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By The Grace of God, I am What I am…

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Good morning, world. Things are looking pretty good from the front porch of my farm in Virginia today. It’s cold and a little windy, and the sky is filled with snowflakes, reminding me that winter is here and Christmas is just around the corner. If it were up to me, I’d open the floodgates of Heaven, and I’d bury the farm knee deep in snow because that’s a beautiful sight to see from where I sit. As I was giving my Praise and my Thanks to the God of the snowflakes, I thought about how just one little change could bring forth a totally different outcome…for the weather and for my Life too. There’s absolutely nothing I can do to change the outward circumstances like the rain or the snow or the state of the world, but changing the inward…changing ME…is well within my control with the help of the Living God. “By the grace of God, I am what I am.” Isn’t that the way you see your life, too?

It can be so easy for some people of Faith to get caught up in the outward things, but they open themselves up to a totally different outcome when they do. Some people are more focused on the condition of the world than they are on the One Who Created it, and they fight against the Master Plan in the process. That “one little change” will rob us of Peace as we determine to fill ourselves up with worldly things we cannot understand. Some people obsess over things like not having enough money or not having a fit body, and some obsess over their outward appearance as if God made a mistake when He knit them together. But God holds the world in the palm of His hands, and He NEVER makes a mistake. That “one little change” is the difference between living a Life overflowing with Gratitude – “by the grace of God, I am what I am” or living a life filled with criticism over the work of the Master’s Hands. It’s when we focus on the inward…the things we CAN control…that life overflows with Beauty from the inside out and everything else falls into place with Perfection. Living with the Inside out is the Key to Peace and Joy.

That one little change…” By the grace of God, I am what I am” is a way of giving Praise and Thanks to the God OF all FOR all. By the grace of God, I am His child, and by His Grace, I accepted Jesus Christ as Lord. By the grace of God, I have a sound mind and a good Heart, and by His grace, I have control over what I do with both of them. By the grace of God, I’ve lived a turbulent life that came with lots of Lessons, and by His grace, I share the Wisdom I gained through the turbulence with the world. By the grace of God, I had the strength to raise up a godly generation…and the Wisdom I asked for every day…and it’s by His grace I now live to see the legacy of my Faith in my grandchildren. It’s by His grace that I am healthy and strong and that I’ve been given a Voice to share Him with the world. It’s by His grace I found humility…the kind of humility that recognizes that “there is no good thing in me apart from Him.” By His grace, I will finish the race like the Champion He created me to be, and by His grace, I will spend all of Eternity with Him.

Today I won’t lose sight of the fact that “By the grace of God, I am what I am,” and I’ll be thanking Him all day long, no matter what, because of it. The Bible says, “I am confident of this, that He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus,” so I’ll let Him keep doing that “good work in me” and I’ll do my part to be found worthy on “the day of Christ Jesus.” None of that is possible unless I focus on the INSIDE out instead of those outside things I have absolutely no control over. I’ll let the Master take care of the world, and I’ll keep reminding myself that it’s ONLY by his grace that I am what I am.

How about you?

Is Compassion a Seasonal Thing to You?

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Good morning, world. Things are looking pretty good from the front porch of my farm in Virginia today. I met with the Living God from inside this morning with a hot cup of coffee and a warm Heart ready to learn. This time of year, most of the leaves have fallen to the ground, and if not for the beauty of the sunrise and a few flags, there would be no color at all. As I sat in silence in the Presence of a Mighty God, I thought about how finding the “color” in Life is a choice and how so many people “opt out” in search of other things that make them happy in a different kind of way. As surely as I search for color in the winter sky, I search for Color in my Journey of Life too…those Beautiful opportunities to be used by the King of all kings that get missed by so many. “Color” is the Source of my Strength and the Joy in my Journey, and it’s a choice whether I look for it or not. If I CHOOSE to focus more on the world around me than I do on the Color, I’d be in hibernation for the winter, and my Life would have NO IMPACT on the dark world at all. Isn’t that the way you look at the God-given Color of your Life, too?

We’re gearing up for Thanksgiving in a few days, and Christmas is just around the corner, so there are LOTS of people looking for opportunities to serve the “less fortunate”…as if the “less fortunate” only need help at “special times”. It’s always a good thing to extend a kind hand for holidays, but I can’t help but wonder WHERE IS ALL THAT COMPASSION the other 363 days of the year?

