She Believed Ladies Retreat in Hardin

So excited about this Retreat. It's been four years since I've put on a Retreat, it feels so good to be back in the saddle so to speak and doing what I love to do. So ladies, hope you can join us!! If you're interested, I can email you a brochure, which has more information. Kelley

Tune Up

Playing my 12 string that I’ve owned and played since 1978.  

 

”Blessed be the Lord my Rock, Who trains my hands for war, And my fingers for battle— I will sing a new song to You, O God; On a harp of ten strings I will sing praises to You,“ ‭‭Psalms‬ ‭144‬:‭1‬, ‭9‬ ‭NKJV‬

    I’ve played guitar for over 50 years now, and no matter how long I play there is always something that’s required in order to play, and that is to tune the guitar. No matter what guitar you play, it requires tuning at some point. There are some guitars that stay in tune better than others. But even the most expensive guitar at some point needs to tune. No guitar plays by itself, and depending on whose hands it is in, will determine the sound coming out of it. Even though I’ve played for over 50 years, I personally know people that have played for way fewer years, but can make my guitar sound like I’ve never been able to make it sound. Level of skill and talent. But that doesn’t stop me from playing.

   Sometimes life is like my guitar. It needs a tune up. There are a couple of ways of doing that. You could just tune it to itself, and you’ll be fine as long as you don’t try to play along with someone else, then you may be out of tune depending on what you used for your starting tuning pitch. Next you could use an electric tuner. This is often my go to now, and they now make them that easily clip on your head of your guitar, and hear and feel the vibration of the guitar to get it in tune. The final way you can tune a guitar is to go an instrument like a piano, and tune to it. If you’re tuning to an electric keyboard, your pitch will be exact to A44, as an electric keyboard can’t go out of tune, like a stringed instrument. 

   The devil loves to come along when you’re not looking and twist your tuning pegs down a pitch, to get you out of tune and sounding awful. Your own human nature can do the same. But it’s when you realize you need a tune up, you can turn to the one with the true pitch. God never goes out to tune. His pitch is perfect, and when we tune UP to Him, we can begin to do battle with our fingers and fight a winning war with praise on our ‘stringed’ instrument. 

   So how do we tune UP to God. By digging into His Word, the Bible, and not just reading, but doing it. Don’t worry, you’ll need to tune up often. I often have to tune up in between songs, as I tend to play pretty hard, and can easily get my guitar out of tune. I don’t beat myself up for getting out of tune, I just make the adjustment and get back in tune, so I can continue to play and make music that’s pleasant to listen to.

Solve the Riddle

 There are people who love to tell riddles, and they're usually good at solving them. I'm not in that group of people. I usually sit there feeling stupid till someone else solves it, and then I have to ask to have the solution explained to me. I'm also in that group of people who often mess up the punch line of a joke. Riddles are just so hard. They're a mystery to me. 

   I was so pleased to find this scripture recently while reading through the book of Psalms.  "I listen carefully to many proverbs and solve riddles with the inspiration from a harp." Psalms 49:4 NLT Now this verse I get!

   I have often had a perplexing problem in my life and didn't know what to do, but then, while worshipping God, usually with my guitar in my hand, the answer came to me. I was being scriptural but didn't even realize it. Each time, I was so thankful to the Lord for bringing the answer to me. One time, in particular, a picture of something came to me while I was worshipping. In this case, it was a picture of a dress. I had never seen one like that, so later, I found a piece of paper and pen, and I sketched it out. Later that year, I needed to make a dress for my daughter for her brother's wedding. I came up with a design and made it. Later, I found that piece of paper from earlier, and here it was, exactly the dress I had just designed and made. I'd forgotten about the drawing, but it was in my heart, so it still came out. During that time of worship, when I saw that 'dress,' I was a little irritated at 'seeing' it because I just wanted to worship, and here I was, seeing a dress in my mind's eye. But God downloaded it to me because I was worshipping. My focus was on Him, and then He gave me what I was going to need.

You might not play a stringed instrument, but you can still worship God. You don't worship to solve riddles or problems in your life. You just worship the Lord from your heart. And sometimes,
He can bring you the answer to your riddle while you worship. 

Every moment is a good time to praise. Anywhere you are. At any time. Lift your voice and heart to him. 

Feeling at Home

The courtesy loaner car

 My Jeep has been at the repair shop for the last few days. It was running really rough. So far, the mechanic can't find anything wrong, so it will possibly be chalked up to the extreme cold weather, and maybe some bad gas. So, while my Jeep has been in the shop for the last three days (it was on a waiting list to be looked at), the shop loaded me this sporty little Hyundai car. It's a fairly new car, as it only has 10,000 miles on it (I can put that much on in a few months!) and has quite a few bells and whistles that I've never had before in a car. Of course, being a new car, there's no key for the ignition, just a button to push that relays off the fob you must have with you. It has a fancy backup camera and lots of other features I have yet to figure out.

