Yesterday (and for several days before) the news media has been reminding us that the fortieth anniversary of Apollo 11 landing on the Moon is this week. Do you remember where you were on July 20, 1969? Well, maybe you don’t. But I do.

I, along with most Americans–and many others around the world, watched this out-of-this-world (literally) experience while “glued” to our televisions. And as we were brought this amazing, unbelievable news by Walter Cronkite (a great news journalist, deeply respected for his integrity—who died just 3 days before this anniversary)—we celebrated this magnificent step that humans had taken!  

Neil Armstrong, the first man to ever walk on the Moon, uttered his now world famous words when taking his first step on the Lunar surface, “That’s one small step for man—one giant leap for mankind.”

These words are being reiterated on every news source available–tv, radio, newspapers,magazines and via many communication sources never even imagined forty years ago by the brilliant scientists who made this Moon Walk possible—the world wide web, email, IM, google, you-tube, facebook, twitter, etc! 

But God not only imagined this amazing feat by men and women of science and courage, God gave them and us—the people created by His love and will—the intellect, insight, and ability to do many, amazingly great things! 

In his heart a man plans his course, but the LORD determines his steps.

Proverbs 16:9

Oh, that we all would—as individuals and as people of the Earth—plan our course and choose our steps to do great things in small ways or in big ways for others and for our world!

Think about where and how you’re walking today. Think about what steps you are taking in your life as your life intertwines with others. Will these be steps that reflect–and best use–the intellect, insight and ability to do amazingly great things that God has given to you?

God does give us choice as to how we live–how we walk in our lives. So, let’s choose to walk in His loving, good ways! That will be a giant leap for every one of us!

In love, peace and purposeful passion,                                                               Sylane

Stones and Rocks have been part of many stories in the Bible—the stones that Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob–and so many others–set up as altars to the LORD; the twelve stones, engraved like a seal with the names of each of the twelve tribes of Israel, that were mounted in the ceremonial breastplate of priests who served the LORD; the twelve stones taken from the middle of the Jordan as a memorial sign of the LORD’s faithful leading of Israel into the promised land; young David, before he became King, took up five stones, though he only needed one—to conquer Goliath and the Philistines who had defied the armies of the Living God; the LORD Himself is referred to as The Rock—my Rock—over and over again; Jesus Christ, our Messiah, is the Cornerstone and the Living Stone; And we ourselves, as followers of Jesus Christ, are called to be living stones, built together with other believers, to love, serve and represent our LORD.

 As you come to Him, the Living Stone—rejected by men but chosen by God and precious to Him—you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. 1 Peter2:4-5

I have collected stones and rocks from many places, under many circumstances—as a tangible way to remember the journey and thank my God for leading me faithfully. Even when I didn’t know how or where or why I was going or what I would encounter when I got there. Yet, remembering and knowing that God was not only leading me; God was also actively shaping me, as is His purpose, “…to be conformed to the likeness of His Son…” (Romans 8:29)

And most of the time that shaping and conforming has not come easily.

A card I got recently expressed that exact sentiment. It reads: “The most beautiful stones have been tossed by the wind and washed by the water and polished to brilliance by life’s strongest storms.”

Our LORD has collected His people—His living stones—by His unfailing, conquering love.  And in Jesus and through His unlimited grace and eternal truth we each are to be shaped, conformed and transformed more and more into His likeness—so that we will be ”polished to brilliance!” 

In this way, our very lives will become a memorial stone and a sign—a brilliant sign—pointing others to our Lord Jesus and His transforming, loving power!

In love, peace and purposeful passion,                                                               Sylane

Do you want to live forever? Do you want to be immortal?

I do. Now, granted, I don’t want to live on this earth forever—at least the way it is now. But, I do want to live forever with my LORD in His eternal Kingdom—where sin and shame, pain and death have no place. Yes, it is there I want to be an immortal and live eternally in the presence of my Heavenly Father–my Abba.

There is a way—and it is found only in Jesus:

In the way of righteousness there is life; along that path is immortality. Proverbs 12:28

Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” John 14:6

Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die.” John  11:25-26

…then know this, you and all the people of Israel: It is by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified but whom God raised from the dead…Salvation is found in no one else for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved. Acts 4:10, 12

 Jesus actually ends the passage from John 11:26 with this question: “Do you believe this?”

