall not be used up, nor shall the jar of oil run dry, until the day the Lord sends rain on the earth. 

So, she went away and did according to the word of Elijah; and she and he and her household ate for many days.   The bin of flour was not used up, nor did the jar of oil run dry, according to the word of the Lord which He spoke by Elijah.”

Speaking about a “divine pantry!”  God more than supplied her needs.

“The widow’s resources were too limited to meet the need in her own family.  But Elijah asked her to act in faith, feeding him first, and when she put God first, He provided.”  Jeremiah Study Bible Commentary

There’s much more to the story as later the widow’s son became ill.  Elijah must have been invited to rent an upstairs room in her home.  She told Elijah how sick her son was and that he had just died.

“Elijah said to her, “Give me your son.”  So, he took him out of her arms and carried him to the upper room where he was staying, and laid him on his own bed.  Then he cried out to the Lord and said, “O Lord my God, have You also brought tragedy on the widow with whom I lodge, by killing her son?”  And he stretched himself out on the child three times, and cried out to the Lord and said, “O Lord my God, I pray, let this child’s soul come back to him.” 

Then the Lord heard the voice of Elijah; and the soul of the child came back to him, and he revived.   And Elijah took the child and brought him down from the upper room into the house, and gave him to his mother.  And Elijah said, “See, your son lives!”  Then the woman said to Elijah.  “Now by this I know that you are a man of God, and that the word of the Lord in your mouth is the truth.” 

“This is the first time in the Bible when a servant of God raises a dead person to life.”  Jeremiah Study Bible Commentary

“Sometimes God uses unusual circumstances to test a person’s faith.  He told Elijah to go to an unlikely place, Zarephath, the very center of Baal worship and home of Queen Jezebel….at an unlikely time – when the king of Israel (Ahab) was hunting him with the intent of killing him.

Then the Lord sent him to an unlikely person – a poor Gentile widow from a Baal-worshipping nation.  In addition to testing Elijah’s faith, the circumstances provided an opportunity for God to demonstrate His power and His compassion to those outside of Israel.”  Jeremiah Study Bible Commentary

Now that we’ve sat awhile in the waiting room of these verses, what does all this tell us about God and His working in our individual lives?

I came away with a few thoughts to ponder:

God has His own ways and His own timetable.

He has His own purposes in our lives and the lives of those He brings to us.

God is God and He knows what’s best for all concerned.

God is unlimited as to how and when He answers prayer.

God can use the most unlikely ways to accomplish His desired end.

God can use the most unlikely people to accomplish His desired end.

God can use the most unlikely circumstance to accomplish His desired end.

Stay close to Him and alert to His promptings.

His ways may never make sense to us humans.

He is always at work, even when we think He isn’t.

DON’T PUT GOD IN A BOX….

as He will break out into His own plans anyway

Years ago, God orchestrated a new and beautiful relationship with a lovely woman.  Her name is Norma, and she is one lovely mentor to my heart and life.  She may not realize it, but she is.  She has a great “grace” about her that allows me to bubble forth my thoughts and ideas, and her response is kind and receptive.  This “grace” was the first thing I noticed about her. 

When I met this woman a number of years ago, I was in the thicket of grief as my father had gone to be with the Lord a number of weeks prior.  She welcomed me into a Bible Study she was leading at the time.  Someone must have asked how I was doing, and my grief streamed out like a flood.  She and the others just “listened.”  When you heart is overwhelmed, friends can gift you with the “grace of listening.”  Listening is like a tender balm that shadows over and around your hurting heart.

You know, what we say to others can greatly influence the direction of their lives and yearnings.  This friend introduced me to a phrase that she had used in her  counseling career.

“Your profession is Jesus Christ

Your career is how you carry Him into your world”

Let’s see what Daniel Webster says about the meaning of a “profession.”  A paid occupation, especially one that involves prolonged training and formal qualification.  We might add other descriptions which would include:  vocation, line of work, day job, position, calling, or walk of life.

If you’re a follower of Jesus Christ, and you “profess Him as the Lord of your life;” and you are one that takes your commitment to Him seriously, then Jesus, in reality, is your “calling or walk of life.”

If that’s you and that’s me, then He has the right to call the shots in our life.   He is not only our personal Savior, He is also the “Leader, Director & Orchestrator” of our individual being.

