Monday Morning Cover to Cover.............God is among you I Cor 14:24. He has provided for you to stand up under all you're going through I Cor 10:13

WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU REPENTED? A friend asked me that question. Said he had put the question on one of his exams when he was teaching Bible. Am I really free in the place where I am this very day? We may think we are free but then someone shows up in our day and steals our peace. And do we repent no matter whether big or small sins. Sometimes we are not as free as we think we are. A teenager said to me this week that it was boring hearing about the love of God one more time---she wanted to hear something else. Maybe I misread her but it seems so arrogant to me. She had no idea how she came across. Have we lost our marvel over God’s love for us no matter what we do? What place in our heart do our thoughts and actions and attitudes come from. It’s not about cleaning up our behavior. It’s all about repenting and returning. This verse lingers with me from the chronological readings this week. God has done I Cor 10:13 - He has provided ways for each of us to stand up under all we’ve been through. We can look “spiritual” on the outside but what does that count for? It’s all about our hearts, isn’t it? We are so grateful to Him this Thanksgiving week for freedom. I loved reading I Cor 9:1 “Am I not free?” I am finding freedom in Him like I have never had. I am more free than ever! It’s freedom first, then love. Can’t move to love if we are not free from that person and their responses. Awesome work HE is doing in all of us. Faithful is He Who has called us and He is doing it! And if He is not working in your life, you need to ask yourself some hard questions. Here are 7 questions that linger with me from reading the chronological Bible this week. Pick one question and read that paragraph and leave a comment about what your mighty awesome God is saying to you.

1. When was the last time I repented?
2. Is God really among us?
3. What if I have faith that moves mountains?
4. What rules my heart this moment?
5. How do you deal with weakness and fear as you walk through your days?
6. Wonder how God is revealing to you what He has for you?
7. What would Jesus look like if He was living in your circumstances?

IS GOD REALLY AMONG US?
I Cor 14:24 – if someone walks into our midst, are they convinced that they are a sinner when they bump up against us? Now, if they bump up against our sin, how do we repent and show them a heart alive to God? Are the secrets of their heart laid bare so that they will fall down and worship God, exclaiming “God is really among you!” What is happening among us? If it is God, then we’ll know it cause we can’t conjure up the power of God. But we can do I Cor 14:1 “hold firmly to the Word.”

WHAT IF I HAVE FAITH THAT MOVES MOUNTAINS?
What if I give all I possess to the poor? But I live distant, distressed, disgusted, discouraged.
If I don’t have love for those God has brought into my life, I gain nothing. I am nothing.
If I have a successful ministry but really don’t love people enough to talk with them and walk with them whether they are right or wrong, I gain nothing from my passionate ministry.
If I have awesome kids but love them only when they do the things I approve of, that’s not love.
If I have great faith but withhold my love from one person even for very good reasons, what’s that about? I gain nothing. We think of love in terms of our behavior and then our definitions of love are so shallow.

WHAT RULES MY HEART THIS MOMENT?
Does God’s Love really rule my heart this day? Just look at what comes out of your thoughts, your mouths, your heart. Disgusted thoughts about others? Distant actions that communicate you don’t care. I Cor 6:12 says: “I will not be mastered by anything.” Not even the judgmental thoughts we harbor. Something rules our hearts more than the love of God if our thought life shows our ambition, our obsessions.

HOW DO YOU DEAL WITH WEAKNESS AND FEAR AS YOU WALK THROUGH YOUR DAYS?
I Cor 2:3,4 has meant so much to me over these past years cause I feel that I live in weakness and fear. Paul said that is where he was coming from “I came to you in weakness and fear, and with much trembling. My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power, so that your faith might not rest on men’s wisdom, but on God’s power.” Oh, that’s what I long for. Not longing for the perfect wise words to say. Not longing to persuade people. But longing for the power of the Spirit of my God. That means I need to let Him work and trust Him and not try to make it happen.

WONDER HOW GOD IS REVEALING TO YOU WHAT HE HAS FOR YOU?
I Cor 2:9“No eye has seen,no ear has heard,no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him.” I have so struggled my whole life with believing that I’m not loved, not cared for. I've kept friends "in court" trying to prove I am not loved rather than seeing what God has done and how they have responded to God. And how I want to respond to God to move in loving others regardless of their responses to me. I’ve walked into a Love that I cannot lose in the past couple of years through suffering. I’m thinking differently these days. Embracing truth and remaining there and trusting like I haven’t before.

