Just like a deer that craves streams of water, my whole being craves you, God. Psalm 42:1 CEB

Deer have always fascinated me - probably because I don't remember seeing any where I grew up, except for in the zoo or local wildlife preserves where they fenced in areas for them.


So when I met my husband, it fascinated me to see the deer as we drove through his childhood haunts. He was able to spot them long before I would, because I wasn't used to looking for them. Since we now pastor here in central PA at the edge of our little town, there are an abundance of deer.

Last night at the end of the day, I took several photos of five deer who wandered out of the woods onto our softball field to nibble at the grass. One, a fawn, isn't visible because he ducked back into the woods as I approached.

I decided to try to get as close as I could for a photo and walked slowly toward the grazers. One of them watched me the entire time while the others grazed happily away, looking up at me occasionally. When I got too close for comfort, about 75 yards away in the open field, the one standing guard snorted loudly, flicked its tail and bounded into the woods, followed by the other three.

Heavenly Father, even as I crave your sweet presence today like those deer craved the sweet green grass, , help me to be alert to the things that so easily tempt me to forsake you. Help me to flee from those things and to warn others as well. Amen!

Staring at ceramic geese

My Danny Boy Dawg is a hunter at heart, but now that he's somewhere between 10 and 12 years old, with arthritis in his back and hind legs, he can't hunt like he used to. Ever since we got him from NBRAN (a Brittany rescue organization) 2 years ago, he spends his doggy days with his nose to the ground leisurely exploring his back yard or lying in a patch of warm sunlight on his soft blankets, chasing birds and other small, furry critters in his dreams.

Every once in a while, he shows his true hunting nature though. Several weeks ago when a baby bird fell from its nest during a bad storm, Danny had his nose to the front door all day long, wanting to go out and get the bird sitting on a fallen tree branch .

There's another nest of baby birds in a bush just off the front deck that he loves to watch as well - he could sit there for hours just staring at them, every muscle in his body tense and ready should they dare to leave the nest. And all the local chippies know they better hide when Danny's outside.

But my favorite Danny Dawg hunting incident happened last week when we were on vacation at our friend's cabin. We took Danny for a walk around the campground. Suddenly his body tensed and he inched as close as he could to two white ceramic geese, each about a foot tall, in a permanent camper's yard. For several minutes, he stood perfectly still, eyes focused on the pair, willing them to move so he could chase them.


Even though he's older now and apparently can't see very well, when he encounters a bird or small animal, his hunting training and instincts kick in. He focuses on that which he's been trained to do.

What a great reminder for us as Christians! "Teach me your way, Lord, so that I can walk in your truth. Make my heart focused only on honoring your name." Psalm 86:11 CEB

Amen!

The Shepherd's Rest...

“If we live, we live for the Lord, and if we die, we die for the Lord. Therefore, whether we live or die, we belong to God.” Romans 14:8 CEB
There are times when all of us have to take a step back – when life becomes overwhelming and we need to take some time to regroup and recoup our spiritual resources. We need to sit back with the Lord and just let Him minister to us – to help us remember that we belong to him.

Last week, some dear friends offered us a “time out” by letting us stay in their cabin at a church campground in West Virginia. It seems like the Lord wanted us to rest as well because before we left for our trip, both my husband and I had to visit the chiropractor. We both were suffering from lower back pain which prevented us from doing a lot of hiking and other strenuous activities on our mini vacation. There was no Internet at the cabin so my time was spent relaxing, praying, reading and writing.

Retreating to a quiet place and spending time with the Lord helped to bring my life back into balance again, giving me the courage and motivation to go on. It helped me to refocus on the important things and to trust the Lord in the face of life’s changes and harder times looming on the horizon. I needed to be reminded that I belong to him and he cares for me.

Thank You Lord for that time spent with You and Your energizing, healing touch!

Wake-up call...

Look! I stand at the door and knock. If you hear my voice and open the door, I will come in, and we will share a meal together as friends. Revelation 3:20 (NLT)

Dogs can truly be "man's best friends" - BUT one of the cons of dog ownership is that they sometimes have to get up early in the morning to go out - when I'm not fully awake yet. But being a good doggy mama, I drag myself out of bed and take them outside.

I'm not sure how it happened, but the back door was locked when I closed it behind me at 6 AM the other morning. There I was in my jammies, no cell phone and no keys, standing on our back-door deck with two wide-awake pooches. My husband snoozed away, unaware in the bedroom at the other end of the house so he couldn't hear my frantic knocking on the back door.


I sat on the deck chair and reviewed my options.
- I could sit out there until he got up in about 2 hours...at least it was warm since it was the middle of July. But that wouldn't work since both the bathroom and my morning coffee were inside the house.
- I could break the glass window pane to open the back door... - not a good plan at all!
- I could go around to his bedroom window and thrown some pebbles at it to try to get his attention... - no, with my luck that morning I'd end up breaking the window... again, not a good idea.

I finally decided to try knocking on the front door - after all it was closer to the bedroom and he might just hear it. On my way around the house, I realized the dining room window was open with a fan inserted in it. So I squeezed through the ornamental bushes to get right up to the window and yelled inside the house - much to the amusement of the customers at the gas station across the street.......

Thankfully the early AM show was short-lived for the gas patrons. My sleepy-eyed husband heard me and dragged himself out of bed to rescue me, I don't remember if I cooked him a good breakfast that morning, but I know he deserved one!

