"R" is for RIGHTEOUSNESS

This is week 18 of the Blogging Through the Alphabet Challenge by Through The Calm and Through the Storm and Adventures With Jude. This week the letter is "R" and I chose the word RIGHTEOUSNESS to blog about this week.

Yesterday in our sermon the minister mentioned a passage from Isaiah 53.  I came home to look for it and was reminded of verses 4-6:
"Surely he took up our pain    and bore our suffering, yet we considered him punished by God, stricken by him, and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities;
the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed. We all, like sheep, have gone astray,  each of us has turned to our own way; and the Lord has laid on him
the iniquity of us all"

If Jesus had just taken my sins on His shoulders at the cross it would have been plenty, but the fact that ALL of our sins were placed on Him is just too amazing to wrap my mind around.  Perhaps that is why so many people don't believe is that it is just too unbelievable?  And then when you consider that this was God's plan from the very beginning it is even more amazing! 2 Timothy 1:9 "He has saved us and called us to a holy life—not because of anything we have done but because of his own purpose and grace. This grace was given us in Christ Jesus before the beginning of time."

I know myself all too well and without the blood of Jesus flowing through my veins, I would be so lost.  I look upon God's holiness and all I can do is proclaim the way Isaiah did "I am a man (woman) of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the Lord Almighty." (Isaiah 6:5)  Yet I can stand in all confidence before my Lord because of the blood of Jesus and realize and celebrate that all my unrighteousness has become RIGHTEOUSNESS in the eyes of my God. 

" It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God—that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption." (I Corinthians 1:30)

Jesus took all my sins, all my unrighteousness (lying, pride, lack of self discipline, anger, bitterness, disobedience, rebellion, gossip, selfishness, (an endless list)) and let me put on Christ Himself "all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ."(Galatians 3:27)  Since Christ Himself is RIGHTEOUS, then I am clothed in His RIGHTEOUSNESS.  It is that RIGHTEOUSNESS that allows me to come into the presence of a Holy God.  

"God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God." (2 Corinthians 5:21)

 “He himself bore our sins” in his body on the cross, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; “by his wounds you have been healed. (1 Peter 2:24)

"Put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness." Ephesians 4:24

So next time you tell yourself "I just have done too much to be forgiven" speak back to yourself "yes, I am a sinner but thanks to Jesus, our Redeemer (another great "R" word) I have been clothed in RIGHTEOUSNESS and God sees as righteous in his sight.  Then get on your knees and give Him thanks!

"Q" is for Query

Week 17 of the challenge of Blogging Through the Alphabet Challenge by Through The Calm and Through the Storm and Adventures With Jude. This week the letter is "Q" and it is truly a challenge to come up with a word.  If you go the other linkups you will see Quiche, Quesey, Quotes, Quick, Quizzes, Backpack Meals and Quiet Rest.

I looked at a list of "Q" words and was surprised at how many there actually are and how many I had no idea what they meant.  

So I chose qabalah, only to find out it is a Scrabble word, but doesn't have a definition.  

So then I chose quahog and it means "the hard clam (Mercenaria mercenaria), also known as a quahog (or quahaug), round clam, or hard-shell (or hard-shelled)clam, is an edible marine bivalve mollusk that is native to the eastern shores of North America and Central America, from Prince Edward Island to the Yucatán Peninsula. It is one of many unrelated edible bivalves that in the United States are frequently referred to simply as clams, as in the expression "clam digging"" 

Then qindarka caught my attention because I thought a "q" always had to have a "u" with it.  And here is the definition "100 qindarka equal 1 lek in Albania"

And then there is qwerty "denoting the standard layout on English-language typewriters and keyboards, havingq, w, e, r, t, and y as the first keys from the left on the top row of letters."

So I am now feeling better at the reason I didn't know these words :-)  Then it dawned on me as I went to type a title for this post that I did a query on the letter "Q"!

Query "ask a question about something, especially in order to express one's doubts about it or to check its validity or accuracy".

