Category: James

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Love In Action

This morning I was reminded of a lady who attended church with us many years ago. She was so sweet and her desire to help people had no limits. Her name was Ruby. Ruby had the best hugs, a contagious laugh and compassion shone from her eyes.

Friday was a busy day for Ruby. She spent the entire day making soups, all kinds of soups, that she would use to feed the homeless in a park in South Phoenix. She had a number of people who would help her but she was the spearhead. She was there come rain or shine.

She was love in action!

She wanted to touch those others had forgotten with the love of Jesus. She said it was hard for them to hear words of love when their stomachs were empty so she did what she could to show them love and not just tell them about it.

I’ve never forgotten her and her sweet husband, Jim. They were some of the most loving people I have ever met. True examples of Jesus.

“Whoever wants to be first among you must be your slave. That is what the Son of Man has done: He came to serve, not be served—and then to give away his life in exchange for the many who are held hostage.” Matthew 20:28 MSG

The Apostle Paul tells us that our love will bring action to our faith.

“For when we place our faith in Christ Jesus, there is no benefit in being circumcised or being uncircumcised. What is important is faith expressing itself in love.” Galatians 5:6 NLT

During this time of stressful circumstances we can either be self-centered or conscious of others and their needs. It’s in times like this that our relationship with the Lord can really shine.

Since we are to be His examples we need to be asking ourselves “what would Jesus do”. He was always an example of love in action. He healed the sick, comforted those who were sorrowful and loved the outcast.

A kind word to an overworked grocery store clerk, an extra tip to the one who is delivering our take-out dinner, checking on neighbors to make sure they have all they need or a phone call to say I’m thinking of you and praying for you. All examples of love in action!

Let’s not let this situation make us bitter and selfish but let’s be better at loving.

“My friends, what good is it to say you have faith, when you don’t do anything to show that you really do have faith? Can that kind of faith save you? 15 If you know someone who doesn’t have any clothes or food, 16 you shouldn’t just say, “I hope all goes well for you. I hope you will be warm and have plenty to eat.” What good is it to say this, unless you do something to help? 17 Faith that doesn’t lead us to do good deeds is all alone and dead!…26 Anyone who doesn’t breathe is dead, and faith that doesn’t do anything is just as dead!” James 2:17-26 CEV

What action does our faith need to take today? If we listen to the Holy Spirit he will show us who to encourage. Be willing to put some hands and feet on our faith today.

Let’s put love in action!

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Learn What’s Important

I often remember my college days; the friends I made, some hard life lessons and the kindness and wisdom of some of my professors. At the beginning of each semester, one professor in particular would welcome us to class and then explain his expectations of our learning.

He made a statement that we all made note of. He said, “If I say something twice it’s significant and you should retain it to memory, if I repeat something a third time it’s important and will be on the test. Write it down.” He kept his word; when I heard him repeat something I would write it in my syllabus and underline it. This was my indication that it was important.

I don’t know about you but it seems that we have been going through exam week. There have been so many things to test our resolve. The one thing I have been careful not to do is blame God. He’s not at fault – that I know for certain.

“Everything good comes from God. Every perfect gift is from him. These good gifts come down from the Father who made all the lights in the sky. But God never changes like the shadows from those lights. He is always the same.” James 1:17 ERV

Our heavenly Father is the giver of life and peace. His character is to give love and comfort. He is always the same. There is a Psalm that reminds me of what my college professor said. Read these verses and see if you can figure out what’s important to the Father.

“Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good! His faithful love endures forever.
2 Give thanks to the God of gods. His faithful love endures forever.
3 Give thanks to the Lord of lords. His faithful love endures forever.

4 Give thanks to him who alone does mighty miracles. His faithful love endures forever.
5 Give thanks to him who made the heavens so skillfully. His faithful love endures forever.
6 Give thanks to him who placed the earth among the waters. His faithful love endures forever.
7 Give thanks to him who made the heavenly lights— His faithful love endures His faithful love endures forever.
8 the sun to rule the day, His faithful love endures forever.
9 and the moon and stars to rule the night. His faithful love endures forever.” Psalm 136:1-9 NLT

This Psalm has twenty-five verses and each verse boldly proclaims that God’s love for us endures forever. There are two important things we should take away from this Psalm. 1) Give praise to the Lord and 2) His love endures forever. Since the second statement is true it becomes the premise for the first statement.

