I learned something this morning, and I like how it feels…

A cousin is usually close to your age; they are the children of your aunt or uncle. Cousins can often be closer than a brother or sister and can also take on the role of such!

I was blessed with my first two grandchildren being born 24 days apart! These two have been in each other’s lives since birth and have always had a special bond. The relationship they share is completely different from the relationships they share with their siblings. They genuinely like each other, they are family but they are also friends. I have paired them since birth, and I have been blessed to watch this relationship grow and mature! They are cousins…

As I mentioned earlier, I learned something, and I want to share it with you not because it’s profound or going to impact your day, but it’s just another glimpse of Jesus.

Two of the twelve disciples: John and James, the Sons of Zebedee, also nicknamed the Sons of Thunder, were Jesus’ cousins. Their mother, Salome was Mary’s sister.

John the Apostle, the beloved disciple. John 13:23 NIV “One of them, the disciple who Jesus loved, was reclining next to him.”

The disciple who Jesus loved is used six times throughout the gospel of John.

“John alone, among the Apostles, remained near Jesus at the foot of the cross on Calvary alongside the myrrh bearers and numerous other women; following the instruction of Jesus from the Cross, John took Mary, the mother of Jesus into his care as the last legacy of Jesus. (Wikipedia.org)

John 19:25-27 NCV “Standing near his cross we’re Jesus’ mother, his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. When Jesus saw his mother and the follower he loved standing nearby, he said to his mother, ‘Dear woman, here is your son.’ Then he said to his follower, ‘Here is your mother.’ From that time on, the follower took her to live in his home.”

Jesus had an earthly family! He had a mother of flesh and bones who loved her son as we love ours! He had half brothers and sisters. He had grandparents, aunts and uncles and lots of cousins. Just another example of how Jesus can relate to you.

He was once just as we are!

I hope you enjoyed this little stroll through some family photos! I enjoyed learning this and the new picture I have to look at! Jesus and John, cousins, friends, cohorts, buddies, and family. Be blessed today, and if you can, be a blessing for someone! Thank you for joining me. 🥰

It’s a new month and for those who know me and those who have come to know me through this blog, know that I’m excited! Why? I get to change the pictures on my calendars. There’s something so fresh and free and clean about a new calendar page!

I talk of this a lot and will continue to because, as people, we have a hard time forgiving ourselves, forgetting our slights and sins, moving past the old and on toward the new.

The Lord tells us our mercies are new every day! But do we allow ourselves that joyous freedom? We, as children born again of Jesus Christ, are new creations. Yet do we see, feel, or behave as a prince or princess of the King of kings and the Lord of lords?

Lamentations 3:22-23 ESV “The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.”

2 Corinthians 5:17 NLT “This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun.”

I’m a new person! I have begun a new life! Then why do I still feel, look, and am dealing with the same? I’m glad you asked; this is where the calendar comes back into play.

I think each new month is an excellent place to start practicing! So let’s start today, ok? Are you with me? Whenever an old negative pops up! Stop it by saying, “No, that was last month’s” when Satan whispers an old sin or error, “remind him that was last month” it might have been years ago but remember we are practicing with letting go of last month’s mistakes in growing toward previous week’s mistakes until we finally can wake up each morning and throw away yesterday’s calamities and keep them away freeing us to receive a blessed clean new slate every morning.

It’s a new day of a new month! Be free in your spirit and enjoy the air around you. God has given you another day, be blessed in it!

Thank you for joining me…I’m off to change my pictures 🥰

I have all the time in the world! Or do I?

Time is fickle! At any given moment, you don’t have enough of it or just ran out of it only to take a turn and have too much. What to do? I’m so bored!

There is an old saying, “Idle hands are the devil’s workshop!” I believe I have found the foundation of where this proverb derived.

Ephesians 5:16 ESV “Making the best use of the time, because the days are evil.”

I feel this scripture lines up with the world today! We as Christians need to be using our time wisely. We need to be sharing our hearts, lives, and testimonies with a world that is lost, angry, lazy, confused, and tormented!

Psalm 90:12 ESV “So teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom.”

We may have the length of years left till our hair is but a crown of white, or; our candle may be snuffed out at the next breath. We need to make the most of our days and appreciate the time in front of us as tomorrow is not guaranteed. We need to be aware of the people God has placed around us. Being ever mindful that they may be there for a reason. You!

