We are content when we walk in the light of God!

Question: What are you afraid of? Most of us are afraid of something!

Are You afraid of snakes? Are you afraid of spiders? Are you afraid of all things reptile or creepy crawly? Maybe you are afraid of those eerie clowns that seem to have a freakish, perma smile on their faces?  Actually, I think everyone may be afraid of those!

Maybe your fear is a bit more serious. Maybe you are afraid of being alone. Maybe you are afraid of heights.

Fears and phobias are real and they can be debilitating!  

A fear turns into a phobia when it becomes a fear that is a persistent, irrational, fear of a specific object, activity or situation.  Fear sends our nervous system into overload!

I have a fear that sends my nervous system into overload. I am afraid of the dark!

As far back as I can remember, from the time I was a tiny girl, I have been afraid of the dark!

The minute the light goes out, I feel that funny feeling in the pit of my stomach.

If there is a stream of light coming from a window or a cracked door, or better yet, a night light in the room, I feel better. I feel a peace knowing I can see what is around me!

Funny thing is, the minute the light is turned back on, or a flashlight illuminates the area around me, I see that everything is the same as it was before the light went out.

In I John 1:5 the words that Jesus speaks about LIGHT brings comfort to all of us regardless of what fear we struggle with…

“God is LIGHT, and there is no darkness in Him at all.”  I John 1:5

GOD IS LIGHT, His Love and Presence shine on us no matter what circumstance we find ourselves in, no matter what situation we are faced with and no matter what state our government is in!  

God’s Light shines through our distress and brings peace in difficult times!

God’s Light shines through our hopelessness and brings Hope where there was none!

God’s Light shines in the darkness and illuminates the path so that we can walk with confidence and direction!

The best part of all is that if God is living in us then His Light is shining through us! We are able to walk in the Light as He is in the Light!  We do not have to give into fear, we can allow His Light to shine and His path to be made clear!

I admit that I still love waking up in the morning and seeing the light of the sun streaming in through my windows much more that the darkness of night. But I sleep safe and sound knowing The God of Light is present with me always!

God’s Bright Light breaks through any “darkness” we are going through! It breaks through worry, anxiety, sickness, job-loss, relationship breakdown, self-doubt, and yes, even the coronavirus and if the candidate of your choice is not winning!

God’s Light is brighter than anything we face!

TRUTH BOMB

THE LIGHT OF GOD SHINES BRIGHTER THAN ANYTHING WE FACE!

Walk in His Light my friends! Your steps will feel lighter and easier as you keep in step with Him!

Speak Truth Love

On our Road to CONTENTMENT, does anything throw us off course like something that is NEW?

New can bring excitement, anticipation and even freedom from boredom, but it does not typically bring CONTENTMENT!

I recall two specific events in my life that were NEW each year and each brought excitement, anticipation and freedom from the boredom of a long, hot Summer.  One was in my childhood and one in my adulthood.  They were both the NEW start to a NEW school year!

As a child I could not wait for the NEW school year to begin! I would dream about the new classroom I would enter, the new desk I would sit at, and the new subjects I would learn.

The excitement and anticipation gave me butterflies in my stomach as I thought about it throughout the long, hot days of Summer.  But as the day drew near, my butterflies turned to a down right stomach ache at the thought of everything being NEW!

The “NEWNESS” of the school year was both thrilling and terrifying! What would my NEW  teacher be like? Would I be able to do well with my NEW subjects? Would the NEW students in my class like me?  Would I find my NEW desk in my NEW classroom? Would my NEW teacher even remember to put a NEW nametag on a NEW desk for me?

The “NEWNESS” of a NEW school year was producing some anxiety and fear over the UNKNOWN of the NEW!

That was when I was a child. As an adult I experienced similar emotions to the NEW when I became a teacher.

I dreamt of the NEW school year all Summer long! I imagined my NEW classroom decorated perfectly with wonderful learning tools for my students. I pictured my NEW students sitting in their desks and eagerly learning all that the academic year held for them!

I grew excited as I studied the NEW curriculum for that year and planned creative ways to instruct the children. The night before school was to begin, the “NEWNESS” became a nightmare instead of a dream and kept me up all night long!

Once again, the “NEWNESS” of a NEW school year was both thrilling and terrifying as I was faced with the unknown!

The NEW that I experienced in both my childhood and adulthood of going to school on the first day was and still is one of my very favorite of days! I loved everything about it!

All of the NEW that it held, even the unknown and the anticipated!

There is a reality that brings CONTENTMENT when we push through the unknown of the NEW, to reach the known of the NEW.

It is the moment when we take the steps down the NEW hallway, through the NEW door, that leads to our NEW desk, and we sit down realizing tomorrow that path will be known!

