WHO IS BOSS?

my daughter, jana, gave

the Innocent Man

the devotional "Jesus Calling"  for christmas.

my son-in-law, aaron, took the picture of my six kids

and gave that as a gift.

i gave him the cross that says

ENDURE.

these items were on the dresser of his room

and had to be packed up with his other belongings

before i flew home.

i just had to see what the author

had to say january 20th,

the day the innocent man didn't go home,

but went off in handcuffs.

**********

APPROACH THIS DAY WITH AWARENESS OF

WHO IS BOSS.

As you make plans for the day,

remember that is it I who orchestarate the events of your life.

On days when things go smoothly,

according to your plans,

you may be unaware of My sovereign Presence.

On days when your plans are thwarted,

be on the lookout for Me!

I may be doing something important in your life,

something quite different from what you expected.

It is essential at such times to stay in communication with Me,

accepting My way as better than yours.

Don't try to figure out what is happening.

Simply trust Me and thank Me in advance

 for the good that will come out of it all.

I know the plans I have for you,

and they are good.

Isaiah 55:9-11

Jeremiah 29:11

**********

have your plans recently been thwarted?

are you trying to figure out what's happening in your life?

can you surrender your plans,

your ways and your thoughts?

when my heart is troubled about my circumstances,

 i encourage myself by remembering the One

who orchestrated those circumstances,

is the One who loved me enough to die for me.

over and over i say

"God is either 100% sovereign,

or He isn't sovereign at all.

God is sovereign,

and

i

choose

to

believe."

He's

the

Boss.

Why, Lord? WHY?

sometimes i think christians give bad advice.

i remember being told not to ask the Lord
why

when things happened that I didn't understand.
things i wouldn't have planned.
things i wouldn't have chosen.

i was taught it was disrespectful to question a holy, sovereign Lord.

the other day my husband reminded me of

the Lord Jesus' agonizing cry

Mark 15:34
And at the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice,
saying, Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?
which is, being interpreted,
My God, my God,
why
hast thou forsaken me?

 

in the midst of His dying obedience,

He asked His father
why.
we know it wasn't sin because the Lord Jesus never sinned.

 

i don't think it's wrong to ask 

why?

if we ask in faith. 

i don't think it's wrong to ask
why?
if we ask to the Lord's face and not behind His back.
i don't think it's wrong to ask
why?

if we're willing to hear His answer.

we have a promise that the Lord Jesus didn't experience.

 

"I will never leave thee nor forsake thee."

 

He had to be forsaken from His father because He was 

bearing our load of sin.

 

 

in the midst of our sufferings,

we will never be forsaken.

i know, from talking to friends, reading blogs,
and hearing prayer requests,
i'm not suffering alone.

in the past year
parents lost children,
children lost a parents,
women have lost husbands,
husbands have lost wives.
people have lost jobs,
 been diagnosed with disease,
and suffered relationship problems.
all around me i see pain and suffering.

we're all suffering heartaches of varying degrees,
but as we weep in our agony,
may we always be on our knees,
 our faces lifted to Him,
our hearts open to His Word,
so that we can hear His answer.

but, draw near to Him and His Holy Word.
draw very, very near.

He speaks in a
still, small voice,
but He speaks.


because of His sacrificial love for you,
His great plans for your future,
He will answer.

 

just ask

why

with

worship.

dressing for success

i looked up on the internet how to dress for success for a trial.

didja' know there are rules?

black pants, white shirt, ties.

even though we both dislike shopping,

we went shopping.

i bought white shirts and ties.

i even made him wear a white t-shirt under his dress shirt.

i even made him wear real grown-up dress socks,

those kind business men wear with the distinguished

tiny pattern that says, "i have class."

because some guy died

the innocent man had nice black italian leather shoes
from a consignment store for his trial.

i ironed and primped and fussed as if his life depended on it.

it was a work only a woman could do

and a work a woman would do,

keeping her hands busy because she can't do anything else.

he looked great.

in the end,

they took away his new white shirt, his new tie,

the italian leather shoes and the dress pants.

they let him keep his white t-shirt

and  gave him flip-flops.

i thought of the widow who brought those nice shoes

to the consignment store.

i know she wishes her husband was still there,

even wearing flip-flops behind bars.

in her mind it would probably be better than death.

i'm trying to remember that.

there's also another kinda' footwear the
Innocent Man
is wearing behind bars.