    It always makes me a little nervous driving a vehicle I'm not used to. I don't automatically know where the buttons or levers are that control things. Of course, all cars are standard, thank God, in the turn signals, gas, and brake pedal, but other than that, you have to relearn with each vehicle where things are. The car, of course, gets me down the road just the same as my Jeep, although my visual sight range is quite a bit lower to the ground than my Jeep, and I'm pretty sure the gas mileage is way better in this little car. As I was driving it yesterday, running a few errands, I got to thinking about the correlations to life. Sometimes, we even temporarily have to switch our mode of travel through life. Even though our regular way is getting us down the road of life, sometimes, that needs to be brought in for repairs and maintenance. But that doesn't mean our journey has to stop or end. Another mode of transportation is offered. Sometimes, it feels a little uncomfortable and unfamiliar, but it still gets you down the road. It can look different in shape and color and even in horsepower under the hood. Whether it's just temporary or you make a more permanent change, there's always a period of adjustment. Sometimes, that can happen in just a few minutes of looking over the controls; that can be a much larger and lengthier learning curve in other vehicles. The more you drive the new vehicle the more you get comfortable with it. Eventually, it feels like it's yours and drive without consciously thinking about where everything is located. You feel at home. 

Feeling at home is a great feeling. I haven't had that feeling for some time. I've moved around 25 times and currently don't have a home to dwell in, except my one on wheels. Even at that, I currently am not in my motorhome, as the weather in Montana got a little too cold to stay in it. We all long for that 'feeling at home' state. Where we aren't constantly adjusting and changing how we live. But the reality is, nowhere on earth is my permanent home, but God does promise to His children that He has a home and place for us in heaven.  John 14:2: "My Father's house has many dwelling places. If it were otherwise, I would tell you plainly because I go to prepare a place for you."  But God has also promised us a place here on earth. "My people will dwell in a peaceful habitation, in secure dwellings, and in quiet resting places..." Isaiah 32:18  that sounds like a place called home.

The best place to feel at home is "in Christ." That's where we're hidden in the secret place of the most High.  Psalms 91:1: "He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty." 

    I know I always have a home in Christ, but my current physical abode is still an adjustment. It takes time to adjust, even if it's just temporary. The controls are in a different location. I find it necessary to just stay calm and keep driving. My repairs are being made on my vehicle and I will soon be back in it driving to the next destination, and maybe even someday I'll have that 'I'm at home' feeling again.

Be an Expert on Today

   

  Several times in my life, I suddenly was called upon to get up and say something, and I had no prior preparation or warning that this would happen. The next day, I often think of way better things I should have said because now I'm an expert on what yesterday should have been.  

   Why is it that tomorrow I’ll be the expert on today, but today, I fumble through and seem uncertain of my decisions, choices, and words?  We’re all experts tomorrow on what should have been said and done today.  But today, I’m an amateur, still learning what to do.  I’ve often thought, wouldn’t it be great if I could live my teenage years or early adult years over with the knowledge I have now?  But then, I got this knowledge, having lived through those years and learning life’s lessons.  So, by living today, I can gain from my past and not make the same mistakes I did back then.  Hopefully, I will always make my tomorrow a better place.  Today is when I make the decision to learn from yesterday so my tomorrow is better.  So be an expert on today by learning from the one who is the same yesterday, today, and forever. (Hebrews 13:8). 

Hit by a Rolling What?!

Barrel looked a lot like this one

     The other day, I was out at the church all afternoon, doing various things getting ready for the Christmas Program on the 17th.  I finally started heading back into Hardin around 4 pm.  (The Church is about 10 miles north of town, a true country church!) I was just listening to Christmas music in my Jeep, and driving the short trip back into town.  Nothing prepared me for what happened next.  There was a pickup approaching heading north, when all of a sudden I saw a barrel roll off the flatbed and start rolling down the highway straight at me.  This was a metal barrel, but a half size one. I remember we had several of those around the ranch and used them for water or feed.  I think some kind of feed comes in them?  But I wasn't thinking any of that at that moment, all I knew was, it was coming straight at me, and how was I going to avoid it.  I don't remember that being mentioned in Drivers Ed class "How to avoid metal barrels coming at you," was not in the course.  Trying to anticipate it's rolling direction, I was trying to get out of its way as quickly and safely as possible, but even though I tried, the impact still happened.  There was no avoiding it.  It caught my front drivers bumper and fender, and deflected off my Jeep to roll across the road and landed in someone's driveway.  I stopped my Jeep, and put on my flashers and got out to access the damage.  Flashbacks of last year hitting a deer and totaling my first Jeep had flashed before my eyes.  I expected the worse.  

