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He shows up when we show up

Don't let the title of this post throw you. God is always  there. He is always with you... when you can't see Him and  when you're not looking for Him; when you can't hear Him and  when you're not listening for Him; when you can't feel Him and even when you don't believe in Him. He's always there, waiting for us to invite Him in, to give Him our burdens, to trust Him, to lay down our lives for Him as He did for us. But when He asks us to give our lives for Him, it's usually not as literal as the way He gave His life for us. Jesus asks us to die to our old way of life so that we might live anew in His way of life. "'If any of you wants to be my follower, you must give up your own way,  take up your cross daily, and follow me. If you try to hang on to your life,  you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake, you will save it.'" LUKE 9:23-24 NLT What this basically boils down to is this: put the will of Go...
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Is life getting in the way?

I can't believe that it has been so long since I've posted anything to this blog! It's not that I didn't have anything to say... I've had plenty of experiences and stories to share. Frankly, I forgot I started this blog. In fact, many times in recent years, I've thought about starting this blog, forgetting that I already have. I am fond of saying, "Life gets in the way..." It so often does! We start living our lives, facing our daily challenges and accomplishments, and certain desires, habits, friends, relationships, etc., drift away. Maybe not completely away, but certainly not top of mind. That too easily happens with our relationship with God. It's not that we don't have a relationship. It's not that we lose our faith or stop believing or even stop wanting  a relationship with God. It's just that "life gets in the way." We might still be going to church, saying grace with every meal, saying our nightly prayers, etc. But a...
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Earthly happiness or heavenly joy?

This morning as I was praying, God started speaking to me about the differences between earthly happiness and heavenly joy. We often think they are the same thing, but they are not. We seem to have this expectation that God wants us to be happy . But earthly happiness is our human response to our circumstances. If our circumstances please us, then we're happy. If our circumstances are uncomfortable or displease us, then we're not happy. This is not heavenly joy. Heavenly joy is experiencing the peace and joy of the Lord regardless of our circumstances. For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to  prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. JEREMIAH 29:11 NIV When we read Jer. 29:11, we often interpret it as meaning that God is going to give us earthly happiness. But this is not the promise He makes in this passage. This passage is about our eternal life... the life that we have in the kingdom of Heaven. When God speak...
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Beginning Again

As I mentioned in my first post, my mom didn't believe that you can choose another person's faith for them. She allowed me to choose for myself. I chose Jesus at a young age, but I was never baptized. At my church, I only ever saw babies get baptized. I didn't really understand what baptism was, although I'm sure I had it explained to me, so I just thought it was something for babies. I was embarrassed by the idea of getting baptized at an older age. As I went through my life and my various levels of involvement with church and Jesus, it crossed my mind many times about whether to get baptized. I felt like Jesus loved me whether I was baptized or not, and I didn't understand how baptism would make a difference to my faith. I didn't understand that God made a commitment to us, but baptism is our commitment to Him. I didn't understand the concept of dying to sin and allowing our sins to be washed away. I saw baptism as a symbolic gesture that had no real i...
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The Beginning

Every story has a beginning, so it seems that's where I should start. My story begins at the beginning of my life. Though my mother was a believer, she didn't have me baptized because she felt that it needed to be a personal choice. You come to Jesus because you choose to, not because someone chooses for you. My parents didn't go to church when I was very young. The first time I went to church/Sunday School, was when I was about 4 years old. The neighbors invited me. I don't remember too much about it, except that I was dressed all out in my Sunday best, and I remember coming home having loved it. After my parents divorced, we moved to Michigan to be near my mother's family, and there I went to Sunday School and church every Sunday in a small church that my grandfather had built on his own land (which he donated to the church). Between my house (which was also on my grandfather's land) and the church lay my uncle's house (also on grandpa's land) ...
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