So many things I think of where I could be snide. 

But instead God says ‘just let it ride…’

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I often wish I had a snappy comeback. 

But it’s just better to shut my yak trak.

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Stay calm, remember you’ve been around the block. 

Take a step back and take stock.

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Quiet strength is from relying upon our ROCK. 

Jesus calls us to give an apt reply – just listen for His Knock.

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Minding your P’s and Q’s is quite fine,

But listening to the Lord? Now that’s Divine!!!

Amen

Had the most wonderful faith conversation with a new friend. It was purposefully placed by our Lord for sure. What would be goosebump-raising in coolness was that next level up of open faith conversation, agreement of His timing and opportunity. We had discussions of plans for listening to the Lord’s tapping on our shoulders. Others tell me of appreciation of my openness, which shines naturally they say, but I know it has taken me years of Armor of God building to fortify my base confidence and wiggle my life open. (*The wise woman builds her house*). We can appreciate that when work is traditionally hush hush to the openness, that this is a new era of opportunity, one with one conversations. Our kitchen tables and our work tables are the Lord’s Table when we remember Him!

Same awesome God, new era. This is our era other strengthening each other, of shining His Light, even if in small fractured ways. It’s still Light. And pockets of opportunities, like this lunchroom hour of openness is one of these places of refuge that the proverbs speaks about. When God shows powerful enough to open the opportunities, fear the unspoken over the spoken. Take the opportunity and listen more than speak.  Smile the willingness to want to learn. Appreciate God’s Placement and Protection. 

In the fear of the Lord there is strong confidence, and His children will have a place of refuge. The fear of the Lord is a fountain of life, to turn one away from the snares of death. Pvb14

I used the example of a diamond more beautiful when cut, the light hits facets in all ways. Our brokenness too seeps light out in healing,  from HIS source, and what doesn’t speak out of our mouths can still be felt in our souls via prayer. In other words, if you don’t normally put a basket over a light (your light of HolySpirit), then surely the fractured light beeming in all directions out of one’s brokenness (but still glued together) is too confusing and complicated for the devil to try to knock it all down. Let us be on the pivot plan to beam away from the blockages. Let us keep shining and light-shifting to minimize devil-sifting. 

Ah, is it that the Lord needs us to reflect Him like a mirror, a fractured mirror that shows much flaws from the devil-sifting? (Because we all have then) OR is it our Living God lives inside of us in order to SHINE OUT of the holes, WORK OUT of our hands and feet, and therefore one never sees nor focuses on the fractures, that are ever humanly present, but on the Light. That’s it, we see and feel our brokenness, but have the ability to shine anyway. So we need to devise and develop our plans of how we share this Light from the Lord, and watch His set up the opportunities. Yes.

– those who plan what is good find love and faithfulness.  – mercy and truth belong to those who devise good. Pvb 14:22b NIV, NKJV

AMEN !

—

Some more good from Proverbs 14:1, 6-8, 26-27 NKJV

The wise woman builds her house,

But the foolish pulls it down with her hands.

…

A scoffer seeks wisdom and does not find it, but knowledge is easy to him who understands.

…

Go from the presence of a foolish man, when you do not perceive in him the lips of knowledge.

…

The wisdom of the prudent is to understand his way, but the folly of fools is deceit.

…

In the fear of the Lord there is strong confidence, and His children will have a place of refuge.

…

The fear of the Lord is a fountain of life, to turn one away from the snares of death.

THERE’S A PROCESS,

God has a Process.

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We have participation in the process.

We have a plan because of the process.

And we have a pursuit because of the process to make the process work to plan.

On occasion you have to prod through the process.

Pause at the plateaus.

Peer at the pinnacles.

God has a Process.

.

Sometimes there’s phlegmatic purging,

Sometimes there’s pinpoint problem solving,

Often there’s purposeful petitioning.

Proof in the pudding.

Playfulness in the patterns

It’s a Prayerful Process. 

.

Sometimes you push in the process. 

Sometimes you pull and sometimes you do nothing at all but be PATIENT. 

Yes you must be patient in the process but you MUST participate.

Participate in the process. 

Pursue God’s process.

.

Plan to work with HIS PLAN.

Process! 

AMEN.

All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be. How precious to me are your thoughts, God!

It was the fresh memory of my neighbor’s chimney fire the previous week which sparked my actions without second guessing to help my troop leader with the smoldering ashes from the fireplace, it wasn’t a big thing to do, but it had to be dealt with. We leave the place better than we came. Plus it was a great use of leftover lemonade anyway. A double plus was the best “cartoon character” of the weekend: the Smokey the Bear massive sign, which I passed 6 times during this camping trip. It was invaluable to remind me and teach new campers that you don’t leave things to chance. “Only You Can Prevent Forest Fires” !!! Yup!

And plus plus plus, the girls were watching, they learn by watching. So even though I thought we could go hiking one more time, I found myself digging through a trash bag of plastic spoons, uneaten French Fries, plates, and the occasional lump of blackened coal/wood, cooled down in a soup of lemonade. Yeah, the ashes thought to be cool were not. No, not a problem to dive in, cleanest trash I think I ever picked through (and you know I love trash picking). There was thinking time, since we were safely outside, so I had grabbed old reuse of reuse big aluminum trays from my car, the type from sterno use and we dumped the trash into those to douse with lemonade (the girls said ‘where did she get the tray?’, ‘she’s science debbie, that’s why she has them’… funny…well at least they didn’t call me trash picking debbie…  But there’s treasure in that trash! 

Teaching moments!  Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.

Realizing a teaching moment, I paused holding a carbon ash chunk at the end to explain that wood burns back to carbon chunks. In other situations, diamonds also come from carbon, carbon that is stressed, pressured, compressed and made of the same molecules just realigned. The scouts looked at me weird, but that’s normal, and I’m serious, there’s diamonds in the rough of every moment we have on earth. The teaching moments alone, me and our troop leader saying we aren’t worried about trash sifting, we aren’t worried about getting dirty (especially knowing that at home the shower, the washing machine is awaiting), and that we aren’t afraid to look at a situation for its advantages over disadvantages. (Just wash your hands later!)

That’s looking for DIAMOND DAYS, diamond moments, in the rough, awaiting to be dug into. Ashes to Ashes, dust to dust. Burnt charcoal-ed in life, even the worst days in our lives can be found looking for the support of the treasure of the Lord. Even completely taken down here on earth we are renewed in.Heaven to meet our Savior Jesus who covers us white as snow… 

Our Lord God realigns our dust into wonderfully made creations, then we become dust again. God makes us His Valentines. We celebrate and remember that He loves every piece of our dust, even if we are humanly crumbled on earth.

Time is short, on earth, at camp, in life, so let us make the best of every diamond moment. 

Smiling in the coal is life’s goal. Dig for those Diamond Day moments everyday!

