Good morning, world. Things are looking pretty good from the front porch of my farm in Virginia today. The temperature has risen to above freezing for the last few days, and the snow is finally beginning to melt. Although I could look at the fields covered in snow forever, and I love to see children having fun playing in it despite cold temperatures, I’m glad it is finally melting and that the wildlife will finally be able to access their nourishment. When I met with the Author and Perfecter of my faith this morning, I was inclined to ask God “why?” for so many things. It’s not easy for somebody like me to endure the darkness of this world sometimes, and most of the time it makes no sense to me. For someone who loves to wonder why, and who sometimes spends too much time wondering how and why things work the way they do, the “unknown” could be agonizing IF NOT for the fact that I Trust the Master Plan completely. No matter how much questioning I do as I “wonder why”, I NEVER question The God of the Master Plans in the end. It’s okay for me to wonder why, and I have to believe that the One who Created me isn’t surprised by my over-the-top interest in how things work. I Know that when my Peace is being rattled, the first thing I need to do is to search my own Heart to see if there is anything I could or should have done to avoid the pain, and after that, I trust God with the End Results. I don’t guess God minds it when we ask Him “why?” but He doesn’t owe us an explanation. He’s God, and He has a Master Plan that is always Perfect – so, I have to accept all those things I wonder about and Trust Him with the outcome instead of insisting on knowing why. Isn’t that the way you look at the Journey of Faith, too?

If there’s anything that can cause someone to waiver in their Faith…or cause someone NOT to come to their faith at all…it’s wondering how a Loving God could allow anything to happen that would cause us pain. But God doesn’t look at this Journey through OUR eyes…He looks at the Journey through Eyes that see the Entire Picture from beginning to end, and He always has a Master Plan beyond the pain we feel. It’s not possible for a human being to accept the loss of a child, especially when they leave this life too soon – But God planted the seed of life within them, and He knew their Days EVEN BEFORE we knew them. I think we could question “why?” for the rest of our lives without ever getting the answer – but I like to think that God needs us and when He needs us, He calls us Home in His due time…old and young. It brings comfort to me when I think about how He welcomes each one Home with Open Arms, and no matter how young or old they are, He’s happy to see them, and He’ll put them to Work. When I look at it that way, the “why?” begins to fade, and eventually I accept the pain AND the Plan.

I don’t know why there are hungry people. I don’t know why there are people living on cold streets with no warm place to go. I don’t know why disease robs the body. I don’t know why there is heartbreak. I don’t know why people are alone, and I don’t know why relationships fail. I don’t know why we suffer. I don’t know why some live a long life, and some leave too soon. I don’t know why fires and floods rob us of homes, treasures, and life. I don’t know why a human being would take the life of another. I don’t know why we murder our unborn. I don’t know why a parent would abuse their own child. I don’t know why we’re lied to over and over again. I don’t know why we’re judged and persecuted. I don’t know why people come and go in our lives. I don’t know why we go from abundance to poverty or the other way around. There’s no end to the things we don’t understand, while the heart is sometimes inclined to ask “why?” But it serves no purpose to ask “why?” except to torment us when we don’t get the answers or the outcome we want. If I am a Child of His I have no choice and no Peace unless I trust that He has a Master Plan that is Perfectly Beautiful when it’s seen through His Eyes, and One Day I’ll see how it all Worked Together for Good.

I began this new day with a Heart asking “why?” but I’m at Peace after my Time with Him. He’s the Author and Perfecter of my Faith and He’s the Orchestrator of all Life…from beginning to end and back again. My heart hurts and I feel pain over so many things that I wish I could better understand, but I Serve a Perfect God with a Perfect Master Plan, and even when it doesn’t make sense through my eyes, it makes Perfect Sense through His.

How about you?

Good morning, world. Things are looking pretty good from the front porch of my farm in Virginia today. When I met with the Living God on this last day of January, I confessed to Him that I was already weary of the Winter and that I was already longing for Spring. I confessed to Him that sometimes my Soul is downcast over something as trivial as the weather. I whined a little about needing to see the beauty of His Creation in living color…the brown replaced with green, and the cold replaced with warmth. And right in the middle of my whine session before a Mighty and Merciful God – when He had every right to take me to the Spiritual Woodshed of the Ungrateful – He spun the most beautiful Reminder to me instead, and He taught me a Lesson like only a Father can. At this very second, there are countless miracles and endless details taking place in the “background” to prepare for all those things I’m longing for…every single detail of my Life (and the world around me) is already in place by His Hand, and my Future is already Written even though I can’t see or feel it yet. Now THAT’S something to celebrate on a gloomy-looking winter day!

