Change?

I was thinking this morning of how my life has kind of been a dichotomy of likes and dislikes and do’s and don’ts!  Let me explain…

In particular, I was thinking about change.  When push-comes-to-shove, I really don’t like change.  I think the same could be said about most people.  But yet, as I look back at my life, I can readily see that my wife and I tended to be proponents of change within our immediate circle of friends, family, co-workers as well as with the members of the various churches in which we served. 

For me, the rumbles of change were first heard in high school, when I began to date this spunky, freckle faced, enthusiastic, bundle of joy named Piper, who amongst her many other positive attributes (at least to me… not so much my Catholic family at the time) talked about Jesus like He was her best friend!  I was raised that one’s religion was very personal and private and not to be shared with others.  So… when she came over to the house, much of my family’s comfort level was stretched.

For Piper, it began with her getting serious with this Catholic guy.  She later told me that it highly concerned her Baptist Father.  Then after attending her church for many years and serving as Youth Ministers there, we shook up our Baptist friends by leaving and becoming members of a small (but powerful in the Word) Pentecostal, Word of Faith church that met in all places… in a hotel room!

Then there was my wife’s dream and passion to homeschool our kids (both our Dads were teachers and to put it mildly… they thought we were beyond crazy!), our calling and burning desire to the ministry and not being happy with a “normal” steady, well-paying secular job, our desire to raise a large family, our love for hot cars, our pioneering spirits that really set us apart from the rest of both sides of our families… and the list goes on and on!

So, even though I didn’t like things to change… we were always open and obedient to whatever changes… no matter how drastic they were… that we felt the Lord was directing us to make.  After a while, we just accepted the fact that many people would not understand us and think that we had lost our marbles!

And so, here I sit today, forced to live without my best friend and the love of my life for 48 years, some 1800 miles away from our home in northern California, living through some wild thunderstorms, tornado warnings, high winds and quarter size hail… like the threats we had last night… with no mountains or an ocean for miles and all the while, trying desperately to accept the fact that BIG changes are looming on my horizons.    But lately, I’ve begun to have some new insights on my present life and foreseeable future.

Ephesians 1:10 tell us that “because of God’s unfailing purpose, this detailed plan will reign supreme through every period of time until the fulfillment of all the ages finally reaches its climax—when God makes all things new in all of heaven and earth through Jesus Christ.” (The Passion Translation)  Now, I understand that in the context of this statement, that Paul is writing about God’s plan for mankind through the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus, but I also am beginning to see that I can take it as a word from the Lord for my particular set of circumstances.  When I first read this yesterday morning, I couldn’t help but jump up from my chair at my desk and shout “GLORY!”

I suddenly understood that God’s plan for me hasn’t changed.  That his unfailing purpose with the detailed plan that He has had for me will continue to reign supreme through every up and down of my life!  That yes… some of the participants in His plan may change, but His overall plan and purpose for me hasn’t!

I’m gonna date myself here… but for some reason, as I pondered all this in the shower this morning, I recalled a TV series that I really enjoyed back in the 1970’s called “The Rookies.”  At the end of the first season, one of the main characters left the show and was replaced with another actor… and let me tell you, I was NOT a happy camper!  I really liked the actor who left… he was my favorite character on the show.  To me, the whole show revolved around him.  Needless to say, I did not like the change. 

To me it upset the established interactions of the other main characters.  It introduced new tensions into the show, and in many respects, changed the flavor of the show.  But the more I watched the series (which went on for another 3 seasons), the more I began to enjoy the new character.  I even began to realize that the new presence on the show brought a new spark and depth to the overall success of the storyline.

And with those thoughts in mind, I started to envision the positive possibilities of living the rest of my earthly existence without Piper.  I began to see from Paul’s words in Ephesians 1:10, that God wants the TV series of my life to go on with its original plan and purposes intact… but with the changes of a major character and its physical shooting location!  I don’t know why, but that really brought a new peace to my being.  In my way of thinking, life for me now will consist of some personal adjustments and not compete changes from the way things were before.

Then as I was slipping on my shoes before the dog and I stepped out for a walk, I started to get a little excited and laughed thinking that God wants to bring some new flavor and spark into my life.  I recalled that at the end of Psalm 91, that the Lord promised us that “You will be satisfied with a full life and with all that I do for you. For you will enjoy the fullness of my salvation!” (Psalm 91:16 The Passion Translation)

Today I am beginning to realize that the Lord only has GOOD things planned for me and that if He has His way… that I will ENJOY them!   Have a great rest of the week, and as you do, say with me… “I am expecting to enjoy the life that my Father God has plan and purposed for me to live!”