Amen 

—

Psalm 139 Of David

You have searched me, Lord, and you know me. You know when I sit and when I rise; you perceive my thoughts from afar. You discern my going out and my lying down; you are familiar with all my ways. Before a word is on my tongue, you, Lord, know it completely. You hem me in behind and before, and you lay your hand upon me. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, too lofty for me to attain.

Where can I go from your Spirit. Where can I flee from your presence? If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there. If I rise on the wings of the dawn,  if I settle on the far side of the sea, even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast.

If I say, “Surely the darkness will hide me and the light become night around me,” even the darkness will not be dark to you; the night will shine like the day, for darkness is as light to you.

For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place, when I was woven together in the depths of the earth. Your eyes saw my unformed body; all the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be. How precious to me are your thoughts, God! How vast is the sum of them! Were I to count them, they would outnumber the grains of sand when I awake, I am still with you.

If only you, God, would slay the wicked!  Away from me, you who are bloodthirsty! They speak of you with evil intent; your adversaries misuse your name. Do I not hate those who hate you, Lord, and abhor those who are in rebellion against you? I have nothing but hatred for them; I count them my enemies. Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.

—-

Genesis 3:17-19 (The fallout from the fall.)

To Adam God said, “Because you listened to your wife and ate fruit from the tree about which I commanded you, ‘You must not eat from it,’ – “Cursed is the ground because of you; through painful toil you will eat food from it all the days of your life. It will produce thorns and thistles for you, and you will eat the plants of the field. By the sweat of your brow you will eat your food until you return to the ground, since from it you were taken; for dust you are and to dust you will return.”

Eventually, after a Saturday 3am wake up at scout camp, I got more sleep. Yeah, I had been captive on the mat, awake 3am to 5, asleep until 630, and in a few minutes from then, sunrise, and then I would be free to move. 

Oh, minor captivity on the mat, quiet in the lodge, in comparison to the version of how prophet Jeremiah was in captivity and how he said the Israelites would be captive in Babylon’s hands for 70 years. Minor comparison and of course I couldn’t complain, I was under the warm covers. 

Then I was UP!!! The sunrise was behind the clouds, but it was there somewhere! The lake beautiful, the peace breathtaking and crisp. Boots not needed, lake was that close. Another fresh day…. Even in life’s troubles we are to appreciate fresh days. And the ability to see the sunrise, even if you don’t see that sun, it is believing that God has this all under control. He does.

Oh yes, Jeremiah, the prophet of the old testament, instructed the people of his time to believe in what they could not see – that the Lord was speaking to reassure them as well as warn them. 

Specifically, Jeremiah had to prepare the king of Judah, Zedekiah, that even though it was ominous, he would still be a revered master to his people. However, the people turned their backs again against God’s instruction (to free the slaves every 7 years), and God then caused/allowed the overtaking from the enemies.

There were one set of peoples, however, whom we are told obeyed God by obeying their forefathers who followed God’s command, and this Jeremiah tested, but they would not drink wine and they vowed they must always live in tents. God said: “you will live a long time in the land where you are nomads.” The Rekabites were an example of God’s people who LISTENED. They were nomadic but they were CAPTIVE to God. And God promised their line of people would always serve Him, an honor privilege and blessing to be captive to God, Lord Almighty, maker of all.

SO, let us all captivate ourselves to God, feel His wishes and know His Wisdom. And let’s be captive to serve Him, for His ultimate blessing to us is to be our Master.

God knows best.

Amen

—

Jeremiah chapter 34 – While Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and all his army and all the kingdoms and peoples in the empire he ruled were fighting against Jerusalem and all its surrounding towns, this word came to Jeremiah from the Lord: “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: Go to Zedekiah king of Judah and tell him, ‘This is what the Lord says: I am about to give this city into the hands of the king of Babylon, and he will burn it down. You will not escape from his grasp but will surely be captured and given into his hands. You will see the king of Babylon with your own eyes, and he will speak with you face to face. And you will go to Babylon.

“‘Yet hear the Lord’s promise to you, Zedekiah king of Judah. This is what the Lord says concerning you: You will not die by the sword; you will die peacefully. As people made a funeral fire in honor of your predecessors, the kings who ruled before you, so they will make a fire in your honor and lament, “Alas, master!” I myself make this promise, declares the Lord.’”

Then Jeremiah the prophet told all this to Zedekiah king of Judah, in Jerusalem, while the army of the king of Babylon was fighting against Jerusalem and the other cities of Judah that were still holding out—Lachish and Azekah. These were the only fortified cities left in Judah.

Freedom for Slaves – The word came to Jeremiah from the Lord after King Zedekiah had made a covenant with all the people in Jerusalem to proclaim freedom for the slaves. Everyone was to free their Hebrew slaves, both male and female; no one was to hold a fellow Hebrew in bondage. So all the officials and people who entered into this covenant agreed that they would free their male and female slaves and no longer hold them in bondage. They agreed, and set them free. But afterward they changed their minds and took back the slaves they had freed and enslaved them again.

Then the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah: “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: I made a covenant with your ancestors when I brought them out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. I said, ‘Every seventh year each of you must free any fellow Hebrews who have sold themselves to you. After they have served you six years, you must let them go free.’ Your ancestors, however, did not listen to me or pay attention to me. Recently you repented and did what is right in my sight: Each of you proclaimed freedom to your own people. You even made a covenant before me in the house that bears my Name.  But now you have turned around and profaned my name; each of you has taken back the male and female slaves you had set free to go where they wished. You have forced them to become your slaves again.

“Therefore this is what the Lord says: You have not obeyed me; you have not proclaimed freedom to your own people. So I now proclaim ‘freedom’ for you, declares the Lord—‘freedom’ to fall by the sword, plague and famine. I will make you abhorrent to all the kingdoms of the earth. Those who have violated my covenant and have not fulfilled the terms of the covenant they made before me, I will treat like the calf they cut in two and then walked between its pieces. The leaders of Judah and Jerusalem, the court officials, the priests and all the people of the land who walked between the pieces of the calf, I will deliver into the hands of their enemies who want to kill them. Their dead bodies will become food for the birds and the wild animals.

“I will deliver Zedekiah king of Judah and his officials into the hands of their enemies who want to kill them, to the army of the king of Babylon, which has withdrawn from you. I am going to give the order, declares the Lord, and I will bring them back to this city. They will fight against it, take it and burn it down. And I will lay waste the towns of Judah so no one can live there.”

The Rekabites – chapter 35 – This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord during the reign of Jehoiakim son of Josiah king of Judah: “Go to the Rekabite family and invite them to come to one of the side rooms of the house of the Lord and give them wine to drink.”

So I went to get Jaazaniah son of Jeremiah, the son of Habazziniah, and his brothers and all his sons—the whole family of the Rekabites. I brought them into the house of the Lord, into the room of the sons of Hanan son of Igdaliah the man of God. It was next to the room of the officials, which was over that of Maaseiah son of Shallum the doorkeeper. Then I set bowls full of wine and some cups before the Rekabites and said to them, “Drink some wine.”

