Snow

On Saturday we woke to a white world; still,
beautiful, cold--too cold for Jake to carry a ball.
The wind picked up and the temperature stayed
low. How low? It was minus eleven degrees
on Sunday morning. Roads had been plowed
but remained snow packed. In borrowed boots
I walked down to a small park that accesses the
Snake River. Suddenly the sun came out
revealing millions of tiny jewels sparkling from
the snow, unseen in shadow. My feet crunched
as I walked. I stopped. In the stillness I heard a
scraping sound that drew me to the rivers edge.
Ice islands were drifting, bumping into each other,
growing bigger, then bonding to the ice pressed
into the shore. As I stood there a duck rose
splashing up from the icy water. The setting sun
painted the clouds a light pink.

This has been the best quiet time. As I relive the
wonder of my walk yesterday, I am amazed at
how God staged and orchestrated each scene as
I walked the frozen earth. I was on Holy ground.
It was for my eyes He showed off.

I will give thanks to the Lord with all my heart,
I will tell of all they wonders,
I will be glad and exult in Thee,
I will sing praise to Thy Name,
O Most High.
(Ps 9:1,2)

Between

We have moved many times in our marriage.

In every move there is a space between what was and
what will be. One door shuts--a click; no going back.
But, the way ahead is fuzzy, without substance,
without form. It has only been two months since we
made the decision to move to Arizona. That changed
and we arrived in Idaho four weeks ago. In this "between,"
we have not had easy access to the internet, have overspent
our phone minutes, and have lost our e-mail server. Each
move has its challenges, but this one is unique. I realize
that just ten years ago, cell phones and internet did not
play a big part, but today, one goes through withdrawal!
Our goods come next week, but it will be January before
we leave that feeling of "between," and begin to put
together our new life.

Papa, I know that all things work together for good.
ALL things, even this crazy period when time seems to
stand still. Open my eyes to all your gifts today. You never
stop giving. I stop seeing.

Kick Off

We spent Thanksgiving in a little town called, Dayton,--population 

2600--nestled in the hills of Washington State. We were visiting 

Glen’s brother for the holiday. Some years ago the people of 

Dayton decided to upgrade the four blocks that mark Main Street 

along with some of the surrounding streets. They started with the 

park next to the river, added an upgrade to the Train Depot, the 

Courthouse, the old school and then built a very versatile theater. 

It houses a Musical late in the fall that always includes children, 

very talented kids. They put on Peter Pan this year to a packed 

audience for twelve programs. 

We stayed at a Victorian Hotel complete with an elegant staircase, 

beautiful rooms, a coffee shop for breakfast in the morning. On Friday 

we woke up to Christmas! It was a brisk day. At  some point on 
Thursday the whole town decorated for “Kick Off.” On Friday they 
gave tours, offered hay rides, opened the old school to visitors. 
Friday evening they celebrated with fire works! Holiday music 
was piped out including many of my favorite carols.  

Maybe it was a time for the merchants to make money, but for me 
it was the kick off to Advent and the birth of our Savior!

“The people who walk in darkness

Will see a great light;

Those who live in a dark land,

The light will shine on them.”

(Isaiah 9:2)

                                                               

Gratefulness

Tomorrow we celebrate Thanksgiving Day, a day
for being grateful. I notice that in the last few decades
"Thanksgiving Day" has given way to "Bargain Day"
in preparation for "Christmas Day." The very word,
"thanksgiving," implies dependency, humility,
acknowledgement of God. It is an old fashioned
word, isn't it? Victorian, out of date, a "lets move on,"
kind of word.

Gratefulness means "a state of being grateful." Lots
of things have not gone my way lately. Little things
that eat away at the vine of thanksgiving, and the
state of gratefulness. It helps to have space on this
day before Thanksgiving Day, to recognize what is
taking place in me, to confess it, to acknowledge
that God is directing every little thing, is at the
center of everything--even my failures. "He works
all thing for good," but I can't see the big picture.
I need His perspective on the events of life.

The Psalmist cries:
"Give thanks to the Lord for He is good:
For His mercy endures forever!" 

Have a joy filled Thanksgiving Day!

Home

I am making soup in a kitchen overlooking the
Snake River. The sun floods in belying the
freezing temperature outside. I pick up a plastic
glass whose rim is bent. I wonder...how old is
that glass, anyway? Thirty, forty years? Every
summer it holds the black cows of ice cream
and root beer. The carpet has not changed,
neither has the paneling or most of the pots and
pans. I write in a chair my father-in-law slept in
every afternoon. The wood fence along the
property was built by my teenage son and his
Grandpa. That son turns 40 in a few days; that
Grandpa died 23 years ago. Our children came
here as infants, and now my daughter bathes her
son each summer in the very same bathtub.

When my mother-in-law returns we will ride
over to the farm house soon to be our dwelling
place. But, we change houses the same way some
people change clothes and it is nice to be part of the
town where Glen grew up, to linger in a house
that holds so many memories.
It is good to be home.

Stories:

http://www.hisvictoriousindwelling.com/stories.html

Celebrating Ruth

My Mother-in-love turned 90 yesterday so family and
friends showed up for church and then some cake
followed by stories. The Fellowship Hall was packed.
Ruth grew up on a farm in Weiser. (She and her son
attended the same two room grade school but the
plumbing had moved in by the time Glen arrived.)
Ruth went off to college and met a man from Denver;
they married and eventually moved back to Weiser
where they raised four boys. These "boys" are now
close to 60--or middle sixties-- in age and have
children and grandchildren of their own, making
Ruth a great grandmother four times.

Ruth played both organ and piano for church for many
years, but now settles for the piano once a month. She
walks a mile at the high school gym four days a week
with her "girl" friends. She plays a mean game of dice,
works Sudoku and cross word puzzles daily. Ruth also
belongs to a number of clubs that meet monthly. But
most precious to me are her loving ways and her
willingness to share her living space with us during this
time of transition--even the dog is allowed inside.

I call her Mom.

"Charm is deceitful and beauty vain,
But a woman who fears the Lord, she shall be praised.
Give her the product of her hands, and let her works
praise her in the gates." (Proverbs 31:37)

Mountains

When I think of mountains I think of both physical
mountains and mountains of problems. The writer
of Psalm 46 is speaking of the physical ones that
cause problems!

(Because) God is our refuge,
(Because) God is abundantly available for help,

"We will not fear, though the
     earth should change,
And though the mountains slip into
     the heart of the sea;
though its waters roar and foam,
though the mountains quake at its
     swelling pride. (Psalm 46:2,3)

Yesterday I checked out the earthquakes recorded
around the world in the last 24 hours. There were
53 tremors listed above a two; some related to volcanic
activity. Hierro is one of the islands that makes up
The Canary Island chain off the coast of Africa, but
claimed by Spain. Each of these islands was formed
long ago from volcanic activity. In the last few years
Hierro Island has experienced new activity to the point
that vents formed in the water off shore changing the color
of the water and killing fish. These vents have have
closed but there are multitudes of small earthquake swarms
each day beneath the island with some hard enough to
be felt by the inhabitants. This is not just a local problem.
An active volcano could split the island causing large
chunks to fall into the sea creating a giant Tsunami.
"A mountain slipping into the heart of the sea."

