It is not God's plan for us to dwell in fear or for fear to rule our lives. He has already set in motion the fall of every giant we will ever face. Our responsibility is to step through our fear, confronting those giants in God's power instead of our own. It is our responsibility to count on the promise that God really is the same yesterday, today and forever. It is our responsibility to remain faithful. We have nothing to fear, not because we are clever or self-sufficient, but because we are his sheep. We can learn to manage fear and stress instead of allowing fear and stress to manage us. 

This is Good News so sleep like a baby......

                                                              
                

Sunday Prayer

       

LORD YOU ARE OUR LIGHT AND OUR SALVATION, WHOM SHALL WE FEAR? 

YOU ARE OUR SURE DEFENSE.  WHOM SHALL WE DREAD? 

ONE THING WE ASK OF YOU, FATHER, THAT WE MAY DWELL IN YOUR HOUSE ALL OF OUR DAYS.  WE SEEK TO DWELL UPON YOU IN YOUR HOUSE.  

PRAISE YOU,  FATHER FOR LIFTING US UP. 

TODAY, MANY OF US NEED TO BE LIFTED UP. 

GIVE US A WORD, SPUR US ON TO LIVE TO HONOR YOU. 

BLESS YOU THAT FAITH IN JESUS CHRIST IS NOT JUST A 

PRESCRIPTION FOR BEHAVIOR.  

FAITH IN JESUS IS A HOLY ENCOUNTER. 

REAL FAITH IS OUR WEAKNESS - LEANING ON AND  LIVING IN YOUR STRENGTH. THANK YOU FOR NOT FOR NOT REQUIRING SUCCESS, BUT  FAITHFULNESS.  

TODAY OUR PRAYER IS THAT YOU FIND US FAITHFUL. 

MAY ALL WHO COME BEHIND US FIND US FAITHFUL. 

HERE AND NOW, MAY ALL WE MEET FIND US FAITHFUL. 

HEAL OUR NATION.  HEAL OUR WORLD.

HEAL OUR HEARTS AND MINDS AND MAKE US ONE, O LORD.   

IN FAITH, WE PRAY IN THE NAME OF OUR PRECIOUS LORD AND SAVIOR, 

JESUS CHRIST.  AMEN. 

Growing Older

You know you are getting old when: 

..you stoop to tie your shoelaces and ask yourself, "What else can I do while I’m down here?" (George Burns) 

    ..your broad mind changes places with your narrow waist

            (Red Skelton)

    .. a stranger flirts with you in the movies and they are after                    your popcorn (Milton Berle)

    …your head makes promises your body cannot possibly keep.

            (Unknown, but said by all of us seniors!) 

            Keep Smilin', Friends! Life is getting better and better. 

           

Sunday Prayer

    Almighty God, open our hearts and know our desires.  There are no secrets hidden from You for You are Lord God Almighty who was and is and is to come. We come to You because of Jesus and all He sacrificed to bring believers into Your presence. Thank You for Jesus; that we have a perfect Father in Heaven who longs to share life with His own. Lord, we confess to being self absorbed and busy with things that bring temporary satisfaction. Forgive us for being so frail. May we turn our hearts to You and Your Word for rich, purposeful and abundant life.

                Strengthen us with Holy Spirit power to live in authentic faith;  lives that are rich and full because we have a Savior sufficient for every need. Thank You, Lord for human life and the express love You have for mankind. You created and designed us to be relationship with You - to love and to be loved. 

           In the faith of a little child - pure, innocent and unscathed by this world - we pray for hearts to be cracked open and filled to overflowing with the love of Jesus Christ. Bless those who already know Jesus is real and that He loves all people. Settle in us, O Great Jehovah. We know that in Jesus name, ALL LIVES MATTER.  We pray for Truth to prevail and a spirit of unity. We believe that life is sacred and that souls are identical and priceless.  Heal our world, O God. Heal our nation. Let there be peace on earth and may that peace begin in the hearts of Your people. In the beautiful, powerful name of Jesus, we pray. Amen. 

Happy Three-Month Birthday, Maisy!

What a thrill to arrive in Seattle two weeks ago and to finally hold you, MaisyGirl! We celebrate your life everyday, but being with you         everyday is a MONGO (a Dan Huck word 💗) blessing.               Happy three-month-old birthday today, Little One!  

Maisy, I am sharing more Verse-Mapping with you because it's all about you! These are Bible passages I studied and prayed for you     before you were born, Little One.                                                          On your three-month birhday, let's map Job 10:8a                                                 

Your hands shapped me and made me.....      (NIV)

You formed me with Your hands..... (NLT) 

Your hands have fashioned me and together totally....(KJ 2000) 

Thy hands have bound me together and made me as one...(Darby)

Thy hands have taken pains about me and They make me together round about  (Young's Literal) 

Your hands, Thy hands -  Hebrew hand =masculine, singular, a technical sense or sign; the stays or support of the tabernacle lover 

shaped me, formed me, bound me together, taking pains about me. - Hebrew=to cause pain; to stretch into shape; to form or copy and fashion. Oh, Maisy God took great pains in making you. He freely and intentionally takes pains of express care in making evry human being

made me, fashioned me - Hebrew= to accomplish or produce; to make an offering; to order, press or squeeze; forming with the highest diligence and care 

together totally, as one, together round about - Hebrew= altogether. round about=on all sides, head-to-toe and all in between (that's every tiny inch of you!)

