Serendipity!

I can recall a gathering at my parent’s home a few years back when some of us were sitting around the dining table and for whatever reason, were discussing movies.  The one statement that I’ve always remembered from that conversation was my Mom’s comment that she liked “happy movies” and that she watched movies to cheer her up and not make her sad.

Through the years since then, I have often thought about that declaration and realized that I am the same way!  I usually will not watch a movie if I know it has a sad ending.  I can deal with trauma and other negative life events in a movie if I know that has a happy ending!  I think part of this stems from the reality that I tend to be one of those people who looks at a partially filled container as being half full instead of half empty.  It must be one of the characteristics that I picked up from my Mom! 

As I endeavor to accomplish my daily activities I find that I would much rather have a smile on my face than a frown… and like I continually share… the same could be said for my lovely wife.  That’s probably one of the reasons we connected so quickly a few years back in high school… Okay… so maybe it’s more than just a few years back – Time does seem to fly when you are having a good time! 

One of the many attributes of my wife that has always captivated me is her smile and contagious laughter.  Today I can look at a picture from our past of her smiling and laughing and I can’t help but to burst out into laughter myself!  The memory of the unique pitch and timber of her laughter ignites all the memories of what she means to me.  It is a reflection of our love, of all the things that we have accomplished together and of that special serendipity that happens between us and through us when we work together in ministry, family and in the events of our daily lives.

I believe that this special serendipity is exactly the way Papa God wants us to connect with Him!  And I also believe that a smile and laughter is one of the main ways to enter into this level of relationship… through our PRAISES unto Him.  While studying Psalm 100 over the last few days I keep being drawn to the repeated idea of being “happy” when coming into His presence.  Verses one and two set the stage declaring: “Shout happily to the LORD, all the earth.  Serve the LORD cheerfully. Come into his presence with a joyful song.” (God’s Word ©)  Other translations say to “make a joyful noise” and to “serve the Lord with gladness,” (KJV) or to “Bring a gift of laughter, sing yourselves into his presence.” (The Message)

The use of these terms gives me the clear sensation that we should be happy when we PRAISE the Lord.  I learned through years of experience that although I may not always start out very happy when I begin to PRAISE the Lord, I just about always end up with a joyful heart and a big smile on my face when I am done!  Our heartfelt PRAISE does many things, one of which is to bring an atmosphere of joy into the situations we face in our lives on a daily basis.  I firmly believe that this is the main reason that I am able to continually face each new day with an attitude of expectation and peace in the midst of the trying times with my wife’s health needs.

The expectation, peace and joy that accompanies our heartfelt PRAISE brings encouragement to the one giving forth PRAISES unto God and also spreads forth that encouragement to anyone in the company of the PRAISER!  I’ve learned that a house without PRAISE is like a house without heat and light in the middle of winter… and believe me… I’ve been in some of those houses and they are not a comfortable place to stay for any period of time!  The Lord made it pretty clear to me early on in our stand of faith for Piper’s health, that I needed to limit her exposure in and around PRAISE-FREE people and their houses!  The lack of PRAISE has a very negative effect on her physical well-being in her weakened state.

As I’ve mentioned before… our house has never been and will never be… as long as I have something to say about it… a PRAISE-FREE zone!  What about you and yours?  I want my continual PRAISE to the Lord to be seen, received and felt by Papa God as a regular reminder and reflection of our love, of all the things that we have accomplished together and of that special serendipity that happens between us and through us when we come together in this life.

Would you agree?  Have a great rest of the week, and as you do, keep asking yourself… “Am I expecting to live in a PRAISE-FULL or a PRAISE-FREE zone in my life today?

Your Benefits Package

I was led to Psalm 100 and the subject of PRAISE a week ago today.  I actually started thinking about it sort of “out of the blue” while I was still in a semi-sleep state before I got up for the day.  Once I started studying on the subject I couldn’t help but get excited as it brought back a whole slew of memories surrounding Piper’s and my dating days and the first twenty some years of our marriage.  During those days I guess you could say that we were heavily into PRAISING THE LORD! 

