Sometimes pruning takes time, so settle down for the waiting!

Sometimes, God answers prayers while we are just living our lives. While we are sleeping.

Honey in the Rock. Sometimes God gives us sweet surprises.

How to deal with the Lies of the Enemy...

The Father didn't want to hear his son's excuses, or apologies. He just wanted to hold his son, overwhelmed with the joy of the homecoming.

Some of my cancer buddies ask about Bucket Lists. "Isn't that being irresponsible?" I say absolutely not! Make the Bucket list! Go to Italy! Eat the damned ice cream! Flash your husband! (You know who you are.) My point is that I agree with King Solomon on this one. We get one shot at this. Some of us are sick and miserable at the moment. Others have different problems. We all have problems. All of us. Anyone that doesn't is just lying to you on Instagram. (Hint: It's just

God told his prophet Hosea to get married and have children.... So this was three pregnancies and a weaning... During this time frame-- crying babies, sleepless nights ("Mommy? Mommy? Mommy? Mommy?"), it is only recorded that God spoke to his prophet on three occasions-- the birth of each child. Why? Because it was not yet his mission to be a prophet to the nations. His mission from God was TO LOVE THAT WOMAN AND BE A FATHER to their children. That was his mission... No matte

As I thought about this post, God showed me a man in a straight-jacket. It was the extra-strong arrangement where hands were not only secured with straps, but they were also secured with chains behind his back. I'm sure this man didn't like it much, but he was restrained until released. He may have had big plans for the day, but this was his reality, and it was totally out of his control. Also, it was for his protection!

This morning God showed me something I didn't like. Sigh. A scene of tranquility. Of Resting. He showed me a view from my recliner in front of a window. Outside the window was a winter scene, of a snow covered landscape, deep in drifts. There was also a tree, beautifully iced with big clumps of snow. Bright sunlight, very Currier and Ives. There may have been a lake in the distance. My feet were up, and they were wrapped in a blanket. I was resting...

I instantly sunk in the mud... As I tried to lift one leg, the other sank deeper. I was in real trouble! Finally, I managed to crawl out of the muck on my hands and knees and make my way to the safety of shore. But getting out of the marsh, up the ladder, and up the hill to the house took absolutely all my reserves...

I was having my quiet time this morning, and it was full of distractions. Work issues were occupying my thoughts, even though this was time officially dedicated to Me & God. Almost as an afterthought, at the very end of my allowable time, I asked the important question. "God, what's on your heart today?" Then I opened my Bible at random, and I was staring at this passage, Colossians 1:9-12 in The Message... "It is strength that endures the unendurable and spills over into jo

Monday, was memorable. So many blessings. Then came today. Tuesday. I told my customer on Sunday that I expected to be able to work a full day on Monday, but probably only had the physical capacity to work a half day Tuesday. And today, precisely at noon-- at the half day mark-- I crashed. I was eating fast food with my son, and suddenly lost all energy and burst into tears. The whole process, from Good to TOAST, took about 15 seconds. He had to drive me after that...

Last week, I blogged about The Committed Irishman, a man who had chosen to make the ultimate sacrifice-- his OWN ritualistic human sacrifice-- in 5th century Ireland. Some of you were appalled by my choice of topic, and wondered where I was going with this. Allow me to explain...

Sometimes, children are a symbol of God's grace and mercy... David and Bathsheba's first child together, conceived in adultery, died-- in spite of much fasting, praying and repentance. But then God did an incredibly beautiful thing as a gift for this couple. 2 Samuel 12:24-25 (MSG) tells us: "...they conceived a son. When he was born they named him Solomon. God had a special love for him, and sent word by Nathan the prophet that God wanted him named Jedidiah (God's Beloved.)"

Then God showed me a different bowl. This was soup. Hands were tearing open a foil packet and emptying the contents into the bowl, but all I could see was green leafy slimy stuff floating on top. It looked like seaweed, or more likely spinach. I love raw spinach salad. But cooked spinach? Disgusting! God, what does this mean? Then a Bible verse came to mind: "Though I give you the bread of adversity and water of affliction..." What?!? I googled it, and found it is in Isaiah

"These bodies all owe their amazing state of preservation to the chemical properties of the peat, which has leatherized the skin but left it otherwise intact, so that we can see every physical detail-- even smile lines around the eyes-- just as we could have in life. All the bodies were sacrificed, and all the faces are at peace. In other words, all went willingly, one might almost say happily, to their sacrificial deaths-- like Isaac, trusting to the last the goodness of th

As I woke up this morning, I listened to the rain, checked the radar, and groaned to myself. I had so very much to do today and I could already tell that it's not going to happen. As I contemplated the cascading financial repercussions, God reminded me of a vision he gave me two nights ago. He had showed me a bunch of cooking pots, vases, and mason jars. It was a random collection of containers, as though someone had raided a flea market... They were all full.

For Peter, his future was set. The important future-- his eternal one. Oh, the present future? That was just details. He was fulfilling his mission to tell everyone he met about Jesus, and tomorrow he would tell the king and his advisors too. Right before they killed him. Cool. Later that night, an angel came, opened the prison doors, and walked Peter out to his freedom... And yet, I think the bigger story is that Peter was sleeping soundly under guard on the eve of his exe

"God, who gets invited to dinner at your place? How do we get on your guest list? "Walk straight, act right, tell the truth..." Psalm...

Today kinda sucked. Nothing REALLY bad happened, nobody died, no equipment or people went in the water, but little was accomplished, we...