91 - "Reversed Circumstances" 1 Samuel 1-3

                  

I find much comfort in this story.  Hannah is childless. 

I went through that kind of grief trying to get pregnant with my youngest, Britt.  Lost 3 babies the year before he was born. The grief is real and this is what you do with it.  

Hannah leaves her grief with the One who holds life in His Hands.  And it's an interesting prayer in I Samuel 1:18 that she may find favor in the eyes of those over her.  And that God may remember her.  And she deals with what stirs within her.  Her circumstance doesn't change; her heart does.  And she is no longer downcast.  No more!  

Two words that speak volumes to my story.  No More!  

And then God reverses the story.  

It is never meant for us to reverse our circumstances.  

He was crucified scores of years ago.  No reversal of those circumstances.  A Resurrection to new life.  He is making something new out of you.  

PHOTO:  Pompeii. April 1st---the day I was diagnosed with cancer. No reversed circumstances. I had to walk through. Never Alone. 

90 - "A Life of Rest Undisturbed" Ruth 1-4

"The Lord grant you that ye may find rest." Ruth 1:9.  

A life of rest undisturbed by the overwhelming sorrow of being a widow; 

a life of rest untouched by the cares of this broken world and my broken story.  

What steals my peace?  May you find rest in the house of your husband." 

Both of their husbands are gone. 

They stood tall and did what they had to do to make a living.

Oh, God, help us all stand tall. 

Naomi's two sons and husband are now in heaven.  What loss for these three women to embrace.  The love of their lives.  God invites them to "rest" in the midst of their tragedy.  God is always beckoning us to "rest," not in our circumstances, but in Him.  Isaiah 30:7 - we rest by keeping still while Egypt's help is empty.  We are not empty people.  When we've been depleted, our God is filling us up.  Naomi and her two daughters found that kind of rest in Providence---seemingly simply story with a grand finale.  Another baby was born from the descent of Ruth---and that baby in a manger changed the world.

"No matter what happens in your life, God can reach into your heart with Power to form you into someone who values God above everyone and everything else.  God is determined to reverse our values."  66 LL

Ruth 4:15 ~ My God has not left me without a Redeemer. He has not left you. He shall be our Restorer of Life and a Nourisher in our old age. Hanging on to this verse with all my spiritual might. This love story of Boaz and Ruth whose child will become the grandfather of David. God never forgot Naomi and He hasn't forgotten me either. There are 3 intractable obstacles I must overcome to make you holy:  

God deals with three in the Book of Ruth:

1. Natural Disadvantages that to you seem more important to overcome than an unholy value system.         Do I see in my every day life how I focus on the natural disadvantages that come my way? Or am I more concerned about holiness?

2. Shattered Dreams that bring so much pain into your life that it is difficult to welcome the opportnity they provide for new levels of trust.  What do I do with my shattered dreams. Are the trails welcomes?

3. Material Resoures that make it easy to disguise narcissism behind non-sacrificial generosity.  What do I do with the material resources I have been given?"

66 Love Letters - Larry Crabb

Ruth is a story of affliction. Naomi lost her husband and sons. What tragedy. What tribulation producing patience. What Naomi cannot see is a God Who is doing her good in the midst of such sorrow and loss and confusion and dross.  Can we?

Naomi (can I place my own name here)
Distressed in her work
Mourning her loss of her family
Giving Up her home

All this seemed to be chalked up against her.
Yet, her God stoops to work all this for good
for Naomi and her family.

PHOTO:  Farm land.  Hands lathered in blisters from gleaning.  Backs broken sorely from stooping. Nothing reveals the kind of person you are like your work ethic.  Is your stall full?  Will I stoop in humility this day for the glory of God. Found while tending to my menial job, my assigned responsibilities, my ordinary life. It's a beautiful metaphor of humbled hearts: We stoop to work. God stoops to watch. Psalm 113:6Under the Infinite Care.

89 - "Sheer Wonder" Judges 20-21

Judges 21:25  "At that time there was no king in Israel. People did whatever they felt like doing."  What a disturbing reading about this concubine that so brings up for me my own rape where I was left on the threshhold of my door passed out for several hours.  Did they ever repent? Did I repent?  The rape wasn't my fault even though I thought it was for years.  Not my fault.  What I did with it was my fault. And praise God, He has set me free to forgive and love and leave justice in His Hands.  Even if there was a king, there may be restraints on their behavior but no restraint in their hearts, the Israelites never repented.  It was best-behavior Christianity if the kings are around. .  What does real repentance look like?  God has to get in us and pour His Love into my heart---Romans 5:5---so that His motives reach deeper inside of me (66 LL) than my motives for a good stable joyful life here.   So what lingers with you as we close the book of Judges?  I've thought a lot about how they really didn't repent but did what they felt was right.  They missed God!  Also, I've thought about the kings who "were longing for a better country, a heavenly one." Heb. 11: 16.  And some of these kings and prophets administered justice and became powerful in battle, attached to their God.  Heb 11:34 says:  "their weakness was turned to strength."  Oooh...that's my prayer for you too, kids!  I see some weaknesses in my life this night as I engaged a little bit ago in a heated discussion over trivial stuff that I should not have entertained. I hurt my son over it.  I don't want to look bad.  I hurt tonight over what I did. But do I hate sin more than suffering?  I will hold close to my heart the words on page 30:  "My plan is to change you from the INSIDE OUT, to change your motives and to change your impact on people so that how you relate to others, like my Son, will make them thirsty for Me and will draw them into desperate, grateful dependence on Me."  I met Beth Moore several times and the first time I met her, I said two sentences to her about what was going on in my life.  Her response was:  "Your desperation is a gift.  God has yanked you by the hair on your head out of your situation, Ezekiel 8:3."  She had no idea that it was like "Sheer Wonder" (Judges 13:18) to me---like an angel speaking. Those 2 words have caught my heart from the book of Judges. For God was changing my motives, my impact.  He still is! So what lingers with you from Judges?

88 - "What Is Holy In This Situation I am In?" Judges 17-19

                                                                        

Judges 17:6  "In those days there was no king in Israel.  People did whatever they felt like doing."  Sounds like where we live.  Not that much Christian leadership. Isn't everyone sort of free to do whatever they feel like doing, just about?  

