Remember that Old Testament story of a great battle where the only weapon used was praise?

(2 Ch 20:20-21 NLT) Early the next morning the army of Judah went out into the wilderness of Tekoa. On the way Jehoshaphat stopped and said, "Listen to me, all you people of Judah and Jerusalem! Believe in the LORD your God, and you will be able to stand firm. Believe in His prophets, and you will succeed."
After consulting the people, the king appointed singers to walk ahead of the army, singing to the LORD and praising Him for His holy splendor. This is what they sang: "Give thanks to the LORD; His faithful love endures forever!"

Now, here is a question. Would YOU have wanted to be one of those appointed singers? Would you have been excited about marching down the hill ahead of the army with only your tambourine between you and some enemy sword?

When we read this account, we think how wonderful that God used worshipers to win a mighty victory. But, I sometimes wonder what was going on in the minds of those guys who were appointed by the king to be out in front of the army. Do you think they were all full of faith for the victory? I wonder. I just wonder if one or two might have been thinking, “This is the craziest thing I have ever been told to do!” Maybe others were thinking, “I am going to DIE today!”

We are human. It is easy to see the strength of the enemy and get scared. It is easy to wonder sometimes just how effective our praise can be in the face of such a conflict.

But something amazing happened that day.

(2 Ch 20:22-25 NLT) At the very moment they began to sing and give praise, the LORD caused the armies of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir to start fighting among themselves. The armies of Moab and Ammon turned against their allies from Mount Seir and killed every one of them. After they had destroyed the army of Seir, they began attacking each other. So when the army of Judah arrived at the lookout point in the wilderness, all they saw were dead bodies lying on the ground as far as they could see. Not a single one of the enemy had escaped. King Jehoshaphat and his men went out to gather the plunder. They found vast amounts of equipment, clothing, and other valuables—more than they could carry. There was so much plunder that it took them three days just to collect it all!

We have to learn to TRUST GOD, even when the odds are against us. Even when it looks impossible. Even when we still have concerns. If we are sure God said GO FOR IT, than we can be just as sure of the victory.

Whatever you are facing today. Praise Him! Maybe your problem has you surrounded, and you feel like there is no way out. Praise Him anyway. God has an answer for you. Believe and see. Like Jehoshaphat said, “Believe in the Lord your God, and you will be able to stand firm and succeed.”

When I was a young and inexperienced driver, I remember a trip I took with the emergency brake left on. I could tell something was wrong with the car, and that something smelled hot, but it took me a while to figure out the problem! I bumped and jerked along and it is a wonder I did not ruin my Dad's car! I would not advise that anyone drive with the emergency brake on! It slows you down. It can cause damage to your car. Sure, you can drive, but it is not very effective driving.

I think there are people who live with the emergency brake on their whole life. No, not on their car--- their LIFE! They want to "play it safe." But, by doing that, they miss so much, and they never live the life that God wants them to live. Sure, they putt-putt along, but it is certainly not the kind of life that does much for God.

In the Chronicles of Narnia, I remember when Lucy asked Mrs. Beaver about Aslan. She had not met him, and she wanted to know WAS HE SAFE? Mrs.Beaver said a lot of stuff about Aslan that I can't remember... something about him being the prince, and the king of all created things. Then she ended by snorting, "Safe? Course he ain't safe! But he's GOOD."

Many of us are looking for a safe God -- one who will not expect much. One who won't put too many demands on us. We want a God we can serve with the emergency brake on. Maybe that's because we are not yet convinced of His GOODNESS. Oh, He is GOOD. You have to remember that and believe it. When you do, you will allow Him to take you ANYPLACE, because you know you can trust His goodness. He will not let you fall. He will not leave you without support. If you have to go through scary stuff, He will go through it beside you. The fires of life will not burn you, and the floods of life will not drown you.

(Hebrews 13:5b-6 AMP) ... for He [God] Himself has said, I will not in any way fail you nor give you up nor leave you without support. [I will] not, [I will] not, [I will] not in any degree leave you helpless nor forsake nor let [you] down (relax My hold on you)! [Assuredly not!] So we take comfort and are encouraged and confidently and boldly say, The Lord is my Helper; I will not be seized with alarm [I will not fear or dread or be terrified]. What can man do to me?

If you choose the safe life, you will never know the glory. You will never live the miracle of a day by day walk with God. You will never know the excitement of saying YES, even when you have no idea what that yes will cost you. You don't need to. You trust Him. God has taken me places I never dreamed I could go. He has used me in ways that surprised me! And all the time, in His love and His goodness, He has kept me close.

I would rather be a risk taker for God than play it safe.

