Waiting and Watching

"Watch therefore: for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come." Words of Jesus, Matthew 24:42

"But of that day and that hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels which are in heaven, neither the Son, but the Father. Take ye heed, watch and pray: for ye know not when the time is. For the Son of man is as a man taking a far journey, who left his house, and gave authority to his servants, and to every man his work, and commanded the porter to watch. Watch ye therefore: for ye know not when the master of the house cometh, at even, or at midnight, or at the cockcrowing, or in the morning: Lest coming suddenly he find you sleeping. And what I say unto you I say unto all, Watch." Words of Jesus, Mark 13:32-37

"Blessed are those servants, whom the lord when he cometh shall find watching: verily I say unto you, that he shall gird himself, and make them to sit down to meat, and will come forth and serve them. And if he shall come in the second watch, and find them so, blessed are those servants. And this know, that if the goodman of the house had known what hour the thief would come, he would have watched, and not have suffered his house to be broken through. Be ye therefore ready also: for the Son of man cometh at an hour when ye think not." Words of Jesus Luke 12:37-40

"And the Lord direct your hearts unto the love of God, and into the patient waiting for Christ." 

2 Thessalonians 3:5

"Be ye also patient; stablish your hearts: for the coming of the Lord draweth nigh." James 5:8

My little dog, Grace, puts me to shame when it comes to waiting and watching.  We have a Ring camera in our living room, and we can see all of her activity while no one is home.  She is a busy little girl.  She runs from window to window to watch for us.  Sometimes she howls, calling for us.  Other times, she is sitting on the back of the couch, watching out the window for us to come home.  But there is something I've noticed; she never sleeps when we are away. No matter how long we are gone, she is constantly waiting and watching.

When my husband or son is at home, and I have to leave to go somewhere, she gets up on the back of the couch to wait for my return.  She won't even play her favorite game of ball with my husband or son.  No.  She patiently waits for me to come home.  When I drive by the window, I see her stand up in recognition, and then she jumps down from the back of the couch and is already waiting for me when I come in through the door!  Such excitement! Such anticipation!  Such a happy reunion!

I was thinking about this the other day; am I waiting and watching for the Lord's Promised Return?  Does a day go by, maybe two or three, before I realize that I haven't been waiting or watching for my Lord? Do I tend to think that since more than two thousand years has passed, that the Lord won't Return in my lifetime?  Do I even bother waiting and watching?

Lord, Help me to watch and wait...

    in excitement and in anticipation for your Return...

        I think it will be sooner than I realize!

            But that's just me!

The Wedding Day

Harvest  (Band)

Lately I've been thinkin', as I look all around me,

I see by the signs that we're soon gonna be leavin'

The Bridegroom is comin' to take us all away,

Maybe it's tomorrow, I pray that it's today!

We will fly away, in the twinkling of an eye,

Leavin' all our heartaches,

Telling them all goodbye,

We will fly away when He hears His Father say...

"Jesus, go and get your bride,

today's your wedding day!"

Now when we see the Bridegroom on the clouds in the sky,

Will He be telling you hello, or telling you goodbye?

Oh, be sure and be ready, 

To meet Him face to face,

We've got to fight a good fight, We've got to keep our faith!

Fully Charged, Low Battery, or Just Dead?

"But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint." Isaiah 40:31

We've had brutally cold temperatures up here in the North this past week.  Days of subzero temps and deadly windchills can be draining and deadly.  On one of the coldest days of the week, my son called asking my husband for a 'jump-start' for his car because his battery had died, and the dependable battery charger, we learned, was not as dependable as we thought.  After a jump-start and an appointment at our Local car dealership, the dead battery was replaced with a new one.

Reader, do you have a Dead Heart?  God will give you a New Heart when you turn from your sin and turn to Him.

"And a new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh. And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments, and do them. And ye shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers; and ye shall be my people, and I will be your God."

