Good morning, DearHeart.
Sitting here, feeling safe and quiet. Praying for my adults sons and their families. And – somewhere, in Ukraine, is a mom like me, praying desperate prayers for her adult sons and daughters, who are armed and defending their homes.
People are trying to get to the border. Others are huddled in subways, which have now become bomb shelters.
The images come of sons and daughters helping the elderly to safety. Parents with young children in tow and in their arms, some yet inside their mother’s womb … I cannot understand the range of emotions these people must be experiencing … the horror … fear … anxiety … concern for their loved ones. Will they even have a home when they leave the shelter?
The questions which must be going through their minds – How will we ever resume life? How do we rebuild? Where do we go from here? What kind of life will my children have?
Questions without answers.
And so I pray …
Jesus, You are the Prince of Peace. Come, Lord Jesus, and bring peace to the Ukrainians. In the middle of the chaos, the conflict, and the unknown, fill their hearts and minds with Your peace. Remind the people that You are with them. Give them strength to endure. And may you, Jesus, the Prince of Peace, who has never vacated His throne, be merciful to Ukraine. Come, Prince of Peace. In Your Mighty Name I pray, Amen.
” … And His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace.” (Isaiah 9:6b, NASB)
*Symbol for peace created by Moscow born Natasha Alimova.

Good morning, DearHeart.
I hear sleet hitting the window and long for the warm days of blooms and butterflies. There is always a struggle in finding stillness, though. Fighting through that struggle, there is always a place where I cry-out and find grace in the Word of God. I hang on to scripture. This is how it often happens – I hear it in a song or in Bro Colin’s sermon, or a podcast … then it pops up in a text message, and it repeats again – my brain responds “that’s the same verse” … there is a pattern here and I need to pay attention. So, I latch on to the Word.
I choose to see blessings most of the time … a ‘cup half-full’ kind of person. I am a blessed woman. And, I do not take that lightly. I try to live my moments from a place of gratitude – no matter what – I am thankful. When life causes pain, and I ask Him for help, I often feel a sense of guilt for even asking – who am I to ask? Does that ever happen to you? Even there I’ve learned to remind myself that is the evil of the enemy trying to keep me from relationship with the One who said “You didn’t choose me. I chose you.” John 15:16
Still … I’d like to get to a point in my life that I hang on to scripture because everything -every little thing- … in my mind is at ease. Instead, what I find, is that there is always a pull at my heart. There is always a struggle. Maybe God allows us to be in a place of struggle so that never forget how much we need Him. Maybe the struggle sustains our search back to Him, our Safe Haven. John 14:8 “Philip said to Him, “Lord, show us the Father, and it is enough for us.”
What verse is sustaining you with His grace through your current struggle?

Wake up.
Listen for the sustaining pattern of grace.
Go.

Good morning, DearHeart.
Last week, I was pretty obsessed with these sunflowers … this week, well … I think I killed them. 😬
I’m full of mistakes and awkward moments … Freudian slips, embarrassing moments, a hurtful word spoken, breaking an object of value, getting my heel stuck in a floor vent … 🤷🏼‍♀️
Every. Single. Day. I can be counted on for imperfection.
A mistake.
A wrong choice.
Regrets.
I’m so thankful for the grace given to me by others.
The silver lining to my “moments” is that I truly make those who hang out with me SHINE! 😂 ✨
I don’t think I’m alone here, I also, often regret failure to act.
The visit not made.
The card not sent.
The apology not extended.
The hug not given.
Life brings us through twists and turns. Some expected. Some, out of no where.
Some regrets are felt deeply and linger.
When regret comes to my life, I have learned that there is only one place to take it … lay it at foot of the Cross. When I “come to my senses”, much the way the prodigal son did, and return to my Father,
regret turns to restoration …
redemption …
I am redeemed.
What kind of God does that? What kind of unconditional love continues to erase mistakes, over and over again?
“Do not remember the sins of my youth and my rebellious ways; according to Your love remember me, for You, Lord, are good” (Psalm 25:7).
What kind of God? “According to His love,” that’s my God.
Wake up.
Start again.
Do overs.
Clean slate.
Go.

Good morning, DearHeart.

A couple of weeks ago we all noticed Rush (our grandson) walking with a limp. The diagnosis turned out to be an infection in his hip which caused us some concern … how does a toddler get an infection in his hip, of all places? He is doing good now (thank You, Jesus!) but, of course we read tons of stories during the limp … medical stories, personal stories, you name it. Some stories of hope and others that shot fear through our over-protective veins.

People’s stories are fascinating to me. And, the fact that each one evolves, moving us individually, and as families, and as friends from one point of growth to the next, well, that is even more fascinating. Each story grows us and we encourage one another when we tell them. I don’t know about you, but I prefer stories that are heartwarming … feel good … full of love and laughter.

But, life is not always neat and tidy. It’s not always snow cones and cotton candy.

