Summer is upon us … the sun, sand and surf beckon. Living in the Okanagan Valley brings visitors from all over the country who flock into the area for warmth and water fun. Lazy, hazy days of conversing with visitors are sprinkled throughout July and August. A favourite pastime is to take them to the local landmarks and actually enjoy the beautiful area in which I live. This week I was on such an excursion with my niece who was visiting. As I overlooked the valley from the top of Knox Mountain I caught anew a fresh perceptive of God's amazing creation. How often I breeze by the vistas of lake and mountains when I should stop and sta...

Are you having a difficult day, month, or year? Are you discouraged, disheartened or dismayed? Do you need a pick-me-upper? Come with me. Not into a story of make belief, but into a vision of a new temple, a new city, a new kingdom, a new people. Grab a coffee or morning tea and find a quiet nook inside or outside to contemplate the wonder. Hope will ignite, and after being given this glimpse into God's Holy city which every believer will be part of, I promise you, your worries will fade. Ezekiel is given a peek into the future (Ezekiel 40 to 48) and he writes about a glorious day when God returns, renews the earth and reigns in righteousness...

 I was sitting across the table with a long-time friend this week and we began talking about prayer. As we shared, she said, "you need to write a blog about what you do. It's so unique and personal and I think it would help many." Since each Monday I share a new title of God for the purpose of enriching ones prayer life, it fits to write about the "how to." Why would anyone pray? -We pray because we believe that prayer changes things and because we have need. Heb. 4:16 says, "Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need." -We pray for sickness of body...

 The God of Glory Last night I attended my fortieth  grad reunion. Forty years. Wow! Where has time gone? As I walked around the room the signs of aging were glaringly obvious … wrinkles, weight gain, balding, gray, to mention just a few. Our youthful glory was gone. How timely to turn to my Bible today and read Psalm 29 about the God of Glory. He does not change, nor decay. Yesterday, today, and tomorrow He remains the same. There will be no shock when we see Jesus (like there was last night at what time had done to the good-looking, the strong, the high school jocks, the cheerleaders.) In this devotional it is my privilege to...

Have you have been invited to a wedding this summer? How would you feel if you were invited as an honoured guest to a royal wedding, or to the wedding of a famous movie star? I bet you would be thrilled and talking about it non-stop. Well I have an invitation, you have an invitation to the most spectacular wedding of all time where the King of Kings will be the Bridegroom and you will not be a mere guest, oh no, much better ... you will be the Bride. Jesus calls Himself the Bridegroom (Matt. 9:14-15 and Matt. 25:1-13) He called the church (all believers) the bride. Why? Because He knew that no matter how good a marriage is here...

I ask the question. Who doesn't need hope? We all need hope. Being hopeless is one of the saddest states to be in. In fact, Proverbs 13:12 says, "Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a longing fulfilled is a tree of life." Suicide is at an all time high. Why? Because people have lost hope. Are you currently in a situation that seems hopeless, helpless, or heartless? If so read on. If not, then you are to be the hands and feet of Jesus and give hope and encouragement to others. In either case, we need the God of Hope to fill our day. This name/title the God Of Hope is one of my favourites. I love to pray using this name....

I was listening today to a song by Laura Story, called "Blessings," and stuck anew at the paradox but the truth of blessing in pain. I lived those thousand sleepless nights she sings about. I suggest you listen to this song before we begin. The words to the chorus are … 'Cause what if your blessings come through raindrops, What if Your healing comes through tears? What if a thousand sleepless nights are what it takes to know You're near? What if trials of this life are Your mercies in disguise? How many of us would sign up for pain? Would we be first in line to receive a blessing that come through the crucible of suffering? Does the fact a so...

In our culture of rising stars, how to be a star, and a star is born, I want to paint a picture of One who outshines them all. The One true Star. Rev. 22:16 Jesus said, "I am …the Bright and Morning Star." Few things fill me with such wonder and awe that I am struck both silent and small … a star-bejewelled sky on a clear dark night far from the artificial glare of city light will do it every time. Have you ever had the pleasure of sitting back with your eyes gazing upward with nothing more to do than to study the glory and vastness of God's incredible creative splendour. When we owned a cabin on a lake one of my favourite things to do w...