But they replied, “We do not drink wine, because our forefather Jehonadab son of Rekab gave us this command: ‘Neither you nor your descendants must ever drink wine. Also you must never build houses, sow seed or plant vineyards; you must never have any of these things, but must always live in tents. Then you will live a long time in the land where you are nomads.’ We have obeyed everything our forefather Jehonadab son of Rekab commanded us. Neither we nor our wives nor our sons and daughters have ever drunk wine or built houses to live in or had vineyards, fields or crops. We have lived in tents and have fully obeyed everything our forefather Jehonadab commanded us.  But when Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon invaded this land, we said, ‘Come, we must go to Jerusalem to escape the Babylonian and Aramean armies.’ So we have remained in Jerusalem.”

Then the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah, saying: “This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: Go and tell the people of Judah and those living in Jerusalem, ‘Will you not learn a lesson and obey my words?’ declares the Lord. ‘Jehonadab son of Rekab ordered his descendants not to drink wine and this command has been kept. To this day they do not drink wine, because they obey their forefather’s command. But I have spoken to you again and again, yet you have not obeyed me. Again and again I sent all my servants the prophets to you. They said, “Each of you must turn from your wicked ways and reform your actions; do not follow other gods to serve them. Then you will live in the land I have given to you and your ancestors.” But you have not paid attention or listened to me. The descendants of Jehonadab son of Rekab have carried out the command their forefather gave them, but these people have not obeyed me.’

“Therefore this is what the Lord God Almighty, the God of Israel, says: ‘Listen! I am going to bring on Judah and on everyone living in Jerusalem every disaster I pronounced against them. I spoke to them, but they did not listen; I called to them, but they did not answer.’”

Then Jeremiah said to the family of the Rekabites, “This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: ‘You have obeyed the command of your forefather Jehonadab and have followed all his instructions and have done everything he ordered.’ Therefore this is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: ‘Jehonadab son of Rekab will never fail to have a descendant to serve me.’”

HAHA – so much extra time – and both teams get their hands on the ball – and I am not just talking about tonight’s Super Bowl. The 52 (my God-reminder number saying to be quiet) on the ref’s uniform reminds me that this game is not decided yet – stop predicting the next move – (and especially the grid that I am NOT winning). Stop predicting and just watch the game.

WELL – life is like that too isn’t it – don’t presume to understand each play in the game – except know that there IS One who IS in charge of it all – and it is NOT a game to Him. And there IS ONE Way – One Whom is driving us down the field.

Day to day play but we hold our breath when the game is on the line. Let’s look at our Coach – let’s let Him make the call – and then Trust Him when He hands us the ball.

We know that He will never let us fall.

Amen

I KNEW I was at camp when I walked in the door and saw that loudspeaker karaoke music machine. 

I TASTED camp when I got to the beloved cheeseballs (which we nearly polished off in one night). (And the container I absconded with – for great storage of random things.)

I felt the IMPORTANCE of camp when driving, listening to two 10 year olds in the backseat squeal in delight at the 20 common things they learned about each other. A short 45 minutes of a drive is a dream of being away but not too far. These campgrounds are remote but yet 10 minutes from civilization, awesome. 

I bowed my heart TO THE LORD with an internal tearing up when I sat for a photo this evening with camp moms and with our camp girl who recently lost her mom, our friend, who mom-ed us all to know how important this was to continue camp and be there for each other. THIS WAS MY CAMP MOMENT. 

Camp life, wouldn’t trade it for anything. We ARE family. Love our photo memories too.

Our fearless leader is not without fears or concerns, but the moments of camp are a blessing beyond description – loving the time away – the joy of being together – the appreciation that others “just don’t get it” but WE DO – that moment when you can’t even remember there was a global pandemic, couple years back (we only missed one year in our over 10 years camping) – and the blessings of realization now that we take these very moments of THANKFULNESS. 

(I even ate someone’s abandoned cheeseballs, yum, as I too sat down to paint a seashell with moms and older girls.) People look at me funny when I say I’m going to camp, aren’t I good for helping, but who wouldn’t want to be here?!?!

I even now appreciate this 3am totally awake moment – not sure why but God always has a hand in this – 4hrs sleep is sufficient for you(!)… and I sit writing only to hear and see a young 10 year old come downstairs, give me a thumbs up “all good”, and go directly to her mom for an inhaler puff, which her mom had right at hand, only seconds after being awoken. Back upstairs and all good. Camp life brings the awareness of life that continues even with the bumps and bruises of life. Just keep going, thumbs up!

Another girl here has Cerebral Palsy and I learn by watching her. (I love when God tells me to be patient, watch, pray, and learn). I learned while crafting, of what things are tough for her, like using both hands to twist a rubber band when one hand holds her steady upright at the table. We worked through it, plenty of time at camp, let the kids learn. And I learned that this girl DIDN’T take to complaining. So when so many of us take to complaining normally about everything, that’s us taking a crutch of life, but she doesn’t. That’s the moment that got me realizing to being more humble of so many things I take for granted. Be aware and keep living. I’m so glad God finds time for this in my schedule. I know camp is special and set aside. 

What’s the connection to a Bible lesson? At 3am, now 4am? Jeremiah- Jeremiah was instructed by the Lord to live a life that said “God’s got this” – just live – ups and downs – captivity or free – just live and do as God instructs and lays out ahead of you. 

Here Jeremiah (chapter 32) buys a field, land for future use well beyond his years. It’s a land the people of God will come back to, and it’s a reprocessed repromise that things will be OK someday. His purpose and purchase is to go ahead, be the prep-man and messenger, secure the future no matter how long (and in this case God tells them ‘how long’). Assurance and achievement- hmmm, sounds like Jesus doesn’t it, in miniature, prepare the way, tell others about it, be making the space available and welcoming when it’s time for exiles to go home…. yeah, cool… I’ll take that 4am Revelation…

 Let us consider this field of TODAY, and prepare it and today’s peoples, even ourselves, for a future time. Live in the moment and expect long time good things. Campfires are kindled and rekindled, and so is our future. Ask Jeremiah, the Lord HAS a Plan. Accept the thumbs up for that!

Jeremiah Buys a Field – chapter 32 NIV

This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord in the tenth year of Zedekiah king of Judah, which was the eighteenth year of Nebuchadnezzar. The army of the king of Babylon was then besieging Jerusalem, and Jeremiah the prophet was confined in the courtyard of the guard in the royal palace of Judah.

Now Zedekiah king of Judah had imprisoned him there, saying, “Why do you prophesy as you do? You say, ‘This is what the Lord says: I am about to give this city into the hands of the king of Babylon, and he will capture it. Zedekiah king of Judah will not escape the Babylonians but will certainly be given into the hands of the king of Babylon, and will speak with him face to face and see him with his own eyes. He will take Zedekiah to Babylon, where he will remain until I deal with him, declares the Lord. If you fight against the Babylonians, you will not succeed.’”