In the last few weeks there was a Typhoon that crossed
the Philippines just weeks after they experienced a killer
earthquake; the middle of our country suffered from
a swath of devastating Tornados.

God says that these things will happen, but because
He is our refuge, we are not to fear. Really? I do not
do well in emergencies. Fear rises. However, God
has given me scripture to camp on. It tells me that
my God IS a very PRESENT help in trouble. He
is my refuge. "He will never leave me nor forsake 
me." I can go with my feelings or with the truth. I can
camp on God's truth whether or not my feelings fall
into line.


   

Abundantly Available

The last couple of days I have been in Psalm 43.
Listen to the first verse:

"God is our refuge and strength,
A very present help in trouble." 
(abundantly available for help.)

I read the first line and it makes me think
of a huge mountain of rock. God is currently,
now, a place of both safety and a place of
"keeping on" when things look black. His
strength is abundantly available.

I am in Him--so He is my refuge
He is in me--my strength

Jesus says to His disciples:
"Father, You are in Me and I am in You...
then, "I in them and You in Me."
John 17:21,23)

Jesus speaks of our indwelling in Him and His
indwelling in the Father, then His Father indwelling
in Him. Wrap your mind around this, It really is
His Victorious Indwelling!

I think that I am alone because I feel alone, but
the truth is that I am never alone; the mighty
Savior is abundantly available for all my weaknesses
and fears. He is a very present help in trouble.

Papa, Today I choose to walk in the truth and not in
what I feel.

Stories:

http://www.hisvictoriousindwelling.com/stories.html

Hurry Up--and Wait

I don't like the word, "wait." It implies passivity. It
implies inaction. Yet, how often throughout life we
find ourselves waiting for something. I waited to grow
up; I waited for a groom; I waited for children. We
hurried to get the house on the market, but now we
are waiting for it to sell--the buyers we had, backed out.
We are waiting for our furniture to arrive, for the
internet to be in place. It feels to me like the first book
of The Narnia Tales, where the children get stuck in a
world where nothing happens. We have left the area
where we lived for 20 years, but we cannot see clearly
what is ahead. There is grief over the loss of friends and
our neighborhood. Someone once likened moving to
the stress and anguish of a divorce.

This morning I had a chat:
"Papa, I don't like this. It feels like it has been going on
forever. And, I have nothing to say to my readers."

I heard Him whisper:
"My darling Jane, 'Be still and know that I am God.'"

Morning Has Broken!

The sun came up pink against the trees and the
river. No fog today. In the last few intense days,
we "found" the perfect place for us to live in
this season of our lives. It is not in town but
out about five miles on what is called "the flats."
We had spent the better part of the week looking
for a house to buy knowing that there was
nothing to rent. Two days ago I called the Rental
Agent that I had been working with back in
September. "Oh," she says, "I have a rental that
has just come up. It will go fast. Do you want
to look at it?" So, late Wednesday, we drove
out and walked through a house in progress. It
will be finished about December 1. It is a two
story 100 year old farm house nestled within farm
land with a spectacular view of the low hills
beyond. This house had been rented two months
ago and then the prospective renter decided not
to move in. I called just as the property went into
the paper. Here is the real kicker. The house and
land around the house is owned by Glen's cousin
and her husband who is the farmer! We are thrilled
and they are thrilled. I had a walk through this
morning and will be putting some pictures on
Face Book.

Dear Reader, do you not see the hand of God in
this? He has been working through the days of fog,
but now morning has broken. Praise His Name!

Fog

It was early morning as I glanced out of the
window. I could see nothing of the river or
beyond. Fog, thick fog covered everything.
As I watched, the scene began to unfold. The
trees on the bank turned gold, then I could see
a bit of water flowing. This was followed by
the outline of the island and finally the trees
beyond the river came into view. They were
there all the time but were obscured.

We find ourselves in fog. We know we are to
be here. God has made that very clear. But the
next step is fuzzy and the rest is obscured. Do
we really need two cars? Maybe we should
rent and see. Do we buy or rent a house? We
begin this part of the journey today, knowing
that God has laid it all out ahead of time and
He will unfold His plan as we walk forward
one step at a time.

Glen and I are at the library working on our
computer "stuff." He sits across the room in
a chair and I hear someone say to him, "Well,
Professor Reeves..." Who is this? Was it
someone he knew from years ago, or someone
he met yesterday at the Senior Center? I find
myself smiling.

Stories:

http://www.hisvictoriousindwelling.com/stories.html

Unplugged

I came back from Arizona and then four days later
we moved to Idaho. We don't have access to the
internet and our e-mail server canceled our service
the day we moved--by mistake. So, I don't have
the ability to access my mail, which is not moving
either way, anyway. I am at McDonald's today to
work on my blog and discovered that my last post
never posted.

Not much else is moving. We have changed places
but things that should be in place hang in limbo. Our
house has not sold, lots of lookers. So much seems 
to hang on that sale.

But, am I really unplugged? God says that He will
never leave me nor forsake me. He is providing us
shelter, food, and a wonderful mother-in-law, who,
can run circles around me. She is almost 90!

And the gifts, so many gifts. An early morning sunrise
reveals the mist on the river, highlights the gold along
the shore and outlines the fog between the hills beyond.
A setting sun flashes color into the clouds turning
everything a brilliant pink. The dog does a flip into the
leaves as he dives for his ball. New faces among the old
at church on Sunday. I see God's hand of mercy in so
many ways--if I take the time to really look.

My new e-mail: jcreeves60@gmail.com.
Stories:

http://www.hisvictoriousindwelling.com/stories.html

He Was So Excited

We sat next to each other on the trip home, but
he said little. Many side glances. But that all
changed once we arrived at his house. The two
year old ran. He ran, hopped, jumped and then
flew into my arms. We spun around and then
checked out the house together. Later he was
warm against my chest as I read from his favorite
book. My Grand Boy nestled into my neck before
His mother and I tucked him into bed. Beautiful!

Stories:

http://www.hisvictoriousindwelling.com/stories.html

Grace

Months ago I made a reservation for a flight to
Phoenix and ten days with Noah, my favorite grandson.
I decided to use this reservation even though it seems
an extravagant use of time in the midst of stuff.
When I got to the airport I was sent to another line.
The pre-screened line! How did this happen? Not sure.
It was like the old days when we could stay dressed!
Since I was using miles I opted for more leg room and
The seat next to mine remained empty. The show
outside my window constantly changed  and included
a very long sunset as we headed west. It was a lovely
five hours of solitude, reflection, anticipation.
Sweet, sweet, sweet.

Moving, Really?

I sat down to pray for a friend  and found myself  in
Proverbs 3:5,6.

"Trust in The Lord
       With all your heart,
And do not lean
      On your own understanding
In all your ways
      Acknowledge Him,
And He will make your paths straight."

The house is for sale but has not sold.
I think it necessary to sell the house so we
can buy a house so we have a place to put
our furniture. I want a door to door move.
We leave in a week and I have done every-
thing right except one thing--trust in God
for the process. He promises to do what is
best., I simply need to lean on Him. I do not know
the future or any of the details as to why this
beautiful house which sits on a lake has not sold.
God knows. It is enough.

