Author: Kristi Wilson

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Once More With Gusto

Have you ever watched little kids when they sing their favorite song? Their whole bodies become animated – the big smiles, the hand gestures, the emotions.

When I was young I had a voice teacher who would assign me a song for the next week’s lesson and he would tell me “form your words, enunciate, tempo, pitch” – all the things needed for proper execution. Once I could perform these technical details to his standards then he would say “Now, once more with gusto! Let me hear you sing like you mean it.”

That’s what made it fun!

Sometimes we fall into the trap of executing our relationship with the Lord in a proper religious way and we forget to have fun. After all, we are just kids spending time with our Father, and He’s a good, good father.

“Sing a new song to the Lord! Everyone on this earth, sing praises to the Lord, 2  sing and praise his name. Day after day announce, “The Lord has saved us!” 3 Tell every nation on earth, “The Lord is wonderful and does marvelous things!” Psalm 96:1-3 CEV

I was talking with someone at Mom’s celebration on Wednesday and we were saying how our relationship with the Father had grown and developed through the years. I told them that when I was a kid I remember singing “Jesus loves me this I know” at the top of my lungs, over and over again. However, now when I sing it I sing is softly and the tears stream down my cheeks because I am so overwhelmed by the depth of the Father’s love that I have experienced.

For the next several days I am going to be taking some “Me and Jesus” time. I won’t say there won’t be a blog but if there is it will probably come later in the day. It will be just a brief break.

Until I return to pen my morning thoughts I want to encourage you to spend each day singing a new song to the Lord and tell Him thank you for the marvelous things He has done.

Give voice to your song and then sing it “Once More with Gusto”!

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A Stubborn Mule

Have you ever faced a dilemma when you wondered which way you should go – which was the right decision to make? I have on multiple occasions. In fact, Dave and I have a few decisions ahead of us in the next few weeks that we are still seeking the Lord’s direction on.

It’s great to know that we aren’t left to our own limited knowledge. We have Someone we can talk to and gain insight from Who knows the beginning and the end. Someone who is infinite in wisdom and willing to help.

“I was still being held prisoner in the courtyard of the palace guards when the Lord told me: ‘I am the Lord, and I created the whole world. 3 Ask me, and I will tell you things that you don’t know and can’t find out.'” Jeremiah 33:1-3 CEV

I am so grateful that His wisdom goes far beyond mine and that I can depend on the Lord to give me the direction I need. His wisdom keeps us from making mistakes if we are willing to listen.

“You said to me, ‘I will point out the road that you should follow. I will be your teacher and watch over you. 9 Don’t be stupid like horses and mules that must be led with ropes to make them obey.’” Psalm 32:8-9 CEV

The image I used for today’s blog makes me laugh. I have sometimes been like the mule in the picture. Dug in and unwilling to move. However, I am thankful for the Lord’s patience and love. The Bible tells us He is “long-suffering”.

“And the Lord descended in the cloud, and stood with him (Moses) there, and proclaimed the name of the Lord. 6 And the Lord passed by before him, and proclaimed, The Lord, The Lord God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth,” Exodus 34:5-6 KJV

Thank you Lord for being merciful, gracious, longsuffering and abundant in goodness and truth!

The Lord is faithful to forgive our sins of stubbornness and disobedience. He is abundant in goodness.

“So I confessed my sins and told them all to you. I said, ‘I’ll tell the Lord each one of my sins.’ Then you forgave me and took away my guilt. 6 We worship you, Lord, and we should always pray whenever we find out that we have sinned. Then we won’t be swept away by a raging flood. 7 You are my hiding place!  You protect me from trouble, and you put songs in my heart because you have saved me.” Psalm 32:5-7 CEV

The Lord is merciful and He always forgives. I think the raging flood mentioned in the verses above is the flood of guilt that rushes over us and keeps us from moving forward. The Lord doesn’t want us being held captive by guilt or thoughts of unworthiness. He not only forgives our sins, He also chooses to forget them.

Those are excellent reasons to sing!

Today I am grateful for the Lord’s leading, for His forgiveness and for giving me a clean conscience.

