gladness

Monday, July 13, 2009 (6:09 a.m.)

Riverside Lodge Red River, NM

Happy my mom’s 80^th birthday Lord,

Talk with me this morning about rejoicing, giving thanks in all things, not behaving like a spoiled brat most of the time. Growing up. Yes Lord. I want to grow up in You, learning to be glad!

For quite some time now You’ve been pushing me toward gladness and I truly appreciate You for it. Just looking in the concordance Lord, I see columns of verses that refer to rejoicing and being glad, as well as gladness being linked with joy. It all seems so simple Lord. Ah, but therein lies the rub! You are helping me to learn that things of great value are rarely as easy as they seem.

Thank You Lord that because of Your great love for each of us through the years, we have Your Word to guide and support every concept You have for us to acquire. Life in You takes dedication and practice, just like consciously choosing to “be glad” rather than bad or mad or sad.

Lord, I want desperately for You to continue Your purifying work in me. I have been behaving so childishly through the years that it has truly become such an automatic, second nature response for me in most things.

Take yesterday for example, when plans changed and Terry actually left me on the side of the road (in full care of his brother and his wife, but on the side of the road none the less). There I was, fully capable of just going with the flow and understanding another bump in the plans. But internally, whether it showed on the outside or not, I knew a sense of negativity was there and I actually gave in to it for a moment.

Thank You God that You have come into my life to evoke positive change and to grow me up past my own natural bend toward selfishness. I love You so much, Lord. You provide us with blessings of every kind. Keep working in me that I would learn to automatically respond with gladness to all You so wonderfully and adequately supply.

Reading all of Psalm 104, I am again reminded of how perfectly You plan for our every need. Thank You most beloved Lord for all You are and all You do. You are wonderful and I am blessed to be loved by You.

Please watch over my mom today, providing her with that deep seeded joy that comes only from knowing that she is so loved by You and by others. I love You Lord. Thank You. Amen.

(440 words ~ 7:26 a.m.)

glorious

Saturday, July 11, 2009 (5:14 a.m.)

Harrah’s Laughlin, NV

Most Holy Lord God,

Thank You that the very first words out of my mouth this morning were, “Oh my God!” What a view Lord. Waking up with the curtains having been intentionally left open was spectacular. The colors of the eastern sky, set behind the Arizona mountain peaks and ridges were nothing short of glorious.

“But wait! There’s more” As breathtaking as it was to begin with, now the clouds are participating with this morning call to worship. There are pinks and purples swirling together in the north while dead center has some intensely white action going on. It all changes so quickly Lord. Just a glance down at the screen or the keyboard provokes yet another gasp as I return my gaze to Your heavens.

Turning to 1 Chronicles 29:13 in Your Word, I get to read David’s prayer over the building of Your great temple at Jerusalem. Most glorious God, here he thanks and praises Your glorious name. But again, there’s so much more here than originally meets the eye. Even in reading about the details of the building itself, there was encouragement (28:20) in not becoming afraid of the size of the task.

Lord God, thank You that You never ask us to build anything without Your first knowing what Your plan is. Thank You that even though David was not permitted to do any of the actual building as he had originally thought, his last days were still “happily filled with its details and in gathering the resources” (The Bible Handbook).

There is so much more to learn here, but this particular morning I have to jump up, get ready and move on to Albuquerque via Flagstaff. Father, I ask You to continue Your blessings on us during this trip. You’ve made it glorious thus far.

Thank You for Your love and this time to fellowship. I love You so much. Amen.

(326 words ~ 6:26 a.m.)

changes

Friday, July 10, 2009 (8:11 a.m.)

Harrah’s Laughlin, NV

Oh my goodness God,

You are so good! I can’t even begin to fathom the depths of Your grace, Your might, Your majesty.

Lord, it may seem like such a simple thing. But You and I both know how difficult it is – no. Scratch that. Let’s change it to – ‘used to be’. You and I both know how hard it used to be for me to recognize what is really going on as it is happening. Ah, but now. You keep working in me and I get to react to things in present time. Amazing. Awesome. Wonderful. You! At work, in me.

