Tuesday, June 30, 2026

 I am  not trying to sell this book or study . 


I just wanted to share this story..many of us have lived  or are living in desperate times…who do we turn to?


God as our father will welcome us home , feed us and continue to love us…


Thank YOU…


Ruth Graham fled her marriage 24 hours after her wedding day. She drove home expecting her famous father, Billy Graham, to say "I told you so." He said two words instead, and they changed her life.


Most Christian women would never guess that the daughter of Billy Graham, the most famous evangelist in modern American history, has been married four times.


That her first husband was unfaithful for years before she found out.


That her rebound marriage lasted three months.


That her third marriage was to the love of her life, who told her ten years in that he didn't want to be married anymore.


That her fourth husband was a man she calls, in her own words, "a narcissistic sociopath."


If anyone had reason to feel like a Christian failure, it was her.


The daughter of America's pastor. Quietly carrying the kind of story most Christian women would be terrified to tell at a Bible study, let alone on national radio.


But she tells it.


She tells it because at some point in the middle of all of it, she made the drive that changed everything.


She had married her second husband against her parents' direct advice. Within 24 hours of the wedding, she knew she had made a catastrophic mistake. She had to flee the state. She had to go home.


She tells the story like this.


"I wondered what were they going to say to me? What was I going to say to them? Would they say we told you not to. You made your bed, now you have to lie on it. 


We're tired of fooling with you. And as I rounded the bend in my parents' driveway, my father was standing there. 


When I got out of the car, he said welcome home."


Welcome home.


That was it.


No lecture. No I told you so. No conditions. No silent disappointment radiating off him while he held his tongue.


Two words.


Welcome home.


She said it changed her life.


She said it gave her, for the first time, a picture of what God was actually like. Not the stern stick-wielding judge she had carried around in her head her whole life. The Father in the driveway. Waiting. Already loving her. 


Already glad she came back.


And here is the part of her story that I cannot stop thinking about.


For most of her adult life, before that drive, she would have told you that Jesus was her security.


That's what she said. On national radio. In her own words.

"I would have told you Jesus is my security. But that wasn't true deep down where the secrets are kept."


Read that line again.


I would have told you Jesus is my security. But it wasn't true deep down where the secrets are kept.


How many Christian women feel exactly that.


You would say the right answer. You would even mean it on Sunday morning, when the worship is good and the sermon is hitting. But deep down, where the secrets are, where nobody can see, where you can't even let yourself look most days, you know something isn't right.


You're a Christian. You've been a Christian for thirty years.


And you're still chasing security in the wrong men.


And you're still chasing approval in the wrong rooms.


And you're still chasing peace in the bottom of a wine glass or the bottom of a shopping cart or the bottom of someone else's life that you're trying to fix.


And you would never say any of that out loud.


Ruth Graham did. She said the quiet part out loud. And it's the reason her story is one of the most healing stories any Christian woman can hear.


She didn't say it from a place of being lost. She said it from a place of being found.


But here's what most Christian women never figure out, and what nobody in church seems willing to say out loud.


The reason "Jesus is my security" doesn't feel true in the secret place isn't that you don't believe it.


It's that you don't actually know him.


You know about him.


You've heard about him your whole life.


You've sung the songs and quoted the verses and taught the lessons.


But you've never actually sat with him long enough, on the page, in his own Word, to know him well enough that "Jesus is my security" stops being a Christian answer and starts being a fact you'd bet your life on.


Because here's what the Bible actually shows you, page by page, when you finally read it slowly enough.


A God who stands in the driveway.


A God who watches the prodigal coming a long way off and runs to meet him.


A God who tells Hagar, when she's run away into the wilderness alone and hopeless, that he sees her.


A God who tells David, when David is at his absolute lowest in the Psalms, that he is not done with him.


A God who tells Peter, the night after Peter denied him three times, to come have breakfast on the beach.


A God whose entire Bible from Genesis to Revelation is one long welcome home.


But you cannot know that God by reading three chapters and closing the book.


You cannot know him by Googling a verse when you need one.


You cannot know him by listening to sermons about other people's relationships with him.


You have to actually go in. Slowly. With context. Week by week. Until the woman in the secret place finally hears the same two words Ruth heard.


I know because I was that woman.


I went to church every single Sunday for my entire adult life.


I had a Bible that I genuinely tried to read.


I started reading plans in January more times than I can count.


I made it through Leviticus barely holding on, wondering what animal sacrifices have to do with my life.


I read Romans and closed the book not being able to explain a single thing I had just read.


I read the Psalms and felt comforted in the moment but couldn't tell you two days later what I had actually learned.


Year after year, the same cycle.


Start in January. Slow down by March. Quietly stop by April.


And carry that shame, that quiet guilt of being a Christian woman who still didn't really know her own Bible, all the way back to December.


When I'd tell myself again that next year would be different.


And the whole time, just like Ruth, I would have told anyone who asked that Jesus was my security.


But deep down, where the secrets were kept, I knew it wasn't true.


I was looking for security in everyone but him.


I was looking for love in places he had already promised to be.


