"Ask and it shall be given you;seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you:"
Matthew 7:7

Are you in a place of asking God for something...seeking with all your heart and knocking on His door? Most of us find ourselves in that place often.

There is a promise attached to this instruction in the next verse... if you ask, you WILL receive, if you seek, you WILL find and if you KNOCK, the door will be opened.

I love this painting, it reminds me that we are small compared to the bigness of God..and that as we stand there (asking, or knocking) we should have something to offer God (our praise and Thanksgiving).

If you are currently asking, seeking or knocking...be encouraged today. God's promise is to you...but while you are waiting, be sure to keep your basket full of praise and thanksgiving for all He has done.

Have a blessed week.....

Perfect Peace

"Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on thee"

Isaiah 26:3

What a wonderful scripture to have tucked in memory when life is spinning around you.

Thank you Lord for your "perfect peace"!

A Challenge

"But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that he should show forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light" I Peter 2:9


What love, what grace that has chosen us. We in our sinful condition, with all our baggage, problems and issues........he stretched forth his hand, touched our lives and changed us. We were chosen...we didn't go looking for God...he came after us. He sought us out in the darkness of life and found us.

But take a look at the second part of this verse..........we all stand amazed at his grace in saving us.............but he had a reason.........we have a purpose........to show forth the praise of the one who saved us....to tell others.

In my original blog, The Ivy Path, I have been posting on some important lessons from our recent Free2BMe Retreat and this verse has been summed up by Max Lucado as "You were chosen to tell about the excellent qualities of God".

We were not all called to be pastors or missionaries or worship leaders, BUT we are all called to share about the goodness of God. So, I would challenge you, during the next week, find three occasions to share the goodness of God with a coworker, a friend, a family member or even a perfect stranger......and then come back and comment on at least one experience from this challenge.

After all, it was you were created to do...............have an especially blessed week.

The Anchor

"When thou passest thru the waters, I will be with thee; and thru the rivers, they shall not overflow thee; Isaiah 43:2

Can you see the buoy in the picture? It is anchored and bounces around on the movement of the water and rocked back and forth when a small wind would blow.

Its a clear illustration of the words from Isaiah. Are you anchored in the God who made this promise? It is a promise for all times. The anchor holds regardless of the surroundings. The buoy may bounce and water may splash the sides and it may even dip and roll a bit in a rough storm, but there it is, still strong and straight when the storm is over.

Whether you are approaching a storm, in a storm, or recovering from one...the anchor holds so -hold on to the Anchor. Storms come in many forms and often bring hurt, disappointment, discouragement and pain, but the anchor will not allow you to sink thru the storm. Hold on to the Anchor, hold on to the promise and when the storm is over, you will stand strong with the testimony of an overcomer.

Calming the Storm

"as they sailed he (Jesus) fell asleep and there came down a storm of wind on the lake and they were filled with water and in jeopardy. They came to him and awoke him saying Master, master we perish. Then he arose and rebuked the wind and the raging of the water and they ceased and there was a calm" Luke 8:23,24

The disciples were with Jesus on this trip...they had been with him for a while and had witnessed many miracles he had performed, including raising one from the dead. They had walked and talked with him...and yet the storm that suddenly came upon them put fear in their hearts and they cried out to him for help.

Are we any different? We have received his grace and mercy and have walked with him thru life...but how many times when the storms of life arise do we cry out to him? We are filled with fear and feel He doesn't know where we are. Is it possible he says to us "where is your faith?"

Despite his disappointment with the disciples, Jesus rebuked the storm. He knew that his actions would increase their faith in Him. Have there been times when you know you should have been better equipped to deal with the storm but turned to Him, only to have Him still your storms? Didn't it increase your faith in Him?

As Christians, we are not promised calm waters all our life, in fact, Jesus said in this life you will have tribulation. There are times when the storms will come suddenly and the waves will come strong and often knocking us off balance and overwhelming us..but God knows exactly where we are and what we need. There is usually a lesson to be learned as we go thru the storm but we must always remember who he is. He will hear us and stretch forth his hand to guide us.

This week my husband and I were at the beach for a few days and a Hurricane was off shore which created great swells and rough waters at the beach. The weather was perfect and the water nice, but it was dangerously rough. As we sat on the beach and watched the waves, they came continuously and beat on the shore one right behind another...strong, powerful and overwhelming. As I considered the waves and this story...I can only imagine the faith it built in the disciples as immediately the waves and wind was calmed by his very word. How much more should our faith be increased as he walks us thru the storms in our life?

God has rescued me more than once in those storms and it does increase your faith and your ability to trust Him during those times. There is a song out by Casting Crowns entitled "I will Praise You in this Storm"...it is a fact that you learn as you go thru life...and that is Praise, regardless of where you are, knowing He knows exactly where you are and that He is in control....He has the final word....the word of Peace for the storm.

Lord, thank you for calming storms in my life, and also for giving Peace at times when I had to walk thru the storms and for never leaving me alone.

Will A Rock Cry Out for You

"I tell you that if these should hold their peace the stones would immediately cry out" Luke 19:40

Words written in red...Jesus, riding on a colt at the descent of the Mount of Olives...you might say entering a parade to his certain death. He knew where he was going and he knew why. The disciples I imagine were just so excited about the feast and shouting praise for all the miracles and works and teaching they had seen Jesus do....but the Pharisees....you know the ones, the pious and haughty ones.....the ones who didn't want to make a scene unless they were the center of attention.........filled with Pride They had the nerve to suggest the disciples were making too much noise...that Jesus needed to hush them up. Have you ever known anyone with a Pharisee spirit? (You know the ones who say, why do you go to church all the time, why do you talk about that stuff all the time) I love his response.........its kinda like...I can tell them to hush but you can't stop the praise.....the earth is filled with it....so you can listen to them or you can listen to the rocks.

I don't know about you, but I don't want a rock to take my place. I have read his word, received his teaching, experienced his peace and have his presence. I have seen the miracle of salvation, and have known Jehovah-Jirah, my provider. I have felt his comfort and heard his guidance and HE IS WORTHY of all praise.

If you wake up tomorrow morning you have something to praise him about...even when times are hard....his name is to be praised. Don't let a rock cry out for you...take a moment and praise the one who paid the price for you..........the one whose mercy is new every morning. The God who is More than Enough...El Shaddai.

Give Him all your praise today.

"In thee O Lord do I put my trust, let me never be put to confusion" Psalms 71:1