Prayers

The prayers you pray for others come back to you. Whenever we ask on behalf of another, we ourselves receive God’s loving generosity amplified in our lives. So be generous with your prayers. God loves to give to those who seek. 

And I tell you, ask and you will receive; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks, receives; and the one who seeks, finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened. – Luke 11:9-10

Lord, your love is eternal. Do not forsake the works of your hands.

Psalm 138:1,2

Honor

God graces us with every moment in life. Where we take them is up to us.


The son honors his father, the slave stands in awe of his master. But if I am indeed father, where is the honor due to me? And if I am indeed master, where is the awe due to me? - Malachi 1:6a

Renewal

Sometimes God’s glory is meant solely for us: for you, for me. When we are striving so hard to do good, seeking opportunities to help others, wondering what our purpose is in life, we need to stop and be aware of those moments that God has set aside solely for us. Glorify His Holy Name, by stopping and taking in His goodness for your own benefit. Allow Him to saturate you with His Glory. In this, you will renew the awe, desire, and the power within you to be ready when He calls you again.

 “Martha, Martha, the Lord replied, “you are worried and upset about many things. But only one thing is necessary. Mary has chosen the good portion, and it will not be taken away from her.”… - Luke 10:41,42

Duplicity

"I Am, Who I Am”.  God Is, Who Was, and Shall Be. He is the same God no matter who stands before Him. His Truth never fades. God seeks us to be the same; to always stand before Him and our fellow man as the same person. He asks us to peel away our layers of self-doubt, insecurity, and uncertainty. Rather, He calls us to live with conviction and confidence in His Way, unwavering in our belief in Him. When our time with God is spent in humility and a true desire for redemption, He will mold us to stand openly and honestly, always praising His Name and spreading His Truth to everyone in our Path. 

Nathanael said to Him, “How do You know me?” Jesus answered and said to him, “Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you.” – John 1:48

April 3, 2017 – Blessed

We are so very blessed that whenever we become too busy to remember Jesus, He never becomes too busy to remember us.

Come, let us worship and bow down, Let us kneel before the LORD our Maker. For He is our God, And we are the people of His pasture and the sheep of His hand. – Psalm 95:6-7a

March 30, 2017 - Miracle

Photo by Brittanie Kinch, Curator

There is nothing more profound than that moment in your search for the meaning of life, when you realize that “you” are the miracle.

 

I will give thanks to You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Wonderful are Your works, And my soul knows it very well. – Psalm 139:14

March 29, 2017 – Glory

Who would have thought!!??

I'm a relic in a museum.

A picture of me working on one of my hubby's old Chevy's

is on the wall of the Peterson Automotive Museum in

Los Angeles, CA,  commemorating "Man's ongoing love with

the automobile!" We never know how God will use us!

In everything you touch today, remember that the hand you touch things with was made by God. Bring glory to those moments by praising God for all feeling, seeing, hearing, smelling, tasting, The innermost parts of our being were equipped by God to bring us closer to His beauty, to hear His melody, smell His fragrance and create pleasure and desire for Him and all the gifts He brings. In all things we do and dream, let us give glory to the Father who made us.

1 Corinthians 6:20 - you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.

 

March 28, 2017 – Stop

Yes, we know God can; but why would He would want to? If He wants to; would helping me hurt someone else? Am I less loved because he healed another and not me? When we find ourselves questioning God's motives, stop; for in all probability, we will never find the answers while we are still on this earth. Place your thoughts into actions and step out in faith. Let yourself become His hands to help another; His heart to love your neighbor; and His voice to speak for the oppressed. Trust His Plan in the moments before you and find the peace that surpasses all understanding.   

And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. – Philippians 4:7

March 27, 2017 - Sacrifice

My Jenni's wedding

Jesus' sacrifice for us began long before His death. From the moment of His conception, He humbled Himself and made Himself obedient to man. He Above All Things, grew in submission to his earthly parents, setting the stage for His ultimate submission to God, The Father. Deferring to Mary at the Wedding of Cana exemplifies Christ’s devotion to our Heavenly Father in honoring the 3rd Commandment: "honor your father and mother". As we choose our path each day, let us put aside all pride and self-need, remembering the example of Jesus and how every breath He took, brought glory to God.

And Jesus said to her, "Woman, what does that have to do with us? My hour has not yet come." His mother said to the servants, "Whatever He says to you, do it." John 2:4-5

March 26, 2017 – Control

It is not giving up candy for Lent that makes us a better Christian. It is the fact that giving up something we love, and crave, strengthens our self-control. Learning to control our physical desires is an integral part in learning to control our emotional and spiritual natures. Choosing to leave behind our own pursuits, frees us to be ready when God calls us to His.

…”if you call the Sabbath a delight and the LORD’s holy day honorable, and if you honor it by not going your own way and not doing as you please or speaking idle words, then you will find your joy in the LORD, and I will cause you to ride on the heights of the land and to feast on the inheritance of your father Jacob.” The mouth of the LORD has spoken. - Isaiah 58:13-14

March 25, 2017 – Tempt

How many times a day do I tempt God? I ask for Him to show me the way. But am I seeking an outward sign or an inner peace? God has given us a sign that all is right with the world. His son was born of a virgin and gave His life for us. Let us rejoice in this Grace and glorify God’s name in our peace and hope.