Jeremiah said, “The word of the Lord came to me: Hanamel son of Shallum your uncle is going to come to you and say, ‘Buy my field at Anathoth, because as nearest relative it is your right and duty to buy it.’

“Then, just as the Lord had said, my cousin Hanamel came to me in the courtyard of the guard and said, ‘Buy my field at Anathoth in the territory of Benjamin. Since it is your right to redeem it and possess it, buy it for yourself.’

“I knew that this was the word of the Lord; so I bought the field at Anathoth from my cousin Hanamel and weighed out for him seventeen shekels of silver. I signed and sealed the deed, had it witnessed, and weighed out the silver on the scales. I took the deed of purchase—the sealed copy containing the terms and conditions, as well as the unsealed copy— and I gave this deed to Baruch son of Neriah, the son of Mahseiah, in the presence of my cousin Hanamel and of the witnesses who had signed the deed and of all the Jews sitting in the courtyard of the guard.

“In their presence I gave Baruch these instructions: ‘This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: Take these documents, both the sealed and unsealed copies of the deed of purchase, and put them in a clay jar so they will last a long time. For this is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: Houses, fields and vineyards will again be bought in this land.’

“After I had given the deed of purchase to Baruch son of Neriah, I prayed to the Lord: “Ah, Sovereign Lord, you have made the heavens and the earth by your great power and outstretched arm. Nothing is too hard for you. You show love to thousands but bring the punishment for the parents’ sins into the laps of their children after them. Great and mighty God, whose name is the Lord Almighty, great are your purposes and mighty are your deeds. Your eyes are open to the ways of all mankind; you reward each person according to their conduct and as their deeds deserve. You performed signs and wonders in Egypt and have continued them to this day, in Israel and among all mankind, and have gained the renown that is still yours. You brought your people Israel out of Egypt with signs and wonders, by a mighty hand and an outstretched arm and with great terror. You gave them this land you had sworn to give their ancestors, a land flowing with milk and honey. They came in and took possession of it, but they did not obey you or follow your law; they did not do what you commanded them to do. So you brought all this disaster on them.

“See how the siege ramps are built up to take the city. Because of the sword, famine and plague, the city will be given into the hands of the Babylonians who are attacking it. What you said has happened, as you now see. And though the city will be given into the hands of the Babylonians, you, Sovereign Lord, say to me, ‘Buy the field with silver and have the transaction witnessed.’”

Then the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah: “I am the Lord, the God of all mankind. Is anything too hard for me? Therefore this is what the Lord says: I am about to give this city into the hands of the Babylonians and to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, who will capture it. The Babylonians who are attacking this city will come in and set it on fire; they will burn it down, along with the houses where the people aroused my anger by burning incense on the roofs to Baal and by pouring out drink offerings to other gods.

“The people of Israel and Judah have done nothing but evil in my sight from their youth; indeed, the people of Israel have done nothing but arouse my anger with what their hands have made, declares the Lord. From the day it was built until now, this city has so aroused my anger and wrath that I must remove it from my sight. The people of Israel and Judah have provoked me by all the evil they have done—they, their kings and officials, their priests and prophets, the people of Judah and those living in Jerusalem. They turned their backs to me and not their faces; though I taught them again and again, they would not listen or respond to discipline. They set up their vile images in the house that bears my Name and defiled it. They built high places for Baal in the Valley of Ben Hinnom to sacrifice their sons and daughters to Molek, though I never commanded—nor did it enter my mind—that they should do such a detestable thing and so make Judah sin.

“You are saying about this city, ‘By the sword, famine and plague it will be given into the hands of the king of Babylon’; but this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: I will surely gather them from all the lands where I banish them in my furious anger and great wrath; I will bring them back to this place and let them live in safety. They will be my people, and I will be their God. I will give them singleness of heart and action, so that they will always fear me and that all will then go well for them and for their children after them. I will make an everlasting covenant with them: I will never stop doing good to them, and I will inspire them to fear me, so that they will never turn away from me. I will rejoice in doing them good and will assuredly plant them in this land with all my heart and soul.

“This is what the Lord says: As I have brought all this great calamity on this people, so I will give them all the prosperity I have promised them. Once more fields will be bought in this land of which you say, ‘It is a desolate waste, without people or animals, for it has been given into the hands of the Babylonians.’  Fields will be bought for silver, and deeds will be signed, sealed and witnessed in the territory of Benjamin, in the villages around Jerusalem, in the towns of Judah and in the towns of the hill country, of the western foothills and of the Negev, because I will restore their fortunes, declares the Lord.”

The Lord makes firm the steps of the one who delights in him;

though he may stumble, he will not fall, for the Lord upholds him with his hand.

What are we to do when we do things we don’t know -and even if we do know – TRUST THE LORD.

What are we to do when we go somewhere we don’t know -and even if we do know – FOLLOW THE LORD.

What are we to do when we learn things we don’t know -and even if we do know – APPRECIATE THE LORD. we learn things to protect us and warn us as well as delight us and motivate us.

What are we to do when we try and fail at things we don’t know -and even if we do know – LOOK UP TO THE LORD FOR GUIDANCE.

What are we to do when we try and succeed at things we don’t know -and even if we do know – LOOK UP TO PRAISE THE LORD.

What are we to do always? REST IN THE LORD!

But the salvation of the righteous is from the Lord; He is their strength in the time of trouble. And the Lord shall help them and deliver them; He shall deliver them from the wicked, And save them, Because they trust in Him.

AMEN

—

Psalm 37 NKJV – of David

Do not fret because of evildoers, Nor be envious of the workers of iniquity. For they shall soon be cut down like the grass, And wither as the green herb.

Trust in the Lord, and do good; Dwell in the land, and feed on His faithfulness. Delight yourself also in the Lord, And He shall give you the desires of your heart.

Commit your way to the Lord, Trust also in Him, And He shall bring it to pass. He shall bring forth your righteousness as the light, And your justice as the noonday.

Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for Him; Do not fret because of him who prospers in his way, Because of the man who brings wicked schemes to pass. Cease from anger, and forsake wrath; Do not fret—it only causes harm.

For evildoers shall be cut off; But those who wait on the Lord, They shall inherit the earth. For yet a little while and the wicked shall be no more; Indeed, you will look carefully for his place, But it shall be no more. But the meek shall inherit the earth, And shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace.

The wicked plots against the just, And gnashes at him with his teeth. The Lord laughs at him, For He sees that his day is coming. The wicked have drawn the sword And have bent their bow, To cast down the poor and needy, To slay those who are of upright conduct. Their sword shall enter their own heart, And their bows shall be broken.

A little that a righteous man has Is better than the riches of many wicked. For the arms of the wicked shall be broken. But the Lord upholds the righteous. The Lord knows the days of the upright, And their inheritance shall be forever. They shall not be ashamed in the evil time, And in the days of famine they shall be satisfied. But the wicked shall perish; And the enemies of the Lord, Like the splendor of the meadows, shall vanish. Into smoke they shall vanish away.

