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The God who Hears

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I awoke at 2 a.m. and lay there unable to go back to sleep. There was no good reason for being awake. I hadn't eaten anything different, I didn't fall asleep watching television, and I didn't have caffeine. But I was wide awake! So after tossing and turning for a bit, I used it as an opportunity to pray. I prayed for safety for a few different friends I have that are stuck in the Middle East at the moment and unable to get home.  I prayed for my family, immediate and extended. I prayed for wisdom as I'm juggling many things. I prayed about a webinar I will be leading next month and a conference I am putting together.  At times, I wonder if God really hears my small requests when there are bigger and harder things in the world. I mean my little problems really pale in comparison with the big picture. And our finite minds really cannot comprehend how God can hear all of the prayers of everyone at the same time. However, I had a revelation about this yesterday morning. I w...
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Emerging

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  I've been able to get out and hike the past few days and that has made my heart sing. March came in like a lion with more snow and colder temperatures, but there are signs that spring is on the way.  One of the main signs is that animals are starting to make an appearance.  When it does snow it is quick to melt and there is a different feel to the sun.  The rythm of the seasons is a good reminder that no matter what we are going through and how bleak a situation may feel, we will come out the other side. The sun will shine again and we will emerge stronger. It's easy to forget that when we are bogged down in moment. I am thankful for tangible reminders of those truths. There is still some winter to get through, but spring is on the way.  I am thankful.
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Looking for Inspiration

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I've been blogging since 2008 and have written at least 3 times a week during those 18 years. I've had times here or there where I struggled to find inspiration in writing, but for the most part writing has come easy for me.  But this winter has been something else! I think some of my lack of inspiration comes from the fact that it has done nothing but snow since November. A lot of my writing ideas come to me as I walk and hike in nature and take photographs. When I walk I think, pray and meditate and often a thought or prayer or even a picture will turn into writing inspiration.  I'm not opposed to walking in the snow, but because we are down to one car and Dan's schedule is all over the place, my walking has been limited to my neighborhood with the same scenery every day. And it just leaves me with a lack of creative inspiration. Which is why there has been a lack of consistency in my blogging.  I had the terrible thought last night that since my cataract surgery I...
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Keep it in Context

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  I was asked to write an article for a women's ministry recently and was given the verses and the topic to write on. I was looking forward to doing this until I pulled out my bible and read the scriptures and discovered they really had nothing to do with the topic. One of my biggest pet peeves is when people cherry pick verses out of the Bible to make them mean what they want them to mean. Good exegesis is the critical, systematic interpretation of a text to discover its original, intended meaning, rather than imposing your own personal biases onto it. The seminary I attended hammered that home to me and yet, I see people doing the opposite all of the time.  Some activities and questions to ask yourself as you read a passage are the following: Read the entire passage. Keep in mind that the the headings, chapter numbers, and verse divisions in modern Bibles are not original to the text. Sometimes you have to read more than the chapter. You can use the following categ...
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Using it Up

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It's been a busy week and a half which is why I've been silent here. We've had a couple of church events, I preached this past Sunday, I participated in the local farmer's market on Saturday, and I have a huge Etsy order I need to fill. That's on top of my normal activity. It's been a good week though as in the middle of all the activity I've had time to reflect and pray, think about my life and ministry and making sure I stay on course. It has been a week of giving and receiving love as my middle son turned 33 and Dan and I celebrated Valentine's Day. The pink and red colors have been a welcome change from the sea of white that have made up my days since early December.  The sun is out more often and this week we finally warmed up out of the negative temperatures and even made it to 48 degrees Fahrenheit! Yesterday I actually heard a bird chirping.  The temperatures are going back down this weekend but I'm thankful for these little signs that spring...
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Unfinished Projects

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I have many unfinished projects laying around my house. Quilts I started and never finished. Writings that I started and  they sit on my laptop, and piles of paperwork waiting to be filed. I have some good intentions that I never followed through on in my life. However, the one thing in my life that I don't want to leave unfinished is the ministry that the Lord has given to me. That nudge from the Holy Spirit to keep pressing on and finish my race is the thing that motivates me each day.  There are many distractions that threaten to derail the completion of the task and to veer me off course. Things such as worries about my family or other issues, distractions going on in the world,  my own failings at times, other people's opinions about what I should or shouldn't be doing, and  on it goes. These distractions can keep me unfocused or wanting to throw in the towel.  And yet, I want to press on and continue to follow the path that God has given me. He has given m...
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Love Lives Here

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It's February, the month of love. I think that February is one of my favorite months for many reasons. First and foremost, it signifies that I'm almost through the winter! This has been a rough one. It's -12 Fahrenheit right now with a windchill of -22. It's also the month of other fun events - the Superbowl, my son's birthday, Valentine's day, my husband is off his teaching and tutoring because of winter break. This weekend I'm looking forward to participating in our local farmer's market. The following week we are going to go and visit my daughter and son-in-law for a couple of days. All fun things! But February is also a reminder of love. I have this little plaque that sits on my mantle that says, "Love lives here." I often have to ask myself, "Is that true?" "Do I love well?"  Some days, the answer is probably, "No." But then other days I do a better job. As I reflect back over the past week, I had more days wh...
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