Toes in the sand...

It is absolutely perfect. The sun is shining, the breeze is blowing and the sand is squeezing between my toes at Boca Chica beach. I can't help but smile as I read Psalm 84.

"How lovely is your dwelling place, O Lord of hosts! My soul longs, yes, faints for the courts of the Lord; my heart and flesh sing for joy to the living God."

Reflecting on the previous year I can remember times when I saw God's hand so clearly that I thought He'd appear at any moment, while at other times I questioned if God remembered that I was there. I can remember times when I had more than my two hands could hold, while other times I literally had to grasp for help. I can remember when God answered my prayers so fast and so clear, while other times I simply had to wait.

But as we begin this new year... this new opportunity... this new adventure... I rejoice for the peace I find in His presence. I strove (is that a word?!) to walk faithfully in 2014 and give thanks for the times that I failed because it reminded me that it is impossible to do life on my own. I want HIM. I NEED HIM. My soul longs to do right in His eyes.

HIS eyes.

HIS eyes.

If you look at verses 11 and 12 of Psalm 84 it reminds us in whom we must place our trust.





"For the Lord God is a sun and shield; the Lord bestows favor and honor. No good thing does He withhold from those who walk uprightly. O Lord of hosts, blessed is the one who trusts in You."

Hope this makes Carolyn, Cathy and the ladies at
Columbia Baptist feel a little warmer this winter :)

If there is one thing I am taking and learning from 2014, it's that I serve an audience of ONE. 

The LORD GOD ALMIGHTY!

I have tried to please others, be who others have wanted or not wanted me to be, do or not do what others wanted me to do, but... that is not what God desires of me or of any of His children. He wants me. But He wants ALL of me. 

Those efforts spent changing my whole schedule, saying yes to commitments I physically couldn't even keep up with and even trying to change my character to make people happy, are better spent praisin' Jesus. 

Because that's why He created me in the first place. For Him. (Col 1:16)

So as I head back to Lily House tomorrow and things get busy with an awesome to-do list in other ministries while living life here in the Dominican Republic... may HE be all I strive to honor. In my actions. In my words. In my being. 

Happy New Year friends. Let's do 2015... for HIM!