A Girl Named Grace ....

 A Book Review

A Girl Named Grace is a fiction novel, by Janna Lafrance. It is wonderfully written; full of ups and downs, twists and turns.  The story is one that everyone can relate to easily and had me at times, on the edge of my seat.

I felt that the main character could be a close friend of mine.  Experiencing what she experienced has introduced me to a more deeper side of my Savior.  A Girl Named Grace is truely a gift to us readers as well.

Even if you do not have a relationship with Jesus, I challenge you to read this book as it will show you Him in a way that no one has ever shown Him to you before.  You WILL be changed.

Find Janna on facebook here

Janna has created a Giveaway Contest for a free digital copy of A Girl Named Grace. a Rafflecopter giveaway

Cisterns ...

Jeremiah 2:13 "For (Our children) have committed two evils; They have forsaken (Us), the Fountain of Living Waters, and made themselves cisterns - broken cisterns that can hold no water."

I read this today. I read it and was instantly saddened by the truth of it. The truth that cannot be countered by the time it was written in or my state of being right now. It is truth for all the ages, in all times of our lives.

When we try to fill ourselves with something ... anything ... other than Him, then Them, we find ourselves at a lack. We find ourselves wanting more. We find ourselves addicted. An addict can never be satisfied.

This hunger will ultimately lead to our death. The death of hope. The death of life. Without flowing water, everything becomes stale. That is why I picked a burial jar for my picture today.

I am learning that I am found in Him, in Them. That everything in me, around me and coming to me, is from Their hand. I am learning that I don't need a jar or pot to draw from the well. For I am the pot! I am the jar!

He has come to "bind up the broken hearted" - He has come to mend me .... And He is.

John 4:14 "but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst. But the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing (jumping, leaping) up into everlasting life."

Glory to Glory!

There is a line in a Jonathan David Helser's song, "I will walk out the dreams you have placed in me and scream down the walls of fear". I am holding on to that line with everything in me right now. I feel a shift around me ... in me. I don't know if you've felt it too?

Life as I know it is no longer the same. Even though some things that I would love Him to change, haven't been. I ... am ... closer. I am now feeling Him move in my day to day experiences.

I was asking Papa, asking myself, asking the air around me, "How do you live the thickness of the Spirit all the time?" When you are at your job, frustrated over the printer not printing! When you are taking a break from the kids because they are running around and around! When you are looking at your husband wanting to slap him ... how do you submerse yourself in Him?

Well, I believe He answered me. I feel like the air has shifted around me and it is now energized. Energized with love, with purpose and with Him. At any moment, I feel like I can move into a pool of Him. I know He was always here, around me, loving me ... but now I feel like I've gone deeper.

I am screaming at the walls of fear around me. We've talked about it before, that going deeper sometimes makes you feel like you are drowning. But I wonder if that sensation is the walls that we have built up around us. Walls to protect us and stop the love from Him touching us, because at some point we thought He would hurt us. I wonder if that drowning feeling could be those walls imploding on themselves. We no longer need them when we're going deeper, so they start to break up. The false sense of security breaks apart and it takes a moment to get used to ... Him!

Capsizing your boat ....

I was singing along with Misty Edwards, this morning, in my car. The words to "All consuming fire!" were playing loud. At a certain part in the song, I found myself singing capsize us, not baptize us.

Call it what you will - a Freudian slip, my brain playing tricks or a simple slip of the tongue. I call it Holy Spirit speaking to my soul! He is placing His finger on a theme, over and over again in my life. And in lives around me. (See my wonderful friend's blog here)

We have heard, countless times, to jump out of the boat and into the river! I think there is something about that that Papa wants to go deeper with ... literally.

I believe He wants us IN the water. He IS the water, He's not ON the water waiting for us. He IS the water. Deep calls unto deep. Drinking Him in, breathing in Papa, being inside Him. Having Him all around us, swimming in He wondrous presence!

"How deep is your love for us?" - Misty Edwards

Let's not jump out of our boats ... Let's capsize them! Go deeper.

Are you like Moses?

I feel like Papa is continuing to speak to me after reading the latest Awaken post.

The last paragraph of the post mentioned above, is:

"A great awakening is coming . . . be among those who hear the call. It's time to fight a battle that will mean something. A battle of epic proportions. A battle that will make you come more alive than you could ever dream. "

The writer was talking about men and the heavenly planted need to fight, that is inside them. After reading her words, I was lead to the below scripture.