Oh most incredibly amazing wonderful Lord, I love You so much. I love getting to experience all the changes that are taking place around, as well as within each of us. Lord, thank You!

This morning for the very first time in twenty-seven years, when I initially tried memorizing 2 Corinthians 5:17, the verse has come alive to me as never before! “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.”

You are amazing! The work You do in each of us. Knowing exactly what one particular person needs and what another won’t be able to grasp immediately. You keep working in us. Changing us to fit Your perfect mold for us. Amazing. Absolutely amazing!

And what is it that has me so awestruck? The fact that I couldn’t proceed with packing for this present trip until Terry and I had successfully communicated what was going on with each of us. There was something ‘wrong’ between us that neither of us could identify. Our old nature would have been to avoid the problem and just keep working to reach our end goal.

Thank You God that You would have none of that. Thank You for providing me with the courage to completely stop what we were doing and orchestrate change in our behaviors. Such positive growth and maturity only comes from You. Again, You amaze me.

One minute I was feeling desperate just to have my husband ‘like me’ again and the next I was fully aware of the truth that help set us free (John 8:32) to be open and honest with one another. Recognizing mid sentence that after 36 years of being together if he didn’t like me by now we really were in serious trouble, I was able to push that thought completely aside. A first! Serious growth taking place here!

And why? Because You are so hard at work in each of us. Lord, I never thought I’d get to the place where I could even begin to consider thanking You for my mom’s current illness. The added work, the stress, the time, the ‘but what about my life?’ selfishness involved in her care… But here I am, wholeheartedly thanking You for all You are teaching us about ourselves and each other through this entire process. None of us would be experiencing the changes currently taking place within and around us had we each been allowed to remain in our own self-absorbed comfort zones. Thank You Lord.

Thank You for taking us from the old to the new, from the false to the Truth. From ourselves to You. Again I say, “Amazing!”

And what has me so amazed? The fact that I could recognize a potential problem – that I could not possibly be ready by the time Terry had set for us to leave. I confessed to him that I was not capable of meeting his request and asked for a later departure. Who knew it could be so simple? Yeah, well I guess YOU did! But really, after 36 years of me spinning myself into points of frenzy trying to give him everything I thought he wanted without ever risking disappointing him, how much easier it was to just say, “I can’t do it. Can we do this instead?”

Lord, this new life in You, taken quite literally really IS freeing. To be able to acknowledge almost immediately the other night when I realized that I had again fallen into the lifelong habit of telling someone what I thought they wanted to hear. Thank You for the awareness it took for me to be able to say to our son, “You know what? I really DO want that yogurt you offered me, even if it IS going to be inconvenient for you to have to go get.” New behavior for me Lord! Brand new behavior.

“When someone becomes a Christian, he becomes a brand new person inside. He is not the same anymore. A new life has begun!” (The Living Bible)

Beloved Lord, thank You for the changes You have brought about. And thank You, in advance, for the power You are going to provide for each of us to meet the challenges that are sure to come our way as a direct result to all these changes. I love You so much Dear Lord. And I am ever grateful for another glimpse of Your grace! Thank You. Amen.

(861 words ~ 11:41 a.m.)

More so

Thursday, July 9, 2009 (5:11 a.m.)

Amazing God,

Truly. Absolutely. Incredibly. Amazing God. You are doing it again, Lord. Right before my very eyes, the morning is unfolding and all I want is to sit here and watch. Beloved Friend, I confess to You how little time I have and how much I have yet to do.

Thank You Lord that although my continued thought process was to eliminate this time taker from my day, Your good common sense for me triumphed! Rather than spin myself into circles trying to do the impossible and be ready to leave on another trip in the next six and a half hours, here I am instead saying straight out loud “I need Your help God!”

You provide my every need! It’s what You do. You keep working in me. You continue changing, redirecting, refocusing me. I start going off in one direction and ever so gently You guide me back to what truly is most important in all of this – YOU!

Oh most dear and beloved Lord, I confess that I don’t know how to accomplish what all is on my list of things to do before we leave. But You do! You know what I can afford to remove completely from the list and what has to be done. Thank You for reminding me that time spent alone with You is not optional.