We had a business/ministry for many of those years called “The Praise Work’s” through which we sold a set of Scripture Confession Cards that Piper had put together on the subjects of praise, healing, love and finances, along with a thirty day devotional for children that I had penned that we sold directly to customers and on assignment through three or four local Christian bookstores. 

My creative juices were freely flowing at that time and I also wrote a fictional children’s adventure novel entitled “The Adventure at Pine Lake” which I tried unsuccessfully to get published for quite some period of time.  I finally set that project aside as Piper and I prayed over other potential projects including a web site, a daily blog, a line of wooden children’s toys and a daily encouraging word to be called “Piper’s Proverbs” that stemmed from her uncanny ability to always seem to have the right word at the right time attached to the right scripture!  I also always dreamed of publishing the myriad of youth and children’s ministry skits that I had written as well as the countless original puppet skits I had penned for our extensive puppet ministry at our church at the time.  And the thing that fueled all of this creative activity was our life of PRAISE! 

The mid-eighties and nineties was also the period of time when Piper was in the prime years of her homeschooling adventures with our kids.  Like I’ve stated in many blogs, this was simply a great passion of my wife’s!  It was like she ate, slept and lived homeschool.  Every moment was turned into a learning experience with which she had the knack of turning into a fun filled project for our four kids… And she enjoyed just about every single minute of it!

And how do I know this?  By the smile on her face, the shining light in her eyes and the almost continual PRAISE that came out of her mouth!  I should also mention that during the early to mid-nineties we went through the most difficult time with our finances with our home that we have ever experienced before or since.  But we finally made it through and by 1996 our income had changed (for the good) so dramatically that it was hard for us to recall those most difficult of times… and through it all we kept up with the PRAISES of God.  FOR IT WAS ALL WE KNEW TO DO!

After our financial situation was over and what we had gone through came out, most people who we knew told us that they would have NEVER imagined that we were going through such an ordeal.  Was it easy for us?  Absolutely NOT!  But through the thick and thin, through the extreme moments of stress, those hard meetings with the bank and other financial experts, we did our best to keep a positive thought on God’s promises, a smile on our faces and exclamations of PRAISE and confessions of God’s Word coming from our lips.  The Word of God in Hebrews 13:15 became a standby to us during those days as we learned by actual experience that: “Through Jesus we should always bring God a sacrifice of praise, that is, words that acknowledge him.” (God’s Word ©)

I have a feeling that I’ll be on this subject for a long time in the coming weeks.  Over the weekend I could not get a release to move onto another subject… and then the Pastor steps up to the podium yesterday and announces that his subject for his sermon is: “The Untapped Power of Praise!”

Hummm… see what I mean!  When he made that statement I could not help but to burst out laughing as I turned to my wife and said” “See!  Is that confirmation or what?”  He proceeded to share eight benefits for the ones who choose the lifestyle of PRAISE.  I’ll share those steps and a lot more over the coming weeks… So… get ready to learn about and then become… if you’re not already… one whose trade mark is the words, “PRAISE THE LORD!”

Have a great new week, and as you do, keep asking yourself… “Am I expecting to receive the benefits available to the ones who PRAISE the Lord?”

Keeping Your Bota Full...

One thing that I always admired about my wife, even from before the earliest days of our relationship, was her confidence.  I remember back in our junior year in high school when we were just friends as part of a larger group friends that enjoyed getting together on weekends for various fun activities.  It seemed like whenever we came up with a potential plan for something to do that she would always be one of the first to jump in and offer transportation and/or ideas as to how we could enhance the event.  And even though she was physically one of the smallest members of our group, you would always find her right in the middle of the action, be it a touch/tackle game of football on the beach, a softball game at Howarth Park or a gathering for Ice-Cream at Basket Robbins on Fourth Street.

