A Daily Appointment with God

When we were making appointments to look for a new home in Tyler, Texas, I spent a lot of time on Realtor.com. I’ve always enjoyed stopping by an open house or walking through a new home build. I usually enter the HGTV sweepstakes hoping to win their latest home giveaway. I just enjoy most things “real estate.” 

I made appointments to “see” several homes in Tyler over a period of several months. The homes were nice and in good neighborhoods, and I tried to talk myself into buying one. I just never walked through those homes and thought I was “home ” until we walked into the home we ended up buying.

Many years ago, I started praying a prayer that I have continued to use when we needed to make a move. As I walk up to the front door, I ask the Lord to “Tell me when I’m home.” I needed God’s answer for our new home in Tyler so much. There was a lot to think about with this move.

When the “no’s” became “yes”

We moved to Tyler when I knew my mom needed a better place to care for her needs. Jim and I had planned to retire to a quiet spot, and searching for a good place for Mom also became searching for a good place for Jim and me to “grow old” peacefully. We gave our needs to God, allowed Mom’s needs to matter too, and then God changed all our ideas into his. 

I write about 356 Christianity because Proverbs 3:5–6 is truth we have lived. God doesn’t lead our lives until we “trust” in him with all of our hearts. That means we cannot lean on our own understanding. We have to give him “all of our ways,” and then “he can direct our path.”

Every home I toured on Realtor.com was a possibility. Over the months of searching, I chose about ten homes I thought looked like a good possibility, and we went to see them. Each time we toured those homes, I tried to make them work. But when I asked God, “Am I home?” he didn’t seem to answer.

Then the quiet “no’s” became a “yes.”

A room with a view

I looked at one home online almost every day. This house enthralled me, and I could visualize all its possibilities. But my practical brain wouldn’t consider it. It was too large and extravagant, and it felt irresponsible for me to consider it. 

The only reason I set up a tour of that home was because I could not get it out of my head. As we walked up the steps to the front door, I prayed and asked the Lord to speak what I needed to hear, fully expecting him to say “no.” We walked in the front door, and our eyes traveled through the house to the wall of windows in the back. My heart sank. I wanted to live there. That “want” increased with every new room I entered. 

Every home I had toured was lovely, and I should have wanted each of them, but I didn’t. I walked into the big, extravagant house and I did want it. After that, I spent another few months not looking any longer. I was sure I just needed someone else to buy that house I wanted, and then I would get over it. Months passed, and I still peeked sometimes at Realtor.com. The house, my house, remained on the market.

God saved our home for us. Months later, I returned to see that home again, and God said, “You’re home.” I found a perfect spot for my mom. We made all kinds of life and ministry adjustments to live in Tyler. I cannot tell you how many details had to fall into place that did. 

God made all things possible, and we moved into our new home one really warm day in May. Jim and I are often reminded of Paul’s words to the Ephesians when he spoke of being rooted and grounded in God’s love and strengthened to do ministry. Paul wrote words of praise, saying, “Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen” (Ephesians 3:20–21)

Now, every morning of these winter months, Jim and I sit in that room, looking out our “wall of windows,” and we witness the most glorious sunrises you have ever seen. Almost two years later, I’m still amazed by the realization that God is able to bless far more abundantly than we would ask or think. Every morning, Jim and I give God glory for our blessings.

That said, our “material blessings” have been a great gift, but our spiritual blessings matter even more.

Our 7:00 a.m. appointment with God

Jim and I sit together on our sofa almost every winter morning and watch the sunrise. We feel disappointed when, on occasion, we have to miss it. Every morning, we look out that wall of windows and watch God “show off.” Nothing is as spectacular in this world as all that God has created.

Jim and I can remember the early weeks of our marriage when we didn’t know if we had the money to get the gas he needed to drive to his seminary classes in Fort Worth. For most of our adult lives, I was very, very careful with every dollar we had so that we had enough to live our lives. (Right now, my friends are grinning. I have a bit of a reputation for being too frugal or, as some say, downright cheap!) 

I only write that because you can imagine what I felt when I stood at the front door of our house and heard God say, “You’re home.” I did NOT believe him for several months! Thankfully, we serve a patient God who puts up with our stubborn, doubting selves. Sometimes God wants to bless us “far more abundantly” than we would even “ask or think,” and certainly more than we could ever deserve.

I now lead a Bible study in our home and enjoy a wonderful group of women each Tuesday morning as we gather to learn more about our Lord. I enjoy hosting my family and hearing my grandchildren race through the house or run out to the pool. Every day, I watch my husband walk back to his new office, which is located in a small home in our backyard! I often tell people that I think I have spent more time with Jim in the past two years than in the first forty-two years of our marriage combined! God is SO GOOD, and he has given us more than we would have asked for or imagined.

We keep our 7:00 a.m. appointment with God together to worship, talk, and praise God with gratitude for leading and blessing our lives as he has. We know we are blessed, and we are grateful.

This morning’s appointment with God

I said this before and will say it forever: “God speaks” if we pray Samuel’s prayer from 1 Samuel 3:10. That prayer: “Speak Lord for your servant is listening.” God speaks to servants who will listen. And chances are, you might be surprised at what God will tell you.

God told me to move to Houston, Texas, when I LOVED my life, friends, and one special man in California. God told me to go to Houston Baptist University even though I wasn’t Baptist, and truthfully, LOVED to dance every chance I got. Then God led me to date and eventually marry a man who would be a Baptist preacher and didn’t ever dance. God has led my life in unusual ways, and every chance I get myself out of the way, I trust him to be my Lord. My life hasn’t been perfect, but it is more than I would ever have “asked or imagined” as a result. 

As I watched the spectacular sunrise outside my wall of windows this morning, God told me to ask my readers these questions for today’s blog post: 

  • Are you a Proverbs 3:5–6 Christian? 
  • Do you ask God to speak because you are a servant who will listen? 
  • Do you have an appointment with God each day to praise him for his abundant blessings, pray for your needs, and worship the God who creates and brings about every sunrise and sunset?

If so, then join me in singing, “Praise God from whom all blessings flow! If not, what will you do tomorrow?

Finding the peace we need for the turbulent times

I think my television remote’s “mute button” is beginning to wear out. By this point in the political season, I just don’t want to listen to the rhetoric or the ugly ads any longer. A mute button brings a refreshing silence into the room and our lives.

God recommends we find a mute button for the world if we want to experience his peace in our lives. We need to pursue silence so we can listen for his peace-filled voice instead. The prophet Isaiah praised God, saying, “You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you because he trusts in you. Trust in the Lord forever, for the Lord God is an everlasting rock” (Isaiah 26:3–4).