I was looking for a welcome home in driveways that didn't have him standing in them.


The problem wasn't my motivation.


It wasn't my discipline.


It wasn't my faith.


It was that I had never actually met the God of the driveway on the page.


That's when I found something that changed everything.


A 52-week guided study that walks you through the entire Bible, one theme at a time, from Genesis to Revelation.


Before you read anything each week, it gives you a short explanation of exactly what you're about to get into.


Who wrote it.


When.


Why.


What was happening in the world at the time.


And how every page connects to the God who has been standing in the driveway waiting for the woman reading it.


Genesis: not just the story of how it all started, but the story of how God showed up for hurting, ashamed, hiding women from the very first page.


Psalms: the actual prayers of people who would have told you, on a good day, that God was their security. And the prayers they prayed on the bad days when they had to find out if it was actually true.


The Gospels: who Jesus really is. Not the Sunday school version. The Jesus who told Peter to come have breakfast. The Jesus who told the woman at the well her whole story without flinching. The Jesus who stands in the driveway every single time.


For the first time in my life, I read my Bible and I met the God Ruth Graham met in that driveway.


For the first time, "Jesus is my security" stopped being a Christian answer and started being something I actually felt deep down where the secrets are kept.


I'd open it in the morning and not want to close it.


I'd read something and think about it all day.


Verses I had read dozens of times suddenly meant something completely new, because I finally had the context to understand what they were saying.


And slowly, week by week, something shifted.


I stopped chasing security in places that couldn't give it to me.


I stopped trying to outrun my own shame.


I started to actually feel, in the secret place where it counts, that God was the Father standing in the driveway.


Ruth Graham says it like this.


"He gave me unconditional love. And that's what everybody wants to feel. Unfortunately, so many people don't have that father. That's why he is a picture of what God is like. We can come to him, run to him, in his arms, battered, bruised, broken, sinful, and he just welcomes us."


Battered. Bruised. Broken. Sinful.


That's most of us, on most days, whether we admit it or not.


And the God of the Bible is in the driveway.


But you'll never feel it deep down where the secrets are kept until you actually go meet him on the page.


This is what finally helped me close that gap.


Right now it's up to 62% off, and every order comes with a free pen pack.


Don't spend another year being a Christian woman who would say Jesus is her security but doesn't believe it where it counts.


Don't spend another year carrying secrets you're afraid to bring home.


This is what Ruth Graham figured out in a driveway. The God of the Bible has been saying it on every page the whole time.


Welcome home.

Here I am…

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_GkNY89jt6I&list=RD_GkNY89jt6I&start_radio=1


Tap below and grab yours before they sell out.


Learn more

Monday, June 29, 2026

Love…

 Love…


Was reading through these verses…usually we study them separately, but adding them together is profound…


Thinking about the fatherhood of God…our relationships with one another…the basis…what we need to exhibit….


John 15:9 “As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. 10 If you keep my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commands and remain in his love. 11 I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete. 12 My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. 13 Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. 14 You are my friends if you do what I command. 15 I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you. 16 You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit—fruit that will last—and so that whatever you ask in my name the Father will give you. 17 This is my command: Love each other.


1 John 4: 7 Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. 8 Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. 9 This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. 10 This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. 11 Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. 12 No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us.

13 This is how we know that we live in him and he in us: He has given us of his Spirit. 14 And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent his Son to be the Savior of the world. 15 If anyone acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God lives in them and they in God. 16 And so we know and rely on the love God has for us.

God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them. 17 This is how love is made complete among us so that we will have confidence on the day of judgment: In this world we are like Jesus. 18 There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love.

19 We love because he first loved us. 20 Whoever claims to love God yet hates a brother or sister is a liar. For whoever does not love their brother and sister, whom they have seen, cannot love God, whom they have not seen. 21 And he has given us this command: Anyone who loves God must also love their brother and sister.

1 John 5

Faith in the Incarnate Son of God

5 Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God, and everyone who loves the father loves his child as well. 2 This is how we know that we love the children of God: by loving God and carrying out his commands. 3 In fact, this is love for God: to keep his commands. And his commands are not burdensome, 4 for everyone born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith. 5 Who is it that overcomes the world? Only the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God.


1Corinthians 13:4 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5 It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6 Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7 It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

8 Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. 9 For we know in part and we prophesy in part, 10 but when completeness comes, what is in part disappears. 11 When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put the ways of childhood behind me. 12 For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.

