Life is Good on the Ark

Every day while living on this earth I make a CHOICE. I feel most joyful when I choose to believe in God our Creator and in His good promises, as revealed to us in the Bible. I choose right now to believe His beautiful promises for me and for all my dearly beloved family members. A Prayer: Dear Lord Jesus, I confess my faith in You today. Please forgive my sins and please help me today to choose my thoughts wisely. Help me take those actions You will show me to do, in faith. God’s Promises are setting us free now. Believe them! The following verses are from the New International Version (NIV): He Himself is our Peace. [Ephesians 2:14] We know that in all things, God works for the good of those who love Him. [Romans 8:28] Do not fear, for I have redeemed you. I have summoned you by name; you are Mine.  When you pass through the waters, I will be with you,  and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you.  [Isaiah 43:1-2] Even though I walk through

Let God restore your shattered dreams. We, like Joseph of the Bible, can develop 50/20 vision—a vision which tells us: “You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good!” (Genesis 50:20) Such trust dares to believe that God can take the worst materials and turn them into good. It projects meaning and purpose into what seems meaningless and accidental. Godly vision does not gloss over evil like some New Ageism philosophy. Instead, it looks evil straight in the face and recognizes it to be evil. However, our Creator God can transform all of that into good. Joseph never said, “If only…” or “poor me”…but instead he said, “How can I best serve my God in this place?” Romans 8:39: For I am convinced that nothing in all creation will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Samuel Longfellow: “Thy Providence turns all to good …Thou leadest me by unsought ways, and turns’t my mourning into praise.”

Sitting in the cool Upstate New York evening, staring across at the calm, quiet bean field, now on fire from the early September sun, I feel linked with all of Life. And I realize that somewhere in this world, this sun is just rising! It hits me like an ice-cold shower on a frosty October morning at Camp Cutler, the boy scout camp just north of Naples New York where my son and I spent one happy, beautiful and memorable week. I see now, today, that there are always at least two ways of viewing the same thing. You can view it as good, or you can view it as "bad." What I propose to do for the remainder of my earthly life is to put the best possible construction on every situation. To an artist that is like putting a pure gold frame around even the simplest painting. Something like "The Miller" by Millet...or "Woman Bathing," by Degas.   These are simple subjects, painted by a pure eye. Life is how you frame it . In its purest form, Life just IS. But hum

I’m standing in front of the sliding glass doors next to my giant crimson poinsettia plant on New Year’s Day, looking across my balcony at the pale gray condos opposite. One balcony is trimmed with ropes of evergreen along the railing. The sky above is robin’s egg blue. Through a stand of trees off to the southwest, I see the golden glimmers of a fading sun. We made it through the family holidays: Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year’s Eve. I’m still alive! In a minute, I will plug in the tiny white Christmas lights all around these giant windows and play the James Taylor CD, “Hourglass.” Every day now I practice “breathe / let go” and get more grounded in my true self…more centered in my own heart. Every time in the past, at least 7,000 times, when I’ve said “Bye! See you soon!” to each of my children, I have always seen her again / seen him again. And, as God assures me, we will all three be TOGETHER FOREVER IN ETERNITY. “What part of ‘eternity’ do you not understand? –G

Dear Child, this earthly life is just a dream, like a reflection on the water. The enemy is trying to tell you that this current trouble you’re going through will last forever. It won’t. Right now is just the dress rehearsal. You are being prepared for Opening Night--the Real Thing! I know these past few months have been hard. Very hard. I hurt when you hurt. But, an end to this is coming. After this will come the start of something new and truly wonderful. See, I am doing a new thing! Isaiah 43:19   Just last longer! I love you.

During a recent period of Christian meditation, I heard the Lord say this: It doesn’t matter so much how long you are here, dear Child. This is just your “earth suit” you are wearing now! It’s the “wanting to cling” onto things, wanting "everything to stay the same”…that causes suffering. Let go of clinging and start to feel your true freedom! What is really important is to fulfill your purpose here, My purpose for you here on this earth. Once you get a vision of what your purpose is, then you are truly free!

I have come to a fresh understanding of what it means to be “saved.” It means that you got on the boat when you saw it coming, when you saw it docked nearby. Then, you had the smarts to say: “Please give me a ticket,” and you climbed aboard. All it takes is a simple, heart-felt prayer: “Lord Jesus, please forgive me for the wrongs I’ve done. Please be my Savior.” Christians sometimes wonder what life might have been like if they had not gotten on board with God. “What if I had just kept on going, totally focused on having fun?” The real answer: It was not really that fun. In our sober moments we remember that life back in “Egypt” was lots harder. We remember that we felt no deep-down peace. Christians, too, can struggle and suffer at times. The big difference is that now you know you have a true Friend who is walking beside you. A Friend who will never, ever leave you.  This is the True Peace.

These days when a gloomy thought pops into my mind, like when I’m waiting for the next “shoe to drop,” or when some imagined crisis looms…I now make a conscious choice to replace the gloomy: “I really don’t want X-Y-Z to happen!” I now replace that with this: “ This is what I really want and need: _____. Dear Lord, please show me my next steps toward getting it. Thank you!” Recently, I heard God say: “Get a beautiful vision for your life. Include what you really want for each of your relationships. Continue to thank Me for guiding you along the best paths for achieving your dreams. Then, watch as these happy dreams start coming true!” The key is to be very selective about your thoughts. Also, be extra careful about what you say out loud. As a child of God, your words have creative power! Only say what you really want. Then, wait for the miracles to happen!

I used to go through life like I was wearing dark glasses, viewing the downside of everything and keeping myself depressed. Imagining future crises. This affected my closest relationships and drained all the joy from my life. Sadly, I missed out on lots of present-moment happiness. Then one day I heard God say clearly:  “Don’t be greedy, always wishing for that one more thing that you think you missed out on. Be grateful instead! Look around you right now. See all the wonderful blessings you have in your life at THIS VERY MOMENT. Be very glad for them. Don’t rob yourself of these great joys! You worked so hard to get to this good place. You are also in a happier place than when you went through those really painful things in the past. However, in getting through those times, you developed courage and strong muscles!  Now—use that strength and make your commitment to be glad, not greedy!” Right away, I felt peaceful.

I met Marge shortly after I became a brand-new Christian. To keep my new faith strong, I had begun listening to Christian radio. One day the announcer mentioned a Monday evening prayer meeting at the home of Marge and Ed. This was a “God-wink” (a surprise blessing) since their house was only a few blocks away from my apartment! I began showing up every Monday night for praise and powerful prayer. Often, tears would stream down someone’s face as they knelt for prayer and met the Healer (the Holy Spirit). At the end of each meeting we all stood in a circle holding hands and singing the “Our Father” (“The Lord’s Prayer”). On these nights I felt like I had been transported into Heaven! Marge and I became close friends. She had the strong faith I first saw in my grandmother Lorena, the first person ever to tell me about God. Marge began sharing with me some amazing stories from her own life…. The noisy prayer meeting One Monday night as the prayer group was ending their time of wors