God spreads snow like wool...who can endure the freezing cold? Then God gives the command and it begins to melt. He breathes on winter - suddenly it is spring

Psalm 147:16, 18

Gray days. Subzero temperatures. Wind-chills. Snowstorms. And polar vortex’s. I think even the heartiest of winter enthusiasts are beginning to pine for brighter days when temperatures climb back up above zero for good.

January is the perfect month to take a pulse on your spiritual well-being. Here are a few things that I ask myself periodically. I pray that they will prove 

      What are you feeding your soul with these days? Are you subsisting on empty calories of excessive TV and movie watching, the Internet, Facebook, talk or sports radio, romance novels, etc.?

*Jesus tells us in Matthew 12:33-34 that if we fill our hearts with unhealthy things, it will inevitably be exposed by our attitudes and speech. What comes out of our mouths reflects what we’ve taken into our hearts.

I’ve been journaling my way through the book of Jeremiah lately. As I sat soaking in chapter 18, the following story-form devotional took shape in my mind. If you should decide to spend some time with it, know that it will require imagination and creativity on your part. Don’t let the details trip you up; simply move through the story seeing yourself as the main character. 

Before you get started, take a minute or two to sit quietly at Jesus’ feet. Be sure to have a journal and pencil to jot down anything that the Holy Spirit may stir in you throughout this meditation. Ask Him to whisper His heart and His desires for you as you journey together to...the Art Class.   

In a wealthy home some vessels are made of gold and silver, and some are made of wood and clay. The expensive vessels are used for special occasions, and the cheap ones are for everyday use. If you keep yourself pure, you will be a vessel for honorable use...ready for the Master to use for every good work.

You made the moon to mark the seasons, and the sun always knows when to set.

Psalm 104:19 

It's happening again. Just as it happens every autumn here in the Upper Midwest. We're losing daylight. Shadows are lengthening. The sun struggles to brighten the morning sky. And, before we've had much chance to relish it, it quickly slips away again into the evening.

This little quiet time experience came to me while I was up at the Prayer Cabin one hot summer weekend. I pray that it will refresh you when you are weary...

Before you get started, take a moment or two to quiet your spirit before the Lord. Ask the Holy Spirit to breathe creativity into you that He may speak deep into your heart. 

Now, read each of the following lines carefully; picture yourself in the scene. 

This is a 5-day Bible Study Journey through the Book of Philippians. May your life be enriched as you "walk" with the Apostle Paul.

Philippians.pdf

This is a 5-day Bible Study Journey through the Book of Ephesians. May your life be enriched as you "walk" with the Apostle Paul!

Ephesians.pdf

This is a 5-day Bible Study Journey through the Book of Galatians. May your life be enriched as you "walk" with the Apostle Paul. 

Galatians.pdf

Living in the Upper Midwest, we know that winters can be long and harsh, but as tough as winters are on our gardens, summers can be equally harsh, if not more so.Under a blazing sun day after day with limited rainfall, our plants can quickly shrivel and die. That is why it is important to take this wonderful opportunity spring time gives us to equip ourselves to be garden-ready.

This is a 5-day Bible Study Journey through the Book of 2nd Thessalonians. May your life be enriched as you "walk" with the Apostle Paul.

2ndThess.pdf

This is a 5-day Bible Study Journey through the book of 1st Thessalonians. May your life be enriched as you "walk" with the Apostle Paul.

 1stThess.pdf

In the dormancy of Lent

we can take our cue

from fallow fields,

Quotes on Soul Friendship with God

Incredible as it may seem, God wants our companionship.He wants to have us close to Him.

Billy Graham

We live in a noisy, crowded, busy world. In the realm of man's spirit the devastation wrought by our much vaunted modern way of life is beyond measure. People are so driven. A thousand false voices call to them to find fulfillment in the transient, tempting pursuits of time.

But, man was made for a greater good than all of these.He was made for God. And he will never find rest of soul, serenity of spirit, until he finds that repose in stillness and quietness in company with Christ.

Phillip Keller

We cannot give ourselves to spiritual things and deepen our relationship with God if we are obsessed with a multitude of things to do and always on the go. Love for God is a tender plant that can mature only when it has time to grow. God cannot be loved on the run!

David Roper

God will never adjust His agenda to fit ours.He will not speed His pace to catch up with ours; we need to slow our pace in order to recover our walk with Him.God will not scream and shout over the noisy clamor; He expects us to seek quietness, where His still, small voice can be heard.

Charles Swindoll

What to Look for in a Soul Friend

• Someone who walks with God in humility of heart.Someone who recognizes their weaknesses, learns from their mistakes and apologizes when their sin hurts others.They are someone who looks to God’s Word for guidance, encouragement and challenge.And they, too, have Soul Friendships that love, nurture and prod them to further maturity in their own lives.

• Someone who is a good listener!And what I mean by a good listener is...

*Someone who truly hears what you are saying because they are not busy formulating a response or interrupting you constantly to share what they think or change the subject to themselves or their experiences.A good listener is a patient listener.

   *A good listener also listens for what isn’t being said.They are listening and watching for what lies deeper, depending on the Holy Spirit’s nudging’s to guide them.In other words, a good listener is prayerful listener.

How to find a Soul Friend

• The most important first step is prayer. Ask God to guide you.

Perhaps like me, you get to the end of a particularly busy day and realize that your thoughts rarely, if ever, turned heavenward.  If you are having a hard time keeping your eyes "fixed" on the Savior as you go about the course of your day, you may want to utilize an ancient prayer practice I have found particularly helpful. Christians throughout the ages have used a pattern called the Sacred Hours or Divine Hours to remind them to consciously pause what they were doing and focus on the One who gifted them with those very hours.