Ezekiel 36:26-28

As most of you know, I recently upgraded to a new iPhone.  Checking the battery level before going to bed the other night and seeing it was still at 80%, I decided not to plug my phone into its Charger; after all, this is a brand-new phone, and I was told at the time of purchase that it had a much larger battery. Imagine my surprise, when I woke up the next morning and the icon of the battery was in red and I had a 'low battery' warning.  I asked my husband how this could happen, and he explained that the activity that occurs during the night on most iPhones, like open Apps, up-dates, and WIFI searches will drain the battery.  He suggested that no matter what the battery level is at night, it should be plugged in for a full, dependable charge in the morning.

Reader, are you coasting in your Christian Life?  Do you think you are doing just fine right where you are? Are you living not Fully Charged, but not quite Dead?

"And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit;" Ephesians 5:18

How do we do that?

"Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord; Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ; Submitting yourselves one to another in the fear of God." Ephesians 5:18-20

Last week's church services were cancelled due to a blizzard.  Snow Days are fun when you can have a day off from school or from work but having a Snow Day from church...not so fun.  It made for a very long week not being able to worship with my friends and other Believers and to hear the Preaching from God's Word.  I could tell that my Spiritual Battery was draining from the lack of Fellowship.

Just like my phones nighttime activity that drains its battery, sin can creep into a Believer's life that can slowly drain our Spiritual Battery.  Apathy, Critical Thinking, Laziness, irritations, lack of patience, can dull the Fruit of the Spirit if we are not connected to the correct Spiritual Source.

So, how can we as Christians, begin each day with a Full Charge?  By prayer, confessing our sins, and reading God's Word. Yes, it's as simple as that.

                

Christian, are you Fully Charged...

    Low on your Spiritual Battery...

        Or are you just plain dead?

            Recognize it and do something about it...

                But that's just me!

"Trying to do the Lord's work in your own strength is the most confusing, exhausting, and tedious of all work. But when you are filled with the Holy Spirit, then the ministry of Jesus just flows out of you."

Corrie Ten Boom

No Data

"Set your affection on things above, not on things of the earth." Colossians 3:2

At one time, cell phones did not exist.  Now we can't live without them.

Cell phones have gone from convenience to something we depend too much on.

At one time, cell phones were just a phone.  Now they are small, hand-held computers.

I recently upgraded to a new phone.

Big mistake.

I didn't realize at the time of the data transfer that I had two active Apple accounts.

Big mistake.

The only data transferred from my old phone to my new phone, was everything from the account I no longer thought existed.  It was all useless to me.

My old phone data now erased, my new phone data now empty.

Twenty years of purchased Christian music and six years of photos completely deleted.  Pictures of families, special events and vacations all gone and can no longer be accessed.

I confess, at that moment of realization of everything that had been lost, I had a meltdown; there was weeping and gnashing of teeth to be sure! 

A couple of weeks have passed since then and the thought of all the things lost doesn't hurt as much and I've learned a few things about myself in the process:

1-I became too dependent on the technology that I held in my hand, and

2-It became too important to me.

I had to confess to the Lord that I spent way too much time looking at a small screen, and that this little piece of technology had become a part of my anatomy.  It's been attached to my hand or my hip for far too long.  It's time to let go of the importance I've placed on my cell phone.

I won't be saving much on my new cell phone...

    Instead, I will be saving it all in my heart...

        But that's just me!

"....for the fashion of this world passeth away." 1 Corinthians 7:31b

"There is nothing solid and lasting in this world system; it is its nature to pass away. It is folly for believers to act as though its values were permanent." Morris

No

When I was a little girl and asked my parents if I could do something or go somewhere with one of my friends or when I asked for something I wanted, (like the latest trend in fashion or toys) their response was not always, "Yes."  When their answer was, "No," sometimes I wouldn't accept their first response. For some reason I thought that if I went into great detail as to why they should allow my request, that they would change their mind.  When that didn't work, I chose, "Please? Please? Please?"  After much pleading and drama my parents would look at me and calmly respond, "The answer is still no."  I didn't realize it at the time, but sometimes when they told me "No," it was actually for my own good.

