1 Peter 5:6-7
Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you at the proper time, casting all your anxiety on Him, because He cares for you.


Psalm 55:22
Cast your burden upon the LORD and He will sustain you; He will never allow the righteous to be shaken. 


Cast your anxiety, cast your cares, cast your burden. The verb means to throw far away (my definition). Think of fishing, when you cast your line, you are sending it way out there. Not only does The Lord promise to carry our cares and burdens for us, but He also directs us to cast them onto Him. Heave them over, not to be retrieved. He isn't merely offering to help carry the load while we continue to slump along under even the partial weight of them, He tells us to throw it onto Him. Entirely.

Deuteronomy 7:9 (RSV)


Know therefore that the Lord your God is God, the faithful God who keeps covenant and steadfast love with those who love him and keep his commandments, to a thousand generations...


This Old Testament verse often plays on repeat through my head.  I know it as a little memory verse song (G.T. and the Halo Express is great for that!).  I've been thinking about all the elements of the verse, meditating on it, I suppose.

Know therefore that the Lord your God is God.  -- Not, consider, not guess, not suppose, not wonder...just KNOW. Trust in your knowledge, have faith, be sure. Know that He is God.  He is who He says He is. No room for doubt.

He is faithful and will keep His promise to us.  We can be sure of his never-ending love.

Our job - Love Him and keep His commands.

Know that He is God.

O God, You are my God;
Early will I seek You;
My soul thirsts for You;
My flesh longs for You
In a dry and thirsty land
Where there is no water.

Psalm 63:1

In Southern California right now, we are experiencing a drought. The signs on the road say, "serious drought; save water." So, physically right now, I am living in a dry and thirsty land without water. It affects me physically. My eyes are itchy, my nose is sniffly, my lips are chapped, and my skin is dry. I am able to see this very clear picture of what is like to not have water. I am physically thirsty. It is not a comfortable feeling.

Likewise, if I am living in a spiritual drought, in a land void of refreshment, I will be affected. I will not feel well. But by receiving Him, the Living Water, my thirst will be quenched and I will be refreshed. My soul THIRSTS for You.

The very best way to consistently quench my thirst and longing is to seek and meet Him first thing in the morning.  Not only will this set the "mood" and mindset for my day, but for a busy person like me, this is the only time I consistently have that I can choose to be alone.

I'm on a little mini-vacation right now.  I am spending a few days in Palm Springs with my parents.  Last night I was terribly dismayed to find I had forgotten to pack my Daily Light.  Then immediately, I was so glad to feel that way since this meant I have built a habit and a longing for this little snippet of His Word.  Fortunately, (because of finding it online to copy and paste for this blog) I remembered to just look it up online...little void filled.

I'll take this moment to thank you for reading.  This blog (and your readership) has really supported my discipline in spending time in the Word and spending time listening to Him.  Thank you.

2 Timothy 4:6–8
For I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure is at hand.  I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.  Finally, there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give to me on that Day, and not to me only but also to all who have loved His appearing.

I am oh so good at starting things.  One look through the shelves in my sewing room and you can find a ton of started projects....  Finishing, I'm not quite as good at that. I get bored, I get busy, I get stuck and can't figure out the next step... I intend to finish, but I haven't yet.

I want to be able to say, of my life, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.

I know me. I can only do this with His help. I may be stubborn, but I tend to lack "will-power." The good thing about this, I am forced to rely on "God-power."

Matthew 26:40-41 NKJV
Then He came to the disciples and found them sleeping, and said to Peter, “What! Could you not watch with Me one hour? Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.

Be alert, be watchful, be aware, be mindful. These are what we need to be doing in order to avoid the lure of temptation, to avoid doing the things we ought not do, and do the things we ought.

If we go through life without paying attention, our human inclinations take over, without us even knowing. It isn't that we are necessarily willfully sinning, but unless we are purposeful in our decisions, actions, and thinking, we will fall into what is easy, what feels good, what is natural, what is tempting.

What struck me about this verse this week is the "always-ness" of it. I need to be watching, and praying, constantly...not just when a big decision comes along, not just when an obvious temptation is waggling its finger at me. Always.

We are instructed to not only watch, but to also pray. Watching allows us to be aware of the potential pitfalls in our path, the candy stores tempting us with all their goodies. Praying, allows us to hear from God what he would have us do in each situation. It isn't that we have to avoid all situations, that wouldn't be living in the world. But we do need to avoid entering in to temptation, avoid living of the world. So it's two-fold...watch and pray. Be alert and listen.

