I will advise you along the way and lead you forth with my eyes as your guide.
So don’t make it difficult, don’t be stubborn
When I take you where you’ve not been before.
Don’t make me tug you and pull you along.
Just come with me!
Photo Credit:Pixabay
DiVoran has been writing for most of her life. Her first attempt at a story was when she was seven years old and her mother got a new typewriter. DiVoran got to use it and when her dad saw her writing he asked what she was writing about. DiVoran answered that she was writing the story of her life. Her dad’s only comment was, “Well, it’s going to be a very short story.” After most of a lifetime of writing and helping other writers, DiVoran finally launched her own dream which was to write a novel of her own. She now has her Florida Springs trilogy and her novel, a Christian Western Romance, Go West available on Amazon. When speaking about her road to publication, she gives thanks to the Lord for all the people who helped her grow and learn. She says, “I could never have done it by myself, but when I got going everything fell beautifully into place, and I was glad I had started on my dream.”
Today is Palm Sunday 2024…the beginning of what most Christians call “Holy Week.”
Credit ChurchArt
This is the week that led up to the death and burial of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. There is something nearly every day this week that symbolizes what our Lord went through during the last week of His earthly life.
It all culminates on Friday, when Jesus hung, nailed to a cross for hours until He gave up His life – for you and me. And be aware…He GAVE UP his life – it was not taken from Him. And it was my sins – and yours – that nailed Him to that cross. The entire plan of God’s salvation for mankind was completed when Jesus said “It is finished,” breathed His last, and gave up His spirit. Thank You, Lord, for loving me so much that you would do that for me.
In testimony in previous years, I have made the statement that, I firmly believe that if I were the only person to ever have lived on this planet, that Jesus would still have died in my place! There would still be sin and Satan, and I’m sure that I would have dived in with both feet into that sin! God made a way for me – and all mankind – to escape His terrible wrath of unbelief, and share in Heaven with Him for all eternity. Thank You Lord!
But all that took a sacrifice. God directed the ancient Jewish nation in blood sacrifices to ask God’s forgiveness for their sins, and bless them. Jesus became that sacrifice for us – once and for all. He didn’t have to die again and again, each time we sinned. He took care of it on that cross.
There is a cartoon by Johnny Hart called B. C. that I have enjoyed through the years. But one of the ones I enjoy the most is about Good Friday. What do you think?
Judy is living in Central Florida with her retired U.S. Air Force husband of 50+ years. Born in Dallas, Texas, she grew up in the Southwestern United States.She met her husband at their church, where he was attending the university in her town. After college and seminary, he entered the Air Force, and their adventures began.They lived in eight of our United States, and spent six years in Europe, where their oldest daughter was born. She was a stay-at-home mom for many years .
Judy has always been involved with music, both playing the piano and singing. Always interested in exercise, she was an aerobic dancing instructor, as well as a piano teacher for many years, and continues to faithfully exercise at home.
After moving to Central Florida, she served as a church secretary for nearly nine years.Her main hobby at this point in time is scanning pictures and 35mm slides into the computer. She also enjoys scrapbooking.She and her husband have two married daughters and four grandchildren, including grandtwins as well as a great-grandson and a great-granddaughter. She and her husband enjoy the Disney parks as often as possible.
High school reunions can be so much fun. A friend hugged me. “Wow, you haven’t changed a bit,” she said.
I smiled, not knowing whether to believe her or not. How can one not change during decades?
Of course we changed. But we say the politically correct thing. After all, we’re reuniting with friends from our teens. Those friends that joined us in the silly antics. The ones who shared the insecurities we tried so hard to hide. They’re the ones who made us envious of how they looked, what they accomplished, and the confidence we wished we had.
Although high school reunions highlight how silly we were in our thinking, our values and worries, there’s another reunion that defines our purpose. It’s the reunion that holds the glorious life after we take our last breath. The reunion that opens the door to the place where no more tears are shed. No more pain is felt. No more sorrow or fear are experienced.
Expecting that reunion with Jesus is what makes life on earth bearable, doable, and even enjoyable.
Will you miss the reunion?
But recently I met a friend who might miss that reunion. She said, “There are many ways to heaven. I’m a good person, I never hurt anyone intentionally and I do my best to live right.”
