Author: admin

We must pay careful attention to what we have heard so that we do not drift away. Hebrews 2:1

Today I needed to leave work to go to the pharmacy. It’s liberally 5 minutes away. I found myself at the stop light in plain view of the pharmacy when I noticed I was in the wrong lane.  I looked at the traffic behind me and realized it was too late for me to change lanes. There was too much traffic in both lanes to safely make the move without holding up traffic or cutting someone off.

I decided the best thing to do was to make a right turn. At that point I pulled into a fast-food restaurant right next door to the pharmacy so that I could quickly make a right turn to the pharmacy. To my chagrin, I realized I was caught in their lunchtime traffic and sat there and waited… and waited… and waited.

What was meant to be a 10-minute trip to the pharmacy ended up taking a half hour just because I hadn’t been paying attention and got myself into the wrong lane. I could have saved so much time, frustration, and waiting had I been paying attention and been in the correct lane to begin with.

I truly had no one to blame but myself.

Sometimes in life I think we all get in the wrong lane. We go about our daily routine. Everything seems to be going smoothly and suddenly one day wake up and realize we’ve gotten off track. We weren’t paying close attention. The normalcy of routine makes it easy to get our eyes on everything but the road.

The wrong lane led to the wrong road. A few bad decisions later and we’re way off course.

As always, though, God is always there,  trying to get us back on track with the gentle reminder that it never had to be that way.

We must pay careful attention to what we have heard so that we do not drift away. Hebrews 2:1

Since ancient times no one has heard, no ear has perceived, no eye has seen any God besides you, who acts on behalf of those who wait for him. Isaiah 64:4

2023 has been a year of waiting. We literally have been waiting for a whole year and even longer for God’s right & perfect provision in a certain area. When feeling responsible for the health of a business, sometimes the weight seems heavy. This is especially true when things are completely out of our control and God is asking specifically for me to exercise patience. Patience just isn’t my thing. Lol

As I look back on a whole year of waiting, I am praising God for what He has shown me in the process. I am praising God for how he has provided every single need, every single day. I am praising God for showing us how to handle things while we continue to wait. God has shown me that it’s very easy to look at the wind and waves but much more peaceful when my eyes are on Him.

Today I am thankful. Today I feel truly blessed by His abundant provision. Today we still wait but I see God working and for that I am thankful.

Thank you, Lord, for turning my anxiety and worry into hope and rest.

Authority

Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore, go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, ²⁰ and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely, I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” Matthew 28: 18-19

The Great Commission- the mission given to the disciples and the church body. I’ve been thinking about this quite a bit lately. We have been given authority. The authority was given to Jesus by The Father, which was delegated to us…to me. Like with all authority, it comes with great responsibility. In fact, the greater the authority, the greater the responsibility. This is the greatest of all authority and responsibility.

Jesus, before giving us this authority, became a man. The authority came with a price. The price tag was pain and suffering. He was bruised, beaten, despised, rejected, betrayed. & denied. His crown wasn’t made of Jewels. He wore a crown of thorns instead. With nail pierced hands He died on a cross for you and me. His authority didn’t come with elegance or prestige.

Then the revelation…the light bulb moment… Knowing Jesus suffered, bled, and died to save us and to give us this authority and calling as Christians, who am I to question it? Who am I to squander, abuse, negotiate, deny, or mishandle this authority and calling in my life? Who am I to say I’m not good enough or able enough after everything He went through? After all, He never said I must do anything. He said it’s Christ who lives in me…and that I can do all things THROUGH Christ.

Don’t talk yourself out of what God has in mind for you. He will always equip those He calls. Let’s go forward with authority. May we answer His call all to the glory of God.

