If you will ask

Denver granddaughters, the Keister young ladies.

Theresa and I are enjoying a snowy Christmas in Denver wiwth Fletcher, Jennifer and girls.

Just finished reading "If You Will Ask" by Oswald Chambers - a challenging short book on prayer. Cost me six cents on Amazon (plus shipping).

Some interesting tidbits:
When a man is born from above, the life of the Son of God begins in him, and he can either starve that life or nourish it. Prayer nourishes the life of God.

Prayer to Him is not a way to get things from God, but so that we may get to know God... the very presence of God.

It is not cowardly to pray when we are at our wits end; it is the only way to get in touch with reality. As long as we are self-sufficient and complacent, we don't need to ask God for anything; we don't want Him. It is only when we know we are powerless that we are prepared to listen to Jesus Christ and do what He says.

The whole meaning of prayer is that we get to know God. May that be a greater desire on our parts for next yer.

Love - fall, lose or build

"People don't fall out of love. In reality, their love cools as other things gradually take priority and focus." I was caught by these words of Byron Paulus, Executive Director of "Spirit of Revival."

Paulus continued with, "Then one day they realize that there's no real connection, nor real relationship that feels worth preserving."

I would add to his challenging statement. Lost love can also happen through the escalation of disappointments, hurts and resentments - toward our wife, closest friend or even to God.

We're left with the question: have I, have you, left our first love with Jesus? You and I are makng daily choices that are leading us toward or away from intimacy with HIm. The same for those of us who are married. Daily we make choices to either focus on expressing love and appreciation to him/her or we focus elsewhere.

I stand challenged. Do you? BE back with you after New Year's. Go Boise State Broncos and "Roll Tide" Alabama.

Latest news on Paige

We prayed for Paige, a precious 14-year-old friend of ours with thyroid cancer. Here is the latest report.

"We just returned from the surgeon's office and received the best news we could've HOPED for...Paige is cancer free!!! Although the tumor was bigger, the actual part of it that was cancer was only 4 mm. They removed ten lymph nodes along with the entire Thyroid. All the cancer was confined to that one growth. That means she will NOT need the Radioactive Iodine.

She can return to normal activity including basketball on Monday. Unfortunately, they did remove one of her Parathyroids during surgery. We are hoping that her other half that is left will produce enough calcium. She will have her level tested tomorrow and more than likely will be on a small dose of calcium along with her Thyroid replacement for the rest of her life. But, that's okay...the cancer is gone! We will meet with her Endocrinologist in early January. She will monitor Paige going forward.

We can all breath a huge sigh of relief and now enjoy our Christmas. This is truly the best gift Jeff and I could've wished for.

Thank you all again for everything you have done to pull us through this. We couldn't have done it without you.

With love and HOPE, Kaycee

MONEY 2

No particular reason for this picture. Just thought it was grossly cute.

Part two of a two part series: A Guest Editorial from Our Heavenly Father by Austin Pryor in Soundmind Investing.

It's true that hard times deter some from giving. They take their eyes off of me and become fearful they won't have enough for themselves. I understand this, and I never want you to give more than you really want to. Cheerful givers are the ones I prize.

If you are really eager to give, then it isn't important how much you have to give. I want you to give what you have, not what you haven't. But giving from your scarcity is one way to prove that your love for me is real, that your trust in me goes beyond mere words.

Jesus is your model. You know how full of love and kindness he was: though he was so very rich, yet to help you he became so very poor, so that by being poor he could make you rich.
And this gets me to the heart of the matter: Jesus is not only your model, he's your true security and treasure. It is out of my glorious riches in Jesus that I have committed myself to supplying all your needs.

I have blessed you with every blessing in heaven because you belong to Jesus. Long ago, even before I made the world, I chose you to be my very own through what Jesus would do for you. I decided then to make you holy in my eyes, without a single fault.
My unchanging plan had always been to adopt you into my own family by sending Jesus to die for you. And he did this because he wanted to!

So I ask — what do you say in response to this? If I am for you, who can be against you? What are your light and momentary problems in comparison to such blessings?
I want your hearts to be flooded with light so that you can see something of the future I have called you to share! And that you will begin to understand how incredibly great is my power to help those who believe in my promises.

