Wednesday, July 22, 2026

" God Bless America๐ŸŽต..."

I love traditions & celebrations! & next to Christmas, which gave us Jesus, & Easter, which gave us the Way to have eternal life, I believe the celebration of Independence Day which celebrates the birth of America is the best! "My Country tis of thee...๐ŸŽต" "This is MY country, land that I love...๐Ÿ˜ƒ๐ŸŽต"  (That's the closest I could get to a singing emoji! ๐Ÿ˜„)


See the little Statue of Liberty on the trucks running board? Isn't she the cutest?


YES!

★๐Ÿ’–★๐Ÿ’–★

★๐Ÿ’–★๐Ÿ’–★

I love all of the hoopla, the parades, the traditional games, picnics, barbecues, all of the traditional foods.

But as you all know,  my absolute most favorite, the grand finale Magnum Opus....!!!

& since it was our 250th anniversary, our country neighborhood skies were a masterpiece, tour de force, piece de resistance, (prized feature, main event!) of riotous explosions of color & beauty!!

"& the rockets red glare, the bombs bursting in air..."

& yet at the time this was written by Francis Scott Key, they were not fireworks, but literal bombs bursting in air! & it was during the War of 1812 between Great Britain & the United States. (again!) On September 13, 1814, Key, & a U.S. official , rowed over to a British warship to seek the release of some American prisoners but because of the things these men had seen on that ship, the British could not let the men leave & report on what they had seen. So Mr. Key & the others got a front row seat for these fireworks in the lengthy night bombardment of the British  against Fort McEnery in Baltimore, Maryland which was eight miles away. As day began to dawn, I can see Mr. Key squinting through the dust & smoke I imagine with the first stanza of our National Anthem beginning to take shape in his mind which actually ends with a question.

"Oh say does that star-spangled banner yet wave

o'er the land of the free, & the home of the brave?"

So, I will let Francis Scott Key answer that question in his own words, from his front rowboat position that he was seated in on that long ago smoky dawn of 1814. 

"On the shore dimly seen, through the mists of the deep

where the foes haughty host in dread silence reposes,

what is that which the breeze, o'er the towering steep,

as it fitfully blows, half conceals. half discloses?

Now it catches the gleam, of the mornings first beam,

in full glory reflected now shines in the stream,

Tis the star spangled banner, O long may it wave,

O'er the land of the free, & the home of the brave!"

Can you imagine the excitement! the exclamations of cheer!  of the inhabitants of that little rowboat? & yes some tears of joy,  & humble prayers of deep gratitude that indeed that banner was still waving.

There is a third verse too. I will let you look that up on your own, but I wanted to include this last verse because it is the inspiring exclamation point of that poem & our National Anthem.


"Oh thus be it even when freemen shall stand

between their loved home & the war's desolation!

Blest with victory & peace, may the heav'n rescued land 

praise the Power that hath made & preserved us a nation!

Then conquer we must, when our cause it is just 

And this be our motto - "In God is our trust,"

And the Star Spangled Banner in triumph shall wave,

O'er the land of the free & the home of the brave." 


There is so much dishonor for our country these days from its' own citizens. I am so ashamed for them as they are influenced by the delusionary voices of lies & deception that do not love our & their country. Because "love suffers long & is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails." Of course this is from the Bible & some would say that I'm taking this out of context. But I don't think so. Because America began with a covenant, just as marriage does. A covenant between God & America that began on the shores of Cape Henry, Virginia with Pastor Robert Hunt. I think there are a lot of people, especially thirty years old on down, that have not been taught the true history of the birth of our nation. ( I highly recommend the writings & books of David & Tim Barton concerning the history of America, "The Wallbuilders". Excellent!!) But it is our responsibility as parents, grandparents, Americans, patriots & Christians to teach & live out our American heritage. & it may be at a cost as with the Black Robed Regiment. & our patriotic forefathers (& foremothers too!) who pledged "...our Lives, our Fortunes, our sacred Honor". & because of that covenant made more than four centuries ago between God & our newborn America, to borrow another biblical statement for the covenant of marriage in Mark 10:9,  "What God has joined together, (God's covenant made with America) let not man put asunder."