Not too long ago, I read about a woman who is “so sad” because she knows of someone FROM HER CHURCH who had recently become homeless, and now “it’s getting cold outside.” She took the time to share her “heartbreak” on social media, and she even made a few phone calls to OTHER CHURCHES and shelters in her area looking for help. Every place she called, pointed to someone/somewhere else that might be able to fix the “problem,” – but so far she had found no solution. She commented on how “sad it is that nobody is willing to help.” But what about HER being willing to help? Plenty of people who would do what she’s doing…willing to make a few phone calls as a cry for help on behalf of someone else, BUT very few are willing to accept the Opportunity to add Color all on their own by stepping up to help someone in need…because that’s what Jesus would do. When Opportunity knocks…it’s time for Color, not cop-out!

Jesus said, “Whatever you do for the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you do for me.” I wonder…would we just make a few phone calls for Jesus, too, OR would we actually take Him into our home to get Him out of the cold? Would we scurry around looking for someone else to help Jesus so that we wouldn’t suffer the inconvenience ourselves, OR would we roll up our sleeves and get busy blessing Him? Would we stay away because He didn’t smell good or look good OR would we see Him in Living Color the way He sees us? Would we tell Jesus to “get a job” or tell Him that he’s getting “what He deserves” based on poor choices…and would we leave Him outside to teach him a good “tough love” lesson? Would we look for a few pieces of used clothing we can live without, or would we buy Him a NEW coat of his own? Would we point Him to a soup kitchen or look to the government to feed Him (the way most churches do today?), OR would we prepare a feast fit for a King in our own home? Would we protect the holiday table prepared exclusively for our own people, or would we make room for Him at the Head of the table instead? One “sad” woman looking for somebody else to help…one cold, homeless “friend” looking for a miracle…is one HUGE opportunity to Serve the King of all kings in Living Color. “Whatever you do for the least of these of mine, you do for me.” Color makes all the difference in this Journey of Faith.

I’m looking for the Color in this Journey of Life today, and my Heart is ready to Share. I’m an Ambassador for the King of all kings ALL YEAR LONG, and if He ORDAINS an opportunity for me to bless “the least of these brothers and sisters of mine,” I know it’s a chance to Serve HIM! I’ve been accused of being a hypocrite a few times in my life when I didn’t jump on the opportunity to open up my home the way someone thought I should (“Take my kid” – “Take my Mom” – “Take me”). But I don’t take my lead from man, I take my lead from the Living God, and when GOD calls for me to help, I help. When He tells me to “go”, I go. When He tells me to “stop”, I stop. His Word tells me to “acknowledge Him in all my ways, and HE WILL DIRECT my path,” and He does. He’s a promise keeper! Hypocrite? Not on your life!

I’ve been guarding the Peace around this old farm for a very long time because it truly is Holy Ground and God really does move mountains here. So, I’m on Call all year long, and my Life…my home…my Heart makes room whenever God brings the Opportunity and calls for ME to add the Color. Today, my home has expanded to include a few more people who call this old farm “home,” and there will be some extra smiling faces around the Thanksgiving table to add some Color of their own. How can one Colorful woman be more blessed?

How about you?

When The King Comes Calling…

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Good morning, world. Things are looking pretty good from the front porch of my farm in Virginia today. Every day brings us one step closer to winter, and nature is responding to the cool air and strong winds that are a part of fall in Virginia. It’s how we face each Season of life that determines our joy and contentment. I embrace each Season with the anticipation of a child. I met with the Living God inside, where it’s warm, and I could see the “work” the wind has been doing lately from out the window. One minute, the ground around the front porch is covered in leaves, and the next minute God has blown them away like a Heavenly leaf blower! God uses the wind to prune the limbs in God-style, and we have plenty of kindling for the fire because of it. When the wind howls, the leaves spin like cyclones. Most of the leaves have already hit the ground, but there are still some “stubborn” ones that don’t want to let go as if they’re hanging on for dear life. That simple observation reminded me of how that’s precisely the way God deals with people, too. Sometimes He’ll “come through” and shake things up for a Purpose, and when He does, some people scatter in all directions, some of them fall to the ground, and then there’s always a few that will hang on no matter what. Isn’t that the way you see the Journey of Faith, too?