    To my surprise, there was little damage.  The bumper has a good scrap and a small crack, and the fender had come loose.  The clips that hold it in place seemed to all be there, so I lined it back up and pushed it back on.  Another pickup stopped to see if I was ok.  I told him I was fine, although my heart was still racing from all the excitement.  The driver and owner of the barrel never stopped, not sure if he even realized he had lost it.

    After assessing the damage, which I knew could have been a lot worse, I realized that there must have been an angel there protecting me.  "For He will order His angels to protect you wherever you go." Psalms 91:11   I am so thankful for his protection and care.  

  Things in life often come unexpected.  Like a sudden storm.  If you knew it was going to happen, you could have been prepared, but that's not always possible.  Like when Jesus and the disciples went into a boat to go the other side of the lake.  In Mark 4:35-41 it tells the story.  This was a sudden unexpected storm of wind.  Something you can't see coming.  Some of these disciples were skilled fishermen, they knew the sea, but it says they were afraid.  The boat was taking on water, and it looked like they were going to perish.  But Jesus spoke a few words which caused the whole storm to cease.  The wind, which you can't see, but can feel the results of, stopped. The waves, those things we can see, became peaceful water again.    Make sure Jesus is in your boat!

Game of Cat and Mouse

This is not a picture of Grace, but it looks a lot like her.
Sorry didn't have my camera ready when this all happened.

   

 Last night I was sitting on my bed (my only place to sit in my room where I stay) and watching a Christmas movie. When my cat Grace came in the room, and jumped up on my bed. This is normal so I didn't think much of it, till I looked at her, and she had a big fat mouse in her mouth. I screamed. Which scared her, and she dropped the mouse, which was still alive, and it ran off the bed, and somewhere in my room. I've had my cat Grace for over two years now, and I've never seen her catch anything before, except play with her toys. Thankfully I've never had a mouse in my motorhome, nor in my home in Kenmare. 

    I was pretty sure this was gonna be a sleepless night for me. Now I had a live mouse somewhere in my room. Ugh! I asked the lady I'm staying with if she had any traps. She found me two, and I set them in places where a mouse can get, but not my cat. I laid down for a hopeful night of sleep. 

   Again at 3 a.m. Grace brought me her wonderful prize onto my bed. I got to hand it to her, she doesn't have any front claws, but she's catching it anyway. This time, I sat up, and turned on the light, just in time to see the mouse run across my bed and jump onto the floor, and disappear again. Grace was right on it, and sat staring at my purse which was on the floor in the corner. I went over and picked up my purse and sure enough, Fat Mouse was under neath. Now exposed, it ran towards the door, and then under the door and out into the hallway and into the laundry room. That was my last sighting for the night (or morning).

   I got to thinking, I wonder if Grace just thinks this is just an automatic toy, and what a fun game of Catch and Release. She hasn't seemed to figure out that the goal is to kill it. And she's not hungry, as she's well fed. She's never been outside a day in her life, always been an indoor cat, and never been in a place that had a live mouse before. But for me, this is not a game. This is all out, Kill the Mouse! Mice are dirty, carry disease, chew up and make a mess of things, and are not welcome inside the house. I know they're a source of food for a large number of animals, but all those animals are outdoors, where the mouse belongs. This mouse somehow found it's way indoors, and thought it was safe. But now has fallen victim to a confused cat's game of catch and release. I'm hoping one of my traps work!

    Sometimes we 'play' with things that really should be killed in our life. We catch them and then let them go, just to see if we can catch it again. We're really playing with something we should be killing on first sight of it. Like bitterness, resentment, wrath, etc. Just don't catch it and let it go again, only to want to catch it again, while in the mean time that thing is wrecking havoc destroying things that are good in your life. 

"Get rid of all bitterness, rage, anger, harsh words, and slander, as well as all types of evil behavior." Eph 4:31 NLT 

Down in the Valley

 "Yea, though I walk through the valley" (Psalms 23:4) are comforting words. But remember to have a valley, there must be more than one mountain, or hill. Maybe you came off one mountain, to reach this valley, or maybe you're passing through the valley to avoid having to climb over the mountain. But the good news is always, there's another hill to climb, another mountain to conquer past the valley. We all love those 'mountain top' experiences, where the view before you is awesome, and you get that 'I'm on top of the world feeling.' Those times are great, but life and growth happen in the valley. Though the valley is full of shadows and can be very dark. It's there you gain the strength to climb the next hill or mountain. It's in the valley, you can eat, and drink, and grow stronger. And even though the valley is dark, and full of shadows, in order for there to be shadows and darkness that means there has to be some light somewhere. Shadows only happen when there's a light source, no matter how weak it is. 

