abandoned to Christ.

"So we are of good courage. We know that while we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord, for we walk by faith, not by sight. Yes, we are of good courage, and we would rather be away from the body and at home with the Lord. So whether we are at home or away, we make it our aim to please Him ." ~ 2 Corinthians 5:6-9 aim - v. (used with object) 1) to position or direct so that, on firing or release, the discharged projectile will hit a target or travel along a certain path. philotimeomai - v. ( Greek ) 1) to aspire a goal, have an ambition A well trained soldier will carefully set their sight, intently look into their scope, and set their aim, to hit a specific target. If a soldier does not take his/her job and equipment seriously, and has a lackadaisical attitude, they will completely miss their target and may injure themselves or someone else. There is no place for a lazy, self-centered, self-glorifying soldier in battle. This kind of soldier...

I'm a walking oxymoron. I'm a total introvert and delight in being alone, yet I hunger for fellowship with the Body of Christ. I'm the epitome of laziness, yet one of my greatest joys is serving as the Holy Spirit directs me. I'm terribly afraid of heights (even being on a step stool scares me), yet I love to fly! I love new adventures, yet I find comfort in routine. I'm extremely judgmental and merciless, yet the Lord continues to send me to those who suffer great loss so that I might bring them His comfort and peace. The more I learn about God, I continuously discover how very little I truly know Him. Every time I call out to my Heavenly Father, asking Him to show me great and unsearchable things I did not know (Jeremiah 33:3), He is faithful to answer; and I am always completely in awe and wonder of all that He shows me. It is then I realize how very big and awesome my God is. It is during these times of blessed intimacy with God that I realize that...

January 22, 2011 will be the 38 th anniversary of the most horrific decision made; the right to murder human babies. In light of this, I thought it vital to have my very first guest poster be Mr. Art Helms (a.k.a. Grampaw Helms). After reading his note on Facebook, I asked if I could post his writing on my blog. Thankfully he said “Yes.” After reading this, I know you’ll be glad he did too. My prayer is that we, as God’s holy and dearly loved children will boldly stand up and speak for those who cannot speak for themselves; unborn babies. And that we will better answer those who oppose us with a deeper understanding of the meaning of life. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ When writing the 1973 majority opinion in Roe v. Wade, Justice Harry Blackmun wrote: “We need not resolve the difficult question of when life begins . . . the judiciary at this point in the development of man’s knowledge, is not in a position to speculate as to the answer.” The Court then admitted: “If ...

Hello beloved friends! Just a quick note to let you know that my article My heart, Christ's garden has been published at DaySpring's women's devotional site, (in)courage. Here's an excerpt: “The genuine Christian must seek to be more excellent in his life than the best moralist, because Christ’s garden ought to produce the best flowers in the world.” ~ Charles Haddon Spurgeon I want my heart to be this way. I want my heart to produce the most beautiful and luscious flowers! I want my life to flow with the love of God and the magnificence of His grace and mercy! I want my life to shout, “I am holy, set apart; unto the LORD!” I want my heart to hold a reservation only for One, my Lord Jesus. I want to be singularly focused and eternally inclined. I want to be like the flowers in my garden. I want to only face the Son. I want to stretch my faith and strain my efforts to have a leaning only towards the One who gave His life for mine.... To read the entire ar...

God made me simple. I'm grateful for it now, but I wasn't when I was younger. There were so many things about this world I didn't understand...and some I still don't. I remember the first time a bunch of of us neighborhood kids were talking about what we wanted to be when we grew up. Everyone was talking so fast and about so many smart sounding things, I couldn't speak because I was so amazed by what they were saying and all their hopes and dreams seemed so much more grander than mine. Then one of the boys said, "I don't care what I do. I just want to do anything where I can make six figures like my dad!" Everyone patted him on the back, said how cool that was and agreed they'd like to do the same. Well, I felt a bit left out, so I thought I'd join in on the congratulations and say something really smart. As I patted him on the back too, I said, "Yeah, I agree! That'll be so cool to have a job where you can make things all day! Bu...

When I was only three years old and I lied, I knew it was wrong. No one had to tell me lying was wrong. I knew lying was wrong even when I thought up the lie and chose the “perfect” time to tell it. When I was about five years old, I knew it was wrong to steal my friend's ring, but I wanted it. Knowing it was wrong, I stole it in secret. Just like my lie was crafted in secret; and so are all sins...planned and plotted in the recesses of our sin-filled flesh that only Christians battle with daily. God is faithful, and He did for us, what He promised: “This is the covenant I will make with them after that time, says the Lord. I will put my laws in their hearts, and I will write them on their minds.” ~ Hebrews 10:16 One of the things that amazes me about God is how He enables our finite minds to understand deep things about His infinite Being no matter our age or intellect. I came to know Jesus as my Lord, my Master, my Savior and God when I was only four...

React vi- 1 to act in return or reciprocally 2 to act in opposition 3 to act in a reverse way; go back to a former condition, stage, etc. Respond vi - 1 to answer or reply positively or favorably. I was recently reminded of a time in my life, many years ago, when I was very hurt by something someone said and did. I ran to my Father God, cried and asked Him to protect me and help me to know what to do. My personal preference was to stay away from that person so they could never have another opportunity to hurt me again. Then my mind went to the Cross, and I could hear my Savior say, "Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing." Convicted by the Holy Spirit and with great pain, I chose to seek God's way of resolving conflict, rather than my way. No one said dying was pain less ...and it's not...it's very pain ful . But that's what Jesus calls us to do: carry our cross daily, and following Him so we too, can die to t...

My favorite place to sit and meditate, is the ocean. I grew up near the Atlantic Ocean. Shortly after I turned 20, the Lord was pleased to move me to California where I lived for 9 years and spent much of my time at the Pacific Ocean, talking to God, listening for His voice and being in awe of His glorious creation! Sometimes, I’d look as far as my eyes could see, and I’d imagine myself alone, with no boat, out in the middle of the ocean, beyond the horizon, and no land in sight. This thought frightened me until I remembered, the LORD is with me, He will never leave me nor forsake me (1 Chronicles 28:20). Filled with peace, contentment reigned in my soul. “Now there is great gain in godliness with contentment, for we brought nothing into the world, and we cannot take anything out of the world. ~ 1 Timothy 6:6-7 This was a critical time in my life; the Lord moved me so that I might repent and return to Him. Three years prior, God graciously and merciful delivered me from 13 years of...