How Would You Feel if Your Name Was Continually Said Wrong? Back in the day when school kids solved their problems off the school grounds with their fists, a little girl named Blossom Honey lived. She was a tomboy who grew up in a rough and tumble family so thought nothing of taking anyone, boy or girl who made fun of her name to task with her tiny but mighty little fists. She also did not wear the right clothes, her daddy cut her hair, and she certainly did not come from a family of community status. The opposite was her reality. With the added handle of Blossom Honey when common names like Kathy, Heather, Mary were the norm and what society...

Ephesians 1:17 "That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of Glory, may give to you the Spirit of Wisdom and Revelation in the knowledge of Him." Wow, when I read this verse, really breathe it in, I am in awe. Our Father of Glory will give to us the Spirit of Wisdom and Revelation. He will give Himself. Never did I need wisdom more than during the season of my life when my marriage hit the wall of infidelity. I wanted to run, but God said stay. I wanted to hate, but God said love. I wanted to rage, but God said forgive. Out of this suffering a fiction story from the well of God's deep reservoir of revelation, was completed. As an auth...

 Yahweh The Most beautiful Name in the Universe. I tackle this, the name of God YHWH ( יהוה) with a holy reverence and a weighty responsibility. This is God's name, whereas others could more accurately be called titles. What this means is—all other ways of expressing God's name reveal His character and characteristics. But this name YHWH means He is, He was, He always will be. The name YHWH became Yahweh in the tenth century when Jewish scholars added vowels to the Hebrew language formerly written without them. The Jewish people understood and revered the sacred name YHWH, so much so, Hebrew Rabbis would refer to it as "The Name," "The U...

This is indeed the Christ, Savior of the world. (John 4:42) If you've been a Christian for any length of time you will be prone to tune out if I start giving the history of what a Savior is and what the word Savior means. And if I belabour the fact the angels knew a Savior had been born (Luke 2: 10-11), "For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord," you will say yeah, yeah, I hear that every Christmas. So, I'm going to do something different today. Easter is approaching and the title Savior will be spoken in most every Bible teaching church. In fact, "Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ"...

The Lamb! I will never forget the day that I got a call from what I thought would be my daughter Ally on the other end of the phone but was a very distraught stranger. She had looked in the contacts on my daughter's phone and dialled the number that said MOM. "Your daughter has been in a serious accident. I called the ambulance but we're at the corner of … come quickly." My husband and I jumped in our vehicle and rushed to the scene of the accident. We arrived as the attendants were loading Ally into the ambulance. I took one look at the wreckage and screamed. I thought for sure she would not survive that crash. Ally had been making a le...

I was all of the above until ... Wow! Isn't it wonderful when the Scripture pops off the page and God directly speaks? This does not happen every time I pick up the Bible but I sure appreciate how so often my reading is divinely appointed. I've been particularly stressed at the learning curve needed to launch a book. Writing was the easy part. What is expected of authors these days is next thing to ludicrous and I was having a meltdown. I literally had a list of 52 things that authors do to launch a book and most of which I would have to learn by taking tutorials. From making book trailers, to monthly newsletters, to videos, to learning Canva...

Meet Love! As I stepped onto a plane headed for an unknown country, to an unknown situation, to unknown people, I felt unloved, unworthy, unwanted. It was December 2008 I could not face Christmas. I was running to the other side of the world—Australia, to sort out my messy life. My kids had previously left home, my marriage was in shambles having found out about my husband's unfaithfulness, and I was internally tortured. Should I stay in the marriage or kick him to the curb as people suggested? Everyone had a different opinion, and I was too sad, too broken, too angry at both my husband and God to come to any conclusion. It's a story for anot...

How to Introduce the most Amazing Name of All ... Scripture is the best launch pad for the most amazing name of all. Exodus 3:14 And God said to Moses, "I AM WHO I AM. And He said, "Thus you shall say to the children of Israel, I AM has sent me to you." I AM WHO I AM in the literal Hebrew means "I will be what I will be. This means self-existent One. From the form of the verb "to be" in the Hebrew language. This expresses the truth that God transcends all. He is the past. The present. The future. In other words, He has always been, He is, and He will always be. His character is unchangeable and faithful. His essence embodies all time, all pow...

