Step by Step He leads Me

My new book came in the mail yesterday. I am very proud of this one. Now if only I can convince people to read it. It is about radio towers in part, and the average reader may not realize that it is really a very exciting book. But I promise you, it is! Did you know that tower building is the most dangerous job in the USA? Well that alone should make you want to read about this engineer who climbs 2,000-ft towers regularly and lived past age fifty...and is still climbing them! Did you know there is an aircraft beacon on the roof of the famous WBT historic transmitter building that has been there at least 70 years....and until this book was published, no one knew why it was there!!!???? If that doesn't convince you, did you know that 3 of the 6 existing diamond shaped towers built before WWII are right here in Charlotte and that death-defying engineer I talked about a moment ago rebuilt them when Hurricane Hugo knocked them down...without blueprints? Top all that off with dashes of faith, love, family, honor, and others-before-self generation, and it really should appeal to everyone.

I love this kind of stuff. The mysteries and danger and history all fascinated me. I got to interview scores of WWII aviators and navigators for this book. I learned about the historic airmail system, the bonfires and then beacons that crisscrossed our country to light the way for the early pilots, the use of AM radio towers as navigational tools during early aviation history, and the heart and motivation of tower engineers who daily risk their lives to do their jobs. I love learning obscure things, and even better, finding the finger of God in the midst of it all.

I knew nothing about radio towers, or engineering, or WWII aviation, or navigation when I started this book. I had no hope of unraveling the mysteries that swirled about those towers. But time after time, God sent me a miracle that uncovered just enough of a clue to lead me to the next step.

I have noticed that He often works this way in my life. He never reveals the whole path I am to tread. He only reveals a very small portion of the way forward. I have to take the next step on faith that it is leading where I should go. Most of the time, it is not at all clear that it will lead anywhere. It is not only one's beliefs about the origins of life that require a leap of faith....living life each day does as well.

By the end of the book, every mystery I set out to solve was indeed solved. It was a long, often torturous journey through hours and hours of reading materials, emailing countless experts, being told I was completely wrong countless times, and interviewing scores of WWII veterans. What a journey it has been! Funny how in the midst of it, there were times it didn't seem worth it, and I certainly didn't see God's direction. Looking back, it is all I see.

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Psalm 32:8 

I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you with my eye upon you.

Proverbs 3:5-6 

Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.

John 16:13 

When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come.

Matthew 7:7-11 

“Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened. Or which one of you, if his son asks him for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a serpent? If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him!

Psalm 119:105 

Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.

Isaiah 30:21 

And your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying, “This is the way, walk in it,”

Cheering for God

It was a hot day on the abortion mill sidewalk yesterday. It seemed there were fewer cars than usual in the parking lot, but the cars that did pull in were not very receptive to our entreaties. Normally I can get several cars to stop. Only a couple stopped briefly, long enough to give me the finger. One did stop on the way out and rolled down her window. She had had the abortion  a couple of weeks ago. Another counselor, Chrissy, who can be very confrontive if the situation demands it, was as soft and gentle as a feather on the woman's grieving soul.  We handed her the post-abortive literature about healing the grief and told her we would like to pray for her.
"Would you please?" she said, her face solemn and sad, "I need prayer."
I prayed immediately, as Chrissy held her hand, and she thanked us. It was the first sense of sincere remorse over abortion we had sensed all morning. It is as much our purpose to be there to restore hope and healing to those who bear guilt over what they have done as to stop as many as we can from aborting their child in the first place. We have handed out several of the post-abortive tracts to women who had no idea how terrible they would feel afterwards. It is one of the great lies of the abortion industry that it does not irreparably harm women.

A car with a young couple pulled in. The couple rolled down their windows and sat in the parking lot. Celia, another fellow counselor, handed me a megaphone. I love Celia. She is so encouraging, and believes in me more than I believe in myself. I was glad she handed me the megaphone. My voice was almost gone before I even got there. So, megaphone in hand, I was able to speak in a normal tone as I called across the parking lot to the young couple in the car.

Every time I go to the mill, I seem to have a different message laid upon my heart to speak to the women. Yesterday's message, sparked by our church sermon Sunday, was about how loved each person was by God, how each was uniquely created by a loving Creator for a distinctive and divine purpose. This is what I said through the megaphone to the couple in the car.

"Did you know that your baby is fearfully and wonderfully made, with unique and special fingerprints already coded in her unique DNA? If you go in there, and kill that baby, you will never know what special and unique purpose she was created for." And so on....I know I was bit overkill on the word "unique" but keep in mind this is unrehearsed and on the fly.

The couple did not roll up their windows (praise God for 83 degree days!) but they were laughing at me. Still, they seemed in no hurry to go into the mill, and I had a good ten or fifteen minutes to speak to them. (That is an eternity for us counselors. Usually we have 15 seconds to try to save the baby's life.)With the powder blue megaphone, I must admit I felt a little bit like I was leading a cheer, but at least I was leading it for God...

Finally, they got out of the car and headed into the mill. I followed them along the sidewalk with my megaphone, making my final plea. The door closed on them.They were swallowed by the gates of Hell.

A young woman came walking down the road. I hurried over. I treat everyone on that road as abortion-bound. It is sometimes a little embarrassing when I end up stopping a car with two elderly gentlemen, who are always happy to chat, but no, they are not coming to get an abortion.

"Where's the bus stop?" the lady asked me as I introduced myself.
"Oh, way down at the end of the street," I said. She sighed. It was a hot day and she had come from that direction.
"What are you all here for?" she asked me.
"We counsel women to choose life. This is an abortion center."
"I would never do that," she said, "I have bi-polar illness, but even when it is not under control I know it is wrong to kill a baby."
She headed off back the way she came, to the bus stop. I watched her, pondering how this woman with mental illness discerned so clearly what so many of us with supposedly sound minds do not.

It was time for us to go, with only Celia and me left of the group that had been there. As we often do, we chatted, and then had a heartfelt prayer session. As we were waving goodbye to each other, the couple that had laughed at me came out of the abortion mill.

"They weren't in there very long..." said Celia, "Not even for the pill abortion."
I hurried after them as they got in their car. As they rolled to the end of the driveway, I said, "Do you need literature...we have literature that helps after an abortion."
The man rolled down the window and told me, "We didn't do it."  He gave me a thumbs up and they drove away.