It’s not an easy world we live in these days, and God is shaking things up for His Purpose. So many of His people are caught up in the wind; some are scattered in every direction, some have already given up and fallen to the ground, and some are hanging onto things of this world as they hate their way to the end. Though we’re warned that we’ll “hear of wars and rumors of wars,” even His people are shocked when they do. Though we’re warned that in the last days “they will be divided, father against son and son against father, mother against daughter and daughter against mother,” even His people are shocked when they are. Though we’re told “they will hate you because of me,” even His people are shocked when they are…before they rush off to judge the Faith of another without blinking an eye. I’m not sure if His people are clueless about the Truth or if they love things of this world so much they can’t see the Spiritual Purpose behind all the things we’re suffering through today. Either way, God Almighty is shaking things up and some are scattered in every direction, some have already given up and fallen to the ground, and some are holding onto the world so tight they’ve lost sight of what is still to come…the KING is coming. When you keep the Cross and the King front and center in Life, it’s not possible to scatter around in every direction OR to fall to the ground in defeat…and clinging to the world is never a temptation because of it.

I don’t have all the answers, but I DO know that what we see today has already been Breathed into Black and White by God Almighty Himself, and although I’m pained to see what’s going on around me, I’m not surprised at all. There’s not a news headline on the planet that can come as a surprise to me when I consider how I’ve already been warned. God is shaking things up for His Purpose, and lots and lots of “His people” have gotten caught up in the process. There will be wars! There will be turmoil and hate EVEN within the family! The world will hate because of Him…and a whole lot more pain and suffering is yet to come. But that’s not what to focus on at all!!! Because “in the last days, God says, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your young men will see visions, your old men will dream dreams.” The question is, how can His Spirit be poured out in you as long as you’re scattered around in every direction, on the ground in defeat, or so focused on this lost world?”. The King is coming…ready or not.

The world and everything in it is pretty scary if that’s what you choose to focus on. But the world isn’t my home…I’m here on Temporary Assignment and I’m just passing through… so I’m not nearly as concerned about all the turmoil around me as I am about where I’m Headed. I’d rather spend my time and energy sharing the Truth than debating the politics, and you can’t miss Him in me, no matter where I am or who I’m with. I know “the rest of the story” and I know how the Story ends – I know the “signs” of His coming – I know there will be calamity beforehand – I know people will hate me because of Him – But I also know that One Day that Trumpet will sound to let me know that He’s coming for me and when it does, I won’t be found scattered in every direction, I won’t be found on the ground in defeat, and I won’t be so focused on the things of this world that I didn’t “see” the Time coming. Instead, I’ll spend as much time as I possibly can to be sure that everybody in my path knows the Truth too, so that they aren’t scattered, fallen, or misled. Not just the lost ones that have never Heard the Truth, but His people too – the ones that should be clinging to the Truth and Sharing it as much as they can too…and yet they’re scared, scattered, fallen, and blind.

Look out, world, the King is coming…ready or not!

Are you ready?

Are You Looking With Heavenly Perspective?

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Good morning, world. Things are looking pretty good from the front porch of my farm in Virginia today. It’s cool and breezy this morning, and apart from the deer grazing in the field, everything is fairly quiet and still at the farm today. As I entered His Presence to give my Praise and my thanks, I became distracted by the idea of quiet and still. It was as if my soul was being issued a Warning – a warning about what sometimes lurks behind the quiet and still! As peaceful as the setting is from the front porch at the farm, it’s not that way with the world. No doubt Heavenly Happenings are beyond our ability to Understand on this side of Life, but I know a few things for sure – I Know that God is at Work…I Know that this world is in a place it’s never been before, AND I Know that I was born for such a time as this! So, the Lord of Hosts issued a Reminder to me this morning – a Firm Reminder for me not to become obsessed over trying to make the world quiet and still, but to Live with Heavenly things in mind instead. Isn’t that the way you see it, too?

