Clouds...

I was in an art class this week with a friend. We were painting acrylic seascapes. One of the fun and more challenging moments was painting, more like swirling in, the clouds on our blue skies. Made me think of how we daydream through clouds and look for shapes in their fluffy, wind tossed shapes. While we were in class, a thunderstorm roared outside. A totally different formation of clouds that generated a different emotional response. It's  gently raining this morning-  dreary, soggy and wet, and yet very quiet. Another different formation of clouds.

Once God parted the Red Sea for the Israelites, it says in Exodus 13:21, "By day the Lord went ahead of them in a pillar of cloud to guide them on their way and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light, so that they could travel by day or night."  To guide them on their way… so often, I am drawn into life's storms and forget that God is near when clouds are present… not just near, but guiding. Like the Israelites, I have no idea where He's leading, and that may make me anxious. Yet, in Philippians 4:6, it clearly says, "Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God." 

God can be trusted because He loves us more than we can imagine. He knows what lies before us and He promises to be there with us. He's near in the clouds. This week, let's look in expectation for God in our clouds and delight the adventure of His presence, even though we may have no idea where He is leading...

New Every Morning

The faithful love of the LORD never ends!  His mercies never cease. Great is his faithfulness; his mercies begin afresh each morning.  (NLT)          

Lamentations 3:22-23 NIV

Even though here in Florida the seasons are not very pronounced, spring is my favorite time of year. The cool of the morning and then the warmth of the sun as the day unfolds… having coffee on the porch, watching the sun come up, and basking for a moment in it's warmth. So, when reading God's mercies begin afresh each morning, I think of those March and April mornings and how much I love them.

How great is it that our God wants us to start each day, new? Not being tripped up or slowed down by what is now behind us- instead, leaning into what lies before us... a new day. Sometimes it's work to let go of yesterday, so I can receive what God has for me today.  It helps me to visualize it this way, if I'm holding onto a suitcase (yes, a bag full of heavy, exhausting things), and I won't let go…how can I ever actually move forward? When I stop holding on to the past, I can not only move forward, but have both hands free: one to walk hand in hand with Jesus and the other to offer to those around me.

Our God wants us to remember who we are, so we can operate in the power and confidence of His unfailing love for us. Picture for a minute how that could change your day, today. Ask God to fill you up with the sense of HIs love so today can be that new day.

Today's scripture inspired the hymn "Great Is Thy Faithfulness"- listen to it today with new ears.

Waiting Expectantly

In the morning, Lord, you hear my voice: In the morning I lay my requests before you 

and wait expectantly.  Psalm 5:3

One translation of this Psalm says, "and wait in expectation". Don't know about you, but I am not always a good "waiter". Certainly more often than not, I wait in something other than expectation, like impatience or anxiousness, wanting God to show up and answer my request, now.

So what is waiting expectantly? Think of it like this: when we're young, someone prepares our meals for us. So, if it's close to dinnertime, we know the chef is in the kitchen, cooking. If we're the chef, we know about when the meal will be ready. What if every few minutes, someone came into the kitchen and asked, "are you going to feed me?" or "when do we get to eat?" The chef is thinking: "Of course I'm going to feed you!" and "when it's ready". Bottom line, if we know the chef is in the kitchen, we can be confident the meal is coming.

Thankfully, the Chef is in the kitchen of our lives, so we can lay our requests before Him and know that He is taking care of them. Our part is acknowledging His sovereignty in how and when the requests are handled. Then, remembering God is always more interested in our character than our comfort and He's never in a hurry.

This week, let's look with the eyes of adventurous expectation that our God, the God of the Universe, is personally handling our requests...