Romans 8 is such a great reminder of the hope we have as children of God. 8:18 “For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us. ” You may be suffering here on earth, but it is only for a time if you are a child of God. In days to come Jesus will come again and take us home! There will be no sin, sickness, sorry or pain. Praise the Lamb! Until then remember 8:28 “And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.” ALL THINGS! Whatever your struggle, challenge, or heartbreak it may not be good, but it works together for your good. Last but certainly not least, 8:37 “No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. 38For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, 39nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. ” Press on sweet friend, the best truly is yet to come.

“What a mess!” That is what the electrician said as he walked through the house checking out the work that was to be done. He tried to follow a wire from one end to the other and found what looked like spider webs of wire tangled together. He found places where wires had been twisted together with a plastic cap holding them together. He found junction boxes crammed with more wires than should have been in them. They began pulling the jumbles of wire down and dismantling junction boxes in an effort to rewire and correct what had been at 2 additions to what had been the original house. It was almost like watching a treasure hunt as one electrician would say to the other where does that go? Or have you seen where this goes to? Other times they were looking outside the house, under it, or in the attic for leads to where a wire would go. When all of the wire was finally detached from the house wire covered the floor and looked like a puzzle or chaos.
Over and over the men would say, “I am sorry for making such a mess.” They would take each wire and roll it up for easier removal. Years of dirt and dust covered the encased wire. The Chinese sheet rock had discolored and affected some. I just kept thinking, “Father, thank you for letting us get this straightened out before we moved in. Thank you for revealing the problems so they could be fixed without tearing the walls down again. Thank you for bringing men to this project who have been inspectors and know how to do it right.”
What was once a mess will soon be made right and all of the electricity functioning properly. No more will we have switches that serve no purpose or outlets that don’t work.
Do you feel like your life is somewhat of a mess? Are there parts of your life that is out of hand or just doesn’t work anymore? Maybe it is time to spend time with the Father and allow Him to do a total system over hall. Ask Him to check each and every relationship in your life to see does it connect you will a deeper relationship with Jesus or pull you away. Ask Him to check your basic foundations of faith. Are they grounded in God’s word or traditions from your family or church? Ask Him to check your junction boxes of contact with Him. Have you rested on what God did in your life yesterday or even years ago instead of having a fresh encounter with Him? Spend time in prayer asking Him for a fresh connection with Him. Then allow Him to wrap up anything that wasn’t of Him. Have Him untangle relationships or friendships that may have gotten “bent out of shape”. Give Him free reign to rewire you in any way that brings Him glory. He is the most trustworthy project manager you will ever depend on.

Life can change in a matter of minutes. I woke up this morning to find out a friend had lost a lake house that she and her husband had built. He died a few years ago and recently she sold her home and moved into a mother in law’s sweet at her dear daughter’s home. She had reasoned that keeping up two places was just too much so she would keep the lake house so the family could gather there in the summer and on holidays as they have for years. She chose to move many of her treasures like pictures and special memorabilia to the lake house for safe keeping since they would not fit in the small apartment.
Early this morning she received a call that changed everything. Apparently a fire had started on the back deck. The house was engulfed in flames immediately with the dry weather and nothing had been saved. We drove up to the lake this morning early to be with my friend and try to comfort her. As we drove up she was heaving with tears. Our hearts were breaking too and tears filled my eyes. As I held her and she just wept. There was nothing that could console until God placed verses from His word on my heart and I began to speak the verses He gave to me. Soon the sobs subsided and she was able to calm her emotions. What nothing else could do His word was the comfort.
The silver lining if there can be one when everything is charred was that they found a few special things. A stone that was engraved in remembrance of her husband was a precious treasure. The volunteer firefighter who was like family to her dug through the smoldering soot to pull out a hand full of pictures that were seared around the edges. A picture of her wedding day, a few pictures from her childhood and a picture taken with her daughter were burned but salvageable. A few pipes of a wind chime given to her when her husband died were among the treasures.
God reminded me today that we are to hold things loosely. The only thing eternal is our relationship with God and others who claim Him as Savior. He also reminded me that He is there even in the darkest experiences and He cares about us leaving a few treasures along the way. I was reminded of the value of family and friends when your darkest days come. And most of all His Word can bring peace when nothing else can suffice.
My sweet friend is learning to praise Him in the dark and she is being a bright light for Him. Please join me in praying for my friend and ask the Father to show her the next steps.

