I have just arrived in Washington, D.C. and it’s raining. As I looked out the window of the plane, my eyes could see the Jefferson Memorial. I had a sadness in my heart in thinking about all the men and women who have given their life, their time and their commitment to this wonderful nation for the freedom I now have to worship the One and Only God.  We had several men and women in uniform on our plane. I would smile at them and say “thank you for serving” thinking all the time how blessed we are to still have the freedom to worship and pray in public without worrying about safety. Howard and I are here with Focus on the Family to pray together for this nation. We will be in prayer meetings this week as it ends on Thursday, the National Day of Prayer. God, You are our only Hope! Please forgive this country for the laws we have passed to kill your babies and to allow man to determine their own right and wrong. May we return to your Word as the guideline concerning the direction of this Country! Father, is the rain, your tears of sadness as you see daily we are seeking our own pleasures rather than seeking your wisdom and your desire for your children to know and follow you? May you find many righteous in this place so that you will spare this nation. May I stand among the many and call upon your name to spare your judgment that we so deserve! Please hear the cries of your children to heal our land. Please return us to One Nation under One God. Jehovah!  

Today is the anniversary of my dad’s death. How can it be so long ago when it seems like yesterday?One thing has changed. I cried and cried and begged God not to take him and today, I’m thankful he is in heaven. We are at the end of our Revelation study and thinking about our eternal state where there’s no tears, or sorrow and we will dwell with Him! I long to see the end of pain and sorrow. I long to live where there’s no more tears but mostly, I long to see the God I have given my life to and the God that has revealed himself to me as my Savior! Rev 21 says “Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people and be their God. He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death!!!! No more death….. that sounds great.  Today as I think about my dad, the next verses say HE WHO IS SEATED ON THE THRONE SAID I AM MAKING EVERYTHING NEW!I think we need new here on earth. This life on earth is way too painful, scary, and does not satisfy no matter how hard we try to be satisfied with things here on earth.  Jesus knew I needed to be reminded of this today. As I’m trying to prepare for the bible study tomorrow, I have tears of joy that my dad is with Him and I have tears of joy knowing this life will pass and He will wipe the tears from my eyes. I can close my eyes and see Him take His nail scarred hand and wipe the tears and say to me “soon my child you will never cry again. You will see your dad and mom again but mostly You will be with Me forever- Your Father!”I can’t help but close my eyes and whisper, “I love you Jesus, please “come quickly “! Til He comes or calls me home,  I pray that I will be faithful! 

Today as I study Revelation, I see so many people who come out of the Tribulation but to do so, they have to be martyred. For me, all I have to do is accept God’s death so that I can enjoy life and live eternally with Him.  It seems so easy  but I know the cross was not easy for my Saviour. As the martyrs died, they sung praises to their God. I have to pray that I will live the same way as they died! I hope that my days are filled with praises to my God.  As we see during the end of times, satan is able to deceive even more people. It is said over and over again that it is satan who deceives God’s children. I can think of people I know and myself as well, who are more comfortable at times  believing lies than it is to accept truth and live in the truth we know. Truth is hard to grasp because it’s usually totally opposite of what we “feel” . We can believe lies to where wrong seems right. Father, empower me so that I may live in your truth and be able to recognize the lies that come in my head!! May I remind myself of the truth that you are for me and that you have given your life to redeem me back to you! May I glorify you in all that I do. I pray along with Rick Warren:In Happy moments - I will praise you.  In Difficult times - I will seek You.  In quiet moments - I will Worship you.  In Painful moments - I will Trust You.  In Every Moment - I will Thank you!   