Numbers 12:7 and 8 "But this is not true of my servant Moses; he is faithful in all my house. With him I speak face to face, clearly and not in riddles; he sees the form of the LORD."

Moses a man with faults. A man who killed, who did not have wonderful auditory skills. A man who doubted himself and doubted his God on occasion. A man who beyond all odds, delivered a nation out of captivity. A man, that out of his passionate heart, made a wrong choice and because of that, did not see The Promised Land.

A man that was not the best of men. Who you would not think a great specimen of a leader, he even tried to get out of this role. Nonetheless, he did it. He was a leader. He was a great man.

Why? Because he fought. He fought through his own distrust of himself. He fought through the distrust of the nation he was to save. He fought through the mockery of the Egyptians. He fought through the mockery of the nation he had saved. He fought through his doubts in what they had done. He fought through the desert. He fought through.

Why? Because he knew God. He knew the face of God.

Your God is calling you. Do you see the bush burning out of the corner of your eye, as you focus on the diversion? Do you hear the still, small voice of a Mighty Man whispering your name, ever so softly. It's breaking through the din of the madness around you, isn't it?

There is a new day coming. A new call, that is so very old. Stand up! Arise! Be ready! Fight!

Join together in heaven's court, staring at your General ... face to face. He has a plan.

Jeremiah 51:20 "You are My battle-ax and weapons of war: for with you I will break the nation in pieces; with you I will destroy kingdoms."

A picture - Women and a Tree ....

We were all represented by a tree trunk. All strong as individuals, having our own struggles and triumphs. On our own though, we were just that - on our own.

So we came together. Turing, moving, growing together. Becoming one tree. Fortified, persevering, reaching up, producing fruit, being unified.

The driving force behind this growing tree, the force inside the tree, the very thing that feeds the tree is Life ... Jesus. He brings us together. In vulnerability, we intertwine with each other, creating something new, something more intimate than before. Something stronger. Together we will reach new heights. Together we will find more growth, more fruit than we would have on our own. Together we can reach further. Fulfilling the call for each of our lives because each of us needs another and another to help us move forth and up.

The old and the young come together, both needed to bring balance to the tree. As new wood grows over the old bark, our foundations are built upon the generations before. Your wisdom, knowledge and depth helps younger women to stand, to maintain strength of our own. One cannot live without the other. If the old bark is left on the tree, it will become brittle. If the tree stays young and new, it will be weak, not able to stand. Together, we are unified. The young in turn, will become the old and what was passed on will bring forth another powerful generation.

Each generation that comes will be more and more unified, intertwined and alive. Alive in Him and alive in the now joined calling of fulfilling our purposes. The destinies that were meant to come together. Like the puzzle pieces that all fit perfectly, to make a bigger picture, we all share a common goal.

A family, a bride, together being groomed for our bridegroom.

He's calling. Reach forth, grab a hand close to you and move together.

The Gloves are Off ...

Here we are again ... Joined by words, by a common heartbeat and by love. I hope this touches you and brings to you peace and hope in your situation.

I received this word a while ago and feel that I am to post it now. I had asked the question to Papa, "Why does it seem that it is so hard for so many people right now (in their lives)?"

His answer:

"Because the gloves are off! I am no longer waiting around for the enemy to slaughter anymore of My children. I am hitting him back with all I have. I am going after the gusto. Not pulling any punches. I want freedom and I want it now!

A new day is dawning. A new army is rising up. Many will feel as if I am dragging them through it - I am! No longer am I willing to wait - I want freedom.

And so, I am bringing it! Yes, it is still a choice, but many of you made that choice many years ago and I am holding you to it now. My army needs to get out of the barracks and into the fight!

(I instantly saw the scene in Navy Seals when all the training soldiers line up each day to wait on anyone who wants to ring the bell and get out of training.)

"You will not ring that bell! None of you are going to fall or fail! I am here! I am calling out your destinies. I am in charge of everything and I want your hearts, your very souls. No one is going to take you from Me - not even you, yourself. I have you and I am keeping you.

Be encouraged, for My love is all you need.I am cleaning up the cob webs. I am making you perfect. No more fear will remain. Out of the darkness, light will appear. Glory, freedom, a reigning Kingdom of Hope, goodness and truth. Spread the word - Life is here! We are on the threshold and I am going to carry My Bride across it. Come into more intimacy with Me. Come, drink the new wine. You are all My beauties! You are all Mine! Hallelujah! I am here - it has come."

