“But as for you, you meant evil against me; but God meant it for good, in order to bring it about as it is this day, to save many people alive.” – Genesis 50:20
Joseph’s story is one my favorite biblical accounts. I love stories where the hero saves the day. And I especially love these stories when the hero starts out from incredibly humble origins. The theme of overcoming great challenge, surpassing it and thriving afterward resonates deeply with me. Joseph epitomizes all of that and more.
I have prayed all my life. I learned simple prayers as a very young child, with tiny hands folded, head bowed, down on my knees by my bed before I went to sleep: “Dear Jesus, Thank you for this day. Thank you for my mommy and daddy. I love you. Amen.” I remember the feel of the hardwood floor of my bedroom beneath my knees. I remember the white platform bed in front of me with the built-in drawers painted medium blue on either side of a special storage cupboard I could fit my entire self into, and did on many occasions.
There was absolute worship in my car this morning ya’ll. Heart bursting, tears streaming, soul lifting, pure, thankful worship. I was giddy with it.
The time change has placed our Saturday morning commute right in the midst of the morning sunrise. And it was breathtaking this morning. There was a glorious mist blanketing everything and the sun rays were streaming through the leaves and the mist. It was spectacular. 40 minutes of driving sweet country roads bathed in the absolute glory of our Creator.
This morning I spent a couple hours outside in the cool of the morning weeding around the house with a gentle breeze and the awakening bird songs to keep me company (and my three dogs of course). For some reason, the dogs were fascinated by my activity and would hardly back away enough for me to get the job done. Continue reading
We are in week 2 of 2017 and I have no idea how I got here. I did not ask for a new year. I am not ready for a new start. I do not have energy and focus and drive for a new beginning. Frankly, I am exhausted. Dragged through the mud, wrung dry and draped unceremoniously and quite limply over the divide between last year and this new year.
“Lord, so many of my problems stem from not remembering you. I forget your wisdom and so I worry. I forget your grace and so I get complacent. I forget your mercy and so I get resentful of others. Help me remember who you are every moment of the day. Amen.”
– prayer excerpt from Timothy Keller’s book ‘The Songs of Jesus’.
Immersed in Sonlight 