Posts

Create in Me

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"Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me" (Psalm 51:10) SEVERAL years ago, I drove across a few back WVa back roads, across Dolly Sods and Red Creek.  While taking this picture, I considered how the creek,  (pounced crick where I come from),  had marked out its own path . The interesting thing about a creek, is that when the water is high, it hides what’s laying in the creek bed; but a low water level reveals unsightly debris. Some debris, fallen trees and leaves, occur naturally. Other stuff, tires, plastic bags, bottles, they are deposited there on purpose. But debris is debris…and it mires the beauty of the creek and can change the course of the waters flow. Interestingly enough, Christians have a lot in common with a creek…and  when a Believer’s faith ‘ebbs and flows’, it sends a message to anyone watching, and they will  take notice. We’re all guilty of the spiritual ebb and flow phenomenon.  When our faith is high, it reflects our t

Christmas Wonderings

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  I wonder if I  pray differently than most people? Or maybe I pray exactly like most people…? My mind wanders, I fall asleep, I get interrupted…and then I’m done. Sound familiar?  What I need is to be outside, away from distractions. So this chilly morning, wrapped in a heated blanket on an enclosed porch, I entered into a quiet place of prayer. As an author, writer, introverted-mess, I’ve found the best way for me to talk to God is to write my part out and wait. As I’m sitting here this morning, enjoying Christmas on the porch and blogging, I thought of King David. He didn’t always have an ideal place to pray, yet that didn’t stop him from jotting down some desperate prayers. I’ll go out on a limb here, and assume that like me, he had some introverted traits, too.  Maybe that’s why I can relate to David’s prayers. I love how his writings jump from distress to praise without missing a beat! Still, “ as a man after God’s own heart” (Acts 13:22), I wonder how much David  would have sha

Beyond the Bully

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 October is Bullying Awareness Month Together, we can empower ,  encourage,    enlighten , and equip our Neighbors and strengthen our communities. For more information please visit and share the following links. https://www.stopbullying.gov/ http://www.bullyingstatistics.org/content/bullying-and-suicide.html https://www.verywellfamily.com/how-strong-is-the-link-between-bullying-and-suicide-460620

You hear that?

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  Whew!! Sticky smudges and silence. That’s what John and I find after the grandkids leave for home. It’s a joke for us to each other “ You hear that? ” Then, with smiles, we recap the many-many things they managed to get into! From throwing green hickory nuts at one another to Huddy dumping a bottle of soap bubbles over his own head! With our crew, no matter if they’re playing kickball in the back yard or video games on the porch, there’s never a dull moment.  As for the sound of silence after they’ve gone, I’ll admit we like it, too…for the most part, anyways. Don’t get me wrong, we love having our grandchildren with us; and in way of thinking, memories and messes go hand in hand! And over the past ten years, they’ve made plenty of both :-) Still, at times, I especially, long for the sound of silence - not the spooky you-can-hear-a-pin-drop silence; rather the tranquil silence of nature. That’s when I can hear from God best.  Here are a few things the Bible says about hearing from G

The Will of God

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“ Now may the God of peace…make you complete in every good work to do his will…”  (Hebrews 13:20-21, KJV ). AS morning fades and noontime beckons, I am reminded of how quickly time passes. A few seconds ago, I was watching the morning news and enjoying my first cup of coffee. Now, chores caught up, devotions glanced at and my Bible beside me…I’m wondering where the morning went. Times like this, I question how many days I’ve ran through - wasted even - without thinking about my life’s calling or God’s will for it; even at my age! Am I making this harder than it needs to be?  Am I being obtuse? Or is it that I know  what needs done but unwilling to put forth the effort? A preacher once said it’s easy to know God’s will: Just ask Him! Well, I have and instead of directions like he gave Noah or the absolute sign He gave Gideon…I get obscure dreams and newspaper articles!  But what I want is a-no-question-about-it-word-from-You…like You gave me before! Wait, maybe I am obtuse…why should He

Stop the Presses!

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Your Life Coaching WV, llc Serving Neighbors since 2012 “Where Hope + Faith = Sight…Because you matter.” I’ll soon be 55 years old…and I’m more confused about life than ever. The left is fighting the right; the right is fighting the left; on Capitol Hill, democrats, republicans, and the middle are all looking for something resembling truth; instead they’re finding something skewed to support a biased narrative. I won’t speak for any other state, but most of the folks I talk with here in West Virginia are fed up! We want the same things: to be able to work, to feed our families, keep gas in our engines, and keep Jesus close.  We want to be productive. We want to make our own choices. We want women to be women and men to be men. We want our children happy and safe, playing in our streets and on their playgrounds without fear; we want them to be kids and not forced to make adult decisions! We want to be able to respectfully disagree without hate or labels!  For a while now, when watching

Jesus, Touch Me Again

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  In Mark, Chapter 8, Jesus laid hands on a blind man and gave him sight; but the man was only "half-healed". And the all-knowing Jesus asked him "Okay, so how's that?"   This story intrigues me.   Here's a blind man who willingly puts his hand in the hand of The Man and is led out of town to be healed.   Did he follow Jesus expecting something miraculous?   Or did he blindly follow like his friends told him to? I visualize him shrugging with an "it can't hurt" attitude.   But I wonder how he felt when Jesus touched him...Can you imagine his excitement as the Holy Spirit bubbled up in his gut?   I imagine he was excited about receiving some sight, but when Jesus touched him again and he saw clearly? Surely, he went from being half blind to dumbstruck.     Now try to imagine how it would have been if Jesus hadn't touched his eyes the second time. A little sight would be better than no sight, but this is Jesus we'r