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Celebrate Life!

Today our family will celebrate my Mom’s life. If you remember I told you of her homegoing last May. Mom was 97 1/2 years old, the half was always very important to her.

Each time I was with Mom, for the last 4 or 5 years, she would say “If I’m not here in the morning tell “them” have a party. I don’t want them crying because I’m gone. I want you all to celebrate that I’m in heaven with Jesus”.

Today, we will have a party and celebrate Mom’s life!

She grew up during the 20’s, 30’s and 40’s in a small farming town in Iowa. She became a school teacher and taught at a one-room school, grades 1-8, for 4 or 5 years before she married my Dad.

Mom and Dad gave their hearts to the Lord at a tent revival shortly after they were married. She loved Jesus – she taught Sunday School, Children’s Church, Vacation Bible School and Young Women’s group. She had a way of always making people feel welcome in our home – she loved to feed people.

She would tell everyone who came to see her – visitors, home health and repairmen about Jesus. She asked that we share from John 14 today, she wanted people to have a relationship with Jesus.

“Jesus said, “Don’t be troubled. Trust in God, and trust in me. 2 There are many rooms in my Father’s house. I would not tell you this if it were not true. I am going there to prepare a place for you. 3 After I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back. Then I will take you with me, so that you can be where I am. 4 You know the way to the place where I am going.”

5 Thomas said, “Lord, we don’t know where you are going, so how can we know the way?”

6 Jesus answered, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. The only way to the Father is through me. 7 If you really knew me, you would know my Father too. But now you know the Father. You have seen him.” John 14:1-7 CEV

Don’t be afraid. I’m preparing a place for you. Follow me because I am THE way to heaven. I am THE way of life. Mom found her life in Christ. She has her home in heaven and when life for us is over here we will meet up with her there and have a party!

“I leave you peace. It is my own peace I give you. I give you peace in a different way than the world does. So don’t be troubled. Don’t be afraid. 28 You heard me say to you, ‘I am leaving, but I will come back to you.’ If you loved me, you would be happy that I am going back to the Father, because the Father is greater than I am. 29 I have told you this now, before it happens. Then when it happens, you will believe.” John 14:27-29 CEV

Peace – Mom was at peace, she was before she left this earth and she certainly is now that she’s in heaven. She would say to us “Don’t be afraid. Don’t be sad. I’m in a perfect place and I want you to join me here.”

Celebrate, rejoice, in life! The Father has made a place for us to be with Him for all eternity. I am so grateful that my Mom made sure I knew about Jesus!

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No Time?

As you know I missed yesterday morning’s blog – no quiet time.

If you’ve ever done much camping you know that most, if not all, campgrounds have quiet time. It’s generally from 10 pm to 6 am; while at the racetrack camping with 10,000+ of our non-closest friends, quiet time was from midnight to 6 am. But it was a not so quiet quiet time.

Yesterday morning, trucks were backing up to their trailers at 4 am and some a bit earlier. Motorhomes were pulling out even before that, quiet time was disrupted and things got busy in a hurry. Kim and Austin were up and out the door by 5 am and Dave and I started in right away getting things wiped down and stowed away for the trip home.

I didn’t make any time for quiet…yes, I admit it. My favorite time of the day passed me. It was invaded by a cluster of activity and noise. No time.

I didn’t even take time to write down three things I was grateful for although my heart was filled with gratitude for the events of the weekend and spending time with family and making new friends. This morning I’m back in my favorite place – I’m in my rocking chair, with my cup of coffee, my computer and my Bible in my lap. My heart is filled with praise.

Quiet time should never be an obligation that we check off our daily “to-do” list. It is an intimate time of day when we close off every distraction and focus on spending time with the Father. If we miss a day do we feel God loves us less? I’ve had those thoughts.

However, I have learned over the years that the Father understands my circumstances and my human tendencies to jump right into the day without spending time with Him. I have also learned that when I do start my day with my Father it goes much smoother because I’ve prepared my heart to focus on His blessings and instruction.

I found these words which were spoken by King David shortly before he died. He was giving instruction to his son, Solomon.