It is enough--for this moment.

Pierced

Isaiah cuts to the core of the Gospel today:

"He was pierced through for our
     transgressions,
He was crushed for our iniquities;
The chastening for our well-being fell
     upon Him
And by His scourging, we are healed."
(Isaiah 53:5)

Pierced, crushed, scourged. Strong words indeed!
I read these words lightly passing over quickly the
cost of my salvation. Perhaps I am so numbed out by
life that I cannot feel? How difficult, if not impossible,
for me to grasp the depth of the love that held Him
to that tree. Torn flesh, blood flowing in real time,
for me, for you. What a Savior!
Reader, do you know Him?

Stories:

http://www.hisvictoriousindwelling.com/stories.html

Smitten by God

I was prepared to go on, but the end of the verse
in the last post, held me.

"Surely He has borne our griefs
     and carried our sorrows.
Yet we esteemed Him 
     stricken,
Smitten of God and afflicted."
(Isaiah 53:4)

Those living at that time knew that Jesus called
God his Father, but many Jews had a wrong view
of God. They felt that He was distant, uncaring,
and suspected cruelty on His part. The death of
Jesus only confirmed it for them.

Smugly I tell myself that I know what God is like.
God is a good God. But then I catch a glimpse of
the ugly truth. How easy it is for me to impute evil
to God. I don't get my way and I complain. The
world talks about God's part in wars, famines,
earthquakes, hurricanes. The world says, "where
was God when..?"

The truth of the matter is that when God died that
day outside of Jerusalem, He took all the suffering of
a broken, sinful world into His body. What a Savior!
Reader, do you know Him?

Stories:
http://www.hisvictoriousindwelling.com/stories.html

Grief and Sorrow

Surely, he has borne our griefs
     and carried our sorrows;
yet we esteemed him smitten
     of God, and afflicted. 
(Isaiah 53:4)

Jesus, the rejected and despised One, took
our griefs and our sorrows into Himself,
as He hung upon the cross. He became
sorrow; grief was his garment. How could
He carry my sorrow before I was even born?
He could do this because He died outside
of time.

Dear reader, it isn't just that God helps us
through terrible loss, He was there in your
awful moment 2,000 years ago. He took your
pain into Himself.
What a Savior!
Do you know Him?

Stories:

http://www.hisvictoriousindwelling.com/stories.html

Who is Jesus?

This is what Isaiah says about Jesus in
verse three of chapter 53:

"He was despised and forsaken of men
  A man of sorrows, and acquainted
      with grief.
And like one from whom men hide
       their faces,
He was despised, and we did not
       esteem Him." (Isaiah 53:3)

Jesus was not,

• Number One
• happy go lucky
• adored
• honored
• loved by the masses

Jesus was:

• hated
• despised
• dishonored
• isolated from the group
• familiar with sorrow and grief

Why did Jesus, God in the flesh, have to suffer so?

Because only by identifying with everything human,

could He deliver us out of our mess. And, who can

trust a God who has never suffered?

Dearest reader, do you know this Jesus?

stories:

http://www.hisvictoriousindwelling.com/stories.html

Ugliness

I have now come to Isaiah 53 and will pause here
for a season. This chapter is speaking of someone
who has not yet been born, by a prophet who lived
many years before his birth. Yet, Isaiah speaks in
the past tense as if he is looking back.

"Who has believed our message...?
He grew up...like a root out of dry ground.
He had no beauty or majesty to attract us
     to him.
Nothing in his appearance that we should
    desire Him."  (Isaiah 53:1-3)

Who was Isaiah speaking about? The person
was not attractive. He was not good looking.
There was nothing majestic in his bearing.
His appearance did not draw others to him.
Today we would call him ugly. Who was he?
His Name is Jesus.

If Jesus was attending the local Jr High today,
where do you think he would rate on a scale
from one to ten? Would He be the talk of tweets
and Face Book? Would the words of His peers
cut Him to pieces? Did the words of His peers
cut Him back then?

Dear reader, Jesus knows what it is like to be you.
Whatever the unalterable pain in your life, Jesus
knows about it and He understands. He can
identify with ugliness and rejection, because He
chose to identify completely with what it means
to be human. Jesus is completely trustworthy, He
loves you and He will not trample your heart.

STORIES:

http://www.hisvictoriousindwelling.com/stories.html

Called by Name

As I continued reading through the book of
Isaiah, I came across a favorite passage:

"But now, thus says the Lord, Your creator,
O Jacob.
And He who formed you, O Israel,
'Do not fear, for I have redeemed you;
I have called you by name; you are Mine!'
'When you pass through the waters, I will
be with you;
And through the rivers, they will not overflow
you.
When you walk through the fire, you will not
be scorched,
Nor will the flame burn you.
For I am the Lord your God,
The Holy One of Israel, your Savior...'"
(Isaiah 43:1-3)

The prophet is speaking directly to His people,
Israel, but you can put your name into this verse
for God has redeemed you through the blood of
His dear Son. He did the following for you:

• He has formed you
• He has redeemed you
• He has called you by name
• He calls you, "My own."

Because you belong to Him, He has promised to:

• Be with you
• Save you from flooding waters
• keep you from harm in the fires of life

I don't know about you dear reader, but I have 

to go back again and again to the promises of 

God. My life is full of unknowns at present and

I have to get my eyes off of my circumstances 

and on to the One who loves me best.

Dear reader, has Jesus redeemed you
through His blood?

STORIES:

http://www.hisvictoriousindwelling.com/stories.html

Clutter

We are leaving. Had a contract on the house, then
no contract. Still so many unknowns. How I want
all the loose strings to come together! Funny how
God gets lost in the clutter. Pause. Breathe. Before
anything or anyone else, there has to be Him.

I make
myself sit. 

Justice

I have been wandering through the book of Isaiah.
Such gems sparkle from its pages! Listen to these
words for they speak of One whom Isaiah did not
know but who was to come. God speaks through
His prophet:

"Behold, My Servant, whom I uphold;
My chosen one in whom My soul delights.
I have put my Spirit upon Him;
He will bring forth justice to the nations.

...A bruised reed He will not break,
A dimly burning wick He will not extinguish:
He will faithfully bring forth justice.
He will not be disheartened or crushed,
Until He has established justice in the earth..."
(Isaiah 42:1-4)

Does this not resonate in your heart? We cry out
for justice and we look for the one who will bring
peace to our world, and peace to our hearts. He has
come and His name is Jesus. Isaiah describes Him
as One who will bring justice to the nations; One
who does not come forth to hurt but to heal; One
who does not grow discouraged by all the evil
perpetrated on us by an unbelieving world. Here
we read about the end of all things, which really
is not the end, but the beginning.

Reader, do you know the One who does not break
a bruised reed, or extinguish a dimly burning wick?

