Category: Colossians

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Why?

This is the question I was asking myself this morning. Why?

Why do I write this blog each morning? Why do I get up as early as I do? Why?

The answer was clear. Because there is no other way I would rather start my day than having a quiet cup of coffee with the Lord. It brings my day into focus, gives me direction and perspective, the Word gives me wisdom and fills my heart with strength.

“Let the teaching of Christ and His words keep on living in you. These make your lives rich and full of wisdom. Keep on teaching and helping each other. Sing the Songs of David and the church songs and the songs of heaven with hearts full of thanks to God. 17 Whatever you say or do, do it in the name of the Lord Jesus. Give thanks to God the Father through the Lord Jesus.” Colossians 3:16-18 NLV

Years ago I realized that the thing I was most passionate about, the thing I desired to do the most and the thing that I felt the Lord had truly gifted me to do was to teach His word in a way that was practical and easy to understand. That’s the answer to the why do I write each morning. If I can help one person each day gain strength and understanding from God’s word than my life is truly successful.

I remember years ago I was talking with a young woman who has an amazing voice. She has a musical talent, a gift, that compels people to stop and listen. However, she was struggling. Struggling with the lack of opportunities to use her talent publicly. Her question was this. This talent I have has been given me by God, why don’t I have more occasions to use it?

I told her she has as many opportunities as she wants. She can sing while working in her yard and the neighbors may hear, she can sing in the break room at work and bless her co-workers. She can sing to her nieces and nephews. Her singing, something as simple as Jesus Loves Me, may have a life-defining impact on someone who goes on to become the next Billy Graham or the next Bill Gates.

Whatever we do, we do in the name of the Lord. Why?

To give God thanks for all He has done in our lives and to draw others to a relationship with Him.

If you’re a construction workers, a teacher, a doctor, a first responder, a student, a homemaker, a retail clerk or medical technician do all to the glory of God. Parent, child, grandparent, uncle, aunt, unemployed, fully employed, business owner or retiree do all to the glory of God.

Whatever we do, whatever we say, wherever we go we go with a mission. We use our lives to show God’s goodness to others.

Why?

“…Be an example to show the believers how they should live. Show them by what you say, by the way you live, by your love, by your faith, and by your pure life. 13 Continue to read the Scriptures to the people, encourage them, and teach them…” I Timothy 4:12-13 ERV

We each have a purpose, a God-ordained destiny. Live life for His glory!

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All Good Things

You know how the old saying goes when making comparisons “Apples to Apples, Oranges to Oranges”. I’m sure I have used it before some where in my teachings so it should come as no surprise to you that I will be using it again this morning.

Last week I heard a very good teaching on the character of God. I have been mulling it over all week. I keep going back to it because it isn’t what some prophet or Bible character is saying about God, it’s what God is saying about Himself.

Moses wanted to see God. God had been giving him messages of provision for the Israelite people and Moses had seen the burning bush, all the plagues and the Red Sea part. He had seen the cloud covering by day and the fire covering each night but he hadn’t seen God.

“Then the Lord came down to him in a cloud, stood there with Moses, and spoke his own name. 6 That is, the Lord passed in front of Moses and said, “Yahweh, the Lord, is a kind and merciful God. He is slow to become angry. He is full of great love. He can be trusted. 7 He shows his faithful love to thousands of people. He forgives people for the wrong things they do, but he does not forget to punish guilty people…” Exodus 34:5-7 ERV

Look at what God says about Himself. I am merciful, kind, gracious, good tempered, loving, trustworthy, faithful, forgiving and just! Sounds very similar to the Apostle Paul’s description of what Love is.

“Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous, it does not brag, and it is not proud. 5 Love is not rude, it is not selfish, and it cannot be made angry easily. Love does not remember wrongs done against it. 6 Love is never happy when others do wrong, but it is always happy with the truth. 7 Love never gives up on people. It never stops trusting, never loses hope, and never quits. 8 Love will never end…” I Corinthians 13:4-8 ERV

These are love’s characteristics and since God is love then these are His characteristics too. Love is patient, kind, unselfish, good tempered, forgiving, loyal, trustworthy, hopeful, committed and eternal.

