Hershey~

Good afternoon, all you blessed children of God,

This past Tuesday afternoon we welcomed another member to our family. His name is Hershey, and he is a lab-mix puppy my husband found in the middle of the street.  By the time I met him he had already been to the groomers where he was washed, dipped, de-ticked, and perfumed.  My reaction upon seeing those soulful green eyes for the first time was, “This dog does not yet know how lucky he is to have Jorge for a daddy.”

Jorge has, in fact, been very attentive.  Hershey’s food and water bowls are constantly filled, his little bottom has been dutifully wiped every time he goes potty, he sleeps on the bed with us – but mostly snuggled close to Jorge – and I have not heard one complaint about vet bills, heart pill costs, and follow up visit expenses.  And this morning, before I left for work, Jorge had already called twice for updates on Hershey, followed by, “He’s so cute,” and “he’s so sweet…”

So much attention for such a small little animal!  I wonder, though, if we realize just how much more blessed we are because God is our Daddy?

Psalm 103 provides a peek at a few of the benefits of being God’s child.

·       He forgives our sins

·       Saves our life

·       Crowns us with love and mercy

·       Wraps us in goodness and eternal beauty

·       He renews our youth

·       He does not treat as our sins deserve

·       He knows us inside and out

·       God makes everything right for us and our children

Another powerful passage from scripture promises us that “God will liberally supply (fill until full) your every need according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus (Philippians 4:19).”

God generously fills us from His inexhaustible supply until we are full of everything we need to live a blessed life; He is the best Daddy of all!

PRAYER: Dear Lord, Thank You for being the best Dad we could ever hope for.  We take You at Your word and open our lives today to receive all that You have to offer.  We need it today and every day. In Jesus’ name, AMEN~

Pray it Off~

Tuesday greetings,

A few months ago my husband played a mean joke on my daughter-in-law, Lis.  She was weighing herself on the scale, and Jorge moved in stealthily behind her and also stepped on the scale.  It increased her weight by 20 lbs, and sheer panic set in for a few horrifying moments.  We all got a good laugh out of it, but man o man, I would have killed him.  Truth is I have never met a single person who would welcome extra weight.

Some of us carry it physically, but way too many of us carry it in our hearts.

Proverbs 12:25 “Worry weighs down the heart…”

Anxiety, heaviness, grief, sorrow, call it what you will, but all the aforementioned are part of life, and they weigh us down, bring us low, depress us, and trouble our hearts.

What can we do? The second part of Proverbs 12:25 says, “…but a kind word cheers a person up.”

Other versions of the Bible say “a good word”, an “encouraging word”, or an “appropriate word” brings joy.

The anecdote for heaviness of heart is found in the quality of the words we receive, and it’s instant.  Most importantly, we should be reading the Holy Bible every day because it is the kindest, most encouraging Word on the face of the earth.  I know that when I have those times that I feel the pressures of life, reading scripture provides a powerful lift.  Praying with a buddy also infuses my soul with hope.   And of course, over the course of my life, there have been so many life-giving words shared with me that I treasure to this day.

There is no need to carry around that extra weight today; let's pray it off right now!

PRAYER: Dear Lord, Thank You for knowing that worry weighs us down.  You never ignore us or pretend our feelings aren’t real.  But we also thank You for providing a way to lift our spirits. Remind us to fill ourselves with Your Word everyday so we can soar above the problems of life.  Also, remind us that the words we speak can affect the quality of someone else’s life.  In Jesus’ name, AMEN. 

Refresh Signal~

Acts 3:19 “Now it’s time to change your ways!  Turn to face God so He can wipe away your sins, and pour out showers of blessing to refresh you…”

Last week our internet went down and our phones, which provide HD VoIP, or voice over the internet, went down as well.  When I lobbied for this state-of-the art phone system, I assured my boss that I would take the precautionary measure of having a back up internet router installed so our phones would stay online in case the primary internet went down.

Well, when the primary went down, the back-up kicked into gear, except that the main switch wasn’t receiving the signal, so our phones went kaput!

I called our tech guy right away and the solution was simple: Unplug and then replug the router in order to send a “refresh” signal to the switch. 

In our modern, high-tech world, filled with electronics, Wi-Fi, and wireless thingamajiggies, these glitches are bound to happen.  All the technology kind of overwhelms itself and bogs itself down and things stop working.  

And in our hectic, running around all day, not getting enough sleep, too much on our plates, the kids are misbehaving , and the dog has poop on his feet – don’t let him in the house existences, we too might find ourselves going kaput.

We know how to pray, we know what we need to do, we know where the “Main Switch” is, but He is not receiving the signal. It’s time to settle down and send a refresh signal to our Lord.

