A few weeks ago, my mother had a dream that all of her sons-in-law were trying to throw out her clocks. She recalls yelling at them (in her dream) to stop what they were doing because “a clock in every room means you’ll never run out of time.”
She woke up wondering what that message meant.
It’s pretty profound, I think. Who among us isn’t concerned about running out of time?
The more time I spend with God in His Word, the more I learn that His time and our time are two very different entities. 2 Peter 3:8 says, “With the Lord, a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day.” (KJV)
Ecclesiastes, Chapter 3; v 1-8 (KJV) tells us:
“To everything, there is a season and a time to every purpose under the Heaven:
A time to be born, and a time to die;
A time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted;
A time to kill, and a time to heal;
A time to break down, and a time to build up;
A time to weep, and a time to laugh;
A time to mourn, and a time to dance;
A time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together;
A time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;
A time to get, and a time to lose;
A time to keep, and a time to cast away;
A time to rend, and a time to sew;
A time to keep silence, and a time to speak;
A time to love, and a time to hate;
A time of war, and a time of peace.”
It’s as if God authored the entire length of time into this one piece of scripture right here. I just love it. I could spend day after day meditating on these beautiful words.
Let’s be honest; there are times and seasons of life that leave us on cloud nine and others that are downright hard to get through. There are times we are comfortable and complacent, and others we can feel like we are struggling just to breathe.
During the good times, it is so important that we remember to praise Him for His goodness. In the hard times, that we hold on to the hope of His promise in verse 11 - “He has made everything beautiful in its time.”
Let’s take a closer look at times of planting and harvesting. We take a seed and place it into the earth. For a while, it might not appear as if anything is happening. We don’t see that this tiny seed is busy at work, sowing down roots to anchor itself to its place in the land. If given the proper sunlight, water and nutrients, eventually, a tiny seedling will appear, and that seedling will do the only thing it knows how to do - Grow.
While we are working, studying, learning, and putting in the time in Bible study, what we are doing is anchoring our roots to the Maker. We might not see changes in ourselves overnight. The fruits of our labor may not be immediately visible, but at the appointed time, we will indeed see that we have done what he intended for us to do - Grow.
I learned from a fellow blogger, Tom Langford, that it was the Bishop of Geneva, Saint Francis de Sales (1567-1622), who is credited with the quote, “bloom where you are planted.” A quick Google search will confirm that this tiny phrase resonates with millions.
Another blogger, Kinlee Rose, was kind enough to make her art file shareable. I've included it in this month's post. Check out her blog and shop here!

I recognize the urgency to become who I am meant to be. I invite you, as well, no matter where you are at this point in your life, to buckle down and start sewing your roots in God's Word. After all, the Lord is a master of taking a nobody from an unknown town and promoting them at just the right time. Just look at King David - the youngest of his brothers, and least likely to ascend a throne, handpicked by God for greatness.
Speaking of King David, I spent the month of June in the Book of Psalms. There are 150 Psalms, spanning a time period of 1000 years. It is separated into 5 books, containing Songs of worship, hymns of national interest, and anthems of praise. (The Daily Walk Bible, NLT, p. 621.) The plan called for us to read approximately 5 psalms per day, and I can fully understand why many One-Year Plans call for a daily reading from this book.
Psalms are meant to be sung. Growing up in a Catholic Church, the Psalms are embedded in my heart and soul. They are a part of every mass, and most responsorial psalms I can recite from memory. After reading through this book in its entirety, I now fully know, that I have a heart like King David’s. For as long as I can remember, my heart has had a song for Jesus. Unlike most people I know, I listen to K-Love every day. (Not to say I don’t know the lyrics to every Frank Sinatra ballad, Michael Bublé standard, or 90s rap song!) I just love to sing and listen to songs that glorify God and to be constantly reminded that He is near to us - in our joys and our troubles, in our everyday comings and goings - He is a God who stays. (Please enjoy this link to Matthew West’s beautiful song!)
I believe this world is desperately searching for this God who stays. This God who understands our troubles, who knows our weaknesses, our sins, our hearts’ troubles, and He chooses only to love us.
God promises us that if we “train a child in the way he is to go, and when he is old, he will not depart from it.” (Proverbs 22:6)
Reflecting on my experience as a young mom, I am brought back to our many restaurant adventures. I would always sit my growing toddler right next to me. Naturally, there would come a time during the meal where my curious child would manage to squirm away from me - climbing across chairs and under tables to find a better seat - the furthest from me as possible. Without fail, it wouldn’t be too long before I could see a pair of mischievous eyes widening from across the table, and I would have to get up and have my darling child come and sit right back next to me. None of them liked it at the time, but keeping them close to me kept them from trouble (aside from teaching them that there is a right way to act while people are gathering to enjoy a peaceful meal!)
The Bible says that “For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.” (Hebrews 12:11, KJV).
I believe we all reach a point in our lives where we make a conscious decision to either follow God or to follow the ways of this world. Without clear direction, it’s easy to lose our way and compromise our true selves.
We have a responsibility to serve as the prophetic voices of the Way, the Truth, and the Life and to shout louder than the false voices of this world who proclaim there is no God or that Jesus isn’t Savior. The time for us to stand on His Word is NOW.
We are made in the image of God. “In his image” means that we are made in His spirit. While we have physical bodies, we are spiritual beings.
I urge you to start paying attention to the spirits that inhabit this earth. If you have ever looked evil in the face, you can discern that spirit from someone who walks in love. You might even start to sense familiarity in the spirits [hearts, souls] of others. Begin to recognize those who walk with God and those who do not. Reach out to those who don’t yet know Him and show them who He is. Lead them back to the Father. Pray for the Holy Spirit to soften their hearts toward Him and to give you the ability to share His love with them. If you would like your own heart changed, meditate on Psalm 51:10 - 11 - "Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me. Cast me not away from thy presence; and take not thy holy spirit from me." (KJV).
Jesus said to his disciples [to us] in John 13:35, “By this everyone will know that you are my disciples if you love one another.” (KJV)
Not one of God’s creations is a mistake or a lost cause. The Lord made each one of us with the intention for us to remain in fellowship with Him. It’s us, as individuals, who decide to turn from Him in sin, being led astray by the rulers of the darkness of this world. (see Ephesians 6:12). Praise His Holy Name, God promises, that “If my people who are called by my name will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, I will hear from Heaven and forgive our sins and restore their land.” (2 Chronicles 7:14, KJV)
Do we cause Him pain?
Absolutely.
Are we beyond saving?
Absolutely not.
We read in Romans 10:13 that “WHOSOEVER calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.” Read that again, slower - WHO-SO-EVER calls upon His name shall be saved!
We are all sinners. The Amplified Bible says we all “continually fall short of the glory of God.” (Romans 3:23). Good News! Our identity is not in our failures, nor is our identity in our successes. Our identity is in nothing else but Christ Himself.
In a recorded lesson by Evangelist Tim Keller, we hear this profound truth: “the Christian gospel is the only system in the world of thought that gives you a radically and totally different identity than what the secular world would give you, what any other religion would give you, what traditional cultures would give you. Because Christianity says, your identity is received, not achieved.”
As I look back on my life and some of the decisions I’ve made, I’m ever more grateful that each time I dared to venture off on my own, God was there to call me to come to sit back next to him. ❤
Thank you for reading this month. I hope you are enjoying and reading along!

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"You can be sure of this: The Lord set apart the Godly for Himself. The Lord will answer when I call to Him." (Psalms 4:3)
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