The moment we realize that the world’s angst is controlling our thoughts and choices, we need to focus on God and trust him. That trust in God is our “everlasting rock” and our source of peace for the turbulent times of life.

The peace of God

There are so many important news stories right now, any of which would carry a normal news cycle. I check on Israel throughout the day as tensions in the Middle East continue to remain a significant crisis. I’m grieving for the thousands of people along the East Coast, especially in North Carolina, who have had their entire lives upended by the hurricane. I like to keep up with the ever-changing news about the presidential election. I don’t think I’ve watched this much news since 9/11 and 2020.

Each day, I have to remind myself to pursue God and his word more than I pursue the news of this world. I was reading a long list of Bible verses about God’s peace when I saw Jesus’ words to his disciples. He was sending them out into the world to do ministry when he said, “Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I have not come to bring peace, but a sword. For I have come to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. And a person’s enemies will be those of his own household” (Matthew 10:34–36).

Jesus told us not to expect the gospel message to give peace to the world. In many cases, sharing the gospel will divide us from others. But Jesus also promised his disciples, “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid” (John 14:27).

The peace of God we need for the turbulent times of life is a gift from God through Jesus Christ. God’s peace is not something we can create for ourselves or discover in the world. Instead, it is something we receive from the Creator of the world.

How do we receive the peace of God?

Again, God’s peace is a gift we must receive. How can we open our hearts, hands, and lives to allow God to pour out his peace?

  1. Position ourselves to receive his peace. Paul told the church in Rome, “For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace” (Romans 8:6). When the world seems volatile or our lives are stress-filled, we can set our minds on the reality of the Spirit’s work in our lives and trust that God’s perfect peace will follow.
  2. Trust we need God’s peace more than the peace the world offers. As Christians, we should love God’s word more than we love the promises of the world. “Great peace have those who love your law; nothing can make them stumble” (Psalm 119:165). We are hearing a lot of “promises” from politicians and others these days that we might like to believe, but common sense tells us those are goals or possibilities rather than promises. God’s word contains promises that we can trust as truth. If we will love his word that promises our peace, we will not “stumble” over our disappointments.
  3. Understand that God’s peace is our blessing as we acknowledge and follow his guiding Presence in our lives. The church in the city of Corinth experienced a number of turbulent times. Some of their troubles came from within the church, while others came from without. Paul wrote to the Corinthian Christians saying, “Finally, brothers, rejoice. Aim for restoration, comfort one another, agree with one another, live in peace; and the God of love and peace will be with you” (2 Corinthians 13:11). When God is invited to join you in your tough times, he arrives with his gift of perfect peace.

Live with God’s peace as our visible witness

Over the years, I have seen the reality of God’s peace in the lives of his children. As a minister’s wife, I have sat and prayed with people who were going through the worst moments of their lives. The moments can be painful and the future is unknowable, but the Presence of God in those turbulent moments can be a tangible reality. When God was invited into those moments, his Presence brought a peace that truly was beyond understanding.

I have been blessed to witness the work of God’s Holy Spirit in the lives of his children, and I have seen God’s power. I don’t question God’s peace because I have witnessed it. 

That’s why God allows those moments to be part of our earthly lives. Because, as James wrote, you should, “Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing” (James 1:2–4).

Let’s make the effort to mute the world’s news and the world’s promises this week. Let’s choose instead to enjoy the quiet peace of God’s promises and the reality of his Presence in our lives. There are so many things to care about right now, but nothing is more important than trusting God’s word and receiving his peace for each day.

Will you find and use that mute button today? May his perfect peace be your great reward.

 

Remembering 9/11

Every year when 9/11 falls on a Wednesday, I have a decision to make. Today is the anniversary of one of the worst days I experienced in my lifetime. And, I must decide whether to write about it in this blog post. Once again, I decided to address 9/11. 

I am always grateful when this day comes and goes without another terrorist attack. Our enemies are drawn to certain memorable dates, like flies are drawn to death. On every 9/11, I expect them to attempt another attack, and every year, I breathe a sigh of relief when the day ends without serious harm to our nation.

Why should 9/11 cause us to worry?

An op-ed by Bruce Riedel for Brookings explained the continued threat to this date each year. Riedel wrote: “Al Qaeda has every reason to be obsessed with 9/11. The plot that toppled the World Trade Center towers and damaged the Pentagon cost al Qaeda less than half a million dollars to pull off, according the 9/11 Commission report. The property damage alone cost about $100 billion, and estimates of the total economic damage inflicted by the attack range up to $2 trillion. The cost of the two wars in Afghanistan and Iraq that flowed out of the 9/11 tragedy has been estimated recently by Brown University scholars at about $4 trillion. Al Qaeda pulled off the world’s cheapest global game changer ever on Sept. 11, 2001, and we are still living with the consequences and costs.”

The article, written in 2011, identified an unsuccessful terrorist attempt on 9/11 in 2006 and another in 2008. The financial impact he reported would contain significantly higher numbers if written today. Our enemies are still drawn to this date each year, hoping and planning to cause more harm to our nation. Today, because of our nation’s continued commitment to Israel, the open border policies, and those factors becoming election issues, there are reasons to feel threatened.

Americans have a right, even an obligation, to worry about this day each year. Yet, Jesus encouraged his disciples, saying, “Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me” (John 14:1). 

How can we acknowledge the concerns of this life and not allow those concerns to “trouble” our hearts and minds?

What did you worry about when you heard the news that day?

When I watch the video footage from 9/11, my mind is flooded with memories. I was simply catching up on the news and enjoying a second cup of coffee when the morning show went live, and they began reporting the first tower was on fire. I watched the video in real-time as the second plane eerily entered the second tower. That’s when we all knew we were being attacked.

I called Jim and told him to turn on the television. I tried to reach my parents, who were on vacation in Pennsylvania, only miles from the downed plane there. My mom still remembers watching their hotel parking lot fill up with members of the FBI and trucks that were unloading the body bags.

I had two sons in high school and wondered how these events would impact their futures. If our nation went to war, would they enlist or be drafted?

I went to the bank and the grocery store that day. I didn’t know if it mattered, but I wanted to do what I could to protect my family.

I mostly prayed and begged God to forgive our sins and watch over our country. I prayed, not knowing if America was “ one nation under God.” I prayed, knowing our nation had made many choices that didn’t deserve God’s favor.

Do we deserve God’s favor and protection today?

