A Walk With My Father

I've been pondering how much the Father loves us lately.......more so than usual.

I have this incredible hunger to experience His love in deeper ways as I find deep holes in my soul that can only be filled with His love.

I went for a walk recently and my sole purpose in going was to imagine myself walking with Him.  I'm trying to talk to Him more and more as if He were right here with me ALL the time.  (I know that He is.....in my head, but my heart has a hard time 'getting it'.)
To really grasp His love, I have been contemplating what it means to be child-like.  As a child, my most favorite thing to do with my father was simply just be with him, no matter what we were doing. 

My walk on this day was a tangible way for me to 'be' with my heavenly Father.

I couldn't help but record some of the scenes we saw.  I knew when I got back home I wanted to write a piano song to go with the pictures. 

I want to share this home-made video and piano song with you.  As you listen and observe, may you find peace and sense the Father drawing you to come and walk with Him too.

To view the video click here.

"Talk to yourself - really!"

Have you ever called your phone and left a message for yourself?  (please say yes!  I'll feel better.)

I can't even remember why I did it, but one day I called my land line from my cell phone and gave myself a cheery "Hey you" message. 

Frankly, I don't remember why I did it or what all I said to myself.

But later, when I checked my messages, I was perplexed at the strange voice on the phone.  It seemed familiar, but whoever called didn't leave their name or number.  (the nerve....how is one to return calls when you don't know who to call?). 

Then the light went on.  It was my own voice.  Silly me.  I had a good laugh.   (You might be of the artistic temperament if you find encouragement from your own phone messages.)

But it might not be that strange when you think about it.  The psalmist David talked to himself sometimes for encouragement.

Psalm 103:1-3  (A Psalm of David)

"Praise the Lord, I tell myself;
with my whole heart, I will praise his holy name. 
Praise the Lord, I tell myself,
and never forget the good things he does for me. 
He forgives all my sins and heals all my diseases."  (NLT)

Perhaps if David lived today, he would use his cell phone to call his land line and leave himself a message.  Why not put technology to use in an encouraging way I say!

You see, there is something about being vocal about encouragement.  It's one thing to think to yourself that you should be encouraged but it takes it to a whole new level when you say it out loud, like David must have done.

We all know speaking an encouraging word to someone is much more effective thanthinking it.  I don't think it's much different when it comes to encouraging ourselves in the Lord either.

Try it.

Talk to yourself, out loud; encourage yourself to praise the Lord and remember that He is good!

Or leave yourself an encouraging message on your answering machine.  (You might want to make sure no one else is in the room when you check your messages though.) 

Nothing like hearing your own voice tell your own soul to be encouraged.  

P.S.  If you try this - let me know how it works for you!

Have a beautiful day.  You are loved by the Father of all creation!

The Marriage Bouquet

A few weeks ago Tom (my husband) was taking a shower and I was in the kitchen doing dishes.  A typical scenario.

All of a sudden from out of the bathroom came this odd question.  "Is there a reason there are clothes in the toilet?"

How would you answer this question from your spouse?

A)  Yes, there is a reason, leave them alone please.
B)  I don't know, but I'm sure whoever put them there had a reason.
C)  No, there is NOT a reason.
D)  What do you mean there are clothes in the toilet?

I went for multiple choice answer D since I knew nothing about any clothes in the toilet.

Now I've been known to put mousse on my face instead of in my hair and get mighty close to putting something other than coffee grounds in the coffee pot, but I've yet to put clothes in the toilet.

I could have blamed it on the children, but we don't have any.  Just 2 cats.  I'd be impressed if they did it.

Now if you were me, wouldn't you assume that Tom did it since they were HIS clothes in the toilet?  (Turns out, he did put them in there thinking it was the hamper.  Did I mention we're still in our 40's).

Well, on September 2, we celebrated 21 years and we find more and more reasons to laugh at AND with each other.  We are about as opposite as you can get when it comes to our personalities.

It reminds me of my flowers growing around my yard.  Some are very small and dainty, others are big and bold.  But you put them together and they show each other off.

Same way in relationships.  It's our differences that make our uniqueness stand out.  It can also be a point of contention if we're not careful.  (Like the clothes in the toilet - I thought his question was worded a bit accusingly - as if he assumed I put them in there.  He claims he has no memory of putting any clothes in the toilet.

So take a look at the bouquet I gathered from my yard.  Yes, my husband is the bold orange, and# 1 I'm more like the delicate purple with all kinds of smaller intricacies, but together, we make up a beautiful marriage bouquet.

Just need to keep it well watered!

A Wedding To Remember

It was scorching hot today.  An excessive heat warning was forecasted and for once, they hit the nail on the head.  It would have been appropriate to take beach towels to the wedding we attended today since the reception was held outside under a big white tent.  We could have absorbed a lot of sweat with those towels.