I was directed to some scriptures after receiving this word. Deuteronomy 32: 10 - 12, Psalm 9: 9, 10 and Joshua 1: 2 - 4. In the land of promise, there can still be wilderness. I believe it is essential! In the wilderness, our faith is born and strenthened. Brought to a place that cannot be shaken anymore.

Is your sink empty or full?

I was praying the other day, lead to thoughts of marriage. It seems that many Christians are having trouble in their marriages. I wanted to see what Papa would have me pray about and look to in the scriptures. The following is my view on what I heard Him say:

I was drawn to Ecclesiastes. Solomon exploring the 'world' around him and finding it lacking much, seemed to be what Papa was leading me to. "Vanity of vanities. all is vanity.", he says. I was focusing on that portion of the scripture. I asked what Papa was saying. I believe He was pointing out that we look to things that bring no fruit to our lives, to fulfill it. An idea that has been around for many years.

Laying that thought over the 'relationship of marriage', I realize that the enemy has another back door through which to steal, kill and destroy us, as individuals and in our marriages.

If we are looking to our spouse as a vanity, they will never be able to give us what we need or fill our love banks. Solomon was looking for wisdom, for the meaning of our lives and for strength to survive. He didn't "find one man or woman in a thousand worth his while. Yet (he) did spot one ray of light in this murk: God made men and women true and upright; we're the ones who made a mess of things." - The Message.

And there is the lie that the enemy would have us believe. That those things would be found in a man or a woman ... a spouse. We make messes of things on our own, so how can we find what we need to be fulfilled and feel satisfied in another who messes things up?

I am not saying that our spouses cannot fulfill certain things in us: What I am saying is that EVERYTHING needs to be found in Papa first. My strength, my answers and my meaning in this world is found in Him. In His life, death and life again!

The things that my spouse can give me need to be coming through and from that place in them that is satisfied and fulfilled by Papa too. Therefore, when we fail each other - and we will - we are safely kept from falling because we are kept under His wings.

On the other hand, I also felt that Father was pointing out to me that the things He intended for us and our marriages were forgotten by some. That the intentions of the King that knows all, were deemed untruths and possibly not good enough anymore. That trust was gone. Trusting that even through hard times, He has control and we are always in His hands.

To quote a section of a friend's poem,

"The earth trembles

And even as the pain intensifies

The brokenness reveals a greater glory

A magnificent surrendered beauty

That will not die."

Sometimes, we don't want to wait for the greater glory ... the pain is too much. So maybe we find ourselves looking to other things that fulfill and make us feel happy again. Those things though that we find, are not what Papa intended us to have. They are counterfeit.

I found a section of the Wedding Feast Parable interesting. Matthew 22:2, "The Kingdom of Heaven is like a certain King who arranged a marriage for his son ..." The idea of an arranged marriage, here in the West, sends most of us into a state of fear. What of my choice? My feelings? My love?

Isn't this though what Father does with us if we are surrendered to Him? He arranges us in a life that we may or may not understand at times. We may have to get used to things being a certain way. We may not understand the path ahead. Sometimes we may not even feel happy in the situation He has us in. But we continue on because ...

We

Trust

Him

Along with praying, I received a picture from Papa. It was of a sink that used to be filled right up. The drain has been pulled though and it is empty now.

If this is you, I ask you gently but urgently to look to the Father to put that plug back in and to have Him fill you up again. Look to Him for everything you need and seek Him for the trust you need to get through the hard times.

Come meet Him at the river ....

This was sent to me today, by a dear friend. It is an entry from Kenneth Copeland. It is such truth that I just wanted to post it.

"So often we miss out on what God wants to do for us because He doesn't do it the way we think he should. We work up an idea in our minds about how He's going to heal us, for instance. We think He's going to send some famous preacher to lay hands on us or that He's going to knock us off our feet with a blast of His power. When He doesn't, we let our faith drop and foul up what He has actually planned to do.

That's what Naaman did. He went to Elisha expecting to be healed in a particular way. When it didn't happen that way, the Bible says he went away in a rage.

What Eishal told him to do was simple. Dip seven times in the Jordan. Naaman could do that. But it didn't fit his idea of how his healing should take place. He thought Elisha would heal him by waving his hands around and calling on the Name of the Lord.