A very good friend of mine is battling serious health issues with cancer that have interrupted her life. I went to see her last week and walked away from her presence thinking about one word: Repent.  She talked about it in such an inviting way.  No condemnation there.  Made me want to repent.  

And that's what I keep mulling over as I continue to read through Judges and stories like Samson.  The Israelites did not repent.  Maybe sometimes their behavior looked like they were moving toward God with baby steps.  We do see the outcome of their lives.  You don't keep on living a life of sin---you don't want to!   

I am so grateful for a person in my life who has helped me discern what it means to repent and truly live, to really love. I was confused just like the Galatians with my expectations of feeling everything I wanted to feel in this fallen world, as Larry says. I worked hard not to feel unloved, unnoiticed, uncared for. There are parts of me today that is so free from that and some parts still struggling through. It seems the Chrisitan world I live in is way too focused on the good life here. 

People don't say to me----except Larry and some of you reading this---what is holy in this situation you are in?....no, they are asking me what can we do to get out of the cancer or to help our children who are failing in some area or to restore a relationship? What will make our lives work? Is that working for you? That's where most people are and it's God Who is knocking on our hearts to make every one of us holy. 

Everybody always wants to know how I am doing with my cancer---I want to answer: Am I hating my sin more than my suffering? I do tell them where I am. So many people aren't talking about their unholiness but rather how they are overcomers. Do you think deeply about how unholy you are? I'm a mess. And praise God, that's what Easter is all about! 

PHOTO:  My older 3 kids: 5, 4, and 3. They could sling a shot at a hair. Still can. May the deepest truths of the book of Judges be theirs. Holy lives. 

87 - "A Sorry Jawbone" Judges 14-16

                                              

My Dear Children, We can push someone too far to disclose, discredit, dishonor their own name. The verse about giant Samson goes like this: "So on the seventh day he finally told her, because she continued to press him." Judges 14:17. 

When the Spirit of God came upon Samson, his cords were loosed. Some say it is a foreshadowing of Christ in the grave, loosed by the chains of death, set free, triumph over darkness. The victory for Samson was common means---the jawbone of an animal slew a thousand. And God confounds the wicked through the foolish things of this world. "If you see a poor Christian who is enabled to overcome a temptation by weak, feeble counsel, there is the Philistine vanquished by a sorry jaw-bone." M. Henry. 

Tonight my body is engulfed in a physical battle. Four days of fever. Can't keep anything down. Bacterial infection wracks havoc on my body. May I overcome the temptations that face me, the sin that dispirits me in the midst of even this small haunting thing. We are loosed by His power not by plan or cleverness or our own might. By His Power. How many times do I ask? How did this just happen? "A sorry jaw-bone."

Her  words sound compelling, “How can you say, ‘I love you,’ when your heart is not with me?" Judges 16:15. Her motives are oh-so-wrong. Money. Ambition. Motives matter.

It's the story of Samson and Delilah. Samson, more than once, falls prey to the love of a woman. He is warned over and over and over but falls into a snare. And this third time, it costs Samuel his very life. Do we do the same? Licentiousness. A license to do whatever we please. What do we want more than we want the love of Christ? 

PHOTO: A Grandmother with her 5 grandkids. May they all wrestle well to put His Word deep in their hearts.

86 - "Signal Mercies" Judges 12-13

#86 Sin hides from our eyes the things that steal our peace. Mercies waited for can prove to be Signal Mercies for Others to hope in God's Mercy. 

                                                                       

Here we go...one more time into the hands of the Philistines.
And right smack dab when Israel was in distress,
Samson was born.
Son of a long childless mom.

Judges 13:3
"Mercies often waited for, often prove signal mercies,
and by them others may be encouraged to continue their hope in God's mercy."
Matthew Henry.
When you feel your trouble the most,
God often sends comfort.
There are answers to prayer I hold closely---

the compassion of God after a gang rape,

the healing of perceived childhood harm,

the loss of 5 babies to miscarriage, maybe twins, 
the birth of a long-awaited son after 7 years of infertility,
the victory over cancer after 17 years,
the amazing freedom from a felt betrayal.
All Signal Mercies.

Matthew Henry wrote: 

 "Sin dispirits men; it hides from their eyes the things that belong to their peace." 

When the Spirit of God came upon Samson, his cords were loosed.  The victory for Samson was common means---the sorry jawbone of an animal slew a thousand. 

PHOTO:  A look through a camera lens at Mount Rainier.  Do we see clearly or do we give in to magnify those things that make us feel safe, feel comfortable, feel successful in knowing God.  Remove the props, O Lord! 

85 “I Wanted Hoolidays from the School of Christ” Judges 10-11

#85  I wanted Holidays from the school of Christ. Not only do we want our distance from Christ but we also want tangibles---kids turning out right, even things that make us feel closer to God. Nothing wrong with the vehicle. Everything wrong with the motive.

Judges 10:1 - Abimilech debauched Isreal with evil, disquieted Israel with ambition, disturbed Israel's very peace.  Then, God raises up a good man to reform the abuses, stop the idolatry, and heal the wounds.  This new judge saved them from themselves.  And it should be our very hope, too.  May God save us from ourselves---from wanting ambition in this celebrity world; from wanting ministry success in this storied mission; from wanting to live in this present life more than dealing with daily repentance; from wanting more than God and what He has planned and offered to each of us.  Save us from oursleves.  

Fast Forward 2,000+ years.  It happens to every one of us as we wrestle through this God thing.  

From a Favorite Book:  "Though I wouldn't have admitted it, even to myself, I didn't want God aboard.  He was too heavy.  I wanted Him approving from a considerable distance.  I didn't want to be thinking of Him.  I wanted to be free---like a Gypsy.  I wanted life itself, the color and fire and loveliness of life.  And Christ now and then, like a loved poem I could read when I wanted to.  I didn't want us to be swallowed up in God.  I wanted holidays from the school of Christ."  Sheldon Vanauken "A Severe Mercy"  

Not only do we want our distance from God but we want tangibles---those things that draw us, make us feel closer to God.  Nothing wrong with the vehicle.  Everything wrong with the motive.  

