I likely say this far too often, but God is amazingly faithful and trustworthy! I marvel at the ways He works that I get to see and all of the ways I hear about but don’t witness by sight. And this is just what I personally get to witness. All over the world God is working to bring His children to Him and we get to be a part of this. How fortunate we are!

A husband I’ve been seeing for 6 months has been having his wife come these past few sessions. Yesterday we tackled an issue he felt he could never talk to his wife about. Yet, in talking about it he was astounded to hear what she had to say. He just shook his head in disbelief. All he feared he’d hear was not even a slight bit evident. It reminded me of my own telling Kathy 42 years ago about my past. I had told her to pack her bags for she’d be fleeing once she knew the truth of who she had married. Instead, when I’d finally gotten the whole story out, she simply asked, “If I had just told you something similar about me, would you be leaving?” It floored me when she asked that. I responded saying I just hadn’t thought of it that way. She then added that I just needed help.

When this conversation took place yesterday, with the problem out in the open, we agreed we could step into it next week. The husband was amazed his wife wanted to join him in this. How FAITHFUL our God is!

I’m not sure what is happening to the daily posts I write, but I see that yesterday’s isn’t available. This happened a week or so ago too. That time I figured I’d not hit the last post button. Since that time I make sure I see the post complete before I log out. ???

I went to see my prayer warrior Lois yesterday. As I was catching her up on ones she is covering in prayer she told me something I had heard from her once before but had buried it at that time. Isaiah 61:3 says God takes the mourners and makes them oaks of righteousness who are STRONG, MAGNIFICENT AND DISTINGUISHED. A year or two ago she had written this out and sent it to me. At that time I put it in my bible thinking she is such a nice lady! Yesterday, when she said this to me again, she said I needed to not just hear this but to believe it. The very Jesus Christ Who lives within me is all of this and I am this too because of WHO is in me.

This morning as I journaled I thanked God for Lois and her words. When I asked Him what He wanted me to know for today, His response was to take these characteristics to heart and praise Him today for making them real in me. I think good grief, only a Savior and Lord could take the shame I kept hidden for so very long and use it in a vessel, me, making it strong, magnificent and distinguished! I shake my head with great humbleness and thanksgiving for this loving and gracious GOD we get to serve!

With June comes summer and the weather is shifting to it. We just had a week of summer-like weather and now it has turned cooler like spring again. It is actually fun to watch the ups and downs as the new season approaches. I love what summer produces but the heat of it is something to endure. The pro’s do outweigh the con’s however!

Our Oklahoma granddaughter and her husband came to visit us yesterday. They are planning to be full-time missionaries. In one month they will go on a one month missions trip to Japan. Her husband has taken Japanese and become quite fluent in it. This will be his second missions trip there. It is so nice to see God’s plan for them being so excitedly fulfilled by these two. They had to be at the airport very early this morning so we were up by 2:30 am so we could leave by 3:00. I told them it was easy for grandpa to take afternoon naps and today will be one greatly appreciated!

God is so good and it is so nice to watch Him working in the lives of one’s family!

As the day ended yesterday I could thank God over and over for His Grace. The cases during the day were tremendous evidence of this. The added bonus for me was a couple I’ve been seeing for a little over two months came in for their appointment. They were on the verge of filing for divorce when they first came; both young with a young child, but both hurt deeply by each other. In this time they have been very committed to following through on their assignments. When they arrived yesterday one could easily see how much progress they’ve made. As we talked this through they were able to describe the skills they’ve learned to embed in their daily lives. Love and Respect are growing and roots are developing to ground them. I couldn’t help but tear up thanking God for this blessing after the morning.

As I was journaling this morning I was thanking God for His abundant Grace. When I got to the place of asking what He wanted me to know from Him for today, it was the reminder to do my part but to remember to let Him do His. That meant for me to gather the prayer warriors as I rebuke evil’s attempts. Let God have the weight of the issues at hand for He has no problem carrying them and destroying them. If I try to do that I will falter quickly. I know this, but yesterday was a good day of reminders with application.

