I have recently come across two different bible verses that use the same word.One verse is rather familiar to us as believers. It says,Cease striving and know that I am God. Psalm 46:10The other verse is penned by Paul, whose ambition in life was to know Christ, and to make Him known. He says,I labor for this, striving with His strength that works powerfully in me. Col. 1:29When looking at these two scriptures, one says not to strive, and the other talks about how it's "right" to strive. How can this be? I beleive it has to do with the motive of our hearts. We must each answer this question honestly:What am I striving for?....for more money, more power, more prestige, more success in this world? If so, SELF is at the center of my motives. If this is the case, an inner dissatifsfaction will restlessly reside at the core of my heart. I must choose to hear the Lord say: Cease striving and know that I am God.....or am I striving to know Him and make Him known in my family, in my workplace, and in the positions God has placed me in for such a time as this (Esther 4:14). If this is the case, I can expect His strength to work powerfully in me! Jesus puts it like this, No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money. (Matthew 6:24).So I ask myself daily, am I striving... or am I striving?Dear Lord Jesus, May You be at the core of my heart. Check my motives, clean me out, and fill me up. Make me content in the positions You have put me in. Help me not to strive for more, more, more. May my labor TODAY not be about climbing any man-made ladder, but about humbling walking with You...towards others. Use me up, O God, for Your glory. Thank You for entrusting me with Your powerful strength...for such a time as this. Amen.

We live in a day and age where the phone is always at hand; it is literally attached to us. It has the amazing ability to "speak" to us through text, facebook, snapchat, instagram, twitter, etc. (Oh yea, sometimes we actually talk to someone on it.) Does it ever stop?! I was telling a young teenage friend of mine that if not careful, this gadget can take the place of God's Word in dictating our thoughts, emotions, and actions.When comparing the phone and the bible, here are some questions to answer:1. Which one is full of complete truth? Which one sometimes holds half-truths and mixed messages?2. Which one will NEVER fail you, and brings great peace to your heart? Which one sometimes lets you down, and creates confusion, jealousy, or even anger?3. Which one makes you both secure and mature in who you are and how God made you? Which one sometimes causes you to question yourself and how your are wired?4. If you were asked to put one of these objects down for a couple of days, which one would make you feel anxious to let go of?I challenged my young friend to answer these questions honestly, and then to put up boundaries where needed in this high tech world. Realize, the bible is God's communication "gadget" and His words are full of hope and truth:The law of the Lord is perfect, reviving the soul; the testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple; the precepts of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart; the commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes. Psalm 19:7-8Everyone who hears these words of Mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock. Matthew 7:24-25May His word be your lifeline...always at hand, and literally attached to you.

I am a visual learner, so whenever the Lord plants a picture in my brain, I quickly get out my notebook and put it on paper. Recently, God showed me a picture that spoke of His character amidst my circustances. This simple drawing is a not a new spirtual concept--it's more of a foundational reminder to you and me as believers:

God is good, faithful, love, all-knowing... and He is the same, yesterday, today, and forever (Hebrews 13:8). He NEVER changes. However, my circumstances, can fluctuate quite dramatically. At times, I'm a virtual internal, and sometimes external, roller coaster.

A minor example: I am at the beach with only my husband, which is very, very good. The first morning we woke up to the sound of the waves, the white sand, the warm sunshine... again very, very good. Who would doubt God at a time like this? The second morning however, I woke up to the same beach, in the same cozy condo, with the same sun, but within minutes of this spectacular view, I was experiencing a penetrating migraine that blurred my vision and made me nauseous... not good at all.

At times like this, I must remember the concept that God never changes. He is just as good, faithful, loving, and all-knowing in the lows of my days, weeks, months, and even seasons of my life as He is in the highs.

It's so easy to praise Him in the "feel good" stuff, isn't it? We find ourselves on the mountain top, singing "hallelujahs" and "thank You's" at the top of our lungs! But in the lows, it must become what God might call the "faith good" stuff. When we're in the pit spiritually, physically, or circumstantially, can we still sing praises concerning His unchanging character? Do we believe Him during these times? Can we say, like Job did, after he was struck with peril on all sides, The Lord gives, the Lord takes away, blessed be the name of the Lord (Job 1:21).

I have come to find out that in the "faith good" stuff of my life, the deep stuff, God Himself becomes more evident, and I begin to understand more of Him... and HE is very, very good...in spite of anything I might experience.

Trust Him, my friend, in the highs and in the lows of this life. Praise Him when His goodness is beautiful and obvious, and praise Him when your vision is painful and blurred. May His unchanging character be the unshakeable bedrock of your faith.