Many politicians continue to end their speeches by saying, “May God bless America.” Have you noticed the many who no longer do? We have passed laws in this country that are fundamentally opposed to the laws of Scripture. In essence, our citizens are being asked to approve ideas and choices that God’s divine character cannot approve of and will not bless. 

The prophets taught the people what God would require of them. The prophets taught the people that God would surely discipline their choices. The prophets warned the people to listen, to think, to change, and to repent. Some did, but most did not.

So, God created a new covenant relationship with people through his Son, Jesus. His blessings were no longer promised to a nation of people. His new covenant was offered to everyone in the world. His new covenant was with “whoever believed” in his provision of salvation through Christ (John 3:16).

In 2030 . . .

The next time 9/11 falls on a Wednesday, it will be 2030 and I’ll be in my seventies. I wonder what I will say on that day. I wonder if I’ll have another 9/11 to talk about. I wonder if I will still be writing this blog post in 2030. 

What I do know is that, given the opportunity, I will still say what I want to say today.

We should be reminded of our highest calling every year on 9/11. A LOT of people died that day. Most people were significantly impacted by that day. Some of the victims went to heaven, while others lost their opportunity forever that day. I’m sure there were Christians who were thankful they had shared their faith with someone who had died. I’m also sure there were Christians who wished they had taken the opportunity to witness but had not.

When 9/11 falls on a Wednesday, I will use this blog post to remind us that there is no higher calling in this life than sharing our faith. We should care about people’s lives, feelings, and happiness, and we need to care even more about their souls.

It isn’t a pleasant thought, but it is necessary: If today is another tragic 9/11 that makes history, would you have regrets? Today is a good day to prayerfully consider that question and ask for God’s perfect answers. Today is a good day to ask God to redeem our nation and forgive our sins.

Will you take that time with God now and allow his Spirit’s voice to direct your life? Today is 9/11 and God still wants to redeem this date for his glory. How will he use your life to make a difference because you have prayed?

May God bless this day, and may God bless our nation.

God’s help for impossible choices

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Note: This blog post originally was scheduled to publish on 5/22, but was pushed back a week to publish a post on the American Idol finale. Mom has been steadily improving over these past few weeks, and we continue to be grateful for every day we have with her!

I had worked hard to get ahead and was looking forward to a wonderful week of rest and relaxation at the beach. Three days before we were scheduled to leave, the phone rang at 1:13 a.m. and everything changed. The nurses at my mom’s assisted living were on the other end of the line telling me that Mom needed to get to the hospital.

Thirty minutes later, Mom was in my car and we were headed to the E.R. Two hours later, the doctor was looking me in the eyes and said, “It’s bad.” I knew the doctor was telling me to be prepared for the worst news.

The doctors had found a mass on Mom’s pancreas and reported a serious blood infection. They began to ask me about a DNR, her end-of-life plans, and what treatments I wanted to choose for her. Mom has fairly advanced dementia and the choices needed to be mine, not hers. We talk often about the sanctity of life as it relates to abortion, but the conversation is so much larger than that one issue.

I was left with the prayer, “Lord, how do I sustain my mom’s life without prolonging her death?” The doctors wanted answers I just didn’t know how to give.

God’s great calm.

This blog is scheduled to arrive in people’s inboxes on Wednesday mornings. Even as people are reading these words today, I am speaking at an event where I have been asked to discuss my book, A Great Calm. I will share a little of the story and then probably say something like, “I can speak about God’s great calm, I can even write a book about it, but his calm wasn’t mine until I gave everything else away and asked to receive his gift of peace.”

I spent several days ready to hand my mom to Jesus, then as her health improved, I spent several days trying to figure out how to care for her in the days ahead. There were no clear or easy solutions. I had bad choices and worse choices, none of which felt right. 

How could I make good decisions when all I had was limited information? And my choices would likely become my mom’s life, or maybe my mom’s death! 

I was trying to sleep on the fold-out bed in the hospital room. I listened to her moan. I tried to help her understand where she was and why she was there, and when she went back to sleep, I tried to rest. But, one morning I finally gave up trying to understand medical facts and accepted the hard truth that I would never have the answers I needed most. The only solution I needed was God’s. The only solution I could trust was God’s. 

At the end of my efforts was God’s answer.

What is God’s great calm? Jesus was asleep in the boat, not caring about the storm that raged around him and his disciples. The waters from the Sea of Galilee were filling their boats and these men, many who were experienced fishermen, thought they were going to die. It was then that they woke Jesus and said, “Teacher, don’t you care that we are perishing?” (Mark 4:38). Jesus woke up, spoke to the wind and the sea saying, “‘Peace, Be still!’ And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm” (Mark 4:39).

Scripture says that the disciples were in awe of “this man” who could speak to a storm and calm the wind and the waves.

I was awake one morning at 3:30 a.m. and I sat in that hospital room asking Jesus for his answers, for his calm. When I asked, I received what I needed. Mother Teresa is quoted as saying, “You will never know Jesus is all you need, until Jesus is all you have.” When I realized that the only answer I needed was from Jesus, I prayed to receive it. And I did!

It was never my choice.

The outcome of my mom’s life wasn’t up to me. Only Jesus has the perfect ability to make that choice. I just needed to make decisions for my mom’s life and allow Jesus to make the decisions about her death. It really was that simple.

I spent hours that morning learning what was necessary to qualify Mom for hospice/palliative care. She needed three factors, and she had all three. I knew the best place for Mom was back at her place, in her own bed, surrounded by familiar faces who wanted to take good care of her. But, I also knew she needed additional medical care that they couldn’t provide. Several phone calls later, she had the extra care she would need from a wonderful, Christian hospice group.

When the doctors showed up later that morning, I told them what I wanted to do. By 5:00 that afternoon, Mom was back in her home surrounded by familiar things. It was the first moments of calm that we had experienced since I had rushed her to the E.R. a week earlier.

With the help of loving, Christian health care, my mom is now in a position to live the rest of her life with as much joy and peace as she can experience. My mom’s journey to heaven is for Jesus to decide, and I trust him with that moment.

My last Mother’s Day with Mom?

My sister and I helped Mom get to the dining room for the big Mother’s Day luncheon they were doing. We sat and enjoyed that time with Mom knowing it might be our last holiday together. Or maybe, we will have several more.

I’m peacefully sad and joyfully ready for whatever Jesus wants to do. He is perfect and his plan for her will be perfect as well. Mom’s life has always been in his hands, and I will do my best to honor and obey his plans. I’m just glad to be part of his work.

