abandoned to Christ.

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, who by God’s power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary , you have been grieved by various trials, so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ. ~1 Peter 1:3-7, ESV (emphasis mine) Often, an efficiency of words prove to make or break the meaning and/or weightiness of an entire thought. But we no longer live in the luxury of an instant coffee or microwave society. After all, it takes at least three whole minutes (or sometimes longer) to microwa...

Meek: patient, long-suffering, or submissive in disposition or nature; humble; humbly patient or quiet in nature, as under provocation from others.—synonym: gentle (ref. dictionary.com). And He [Jesus the Christ] opened His mouth and taught them, saying:    "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.    "Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.    "Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.    "Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.    "Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.    "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.    "Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.    "Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.    "Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all ki...

In a world where #IamEnough is the mantra of the day, I am inexplicably happy and relieved to affirm that #IamNotEnough because, thanks be to God, Jesus Christ IS. I can't imagine the heavy weight and burden; the amount of daily self-cajoling it takes to justify to self and others, that who I am and all that I possess and am capable of, with my finite knowledge and capabilities, is enough for me and all those around me. I am truly and deeply grieved for all who are deceived by this devilish lie. The same lie from the Garden: "God is not enough. You are just as good or better than God. That’s why He’s keeping things from you. You can and should be your own god to insure you receive all that you deserve." If Adam and Eve had just taken a moment to prudently consider what God named the only thing (a singular tree) in all of the Garden of Eden, that they were forbidden from touching, taking, and eating was called; they perhaps, would have not been so easily deceived. And ther...

What a year 2020 had been. A year that seemed to be far worse than any that came before it. And with high hopes built on resolutions we made, we were sure we could command and control the ushering in of a new year full of butterflies and rainbows—founded in self-reliance, ambiguity and redefining of all things by what “feels most right” for each person…at the moment. There is no longer any absolutes of right or wrong, truth or error. We no longer recognize the weaknesses of different races, or celebrate the strengths we each have to offer. We are all Stepford Wives who look the same, have all the same skill sets, and can all do the same things with the same results, as long as we ourselves have decided it to be so. Yes, unfortunately, it seems our yearning for the disaster and heartaches of 2020 to end once 2021 began, have all been doused with new leaders and new laws and a new social norms hurling us further down the miry pit of mass confusion. It’s the futility of man atte...

A dangerous yet well-received and popularly-taught practice within Christianity is, "It's okay to be angry with God. He can handle it." This is not biblical (Ecc 5:1-3; Job 32:2-3, 34:9-10, 40:1-2; Rom 9:19-20). This is megalomaniacal blasphemy. It is not a matter of whether or not God can "handle" our anger against Him. What an utterly foolish assessment. It is a matter of whether or not God Almighty, the LORD of hosts, will tolerate such arrogant "Jesus is my pal" , disrespectful attitude before His most holy presence. As William Gurnall once said,    (1.) Faith spies mercy in the greatest affliction—an eye of white in the saddest mixture of providence; so that when the devil provokes to blasphemy from the evil that the creature receives from God, faith shows more good received than evil.    Thus Job quenched this dart which Satan shot at him from his wife’s tongue. ‘Shall we receive good at the hand of God, and shall not we receive evil?’ Shall a f...

Where I’ve Been In January 2020 I had my third heart surgery . Then I had serious issues with my eyes caused by my atrial fibrillation. While that was creating more appointments to my retina specialist, both my knees and my right elbow continued to worsen. Since the last time I wrote (April 2020), I’ve had three surgeries within three months. I had my second surgery on my right knee in July, a major elbow surgery in September, and a minor surgery to remove and biopsy a small lump on the inside of my right cheek. All this has been quite daunting and depressing. To add to my already (as one of my specialist put it) “eventful medical record”, I was also having severe pain in my index finger on my left hand. However, I didn’t mention it to anyone because there was already so much going on, that I could tell that I was overwhelming my doctors. And because I had already asked my Father, if it would please Him, to resolve this ailment without the use of medical intervention, I waited patien...

As many of you know, I daily face many serious and painful health challenges. To quote one of my 12 specialists, I have a very "eventful medical history". And the events continue. In February of this year,my stellar Optometrist, Dr. Jeff Thomas, found a tiny spot near the macula of my left eye and some bleeding in my back of my right eye. But nothing to be too concerned with at the time. This past week, my vision began to decrease daily; especially in my left eye. I didn't tell my darling husband Jim until yesterday, because he always makes me call a doctor. The only reason I told him at all, was because my sight has become so hindered in just the past few days, I was sure he would notice. So, to stay out of trouble, I shared it with him as merely an FYI situation. So if he notices that I can't see something, then he'll have a heads up. The end. Unfortunately, my darling Jim mistook my simple FYI for a, "Should I call the doctor?" Lo...

During the 17th century, Samuel Rutherford (Scottish preacher and author) penned 365 letters to those who were in need of godly counsel, based on the Word of God. In the   Letters of Samuel Rutherford   we find his sixth letter to Lady Kenmure (Anwoth. November 26, 1631; letter XIX in this publication) to provide her with further: "Encouragement to abound in faith from the prospect of glory—Christ's unchangeableness." He encourages her to, "Be content to wade through the waters betwixt you and glory with him [Christ Jesus], holding his hand fast; for he knoweth all the fords. Howbeit ye may be ducked, yet ye cannot drown, being in his company." After reading this particular wisdom from this faithful saint of old, the Holy Spirit graciously brought to mind, something the Lord Jesus taught me long ago... "On that day, when evening had come, He [Jesus] said to them, 'Let us go across to the other side'...And a great windstorm arose, and the...