Here I am
Down on my knees again
Surrendering all
Surrendering all
Find me here
Lord as You draw me near
Desperate for You
Desperate for You
I surrender
Drench my soul
As mercy and grace unfold
I hunger and thirst
I hunger and thirst
With arms stretched wide
I know You hear my cry
Speak to me now
Speak to me now
I surrender
I surrender
I want to know You more
I want to know You more
Like a rushing wind
Jesus breathe within
Lord have Your way
Lord have Your way in me
Like a mighty storm
Stir within my soul
Lord have Your way
Lord have Your way in me

We sang this at Bible Study on Thursday night. I like the song a lot, but Thursday, I let the lyrics sink in. In order to know Him more, I have to surrender, and have less of me. If I expect to hear Him speak to me, I need to be still and silent.  Not just silent in voice, but in my thoughts as well.

I've lived in Southern California for over 13 years, so I've started to acclimate to the temperatures.  Today we finally had a day close to being considered winter.  It was about 36 degrees when I woke up and headed out the door.  Now, that's nothing compared to the temperatures and weather that my east coast family and friends have been experiencing... BUT to me and my California thin blood, it was a cold, dark morning. At 4:20AM. When my alarm went off. Urging me to get out of bed...

I had negative desire to get out of bed this morning, and even less desire to drive to the pool and swim before work.  Did I mention that the pool is outside? And it was really cold this morning?

When I get up, one of the first things I do (I am so grateful that this has become a habit!) is read the verses in Daily Light.  Once again, today's were hand picked for me and my situation.  I read them in New King James Version, but here they are in English Standard Version:

Be strong… work, for I am with you, declares the Lord of hosts.”“I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.”—I can do all things through him who strengthens me.—Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might.—“The joy of the Lord is your strength.”

Thus says the Lord of hosts: “Let your hands be strong, you who in these days have been hearing these words from the mouth of the prophets.”—Strengthen the weak hands, and make firm the feeble knees. Say to those who have an anxious heart, “Be strong; fear not!”—And the Lord turned to him and said, “Go in this might of yours.”

If God is for us, who can be against us?—Therefore, having this ministry by the mercy of God, we do not lose heart.

And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up.—But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
Hag. 2:4; John 15:5; Phil. 4:13; Eph. 6:10; Neh. 8:10; Zech. 8:9; Isa. 35:3, 4; Judg. 6:14; Rom. 8:31; 2 Cor. 4:1; Gal. 6:9; 1 Cor. 15:57“


So with a renewed strength of spirit, I set out into the cold, dark morning. I swam over a mile...working on strengthening my body as well.  How much better my days are when I begin focused on Him.

I lead a rather busy life. Very easily, I find myself segmenting each component, trying to organize and get everything done.  Too often this includes placing God into particular portions of my life while leaving Him out of others. 

Of course I know this isn't right and isn't what He wants or deserves from me.  It's just that I get going trying to get everything done and somehow decide that I am the only one that  can do it all, or at least do it all properly.

I want to give Him entrance into, and even control over, every aspect of my life.  This week, through my verse meditation, I'd like to focus on this.  I think that if, in addition to thinking about the words of the verse, I have a focused application, I will gain a deeper understanding of His Word.

This week, I'll be meditating on Philippians 3:8.

Philippians 3:8-11 (ESV)
8 Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ 9 and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith— 10 that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, 11 that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead.

I found it hard to meditate on JUST verse 5 without verse 6 joining us in my thoughts.
Trust the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding.
A strategy my husband recommended for my meditation is to take time to think about the verse while emphasizing a different word in the sentence each time.  In this case, it really struck me when I emphasized "own."

Here I am trying to learn how to love the Lord with all my mind, and I'm reading to NOT lean on my understanding?  How does that work?  It all comes down to that word OWN. The first part, "Trust the Lord with all your heart..." that makes sense to us.  We get what it means to trust.  Here, we are trusting with our hearts...our emotions. The second part isn't as obvious, or at least, it wasn't to me.  "...lean not on your own understanding." This could be restated, Trust the Lord with all your mind.

Think of the trust games we've done at camps or in team building exercises.  You are expected to trust the other person to catch you as you do what? Oh, yeah, LEAN back...  When I think of it that way it makes perfect sense.  Lean fully on God's understanding.  Lean fully on Him.  Trust Him. Heart and Mind.

True fellowship is such an integral  part of our walk, of our lives as Christians.  Unfortunately, it is an element that is frequently overlooked or misunderstood.

Fellowship involves relating with and caring for the whole of another person; emotionally, intellectually, and spiritually.  Too often, the church world equates simply having a meal together and talking as fellowship.

As we are reading Life Together (Bonhoeffer), I am starting to learn a little more about true fellowship; not only what it is, but also the value it carries.  On Friday evening, my husband and I were privileged to get together with our small group of friends and experience a time of fellowship. We have all been reading the same text, so we spent the bulk of the time discussing our insights and questions related to that (intellectual and spiritual).  We also spent a length of time sharing prayer requests (emotional and spiritual) before calling the kids into the room as well and praying as a group of believers (spiritual).

I am grateful for this time.  My heart, soul, and mind long for it. I am excited to see the fruit that will be borne from our times spent in true fellowship with one another.