In between those seasons of joy are interwoven seasons that cause us to pause and examine the shadows and the shifts … struggles with families, with feelings …

Adversity.

Suffering.

Shame.

Pain.

Illness.

Loss.

Hardship.

Discomfort.

I’d prefer to avoid all of that … yet, Paul slides in with a curious perspective …

“For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us. (Romans 8:18, NKJV)

Also, read this and love the way The Message describes it:

“That’s why I don’t think there’s any comparison between the present hard times and the coming good times. The created world itself can hardly wait for what’s coming next. Everything in creation is being more or less held back. God reins it in until both creation and all the creatures are ready and can be released at the same moment into the glorious times ahead. Meanwhile, the joyful anticipation deepens.” Romans 8:18-21 MSG

To put it simply … this story, your story of today’s suffering tells a story of perseverance, of pressing through in spite of wanting to give up. It tells of courage when fear presses in. It tells of a grit and determination to succeed when the odds seem stacked a mile high against you.

There is value in your present story. Suffering is part of the narrative, because nothing grows, nothing gets built when everything is easy.

Our lives are the smaller story inside of His grand story, and our stories do matter. Our stories can magnify Him, illuminate His power and compassion at work in every minute.

Wake up.

What is your story at this minute?

Notice how our Savior is revealed in it.

The joyful anticipation deepens.

Go.

Mornin’ DearHeart.

The roses out back are over the moon. After the February -20 temps, I wondered if they’d bounce back. I hard-pruned the branches, leaving them 6-8” tall. They looked like sad, dead sticks coming out of the ground. I talked to them and sang to them (because I’m weird like that). Their longing to be closer to heaven, close to the heart of their Creator, won. They keep reaching higher and blooming deeper than I’ve ever seen.

Like the branches, you and I can not stop our longing for a deeper experience with God. It is with us always. A quest from which no one can hide. Even the emptiest and coldest heart longs for relationship with Christ. The pull on you and me – the pull by God Almighty is far more potent than

any set-back,

any dire need,

any situation,

and, that is why the Most High has led us here … to this moment … to be reminded.

We have a serious task ahead: to face challenges at odds with

human reason,

logic,

order,

justice,

fairness,

common sense.

We face trials.

We are driven red with anger.

We will be falsely accused.

We need walk-away strength.

And, we need stand-your-ground courage.

DearOne, answering the call to follow in the footsteps Jesus Christ requires that we are sometimes stripped bare. We are sometimes reduced. to. ashes.

Once that happens, from the pit, life yields growth:

Releasing old wounds.

Letting go of grudges.

Replacing hurt places with forgiveness.

Rising out of grief into new life with The Most High.

Starting over.

When your soul is called out, drive erupts that will will take charge of your life.

‘Set your minds on what is above, not on what is on the earth.’ (Colossians 3:2 HCSB)

Uncommon drive.

Supernatural drive.

Holy drive.

Set your mind there.

Go.

Good morning, DearHeart.
In the past I’ve written often about the prodigal son. Every time I read it brand new insight eeks out. Sometimes, truth so simple that it is profound.
God is Love.
Simple. So powerful.
God loves us for ourselves and not for anything we can do or give Him. We can’t cause God to love us more, or less, than He already does. Yet … we live in a performance-based culture, causing us to think we need to earn God’s love.
I can relate with each person in the story:

• The younger son, who the father restores all the rights of sonship, so that he loses nothing.
• The older brother, who had remained faithfully with his father, had a problem with the grace extended. Sometimes we can be just like the older brother – stuck and smug in our self righteousness, forgetting our God is gracious to all.
• The father who extends forgiveness, grace, and love in spite of all of the heartbreak that he had experienced.
  In my life, I have been the prodigal … the one in need of God’s forgiveness and grace. I have also been the older son … wanting to withhold God’s grace and celebration of another. And, I have been like the father … having to
  embrace,
  and forgive,
  and restore position to another. Maybe that is why I love this story so much. We can see ourselves in the story and recognize the depth of God’s love and mercy and grace in our own lives.
  With the prodigal in mind, flipping a few pages to 1 Corinthians 13:4-8.
  I read verse 7 over and over.
  “Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance.”
  The word “endures” stood out.
  God’s love lasts – it has stood the test of time.
  In Psalm 136, all 26 verses end with the words “His love endures forever”. God knows we need reminding and repetition.
  God’s love toward you and me is
  higher,
  deeper,
  wider,
  and longer
  than anyone can comprehend.
  Throughout all the craziness the past year has delivered, through each trial and each victory, God’s covenant love for his people, like a mighty river, flows into you and me – as strong into the future as when it first began in the ancient past. This means that you and I receive the awe-inspiring wonder of being the special object of His everlasting love.
  God’s love endures forever.
  Wake up.
  Remind, repeat, and receive fully His enduring love.
  Go.