13 And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.


Thank YOU…


The love of God…


https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=NafJoD8Mt94&list=RDNafJoD8Mt94&start_radio=1&pp=ygUedGhlIGxvdmUgb2YgZ29kIGlzIGdyZWF0ZXIgZmFyoAcB


https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=2LapBD802O0&list=RD2LapBD802O0&start_radio=1&pp=ygUQdGhlIGxvdmUgb2YgZ29kIKAHAQ%3D%3D

Sunday, June 28, 2026

 Road trips 1 and 2…


I was awakened early this morning thinking of my two wonderful road-trips again, how God blessed me with so many friends in various parts of life and the world…

I wish I could have seen more people on each trip, those whose lives impacted mine in so many ways…those who lives intertwined in raising kids together, or going to Bible studies together…lived through joys and sorrows together…just bumped into each other over various events…shared similar interests….those who encouraged…those whose husbands had interests…those who mentored us or we mentored….and on and on…


I have said over the years that it is hard to go back…but, this time it was amazing to go back…rehash lives and share what is going on….see growing lives, see how God is working now…


There are sorrows, joys, new family members, new jobs, new challenges…


None of us is “sitting, soaking and souring “ as one has said…we need each other to bear one another’s burdens, the encourage, the build us up in the faith, to remind us of the kindness of God, to hold on to, to pray, to share resources, to plod along the path of our lives together and so much more. God supplies various people at various seasons, some for the long haul and others for the short times He deems and I am so thankful for each…


Thank YOU….


Colossians 3:2 Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. 13 Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. 14 And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.

15 Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. 16 Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom through psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts. 17 And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.


Romans 12:15 Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn. 16 Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position. Do not be conceited.

17 Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everyone. 18 If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.


Ephesians 4:1As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. 2 Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. 3 Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. 4 There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to one hope when you were called; 5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism; 6 one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.


Friends…


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wdPE0vqh9RQ&list=RDwdPE0vqh9RQ&start_radio=1&pp=ygUPZnJpZW5kc2hpcCBzb25noAcB

Friday, June 26, 2026

 Wine grapes…


Part of the valley I live in is used for growing wine grapes…this year there is a concern because the lack of rain and snow, that the canals to water the grapes will be shut off early, about the time the grapes need water the most…it may be problematic for the grower’s livelihood if the grapes don’t reach maturity for wine making….but, even with this threat ahead, they, the pruners, are still pruning, caring for the grapes in hopes that the growing crops will reach maturity….


Isn’t that what we need to do…grow..even in times of drought or hard times ahead….not letting the “what ifs” rule…the great Gardener, God has our back…we need to remain in Him…


“In the Old Testament, grapes symbolized Israel’s fruitfulness in doing God’s work on the earth….In the Passover meal, the fruit of the vine, symbolized God’s goodness to His People”. Bible study notes…


Isaiah 5:7a The vineyard of the Lord Almighty
    is the nation of Israel,
and the people of Judah
    are the vines he delighted in.


John 15:1 I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. 2 He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful. 3 You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. 4 Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.

5 “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. 6 If you do not remain in me, you are like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. 7 If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. 8 This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.


Thank YOU…


You are the vine…

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=301PlhiRNx8&list=RD301PlhiRNx8&start_radio=1&pp=ygUpeW91IGFyZSB0aGUgdmluZSB3ZSBhcmUgdGhlIGJyYW5jaGVzIHNvbmegBwE%3D

Thursday, June 25, 2026

 Road trip 2…


I haven’t written and need to catch up….


I am on road trip 2…back to the state where my husband and I spent most of our married life, Nevada….all of our children were born here…my husband’s vocation shined here as a geologist in the gold stare…


We have long time friends here from church, the community, school, and his work, my work….we covered a lot of ground, exploring the mountains and valleys for the elusive mineral treasures.


It is fun to see how the landscape has changed with men literally moving mountains 390 tons in one truckload at a time at various mines…


But, the treasure for me personally is the people we met and visited with…friends who have gone on with life as I have, met various challenges, joys and sorrows…watching families grow up, change…


My husband’s best friend took time to regale one of my grandsons with adventures and tales of spending  time with my husband over the years working in geology, hunting , friendship….that was a precious  time as my grandson was born after my husband’s passing and never knew him…what a gift…


We took time to visit our favorite mountains, the Rubys, hiking and picnicking with friends….catching up on life…what a gift …


Then on the “biggest little city”, Reno, for an event at the University of Nevada…I haven’t been back there for years. ..new buildings…, etc….good food, good speakers…fellowship…my husband and I both graduated from this college years ago, lived there for a short while after graduation…….


When we going to college, we could buy a prime rib dinner for $2.99 and watch amazing musicals. We didn’t get into gambling…


When my husband  was undergoing cancer treatment, we spent months there as well going back and forth for daily radiation treatments….wonderful church services…


Some would say, it s hard going back to old “stomping grounds “…and it is for some things, but this time it was good….


We endured some hard stuff  in the past  at these places, but the good over powered those….we learned a lot more about God and His  faithfulness, His love, His giving nature, His comfort and so much more….


Thank YOU, 


My Help…

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tXJJ3d1pG4U&list=RDtXJJ3d1pG4U&start_radio=1





Wednesday, June 17, 2026

 


Full extent…


 John 13:1 Now before the Passover Feast, Jesus knew that His hour had come [and it was time] for Him to leave this world and return to the Father. Having [greatly] loved His own who were in the world, He loved them [and continuously loves them with His perfect love] to the end (eternally).AMP


13:1It was just before the Passover Festival. Jesus knew that the hour had come for him to leave this world and go to the Father. Having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end.( he now showed them the full extent of his love, loving them to the end)….NIV..