As I was studying these verses together I realized that these are also the characteristics that the Holy Spirit brings out in our lives, the fruit of the Spirit. That was the focus of yesterday’s blog and it also ties in with the teaching on our spiritual DNA that I wrote about a week ago. Because we are children of the Father, his DNA shapes our lives. God’s word always dove-tails together giving us a true perspective of His character.

God’s Character Love’s Character Fruit of the Spirit  
Faithful Hopeful Faithful
Forgiving Supportive Gentle
Good Faithful Good
Gracious Forgiving Joy
Loving Truthful Kind
Merciful Not Rude Love
Patient Patient Patient
Trustworthy Selfless Peaceful
  Kind  
  Not Boastful  
  Good Tempered  

God wants His character to overflow in our lives so that we look and act like Him. The Father is pleased when people look at us and say “Oh they must be a Christian, they look and act just like their Father”.

“Whatever you say or do, do it in the name of the Lord Jesus. Give thanks to God the Father through the Lord Jesus.” Colossians 3: 17 NLV

May our lives be an “apples to apples” comparison with Father as we grow in our daily walk with Him.

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Producing Beauty

When we lived in Spokane we were only a few blocks from the Manitou Park. It was a beautiful, peaceful place. There was a large duck pond (which the kids ice skated on in winter), walking trails, the famed flower gardens, the orchid hot house, a Japanese garden, large shady trees and rock building that had been used to house animals in the early 1900’s when it was used as a zoo. The sloping hills made a great place to sled in the winter and the bike paths encouraged you to stay fit in the spring and fall.

Each time I went, I would marvel at the beauty of those gardens and of the dedication of the staff to keep it lovely and inviting at all times. Hundreds of manhours went in to the cultivation and care of the grounds.

I, on the other hand, am a fair weather gardener and grounds keeper. I do love working in my yard but I become reluctant in the hot days of summer. I was noticing yesterday how I’ve let the mesquite beans and hollyhock stalks and seed pods make a mess in my front courtyard. It needs attention but the answer I gave myself is “I’ll get too it one of these cool mornings, not right now”.

Life’s like that.

We see how we want to be; the person we desire to become, but if we aren’t diligent in pulling out the weeds, picking up the debris, tilling the soil and watering what we’ve planted it will fall into disrepair.

A little sprout of anger comes up and we don’t pull it out because we justify our right to be angry. Then the leaves of sarcasm fall and make a mess but we don’t rake them up because “everyone knows I was just kidding”. The trash of unforgiveness blows in and it’s over in the corner against the wall and we say I’ll get to it next time I’m on that side of the yard so we leave it to rot and decay. And then before we know it we look across the yard and it’s a mess – little white lies, impatience, selfishness, greed, and anxiety are all spoiling the beauty of our garden.

“Put out of your life these things also: anger, bad temper, bad feelings toward others, talk that hurts people, speaking against God, and dirty talk. 9 Do not lie to each other. You have put out of your life your old ways. 10 You have now become a new person and are always learning more about Christ. You are being made more like Christ. He is the One Who made you. 11 There is no difference in men in this new life. Greeks and Jews are the same. The man who has gone through the religious act of becoming a Jew and the one who has not are the same. There is no difference between nations. Men who are servants and those who are free are the same. Christ is everything. He is in all of us.” Colossians 3:8-11 NLV

Time to get the wheel barrow out and begin cleaning up the mess. It will take effort to get it all cleaned up. A rake, shovel, pruners, and some good old fashioned elbow grease and sweat will be the tools to use. But don’t despair, we’re not in this alone. Christ is in us and He has provided all we need to make our life a beautiful garden.

“But the fruit that comes from having the Holy Spirit in our lives is: love, joy, peace, not giving up, being kind, being good, having faith, 23 being gentle, and being the boss over our own desires. The Law is not against these things.” Galatians 5:22-23 NLV

The “want to” and desire are up to us and once we make that decision the Holy Spirit steps in and empowers us to get the job done!