There were three women that chose life that day. And the parking lot wasn't as full as usual. It had been a hopeful day after all. I was awfully glad I had continued cheering for life on the blue megaphone when that couple had only seemed to be mocking me.

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Psalm 1:1 ESV 

Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers;

Proverbs 17:5 

Whoever mocks the poor insults his Maker; he who is glad at calamity will not go unpunished.

2 Peter 3:3-7 

Knowing this first of all, that scoffers will come in the last days with scoffing, following their own sinful desires. They will say, “Where is the promise of his coming? For ever since the fathers fell asleep, all things are continuing as they were from the beginning of creation.” For they deliberately overlook this fact, that the heavens existed long ago, and the earth was formed out of water and through water by the word of God, and that by means of these the world that then existed was deluged with water and perished. But by the same word the heavens and earth that now exist are stored up for fire, being kept until the day of judgment and destruction of the ungodly.

James 1:5 

If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him.

Proverbs 15:12

A scoffer does not like to be reproved; he will not go to the wise.

Hating Evil

Today is my day as a sidewalk counselor for life at the abortion mill. I have pondered for sometime what one of the sidewalk counselors at the abortion mill told me when I started in this ministry. Her entire family, including young children, accompany her in her work counseling women to choose life. When I knew nothing about this work, I had mixed feelings about families with young children being exposed at such an impressionable age to such terrible evil, foul language from the "bouncers" at the abortion mill, and lifestyles that I would not want my kids to see. As I learned more about what happens and what the kids seem to take in, my views have changed.

The children on the sidewalk alongside their parents get a first hand look at the consequence of sin. They see the results of casual sex outside of the protection and confines of marriage. They see the result of a culture that trivializes life and finds death and violence a source of entertainment in media, video games, and movies.They see the result of walking further and further from God, and how sin has a way of growing and taking over one's heart. They see hardened consciences that know what they are doing is wrong, but no longer care.

My friend told me that her children having seen all that, when they encounter the media's presentation of sin as of no consequence, they are horrified. They have no interest in those portrayals in movies, TV, or video games. They have faced evil in its true form, not the glamorized depiction in media, and they are repulsed.

As am I.

We have become increasingly anesthetized to what the effects of  "the sexual revolution", immorality, glorification of violence, and preoccupation with death and the occult has led to. We think all these are harmless forms of entertainment. We scoff at and make fun of those who raise the alarm. We would prefer those "killjoys" would shut up and leave us alone...along with the cries of all those unborn babies. And our hearts become shuttered to God, though incredibly, some of us claim He is Lord of our lives while justifying, supporting, or being directly involved in the destruction of His children.

Meanwhile, I have watched a three year old child kneel beside her mother, and pray for the women to have a changed heart, to desire more than anything to protect the little baby in their wombs. I have seen an 11 year old boy follow me, and listen intently as I counsel abortion minded women in their cars, about to enter the abortion mill. I have seen his face fall with despair when they leave me, and pull into the parking lot anyway. I have seen all the kids lift up their hands and praise God when a woman decides to let her baby live. I now believe every young child should spend some time in front of an abortion mill.


*********************************

Psalm 36:4
He deviseth mischief upon his bed; he setteth himself in a way that is not good; he abhorreth not evil.
Psalm 97:10
Ye that love the LORD, hate evil: he preserveth the souls of his saints; he delivereth them out of the hand of the wicked.
Amos 5:15
Hate the evil, and love the good, and establish judgment in the gate: it may be that the LORD God of hosts will be gracious unto the remnant of Joseph.
2 Corinthians 6:6
By pureness, by knowledge, by longsuffering, by kindness, by the Holy Ghost, by love unfeigned,
1 Thessalonians 5:15
See that none render evil for evil unto any man; but ever follow that which is good, both among yourselves, and to all men.
Romans12:9
Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good.

Fragrant Offering

I have spent a couple of weeks of non-stop work editing my latest book, The Tower Builder (in case you have missed my ten thousand updates on the link to purchase the book, here it is: click here). Now the marketing begins, which is another mountain to climb, but first, it was a glorious day, so I hurried to the river with my kayak. (By the way, I will pause the blog for you to go buy the book and forward the link to your entire contact list....thank you!)

There is one nasty section of the river that is right next to a water treatment plant. When it is a hot day, the stench from that section is overwhelming. I usually go to the far bank while traversing that portion of the river. But yesterday was not quite yet hot enough to rile the Malodorous Gods. In fact, because the honeysuckle and other flowering plants are in bloom, the air along the shore was perfumed. I like to go along that shore because it has interesting little caves carved in the bank. I keep hoping I will see a bear or some exotic wildlife. Instead, all I saw were three fisherman.

But I thought about something other than my book for the time I was on the river, and that was nice. I thought of how I had made a Facebook plea to my friends. One of my "saves" from the abortion clinic will be lavished with a baby shower through the Cities4Life abortion mill sidewalk counseling group. Since there have been a lot of "saves" lately, funds and supplies are running low. I asked my friends if anyone would like to make a contribution to the shower, and listed the supplies we needed. Three friends replied instantly with offers of gift cards and handknit baby booties. Their kindness and compassion smelled sweeter than the honeysuckle along the river bank.

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Ephesians 5:2
 and walk in the way of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.

Ephesians 5:2

Verse Concepts

and walk in love, just as Christ also loved you and gave Himself up for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God as a fragrant aroma.
- See more at: http://bible.knowing-jesus.com/topics/Smells#sthash.DuajoBCH.dpuf

Ephesians 5:2

Verse Concepts

and walk in love, just as Christ also loved you and gave Himself up for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God as a fragrant aroma.
- See more at: http://bible.knowing-jesus.com/topics/Smells#sthash.DuajoBCH.dpuf

Ephesians 5:2

Verse Concepts

and walk in love, just as Christ also loved you and gave Himself up for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God as a fragrant aroma.
- See more at: http://bible.knowing-jesus.com/topics/Smells#sthash.DuajoBCH.dpuf

Ephesians 5:2

Verse Concepts

and walk in love, just as Christ also loved you and gave Himself up for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God as a fragrant aroma.
- See more at: http://bible.knowing-jesus.com/topics/Smells#sthash.DuajoBCH.dpuf

Ephesians 5:2

Verse Concepts

and walk in love, just as Christ also loved you and gave Himself up for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God as a fragrant aroma.
- See more at: http://bible.knowing-jesus.com/topics/Smells#sthash.DuajoBCH.dpuf

Casting Away Anxiety

I spent approximately 48 straight hours formatting the e-book for my newly published book The Tower Builder. I took a few breaks to toss and turn in bed, and wish I were dreaming about sleeping. But then, finally, my woes were over and the e-book was successfully formatted. It went live on Amazon.com, and is now available for purchase as well as the print book. I am filled with joy.

