Good morning, world. Things are looking pretty good from the front porch of my farm in Virginia today. I stepped out onto the front porch with a cup of coffee in hand just as the sun was beginning to rise and I smiled when I felt the cool temperature on this July morning. The heat has been taking a toll on the earth and the land is thirsting for water. As I looked out at the foggy fields filled with deer eating their breakfast in the wee hours of this new day, I thanked God for the Beauty of the Simple things that bring such Joy to me. We’re all surrounded by Simple things that have the Potential to Fill the Heart with Joy and Gratitude, but not everybody is interested in looking for them because their Hearts are more inclined toward themselves and “feel good” moments. As for me, I’ll take the sound of a bird at sunrise over any concert on the planet, and I’ll take watching deer in the fields over any movie. God Entertains me more than man-made things ever could because I love the Simple things. This morning I spent a little extra time thanking the Living God for all that He is and for that He does for me and for this amazing clear and cool morning in Virginia. The Simple Pleasures make my Heart sing. Isn’t that the way it is in y our Journey of Faith too?

It could be so easy to focus on the bigger battles in life and miss the Simple Pleasures if we aren’t careful, but it’s those simple pleasures that often have the Biggest Impact on the Heart. How can pleasure be measured when we look into the eyes of a child or when we hear them giggle? How can pleasure be measured when we stop the world to focus on conversation with our loved ones or when we break out in a belly laugh as we walk down Memory Lane? How can pleasure be measured when we spend time sharing our Heart with a friend or when we go before the Throne of our God together in prayer? How can pleasure be measured as we consider the birds of the air or the fruit of the fields and we Know that it all comes from Him? How can pleasure be measured when we look at the sky full of stars and we know that God placed them there and that He knows them all by name? How can pleasure be measured when He speaks to us at just the right time for just the right Purpose and He takes us by the right hand to lead us where we’re Called to go? There is no end to Simple Pleasures and no way to measure the joy they bring to the Heart…IF we refuse to overlook them in our search for the “bigger” things.

Some people think the simple things are nonsense and they miss out on the Quality of Life because of it. They need those “wow” moments for them to feel Fulfilled and they’re only impressed by God when He does “Big” things to entertain them. They miss out on the Simple Pleasures. These same people are inclined to search only for those “big” moments found in the Bible and they’ll flip past the pages of those Simple things as if they are unnecessary “fluff” in the Bigger Picture. But there isn’t even one word in His Word that is unnecessary “fluff” and just one Whisper from His Spirit to my Heart is THE BEST (not so) Simple Pleasures in this Journey of Life. My God can part the seas at the sound of His voice. He can make the sun stand still and He can calm the storm. He can declare war and He can bring Peace whenever He wants to. He can heal the sick and raise the dead. He gives AND He takes away. He can do all things and I am in awe of Him. But when He Whispers to my Heart…When His Words come flowing into me and I feel His Spirit Speaking to me…it’s THAT Simple Pleasure that brings me the most pleasure in this Journey called Life. Knowing that He Loves me…that He hears my cries…that He is with me always…that He has a Word for everything I am and for all that I do and that He cares enough to Whisper those Words within my Soul is so beautiful it defies words! I wish everybody could have what I have all because I savor those Simple Things.

I feel sorry for the ones missing out on the Simple things as they let their Time here on earth slip by. Far too many parents refuse to participate in simple things with a child as long as there are smartphones and TVs to entertain them. Far too many people of Faith are sitting out the Game on the bench (aka pew) and they’re missing the pleasure of Selfless Service in His Name cause of it. Some people stay away from churches that serve up Simple music as if a rock band defines the worth of the Church and they’ll miss the Truth in the process of looking to be entertained. Some people refuse to slow down for anyone or anything because chasing success is much more important to them than “chasing” Relationships with God or man. Eventually, the Time runs out for all of us and the opportunity to enjoy the Simple things will come to an End. I wonder if there will be Regrets for the ones who thought of themselves and their entertainment far more important than those “boring” Simple things where the Truest Blessings are Found? Will they hear God say “I gave the gift of a child but you found other things more important than spending time with her?” Will God Remind them that they existed just to glorify Him and not to entertain themselves? I don’t know if they’ll be asked about squandering their lives but the thought of standing before God with excuses is enough to keep me chasing the Simple things of my Faith.

