Tagged: God’s Guidance

For my big bear. O LORD, you examine me and know me. You know when I sit down and when I get up; even from far away you understand my motives. You carefully observe me when I travel or when I lie down to rest; you are aware of everything I do. Certainly my tongue does not frame a word without you, O LORD, being thoroughly aware of it. You squeeze me in from behind and in front; you place your hand on me.   Psalm 139:5, NET We are journeying verse by verse through Psalm 139. To read last week’s reflection, click here. I never knew how much I loved being squeezed until I had a child who could not bear it. In the… Read More

He shoulders responsibility and is called the Wonderful Adviser. Isaiah 9:6, NET Three books shaped my early childhood: the Bible my great-grandmother gave me the Christmas I was seven years old, my mother’s girlhood copy of Little Women, and my grandfather’s thick and heavy Webster’s Dictionary. I read them all until the pages grew soft like velvet. The word responsibility inspired me long before I knew I was an Enneagram 1 or that Achiever and Responsibility were two of my five top themes in the Clifton Strengthsfinders assessment. Responsibility- the quality or state of being responsible: such as moral, legal, or mental accountability; reliability, trustworthiness. Synonyms: duty, task, function, job, role, place, charge, business, onus, burden, liability, accountability, answerability, province. And curiously, in British English… Read More

“Take heart. Get up; he is calling you.” And throwing off his cloak, he sprang up and came to Jesus. And Jesus said to him, “What do you want me to do for you?” And the blind man said to him, “Rabbi, let me recover my sight. And Jesus said to him, “Go your way; your faith has made you well.” And immediately he recovered his sight and followed him on the way. Mark 10:46-51 (ESVUK) Blind Bartimaeus was sitting by the way. He knew it was the way and that’s why he chose it as a supreme begging spot. But he wasn’t begging for food or money. Some judged him to be merely a poor man in need of a few denarii or crusts… Read More

Then Abram continued traveling south by stages toward the Negev. Genesis 12:9 The film Out of Africa is based on the autobiography of Karen Blixen, a tenacious Danish woman who lived at the turn of the twentieth century in Kenya. While her husband commanded troops on the front during the First World War, local British authorities urged Blixen to abandon her coffee farm and flee to safety with all other women and children in the area. When she learned her husband and his unit needed provisions, Blixen decided to deliver them herself, defying all odds and traveling a long distance through desert and danger, leading a caravan of cattle and provisions. Day after grueling day, Karen traveled on by stages. Along the way, she encountered… Read More

[caption id="attachment_3724" align="alignnone" width="720"] The plans you can trust are the ones you yield to the Lord.[/caption] The mind of a person plans his way, But the Lord directs his steps (Proverbs 16:9). Trust in God, but tie your camel tightly. -Arab Proverb Man plans, and God laughs. -Mike Kappel, Forbes Magazine This year, we lost the privilege of plans. But you can’t stop a good human from planning. Hope is rising all around, and folks are planning their hearts out. The 2021 planner aisle at Target was almost empty last week. We are expectant, people! How do we face a year of aspirations during a global pandemic that has delayed weddings, halted flights, caused people to die alone, shut down jobs, and exponentially increased… Read More