It seems the word “Christian” means many different things to people. I always assumed it meant one who follows Christ, or "Christ one." One who had literally given their life to Christ. But, from what I have observed of the lives of many who call themselves Christians, this may not be so.

I feel with having Christ as my example for living, the requirements for following Him are huge. To love like He loves will take me forever to master. To forgive like He forgives is another tough one. To live my life learning His gentle authority and to rejoice in His love even through trials are also things I am working on.

But I have met those who call themselves Christians who, by that term only mean they are not Muslim or Jewish. They do not desire in any way to be a follower of Christ. To them, the word Christian seems to be more of a cultural label.

I have also met Christians who are just not very nice people. I have met foul mouthed Christians, Christians who are racist, bitter and spiteful. I have met Christians who gossip and cheat. It is disturbing — because I do not want to be or do any of those things, yet we have the same “label.”

You know what I want? I want a relationship with Jesus Christ. I want to love Him more than anything or anybody. I want to be like Him. I want to please Him. I want to believe the Bible and live the truth of it daily. There are some hard things written in there, but they are good and right.

(Gal. 2:20 NLT) My old self has been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. So I live in this earthly body by trusting in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.

Basically, I feel that when you become a Christian, you give your life to God. When you give something away, it isn’t yours anymore, right? So... the life you live as a believer and follower of Jesus is lived through HIM. He calls the shots. You belong to Him. It is not all about you anymore. It is all about HIM. I don’t get to have pity parties. I don’t get to be offended or make excuses. I don’t get to spend time and money anyway I want. (It isn’t really even my money anymore!) Every day I must choose HIS way, because I am His. Because I want to. I need to. HE is my daily bread. He is enough for me.

I don’t want to play church. I don’t want religion. I don’t want to live by a set of rules or formulas. I want a daily, vital, exciting, loving, living-on-the-edge relationship with my Savior. I am not perfect at it, but that is what I want, and I will spend the rest of my life pursuing it.

What does the word Christian mean to you?

Hello, Friends!

It seems like forever since I have written! Now Xanga has a whole, new look, and I am not sure I know what I am doing. I will figure it out eventually. I keep reminding myself that I am a college graduate! (Albeit many years ago, and before life became so high tech!)

For the last two months I have been busy being a grandma. My youngest daughter, and her two little daughters visited us here in Denmark, and then at the end of August I flew to NY to spend a month with my older daughter. While there, I was able to attend the birth of my fifth grandchild. My cup runneth over! I spent time making memories. I also got to see some friends and family. I took LOTS of pics! It was hard to say good bye. It takes me a while to get over being sad, but my work is here in Denmark, and this is  where I belong.

I am hoping to make some new friends on the new Xanga. I usually write a devotional a couple of times a week, but occasionally I just like to be more personal and talk about what is going on in my life.

Please welcome Annaliese Jolie Valle. She weighed in a 8 pounds. She is a love!

While I was in the U.S. I finally got to meet my favorite Spazz! I am so happy that she was able to get together with me. We went to Starbucks and yakked for hours! It was great! In a lot of ways, we are two peas in a pod! I have known her for YEARS, but now I feel like we are even closer friends. I wish I's had time to see the rest of her family, as they are also wonderful. I just did not have time for all the things I wanted to do. I spoke at several churches, went to see my mom and other family members and just helped my daughter with the baby and her two little boys.

This is a "selfie" we took that turned out pretty good. We now have matching pea pod key chains, and matching socks!

I am still trying to adjust to the 6 hour time change. I am wide awake at 1 AM, which feels like 7 AM to my body!

I will try to get around and visit all of you who are still my Xanga friends. There is just a lot to do to get caught up!

Blessings!

It's a terrible thing to have no hope. I have seen photos of many of the people in the death camps such as Auschwitz, and the terrible, lost expressions on their faces speaks volumes. I have attended funerals for those who did not know the Savior, and those occasions were sad indeed. When hope is abandoned, life has little meaning and no joy.

Hope is a very important element for well being. Hope believes in a positive outcome. But, for many, there is no reason left to hope.

(Psalm 31:24 NLT)  So be strong and courageous, all you who put your hope in the LORD!

I have always been so grateful for the hope in my heart. My surety in God's love for me keeps me positive and at peace. I know my future is in His hands, and I trust Him. The world is a very uncertain place, as we well know. Who can really know what tomorrow may bring? But, we need have no fear, because we have God's wonderful promises to those who are His.

(John 14:1-3 NLT)  "Don't let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God, and trust also in Me. There is more than enough room in My Father's home. If this were not so, would I have told you that I am going to prepare a place for you? When everything is ready, I will come and get you, so that you will always be with Me where I am.

I sometimes think of Jesus sitting with His beloved disciples and sharing these words of hope with them. The world has so many things to trouble our hearts, but we have an antidote for that! We can trust in HIM! Even though we may not understand, we have that blessed hope. We know Him, and we trust.

