today...

"Today is unique! It has never occured before, and it will never be repeated. At midnight it will end, quietly, suddenly, totally. Forever. But the hours between now and then are opportunities with eternal possibilities." (Charles Swindoll)

I had to use this picture once more before I retire it, and it fits these words so well.

Don't you love this quote?

Midnight tonight ends today's potential forever... but between now and then... a day full of possibilities!



“So don’t worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring its own worries. Today’s trouble is enough for today. (Matt. 6:34 NLT)

Go ahead... open it!

I love gifts!

Let's just imagine that these beautiful gifts held the very answers to some things we are asking God for in our own life.

Maybe it's peace, or direction, or joy, or an answer to a long time prayer... or to really KNOW that He is there, all the time...

Now, let's assume the tag on the gifts reads... IF...

Have you ever thought of the word IF and looked at the way God uses it in His word?

Definition of IF: (Merriam-Webster)

a : in the event that
b : allowing that
c : on the assumption that
d : on condition that

The very things we desire the most, the things that are the prayers of our hearts, are promised to us over and over....

IF...

... You are controlled by the Spirit if you have the Spirit of God living in you.

... For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live.

... If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.

... If you look for me wholeheartedly, you will find me.

Many times we begin and end with that little word.

I have jumped in and claimed the benefits of many promises, and often have not seen them fulfilled because I didn't pay close enough attention to the IF...

It isn't that God is not clear, rather that sometimes I want the benefits of the promises apart from the way He says they will come.

In other words, the easy way out... and like Dr.Phil says: 'How's that workin' for you?'...

Think for a minute about those 'pesky' little powerful words that the scriptures are so full of...

if...when...

God says things with few words, and they pack a punch.

It's ME who fails to obey exactly what it says, and so the power of the promise is missing.

I think the tag might just as well say IF Sonja... (or your name)... does what I ask her to...she can open the gift!

The slumber party that wasn't!...

When I was about 10 years old, I decided it would be a good thing to have a slumber party one Friday night.


I invited about 10 of my school pals, and their moms dropped them off at our house, sleeping bags in tow, ready for a great time...

But I forgot to ask or even mention it to my parents...

My dad was out of town, and my mom was scheduled to leave for a women's conference where she would be the speaker.

I don't remember what my punishment was, but I do remember that my mom drove every single girl back to their homes, explained to their mother's, and then came home to deal with me!

Have you ever gotten ahead of yourself? or worse... ahead of God?

We can't just decide to 'call a party', and expect Him to bless the whole thing, and to provide for all the details that make a party special... without asking Him first.

He may have some very good reasons for such a party not to happen, one of which might be that He won't be present to host it. (Even though He is with us always, there are times when He is quiet.)

Our bright ideas don't always mean that He will go along with us. He might even like the idea, but wants it to be at another time. Or... He might know that the whole idea is just wrong for us.

When HE calls the party, it is always right.



"Mortals make elaborate plans, but God has the last word." (Prov.16:1)

Yesterday's princess...

This pictures still makes me smile!

When I say 'yesterday's princess'... I mean a lot of yesterdays ago...

One of the blessings of blogging is reflecting back on personal memories, and putting them down in black and white.I was a junior in high school in southern California.

My best friend Margie was the queen and I was one of the princesses of the annual Wisteria Festival in Sierra Madre, California. This was a 7 acre garden of wisteria, which bloomed every year at Easter time.
Youth for Christ was sponsoring the whole festival that year, so it was lots of fun for all of us.

It made me curious to see if it is still going on... sure enough!
Here is the link for this year.

I had to dig DEEP into one of the old, old bins in the garage to find these pictures!

We walked around with all the people who came to visit, and a photographer took pictures of 'the court' with our visitors. Oh boy... my most vivid memory of the whole thing were the clear plastic high heeled sandals... sadly, I felt like royalty in them!

Can you guess which one is me?

A fun memory from a long time ago...


(I'm the far left in the top photo, center front on lower photo)

A health nut before his time...