Mother’s Day was a sweet day because I know she is back home and doing the best we can expect for her life. It was a sweet day because I know her best life is in her future. Every night I ask Jesus to grab my dad and bring him along, as they come get Mom. It’s probably not great theology, but it is my nightly prayer. I like the verse that says, “You do not have because you do not ask” (James 4:2). As a Bible teacher I have to say, I wouldn’t teach that verse that way. As a daughter, I sure am praying the verse that way!

How do we receive God’s help for impossible choices?

We need to ask to receive what only God can give. We need to give up our own ideas before we are ready for his. We need to trust his perfection and have a healthy sense of doubt for other solutions.

The psalmist wrote, “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble” (Psalm 46:1). The way to receive God’s help for impossible choices is not knowing that verse, it’s choosing to trust and live the truth it proclaims. Run to the shelter God provides. Receive the calm strength that only God can give. And trust his presence is all the help you need because it will be the only help you actually have.

As I type these words, I do so with the “great calm” that Jesus has provided. My only regret is the week it took for me to stop fighting through the storm myself, and realize I needed no other voice but his. I can honestly say, “it is well with my soul.” I’m blessed to know and love the God who makes “all things possible.”[/et_pb_text][/et_pb_column]
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Scheduling Christmas with God

I’m not sure I ever told you all this, but I do most of my writing in the early hours of the day. I’ve always been an early riser and during the Christmas season that is especially true. I even have the timer on the Christmas tree set to come on twice a day, at 5 a.m. and 5 p.m. If my fireplace had a timer, I’d probably set that on the same schedule.  

I love the lights of Christmas, but I love them the most in the early morning hours. 

I might have been a psalmist

I often wake up thinking about the Lord . . . (and coffee.) I love that the lights on my Christmas tree light the way to the kitchen and the coffee pot. My computer enables me to read Scripture and prayer lists and to write blog posts while I sit in the darkness and enjoy the beauty of the Christmas lights. For me, these moments are a favorite celebration of the holiday. 

The Bible says quite a bit about the morning hours and the importance of using the morning to start our day with God. We are supposed to walk through our day with him, but that’s easier to do if we share the first part of the day at his feet. Jesus got up early in the morning to spend time with his Father. He is the perfect example of how we should begin our days too. 

The psalmists said a lot about seeking God in the morning. I am typing this blog post in the early darkness of the morning while enjoying their ancient wisdom for keeping life filled with God. As this Christmas season begins, let’s allow their wisdom to touch our lives and holiday season this year. 

God is our audience of One 

Psalm 5:3 says, “O Lᴏʀᴅ, in the morning you hear my voice; in the morning I prepare a sacrifice for you and watch.” The quiet beauty of morning is the perfect time to talk to God. The Creator God of the universe is listening to you—right now. 

What amount of time and attention will you give to your Father this morning? What activity can wait until you have spoken to him? We will likely sacrifice a few of our plans for the day if we ask God to plan the day for us. 

Your Christmas season will be different if you will give God your voice in the morning, prepare to listen, and then watch for his answers throughout the day. 

Trust God to lift you up 

Sometimes I wake up thinking about a long list of activities for the day. One of my favorite things about growing older is that more and more of my schedule is optional. I well remember the rush of keeping kids on their schedules while planning the rest of my life around theirs. 

Those were great days, but there is a serenity to these days that is pure joy too. The great goal for this Christmas season is to live it on God’s schedule. Psalm 143:8 says, “Let me hear in the morning of your steadfast love, for in you I trust. Make me know the way I should go, for to you I lift up my soul.” 

People will always matter more than plans. People sometimes fit into our schedule, and sometimes they will need to interrupt it. We can trust God to guide us and strengthen us to serve him by serving others.  

Every morning’s sunrise is a reminder of God’s steadfast love. He has given us another day, and he has a trustworthy plan for how we can live it well. How can we carefully walk his plan for today? 

We hear from him in the morning, and we trust his voice, his word. It is to God we lift up our souls. God wants to do more than direct our activity. He wants to provide for our joy and our strength and give us his love and compassion for others.  

This Christmas season will be different if we lift up our souls to God and trust him to fill us with his goodness. 

We can be satisfied with God

The Christmas season can pull and tug us in many different directions. There have been some holiday seasons that lacked the genuine Christmas joy. So much of our expectations and wishes for the holiday are authored by movies, social media, and the lives of others. The genuine joy of Christmas will come from the moments you spend with Christ and the moments you spend serving others in his name. 

In the early morning, it is only about your relationship with the Lord. The psalmist wrote, “Satisfy us in the morning with your steadfast love, that we may rejoice and be glad all our days” (Psalm 90:14). The joy and beauty of the season are in the genuine celebrations of his blessings. 

God will satisfy us this Christmas season with his love. We need only give him our worship. His “steadfast love” will be the joy of each day and our great blessing for the holiday. 

Joy comes in the morning

Psalm 30:5 is rarely quoted fully yet is a perfect message for us to begin our Christmas season considering. We often hear the phrase “joy comes with the morning” but rarely do we hear why that matters. 

No Christmas season is perfect. No Christmas season is lived in a flawless fashion. We are human beings surrounded by other human beings. Traffic is tough. People are edgy and rushed. Gifts are sometimes hard to come by and difficult to afford.  

Some parties are fun while others are an obligation. Sometimes the lights on the tree stop glowing and need a new bulb to work again. There will be a few moments this Christmas season that don’t inspire the “fa la la” in us! Sometimes anger is justified, but often it is simply a natural, human response to stressful situations. It’s then our goal to return to a right relationship with God. 

Psalm 30:5 is our gift of wisdom for those times. God’s anger is always righteous, but his example is the perfect one for us to follow as well. The psalmist wrote, “For his anger is but for a moment, and his favor is for a lifetime. Weeping may tarry for the night, but joy comes with the morning” (Psalm 30:5). God doesn’t hold onto his anger, and we shouldn’t either. We can seek God’s favor, knowing it is our promised gift of Christmas. 

Let’s schedule this Christmas with God 

Each new morning is a chance to sit with our audience of One and seek his voice. We can trust our heavenly Father to forgive our mistakes and lift us up for the new day. We can count our blessings and be satisfied with the genuine joy of the Lord each day. We can rush through a day or two and trust that the Lord will guide us back to a quiet morning with him.  

Joy comes in the morning. Will you give your Christmas mornings to the One who authors our joy? Will you do the same tomorrow?

When you need God to speak

A few weeks ago we sang “Word of God Speak” in our chapel service. That is one of my favorite songs because it seems to usher us to the throne of God where we can sense the comfort of his presence. 

