Home

Charles Spurgeon wrote, "When home is ruled according to God's Word, angels might be asked to stay with us, and they would not find themselves out of their element."

Recently, I spent a week back home. The house where I did most of my "growing-up" is about an hour's drive from here. Give or take. Depending on who's driving...and the traffic. Which, the closer you are to home, the more you might find your way slowed by a tractor or two.

Housesitting is a splendid way to get a mini-vacation--with the exception of going to work. My mother and stepdad (Grandbuddy), were on a week long missions trip to Central Florida to work on an orphanage with several folks from my home church. Normally, I would not have to housesit, but they recently aquired a very large dog and he won't let just anyone into the yard--but he has to be fed--so the neighbors can't do it. And, since he happens to like me--then I get the job! So this was really more dog-sitting than housesitting.

Okay, I am rambling. Sorry.

It felt so good to be home. It was quiet, and the feeling of family was like a warm blanket. There were memories on every wall, in every picture, even the scent seemed so familiar. It was the scent of prayer.

I've smelled it before. At my grandmother's house. It is the scent of offerings of thanksgiving, petitions of mercy for family members, and much praise that has washed the walls of the house. Permeating every room with the feeling that you are welcome, you are loved and that God reigns in that home.

I remember giving some clothes to a friend several years ago, she grabbed them up in her arms to carry them to her car and as she did, she exclaimed, "oh these smell good! They smell like your house!"

I hope my house today smells like an altar before the LORD.

Many years ago, I realized I had allowed the world to enter in my home. It slipped in innocently enough, so quietly I hardly recognized it for what it was. But when I did, I pulled out the garbage can!

When secular books out numbered the godly--uplifting ones, something had to change! Music was next. I had begun to listen to (almost constantly) a country radio station. I had even purchased a few CD's.

Now, don't get all twisted up---I am not saying country music is wrong---but for me it was. I needed to feed my soul Christ, not Tammy and George. Or in this case, Tim and Faith.

I was not feeding my soul the proper nourishment. My home suffered. My heart suffered. I was ill equipped to face the battles that were looming ahead. But the LORD stirred my soul and my senses. I began a spiritual house cleaning, as well as a physical house cleaning.

While in this house cleaning, both of the heart and the home, I began to reflect on my "time". How much I spent with Him, verses how much I spent involved in other things. The other things seemed to win out. Changes had to be made there as well.

This time at mother's gave me the opportunity to once again, slow down and reflect. At my heart-home. I had my morning devotions in the very spot where mother has hers each day. The LORD met me there each morning and bathed my day in His presence as I went before the throne in offerings of praise. It made a difference.

Titus 2:11-14 NIV

"For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men. It teaches us to say "No" to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age, while we wait for the blessed hope—the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good."

What does your heart-home look like?

Is it cluttered?

Is God reigning? Or is He squeezed out? Is there a mismatch of desires?

Seek His desire for your life---He will help you with the "housecleaning".

I'd love your visit at my place!

© Angie Knight 2009. All rights reserved.

The Lying Truth

About a year ago, I had gone to my dr. for a checkup on my thyroid. I was so excited to get on the scale (for once), because all that working out and healthy eating was SURELY going to reap for me the joy of good numbers. You can imagine the huge load of disappointment as I saw that my load had not lightened at all—there was actually a gain. I ranted emotionally to my doc about how hard I had been working and how healthy I had been eating as she looked at me with pure skepticism.

She didn’t believe me!

A few days later, I found the humility to mention this scenario to my close, no-nonsense friend, who also happens to be a nurse. She always has a way of getting me to look at myself honestly without hurting my feelings. (It’s a gift!) She suggested that I try an online fitness diary to track what I was eating and what activity I was doing. That way, I would have something to take to the Dr. and show her so that we could get to the bottom of it. I mulled it over for a few weeks, then decided to try it. After just a few days of tracking, I realized that I had not been doing as well on my calorie intake OR burning as I had previously thought.

Was I mistaken before, or had I just convinced myself that I was doing it all right?

OUCH! The truth hurts sometimes, doesn’t it? It hurts, but it can help as well. The Lord took this one scenario and reminded me to apply it spiritually.

Psalm 119:29a (NLT) says: “Keep me from lying to myself.”