“If Christ is in you, your spirit lives because you are right with God, and yet your body is dead because of sin. 11 The Holy Spirit raised Jesus from the dead. If the same Holy Spirit lives in you, He will give life to your bodies in the same way.

12 So then, Christian brothers, we are not to do what our sinful old selves want us to do. 13 If you do what your sinful old selves want you to do, you will die in sin. But if, through the power of the Holy Spirit, you destroy those actions to which the body can be led, you will have life. 14 All those who are led by the Holy Spirit are sons of God. 15 You should not act like people who are owned by someone. They are always afraid. Instead, the Holy Spirit makes us His sons, and we can call to Him, “My Father.” Romans 8:10-12 NLV

Happy Gardening!!

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Everyone Needs a Cheerleader

And the fans go wild…

Do you remember your high school or college years when you would go to the “big game”? The teams would be engage in battle; the rivalry would be intense. Often the home team would be down in points and the cheerleaders would do their best to get everyone in the stands up on their feet and cheering for the players.

Hearing the crowd cheering for you can be game changing!

The thought of a cheering crowd is what came to mind as I was reading my Bible this morning.

“Think about what we have in Christ: the encouragement he has brought us, the comfort of his love, our sharing in his Spirit, and the mercy and kindness he has shown us. If you enjoy these blessings, 2 then do what will make my joy complete: Agree with each other, and show your love for each other. Be united in your goals and in the way you think.” Philippians 2:1-2 ERV

Can you hear it from the grandstands of heaven? The cheers of encouragement coming from the mouth of Jesus; the Holy Spirit calling us in to the huddle and speaking words of kindness and mercy into our lives as he sends us out on the next play.

We are never in this Christian walk alone. God, our Father, owns the field, the lights, the ball and we can keep playing until we win!

“You used to be far from God. Your thoughts made you his enemies, and you did evil things. 22 But his Son became a human and died. So God made peace with you, and now he lets you stand in his presence as people who are holy and faultless and innocent. 23 But you must stay deeply rooted and firm in your faith. You must not give up the hope you received when you heard the good news. It was preached to everyone on earth, and I myself have become a servant of this message.” Colossians 1:21-23 CEV

We are on the winning team. There’s no greater coach than the Holy Spirit. His job is to strengthen us and give us proper training through the power of God’s word. We are on a team with other Christians. We need each other to accomplish the goal that God has given us.

“…But if you live to please the Spirit, your harvest from the Spirit will be eternal life. 9 We must not get tired of doing good. We will receive our harvest of eternal life at the right time. We must not give up. 10 When we have the opportunity to do good to anyone, we should do it. But we should give special attention to those who are in the family of believers.” Galatians 6:8b-10 ERV

You may feel like it’s fourth down and you’re still nine yards from the goal but your front line is strong; there stands faith, joy, hope, mercy, peace and the Word. The gates of hell and all its players cannot prevail.

“But you, Lord, are a mighty soldier, standing at my side. Those troublemakers will fall down and fail— terribly embarrassed, forever ashamed.” Jeremiah 20:11 CEV

Run forward – all of heaven is cheering you on! You WIN!!!

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I Want More

That’s the way my morning prayer time was headed this morning and then the Lord caught me mid-sentence. I was praying, “Lord, I want more of you in my life.”

That’s really not a Scriptural prayer. You see, the Apostle Paul tells us that God the Father has invested all He is in Christ and we are in Christ so we have all of the Father as well.

“I say this because all of God lives in Christ fully, even in his life on earth. 10 And because you belong to Christ you are complete, having everything you need. Christ is ruler over every other power and authority.” Colossians 2:9-10 ERV

It’s kind of like another prayer I have often heard. “Lord, be with us” but since God has promised to never leave us or abandon us, and He can’t lie, that prayer isn’t really Scriptural either. However, I completely understand the intent of each of those prayers. Let me share this story with you to explain.