There were many times I was very tempted to just give up. Because there are so many photos in the book, and so many different types of e-readers now available, it is near impossible to format for all reading platforms. I literally uploaded new files over fifty times in the past two days. Then, feeling totally frustrated and overwhelmed, I prayed.

Why is that almost always a last resort?

I uploaded the files (again!) and settled back with a cup of coffee to start previewing the e-book online. As I electronically turned each page, my excitement slowly mounted. The troublesome spots seemed to be gone. I got half way through the preview, and my computer crashed. This has happened multiple times over the past few days. I suspect the data overload is so great that my poor computer can only take it for a half hour at a time. Each time I go through the entire preview it takes about an hour. (yes, that is correct, I spent a good fifty hours in the past few days previewing the files. When you see me, you will now understand why I look the way I do.)

I rebooted the computer and started where I had left off. As each troublespot came and went with the issue resolved, I felt hope bubbling up. Finally, I reached the last page. As far as I could tell, it was perfect. I sent the files on to the publisher, and the e-book was in the bag. Elated, I went on a walk and realized the world was a beautiful place outside of a computer screen.

God relays this message to me in a thousand different ways: in this world you will have troubles, but take heart. He has overcome the world. Do not grow weary for He will provide the increase. When we think we are looking into a grave, rejoice, for He has risen.

In other words, don't give up. Look up.

 Here is the link to my e-book:
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00JXP8B72

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1 Peter 5:7 

Casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you.

Romans 12:1-2 

I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.

John 16:33 

I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.”

Psalm 103:1-5 

Of David. Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless his holy name! Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits, who forgives all your iniquity, who heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit, who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy, who satisfies you with good so that your youth is renewed like the eagle's.

The Tower Builder

After nine years from conception, my new book is born. This is the longest gestation period for any book I have ever written and it is with great relief that I have finally finished. It will be available at any online bookstore soon, but for now, it is already in print and ready for hordes of eager consumers at: https://www.createspace.com/4565058?ref=1147694&utm_id=6026

It is a very difficult book to describe because it is so many stories rolled into one. It all started 9 years ago when my brother asked me to tour the iconic, historic WBT-AM radio towers near my home. I knew nothing about radio towers but dragged my 7 year old daughter along on this "educational field trip." She was my official assistant and took notes on a little ladybug notepad, and asked questions. The radio station was kind enough to send us a retired WBT engineer, who took us on a personal tour.

If you are like me, you are probably thinking, "Who would be the slightest bit interested in touring radio towers, those big, ugly, steel antennas marring our landscape?" In all honesty, that is what I thought as I drove to the towers. However, from the moment I saw them, and really saw them, I was intrigued. While not well-versed in radio towers, I knew they were an unusual shape -- elongated diamonds. As our tour progressed, I was captivated by a series of mysteries that swirled about those towers. Firstly, why the unusual shape? No one knows! The towers were built in the 1930's, and all the original documents had been lost in a company fire. Few of the iconic design were built, and only 9 remain in the entire world. Three of them are at the WBT-AM tower site. Secondly, I discovered that two of the towers were knocked down in 1989 by Hurricane Hugo. They were rebuilt exactly! Why rebuild old historic towers when it surely would have been cheaper to erect modern designs? Thirdly, I found out the towers were rebuilt perfectly without blueprints! Now I am not an engineer but to attempt an exact reproduction of hurricane-mangled towers without blueprints seemed impossible. The tour guide assured me it was no easy task, and gave me the name of the tower builder who accomplished this miracle. And fourthly, there was an old WWII-era rotating aircraft beacon atop the transmitter building. No one knew why it was there, nor who had installed it, nor what its purpose had been. For nearly 80 years it had perched in a very public place on a very famous radio station rooftop...and no one knew anything about what it was doing there!

Well that was the clincher. I became a detective that day 9 years ago, determined to find the tower builder and solve those mysteries. The tower builder, Tony Fonseca, was as perfect a book hero as I could have wished for - generous, considerate, eager to help, kind, handsome, and with a life story that perfectly matched the story of the tower rebuild itself. To spice it up, there is a wonderful love story that seems to have been written for a movie. (In fact, if you are a movie producer, yes, I am happy to talk with you.) On the trail to a solution, I uncovered mountains of amazing and little known stories from America's past, particularly from the early days of aviation and WWII navigation and piloting feats.

In those 9 years, there were many frustrations, and many experts who told me my theories in solving the mysteries were wrong. Nonetheless, the hand of God was miraculously present, and time after time, uncovered clues that led me steadily towards a solution. That is all I will tell you, other than after nine years, I solved every mystery I set out to solve. This book is ostensibly about towers and the people who build and climb them in the most dangerous job on earth. But it is really about God, who reveals Himself in the most unusual ways through the commonplace lives of mere humans.
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Psalm 18:2
The LORD is my rock, my fortress, my deliverer, my God, my stronghold in whom I take refuge, my shield, the glory of my salvation, and my high tower.

Staying the Course

Yesterday, I traded in my trial hearing aids for my newly ordered personal ones. They came with three very cool gadgets.  I can now receive phone calls directly into my hearing aids through a simple device I hang around my neck! When I am on my computer, and click on a video, the sound is directly channeled to my hearing aids!  And, if I am in a noisy restaurant and cannot hear my table mates speak, I just clip a little microphone on their lapel, and their voice is piped directly into my hearing aids! And, when I take the aids out at night, I have a cool ultraviolet storage box that kills bacteria and moisture so these technological wonders will last for years to come. We who are hard-of-hearing have never had it so good!

Until a half hour from the time I got home with my brand new hearing aids and the right one stopped working. 

All my enthusiasm whooshed out of me like a popped balloon. Brand new hearing aids with so much potential before them, and they stop working only shortly after being fired up. Disappointing.

But it made me think about how many of us start off with great intentions, go rocketing forward in our goals, and peter out as soon as the real work begins. I know this is often true in our walk of faith. We start off on fire for God, ready to tell the world the incredible truth of Jesus our savior who died for our sins, rose from the dead, and then offered us the gift of eternal life simply by our acceptance! We can't wait to do monumental things for God, now empowered by the Holy Spirit that indwells every believer.