May your roots go down deep into the soil of my marvelous love; and may you be able to feel and understand how long, how wide, how deep, and how high my love for you truly is!
So, take heart. You can come fearlessly right into my presence, assured of a glad welcome. Know that my mighty power is at work within you and for you, and is able to do far more than you would ever dare to ask or even dream of — infinitely beyond your highest prayers, desires, thoughts, or hopes.

I am on your side — today, tomorrow, and forever!
Your Heavenly Father

This letter is based on verses from The Living Bible.
[2] 1 Peter 5:7 [3] 1 Peter 1:7 [4] Matt 6:25-34 [5] 2 Cor 1:20 [6] Psalm 24:1, 1 Tim 6:17 [7] 2 Cor 9:8 [8] 1 Tim 6:18 [9] Phil 4:18 [10] 2 Cor 9:10 [11] 2 Cor 9:11 [12] 2 Cor 9:13-14 [13] 1 Tim 6:19

[14] 2 Cor 9:7 [15] 2 Cor 8:12 [16] 2 Cor 8:8 [17] 2 Cor 8:9 [18] Phil 4:19 [19] Eph 1:3-4 [20] Eph 1:5 [21] Rom 8:31 [22] 2 Cor 4:17 [23] Eph 1:18-19 [24] Eph 3:17-18 [25] Eph 3:12 [26] Eph 3:20

MONEY

Barron Olaf Burwick is one years old


Austin Pryor, publisher of Sound Mind Investing, wrote an article as if it were A Guest Editorial from Our Heavenly Father
My dear children, blessings and peace be yours!
I know many of you are discouraged by financial matters. Your concerns are my concerns, because I care for you so dearly. I want to encourage your faith, which is so very precious to me, during these trying times.

First, you know that you have my personal promise to provide for you as you rest in me. And you know I always keep my promises! After all, everything in all the world is mine, so economic cycles never hinder my ability to richly provide.

In fact, I enjoy giving you even more than you need so that you will have plenty left over to give joyfully to others. I delight in my children who are rich in good works, who give happily to those in need, always ready to share with others whatever I have given them. Such gifts are a sweet-smelling sacrifice that is highly pleasing to me.

Just as I give seed to the farmer to plant, and later on good crops to harvest and eat, so I will give you more and more seed to plant and will make it grow so that you can give away more and more fruit from your harvest.
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Those who receive your gifts will break out into thanksgiving and praise to me for your help. In this way, your generosity brings glory to me! And that's not all — they will pray for you with deep fervor and feeling because of the wonderful grace I have shown them through you.

It's for your sake that I remind you of this. By your generosity, you will be storing up real treasure for yourselves in heaven — it's the only safe investment for eternity!

God speaks

God speaks through the Scriptures to us today. It is exciting when one senses God speaking in that still quiet inner voice. But His “normal” way of communicating with His children is through the Bible. I like Glyn Evans’s thoughts on the subject.

“Jesus called the words of the Bible ‘life’ (John 6:33), and Peter called them ‘seed’ (1 Peter 1:23-25). The Word of God is seed that contains the life princiiple of God Himself, and when that Word is read, digested and obeyed, it manifests itself in a living reproduction of God, just as the seed will manifest itself again the the new plant. The Bible is not history, biography or anthology; it is God’s life in the crystalline form of words that, when read and obeyed, releases that life for the benefit and blessing of the reader.

“The Bible is food (Deuteronomy 8:3) and food is nothing more than the chemical continuation of life. Unless the Holy Spirit has food to give me, He cannot maintain the level of spiritual life in me that He desires. That is n why He pleads with me not to live off experience, service, ritual, dogma, or fellowship, but to live off the Word, which alone carries the capability of sustaining my spiritual life.”

Question: do you and I read the Word as a ritual exercisde of do we read it as one searching for a love message?

Response to Prayer For Paige

Thanks for praying for Paige. Surgery was successful. Cancer was removed from her thyroid; a lymph node removed and they are hoping the parathyroid was not damaged, which apparently would cause a calcium problem. Her calcium count was a little low this morning.
So continued prayer for her safe recovery, for the parathyroid to function and that her voice will do well. And for her parents - Jeff and Kaycee, for strength.