I'm glad to see you again/for the first time. (Circle one) I am excited about starting a fresh week with my Father in Heaven. He told me this morning that this is a day of new beginnings. I like the sound of that. I've been focusing on strengthening my relationship with Him and a new beginning sounds exciting!

I can walk through today, dealing with each thing that comes along by using my experiences and my intelligence. That's not a bad thing when you examine it. As a matter of fact, most people would say that is the only thing I can do.

Well, I choose to allow God to stay between me and whatever comes along today. I want to be listening for what He wants me to say and how He wants me to handle things. My experiences and intelligence are not even a speck in comparison to His; they are not even worth mentioning as a matter of fact! I choose to disregard my reaction to things and to focus on His.

He has placed me here for a reason. God told Jeremiah to tell Judah, "For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end. Then shall ye call upon me, and ye shall go and pray unto me, and I will hearken unto you. And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart." (Jeremiah 29:11-13) God has not changed. What He told Judah holds true today.

He has planned an expected end for our lives. He has placed us here to fulfill a portion in His perfect plan. That doesn't mean that it will happen the way He wants because He allows us the freedom to choose our way or His way. Notice it says we will find Him when we search for Him with ALL OUR HEART!

If your house/apartment/mobile home/domicile/residence (circle one) caught fire, what would be the first thing you would grab? The second? The third?

Eleven years ago the wash behind our house caught fire. The wind was blowing the flames up into the yards along our side of the wash. My neighbor saw smoke and called me and then called the fire department. When I looked out the window I saw the fire light a pine tree at the bottom of our back yard. It looked like a torch.

In less than a second the fire had traveled over 50 feet from one of our property lines to the other. The flames jumped from tree to tree up toward our house. I knew our house was going to burn because the row of pine trees led up to a wooden fence, which led up to our house (which was covered in shake shingles at the time).

I got my son up from his nap (he was five then) and told him to go stand by the mailbox in front of our house. I got my two dogs onto leashes and tied them to the mailbox. I put my cat in a laundry basket since I didn't have a cat cage at the time. I called my neighbor back and asked her to come get my "livestock."

I was going back in the house for my picture albums when my neighbor across the street drove up in his work truck. He "happened" to be nearby on his work route and "happened" to have a trainee in his truck with him. They came running over looking for hoses. I opened my side gate and garage doors in case firemen or anyone else needed to get in my back yard.

Soon a few more neighbors came running over with hoses. I ended up directing traffic. I sent a few into my upwind neighbor's yard as he had chest high weeds clear up to his house that had burned and were smoldering. I handed out handkerchiefs for faces as the smoke was thick and burning when we breathed.

The fire department had gone down to the road downwind of our homes (probably 12 houses down) and began working their way up. If it hadn't been for the "angels with hoses" our house, and others, would have been toast. I was the only neighbor home on our side of the street. I knew I wouldn't be able to do anything to stop the fire by myself.

Afterwards, I saw where the fire had gone up into the yard upwind of my house and then, apparently, had gone out. At the border of our yard and his was a large pile of dried tumbleweeds which, if you've seen tumbleweeds, are VERY flammable! These tumbleweeds had not burned. The fire had gone around them and around my son's fort at the bottom of our yard and then had come back up into our yard. That could only have been God's hand. My son had great faith in God and we knew that faith was being honored.

God arranged to have my neighbors on alert. It was because of them that a disaster was averted! When I first saw how the flames were leaping and how fast the fire was traveling, I had known, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that our house was a goner.

So, what's my point? My priorities have changed. I would still get all living creatures out of the house first. It would be a bit more of a chore, but I now have two cat cages. In the larger cage would go the two cats (we've increased by one). In the other cage would go the iguana. I would have to grab the rat's cage as well. I have the dog's leashes right by the back door. Next would be my Bible and journal. Lastly would be my pictures.

