The Sun Is Out

One of my favorite books to reread at Easter is "No Wonder They Call Him The Savior" by Max Lucado. There are thirty-three short chapters, just perfect for the month before Easter. I hope this small selection from the book will inspire you in your preparation for this most holy of holidays.



The chapter I reread the most is The Cry of Loneliness. Lucado seems to step inside the heart of Jesus and pour out for all to see the humiliation of the world's sinsickness and the "gut-wrenching" loneliness Christ felt as God had to turn his back on the SIN.

Many people know the details of where they were, how old they were, when they received Christ as personal Lord and Savior. I will always remember the depth of pure heartache, the tears and total devastation I felt as I read these haunting words and realized anew that my sin sent him there--my sin caused the separation.

How could I live, how could I ever survive if the Spirit of God was taken from me? At that moment in time I cried with the psalmist, "Please do not take your Holy Spirit from me." (from Psalm 51)

Lucado writes: ....."The most gut-wrenching cry of loneliness in history came not from a prisoner or a widow or a patient. It came from a hill, from a cross, from a Messiah. "My God, my God!" he screamed, "Why did you abandon me?" Never have words carried so much hurt. Never has one being been so lonely. The crowd quietens as the priest receives the goat--the pure, unspotted goat. In somber ceremony he places his hands on the young animal. As the people witness, the priest makes his proclamation, "The sins of the people be upon you." The innocent animal receives the sins of the Israelites. All the lusting, adultery, and cheating are transferred from the sinners to this goat, to this scapegoat. He is then carried to the edge of the wilderness and released, Banished. Sin must be purged, so the scapegoat is abandoned, "Run, goat! Run!" The people are relieved. Yahweh is appeased. The sinbearer is alone. And now on Skull Hill, the sinbearer is again alone. Every lie ever told, every object ever coveted, every promise ever broken is on his shoulders. He is sin. God turns away, "Run, goat, run." The despair is darker than the sky. The two who have been one are now two. Jesus, who had been with God for eternity, is now alone, The Christ, who was an expression of God, is abandoned. The Trinity is dismantled. The Godhead is disjointed. The unity is dissolved. It is more than Jesus can take. He withstood the beatings and remained strong at the mock trials. He watched in silence as those he loved ran away. He did not retaliate when the insults were hurled, nor did he scream when the nails pierced his wrists. But when God turned his head, that was more than he could handle. "My God!" The wail rises from parched lips. The holy heart is broken. The sinbearer screams as he wanders in the eternal wasteland. Out of the silent sky come the words screamed by all who walk in the desert of loneliness. "Why? Why did you abandon me?" "

Thank God for the gospel of the second chance.

" Lucado continues ........."The two are again one. The abandoned is now found. The schism is now bridged. 'Father,' He smiles weakly. "It's over." Satan's vultures have been scattered. Hell's demons have been jailed, Death has been damned, The sun is out, The Son is out. It's over, An angel sighs, A star wipes away a tear. "Take me home," Yes, take him home. Take this prince to his king, Take this son to his father, Take this pilgrim to his home, (He deserves a rest.) "Take me home." Come ten thousand angels! Come and take this wounded troubadour to the cradle of his Father's arms! Farewell manger's infant, Bless you, holy ambassador. Go Home, death slayer, Rest well, sweet soldier. The battle is over!" "

[No Wonder They Call Him The Savior] Max Lucado
Copyright [Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1986 & 2004]
Used by permission

Sweet Blessings,


© all photographs and text property of Dianne Hogue unless otherwise noted
a repost from past pages
997th POST

To Know Him By Name

As I wrote in this post from yesterday, in preparation for Easter I am reviewing some of my old stand-by books--this one is by Kay Arthur with illustrations by Timothy R. Botts.



Jehovah Nissi-The Lord is My Banner

Ever watch the Rose Bowl Parade? Every marching band will have a big, huge banner that goes before it telling who it is. God is our banner. He is our identification. Everything that banner says and stands for symbolizes all that we have access to through Christ.

The names of God reveal His character. It is Who He Is and He does not act against it. It is this very character that chose to grow a tree, to have it hewn into a cross, and to give His only Son to be crucified on it so that we might enjoy all the benefits of this steadfast, loving, loyal, righteous character. In the words of the lovely song:

He grew the tree that He knew would be
Used to make the old, rugged cross.



He is the self-existent One--



the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end.