If only we would spend more time savoring the Word of God instead of obsessing over words coming through the news feeds, we’d see the world from a Heavenly Perspective, and we’d stop being anxious about anything. We wouldn’t be surprised by what we see with our eyes. We wouldn’t be surprised by pestilence. We wouldn’t be surprised by sexual immorality. We wouldn’t be surprised that children are being used and abused. We wouldn’t be surprised by war. We wouldn’t be surprised by the election results, and we wouldn’t whine about who God has allowed to rule. We wouldn’t be surprised to know the world hates us because of Him. We wouldn’t be fearful of the unknown. We wouldn’t gauge the spiritual condition of the world based on “quiet and still”. We would know better than to hold court with the dark world, and we wouldn’t try to speak FOR God things too mysterious for us to understand on this side of Heaven. If only we would Focus more on His Will instead of our own desires, we’d not only have the kind of “Peace that surpasses all understanding” but we’d have souls on Fire because of it. When we Focus on His Will more than anything else, we Accept the fact that He’s up to something big, and we feel Blessed just to be a part of it. If only we would Focus on Him…the God who “gives and takes away” we would spend more time on our knees pleading for Forgiveness and Mercy than we do on our soapbox screaming for justice.

I don’t know what God is up to these days, but I’m excited about whatever it is. We’ve never been here before, but He has. We rely on the quiet and still, but He doesn’t. Despite the turmoil and the evil I see, I wholeheartedly Believe in my God on the Throne who is Orchestrating every move…and I Trust Him. I’m ready for whatever He does, and I Celebrate that I was born for such a time as this! I have absolute confidence in the Lord of Hosts and I know that His Work for me here on this earth is temporary…But His Plans for me are Eternal. I’ll stumble every once in a while, and if I focus on the details of the evil around me, I might even be fearful too…temporarily. But I’ll take His Hand and let Him lead me through it al,l and I WILL be Victorious because of it. And maybe, if I Serve Him selflessly all the days of my Life, I might hear “well done, good and faithful servant.” That’s the goal.

How about you?

Pray Like You Mean It!

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Good morning, world. Things are looking pretty good from the front porch of my farm in Virginia today. I crawled out of bed, made my way down the stairs, and onto the front porch for some fresh morning air, but I met with the Living God, and I read from my Instruction Manual from the warm farmhouse. We can commune with God from anywhere on the planet…and we should. We don’t need an invitation, and we don’t need a formal setting. We don’t need a sunrise, and we don’t need a front porch. We don’t need to bow down to an ornament, and we don’t need to be told the words to pray over and over again. It’s an Honor to approach the Throne of a Mighty God, and although my Heart and my words are different each day, the process is always the same. It begins by Praising Him because He is worthy! “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty, who was, and is, and is to come”. Next, it’s time to give Thanks to Him…because without Him, I AM NOTHING. AND FINALLY, I make my Requests known to Him. It’s a funny thing, though… by the time I Praise Him and give Thanks to Him, the Request list is shorter and the load is lighter, all because our Time began with the Focus on Him INSTEAD of me. Isn’t that the way it works when you pray, too?

My Instruction Manual is clear on the topic of prayer. For instance, Jesus said, “And when you pray, do not babble on like pagans, for they think that by their many words they will be heard. Do not be like them, for your Father KNOWS WHAT YOU NEED BEFORE YOU ASK HIM. So then, this is how you should pray: ‘Our Father in heaven, hallowed be Your name…” Jesus wasn’t telling us WHAT to pray, He was telling us HOW to pray, and it should always begin with PRAISE for Who He is. Our God doesn’t need, want, or ask for mindless “lather, rinse, repeat” prayers and we don’t need to use just the right words for Him to understand. In fact, the Bible tells us that “The Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans. And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for God’s people in accordance with the will of God”. It’s far more important what’s going on in the Heart and the mind than what rolls off the lips in the name of “prayer”. This is the Key to a Rich relationship with the God who Knows all…the God who IS all.

I don’t think most people understand what it’s like to approach the Throne of the Living God with a Surrendered Heart, and they overlook the Power given to them in the process because of it. When we approach His Throne and we begin by Praising and Thanking Him, some pretty amazing things happen to the Heart. When we seek His face, His Spirit shows up, and we can feel Him through every cell. When our focus moves from our “shopping list” of requests to our Amazing God, we see that His “Grace is Sufficient” for us, no matter the circumstances. This is the Key to Fulfillment.

Some people don’t bother with all of the Praise and the Thanks “stuff” as if they think “He already knows that I love Him.” But God examines the Heart of the child who is making the Requests. Why would any father honor the requests of an ungrateful child? He is God…He is Worthy…and He wants to be sure that your Heart Knows it…HE WANTS TO HEAR IT. He wants to be GLORIFIED through your prayers, your words, and your actions! Some people “send up” prayers to the “big guy in the sky” like helium balloons, and they live like they hope He’ll somehow catch them. But His Word says that our prayers are immediate and they don’t need to be navigated or “sent up”- our prayers are “like incense in heaven” to Him…not random shots that we hope will be heard. The more time we spend with Him…the more we Live FOR Him…the stronger our Relationship WITH Him, the more we begin to Experience the indescribable Joy that comes by KNOWING we are absolutely being heard by the God who knit us together in our mother’s womb. This is the Key to Honor.

