Over the Easter weekend, my family and I watched The Passion together so that we could contemplate the death and resurrection of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

As I watched this scripturally-based movie, I was struck by how the single emotion, passion, was displayed in two distinct ways:

1. The Passion of Christ. Oh, how He loves us. It's hardly humanly graspable--the depth of His love. God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son...(John 3:16). And this perfect Son is the only One who could take away the sin of the world (John 1:29). No human being, no earthly king, no religious ruler could conquer sin and death once and for all. So the God-man came to our rescue. Nothing was going to stop His passionate pursuit of mankind. So He steadfastly endured the cross.

2. The Passion of the People. Oh, how they hated Him. It's hardly divinely graspable--the depth of their hate (sin). The Jews and Romans alike so hated Jesus that they gave Him over to death. And they kept beating His head with a reed, and spitting at Him, and kneeling and bowing before Him, mocking Him... (Mark 15:19-20). Nothing was going to stop their passionate pursuit of this "blasphemous king." So they steadfastly drove Him to the cross.

I understand now that the crucifixion of Christ is a cross of passions. Heavenly righteousness meets earthly unrighteousness, divine love meets human hate, everlasting life meets eternal death. I know and confess the passion of my sin matches the hurling insults and the gruesome lashes of the Jews and Romans.

But hear the Good News: the passion of God has overcome the passion of man! Jesus' last words were, "It is finished" (John 19:30). He defeated sin, He defeated hate, and He defeated death. Jesus has His arms outstretched begging us to come. You and I must meet Him there and choose to live by one of these passions, His or ours.

"I choose You, dear Jesus! Thank You, my God and Savior for powerfully overtaking me at the cross. I am Yours and You are mine (Song of Sol. 6:3)! Fill me, reign in me. And now, cause me to steadfastly pursue others with Your passion that has replaced mine. I pray that I will persistently point many to the cross so they too can choose Jesus Christ. You promise each of us, he who believes in Him will not be disappointed (Romans 9:33)."

Please, please tell me Spring is here to stay. I don't know about you, but there have been a few days recently that I have felt the need to remind God that Tennessee is a SOUTHERN state (just kidding, God--are we allowed to "kid" God?). However, on other days such as this one, I see and feel the sunshine--ahh. I also see the little blooms poking out of their winter hiding places. Spring greens, lovely purples, and innocent whites are making their announcements.

One other thing that keeps catching my eye as I am on my daily mothering-taxi route is the beautifully-spurting water fountains that are found in several of the neighborhood and city ponds. While observing these fountains springing up into the air as the sun sparkles down on them, God gave me a sweet "love-lesson":

1. The pond itself is God's love. He is the source of all true and perfect love, because He is love (I John 4:16).

2. I am the water pump. Only by God's grace, I am sitting right smack in the center of His love. I must keep my "water pump free of gunk" (sin) so that water will flow through me effectively. I do this by confessing it to the only One Who can keep me clean...

3. Jesus Christ is the Water that springs up through the water pump (me). When I trust Him as Lord and Savior, then it is no longer I who live but Christ who lives in me; and the life that I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me, and delivered Himself up for me (Gal 2:20).

Wow, you and I have been chosen to draw from God's love, contain God's love, and then to shower God's love to all those around us.

Yes, I do love the Way things are springing up.

I am at the forefront of writing my third devotional prayer booklet. The first two, "The Heartbeat of God" and "The Heritage of God", can be subscribed to or downloaded for free via this blog if you are interested. These booklets include 50 prayers all beginning with the phrase, "God, You are ....". I thought I would share one of the prayers that I just recently penned...

God, You are the Problem Solver. You know all things... nothing is too difficult for You. You see the beginning, and You see the end. But here I am again, in the middle of another mess. Dear Lord, I do admit--so often, I am at the root of the problem! I confess my sin before You: my attitude is odious, my mindset is muddled, and my perspective is plagued with pride. I am like a tight and tangled ball of string. Pull me apart with Your Mater-mind, I pray. Start at the beginning and just keep pulling, even if it's humbling and uncomfortable. I ask You to decipher my inmost thoughts and judge the intentions of my heart. Only You, O God, can make my paths straight. And only You can bring sweet peace back into my distorted disposition. So come again, I pray, and do Your lovely work in me. Please continue to strengthen me in Your ways, as You gingerly straighten me out of mine. Thank You, sweet Savior, for faithfully loving this problem-child. You are gracious and compassionate... and Your understanding is infinite; therefore, I can thankfully say, my knots are not knots to You. Amen.

Jeremiah 32:27; Hebrew 4:12; Proverbs 3:6; Psalm 111:4; Psalm 147:5

Rejoice with me that we have a very patient Problem-Solving God. I pray that you will let Him have your knots.

One year ago today my oldest daughter Maggie was thrown from her show-horse April. She and April were practicing walking backwards, when persnickety April had simply had enough. She suddenly reared upwards and backwards, throwing Maggie forcefully first into the air, then down into the ground. April followed suit, falling partially on top of Maggie.

When I think back on this day, believe it or not, my heart still floods with thankfulness. I know God's hand of protection was wrapped around my daughter. So many "could have's"... "didn't" happen. Many of these kinds of throws end with broken hips, backs, or necks. While Maggie did walk (very slowly) away from the accident, she wasn't completely unscathed. Somehow, she broke a tiny bone behind her eye; this snap then pinched her eye muscle, entrapping it so that she could not move her eye at all. This, of course, was severely painful until it was surgically released two days later.

