In the meantime

While I don't think there is a specific declaration in the Bible stating that God is joy, I believe joy is intricately wrapped up in God's character and our relationship with Him: He is the source of any joy.  He is the source of  our  joy.  In fact, Galatians 5:22 states that part of the fruit of the Spirit (who is God) is producing joy in the believer. There are several verses that specifically mention the author's desire that the reader would have "full joy":  John 15,   in Christ's incredible teaching about the Vine and the branches and the relationship of the believer abiding in Christ, He says that " these things have I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full ."  (John 15:11)  The joy He gives is directly tied to our abiding in Him and obeying His commandments out of love for Him!  He wants us to do these things because it produces joy--full joy! 1 John 1:4  declares that "these things...

Imagine a God who changes: At one point, He may have shown love to mankind. But not necessarily anymore.  Perhaps He decided to go back on His declaration of love for the world.  He made the promise of a coming Savior and eventually, a ruling King.  But maybe He conceived of a better plan for sin’s problem.  Maybe that solution would be to demolish all of humanity and start over with a perfect race, sparing His only Son from receiving the punishment for the sins of the whole world.  I mean, maybe He’s changed His mind on providing a means of salvation for us.  If God  changes from time to time, His Word is utterly irrelevant to us, for it was written years ago, and anything it tells us about God is probably already out of date.   Thankfully though, God is immutable: God doesn’t change.   He has declared Himself to be “the same yesterday, and today, and forever” (Hebrews 13:8.) He is the God “that cannot lie” (Titus 1:2.) Because ...

Here is part two of When God Gives and Takes .  (Read part one here .) ************* I think of that passage in Corinthians about God being the God of comfort and His comfort then being the avenue for us to then comfort others.  In the days soon after our miscarriage, I clung to this statement of incredible truth about God.  He said He would comfort.  I can trust Him to do it here. Now. In the days to come.  In some way, in some very real, tangible way, He will give comfort to my aching soul in this time of need.  And He did comfort and continues to comfort.   Day by day, moment by moment, at each moment of great need, His comfort has come in many ways…His Word, prayer, my husband, friends and family, songs…the list could go on.  Being comforted with God’s comfort doesn’t mean the pain goes away or that tears instantly dry up.  It doesn’t mean all questions have been answered.   But in some strange way, pain and ensuing comfort...

 When it comes to the difficulties and struggles in life, I’m not necessarily one to wear my heart on my sleeve or spill all my guts for the world to read, but this post is the first of two posts talking about our pregnancy, miscarriage, and how God is bringing us--me--through it.  In a way, there’s been healing in writing it down, so maybe I’m writing more for my sake than for any of you readers.  In it all, blessed be the name of the Lord.  **************** It’s been over 3 months now.  Sometimes I think I’m over the grief, tears, and emptiness… and then all the emotions come rushing back, as if it all just happened yesterday…. Our two little ones:  precious gifts from God for just a few weeks.   They were so tiny and under-developed, yet created in His image and beloved, fearfully and wonderfully made.  Who would have thought that someone so small--someone we never  even got to meet--would claim our hearts and love so fast?  Who ...

Ok, I know summer is just starting, but if you’re starting to look for ways to use up cucumbers, I have a recipe you gotta try.  It looks like an incredibly healthy dish and a prime candidate for a “ladies’ get-together,” but just wait and see.  You may be surprised! The Ingredients: 3/4 to 1 whole cucumber 4 oz. cream cheese 2-3 Tablespoons minced onion Seasoned salt to taste The Process: Peel the cucumber.  Grate the cucumber into a medium-sized bowl (or a food-processor if you have one.) Drain off as much liquid as you can.  Mince the onion (if you cry, just remind yourself that it’s worth it!) Cut about 4 ounces of softened cream cheese into 1/2-inch chunks. Combine and mix onions, cream cheese, and seasoned salt with grated cucumbers.  Use whatever utensil you need to use in order to get the cream cheese blended together with the other ingredients – just a spoon won’t do the trick.  (I just use a fork, but a pastry blender might also work. A food...

I’ve been slow in posting the “H” in the Describe Him series simply because,  honestly, I’ve had a hard time knowing what to say about God’s holiness.  So I’ll keep it short and to the point. God is holy, there is no doubt about that.  If you’re uncertain about how holy He is, just start reading the Bible: His holiness comes out loud and clear, from Genesis to Revelation. He has called His children to also be holy as He is holy (1 Peter 1:15-16.) Sooo, how does being holy as He is holy look like in your life?  

June 1st was our anniversary.  Has it already been two whole years since we got married!?!?  We kept it simple, but we did spend the day doing something out-of-the-normal to celebrate!  We’ve talked a lot about having a picnic in Wind Cave National Park  just a few miles north of us, but we’ve never gotten around to it.  Until now.  An anniversary was a perfect excuse to take a breakfast picnic and hike around for a few hours! Love this guy.