He has told you, O man, what is good;

And what does the Lord require of you
Except to be just, and to love [and to diligently practice] kindness (compassion),
And to walk humbly with your God [setting aside any overblown sense of importance or self-righteousness] (Micah 6:8, Amplified).

Am I the only one that finds it hard to “walk” humbly with God when you don’t know the direction you are going? I know that life has many curves and ups and downs, but it is so hard sometimes to try not to force or fix situations.

This is the graduation season. Many teens and even adults are graduating from high school and college. In fact, I got to see one of my closest friend’s son graduate a little over a week ago. It was bittersweet. I have known her son since he was three, so to see him walk the field and receive his diploma was a huge moment for me. It also made me feel quite old. Before I know it, my own kids will be doing the same thing. 

I teach at a small private school, and one of my fellow teachers stated a good point. First, she mentioned how the Scriptures teach us that we have to “die to self” in order to follow Christ, bear good fruit, to live by faith, to be renewed, etc. (some references: Luke 9:23-24; John 12:24; Galatians 2:20). She then pointed out that in order to do this, we have to give it all to God, everything, our finances, our marriage, our children, our homes, our education, our lives—everything. Everything has to come secondary to God.

All my life, I was told that it was illegal to pick bluebonnets in Texas because it is the state flower. I believed this for years, and I mean years. In fact, it wasn’t until a year ago that I finally decided to research it, and low and behold, it isn’t illegal. It hasn’t been illegal since 1973 to pick bluebonnets on the side of the road or, if you have permission, on private property. However, it is still illegal to pick them in state parks

We have a Bible full of profound stories of faith, sin, renewal, miracles, forgiveness, and punishment, and many more lessons that apply to us today. The Bible gives us hope when we doubt, strength when we are afraid, faith to keep moving forward, love when we feel unloved, and more positive affirmations. What is totally awesome, though, is that most of these stories that encourage us are about normal everyday ordinary people like you and me.

Do you have a tendency to pray more for yourself than for others? I know I do, and sometimes I wonder if I have my prayer priorities out of order. Now, I don’t think it is wrong to pray for ourselves as long as it doesn’t cause us to focus more on ourselves rather than thinking of others.

I am realizing that when I tend to let my prayers become more about me, rather than others, I become guilty of not fulfilling the scripture to esteem others better than myself (Philippians 2:3).

Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. Whatever a man sows, he will reap in return (Galatians 6:7).

I have heard this point all my life, and yes, when I have sowed non-righteous “seeds,” I reaped the consequences. I was one of those children that couldn’t get away with anything. I got caught very quickly. As an adult, I have to say, I still reap quick consequences when I make mistakes. I am definitely not perfect.

We had a slight scare this Sabbath. My daughter, Jazmyn, woke at her friend’s house with severe stomach pains that had her doubled over. I rushed over there to pick her up and immediately took her to the ER. I have to admit, my mind was going to all the worst case scenarios during our drive. 

Surprisingly, we were seen very quickly, and after running all kinds of tests, they determined that it was just severe abdominal cramping. 

One truth I have learned over the years is that life is constantly changing. Things never stay the same, so make sure you enjoy the small moments and don’t take life for granted. Another truth is, don’t waste time worrying about little things because, truth be told, if it isn’t going to be important tomorrow, next week, a month from now, or even a year or more from now, then it isn’t worth stressing over.

The reality is, we (or at least, I) sometimes get stuck putting importance on non-important things. 

When we are hungry, we get something to eat. When we are thirsty, we get something to drink. This is to satisfy our physical needs, but these physical things cannot satisfy our soul. True soul-satisfying fulfillment can only come from God.

We must realize that only God the Father and Jesus the Messiah can satisfy our souls. Only from God does living waters flow that can completely quench our “thirst” (John 4:14; 7:37-38). Only those that hunger and thirst for righteousness will be completely filled (Matthew 5:6).

Have you ever had one of those days that make you realize how real God is, and you are completely filled with joy that you know He is real? I am talking about one of those days that you know without any doubt that God was helping you, and when you finally get home, you are relieved and very grateful to have God looking out for you. I had one of those days yesterday, December 19, 2017.

Yesterday we received a torrential downpour of rain. In fact, I wish it would have gone to comfort those in the fires in California. 

Tyler CGI held their first teen dance, in probably many, many years, Saturday night. We have three lovely teen girls that worked hard to put their idea together, and I have to say I was thoroughly impressed. It turned out awesome. It also made me realize how important it is for us adults to invest in our children by giving them outlets to have safe fun.

We may not want to admit it, but we are in a war right now. We are in a “war” for our children. This world wants them, and the truth is, whoever invests the more time and energy will be the winner.

I was doing my devotional the other day, and it really hit home with me. So, I wanted to share my thoughts. It made the point of stating that following Jesus doesn’t usually mean we get to go down smooth and glamorous roads. In fact, the roads are usually bumpy and curvy.

The truth is that accepting Christ in our lives is one step and is relatively easy because it is a gift from God. Yet, what is not easy is to then follow Him where He leads us.

My family and I just got back from the Feast. We were blessed to have been able to go to a small site in Costa Rica. It was an awesome experience.

The irony is that my children and I were not too excited about going to Costa Rica at first. One reason is we had just started at a new school that I am teaching at for the first time. So, we had a lot of “firsts” going on, and we just weren’t really in the right frame of mind to travel to a country we had never been to before and one that spoke a language that none of us are able to speak

I know I talk about faith a lot. Maybe it is because sometimes I fall short. I let fear come into my being, and it fills me with worries and anxieties. During these times I have to keep telling myself that “God did not give me a Spirit of fear, but of power, of love, and of a sound mind” (2 Timothy 1:7). Well the other day, another thought came to mind: Faith is trusting God even if you don’t like what He is putting you through. Since this thought, I have met and talked to people that have inspired my faith because of their own testimonies and faith.

Have you ever left the house and noticed you forgot your cell phone? Anxiety hits and you think, “Oh no, people can’t get in touch with me.” So, you find a place to turn around to go back to your home to get your phone because the idea of not having your communication line open is not a desirable thing.

Well, how many times have you left the house without making sure your “spiritual communication line” was open? I am talking about the best and free way to communicate with the most important being ever.