Since we know that God’s love endures forever we can always give praise to the Lord. No matter what we experience – joys and challenges – if we remember that the Lord loves us unconditionally we can praise Him, knowing that He will protect and provide, knowing that He desires to fill our lives with good and perfect gifts.

“Always be filled with joy in the Lord. I will say it again. Be filled with joy.

5 Let everyone see that you are gentle and kind. The Lord is coming soon. 6 Don’t worry about anything, but pray and ask God for everything you need, always giving thanks for what you have. 7 And because you belong to Christ Jesus, God’s peace will stand guard over all your thoughts and feelings. His peace can do this far better than our human minds.” Philippians 4:4-7 ERV

Now, what I think Paul is wanting us to see is that even in difficulty we can remain joy-filled. God will not abandon us or have us figure things out on our own. No, to the contrary, He will be there to give us the wisdom we need and we will come through this time stronger, with greater resolve.

“Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good! His faithful love endures forever.”

The question on the exam of life may be this: How do we handle the difficult situations of life? The answer, He repeated it several times to make sure we get it: Give thanks because God’s love for us endures forever!

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The Lamb and The Shepherd

As we enter Easter week so many are focused on the crisis we are going through. That was true in Jesus day as well. He was focused on the events of His week. He came to earth to be our sacrificial lamb. We have His promise of forgiveness and a life-long relationship with our heavenly Father; we must keep our focus on that.

“We must never stop looking to Jesus. He is the leader of our faith, and he is the one who makes our faith complete. He suffered death on a cross. But he accepted the shame of the cross as if it were nothing because of the joy he could see waiting for him. And now he is sitting at the right side of God’s throne. 3 Think about Jesus. He patiently endured the angry insults that sinful people were shouting at him. Think about him so that you won’t get discouraged and stop trying.” Hebrews 12:2-3 ERV

I saw a post on a friend’s FB page “Easter isn’t about the bunny; it’s about the Lamb”! Jesus is called the Lamb of God. He came to be the sinless sacrifice; the atonement for our sins.

“The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Look, the Lamb of God. He takes away the sins of the world!” John 1:29 ERV

The Lamb of God is also our Good Shepherd. As the Son of God, He recognized that we are vulnerable as lambs and can easily be led astray. He promised to be our Good Shepherd, our protector and provider.

“A thief comes to steal, kill, and destroy. But I came to give life—life that is full and good. 11 “I am the good shepherd, and the good shepherd gives his life for the sheep.” John 10:11 ERV

Jesus used this analogy to make his ministry and purpose easy to understand. Raising sheep was a common profession in that day, Jesus used something they were familiar with to teach his lesson. At night the sheep were kept in a gated pen for their protection and early each morning the shepherd would come and lead the sheep out to pasture. The sheep had become accustom to the shepherd’s voice and so when he called, they would follow. They wouldn’t follow someone who would sneak in and try lead them astray.

Jesus was telling them, and us, if they spent time with Him, listening to His word and getting to know Him, they would follow Him and keep His commandments. He would lead them “in green pastures” (Psalm 23).

As I mentioned in a previous blog, Jesus’ mission statement, His purpose, is to give us life and life more abundantly. He warns us that there is a thief who wants to kill, steal and destroy – that’s the devil. Everything that falls in one of those categories – stealing, killing and destroying – doesn’t come from God.

Those things that bring life, abundance and fullness to life comes from God. “Every good and perfect gift comes down from the Father who created all the lights in the heavens. He is always the same and never makes dark shadows by changing.” James 1:17 ERV

Our Good Shepherd gave His life for us. Let’s keep our focus on Him, following Him and living the life He has provided for us.

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Wait and See

When Dave and I were dating he lived in California and I lived in Arizona. This was in the “olden” days before cell phones, text messaging and internet. Our communication had to be done the old-fashioned way with land lines and mail service.