Yesterday, we spent a good portion of time researching our Norwegian heritage. My great grandparents on both sides of the family came from Norway. Something I have always been proud of. My children and grandchildren are too. Our oldest granddaughter is in New York and went to Ellis Island. She wanted to research our family names and see if she could learn more about their arrival in America.

My oldest daughter called me asking questions for her daughter. Then we, my daughter and I, talked with my Mother and my cousin, Sally, who have more knowledge on the family history than I do. They provided some insight. I don’t know how long Lex spent searching the archives but she was able to find some family names registered. It was exciting to all of us.

However, none of the research made us more Norwegian than we had been before the day started but it did give us more knowledge.

And that’s what our prayers of wanting more of the Father and wanting Him to be with us really are. They are prayers for more knowledge that will help us understand and grow deeper in our relationship.

The Apostle Paul prayed this:

“But Christ has shown me that what I once thought was valuable is worthless. 8 Nothing is as wonderful as knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. I have given up everything else and count it all as garbage. All I want is Christ 9 and to know that I belong to him. I could not make myself acceptable to God by obeying the Law of Moses. God accepted me simply because of my faith in Christ. 10 All I want is to know Christ and the power that raised him to life. I want to suffer and die as he did, 11 so that somehow I also may be raised to life.

12 I have not yet reached my goal, and I am not perfect. But Christ has taken hold of me. So I keep on running and struggling to take hold of the prize. 13 My friends, I don’t feel that I have already arrived. But I forget what is behind, and I struggle for what is ahead. 14 I run toward the goal, so that I can win the prize of being called to heaven. This is the prize that God offers because of what Christ Jesus has done. 15 All of us who are mature should think in this same way. And if any of you think differently, God will make it clear to you. 16 But we must keep going in the direction that we are now headed.” Philippians 3:7-16 CEV

We should always want more – not that the Father hasn’t given us everything we need because He has. But as we learn more, as we increase in knowledge we also show more of His character to those around us and we understand more of who He is and what He is wanting to do in our lives.

“I pray that God will be kind to you and will let you live in perfect peace! May you keep learning more and more about God and our Lord Jesus.

3 We have everything we need to live a life that pleases God. It was all given to us by God’s own power, when we learned that he had invited us to share in his wonderful goodness. 4 God made great and marvelous promises, so that his nature would become part of us. Then we could escape our evil desires and the corrupt influences of this world.” II Peter 1:2-4 CEV

It seems we all have a desire to know more about our heritage; our story, what makes us unique. So join me today in coming to the Father and saying

“Lord, Father God, I want to know you more. Show me how to increase in my knowledge of You and Your goodness.”

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All The Children of the World

When I was a little girl we sang a song in Sunday School, Jesus Loves the Little Children.

Jesus loves the little children, All the children of the world. Red and yellow, black and white; they are precious in His sight. Jesus loves the little children of the world.

Do you ever stop to think where you would be without God’s amazing, unconditional love? On our best days, when we’re kind and gracious to those around us, we still don’t measure up to the love that He shows us on a moment by moment, 24/7 basis.

How much He has forgiven me! I know that all of my sins have been forgiven and even, according to Hebrews, forgotten, never to be remembered again – that is just so overwhelming – so, well the only word for it, awesome!

If God, who is perfect, can forgive and love not just me but everyone who is living and has ever lived with all of their sins, their failures, screw ups and out and out vulgar living than I should be able to love and forgive those who live in my house, work on my job and are acquainted with me on a daily basis. God isn’t just asking us to do this but He is telling us we need to do this to be an example of Him. He’s never asked us to do anything that we aren’t able to do because it’s His strength and His character that are living in us.