"P" is for PRESIDENT

Week 16 of the challenge of Blogging Through the Alphabet Challenge by Through The Calm and Through the Storm and Adventures With Jude. This week the letter is "P" and what could I choose to blog about on President's Day but PRESIDENTS?

It is no surprise that we will be electing a new President in November of this year.  The debates have been endless this year.  I keep watching in hopes that there will be something new or different that will help me decide who I will vote for.  But this last Saturday night the Republican debate just made my heart sad.  Men, who claim to be Christians not acting very Christian.  The Bible tells us in Matthew chapter 7 that we should be able to judge people by their fruits.  You can't just proclaim to be a Christian, your life must bear fruit that looks like Jesus.  Saying you are a Christian to get a vote doesn't mean you are actually a Christ follower.  So I pray for discernment.

Here are some quotes from some President's from our past, who knew how important it was to bow their knee to the God we ask to bless America.  Another Truth? Just because you say "God Bless America" at the end of every speech, doesn't mean He will bless us if we aren't allowing Him to be central in the governing of our nation.

“Hold fast to the Bible as the sheet anchor of your liberties, write its precepts in your hearts, and practice them in your lives.  To the influence of this book are we indebted for all the progress made in true civilization, and to this we must look as our guide in the future.  Righteousness exalteth a nation but sin is a reproach to any people.” – Ulysses S. Grant, Eighteenth President

“The Bible is the one supreme source of revelation of the meaning of life, the nature of God, and spiritual nature and needs of men.  It is the only guide of life which really leads the spirit in the way of peace and salvation.  America was born a Christian nation.  America was born to exemplify that devotion to the elements of righteousness which are derived from the revelations of Holy Scripture.” – Woodrow Wilson, Twenty eighth President

“Inside the Bible’s pages lie all the answers to all of the problems man has ever known… It is my firm belief that the enduring values presented in its pages have a great meaning for each of us and for our nation.  The Bible can touch our hearts, order our minds, and refresh our souls.” – Ronald Reagan, Fortieth President

"The whole inspiration of our civilization springs from the teachings of Christ and the lessons of the prophets. To read the Bible for these fundamentals is a necessity of American life." -Herbert Hoover, Thirty first President

So if you are reading this post I hope that you will join me in prayer that our next President will again help our nation return to our roots and allow us to once again be "One Nation Under God".

2 Chronicles 7:14

"If my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land."

Blogging Through The Alphabet: "O" is for OCEAN

Week 15 of the challenge of Blogging Through the Alphabet Challenge by Through The Calm and Through the Storm and Adventures With Jude.  This week our letter is "O" and I chose the word OCEAN.

I grew up in El Paso, Texas so the ocean was a far piece.  I vaguely remember when I was five us vacationing in California and we visited the ocean, but if I am honest I have many more memories of Disneyland than I do of the Ocean.  The next exposure I would have to what I thought was an ocean as a kid was when I was 10 living in Mobile, Alabama (of course now I know that it was the Gulf of Mexico).  It wouldn't be until I was in my late 20's and moved to Chino, California that I really got to experience the ocean.  There are so many different venues to experience the ocean/beach up and down the coast of California.

I don't really remember when it hit me but I began to really treasure the ocean when I realized that it was a lot like God's grace.  It is continually in motion and constantly washes over us.  We don't have to wait forever, we don't have to swim out to it.  We just have to stand still and sometimes it will be a gentle wash and other times it will knock you over!  But it will always come.  In 1989 I moved to Dallas to get married and since that time, have only had one trip to the beach :-(  I have missed it, but there are times when I want to be reminded so I turn on my wave machine :-)  

I have also always enjoyed the mountains, so Colorado is not a bad place to be, but even here I prefer to spend time in the mountains at cabins that are on a river.  I just enjoy the sound of rushing water.  I have not been blessed to travel the world and there are many places I haven't been.  But out of the places I have been, Big Sur, California is one of my favorite places because you actually have the mountains and the ocean at the same spot.  Steve and I were able to go there on our honeymoon as one of our stops up the California coast.  I just remember thinking "this is heaven on earth" :-)  

That was long before the days of digital photos so I have none, but found this one on the internet.