A directional verse I love is Proverbs 4:26 “Ponder the path of your feet, and let all your ways be established.”  (established by our Lord Jesus)

Here’s a companion verse that follows up on how our steps are established by Him when we are surrendered to Him.

Proverbs 5:21 For the ways of man (that’s your ways and mine) are before the eyes of the Lord.  And He ponders all his paths.”

Did you catch that last phrase….” And He (capital H for He – God) ponders all his (small h for our paths).   GOD PONDERS OUR PATHS!

THAT’S UNBELIEVABLY INCREDIBLE

We’re to watch our steps, where they go and how they go, and to whom our steps correspond with.   It’s allowing God to “establish our comings and going!”   It’s a STOP SIGN for our hearts and our planning.  It’s okay to plan and all, but not to “manipulate or self-orchestrate” our lives down to the minute and beyond.

To be honest, for most of my Christian walk, I felt the need to “plan to the hilt!”  I’d lay awake at night anticipating and planning the next 5 years of my life.  How ridiculous that was.  For it’s my Father-God, and your Father-God, in this verse, that shows us He is the One Who wants to be in charge of our lives and the steps that take us there.

Yes, we can plan, but He is the One who has the “last word.”  It makes sense to commit all our ways to Him, giving Him the right to perhaps redirect us in another direction.   I may not know you personally, but my guess is that God has interrupted your plans many times…. with His own plan.

Proverbs 20:24 “A man’s steps are of the Lord.  How then can a man understand his own way?”

This verse has removed a lot of self-induced stress in my life.  I say that due to the fact that endeavoring to understand the twists and turns in life, that routine just brings on stress that we were never intended to nourish or carry.

And then, notice in the following chapter, verse 21 that God (Immanuel…God with us) ponders all “our paths.”   I find this verse thrilling…. because it’s rehearsing in our hearts that:

GOD KNOWS EVERYTHING THERE IS TO KNOW ABOUT ME

GOD KNOWS EVERYWHERE I’VE BEEN AND

GOD KNOWS WHERE HE WANTS TO TAKE ME

There are no surprises with Him!

For years felt I was working FOR God.

But when I began memorizing and musing over

Proverbs 4:26  “Ponder the path of your feet, and let all your ways  be established.”

my life, slowly began to relax from the urgency of planning and anticipating.  To read “and let all your ways be established” became a compass verse to point me to better travel in life.   I’m still in His class, but through that verse, He continues to encourage me to have a clearer and more profound perspective.

Yes, my mind, heart and life need constant “alteration.”  But this verse seems to bring a better and more relaxed vision for my journey.  If our God designed us for “His purposes and plans,” then only He knows best the route to take us down here.  He’s helping me resign the position of being my own GPS.   He has His own GPS…. God’s Positioning System. 

This morning, in my time with Jesus, I was reading in 1 Samuel 14:45b and the teaching of Proverbs 4:26 appeared again in one astounding phrase:

“for he (Jonathan) has worked WITH GOD this day.”

That verse literally erupted in my thoughts.  Jonathan was not working FOR GOD, but WITH GOD.  The distinction between “working for” and “working with” is in the nature of the relationship and the dynamic of working in cooperation with our Father.  

Practically, it’s working within His direction and timing, not working ahead of Him, but linking up to how and where He “establishes our steps.”  It’s allowing Him to not only set the pace, but re-direct as He wishes.

When you work “for” someone, you are that person’s employee, you are in a subordinate position, you take orders from that person and are responsible to that person with regard to the work that you do.

When you work “with someone,” you are that persons’ colleague, or that person is involved in some way, in the work that you do.  You collaborate with that person.

When we speak of working “with God…. your heavenly Father,” it’s an endearing and growing “relationship” …. not a boss as we think of it here on earth.  It’s an invitation from Him to “join Him in what His plans and purposes are” in building His kingdom.

Working with God is the highest privilege a person can experience, regardless of the assignment, whether menial or lofty…. it’s all the same to Him.

So, if we “profess Him as our Lord and Savior,” our “career” is to express Him in whatever we do, whether in a hospital, kitchen, laboratory, office or wherever we are.

MAY OTHERS BE DRAWN TO HIM BY OBSERVING HIM IN YOU AND ME.

HOW DO YOU AND I CARRY HIM INTO OUR WORLD?