Provision

I am amazed at how God has given just what we
need at every turning point in this move. A neighbor
came over to look at a chair we were selling and
made suggestions for re-arranging the furniture in
the living room. Perfect! Another neighbor spent
four hours with me on Saturday. I bought two
arm loads of flowers and then Diane made them
into seven bouquets of beauty. I wielded the knife;
Diane placed the flowers in vases of all shapes and
sizes. The most complicated one turned out to be
getting the roses to stand up in the teapot! Sunday
afternoon was the "open house," and we were
invited by a friend to watch football. I fell asleep
on her couch.

If I were not watching for gifts from my heavenly
Dad, would I have noticed His generosity through
others? I wonder...?

"Every blessing He pours out,
I'll turn into praise!"
Stories:

http://www.hisvictoriousindwelling.com/stories.html

Gifts

Not long ago I heard about the book,
One Thousand Gifts, by Ann Voscamp, and
I was intrigued. I ordered three copies. Ann
was not doing well emotionally and decided
to write out things she was thankful for until
she reached one thousand. I cried through the
first two chapters--and one or two of the others.
Ann's raw emotions and her style of writing
touched my heart. As she did this over a year's
time she discovered that God's gifts come in a
variety of packaging, but they are all good.

"Every good thing bestowed and every perfect
gift is from above, and comes down from the
Father of lights, with whom there is no
variation, or shifting shadow. (James 1:17)

God knew that my life was going to take a
sudden turn and how helpful it would be for
me to pay attention to my surroundings and
find little gifts hidden here and there.

I have started my list:
light dances on leaves over sun drenched lake
Ice falling into glass
A weeping Juniper tree
A splash of yellow against the dead
Fresh clean sheets

The list has become a diary of events over the
past couple of months. It is easy to let thankfulness
go as each day has so many twists and turns.
Stories:

http://www.hisvictoriousindwelling.com/stories.html

Idaho

It has been an intense struggle as to our destination
because we have family strung out over the West.
We have moved many times over our married life
and the only place of real stability and the sense of
"coming home," was Weiser--pronounced "geezer,"
which is fitting I suppose. Glen attended the same
one room school as his Mom, except the plumbing
had moved inside! Ruth, his mother has lived on
the Snake River for over 40 years. Our kids played
on the pool table when they were growing up and now
our grandson was doing the same last summer. Ruth
is an active 89 year old, soon to be 90, and is a joy to
be around. She still plays piano at church once a month.
Our desire is to become snow birds and winter in
Arizona.

But, right now, our house is on the market which is
somewhat amazing because we only started getting
the house ready two weeks ago. I want the house to
sell, get our goods picked up and drive out before the
winter storms-- which are all ready happening. It is
hard for me "To be still and know that I am God."
Both parts of it a somewhat of a challenge. This is not
the first time we have moved quickly and you will find
the details on the story page entitled, Moving, Military Style. 
The "C" in my middle name must stand for "change."
Changes increase as I get older, and that increases my
dependency on the One who loves me best.

Stories:

http://www.hisvictoriousindwelling.com/stories.html

Changes Coming

About two weeks ago we decided it was time to put
our house on the market and move, but we did not
know where. We knew that we would make this change
in the next year but had no idea it would spring upon
us so soon. When we returned from vacation Glen went
to the office but found nothing to do. Then both of his
bosses went on vacation and still Glen did not have an
assignment. He had spoken to them about becoming an
"occasional" employee beginning in January, but what
if work dried up before that and we were faced with a
move during the holiday season? With that we contacted
a realtor and he said that prices are going up and the
buyers are out there. His last words were, "the sooner,
the better." We set the date for October 12. It has been
a whirlwind of activity since then. The painter, doctor
appointments, throw away, give away, AND something
called, "staging." I call it "inconvenient and expensive."
People are looking for houses that would find their way
into Home and Gardens. The garden we have, and a
lake, but the inside has to have uncluttered closets, and
non-discript pictures, open rooms. It has to look inviting,
but with class. We could be gone by the first of November
and many of our friends have no idea we are moving!

Last Sunday, as I was taking my third nap, I heard the
words, "You have stayed here long enough, now go--in
the power of my strength. It will not be easy but I will
be with you. Now go." It is based on Deuteronomy 1:6.
I had not been in that verse for several years. What a relief
to know that this is not something we have cooked up on
our own. God is leading. He has done this before, Abraham
for one. One long time friend wrote a note to say, "this must
be of God. He works this way in your life"

In the next blog I will tell you where we will end up...

The Path of Life

Psalm 16 has ministered to my heart many
times throughout my life. The last verse
makes my heart sing!

"You make known to me the path of life;
in your presence is fullness of joy;
at your right hand are pleasures forevermore."
(Psalm 16:17)

There is a path to life, real life, and His Name is
Jesus, "I am the way, the truth, and the life, no
one comes to the Father  without me." (John 14:6)
Jesus is life, abundant life, NOW. Is that not what
our hearts hunger for? Don't we long to move from
the place of happiness to a place of deep abiding
joy? Do you seek pleasures outside of God? His
hands are full to overflowing with pleasures now
and for all eternity--for you!

Papa, I needed this Psalm today. It never ceases
to amaze me how You bring me to that living water
as I write this blog. It is a necessary discipline to turn
my focus from the chaos around me to you, my
Life Giver.
Stories:

http://www.hisvictoriousindwelling.com/stories.html

True Security

Back to Psalm 16. If you have not read the
previous blogs on this particular chapter,
you might want to go back. This blog makes
more sense in context.

"My flesh dwells secure." (Why?)
"For You will not abandon my soul to sheol,
or let your holy one see corruption."
(Psalm 16:10)

This verse is plainly about Jesus. He went into hell,
but did not stay there. His body was resurrected from
the grave. What strikes me about this verse is that
God has a different perspective from me. I see things
in terms of time; He sees everything from the perspective
of Eternity. We have this promise that, "to be absent from
the body is to be present with the Lord." (II Cor. 5:8)
We also have the promise that our bodies, even after death,
will be resurrected and transformed. We will not stay in
the grave! (Corinthians 15:51,52)
Hallelujah!!!!
My time here is but a split second in light of eternity.
God will not abandon me to the grave. I have a future
and a hope. Even my flesh dwells secure.

Reader, do you know Him?

http://www.hisvictoriousindwelling.com/stories.html

A Glory Moment

I opened the blinds in an upstairs window this morning
and my eyes were filled with glory. Plain houses, across
the lake and hidden by the trees, were reflected as
shimmering gold on the lake under a dawn sky. A
Cormorant (A large duck whose name means "Sea Crow"
and who puts his wings out toward the sun to dry) caught
a fish and I watched in wonder as he smacked it on the
water a few times and then swallowed it whole. In the
midst of the drama, I heard a familiar cry, and saw the
resident Kingfisher, fly low. Was God showing off? Was
this all for me? Would He really orchestrate such delight
for an audience of one?

