The Journey

Photo by: Gabby Orcutt One evening while preparing a bath for my little sweeties, the younger hoping to avoid tub time altogether said, "Mama, I'm not dirty. We didn't even go outside today." A cursory glance from the side of the tub revealed no dirt in her hair or on her face. Hands and fingernails appeared clean. Oh, but when the boots came off! I am quite sure the stench reached Heaven's Gates. At that moment, an image flashed into my mind. In Biblical times, it was customary to wash the dust off the feet because the people wore sandals instead of shoes like we have today and they usually went barefoot in their homes. Feet washing was usually done before meals, but in John Chapter 13, Jesus washed his disciples' feet after the Passover Feast. Remember the Passover was observed to recount the story of Moses and the exodus from Egypt. God spared or passed over the houses that were marked with the blood of the sacrificial lamb. By now you would think the disc...

As a Christian, yes, yes, yes, a thousand times, yes! Don't get me wrong. It's not a "bah humbug" kind of thing. I love, love, love Christmas! It truly does seem to be the most wonderful time of the year!  What is not wonderful, however, is the slow fade over the years from a celebration of the life of Christ to the greedy commercialism, secular "holiday" traditions that completely omit even the name of Jesus. We have found ourselves in a time where nativity scenes are prohibited and replaced with the jolly, fat guy and his little minions. Where have we gone wrong? We Christians claim to live lives completely dedicated to Christ, 100% sold out to His will and His plan, yet at the time of the celebration of His birth, we are so preoccupied with everything else that we often don't even take the time to read and pray--we are just too busy. Rather than being a light, an example of the life we are supposedly celebrating, we are too busy to help others, hoa...

Photo by Jude Beck "Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it." Proverbs 4:23 My life is evidence of this Biblical passage. Every choice, every decision, every path can be traced back to the place where I was in life at that defining moment. The point of origin reveals where my heart was, what my priorities were at the time, the utter darkness of where I stood. Truly blind; I could not see. Chasing dreams, desires, unrealistic goals, and unattainable joy by unthinkable means, I was a ship without a captain sailing into uncharted, unsafe waters. No direction, no lifeline, no lighthouse. Unnecessary detriment because my heart was led astray by meaningless ventures and pursuits of things that could not satisfy the void that I was running from all the while running headlong into gross darkness. Much like running as fast as you can forward while looking behind you and ultimately slamming into a wall you should have seen if only you had been looking in...

Photo by Jon Tyson As many of you know, this year has been awfully hard for me due to illness. A year is a long time to be unemployed and an infinitely long time to not feel well, especially when you have two small children to raise on your own. I have been in prayer about things we need, things we want, and things we could do without.  We have been very blessed to be surrounded by ministering angels right here on earth. Every month we have had a roof over our heads, food on our table, and we have even enjoyed much of our wants. Regarding those things we could do without--He has healed me from sickness, resolved troublesome situations, and has quieted many storms--God has had endless mercy on us! In my quiet time this morning, I began reading in the book of Psalms.  I love this book of the Bible because David, a man after God's own heart, wrote heartfelt, honest words. He cried out from the very depths of his soul, but with the utmost respect and honor for his maker, for ...

Photo by Alin Meceanu James 1:5 - 8 " If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God,  who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you.   But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt,  because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind.   That person should not expect to receive anything from the L ord.   Such a person is double-minded  and unstable  in all they do." I have read this passage many times over the years and I have likely heard it recited many more times. I always looked at the verse as a general context for believing God for anything we ask of Him. However, this week the passage in James was illuminated to me in an entirely different light ministering to me in a life-changing way.  Begrudgingly, I woke up on Saturday morning, collapsed on my sofa, and opened my Bible. I prayed, "God, I need something from You this morning. I need nourishment from Your Word. I jus...

I've so enjoyed the study of Joseph, thus far.  For me, it has been much like finding a treasure chest, cautiously opening the lid, peering in trying to see everything the chest holds.  Layers upon layers, depths upon depths, discovering and analyzing every part of his life recounted in the Bible like examining small gemstones or more accurately witnessing the most beautiful diamond being formed amidst the ugliest circumstances.  "Natural diamonds are formed about 100 miles beneath the earth's surface where carbon rich rocks are melted by the heat of the earth's mantle, a layer of liquid lava rock, and are compressed by the enormous pressure of the many miles of earth above them. As the earth churns, the heated rock may move upwards away from the heat and cool over time, which can form diamonds if the conditions are just right. It takes hundreds of thousands of years for the process to take place." (ehow.google)  To simplify--high temperature, high pressur...

