what made these wise guys so wise...

“...and they fell to the ground and worshipped Him.  Then opening their treasures, they presented to Him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.” (Matthew 2:11)

At first glance, it may appear that the only gifts the Magi presented to Jesus were gold, frankincense, and myrrh.  Costly gifts to be sure, yet, there lay hidden beneath the gilded robes of these men another gift.  A gift that was much more precious, much more valuable than the three we are familiar with.  

Considered by the world as wisemen because of their superior knowledge of astronomy and astrology, this is not what made them truly wise.  It was not even their worship of Jesus that made them wise, nor was it the overflowing of gifts to Him out of their worship that made them wise.  What made these wise guys wise was belief in the Word of God.  It was out of this belief that everything else flowed.

“Where is He Who has been born King of the Jews?  For we saw His star in the east and have come to worship Him.” (Matthew 2:2)

Long before their journey to worship had ever begun, as astrologers, they had seen the star in the East, and being familiar with the Scriptures, they believed in and saw fulfillment of prophecy.  It was belief in God’s Word that preceded the purpose of their journey.  Put the two together, belief and the journey based on that belief, and in that they had gained a heart of wisdom.  Knowledge of God’s Word does not become wisdom in our lives until it is acted upon in faith.  A heart of wisdom.  More valuable than gold, frankincense and myrrh.  As they fell to the ground and worshipped Him, it was a heart of wisdom that they were truly presenting to Him.

“So teach us to number our days, that we may present to You a heart of wisdom.”

         Psalm 90:12

To number our days is to have an understanding and respect of the brevity of our time here on planet earth. The psalmist realized that time is a precious gift.  A gift that no one but God Himself can give.  So, he went to the Giver of time to be taught by Him, how to number his days.  How to live wisely in the time apportioned to him.

You and I have also been given, not only the gift of time, but also a gift from the magi.  It’s a principle.  A principle that teaches us that what we believe will ultimately chart the course of our days.  What made these guys so wise is that they had numbered their days, their calendars if you will, with the ink of belief in the Word of God, and then lived out their journey accordingly.   

LORD, in just a few days, I will be turning my calendar page to the very first day of a brand new year.  Each day will be a journey unto itself.  Teach me to number my days, that I may present to You a heart of wisdom.  

Additional Reading:  Proverbs 8:11  Proverbs 16:16   Ecclesiastes 2:26   

                                          Colossians 2:2-3  James 3:17  James 1:5   Proverbs 3:13

Your Precious but!

Please excuse my phraseology here,

 but honestly, 

Your BUT could be your BIGGEST asset today!

"Be anxious (afraid) for nothing, 

BUT in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving 

let your requests be made known to God." 

Philippians 4:6

Your BUT is your point of turning. 

Will you ever be afraid?

 Yes! 

Will you ever experience being anxious? 

Of course! 

But your BUT is your turning point. 

Your BUT is your higher ground. 

Listen to what happens on the other side of your BUT....

"And the peace of God, 

which surpasses all comprehension, 

will guard your hearts and minds 

in Christ Jesus."

By using your BUT to it's full, God given advantage, 

what begins with fear or anxiety 

can end with PEACE!

Let's determine to take God at His Word. 

Let's find the joy and peace and victory 

that is on the other side of our precious BUTS!!! 

Bless you today!

feeling a little sketchy...

Journaling and drawing, in one form or other, seems to have been a part of my life since I was a very little girl.  I have no idea what happened to my childhood writings and drawings, 

but I remember a few of them quite well.    

My best friend in grade 3 and I had a way of sharing our ideas through stories and drawings.  On rainy days we would, together, share the same wooden chair and desk in my room where we would have a beautiful blank piece of paper laid out in front of us.  One of my relatives in Scotland had given me one of those ridiculously ginormous pencils for Christmas, and it was with this that we would create the most wonderful tales.  

I would begin by positioning my fingers around the base, as near to the HB lead as I could get without the huge pencil eraser at the top tipping the whole thing over, then I would draw an impressive arc in the middle of the pristine paper, and utter the words, 

"once upon a time, there was a beautiful green hill."  

... and the story had begun!

The pencil would quickly change hands as my friend would then eagerly add her own drawing to the page and utter her own, imaginative words.  The whole entire process usually ended up in a fit of giggles as little stick people emerged with their equally stick-y little dogs, with lollipop heads perched precariously upon almost none existent necks.  

