Be Thou My Vision

In our ladies' class at church we've been doing the Beth Moore Study, The Patriarchs.   I love all of Beth's studies.  She has such a gift for digging into God's Word and bringing out the truths in new and fresh ways.  When I'm involved an a Bible study there is usually one particular morsel that just jumps out at me and shows me a truth in a new way.  Even stories that I have read and studied many times before have the capacity to do that and I love it when it happens. This time was no exception.   This study takes the student deep into the lives of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.  When we were exploring the life of Jacob we got to the part where Jacob has left Laban's home with his family and possessions and is preparing for a reunion with his brother Esau.  The journey finds Jacob camped by stream with part of his family.  In Genesis 32, verse 24 it says that Jacob was left alone, and a man wrestled with him until daybreak. ...

Inside the city, near the Sheep Gate, was the pool of Bethesda, with five covered porches.   Crowds of sick people—blind, lame, or paralyzed—lay on the porches.   One of the men lying there had been sick for thirty-eight years.   When Jesus saw him and knew he had been ill for a long time, he asked him, “Would you like to get well?” John 5:2-6 “Would you like to get well?”   Are you kidding me?   Who asks someone that has been sick for 38 years if they want to get well?   What kind of ridiculous question is that?   Of course he wanted to get well!   Why in the world would Jesus ask such a question?   There is another example in scripture of Jesus asking what seems to be a peculiar question.   In Matthew 20:29-34 there is a story of two blind men who, when they heard Jesus was coming, sat by the road side hoping he would heal them.   Jesus stopped and asked them, “What do you want me to do for you?”   What?...

I have two dogs.   Both of them have great temperaments, are wonderful companions and an unlimited source of entertainment.   However, one of my two dogs is dominant and, I am embarrassed to say, somewhat selfish.   When I feed the two of them, she seems intent on eating both bowls of food.   When I give them rawhide chews, she will promptly gather both and guard them.   She does the same with doggie toys.   I can’t use the dog food dispenser because she will eat the entire container at one time to avoid sharing.   Thank goodness she is a dog and not a person. Unfortunately, this kind of behavior is not limited to dogs.   Recently I visited the home of a relative of an acquaintance.   It was one of those houses that will cause someone like me to stand with mouth hanging open.   I’m a pottery, bouquet of herbs on the table, rustic décor kind of girl.   This house was huge, opulent, extravagant, and complete with a hom...

Today I sit in a hospital beside the bed of my 89 year old Daddy.  Until a few days ago he was a fiercely independent, proud, and strong man despite his age.  He drove everywhere, lived alone, and took care of himself very competently.  But in a matter of a few minutes, he was reduced to one totally dependent and unable to care for himself.  A stroke will do that.  For now he has been robbed of even the ability to speak or swallow and those of us that love him begin a journey into uncharted territory and we have more questions than answers.  Over the past few months I had embarked on the 1000 Gifts challenge.  Name 1000 gifts.  Count the blessings.  See the graces.  Write them down.  Practice gratitude.  On a good day it’s easy.  Grace abounds.  Blessings are everywhere I look.  From the simplest to the greatest, I saw and wrote.  Once you begin to see the more you see.  The challenge comes in see...

TGIF.  How often do we hear that?  Thank God it’s Friday.  For years I’ve been hearing this expression by friends, family, co-workers, and even on the daily news.  Seems like it’s a unanimous feeling.  We all look forward to the weekend when we supposedly don’t work and when “all the fun stuff” happens.   The general consensus from almost everyone I know is that we are all looking forward to something in the future, something else, something different.  The only problem with the TGIF mentality is that it takes our focus off the days we spend in the between times.  Seems like most of us spend the majority of our time just drifting thru the “other” days and anticipating the next thing whether it be the weekend, or the holiday, or event.   Thus our so-called mundane days in-between fail to be fulfilling, fail to bless others, and fail to bring us a sense of satisfaction.  Then the ones we've looked so forward to fail to meet...

Everyone’s afraid.   Afraid about the future, the economy, pollution, the government, and the list goes on and on.   Worry seems to be the norm.   Apprehension is a way of life.   What’s going to happen? Will we make it?   What if?   Fear plagues and grips.   The world seems unstable to say the least.   Bad news is abundant.   Nothing seems safe any more.   The stock market, jobs, retirement all teeter unsteadily.   World unrest, wars, and natural disasters shake us to the core.   I’ll admit it’s hard not to worry about the chaos all around us.   But the fear that clutches me originates from something much worse.   It’s due to something much deeper, fundamental, and eternally significant.   I’m afraid of what we have become as individuals, as communities, and as a country.   The threat that I feel and see and hear is one not from without but from within.   God’s Word says, “as a man ...