relationship with god

Comfort

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As we travel on the journey of life there are times when trouble will come and we will suffer, during these times we also will be comforted by God…as we learn from these experiences we are better prepared to share the comfort we receive with others.  We are comforted so in turn we can comfort others…we are blessed so that we can be a blessing.

“Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God.”

2 Corinthians 1:3-4

(This photo was taken in the summer of 2012 in northwestern Wisconsin)

Wait Patiently

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“Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him; do not fret when men succeed in their ways, when they carry out their wicked schemes.  Refrain from anger and turn from wrath; do not fret – it leads only to evil.”

Psalm 37:7-8

(This photo was taken in the summer of 2014 on a lake in central Minnesota)

Believe In His Love

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“For this reason I kneel before the Father, from whom his whole family in heaven and on earth derives its name.  I pray that our 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, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge – that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.”

Ephesians 3:14-19

(This photo was taken in the summer of 2015 while traveling through South Dakota)

Perseverance

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So often in life we begin something with the best intentions…as time goes by we try to push ahead on our own…”I can do this”…”I know what I am doing”…it is based on ‘I’ and any of us can only do so much alone.  We have to learn that our obsessive focus on ‘I’ eventually leads to sadness, helplessness and loneliness.

One of the hardest things I have ever done is admit that my life is not about ‘me’, ‘myself’ and ‘I’…we are not controlling every single aspect of our daily life.  The loss of a young friend to suicide sealed it for me.  That was the last event in a series of lessons that made it very clear to me there is so much more in life than what ‘I’ was focusing my attention on.  The world and Satan are not encouraging us to surrender to Jesus and that makes it even harder to see and understand but when we commit to spending time with God and we surrender our belief that we our in charge…we begin to understand a whole new level and perspective of love, joy, peace, mercy and grace.  This is not an easy commitment and like anything worth doing it takes perseverance but once you start God provides strength and best of all he gives all of us courage to over come our greatest fears…

“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 the summer of 2013 in Badlands National Park in South Dakota)

Humility

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He came, He lived and He died but three days later He rose…

“Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus:  Who being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness.  And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death- even death on a cross!”

Philippians 2:5-8

(This is a photo of a wedding gift we received over 20 years ago)

Repentance

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It takes courage to examine our lives and admit our wrongs.  It takes a close and personal relationship with God to feel comfortable opening up past guilt, shame and sadness.  Start today…invite or re-invite Jesus into your heart during this season of Lent, confess those things that hurt and ask for His healing grace and mercy.  Leave worry behind…He loves you and is waiting to hear from you.

“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 the fall of 2014 on the Northern coast of Maui)

We Are Dust

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This day remember where we came from and remember where we will return to…

“The Lord is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love.  He will not always accuse, nor will he harbor his anger forever; he does not treat us as our sins deserve or repay us according to our iniquities.  

For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his love for those who fear him;  as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us.  

As a father has compassion on his children, so the Lord has compassion on those who fear him; for he knows how we were formed, he remembers that we are dust.”

Psalm 103:8-14

(This photo was taken in the fall of 2014 at a park in central Minnesota)

Finding The Way

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We tend to get off course pretty easily in our everyday life…there is so much demanding our attention.  Spending time daily in the Word with our Lord is the best way to get instructions about life and our purpose.

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.”

Proverbs 3:5-6

(This photo was taken in June of 2013 while traveling through Nebraska)

Change

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Change is hard, change takes courage…we all struggle with things that need to change or things we know we should change.  Change brings fear of the unknown and is very difficult to face alone.

Change can also bring hope, change provides new opportunities for growth and most importantly change is the only way for all of us to get from weary, tired, broken and down trodden in this fallen world to a born anew, refreshed, renewed and full of the Holy Spirit child of God.

I hope and pray for you to find courage, strength and peace regarding the changes you are facing in your life.

“For I know the plans I have for you”, declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”

Jeremiah 29:11

(This photo was taken in the summer of 2015 on a lake in central Minnesota)