WHAT WOULD JESUS LOOK LIKE IF HE WAS LIVING IN YOUR CIRCUMSTANCES?
A couple of years ago, I couldn’t physically stand up I was so depressed. Doesn’t matter what got me there, the real question is why did I crater? How did I get to the place that I wasn’t able to function when I perceived a tragedy hit? Not the place of trust where my beautiful God wants me to live. So this verse speaks to me: 2 Thes 2:15, 16 “Stand firm and hold to the teachings we passed on to you, whether by word of mouth or by letter. You know I cannot even stand firm without God’s help. What would Jesus look like if He was living in your circumstances? “May our Lord Jesus Christ Himself and God our Father encourage your hearts and strengthen you in every good deed and word.” And, yes, it was God Himself who strengthened me and I couldn’t be any more grateful. And I continue every day to grow and make shifts I could never do on my own.

My prayer for you this Thanksgiving week is 2 Thessalonians 3:16 - “Now may the Lord of peace Himself give you peace at all times and in every way. The Lord be with all of you.” Wonder what that peace looks like in your life, in my life?

HAPPY THANKSGIVING

Happy Thanksgiving to you this night and whatever it holds for you. Maybe things are going really well for you. But I have several friends who are in the midst of such suffering. I am thinking of Jean and Jen who have lost a love of their life---their children. I am thinking of three other close friends whose kids have gone off the deep end and are in trouble. What do you do?? I Thes 1:6 says: "In spite of severe suffering, you welcomed the message with the joy given by the Holy Spirit and turned to God ." May we all turn to Him this Thanksgiving and every day and welcome His Word with joy!

PICK ONE QUESTION
Monday Morning Cover to Cover..."Make it your ambition to lead a quiet life." I Thes 4:11
I've asked 7 questions this week...one each day from our chronological readings.
1. Do you love Me?
2. Do I want to leave a legacy that is large?
3. What really are my goals this day?
4. How do I know if I am running the right race?
5. How is your love working?
6. What is your real ambition as you live today?
7. How is your faith working for you?

You might pick one question to read about below. My prayer for each of you this Thanksgiving is 2 Thes 1:11,12. Every desire that you have to honor Him and do what is right, what is good---may He make you stand!

DO YOU LOVE ME? This is why I have so loved reading the chronological Bible this year. The disciples were face to face with Jesus yet they didn’t live the Christian life well. “Do you love Me?” Yes we do and we’ll deny it before everyone. BUT when they receive the Holy Spirit, the disciples become alive and free. All of a sudden, they are bold and full of faith. It’s so intriguing to me that one of the first things they will hear after receiving the Spirit is about wrong motives in James 4. “You want something but don’t get it. You cannot have what you want. You quarrel and fight. You do not have, because you do not ask God. When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your own pleasures. James 4:1-4Can we get our motives right? Can we quit living for what works out for us? Peter had quit doing it---in fact, Peter was sleeping knowing he was headed to face his death. Talk about rest! And Peter’s LORD let the chains loose. Do I think that if I stay up all night praying then God will work? We will be free if we are living in our new nature and identifying that old nature of wrong motives that rears its face up on us. Oooh!

DO I WANT TO LEAVE A LEGACY THAT IS LARGE? Acts 13 has always tugged at my heart for I so want to leave a legacy. I don’t want to have served God for my purposes. Yet, I have been way too driven at times to do the work of the ministry to make a significant mark. For whom? For what? I must leave in His lap how He wants to use my life. I have measured success like the Christian world does not like my Father does. Now that I am a lot older and things didn’t turn out like I thought they would, how do I evaluate my life’s work, my contribution? I must hold fast to Him living in this present moment not trying to make something happen but spending it all on Him and His purposes and leaving the results to God. “For when David had served God’s purpose in his own generation, he fell asleep.” Acts 13:36. And here comes another verse right along these lines that pierces my heart: “After beginning with the Spirit, are you now trying to attain your goal by human effort?” It is not about how hard we are trying to live the Christian life. It is not about human effort. So seems like that that is rewarded in Christian circles today—serving and working and programs and missions and even giving based on human effort profits what?