I am in awe of the vast depth and intricate layers of the awesome God we serve. Journey with me as we learn another title of God together—opening the door of our mind to a deeper knowledge of His nature and character. This week we'll explore the meaning of the title Adonai translated in the Bible as Lord in upper and lower case.This is not to be mistaken with the name translated LORD—Yahweh, all in capital letters which we will discuss at a later time. Adonai means the Head or Lord over all—The Lord and Master—The Sovereign Lord. Duet. 10:17 "For the LORD your God is God of gods, and Lord (Adonai) of lords, a great God." This title ...

King of Kings—What A Wonderful God We Serve. 1 Tim. 6:15 The only Potentate, the King of kings and Lord of lords. Does the idea of monarchy, kings and rulers conjure up disinterest in this age of democracy? Do you yawn at the mention of nobility, especially after witnessing the human failure of our modern-day monarchy—the Windsor family? Look in their eyes and you will see the evidence of mere mortality, flesh and blood, the same as you and me. I want to take you beyond the mortal, the rulers of this world; Donald Trump, Justin Trudeau, Xi Jinping, or Vladimir Putin—where moral corruption and the fight for earthly power reign. Lift your ...

YAHWEH-ROPHE - The Lord Our Healer Luke 4:18 Jesus read the words of Isaiah 61 and proclaimed Himself the Healer: "The spirit of the Lord is upon Me, Because He has anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor: He has sent Me to heal the broken-hearted, To proclaim liberty to the captives, And recovery of sight to the blind, To set at liberty those who are oppressed: To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord." Last week I wrote about Spiritual and Emotional Healing, if you are interested in those aspects of God's healing. Today, I am going to focus on physical healing. First, I will tell you a true-life story of physical...

YAHWEH-ROPHE​ Exodus 15:26 … For I am the LORD who heals you. Yahweh-Rophe means the Lord heals. This amazing gift of God will be looked at in the next two weeks. First from the Old Testament as God—our healer and next week in the New Testament as—Jesus our healer. Because we serve a triune God, meaning that the Father, Son and Spirit are one, and a God who is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow, looking at old and new testament accounts are beneficial. The God we serve heals. He heals the physical, emotional, and spiritual sickness in our life. The title Rophe (Healer) was first given to the Israelites right after they had been deliv...

SPIRIT OF THE LIVING GOD ​2 Cor. 3:3 Clearly you are an epistle of Christ, ministered by us, written not with ink but by the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of flesh, that is, of the heart.​ God, Jesus, Holy Spirit—the triune One has many names. We are going to focus on the Spirit of the Living God today but not before I tell you a true story. I was 19, loving both life and Jesus. I had joined our youth group in an all-night wake-a-thon to raise money for hungry children. The next morning we all headed out knowing that we had 12 more hours to make our 36 hour goal. I felt oddly energized by the night of prayin...

My Deliverer "The Lord is my Rock and my Fortress and my Deliverer." Psalm 18:2 How many times in a lifetime do we need a Deliverer? I believe more often than we know. At Christmas we were travelling from BC Canada, to Alberta (about a 8 hour drive) to share the holidays with family. With snow piled high on both sides of the highway we were well aware of winter conditions, but the roads looked deceptively dry. Out of nowhere we hit a patch of black ice. That song by Carrie Underwood "Jesus Take the Wheel," became a reality. We fishtailed into on-coming traffic with a semi bearing down. In the nick of time the tires caught traction and my...

The LORD A Devotion to enrich your weekly prayer life. My hope and prayer is that you will read this blog each Monday morning and that your prayer-life will be enriched during the following week  by praying this specific Name of God. I personally have found incredible comfort and power in understanding and praying the different names of God, so-much-so, I feel a burning desire to share them with you. If you too, find power, encouragement or comfort, pass this devotion onto others. The LORD (in caps), translated Yahweh in the Old Testament was first used in Genesis 2:4 This is the history of the heavens and the ea...