   In the King James and New King James versions the verse starts with a 'Yea.' What a switch in our thinking to think, Yippee, yeah! I'm going through a Valley! Okay, I know that's not how that word is used in that verse, but maybe it should be a yippee, yahoo kind of Yeah! Its I'm gonna go through! Where the road isn't so rocky, and no steep paths to climb. It maybe a little dark, and the road and view not very exciting, but I'm going though, and there's another high point when I'm done! I'm either gonna climb another mountain, and see the beauty, or go through that pass, and get to where I'm going. So it's time to "Yeah!" your valley and keep walking through! 

   You don't need to run either, just walk, you'll make it through. The only thing that's gonna run is your cup running over. But don't forget, that cup is probably on the table in the presence of your enemies. But you'll have an abundance as your cup runs over! 

    Remember Jesus is the good shepherd, leading you through to green pastures, and beside still peaceful waters. He's with you every step of the way. So if your valley feels dark, keep walking. There's a table set before you and another mountain top to see. Keep walking.

Cat Scan

Grace looking a little bit grumpy, but trying to blend in with all my black and white.

 I've had a few CatScans in my life, but to tell the truth, they all happened when I was unconscious while at the Mayo.  I do remember briefly waking up, and asking what was going on, and some nurse told me they were taking me to have a CatScan before they started surgery.  I remember asking what that was, and then everything went out again for me, and I didn't wake up for another three days.  Not because of the CatScan, though.  I know I had multiple scans while I was there because I was charged for them, but I don't remember any of them.

  But there are a few CatScans I do remember. They were administered by my cat Grace. Several times in the last year, while laying in bed, she has jumped up on my bed and then gone to a specific place on my body and started her little 'massage.' You know how cats do that. What's been interesting is that every time she has done this, within a few minutes or hours, that area of my body has had challenging issues. Twice this has happened, I discovered later that I had a severe UTI. She also did this the morning, I ended up in an ambulance ride and spent several hours in the ER when my heart rate dropped below 40, and my Oxygen levels tanked. 

She's done it to my shoulder when a prior injury reoccurred, and later that day, the pain was almost unbearable. 

Last night, she did it again. At 4 AM, she started at my feet, walked up my body till she hit my stomach, and started her little paw massage. Sure enough, as I began to wake up, I realized my stomach was upset, and the acid was coming up my throat. Once I got up to handle the situation, she left my room for another spot to sleep.

How does this animal know when something is wrong? She truly is my 'CatScan.' God put something in animals that knows. I don't know how they know, but I'm thankful for my little alarm kitty that tries to warn me that something is wrong.

Broken Crayons Still Color

 

   I know this makes me sound like a little kid, but I still get a thrill out of a new box of crayons.  And it’s even cooler if you get a box with a built-in sharpener on the back.  Sixty-four perfectly formed little sticks of potential color explosions.  There’s so much so much available creativity waiting in that perfect little box.  Whether you’re six years old and learning to color within the lines, or you’re sixteen and doing a detailed pointillism picture, or sixty and carefully coloring a picture to pass the lonely hours, crayons are just fun.

   But then one breaks, and spoils the perfect symmetry of the box. And then there’s that color that you use more than all the rest, and it’s suddenly shorter, and you can barely see it anymore sticking out of the box.  Before long, you usually end up with a pile of broken crayons, bits and pieces showing wear and tear and sometimes abuse from overuse.  They no longer fit in the box with the sharpener on the back, so you get a small pencil box and throw the broken pieces in it.  They’re not pretty anymore and have lost the thrill of that new crayon appeal, sometimes the wrapper is missing, and it’s nothing but a bear-naked crayon.  But if the truth be told, every one of those small broken pieces still color just as beautifully as when they were whole.  Being broken doesn’t mean they lost their ability to produce color.  Even the tiniest piece still produces the vibrant color it did when it was whole, but it just doesn’t last as long.  

    We’re no different than those broken crayons.  We start out in life perfectly formed little sticks of potential creativity and color.  As life goes on, some parts get broken and some are overused or abused, sometimes we lose the wrapper that tells our specific color name. Soon this once-perfect box of crayons is thrown in an old pencil box and seems discarded and useless.  People tend to want perfectly formed crayons and find digging through a box of broken pieces nothing more than unnecessary work.  Why go for the broken when you can have the new?  But those broken pieces know that story of beauty and pain.  The beauty of creating a beautiful picture of life, while suffering the pain of being broken.  

  It takes the artist to still see potential in the broken pieces.  The artist knows that those small remaining pieces can still make a masterpiece when placed in the right hands.  So give your brokenness to God and watch him turn those broken parts into a beautiful masterpiece.  He can use every part of your life, even the broken parts, to make this masterpiece shine to its full potential.