We don’t know how long we will walk this earth; we are being instructed to be sensitive to our days, seek his wisdom, and upon learning, to share!

To share our love of the Lord, we don’t need to be scholars, Bible college graduates, ministers, rabbis, or priests. We are asked to share our story or stories and exhibit ourselves in a fashion pleasing to the Lord.

Colossians 1:19 NLT “Then the way you live will always honor and please the Lord, and your lives will produce every kind of good fruit. All the while, you will grow as you learn to know God better and better.”

1 John 2:17 ESV “And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever.”

Our earth is creaking and groaning! We are in a time of great unrest and division. It’s time for God’s children to unite and do as the disciples did in the very distant past. Go Out and Preach the Good News!!!

Have a blessed day! Thank you for sharing your time with me! 🥰

I have reached an age, sixty to be exact, and I’m on the doorstep of adding another digit to that number, but it’s not the number that has me traveling down this thought path. It’s the recognition of the walk of the aged.

I’m not talking about being hunched over, shuffling along cane in hand! I’m not talking about the areas of my skin that look like sagging pantyhose as I walk along! Neither am I eluding to the shorter section of the sidewalk I have left to travel.

I’m talking about the tried and true! The things in our lives we’ve come to know, trust and count on. The bright shiny new flashes in the pans no longer hold appeal. We’ve been around long enough to know what works and what doesn’t. Please, don’t misunderstand; not all new is a flash, here today and gone tomorrow, but I’m talking about the bold marketing of it’s better, faster, stronger!

Growing up, the grandparents had their ways, the products they used, the places they went, the familiar, the trusted! I see myself becoming like them, and I smile…I’m a grandparent! I have begun the walk of the aged.

Proverbs 30:5 CEB (Common English Bible) “All God’s words are tried and true; a shield for those who take refuge in him.”

Jeremiah 6:16 NIV “This is what the Lord says: ‘Stand at the crossroads and look; ask for the ancient paths, ask where the good way is, and walk in it, and you will find rest for your souls. But you said, ‘We will not walk in it.”

So in retrospect, I see the grandparents already knew what did and didn’t work, the places and people they could trust! In our youth we obviously need to stray, play and try so that we too learn the tried and the true.

If you find yourself at a crossroad today, take the time to possibly ask the Ancient of Days to show you his way and to guide your path.

Dear Lord, your ways are tried and true. I ask you to show us your paths, father, to show us how and where you would have us go. I long to walk along your peaceful way, the course I know to be safe, and even on the rocky patches, I know you hold my hand. I pray for those who aren’t ready to walk beside you, that like a butterfly, you will one day gently land on their shoulder and guide them into your truths. For those of us who follow you every day, we give humble thanksgiving for your ever faithfulness, guidance, and love. In your name Lord Jesus, I pray. Amen!

I hope you have a blessed day! For those in line with severe weather patterns, I pray for your safety. Be blessed, Be a blessing, and as always, thank you for joining me. 🥰

As I quietly sit this morning, waiting for today’s message to gracefully settle in, I drift into memories of…

I remember growing up riding in the back of my dad’s pick-up, racing down a country road, the wind blowing through my hair and the glorious smells of outside and summer! That joyous freedom Ever Changed!

I remember a tradition with my grandparents; my grandpa loved the Portland airport. At least once during our summer vacations with them, after having dinner, we would drive out to the airport and go to the SkyChef restaurant. Papa would have pie and coffee, my brother and I always ordered these gooey hot fudge ice cream cake monstrosities, my grandma having diabetes, would have a cup of coffee and sneak little nibbles. We would then walk the airport watching the people all dressed up coming and going. This is no longer allowed! Ever Changed!

I remember when monuments were considered a part of our history, both good and bad. There is not one nationality in the United States that hasn’t had its share of persecution and racism! However, you don’t see the Jewish, Irish or Chinese tearing down Anne Franks’s house, revolting because they don’t get a cut of the potato market nor picketing laundry facilities. You can tear them all down but it doesn’t change our history or memories. Memorial Sites. Ever Changed!