The wicked borrows and does not repay, But the righteous shows mercy and gives. For those blessed by Him shall inherit the earth, But those cursed by Him shall be cut off.

The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord, And He delights in his way. Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down; For the Lord upholds him with His hand.

I have been young, and now am old; Yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken, Nor his descendants begging bread. He is ever merciful, and lends; And his descendants are blessed.

Depart from evil, and do good; And dwell forevermore. For the Lord loves justice, And does not forsake His saints; They are preserved forever, But the descendants of the wicked shall be cut off. The righteous shall inherit the land, And dwell in it forever.

The mouth of the righteous speaks wisdom, And his tongue talks of justice. The law of his God is in his heart; None of his steps shall slide.

The wicked watches the righteous, And seeks to slay him. The Lord will not leave him in his hand, Nor condemn him when he is judged.

Wait on the Lord, And keep His way, And He shall exalt you to inherit the land; When the wicked are cut off, you shall see it.  I have seen the wicked in great power, And spreading himself like a native green tree. Yet he passed away, and behold, he was no more; Indeed I sought him, but he could not be found.

Mark the blameless man, and observe the upright; For the future of that man is peace. But the transgressors shall be destroyed together; The future of the wicked shall be cut off.

But the salvation of the righteous is from the Lord; He is their strength in the time of trouble. And the Lord shall help them and deliver them; He shall deliver them from the wicked, And save them, Because they trust in Him.

Could Should Would. I could live for myself, but I should live for the purposes of the One Who would give me life. Could,  should, would. I would live for the Lord because I should. 

I would choose to garden, but I am not the best Gardener of my life. I should till the soil when spring has sprung, but I should also rest when it rests. I could listen better for clues of all this. I would choose to rest.

Lord, give me purpose, give me rest, give me life. I could walk these steps even if I didn’t lay the stones. I should trust the steps because I do trust the Mason, Map Maker, Mover, Motivator.  I would like to know the path, but realize He is in control.

I will take a time to listen in this life to live. It’s living life for things for now and sometimes things never, but it is ALWAYS listening for the benefit of our and others’ FOREVER. 

AMEN 

Amen 

Blessed to share this sermon Sunday: Jesus walking to where He needed to be – recalled by John chapter 4:5-14

So He came to a city of Samaria which is called Sychar, near the plot of ground that Jacob gave to his son Joseph. Now Jacob’s well was there. Jesus therefore, being wearied from His journey, sat thus by the well. It was about the sixth hour. A woman of Samaria came to draw water. Jesus said to her, “Give Me a drink.”  (His disciples had gone away into the city to buy food.) Then the woman of Samaria said to Him, “How is it that You, being a Jew, ask a drink from me, a Samaritan woman?” (For Jews have no dealings with Samaritans.) Jesus answered and said to her, “If you knew the gift of God, and who it is who says to you, ‘Give Me a drink,’ you would have asked Him, and He would have given you living water.” The woman said to Him, “Sir, You have nothing to draw with, and the well is deep. Where then do You get that living water? Are You greater than our father Jacob, who gave us the well, and drank from it himself, as well as his sons and his livestock?”

Jesus answered and said to her, “Whoever drinks of this water will thirst again, but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst. But the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life.”… story continues in John 4

So there’s this story in the Bible of Jesus going to a well, a particular well at a particular time – as Jesus knows this particular woman will be at the well going to draw up yet ANOTHER  bucket of water – again and again.  And they start a very witty conversation (especially since she realizes He is VERY bold in asking something out of the norm – asking her for water as a Samaritan woman. (Jesus often talks to us and get us thinking too, doesn’t He?)…  WELL, Jesus asks the woman questions and He is leading her to learn something (Jesus does that, lead us) – Jesus will explain to her that someday we all, the whole world, will worship in Spirit and in Truth. He is leading her in this conversation to learn that people will be blessed to drink in SPIRITUAL LIVING WATER. She, knowing history of Jacob – their great fore-father – and knowing prophecy, could recount that she was expecting a Messiah coming. She has her eyes opened in during this witty and all-knowing conversation, she is led to understand that He Himself is the Messiah – this Living Water is Jesus… and He is right in front of her! And He knows she will spread the Word. 

Jesus says to her (and us): “a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in the Spirit and in truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks.  God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in the Spirit and in truth.”

Jesus wants us to go to Him first, with questions, anger, frustration, sadness, and especially love. He loves for us to praise God our Father. He even teaches us to pray, giving us the words too – all we need.

Have you even been thinking (internally) about “Why am I here?” – like in this circumstance, this moment I did not choose? I prayed for an answer, especially I thought I have been down this road before – Well, one of these times – I went directly to the Lord – with like: “can I have a scripture, a sparkle of hope or an answer of obviousness – anything like a CLUE!” And we can’t always get an easy clue, can we? – and often we get something that makes us ponder even more rather than the quick fix of a pat answer. So we have to realize that God DOUS have a good reason even if we can’t comprehend what’s good about it in human terms.

“Why am I here? What’s in it for me?” – or “why am I stuck here?” – well it’s not about you is it? That’s what God could say to us – the Spirit reminds us – but seriously Lord – either way Lord – please give me a clue…  The vision I got was fuzzy, colors or static like a TV signal that needed to focus and like someone sharpening a camera lens – then I was finally getting a clearer picture – a well – the Samaritan woman’s well. Hmmmm… surely the well itself. But why?

Once out of the situation, I kept thinking about “Why the well?” (And yes I was happy to be out of the circumstance). WELL! Well, WELL – I went to read the scriptures in John 4 about the well – I was sure it was not just about the woman (although it could have been) – it was about the Samaritan’s well but it was Jacob’s Well – which drew lots of people – not just water. It was like I focused on that imagery of “drawing” – cranking – doing something to pull in the needed source – And the people who had to draw the water from the very deep – and the people had to KEEP drawing water over and over again – a daily chore – as Jesus pointed out – they will be thirsty again – and will keep coming to find some water from a well. 

SO  – it is not that I was thinking about being the Samaritan woman – although that’s volumes of lessons there –  but I was thinking that when we draw from Jesus – we are replenished – and replenished enough that we can offer it to others – and that sometimes (even in the circumstance I was in, mentioned above) that others will come back to you – keep coming to you – keep trying to draw from your water source – not that they couldn’t draw it themselves but they may have not brought a ladle let alone a bucket or anything to keep hold onto that water. And do we have to keep giving them water – perhaps we can help teach them “WHO” is our source and hope they can start drawing from this strength too.  Of course, there will be many in life that never make the connection – Jesus is waiting waiting waiting by their well – they never see Him.

SO, imagine they ask for some of your water – or at least look at you wondering “where do they get their water? their energy? their source of strength? (and sometimes they wonder – how can I source some of that? even if they don’t know that your source is not human water but living water).   Let us hope they say – how can I draw on that kind of water too!?!