And the time is now! When we turn to Him He pours out showers of blessings and refreshes us right back.  A shower is an abundance of something.  God does not send a trickle, mist, squirt, dribble, or spray.  He sends a deluge of whatever we need to get back up and running with joy, peace, strength, hope, faith, and love.

PRAYER: Dear Lord, We come to You now and face You because sometimes we get bogged down with our lives and there’s a failure to connect.  We know You are there waiting for us to turn to You so You can flood our lives with Your goodness.  Flood us now, dear Lord.  We need it.  And thank You that You are always ready to refresh us.  In Jesus’ name, Amen!

Ready and Waiting

Psalm 46:1 “God is our refuge and strength, always ready to help in times of trouble.”

Isaiah 30:18 “So the LORD must wait for you to come to Him so He can show you His love and compassion. For the LORD is a faithful God.”

Greetings all you precious children of the Most-high God!

Take a look at this picture:

No one wants to see the temperature gauge nearing the "H" when they are driving their car. But that is exactly what Jorge and I saw three weeks ago on the way home from my in-laws’ house.  We were able to pull over safely, and my father-in-law, the beloved Chini, traded cars with us so he could drop off the car at the mechanic in the morning and I could have transportation for work.  Exactly one week later the car over heated again.  Back to the mechanic it went. And then this past Friday, yes, you guessed it, it happened for the third time.  So this time we took the car to another mechanic – one with a greater degree of knowledge for our type of car.

Lots of folks specialize in different areas.  I would never go to a podiatrist for a headache, nor would I have my house painted by the guy who mows the lawn.  I also wouldn’t have my nails done by my math teacher son, nor would I call in my sister to fix my dishwasher, which is currently on the fritz.

In other words, there are certain things that only certain people are qualified to handle.

Our mighty Lord is in a category all His own.

Only He can heal the broken hearted. Psalm 147:3 “He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds.”

Only He can take our fear and turn it into faith. Psalm 34:4 “I prayed to the LORD, and He answered me. He freed me from all my fears.”

Only He can replace our mourning for joy. Psalm 30:11 “You have turned my mourning into joyful dancing. You have taken away my clothes of mourning and clothed me with joy.”

Only He can crush anxiety and drown us in peace. John 14:27 “I am leaving you with a gift--peace of mind and heart. And the peace I give is a gift the world cannot give. So don't be troubled or afraid.”

Only He can _________________________...fill in the blank, dear one.  

What is happening right now that you have no control over?  God is waiting for you to turn to Him.

When my car broke down, I had to take action.  I just didn’t leave it there by the side of the road praying it would fix itself.  Likewise, there is no need to just sit by and hope everything works out with the messes of life.  Take action and go the One Who specializes in meeting all your needs; He is ready and waiting for you!

PRAYER: Dear Lord, Thank You that You are ready to help. Thank You that You are our refuge and strength. Thank You that You are faithful and compassionate. Thank You that You can handle anything and everything we bring Your way. You are always ready and waiting! In Jesus’ name, AMEN!   

This is the Moment

Thursday greetings,

When Jorge and I were first married we happily moved into our little condo with all the joy that comes from being newlyweds.  Our first washer/dryer was a small stackable combo unit, and I remember how nicely it fit in the small utility room.  One day the dryer started making a funny noise, and Jorge, Mr. Fix-it that he is, removed the back panel, tinkered with it for a while, and reassembled it.  It worked perfectly fine, except there were 16 tiny screws left over that Jorge did not know where they were supposed to go, so off to the surplus screw jar they went.  Jorge, of course, was proud of himself nonetheless.

He and I have something in common: Jorge enjoys taking things apart, rebuilding them, and feeling a sense of accomplishment and satisfaction.  I also enjoy breaking down scripture, examining every bit of a verse, extracting as much truth as I can so I can build myself up – encourage myself, bring joy to myself, and bring peace to myself.

Take Esther 4:14, “If you keep quiet at a time like this, deliverance and relief for the Jews will arise from some other place, but you and your relatives will die. Who knows if perhaps you were made queen for just such a time as this?" 

I have known this verse since forever.  But yesterday I read another translation that says, “Perhaps this is the moment for which you have been created.”

Suddenly, I wanted to break this verse down.  I wanted to examine and extract any inspiration God had for me. 

Let’s think about it.  Why were we born when we were born?  Why wasn’t I born in 1865?  Why weren’t you born 20 years ago or 20 years from now?

Could it be that right now, at this very moment, you are to use your life, and the season of your personal existence in the continuum of history, to do something AMAZING?