For many reasons, the phrase “Word of God speak” has been my personal prayer since that time. 

I have experienced the truth of God’s voice for a lot of years now and I wanted to write this blog post to teach, remind, or encourage all of you that his voice is a gift we should cultivate for our souls.

Sometimes when I am praying for a person who needs healing or a sense of peace or direction I pray, “Word of God speak.” I want to pray in his will so I ask for him to author my prayer with his words. Often, I want to pray for direction for my own life and choices so I pray, “Word of God speak . . . I want to hear your voice and follow your lead.”

There are times we need to hear God’s voice of comfort and love. During those times I often pick up the Bible and pray, “Word of God speak to me from pages. Speak to me from your truth.”

God speaks. 

When you need his voice, you will learn how to pray and how to listen. 

Frederick Faber’s teaching is wisdom

Frederick Faber was an English theologian and hymn writer in the mid-1800s. Faber struggled most of his life with poor health and eventually died of Bright’s disease at the age of forty-nine. His spiritual journey was marked by a brilliant theological education that he then applied to the needs in his life. His faith was strengthened even as his body grew physically weak. So many times, God redeems the hard times by using them to sanctify our souls. 

Frederick Faber has a quote that has been a goal and a strength to my own soul, especially when I need God’s direction or comfort in my own life. I wanted to share it with you all today. When you need God to speak, consider Faber’s teaching as truth for your life. He said:

There is hardly ever a complete silence in our soul. God is whispering to us well nigh incessantly. Whenever the sounds of the world die out in the soul, or sink low, then we hear these whisperings of God. He is always whispering to us, only we do not always hear because of the noise, hurry, and distraction which life causes as it rushes on.

What does the prophet Isaiah teach about God’s voice?

Isaiah 30 is a great education in our need to listen for, and to, the voice of God. It teaches us why those words by Frederick Faber are spiritual truth. 

We never have to wonder if God is speaking. God gave us his Holy Spirit so we could live with his voice. So why then do we struggle with knowing God’s will and obeying his voice? 

Isaiah 30 provides some answers.

The chapter begins with the words “‘Ah, stubborn children,’ declares the Lᴏʀᴅ, ‘who carry out a plan, but not mine, who make an alliance, but not of my Spirit, that they may add sin to sin’” (Isaiah 30:1).

Have you ever wondered how many mistakes you would have escaped if you had just asked God first?

Have you ever prayed for God’s direction only to immediately begin charting your own path? 

Sometimes we even say, “Lord, I’m moving ahead so stop me if I’m making a mistake.” 

The Israelites didn’t care what the prophets told them to do and didn’t want to wait for God to work in his timing. They made their own plans and did what they thought was right, not what God had shown them was best. That’s why God said in Isaiah 30:15, “In returning and rest you shall be saved; in quietness and in trust shall be your strength.” Then the prophet told the people, “You were unwilling.”

God speaks all the time and God speaks when it is time. To move forward with our own ideas after praying for guidance is like turning on the faucet to fill the tub and then allowing the water to continually run while you take a shower instead. 

Let’s just say not to wait for God’s answer is to cause yourself a big mess and maybe significant damage.

The grace of God’s answers

As I’ve said, I’m not a fan of waiting, but I have learned that I am a fan of waiting on God. 

It is amazing to pray and then see God’s direction unfold through my circumstances. It is profoundly humbling to hear God speak his direction into my thoughts. When I choose to act on his words, I often realize that the Almighty God spoke into my life to call me to his purpose. 

God really does speak “well nigh incessantly” just like Frederick Faber said. His answers come with his grace and his understanding. One of my favorite verses in the Bible is Isaiah 30:21. I discovered it almost three decades ago through my personal study of God’s word. I needed to know when and how to hear the voice of God in my life. I rarely take the time to offer that verse in the full context. But consider the passage so you can know that “your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying . . . .”

Isaiah promised the nation of Israel and God’s people today:

For a people shall dwell in Zion, in Jerusalem; you shall weep no more. He will surely be gracious to you at the sound of your cry. As soon as he hears it, he answers you. 

And though the Lord give you the bread of adversity and the water of affliction, yet your Teacher will not hide himself anymore, but your eyes shall see your Teacher. 

And your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying, “This is the way, walk in it,” when you turn to the right or when you turn to the left. 

Then you will defile your carved idols overlaid with silver and your gold-plated metal images. You will scatter them as unclean things. You will say to them, “Be gone!” (Isaiah 30:19–22).

That is a long passage, but this is the “Janet Denison” rewording of those verses because of the way they have come to be God’s truth for me whenever I need to “hear” the Word of God speak. I would write this passage to you this way:

One day, every Christian will dwell in heaven and never shed another tear. Until then, know you have a gracious God who hears every word you cry out to him. As soon as he hears it, he answers you. 

God will allow you to endure adversity and affliction on earth, but the Holy Spirit of God, the Presence of Jesus, is there to guide you through each moment. You can see him if you will search for him. You can hear him if you will listen. You will hear God speak to you in your quiet moments of worship or as random thoughts that aren’t random at all. 

God will most often speak straight from the pages of Scripture. God will tell you, “This is the way, walk in it.” 

And, when you realize the God of the Universe has spoken, you will throw away or submit the lesser things that might influence your choices and trust what you know is the true answer from God from the leadership of his Spirit.

Word of God speak

If you need to discern the voice of God, stop, study, and listen until you do. 

Pray without ceasing and give God the quiet attention his answers deserve. 

How do you start? 

I’d advise you to begin with one of my favorite worship songs, “Word of God Speak,” then move to a careful study of Isaiah 30. Listen and read prayerfully and hear God’s voice guide you to the verses that constricted your soul and spoke to you. Live with that truth and then adjust your life to obey.

That is how God speaks and how he directs our path. 

Trust him to know what is best and God will say, “Here is the way. Walk in it.”

If you had to list one hundred . . .

If you couldn’t take your seat at the Thanksgiving table until . . .

If you couldn’t turn on the television set and watch the game until . . . 

If you had to wash ALL the dishes unless . . . 

What? 

If our Thanksgiving holiday couldn’t take place until we created a list of one hundred reasons we are thankful, I imagine all of us would come up with one hundred reasons. The same would be true if the list required a thousand.  

We would rack our brains, ask for help, and make the list a high priority if it were the only way to sit at the table, enjoy our families, and maybe get out of the cleanup later. 

My list

I decided I needed to create a list of my own before I presented the idea to you, my readers. I began to mentally count off all of the things I was most grateful for. The first fifty came quickly and easily. Then I started to bog down just a bit. 