Shortcuts can – Oh my God! You just did it again! I thought the prism in the sky last night was phenomenal [which of course it was thank You very much!] but this current artwork You have going on here in the sky right now Lord is all the more so! Really God? A red cloud! With black pixels? I am again speechless!

Much like last night when I just had to sit down to take in the awesome majesty of seeing a prism in the sky, here I actually had to run outside to capture even more of Your awesome and incredible beauty.

Lord, thank You! Thank You for reminding me that these are the priorities of my life! The can’t afford to miss moments. Lord, You are amazing. Truly. Absolutely. Incredibly. And I have all of my hope and faith and trust resting in the goodness of You and Your Word. Whatever is supposed to come of this day, of this trip Lord, I give it all up to You. I have no expectations. No preconceived itinerary. My only absolute is You! You will be here with me wherever I am, whatever we do. Thank You Lord!

Okay. As much as I would rather just stay right here with You, reading “The Offering” of 2 Corinthians 8 [led here because of verse 22]. I must go. It’s time. I love You. Work in us. Work with us. Make us into the familial unit You would have us be.

I love You so much Dear Lord. [Have I mentioned I haven’t even packed?] Amen!

(495 words ~ 6:27 a.m.)

embedded

Wednesday, July 8, 2009 (5:57 a.m.)

“Blessed Assurance,

“Jesus is mine! O what a foretaste of glory divine! Heir of salvation, purchase of God, Born of His Spirit, washed in His blood. This is my story, this is my song, Praising my Savior all the day long; This is my story, This is my song, Praising my Savior all the day long.”

Oh my goodness God! When is the last time I have gasped while looking out the window in the morning? The clouds look like brush strokes. The colors are muted. But look. Here comes the sun, right over the crest of the mountains. And now I’m preparing for even more beauty.

How glorious it is to live our life in You, learning to constantly expect more. Lord, I remember just over a month ago [5/30/09] actually asking You for ‘more’. And here I am today, preparing for another trip, but in an entirely different mindset.

This time away seems to be accompanied with it’s own set of obstacles. So far every one of them has eventually brought me back to recognizing my need to have all my trust and faith firmly embedded in You.

Blessed Lord, that’s how I want to live. Firmly embedded in You! With Your Word firmly embedded in me! Let’s work together to make that happen, shall we? You keep guiding and directing me in the Way You would have me go. And I’ll keep depending on You to help me up every single time I fall down.

I love You so much Oh Lord. The Teacher of Ecclesiastes says in chapter 12, verse 11 “The words of the wise are like goads [a spiked stick used for driving cattle; a thing that stimulates someone into action] their collected sayings like firmly embedded nails – given by one Shepherd.” Lord, I want to be wise! Keep working in me. Help me become the woman You created and want me to be.

I love You. Amen.

(331 words ~ 8:16 a.m.)

dependence

Saturday, July 4, 2009 (7:49 a.m.)

Blessed Lord,

Independence Day. A day for celebrating all You have provided us as a country through the years. Thank You Lord. Thank You for the blessings that abound for each of us. You are such a good and generous God. Thank You for providing us Your power and strength.

Lord God, I look to You dependently. What freedom there is to be found in loving You and following Your will. Thank You Lord.

As I’ve continued learning to take better care of myself this past week, I see many of my relationships with others growing and changing. Thank You Lord. This is all completely related to my dependence on You!

Two verses in the New Living Translation speak to our dependence on You. Hosea 12:6, “So now, come back to your God! Act on the principles of love and justice, and always live in confident dependence on your God.” James 4:10, “When you bow down before the Lord and admit your dependence on Him, He will lift you up and give you honor.”

How often do we insist on going our own way Lord? We choose to bow down before false idols. We waste time and energy chasing things that are not nourishing or ultimately satisfying.

Thank You that You never change! You are always here inviting us back to Your fold.

Tuesday, July 7, 2009 (6:27 a.m.)

Oh My Goodness God!

Just being able to sit here again, with my Bibles spread all around me, reading others’ thoughts on Your Words I have the silliest grin on my face. It is so comforting to read of Your faithfulness.