Reading this one verse, it brought to mind others in the Word who lives were recorded to the end, Jacob blessed his sons…

David advised Solomon,

1Kings2:1 I am about to go the way of all the earth,” he said. “So be strong, act like a man, 3 and observe what the Lord your God requires: Walk in obedience to him, and keep his decrees and commands, his laws and regulations, as written in the Law of Moses. Do this so that you may prosper in all you do and wherever you go 4 and that the Lord may keep his promise to me: ‘If your descendants watch how they live, and if they walk faithfully before me with all their heart and soul, you will never fail to have a successor on the throne of Israel.’


Jesus washed his disciples feet…serve others…God coming as a man, washing feet like a lowly servant….loving them…to the full extent…


Thank YOU…


The servant song…


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PMCaPGozu90




Tuesday, June 16, 2026

 Romans 8:14 For those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God. 15 The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship. And by him we cry, “Abba, Father.” 16 The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children. 17 Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory.

Present Suffering and Future Glory

18 I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us. 19 For the creation waits in eager expectation for the children of God to be revealed. 20 For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope 21 that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the freedom and glory of the children of God.

22 We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. 23 Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption to sonship, the redemption of our bodies. 24 For in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what they already have? 25 But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently.

26 In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans. 27 And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for God’s people in accordance with the will of God.

28 And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. 29 For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters. 30 And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified.

More Than Conquerors

31 What, then, shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? 32 He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things? 33 Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. 34 Who then is the one who condemns? No one. Christ Jesus who died—more than that, who was raised to life—is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us. 35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? 36 As it is written:

“For your sake we face death all day long;
    we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.”

37 No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. 38 For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, 39 neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Sunday, June 14, 2026

 “Junior Geologist”…


One of my grandsons is signed up for a junior geologist group, which meets once a month…there was so much interest in the group that they opened it up to ages 10 to 110 instead of just youth…


There was one of the meetings yesterday at the Murphy museum in Murphy, Idaho.(one of the best historical museums in the area, well worth the drive, several buildings filled with history, well displayed, and a nice park next door).


 We live in a world filled with minerals and gems…I live in the Gem State of Idaho, “there are 280 mineral species known to occur in Idaho, 72 varieties of precious stones, and nearly every county in the state bears an abundance of materials…”Oakrock.net

We use minerals and gems everyday of our lives…our bodies depend on them to survive…whenever I go in for blood tests, they check my iron, calcium, potassium, magnesium levels. Our very structure is made of Calcium …

We use them in our everyday life, toothpaste, paints, computers, chair foam, windows, floors, walls, cooking utensils, driveways, …even our  writing paper can have “rocks” in it…to name a few…


“There are several thousand minerals in nature (with estimates ranging from 2,000-7000), but fewer than a hundred are considered gem minerals. Of these, only about a dozen or so are actually valuable enough to,be important gemstones on the world market”. Encyclopedia.com


When I think of the creativeness of God, to create stones for value, color, beauty, etc…for building, to use in our bodies, to keep the soils right for growing… for so very much, it is amazing…just the amount of them, it boggles the mind and that is just one piece of his creation…


Thank YOU…


Genesis1:10 God called the dry ground “land,” and the gathered waters he called “seas.” And God saw that it was good.


Job 38-39


Job 28 :1There is a mine for silver
    and a place where gold is refined.
2 Iron is taken from the earth,
    and copper is smelted from ore.
3 Mortals put an end to the darkness;
    they search out the farthest recesses
    for ore in the blackest darkness.
4 Far from human dwellings they cut a shaft,
    in places untouched by human feet;
    far from other people they dangle and sway.
5 The earth, from which food comes,
    is transformed below as by fire;
6 lapis lazuli comes from its rocks,
    and its dust contains nuggets of gold.
7 No bird of prey knows that hidden path,
    no falcon’s eye has seen it.
8 Proud beasts do not set foot on it,
    and no lion prowls there.
9 People assault the flinty rock with their hands
    and lay bare the roots of the mountains.
10 They tunnel through the rock;
    their eyes see all its treasures.
11 They search the sources of the rivers
    and bring hidden things to light.


https://christiananswers.net/dictionary/mine.html



Rock of ages…


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PScfs1T6H28



Saturday, June 13, 2026

Martha…

 



Martha….


Definition of her name…

1.
a woman who keeps herself very busy with domestic affairs.


I was reading a book recently about a woman named Martha. She hated her name and upon leaving home, gave herself a nickname…

She was always doing things for people and wanted to have more “freedom” and thought that having a new name would free her up to other things and not be soooo responsible…

After several months went by, she felt so unhappy…she wasn’t doing the things she was meant to do…God had gifted her with service and she found joy in that gift, changed her name back Martha…


I am not saying we are all named for our gifting, but fulfilling our  gift that He has given us does brings us joy…being obedient brings us joy….we may not like it all the time,but…


John 12:2 Here a dinner was given in Jesus’ honor. Martha served, while Lazarus was among those reclining at the table with him.


Luke 10: 38 As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, he came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to him. 39 She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet listening to what he said. 40 But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. She came to him and asked, “Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!”