Ephesians 6:15
 and having shod your feet with the
preparation of the gospel of peace;

he's been faithfully reading his Bible
and sharing Jesus with a few men.

this knowledge slightly eases the pain
of losing his shoes of freedom.
the nice, black italian shoes that came with a shoe horn and extra laces.
those nice shoes that should have been worn for his june wedding.



despite having his good clothes thrown into a property bag,
 he's still dressed for success.

Ephesians 6 spiritual success.

returning from war

in 7th grade i had a homeroom teacher who had just returned from viet nam.

the first day of class,

he said war was so horrible, he didn't want us to ask questions.

very firmly, very politely, he repeated his request.

he told us if he felt like sharing a story,

he would. 

i was glad he explained that to me.

for years i had watched war clips on the news.

i hadn't been mature enough to associate

pain, loss and suffering with statistics

and pictures that seemed adventurous to a kid.

occasionally, he would tell a funny story,

like the time some village boys were rubbing their tummies

and licking their lips in anticipation of a delicious

meal they were going to share with the soldiers.

 the soldiers noticed the entire bowl of food was moving.

when they drew near,

they saw an entire bowl of caterpillars,

standing up on end,

moving in hairy rhythm.

i'm also thinking about  a story i read about  a woman

 who had grown up with a withdrawn mother.

as she grew up, she faulted her mother for her own struggles in life.

until,

she found out her mother lost her entire family in the Holocaust.

her pain was so great,

she couldn't speak of her loss,

even to her own children.

healing came when the daughter  understood and accepted

  her mother withdrew  to

spare her the pain,

not cause her pain.

the mother's love had been there all the time,

she was trying to live as normally as she could.

today, i'm returning to real life

as a mommy and a gramma.

i have to figure out how to keep living

when part of me died.

i have to figure out when to talk,

and when not to.

i have to learn to endure the pain,

without causing pain.

and i have to learn to refuse those caterpillars,

those waving, hairy beasts in my tummy,

that steal my appetite and my peace.

like my teacher/soldier,

i know they're not nourishment.

eat. sleep. breathe.

a friend gave my husband some good advice as

we traveled the last few weeks of

the Innocent Man's life before trial.

don't forget to sleep.

don't forget to eat.

don't forget to breathe.

for the past week through the trial i was barely able 

to eat or sleep.

if breathing didn't come naturally,  i'd be dead.

last night i found the t-shirt he wore his last day of freedom.

as i curled up in my bed at night,

hoping and praying to sleep enough to survive,

i  held it to my face,

comforted by his lingering scent.

i grieved the day when the scent would be gone,

and i would have no physical reminder

of his presence.

for hours i lay there in the dark,

exhausted, but unable to sleep.

the sound of silence in my ears

was like the static buzz of a tv off-station.

the heartbeat pounding in my ears

assured me i was still alive.

i've learned, the sound of a breaking heart

can keep you awake.

i was laying broken, lost and alone

in the deep well of my grief.

when i finally awoke from sleep broken

with agony and sorrow, i faced the first day

of life with the Innocent Man behind bars.

after being awake for a few hours,

i was able to eat more than saltines

for the first time in days.

 with the queasiness gone,

the first few bites tasted good.

but when i thought about what

the Innocent Man was eating,

i lost my appetite.

i kept eating because i needed to.

i have to survive.

i have to keep living.

but, the rest of my salad

tasted like sorrow.

i'm trying to

sleep.

i'm trying to

eat.

and though gasping  sobs often overtake me,

i'm trying to

breath.

it pleased the Lord to bruise him

the Innocent Man was found guilty

by those 12 strangers

thousands of Christians prayed

thousands of prayers went out

for this dear believer falsely accused of

a horrible crime

we prayed in faith

we prayed in unity

we prayed without ceasing

we prayed believing

we prayed in worship

we prayed, and prayed and prayed

however, we pray,

"not our will, but thine."

this is the Lord's will

and it will take all of the Lord's grace,

mercy, strength and peace

to walk this path.

i

am

devastated

"yet though He slay me,

still I will praise Him."

either God is 100% sovereign

or He isn't sovereign at all.

i

choose

to

believe

home or handcuffs

today the jury is back in deliberation.

it was a hard day to get out of bed.

it would have been a great day for the Lord to return.

as we wait for the jury to come back with a decision

we know this,

The Innocent Man go HOME

or he could

leave in HANDCUFFS.