What wisdom this Psalm writer was given to pray for this! Many lies told outwardly start with believing them in the first place, don’t they? It may be to cope, or to hold on to pride, or to stay comfortable with our routine. Regardless, the Lord wants us to examine this regularly. Every time I do, He shows me the little extra calories of falsehood I’ve put into my mouth, and I’m so thankful He loves me enough to do so.

Here’s the challenge:

Let’s take some time today and ask if we have been honest with ourselves about where we are with the Lord. Do we think we are closer to the Savior than we actually are? Do we think we are living by the Word, when in fact, we've hardly been meditating upon it? Are we open to examine suggestions from others and align it with God’s Truth?

Or in the opposite case, have you allowed someone who loves you to make you believe untruths about yourself? Do you repeat over and over that you're nothing, when in fact, in Jesus you are a capital "S" Something?

When we allow lies to become truth to us, then we begin to tell lies to others, and maybe even to God. When the lying truth becomes comfortable to us, life itself can begin to weigh us down… Check out in Psalm 119 how many times truth is mentioned. A LOT! Notice as you read your Bible, how often the subject comes up as well. A TON!!!! Jesus is the Way, the TRUTH, and the Life, right? The TRUE truth matters, so let’s read it, think it and live by it as His Spirit has the ability to do through us. Let’s weigh ourselves in the light of His truth today.

Jeremiah 17:9b-10 (The Message)

"But I, God, search the heart
and examine the mind.
I get to the heart of the human.
I get to the root of things.
I treat them as they really are,
not as they pretend to be."

Father God, All-Knowing, All-Seeing Mighty One, I am in awe of Your awesomeness. The fact that You know how pitiful I am, yet You love me anyway. I can fool others. I can even fool myself. But I can never ever never fool You. Thank You. Thank You for loving me in spite of myself. Thank You for knowing just how to handle this fleshly daughter. Thank You for setting me free from so many things. Lord, please help me to live and walk in Your Truth, to know how much You desire it from me. Strengthen me, I pray, in the name of Jesus, my Redeemer, Amen.

In the Key of HE,

Please visit LauraLee at her ministry blog,


or sign up to receive her edevos at her ministry website:

When Bonne Bell Doesn't Cut It

I've tried many different make-up doo-dads. From Mary Kay to Maybelline. From Bonne Bell to Arbonne. Usually, I find something in everything that I like. Right now I'm hooked on the Bare Minerals gig and I love it! But, I love Mary Kay mascara, Jane lipstick, Jane Bronzer and Arbonne wash. I'm a bit of an eclectic face keeper.

I jokingly say that I'm pretty Irish (which I am), but have a tiny amount of Cherokee blood. Not to mention I'm Scottish...and French. Needless to say, the European blood tends to outweigh the Cherokee by a buffalo! So, being Irish, I'm pretty fair with natural pink cheeks that look kinda like I've been slapped instead of kissed by a ray of sunshine. So, I like to find make-up that can blend my skin into one pretty palette and then I can say where the pink will go. Which brings me to Bare Minerals. Did I say I love them!

With a swish and a puff, I can cover my blemishes pretty darn good, (or is it well?) Anyway, I can look like a new woman in a matter of minutes. I thought about doing a before and after shot, but you see, I'm already dolled up for the day and I don't want to go re-do. So, maybe another time.

My make-up. Ahh, just the sound of it makes me smile. I've often thought if I ever landed on a deserted island, I would definitely need mascara and lipstick...and the bible...and food...and shoes…and a phone. But, seeing as how I'm not on an island, we'll keep it in real time on a real continent with no water around me, save for the puddle in my garden.

I need my make-up. I need to cover those things I find odd, dominant, and ugly. I need my forehead to actually sport eyebrows. I need mascara to make my eyes at least look like they are bigger than peas.

Anyone?

Make-up can cover a host of blemishes. Problem is they're still there at the end of the day when I take the make-up off. That's why it's called make. up. We make up our face to be something that it isn't naturally all by its onesie.

Sometimes my toiletry bag of life can be just inches from my mind. I have the amazing ability to go from nearly popping my kids heads clean off their darling shoulders to answering the phone in the voice of an angel. I just stuck my hand in my imaginary make-up bag and slapped on "I'm Perfect Powder"!!

