How Far is East from West?

As you reflected on the depth of God’s great love for you yesterday, perhaps you also realized the depth of his forgiveness. His love is unconditional. God's greatest desire is to have nothing between you and him (sin = whatever separates you from God). He doesn’t hold our sins against us if we ask him to forgive us.

He says, “As far as the East is from the West, that’s how far I’ve removed your sins from me.” - Psalm 103:12 (my paraphrase)

Have you ever thought about how far that is? If you go as far East from where you are as you can, it will go on into infinite. The same with going West. And never the two shall meet. They are forever going in opposite directions by definition! But that’s how far away from himself God puts our sins when we ask his forgiveness for them. They are not only wiped away and forgotten, but gone forever!

Take some time now to reflect on God’s mercy and forgiveness, wrapped up in his unconditional love for you. Read more about his great love and forgiveness in the whole of Psalm 103.

Crawl up on his lap again, look into his eyes of love, and let him show you areas where things are not right between you. Ask him to give you a clean start.

Claim his promise to you to remove your sins as far as the East is from the West, to remember them no more, to remove them totally from you.

Accept these treasures out of the depths of God's boundless storehouse of love for you. Take them to yourself today and move on with your fresh new life!

How Deep Is Your Love!

I remember days when my children were young and they were feeling especially expressive towards me when they would scramble up on my knee, whisper in my ear, “Mommy, I love you THIS much!” and open their little arms as wide as they could.

I came across this picture the other day in my clip file. It speaks so much to me of both God’s love and his forgiveness.

I see his arms open wide to take me in them and fill me full of his love for me. “How wide and how deep is God’s love for us! - Eph. 3:18
And when I’m full, I can go and share it with others easily and naturally. And it’s easier for me to love and forgive others when I know his love and forgiveness of me is so great.

When I can truly see and experience even a little bit of God’s love for me, I can react as my children, with my arms open wide back to God to love him, “I love You THIS much, God!”

I made this entry short today because I’d like to inspire you to take some time to just think and reflect on God’s love for you. Go sit in his lap and tell him how much you love him and let him love you back! It will change the course of your day today – I guarantee it!

Tomorrow I’ll continue with reflections on the depth of God’s forgiveness.

Love Like an Ocean

Living in a city like Virginia Beach, with the Atlantic Ocean to the east, the Chesapeake Bay to the north, and many lakes, marshes and tributaries interspersed, I cannot help but love the water!

I enjoy painting scenes of the beautiful moods and wildlife reflected in the water. I’ve posted some here for your enjoyment.

Water is symbolic of many things. It evokes memories of favorite songs and verses.

Do you remember the song “I’ve Got Peace like a River”? The first verse is about having “peace like a river in my soul.” The next verse goes: “I’ve got joy like a fountain…” with the last verse: “I’ve got love like an ocean, I’ve got love like an ocean, I’ve got love like an ocean in my soul!”

When I think about having the love of God fill up my life like an ocean, I immediately think of Ephesians 3:17-19:

And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge – that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.

Wow! That’s a lot of love! Imagine if you allowed God’s whole love for you to entirely fill up your soul till it was overflowing! How would that change the way you see and respond to life?!

That’s why we need to come to God and drink daily from him, the fountain of every blessing, until we are truly satisfied.

“Ho everyone that is thirsty – come to me and drink,” God invites in Isaiah 55:1 (my paraphrase).

I invite you to come into God’s presence today and let his love wash over you like a tidal wave, reaching every part of you that is thirsty and needing to be filled up! He will make you glad you did, and He’ll give you, like the song says, the peace and joy along with the love, as a bonus!

("Late Afternoon Marsh," "Surf Play" and "Splashing Fountain" shown above. To view other water-themed paintings, visit my art site at www.LoisGalloArt.com.)

Shower Time

I seem to get most of my most powerful thoughts and inspiration for writings while I’m in the shower every morning. I guess it’s mostly because there are no outside distractions. It could also be because that’s a place where it’s become a habit to get struck with great ideas! It can be like stepping into a think tank. It can also be a prayer chamber.

God is standing by to shower your life with blessings today and everyday. Are you willing to stand under the gentle rain of his shower and receive refreshment for your soul?!

Here are a few passages to shower under!

“I am the Lord, the God of all mankind. Is anything too hard for me?” – Jeremiah 32:27, NIV

“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future.” – Jeremiah 29:11, NIV

“Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable his judgments, and his paths beyond tracing out! Who has known the mind of the Lord? Or who has been his counselor? Who has ever given to God, that God should repay him? For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be the glory forever! Amen!” - Romans 11:33-36, NIV

“Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen!” - Ephesians 3:20-21, NIV

Let God’s words shower his blessings onto you and others today!