The burden is heavy.

The yoke is easy.

Our hearts are heavy.

thank you for praying......

yesterday, my husband was leaving work

and was alone in the elevator.

he cried out to the Lord,

"I don't even know how to pray."

the Lord told him,

"pray believing."

so, he prayed in faith for a

not guilty verdict.

it would be a great day for a miracle.

12 strangers

the jury began their deliberation today

and at 8pm, after four hours, decided to go home and finish tomorrow.

it was a relief as we had heard they could have gone on until 11pm,

we that means we have to face yet another day of

Garden of Gethsemene anguish.

it's a hard place to be --

in the hands of 12 strangers.

12 people who have heard a combination of truths and lies,

and have to determine which is which.

12 people who don't know all the underlying details

that weren't or couldn't be shared in testimonies.

12 people who might have personal prejudices and problems

that could affect their ability to hear the truth.

praise God,

those 12 people also have their hearts in the hands of the Lord,

according to

Proverbs 21:1

The king’s heart is in the hand of the LORD,

Like the rivers of water;

He turns it wherever He wishes

He can direct their hearts to see the

innocence of The Innocent Man.

i  have to thank you for praying and

beg you to keep praying. 

pray for these 12 strangers

who will determine the future of

The Innocent Man

as directed by the Lord.

jury in deliberation

for those of you praying us through the trial of the Innocent Man

thank you

we are nearing the end

the jury is in deliberation.

we are waiting

waiting

waiting

waiting

please pray

we desperately need prayer

touched by an angel

a verse in the old testament tells us that david encouraged himself in the Lord.

we are learning what that means.

each day we wake up and have to face anew that

these circumstances are not out of the Lord's plan.

the Lord is in control

the Lord is sovereign

the Lord loves us

the Lord is gracious and kind

we woke up this morning and faced another day of the trial

choosing to believe that we are walking in His will.

we choose to believe.

we choose to worship.

we choose to have peace.

at a gas station this morning an elderly clerk noticed that i was a little flustered.

"Everything is going to be OK today, honey."

i looked at her in utter surprise and tears began welling up.

she was surprised, but continued her warm encouragement.

"everything is going to be just fine today. everything is going to work out.

God bless you."

I looked up, now weeping and said,

"thank you, i needed to hear that."

she reached across the counter and hugged me.

maybe she was an angel.

maybe she was a kind clerk who just responded to a flustered

woman who was trying to buy a cup of coffee and some cheese sticks.

but whoever she was,

she was a voice

and a touch

from my heavenly Father who chose to

use a human to express His love towards me.

please don't fall asleep in the garden

I can't share details,

but we're emotionally and physically spent.

we have 1 or 2 days more

of the Innocent Man's Trial.

We are so needing

your prayers and encouragement.

I was thinking about the Lord Jesus and how

when He was in the Garden of Gethsemene,

His disciples fell asleep.

I know I have fallen asleep instead of praying for others,

and I know I don't deserve your prayers,

but I ask for them anyway.

As this testing of our faith continues,

our physical strength is depleting.

It gets harder to trust the Lord for the outcome,

the closer we draw to the finish line.

I keep saying,

"I either walk in 100% faith, or I don't walk in faith at all.

Either God is 100% sovereign, or He isn't sovereign at all.

I choose to walk in faith and believe that God is sovereign."

Thank you so much for praying.

sleepless. in. seattle.

sleep can be a luxury when you're undergoing  stress.

i'm thankful i've slept  well the last few nights.

with my health issues, i don't always sleep well,

so this was an unexpected gift.

last night i fell asleep and was sleeping well.

at 3am i was wide awake,

but i wasn't worried or stressed.

i woke up in the presence of the Lord.

i lay in bed, feeling His love and began to pray

quietly and audibly.

i kept crying out in worship

"My Lord and My God"

and thanking Him for the privilege of coming into His presence

because of the precious blood of Jesus.

i could boldly approach the throne of grace

only because of Jesus.

and when i couldn't pray for a few minutes,

i knew my Savior was interceding with sighs too deep for words.

but the best part of waking up with the Lord,

is knowing that when I fell asleep again,

the Lord wouldn't.