"Girls! I said stop yelling at each other!"

"Girls! Please turn off your lights!"

"Girls! How many times do I have to say it? Hang your swim suits up for cryin' out loud!"

Riiiiing....

"Ahem, Hello? This is Mrs. Perfect. How can I make your day wonderful?"

What is that? Why do I do that? Why do I make-up some false front?

I know, I know, we want to look good and come off like we have it all together. We don't want to have Mrs. Grump answer the phone. No one likes her.

Sometimes I have a hard time in public. I'll throw on an "In control face" when I leave the house and struggle to keep it on when my Irish roots are banging at my door to "let me at 'em!"

Let me just say right here, I'm not an angry woman, I can just get a little touchy if I'm not fed regularly. You understand. Still, I was talking to God about those Irish roots and how my quick temper can get the best of me. It's my "blemish" on my good Godly woman/wife/mom face. I actually told Him that it's just my make-up, it's in my blood. There's nothing we can do about it.

The Lord said gently said to me, "May I remind you, I bought you with mine. You have my blood running through your veins now."

Ouch.

My "natural" blemished Irish face just got washed in the blood of the Lamb. He reminded me that who I am is now a person filled with the SUPERnatural Spirit who kills my natural self. As long as I let Him operate, it's His face I wear.

You...are controlled not by the sinful nature, but by the Spirit... Romans 8:9

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a NEW creation; the old has gone, the new has come! 2 Corinthians 6:11

With God, we don't have to pretend we're something we're not. We can go to Him with every blemish and wart and zit and He will give us new, SUPERnatural things. We can dump our toiletry bag of "Happy Face Zit Cream," and "I'm Fine! False Eye Lashes." Give Him the "I'm In Control Cover-up stick," and "Super Christian Lip Gloss."

Let Him replace all those weaknesses, all those insecurities, all those excuses with His Son and all His Son has to offer you!

For those God foreknew, he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son. Romans 8:29

I want to be the same person at home that I am when I'm at the grocery store, the library, church, or parties. I don't want to be one way with my kids at home and another way in public. I want to honor my husband at home they way I do in public. If I give out compliments to perfect strangers, I better be drowning my family in them.

I know, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that Jesus will take every ugly blemish and every false cover-up I have and replace them with beauty and truth. Bonne Bell won't cut it when I need to have my soul made over. Only Jesus can come in and give me a real, life make-over. Now, that's one I'll take any day!

Let me leave you with one of my most favorite verses in the entire B-I-B-L-E:

Now, the Lord is Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is there is freedom. And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord's glory are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit. 2 Corinthians 3:17,18

• Are there any false faces you put on that need to be washed off by the Spirit of Jesus?

Now, where did I put my lipstick?


Natalie @


and

Do You REALLY Trust God?

I have struggled and struggled recently with the ability to fully trust God. I never truly realized the extent to which I wrestled with Him over even the simplest of things.

"Amy. I will protect the boys. Trust me."

I hear that and immediately begin to think, "Yeah but God you don't know how they are. I mean, one minute they are reading classic literature and the next they are trying to do a "kick flip" and a "lolly" on a skateboard. I don' t know about you God but I don't even know what a "lolly" is but it just doesn't sound good! I mean..."

"Amy," He says, "Trust me."

As I'm thinking this my son runs in to tell me he just did an "ollie" but that he won't try it again for a while because he almost hurt himself but he was quick to tell me, "I didn't though 'cause God loves me and takes care of me, huh mom?'

"And a little child shall lead." eh? All I could do is throw up my hands and say, "Okay God. You have my attention."

“You don’t have enough faith,” Jesus told them. “I tell you the truth, if you had faith even as small as a mustard seed, you could say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it would move. Nothing would be impossible.”
Matthew 17:20

As I meditated over scripture and asked for revelation of what God wanted to show me I began to pace the floor and pray. Then I heard Him tell me to sit down.

"What? You want me to sit down, God? Ooookaaaaay."

So I sat down in the nearest chair and started to initiate a dialogue between God and I about why He had a need for me to sit down in the chair and that is when He dropped it into my spirit.