Of the places I have visited I also enjoyed Kauai, again the mountains and the beach together, but you can't access the beach, except by boat on the mountainous side. 

But on the other side of the island there are a lot of pretty coves.

So all this talk about God's grace and oceans, what is grace?  The technical definition is "the love and mercy given to us by God because God desires us to have it, not because of anything we have done to earn it." It is a gift from God because we are sinners.  None of us go through life without sinning.  Yet there is nothing any of us can do on our own to get forgiveness of our sins.  It only comes through the sacrifice that His son made on the cross.  When we accept Jesus as the Lord of our life and are baptized with him to become a new creation, we get the gift of the Holy Spirit and with that we receive grace.  Romans 5:15 "For if many died through one man's trespass, much more have the grace of God and the free gift by the grace of that one man Jesus Christ abounded for many."  That wonderful gift ensures that each time I sin, I confess and do my best to change and God's grace washes over me and my sins are forgiven as far as the east is from the west. (Psalms 103:12)

Guess I am just a visual person because all the snow we received last week also reminded me of this verse:

Anyway....got a little sidetracked from the beginning of my post.  But if you take a trip to the ocean anytime in the near future, put your toes in the water and close your eyes and then imagine when each wave hits you it is the grace of God and say a prayer of thanksgiving for His love for you!

I am sure others had better "O" posts than I did!  Go check them out here:  

Blogging Through The Alphabet: "N" is for Never Once

Week 14 of the challenge of Blogging Through the Alphabet Challenge by Through The Calm and Through the Storm and Adventures With Jude. This week the letter is "N".  I had been thinking of what I would blog about and then in worship yesterday we sang one of my most favorite songs and I thought "Oh I can blog about 'Never Once'".

A few years ago I was asked to give my testimony at a Ladies Retreat and I had decided to use Matt Redman's Song, "Never Once" as the theme for my talk.  If you are new to my blog you don't know much of my story, but suffice it to say God has brought me through many trials, which I shared at that retreat and was able to testify that through it all "Never Once" was I ever left alone to face those trials by myself.  God has always proved Himself to be faithful.  I actually blogged about that fact and the "Never Once" song on May 4, 2012 (if you want you can find that post here http://lynnslittlelessons.blogspot.com/search?q=%22never+once.

If you are going through a trial and want some hope and to be uplifted go listen to Matt's song.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n1bXG4WIesA

I always enjoy reading the stories behind songs and here you can read why Matt Redman wrote the song http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dR77PdCiU68

Just in case you don't have time to go out to the links, here are the lyrics:
Standing on this mountaintop
Looking just how far we've come
Knowing that for every step
You were with us

Kneeling on this battle ground
Seeing just how much You've done
Knowing every victory
Is Your power in us

Scars and struggles on the way
But with joy our hearts can say
Yes, our hearts can say

Never once did we ever walk alone
Never once did You leave us on our own
You are faithful, God, You are faithful

Never once did we ever walk alone
Never once did You leave us on our own
You are faithful, God, You are faithful
You are faithful, God, You are faithful

Scars and struggles on the way
But with joy our hearts can say
Never once did we ever walk alone
Carried by Your constant grace

Every step we are breathing in Your grace
Evermore we'll be breathing out Your praise
You are faithful, God, You are faithful
You are faithful, God, You are faithful

I hope that you can also say with full assurance that "Never Once" have you ever had to walk alone and if you can't I hope you will come to that realization that you are desperately loved by a God who wants to walk beside you every step.  And even though it is hard to understand at times the "why's" of a situation He is allowing you to go through that the saying is true "If He brings you to it, He will bring you through it." His purposes are always perfect and for our benefit. 

I was just wondering since it was "Never Once" can this also count as my "O" post ? :-)

Blogging Through The Alphabet: "M" is for Marriage

We are half way through the challenge of Blogging Through the Alphabet Challenge by Through The Calm and Through the Storm and Adventures With Jude. This week the letter is "M" and I chose to blog about Marriage.