Psalm 121:3-4
He Who keeps you will not slumber,

Behold, He that keeps Israel

shall neither slumber nor sleep.

He would still be awake. 

He would still be on the throne.

and, His Son would still be interceding for

the cries of my heart.

next time you wake up during the middle of the night,

don't stress about your lack of sleep.

pray

and enjoy

the Lord's presence

1 Day to Innocent Man's Trial

Thank you so much for praying.
Your words of encouragement and support
have meant so much to us.

Spiritual warfare is like a boxing match.
We're dancing around lightly on our toes,
holding up our gloves in defense,
and we get punched in the gut.
We fall to our knees and gasp,
but eventually get back up
and start breathing again.

Today we experienced another gut punch,
satan is alive and well,
but we've been encouraging one another to
"Be strong and courageous."

From the beginning we've been praying
the truth would be told,
the truth would be heard,
and the truth would be believed.

Tuesday, January 17th,  jury selection begins.
When I studied American history, I thought the jury system was pretty cool.
However, when someone I know and love
will have their future determined by 12 peers,
I'm not so sure of the system.
From the moment the Innocent Man walks into the court room,
some will have already decided his guilt or innocence.
It's human nature.

It makes me thankful that there's one Person
who can control the vote of the jury-
the True Judge, the Righteous Judge.

May these twelve jurors be ministers of justice
and believe the Innocent Man is innocent.


**********
Psalm 1

1.  Blessed is the man

Who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly,

Nor stands in the path of sinners,

Nor sits in the seat of the scornful;

2.  But his delight is in the law of the LORD,

And in His law he meditates day and night.

3.  He shall be like a tree

Planted by the rivers of water,

That brings forth its fruit in its season,

Whose leaf also shall not wither;

And whatever he does shall prosper.

 

4.  The ungodly are not so,

But are like the chaff which the wind drives away.

5.  Therefore the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment,

Nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous.

 

6.  For the LORD knows the way of the righteous,

But the way of the ungodly shall perish.

**********

Wanna' hear some good news about answered prayer?
Check out my friend Jena's blog.
She and her friends' prayers were
Shockingly Effective.

2 Days to Innocent Man's Trial

When we got saved and offered the Lord our lives,
we didn't know what He would do with them.

Some  envisioned preaching ministries,
others writing ministries.
Others had visions of serving  overseas,
others saw needs at home.

Never in our youthful zeal did we ever envision the Lord
calling us to the
ministry of suffering.

We didn't understand that losing a child
could open up doors for ministry.
We didn't understand that going through great illness
could be a vehicle for the Gospel.
We didn't understand that being like Jesus
was to suffer like Jesus.

We might  think our tribulations are a mistake~
maybe God wasn't paying attention
or that He doesn't care.

That's what satan says.

Since the wicked one can't steal our salvation,
 he tries to steal our joy and confidence in the Lord.

Do not believe the lies from the Liar.

You are exactly where the Lord wants you to be.
He loves you with an everlasting love.
His precious Son is interceding with sighs too deep for words.
His plans are to give you a future and a hope.

As we continue in our countdown to the trial of the
Innocent Man
using the Lord's Psalms,
may you be able to rejoice with us in prayer.

**********

Psalm 2

1.  Why do the nations rage,

And the people plot a vain thing?

2.  The kings of the earth set themselves,

And the rulers take counsel together,

Against the LORD and against His Anointed, saying,

3.  “Let us break Their bonds in pieces

And cast away Their cords from us.”

4.  He who sits in the heavens shall laugh;

The Lord shall hold them in derision.

5.  Then He shall speak to them in His wrath,

And distress them in His deep displeasure:

6.  “Yet I have set My King

On My holy hill of Zion.”

7.  “I will declare the decree:

The LORD has said to Me,

‘You are My Son,

Today I have begotten You.

8.  Ask of Me, and I will give You

The nations for Your inheritance,

And the ends of the earth for Your possession.

9.  You shall break them with a rod of iron;

You shall dash them to pieces like a potter’s vessel.’”

10.  Now therefore, be wise, O kings;

Be instructed, you judges of the earth.

11 Serve the LORD with fear,

And rejoice with trembling.

12 Kiss the Son, lest He be angry,

And you perish in the way,

When His wrath is kindled but a little.

