this is the day...

Psalm 118:24(ESV)

24 This is the day that the Lord has made;
    let us rejoice and be glad in it.

This verse was on my heart this morning as I woke up to the perfect day.

Snow outside - 

Beautiful sunshine streaming through all our windows - 

And most importantly, a day at home!

As I thanked the Lord for this rare opportunity, I wondered something....

If this day hadn't started so wonderfully, if I was facing a difficult decision or crisis, would I still have had this verse on my heart?   Would my day have begun with thanking and praising the Lord?

I couldn't answer yes for sure.

The thing I DO know, is that God accepted my morning praise and our communion has continued today.  This hasn't however only included praise - although I've continued to be still  and I'm listening and praising - He's brought to mind forgiveness that needs to happen, things that need to change while at the same time a renewed sense of unconditional love floods my soul.

He is good all the time.

It is OUR choices that cause our day to seem anything less than a day 'we can rejoice and be glad in'...

Our choice to complain

Our choice to be jealous

Our choice to misunderstand suffering

Our choice to harbor unforgiveness choosing instead to remain wallowing in feeling sorry for ourselves and the way we were mistreated

God created THIS day - let us rejoice and be glad in it..

My day off

As Vern and I sit down this morning for devotions,  I look around me and give thanks for the sunshine first of all but also for another calm morning.  The sunshine, however, reveals things I didn't know was there unfortunately!

Trying to look out and enjoy the sun requires looking through the winter scarred glass revealing work that needs to be done.  Windows need to be cleaned, woodwork needs to be dusted and the list goes on and on.

With Pastor Tim announcing he's accepted the Chapel position, it's forced me to look closely at myself in much the same way I'm looking at my house.

We have a great working relationship and have settled into a 'this is my responsibility - this is your responsibility' daily work schedule.  With that ending all of us have to 'redefine' our responsibilities to a certain extent and evaluate what we're not doing well.  That's difficult to be honest about and sometimes nearly impossible to even see yourself as you really are, but it's a huge opportunity to grow and change with the Lord's help!  Not comfortable but necessary.  I've asked The Lord to reveal that to me.

My greatest responsibility through this time will be to stay in the Word and to bathe myself and Crossroads in constant prayer.

So just as I see things that need to be done here at home - my ministry work will be under much scrutiny, mostly from myself and I honestly ask for it from The Lord most of all.

Now it's time to start 'doing' something about the mess I see around me - what kind of mess are you attending to today?  

what I learned today

My sunshine has returned to Ohio.  The sunshine that encourages me outside where I feel most connected to my God...in the midst of His creation!

I'm currently reading a marriage book called, "Beyond Ordinary" that I can't put down as well as a  daily reading in "A Quiet Place". 

Beyond our personal spiritual maturity increasing, and the time with Our God that requires - our marriages take extraordinary effort. As my hubby and I celebrate 35 years of marriage this September, I'm more committed than ever before not to let it slip into easy, or auto-pilot or into assuming we're both fulfilled and living to our full potential.  Submitting and serving one another daily takes being ALL - IN.  And the challenge of marriage is to remain what you personally should be in the eyes of God, not constantly hoping for your spouse to change!

Think about that for a moment, could your marriage possibly fail if you both are committed to being as spiritually mature in the Lord individually as He desires us to be? 

I'm not suggesting that removes all conflict and trouble, but what it does do is provide the necessary maturity in Him allowing us to respond to trouble properly - as God would respond.  We lash out at one another, are dissatisfied with one another when we aren't what WE should be.  To look at ourselves with discernment and honestly, is perhaps the greatest challenge.   Start today - work on yourself and you'll be surprised how you see your relationship change.  Take care of your own shortcomings and stand before the Lord with nothing but submission and honesty.

Let's all work to make our marriage in Him one of the areas that draw others to Him - allow others to see what God intended marriage based in Him to be!