“‘”Our Mighty Rock, the God of Jacob, told me, ‘A ruler who obeys God and does right
4 is like the sunrise on a cloudless day, or like rain that sparkles on the grass.’ 5 I have ruled this way, and God will never break his promise to me. God’s promise is complete and unchanging; he will always help me and give me what I hope for.”‘” II Samuel 23:3-5 CEV

Isn’t that interesting? The Lord compares our actions, those who do right, to the beauty of a sunrise or the refreshing of rain on the meadow. He reminds us that His promises are complete and unchanging – He is always with us to help.

Each morning we all have a sunrise. Each morning that sunrise should remind us that God has promised to be faithful to His word and in turn, faithful in His actions towards us. That is what fills my heart with gratitude and joy!

No time?

Let the words of an old chorus be a reminder to us all – “In the morning when I rise, in the morning when I rise, in the morning when I rise Give me Jesus”!

Let’s make time.

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Shout of Victory

Today there will be lots of shouts for the winner at the racetrack.

…a little late with this morning’s blog. Kim and Austin came to spend most of the weekend with us and we set up there air bed in the living room area, i.e., my writing room while we are in the 5th wheel. Didn’t want to wake them at 4 am so waited until breakfast was over to put this out.

There shouldn’t just be shouts of victory from the racetrack, you and I should start our day with victory chants – praise because we made it through the events of yesterday and cheers because we are going to be blessed with many more victories, large and small, today.

Every day is an opportunity for the Father to show His love and kindness on our behalf. It’s also an opportunity to share His love with those around us.

“All of you nations, clap your hands and shout joyful praises to God. 2 The Lord Most High is fearsome, the ruler of all the earth. 3 God has put every nation under our power, 4 and he chose for us the land  that was the pride of Jacob, his favorite. 5 God goes up to his throne,
as people shout and trumpets blast.” Psalm 47:1-5 CEV

“SHOUT joyful praise” because “God goes up to his throne, as people shout and trumpets blast”. When we shout with a voice of triumph the unseen world recognizes that our Father, our God, is our source of victory!

Find a reason to shout – for today is your day of victory!

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Shield of Kindness

I’ve never thought of kindness as a shield until I read this morning’s Scriptures.

All through the Bible we are told that the Lord is loving, gracious and kind. In fact, the words loving-kindness are linked together to more accurately described the Father’s character. The psalmist said “Thy loving-kindness is better than life – thus will I praise thee, thus will I bless Thee”.

But when I read the words “you shield them with kindness” I had to stop and ponder that image.

I don’t know how many movies I have seen of medieval times but in each one the knight’s are always geared for battle and one of those pieces of armor is a shield. A shield is an instrument of war and a vital piece of a warrior’s protection. Think about that for a moment before you read the following verses.

“Listen, Lord, as I pray! Pay attention when I groan. 2 You are my King and my God. Answer my cry for help because I pray to you. 3 Each morning you listen to my prayer, as I bring my requests to you and wait for your reply…Let all who run to you for protection always sing joyful songs. Provide shelter for those who truly love you and let them rejoice. 12 Our Lord, you bless those who live right,  and you shield them with your kindness.” Psalm 5:1,2,11,12 CEV

Here, King David is praying for help, waiting on the Lord to answer his prayer. He ends this Psalm singing praise to God for his protection and deliverance. He, a soldier, of many battles, makes the statement that the Lord’s kindness is placed as a shield in front of those who live right. This shield of kindness protects us from the arrows and swords of our enemies.

If you have been in a battle, or maybe are going through one now, let the Lord place His shield of kindness between you and those circumstances. Sing your songs of praise because the Father provides shelter for those who love Him.

Let your faith in the kindness of the Lord be a shield of protection from all that seeks to harm.

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A Joyful Noise

We are at NASCAR Championship week in Avondale, AZ. Last night there was a lot of joyful noise!

It was the parade of all the big trucks that haul the racecars to the track. Campers lined the streets to hoot and holler for their favorite driver and the truck drivers accommodated with blowing their air horns.

Lots of joyful noise – lots of celebration – lots of grateful people!

