My husband and I celebrated our 20th wedding anniversary last week. We couldn't do too much celebrating that night. We had a church meeting and our son needed to be dropped off and picked up from band practice. We did go to dinner and we are going to go away for a weekend sometime soon.

When we decided to get married in January of 1980, we tried to find a weekend that was free so we could get married. My husband is a high school coach and, at the time, coached wrestling and football. He only had the first weekend in February and the next one was in August. I wanted to wait until August since I am not a spur-of-the-moment kind of person. Well, my husband wanted to get married right away. I tried to talk him out of a February wedding, but he pushed my button. He called me chicken.

That did it. We got married in February. As it is, our anniversary is easy to remember since it is on a major holiday. What? You don't know what major holiday falls the first week of February??

It's GROUNDHOG'S DAY! HA HA HA HA

I've only once been in the position of defending my views on the Trinity. I don't usually bring up the subject while witnessing to people. I have taught about it off and on in my Sunday School classes, but that is about it.

I have an eight-color pencil that I use to color code scriptures in my Bible. I had dedicated one color to things that I found that indicated there was a Trinity. I do not hold my beliefs in the Trinity because of what I have been taught. I believe because I have seen plenty of proof of it in the Bible. I also believe because the Lord has given me a vision of how He fills me by means of the Holy Spirit.

Well, the Lord has prompted me to place the information I gathered on a web page. If you are interested in checking it out then you can find it here.

I am going to be in a spiritual battle this afternoon. Our church has been going through a great deal of turmoil in the past few months. Satanhas been shutting down what the Lord was raising up. I will be heading up a prayer vigil at the church beginning at 1:00PM PST and going until God says, "Go home."

I am preparing myself. I don't know what to expect. I don't know what types of pray-ers will show up. We have never spent time in community prayer at that church since I've been attending it. Someone in a leadership position was heard to say that it doesn't do much good to spend any longer than five minutes in prayer. I guess that might be the reason why there is a lack of effective prayer.

Unfortunately, many people do not know what the Bible says about prayer. They just mimic the prayers they hear their "spiritual leaders" pray. It could be a very interesting time. Like I said, I don't know what to expect.

I do know that it is vital for us to stand united and fight the unholy activity that has been allowed to take place there as well as seek God's face and find out what He wants each of us to do. I have a feeling that there will be some who have never heard anyone confront demonic activity and I know for a fact that there will be someone there (that person in authority I told you about) who does not believe that God speaks to us except for what is written in the Bible. Sigh.

Link to the 2/2/00 Bible study.

Today is Valentine's Day, a day to celebrate love. Well, if that's the case, let's celebrate God! GOD IS LOVE!

Let's analyze this. If God is love where did the love that people have for other people originate? From God, of course! He gave you that love in the first place and there is more where that came from. Have you ever truly felt the love that God has for you? I mean TRULY felt it? You'll know if you have. It is such a glorious feeling! It defies being described in human terms. The best I can do is that it enfolds you and surrounds you with an awesome warmth. Once you feel it you then know how special you truly are to your Daddy in Heaven.

Once you experience His love for you then you will be amazed at how much easier it is to feel love for other people. I don't just mean the people that you already love, but people who are unlovable even! It is absolutely glorious!

Coincidentally (I use that word tongue-in-cheek. I believe in God. There are no coincidences!) I ended up finishing reading 2 Peter this morning during my morning time with the Lord. That, in itself, doesn't mean anything until you look at the next book coming up: 1 John. I've titled it, "All About Love." When I read it I see over and over how much God loves us.

Of course, this week's Bible study will be coming out of 1 John. As I am writing this I don't have any idea which verse(s) we will examine, but there is no doubt that it will come out of the book that is, "All About Love!"

When I taught youngsters in Sunday School we would always make a whole bunch of Valentines, enough for everyone in church. Then the kids would stand outside the door and wait for people to arrive. Each person would get a Valentine. The kids would get so excited that most people would end up with two or three! Each Valentine would say:

Thank you for your prayers for my church's need for a pastor. It is important that we get a pastor that listens to what God wants him to say and do.

Yes, anyone who makes a decision on their own what message they will give and then gives a message that is in line with the Bible's teachings is not doing anything wrong. However, God knows what exact message needs to be given. Not only that, He knows what words need to be said that will feed someone or everyone in the congregation.

A pastor who moves in tune with the song being played by the Holy Spirit in his heart will enable God to touch the hearts and minds of the people listening. God knows exactly where each person is in their walk with Him. He knows exactly what will edify and build up each person.

God will orchestrate each service, each Bible study, and each prayer group. God will cause the Sunday School teachers (if they are allowing Him to tell them what lesson to teach) to teach on something that ties in with the sermon. The songs chosen to sing (if that person is open to the Holy Spirit's direction) will all be perfectly matched to the entire production. Let me tell you, GOD IS A MASTER CHOREOGRAPHER AND PRODUCER! The results will ALWAYS be glorious!