God said “if we seek Him, we will find Him”, and this weekend over 100 women were seeking Him and He allowed us to see His Glory!My life will forever be changed and I have heard from several ladies that truth also applies to them. We called upon the name of our God and worshipped Him in Truth. I know that God is looking for true Worshippers and the only way He will accept our worship if we do it by faith and approach Him in Truth. In different times of our lives, we need our God in different ways. Some of us need Jehovah-Nissi, our banner to fight for us, some need Jehovah-Shalom-The Lord is my Peace, others El Roi-I know my God sees, they need to be lead to green pastures and still waters, they need a Shepherd. I know that there are times when we need to know that He is Almighty Jehovah I AM.We so long to know that there’s a purpose why our Elohim the creator has given us this day our breath and we exist because of Him. But, One thing we all need and probably all the time is the most intimate name we can call Him and that is Abba, Father!I have prayed today to my Father to continue to make himself known to these ladies and as long as we have breath, we will call upon our God and seek Him only. May He lead us to Him and May we dwell in the shelter of the Most High! The name of the Lord is a strong tower and the righteous run to Him and are safe! I pray that these ladies will run with a “sparkle” to their God!Thank you Father, for allowing me to see you!  

It’s 3 days til Christmas and last weekend we heard that Bowen Construction did not get a construction job that we thought we had, and Jim my son in law found out he has a mass in his stomach that the doctor’s say they are “concerned”. I don’t know if the doctor is concerned but when I hear “mass”, I’m concerned! My sister’s cancer is back and my sweet daughter in law had to go to a funeral of her step-grandmother!  Cara asked me when I thought we would stop being attacked and I told her I don’t know about an attack but I do believe God is allowing our faith to be tested! We are getting ready for a retreat in January and we are concentrating on how great is our God! We are going to praise and worship Him for who He is and I guess I needed a pop quiz!Of course, I’m praying for healing for all my family but mostly my prayer has been for God to hold on to me and that I’m to love Him above all else! I told Him yesterday during worship at church  that He has control of my life and if this is the journey we are to travel give me faith to do so! I still believe God is a loving God and He will not allow anything to happen to me that will not come out of love.I really want Jim to be okay, I really want Janice to be healed and I really want to love God with all my heart above any of my “wants”!  That’s my wants here’s what I know!!!!God is loving, He knows what’s best for me and my family and He will do what He chooses for my best! God died for me and He purchased me which makes Him my Adonai (Master). Now, I can say I don’t understand how He does the things He does but I do know the why. I’ve heard so many people say don’t ask why but how and I have actually said that same thing but as I grow in the Lord, I think the why has already been told and that answer is that He does all things for HIs Glory and for my best! No, not all things are good but they sure seem to work for my good! The “why’ is because God is God and He knows what I do not know and may never know but I know Him and I know that He did not have to come to this earth as a human and He did not have to go to the cross for my sins but He did! If a God would do so much to have a relationship with me,’ why’ is not something I need to worry about. I hope that one day as I’m sitting around His throne we can discuss the details He orchestrated to bring Glory to Him through my life.So, the economy is not so good in construction, the health issues are piling up but in light of knowing God that’s nothing! I keep thinking of the Christmas story when the angel said to the shepherds “Fear not,  a child has been born in the town of David and He is Christ the Lord! He came to earth that’s amazing but He died and that’s amazing grace! He is Adonai (My master).I will not fear! 