Now, you can’t pour from an empty cup – but are we ourselves getting our water from the right source? And handing out water (or other stuff which we will might run out of)…  If we are getting Living Water from Jesus – then who are we to not keep it flowing it thru us? Maybe we simply need to appreciate that is why we are called to help – why God has us sitting in that situation – in that chair – can we focus on water flowing thru us that still hydrates us and alleviates thirst – and then pour from a full cup – from a fulfilling cup – a water that Jesus would say needs no ladle to get. 

And that spring? – that becomes a fountain in us? Jesus put it there to be like a geyser of springing into everlasting life…

Let me get back to that woman at the well scene – and there is another older tale in Genesis about God’s angel coming to Hagar (servant of Sarah and Abram/Abraham, future mother of Ishmael (older brother to Isaac) and after the Hagar is comforted  she calls the well :”The place where God has seen me” – God sees each of us – doesn’t He. He does!

I started thinking about a silly connection of Jesus picking her  – that Samaritan woman or any person – but exactly her – the song – a Broadway hit – “One, singular sensation – every move that she makes…”    it’s the lyric from a Chorus Line- where they are all auditioning for a part in a Broadway musical- all vying for the perfect moment to sparkle and connect and the director is looking for that special someone,  exact for the part.   (And this was something glamorous portrayed, but in reality, it took long work to get the ground work of skillset plus that spark…) Yet it was not that she had to work or any of us have to work to be chosen by Jesus = because He already chose each of us to be us, from before time.

It is NOT that the Samaritan woman at the well was at all-knowing or trying or anything. She encounters Jesus on an ordinary day that she doesn’t realize is NOT ordinary. She is picked out, probably from beginning of time, to be her normal self, then have this encounter with our Almighty Lord. She is at the middle of the hot day, when “normal” people don’t normally go, so MANY scholars and sermonists point that out, she alone at noon was avoiding a possible gossiping crowd in the morning, etc etc… yeah we get that… Yet Jesus judged her perfect for this moment and not just for who she was, but whom she would tell, what would happen next, and everything in between. One – ONE just like the Chorus Line – but also another song lyric: “A cog in something turning” as favorite singer Joni Mitchell would write as a lyric for “Woodstock” – this woman – and us – we are all cogs in something turning…

And Jesus told this woman of so much – it is said to be the longest conversation in the Bible – and Jesus was creating and drawing Living Water out of her stagnant life – so she was ‘drawn’ to say: “Sir,” the woman said, “I can see that you are a prophet. Our ancestors worshiped on this mountain, but you Jews claim that the place where we must worship is in Jerusalem.” – “Woman,” Jesus replied, “believe me, a time is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. You Samaritans worship what you do not know; we worship what we do know, for salvation is from the Jews. Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in the Spirit and in truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in the Spirit and in truth.”   The woman said, “I know that Messiah” (called Christ) “is coming. When he comes, he will explain everything to us.”  Then Jesus declared, “I, the one speaking to you—I am he.”

Wow WOW – He says what she needed to hear – so that she believed Him. Jesus does say: “My sheep know My voice.”

Then she ran to tell the others – she said what they needed to hear – Her fountain of new life overflowed. Jesus also sends us our, TRUSTING in Him.

God has a Process – let us go to Him first… reach to Him as the first option…

So my neighbor’s wood stove chimney was on fire (they are OK and the house is OK). This was earlier in the week… I use it as an example that There is a process in firefighting, protocols and always communication – to the stations and fire fighters also lined up as backup… 

SO that night, I saw fire trucks go by, maybe 930-10pm. My neighbors are about 7 doors down, great people, missionaries actually, it was their chimney from their woodstove, it was over doing it with heat.. too hot. I walked down to them, stood with them, watched the fire company be very methodical. Five in their uniforms with spike tools in hand waiting at the front door for instructions. No one moved without instructions. House was fine but the chimney became compromised. Yes, after a few holes in the garage wall and the upstairs bedroom wall, then it all seemed “done”, it all seemed OK and I went home. Now sitting in bed, now midnight and wide awake, I saw another few fire trucks come back, hmmm. The Fire Marshall had still been there doing paperwork and he saw the chimney flare up again, it had a blockage so severe that apparently it flared back up… So then more holes, a chain down the chimney when they could get the ladder truck up on the neighbor’s driveway… A process.

At this point, the neighbors were in the house with the fire marshall and invited me in as well to the back addition, because the new firefighters were just working on the chimney – well in another space. But looking into that room, it was a great image: 4 firefighters arm to shoulder backing up the situation. When the guy pulled the stove pipe out from the wall, which was cool by this time, he had back up as well as curious onlookers). They were there to back each other’s back. And there’s a protocol.

Later, the dreaded words, yeah they were going to have to pour down water… Fire boss said family should head out, so I brought the neighbors over to my house, 130pm, fed them pizza. Fire Marshall cleared house for them to return at 230am…  all was ok, house too… except moderate water damage in the garage. Don’t worry, insurance will pay – there is a process.

What if the people tried water first? Well they say you could build up so much steam and pressure that the chimney to break open. And you would be on the ladder ON the chimney, not good… Best to call in the professionals. Well, let us switch this back to scene of the woman and the well – and for us living our lives – we DO want to go to Jesus first, Living Water!  Well yes!  He would call in the professionals and the angels, even might prevent our mental fires with mental reminders of us cleaning out our systems on a regular basis (chimneys and us) with His help. And so importantly, Jesus would want us to TRUST Him. And Jesus would also tell us there is a process. And if something were to go wrong, Jesus also has our back. Forgiveness comes for our forever.  Jesus has a process – and Jesus has our back…

Please pray with me – Lord – Jesus, You are Lord – You are the process – the alpha and omega beginning and end and all the small steps in between. Teach us, show us, and even clear our fuzzy brains with your visions –  if only we go to You Lord Jesus first and get our Living Water from you – worship You God – and depend upon You – You will lead us thru this life and to HOME. There is a process… Jesus You are the process and the processing and the answer too.

Amen

I was watching (and listening) to the inspiration of the musical Jonah, Sight and Sound.  And the people who throw Jonah overboard and see the waves calmed, say “I’d be a fool not to worship a God this powerful.” Amen to that! 

Can you imagine the absolute contrast between a near shipwreck and boom! an instant cleared situation and calm water?  What if we would experience that kind of power then forget to rely on God again.  It happens. It happened to David when He was saved from the lion or Goliath, then he wavered at times. it happens to us.

And yet, how awesome is God to forgive and keep showing us miracles of His POWER, and mercies of His choosing. 

Imagine the power of God taking care of us so big. If we experience God’s little things, Imagine how elaborate big things are too. If we trust God’s got us in an afterlife, then can we trust His council for everyday things? I hope so.

Jonah overboard journey was a big step for His faith physically, being prepared to die and sacrificing his own life for the sake of others, yet knowing full well his disobedience brought God to severe extreme all while still being in control. Jumping overboard to jump on board with God’s Plan. It’s miniature to Jesus sacrificing His Life, Jesus knew what He was accomplishing yet He was of human nature to cry, question, suffer. Gratefully Jesus was Divine nature to put the plan together with God. You have to recognize that level of trust. 