Sheldon wrote: "I had always served beauty.  My wife and I together had loved beauty.  Now, maybe, I was worshipping beauty in the Christian God while my wife was worshipping God.  There may be danger in the love of beauty, though it seems treason to say it.  Perhaps it can be a snare."  

And just maybe today we are worshipping music, health, success, ministry, justice, mission, even our children turning out right.  Are we worshipping God or what is way too important in our hands?

Vow and pay. Psalm 76. This vow story belongs to each of us who live and breathe and vow.

According to Henry's commentary, Jephthah’s sense of the powerful obligation of his vow must always be ours: "I have opened my mouth unto the Lord in a solemn vow, and I cannot go back,’’ (Judges 11:35) that is, "I cannot recall the vow myself, it is too late, nor can any power on earth dispense with it, or give me up my bond.’’ 

We deceive ourselves if we think to mock God, says Henry. 

What a powerful argument a marriage vow is against my sin,

we have by those vows bound ourselves out from,

"what a strong inducement to our duties we have hereby 

bound ourselves up to, and what a ready answer to every temptation."

I must therefore go forward.

I have sworn, and I must, I will, perform it.

Let me not dare to play fast and loose with God."

This daughter did not.

Instead of dancing at her wedding,

her closest friends mourn in the mountains her hard fate.

Her grievances belonged to her friends. 

And to her father:

"I know I am dear to you, but am well content that God should be dearer."

PHOTO:  I know I am dear to you. Solemn vows made 46 years ago this year.  Standing on a suspended bridge on a train stop through the most scariest Colorado mountains 

84 - "Do Not Regard the Forwardness or Backwardness of Others" Judges 7-8

107 The sword is the Gospel in his mouth. It is the Gospel that really changes us. A Dream changed Things for Gideon. #60000thoughts #talkingtomyself

A Dream Changes Things for Gideon.

It is the Gospel that really Changes Us!

God reduces Gideon's army to 300 people---No Way on Earth they could win this battle without God. No way on earth we can either. 

I am "taken" by a quote from Matthew Henry about this story: "In doing the duties required by God, we must not regard the forwardness or backwardness of others, nor what they do, but what God looks for is at our hands. He is a rare person who can endure that others should excel him in gifts or blessings, or in liberty; so that we may say, it is by the special grace of God that we regard what God says to us, and not look to men what they do."

God speaks to Gideon. “Arise, go down against the camp of Midian, and afterward your hands will be strengthened that you may go.” Judges 7:11. And, then, another confirmation. A dream interpreted ... that God would give the camp of Midian into their hands. That's it! Arise! Go take your spoil. "For the Lord." The dream was simple---a cake of bread rolls and knocks over a tent. Nothing special there. It's the interpretation that is Divine! "There is nothing else save the sword of Gideon." The sword is not in his hand. The sword is the Gospel in his mouth. Judges 7:14. Gideon takes this interpretation as a sure thing. He worships! Oh my soul! Can we worship God in the circumstances before us? Wherever we are. This moment. Providence is on our side! God's intervention may be a small event, maybe seemingly accidental. What is God speaking to you? What divine appointment encourages your faith today? 

As soon as Gideon died, the people of Israel turned again and whored after the Baals. And the people of Israel did not remember the Lord their God, who had delivered them from the hand of all their enemies on every side, and they did not show steadfast love to the family of Gideon in return for all the good that he had done to Israel."  Judges 8:33-34. What do we want more than the Love of God?  Life is not like a spicket that you turn off and on thinking you want to decide the distance between you and God.  

PHOTO:  No way on Earth we do this life well without God. Edited sun photo.   

83 - "The Eternal Word Speaks in the Present Moment---You Are A Mighty Warrior" Judges 6

#83 Gideon was more than weak, beside himself in a predicament. The Presence of God, the Eternal Word of God comes to Gideon and is with you, too, this very moment. God is with you, O Mighty Warrior. Believe God. Judges 6:12. 

God knew Gideon had courage.  Gideon had stood tall tens of times before. Yet, not this time. Gideon was beside himself over the scenario.  And his countrymen didn’t know him to be that way either. But, Gideon never stopped talking to God, meditating while he was threshing, over the horrific situation and how he could work out the deliverance of these heartless people.  Are we grieving over those who have stiff-armed our Lord?  This Presence comes to Gideon to say that it is None Other than Jehovah, the Eternal Word of God, Who was present with Gideon and with you and with me, right where we sit tonight in our house in this year of the Lord.  God’s Word is our help!!! And is ever Present! And that gives me so much hope! So, go to work tomorrow, teaching school, writing books, serving corporate America, taking care of the sick, and raising courageous children---and while you are there, remember, the Eternal Word of God will appear to you as He did to Moses and David herding sheep; Gideon threshing the fields; Elijah plowing the land; and the disciples dutifully catching fish and mending nets. The Eternal Word speaks in the present moment.  And that changes everything for me where I sit today.    

 Judges 6:12  God appeared to Gideon and said, "God is with you, O mighty warrior!"  This so speaks to me that God calls frightful Gideon a mighty warrior.  A vision painted for this guy who knew those things were not coming from a good place in his heart.  Gideon replies in verse 13: "With me, my master? If God is with us, why has all this happened to us? Where are all the miracle-wonders our parents and grandparents told us about...I'm the weakest, I'm the runt of the litter." Sounds like Gideon wanted the good life here. God is about to change the motives of the mighty warrior.  The next 6 words from God make me want to stand tall:  "I'll be with you.  Believe Me..." (6:16).  And that is my dying prayer for each one of you.

