simply grateful

Can I be honest and let you in on a personal secret?  Promise not to judge?  OK, here it is, prayer lists are challenging for me.  I know, how unspiritual is that?  Line after line of the teen who is going to be taking his driving test next Tuesday, the parent who wants her precious, sensitive daughter to land the lead role in the school play or the hip surgery for Grandma Jane.  (Grandma, Grammy, Grandmother or whatever you call her is probably ready to come and kick my shins for vocalizing it… and she probably will once she gets full use of her legs again.)  There are also those prayer requests with a more “spiritual” side like praying for the missionaries who are living in pray-for-them-again-astan.  Am I the only one that struggles with prayer lists?   Can I be honest and let you in on a personal secret?  Promise not to judge?  (yes, I started two paragraphs in a row with the same two sentences)  OK, here it is, I als...

I have decided to read 52 books in 2017.  I'm still lacking 8 books to complete the year, but as I read I invariably find other books referenced that I add to my list.  So, there is a little flexibility built in for that.  Feel free to suggest other books in the comment section below.  So, without further ado, here is my list for 2017: (√ beside book once completed) Extreme Ownership- Jocko Willink, Leif Babin √ Life together- Dietrich Bonhoeffer √ Psalms: The Prayer Book of the Bible- Dietrich Bonhoeffer √ Praying the Bible- Donald S. Whitney √ Culture of Honor- Danny Silk Loving our Kids on Purpose- Danny Silk Shantarum- Gregory David Roberts It Happened on the Way to War- Rye Barcott Those Who Save Us- Jenna Blum What's so Amazing about Grace- Yancy √ Operation Thunderbolt- Saul David Unbroken- Lauren Hillenbrand  √ Under Our Skin- Benjamin Watson  √ Long way Gone- Charles Martin √ Preaching That Connects- Mark Galli, Haddon W....

Jury Nel once said, “No plan ever failed due to adequate planning.”   I'm a planner and sometimes those plans succeed and sometimes they fail.  But if they fail, it isn't because I failed to plan! Actually, planing can be a blessing... and at times, a curse.  It certainly is a blessing however in relation to my devotional times.   Each November I start praying about the direction my quiet times will take me in the coming year.   Last year I spent in the Psalms and reading a dozen books (see post by clicking HERE ) about drawing close to the Father.   I had relationship, I needed intimacy.   It was a year of deepening, of worship, and of expression.   I needed last year.   So as 2017 approached I began to pray about where God would lead me in the coming year.  Heather mentioned that she was going to focus on worship this year.  I nearly jumped on the bandwagon but decided I still wasn’t quite satisfied with my study of the Ps...

I stepped quickly out of my flip flops and added them beside the pile of other shoes outside the door to the simple brick house.  I had already greeted the elderly lady outside, which is the Zambian custom, but I was anxious to get inside to see my friend, Beatrice.  I prayed quickly, once more that the Lord would give me strength to not cry and to give me words to encourage.  I followed a younger woman inside. We had received word that one of the woman leaders in the local church in our town was very sick.  She had fought sickness off and on for years, but it seemed this time was different from what people were saying.  I needed to go visit her before it was too late. My heartbeat quickened as I walked barefoot down the unlit hallway to Beatrice's bedroom as I followed the woman.  My heart actually sunk a little because this meant she was too weak to come see me in the living room.  As her grown daughter pulled the curtain to the side, I felt ...