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Thank You God!

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So I have aged another year and as I reflect I think about my physical age and my faith journey…I am still a child in spiritual growth but so grateful for the opportunity to grow by reading God’s Word, praying and fellowship and I am thankful for the Holy Spirit’s presence!

On this day I thank you and praise you God for all you have blessed me with in life and I pray for my interactions with others that they can see you presence in my life and my actions.

“Finally, all of you, live in harmony with one another; be sympathetic, love as brothers, be compassionate and humble.  Do not repay evil with evil or insult with insult, but with blessing, because to this you were called so that you may inherit a blessing.”

1 Peter 3:8-9

(This photo was taken in October of 2014 at Kaanapali beach on Maui)

Rest In Him

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The words of Jesus in the Gospel according to Matthew…

“Come to me, all of you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.  Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.”

Matthew 11:28-29

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

Listen And Learn

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Solomon the son of David became king of Israel and when God came to him and told him to ask whatever he wishes and it will be given to you…Solomon made a choice very few people would…

“Give me wisdom and knowledge, that I may lead this people, for who is able to govern this great people of yours?”

2 Chronicles 1:10

God blessed him with significant wisdom and knowledge, more than any other person had ever been given.  The Book of Proverbs is a collection of many nuggets of wisdom spoken by Solomon and therefore it has many great instructions for life…and again most of these items are simple statements of truth that are not always easy to live out.

If you have had difficulty wondering where to start in looking at or reading the Bible, try starting in Proverbs it has so many great lessons to remember for everyday life.

“Listen to advice and accept instruction, and in the end you will be wise.”

Proverbs 19:20

(This photo was taken in August of 2016 near Arches National Park in Utah)

You Are Loved

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It is a new day and the beginning of a New Year and no matter where you are, no matter what stage of life you are in and no matter what your past is filled with you need to know that the same truth that existed thousands of years ago is still as true today as it ever was…God loves you!

He made the greatest sacrifice that can be made…

“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”

John 3:16

Not only did God send Jesus to earth to save us, which alone is amazing to think about…Jesus was already in the kingdom of heaven, he was already in the place of eternal life where there is joy and peace, but he sacrificed all of that to come down to save you. Then Jesus did something unfathomable…

“And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death – even death on a cross!”

Philippians 2:8

Although scared himself, as he prayed in the garden of Gethsemane to God the Father to find another way to help humankind, Jesus followed through with God’s plan because he loves you that much.

“But God demonstrates his own love for us in this:  While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”

Romans 5:8

So please know that no matter what your circumstances are today, you are loved by God the Father, Jesus his Son and by the Holy Spirit.

May you live and experience all the fruits of the Spirit in 2017 Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness, Faithfulness, Gentleness and Self-Control.

Happy New Year!

(This is one of my favorite photos from 2016 it was taken in August in Mount Rainier National Park.  Did you notice the cross the trees form on the right hand side?)

A New Day, Live A New Way

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“So from now on we regard no one from a worldly point of view.  Though we once regarded Christ in this way, we do so no longer.  Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!”

2 Corinthians 5:16-17

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

Finding The Way

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“If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us.  If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.”

1 John 1:8-9

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

Today With God

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“Therefore God again set a certain day, calling it Today, when a long time later he spoke through David, as was said before:  ‘Today, if you hear his voice do not harden your hearts’.”

Hebrews 4:7

(This photo was taken in December of 2013 while walking in the woods in northwestern Wisconsin)

Prepare The Way

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One of my favorite worship songs at this time of the year is “Prepare the Way of the Lord”, it speaks to preparing our hearts and minds and our very lives for the birth of our Savior, Jesus…Here are the words of John the Baptist as written in the Gospel of John…

“John replied in the words of Isaiah the prophet, ‘I am the voice of one calling in the desert, Make straight the way for the Lord’.”

John 1:23

(This photo was  taken in August of 2016 near Arches National Park in Utah)

All Things Begin With The Word

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“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.  He was with God in the beginning.  Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made.  In him was life, and that life was the light of men.  The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it.”

John 1:1-5

(This photo was taken in June of 2016 at a lake near Minneapolis, Minnesota)