Listen for the Voice of Truth

Psalm 25: 4-5
Show me your ways, Lord,
    teach me your paths.
Guide me in your truth and teach me,
    for you are God my Savior,
    and my hope is in you all day long.

The Playhouse Square in Cleveland sparkled.

A chandelier draped the middle of the street between the playhouses, theatres, and eateries. On a sign overtop the Keybank State Theatre a picture of the music group Casting Crowns greeted us. Tim and I will be celebrating 31 years of marriage on October 31. We planned an early celebration that included the twenty-year tour concert of Casting Crowns.

God’s fingerprints were all over their twenty-year story. Mark Hall, the lead singer in the group is a youth pastor. He used music to get his kids to read their Bibles. Mark is dyslexic and has an attention deficit, yet God filled him with a desire to reach youth and adults with his humble beginnings in the music world.

Casting Crowns has not wavered from God’s truth in their twenty years of fame. Their songs speak straight to the heart. Tim and I were both blessed by their testimony and their music. Enhanced by a symphony of violins, their words resonated through the crowd. We lifted our hands and voices with them and praised God.

My favorite song they sing is Voice of Truth. So many voices call out to us every day. Social media, the news, people around us, fear, and so much more. The Bible teaches us to discern the voices by weighing them against God’s word and whether they acknowledge Jesus. (1 John 4:1-3)

The psalmist calls to God to show him God’s ways and guide him in His truth. In this world of constant attention grabbing by outside voices, seek God’s voice and truth and teach your children to listen for God.

Celebrate Jesus and His truth.

A Kindness Shared

 Our neighbors spent the week 

preparing for their daughter's wedding.

They created beautiful floral arrangements 

and a large arc of flowers for the reception.

A couple days after the wedding, 

they gifted us with this lovely arrangement.

They're kindness brightened my day.

A thoughtful gesture, a kindness shared, 

an encouraging word go a long way in this world.

Don't Navigate the Hard Days Alone

Psalm 18:2
The Lord is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer; my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.

2 Timothy 1:7
For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love and self-discipline.

Don't let the hard days win.

I'm in the middle of cataract removal surgeries. About a week ago, the eye surgeon sucked the cloudy lens out of my right eye. Then he placed a new artificial lens in so my vision would improve. The left eye will be corrected soon, but in the meantime, I'm in limbo. The right eye has an astigmatism. Which means, my eyeball is shaped like a football instead of a volleyball. Most of the time, people who have lenses replaced for cataracts have clearer vision in about two days. Not me. Nope. My football shaped eye is better—I can see clear colors instead of a yellowish cast, but I can't see as well as I can out of my left eye that still has a cataract. The eye doctor did his job, but my eye didn't cooperate. So between now and the time my left eye is fixed, the one shaped like a volleyball, I can't wear my glasses. Once my eyes work together again, I'll get a new prescription.

I've adapted by using readers and thankfully my left eye can see distance, but working on the computer and reading are hard. My eyes hurt by evening and I often have a headache. I'm managing, but I could throw up my hands and quit until the left eye is corrected. Instead, I'm leaning into God to help me through this trying time.

Of course, my situation isn't the end of the world, and it should be better by November, but there have been dark times in my life when I couldn't see the end. I felt helpless and disheartened, but you know what? God stood by me and protected me. He always does. God has gifted His people with the Holy Spirit, who gives us power, love, and self-disciple. Those are the things that have helped me through dark days, along with my family and friends.

Don't let the hard days win and don't try to navigate them alone. Give them to Jesus and trust Him to send help.

The Presence of Wonder

October is a wonderful time to watch in wonder for the beauty of the season.

In Ohio, the shades of autumn are painting the trees.

Cool breezes are awakening the mornings.

Dashes of orange are decorating porches and fields.

Seek the wonder of the season and enjoy God's gift of fall.

 

She Gets It

Joshua 1:7-8
Be strong and very courageous. Be careful to obey all the law my servant Moses gave you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, that you may be successful wherever you go. Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful. 

Never be afraid to trust an unknown future to a known God. -Corrie Ten Boom

Our youngest granddaughter had to have oral surgery. When you're nine years old and have nothing to compare the experience to, you have a bit of fear and anxiety. A beautiful thing happened to her. After school, one of her teachers and her principal prayed with her, on the day before the surgery. That evening, I ate dinner with her and her family and she prayed over the meal and asked God to make everything go well for her during surgery. My heart danced a happy dance. That little nine-year-old gets it. She placed her fear in God's hands.

Our ministers are preaching a series this month that focuses on Joshua called "Be Strong and Courageous." God told Joshua multiple times to be strong and courageous. In Joshua 7, He called him to be strong and very courageous." Take it up a notch Joshua and step out on faith.

Courage isn't the absence of fear, but the choice to trust God with the future. He calls all of us to step out and have faith in Him and in the future He's planned for us. He asked Joshua to keep the Book of the Law on His lips. For us, He wants us to have the word of God in our hearts. I'm no Bible scholar. There's so much I don't understand, but I cling to the verses that encourage and give me strength and courage.

Trust in God for the future, be strong and courageous.

Nature is a Witness

Autumn is a wonderful time of year. 

Cooler temperatures and changing colors

remind me to step outside and enjoy the beauty of God's creation.

Orange and teal pumpkins, purple and yellow blooms, reds, golds, and oranges

on the trees and in the sky trumpet the glorious hues of fall. 

Nature is a witness to the amazing miracles of God.

 

Stand Up And Cheer

Psalm 86:12
I will praise you, Lord my God, with all my heart; I will glorify your name forever.

The standing ovation stopped the game.

On Sunday, Maggie and I attended the last home game of the Cincinnati Reds. Tim worked as an usher, and we met some of the regulars in his section. The Reds have had a good season and have been fun to watch. They've added new players to the roster and have one outstanding player who has hung with the Reds for seventeen years.

When Joey Votto appeared on the field for his first at bat, the crowd rose to their feet, clapped, cheered, and may have cried a little. This player has been with the Reds his entire major league career. At the end of this season, his contract is finished. As fans, we don't know if he will return, so our response was to show appreciation for all he has done for the team. When all the fans rose to their feet and applauded, the energy shook the atmosphere. It was fun to be a part of his recognition and to see the humbleness of this faithful player.

I wonder what it would have been like for Jesus if people had reacted to Him that way. If those closest to Him and those who met Him realized He was the Son of God, would they have loved Him more, or praised Him as one worthy of praise? From the scripture, it appears Jesus' humbleness would have stopped any outcry or ovation, but no one is more deserving.

The times I think about what Jesus has done for me, how He has carried my burdens and sin on His shoulders, I thank Him and praise Him. Do I do this often enough? Probably not. Praise doesn't have to wait for a Sunday church service.

 Praise the One who gave His life for yours—every day. He deserves the glory.