In hindsight, I can now see that we unknowingly began to work as a team even back then… a year before we starting dating!  Many times I would come up with an idea and it was usually Piper who seemed to be right in sync with me by taking the suggestion and tiding up all the loose ends of the plan.  Once we finally connected, she was almost always open to trying new and exciting adventures.  And while she was never one that would just have to hold other people’s babies, when we started our family it was like she was born to be a Mom. 

She loved babies but didn’t necessarily feel the need to instantly be close to them and giggle in their faces.  But when our kids were young… well, it was a different story!  And believe me when I say, she would NOT let just anyone hold one of our kids!  I think one of the reasons that she was so confident with the things she did was because of the degree of spiritual discernment that she had attained through the years of her personal relationship with the Lord.  (She often talked about the day she walked down the aisle when she was just eight years old to receive Jesus as Savior and Lord)  I’ve said it a lot, in fact was just sharing with the CNA who was here on Wednesday helping Piper, that she is the MOST spiritually discerning woman that I have ever had contact with.

Then there was her passion to homeschool our kids.  During those years it was like she was NEVER afraid to do any new project, teach any subject or go on any outlandish field trip that our large Independent Study Program group had planned.  I can hardly remember her balking on anything.  She was determined, confident and did whatever research needed to complete a new task or teach a new subject.

But I also believe that the real reason for her confidence, level of spiritual discernment and every other talent she was blessed with, can be directly attributed to the PRAISE that filled her heart.  Let me tell you… she was BIG on PRAISING THE LORD!  It was quite a common event in our home for her to stop us in the middle of a family activity, homeschool or meal and say: “You know, I think we need to PRAISE THE LORD!”  She just seemed to be able to sense when things would begin to get muddled down in self-pity, complaining, tiredness, or under attack of the enemy of our souls and her solution was always the same… PRASING THE LORD!

Another favorite Psalm of PRAISE for me is found in Psalm 40.  In the third verse the Psalmist declares after waiting patiently for the Lord to hear his cry in the midst of a horrible situation, that “He placed a new song in my mouth, a song of PRAISE to our God.  Many will see this and worship.  They will trust the Lord.”  I thought for a moment that I had looked up the wrong word when I checked the Greek translation of the Hebrew word “song” in this verse.  But after I rechecked it a few times I realized that I had the right definition.  According to Strong’s the word in the Greek describes “a skin bag used as a bottle.”  My first, second and third thoughts when I read this were: “Huh?  Am I missing something here?”

But the more I prayed and meditated on it, I began to see a picture of a shepherd or traveler in Bible times with a goat skin bag over his shoulder filled with wine or water.  The liquid in that Traditional Spanish Bota as it is known in some circles today (See: https://www.tienda.com/dons-travels/botacare.html), was not only for refreshment, but was also a source of life sustaining fluids in a harsh environment, in times of extended activity, or when one was physically strained.

Now put that idea into the mind of the Psalmist at that time and it is easy to see his reference to the Bota or goat skin bag as a container of the life-sustaining reservoir of PRAISE! Piper was never a wine drinker and even though she knew it was good for her, she never really enjoyed drinking a lot of water either… BUT what she did do was to partake of A LOT of PRAISE! She had the discernment and the experience behind it to know that PRAISING the Lord was a key to the alleviation of worry, fear, confusion, anger and stress… among other things!

She also had the sense of mind to know that in order to keep that reservoir of PRAISE full and therefore available for any situation, at any moment, that you needed to keep filling up your personal Bota by regular and consistent time in the Word, through prayer and… you guessed it… through more PRAISE!  And for those of us who have been blessed to know Piper, you know that she did these things, and that PRAISE, a big smile, a kind word and a happy disposition were just a part of who she was… and still is today!  She may not have the capacity to do all those things right now, but in my role as husband and 24/7 caregiver I do it for her… and do my best to keep that attitude of PRAISE alive and active in the atmosphere of our home.