He is Jehovah Sidkenu--the Lord our Righteousness.



Oh, to act wisely and pursue justice--a tall order but scripture tells us in James if we lack wisdom, we can ask for it. He is our wisdom.



Jehovah Shalom--The Lord Our Peace



Dearest Friend,
As you prepare for Easter it is my prayer that
the Lord will bless and keep you,
that He will make His face shine upon you and be gracious to you,
That He will lift up His countenance upon you and give you peace.

Shalom,
Dianne
2012--the year of less

My goal--less of me, more of Him, less clothes in my closet, less junk and stuff around the house, more simplicity--less disorder, more organization--

Pictures of calligraphy used by permission of Timothy R. Botts.


996th post



©all photographs and text property of Dianne Hogue unless otherwise noted

When Name Calling Is A Good Thing

While looking at what others are reading in preparation for Easter this year, I decided to go back to some of my old "standbys"--books I have had for years that never get old to me.

One of those is "To Know Him by Name" by Kay Arthur with illustrations by Timothy Botts.



The name I want to share with you today is Jehovah Shammah--meaning "The Lord is There." It is from Ezekiel 48:35.

Dear friend, wherever we are today, the Lord is there.

from Psalm 139:

7 Where can I go from your Spirit?
Where can I flee from your presence?

8 If I go up to the heavens, you are there;
if I make my bed in the depths, you are there.

9 If I rise on the wings of the dawn,
if I settle on the far side of the sea,

10 even there your hand will guide me,
your right hand will hold me fast.

11 If I say, "Surely the darkness will hide me
and the light become night around me,"

12 even the darkness will not be dark to you;
the night will shine like the day,
for darkness is as light to you

It's difficult for our finite minds to grasp that darkness is as light to our God but we can believe it because His Word assures us it is so.

Wherever we are today, our God is there. Whether we are at the heights of joy or in the depths of despair, our God is there. And if God is there, He will meet our every need.

And my God will supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus.
Philippians 4:19

Isn't it incredible that God has chosen us for His Spirit to reside in? Consider the instructions, the matchless materials and workmanship that went in to building the ark of the covenant and the temple to house the Spirit of God in the Old Testament. He has formed and made us with even more precision and more value.

more from Psalm 139 13 For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb. 14 I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.

Dear Jehovah Shammah, would you please be there today? There with each one who stops by to visit today--there, wherever their "there" is today. And I ask your blessings upon each and every one--knowing that you rejoice with the rejoicing and mourn with the mourning--wipe away each tear and save them in a bottle for the day when you will explain each one we have ever shed. Amen

from the New Living Translation of Psalm 56:8
You keep track of all my sorrows. You have collected all my tears in your bottle. You have recorded each one in your book.

I encourage you today to do some name-calling--yes, call Him by the Names given Him  in the Bible, claim the promises that Name invokes, and rest assured that He will not get His feelings hurt--He will be honored, glorified and magnified and will respond to our faith in His character exemplified by these matchless Names.

Sweet blessings,
Dianne

PHOTOS of calligraphy shared with permission of Timothy R. Botts.

edited from past pages


995th post

© all photographs and text property of Dianne Hogue unless otherwise noted

Jesus, Just Say the Word!

 'Who is this? Even the wind and the waves obey him!”

 Are there storms in your life today or winds that threaten to blow the very life out of your faith? Do not be discouraged dear friend but be encouraged by the Word of Truth, the life giving breathed inspiration from God's own Holy Spirit.

This breath said.

Yes, this breath said aloud.

This breath had the audacity, the authority, to speak to waters and firmaments. And they listened to Him and obeyed Him.

It is amazing to read how many times Jesus' reprimanded his disciples for having so little faith.  They who fellowshipped and communed intimately with him each day were called to task many times for their lack of faith.

What will I do to enhance my faith today?  Will I read, study and meditate upon God's Word?  Will I spend quality and quantity time with Jesus?  Will I walk so closely with Him that it is just a natural theme of my life to speak back and forth with Him all day each day.

When the sails of my ship are blown and torn, battered and twisted, will I choose to trust Him to speak to the cause, or will I take matters into my own hands and try to handle things myself?

This is what I want to do:

I want to choose today to say, "Jesus, just say the Word."

Just say the Word!