Esther had to be born at just the right time to just the right family to be just the right age when God called her through her bravery and courage to literally marry the one person who could save the Jews, her own race,  from annihilation.   It’s an incredible story that we will dive into one day, but for now, each and every one of us can be sure that this – our life, our families, our friends, our communities, our churches – is the moment for which we have been created.

In the absence of history-altering scenarios like saving an entire race of people, is there still something grand that we can be a part of?

Sometimes I think I was born because I would be the only one praying for certain folks I know.  Maybe that doesn’t sound exciting, but prayer changes lives and circumstances.  We should never ever underestimate its power. 

And as I think about the upcoming Presidential election, I thank God for a few of those candidates who came along at just the right time in history because they are willing to fight to take back the reins of our nation’s leadership and hopefully lead us back to our Founding Father.

No matter what the reason why we are here, not one of us is alive on October 29, 2015 by accident.  God has us here for a GREAT PURPOSE!

PRAYER: Dear Lord, Thank You that we are important and matter to You.  We are living right now because You have a purpose for us that only we can fulfill.  Make it clear to us what You want us to do. We are willing to step in and change the course of history.  In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Nothing Slips Through the Cracks~

Greetings!

This past Sunday Jorge and I took our niece, Emily, nephew, Santi, and our granddog, Tucker, to the local Howl-O-Ween event at Pinecrest Gardens.  Hundreds of dogs and their proud owners showed up dressed to the nines (or should I say “canines”) for the festivities.  Santi went as Captain America, Tucker went as a lion, Hormone went as Robin, Lis went as Cat Woman, and Trooper went as Batman.  It was SPECTACULAR!

I thoroughly enjoyed seeing all the pet costumes, watching Trooper race through the agility course, and filling up my bag with doggie treats and candy. The highlight of the day, however, came when Jorge decided to enter Tucker into the pet costume contest.  Much to our surprise, Tucker came in third place in the Big Dog category.  I WAS SHOCKED and proud and excited! We had so much fun, and I found myself thanking God for the pure joy dressed up dogs bring.  I am pretty sure they all brought a smile to God’s face as well.

Psalm 36:5-6 “Your unfailing love, O LORD, is as vast as the heavens; Your faithfulness reaches beyond the clouds. Your righteousness is like the mighty mountains, Your justice like the ocean depths. You care for people and animals alike, O LORD.”

When you care for someone, you hurt when they hurt, you rejoice when they rejoice, you smile when they smile, you always want to see them well and protected, and nothing they do can make you stop loving them.  Multiply that to the quintillionth number and then you might start to get a grasp on GOD’S LOVE, LOYALTY, RIGHTEOUSNESS, and JUSTICE, all of which are VAST and INCALCULABLE and all of which applies to us, those we love, and even, yes even, our beloved pets.  The verse above in the Message version says, “…nothing slips through the cracks.”  N-O-T-H-I-N-G!

Let’s live like we believe it.

PRAYER: Dear Lord, How might our lives change if we truly believed that You care about every single thing about us, including our animals?  Would this inspire us to be more confident in our prayers? What about if we totally embraced the fact that You rejoice when we rejoice? Would we enjoy life more knowing that our heavenly Father is smiling down on us? Help us to receive these powerful truths into our souls.  You are worth getting to know each and every day.  In Jesus’ name, AMEN.

Live Under the Wing!

Greetings in the mighty name of Jesus!

Today I am doing something with Speedy Palomino that’s never been done: I am recanting the entire DEVO published on October 15, 2015.  The name of it is Go to the Wing! Read it one more time then delete from your brains!  

The point of that DEVO was to go to God for help and comfort in times of trouble, until the calamities pass by.  But I do not want any of us going anywhere.  Rather, I want us all to have already settled in there – to live, 24/7, under God’s wing – to be burrowed, perched, lodged and roosting there.  To abide under God’s wing means we are dedicated to a life of prayer. 

If I had to choose, I would rather nest daily under God’s loving protection and care than leaving Him on the back burner until a time of crisis.  Yes, our Lord will always be there when we need Him, but it is so much better to have an open and ongoing relationship with Him. “Give us this day our daily bread,” was written for a reason.  We need nutrition for our souls and a soft safe place where we can rest every single day.

Let us all LIVE under the wing, dear ones!

PRAYER: Dear Lord, Thank You that as we pray today we are cozying up to You and the joy, peace, protection, guidance, and hope You provide. We are so grateful for all this amazing sustenance You provide to our weary souls.  Sometimes life, as beautiful as it is, is one big series of ongoing pressures, this is why we are grateful for You making Your wings available to us.  We accept Your invitation to snuggle in close.  In Jesus' name, AMEN~