" I thank my God every time I remember you." Philippians 1:3 NIV

The storm is lifting and this ship is sailing into the sunshine. Do you ever feel as if you're being tossed up and down, in a terrible storm? 

Many people are contemplating a hurricane in North Carolina early tomorrow morning. Thousands of people have been evacuated, including my sister Allison.

 She just arrived here with her daughter, and two dogs. Her husband and son are staying back in case of flood. If they have to, they will leave as well. It's not the hurricane that causes the threat. It's flooding afterwards.

Allison and her family live very near a river, and it is expected to crest 24 feet above normal on Sunday. Rivers recede slowly, so this may be a long term situation. Prayer is what makes the difference. 

A few days ago the Weather Center said it might be a category 4 or 5 storm, which would have been horrendous. Our God knows all the details. Allison doesn't care about the house, it's the people inside the house.

Maybe you have family who have had to leave as well. Pray for those who stayed. Life is more important than anything else, and I know you know this. As you think of the storm, pray. 

Allison's neighbors, haven't left, and are closer to the river. My brother-in- law Steve is concerned for them, and will help them if he can. Why don't people deal with these things?

There are so many different answers to questions like these. Praying for safety and wisdom for all. Thank you for praying too. Blessings and love,    Ann

"To all the saints in Christ Jesus in Philippi, together with the overseers and deacons: Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ." Philippians 1:1-2 NIV

I guess I will have to realize fall is on its way. I'm not ruling out the possibility of 80 degree days, and beach weather though. September and October can be some of the nicest days of the year.

As we embark on Philippians, I want you to think of Paul, chained to a Roman guard. He is waiting for a trial, in jail, but he remembers his friends in Philippi, because they are paying his living expenses while he waits.

He reminds them to be content, and humble, which tells us much about the man himself. He doesn't focus on his situation, but on Jesus Christ, and the ability he has to encourage his friends.

Paul is finding joy in prison. Not because of his chains, but in spite of them. How can this be, you might ask? It's because of who is with him. Not the guard next to him, but the one who fills him with every good thing.

Is Christ's presence this real to you? Do you have the assurance of His presence inside? Even when we do, we can still be thrown into anxiety or discouragement as times. Being close to His side means everything especially in the day in which we live.

Hurricanes, refugee camps, terror attacks, and the list goes on. As bearers of light we can't afford to be away from the Lord. The world needs to see the truth of Jesus, and we need to dig in deeper.

Have you had some trials in your life? Thank God. You are being prepared  to stand. As we studied Ephesians we learned: "Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything , to stand." Ephesians 6:13 NIV

Who needs you to stand strong today?

"Grace to all who love our Lord Jesus Christ with an undying love." Ephesians 6:24 NIV

In the notes below this verse it says,"or grace and immortality to all who love our Lord Jesus Christ." Immortality isn't a word you find reading the newspaper. It doesn't exist in our daily vocabulary. I don't think it is found in the Bible, at least not in the NKJV. 

I suppose it doesn't matter too much, except one means love and the other means life for ever more. I wish I could go to my logos software and tell you more, but I twisted my ankle. Getting up has been a challenge. Oh, this is frustrating!

Google says: the greek meaning of immortality refers to soul, but english Bibles refer to a living conscious body. Hmm, I don't know if we have anything yet.  Agape love is used in this verse. In greek, we see agape means the love God has for mankind, as well as the love man has for God.

It is an all encompassing, unconditional love. It isn't moved by emotions. It's not an on- again off- again feeling.  It is enduring, no matter what. If immortality means living forever, and agape means love never changing, we could say it's close to being the same thing. God is love and He is immortal. 

God is not like us, except for Jesus shedding his immortality to become a mortal. He was God in mortal flesh. He chose to walk among us. It wasn't for his good, but for ours. He is the perfect example of agape love and nothing else comes close.

There is nothing on earth to compare to God's unchanging insurmountable love. This world is changing all the time. It rains, the sun comes out. Seasons move from one to another and water is always finding its lowest level.

"Oh, the depths of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgements, and his paths beyond tracing out!" Romans 11:13 NIV

Nothing compares to His excellent greatness, and might. His love is everlasting, and His truth will endure for thousands of generations. Give Him praise for who He is today!

" Peace to you brothers, and love with faith from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ." Ephesians 6:23 NIV

Tomorrow will be the end of Ephesians for us. I have grown to love the Apostle Paul, and understand him a little bit better. We have very different customs today, and if he lived today he would be completely shocked to see what the world has become.

I think he would love the technology and the spreading of the gospel, through the internet. I have been aware lately of things I think are OK, but aren't. Where is it coming from? Our society can throw in subtleties, or blatantly put pictures before us as commercials on television.