“A man’s heart plans his way, but the Lord directs his steps.”

Proverbs 16:9

My goodness, God’s Word addresses every area of our walk of faith…. every area.  The scripture above came to life for me the other morning at a local department store.  This department store had “sales” going on just after Christmas, and I thought I might check it out for opportunity gifts later in the upcoming year.  When an advertising sign shouts 50 PERCENT OFF…. that can be an attraction to my billfold.

This morning I had a family member in mind together with the item I was specifically looking for.   The store wasn’t as crowded as I thought it might be, so I casually strolled the aisles looking for this item. 

I was “focused!”  There were people around me here and there, but my eyes were fixed on just what I was looking forward to purchasing.  In my tour of the women’s department, I did notice an older woman using a walker and a younger gal in front of her, but I kept moving along with my eyes gazing at price tags and the merchandise that was along my route.

My frustration was building as there seemed to be nothing that would be attractive for the person whom I was buying for.  I was beginning to think that my “gift hunting” was about to come to an end.

Then, it happened.  This woman appeared again, and upon my glance in her direction, she piped up and asked me, “Are there any sweaters in this store?”  I quickly responded with a quick statement, “I don’t know,” attempting to move away from the woman.  After all, I was on mission and had only about one and a half hours to make this purchase a reality.

However, God had “other plans …. His plans.”  At first, I asked her what type of top or sweater was she looking for.   Before I knew it, I was enlisted (by Jesus’ touch on my heart) to sort of help this woman.  So, I invited myself for a few moments to be her personal “sweater shopper.” 

This was just a casual question, as I wanted to show her to an area where there were sweaters, and move along with my own agenda.

This was NOT TO BE!   It was obvious that she was a little confused and frustrated.  She began her introduction by saying, “I’m an old lady and live in a care facility.”  Well, I didn’t require an address, as I knew immediately what she meant. 

She was driven in a large community bus to “do some shopping.”  The driver had given her an hour at this department store, and she felt time was passing and afraid she wouldn’t be able to complete her shopping excursion in time.   She was also fearful that the driver would be upset with her.

Well, that introduced a new dilemma to my plans.  It took about 5 minutes before it dawned on me (I’m slow at catching on to God’s directives sometimes, and this was one of them) that maybe God was involved in this situation.

I glanced at her walker and she smiled as she showed me this particular blouse which was draped over the handles to her walker.  My immediate comment was, “That’s nice.  That would be something I would buy.”

She caught on to that puzzle peace and indicated that she liked how I was dressed.  Unanimously, we agree that we had similar taste in clothing…. a “tailored look.”  Her face brightened and my heart began to make “adjustments” to my purpose in being in that department store.

Within moments, I felt like God was nudging me to take an unanticipated tour of the store, along with my new friend, who was picking up speed with her walker.  She was maneuvering the corners of the store as good as I was.

During our visit in and out of the aisles, I realized that God had prompted me to help this woman, and “forget my own agenda!”

After about another 25 minutes, alas, we found a black and white sweater-like top that was warm, and stunning.  I pulled it out to display before her eyes.   SHE LIKED IT!   After I announced the size, she immediately said, “It won’t fit, it’s too small.” 

By now, as her uninvited but welcomed shopping attendant, she trusted me enough to allow me to help her “try on the garment.”  Voila, it fit “perfectly.”

During all of this, she was still was concerned that the driver would soon be in the store looking for her.  She was right.  We practically bumped into him.  Just as she decided she wanted to purchase the sweater, there he appeared.  

I thanked him for his patience and shared with him that we were heading for the checkout area and wouldn’t be long.  He was more than cooperative…. which was a blessing to this frustrated lady.

By now, time had passed, and I realized that there was nothing in that store that was appropriate for what I wanted to purchase.  So, before I realized it, I was walking with her to the checkout to make sure that her purchase was complete, without any hiccups.

There was a couple in front of us, and people behind us.  It was at this moment that I focused on “who” she was.  I asked her for her name.  “It’s Rose and I live at Legacy Senior Center.”

Rose began thanking me profusely and then she asked my age.  I told her and with a sudden increased volume said, “You don’t look it!”   She repeatedly looked at me to thank me.

I couldn’t take it any longer, for that morning I had given this day over to the Lord Jesus to direct my steps and conversations.  So, it was “Jesus” who directed our coming together in the store, and it was now time to share that information with this dear woman.