 We all need to answer this question: Do we believe Jesus when He tells us that He is the resurrection and the life?  This past Easter, God led me to write a devotional on what we need to do to receive salvation through Jesus. I have copied a portion of it here from April 12:

JESUS HAS RISEN! Always Remember!

You have a choice to make. We all have a choice to make about Jesus.

Believe the message of Jesus, and receive the salvation and eternal life that comes through Jesus Christ alone.

HOW? Ask Jesus, even now, to be your Savior. Let God know that you believe that Jesus is His Son who died for your sins and rose from the dead to give you eternal life.

God loves you so much. Your Heavenly Father wants you to hear and believe; God wants you to be set free from the power of sin and the judgment of death.

God wants you to know the total forgivess that Jesus alone offers and the hope and joy of eternal life with the Soverereign and Holy God of all creation!

Believe. And thank God for hearing your confession of faith in Jesus as your Savior. Tell someone about your decision to trust in Jesus for your forgiveness and eternal life!

Welcome Home, precious one, Welcome Home!

 JESUS HAS RISEN! Always Remember!

I encourage you to read the rest of that Easter devotional from the beginning. God wants us all to live eternally—immortality with Him! 

In love, peace and purposeful passion,                                                               Sylane 

How was that for a blunt title for this blog-post devotional? Don’t Be Stupid!

Sometimes the Book of Proverbs actually makes me laugh out loud because of the extreme, cut-to-the-point, life-lessons that are put before us. Like this one:

Whoever loves discipline loves knowledge,

but he who hates correction is stupid.

Proverbs 12:1

It really says that? That way? Yep! And it’s even from the NIV translation—not from a paraphrased version of Scripture. Isn’t that cool?

I believe God wants us to clearly—and without a lot of room for interpretation—understand that there are consequences for our attitudes and behaviors. God wants us to understand that this all-up-in-our-face Proverb is meant to bring us life-giving, life-freeing truth.

When we love discipline—when we love to learn how we should live and act, speak and respond—we will love the knowledge and understanding it brings to our lives. And when we reject and hate the wise and godly correction that comes to us—we’re just being stupid!

And PRIDE is the root-feeding material for that kind of stupidity.

Our pride blocks us from humbly and open-mindedly accepting and learning lessons about ourselves that would actually free us and deepen us to grow in strength, wisdom and love.

We may not like the manner in which the discipline and correction comes into our lives. We may not even like (at all!) the person from whom the discipline and correction comes into our lives.

But it would be STUPID of us to NOT check our PRIDE at the door, and PRAYERFULLY ask GOD:

• What truth-filled discipline, from His heart and mind, should we learn and accept?
• What correction in our thinking, doing, speaking and responding needs to happen?

Learn! Grow! Accept correction that comes from the heart and mind of God—even when it comes to us in harsh ways, teaching us hard truths about ourselves!

Choose the attitude of our Lord Jesus Christ—who brings truth and freedom and power into our lives! Choose HUMILITY—and, thereby, choose wisdom!

In other words: Don’t Be Stupid!

In love, peace and purposeful passion,                                                               Sylane 

Okay. I know that sometimes most of the time I can be a little bit over the top in expressing my love for my husband Tim. But, please indulge me today. After all, it’s his birthday. Happy Birthday, Darlin’!!

So, I figure I’m entitled to shout out some extra thanksgiving for Tim today!

And really, my thanksgiving goes first, and foremost, to our Holy God who has moved Tim’s heart and shaped his life to be a man who seeks, serves and loves His LORD. One of Tim’s favorite Scripture verses is about questioning what God wants from us—and receiving an answer to that question:

He has showed you, O man, what is good.

And WHAT does the LORD require of you?

to act justly

and to love mercy

and to walk humbly with your God.

Micah 6:8

I have been so blessed (and so have many others) over the years as Tim—my best friend, my husband and the Daddy of our little girls grown daughters—has chosen to follow this wisdom from the very heart of God…so that he would live as a “man after God’s own heart” (1 Samuel 13:14) …so that he would choose to act justly and love mercy—and be so merciful towards others—and walk humbly, and constantly, with His Lord Jesus Christ!

