The Journey

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...