While this is a humorous illustration, the reality is that Jesus wants to be a part of our lives. We've locked him outside of our hearts and lives, content to live without his help. Yet he stands there patiently knocking until we let him in to share our everyday lives. He's powerful enough to break down the door of our will, but he won't. He patiently waits for us to "wake up" to our need for his love and let him in.

Father, thank you for coming in to my heart: for loving me unconditionally, for sharing my everyday experiences and for always being there for me. Amen.

Masterpiece

“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.” Ephesians 2:10 NLT

I have a confession to make - I'm a scrapbooking tool junkie....

If you ventured into my office/craft room, you'd see shelves from floor to ceiling full of paper, templates to make all sorts of shapes and 3-D embellishments and ribbon. One plastic dresser is full of different sized punches and another contains rubber stamps, markers, pencils and paints. Other dresser drawers contain fabric, brads, beads and whatnot for every occasion.

Each of my tools and supplies was purchased with a specific purpose and project in mind - carefully chosen to create just the right look for that special someone. Since many of those tools and supplies can be pricey, I usually choose carefully and use coupons!

Sure, I have a few superfluous supplies laying around - things I just had to have because they were on sale or because I saw a "really cool" card design which used that one special item. But for the most part I use everything I have here in my craft stash frequently. Since I've been creating handmade cards for over 10 years now, I have most of the things on hand that I need when I sit down to craft. But I am always on the lookout for new gadgets to make my crafting more efficient or more fun.

Best of all I love sharing those tools with my friends and grandchildren!

My wonderful Creator has been crafting my life for way longer! He has all the tools He needs on hand to create a masterpiece.

- He adds dabs of joyful colors here, dark shadows there - all designed to highlight His glory and power in my life.

- He carefully chooses from His pattern stash to provide life experiences along with God-ordained mentors which prepare me for tomorrow's challenges.

- He has all sorts of cutters to trim away excesses - those things which add unnecessary bulk and distractions.

- God stamps His image in my heart and embosses His promises on my mind as a constant reminder of His hand with me.

Everything I need - every lesson, every promise, every help along the way - all these things He freely gives me so I might live a life that glorifies Him!

Thank You Father for caring so much that you choose just the right tools to craft my life into a masterpiece fit to be used for Your glory! Amen.

The heart wears glasses

"Faith is the confidence that what we hope for will actually happen; it gives us assurance about things we cannot see.” Hebrews 11:1 NLT

Time for a little quiz.

How many things can you think of that you can't see, but you know they exist?

Wind, electricity, tiny molecules.

If you can't see them, how do you know they exist?

Right again - we know they exist because we can see their manifestations. The wind moves the trees and we feel it against our faces when it blows. Electricity is there, running through the wires of our homes so that when we flip the switch, the lights turn on and our computers boot up to connect us to the world. Scientists can take objects and magnify them hundreds of times, allowing us to see tiny particles not visible to our naked eyes.

I can't see God, but I know he's there - through the answers to prayer. There have been too many of them and they have been too specific to the circumstances I faced to discount them as "coincidences."

I see him in the intricacies of nature. The animal world astounds me - how each creature has specific adaptations enabling it to live and thrive in its environment. I simply cannot accept that so many things came together by mere chance to make it so.

I see him in the beauty he brings out of the ashes of my life. No one by a loving God can take tragedy and turn it into triumph. He takes defeat and turns it into a chance to overcome. He takes abuse and turns it into an opportunity for salvation. He takes the broken shards of my dreams and fuses them together into fine crystal so his light can shine through to the world.

No, I can't see God with my eyes, but wearing the glasses of faith my heart can see him every moment of every day.

Thank you Father for being the light in my darkness, the strength for my weakened hands and the love that keeps me going when I want to give up. Thank you for being visible to the eyes of my soul. Amen.

Memorial Stones

“All you say can be trusted; your teachings are true and will last forever.” Psalm 119:160 CEV

In the allegorical novel Hinds Feet On High Places, the character “Much Afraid” is promised sure-footed hind’s feet to replace her lame ones if she follows her beloved Shepherd to the far-away high mountains.

Along the way she learns she must trust the Shepherd’s promises to get through the difficult experiences she encounters. Each time she sets aside her fears and trusts his words, she collects a small stone to remember the experience. Each one is a plain stone, not remarkable in any way, yet they are precious to her because of the memories connected to them.

At the climax of her journey, there is one scene where she must decide if she really does trust the Shepherd’s promise to heal her lame feet and to make her sure-footed as a deer. She pulls out her bag of memorial stones as she battles with the temptation to throw the useless things away. But as she pulls them out, she remembers experiences she had one-by-one. She’s not sure she can fully trust them, but she isn’t willing to part with them so she puts them back into her bag.

Later, after receiving the fulfillment of the promises the Shepherd made, she sits with him, remembering her difficult journey. She again takes out her bag of memorial stones. This time, she gasps in amazement as precious jewels tumble from the bag. Because she took his promises to heart and kept them, even through her most trying time of doubt, they were transformed into the jewels she now possessed. The Shepherd takes each one and embeds it in a beautiful gold crown he has made for her. She shudders at the thought of how close she came to throwing them away.

Have you ever doubted the promises the Lord has given you? I know I have. But each time, I come back to the realization that I’ve never met anyone like him and I don’t want to live my life without his presence or his promises – even if I can’t always see their fulfillment now. It’s a daily process, learning to trust all that he has said to me, but like Much Afraid, I can’t bear to toss his promises aside.

I’d like to encourage you to believe his words for yourself. but that’s a choice you’ll have to make.

Father, thank you for the precious words and promises you speak to my heart. I look forward to their ultimate fulfillment in eternity! Amen.