For years now I have asked God to stretch us and to show us who He is and for Cup of Joy to be used in a mighty way for His Glory. I believe last Sunday God did just that. We had the privilege to host several families along with Cure for a Christmas party of a lifetime. We had Santa, made gingerbread houses and hand prints on tiles.  We had food, food and more food. Families were able to have their Christmas picture taken with Santa and if they so desired tour the house. Wow! I cannot express the excitement of our volunteers to serve these precious families. For a few hours I believe these families were able to forget that they had to deal with treatment of Cancer and just enjoy being a family. They were able to reconnect with other families and sweet nurses and Cure representatives. Amy and Robin did an amazing job of organizing the event! The volunteers represented our King with excellence!  Cure invited the families and we were able to love on them. I will forever remember the smiles of these families. That afternoon we were told of a precious family that not only had a son with cancer but a mom as well and that she was put with Hospice.  while this family had the opportunity to get a way after hearing their mommy was dying,  we were able to get our Cup of Joy elves to work  and sprinkle their home with a small dose of “we care” using bows, wreaths and lighted Christmas trees to greet them as they arrived home. When God allows you to invest in someone’s life to be His hands and feet and share His Love, you are so so grateful and amazed He would allow you to be a part of His plan for them. It certainly will put things in perspective for you! I promise that! The things you think are so important does not seem as important when you see families face with extreme difficulties! This Thanksgiving I hope you were able to be thankful in whatever circumstances you may be in. It’s been my experience that no matter how bad it is, it can always get worse!Our God is a great God and He is good! He has said that not all things are good but that He will use whatever to bring it to good. Certainly, one would only have to turn the news on to see how this world is not heaven and this is not our final destination. All through scripture there’s stories after stories of how God has taken the worse possible thing and has brought some good from it! I believe Joseph said it this way  to his brothers about them selling him as a slave “You meant it for bad, God meant it for good”. If we can only have the same mindset that our God will use all things for His good and for His glory it will certainly not make bad things become good but it will keep our eyes on the only thing that is good and that’s Him!! If you would like to take some time for yourself to reflect on His greatness and His goodness, sign up today for our retreat! Everyone needs a pause in their busy lives to stop and reflect on the only One that can lead you out of a storm to enjoying the peace within your souls! In the midst of a storm, the disciples were afraid and Jesus said to the wind and the waves, Quiet, be still! The disciples said among themselves, who is this? Even the waves obey Him!!  Is God telling you to be quiet and to be still? If so, join us in January! It will be a time for you to answer the question “Who is this that the wind and the waves obey His voice!!! We are going to worship Him!  Can’t wait to see you then!Dot    

This morning at 7:00 a.m., we had our prayer time at Cup of Joy’s Office.  There’s certainly a lot to pray about these days. Every where I turn I see or hear from so many who  are going through such trials. Whether it’s financial or physical or emotional. I just received an email from Focus on the Family saying they are cutting 159 jobs. You turn on the news to hear one more business going out of business. I know with Bowen Construction we are feeling the recession as well. Every one is affected. These are trying times!I heard from the Doctor yesterday that they think the spot on my lung is scar tissue and not cancer. That is great news! He was not certain until he sees all the old scans but for now, I will go with that! Yes, I started the morning early praying and I intend to finish the day praying as well. I feel like God is testing our faith. It’s easy to trust when things are going great. I have said so many times that God cannot do anything apart from who He is! He is loving and He is kind! I know that God will answer our prayers and I know it will be for our best and for His Glory! I was talking with Cara this afternoon about some of the things our family is praying for and we started listing  all the great things God has done for us in the past and how faithful He has been to us and that we do not deserve what we do have.   To have the doctor call and say it’s not cancer is such a great gift. We began to think of all of God’s past faithfulness and before we got off the phone we were reminded that our Father is a great loving Father. The cross and salvation is the greatest gift of all and in this life if things don’t turn out the way we think it should, we know we have a great God who wants us to love Him above anything else we desire. God is good and He is loving. His mercy is overwhelming! I’m reminded when Peter told Jesus that people are walking away because they did not like what he was saying and He replied “are you going to leave also”?  Peter said “where can we go? Only you have the words of life! In other words, nothing in this world satisfies like He does! Every thing else leaves us empty and wanting more.  We should run to Him not from Him!  I know a lot of people are praying and seeking answers. I can’t help but wonder is the answer is in our seeking? Is the longing of our heart lie in the opportunity and privilege of prayer? Like Cara said “We don’t have to worry, God has been so faithful to us and we don’t deserve half of what we have anyway”!  So for today, I’m going to thank Him for what He has given me and not what I think I’m lacking! I challenge you to count your many blessings with me and focus on what God has given you,  not what you are lacking at the moment. In other words, is He not enough? If we have God, do we really need anything else? He is eternal! everything else will pass away! If we hold on to anything else, it will be gone as fast as the stock market!!!!

