I have four "babies." I blinked and they became four toddlers. I blinked again, and they are now four teenagers. Wow, it's been a wonderful whirlwind. I must admit, however, sometimes I feel like I am going to be blown away (or wish I could be!) as I attempt to oversee the physical, emotional, and spiritual needs of each of these "sweet ones."

With this in mind, I penned another devotional prayer that begins with the phrase, "God, You are...". I must remember Who really is in charge of their days, as well as mine. Please read this prayer and claim it as your own. Also, if time permits, look up the Scripture that I derived it from, and be blessed by God's promises.

God, You are the Overseer. For You are a great God, and a great King above all gods; in Your hands are the depths of the earth; the peaks of the mountains are Yours also. The sea is Yours; for it is You who made it; and Your hands formed dry land. Yes, You own and oversee it all--every star that shines, every raindrop that falls, and every flower that opens. You hunt the prey for the lion... You prepare the raven its nourishment... and observe the calving of the deer... You cause the grass to grow for the cattle, and the vegetation for the labor of man. Indeed, You are the Creator, Provider, and Sustainer of all Your creatures both great and small. I thank You, O God, that this truth includes me! I know You have numbered my days on this earth, and each one has been pre-planned by You. I thank You for consistently meeting me morning by morning in order to fill me with confidence; I do not have to worry about the day, for You have already laid it out. Yes, I praise You, Overseer of the Universe, for watching over every step I take.

Psalm 95:3-4; Job 38:39, 41, 39:1; Psalm 104:14; Psalm 139:16; Isaiah 50:4; Proverbs 5:21

Last Saturday morning, we watched the rain fall--another rainy Saturday, bummer.

... And keep falling--wow, that's a lot of rain.

... And keep falling-- goodness, our back yard has a fast flowing stream in it now. Drats, our barn is flooding.

... And keep falling-- there goes our newly planted vegetable garden... now that's what you call a "tossed salad."

We looked out front to see that our road was more like a small river. We counted our two horses in the field, our two dogs, our two cats... eight of us were in the house...arc?

On Saturday at noon, we could joke about it, but by that evening the rain was far from funny. Much of middle Tennesse was undergoing the "flood of the century." Wow... speechless. From this experience, however, I did have some overflowing thoughts:

1. A "for sure" Celebration. On Saturday, we were to give my daughter Maggie a Graduation/Birthday party. So for two days prior to this event, we all joyfully prepared. Many (and I mean many) ham rolls were made by both of Maggie's grandmothers, tasty dips were put together, and so on. The house was clean and ready for friends to enter. But of course, by 2 pm, the only way anyone could get to our home was by boat; needless to say, the party was canceled. My happy, hopeful thought from this disappointment kept running through my mind: I know of a future Celebration that will NOT be canceled, and it's a sure and beautiful thing.

Heaven is coming, my friend; Jesus is preparing a place for us right now, and it will be eternally delightful! He has said, No eye has seen, no ear has heard... all that God has prepared for those who love Him (I Corinthians 2:9).

2. Never in vain. My biggest concern about the cancelled party was the abundance of food. Well, God had a purpose that we party-planners did not presume. Little did we know, that the labor of love done on Friday was going to be food for flood victims on Monday. Ham rolls (and company) were distributed to neighbors, to different families, and to a devastated church site.

How delightful to be used unexpectedly by God who had prepared this work beforehand, that we should walk in it (Ephesians 2:10).

Christian brother and sister, know that your labor here, no matter how menial, is never in vain.

3. Advance Notice. This thought is a little more sobering, but just as true. If I had known in advance that the flood was coming, I would have called every person that I knew to tell them about it. Get ready; move your stuff upstairs; don't drive this way or that...

I know that something far worse than a flood is coming; for the Bible tells me so. The refusal to believe in Jesus Christ, God's Son, will result in certain eternal separation from God, (which would be hell). In His word, He pleads over and over and over again, "Come to Me." Mohammed can't invite, Buddha can't invite, neither can Gandhi or Mr. Good Works; these are mere men and ideals. But Jesus is the radiance of God's glory and the exact representation of His nature (Hebrews 1:3). He IS God who came down to rescue us. And He has invited you to be with Him forever.

I pray these thoughts will flood your heart like they have mine. Let's look forward to our future celebration; but while we wait, let's labor here with God's love and give all those around us advance notice so they can join us... "Upstairs."

I love how the Lord speaks to me in His word and in His ways. This past weekend He had a lesson for me concerning..."whiteness":

On Friday, I had the pleasure of riding in a golf cart with my 14 year old son Davis while he played 9 holes. He would make his drive, and then we would ride off to find the ball, which was (most often) sitting on the plush green fairway. The white ball against the grassy backdrop was pronounced and distinctive.

On Saturday, I went to a bridal shower for a beautiful young lady. At the luncheon, there were white flowers, white gift bags, and white tea cakes (yum). All this white was pure and lovely.

Then on Saturday night, my 17 year old son Bink took a sweet sweet sweet family friend to the prom. He persistently persuaded me into getting a... white tuxedo. After much debate, I relented, and rented. Needless to say, he was absolutely set apart and, okay yes, striking.

And then finally, early on Sunday morning, my avid turkey-hunting husband came barreling in the house announcing with excitement that he had gotten the long-pursued ultimate bird... a white turkey. Mac said these kinds are rare and awesome.

Now, as I was pondering all of this whiteness on Monday morning in my quiet time, trying to make sense of it, listen to the very next Bible verse that I "happened" to read as I turned the page in a devotional book:

Six days later Jesus took with Him Peter and James and John his brother, and led them up on a high mountain by themselves. And He was transfigured before them; and His face shone like the sun, and His garments became white as light. (Matthew 17:1-2).