Some people rely on somebody else to intercede on their behalf, like a priest or a pastor…as if they have more influence with the Living God than we do. But that’s not true. In fact, the Bible says, “There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus”. There is only One Intercessor, and His Name is Jesus Christ. We may have more churches/denominations than there are stars in the sky, BUT there is ONLY ONE JESUS CHRIST and One Word of God. Jesus Christ died for all of us, and each one of us has the Honor and the Privilege to meet with Him to ask that He intercede on our behalf any time we want to. Relying on man to push our prayers forward or to help us atone for our sins, AND missing out on what it means to approach the Throne for ourselves, will always be accompanied by a lukewarm Faith. The Alpha and Omega longs for a Relationship with His Children, and to build a Relationship that will last forever, it takes personal Time with Him.

My Heart has been Tenderized, and my burdens have been made lighter this morning, all because it ALL began with Him. First, I Praised Him because He is worthy! And then I Thanked Him for all that He is and all that He does for me. And THEN I tossed my Requests at the foot of the cross where Jesus will intercede on my behalf…and I’m Trusting Him. It’s not “my job” to fix people or to control my circumstances. My “job” is to lay it all at the foot of the Cross and to Trust my Savior with my Life and everything in it. I KNOW He hears me when I pray because I KNOW Him. I nurture my Relationship with Jesus Christ every day above any other relationship I have because He’s my Father and I’m His Child…He died for me, so I Live for Him.

How about you?

Faith Doesn’t Need Proof…Faith Is Being SURE

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Good morning, world. Things are looking pretty good from the front porch of my farm in Virginia today. The sky looked mysterious as the sun began to rise this morning, and it’s that thought of “mysterious” that opened the door to my time with the Living God. My God is an amazing, omnipotent, omnipresent God, and the Mystery of Him can overwhelm His people with Joy as we lean on our Faith with no need for “explanation”. But it’s those “mysteries” that cause some people to fall short of ever Believing at all. The Bible says, “Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see”, so no matter how often my mind is blown by the Magnificence of my God, I don’t need “proof” to believe, and I don’t try to make sense of the Mystery. He proclaims that He is “I am”, and I Believe Him with a Faith that doesn’t waver even through the mysteries of this Life. Isn’t that the way your Journey of Faith is, too?

It’s hilarious when you think about it – Science struggles to figure out the mysteries of the universe without a foundation of God to shed the Light, and science is left scratching its head because of it. Where is the “beginning” and where is the “end” of the universe? Scientists can only solve so many mysteries, and then they’re stumped to come up with a solid explanation for how ANY of it exists at all. We spend billions of dollars studying the galaxies, and we continue to look for signs of life on other planets. But the One who “scattered the stars in the sky and knows them each by name” didn’t forget to write the Chapter on life on other planets – He created “the heavens and the earth”. Even though it’s a mystery why His People only occupy this earth, the Great I AM Created it to be that way. The world spends an astronomical amount of time trying to disprove the Mysteries of a Mighty God, but it will always fall short because it lacks the Faith to believe in the I AM.

How many times must we read “I am the Alpha and Omega, the Beginning and the End” to Believe in Him?

How many times do we study the miracle of human life with no logical explanation for how we came to be in the first place before we accept that “God created the Heavens and the Earth” and everything in it?

No matter how many times we circle around trying to make logical sense of the Mystery, it always comes back to the Great I AM and whether or not we have Faith to believe in all those things we do not see.

It makes my head hurt to think about how much time, effort, and money are spent trying to disprove a God that can’t be disproven, or how many miracles a world has to see before it surrenders to the Miracle Maker. There are plenty of Mysteries I won’t understand while I’m still here on this earth…I may not even understand them when I’m in the Presence of the Living God one day, but that’s okay. I have 100% Faith in I AM, and nobody needs to prove anything to me for me to Love Him with all my Heart and to Believe every single word of THE Word.