A Dog’s Life and Love

I recently had the pleasure and the gift of being a “Dogramma” for a week while some friends traveled. In case you’re wondering, a “Dogramma” is my version of being the grandma for a dog, because you can love it and spoil it and then get to give it back to its owners!

Alexis (Lexie for short) and I got on famously. I had not had a dog for a couple of years, since my Chihuahua died. It reminded me of the value of companionship and having another living thing (who adores you unconditionally!) to care for.

Taking care of a cute little animal has a way of getting you out of yourself and your normal routine and thought processes. You find yourself planning your day around feeding, playing and walking times. You want to make sure you’re back in time to be considerate of the pet’s capacity to wait to go out. It’s also nice to have that tactile tummy rubbing time they seem to love so much!

It reminded me of how much I sometimes miss playing and getting pampered in different ways. I certainly do have the opportunity and occasion for both, but don’t take the time to do either as often as perhaps I should.

The health benefits of having a pet are well-documented. I certainly enjoyed the fresh air and exercise, seeing more of the goings-on in the neighborhood, and talking to neighbors as I walked the dog.

A dog is always faithful and expectant of the best. No matter what we do as normal caring dog owners, or how long we're gone, they always run up to us wagging their tails and wanting to give and receive affection.

It reminds me of the unconditional love that God has for us. He is always faithful to us, always desiring that special time with us, wanting to pour his love out on us, waiting to receive our love from our full, whole hearts. As He gave the commandment to Moses and Jesus elaborated on it, He wants us to “love the Lord your God with all your heart, …your soul and …your mind” – and let’s not forget that when we do, we can much easier “love your neighbor as yourself.” - Matthew 22:37,39

Maybe it’s time to make like a dog and crawl up on God’s lap – and even get a little tummy rub and give a few doggy licks back! I am sure He would delight in your company, as you are just yourself – just spending time with Him, with no particular agenda.

Give it some thought, then go fetch!

New Beginnings - Divine Appointments

God is the beginning and the end (the Alpha and Omega), as I mentioned last week. He always was and always will be. Don’t you think His perspective on your life is something that could help you move towards a better life starting today?!

If you haven’t been taking regular times for re-centering your life on the important things you value, I urge you to make time to do so. There have been times I’ve had to schedule appointment times on my calendar to reconnect with God for quiet times together, until it became a priority and a regular part of my daily schedule.

What a difference it makes! When you are calm and centered and know where you’re going and what’s really important in life, your days go much easier. You are more productive, more confident, more loving. You see things with more clarity and are more focused. You remember what your life is about and can much easier say No!” or “Yes!” to the activities which are best for the big picture. With the additional energy that focus and God connection brings, you’ll be more aware and able to receive the blessings God is waiting to pour out on your life.

For a five-minute reminder of “New Beginnings” you may enjoy watching an inspirational movie presented online by Dayspring. It’s also available as a screensaver. There are other inspirational movies available to watch there as well.

http://www.dayspring.com/movies/view.asp?moviename=newbeginning.swf

Relish your Divine Connection today – and continue to make it a habit! ;-)

Polo Fields: Beginning and End

When I first received the invitation to the polo match I wrote about yesterday, I was struck with the name of the location where it was to be held: the Alpha Omega Farm.

Being a student of the Bible most of my life, the first thing I thought was of Jesus declaring, “I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End.” – Revelation 22:13

We are so stuck in our human minds with the limitation of time. Getting beyond the time-space continuum that is so much a part of our thinking, we may begin to get a small glimpse into what eternity really is about. And once we do, we can see that God in his wisdom at creation formed us in his own image for companionship with him and provided all we would ever need to walk in true and loving two-way fellowship with Him.

Since God the Father knew that we could only truly give love back to Him by having a free will, He would have to give us the option to choose good or evil, life or death. Then He would also have to provide a way to rescue us from the choice of death that He knew we would ultimately choose in our ignorance and desire to be like God. Therefore, He set up not only the Garden of Eden and the temptation of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, but our ultimate deliverance through the life on earth and death of Jesus Christ, his Son and a part of Himself (in the Trinity). Now through the Holy Spirit (God’s third person) we have the voice and power of Jesus teaching and moving through us in this earthly realm.

Can you see how amazing it is that God, the great Three-in-One, wants to walk and talk and be with us so much through eternity that He created this world with it’s time-space continuum to intersect with us in a meaningful way?