Now that we've looked at Joseph's perilous years as a whole, I want to dissect his biblical biography a little more.  Let's look at the boy dreamer. Scripture tells us that right on the heels of receiving a beautiful coat from his father, Joseph had two prophetic dreams which he insensibly shared with his brothers.  In each dream, his family, represented by sheaves of grain in the first and the sun, moon and stars in the second, were bowing before Joseph.  So, here we have the young man likely adorned in his beautiful, new coat telling the boorish brothers we've studied about thus far, that he would one day rule over them.  This audience of choice was probably not the best.  Before the dreams, the Bible tells us the brothers "could not speak a kind word to him."  Genesis 37:8 tells us, "they hated him all the more because of his dream and what he had said." Ponder this...even though we know God had a divine plan for Joseph and had ordered his st...

Have you ever felt like the moment you begin to make progress in life or at your job or even in relationships you inevitably end up up-ended??? I have...several times especially in recent years.  I told someone just the other day, "It seems as soon as I finally start making headway, gaining speed, feet finally leaving the ground, BAM--back on my hind end.  Then, it is just as Ray Charles sang,"Here we go, again."  God, why? Then, I read about Joseph in the ending chapters of Genesis.  Wrongly accused numerous times over the years, his story unfolds with an almost fairy tale ending blessed with a life "above what he could dare think or imagine."  (Ephesians 3:20)  Journey with me through the perils of Joseph, the man "God sent ahead to preserve life."  (Genesis 45:7) As we know the story begins with a young Joseph, his father's favorite, who we have to believe was either very boastful because of pride or si...

The story of the "coat of many colors" has been told and retold mostly in Sunday school lessons.  In researching the story of Joseph, I find conflicting information as to how the beautiful coat looked.  Some say it was a patchwork design while others believe it to be striped with varying colors.  By scripture, this is what we do know.  Jacob loved Joseph more than any of his brothers and so "he made a richly ornamented robe for him."  The passage, Genesis 37, goes on to tell us, "When his brothers saw that their father loved him more than any of them, they hated him and could not speak a kind word to him."  Before I began to dig into this story, I knew the brothers were jealous of Joseph, but I didn't understand why a coat could cause such dissension in this band of brothers.  So much, in fact, they couldn't even be nice to Joseph.  However, I find a coat during these times was more than just a coat.  The symbolism is intr...

Just as Joseph's parental roots are vital to his story, the branches of the family tree also lend importance.  Joseph was one of twelve boys.  Considering Biblical times and culture, one must believe Jacob was blessed of God to have had so many sons!  Imagine now all those young men vying for their father's attention.  Each wanting to likely follow in his footsteps, but knowing none of them more precious to the head of the large family as the two born of Rachel, their father's true love.  Remember four of these boys were born of Jacob's concubines.  Can't you just smell all of that testosterone, not to mention the shepherds' clothing?  Whew!  There was also a daughter, Dinah, born of Leah.  Shortly after the family had moved to a town in Canaan,  Dinah went out into the city unattended to visit with the girls in their new hometown for her father had bought the land where they pitched their tents.  While...

"We must begin at the beginning..."  ~Plato Before delving into the "guts" of Joseph's story, let's begin with the story of his father, Jacob, who would later be known as Israel, and his mother, Rachael.  To understand the child, I think you must first look at the parents.  Their story is a tale of classic romance.  Jacob, the grandson of Abraham, falls madly in love with Rachael, a shepherdess.  Scripture tells us she was "lovely in form, and beautiful." (Genesis 29:18)  Jacob agrees to work for her father for seven years in exchange for her hand in marriage although he probably should have gotten this arrangement in writing.  At the end of seven years and after the celebratory marriage feast, Jacob awoke to the wrong sister.  His new father-in-law had given Leah, his older daughter, to Jacob rather than Rachael citing custom and tradition called for the older daughter to be married first.  So, Jacob agrees to put in yet another seven...

