Redeemer

Redeem the day, Lord. 

Buy this day from the slave market of hectic. 

Redeem it from the cruel master of discouragement. 

Buy it back from the whip of fear. 

Redeem it from exhaustion of people frustration. 

Redeem it from black pride. Mine. 

Redeem it from emotional whirls. 

Redeem it from body-tired.

Redeem this day to peace. Reminders that I'm at peace with You, and that covers it. 

Redeem it to hope. Hope in You. Hope in Your future for me. 

Redeem it to safety in You. Fulness of belonging, being cherished. 

Redeem it to your love. That love that never gives up, never stops. Never fails. Ever.

Redeem with humility. My head, my life bowed before Your greatness. 

Redeem it to quietness. Redeem with rest. Soul rest. Spirit rest. The rest of one who knows the One who knows her. 

Come Great Redeemer. Please come to this day you have made. Let your sun shine it’s warmth and beauty of redemption. I’m no redeemer, but You are. Buy my day, Redeemer. 

Seekers praise!

Psalm 22:6 All who seek the Lord will praise Him. Pausing my hurry-up self to meditate on this one. It could be saying that the way to seek the Lord is through praising Him. And that’s not wrong.

Countless encouragements to praise the Lord exist in Scripture. Could even be obedience to follow this path. And we should do this all the time, daily, hourly. All the time. But that’s not the only way to seek the Lord.

Prayer, quietness, the Word are all paths for God-seekers. What if this bit of Scripture is saying that if we seek Him, the only possible response will be to praise Him? Saying that since those who seek God will find Him, that the seeker will end the journey with praise because that God, the one Who sought us first, is all glorious, full of power and love, magnificent in His being, and worthy of all praise.

If He is worthy of praise, then nothing else is, because there is just no comparison to Him. Or, conversely, if anything else is on the chart of praise-worthiness, then He is so far off the top of the chart as to be out of sight.

 Lord, you are out-of-sight wonderful! You are magnificent! You are full of grace and glory!

Comforter

Comfort Blessed comfort to connect, really connect with the heart of a fellow traveler. To hear that heart respond, revealing the value of that connection, the encouragement that for once, I saw the heart instead of bouncing off the tissue-paper veneer of a "public face." Am I such a veneer person that I don't invite this kind of connection? Or am I protecting my veneer so carefully that I can't recognize this comfort when it comes? I need the comfort of knowing that someone sees me and risks connecting with the real me. Maybe I need to slow down so I don't miss the comfort moments that do come my way... It's the Comforter's gentle presence I need most of all. Slow down. Breathe. He is here. and He comforts.

After....

Everything is after right now. After my husband died. After learning to run his business. After surviving our anniversary without him. After a family Christmas without him. After winter darkness without his cheer. After buying a new car without him. After...well it's all after him now. But it's also after I found out I can learn to run this business. After I managed to buy that car all by myself. After I changed some things in the house and planned to change some more. After I found a new, fresh clarity in the channel between me and my heavenly Father. After I figured out how to buy groceries for just one person. After I fought countless dragons of paperwork that breathe fire after someone dies. After is now. I miss him; that's a constant. But it's fine. I'm enjoying my life, after, and finding that there is great joy remaining to me after this day, and after this week and this year. Actually, after is really before lots of new adventures and blessings that are coming my way. And I'm so thankful.

Bible power

"The BIBLE -- banned, burned, beloved.  

More widely read, more frequently attacked than any other book in history.
 
Generations of intellectuals have attempted to discredit it,  

Dictators of every age have outlawed it and executed those who read it.  

Yet soldiers carry it into battle believing it more powerful than their weapons.  

Fragments of it smuggled into solitary prison cells have transformed ruthless killers into gentle saints" 
                                                                                
                                                                                                                       (Charles Colson)

I have been driven many times upon my knees by the overwhelming conviction that I had nowhere else to go. -Abraham Lincoln

First things first....

Want to understand the Bible? It's possible.God wants you to understand it; that's why He gave it to us.  A few steps might make this easier and more meaningful for you.

First step: Talk to the Author. 

Father, Thank you for your Book. You didn't have to communicate with us so clearly, but I'm glad You did.  Please help me now as I open it and read.  I need to know Your heart, Your mind and not be led by my own ideas and thoughts.  Please send your Spirit to guide and teach me now.  In Jesus' name, Amen