Thoughts Along the Journey

"Listen to My voice; then I will be your God and you shall be my people." (Jeremiah 7:23) "And they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day..." (Genesis 3:8a) This post is basically a part-two of my previous post (see below). When my sisters or I call my parents, there are many times my dad isn't quite sure which one of his four daughters is on the other end of the line. Mom is a little better at discerning the source of the voice. I know my husband's parents sometimes aren't sure if it him or his brother when he calls. And yet we all know each other quite well, obviously! How much more important is it for us, then, to be aware of God's voice when He speaks to us? How can we know His voice is speaking to us if we aren't in the habit of listening? Adam and Eve knew the sound of God "walking in the garden." That seems to be a pretty intimate relationship, doesn't it--to know the sound of someone...

"And they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden. But the Lord God called to the man, and said to him, 'Where are you?' " (Genesis 3:8, 9) Do you think God didn't know where Adam and Eve really were? Don't you think this was more of a "I know where you are, but WHY are you there?" question? More of a matter of their perspective, not God's? ("We are out of His sight." Even though we never truly are...?) Another blogger was recently recounting a story about one of her kids, and how she panicked when he didn't get home at the expected time. I can totally relate to how that feels. Our youngest, Clyde, has a real knack for scaring me out of my wits. When he was very small, but old enough to walk...after church one Sunday, we saw one of the men from our church go running toward the street. We...

Another blogger, Cheryl , periodically has a post labeled LIF (Lyrics I'm Feeling). I have one of those posts today. This song is special to our family. About a year ago, at the Rite of Election (part of the process of being received into the Catholic Church), a wonderful choir sang this song. Recently at a church gathering, it was the closing song as well. This isn't just a "grown up" song. My kids were singing it while doing the dishes together the other night! It definitely has a black gospel kick to it. It brings me back to our days in Detroit, and worshipping at Revival Tabernacle . My husband used to tease me that, even though I was a white farm girl from Kansas, I was "black on the inside," due to my love for black gospel music and the inborn feel I have for the rhythm. That was more information than you probably wanted or needed...but it gives you a better picture of why I love this song so much: the black gospel feel, and the awesome message of th...

“…love your enemies, and pray for those who persecute you…” (Matthew 5:44b) For me, this has to be one of the toughest verses in Scripture to obey. I really don’t have a lot of out-and-out “enemies,” I guess. But the whole message is that we need to love and pray for those who have wronged us. I have found it to be true that if you’re praying for someone, it is very hard to stay mad at them. There is a person I know that has wounded me deeply in the past. I’m not even sure this person remembers the incidents. It all happened so many years ago. Yet the series of events that occurred, and the role this individual played in the whole thing, are still hurtful to me today. I have confessed this pain to the Lord many times over the years. I have told Him that I forgive this person. (Some would say I should go to this person and tell them I have forgiven them. I really don’t agree with that, though. If the person doesn’t remember the situation, and doesn...

Mair, over at Ragamuffin Diva , is going to be doing a book signing in Michigan on February 20, at this bookstore: Barnes and Noble Booksellers Fairlane Green 3120 Fairlane Dr. Allen Park, MI 48101 (313)271-0688 So for any of my readers who are interested, more information can be found at the link above, or you can call the bookstore. If you go, be sure to tell her a big "HI!!!" from Joni!!!!

"...go first and be reconciled with your brother, and then come and offer your gift." (Matthew 5:24b) Painting by Michael J. Alexander. To order this print or see more of his work, check out this link.

Hope you have all had some heartwarming moments today. My honey brought me a bouquet of carnations...red, yellow, white, peach...so wonderful! I haven't been around much this week due to sick kiddos. I'll catch up with you all when my kids are a bit on the "up" side of all this!

Tomorrow will mark quite an event in our household. Our oldest son, known to my blogger friends as " Harry ," will celebrate his twelfth birthday. (I will officially be the mom of a pre-teen!) It has been an all-weekend celebration for him. First, due to a weather-related change, the boys' school "buddy lunch" (lunch out with their parents) was rescheduled for yesterday. We took our boys out, and had a great time with them. Second, due to the same weather situation, their school carnival was last night. Again, we went as a family and enjoyed a great time with our boys (and over 300 other people!). Last night, my husband took Harry out for a "guys' night." They spent the night at a motel and just had a good time spending dad/son time together. Both of them came home with great memories. I'm so thankful for that! While they were gone, our younger son (" Clyde ") and I made birthday preparations. We cleaned the house (Harry doesn't...

In response to my Ash Wednesday post, "Anonymous" left the following question: "I have a question and am wondering what people think. If someone does something for you in secret, like God commands, and you as the grateful recipient then tell people about it, are you taking away the giver's blessing?" These are my thoughts: My only concern would be that you not tell others who the giver was, or give any indication as to their identity, while still giving God the glory for blessing you. So what do you all think? _____________________ As a post script, I just want to thank all of you who have responded. Those are great, insightful answers! Anonymous, I hope you have checked in to see the responses!

"If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow Me." (Luke 9:23, NASB) At our family's morning prayer time, my husband asked our two sons what the meaning of the above verse could be. "What does it mean to "deny" yourself?" They weren't sure. Then he asked them what it meant to deny someone. They said, "To say 'no' ." And that is what it truly means. It means to say "no" to myself (desires, passions, lusts, flesh) and say "YES" to God! It reminds me of an old song: "I'll say 'yes, Lord, yes' to Your will and to Your ways. I'll say 'yes, Lord, yes' -- I will trust You and obey. When Your Spirit speaks to me, with my whole heart I'll agree. And my answer will be 'yes, Lord, yes' ". Throughout Lent, I want to learn to be more ready with my "no" to self and my "yes" to God! .

Journal photo / Andrew Dickerman Today is Ash Wednesday, which marks the beginning of Lent . (It is earlier this year, as it begins 40 days before Easter, and Easter is early this year.) The priest dips his thumb into the ashes (made from last year's burned palm fronds), and marks the foreheads of the people with the sign of the cross. He repeats the phrase: "Remember that thou art dust and unto dust thou shalt return." (Or something similar.) It is a reminder that without God, we are nothing. (See this link for more information.) As I sat in Mass this morning, pondering the whole idea of what is ahead in Lent and what that means, this thought came to me: Lent is not so much about "giving up" as it is about "giving in". What do I mean by that? It is not to be focused on what we sacrifice as much as it is to be about submitting ourselves to God in deeper ways. It is about focusing on His sacrifice at the cross, and "giving in" ...

I'm still feeling that heaviness on me today. I still don't feel at liberty to go into complete detail. Just keep me in your prayers.