It is the moment we raise our hand and ask a question and realize our NEW subject is becoming known to us!

It is the moment we find a seat in the cafeteria and a NEW friend sits down beside us and we realize they are now known to us!

These and many more NEW moments like them bring CONTENTMENT as we realize the NEW that was unknown, has now become known. We are content and confident to walk in this NEW and make something good of it! 

Jesus intends for us to embrace the NEW, walk in it with His strength and confidence and gain CONTENTMENT through it.

In the book of Revelation Jesus tells us that He is making everything NEW.  We do not need to worry about or fear the NEW because He is Trustworthy and True!

“And The One sitting on the throne said, ‘Look, I am making everything NEW!’ And then He said to me, “Write this down, for what I tell you is Trustworthy and True.”  Revelation 21:5

Today in our world it feels like everything is NEW! NEW rules for going to school, NEW rules for going to work, NEW rules for going out to eat, NEW rules for going to the store, NEW rules for getting your hair cut or your nails done!  EVERYTHING IS NEW, NEW, NEW!

We may feel overwhelmed, anxious, nervous and scared. But with Jesus, we can feel confident and secure because He is Trustworthy and True!  He makes all things NEW!

He takes our hand and walks us through the unknown, and helps make it known!

His promises are NEW every morning and He tells us in the verse right before this…

“I will wipe every tear from their eyes, and there will be no more death, or sorrow, or crying, or pain. All these things are gone forever.”  Revelation 21:4

JESUS IS MAKING ALL THINGS NEW!

This is a PROMISE My Friends! 

We can face any unknown when we face it with Jesus!

We can trust in Him that He is making all things NEW and will make them known because He is Trustworthy.

We can walk in the unknown because He has told us He is with us and He is True!

TRUTH BOMB

God makes the unknown known when we are willing to step into His NEW!

Speak Truth Love

How many times as a child did I hear the story of Jesus calming the storm?

Too many to keep count! I loved all of the Bible stories that my grandma would tell us.

I loved curling up with a warm, fuzzy blanket at the foot of the bed and listening to my mom read us Bible stories out of the ‘Big Book of Bible Stories!’

I felt stronger as a young girl as I listened as David, a small shepherd boy and the youngest of his brothers, picked up 5 small stones and killed the GIANT!

I felt adventurous as I listened as Jonah sat in the belly of the whale and then spoke God’s truth to the people of Nineveh!

I felt royal as I listened as Esther became the Queen and spoke boldly for her people!

I felt loved as I listened to Jesus call the children to Himself and sit and spend time with them!

But there was always one story that made me feel CONTENT!

I felt CONTENT as I listened to the story of Jesus calming the waves and the storm!

Each time I would listen closely as the disciples were on the boat with Jesus, the storm struck suddenly, and they were afraid! They ran to wake Jesus up and He calmed the storm!

“Then Jesus got into the boat and started across the lake with His disciples. Suddenly, a fierce storm struck the lake, with waves breaking into the boat. But Jesus was sleeping. The disciples went and woke Him up, shouting, “Lord, SAVE US!” We’re going to drown!”  Matthew 8:23-25

They were with Jesus, yet they were frightened and scared!

Have you ever been in a physical storm on the sea or by the sea?

I found myself in one at the beginning of this month!  We were visiting friends in Newport Beach for the first week of July. They have a home only a block away from the sands leading to the sea. We had taken a sunset walk on July 3rd, and witnessed the waves crashing hard on the shore and the spray from the waves rising tens of feet into the sky!  As we continued walking down the boardwalk we heard screams and saw people running with their cameras in hand to snap photos of the water rushing up hundreds of yards and covering the sand! It was quite a sight to see, but nothing we were afraid of.

We got home just before dark and had dinner on the outdoor patio. We lit the fire in the fire pit to roast s’mores and noticed the line of cars forming on the street in front of the house. The cars were not moving! They had no where to go! The water of the sea had not stopped rising and the waves had not stopped crashing!  Before we knew it much of Balboa and Newport were flooded!

It was an erie feeling as we sat and watched streets flooded, shops full of water and sand covering miles of property. That night as we went to bed we saw reports of boats smashed, people rescued out of the rising water and cars stuck in parking lots and filling up with water.

I lived in Southern California for 30 years and never saw this type of a storm!

I did sleep that night as I realized that God was in control and I was not. There was nothing I could do to calm the storm, only He could!  I prayed for the safety of everyone and found CONTENTMENT in knowing Jesus was with me and He was no stranger to storms!

