God’s Not Wringing His Hands

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God’s Not Wringing His Hands;

He’s not frantic, or worried or scared;

He’s carefully unfolding His perfect plan

While seeing if we are prepared

To call out evil and sin;

To beckon others to come;

To be forgiven and restored,

By Jesus, the Only One

Who can take all our mess and regret

And turn it all out for our good,

To be the impetus we must need,

To make things be as they should.

So tremble not, fellow believer;

Fear not for what lies ahead;

For Satan, the terrible deceiver 

Was defeated when Jesus bled;

When He died and rose He accomplished – 

All that was needed, He faced

To meet His Father’s rightful wrath,

And give us His Mercy and Grace!

So cheer up, fellow believer!

The fight has already been won!

No longer a slave to sin, death or fear ~

They’re defeated in Jesus, God’s Son!

Go boldly, with truth, love and mercy;

Tell of His infinite love;

Given to all who accept Him by faith,

While granting us strength from above.

Is sickness yours to contend with?

Is it death you immediately face? 

The Hope for the Christ-filled Believer 

Is God’s love and His limitless grace;

Satan, the terrible deceiver

Will steal all our joy if he can;

This world is not our brightest or best;

Our God has a much better plan.

No matter the furious trial, 

Regardless the certain demise;

This life cannot hold, keep or harm us

We who are given new eyes;

To see our promising future –

Wondrous and beyond compare!

Full of our Father’s perfect rest;

His riches and love: Ours to share!

So cheer up, fellow believer!

We’ve all that we need for the fight;

And one day, soon, after this world,

Everything WILL be made Right! 

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Eyes of Faith

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Perspective is everything. For many months our ailing dog needed to go outside frequently, even through the night, acutely reminding us of all the times we’ve had a newborn in the house. The medication helped the accidents, but didn’t stop his nighttime pleas. Recently, Mark’s travel put the onus all on me to take Toby out at 11 p.m., 1 a.m. and again at 4 a.m. after which I couldn’t fall back asleep. I put the time to good use by transferring months of notes of my writings, ideas and poems from my phone to my email, finally falling asleep a little after 7, grateful there was no school that day.

Our youngest son came into my room at 10:37, “Mom, are you okay? Dad is frantic and sending you texts and phone calls – he asked me to come check on you.” Groggy with fatigue I sat up, trying to recollect the day and wondering what would make my usually calm husband “frantic”? He snapped up my phone call immediately. “Sarah, are you okay? I was in your email and saw some of what you wrote to the kids about after you die, and was worried sick that something was wrong with you, maybe hiding something you felt you couldn’t share with me.” His voice cracked, “I’ve been calling and texting repeatedly, but you weren’t answering.”

I couldn’t help but laugh. I’ve scolded that man for nosing around in my email plenty of times. Though we use that account for bills that he handles, most of what I forward to myself are my own thoughts, observations and ponderings. But I could see how he may have gotten a bit worried. One particular letter I’d sent started off, “My dear and precious children: I ask God to surround your life with people that speak and live out His truth, because long after I have ceased to be a resource for you, my hope is that I might still be an influence, having taught you principles that can guide you, truths that protect you, and wisdom that sustains you.” Another outright stated, “Random charges to my children after I pass away.” Since I hadn’t anticipated anyone else seeing them it hadn’t dawned on me to send them with an explanation.

Assuring him that I was fine, though exhausted, we hung up and I made some coffee for my quiet time. Still chuckling at my husband’s overwrought interpretation of my emails made me pause. What in my own life was I perhaps seeing from the wrong angle, or a warped outlook that mistakenly colored my interpretation? Apart from the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives, aren’t all of our perspectives skewed in some way as we look at life through the lens of our weak flesh, observing this sin cursed world and making assumptions that we shouldn’t? Several jumped to my mind almost immediately. I have to admit, there are times I grapple with what it appears God is – or isn’t – doing in my life and the lives of people that I love. Does He care? Why doesn’t He perform miracles and move mountains when He certainly can, and it seems like doing so would be such a marvelous faith builder to all who would see it? If I’m not careful, I can let my skewed perspective wrongly convince me that since things aren’t working according to what I think would be best, God must not care.

