Musings and Marvelings on my Jesus Journey

I am musing... about "how lovely is the morning...." and our always loving God. Who else knows that beautiful song from the Zion's Harp hymnal... "Oh How Lovely Is the Morning, When it is BEGUN with God....."? Love it! It was running through my mind this morning as I was out watering the flowers, enjoying the warmth of the sun and the freshness of the new day. And the refrain continued to run through my mind..... "Oh how lovely" is the daytime, when it is CONTROLLED by God..... "Oh how lovely" is the hour, when it is FILLED UP by God.... "Oh how lovely" is the time of challenge, when it is FACED WITH God... "Oh how lovely" is the time of joy, when it is CELEBRATED with God..... "Oh how lovely" is the time of blessing, when it is ENJOYED with God.... "Oh how lovely" is the time of sorrow, when it is  COMFORTED by God... "Oh how lovely" is the evening, when it is COMPL...

I am musing.... about our good, good Father (on Father's Day) Today I witnessed something that was simple, sweet and yet quite profound. As we sat under the tent outside on the lawn of our church, listening to church service, Covid style, I saw a cute young boy walking along the outside of the tent. He quietly walked towards the front and then headed in to where his grandpa was sitting. I witnessed a short interaction between them and then had to smile as the grandpa stood up, took his grandchild's hand and together they walked towards the fellowship hall (where the bathrooms are). In my mind, I could just hear his mom who was seated at the back of the tent, and likely occupied with one or some of their other three kids say to him, "Just go ask grandpa....he will take you". As I watched them walk hand in hand, I could not help but notice the confident note of trust and peace that the young child exuded. Grandpa was trustworthy. He was there for him. Alw...

I am marveling.... At the Newborn Perspective. Can we all not agree that when we hold a precious, beautiful newborn child, fresh from the hands of God...it affects our perspective? Life becomes refreshed. We feel something inside that only holding a newborn close to our heart stirs within us. When they look into our eyes, first beginning to grasp the reality of love, seeing the soft smile and the moistened eyes and hearing the soothing lilt of our voice as we welcome them into our life and heart....it just does something... to us. As we sit and rock a velvety soft little baby....the confusion and crazy of the world seems to dissipate. For a time...it seems that "all is right with the world". Their sweet, fresh, innocence strikes a chord in our inner soul that sends pure and unadulterated joy coursing through our being. God asks each of us to become as a little child. May we all have that "NEWBORN PERSPECTIVE". He wants us to look up at Him with...

I am musing... about change and relevancy. Wow! It is amazing how quickly the emotional landscape of our nation is able to change. Oh the effects of this digital age, of social media and of "real time" communication. So on Thursday May 28th, I wrote a blog post. It was called ....Musing about feeling groovy. It was the result of a simpler time. Life was slow. Yes, there was political controversy for sure, different Covid perspectives. There were heated emotions on the part of many regarding the potential back stories...or how the government was handling the situation. But in my little hometown in the Midwest...things were pretty quiet. The virus was thankfully staying at bay and things were finally starting to "open up" and thus things were starting to look up. I was looking forward to a socially distanced gathering on a dear friend's patio with friends the next day. The sun was shining. And the glory of new summer was reason to rejoice. And ...

I am marveling.... At the heartfelt prayers of a 9 yr. old boy. His name is Will. He lives in a small town close to ours.He is the youngest of four children. His mom shared how ever since Will was 7 years old he has had a heart for the homeless; consistently praying for them at night before bed as well as before eating his dinner. His mom and dad wondered how they could help their son act upon his heartfelt passion. They have been praying about it. His mom shared how the family has helped with the local Midwest Food Bank and helped out with a community outreach called Mission Survivor awhile back. This likely served to even heighten Will's passion for the underprivileged. After prayerful consideration, the family has decided to purchase a 5 gallon bucket of hand sanitizer which they plan to dispense into small squeeze bottles to give away (along with toilet paper) to the homeless in Peoria. They have also contacted a foundation in Peoria which reaches out to the h...

I am musing.... about a famous dream. Oh this world we live in. How quickly we turned a corner. (albeit, one we have turned before). After being inundated day after day with news and talk of Covid...our country and the news is now caught up with destruction, riots and unrest. A black man was killed by a merciless cop. And anarchy was thrown into our country's pot...stirred by racial tension, unrest, anger and lack of constraint. Wrong was committed. Yes, once again. Our black fellow citizens come from, as they say in the adoption world...very "hard places." Consider their roots, their legacy of slavery and oppression. Our country was built in a large part on the shoulders of black slaves. While the white population was able to take advantage of the great American dream...to enter the race for equity and business, to establish venture capital or join the quest west for land, gold and fortune, the black populace remained oppressed, uneducated and unabl...