I leaned over and quietly told her that it was Jesus who brought us together this morning.  She repeated His Name!  I mentioned that I had prayed this morning and asked Him to direct my steps.

Within about 30 seconds I remembered that I had a brochure in my purse.  It was “Steps to Peace with God.”  I removed it from my purse and told her that Jesus had saved my life.  She just looked at me.

Her next comment at full volume was, “What did He save you from?”   My response was, “He saved me from my sin.”

Again, she repeated out loud, “He saved you from your sin?”  “Yes, that’s right.”   I gently placed the brochure in her opened purse and asked her to read it when she got home.  “OK” was her comment.

I walked her to the bus and she wanted to give me a big hug.  Before boarding, I waited until she was boarded and waved goodbye.

I smiled inside and out all the way walking to my car.  I had joy that filled me to over-flowing…………………and I had to write about it!

We never know who the Lord will place in front of us, regardless of our plans, and on this day, I couldn’t be more pleased with His direction.

At the end of this year 2023, let’s give thanks for those people who have crossed our paths and look with anticipation for those whom the Lord Jesus will direct our way in the coming year.

Moment-by-moment, hour-by-hour, day-by-day, week-by-week, month-by-month…. if we belong to Jesus, He is orchestrating His plans and providence for His glory and our good through His sovereign will.

“A man’s steps are of the Lord; how then can a man understand his own way?”  Proverbs 20:24

It was an ordinary day!  You know, errands galore and our last stop was the grocery store.   There must have been an advertisement of a special sale in this particular supermarket, as the line up on the aisle to pay was rather crowded.   

I wasn’t obvious at first, but the women next to the cashier was fussing with her children and her purse.  Alas, she found her credit card and was attempting to insert it into the card reader device to pay for her groceries.

It wasn’t going smoothly at all, as the credit card machine and the clerk trying to accept her payment weren’t on the same page, shall we say.  Her credit card wasn’t being accepted and that’s when things began to escalate.

She began fishing in her billfold for an alternate card; and wouldn’t you know, it was also rejected.  From the distance I was away from her, I noticed the perspiration beginning to build on her forehead; and if I had been intently looking at her blouse (and I wasn’t), I probably could have noticed her heart pounding as well.    

The scene changed when she opened her billfold yet again and clearly, the reaction wasn’t positive.  It seems she was counting on the credit card to take care of the payment and not a payment in cash.  This was not to be.

Not only was this mother nervous and frustrated, so was the clerk.   From our vantage point, he certainly wasn’t behaving in a compassionate manner and this only created more tension in the woman, and in those in the line up.

There was one man behind this anxious mother who took notice of this seemingly delicate dilemma, and he moved ahead of others and inquired of the clerk what the amount “owing was.”  His heart and cash went into “gift mode” and he just quietly handed over the required amount for her load of groceries.

Then a beautiful thing happened.  The woman was apologetic, and thanked the man for his very kind intervention at the check out.

She left the check-out line and proceeded to pack her items in a bag wiping the tears from her eyes.

It was soon our turn to pay for our groceries.  As my husband was doing the credit card thing in the reader, I felt prompted to go over to the woman and put my arm around her shoulder to give some comfort and support.  Through the tears, she said she couldn’t believe it.  I burst forth with “You know, that was the love of Jesus reaching out to you.”  She must have been a Christian, as she wholeheartedly agreed.  I extended one last hug and off I went.

I was in that grocery line to witness a “living sermon” and to add a “warm bow” to the gift of kindness by a stranger.

This is the Christmas Season, I know; but can’t we all be on the lookout for opportunities to “BE A GIFT TO SOMEONE IN LINE.”  We might just allow the person or two behind us in a line-up to go ahead of us.  I did that just recently and gained two smiles and a lovely conversation.  

May the REASON FOR THE SEASON…. JESUS

prompt each of us to “gift others” with kindness in our lineups.

O little town of Bethlehem

How still we see thee lie

Above thy deep and dreamless sleep

The silent stars go by

Yet in thy dark streets shineth

The everlasting light

The hopes and fears of all the years

Are met in thee tonight

   For Christ is born of Mary

   And gathered all above

   While mortals sleep, the angels keep

   Their watch of wondering love

   O morning stars together

   Proclaim thy holy birth

   And praises sing to God the King

   And peace to men on earth

      How silently, how silently

      The wondrous gift is giv’n!