God forgive me for how quickly I can come to a dangerously erroneous conclusion about our loving, faithful, gracious and merciful God!! I was reminded of this poem I wrote this past summer when we were facing a gut wrenching heartache and God showered me with a sense of Peace that belied the gravity of pain that we felt from our situation; He asked us to switch out our perspective with His:

Eyes of Faith see things this hardened world can never know; Faith Eyes see not where we are, but where we’re going to go. Eyes of Faith don’t dwell on all the hurts that we find here; But focus on Jesus Christ, who loves and draws us near. Eyes of Faith keep coming Hope firmly in their view; Faith Eyes see not only Now, but future promise, too. Eyes of Faith choose to build a deeper trust in God; Faith eyes do not choose despair while walking this hard sod. Lord, let my Eyes of Faith grow stronger day by day; While eyes that see the sorrow here, slowly fade away. And then with great triumphant shout this world will pass from view; But Eyes of Faith will firmly fix their hope and trust in You. Rewarded then, our Eyes of Faith that trusted Your good plan Will see the purpose that You worked for Your glory, and for Man.

If God’s goal were simply to get us through this life as pain free as possible, then we would have a fair argument against what He allows. But that’s not God’s goal – that’s only ours. God’s goal, on the other hand, is to help us become more like His Son, Jesus, in a process called sanctification. And He has chosen to use the vehicles of trial and hardship as tools to hone us and sharpen us, teaching us to put our full weight on Him. It’s a process. It doesn’t come overnight. And it certainly won’t come by looking inwardly at our own feeble strength, but allowing our faith to put its full weight on Jesus, who has already proven his love.

So if you’re facing something difficult today, something that hurts, is wearying or causing you to doubt God’s love and intentions, take courage, my friend, and cling to the promise that God has purpose in all that He allows in our lives. For He IS working His plan. And The Who can be fully trusted, even when we can’t make sense of the Why.


The bends in the road on the journey of Life can twist and turn without warning.


Darkness falls and dreaded fear calls – but light always comes in the Morning.


Keep your eyes on The One who knows the path, far better than we ever could.


Hold fast to your trust that He loves you, and is working His plan for our Good. ❤

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Put Your Son to Death

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Are you familiar with the story of Abraham and his son, Isaac? If so, you’ll recall the time God put Abraham to an incredible test, by asking him to sacrifice his beloved son. Without hesitation, Abraham readied himself and his son for the trip. You can read the entire account in Genesis 22.

Sometimes, in our world today, we set up certain things that we’ve placed ‘off limits’ to God. Our kids, job, health, marriage; our security. We say, “Have anything you want, Lord, but not this – not ____. This means too much to me, and I can’t let you have it.”

If you know how the event ended, you know that Abraham did not withhold his son, his precious, beloved boy, from the higher calling of obeying God. With a faith that reaches the pages of the New Testament, Abraham exemplified for us, what it means to truly Trust in God, and God counted it unto him as righteousness.

Oh, that we could each display such an all out trust in God!

When we face disappointment and blame God, or suffer through trials and become bitter, we miss out on the Joy of Trusting Him.

We must choose to rewire our thinking. What if through that trial, that burden, that disappointment, that loss, God can display His intimate hand of comfort, grace and provision to us? Would that make it worth going through the heartache?

One of our precious kids suffered a really unjust situation, and was hurting terribly. It was so hard to watch her go through the pain, as she wrestled with the unfairness, and the uncertainty that followed.

We talked for a long time about God’s purposes, why He allows what He does and what He wants from us. I urged her to take a blank piece of paper and draw 5 or 6 lines on it.

“Sweetheart, I’m asking you to go to the Lord, and pray. Tell God that you trust Him, and that you are ready to record some of the wonderful things He is going to bring about because He has allowed this painful thing in your life.”

She looked at me through tears. Fighting back my own anguish on her behalf, I explained. “God doesn’t just bring us from something for no good reason. He has chosen to allow you to leave that place of comfort, where you were happy and content, for His own reasons. And we must trust Him. And now, we must look for what He is bringing you INTO.”