As an ending note I want to share with you a portion of a devotional I received last week. I gave a copy of it to our pastor-picking committee. I pray they heed the very important message in that devotional. It was written by Ed Wrather from The Burning Bush.

"Many churches are searching for pastors but they are looking with the eyes of the world. If Jesus were to submit a resume to your church you would most likely reject it. Why? Because he had no formal education. His only work background prior to ministry was as a lowly carpenter and He came from a little unknown place called Nazareth. Even after he began his ministry he didn't go to seminary and he just wandered around from place to place with his little cult of followers.

"The point being that before we consider others unusable or unqualified we need to consider what God thinks. Before you consider yourself unusable or unqualified you need to know what God thinks."

Link to the 2/14/00 Bible study.

Rain rain rain rain. That's what we've been getting lately. This fall and winter started out dry dry dry. We just weren't getting any rain. We were getting what seemed more like summer weather. The only difference was it got really cold at night.

Now we are getting day after day of rain. So far, where we live, it has been pretty much slow and steady rather that coming down in torrents. However, the ground has become soaked and so things may start getting ugly.

We have a wash behind our back yard. Our yard slopes down to the wash. When we get too much rain the wash rises and tries to rearrange the lowest part of our yard. It has been a few years now since we've had that much rain. I pray it stops before we get to that point.

I can't imagine getting out of bed each morning not knowing that God is in charge and that He is able to do anything. I can't imagine thinking that every single thing that happens to me will be chance or good or bad "luck." I don't want to think about having to think that I am in charge of my own destiny (well, except when someone crashes into my car or runs me over in a crosswalk, of course).

When I get out of bed I tell the Lord, "Good morning." I know that He sees what is in front of me. I know that He has control over whether a car hits me or an earthquake levels my house. I can't imagine not wanting to believe in God. I guess some people think it is better to imagine yourself in charge of everything. I surely don't want to be in charge. I have no control whatsoever!

It has been many many years since I have been in total despair over anything. When my middle son was in the Navy there was a period of time when I thought there was a good possibility he might be dead. It's not like I wasn't grieving, but I wasn't in despair. I knew, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that God, in His infinite wisdom, had allowed it to happen. My youngest son got his Bible and wrote Romans 8:28 on a slip of paper and taped it to the wall by the phone, "And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose." It is still there and it has been seven years even though we found out he was OK.

I know that all three of my sons are saved. I asked God to reveal their salvation status to me and He was gracious. If any of them should die then our separation will only be temporary. Some day we shall all be reunited! If you are not sure if you are saved, or if you know you aren't then I suggest you go back up to the top of this page and click on the link to "Jesus---the Only Way" and contemplate on what you read. Ask God to show you what you need to do. He will.

Are you interested in having, "Peace that passes all understanding?" (Phil 4:7) Would you like everlasting joy upon your head with sorrow and sighing fleeing away? (Is 35:10) It is yours, you just have to obtain it. Ephesians 1:3, "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ." Do you need any?

Link to the 2/21/00 Bible study.

HAPPY LEAP DAY!!!

It's my understanding that Leap Year Day is the day that catches everything up to where it should be. Wait a second....how come I'm not all caught up then? What good is it if I'm still behind? Someone needs to come out with a new and improved Leap Day if you ask me!

I didn't get this updated until late Tuesday this week. Things happen that aren't scheduled and that has a tendency to mess up the best laid plans.

One thing that has a tendency to throw a wrench in the works is kids. I used to kid my niece when she was younger and say, "Don't have kids. You'll be much happier!" She and I would laugh.

It really hurts when you see your child doing something that you know is a huge mistake. Unfortunately nobody has found a way that you can drill a hole in their brain and insert your experiences so they can see for themselves that what you are saying makes sense. So many times they have to make their mistakes in order to learn from them. However, sometimes the mistake is so big that it is not correctable. As a parent I have shed many tears for my children. It hurts me worse when they get hurt than when I get hurt.

God, too, hurts when we make wrong choices. He is the perfect Father and has the perfect plan for us, but we generally tend to walk in our own plan which frequently ends up not perfect at all. He gives us the opportunity to choose between His plan and our own and then watches sadly as we choose the wrong one. It is the same as us watching our children choosing the wrong one. So often they walk away from the opportunities we offer them just like we walk away from seeking God's will. It hurts to be a parent.

Then there are the times when our children are seeking to do the right things and make the right decisions. When they are walking the right path we are willing to assist them in any way we can to help them reach their goals. We don't hesitate to give them money (if we have any, of course) or offer them a place to live because we know we are giving them a boost in the right direction. That is no different than God providing us with the food and other things we need when we are walking in His will.

"Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment?

Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they? Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto his stature? And why take ye thought for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin: and yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which to day is, and to morrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith?

Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed? (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things. But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you."

I thank God that I never have to despair. Even though I am sad, even though I feel powerless, even though I see things that hurt me I can be sure that God is in control. I hang on to the things I know. I hang on to the fact that God has the power that I lack to change situations. I rest in Him.

Link to the 2/29/00 Bible study.