My Divine Notes

Psalm 90:10 TLB  Seventy years are given us! And some may even live to eighty. But even the best of these years are often empty and filled with pain; soon they disappear, and we are gone. Getting the things done you’d rather not do For this month’s OneWord365 blog post, I’d like to share a very important DO that I accomplished:  I got my personal and business affairs in order! Sometimes you have to do things you’d rather not do like prepare a will, and pull all the important financial and legal information together that your loved ones need for the day that your earthly dash date arrives and your time is up. Most of us prefer not to consider the possibility, especially if we’re young, healthy and invincible. But I’m proud to say that my “do” goal, 52-week decluttering project and information from a professional development seminar helped me put my affairs in order, so I’ll share resources I found helpful. TED Talk:  Prepare for a good end of life I w...

June 3, 2012 John 8:43 Why can’t you understand what I am saying? It’s because you can’t even hear me! The religious establishment never liked Jesus because he rattled their chains and shook their comfort zones. The Jews who had believed in him - and even his own disciples had a hard time believing he was the Savior of the world. Jesus wasted no time in telling the unbelievers that they chose to do the devil’s desires. As I read the Scriptures relevant to this note, I kept asking the Lord to reveal his message. There’s simply no way to sugarcoat the fact that God’s plan is perfect. We simply get to choose whether we believe or not. Follow or not. Sin or not. Whether we tell ourselves that our sins are small, medium, large or extra-large – it’s all the same to God. And, if we can’t decide whether God is real or not. Fine. But the fact remains is that God is God. When we decide to go with the moral-less majority and favor same-sex marriage, the right to get rid of ...

May 1, 2012 John 15:16 You didn’t choose me. I chose you. I appointed you to go and produce lasting fruit, so that the Father will give you whatever you ask for, using my name. Just like the girl in the photo, I’m grinning as I write these words to remember how my life was before I saw the hand of God six years ago. Like that girl in the mirror who is preoccupied backtracking, I spent decades walking away, looking back and heading in the direction of the crowd.   That girl had a very good but silently desperate life. She was smart, talented, ambitious, caring and kindhearted. She had excellent opportunities, but she preferred to do life her own way. She never stopped to consider that God had a plan for her life even though deep down in her heart she heard His calling at a young age. God gave her specific gifts that she used in irresponsible or ineffective ways for many years. That girl did it her way. Time and time she was disappointed by her choices, which she...

2 Corinthians 1:4 He comforts us in all our troubles so that we can comfort others. When they are troubled, we will be able to give them the same comfort God has given us. I’m in a season of sorrow as I watch my mother slowly start to leave her earthly body. She’s in hospice care. Other key people in my life are also facing serious health issues, and I’ve also had to deal with the “thorns” that I battle. I am taking care of myself by sharing my burdens with the Lord and with the people who are closest to me. In short, I’m doing all I can humanly do to remain in God’s peace. And most days, I’m amazed at the joy in my heart regardless of my circumstances. But some days it’s hard… I feel helpless when Mom’s in pain and I watch her suffer but not complain. All I can do is reassure her that the staff is doing all they can to keep her comfortable and that I love her. And then I cry and my heart breaks and that’s when I feel deep sorrow. I remind myself that Jesus wept (John 11:35...

Revelation 20:11-15 (KJV) 11 And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them. 12 And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works. 13 And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works. 14 And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. 15 And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire. I smiled at the Lord when he inspired me to be thankful for the book of life and the last book of the Bible, Revelation. God knows that I feared death for the better part of my life because I was only a church-going ...