” God loves you and has chosen you as his own special people. So be gentle, kind, humble, meek, and patient. 13 Put up with each other, and forgive anyone who does you wrong, just as Christ has forgiven you. 14 Love is more important than anything else. It is what ties everything completely together. Each one of you is part of the body of Christ, and you were chosen to live together in peace. So let the peace that comes from Christ control your thoughts. And be grateful. 16 Let the message about Christ completely fill your lives, while you use all your wisdom to teach and instruct each other. With thankful hearts, sing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs to God. 17 Whatever you say or do should be done in the name of the Lord Jesus, as you give thanks to God the Father because of him.” Colossians 3:12-17 ERV

Because we are a part of the body of Christ, we should work together to be a display of His love to the world around us. I love verse 17 – WHATEVER you say or do, do it in the name of the Lord. So if you are going to say or do something that wouldn’t represent the Lord, then don’t! I know somedays my world is really quiet because I’m holding my tongue until I can say something that would be representative of what Jesus would say if He were speaking through me. Yes, very quiet indeed!

I asked you at the beginning to stop and think where you would be without God’s amazing love. Now let that love and forgiveness flow through you to those around you as His representative.

“He said, “Teacher, which command in the law is the most important?”

37 Jesus answered, “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.’ 38 This is the first and most important command. 39 And the second command is like the first: ‘Love your neighbor the same as you love yourself.’ 40 All of the law and the writings of the prophets take their meaning from these two commands.” Matthew 22:36-40 ERV

Take the love of God to the world.

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Are You With Or In?

Each morning I spend quite a bit of time looking for the right image to go with each day’s blog. I hope that the image used will stick with you through the day and cause you to remember the teaching I share.

When I saw this image, I knew I had to use it. This little guy is “with” the ducks and “in” the water.

Have you ever thought about the difference between “with” and “in”?

If you have water in a glass and you take it to the table it is “with” you. But you can leave that room and leave the water behind. However, if you drink the water it is “in” you. It gives life to your cells and nourishes your body.

All through the Old Testament we find that God was “with” the people. When Jesus came one of his names was Emmanuel, God “with” us and wherever Jesus went He took God with Him. It is the presence of God that changes our lives.

But once we accept Jesus as our Saviour the Scriptures says that we are “in” Him.

“As you therefore have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, 7 rooted and built up in Him and established in the faith, as you have been taught, abounding [ain it with thanksgiving.

8 Beware lest anyone cheat you through philosophy and empty deceit, according to the tradition of men, according to the basic principles of the world, and not according to Christ. 9 For in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead ]bodily; 10 and you are complete in Him, who is the head of all principality and power.” Colossians 2:6-10 NKJV

His fullness fills us with His life, His love, His character. Wherever we go we take Christ in us. We bring His nature, His life to every circumstance and person we come in contact with.

“Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. In Christ, God has given us every spiritual blessing in heaven. 4 In Christ, he chose us before the world was made. He chose us in love to be his holy people—people who could stand before him without any fault. 5 And before the world was made, God decided to make us his own children through Jesus Christ. This was what God wanted, and it pleased him to do it. 6 And this brings praise to God because of his wonderful grace. God gave that grace to us freely. He gave us that grace in Christ, the one he loves.” Ephesians 1:3-6 ERV

We don’t need to beg God for be “with us”. We need to be aware, vitally aware, He is always “in us” because we are “in Christ”. He goes with us everywhere, we can’t ever be separated from Him.

“This message is the secret truth that was hidden since the beginning of time. It was hidden from everyone for ages, but now it has been made known to God’s holy people. 27 God decided to let his people know just how rich and glorious that truth is. That secret truth, which is for all people, is that Christ lives in you, his people. He is our hope for glory. 28 So we continue to tell people about Christ. We use all wisdom to counsel every person and teach every person. We are trying to bring everyone before God as people who have grown to be spiritually mature in Christ.” Colossians 1:26-28 ERV

He lives “in” us so that we can take Him to the world! Let the Lord shine through you today.

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Beauty, Joy, Praise

This morning I was thinking about the disciples. What a sad and dark day this must have been for them. For three years they had been following Jesus. They gave up friends, family and business attachments to be one of his disciples. And now He was gone.

