The Sweet Blessings of Obedience...

How my son Timothy came to be at Tualatin Valley Academy is a story already told. But suffice it to say it was NOT a foregone conclusion that he would attend that school for the 2013-2014 school year.  So why did he end up there?  In the end, the answer is pretty simple – Jesus asked me to send him there and then gave me strength to obey. And I’m so glad I did. This may sound simple – but to me it was a HUGE deal. My BABY! No school is perfect just as no church is perfect – because none of us IN it are perfect. But God IS perfect! And praise the Lord His love is so much a part of who He is that He cannot help but respond tenderly to us – His fallen weak creatures.

Why I Sent My Son to School...

In November 2012, I was sitting in a pew at church when I opened the bulletin and read “Kindergarten Roundup at Tualatin Valley Academy” with January 2013 dates listed. I shut the bulletin. My mind raced, my heart raced. I opened the bulletin again – sure enough the announcement was exactly as I had just read it. I closed the bulletin again.

The Name (above all names) or the Word?

Dear Jesus - I praise You for Your tender communication that is individual, unique and specific to each of our needs...

2:12 a.m.  I had been awakened from some particularly sweet and peaceful sleep and felt particularly rested.  Hm...  Unusual.

2:30 a.m.  Thoughts have coalesced in my brain over the last 30 minutes and I realize Jesus is calling me to spend some personal time with Him.

You've been around this blog long enough to realize there is no simple realization that happens in my head.  This is no exception.  I purpose to do it.  Then I freak out thinking about not getting enough sleep for the day ahead.  My brain flits back to purposing to spend time with Jesus and I ask Him to help me do it.  I begin to praise in my mind...

Sometimes, the Goodness of God is Too Much!

This could also be called, WHY SOMETIMES THERE ARE GAPS BETWEEN POSTINGS...  :-)

The Battle at Work...

Dear Jesus - Today, please recreate our eyes to see our world, our lives as You see us...

Work.  There is a reason that is a different word entirely from the word 'VACATION'!  Ever had a work hassle?  Issue?  Ever been involved or responsible for a project that you could clearly see was headed south and it caused you anxiety?  If not - praise the Lord!  Hopefully my story will prepare you for that eventuality!

So I'm not having fun at work.  Wretched situation.  Fantasizing about time off - ANY time off.  Communication a big fat ZERO.  I'm frosted.  And the Mr. says to me:  We battle not against flesh and blood but against...?  And I think...

Friday - Week in Review!

How Great is Our God!

This week I was blessed in countless ways - but here are just a few favorites to share!

At the point where I was ready to sink into frustration about my spiritual walk, this pamphlet literally was thrust into my hands.  Within 30 minutes I was praising God for hearing the cry of my heart and preparing a 'just in time' answer!

Fasting & Prayer - Day 17 - Pleading For the Spirit

Pleading For the Spirit - Today's Theme.  3 days a week, my prayer partner and I text each other to agree on a time to meet for a few minutes.  We review the day's chapter from RevivedbyHisWord.org then we pray together.

On this day?  I got nothing.  Nada.  Zip.  That's what I said when my prayer partner and I met on the phone to review our Bible chapter reading for the day.  She laughed and then told me the verses that had caught her eye.  Nothing earth-shattering.  Just - I found verse 2 interesting.  Verse 2.  Had to go back and look - what WAS verse 2 anyway?  Hmmmm....

Fasting & Prayer - Day 9 - Children of The King

Children of The King - Today's Theme.  I am a child of the King.  Who are the other children?   Wait - is that really like the question in Luke 10 about who is 'my neighbour' in the age-old story of the Good Samaritan?

Fasting & Prayer - Day 8 - The Secret of His Power

The Secret of His Power - This is today's theme.

I had been fasting - a total fast - and my energy was spent.  My employment demanded all my mental focus and physical energy - and that was now gone.  Totally used up.  In fact, a headache was just dancing in the background.

Fasting & Prayer - Types of Fasts

There are all kinds of fasts.  Here is a good summary taken from Jentezen Franklin's 2011 Connection magazine, page 11-12. 

FULL FAST:  Drink only liquids - especially water.  On this type of fast you may also take in clear broth and 100 percent fruit and vegetable juices in order to maintain your strength.  You establish the number of days for your fast in your prayer time.

Fasting & Prayer - Day 6 - Angst...

A fast without prayer is a diet, a cleanse, a detox - but it is not spiritual fasting.  That reality hit me pretty hard.  What a fast does, however, is strip away the layers between me and God.  Pretty soon I am staring at the reality of what stands between us.  It takes my breath away.  Really.  To consider that possibly I am willing to DO anything EXCEPT settle in quietness and with intention spend time listening to God - well that is a shocking revelation.  In fact, it is the type of revelation that propels me right back towards 'DO'.  Surely there is something else I can DO?

Fasting - Day 5 - Questions...

Do you long to be really 'good' at fasting?  To be 'successful' at fasting?  We've already seen that the beauty of a fast is that any attempt we make to 'draw near' to God - He eagerly and beyond measure returns.  When we fast, we ARE successful!  And yet, sometimes the details of a fast pop up and interpose themselves between our thoughts of the closeness we are having with Jesus.

Fasting - Day 4 - Being Intentional...

God knows the heart - praise the Lord for that!  However, it seems to me that the more intentional I am about wanting to be close to God the more He wants me to see His presence specifically.  Therefore, writing with specificity comes to mind.  What does this mean?

Fasting - Day 3 - Communion Cleansing

Today is Day 3 of the fast and tonight we will be celebrating an Agape Feast at church.  I am SO excited about this.  To begin the New Year cleansed spiritually in this fashion is just such a lovely opportunity.  It gives me peace, a settled feeling of spiritual calm.  There were moments in December where I was, well - 'unlovely' is entirely too sanitized a word.  The chaos of shopping, the force of multiple schedules and engagements stressing.  While I am entirely aware that Jesus offers instant pardon and freedom from sin, there is something about returning to the ritual of communion that is powerful.

Fasting - Day 2 - What About Failure?

At its core - what is fasting?  It does not recommend me to God.  It doesn't add to a list of items that are weighed in a balance indicating I'm now 'good enough' for salvation.  It is not a 'requirement' for salvation or even for a walk with Jesus.  Fasting is a declaration before the world and the spiritual realm that I am serious and intentional about wanting closeness with my Creator.

Welcome 2014! 21 Days of Fasting & Prayer...

In May of 2013, with the desire to have heart-preparation in advance of a Bible camp I would be working at, I begin 1 week of a Daniel fast.  The fast was not even a total fast - and yet on Day 2 I found myself saying 'Things are just too crazy right now to be fasting!'.  And I stopped.  And vaguely I knew something was wrong somewhere....

How Jesus Saved Me From My Television

This is just another reason why I love Jesus.  Because He delivered me from my television!  It started innocently enough...

In 2006 or so, my husband and I decided to reduce our cable expenses and only pay for the near-minimum service.  We figured all we watched was public broadcasting and the Discovery Channel anyway - so easy enough to do.  No problem.

As 2010 entered, this oh-so-slight-niggle crept into our hearts that despite our admission that we only ever watched PBS & the Discovery Channel, we really were watching too much television.  Yeah - we probably agreed with the 'niggle'...

Spring of 2011 came around - and with it?  Spring Cleaning!  Woohoo!  Craigslist here we come!  And we did.  The desk purchased with such high ambitions a few years previously, had proved to be rather a space hog.  Except - on it sat the TV and the cable box.   (And no, we didn't sell the TV, patience here!)  So - listed it on Craigslist.