And then...what happens? Rough roads of tribulation trip us, tangled underbrush of worry snags and slows our progress, roadblocks of doubt stop us dead in our tracks...and pretty soon we give up. We stop working for the Lord, and are enticed by the allure of a world that has nothing but dead ends to offer us.

I took out the batteries and let my hearing aids "rest" over night. In the morning they were working again, but I will call the audiologist. They need some time with their Creator for some reprogramming,. If they can't even work for one day, they are probably not ready for eternity.
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Hebrews 12:1-2 

Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.

Hebrews 4:15-16

For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

Hebrews 1:11 

They will perish, but you remain; they will all wear out like a garment,

2 Timothy 2:15 

Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth.

Hope Realized

I have a wonderful friend, the kind everyone should have. She is kind, gentle, intelligent, encouraging, sweet, impassioned, and fun. She is from China, so I get the added benefit of learning about a culture that is very different from my own. What I have discovered is that while we come from very different worlds, our hearts beat to a very similar tune.

Linping sacrificed a great deal to come to this country, apart from her husband for months at a time, to let her brilliant son attend the best schools in the world here in America. She confided in me a while ago that she had a special dream for the time when she would be in China over the summer. She would be commemorating her 30th wedding anniversary. She wondered if I thought it was silly to wear a wedding dress for the celebration.

'No!" I said, "Lots of people reconfirm their wedding vows and wear their wedding dress."
"I never had a wedding dress," she told me.
Linping got married in a nice skirt, at a simple ceremony. She told me that she had seen wonderful wedding dresses and ceremonies as a child, but never dreamed of having one.
"It was so far from possible for me that I never had it as a goal," she said.
"Well then of course you should have a wedding dress now and a wonderful ceremony!" I said.
"But in China, it is not done," she said.
"Who cares?" I told her, "If you have always wanted this, you should do it!"

Yesterday, Linping and I went to the bridal shop for her to try on her newly altered gown. She is a beautiful and youthful woman, with a perfect figure. She put on the exquisite gown and looked like a princess. I came prepared with my good camera. We spent an hour in peals of laughter as Linping posed like a bridal magazine model. At first, neither of us could think of how to pose her in the beautiful dress, but soon, we were flowing with ideas and I had taken at least a hundred pictures. By then, I discovered my black and white setting on the camera, and we were busily posing in a thousand new ways.

"Excuse me," said the shop assistant, "Are you almost done in there? We need the alterations dressing room. If you aren't done, you can move to the rooms in the fitting area and take as long as you need."

So we moved and I took another hundred or so photos. We draped Linping on a couch, seated her demurely on zebra striped chairs, photographed the long train while the mirror reflected her face...
"Did you take classes in this?" Linping asked looking at my photos.
"No!" I laughed, but I surprised myself with how fun it was to be a fashion photographer.

Two hours later, exhausted and starving, we decided we had enough pictures. Since Linping hadn't expected to have a photographer at her vow renewal ceremony, she was thrilled with the photo shoot.


How like the kingdom of God this is! Before I knew God, I spent a lifetime with a distant hope of something that I believed was too impossible to ever realize. Could there really be life eternal? Could there really be victory over sin? Could there really be contentment and completion in the presence of a Being that loves me unabashedly despite who I really am? Will I ever be the Princess I dreamed of being in days of innocence and youthful idealism, gliding in the presence of a King worth loving with all my heart and mind and soul? Yes! I will stand in His presence in a crown of glory, resplendent in hope realized.

 "Do you feel like a princess?" I asked Linping.
"Yes," she said, beaming.
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Romans 12:12 

Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer.

Romans 15:13 

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.

Jeremiah 29:11 

For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.

Deuteronomy 31:6 

Be strong and courageous. Do not fear or be in dread of them, for it is the Lord your God who goes with you. He will not leave you or forsake you.”

Isaiah 40:31 

But they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.

Romans 5:2-5

Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God. More than that, we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.

Psalm 39:7 

“And now, O Lord, for what do I wait? My hope is in you.

A Good Omen

Something interesting always occurs during my day as a sidewalk counselor at the abortion mill. Yesterday, shortly after I arrived, I saw a mama and papa geese lead a whole flock of baby geese to the sidewalk.

"This is a good omen!" I thought, as I snapped their picture. While I was watching the geese waddle away, I saw a long crocodilian shape gliding very fast through the water.
"This is a bad omen!" I thought.
I watched until the shape came closer and then realized it was a beaver, or maybe a muskrat. It flipped over and dipped under water. Whew! Not a crocodile afterall!

So back to work flagging down cars as they screeched around the corner and barreled towards the abortion mill. One of the team member's son is always on my heel. He keeps me entertained with a running commentary, but has been instructed that when I flag down a car, he is to pray! He is only 11 ( I think) but asks heartfelt questions each time after I have spoken with an abortion minded mama.
We often pause and pray together for the innocent life hanging in the balance. I cannot tell you what an encouragement his sweet spirit is to me. I pace up and down the sidewalk while scanning the street for approaching cars, and he paces with me.

"At least we're getting our exercise," he says cheerfully, as he tells me about his day at Carowinds amusement park.

The first car I stopped had two men in it. They smiled at me and rolled down the window.
"OH," I said, "You're not getting an abortion, are you?"
"No ma'am," said the driver, smiling, and then asked me for directions to a nearby business.

Well if on this day, God had called me to be the mapquest girl, so be it. I continued to smile, wave, and urge cars to stop in the street before turning into the abortion mill. Despite many cars stopping and the women taking my literature, they all headed on into the abortion mill. Most seemed calloused to the deed they were about to perform. However, one couple looked apologetic as I asked if the woman was headed to the abortion center. I showed her my literature, and asked why she felt she needed to get an abortion. I thought she told me she felt it was necessary because she works in radiology, and feared it had hurt the baby. My teammate thought she had said she had undergone radiation. Anyway, her heart seemed soft, and I thought she would take us up on going to the pro-life ultrasound RV on the curb. The other counselor and I told her the nurses there would be able to give wise counsel regarding radiation and risks, and would do it for free. She took our literature, but she went into the abortion clinic anyway.

"What did she say?" asked my little sidekick, the 11 year old, when the car drove away.
"Her heart is soft, but she went in," I said, "Let's pray."
He prayed with me.

