Word 39

So the heavens and the earth were completed, and all their hosts (inhabitants). And by the seventh day God completed His work which He had done, and he rested (ceased) on the seventh day from all his work which He had done. So God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it [as His own, that is, set it apart as holy from other days], because in it He rested from all His work which He had created and done.  - Genesis 2:1-3 (Amplified) Today was a busy day. Busier than I would like. Today is also the 7-month marker of my husband's death. Writing this in September, I think back to last Thanksgiving when he was still with us, and he shared his last significant dream with me. I'm so glad we changed plans and went into a restaurant and sat down to eat instead of driving through somewhere like we'd planned. I'm not sure it wasn't the last place I sat with him to eat a meal outside of our home, just the two of us, before he passed. I remember a baby crying a lot, and I rememb...

Recently, I dreamed I was working on a task and nonchalantly called out across our house to my teenage daughter for something. But she didn't answer, and I just shrugged it off as I was busy, figuring she just didn't hear me. Not long after, I heard a faint, rhythmic metallic noise, and as it came more into my consciousness, I instinctively wondered if it might be my daughter trying to get someone's attention. I went to a certain part of the house and peeled back some wooden floorboards - which, of course, is "completely normal" - and she was there underneath, wrapped up in a rolled carpet  on top of a floor vent blowing heat , and she had a pacifier in her mouth. Note that I said she is a teenager. She had, as I imagined, been using her feet to bang on the floor vent to get someone's attention as to where she was and that she needed help. Dreams like this are hard to wake up from. It was the same with my sister's dream about me and my kids being in our...

Not long after my husband passed away, I was talking to my sister one day, and she told me she woke up startled because she had a dream that I and my kids were in one of our previous homes, and it was on fire.  She hurriedly came in the house warning us one by one. First she came to one of my kids and said, "You have to get out!" And that child told her, "The house isn't on fire." This happened when she came upon my second child as well.  Then, she came to me and said, "You've got to get out!" And I told her, like the kids did, "The house isn't on fire." Every time one of us told her there wasn't any fire, the fire would disappear as we spoke.  My heart smiled. How comforting is God. Isaiah the prophet delivered a love letter to Israel on God's behalf: "When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they will not overwhelm you. When you walk through fire, you will not be scorched, nor will t...

Having just celebrated a birthday and turning my attention to a new year, I want to deposit a message of hope here on this page. I believe that when God speaks, his message can serve both an individual and the corporate body of Christ simultaneously.  It also serves those who don't know him as he makes himself known. Hope is for all mankind! So I have a story to share, which is for me, you, and all of us. And what makes this even more special to me personally is that this story comes from the heart of God through my daughter. ❤️ I asked for her permission to share it to encourage others. She was excited about that, as long as she didn't have to write out the story! She sat with me and shared a dream she experienced, as I transcribed. I was deeply inspired as she recounted her night vision, and I am  honored to relay it to you. P ertinent to this story is knowing that my husband - and father of my two kiddos - passed away six months ago. So without further introduction, gi...

I think this is my third time starting this post. I held off for about a year, waiting to write a magical ending to " Deep Waters - Part 1 ." But the ending, like all extraordinary stories, was an unexpected plot twist, different from any closure I thought God might possibly bring. It's an ending rich in texture, complex in nature, and full of beauty and wisdom: My husband died. I got the call at work in the parking lot. I headed to him in rush hour traffic about 8:30 a.m., and by the time I got where he was, after having waved bye to him two hours before, he was gone. I mean, how do you write a story about God pulling you from deep waters when it ends this way? This is how... Two weeks before Craig passed, I began counseling with someone I had picked mainly because they were older. I wanted - scratch that... needed - someone with life experience under their belt. I was struggling with how to be in a 21-year marriage with someone with chronic illness. How was I to discove...

The thief comes only in order to steal and kill and destroy... -  John 10:10 (AMP) He came walking across the parking lot pushing a baby stroller. Riding inside was a baby boy with no clothes, about a year old. As the man was further across the lot and had passed the cart corral, he stopped the stroller and knocked it over on purpose. Then, he picked it up, looked around to see if anyone was watching, and knocked it over again. Then, he took the baby out of the stroller and put him in a car seat in the back of an SUV, closed the door, and walked away. He entered a different vehicle and proceeded to drive away. I immediately went to the SUV to get the baby out, and I held and comforted him. This was a dream I had in the midst of believing God for something incredible. I was having to wait for this promise, and the wait was causing doubt about his will. God gave me this dream to show me what was happening. Symbolism Store = Thing(s) God has "in store" for me; a storehouse Man ...

Therefore, do not be foolish and thoughtless,  but understand and firmly grasp what the will of the Lord is. -  Ephesians 5:17  I hesitated to write this testimony for a while because I had recently finished a 7-part series about how God had called me to quit a different job. (If you feel it would be encouraging for someone to get into the nitty gritty of how that process looks in practical terms, you can begin reading that  here .) At the risk of looking flaky, I decided to hold back for a while and also just take time to process. But after some of my stories came up in natural conversation with people more than once this weekend, I felt inspired to finally tell the tale ...of a creature that has a tail and changed my world. And more importantly, how the whole process led to my getting to know God just a bit more. So maybe grab a cup of coffee and a blanket, or whatever works for you, because I LOVE telling this story! It's a good one, and the great thing is th...