Perhaps you are experiencing a similar loss. Possibly you’ve just received some devastating news. You need comfort and there seems to be none. I want to bring you good news today. News that will beautify, news of joy, a reason to praise.

Where did the disciples go once Jesus was in the tomb? Did they all stay together? I’m sure they feared for their lives. If the Jewish leaders had killed their Teacher, would they be coming for the disciples next? The Scripture is silent on these issues and only leaves room for speculation. But we can assume that they were disheartened, misplaced and full of sorrow.

They loved Jesus and now He was gone!

As I put myself in their shoes a verse came to mind.

“The Spirit of the Lord God is on me, because the Lord has chosen me to bring good news to poor people. He has sent me to heal those with a sad heart. He has sent me to tell those who are being held and those in prison that they can go free. 2 He has sent me to tell about the year of the Lord’s favor, and the day our God will bring punishment. He has sent me to comfort all who are filled with sorrow. 3 To those who have sorrow in Zion I will give them a crown of beauty instead of ashes. I will give them the oil of joy instead of sorrow, and a spirit of praise instead of a spirit of no hope. Then they will be called oaks that are right with God, planted by the Lord, that He may be honored.” Isaiah 61:1-3 NLV

The disciples had heard Jesus preach these very words. It was a part of every message that He gave to people everywhere He went. This was His mission; the reason He came from heaven. And now when the disciples needed to hear it most where was Jesus? He was in a tomb.

But…

He didn’t stay there! He rose victorious. He defeated death and destroyed Satan’s power.

“O death, where is your power? O death, where are your pains? 56 The pain in death is sin. Sin has power over those under the Law. 57 But God is the One Who gives us power over sin through Jesus Christ our Lord. We give thanks to Him for this.” I Corinthians 15:55-57 NLV

“Because we broke God’s laws, we owed a debt—a debt that listed all the rules we failed to follow. But God forgave us of that debt. He took it away and nailed it to the cross. 15 He defeated the rulers and powers of the spiritual world. With the cross he won the victory over them and led them away, as defeated and powerless prisoners for the whole world to see.” Colossians 2:14-15 ERV

However, on the day before the resurrection the disciples were at their lowest point. Maybe that’s where you are today. Has life left you with sorrow? Are you mourning a loss of some kind? Have your dreams been shattered and all hope seems to be gone?

I wanted to bring beauty to the blog this morning. That’s why I chose this picture of Calla Lilies. They are a sign of resurrection, purity, holiness and new life. They can be a reminder of God’s amazing love and His promise of restoration.

If your heart is heavy, pour out your disappointment and heartache to the Father in prayer. He promises to take the all you give Him and replace it with beauty, joy and a reason to praise. His resurrection promises that!

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Proper Input

Last winter while I was working on my book, The Best Gifts of Christmas, I had a time of keyboarding that reminded me how important it was that I pay attention to what I was doing.

I had some handwritten notes and I was reading that text, inputting it word for word, or so I thought until I looked up and saw that my hands had been on the wrong keys. Seriously? I had several pages of jibberish! Absolute nonsense, not one word made any sense.

Our minds are much like the computer I am using to message with right now. They can only produce on screen or in memory what we input. Our minds can be our most valuable ally or our worst enemy, it just depends on how we use it.

God won’t force us to do things against our will. He won’t force us to accept His wonderful gift of salvation, even if it means we will eventually go to hell, and He won’t force us to accept His blessings that He is pouring out in this life either. We must willfully accept all of His provisions for them to work in our lives.

It becomes our responsibility to input the correct information. We move our minds from an adversary to an ally by what we consider. We can think on things that can make us angry and bring fear or we can focus on God’s promises and be filled with peace and joy.

“So I beg you, brothers and sisters, because of the great mercy God has shown us, offer your lives as a living sacrifice to him—an offering that is only for God and pleasing to him. Considering what he has done, it is only right that you should worship him in this way. 2 Don’t change yourselves to be like the people of this world, but let God change you inside with a new way of thinking. Then you will be able to understand and accept what God wants for you. You will be able to know what is good and pleasing to him and what is perfect.” Romans 12:1-2 ERV

The Apostle Paul instructs us to give ourselves over to the Lord and He will change us from the inside out. By changing our input and our minds will be renewed.