And God proceeded to help Gideon. Judges 6:12  God appeared to Gideon and said, "God is with you, O mighty warrior!"  This so speaks to me that God calls frightful Gideon a mighty warrior.  A vision painted for this guy who knew those things were not coming from a good place in his heart.  Gideon replies in verse 13: "With me, my master? If God is with us, why has all this happened to us? Where are all the miracle-wonders our parents and grandparents told us about...I'm the weakest, remember I'm the runt of the litter." Sounds like Gideon wanted the good life here. God is about to change the motives of the mighty warrior.  And God proceeded to help Gideon learn to trust Him by reducing his army to 300---all the rest may go home....and Gideon went before God to his knees in prayer.  May the Truths that we read sink deeply into our repentant hearts (Psalm 51:6).  May we learn to think deeper than just the behavior we see.  Learning to live in the tension of what we see and what really is.  Finding a deeper trust in a good God in the midst of His Plan for each of us.  What is God doing that is reducing what I've trusted in?  "Oh for Grace to trust Him more..."  You Mighty Warriors!

PHOTO: This spot in Fort Worth. It's where I was once beside myself, quite literally. God stood me back on my feet---and that is something that never happens that way. All glory to God!

 

82 - "God Is Changing My Motives" Judges 3-5

#105 The book is not about returning to God, finding God for the good life. This book is how our relationship with God is our greatest good. 

She drives a peg through the temple of the enemy king sleeping in her shelter. Drove that peg all the way through his brain all the way into the ground.  There are a few who believe God in the Book of Judges.  Judges 3:21.  But, generation after generation "they forget about God" when things are going good. And we all do the same in this generation. That's why we need the Book of Judges.

This Book isn't about returning to God, finding God, only for a good life and good blessings. This book is all about finding God!  Relationship with Him is our greatest good, our best blessing ever. The generations here in this book feared what we fear today:  "the loss of the blessings that were providing them with comfort and a sense of personal well-being."  66LL. Too small! There's more.

God is more about changing our motives than just our behavior.  I feel we look too shallow as we evaluate what we can do better, what circumstances need to change, what behavior needs to improve.  No more!  God heals us from within and transforms us.  If we are not changing, we must ask why?  Why do we do what we do?  God heals us to change our impact on those in our paths---does the Beauty of God pour out of us and draw others into dependence on God. Psalm 50:2. Or do we play it safe in relationships not rocking the boat.  

Deborah and Barak knew. "The leaders took the lead in Israel, the people offered themselves willingly, bless the Lord!"  And the tremblings go on and on through the earth through those who trust.  And when we forget ... will we repent when we remember?

Father, make the grandkids like the sun as they rise up in might.  Judges 5:31. "Let those who love God be like the sun when it comes out in full strength." Make us all mighty men and women who trust you when things go well and when things go wrong.  

PHOTO:  The ocean roars.  Santa Rosa Island.  Sunrise.  Thinking about how God is changing my motives and my impact, not only my behavior.  

81 - "Something Worse Than Suffering" Judges 1-2

#81 Something Worse than a difficult life. Something Worse than all this pain & suffering.

Something Worse than all the bad things that happen to us. Am I more afraid of losing the blessings or losing my relationship with God? 

The angel of the Lord went up from Gilgal to Bokim and said, “I brought you up out of Egypt and led you into the land I swore to give to your ancestors. I said, ‘I will never break my covenant with you, and you shall not make a covenant with the people of this land, but you shall break down their altars.’ Yet you have disobeyed me. Why have you done this?" Judges 2: 1-2.

We are no different.  Do we want God or do we want the good life here on earth?  

There is 

Something Worse than a difficult life.  

Something Worse than all this pain & suffering.

Something Worse than all the bad things that happen to us.

Insecure.

Invisible.

Inadequate.

Is that the worse?

Losing all life's blessings?

Is that the worse?

God is always re-defining the word "love" for us.

What is my greatest good in this life?

Is it God?

Are we any different than the people in Judges?

Am I more afraid of losing the blessings or losing my relationship with God?

PHOTO: Hawaii. Thinking about life's greatest good.

80 - "God Puts to Flight 1,000 For You" Joshua 22-24

                                                             

Joshua is about to go the way of all flesh. It's his last words that make my heart stand up and scream stop to my world---and listen long. What will this servant leader say that could make a difference in our lives? "Love the Lord your God, and walk in all his ways and keep his commandments and cling to him and serve him with all your heart and with all your soul.” And Joshua blesses them and sends them home. Joshua 22:5-6.

You have seen what the LORD your God has done for you. I sit tonight in the exact same seat I was in years ago when my world crashed in on me. Never in my wildest hopes did I think I could walk out of the depression that immobilized my heart and soul. Not only did I walk out, I have flourished and flown in freedom more than I could have ever thought. If you knew my circumstances right now, that's not what identifies me and makes me stable and successful. It is the LORD, our God Who has been fighting for me. And as I sit in this memorable moment, Joshua 23:10 takes hold of a deep place in me: "One of your men puts to flight a thousand, for the LORD your God is He Who fights for you, just as he promised you. He did! He has! He is! He will! God Himself pushes them out.

Dear Father, As I sit in the spot where I spiraled years ago to depths of despair that were never meant to be, I find You, a Good God turning the watercourse whatever ways You will---Proverbs 21:1. With blind trust, I surrender this present moment. Help us all find a little bit more rest than we had yesterday.

PHOTO: A little bird landed on the cross just as I clicked the camera of this little country church that I passed a thousand times in my life in Fort Worth. Used to live smack dab across the street from this little country church. It's a Beautiful God Who has done an incredible work in my heart as I remember the thoughts I had when I would pass this little country church. And those thoughts are no more.

79 - "A Groundswell of Hope" Joshua 20-21

 #79 God gives rest on every side---physical woes, pressures of the day, and present prevailing thoughts and emotions that can debilitate us daily. Joshua 21:44. #60000thoughts #talkingtomyself     

                                                       

This verse, Joshua 21:44, is a groundswell up to this very age.  Not only did God give them rest from 40 years of wilderness travels, and rest from the fatigue of battle against the Canaanites, but also rest from the pressures and thoughts and emotions within where they battled too.  All the days of Joshua.  God gave rest on every side.  Oh God!  You write these verses as a ground of hope and confidence to me this very night.  Give me rest on every side.  I've spent decades following You and have sought a rest from the physical labor and the woes of life.  This recorded experience stands my ground, my confidence in You and what You will yet do.  In due time. 