How about you?

Good morning, world. Things are looking pretty good from the front porch of my farm in Virginia today. To kick off this new day of a new week, I sat waiting to feel the Presence of the Lord but I can’t say that I actually did. I know my Omnipresent Lord is always with me but I wanted to “feel” Him this morning. I praised Him. I exalted Him. I thanked Him and I made a few requests – but I didn’t “feel” anything in return. When I didn’t “feel” anything I set out to examine my Heart to see if there was any reason within me for the silence. The last thing I want is for something within me to hinder my Relationship with Him, so that’s ALWAYS the first stop. I found a few things that I needed to Adjust and I asked for His Forgiveness and I felt uplifted even though He was “silent.” Some might wonder why I try so hard sometimes, but that’s because He’s my everything and I’m desperate for Him. The words of the Psalmist define my heart far better than I can “As a deer pants for the water brooks, so my soul pants for Thee, O God.” Isn’t that the way it is in your Journey of Faith too?

It can be so easy to gauge anything in life by what we feel or don’t feel, but a Quality Life isn’t measured by warm and fuzzy feelings. We don’t exist to be entertained and we won’t always have warm fuzzy feelings. Everything in life has a season of silence – from work to relationships to time with Living God. When we don’t “feel” excited, or successful, or loved, or appreciated, or anything else we often point to someone or something else for the reason why. Silence isn’t always a bad thing, but when things are silent the FIRST STEP should be to examine ourselves to see if there is anything within us that is hindering the “feelings.” That’s not taking the blame for every season of silence – it’s doing our part to find the Truth. As long as we insist on placing blame for how we feel or don’t feel we never mature and we lose much more than we gain. I don’t know why I didn’t “feel” anything from my God this morning, but I DO KNOW that the most important thing for me is to be sure that I’m NOT the reason why. After that, I continue to do my part and I NEVER read into what I feel while I wait patiently for Him.

I’ll be doing lots of things in His Name today but the most important thing isn’t necessarily what to do with my hands – it’s the Condition of my Heart while I Serve Him. If I don’t “feel” from someone else, the first stop will be for me to examine myself before I ever turn to them for the cause. I’m desperate for my God and Pleasing Him is my Biggest Priority. If I have that part right, everything else just falls into place “feelings” and all.

How about you?

Good morning, world. Things are looking pretty good from the front porch of my farm in Virginia today. It rained last night and everything went from patchy and parched to green and beautiful after just a little nourishment from Heaven. As I sat in His Presence and contemplated this new day, He kept taking me back to what Nourishment from Heaven can do to a parched people too. We can do absolutely nothing to bring the rain when we need it, but we can approach the Living God for Nourishment from Heaven any time we feel parched. His Word says “As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, my God” and this morning I thought about what a deer is like when it feels parched. It doesn’t just think about it, talk about it, or whine about it, as people do. Instead, it sets out to find water to quench its thirst and doesn’t rest until it finds it. Oh, that our soul would pant for the Living God and not give up until we find our way into His presence for Nourishment each day too!

What is it about the heart of man that makes the Journey of Faith so hard? It’s not an easy thing to comprehend that people (even God’s people) would rather wander around in the desert dying of thirst than they would to seek His face in their time of need. They will compare their lives to the lives of others and wonder why God is “better” to someone else than He is to them. They’ll come up with excuse after excuse for why they’re parched in the first place, and none of them have anything to do with God. Despite their circumstances, they refuse to turn to Hope. They refuse to admit that they need Jesus. They refuse to accept that there is no good thing apart from Him. They thirst, but not for Him. There is a never-ending flow of Living Water for anyone who wants it BUT many would rather remain parched than admit they need Nourishment from God at all. When the SOUL thirsts for God it’s relentless and, just like our furry friends, it doesn’t stop until it finds the Source of Nourishment when feeling parched.