If you understand the place where there is no time, then this moment you can stand at the same time in all the places: where God is creating you with delight, you are falling into sin, your salvation is arranged through Jesus' death (already paid for us all even before time!), and you are totally restored to fellowship with God in the intimate way He desires to meet with you.

The last 2000 years is only a drop in the vast ocean of the eternal perspective.

Today truly can be the first day of the rest of the life, as you embrace the ultimate plan of God for a total eternity - now and forever - with Him, the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End!

Polo Games

Last weekend my husband and I went to our first polo match. It was the Virginia Beach Polo Club vs. the British Forces Foundation as part of an annual event, “Chukkers for Charity.”

I went to their website before I attended so I’d have a little more knowledge on what I was watching. I discovered that a chukker was an inning. There are six chukkers and only four players on each team. Because of the intense workout the horse gets during the seven minute chukker with stopping, starting, turning, and full-throttle speed up to the length of ten football fields from goalpost to goalpost, the players use a fresh horse each chukker. So a team needs 24 horses at their disposal during a game. To top it all off, the players are hitting a 3 inch ball with a long wooden mallet, like they’re playing croquet or golf, only thundering along at high speeds on the back of a polo pony, trying to make the hit before their competition!

Sounds a bit like the game of life, don’t you think?!

While I was waiting for the match to start, I wandered around to get the lay of the land and look for friends. It was one big, albeit classy, tailgate party! In fact, there were contests that encouraged “The Best Tailgate, “The Best Hat,” “The Best Dressed.” There were even games for the children, including pony rides, air-filled jumping tents and slides.

As the balmy afternoon unfolded, I enjoyed watching the game of life on the sidelines as well! It was great to see families, friends, and business associates come out to enjoy some R&R together, to support a worthy cause, and to admire the expertise and courage the polo players demonstrated on the field.

Between the exchanges, the bantering, the cheering, the serving and being served, everyone’s life perspective subtly appeared in one way or another. To a perceptive or intuitive person, the viewers, caught in a moment of involvement, were unaware they were wearing their heart on their sleeve. For wherever you go, there you are! You cannot get away from yourself!

Whoever you are shows up with you. Whether it shows up as a party arranger meticulously setting up the food, flowers, lace tablecloth, dining room table and candles for her tailgate group, or the couple showing up in their 2-seater with a couple of folding chairs and a TV tray with beer and ice chest in hand, some part of everyone’s gifts, priorities, perspective, and personality comes to the forefront.

So if excellence is your priority, do all things worthy of doing with excellence! If building relationships is your priority, then reach out to be a faithful friend, gracious listener and encourager. And if your focus is some self-care and rejuvenation time, then by all means soak up the warmth and freedom of that special time, allowing yourself to be lost in the moment and enjoying the process!

“For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven.” – Ecclesiastes 3:1

9-11 Anniversary Thoughts

Today is the seventh anniversary of the fateful 9/11 attack.

I remember the shock of seeing on TV the World Trade Center under attack and then the second plane coming in. My husband and I had just been in the building 18 months earlier.

Here are a few amazing pictures to commemorate that moment in our country’s history, as found on YouTube.

As you take a moment of silence to think back about that day, I recommend you also think about how that one event has changed your personal and business life as well. The personal liberties and privacy we had as citizens are not the same. There have been many ramifications we’ve all had to experience, from the airport experience and building securities to the way we have to disclose and prove a lot more when doing business with banking and investment firms.

Now take this one step further into an analogy for your own life. What one decision have you made that forever changed your life in some area? Whether it was a good or a bad decision, it doesn’t matter this moment. Because regardless of the past, you can take control of your attitude towards it and not let the weight of past circumstances control the life you choose to live right now.

When the dust and fog clears, what will you choose to do with the results?

For your remembrance, here are a few “Be-Attitudes” to focus on:

“ ‘For I know the plans I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. … call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you.’ ” - Jer. 29:11-12, NIV

“Seek first his (God’s) kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things (physical needs and desires) will be given to you as well. Therefore, do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.”

- Matt. 6:33-34, NIV (my parens)

“… Whatever is right, whatever is noble, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable – if anything is excellent or praiseworthy – think about such things… put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.”
- Phil. 4:8-9, NIV

May you choose to allow God to bless your day - today and every day!

Tasty Morsels to Awesome Provision!

It’s amazing how much the cycles of life are going on all around us and most times we don’t even notice!

In the springtime, a couple of robins built a nest in the flower box on our deck. We couldn’t help but notice! Soon there were baby birds. It was awesome to actually see them hatch. Everyday I went out to check on the babies and take a picture. You can see how they grew to be fat and happy and almost too big for their nest! Well, I guess momma bird thought so too. She must have pushed them out of the nest while I was gone one day, as the nest was empty when I returned.

