Westwoods

  I mentioned last post that sometimes I struggle to pray for some requests,  because my brain tries to figure out what's wrong or how to fix the human problem in a practical manner, with words or doing of my own. Anyway, that's the whole point of prayer isn't it? To admit to Abba Father, that we don't know what to do, we can't figure it out and we need help.  To be able to say to God our Creator our burdens, needs, sorrows, and yes, even our trifles, the piddly stuff. And our praises and our worship and awe. That's the purpose, to get to..."Thy kingdom come, here and now, as You want it, Father in Heaven. To see our cluttered, tired souls as in need of rest and release from distraction and dread...this is what happens when we bring it all to Jesus. Humble and broken, we get to  peace and EASY. "For my yoke is easy, my burden is light." -Jesus Don't be like me and my prone ness to judge others' requests. It is simply a naughty, human way. ...

  The middle of the night... Fully awake...aware... Phrases of people's problems...real life's heart struggles, soul cries, longings, and cravings. There was a lot shared during the day. So many impossibilities. I got overwhelmed and a little lost in where to place it all. I found myself trying to rationalize,  speak sense, or lessen the need. I wanted to pray well for you and your problem, but my brain kept thinking practical things and I wanted to say ungracious, unkind things.  Like..."get over yourself!" Or "do something for someone else." Or even something self righteous, like... " You're being burdened with a false burden and the heavier it feels the less important it is..."  [Side note: Why does it seem this is the first instinct when prayer requests are hitting me every which way?] During the day, when it was all hitting me, I felt rained on and couldn't find my way to actual releasing it all to the throne of grace. Now. Middle of t...

  "No one who puts a hand to a plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God." -JESUS   {NIV translation} Luke 9:62                   Happy New Year! Muddle: 1. bring into a disordered or confusing state. [verb]                2. mix a drink or stir an ingredient into a drink. [verb] an untidy and disorganized state or collection. [noun]                                         -the Oxford Dictionary and Google I bet you are wondering if we are talking about drinks or plows today. And how either have to do with the new year? One thing that was very clear to me in this last year of living, was the fact that all people are needy, hurting, and in need of a Savior. This includes the Christians of old and of today, as well as those who are lost, living without hope and knowing a Sa...

It's been a whole series of wonderful, weird weeks since becoming empty nesters. Days and Nights are taking on a different rhythm than the past 25 years. We still wake up to do a days work, 5:00 a.m. early... on the days Bruce leaves the house for work. My fingers hover over the keyboard on my phone, tapping out a message to one of the kids, I stop myself from sending it just in time. It is still too early? Or maybe it is intrusive and irrelevant? I'll wait to send it and ask the Holy Spirit to do a little editing while I have one more cup of coffee. Not that I am an intrusive or irrelevant person. I know this is not true. I have confidence that I love and have loved them all to the best of my ability. But I also see and remember the thing of letting go. Our parents did that well. Now, I wonder if it was harder to do than they made it seem. Wisdom, O God. The house woke up slowly while the kids were still home. I always snuck out for my morning quiet and had Bible and coffee be...

I have let this topic steep too long. And now it has turned into this impossible thing to explain. And it's not. It's simple. Before you get into this mini sermon I will tell you, I am talking about a song that got stuck in my head and why it did. The song is 'I Will Sing of the Goodness of God' by Jenn Johnson-Bethel Music. I tried to link it but it won't. I guess its up to you to find it if you want to.  I was recently awestruck by God in 2 Chronicles chapter 20. Because it gave me hope for an impossible situation of my own. And the parallels for my own life were...In-My-Face-Real. In other words...the parallels were obvious to me. I urge you to read it for yourself. And I hesitate to summarize it because the facts and the lesson get all jumbled in my head. I will attempt to briefly mention the things that grabbed my attention and name the way it resonates with me. Verses 2-4 NIV  Some people came and told Jehoshaphat, "A vast army is coming against you from ...

  It's good to be home. It's been a long time coming with all the trips and weddings. I kept landing and repacking for the next thing. Since February I've been living like that. And in the weeks at home I've been in the garden and at the sewing machine or watering the flowers God provided for the weddings. And don't forget the food prep and canning and freezing and hosting events. Needless to say, it's been a lot. A lot of "a lot" is good and fun. Blessings and praise...as well as grieving and loss of what was... but that thought is only briefly landed on. Like a bee on a flower. Mostly it's blessing and praise because that's where the goodness of God is best noticed. I got home to a mattress still leaning up against the bedroom wall because we replaced the old and are now waiting on the people that want it to come pick it up. There's a chair also taking up prime real estate in my bedroom because we did a living room shuffle yesterday. Whic...

Because confidence is only quiet when it is anchored in Jesus. It's the kind that doesn't have to figure out why something happened as it did, and who didn't get it right. It isn't busy fixing things, straightening crooked pictures, fluffing pillows just so, or joining someone in their drama or extra noise of the day. Quiet confidence is able to know a thing and not have to explain or expound on it because you gave it to God Almighty and now trust the work of the Holy Spirit to do its work.  Without any more "help" from you. Goodness, we need this today in politics and churches and in homes. What if we prayed about it....(bring it before the throne of grace)...much much more than we talked about it? How important is it in God's eyes, for you to know and share your thoughts and opinions to others? What I think or feel doesn't change who God is and what He will do. We better be praying a whole bunch more.  Quiet Confidence in Jesus is hope and trust and ...