What about the people of Nineveh? They were staring death in the face and realized it – that in itself is amazing that they didn’t disregard Jonah’s prophesy. They had to jump on board with God – by jumping away from their disobedience and disregard. God said “all aboard” – and thankfully they took Him up on His offer.

Well, let’s all try some more trust for God’s I’m control. Let’s try to walk by faith and not by sight, and still keep our eyes on moving at God speed… if God is on board with a plan, why shouldn’t I be…

Life should be knowing that God knows every hair on our heads, then handing Him the comb.

A poem:

God parted the Red Sea, 

He will help me! 

God caught a jumping Jonah with a whale, 

I imagine He can catch me with the wind’s gale,

Especially since I will put up my God windsail.

.

Jonah went the wrong way, 

Let us instead ask God to steer our day.

Move me Lord, move my fear to Hooray!

At least I try to watch my steps as You plan my day.

Amen

I keep digging further into the old testament and the small passages reflect God’s whole plan. It’s not getting lost in the Word, but getting found through the Word, God HAS a Plan and we are living in the midst of it.

In Jeremiah 30, God told him to write down His Plan, prophesy of Jeremiah, into a book. Jeremiah 31 continues, and Jeremiah realizes God’s plan is reassurance, even gives Him pleasant sleep. There are hard days in the present for Jeremiah’s fellow men, but easier days ahead … Jeremiah had to write it, believe it, live it. 

Jeremiah is writing about a NEW COVENANT (that’s Messiah Jesus), and God says: “I will put My law in their minds, and write it on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people. No more shall every man teach his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for they all shall know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them, says the Lord. For I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more.”

We hear these familiar terms: Lord of Hosts; Everlasting Love; Lovingkindnesses; sing with gladness; their souls shall be like a well-watered garden, and they shall sorrow no more at all; heir souls shall be like a well-watered garden, And they shall sorrow no more; For I will turn their mourning to joy; There is hope in your future, says the Lord.

And although I wonder why so many years this has to pass of wandering, wondering, and exile, for the israelites, I think God was reminding that He was in this for the Long Haul.  I am also reminded that it is a long time people have been living on earth and they needed and needed a renewed hope and a renewed reminder. God doesn’t change but we have to re-realize of His faithfulness. FAITHFULNESS EVERY MORNING. Thus we feel blessed with Good sleep – not just for our bodies but for the reassurance that God is in control and we can get some rest.

God also reminds every new generation and multiple times that we are saved by Jesus. We accept saving grace when we look to our Messiah to cover our sins, and those of the past. Compliance for the past people was in certain obedience,  and with us now, in A NEW COVENANT, we simply need to believe and walk with Jesus always (sometimes/always He will carry us too)… Let us keep walking all of these days…  and sleeping in all of these nights…

Amen

—

Jeremiah 31 NKJV

The Remnant of Israel Saved – “At the same time,” says the Lord, “I will be the God of all the families of Israel, and they shall be My people.” Thus says the Lord: “The people who survived the sword found grace in the wilderness— Israel, when I went to give him rest.”

The Lord has appeared of old to me, saying: “Yes, I have loved you with an everlasting love; Therefore with lovingkindness I have drawn you. Again I will build you, and you shall be rebuilt, O virgin of Israel! You shall again be adorned with your tambourines, And shall go forth in the dances of those who rejoice. You shall yet plant vines on the mountains of Samaria; The planters shall plant and eat them as ordinary food. For there shall be a day When the watchmen will cry on Mount Ephraim, ‘Arise, and let us go up to Zion, to the Lord our God.’ ”

For thus says the Lord: “Sing with gladness for Jacob, And shout among the chief of the nations; Proclaim, give praise, and say, ‘O Lord, save Your people, The remnant of Israel!’ Behold, I will bring them from the north country, and gather them from the ends of the earth, Among them the blind and the lame, The woman with child And the one who labors with child, together; A great throng shall return there. They shall come with weeping, And with supplications I will lead them. I will cause them to walk by the rivers of waters, in a straight way in which they shall not stumble; for I am a Father to Israel, And Ephraim is My firstborn.

“Hear the word of the Lord, O nations, And declare it in the isles afar off, and say, ‘He who scattered Israel will gather him, and keep him as a shepherd does his flock.’ For the Lord has redeemed Jacob, and ransomed him from the hand of one stronger than he. Therefore they shall come and sing in the height of Zion, Streaming to the goodness of the Lord – For wheat and new wine and oil, For the young of the flock and the herd; Their souls shall be like a well-watered garden, And they shall sorrow no more at all.

“Then shall the virgin rejoice in the dance, And the young men and the old, together; For I will turn their mourning to joy, Will comfort them, And make them rejoice rather than sorrow. I will satiate the soul of the priests with abundance, And My people shall be satisfied with My goodness, says the Lord.”

Mercy on Ephraim – Thus says the Lord: “A voice was heard in Ramah, Lamentation and bitter weeping, Rachel weeping for her children, Refusing to be comforted for her children, Because they are no more.”  Thus says the Lord: “Refrain your voice from weeping, And your eyes from tears; For your work shall be rewarded, says the Lord, And they shall come back from the land of the enemy. There is hope in your future, says the Lord, That your children shall come back to their own border.  “I have surely heard Ephraim bemoaning himself: ‘You have chastised me, and I was chastised, Like an untrained bull; Restore me, and I will return, For You are the Lord my God. Surely, after my turning, I repented; And after I was instructed, I struck myself on the thigh; I was ashamed, yes, even humiliated, Because I bore the reproach of my youth.’ Is Ephraim My dear son? Is he a pleasant child? For though I spoke against him, I earnestly remember him still; Therefore My heart yearns for him; I will surely have mercy on him, says the Lord.

“Set up signposts, Make landmarks; Set your heart toward the highway, the way in which you went. Turn back, O virgin of Israel, turn back to these your cities. How long will you gad about, 0 you backsliding daughter? For the Lord has created a new thing in the earth – A woman shall encompass a man.”

Future Prosperity of Judah – Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: “They shall again use this speech in the land of Judah and in its cities, when I bring back their captivity: ‘The Lord bless you, O home of justice, and mountain of holiness!’ And there shall dwell in Judah itself, and in all its cities together, farmers and those going out with flocks. For I have satiated the weary soul, and I have replenished every sorrowful soul.”

After this I awoke and looked around, and my sleep was sweet to me.

“Behold, the days are coming, says the Lord, that I will sow the house of Israel and the house of Judah with the seed of man and the seed of beast. And it shall come to pass, that as I have watched over them to pluck up, to break down, to throw down, to destroy, and to afflict, so I will watch over them to build and to plant, says the Lord. In those days they shall say no more: ‘The fathers have eaten sour grapes, And the children’s teeth are set on edge.’ But every one shall die for his own iniquity; every man who eats the sour grapes, his teeth shall be set on edge.