The Old Testament story of the life of Joseph is a treasure chest of jewels.  Gems of wisdom, hope, and the knowledge that all things truly work together for good.  Joseph's name, as so many in the Bible, foretells the life of the man who would endure much, for his name in Hebrew means "may Yaweh add."  This series was born of one blog, the overall story, but every phase of the life of the misunderstood Joseph is full of lessons, real life lessons.  So, let's take a journey into the perils of the boy who would one day be "in charge of the whole land of Egypt."  The story spans from Genesis 37 through Genesis 50, the final chapter of the first book of the Bible.  As I begin, I cannot tell you how many blogs will be in this series or how long it will take until our bellies are full!  I can tell you, though, that I cannot wait to see what treasures we pick up along the way!  May God bless us on this journey in His invaluable Word!

Photo by Vadym “The porcupine, whom one must handle gloved, may be respected, but never loved.”               ~Arthur Guiterman Those who know me, even those who have followed my blogs, know I have struggled in relationships. Though it is true, many of the hellacious, short-lived relationships were the result of simply picking the wrong people--whether romantic relationships, friendships, even mentors. For this reason, it is particularly important to pray about every aspect of your life, not just "the big things." In all actuality, the simplest details overlooked can thrust you into the most difficult and most painful situations from which to extricate yourself. Often, this is where we experience being blind-sided. Through these tumultuous times, as we all do, I have developed a defense mechanism that I only discovered in the past few weeks. In my prayer time, a revelation came to me so clearly, I may as well ha...

"What a person desires is unfailing love."  Proverbs 19:22 I write to you as a person who has endured much heartache over the years.  Some came of my own doing...foolishness, rebellion, immaturity, selfishness.  Some heartbreaks, although unwarranted, were actually necessary to bring about change, separation, and eventually growth.  Oh, those growing pains.  Recently, I read somewhere that it's not love that hurts, but rather the loss of love, the rejection, the disappointment, the abandonment, the loneliness that actually hurts.  This is so true.  It is the sense of loss, the void the person left in your life whether the relationship was romantic, parental, or even your very best friend or perhaps a mentor or confidante.  The sorrow is the same, whether the loss came by death, divorce, abandonment, or angry words hurled with carelessness.  Beth Moore writes, "Many of us have been loved by unhealthy people who proved deceptive in oth...

My five-year-old brought home a wonderful question from her pre-K class that has really become quite useful in our everyday lives.  I have even applied it in my spiritual life as well as in making some major, life-decisions.  The question, "Is that helpful or hurtful?"  Usually, when applied at our house, the question applies more to what is coming out of our mouths than our actions--what is being said seems to cause a lot more damage than what is being done.  Bad behavior inevitably begins with unkind, sassy, harmful words.  So, I've been reflecting on my conversations with everyone--my kids, my family, my friends, acquaintances, strangers and so on.  I must admit, I am guilty of not thinking before I speak.  Throughout the Bible, there are multiple references to idle words.  That is, unproductive, inactive, of no real worth, importance, or  significance, as defined by Dictionary.com .    One ...

I have to say, I've been struggling these past few weeks.  I tell you truthfully and sincerely that I trust God.  I do know He is faithful and I know that His timing is perfect.  AND I even believe the scripture found in Romans 8:28 that assures us, "all things work together for the good of those who love the Lord."  Lately, though, I guess I've let a lingering illness get the best of my attitude.  I've found myself in a place of weariness and I hear myself saying constantly, "I'm just really tired."  Often times the natural can rob the spiritual, if we permit.  My best friend reminded me of the Apostle Paul who said he counted all of his suffering joy.  See, Paul had it figured out.  He had learned to "become content in whatever state" he was in.  (Philippians 4:11-12)  Let me just tell you, he went through some awful things in his time here on earth. Earlier this week, I heard a message entitled, "How Can You Trust Someone ...

The first of the year is always a time of looking inward--self-evaluation.  The fact is, we all have things that we do not like about ourselves.  Most commonly, we describe them as "character flaws".  Perhaps, we should ask ourselves if these attributes are really flawed or is it more accurate that our use of them is where we err.  Sometimes, I think it is the way we exert these quirks that determine what we do and do not like about ourselves as well as how others view us and how we view them.   Also, keep in mind that an imbalance of these qualities can be taken to the extreme and most certainly become flawed.  Some examples: Determination ® Strong-willed, stubbornness Humility ®  low self-esteem Meekness ® weakness Organized  ® obsessive Leadership skills ® controlling, bossy Most of these idiosyncrasies should be viewed as strengths rather than weaknesses.  In the appropriate settings and...