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These birds look like they’re having fun at a pool party. I wonder if summertime is their favorite time of the year? It’s mine. I like the warmer weather and lighter-longer days. I never learned to swim, but I sure like gathering around the pool for food and fun. Fall has a lot to behold with all the beautiful colors, and Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays. Winter is not my most-liked season. Although as a teacher, I remember those glorious, snowy mornings I woke up to the announcement—“SCHOOL IS CLOSED TODAY.” And then comes Spring…flowers, alive, green, Spring! God is certainly not boring. The beauty and uniqueness of each season testifies to the love and creativity of God. And to think these seasons are only a faint glimpse of what God has in store for us.

“No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him.” 1 Cor. 2:9

“The LORD your God is with you, he is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, he will quiet you with his love, he will rejoice over you with singing.” Zep.3:17

I can’t get over that God sings! And to think He sings over me and you is breathtaking. I’m convinced that one day all those who have placed their faith in Jesus, the One True God, will hear Him sing. Wow! We have lots to look forward to.

When I was a young girl I lived in the country on a farm in Indiana. I have good memories about those days, as well as some bad memories. I remember how free I felt laying in the grass and looking up at the clouds. With my imagination and the formation of the clouds, I saw the shapes of all kinds of animals in the sky. But a not so good memory was that dark, stormy afternoon the tornado came through. I was so afraid. Lightning struck our chimney and the doors of the barn blew off. Some people lost a lot more from that tornado. There’s no easy answer to why things happen the way they do in this broken world. But one thing for sure… in tragedy and suffering, God’s love for you doesn’t run out. His love is constant and He will not leave you. He will hold your hand and walk step by step with you through the tough times. God still has it. We can trust Him even if we don’t understand.

“As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.” Isaiah 55:9

Have you ever felt like you’re in a battle? I mean, where you find yourself struggling, and your battle cry might sound something like… “The emotional pain is too deep and my strength is fading.” Or, “I’m afraid and this is taking too long.” Or, “Why is this happening?” None of us are exempt from suffering. Jesus understands the suffering that ignites the battle cry. He cares about our emotional, mental, and physical well-being. A battle cry that ends with a call for Jesus to help is never ignored. He hears your battle cry. Jesus is our Warrior King that enables us to walk by faith and rise up!

Who is this King of glory? The LORD strong and mighty, the LORD mighty in battle. Psalm 24:8

God saw all that he had made, and it was very good. Gen. 1:31

I believe God has a sense of humor. When I look at how God created animals I have to laugh. I’m convinced He deliberately made them for our delight. And our delight in God’s creation honors Him. I bet Jesus laughed with His disciples. I feel sure His sense of humor was evident while eating with friends and at weddings too. I expect you could hear some laughing when Jesus was with the children; and those fishing moments are bound to have brought some laughter.

I don’t like those rides in amusement parks that turns you upside down or spins you around and around. The twisting and turning makes me dizzy and sick on my stomach. That’s no fun! Sometimes life unexpectedly takes us twisting and turning. That’s no fun either! My husband’s stroke, our car accident, job changes and moving are examples of some twists and turns in my life. Jesus even encouraged us about the twists and turns in life. He said…“In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” John 16:33 God understands all about trouble. He speaks encouragement in His Word because He knows how easy it is for us to spin into anxiety and fear. God reminds us to cheer up and rest in His assurance that comfort, guidance and victory is ours through a saving relationship with Jesus Christ. We can trust God’s Word.

I love this picture of my son’s feet and the sun coming up to start a new day. When I first saw this picture I thought of how rewarding and yet challenging it is to answer God’s call to follow Him.

“How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!” Romans 10:15

I’m still amazed when I think of how seeds and dry bulbs grow by placing them inside the ground in dirt! Recently my sister Carole sent me some lily bulbs as a gift. My track record for flowers staying alive is not good. So when I got those bulbs I wasn’t counting on actually seeing lilies. As I put those dry hard bulbs inside the ground I said to myself, “It’ll be a miracle if these things live.” The more I placed the bulbs in dirt, the more I realized that growth is the evidence of God…a miracle! That made me think of this scripture. I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God made it grow. 1 Cor. 3:6 The growing process takes time. Just like growing closer and closer to Jesus is a lifetime process. I’ve discovered that sometimes growing is painful. But God uses those growing pains to help us break out of ourselves and grow closer to Him. God is a Miracle Worker who grows us from the inside out.

God is in the business of removing stones of past hurts and stones of lies that are deeply embedded in hearts and minds.

A life changing event God used in my life was when I became a mother. God used that groundbreaking time to begin to remove my stone of lies. One big hard stone was the lie that went like…”You’ll always be a worrier. You can’t change.” I didn’t want our boys to grow up learning from me how to be a worry-wart. One day I heard someone say that in order to recognize a lie you need to know the truth. I wanted to know the truth from God’s perspective. I made the groundbreaking decision to begin studying the Bible. Piece by piece, little by little, God used His Word to remove the lies of the enemy with the truth of His Word. I’m still being transformed and not finished. But now when I begin to fret or gasp I’m reminded to run to God’s Word, because God can’t lie. His truth gives comfort and guidance in the middle of hurts and confusion. No stone is too hard or too deep for God to blast and remove over time. Cling to Him. Get to know Him more fully. He is Our Stone Remover.

And they asked each other, “Who will roll the stone away from the entrance of the tomb?” But when they looked up, they saw that the stone, which was very large, had been rolled away. Mark 16:3-4

Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path. Psalm 119:105

God’s Word is the voice of truth. God cannot lie. Lying is not in His character. God keeps His Word to guide, teach, encourage, convict and save. God guarantees everything that was written to be accurate. So in faith we choose to believe that the Holy Bible is the living, inspired and authoritative Word of God.