He’s a Mystery, alright, and that’s one of the things that sets Him apart from anything and everything else. It’s a MYSTERY that He knew me before the foundations of the earth; and it’s a Mystery that He loved me enough to send His Son to die for me so that I might have Life everlasting..and that’s enough to keep this simple Virginia woman clinging to Hope and filled with Joy over things I’ve never even seen with my eyes.

How about you?

Pruning Begins With a Willing Heart…

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Good morning, world. Things are looking pretty good from the front porch of my farm in Virginia today. It’s cold this time of year, and they’re calling for rain later today. If not for rising temperatures, no doubt we’d be welcoming in ice or snow later instead of rain. The Fall in Virginia is very unpredictable in terms of temperature and precipitation, but the one thing we can count on in Virginia is high winds. The sharper the temperature contrast this time of year and the stronger the atmospheric pressure difference, the stronger the winds. That’s the technical answer for why it’s windy this time of year, BUT the simple answer is that God uses the wind for His Purpose. My Dad used to say that the wind was God’s way of pruning the trees – He shakes them up and causes the weaker ones to fall away so the tree can be stronger overall. God uses the wind to take down the trees in due time, and He uses it to blow leaves into the places where the deer bed down. This Black Walnut is more than twice as tall as the farmhouse is, and it’s a treasure to me, for sure. Although this tree gets pruned by God routinely, one day it will succumb to the wind…and it will be forever missed by me. God prunes more than just the trees, though. He prunes His people, too. Sometimes He’ll huff and puff and cause the winds to rush through the Life of One who belongs to Him JUST SO that He can prune away the pieces that need to be done away with once and for all…to make them Stronger. What a blessing it is for the God of all Creation to use the wind and the branches of an old tree to drive home a Message this morning.

Life is filled with Strong Winds, and nobody manages to escape them – But the winds don’t pass through for punishment, and they NEVER pass through without Purpose. When the Strong Winds pass through, it’s always a time for Pruning. Sometimes the Purpose is to cause some of the weaker things to fall away so that we can be made Stronger. Sometimes God is refining our Character, and He’s forcing us to do away with things that shouldn’t exist in the Life of a Child of God at all. Sometimes He shakes things up to force us to hold on Tighter as we call out to Him for help. Sometimes He shakes things up just so that we can see that when we’re weak, He is strong and His “power is made perfect in weakness.”

For some people, the wind of life seems to never stop blowing, and if they aren’t careful, they’ll question God in the process. I don’t presume to know the mind of God, but I think sometimes He keeps Pruning and Pruning, hoping the tree will stop trying to stand on its own…and sometimes I think He’s got BIG Plans for the tree, so a Big Work needs to be done to Ready them. When the wind comes through, it’s not time to whine…it’s time to Seek His Will and to Surrender to His Plans. God Loves a Heart that is Humble and Inclined to please Him. If we ask about the Purpose of the winds with a Heart that is willing to be Pruned, He’ll always reveal His Pruning Plan. This is the Key to Maturing for the Journey.,

The winds have passed through my Life more times than I can count and God has Pruned me into a Tree that is Strong and Willing in the process….a Tree that looks the same on the outside but one that will never again be the same on the Inside. God huffed and puffed and pruned LOTS of things from my Life that needed to go so that I could be made Stronger for the Journey…and so that I could be a usable Vessel for Kingdom Work… and I’m sure He’s not finished with me yet. When those winds pass through, I never say “Why me?” – instead, I hit my knees at the sign of the first breeze because I KNOW He’s got a Purpose in the Pruning process…to make me Stronger for the Work He has for me. Pruning always begins with a Willing Heart and a desire to be taught by the God of all Creation. At this Stage of my Journey, my middle name is “Willing”.

How about you?

Because I KNOW Who Holds Tomorrow…

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This beautiful old cemetery is just a few miles from the farm, and it is the resting place for both my parents, my nephew, and far too many friends…some old and some SO young…it’s not always easy to understand God’s timing. Our family cremates our loved ones, and we are at peace that they are no longer “there” after they pass. How each of us handles a burial is entirely a personal choice, and there is no right or wrong for how we bury our own.

When my Dad passed away, I was given one job in terms of the arrangements…to pick something special to bury his ashes in. Since my Dad was known to disappear when it was time for a binge, he was lovingly nicknamed “Houdini” – so he made his final journey in a beautiful old suitcase. My Dad passed along his sense of humor to the rest of his tribe, and we are confident that he would have LOVED being placed in that suitcase at the cemetery that was near and dear to his heart…and close to the farm. One last laugh.