YAHWEH-ROHI means The LORD - Yahweh my Shepherd Ps. 23:1 "The LORD is my Shepherd: I shall not want. He makes me to lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside the still waters." Did you know you have a Shepherd? Most believers do, but we forget how significant this truth is. Fear enters. Fear grips. Fear controls. What is your biggest fear? Loss of money, health, children/spouse, a job. Is it divorce, a debilitating accident, death? Oh yes, there are so many things to fear and yet we, as children of God are told two things—we have a Shepherd and we are not to fear. The Bible affirms from Genesis to Revelation a resounding m...

God of Victory. "And Moses built an altar and called it The Lord is my Banner." (Meaning, the Lord is my Victory.) Who doesn't need victory in this world of many battles? New year's resolutions have been made and most likely already broken. What we started out so valiantly to do—to eat healthy, to exercise regularly, to spend quality time with Jesus and our family, to be more loving, to have more patience, to write at least 500 words a day … whatever the goal, I bet it's already lost to the world of reality. So why is the name of God, Yahweh-Nissi necessary to know and so powerful in prayer? Let's take a walk back through history. The first g...

THERE IS POWER IN THE NAME. And Jesus said to them, "I am the bread of life." John 6:35 Bread. My favourite.  Give me a choice between a fresh slice of bread with butter and a decadent dessert, and I will go for the bread any day, all day long. In fact, the extra ten pounds I cart around can be attributed to my love of bread. It stands to reason then, that John chapter six is one of my favourites. Let me explain. The chapter starts out with Jesus feeding a great multitude (5000) famished people with two small fish and yup, bread—five barley loaves (a staple of that day). The crowd had followed Jesus up the mountain in...

YOU ARE NOT ALONE FOR IMMANUEL MEANS - GOD WITH US. With Christmas edging closer the amazing name of God—Immanuel is perfect to reflect upon and pray this week. Seven hundred years before Christ was born the prophet Isaiah proclaimed these words. Is.7:14 "Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call Him Immanuel." This time of year I reflect upon what it must have felt like for the scared young woman—Mary to be pregnant out of wedlock and for a man of integrity—Joseph (no more than a boy himself) to marry her despite the unusual circumstances. All this, so the ...

Have you ever failed a test? I did recently. How did I fail, you may ask, and how does this tie in with the names of God? Read on.Conflict is a fact of life, but how we deal with it defines our emotional and spiritual maturity. I recently fell under criticism sprinkled with untruths from someone I truly care about … my failure was in getting defensive. I took on the mantra that I had to stop shoving things under the carpet or I'd become a carpet dweller. But after refreshing myself with Scripture … I know I failed the test and needed God's loving grace.I didn't have to jump to my defence, I merely had to have&nbs...

Today is my Birthday, and such a day deserves a reflection on who, how and why we are on planet earth. I shudder to think our origin came from a cosmic big bang up through the chain from tadpoles to apes and poof humanity is born with no more meaning to the universe than a sickle cell. Seems like one would have to entertain a whole lot of misguided faith to embrace Darwinism. I love this quote by David Berlinski, it brilliantly puts into words the sheer improbability of evolution. "At some time in the history of the universe, there were no human minds, and at some time later, there were. Within the blink of a cosmic eye, a universe ...

THE ROCK    Names of God # 8 When I googled the question "who is the rock?" Dwayne Johnson came up. The successful American Actor/Producer, former college football player and wrestler is nicknamed the Rock. His 121 million Instagram followers tune in to whatever he posts as if he a rock to lean upon. Though built like a brick house, I assure you he is a mere mortal like the rest of us. He will live. He will die. And the only question that really matters for any of us is … do we know the true "ROCK?" After many long years of waiting for a child in a culture that shunned a barren woman, Hannah prayed these words.1 Samuel 2:2 says, "Th...