I suggest you make a copy of the following text, then cut each section out and place them where you can see them throughout your home, car and office.

I pray they will be a source of great blessing in your life, as they are in mine!

The Sacred Hours

Dawn – The Awakening Hour

Theme: Resurrection - Praise - Delight

Scripture: Psalm 90:14 Satisfy us in the morning with your steadfast love; so that we may rejoice and be glad all our days.

Quote: I cannot open mine eyes but Thou art ready there to catch my morning soul... Teach me Thy love to know, that this new light which now I see, may both the work and Workman show. George Herbert

Mid-morning – The Hour of Possibilities

Theme: Work – Potential - Blessing

Scripture: Psalm 90:17 Let your loveliness shine on us, and bless the work we do, bless the work of our hands.

Quote: I dwell in possibility.  Emily Dickinson

Love: Live Jesus’ selfless heart out in your little sphere of influence

One way that God speaks to my heart is through story. From the time I was a young girl, I didn't just read stories, I entered them. I walked the English Moors with Charlotte Bronte's Jane Eyre and was one of the Pickwick Club members in Louisa May Alcott's Little Women.

Recently, as I sat reading John 15, the following story-form devotional began to take shape in my head... so I've put it down on paper for you. It will require some imagination and creativity on your part, but, I pray that it will be a blessing nonetheless. So, carve out some time to spend with your Savior in...

The Vineyard

It has been a long while since you’ve been able to leave this busy world of yours behind and do something that breathes life back into your soul. In fact, it feels odd to get behind the wheel of your car and steer it away from commitments and appointments. You have to pinch yourself as you make your way through the hubbub and out along little winding country roads; you can hardly believe that it’s real.

It all happened so suddenly. But, as you think back over the steps leading up to this moment, you realize that this little getaway is more than a gift from a good friend, it is a divine appointment. You had thought that you were doing a good job hiding the emotional wrestling match you’ve been engaged in from others. Apparently you've fooled no one but yourself. Sensing the quiet storm that has been surging just below the surface of your life, your friend offered you an opportunity to get away and spend a little alone time with God.

What have you been wrestling with of late? Job pressures? Life changes on the horizon? The loss of someone precious to you? Your health? A struggling child? A broken heart?

I love to spend time in God’s love letter, the Bible. And one of my favorite ways to do that is by using a lectio divina approach. Lectio divina means divine or spiritual reading in Latin.  It is a quiet, prayerful practice where we invite the Holy Spirit to open the ears of our hearts in order to hear God's still small voice speaking to us through His Word.  It is not a discipline meant to master the Word or to acquire new information or knowledge, it is, as Henri Nouwen calls it, reading the Bible on your knees...where we allow the Word to descend from our minds into our hearts and become a personal word to us.

But, quieting ourselves and listening for God's whisper isn't an easy thing for us to do in our hurry-up, commotion-filled world.  Yet, it is so vital to our spiritual well-being.  So...I would like to issue an invitation to you today to carve out some time over the next several days to walk with me through the book of Ruth...lectio divina-style.

The first thing you are going to need, if you accept my invitation, is a quiet little corner to meet with God. It may be out on your back porch or on a comfy couch in your living room, but, quiet is the operative word here. Try to make that space as interruption-free as possible. It should be a set-apart place where you enter, as it were, the Holy of Holies to meet with your Savior.

Have a journal and pen with you. Throughout this experience you may feel compelled to stop and write something that touches, convicts, or challenges your heart. Or you might want to dialogue with God, writing out a prayer or words that you sense He may be speaking to you.

Once you enter this space, take a minute or two to quiet your spirit. Ask the Savior to silence the voices that may whisper to you from time to time to draw your attention away; and ask the Spirit to open the ears of your heart so that you may be attentive to His voice alone.

Open your Bible to the book of Ruth. (Her story lies about halfway between Genesis and the Psalms.) Slowly read through the first chapter. I like to read it out loud just to get the gist of it.

I pray that the Savior spoke sweetly into your life as you sat quietly with Him in the first chapter of the book of Ruth.

Before we rush on into the rest of this amazing story, however, I believe that we would be greatly blessed if we slowed down here and spent a little more time getting behind the eyes of Naomi and Ruth.

All of us at one time or another in life have passed through trying, pain-filled trials that have left us reeling.  Perhaps some of you can relate quite personally to the human tragedy these two women are passing through in this book.  As we walk alongside them, listening to their hearts, we give God an opportunity to touch us as well.

Before we get started, be sure that you are settled in a nice comfy spot where your heart can be most attentive to the Savior's voice.  Give yourself a few moments to sit quietly.  Ask the Spirit to sweep in and through you to clear away any stray thoughts that might distract you from meeting with God today.

Open your bibles to Ruth Chapter One.  Slowly read through it with Naomi in mind.  As you read, imagine her life as it was both in Israel and Moab.  Ask the Lord to help you get behind this woman's eyes, to imagine what life felt like... looked like... to her.  Allow the Holy Spirit's creativity to flow...

For those of you puttering along with me through the book of Ruth... we are now moving on to Chapter Two.

As in times past, before you get started, be sure you are nestled into a quiet little niche, free from distractions.  Take a moment or two to close your eyes and allow the silence to settle your spirit.

When your heart is ready, open your Bible to Ruth, grab your journal and pen, and ask the Savior to give you "ears to hear" His voice today.

Take some time to read through chapter two in it's entirety. Our story opens with Ruth and Naomi settling into their new lives in Jerusalem.  As you eavesdrop on their conversations and their comings and goings, take note of a verse or verses that stand out to you.  Jot them in journal...

Open your Bible to Ruth chapter two and read the passage slowly and reflectively with Boaz in mind. Try to picture the scene as it unfolds.