Resolve and Passion

Last night as we were watching The Olympics, I was
struck by both the passion and resolve of the athletes.
They obviously loved the sport, the competition and
they were going for the gold! Many have had physical
challenges along the way, but they gave it their all.

Daniel and his friends were men of both resolve and
passion. They grew up together in Jerusalem while
the city was under siege. Each of them must have
considered how the situation was playing out and what
could be the consequences for them. Captivity or death,
or maybe both. Did they talk and pray into the night
over dry crusts of bread and left over jam? Was it in this
tight knit community that they resolved  not to defile
themselves by the Babylonian spirit, no matter what?
We don't know whether or not the long journey was the
means God used to give clarity of the situation. We do
know that by the time they arrived in pagan Babylon,
they were united in vision and purpose: they would not
defile themselves! They refused to eat pork and drink
strong wine at the table of the King. They passed the
first test, together.

Dear reader, we need each other! We need to share,
pray, cry, laugh. In this day, now, while it is still light,
we must get real with others of like mind. For what are
we willing to die; for whom or what are we living.
What is our purpose and goal?

Thankfulness corner:
For a daughter who took hours of her time today so
that I can do both the blog and e-mail. What a mess
it has been the past few months!

Chosen

King Nebuchadnezzar commanded his chief
eunuch to bring to him young men, of nobility, who
were without physical abnormalities, handsome,
brilliant of mind, who had great wisdom, knowledge,
and understanding. Twenty year old Daniel, of the
tribe of Judah and its royal line, had the qualities the
king was looking for.

Daniel and his three friends were chosen to live in
the palace which meant they became eunuchs. Daniel
had his whole life before him and he knew there was
small chance he would ever return to his beloved city
of Jerusalem, no chance he would ever marry. If I had
been Daniel with my whole life shattered and lying at
my feet, I would have hidden in a hole to keep out of
sight of this King who lived up to his terrible reputation.
But Daniel was not just chosen by this earthly king, he
was chosen by a Heavenly King--for a purpose. This
young man did not begin to cultivate a relationship with
God when the crises came, he arrived in Babylon with
his spiritual house in order.

Dear reader, you are precious to me for you are the
wonderful incentive I need to dig deeply, and, in so
doing, I learn so very much!

Thankfulness Corner:
For the giver of my gorgeous Amaryllis blooming
double and triple blossoms.

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

A Snowy Trip

Last night 11 of us bundled ourselves into the church van
and headed 75 miles to Boise and a meeting where
Dave Ramsey was speaking about Financial Peace. There
was the promise of snow, but not until late evening. After
an informative and entertaining program we headed out
of the parking lot for home. It was 10:30PM. The roads
were clear and we were soon out of the city and into--
heavy snow...on the highway... far from home. It was not
a white out but visibility was greatly reduced. As time
passed and the visibility lessoned and the snow deepened,
things got quiet. It was white knuckle time for the driver;
he needed prayer. Unlike the North East where an inch of
snow is a call for the plows, we never saw a plow. We got
off the highway early to deliver some to waiting cars, and
it was eerie to watch the snow fall on untraveled roads. I
began thinking about the dog. "If we got stuck, who would
take care of him?" Then, "What if we rolled and I was really
hurt? How long before help would get there?" The
temperature had dropped into the low teens. Well, we finally
pulled into the church parking lot. The drive home was not bad--
it has stopped snowing by this time. We were home by 12:30
none the worse for wear and extremely grateful to God for
the eleven angels riding with us!

You know, it  is not just financial peace that is needed in our
lives, it is just plain peace. God's peace.

Have wonderful weekend, for God has made all our days...

Thankfulness Corner:
 Sunlight resting on a snowy mountain peak.

The Book of...

Daniel. Well, I am digging into the Book of Daniel
everyday as I meet with other women once a week
for a Beth Moore Study. I invite you, dear reader,
to come with me on this rather extensive journey.
I promise that I will not go verse by verse!

First some background:

"In the third year of the reign of Jehoiakim king of Judah,
Nebuchadnezzar King of Babylon came to Jerusalem 
and besieged it." Daniel 1:1

The King of Babylon arrived in the third year and
departed with King Jehoiakim, his family, his officials,
all the mighty men of valor, and all the treasures of
Jerusalem including those in Solomon's Temple, in
the 11th year of the kings reign. It was a nine month
journey!

Babylon--some background
Babylon was built by Nimrod who was the power
behind the tower of Babel, where God intervened
by confusing the language and scattering the people.
(You remember the story of how a tower was being
built in order to reach into heaven so the people
could remain together.) The city of Babel was birthed
in rebellion. The fulfillment of this rebellion can be
found in the 17th chapter of Revelation. Babylon was
a seductive city and that is where God dropped His
people for 70 years.

I have given you very little background information.
Very little. The events concerning the time before,
during and after the Babylonian Captivity are recorded
in the following books:  2 Chronicles, 2 Kings, Ezra,
Nehemiah, Esther, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel,
Daniel, Haggai, Zechariah and Malachi. Wow!

I hope to see you on this journey. You do know
that I pray for my readers, do you not?

Thankfulness Corner:
Long walk on a winter's morning with my
little Aussie, Jake.

Stories:

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

The Card

Yesterday afternoon I was once more trying to bring
order out of chaos and I came across a card that
Glen gave me years ago. I opened it to find the words:

"This is the day that the Lord has made, let us 
rejoice and be glad together." Psalm 118:24

I had to laugh for I had been in a hurry yesterday,
and had not been able to find the address of the verse
but published the blog anyway. (Strongs Concordance
has two pages of listings for the word, "day.") So
here I was on my knees looking through a pile of
paper and found a long forgotten card... Was that a
coincidence? I don't think so. My Papa God does
things like this daily, but much of it goes without my
noticing. This was much more in my face!

Thankfulness corner
A card, a verse, a smile

stories:

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

This is the Day!

I am in a Daniel study by Beth Moore with
18 women who meet together every Saturday
morning. Many of you have had the
opportunity to do one of her studies but this
is my first one. In the video Beth shared that
she greets her children and husband each
morning with:

"This is the day that the Lord has made, let us
rejoice and be glad in it!"

This verse bubbled up in my heart three days
ago and has continued to sing to me when
I wake up. It is a verse for sharing for it is
an "us," not just an "I." As I speak it to Glen,
the corners of my mouth turn up into a smile.
How can I frown while declaring the truth
of Who made this day including all that is
in it?

So, dear readers, try it and see if it does
not set your eyes upward on these cold icy
mornings. Perhaps you will discover joy
in hidden places.

Thankful Corner:
My faithful readers!!!!!

stories:

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

Himself

God Himself has put us into Christ and made
Christ our wisdom: righteousness,
sanctification, and redemption. Of all the gifts
He gives us, none is greater than His Son.
Christ is the gift; Christ is also all the other gifts.
We cannot earn our Christian walk. We have
to learn: to know Christ as our wisdom: Christ
as our righteousness, Christ as our sanctification,
Christ as our redemption.

The bottom line? All we have is just Christ!

My prayer today: That God would give me a
spirit of wisdom and revelation that I may
know Him. Pray this when you get up, drive
to work, sit down at a meal. Pray it for your
family, friends and pastor. Such a simple
prayer. A prayer that will change you--
and your world.

Thankful corner:
A sunrise and a sunset--on the same day!
(After weeks of fog and cloudy days.)

Stories:

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