If we are going to follow Him fully, then we must be ready to walk away from good things, where we find our security, and follow Him, who IS our security.

Over the days, as she was reminded of God’s faithfulness, sovereignty and love, we saw her heart begin to heal, and her trust begin to grow. Her situation hadn’t yet changed, but her willingness to see God’s plans through the heartache had.

We were so proud of her, as she wasn’t resentful of the people who had done this to her, and began to express her trust in God. We’d better believe – He WILL reward such a pure faith!

Wouldn’t it be awful to miss seeing God work some marvelous things on our behalf, simply because of our own lack of trust in Him and His goodness?

Imagine! Too often, we are digging our heels in, kicking and screaming to Almighty God who LOVES us, demanding Him to let us have our trinkets, when He longs to give us His treasures! Oh, what a sad forfeiture of potential blessing when we refuse to trust our loving Savior.

I want my faith to deepen, and my heart to be more full of trust in Him. But the only way to do that is to allow room for God to be at work, so we might grow a bit more in our understanding of His awesome might and unfathomable love. What an incredible chance to see the intimate hand of Almighty God at work in my situation and in yours, just by embracing whatever He brings our way, knowing that ultimately it’s for our good and His glory.

Here on Earth is the only place we get to put all of our eggs in the basket of God’s faithfulness. This life is short – I don’t want to miss out on seeing His watchcare over me, because of my own frail inability to grasp that the God who created the entire universe holds me in the palm of His hand, and He loves me, and is more than able to accomplish whatever His will is for my life, if I will only surrender my own weak plans in exchange for His wondrous ones! 

You never know what’s around the corner in this journey called Life. But God does. And He alone holds the roadmap. Will we trust Him to navigate our journey, knowing that He loves us and is working on our behalf?

One of my favorite verses is Isaiah 26:3, “You will keep in perfect peace, him whose mind is stayed on You, because he trusts in You.” Perfect peace is waiting for those who fully trust God.

What are you holding onto that might be preventing you from seeing God’s love for you today?

Are there things you’ve grown bitter about, not wanting to let God heal, so you can move forward into some marvelous new adventures with Him? 

Let’s talk about it, you know – between friends.

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Angels Among Us…

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There is a news organization whose tag line is: we report, you decide.  That’s how I feel about this amazing situation; I will share with you what happened, you make up your own mind…I’ve already made up mine.

Our girls were traveling home for Thanksgiving break. Their flight was tracking to land early, and Mark and I were running a few minutes behind, so we decided to pick them up just outside of the baggage claim instead of go in and meet them.

Abby’s bag was among 4 or 5 that came out right away, so they were waiting on Hannah’s, along with most of the other travelers on their flight, when the conveyor belt stopped cold.  They texted us about the delay so Mark and I drove over to wait in the cell phone lot till they summoned us. Ten minutes later, more luggage came spewing out, but not Hannah’s bag.  We all waited. One more delivery cycle brought almost everyone else’s bag up, but not Hannah’s.

It had been nearly an hour since the plane had landed; clearly something was wrong. Hannah called us, explaining the situation, then, with some hesitation shared, “Um, worse though, is that I didn’t save my receipt. I left it on the plane.”

Terrific. Now we not only had one large lost purple bag, we had no way to identify it with the tracking numbers. I was gearing up for a good lecture that could occupy most of our trip back home after they were in our car on the importance of holding onto your receipt till you had the bag back in your possession. “What were you thinking?” was a common phrase I intended to put to good use as well. I was already mentally preparing a checklist of what she would probably need to replace.

Mark swung back into traffic; we were going to park and go in while he saw what might be done to claim a bag without any receipt.  I began praying earnestly, mixed with excitement at seeing our girls – and of course a proper dose of instruction about wisdom and folly when it came to traveling with luggage.

As we were hustling along the busy airport, I was praying that God might somehow miraculously allow Hannah’s bag to be found still and returned to her, even if it was days later. I wasn’t sure how that could be since the conveyor had long been quiet, but I was leaving the ‘how’ part of the whole thing to God to handle; I had my part to play in the “what have we learned from this?” department.

As we descended the final escalator to the baggage area, Hannah and Abby met us – they both had bags! What had happened?

