Such to the point words—spoken from our Loving, Holy and Sovereign LORD—for our busy, warring, worrying minds and souls to hear…and obey:

Be still and know that I am God…

Isaiah 46:10

Really. Be still. Push back from the pace of rushing. Push back from the energy spilled due to worry. Push back from the mind-set of madness…of anger…of hurt…of self-centered justification…of fierce rebellion.

Push back from ourselves…and our own limited perspectives and power.

Push back and be still. God is God.

In love, peace and purposeful passion,                                                               Sylane

I’m not going to be fancy here and plug in any worship music. Because, quite honestly, I just haven’t learned how to do that yet.

However, in the midst of some very sad things and hard circumstances lately, God keeps speaking…and singing…His loving grace and truth into my heart, mind and spirit. And I know that God wants all of us to receive the blessings that come when we acknowledge His loving grace and truth that He has for us. There is great blessing—there is healing for our hearts, transforming of our minds and lifting of our spirits—when we speak and sing in thanksgiving to our Eternal, Faithful, Righteous, Loving LORD!

So, join me in this musical interlude—in our hearts and minds and spirits—as you read…think about…meditate on…pray…and SING Psalm 98:

Sing to the LORD a new song,

for he has done marvelous things;

his right hand and his holy arm

have worked salvation for him.

The LORD has made his salvation known

and revealed his righteousness to the nations.

He has remembered his love and faithfulness to the house of Israel;

all the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God.

Shout for joy to the LORD, all the earth,

burst into jubilant song with music;

make music to the LORD with the harp,

with the harp and the sound of singing,

with trumpets and the blast of the rams horn —

shout for joy before the LORD, the King.

Let the sea resound, and everything in it,

the world, and all who live in it.

Let the rivers clap their hands,

let the mountains sing together for joy;

let them sing before the LORD,

for he comes to judge the earth.

He will judge the world with righteousness

and the people with equity.

Psalm 98

In love, peace and purposeful passion,                                                               Sylane

Through the prophet Isaiah, The LORD asks us some questions about our response to Him…and our thoughts about Him:

When I came, why was there no one?

When I called, why was there no one to answer?

Was my arm too short to ransom you?

Do I lack strength to rescue you?

Isaiah 50:2

Too often our understanding of the LORD and who He is and how much He loves us become completely scewed by our own limited thinking and self-focused perspectives. We can become discouraged, extremely self-serving, resentful, angry—and even turn our backs completely on the LORD—because God does not seem to be there when we need Him. God does not seem to answer us when we call out to Him—or at least not in the way that we think He should answer us. Our inability and our unwillingness to trust how loving and true, great and faithful, present and strong our LORD truly is, keeps us locked in a  place of doubt and prideful self-reliance—which ultimately is a horribly destructive place to be. For ourselves and every relationship we have.

Our LORD comes to us…constantly, continually…coming to us in His passionate, life giving, life healing, love-hope-peace-purpose-joy bringing ways. Will we be there when He comes to us? Will we recognize that our LORD is intimately here with us NOW?

Our LORD calls to us…constantly, continually…calling out to us in His passionate, life giving, life healing, love-hope-peace-purpose-joy bringing ways. Will we let ourselves hear His voice? Will we answer our LORD? Will we listen to His loving heart for us? Will we let His pure love, grace and truth speak into our lives?

Our LORD ransoms us with His loving, unfailing arm of power—with love and power beyond what we can ever imagine. Yet the cost of that ransom for the forgiveness of our sins and the gift of our eternal life cost Jesus Christ His life through stretching out His almighty arms of power in utter and complete humility and sacrifice as they were nailed to the cross.

Our LORD has the strength to rescue us in each of our present moments and for all eternity. Our LORD is able to rescue us…forgive us…heal us…help us…transform us…renew us…rebuild us…refresh us…in all circumstances—in all ways. Will we trust Him? Will we humble ourselves and let God be God in our lives–instead of us? Oh! How good that would be for each of us—for our minds, hearts, relationships…for our very souls.