Now both Jesus and His disciples were invited to the wedding. And when they ran out of wine, the mother of Jesus said to Him, “They have no wine.” Jesus said to her, “Woman, what does your concern have to do with Me? My hour has not yet come.” His mother said to the servants, “Whatever He says to you, do it.” Now there were set there six waterpots of stone, according to the manner of purification of the Jews, containing twenty or thirty gallons apiece. Jesus said to them, “Fill the waterpots with water.” And they filled them up to the brim. And He said to them, “Draw some out now, and take it to the master of the feast.” And they took it. When the master of the feast had tasted the water that was made wine and did not know where it came from (but the servants who had drawn the water knew), the master of the feast called the bridegroom. And he said to him, “Every man at the beginning sets out the good wine, and when the guests have well drunk, then the inferior. You have kept the good wine until now!” This beginning of signs Jesus did in Cana of Galilee manifested His glory; and His disciples believed in Him. John 2:2-11

I can see the event in my mind’s eye. I like filling in the blanks as I imagine. They’re all at a wedding, Mary, Jesus’ mom, Jesus, and His disciples. Everything’s perfect. Beautiful flowers, great caterers, and a lovely ceremony. Everything is flowing smoothly when all the sudden the bride is panicking. They ran out of wine. Mary overhears and immediately, she tells her son, the miracle worker, to take care of the situation.

Mary knew who she was with. Mary knew she was with The Son of God, the miracle worker. Can you imagine being Mary and having your son be Jesus? I can’t think of a better way to introduce the miracle worker to the world then to turn water into wine at a huge wedding feast. He not only turned water into wine, but He also turned it into the best wine that could be found anywhere.

Just think how quickly word got out from the servants about the water turning into wine and how until their death bed they were able to continue telling everyone how they witnessed Jesus turning water into wine. What a great story for the grand kids, right?

It also excites me how God the father used Mary to prompt God the son, Jesus, to turn the water into wine. Mary knew her authority and she exercised it with confidence.  (John 2:2-3) “…the mother of Jesus said to Him, they have no wine.” Jesus said to her, “Woman, what does your concern have to do with Me? My hour has not yet come.” His mother said to the servants, “Whatever He says to you, do it.”

A simple prompting from mom and all the sudden Jesus’ first miracle occurs.

The servants are also superstars. Simple obedience led to a miracle. This passage does not indicate that they hesitated or asked a lot of questions. They simply did what they were told. They played a role in a major miracle! They not only filled the pots with water, but they were also bold enough to follow through by drawing some out and taking it to the Master of the Feast.

Most exciting of all?  Verse 11 – This beginning of signs Jesus did in Cana of Galilee manifested His glory; and His disciples believed in Him. John 2:2-11

This miracle, along with many that followed, ‘Manifested His glory!’ The fact that the disciples and his mother believed, though seems very simple, also allowed for the miracle to occur.

Just think if we all could believe, use our authority, obey, and look for miracle moments, how many more miracles we could see all with the sole purpose of manifesting the glory of God!

I have been searching God’s word for relief & wisdom about a certain thing and God reminded me of something He showed me 3 years ago about “the power of praise.”

“The power of praise” …it just kept going through my mind…

“The power of praise” One thing lead to another and I found myself reading 2 Chronicles 20.

I started reading about a vast army that was coming against Jehoshaphat. The bible says Jehoshaphat feared.

He feared.

But he got the people of Judah together to seek The Lord. As Jehoshaphat prayed, he was telling God about all the things God had done for them…he named them in a list. I know he wasn’t telling God because God forgot…God already knows what He had done.

I believe Jehoshaphat was reminding himself and all of the people what God had already done for them and who God is to build their own faith.

There is so much in this scripture its hard to summarize…but as the people are gathered, The Spirit of God told the People…

“Do not be afraid or discouraged because of this vast army. For the battle is not yours, but God’s.” He goes on to give them further instruction and says…”You will not have to fight this battle!”

Wow! That is when the breakthrough came for me. I’d been saying it…”God’s got this.” The whole time, but the words just leaped off the page…

THE BATTLE IS NOT YOURS…YOU WILL NOT HAVE TO FIGHT THIS BATTLE

Wow! Wow! Thank you, Lord!

It doesn’t end there…God’s instructions were clear…

“Get in position, stand firm, and see the deliverance The Lord will give you.” Do not be afraid. Do not be discouraged. Go out to face them tomorrow and The Lord will be with you.”

So what does Jehoshaphat do? He has them get in position and appoints them to sing and praise!

He appoints them to SING AND PRAISE!

So amongst all the singing and praising, The Lord set ambushes and the battle was won!

I have rest now and peace…knowing I am in position…we are in position…you are in position…All we have now to do is sing an praise and sing and praise and sing and praise some more while God fights this battle for us!

Hallelujah!

So, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don’t fall!  1 Corinthians 10:12

This summer we had 2 notable trees fall during storms along with a partial of a family favorite. They were all located in different areas of the property. It’s been a long clean-up process. During the clean-up, we found the bases of all 3 had become rotten.  There were huge holes in all 3 tree bases. The causes of the rotting may have been different for all 3, but it led to the same result.

The rotten base caused the root system to weaken. The weakened roots could no longer withstand the large amounts of moisture in the earth due to heavy rains. When the wind came, they were easily brought down.

I could easily blame the wind and rain for causing the trees to go down, but if that were the case, all the surrounding trees would have gone down. I think the problem is much deeper. Whatever caused the base of the tree to rot caused the roots to weaken.

There was no way we could have known that the base of the tree was rotten. The rotting was inside the tree. The trees appeared to be perfectly healthy on the outside. I think this can happen in our lives as Christians. Our roots can run very deep. Then, we allow something into our lives to slowly eat away at our base. No one is the wiser. We may not even realize it ourselves.

Perhaps we quit reading God’s word. Maybe we aren’t spending time in our prayer life. Even time spent doing other important things can seem innocent enough. Neglecting God’s house can also cause damage to the base. Habits and bitterness can cause damage. It could be any number of things.

The base is slowly rotting and now your roots are weakening. We get hit with “Life”, or a little wind and rain, and all the sudden we’ve fallen.  

Are your roots strong or are they weakening? Has your base been damaged? Has rotting occurred? It’s never a bad time to check the base and root structure before any real damage takes place.  “Christ is my firm foundation. The rock on which I stand.”

So, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don’t fall! 1 Corinthians 10:12

Then he said to them all: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me. For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will save it. Luke 9:23-24

“You owe it to yourself”, “It’s time I think of myself,” “Because you’re worth it,” “Have it your way,” “Your opinion matters,” “You deserve a break today.” “I need to take care of me.”

We are born selfish. Our sin nature along with world manipulation and conditioning tells us to be selfish – self-centered, self-reliant, and self-seeking.

The Bible teaches just the opposite. Galatians 2:20 Says “I am crucified with Christ, therefore I no longer live….” If we want to follow Christ, we must deny ourselves. (Mark 8: 34) Denying ourselves is a daily thing. (Luke 9:23)

The world teaches that our own strength will lead to success. The bible says through His strength we can do all things. (Philippians 4:13) True success begins with self-denial and God reliance. When we come to the realization that we can do nothing without Christ, a huge responsibility is lifted. There’s comfort knowing God can do everything and all strength comes from Him. True success happens by taking up His cross daily. The more we can be emptied of self, the more room to be filled with Christ. More of Christ, less of me…that is true success.

Then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and of one mind. Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others. Philippians 2:2-4

For where you have envy and selfish ambition, there you find disorder and every evil practice. James 3:16

Then he said to them all: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me. For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will save it. Luke 9:23-24

 Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers.           Galatians 6:9-10

Yesterday as I was grocery shopping, I heard a person saying, “Keep up the good work at Wedgewood.” I looked up to see a familiar couple who had family members at Wedgewood for quite a while several years ago. They went on to tell me how one of their friends moved into a Garden Home a few months ago and continued to sing the praises of Wedgewood.

This couple had no idea about all the business challenges we have faced over the past 4 years. They had no idea about how discouraged I was feeling. They simply said… “Keep up the good work.” Just when I needed it, God brought someone my way to offer a word of encouragement.

What situation are you facing? What makes you feel like you’d rather throw in the towel and walk away? What problem have you been waiting for a solution that feels like forever?  

I think you need to hear these words…

What you are doing is making a difference. Don’t quit just before the breakthrough. God will bring you through. Keep up the good work.

Keep up the good work! The work you’ve been doing is good, so keep it up!

You see, my heart knows God’s got it. He always takes care of everything. My head, on the other hand, sometimes gets distracted. Then, God brings someone my way to pull me back. He brings me gentle reminders exactly when I need it the most.

You can do it! Gods got it! Keep up the good work.

Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers.           Galatians 6:9-10

“For my eyes are on all their ways; they are not hidden from my face, nor is their iniquity.” Jeremiah 16:17

 Sometimes I wear socks that don’t match. It’s true- especially in the winter when I am wearing tall boots and I know they won’t be coming off anytime soon. I also have been known to wear socks with holes in them. The holes are always in the toe area, so I just fold the sock over and all fixed…ready to wear.