It’s not easy to comprehend why people don’t turn to God when they’re feeling parched BUT it’s a piece of cake to understand what’s behind it. The same liar from the Garden of Eden who successfully convinced Adam and Eve that they would have everything they need WITHOUT God is the same liar working on Hearts today! He whispers, and as long as you listen you’ll remain parched in the desert. He convinces you to worry about what people think. He convinces you that you can handle things on your own. He’ll even convince you that God doesn’t love you! He can pull the trigger on fear and have you hiding under the bed. He convinces you that surrendering to God is weakness in order to keep you from finding your Strength. He’ll keep you wandering around parched all the days of your life UNLESS your soul begins to pant for Living Water. Seek His Face and watch the miracles flow through your life! God looks for humility; the kind of humility that easily confesses a thirst for Himself. That’s the Key to Spiritual Growth!

We have mastered an intellectualized Faith and we’ve whitewashed the Truth long enough so allow me to simplify it the Big Picture. There is Good and there is evil and nothing in between. You’re either FOR God or you’re against Him. You’re either a friend of God or you’re an enemy. You either thirst for Him OR you’ll fall subject to your adversary. There is a real Heaven and a real Hell and no middle ground whatsoever. Christ died for all but not all find their way to Heaven. There is a Day coming when every knee shall bow and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord. If I were you, I’d start seeking His Face so your Soul begins to thirst for Him before it’s too late. The only thing standing between you being eternally parched and having Eternal Noursishment is Humility.

Be like the deer.

Good morning, world. Things are looking pretty good from the front porch of my farm in Virginia today. I enjoyed the morning on the front porch before the heat rises for another scorcher day and I gave thanks for it all even though I don’t like the heat. I’m not sure what purpose there is for those scorching temperatures or why God turns up the heat, but I love Him, so I Surrender to all that He is and all that He does without question… especially to those things I don’t particularly like OR understand. The Living God has every “right” to Demand that I Surrender to Him, but it doesn’t work that way. Instead, He Loves me and gives me free will. He wants me to Surrender to Him on my own and not because He says so, but because I love Him. Pleasing Him is my biggest Priority in Life. Isn’t that the way it is for you too?

It’s amazing to see how people react when it comes to being willing to surrender to almost anything in life because they see it as a sign of weakness instead of a place of Strength. We don’t like to surrender to authority when we push the speed limit up to where we think it should be instead of where authority says it is -but God says to obey the laws of the land. We don’t like to surrender to political leaders – but God ordains them all and He tells us to pray for each one. We don’t think it’s necessary to surrender in any relationship whatsoever because having “equality” is more important from where we sit- but God says to love one another more than ourselves and to put their needs above our own. Kids sometimes don’t want to surrender to their parents – but God says to honor them. Employees don’t want to surrender to the boss – but God says to respect and obey them. Then there’s surrendering our PRIDE to extend Forgiveness to people WE don’t believe deserve it. Why would we do that? Because He commands us to. If we want Forgiveness from Him, we’ll surrender our pride to forgive others too. There’s no end to the things we thumb our noses at because we refuse to surrender…including the Living God. But Surrender to God is a Beautiful thing and it’s only rooted in Love. It’s when we humbly Surrender to a Mighty God because we LOVE Him, that we “unleash” His Power in our lives! No, there’s nothing “wussie” about Surrender…it’s where the Strength is found!

It took a lot of trials and tributlation to Tenderize my Heart and it took years for me to Surrender my own will to His Will instead. I recognize a rebellious spirit when I see it…the one that refuses to surrender to anything in life at all…from the law to love, and we’re seeing that a lot these days. Some people cheer those rebels on because they admire their determination to have their own way, but not me…I pray for them instead. God gives me Free Will to “do it my way” but I’ve tried that, and I KNOW that His way is the ONLY way. I KNOW the Peace and the Power that comes through Surrender and I wish they could have what I have. I’m bold…I’m a Warrior…I’m a threat to my enemy…I’m unstoppable…I’m unshakable…I’m Victorious…ALL BECAUSE I Surrendered to the Will of an Amazing God…by my OWN free will…out of Love…and never out of weakness.

How about you?

