Keegan "Worshiper of God"!

In the third year of the reign of Jehoiakim king of Judah, Nebuchadnezzer king of Babylon came to Jerusalem and besieged it. Daniel 1:1





Before I retired, as most in the work force, I received yearly evaluations. I hated them, not that they were ever bad but I didn't like being critiqued. One of the things on the lists of categories was how I looked. Most supervisors would rate me high on that one I suppose because I loved getting new scrubs for work, so I imagine I looked pretty spiffy. (I actually did retired with the most scrubs on record). "Always neat in appearance" was the way they put it. If they had stopped there I would have felt the experience to be worthless but they did continue to give an evaluation of my work. I wasn't there to look neat, even as much as I liked buying new scrubs, I was there to care for patients. So I wanted a word on that part of my job.

I remember as a teenager I would have given anything for someone to think I looked "neat"! "Cool or as we used to say, Tuff" would have been even better! Back then, as now, looks are very important to young people.

Daniel, of the Bible, was "all that" so on that terrible day that Nebuchadnezzer besieged Judah he was one of those picked. He was of the royal family, handsome, and according to the Book of Daniel, bright as well. Attributes once thought of as good, now seemed to be a curse to the young Daniel. How humiliated he must have felt as the King's servant checked him out like he was a prized horse or oxen. I'm sure Daniel concluded that a "pretty face" was not all it was cracked up to be. Because of these traits he would be carried far from his beloved Judah to live in Babylon.

When I think of Daniel, I can see my grandson Keegan. He is from the royal family (the family of God), he is handsome and he is smart. If Keegan had lived in 605 B.C., he most likely would have stood before the Kings servant as he searched for brightest and the best in all Judah. If I could warn my grandson as well as his peers I would tell them that the devil prowls looking for who he may devour or “besiege” and it seems that young people are under attack. TV and movies glorify beauty and rarely mention or in anyway glorify integrity, honesty or sincerity. Immorality is portrayed as normal if not completely “cool” in the media today. Teenagers are carried away from their Christian beliefs and held as Daniel was in “friendly captivity”. Many times as they search for meaning in life, they find that their captor thinks nothing of them personally, they are just another pretty face but by then he (Satan) has lead them far away from what is good to feast on what is bad.

After arriving in Babylon, Daniel’s name which means “worshiper of God” was changed to the Babylonian name Belteshazzar which means “Bel will protect” (Bel was one of their Gods) but Daniel didn’t let his captors change who he was. He refused to eat from the King’s table and he never forgot that he was Daniel worshiper of the God of Judah!


Sent from Jeanie!

Chocolate Stampede!

When we visit my mom, about an hour away, she always likes to go to her favorite steak house and believe me we don't hesitate to take her. The steaks are tender, moist and the best I have ever eaten. They serve a sweet potato that is out of this world, tasty warm bread and we top it off with a chocolate desert that is "to die for"! I am certain that my, ever-widening hips bare evidence that I love the food that this great eatery serves.

Every chance I get I tell someone about it and especially about the glorious desert that awaits any who go to this place. The name says it all, "Chocolate Stampede"! It takes three waiters and the hostess to carry it out and instead of spoons we practically need shovels (slight exaggeration) but between the three of us we usually put most of it away, leaving Mom a small snack to take home. I am not afraid that those I recommend this restaurant to, will be offended by my telling them about something I love, I have no worry that maybe they might resent me for supposing they don't already know about this delight and I bare no burden to be politically correct when I over flow with praise for it’s culinary superiority.

But it occurred to me that while I gush over my favorite restaurant, I hesitate to tell, even the ones I love, about the best and most precious thing in my life...the Lord? He alone brings a peace that is beyond anything that the world offers. He delights me with His truth and quenches my thirst as he gives me living water. He died that I may have life eternal and live with him in heaven. He is my constant companion, the bible says he is a friend that sticks closer than a brother. Yet I shy from telling the whole world about this extravagant love He has for me, and that even before I knew him he loved me.