Most of the couples my age are celebrating 40-45 years of marriage, but Steve and I are only on our 26th year because God did not bring us together until we were 36.  That in itself is a fun story for another time.  I had prayed for a long time that my husband would be strong in his relationship with God.  I don't really remember praying for anything else in a husband.  Steve and I often comment on how we are opposite we are.  You name the subject and we are on opposite sides of the spectrum.  I am a spender, he is a saver.  I enjoy spontaneity, he likes routine.  I enjoy playing games, he enjoys reading.  I always thought I would make a great catch for some man because I really enjoy camping, hunting and fishing and can even bait my own hook and gut my own fish :-) Steve doesn't have any interest in being outdoors (except to shovel our neighbors snow :-))  We don't enjoy the same kind of movies, he enjoys bloody war movies or slapstick comedies.  I enjoy romantic comedies or true life stories. I enjoy salads and vegetables, he is a meat and potatoes man.  I could go on and on.  

But we have a wonderful marriage in spite of all of that and it is for one reason and one reason only. The one thing we do have in common is our love for the Lord!  

 Because Steve loves God, when he proposed to me he quoted Ephesians 5:25, except he personalized it. "Lynn, as your husband I promise to love you the way that Christ loved the church and gave Himself up for her...I will love you as I love myself and I will give my life up for you."  I don't remember how many years into our marriage we also made the commitment to each other to live out Romans 12:10 "to outdo one another in showing honor."  Now that has been a real challenge for me because it is really hard to outdo Steve.  He is always trying to serve me and must ask me at least 5 times a day "is there anything I can do for you?"  But when you work to put your spouses needs before your own and they do the same, marriage can flourish (even if you are opposites).

About 15 years ago, Steve and I became marriage facilitators for Joe Beam's Dynamic Marriage, which has now been changed to Marriage Helper (you can find more information here:  http://www.marriagehelper.com) During that training we learned an invaluable concept called the "Love Bank".  Basically the principle is that when I do something positive for Steve, I make deposits in the "Love Bank" and when I do or say something negative I make withdrawals.  The key is to make sure I make 5 deposits for every withdrawal and at any point I bankrupt Him, our marriage will be in serious trouble.  Again, because Steve is so much better at deposits than I am, I have to work hard to keep up with him.  And I have learned that saying "I am sorry, I was wrong" can be a large deposit!

When we realize that our love for the Lord spills over on our spouse, there is no greater gift that we can give our spouse than having a strong relationship with the Lord.  I glorify God by loving Steve in a matter that pleases God. Steve forgives me, because he knows how much the Lord has forgiven Him and the same for me.  Our goal is to help each other get to heaven, so that means holding one another accountable.  My favorite time of the day is right after lunch each day as Steve and I spend some time in God's Word together and pray together.  But we also each have our own private times of prayer and study with the Lord.  Another way Steve and I are opposites is he is much more disciplined than I am.  Every year he reads the Bible from Genesis to Revelation.  One year I tried to do it with him and while I read more than ever, I still did not complete it.  I am more into reading books about God or other's relationships with Him as well as being in 3 Bible studies I have to complete each week.  The fact that we are doing different things does give us some great things to talk about.

I do want to mention one more thing that Steve and I want to get better at in our marriage.  We really don't argue very often, but when we do we want one of us to be led by the Spirit to say "Stop.  Let us say a prayer before we continue."  That could be together or just go off by ourselves and both pray before coming back together.  The times we have done that, makes a tremendous difference in solving the difference of opinions.

So I am glad that I chose MARRIAGE as my "M" word, as it gave me a reason to look again at the blessing I have in being married to a man that loves the Lord and was the exact answer to my prayers!  

I Am participating in the Blogging Through the Alphabet Challenge by Through The Calm and Through the Storm and Adventures With Jude. This week our letter is "L" and I chose LOVE.  I realize that Carter Chaos also chose LOVE for their "L" word and Mom's Heart also blogged about "love-hate" relationships between animals and certain family members. But LOVE was also my "L" word, except I want to share about my pet peeve about the word LOVE.