      So God imparts to human hearts

      The blessings of His heav’n

       No ear may hear His coming;

       But in this world of sin,

       Where meek souls will receive Him still

       The dear Christ enters in

          A holy Child of Bethlehem

          Descend to us, we pray

          Cast out our sin, and enter in

          Be born in us today

          We hear the Christmas angels

          The great glad tidings tell

          O come to us, abide with us

          Our Lord Emmanuel

Hello….and MERRY CHRISTMAS

Our December newsletter has been sent and we look forward to hearing from family and friends, especially this time of year.  It’s a wonderful time to make that special effort to connect with people you know, love and hold dear.

In all honesty, I thought that piece of correspondence was all we were going to mail out, either through the mail or on email.

But as I was having lunch, I tuned in to Christmas Music on YouTube.  There’s much to choose from to listen to as you go about your chores and daily routine at home.  I enjoyed a cup of tea and a small ham and cheese sandwich.  Would have loved if you could have joined me.

I was sipping my tea as my inner ear was tuned in to the lyrics of the Christmas melodies.  My heart seemed to skip a beat when I not only listened, but sang along to “O Little Town of Bethlehem.”   Too often, I think we may sing along with the music, enjoying the tune and neglect “listening to the lyrics.” 

My lunch time was different today!  I sang the song a number of times and the more I sang and listened not only with my ears, but with my heart.  It wasn’t long before I was gripped by a number of the words.

Look to verse 1 with me at the phrase, ‘yet in thy dark streets shineth the everlasting light.’  That light is Christ….and if you’re a follower of Jesus Christ, you and I carry Him on all the streets and sidewalks we come to.

Then again, the phrase, ‘the hopes and fears of all the years are met in thee tonight.’   We all have hopes and fears throughout our year.  But Christ comes to bring us individual hope amidst all of life.  Especially the fear of “death.”  That is a universal fear.  Yet Christ wants to meet and address that fear too.   He offers “life” not only here, but the moment we leave our earthly tent.

Look to verse 2, “and praises sing to God the King, and peace to men on earth.”  Is this for real…. peace to mankind on this earth?   In our current world, there seems to be anything but peace.  This is a peace that lies “deep within a heart” not the ceasing of wars necessarily, but a stillness that God gives even amongst the turmoil of the world, or the turmoil of your circumstances. It’s a “divine quietness” that only God can give.

Let’s move to verse 3 “How silently, how silently the wondrous GIFT is given.”  God came to this earth, in the person of His Son, Jesus (a baby, God in the flesh, a human so we could relate to God in a personal way). 

Babies are adorable and non-threatening, gentle, wanting to be held and embraced.   Jesus came for each of us, to be embraced within our hearts and lives.  He came to show us, in human form, Who God is and what He is like.  He longs to be embraced and held in the highest regard.   His ways may appear “silently” and most often missed by us, because we either think we don’t need Him, or we’ve allowed the “world’s agenda” to drown out His tender touches in our lives.

Throughout our life, He seeks us to get our attention through good days, bad days, sad days, health issues and weakness and a myriad of circumstances…. knocking at the door of our hearts, waiting for us to “ask Him in.” 

That can only happen if we, as it’s said in verse 3, a “meek soul will receive Him, then He enters in.”  Scriptures tell us to come to God as a “child, trusting Him to enter our lives upon our asking Him.” 

I love it that Jesus is such a tender and caring Savior because He will never push or force Himself upon our lives…. but waits for “our personal invitation.”  As humans, visiting our friends, family and neighbors, the most excellent and finest way to come into their home is to ring the doorbell and wait for a “response….and invitation to come in.”   That happens to be God’s way too. 

And finally verse 4 is really a personal prayer, a personal invitation to:

Descend to us or   ”come down to where I live and move”

Cast out our sin or  ”forgive me of all my sins & give me a new heart not to respond

           to sin’s ways”

And enter in – be born in me today or

          “come inside my heart & life and make me new, giving me a new

          nature so I can now begin to respond to You.” I was cold to You

          before & non-responsive.