Go figure, I have no trouble telling people where to find great food but hesitate, for fear of offending, telling them about the "Bread of Life"!


Then Jesus declared, “I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never go hungry, and he who believes in me will never be thirsty. (John 6:35 NIV84)

Lord, forgive me for my lack of boldness, but in boldness and kindness help me to tell everyone I know about your love and your salvation through Jesus Christ! Amen

That restaurant? I don’t want to advertise here but it is named after what sits atop a bovine’s head!

Feel free to comment about this post, I would love to hear from you!

My Mission: To bring people to know the Lord as a friend but also and most importantly know Him as the Way!

Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

Chisel or Chainsaw?

As we walked toward the entry door of our favorite home improvement store, we couldn't mistake the distinct sound of a chainsaw. There stood many people who took time out from their own projects to watch a master at work on his. All eyes were focused on the chainsaw and the artist holding it. Out of a huge log came a beautiful sculpture of a ferocious looking bear. Maybe a bear would not fit your home decor but I had to admire the skill it took to create this magnificent work of art complete with claws, teeth and hair that stood to attention on his thick neck. I am always amazed at that kind of talent. "God given" comes to mind when I see talent that just seems so effortlessly flow for some people

While chiseling or sculpting wood seems impossible to me, sculpting stone or marble seems incredible. How are images created out of such hard material. How does a hammer and chisel become like a paint brush, and a stone becomes a canvas? How does jagged rock quarried from the ground give way to the beauty of the masters hand?

When asked how he made his statue, Michelangelo is reported to have said, "It is easy, you just chip away the stone that doesn't look like David."

I don't know about you but many of the things about me that I hate seems to be, as they say, set in stone. I hate that I am so easily offended! I hate that I have difficulty forgiving harsh words spoken to me. I hate that I stuff those words down to ferment into something putrid. I hate, I hate and I hate but how do I change? I cannot change I conclude, my flaws are set in stone. Indeed I cannot change on my own, but have I let the Master chip away at everything that doesn't look like Jesus? Actually? No! Have you ever watched anyone chisel or sculpt? It includes a hammer and a sharp instrument! It is hard, first to admit I am at fault (after all, I didn't say mean things) but God certainly talks about forgiveness more than he talks about mean words. Wow, there is some serious "chiselin' goin' on up here!" But if I am to let Jesus chip away I must endure the pain of it as he smoothes the rough edges and I have many. The bible says I am His workmanship, so should I resent him working on me, even if it causes me pain? I say gladly, chip away, Lord, even if a chainsaw is needed. May I be more like Jesus!

For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith–and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God– not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. (Ephesians 2:8-10 NIV84)

When a Tree Falls!

Since I seem to be in the unwanted habit of getting up in the wee hours of the morning I decided to do some cleaning this morning. We have been redecorating our kitchen so I thought it fitting to clean the cabinets inside and out. As I cleaned away, I spied a place up high that I knew had to be dusty and dirty. I got a stool to stand on and alas it was as dirty as I thought. I ran my wet rag across it but the film did not come off. The thought ran through my mind, “if no one can see the dirt, is it still really there”? Kind of like, if a tree falls in a forest and no one hears it, did it make a noise? Or something like that! At 3:00 a.m. you think strange things like that!

Of course even at that early hour, I tried to put that analogy into my life. I remembered that several months back I did a study called Breaking Free by Beth Moore and through this study many of us in our group found we had dirt where no one could see it. The sticky film didn’t bother anyone but the one who knew it was there. It wasn’t always sin in our lives but could be almost anything that hadn’t come out to the light of the Lord’s love.

One morning when we split into groups, my partner was my good friend Bev. She was the one who had invited me to this group so I not only enjoyed studying in this group of women but enjoyed being with my friend of many years.