• Tabernacle lovers (tabernacle servants) washed their hands to perform priestly duties. So it is, with sancified, clean and purified hands God's design of a human being is an act of worship. He created us to be in relationship with Him, Maisy - to live for Him, serve Him and to make His world a better place. 
• Conception is a union. Conception is God's gift to unite Himself with a human being.  You are His pleasure! I pray you will never forget that you are God's pleasure 💖

You were made to love God and for God to love you. He gave you to us for a grand purpose, as well. He fashioned you for us to love, completely and unconditionally. You were made to love your Mommy & Daddy, your grandparents, family and others. The sanctity of life is revealed in human conception. God esteemed you; held you as holy from the very instant you were formed by the union of your parents.

• We know that creating life is accomplished only by God - the mysterious miracle of life! Humans may be instruments or vessels to achieve life, but conception is totally GOD'S accomplishment.  In addition, He is fully aware of His design whether it is different, like a parent, perfect or imperfect. You are no surprise to Him, sweet child! You are exactly how He intended you to be.                                     
• Regardless of outward appearances and physicial states -internal or external, God creates every soul perfectly! Your soul is the most sacred part of you, Dear One.  Always and forever watch over your soul, Maisel.
• The formation of every human being stands exactly and precisely on the same divine footing, male and female alike.  We are as Adam and Eve in Genesis 1: men and women with equal dominion over all creation and God with dominion over His people. It was God's perfect plan, Maisy.  That all changed when Adam and Eve made a decision to do things their way. We will talk about that more on another day!                                                                                                                                                                 Thank You, Heavenly Father, for purposefully, painstakingly  forming this little girl of and for Chip and Rebecca. We know that You made her for all of us to love. We delight in the vast possibilities that lie ahead of her in life. I pray that she will be a tabernalce lover and readily come to know You and live for You. Our hearts are full to overflowing with thanks and praise for the gift of life You have provided in Maisy. We trust Your design and Will for this precious child. In Jesus' name, Amen 

Priorities

"Put God in His rightful place and one thousand 

problems are solved at once." 

- A. W. Tozer 

Sunday Prayer-Father's Day

Great Father in Heaven, today we honor fathers. Above all, You know the importance of fathers for we see Your love of Jesus, Your only begotten Son. Such amazing fatherly grace reminds us of how blessed we are to belong to You. Lord God, have compassion upon those who have no earthly father or have a father who never demonstrated Your goodness.

May we reach out in love to those who are hurting today because of a painful father relationship. Every person - every situation is so different, yet all are known by You. Thank you for the Divine love You show to those without dads. Inspire us to practice extra grace for those who wrestle with the concept of a loving Father. Inspire us to support ministries which focus on the fatherless.

Father of All People, heal our land; heal our world. Grant us unity, peace and comfort, as only You can do.    In Jesus' blessed name I pray, Amen

Great Father in Heaven, today we honor fathers. Above all,You know the importance of fathers for we see Your love of Jesus, Your only begotten Son. Such amazing fatherly grace reminds us of how blessed we are to belong to You. Lord God, have compassion upon those who have no earthly father or have a father who never demonstrated Your goodness.  Today, we reach out in love to those who are hurting today because of a painful father relationship. Every person - every situation is so different, yet all are known by You. Thank you for the Divine love you show to those without dads. Inspire us in how to support ministries which focus on the fatherless. Father of All People, heal our land and grant us unity, peace and comfort, as only You can do.  In Jesus' blessed name I pray, Amen 

My God Will Provide

God give us more by going deeper than we ask. 

He wants not only your whole heart . 

He wants your heart whole.  

- Max Lucado 

Sunday Prayer

Lord of All, The Psalmist wrote: “You are near, O Lord; and all your commandments are Truth. Of old we have known from Your testimonies that You have founded them forever.” Father, we worship You and to wait on You. Help us to grow in understanding Your ways; and not to succumb to impatience or discouragement because our personal timetable does not coincide with Yours. We stand on the promise that You make all things beautiful in Your time for You have set eternity in our hearts. Sweet Savior, strengthen our faith to fully depend on Your perfect timing. Everything you have done will remain forever.  There is nothing to add to it and nothing to take from it. You spoke and called all creation into being. You spoke to the ancients and used their minds, their vocabularies and their experiences to produce the perfect, infallible, inerrant Word that we love and study.  Thank you, for giving us written certainties to understand that the inspiration of Your Living Word is not of human writing, but Your very Words ....Your account of relating to man from moment of the first beam of light that shone in the darkness.  We believe that when Scripture speaks it is You speaking, Lord God, may Your Sacred Scripture never be altered, just as You can never be altered. You are the same yesterday, today and tomorrow. You are our unchanging God. You knew we need help to work our way through this earthly life. We need positive training to behave in a manner that is Holy & acceptable to You. Thank you for Sacred Scripture.  Christ’s  Words are Your words and may they be the very words that remain etched in our hearts and on our minds - words that can change our lives, our families, our communities and our world. May the power of Your ancient words heal our land, heal our minds and hearts and bring equality to all Your people.  In Jesus' Name, Amen. 