WHAT REALLY ARE MY GOALS? Gal 4:19 is my heartbeat. “I am again in the pains of childbirth until Christ is formed in you.” That’s really what it is all about…that Christ be formed in others…”Little Christs” as C. S. Lewis says.The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love. Ga. 5:6. Or, am I so distracted by how others treat me? Gal 5:7 You were running a good race. Who cut in on you and kept you from obeying the truth? Either we live by our old nature or by our new nature.

HOW DO WE KNOW WHICH RACE WE ARE RUNNING? Our real battle is not our child, our husband, our friend and their sin. Our real battle is our old nature that shows itself every day. It's like me trying to take chlorine out of water. We'll battle it til the day we die. After prayer and trust, what results in your life? Is it the peace of God? Is it a rest you haven’t known in the midst of raging seas? If you are running the right race, what you see will be Gal 5:22, the fruit of the Spirit. Our goal is not peace, patience, kindness, goodness, self-control. Our goal is God Himself. And He will be those things to us. Otherwise, we get sucked into moral living. This is about transformation not information to be a better wife, a better mom, a better person. If we’d do anything to learn what we are supposed to “do” in given situations to live the Christian life, we are asking the wrong questions. Paul and Silas were in prison praying and singing. No panic there to “do” everything to get out of their circumstances. All at once, a violent earthquake, and their chains came loose. Acts 16:25. May our chains fall off when we pray, when we sing, when we walk, when He’s our King.

HOW IS YOUR LOVE WORKING? Seems to me that too many Christians today focus on work, labor and endurance to be overcomers. These verses really talk about our faith, hope, and love. We are not human do-er’s; we are human beings. It’s not about working harder to improve our lives. 1 Thes 1:3 We continually remember before our God and Father your work produced by faith, your labor prompted by love, and your endurance inspired by hope in our Lord Jesus Christ. How is your love working for you? I Thes 2:12. Listen to how you talk about others in your thoughts? Are you longing for your family and friends’ faith to be built or are you disgruntled and disappointed withholding your love a little bit? That’s not love. I Thes 3:9 - are you enjoying them?“May the Lord make your love increase and overflow for each other. May he strengthen your hearts so that you will be blameless and holy in the presence of our God and Father.”

WHAT IS MY REAL AMBITION TODAY? If I had to say one verse that was my heart’s desire to grab onto this year and hold tight, hold fast. It would be I Thes 4:11 Make it your ambition to lead a quiet life, to mind your own business and to work with your hands, so that you will not be dependent on anybody. I have so wanted to live a recognized life, a valued life, a successful life. No more. I want a quiet life — so what does that mean for me, for you? Paul’s ending words to this Thessalonican church in chapter 4 are moving. Wonder what they stir up in us? Service? Kindness? v. 13-17 “Live in peace with each other. Warn those who are idle, encourage the timid, help the weak, be patient with everyone. Always try to be kind to each other. Be joyful always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. Hard to do? Impossible really. Do not put out the Spirit’s fire. Test everything. Hold on to the good. Avoid every kind of evil. May God Himself sanctify you. The one who calls you is faithful and he will do it. I Thes 5:24.

HOW IS YOUR FAITH WORKING FOR YOU? I Thes 3:5 - I want to find out about your faith for I'm afraid the tempter is tempting you. Scripture interprets Scripture. And it’s intriguing that we already know at this point the admonition of James to not spend our lives in wrong motives. Satan is tempting us all to sell ourselves short. Many Christians today live to be kind, no matter what. Or to serve, no matter what. It’s the LORD who will do it through us—that’s amazing. What do we need to put off, to let go of to get that place of repentance? My repentance is way too shallow.

I pray for each of you 2 Thes 1: 11, 12: May God count you worthy of his calling this Thanksgiving and always, and that by his power he may fulfill every good purpose of yours and every act prompted by your faith.

Ancho Pepper in my Birthday Pie

Brookie is on U.S. soil somewhere in Texas. She doesn't have a cell phone YET but I bet she'll find one at Wal-Mart! On the way to the big Cajun wedding in Louisiana!!! Claire has found her true love and I hope that the presence of her God overwhelms them all this week! We love you baby Claire and we wish you all the happiness in your humble home and in your passionate life and in the beautiful God Who has so invaded your heart!

