HAPPY BIRTHDAY TA!

Our baby, Katja-- the 2 year old Birthday Shoe Fairy!

"Mah-kee!" my way of saying, "monkey"

Katja on the 4th of July

Playing at the park on the 4th of July

Hi daddy!

The following are lots of pictures of Katja on and around her 2nd birthday. We praise the Lord for such a little blessing in our lives. Happy Birthday Ta! We all love you. Love-- mommy, daddy, kayla, korey, & kevin

Life Decisions...

I am at yet another cross-road. What is God's Will when faced with adversity, a daunting obstacle, the presence of darkness where there is no hope? Both solutions are good, godly, right... but which is the BEST solution with the most profound impact?

I Corinthians 15:57 says "Thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ."
We find ourselves in a real spiritual battle... but thanks be to God who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ!

I read this except today while spending time with Jesus. It's from "Come Away, My Beloved" pgs. 56 & 57:

"O My child, have I ever failed you? Have I ever turned My back on you or forsaken you? Have I not been your refuge and your strong defense? I have protected you and kept you in sickness and in health. Yea, I am with you to help you now. Fear not. My purposes will be fulfilled in spite of your weaknesses, if in your need you rely on My strength. My will shall be done regardless of the flaws in your life, if you count on the power of My righteousness. I do not work only in cases where there are no obstacles; but I glory in overruling the prevailing circumstances, and I take pleasure in bringing victories in those places where no victory is anywhere in sight.

Count on My coming. Know that whenever faith brings Me on the scene, everything is changed. Darkness is turned to light. Grief is turned to joy. Sickness to health. Poverty to My sufficient supply. Doubt to faith. Anxiety to trust.

No negative force can occupy the same place as My Spirit. When My Spirit comes in, all these things must go. Yes, they shall go! Ask for the victory. I will come and bring it. Don't look for the victory-- look for Me, and you will see the victory that I will bring with me. After I have come, you shall behold the miracles I will do."

So I guess, I now know which solution is the best... the one where I TRUST the SPIRIT to enter the situation, so that all the negative forces must flee, asking for the victory, and watching the Lord bring it. I long to see the miracles he will do. Praise be to God-- the One who gives us the Victory!

"Make Straight the Way of the Lord"

The prophet Isaiah fortells the coming of John the Baptist when he says in Isaiah 40:3 "He is a voice shouting in the wilderness: 'Prepare a pathway for the Lord's coming! Make a straight road for him!'"

I spent some time reading in Matthew yesterday where John the Baptist is introduced on the scene as the fullfillment of this prophecy. Matthew 3:1-3 says:

In those days John the Baptist began preaching in the Judean wilderness. HIs messagae was, "Turn from your sins and to turn God, becuase the Kingdom of Heaven is near." Isaiah had spoken of John when he said, "He is a voice shouting in the wilderness: 'Prepare a pathway for the Lord's coming! Make a straight road for him!'... people from Jerusalem and from every section of Judea and from all over the Jordan Valley went out to the wilderness to hear him preach."

"Prepare a pathway for the Lord's coming! Make a straight road for him!" really struck me. I remember a few months ago when a young lady in our house church asked, "What do you suppose that means?" I too was wondering the same thing. So we dialogued about it and my husband encouraged us to ask the Lord to reveal it to us. Well, we never came back to it in the many weeks to follow. Now it's back! Hmmmm...

So I asked the Lord to reveal the meaning to me. What was John the Baptist's message really saying? It seemed so indirect. After reading and re-reading the context and asking the Lord to reveal the real meaning, I got the answer! Weeks ago, I assumed it meant that I had to clean up my life, heart, mind, etc... to make a straight road, clear path, for the Lord in my own life. That is NOT what this passage is talking about.

The meaning of this passage is way bigger than ME! People who don't know Jesus must be prepared to meet Him. I can prepare the way for Jesus by telling them of their need for forgiveness, demonstrating Christ's teaching by my conduct, and telling them how Christ can give their lives real meaning. I can make a straight road for Jesus by correcting the misconceptions that they might have that are hindering them from coming to Christ.

So, it's not about me getting my life straight! It's about my obedience to God's Word to prepare the soil of unbelievers and straighten out the road so that others too will turn to Christ.

Hmmmm....God's assignment for my life is getting clearer...