Each morning on my way to work I would wonder if there would be a letter waiting when I got home. We had to be conservative with our telephone time; long distance calls were expensive. Every day was exciting. I would wait to see what had been on his heart when he wrote me a letter.

None of us are mind readers; we can imagine what we would like someone to say but until those words are expressed the best we can do is guess. Sometimes we do that with God. We think we can never really know what’s on God’s heart or what He’s thinking. Often, we have had a wrong impression of who God is or what He does.

But let me tell you there is a way to know what is on God’s mind and in His heart. It’s in the love letters that He writes to us and we can read them each day.

“The Holy Writings say, “No eye has ever seen or no ear has ever heard or no mind has ever thought of the wonderful things God has made ready for those who love Him.” 10 God has shown these things to us through His Holy Spirit. It is the Holy Spirit Who looks into all things, even the secrets of God, and shows them to us. 11 Who can know the things about a man, except a man’s own spirit that is in him? It is the same with God. Who can understand Him except the Holy Spirit? 12 We have not received the spirit of the world. God has given us His Holy Spirit that we may know about the things given to us by Him.” I Corinthians 2:9-12 NLV

The Father has wonderful things in store for us who love Him and He has given us the Spirit to show us from God’s Word what they are. We should get up each morning with an excitement and anticipation to see the wonderful things that God has for us.

“Everything good comes from God. Every perfect gift is from him. These good gifts come down from the Father who made all the lights in the sky. But God never changes like the shadows from those lights. He is always the same.” James 1:17 ERV

God’s word is our love letter. I can’t wait to see what He’s written to me today!

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The Crowning Touch

When I was in high school we were required to write an essay for English. In it, we were to describe what we wanted to do as a career. I thought long and hard, then it came to me, I would like to be a florist.

I worked at the local Dairy Queen after school and on weekends. Right next door was a florist. I would see the people come and go, picking up beautiful bouquets and arrangements. They all had smiling faces. When you stepped in the door, the fragrance was heavenly. I decided I would like to bring that kind of joy to people!

That career path never came to be. However, my love for fresh cut flowers and the beautiful arrangements is still close to the top of the list of things that bring a smile to my face. This morning I found these verses in Proverbs and I thought “how wonderful, God has blessed me with the beauty of flowers”.

“Be wise and learn good sense; remember my teachings and do what I say. 6 If you love Wisdom and don’t reject her, she will watch over you. 7 The best thing about Wisdom is Wisdom herself; good sense is more important than anything else. 8 If you value Wisdom and hold tightly to her, great honors will be yours. 9 It will be like wearing
a glorious crown of beautiful flowers.” Proverbs 4:5-9 CEV

Each day I can come to God’s Word and find wisdom. Did you notice that Solomon talks about Wisdom as a person, a beautiful woman? That she is. Wisdom provides direction, nurturing, common sense and loving provision. She is a wonderful asset and she adds beauty to our lives.

These are the words of the wisest man who ever lived. When the Lord asked him what he desired from the Lord his answer was Wisdom. Solomon wanted to rule wisely; he wanted His kingdom to be respected and honored. God blessed him with his request.

We can bring beauty to our kingdom by gaining wisdom. Our homes can be filled with it; we can bring respect and honor to our places of business and the schools we attend.

You may be feeling that you lack wisdom. I know that feeling well. However, God has not abandon us or left us to our own devices.

“If you need wisdom, ask our generous God, and he will give it to you. He will not rebuke you for asking. 6 But when you ask him, be sure that your faith is in God alone. Do not waver, for a person with divided loyalty is as unsettled as a wave of the sea that is blown and tossed by the wind. 7 Such people should not expect to receive anything from the Lord. 8 Their loyalty is divided between God and the world, and they are unstable in everything they do.” James 1:5-8 NLT

Let’s take some beauty to the world. Wear wisdom like a crown, a crown of beautiful flowers!

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You Don’t Have to Give It Back

Here we are just a few weeks after Christmas. If you’re like me you have probably made room in the cupboard, the closet or on the table top for the gifts you received at Christmas. Just yesterday I was out in the RV making room for the great camping items we received. Every gift was given with love and no one has called or come by to ask for their gift back. That would be so strange – a gift is an expression of love, it’s not something we take back.