My Bible is extremely important to me. Yes, I could buy another one, but this one is special. I have marked it up and written in it comments, thoughts, cross references, dates I prayed certain scriptures, dates the Lord caused certain scriptures to become very meaningful, and much more. It is alive. It is God speaking to me. It is a source of power and strength. It contains wisdom. It is the Word of God. It is the same Word that created the universe! Need I say more?

I guess that is a long enough introduction to this week's Bible study, don't you think? So, I'll quit yapping and get to the study!

Link to the 10/2/00 Bible study.

Well, my weekend disappeared. Saturday was the band's field show fund raiser. Oh, my, what a lot of work! I was in charge of a candy and soda snack bar next to the bleachers where all the kids sat. Wow! Talk about busy!! I had a good helper. Unfortunately for her, she was supposed to stay off her feet because she had knee surgery recently. She didn't get to sit down very much! Yesterday, when I called her, she said her knee was swollen.

Yesterday morning I woke up with a pounding headache, a sore neck and back, sore calves, and I was still tired. I took medicine for the headache and it made me sick to my stomach. As the day wore on everything settled down to one dull roar. I had gotten dehydrated as well. I drank gallons (well, it seemed like gallons) of water yesterday. I took a three hour nap. I didn't even get to go to church. I was afraid I'd throw up. So, my weekend is gone and I don't have anything to show for it. The band has something to show for it, but I have zilch.

I'm afraid I let my flesh get the better of me Saturday. We started running out of supplies and we had been guaranteed that wouldn't happen. I was tired. I had to hand-tote all the things we needed to our location. Plus there were a few times I had to walk all over campus looking for things. As the evening wore on I got very tired. I began to murmur against the people who did the purchasing. I guess what I did was panic. I was in charge of that snack bar and I didn't want to have to shut it down early. I knew the band was sorely in need of funds and wanted to do all I could to help.

Well, I've apologized to the ones who came to my rescue. I wasn't mad at them, but was complaining to them. I wasn't ugly about it. Actually, nothing may have been done had I not said anything, but I could have toned down my feelings of frustration. A number of years ago I might have used some bad language and may have hurt many people's feelings by the things I said. Walking with the Lord has changed my behavior and my mouth, but I still have a ways to go.

Oh, Lord, please don't give up on me! I'm trying! I need your help. When the going gets rough, I need to stay more focused on You!

What things has God done for you? Have you thought about it lately? Also, what things have you requested from Him? Do your prayers consist of asking favors from Him?

Now, let me ask you what things have you done for Him lately? Most people would only be able to answer, "Nothing." Many more would say, "I go to church." Well, church is a good thing. You get to fellowship with other believers. You get to sing praises to the Lord with other believers. You get to learn more about the Lord from the pastor and teachers. You have an opportunity to give money to help further the kingdom. If going to church was your answer, then I ask you again, "What things have you done for Him lately?"

What does God think about the things you've done for Him? What do you think He would say about what you have done? Are they things that He wanted you to do or are they just things you thought He might want. Perhaps they are just things that someone else told you to do.

If God visited your church, would He be pleased? Are the hearts of the people turned toward Him? Are they seeking His face? Are the things being done there being done because "they've always been done that way" or are they being done with humble hearts, hoping they are acceptable sacrifices to Him? If God were there would He be asked how He wanted things done? If God were there, would you be able to face Him? If God were there, what would you do for Him?

It's just something to ponder.

Link to the 10/9/00 Bible study.

My family is under attack. The enemy is clever. He came in on the back of a sweet face. Can you guess the enemy's name? It's FLEAS! We've never had them this bad! Usually, now that the weather is cooling off, any flea problem we have disappears. Not these evil specks! I even bug bombed the house last week. It didn't phase them.

My son's cat is swarming with them. The cats don't go outside, so the problem has multiplied right under our noses. I vacuum and they apparently jump over the vacuum. We comb the cats and brush off the eggs. This is crazy! I can't afford the expensive flea medication for our two cats. I just wonder if that might not be ineffective since bug bombs no longer work on them.