Out of the Box!

The more I study and read about heaven, the more I am convinced of the supernatural power, omnipresence and omniscience of God… and more importantly for us… of His strong desire for us to experience it within our daily lives!  As I look at various accounts of dreams, visions or out of body experiences emanating from a diverse mix of individuals, who represent different backgrounds, with a wide range of religious affiliations, I continue to be amazed at how strikingly similar their descriptions of heaven are and of the way things seem to operate in that realm.

This picture of heaven gives me a good feel, for lack of better words… of God’s “modus operandi” (M.O.) which is simply defined as “a particular way or method of doing something, especially one that is characteristic or well-established.” (Oxford Dictionaries)

This study has, to me, acted as the clinching confirmation to my long-held conviction of the belief that God wants us Christians to think out of the box and have big and great requests, unbelievably humongous dreams and wild imaginations in our faith life that are lived out through our daily activities… because that is EXACTLY where HE lives… Out Of The Box! (See: Ephesians 3:17-19)  Do you catch a hint of excitement here?  I SURE hope so!

If you’re anything like me, then you’ve been spending a lot of time in Psalm 91 throughout this world-wide Covid-19 pandemic.  Within that Psalm, the writer seems to summarize all the protection, abundant provision, healing, worry-not, encouragement, confidence and comfort scriptures that are found throughout the pages of our Bibles!  The fourteenth verse boldly declares:  “For here is what the Lord has spoken to me: ‘Because you have delighted in me as my great lover, I will greatly protect you. I will set you in a high place, safe and secure before my face.’” (The Passion Translation) 

The King James Version states the section described as "delighting in me” as, “because you have known my name.”  The word “known” is a familiar one from both the Hebrew and the Greek that is used many times throughout the scriptures and refers to having an intimate knowledge (or relationship) of or with something or someone.  In this reference the connection is with the “name” of Jesus.

Thayer’s Greek definition of “name” explains that “the name is used for everything which the name covers, everything the thought or feeling of which is aroused in the mind by mentioning, hearing, remembering, the name, i.e. for one’s rank, authority, interests, pleasure, command, excellences, deeds etc.”  In layman’s (or laywomen’s) terms, these two words infer that this verse works best for those of us who endeavor to have an intimate knowledge of everything that the name of JESUS covers!

It is my personal belief that many Believer’s live below God’s best in their lives and/or deny the reality of the supernatural power and blessings of God in their lives, because they don’t understand the way He thinks and operates.  We tend to try and understand the supernatural within the limitations of our natural minds!  In other words, we’ve got God in a box!  For more information on this, take some time to study out the book of Romans, chapter eight from a variety of translations.

There were a couple of times when reading about heaven this weekend where I couldn’t decide if I wanted to cry or stand up and shout… so I did both! (that’s one perk of living alone!)  Isaiah 55:8-9 seems to be a very accurate explanation of what I have been growing in understanding about lately.  Here the prophet declares the simple truth of what God had and has been trying to get through to us for centuries… mainly that: “My thoughts are not your thoughts, and my ways are not your ways," declares the LORD.  (for) "Just as the heavens are higher than the earth, so my ways are higher than your ways, and my thoughts are higher than your thoughts." (God’s Word ©)

Do you mean that God’s love, God’s grace, God’s peace, God’s joy, God’s abundance, God’s wisdom and His understanding of anything could possibly be more than what I can conceive of?  YES!

Piper and I discovered that life was a lot more interesting and exciting when we sought to let go of ourselves and our (and the world’s) preconceived ideas of how things should be… and then followed through by doing our best to see, do and believe for things THE WAY THAT HE DID… and still does today!  That when HIS WORD says He can… we simply, with a child-like faith believed Him!  Is life perfect?  Did it always turn out the way we thought it would?  Did we always do it right? NO!  But the YES’s sure out did the NO’s, we learned a lot along the way and had a lot of fun doing it HIS way!

How about YOU?  How Out Of The BOX are your dreams, desires, hopes and imaginations today?

The Old Boom Box!