This has been a particularly tough week for me Lord. Not having felt well, things around here have kind of spiraled to a place nearing chaos. So of course, You would provide for me to turn to a commentary that speaks directly to this. The Bible Handbook writes regarding The Prayer of Faith (James 5:13-18) “Health is an inner and spiritual state as well as a physical one.” Oh, but it doesn’t stop convicting me there. No, no. “This suggests perhaps that the illness is related to bitterness against someone wronged, and cleansing that relationship is vital for healing.”

Father, as I read Your Word, I realize again how very grateful I am to You. Thank You so much for loving and providing for me so well. Digging deeper, I read Your verses and I confess to You Lord just how ugly my anger towards others was. My stubborn refusal to “just let it go” when requested by Terry truly backfired on me. Father God, I confess to You there was absolutely nothing loving (as described in 1 Corinthians 13:4-7) in my approach to our quite petty misunderstanding.

Lord, I believe that very anger worked devastatingly hard against me to create my current medical state. Even as I shake my head here, another small smile comes across my face. I consider my own righteous indignation as I held so tightly to my ‘right’ to be that angry and I confess to how wrong I was. Nowhere in Your Word do I find anything that even remotely supports that mistaken idea.

Thank You Lord that You have allowed my body to react so acutely to such negativity. I feel embarrassed Lord that I had to get this sick to remember that unreleased anger is never the answer to any of our problems. As in every other aspect of my being Lord, I am grateful that my dependence is in You.

I love You so much Oh Lord. Thank You for all You are and all You do. Truly I would appreciate Your healing hand in my return to much better health. Continue Your work in teaching me all You have for me to learn Dear Lord. I love You. Amen.

(636 words ~ 8:31 a.m.)

Holy

Thursday, July 2, 2009 (6:35 a.m.)

Most Holy God,

How wonderful it is to wake up singing, “Hallelujah to the Lord of heaven and earth”. Thank You Lord! And then to find out again [don’t I do this every time?] that it is from “God of Wonders, beyond our galaxy You are holy, holy The universe declares Your majesty You are holy, holy Lord of heaven and earth”. Oh most blessed Lord, how I thank You for Your holiness.

Thank You Father that at just the right moment You provide exactly what we need. As one person prepares for a date in court, I am led to share Isaiah 8:13. “Do not fear anything except the Lord Almighty. He alone is the Holy One. If you fear Him, you need fear nothing else.”

Not only are You holy, but loving and merciful and kind. Thank You God. Thank You that it is Your desire that we learn to love You with all our heart and soul and mind and strength (Mark 12:30, see Deuteronomy 6:5). Lord, how I come before You this morning asking that You would provide us the power and the will to do exactly that.

It all seems easy enough in print. Ah, but comes the application! I fail Lord. Time after time, I choose resentment over forgiveness. Thank You that You are a forgiving God and we are made in Your image (Genesis 1:26). Thank You that You didn’t just leave us here to flounder and fail. Thank You that You continue offering Your much better Way (John 14:6).

Lord, I truly appreciate the various verses You are showing me this morning. Help me not just look at them admiringly. Enable and empower me to absorb and apply them to my day and all the interactions it provides.

Finishing up with the second of Your most important commandments, “Love others as well as you love yourself” (Mark 12:31) I am taken over to Leviticus 19:18 where it is first referenced. And while here I glance over to a commentary for 18:4,5. “God promises life to all those who live according to His program. The Hebrew expression ‘to live’ does not just mean ‘to exist’. It refers to finding contentment and enjoyment in life – living life to its fullest. While the personal moral standards in this section of Leviticus are quite restrictive, God’s plan offers freedom beyond our wildest dreams. It is the paths of sin that are truly restrictive. When we obey God’s standards we are free to discover life as God intended it to be. His plan leads to peace and contentment through mature and satisfying relationships.”

“Hallelujah to the Lord of heaven and earth! You are holy, holy…”

Thank You Lord. Helps us be exactly who You, in Your infinite wisdom, created us to be. I love You so very much. In Your Son’s most holy name I pray. Amen.

(487 words ~ 8:38 a.m.)