May each of us choose to invite the LORD’s presence fully into our lives. God is here…God knows we need His loving presence desperately in our lives.

May each of us choose to answer the LORD as He calls out to us. God wants to talk with us…God wants us to listen.

May each of us choose to be embraced by the LORD’s loving arms that has paid the full price for our ransom. God wants to hold us with the love that held Him on the cross.

May each of us choose to let the LORD’s strength rescue us from everything, including ourselves, that would distort and destroy our trusting in His perfect love and unfailing strength for our lives. God wants us to intimately know His strength—which alone can carry us through this life and carry us into eternity with Him.

In love, peace and purposeful passion,                                                               Sylane

For the LORD God is a sun and shield

Psalm 84:11

Thank You, LORD, that You are a sun that shines Your Light into this world. Thank You, LORD, that You are the brilliant Light of life. Thank You, LORD, that You are the eternal and perfect Light that gives sight to our eternal eyes as our spirits cry out to see You face to face.

Thank You, LORD, that You are a shield that is set before us to protect us from being overtaken by the hurts and hardships that come at us in this life. Thank You, LORD, that You are our guardian and protector that shields us from eternal destruction through the power of Your love and the fullness of Your mercy. Thank You, LORD, that no matter what we go through, You are with us…and in Your loving presence, we are eternally secure.

LORD our God, thank You for lighting and protecting our lives! You alone are the perfect Sun Shield!

In love, peace and purposeful passion,                                                               Sylane

This is the day the LORD has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.

Psalm 118:24

THIS is the day! We have no other. Not for sure.

I need to grasp the very real gift that this very present moment that I am living in really is! And I need to give God my full thanks for THIS day!

Because THIS is the day that the LORD has made—made for me and made for you! Let us rejoice and be glad in it!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING, Everybody!

In love, peace and purposeful passion,                                                               Sylane

Consider it pure joy, my brothers [and sisters], whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.

James 1:2-4

Here are some fundamental truths that I put my faith in…even in the hardest times:

I believe that God loves me…that God loves each of us…passionately and beyond what any of us could ever even begin to imagine.

I believe that God is good.

And knowing that those fundamental truths are eternally true, I can—and only by God’s loving grace and presence—consider it pure joy in the midst of trials. Not joy in the trials themselves. No way. Pain is Pain. Grief is Grief. Sadness is Sadness. Evil is Evil.

But! I can have joy in the outcome for what can happen within me because of the trials—because GOD IS GOD! And our God loves us and our God is good. And I know that God’s loving and good purpose for me, and for all of His children, is to make us more and more into the likeness of His Son–our Lord Jesus Christ (Romans 8:29).

And so every trial, every pain, every grief, every evil, every sadness can make us more like Jesus—IF we put ourselves into our Abba’s hands to comfort us and to shape us…to grow us in perseverance…to mature us and bring us to the complete fulfillment, not lacking in anything, for our life and character in Jesus Christ!

And THAT is pure joy…well, it will be!

In love, peace and purposeful passion,                                                               Sylane

O my Comforter in sorrow, my heart is faint within me. Jeremiah 8:18

There are days in each of our lives when we just need God—our faithful Comforter—to lovingly hold us. This is one of those times for me. I have no power to change the sad things that have happened to someone I love very much. I can only pray. I can only love.

I have no strength of my own. And my heart is faint…it actually hurts.  

YET! I do know that God is my Comforter…and God is the Comforter of my precious one. I can’t fake feeling better. But! I can say in truth that God is comforting me. God is strengthening me on the inside…massaging my soul…quieting me with His love…and holding my mind with His peace.

I am not alone. We never are. Our Comforter is always with us…we just need to snuggle into His love, His peace, His hope…and trust our Comforter and His truth that there is a day coming when “God will wipe every tear from [our] eyes.”–Revelation 21:4.

Thank You, O my Comforter!

In love, peace and purposeful passion,                                                               Sylane

I invite you into my personal conversation with my LORD and His Living and Active Word—from Isaiah 40:28-29—even as my heart is breaking for someone I love very much.