I keep the old boom box that I purchased in the early 1990’s on the counter that separates my kitchen from the living room.  Since my home entertainment system isn’t fully programmed yet, I still use the radio to listen to the local Christian radio station, news talk/extreme weather stations and have the ability to listen to some of my old audio cassettes.  I normally listen to the Christian station for a few hours first thing every morning.  The hosts are funny, inspirational and informative, especially concerning local events in the Tulsa area.   Around ten I usually switch to satellite radio where I enjoy the southern gospel channel on the enLighten station, permeating the house with deep notes that play through my big floor speakers.

This morning after flipping off the radio station, I paused and pressed the play button on the cassette player in order to catch a few moments of Piper’s voice from a sermon she preached twenty years ago during a Wednesday night service at our church in California.  In the spot that played, she was accentuating the point of our ability as Christian’s to be “more than conquerors” in the negative situations that come against us in this world, as stated in Romans 8:37.  I listened for a short period of time and with a huge smile on my face and in a loud tone of voice, called out to anyone listening (ie; the dog sleeping on the couch in the study) “That’s my girl!”

My pleasure and joy was due to the excitement that she was projecting with her voice as she hammered home her point.  You see, I knew her well and every time she got excited and the anointing of God came on upon her while preaching to the adult congregation or teaching a lesson to our children’s or youth classes, the volume as well as the pitch of her voice got higher and higher and louder and louder!  She was by no means a screamer, but anyone listening in the room clearly knew that God was making HIS purpose known through her!

That walk down memory lane this morning brought to mind a little blurb I posted on Facebook yesterday afternoon.  In it I related the sullenness that I saw on the faces of many of the people in the Super Walmart that I shopped at earlier that morning.  The people’s expressions seemed to exhibit how tired they were of the local “Stay at Home” policies enacted across the country… and most of the world for that matter!  My antidote was for us Christian to let the light and love of Christ shine through us by “Being cheerful with joyous celebration in every season of life. And let His joy overflow, for we are united with the Anointed One!” (Philippians 4:4 The Passion Translation)

I’m not sure what process you might use to cheer yourself up when life attempts to drag you down, but in our house, it was through a dose of the Word of God and a time of praise unto the Lord.  Piper even made mention of this during that same sermon, telling of how she and the kids would take “Praise Breaks” in the afternoons when everyone in the Berruto Homeschool was getting tired, attentions were waning and attitudes needed a little adjusting.  That’s what I meant when I hollered out “That’s my girl!” in the midst of her demonstrated excitement over the Word that she was sharing with the congregation on the cassette.  Her words and actions that night was simply who she was!  She was giving the people that night an honest and humble glance into the daily life of Piper Kaye Berruto.

I noticed very early on as Piper and I walked along that final stretch of the trail of her life from 2010 – 2018, that I would be in a much better state of mind, emotional well-being and physical strength when my faith was current, active and built up.  The beginning of Proverbs 3:5 in The Passion Translation encourages the reader to “Trust in the Lord completely…” I came to understand that if I discovered at any point during the day or night, that I wasn’t totally believing that statement… if I could not honestly say that I was trusting the Lord COMPLETELY – then I needed to pause right then and there, take a “Word and/or Praise Break” and get things right in me.

Throughout our personal lives and ministry, Piper and I gained a pretty good knowledge of the personal and collateral damage that being out of FAITH and in FEAR could have on an individual, their spouse and on their family.  We saw it happening in the lives of family and friends around us and always strove to avert it on our lives.  We faced it head on throughout our journey with the battle for Piper’s health.  We had first-hand experience with the reality of how FEAR is repulsed by FAITH. 

Psalm 27:2 says that “When evil ones come to destroy me, they will be the ones who turn back.” We saw that happening as our stand of faith just seemed to be too much for some people to handle and they slowly but surely backed away from us.  Likewise, Romans 8:1 asserts that “the mind-set focused on the flesh fights God’s plan and refuses to submit to his direction, because it cannot!”  (both verses from – The Passion Translation)

I firmly believe that this is the only explanation for why some reacted the way they did to our needs back then.  I have to believe in my heart that they really wanted to help us and be a strong part of the answer to our situation and not part of the problem, but couldn’t respond as such due to the FEAR that they had – whether knowingly or unknowingly - allowed into their lives… that was repulsed when it came in contact with FAITH.