    “For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things He planned for us long ago.”  Eph 2:10 NLT

A crayon pointillism picture I did in High School.

But Then… (How to Encourage Yourself)

   This may sound a little strange, and maybe even self-absorbed, but one way I’ve found to encourage myself when I get discouraged is to read things I’ve written, or listen to recording of myself preaching.  Now don’t get me wrong, I listen and read books by lots of other preachers and have learned lots from them, but when I’m discouraged, I find encouragement in my own writing and preaching.  Why?  Because, I go back to those things that God has already dealt with me on, and things that were a revelation to me.  Those God influences in my life, that’s the grace of God.  

    King David did the same thing.    When his followers were upset with him, he did the same thing. “And David was greatly distressed; for the people spake of stoning him, because the soul of all the people was grieved, every man for his sons and for his daughters; but David encouraged himself in the LORD his God.” I Sam. 30: 6 KJV.  This verse doesn’t say how he encouraged himself in the LORD,  but I wonder if he didn’t go back to one of the songs he had written, and read or sing the words to himself, reminding himself that God was faithful.

    I’m a big promoter of journaling, and this is one of the benefits of journaling.  You can go back and see where God has been faithful in your life.   

Sometimes when you’re discouraged, you have to get all the way to the “But then…”. What do I mean by that? In Psalms 77, the psalmist was really discouraged, he felt God had rejected and forgotten him. He couldn’t even sleep at night because he was so distressed (verse 4). He felt God’s hand was totally against him (feelings can be so deceiving) then he gets to verse 11 and says, “But then I recall all you have done, O LORD; I remember you wonderful deeds of long ago. They are constantly in my thoughts I cannot stop thinking about your mighty works…”. He goes on declaring all the marvelous workings of God in the past, and that encouraged him and strengthened him in the present. 

       So when you’re discouraged, distressed, disappointed, or any other ‘dis’ in life, get all the way to the “But then…” and start going over all the good things God has done in the past for you, and the wonderful things in His Word He declares for you. Encourage yourself in the Lord. Get to the “But then…” and change your thinking to His goodness and love for you.                                                                          

They Heard His Footsteps

   

“When the cool evening breezes were blowing, the man and his wife heard the Lord God walking about in the garden. So they hid from the Lord God among the trees. Then the Lord God called to the man, “Where are you?””

‭‭Genesis‬ ‭3‬:‭8‬-‭9‬ ‭NLT‬‬

     Adam and Eve heard the Lord God walking.  What does God’s foot steps sound like?  I know in a family, you get to know each persons footsteps so well, that they can walk into a room, and you can know who it is even when you don’t see them, just by the sound of their footsteps.  We each have unique steps, almost as unique as our finger prints.  Our gait or the way we walk is unique to us.   So God walked in the garden.  Adam and Eve could hear His footsteps.  They knew it was Him.  But what does that mean?  When God walked in the garden that means His presence was there.  You can hear His presence before you even see Him or hear Him speak.  There is a hearing of His presence.

   But where was Adam and Eve?  They were hiding in the trees.  In Nature.  In the natural things of the world.  They were in fear.  They heard God’s presence and knew He was there, but they were afraid.  They hid in fear.  They hid in the natural things of this world.  

    After God’s presence came, then He spoke.  He confronted Adam and Eve in their fear.  I’m sure God knew right where they where, but He made them answer the question, ‘Where are you?”  God wants us to locate ourselves.  Where are you?  Why aren’t you walking with me.  Why are you hiding in the trees?  And who’s been talking to you telling you lies.  Who are you listening to?  Why aren’t you hearing me?  All this and more was tied into the question of “Where are you?”

    Locate yourself. Find why and where you’re hiding from God.  Even when you hear God’s presence, ask yourself, why aren’t you then walking  with Him in the cool evening breezes?   Don’t let fear rob you from walking with God daily.  Thank God Jesus redeemed us, and we can again walk about with God daily.  

   These verses imply that it was it was normal that Adam and Eve would walk with God in the cool of the day.  I thought it interesting that it was the cool evening breezes.  I would think God would walk about in the morning coolness (He does walk then too), but after the whole day has gone by and things have cooled down, there was God walking about in the garden.  He was doing a ‘walk about.’  Which means an informal stroll among a crowd conducted by an important visitor.  This crowd was only two people, but He was a VERY important vistor to the garden.  The very creator of it all!

   We don’t understand, and have no comprehension what it would be like to walk and live in perfection.  We live in the world that’s been ‘fallen’ for a long time.  But then, it was perfect, because God always creates perfect.  But listening (hearing) lies caused it no longer be perfect.  When Adam sinned, the world around him fell too.  Our actions, our sin, causes not only our life to have consequences but all around us.  Our children, our friends our little world, is effected by us.  So let it be a good ripple effect, not a bad one. 