To Dwell Safely

I have set the Lord continually before me; 
because he is at my right hand,
I will not be moved.
Therefore, my heart is glad,
and my glory (my inner self) rejoices;
my body too shall rest and confidently
dwell in safety. (Psalm 16:8,9)

Last week there were three attacks in various parts
of the world. The attack on the Naval Yard in
Washington DC;  the attack on the Mall in
Nairobi, Kenya which is still going on as I write
this; the attack on the church in Pakistan where
at least 68 men, women and children were blown
to pieces. Oddly enough, I know people who were
affected by these events in each country. My first
inclination was to skip this verse. But, as I looked
more carefully I realized that these verses are
prophetic. (They are marked this way in my Bible.)
They speak of Jesus. Actually, Jesus is speaking
from the invisible realm before his time on earth.
God dwells outside of time. He is always at the
beginning and the end of time and in all of the
in-betweens. If our Savior can say these words as
He watches Himself suffer and die, then I know that
my life my suffering is not in vain.There is hope for me,
for you, in the midst of chaos, death and uncertainty.
Ponder these verses. What an awesome God we have!

http://www.hisvictoriousindwelling.com/stories.html

Continually

"I have set the Lord continually before me;
Because He is at my right hand,
I will not be moved." (Psalm 16:8)

How does one set the Lord before him
continually? How did David do this? He
lived before the cross; we live after the cross
and God dwells within us. How many
Christians "pray without ceasing?" Ouch!
That seems impossible in our busy, chaotic
lives. I find that I do better when I focus on
God through His Word in the morning. Then
I take bits of scripture with me. I share my
thoughts with Him throughout the day. He is
always present, even if I am not present to
Him. My thoughts go wild, but if I look up
instead of at the issue, Jesus comes back into
focus. I see this as a choice in the moment and
these moments add up to abiding in the Vine.

What are the results?
"I will not be shaken," when night falls.

And, yes, reader, I am not there yet, but
God knows my heart.

http://www.hisvictoriousindwelling.com/stories.html

Hearing God

"I will bless the Lord who gives me counsel;
yes, my heart instructs me in the night seasons."
(Psalm 16:7--amp.)

In this verse David acknowledges his source of
wisdom. He knows that whatever wisdom he
has comes from God alone--and, boy, does David
need counsel in the days when everything looks
black! David indicates that God gives instruction,
the next step, the blueprint, through his heart.

How does God speak to you in the night seasons?
Does he write it out on the wall of your room,
speak through storm or fire, through a donkey,
through a verse, or into your heart in a quiet whisper?

I remember a time when I was furious with God.
I very much wanted something concerning my
children and God said, "no." I was physically
stomping around the dining room and complaining
out loud. Then came The Voice: "YOU CHILDREN
ARE MINE; I AM THEIR GOD!" It was loud and
I responded by saying, "You don't have to shout."
But, I really needed to hear the message then, and
continue to need the reminder. It is such a comfort.

God is always speaking...so, how do I miss Him?
stories:
http://www.hisvictoriousindwelling.com/stories.html

A Beautiful Inheritance

"The Lord is my chosen portion and my
     cup. (David changes tenses)
You hold my lot.
The lines have fallen for me in pleasant
     places;
Indeed, I have a beautiful inheritance."
(Psalm 16:5,6)

David chooses God as his portion as opposed
to those who choose another God. Then he
says, "You hold my lot, my times, my going
and my coming. It is all good."

I wonder if David wrote those words on a day like
today. The air is crisp with the promise of fall, the
sun is warm; nothing moves except the birds
munching at the feeder. It is a respite from "the
before" and "the next," an in between moment.
As we face a "what next," this verse is particularly
personal. He has held our every decision in the
past and as I look back I see the goodness of the
Lord in every change. Indeed, I have a beautiful
inheritance! God holds my lot and my future.

Reader, this psalm is pithy with plenty of flavor
in every verse. This verse sticks with me like
a bowl of hot oatmeal on a cold morning!

stories:

http://www.hisvictoriousindwelling.com/stories.html

Sorrows

In verse four of Psalm 16 David says:

"The sorrows of those who run after another 
     god shall multiply;
their drink offerings of blood I will not
     pour out
or take their names on my lips."

I first fell in love with this psalm in college,
but I did not know what to do with the fourth
verse. I read the meaning as not having anything
to do with those who worshiped a false god--
not even to speak their names. Not so! David
is contrasting his beloved friends, who bring
him delight, to those whose lives multiply sorrow
through the worship of other gods. David will
not enter into that worship or even mention the
names of these gods. Big difference!

He sees that the end for those who do not choose
the Living God, is sorrow. How sad.

stories:
http://www.hisvictoriousindwelling.com/stories.html

The Excellent Ones

"As for the Saints in the land,
they are the excellent ones,
in whom is all my delight."  
(Psalm 16:3)

David is sitting before the Lord recounting the
events and the years leading up to his becoming
king. One person after another comes to mind.
You see, David never fought a battle alone. There
were at least 600 men of all stripes who came to help
him; men of great courage who did mighty deeds.
(See "David's mighty men" in 1Chronicles 11:10-47)
These men worshiped the God of Abraham, Isaac,
and Jacob. These were David's companions. These
were David's friends.

I sit before the Lord as woman after woman comes
to mind. How they have graced my life. "These are 
the excellent ones in whom is all my delight!" My
girl friends. Gifts every one. Joy bubbles up!

stories:

http://www.hisvictoriousindwelling.com/stories.html

Preserve Me!

According to the Chronological Bible, David penned
Psalm 16 in the years prior to his becoming King over
all of Israel. He wrote it during a period of great instability
and bloodshed. We are living in a time of flux and suddenlys.
In the past few days lives have been shattered in the flash 
floods along the mountains of Colorado. Even as I wrote
these words this morning, a shooter at the Navy Yard in DC
sent four men into Eternity. Who knew?

Sometimes scripture is the only way to communicate with
our Lord, and so I pray Davids words out of Ps 16:1,2:

"Preserve me, O God--
     keep me as the apple of your eye
     Hide me in the shadow of your wings. (Ps 17:8)
For I take refuge in You--
     You are my Lord in these times of uncertainty--
I have no good apart from You"--no where to turn.

stories

http://www.hisvictoriousindwelling.com/stories.html

Memories of Another Trip

Our recent trip took us along the top side of Western MD, into
West Virginia, and then into Pennsylvania before dumping us
into Ohio. Traveling through the Allegheny Mountains brought
up memories from my childhood. We grew up outside of
Philadelphia and each summer we traveled to Chautauqua,
located just over the Pennsylvania border in the far west corner
of New York State. Chautauqua was a place outside of time
tucked next to a beautiful lake, full of stately houses from the turn
of the century. Each July, my dad would pack the car, his wife, the
three kids, the dog into the car and we would head into mountains
that would lead us to sounds, smells, falling rain, that simply did
not exist anywhere else, not like Chautauqua! (The rain always fell
hard and straight down.) We drove with open windows, hair blowing,
on winding mountain roads where we would hold our collective
breath every time we passed a truck, then the collective sigh with
each success. I can remember the light slanting through trees, and
the smells of the forest. I also remember our lunch break where we
ate the best hamburgers in the world and supped on the nectar of a
vanilla shake. Did we eat inside? I don't think so. Did we fight or
fidget in that narrow back seat? Maybe. As the afternoon waned,
Dad would tell us it was time to look for the lake. The road continued
to take us up and down and with every crest of the hill we watched
with eager anticipation for a glimpse of  bright blue sparkling water.
It was always sunny, wasn't it?

http://www.hisvictoriousindwelling.com/stories.html

The Creation Museum

The Museum opened in 1994 and was in my bucket list of
things I wanted to do. It was put together by Ken Ham who
is the founder of Answers in Genesis which focuses on a
young earth of 6,000 years or so. Since most believe in
evolution of some sort and a time frame of some 4.9 billion
years, I was curious as to what I would find there. It was a
wonderful two days of poking into the past. The first thing we
noticed, besides the dragon that greeted us, was both the
cleanliness of the museum, and the friendly helpful staff. The
second thing that impressed me was how they had utilized
technology in the way they presented the exhibits, and the
special shows such as in the Planetarium. It was first rate. I was
not prepared for the beauty of the lake and Botanical Gardens.
They were stunning. The museum had a petting zoo of some
pretty interesting animals: two camels, a couple of llamas, a
wallaby, a zorse (cross between a zebra and a horse), a
zedonk (cross between a zebra and a donkey), and then the
typical sheep and goats.