This is just one more thing that satan has given me to keep me busy doing things other than spending time with the Lord! I am not defeated and never will be. satan, you might as well give it up! I can commune with my heavenly Father while I am at war with fleas just as easily as I can while doing anything else!

The Lord has given me a gift that sometimes makes me crazy. I don't want Him to take it away. I asked Him to use me and I meant it. I just would like a vacation from it every now and then. Well, I suppose if I had a vacation from it then I would be sorry. I don't know. I just know it makes me crazy now and then.

He has given me a sensitivity to things. It is an ability to discern right from wrong, spiritual things from fleshly things, and more. I have the ability to assess a situation and find easier and/or more effective methods. Maybe the reason I have these abilities is because I've asked the Lord to let me see things through His eyes. I've told Him that I don't want my own opinions, but want His.

The problem with this is that I usually have no way of sharing these things. People are easily offended if you make suggestions. They feel you are criticizing them. Often pride causes people to not understand that perhaps my gift fits in with their gift and the two together will result in God's will or in better results. It is kind of hard to explain. I often just end up praying about what I have observed when it has to do with spiritual matters when I don't feel free to share my observations.

I have a reputation in some circles for being negative. When an idea is brought forth I can sometimes see a problem that will or might develop and I might suggest a modification of that idea. Sometimes the entire idea is not feasible and I may upset the person who came up with that idea. I don't mention things just because I don't like them. I always have a suggestion for change or a reason for what I am revealing.

Even my husband thinks I am negative. I frequently share my observations with him and he thinks I am being critical. I just felt the need to share and had nobody else that would listen. I need to learn to zip my lip. He's usually not interested in hearing what I have observed.

I, sometimes, would like to be like others and be oblivious to what is taking place. I would like to be able to enjoy something and not be noticing where it falls short of the goal. I would like to be able to walk away thinking, "That was GREAT!" instead of, "That had the potential of being great had it not stopped there or could have been great had this or that been said or done."

Then, on the other hand, if I was satisfied with less than 100% I probably would be satisfied with less than 100% of God. I might not know that there was more available. I might be oblivious to the next level of intimacy with Him. No, I'd rather not have a vacation from that gift. I'd rather keep it going strong. As a matter of fact, now that I've thought about it, I'd like to have that gift even stronger. Forget I said anything! ;-)

When you ask God to use you He will. Listen carefully, this is important! If you sincerely tell Him you want Him to use you then you need to be prepared as HE WILL! He has things He wants you to be doing. You have a choice to do them or not do them. I'll tell you again, if you ask Him to show you what He wants you to be doing He WILL! It probably won't be in any ways that you think He will use you. You may not even realize that it is Him using you as it is happening. You need to be ready.

You need to be reading the Word. When He uses you He will expect you to be knowledgeable about the things that are in the Bible. He will be using you to touch other people. Everything He does is about people. Every gift He gives us, every job He gives us, every Word He gives us is all about other people. We are to be about our Father's business and His business is PEOPLE!

He has already given you talents and abilities that are meant to be used by Him, through you, for people. He wants to teach people, draw people to Himself, and get people to seek His will. That is where you come in. If you are not already being used by Him then there is a place in the Body of Christ that is waiting for you. Get ready and be watching. He will use you!

Link to the 10/16/00 Bible study.

Where has this year gone??? Next weekend is the end of daylight savings time. Soon it will be Thanksgiving, then Christmas. Wow! Time flies when you blink your eyes! (That's a poem, you know. I just told my son I wrote a poem. He wasn't very impressed. He suggested I submit it to the trash can. Sheesh, I get no respect! Tee hee)

The weather is getting very strange. Last week was sweltering hot. Two days ago we had strong winds. Yesterday we had what looked like rain clouds way up in the sky. Who is messing with the only good weather we get here in the desert? We are supposed to have nice spring and fall weather. I wonder what the weather is like in heaven.

