The doctor took me aside afterwards and told me that they were expecting his passing in two days because of the medical information. I listened in disbelief because I was praying and believing for God to give him more time. I told him of miracles for people I knew back home who were told the same thing, and they didn't die.

As I left, I had a few minutes of a pity party cry, and then, the Spirit took over, and I walked out of there confident.

Isaiah 41:10a – So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. (NIV)

The next day, I received a phone call that the boat to Faial was cancelled. I called the hospital to see how Matthew was and to let them know about the boat. The nurse informed me that the doctor was not there yet, but then, she said, "Wait a minute." I was expecting the doctor to come to the phone, but I was put on hold. With no one coming to the phone, I hung up. All of a sudden, I got a gut pain and started to pray in the Spirit. The pain became stronger as I was walking back and forth — I'm not sure for how long — but then a peace came over me. I asked God to be with whoever that was all about. I had no thought that it involved Matthew. I called the hospital again. The doctor answered and informed me that when the nurse put me on hold, they called Code Blue and were shocking Matthew. By then, he was okay and resting.

I believe that the following Scripture describes what was going on when they called Code Blue.

Romans 8:26-27 – In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express. And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints in accordance with God's will. (NIV)

The Spirit was interceding for Matthew's life. Praise God, I got to have eleven more days with him. I thank God for the gift of the Holy Spirit and the gift of praying in the Spirit. We are never alone. God has the last word. He is in control no matter what the doctors say.

Prayer: Heavenly Father, giver of all good things, thank You for the gift of the Holy Spirit Who helps us in so many ways. Open our hearts and ears so we can clearly be where You want us to be in our lives spiritually, emotionally, and physically. In Jesus' holy name, we pray. Amen.

1 Peter 5:8 – Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. (NIV)

Have you ever looked at your fingernails in spiritual way? I was sitting at the table, thinking about the devotionals that I had just read and prayed about, when I started looking at my nails. I could not help but think that it was only two weeks ago that my nails were beautiful, all the same length with pretty polish.

Now two weeks later, they are a mess. I guess I have been busy, ignoring the proper care needed. Some are broken, and some need some filing to save them. Then it hit me: this is like our walk with Jesus. We can get busy with life when things are going well, and ignore our spiritual care. By just doing life and not spending time with Jesus, reading the Bible, and doing our best to live what the Word says, we can end up in somewhat of a mess.

I used to bite my nails terribly, and nothing my mom tried helped. But I noticed a classmate in public school who had beautiful nails. Even then, I asked God for some help. If Karen could have beautiful nails, why couldn't I? I did not realize the impact that simply asking God would eventually have on my life. I noticed that little by little, my nails were growing.

The same principle works in our spiritual life. With Jesus, we can have a beautiful, abundant life. Because of His cross, we are forgiven of our bad habits and sins. When we get distracted and slip up, He is there to forgive us and to file away the rough spots, as one might say.

Just as there are products and procedures to have beautiful nails, we are blessed to have products and procedures to have a beautiful life. We have the Bible, we have prayer, and we have the fellowship and worship of our church. These give us strength and keep us in shape to persist in running the race. Our life isn't perfect, but God is always there with the emery board to file away and smooth things out. He puts people in our lives and on our paths to encourage us.

What habits or distractions are we willing to let God continue to use the emery board on?

Prayer: Merciful Jesus, thank You for Your patience and forgiveness. May the Holy Spirit keep reminding us of things that we need to be doing, things that we need to let go of, and things for You to take the emery board to. Help us to see people and things the way You see them, and help us to live a life that glorifies You. In Your precious name, we pray. Amen.

Since the rain has stopped, I am able to see Mt. Topo from my porch. I dried off a chair to sit and enjoy the beauty. Near the middle of Mt. Topo is a section of dense fog, and as I watch, some arms of the fog slowly break away in separate movements as they float upwards.

It makes me think of us when we are living in worldly ways, and then, we slowly break away and head towards higher or heavenly things, where God is.

Above those foggy arms reaching upwards on Mt. Topo, the sky is clear, but above me, the sky is completely clouded over. Yes, no matter how cloudy our lives can seem, God has a brighter and clearer time for us. We need to keep looking towards Him and not on our circumstances.

Surely as the day follows the night, God is always with us!