This has been the hardest week for me facing and embracing unexpected obstacles and opinions. And my beautiful God just rained down on me this afternoon---Deut 32:2--- as my good friend here took me to lunch for my birthday. Yep, it's tomorrow. We sat on a patio on historic 6th Street and as the sun beat on the top of my head at this turn-of-the-century Victorian house now restaurant, and with a cooler than normal breeze blowing in our faces, the conversation was straight from the God I so adore. My good friend encouraged me more than she'll ever know for right where I am this day. I so want to be further along in my walk with my beautiful God than I am. All He wants is me.

You know, if we just stay connected to Him, all we have to do is let His Beauty pour out of us---Psalm 50:2---and that's what just happened on sixth street. Right straight into this discouraged heart. She gave me a little hope for my solitary path. We all have a vacuum in our hearts and we can't make it alone in this life. No idle words this day, it was God's very life to me. Deut 32:47.

We ate the most decadent delectable chocolate cake for free for Z'Tejas birthday girls. It's called "Z'Tejas Ancho Fudge Pie." And it was unbelievably good! No way you can even taste the ancho peppers but it enhances the chocolate flavor to the utmost. And they even gave me the recipe. Here is a gift for you to cook for Thanksgiving that will make you popular. They say it wins the best dessert contests in Texas and I can see why. Didn't believe it until I tasted it for free. No way I could pay for pepper in my chocolate. The secret ingredient is the ancho peppers---yuk! Who would have ever thought? Wonder if the Indians used ancho peppers in their first Thanksgiving feast? Where do you even buy ancho peppers? What do they look like?? Sounds like "Whole Foods," HERE I COME...
PS - the recipes are on Z-Tejas' website if you want to take a look at their other stuff---I had blackened catfish enchiladas that tasted awesome---their ingredients are their big secrets and they give the recipes away on their site: http://ztejas.com/recipes.html

Z'Tejas Southwestern Grill Ancho Fudge Pie
Ingredients:
1 9-in Deep dish prepared pie crust
2 each Eggs
1/2 cup Flour
1/2 cup White Sugar
1/2 cup Brown Sugar
1 cup Butter (2 sticks)
1/2 cup Pecans
1/2 cup Walnuts
1 cup Chocolate Chips
3/4 cup Ancho Chile Peppers, ground

Recipe Directions:Ancho peppers are available whole. To grind, soften peppers in water for 30 minutes, drain,grind in blender. Do NOT use chile powder.Preparation:Melt butter and allow to cool. Toast pecans and walnuts in oven on flat sheet until lightly brown.Beat eggs well. Add white flour, white sugar and brown sugar. Mix until smooth. Add coolbutter, mix well.Mix in nuts and chocolate chips. Fold into mixture. Pour into prepared pie crust.Bake at 325 degrees for 45-55 minutes.

Hey, I might as well throw in their Corn Bread recipe too cause people say it's one of the best around. And they have it down to perfection! I'm going to try it this Thanksgiving with all my children coming home with their friends!!! And I am so making "Mocah With Linda"s Baked Potatoes recipe and Melissa's killer nachos.

T'Zejas Corn Bread

Ingredients:
Corn Meal 1 ½ cups
Flour 1 ½ cups
Sugar 1/3 cups plus 1 Tablespoon
Baking Powder 1 tablespoons
Baking Soda 1 tablespoons
Yogurt (plain) 1
Cream Corn 1/3 cups plus 1 Tablespoon
Corn (frozen) 1/3 cups plus 1 Tablespoon
Buttermilk 1 1/2 cups
Eggs 3 each
Butter (melted) 1/3 cups plus 1 Tablespoon
Salt 1/4 teaspoon

Preparation:
Mix all dry ingredients together. In a large mixing bowl, whisk all wet ingredients together.Then add dry ingredients to form batter.Use a small pre-heated skillet, spray with non-stick cooking spray and then fill with 9 oz ofbatter.Bake at 375 degrees for 16 minutes. Rotate at 8 minutes.These recipes prepared by using a convection oven so try 400 degrees in regular oven.Test by using a toothpick in the center of the corn bread. Toothpick should come out clean.

Monday Morning Cover to Cover......Do you love Me? Do you love Me? Do you love Me? John 21:15 and Peter answers: "What about John?" John 21:21

There is something that lingers with me from our chronological readings all week about what the people experienced. They were filled with awe. Do I have awe in my life over my God and the release of His Power? Acts 2:46, 47 means a lot to me today. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. I want to enjoy the favor of people not experience their silence or absence. This really meant something to me.