We should be considering what life will be like in heaven and all that Jesus did to provide this for us – if that’s our focus, we won’t have time to be “considering” thoughts that are contrary to God’s way of thinking.

“You were raised from death with Christ. So live for what is in heaven, where Christ is sitting at the right hand of God. 2 Think only about what is up there, not what is here on earth. 3 Your old self has died, and your new life is kept with Christ in God. 4 Yes, Christ is now your life, and when he comes again, you will share in his glory.” Colossians 3:1-4 ERV

It’s imperative that we guard our minds more than we guard our wallets. The damage caused by wrong thinking is more detrimental than loosing our cash. In fact, it’s very similar to spiritual identity theft. Thinking like the world thinks will keep us from realizing all the wonderful blessings that God has provided.

“We live in this world, but we don’t fight our battles in the same way the world does. 4 The weapons we use are not human ones. Our weapons have power from God and can destroy the enemy’s strong places. We destroy people’s arguments, 5 and we tear down every proud idea that raises itself against the knowledge of God. We also capture every thought and make it give up and obey Christ.” II Corinthians 10:3-5 ERV

Counteract the world’s influence today and live with the proper input.

“For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.” II Timothy 1:7

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Time to Play and Pray

What a wonderful weekend!

We were with our youngest daughter’s family; Kaci, Stephen, Sam and Kristine. It is such a joy to live closer to our daughters and be able to spend time with them. Those years in Montana had us living too far away. We can be to everyone in just a couple of hours, even our son is only a couple hours by air.

This last weekend was NASCAR weekend in Phoenix. As you know, Dave and I are big race fans. That’s how we roll. The kids all grew up knowing the names of car drivers and their team owners. So, this race was special. It was Kaci’s first time to a NASCAR race. She compared it to going to the Super Bowl for someone who grew up in a football family. Stephen enjoyed it as well. It was a great day!

Saturday night was play time with the grandkids. Sam had been telling me on the phone that he wanted us to watch Lightning McQueen when we came. Now most of you with littler children may have seen the Disney movie, Cars, but we hadn’t. Sam had several favorite spots and wanted to make sure we saw them all. Little Kristine would shout “go, go, go” during some of the race scenes and then dance with the music. It was a family event. Sam knew we were going to the race the next day and I think this was his way of joining in.

This was one of the first times I had seen the grandkids since my back procedure and it was so special to be picking them up, having them crawl over my lap, wiggle and squirm and playing toys on the floor without pain. Thank you Lord!

But the best time of all was putting them to bed, getting them in their jammies and saying prayers. Kristine cuddled in during prayer time, gave tight hugs and kisses and then she was off to sleep. Sam picked out a book to read and then we had prayers. He prayed along with me. He had so many things on his mind he wanted to thank Jesus for, people he wanted to pray for and things he wanted to pray about. We were in no rush. There was plenty of time to make sure everything was covered in prayer.

What a blessing!

I couldn’t help but think that our heavenly Father’s heart must have been filled to overflowing with the love and childlike faith of my little grandson. I know mine was. Such a joy to see the love for the Lord that this little man has. It was definitely a weekend of making family memories.

These two verses came to mind as I was thinking on our time together.

“Teach your children right from wrong, and when they are grown they will still do right.” Proverbs 22:6 CEV

“Let the message about Christ completely fill your lives, while you use all your wisdom to teach and instruct each other. With thankful hearts, sing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs to God. 17 Whatever you say or do should be done in the name of the Lord Jesus, as you give thanks to God the Father because of him.” Colossians 3:16-17 CEV

Whatever we do can, and should, be a time to thank the Lord for His love and provision. It may be something as simple as watching a movie, going to a race or saying bedtime prayers. They are all opportunities to give thanks.

What small things are you going to praise the Lord for today?

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