I had more faith in the chair's ability to sustain me than I did in God's ability to sustain me. I never questioned whether or not the chair would hold me, or if it had a flaw in it somewhere, or whether or not it had secure footing. I certainly didn't question whether or not it loved me enough to hold me up. I just sat. I simply trusted. I didn't walk around and test all of the chairs to see which was the strongest or which seemed better for the job. I had more faith in a random inanimate object than I did in my loving and eternal, living God. How big is that mustard seed?

God also showed me that another root of not trusting or having no faith is pride. Pride in my ability to make what I perceive to be better decisions than God, faster response time than God, and more love for my children than God. Yes, I truly thought, and said it often, nobody loves them like I do. I didn't mean to include God in this but obviously in my heart I had.

I wish I could tell you that I immediately repented but I didn't. In fact, this happened a couple of years ago and I just recalled it recently while I was once again struggling with my ability to trust Him. I repented. I am moving forward. And now just to make Him laugh I shake and push on my chairs almost every time before I sit in them. *BIG smile* He loves me!

"You shall have no other gods before me."
Deuteronomy 5:7

You see, the funny part about my chair shaking escapades is that I knew clearly that I didn't worship a chair or put more trust in it than in God. What I had begun to realize was that my faith was in me. My trust was in me. I knew the chair would hold me because I had sat in it before. I trusted me and that is why I now had a problem trusting God. The false God? It was myself.

{now weeping and face down on the carpet}

God, forgive me for putting more faith and trust in myself than in you. You are my father, my creator, the love of my life. Forgive me for thinking that I am the only one who had my best interests at heart. I will wholeheartedly try to die to self each and every day and grow in you. Please help me to do that. Thank you for being such an awesome and loving example. In Jesus' name. Amen.

• Have you put more faith in yourself than in God in certain areas? Write down what God shows you and repent for it.
  
• In what areas of your life could you stand to gain more faith?
• Read Hebrews 11:1. What does this scripture speak to your heart?

I'd love for you to visit me at my personal blog: In Pursuit of Proverbs 31

Get REAL!

Dr. Phil coined the term "Get Real!" when he did a series of shows on Oprah a number of years ago. I admit, I watched a few of them. Well, maybe more than a few! In each show he would dramatize someone's need to look at themselves clearly, see their own flaws, and take strides toward fixing them. It would be all wrapped up neatly within the hour with the assurance that the guest would seek the help they needed and set their sights on a better life. Dr. Phil, of course, was the hero.

During the last 15 years, since I became a follower of Jesus, and especially in the years I've spent in music ministry, I have realized the many ways we Christians are not at all "real". We wear finely crafted masks to cover true feelings; we veil gossip ever so subtly behind statements like, "We need to pray for her!"; we say one thing and yet do another. In reality, we have many of the same flaws within the walls of the church, as parts of the body of Christ, as those outside. And I put myself at the top of the list. It is a daily struggle for me to "Get Real" with fellow believers.

"The Lord doesn’t see things the way you see them. People judge by outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.”
1 Samuel 16:7b

For the most part, I think we work with the assumption that people don't want to see us as we really are. It's much more comfortable to hide our failings, our inner thoughts, and put on the face we think is more attractive. "How are you?" really doesn't mean that, does it? It usually means, "Say you're fine so I can pass by and do what I was heading to do in the first place." Am I right?

When we hide ourselves in the fellowship of believers we begin and perpetuate a cycle of dishonesty which eventually leads to isolation and loneliness. I'm sure we've all felt alone in the midst of a crowd. That feeling is magnified when it's among brothers and sisters in Christ, with whom we should be able to be open and transparent. If it is true that in Christ we are new creations, yet we still have to struggle daily with this thing we call "humanness" and the sins of our nature, then realizing that we are all in the same boat brings such freedom! There is no need for masks if we accept (and expect) one another's failings and allow others full view of our own.

The biggest obstacle to authenticity in the Christian life is perfectionism. I was a perfectionist long before I was a Christian and I find it very difficult to shed the "old" (perfectionism) even in the presence of the "new" (Jesus). Do you remember that bumper sticker, "Christians aren't perfect, just forgiven"? That should be plastered on the front of every church! That phrase is not just for the unchurched, to make them see us Christians in a more positive light. It is for those of us in the church who think that we must put our best face on everytime we walk in the building! We are all "cracked pots", yet, miraculously, we hold the water of life. We shouldn't hide the fact that we are merely clay, but instead shout, "I am not perfect, but my God is!"

