Mornin’, GentleHeart,

My heart breaks when in the presence of someone in pain … yet, there is nothing more beautiful to me than one that is completely broken … one who lies in shambles at the end of their rope.

A heart –

cracked open,

and parched,

and empty,

and begging for a single drop of grace.

A soul –

beyond hurt,

beyond afraid,

beyond angry,

right there, in a life so broken, that is the place where the heart of God Most High begins a new beat that leaves our human minds speechless. That’s the place that takes us, as both the receiver of His grace and as an observer, to a God-transformation beyond our ability to understand. We begin to behold awesome right there.

That’s the beginning point of grace so mighty.

A certain point of grace.

A grace mighty enough to carry.

That’s a point where my God, your God, has already worked out the details. This is where you feel your arms slide around the neck of God Most High, and allow yourself to be carried through.

“From now on I’m taking the yoke from your neck and splitting it up for kindling. I’m cutting you free from the ropes of your bondage.” (Nahum 1:12, 13 MSG)

Wake up.

Notice grace.

Go.

Good morning PrayerfulOne-

Call to our Creator:

Rise up, My Christ, The Holy One.

From the deep in me, shatter my rocks and shake my closed spaces.

Rise. Christ. Rise.

Shiver in His presence, DearHeart.

Feel the flood of His holiness. Healing, comes from your call to the God who loves you – healing comes as He saturates into the spaces you open to Him.

He paints His presence from a place deep inside – His brush sweeping His radiance through in strokes of restoration.

We all need healing.

From sickness;

From being judgmental;

From overreacting;

From being too hard in ourselves;

From illness;

From lying;

From cheating;

From being hateful;

From destroying each other’s reputations;

From a binge or a purging or overeating;

From envy;

From pride;

From not asking for help;

From not taking our medicine…

We need healing.

Healing only comes,

Healing ONLY comes,

HEALING ONLY COMES

… through your prayer.

Pray bold.

Pray on.

‘Peter sent them all out of the room. He knelt down, prayed, and turning toward the body said, “Tabitha, get up! ” She opened her eyes, saw Peter, and sat up. He gave her his hand and helped her stand up. Then he called the saints and widows and presented her alive.’ Acts 9:40-41

Wake up.

Pray the impossible.

Go.

Today is their 60th Anniversary.

The greatest gift they’ve given us is their love for God and their love for each other. My brothers and I were raised to feel profoundly loved by Verle and Lynda Coon. I could list ten thousand reasons why Steve is their favorite child, why Russell Fred is their favorite child, and why I am their favorite child- and why each of their grands and great grands and nieces and nephews and their friends are their favorite child. That’s the gift of their crazy love for each other.

They are amazing people with an amazing and brilliant Light.

We are so blessed. #thankYouGod #dadadoresher #wealladorethem

“If I could speak all the languages of earth and of angels, but didn’t love others, I would only be a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. If I had the gift of prophecy, and if I understood all of God’s secret plans and possessed all knowledge, and if I had such faith that I could move mountains, but didn’t love others, I would be nothing. If I gave everything I have to the poor and even sacrificed my body, I could boast about it; but if I didn’t love others, I would have gained nothing.”

“Three things will last forever—faith, hope, and love—and the greatest of these is love.”

1 Corinthians 13:3 &13 NLT

“Since this is the kind of life we have chosen, the life of the Spirit, let us make sure that we do not just hold it as an idea in our heads or a sentiment in our hearts, but work out its implications in every detail of our lives. That means we will not compare ourselves with each other as if one of us were better and another worse. We have far more interesting things to do with our lives. Each of us is an original.”

Galatians 5:25-26 MSG

Good morning, DearOne.

Look around.

Summer morn.

All creation is ablaze in the glory of The Almighty!

oh.

Splendor. Even the scent of the dawn whispers His name.

Show me Your GLORY, Father!

Listen to what the words can’t say (but I’ll try to find words for!)

Jesus saw and knew that the entire creation was alive with His presence. His presence is open to anyone who dares to risk every form of comfort. . .

and social status. . .

and position to attain.

The risk of “Yes, Lord” is what enacts His presence.

His vision is clear: the entire task of each earthling . . .

yes, your task and my task, DearHeart,

lies in living out a life that allows

His FORCE, and

His INTENSITY, and

His PASSION

to FLOW into our ordinary reality.

And, when we begin to see our small “yes, Lord” as a hidden purpose of God Most High, He releases the most EXTRAORDINARY powers and possibilities, which Jesus understands MUST be released if His Divine plan for the world’s eternity is to unfold in its full splendor.

Ah, release your “yes” to your Creator. Boldly dare yourself to lay your risk out on His alter.

Here I am.

It’s You and me, Lord.

Fill me.

Take me deeper. Go.

I am Yours.

‘Now those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. Since we live by the Spirit, we must also follow the Spirit.’ (Galatians 5:24, 25 HCSB)

Mornin’ SweetSoul.