I just had to stop and think about God’s love and care for us being like the bird parents. Not only does He provide for us and protect us, but He knows when it is time to push us out of our comfort zones and get us to fly.

In looking at this picture of the silly satisfied grins on the little birds’ faces, I couldn’t help but think of the many times God has provided more than enough for me.













There are many places in the Bible that talk about God’s meeting our provision, filling our mouth with good things. “Taste and see that the Lord is good” (Psalm 34:8) is one of them.

Then there was the manna God provided to the Israelites in the wilderness every day. It was their daily provision. Just like Jesus told us in the Lord’s Prayer to ask for God to “give us this day our daily bread” so we recognize where everything comes from that we need. God makes sure that all our needs are met. He gives us just enough for what we need, when we need it.

The Israelites were on their way to the "land of milk and honey" – an eleven day trip through the wilderness that took 40 years! Even though they were whiners and complainers and outright disobedient, God still faithfully provided for them, and eventually brought the next generation, who honored God, into an abundant land.

Where are you in your life? In the wilderness with God faithfully providing just what you need when you need it? Or stepping into the land of milk and honey, having learned the major faith lessons you needed to in order to walk in God’s best for you?

I challenge you to expand your view of God and your relationship with Him. He is waiting to give you even more wonderful gifts, as you walk closer in trust and faith and obedience to Him.

Economic Jitters

With the roller coaster ride our economy has been on, this year especially, it is easy to panic and to make hasty and bad investment decisions based on fear. We all have a responsibility to stay educated about what’s going on, but not to be too caught up in emotions. I believe we sometimes need to remember that we are not alone. If you need to refocus on what’s important, or need a word of encouragement or new perspective, this message is for you.

No matter what happens in life – even the worst, God is there. Nothing catches Him by surprise. We need to depend on God, no matter what the forecast, outlook or actual situation.

Be wise, but place your decisions and the outcomes and your future in God’s hands. He has a plan to move you on to the next level of success (and relationship with Him) in your life. That includes taking care of you even in the down times.

Whether you’re going through challenges in your finances, health, or relationships, God’s ultimate goal is to bring you closer to Him, to shower you with his love, and to reveal more of his awesome nature to you through the “unfoldings” of each day.

Trust in Him like a little child. Put your hand in his and walk in faith with Him. He sees the road ahead and will guide you on the way. There are many potentially harmful things that He has already kept you from, and many more things that He will protect you from. Take a moment to thank Him for that!

So continue walking in faith and trust, maintaining the two-way dialogue, so that you both listen and obey, as you walk with Him. Only God knows what’s around the corner. Your listening and obedience will save you from a boatload of trouble!

Jet Trails in the Sky

The Hampton Roads area where I live hosts a strong military presence. We have the largest East Coast master jet base (NAS Oceana), as well as a huge naval base (NOB Norfolk), besides several smaller military operations headquarters. Because of the Naval Air Station, in particular, and the large fleet of aircraft carrier docked here, we often see and hear naval aircraft (mostly jets) flying overhead. In some parts of the city the noise is quite loud. I remember living in such an area under the jet paths as a child and covering my ears with my hands when the planes flew over. Since then, I have seen many bumper stickers declaring: “I love jet noise! The sound of freedom!”

Not only do we have the military jets flying around, we have several airports, including the Norfolk international airport near my home. Not to mention smaller and private airstrips and the ever present news and traffic helicopters flying around. So our local sky seems always busy with air traffic.

With both the sights and sounds in the air, I look up in the sky often. On some days there are interesting patterns in the sky from the jet trails left behind. When the conditions are just right, the trails remain a lot longer in the atmosphere, and seem to widen out and then drift. I caught such an event with my camera the other day.

I was pondering this phenomenon and thought how interesting that it depends on the atmosphere and all the right conditions before the trails could be seen.

It reminded me that sometimes my life seems like that: that I may be flying all over the place, trying to make a difference, but not seeming to make much headway. Then other days, when the conditions are just right, and the wind of God (his spirit) blows, I leave a trail of where I’ve been that lingers for awhile, making more of a lasting impact. People seem more appreciative than at other times. I can look back and see that I’ve made a difference where I’ve been, and I thank God for those times He’s allowed the conditions to be just right in someone’s heart so a life could be touched.

I know I need to make sure to linger awhile with God each day, to make sure the conditions stay right in the atmosphere around me. I want to make sure he is able to blow me into the places I need to be to let him spread his love through me to others. I invite you to do the same. Then your life will have a more visible track that others will be attracted to as well!