Well God doesn’t take back His gifts either!

“For the gifts and calling of God are without repentance.” Romans 11:29

I’ve read this verse and heard it taught on many times. In the context of the chapter, Paul is talking to Gentiles about how the Jews didn’t accept Jesus as their Messiah so that now the message is being preached to the Gentiles, us, who are non-Jews. God’s calling for salvation is available to everyone who will believe! That’s the calling of God.

However, yesterday I stopped and focused on the first few words. “For the gifts…are without repentance.” That’s when this verse took on a whole new light. The gifts – the gifts of God are without repentance, God doesn’t go back on his word. God doesn’t regret giving us something and then come take it back.

“God never changes his mind about the people he calls. He never decides to take back the blessings he has given them.” Romans 11:29 ERV

In early Bible history the Israelites or Jews were considered a blessed people and today they are still walking in that blessing. We, as believers, are also blessed of God.

“Everything good comes from God. Every perfect gift is from him. These good gifts come down from the Father who made all the lights in the sky. But God never changes like the shadows from those lights. He is always the same.” James 1:17 ERV

When Jesus was teaching the Sermon on the Mount He compared God’s character with that of man. God’s love is unconditional, unearned, unchanging – man’s love can be tainted by circumstance. If earthly parents, with natural affection, know how to give good gifts to their children how much greater are the gifts that God gives to us.

“Continue to ask, and God will give to you. Continue to search, and you will find. Continue to knock, and the door will open for you. 8 Yes, whoever continues to ask will receive. Whoever continues to look will find. And whoever continues to knock will have the door opened for them. 9 “Do any of you have a son? If he asked for bread, would you give him a rock? 10 Or if he asked for a fish, would you give him a snake? Of course not! 11 You people are so bad, but you still know how to give good things to your children. So surely your heavenly Father will give good things to those who ask him.” Matthew 7:7-11

So when circumstances try to get you down, when people criticize and walk away, when it looks as if your world will shatter, remember God has spoken good into your life. If you’ve accepted His gift of salvation, you’re His child and He has many gifts and blessings lined up for you, He won’t go back on His word.

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The Gift List

I’m sure most of us have a “gift list” for December. It has the names of those we hold dear and want to do a little something special for. The love of our life is probably at the top followed by family and friends; somewhere, a little ways down the list could be the names of the neighbors, the kids teacher, the mailman, the garage collectors, the white elephant gift for the office and the secret sister gift.

Now that we’re thinking about the “gift list” let’s redirect our focus just a bit.

In November, I asked you all to join me in making a daily gratitude list. Each day I wrote down at least three things in my journal that I was grateful for from the day before. Yesterday I took time for go back and read those pages. You know what? It made me smile and my day was just that much better.

Since today is December 1st I’m going to ask that you join me in making a new list, the gift list.

Every day we receive small gifts from family, co-workers, even strangers but many times they pass unnoticed. I’m going to make a conscious effort this month to list the gifts I receive.

Those gifts could include a plate of cookies, a cheery phone call, a lunch date or a helping hand, a kind word or a gentle smile. It may be hearing your favorite song on the radio or in a store – just the thing you need to brighten your day. If we look, we will find little gifts everywhere.

“Loving-favor has been given to each one of us. We can see how great it is by the gift of Christ.” Ephesians 4:7 NLV

The most wonderful gift of all, of course, is God’s gift of His Son. Through the life and death of Jesus we have been given mercy, grace and love. Those should be the first gifts we recognize and put on our gift list.

“God loved the people of this world so much that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who has faith in him will have eternal life and never really die.” John 3:16 CEV

“Everything good comes from God. Every perfect gift is from him. These good gifts come down from the Father who made all the lights in the sky. But God never changes like the shadows from those lights. He is always the same.” James 1:17 ERV

As we go through this month and make our gift list let me encourage you to share what you receive with others. If you receive an act of kindness, share kindness. If someone gives you the gift of patience then share that patience with others. If you receive a box of chocolates or a plate of cookies, share those too. (Said with a smile on my face.)