As this new generation is screaming to rewrite the past, change history, revolt over situations that have never once affected their generation or even the generations of their parents, I become a bit alarmed. I don’t care for the new age, nor do I approve of the new agendas of this period! Ever Changing…

In this turbulent society, when not much seems to be making any sense anymore, there is one thing that we can always count on and one thing that will never change. The teachings of the love for us and the sacrifice given by our Lord Jesus Christ! Never Changes!

Hebrews 13:8 ESV “ Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.”

Isaiah 40:8 ESV “The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God will stand forever.”

Lamentations 3:22 ESV “The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end.”

So, I will fix my eyes on the Lord. I will do my best to walk in his ways! I will not compromise my faith, memories, or history to appease a world that will never be satisfied until they experience the fulfillment of grace and the total acceptance of our Lord!

Remember, God’s ways are not the world’s ways! For every act of hatred, there needs to be an act of love. For every chant of violence, there needs to be a song of peace. For every scream against righteousness, there needs to be the shout for!

Darkness is rampant, our ground is fragile and shaking, be sure to set your feet on a firm foundation. Psalm 18:2 ESV “The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer, my God, my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.”

On this we can be sure, on this we can build! Be blessed today and thank you for joining me. 🥰

Dear Lord,

I love you! I need you! I worship you! I praise your holy name. I start my day with you, and I end my day with you!

I am yours, and I wish to do what is right, but I often wonder what is going on. I pray this morning for truths, for answers to the questions that allude to my understanding.

I pray that darkness in my world be brought to light, whether it be a darkness lurking in the shadows or the darkness within. I wish to walk in your light Lord Jesus because you know I am afraid of the dark!

Discernment Lord, I pray for the ability to see all sides of situations and make the correct decisions. I overthink; I feel too much only to find I often don’t feel enough. I ask for direction, Lord, lead me down the path you have for me, open the doors to the plans for the future.

Continue Lord Jesus to grow within me; your word and ways becoming my ways. To walk in peace, my spirit and heart at rest. To choose the path of shaded green, beautiful flora, and splashing streams.

To wear your glasses of rose, where the world has a tinge of pink to it and joy overrides anger and frustration. To live in your world, Jesus! I long for the promises of the new world when heaven and earth join and become one. Where you reign, Lord our Savior, a world of love, no more death, no illnesses, no bullies, no meanness, no destruction, and no more wars.

So until that day, Lord, I thank you for surrounding those of us who belong to you with your loving arms and for carrying us in your loving hands. In your name Lord, Jesus, I pray with humble thanksgiving. Amen

I have been and am currently on a mission of Joy! No, I am not in a fluffy, bouncy party dress adorned with my lace parasol dancing down the streets spreading joy like the fairy godmother!

Moreover, I am on a mission for joy! Joy, a feeling of extreme pleasure and happiness! I want joy to become my essence rather than the world’s ways or my circumstances to dictate.

Proverbs 17:22 ESV “A joyful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones.”

John 15:11 ESV “These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full.”

Psalm 32:11 ESV “Be glad in the Lord, and rejoice, O righteous, and shout for joy, all you upright in heart.”

Psalm 33:21 ESV “For our heart is glad in him, because we trust in his holy name.”

Psalm 16:11 ESV “You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.”

1 Peter 1:8 ESV “Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory.”

Galatians 5:22 ESV “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness.”

John 16:24 ESV “Until now you have asked nothing in my name. Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full.”

Dear Lord, I stand before you, and you know me! In a world where many don’t know our names or who we are, and most don’t even care. We can find comfort in knowing you know us; you love us, and your words of many speak of the joy you wish for us. You are the creator of joy, and joy is your essence, Lord Jesus! Thank you that all we ever need to do is look up, say hello, and ask for the simplicity of joy, pure, golden, sweet gooey joy! Let it fill us full and ooze out like honey leaving a sticky trail for others to get stuck in and enjoy. Lord you are my joy! I give you so much adoration, and I am full of thanksgiving for this day, of beautiful blue skies and lots and lots of sunshine. Lord Jesus in your name I humbly give you all the praise, all the glory and all my heart. Amen!

This is an invitation to join me on my daily quests for joy! Be blessed, be a blessing, and have a great day! Thank you for sharing your time with me. 🥰

I never cease to be amazed by God! Ever!!!

This morning after saying my routine prayer of asking God who he wants to talk to today and what does he wish to convey? I then sit, and then…I hear the birds singing, the air conditioner kicks on and back off, a neighbor heads to work, a dog barks off in the distance but no inspiration or direction for today’s devotion.