    It all gets back to what are we hearing.  Are we hearing God’s footsteps in our life?  Do you know Him enough to recognize His footsteps, as he walks into your garden?  Hear Him.  Get out from behind that tree, and begin walking with Him!  The sound of His footsteps comes before Him speaking into you life.

   One further thought.  In a church setting, God’s presence often comes in before “He Speaks.”  Hear!

 

Life in HDR

 

One of the few photos I ever did in HDR

 In photography, there is a process to produce a photo with High Dynamic Range.  Thus HDR.  To accomplish this, a photographer takes a picture under-exposed, at exposure, and over-exposed, and then in post-production combines the multiple photos into one photo, giving the photo a much more dynamic appearance.  

Our eyes see more layers of shadows and details but a camera can not capture that all at once,  like our eyes.  Cameras just don't have the dynamic range that our eyes do.  

    Our perception of others is much like a camera.  We don't have the ability to see the depths of light and dark in a person's life at first view.  Sometimes we're seeing them in that underexposed time when everything is dark, and very little light is visible in their life.  Other times, they seem happy and joyful, and everything is going great just a ray of sunshine. You think that person never has had a trial or hard time in their life.  And then there is the perception, that they are just middle of the road, nothing bad or good ever enters their lives, but just steady.  None of these perceptions of someone are correct.  Our 'people' viewer is much like the camera.  It can't pick it all up in one shot.  So give people some slack, and don't judge them by their present condition, it's only one snapshot and exposure time in their lives.  Our lives are so much more than that.  We have depth and shadows and light that aren't always visible in one shot.

  "So we're not giving up. How could we! Even though on the outside it often looks like things are falling apart on us, on the inside where God is making new life, not a day goes by without His unfolding grace." 2 Cor. 4:16 MSG

Both of these shots below were taken within seconds of each other and then combined for the photo above.  Just the amount of light I let into my lens is what made the difference.  How much 'light' are you letting into the lens of your life?  Let the light of Jesus and His Word shine on your heart and life!  It will bring you into a High Dynamic Range of Life!

One of the overexposed shots I used to combine for the HDR final picture

One of the underexposed shots I used.

Water Stand Up!

  I love the story in the book of Joshua, where the Israelites are about to cross into their promised land.  They’ve been wandering around in the desert for 40 years, and their leader, who they’ve followed all those years, has just died.  Joshua has just started to lead them, and he has some pretty big shoes to fill, for indeed, Moses was a faith filled gutsy man.  He did what God told him to do, no matter how crazy.  Joshua had served under him, and now he’s to take the lead.  No wonder God repeatedly told Joshua not to fear, but to be strong and courageous.  He didn’t want to screw up and wander around for another 40 years in the desert.

  I’m sure there was a few who stepped up to Joshua and asked, “What are you going to do now? What’s the plan?” So following in Moses footsteps, he sends out spies into the land.  Joshua knew well the job of a spy, as he was one of the 12 spies that went and spied out the land forty years before.  He knew how good the land was, he had seen it with his own eyes, and now forty years later only him and Caleb were left who had seen the promised land, and it was time to go in and take it.

  These two spies, like Joshua forty years before, came back with a good report.  It’s a “Let’s go, the land is good, and the people there are terrified of us, so let’s roll.”  So they all head toward the Jordon river. 

    The Jordon River is not a big river, it’s only on average, 33 feet wide and at it’s widest point about 60 feet wide, but in the book of Joshua it states that it was harvest time, and the river was at flood stage, overflowing its banks.  The Jordon averages about 6.5 feet deep, but there are places where it’s 17 feet deep, some sources say even deeper.

  So they camped on the banks for a few days, seeking God, and then went forth with the strangest plan.  The priests are going to carry the Ark of the Covenant into the river.  Joshua told them that when the priest feet touch the water the flow will be cut off  upstream, and the river will stand up like a wall.

  Wait a minute!  Are we reliving the Red Sea crossing?  Similar, but not quite, but the same God doing it.  This time, they have to step into it, and get their feet wet.  As they step in,  the water some twenty miles away near the town of Adam begins to dam up with no natural dam.  The water stands up!  Water usually flows down, but this time, it stood at attention and stood up, and backed up. The water below where they had stepped into the river then flowed into the Dead Sea, and the riverbed dried up.  The amazing thing was they couldn’t see the water pile up, because it was 20 miles away.  But God had gone ahead, and at the precise time that they step in, they start to see the water receeding, even though it was standing up some 20 miles away.

