Joy in the Journeys

What’s in a name? Think back to when you were younger, perhaps in elementary, junior or high school, especially when it came to the opposite sex.  Was there a school mate that you wanted to notice you? Talk to you? Ask you on a date??  For me, it was usually hoping that he knew my name, if nothing else.  For some of us, our world evolved around this.  Our insecurities seemed to, at times, run our emotions.  Having someone know our name was the ultimate goal. As I became older, that desire did not change.  I longed to be accepted for who I was, loved unconditionally, and appreciated.  For me, that acceptance was not easily recognizable.  I became a “yes” person, feeling that if I always said yes, that acceptance would be just around the corner.  Instead, what happened, was just the opposite.  I felt taken more advantage of, less loved accepted.  Saying “no” to anyone was always at my personal expense.  Then something happene...

  What was he thinking? I have been tutoring a young man for the last three years.  When I started working with him he was in a charter school.  He did not do so well there, so his parents moved him to a Christian school.  Part of this young man’s homework each week was to read a Bible story, answer questions, and then memorize Scripture.  One day we were reading one of his stories and he stopped mid-way through and asked me if he could ask me a question.  “Why, of course”, I replied.  He went on to ask me if I knew that Satan was a fallen angel and that he fell because he wanted to be God.  He stated that God sent him to his “own” place where he would live for all eternity.  We talked a bit more and then he made this statement about Satan wanting to be God…..”What was he thinking?!” with as much emphasis as he could muster.  I tried my best not to laugh out loud.  He had a great point.  Sometimes I get discouraged when things ...

  I am not a runner.   In fact, I have never had the urge to run a race, albeit on a track team, sprints, or anything else having to do with running.   Maybe that is because I don’t remember ever seeing a runner with a smile on their face.   Hey, but that’s just me.     However, Scripture tells me that I am not to avoid running.  I Corinthians 9:24 tells me that all runners compete, but only one receives the prize.  Therefore, I am to run so that I obtain the prize. Then there is Hebrews 12:1 that says I am to run the race set before me with endurance, laying aside every weight and sin that clings closely to me, always looking to Jesus, who is the founder and perfecter of my faith.   I recently heard the phrase, “I want to be running when the sand runs out”.  It pierced my heart strings!  Am I at this point in my relationship with Jesus Christ?  Do I want, more than anything, to run the race until completion, so that I ob...

  “Now we see only a dim likeness of things. It is as if we were seeing them in a foggy mirror. But someday we will see clearly.” (I Corinthians 13:12) Have you ever wondered if God knows what He is doing?   Ever questioned Him?   I know I have; especially during this trying time we are all going through.   Sometimes I don’t understand His wisdom, His timing, His anything.   I question what He wants me to do, where He wants me to go, who He wants me to talk to, why my prayers don’t seem to be answered, etc., etc., etc.   Is this the way it is supposed to be? The other day I was driving to work and this is what I saw.   I could not see beyond the 50 feet in front of my face.   It brought to mind the above Scripture.   At times I feel like I am in fog, not able to see much of anything.   The rest of the above verse says, “Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known”.   Thank God for this, to know t...