But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us.
2 Cor. 4:7

• Do you find that you struggle to be authentic?
• What steps have you taken to overcome this battle?
• Find three scriptures that you can profess daily to become more in line with the "Real" you that God designed you to be.
  

Christine can be found daily at her personal blog:

Filtered

Filtered



I’m addicted to water. Nothing makes me happier than a tall glass of ice water. I will admit, however, that I’m a bit of a water snob. Tap water just doesn’t cut it for me. Although it looks just like other water, with its clear look, one sip reveals the chemicals and who knows what else that lurks in it.

Before children arrived in our home, I only drank bottled water. See, I told you I was a water snob! If the day came that we ran out, I would refuse to drink tap water. A trip to the store quickly fed my “bottled water only” addiction.

Now that children grace the floors of our home and money is much tighter than it once was, I have lowered my standards…a little. I now drink filtered water. The house we moved into last year has one of the greatest inventions next to the Internet and blogging…filtered water that magically comes from the refrigerator door!!

Once in a while, however, a terrible thing happens to that water. The filter that takes all the terrible chemical tastes out of my beloved water stops working. The result is a less than appetizing liquid that tastes like…gasp....tap water!!

Thankfully we have a spare filter that, if quickly changed, restores order to our otherwise tranquil, water-loving home.

That filter has an incredible ability to remove the impurities that pollute the water. It restores it to its original pure, clean state. As a result, my taste buds are eternally grateful.

It’s easy to settle into life as a “tap water” Christian. It can even be accidental. You look the same on the outside but deep inside there are impurities that linger, only to leave a bitter taste to your spirit.

Things like unconfessed sins and impure motives pollute our hearts. They seem innocent enough in the beginning, but eventually they actually rob Jesus of the intimacy that He craves with us.

Throughout my walk with Jesus, when those little things crept in, I viewed them from a perspective of how they affected me. While they do have a dire effect on my spiritual health, I’ve also come to realize they rob my Savior of something He wants more than anything. A clean heart. A close relationship with me.

Everyone who has this hope in him purifies himself, just as he is pure.

1 John 3:3

When we allow things that don’t honor Him to creep in and take up residence in our hearts, He tries to come in for a visit with us but can’t even find a spot to put His sandals!

Just like that water filter that I compulsively run my water through each day, we need to go to His feet and throw out all of the things that are floating around in our hearts that deprive us of the connection we both long for.

So often we make our walk with Him so complicated. We’re too tired for church on Sunday. Prayer and Bible study can’t be worked into our hectic schedules. Our choice of TV programs is questionable. Putting His priorities first in our lives seems impossible. Little by little those impurities creep in and we are left with nothing but a “tap water” walk.

He grieves, longing to clean us like no other filter can.

How much more, then, will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself unblemished to God, cleanse our consciences from acts that lead to death, so that we may serve the living God! Hebrews 9:14

Question for Reflection:

What things are “floating around” in your heart, robbing Jesus of the intimacy with you that He so deeply craves?




Daily you can find Robyn and her water at her personal blogspot, Overflowing Grace.

Silent No More

The Internet Cafe is thrilled to welcome April Watters!

Silent No More

I recently had a friend over who is about my age and also has a few children. As we were visiting about life and all that goes on in it she made the comment that she just isn't made like other moms; Isn't that the lie of humanity? It is such a deceiving and isolating lie! To believe that you, or I, are made totally different from every other person, every other woman, every other mom.

I could relate to my friend's thought. My struggles are mine. Unless I have a dose of reality in God's ↑↑word then I will miss out on the truth that nothing has tempted me but what is common to humanity. (1 Cor. 10:13) Nothing. In the bible we are encouraged to confess our sins to one another and pray for each other. I admit that I am not the first person to call a friend and tell her I just disciplined in anger and maybe a bit of rage. But this is exactly what I need to be doing!

“ Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be
healed.”
James 5:16

There are the temptations that bring me just frustration, then there are the ones that I give into and sin becomes mine. Most days I am not wallowing in it, but there are mornings when I wake-up aware that the day holds a potential for strife. One moment I am on dry land, the next moment I am knee deep in the waters of temptation and before I see it I am being pummeled by a wave and drug out to sea in the current of my own sin. Ouch!