Blessed are all those who put their trust in Him.

**********

You dear followers have been so supportive and faithful
through this testing of our faith,
I feel upheld, blessed and so thankful for your lovingkindness.

Those of us close to the Innocent Man have been
encouraging one another to not focus on our sorrows
so much we don't see the suffering and the burdens of others.

I would love to hear what is on your heart.

How can I pray for you?

3 Days to Innocent Man's Trial

Just like David facing Goliath,
Moses fleeing Pharoah's army,
Gideon fighting the Midianites,
we are not alone,
we are not forsaken
we are not out of the Lord's plan.

Thank you for praying.





Psalm 3

1. LORD, how they have increased who trouble me!

Many are they who rise up against me.

2.  Many are they who say of me,

“There is no help for him in God.” Selah

 

3.  But You, O LORD, are a shield for me,

My glory and the One who lifts up my head.

4.  I cried to the LORD with my voice,

And He heard me from His holy hill. Selah

5.  I lay down and slept;

I awoke, for the LORD sustained me.

6.  I will not be afraid of ten thousands of people

Who have set themselves against me all around.

7.  Arise, O LORD;

Save me, O my God!

For You have struck all my enemies on the cheekbone;

You have broken the teeth of the ungodly.

 

8.  Salvation belongs to the LORD.

Your blessing is upon Your people. Selah



Praying these verses for the trial.
May the Lord's glory shine forth.

4 Days to Innocent Man's Trial

As we draw nearer and nearer to the trial of the Innocent Man,

we all have mixed emotions.

dread

confidence in the ansered prayer

sorrow

exceeding joy

fear

perfect love that casts out fear

doubt

growing faith

(Click on link to read the Scripture)

For years I've sung the song

Moment By Moment.

It was an encouraging song,

but now

I get it.

When facing an insurmountable trial, you must face it

moment by moment,

step by step.

Looking at a whole day,

a whole week,

a whole month,

or a year is overwhelming.

Since Feb. 14th, we've been living

moment by moment.

All of us are taking our thoughts and making them captive to Christ

so we don't despair and fear.

We remind ourselves over and over

the Lord is in control.

I've started a spiritual countdown to give me courage

as we trudge the final steps of this time of testing.

Please join me.

Where do we go when we're in soul distress?

The Psalms.

Psalm 4

1 Hear me when I call, O God of my righteousness!

You have relieved me in my distress;

Have mercy on me, and hear my prayer.

2 How long, O you sons of men,

Will you turn my glory to shame?

How long will you love worthlessness

And seek falsehood? Selah

3 But know that the LORD has set apart for Himself him who is godly;

The LORD will hear when I call to Him.

4 Be angry, and do not sin.

Meditate within your heart on your bed, and be still. Selah

5 Offer the sacrifices of righteousness,

And put your trust in the LORD.

6 There are many who say,

“Who will show us any good?”

LORD, lift up the light of Your countenance upon us.

7 You have put gladness in my heart,

More than in the season that their grain and wine increased.

8 I will both lie down in peace, and sleep;

For You alone, O LORD, make me dwell in safety.

I also use YoutTube videos to encourage myself in the Lord.

How do you encourage yourself when you're feeling the heat of the

Refiner's Fire?

Is there someone you call?

A favorite verse you read?

Songs you love?

I'd love to hear how you bring your heart to the Lord

when circumstances could easily cause you to stray.

BLOGGGGGRRRRRR

As much as I love blogging,

I have to admit,

Blogger drives me crazy!

I've had several unresolved issues over the years,

and when you go to their "help" site,

it's only other bloggers posting their problems,

and occasionally another blogger with a possible solution.

There is not a Blogger employee to actually solve your problem.

If you're lucky, there will be an answer

in jargon you understand.

Usually, I end up more frustrated,

because a lot of people have the same problem,

and  voice frustration because they think Google doesn't care.

 

I'm not that computer literate,
I don't speak Google or html, 

so spend a lot of my time

*frustrated.*

1. One day I wanted to follow a new blog.

It wouldn't let me because I was already following 300.

OK, didn't know there was a limit,

but I knew there were many blogs I could delete.

(Sorry, if you haven't blogged in a year, I need to drop ya'.)

By simply clicking "manage" as I've done for a few years,

I got this error message.