 The program is good, but some of the commercials, or lyrics chosen for commercials are all together evil. My husband noticed a car commercial played "sympathy for the devil" in the background.

We were shocked, but we shouldn't be. Anything seems to be used as long as it gets attention. How much more should we be bold to witness with love for the lost. If we don't have His love, we have nothing.

Paul ends his letters with much kindness to those who receive them. Love without faith, or faith without love doesn't work! We can only receive anything good from God on our knees in prayer.

We are not our own, because we have been " bought at a price."{1Corinthians 6:20} This means we are favored and loved beyond imagination. We have the Living God inside as believers. Who do we want others to see: Us or Him? I don't know about you but I say, HIM!

"I am sending him to you for this very purpose, that you may know how we are, and that he may encourage you." Ephesians 6:22  NIV

It's not hard to tell what encourages me. I have a sneaking suspicion that it may be a favorite of yours as well. Flowers! It is probably posted on this blog often, more than anything else.

This is not to say I don't love my people. My peeps are more important, it's just that I don't want to embarrass them. Paul is concerned for his people too.

I have to remind myself, there weren't any phones in those days. They didn't have land lines, or even morse code. I suppose the mail system was O.K., but how would you know if someone got your letter or not? I'm sure it was slower than snail mail.

Having a visitor from afar was not an everyday occurrence, but it may have happened more often than in our generation. People were very hospitable, and opened their homes to those from other places.

It didn't seem to matter if you knew them or not. "Do not forget to open your home to strangers, for so doing some people have shown hospitality to angels without knowing it."

Tychicus wasn't a stranger to these people but it was expected of them to care for his needs. It was customary, and others were welcome with open arms. I wish I could be like this!

I want everything to be perfect when someone comes for a meal. At times I have had an extra, because with four children someone usually has a friend or two. This is easy, but why do I care when it's a friend or neighbor?

Am I concerned about appearances? I guess I am. I like the fact of Paul sending this fellow to encourage others. We surely need a lot more of this. Before we go out, let's ask the Lord to go with us, and purposely bless someone else!

"Tychicus, the dear brother and faithful servant in the Lord, will tell you everything, so that you may know how I am and what I am doing." Ephesians 6:21 NIV

This picture is of my daughters, Stephanie and Rachel. Stephie is the blond and Rachel is the redhead. They are ten years apart, and absolutely different from each other.

My husband and I stood strong while raising our first two children. A shift came with the next two. I am not happy to say this, just being honest. The shift was leniency to our convictions, and we are reaping the fruit of this.

I am through condemning myself, but moving through prayer to bring about change. God can redeem our mistakes how ever small or big they may be. Raising a teen in a home of  three,  twenty somethings is not easy. Parenting is the hardest thing we have ever done.

I'm sure some of you will agree with us. Knowing how to turn around a situation can be difficult. I'm not saying my kids are doing anything harmful to themselves or others. No, but I am saying God's grace is my constant prayer.

Maybe you are in the this boat with us? Do you want your children to follow in the footsteps of the Lord and love Him with all their hearts? Compromise is a terrible thing, but so is immaturity!

Please excuse my rant. Paul wanted his friends to know he was fine. He was thoughtful enough to realize people cared about him. He had a lot of time to think, pray and write. Maybe if he hadn't been in prison he wouldn't have written what he did, one third of the new testament.

God has a way of making even the worst times into the best times in some way or another. We know it was physically taxing on Paul to be in prison. Perhaps his greatest spiritual growth came about in a prison cell? I don't know, but I wonder.

"for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare it fearlessly, as I should." Ephesians 6:20 NIV

Hello to all of you today. I don't know what the weather is like in your town, but here it feels like summer! September can be like August in the beginning. This month and the next can be some of the best days of the year.

Our Apostle Paul, is a fearless Ambassador, yet he feels the need to ask for prayer. We don't usually see him as someone who needed help defeating fear, but in reality all of us need help with this.

Today I was editing a chapter in my book about fear. It's no secret the enemy is the author of it. God hasn't given us fear, nor does He ever want it in our lives. It comes anyway.

How we deal with it makes all the difference.  Fear can take any of us down. If the enemy can get our eyes off God and into this world we can be stung with fear and anxiety.

What can make us stronger? Remember your history with God. He has delivered us from fear, and lies many times. He will do it again! Why can I stand on this? God Word tells us he never changes. 

He is the same today in our generation as He was in the times of Mary, Abraham, and David. We can clearly see God's hands on these chosen followers, so we can be sure He will do the same for us. We are His people in our generation! Say amen, and thank Him for it.