Naaman stormed away and he would have missed out on his healing if one of his servants hadn't talked him into giving Elisha's instructions a try.

I used to be like that. I wanted spectacular experiences from God so badly I was missing out on the experience God had planned for me. Once I realized that, I quit looking for feelings and spectacular manifestations and just started expecting God to keep His Word.

I remember I went to a meeting one night with my ankle messed up terribly. The pain was so severe it went from my foot all the way up to my shoulder blades. But I went into that meeting expecting God to heal me.

During the praise service, I ignored the pain in my foot and just sang and worshipped with everyone else. When the preaching started, I got my Bible and got involved in the Word. Sure enough, sometime during that service I was healed. I don't know when it was. I didn't feel anything. I didn't see any sparklers go off. I didn't even realize I'd been healed until after the service. I got about halfway to the door and thought, "Glory to God, my foot's well."

Don't let your own ideas of how God's going to work rob you of your healing or your deliverance or your prosperity. Just trust Him and let Him do things His way. He will work mightily in you."

Come meet Him at the river .....

Take it slow .... and love.

It seems that there is a resounding echo from many voices to slow down this season. Take your time. Do not get overstressed. I wonder what source these warnings come from? I would like to think that they are from The King ... "Slow down My Children. Remember who you are and who I have made you. Remember that this time of year, is to remind you of My Promise of Love! Be at Peace. Have My Joy. Do not be swept up into a chaotic frenzy for fleshly fulfillment. Love one another, as I love you."

Love .... it is that simple.

I was reminded of a love letter, written many years ago. It was written on paper, not emailed. It was written with a pencil, not palm pilot tool. It was written from the heart in a moment of dire need to relate to a lover that was not close by.

Remember the ones you love. I hope you enjoy the letter and this season.

"Good morning on July 7th -

Even when I am in bed my thoughts rush to you, my eternally beloved, now and then joyfully, then again sadly, waiting to know whether fate will hear our prayer.

To face life I must live altogether with you or never see you. Yes, I am resolved to be a wanderer abroad until I can fly to your arms and say that I have found my true home with you and enfolded in your arms can let my soul be wafted to the realm on blessed spirits. Aalas, unfortunately it must be so. You will become composed, the more so as you know that I am faithful to you; no other woman can ever possess my heart. Never - never. Oh God, why must one be separated from her who is so dear?

Yet my life in Vienna at present is a miserable life. Your love has made me both the happiest and the unhappiest of mortals. At my age, I now need stability and regularity in my life. Can this coexist with our relationship? Angel, I have just heard that the post goes every day andtherefore I must close, so that you may receive the letter immediately. Be calm; for only be calmly considering our lives can we achieve our purpose to live together. Be calm. Love me. Today. Yesterday. What tearful longing for you. For you. You. My life. My all. All good wishes to you. Oh, do continue to love me. Never misjudge your lover's most faithful heart.

Ever yours.

Ever mine.

Ever ours.

L

- Beethoven

Never Failing!

So the other day I was overcome with emotion. Great sobs came over me. I felt like I was a failure. I was failing my children, because once again, I was cooking them Kraft Dinner for dinner.

I was crying in my mind, "I should be making vegetables, stew, potatoes. This isn't right! This isn't what a mother does!" Honestly believing I was harming my children.

Immediately, Holy Spirit spoke and whispered sweetness that I needed to hear.

It wasn't enough. I cried out, "I'm failing them!"

Again, instantly Papa spoke in a firm but compassionate voice ... a voice only Papa can use ... and said, "I WILL NOT!"

I know we all have areas in our lives where we feel like a failure. The great thing is ... HE IS NOT!

I WILL NOT FAIL YOU!

I pray that this will resonate through you to your very core.

A question ....

I wanted to pose a question to anyone for comment ...

Are you open to love?

He is Risen ... He is Risen indeed!

“Early on Sunday morning, as the new day was dawning, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went out to visit the tomb … (it was empty).” Matt 28:1 NLT

When there is a death, there is a resurrection. Someone shared that today. A most beautiful promise from Papa, indeed. Think about what He is saying …

The same person as the above shared a story to illustrate her point.

She was called to her Mother’s death bed in a nursing home. She left after staying for a time. On her way out, a woman stopped her. The woman, very sick as well, commented on how much the Mother would be missed. The response was, “Thank you. I know she is with Jesus now, in a better place.” The conversation continued.