Nothing…so I pray in my spirit some more, and not long after, I hear quietly within, open your Bible. Ok, Lord!!! So I hold my Bible gently in my lap, close my eyes, take a breath and let pages fall open.

Here’s your message today!

Psalm 34:15-18 NLT “The eyes of the Lord watch over those who do right; his ears are open to their cries for help. But the Lord turns his face against those who do evil; he will erase their memory from the earth. The Lord hears his people when they call to him for help. He rescues those whose spirits are crushed.”

I am so touched right now! This message is one we should all read, memorize and carry with us, but I feel this was sent directly to a friend who needs to know God sees all you do! He knows your heart and sees your pain from the one you are caring for; NO actions, good or bad, go unnoticed! You stay right, and righteousness will remain with you!

Lucha, you have been in my spirit clear through this message! God wants you to know; you are seen, you are heard, you are loved!

God’s word is for all his children…We are seen, We are heard, We are loved! On this, we can stand!

I pray for lots of sunshine in your world, heart, and spirit today! Be blessed, be a blessing and thank you for joining me! 🥰

I just got off of the phone with my oldest son, making arrangements to snag my middle granddaughter for the weekend, leaving him and my grandson to escape the heat doing guy things.

As my children and I age, I have begun to see the natural evolution that happens, I seem to have become smaller, and my children seem more significant! They tend to hover over me these days rather than me hovering over them! I am blessed as I know the older and smaller I become in age, I will be cared for gently.

Exodus 20:12 ESV “Honor your father and mother, that your days may be long in the land that the Lord your God is giving you.”

Proverbs 22:6 ESV “Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it.”

The blessings continue, however, because I am a grandma! To wear this title means we have put in our years of hard work and labor. We have earned and have been awarded the golden years where life is a bit slower and much more relaxed. A time where we have the time to sit and listen to the tales of the next generation, to smile as we see their faces reflecting the faces of our own.

Proverbs 16:31 ESV “Gray hair is a crown of glory; it is gained in a righteous life.”

Proverbs 17:6 ESV “Grandchildren are the crown of the aged, and the glory of the children is their fathers.”

I raised my children in the ways of the Lord. The jewels in my crown of age are to watch my children raising their children in the ways of the Lord, and so the generations will continue to follow!

What lessons are you teaching? What examples are you setting? What legacy are you leaving? Thoughts to ponder!

I pray for you a blessed day! And as always thank you for joining me. 🥰

I talk to God about everything, or at least I thought I did! The Lord has been revealing to me lately that I don’t consult with him before rushing into situations or suggesting one of my many great ideas!

Jeremiah 29:11 NIV “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.”

So what happens when my plans get in the way of God’s plans? He will allow my plans, let me use all my energy to spin a few steps forward only to slide a few steps back! I, as a believer and follower of Christ, cannot derail God’s plan for my life, but I can certainly add a few bumps and detours to it…

This message has become even more vital as I read through the Old Testament and see the success of the Kings and Mighty Rulers who sought God’s will through prayer and consulting with the prophets of old before going into battle or making huge decisions, ultimately affecting their territories.

While at the same time reading of the downfalls of many leaders who thought they knew it all, listening to their sorcerers, seers, and diviners. Those who didn’t believe in the God of Israel worshiped, prayed to, and consulted with false idols of wood, gold, and marble.

Proverbs 19:21 ESV “Many are the plans in the mind of a man, but it is the purpose of the Lord that will stand.”

Proverbs 21:5 ESV “The plans of the diligent lead to abundance, but everyone who is hasty comes only to poverty.”

Proverbs 16:3 ESV “Commit your work to the Lord, and your plans will be established.”

Proverbs 16:9 ESV “The heart of the man plans his ways, but the Lord establishes his steps.”

In conclusion, I am not saying our ideas, plans, and dreams aren’t of the Lord as he leads us down his path. My awakening and wish to share is to slow down, take your requests to God and ask for his leadings, promptings and direction. Then quietly wait for the peace to move you forward or recognize the loss of and to go back to the drawing board and God!

Again, He has a plan for every one of us; it’s up to us to hone into that plan! I pray for blessings today Lord, a day full of your love, laughter, and joy! And as always, Thank you for joining me. 🥰