So, what is the proposed solution to FEAR and/or letting the negativity in life get the best of us?  Simply said: DO Proverbs 3:5 and learn to take whatever steps are necessary for you to get into the Word and exercise your ability and right to PRAISE HIM whenever you need to.  Remember that I John 4:18 informs us that: “No fear exists where his love is. Rather, perfect love gets rid of fear, because fear involves punishment. The person who lives in fear doesn't have perfect love.” (God’s Word ©)  And how do you access His Love… You guessed it… By getting into HIS WORD!

So, as we enter into this weekend, let’s plan to get into HIS WORD and take regular PRAISE BREAKS along the way!  Then you can say with great expectancy that, “I am expecting to take the action steps that I require in order to stay uplifted and thereby be a blessing to others this weekend!

Don't You?

It is no great secret that I love books and reading.  I fondly remember my mother taking me to the little Montgomery Village branch of the Sonoma County Library or the classic old 1904 Carnegie Library in downtown Santa Rosa on warm summer days to choose a book to read as I wallowed away the dog days of summer as a child.  I don’t recall if Piper had similar library memories of her childhood or not, but she also retained that same love for books that I did… even though you’d hardly find her sitting down alone and reading except for her Bible or in her dramatic or silly sharing from the written volumes of many good children’s books with our four kids. 

In fact, that’s how I read… or rather heard the entire Little House on the Prairie series by Laura Ingalls Wilder.  For months the four kids and I would gather in one of the kid’s rooms while Piper read to us at their bedtime!  I bought Piper a brand-new set of the series for our last Christmas together, but didn’t get the time to re-read every book to her before she passed on to her new home in heaven.

I purchased a Kindle digital reader numerous years back, joined a few discount digital book clubs and have been purchasing volumes of books ever since.  I have so many now, that I forget what I've bought.  I’m thankful that my Amazon account keeps track of my purchases and lets me know if I already have a particular book or not! 

I recently purchased one called “The Best of American Heritage: The Old West.”  It contains a collection of articles from “The American Heritage Magazine” which was first published in 1949. Yesterday I was reading a chapter entitled “Pioneers in Petticoats” that was written by Helena Huntington Smith in February of 1959.  Through painstaking research and countless interviews with direct descendants or still-living participants, the author totally debunked the well-crafted idea of the “dreadful experience” that most known literature of the West wrote of, concerning the women who pioneered the West with their husbands and families.

She wrote that most of these individuals were a special breed, who worked hard, stood in the harrowing face of the vast myriad of troubles that came against them, did what it took and enjoyed the simple things in life.  Sure, it was rough and tough, but they harbored a good attitude and faced hardship while rejoicing in the good times and the life that they had chosen.

I couldn’t help but tear up as I read this chapter for it reminded me of my Piper.  She was of that unique breed that possessed the (I) “Can-Do” (all things through Christ who straightens me” -Philippians 4:13) attitude.  She approached most things in life with a smile and saw it as an opportunity to see God work in, through and for her… and most times she somehow made it fun!

Like me, once we set our face toward a goal, we went all out to successfully complete it.  We had jointly decided early on in our relationship (years before we got married) that we were going to “Trust in the Lord completely, and  not rely on our own opinions, but with all of our hearts to rely on Him to guide us, and know that He would lead us in every decision we needed to make.”  Our number one plan was to initiate all that we did “by staying intimate with him in whatever we would set out to do, and once again, KNOW and DEPEND on the EXPECTATION that He would lead us wherever we were to go.” (Proverbs 3:5-6 The Passion Translation, personalized)

During our time together we occasionally had those who criticized our decisions and bemoaned some of our choices or even the way we raised our children, but I have come to realize that they simply did not understand our personalities, our giftings, our hearts, our pioneering spirits nor our callings in life.  I learned through some personal experience’s while Piper’s life deteriorated before my eyes, that you cannot judge what another individual does or doesn’t do based on your own background or experiences.  We’re all different!  It’s the unique way that God created each of us.  It’s one of the things that makes life interesting, enjoyable and exciting… and although different, we are all very special in His eyes!

Psalm 91:15 in The Passion Translation tells us when talking about God’s ability to answer our every cry for help, that “I will be your glorious hero and give you a feast.”  Well… I want to be just like my heavenly Daddy and be a hero as well!  Don’t you?  I want to be a hero like Him and love and accept others who may not think, act, speak, hold similar political beliefs or live exactly like I do.  Don’t you?  I want to be known as someone who will encourage others and not seen as one who becomes a part of their problems.  Don’t you?  When people see me, I want them to see Jesus… Don’t you?