HOW GOOD GOD IS!

Today is a day when evil is fighting to win but the truth of Christ’s work on the Cross will prevail! There are two court cases this morning taking place where tremendous damage could result from the outcomes. In both cases the evil is wanting to win. I am a witness in one of the cases and as I got up early this morning I could instantly sense the weight of the evil. It caught me off-guard at first but as I began my devotions it became abundantly clear. As I journaled and asked Jesus what He wanted me to know from Him for today, I began to write the message. But, the message was odd and then I knew the voice I heard was not of Christ’s Holy Spirit. I crossed all of it out and began to rebuke this evil in the very Name of JESUS CHRIST my RISEN LORD AND SAVIOR! He then gave me the message I could trust knowing His Voice.

I texted my prayer warrior Lois asking for prayer support and her response was: “I am claiming Isaiah 54:17 ‘…no weapon formed against Earnie, (the one man) and (the one lady) will prosper!!! It is written!!!’ “. The “one man” and the “one lady” are the victims of this evil.

It is amazing Who God is! Walking with Him today is another privilege. I praise Him even now for the outcomes which He already knows and is taking care of. PRAISE GOD FROM WHOM ALL BLESSINGS FLOW!

It is an interesting thing to begin to think about obedience. When God pointed out to me yesterday about obedience being part of opportunity rather than sheer discipline, I could hardly wrap my mind around it. It is times like this that I recognize all over again the power of a child’s upbringing. Discipline as given by dad was an ugly thing. I swore I’d never be like this. But, the lingering effects of it have impacted so much of how I’ve lived and thought. Obedience was something to simply do even if it were hugely resented. This is how it was with dad. God is so patient teaching me how beautiful obedience is in obeying HIM. Obeying God’s leading in our lives gives satisfaction, gratitude that can not be measured. I love this.

It is just amazing to me all over again living in the Light of Jesus Christ. Getting to obey God’s Holy Spirit as He nudges is a privilege and not a burden. Wow!, the things God wants me/us to know and live out never come to an end until we reach the end of our earthly living. I want to stay obedient throughout this rich time in my life!

For a while now I’ve been perplexed about how to make my worship time in the early mornings rich enough to sustain me throughout the day. Some days this is not a problem at all. Others, however, are tough. All of the steps one learns to keep Christ first in everything one does seem to vanish in some moments of a day. It is then the simple step of obedience needs to step in. Putting what one knows into action is called obedience. I had taken the step of listening to worship music while I have my devotions as the right thing to do each and every devotional time. What I’d found however is the beauty of it was being lost. It was turning into something I needed to do rather than a blessing.

This morning as I was journaling about obedience I asked Jesus to help me understand this dilemma. He simply asked me to take the word obedience out of the context of disciple and put it into the context of opportunity. Listening to worship music during my devotions was never intended to be a habit. It is an opportunity. My spirit will sometimes need a boost to focus and when that is the case the worship music will do this. Other times the simple act of journaling, reading the bible and knowing God’s presence is quite sufficient.

I’m going to start taking the term obedience and using it connected to opportunity from this point forward. Thank YOU JESUS!

Today is a quiet one. Outside of church and then a practice for a song we are doing tomorrow for a memorial service, the day is free of planned responsibilities. It is nice to have a day like this. The weather is beautiful so one can simply enjoy the beauty of life around us. I think the Lord’s Day is suppose to be like this. I’m going to enjoy it. I hope and pray you will and can enjoy yours. God is so, so GOOD!

God is never done working with His creation and how blessed we are that He isn’t done. His love for all of us is infinite. Working with ones who are deeply troubled with their present life truly opens your eyes to so much that sin does trying to draw God’s kids away from Him. But, God never leaves us nor forsakes us. He waits for us to see just beyond the hurt of the present. There is HOPE in our tomorrows for God is there. I never want to forget this and to share this message for others.

Thank You FATHER GOD!