Another car stopped. It was a worker in the abortion mill.
"Do I know you?" she asked.
I told her not that I knew of, but began my plea not to abort her baby.
"Oh, I work here," she said.
"Then I beg you to get another job," I told her, "One that doesn't involve babies dying."
"I want to," she told me, "But no one else will hire me."
"Test God on this," I said, "If you leave what you know is wrong and honor Him by making a right choice, I guarantee you will be blessed."
"Will you pray for me?" she asked.
"Yes," I said, "Right now, in fact."
So I prayed "at" her, reminding her of the hope and salvation found in Christ alone, and that when we believe, step forward in faith, and do what is righteous in God's eyes, He empowers and transforms us.

I hoped she would drive away immediately from the abortion mill, but she did not. Later I learned she goes to a large and hugely popular church in the area. How? How can anyone who claims to love God assist in the murder of His children? I just don't get it.

One car stopped with a young woman and her mother. As I spoke with them, the young lady told me she was here for a check-up, and had gotten the abortion three weeks ago. Since so many of the moms lie, I handed her my literature anyway, and opened it to the first page to show her the list of resources that can help her.
"I would never do it again," she said mournfully.
Then she looked down and saw the small photo of an aborted baby clipped to the front page.
"I will take your literature," she said, "But please, take that picture off."
I unclipped the photo and showed her where my name and number was on the information packet, and told her if she ever needed to talk to someone, I was always at that number. I also handed her our post-abortive pamphlet. That information speaks of God's forgiveness and love, and healing in the midst of the terrible despair so many of these women feel. I was about to tuck the picture of the aborted baby in my pack when the mother of the young woman asked me, "May I see that picture?"
I handed it to her. She looked at it silently for several seconds. I suspect she had been the one to drive her daughter to the murder of her grandchild. I think at that moment she perhaps had a sense of what a terrible travesty that was. She handed the picture back to me without speaking.

Baby geese notwithstanding, it had not been a good day. The other counselors all said goodbye and drove away as our long and seemingly fruitless shift drew to a close. I stood on the sidewalk wondering how so many hearts could be so hard to the remonstrations of a loving God. My friend Celia was packing up her things, when the woman I had spoken to earlier came out of the abortion mill. She went to her car, where her boyfriend sat in the driver seat. They spoke a while, and then he got out and she sat down in the driver seat as he walked around to the passenger side.
"That's odd," I thought, "if she just got an abortion, why would she drive?"
As they pulled out of the driveway, I called out dispiritedly, "Did you change your mind?"
"We didn't do it," said the young man, rolling down his window. As they drove away, he stuck his hand out the window and gave me a thumbs up.

*******************

Ezekiel 11:19 

And I will give them one heart, and a new spirit I will put within them. I will remove the heart of stone from their flesh and give them a heart of flesh,

2 Corinthians 5:17 

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.

Romans 2:29 

But a Jew is one inwardly, and circumcision is a matter of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the letter. His praise is not from man but from God.

Daniel 9:3 

Then I turned my face to the Lord God, seeking him by prayer and pleas for mercy with fasting and sackcloth and ashes.

Psalm 37:4 

Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart.

Hosea 10:12 

Sow for yourselves righteousness; reap steadfast love; break up your fallow ground, for it is the time to seek the Lord, that he may come and rain righteousness upon you.

He Who Has Come

We are "Messianic Jews." That means we are of Jewish descent, but we believe that Yeshua, (Jesus), the Messiah has come. So we celebrate Passover, and conduct mostly a traditional Seder dinner, but with added features in keeping with our beliefs. We could not do the Seder on the first or second eve of Passover, which is traditional, so we did it last night. I love the ceremony. Every symbol is filled with the promise and expectation of Jesus. My husband, who years ago worked for Chosen People Ministries, became a licensed minister at that time, and he conducts our Seder beautifully (although he is not Jewish.) He wears the traditional garb and speaks the Hebrew convincingly. It is always a very special time for me, and each year, there is some aspect of the ceremony that strikes me in a new way.

The most enigmatic and mysterious part of the ceremony is the "afikomen." This is a piece of matzoh (unleavened bread,) which is broken and half of which is put in the center of a trifold "unity bag." (The triune in One symbolism of that is worth a blog in itself....) Anyway, the other half of the broken Matzoh is wrapped in a white linen cloth and hidden. At the end of the ceremony, the one who finds the afikomen receives a reward. There are many intriguing aspects to the afikomen. First, it is the only Greek word in a starkly Hebrew ceremony. Secondly, no one is quite sure what the word means. Some scholars believe it means, "He who has come." Some Jewish traditions translate it as 'dessert.'

What is most interesting to me is that many scholars believe that the afikomen was clearly a Messianic symbol and there is evidence it was a part of the Seder in the first century, during and right after the time of Jesus. Some believe the "bread" he offered His disciples at the Last Supper (which was a Passover meal) was the afikomen. It was the symbol and promise that He was the expected Messiah "who has come."  Later, some scholars believe Rabbinical commentators suppressed the Messianic meaning of afikomen, and now the word and practice is shrouded in mystery.

But to me, each Passover Seder, it is clear. The afikomen is Jesus. Jesus is one portion of the triune God, broken away in His crucifixion and punishment for our sins, separated for a time from His Father, wrapped in a linen cloth and buried, then found alive, risen from the grave. Those who find Him and believe are rewarded with eternal life. "He who has come." Afikomen. Hallelujah!

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"Messiah our Passover has been sacrificed.
Let us therefore celebrate the Feast."
(1 Corinthians 5:7-8)
"I have believed that you are the Messiah, the Son of God,
the One Coming into the world."
(John 11:27)

(reference: http://www.hebrew-streams.org/works/judaism/afikoman.html) 

Longing to Connect

The most wonderful day in all eternity is here! He is risen!

Meanwhile, my new hearing aids are doing something very strange, but because of the holiday, my audiologist was on vacation all week, and thus could not tell me how to stop them from doing it. For no apparent reason, they have been singing at odd moments a 6 tone chime, first in one ear, then the other. It happens irregularly, and I was befuddled as to why. I changed the battery twice, even though the batteries are supposed to last a week, and it had only been a day. Then I began to figure out a possible cause. Since they are bluetooth enabled, every time I come within range of a bluetooth device, they are trying to connect with it. I cannot see the bluetooth device...sometimes it happens as I pass a house that must have one! Friday, I walked in a friend's house filled with various bluetooth devices and my hearing aids were singing a full symphony for quite some time. Monday, the audiologist returns from Easter Break, and I will have her deprogram whatever crazy program is awry.

