New Interactive Game for the Whole Family

I finally started on my Football Bingo game, which has been in the works for years.  Check it out:

Football Bingo

Hope you enjoy it as much as my family does!

Mother's Day Bouquet

So, my family asked me what I wanted for Mother's Day.  Here is the bouquet I got:

We hiked the 4000 ft. to the top of Dog Mountain in the Columbia River Gorge.  The wildflowers were in full bloom.  The hike was a lot harder now that I am in my 40's that it used to be, but it was well worth the climb.

     

I couldn't have asked for a better Mother's Day gift!

On Peace

John 14:27:  "Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you.  I do not give to you as the world gives.  Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid."


John 16:33:  "I have told you these things so that in me you may have peace.  In this world you will have trouble.  But take heart!  I have overcome the world."


What I wouldn't give for some peace and quiet!  I have heard that so many times.  Life is so hectic, with demands on our time and energy seemingly all day, every day.  And there seems to be so much pressure and so much trouble all around...economically, politically, in the environment, in our neighborhoods, and in our homes.  It appears that peace is in very short supply.


But peace is just what Jesus promised to leave with us when he returned to heaven.  The key, from the verse above, is that he does not give as the world does.  What does that mean?  In the second verse above, we have the answer.  "In this world you will have trouble..."  We tend to think that peace means having it easy, with no pressure, no hurrying, no trouble at all.  Jesus tells us that this simply isn't the case.  As long as we live on earth, we will still have trouble.  This is a given.  Yet, we can have peace.


Our peace does not come in the absence of trials and troubles.  it comes in knowing God and trusting his sovereignty.  "...take heart!  I have overcome the world."  Knowing that no matter what happens, God has our backs, now that brings peace!


The apostle Paul understood this.  with everything he went through to bring the good news about Jesus to the world beyond Jerusalem and Judea, he still tells us, "...if god is for us, who can be against us?  (Romans 8:31).  The Old Testament king, David, also learned how to have peace in the midst of great trial and tribulation.  Even though his life was in danger, with the enemy army surrounding him and his men, he cried out to God, "When I am afraid, I will trust in you.  In God, whose word I praise, in God I trust; I will not be afraid.  What can mortal man do to me?"   (Psalm 56:4).




Peace, therefore, is something deeper than a calm, quiet life.   Peace is being able to stand firm, unafraid in the middle of even the most difficult circumstance, knowing you have a God you can trust.

Thoughts on Jesus' Divinity

 

Psalm 22

For the director of music. To the tune of “The Doe of the Morning.” A psalm of David.

¹ My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?
    Why are you so far from saving me,
    so far from my cries of anguish?
² My God, I cry out by day, but you do not answer,
    by night, but I find no rest.

³ Yet you are enthroned as the Holy One;
    you are the one Israel praises.
⁴ In you our ancestors put their trust;
    they trusted and you delivered them.
⁵ To you they cried out and were saved;
    in you they trusted and were not put to shame.

⁶ But I am a worm and not a man,
    scorned by everyone, despised by the people.
⁷ All who see me mock me;
    they hurl insults, shaking their heads.
⁸ “He trusts in the Lord,” they say,
    “let the Lord rescue him.
Let him deliver him,
    since he delights in him.”

⁹ Yet you brought me out of the womb;
    you made me trust in you, even at my mother’s breast.
¹⁰ From birth I was cast on you;
    from my mother’s womb you have been my God.

¹¹ Do not be far from me,
    for trouble is near
    and there is no one to help.

¹² Many bulls surround me;
    strong bulls of Bashan encircle me.
¹³ Roaring lions that tear their prey
    open their mouths wide against me.
¹⁴ I am poured out like water,
    and all my bones are out of joint.
My heart has turned to wax;
    it has melted within me.
¹⁵ My mouth is dried up like a potsherd,
    and my tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth;
    you lay me in the dust of death.

¹⁶ Dogs surround me,
    a pack of villains encircles me;
    they pierce my hands and my feet.
¹⁷ All my bones are on display;
    people stare and gloat over me.
¹⁸ They divide my clothes among them
    and cast lots for my garment.

¹⁹ But you, Lord, do not be far from me.
    You are my strength; come quickly to help me.
²⁰ Deliver me from the sword,
    my precious life from the power of the dogs.
²¹ Rescue me from the mouth of the lions;
    save me from the horns of the wild oxen.