During these two days, Maggie lay on the couch basically "blind", as it hurt to open either eye. Also during this time, our family was inundated with love and support from people who "walk life" with us. As Maggie lay there, hearing all the sweet voices come and go, a bible verse kept coming to mind:

Taste and see the Lord is good. Psalm 34:8

She now understood this in a deeper way. Although she couldn't see physically, she could feel God's love and goodness pouring through His people.

Another surgery a few weeks later was ordered by the reconstructive eye surgeon, who inserted a plate in place of the broken bone in order to support and position her eye. The remaining "marks" from the accident are: physically, she still has double vision in the right periphery, and emotionally, she is no longer a competitive rider.

Maggie's grandmother VeeVee gave her this verse during the "blurry vision" days which ironically represented Maggie's future. College riding was now off her radar, but God was not:

Behold, I will do something new, now it will spring forth...I will make a roadway in the wilderness, rivers in the desert. Isaiah 43:19

On March 2, 2009, Maggie's life did turn upside down. But I have loved watching the same Hand that protected her in her fall, also guide her as she walks into new and beautiful things.

Through this accident, I too have learned much. One thing concerns my faith walk: I must walk steadily and obediently by faith in God, knowing and trusting that at any moment, He can change my direction--for my good, not harm (Jer.29:11). He is for me, not against me. I must believe this, so that I, too, can walk away with hope and peace, if my life were suddenly turned... upside down.

Thank you, sweet Maggie, for your life-lesson to my heart. You have beautiful eyes, that see truth. I love you and celebrate YOU today.

We had a couple of "snow days" here in Tennessee. The half-inch white fluff made our world stop for a short while, and I absolutely loved it. I am a southern wimp when it comes to ice on the roads, so I just holed-up in my home, put on my comfy clothes, and kept the fire going. As I watched the snow fall one morning, I just sat very very still; I was mesmerized by God's immaculate beauty. I didn't want to move from my contented position...I was wrapped in a blanket like a cocoon...not doing anything, just "being"...

My "stillness" got me to thinking about personality types. As you know, there's the "A" type and the "B" type.

Words that come to mind when describing type A are: Alert, Attentive, Aggressive, Always Active, Absolutely Accurate most All of the time. I am positive that "they"--whoever "they" are--must have done a case study on my husband when creating this personality type. God loves him and so do I.

And then there's type B: Be still, Be Quiet, Be Steady, Be Careful, Be thinking of many things, but doing close to none of them. And yes, "they" came back to study me on this one. As a matter of fact, if "they" were putting me on a grading scale, I would have gotten a B minus, with the next personality being type C: Comatose, Cave-dweller, Cocoon, Closed-in, Cute(?). (Sorry, I had to add "cute"; my self-esteem was beginning to wane).

Have you ever wondered about Jesus' personality type? Was He A or B, or both? Of course, He was (is) the perfect blend, with no sin involved. Wow, think of that. No wonder people climbed trees and rooftops, walked miles upon miles, and dropped everything just to get a glimpse of Him. He was calmly charismatic, peacefully powerful, winsomely wise--all in One.

The wonderful news is this: Jesus is ALIVE today, in you and in me! He has given us His Spirit without measure. So, just like God graciously gives us spouses and friends to help us counter-balance our core personalities, He, much more than this, has given us Jesus Christ, not only to enhance who we are, but also to birth and grow who we are not.

Therefore, a type A personality can call on Christ to help him/her respond to this simple, yet difficult command:

Be still and know that I am God. Psalm 46:10

While a type B, when relying on Christ, can come out of his/her comfort zone and respond to verses such as this:

Get yourself up on a high mountain...bearer of good news...Lift your voice mightily; Lift it up, do not fear. Say to the cities of Judah, "Here is your God!" Isaiah 40:9

Let's face it, no matter our personality, we all need Him. Let Him come in and enhance His unique design (you). Trust Him where you are weak, and then watch a steady strength arise.

On that note, this closed-in cave-dweller needs to go find some hiking boots; I have a mountain to climb and some Good News to bear. Any Body want to join me?

Every New Year's Eve and Day the world exclaims, "Happy New Year!" to each other; some shout it passionately at a wild party, while others whisper it politely to a passer-by.

Well, I have decided that I would like the world to stop saying this phrase (do you think they will listen to me?). The word "happy" is really such a small, shallow word, and the world needs so much more! Happiness is over when the party is finished, or when the last bite of dessert is eaten, or when the money runs out, or when the doctor walks in with negative news--on and on.

What the world needs is a "Hopeful New Year." Hope is not dependent on the outside influences of health, wealth, and the next best thing. Hope comes from within, no matter the circumstances, no matter the trial. Listen to this verse:

Hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us. Romans 5:5

God's love in us--wow! I am not alone in my trial; there is no need to fear. Again, because of my faith in Christ, God is with me, in me. Because of Him, I will not be shaken (Ps 62:2). This makes me more than happy; this makes me hopeful. Yes, He promises each of us this:

He who believes in Him will not be disappointed. Romans 9:33

You and I may receive disappointing news this year; but He will be with us as we receive it, and as we walk through it. His word can direct each of our steps--into peace that passes understanding, and into joy that causes others to wonder. Let's make this declaration is 2010: "In His word I will put my hope" (Psalm 130:5).

So I expect to see "Hopeful New Year" on all party hats, plates, and napkins next year. Do you want to help me start the movement? (I'm kidding, but not really). Just tell a handful of people the difference between happiness and hope, and who knows what will happen? Because remember, nothing is impossible with God (Luke 1:37)