Trust...

Preparing to speak to 2 & 3 year old children, I found myself trying to find a way to communicate the idea of trust.

One of my most treasured Words from God is about trust. "Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding..."(Proverbs 3:5)

We speak of faith and trust.  We sing about trust and obedience.  But even when I am obeying, am I really trusting? 

I must confess that often, my obedience is not bathed in trust.  Sometimes my obedience is out of pure choice, hoping for the best...often after I've exhausted all my own resources.



Again, I thank God for showing me how Jesus deals with my issue.

"... if You can do anything, take pity on us and help us!"   And Jesus said to him,

" 'If You can?' All things are possible to him who believes."  Immediately the boy's father cried out and said, "I do believe; help my unbelief." (Mark 9:222-25)

This man had a problem he couldn't fix.  He knew Jesus had done some pretty awesome things, and asked for His help. 

That little word 'if' this father uttered brought him face to face with a crisis of faith.  He was challenged to believe that Jesus can do ANY thing....and trust Jesus.

Trust that He will do the RIGHT thing.

Oh Lord God, help my unbelief.

Want...

Seems it is official.  The Christmas season is in full swing. 

I think of that silly little song, "..all I want for Christmas is my two front teeth..."

Sadly, most Christmas wishes are not that basic. 

I again this year challenge myself to consider my wants. I purpose to continue to be thankful rather than wanting.....

"All I want for Christmas is_________________________________"

What goes in that blank? 

Thankful 23...

I am thankful for babies.

There is nothing sweeter, nothing more precious...Now, don't misunderstand...I do not want one !  Not for more than a few hours at a time !! 

I raised two baby boys.  I watched two baby grand-daughters grow up.  I watched nephews and nieces meet the world, and grow into adults.  I am now watching from afar as a baby great-nephew changes from an infant to a little boy, and will love every minute of seeing his daddy have his perspective go thru a dramatic change....


Babies draw me, I want to look into their eyes, talk to them (...and talk FOR them as if I am the only one who knows what they would say, if only they could...), and I love seeing them respond to me, hopefully with a smile !

It is incredible to me that a baby human is so utterly helpless when born, yet every other life that God created comes into the world mobile.  Within minutes, or seconds, every other living creature is capable of seeking shelter and nourishment, all by itself.....

Puppies, with eyes sealed shut, can manage to snuggle up to their mother and nuzzle for her nourishment.  Colts and calves, within minutes, can stand up, walk, and run. 



As the season of thanksgiving closes, my thoughts turn to babies. 

I am thankful for babies.  Most especially The One Baby Who changed my life, and the world.....

Thank You Father for baby Jesus.
Thank You Jesus, for leaving the throne of heaven and manifesting Yourself into the womb of a young virgin and the flesh of a human baby...

Hallelujah. 

Thankful 22....

I am thankful for a job I love, and plenty of work to do.

I am thankful for so many wonderful client-friends, those who sit in my chair, and those who sit in the other chairs of our salon.



Tonight, as I count those blessings, I must admit I'm thankful for the next few days off !!  Whew.....I am a pooped out blessed woman !!! 

Thankful 21...

I am thankful for pictures.

Photography is a complicated craft.  Amazing things can be captured...a moment in time snatched and recorded....often becoming a treasured piece of our past. Looking back at photographs can put us back in that same moment, bring back emotions of the moment... 

Modern photography can make us look really good.  If you know how, you can look slimmer, have a flawless complexion, or enhance the image in dozens of other ways.

A photograph, untouched, shows us what we look like. It mirrors that moment of time, snatched away and documented.

It seems I photograph pretty well. Photographs of me look better than the real deal ! I'm not sure why that is.....I look at photographs of myself, and even I think "...you don't really look like that..." Perhaps I have a knack for posing...


This morning, I am also thankful for the picture of me that my Creator God sees. 

He doesn't see my flaws, He sees me flawless.
He doesn't see my bumps and bulges, He sees me perfect.

A snapshot of me, made at the foot of the cross...
A snapshot of me, a moment in time, when I was snatched away, rescued and redeemed....

It is documented.  My name is on The Lamb's Book of Life. My name written on the palm of His Hand.


"For the LORD's portion is his people....In a desert land He found me, in a barren and howling waste.

He shielded me and cared for me..
He guarded me as the apple of is Eye..
Like an eagle that stirs up its nest and hovers over its young, that spreads its wings to catch them and carries them on its pinions...The LORD alone led me..."(Deut. 32:9-12, personalized by me)

 I believe my picture might just be on His mantle......

Thankful 20...

I am thankful for harmony.

There's not anything I can think of offhand that I enjoy more than good four part harmony.  I love voices blended, complimenting one another, completing each other....connecting to make a whole.

It isn't really logical.  How can sounds that are completely different be so absolutely perfect?

But there is something you can actually feel when perfect harmony happens, you don't just hear it....and you don't just feel the vibrations of your own voice or someone else's.  It isn't just 'pretty'...it is absolutely spiritual, (especially if the message of the song is positive, and even if it is negative, the spiritual aspect of the song's message is still there and is dangerous). 


The harmony of music mirrors what happens in the universe around us. Each aspect of nature compliments the rest, making complete. The cycle of life....


There is another kind of harmony found on the pages of scripture.  Our Bibles contain the complete harmony of God's Voice.  His Triune Deity speaks and sings to us thru what is recorded.  From Genesis to Revelation, the harmony of His Song is perfect. 

I purpose to listen to the entire Song, not just a little phrase or two, not just the lead melody, not just the high harmonious parts, but entirely.

God is so creative.

Thankful 19...

I am thankful for persistence......

Thankful for the persistence of my alarm clock as I hit the snooze button 5 times every morning. Every morning it prods and encourages me to wake up, get up, and go on with the agenda at hand.


Thankful even more for the the persistence of The Holy Spirit of God, Who nudges me over and over again, prodding me and encouraging me to get up and go on with Him with the agenda at His Hand.

As always, it is my choice. Often, I slap the snooze button a few times...but He is the hound of heaven, and persists in encouraging me to obedience.

Both personally, and as a nation, I am reminded of Jeremiah's recorded warning and it's actuality....

".......the LORD has sent all his servants the prophets to you again and again, you have not listened or paid any attention.
 Those prophets and servants said, "Turn now, each of you, from your evil ways and your evil practices......Do not follow other gods to serve and worship them; do not provoke me to anger with what your hands have made. Then I will not harm you."

"But you did not listen to me," declares the LORD, "and you have provoked me with what your hands have made, and you have brought harm to yourselves."
Therefore the LORD Almighty says this: "Because you have not listened to my words, I will......" (Jer. 25:4-9) 
Our God is persistent.  His desire is that we obey Him.  Not because He is domineering, mean, and nasty....but because He knows the best and wants the best for us.

My God is persistent.  His desire is that I be involved in what He is doing, hand in hand with Him throughout my every day. 

 I purpose to stop slapping the snooze button so often......