All My Days Ordained

—A reminder, Church, that we are held in the hands of Abba and He alone knows the day, the hour and the moment we will join Him in paradise. But don’t you know that we enter into paradise the moment we follow Jesus as Savior and Lord? As you walk about and interact with the world around you, seek out and act upon the foundation of wisdom established in Christ Jesus, and do not do what they do. We are to love one another and demonstrate the HOPE and LIFE we find in Jesus Christ with everyone placed in our path. To live in fear is to live in sin. Stand up against injustice, and do not fear. The LORD, Yahweh, is with you. Lift up your eyes and be LIGHT shining in the darkness and a voice calling out in the wilderness, for Abba has ordained all the days of your life even before you took your first breath. This should be our prayer of faith, lifted up daily in the Holy Spirit: “Come, Lord Jesus. Come.”

“For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place, when I was woven together in the depths of the earth. Your eyes saw my unformed body; all the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be. How precious to me are your thoughts, God! How vast is the sum of them! Were I to count them, they would outnumber the grains of sand— when I awake, I am still with you.”

~Psalms‬ ‭139:13-18‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Finding Joy

Every Thursday is my late day to work. It is the one week day I get to wake up with my family, make them breakfast and enjoy watching them eat it up alongside me. While getting ready for work this afternoon, God reignited my joy… we can choose joy when God offers it to us, but it is easy to let is slip right by without acknowledging its existence. Joy overlooks the obstacles all around us and finds true rest, peace and happiness in the arms of the Father. Today I held tightly to joy, and I am thankful that I did. As I have reflected on His joy, God also placed an image of faith in my mind. As Hebrews 11 states, “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.” This tells us what faith is, but the image brought to mind was Noah building an ark in obedience to God. The natural odds were up against Noah and his family. However, out of what Noah received from God and his obedience to the Father, they took action and put step to their faith. As people of faith, we do not simply find assurance of things hoped for and the conviction of things not seen, but we are to take action and put step to our faith. If we choose to stand still, we are no better than the unbeliever who longs for everything to work out, but refuses to take action. I find joy in knowing that God will bless our steps and carry us along the way. Not a single step out of obedience to God will be taken in vain. We could not take these steps without your prayer support. We find joy in knowing you are there. May joy find you and yours as you take action in faith! Taking the first step is the most difficult, but it will be truly blessed. We love you all!

Every Blessing Comes From God

Tiffany and I consider these past several weeks as a time of blessing from God. While waiting for his next move, we’ve been able to meditate on his word and seek him more profoundly in prayer. Tiffany and I are at a waiting point in this journey. We are simply waiting for the next page in the road map to be revealed to us. When I think about it, I envision our family sitting on the side of the road at a bus stop, bags packed, and simply waiting on the bus to arrive. If the bus has been delayed for some reason, we trust God knows and is working things out according to his timing and perfect will as we wait. Meanwhile, Tiffany, the kids and I are enjoying life together, laughing and praising God for the many blessings he has given us along the way.