We’re living in perilous days, with ugly events that point to the end times. Can we afford the luxury of trying our own way to heaven? If my friend believes that being good will give her entrance to heaven, then how good is good enough?
Did you ever ask that question? What is the level of goodness in a person that opens the door to heaven for eternity?
Here’s the answer.
God longs to reunite with us. That’s a fact. But one day, He shook His head as He observed our feeble attempts to get it “right.” (My personal paraphrase.)
As you can guess, He saw that, on our own, we never could obtain that good enough level to gain entry to heaven. So, He did the most amazing thing. He said again that He loves us so much that He sent a Savior to save us from eternal death. He said His name would be Jesus (John 3:16).
So, there you have Him. Jesus, the Savior, the one in whom we put out hope for life eternal. For a future secure after we close our eyes for the last time. The one who resurrected and is alive.
And the One, the only One who promised that when we open our eyes again, we’ll be by His side, walking on the streets of gold. Forever whole and complete, overflowing with joy.
What do you think?
Is it time to celebrate? Resurrection Sunday holds that promise: death has no power over us. Gloom has no significance. And fear has no grip.
Let’s hold on to this truth because the expectation of that reunion with Jesus should keep us dancing in celebration.
That’s precisely God’s will. And when we do His will, we find comfort in this admonishment: “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’” Matthew 7:21-22).
I pray that you, friend, haven’t gotten lost in the busy life. And that distracted, you’ve been lured by other stuff that you forgot about that day.
And instead, you chose to open your heart to Jesus, invite Him in. And then you can be certain that as you go through life on earth, you’ll be secure that in the next life, the sweet reunion with Jesus happens.
Until that day, store this promise in your heart: “Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me. In my Father’s house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am” (John 14:1-3).
The guest list to enter that House has many names …is yours included?
Let’s pray.
Father, I don’t know the number of my days, but You do. Thank You for granting the entrance to heaven through Your Son Jesus. The comfort of that reunion with You filles me with hope, with expectation and deep joy. Amen!
Have you invited Jesus as your personal Savior and your passport to heaven?
Celebrate with me! My new release, Now I See: How God’s Amazing Grace Transforms the Deepest Pain to Shining Joy won the 2023 Memoir of the Year Golden Scroll Award.
You and I are only a click away. You can use this CONTACT FORMto leave your prayer request, make a comment, ask a question, or invite me to speak to your group. Or simply reply to this email.
I also invite you to visit my WEBSITE. You’ll find more inspirational blogs along with my story, books, and videos. You’ll also learn the passion and mission of JC Empowerment ministries.
Some say she should be the last person to be dancing. Her life is summarized in this 3-minute video: http://bit.ly/1a8wGJR
Janet Perez Eckles’ story of triumph is marked by her work as an international speaker, #1 best-selling author, radio host, personal success coach and master interpreter. Although blind since 31, her passion is to help you see the best of life.
The word anchor has many definitions, most obviously an item used in boating to secure the vessel, but also, according to Webster’s online dictionary: “a reliable or principal support; something that serves to hold an object firmly; a broadcaster (as on a news program) who introduces reports by other broadcasters and usually reads the news; the member of a team (such as a relay team) that competes last; a large business that attracts customers to a shopping center or mall.”
Most of these definitions are positive. When you go out on a snorkeling excursion, you want your boat to be anchored, so it doesn’t float away and leave you behind. In planning a shopping center, you want to secure big-name stores to anchor the property and generate business. During a hurricane, homeowners may use heavy weights to prevent outdoor furniture from blowing away. Vendors at craft fairs often use anchors to prevent their tents from flying away.
However, there can be negative sides to anchors. If a storm comes up and drags the anchor while you’re snorkeling, you can get tangled in the rope, trapped underwater until you drown. Or an anchor can be something invisible: guilt over past mistakes, unforgiveness, career, worry. These can weigh you down, taint the way you look at the world, and enslave you until you feel just as overwhelmed as the swimmer tangled in the anchor rope.