It seems I'm not the only one.

However, since Blogger doesn't have a help department,

all you get is comments from other frustrated bloggers

who have been getting the same error message.

I tried to manage my account again, a few weeks later,

but got a new error message.

Cool.

2. On top of that,  that there are still many frustrations

with commenting on blogs.

Even when I'm signed in to Blogger,

I'm not able to comment on some blogs,

so I type in my blogspot url and use anonymous.

If I want to comment on a blog and they don't allow

anonymous comments, I'm toast.

3. On top of that, ever since I changed my background,

my Google Analytics stopped working.

I watched their videos, read comments,  watched more videos,

and read articles.

I simply couldn't figger out how to fix it.

4.  I write at night and set my blog to launch at 5am Pacific Time.

Often,  I wake up to find my blog wasn't posted.

If I don't get to my computer until later in the day, my blog is posted

after most people are already actively involved in their day.

BlogGGGGRRRRR!

If any of you brilliant computer geniuses could offer any advice,

I'll take it.

If ya' just wanna' whine about Blogger,

I'll take that, too.

Longing For a Friend?

"How are you, my friend?"

The cashier greeted me kindly,

as he always does when I go through his line at the grocery store.

After he handed my receipt, his farewell was just as warm.

"Have a good day, my friend."

It can be a little lonely living in a metropolis with roughly 3.5 million people,

and his greeting always reminds me that not every one of those

roughly 3.5 million people are indifferent.

 I love and have learned to use this greeting from

Kelly-Across-the-Street, "How are you, friend?"

The best marriage advice I was ever given:

  "Marry a man who is your best friend and then stay friends."

 

The best advice from my Dad before I went to Bible camp the first time alone,  

"To have a friend, you must be a friend."

We all long for deep friendships.

We want to bear our souls to them and know we still have their heart.

We want to fill their ears, knowing it won't all leave through their mouth.

Beautiful songs have been sung about friendship.

"You've Got A Friend"

"Thank You For Being A Friend"

"Lean on Me"

"That's What Friends Are For"

"With a Little Help From My Friends"

Our greatest joys in life come from friendships,

whether with our spouse, friends or people within our family.

Our greatest sorrows in life come from rifts in those friendships,

through  church splits, divorce and unresolved conflicts.

A lot of problems are solved just by having a friend in life.

There is something about sharing tears, hugs and laughs

that binds souls together forever.

Now that I have you all nostaligic and sentimental about

friends,

let me remind you something....

The Lord Jesus doesn't consider those who trust in Him

just a servant, although we love serving Him,

He calls us his

friends.

John 15:13 tells us how He made friendship with us possible.

Greater love has no one than this,

than to lay down one’s life for his friends.

It's an amazing concept that our greatest need on earth,

to have a

friend,

was met first and foremost by the One

who purchased our salvation with His blood.

When you're feeling down and troubled

and you need some loving care,

just call His Name,

He's always been there.

We always have a
Friend.

I Shoulda' Asked for World Peace

When I wrote my

New Year's Resolutions

I realized I shouldn't have been so selfish.

I shoulda' been more civic, patriotic and internationally minded and asked for

something more pageant-girlish like

World Peace.

But to be honest, I'm a realist, and still a bit selfish.
I'd be happy to settle for peace on a much smaller scale,

peace in my small world,
my home.

The commodity sought for by generations of parents who

bark, yell, whine, and fuss for

 some

"Peace and Quiet."

Of course, most of the time we never ask
peacefully or quietly,

but it's still in our scope of powers to demand it.

We need it.

Hey, 'member in the Olden Days when we were asked to mind

our P's and Q's?

Do you think they were talking about Peace and Quiet?

Like, mind your own business to bring about

Peace and Quiet?

Just wonderin'.

Anyhoo,

back to the Peace I desire.

I'd be happy to hear the bathroom door shut

without anyone else pounding on the door and hollering,

"Let me in! It's my turn!"

I'd like all annoying bodily noises and the retaliating

noises and punches to be eliminated

in the name of peace.

I'd like to end the wars over

who ate the last cookie,

who didn't flush the toilet,

who borrowed shoes without asking,

whose turn it is to do dishes,

which movie to watch,
who should take out the trash,
where is the remote,

who didn't put away the movies in the right cases,

and who changed the smell in the air.