I have heard it said “what you have your eyes on will determine your direction”. Reading this morning in Hebrews 12 the writer encourages us to fix our eyes on Jesus. He is the author and perfecter of our faith. Meaning He is who gives us faith. Hebrews says to fix our eyes on Him! We are to look to Him for all our needs, questions, desires, fears and doubts. In this world,  we need a reminder that He is on His throne and nothing goes past His knowledge. He knows everything that’s going on and He has always been in control and will always be in control. I know there’s a lot of evil going on in this world and I’m not saying God does evil. Of course not. He is not tempted by evil and there’s no evil in Him but as I read scripture, He sure uses evil to bring about good. In Romans 8:28, it says all things work together for the good. He does not say all things are good He just uses all things for His good.  The story of Joseph is a great illustration of God working things our for His Glory! In the same chapter of Hebrews it tells us that we are to look to Jesus and it gives us exactly where we can find Him. He’s on His throne. In the book of Revelation, it reminds us around 150 times that Jesus is sitting on His throne. A throne is a seat of power and control. What I need to know and possibly you might need to know is that I’m not to look around me and determine that things are out of control but I’m to look up and see Jesus in control and He’s sitting on His throne. He’s in control and He is in a seat of power. Not the government, not the media, not the stock market and not Hollywood.  But, Jesus!Yes, I did check this morning and I would encourage you to do the same as you pray. Kneel. Knowing that you have a King and His name is Jesus and He is sitting and watching and waiting for His Father to say “Son, go get my children”! Keep looking up, you may hear the trumpet as He calls us Home!I’m ready, how about you? 

I realize it’s almost Halloween but Halloween is not what scares me.  If I didn’t know that God is sitting on His throne during this difficult time in our country, I would feel hopeless! As I read in  2 cor. 4:16-18, God says for me not to lose heart  even though I’m wasting away physically,( in other words I’m getting old) I’m to be renewing inwardly every day. The greatest thing about this truth is that he compares our light and momentary troubles to eternal glory. This life will pass away, I will pass away.  God says that what really matters right now is what I’m doing for eternity.  Not losing heart but keeping an eternal perspective. keeping an eternal perspective is very difficult.  How do you not worry about today and concentrate only on the eternal ? Glad you asked! In verse 18, it tells us to fix our eyes not on what we see but on what we do not see because what we cannot see is eternal.I can tell you, what I’m seeing on the TV or seeing in the paper is definitely tempting me to lose heart!  I’m so glad this life is not eternal. This will soon pass away and what we do for eternity will last forever. Studying Revelation is confirming this verse for me. This earth is going to pass away, God is coming again and he will make right for all the wrong in this world! That’s a promise we can hold on to! So, I guess whatever happens on November 4th is earthly and what God does in my life is eternal. It’s not what the world is doing, that’s going to allow me to not lose heart but it’s what I love with all my heart, it’s what I spend my time investing in, it’s what I worship that will keep me from losing heart and also will  produce for me an eternal glory that out weights it all!! 

I’m sitting here having my quiet time thinking, “there’s nothing on this earth compares to Him”. I certainly have tried to fill my longings with artificial things that leave me  empty. Thinking about Christmas time when you search and search for the perfect gift for your children or grandkids and finally get that perfect gift and they open it look excited and then throw it to the side and play with the box! You think, are you kidding me! If they only knew what I went through to get that “one toy” they so wanted.  I wonder if that’s what Jesus thinks when He sees us delight in a empty box called “things beside Him”? If we could only get a hold of what He went through to give us Him! He’s the gift! we love all the empty things in life so often than just wanting Him! I’m just as guilty! wanting “things” and not “Him”! Sure, I know in my head and heart that He alone satisfies, He alone fills my longings, but living life I often play with empty boxes. I think that the empty box is more fun at the moment til I am reminded of it’s emptiness.Then in my emptiness I cry out to Him realizing He is the gift! Reminding myself the price He paid to have Him! when am I going to know that the price He paid He did it for me to know Him? Not, just to stay out of Hell and that’s amazing within itself since I deserve Hell but I get to call Him Father. I get to talk with Him, I get to bow before a Holy God!!  His love and all I have in Him is more than enough!! He really is everything and He alone fills my longings!Father, please remind me to throw away the empty boxes in life!I love you Father, I really do!