And do join us for our “Virtual Release Party” on Friday if you’re able. https://www.facebook.com/events/186280205048356/
New Canadian Anthology – Hot Apple Cider with Cinnamon: Stories of Finding Love in Unexpected Places
Monthly Archives: November 2015
Passing Through
When I watch the news and see the awful weather situations others are in, I wonder how I would cope in such terrible circumstances. There but for the grace of God; for any of that could happen to us too.
Are there no good news stories? If the TV stations went looking, they would find people thanking God for their miraculous escapes. So now let’s peruse our own life for a minute. Whatever your awful is right now, God is in charge of it. You can trust him to see you through and get you to where he wants you to be.
Just listen to this:
When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze. (Isaiah 43:2, NIV)
Prayer – God, thank you that your promises are always true and amen!! Amen
Flat Surface Syndrome
I guess you don’t have Flat Surface Syndrome but I struggle with it every day. It’s that accumulation of stuff on dining tables, coffee tables, shelves and a multitude of other surfaces.
The stuff is all good stuff. No, let me rephrase that. It’s all necessary stuff, like bills to pay and columns to finish. It is bits of groceries not yet put away and coffee cups left from breakfast.
But all of it is clutter when it is in the wrong space. My new rule is to pick up and put away at least one thing every time I pass a flat surface.
God has his own rules for putting stuff away. Here is a partial list. You can find the rest in Ephesians 4:26-32.
Therefore each of you must put off falsehood and speak truthfully to your neighbor, for we are all members of one body. (Ephesians 4:25, NIV)
Prayer – Lord give us the common sense to clean our flat surfaces and also to put away all that hinders our relationship with you. Amen
Yep, that’s me! I am a logophile
In today’s English, a word lover, a word buff. I guess you’d expect nothing less from a writer. If I didn’t love words it would be like a chef not liking food or a mechanic who doesn’t like grease! I’m fascinated with any play on words, subtle humour or quirky lines that are funny just because.
For instance these strike me as laughable: The bargain basement is upstairs. Please return the step ladder, or other steps will be taken.
But the best word ever is this one that tells how the Word became flesh! In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. (John 1:1-5, NIV)
Old Ladies, Big City
We feared travelling to the big city. We feared the towering buildings, the bright lights and the mobs of people. We worried about traffic signals and muggings. And we weren’t even there yet; we were only on the highway on the way to the big city of Toronto. And when we got there? We found people just like us; no muggings, at least to anyone we knew. We even made it home unscathed.
Do you think heaven is like that? We fear the journey, our dying and the actual destination too, simply because we’ve never been there before.
The Bible offers several tidbits about heaven. God made both heavens and earth. (Genesis 1:1) God is there. (Matthew 6:9) Jesus returned there after his time on earth. (Acts 1:1-2)
We should store our treasures there. (Matthew 6:19-20) Obedience to the will of God is the entrance key. (Matthew 7:21) At the name of Jesus every knee will bow whether in heaven or on earth. (Philippians 2:10)
And our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ. (Philippians 3:20)
So then fear not the big city, the unknown place… for God eagerly awaits us and the journey doesn’t have to be scary.
Prayer – Lord when our time comes, help us not to fear the wonderfully exciting journey ahead. Amen
Alice in Wonderland
I really didn’t believe I’d be on hopestreamradio.com until I actually heard my voice there. I’d done all the prep work of course, but when they actually played my first session? Wow! Did Moses feel the same way when God told him to lead the Israelites out of slavery into the Promised Land? (Exodus 3:16). He did what he was told but maybe he only really believed it when he actually saw it with his own eyes. (GOD took you right out of the iron furnace, out of Egypt, to become the people of his inheritance—and that’s what you are this very day. (Deuteronomy 4:20, MSG) Are you that kind of believer too? You know, the Alice in Wonderland Believer? “There is no use trying,” said Alice. “One can’t believe impossible things.” “I dare say you haven’t had much practice. When I was your age, I always did it for half an hour a day. Why, sometimes I’ve believed as many as six impossible things before breakfast.” (Lewis Carroll from “Alice in Wonderland) What is the Lord asking you to believe today? May you find him faithful… because he is–no matter what we may believe at the time. Prayer – Thank you God, that you are faithful, always. Amen. (1 Corinthians 1:9, NIV)