There are parts of the bible that are such a mystery. Parts of it seems bizarre to me. But, what I’ve discovered is that the head-scratching parts of the Bible are not the ones that give me trouble. It’s the parts that I DO understand with crystal clarity – the parts that explain The Most High’s desires of my less than stellar thoughts and behavior that cause me the most angst.

It’s also where I learn of His extravagant love for me … for us, how to walk out these earth-days in His presence, and the meaning of unconditional. His Word always operates, always works.

The Holy book is God’s tool. It is His Word. It is my guide. It brings His Voice into my hours.

At some point I got over the notion that it was untouchable-

I mark mine up,

make notes in the margins,

throw it in the car seat and take it with me,

bend pages every which way.

And then, I get a new one to start the process all over again.

When we see God’s Word for something more than just a flower press or a place to keep clippings of obituaries, He comes alive in us.

IN us … thoughts and actions and words.

By example, my dad taught me that bibles are to be worn out. When my brothers and I were growing up, Dad had one held together with duct tape. That’s my goal, too … to wear out my bibles.

Thanks, Dad.

“The revelation of GOD is whole and pulls our lives together. The signposts of GOD are clear and point out the right road. The life-maps of GOD are right, showing the way to joy. The directions of GOD are plain and easy on the eyes. GOD ’s reputation is twenty-four-carat gold, with a lifetime guarantee. The decisions of GOD are accurate down to the nth degree.

God’s Word is better than a diamond, better than a diamond set between emeralds. You’ll like it better than strawberries in spring, better than red, ripe strawberries.”

Psalm 19:7-10 MSG

Wake up.

Get your bible.

Wear it out.

Go.

Mornin’ DearOne.

Prayer is awkward for some folks. They just don’t know how to pray – maybe they think it seems superstitious or they aren’t ‘churchy’ enough. Or, sometimes, even those who can pray the paint off the wall hit a stalemate and just don’t know how to pray for a situation. Or, for themselves.

If you ever find yourself there, just know that Christ interprets even the slightest groan. Try this … get still for a moment, maybe lay your head back on your chair, or park and lean your head forward over your steering wheel … take a deep breath … know God’s angels surround you … nod your head a few times … and simply say,

“Thy will be done.”

“Thy will be done.”

“Thy will be done.”

“Let go. Let go. Let go.”

Trust the process of Your Maker. Hand over to Him complete authority to move in His time, in His way.

“And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.”

Romans 8:28

Wake up.

Thy will be done.

Go.

Good morn, God’s Child.

Even when I know the Holy Spirit is pulling at me to do a ‘thing’, I still hesitate and weigh it, and beat myself up with the what if’s. What if someone takes it wrong, or thinks there is ill-intent, or that I’m trying to make myself out to be something that I’m not.

Because, God and I know just how very flawed I am. Here is the deal: God knows my heart. He knows your heart. He is fully aware of just how desperately I need Him every single day. When I step in the direction of the Spirit’s call, when my aim is simply to do the next right thing … then who am I to think I’ve gone too far,

or messed up too badly,

or not followed hard enough,

or overstepped the boundaries,

or acted too selfishly,

or behaved too dramatically,

who am I to think that He can’t or won’t meet me right there … at my point of need.

Others may misinterpret or create a story from their tainted perception. They may be misinformed, and run with it. That’s alright.

It hurts, but from the hurt places God does His finest work in you. It’s not your place to judge their journey. God is designing their way, too.

He knows the way I take.

He knows everything about me.

And, He guides me from there.

He guides us from right here.

‘Oh Lord, You have examined my heart and know everything about me.’ Psalm 139:1 NLT

Wake up.

Cherish each Holy prompting.

Go.

Good morning, DearOne.

Tell me about your anxiety level. Are you a worrier?

Worry makes things worse – not only for us … but, for others, too. Our anxiety tends to rub off. Ending worry is a choice. It is also a gift you can give to your loves … it is a vote of confidence in their ability to find their own strength in the storm.

We always have choice … we can choose to worry, or we can choose to trust, and surrender our anxious thoughts to the Most High God and move on down His road for us. We can choose to be His adventurer through this. Move ahead as an explorer of this day, this season, this phase of life.

We can choose to roll around with the possibilities here.

Search for opportunities in the chaos – opportunities in the pain – opportunities in the hub-bub of the daily grind.

Feel it.

Suffer with it.

Get dirty rolling around in it.

Let it touch your heart.

And, allow those we love to do the same.

All the while, asking God in the process to remove the veil so we can see what is really happening here, and not be so tangled up in the fears.

Father, remove the veils to see beyond the darkness created by the fantasies and fears in my mind. Remove them that I might see.

Show me Your GLORY. Even here.

Even here.

“Then Elisha prayed, “O Lord, open his eyes and let him see!” The Lord opened the young man’s eyes, and when he looked up, he saw that the hillside around Elisha was filled with horses and chariots of fire.”

2 Kings 6:17 NLT

Wake up.

Look for GLORY.

Go.