One thing I learned about the use and care of the Traditional Spanish Bota was that it has to be seasoned before its first use.  Once this process is complete you never have to do that again… UNLESS… you stop using it for a prolonged time.  In that case you have to go through the long process of seasoning the skin again before you can put the liquid of your chose inside.  And that same analogy can be used for your PRAISE Bota as well.  Like Piper, you need to keep your Bota full of PRAISES so you don’t run out and never have to go without, while you re-season your container.

So there ya go!  Lots to think about when it comes to having a Bota of your own.  You might want to check the online link above and learn a little about the Traditional Spanish Bota before you try using this analogy with someone else!  Have a great weekend and keep your PRAISES up… what’s that old saying in church circles… “Be Blessed to Be a Blessing!” With your personal Bota filled to the brim with the PRAISES of God, you can’t help but be a blessing to others!

We’ll see you again next week… and until then, keep asking yourself… Am I expecting to have my BOTA filled with the life sustaining PRAISES of God today?”

What Did You Say?

When Piper and I went to the local ATT store to purchase a new cell phone a few months ago in our new hometown of Fuquay-Varina, a large and growing metropolitan area with a burgeoning population of about 19,000 friendly folks (I’m kidding about the metropolitan area but the town is definitely growing with its relatively close proximity to Raleigh and the Research Triangle – NC’s Silicon Valley) the sales guy asked for my Apple password so he could transfer the old phone’s account information into our new 7 plus.  Well… you guessed it, as soon as he asked, my mind went blank and I immediately thought about the little black book I had back home where I keep track of all the various passwords I use.

Am I the only one that this ever happens to?  With so many different online accounts and each of them seemingly asking for stronger and more complicated passwords, I finally deduced that the little black book was the best way for me to have a quick way to recall them!  The only ones that I tend to memorize are the ones that I use all the time.  The downside is that I don’t carry the little book around with me 24/7.   And since I don’t trust the supposedly secure online password saving programs, I will occasionally run into a problem like at the ATT store.  But to be honest, this very seldom happens because 95% of the time I am online is at home where I have easy access to my password book.

If you recall our blog post from last Monday, I mentioned The Message Bible’s modern paraphrase of Psalm 100:4 where it talks about the use of a particular password.  If you met the Psalmist today he would say to you: “Enter with the password: ‘Thank you!’ Make yourselves at home, talking praise. Thank him. Worship him.”  The only difficulty with the modern twist on this favorite Psalm is that it doesn’t really ever tell you where or what you are entering into!  In my opinion, the answer to those two questions is kind of the key to the whole Psalm.

So for us to find that important information, we have to fall back onto a more traditional translation.  My old standby, The King James Version, explains that we are to “Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name.”   Ahhh… now that makes a little more sense!  But I must also must confess that I do like the picture that the Message Bible implants in the reader concerning the idea of THANKSGIVING as being the PASSWORD to get through the GATES and into the presence of Papa God.  As it turns out, THANKSGIVING is one of those few PASSWORDS that I use often enough to remember without the use of my little black book!  What about you? 

Once you get through the gates the next keyword to remember and activate is PRAISE.  The physical and verbal action of PRAISING God is what brings us into God’s courts, or maybe a bit easier to understand… into His presence.  While reading this verse I was captivated by the realization that the Psalmist specifically talks about ‘courts’ in the plural sense.  In his well-known book, The Treasury of David, Charles Spurgeon says about the ‘courts’ spoken of in this verse as: “Whatever court of the Lord you may enter, let your admission be the subject of praise - thanks be to God, the innermost court is now open to believers, and we enter into that which is within the veil…”

As I got deeper into my personal study of these GATES and COURTS I suddenly had the idea that THANKSGIVING will get you in the door and PRAISE will bring you into the very presence of Papa God.  Then it seemed to make sense to me… and I have some personal experience to back this up… that the more we PRAISE Him, the deeper we enter into His presence!  Then I had another revelation in that continued PRAISE gets us and then keeps us in His presence.