I think LOVE is one of the most powerful words in our vocabulary, but I  feel like we have trivialized it by overusing it.  Sometime in the last year I decided that I wasn't going to use the word LOVE in ways that I thought were inappropriate, i.e.:

     -I love chocolate

     -I love that dress on you

     -I love watching American Idol

     -I just love spending time with my family

     -I love living in Colorado

etc........

Since I made that decision, it is interesting how many times I have caught myself and the challenge that it has been to replace love with another word.

     -I really enjoy chocolate

     -That dress looks very nice on you.

     -I think there is some really good talent on American Idol.

     -One of my favorite things to do is to spend time with my family.

     -Colorado has to be one of the best places to live!

This is the definition of LOVE in Miriam Webster:
1. a:  strong affection for another arising out of kinship or personal ties; love for a child
     (2) attraction based on sexual desire:
    b:  an assurance of affection love; affection and tenderness felt by lovers (3) affection based on admiration, benevolence, or common interests
2:  warm attachment, enthusiasm, or devotion
3:  the object of attachment, devotion, or admiration, first love (1): a beloved
4:  unselfish loyal and benevolent concern for the good of another: as (1) fatherly concern 
     of God for humankind (2) brotherly concern for others 
     b: a person's adoration of God

    I personally think LOVE should be saved and used in the context of relationships. There is a commitment attached to LOVE.  The best description of LOVE is found in 1 Corinthians 13:1-8:

    "If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast,[but do not have love, I gain nothing. Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7 It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails."

2.     How can we read that and then say "I love Diet Coke?" :-)

Blogging Through The Alphabet: "K" is for Koinonia

I have joined the Blogging Through the Alphabet Challenge by Through The Calm and Through the Storm and Adventures With Jude.This week our letter is "K" so I chose to write on Koinonia.  I have some sweet friends David and Ashley Hollis that I had to say "goodbye" to this week (as well as their three children: Jonathan, Jackson and Lizzie).  While I love the entire family, I will be talking here more about my relationship with Ashley.  

The Hollis' and us moved to Colorado Springs about the same time 5 1/2 years ago.  Ashley and I were in Ladies Bible Class together and began our relationship through our common love for the Word.  You might not be familiar with the term Koinonia.  Here is the definition: 
" Kononia is a tranliterated form of the Greek word, κοινωνία, which means communion, joint participation; the share which one has in anything, participation, a gift jointly contributed, etc."

It wasn't long into our relationship that Ashley and I started serving together.  She has a gift of organization and there were many church events where we worked side by side with each other. From the get go she always was concerned about my health and if I was over doing and would always try to get me to sit down.  And while she was my friend, she often treated me like she was my daughter.  I don't think she ever called me Lynn, it was always Ms. Lynn.  

One of the things that Ashley and I had in common was our love for teaching children.  We would spend so much time talking about what she wanted for her children in terms of their faith formation.  Since I used to be a Children's Minister, she would come to be for suggestions, ideas or advice and I was always glad to share what I felt the Lord had taught me.

Philippians 2:1-2 declares, “If you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any fellowship with the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and purpose.” Koinonia is being in agreement with one another, being united in purpose, and serving alongside each other. Our koinonia with each other is based on our common koinonia with Jesus Christ. First John 1:6-7 says, “If we say that we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin.”

I appreciate the love for the Lord that the Hollis' have instilled into the heart of their children.  They also instilled a love and respect for me.  I will always have special memories of their sweet Jackson coming to me during our worship time and asking if he could pray for me.  It happened several times and always touched my heart that he had a heart for prayer.

I could say so much more but will stop by saying it is a precious gift when you can share Koinonia with another person.  The best part about it is that even though the Hollis' are moving to Louisiana we didn't really say "goodbye", we just said "see you later" because Koinonia lasts into eternity and for that I am very thankful!!

"J" is for JUSTICE

Those of you that have followed my blog for awhile are aware of my story of my accident in 2005 when I was hit by a drunk driver resulting in 6 months of rehab and 2 years of recovery.  I have recently joined Blogging Through The Alphabet ( http://throughthecalmandthroughthestorm.blogspot.com/2016/01/blogging-through-alphabet-week-10.html) and this week our letter is the letter "J".  The word that immediately came to me was JUSTICE.