Have a great rest of the week.  We’re in the middle of a day of potentially severe thunderstorms, so our “I’m expecting to trust in the Lord” barometer is registering at the top of the scale today!  Where is yours registering?

A Word of LOVE

Wow!  What a beautiful day out here in mid-America today!  Fiver and I went for a walk around 9:30 this morning and I was instantly captivated by the deep blue skies, the few remaining white puffy clouds and the gentle but warm SSW breeze coming up from Texas and the Gulf of Mexico.  I was pleasantly surprised at Fiver as he barely seemed to notice that just about every dog was out and loudly barking at us as we traversed the gauntlet of backyards that face the golf course.  Upon the approach of our destination of the neighborhood park and pond, I caught a glimpse of two city tractors mowing the grass along the sloping bank of the large pond.  It seemed like everyone was out enjoying the morning!

On our return trip I found myself staring out over the neighborhood, the canopy of blue overhead and the reappearing green on the lawns and golf course.  Fiver seemed content to sniff the alluring scents on the lawn and in the air and to be honest… I didn’t want to go home but to keep on walking!

Piper loved to walk and through the years, in every state we lived, we spent countless hours strolling around our various neighborhoods almost daily, enjoyed the challenge of new trails whenever and wherever we went on vacation, and explored many new-to-us walking paths around the city when we originally lived here from 2006-2009. 

I realized this morning that Piper and I had been holding hands and walking together since the very beginning days of our relationship, starting with our daily lunchtime strolls around the high school campus.  While at Chico State we regularly walked through the neighborhoods bordering the school’s beautiful campus and hiked many trails in the famous Bidwell Park where the forest scenes for Earl Flynn’s Robin Hood were filmed in the 1930’s.  And we just never stopped ever since!

So, it is not unusual to find me and Fiver out walking when I feel overwhelmed with emotions over Piper’s homegoing.  I’m not sure what it is, but by the time we come out the front door, walk across the lawn and step foot on the sidewalk, I already have begun to feel regenerated and re-powered with the love of God for me.

And speaking of the love of God… While out walking on Saturday, I had the revelation that on the final section of trail that Piper and I walked during her existence on this earth, that the Lord expressly encouraged us to focus on: “The great magnitude of the astonishing love of Christ in all its dimensions.” (Ephesians 3:18-19 The Passion Translation)

After I quit my outside job in 2010 and could focus 100% on Piper’s care, I clearly remember the Lord instructing me to “saturate Piper in the Word (of God).”  I didn’t realize it at first, but after a while I came to understand that all that Word was not only for her benefit, but for mine as well!  On Saturday’s afternoon jaunt along the golf course, I realized that scripturally speaking, one could rightfully exchange the command to “saturate Piper in the Word” with the thought that maybe He was actually telling me to “saturate us in His Love!”

If you recall, John 1:1 tells us “In the beginning the Word already existed. The Word was with God, and the Word was God.” (God’s Word ©)  Then in I John 4:8, 16, the Apostle of love also declares that “God is love!” (God’s Word ©)  So, if you put the two definitions together you can justify the command of the Lord instructing me to “saturate Piper and I in HIS LOVE which is HIS Word!”

Immediately following that revelation, I saw how God had begun to show me during the second year of Bible School, the need of having an intimate, experiential and very personal knowing of God’s LOVE for me and Piper in what was just then beginning to come to light concerning what was going on with her health.  I understood that it was my ever-increasing knowledge of the intimate ways in which God loved us that got me up every day with hope in my heart and an uncanny joy about me, for the next ten years.

I also saw on that walk over the weekend, that our daily saturation in His Word was not just about increasing and fortifying our intimate knowing of HIS LOVE FOR US, but also of OUR LOVE FOR HIM… as well as increasing the capacity of MY LOVE FOR PIPER so that I could take care of her and do anything, at anytime for her WITHOUT question or ANY hesitation.

I’m not sure if it was the right reaction or not, but when that last thought hit me, I immediately burst out laughing and thought back about some of the different things I did for her that were not easy, very personal, and emotionally (as well as physically ) difficult… but yet necessary.  I realized that on most of those occasions, I didn’t take the time to think… BUT JUST DID!  It didn’t matter what the need entailed.  I loved her and promised her that I would ALWAYS be there for her… simply said, nothing else mattered to me but her best.