“It was the craziest thing!” Hannah said excitedly. “We were hanging out near Conveyor 12, hoping for a miracle that it might start up again and my bag would appear, when this man walks directly up to us and says ‘You have a purple coat, might you also have a purple bag that you’re waiting for?’

Hannah couldn’t believe it – sure enough, it was her bag. But where…? How…? Who was he? How had he known of all the people milling about in the massive room that it was her missing bag? Where had it been? All those questions were left unanswered as she stammered out “Oh my goodness, yes! Thank you so much!” As the girls watched him walk away, Hannah commented to her sister, “Keep watching him Abby, because in like 5 seconds he’s going to just “whoosh” away- like an angel!”

I was dumbfounded. Gone were the speeches I’d been preparing, replaced by rejoicing in my heart for what was clearly prayer answered in an astonishing way. Our car ride home was occupied by a whole different sort of conversation than scolding – more like Praising God for his undeserved goodness and Awesomeness!

I don’t know who the man was or where he came from, or any of the other questions I would have liked to ask him if we’d seen him; but I do know that we serve a BIG God who works in mysterious ways sometimes, and that’s all I really need to know.

Have you ever had prayer answered in ways that went beyond explanation?  Did it grow your faith even stronger that God hears us – and answers us? Let’s talk – you know – between friends.

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California Here We Come!

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In 2008, our family moved from Wisconsin to northern California for my husband Mark to take a new job with a wonderful company. The opportunity came out of left field for us; Mark had applied and interviewed for a position that would have kept us in Wisconsin; it came down to him and an internal candidate.

The company felt they needed to go with the other guy for loyalty sake – something we fully appreciated. However, Mark had impressed them through the interview process and they said they would find him a job – if we were willing to move out to corporate – something definitely not on our radar screen! By God’s grace, they granted us sufficient time to mull this incredible opportunity over.

Every step of the way, I remember feeling like no matter what concern I would bring to God’s attention, he would answer with a resounding “Go.”

Our first big area of concern was what would it be like to raise a family in a coastal area with no yards? That prayer was answered in a phone call inviting Mark and I to take a trip out to the area for a few days to see if we “could picture raising our family there”. Remarkable! So we flew out – marveling at how God was orchestrating the details for us.

The company hired a tour guide to drive us around. On the morning of the 3rd day, both feeling quite discouraged because everything we had seen thus far wasn’t very ‘family friendly’, we prayed over our hotel breakfast “Lord, you know our hearts, we really were hoping to be able to take this job, but everything we have seen isn’t the kind of life we ever pictured for raising our kids. We only have these few hours left Lord, before we get on that plane this afternoon. If you want this for us, please show us something we can envision for our family.”

Our guide walked into the lobby, ready to go. Mark, who had been up most of the night researching local real estate, showed him his laptop and asked him “where would we find a house like this one?” It was a pretty house, within our price range, showing a bit of green grass around it.

He looked at it, shrugged his shoulders and said “hmm, East Bay – I’ve never heard of that – well, let’s put it in my GPS and find out.”

On our 40-minute drive out of the city, we went through a tunnel – and emerged on the other side to the sight of green, rolling hills! There were parks and whole neighborhoods with grassy yards and lots of children playing and riding bikes!

Our guide commented “Wow – I’ve lived in the Bay area for over 15 years and never knew any of this was here!” Mark and I got on the plane that afternoon elated over the possibilities!

We felt like God was directing our path in such specific ways, and, after that, we were out of excuses; so we accepted the golden opportunity with excitement, being sure to include our kids in all that God was doing to help us move forward.

Still, another issue was the pay – the job, though certainly more than he had been making, wouldn’t fully cover the additional costs of living in the more expensive state. I tentatively brought this to the Lord in prayer; a couple days later, the man who would be Mark’s new boss called him saying, “I need to let you know that you won’t be reporting to me – I gave my notice to follow a dream of opening my own small business. So you’ll report to Carol until she fills the position.” A few days later, that call was followed by one from Carol, “Mark, I’ve been looking over your resume, and you really have more skills and experience than the job you were considering so I’d like to offer you his old job instead. It comes with more pay, of course.”