There is another anchor, though, one that a storm can’t dislodge, one that only has positive outcomes. That is the hope that believers have in Jesus Christ. He is steadfast, unchanging, unshakeable. His character is the same from the beginning of time to the end. Throughout the Bible, we are told we can call on God in any circumstances. Before Jesus returned to Heaven, He promised His disciples that He would send them a helper, the Holy Spirit, to live inside them. He followed through on that promise on the day of Pentecost and he continues to follow through as new believers join the faith each day.
We experience the Holy Spirit’s presence in different ways during our walk of faith. When we first believe and accept the gift of grace God offers us, we are excited and feel completely alive in the Spirit. But as time wears on, if we don’t nurture that relationship and seek time in God’s presence, we feel more distant from the Spirit. However, we are the ones who moved away, not the Spirit, not God, not Jesus. They are right where we left them, steadfastly waiting for us.
In this week leading up to Palm Sunday, consider where you’re at in your walk. Are you communicating with God, reading His word, listening for His direction? Or are you distracted by colorful adventures and sights that have led you astray? Are you ready to sincerely proclaim: “Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Blessed is the coming kingdom of our father David! Hosanna in the highest heaven!”? Jesus is our living hope. As I’ve mentioned before, the world’s hope is uncertain, built upon sand, but the living hope of Christ is solid and steadfast, able to overcome all difficulties. Isn’t that something to shout about?
Don’t forget to check out the resources page I am developing with content I have found encouraging, has taken me deeper in my walk with God, and generally builds my hope.
For my determined purpose is that I may know Him, that I may progressively become more deeply and intimately acquainted with Him, perceiving and recognizing and understanding the wonders of His Person more strongly and more clearly, and that I may in the same way know the power outflowing from His resurrection which it exerts over believers, and that I may so share His sufferings as to be continually transformed in spirit into his likeness even to His death.
Photo Credit:Pixabay
DiVoran has been writing for most of her life. Her first attempt at a story was when she was seven years old and her mother got a new typewriter. DiVoran got to use it and when her dad saw her writing he asked what she was writing about. DiVoran answered that she was writing the story of her life. Her dad’s only comment was, “Well, it’s going to be a very short story.” After most of a lifetime of writing and helping other writers, DiVoran finally launched her own dream which was to write a novel of her own. She now has her Florida Springs trilogy and her novel, a Christian Western Romance, Go West available on Amazon. When speaking about her road to publication, she gives thanks to the Lord for all the people who helped her grow and learn. She says, “I could never have done it by myself, but when I got going everything fell beautifully into place, and I was glad I had started on my dream.”
Last week, I did a repost of my big brother, since it was his birthday. Well guess what – today marks my Mother’s birthday – just one week after my brother’s! She would have been 111 years old today. She died when she was 80 years old. But I would like to repost what I wrote about her some years ago. We bloggers wrote a “Mother’s Day Collage” one year, and this is what I wrote about her. I would also like to include what my brother Bill, wrote about her that day.
Here are my thoughts:
How do I describe my Mother? She was so unique in all her ways.
One of the most unique things is that she met, fell in love with, and married a man who was 20 years older than herself. And yet, the marriage was one that I hoped to emulate with my marriage. She created a loving and secure home for her husband and her children. She was heart-broken when her husband died.
She loved to sing and to play the piano. She had a great alto voice. She had a good ear and would just go and sit down at the piano and begin playing. I’m still frustrated that I can’t remember the names of the songs/hymns she played. My brother and I tried to remember them, and have them played at her funeral, but neither of us could remember.
She was a good cook. She made a pot roast that would just melt in your mouth. And that’s something I’ve never been able to duplicate. I never learned her technique. My Dad used to tease her by saying “this meat is no good – it just falls off the bone!” She made the best cherry pie. She made home-made peach jam from the peaches in our back yard.
One time, as she and I were sitting in the living room watching TV, we heard a terrible sound! We both ran to the kitchen – only to find that the pressure cooker had “blown” out the pressure valve and pinto beans were all over the ceiling! What a mess!
Although I suspect she would have loved to be a stay-at-home mom, she worked as an accountant at Kirtland AFB, to make money for “extra” things in our life. She bought a new piano for our house.
But one of the best things about her working there, was that she would find young military personnel – usually men – who were away from home and homesick, and bring them to church with us on a Sunday, then home to Sunday dinner. She kept in contact with many of them throughout her time there. One time she broke her ankle and couldn’t climb the steps to her office upstairs. The officials were so insistent that she not “retire” that they placed a desk and lamp under the stairway just for her. They really liked her work.