And all of that effort, energy and ability was empowered by the saturation of HIS LOVE in us, for us and through us!  Have you ever taken a personal inventory to see just how much of HIS LOVE you have residing in you at any given time?  From my personal experience… It’s definitely something that YOU HAVE to keep building up in you through the daily input of HIS WORD!

Now that’s something to chew on… wouldn’t you agree?  Have a great new week, and as you do, say with me… “I am expecting to fill up on GOD’S LOVE today, in order TO DO what God calls ME TO DO today!”

Glad or Sad - Good or Bad

While I was studying the Word this morning, I had the thought that there are people out there who only see what they want to see.  With that in mind, I pondered what had happened to Piper and I, as well as a most recent example of the way the mainstream media seems to twist and turn every word that our president speaks and then print it as something negative, while totally ignoring all the positive steps that he and his teams have taken in battling the Corona Virus pandemic raging across our country.

I realized that this type of behavior is perfectly explained in one of Piper’s all-time favorite movies, the 1960 Disney favorite, Pollyanna.  This movie chronicles the antics of a young optimistic and bubbly orphan girl who single-handedly changes the town’s “think the worst of everybody” mentality to one that “looks for the best in everyone.”  A key element to her charge was the “Glad Game” that her missionary father had taught her to always look for things that you were glad about in the midst of needy times.

We had a birthday tradition in our family when the kids were at home, where the celebrant always got to choose their favorite dinner and their favorite movie on the night we recognized their special day.  Unlike most of the rest of us, Piper tended to pick different meals as her favorite for her birthday dinner… but NOT for her movie!  Her choice was almost always Pollyanna!

In many respects, Piper was a lot like the character of Pollyanna.  She had the bubbly personality, the big disarming smile and the joyful countenance about her.  Her gentle, sweet, encouraging and non-combative approach could melt the walls of even the most hard-hearted people that she came into contact with.

I came across some pictures of an event from the first youth group we ministered to back in the 1970’s and it reminded me that throughout our ministry together, Piper was always drawn to the troublemaker boys and the girls that were not quite excepted by the others or to those who were quiet and withdrawn.  I on the other hand tended to be drawn to the leaders in the group as well as to those that I felt had leadership qualities that I could help to develop and or disciple.

Looking back over the 48 years of our relationship, I can see that those patterns in each of us showed forth within our interactions with most people whether they be children, youth, College Career age or adults.  And it also spilled over into my secular jobs and Piper’s extracurricular activities with our homeschool group, friends, neighbors and family members!

The Apostle Paul touched on the subject of how we see things or people, when he discussed the differences between the individuals who are motivated by the human nature verses those who live by the impulses of the Holy Spirit. (See: Romans 8:1-11)  He rather bluntly declared:

“Those who are motivated by the flesh only pursue what benefits themselves. But those who live by the impulses of the Holy Spirit are motivated to pursue spiritual realities.  For the mind-set of the flesh is death, but the mind-set controlled by the Spirit finds life and peace.  In fact, the mind-set focused on the flesh fights God’s plan and refuses to submit to his direction, because it cannot!”  (Romans 8:5-7 The Passion Translation)

I learned the hard way, that as born-again, spirit filled Christians, that we can still have areas in our lives that continue to be motivated by our old human natures.  I believe that each of us have to take the initiative and the time to pray and seek the Lord’s guidance in the potential discovery of such areas in our own lives.  I am NOT talking here about the once popular Inner-Healing teaching, but of simple, humble and heart-felt prayer to the Father that allows Him to make the changes in us as we open up those once closed areas to Him.

These verses demonstrate in plain and vivid detail the exact same things that Piper and I experienced in the early years of her sickness.  And it has helped me to understand that this type of reaction and/or “seeing” of things or people cannot always be helped, but is a natural, instantaneous response to our yielding to the human nature (or flesh).  It doesn’t make it right or okay, but it helps (me anyway) to have a better understanding of why things happened the way they did!

I DO like the part in these verses where Paul explains that “the mind-set controlled by the Spirit finds life and peace.”  For again, that perfectly describes what we experienced during that most difficult and turbulent time in our life together.  Even though it was excruciatingly tough on us, we still found ourselves enveloped in His peace, love, comfort and joy! 