41 “Martha, Martha,” the Lord answered, “you are worried and upset about many things, 42 but few things are needed—or indeed only one. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.”


We know that believed in Jesus…she showed it in a different way than her sister Mary just by her actions…


John 11:17 On his arrival, Jesus found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb for four days. 18 Now Bethany was less than two miles from Jerusalem, 19 and many Jews had come to Martha and Mary to comfort them in the loss of their brother. 20 When Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went out to meet him, but Mary stayed at home.

21 “Lord,” Martha said to Jesus, “if you had been here, my brother would not have died. 22 But I know that even now God will give you whatever you ask.”

23 Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise again.”

24 Martha answered, “I know he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day.”

25 Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; 26 and whoever lives by believing in me will never die. Do you believe this?”

27 “Yes, Lord,” she replied, “I believe that you are the Messiah, the Son of God, who is to come into the world.”


Thank YOU…

God is always working things out…

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tO8jgLbKvBM

Thursday, June 11, 2026

Nard…

 Nard… 


I never really knew what nard was, except as described in the Word….expensive, fragrant, used infrequently…I have always imagined that Jesus still smelled of nard at his death and burial…that he carried that scent through all the events from this time forward…


Do we carry the “scent” of Jesus?


John 12: 12 Six days before the Passover, Jesus came to Bethany, where Lazarus lived, whom Jesus had raised from the dead. 2 Here a dinner was given in Jesus’ honor. Martha served, while Lazarus was among those reclining at the table with him. 


3 Then Mary took about a pint of pure nard, an expensive perfume; she poured it on Jesus’ feet and wiped his feet with her hair. And the house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume.


4 But one of his disciples, Judas Iscariot, who was later to betray him, objected, 5 “Why wasn’t this perfume sold and the money given to the poor? It was worth a year’s wages.” 6 He did not say this because he cared about the poor but because he was a thief; as keeper of the money bag, he used to help himself to what was put into it.

7 “Leave her alone,” Jesus replied. “It was intended that she should save this perfume for the day of my burial. 8 You will always have the poor among you, but you will not always have me.”


The following references were interesting, so included them…make your own conclusions…


What is nard?

https://bibledictionarytoday.com/words/nard/


*****

Practical Ministry Lessons

1. Costly Obedience: Genuine discipleship is measured not by minimal compliance but by lavish surrender. 
2. Fragrance of Christ: Saints are called to spread “the aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing” (2 Corinthians 2:15). The believer’s life, like spikenard, must be broken to release its scent. 
3. Undivided Affection: Just as nard was kept for a single, climactic use, our primary devotion belongs to the Lord; lesser loyalties find their place only after Him (Matthew 6:33).

https://biblehub.com/hebrew/5373.htm

*****


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spikenard


AI summary…

Nard, also known as spikenard, is primarily used as an essential oil and not typically prepared as a food recipe. However, it can be incorporated into various wellness practices and DIY recipes. Here are some ideas for using spikenard essential oil:

1. Relaxing Bath Soak

Ingredients:

1 cup Epsom salt

10 drops spikenard essential oil

Instructions:

Mix the Epsom salt with the essential oil.

Add to warm bath water and soak for relaxation.

2. Calming Diffuser Blend

Ingredients:

5 drops spikenard essential oil

5 drops lavender essential oil

Instructions:

Add the oils to a diffuser with water and enjoy the calming aroma.

3. DIY Massage Oil

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons carrier oil (like coconut or jojoba)

5 drops spikenard essential oil

Instructions:

Mix the oils together and use for a soothing massage.

Spikenard is known for its calming properties and can be a wonderful addition to self-care routines


https://www.amazon.com/s?k=spikenard+essential+oil&crid=3G5168N6FQWSN&sprefix=Spikenard%2Caps%2C1446&ref=nb_sb_ss_saint-nlq-prefix_ci_hl-bn-left_1_9


Thank YOU….


At the feet of Jesus…

https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=at+the+feet+of+jesus+steven+curtis+chapman






Wednesday, June 10, 2026

 Trust me?????



I had my day’s list all made out, I thought, ready to get into the activities…


Then two messages changed the whole thing…


Never had a day like that? Ha!


“Well, it is a new day, I have a surprise for you, do you trust me”

“Yes, but sometimes I get scared”…

“Do you really trust me?”

“Where are we going? What are we going to do ?”

“Do you really trust me”?

“Where are we headed?”

“Do you trust me?”


I don’t think I am the only one that asks those questions….if I am the only on, then I have a personal Bible verse….


Proverbs3:5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart
    and lean not on your own understanding;
6 in all your ways submit to him,
    and he will make your paths straight.


But, there are many trust verses….so I don’t think I am the only one that has “trust” issues!…


Psalm 13: 5 But I trust in your unfailing love;
    my heart rejoices in your salvation.
6 I will sing the Lord’s praise,
    for he has been good to me.


Psalm 25: 1 In you, Lord my God,
    I put my trust.


Psalm 31: 14 But I trust in you, Lord;

I say , “You are my God..


Psalm 84:12 Lord Almighty,
    blessed is the one who trusts in you.


Thank YOU….