Whoa Lord…crazy right??

By now we knew without question that we needed to do this – to fully put ourselves out there, trusting that God would take care of us. How could we instruct our precious kids that following and trusting God in all things is the right way to live if we weren’t willing to follow that truth ourselves?

No, we didn’t know anyone out there – but God did!

No, we weren’t sure where exactly we would go to church or school or any of those things – but God did!

We were excited to test His full sufficiency – and the only way to do that was to remove ourselves from all we had ever known for forty years of life, and JUMP!

It was SO scary, but I didn’t want our comfort zone to be the dividing barrier between really truly relying on God for everything and just believing in it as a nice theory. What more could God show us if only we went willingly, trusting Him? And so, we decided to go to lands unknown (well, by us at least)

Isaiah 41:10 tells us, “Fear not, for I am with you, do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.”

Are there areas in your life that you don’t want to relinquish to God? What might be holding you back from letting go and letting God take control? Let’s talk…you know – between friends.

 

 

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Spur One Another On

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I remember a time not too long ago, in my husband’s life, when he was really feeling down. Some doors that he had held hope in had closed with finality, and he was discouraged by his thinking that his was destined to be a road of drudgery from that point forward.

Feeling very defeated, he told me that he “thought he had disappointed God” with his life.

 Holding a drastically opposing view, I wanted to be sure he wasn’t buying into the lie that Satan would have loved to see him purchase, so I wrote him a letter, part of which I’m printing here.

 “My Precious Mark ~ How it hurts to see you struggling and feeling like you somehow haven’t pleased God with your life – I don’t think you could be further from the Truth!  God has some very specific things He asks of men – and you have tried to follow them with a clean heart before Him. How can you not see that God is well pleased with you and the choices you have made in your life to follow him and to walk uprightly before him, to stay pure and faithful, to provide for your family and to be a man of integrity?

 You’ve exceeded my dreams in the kind of husband you have been and father to our children – you have taught by word and deed how to live the fruit of the spirit – you are a man who has feared God, revered and honored him, and you have seen his hand of grace on your life because of it.

 I know you have unfulfilled dreams – but our journey isn’t done yet! Don’t quit so quickly – you never know what’s around the bend in life!

 God could surprise us with some very exciting plans to shake up our cozy little world and grab hold of some wonderful opportunities still – some marvelous chances to use the gifts, skills, interests and abilities He has given us to use them for His Glory!

 I know this – as Paul said in Philippians 3:13-14, “But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.”

 How grateful I am that you have a heart that seeks after Godliness – how good has been to “run this race” with you by my side! Don’t get caught up in the traps that the world does my darling! We have a higher calling ~ with a much greater destiny ~ and best of all, God will be our strength to carry us through the heartaches of this life, and help us to grow and be stretched through them, to become more like His Son.

 You are my love, my delight, my gift from the very hand of God and I cherish you!

 Do not lose hope! Do not give up! Let’s keep running this race together – let’s press on, looking to see how else God may use hearts willing to live dangerously for Him!

I want my life to have zeal for him – to take a risk, be more willing to leave my comfort zone and trust Him to provide all we need!

 I don’t know exactly what that looks like, but I’m willing to pray about it, that God might use us – together – to do some wonderful things for His Kingdom and for His good Pleasure!

 You have so much to offer, Mark! Tremendous insight and wisdom, wonderful leadership qualities – God has given you much to use for Him – do not grow weary in doing good – Press on! Push forward! Keep on keeping on – and let’s see together what else God has in store for we who love him and are called according to His purposes at work in us!

 Thank you for making godly choices Mark – you’ve blessed our whole family in ways you may never fully know till Heaven ~ I count you as my most beloved friend. Sarah”

Life can be overwhelming ~ it’s full of twists and turns, unexpected disappointments and difficult burdens ~ That’s why as believers in Christ, we need to remind each other where our true hope lies! This life is short – it isn’t all there really is – reminds me of a song I wrote ~ Praying it encourages your heart to keep it’s focus where it belongs ~ on Christ and the Eternity that is in store for those who call themselves His followers!