    God sees ahead, and is working even when you can’t see it.  When all you can see is the river at flood stage in front of you, and you think you’re gonna have to sink or swim, God is already at work, twenty miles away, making the water stand up!  When you obey and step in, watch how God makes what can drown you stand up so you can cross on dry land.  God will do His part, but first you must do your part.  Step in and get your feet wet!  Do what God has told YOU to do.  Even when it seems a little crazy.  You’ll never see the miracle, if you stand on the shore and only look at the river.  Step in!  Yes, your feet are gonna get wet, but 20 miles away where you can’t see, God is up to something.  He’s making water stand up in response to your obedience. 

“The priests will carry the Ark of the Lord, the Lord of all the earth. As soon as their feet touch the water, the flow of water will be cut off upstream, and the river will stand up like a wall.”

‭‭Joshua‬ ‭3‬:‭13‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Honey from the Rock

I made happy waffles this morning!

 Psalms 81: CEB "But I would feed you with the finest wheat. I would satisfy you with honey from the rock." 

    This scripture stopped me this morning. I understand being fed with the finest of wheat. I've lived most of my life in the bread basket of America. The Great Plains, where the wheat fields flow their golden color for miles and miles every year. We feed the rest of the nation and world. Fine wheat with a high protein content makes the best bread. I understand that. So the Psalmist was saying God would feed me the finest, the best wheat because He is the bread of life. 

But what does honey from the rock mean? I don't usually think of honey coming from rocks. That's not the usual place bees make their hives. Could it be that's the whole point of this phrase? In a place you least expect it to come from, a rock, God can bring sweetness. In those places that could crush you or make you stumble and fall, God can bring honey. 

    Today marks the second anniversary of my surgery for me. Two years ago today, I was being rolled into an operating room and didn't come out till almost 12 hours later. The surgery was not only long, but to quote the doctor in her report, it was "most difficult." As my body lay on a bed for the next few days, I was probably somewhere else. I don't know where, as I have no memories of those days up to and shortly following February 11, 2021. It's just a white cloudy fog. But finally, on February 14th, my eyes opened, and the fight to stay alive and regain all that was lost began. It was a HARD place to be, and I had already been through many hard places in my sixty years of circling the earth. But this was a new hard place. This rock almost crushed me. I remember asking my son Tyson to play me the song "Come On." by Brooke Poindexter. If you've never heard it, it's worth looking it up on YouTube. It became my last cord on the rope to hang on to. The beginning lyrics, "I can feel the eyes of heaven, the angels and the saints, all who've gone before us surround us here today...If you listen close, you'll hear heaven cheering for me... Come on, Come on, Come on, Come on..." 

     It was as if I could hear Jesus and Todd and others even here on earth cheering me on from the sidelines, "Come on! You can do this. You can win! Don't quit, don't give up!" I also remember my son's voice as he grabbed my hand and said, "Come on, Mom, you can fight this; you can live!" Those might not have been his exact words, but that's the feeling I remember. So many pulling for me to "Come on!"

    This morning, as I reflect on all I've been through these last two years, I have to smile and say that in the crushing and hardness of those rocks, there was honey to give me strength. A sweetness that's only understood once you've passed through the crushing and the fight to carry on. So I made some happy waffles this morning and played Brooke's song, "Come On." I'm finding some honey in the rock. 

Come On

https://youtu.be/nCMDH2rjnOI

Another great song:  Honey in the Rock

https://youtu.be/UiApoXKRYFc

    

Because I Can

  I was out for a walk around the campground, walking the loop, I call it. Trying to get a little bit of exercise, playing music through my headphones to keep me walking at a good pace. Since I'm easily distracted and tend to slow down and lallygag, music helps me keep going, as I will walk in time with the music. As I was walking, a couple of young children who live here in the campground stopped and asked me, "Why are you walking?" Since this was the second lap around the campground, I'm sure they were wondering why I was walking by again. I responded, "Because I can." 

 I think back just barely two years ago, I wouldn't have been able to do this. I was either in a wheelchair or walking with a walker, trying to gain strength in my weakened limbs. You could hardly call it walking, it was more of a shuffle. But today, I can walk, so I do.

    It reminds me of a song I learned recently written by Tim Timmons. Part of the song says, "I'll praise You, not that I have to, not that I ought to, but that I may." 

    Praising the Lord should always be 'that I may" and let me add, 'that I can.'

  

  During some very dark days of my life, when I lifted my voice and sang praises to God. Someone asked me, "How can you sing at a time like this?" My response was, it's my lifeline, the only thing that's keeping me alive and going. It truly was a "that I may" time. Putting my focus on Jesus for even the length of a few songs, strengthened me just a little more to keep walking through the darkness that was all around me.  Psalms 34:1-4 "I will bless the LORD at all times; His praise shall continually be in my mouth. My soul shall make its boast in the LORD; The humble shall hear of it and be glad. Oh, magnify the LORD with me, and let us exalt His name together. I sought the LORD and He heard me and delivered me from all my fears."