In addition to the 2-3 hour tour of the museum itself, they
had live speakers each noon and a concert for families at 3PM.
We heard two speakers, both qualified in their subjects. The
first speaker, a Ph.D biologist, talked about the genetics of
Adam. It was a packed hour.

I came away with the following:

If there was no real first Adam, which many in evangelical
circles are teaching today, then, how can we have a second
Adam? (ICor. 15:21,22)

If there was a time when "God saw that it was good," then how
can you have death, fossils, destruction, sin in the billions of
years before Adam and the Garden?

If the first 11 chapters of Genesis are not true--remember, God
was the only one present during creation--then how can we
trust that the rest of the Bible is true?

It is estimated that 70% of churched children will leave the faith
after graduating from high school. Secular Humanism is teaching
them that they are descended from animals; the church is hedging
about whether or not the book of Genesis and a six day creation
can possibly be true. There is tremendous pressure on our children
to believe in evolution, and it leaves them without meaning or
purpose.

Did I hit a sore spot for some of you? The Bible is the foundation
of our faith and Genesis sits at the very bottom. If the foundation
is rotting then the building will eventually collapse. ( Ps. 11:3)
Answers in Genesis has some incredible material. Check it out!
www.answersingenesis.org

Stories: http://www.hisvictoriousindwelling.com/stories.html

More Irritations

Even before our Anniversary I had been looking at
what it means to give thanks and I had not gone
into our trip with high expectations--which, as it
turns out--was a great place to be! Added to yesterday's
list:

Exhaustion after only three hours of travel
An e-mail clash with a good friend that left both of
     us with shards of glass in our hearts.

Irritations at our motel in Indiana such as:
A cracked coffee pot--heavens--
A plugged toilet,
A dripping noise in the bathroom ceiling,
The smell of cigarette smoke drifting into our room.
Running children throughout breakfast the second morning,
A crazy hostess who ran a vacuum the last morning.

A song echoes from my childhood:

"In everything give thanks,
For this is the will of God
In Christ Jesus concerning you."

"Lord, in everything????

http://www.hisvictoriousindwelling.com/stories.html

Our Crazy Trip!

The first of September found us hitting the road on our
way to Ohio, Indiana, Kentucky? Now which was it?
Always check a map and distance BEFORE setting out.
I thought we were going to Columbus, but Glen got an
e-mail saying that we were booked into a hotel in Indiana!
What?
Our destination was The Creation Museum in Kentucky.
Our plan was to leave on Monday, tour the museum on
Tuesday and Wednesday and then head back home on
Thursday so Glen could finish a huge project due that week.
Our anniversary was on Thursday the 5th. By now, are you
totally confused? Instead of a six to seven hour trip, we were
looking at a nine to ten hour trip so we decided to leave on
Sunday and make Thursday a long day.

Sunday we drove three and half hours and then checked
into the lodge at Wisp mountain located in Deep Creek, MD,
where we had celebrated our anniversary back in the nineties.
There was a delicious restaurant waiting for us, whose name
we had forgotten. (The whole landscape had changed since the
nineties.) We looked and found what we thought was the right
place, but certain things did not add up. The door was on the front
side, up two flights of stairs, and the menu seemed odd, but we
were very hungry having missed lunch. When we left, after
not so good food, we walked around the next building, and
there it was!

The trip the following day ended up being more like eight
hours instead of five. It turns out that Lawrenceburg, IN was
only eight minutes from our destination in Kentucky and we
used the beltway around Cincinnati to get there! So, we had
landed where three states touch.

I hate to leave you hanging, but today's blog is long enough
and there is so much to tell!

Check the stories:

http://www.hisvictoriousindwelling.com/stories.html

The Choice

In the second chapter of 2nd Samuel, David is
anointed King; civil war breaks out, good men
are murdered. During these events David
continues to write:

"I will give thanks to the Lord with all 
     my heart
I will recount all of your wonderful deeds.
I will be glad and exult in thee,
I will sing praise to your name,
     O Most High."
(Psalm 9:1,2)

David might not be there yet in terms of his
emotions, but he makes a choice.
He worships.

Great new story on brokenness:

http://www.hisvictoriousindwelling.com/stories.html

Death

 King Saul and his son Jonathan are slain on
mount Gilboa. David's best friend is dead.
David's heart is broken. He moans:

"How the mighty have fallen," not once but
three times in eight verses, 2 Samuel 19-27.

We catch a glimpse of his grief in Psalm 6:

"I am weary of my sighing,
Every night I make my bed swim.
I dissolve my couch with my tears.
My eye has wasted away with grief..."
(Psalm 6:6,7)

I cannot leave David. Every page of his life
is awash in tears, or fear, or failure. He is no
different from me. He bears the mark of God.

Please go to the story page and read about
Beautiful Brokenness:

http://www.hisvictoriousindwelling.com/stories.html

For God Alone

David wrote Psalm 62 during the events described
in a previous blog. Horrible, mind numbing events!
I quoted the first two verses but in verses five and
six David says the same thing, only this time he speaks
to his soul. David's heart is toward God and is rock
solid, but his emotions and his behavior are all over
the map. God looks at David's heart, not his outward
behavior.

"My soul, wait in silence for God only,
For my hope is from Him.
He only is my rock and my salvation,
My stronghold; I shall not be shaken.
(Psalm 62:5,6 ASV)

I took these two verses apart and looked up the
definitions of the words in bold, and then turned
them into a declaration of hope:

"Soul, wait for your deliverance on God who
is your only hope. You cannot trust man or 
circumstances. Be intertwined with Him. He only 
is your refuge at the edge of this precipice. He is 
your only deliverer, your Savior. He is like a lofty 
inaccessible place of safety to you, your refuge." 
"I will not be shaken.
I will not be cast headlong down this precipice."
(paraphrase of Psalm 62:5,6) 

A mousetrap--see previous blogs--that is focused
on God instead of man, is an unset mousetrap. It
will not fly apart when the ball drops! But, if it
does, there is always God....