FATHER OF COMPASSION AND THE GOD OF ALL COMFORT  (Names of God #7) One of God's wonderful names which displays His character and love towards humanity is the Father of Compassion, and The God of all Comfort. Why does this world need a God of All Comfort? Shocking news of shooting after shooting hit the airwaves in a recent ten-day span. -Synagogue in Pittsburgh PA, 11 died. A hate crime against Jews. -Yoga studio in Tallahassee FL, 2 women died … the shooter had made numerous posts of his hatred toward women. A hate crime against women. -Supermarket in Jeffersontown KY, 2 black people died. The shooter was reported to have walked right b...

YAHWEH-SHALOM IS WAITING FOR YOU.  Names of God #6 In this world of worry and constant change one of the greatest gifts to have ... is peace. The dictionary states that peace is the freedom from disturbance; a quiet and tranquility and/or freedom from war or violence. I say peace is larger than that definition, it is freedom from ALL fear. The first time in the Bible that God introduced Himself as Jehovah-Shalom is in Judges 6:23,24. (Yahweh-Shalom pronounced shah-LOME means The Lord Is Peace.) For God to be the source of peace, or the peace giver to mankind, He has to embody perfect peace. In other words, nothing can disturb, ...

Isn't it fun to sit down with a book and from the very get-go the story pulls you in? Page after page, all the way through, you can hardly put it down. Life seems to take a back seat until you get to that oh so satisfying end—happily-ever-after with all tension tied up into a beautiful bow a top a brightly wrapped gift of dreams come true. Then back to real life you go where there is no script, nor author to tidy up the complexities of life. FOR THE SEEKER AND SKEPTIC But what if I could share a truth that embodies the wherefore and why of your existence.? What if there was a powerful poet, playwright, and author...

 WHAT IS TRUTH? I randomly picked up my old King James Bible I received in 1974 at the age of twelve. The yellowed pages fell open to scribble marks my toddler son had made, who is now thirty-two. A truth struck me as my eyes filled with a sheen of sentimental tears, I'm getting old. This is a truth. What is truth? Is my truth, or your truth, or whatever we perceive to be truth, the bench mark for truth? We live in a world where absolutes are considered narrow-minded, prejudice, and even hateful. Messages are mixed. Money and possessions are the gateway to all truth and a good life, knowledge or science elevates a select few in...

El-Shaddai (God Almighty) I was driving down the road today and an old song by Amy Grant came to mind, called El Shaddai. I started humming the tune and remembered this song was my first introduction into the vast array of the names of God. All those years ago my interest was piqued enough to explore what El Shaddai, El-elyon na Adonia meant translated from Hebrew to English. (God Almighty, God in the highest, Oh, Lord.) Why, you may ask, should I be interested in the names of God or understanding them in Hebrew?  They are a portal, a window, an illumination into the very character of God. If God seems distant, you are not read...

NAMES OF GOD #2 ABBA FATHER How many names of God do you think there are listed in the Scriptures? And what is the significance of knowing them or understanding them? Like a treasure hunt of vast proportion…the unveiling, unearthing and unraveling of each name not only helps us understand the character of God, but gives us strength and power as we use them. This week we are going to delve into the power and treasure of the title "Abba Father," which is an Aramaic word of affection for "father" meaning Daddy or Papa in English. Abba means exactly that … God is our affectionate, loving, perfect Daddy. One without f...

KNOWING THE SECRET TO AN ABUNDANT LIFE. In my last blog, I made some BIG statements, and I plan to unfold, elaborate, and expand upon this subject week by week. I will start with a once a week blog each Monday morning with the hope you will use the information given to transform your life. The subject is not new, has been done before, and is as old as time… but as I talk to people, so few have delved into the power just waiting to be theirs by calling on the NAMES OF GOD. THIS PRACTISE HAS REVOLUTIONIZED MY LIFE, and I am so excited to share it with you. There are many names of God because He is vast and amazing, howe...

A WORTHY BLOG SUBJECT I was wondering what to write about in my blog that would speak to all people not just to fellow writers or readers of inspirational romance, but to the soul of every boy and girl, every seeker, every person on their journey through life no matter the age, sex, race, religion, or political preference and only one subject came to mind. Only one subject is BIG enough, interesting enough, and powerful enough to fall into this category. Only one subject can embrace the atheist, the agnostic, the seeker, and the believer all at the same time because they are all people of beautiful creation. Only one subject can stand the tes...