Nonetheless, it is a fitting symbol for Resurrection Sunday. The hearing aids know where the invisible source of power is to which they long to connect. They cannot "see" it, but they know it is there, and they send out their signal in the emptiness, knowing the source hears them.

Before Jesus rose again, the disciples despaired. They had no hope of ever seeing Him again. When He rose from the grave, their faith was reaffirmed. Their eternity was sealed. If He had risen from the dead, He was exactly who He had claimed to be -- the Messiah, Lord, the Christ, the Savior. A major game changer. Even upon seeing the risen Christ, Thomas declared he would not believe unless he could touch him. Jesus let him touch His nail scarred hands, and Thomas believed. Jesus met Thomas where he was in his walk of faith, but still remonstrated, "You believe because you have seen, blessed are they who believe without seeing."

We should all strive to be like my hearing aids, calling out to the Source of all creation knowing He is there even when He is not seen. Even when we are so downtrodden that we feel He is gone forever! We should all be longing to connect, and calling out loudly with the voice of faith that He will answer in His way and in His time. Until then, we will keep calling, knowing he is there, knowing He hears, knowing one day all creation who call upon His name will reconnect with the Creator.

While terribly distracting and annoying, when I think of my hearing aids in that light, I am grateful for the reminder.

He is risen!
**************

John 5:24 

Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life.

Hebrews 11:1 

Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.

John 20:31 

But these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.

Mark 9:24 

Immediately the father of the child cried out and said, “I believe; help my unbelief!”

Romans 10:17 

So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.

Pass Over

I have been so busy over the past couple of weeks that the hoopla over the "blood moon" and lunar eclipse April 15 flitted through my consciousness but I didn't pay much attention. However, in a quiet moment today, I asked my husband, "So what was the significance of that blood moon everyone was discussing?"

Apparently, the blood moon is supposed to herald the beginning of the End Times according to the book of Joel.

The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and terrible day of the Lord come. (Joel 2:31)

Blood moons are not all that rare. They occur every few years. Part of the interest in the recent blood moon is that a series of four will occur over the course of a few months. Some people believe this fulfills prophecy of the imminent end of the world. The reddish color that is created from a total lunar eclipse is due to the same reason the sky turns red at sunset. It has to do with the refraction of sunlight through a dusty atmosphere which is then cast onto the moon's surface.

I don't understand the prophecy well enough to know if I should be packing a suitcase...but I do know that the blood moon corresponded with the second night of Passover this year. It may or may not foretell the end of the world, but it is a fitting symbol cast in the night sky as we approach Resurrection Sunday.

On the first Passover, the Jewish people were told to paint the lintels and posts of their front doors with the blood of a sacrificial lamb, and the wrath of the Lord would pass over them. It is a poignant symbol of the sacrificial blood of Jesus, the Messiah and "lamb of God"  that would cover our sins, and the wrath of God would pass over us. I was just discussing with my daughter the other day how God uses all creation to show us His message and the truth of His revelation. Seems pretty amazing to me that He sent a blood moon on Passover, don't you think?
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Exodus 12:21-28 

Then Moses called all the elders of Israel and said to them, “Go and select lambs for yourselves according to your clans, and kill the Passover lamb. Take a bunch of hyssop and dip it in the blood that is in the basin, and touch the lintel and the two doorposts with the blood that is in the basin. None of you shall go out of the door of his house until the morning. For the Lord will pass through to strike the Egyptians, and when he sees the blood on the lintel and on the two doorposts, the Lord will pass over the door and will not allow the destroyer to enter your houses to strike you. You shall observe this rite as a statute for you and for your sons forever. And when you come to the land that the Lord will give you, as he has promised, you shall keep this service.

1 Corinthians 5:7 

Cleanse out the old leaven that you may be a new lump, as you really are unleavened. For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed.

Matthew 26:26-28 

Now as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and after blessing it broke it and gave it to the disciples, and said, “Take, eat; this is my body.” And he took a cup, and when he had given thanks he gave it to them, saying, “Drink of it, all of you, for this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.

The Good in Good Friday

I know I have threatened this before, but the book I started 9 years ago is uploading to the publisher as we speak. If the proof is approved, I will have it out in a week or so. I have spent the past several days, several hours a day ripping my hair out. It saves on hair cutting bills, but is not really a good look on me. Usually, this is the time I need to go immerse myself in nature. God's creation has a very calming effect on me. But it has been either rainy or frigid the past few days so I have been stuck indoors, alone with Word Documents, and a barely passable understanding of how to use them.

Praise God for Brian, the computer guru, who took over my computer one day when I sent him a brief g-mail chat: "Do you have a moment before I jump off a cliff?" Fortunately, he did. He worked his magic in the most amazing way. He uses this astonishing application, I think it is called Team Help, where he can remotely take over my computer. While I sit and watch in dumbfounded amazement, an invisible hand is clicking and moving all my troublesome text and pictures around till the problem is solved. I watch closely, knowing I cannot always call on Brian. I must at some point learn how to do all this myself, but he works with such lightning speed that it is near impossible to follow and take notes so that I can replicate the process.

During the last session, even Brian was a little perturbed by some of the inexplicable and stupid aspects of Word Doc intricacies. He told me it would take some time to fix my mess, and I would need to bring my computer to him and we would work on it over the weekend. The invisible hand removed itself, Team Help signed off, and I blinked at the document before me. However, the spirit of Brian hovered near in the notes I had taken, however incomplete they were. They infused me with hope. Maybe I can do this.

At a much slower pace, and with much fear and trembling, I began to try to mimic what I had seen Brian do. I could scarcely believe it when I successfully resized the photo and the text flowed correctly around it. The floating caption that had vanished was found, and I dragged it to its proper place. I still had thirty photos to go, but I had successfully followed Brian's lead. Now on to the next one.