Definition of Asunder:

"To separate, divide or tear into pieces"

Let's take this as serious as God does. Let's honor the covenant of God with America. & then that Star Spangled Banner will always wave, over "the land of the free & the home of the brave." & as we do, God will truly bless AMERICA


★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★

Raintree Perk of the Day:

"Happy are the people (country, nation) whose God is the Lord!"  Psalm 144:15


★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★

Monday, June 29, 2026

 Song of the South

"๐ŸŽตZip-a-dee-doo-dah...
....Zip-a-dee-ay!
...my oh my  oh what a wonderful day!

Plenty of sunshine (& roses!)

...headin' my way!

Zip-a-dee-doo-dah!

Zip-a-dee-ay!!๐ŸŽต"
That song was sung by Uncle Remus from the Disney movie "Song of the South"
that I watched when I was a little girl. I loved Uncle Remus! I loved the movie! & I loved the song! & I still sing the song as I'm sure so many others do. You just can't help it because it's such a fun & happy song. But these days I sing an entirely different version albeit the same title. Yes, for those of us into our seventh decade of our sojourn of life, (actually probably a lot sooner but it didn't scream at me like it does now.)  the Song of the South that I sing a lot now is 'going south'. Or the downward pull of gravity such as in my skin, my muscles, or certain parts of my body. (๐Ÿ˜ฆ) Or energy. My going uphill is going downhill. Then, concerning my husband, hearing ( oh those non-conversations!) & eyesight. It's not just the Old Gray Mare that ain't what she used to be. Not to be disrespectful to the song, but it came to my mind the other day, another different version,

"๐ŸŽตWhere has all my _______(fill in the blank)gone?

Body, money, skin, energy, hearing, seeing, thinking, hair (that's a big one!) etcetera, etcetera. Only it didn't seem long time passing. "๐ŸŽตYesterday, I thought my _______(again, fill in the blank) was here to stay. Now I find that it has gone away...๐ŸŽต"  except for weight & frequent visitations from pain that can turn from visitations into chronic extended vacations. 

Also I've discovered it's whole lot easier to get down on my knees, (due to gravity) than it is to get back up (known as defying gravity). Oh! Excuse me! I've been sitting (or standing or walking) too long. Time out while I rebound for a few minutes to keep the lymphatic flow going & then ten air squats ( or a reasonable facsimile) for core strength because of the aforementioned sitting for a bit. Then, to drink a glass of water, take a few supplements, quaff that protein/energy libation, & ten deep breaths to refresh the oxygen in my blood, brain, &... 

"...stimulates the vagus nerve & activates the parasympathetic nervous system." & I'm all about sympathetic. We septuagenarians plus need all of the sympathy we can get, para or otherwise! Well, maybe a little compassion & patience at least. After all, all of us mortals come to this door of aging sooner or later & you don't get to choose whether or not you go through either. Sometimes it seems like you get violently pushed into it. & sometimes it comes as a surprise. I remember that surprise the first time I was down on the floor & realized I couldn't get back up on my own. Actually, it was more of a shock. I crawled to the couch for assistance.   

"Sunrise, Sunset...swiftly fly the years...๐ŸŽต"

& that song isn't just about my children anymore! 

Sometime, the 'vapor' that the Bible calls our lives on earth, will turn into a eulogy as we sing our final Song of the South, & return to 'dust', THE END. ๐Ÿ˜ข

But wait, wait. In the cowboy vernacular, "Holt on here." Yes the body ages. Yes the mind may wane. Yes the hair may thin & the pain may be hard. but that's just the body. & there's more to us than just our body. Don't you feel young in your heart? Don't you feel ageless? That's God's signature of eternity calling. Because God made you, the real you,  the spirit you, to live forever. Then, when the aging process is over, & we step through the door called death, "... this mortal will put on immortality." (First Corinthians 15:54) & when we know & follow Jesus, that means Heaven...


& when He sounds that clarion call, "Suppertime"! that's when I'll be singing my new song. The 'Song of the North'! Because I'm going in & I'm going UP! Home... home at last! & not The End. It is written, "In the beginning". Our new, forever, beginning. It does NOT!!! get better than that. I hope to see you there!

