Dwell and Delight

Greg and I are delighting in the birds as they suddenly ascend for their morning feast. We cannot help but pause. If they see us move they fly away just as rapidly as they appeared. 

Don't you know that God delights when we come to feast on the good food HE provides for us!

When we truly want to dwell with engagement, it will always be filled with delight. 

God desires us to dwell richly with Him and to know the delight of permanence of presence with Him. Even if we fly in suddenly and unexpectedly, He delights in watching us feast. Even if we fly away because we see Him moving. He delights in us. He always longs for us to know the blessing of His good food. He wants us to settle in and enjoy Him.

Shalom y'all!

I will be with you

I am with you! by Nordeman & Grant

Every night I pray with my Mom, Papa , and Aunt Janie there is one thing I always pray. Thankfulness for being together and that God is with us. 

This morning God so blessed me with this song and the reminder of the beauty of saying, "I am with you." I was listening and decided to play it again as I read and then God had me read Isaiah 43:2. God gave us this verse when we flooded and lost everything. Mom and Poddy let us live with them while our home was restored. I just realized that we are blessing them the way they blessed us.

"When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; when you walk through the fire you shall not be burned and the flame shall not consume you" (Isaiah 43:2).

I love those whispers. I heard God whisper His reminder this morning, "I will be with you."

Our lives are blessed and good. We are under no trial or tribulation. Our blessing is that in both our good times and bad times we know that God is with us and we are together.  

We are so thankful.

Simply, God says to me and you, "I am with you!"

The LORD is with you when you are with Him!

(Watercolor by AmosCatfish.com)

When I was in my twenties, I drove by a grocery store with a billboard that was not the typical post. Instead of declaring the weekly special, it said, Wherever you go, there you are! I literally laughed out loud! Nothing like stating the obvious. That crazy true statement is quite profound and has caused me to remind myself through the years to be present where I am at.

This morning as I read my Bible, I had another one of those laugh out loud moments from someone stating the obvious.

"The Spirit of God came on Azariah son of Oded. ² He went out to meet Asa and said to him, “Listen to me, Asa and all Judah and Benjamin. The Lord is with you when you are with Him. If you seek him, he will be found by you, but if you forsake him, he will forsake you. ³ For a long time Israel was without the true God, without a priest to teach and without the law. ⁴ But in their distress they turned to the Lord, the God of Israel, and sought him, and he was found by them" (2 Chronicles 15:1-4).

The LORD is with you if you are with Him! Azariah stated the obvious to Asa because Israel forgot to bring God along. It is pretty easy to do. I wake up, get up, get my tea and start the day without inviting God to join me. Sadly, it is pretty obvious when I have forgotten to bring him along. Greg will testify that my responses are less kind and if I am in a foul mood I can be downright rude. Ugh. 

I guess this is why I like these two reminders. Wherever you go, there you are! I want to be present, but not just present. I don't want to ever forget that the LORD is with me when I am with Him. 

So, when I wake up in the morning, I often greet the LORD in my mind which draws a smile to my face. I start talking about my day. I get up and let the dog out. Get my hot tea and settle in with my Bible to read and pray. I then take out my prayer journal and start processing my day with God. Some days are longer and richer than others, but it is my heart that I seek to be present with God and invite Him so that wherever I go, there WE are! 

Take courage! It really is that simple. 

Would you invite God to be present with you, wherever you go? Remember, the LORD is with you when you are with Him!

Shalom y'all!