Jesus Calms the Storm That day when evening came, he said to his disciples, “Let us go over to the other side.”   Leaving the crowd behind, they took him along, just as he was, in the boat. There were also other boats with him.   A furious squall came up, and the waves broke over the boat, so that it was nearly swamped.   Jesus was in the stern, sleeping on a cushion. The disciples woke him and said to him, “Teacher, don’t you care if we drown?”   He got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, “Quiet! Be still!”  Then the wind died down and it was completely calm.   He said to his disciples, “Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?”   They were terrified and asked each other, “Who is this? Even the wind and the waves obey him!”  Mark 4:35-41

© all photographs and text property of Dianne Hogue unless otherwise noted
994th post


joining with Spiritual Sundays today

picture taken by my friend, Marianne--thank you!

White Shirt, Black Pants--993rd post!!

Just about the time my husband and I got ready to do some remodeling in early January, our pastor started a series of sermons on contentment.

 I think his sermon series is in relation to the high number of couples in America who are extremely in debt--no matter how much they earn.

The sermons were awesome and one thing he kept emphasizing was to pray about every purchase.

I was going to replace my old outdated Corian (I like lots of Corian--this just happens to be something I would HAVE NEVER chosen in the first place and on top of that this particular pattern is extremely outdated--) with granite.

We got three different people to give us estimates on it.

We even went so far as to pay the full amount at one store--they will not come out and measure until it is completely paid for........ But I just could not seem to get peace about purchasing it and........ all three companies or people were very late in calling, making appointments with us to measure--I think it was a God thing.

So finally I changed my whole decorating theme (and got my money back) for the kitchen from antique white paint to extra bright white and black paint for the cabinets, from travertine subway tile to high gloss bright white subway tile, from oil rubbed bronze pulls and knobs to brushed satin nickel, from dromedary camel wall paint to gray--well, it was supposed to be gray but turned out blue--an off-white sink to a totally black sink, and kept the Corian black and white and gray speckledy counter tops instead of the giallo ornamental or new venetian gold granite.

And you know what??  Here it is and I really like it.  Please disregard the big rooster.  He will have to crow elsewhere.  He just doesn't fit in this kitchen--well, I guess I could paint him white  and I just might do that.

It is lacking some decorations but wanted to show it to you anyway.  I'll post again later when it looks a little more homey.

I really like what we have done to the house but my treasure is not stored up in these kitchen cabinets.  Or my new pantry.  I'll show you that another day.

Be sure to watch for my 1000th post if you would like a free blog header--

© all photographs and text property of Dianne Hogue unless otherwise noted

Coming Up--1000th Post--Giveaway

In celebration of my 1000th post, I am offering a blog header design as a giveaway.

 I design my own headers and a few headers for friends. I have never done this for money but if I did, I would probably charge at least $50 per header.

 Much of it depends upon the time it takes and whether or not I use my own artwork or pictures.

To qualify for the giveaway, your blog must be hosted by Blogger.

I do not work on any blogs hosted by any other service.

All you have to do is leave a comment on my 1000th post and your blog's name will be entered in a drawing to receive a free header.  This is my 992nd post so be watching, I might post several in one day just because I am getting anxious!

Here are a few of the headers I have designed--

Disclaimer:  I am not formally trained in graphic design.  I just like to piddle and am self-taught.  There is a lot I do not know and cannot do but I love to try new things and explore new ideas.  Together I bet we can come up with something unique and beautiful for your blog.

Anyway, that will give you a little idea of what my headers look like--so, if you would like a new header for spring and your blog is hosted by Blogger, feel free to leave a comment on my 1000th post.

And if you would like to comment on the 1000th post but do not want to enter the giveaway, please be sure and let me know that also.

Due to my queue of graphic design projects, it will probably be the middle of March before I would be able to have the "giveaway header" up on your blog.  To be able to work on your blog, I must inform you that I would have to have your username and password, so trust is a big issue. After I work on a blog, I always ask the owner to change their password.  Questions??--If you have questions please feel free to email me--contact information is in the right sidebar.

© all photographs and text property of Dianne Hogue unless otherwise noted

Orchestrated

google image

Don't you love how God orchestrates things. He is the master composer, putting instruments together with sounds almost too glorious to interpret.

 Such a composition happened to me last week.

 Here is how it went down.

 It was a few days before my youngest son's birthday.

 He lives in Tulsa. I needed to get him a birthday card.

 I like the cards at Mardel. I set out to go to Mardel but decided at the last minute to go gas up first, even though I wasn't really that low.

Timing is everything, right?