In renovating the house there have been many surprises along the way. Some have been bad like the stone on the front having to be removed, but some have been very good. Yesterday as the electricians were wiring the house again they hooked power back up to the lights in the pool. We had no idea if the lights would work or if they too would be one more things that would need a repair. When the switch was flipped, Woo Hoo! We had light!!! We have celebrated and rejoiced.
Another of the big celebrations was the fence. We knew we wanted to fence the property so we could bring the horses home. Les priced the fencing and it was going to cost a small fortune to buy the materials for a three board fence. We prayed about having wisdom to know where to look. Les found a fence in a city and hour and a half away and talked with the man about selling us the fence he was taking down. We got it and a barn for much less than just the materials for the fence would be. Some men went and took the fence down then brought it to our land. Les hired a couple of amazing men and once again God surprised us with a beautiful fence that we will enjoy for years to come.
Some things we have had to learn in our journey is that God’s timing is always perfect. As we have waited and watched, God has delivered. If we had been in a hurry some of the great things would have been missed. His timing in people wanting to sell or even the right contractors to do work has been imperative.
Having eyes open to what is around you is has also been a game changer. Though we have a contractor who is subbing the renovations out, Les has been proactive in finding materials and things we need at a good price. We have laughed more than once that completing this house has been a team project. Isn’t that what God wants for us spiritually too? He puts us together as a team or a body to bring about His plans and design. When you work together everyone gets to share in the victories. We are ready for the party to begin!

Recently one of our friends came to see the house. We have been a little discouraged because in the last 3 weeks there has not been a whole lot of work taking place on the house that is evident to the eye. When our friend had walked through the entire property she turned around and said, “When others see shepherd boy, God sees a King.” She was referring to that bible story of David who would become one of the greatest Kings in Israel’s history. Many people saw him as just a shepherd boy. He was not the biggest of his brothers, smartest, or even the most handsome. He was God’s pick!
Our friend said “I see how God is going to use this place in mighty ways.” I almost wanted to cry. We have been so near to the project daily that our hearts have at times been discouraged. We want it all completed and yet we know that time is the gift God has given us to see each part of the house done cost effectively and yet with excellence. Every step we can come away thanking God that He has revealed major problems that had been covered up. Had they not been discovered they could have cost thousands in years to come to replace. While the house is to the stud it is easier to see these problems and yet we are weary of finding yet another challenge.
Isn’t that how it is in our personal lives as well though. Deep underneath what we want people to see, God sees not just our imperfection and sinful hearts, but he also sees the potential for what we will one day be. Glory to God! He sees a person clean before Him because of His Son. One who walks with Him and knows and does His bidding, even if we are not quite there yet. Oh how my heart thrills to know that where others see me less than, God sees me as filled with potential and forgiven in His eyes.
Ask the Father today to help you see yourself as He sees you. Then walk in what you know God wants you to be. Others may see a less than, but He sees you as His child, precious to Him and highly favored!

I can’t imagine what it was like to hear Jesus in person here on the earth. His wisdom was so evident that the most schooled in the land were impressed and yet so many did not believe. They were more concerned about the customs and rituals of their church than seeing God’s power displayed through His Son. This is how the gospel writer Mark put it. 3:4 “And he said to them, “Is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or to do harm, to save life or to kill?” But they were silent. 5And he looked around at them with anger, grieved at their hardness of heart, and said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” He stretched it out, and his hand was restored.” Jesus was angered and grieved at their hard heartedness. Have you found yourself at that same place? Have you tried to love like Jesus does and share your faith in Him and those you love still did not get it? It is hard not to get discouraged, but look how Jesus handled it. It did the right thing even when they did not believe. He continued to do the Father’s work. What a wonderful reminder for us as well. Keep doing what God has called you to do. Hopefully in time the gospel message will penetrate even the hardest of hearts.

Do you feel ready for all God wants to do through you? If your answer is no you are in good company. Even Jesus withdrew into the wilderness for 40 days of fasting before His public ministry began. I wonder what the conversations with God were like. Did He miss His Father and the sweet times of fellowship they had? Did He find great frustration in the limitations of His physical body. To be infinite and yet choose a finite body must have been challenging! Whatever they conversed about, Jesus emerged from His solitude ready for battle and it met Him before He got out of the wilderness. Satan too knew the finiteness Jesus had chosen and challenged Him with hunger, power, pride and prestige. Satan certainly knows what makes most humans tick. Jesus stood ready fighting back with God’s word.
What a great reminder to me that time alone with the Father is not a good suggestion, it is mandatory to face the challenges our physical limitations represent. If the divine needed preparation time, so do we! I am also reminded that during those solitude times prayer and scripture are an integral part. Both allow us to communicate with the Father as He prepares us for what is ahead. Last but certainly not least I am reminded that Satan is waiting to sift me and challenge me at any weakness he can find. It is only God’s word and knowing it that will fight the flaming arrows he will throw. The end result will hopefully be as it was with Jesus, Satan will withdraw waiting for another opportunity. May we all know the power of the Spirit that Jesus knew and be prepared.