The ceremony took place in a comfortably cool sanctuary.  Thank God for whoever invented air conditioning.  (Now all we need is to figure out how to cool the outside air on a hot day).

I thought about taking kleenexes along just in case I might get teary, but decided not to today.

Ever since my dad died I get really weepy at weddings.  The father of the bride comes down the aisle with his daughter by his side and I loose it immediately.  It's one of those times where the water faucet is turned on and it's hard to stop the tears.  At least for me.   But since I only knew the groom, I figured I'd be safe.

Bad decision.  Note to self.  From now on, just take kleenexes along to EVERY wedding.

What I witnessed today was so beautiful I don't even know if I can describe it here, but I'll try.

It all started when I saw the face of the groom as his bride appeared in the doorway ready to come to his side.  It was obvious he was focused on one thing.  HER!  

I began to think about Jesus and how we are his bride.  I wondered if he looks at me with that kind of longing, so anxious to see me coming down the aisle into his arms after a life-time here on earth.

Then there was the way he committed himself to her as he read the vows he had obviously poured over long before he spoke them out loud.  The tears ran down his face and his voice cracked through most of the promises and I couldn't stop my own tears.

Surely Jesus must have had (and still has) the same emotions for us as he committed his love and life to us long ago.  He must be so anxious for the wedding day to come when we will finally be united with him and sit down together for our marriage feast and celebration.

Any of us that have been married any length of time know that sometimes in marriage we hit bumps in the road and the glory of the wedding day when we meant every word we said in our vows is long gone.  We struggle to love each other that deeply day in and day out.  Life gets busy and hard.

Tom and I will soon celebrate 21 years of marriage.  It hasn't always been easy, but I must say that my love for him is so much deeper than before.  We've weathered so much together.  We've had the comfortable cool of the beautiful air conditioned sanctuary with beautiful flowers filling the room.  We've also experienced the grilling hot temperatures of the outside tent when things weren't so cool and wonderful.  That's what 'weathering life' together is all about.

I guess that's how my walk with Jesus is too.  There are great days and not so great days, but every now and then it's nice to take an afternoon, go to a wedding and be reminded that I have a bridge-groom waiting for me at the end of life's aisle.  I want to keep my eyes focused on him as much as he must have his eyes focused on me as I make my way toward him.

Thanks Sam and Alecia for the beautiful reminder of Jesus' love for me.  It was certainly a wedding to remember.

"Who Do You Think You Are" 6.29.10

Have you ever stepped out in faith regarding something you felt strongly about only to find a haunting question plaguing you every step of the way?   "Who do you think you are?"  

I think David must have heard that attitude when he stepped out to face Goliath.  They questioned his motives, his age and his ability.

What if we turn that question around to our nagging doubts....."Who do YOU think YOU are?

Listen to the song "Who Do You Think You Are" here.

"Destined For More" 6.28.10

If you're like me, you often get the feeling that you were destined for more than what you are experiencing.

I think it's the kind of feeling that actually keeps us going at times.  A certain restlessness that occurs right before we embark on a new opportunity.

I think perhaps we came built this way.  Always hungering for more.  That can be a downer if it comes to material things, but not when it comes to God and pursuing His Kingdom!  Hunger keeps us searching for Him in deeper ways.

Certainly King David felt that same sense of destiny in his heart.  It must have gripped him when he heard Goliath defy the name of the Lord and frighten the army of Israel.  They were stricken with fear!!!  He didn't like to see God's people feeling that way I bet.

David must have found the courage to fight Goliath because of the hope he had on the inside of him.  He believed God had plans for His own children I bet.

Today's song is an attempt to express my thoughts about David from yet another angle.  I believe we all carry this same sense that we too were destined for more.

Listen to the new song "Destined" here.

Love of the deepest kind 6.15.10

I'm still impressed as I read through the story of David and Goliath, but for a new reason this time around.

David killed the lion and the bear to protect the sheep of the pasture he had been given charge of.  It could not have been for selfish reasons.  It was just part of his job and he was good at it.  I think he must have loved protecting his sheep.

When he heard Goliath ranting and raving his threats, David must have viewed this as a threat to the sheep of God's pasture, his people, Israel.

I had to think about my own music ministry and life in general.  Why do I want to accomplish all that I do?  Is it more for my own gain or is it really about the people of God and protecting the body of Christ from all forms of threats from the enemy?  Am I as selfless as David?  

Surely this story is a picture of love of the deepest kind.  It's also a picture of Jesus!

Listen to the song to go with this blog under "devotional notes" for 6.15.10 here.