And I pray this as a prayer for my children, especially my two girls who are such hard workers laying down their lives for others. Praying a groundswell of hope.

PHOTO:  Day is Done. Give them rest on all sides.

78 - "Good Enough Christianity" Joshua 17-19

                                                                   

I don't think I could enjoy them anymore.  Flew up to Kansas City to pick up grandkids Zekey for Ezri's 6th Birthday Party---and flew him back to KC.  Whirlwind trips to the museum, trampoline park, and gargantuan indoor playgrounds.  This won't last forever for me.  I am growing old now. No one knows the time.  I will give you everything I can til the day God calls me home.  

“You are now very old, and there are still very large areas of land to be taken over." Joshua 13:1.  God reminds us all, that for those of us who still can, we must finish the work He has given.  He brings others along to put on the top-stone.  He expects Joshua to count 

I don't think I could enjoy them anymore.  Flew up to Kansas City to pick up Zekey for Ezri's 6th Birthday Party---and flew him back to KC.  Whirlwind trips to the museum, trampoline park, and gargantuan indoor playgrounds.  This won't last forever for me.  I am growing old. No one knows the time.  I will give you everything I can til the day God calls me home.  

“You are now very old, and there are still very large areas of land to be taken over." Joshua 13:1.  God reminds us all, that for those of us who still can, we must finish the work He has given.  He brings others along to put on the top-stone.  He expects Joshua to count where he is.  He expects all of us to number our days and present to Him a heart of wisdom.  Don't lock the door yet.  No bar on the door until it is locked forever.  Remind yourself to rise up to the occasion to fight the good fight of faith and never dismiss the battles all around me---but I must also engage in the battle going on in me.  If I don't, I'll just live in "good-enough" Christianity.  We all need to know how to navigate our way through the battle within and find the true "rich fare." 

PHOTO:  Ezri and Zeke at the Bullock history museum in Austin. February 2023

77 - "God Foresaw Their Tribulation" Joshua 14-16

                                                              

Joshua 16:10 "But they didn't get rid of the Canaanites who were living in Gezer."  God said He would eliminate the Canaanites for them.  The Israelites chose to tolerate the Canaanites and put them to forced labor.  Not enough.  Not right.  I've misunderstood the Promised Land for a land flowing with milk and honey and no conflicts.  No battles there.  Yet, they waged war battling kings who were giants in stature and strength, literally.  Living in the Promised Land was no piece of cake like I thought it would be, should be.  Wonder if I think my life would be better if my circumstances were removed this day...and friends and family treated me a little better?  One verse gives some insight as to why the Israelites wouldn't move in the direction of God's call to each of them.  Fear.  They were afraid of "iron chariots."  Wonder what ideas I hold this day that God will expose as my iron chariot?  And I just love that Joshua stood up to the Israelites and said in Joshua 18:3  "How long are you going to sit around on your hands, putting off taking possession of the land that God, the God of your ancestors, has given you? Pick three men from each tribe so I can commission them."  Joshua got their hands and hearts moving in a good direction.   Without vision and leadership, the people perish. Face it. There will be pain in the battles we face.  "God Who foresaw your tribulation, has specifically armed you to go through it, not without pain but without stain."  C.S. Lewis

PHOTO: 

76 - "Hoping for Peace Not An End To This" Joshua 11-13

#76 - Can we just believe while in whatever lot the Lord has apportioned for us? Joshua 17:17 #60000thoughts #talkingtomyself

Can we just believe in whatever lot the LORD has apportioned to us

As we cross the bridge from one circumstance to the next?

Believe right in this very place where we stand.

I grew up with little wealth compared to US standards. Same today. What will I do with what I have? Why do I demand God's Love show me more? Why do I wrestle with what the world thinks of people who haven't really made something big in life. A preacher told me one time: "If you succeed, then you'll know that this was the right thing. If you fail, then ... there ... there's your answer. No one will respect you." Funny the things people say to us that stick.  Why do I hold in my heart what the world thinks of me?  And a tear, maybe two, rolls down my cheek.

Joshua spoke to the House of Joseph who complained about having only one lot. Joshua 17:17. I'm giving you one lot and a mountain full of woods to work. Brooks and creeks. Corn and wheat. Cows and pasture. Dare we deserve a handout without any sweat? This Word of God is not about putting Knowledge in our Heads. It changes us to make us want to work out our salvation with fear and trembling. Makes us want to work very hard at the job where we are. Transformed to believe and trust and wait in whatever wilderness, whatever lot, whatever circumstance we are in. Not hoping for an end but hoping for Peace Himself to break through in the midst of a broken world, full of Canaanites and broken people. Not to use Canaanites for our ends but to honor what's in our possession and work out love for those with less.

God gives out plenty and want---it is all for our good and simply amazing that He does anything for us, wishy-washy demanding people, deserving of what?  We cannot define the Goodness of God by what we have or do not have.  We define life by the Love from the Eternal Word, Who is always doing us good in lonely fields & forests, in friendly cities & comfort.  What we long for is really Him, the Beauty.  Not the counterfeit of thinking that we have it all here, storing up treasures for whom? 

PHOTO: Image:  Keene Public Library www.flickr.com

75 - "Sun Stand Still --- the Lord is Fighting For You" Joshua 9-10

#75 Surely the Lord is fighting for you. Joshua 10:14. He made the sun stand still at your request, Joshua. #60000thoughts #talkingtomyself

  

The Gibeonites sent word to Joshua at Gilgal:  Don't abandon us! Help! All of the Amorite kings have joined forces against us.  Joshua 10:6

Joshua gathered his best fighting men and marched up all-night from Gilgal and surprised them.  But it's what the LORD says to Joshua that trumps everything:  "Do not be afraid of them.  Not one of them will be able to withstand you."  Joshua 10:8

Joshua and the Israelites completely defeated them.  And the LORD hurled huge hailstones down on them and God gave the Amorites over to Israel.

And right smack dab in front of Israel, Joshua said:  "Sun, stand still.  And you, moon." Joshua 10:13.  Until the nation avenged itself.  Never has there been a day like this, before or since, when the Lord listened to a human being.  "Surely the LORD was fighting for Israel." Joshua 10:14.  