My dad...

He was ALWAYS into fitness... long before it was "in" to be fit!

Before he went into the ministry, he tried out for the St.Louis Cardinals Baseball team, but ended up going to seminary instead of playing baseball...

All through his years of ministry and travels, he ate right. He flew into new countries with different weather patterns, and temperatures, and he knew it would be wise to be 'built up' and fueled in his own system, by eating wisely.

He studied food and nutrition, even carried Adele Hunt's book 'Let's Eat Right To Keep Fit" in his heavy book briefcase, on his flights, right alongside his Bible and other Godly books.

Along with those books, he nearly always carried a few ripe bananas and other fruit, and maybe some nuts, to snack on during his flight. To this day, even though we laughed about it then in our youthful ignorance, I never pass a bin of bananas in the store without thinking of dad and his bananas!

He tried... he REALLY tried... to teach the 3 of us kids about healthy eating...

One time at the L.A.County Fair, he bought one of the first electric blenders we had ever seen, they were doing a demonstration as we walked by. He was so thrilled. That night we all wanted a 7-up when we got home, he said we could have the 7-up AFTER we drank the first concoction out of that blender. We all groaned. He filled that thing with fresh vegetables of every kind, and added ice and water. It was a disgusting color and we held our noses as we drank it!...Then we had our 7-up.

Once my brother dreamed that my dad was in the pulpit preaching, with vigor... but his words were all about fruits and vegetables and vitamins! We all laughed at the dream, as it was a possibility if you knew my dad. Fortunately, prayer and revival always trumped healthy eating for him, so we never saw that happen.

I wish he could know now how many times I have thought of the way he carefully made sure he ate the right foods... 'live foods', he called them. While we all 3 teased him during those years, we have all found out that he was right on the money!

Health and fitness, a man before his time! I'm sure working at it now dad...



"An intelligent person is always eager to take in more truth; fools feed on fast-food fads and fancies." (Prov.15:14 MSG)

from Is: 55... "Why do you spend your money on junk food, your hard-earned cash on cotton candy? Listen to me, listen well: Eat only the best, fill yourself with only the finest."

P.S.... If you want a good hearty laugh, head over to Marsha's blog "Health Nut or Just a Nut??" ...

Blessing the hands that made these...

When I was growing up, my dad traveled and preached all around the world. He always brought a gift home for my mom, and usually some for the 3 of us kids as well.

Today I was thinking of the intricate linen tablecloths and napkins that he brought my mother from Japan.The detail of the needlework was amazing.

My mother used everything he brought, they loved to entertain. But this tablecloth was ' a beast' to iron! They didn't just send everything to the cleaners back then. So, one day when my mom was ironing that tablecloth for the next use...

She was probably grumbling a bit about how hard it was to make it look right, there were so many stitches and little places to make smooth... first she sprinkled the whole thing and rolled it into a ball and put plastic around it and stuck it in the fridge... later she took it out to steam press... as she labored over that tablecloth, the very one pictured above...

She began to think of the little women in the orient who sat and made these beautiful pieces by hand, and how difficult it must have been to even see the needle as they worked. She began to pray for each Japanese lady who did that hard labor, day after day, and for their eyesight as they labored, and for their families, and for their knowledge of Jesus.

Her ironing was changed that quickly... from drudgery to praise.

I have thought of that many times as I have ironed clothes through the years for my husband and our children. Not so much now, as we are blessed to wash & dry most of it and send the 'hard stuff' to the cleaners.

I wonder though, if I took the time, especially when I am irritated and impatient...

...when someone is slow in traffic

...or sneaks ahead of me in the grocery line

...or yells at their kids in the mall

...to say a quick prayer for whatever their needs might be, and to ask God to speak to their hearts in whatever place they are... if that wouldn't also be the very thing that turns my irritation into something much better.

I know this works... so do you. I think I can do better... there are lots of 'wasted' blessings all around me!

Every situation is a potential for praise. (and now that I've said that in black & white... I'm convicted by my own words!)