The enemy wants to isolate us and would have us to believe that no other woman or mom we know could possibly relate to our struggle, to our sin. We re also believing the lie that the LORD just can't handle this sin one more time. But that is not the truth at all. In fact in the book of Hebrews in the New Testament we are given a beautiful picture of exactly what the LORD's stand is...

“ For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are – yet was without sin.”
Hebrews 4:15

First we read that as fully God and fully man Jesus felt the weighty struggle of trying not to sin. Let that sink in for a moment, Jesus felt the full weight of the struggle with and the pull of temptation! Dear sister, He knows what you are going through! He knows it because he has lived it.

The next nugget we read tells us that Jesus is able to help those who are being tempted because he himself was tempted in every way, and was without sin. Wow! That should dispel a lot of lies right there. Nothing you can possibly do or face is going to shock the LORD. Nothing you have done is an unknown temptation to him. So here is where you sitting at home, work or in the car, facing the tormenting thoughts of your latest or greatest sin comes to an end! Jesus knows where you are and is able to help you out, literally! The enemy wants us to live in fear of confessing to one another. He wants us to feel shame, defeat and hopelessness and he wants us to believe that NO ONE out there could possibly handle the truth, especially the LORD.

“Let us approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.”
Hebrews 4:16

Now we know better! So, as the word says let us confess to the LORD and then call a trusted friend or family member to pray with us. Lets be women who aren't shocked about the sin of another while we keep our shame under cover. And let us remember that the LORD knows where we are and he is able to help us out.

Encouraging you to seek Him,
April Watters

Visit Me At My Personal Blog!

Honest to God and to ourselves

My spiritual life was fundamentally changed by a woman in a small group Bible study that I led many years ago.

To put it bluntly, Holly seemed to really know Jesus. It wasn't that she had all the answers or a particularly chirpy personality. She simply lived with a powerful authenticity before the Lord. She had a childlike freedom with him that was startling.

One moment typified how her life in Christ really glowed. I think we had been discussing prayer: how to pray, what to say, that sort of thing.

Holly said, guilelessly and joyfully, "I just tell God what I'm feeling because he knows already anyway. I usually journal all my prayers and I'm really honest in what I write. Because, let's face it, I can't fake it. He knows if I'm really mad at him, or if I'm disappointed about something. He knows, so I just go ahead and tell him. That’s how I pray."

I don't remember if everyone else felt rather stunned by her comment, but I certainly was.

WHAT?!! Just tell God? Everything?

(Won’t he be mad at me if I’m honest?! Am I allowed to be angry with him?!)

For much of my life in Christ, I subconsciously thought God wanted me to put on a good face, and not show doubt or anger. It was easy to get that message, especially as a Christian woman. Basically, I had come to believe it showed the strength of my faith to avoid reality.

But then I started testing Holly’s method. As I read the Psalms, I noticed similar honesty and emotional freedom:

O God, why do you cast us off forever? Why does your anger smoke against the sheep of your pasture? (Ps. 74:1)

With my voice I cry out to the Lord; with my voice I plead for mercy to the Lord.

I pour out my complaint before him; I tell my trouble before him. (Ps. 142:1-2)

Or, most powerfully, the Psalm quoted by our Lord on the cross—as honest as it gets:

My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?

Why are you so far from saving me, from the words of my groaning?

O my God, I cry by day, but you do not answer,

And by night, but I find no rest. (Ps. 22:1-2)

As a lay minister of the Lord, Holly gave me permission to enjoy the freedom that I already had in Christ. It changed my life.

We can tell him—anything—because he knows already. He can take it. He’s God. He longs to commune with us in the nitty-gritty details of our day, as mundane, chaotic, or rocked with conflict as it may be. He’s God of the good days, too. Let your praise roll off your tongue, with honesty and joy. He’s God of it all.

Savor the freedom—even the emotional freedom—that you have with our Lord; because it is “for freedom that Christ has set us free” (Gal. 5:1).

Dig Deeper: Try writing a journal entry to the Lord. Tell him what's going on in your life, as if you were writing a letter to a friend. Avoid "finding answers" or "learning lessons." Just tell him what's up.

You are warmly welcomed to visit my personal blog: My Quotidian Mysteries