When we give freely, our gifts may have a life long impact.

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Loaded Up

Here we are just a few days before Thanksgiving and other than the grocery store commercials not a lot is being said about this day that was set aside for giving thanks. The focus is already on the Christmas shopping season and it has been for several weeks now.

It seems that less and less time is allotted for thankfulness. Our hearts should be overflowing with thankfulness. God has been gracious and kind. There may have been disappointments and even heart aches in the last year but God remains faithful and trustworthy.

He continues to bring blessings and benefits into our lives.

“Do not be misled, my beloved brothers and sisters. 17 Every good thing given and every perfect gift is from above; it comes down from the Father of lights [the Creator and Sustainer of the heavens], in whom there is no variation [no rising or setting] or shadow cast by His turning [for He is perfect and never changes]. 18 It was of His own will that He gave us birth [as His children] by the word of truth, so that we would be a kind of first fruits of His creatures [a prime example of what He created to be set apart to Himself—sanctified, made holy for His divine purposes]. 19 Understand this, my beloved brothers and sisters. Let everyone be quick to hear [be a careful, thoughtful listener], slow to speak [a speaker of carefully chosen words and], slow to anger [patient, reflective, forgiving]; ” James 1:16-19 AMP

He is the giver of every good and perfect gift and He does not change. We need to listen more and murmur less. This will definitely bring us closer to thankful hearts.

“Blessed be the Lord, who daily loadeth us with benefits, even the God of our salvation. Selah.” Psalm 68:19 NKJV

Daily, He loads us up with benefits…Selah means stop and think.

Yesterday I stopped in at our local grocery store to pick up a few things that I wanted to have on hand for our Thanksgiving meal next week. I saw a number of people who had their shopping carts loaded to the top. It made of think of this verse. I consider a full shopping cart to be a benefit from the Lord. Loaded up. I remember the days when we had very little in our weekly grocery budget and so my cart was never loaded. A full shopping cart always makes me grateful; I’m thankful for the blessing of enough to eat.

“After you eat and are full, give praise to the Lord your God for the good land he gave you. 11 Make sure that you never forget the Lord or disobey his laws and teachings that I am giving you today. If you always obey them, 12 you will have plenty to eat, and you will build good houses to live in.” Deuteronomy 8:10-12 CEV

As you go about your day, Stop and Think about the ways the Lord has been good to you. I guarantee it will make you thankful!

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Grateful for Grateful People

Have you ever been in a gathering where everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves but no one was expressing gratitude to the event planner or party host? However, let one person speak up and say how nice it was to be invited or what a beautiful evening it has been and the others around begin to express their gratitude and thanks as well.

I am grateful for grateful people.

The reverse is also true. How many of us have been in a group of people when someone starts to complain? It could be about the price of gasoline and groceries, political viewpoints, health, the weather, disrespectful teenagers, crazy drivers – any one of a thousand things and suddenly the whole group is grumbling and complaining.

I am grateful for grateful people.

“Do everything without grumbling or arguing. 15 Then you will be the pure and innocent children of God. You live among people who are crooked and evil, but you must not do anything that they can say is wrong. Try to shine as lights among the people of this world,” Philippians 2:14-15 CEV

This is something Dave and I have had to work on – looking for the best in every person and not grumbling or complaining. At one point, we were dealing with a particularly disagreeable person nearly everyday in our business. We found ourselves complaining…a lot. Finally, we came to a place where we determined if the only good thing we could say about that person is they had clean fingernails then that’s what we would focus on. One day, after a long, trying conversation we looked at each other, laughed and said “yep, their fingernails are clean”.

Why is it so important to be grateful and not critical? Look at these two verses from God’s word.

“Always be full of joy in the Lord. I say it again—rejoice! 5 Let everyone see that you are considerate in all you do. Remember, the Lord is coming soon. 6 Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. 7 Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4:4-7 NLT

“For wherever there is jealousy and selfish ambition (envying and strife, in another translation), there you will find disorder and evil of every kind.” James 3:16 NLT

We have a choice. We can be full of joy and give everything over to the Lord and experience peace or we can be selfish in our thinking, defending ourselves, criticizing others and experience disorder.