When my Mom passed away (surprisingly), I was asked to pick something special to bury her ashes in too. The man in charge of grave digging saw me coming, and he said he couldn’t wait to see what she would be buried in. My Mom loved a good road trip, and she loved to cook. I couldn’t think of anything better to bury her in than a retro 1957 Chevy cookie jar. She didn’t care much for cats, but I’m thinking she wouldn’t mind in this case. Would she have been offended to be buried in a cookie jar? Not on your life! We had lots of laughs before she passed away, as she pondered what kind of vessel we’d be putting her in when the time came. Rest assured, she, too, would have smiled BIG TIME to find that she made her final road trip in a 1957 Chevy instead. One last laugh.

I think about all the people I’ve known that have gone ahead of me when I pass by this cemetery, and I pause to pray for their loved ones EVERY SINGLE TIME. No doubt there is an empty place in the lives and the hearts of those still here, but the memories and the smiles can last forever. They truly are a Gift from God to sustain us until we meet again. My family walks down Memory Lane often- we do a whole lot more smiling and belly laughing than we do shedding tears, that’s for sure.

I’m not callous when it comes to burying our loved ones…don’t misunderstand my humor. We celebrate a life like you’ve never seen before when one of our loved ones passes away…not because we aren’t sad…or because we aren’t serious…or because we disrespect the dead…but because we KNOW what they found when they left this place, and we’re SURE that we’ll be reunited again one day soon. It hurts that they aren’t still here…we MISS them…but they are the ones we no longer need to worry about…they are in Good Hands…and that’s no laughing matter!

If you aren’t ABSOLUTELY sure about what will happen when you die, reach out to me. I’ll paint a picture of Eternity that will blow your mind, and I’ll help you secure your future too. Will I make a few jokes in the process? Maybe….but the message of Christ won’t get lost in a suitcase or a cookie jar, that’s for sure!

Don’t Let The Outside Fool You…

/ www.LivingLarger.life

Good morning, world. Things are looking pretty good from the front porch of my farm in Virginia today. I met with the Master inside, with a hot cup of the best coffee on the planet and my Instruction Manual to keep my path straight as I welcomed in this new day of a new week of Living. I took this photo from the bedroom window (almost) as soon as my feet hit the floor this morning. Even though it looks warm and inviting outside on this November day, the temperature tells a entirely different story. When I made my way downstairs and opened the front door, I was faced with the truth, and the cold temperature seemed so out of place at sunrise on such a beautiful day. What a sweet reminder straight from the Throne of a Mighty God this morning that this is just the way it is with Life! We can’t judge the heart of someone else, and we can’t base the way we treat them on what we see on the surface….WE HAVE TO OPEN THE DOOR to find the truth. It will ALWAYS be what’s behind what we can only see with the eyes that matters the most. Isn’t that the way you look at the Journey of Faith, too?

It’s so easy for us to draw our own conclusions about people just by what we see, but the REAL truth can only really be seen when we open the door. We see well-dressed people living in luxury homes, and we conclude that they are people of means. But I’ve been inside the homes of some of those people the outside world admires from afar, and I’ve found homes with no heat and no food more often than you care to know. These people were so desperate to impress the world from the outside and far too proud to allow a door to their truth to be opened. But through love, patience, and a whole lot of grace, any door can be opened.

We see “street people” with filthy clothes and their matted hair, and we conclude that they are one step away from being worthless. But I’ve had conversations with some of those people that most of the world ignores, and when I opened the door, I saw a life that was filled with hopes and dreams and productivity just like mine…before they lost their way. We see people living a life of addiction, and we think of them as weak and reckless, and selfish when we do. But I’ve been in the presence of grown men as they’ve cried about the pain they’ve caused their loved ones over and over again, and behind the door of that addiction is a man or woman longing to be free.

Behind every door is truth AND beauty that will never be seen UNLESS we’re willing to open the door. But it takes time, Heart, and compassion to be willing to open a door when we’ve already painted an ugly mental picture of what we THINK we see on the outside. It takes Humility to understand that if not by the grace of a Mighty God, you could be precisely where they are. It takes courage to open the door and compassion to face whatever is there. It takes a Christ-like heart.