I trust in You…


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U3YGczmlbV8




    

Tuesday, June 9, 2026

Beginning and end…

 Beginning and end…


The Word speaks of various seeking Jesus…at first to worship him as the Messiah…the shepherds, the magi, others…

Others were seeking Him not to worship but for death, jealousy…


At the end others still sought him for the exactly the same reasons…


Mothers wept…for their sons…


But, the job was done, and Jesus was victorious both at the beginning of his earthly life…and the end…


Thank YOU l…



Matthew 2:7 Then Herod called the Magi secretly and found out from them the exact time the star had appeared. 8 He sent them to Bethlehem and said, “Go and search carefully for the child. As soon as you find him, report to me, so that I too may go and worship him.”

9 After they had heard the king, they went on their way, and the star they had seen when it rose went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was. 10 When they saw the star, they were overjoyed. 11 On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh. 12 And having been warned in a dream not to go back to Herod, they returned to their country by another route.


Matthew 2: 16 When Herod realized that he had been outwitted by the Magi, he was furious, and he gave orders to kill all the boys in Bethlehem and its vicinity who were two years old and under, in accordance with the time he had learned from the Magi. 17 Then what was said through the prophet Jeremiah was fulfilled:

18 “A voice is heard in Ramah,
    weeping and great mourning,
Rachel weeping for her children
    and refusing to be comforted,
    because they are no more.”


John 11: 55 When it was almost time for the Jewish Passover, many went up from the country to Jerusalem for their ceremonial cleansing before the Passover. 56 They kept looking for Jesus, and as they stood in the temple courts they asked one another, “What do you think? Isn’t he coming to the festival at all?” 57 But the chief priests and the Pharisees had given orders that anyone who found out where Jesus was should report it so that they might arrest him.


John 19: 28 Later, knowing that everything had now been finished, and so that Scripture would be fulfilled, Jesus said, “I am thirsty.” 29 A jar of wine vinegar was there, so they soaked a sponge in it, put the sponge on a stalk of the hyssop plant, and lifted it to Jesus’ lips. 30 When he had received the drink, Jesus said, “It is finished.” With that, he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.


Where I find God…


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lzl8-_4qzyk

Monday, June 8, 2026

A quiet place,,,

 


A quiet place….



A nearby park, a couch ,  camping, a bed, the ocean, a hilltop….etc, a place we seek as our quiet place…


Jesus chose the village of Ephraim before the turmoil …he knew what was ahead, not years of peace but Passover, celebrations of the getaway from slavery to freedom to the promised land of milk and honey…


How do we prepare for the times ahead?…..do we seek quiet for contemplation or a madhouse of activity…


Jesus knew a battle was coming..he would fight over our souls, the sins  that entrap…death…coming out victorious…fulfilling a promise given ages and ages ago…because he loved us…


Thank YOU …..


John 11:54 Therefore Jesus no longer moved about publicly among the people of Judea. Instead he withdrew to a region near the wilderness, to a village called Ephraim, where he stayed with his disciples


“It represents a place of refuge and preparation, highlighting the humanity of Jesus as He sought solitude and time with His disciples before facing the culmination of His earthly mission.”


“By withdrawing to Ephraim, Jesus ensured that His ultimate sacrifice would occur according to God's sovereign plan, during the Passover in Jerusalem.”

“In summary, Ephraim serves as a testament to Jesus' strategic movements during His ministry, reflecting His awareness of the political and religious climate of His time. It highlights the tension between Jesus and the Jewish authorities and underscores the divine orchestration of events leading to the fulfillment of His redemptive work.”


https://biblehub.com/topical/naves/e/ephraim--a_city_in_the_territory_of_ephraim--jesus_escapes_to,_from_the_persecution_of_caiaphas.htm


“The city of Ephraim, while not as frequently mentioned as other biblical locations, holds theological significance in the narrative of Jesus' ministry. It represents a place of refuge and preparation, highlighting the humanity of Jesus as He sought solitude and time with His disciples before facing the culmination of His earthly mission. The retreat to Ephraim underscores the tension between Jesus' growing popularity and the increasing opposition from religious authorities.


Furthermore, Ephraim's association with the tribe of Ephraim connects it to the broader narrative of Israel's history and God's covenant promises. The tribe of Ephraim, as part of the northern kingdom of Israel, played a significant role in the unfolding account of God's people, often symbolizing both blessing and waywardness.


In summary, the city of Ephraim serves as a geographical and theological waypoint in the biblical narrative, offering insights into the life and ministry of Jesus and the historical context of the tribe of Ephraim. Its mention in Scripture invites reflection on themes of refuge, preparation, and the fulfillment of God's redemptive plan.”


https://biblehub.com/topical/naves/e/ephraim--a_city_in_the_territory_of_ephraim.htm#google_vignette



https://christholdfast.org/places-in-the-bible/ephraim-city-in-the-bible/


Quiet place…


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KicY80RKBtQ

Saturday, June 6, 2026

Intrigue….

 Intrigue….