Makeover My Life!

Ever have days you just wish you could breathe? Where you had a little more time, a little less clutter, and were generally just feeling better about your life and yourself?

Over the past several years, I’ve been taking more aggressive action to get my lifestyle aligned with my values. That is, I’ve gotten my schedule and my environment streamlined to the point where I can have better clarity on what I want to spend my time and energy focused on that makes a difference. And then I am freer to move ahead and actually put those dreams and visions into action!

It’s been an exciting journey. Many of you know some of the bits and pieces of it, as I’ve made changes that you were able to see. But I’m in the process of ramping things up now. Next month I anticipate my newest book project will be coming out. So in preparation for that, I have been laying a more solid foundation with my other writings and web-based information to really be able to help more people on a practical day-to-day basis to live out their best life. That is, the life they really want to be living! You’ll be hearing more about that as things unfold.

In the meantime, I just came back from a Makeover Day in Richmond. I had a blast, and worked with some great folks. Here are a couple of photos with the "before" and "after" shots. If you want to see more pictures of the hair, wardrobe and makeup makeovers I received, just go to this link and click on “slideshow” on the top right area to view it. http://photobucket.com/MakeoverDay

We are all “works in progress.” I encourage you to think about making over your own life. Think about what is most important to you if everything else was gone, or if you were at the end of your life looking back. Then do whatever you have to do to move toward honoring that. It may include cutting back some of the activities in your busy life, setting more boundaries around yourself, investing more time with loved ones, getting more help and support people around you, following your heart and your passion, or getting a handle on the areas of clutter and disorganization in your life.

Real life is about BEING not merely DOING! So remember to live by the Spirit not by your feelings. Keep on becoming who you were meant to be!

Patterns to Learn By

I briefly mentioned last week about seeing patterns relating to behaviors and things that were happening to me. Today I want to elaborate a little more on my “pattern blessings!”

Part of my affliction or blessing in seeing patterns involves a natural counting of everything around me. I count all the tiles in the bathroom. I count the stairs when I go up and down. I count the geometric shapes on cupboard doors or people’s faces; the stair railings, and practically anything at all. When I catch myself counting things around the house, I’ll usually stop and be surprised once again that I feel a need to count (often by 3’s) – and that as many times as I’ve counted those tiles on the floor or wall I should remember the answer and not need to count it again!

It seems to be some kind of strange mind game I play! But it can evolve into more of a distraction and sometimes dangerous if I don’t control my mind’s path. I count the dotted lines down the middle of the road as I’m whizzing along, even at high speeds on the highway. I’ll count the row of Bradford pear trees in the median or the crape myrtles on both sides of the winding golf course road to my home. I’ll have to make myself stop and concentrate on staying on my side of the road, going the correct speed, and watching out for oncoming traffic. So if I’m not careful, this blessing of seeing similar things can be a curse!

In fact, I watched a video clip about a very brainy guy who’s also a counter. But he stays away from the beach or very sandy areas, as he can’t handle the stress there: apparently it’s pretty stressful counting all the grains of sand! Thank goodness that’s not my problem! I guess you have to be able to see well enough to notice the individual grains of sand first! ;-) At least I’m glad I don’t have his special blessing. It can definitely be distracting at times!

The analogy here can be about the power of the mind and how we need to control it to take us where we really want to go. It’s a good thing to pay attention to what your thinking patterns are and how they are affecting the outcomes in your life.

Once I identify major patterns that are occurring, I choose to use this to reveal areas where God wants to work in my life. By keeping a journal over the years, I’ve also been able to see a lot of the repeat patterns that have led me to make certain decisions – that either helped or hindered me on my life’s journey. This can be anything from how you choose a date or a mate to choosing a job.

For example, do you seem to be attracting the same type of girl/guy with similar issues each time? Do you keep having problems with "stupid" people on the job? Do you change jobs, friends, locations often? Are you running away from something, or continuously making impulsive decisions? Often the problems I manifest in my life come from a certain way of looking at or handling things.

Patterns can become habits. They can be either creative or destructive – to you or others. What patterns have been popping up in your life? Keep on repeating those good ones and turn the other ones over to God for growth and power. If some troubling patterns emerge, seek God and let Him do the heavy lifting with you to bring positive change into those areas of your life.

Increase your best patterns and habits and let your negative areas diminish and fade away. You will then develop more of a habit of being a blessing to someone every day! And you will be in more of a position to count your blessings, as you experience your own "pattern blessings!"