Bev shared through tears and sobs that she had never felt loved even as a child and though she was most likely loved, she had a hard time believing that she was worthy. Sinful? No, but very damaging for relationships with others as well as God. Through her searching, she had found a sticky dirty place in her heart that I am sure she was tempted to let go. It would be to painful to think about and even harder to clean up. Who would know? I talked to her a few days ago and though layers of that dirt has been wiped away, she has layers to go. With prayer and the Lord’s help I believe she will find even that spot in her life clean. She will break free!

Maybe you do have sin in your life that you have not given to God. No one knows it, no one can see it but year after year the layers of dirt accumulate. Unlike my dirty place above my cabinets which I can clean, my sin needs the Saviors cleansing! His cleansing that can wash us white as snow.

Perhaps God called you many years ago to do something and you set it aside, telling God “I will do that later”. Has this calling accumulated so much dirt that it looks impossible to rescue? Bring it out in the light and give it to God. He will shine it up like new, maybe this time you will heed his call. Maybe he will give you a new one, made for just this time in your life.

Well, after all this thinking, I decided that even though that sticky place could not be seen by anyone except me, I would clean it. I went over it once rather lightly getting no where but then again with a cleaner. Off the dirty film came and I climbed down knowing that all was clean even the places nobody but me could see.

I still have to figure out that whole “Tree in the Forest” thing!

Purify me from my sins, and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow. Psalm 51:7

Deep Roots!

They will be like a tree planted by the water

that sends out its roots by the stream.

It does not fear when heat comes;

its leaves are always green.

It has no worries in a year of drought

and never fails to bear fruit." (Jeremiah 17:8 NIV)

Many of the people who live around us have had to haul water this year because of the draught! But our well has never gone dry even in these extreme conditions. It is thought that our well taps into an underground stream that never dries up. This hidden source of water is not effected by the above normal temperatures that ran over 100 degrees many days this summer. Our garden, unlike the trees near the well, dried up even with our attempts to water, our new bushes look like they have succumbed to the heat and grass is brown in many areas of the yard. The trees in the area of above the stream, on our property however have stayed green and never seems to even notice the extreme heat or lack of rain. I thought of this as I read this morning from the Psalms and as I was directed to read in Jeremiah 17:8.

In these scriptures we are told that those who delight in the "Law of the Lord" or the bible, will send out roots to the source of water. For many years I read my bible with the attitude of duty not necessarily of delight. Not that I didn't find delight but more often than not, it was a ritual that I knew was necessary if I was to maintain my relationship with the Lord. I don't know what changed, but I can now say I delight in His words. Most mornings I seek his word as I would seek water on a hot day. I want my roots to go deep to see his truth. The Lord has shown me truths that have been hidden from me and I now delight as if I have found a treasure because that is what they are. If I neglect this time, I find the desert heat of adversity wilting my spirit.

And I will give you the treasures of darkness and hidden

riches of secret places, that you may know that it is I, the Lord, the God of

Israel, Who calls you by your name. (Isaiah 45:3 AMP)

Out of that love of scripture, came this blog started mainly for my children. In this season of life (retirement) I am able to dig deep, I am not prohibited by a job, or unable due to the constant pull of young children. The Lord has given me this season to share my treasure with those who need fed. My daughters refer to themselves as baby birds with mouths wide open who delight in the morsels I find to feed them. Oh, the Lord is so good!

"See Ya At The House!"

I have been painting our house room by room for the last few weeks. As I have proceeded mindlessly at my task I have had various media to keep me company. Last night I turned on my old VCR to play some Southern Gospel music. Okay, I have been found out! I love the old hymns they sing with the southern flavor and songs that belong uniquely to that genre. I have my favorite singers as well as my favorite songs. As I looked through my collection, I found one entitled "Heaven". Many in the video described what they thought heaven would be like, mostly based on scripture, but was some based their opinion of what a "perfect" place would look like in their mind.

