Isaiah

Advent Week 4 theme: Peace – There are no mood swings in God's personality

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Sometimes I think I make God tired. It seems like all I do is ask. “Please, God …. “. Even though I often follow the ACTS structure, learned way back in my first women’s Bible study, I feel like I spend a lot of time in S. ACTS stands for Adoration – Confession – Thanksgiving – Supplication.  Do you ever feel that way? Last week I was having a ‘moment’ and I prayed out loud to God sitting right there in my car – Please, please, God show me something, …

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When God says the timing is right . . . and then it happens

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We’ve been through two weeks of advent readings now.  I hope you’ve enjoyed the tour so far. One thing that’s caught my attention over the last 14 days is the travel back and forth between the Old Testament and the New Testament and making connections between what was promised and what was fulfilled. Did any of you find that fascinating? The theme this week is appropriately, hope. When I am immersed in the truths of scripture, I am continually assured that what God promised thousands of years in advance, will …

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Advent Theme: Hope – What are you waiting for?

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Have you ever been hiking in the woods and noticed something that seems strange? Like a tiny branch growing up through a dead stump or a tree in the middle of a rock.  Today’s advent reading has meaningful applications for our lives today, just as it did when it was written around 700 BC.  The Jesse’s stump is the defeated Judah but the green shoot (living branch) is the Messiah. This tells us that what grows from that stump will be stronger, more powerful, and more fruitful than the original …

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enJOY the gift of today

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This post isn’t Advent related, but after the crushing news of another shooting in California, I decided to take another path today. All I could do was pray for the victims and loved ones left behind. Let us never become so accustomed to these tragedies that we are desensitized to the consequences. How was your week? No really. How was your week? Variegated as an argyle sweater, wasn’t it. Some good times, some bad, some when we felt at the pinnacle of joy and others under crushing defeat. That’s life …

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FAITH: First week of Advent

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December 2, 2015 Advent theme: Faith The Advent scripture for today is Isaiah 40:1-5. These words were written to God’s people about the time they were going to be released from oppression and captivity that had lasted for many years.  In these verses, there is promise of hope and freedom. Through his words, Isaiah is saying hang on, don’t give up. Get on the road with God and stay there. Keep your faith in him. Do you have faith? Do you keep that faith? There’s a difference. When we keep …

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The Fire and the Masterpiece

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Awhile back I watched the Day of Discovery program produced by RBC Ministries.  I was intrigued by the familiar topic of the potter and the clay.  Isaiah 64:8 says ”Yet Lord, You are our Father; we are the clay, and You are our potter; we all are the work of Your hands.” I’ve heard that story all my life. The potter (God) takes a lump of clay (me) and puts me on the potter’s wheel, spins me around while dousing me with water, and shaping me into a masterpiece, fashioned …

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Our purpose is a whisper away

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Sometimes God hears our whispers when we don’t dare to speak out loud. This morning I read ahead in my Bible Study. I was just wandering actually, probably procrastinating – if you want the honest truth. I’ve been questioning a lot lately about what, out of all the avenues I could take, which ones are really inscribed in my DNA? There is no lack of opportunity, but which ones are threaded through my purpose so the tapestry of my life is an ornate, beautiful pattern – not a tangled mass …

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Hidden Faith

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I had to stop singing. We were in the middle of a song at church, music resonating from the worship band, the words projected on the screen flashed through my mind. “The riches of your love will always be enough” I had to stop. Could I really sing those words and mean them? If I couldn’t find work, if my car broke down, if suddenly I was financially destitute, would the riches of God’s love really be enough? I thought of my childhood friend sitting across the aisle from me whose life …

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What to do in Michigan when it snows

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I was thinking about how beautiful summer has been after the long, unforgettable, treacherous months of winter.   I remember taking a picture of our deck wondering if we’d ever again wear t-shirts instead of parkas.  On that day nearly all the wood on our deck was exposed except for a telltale strip of snow to remind me that spring had not yet sprung. Then the very next  morning – a totally different story. I’m a generally positive person, but looking out at the snow covered trees with accumulations of …

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Go toward the light …

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When I enter a room to relax, kick back, veg out – in short, to become the epitome of a couch potato in appearance and momentum – I dim the lights, grab my blanket, and enter the state of inertia.  Not so when I enter a room with intentions to work on a project, read a book, do some cleaning, or check off items on my to-done list. When I’m on a mission, I turn the lights on, sometimes more than one, because I want to see clearly, need every …

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Refining Grace