“Jesus??”
“Yes, Jesus. Do you know Him?”
“No.”
“Would you like to?”
“Yes. Very much.”

So, the woman accepted Jesus into her heart right there and then. Our Author ran down to the (Nurses) office filled with joy. On the way down, she heard the LORD speak to her clearly, “When there is a death, there is always a resurrection!”

This true experience stuck with me and had me thinking …

“Then He turned to the host. "The next time you put on a dinner, don't just invite your friends and family and rich neighbors, the kind of people who will return the favor. Invite some people who never get invited out, the misfits from the wrong side of the tracks. You'll be—and experience—a blessing. They won't be able to return the favor, but the favor will be returned—oh, how it will be returned!—at the resurrection of God's people." Luke 14:12 The Message

I found the above scripture to mean more to me, seeing it in the context of the story. That every opportunity to bless others, can be Papa bringing life, in a response to death, through us. The ageless victory of life over death, can be seen in our every day lives. While we’re waiting to receive our blessing from Papa, at the ‘great’ resurrection … let’s see how many ‘miny’ illustrations of Jesus’ resurrection we can bless others with day to day!

Happy Easter!

Story by Bridget Elwood
Painting by Lydia van Knijff

Fallacious Programming

I was reading Wayne Jacobson’s ‘Lifestream’ blog and found his latest entry to hold the quote below:

We are in an age of religious complexity. The simplicity which is in Christ is rarely found amoung us. In its stead are programs, methods, organizations, and a world of nervous activities which occupy time and attention but can never satisfy the longing of the heart. -A.W. TOZER-

I totally love this quote. It is the mission statement of what I feel Papa is doing in my life right now. My follow blogger Paul wrote recently, “We do not have our governments kicking in the doors of our churches. Our lives are not at risk preaching the gospel. Yet we are the most fearful group of Christians in the world.” I believe that a portion of the fear we live in as Christians, is the fear of Papa being in control. “If we stop the programs, where will we find ourselves?” Even farther still, “If we stop the functions, how will He be able to do anything?”

It is not hard to find yourself throw into the mix of things that are not from Papa. It's easy to stay in the 'comfortable', soft, sleepy business of programs. The things we find ourselves conjuring up to bring in the masses and rev up the church. Then when you pull yourself from it ... or should I say, when He pulls us from it, we find ourselves facing another challenge. The challenge of, "What do I do now?"

Trust. Trust and believe. Believe that He is our source. That He is in control. That He is the key to everything. That He is what will move us. That He is The One who opens doors no man can open and closes doors no man can shut.

We believe that we are okay. We are okay because we are in His hands.

And we will find that Papa has many ideas for moving His church. That He has many ways of the lost seeing Him and believing that He is their King! We will begin to see that when everything we do has the heart beat of Heaven, He can move mountains!

I believe that we will do many things, when we let Him be in the driver’s seat.

Do we surrender?

King Leonidas: “Spartans! Prepare for glory!”

Daxos: “Glory? Have you gone mad? There is no glory to be had now! Only retreat, or surrender or death!”

A quote from the movie, ‘300’.

Glory! We as Christians have a Glory to grab a hold of. Paul says, “Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize.”

The Spartans believed that surrender was not an option; death was a better end for them. This concept was brought up to me lately. Many of us talk, believe and strive to surrender to Papa every day. The thought that was brought before me was that it doesn’t actually say to surrender, but that the New Testament clearly states to die.

I found this very interesting. I looked into it and, yes there is only one use of the Hebrew word ‘surrender’. It is found in Timothy and was used in reference to the leaders at the time.
The above concept was followed up by the meanings of the words. “They are different.”, was said to me. I went ahead a looked them up:

To die – a verb

1. To cease to live; undergo the complete and permanent cessation of all vital functions; become dead.

To surrender – a verb

1. To yield (something) to the possession or power of another …
2. To give up, abandon, or relinquish (comfort, hope, etc.)
3. To give oneself up, as into the power of another; submit or yield.

Yes, they are different words. I am wondering though, if everything that Papa tries to teach us is actually spelled out? I know that we would like it to be, but is it really? I’d like to go through the above definitions. The One who ceased to live, was Jesus. The One who set the plan in motion, was Papa.