So… am I saying that we need to be physically and verbally PRASING the Lord 24/7?  Well, as nice as that could be, I do not think that it very practical… nor do I feel that this is what the Lord would require of us.  But what I do think He may be desiring for us is to stay in a continual ATTITUDE OF PRAISE and THANKSGIVING! 

That kind of ATTITUDE comes from regular fellowship with Him through His Word and prayer.  A lifestyle that puts Him first will turn you into an individual who is alert and aware of Him in all that you do… and it leads to that ATTITUDE OF PRAISE and THANKSGIVING!  My own attempts at this have been sorely tested over these last ten years, and there have been more than just a few occasions where I have fallen short of an ATTITUDE OF PRAISE and THANKSGIVNG. 

But at times like these, I am also very thankful for the last verse in Psalm 100 where it says that “The LORD is good. His mercy endures forever. His faithfulness endures throughout every generation.” (God’s Word ©)  And all I can say about this truth is THANKS to God and PRAISE His holy name for this reassures me that when I hit a slippery slope I can rely on the FACTS that He is GOOD, that His mercy is ENDURES FOREVER and that His faithfulness ENDURES THROUGHOUT EVERY GENERATION!

Whew!  Pretty cool wouldn’t you say?

This is getting a little long, so let me wrap up this post by encouraging you to give THANKSGIVING and PRAISE a try in your life!  I can’t tell you of all the times something would happen out on the manufacturing floor where I supervised at Hewlett Packard when my first verbal response would be either “Thank you Jesus” or “Praise the Lord” and inevitably someone who heard me would say: “What did you say?” 

That seemingly weird response always worked in giving me a peaceful solution to whatever difficulty I faced at that moment… and opened many doors of Christian conversation and counseling!  So, like I said… go ahead and be weird and give THANKSGIVNG and PRAISE a try!  You never know… after a while you might start seeing some things change in your life… as well as in some of those around you!

Have a great rest of the week, and as you do, keep asking yourself… “What am I expecting to say when life’s circumstances get a little testy?”

PTL!

As we were worshipping the Lord yesterday morning with the live stream of our home church’s service in Oklahoma, the worship leader smoothly flowed from one worship song into the chorus of Fanny Crosby’s wonderful hymn “Blessed Assurance” singing:

“This is my story, this is my song,

Praising my Savior all the day long;

This is my story, this is my song,

Praising my Savior all the day long.”

And even though this song was written back in 1873, the words still ring true and powerfully in the heart of modern believers.  I’m not sure what happened as we began to sing that chorus in the dining room of our home as the music and singing from the church filled our home through the many speakers of our home entertainment system, but by the time we got to the last line, I found myself welling up in tears.  Suddenly it all became clear to me, and I turned to my wife and said “That really IS our story… isn’t it?”

Then I was reminded of the Second Chapter of Acts YouTube video from a concert in 1977 that I came across a week or so ago.  That video brought back Piper’s and my dating days and how from practically day one, we had set out to Praise the Lord in everything we did.  I was pretty ignorant of spiritual things back then, but was hungry to know more of God and followed my wife to be’s lead on just about everything!

It was an exciting time for both of us as we began to form a unique-to-us relationship with the Lord and the direction we felt that He was leading us into.  It didn’t come without some pushback from people around us though.  My folks thought for sure that I had jumped off a cliff and was being unduly influenced by Piper and her family’s “religion”… and Piper’s Dad, on the other hand, told Piper that he had concerns about our relationship because I was Catholic.

By the time we got to college though, most of the new friends we made seemed to accept us for who we were… or who we were developing into… and we got along well with just about everyone in our perspective dorms, classes and school activities.  We learned fairly quickly that the best thing we could say and do when difficult situations arose was “Praise the Lord!”

One of the first scriptures we memorized together was Psalm 100 with special emphasis on verse four where the Psalmist encourages us to:  “Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name.” (KJV) 

As I thought about all this during the singing of that song yesterday, I understood how Thanksgiving and Praise has been our slogan for some 47 years now!  The Message Bible has a fun, more down to earth and modern slant on this verse saying:  “Enter with the password: ‘Thank you!’ Make yourselves at home, talking praise. Thank him. Worship him.”