Do you not know? Have you not heard?

My LORD, I do know. And, yes, my LORD, I have heard. And I believe You, my LORD, even now when my heart is breaking.

The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth.

Thank You, my LORD, that You are the eternal, everlasting God. Thank You that You are the Creator of the ends of the earth. Thank You that You are the Sovereign God who rules for all eternity…even when circumstances and people are so unruly. Even when I am so heavy hearted. LORD, You are still God. And You are good.

He will not grow tired or weary, and his understanding no one can fathom.

Thank You, my LORD, that You do not grow tired or weary. Because I am so tired. I am so weary. My eyes are heavy from crying and my heart is so very sad. LORD, thank You that Your understanding, Your wisdom, Your knowledge is unfathomable. Your mind—Your understanding—is so beyond mine. Thank You for that. You are omniscient, LORD. There is nothing You do not know. There is nothing You do not understand. You alone have the perfect knowledge and eternal perspective that I do not have…that I will never have on this side of Heaven. Thank You, LORD. I trust You in my tiredness…in my weariness…and in my seriously limited understanding.

He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak.

I don’t feel strong or powerful right now, LORD. Not at all, LORD. But I do know…and I have heard…and I have experienced…Your strength and Your power.  And I know You are faithful and true to Your Word. I know that Your strength and Your power are here with me and within me through Your Spirit. For now, my LORD, I will just rest. Rest my breaking heart, rest my weary soul and trust You. I will curl up in Your love and press into Your faithfulness. I will trust that You have all that I need…and all that the one for whom my heart is breaking needs too!

Thank You, LORD.

In love, peace and purposeful passion,                                                               Sylane

If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.

Romans 12:18

I have to ask myself how much effort will I truly put forth to live at peace with everyone. Really, with everyone. Not just with those with whom it is easy to be in a peaceful relationship. Will I make every effort—as far as it depends on me—to live at peace with even those who are hateful, hurtful, unjust, cruel and just plain annoying or outrageously selfish?

Living at peace with everyone isn’t about being a doormat or living in denial or living in a lie in any way. Living at peace is about letting God hold us in His perfect balance of living in the fullness of the love of Jesus Christ—which is living in the balance of offering grace and speaking truth.

Jesus gave His very life for me…for all of us. It was out of His perfect love—His perfect balance of grace and truth—that He made a way for me to live in a renewed relationship with the Holy God of all Creation. And Jesus did that “by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross.”–Colossians 1:20

Many, sadly, reject the sacrifice offered by the Prince of Peace Himself. But the refusal by people to accept His offer of peace did not stop Jesus from doing everything possible to offer everyone His peace. Because Jesus knows that all people’s eternal peace truly does depend on Him.

Shouldn’t we, in gratitude for what Jesus has done for us, be a vessel of His sacrificial, humble and mighty love, grace and truth in the lives of others by offering peace to, and by living at peace with, everyone in every way that this peace depends on us??

In love, peace and purposeful passion,                                                               Sylane

Commit your way to the LORD; trust in him and he will do this:

He will make your righteousness shine like the dawn,

the justice of your cause like the noonday sun.

Psalm 37:5-6

I love to see lovely, inspiring sunrises and enjoy bright, sun-bathed days! 

God likens these beautiful, natural experiences to what happens to us on the emotional, mental, spiritual and even practical level when we commit our way to Him…when we fully trust in Him.

Whatever righteousness there is in us—and is fully dependent on God’s righteousness—that will eventually be seen. Even if our current experience is one of being misjudged, misunderstood and wrongfully represented.

Whatever our cause is—if it lines up with, and trusts in, the love, grace and truth of the Living God—we can be sure that it will be seen fully, clearly…even brightly…as just and right and eternally true.

The beautiful dawn, the bright sun of who we are and the causes we take up will one day be revealed if we will fully commit our ways and will to the the LORD…if we will fully trust in the LORD’s righteousness, justice and love—right now!

In love, peace and purposeful passion,                                                               Sylane