Good morning. world. Things are looking pretty good from the front porch of my farm in Virginia today. I found my way to the front porch a little later than usual and as I lingered to savor my time with Him, the air was hot and the sun was blinding. There was no moving away from the glare and no relief from the sun even with ceiling fans and sunglasses. The brightness of the morning sun outshined everything else around me and pretty soon it was all I could see. I was powerless to dim it, so I surrendered to its beauty instead. God used the warm air and bright sun of this new day to paint a Picture of how that’s the way it should be in the Journey of Life too. The consuming Fire of my God should be so bright that I can’t see anything else – and the Light of my Faith should be so powerful that this lost world can’t miss it in me when I pass by. Isn’t that just the way it is with Faith?

The Consuming Fire of the Living God should be impossible not to see in my Life. Without speaking a word, the lost world should be able to see my Joy, Peace, my Love, just by being in my presence. That’s not something I can force into being, that’s something that happens naturally when the God of all Creation is all you can see and you’re Blinded by His Love. When He’s all we can see we no longer focus on the things of this dark world, and we don’t spend our time or energy trying to right the wrongs that are out of our control. Instead, we remain blinded by His Light and we do a little blinding of our own in the Process. Just like the blazing sun in the morning sky, the Consuming Fire can’t be avoided when we’re in His Presence, and absolutely nothing can snuff it out. The dark world should see the Consuming Fire in me as it outshines the world around me and it illuminates the pathway to Truth. The peace that “surpasses all understanding” within me should outshine everything else around me too. When you’re in my presence, you should recognize immediately that I’m not your average person even without me speaking a word. When you’re in my presence you should be able to recognize that there is something profoundly different about me – and you’ll KNOW that I’m at peace with a world that appears to be falling apart. You should be drawn to me like a moth drawn to light because of the Consuming Fire in my soul, the warmth of my Heart, and the blinding Light that is all over my Journey of Life. Isn’t that what Faith is supposed to look like?

The words I speak should be like the language of the Son…bold, bright, and beautifully blinding. When I do my Part to keep the Consuming Fire of God burning in my Life, you’ll see Supernatural Beauty that has nothing to do with outward appearances – and the words that flow through me will be overwhelmingly Kind, Gentle, Loving, and Compassionate. The Characteristics that come by way of that kind of Consuming Fire are like an Open Invitation to a hurting world. Hurting people with “dark secrets” will know that they’re safe with me. Sad people who believe they’ve lost their hope will know that I have a Solution. Angry people ready to lash out at the world will be calmed. People who have been sleeping through their Journey of Life will be awakened. Wicked people will be disarmed. The ones being judged by this dark world won’t find judgment with me, and the ones longing for love will find it with me. The language of the Son is Perfect and it’s filled with the Wise Words any time I need them…all because of the Consuming Fire I keep kindled in my Life. When we’re blinded by His Light it’s impossible to be “lost for words” – He says “the Holy Spirit will give you the right words when you need them” and THOSE WORDS are a reflection of the Perfect Balance for the Journey of Life…never judgmental…never too harsh…never words that would risk blinding the other with Truth before I impact them with Love…” the greatest of these is love.” Isn’t that the way Faith is supposed to sound like?

I’m refreshed and revived for this new day and my Heart is Consumed by His Fire. The God of all Creation used the blinding morning sun to quicken my Heart and Reinforce the Significance of my existence in this Journey called Life. The dark world will see His Fire IN ME and it will hear about Him THROUGH me…all because of Him and that beautiful Consuming Fire that is there for us ALL if we seek it. I have everything I need to be a beautiful Blinding Light in a dark world…and I have a willing Heart to share. My Light can’t be dimmed.

How about you?

Good morning, world. Things are looking pretty good from the front porch of my farm in Virginia today. I was awake most of the night last night and it seemed like forever before the sun came up. At first, the sky slowly got brighter as if God was using a dimmer switch to light it up and then FINALLY, the sun could be seen on the horizon. It was a beautiful shade of orange but it wasn’t your average sunrise. It looked a little mysterious “peeking” through the trees and for some reason, it couldn’t be captured on camera like it usually can be. As I sat in the presence of a Mighty God to pour out my Love and my Thanks, I thought about how nature is a lot like Life. There is a mystery to the Journey and we can’t predict what the future holds. We can’t control every turn. We can’t Comprehend the Plans of God. But when the Right Heart meets with Determination to embrace the Journey, we can find the beauty in the mystery just as surely as we find it in a photograph at sunrise. Isn’t that the way you look at Life too?