Did you see how many times Joseph was led by a dream? God spoke very clearly to him and he led his family to obey. Very few Americans see dreams and visions from God, but in the Middle East there are many unbelievers who are seeing dreams. There have been many stories of people who saw a dream of Jesus and were told where to go and hear about Him. They are led to other believers, missionaries, and even churches that they would not otherwise know. I revel in the stories of those who have found Jesus while obeying a dream. While we were in the Middle East last year we heard for ourselves about those who had followed a dream and the pay off was their involvement in a Evangelical church. To my knowledge they had not professed Christ as Lord yet, but they were attending services regularly searching for this Shepherd who instructed them there was peace by the waters. Peace can only be found in the Shepherd. Please join me in praying that many more will have dreams and visions and that they will come to The Shepherd and find Him sufficient for their every need.

1 Thessalonians 4:13-18
Do you ever just get to the point you ask yourself “Why”? Why am I working so hard to be who God wants me to be? Why am I serving others when there are times I just want someone to serve me? Why do we have to lose people we love? Why do evil things happen to good people?
Let me begin by saying I don’t have all of the answers to your questions of why, but I do have an answer that will help with many of them. It is because since the fall of man our world has been dying. When sin and evil entered our world so did hard work, sickness, pain, separation from God, selfishness, greed, and in the end death. Our gracious God did not want us to live forever in this fallen world, so Jesus came to make a way for us to once again be restored in our relationship with Him. Jesus is our way back to the Father. We try so hard to please Him not because it earns us His love. We already have that, but we serve Him because we love Him. We also tell others because without Him they will not experience Heaven. Heaven doesn’t just start at our death, but it is the peace and joy we experience as Children of God here on Earth. It is the calm assurance of God’s presence in our lives guiding and directing. It is claiming His promises about his strength, provision, protection and love.
When you do die on this earth you will not really die. You will just relocate to your heavenly home. Knowing Jesus and following Him assures us that our residence will be a home prepared by God just for us in His Home. Now that is something worth living for and is the reason that when we start becoming overwhelmed by the why questions here on earth we can raise our eyes to the heavens and thank God for what is yet to come.

I knew it was going to be a good day when the first worker to arrive introduced himself. He had tanned skin with rough hands yet a big smile and he said my name is (said in Spanish) Jesus you know like Jesus in the bible. I smiled big and said, I know Him well. That was how my first encounter with Jesus the worker at our house began. Jesus is the owner of a company that removes Chinese sheet-rock.
Jesus’ team consists of two amazing women and 3 men who tore out the infected sheet-rock. They cleaned up after themselves and left the house spotless. It has taken them 10 days to get the house completely cleansed of the sheet-rock and contaminated building supplies. There were days I would walk into the house, music blaring and the team knee deep in insulation. Every day I came the women would be toting sheet rock out either on their back in cloth sack or by wheel barrow. Now I am a hard worker, but I don’t hold a candle to these amazing women. The men were the climbers and they used anything from ladders to stilts to reach the affected areas. They had mopped every floor, vacuumed every nook and cranny, removed all of the nails and screws and the final step was to wipe down every piece of wood left in the house. They used a steamer with a water solution and sprayed each stud and hand wiped it with a white cloth by hand. I have been blown away each day to see their hard work! They rarely took a break, but when they did you could hear them laughing and having a good time. Yesterday Jesus had joined them and I observed him laughing with them and telling stories as they enjoyed a cool drink on the hot day.
I have pondered their job and I have wondered what made them so precise and work so hard. The answer is they wanted to please their boss. You can tell they respect him and he works hard right along side them.
The bible tells us in Colossians 2:23-24 “Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ. “ Giving our best effort is a reflection of the One we serve. So I guess the real question is, do you daily give your best as working for God? Do people walk into your work environment and say, “wow, he or she works with excellence.” Your Master is right beside you as you work. No not physically in person, but His Spirit is with you. Do you work to please Him? Is your work a witness to who you serve?
I have told Les I would not be disappointed if they were the crew who built the house back because I trust that the work they produce will be done with excellence. Oh that the world around us would see us that way. Oh that each of us would give our very best daily as a gift to the Lord.