Psalm 100  Shout for joy to the LORD, all the earth! Everyone, everywhere should be filled with the JOY that comes from the LORD alone. Worship the LORD with gladness come before Him with joyful songs. The secret to happiness?  It's in worshiping God.  When He comes first, everything else falls into place. Know that the LORD is God It is He who made us and we are His; we are the sheep of His pasture. When I stop trying to be in control of my life and I recognize that He IS my good shepherd (the Sovereign One), then I can rest and be at peace in His pasture.   Enter His gates with thanksgiving and His courts with praise; Give thanks to Him and praise His name.  The way to come to God is with a boundless list of gratitude, recognizing all that He is for us.  His name is great - He is called Emmanuel (God with us), El Roi (The God who sees us), Jehovah Jireh (our provider), the Alpha and Omega, the Prince of peace and the King of kings. For the LOR...

One of the best ways to learn how to pray powerful prayers is to look at prayers in the scriptures.  Today, I'd like to unpack a favorite scriptural prayer as you might pray it over your children, or the children you serve daily if you work in a school or are part of children's ministry.  Of course, these biblical prayers are applicable to all believers and can guide in how we pray for each other in general.  Pray this along with me for the children (big or little!) in our lives and across the world: Colossians 1:9-12    For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you and asking God... to fill you with the knowledge of His will Father, we pray that our children will know Your will, that they will know deep in their hearts what You require of them and how You have called them to live according to Your laws. through all spiritual wisdom and understanding... Lord, we know that wisdom is knowing how to apply our knowledge of Yo...

 My adult children have all left the nest, the last one off to college just this past month.  As they find their new independence and live far away from home, I am reminded of my great calling to pray for them regularly.  The best way to pray for someone is to follow the models we find in scripture, so I started with this Levitical blessing from Numbers 6:24-27.   The LORD bless you... We pray for our children that God would bless their lives, knowing that in this world there are many troubles and He never promised to keep us from them (John 16:33).  However, we know that blessings follow obedience and blessings are always found when living in His will.  We pray that God's good gifts would come to our children (Luke 11:11-13) because He is a good Father and He loves our kids just as much as we do!  May He bless them with peace that is beyond understanding no matter what challenges they face (Philippians 4:4-7).  May He bless them with good jo...

   For our first day of inservice this fall my superintendent showed the funny commercial where cowboys are riding around in the fields herding cats.  Some days, that's definitely what this job feels like if you've ever tried to teach a cat to obey (dogs love to do tricks; cats not so much!).   But I think a more apt description of my job (as a school leader) is that of a shepherd.  I read John 10 this morning thinking about how much I appreciate the imagery of God as my shepherd: John 10:2 - 3 The one who enters by the gate is the shepherd of the sheep.   The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep listen to his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. The first thing I notice about Jesus as my shepherd is that He KNOWS me and I know Him.  We have a valuable relationship and I trust that He has my best interests at heart.  He knows my name and He leads me individually even as a part of the whole flock. ...

 My dear friend, You asked me how you could be certain that when you cross the threshold from this life into the next that you will be greeted by the welcoming arms of our Lord.  The very fact that you are questioning this core element of faith tells me something about your heart; it says much about the state of your soul.  You see, in one of Jesus' first sermons, he declared what God was looking for, what type of person might enter the kingdom of heaven..   Matthew 5:3-5 “Blessed are the poor in spirit,  for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.   Blessed are those who mourn,  for they will be comforted. Blessed are the meek,  for they will inherit the earth." You have looked deep into your heart and you know that you are not worthy of the Holy God Almighty.  You know your humanity, your weakness, your sin and you sense that you could never stand in the presence of a holy God, the God who IS worthy .  And with all of your heart you have...

In a world where there is an almost greedy grappling for external validation and feedback, I find myself sometimes wondering how to center my identity in Christ alone and not in what others think of me.  The acceptance of others can often be dependent upon what they might receive from that relationship while the acceptance of God is unconditional.  The approval of others changes from day to day and cannot be a strong foundation for security in my value and purpose.  The one thing I truly long for is to someday hear from the only true Judge, "well done, good and faithful servant."  This collection of truths from the gospel of John serves to remind me that I find my acceptance, my approval, validation and affirmation from Jesus alone and my identity is firm in the Word of God.   John 1:12 I am a child of God - Oh to think that He would adopt me into His family.  That He would call me His own dear child, that I would be considered His inheritance, that ...

Since my kids were young, they have attended Arrowhead Bible Camp each summer.  I remember dropping them off on Sunday afternoon and waiting 5 whole days to hear about their week on Friday morning.  They looked a little dirtier, a few scratches here and there, mosquito bites and maybe some sunburn.  In the elementary years, camp was fun and a safe place to make new friends who shared faith in Christ.  In high school, they each participated in a 2 week discipleship camp, which Katie now helps lead.  Those two weeks were fundamental for my kids as they learned theology, spiritual disciplines and their role in ministry.  And now, this summer all 3 of them had a chance to serve at camp and I can see how valuable it is for them to experience this type of ministry and service. Just last week, I finally the chance to spend a week at camp for the first time, as the speaker.  What a great experience!  About 80 students gathered in the chapel each day to he...