Selah

Forgiving others takes courage, humans may fail us, as they desire to love and help. Only God heals, restores, and renews.
My rest is in the Lord, maintaining peace for our souls, minds, and spirits in trials, brokeness, victories, and joys.
We choose:
Jesus, because He is always for us.
Love and faith, because love wins over fear.
Acceptance over taking offense, and pray for others instead.
Grace over rules and judgment, because mercy triumphs .
Forgiveness, because Jesus modeled ultimate forgiveness on the cross.
Freedom through His resurrection, over the law.
Authenticity, like the Velveteen Rabbit, because transparency brings intimacy and trust, over a facade.
Vulnerability, over a hardened heart.
Trust over distrust, with those we feel safe.
Safety, over fear.
Self-care, because God’s power within us reveals our value.
Prayer, over worry.
Resting at the Lord’s feet, over fretting.
Peace and reflection, over distractions and business.
Truth, over lies.
We pause and breathe and know His Presence in nature.
May God’s grace, mercy, love and justice reside in our hearts, minds and spirits, as we continue to keep our eyes on our true love, Jesus, and receive His spirit in us to bring sustained PEACE.
Psalm 19, 91, 103; John 15

Soul allows the Spirit to Rule and worship the Lord fully, He has taken my hand and swung me into dance and with Joyful music to Praise only Him, He is worthy as my Redeemer, my assumptions of the idea of Him is lifted and he has washed me over rinsing me of these ideas I had, only to then wrap me in a ribbon of his true Identity as my Father. I raise my Blessings to him and he brings even more back to me like the princess I now am in his court I happily receive them.

Spirit rejoices and does a dance of praise that I know the Father and see him as the loving Father that does all things in good works to build me into the perfect daughter he knows me to be. Joyful forever more.

O’Lord my God I praise you for everything in my life, even the hard circumstances. You brought me out of the pit, you heard my cry for help, you saw I was drowning in confusion and sin. You rescued me and set my feet on solid ground. I praise you and thank you for choosing me to be your child. I tell my soul “stop being sad and rejoice in God’s Spirit within me.” I praise you for filling my life with hope and joy and determination to finish well. I thank you for filling my heart with love for others. Love is your calling card and I want to hand it out! I lift my eyes up to what is eternal and I thank you and praise you for your goodness and kindness to me, my family, my friends, my church and the world. You are a good good Father!

Soul—Take time to see and choose Him each and every moment. See the God-orchestrated entrances, your cues, to carry the melody in His glorious symphony of life. Allow the Spirit to lead, Soul! Give complete control to Him, it’ll be so much more than you can imagine!
Jesus—Dont let me forget, stray, or wander from Your glory.
Soul—Bless Him always!! Even when you don’t want to, make the choice to remember His grace, His faithfulness, His love lavished on you over and over again.
Thank you Jesus for Your perfect love—perfectly consistent when I’m perfectly inconsistent.
I choose You— I choose to bless— I will love You forever for I am a precious child of God.

As I ponder the thought of my life without God, I think of how dark my world would be. An isolated, lonely and meaningless life. No color. No hope. No prayer. No peace. No joy. No heaven. No purpose.

I am grateful for a God who knows me, and created me for His purpose. A Holy God of Grace. I thrive because of who He is … All-knowing. All-powerful. Always with me. Sovereign over all of His creation. Absolute truth. Love Never-ending. Merciful. Righteous. Promise Keeper. Deliverer. Healer of my soul.

Life without God is no life at all!

Rest (n.):
1. freedom from activity or labor
2. peace of mind or spirit

I wish I could remember what it was like, twenty-something years ago, when I didn’t care about being perfect. Back when making mistakes was fully acceptable and even encouraged, when falling wasn’t scary because I knew my parents would always pick me up and set me back on my feet.

When did that change?

Thankfully, Jesus has taught me that the only true antidote for striving to be made perfect in my own strength is to abide. Abiding in the heart of the Father brings me genuine rest, because when I rest in the Lord, I’m free from labor. Psalm 55:22 states, “Cast your cares on the Lord and he will sustain you . . .” When I cast my cares, anxieties and all other “labors” onto the shoulders of the Most High, He sustains me and gives me the rest that I need.

I also have peace of mind and spirit. The peace of the Lord transcends all understanding (Philippians 4:7). If I’m constantly straining to keep control of my circumstances, I only hurt myself. Jesus wants to grant me peace of mind and a restful spirit, so sometimes I need to make like Frozen’s princess, Elsa, and just “Let it go!”