When I got to Mardel and into the card section, I felt someone following me--Someone who didn't stop following me-- Finally I turned around and it was my oldest son who lives here. Almost immediately tears started flowing from his eyes and it was hard for him to stop crying.  Yes, my 45 year old son crying--in the middle of Mardel--it was very touching.

What happened was this:  Jeff was over in the music section and three guys came in and somehow (I am not sure how) he started talking to them and the subject of Renewal Ranch came up.

One of the guys was in the grips of addiction, one had just turned his life over to God in December and had gone cold-turkey off his drugs and one was the youth minister at their church.

The guy on drugs was ready to have his life restored by God and had looked in to coming to Renewal Ranch and had actually talked to our director on the phone.

When Jeff saw "his mommy" come in, he knew it was a God ordained appointment that God had led him to talk to S. and to have someone there from Renewal Ranch to introduce him to.  It reduced him to tears.

Just knowing that God had gone to all that trouble (orchestrating to God comes naturally and is no trouble but you know what I mean) to get three sets of people together at the right place at the right time and also arrange that someone who was supposed to come to my house at that time, had not come in order that I could run this errand was amazing.

And the timing had to be so perfect that God even arranged for me to go gas up which I had not planned to do.

God is no respecter of persons the Bible says and He will order each of our steps if that is our desire.  I don't do this every day but I am almost positive it was that morning when I was planning my day that I blurted out, "Lord, what do YOU want me to do today?"

All He wants is a willing vessel and He will use even the most unlikely.

It is our policy to request that guys trying to get in to RR come to several chapel services on Saturday mornings at 10a.m.  It is easy to come to one but we know they are really serious about getting clean if they come to several in a row.  Of course, some have to drive long distances to do just that which really validates their desire.

S. came to chapel on Saturday and shocked me when he asked me to come "sit in" on his interview with our director.  He was touched so deeply by this "divine appointment," that he wanted me there so he could tell James how God had orchestrated our meeting.

On Monday of last week, S. went to another facility for 30 days and hopefully at the end of that time we will have a bed for him at Renewal Ranch.  His wife called me on Monday evening to let me know he got settled in at the other place and then texted me today that he is doing okay.

I will ask you to pray for him.  I hope so badly that he gets to come to the Ranch.  But God is his answer--not the Ranch even though it is a wonderful place for men with addictions--God is his source, his resource, his strong tower, his defender, his everything if he will just turn it all over to him.

At the time I talked to S. at the Ranch last week and after the interview, he said he had never made a profession of faith in Christ.  I gave him that chance and very sincerely he told me that he didn't feel he was 100% ready to do that.

Please pray that he will recognize God's Holy Spirit convicting and convincing him of his need for Christ and that he will know the truth and the truth will set him free.  He is struggling with lots of guilt, "not good enough,"  "God could never forgive a sinner like me" thoughts.

We have two websites if you would like to learn a little more about Renewal Ranch near Conway, AR.

www.therenewalranch.org

www.renewalranchjournal.blogspot.com

You can just click on the address and it should send you to the website.

Right now we have guys from Massachusetts, Mississippi, Texas and Arkansas.

To God be all the glory for the things He has done!

© all photographs and text property of Dianne Hogue unless otherwise noted

Just A Small Glimpse!

Hope you enjoy a small glimpse of our precious guys at Renewal Ranch.

I never dreamed that I would be so blessed as to be a part of something so fulfilling and rewarding.

We now have 15 guys living in a bunkhouse built for 6 and we have several guys at chapel every Saturday morning in desperate need of a bed.

We have two sleeping on sofas and one sleeping on a cot at the present time.  We doubled up the beds in the six bedrooms and have 12 there.

One of the volunteers at Renewal Ranch is trying to personally raise $100,000 for a new bunkhouse that would house 12 more men.

She is challenging 100 women to give $1000 a piece.  God willing, in a few days I will tell you of my attempt to raise $1000.

I have never ventured to raise that amount of money on my own.  It makes my heart thump and butterflies in my stomach just to think about it.  It will certainly have to be a God thing.  I am not capable of it on my own.

Renewal Ranch does not charge the men anything for the 6 to 18 months of rehabilitation.  It is our belief that Jesus paid the price and He will care for these men through the generous gifts of people and churches who are led to give.  And the key word is "led."

There are many worthy Christian charities and God has enough Godly people to support all of them.