Surely, the Lord is fighting for you.

74 - "A Sword in Christ's Hand" Joshua 7-8

                                                                            

They had lost hope. And so many this day have lost hope and shifted their attention away from God to live the good life here. How could this ever be all there is? And the wrath of God advances then, now. What will we do with what God is stirring up?

And the peoples hearts melt again---became as water when their neighbors were killed at Ai. Josh 7:5. And Joshua falls on his face. And God says, "Get up!" Go do the work, Joshua. There are "devoted things" among them that are not devoted to God. Consecrate the people.

And God Himself appears to Joshua with a sword drawn in his Hand. He appears as a warrior. Christ will be to us what we need. Joshua needed this picture to encourage him to keep on fighting the daunting road ahead. God promised Joshua that he was not Alone. What do you need to see in God's Face toward you this day? I so need His Mercy. Beleaguered over here. Like Joshua, may we move on by God's Presence and Power. Col 1:29.

PHOTO:  Outside my classroom window, a dismal day packed with hope for our sin. 

73 - "Cross The Dry Ground with Twin Promises" Joshua 4-6

                                                                      

Now, the undaunting Joshua leads Israel to cross the Jordan River on dry ground. He saw it happen once before. And that same God is with Joshua and the men from the 12 tribes. 

 “Be strong and very courageous.

Joshua saunters in faith across the floor of the Jordan---the place where his Redeemer will be baptized.  No way for Joshua to know that.  The only history they have is of Moses and Egypt and the Red Sea.  And a very Present God with Moses ---     Who will now be with Joshua.  A Very Present Power promising His Presence and Strength. 

Mark the occasion.

"What do these stones mean?" Joshua 4:21. Tell your children when they ask:
Symbols of twin promises:
Your God is all powerful.
Your God is to be feared.

The stones. 

Recognize how strong God's rescuing Hand is.

Recognize your need to hold God in solemn reverence always. 

PHOTO:  Looking down from 34,000 feet to the rivers and oceans. Parting the Jordan River in my mind and seeing the tribes of faith crossing from one bank to the other. When you are smack dab in the middle of the crossing with walled water on either side, what do you think, There is nowhere else to go but to Trust. 

72 - "Don't Stay Discouraged" Joshua 1-3

Dear Kids,  “Be strong and very courageous. Be careful to obey all the law my servant Moses gave you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, that you may be successful whatever you have inherited. "Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it...Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.” Joshua 1:9.

How can we grasp an ironclad hold on this?  Don't stay discouraged.  God is with you! What I see in the Book of Joshua:  The severity of what is wrong in places like Haiti is a heart-wrenching insight into a fraction of the picture of the severity of what’s wrong in our own hearts.  

And Oh! The Wonder of a Beautiful God moving through history, our story, to move us into holiness. Oh! The enormity of what He is doing in our lives. 

“Be strong and very courageous." So, right where you are fixed with all emotion and involvement and commitment and confusion---God is with you in the midst of your mess.  But make no mistake, you’re a beautiful mess. I know this firsthand today. I stood at Costco's with tears streaming down my eyes. I had just learned that I had been "left out" of a gathering that I so wanted to be a part of. I've felt like a "third wheel" most of my life and let the circumstance of today rule my thoughts that I was an uninvited loser. I couldn't stop crying. I was stuck in the thought that "no one wants what I have to offer." What God brought to mind with people curiously staring at me as I stood sobbing in the Costco cafe line was this---God is with me in this. God knows. Don't stay discouraged. I got out of it. 

So, this night I want you all to know you are all deeply loved! I hope you know you were loved and prayed for if you read this someday and I'm no longer here.  I hope you know in deep places how much you were loved growing up to this very day.  

PHOTO:  Xmas 2022 ... Spicewood Springs

71 - "Your Strength Is Equal To Your Day" Deuteronomy 32-34

Oh my! God's Word Deeply Touches this heart of mine.  This day.  These events.  Your strength is equal to your day. This event. Why have I never seen that verse before---Deut 33:25.  These are the words of Moses, a song that sinks deep in our storied lives.

O! Moses, the 21st Century hears your words:

Your teaching drops as the rain,

distilled as the dew,

like gentle rain.

Dt 32:2

So! Take to heart these last words of Moses:

Tell them to your children so,

they may do the Word.

It's your very life.

Dt 32:47

With eyes undimmed and vigor unabated:

Moses blesses those he leaves,

Remember this every day:

There is none like God

Dt 34:26

He rides through the heavens to your help

Through the skies in His Majesty.

The Eternal God is your

Dwelling Place.

Dt 34:26

Three Verses from the mouth of Moses

that have carried me through.

His words have been 

Life to me. 

Scores of years and years later.  And these words of Moses fall like rain on me this day.  It's been a tough week.  It's not over.  I've struggled more than usual.  No answers.  Trust in this darkness.  

What I see in the Book of Joshua:  The severity of what is wrong in places like Haiti is a heart-wrenching insight into a fraction of the picture of the severity of what’s wrong in our own hearts.  And Oh! The Wonder of a Beautiful God moving through history, our story, to move us into holiness. Oh! The enormity of what He is doing in our lives. “Be strong and very courageous, being careful to do according to all the law that Moses my servant commanded you. … This book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night.” Joshua 1:8.  “Just as I was with Moses, so I will be with you.  I will not leave you or forsake you.” Joshua 1:5.  So, right where you are fixed with all emotion and involvement and commitment and confusion---God is with you in the midst of your mess.  But make no mistake, you’re a beautiful mess. 

Take this Book of the Law and put it by the side of the ark.And those are the    words of Moses. May our words be filled with life. 

PHOTO:  One of my daughters and her baby boy.  People are so important in our lives.  But there is No One, No Thing, more important in our lives than God.

70 - "The Secret Things Belong To God" Deuteronomy 29-31

 

Dear Ones, even if you have been banished to a distant place, your God will gather you. 

God has gathered Carolyn Teague in a beautiful way as she sits 24/7 in a nursing home facility with no movement of her legs or life. Her mind is all there but that's it. 24/7.

