Drink deeply of the pleasures of this God. Experience for yourself the joyous mercies he gives to all who turn to hide themselves in him. Psalms 34:8 TPT

I always start my mornings with coffee and reading. Just grabbing a single verse to think on while enjoying my favorite beverage is bliss.

Most translations are written, ‘taste and see’, but an interesting fact is that the ‘see’ comes from the Hebrew root word that translates, drink deeply. For me, I tend to drink deeply when I’m extremely thirsty.

What about you? What does this verse do for you? It should instill at least a curiosity. What would it look like to drink deeply of the pleasures of God?

What would your day be like if you were to take time to close your eyes and enjoy His love. To find yourself soaking in it. Basking in those joyous mercies. Smiling up into His face as you feel His arms slide around you and hold you there.

He gives it freely to all who hide themselves in Him. Stand hidden in Him today. Let the light of His presence shift the attention off of you and onto Him. Enjoy His protection and provision, knowing how deeply He cares for you.

Sandy G

“I don’t think the way you think. The way you work isn’t the way I work.” God’s Decree. “For as the sky soars high above earth, so the way I work surpasses the way you work, and the way I think is beyond the way you think. Just as rain and snow descend from the skies and don’t go back until they’ve watered the earth, Doing their work of making things grow and blossom, producing seed for farmers and food for the hungry, So will the words that come out of my mouth not come back empty-handed. They’ll do the work I sent them to do. They’ll complete the assignment I gave them.” Isaiah 55:8‭-‬11 MSG

I was reminded today of how big God’s thoughts are. Comparatively speaking, we think much smaller then He does.

While He’s speaking universes into existence, we’re talking about houses and jobs. His provision is on a global scale, while we’re thinking about what to make for dinner.

When will He be enough for us? When will we stop thinking small and accept that we are His children, created in His image and likeness? That we’re not a mistake. Everything and everyone have plans and purposes that we can’t comprehend.

He indeed knows the plans He has for us. He doesn’t, however, have to share those plans with us. I’m pretty sure that human nature would screw those plans up. That’s why He wants our trust. He wants our surrender. With Him in the lead and us being satisfied to stay in the passenger seat, enjoying the ride.

I know it’s frustrating not to know. I understand the uncertainty that comes with walking in the dark. But understand this, He is the light, and in Him is no shadow. So step out of the forrest and into the light of His presence. Be thankful that He knows and all will be clear someday.

Let that be enough for you. Take a deep breath and place your hand in His and keep walking.

Sandy G

Mark 9:23-24 “Jesus said to him, “If you can believe, all things are possible to him who believes.” Immediately the father of the child cried out and said with tears, “Lord, I believe; help my unbelief!”

I’ve struggled with this scripture for years. How can you believe and have unbelief at the same time? Im thinking it’s because our mind is where the devil plays. He plays out movies of the most horrendous accident with your children in the car. He plants doubt: “Others may get their healing, but you won’t.”

So even though this father came to Jesus for his sons healing, knowing that Jesus could heal him, I believe the unbelief part was, would he.

Satan is constantly trying to convince us that we’re not good enough, holy enough, ‘Christian’ enough, but the grace to heal doesn’t come by our works, it’s a gift and there’s only one way to get a gift, just receive it.

Walking around sick doesn’t glorify God. Walking in health does. No wonder Satan tries so desperately to keep us sick & broke with words that reflect our thought life. My mom used to say, “If you can’t find something good to say, don’t say anything at all.” Speaking what you see isn’t faith, speaking things that be not as though they are, that is faith.

Jesus said to say to impossible things (mountain), “Be gone!” Don’t doubt in your heart, but believe that what you say is done and it will happen. (Mark 11:23) We say it, then we doubt. That’s being double minded, and James 1:8 says we’re unstable in everything.

So, how do I win over my thought life? Be renewing my mind in the Word of God. Bringing my thoughts under the subjection of the Word. The Lord showed me that if I compare all my thoughts with the Word, I will know which ones to keep and which to throw away.

Do you see why it’s so important to know the Word? John 8:32 says, “You shall know the TRUTH and the TRUTH shall make you free.” There is nothing more true than the Word of God.

Lord, I purpose to keep my thoughts in check. Philippians 4:8 NLT “And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise.”

Remember this: We serve a ‘more than enough’ God, not a ‘just enough’ God, and He’s no respecter of persons.

Sandy G

You know, I don’t have a lot of money or investments, but I do know how to do good. Jesus went around doing good and healing everyone. It was in His nature to do good because He came from the Father.