Now, ten minutes later, the fog has cleared, and God has given me a clear view again. I cannot get enough of Mt. Topo, with so many shades of green. The land just seems to flow down to areas for some cows, and then, on down to some homes. When I look up at that beauty, my response is, "I lift up my eyes to the hills — where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth." (Psalm 121:1-2 NIV)

Where do you get your strength from? God provides the strength, but I appreciate it when He gives us something beautiful to enjoy as we look to Him. Take a moment and think of things that God has put in the line of your viewing when you just felt Him! I bet that there are several things.

Here a couple of examples that I see in the power in the waves as they come crashing onto the big volcanic rocks.

Psalm 93:3b-4 – The seas have lifted up their pounding waves. Mightier than the thunder of the great waters, mightier than the breakers of the sea — the Lord on high is mighty. (NIV)

Then the water flows back giving playful ripple sounds. For me, this shows both the power of God and the gentleness of God.

His Presence

I'm thankful to see God's power in action
And hear the ripples show His gentle trait.
No matter my situation, God's the main attraction,
Thankful for the peace of knowing He's my soul mate.
Psalm 34 verse 8 tells us of His goodness we should taste.
Help me, Lord, my time not to waste.
Cover me, Lord, so Your fragrance people can smell,
Then rejoice, 'cause now, with their souls, all is well.

Prayer: O gracious and loving Father, thank You for all that You give so freely to us. Help us to be mindful of Your goodness, no matter how life presents itself. Help us to stay focused on You, and may the Holy Spirit remind us of Your promises, even when we see the cloudy situation. In Jesus' precious name, we pray. Amen.

I read a cute story on Facebook about a little boy who thought that he was old enough to visit his grandparents by himself. After much discussion, his parents agreed, and with his suitcase in hand, they took him to the train station.

Before getting on the train, his dad slipped something in his pocket and said, "If you feel bad or insecure, this is for you."

The train left, and different people came through the car that he was sitting in. They were noisy and moved about a lot, and it bothered him. The conductor made a remark about his travelling alone, and one person looked at him with sad eyes.

He started to feel more uneasy with every passing moment. He felt cornered and alone. He put his head down, and with tears in his eyes, he remembered that his dad had put something in his pocket. Trembling, he searched for what his father had given him. He found the paper, and it read, "Son, I'm in the last car."

When I finished reading that story, the first thing that came to mind was that this is like our Father God. He lets us do things that we think we can do alone, and He gives us freedom. But as we venture into life on our own, we can start to feel cornered and alone. What do you do when those feelings come over you? What do any of us do? To be honest, panic comes to mind – perhaps, we worry and become anxious.

Isn't it comforting to know that instead of looking in our pocket for something that our dad put there, we can look in the Bible and read and believe God's promises for us? The words might not read, "Son, I'm in the last car." But oh! The promises in the Bible give us encouragement, strength beyond what we can imagine, and the security of knowing that we are not alone — ever! Those promises are always available to us. It's our task to search them out whenever we need help.

Genesis 28:15a – Behold, I am with you and will keep you wherever you go, and will bring you back to this land. (ESV)

Joshua 1:9 – Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go. (ESV)

Prayer: Father God, thank You for always being with us. Thank You that when we, like children, venture into places that we should not go or do things that we shouldn't do, instead of feeling alone and cornered or afraid, we can call out the name of Jesus! It is so comforting to know that You are always with us, closer than in the last car! Amen.

One day, I felt a need to visit and pray with her. We made the arrangements, and off I went, praying through most of the 40-minute drive that the Holy Spirit would already be there and would be with us as we spent time together.

She shared mostly negative things from the past: hurts, mistakes made by different church people, and so on. I tried to remind her that those are in the past and that she only causes herself pain by reliving them. I spoke of positive situations.

"Yes," she'd reply, but then she would share something else negative. It felt like a tug-of-war with the devil.

I silently asked God, "What is this all about? This is not what I thought the afternoon was going to be like after praying most of the way and then singing the rest of the time. So, God, what is happening?"

Thank goodness, her 84-year-old mom who is bedridden and loves the Lord, called her from the other room. My friend excused herself, and I left to go to the washroom.

God is amazing and shows up with answers no matter where or when! I went to flush the toilet, which flushes by moving a knob instead of a handle. I had been there before, but there was a Holy Spirit pause in my memory, because I turned the knob both ways — and nothing happened. It was crazy; I couldn't figure out how to flush the toilet. Then, I remembered and pulled the knob up. Well, I started to laugh, and I thought, When you want something to work, you have to look up — or pull up, in this case!

I was still chuckling when she returned. When she questioned me about that, I shared my eye-opening experience. It's so true: we have to look up when we want — and need — things to work. She chuckled and agreed with me. "Yes, God is the answer for everything."