One said it would be a "complete" place that included the beauty of all the seasons at once. One who sat in a wheel chair, instead of dreaming of walking, dreamed of a place of "freedom" and perfect peace.

Several thought that it was a place where, maybe after a rest, God would put us to work. I suppose if you were a carpenter you would never hit your finger with a hammer or have to re-cut a board. If you were a painter of pictures every color would blend together perfectly or a painter of houses would not need to clean the brushes or the spatters you accidentally dropped on the floor. Cakes would always turn our moist, musicians would never hit a flat note, and gardens would have no weeds.

When my grandson Caleb, a college Sophomore was asked some time back, what he thought heaven would be like, he told of a childhood notion that in heaven there would be a Bob Evans restaurant on every corner. When asked why he would think such a thing, he didn't really know, but when I heard this I recalled that as a little boy he called the "favorite" restaurant of Larry and I "Bob Heavens". I laughed as my granddaughter Cati told him that at least he could imagine a Starbucks on every corner instead of the big red barn that was not at all a place where teenagers would hang out.

When saying goodbye to someone he might not see again, one man would always say "See ya at the house" referring to his heavenly home. I like that! Though many varied about the details of heaven most referred to it as going home. I think that while we are young, we give heaven little thought but as we age there is a seed of homesickness that begins to grow inside each of us. Heaven becomes sweeter and the thought of death loses it's sting. God is so good!

I plan to see all my grandchildren, from the oldest to the youngest, marry, have children of their own and find their place in this world as followers of Jesus. I plan to have pancakes at Bob Evans every chance I get and kiss baby heads as long as my children keep having new ones. I want to listen to Southern Gospel music until my VCR breaks down and raise my hands to "Amazing Grace" for the next thirty years but if perhaps God wants me sooner "See ya at the house"!

"There's a Promise Coming Down That Dusty Road"

Many times as I go to the Lord in prayer, I love to pray scripture. One of my favorite scripture prayers is when I remind the Lord that "the one you love is sick". Sometimes I mean they are physically sick, it could be emotionally sick or most likely it is spiritually sick. I have stood in the gap for stressful situations when someone was sick with worry, sick with grief or sick of living. When I speak these words they flow from deep within my soul and the depth of my need, puts a desperate urgency in my voice as I plead "Dear Lord, the one you love is sick"! Please come! Sometimes I pray this prayer about myself, though I am sick I remember His love for me.

I don't remember when I started praying this way but I know where the words came from. John 11 tells a familiar story of Mary, Martha and Lazarus. These siblings were dear friends of the Savior the bible says He loved them. Lazarus became very ill so the sisters did the only thing they knew to do, they sent their request to Jesus.

The messenger was to go to Jesus and say "Lord, the one you love is sick"! Notice, it was not the one who loves YOU is sick, the one who serves YOU is sick or the one who preaches about YOU is sick, but it was "the one YOU love is sick! That just amazes me! We sometimes think in order for God to hear us when we pray we must love him but the truth is he loved us before we even knew him. He answers prayer because he loves us.

Jesus did not go right away but waited until Lazarus had died. How disappointed the sisters were that the savior was too late. Sometimes we feel that God has not heard our prayers or doesn't care about our need but as with Lazarus, he always hears our prayers and has a plan to answer in his timing and in his way.

I love a southern Gospel song that has a catchy chorus "There's a promise coming down that dusty road!". Have you ever sent word to Jesus that the one he loves needs his help, only to stare down that dusty road waiting for Him to save the day by arriving on time? Have your eyes grow tired as you strained to see any sign of Him? Me too!

As the story goes Jesus went to Bethany, He wept as he saw their pain and then he did as he had planned! He called a dead man to come forth! Sometimes a miracle much bigger than we know how to pray for is coming down that dusty road. "Lord, the one You love is sick". I find comfort in knowing that we are loved! I find my hope as I strain to see the Lord coming down that dusty road!