Like I said, I love the way God works in His word and His ways! All the white this weekend, helped me understand this passage in a deeper way. Jesus Christ is the pronounced, distinctive, pure, lovely, set apart, striking, rare and awesome One. No need to look further for the truth! The passage goes on to say this:

...a bright cloud overshadowed them and behold, a voice out of the cloud said, "This is my beloved Son with whom I am well-pleased; listen to Him!" (Matthew 17:5)

God promises, He has all the answers for our good and His glory. The amazing thing is this: when we stay still enough to listen to Him, and then choose to obey Him, then we will become like Him. We too will be different in a beautiful hope-filled way. Because of Jesus Christ alone,

Though your sins are as scarlet, they will be white as snow..." (Isaiah 1:18).

My friend, for the sake of this dark, confused, lonely, broken world, let us choose white, white, white, white, White.

Over the Easter weekend, my family and I watched The Passion together so that we could contemplate the death and resurrection of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

As I watched this scripturally-based movie, I was struck by how the single emotion, passion, was displayed in two distinct ways:

1. The Passion of Christ. Oh, how He loves us. It's hardly humanly graspable--the depth of His love. God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son...(John 3:16). And this perfect Son is the only One who could take away the sin of the world (John 1:29). No human being, no earthly king, no religious ruler could conquer sin and death once and for all. So the God-man came to our rescue. Nothing was going to stop His passionate pursuit of mankind. So He steadfastly endured the cross.

2. The Passion of the People. Oh, how they hated Him. It's hardly divinely graspable--the depth of their hate (sin). The Jews and Romans alike so hated Jesus that they gave Him over to death. And they kept beating His head with a reed, and spitting at Him, and kneeling and bowing before Him, mocking Him... (Mark 15:19-20). Nothing was going to stop their passionate pursuit of this "blasphemous king." So they steadfastly drove Him to the cross.

I understand now that the crucifixion of Christ is a cross of passions. Heavenly righteousness meets earthly unrighteousness, divine love meets human hate, everlasting life meets eternal death. I know and confess the passion of my sin matches the hurling insults and the gruesome lashes of the Jews and Romans.

But hear the Good News: the passion of God has overcome the passion of man! Jesus' last words were, "It is finished" (John 19:30). He defeated sin, He defeated hate, and He defeated death. Jesus has His arms outstretched begging us to come. You and I must meet Him there and choose to live by one of these passions, His or ours.

"I choose You, dear Jesus! Thank You, my God and Savior for powerfully overtaking me at the cross. I am Yours and You are mine (Song of Sol. 6:3)! Fill me, reign in me. And now, cause me to steadfastly pursue others with Your passion that has replaced mine. I pray that I will persistently point many to the cross so they too can choose Jesus Christ. You promise each of us, he who believes in Him will not be disappointed (Romans 9:33)."

Please, please tell me Spring is here to stay. I don't know about you, but there have been a few days recently that I have felt the need to remind God that Tennessee is a SOUTHERN state (just kidding, God--are we allowed to "kid" God?). However, on other days such as this one, I see and feel the sunshine--ahh. I also see the little blooms poking out of their winter hiding places. Spring greens, lovely purples, and innocent whites are making their announcements.

One other thing that keeps catching my eye as I am on my daily mothering-taxi route is the beautifully-spurting water fountains that are found in several of the neighborhood and city ponds. While observing these fountains springing up into the air as the sun sparkles down on them, God gave me a sweet "love-lesson":

1. The pond itself is God's love. He is the source of all true and perfect love, because He is love (I John 4:16).

2. I am the water pump. Only by God's grace, I am sitting right smack in the center of His love. I must keep my "water pump free of gunk" (sin) so that water will flow through me effectively. I do this by confessing it to the only One Who can keep me clean...

3. Jesus Christ is the Water that springs up through the water pump (me). When I trust Him as Lord and Savior, then it is no longer I who live but Christ who lives in me; and the life that I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me, and delivered Himself up for me (Gal 2:20).

Wow, you and I have been chosen to draw from God's love, contain God's love, and then to shower God's love to all those around us.

Yes, I do love the Way things are springing up.

I am at the forefront of writing my third devotional prayer booklet. The first two, "The Heartbeat of God" and "The Heritage of God", can be subscribed to or downloaded for free via this blog if you are interested. These booklets include 50 prayers all beginning with the phrase, "God, You are ....". I thought I would share one of the prayers that I just recently penned...

God, You are the Problem Solver. You know all things... nothing is too difficult for You. You see the beginning, and You see the end. But here I am again, in the middle of another mess. Dear Lord, I do admit--so often, I am at the root of the problem! I confess my sin before You: my attitude is odious, my mindset is muddled, and my perspective is plagued with pride. I am like a tight and tangled ball of string. Pull me apart with Your Mater-mind, I pray. Start at the beginning and just keep pulling, even if it's humbling and uncomfortable. I ask You to decipher my inmost thoughts and judge the intentions of my heart. Only You, O God, can make my paths straight. And only You can bring sweet peace back into my distorted disposition. So come again, I pray, and do Your lovely work in me. Please continue to strengthen me in Your ways, as You gingerly straighten me out of mine. Thank You, sweet Savior, for faithfully loving this problem-child. You are gracious and compassionate... and Your understanding is infinite; therefore, I can thankfully say, my knots are not knots to You. Amen.

Jeremiah 32:27; Hebrew 4:12; Proverbs 3:6; Psalm 111:4; Psalm 147:5

Rejoice with me that we have a very patient Problem-Solving God. I pray that you will let Him have your knots.