When my Dad retired and money was tight, Mother bought a Merle Norman Cosmetic Studio, trained for the job, and set to work. She had a really good, strong work ethic.
Oh my………so many more memories, but these fill my heart and mind.
I miss her still.
And here are Bill’s thoughts about her:
Thank You Mother
My mother was such a great influence and inspiration in my life. She taught me that God loved me and wanted to guide me every step of my life, if I would only ask Him. She taught me to be a gentleman in every area of my life. She taught me to learn all the details and to never take anything for granted. She taught me to always give the other person the benefit of the doubt, and to do to others as I would have them do to me. She taught me to be observant, to work hard and to be patient with others, and to always be kind and loving. She taught by example and there was never any question about her love, acceptance and forgiveness toward others and me.
Judy is living in Central Florida with her retired U.S. Air Force husband of 50+ years. Born in Dallas, Texas, she grew up in the Southwestern United States.She met her husband at their church, where he was attending the university in her town. After college and seminary, he entered the Air Force, and their adventures began.They lived in eight of our United States, and spent six years in Europe, where their oldest daughter was born. She was a stay-at-home mom for many years .
Judy has always been involved with music, both playing the piano and singing. Always interested in exercise, she was an aerobic dancing instructor, as well as a piano teacher for many years, and continues to faithfully exercise at home.
After moving to Central Florida, she served as a church secretary for nearly nine years.Her main hobby at this point in time is scanning pictures and 35mm slides into the computer. She also enjoys scrapbooking.She and her husband have two married daughters and four grandchildren, including grandtwins as well as a great-grandson and a great-granddaughter. She and her husband enjoy the Disney parks as often as possible.
Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God. For just as we share abundantly in the sufferings of Christ, so also our comfort abounds through Christ.” ~2 Corinthians 1:3-5
Catch your breath now. That’s one long sentence. A modern editor would viciously restructure it into something simpler. I’m glad it wasn’t stripped down into less of a tongue twister, though, because it causes us to slow down as we read it. While I was writing one of my first books, Summer Storms, I was thumbing through my grandmother’s Bible, looking for inspiration, and noticed she had underlined these words.
Not only did these verses fit nicely with the scene I was working on, they spoke to my own need. You see, the catalyst for Summer Storms was the intense grief I felt after my grandmother died. I wanted to tell a story that would touch the hearts of those suffering loss and show some ways we deal with grief. Learning this message had captured her attention, brought me comfort and a new connection to her. I read it out loud several times, in different rhythms to allow it to penetrate my soul and heal areas still raw years after her death.
I wondered what was happening when she underlined these words. She didn’t have an easy life; one of twelve children growing up on a farm in eastern North Carolina during the depression and World War II. She wasn’t one to complain, though, and she had a wonderful smile. She loved to laugh and found joy in simple things. Yet, she found the need to take note of these words of comfort.
When we’re in the midst of trials or facing great loss, we tend to question why God would allow our circumstances. Sometimes we’re suffering the consequences of our actions, other times it’s part of the decay ushered into the world after the first sin. Either way, if God didn’t allow us to experience these trials and provide the comfort we need to get through them, how could we ever be a comfort to others?
If you’re suffering right now, open your heart to God. Look to Him for hope that the hurting will end. Allow Him to pour out His comfort on your pain and heartache. He is an overflowing well of comfort, so never fear that He will run dry and leave you in pain. God is filling you so that one day you will be able to pour into others. Soak up that comfort, remember it so you are prepared to pass it on.
Don’t forget to check out the resources page I am developing with content I have found encouraging, has taken me deeper in my walk with God, and generally builds my hope.
So then, we must cling in faith to all we know to be true, for we have a magnificent King-Priest. Jesus Christ, the Son of God, rose into the heavenly realm for us and now sympathizes with us in our frailty. He understands humanity, for as a Man, our magnificent King-Priest was tempted in every way just as we are. So now we come freely and boldly to where love is enthroned, to receive mercy’s kiss and discover the grace we urgently need to strengthen us in our time of weakness.
