Sometimes a photograph seems to scream at me--"pay attention"!  I wouldn't say this particular photograph "screamed" but it did make me think...

Last year I was on the beach in North Carolina eager to try out a new [well, new to me] camera. I had been hoping for the opportunity to take pictures of a glorious sunset, with  vivid pinks, oranges, and even bits of purple.  However, the day was dull.  Clouds hung close to the shore and the bits of fog seemed to have discouraged all but the most determined beach goers from roaming the shoreline.  As I trudged along the beach looking for something to inspire me, I spooked a lone seagull that flew off rather than enduring my company.

I took many other pictures that day.  I have erased most of them, but this one of a seabird against a blurry background speaks to me. The picture reminds me that in my walk with Jesus, some days are not easy.  Oh, some days seem to sparkle with light and joy like a...

Like many of you, Christmas  time this year was a roller coaster of emotions.  Our family is scattered, and getting together was impossible, except for a couple of hours here and there. While we had planned to have a small Christmas celebration with one other couple whose family is far away, illness [not Covid; we were quarantining ourselves before Christmas] interrupted those plans.  The few Christmas presents that I purchased online did not all arrive, the weather was awful, and to  top it all off, I miscalculated the time it would take for the chicken to roast, so we had had only vegetables ready for our Christmas meal!

Yet through it all, I kept asking God to help  me celebrate Christmas in my heart with true joy and thanksgiving.  I also sought His direction for the new year.  I felt led to repent of unkept promises, to  release all those who had disappointed me, and to fulfill some long term projects that I was involved with.

Then on...

I will be blogging on the second part of "Looking back to look forward" but I felt that moms needed encouragement, especially this year when the pressure to make Christmas amazing and wonderful is intense.  God promises "peace on earth", good-will towards men, but moms often seem to live on a battleground.

The Bible warns us not to look back or yearn for the past [See Luke 9:62].  We are not to be afraid of the unknown in our future but go forth, confident of the Lord's provision as we walk in His purpose.

However, sometimes it is good to review past prophetic words so that we are strengthened and encouraged to go forth into the future.  The key is not to turn back [as Lot's wife did] yearning for the past pleasures found in evil or because we fear the future. 

In the Bible verse referenced above, Jesus told a man that shallow commitments to the Kingdom of God were worthless.  Jesus was looking for men and women who would not let their past lives or personal ambitions distract them from their course any more than someone plowing should be distracted. A person plowing a field in Jesus' day had to fully concentrate on his task so that he could plow in a straight line.  If the plowman was distracted, the animal leading the plow would wander off...

I don't know anyone who has said to me, "2020 has been my best year yet!".  We are all aware of the hovering menace of Covid 19. Death has taken off his mask, and he walks freely with his companion named Fear.

Probably everyone now knows someone who has been afflicted by the Coronavirus; some have lost loved ones far too soon.  Even those who have not been directly affected by the virus have had their lives upset.  For many, what began as an inconvenience has been replaced by serious hardship.

The term "2020" in the past has been used to refer to clear vision.  This year has certainly changed many people's vision.  We have had to look deep into ourselves, to reevaluate what we consider our priorities.  For some of us, 2020 has been a year of painful reconsideration of our priorities. Through all this self-examination, we have learned to see ourselves and our priorities in new ways.

2020 has also been a year of goodbyes.  We have had to say...

Have you ever had so much trouble completing a project or reaching a goal that it actually began to make you laugh?  Maybe I've gotten to this state because I am close to hysteria or am just laughing because I don't want to cry.  But, honestly, I think God has given me the grace to see the situation from His perspective, so I can laugh.

You see, I believe that God told me to write a book explaining the basic reasons and function of prophetic ministry.  This was at least five years ago.  I spent several years researching and praying about the book before I even started writing it.  The research was a time of wonder:  I learned so much and my understanding became much wider and deeper than before; my way of looking at prophetic ministry changed.  

Then came the time to write! Occasionally, the writing flowed.  Usually it was more like plowing dry, hard ground. Day after day with no encouragement--just a command to get it down.  Then came...

Here is a "blast from the past" updated for today...

Just got back from the grocery store. At the checkout, a sign was posted which read, "Cashback limit $100.00 per customer." Since I was buying only $65.00 in groceries, I said, "Well, since you are giving all your customers cash, I'll take my $35.00 and be done with it."

My cashier laughed.

Now, the sign at the grocery store was making a true statement, but my interpretation of the sign was wrong.

Every now and then, folks point to an unusual event as being a portent of the immediate return of Jesus or the onset of some horrible event.

Since I have a doctorate in Theology and have studied some of these signs in detail, I can—with great confidence—state:  I DON'T know exactly what is all these signs mean.  I DON’T know exactly what is going to happen or when it’s going to happen. I DO know God is displaying His power and glory to a world that really doesn’t want to pay much...