When Your Past Comes Back to Haunt You
In Ezra 4, we see the enemies of Judah and Benjamin trying to stop the rebuilding of the temple and the walls of Jerusalem. They first tried to worm their way into the project, probably to sabotage the building efforts. When that didn’t work, the Bible says they weakened the hands of the people of Judah and troubled them. We can only imagine their tactics, but the Jews continued their work despite the fierce opposition. The next assault from the enemy was a legal one. In grand toddler fashion, these men of importance wrote a letter to the king and tattled on the Jews. Mature!
God Just Keeps Giving
We have a new addition to our family. She is a five-year-old Lakeland/Patterdale Terrier mix. She weighs about 15 pounds and is as laid back as any dog I’ve ever met. She is precious, and we love her to pieces already. Please welcome Tess.
We knew we wanted to get a dog again after settling into our new home and new lives. We had just started to study the process of adopting a dog and readying our house for a new addition. We hadn’t counted on coming across this particular dog at this specific time.
Resting in the Word of the King
The situation was dire. Resistance seemed futile. Hope was hanging by a thread. Yet, in the midst of what appeared to be complete destruction, the people rested themselves in the words of the king. On the eve of battle, Hezekiah gave a compelling speech, reminding the people who was fighting with them and for them. Sure, Sennacherib had a big army and a bully attitude, but Judah had God on their side. And with that reassurance, the people stopped shaking in their boots and found peace in the situation.
Trailblazing Through Life
I recently heard a comment that made me laugh out loud. A woman exclaimed, "I've never understood what people see in hiking. It's just walking where the ground doesn't cooperate." Take it from an experienced hiker; she's not far off. As someone who has had my fair share of tumbles on the trail, I can testify the ground isn't particularly cooperative.
So often, we refer to our spiritual journey as a Christian walk, but after examining this woman's statement, I think it would better be described as a Christian hike. After all, seldom does the ground cooperate.
Growing Tired of Square One
I've spent the past two weeks recovering from a severe flareup from my back injury and let me tell you, it's been excruciating. Not just the pain, mind you, though that was enough to keep me in bed for over a week. But the frustration of knowing that once I was better, I would have to start back at square one. Boy, am I tired of square one!!!