It’s a natural reaction to make noise when something makes you happy. People yell and cheer at sporting events, in fact, in all the years we attended rodeos the announcers would encourage us to “cheer ’em on, make some noise”, and that’s what we would do.

Little kids love to make noise. Each of my children and my grandchildren have sat on my kitchen floor with pots and pans between their legs, banging on them with spoons or spatulas and been the stars of their own one-man-band.

Why should it be any different for those of us who are God’s children? We should be making some noise and celebrating our relationship with our loving Father.

“Shout praises to the Lord, everyone on this earth. 2 Be joyful and sing as you come in
to worship the Lord! 3 You know the Lord is God! He created us, and we belong to him; we are his people, the sheep in his pasture. 4 Be thankful and praise the Lord as you enter his temple. 5 The Lord is good!  His love and faithfulness will last forever.” Psalm 100 CEV

Did you see that phrase, “He created us, we belong to Him, we are His people, His sheep”? Those are amazing words!

We belong to Him – we are His sheep! We know from reading Psalm 23 how He takes care of His sheep. He provides us with rest, food, water, protection from our enemies, and He sends goodness and mercy to follow us all the days of our lives.

That kind of loving care is worth shouting about!

If someone carrying a football across the goal line or someone hitting a ball out of the park or someone driving their car across the finish line first is shout worthy, our Father and our God is certainly worthy of shouts of praise.

Come on family – let’s make some joyful noise!

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Never Quit

Once we begin to exercise our praise muscle we find it gets stronger and stronger – just like our biceps or any other muscle we develop. It takes repetition and increased resistance to develop and build a strong attitude of gratitude.

“Always be filled with joy in the Lord. I will say it again. Be filled with joy.

5 Let everyone see that you are gentle and kind. The Lord is coming soon. 6 Don’t worry about anything, but pray and ask God for everything you need, always giving thanks for what you have. 7 And because you belong to Christ Jesus, God’s peace will stand guard over all your thoughts and feelings. His peace can do this far better than our human minds.

8 Brothers and sisters, continue to think about what is good and worthy of praise. Think about what is true and honorable and right and pure and beautiful and respected.” Philippians 4:4-8 ERV

Notice the words emphasized?

Developing joy and a grateful heart isn’t a mindless exercise. No, it takes concentrated effort. And it isn’t a fatalistic approach to life or “whatever happens, happens”. It’s a concerted effort of placing our trust, our complete trust, in the Lord in every situation and letting Him show us how He will bring us through in peace.

The key is to “think about what is good and worthy of praise”. As a young David faced a blaspheming giant, who was intent on killing him, he wasn’t thanking God for the giant. He was thanking God for His faithfulness because the Lord had already helped him kill a lion and a bear so he knew that God would give him the strength he needed to kill the giant.

He was thinking on things that were praise worthy and good!

This morning, thank God for the sunrise. Thank Him that you didn’t bed down on the cold ground last night. Thank Him for the warm coffee in your cup. Giving thanks for little things exercises your praise muscle. Multiple repetitions with small things builds you muscle.

Then you will be able to be thankful for things that get weightier – things like co-workers who are aggravating, Jesus definitely knew about being harassed by jealous co-workers. Or a lingering health issue, instead of worrying or complaining be thankful that you know the Great Physician and that He knows exactly what your body needs and He will give wisdom to your medical doctors.

Always be filled with joy because the Father has promised to never abandon you or leave you alone in any circumstance.

Never stop praising the Lord!

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Teach the World to Sing

In 1971, the CocaCola company wanted to buy the world a Coke and teach it how to sing but the world had been singing in harmony for thousands of years before they came out with that slogan.

The seasons sing in harmony with the earth as they provide the time and the temperature to produce an abundance of crops; the pull of the moon causes the tide to ebb and flow; the course of the earth’s rotation gives us daylight and dark.

The world is singing in harmony.

It’s the people on earth that need more than a Coke, they need an awareness of the greatest of the Lord.

