Worship And Praise

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Music is one of the ways I sit in praise and worship of our Lord.  We have so much to be thankful for in our lives.  Take time to be with the Lord.  Some times it is just sitting and listening to songs of praise like one of these…

10,000 Reasons (Bless the Lord) – Matt Redman

What A Beautiful Name – Hillsong Worship

I encourage you whatever you do and wherever you go to sense His presence the most, go to that place and thank God for all you have and all He has done and then invite Him to guide you going forward…He is always there waiting for you and He will never leave you.  May God’s love, joy and peace be with you.

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“The Lord is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and rich in love.  The Lord is good to all; he has compassion on all he has made.”

Psalm 145:8-9

(This photo was taken in August of 2016 near Glacier National Park in Montana)

God Is With You

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Be at peace.  God is with you.  Everywhere you go, in every part of every day in your life He is with you.  As I continue to my faith journey, I shudder when I think what life would be like if I was still trying to live without my personal relationship with God.  He calms the storms, He lifts me up when I have fallen, He forgives me when I repent and He is the source of the kind of joy that has to be experienced to be understood.  My heart is singing today.  If you are looking for a song to sing in praise check out this song “Forever” by Chris Tomlin.

God created you, He sacrificed His One and only Son to save you, He forgives you for your sins and He goes with you everywhere, everyday…Forever.

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“So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God.  I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.”

Isaiah 41:10

(This photo was taken in June of 2016 near the border between South Dakota and Minnesota)

A Life of Prayer

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Here is a great post on life when your relationship with God is the center of everything. Peace.

mitchteemley's avatarMitch Teemley

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I just found out that yesterday was my country’s National Day of Prayer. The occasion, once widely covered by the media, is now a side story at best. But no matter. For believers, every day is a day of prayer.

I often say,“I am a writer” because that is something I do with great passion. I’m less inclined to say, “I am a weed plucker” or “I am a shower taker” because, even though those are things I do, they are not what I’m about.

But even more than writing, even more than being a husband or a father, I am about following Jesus. God is not one of the things in my life, he the thing. More accurately, he is the focus of my life. Everything I do—writing, filmmaking, husbanding, fathering—is about knowing him.

Hey, he started it.

Forty-two years ago, sensing that God might just exist and…

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Spiritual Growth

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The growth that leads to spiritual maturity is the growth of your inner being.  The inner self is the driver of our attitude and our behaviors.  We all are equipped with a space in our inner being that only God can fill.  As humans we will try to fill this gap with many other things…a professional career, wealth, adventure and adrenalin, alcohol, gambling and many others.  This unique inner self only has one companion that fills us and makes us complete as God intended us to be and that is God Himself.  When we are filled with the Holy Spirit we do not grow tired and weary chasing after other things…we know that we are secure in God’s love, God’s mercy, God’s grace and God’s forgiveness.  Invite the Lord into your life and into your daily routine and activities…after all He designed us in His own image and He knows us better than anyone else ever could.  Seek spiritual growth and see how your life and the world changes from your perspective.  May God’s peace and love and joy be with you.

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“I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith.

And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ…”

Ephesians 3:16-18

(This photo was taken in August of 2016 in Glacier National Park in Montana)

Parenthood

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When life on earth begins we are completely dependent on loving parents to care for us, feed us, hold us and watch over us.  As time goes by and the phases of life change a child begins to learn about interacting with others in the world, all the while the father and or mother each offer their unique perspective based mostly upon their own experience with their parents.  The generations go on…unfortunately the family structure has been under attack by darkness and evil for a long time now and in today’s society the vast majority of people are ruled by selfishness and they show little respect for family or parents mainly because of how people who are given the gift of children have not honored their role of parenthood.  When we become parents, we should be prepared to sacrifice things in order to help a child become a contributing adult in community.  One of the greatest joys of parenthood is watching your child succeed and do well because you were willing to have patience and willing to be persistent in doing what God has asked you to do with the gift of a child.  We are all God’s children and He is patient and persistent in loving us.  We would do well to pass it on.  May God’s peace be with you.

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“Train a child in the way they should go, and when they are old they will not turn from it.”

Proverbs 22:6

(This photo was taken in June of 2013 near Badlands National Park in South Dakota)

Strength

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When life is difficult and frustrating, where do we get the ability to move forward?  What could possibly renew us?  What makes some people so resilient?  It has been my experience that there is only one thing powerful enough to lift us up out of any tragedy or trial…it is the Presence of the Lord.  A relationship with Jesus Christ in the way to strength in the battle and rest when we are weary.  To experience His presence we must do our part and be willing to spend time in devotions and prayer.  God made a promise, He will never leave you nor forsake you and He always keeps His promises.  Invite Jesus into your heart and into your life daily and you will be renewed each day.  May God’s peace be with you.

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“The name of the Lord is a strong tower; the righteous run to it and are safe.”

Proverbs 18:10

(This photo was taken in August of 2016 in Mount Rainier National Park in Washington)

Good Things

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If can be hard to see the good sometimes.  The world so full of evil and darkness, deceitfulness and envy.  Often when living in the moment, I tend to question, what difference does it make?  It matters, it always matters, especially when at least one other person will be impacted.  We are not in a position to know what God has intended for us.  In the book of Genesis, Joseph, son of Jacob, was thrown in a pit and left to die, he was sold into slavery, he resisted the advances of a married woman and was put in jail.  Joseph continued to be a good person and saved another man’s life and that man quickly forgot about him when he left prison.  Eventually, he became a ruler in Egypt and saved many lives during a famine.  He never stopped trying, he never stopped doing good to others and all along the way he suffered and must have been frustrated…in the end he never stopped trusting in God and he saved many lives.  Reflect on the road you have been on and look to see the good things.  May God’s peace be with you.

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“No, in all things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.”

Romans 8:37

(This photo was taken in July of 2016 while driving through North Dakota)

Lead Me, O Lord

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We are always looking for the the best way to go, looking for the right path, whether physically going from one place to another or mentally trying to make a decision.  We analyze and assess multiple options and eventually proceed.  We do this so often it is easy to forget to consult with our Creator and to consider what direction or path will keep leading us closer to Christ versus leading us farther away in from our relationship with Him.  God knows you better than anyone, even if you haven’t spent much time with Him.  You are His child and He loves you.  Take time to meet with Him each day and bring your choices to Him.  May God’s peace be with you.

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“Teach me your way, O Lord; lead me in a straight path because of my oppressors.”

Psalm 27:11

(This photo was taken in April of 2018 while walking the dog at a park near Plymouth, Minnesota)

The Power Of Faith

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The blessings that come from our faith in the Lord Jesus Christ are so great it is hard to fully appreciate.  We should be careful not to underestimate the gifts God has given us.  Each and every one of us has been created and blessed with special talents and our role in life is to learn about those gifts and talents and then to use them to do good things in and around our community, to help others and to spread the Good News of Jesus.  Our actions and the things we choose to do and say are a good indication of where we are in our personal faith journey.  For myself, I did not understand or spend much time thinking about such things until about 8 years ago and in the last 8 years I have experienced events of all kinds in life, pain and suffering as well as joy and contentment…most importantly I have been learning to be more open to putting my relationship with God first…I have been learning gratitude and thankfulness…I also know I still have a lot of learning left to do as I still mess things up frequently.  The best part of my journey so far…I know more about who God has made me to be and I know He is always with me no matter what…I know because He told me so in His instruction manual for life…the Bible.  May God’s love, joy and peace be with you.

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“For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline.”

2 Timothy 1:7

(This photo was taken in April of 2016 during the sunrise at a lake place in central Minnesota)