Be sure to check out the new story:
Beautiful Brokenness--with a video:

 http://www.hisvictoriousindwelling.com/stories.html

Scooter

Last month I heard a speaker tell some wonderful
stories and asked this author if she would mind
writing a story for my website. Within a very short
period of time I received the story of Scooter entitled
"Beautiful Brokenness." The video at the end of the
story was put together by Katy and Scooter.  It is well
worth your while. Enjoy!

Stories: http://www.hisvictoriousindwelling.com/stories.html

A Fallen Father

David is King.
David is a leader.
David is a father.
Things are not going his way.

1. David has a son whose name is Absalom.
2. Absalom has a sister named Tamar, a half brother
     named Annon.
3. Annon is crazy in love with Tamar; he violates her.
4. Absalom murders Annon
5. Absalom flees from his father
6. "David's heart goes out to his son," but the father 
     does not call Abosalom back. Three years pass.
7. Finally, the son comes home, but, the father does not
      call for Absalom for two more years.
8. Absalom draws the people to himself; away from
     the king. He makes a move for the throne.
9. When David hears the message of the betrayal,
     he flees from Jerusalem, the city of peace,--weeping.
10 Absalom, the son, is stabbed and dies as he hangs
      from a branch by his hair.
11 David--
"O my son Absalom, my son, my son Absalom! Would
that I had died instead of you, O Absalom, my son,
my son."  (2 Samuel 13-18)

David chooses to ignore his son. He refuses to be
reconciled. The years of anger and guilt lead to
bitterness and betrayal, and, finally to death. David
is king; he is also a father. His choice of not letting
his son speak to him is like that of a ping pong ball
in a room full of mousetraps. If you read the whole
story you will find that so many people are affected.

The good news is that God calls David "a man
after my own heart." He does not withdraw this
term of endearment when David blows it. But,
oh, how David and others suffer because he did
not choose life!

Leadership Failure

"How the mighty have fallen." 2 Samuel 1:19
Fallen: dropped, descended, degraded, ruined

There he sits on the top of the pile and it is a long way down.
He hits bottom and it is like a ping pong ball hitting set
mousetraps in a closed room. They go off, set each other off,
and keep the ball bouncing. Gradually the room goes quiet
and the ball settles.

"How could this happen?"
"Pastor So and So is well nigh perfect."
"What is going to happen now?"
"If this has happened to him what hope is there for me?"
"What is going to happen to our wonderful church?"

Questions, so many questions, but there is only one
answer, only one, and it begins with a question:

To whom or to what do I look to for life?

Do I expect my pastor to be my source? That will
certainly suck him dry in a hurry. Is it my spouse
or my kids who are responsible for my happiness?
Circumstances then? Ouch! People and circumstances
change in a moment, and then what?

The misplaced focus is like the set mousetrap that goes
off when change hits. What if the mousetrap was not
set? What if the mousetrap was resting in God's love
and looking to God for provision. Such a mousetrap
would not be shaken when the ball drops.

"My soul waits in silence for God only;
From Him is my salvation.
He only is my rock and my salvation,
My stronghold; I shall not be greatly shaken."
Ps 62:1,2

Hey, mousetrap, don't reset on the wrong thing!

Stories: http://www.hisvictoriousindwelling.com/stories.html

A Triumphant Life

Samuel Lamb: 1925-2013

Who is Samuel Lamb some of you may ask? He
was a Chinese Pastor who kept a suitcase packed
during the early years of his ministry for the day
he would be picked up by the Chinese authorities
for his Christian activity. He was arrested in 1958
and subjected to hard labor for the next 20 years.
He had refused to register his church with the government
before his arrest and did not change his mind when he
was released from prison. Today 4,000 people attend
four services at the church.

Pastor Lamb was quoted as saying: "My dear wife died
while I was in prison. I was not allowed to attend her
funeral. It was like an arrow of the Almighty until I
understood that God allows the pain, the loss, the torture,
but we must grow through it."

When asked for a summary of his life and ministry in
one principle he said: "more persecution, more growth."

I am even now looking down at the joy filled face of
an old man, a man who understood what it means to be
intertwined with God and His purposes. You can google
his name and scroll down to pictures.

"Wait for the Lord;
be strong, and let your heart take courage;
wait for the Lord!

Stories:

http://www.hisvictoriousindwelling.com/stories.html

Wait

I don't like this word!

(You) "Wait for the Lord.
Be strong, and let your heart take 
courage. Wait for the Lord." 
(Psalm 27:14)

To whom is David speaking? He might
be speaking to his own soul.

"Soul, wait, be strong, take courage,
wait. (This could take awhile.)"

Wait in Strongs 6960
"To expect, patiently tarry, wait for."
But the primary meaning is "to bind
together by twisting."

Does the twisting, the binding together with God
occur over years of waiting for God? Does
expectation grow or diminish with time? Is David
waiting for God or is he waiting on a change in
circumstances?

I have to confess that more often than not, I am
waiting, not for a greater revelation of God,
but for the circumstances to change. Time
does not necessarily increase my faith, and, I
am not aware that God and I are becoming
twisted together as one. There is a situation that
has plodded along for twenty years! David's
life did not shift for many years and even after
becoming king, he went from one crises to
another. I think he gave his soul the very best
advice that day: "Be strong, take courage, wait."

One of my favorite books is Waiting On God
by Andrew Murray. Maybe it is time for me to
open the book again....

A new story is up:

 http://www.hisvictoriousindwelling.com/stories.html

The Declaration

Yesterday we glimpsed the tumult of David's
heart. Today I read:

"I believe that I shall look upon the goodness
of the Lord in the land of the living!"
(Psalm 27:13)

Surely David declares this with a shout! His
words resound into heaven and heaven cheers!
David speaks truth in the midst of darkness.

"I believe...goodness...the land of the living.

Is there something wrong with tears, anger,
frustration one moment and triumphant faith
the next? NO! I call it the normal Christian walk.
I call it becoming real. My tendency is to bury pain
so deep that I can't feel it. When I do this, I die a
little. God wants me to be fully alive!

A New Story is up!

 http://www.hisvictoriousindwelling.com/stories.html

"I'm Here, O Lord"

David is all over the map in Psalm 27. He is
confident, he is seeking God, but in verse seven,
the tone changes. Up until this point David is
talking about his journey, but now a cry erupts
from his heart.

"I'm doing what you have asked, Lord.
I am seeking You.
Where are You?
Have You cast me off for some reason?
Have You forsaken me?"
(Paraphrase of Ps 27:8,9)

Here are the words of a desperate man, in a
desperate place, who feels alone--cast off--
separated--, just when he needs God. How
easy it is to base my relationship with God
on my surrounding circumstances. I tank.

"Does God seem far away?
Well, who do you think moved?"

A NEW STORY!

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New Story is UP!

check it out!

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A Personal Cry

Read Ps 27:7-9 and see what David said, because I am
going to give you my interpretation of David's prayer:

"Hear me, God, as I cry out to You.
Answer me in a way that I can hear You.
I'm doing what You told me to do.
I am seeking You!
Where are You?
Are You angry with me?
Have You cast me away for some reason?"