Photo Credit:Pixabay
DiVoran has been writing for most of her life. Her first attempt at a story was when she was seven years old and her mother got a new typewriter. DiVoran got to use it and when her dad saw her writing he asked what she was writing about. DiVoran answered that she was writing the story of her life. Her dad’s only comment was, “Well, it’s going to be a very short story.” After most of a lifetime of writing and helping other writers, DiVoran finally launched her own dream which was to write a novel of her own. She now has her Florida Springs trilogy and her novel, a Christian Western Romance, Go West available on Amazon. When speaking about her road to publication, she gives thanks to the Lord for all the people who helped her grow and learn. She says, “I could never have done it by myself, but when I got going everything fell beautifully into place, and I was glad I had started on my dream.”
Some weeks, the topic for these posts comes easily. Other times, I struggle to find the words. This week, I had written most of the post but when I went to finish; the document was missing. I guess it’s just another way God is trying to remind me what 2 Corinthians 4:17-18 says, something He’s done multiple times over the past several weeks. I wasn’t sure why this verse has continually popped up in my devotionals and other readings, even a post here on February 19.
I thought to myself how thankful I am that I’m not facing any trials at the moment. But when I felt led to write about this verse again for today’s blog, I took a step back and realized there are trials I’m facing.
The greatest of these is a situation I have absolutely no control over. I can’t fix it. I can’t even think about it without becoming physically ill over all the horrific ways it can turn out. I pray for resolution daily, and several months ago I surrendered it completely into God’s hands, but there are still moments of deep pain and worry.
On another front, there is uncertainty at work as we go through corporate restructuring. I’ve been with the company long enough to see these shifts come and go, always bringing with them drama and rarely working out as hoped. Fortunately, God burst the “my job is my identity” bubble long ago, so I don’t feel threatened by the change. Still, tension and uncertainty try to wiggle into my mind, and I wonder if it’s time for me to move into a new department.
Then there’s my current novel. I’m ready to be done with it, but there’s still work to do. The hours I spend editing fly by faster than any other hours of the day, except perhaps the hours I sleep, those fly pretty fast too.
It’s March and I haven’t even gathered my papers for the tax man. I have a to-do list that never seems to shrink. There are plans to be made for an upcoming trip. The dog needs a bath, the car needs the oil changed, weeds need to be pulled. Does anyone else ever feel like there are more jobs to do than hours in an entire lifetime?
It’s no wonder God keeps telling me the trials of this lifetime are momentary and I need to stop focusing on what is seen because it will all fade away. Instead, I need to focus on the unseen, the coming glory of eternity in His presence.
Stop where you are today and unload your worries. Ask God to show you where your priorities need to be and let Him lead you. There will always be struggles in this life, but they are fleeting. They may be outside our control, but He knows exactly what needs to happen. Find hope knowing that God wants the best for you, even if it means you have to walk a hard road for a time. He is there with you and will bring you through to the other side.
Don’t forget to check out the resources page I am developing with content I have found encouraging, has taken me deeper in my walk with God, and generally builds my hope.
The Holy Spirit takes hold of us in our human frailty to empower us in our weakness.
For example, sometimes, we don’t know how to pray or the best thing to ask for.
But the Holy Spirit rises with us to super-intercedes on our behalf, pleading to God with emotional sighs too deep for words.
God, the searcher of the heart, knows fully our longings. Yet, he also understands the desires of the Spirit because the Holy Spirit passionately pleads before God for us, his holy ones, in perfect harmony with God’s plan and our destiny.
Photo Credit:Pixabay
DiVoran has been writing for most of her life. Her first attempt at a story was when she was seven years old and her mother got a new typewriter. DiVoran got to use it and when her dad saw her writing he asked what she was writing about. DiVoran answered that she was writing the story of her life. Her dad’s only comment was, “Well, it’s going to be a very short story.” After most of a lifetime of writing and helping other writers, DiVoran finally launched her own dream which was to write a novel of her own. She now has her Florida Springs trilogy and her novel, a Christian Western Romance, Go West available on Amazon. When speaking about her road to publication, she gives thanks to the Lord for all the people who helped her grow and learn. She says, “I could never have done it by myself, but when I got going everything fell beautifully into place, and I was glad I had started on my dream.”
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