Musings and Marvelings on my Jesus Journey

  I am meditating on.... Acts 19 I love this account of how God's Spirit moved mightily among the early church! Of how God made known His power and validated His disciples' message through wonders and miracles! Verse 17 caught my attention and stirred my heart. "....and the name of the Lord Jesus was magnified". Is that not our heart's desire? Is that not what the Lord would have happen today! May we all go out, each and every day with a desire to magnify His high and Holy name! To point others to Jesus! To share the Gospel through our Words and deeds! What does that mean, practically speaking? That is a personal question we all need to be asking our Lord and Savior. I know He is working in my heart. May we allow the urging and the convicting of His Spirit to create change in our lives...as we seek, by His grace, to change our world. And grow His Kingdom! This chapter speaks of amazing wonders, of healings and miracles. In our culture today, there is a concerning ...

  I am musing about.... LOST   We were making good time. Bluffton and our daughter and her family's home was drawing nearer with each traversed mile! Good thing. It was late. It was dark and we were tired. Route 124 from Peru to Bluffton can be somewhat challenging. The first trek is winding with sharp curves and angles. Once it straightens out...it is stop sign after stop sign! But the biggest frustration are the never ending detours. You would think by now that road would be in tip top shape! We get out pretty often, and it seems like you never know when or where that detour sign will pop up, but you can pretty well bet on it (if we bet:), that one will. So, we turn. We try to read the sign to get an idea of how far parallel we need to go with 124 before we can head back and hope we missed the construction area.  But this is the main problem! There are no signs! Once you turn, the route is unclearly marked. Well....not marked. Or so has been our experience most of the t...

  I am MARVELING about.... Perfume and Mercy A good friend of mine posted a picture recently of herself standing in front of Trevi Fountain in Rome. Oh, the memories that came to mind. Several years ago, my husband and I were blessed to take a dream vacation to Europe, and it did not disappoint, as they say. Being in Rome, for example was an amazing experience. To actually walk the streets of such an ancient and Biblically historical city was a gift of an opportunity! And so much fun:) As I considered the area there by the famous Trevi fountain, my mind went back to an alarming experience that I had. Close to the fountain, just down the street is an expensive perfume shop. While my husband waited outside I went in for a look-see. Sitting on a tall pedestal were some sample bottles of perfume. I took one, sprayed it on my wrist and returned it to the table. It tipped precariously and to my horror came crashing to the floor, expensive perfume pooling around the broken glass. My heart...

  I am meditating on.... Romans 15:13 , I am so excited about this new Blog area, Meditations! The Scripture is paramount in my life influencing the trajectory of my musings and marvelings! Dictating how I live each day. Or at least it does when I am heeding the Spirit! So what better thing to write on, then the Scriptures themselves! Of late, I am not working on a Bible Study per se, but reading the Word, randomly to hear what the Lord would speak to my heart as I open it and read. As a young Christian, this was my method, to read and to journal. And the Lord spoke so beautifully, as we all can attest that He does, when we intentionally spend time in His Word.  Now I tend to love doing Bible studies and workbooks; digging in more deeply to certain themes/books etc. This too is good! But this summer, I am back to reading and journaling;) "All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness....

I am musing about..... Seeing Jesus. There is a verse in the New Testament that always kind of grabs my heart and attention. It is from John 12:21.  "And there were certain Greeks among them that came up to worship at the feast: The same came therefore to Philip, which was of Bethsaida of Galilee, and desired him, saying "Sir we would see Jesus." "....we would see Jesus". I love that! Is that not what we all want? Is that not what we all yearn for, everyday? To "See Jesus"? To see His presence around us? To see His workings in our lives and our loved one's lives? To see Him working in the world? Soon after reading this and feeling compelled to write about it, I started looking for an appropriate photo. My searching eventually took me to the internet where I researched pictures of Jesus. Not wanting to infringe on a copywrite concern, I ended up purchasing a poster. Of Jesus! Well, kind of. When you look at it, wanting to see Jesus, you don't. ...

  I am musing about.... Parted Clouds and Bubbles The other day I got a text from a dear friend. She shared a beautiful little story. She had been struggling and had taken a long walk under a cloudy sky. She was talking to God. As she thought on her challenges, she remarked aloud..."I am so alone". At that very moment, the clouds parted and the warm sunshine poured down upon her. God was reassuring her of His constant presence, that He was there walking with her through the cloudy days. Later that day, I was reminded again of God's love for His children. I had been staying with our grandsons for several days while their parents were on a trip. The boys wanted to "do bubbles". We headed to the garage and found the big bottle of bubbles. But alas, no wand. I told them I was going to quick go into the house and see if I could find something that worked. I opened a kitchen cupboard. The first thing I noticed was a grater. This just might work I thought, as I quickly...

  I am musing about this: Can we love our country too much? Is to love America to not love the world? There seems to be those who think that it is wrong to be nationalistic; to really love and care about one's country. First, are they right? This is something we must all consider and evaluate. Are we "worshiping our country"? Do we have it on too high of a pedestal? Are we valuing our nation above other nations in a way that somehow indicates that we do not genuinely care for the good of other nations? Let us think about that. (Pause) (Ponder) (Pray) As I consider, I realize that God had a special love for His "chosen" people, His nation of Israel. He desired their obedience and wanted to bless them (to even gather them to Him as a Hen with her chicks). He had a plan for them. It was His hope, His desire, His plan, that ALL nations would be blessed through them. So...do we acknowledge that we, in this beautiful blessed USA, are also  BLESSED BY GOD THAT WE MIGHT...