The Holy Spirit of God . . . Our Hero in the Journey

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The Holy Spirit of God . . . Our Hero in the Journey

Bullies don't often give up. They just look for another opportunity in a different place of vulnerability, changing tactics and catching the victim off-guard.

And so true to form, the Bully didn't take long to regroup and sneak up on me in another situation. It sent me into a tailspin of emotion...trying to choke back tears and keep on doing life. But thankfully, my Hero, the Holy Spirit of Christ broke through the emotional cloud I was churning in.

"Ok Jan. Resist! Stand! Say NO! Remember that? Now look at the entire passage and park yourself there."

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The Bully . . . Our Enemy in the Journey

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The Bully . . . Our Enemy in the Journey

God’s children are being attacked left and right. Some of us are stuck. Some feel worthless. Some are walking through the trials of our lives, believing that God is against us.

Why, God?

You can be sure that when God is doing something in our lives, the devil is always helping the weakness of our flesh to draw us in the opposite direction.

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Every Praise . . . Joy in the Journey

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Every Praise . . . Joy in the Journey

Did you know that praise and thanksgiving to God about everything, everyday can change your perspective on your life. Why? Because HE is our God, our Source. And HE IS WORTHY of every praise and thanksgiving.

Why not begin right here until it becomes the habit of your soul....EVERY PRAISE is to our GOD! Amen!

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Christ In You . . . JOY in the Journey

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Christ In You . . . JOY in the Journey

!’ve been feeling a bit low lately, and I don’t know why. You too? No matter, our Abba Father God loves us anyway, no matter how we feel . . . no matter how depressed, no matter how dark, no matter how ugly.

And so I prayed this morning,

Good morning, LORD

I’m feeling a bit low this morning, and I don’t know why, Lord. But I will trust You to be the Joy and the Strength of my fluctuating soul.

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An Encouraging Friend . . . Fruitfulness in the Journey

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An Encouraging Friend . . . Fruitfulness in the Journey

I had to giggle. . . it sounded like Peggy was basically telling me to “Suck it up, Jan,” despite my vertigo and dizziness.

And the Holy Spirit whispered His encouragement and His own “Suck it up” to me:

If Peggy can keep on painting at 88 years of age, despite her health issues, you can keep on writing!”

Yes, my darling friend Peggy is 88 years old and still painting. So let me share a few of her gems with you:

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Abandoned to ?????? in 2020

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Abandoned to ?????? in 2020

. . . The whole time I was jealous. The joy on their little faces! The freedom! The abandonment! To freely give their physical selves over in total trust to those foam blocks to “save” them. WOW! Something like that has never been easy for me, and still isn’t.

But like most things in our physical, human existence on this earth, this abandonment and resulting joy is a picture, a metaphor. And I can get the metaphor: Just as my grandchildren joyfully abandoned themselves to “the jump,” so I day by day, abandon myself to the LORD, Who is my total security and trust!.

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Reflections on the MAGI: the Blindness of Biblical Literacy Alone

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Reflections on the MAGI: the Blindness of Biblical Literacy Alone

. . . The Gentile seekers were led to Jerusalem by a celestial phenomenon, the star. They were not experts in the Scriptures, but they were driven to learn more about what God was doing in their day. And they undertook an arduous journey that probably took months to find the answer to their question.
Israel’s wise men knew the Scripture, yet they were not motivated to find out for themselves what God had done. They weren’t motivated enough to travel five miles to Bethlehem to see for themselves.
I love the Scripture, I’ve known the Scripture since I was a small boy. But I understand that Bible knowledge alone cannot generate spiritual vitality. . .

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Epiphany! Shining Light or Drama Queen?

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Epiphany! Shining Light or Drama Queen?

… we are like the star that led the Magi to Christ … or we can be. We can, in our very person, be the light that points another to the King. You and I have the King of Kings living within us. But as always it is our choice whether we allow the King to live through us and manifest His presence to seeking hearts who are walking in darkness all around us.

Author Tim Chester, in his lovely Advent devotional on Philippians 2 The One True Gift, caught my attention when he pointed out from Scripture one way that God says we can shine like stars …

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A New Year Letter to my Regular Readers (others are welcome too!)

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A New Year Letter to my Regular Readers (others are welcome too!)

Dear friends

Happy New Year 2020. It’s hard to believe we are entering a new decade, isn’t it! The past ten years have brought many changes for each of us — from the delightful to the challenging to the downright tragic and everything between. And God has been with us and in us every step of the way because we know Him who is Life indeed.

And now we can “let the past sleep, but let it sleep in the sweet embrace of Christ, and let us go on into the invincible future with Him.” (Oswald Chambers)

Before we continue on with our blog posts in this new year, I would like to take this opportunity to thank you,

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Not a Resolution . . . A WORD for 2020

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Not a Resolution . . . A WORD for 2020

A new year is upon us, along with those pesky thoughts of New Years’ resolutions. Well, resolutions are no temptation to me anymore. I’ve given up trying to change myself by my own self-effort. The indwelling Christ is my “Game-changer” and my “Life-changer.” And a few years ago, He brought a lovely “new thing” to my attention … the idea of a word for my year. So for the past several years, I have had my word. But my word had never stuck until in 2016 I stepped aside and allowed the Lord to “give” it to me, rather than try to come up with one on my own.

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Post Christmas Comfort: Fear Not...Emmanuel Finally & Forever (Part 3)

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Post Christmas Comfort: Fear Not...Emmanuel Finally & Forever (Part 3)

As the old year is coming to a close and the holiday glitz and cheer have dwindled, what is rushing in?  Anxieties and fears for today and the year yet to come? Then hear these words again from your Creator and Savior:

Fear not, for I am near you!

Fear not, for I am closely associated with you! I've gone through it all too!

And now finally and forever...

Fear not, for I am united with you forever...we are one!

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Post Christmas Comfort: Fear Not! Emmanuel, One of Us (Part 2)

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Post Christmas Comfort: Fear Not! Emmanuel, One of Us (Part 2)

As near as God has always been to His people, when Jesus Christ, the Son of God, pierced through and entered our human history, everything changed.

But when the right time came, God sent his Son, born of a woman... Galatians 4:4

God came closer still... He became one of us and so He took on our fears, the greatest of which is our separation from Himself.  Even though God was nearby, there was separation...until Jesus!

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Post Christmas Comfort: Fear not...Emmanuel Still! (Part 1)

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Post Christmas Comfort: Fear not...Emmanuel Still! (Part 1)

Now that gifts are unwrapped, the food at least half-eaten, the many emotions grabbing at us during the season fading, the loneliness getting deeper and the grief, abandonment, "being left out" -- all having left their wounds...and the dread of bills looming in the back of our minds. We feel lost! So enters in...fear!  Yes, fear!

God had set me up one year to think of fear...

from the terror of a grandchild seeing glimpses of a horror movie on Halloween to a blog by a young mom about the fears for herself and her family....

from the anxieties of aging to the arresting truth, read in a book, that fearlessness is a characteristic of the Holy Spirit in a life...

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Are You Shipwrecked or Landlocked at the Stable?

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Are You Shipwrecked or Landlocked at the Stable?

The shipwrecked at the stable are captivated by joy and wonder. They have found the treasure in the field of Bethlehem. The pearl of great price is wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger. Everything else is cheap, fake, painted fragments of glass. . . .

Jesus Christ is of no importance unless he is of supreme importance.

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