Eternity is Coming

This life is short-it isn’t all there really is

So much lies ahead, for those who are His

Don’t hold on so tight to the dreams we have here ~

This world and its sorrows will one day disappear ~

 

Eternity is coming and it’s full of Hope!…. Joy!… Dreaming, doing, fulfilling and pursuing ~ Christ! No loss! No pain! All gain! We really can’t imagine!

So Don’t! Lose! Hope!

Hold on! Just wait! We’re nearly at the gate!

 

Am I growing and investing in the things I’ll take with me?:

Other people, love and joy, godliness and harmony?

Persisting in my troubles and allowing God to shape me through their pain?

To teach me more, his all-sufficient grace….

 

Eternity is coming and it’s full of Hope!…. Joy!… Dreaming, doing, fulfilling and pursuing ~ Christ! No loss! No pain! All gain! We really can’t imagine!

So Don’t! Lose! Hope!

Hold on! A little more ~ We’re nearly at the door!

 

Am I choosing to be joyful in what Christ has done for me?:

Giving his own life for payment so that sinners can go free ~

Or do I keep getting caught up in the miseries and trials that won’t last?

This time is almost past!

 

Eternity is coming and it’s full of Hope!…. Joy!… Dreaming, doing, fulfilling and pursuing ~ Christ! No loss! No pain! All gain! We really can’t imagine!

So Don’t! Lose! Hope!

Hold on! Don’t quit! Just cling to Jesus!

 

Am I using what I have now to make my foundation strong?

Sharing riches, loving others, choosing rightly over wrong?

Am I working toward the future, taking hold of The Life that is truly life?

It’s almost here!

 

Eternity is coming and it’s full of Hope!…. Joy!… Dreaming, doing, fulfilling and pursuing ~ Christ! No loss! No pain! All gain! We really can’t imagine!

So Don’t! Lose! Hope!

Hold on! Just wait! We’re nearly at the gate!

 

A breath ~ A wisp ~ A vapor and it’s gone…

It won’t be long ~ hold on ~ Cling to Jesus and hold on…

 

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Burdened or Buoyant?

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When I was much younger (18…ok, much, much younger) I got in a car accident in which I hit a pedestrian. It was icy, he was walking on the side of a fairly busy road and I hit a patch of black ice.

My car was spinning very sluggishly – the whole thing felt like it was playing in slow motion so that by the time I actually made contact with him, I more or less “pushed” him into a ditch heavily filled with snow (I recall seeing his face very briefly through the glass staring dazedly at me as he hung onto the hood of my car before landing in the ditch.) Certainly scary – for both of us!

During the questioning for the deposition with the attorneys (which was agonizing) I was asked, “What happened to the car when you steered it to the right?”

I nervously and truthfully answered, “My back end came around and got in front of my front end.”

Now, this made sense to me. It still does. It is precisely what happened.

My parents received a copy of the transcript in the mail. You’d be surprised how much laughter has been generated in my family from that one small statement. It has been brought out at holiday gatherings and told to coming generations; it may as well be stamped across my forehead it’s so embedded into my history.

I laugh right along with everyone; seeing it in black and white made it sound a lot more funny than the day I said it in front of a room full of strangers where I sat worried over the unknown of my future. (It turned out ok; there was an eyewitness who saw the whole thing and the man checked out perfectly fine at the hospital.)

 I’m so glad that God in his grace allows us to build onto his legacy – He lets us be called wonderful things – like “Christ follower” and “Child of the King” and “Joint Heirs with Christ”… Our identity in Christ, if we’ve accepted his free gift of salvation, is our greatest label, our finest possession – the best thing we can be known for and triumph in!

“Colossians 1:10-14, “And we pray this in order that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and may please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God, being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience, and joyfully giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the kingdom of light. For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.”

Oh dear reader ~ Has your heart caught the truth of this? This is incredible really! That we are share in God’s inheritance ~ just for our obedience to Him?! Wow! It reminds me of a poem I wrote…I will share next time.

Meanwhile, are you living with burden or buoyancy? Are you buried under the stresses of life and unable to see yourself how God sees you if you are one of his? Or are you living with joy filled steps, walking forward excitedly in all the delight that comes with being a child of the King? Let’s talk…you know – between friends.

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