There are times when I run that I ask the Lord to get me to the next street light. They not only light my path but they help me to keep going forward. There are times when I run and my legs are heavy that I ask the Lord to carry me street light to street light.

On this Spiritual Sunday as we go to our places of worship, let’s surrender to the Lord’s embrace. As we read in Isaiah‬ ‭46:3-4‬ ‭MSG‬, He has always carried us even when we didn’t ask. Maybe you feel you can do it on your own. Maybe you feel like you’ve asked the Lord to carry you but you don’t feel His presence. Just like the Foot Prints in the sand poem, the Lord is always there to carry us. Maybe the Lord is wanting you to ask. He desires a relationship with us as our Heavenly Father.

““Listen to me, family of Jacob, everyone that’s left of the family of Israel. I’ve been carrying you on my back from the day you were born, And I’ll keep on carrying you when you’re old. I’ll be there, bearing you when you’re old and gray. I’ve done it and will keep on doing it, carrying you on my back, saving you.”

Will you go to His alter today and ask him to carry you to through the next task, the next night, the next week? Will you surrender to His embrace? Will you nurture that spiritual relationship with your Heavenly Father?

I encourage you to look up the Foot Prints in the Sand poem and read it.

Aw Christmas is finally here! With just five more Fridays till the birth of our savior. The anticipation, the decorating, the eating, and gathering, all the Hallmark Christmas movies. This is favorite time of year. I think it is important that we check our hearts and be intentional with what we allow in and what we allow to flow from our hearts.

It is easy to allow Satan to step in when we focus our attention on the material side of Christmas. It can be a stressful time of year making sure everyone has the right gift, keeping family feuds at a minimum, and making sure we have that perfect family Christmas picture.

God sees our hearts. Let’s think about what he sees. Like the changing of different seasons brings different flowers and colored leaves, our hearts can change. If we meditate on Gods word, the goodness we allow in will overflow out. We can then stay intentional with our actions and our reactions. It may take a few breath prayers throughout our day or counting to 10 before we make the next move. Through meditation on Gods word we can keep the true meaning of Christmas in site.

On this Finish Friday as you are shopping your Black Friday deals or cleaning up Thanksgiving leftovers, give yourself a little heart check. Let’s remember to keep our hearts pleasing to God and the words we speak full of His love and grace.

A wreath is a circle with no beginning and no end. We know from Revelation 22:13 NIV that God has always been; “I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End.” We also know that he is our safe place, our home; “God, it seems you’ve been our home forever; long before the mountains were born, Long before you brought earth itself to birth, from “once upon a time” to “kingdom come”—you are God.” Ps 90:1-2‬ ‭MSG‬‬

On this Thanksgiving Thankful Thursday I pray we can all find Joy in God being our “No place like home”that we can carry with us wherever we are. No matter who you are with or without today. No matter where you are or are not today. No matter what you eat or don’t eat today. No matter if you have that perfect picture for social media or not today. Let’s focus on what we all have today. That “Once upon a time” kind of love with our Heavenly Father. He will be waiting for you to come sit at His table today, tomorrow, and always.

Happy Thanksgiving from Water Walkers!!

On this Water Walking Wednesday I encourage us all to evaluate our Christian walk. In Matt 5:13-16 NIV we are instructed to be the salt and light;

““You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot. “You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.””

Are we complacent in our Christian walk? Are we being Disciples to others or just focused on our own spiritual growth? Are we being salt and light? Recently Deborah and I met with our friend Ray White for a Sunrise photo so that we could update our social media profile pictures. our original profile picture was taken by our friend David Martin in January 2019 when we created our Facebook account. Each year we try to stretch our faith by adding something new to our blog. Looking back over the years and how God has grown the blog and stretched our faith always amazes me.

When we started the blog in 2015 Deborah would write a devotion and I would write a prayer. This prayer below came from a 2016 blog post.

Dear Heavenly Father,

Thank you for choosing us, your creation to be Holy and blameless in your sight Eph 1:4. You say we are the salt of the earth, but to keep our saltiness we must continually seek you. You say we are the light of the world, a city that cannot be hid, but we must let that light shine for others to see your good works in us that you will be glorified Mat 5:13-16. I desire more of you and less of me Jn 3:30. I desire your wisdom in my daily challenges my world presents so that I may make the most of every opportunity as a mother and your disciple. Let my conversation always be full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that I may know how to answer everyone Col 4:5-6. Show me your ways and teach me your paths Psa 25:4. When I am weak your strength and power are made perfect in my weakness 2 Cor 12:9. In the name of Jesus Amen

Click here to read the original 2016 blog post. Thank you to all our faithful followers for supporting us over the years! God is good! SDG!

I love Mantras! Lately God has had on my heart; Live for Today! This past year mine has been; Be a Fruit Bearer. In 2018 my Mantra was to; Be Brave. What does that look like to be brave? Last week on Transformation Tips Tuesday Deborah asked the question; Are you ready to be intentional in God’s direction for you? I think part of being brave is going in the direction God has planned for us. Faith isn’t something we can see and God doesn’t give us road maps. In Isaiah He even tells us to forget the past and that He is doing something new. Anytime we do something new, that often takes bravery.

In 2018 my word of the year was rejoice because I wanted to carry the Christmas spirit with me all year. My Scripture verse was from 1 Thes 5: 16-18; “Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” On this Transformation Tips Tuesday I encourage us to look closely at these verses. Do you Rejoice always? Do you pray continually? Do you give thanks in all circumstances? I think if we’re honest we would all answer “no” to these questions. Maybe we need to be more intentional in one or more of those areas so that we can move forward in God’s direction. For today, I encourage us to choose one to focus on.

Are you selecting a Word of the Year and/or Mantra? We would love for you to share with us in comments.

I’ve been told grief is like the ocean waves. You will feel good one moment and then a wave will knock you down. Based on my personal experience that is a very good description. In this photo by Ray White, we see a person sitting on the shore of a vast ocean with waves crashing. I wonder what they are doing there and what they are thinking about.

On this Mindset Monday we enter into Thanksgiving week. During holidays grief can reveal our realities and change the perspective of what was once a joyous time, now may be a dreaded time. Grief can be a death but it can also be a lost and broken relationship. It could be that your house used to be filled with noise and chaos and now it feels quiet and lonely.

God has commanded us to be courageous and strong. He tells us not to be discouraged because He is with us wherever we go. In psalms 34:18 NIV we know He is close to us always; “The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.” Whatever this week brings us, may we all feel the love of God. May we all find the joy God desires for us to experience.