I’ve lived long enough and I love big enough that not a whole lot surprises me anymore. I try not to assume anything about anyone based on where they are or how things appear to be, and I ALWAYS tell them about Hope that is theirs if they want it. I gently knock on their door until it opens, because it’s behind the door where the truth and the beauty can be found, and it’s behind the door where I’ll see how to pray and how to help…and when to Lead them to Jesus Christ.

I’ve had a season or two in my life where I’ve fooled the world from the outside, and despite my life circumstances (that should have been a red flag), nobody attempted to open the door to find my truth, and my journey was more painful and prolonged because of it. I learned some valuable lessons behind that closed door, and today, it’s not so easy to fool me. Today, my life is an Open Book to minister to the masses while I do my very best to meet spiritual needs and to love unconditionally, NO MATTER WHAT I SEE ON THE OUTSIDE…and THAT’S how people will see Christ in me everywhere I go!

Does the world see Christ in you?

“Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.

The Biggest Wasters of Time…

/ www.LivingLarger.life

Good morning, world. Things are looking pretty good from the front porch of my farm in Virginia today. It wasn’t very cold on the front porch this morning, and I could have lingered well past filling my lungs with fresh air, but I have a great view from inside, too, so I savored it in a warm house with a hot cup of coffee instead. The moon was still visible as the sun was coming up this morning, and all I had to do was turn my head from one direction to the other to take in the beauty of both. One is a sign of a new day, and the other a sign of the end of the night….neither of them ever sleeps. It isn’t possible to see them both at the same time – at least not with the human eye. It takes effort to look at what’s ahead, and it takes effort to look at what’s behind…and it always comes down to choice. Yesterday is gone, and tomorrow is promised to no one, so it doesn’t make a whole lot of sense to spend too much time focused on either one of them. Today I choose NOT to obsess over the future or to dwell on the past…today I’ll be Living for today. Isn’t that the way you see your Journey of Life, too?

Human beings are, by far, the biggest “wasters” of all God’s Creation. We waste money. We waste food. We waste water. We waste energy. We waste love. The list could go on and on forever of all the things we waste. But the most significant things we waste come down to TIME and OPPORTUNITY. We waste time because we’ve convinced ourselves that there is no end to the time we have. We waste opportunities because we’ve convinced ourselves that there will always be another chance. Instead of valuing this new day as if it is the ONLY one we have, we waste time and opportunity because we’re too busy dreaming about the future or dwelling on the past. IMAGINE what the world would look like if everybody lived for today! I think there would be a roar that could be heard all across the globe as people simultaneously said things like “I LOVE YOU!” – “PLEASE FORGIVE ME!,” or “DO YOU KNOW JESUS?”. It would be the most amazing sound on this side of Heaven, that’s for sure! Instead, we waste our days and nights because we’re so convinced there will be plenty of time and opportunity later. But, what if there isn’t?

If today is our last day and we fail to say “I love you” or “Forgive me,” it won’t be the end of the world. The ones we needed to say those things to probably already know we loved them, and once we pass away, most of the time they forgive (or forget) us altogether. But what happens when we waste Time and Opportunity to share the Good News, the one thing that matters more than everything else, and the ONLY everlasting thing there is? What if YOU were the one God was calling upon to Share the Good News with a certain lost person, BUT you ignored that Golden Opportunity because you were too busy lying to yourself about always having time for a 2nd chance? We (born-again believers) don’t have to pay the price for our wrongs because Jesus died to pay the price instead. We (born-again believers) won’t be “judged” for all the bad things we did because His blood covers them all. But how will it feel when we face our Maker on Judgment Day? How will it feel to have Him show us ALL the time and opportunities we wasted? What will it be like to have Him remind us of ALL those times we could have (and should have) shared the Gospel of Jesus Christ with a lost person, but we put it off instead because we were too busy dreaming about tomorrow or dwelling on the past? Ouch.

I could see both the sun and the moon in the sky this morning for just a few minutes before yesterday was completely gone, and today showed up. I’ve chosen to LIVE today and won’t be wasting time or opportunity, that’s for sure. God forgive me if I ever overlook a suffering soul…if I ever make excuses for why I don’t love them enough to share the Gospel before it’s too late…if I lose my footing and get stuck dreaming about tomorrow or obsessing over the past when He has a Master Plan for my Life and TODAY is all I have.

How about you?