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Of all the things I am blessed and anointed with, my life is not easy. But easy appears to not be what I chose to jump into here for Jesus. But I have Jesus. And He is who I look at. He is who I count on. This showed up in my FB feed today and remember this. I was so proud of my kids that they achieved great and worldly success and that in spite of all the barriers before us that I had not failed them. They both even had graduated the same place, the same day and their first time from college on mothers day. Another prophetic moment. Just as in wishing, be careful what prophecies come your way. And yet as all truths are proven in the Bible, this one surely had my name on it. Proverbs 16:18 Pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall. I have learned that I am but dust. Except to God. And Du. And my favorite neighbors. God always sends an angel(s).

do you ever have a memory of an action you were involved in that pops in just to “seemingly shame you” ? 1- think on it for a moment. But no dwelling. 2- see yourself letting go of it and giving it to God as a gift of more of you. Jesus was asked and then answered, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.” Matthew 22 3- look again at it and ask God to bless it and make it to work for your good and His glory. And this time put the image of God in the action. 4- Because God is the Alpha, the beginning, and the Omega, the ending, He is timeless and is all places in all times, He can restore the action. 5- Do not dwell on it anymore. If it comes back and causes to flinch as you once did, repeat these steps and add step 6. 6- Do not be a re-gifter. Ephesians 3:20-21, NIV Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.

I joined friends last night to experience an escape room. It was incredible!!! It was terrific to see each do what they do best and to be so happily thrilled for each other!! We were a team! Nope we missed saving the world by a few minutes but it didn’t matter. We had fun. We went for a bite afterwards and then each went home. I plopped into bed almost immediately and quickly fell asleep. I dreamed of our Escape Room escort, a person appearing to be in transition who had been very helpful and pleasant. I was riding in the front seat of a car with them at the wheel. By “them” I mean that there were two distinct and equal people sitting in one body vying for complete control of the steering wheel. Oh how they fought each other neither willing to give an inch. The car was veering from one side of the road to the other in response. The wheels were screeching and yet I wasn’t afraid. I merely observed. And then it was over. I asked The Holy Spirit to explain this to me. A few bible verses popped in such as the one from Matthew 6:24 “No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other…” but the strongest reaction that came to me was simply EMPATHY for another human being (made in the image of God) whose own body was at war with itself. And then… I heard, in the vision and voice of the Grinch, singing “the devil is a mean one…”. Yes it is! And we play right into it via the news when we react to the publicity, the photo ops of the over the top painted and costumed portrayers invading our children’s lives causing others like me. who have a fear of painted up clowns in the first place, to feel actual fear and terror. Here is what I was shown. I was to pray for the actual person behind this mask who was needing the love of Jesus and His peace. That’s our job as His children. Absolutely we are to protect our children! Absolutely we are not to give evil an inch! How do we accomplish both at the same time? Ephesians 6:10 Finally, let the mighty strength of the Lord make you strong. 11 Put on all the armor that God gives, so you can defend yourself against the devil's tricks. 12 We are not fighting against humans. We are fighting against forces and authorities and against rulers of darkness and powers in the spiritual world…”. Pray For Their Repentance and Reconciliation to Jesus. Pray For God To Change Their Hearts. Pray For Their Salvation. Pray For God To Teach Them A Lesson. Pray For God To Forgive Them. Why? God always wins.

It has to start somewhere… Recently I heard one man’s opinion that in 100 years the vast majority of us that are living now muddled up in our lives and loves would not be remembered by anyone. I pondered on this and realized that the books we read or write, the pictures we take to capture moments, the methods we created to express ourselves in being unique, the peace we sought vs the wars we fought, or even what we coveted would have been long forgotten. In 100 years it will be as if we never existed. These heavy thoughts led to the lightness of Gods plan for us. Psalm 118:24, saying "This is the day that the LORD has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it." For today… give thanks for the gift of life from God. Your life, your actions, your choices... all matter! Why? Because we make a difference to others in all the things we say and do. Jeremiah 29:11 states, “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.” A future… you are not only training up the next generations but instilling hope… and so on… and so on… Make it count for all the good reasons. If you struggle recall that “all Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness” 2 Timothy 3:16. Do your best.

