This "Branch" is going "Down the Shore" Again

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This "Branch" is going "Down the Shore" Again

From my very first year of blogging and many years since, I’ve been blogging my journeys to my “happy place”…the Jersey Shore.

A portion of this blogpost is a trip into yesteryear —one of my early Jersey shore blogs, Aug 2016.

And actually in a couple days, we will again be on our way to that favorite place on earth for me. It’s not just the ocean that calls me. It’s my roots — the precious loved ones (family and friends) and memories of my growing up years. So off we go for another adventure…

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A Morning Conversation in a Time of Upheaval

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A Morning Conversation in a Time of Upheaval

I sit with my Father,

Abba Father God,
I hold onto You today as I do everyday.
I am secure because You are holding onto me. Thank you..

I like just sitting here with You. I don’t have to know all the “stuff,” do I?
I don’t have to get it all straight so I fit into “the camp,” whatever that may be, right?
I’m not sure I even belong to one.

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Loving God for HIMSELF

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Loving God for HIMSELF

… As far back as I can remember, I have always loved God. I can’t remember when I had the very first loving thoughts and feelings toward God. But He has always been most important to me. …
My granddaughter Claire asked me one day,

“Babci, Who told you about God?”

My immediate reply,

“My mommy told me about God.” And she had because God was her life.

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SIMPLICITY IN CHRIST -- HE IS the Christian LIFE

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SIMPLICITY IN CHRIST -- HE IS the Christian LIFE

Christianity is a PERSON, not a procedure; the LORD, not a list! Not church attendance, not Christ-like qualities, not good works, not the Christian "to-do list" (which may vary depending on the group and "camp" you are in)...

Not evangelism, not mission trips, not a quality "quiet time," not Scripture memorization or Bible study...

Not spiritual disciplines, not prayer, not fasting, not obedience, not miracle-working faith...

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SIMPLICITY IN CHRIST: Morning Thoughts for Battles You Face Today

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SIMPLICITY IN CHRIST: Morning Thoughts for Battles You Face Today

But I fear, lest somehow, as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, so your minds may be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ.
2 Corinthians 11:3 NKJV

Good morning, brothers and sisters in Christ.

May you rejoice in this gift of another day to experience the sufficiency of Christ who lives in you today … right now.

And let’s face it … there will be battles today in this fallen world. Christ has won the war. But while we are here on earth, we will face opposition from the world, the flesh, and the devil (who uses the world and the flesh to lie to us and lure our dependence away from our loving Father God).

So here are a few thoughts and scriptures that may help as we face our today:

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Revisiting My Needed, Favorite Words

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Revisiting My Needed, Favorite Words

I have favorite words…do you?
Maybe because my “love language” is words of affirmation, I treasure words … especially words I hear from God. Sometimes His words are those that “jump off the page of Scripture.” Sometimes they are words that enter my consciousness, gently or suddenly or in response to a question I barely had time to ask.

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Called to Be Spiritual Fathers/Mothers

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Called to Be Spiritual Fathers/Mothers

If we are followers of our Lord Jesus Christ, siblings in the family of God, we are called to mature into “spiritual fatherhood/motherhood” in the family.

Is that a surprising thought? Let's think together about this idea of "spiritual parenting."

In his first letter, the fatherly, aged apostle John penned a tenderhearted passage on the growth stages in a believer's life.

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I Have a Father

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I Have a Father

For all who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God. …

As we come up to Fathers’ Day, I’m remembering this song. Its a heart-warming reminder of my True Father, and it grabs my grieving soul with its moving music and lyric.

You see, the beautiful person deep inside my earthly father had been often obscured by the abuse of alcohol that trapped his soul and body. (Remembering My Dad)

Oh how sad and painfully tragic! Oh how I miss the real Daddy whom I truly loved yet often “hated” at the same time.

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YOU are "Ordained"...for the purpose and pleasure of God!

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YOU are "Ordained"...for the purpose and pleasure of God!

Today I witnessed the Ordination to the Gospel ministry of a young man who grew up in our church. It was a very moving experience. And it reminded me of a similar ordination I witnessed back in July of 2013 and the blogpost that I wrote in response.

The reason I would like to share that post again is a powerful truth that the Holy Spirit revealed — we children of God, brothers and sisters in Christ are ALL “ordained by God to minister (serve) for HIS purpose and pleasure while we are on this earth (Acts 13:36).

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A Mothers' Day Pause -- The Emptying's

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A Mothers' Day Pause -- The Emptying's

There are lots of emptying in life … Motherhood, in particular, is filled with emptyings -- from the emptying of the womb in childbirth to the emptying of self in child-raising. The stripping is hard, every step along the way. And then there is an emptying that affects all mothers sooner or later -- the emptying of the nest.

I know. This is what we have been preparing our children for, right? The launch, the flight out of the safety, security, and nurturing of their childhood home, out into the excitement of what God has for them up ahead.
But who prepares moms for this?

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You are NOT an Obstacle to God

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You are NOT an Obstacle to God

Brothers and sisters in Christ,

Please hear this.

You are not an obstacle to God.

You are His beloved child, His instrument to express His Life on this earth. You are His work of art, His '“poem” He is speaking into His world through you.

Others may think of you as an obstacle, but God is bigger than that. He uses you in your circumstances and relationships to express who He is. Yes, even in your mistakes and failures and fleshly ways. He can turn them around for your good and His amazing purposes today.

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