Road Signs on the Journey!

I recently headed off to visit some of my family in Toronto. I decided to make the trip each way a two-day trip by car, as I enjoy driving with lots of think time and interesting things to see along the way. Plus I like having my own car to get around town to visit everyone once I arrive.

I had already been praying about the family situations that I felt I may be able to be a help or encouragement in when I arrived in Canada. Although I didn’t know specifically how God might want to move through me, I knew it was important to stay tuned-in so I wouldn’t miss what He wanted to do.

As I started out my trip and pulled up to the light before getting on the highway, I saw this license plate in front of me. Of course, I just had to take a picture of it! So already God was telling me that it was “Harvest Time” and that I was heading in the right direction with the confirmation that God was going to move in a bountiful way in the lives of those I was to meet.

For the trip up, I decided to plan my route to stop over for part of the Joyce Meyer conference in Hershey, PA. I have been inspired by her and enjoy watching her TV program every morning. (Check out http://www.joycemeyer.org/ if you’re not familiar with her.)

This next picture is what I saw near the Harrisburg/Hershey area that evening. Although I didn't capture the rainbow in the sky, this shot of God's light shining through the storm clouds spoke to me. It symbolized again the promises of God to me. So I knew He was showing me that He was continuing with me on my trip and was preparing the way for His blessings to show up.

The next shot is a billboard with the word "Giant" that caught my attention. Not only was it capturing the name of the place where the conference was (Giant Center - although it was really advertising a grocery store), but it was telling me to get ready for giant things God was going to do! And I don't know if you can see the rainbow coming up from behind the word "Giant" and arching up into the sky...!

Throughout the rest of the trip, I was counting the miracles that took place. It was an amazing and wonderful trip! God blessed me and moved in the life of various family members in a wonderful way, bringing hope, healing and life changes.

Tomorrow I’ll relate another fun bonus God gave me on my trip home… In the meantime, this is the sky I saw when I drove from Joyce's conference the next afternoon to Toronto. God's light had burst through in a mighty way in the heavenlies - as a precursor of things to come, I believed!

I urge you to pray and expect God to answer you in the signs He gives you on your own trip through life. He is waiting to bless you more, and wants to enjoy a closer relationship with you whenever you choose to move more toward Him. He'll give you signs that mean something special to you in response to your dialogue with Him. So look up and see the Road Signs - the signs of God’s great love for you - on your Road Trip called Life!

Beauty in Simple Things & Unexpected Places

The other day I was making a new recipe. It called for purple cabbage. As I was cutting the cabbage open, my artist’s eye was struck with the beautiful pattern that was revealed with each slice! So of course, I had to put down the knife and run for my camera!

I never cease to be amazed by the variety of patterns and textures all around us. Were you to decide to have fun experimenting with your camera and take some close-up pictures of ordinary things around you, I think you would be even more surprised and delighted by the beauty of design in ordinary life.

Here are a few more pictures to inspire you to sharpen your focus. Look around you and see all the beauty in even the simplest things and the most unexpected places.

As you view these pictures and look for your own, I urge you to think a little more beyond the surface of what you see. There’s obviously an amazingly creative God we have, who puts design and beauty in even the most mundane things – all the way to the extraordinary and huge things, like the massive redwood tree or the stars in the sky.

I just have to ask myself: What amazing beauty has He put in me? How can or does my life reflect his creativity? How amazing is it when God can flow through me to touch someone else just by being who I am – an ordinary person that He loves & who loves Him back?!

By the way, I think it’s a good thing God invented a sense of humor – and passed it on to us! I know He takes delight in watching our delight with discovering his surprises! May you uncover his special surprises just for YOU today!

Lois

Need Refreshment?

My husband and I just returned from a great albeit short trip to Bermuda. I was amazed by the tour guide’s story of how the Bermudians build their houses.

Since they are an island with no freshwater source, all house construction starts by digging a deep foundation with a room about the size of one bedroom (probably a quarter of the first floor footprint). This is where their water storage will ultimately be.

All the roofs you see are white slate layered with edges and angles to catch the rainfall. It is then diverted into pipes (whether internal or external like our downspouts) leading to the sealed basement storage unit. The water is automatically filtered and purified through the process. This usually provides enough to take care of all the household needs unless there is an unusual dry period. If so, there are several facilities on the island that have water desalination plants (including the Coca-Cola bottling plant), who will sell the water to residents and businesses.

This got me to thinking about the spiritual analogies this could have for my life.

• Do I have a storeroom - a place in my life where I go to access God’s refreshment for my everyday needs?


• Am I letting his Living Water flow through me, as a clean unclogged conduit for his flow of love to others?


• Am I willing to share what He has given me with others who are thirsting for him?

With the saltwater all around, those who drink it become parched, dry and thirsty for a different kind of water. Those who are drinking from the sea of life and focusing on what can satisfy their own self-centered needs eventually become thirsty for something real, satisfying, lasting and truly thirst-quenching.

How do we capture, conserve, and share the Water of Life with those who need what we have through Christ?

I pray that you will come to the waters today and drink deeply from the well that will never run dry! Spend time with God, praising, thanking, and loving him. Sit in his presence letting him shower and delight you with his great love poured out on you. Soak in this shower a while! Be refreshed and gain the strength you need to live life well and to be a blessing to others. Let God pour out his water of life through your life today!