CHRISTMAS is a wonderful gift-giving season. But you know, we can celebrate the SEASON and yet “miss the REASON” for the season. The Greatest Gift to mankind, to you and to me is the FORGIVENESS & CLEANSING THAT COMES BY JESUS TAKING THE PENALTY OF OUR SIN/WRONGDOING enabling the GIFT OF HIS PRESENCE WITHIN US, through His Holy Spirit.

Like all gifts, they become yours when you undo the wrapping, open up the box and make it yours. Make Him “your Savior” this Christmas.

JESUS AWAITS YOUR PERSONAL INVITATION ! Your life is the gift He’s been waiting for.

Romans 3:23 ”For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” (no one is perfect)

Romans 6:23 ”For the wages (payment) of sin is death, but the FREE GIFT of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Our sins bring us the death penalty, but Jesus paid the price for God to forgive us & make us right with God.

Romans 10:13 ”For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.” Jesus “is” the Savior of the world. (If we admit we are a sinner and need a Savior….He comes to live within us and upon our last breath here on earth, we enter His presence eternally….forever).

         THERE IS NO GREATER GIFT ON EARTH THAN JESUS

            He is EMMANUEL…..God with us!

           REMARKABLE…..DON’T YOU THINK??!!

We’ve all had down, disappointing days, haven’t’ we!  Just a few days ago, I had mine.  I woke up, not in a positive mood.  Have you had that experience yourself?  For no reason, I woke up in a not-so-happy mood.

I’m so glad the Bible covers unexplained bad moods.  Jesus knows that we are but dust, and that we can fall apart emotionally at any moment.  Yes, we are fragile and need Him constantly.

As I was having my morning coffee, I read my Bible and shared with the Lord Jesus that I felt I just needed “His encouragement.”   I also expressed that He could choose whatever scenario He felt best to encourage me.

Later in the afternoon, I put my body in gear and took our little dog for a walk.  I headed out and walked one block.  As I came to the intersection, I decided to head down the street on my right, instead of my usual left.

We were well into the walk when I noticed an odd package in the middle of the street at an intersection.  At first glance, it looked like a wrapped Christmas package.  As I considered going over to pick it up, I thought to myself there surely wouldn’t be a wrapped package, bow and all, in the middle of the street.

Curiosity wouldn’t let me proceed further on the path ahead of me, so I walked over to the beautifully wrapped item. The closer I got; my eyes increased in focus.  IT WAS A BEAUTIFULLY WRAPPED PACKAGE.   I leaned over this gorgeous surprise and saw that it was a gift box of Belgin chocolates.

This can’t be…. or can it?  One of my favorite two verses in the Bible is found in Proverbs 4:24. “Ponder the path of your feet and let all your ways be established,” Proverbs 3:5,6 “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not to your own understanding.  In all your ways acknowledge Him and He will direct your path.”

Well, let’s get serious here; if I consider and apply those verses, the Lord was directing, or shall I say redirecting my steps to this item in the street. 

I Iooked around to see if there was anyone in the vicinity of this beautiful package.  Not a soul in sight.   This wrapped delight was in the middle of the street in a pivotal location for a car to smash it to pieces.

I could stand it no longer.  I leaned over and retrieved the box and headed home.  In route, it dawned on me…. the Lord Jesus brought me “chocolates” to encourage me. 

You may not choose to believe this, but if we “acknowledge Him in all our ways,” and we LOOK FOR HIM in our activities, responsibilities and surprises.   Today, it was His delight to surprise me on my walk with chocolates.   How practical is our heavenly Father!!! 

I just smiled and thought to myself, I must take a photo of this because no one is going to believe me.  So, the photo below is my gift to you, even if you can’t taste the contents.  

I was so surprised and delighted, I decided to leave the gift wrapped (without indulging myself) and place it in our mailbox as a gift for our mailman.

The next morning, my mailman received the gift with delight.  God blessed two people….my mailman and me.

MERRY CHRISTMAS TO YOU

And I hope your heart experiences the gift of His presence in your life, not just at Christmas, but every day of your year.

Let’s keep our eyes wide open and our hearts attuned to His presence with us all the time, so we won’t miss His “PRESENTS” to us in whatever way He chooses.

What are your “current priorities?”  Yes, I realize it’s the Christmas Season, but I still challenge you and me with the question of our “current priorities.  It’s a heart-felt question, isn’t it!  For what we hold “dear” to us really occupies the priorities of our heart.