This paraphrase makes me think about the personal, face to face relationship that Christians can have with the Lord.  It is about coming into His presence with thanksgiving on our lips and praise as a part of all our conversations with Him.

It is hard for me today to imagine a day without saying or singing the actual words: “Praise the Lord!”  I find it on my lips before I get up to face a new day, it’s how I greet my wife when I help her up for the day and it is the power behind those simple words that gets me through each and every day!

So how about you?  Do you think I’m a little strange with this?  We have had people imply that we might be just a little too “fanatical” with our lifestyle and choice of vocabulary… but it doesn’t move us as we KNOW that it works for us!  Do you think it could work for you?

Have a great new week, and as you do, keep asking yourself… “Am I expecting to Praise the Lord today?”

Who Are You?

♫ “If you've never fed the hungry, or given clothes to the poor,

If you've never helped the stranger who came knocking on your door,

If you forgot to send some flowers to sick and shut-in friend,

well if you ain't helping none of these, then you ain't helping Him.

If you've ever seen some children, playing ball behind a school,

If you've ever watched an old man, plowing ground behind mule,

If you've ever stopped and listened, when you could not hear a sound,

then brother you have met Him, because Jesus gets around.

Would you recognize Jesus if you met Him face to face?

or would you wonder if He's just another one you could not place?

You may not find Him coming in a chariot of the Lord, Jesus could be riding in a "49 Ford.

You can find Him in your Momma's eyes, or in your Daddy's face,

You can find He's always there to help you win the human race,

You can find Him in the mountains, downtown, or by the sea,

And brother, here's hoping someone can find him, and you and me.

Would you recognize Jesus if you met Him face to face?

or would you wonder if He's just another one you could not place?

You may not find Him coming in a chariot of the Lord, Jesus could be riding in a "49 Ford” ♪

Have you ever heard Country Music legend Johnny Cash sing the above song entitled “Would You Recognize Jesus?”  It has been popping up on my Pandora morning music shuffle over the last few weeks.  Every time I hear it, the impact of the words just sort of flash in my mind’s eye!  It conjures up memories of an early elementary school friend’s family car which might have been a ’49 (or there abouts…) Ford.  It makes me think of simpler times past, of a white country church in a Pollyanna-ish story sitting in an open field with a big old stately oak tree towering nest to it.

But most of all it causes me to think back about the faces of all the people over the last few years where I saw Jesus in them!  The people who have gone out of their way to open doors for Piper as I maneuver her chair through the opening, the blessed one’s who step out of their comfort zones and take the time to bend down on a knee to talk to her face to face in the middle of Walmart, the ones who encourage me with their kind words as we pass by each other or the ones who simply smile at us instead of turning away… as many do.

It is interesting to me, as the one usually reaching out to others in my role as Pastor, how much more I see Jesus in others now that the shoe is on the other foot… sort of say!  It has definitely made me more aware of the desire… and need for me to be more like Jesus for the others around me as well!

It has made me become even more aware of my sensitivity to “Listen for GOD's voice in everything you do, everywhere you go” (Proverbs 3:6 The Message) so they just might see Jesus in me.  I have heard it said many times that as Christians, we might be the only Jesus that some people will ever see!  So whether I am driving a 1949 Ford or a 2015 Chevy Equinox, I hope to be Jesus to those I interact with on a daily basis.  How about you?

Would you recognize Jesus if you met Him face to face?  Would the people in your life recognize Jesus when they come face to face with you?

Have a marvelous weekend, and as you do keep asking yourself… Am I expecting to be Jesus to someone today?”

Are You Listening?