Jesus had just left them and one of his last words was that he left a "new" commandment. Not new in terms of time. But "new" in experience for them. It would be the Spirit of God pouring His love into them. We are totally dependent on His Spirit for life and love. Yet, why is our experience of love today so lackluster? Seems like there are so many programs to make Christianity work. So many principles to follow for blessings. But is it the love of my beautiful God that rules my heart? John 21:15 - "Simon, do you truly love Me"? Jesus asked three times, once for each of Peter's three denials. And our sweet LORD is asking each of us this very day. "Do you love Me?" I've thought so much about this verse over the past two years. What words come out of my mouth, out of my heart this day? Is it the love of my God that rules my heart? If not, celebrate. There is grace for our sin! The problem is our repentance is so shallow, so meager, so intermittent, so scattered, so distracted. Does love rule my heart more than the things of this world. Do we live for this world or another world?

In John 21:21, Peter says: "What about John"? This so happens to me. I look at my own spiritual growth and then look at others and say why can't I be validated like they are or successful like they are. And Jesus firmly said to Peter: "What's that to you? You follow Me."

The question for believers is no longer what will we do with this Jesus but the question becomes what will God do with us when we refuse to trust Him? Will I deal with my doubt and celebrate that there is grace for my sin? Again, some of his last words: "some still doubted but Jesus said: 'Go and make disciples...I am with you always.' " "Why are you troubled? Why do doubts arise in your mind? It is I myself! Touch me and see." Jesus is always inviting us to touch Him.

What is going on in me if my mind is not "open" to the Scriptures? Luke 24:45---Jesus opened their minds as they walked the Emmaus Road so that they could understand the Scriptures. Do I have not because I ask not, says James.

What I have loved about reading the Bible chronologically is such a picture of truth in the readings this week. Unlearned and untrained men walked with Jesus face-to-face. They doubted Him over and over, in their hearts and in the marketplace. Yet, when the Holy Spirit of God came on these same decrepit, doubtful, depressed, damaged disciples, they touched the Jesus that invited them to rely on His power. And He began working a work of faith with power. II Thes 1:11, 12---it's my prayer for you this day!

Monday Morning Cover to Cover.......The gardener is calling your name - John 20:15

Just drove across the bridge here in the city where I sit on a dismal day. No sunlight in my home or heart, but it is morning and His mercy on me is brand new. Things haven't turned out like I had hoped they would. And I mean good things. So grateful to God for standing me up at this time in my life, for lifting my head in the midst of some bleak stuff. Much praise rising in my heart to Him for Who He is in my life and that when I turn to Him, He listens and loves. Morning has broken open, the birds are singing, the wind is whipping the leaves about, and parts of me feel like I could burst for my God is saying to me this bleary beautiful morn: "I have come to you." He doesn't leave us like orphans.

Here's my posting on what lingers with me from the chronological readings this week.

HAVE I FALLEN AWAY FROM GOD IN MY BUSY LIFE, IN MY BUSY THOUGHTS? There's a thread through my week tugging at my heart about "falling away from Me." Matt 26:31. The disciples sang a hymn with Jesus. Wonder what that was like. I so adore singing worship songs to my beautiful God. I love doing it with others! But I can't imagine standing there in His Presence singing it with Him, to Him, for Him. And the next words out of Jesus' mouth were:
"This night, you will all fall away from Me." I think people think that music sweeps away their sins. No, only repentance does. It's what we do with those things that bother us in the fray of our hearts.

IN THE MIDST OF MY CIRCUMSTANCES, AM I LIVING OUT OF A GOOD PLACE IN MY HEART? John 15:5 - "Apart from Me, you can do nothing." We think we can be overcomers and hold our heads high, and set out face like a flint to do the right things, and dig way down deep and pull ourselves up by our bootstraps. But what does that count for? Apart from God, we can do nothing of value for eternity. We might look pretty good in this world. Maybe we are even successful in what we touch. But are we living life out of our old nature that we are so comfortable with or do we live out of our new nature. Seems to me that it gets mixed up. We are living out of the old and people see right through our arrogance, our pride. Yet, we think we are doing right. Apart from Christ, what we do amounts to nothing.

