Firm 2021

  Genesis 8:1a, "But God remembered Noah" The world was NUTS (sound familiar??).  Sin was rampant to the point where God was actually grieved that He made man and the plan was to wipe the slate and start anew.  Man, that's so sad to even imagine.  But, God's standard is holiness so not really so hard...and it's a pretty high bar to live up to.  In all the world, He remembered Noah.  And there's some comfort in that.  Noah wasn't perfect.  Remember God's standard is holiness and no one, outside of Jesus, meets that standard.  He remembered Noah because Noah was faithful.  He walked with God.  His faithfulness wasn't perfect.  His walk wasn't perfect.  But God remembered him.  Makes me wonder...does he remember me?  Am I walking with Him? Am I being faithful?  

  Genesis 4:7b, "But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires you, but you must master it."  Life is really a participation sport...the path less traveled, the cartoon with the devil on one shoulder and an angel on the other, the temptations pulling you, the media that draws you.  Man, it is HARD CORE tough.  Some days you feel like you're playing whack-a-mole.  You think you just managed to spend wisely and bam, up comes that mole of listening to good things that encourage and don't tear down.  Okay, got that one.  Now here comes gossip.  Oooh, that morsel of sin can be so titallating and even fun...because for one hot second we don't have to worry about our sin and think, "At least I don't do THAT!"   Sport is a good word.  It can be exhausting.  UNLESS.  Unless you lighten your burden by asking God into the battle.  TRULY, it is the only way to master sin.  And, that is not saying i...

   Psalm 119: 114, 165, "You are my refuge and my shield; I have put my hope in Your Word."  "Great peace have they who love your law, and nothing can make them stumble." I don't know how people do it without Him.  I don't know how I would do it without Him.  Losing my mom wasn't the hardest thing that happened to me.  Seeing my kids go through their hells was.  Somehow losing a parent falls within the normal range of the way it's supposed to go, chronologically.  There is a lot I have to confront and deal with.  There is some anger because she "did this to herself".  She was an alcoholic.  She chose booze.  The wiser side of me knows this is a disease and not as simple as one day just stopping (without being changed from the inside out by the Holy Spirit).  But more than anything...just sad.  Sad when something happens and she would have been one of my first calls.  Sad because she was an AWESOME Nana.  My ...