Now what I am commanding you today is not too difficult for you or beyond your reach. It is not up in heaven.  Nor is it beyond the sea.  No, the word is very near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart so you may obey it. Deut 29:11-14. I hope all the words you've ever heard help you to truly live. 

When you call to mind what you have done . . .
Return to the LORD your God.

“The secret things belong to the Lord our God, but the things that are revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may do all the words of this law." Deut 29:29

PHOTO:  Visiting Carolyn in Norman is the closest to heaven you can get. Never mind, the cumulative odor of folks being taken care of slowly. Never mind, the missing pictures on the wall and the treasures you've found all your life. It's a bare room. And. The sun sets on another day.  What is revealed is what we walk in.

69 - "A Blessing For Your Life" Deuteronomy 28

What would it be like to have been there and hear this blessing from God.

Standing on Mount Gerizim to bless the people:

Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, Joseph, and Benjamin.

No Moses.  No Aaron.  

Blessed shall you be in the city & blessed shall you be in the country.
Blessed shall be the offspring of your body,
and the produce of the ground,
the increase of your herd,
Blessed shall be all your flock,
Blessed shall be your basket and your bowl.
Blessed shall you be when you come in & blessed when you go out.

We must ask ourselves every time we read the Word of God: "What's the point?"  

Here, blessings shout out from the top of one glorious mountain followed by curses delivered from the peak of doom mountain. 

Wherever we go in life---
dwelling in the country or the city, 
leading our little ones, 
gathering our food for the day,
working hard at what we do,
living life whether it is coming in or going out.

Wherever we go...
Wherever you are, there is a blessing that can rest upon you---if we follow God.
Doesn't mean that everything will work our way, no!
Means that everything will be considered and cared, 
re-directed or re-created by the Providential Hand of God.
Take Courage.  The Good Hand of God is on you to bless you today and always.

Deut 28:3-6

PHOTO:A blessing from the mountaintop on our family.  How can we live this out is the real question.

68 - "Don't Bring Sin Upon Your Family" Deuteronomy 24-27

The Living Word! Some of us end up in marriages that we would not have chosen had we not been swept away by the moments of our youth ~ #nofavorintheireyes. Deut 24:1. Some of us end up in seasons of our lives that we would not have chosen. 

Maybe it was the Providential Hand of God that He placed you in the marriage you are in---like Hosea, who married beneath him.  Maybe it is our own sinful choices, lustful choices, even ignorant choices that landed us where we lay our heads this night. 

Don't bring sin upon your family ~ Deut 24:4.  Whether it's Providence or our own sin, we all have opportunity to bear our own burdens rather than give in to sin.  We can find a rest we know not, no matter the circumstance.  

God's Divine Power enables us by Grace Upon Grace to sanctify the crosses we bear.                             God's Matchless Grace supports us---Underneath are His Loving Arms.                                                God's Comforting Spirit teaches, reproves, and provides the way for us to better learn how to obey in the midst of distance and difficulties.  

God will make this marraige more tolerable---He changes us, not just our spouse.                                        We have the Written Word of God.  We worship the Living Word!  

PHOTO: We have been married for 47 years in 2026. No one knows me like my husband does. Fully loved and cared for and served. All my days.

67 - "When The Sweet Surrender Doesn't Happen" Deuteronomy 21-23

My Dear Children, "May the Lord your God bless you in everything you put your hand to in the land you are entering to possess." Deut 23:20.  I believe with each of you that God will give you the strength and the power to put your hand to what you are doing. And may He bless you in everything!

"And, as the land of Israel was pure and clean" . . . so the church is washed and cleansed by the complete satisfaction which thus Christ made."  Matthew Henry

You must purge the evil from among you."  Deuteronomy 21:21

All rebellion, no matter where it comes from. 
May we surrender our tears and fears every single day
as we mercifully cry for those in rebellion. 
And may they know Sweet Surrender.

May we choose to live every day of our lives surrendered for ourselves and for those we love.

PHOTO:  "Unreal" - Charles Spurgeon wrote a moving sermon many years ago about what happens when the sweet surrender doesn't happen.  We move on.

66 - "Chosen To Stand" Deuteronomy 17-20

#66 The Levitical priests. Chosen to stand & minister. Out of all the tribes. For they have no inheritance. The Lord is their Inheritance.

                                                       

"For the Lord your God has chosen them and their descendants out of all your tribes to stand and minister in the Lord’s name always." The Lord chose your grandparent, Robert Alvin Brandon, to stand and minister all his days. And he did it with joy and conviction and wisdom and 

Then and Now. Chosen. 

Our Inheritance is You. Not what is passed on to us. You are out Most Prized Possession. So, how does that change how I live?

Whether the enemy is disease or a dungeon or an army or an activity, the God Who brought us to this place will be with us.

When you go to war against your enemies and see horses and chariots and an army greater than yours, do not be afraid of them, because the Lord your God, who brought you up out of Egypt, will be with you. ... And the priest says, Do not be fainthearted or afraid; do not panic or be terrified by them. For the Lord your God is the one who goes with you to fight for you against your enemies to give you victory.”

PHOTO: This is the place where your Grandpa grew up in Washington state and his parents lived their sunset years. Eatonville. 

65 - "May Your Hearts Be Full Of This Word" Deuteronomy 14-16

                                                     

Here is Moses recounting some of the terrible and wonderful works their eyes have seen. May we never forget what our eyes have seen. Think back on it now. Look at where you have walked. Remember the terrible and wonderful! We should be the better person for having lived through it dependent on God.

May your hearts be full of this Word.

May your eyes be fixed on this Word.

May your tongues be full of this Word.

Deut 11:18. "The eyes of the LORD your God are always upon [your life], from the beginning of the year to the end of the year." Deut 11:11-12. 

In Deut 14:1-2, Moses recants three distinguishing privileges: 

ADOPTED AS HIS SON~

"You are the sons of the LORD, your God," because you need a father.

CALLED TO BE HOLY ~  

"You are a people holy to the LORD, your God," because you are not.