And while some drew inward and gave up, we went on living, moved 3000 miles away to be closer to the majority of our kids, were able to purchase the house of our dreams, saturate ourselves daily in the promises of God, be a blessing to those around us and then escort Piper through the veil of heaven… EXACTLY the way she wanted to go!  (And from what I’ve been reading about heaven, her current surroundings are so spectacular that human words, thoughts and feeling cannot find ways to come close enough to describing its peace, joyfulness and beauty!  Isn’t God Good!)

Have a spectacular weekend.  Give someone an encouraging smile and choose the life that God has given us in His Word to enjoy!

The personality of Jesus Christ

Do you know that I still wake up during the night thinking that Piper is laying next to me in the bed?  It is one thing that I just can’t seem to shake.  I’ll wake up and in my half-asleep consciousness, automatically believe that she’s there and that everything is fine… but then as my brain begins to awaken, I’ll realize to my sad dismay, that nope… it’s just me and the dog in the house!   And even though I know that information to be truthful… there is always a wave of disappointment that sweeps over me.

One night after I had returned to bed after a bathroom stop, I sat on the edge of the bed thinking of her and was suddenly overwhelmed with gratitude when I considered the thought of how thankful I would always be to her for introducing me to the personality of Jesus Christ in His Word.  Most of you probably know the story of how I was an active and devout Catholic and fully believed that I was a Christian.  I believed in God, talked with Him in my prayers on a regular basis, had served faithfully as an altar boy and had even considered entering the Priesthood (for a short period of time).

But then there came this spunky, energetic and joyful girl Piper, into my life.  She was like no other girl I had ever known.  And I know that I probably sound like a broken record here… but she talked about and lived her life like Jesus was her best friend!  I had never seen or had that concept before.  But with her it was easy to spend hours talking on the phone about Him, while sharing our most intimate thoughts, dreams, inhibitions and strengths and weaknesses with each other.

We had a couple of Bibles in our house when I was growing up, but no one ever read them!  They were best served as a part of the décor on the living room end table.  Piper’s beliefs and her Bible were just a part of who she was, and in the midst of those first couple of years together, she introduced me to the personality Jesus Christ through the pages of her Bible and the little paperback New Testament she gave me while still in High School.

I quickly came to realize that the Bible isn’t just some holy book about Him… but it IS HIM speaking directly to me through the written word on its pages.  I saw the light, sort-of-speak and realized to my amazement, that when the writer of the book of Hebrews wrote that, “God's word is living and active. It is sharper than any two-edged sword and cuts as deep as the place where soul and spirit meet, the place where joints and marrow meet. God's word judges a person's thoughts and intentions.” (Hebrews 4:12 God’s Word ©), that he meant EXACTLY what he was saying!  God’s Word IS spiritually alive and speaks LIFE directly into us, when we take the time to fellowship with Him through the Word.

Through the many years since those early days of our relationship, I have grown and matured in the faith to the point that I EXPECT God’s Word to work in my behalf, when I love and trust in Him on a constant and continual basis. (See Hebrews 11:1)  Through the ups and downs of my life and especially over the last eight years of Piper’s existence on this planet, I came to know “the great magnitude of the astonishing love of Christ (for me) in all its dimensions. How deeply intimate and far-reaching is his love! How enduring and inclusive it is! (that it is an) Endless love beyond measurement that transcends my understanding—this extravagant love (that) pours into me until I am filled to overflowing with the fullness of God!” (Ephesians 3:18-19 The Passion Bible - personalized) 

I’ve learned that it is my increasingly intimate, experiential and very personal knowing of Christ’s LOVE FOR ME that gives me the ability, strength and fortitude to ACTIVELY BELIEVE His Word over any and all the circumstances that life may try to throw at me.

So yeah, as I sat on the edge of the bed the other night smiling, laughing and crying all at the same time, I was and continue to be immeasurably thankful to that very special women of God for introducing me to the life changing personality of Jesus Christ through the pages of His living Word, the Bible!

How about You?  If not or you aren’t sure… then take a trip in your Bible, your Bible phone app or online and turn to the book of Romans, chapter ten, verse nine* and simply DO what it says!  Then continue on to the next verse in order to understand what just happened to you!

God Bless you!  Have a great mid-week in the midst of your city’s “Stay at Home” order and let the LOVE of God in you splash onto everything and everyone you see today!



*Romans 10:9-10 is found in the New Testament immediately following the four epistles (Matthew, Mark, Luke and John) and the book of Acts!  And if you want to get to know the personality of Jesus a little better, I’ve heard that the epistle of John is a good place to start… and most of all ~ ENJOY!