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...