CHOSEN BY GRACE ~

"The LORD has chosen you to be a people for His Treasured Possession, out of all the peoples who are on the face of the earth," not because of who you are, because of His Grace all over you.

"Our heavenly Father forbids nothing but for our welfare. Do thyself no harm; do not ruin thy health, thy reputation, thy domestic comforts, thy peace of mind. Especially do not murder thy soul." Matthew Henry.

Take Care ~

Lest there be an unworthy thought in your heart and ... "your eye look grudgingly" ...  Deut 15:9.  What a haunting thought.  Unworthy thoughts.  Oh God!

PHOTO:  Standing in a little rain, watching the thunder clouds roll in.  Thinking about this conversation I had with a friend:  "Ask yourself: 'What's not happening that needs to happen.' Dread is the old man hating no 'return on his investment.'  When it is all right that others don't love you back, then you are glad to see them, and you are different." So let go of goods and kindred.  Let go of having anyone have to love you and respond to you. Let go. And here comes the rain!

64 - "My Eyes Saw All That He Has Done For Me" Deuteronomy 11-13

                                                                    

It was not your children who saw the discipline of the LORD:
His Majesty
His Mighty Hand
His Outstretched Arms.
No, it wasn't your children, No.

It was your own eyes that saw all these great things the Lord has done." Deuteronomy 11:7

And what will you do with this God of yours?
What will you take away and live forever?
Can we ever ever be the same? No.
How He has overwhelmed us.
Walking floors of oceans.
40-year old shoes.
Miracles!!!

OH!  That I remember all those times you have Outstretched your Arms for me, for my family, for my friends.  I have seen You with my eyes---and may the Gospel ring true today in my life because of it.

PHOTO: I Stood Here. Right Where I Am. And I Knew. It IS His Outstretched Arms to Me Here. 

63 - "Know Your Heart and The Truth Rises Up" Deuteronomy 8-10

#62 When we come to know what is in our hearts, the truth rises up—-the Power and Patience and Presence of God and our total dependence on Him. Deuteronomy 8:2.

                                                    

Remember how the Lord your God led you all the way in the wilderness these forty years, to humble and test you in order to know what was in your heart, whether or not you would keep his commands. 40 years! The journey was less than 15 days in distance. What happened? Deuteronomy 8:2.  What's the point here? How do we live like this? God humbled you, causing you to hunger and then feeding you with manna, which neither you nor your ancestors had known, to teach you that man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord. Held Ezri at 1 day old and wondered this very same thought. Will she soon discover that man does not live by bread but by every Word out of the mouth of God.

God had the power to make it a very brief journey in the wilderness. And the same with "change" in our own lives. But how else is character formed? Overnight? How else can we come to see ourselves for who we really are? A C.S. Lewis quote comes to mind: "No man knows how bad he is until he has tried very hard to be good." They had to try awful hard in a wilderness---so do we. And what does it reveal? Humility and dependence or self-knowledge and arrogance. When we come "to know what is in our heart," that knowledge rises up---that's what the word "to know" means in the Hebrew. The truth rises up in our hearts of the Power and Patience and Presence of God---and our total dependence on Him.

PHOTO: Our total dependence on Him to move our mountains that we may “know.”

62 - "The Secret of Parenting" Deuteronomy 5-7

                                                          

You shall not make for yourselves the likeness of anything in the heavens, in the earth, under the earth, even under the waters.  No likeness of anything.  Moses understood this one far more than any living person.  You must not demand that to find success, to see God's Hand move, to attain fulfillment that you should enter the Promised Land.  Moses "let go" of his heart's desire.  No likeness of serving anything except his God.  What is God telling me to "let go" of this day?  Can I fling everything in my hand, in my heart upward to Heaven? 

What is on your heart --- Deuteronomy 6:6 ---- is what you will pass on to your children and friends. It is the whole secret to raising children. The Secret of Parenting!  Write His commands on your heart!  Not on your mind!  Get them inside of you.  So how do we do that?  So many Bible teachers focus on knowledge which puffs up---but Love changes everything. Deuteronomy 7:7 - It's all because of Love.  God didn't choose you because you are important.  No He chose you out of His Love.  Don't ever forget how you got to the place where you are today (6:12).  All because of Love.  So what does holiness look like in my situation this day and what does it mean for me to write His commands on my heart?

Frederick Buechner put it this way: "People are so apt to drift along on the surface of their lives, not really seeing or hearing or feeling very much because most of the time they are little more than half alive, the rest of the time dazed, dreaming, or detached."  

These Ten Commandments, this Law of Love the Lord Your God with all your heart and your neighbor as yourself, this Law of Love will be broken again and again.  We don't need to be punished for messing up.  God came  to destroy sin not to punish us for sinning.  No one can keep all of these commandments day in/day out.  May our commitment be to surrender not to self-improvement.

PHOTO: On our way to Seattle 

61 - "Demand Nothing Here. Expect Everything There." Deuteronomy 3-4

Take care, and keep your soul diligently, lest you forget the things that your eyes have seen, and lest they depart from your heart all the days of your life. Make them known to your children and your children's children— how on the day that you stood before the Lord, He answered.  Deut 4:9-10

Larry Crabb said it this way:  "Demand nothing here.  Expect everything there.
Surrender all rights to justice, to loving treatment from others, to fulfilling ministry,
to all the good things of this life and you will be given tastes of the good things to come.
That is how you taste the LORD and discover that He is good.  
It is those tastes that fill you with sustaining hope until you're welcomed to the banquet."

And he encouraged the people he led saying: "The LORD your God Who goes before you will Himself fight for you." Deut 1:30. This is Moses' last sermon and he knows it. And Moses still does not falter. He faces his grave disappointment with dependence.

I am still stunned that Moses knew he wouldn't enter the land of Canaan, the promised land. Yet! Moses carried on. Moses' final destination was heaven not Horeb, an eternal home not an earthly one. His view of success did not include the conquest of Canaan. His ministry was to people not places. So, he kept on keeping on. Just like that young servant in Mark 5:36---keep on believing no matter what the circumstances show. There is an untold unseen unfolding Story.

PHOTO:  The clouds from 30,000 feet in the air.