“Jesus responded, ‘WHY ARE YOU AFRAID? YOU HAVE SO LITTLE FAITH!’ Then He got up and rebuked the wind and the waves, and suddenly there was a great calm.”
Matthew 8:26

As I layed my head down that night in Newport with the waves crashing around outside, I remembered those words of CONTENTMENT just as I had as a small child listening to them…

“Jesus got up and rebuked the wind and the waves and there was GREAT CALM!”

I needed GREAT CALM that night and I need it now! As we face yet another “Shut down,” and our efforts to re-open are slowed, I need a “GREAT CALM” that only Jesus can give!

CONTENTMENT in the midst of this COVID Storm we are in, may seem near impossible!

But Friends, JESUS WANTS TO BE IN OUR BOAT! When He is, HE WILL CALM THE STORM! The circumstances around us may swirl and cause quite a mess, but Jesus will bring CALM and CONTENTMENT in our souls!

I realized laying there that night that the words of God’s Truth shared with me as a young child had brought CONTENTMENT, and those same words of TRUTH brought CONTENTMENT that night and each night and day that Jesus is in my boat!

He takes my life’s circumstances and “SUDDENLY THERE IS A GREAT CALM!”

He will do the same for you! Let Him climb in the boat of your life and He will calm every storm and bring CONTENTMENT!

TRUTH BOMB

WHEN JESUS IS IN THE BOAT OF OUR LIVES HE WILL CALM EVERY STORM!

Speak Truth Love

If we are to find true CONTENTMENT we must HUMBLE ourselves, PRAY, SEEK GOD’S FACE(turn to Him),and TURN AWAY FROM OUR WICKED WAYS!

Then, FREEDOM WILL RING!

We just celebrated the birthday of our nation. A baby nation in comparison to the world nations. A nation that was formed as one nation under God!

We have been blessed to celebrate this holiday for the past three years with our best friends! They have generously and humbly opened up their home to us on Newport Beach. We walk, swim, play in the sand, body surf, boogie board, ride bikes, play games, cook together and eat together! Best of all we refresh and renew our bodies, minds and spirits! It is truly a gift from God to our family!

One of our favorite memories of our times together in Newport is the way they celebrate the Fourth of July! We have participated in the neighborhood parade and decorated our bikes and scooters and walked together celebrating our country’s birthday! We picnic in the park and end the day on the sand looking out at the ocean as magnificent fireworks burst into the open sky above!

This year we were unsure if we would be allowed by our state to even travel!

We prayed and were excited as things began to “open up!”  We packed our cars and made the trip from Northern California to Southern California. We arrived to find out that the parade and the festivities have been canceled but we would still be able to celebrate as friends and family! We spent two days at the beach before the state closed the beaches. On the evening of July 3rd, at sunset, as we walked along the boardwalk of the beach we witnessed the highest surge of surf we have ever seen! As we neared the end of our walk, the surf had risen so high that it was coming up and covering all of the sand beach area and nearing the homes that are beachfront properties.

It was truly a sight to see and nothing we had ever experienced in our years living in Southern California.

We returned home, made dinner and sat outside around the fire pit eating together.

The street began to get crowded with cars and we heard sirens all around us! The surf was continuing to rise and it was washing through and flooding the streets!

This would lead to a Fourth of July celebration like we’ve never experienced before!

The beaches were closed, the streets were flooded, covid was back on the rise, places of worship were told they couldn’t sing, and racial tension was still at an all-time high!

Where was God in all of this?

Asking His people to look to Him!

This experience led me to lean into God like never before! To look to Him and remember that He is my help, our help!

When we are celebrating our FREEDOM on a day our Nation sets aside to celebrate our FREEDOM and our FREEDOM seems to be wavering as much as the American flag flying overhead, where does our help come from?

The answer is and always will be the same…

“My help comes from The Lord, who made heaven and earth.”  Psalm 121:2

And it is echoed further in Psalm…

“Our help is from The Lord, who made heaven and earth.”  Psalm 124:8

Again and again as God’s people are doing their best to live this life He has given them,  they face trial after trial just as we are! 

The answer was and still is the same…

OUR HELP COMES FROM THE LORD!

No matter if it is help on a personal level we need or help as a Nation…OUR HELP COMES FROM THE LORD!

He is the maker of heaven and earth!

He is the Creator and the author of Life! 

He is the only One in whom true FREEDOM is found!

TRUTH BOMB

FREEDOM IS FOUND IN HUMILITY: When God’s people humble themselves and pray He will heal their land.

Nothing feels like or looks quite the same right now. The sense of loss and change can leave us feeling helpless and that can lead to hopelessness!

But we are never without help and never without hope!

GOD IS OUR HELP! He is still on the throne and He is never caught off guard!

Speak Truth Love