When I ask someone to do the dishes or clean a bathroom,

I'd love my kids to know

resistence is futile

and respond,
"Yes, Mother, I'd love to!"

So, what's the secret to that peace?

Think of a Sunday School classroom
filled with young, fidgeting children.
When the teacher asks a question, 9 out of 10 times
the kids can answer "Jesus" and be correct.

It's no different for us big kids, didja' know that?

JESUS

First, Jesus helps us make peace with the God of Heaven.

 Romans 5:1

"Having been justified by faith,

we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ."

Then, Jesus helps us make peace with others.
Romans 12:18
If it is possible,
as much as depends on you,
live peaceably with all men.



It doesn't promise peace,
because there are two sides that have to be willing.
But, peace is a goal we seek with the help of the
Lord Jesus Christ.


World peace
will never happen until the Millennial Reign.

But, if I can remember to answer with
Jesus
and not
yelling,
I'll be a step closer to that
Peace and Quiet
I crave.

So, don't mind me,
I'm over here,
minding my
P's and Q's.

Just Keep Praying! Just Keep Praying!

It's easy to get discouraged when you've prayed for something

for a long time.

Humans love to mark moments, hours, days, and months

on our calendars, schedules and electronic devices.

Clocks metronome time for us, so we can stay on track.

 Dominating time means success.

The Lord doesn't measure His work by the

passage of time,

but by the 

transformation of a soul.

We want to give up and quit praying

when we think too much time has passed without an answer.

Cleaning out drawers I ran into a random piece of paper.

I covered the last names to protect identity,

but this was found in a drawer a few summers ago at

Story Book Lodge Christian Camp.

Along with random notes the director wanted to share with the counselors

 and workers during the morning  prayer meeting,

someone had written down the name of three campers that needed extra prayer.

My hubby, Scott, was one of those names.

For several summers, he was one of those names.

He came from a home that wasn't just broken,

it was shattered.

He hadn't lived through one divorce, he'd lived through four.

Then, after four years of extra prayer,

his name came up as a camper who professed salvation.

He returned the next year, and the next, and the next, bearing fruit.

He became a counselor after a few years.

For the past 14 summers, my husband's name has again been

 daily mentioned during the early morning counselor's meetings,

because he's one of the Bible teachers.

Whoever scribbled that note,

and prayed those prayers,

never saw it coming, I'm sure.

They weren't praying,

"Lord, save Scott so he can come back to camp as a preacher."

Some honestly wanted his salvation for their relief.

Others truly longed for a better life for him.

I think few thought their prayers for salvation would be answered.

My family also understands that burden of working with souls.

We'd prayed for the salvation of the Innocent Man for

 over 25 years.

In about November 2010 he was gloriously transformed

by the Lord Jesus Christ.

February 14, 2011 he was jailed on false charges, 

and we began Project Isaiah 61:1.

 

The previous trial date was set for October 17, 2011,

but we experienced a Last Minute Miracle

when physical evidence of innocence was found.

 

I started strong in faith, but lately

I've had moments where I  lost hope concerning the jury trial

the Innocent Man will be facing January 17th, 2012.

Instead of 60 years maximum, the prosecutor has lowered it to 15 years,

with about 8 served.

I still can't bear that thought.

Each time I get into despair,

the Lord brings fresh encouragement through believers, His Word or blogs.

I've been shown over and over the work the Lord is doing

in many lives through this testing.

The Gospel has gone forth many times.

Another new believer, saved in January 2011, has grown tremendously.

A godly, older Christian couple I'd never met agreed to house the Innocent Man.

A fellowship of believers he knew only a short time

has supported him immensely.

The other night during family devotions,

we were rejoicing in answered prayer.

It took 25 years,

but our prayers were gloriously answered.

The Innocent Man is a changed man that always

is overflowing with love to the Lord and fresh thoughts from His Word.

We have to believe the Lord is in control with this false accusation.

This is not out of His plan or His care.

This tribulation wouldn't have been our thoughts or our ways

 for new believers, but the Lord's thoughts are higher,

the Lord's ways are higher.

Scribble your prayer notes and keep praying.

You don't how how the Lord will answer your prayers,

you just know He will.

It'll just be in His way

and in His timing.

And while you're praying,  please pray for

the Innocent Man.

The Lord is about to unveil His plan.