“Tell everyone on this earth to sing happy songs  in praise of the Lord. 5 Make music for him on harps. Play beautiful melodies! 6 Sound the trumpets and horns and celebrate with joyful songs for our Lord and King! 7 Command the ocean to roar with all of its creatures, and the earth to shout with all of its people. 8 Order the rivers to clap their hands, and all of the hills to sing together. 9 Let them worship the Lord!…” Psalm 98:4-9 CEV

When the Jewish people left Egypt they put into song the marvelous things they had seen the Lord do. Before they entered into their Promised Land, Moses instructed them to tell their children of all the Lord’s mighty works to make sure they didn’t forget the Lord’s power and His protecting love.

It is incumbent upon us to tell our children and our grandchildren, our friends and neighbors, the amazing things the Lord has done. (that’s why I enjoy sharing this blog with you each day)

“Sing a new song to the Lord! He has worked miracles, and with his own powerful arm, he has won the victory. 2 The Lord has shown the nations that he has the power to save and to bring justice. 3 God has been faithful in his love for Israel, and his saving power is seen everywhere on earth.” Psalm 98:1-3 CEV

The “songs” we sing and the stories we tell aren’t just wishful thinking and fairy tales, they are the stories of the Lord’s faithfulness and His love. They are words of life and encouragement. That’s why I encourage you to keep a Gratitude Journal – the works of the Lord in my life, in your life, need to be recorded so others will know why we have such great hope!

“Even if you have to suffer for doing good things, God will bless you. So stop being afraid and don’t worry about what people might do. 15 Honor Christ and let him be the Lord of your life. Always be ready to give an answer when someone asks you about your hope.” I Peter 3:14-15 CEV

Let’s give the world a new song – a song of hope and the Father’s unconditional love!

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Great Things

I hope you woke up this morning looking for things to be thankful for. If I have started you on a search of gratitude I am very happy.

Sunday morning during praise and worship we sang a song which was written by Phil Wickham a few years ago, “Great Things”. This morning when I woke those lyrics and music were filling my heart and my head.

“Great Things”

Come let us worship our King
Come let us bow at His feet
He has done great things
See what our Savior has done
See how His love overcomes
He has done great things
He has done great things

Oh hero of Heaven, You conquered the grave
You free every captive and break every chain
Oh God, You have done great things
We dance in Your freedom, awake and alive
Oh Jesus, our Savior, Your name lifted high
Oh God, You have done great things

Great Things!

Our God and Father is the God, who does great things. From the beginning of time He has shown His greatness on behalf of His people. First, He created everything we see; He protected Noah and his family in the ark; He promoted Joseph to a high place in pharaoh’s court to save His people from famine.

Our God used Moses to deliver His people from Egypt; He used David to defeat Goliath and Esther to save His people from destruction. The Father sent Jesus to save us all from our sins and to give us an abundant life where we are forgiven and blessed.

Just yesterday He gave Dave and I safe travels as we ventured from our home to the Phoenix area. We are blessed with good health and plenty to eat. We’ve been blessed with peace, joy and strength.

Our God does great things!

“It is wonderful to be grateful and to sing your praises, Lord Most High! 2 It is wonderful each morning to tell about your love and at night to announce  how faithful you are. 3 I enjoy praising your name to the music of harps, 4 because everything you do makes me happy,
and I sing joyful songs. 5 You do great things, Lord. Your thoughts are too deep 6 for an ignorant fool to know or understand.” Psalm 92 CEV

This morning is a time to announce how faithful our Father is.

You may be going through a particularly trying time, feeling all alone and you could even be wondering why you don’t see the Lord doing great things for you. There in, is the great thing! He is with you – He has promised to never leave you alone and if you will place your fear and heartache in His hands, you will see that He replaces them with His peace. Your circumstances may not seem to change but your heart will and you will see the Father bring you through in His love, peace and strength.

David had to face Goliath head on and when he did, God did great things!

“But you will rule over all of us forever, 9 and your hateful enemies will be scattered and then destroyed…12 Good people will prosper like palm trees, and they will grow strong like the cedars of Lebanon…15 And they will say about you, ‘The Lord always does right! God is our mighty rock.'” Psalm 92:8,9,12,15 CEV

Thank you Lord for doing great things!

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