My children read books that had several story lines….”if this happened, would you choose a,b, c for the next chapter…” each choice would lead to another group of choices and then this or that would lead to another conclusion…


I was thinking about those books this morning, reading in John…the Bible is a book of intrigue…


John 11: 45 Therefore many of the Jews who had come to visit Mary, and had seen what Jesus did, believed in him. 46 But some of them went to the Pharisees and told them what Jesus had done. 47 Then the chief priests and the Pharisees called a meeting of the Sanhedrin.

“What are we accomplishing?” they asked. “Here is this man performing many signs. 48 If we let him go on like this, everyone will believe in him, and then the Romans will come and take away both our temple and our nation.”

49 Then one of them, named Caiaphas, who was high priest that year, spoke up, “You know nothing at all! 50 You do not realize that it is better for you that one man die for the people than that the whole nation perish.”

51 He did not say this on his own, but as high priest that year he prophesied that Jesus would die for the Jewish nation, 52 and not only for that nation but also for the scattered children of God, to bring them together and make them one. 53 So from that day on they plotted to take his life.


We read the Word from a distance, seeing how various historical things happened….we see some of the behind the scenes…like the plotting, the prophecies being fulfilled,  what people talked about, etc…


Why Moses was saved in the basket, the working of the angels, the puzzle pieces/the chess movements of nations …and so on.


God is not playing a game however…He has a purpose for everything He does…from the Creation to the end times, the Revelations…Eternity…


Will we choose to believe or be the “tattletales” who caused such rifts  and lies for their own good…?


It is just interesting how He moves…and He is still working in our lives and times to come..how do we fit into the final plan…


Thank YOU, that You know the eternal plans…


These are the days of Elijah…


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ca9LnzJnpjQ&list=RDca9LnzJnpjQ&start_radio=1




Friday, June 5, 2026

 And the shortest Bible verse is…..?



John   11:35…Jesus wept…


Some say He wept because of the peoples’ unbelief, while others say He wept because of his friends were sorrowing…


Luke 19: 41 As he approached Jerusalem and saw the city, he wept over it 42 and said, “If you, even you, had only known on this day what would bring you peace—but now it is hidden from your eyes.


There are several places in the old and New Testaments that speak of weeping…


Joseph weeping at the reuniting with his father and brothers, a joyous weeping…


The women at the tomb, seeing Jesus, a joyous weeping…Jesus weeping over Jerusalem, a sad weeping…


We hear the words…”why are you crying?”…and someone will reply.   “Oh, it is happy tears”…


Or later the same question…with a different answer, “oh they are so sad “….


With “Jesus wept”…he could have been overcome with sorrow for his friends…bothered that the sister lost their brother, or he had lost his dear friend…


But, only he knew that he was able to raise Lazarus from the dead even after four days…


it shows me that Jesus will weep with us in our sorrow…he care, he comforts…


Thank YOU…


Lazarus, come forth…


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QKb5U8LHRZI






Thursday, June 4, 2026

Reading…

 Reading….


The other day I got a quick message from one of my grandchildren…

“ just finished reading all the way through the Bible”…


What a priceless privilege  to know that…I know others have done it and hopefully more will do it…but, I pray that a hunger for the Word  will touch their souls all their lives…


Thank YOU….


Psalm 19:9b-11 The decrees of the Lord are firm,
    and all of them are righteous.

10 They are more precious than gold,
    than much pure gold;
they are sweeter than honey,
    than honey from the honeycomb.
11 By them your servant is warned;
    in keeping them there is great reward.


2 Timothy 3:16 All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, 17 so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.


Word of God Speak….


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9PbUNhbeBZM

Wednesday, June 3, 2026

For good…

 


For good…


Gensis50: 20 You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives.


 John 11:4 When he heard this, Jesus said, “This sickness will not end in death. No, it is for God’s glory so that God’s Son may be glorified through it.


Romans 8:28 And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.


I have to admit that there are events in our lives that don’t feel so good and I don’t feel or see how they can be for my good…sickness, death, etc, etc, etc….they are not good in my scheme of things…but, God has such a higher purpose and I have to go with it…it just is for good….and this side of heaven, I may never know what the purpose was for…except for faith building…sometimes we can see the answers , but it seems like most of the time, we don’t…


Several years ago, one of our friends was fired  from his ministry…it was heart breaking, he was excellent at the job, but due to personality conflict and other issues, his job was terminated for him…heartbreak, confusion, etc reigned…as months went by with prayer and expectation….a better ministry evolved and he enjoyed a dream come true until he retired…that conflict turned into a “for good” a gift from God, an opportunity that would only could be reached by the route that God orchestrated…


That event was such a picture personally, that when I witness a hard time, I ask now, what good is coming out of this event…what is God doing “for good”?….i may never know, but there is the expectation of God’s glory being shown!….


Thank YOU….


To God be the glory…


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0IRrqCCkkFo




Tuesday, June 2, 2026

Go…

 Go….


Matt 28:16 Then the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go. 17 When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted. 18 Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”


Last night I had the honor of listening to someone’s testimony of how they came to Jesus, to following Him…oh 8 have heard so many stories of salvation, but it is always a reminder of how God works in so many ways in the lives of people…


Men leaving their fishing nets to follow…

A light blinding a man to call him to tell the world ….