The real problem comes though, when the sock gets unfolded and I am stuck with a toe sticking out of my sock. It’s really uncomfortable, but, I am the only one who knows, right? No one else around is aware that my socks don’t match, or that my toe is sticking out of a hole. They just see the outward me. The small sock details are well hidden.

It’s kind of like when I get to work after having a bad morning at home. Something didn’t quite go the way I wanted and I’ve lost my temper. I’ve been a real grouch. Once I get to work, no one is the wiser, they see a different me. Hopefully they see a better me. Hopefully they see me without holes and all mismatched.

But you know, there is one who sees my grumbling and my unlovable reaction. God sees all the holes, yet God still loves me. I guess my goal for this day, for this life, is to be transparent, socks and all. I want to be the same in private as I am in public. I want to gain such integrity that what people see, people get. I want the public and private me to come with no holes or mismatches.

Today I’m digging deeper for a better me tomorrow.

In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him. In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.  1 John 4:9-11

But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint. Isaiah 40:31

We live in an age of instant everything. With just a few clicks we can buy dinner and have it delivered, a whole list of groceries, or even a new fall wardrobe and school supplies.

We can slip a coffee pod in a Keurig and have fresh coffee in seconds. A simple text gets sent in less than a second to as many people as we’d like. We haven’t had to wait for a newspaper with the latest headlines in years. We have the world at our fingertips with no delays.

Maybe that’s why waiting is so difficult.

Have you ever sat at a red light, and it finally turns green but the person at the front of line is still in wait mode just sitting there? By the time they get moving, only 1 or 2 people get through the green and the waiting starts all over again. It’s extremely frustrating. My patience only goes so far, then the grumbling begins.

Grumbling, murmuring, complaining…all seem to creep in while waiting.

I once stood in line to ride a new roller coaster for 3 hours. It was the better part of the day. At first, I willingly waited. I wanted to enjoy the thrill of the ride. Excitement and anticipation carried me through the first hour of waiting. Well into the second hour my focus was no longer the excitement of the ride, but the extremely long, boring, and hot wait.

My focus changed from the excitement of the ride to the circumstances I was facing while I waited.

I think that’s how it is when I am in a season of waiting. I know God has good things in store. I know His plans are perfect. I know He is going to provide. It seems, though, the longer I wait, the more I find to complain about, and I’ve even begun to doubt.

God’s word tells us instead of grumbling and complaining while we wait, we should live expecting with hope quietly with strength and courage.

Wow! Wait quietly? There’s the light bulb moment. If we wait quietly, with our mouths closed, there’s no way we can grumble, murmur, or complain.

He also wants us to wait with hope. God wants us to wait with excited anticipation for what is ahead.

What are you waiting for? God has good things ahead. Here’s to renewed strength as we wait together!

In the morning, Lord, you hear my voice; in the morning I lay my requests before you and wait expectantly.” Psalm 5: 3

“The Lord is good to those whose hope is in him, to the one who seeks him; it is good to wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord.” Lamentations 3:25-26 –

Micah 7:7 – “But as for me, I watch in hope for the Lord, I wait for God my Savior; my God will hear me.” Micah 7:7

Wait for the Lord; be strong and let your heart take courage; wait for the Lord! Psalm 27:14

“For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the Lord. “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts. Isaiah 55:8-9

For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. Jeremiah 29:11-13

I admit, sometimes God tries to tell me things and I don’t get it on the first, second, or third try. In fact, it has taken me way too long to understand that a certain door is a closed door. I guess you could say in my own strength I tried prying the door open.

I’m tempted though, to try to understand why the door is shut. Then the moment of clarity hits. When He shuts a door, He opens a better one. His thoughts and plans are way better than my thoughts and plans. He gives us hope and a future! He wants only the very best for us! His best is so much greater than our best.

That makes life so much more exciting, doesn’t it? I had an idea of what I’d like to see happen, but His plan is so much bigger and better that anything I could ever dream.

It gets even better! Once He opens a door, no man can shut it. I look forward with expectancy and excitement as I search His word and timing for the open door and His perfect, better plan.

“For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the Lord. “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts. Isaiah 55:8-9

For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. Jeremiah 29:11-13