Be Ready!

1 Peter 3:15 "But sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts, always being ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you, yet with gentleness and reverence."

I have an emptiness inside when I don't study the Bible. My mom personified this verse in her life. She had made a lifetime of studying the scriptures to know what she believed to be able to share with others. You know, it occurred to me that this is the reason we should know the doctrines of our faith--to be able to share it with others. I know people who think their doctrine gives them power, esteem, helps them know more about God than others and that they're endowed to be able to set the rest of the world straight. But this verse says that we should be able to tell others why we believe what we do.

It doesn't have to be boring. And it doesn't have to be so deep you can't understand it. And you don't have to be a theologian to study the Bible. Jesus came to the common person, He came with hope and promise and love. I want to be a student of hope, promise, and love. So that I can share with others who feel NO hope, promise, or love.

Lord, help me understand and absorb as I study Your Word!

I Need to Blog

Psalm 119:57 "You are my portion, O LORD; I have promised to obey your words."

I'm back. I need to blog. Why? Because I feel like it's a conversation I've been missing. One I have with God (and of course, anyone else that wants to listen). Maybe someone out there needs to hear it. That's what's pulling me back. Even though I haven't updated since October (I didn't realize it had been that long) I have still had "visits" to this blog. I don't know who and why, but I think God has been telling me that it can't be a bad thing if it causes people to "connect" with God.

So I'm back.

My Eyes and My Heart Will Always Be There

There is a beautiful passage of scripture in 2 Chronicles where Solomon and God are having a dialogue. Solomon has dedicated the Temple to the dwelling of the LORD. And The LORD promises Solomon that if His people "will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land."

He goes on to say that His eyes will be open and His ears attentive to their prayers offered in the Temple, that His name will always be there. AND "My eyes and my heart will always be there".

The New Testament teaches that when we accept salvation through Jesus Christ that we become a temple for the dwelling of God. So this Old Testament scripture speaks to me too. And I love the visualization I get when I read about His eyes and His heart. The eyes are the window of the soul, you know. It is hard to read or know another person without looking into their eyes or heart. I love thinking about God's eyes and heart always dwelling with me. I love to close my eyes and picture actually/physically looking into His eyes. And I feel His heart when I bask in His love. All the cares of the world aside, just bask. Remember how much He loves us. Remember love never fails. Love covers a multitude of sins. Love. Love. Love.

When we soak up His love, doesn't that cause us to love others more?

So the words for today? He sees and He cares! That will get us through anything!

Through the Watches of the Night

Psalm 119:148 "My eyes stay open through the watches of the night, that I may meditate on your promises."

Now that sounds like a cure for insomnia. I've had trouble sleeping the past few weeks. I've never had that problem. I could go to sleep anytime, anyplace. Power naps were a staple for me. But lately, I've found myself wide awake in the night. That's rather unnerving. There's something about sleep that we all think we need lots of it :-)

Anyway, this morning the Lord brought this verse to me. It made me think of David and this longest chapter of the Bible. Maybe he wrote it during a bout of insomnia. Maybe he learned to cope with his sleeplessness by meditating on God's promises. Hmmm...interesting. Maybe those times of seeming darkness in the night can become rays of light in my life as I dwell on being in His presence, bask in His goodness, and ponder His promises.

Maybe it's not "wasted time" after all. Maybe, just maybe He will refresh my soul and spirit so much that my body will not notice a lack of sleep.

Thank You, Lord, for Your promises!

From the Inside Out

Last night I made a yummy taco cornbread casserole. I kind of made it up on my own. But there are similar recipes around, I know. I just season ground beef like I would for tacos, but add a can of tomato sauce to make the meat juicier than for tacos. Spray a 9 x 13 pan, layer the meat/sauce, then 8 ounces (or more if you like) of cheese (I used Mexican) and then on top of that put cornbread batter (I mixed up 2 Jiffy cornbread mixes with eggs and milk just like the instructions say). Bake at 350 degrees for approx. 30 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean and edges are turning golden.

Then we dish this up on our plates, add salsa, sour cream, a side of tortilla chips, and whatever else you like (cilantro, chopped onions, etc.) It's yummy and I love the sweet cornbread taste with the spicy Mexican.

HOWEVER, due to the new way I am learning to cook (this involves being used to cooking for growing children and now they are grown and gone most of the time leaving fewer people to cook for) I made this same recipe in a smaller dish. That made the cornbread thicker and when I took it out of the oven and cut into it, I realized that the cornbread was not done in the middle. YUCK! It was still batter. I should have made it the same way, but put it in a larger pan which would have been thinner and baked in the same amount of time. I put it back in the oven and baked it awhile longer.

This a.m. when I sank my teeth into my pumpkin donut, the same thing happened! There was still a center of pumpkin dough in the middle that wasn't cooked all the way through. It was a grocery store donut, so I wasn't at fault, but it seemed odd to find the same problem. You see, it can look good and complete on the outside, but be far from it on the inside. I think that's the same way with us. We can look like we have it all together, but if you look real deep, you see parts of us that is not as "done". What's wrong with that, you say? Nothing. Nothing at all. But let's be honest with one another. None of us are done-finished. We all have our gooey spots. That's why we need a daily walk with our Lord. By taking a few minutes each day to grow in Him, we are heading towards "living a life worthy of the Lord and pleasing Him in every way; bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God" (Colossians 1:10).

Thank You, Lord, for not giving up on me! Thank You for working with me every day to show me more of Your wonderful awesomeness!