²² I will declare your name to my people;
    in the assembly I will praise you.
²³ You who fear the Lord, praise him!
    All you descendants of Jacob, honor him!
    Revere him, all you descendants of Israel!
²⁴ For he has not despised or scorned
    the suffering of the afflicted one;
    he has not hidden his face from him
    but has listened to his cry for help.

²⁵ From you comes the theme of my praise in the great assembly;
    before those who fear you I will fulfill my vows.
²⁶ The poor will eat and be satisfied;
    those who seek the Lord will praise him—
    may your hearts live forever!

²⁷ All the ends of the earth
    will remember and turn to the Lord,
    and all the families of the nations
    will bow down before him,
²⁸ for dominion belongs to the Lord
    and he rules over the nations.

²⁹ All the rich of the earth will feast and worship;
    all who go down to the dust will kneel before him—
    those who cannot keep themselves alive.
³⁰ Posterity will serve him;
    future generations will be told about the Lord.
³¹ They will proclaim his righteousness,
    declaring to a people yet unborn:
    He has done it!

 

 

I read this during my morning devotions.  I remember that Jesus quoted the first line of this Psalm when he was dying on the cross.  It only just now struck me what he was saying to the crowd around him.  I always thought that the Psalm was prophetically relaying what Jesus would do when he was dying, but I didn't make the connection that Jesus then reminded the crowd that He was the one about whom the Psalm was referring.

 

Looking at verse 8, I am reminded that the one thief dying next to him mocked him in a similar manner. Then there are the descriptions of pouring out his life, like a drink offering, pierced hands and feet, casting lots for his clothing, and the promise of redemption for all those who "remember" (verse 27).  Since it was a custom of the Jews for the young men to study the scriptures, I would imagine that many were familiar with this Psalm.  I wonder how many went home and pondered this, or if anyone brought it up in the synagogue later (if they dared)?  I am amazed at how each part of scripture is related, how God brought all things together.  The God that lives outside of time moved David to record Jesus' suffering down to the smallest of details, then Jesus reminded the people of just what had been predicted and how accurately in the details.  Yet they did not see.

The Process

I just finished "God Distorted" by John Bishop.  It was very, very good!  One line that really touched me at this time in my life was this:

"We never want the process -- we only want the destination -- but it is in the process we find God."

This has proven true over and over again in my life.  If only we could remember how much God loves us when we are struggling with life's complexities.  We could learn the lessons God has for us, grow in the process in our relationship with Him, and we could stop stressing so much!

discrimination

Do you look down on me because of the way I dress?  My economic status? My lifestyle?  Where I went to school? The color of my skin? My gender?  My mistakes?

Don't worry.  Jesus died for people like me.

And I won't worry, either, because Jesus died for people like you!

Validation

My Bible study last night was from Luke 7:18 - 35.  It starts out with John the Baptist sending his disciples to inquire if Jesus truly was the long-awaited Messiah.  I was intrigued that someone like John could have doubts.  He knew who Jesus was since he was in his mother's womb, and he would have doubts?  I found it encouraging.  You see, John was in prison.  He had really angered the king, so I am sure he knew that he was never going to be a free man again.  I am sure he was asking himself if he had really made a difference in his life, which he had devoted to serving God.  I feel like that often, too.  Am I really doing what God has intended for me?  Have I somehow missed the mark?  Does my life really make a difference.

I was pleased with Jesus' response:  "Go back and report to John what you have seen and heard:  The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cured, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is preached to the poor." Vs 22.  Jesus doesn't simply tell him, "Yes!"  He tells him, "look at the facts."  He tells us the same thing.  When I am questioning God, he can tell me, "look at the facts."  "See what I have done for you in the past.  See what I am doing now.  Look at the evidence all around."  God is real.  He is changing lives every day.  The Bible tells us what has happened in the past, we can see His work all around us now, so we can just look at the evidence, and our worries, our fears, our uncertainties can disappear.

Then, Jesus takes the opportunity to address those on the sidelines who were listening, to answer any doubts they may have as well.  He confirms John's call to ministry and his loyalty to God.  Jesus makes a bigger lesson out of one man's doubts, validating the crowd's belief as well.  We can do that too.  When we have questions, and God reveals the answers to us, we can be confident that others are struggling with the same worries and questions.  We can validate them with the help and the hope that God gives us during times of trial and doubt.

I am so glad that our great God is concerned with how we feel and helps us to look out for each other.