 This past week a friend of mine sent me this email…the message touches so many of our lives and so I asked her if I could reprint it in my blog and she graciously gave her permission respectfully keeping her name anonymous.When we first started reading Larry Crabb's book "66 love letters" he said in the beginning that history is "His Story." (Meaning God's Story.) I had never thought of it t...

Each life, each placement in time and territory, each story, is uniquely and divinely appointed.Do you believe you have influence in your world?Do you believe you have love and wisdom to share and impart?Do you believe God knows exactly what you are going through, and though He may not remove your troubling circumstances, He has promised His unfailing love and peace?Isaiah 54:10 says, “Though the ...

Who sets out on their wedding day with dreams of sadness, betrayal and adultery in mind? What, you say, that would be crazy? Yes, of course it is, but the sad reality is that way too many relationships have memories they would love to obliterate.That's the way I feel. I would love to pretend that I have a fairy tale life, a happily-ever-after, nothing but a happy-go-lucky existence, but that would...

I am sick today...a weak kitten sitting in my chair with nothing but time...a rare gift. Not the flu of course but the time.Given time I think about my blog site and how life has stolen most every moment working at a business I neither love, nor care to do, yet here I am stuck on a treadmill running way to fast. Commitment dictates I stay the course but...I ask God why? Why, when I would rather be...

Dear Reader,The next stretch is extremely busy for me. Our business in spring is full on. We work long, long days everyday of the week except Sunday. This being the case I find it hard to find the time to write.. On top of this we have to move in the month of June and I have to find time to pack each evening. In saying all this, please know I haven't given up on this blog, but am realistically hav...

Through the eyes of child a Dandelion holds color,Through the eyes of child  a gift to a mother;Through the eyes of a gardener the dandelion holds seeds,No value, no beauty, nothing but weeds.A flower so beautiful, chubby hands hold tight,A rare treasure to place in water and guard through the night;Through the eyes of  an adult, the Dandelion must die,Rush to the store, a pesticide to buy.Through...

Nature is God's balm, His infusion of love in an often cruel world.Come, let's walk together...may these photos and the detail of God's creation bring balance and perspective to your day as it did to mine.Today out in God's creation I found solace, peace and was given a gentle reminder...Here is what God showed me.The bud of a leaf... Daffodils in the neighbors yard...My walk took me from the...

How does one take the mundane out of just another day? NO… it’s not winning the lottery. It is a process I call salt and pepper…a dash of goodness and a sprinkle of generosity added to any day, any time.Let me explain!A work day, a toothless man, and an opportunity.Saying good bye to a friend, I opened the door of our store and stepped out. Inhaling the crisp spring air felt cleansing after the li...

Ever since I was a child…as far back as my memory goes, I remember that flicker of excitement within when I would catch my first glimpse of the bright yellow Buttercup flower. It signified that spring had FINALLY won the battle over winter.I don’t often get time to walk these day, but being Sunday I stole a half hour of fresh air with my lab Lyla and off we went. She raced around in sheer delight ...

Today is my 100th post, and I feel a distinct need to change the focus of this blog. I will forever and always have a heart for those who suffer betrayal and are in the process of healing, but the winds of change are blowing through my life. A dominant message and theme emerges...Interactive ways in which to make our world a more positive place.I need your story and would love to hear from you the...

The past number of weeks in my blogs we discussed the sovereignty of God and the question whether He could be trusted when circumstances are difficult. To sum up the message, I would like you to consider reading a portion of the Bible to solidify the concept of a God who has all in control, at all times.Start in Genesis and read the story of Joseph, my all time favorite Bible character. He was fai...

Thanks for joining me while I work through posting a chapter of my book  called “Friendly Fire.” This chapter primarily deals with the difficulty of trusting in a good God when life is not good. If you have not read my blogs before, please go back to Part 1 and begin there for greater clarity.My healing could not move forward until I accepted the sovereignty of God. When I did, the “why” questions...