It can be so easy to want to rush things along sometimes, and it’s even easier to whine about things that we have absolutely no control over if we’re not careful. But the same God who plants the seed of life in a frozen ground to prepare it to sprout in the Spring is the God who already has all of the Details of my life Planned out, too! The same God who plants the seed of Life in the womb of a woman is the same God who already knows all the Details of that new life, AND He knows the final Destiny even before we know to take a pregnancy test. Life doesn’t exist by accident, and it doesn’t thrive by fate. Whether that life is a tree, a bug, or a precious child…the Living God Created it ALL, and He makes no mistakes. Every single intricate Detail of everything in our world was Designed, and will be forever Managed, by the Hand of a Mighty God. What does the God of Wonder think of His children when we find something OR someone to whine about while surrounded by the Majesty of the One who scattered the stars in the sky and Knows them each by name? “What is man that You are mindful of him?” It’s only when we dig below the surface of our selfishness that we learn to die to ourselves and exchange whining for Celebrating a Future we can’t even see yet. This is the Key to Faith.

As surely as I know that Spring will come again soon, I know the Plans He has for me too, even though I can’t see all the Details unfolded yet. I am confident that the daffodils will sprout from the ground one day soon, and I’m confident that I’ll be sitting in the sun in no time at all. I know the trees will bud when the leaves are ready to fill the branches, and I know I’ll see the offspring of nature all around the farm in just a matter of weeks. I am Confident that He knew Precisely when I would be born into this world, and He knows precisely when I’ll leave it. He already knew that I would Love Him and that I’d be a Willing Servant through this Journey of Faith…AND He knew how to Mold me into His Vessel to be used for Eternal things. He already Knows each time I’ll falter and every time I’ve failed, and He already Knows I’ll shout out my Victory Story for all the world to hear after He sees me through the Trial.

Every single Detail of my Life is already in the Works. So, how can I NOT Celebrate what God has in store for me, even though I can’t see or feel it yet?

How about you?

Good morning, world. Things are looking pretty good from the front porch of my farm in Virginia today. They say it is going to be 50° and windy today which should finish off the lingering snow and dry the ground. My God thinks of everything. I had a dream a few nights ago and no matter what I do, I can’t seem to shake the image of what I saw. In this dream, I got out of bed and raised the shade to my bedroom window that faces the barn, and what I saw took my breath away! The snow was deep and there were people for as far as my eyes could see…all of them headed to The Well. They weren’t the usual bright and beautiful faces I see on Sundays, these people were tired, sick, hungry, scared, and broken – each one desperately looking for Hope. In my dream, I didn’t hesitate to get dressed on a cold winter morning and head down to the barn to help those desperate strangers. No doubt some needed food. Some needed shelter. Some needed rest. Some needed love but they ALL needed Jesus and I was just the one to Share Him with them. As I continue to ponder that dream, it has become clear to me that the God of all Creation painted an image of everyday life on this earth. Each one of us is surrounded by tired, sick, hungry, scared, and broken people looking for Hope. What we do with them paints a picture of the Depth and Degree of our Faith. “Whatever you did for the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me”. Isn’t that the way you see the Journey of Faith too?

It can be so easy to look the other way – especially in a world of tight schedules and more distractions than we can shake a stick at, but we miss out on what Jesus has for us (all) when we do. In my dream, when I saw all those faces desperate for Hope, I was immediately overwhelmed with compassion and, to the extent possible, I could FEEL their pain and fear. I didn’t stop to think through anything whatsoever, instead, I rushed to Serve them just the way Jesus would. I didn’t think about the fact that they were all “strangers” – and desperate ones at that – the Bible says, “Do not forget to show hospitality to strangers, for by so doing some people have shown hospitality to angels without knowing it”. I didn’t think about how some of the desperate ones might be “criminals”, instead, I remembered what the Bible says, “Continue to remember those in prison as if you were together with them in prison and those who are mistreated as if you yourselves were suffering”. I didn’t worry about how I would feed them because the Bible says “Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them”. I didn’t have one single fearful (or doubtful) thought, I was Focused on Love instead and I Knew that He brought them here for a Purpose. I Knew in my Spirit that God would Provide for all the physical needs no matter how many people showed up. My “job” was to show them unconditional Love and to tell them about my Jesus and I was confident that He would take care of the rest.

There is no doubt that God uses me (and countless others) to warn the world about the consequences of not following Him and the high stakes of ignoring the needs of the desperate ones. Some people stay clear of me because they get sick of hearing it but as long as the Bible isn’t sick of “saying” it, I won’t be shutting up. Some people roll their eyes when I quote (for the millionth time) “Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.’ “They also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?’ He will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever YOU DID NOT DO for one of the least of these, you DID NOT DO FOR ME.’ Some people laugh in my face and tell me to “lighten up” but that’s never going to happen. Jesus doesn’t want anybody to perish so if my fellow Believers think they won’t have a price to pay for refusing to share the Gospel of Jesus Christ with the dark world or for refusing to “do for the least of these” I’d say they might want to spend a little time in His Word. He will set them straight…hopefully before they hear “Depart from me, I never knew you”.

