Happy Father's Day

See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! 1 John 3:1

Happy Father's Day to God, my Savior, Mighty Counselor, Prince of Peace, and Friend. He is my confidence, faith and hope. Because of Jesus, I have an eternal inheritance.

Did you know that dynamic dads are fathered by God? I'm a parent, but being a child of God has not always been evident. Tears well up in my eyes when I think of how selfishness got in the way of my mothering. If you are a father (or mother) and have regrets, I have good news for you. Our God is the Father of second chances. It's never too late. Don't struggle alone. Ask God to help you, and He will. He helped me by turning the mess I made of my life into a message.

Once I experienced God's lavishing love, I could not contain it--I had to share it. There is something amazing in the next verse of 1 John 3. Check this out.

Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when Christ appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is.

God accepts us as we are, but he wants us to be like Jesus. This verse is proof of that. How else will God's light shine into this dark world?

Rainy Day Blessings

John and I drove 6 1/2 hours from our home in the Sacramento area to the Lost Coast of California, 5 1/2 hours of winding roads. I'm glad we didn't pull a trailer or travel in a motor home as we have in the past. The first day was a beautiful sunshiny day. John's son, Jeff and his girlfriend, Patti, barbecued a yummy dinner of cod, salmon and corn on the cob. We watched a grey whale travel up the coast -- amazing!

The next day it rained all day. Our plans for surf fishing or touring the coast were replaced by kicking back in our room with an ocean view. We caught up on reading books and magazines and we meditated on God's beautiful creation. I even found time to write.

For dinner we chose to stay in the privacy of our room and enjoy the view. John barbecued delicious pork ribs and served them with salad and baked potato. Later the sounds of the waves crashing the shore lulled us to sleep. We woke refreshed the next morning with the sun coming through the fog, and traveled back to the Sacramento valley.

Thank you, Lord Jesus, for the rest and for your awesome presence. Thank you for your beautiful creation on the Lost Coast of California. Amen.

The Kitchen Table

I learned to read at the kitchen table by reading the newspaper and the Bible to Mom and Dad. I taught my sister, Montie, to read at the same table. She and I did our homework there. Sometimes we argued.  After school we found cookies or strips of baked pie dough topped with sugar and cinnamon. Most important to my faith, is that we learned how to pray and trust God at the kitchen table. Mom took us to church and Sunday school, but Daddy stayed home. Paul wrote to a similar family in the Bible.

I have been reminded of your sincere faith, which first lived in your grandmother Lois and in your mother Eunice, and I am persuaded, now lives in you also. For this reason I remind you to fan into the flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands. For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but of spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline (1 Timothy 1:5-7).

Timothy's father was a Greek but his mother and grandmother were believers and taught him the faith that was the foundation of his ministry. We each have different backgrounds and circumstances, but when we believe in Jesus as our Savior, we have many things in common. Great love, joy, peace and hope.

Thank you, Father God, for your changeless love and faithfulness. I don't know where I would be today without them. Thank you for the godly home I grew up in. Thank you for all the ways you bless my life. In Jesus' name, Amen.