One of the Greatest Mysteries of all time is Faith. Some accept it – some don’t. Some “buy in” to every Truth between the pages of the Bible while some believe it’s nonsense. Some have a relationship with the Living God and they search for the Truth all on their own while some rely solely on a “man of the cloth” to lead the way. Some surrender every aspect of Life over to the God they Trust, while some consider that weakness as they attempt to steer their own ship. I don’t completely understand it, but I know that when we come to our Faith with a humble Heart the ways of God aren’t mysterious to us at all…we just accept them! No scholar on the planet could change my mind and no science can refute what I Believe. God formed the earth in 7 days. Jonah was swallowed up in the belly of a big fish. Moses used his staff to part the sea. Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead. The sun stood still at God’s command. The earth once flooded destroying everything on it. Jesus died for my sins and He was resurrected from the grave. I believe it all! “Faith is being sure of what we hope for. It is being certain of what we do not see.”

I am blessed to have a wonderful family; the love that flows through it is almost tangible. I raised my kids on my own and we still laugh about some of the silly things I told them when they were young. Truth be told, I could have told them anything and they would have believed me. They trusted me. They loved me. They depended on me. They respected me. We had plenty of ups and downs but they never doubted me in the process because they knew I would never leave them and they knew I’d do what’s best for us all. No doubt I flew by the seat of my pants sometimes and I made plenty of mistakes – but when it came to raising my kids I had ONE goal…to be a Reflection of the One I wanted them to Follow. I was absolutely sure that if they could see the Unconditional love of Christ in me, they’d learn to Trust Him too. They witnessed my Faith day in and day out. They saw my Love for Him in every part of our lives. They experienced my Unconditional love no matter what, and “tough love” wasn’t in my vocabulary. I met each offense with Christ-like gentleness and I didn’t rub past offenses in their face as a reminder of their rebellion because Christ doesn’t do that with me! They watched me depend on Him when I couldn’t see the future. They knew I Respected His Word and His Will ESPECIALLY when Life looked as mysterious as the morning sun. I took the mystery out of Faith by walking it out in Living Color and today they’re doing the same thing. My ONE goal for my family will be paying off for generations to come!

There’s plenty of mystery to this Journey called Life and sometimes we feel uncertain about the future because of what we see with our eyes. But there’s really no mystery when it comes to God. He’s the same yesterday, today, and forevermore” and He is Trust WORTHY. Some of us Believe every single thing we Read in the Bible and we Trust Him through it all. We love Him. We depend on Him. We respect Him. Our Faith is unshakable and our Belief unquestionable … and it’s such a mystery to a lost world. All the more reason to “peek” through the trees and Shine like the Stars…if the lost world can see the Unconditional Love of Christ in us, they might learn to Trust Him too!

How about you?

“Have you ever given orders to the morning,
    or shown the dawn its place,
that it might take the earth by the edges
    and shake the wicked out of it? Job 38:12-13

Good morning, world. Things are looking pretty good from the front porch of my farm in Virginia today. The Master woke up the world this morning with the gentleness of a lamb and I heard the world around me respond to Him with joy. I can’t help but think that God smiles when He hears His creation making joyful noises each morning, and I like to think that He smiles when I meet with Him and make a Joyful noise of my own. More than those little prayers I whisper throughout the day and more than the song I’ll randomly sing about the King, are the quiet moments when it’s just me and God. Isn’t that the way it’s supposed to be?

It’s an amazing thing when you think about it; I get to meet with the Living God, the King of all kings, the Great “I AM”, the Alpha and Omega, the Prince of Peace, the Bright Morning Star, the Creator of all life, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the God who breathed life into me, the God who bought my redemption with the life of His only Son, any time I want to. In fact, He longs for me with Him! He’s never too busy for me and He hears me when I speak. He loves me when I’m weak and He loves me when I’m strong and there is nothing He won’t forgive me of and no limit to His protection. He knit me together in my mother’s womb. He knows every hair on my head, my prayers are like incense in Heaven to Him and He stores all of my tears in a jar. With all this in mind, why in the world would I NOT take the time to meet with Him each day just to tell Him how I love Him?