I’m very grateful for that dream because it served as a reminder to me of my Purpose and what the Living God expects of ALL of His people. The tired, sick, hungry, scared, and broken ones are everywhere but even the churches don’t see them…or they refuse to look. The desperate ones are on every corner…school…office…restaurant…gym…and though their needs vary, the Solution is all the same. They need Jesus. I don’t need to go looking for the desperate ones (nobody does), He’ll bring them to me instead and when He does I can choose to serve them and love them just the way Jesus did OR to ignore them completely and take the chance of hearing “I NEVER KNEW YOU”. The desperate ones may not be lined up here as far as the eye can see and they probably won’t be walking through the snow to get to The Well but one by one I’ll serve them all the same because the One who died for me said, “Whatever you did for the least of these, you did for me” and there’s nothing I wouldn’t do for my Jesus. He died for me…I live for Him.

How about you?

Good morning, world. Things are looking pretty good from the front porch of my farm in Virginia today. The world seems so quiet when the earth is blanketed in snow, as if the world has gone off the radar. You could almost hear a pin drop without all the usual sounds heard on an average day here at the farm. But then again, there is no such thing as an average day in the eyes of the Creator of all. As the Master shed light on the farm this morning, I marveled at the twists and turns of the snow all around me, no doubt about that, but the one thought that wouldn’t leave me on this bitterly cold ice-covered day is all those poor people who have no warmth to turn to. Maybe they are sleeping on the streets – maybe they’re inside, but with inside temperatures being close to what it is outside because they have no heat. It’s 13° at the farm right now, and temperatures are expected to stay low for several more days…and Virginians are whining. We might be challenged by 22 acres of snow covered with inches of ice, and we might even get frustrated when we can’t get it moved out of here as fast as we’d like to, BUT we are very much aware of how blessed we are to be warm and tragic it is for the cold. Isn’t that the way you see your Journey of Faith, too?

It has taken lots and lots of hard lessons in my life to get me to a place of Surrender to the Living God…warm or cold. It’s not so much that I was more confident in myself with the outcome than I was Him it’s just that I was accustomed to taking care of everything and everyone around me, and I didn’t pause long enough to even consider to ask for Help for myself. Every once in a while, God would allow paralyzing Circumstances to come my way, and He must have grown so frustrated with me while He waited for me to Surrender my Circumstances to Him. I am living proof that He is a Compassionate and patient God. He cares about everything in my life. He Knows every hair on my head. He Knows about every tear I ever shed. He Knows the days He has allotted to me, AND HE KNOWS IF I’M WARM OR COLD. I don’t know why some people go hungry and cold and why God doesn’t FIX IT, but I do know that He doesn’t love me more than He loves them, and MAYBE, JUST MAYBE, God scatters the cold and hungry around just to see what the others will do about it. “Whatever you did for the least of these of mine, you did for me”. The question is how many people will remain focused on their own snow shoveling while “the poor among us” freeze to death? The funny thing about dying to yourself and guarding your peace is that once your selfish eyes turn away from your own agenda, YOU SEE THE SUFFERING, and you have no peace until you do what you can to help. Look at God!

For some God-like reason, the patterns of snow reminded me of my darkest hour. If you’re a regular reader of my posts, you know that I OFTEN refer to my darkest hour! Not because I want to savor my suffering but BECAUSE I NEVER want to forget what God has done for me! How much praise is enough praise to God for what He’s done for us? So…I had reached the end of myself. I was completely overwhelmed by my circumstances, and I had lost all hope. The world seemed so dark, and my circumstances seemed irreparable, and I no longer had the strength to put one foot in front of the other. I didn’t want to die – I just didn’t have the strength to live anymore. I was completely and totally broken. I couldn’t pray, and I had no joy. One morning I cried out to the Living God in total despair, and I confessed that I couldn’t go on. Even my body succumbed to my grief as I crumbled to the floor in my brokenness, and it was at that very moment…that time of total despair…the time when my hope and my strength were completely gone that God spoke to me and He taught me a lesson about surrender that changed my life forever. He reminded me that He is my God…the great “I AM”. He assured me that He would deliver me, and He made it very clear that I couldn’t control my circumstances “any more than you can hold back the waves of the sea”. My circumstances didn’t change in that moment, but I sure did. An indescribable weight was supernaturally lifted from me as I considered how ridiculous it was that I was attempting to “hold back the waves of the sea”. I surrendered all in that moment, and that is the secret to my peace.

It might be easy for some people to read these God-inspired morning posts each day and to marvel at my Peace and my Joy, but rest assured, my life isn’t perfect, and I’ve paid a BIG PRICE for my Peace. I guard my Peace like the good Warrior I am, and I don’t allow it to be stolen from me by anybody. Some people think they somehow DESERVE to have it, and some people accuse me of not being a very good Christian because I REFUSE to give away BUT truth be told, the Most High God IS Peace and He’s the ONLY ONE who can pass that along to another.

I’ve learned to surrender, and I go before the Throne of God each morning to seek His Will for me. I don’t have to carry the load anymore, and I don’t attempt to control my circumstances. This is the secret to surrender. I’m letting God be God in my life today, and I have indescribable peace with my imperfect life.

How about you?