Stay tuned tomorrow for a story that happened to me last week concerning a young man trying to get in to Renewal Ranch.


© all photographs and text property of Dianne Hogue unless otherwise noted

He Stills the Hunger

Y ou still the hunger of those you cherish; their sons have plenty, and they store up wealth for their children. And I—in righteousness I will see your face; when I awake, I will be satisfied with seeing your likeness. from Psalm 17

 Oh God,--give me more hunger for You I pray and then would you satisfy my hunger? Teach me the steps to take to let You satisfy my hunger. 

"their sons have plenty"--my prayer--let them have plenty of YOU, plenty of YOU--that is my prayer for them--

 "store up wealth for their children"--Father, it would be nice to leave my children something here on this earth but I am not concerned with that--So I pray that Larry and I would store up treasures of righteousness, knowledge, faithfulness, loyalty to You--may our lives reflect our love and trust in You--that is my prayer--that is the wealth I desire to leave them--

 And I know Father that the only reason I will see your face in righteousness is because of the work of Your Son on my behalf--thank you for this provision. 

Satisfaction to the limit--I know when I see Your face all hunger will be fulfilled, all righteousness will be realized, all my heart has ever desired will be granted in that single moment--

UPDATE:  I'm not really big on Valentine's Day and this post will tell you why if you're interested--ha ha--

A great post by my friend Nancy over at Treasures of Darkness--

but okay I'll say it anyway--Happy Valentine's Day

I hope you know I love you!

How Do I Receive This Love?

When I check the statistics of my blog readers, it overwhelms my heart to see people from countries all over the world.

 It staggers me really--that I would have the chance sitting right here in my living room to reach out to people from everywhere--well, who could have ever dreamed of anything this incredible besides God?!

My last post featured some art work and a scripture, well, part of a scripture.  Today I wanted to emphasize the rest of the scripture.

"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.  John 3:16 (NIV) To me there are several key words in this scripture *loved--I looked this up and really there are no words to describe real love especially that of the Father God towards His creation--it includes, unselfish, unconditional, mercy, grace, but it would take a book here to define God's love for us-- *gave--a free gift *whoever--that means you, me, all of us *believes--to accept the Word or Evidence with our whole hearts *perish--die *eternal--not die EVER This scripture emcompasses a lot but a study of the scriptures makes it very simple-- God wants us to accept His love--in the person of Jesus He wants us to believe in Him and in ALL that He says in His Word He is NOT willing that ANY of us should PERISH He wants ALL of us to live forever with Him A simple way to do that is this: Dear God, I realize that I am in need of a Savior--that I cannot save myself--I cannot be good enough-- I accept by faith that You sent Your son to live on earth, the perfect Son of God Who reflected You in every way--lived, was crucified and resurrected for my sake-- I come to You now in total and complete humbleness of heart asking You to forgive me for all of my sin Make me clean--give me a brand new heart-- By faith I accept that You have done this and I now give You thanks-- I ask that You guide me all the days of my life and help me live for You each of those days, making you not only Savior but Lord of every aspect of my life. Teach me each day. Help me to be faithful to read Your Word. In Jesus' name I pray.  Amen I am turning off comments just for today.  If you know this love already, would you please take the time it would take to comment and instead say a prayer for people all over the world who will read this today and ask God that their hearts will be touched, understanding will come through the Holy Spirit and that many will make Him Savior and Lord of their lives today.  Thank you, sweet friends. © all photographs and text property of Dianne Hogue unless otherwise noted

God's Valentine for You!

Yesterday and today I have been down with a bad cold or allergies or a combination of both--I really don't know which.

 But I have decided that I think I know why I have fallen so in love with art journaling.

 Even though I was in bed most of both days, I did have to get up and tend to necessities at times.

I also had to walk by my little art studio as I was taking care of these necessities--

And as I walked by the power of paint and brush drew me in--

And though I didn't work for more than 5 to 10 minutes at a time for three times I think it was, I was able to create something--there are several things I would do differently if I had the chance for do-overs but for somebody like me who needs to create something each day, this will do!