May we all take these words of God more to heart! And choose to live them out, actively and passionately, in our relationship with God and with all those people whose lives intersect with ours. Whether that is for a moment or a life time!

In love, peace and purposeful passion,                                                               Sylane 

I’m all about taking care of our health! We hear so much about the need for good nutrition and regular exercise in order to be healthy and strong.

We may hear about it. But, we still have to do it!

Scripture gives us some great suggestions about being healthy, too. And the connection with our spiritual, emotional and mental health with our physical health is absolutely incredible and undeniable! 

So, here are just a couple of (the many!) healthy choices to make and reap the benefits—according to God’s Word:

Do not be wise in your own eyes; fear the LORD and shun evil. This will bring health to your body and nourishment to your bones. Proverbs 3:7-8

A cheerful look brings joy to the heart, and good news gives health to the bones. Proverbs 15:30

But remember: We may hear about it. But, we still have to do it!

Humility and repentance, righteousness, cheerfulness and focusing on what is good in our lives—IT DOES A BODY–MIND AND SPIRIT–GOOD!

In love, peace and purposeful passion,                                                               Sylane 

At the dedication of the temple in Jerusalem, King Solomon took time to acknowledge God and His faithfulness to those who choose to serve the LORD wholeheartedly.

“O LORD, God of Israel, there is no God like You in heaven or on earth

—You who keep Your covenant of love with Your servants who continue wholeheartedly in Your way.”

2 Chronicles 6:14

I love that phrase about God—“…You keep Your covenant of love…”

Wow.

We are given a promise of love. More than that. This is a holy assurance of faithful love from the Eternal, Sovereign LORD of all creation—and He gives it to us.

I repeat: Wow.

God’s covenant of love is a certain thing. God doesn’t change. And His love for us, with a passion and a faithfulness that knows no bounds, does not change either.

But we do.

We turn away from our loving God—way too often—to go our own way instead of continuing wholeheartedly in following God’s way.

Oh, choices! Oh, decisions!

Next time you have to make a decision about what you think, say and do (and that would be several hundred times each day!): 

• Stop first.
• Think about IF your decision will…
  •  take you farther away from knowing and sensing the LORD’s faithful covenant of love made to you. 

  OR

  • keep you choosing God’s way—which has been formed by and filled with God’s faithful covenant of love made to you.

This decision should be a no-brainer, right? Yeah. Should be.

But I know, at least for me, I can, and too often still do, choose to turn my brain off—or rather, I choose to turn my brain off from listening to God about following in HIS way. 

‘Cuz sometimes I just want to go my way! I’m listening to me instead of God! And right then, I just might be feeling selfish, self-pitying, prideful, judgmental or just plain grumpy. Oh, Yeah. Uh-Huh!  So, I just shut my brain off from listening to God. That would be called: Ignoring God! And trust me, when I do that: It just isn’t pretty.

I need to always invite God—and you can, too—to shout out His way even more passionately—even more loudly than all the other voices going on in our heads—for the next time we have to make any kind of a decision about what we think, say and do. (Count down starts now! We shouldn’t have too long to wait!)

Let’s choose to listen to God’s voice as He speaks to us through His Word and His Spirit!

Let’s enjoy our LORD’s faithful covenant of love made to us as we continue wholeheartedly (or turn around quickly) to go in His way!

In love, peace and purposeful passion,                                                               Sylane 

Happy Bastille Day! C’est le quatorze juillet. (It’s the 14th of July!) One of the major national holidays of France.

It may not make a bit of difference in your life. And that’s okay. I, personally, plan to start my day of celebration with some good strong French-pressed coffee and at least one pain au chocolat (aka: chocolate croissant). We had lived in France for two years, and I feel it’s only right that I should join in the celebration! Actually, it’s really that I’ll take any excuse to drink great coffee and eat bread filled with chocolate!

On the more historically relevant and serious side, Bastille Day—as is our own Independence Day—a time when we recognize and honor the courageous people who were willing to turn their countries upside-down, and sacrifice their own lives, in order to turn the rule of justice upside-right. These days are celebrated with songs, parades and all kinds of fan-fare.

We people still don’t have the whole ruling-justly-thing down perfectly. 