To name a couple…

But, I still appreciate hearing a personal story…

The one I heard last night was of a college student from Mongolia, traveling to the Ukraine to college…his favorite professor was from Kentucky who invited his students over for dinner to tell them why he was in the Ukraine, and laid out the gospel of Jesus, then discipling those who believed…continuing to share Christ…

Isn’t that a roundabout way? This college student, now a husband and father, is studying airplane mechanics to help others hear the gospel in other places in the world…


Other stories…

A student joined the military to get away from the gospel, only to be surrounded by Christians…

A student who went away to college to begin a new life away from  the church…

A young g man going to a tent evangelism to hear the gospel…

A young girl jailed only to be confronted with a jail Bible teacher…

An Itinerant Bible teacher going from one small town to another spreading the Word to logging camps, mining camps…

Another young woman, abandoned at a orphanage, desiring to belong to someone, found Jesus at a small Sunday School …

An angry middle schooler went to a Good News club because his sister invited him…

A child, realizing his/her need to be saved…

Each person has a story of their salvation journey…each just as important as the other…each just as eternity bound ….



God seeks through His Word…there is no denying that He loves us, desiring that none should perish, that all come to Him wanting his gift of salvation…through faith in Jesus Christ…


Thank YOU…


I have decided…


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S8jvfdDtoqY




Monday, June 1, 2026

 


Good Shepherd….


“Jesus appropriated the prophetic images of the Messiah pictured in the Old Testament. This is a claim to divinity, focusing on Jesus’ love and guidance,”. Bible Study notes…


One of my grandfathers had sheep when I was growing up…we watched the babies when we could, he sheared the adult ones 

and we would get into the deep wool bags and jump up and down on the fleeces to get them them compact into the bags…(we definitely needed baths after that job)…but our skin was soft for days afterwards…


What I loved was how the mothers “talked “ to the lambs, it was different than the bleating they did to the other adults…it was a crooning sound as they guided the lambs around….a low loving sound…


When I think of the comparison of Jesus as our shepherd, I think of the loving sound as well, guiding  us through our lives…teaching, explaining, etc, truth to our hearts, souls and minds…gathering us in His arms …


Thank YOU…


John 10:1 “Very truly I tell you Pharisees, anyone who does not enter the sheep pen by the gate, but climbs in by some other way, is a thief and a robber. 2 The one who enters by the gate is the shepherd of the sheep. 3 The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep listen to his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. 4 When he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice. 5 But they will never follow a stranger; in fact, they will run away from him because they do not recognize a stranger’s voice.” 6 Jesus used this figure of speech, but the Pharisees did not understand what he was telling them.

7 Therefore Jesus said again, “Very truly I tell you, I am the gate for the sheep. 8 All who have come before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep have not listened to them. 9 I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved. They will come in and go out, and find pasture. 10 The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.

11 “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. 12 The hired hand is not the shepherd and does not own the sheep. So when he sees the wolf coming, he abandons the sheep and runs away. Then the wolf attacks the flock and scatters it. 13 The man runs away because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep.

14 “I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me— 15 just as the Father knows me and I know the Father—and I lay down my life for the sheep. 16 I have other sheep that are not of this sheep pen. I must bring them also. They too will listen to my voice, and there shall be one flock and one shepherd. 17 The reason my Father loves me is that I lay down my life—only to take it up again. 18 No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again. This command I received from my Father.”


Psalm 23: 1 The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing.
2     He makes me lie down in green pastures,
he leads me beside quiet waters,
3     he refreshes my soul.
He guides me along the right paths
    for his name’s sake.
4 Even though I walk
    through the darkest valley,
I will fear no evil,
    for you are with me;
your rod and your staff,
    they comfort me.

5 You prepare a table before me
    in the presence of my enemies.
You anoint my head with oil;
    my cup overflows.
6 Surely your goodness and love will follow me
    all the days of my life,
and I will dwell in the house of the Lord
    forever.


Isaiah 40: 11 He tends his flock like a shepherd:
    He gathers the lambs in his arms
and carries them close to his heart;
    he gently leads those that have young.


Eze34:11 “‘For this is what the Sovereign Lord says: I myself will search for my sheep and look after them. 12 As a shepherd looks after his scattered flock when he is with them, so will I look after my sheep. I will rescue them from all the places where they were scattered on a day of clouds and darkness. 13 I will bring them out from the nations and gather them from the countries, and I will bring them into their own land. I will pasture them on the mountains of Israel, in the ravines and in all the settlements in the land. 14 I will tend them in a good pasture, and the mountain heights of Israel will be their grazing land. There they will lie down in good grazing land, and there they will feed in a rich pasture on the mountains of Israel. 15 I myself will tend my sheep and have them lie down, declares the Sovereign Lord. 16 I will search for the lost and bring back the strays. I will bind up the injured and strengthen the weak, but the sleek and the strong I will destroy. I will shepherd the flock with justice.



Jesus our wonderful shepherd…


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OkiOp5hf2i8