Once I helped my wife to bed last night and got her all snuggled and tucked in, I sat down on my bed next to hers and just quietly looked at her while I reminisced in my thoughts about our past together.  With a hint of fascination I slightly turned my head to the side and gently stated… “You know Honey, it is kind of uncanny that you and I seemed to have had an almost instant trust in each other from day one!  It was like we really ‘knew’ each other from the start and were not afraid to share our most intimate and private thoughts with each other.”

I learned pretty quickly that Piper’s ‘voice’ was one that I could always depend on for encouragement, knowledgeable insight in just about all the natural situations we faced as husband and wife as well as with the raising of our kids, a good laugh, sound Biblical wisdom and anointed spiritual discernment.  But let me explain what I mean when I talk about her ‘voice’.  It is not just the physical tone and pitch of her heard voice, but in particular the inner ‘voice’ of a strong and loving women of God whose very presence in a room could turn an uncomfortable situation into one of peace and restoration.

Sometimes she wouldn’t even have to actually say anything before I knew her answer, her thoughts, the scripture she would share and then experience the peace and joy that she has always brought to me.  I guess you could say that this is how we communicate today with the advance of Alzheimer’s.  Do I miss hearing the unique intonations of her sweet voice?  YOU BET I DO!  I went into our study yesterday afternoon and played back the message we had recorded together many years ago on the old answering machine we used before the onset of voicemail… just to hear her wonderful sound again!

But just because she doesn’t talk through her lips anymore (at least for now) that doesn’t mean that we don’t communicate.  I still hear that ‘inner voice’ that I just mentioned.  I’ve heard it said that when people lose the use of one of their senses that they learn to develop and trust the other senses to make up for the loss.  Well, I guess that is what has happened in our case!  Like I’ve said over and over again, she and I have come to intimately know each other so well that we don’t even need to verbally communicate in order to meet the other’s needs or do what we know is best or most pleasurable for the other.

Our now familiar scripture in Proverbs 3:6 in the Message Bible talks about how we need to “Listen for GOD's voice in everything you do, everywhere you go; he's the one who will keep you on track.”  When I read this I immediately realize that the writer is encouraging us to continually “give ear to him.” (Bible in Basic English)  I would think that it could be likened to a well-trained soldier who goes into enemy territory on patrol and stays alert and in constant awareness of the sights and sounds around him (or her).

Over the last ten years I have become very in tune to my wife’s current health baseline.  Even at night I can tell when her breathing changes or any other noises or movements that may signify a change and/or a potential need.  I hope that I can say the same thing about my hearing the ‘voice’ of God at any point be it day or night. 

The new hospice Nurse Practitioner was asking me the other day if Piper still recognizes me and I reported how on most days I can still recognize the signs of acknowledgment in her eyes and/or slight changes in facial expressions.  I told her how it really seemed strange to me when family back home in California would say that she didn’t recognize them when I could clearly see the glint in her eyes, or the subtle change in her facial expressions when she looked at them.  But as I look back now, I understand it was because they didn’t ‘know’ the ‘inner voice’ of Piper as I do!  They were dependent on her physical voice and even though they were family to her, they never took the time to develop a line of communication with her ‘inner voice’.

And that is my thought for this post today.  How well have each of us developed that line of communication between God and ourselves?  How well do we hear the ‘voice’ of God in the midst of the various moments of our lives, “in everything you do, everywhere you go;”

I’ve learned that it first takes our personal desire to want to know His ‘voice’ inside of you.  Then it takes a long term commitment to find and spend quality time alone with Him on a daily basis.  For some this may mean that you’ll have to take an inventory of your daily priorities and maybe make a few changes so that daily quiet times with God becomes a part of your schedule.  I also have to admit, that this will be a change that will make a most positive impact on your life!

So what do you think?  Are you ready to hear voices… in particular HIS VOICE?  (You really don’t want to hear just any voice!)  There is no better time than TODAY to make whatever changes might be necessary to develop the ability to communicate with the ‘voice’ of God in your daily lives.  Have a great rest of the week, and as you do, keep asking yourself… “Who’s VOICE am I expecting to hear inside of me today?”