Musings and Marvelings on my Jesus Journey

  Beautiful sunshine, wonderful warmth, beautiful blooms, singing birds, playing kids, walking moms, mowing dads spontaneous smiles, skipping children, frolicking fillies, playful pups, motors revving, breezes blowing,  blossoms scenting, raindrops falling, cleaned (maybe) windows, neighborhood chatter, coffee outside, restless school kids, excited graduates, patios in use, swimming pool sales, seasonal shopping, Easter reflecting, cloudy days, chilly days, then once again...welcomed warmer days, bustling greenhouses, vacation planning,  lush green grass like a carpet, nests being built, baby bunnies, robin eggs, seeds germinating, playgrounds busy, parks being enjoyed, umbrellas being used, tractors pulling planters, motivated, tired farmers, summer clothes, gardens growing, burgers grilling, excitement, newness, freshness, hope, seeing God, sensing God, loving God, loving...   SPRING!                     ...

I am meditating on... the story of Ruth And especially about Naomi. She was a bitter women. Life had dealt hard with her... the loss of her husband and her two sons, a foreigner in a strange land, away from home due to a "famine in their land", daughter-in-laws from a pagan culture, and yet... her daughter-in-law Ruth wanted to be with her, wanted to go with her, live where she lived, worship her God. Why ? From my experience, bitter people are not usually the kind you want to follow or be around for an extended length of time. Noami did not seem to have an evangelistic mind. After all, she told her daughter in laws to "return to their own gods". Really? So why? What was it that tugged at Ruth's heart? Did she see a deep, abiding, personal faith in her elderly mother in law that defined her next steps? Was Ruth intrigued with their religion after observing it likely in her husband and his family? Was she able to see beyond the hopelessness of her pagan culture? ...

  I am musing about... lost...and FOUND!! Chatter and giggles, squeals of delight! Have you ever enjoyed watching children on an Easter egg hunt? They run to and fro, looking here and there... Never really content until the last egg is found. And oh the pure celebration when each egg is discovered and added to the basket! Thus it is with our Savior. He is in a constant, loving pursuit of His creation, Desiring to gather each one into the basket of His fold! Desiring that each one, become His beloved, rescued child.  That each one, be found! Some of his children may be easier to find then others. Some put themselves more readily in His view. Others try to hide; forgetting that He is God, that He sees and knows all. Maybe (likely) they are forgetting that He loves them, that He actually gave His very life for them. Or maybe, they just don't know. Have not yet heard. That is where we come in. As His children, those who have already been gathered in, He sends us out to search and ...

   I am musing about.... Brokenness and the HOW! HOW do we tap into God's power? HOW do we realize our newness and make it a part of who we are and how we live? HOW do we help others to do this? God is the Great Provider! I was working in the kitchen and decided to listen online to the sessions from the Discipleship Conference put on by our church last Saturday through ACCFS Counseling. The first speaker shared exactly what I feel should now be passed on to you; those of you who have been following this series on Brokenness! It was so good! God used Bro. Matt Kauffman to lay out some practical steps with the end goal in mind of tapping into God's power! Of being an overcomer! Of being a shining light reflecting Jesus well! Of learning HOW to mature in Christ so we can help others to mature in Christ! All in order to accomplish the Great Commission...  and bring Christ glory! Copy and paste this link... ...then listen; be taught and encouraged!  MAY THE LORD SHOW US H...

  I am musing about.... Brokenness...  but also about POWER and HOPE!! Does anyone else get a little concerned about the one-sided narrative we hear in many of the Gospel songs and on-line sermons, blog posts and various messages these days? So often they highlight the reality that we are fallen, broken, flawed, and in need of a Savior! All true. SO. VERY. TRUE. We do not need less of this message. We need to keep it coming! But there is more. Another part of the message that we need to be hearing more of. And that is the narrative of God's Power! Of the reality of the potential (by God's grace and power) for living an overcoming life! The narrative of how in Christ ... We. Are. New. Different! It is a narrative of hope! We are NOT the same as we were prior to our conversion, prior to surrendering to our Jesus. We are now a NEW CREATURE. His Spirit lives IN us ! And that makes all the difference in the world. I repeat. That makes all the difference in the world! Is our hu...

 I am musing about.... Brokenness and the HOW! HOW do we tap into God's power? HOW do we realize our newness and make it a part of who we are and how we live? HOW do we help others to do this? God provides! I was working in the kitchen and decided to listen into the sessions from the Discipleship Conference put on by our church last Saturday through AACF Counseling. The first speaker shared exactly what I feel should now be passed on to you; those of you who have been following this series on Brokenness! It was so good! God used Bro. Matt Kauffman to lay out some practical steps with the end goal in mind of tapping into God's power! Of learning HOW to mature in Christ so we can help others to mature in Christ! All to accomplish the Great Commission and bring Him glory! Copy and paste this link... ...then listen; be taught and encouraged!  MAY THE LORD SHOW US HOW ... AS WE JOURNEY FORWARD IN THIS BROKEN WORLD INTO A LIFE OF JOY AND WHOLENESS!! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3...

  I am musing about..,, Brokenness. It can look, well....broken.  Because it is It can not always be wrapped up with pretty paper and topped with a beautiful bow. It can be hard. Ongoing. Messy. In this fallen world, there are things that happen that leave destruction and heartache in their wake. It is all around us. Devastating, horrible, dark brokenness. The fall changed everything. It ushered in the need for a Savior. To save this world, all the nations, every tribe. You. And me. Sometimes personal challenges are hard and sourced from our own sin. Yet, sometimes the challenges are simply due to the brokenness of the world we live in. Sometimes what is broken can't be fixed. At least not on this side of heaven, or in our way or time frame. Not in the material sense. Not in what the eye beholds or the brain registers. But, in the heart, as those affected look to and lean into Jesus, He saves them from the despair and gives them a peace and a joy they could never have imagined...