Day 2 AD A somber lies over the city of Jerusalem. Jesus is dead. The skies open and heaven weeps a thousand tears. The Messiah has been cornered, crushed, crucified. Tortured for our transgressions. A mammoth rock and soldiers that guard the tomb seem to have the final word. The day is dark. Dreary. Disappointing. The disciples huddle in an upper room full of defeat. Their Teacher has departed. The women weep. But WAIT FOR IT! All is as it should be… The quiet is part of the quest for hidden treasure. The sorrow is part of the solace. The tears are part of the triumph. A plan with a purpose slowly unfolds. WAIT FOR IT! God is never aloof, or...

If you are agonizingly lonely, or suffering for any measure of reasons, I know that the pain is amplified at Christmas when all should be merry and bright. Please read on… All month long when I pondered what to share in this blog, every Christmas theme seemed done a thousand times over. No inspiration came. Then I received sad news and did not feel like writing at all. However, God had a plan, and His timing is perfect. Now, mere days before Christmas I received a journal entry from my sister, and all was made clear. Trust me, this will encourage your suffering soul, but let me share the back story. (All with my brave sister's permission...

I made a commitment to live the Christian life as a believer of Jesus Christ at fourteen but have to say I knew the presence of God long before that. Through childhood trauma God met me in the thin places, the suffering moments, the fearful dark of broken humanity. By the time I was fourteen, I had little will to live and it was Jesus or suicide, so I thought I would give Jesus a try. Wow, I never looked back. The Holy One met me. With becoming a believer of Jesus Christ at that age and never turning back, there develops over time a sense of entitlement, a sense of pride in one's right living, or righteousness. I personally believed if I serv...