I don’t know about you, but I find it a challenge sometimes when I go for a walk and see all the Christmas decorations scattered around the neighborhood on lamp posts or garage doors or have a stroll in the Hobby Lobby store.  It seems to me that the clients of those department stores seem to have a lot of decorations on their mental agenda.   The lights of the season are beautiful, for sure. 

But my heart has been drawn to another “Light…. the Light of the World…. THE SAVIOR.”   You know, as followers of this wonderful Savior, we have the privilege and honor to “celebrate every day of the year…because of His residence within our hearts.”   Yes, we “carry the Holy Spirit of the Living God” wherever we go!  

We carry Him in our words, our attitudes, our smiles, our patience (in a shopping line).  Think about that for a moment!   So, wherever we are, we can express Him to those around us.

We all have a HISTORY of past Christmas events, good and not-so-good, happy times and saddened times when we’ve experienced a great loss in our lives.  Nonetheless, if we belong to the Savior, He has come to “inhabit” and “made His home in our hearts.”

But He hasn’t come to just “live within us,” but to burst forth on the scenes of our everyday lives to make an impact on others.   He yearns to ooze out of the pores of our individual lives to touch those around us.  Our every step of life is orchestrated or allowed by Him for grander purposes…. His purposes and His plans.

For you see, He is the “Orchestrating Author” whose main purpose in life is to make us more like His Son, Jesus.   So that everywhere we are, people can see that His presence within us makes a difference. 

He designs our circumstances so that we “reflect Him.”  In a very real and wonderful sense, God, “your Creator” longs to “AUTHOR YOUR LIFE.”   Each moment of every day is like a page, unwritten, but ……. each day and the moments therein, is like a page in a book waiting to be scripted on your life.  I love the Scripture in Proverbs, chapter 3, verses 5 and 6.

Your name _______________” Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not to your own understanding; but in all your ways, acknowledge Him, and He will direct your path.”

Read that verse aloud and very slowly.  The Creator God is asking each of us to “recognize and grant His intervening presence” in all our daily events.  He’s asking us to allow Him the privilege to orchestrate and establish the journey of our moments.

For you see, He is wanting to write upon your life HIS STORY!   HIS PLANS!  HIS PURPOSES!   For that’s why you were designed.  As He authors your moments of each day, your life becomes the “HIS-TORY” of His love and care for you.  So that when others look at your life……. THEY SEE THE SAVIOR!!!

Just yesterday I heard a song come across the radio that I have never heard.  I tuned in to hear Christmas music.  The song is called “Make Room.”  My heart seemed to pause a beat when I heard the lyrics and especially the chorus, which was, IS THERE ROOM IN YOUR HEART FOR GOD TO WRITE HIS STORY?

The phrase in that song brought my thoughts back to Bethlehem, where God became human, (that’s Jesus) to show us Who God is and what He is like.   But……………there was no “room in the local inn” to allow Him a pleasant entrance to our world.

So, with that in mind, let’s not make that mistake within each of our lives.   Let’s make sure we ……

“make room in our heart for His residence and His authorship of our lives.” 

May this Christmas Season be especially meaningful to you!  

How many times in a day do you and I “look up?”  That may be an odd question at first.  If a poll was taken, I’d guess that not everyone here on earth looks up at the sky every day.   Our eyes are drawn to down-to-earth living.   We often speak of being on vacation and catching a sunrise or sunset, but some only notice those daily joys when they’re on holiday – not every day.

My husband and I enjoy the sunrise most mornings as we sip our coffee together and interact over our plans for the day.   Then we separate to head off to a quiet corner of our home to spend time reading our Bibles and then speaking and listening to our Heavenly Father.    It’s there we commit our agenda of plans and activities for God’s intervention and/or redirection.

Prov 20:24  “A person’s steps are directed by the Lord.  How then can anyone understand their own way?”

All through God’s Word, we’re told that God is sovereign, almighty, all-knowing, and present everywhere.  He knows everything about “each of us” and is surprised by nothing.  And yes, He longs to be involved in the “details” of everyone’s life…. upon our invitation.   I’d guess to say that most people either don’t believe that, or don’t want that involvement.  We can be like two-year-old and say, “I do it myself.”   How foolish we can be.    How thrilling to have the Creator of our world and each life on earth want to be intimately involved in the events of our daily, oatmeal-like life.