The atmosphere and conversations were different for the rest of the visit, and even her facial expressions changed. Praise God! We can turn to the left or right and get no answers, but if we stay focused on God, we will have victories.

Psalm 121:1-2 – I lift up my eyes to the hills — where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth. (NIV)

Philippians 3:14 – I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. (NIV)

Do we have a knob in our hand right now? Are we caught up in a difficult situation or a distressing decision that we are trying to figure out or solve on our own? Is it distracting us from looking up for God's guidance? Let's stay focused on His Word and His promises, which will always remind us to look up!

Prayer: Heavenly Father, we are so humbled by the fact that You love us and You always have the right answer for us. We may not always see it that way, so we ask Your Holy Spirit to open our eyes to the understanding that Your ways are higher than ours. Give us the strength to stay focused on Christ and not only on the situation at hand. In His precious name, we pray. Amen.

I knew what would happen when I got home, and figuring that I was already in trouble, I might as well make it worthwhile, right?

Sure enough, when I got home, my mom and dad (but usually just my mom) were there ready with the questions, and then, the verdict and the punishment: guilty and grounded for two weeks. Once in a blue moon, I would get a spanking. I did respect my dad because he would give me a little talk, including "This is going to hurt me more than you." Then he would give me a choice: "Do you want to stand or bend over my knee?" He would leave me in my room to think about the whole situation and the lesson hopefully learned. In fifteen or twenty minutes, he would call me out and give me a hug, and we never heard about it again.

I never heard the word "forgiven". My mom had a way of reminding me of the wrongs that I had done. I'm not sure how, but she usually knew something about the circumstances before I got home, and then, of course, the questions with the wrong answers only made things worse for me. I never did learn simply to tell the truth because she would know the answers already.

But I am so thankful that I have a heavenly Father Who knows me inside and out and still wants to have a relationship with me. When I say "Yes" to Him, I am forgiven, once and for all.

In the beginning of this new, precious relationship, I heard about being grounded! What? No — grounded in the Word, learning more and more about Jesus.

Ephesians 3:17-19 – So that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith — that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. (ESV)

2 Timothy 3:14-17 – But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have become convinced of, because you know those from whom you learned it, and how from infancy you have known the holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work. (NIV)

With Christ, I am forgiven; I am His. Being grounded in the Word and in His love, I have the guidance and the written proof of who I am in Christ. I can come to Him when I make a mistake and know that He understands and forgives.

How do we handle those self-serving urges to do whatever or go wherever, regardless of the curfews that the Word gives us? Let us learn from past mistakes and know that we can honestly come to the Father and repent. With the help of the Holy Spirit, we will be able to handle those curfews successfully.

Prayer: Heavenly Father, thank You for Your endless mercy! How You deal with us and our continual mistakes is beyond comprehension. You know the end result, and we thank You for Your patience and love as we stumble through life. We are thankful for Your Word that helps us to stay grounded. Help us to be even more grounded. In Jesus' name, we pray. Amen.

Yes, with so many restrictions and the isolation going on, the situation is affecting young and old alike. A friend's granddaughter commented one day that she didn't think anyone loved her anymore. When she was asked why she would say that, she replied, "Because nobody hugs or kisses me anymore."

As I was drawn to that picture and the little girl's comment, my heart and mind felt her pain. This is what I was led to write.

       His Way

If only I could have my way
You'd have fun every day
Out with your friends you could safely play
Oh, if only I could have my way.

It would be stress-free to go to school
Everyone would obey the Golden Rule
Wouldn't matter if you were white or black
And where you're from wouldn't be under attack

Yes, if only I could have my way
But it is better, when it is God's way.
He's waiting for people to live by the Golden Rule
Then, everyone would be safe at work and school.

Bad things happen, this is true
But trust in God, He is there for you
This builds character in me and you
No matter life's storms, He'll see you through

Loving God and each other is the most important thing
Put your life in His hands and peace He will bring
And if we let God have His way
It can cause us to be thankful every day.

Psalm 25:10 – All the ways of the Lord are loving and faithful for those who keep the demands of his covenant. (NIV)

Proverbs 3:6 – In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight. (NIV)

Prayer: Dear heavenly Father, thank You for watching over us and protecting us. Help us to see that Your way is the only way to go through life with hope. Help us to share this hope with others who do not have it. May Your way be our way in everything! Help the hurting to find that You are there for them also. We praise You, Jesus. Amen.