a very great reward

After this, the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision: “Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your very great reward.”

- Genesis 15:1

Oh my goodness - God is our reward – what a HUGE statement!

Song reference!!!

You are my supply
My breath of life
And still more awesome than I know
You are my reward
worth living for
And still more awesome than I know

All of you is more than enough for all of me
For every thirst and every need
You satisfy me with Your love
And all I have in You is more than enough

How can we even ask for more, when everything we need is right there in the One that made us?

Most parents will do everything they can to protect their children, how fortunate are we to have a Father that loves us that much that He is our shield?

I just cannot wrap my mind around how deep that love is, but I am so thankful that I am His child.

Have a blessed day!

a learning experience

For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through the endurance taught in the Scriptures and the encouragement they provide we might have hope.

- Romans 15:4

I am studying the Old Testament in school right now, there is a lot more to it than I had originally thought!

For so long I believed that the Old Testament was history and the New Testament was how to live, but I am finding that, as Romans 15:4 states, the history is written to teach us.

Wow.

Ponder this for a moment: we should learn from our mistakes and the mistakes of others.

Isn’t that what we teach our kids?

We teach them things that we know – things we have learned over the years, things we have seen other people do.

As parents we want to keep our kids from making the same mistakes that we did.

Isn’t this exactly what God is doing with the Bible?

He wants us to learn, so that he can provide encouragement and HOPE.

I don’t know about you, but I think that God is a pretty good teacher.

Have a blessed day! 

envy and evil both have 4 letters

For where you have envy and selfish ambition, there you find disorder and every evil practice.

—James 3:16

Have you noticed that the words "envy" and "evil" have the same number of letters? 

I just noticed it this morning . . . I am sure that the doomsayers of the world could have a field day with this. . .  but that is not why we are here. 

Most of my friends and family know that I recently made the decision to go back to school.

This was a pretty big leap for me, and I am really hoping that no one sees it as selfish ambition.

I needed to seriously look at the goals I’ve set and the plans I’ve made, because some could view it as me needing to “one-up” others, and that is honestly not why I made this decision.

I feel like I am doing this to make myself a better person, to learn more about the Gospel, to be able to accurately spread God’s word.

This is not a decision that was selfish or based on envy or greed.

My ultimate goal is for my heart to reach great heights for God's glory and to do great things to be a blessing to others.

We all need to make our plans and set our goals for God’s glory, otherwise, all our attempts to reach great things ultimately will end in chaos, heartbreak, and destruction.

What will you do today that is completely unselfish that will be a blessing to someone?

Have a blessed day! 

the new is here

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!

– 2 Corinthians 5:17

The new is here! 

I kind of feel like the same person though . . . what hope do we have of really having a “new year” if we are the same people?

I remember how excited I was to turn 16 (holy catfish that was a LONG time ago!) and my brother told me “first thing in the morning on your birthday, look in the mirror and tell me if you look any different.”

Of course I didn’t look different, but I felt different.

It is like when we dedicate our life to following Jesus, we are re-made, not just rehabilitated or reformed, but re-created — a new person.

We still look the same on the outside, but in our hearts we are made new.

When we are new, we see things from a different perspective and we can use this new perspective to do good.

I am going to let my outside shine and show the world that I am a child of God.  

I will take this new year, this new me,  and I will make a difference!

Have a blessed day!

amazing things

Joshua told the people, "Consecrate yourselves, for tomorrow the LORD will do amazing things among you."

—Joshua 3:5

Today’s commentary is full of quotes and references, I apologize in advance for the groans you will certainly endure.

Joshua said “tomorrow the Lord will do amazing things”.

Tomorrow has always held the promise of better things yet to come. 

Scarlett O’Hara said “Tomorrow is another day” (yeah, I threw in a literary reference) and who can forget Little Orphan Annie “The sun will come out tomorrow, chase away the sadness and the sorrow. . . “ (yeah, I did that too). 

So often we are focused on the past, the hurt and anger of things that happened, in reality all this does is damage our hearts. 

Make this year the year of “Let it go” (sorry, I had to). 

Focus on the what tomorrow will bring.  ( I really want to reference the song from An Officer and A Gentleman here, “Up Where We Belong” but I will spare you that one, and if it is an ear worm now, you are welcome!!)

Listen, people, today might be tough, but stop and breathe – it’s just a bad day, not a bad life. (that is a quote)

On particularly rough days when you are sure you can’t possibly endure, remind yourself that your track record for getting through bad days so far is 100% and that is pretty good. (last quote)

What plans do you have for this next year?

How about tomorrow or (gasp) today?

Just make sure that in all your planning, you remember how blessed you are and that God is in control, because I promise, you are loved and you are indeed blessed, no matter how you feel at this very moment, this too shall pass (ok, that was the final quote).

Have a blessed day.

it's your turn

Neither do people pour new wine into old wineskins. If they do, the skins will burst; the wine will run out and the wineskins will be ruined. No, they pour new wine into new wineskins, and both are preserved.

- Matthew 9:17

2018

Wow, it is 2018.

I remember thinking that the year 2000 would never arrive, the turn of the century, a new beginning . . . and now it is 18 years later, crazy doesn’t sound so crazy anymore.

What will you do in 2018, what will you accomplish?

Will you have a breakthrough, a leap from ordinary to extraordinary?

Or will you hold back in fear of the unknown and continue to live a quiet little life?

It is OK to be afraid because whether we admit it or not, we all struggle, we all have doubts we all have this fear of failure, of looking foolish, of being wrong, just remember that with every advance we make fear will be there, because we are stepping out of our comfort zones.

We have a tendency to analyze stuff too much (not ME – never!!!!) and we end up talking ourselves out of a major discovery that could change our lives or the lives of people around us.

Imagine if you will – inventors, and the things that they invent, for example, the light bulb – it was a great breakthrough for Edison that is still impacting lives today.

So listen – the next move is ours.

God is there, encouraging us along the way, and He uses our “little” successes to accomplish a lot.

This is our year.

Every person has a name, every name has a story, and maybe, just maybe this is the year that we link every story to God.

Have a blessed day!

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year!

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.

—Genesis 1:1

Today is a new beginning for us!!

A lot of people make resolutions for the new year.

Every new beginning, whether it is a day, a week, a year, or a millennium, should begin with God.

He alone is the ultimate Genesis, our beginning.

Have a blessed day!