God

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Facebook Spirituality (2)

Last March I posted six “wise sayings” culled from my Facebook friends’ posts. (If you missed that post, you can find it here.) Today I’m going to add another six, and ask the same question—is this God’s wisdom or man’s? If you can’t read the text on the images, click on them to enlarge them.

1555453_658037090906040_722247176_n“I care very little if I am judged by you or by any human court; indeed, I do not even judge myself. My conscience is clear, but that does not make me innocent. It is the Lord who judges me.” (1 Corinthians 4:3-4)

“Am I now trying to win the approval of human beings, or of God? Or am I trying to please people? If I were still trying to please people, I would not be a servant of Christ.” (Galatians 1:10)

“On the contrary, we speak as those approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel. We are not trying to please people but God, who tests our hearts.” (1 Thessalonians 2:4, italics mine)

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Going to Hell in a Hand Basket?

Much of the grumbling I hear in the church has to do with the godless culture in which we live. Should we fear for the church? Is our culture really that godless? Consider…

Politicians of all persuasions feel free to corrupt the truth to their own ends. They routinely break the very laws they’re sworn to uphold; they use their positions of power to lord it over those who disagree with their policies.

As of last January our national debt exceeded $17,265,987,000,000.00—that’s approximately $54,379.00 per person. Can you afford to pay your share? Probably not—the average credit card debt is $15,799. That doesn’t include mortgages, car loans, student loans, etc. As the leaders lead, so the nation follows. (See Romans 13:8)

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She’s Here!!

LAH_1373.NEFWe interrupt this regularly scheduled blog to announce the arrival of our third granddaughter, Gwendolyn Elise. She was born this last Tuesday, March 25 to our younger daughter, her husband, and Gwen’s big sister Willow. As grandma, I’m totally stoked. Whoo hoo!!!!

Gwen’s arrival, besides being an occasion of great joy, was the culmination of months of waiting, praying, giving up, letting go and letting God—and being reminded that God does not disappoint.

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I’m Out of Control

I love to plan stuff. In fact, sometimes I enjoy the planning more than the actual event. The anticipation is exciting—like the thrill I felt as a kid, waiting for Christmas.

I’ll admit, I also enjoy planning and organizing things because it gives me the sense that I’m in control. Of course, I know better, but organizing lets me pretend for a while. And the more life throws me a curve ball, the more planning and organizing I do.

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Don’t You Care, God?

Jesus calming stormHave you ever noticed that as you read and reread familiar passages in the Bible, you suddenly see something new? I’m always amazed that something I’ve covered a hundred times can suddenly have new meaning.

This happened to me recently as I was reading the part in Mark 4 where Jesus calms the storm. I’m sure you know the story:

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Will You Be My Valentine?

Today is Valentine’s Day, the day we celebrate love. We’re bombarded with opportunities to declare our passion. Flowers and chocolate, some pretty steamy Valentine cards, Victoria’s Secret displays all focus on romantic love, or is it romantic lust? But for some, this is a difficult time. Not everyone is in a romantic relationship. Does lack of Special Someone mean you’ve completely missed out on love?

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Travel is Educational

Pete and I took a vacation. We really couldn’t afford the time or the cost, but we did it anyway. This past year was intense, to say the least. It seems we went from one crisis to the next. Both Pete and I were looking a bit glassy-eyed, and we hadn’t had a decent conversation in months. We needed time with one another and time with God, so the day after Christmas we packed the car and headed east. We didn’t come back until we were ready to face life again.

florida trip map

So, here we are back in Colorado, substantially poorer and with almost 6,000 more miles on our car. Was it worth it? You bet!

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Harvest Workers

TRUE or FALSE: the Bible tells us to pray for people to be saved.

Have your answer? Probably, like me, you read this question and answered, “Of course we should pray for people to be saved!” I thought it was totally obvious, until our pastor said something that challenged my belief.

He told us, “God never said that we should pray for the harvest. We are to pray for workers!”

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“Is that all there is?”

How was your Christmas? Did you finish the day fulfilled? Were all your longings met? Were you happy the entire time? Can you look back and say, yes, I wasn’t a bit disappointed?

Me neither.

I’m sure you’ve seen the classic cartoon of the kids surrounded by shredded wrapping paper, boxes, and piles of new toys. Amidst all that plenty, they’re asking, “Is that all there is?” Christmas comes with so much hype, of course we feel a bit let down afterward. How can a single day (or two, depending on how you celebrate) meet all our expectations?

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Which Way Now, God?

Decorated trees are sprouting in living rooms around the country, carols are playing in the mall, and shoppers eagerly await packages from Amazon. It’s that time of year again—time for my birthday. As usual, we’re so busy with seasonal activities—Christmas parties, the Audubon Christmas Bird Count, more parties—that I barely have time to celebrate. That’s all right. In December, I prefer to focus on Someone else’s birthday.

As I’ve mentioned in the past, I tend to ignore New Year’s Eve and the start of the calendar year. It seems so arbitrary. Instead, I use my birthday as a time to mull over the year past and the year to come. What did God tell me to do last year? Did I do it? And what about the year to come? Is He directing me in any particular direction?

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