Below, I have written another devotional prayer that begins with "God, You are...". This one focuses on God's intentional concern for each of us as individuals. Praise Him with me:

And when Jesus came to the place, He looked up and said to him, "Zaccheus, hurry and come down, for today I must stay at your house." Luke 19:5

God, You are Intentional. Just as you sent Noah a rainbow in the sky, and just as You sent Elijah bread in the mouths of ravens, You sweetly send Your love to me. Likewise, just as You waited by the well for the woman, and just as You called for the blind man to come, You also presented Yourself to me. Thank You, O God, for Your pursuing love. You guide me like a Shepherd through Your word, allowing me to graze on just what I need for each circumstance. And then, You send me reminders throughout the day letting me know that You are always with me. Yes, Your peaceful presence makes me smile; Your absolute action makes me laugh. I am awed that You are intimately acquainted with all my ways; and I am overwhelmed by Your alluring kindness. So, I will watch expectantly for You, O God. Your intentional love has become my inexpressible joy. Yes, my soul delights that You call me by name, and that I am Yours.

Genesis 9:8-9, 13; I Kings 17:6; John 4:4, 6-7; Mark 10:49; Matthew 28:20; Psalm 139:3; Hosea 2:14;Micah 7:7; Isaiah 43:1

For more prayers in this same format, go to www.respitefortheweary.com and see the side bar labeled "latest devotional prayers."

Recently, I have had the opportunity to research three great women of the past and the present who have inspired my personal walk with the Lord. These women, Ruth of the Bible, Corrie ten Boom, and Joni Eareckson Tada, all share the same Hope even though their life stories are extremely different, in both time periods and circumstances. We can glean something from each of their testimonies.

Ruth of the Bible is known for her faithful statement to her mother-in-law: Where you go I will go; where you stay I will stay; your people will be my people, and your God, my God (Ruth 1:16). This young Moabite women was willing to lay down all that was familiar and walk into a foreign land. Because of God's grace and Naomi's witness, Ruth fully embraced this unseen God of Israel as her own.... He had become her one true living hope.

Corrie ten Boom and her close-knit family chose to risk their own lives in order to hide Jews when Hitler invaded Holland during World War II. Sadly, on February 28, 1944, the whole family was caught and sent to a concentration camp because of their underground work. Corrie Ten Boom miraculously snuck her Bible into the camp, which became her and her sister's only living hope in the vast darkness of torture and despair. During this evil time, Corrie had to lay down all of her family through the death of the Nazi camps; yet, she herself walked out of the camp, with the living Hope.

In 1967, Joni Eareckson Tada dove into the water off of a pier in the Chesapeake Bay; from that point, her life was never the same. When her head hit the shallow ground, she broke her neck between the 4th and 5th cervical vertebrae, leaving her paralyzed to this very day. Over time, Joni learned to lay down her personal future and then "walk" with with the living Hope, trusting the Lord each step.

And the Hope of these women have left their mark on us today. Ruth became the great-grandmother of King David; so this God-worshipping Moabite woman is in the direct lineage of our Savior Jesus Christ. Corrie ten Boom, rather than carrying bitterness and revenge in her heart, has touched millions of lives by pouring out God's love with her story of forgiveness found in Christ alone. And Joni Eareckson Tada is currently an internationally acclaimed artist, author, and advocate, all of which are avenues in which she proclaims Jesus as both the Healer of brokenness and the Lover of souls.

What about you and me? Are we willing to lay down the familiar, possible family or friend relationships, and even our future dreams so that the gospel can be spread in ways that we could never do on our own? Although these women experienced great personal loss, their gain for the Kingdom is immeasurable. From my research, I found their common thread; I am convinced they would say, and even sing, these words in unison (someday they will):

Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out His love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom He has given to us. Romans 5:3-5

I pray you and I will carry these women's torches onward, as we walk with the Living Hope, Jesus Christ Himself, into 2012.

I wanted to take the opportunity to invite each of you to attend the next "Walking with Hope" gathering that will be held in my home. It will be a time of both refreshment and encouragement as we prepare to walk into the new year with the hope of our Savior Jesus Christ.

Please Come

to

"Walking with Hope into 2012"

Thursday, December 29th

6:30 - 8:00 pm

The Baxter Home

1765 Warren Hollow Road

Nolensville, TN 37135

chrisbax@united.net

Also, for Christmas reflections during this week, please visit www.respitefortheweary.com to find the links Celebrating Christmas and Who is this Jesus and Why did He Come. Thank you so much, readers, for your faithful support; I so appreciate each of you. Merry Christmas.

Isn't it interesting that when we start writing our thankful-list around this time of year, the physical gifts of the flesh seem to make it to the top? "Thank you for my health; thank you for my wealth; thank you for my happiness." These things are indeed reasons to thank our generous Giver; but I think God also waits with hopeful anticipation to hear thankful praises sung to Him of another kind.

I will explain with a picture and a passage. The passage is Psalm 103:1-5, and the picture is of two girls from Haiti 10 days after the earthquake shook their country in 2009. My husband Mac had to amputate their legs in order to save their lives. (When viewing the photo, please avoid "being thankful" that you are physically not these two girls; my point will be just the opposite. These girls have something deeper to teach us...about spiritual wholeness in the midst of physical brokenness.) Now listen to the psalmist sing and the picture speak:

Bless the Lord, O my soul; and all that is within me, bless His holy name. Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget none of His benefits. (Notice this passage is about the "soul", not the "body.")

