Month: June 2026

Stinkin’ Thinkin’

On By vickleaIn Scripture8 Comments

Just open a newspaper (if you can actually find one these days) and all of the headlines deal with my title topic for the day. Killings, fires, car accidents, and on and on it goes. But our Bible tells us to get our minds away from that stinkin’ thinkin’ and think of the good things. Look up, not down and around.

So, what am I thinking this morning?

~I am breathing better after two days of meds. Thank you, Lord!

~There are eight different species of birds coming to my new camera bird feeder that our youngest son gave me for Mother’s Day. I love it!

This is my favorite visitor so far. And he comes around a lot, along with a Tufted Titmouse, a Blue Grosbeak and an American robin. So many to enjoy!

~I am also enjoying all of the hummingbirds flitting around outside my window, literally close enough to touch if I opened the window. My sweet husband put the feeder there so I can see it well.

~My yellow roses have finally started to bloom! They are my favorite flower. Again, my sweet husband got me the bush last year and it didn’t do much until lately. Lots of blossoms now!

~Today is Taco Salad Day! The local diner makes taco salads every Wednesday and this morning my sweet husband (are you tired of that phrase yet…just remember to look up!) got up early (at 10:30) and announced that he was going to order me a taco salad before he went into town to get his books from the library.

~I am really enjoying the Christian fiction books that I am reading now. Lots to read…more on that later when I get ready to review them.

~Finally, God is good, God is great. According to the scripture:

He saved me, He is saving me and He will save me! Hallelujah!

Now it’s your turn to share some positivity with me. Don’t look at the news…look at what God has put on your heart and blessed you with!

Understanding

On By vickleaIn Scripture3 Comments

I am map clueless, which is kind of funny considering one of my degrees includes numerous classes in geography. But my husband knows not to hand me a paper map and expect me to read it for him. I am not a good navigator, even when using GPS. I have been known to tell my husband to turn too early because I didn’t understand the directions on the GPS.

How does that apply to my life spiritually? I want to know where God is taking me and when, but He doesn’t give me a map. Instead, He just says repeatedly, ”Trust Me.” I don’t have to know where he is leading me or when I will arrive as long as I trust the One who is in the driver’s seat.

We naturally want to know ALL the things as we travel along life’s highway. What is around that curve? Where is our next stop? When will we arrive? God wants us to just trust Him for the safe arrival at our destination. When we question everything and seem to want to understand it all, we get lost in the muddy mire of unnecessary-for-us-to-know details instead of keeping our eyes on the Good Shepherd who is leading us to the green pastures we want to eventually get to.

My life lately has been one of not understanding, but it is in this place that I have come to confront the fact that I don’t need to understand to just keep moving forward with God. Sometimes He lets me know a part of His plan, but mostly I am just taking one step at a time and waiting for direction for the next one.

The only understanding we need about our circumstances comes from God and He lets us know what we need to know when we need to know it.

One of my favorite quotes from Corrie ten Boom. Do you really trust the Engineer of your life?

Trust in God-Brandon Lane (Charlie Kirk Memorial)

Connect Hopelessness to Hope

On By vickleaIn Scripture3 Comments

Songs in the Dark (Daily Refresh, 6-01-26)

Even in life’s hardest and most depressing seasons, God is with us and is listening to us. 

One purpose of a song of lament, or lament psalm, is to be honest with God. It’s about expressing vulnerability by telling God exactly how we feel. We should never be afraid of God or how we speak to Him, because He is able to handle our deepest emotions and complaints. And lament psalms are our model in Scripture on how we can be honest with Him.

Psalm 42 is a lament psalm. It is a song about the hopelessness of the writer’s current condition. It speaks to deep sorrow and grief that is experienced in life. The writer of Psalm 42 does not know why he is depressed. He’s not sure why certain things are happening to him. And so he goes to God in prayer and song, expressing the deepest parts of his soul.

Another purpose of lament is to connect the hopelessness of life with the hope that God gives. Laments act as a bridge between our present situation and the promises we’re waiting on. 

The writer of this Psalm speaks to his own soul and encourages himself to continue to hope in God. He knows that no season lasts forever, and there will come a time when joy returns to him.

We will all go through seasons of sadness and grief. And we will have Psalms as a guide. The first step is to come before God and honestly express yourself to Him. Tell Him exactly how you feel.

Next, remember the promises that He has given you in His Word. Recount how much He loves you and cares for you.

And lastly, encourage yourself to put your hope in God. Move towards songs of praise in spite of your current circumstances.

My Thoughts

Today’s devotional was perfect for me, and I pray that it will speak to your heart, too. You see, I have been awake since 2:30 a.m. I wish I could say I was earnestly praying or praising or anything besides what I was doing. I spent four hours coughing, using my inhaler, pacing and trying to get my breath as I spoke to God about how awful it felt to have difficulty breathing. I finally got up at 6, fed our cat, used my morning meds which included my inhaler again as well as other asthma meds, and called my pulmonologist at seven, when the office opens. I now have a Telemed appointment this afternoon since my meds are not kicking in as they should.

Am I discouraged? A little, but mostly, this devotional spoke to me because I am hopeful that God’s answer is on the way. After all, torn rotator cuff, spinal issues and now asthma flare, too. Instead of complaining to God, I am choosing to praise Him and know that He is helping me through this time of my life. In the middle of the night, when the coughing was so bad that it rattled my already unstable bones, I knew that God was hearing me even when I could not take a breath to speak a prayer.

God is not just the God of the mountaintop experiences, although we would all like to stay there and just look down into the valley. He is there with us in the valleys, too. I think that He is especially close in the valley times because it is quiet and there are no interruptions to distract us from our time with God there. We may choose to let things distract us, but I think that is a wrong choice. We need the quiet so we can hear His voice gently whispering His peace and loving words to our troubled body and spirit.

God may seem distant, but He isn’t. Even as I struggled to catch my breath, I knew that He is the One who gave me the breath of life and He will be the One with me when I take my last breath. If He wants me to continue to live, He will provide the strength, healing and hope that I need to face each new day.

I hope that you find peace in the Lord today and that He gives you a reason to praise Him. My being alive is enough reason for me. What’s leading you to praise the King of Glory today?