State of the Heart Address: From the Word of God

(Mouse over scripture links for full verse. May not work on mobile devices) 

Greetings, favored one! The Lord is with you, today and always. ( John 20:19)

The more things change; the more things stay the same. (Eccl. 3:15) Nothing takes Me by surprise. (Is. 46:10)

I know the times are difficult, and there are times you feel like giving up, but I will show up and take care of you as I promised. (Heb. 13:5) I know what I’m doing. I have it all planned out—plans to take care of you, not abandon you, plans to give you the future you hope for. (Jer. 29:11)

Lover of My Soul

I have another Lover in my life…

Now that I have your attention, let me explain.  

I wish I could say that I have had the storybook, romance novel marriage since the moment we said, “I do”. As I’ve shared in previous posts, the spiritual foundation on which we began our marriage was indeed a sandy one. My husband had scarcely stepped foot inside a church building outside of our wedding day, and though I had been raised in the church, my life surely did not reflect any signs of true Christianity. 

Therefore, as things began to deteriorate in our marriage within only a few years, we had nothing on which to stand for stability.  Our only guidelines were our feelings--anger, sadness, fear, and bitterness, resentment. A friend of mine suggested marital counseling, giving me the number of one she and her husband used. I called the counselor and set up the first appointment for myself—alone. 

I entered his office to find two chairs placed about three feet apart, directly opposite the other. He politely seated me in one, and with yellow legal pad in hand, took his seat in the other. After the customary exchange of pleasantries, he began his routine, but not before throwing out this odd disclaimer: 

“I am extremely attracted to you, but I am not going to allow that to distract me from counseling you.” 

Okay, what am I supposed to do with that? 

Showroom Religion

While traveling one weekend, a friend invited me to stay with him and his wife. They lived in a very beautiful home in one of the “large home” regions of that city. Following a tour of the home, I decided to freshen up before dinner in the guest bathroom.

Have you ever been in one of those bathrooms that was so beautiful, you weren't quite sure what to do with yourself?

Atop the rich marble counter was a large silk floral arrangement. Scattered about was an array of antique pictures, a few candles, a tall, slender, and dimly-lit lamp, a frosted glass fragrance mister, and a fancy tissue dispenser and counterpart hand mirror.

Near the sink was an ornate pedestal-style soap dish with a harmonizing blend of beautifully foil-wrapped individual soaps (Was I supposed to actually use one?). A complementary towel ring was close by, holding an ultra-plush crewel lace edged towel and matching washcloth. (Was I supposed to use those?) I turned around to find a matching bath towel perfectly draped over the oil-rubbed bronze towel rack.

With no room on the counter to place my travel bag, I set it on the floor . . .

Free Indeed!

 FREE INDEED! - John 8:36

I will never forget a story I heard years ago about a man who told of a puppy he found while out for a walk one morning. The dog lay whimpering in the ditch completely entangled in a heavy nylon cord. Unable to free himself, the dog now lay helplessly in pain on the side of the road. 

The man approached the desperate dog with a great deal of compassion, speaking gentle, soothing words attempting to calm the puppy’s obvious apprehension for the man. Carefully studying the direction of the constricting cords bound tightly around the puppy’s legs and body, the man searched for a loose end to liberate the entangled puppy. The cords however were unyielding, and each tug in one area only tightened the cords in another, causing the puppy even greater pain. 

"But Who Do You Say That I Am?"

 A personal revelation of Jesus Christ. 

(This story is taken from my book Lessons from the Sticker Patch.

Check out the blog site here) 

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I love the story from the book of Matthew when Jesus and his disciples arrive in a particularly pagan area. Jesus asked his followers, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?”. (Matt. 16:13)

The disciples answered with a variety of names derived from a mixture of ideologies. “Some say John the Baptist; others, Elijah; but still others, Jeremiah, or one of the prophets". (Matt. 16:14)

Then Jesus turned to His disciples and asked a simple yet most profound question: “But who do you say that I am?" (Matt. 16:15) 

Most everyone has a favorite scripture. This is one that I call my “signature scripture.”