It’s sad how some people meet with God out of guilt or some sort of sense of obligation. It’s sad how some people meet with God with a checklist of scriptures and a well-planned agenda. It’s sad how some people set a timer to be sure that God-time doesn’t interfere with their personal schedule. It’s sad how some people think that “meeting with God” in a church building on a Sunday morning should be sufficient. It’s sad that some people never meet with God at all and their “relationship” is confined to an S.O.S. should they ever need anything. I wouldn’t want anybody I care about treating time with me that way…giving me so little attention and so little heart…why would God be happy being treated that way either?

I’m an imperfect woman living an imperfect life BUT I serve the God of Perfection with everything I’ve got to give. As for me, I like to nurture the most important Relationship in my Life as often as I can, and I like to spend time with my God to surrender each new day to Him. He is WORTHY!

How about you?

Good morning, world. Things are looking pretty good from the front porch of my farm in Virginia today. I love beginning a new day outside on the porch because God always has a surprise for me. This morning, it was these twins that felt safe enough to approach the front porch the same way I feel safe enough to approach the Throne of the God of all Creation. Looking out across the fields, I thought about how even though they change with the seasons and they’re graced with something “new” each day…the fields are still the fields. I know what things will look like from the front porch in each season, but there’s always something…some sort of God surprise that makes each day a little different than all the others. God used this simple observation to remind me to look below the surface of the fields of this crazy world of ours…one that is changing for the worse at lightning speed…not just for the Wisdom to see things the way He sees them, but to clarify my Marching Orders to do His Will before it’s too late. A New Day is coming soon and it’s the Season to share the Good News like never before. Mine is a Voice to be heard. Is yours?

It’s amazing how most people think the world has changed abruptly but the world has been spiraling downward for a very long time. Plenty of people blame the changes on politicians or other people in “power”, but politics and powerful people are just the distraction our adversary uses to win, and because we’re distracted and deceived…things just keep spiraling down. Fifty years ago we gave the green light to murder babies in the womb – one of the most savage acts known to mankind. The mere thought of that should have driven every Christian in America to the streets in protest…but the church slept instead. It’s been fifty years since prayer in schools was labeled “unconstitutional” in the “One Nation under God”. That should have been enough to drive every Christian in America to the streets to defend our God and our rights…but the church slept instead. Sexual immorality and perversion have become the norm and we’ve surrendered to “accepting” unspeakable things…things considered to be vile in the eyes of God. Just the hint of legal measures being put in place to protect the rights of things that mock the Hand of the Creator should have driven every Christian in America to the streets in protest to defend what we know is Truth….but the church slept instead. America isn’t the problem…the Church is the “problem” as it sleeps away these last days and refuses to stand up for Truth…despite the cost.

The Bible warns us about the condition of the Church in the book of Revelation. The church of Ephesus had lost its first love – God was no longer front and center. The church of Pergamos was a compromising church – doctrine was twisted to fit their own desires. The church of Thyatira was an adulterous church – immorality was acceptable. The church of Sardis was the dead church. The church of Laodicea was lukewarm…they were neither hot nor cold…”I’m about to spit you out of my mouth” – they were financially wealthy but spiritually deprived. If you look closely you’ll find these flaws in the Church today in one degree or another, and if you look closely at the condition of our world you’ll see that the problem isn’t with this dark world, the problem is that the Church is asleep. As long as God’s people insist on riding things out from their spiritual recliners, you can’t expect God to “heal” our land.

Many professed Christians lean on 2 Chronicles 7:14 for their hope – “If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land….but it ALL begins with humility. The kind of humility that seeks the Truth. The kind of Humility that accepts responsibility. The kind of humility it takes to repent of our own “wicked ways” instead of spending our time highlighting the wicked ways of the world. We’ll know when Humility has hit God’s people when they stop blaming the world and everything in it for our problems and they begin to Repent for what they did and didn’t do that got us here. It’s time to stop quoting the Scripture of hope and to start living it out instead. Just sayin’.

