I Will Come Back and Take You With Me

"And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am." — John 14:3  

Jesus died and came alive again.

He then left to sit at the right. hand of God the Father in heaven.

Now He reigns there today.

And He prepares a place for us.

But He also promises to return.

And to take us to be with Him in heaven one day.

What a glorious promise.

Do Not Fear, for I Am With You

So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. — Isaiah 41:10 

God is with me.

Therefore, I will not fear.

When I begin to worry, I remember that He's in control.

At times when I get dismayed, I remember that He's my strong rock.

He will strengthen me.

And the Lord will help me.

When I feel weak, He will uphold me with His righteous right hand.

He surrounds me with the beauty of His creation.

There is no reason for me to fear.

God is with me.

Jesus WIll Come Back

Jesus said, “I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am.” — John 13:3 

Jesus sits at the right hand of God the Father.

He rose again from the dead and said He was going to prepare a place for us.

One day, He tells us He will come back and take us with Him.

So that on that day we can live with Him in heaven.

What a wonderful promise!

Be Strong

Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.” — Joshua 1:9 

God has commanded us to be strong.

Just as He commanded Joshua.

To be strong and courageous.

Not to be afraid or discouraged.

God was with Joshua wherever he went.

And God is with me.

What a huge relief.

Here we are at Mean Girls last night.

They offered us signature cocktails that were created to go with the musical theme.

Very fun.

God's People

The residence of God is among human beings. He will live among them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them. — Revelation 21:3

God lives among us.

We will be His people, and God will live among us.

God himself will be with us.

And He will wipe away every tear from our eyes.

Today is June 1st. 

Just a few weeks until summer!

Yesterday we went to see Top Gun Maverick.

Lots of San Diego and California scenes.

Very fun.

The Lord Is With Me

When hard pressed, I cried to the Lord; he brought me into a spacious place. The Lord is with me; I will not be afraid. What can mere mortals do to me? — Psalm 118:5-6

When hard pressed, I cried to the Lord.

When I was diagnosed with cancer, I cried to Him.

Especially when I discovered I would have to go through chemo and lose my hair.

He brought me into a spacious place.

He restored my hair and my health.

Through it all, He gave me strength.

I felt His presence.

The Lord is with me still!

I will not be afraid.

I will not worry.
 

He will give me His peace.

God Is WIth Me

He guides me along the right paths for his name’s sake.
4 Even though I walk  through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil, for you are with me. — Psalm 23: 3-4

Several of our older friends passed away this week.

And others are recovering from falls.

Kirk took these flowers to one of our friends who is recovering with a fractured pelvis and broken ribs from her fall.

My coworker's stepsister lost her dad.

Tragedy all around us.

But God is good. 

He carries us through the dark valleys.

And that journey is part of His purpose for our lives.

I don't grow in Him unless I travel that path.

And He has much to teach me along the way.

Guide and direct me, Lord.

God Raised Us Up

God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus. — Ephesians 2:6 

God raised us up with Christ.

He seated us with Him in the heavenly realm.

He gives us passage to live with him in heaven.

We are blessed.

Bear With Each Other

Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. — Colossians 3:13

It's not always easy to put up with each other.

People can be frustrating and grate on our nerves.

Even those in our own families.

But God calls us to forgive others as He has forgiven me.

If I have a grievance against someone, God asks me to be the one to start ironing it out.

He forgave me even when I didn't deserve it.

I can do the same for others, even when it's hard.

The Word Was God

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. — John 1:1-2

How cool is that.

Jesus was in existence with God in the beginning.

He was and is God.

He is not another of God's creations like me.

Instead, He is my Savior God.

Very hard to understand, but I am grateful.

Help me, Lord, to follow you today.

They Will Call Him Immanuel

All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: “The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel” (which means “God with us”). — Matthew 1:22-23

God spoke to the prophets long before Jesus was born.

It was written that a virgin would give birth to a Son.

That son would be named Immanuel, which means God with us.

He came to die for us so that we can live with Him forever in heaven.

Do Not Fear

So do not fear for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. — Isaiah 41:10

God is with me.

He is my God.

He gives me strength and helps me.

This week I discovered a lump in my arm.

I'm not sure if it was from pulling weeds or sitting too long at my computer, or what.

It may be lymphedema so I will talk with my oncologist on Thursday.

And I will see my doctor to determine if I need to see a lymphedema therapist or if it will go away.

For now, I've stopped jumping rope and lifting weights.

I've also stopped doing jumping jacks until I find out more.

But God gives me strength and helps me through this time.

God Is With Us

I am the God of your father Abraham. Do not be afraid, for I am with you. — Genesis 26:24

God is with me.

He is the God of our fathers and forefathers.

He is with me all of the time.

He loves and cares for me.

The mint in our garden has taken off with all of the rain we've been having.

So have the weeds.

Fortunately, I was able to pull lots of the weeds today.

God is with us.

God Will Never Leave You

“The Lord himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged.” — Deuteronomy 31:8

God helps comfort us during these discouraging times.

In the evenings, Abby and I will often play a game of scrabble.

Here's our board from one evening last week.

We can find comfort in the company of loved ones.

God is with us.

What a reassuring Scripture.

He will never leave us.

There is no need for me to be afraid or discouraged.

Seek Good, Not Evil

Seek good, and not evil, that you may live; and so the Lord, the God of hosts, will be with you, as you have said. — Amos 5:14

God commands us to go after good, and not evil.

This is not always easy.

I have to rely on God to lead me in the right and good path.

God is with me, I am confident of that.

But I often ignore Him instead of listening for His guidance.

Help me, Lord, to go after good so that I may live.

Direct me in your paths so I will draw closer to you and you will be with me throughout each moment of each day.

Happy Birthday, Steve!

Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go. - Joshua 1:9

Today is my brother Steve's birthday. 

When he was born, he was premature so he had to stay in the hospital for a few weeks.

My mom and dad had adopted him, so when he came home to our house, he was my little brother.

He was scowling much of the time so my sister and I were instructed to smile like crazy every time we passed his crib.

From his smile today, it apparently worked!

You would also never guess he was a premi!

He now towers over me.

What a treat to get to sing next to him at church today.