We also come from our Father if we have confessed Jesus as lord of our lives and received His sacrifice for our sins. So we also should be following His example and doing good. We have the same Spirit in us that He did. It quickens or makes alive our mortal bodies, not so that we can live a nice comfortable life, but that we might do good.

Start being more aware of those that enter your atmosphere. Neighbors, people at the grocery store, people walking by you, people at work, church, the park. Let’s work today on being sensitive to the Spirit in us and minister to those we meet along the way.

Acts 3:6, Then Peter said, “Silver and gold I do not have, but what I do have I give you: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk.”

May the boldness of the Spirit of God rise up in us as we go through our day. May we be sensitive to the needs of those around us and be do-gooders.

Sandy G

This picture has been hanging at work for the past 17 years, and I failed to notice the small caption at the bottom. It says, “Keep your face to the sunshine, and you can not see the shadows.”

That made me realize that I’ve been focused on the shadows lately. The past year has been one of extreme losses. I lost my mom in 2022, my dad in November of 2023, and my husband in December of 2023. It’s definitely dropped some shadows across my path, but staying in the shadows is a choice only I can make.

Psalm 25 is one I read almost daily. I love how it begins, “To you, O Lord, I lift up my soul. I trust in my God!” and “Show me the path where I should walk, O Lord; point out the right road for me to follow. Lead me by your truth and teach me, for you are the God who saves me. All day long, I put my hope in you.”

That’s enough to get my heart excited, but you must read it all to get the entire effect. Bottom line: I trust God today and every day. There is nothing that happens that He’s not aware of. He leads and directs every step I take, and He absolutely always keeps His Word.

It’s just a reminder. Even when I was walking in the shadows, He was with me. He just needed me to look towards the light and see He’s been waiting for me to come alongside Him.

If you’re facing something you can’t understand, and it makes no sense, stop staring at the problem. It won’t change until you do. When the Son shines on your path, make a choice to step with Him so He can direct your steps.

Everything is subject to change, and nothing is impossible to those who trust in the Lord.

Sandy G

Don’t Quit! Not ever! Keep trying regardless of things look or how you feel.

Have you ever been in a struggle that felt endless? It goes on and on and on until you just want to give up, throw in the towel, crawl into a fetal position and quit?

Everything in you says, enough! Except for a still small voice that rises from the deep pit you’ve found yourself in, the one that orders peace to your chaos.

Sometimes, the bottom of a pit is the place where it is quiet. You’re removed from everything that would drown out that voice. It’s there that you hear the Father say, “You’re not alone. I am always here with you. I’ll sort this out and make you famous in the process. You can trust me.”

If that’s where you find yourself this morning, take 10 minutes and be still before the Lord. Let Him sort through the rubble and show you His salvation.

Ecclesiastes 10:4 Erv is for someone today, “Don’t quit your job simply because the boss is angry with you. If you remain calm and helpful, you can correct even great mistakes.”

Allow God to hold you and give you purpose in His peace.

Sandy G

Rip! That’s the sound that comes from placing new wine in old wineskins. We ask God for more of him, more of his spirit, more of His presence, but we fail to understand that the old mindset can’t handle what the Spirit of God is doing. We keep looking for the old, the old time revival, the old rugged cross, the way it used to be. Those things had value for what they accomplished in their day, but our focus can’t be there anymore.

Luke 5:39: Jesus said, “No one who drinks the old wine seems to want the new wine. ‘The old is just fine!’, they say.”

I can not tell you how many churches have remained in a state of limbo because they refuse to change out the old with the new. It’s sad to see people my age and older who are content with what was. They refuse to get out of the comfort of their pews in search of new music, new worship, and new wine.

A few years ago, I awoke to a snapshot of a state map with all the highways and cities, and the Lord spoke this to me: “You become so consumed with the journey that you forget your destination.”

Don’t get hung up on the journey to heaven that you forget what the journey should be about. Keep your focus on Jesus. We’ve been blood bought, yet we live our lives as if we owe no one. Busy doing our own thing, going after our own goals and dreams. We buy because we want not because we need it.

We don’t seek the Lord because we don’t really want to do what He asks of us. We are the rich young ruler who turns away sadly because the Lord has asked too much.

Are you kidding me? My life is not about me! My old life has been ripped from me. If it hadn’t been, I wouldn’t be where I am today. Was it painful? Yes. Every tear, every rip! If I’m not willing to let God rip the old from me, I will never have room to contain the new that He has to put in me.