I began to make the larger categories like “family” into something specific about each person. I am grateful for my faith, but I began to break down that thought into specific categories like grace, forgiveness, salvation, calling, comfort, and more. I was grateful for my health and then was able to get more specific with that.  

In the end, the last fifty began to take me from completing a challenge to a truly personal sense of gratitude for the things God has blessed and filled my life with. I could have continued past the one hundred mark, except I needed to type this blog post instead! 

Give it a try

I wish I had a way of convincing all of you to take the same journey of gratitude. I would love to hear how far you got before you had to dig a bit deeper.  

It’s actually shocking how many things we should be grateful for that we probably just take for granted.  

I’m not really grateful for my dishwasher unless I stop to think about the days we didn’t own one. I’m not thankful for my refrigerator unless I consider what life would be like if it were broken, or worse, not yet invented. 

I’m grateful that I can write this blog post on a computer instead of an old-fashioned typewriter. Did you ever use Wite-Out® to cover your typo? Now, I can delete whole sentences, even paragraphs, with ease. 

Are you grateful for your car? Your can opener? Your microwave? Your heater?  

Last winter, when our power went out for days, it got down to forty-eight degrees in our house. I was grateful for my gas logs, my battery-powered lantern, and the stack of soft blankets that kept us warm.  

Honestly, if you take a mental journey through your home, you will easily reach the one hundred mark on your list. 

Why don’t we walk through life feeling greatly blessed?

I hope my list of one hundred will continue to grow and my “attitude of gratitude” as well. It is a joyful thing to remember all that we have been given in our lives. 

The psalmist wrote, “Oh give thanks to the Lᴏʀᴅ, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever!” (Psalm 107:1). God’s presence in my life was high on my list. My “deeper dive” is the realization that I will have his presence, his power, and his unending love in my life forever.  

James told the early Christians, “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change” (James 1:17). I’ve taught the book of James several times and don’t remember noticing the first few words of this verse. We have so many gifts to be thankful for. Some of the gifts are good, but there are other gifts in our lives that are perfect. 

If you had to create a list of one hundred perfect gifts, what would you say? 

Only God can give perfect gifts because only God is perfect. (It kind of takes some pressure off the gift list for our Christmas holiday, doesn’t it?) 

Christians are greatly blessed because we are greatly loved—now and eternally. Doesn’t that give light to your thoughts and a different perspective on your day?  

The deepest gratitude

What I found interesting as I reexamined my list was that it didn’t include any of the difficulties I have faced. Did yours? 

If I am honest, the tough times of my life have taught me the most about God. Not all blessings feel like blessings. 

Paul told the church in Thessalonica, “Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you” (1 Thessalonians 5:18). 

If you had to make a list of one hundred things you learned because of the dark, difficult times, what would be on that list? 

I couldn’t help but think of Daniel when he knew the document had been signed that meant his daily prayers might cost him his life (Daniel 6). Scripture says, “He went to his house where he had windows in his upper chamber open toward Jerusalem. He got down on his knees three times a day and prayed and gave thanks before his God, as he had done previously” (Daniel 6:10). 

Expecting to die, Daniel got on his knees and “gave thanks before his God.” But, as terrifying as it would have been, what did Daniel learn about God because of the lion’s den? 

Gratitude for God transcends the circumstances of this life when we learn to be grateful to God for allowing any circumstance to draw us closer to him. 

That’s why Paul said, “Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you” (1 Thessalonians 5:18). It is God’s will that we know we are always loved. 

I hope that knowledge will be number one on all of our lists. 

Christians have a LOT to be grateful for. Let’s be like Daniel and “give thanks” for all our blessings: the good, the perfect, and even the painful.  

If God is drawing us near to him, we can be grateful. 

Amen? 

2021: A parable of hope

Note from Janet

For those of you who have completed the first half of the Foundations of Faith Bible Study, I hope you will join us for the second half of the study

The first lecture (Abraham & Sarah – Lesson 12) is now available to view on the website. 

Each lesson will focus on a person/persons from the Bible who demonstrated faithful obedience to God and will offer insight on how we, too, can live in faithful obedience to Him. 

If you haven’t yet registered for the Bible study, now would be a perfect time to join us.


A man was sick and didn’t know if he would get well. He had lived a long life, a prosperous and influential life, but knew that his accomplishments couldn’t provide what he needed most. Healing couldn’t be purchased or acquired by hard work. Healing was a gift and a blessing. 

The man lay on his bed, appreciating the fact he could still breathe. He was grateful for those who came and went, trying to help him live. He spent his time thinking because thinking was all he was capable of. 

His thoughts naturally turned to the One who had given him life. The One who could give him more. He wanted more. He had lived his life always wanting more. 

He pondered all that he would do if he could only get well. He also pondered all he would fix, if he only could. He wished for second chances knowing there was really no such thing. All choices have consequences that live on in the people affected. 

“Why, Lord? Why do I always want more? Will I always want more? What is enough? I’ll try to do more for you, Lord, if you will just give me the chance. I know I can do better.” 

The man listened to the beeping sound that indicated he was still alive. Each beep was another moment he could have been doing something else. 

“Why, Lord? Why am I here? Why is this happening?” 

Beep. Beep. Beep. 

“Are you there, Lord? Is this my time? Are you coming for me now? Am I ready?” 

Beep. Beep. Beep. 

“Whatever you are going to do, Lord, will you just do it? I’m tired of waiting. I just want to know.” 

Beep. Beep. Beep. 

“Lord, I don’t care anymore. Whatever! I don’t even know what to think. I’m weary in well-doing.” 

Beep. Beep. “Don’t be.” 

“What? What do you mean ‘Don’t be?’” 

“When you get well . . . you can look it up.” 

“I will, Lord. Thank you so much.” 

The man did get better. As soon as he could, he found the verse, then the passage, then the wisdom he knew had been God’s gift to him during his long wait. 

Hope was the gift and blessing. Healing was simply an answered prayer. 

GALATIANS 6:9 WAS MY ANSWER 

Most of us get “thought-filled” at the beginning of a new year. That’s probably especially true this year. 2020 was a year that provided all of us extra time to think. The parable above isn’t anyone’s story. It’s everyone’s story. I don’t know how it is yours, but God would like the chance to tell you. 

Galatians 6:9 says, “And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up.” That part of the parable above is my personal story. 

Years ago, I was at a particularly low time in my own life when I prayed, “Whatever, Lord!” I was feeling like so much of what I had worked for was just a “vapor” that had blown away. It was comforting to remember that was how King Solomon felt too. 