 

The Lord will give you a sign in any case: It is this: the young woman is with child and will give birth to a son whom she will call Immanuel. – Isaiah 7:14

March 24, 2017 – Responsibility

Our Heavenly Father works with us to grow us, allowing plenty of moments for us to stand on our own feet as responsible people of purpose.  For those who cry out His Name, He becomes our strength, our wisdom, our discernment and our will.  Moreover, He becomes our hands, minds, feet, and our being.  The verse says God works WITH those to bring goodness, not FOR us.  We must work toward resolving a problem; never sitting back and waiting for the solution to come from another.  We have a job to do; and with God beside us, we will be successful.

We all are well aware that God works with those who love him, those who have been called in accordance with his purpose, and turns everything to their good. - Romans 8:28

March 23, 2017 - Our Best

We are a far cry from perfect; yet if we give our best and follow through with hearts focused, sincere and compassionate, we can rest in knowing that all is unfolding as it should.  May your heart be filled with the hope of God's promises as you make today the best it can be.

Can a mortal seem upright to God, would anybody seem pure in the presence of his Maker? - Job 4:17

March 22, 2017 - Rest

Did you know your body can go longer without food than it can without rest? A mind deprived of sleep is not as sharp. One cannot think clearly or process answers readily. We think on the surface, too tired for deep contemplation. When we are exhausted or fatigued, Satan becomes alert. He sees us grow weary in our routine and prods us with thoughts of monotony and tedium, standing ready to attack. It is our duty to seek the rest we need, physically and spiritually. Make the time to withdraw from the day to day, if only for a moment. Stepping away to spend time with your Heavenly Father will quiet your mind, refresh your spirit, and replenish your soul.

 

So they went off in the boat to a lonely place where they could be by themselves. - Mark 6:32

March 21, 2017 - Wow

Base of the Wrigley Memorial

at Catalina Islands

There are moments in everyone's life when God shares a little bit more of Himself with us.  Those times when we actually "get it".  The moments when something happens so out of the norm, that it is unexplained by anything else but the hand of God. In these wow moments are our mountains.  We stand high and awed, totally enamored with life.  But, the reality is, we must come down from this mountain.  We must take the strength, the peace, the renewed sense of joy, and make the journey back down into the valley.  We have work to do.  God's kingdom needs built and more mountains need conquered.  When you find yourself in that valley, remember the mountain, don't just stand gazing at it, wishing you were on top again.  Roll up your sleeves.  Pick up your tools and start the climb.  And make certain, that you grab a friend or two to make the journey with you.

Be vigilant, stay firm in the faith, be brave and strong.  Let everything you do be done in love. - 1 Corinthians 16:13,14

March 20, 2017 – Growth

A small child grows in stages. Her first challenge is to reach the top of the table stretched to her full length, reaching and grasping for the unknown items in her path. Soon the table is a mere obstacle easily skirted around, and as she grows into maturity, she gains the strength and wisdom to easily move the table completely from his path.  Whenever we face obstacles in our life, we must look at them through the eyes of a child. The table never became smaller; the child grew.  When we put our trust in God, growing in His faith, we become larger and stronger and wiser than any obstacle, and we will move mountains.

If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you. - Matthew 17:20

March 19, 2017 - Disappointment

When someone disappoints you, remember, we have a great God holding all of us, including the one who caused us pain. Remembering to keep the situation His and not our own brings strength to stay focused on goodness and not allow evil to rule. In Him, we respond in the correct Spirit, anger subsides, and we turn from pain to joy. Without Him, disappointment can turn to tragedy. Let us strive for forgiveness and harmony and pray that we all may rest in God's mercy.

Be compassionate just as your Father is compassionate. Do not judge, and you will not be judged; do not condemn, and you will not be condemned; forgive, and you will be forgiven. – Luke 6:36-37

March 17, 2017 - Relationship

How does one keep God daily in our lives?  We must keep ourselves daily in God.  God graces us with talents and abilities for our daily lives.  However, without a daily prayer routine, even these daily tasks become frustrating and unfruitful. When a desperate father brought his possessed son to Jesus' disciples, the disciples were bothered to find they could not perform a task that at other times came readily to them.  When they approached Jesus with "why", He told them this sort of thing can only be done through prayer.  We must never become so confident of our abilities that we forget who has graced us with these gifts. Spend time daily with your Lord building a relationship of love and trust, and all things will be possible through Him.

'If you can!' retorted Jesus. 'Everything is possible for one who has faith.' - Mark 9:24a

March 12, 2017 – Impossible

Because of Christ, even the impossible can happen. In Isaiah, 49:8-15, God sings in triumph for His Son's passion. Because of Jesus, even people from the most unlikely walks of life will be saved. Our God, Himself, sings of Syene, the place in Egypt where God's fallen people sculpted false gods and goddesses from the syenite rocks to later become the site of the largest Christian church in Egypt. "People will come from near and far, east and west and even Syene." He rejoiced that those from a cursed and forgotten land would now be able to come back to Him. When life seems impossible, remember that our God still sings. Raise your voice to join Him and have faith that He will prevail.

Can a mother forget her infant, be without tenderness for the child of her womb? Even should she forget, I will never forget you. - Isaiah 49:1