beige… taupe… nude… puce… why do I bother?! 🫢 I just find it difficult to live with. I have always been drawn to the vintage drama of #blackfireplaces I painted/aged the tiled surround and then painted the bottom hearth tile to resemble stacks of charcoaled wood. the RESULTS!! the BEFORE! and the INSPIRATION! #artontheoutskirts

Again I was given crumbs to feed my starving heart. The lesson? To be grateful for the crumbs. I have had the sadness to live through the paralleling of the story of the Canaanite woman who was tested in the power of her faith as told in Matthew 15:21-28. She was persistent in asking Jesus to heal her demon-possessed child. Jesus repeatedly appears to deny her request, but in the end, she receives it. For me, its been a separation of years. My heart has been wrenched, betrayed, broken, but not once has my faith been tested. The trials I had endured before that prepared me for this long journey. Today, I received crumbs. It is agonizing and hurtful when I had hoped for more. I needed more. But crumbs it is. So be it. Thank you Jesus, I continue to trust you. Your will be done. It took me a minute or two to decide to respond as if I had been given a smorgasbord fit for The King. I did. I was met with the restrictions put back in place. But thats not where this story ends for in the meantime, God is working on me and I am open and willing to receive His guidance. Just as she believed in His power to say the word and the miracle would be done and did not stop asking, neither will I. I asked God last night why I never get to skirt around problems and struggles. He left me to mull it over as I slept. He gave me His answer first thing this morning. Things do look better in the morning. Thank you Jesus.

the Bible reads extensively of forgiveness. and primarily as to why we shall forgive “them.” harder to find in the Bible is directions about the one who caused the transgression in the first place. yes of course, we all fall short (Romans 3:23 For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God) as we are fallible puny humans who naturally tend to look upon our own faces. and its the most noticeable when we make the wrong choice and are presented with the consequences, do we seize the opportunity to apologize or say “I am sorry.” what we do next determines our usefulness to God as well as in our growth in God keeping in mind that “I am sorry”connotes a feeling of remorse, while “I apologize” is a way to formally admit that you did something wrong, whether you feel "sorry" about it or not. and then, do we use the ensuing conversation to discuss ourselves and our feelings and the wherewithals of the why’s? or do we put the focus of healing on the recipient of our choices? is this is the time to seek the forgiveness of only God’s. why not theirs? and for what reason? is the transgressor only always to be the lesson? from our point of view walking towards paradise... don't you worry about them, Gods got them. and does "fool me once shame on you, fool me twice shame on me" apply? Read the original motivational book, Proverbs. in the meantime, apply Psalm 51:10 Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me. 11 Cast me not away from thy presence; and take not thy holy spirit from me. 12 Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation; and uphold me with thy free spirit. 13 Then will I teach transgressors thy ways; and sinners shall be converted unto thee.

An observation popped in to my thoughts as I was reading Psalm 96 1 Sing to the Lord a new song; sing to the Lord, all the earth. 2 Sing to the Lord, praise his name; proclaim his salvation day after day... of the Santa movies where the sleigh's power is fading due to lack of belief and can only be restored when all rally together in their belief creating a fantasy that lends credibility to the power of the human spirit. Did you know this "feel good" rally boosting does not apply to the power of God? It is the Lord God who formed man from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living creature. And the dust returns to the earth as it was, and the spirit returns to God who gave it. God is the Alpha and the Omega, tbe beginning and the end. He was here before and will be here long after us. To sing praises to God... is good for OUR spirit. 1 Corinthians 2:11 For who knows a person's thoughts except the spirit of that person, which is in him? So also no one comprehends the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. Romans 8:16 The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, John 4:24 God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth. Why? 1 Corinthians 6:19 Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, nuff said.