I do remember, however, that although the stories changed with each new sheet of paper, the sun was always predictably huge in the upper right hand corner, while hundreds of blades of grass and flowers were added along the bottom with each exchange of the pencil.  

Last week as I was engaged in a lengthy phone conversation, my hand inadvertently picked up a pencil that was close by and finding a piece of stray paper began to gently move in effortless ease across the blank expanse.  

My hand began a slow dance of straight lines and swirls, of bends and twirls, while I remained oblivious, carrying on in the conversation at hand.

Later on that evening, I returned to my desk to tidy things up for the day.  As I was crumpling up papers to place in the garbage, my eye caught sight of the edge of something different from the others.  

I slid it out from between two sheets and I just stared for a moment.  

It was my mindless doodling.  

Crudely drawn pencil lines, childlike in dimension, simple in its form, 

but there it was... 

my heart was telling me a story.

 It was my heart's happy thought of the promise of Spring, just around the corner.  

The beauty of the garden just waiting for me to come and play, create and enjoy.

The anticipation of the renewal of Life in the midst of winter's chill.

I smiled.

Then I giggled.

A hydrangea blossom.

A watering can.

A hose.

A mouse.

Given enough time, 

I'm sure my hand would have predictably had the sun,

huge in the upper right hand corner,

while hundreds of blades of grass and flowers were added along the bottom of the paper.

"For behold, the winter is past,

The rain is over and gone,

The flowers have appeared in the land;

The time has arrived for singing..."

                                                     Song of Solomon 2:11-12

a little summer Vlogging

You can find this audio book club series over in The Room to Read!

But He said to them...

"But He said to them, 
"It is I; do not be afraid."

                                                                                     

Many times, the most fearful of situations and circumstances has Jesus written all over it.

How different it would be.

What a difference it would make in our hearts...

in our life...

if we could, in the midst of our fear, have the ears to hear Him say...

"It is I, do not be afraid."

It's not so much the circumstance,

as it is Jesus.

Presenting Himself to us in the midst of it.

Fear has the ability to blind us from seeing Jesus.

Fear distorts our vision.

It closes, not only our eyes to Jesus, but also our hearts and minds to Him as well.

We respond to the fear with the very thing fear feeds upon the most... our flesh.

Fear gets fat when we operate in the flesh.

It starves when we are walking in the Spirit.

I love the narrative that follows the declaration of

  "It is I; do not be afraid."

It says...

 "So they were willing to receive Him into the boat, 

and immediately

the boat was at the land to which they were going."

Am I, are you, willing to receive Him into the boats that are our particular lives?

Into our hearts?

Not placing our trust in the circumstance, the fear, or our own flesh.

But placing our trust in Him and in His Word to us...

"It is I, do not fear."

This being willing to receive is not just our initial receiving of Him at salvation.

This being willing to receive is an ever present continuous action, 

for every moment of every day,

until we take our final breath here on planet earth.

Yes,

our salvation at that one moment in time has secured our place with Him in heaven.

But it is our daily,

moment by moment willingness to receive Him here and now,

 that ensures the immediacy of our very heart, mind and soul stepping with solidity upon the shores of our promised land...right now!

Right where we are this very minute!

What is this promised land amid the fears and circumstances of life?

It is the land we have been given to reside in,

and live off the bounty of NOW!

The land of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.

It's a land Whose shores can only be reached through the hearing and willing receiving of The Very Word of God...

"It is I, do not be afraid."

Many times, the most fearful of situations and circumstances has Jesus written all over it.

Climbing Walls...

One of my birthday gifts this year was to go and climb a wall.

I thought it was fitting that it was one of my children that gave this to me.

I have been wanting to do this for quite a long time now.

I invited my husband to come along and enjoy the thrill as well.

Here is the 'yin' to my 'yang'.

Thrilled he was not.

He was a trooper though.

And so we scaled the wall together.

Just as we have always done.

Some walls were harder than others.

Tiny footholds.

Large gaps of space.

But every small movement upwards,

carried with it the thrill of victory!

There will always be those moments in our lives,

when to heed the call to 'Come up Higher',

will require of us.

Body, Mind, Soul and Strength.

But the Joy of the climb outweighs it all!