David has gone from the impersonal third person to
the first person and his words are the words of a
desperate man, who is in a desperate place where
he feels alone and abandoned. I have read this psalm
many times but this is the fist time I have noticed that
the man is having a hard time and expressing it.
David has gone from a place of worship, a declaration
of who God is, to crying out as if he has no hope--
all in the space of a few verses!

Dear reader, do David's words mirror your heart cry
today? This is the normal Christian walk. You are in
good company.

Stories: http://www.hisvictoriousindwelling.com/stories.html

Suddenly!

Last week contained a series of unwelcome sudden events.
The beginning of the drama occurred on Monday evening
as Glen was walking Jake around the lake. They stopped to
hang out a bit with a couple of small dogs and then continued
on their way. By now it was dusk. Suddenly a dog that was
off leash discovered Jake and made a bee line over the 40 or
so yards that separated them. She was a dog with a mission as
she crashed into Jake, got her teeth into his skin about mid-thigh
and then pulled ripping the skin off of the leg down past the
knee and around the leg-- almost 360 degrees. Glen went ballistic
as the dog circled around for another try. Somehow he got them
separated and we got Jake in the car and headed for the ER.
Our plans for the evening were suddenly re-arranged. Jake
was sedated and then operated on the following day. It took two
hours to clean and sew his skin back on. He is pretty much crated
for the next three weeks and we had a few rough days after we
got him home. The skin is tight where it has been re-attached.
Jake is sneaky about wanting to run upstairs and crawl under the
bed but even so the areas sowed together are beginning to heal.

The episode reminded me of just how quickly our lives can change.
Paul speaks of this in 1Thessalonians 5:2-3:

"For you yourselves are fully aware that the day of the Lord
will come like a thief in the night. While people are saying
'peace and safety,' then sudden destruction will come upon
them as labor pains come upon a pregnant woman, and they
will not escape."

"Peace and Safety" seem to be much in the news these days. Can it
be that we are nearing the end of all things? Can it be that the rapture
is just around the corner. The persecuted Thessalonian church was
so concerned about these things that Paul wrote two letters to them
which are centered around the Day of the Lord and the return of our
Lord. It will happen suddenly.
Reader, are you ready to meet Jesus face to face?

His Martha

Luke 10:38-40 is a familiar passage. Jesus and his
disciples have been on the road and they stop at
Martha's house where the conversation and food
is always good. Martha welcomes Jesus, then she
goes into the kitchen to make a favorite meal while
Mary stays behind to listen. Martha is a marvelous
hostess! Nothing wrong there until her expectations
kick in and her anger rises. She blurts out:

"I am drowning in all this work and Mary is loitering.
Tell her to come help me!" (My paraphrase)

Jesus tells His Martha--he loves her so much--
that only one thing is really necessary in life. Mary
expresses the heart of David as she sits at the feet of
Jesus and gazes into his face.
Mary is hungry.

I want to be like Mary and David, but I have to confess
that often Martha takes center stage. It is hard for me to
be at rest when so much needs to be done, and then
there are the weeks, like the past seven days, when all
sorts of things pop up, consuming both time and energy.
Even in the times of seeming failure, I am still His
dearest and He is still my Life!

Stories: http://www.hisvictoriousindwelling.com/stories.html

Loitering

...to behold or gaze upon the beauty of the Lord,
and to meditate in his temple. (Psalm 27:4)

God wants me to loiter which means, "slow in
moving, to delay, to be dilatory, to spend time idly."
God wants me to be lazy? Hardly. He wants me to
give Him time. He wants me to gaze upon his beauty.
(gaze: to look steadily, earnestly, eagerly on the
beloved.) In Psalm 27, David begs God to give him
the ability to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord.
Seeing is not a cut and dried thing. We cannot see
Him with physical eyes. So, how do I see Him?
I meditate in the living Word and as I ponder the
words or word I am reading, Jesus begins to come
into focus. I begin this process in a quiet place, but
the Lord continues to give light on the scriptures as
I go about my day. I am the temple of the living God
and it from there that God speaks, God reveals.

Dear reader, have you heard his voice? Has He
come into focus?

Dwelling

"...that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all
the days of my life..." Psalm 27:4

Over the past several days I have meditated on
the word "dwell." (dwell means to linger, loiter,
abide, remain.) In this case I  speak of dwelling
intimately with our God. We as Believers are
in Christ. Now that it intimacy! As we linger in
this truth, we can actually access intimacy and it
becomes life to us. In John 15 Jesus says this:
"Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch 
cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in 
the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in 
me." (John 15:4)

Look at Psalm 91:1: "He who dwells in the 
shelter of the Most High will abide in the shadow
of the Almighty." 
What we have in Christ is even better.

Dear reader, the dwelling, abiding begins in the
quiet place, but does not end there. Our dear Papa
wants us to abide in Him all day, everyday. Jesus
would not have given his disciples an impossible
command! It is possible to rest even in the midst
of stressful situations--simple but not easy.
Do you know Him?

Stories: http://www.hisvictoriousindwelling.com/stories.html

Seeking

Here I am wanting to quickly jump to the next
psalm, or even another verse. There is a check
in my spirit and then the soft words of the One
whose voice I know:

"What is your rush, Jane? Linger awhile with Me
in this verse."

So, I write: "One thing have I asked of the Lord
and that will I seek after..." To seek is to endeavor
to pursue that which has great value.

Papa, only one thing is worth pursuing? But there are
so many good things crying out for my attention. I
don't know how to focus. How do I do this? But,
this is my desire; this is my quest. Please help me.

One Thing

David has been dwelling in caves, and in the dry places.
He has faced death. In the midst of this God has given to
David a new perspective and it is not a focus on his
coming into the king position!

One thing have I asked of the Lord,
that I will seek after:
that I may dwell in the house of the 
Lord
all the days of my life,
to gaze upon the beauty of the
Lord
and to inquire (meditate) in his temple.
(Ps 27:4)

Many years ago this verse became my prayer. I had
come to the place where only one thing was necessary
and it was to know God. It is because of writing this
blog and getting into the psalms that I have re-
connected to this verse. As I sit on my deck listening
to the birds, feeling the breeze on my face, watching
the butterflies, the hummingbirds fighting over
the nectar, I bow and thank God who is the source
of all this beauty. He is life. He is my life.

Dear reader, who or what is the source of your life?

Something Has Shifted

In past psalms David has been moaning and groaning
over his enemies and his circumstances. In Psalm 27
we see that something has shifted in David. Life has
not changed; David has changed. He knows that these
escapes from his enemy are not because of his
brilliance, or strength. David is broken and in the midst
of his brokenness, he sings, he shouts, he dances. He is
transformed. He has taken his eyes off of his circumstances
and put them upon his Lord. I can hear him muttering
under his breath:

The Lord IS my light and my salvation.
The Lord is MY light and MY salvation.
The Lord is my LIGHT and my SALVATION.
THE LORD IS!

Dear reader, perhaps brokenness is just the place where
God is going to reveal Himself to you in a new way.
Our losses, our afflictions are the vehicles God uses to
reveal His grace, mercy and love. This past weekend I
heard many stories from women who testified to the
goodness of the Lord in the midst of their afflictions.

Stories: http://www.hisvictoriousindwelling.com/stories.html