...Who pardons all your iniquities and heals all your diseases. (Just as the earthquake came in and crushed these girls' legs physically, sin came in and poisoned us spiritually. BUT, just as Mac compassionately severed the spread of the deadly gangrene, our Savior also lovingly stopped the flow of sin's crimson stain.)

...Who redeems your life from the pit; who crowns you with lovingkindness and compassion. (Just as these two sweet girls were picked up from the rubble and ashes of a natural catastrophe and their wounds were wrapped with bandages of healing, our hearts, too, were gracefully grabbed from the domain of darkness and transferred into the kingdom of His beloved Son. Col. 1:13)

...Who satisfies your years with good things; so that your youth is renewed like the eagles. (The girl on the left would have died in the night if Mac had not gotten to her first; this picture was taken the next day--no fever, no sign of infection. We too, are on our spiritual deathbed until the Lord comes and breathes His Spirit, into our spirit, which sets us upright and full of Life!)

So let us praise Him for His lifetime benefits this Thanksgiving. May these benefits--"fits of goodness from above"-- be on the top of our list every morning. The paradox is that these intangible gifts are the only ones we can really hold onto. The single minded focus of tangible blessings have the propensity to become a deep disappoint for those who have them, and a mere mirage for those who don't.

Let His forgiveness, His redemption, and His good Spirit sink deep into your heart, and then...bless the Lord; with all that is within you, bless His holy name.

It seems like for the last few years, our family has undergone some kind of change in its in-home dynamics. Whether its my oldest going to college or my others transitioning from homeschool into high school, there has been... change. And now, for the first time in 20 years, I'm at home alone.

In preparation for this switch and the "jobless" feeling, I found myself praying the familiar prayer that we all have most likely prayed at some point in our lives:

God what is your will for me? Or, another one like it:

God, what are your plans for me?

I don't think these prayers are wrong to pray at all. God Himself even says, I know the plans I have for you... (Jeremiah 29:11). But for some reason, this fall, I had a "catch" in my spirit when I prayed in this way. And the Lord just quietly told me to rephrase the question like this:

Lord, what do you have for others through me?

Hmmm, is there any difference in these prayers? For my heart, yes. God wanted me to put the word "others" before the word "me", in my prayer and in my life. Jesus was others focused; He listened to His Father and walked in obedience...towards people. Then so must I. As Christ followers, that's what we are: vessels of His love to others.

So if He asks me to call somebody, then... call. If He asks me to write and print something, then... write and print. If He asks me to walk and pray, then.... walk and pray. (And this too), if He asks me to respect my husband, then... respect.

To illustrate, the other day, I prayed: Lord, what do you have for others through me... today?

He answered. I knew, without any doubt that the He was asking me to take some lunch to a friend of mine who just had surgery; I was already stretched for time but, I obeyed. While there, we got to talking and she mentioned that there was an exchange student from Italy who needed a host home because the first host situation was just not working out. (I had actually met this sweet young Italian girl 2 weeks prior, and had an instant motherly-love for her; God was already scheming). So, from this conversation at lunch...and a day of praying...and talking it over with my husband and our three kids still at home...we now have Giulia "Jewels" Lizzi living with us for her junior year. And she is more than a delight! Honestly, I never in a million years would have planned this myself; I'm not that adventurous. But how wonderful are His ways. To think, I would have missed it had it not been for that divinely appointed conversation at lunch.

Are you in a transition time right now? Are you waiting for Him to reveal His plans for you? While you wait, pray, Lord, what do you have for others through me... today? Then walk the way Jesus did, with love towards people.

And as you make small steps forward in obedience, have faith that He will unfold His big plans for you...plans for welfare and not calamity to give you a future and a hope (Jeremiah 29:11).

I recently had some recurring thoughts that made me look for a post I wrote many years ago...

Every now and then, I think about the now...and then.

The other morning the thought about the present-day and the unseen-future came to mind when I stepped outside with puppy-Juliet for her morning "duty." Most of our outings together at this wee-morning hour still possess the remnant of night-time, with the black sky and the twinkle, twinkle of the "little" stars. However, for about three mornings in a row, our scenery was different; instead of a clear nightly
sky, Juliet and I were greeted with a dense white fog. When standing on my front porch, I couldn't see our driveway, our black fence, the surrounding trees, the cows in the field... nothing.

I think sometimes our present day, the now, is a lot like living in this kind of fog. There are so many unknowns, whether its about our health, our finances, our direction, or our relationships. The seemingly impassable uncertainties can create a worrisome unsettling in our hearts... so many questions, so many emotions.

But as I was walking with little pup down our driveway in the midst of this penetrable thickness, I heard a whispering in my soul, "Chris, this is what it means to walk by faith not be sight" (II Cor. 5:7). The Lord's sweet reminder to my questioning heart, was that I am walking with the One who holds all the answers. And I am called to put my faith in Him, not in myself or my surroundings. Remember, He is called the Father of Lights, with whom there is no variation or shifting shadow (James 1:17).

And let us also remember this truth on our walk: in the midst of all this faith-fog "now" there is the promise of crystal-clear "then"! You may never understand the goings-on of this life, but if all you do is hold onto the hope of heaven while walking through the befuddlements of earth, then God has been glorified in and through you. Someday He will set all things right, and we will then understand.

As I walked back up the driveway, God set my mind on another Word of His:

For we know in part, and we prophecy in part; but when the perfect comes, the partial will be done away... For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face; now I know in part, but then I shall know fully just as I have also been fully known. (I Cor. 13:9-10,12)

In light of this truth, let us each walk by faith today, remembering that God Himself is in-step with you. I pray your heart will hear Him whispering words of hope, for your "now"... and your "then."