The Gift of Easter

Early this Easter Sunday Morning, 

I stepped outside to take in a deep breath and greet The Day.

Something New caught the corner of my eye, 

and as I turned toward the colour amid the green foliage,

I saw that The Son had chosen to shine His light upon this lovely gift of Beauty,

to cheer my day and to point to New Life and the Hope that is found in Him.

Blessings upon you and yours this Easter!

Walk On...

I've been walking these dykes since I was 10 years old,

and every morning they greet me like a Faithful Friend.

This morning they were beckoning me to 'walk on'.

Even the puddles appeared as stepping stones to me, leading me into the New Day ahead.

I thought about how there is nothing quite like a Word of Encouragement from a Faithful Friend,

to continue on in your walk along The Path of Life.

 This little fellow and many of his brothers and sisters continually chirped and swooped around me, joining with me along The Path and reminding me of the simple joy of greeting with delight and thanksgiving another New Day.

It's just a given that along this Path of Life,

 there will be moments when our flesh will obscure portions of the Higher View...

yet the Promise Still Remains...

"His Word,

The Son of God,

 Jesus,

will be a Lamp to our feet,

and a Light unto our path."

                                      Psalm 119:105

Walk on! 

Dare to Get Real Conference

In the early months of 2012 I was asked if I would be available to join seven other speakers at a Women's Conference to be held in November 16-17, 2012.  I was asked to write a "bio" about myself.  As I was writing in my journal that night, I was reminded of all that God has done, not only in my life, but in the lives of all the women that I have been privileged to have been able to share this magnificent walk with.  My "bio" is God's story in, and reflected through, me ... and so I wrote in my journal that night, what was in my heart...

"So often we are encouraged to study our Bible, but have never really be shown how.  I have had the pure joy of watching women, of all ages, develop an intimacy with God that comes through the study and knowing of His Word.  Know His Word and you come to know Him.  A woman who knows her God will not fall for a lie, because she has risen with the Truth.  A woman who knows her God stands firm, no matter the circumstance or trial, she displays great strength and takes action.  Instead of looking outside ourselves for these kind of women, let's purpose in our hearts before God that we, ourselves, will go and be that woman amid this generation, knowing our God and living accordingly!  One by one, together, we will be a beautiful "planting of the LORD that He may be glorified."  (Isaiah 61:3)

It's not about me... it's all about Him.
The above "bio" was submitted.

The Women's Conference is on.  

I'm looking forward to seeing you there!

The Dare To Get Real Conference Website link... http://www.getrealconference2012.com/ 

Everything you need to know can be found there, 
Sessions, Speakers, Video, Facebook Page, Registration... 

Fabulous Friday!

It's another FABULOUS FRIDAY!

fab·u·lous

 [fab-yuh-luhs]

adjective

1. almost impossible to believe; 

Did you catch that?

 "...almost impossible..."

But certainly,
by no means,
 impossible!

ALL THINGS are POSSIBLE with God!
Matthew 19:26

May this FABULOUS FRIDAY,
leave you shaking your head at the wonder of it all.
The fabulous wonder of believing...

"...that Jesus is the Christ, 

the Son of God; 

and that believing
you may have LIFE
 in His Name."
John 20:31

FABULOUS! 

Thrilling Thursday!

It's another THRILLING THURSDAY!

THRILL

1. to affect with a sudden wave of keen emotion or excitement

She... was crying. 

She... saw Him. 

She... heard Him. 

She... did not recognize Him. 

Grief can do that. 

Then, He called her by name....

Jesus said to her, "Mary!"

She turned and said to Him, "Teacher!" John 20:16

So, perhaps it wasn't a Thursday...

but if thrilling means a sudden wave of keen emotion or excitement... 

then, 

right in the middle of her overwhelming grief, 

this girl TURNED ... 

her amazingly THRILLING DAY had begun!

He's calling your name today.

Hear Him, turn to Him... 

and know the JOY of the THRILL!

Wonderful Wednesday!

It's another WONDERFUL WEDNESDAY!

Perhaps today will just be another Wednesday you can tick off as 'done'.

Perhaps today will decide to tick you off and declare you, 'done'!

Either way,

what's so wonderful about Wednesday?

No matter what this day brings.

No matter what this day holds.

Remember,

There is One Who is intent on holding YOU!

His Name is Wonderful...

                                             (Isaiah 9:6)