For God so loved the world that He gave His only son that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.  John 3:16 Some day the pages of this book will be crumbling and falling apart--all flowers will wither and die--but the Word of our Lord, our God will stand forever--we can bank on this!  The grass withers and the flowers fade, but the word of our God stands forever."Isaiah 40:8

Do-overs would include:
1.  Not placing three flowers in a row coming down the page
2.  Not making the two big swirly-dos  ALTHOUGH I think I am going to try to make them look like a globe--I think it would go with God loving the world.
3.  Definitely NOT put the little tags on the "s"--maybe on the top, for sure not the bottom--
4.  And yes, I know I am wearing the flowers out but it was the quickest thing I could think of--I promise to branch out soon.
I always appreciate suggestions of how I could make things better or what your ideas might include--
I might put a bud offset to the left of those 3 flowers in a row--but knowing me .....I better stop while I am halfway ahead.  smile!

© all photographs and text property of Dianne Hogue unless otherwise noted


linking to Spiritual Sundays today

I am so thankful that we serve a heavenly Father who doesn't need "do-overs."  His plan of action and its implementation was perfect from the beginning and continues to be down through the generations.  We serve a mighty God--the great and perfect creator!

Safe In His Arms

I love everything about this picture of my great niece, Lilly Jane--the rosy cheeks, the flawless complexion, the sweet, sweet sleep, the butterfly on her jacket, the serenity, the peace-- To me this picture is a perfect example of how God wants us to recline on His bosom--to literally lay every care, every negative thought, every weight that would beset us--on Him.

Hoping your day has been a peaceful one.

I will lie down and sleep in peace, for you alone, O LORD, make me dwell in safety.--Ps. 4:8

© all photographs and text property of Dianne Hogue unless otherwise noted-picture of Lilly Jane taken by her mother, Lindsay.  Thank you for letting me use this, precious niece.

Faith Droplets

Yesterday I started painting a light watercolor floral of a vase of pretty flowers--today it turned in to the picture above--a loud, busy, acrylic painting--oh well!  And as I painted it I couldn't help but remember a picture I had seen on Pinterest with some visible raindrops.

So I added the pink, blue and yellow raindrops and then I thought how much the colors reminded me of a rainbow and then I thought of Chicken Little and "The sky is falling, the sky is falling" and then I thought--no, the rainbow is falling, the rainblow is falling and then and then and then................

And then I remembered a little phrase I calligraphed twenty years ago that stated, "Faith sees a rainbow in each teardrop."

And then I knew what I wanted to paint on the opposite page--a picture of a girl--and the caption will read,

Her name is Faith and she sees a rainbow in each teardrop--she will have one big tear coming from the inner corner of her left eye and it will reflect a rainbow--

And the moral of the art journaling project--

You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives.  Genesis 50:20  I'm sure Joseph cried many tears when his brothers threw him in the pit and left him for dead but I am also sure that he looked through his teardrops and knew God would bring a beautiful rainbow-- If Joseph hadn't been thrown into that pit, he and his family would have most likely perished--God knew, God knew--

Are we trusting God today with every aspect of our lives, with every teardrop?

He is trustworthy.

He is faithful.

His rainbows will fall on us if we trust Him.

© all photographs and text property of Dianne Hogue unless otherwise noted


Linking with Spiritual Sundays today!


UPDATE:  Okay, dear friends, I humbly ask you to read the comments below-- the observations concerning this post are so insightful and I praise God for all of your comments and wisdom and knowledge.  Thank you from the bottom of my heart.

I know comments are meant to encourage and support but to me the comments here have taken "comments" to another dimension--God taking what He has taught each one of us and putting it all together so that we can learn from one another is so helpful and makes "the tie that binds" ever stronger.  Again, thank you.

Coming Down the Mountain

A few years ago after a time of fasting and prayer, I wrote this in my journal.

Oh, God, as I am descending this mountain, I was feeling, yes, less than on the mountaintop and then I read Oswald Chambers devotional for October 1 and I knew it was for me.  Forgive my spiritual selfishness of wanting to stay on the mountaintop instead of operating in the valley. "Spiritual selfishness always wants repeated moments on the mount. The mount is not meant to teach us anything, it is meant to make us something. There is a great snare in asking "What is the use of it?" They are meant for something in God's purpose."--Oswald Chambers

So, God, today help me to be content in whatsoever state I find myself--whether on the mountaintop, coming down, going up, or in the valley--Teach me to live victoriously wherever you place me.

 I rejoice greatly in the Lord that at last you have renewed your concern for me. 

Indeed, you have been concerned, but you had no opportunity to show it.   

I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances.   

I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. 

I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want.   

I can do everything through him who gives me strength.  Philippians 4:10-13

 © all photographs and text property of Dianne Hogue unless otherwise noted