A New Covenant

“Behold, the days are coming, says the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah— not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt, My covenant which they broke, though I was a husband to them, says the Lord. But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord: I will put My law in their minds, and write it on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people. No more shall every man teach his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for they all shall know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them, says the Lord. For I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more.”

Thus says the Lord, Who gives the sun for a light by day, the ordinances of the moon and the stars for a light by night, Who disturbs the sea, and its waves roar (The Lord of hosts is His name): “If those ordinances depart from before Me, says the Lord, then the seed of Israel shall also cease From being a nation before Me forever.”

Thus says the Lord: “If heaven above can be measured, And the foundations of the earth searched out beneath, I will also cast off all the seed of Israel For all that they have done, says the Lord. “Behold, the days are coming, says the Lord, that the city shall be built for the Lord from the Tower of Hananel to the Corner Gate. The surveyor’s line shall again extend straight forward over the hill Gareb; then it shall turn toward Goath. And the whole valley of the dead bodies and of the ashes, and all the fields as far as the Brook Kidron, to the corner of the Horse Gate toward the east, shall be holy to the Lord. It shall not be plucked up or thrown down anymore forever.”

I took a moment to stop at the cemetery of my friend, a fellow girl scout mom. I wondered between the snow melting and the rain now pausing, in 4 days time, was the plot OK???… Well, of course it was fine, but I rearranged the wind-fallen flower piles anyway and made them look nicer. I thought at the very least the children who might visit their mom’s grave may have a better view, even if it’s the worst view. And even if they don’t come for a while, others will see devotion, just like I saw other places of graves of beloved mothers with dozens of angel statues, artwork,  holiday decoration and flags, even Christmas trees. Devotion. So, perhaps it’s just the mom in me to “mom the situation”, clean up what is not my mess, and appreciate simply that I was putting the work in for my friend’s sake, and for mine too I will confess. I just liked it better. I just humanly needed to feel that earthly feel of ‘doing something’, when I knew already that God had already done everything, the Heavenly EVERYTHING. 

“Beloved Mother” – the ribbon loose but the sentiment true. I anchored it with rocks. This mother was beloved as a mother by her children – and she was beloved that she mothered those children, admired and beloved by those she knew. She maybe sometimes put the smother of mother on thick – but that’s who she was – SO thick in mothering – to all she knew. Me too. I have clothes and food still from last year. She would mom me with snacks for our car trips. She mom-med thicker than the peanut butter she would bring. So thick is what many mothers do, to help us be covered in mothering long after they are gone. 

Mud – I carried out the work then later saw the mud – the smother of mothering now the smother of mudddddd-ering … mud… felt good (even looked good I thought for a photo,  the contrast of my pink fuzzy crocs as if happily dipped in mud). – Well… 

We have to remember, mud will wash off, don’t be afraid of mud. Life is muddy, don’t be afraid of life. Carry on the work and wash off the mud later – simply switch shoes and keep marching. Mud makes the moms, it’s very beautiful to mom.

Keep mom-ing Moms. Keep dad-ing Dads. Keep traipsing through mud to mudder through life. Will the kids see it? The mom-ing by moms? Does that matter? Maybe, but just know it’s God’s way to make headway into life’s fray. “My people shall be satisfied with My goodness, says the Lord.” Jeremiah 30:14

Keep mom-ing moms. Mud and all.

Amen 

Always a joy to revisit my awakening story – this is an “elevator speech” version – long elevator – but in brief – written to a new friend pastor.

I know that God has given me a gift for writing. I never asked for it, but I would NOT now trade it for anything. 9 yrs ago I tried to beg God to not “make me write” – but He didn’t let up – I always knew He made me an encourager in general,  plus my sanguine ENFP personality, and has been refocusing me for working in His Way… I take little credit except for APPRECIATING the Lord in everything. Yeah!

In my blessing of an awakening 9 yrs ago, which to my human view felt like a 0 to 60 speed ramp up, I actually now know this came from His never-ending pursuit of me, of us, for not just our sake but for serving others… Like Jarius’ daughter, Jesus just said “she’s not dead in her faith, she’s just sleeping.”… Jesus held me in the MOST gentle of wake ups all the while God was like rolling STRIKES against the bowling pins of my disbelief system that I tried to keep resetting up. Smash! GOD IS IN CHARGE! He made me realize I was on His Plan at His Dime. He took my head and I actually had to write write write, 2am 5am etc through my whole awakening. Oh, how I was SO embarrassed and confused about this writing, hid my first 20 writings in a box in my car, I thought I was going nuts… God’s plan not mine… but now I know in true Holy Spirit fashion, that He lined up the people to help me open up, He laid His ground work for me to see it was Him, like a Bread Crumb trail. And yet, not led by anyone who noticed my “lukewarm-ness”, so that I could see it was God and God alone who called my number, and my head, and never let go… I was 50:50 on Jesus, even as a lifelong Catholic then Methodist, Sunday School teacher, VBS leader, UMW leader… was maybe Jesus a prophet with a publicist? How did I REALLY know He was God’s son? So, it was over the course of 2 months that God knocked my socks off and got my head on straight, and got me educating myself.  Feb 1st is coming soon, my 100% with Jesus day 2015. It brings me to tears to think of “what if” – but God had me, never letting go…

So, for the writing,  after opening up to 2 friend pastors, then more trusted people, I started emailing my writings as more general blog-like. After 50 writings in 2 months I was 100% with Jesus. After 200 writings I was like: “Lord, can I please stop now?” NOPE… I said, what am I gonna do with all these writings? They will just sit here like my unfinished sewing machine pile. And that’s when I also was Holy Spirit led to put them into a blog post page where I’m over two thousand writings now. A daily devotion safekeeping, until I figure out what else to do with them (yes, I need to publish many people tell me). Right now I am writing my way through the Old Testament. I don’t need to write for anything but the Lord. I don’t need the income or the fame. Yet I’m so curious why I write but I know all will be revealed someday… I’m just trying to go with the flow. Eventually I could imagine myself doing public speaking of women’s groups et cetera – but it is not about me but about God using me – using us – to be encouragers – encouragers of the Word.

I’m at debbieupper.blog  because I am not a debbie-downer at all…

That’s my long-winded elevator speech of my awakening and my writing. I kissed the blarney stone twice, but it’s not all blarney. I’m a scientist and blessed that I’ve expanded into science blogs too. And I recently signed on as communications lead for a work multi-faith group. I just simply hope it helps people. I know it has helped me find God in everything… I’m even sharing sermons on occasion as a “pinch-hitter” while we are inbetween pastors at our community church. 

We are all so different but we are also together in God’s plan for His Purposes..

I’m understanding that His Net is woven, strand by strand, strengthened and restructured. And some of us are on the fill in the tiny threads section that captures Thinker-ers like me, one at a time.