DO I BELIEVE THE MIRACLES I HAVE SEEN? This has been a difficult week for me. Extremely. So, how do I live and embrace what God has allowed, provided, planned, when it's not what I had hoped for. It's not what I thought I really needed. Here I am telling the God who hosts the starry skies tonight what I think I need. How arrogant of me! There's a thought in John 14:11 that has helped me in my dark week. "Believe in the miracles you have seen." I don't see any miracles in the place where I am tonight but I can believe in the Ones I have seen. And I can know way down deep that Jesus prayed for me this day "that my faith fail not." Luke 22:31.

And I just broke down and wept when Jesus said: “I won’t leave you as orphans. I will come to you.” I have felt like an orphan all of my life. I am an orphan this day having no parents. Never felt loved when I had them. But those five words just overwhelm me:I WILL COME TO YOU …

AM I IGNORING MY CIRCUMSTANCES OR EMBRACING AND ENTERING THE PLACE GOD HAS FOR ME? Luke 22:42 - I am so moved that even Jesus asked the Father if He was willing to take the cup from Him—-yet not my will, but Yours be done. Jesus didn’t deny the pain He faced but He embraced the will of the Father. May we not deny what we are in nor ignore it but enter and embrace what God has provided and willed for our lives.

DO YOU HEAR YOUR BEAUTIFUL GOD CALLING YOUR NAME TONIGHT? John 20:15 "Woman," Jesus said, "why are you crying?" He appeared to Mary but she thought He was the gardener. I wonder how many times I have missed my beautiful God thinking he was the gardener??? But when he said her name, she knew. God called my name this week as a sweet special ed student blew me a kiss goodbye. I'll never forget the moment. I had spent most of that day teaching fighting back the tears. And God so showed up for me.

I sit here in my pain with tears rolling down my cheeks knowing that my Jesus is calling my name, calling your name tonight. He is risen. He is alive. Apart from Him, we can't do anything that counts.

God Kissed Me Today

Something happened to me yesterday that disappointed me beyond measure. I had been waiting for 5 months for an answer on an event that I thought would help me find my beautiful God in ways I have not. The answer came yesterday and it was "no." I had to embrace the loss and remain there not denying its existence nor feeding it with pleasure. Isaiah 40:1-4 are verses that have come to mean a lot to me this year. It seems to me that people deal with disappointment by pushing it down and trying to be an overcomer or saying I am going to accept that as my lot from God and move on or even try to explain it away. But I must face the disappointment, the loss, the hurt, and wrestle with my beautiful God Who has different plans for me. And as these verses in Isaiah say: He promises us that if we really want to know Him, then HE will lower our mountains and raise our valleys up so that we may know the God we so long for. The promise is not to fix our world, or give us the better life here, but to truly know Him. Yesterday I read the words of Jesus saying that if there was anyway, let this cup pass from Me. He was honest with right where He was. And He was God. He didn't say: "It's all right." "I'll be fine." "They can do to me whatever they want." No, He said, take it away. Then He stood to remain in the suffering and embrace God's will. May I stand today to remain in my suffering of disappointment. I do feel my valley has been raised a little overnight. I subbed and sobbed at a Special Ed Department yesterday with precious kids close to the heart of God. I asked my sovereign LORD to speak to me in my immense disappointment and He did: He spoke to me Isaiah 41:17 which says----I hear you Bev in your desert! I will make pools of water for you in your wilderness, for you who are needy at this moment. And He did. Yesterday, as my last student parted my presence, she turned back around to me on her crippled feet and threw me the biggest kiss ever using both of her crippled hands. It was straight from the mouth of my beautiful God!

Two Kinds of People---Democrats and Republicans

This post is being e-mailed to people in my address book AND I HAVE NO IDEA HOW TO STOP IT!!! I've never seen that happen before! Is it a virus or what?? I apologize if it was e-mailed to you---not my intent. Here's the post: Well, my presidential candidate just lost and I am very sad this night because it seems to me that a race was not decided on issues. People do vote with their pocketbooks. "Personal peace and affluence" says Francis Schaeffer. But I may be wrong. But, I do know this...there are two kinds of people in the U.S. --- and it is not Democrats and Republicans. There are those who trust God and those who do not trust God. Nothing changed tonight. We still trust God and will pray for His Hand to be on our new president-elect and on our country and its leaders. Acts 11:21.