What a PERFECT story for Good Friday and Resurrection Sunday! It was on Good Friday that our Lord and Savior, God 's own son, sacrificed Himself on our behalf. Remember how distraught the disciples were -- plunged into the darkness of despair and disillusion? All seemed lost to them on that terrible day. In their dismay, they could not cling to or remember or understand the Messiah's promises. God had apparently abandoned them in their minds. But then, three days later, Jesus rose from the dead and appeared before them. He remained but a short time, infusing them with hope and promising that they would never be left alone again. He poured out His Holy Spirit upon them, and told them this Comforter would be with them always. Though invisible to them, they would never be left without His power and strength, and His instructions would guide them through all the trials and vicissitudes of life. Take heart, He whispered, for I have overcome the world!

By the end of the day I had successfully finished the final touches, with every photo now perfectly sized and placed exactly as I had hoped. I sent the document on to its final journey (I hope) for review before the book I have struggled over for nearly a decade, is given life.
Take heart, I whispered smiling, for I have overcome the Word Doc!

*********************

John 11:25 

Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live,

1 Thessalonians 4:14 

For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep.

John 6:40 

For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in him should have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.”

Luke 14:14 

And you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you. For you will be repaid at the resurrection of the just.”

1 Corinthians 6:14 

And God raised the Lord and will also raise us up by his power.

Romans 8:38-39

For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Romans 8:11

If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you.

The Mantle of Praise

This picture is the text message I got a couple of days ago. It is from a young lady I counseled on the sidewalk of the abortion mill. After my impassioned pleas for life, including some heart-felt tears, she left me, and went inside the abortion mill. I watched her walk in, and bowed my head in defeat. A little while later she emerged. She had told them to cancel her appointment.

Now, her heart is filled with joy to have learned the child she is carrying is a little girl.
"I knew it!" I texted back, "Look at that precious face!"
"I know!!!!!" she texted.
 She told me I could share this picture of her darling baby with anyone I would like.
"You bet I will," I texted.

This is one of the reasons I love God so much. How awesome He is to allow us to share in a miracle! How inspiring and tender it is for Him to let us see a glimpse of His purpose for us! How loving and gentle and merciful He is in turning despair and fear into blessing and joy.
***************

Isaiah 61: 2-4
...To comfort all who mourn, 3To grant those who mourn in Zion, Giving them a garland instead of ashes, The oil of gladness instead of mourning, The mantle of praise instead of a spirit of fainting. So they will be called oaks of righteousness, The planting of the LORD, that He may be glorified. 4Then they will rebuild the ancient ruins, They will raise up the former devastations; And they will repair the ruined cities,

On Drawing the Character of God

As a young artist, all I ever drew was horses. For eighteen years, I drew almost nothing else. When I went to college as an art major, my professor told me that I had talent, but it would never come to fruition if I didn't draw something other than horses. I drew everything at that point, including the kitchen sink, to make a point. However, my first love always was and remained drawing horses. I could draw a horse even if I were blindfolded. I spent so much time drawing horses that in 5 seconds or less, I could draw a very passable picture of a horse. Where you spend your time is where your heart is. And where you spend your time is where your skill develops.

A friend recently asked me that in drawing others closer to God, it might be good to explore what the characteristics of God are that draw people near. I realized that I knew how to draw horses much better than I could draw the character of God that compels me to follow Him. It is not that I don't know, but that I haven't spent much time enumerating or considering the question. It seemed to me, I should.

God is love:

1 John 4:16 

So we have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us. God is love, and whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him.

1 John 4:8 

Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love.

John 3:16 

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.

God is forgiving:

1 John 1:9 

If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

Ephesians 1:7 

In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace,

God is merciful:

Psalm 145:9 

The Lord is good to all, and his mercy is over all that he has made.

Jeremiah 31:9 

With weeping they shall come, and with pleas for mercy I will lead them back, I will make them walk by brooks of water, in a straight path in which they shall not stumble, for I am a father to Israel, and Ephraim is my firstborn.

God is just:

Deuteronomy 32:4 

“The Rock, his work is perfect, for all his ways are justice. A God of faithfulness and without iniquity, just and upright is he.

Numbers 23:19 

God is not man, that he should lie, or a son of man, that he should change his mind. Has he said, and will he not do it? Or has he spoken, and will he not fulfill it?

John 3:36 

Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him.

God is the only way to peace and life: 

John 16:33 

I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.”

John 14:27 

Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.

Romans 5:1 

Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.

Isaiah 26:3 

You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you.

Colossians 3:15 

And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful.

Romans 15:13 

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.

Romans 8:6

For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace.
****************

I spent a lifetime drawing horses, and when I close my eyes, I can still draw horses. When I close my eyes, do I see God clearly? Can I draw His character with the same ease and fluency with which I can draw the hoof and flaring nostril of a stallion? I think, surprisingly, I can. This is the God I know and love. Painting His picture with His own words made me realize it all the more.

Beloved, not everyone can draw, but all can draw near to God and He will draw near to you.

The Tears of a Child

I prayed and prayed as I drove to the abortion mill that God would soften women's hearts towards the babies they were determined to kill. It was, as always, disheartening seeing cars roar into the parking lot, disgorge young women, and then line up like coffins in a morgue to await the outcome of their terrible journey. The young men often would stand clumped together on the porch of the abortion mill, smoking cigarettes and talking on cell phones. The parking lot was filled. A terrible day of killing.

Several cars came perilously close to running me down as I waved at them and begged them to stop. But then, one stopped. A young couple sat in the front seat. A toddler, maybe 3 years old, sat in the back seat.

"I see that you already know the wonder and miracle of life," I said, "Please let me take you to our free ultrasound right in that RV." Before they had time to speak, I opened my literature and slipped it through the window. I told them to look at the whole page of resources that could help them. I asked the young woman how far along she was.

"Oh, I'm not pregnant," she said, "I already have a child. We are here to pick up a friend."
I ignored her remarks. I knew it wasn't true. Sometimes, you just know.
The young man looked grieved as he looked at the booklet, with the picture of babies at various stages of development. He glanced at the woman.

"If you go in there you will have to pay for the ultrasound," I told her, "But if you go in our RV, it is free."
"We are really in a hurry," said the woman.
"You are talking about killing a baby," I said, "Don't you think it is worth a few moments to consider?"
She began to leaf through the booklet.
"How far along are you?" I asked.
"6 weeks," she said.
I pointed to the picture of the 6 week old baby, with big eyes, and already developed ten fingers and toes.
"This baby already has a beating heart," I told her, "Little fingers, little toes, eyes, nose, mouth. She is a tiny human. Please...just get the ultrasound."
"OK," she said. However, they pulled into the parking lot, and the woman got out and walked into the abortion mill.