And when I rest in the Lord, I can remain con dent in who He is. He’s my good Father and faithful friend, the One who knows me better than I know myself.

It’s time for me to practice giving up control and let God take care of the rest.

Among salvation, redemption, healing, and forgiveness, one of the blessings from the Lord we can count on is that He “satisfies [us] with good.” Just as we trust that our diseases will be eradicated and our sins absolved, we can have faith that life with the Lord brings us satisfaction that we could never otherwise find.

Life in the world is full of things that can make us happy, for a while, but is there anything out there that truly sustains satisfaction? How often do the ‘good things’ in our lives become burdensome or turn into idols? Pure satisfaction, true completion, only comes from God. He meets our needs, he ministers to our hearts, he answers our deepest desire for love and acceptance. He satisfies our souls as completely as Jesus’s sacrifice satisfied our debt. From that place of safety and fulfillment, blessings are exponentially sweeter, and even turns the ‘bad things’ we encounter into opportunities for growth and ultimately joy.

David says the Lord “satisfies” us — a continuous experience. As an eagle whose plumage is constantly molting and regrowing, God is endlessly renewing us. Isaiah 40:31 says, “but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.” The satisfaction of the Lord doesn’t get worn out or spent. He offers refreshment, restoring us to the vitality and vigor of spiritual youth, continuously satisfying us with good.

There have been many times in my long and illustrious career as a pastor’s wife where people want to engage me in a spiritual battle. I don’t mean a “forces of evil in the heavenly places” type of spiritual battle, but more of a “courtroom drama” spiritual battle. They want to be the prosecuting attorney and I, of course, am expected to be council for the defense. Who is on trial? Jesus!

We both have our expert witnesses–they have atheists and scientists with their worldly logic. I have a bible and a personal testimony of a woman who once was lost, but now is found. Their Exhibit A is a photograph of a suffering child in Sudan–a child who appears to be lost, forgotten and abandoned. My Exhibit A is both the indictment of 1 John 5:19: “We know that we are of God, and the whole world lies under the sway of the wicked one,“ and the promise of Psalm 37:10-12: “Just a little while longer, and the wicked will be no more; You will look at where they were, and they will not be there. But the meek will possess the earth, and they will find exquisite delight in the abundance of peace.” I throw Psalm 103:6 in for good measure: “The Lord works righteousness and justice for all who are oppressed.”

Everything I’ve said throughout the trial and in my closing argument is true. Can I prove it? Sadly, no. I can’t prove it to someone whose eyes are blind because they are choosing to believe the lies of the enemy. I can’t prove it to someone who is not seeking truth–someone who “lies under the sway of the wicked one.” In the end, it’s a hung jury and I will pray for another opportunity to present the truth.

But, as I said in the beginning, thankfully, I am not God’s lawyer–He doesn’t need one. He is the holy and righteous judge and is more than able to represent Himself. “The Lord has established His throne in heaven, and His kingdom rules over all.” (Psalm 103:19).

I don’t want to be God’s lawyer–but I DO want to be one of His expert witnesses. I have a powerful testimony of His enduring love, forgiveness and sovereignty. Oh, Lord, choose me to testify! I will sing of Your love forever! The Lord has done great things for me and I am filled with joy! (Ps. 126:3)

Thank you, my wonderful Lord, that you do not hold anything against me, even though my iniquities are innumerable. In spite of the fact that it is very possible I have deserved the diseases I have had in the past, Your lovingkindness and compassion have overturned the diagnosis. I am free of disease, and the dis-ease which accompanies a scary diagnosis. I have walked into a room I feared, and discovered that You truly fill the room.

I am wishing for the proper eloquence to express the depth of my gratitude to God for a long life filled with good things. I think Martha Stewart coined the phrase “it’s a good thing” to market items she deemed worthy of recommending to her followers. It seems trite and not eloquent enough to refer to God’s gifts as good things…but here it is in scripture…so it must be eloquent enough to say it. Lord, all the good things have not gone unnoticed. You have satisfied my years with abundant good things. Recounting those does make my youth feel renewed. But why is that “like an eagle”? I will have to look into that…

I see clearly now that the way My soul blesses His Holy Name is by thanking Him, in detail, for all the great things He has done…just as David listed, in detail, all God’s wondrous gifts in the preceding verses. Lord, may I never cease to bless your Holy name by recounting back to You all the great things you have done. As David sets the example, I will exhort myself, remind myself, to be mindful of the importance of blessing God. May it be as a part of me as breathing.

I’m here, I breathe You in.
I wait in this stillness and let Your love wash through me.
I choose to open my heart and begin
to throw my crowns at the feet of Him most Holy.