The drunk driver that hit me, ran away from the scene of the accident and was never found.  That is a long story in itself, but over the years when people have heard the story they will say something like "too bad you didn't get justice."  To which I usually reply "I know that one day God will give justice or mercy as He sees fit."

Now don't get me wrong, there have been moments when I thought justice would have been for that individual to have to travel with me to every therapy and doctor appointment I have had for the past ten and half years.  But for the most part, I have been able to leave it in God's lap with the confidence that He indeed will give justice or mercy as He sees fit.  I can only do that because of His character.  I know through scripture that He is trustworthy and is a God of justice.

Pslam 50:6: "And the heavens proclaim his righteousness, for He is a God of justice."

Psalm 89:14: "Righteousness and justice are the foundation of your throne; love and faithfulness go                          before you."

Psalm 103:6: "The Lord works righteousness and justice for all the oppressed."

Isaiah 30:18: "Yet the Lord longs to be gracious to you; therefore he will rise up to show you                                   compassion. For the Lord is a God of justice. Blessed are all who wait for him!

Acts 17:31: "For he has set a day when he will judge the world with justice by the man he has                                  appointed. He has given proof of this to everyone by raising him from the dead.

Yesterday in our church services we sang the song "I Surrender All."  I have difficulty singing that song because there are many things I have yet to surrender to God, but thankfully this is one thing I can say I have surrendered.  For the wrongs that I see in the world where it seems that evil is winning, I am thankful to know that in His time God will wield a hand of justice and evil will get its due!! I don't have to do a thing, but just sit back and watch! :-)

Blogging Through The Alphabet: Letter "I"

For this week's Blogging Through The Alphabet were are on the letter "I".  The letter "I" reminded me of one of my favorite Bible verses, Ephesians 3:20 "Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us..."  There are two "I" words in that passage "immeasurably" and "imagine".  To understand what those two words mean all you have to do is look at the language in the King James version of the Bible "Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us."

I remember when I first discovered this verse and realized that God isn't just a God of the ordinary and when I pray, He doesn't just answer what I need but He can answer in ways I cannot even measure (immeasurable).  And then it is beyond what I can even imagine (think of)!   If that wasn't enough it says that it is according his power that is at work within us.  If we read Ephesians 1:19-20 we discover that power is the same power that raised Jesus from the dead!! "I also pray that you will understand the incredible greatness of God’s power for us who believe him. This is the same mighty power that raised Christ from the dead and seated him in the place of honor at God’s right hand in the heavenly realms."  So I have to ask myself do I really believe that?  If so why do I not live my life in that power?  I want to, but more often than not I don't because I listen to the voice of my enemy who wants to convince me that this isn't Truth.

You see, the faith struggle comes when the God who promises to do immeasurably more than all I can ask or imagine, doesn't even do the minimal.  Someone I have been praying for healing dies.  Or after we praise God for healing their cancer comes back. An elderly person has lived a long life and is begging God to go home and let them be out of pain and they just linger.  A marriage I have been praying for ends in divorce.  My own pain that I live with and pray for continues.  When I pray for Pastor Saeed who has been imprisoned in Iran since 2012 to be released and he is still imprisoned.  I am often praying like the father in Mark 9:24 who tells Jesus "I believe, help my unbelief".

Not sure I have any answers.  But I do believe I have a God that can do immeasurably more than all I can ask or imagine.  I believe in His character and even when I don't understand, I try not to listen to the accusations of the enemy "Where is your God?".  I try to live in that power that is within me and with the Holy Spirit's help I say "Get behind me Satan". (James 4:7)

I do have examples in my life where God has done immeasurably more and I have blogged about those in the past, so I will not repeat them here.  But more and more I ask Him more than answering prayers that I learn to live in the same power that raised Jesus from the dead, and I believe He will enable me to do so, in ways beyond all I can ask or imagine!