Saturday the band had a band review (parade competition) and a field show competition. It was an all day outing. As a parent helper I help the students make sure they are looking good for the band review. They get graded down if hair is hanging out from under the shakos (hats), if there is lint or dirt on their uniforms, if the pants are too long or too short, if the shoes or spats are scuffed, etc. I get to wear a multi-pocketed apron that is stocked with bobby pins, a lint roller, scissors, band aids, baby wipes, a shoe shine cloth, safety pins, etc.

The parent helpers also give the students water every once in a while. It is kind of funny. We have those sports bottles that have a fat straw. You squeeze the bottle to squirt water into the students' mouths. They look like a bunch of baby birds with their mouths open waiting for a drink.

After the band review is over the instruments are put away, the uniforms are hung up, the students get on the buses and they are taken to lunch. After lunch the buses and trucks go to the location of the evening field show competition. Usually the students have a bit of free time before they have to put the uniforms back on and get ready.

I am available for whatever needs doing. The last few performances I have helped move the pit equipment onto the field. The pit equipment consists of different percussion and rhythm instruments that stay immovable during the performance. The rest of the band students are performing formations on the field while the pit is stationary. Some of the instruments are chimes, xylophones, kettle drums, etc. Once the band is told to take the field they have four minutes to get everything and everybody positioned before it is time to begin. Then, when it is over, we have three minutes to clear the field.

Anyway, my son is in the pit. Once the equipment is positioned I sit on a bench and wait until the performance is over. This last performance I was really getting into the music. I was praising the Lord for allowing me to be a part. The music was awesome! I was watching my son play his parts and was so glad that I got to be a part of his life and was able to be there to support him. It is hard to describe. It was like I felt like the music was in me and I was in the music.

It was a very long day, as they all are, but very much worth it. I have seen my son's face when he looks at me. He is glad that I am there. Next year the band is going to Great Britain. I am not going to go. It is a lot of money. We are still working on getting our son's trip paid. It hurt to see his face when he found out I wasn't going to go.

Why am I telling you all of this? I don't know. Maybe because the Lord has shown me that it is important for me to be involved in my son's activities. When we get back in the early morning hours after a long day the parent helpers and students have to unload all the props, instruments, and equipment and put it all away. I look around and see parents sitting in their cars, waiting to take their kids home. There are many parents who do not even go watch their kids perform. They do not want to help.

They do not realize that, when their children look back on their high school years, the kids will remember the faces of the parents who cared enough to be involved. They will remember not seeing their own parents. It is horribly sad what is happening. It is indicative of a larger problem in this world. Each person is being made to feel they are alone. A child has to deal with things without the parental support that is important. Then, as an adult, they feel that they have to protect their "space," their "rights," and more.

People who are "self-sufficient" have a great deal of difficulty allowing God to be God. They think they can handle things on their own. They don't want to allow God to take control. They end up thrashing about for a long time like a fish on the end of a line. They waste a lot of time and a lot of energy fighting something that is inevitable. No matter how long or hard they fight, God is still in control. They just don't want to admit it.

We can be examples to them. We can show, by our own lives, that we can still be an individual while we allow God to have the control. We can show them that we do not lose our identity if we give God our lives. God is the perfect parent. He cares about everything we do. He watches our "performances." He cheers us on. He provides when humans fail us. We need to be walking talking examples of how to let God be in charge.

I have been pondering the awesomeness of God lately. (Is that a word?) I know that there is so much about God that is beyond my comprehension. I know that I fall very short in understanding what God wants me to be doing, thinking, and saying. It is like I am standing on the downstream side of a dam. I see a large stream of water flowing as a river. I think that I am seeing the things that God can do. I think that I am seeing the things that God wants me to do. All the while, while I am viewing this apparently large river flowing past me, I am not viewing the HUGE HUGE lake of water that is BEHIND the dam. I am impressed with a miniscule amount of what actually exists!