(For more insight into living water, see John 4: 13-14 and the story of the Samaritan woman. Read also Isaiah 55, the invitation to the thirsty.)

If you need some "soaking" music to facilitate your special time with God today, check out this link for a few free music tracks that I believe will bless you. http://www.gracegrace.com/music.htm

Turtle in the Shade

Don’t be like the faith lesson “sign” I saw recently in my driveway – where you might be trying to hide and catch a few zzz’s in a shady place. This turtle had wandered a ways from his normal water source, one of the ponds near our home, I’ll assume. I hope he made it back alright.

There could be a few lessons here. Pick the one that applies to your life, or be inspired to add your own!

- Don’t stray too far from the “water source” or life source especially on a “hot” (challenging) day! We need all the refreshment of God’s love and grace we can get for trying times.

- Trying to pull into your shell if things get too hot outside may work temporarily, but you’re going to have to come out eventually and face the heat. So rest up quickly, get recharged, and then be sure you know where you need to go to get back into a supportive environment! Trust God to know what’s best for you, even when you feel like hiding from your problems.

- Sometimes due to hurts and hard knocks we find we have built a hard shell around our hearts. Yes, it's for protection from further anguish. But God knows what's on the inside, how precious we are, and the soft vital tissues inside. He knows we're really longing for that tender loving touch from our Heavenly Father. He is the only one we can trust 100% to heal up our wounds and to do what's best with all the up and down times of our lives.

- Know anyone who is too slow about going where and doing what they know they need to be doing?! Sounds too familiar to me! Let's remember to keep our eyes on God, so we can move ahead in life with whatever issues we need to face head-on.

- Think about the tortoise and the hare lesson – slow & steady wins the race. Be consistent daily, taking small, steady steps to reach your goals and to become more Christ-like in your nature and outlook.
- The bottom line is: it looks like this turtle never read that fable! He had pulled over to the shade to rest like the hare did, who consequently lost the race! So measure the consequences of your actions carefully!

- Take on the nature of Jesus to run the race for the heavenly crown. Even though we have a turtle’s body (our physical body with its earthly desires), we can make progress toward being who God wants us to be. Day by day we can trust him to change us from the inside out and to bring his work in us to fruition – and to our ultimate reward.

If you think of any more faith lessons, add your comments below. Have a happy and blessed Memorial Day weekend, as we thank God for the freedom we have in him, as well as in this great land!

Squishy Stuff on the Roadside of Life

Sometimes on the journey of life an unusual sight will catch your eye and make you stop and think.I snapped this shot at a stoplight. I thought it looked interesting & might be a great faith lesson to share with you!

The artist in me thinks this squished tube of foam filler is a cool pix – and a fun piece of art! Maybe my photograph could be cropped or sold as is for a few bucks to an admiring lover of abstract pictures and symbolism…! (It happens all the time – don’t laugh too hard!) Of course, beauty is in the eye of the beholder… ;-)

Here's my takeaway from this picture: Even when bad stuff happens, God can use that for his own glory and purposes. He can even make something beautiful come out of it. Yes, even a discarded and broken tube filled with bright colored chemicals and gooey stuff!

So enjoy your day, as you look for life, laughs and beauty all around you - in even the strange or squishy circumstances of your life!

Powerful Prayers Get Fast Action!

This past week my two grown sons were heavy on my heart to pray for. I was driving along the interstate in town as I was praying for them. When I turned off to go to my next destination, I spied the sign shown to the right. “As ordinary mothers pray, extraordinary things happen.”

Do you think I had any doubt that God had heard my prayer and that the answers were on the way?!! Talk about a quick confirmation of his presence and his love – not only for me, but for my boys also.

Through the Mothers’ Day weekend just past and with progress in the last week, I have heard from my sons and know God is moving in both their lives.

So if you need a sign God is at work, just keep your eyes open as you go about your daily business! That’s what I call the “Daily Faith Lesson” attitude or awareness.

To find out more about London Bridge Baptist, go to: www.LondonBridgeBaptist.org

Sox Attraction

No, that’s not a typo! But it aptly describes the pictures I’ve posted for your enjoyment today!

Ever wondered where all those socks go that the dryer seems to gobble up? Here’s part of the answer! I’ve even seen one mysteriously slide onto the floor from a shirt I’ve pulled out of the closet weeks after it was laundered. So if you’re missing any socks, they’re probably hiding in your clothes!

Well, this experience in the laundry room with all the static cling reminded me of going through life sometimes. When all kinds of things start being attracted to us, whether good or bad, there is usually some reason for it. We must be sending out some kind of electrical charge from our cells or brain. I find that what I focus on is what usually comes into my life. Even though I’m a very positive person (you could call me an eternal optimist!), bad things do happen. Whether or not they were a direct result of my decisions in life or whether they were just happenstance and I did nothing to deserve them, there is always something I can learn and some good that can come through the situation.

I read an interesting article the other day about how taking simple static electricity and applying that charge to a painful area can help relieve the pain fairly quickly.

So my suggestion is to turn the pain and static in your daily life into a powerhouse of electricity working for good!