The man started to drive out of the lot, but I met him in the driveway. He rolled down his window. I pleaded with him to go back in and save his child. The toddler in the car was crying. He was begging his daddy to please go get mama out of there. The man dropped his head in his hands, wiping his forehead, his eyes closed.

"I can see you know this is not the right thing to do," I said. He agreed. I asked his name. For privacy, I won't tell you his name, but I told him it was two words put together that meant "the God". I urged him to follow the legacy of his name, to make a choice honoring to the one true God. He promised me he would be back. He was just going to get the little boy lunch at the corner McDonalds and would be right back. The little boy began to sob, huge tears, "Get Mama....."

The man drove away. I stood on the corner praying. He returned a few minutes later, pulling into the parking lot again, but rolled down his window. I can't remember all I said but for an hour or so, I spoke. Without ceasing. Since he was across a parking lot, I had to yell. I cannot believe my voice held out as long as it did. He looked at me, and over and over again, I was certain he was making a move to get out of the car, and go try to bring the woman out.  My voice grew hoarse and sore. I continued pleading, but was no longer certain he could hear me. Still, with many of the things I said, he covered his face, and appeared to be crying. Unlike many of the men there, he didn't roll up his window, or get on his phone, or flip me a finger. He looked at me, he listened, and he looked bereaved. But he never got up, never opened the car door, never got out to do what God was so clearly prompting his conscience to do. What the tears of his son were begging him to do....

"If you harden your heart to what God is telling you," I told him, unable to call out beyond a quiet voice now, "It will be easier the next time to shut your heart to His voice."
He looked at me.
"But if you listen to the voice that is telling you to do the right thing, it will be easier next time to hear that voice. Please, time is short. The abortionist just arrived. You must get her out now. Hear the voice of truth. The truth will set you free."
The little boy's tears flowed and the man remained with his head in his hands as the abortionist entered the center.
****************

Ephesians 4:18 

They are darkened in their understanding, alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, due to their hardness of heart.

Matthew 13:14-15 

Indeed, in their case the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled that says: “‘You will indeed hear but never understand, and you will indeed see but never perceive. For this people's heart has grown dull, and with their ears they can barely hear, and their eyes they have closed, lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears and understand with their heart and turn, and I would heal them.’

Proverbs 28:13-14 

Whoever conceals his transgressions will not prosper, but he who confesses and forsakes them will obtain mercy. Blessed is the one who fears the Lord always, but whoever hardens his heart will fall into calamity.

Expect the Unexpected

I am a glutton for nature and beauty. For the third day in a row, it was gorgeous weather yesterday so I had to race out with my kayak to the Catawba River. I cannot help myself. Truth be told, I was a little tired, and my muscles all a little leaden, but how could I not kayak when the sky was blue, the sun was shining, and it was near 80 degrees in April?

There were quite a few other people on the river so the wildlife was hiding. I prefer to have the river to myself because I see more nature then. However, it was still beautiful, and I was still praising God for the wonder and joy and beauty of His creation. And then I saw something I have never seen before!

I skimmed right up to a mammal that was floating on the water. The large brown furry creature startled, as did I, and a large flat tail disappeared beneath the surface. I am almost certain it was a beaver. I have never seen a beaver in the wild. I stayed still, bobbing on the waves, waiting to see if it reappeared but it didn't. I had already convinced myself that I would see no nature when so many other people were about, and the river so turbulent with all the motorboats zipping by. What a strange perplexity that would be the day I would see a wild animal I had never had the pleasure of seeing before. If I had been looking for something with anticipation, I would have seen him much sooner and caught more than just a glimpse of a tail.

Expect the unexpected. Do not have preconceptions about what a day will bring. It limits what we see, or what God shows us. I almost didn't see the beaver at all, even though he was right in front of me, because I was so certain I would see no animals that day. I wonder how often I have circumvented a miracle that was right in front of my face because I was so certain it could not happen? These are good thoughts as I head out this morning in my volunteer work as a pro-life sidewalk counselor at the abortion mill.

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James 4:13-14 

Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit”— yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes.

2 Kings 7:2 

Then the captain on whose hand the king leaned said to the man of God, “If the Lord himself should make windows in heaven, could this thing be?” But he said, “You shall see it with your own eyes, but you shall not eat of it.”

John 16:13 

When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come.

Ephesians 2: 4-9

⁴ But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, ⁵ made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved. ⁶ And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, ⁷ in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. ⁸ For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— ⁹ not by works, so that no one can boast.

Perfect Peace

The river in the morning yesterday was still and silent. No one else was out yet. No motorboats marred the quiet. The breeze was barely perceptible. It was completely peaceful. I glided along the shore in my kayak and several times nearly collided with a Great Blue Heron. He was so intent on catching his breakfast that he was paying no attention to me. When he did notice me, he didn't seem very perturbed and I was only about 5 feet away as he nabbed a little fish and gobbled it down. Sometimes I would put my paddle across my lap and just float, letting the gentle current carry me.

Just the day before, I had kayaked as well, and there had been gusts of wind so fierce that I was paddling with all my might and still not inching forward! There were whitecaps on the river, which I almost never see. I was exhausted after an hour, though I spent most of my upwind paddling in an inlet water path through the middle of an island, thus the wind was blocked a bit. What a difference a day makes! One day barely any progress and certainly little peace; the next day effortless and perfect calm. Sounds like life....

I love what the Bible says about finding contentment. It is not to be based on circumstances because circumstances change, sometimes dramatically. If our source of peace is found in our circumstances, we will bounce around like a ping pong ball. There are verses littered throughout the Bible that remind us perfect peace and contentment abides in God alone. If we keep our eyes on Him, our hearts yielded to Him, and satisfied with His will and provision, we will know contentment.

Even in the gale two days ago, I enjoyed being on the river. Yesterday, I was captivated by the whisper of a breeze and the still waters. Really, all that mattered to me was to be in the presence of such beauty on the river laid out for me, whether white caps or calm waters.

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Philippians 4:11-12

Not that I am speaking of being in need, for I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content. I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need.

Hebrews 13:5 

Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have, for he has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.”

1 Timothy 6:6-8

Now there is great gain in godliness with contentment, for we brought nothing into the world, and we cannot take anything out of the world. But if we have food and clothing, with these we will be content.

Isaiah 26:3 

You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you.