As my children were growing up, there were times I had to deny their requests for their own good as well.  As for my grandchildren.... not so much!  LOL

I want to share an excerpt from The Christmas Ring, by Karen Kingsbury, Published by Thomas Nelson 2025.  On Page 57, Ben and Vanessa are having a conversation about prayer.

Ben searched her face, her eyes. "Great attitude." He sauntered beside her. "We both know that God doesn't always answer our prayers with a yes."

"He doesn't."

"But that was true for Jesus, too. His greatest prayer in the garden of Gethsemane was met with a 'no.'"

After reading those words, I couldn't keep reading the story.  This Author's words kept reverberating around and around in my head.  I went in search for my bible.  

"And when he was withdrawn from them about a stone's cast, and kneeled down, and prayed, Saying, Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done." Jesus praying in the garden, Luke 22:41,42.  You can find this recorded in Matthew 26:39-44 and Mark 14:32-39.

Think about this for a moment, it's profound.

Jesus was both God and Man.  Jesus was God in the flesh.  Since before the beginning of time, God provided a plan to redeem man back to Himself.  

Jesus stood before Pilate and spoke these very words, "Thou sayest that I am a king. To this end was I born, and for this cause came I into the world, that I should bear witness unto the truth. Every one that is of the truth heareth my voice." John 18:37

Jesus already knew why He came to earth; to pay a price we could not pay ourselves.

So why did Jesus pray a prayer when He already knew the answer would be 'No.' ?

Was it to be our example to pray about everything?

Was it to show us that God tells us "No" at times for our own good?

Was it to show us true humility and submission to God The Father?

Or was it simply out of agony for what was to come: bearing the sins of the whole world?

This has given me a lot to think about.

Jesus could have called ten thousand angels to carry Him back into heaven...

    And yet He chose to accept, "No," to His prayer, not for His own good...

        But for my own good, and for yours...

            But that's just me!

Navigation

"And thine ears shall hear a word behind thee, saying, This is the way, walk ye in it, when ye turn to the right hand, and when ye turn to the left." Isaiah 30:21

About a week ago, my husband and I were driving to an appointment, and we decided to turn on the Navigation App in my car.  We knew the location of our destination, we were just testing out this App.  It didn't take long to realize that the automated voice giving us directions did not know which way Right and which way was Left.  When we were supposed to turn Right, the Navigator told us to turn Left.  When we were supposed to turn Left, the Navigator would tell us to turn Right.  My husband and I had a good laugh over this.

Yesterday, I didn't think it was so funny.  I had been invited to join a friend of mine and her two daughters to have lunch at a little Cafe on the University Campus, and I knew I would need help finding my destination.  I turned on the Navigation App in my car and went on my way.  Remembering that my App didn't know when to turn Right or know when to turn Left, you can imagine how soon I became lost!  I literally went around and around in circles until my friend called me to give me verbal directions over the phone!  We all had a good laugh when I finally got there!

After a very enjoyable and blessed lunch with those Dear Ladies, I got back into my car and began to drive home.  (I did not need any Navigation for that!) I began to praise the Lord for His Leadership and His Direction in my life.  I do not need to worry if my Lord will lead me in the wrong direction; when I listen for His voice, He leads me in the way I should go.

"Behold, I send an Angel before thee, to keep thee in the way, and to bring thee into the place which I have prepared." Exodus 23:20  

I don't need a GPS to lead me in the way that I should go...

    God has a purpose and a plan for my life...

        And when I follow Him, I will reach my final destination safely...

            But that's just me!