Summarizing excerpts from Jim Denison, PhD, Skeptics can discount evidence for our faith They can dismiss, they can explain, they can reject, they can avoid. However, they cannot reject our changed lives. Every day I reach for Jesus. Every day I seek His face. Every day my day develops into an excursion far from my own waking plans. Just when I think I will go right, God sends me left. It has been this way for so long, that this is now my normal. I am at one with my path to God. I teach, I create art on and beyond the canvas, I write, I mentor, I talk, I listen, and all at His beckoned call. I thank Him for these gifted blessings. Everything I do, I do for Him. And yet... in all of this I get angry, I lose my patience and my temper, I get frustrated, I cry, I feel invisible, I have both physical and heart pain, I get my feelings hurt, I get betrayed, I swear, I overeat, I try, I fail, I fear, and I just want to go home. And someday, when God decides, I will. But for now... He needs me, and my imperfections, to help those He sends around who do not see or hear Him, which is also not always a pleasant experience. And sometimes it is. I appreciate the smart ones very much. I acknowledged these others in my second book, Hope Uninterrupted, for causing my path to skyrocket to Gods arms. Look at me now, still a mess I suppose and still getting side-eyed by skeptics but, God can and does use me. And we both think that makes my footprint here pretty darn worthwhile. So it's okay God, I trust you. Thank you for trusting me.

I have been rereading Ecclesiastes… what is standing out to me is the best they had at that time was to find scraps of joy and contentment in their lot. There was no such thing as hope. And then when Jesus was born… He came to save, to heal, to give the reality of a face to our Father… and to offer hope. Matthew 19: 26 But Jesus looked at them and said to them, “With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.” Can you imagine not even having the thought to pray? 1 Peter 1: 3 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, Praise to God for a Living Hope!

I had a garage sale… first and last even though it went well. People were nice and interesting. And God used one as a lesson… an intentional rule breaker because it suited her to abide by her presumed entitlements over the safety of others. “it is easier to ask for forgiveness than permission” while counting on that Jesus forgives all… nope! nope! nope! for those who intentionally sin, who are neither ignorant nor weakness (and God is the judge on this) then they are intentionally choosing to be an enemy of God AND this is the “willfully sinning” that Hebrew 10:26 refers to—consciously and deliberately rejecting Christ, a sign of unbelief: “No one who is born of God will continue to sin, because God’s seed remains in them; they cannot go on sinning, because they have been born of God” per 1 John 3:9 and the woman… we managed her behavior and left her to God to deal with on her own turf. one thing I am most assured in? Don’t play games with God.

Psalm 73:23 reads, "Nevertheless I am continually with you; you have taken hold of my right hand." I have taken this verse at face value and put it into action (by faith) when having to attend events or meet people that are not in my normal wheelhouse. I pray in the likeness of St. Patrick with... Dear Jesus! Take my hand and Go before me to make the way safe and clear. Go behind me to bless my attempts. Go below me and crush the attempts of evil. Go beside me with your angels to flank me. Go over me to set heavens blessings upon me In Jesus name, Amen. Thank you Father. And then, proceed in peace. 1 Corinthians 16:13”Be on your guard; stand firm in the faith; be courageous; be strong.” We got to be vigilant and never be complacent! You never know what and how God will want to utilize you!!