I just watched a video of McCain's concession speech and oh my was he ever gracious! I liked when he said that he has "no regrets." He so graciously thanked people who so served him---people like my daughter Blair in Washington DC who so serves her country. (She met Joe the Plumber while campaigning in Ohio yesterday. I have the photo on my laptop at school so I'll have to post the pic tomorrow.) And I love that McCain always talks about remaining a servant. And I liked that he said that "he holds in his heart a love for this country and its citizens." I hold him and his POW story in my heart! And then he wishes Obama godspeed! And tells us not to despair in our difficulties but never quit! Never hide in history---just make it. I only have a certain amount of time left in life---don't we all---but I don't want to spend my later years hiding in my heart, hiding in my house, hiding in my actions. So thrilled I am free tonight and becoming more free being redeemed from my old nature---if I can just keep recognizing it all the more as the Day draws near.

I had the privilege of teaching US History this very day and one of my students shared Psalm 75: 6,7 with me this morning as we talked about the election. And it is a verse that is very true as night falls on the close of an ordinary working day that will be chronicled in every history book forever. Praying for our new president for God's protection and presence in his life.

Monday Morning Cover to Cover................She Did What She Could - Mark 14:6

19 days and this mom is counting. Brookie is flying home from Thailand for Thanksgiving. Barrett is in Korea racing and he'll be flying back soon and bringing sweet Lauren. Blair is flying in from DC and bringing her friend Patrick whom we have not met yet. The funny thing is that they all booked their flights to Dallas and we don't live there anymore! It will always be their home where they grew up.

Still struggling over here with some health issues. But for me these days, life isn't about solving problems and everything working out...it's all about trusting Him in the midst of what He is doing and what He has provided, no matter what. God is so showing up in Austin in the midst of some difficult times for me. Couldn't be more grateful for His Presence, His Power. Deut 4:37,38.

Three pictures linger with me from reading the chronological Bible this week.

1. Zaccheus Climbing a Tree. Luke 19:4. Am I climbing trees to find my God? Am I spiritually hungry like this guy? I think I am at times. And Jesus says in Luke 19:42: If you only knew what would bring you peace. I keep asking myself that question. What will bring me peace? Not solve my problems, my issues. There is one that looms too large. But how can I find my rest in Him in the midst of these difficulties. And in the midst of confusion--- just like the disciples who lived confused and Jesus was right there with them. John 12:16. Jesus didn't explain everything away to them. He let them wrestle with truth. May we wrestle well to find the escape from the anxieties of this life that He talks about in Luke 21:34. I think most of my anxiety stems from wanting to look good. As He said in Matt. 23:5 - "done for men." Looking good in the marketplace. Matt 23:7. There is so much put on us to be successful in the eyes of this world. So when the pressures hit this day, one question for me is what will my God do with me if I don't trust in His Goodness? He is waiting and watching at the bottom of the tree where a sinner sat looking for Him.

2. Jesus Washing Their Feet. John 13:14. Wash one another's feet. Do I assess whose feet I want to wash? It's a humbling thought. A pastor called me out of the audience to wash my feet. All I could do was weep. Washing feet doesn't make you clean on the inside. We can be righteous on the outside and not on the inside. Matt 23:28. We can give out of our poverty or wealth. Mark 12:44. Wonder what is going on inside of our minds and hearts this moment as we face our lives? Mean thoughts? Unkind words? Are we repenting of what is going on? Jesus tells us all we have to do is love. Can we do it without Him. We can do a lot without God but it means nothing, no eternal value. Are we giving out of our poverty or wealth? Are we sitting at the Lord's supper table clean on the inside? Life isn't about behavior modification. It's all about dealing with the fray of our heart and repenting from what's inside that makes us unclean---pride, self ambition, self obsessions. We so want to be saved from everything in this life. But Jesus said: "save me from this hour, NO, it was for this very reason I came to this hour." John 12:27. As we encounter the moments in our lives, may our eyes be opened to see what our beautiful God is doing in our lives and trust His goodness.

3. A Woman Pouring Perfume. He is a good God watching and waiting for us to return to Him in our every thought, our every move. Just like the woman who poured perfume on Him. Mark 14:6. A sinner who had repented. The perfume was worth one year's wage at that time. Oh my goodness! She did what she could! She responded to that prompting inside to lavish love without thinking about what others would think. She had no idea that she was preparing Him for His burial. She did know what the cost of her alabaster box was---she knew what she had been saved from! My prayer for you this week is that you love Him extravagantly!