I was praying to God one morning. Actually, I was whining to God. I poured out a bunch of thoughts, fears, concerns, and frustrations, and I finally told the Lord, “I’m just weary in well-doing!” 

Almost instantly, I heard my next thought: “Don’t be.” 

I remember laughing out loud! My answer from God was so like God: simple, complex, and always biblical truth. 

I heard him that day and knew it was time to move ahead. 

This blog post is one result of that prayer time. 

GALATIANS 6:1–10 IS OUR WISDOM 

Before you read the passage below, stop and pray. 

Ask God to speak to you as you read. 

There are words in the passage below that apply to your new year. God won’t tell me what he wants to say to you. I will provide his word; God will give you his direction from it. 

Pay attention to the verses you need to reread or that seem to be directed to your heart. We call Scripture “God’s word” because it is God’s voice. 

Paul closed his letter to the church in Galatia saying: 

Brothers, if anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness. Keep watch on yourself, lest you too be tempted. Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ. For if anyone thinks he is something, when he is nothing, he deceives himself. But let each one test his own work, and then his reason to boast will be in himself alone and not in his neighbor.  For each will have to bear his own load. 

Let the one who is taught the word share all good things with the one who teaches. Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap. For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life.  And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up. So then, as we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone, and especially to those who are of the household of faith. (Galatians 6:1–10) 

YOUR PARABLE OF HOPE FOR A NEW YEAR 

2020 authored a lot of thoughts in everyone. 

What did God tell you last year? 

What did God just tell you as you read his word? 

Hope is a powerful comfort while we wait for a chance to get well, get vaccinated, and get on with better days. 

I like to think about watching the news and not hearing about the “numbers” for the day. I like to think about going to a baseball game and joining the crowd who jumps to their feet, cheering loudly after a home run. I especially like to think about hugging my family and friends without a thought of reservation. 

We will do all of those things. If we stay well, we will be well. We have a lot to hope for in 2021. 

But, the real gift and blessing of 2021 will not be a vaccine. 

We should spend the rest of our lives knowing that hope is the blessing we have already received. 

“The one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life. And let us not grow weary of doing good” (Galatians 6:8–9). 

The hope of a vaccine is real. The hope of eternal life has always been real for those who have asked for and received God’s salvation through Christ. Let’s not grow weary waiting for hope we already have. Live in, through, and because of God’s hope. 

We are already blessed! 

“So then, as we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone, and especially to those who are of the household of faith” (Galatians 6:10). 

May your 2021 be filled with God’s hope.

A cozy, comfortable, COVID Christmas

It sounds like it will be a while before most of us can line up for a vaccine, but it is definitely coming. 

I’m happy that those who need it most will have it first. But I am excited to know that I will be in line someday. 

2021 is looking up!

It’s a cold, blustery day in Texas as I type this post. The wind is blowing the cold rain sideways across the backyard. But, inside, the fire is going, the tree is lit, and the Christmas candle is burning. 

I have a lot to be thankful for this Christmas. 

FROM THANKFUL TO THOUGHTFUL 

I also have a lot to be thoughtful about. 

There are different seasons of life, and I am lucky. COVID has been difficult but doable. It’s just Jim and me in the house. We can work from our home office. We don’t have to make school choices for kids or keep up with their schedules. I can order what I need and it arrives at the front door. There have been some things to give up, but nothing that a vaccine won’t soon fix. 

But this is a random, indiscriminate virus, and not everyone has been able to avoid it. We all likely know someone who’s had to fight the battle. Most of us know someone who didn’t win their battle. There are a lot of families who will be thinking about loved ones they lost on Christmas morning. 

Everyone will have a different kind of holiday this year.

A MINISTRY OF PJ’S 

Yesterday, a friend sent me a front-page story from the Dallas Morning News about a woman we know. 

Jo Alch was a “regular” in the Sunday School class I used to teach. According to the article, “Alch is the director of Pajamas for Seniors, a Dallas nonprofit that provides new pajamas for low-income residents of nursing and assisted living homes.” 

Pajamas for Seniors” is blessing a lot of elderly people this Christmas with a gift they need. In addition to PJ’s, they also receive love and attention they are often missing. 

I read the article with a smile because it was so good to read about her ministry. 

Jo was a hospice nurse when I met her, but the Lord has grown her life, her business, and her ministry in some amazing ways. I’ve linked to the article so you can read it. I was reminded of all the good God can accomplish through a person who wants to serve him. 

A lot of people are focused on what they have to “give up” this Christmas. Jo is focused on what we can give. 

So, from your former Sunday School teacher: WAY TO GO, JO!!! 

A lot of good can be accomplished through people who truly care. 

GOD USES YOUR LIFE MORE THAN YOU REALIZE 

D. L. Moody is one of the most quotable preachers of all time. A Christianity Today article described him this way: “With his boundless physical energy, natural shrewdness, self-confidence, and eternal optimism, Dwight Lyman Moody could have become a Gilded Age industrial giant like John D. Rockefeller or Jay Gould. Instead, he became one of the great evangelists of the nineteenth century.” 

D. L. Moody described himself as an ordinary man who sold shoes and had the equivalent of a fifth-grade education. Yet, he became the American preacher who is considered one of the finest evangelists in history. He preached the gospel to more than a hundred million people in his lifetime. 

D. L. Moody was a fan of ordinary people. He said, “If this world is going to be reached, I am convinced that it must be done by men and women of average talent. After all, there are comparatively few people in this world who have great talents.” 

Jesus had that same sense. When he chose disciples, he didn’t go to the synagogue in Jerusalem to find the trained talent. He went looking for the ordinary faithful. 

PURE PERSPECTIVE FROM D. L. MOODY 

I wanted to send some wisdom from D. L. Moody to you this Christmas. I’ve long thought that a great hindrance to living for Jesus is how we often allow our sense of “self” to influence our calling. D. L. Moody was right when he said, “I have had more trouble with myself than with any other man I have ever met.”  

In the Christian life, success isn’t about what people accomplish for God. Godly success is measured by what God accomplishes through people. 

Jesus taught his disciples, “Truly, truly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of his own accord, but only what he sees the Father doing. For whatever the Father does, that the Son does likewise” (John 5:19). If Jesus knew he needed to yield his earthly life to God, we should be making every effort to do the same. 

D. L. Moody could advise our 2020 Christmas with these words: “No one can sum up all God is able to accomplish through one solitary life, wholly yielded, adjusted, and obedient to Him.” When you are yielded to God, you are accomplishing much more than you realize. You are accomplishing what Jesus wants to do through you. 