The bottom line is that God created everything. There is not one thing that exists (seen or unseen) that wasn't easily created by God. God can rearrange atoms. What happens when atoms are rearranged? If you take the atoms in cancer and rearrange them, they can become water, or air, or blood, or a hammer. (Sorry, forget the hammer. I got carried away. My sense of humor is out of control today.) God can do anything. He can heal, He can change, He can DO ANYTHING!

Are we constantly expecting Him to do anything? Do we continually walk in the faith that believes anything is possible? Do we truly believe the scripture that says enough faith can physically move mountains? Too often we try to humanize God. We try to box Him up and only open the box to let Him out when our puny human brains feel we need His help. It is truly sad.

Most church congregations are content to go to church, listen to the message, get goose bumps from the music, and go home until the next service. They go to a particular church because of what the church can give them. They are not going to meet God there. If God were there then they would be on their faces asking Him what they could give to Him, not what He can give to them.

If God went to your church, would He be pleased? Would He see members of the Body of Christ being equipped to serve? Would He see people who are seeking His face or would He see people who are satisfied with just hearing about Him? Would the service be something He had chosen or that humans had chosen? Would the songs be man-pleasing songs or God-pleasing songs? Would He be welcome there?

Link to the 10/24/00 Bible study.

I had a weekend off. There were no band performances this weekend. I actually got to sleep in on Saturday morning. I sure needed that!

I had determined to clean up our extra bedroom. It was a mess. I would move piles of stuff from the other rooms into that room and close the door. It took me a long time to get it squared away, but it is done. I was able to go in there and spend my morning devotional with the Lord. I was intending to get up when the alarm went off. I've been hitting the sleep button over and over until I absolutely had to get up. Well, I almost made it. I hit the sleep button once. That is progress, though.

I am still reading through the book of Jeremiah. There is some really good stuff there. Back then they were having some of the same attitudes as people do now. They were not seeking God. They were refusing to believe that God was angry with them. They were trying to shut up the ones who were trying to get them to listen to God.

They thought they could do whatever they wanted and get away with it. They were worshipping other gods. However, when they needed something they would seek the one true God. Just like today, when someone who doesn't ever pray or go to church gets into a severe crisis they scream out, "Oh my God, help me!"

God is the same God as He was in Jeremiah's day. God never changes. He is warning us again today. He isn't happy being the "Santa Claus" of healings and miracles. He desires to have an intimate relationship with each and every one of us. If we are having difficulties as an individual, as a church, or as a family we have to ask God if there is something we need to do differently. We have to find out why we are having difficulties. Don't always assume that it is satan messing around. Ask God to show you what you need to be doing. Seek His face.

If you are not in the Word then you may miss Him altogether. If you haven't been reading about Him in your Bible then you won't know how to differentiate His voice from your own, His thoughts from yours, or even His voice from satan's. You won't know His personality. You won't know what He has done in the past. In Malachi 3:6 He says, "For I am the LORD, I change not." You need to know all you can about what He has done and how He feels. Don't be foolish and decide what God will and won't do just because it doesn't fit into the picture you have drawn of God! That would be the biggest mistake you have ever made in your entire life!

FACT: Jesus is going to come again. FACT: The world will be judged. FACT: You will have to answer for your own actions and lack of action. FACT: God is not sleeping.

PRAISE PRAISE PRAISE the Lord! Let your praises ring out. Let them bounce off the walls, off the clouds, off God's ears! Praise is powerful. Praise is necessary. Praises are pleasing to God. Praises have won battles. God inhabits the praises of His people!

I have to admit that I fall flat when I am praising the Lord. I feel my praises are so inadequate. I just don't have any words that are great enough! Inventing new praises is not a gift of mine. I rely on others to provide me with words. I sing praise songs that were written by others. I agree with others when I hear them praising the Lord. I allow the Holy Spirit to turn my pitiful praises into something glorious. My heart and mind are praising the Lord with all that is within me. God accepts my praises the same way He accepted the widow's two mites in Matthew 12:42-43.

Praise Him, Praise Him, Praise Him! He is worthy of all praise!

Link to the 10/30/00 Bible study.