I just feel like there is someone out there who needs to be reminded of this today. Keep your eyes on Him, my friend. Remind yourself that while the world can be a cruel and scary place, God is GOOD. Take hope in that. He will keep you. 

Hello, folks!

There is no time for much writing at the moment. I miss it, but studying and writing take quality quiet time, and I am not having much of that at the moment!

I am so much enjoying my visit with the wee granddaughters from N. Ireland. Sianna's accent cracks me up! She is 2 and 1/2 and supercharged. She talks A LOT, and wants to know EVERYTHING! She sat on my lap for church and wanted to know the names of all the people on the stage, and what their favorite colors are. We were on the playground, and she ran up to some little Danish kids and tried to talk to them. I said, "Sianna, they can't understand you because they only speak Danish." She turned around and said, "Well, grandma, I was just trying to be friendly!" She is full of mischief and I adore her. Today we baked bread and made cinnamon rolls. She loves to help!  At the beach, she really wanted to be covered up in sand!

Aliza is all sweet baby. She loves to clap her hands and snuggle. She likes to pull on your earrings and try to put her fingers in your mouth. She eats anything she finds on the floor and has a smile that melts your heart. She is a very contented little person most of the time. I have not seen her since she was born, and now she is 10 months old!
  
She loves to chew on her toes! She has milk allergies, so finding the right food and snacks is kinda interesting. She was eating a veggie chip when we went to the Rain Forest exhibit, and some weird bird tried to take it away from her!

OK... enough grandma talk. A few more photos, if you don't mind.

A bit blurry, sorry! They loved the
aquariums!

Friday I will be heading off to the U.S. to spend time with my other daughter and her family. I will also get to meet my soon-to-arrive 5th grandchild! I might get to see a few Xanga friends, too.

Hope you have all been enjoying a good summer!

Hello Folks!

Sorry I have not been around. My daughter and little granddaughters are here from N. Ireland, and we are having a wonderful time. Not much time left in the day for Xanga. I will leave Denmark later in the month to visit my other daughter and my grandchildren in the US. SO.... Please don't think I am gone! Just busy with family.

I shall return!

Hope you all are having an great summer.

Worship is a subject dear to my heart. I have read books, attended seminars and workshops and heard sermons about worship.  SO much has been written and said about it, but I don’t think it is necessarily all that complicated to understand.

Worship (my own definition) is simply giving honor, attention and time to what (who) you love best. Some people worship THINGS.  Some may worship a certain lifestyle. I worship almighty God.

(1Chron.16:29 KJV)  Give unto the LORD the glory due unto His name: bring an offering, and come before Him: worship the LORD in the beauty of holiness.

God is so worthy of being loved and worshiped, and worshiping Him is such a satisfying experience. Not everything worshiped gives back, but God does. When we honestly, wholeheartedly give Him our worship, He comes near to us. His presence is the most amazing thing EVER! If you don’t feel Him near, whatever you are doing, it is not worship.

Worship is not so much a style, as an attitude. I know some churches sing three or four fast songs, and then a couple of slow ones. The slow ones are supposed to be worship. Yeah......  Maybe we had a nice song time, but is God there?  Is there a sense of reverence and humility as we seek Him and invite Him to come close?

(Psalm 95:1-7)  O come, let us sing unto the LORD: let us make a joyful noise to the Rock of our salvation. Let us come before His presence with thanksgiving, and make a joyful noise unto Him with psalms. For the LORD is a great God, and a great King above all gods. In His hand are the deep places of the earth: the strength of the hills is His also. The sea is His, and He made it: and His hands formed the dry land. O come, let us worship and bow down: let us kneel before the LORD our maker.  For He is our God; and we are the people of His pasture, and the sheep of His hand.

I have been in some churches where I felt more like I was at a concert than in a worship service. Those on stage seemed more intent on showing off then glorifying Jesus! I have been to some concerts that were DEFINITELY worship! It all depends on the hearts of those leading. If they are looking for praise for themselves, then God is going to stay away from that. If the “worship leader” gets up all.... “Hey, look at me! This song showcases my voice in a great way!” Then it is a concert. Only a concert. If the worship leader steps up with a humble heart that is hungry for God’s presence, God will come.

It isn’t even about how much money was spent on the sound system, or how talented the singers and those playing instruments are. Sure, talented musicians may enhance things, but I have been in services where there were no instruments at all, only one clear, voice leading, yet the presence of God was strong and sweet.

A lot of churches are into banners, streamers, dance and drama. That is cool, and I have no problem with that stuff, as long as it is not just a performance. If I want to see a performance, I can go to the ballet.