    

AI

 "For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh: (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;) Casting down imaginations and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ;" 2 Corinthians 10:3-5

My sister and I email each other every day.  She writes to me before she goes to bed each night, and then I write back to her in the morning.  Yesterday she told me that when she had opened up my email to read, an AI Overview popped up on her screen.  This Overview literally turned my email into a Subject Paragraph.  Everything I wrote, had been put in a box to the side and listed in paragraph form describing everything I had written.  AI's purpose for that is to save the Reader time by making a long story short.  I will give you an example of what my email had turned into:

-Tracy shared theological reflections on Romans 8:6 and Psalm 165:119 regarding spiritual mindedness and peace.

-Tracy detailed personal shopping trips.

-Tracy described visiting a State Park, playing Cribbage and watching a disappointing football game. (LOL)

I'm not jesting.  AI infiltrated and invaded my personal email to my sister and changed it into a detailed list of my life for one day.

This AI popped up one day on her email, and she has yet to find a way to remove it.

When I really started to think about that, I couldn't help but think about 2 Corinthians 10 and especially verse 5, where Paul is telling the Believers in Corinth how important it is to bring every single thought into the captivity of Christ.  

Have you ever been driving in your car when a disturbing thought enters your mind and you wonder why on earth you thought it?

Maybe you were just sitting on your couch, cleaning your house, working in your garden, and an unwanted thought enters your mind.

Perhaps you merely glanced over at a church member during a church service, and an unwanted critical thought entered your mind.  I will tell you that this is part of our human nature, but once the unwanted thought enters our mind, what do we do with it?  Do we recognize it for what it is and continue thinking upon it? Or do we recognize it for what it is and ask God to delete it from our minds?

My sister can't remove this new unwanted up-date from her computer...

    But by meditating on God's Word, unwanted thoughts will disappear...

        But that's just me!

We live in a world of technology, and it is infiltrating every aspect of our lives.  We may not be able to control that, but we do have the ability through our Lord Jesus Christ to control what infiltrates our thoughts. TH

What's For Dinner?

Adam: "Honey, what's for dinner?"

Eve: "Leeks and onion's, Dear."

Adam: "Didn't we have that last night?"

Eve: Sigh

I own one Betty Crocker Cookbook, fourteen Taste of Home Cookbooks, two church Cookbooks compiled by the women in previous churches, and my mother's cookbook that contains old family recipes.  My freezer is well stocked, as is my pantry and refrigerator, and yet every morning I wrestle with the same dilemma: What's for dinner?

I've been married for forty-four years which adds up to 16,060 dinners, not to include the eleven Leap Years that added eleven meals between the year 1981 and 2025.  I would have to subtract meals out, dining with friends, and participating in Fellowship Sundays at Church, but I think you get the idea.

That's a lot of dinners!

The children of Israel murmured about their meals.  They pined for the leeks and onions in Egypt even if it meant slavery. Can you imagine?  And yet, God heard their murmuring and gave them manna every single morning.

"And when the children of Israel saw it, they said one to another, It is manna: for they wist not what it was. And Moses said unto them, This is the bread which the LORD hath given you to eat." Exodus 15:16

Manna was OK for a while, but then it started getting a little old having to eat it every single day.  We get to Numbers 11 and see that not only did the children pine for leeks and onions, but they also remembered the fish, the cucumbers, melons and garlick in Egypt.  (Numbers 11:5) Not only did they murmur against the manna, but they also began to weep over the fact that they had to eat it every single day.

This time, the murmuring of the children of God not only made Moses mad, but the anger of the LORD was also kindled greatly. (Numbers 11:10) We all know the rest of the story; God gave the children of Israel quail to eat. "And while the flesh was yet between their teeth, ere it was chewed, the wrath of the LORD was kindled against the people, and the LORD smote the people with a very great plague."

Numbers 11:33

I don't think they complained about dinner again.

I won't either.

So, what's for dinner tonight...?

    I believe I will make chicken...

        Thank you, Lord...!

            But that's just me!