Just the other day I began the journey of reading through the Bible, from beginning to end.  I’ve done that many, many times.  But rather than read three or four chapters, just to get through the Bible in a year, I’ve been choosing to read to absorb, learn and enjoy the events portrayed.   It’s like I want to climb onto the pages and “live out in my thoughts” what’s portrayed on paper of those real-life events.

I love it that God paints people and circumstances just as they are, not as we wish they’d be.   The Bible is a real-life journey into a wide variety of personalities, challenges, agreeable and disagreeable people, sinful behavior and their consequences.  His paintbrush of truths was carried by His Holy Spirit onto a wide variety of men who wrote what they heard and saw.  It’s the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.

My eyes were stepping into the second book in the Bible, Exodus.  God had seen the awful oppression of His people, the Israelites, by the Egyptians.  He had given Moses the “Divine assignment” of his life at age 80.  So, if you’re feeling your age, be encouraged that God desires to use each of His children at any age, 8, 80 or l08.   If you’re breathing and still here, He has things for you to do.

My heart stood still when I read the commentary by Dr. David Jeremiah on Exodus, chapter 2.  It’s too good to pass up, so I’m sharing it with you.

“As the Israelite journey into that vast wilderness began, the Lord reassured His people with the CLOUD OF HIS PRESENCE, showing them WHERE and WHEN to CAMP.  But that meant that they had to WATCH THE CLOUD EVERY DAY.  When it STAYED, they stayed.  When it MOVED, they LOADED UP and FOLLOWED. 

Knowing that God goes ahead of us removes so much of the fear from the dramatic changes in life.   In such seasons, however, it is easy for us to become preoccupied with our situation and take our eyes off THE CLOUD.

Our all-knowing, Omniscient Leader has promised to guide our steps and give us the wisdom we need (Prov 16:9; James 1: 5-7), but we must first set aside our anxiety, quiet our hearts, and set our minds on seeking HIS WILL and HIS TIMING (Phil 4:6-7).  That way, when the CLOUD MOVES, we will be READY.”

Honesty prevailing, I went outside later and looked up….and I saw no clouds, but it made me “think.”   The desert wilderness is vaguely bland, with no billboards or caution signs and the weather is “warm.”

As the 2+ million people traveled along, following God’s presence (the CLOUD), it wasn’t difficult to get too distracted, I would think.  The Israelites were glad to get out of the country where they were so mistreated.

The leaders and people would be keen to follow this CLOUD.  They had their directions from God through Moses….and their focus would be “upward.”

I don’t know where you are in your journey with Jesus Christ, or perhaps you’re not even sure you want to journey with Him. 

Jesus said: “I am the WAY, the TRUTH and the LIFE.  No one comes to the Father except through Me.”

As long as the people followed “the Cloud,” they would have clear direction because God was “with them” in the presence of the Cloud.   Amazingly, our God wanted His own to realize that He wanted to walk “with them to the Promised Land.”  Why?  I think God wanted to show the people that He cared and would give them direction each and every day, as they kept their “focus” on the Cloud. 

Haven’t you ever wished for “road signs” here on earth?  You know, so His will would be clear and precise.   We’d read the sign and say, “Got it.”  And hopefully we’d be off and running “in His revealed will” on the sign we just read.  But how would our “faith grow.”  Remember, we walk by faith, not by sight.  2 Corinthians 5:7

Today we have His Word, His presence within us through His indwelling Holy Spirit (if we’ve given our life over to Him) and guided circumstances to accompany our life.  Their walk in the desert was “moment-by-moment” and “day-by-day” just like ours.  Not everyone is in the desert.  We are, because we currently live in Arizona; but all of our individual life paths are before our God, just like the Israelites.

When Jesus said He is the “Way,” He’s saying stay close to Him in a moment-by-moment, day-by-day walk, interacting with Him throughout the day, as you would a friend or guide on a hike in unknown territory.  Every moment in the future is unknown to us, but known to Him. 

 I wonder if we just had a sign to read and move on…. we may be tempted not to draw close to Him.  It’s “intimacy in our walk” that builds our character and faith.

Well, I have no idea where you are at this time; but my husband and I are preparing for a BIG TRANSITION.  We’ve done our part, as God has led us, but our eyes are fixed on Him (The Cloud).