I spent my time in the Presence of the Most High God this morning and I’ve been Strengthened and Readied for His Work. I’m a Voice for the Living God and I don’t think He’ll be silencing me any time soon because my Heart desires to Please Him. My Instructions (and yours) have been clearly defined and written in black and white. I have my Marching Orders and my Purpose has been Defined by the Hand of God. The King is coming and this dark world needs the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ more than ever. My tongue that praises Him is not going to spit out insults against this dark world and the people in it because I have one enemy behind ALL the mess and I fight him with spiritual weapons and not insults. You won’t find me sleeping, I’ve got too much Work to do! You won’t find me settling because I serve a God that doesn’t Compromise Truth. You won’t find me afraid of this world because my God HAS NOT given me a spirit of fear. You won’t watch me weaken because “I can do ALL things through Christ who gives me strength.” I was born for such a time as this and I’m Readied for battle each time I Meet with my Master. I’m a Voice to be heard, a Spiritual force to be reckoned with, I’m a Willing Vessel and an Ambassador for Jesus Christ.

How about you?

Good morning, world. Things are looking pretty good from the front porch of my farm in Virginia today. It’s a new day of a new week and I can’t think of a more important way to spend my Time than in the Presence of the One who died for me…the One who gives me life! It’s in His Presence that I find my Peace and I Receive my Instruction for this Journey called Life so, the way I see it, I can’t afford NOT to be still and listen for Him. There are plenty of things that I could be doing in the first few hours of any new day, but His Word says to “be still and know that I am God” and it’s that “still” part that feeds my soul the most. More than Christian music playing in the background or a long walk to commune with His creation, it’s when we’re “still” that He is able to drive a Message home and it’s when we’re “still” that He can Speak to the Heart with no outward distractions at all. So…” still” I am day after day. Isn’t that the way you spend your morning too?

It’s interesting to hear how some people define their “quiet time” with God. Some people have a Bible reading plan to help them stay on track to read the entire Bible from start to finish. Some people put on Christian music while they prepare breakfast for the family. Some people read a page or two from a devotional written by someone else that had been “still” before God. Some people work on homework for a Bible study they’ve committed to. Some people read a chapter or two from a book written by a Christian author. Some will tune in to a pastor’s message on TV or the Internet. Some people will multi-task by listening to a spiritual message through their earbuds while working at the gym or taking their morning walk or running. Some will pray on their way to work or they’ll insert a CD to listen to a spiritual message along the way. There’s nothing wrong with any of these things because each one is an effort to fill the mind and the soul with Good things. But none of these things leave room to “be still” before the Living God, and none of them allow for those miraculous moments when God unexpectedly “shows up” in the quiet. Although God is always with us, and I’m sure He likes to see some of those steps we take to fill our world with Him, I think He likes it best when everything else in the world is set aside and tuned out and He gets some serious one-on-one time with His child. We can study until we turn blue, but the Relationship is built by spending quality time with the King of all kings. For me it’s in the early hours of each new day…just me and my God, before my day has a chance to distract me.

It’s not easy to shut off the mind or to shut out the world because life overflows with distractions. It’s much easier to push the snooze button on the alarm clock a few more times than it is to get up earlier in the morning to make time for God, and it’s not easy to push the “pause” button on our to-do list so that we can “be still” in His Presence. For some people, it’s not easy to be in the quiet at all and they avoid shutting down the world for the Living God because of it. Some of them can’t stand to be still and some are afraid of what God may say to them in the quiet…ouch. There are others that claim that they don’t need a focused time to meet with God because they “talk to Him all day long”…they have no desire for the “still” time at all. Some people praise technology that allows them to tap the Bible App anytime and anywhere they want to. Because they have 24/7 access in a fast-paced world, they don’t understand why anybody would waste time being “still” before God when they can “tap into” Him anytime they feel like it. For them, He’s just an app away! How did it come to be that we’ve become more obsessed with how much we can get done in a 24-hour period that we’ve lost the importance of relationships? If parents and partners so willingly trade quality time with their own loved ones for whatever tickles their own fancy, I guess it shouldn’t be surprising that they see being still in the presence of a Mighty God as unnecessary nonsense too.

I’ve got a list of things to do a mile long and I’m (at least) as busy as the next guy, BUT before I get busy on this new day, I get “still” and in those “still” moments nothing else and no one else even hits my radar screen…it’s just me and my God. He gets the first of me and the best of me and the one-on-one time that He tells me I need in order to live the Life He wants me to live.

How about you?