But our God does! And God’s just rule guides us in holy and righteous ways! And this is something for all of us—all peoples of every nation—to celebrate and sing about!

May the peoples praise You, O God; may all the peoples praise You.

May all nations be glad and sing for joy,

for You rule the peoples justly

and guide the nations of the earth!

Psalm 67:3-4

Thank God with me for His just rule and guidance available to us now as individuals—and as whole nations! And thank God with me that we will know God’s just rule and guidance in its fullness as we join our God in His Eternal Kingdom!

Be glad and sing for joy…and maybe even eat a chocolate croissant or two just to add to the celebration!

In love, peace and purposeful passion,                                                               Sylane 

As the aged King David prepared his son Solomon to take up the throne—as servant of God and King of Israel—David had strong and wise counsel for his son.

“And you, my son Solomon, acknowledge the God of your father, and serve Him with wholehearted devotion and with a willing mind, for the LORD searches every heart and understands every motive behind the thoughts.

If you seek Him, He will be found by you;

but if you forsake Him, He will reject you forever.”

1 Chronicles 28:9

David’s counsel to Solomon is counsel that we, too, as children of God should embrace fully as we live out the details of our daily-day lives…and during our times of great joy and peace…and during our times of great turmoil and sadness.

God knows us full well. And our LORD wants our hearts and minds to be wholeheartedly and willingly devoted to Him—actively seeking Him—in all that we do and think. Our blessing, and God’s promise to us, is that “He will be found”  by us!

Our God has promised that we will find and know our LORD, His loving, intimate presence with us and His strong and holy leading of us—all the days of our lives.

Through our LORD and Savior Jesus Christ, we, as children of the King of kings, have been invited “to approach the throne of grace with confidence…” –Hebrews 4:16.

Is there anything stopping you from serving and seeking the LORD—and approaching His throne of grace—with wholehearted devotion and a willing mind? 

Ask the LORD to take away any and all obstacles that you have put up in your own life that stop you from serving and seeking the LORD—and approaching His throne of grace—with wholehearted devotion and a willing mind.

Ask the LORD to take away any and all obstacles of hurt, bitterness and resentment that may have grown out of experiences with other people or from disappointing and difficult circumstances.

Let nothing rule over you except the love and leadership of the LORD our God!

There is joy and freedom, peace and purpose as we serve and seek the LORD—and approach His throne of grace—with wholehearted devotion and a willing mind!

In love, peace and purposeful passion,                                                               Sylane 

We don’t like to think of God as getting angry. At least not at us. We like to think of God as our friend, as someone who will put up with pretty much anything because He’s such a nice and loving God.

It is true that the LORD is loving. As a matter of fact God is Love. (1 John 4:8, 16)

And it is equally true that the LORD is the Sovereign, Holy, Righteous, Almighty Authority of all that exists, over all that He has called into being. And that means the LORD has the right to rule over us.

We all want to be loved. We like that part of God. But this whole obedience thing on our part—and following the will and ways of the LORD—is a whole other matter. At least we think so.

The Israelites on their journey out of captivity from slavery in Egypt to the promised land kept rebelling against the LORD’s will and ways. They refused to yield to and trust the LORD’s authority. They would not–could not see the LORD’s leadership as His love and protection for them. And there were sad consequences for most of them.

The LORD’s anger was aroused that day and He swore this oath:

“Because they have not followed me wholeheartedly, not one of the men twenty years old or more who came up out of Egypt will see the land I promised on oath to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob—

not one except Caleb son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite and Joshua son of Nun, for they followed the LORD wholeheartedly.” 

Numbers 32:10-12

Going in our own selfishly-determined ways and doing things based on our own stubborn independence and self-absorbed pride—only ends up hurting us. And often hurting those around us.

The LORD wants us to obey and follow Him wholeheartedly. And this desire comes completely out of the LORD’s love for us. Because the LORD knows that it is only in following Him wholeheartedly that our hearts will be wholly filled with His love and the joy of knowing His good and faithful promises as realities in our lives.

Caleb and Joshua knew this. I pray that each of us will, too.

Following the LORD wholeheartedly fills our whole hearts—in our lives now and for all eternity!

In love, peace and purposeful passion,                                                               Sylane