“Going a little farther, He fell with His face to the ground and prayed, “My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will.” Matt 26:39

“He went away a second time and prayed, “My Father, if it is not possible for this cup to be taken away unless I drink it, may Your will be done.” Matt 26:41 – 43

In the above scriptures, Jesus embodies the definition of to die and the third definition of surrender. He gave up Himself, as into the power of Another. He submitted and yielded His own feelings of pain and fear to fulfill “this very reason (He) came to this hour. (He yielded to The Father’s plan, to) … glorify Your name!” John 12: 27

The thing that Jesus had to surrender was His fleshly attitudes! He was fully God and was fully man. Just as we wrestle with fear, pain, anger, jealously … He did as well. In Romans, we read about “our old self (being) crucified with Him so that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin…”

Many of the scriptures that I found on dying all talked about Jesus doing the dying. That through His death, we die also. That the dying that we can do is only accomplished through His death first. We can’t die on our own … it was His death that frees us. My point is spoken of in Galatians 2:20, “I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.”

I found one instruction that is given by Jesus, Himself to us all, “Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow Me.” Matt 16:24. I looked up the word deny in the original Greek. Deny – aparneomai – (1) to deny (a) to affirm that one has no acquaintance or connection with someone (b) to forget one’s self, lose sight of one’s self and one’s own interests. This definition, 100% lines up with the definitions of surrender. We are giving up, abandoning and relinquishing any acquaintance or connection with our old self … our flesh. We forget our self, yielding to the power of Another. Therefore, we live!

A friend of mine said recently, “The surrender is when we stop fighting Him and stop trying to protect and validate our flesh. We know that Jesus "knocks" on the door of our hearts. It is always an invitation.” That reminded me of a metaphor that was also shared with me in the original conversation. When men are in a battle, whose orders do they follow? They follow their General. And when do the men surrender? When the men do not want to die.

The above was shared to prove that we don’t surrender as Christians but we in fact die. But what if the battle is against God? Wait! Stay with me. What if the battle field is our lives and the General is our flesh. If we listen what will happen to us?

Penniless .....

Jesus, himself - the man, was virtually penniless.

He - the man, knew He had a Papa in heaven who loved him and supplied all his needs.

He had unshakable faith in that truth.

Then why would, I - a (wo)man, expect any more?

Should I be more important then He, that came into this world as the living tabernacle, to require a 'pay cheque' from The Father.

I wouldn't even want to presume .....

Matthew 19:22-24 (New International Version)

"When the young man heard this, he went away sad, because he had great wealth.

Then Jesus said to his disciples, "I tell you the truth, it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven. Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God."

Where do we look?

Papa has been speaking to me the last couple days. He has been mentioning the importance of looking at Him only and staying in the now... the today.

Too many times we find ourselves living either in the future or in the past. We find ourselves worrying about what we did or what we will do. Between our past, our present duties and our future anxieties, we find ourselves living half-mindedly.

If I am focusing on what I did or what I may do, am I focusing on Him? No, not likely. I am seeking after an idol and therefore, falling off the path that Papa has laid out before me. Are we looking to the past in order to control the future? By looking to the future, do we think that we can change today? There it is, the ugly thing in us all, the need to control.

I found good news though, "He makes me lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside the still waters. He restores my soul; He leads me in the paths of righteousness." We have a promise in Jesus! If we let go, He will lead us. We will find ourselves at peace because He is in the driver's seat.

I don't know about you, but I want to be lead by Him. I want to have that peace that surpasses all understanding. I want to live joyfully today, no matter what tomorrow may bring. I want to cling to the above promise.

Jesus said it best, "Give your entire attention to what God is doing right now and don't get worked up about what may or may not happen tomorrow. God will help you deal with whatever hard things come up when the time comes." (Matt 6:34 MSG)

Paul Young, author of The Shack, wrote the following, "Would I like an actual office area rather than this desk down in this crowded unfinished basement…sure! But whether I have it or not makes absolutely no difference to me…this is what I have ‘today’ and I am so grateful for it, so full of thanksgiving. Tomorrow is a myth and a drunk driver or a little wayward cell in my body could obliterate any expectation I could have. I only have grace for today and in embracing a life being loved…I am FREE!"

Max Lucado quotes Sir William Osler, in his book, 'Traveling Light'. He says, "Think not of the amount to be accomplished, the difficulties to be overcome, but set earnestly at the little task near your elbow, letting that be sufficient for the day; for surely our plain duty is not to see what lies dimly at a distance but to do what lies clearly at hand."

Jesus is our lamp unto our feet .... not a flashlight in our hand. Let Him lead you today!

With love,

S