I have been told that taking a multivitamin on a daily basis is important. My understanding is that once these store-bought pills are swallowed, they dissolve in the stomach, travel through the bloodstream, and then go to work in their designated areas; in time, the recipient can expect positive results. After all, the vitamin bottle advertises: designed to unlock energy and support metabolism. Wow, why wouldn't I want that kind of power-surge traveling through me on a daily basis, right? (Any minute now, that promised energy is going to invade each cell of my body, I just know it...)Just as our physical bodies need certain essentials to maintain our health, so do our souls. Everyday, we need an intake of God's truth in our Heart, so that it can dissperse into our Bloodstream, and then create new Life in us. This kind of "spiritual vitamin", like the physical ones, will also go to work in it's designated areas. One biblical promise in God's word will speak into one area of our life, while another trustworthy verse will help us somewhere else.So, take your vitimins, the ones for your body, AND the ones for your soul. They are daily and essential!As a matter of fact, I will give you a couple "to digest" below. My prayer is that you will indeed receive them deep into your being. Let these healthy words affect you exactly the way in which your Helper and your Healer designs them to function. Physical vitamins in labeled bottles don't always produce their advertised results; but the "soul-vitamins" found in the Good Book, never fail when taken with a humbled heart:God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. He who has the Son has the life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life. (I John 5:12)Do not fear, for I am with you; do not look anxiously about you, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, surely I will help you, Surely I will uphold you with My righteous right hand. (Isaiah 41:10)

All throughout Scripture, God creatively uses comparisons and contrasts to teach Christians about who He is, and how we should live. For example, think of the house that is built on solid rock compared to the house built on sinking sand (Matthew 7:24-27). Also, think of a flourishing tree by a stream; while in contrast, picture a dried up bush in the desert (Jeremiah 17:5-8). Both of these passages teach us the benefits as well as the burdens of living a life with or without trusting and obeying God. Where the bible sometimes seems so difficult to understand, these colorful pictures of life are so very elementary to any reader!I came across another comparison/contrast verse this morning:For the mind set on the flesh is death, but the mind set on the Spirit is life and peace. (Romans 8:5)There is no wiggle room in this verse; what we think about can lead us to death or life. The word mindset is defined as "the established set of attitudes held by someone." Hmm... what's my attitude? (I would rather not answer that at times.) What is my mind seton?Theflesh: the worries of this world, the pleasures of this world, successes, failures, plans, hopes, dreams?Or theSpirit: God Himself, who He is, and also the great things He has done in His word, in His creation, and in me? (Yes, HE is in me, and that is a great thing!)One of these patterns of thinking is a dead-end road, possibly enjoyable for a moment, but only to be followed by discontent and despair; on the other hand, the Spirit-filled mindset lends itself to a fresh start every day to the God of wonders, who has the best for His children in every circumstance. The fleeting pleasure of the flesh is nothing compared to His eternal love abiding in a submitted soul.So next time you find yourself confused about the past, or striving in the present, or fearful over the future, change your mindset from the flesh to the Spirit. He loves you and the beautiful truth is: His mind is set on you. He can (and longs to) out-do your best man-made ideas any day, and every day. The question is, do you believe this?Sinking sand, or solid rock? Dried up bush, or fruitful tree? The flesh, or the Spirit? It's a mindset.

Today is my younger son's birthday. Davis is a tall, strong, focused, God-loving, now 17 year-old young man. We look forward to celebrating him on this special day. As his momma, I cherish the fact that his life goes on...And also today, we will celebrate Christmas with my extended family five days "late." Brothers, sisters, cousins, aunts, uncles, parents, and grandparents will all gather around the table for yummy food, much conversation, lots of laughs, and maybe even some tears. I look forward to this time together, and am thankful for the birth of our Savior. Because of this gift at Christmas, life goes on...And then also today, we will bury my grandmother. The same family members that gather around the dinner table will also honor a beautiful, playful, carefree woman who lived life to the fullest measure, until she couldn't. We will all celebrate her together, and rejoice that her life goes on...John 1:4 says, In Him (Jesus) was life, and that life was the light of men.Today, I have both joy and peace in Jesus Christ. HE.... IS.... LIFE.Because of His life, birthdays and seasonal celebrations, and yes, even funerals are filled with hope beyond this present moment. An eternal weight of glory is ahead of us!Jesus says, I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me will live, even if he dies, and whoever lives and believes in Me will never die. Do you believe this? (John 11:25). Today, I rejoice because our family believes this, and we are all confident that because of Christ...Life will go on... and on... and on...