Worship is directed to God. It is FOR God. It is ABOUT God. All for Him. Because He deserves it.

We sure like to know WHY, don’t we? From the time we start talking, we ask that question. When my children were young, there were times when I would get downright exasperated because they were constantly asking WHY? WHY? WHY? Of course, that is not wrong. That is how we learn. I guess it was the repetition that got to me! How many times must you say the same thing?

I do think there are times when no matter how many times we ask WHY, we are not going to get an answer. No one knows everything — but God, and He is not obligated to tell us. Most times, we probably wouldn’t understand anyway. Or, we might try to argue with Him. Oh, we can be so “full of ourselves” and so disrespectful to God!

I know I really struggle at times, because I want a REASON for why this or that happened. I would like to know WHY, even though we prayed, someone did not get healed. WHY, even when we did everything we knew how to do, a situation did not end well. There is just this striving within to want answers, y’know? We like sure things. We like formulas. We like everything to add up in a predictable way. Yeah... well, life isn’t like that, is it?

We must learn that we cannot always be in control. We must learn to trust God. We know that God holds our future, and He is totally trustworthy. We say it, but we don’t always act like we believe it. We would like some input into the situation! Are we so arrogant that we think God owes us an explanation? Do we think God needs our help running the universe?

Perhaps we should read through the book of Job. Perhaps we need to stop and consider who this great God is. Do we puny, ignorant humans really think we could begin to comprehend all God’s ways? Do we think we have any power at all to compare to Him?

Yet God, in His great power and authority is merciful. He loves His children. Even though we may not understand, we can trust in WHO   GOD  IS. He is just. He is love. He is full of compassion. If we really NEEDED to know why, God would tell us!

I remember a story about Corrie Ten Boom. Her father was a watchmaker, and he would often take his tools and travel to other towns to work on tower clocks. One day young Corrie was walking with him to the train, and she asked him a very hard question. He stopped, looked at her a moment, and then said, “Corrie, will you carry my case?” She responded, “Oh yes, Pappa! I would love to do that!” She tried and tried to pick it up and walk with it, but the tools inside made it very heavy. She just could not carry it. She looked up and said, “I am sorry, Pappa, it is just too much for me. I am not strong enough to carry this.” With gentle wisdom, her father said to her, “Corrie, the answer to the question you ask me is a bit like that. Right now, it is just too heavy for you to carry. You will have to trust me about it. Can you do that, Corrie?

This story helped me to understand that God, in His great mercy, love and wisdom, has chosen to carry the things which are too heavy for you and for me.

Can we put aside our WHYS and trust Him?

This week is our church's summer camp up in Mariager. We join with other churches from all over the nation for a week with seminars, good sermons, and wonderful fellowship.I think we have over 6,000 campers this year! Hubby and I are not campers, so we are driving in. Thankfully, we are close enough to be able to do that.

Yesterday, we were all sitting in the large meeting hall. Worship had just ended, and we were watching a video about how God is using a Christian television channel being broadcast into Turkey to reach many with the gospel. Suddenly, all the lights, sound, tech support DIED. No more power. Nada. Hmmm..... Now what? Do we just say, "Forget it!" and leave?

Then, someone way up in front of the auditorium grabbed an acoustic guitar and started singing --

How great is our God!
Sing with me. How great is our God!
And all will see how great, how great is our God.

It made me think about the many ways we can choose to respond to adversity in our lives. Some complain. Some curse. Some worry. Some blame. Some just give up and walk away. We can do these things, or, we can praise our great God.

So, right there on a Sunday morning in Mariager, Denmark, sitting in the dark, people began to do just that! We sat in the dark and we began to sing and rejoice because God is great and He is good --- all the time. It created such a wonderful feeling, and I found I had tears in my eyes. It was a precious time! God is great. He is always great, and so worthy to be praised -- even in the dark times.

(Psalm 103:1-5 MSG)  A David psalm. O my soul, bless GOD. From head to toe, I'll bless his holy name!  O my soul, bless GOD, don't forget a single blessing! He forgives your sins--every one. He heals your diseases--every one. He redeems you from hell--saves your life! He crowns you with love and mercy--a paradise crown. He wraps you in goodness--beauty eternal. He renews your youth--you're always young in His presence.

King David commanded his soul to praise God. David had plenty of troubles, but he knew that when we worship, we move our focus off the problem and remind ourselves that God is able to help! He is mighty! He loves us!

So, I want to encourage you today. If you are in a dark place, begin to praise God. If you feel trapped, praise Him. If nothing is going right, praise Him! When you do that, you will feel His strength and hope coming into your heart. You will feel blessed. You will make the devil nervous, and you will find you have a different perspective about the troubles.

How great is our God!