GOD’S WORD + GOD’S WILL = GOD’S GUIDANCE 

D. L. Moody also said, “I never saw a fruit-bearing Christian who was not a student of the Bible.” 

If you are reading this blog post, then you care about God’s work in the world. Our ministry is called to “equip the saints for the work of the ministry” (Ephesians 4:12). It’s safe to say that our readers are likely servants of God. But I would point out a key word in Moody’s quote. 

He didn’t refer to a “reader” of the Bible, although that is a great thing. 

He said a fruit-bearing Christian needed to be a “student” of the Bible. 

I am occasionally led by God when I read his word. I’m often led by God when I study it. 

I think about what I’ve read, pray about it, and listen for his will in it. 

This equation has been consistently true in my life: God’s word + God’s will = God’s guidance. 

A COZY, COMFORTABLE, COVID CHRISTMAS 

This isn’t a season to contemplate only what we have lost because of the virus. 

I have believed since last April that God would redeem all of this for our greater good—if we are called to his purpose (Romans 8:28). That’s a promise from God’s word. 

Going forward, we will learn more about what God has done. I can promise you that this time has changed almost everyone in some way. Our ministry has received some amazing correspondence this past year. God’s word is powerful. The COVID quiet has been used by God to draw people to himself. 

We will get a vaccine, and we will get back to our new normal next year. D. L. Moody has a suggestion for all of us to consider before then: “Our greatest fear should not be of failure, but of succeeding at something that doesn’t really matter.” 

Which “matters” matter most

God wants to answer that question for us. 

So, get comfortable in your favorite spot and look around. 

  • What do you have to be thankful for this Christmas? 
  • What does God want you to be thoughtful about? 
  • How does God want to use your ordinary life in an extraordinary way? 

The Lord will answer those questions as you study his word. 

Get cozy and comfortable this COVID Christmas. God always has something to say to those who are willing to study his word and listen. 

A warm fire, a cup of cocoa, and a thankful heart can provide a great start. 

The Perfect Lottery Dream Home

If you read this blog regularly, you know I enjoy a lot of the programs on HGTV.  

I usually tape Lottery Dream Home on Friday nights. I enjoy watching people look for homes after their lives have been changed by a winning lottery ticket. I am going to say . . . I’m not comfortable with the host, for obvious reasons. But I do enjoy seeing all the homes people look at, knowing they can afford them.

I was watching a rerun of the show when I started to imagine what my dream home would be like. 

My perfect dream home

I would want lots of bedrooms so my kids and grandkids could come hang out. 

I would want lots of cabinets so I could keep all of my “stuff” to enjoy. 

I would want a big closet with three sections: maybe one day, probably never, and good to go.  

My shoes would be labeled once a year, worn-out but comfortable, and worthy of wearing

My kitchen could be labeled Thanksgiving and Christmas and The Rest of the Year

I would want lots of “self-cleaning” windows and air conditioners that always worked. 

I would want a study for Jim and a reading room for me. 

Finally, I’d want a master bath that made me smile. 

My not-quite-perfect home 

I spent all morning washing windows. They looked amazing, until the sun came up the next day. Why can’t I get my windows completely free of smudges and streaks?! 

I spent a long time searching my kitchen cabinets for a bowl that I knew I still owned. Now, I’m spending time wondering who I gave it to or where I left it. 

The air conditioners are all running nicely. I’ll pause here so I can find a piece of wood to knock on.  

The truth is, I currently live in my favorite house, of all we have owned. (And, in our forty years of marriage, we have owned six different homes.)   

If I won a lot of money, I would stay in this house

That is a nice thing to be able to say. 

I might install those “self-cleaning” windows if I could. (BTW: If any of you invent those, I’ll go on Shark Tank with you. We could make a fortune!) 

Finding a dream home   

The Dream Home episode I watched featured a young couple who had won a lot of money on a lottery ticket. Before their good fortune, they had been living in a smaller home, with her brother and his wife and their combined children. (I hope she got her brother something wonderful with their winnings too!)  

The couple had bought a beautiful home in a wonderful neighborhood, and their lives were radically changed. Their children each had their own bedroom. No one had to share a bathroom, and everything looked new and perfectly on trend. 

Their living situation had radically changed, but did winning the money change them? 

The truth behind most wins 

I read an interesting article in Reader’s Digest about life after winning the lottery. The article discussed the things we will probably never hear about on that popular dream home show. 

  • 70 percent of all lotto winners spend or lose all of their winnings in the first five years.
  • Count on being exploited by others, often family and friends.
  • Whatever you win, someone else won more.
  • Those who worked for wealth will rarely consider a winner of wealth as an equal.
  • Your friendships and other relationships will be changed.
  • Yet most people are glad they won anyway.

The perfect home is yours—Jesus promised 

Jesus told his disciples that he was going to heaven to build them a mansion, complete with the dream closets, kitchens, and always-working appliances. It will be decorated with eternally perfect furnishings and never need cleaning. (Notice I don’t have a biblical reference for that statement. That is my own wording of John 14:1–3 from the HGTV version of God’s word.)   

The actual translation is, “Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me. In my Father’s house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also” (John 14:1–3). 

Those are some of the most comforting words in Scripture. Jesus intended them to be comforting. He knew his disciples were facing one of the most difficult seasons of their lives. They were going to need to be able to look beyond his death to the resurrection.  

Nothing would be “perfect” in their lives, except their faith and the rewards of their faith. Things would be good, but not perfect. All of us will get a “dream home” someday, but not on earth.  

I love my house, but the A/C is going to break someday (where is that piece of wood?!). 

The windows are going to get dirty again (unless one of you can invent a self-cleaning version.)  

I love almost everything about my house today, but it isn’t perfect. 

The reason our heavenly home is a perfect mansion is because it has one luxury that can’t be acquired here on earth: we aren’t “with Jesus” face-to-face.  

Jesus hasn’t taken us to heaven yet, to be with him. 

The sure bet 

Your odds, on average, of winning a big prize in the lottery are about one in fourteen million. But no matter how much you might win, you won’t be able to buy the perfect mansion.  

Perfect mansions can only be purchased by Jesus and only received as a gift. 

And, when each of us who are saved move to our heavenly mansion one day, we will find the guest room has already been occupied—permanently. 

If you are a Christian, you have made the only “sure bet” there is in this life. The odds of winning your mansion are one in one. Our faith in Christ guarantees that our lives will be changed and heaven is our future.  

Whom do you know that needs a winning ticket

Everyone deserves to own a dream home someday.