Sunday Prayer

Our God, we celebrate Your wonderful deeds for You are our protector. You rescue us and judge the nations. You know every heart and kind. You always do right and see that justice is done. You are wonderful! Thank You for going ahead of us, Lord. Your  Word is ours to claim through Holy Scripture. Your Holy Spirit is our ever present companion continually reminding us that we belong to You in Christ Jesus. Today we commemorate Pentecost, the descent of the Holy Spirit upon Christ's apostles and all those who follow Him. We remember Your Spirit wind, fire and speaking in tongues. Today, we acknowledge Your fresh wind blown into each of us. We yield to ongoing refining, realigning fires kindled in Your people. We claim You for all nations, languages, creeds, races and sects, knowing there is fruitfulness in service and motivation in ministry.  In prevailing prayer we ask for clean hearts and clear consciences for we cannot cling to the sins that nailed Jesus to the cross of Calvary; we cannot live in a state of disobedience and expect to enjoy Your favor. Father, may we totally believe Your guarantee to hear and answer our prayers. Forgive us when we question Your proactive Holy Spirit presence. Let us be intentional about an increasing  prayer time with you. We love you Lord and continue to beg for healing in our land - Your land - and healing around the world -  Your world. Settle the new chaos that has fallen on our country and may justice reign for all people. Thank You for the sure knowledge that healing and recovery is coming and it is by Your Hand. In Jesus' name we pray, Amen.  

Mindfulness: Relationships- Part 1

Social distancing.   Who ever thought this term would invade our society - the world!? -  and make such demands? The only time I remember ever hearing that term was briefly in Sociology 101 and never hearing it again until a few weeks ago. Our present social distancing is challenging for God designed us to be in relationship - with Him and with one another.  

Of course, we are thankful for technology - phones, Facetime, Skype, Zoom - whatever keeps us connected to family, friends and others. But, don't you miss the pleasures of being in the presence of other people ? Even the mindless opportunity to stand behind another customer in the grocery checkout lane is done with measuring and precaution.  

Every good and life-giving relationship should be two people who are connected, but separate.  In our most significant relationships, there is a pattern or a dance. This dance is made up of identifiable behaviors that cause relationships to struggle or to thrive. Friends, we must identify our dance – the patterned ways one relates to others – and understand how it impacts ALL our relationships. There really is an essential step for maintaining or moving beyond boundaries with other human beings.  The dance steps are important to every person on the planet.  Dancing alone or with others means to thrive, connect, be responsibile and to be free.

A few years ago there was a hit song by Lee Ann Womack. The lyrics of this song was the theme of the graduation message for one of our sons. The words, whether spoken, read or put to music profoundly spoke to me then and continues to speak to me even more today: I Hope You Dance.  

The dance is beginning. It is a slow dance - calculated  and in cautious phases. We will never take the dance for granted again, will we?  We were made to dance! 

Mindfully, value relationships.  

Sunday Prayer

Sweet Lord of All, we greet You today in faith and thanks for Your mercy & grace.  You are SO good. The work of Your hands is SO good. Heavenly Father, you're always near when we need You.  You never reject us nor fail us.  You always fulfill Your promises. Your Truth is timeless and pertinent. Thank You for the way Your Word applies to everyday living and circumstances. Thank You, praise You, bless You that Houses of Worship are open today.  While we strive to remain obedient to health restrictions and safety guidelines, our hearts are full to again be in the presence of beleiving community.  We are experiencing the Psalmist's joy when he wrote, I was glad when they said unto me, let us go into the House of the Lord.  Father God, even when life seems to be crashing in, we have learned not to give in to despair , but to worship You. We have learned to pray and pour out thanks to Our Great God who is in control.  Hear the kind readers now as they yield control of heartfelt concerns.  Hear our prayers......    Jesus, we are learning to leave everything – good and bad  – in Your powerful, capable hands. Please forgive our selfish living that gives little thought to the needs of others. Melt our hearts and break us in our deepest places. Flood us with Your love so we can see and feel about others as You do. Save us from ourselves, Great Redeemer.   Save Your world from the devastation of disease and sickness. Bring us Your healing in a myriad of ways as only You can do, then thrust us into the community to share The Good News of The Gospel of Jesus Christ. We ask this all in Jesus' name, who gave Himself for us and through whom we have the privilege of praying. Amen