I choose to be grateful. Grateful for those who are grateful and prayer-full for those who aren’t. I have found that it’s always better to follow the example of Jesus and the instruction that I find in God’s word.

“My dear friends, you should be quick to listen and slow to speak or to get angry. 20 If you are angry, you cannot do any of the good things that God wants done. 21 You must stop doing anything immoral or evil. Instead be humble and accept the message that is planted in you to save you. 22 Obey God’s message! Don’t fool yourselves by just listening to it. 23 If you hear the message and don’t obey it, you are like people who stare at themselves in a mirror 24 and forget what they look like as soon as they leave. 25 But you must never stop looking at the perfect law that sets you free. God will bless you in everything you do, if you listen and obey, and don’t just hear and forget. 26 If you think you are being religious, but can’t control your tongue, you are fooling yourself, and everything you do is useless.” James 1:19-26 CEV

A good portion of the book of James is devoted to controlling our tongue. We are instructed to not just hear God’s word but to DO IT. God wants us to speak blessings into the lives of those around us. He loves each of us the same. God’s love doesn’t increase or decrease because of who we are or what we do; God so loves the WORLD that He gave.

I’m sure I have irritated and frustrated many in my day and I feel badly for that. I know some see me and can only compliment me on my nice fingernails. It’s important for me to remember that God loves and forgives those I find obnoxious and misdirected with the same loving heart that He forgives me.

Be grateful. There are those who will be glad that we are!

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A Winner!

Going to talk about exercise for a bit this morning. When we first realize that we “need” to exercise it’s never pleasant. Accepting that we are out of shape and not as healthy as you should be is the first step. When we were kids it was called recess and it was fun but now that we are adults if just seems like work.

The first few days we have a real commitment or at least that’s what we tell ourselves. But then comes day 7 or 8; and it becomes harder to stay committed to the goal. Our muscles hurt, we’re not seeing any results yet, we start making excuses and when we do that we are on your way to failure. I know, I’ve failed many times.

Never once do I ever remember moaning and groaning about going out to recess. There were a number of times that I had to sit on the sidewalk, next to the teacher and miss recess. It was horrible, I wanted to be out playing (ssh, exercising).

Now think back to our childhood days exercise wasn’t a bad word, it was called fun. To be outside with our buddies playing ball, running through the yard playing tag or football. Going hiking to our favorite fishing spot or walking the mile to the swimming pool in the afternoon heat (my personal favorite). It was fun and we were in shape.

Of course you know this is going to have a spiritual correlation.

When we face trials and temptations it is an opportunity to exercise our faith. James tells us to count it joy because we will be developed and end up lacking nothing.

“My friends, be glad, even if you have a lot of trouble. 3 You know that you learn to endure by having your faith tested. 4 But you must learn to endure everything, so that you will be completely mature and not lacking in anything.” James 1:2-4 CEV

Facing trials is like building muscle. At first, we see little victories but then to continue to develop a muscle we must increase the weigh, the repetition or both. In walking with the Lord, we’re never left to do this on our own.. We have a great coach who is with us every step. Under His direction and inspiration we come out the winner.

“13 You are tempted in the same way that everyone else is tempted. But God can be trusted not to let you be tempted too much, and he will show you how to escape from your temptations.” I Corinthians 10:13 CEV

Jesus knows what this is all about because He went through every temptation we experience while he was here on earth. Who better to coach us than someone whose been there, done that and emerged as the Champion of Champions!

“We have a great high priest who has gone to live with God in heaven. He is Jesus the Son of God. So let us continue to express our faith in him. 15 Jesus, our high priest, is able to understand our weaknesses. When Jesus lived on earth, he was tempted in every way. He was tempted in the same ways we are tempted, but he never sinned. 16 With Jesus as our high priest, we can feel free to come before God’s throne where there is grace. There we receive mercy and kindness to help us when we need it.” Hebrews 4:14-16 ERV

Thank you Lord for coaching me through life and providing all the help I need to develop and finish a winner!

Time for recess!

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