My agenda doesn’t matter. I must surrender and not look back. I’ve surrendered my marriage for a new and better one. I’ve surrendered my children so that God could do the same in them as He has in me. I’ve surrendered my old church, my old friends, my old job, my old home because I realized that unless I leave the old, I won’t be ready for the new.

“Never going back! Never going back! Never going back to the way it was!” Let me be empty and poured out, made new, when the ripping is over, may I stand in Your presence ready to be filled with the new wine of your Spirit.

Sandy G

All your children will have God for their teacher—what a mentor for your children! Isaiah 54:13 Message

I’m thankful that God never sees our children where they were, but where they will be. He doesn’t wait till they’re perfect before using them, He takes them as they are, patiently molds them, and places them in positions that posture them on their knees.

I’m thankful that God orders their steps, and I trust Him with my children and grandchildren. They will be used mightily of the Lord. I’m thankful that we taught them to trust in the Lord with all their heart, not to try and figure it all out themselves, but to acknowledge Him and He would direct their paths.

I’m proud of my daughters, Stacy Holmes and Shannon Gregory, my grandchildren, Anastasia, Paryse, and Cipriano Holmes, and that they are both carriers of the oil of God. Oil that pours out of them onto others.

How do you see what God has blessed you with? Don’t settle for what they look like right now. Ask God for a vision of how He sees them, and then don’t change what you see in your spirit regardless of the present circumstances. Give them to God and just love them. Love covers.

Sandy G

“So don’t hide your light! Let it shine brightly before others so that your commendable works will shine as light upon them, and then they will give their praise to your Father in heaven.” Matthew 5:16 TPT

“Salt is excellent for seasoning. But if salt becomes tasteless, how can its flavor ever be restored? Your lives, like salt, are to season and preserve. So don’t lose your flavor, and preserve the peace in your union with one another.” Mark 9:50 TPT

Sometimes lessons in life must be shared, not so that you look all wise and knowing, but to show you’ve been through some stuff and have actually learned from it.

This morning, the Lord reminded me of something I used to tell my girls when they’d come to me hating their job. I would say, “God will never move you out until you’ve finished your assignment where you are. Ask Him what He would have you do and say, who He wants you to minister to. Spend time focusing on Him instead of what you hate about your job. Be thankful! Only then will God bless you with a better job.”

Don’t go somewhere else thinking it will be better when you’re not even close to being finished where you’re at. Dissatisfaction doesn’t come to make you move out of your current realm. It comes to create an intense desire to seek more of the Lord. To do and be His Kingdom in a saltier, brighter way.

Ask God, “What is Your will for me in this, and what can I say or do to make a difference where I am.” Be a bright light where you’re at.

This morning, God brought my attention to Naomi, which surprised me when His instructions said to go to the book of Ruth. I love that story! Walt and I made Ruths vow to Naomi part of our marriage vows. But what God showed me was about Naomi.

Ruth 1:20-21 NLT “Don’t call me Naomi,” she told them. “Instead, call me Mara, for the Almighty has made life very bitter for me. I went away full, but the Lord has brought me home empty. Why should you call me Naomi when the Lord has caused me to suffer and the Almighty has sent such tragedy?”

Sometimes, in the middle of our struggle to understand, we blame, and very often, we blame the wrong person or thing. We fail to understand what has happened to us or why, for that matter. Who can know the mind of God or the ways of God?

Why that much loss? Now that I think of it, Naomi was very much like Job. But when she held her first grandson in her arms, she forgot about her sorrow and knew that the Lord had truly blessed her.

In reality, God blessed her the day she was born. Why the day she was born? Because God has good plans for each one of us, and those plans gave her Ruth.

Life can be hard sometimes and so totally unpredictable, but instead of viewing God as the cause of our sorrow, we must view Him as the master builder.

It all starts with a pile of wood, blocks, and various supplies on an empty lot. To most who observe, they just see a mess, but soon it will turn into a beautiful dwelling place. Only the master builder knows the end from the beginning. He’s seen the blueprint. He knows the outcome. Trust the master builder!

Whatever you’ve been through, don’t get so focused on it that you lose sight of what God is in the process of doing with you. He’s promised something beautiful, so be patient, wait, and see. Your end will be better than your beginning, better than you could ever imagine. He’s building his Kingdom, and you’re a part of it. Don’t be surprised if you look around and find chaos. You just don’t have His perspective. Trust the Master. He knows what He’s doing!

Father, I would never have planned this for myself, but I know You have. There’s nothing that happened or will happen to me that you won’t use for Your glory. Be big in me today. Bigger than all my history is the future You’ve arranged because You love me. And I love You! More than my heart can express. It’s in Jesus’ name, I pray, Amen.