“Tell me again,” my heart starts to cry,
“Remind me of all that You’ve done.
For I cannot rise and speak to this wind,
’till my feet become sure of Your ground.”

Oh, how He answered, with strength and with care.
How the angry rebuke never came.
But the whisper I heard in response to my cry,
and the answer I found, He became.

It was glory. His radiant, beautiful glory,
that I found when I blessed His name.
And all of His wonders, His remarkable love
washed over me then as I sang.

Because You are King, I give you my life.
You will satisfy me with your good.
Because You are Peace, I am free from all strife,
And my soul will remember Your Word.

My soul will remember that You are my God,
I will love you for all of my days.
And just as Your people made known who You are,
I will bless You for all of my days.

“Bless the Lord, O my my soul, And forget not all His benefits” Ps 103:2
“Forget not …” Ach! I forget & so very fast. It has been referred to as “soul amnesia”, and I’m inclined to agree.

Forget not … God pardons
Forget not … God heals
Forget not … God redeems
Forget not … God crowns
Forget not … God fills

I do forget. I forget it all in a flash. I allow the Son to be eclipsed by self and circumstance. And in that loss of True Light? Shadows loom, they loom larger than life.

Ah, but in remembering? Hope buds, swells, blooms … no more a starved seedling struggling in shadows but a flower thriving in the Son. As we turn towards the Son, basking in the beauty of His glorious Light touching our lives, we release a fragrance, an incense of praise rising to Him.

Forget not … God pardons all my mess,
Forget not … God heals all my hurt places,
Forget not … God redeems my very beating, breathing life from the shadows,
Forget not … God crowns me, even me, with goodness, kindness, faithfulness, & compassion,
Forget not … God fills my days to the brim with beauty.

The sweet scent of “Forget Me Nots” fills the air, drawing eyes and hearts toward Him. We tell of Him, His story giving life to ours, and He is blessed.

To what extent do I trust the Lord of the Universe?

I study and embrace the scriptures – – for I know they are a lamp unto my feet and a lamp unto my path.

But do I TRULY believe that ALL scripture is God breathed — effective — living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword; piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart.? Well yes — of course I do.

I know that His Word is Life — Truth — Answers to any question I may pose to my day —even pertaining to the culmination of my lifetime accounted for here on earth.

YET — Is the VERY WORD I have so readily available as POWERFUL – EFFECTIVE AND INCREDIBLE as I approbate it to be?

How then can I accept His silence when I petition for healing on my own behalf?

I have prayed fervently alongside others for miracles. I have claimed Kingdom promises for my own Family — I have whispered desperate pleas to my Papa for myself.

Do I do so with complete FAITH for Him to respond? Am I hindering His desire to bless me with His very best — simply because I plead in an attitude of bereavement – perhaps a partial expectation that my prayer will NOT be answered?

THIS is why I am SO VERY THANKFUL for the testament of Psalm 103 verse 4a.

Most common translations state that our Lord:

“Crowns you with lovingkindness and compassion;
He satisfies your years with good things,
So that your youth is renewed like the eagle.”

Without doubt however, I am most encouraged in my Spirit with the way “The Message” presents these same words:

“He crowns you with love and mercy—a paradise crown.
He wraps you in goodness—beauty eternal.
He renews your youth—you’re always young in his presence.”

AAAH! WHAT!!??

I am ALWAYS YOUNG in HIS presence!

Think about how Eugene E. Peterson the writer of the Message visualized these ancient words into meaning for out lifetime — the eagle glides effortlessly upon the updrafts higher and higher into the upper atmosphere closer and closer to the throne God — We can obtain this communion with our Father similarly — without great downstrokes against the air currents of our circumstances — only by opening wide our wings of worship to embrace the presence of the Holy Spirit – our Father – our Brother – as we enter into the Holy Presence of the Throne Room.

YES!

This explains so much for me personally! Freedom from PAIN as I am enveloped within our Father’s presence. CONFIDENCE to ask and freely receive with expectation of HIS healing — after all — I’m lifted up already into the stratosphere of HIS presence!

I have experienced healing often during a worship service. It happens once I abandon myself to immerse my physical self into worship — it’s incredible to abandon all physical pain and worship the LORD without expectation of WHAT may happen next.

I know that what follows may or may not meet my expectations — but regardless, the LORD of the Universe wishes me to worship Him unhindered.

Albeit — it does not happen every time. I have not been completely healed per se – but the joyous possibility remains — His Word tells me so – and thusly, I am joyfully expectant of the future.