Then Mary said, “Roger that!”

I recently heard someone use the phrase "Roger that."  My curious mind got to thinking.  I wonder where that phrase came from, and why.  So I did a little search online to discover the answer.  Roger is used in the US Military phonetic alphabet for the letter r.  It became equivalent to saying received.   Some have even stretched it to mean the acronym Received Order Given Expect Results.  

   Receiving an order and carrying it out almost seems nonexistent in the rebellious world we live in.  People seem more at home bucking orders than obeying them.  This happens from young children rebelling against their parents at every command to people undermining and not carrying out duties and commands at the workplace.

    I thought about the young girl Mary in the Bible.  What if she would have not received the message the angel brought her?  The story is told in Luke 1: 26-38.  An angel appears, which would be frightening to anyone.  He did have to tell her not to be afraid.  Be real. If an angel suddenly appeared, you'd be shaking a little too, and maybe let out a little screech of fear.   After the angel brought her the message, she only asked how this was gonna happen, not if it was going to happen, which would have been doubting.  After the angel explained to her further, her words are "Behold, the maidservant of the Lord! Let it be to me according to your word..."   That's a little old English for our ears, so let me put it in Kelley's version for today, "Wow! that's amazing! Incredible! Roger that! I’m your girl Lord, let it happen to me!"   Not a actual greek translation, but do you get the point?  Roger that!  Message received and I'm expecting the results to happen in my life.

    You and I  don't need an angel to appear to us with a message like Mary did. But every time we open up our Bibles God is wanting to speak to you and me.  Are you listening?  When you hear the message,  you need to answer, "Roger that."

He Walked with Me Through

The book is now available on Amazon.com

 These last few weeks have been pretty busy with my eyes glued to a computer screen doing the last edits and formatting on my 1st book called, “He Walked with Me Through”.  On Friday, Dec. 16, 2022 it went live (available) on Amazon.  

    This is the story of Todd’s accident, TBI, and the bizarre life that followed for me, struggling through being a caretaker, and then later a widow.  Even though it’s not a happy story, I still hope it can bring hope to the reader.  Even through the darkest times, God can walk with you.  We don’t always get delivered out of the darkness, but He always promises to walk with us through it.   Then as we take one step at a time through the dark valley, we make progress towards the light and the beauty again.

   I’ve dreamed for years of writing and publishing my writings.  It didn’t just happen, I had to make it happen, and do the work, but the dream has come true.  I’m still dreaming.  I have at least three more ‘books’ floating around in my thoughts, and working on getting them down on paper.  

    Thanks for reading!

   

My Gramma Drives a Jeep

My three teachers who give me "Grandma Lessons"

 My Gramma Drives a Jeep

My Gramma drives a Jeep, 

I think that’s pretty neat

She tow’s it behind the big RV

For the country she does see.

She travels all around 

Singing songs about our Lord

She opens up the Word of God

And on it, she does expound.

But just the other day

She parked it not far away

Said she wanted to take some time

To get to know her little tribe.

  

So all winter I get to see

My Gramma who drives a Jeep and RV

I get to hug her around the neck

And she can play games with me 

My Gramma drives a Jeep,

I think that’s pretty neat.

Cat Hair in my Coffee

  I looked down to my cup of coffee and saw that all too familiar  thing.  A cat hair.  An all too familiar reminder I’m living with a long-haired fuzzy fur ball in a very small living space.  No matter how much I clean, and roll the lint rollers, there’s cat hair on everything.  Grace.  

       She’s also my alarm clock every morning.  If I’m not up by 5:30, she jumps on top of me and begins her massage somewhere on  my body, most of the time in an area I’d prefer not to have a cat massage.  If I try to roll over onto my tummy to have her massage my back, she just jumps off the bed.  If I some how manage to stay in bed after the 5:30-Tic-Toc-Kitty-Alarm-Clock, she’ll come and insist my hands were made only for petting her, as she pushes her nose under my hand, trying to get me to pet her.  In her mind, what else are hands for,  but to pet her.

    She’s not all bad, she has her purr-ffect moments, when she crawls up in my lap when I’m watching a TV show, and lays there in contentment and purrs.  There’s something so soothing about a cats purr.  It just echos contentment.  I think maybe I should curl up in my Saviors lap more often and just lay there in contentment and purr knowing that He’s got this all together, and has a great plan for my life, all I have to do if follow where His hand guides me.

    So as I fish the cat hair out of my coffee, I just have to say thank you Lord for a little fur-ball friend who sometimes reminds me to just be content.

     “I don’t say this out of need, for I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I find myself.” Philippians 4:11 and Hebrews 13: 5 “Let your conduct be without covetousness; be content with such things as you have. For He Himself has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.”

    Being content, it’s becoming a lost art in our society.  Give it a try today.