Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe.

—Hebrews 12:28

We were all in our twenties at one time. That place of struggling to find out who we are and where we fit in the world. McKayla has been a guest writer in the past and we love her honesty. I find that I always learn a thing or two from this spunky young woman. And I'm sure you will too!

Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.

I see you dressed in white
Every wrong made right
I see a rose in bloom
At the sight of you
Oh, so priceless
Irreplaceable, unmistakable, incomparable
Darling, it's beautiful
I see it all in you
Oh, so priceless  

—King and Country 

  A perverse person stirs up conflict, and a gossip separates close friends.

—Proverbs 16:28

Recently I watched gossip about two people sweep through a group of friends.

When the hope of heaven fills your thoughts, the Light of My Presence envelops you. Though heaven is future, it is also present tense. As you walk in the Light with Me, you have one foot on earth and one foot in heaven.

 —Sarah Young

The fact that I’m a novice paddle boarder was made very evident the other day.

Rather, clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ. 

—Romans 13:14 

Anyone who lives in Minnesota understands with sincere familiarity the concept of dressing up in layers.

There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven.

Ecclesiastes 3:1

Once I found her sitting in the bathroom sink. She was fully clothed, and the sink was overflowing as the faucet water continued to cascade down the sink like Niagara Falls as she brushed her teeth with my toothbrush. She was enjoying her self-created mini-pool immensely. 

'Cause Jesus paid it all
All to him I owe
My sin had left this crimson stain, he washed it white as snow

It's washed away, all my sin
And all my shame

—Jesus Paid It All, Elvina M. Hall

This very idea that we have individual homes in heaven is really neat... Mansions are the personal expression of this person in house form... Mansions are big and different and have friends like striped cats and furry dogs that you knew as a kid. 

—Josiah Cullen 

It was bound to happen. 

I beg you to step into whatever adventure God has for you, whatever the cost. He leads us down different paths,

but none of us is led down the path we would have chosen for ourselves…

Trust whatever He has for you. It will be better than anything you can plan for yourself.

Not all who wander are lost.

J.R.R. Tolkien 

…but, maybe a lot of us are…. 

You probably base your self-image on past experiences. If you’ve failed, you feel like a failure. If you’ve made poor decisions, you think of yourself as stupid. That’s the old way of thinking. When you gave your life to Jesus, he made you entirely new. Your poor choices—made either before or after beginning a relationship with Jesus—do not define you. You need to feel good about yourself or you will never live the life God has for you.

 – Leon Fontaine, The Spirit Contemporary Life

The other day I received yet another free gift in the mail. It seems that once you give to a charity, your name gets around. It must be an effective way of incentivizing donations—mailing out calendars, note pads, labels, cards, coins, stickers.

“There is a Me that I cannot see.”

–John Ortberg

He was doing it again.

Well it's crazy to imagine,

Words from our lips as the arms of compassion,

Mountains crumble with every syllable.

Keep your eyes open to your mercies.

The man who forgets to be thankful has fallen asleep in life.

—Robert Louis Stevenson 

The Lord your God is with you;
the mighty One will save you
and he will take joyful delight in you.

Zephaniah 3:17

“I delight greatly in the Lord, my soul rejoices in my God.

Look to the Lord and his strength; seek his face always.

Psalm 105:4 and 1st Chronicles 16:11 

My legs were sticking to the bleachers as I watched people file into our high school gymnasium. I was eight years old and had come with my parents to see the traveling evangelist. Back in the day, before internet and cable, most anyone coming into our small town was quite an event and the buzz of the town. 

Then deem it not an idle thing

A pleasant word to speak;

The face you wear, the thought you bring

Drag your thoughts away from your troubles... by the ears, by the heels, or any other way you can manage it.

Mark Twain 

Trust is not a passive state of mind. It is a vigorous act of the soul by which we choose to lay hold on the promises of God and cling to them despite the adversity that at times seeks to overwhelm us.

We arrive at the field. Their noses are urgently pressed to the window. I open the car door and Mia goes flying out to the left, Daisy to the right. Both are hot onto the scent of….who knows what. 

To my dogs, this place is heaven. These acres of gorgeous rolling meadows with wide paths mowed out, curving to the left and then gently flowing right. Here Mia and Daisy get to be what they were born to do: hunt. 

So Mia bounds like a deer—all 100 pounds—through the tall grass off the mowed path, looking to unearth any unsuspecting birds, running crazy patterns just to release her energy. When she flushes out pheasants or other wild fowl and they take flight, she holds her head a little higher, her gait becomes a little faster, and her tail wags a little more merrily. Yes, she is the pheasant warrior.

“Such short little lives our pets have to spend with us, and they spend most of it waiting for us to come home each day. It is amazing how much love and laughter they bring into our lives and even how much closer we become with each other because of them.”

Marley and Me: Life and Love With the World's Worst Dog

John Grogan

Why, my soul, are you downcast? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise Him, my Savior and my God.

Psalm 42:5, 42:11, and 43:5 

I will praise God’s name in song and glorify Him with thanksgiving.

“I’m going to need that.” I stood next to her bunk and held out my hands for the item.

 Tracy continued to lay strewn across her bed nonchalantly carving into the wall with her machete.

 “Hand me the knife.” I said more firmly.

Heart Matters Publishing is a team effort. There's not a blog that I write that is posted without my Editor, LuAnn Adams, loving eyes perusing it first. She not only dot's my i's and crosses my t's, she adds beautiful insight and suggestions that are a gift to me. So... it is with joy that together we post this collaborative effort. I am delighted to lift up not only LuAnn's editorial skills, but, her writing skills, as well.

Enjoy and Be Blessed Friends!

Julie