Do you ever pray and say Amen with the thought lurking, "I wonder if God heard me?" How often do you say, "I don't hear Him? I ask, and I ask God for even a smidgeon of a sign or word, and still, it's crickets." Today, we began our day once again "reviewing" the rising of old conflicts this past week that still confounds us as we give them to God over and over. We decided to put it on hold and served ourselves tea and coffee while reading the bible verse of the day, following up with the next reading in the Bible, which happened to be 1 Corinthians 10. Honestly, at the time of this reading, nothing really stood out and jumped at me. And that's okay, as sometimes God works in stealth mode. And then we each prayed to Jesus out loud, sitting together but separately. We each listed what was bugging us and, in turn, thanked God for each of the troubles as well. First, I prayed, and then my husband prayed. Our prayers were similar but different, but the needed results matched up well. After a few moments, my husband said, "As I was praying, I saw a young black cat out the window climbing high up in the tree. Maybe 20 feet. And then I watched it fall to the ground, get up and run off. Odd right? What do you suppose that was about?" I simply said, "Think about it." I wasn't being stubborn but obedient, and I also wondered myself as we rarely have any cats in our yard. God has tweaked my path lately in my mentoring a bit to cause others to think rather than just give them the answer. And so he did think about what he just saw. Within seconds he said, "What we were praying about, what has been oppressing us, just literally left." Yep! Ding! Ding! Ding! Woot Jesus! I said on the inside. On the outside, I only said, "See? You do recognize God." One of the conflicts we had had... was over politics. For us, one being a type A and the other being a type B and one on this side of politics and the other on the other side, we long ago resolved this issue by the leadings of the story, The Gift of the Maji, where the wife cut and sold her long beautiful hair that she took great pride in to buy her husband a beautiful gold chain for his prized pocket watch only to find out her he sold his pocket watch to buy a comb for her hair... Selfless. And then someone came over and stirred the pot and wished to debate politics... it was nipped quickly and efficiently with a side dose of passing along this story as to why. God will take that seed and will cause it to bloom. And then again, God made Himself clear... He spoke... through the Bible this time and not a black cat... 31 Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God. 32 Give none offence, neither to the Jews, nor to the Gentiles, nor to the church of God: 33 Even as I please all men in all things, not seeking mine own profit, but the profit of many, that they may be saved. God is the only truth. And He recorded it for our benefit in the Bible. "Give none offence..." Not over anything. Every single word we speak outside of the Bible... is only an opinion... and you know what they say about opinions. ;)

"Stay the course" is a phrase used in the context of a war or battle meaning to pursue a goal regardless of any obstacles or criticism.~Wikipedia In the beginning... this was supposed to be Paradise. And then somebody said something and God honored the free will of those He created. I hear Casting Crowns sing "I was sure by now God, You would have reached down And wiped our tears away and Stepped in and saved the day. And once again I say, "A-men" and it's still raining. But as the thunder rolls I barely hear Your whisper through the rain "I'm with you"and as Your mercy falls I'll raise my hands and praise the God who gives And takes away..." and I will rally my faith and stay the course set for me with only praises from my life. This is called Stay the Course and of His Hand and Sail Away. Acts 20:24, "But none of these things move me; nor do I count my life dear to myself, so that I may finish my race with joy, and the ministry which I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of the grace of God." I will Stay the Course, and praise you in the storm. Till the other side then. Blessing.

I saw in a vision the white door. And behind it is the glory of God. And I knew our beloved creatures go to heaven. Unlike man who chose to sin, they were not banished from the Garden of Eden. In Mark 9:23, Jesus said to him, “If you can believe, all things are possible to him who believes.” In the beginning per Genesis 1:27, "So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them. 28 And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and uusubdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every thing that moveth upon the earth." And God spoke the human, the fish, the fowl, and the four-legged beasts all into existence. All on the sixth day. To live together. Then due to sin, Genesis 3:24 says, “So he drove out the man; and he placed at the east of the garden of Eden Cherubims, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to keep the way of the tree of life". What remained was the river, the garden, and everything else. In Isaiah 55:10 it says, “For as the rain cometh down, and the snow from heaven, and returneth not thither, but watereth the earth, and maketh it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower, and bread to the eater: 11 So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it." Nothing God speaks returns void or becomes empty. And because God is only love, He loves. In James 1:17, it specifies that, "Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning." Our furry family members are a gift to be treasured and loved. Scripture tells us that when we die we will not be alone. Angels accompany us on our journey to heaven if that is where we are called. In one of Jesus’ parables, He talked about a poor man who suffered a great deal during his time on earth. When he died, Jesus said, “the angels carried him to Abraham’s side” per Luke 16:22. And in Isaiah 65:25 that in heaven, "The wolf and the lamb shall graze together; the lion shall eat straw like the ox, and dust shall be the serpent's food. They shall not hurt or destroy in all my holy mountain,” says the Lord." And this is simply called Come. The first lesson. The last act. btw... reminder... the animals were never banished from Paradise... Till the other side then.