(Romans 10:9 & 10)


Raintree Perk of the Day:

"It's the truth, it's actual, everything is (more than!) satisfactual...๐ŸŽต"

I will NEVER get tired of this picture. Preview of things to come!
๐Ÿ’–



Monday, June 1, 2026

His Precious
 

"It's a beautiful day in the neighborhood...๐…ก๐…ก"! Oh my goodness! After so many days of superunnatural days of heat (for the month of May that is!) & WIND!!!
If there's one weather nemesis in my life, it is not freezing, sweltering, rain or snow. It is 30, 40, 50 etcetera miles an hour consistent day & night WIND!!!
But enough said about that. "That was yesterday, & yesterday's gone. ๐†”" Two days ago, the beautiful, soaking, life giving rains came after a very dry winter & spring.  Not only was the winter dry, it was mostly mild & warm. In other words, we basically had no winter, which, for me, was disheartening. It threw my whole physiological being out of whack. My winter dormant mode did not have it's expression, & upset my body's circadian rhythm. But now, we are having more seasonal weather for us, so things are beginning to bring balance to my here-to-fore unbalanced, confused, wonky (don't you love that word? ๐Ÿ˜) world.
I have been planting & potting flowers like mad, with the willing help of my soulmate & spouse (so sweet!๐Ÿ˜‡) a work of several days, days which were the hot & windy ones. ๐Ÿ˜“But one of the rewards was gratifying to my taste buds.
A root beer float! Small but satisfying. Man!
& so many beautiful flowers! 


   
I'll post more pictures later because there are so many & I would never get to the subject at hand. 
I love to go to flower nurseries in the Spring, even if I don't purchase anything because it's such a delight to the sight & olfactory senses, a potpourri of colors & varieties that you could spend the day at least just enjoying (& rejoicing in!) God's creativity. & to think that there are flowers that we haven't even seen or even know exist! I love God's extravagance  don't you?!
But, He takes extravagance to a whole new level when it comes to we humans. As in, according to Genesis 1:27, we are created in His image. But are we talking about a visual image here? In John 14:9 Jesus says to Philip, "If you have seen me you have seen the Father." In other words, Jesus was telling Philip that He & the Father were so one that He was the perfect representation of His Father. There is no way that we can ever grasp the infinite & immeasurable  dimensions of God. Suffice it to say that each person that lives or who has ever lived has or does encapsulate one of the facets of the God who created us in His image. We are incredibly, uniquely & un-understandably, one-of-a-kind, created. That is past mind-blowing!
"For You (our own Heavenly Father) formed my inward parts; You covered me in my mother's womb. I will praise You, for I am fearfully & wonderfully made; Marvelous are Your works, & that my soul knows very well." (Psalm 139 13 & 14 But to get the full value, read the entire Psalm). This revelation should fill every one of us with joy unspeakable  beyond measure, of the intimacy, the sacred personal-ness of that scripture. Not only did He personally oversee & construct our makeup, our 'who we are' in every infinitesimal part, He also, through salvation through Jesus, comes to inhabit His creation, you & me, to make us "partakers of His divine nature" . (2 Peter 1:4) If you would truly observe flowers, even of the same species, you would see that, like snowflakes, no two are exactly alike. I cannot even fathom that. But, again, take that to the out-of-this-world (literally!) human level, WOW...did I already say mind-blowing?! That is hard to, as they say these days, to wrap your head around, isn't it? Now, that's just the beginning. Not only is each one of us uniquely & individually made by our Heavenly Father, He also loves every single one of us in a one-of-a-kind unique & intimate way. He loves you in a different way than He does anyone else, but just as much. His love for each of us is created equal. & it doesn't begin or end anywhere, forever. It  always was. It always will be. He thought you up. Then He brought you into existence. It was always His plan for you to be a part of His family. Even when you weren't. Even when you didn't want to be. Even when you sinned. Or sin. He doesn't change His mind about you ever. His plan for you to belong to Him is eternal. His love for you is eternal. 
"But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us." (Romans 5:8)
He made the way through His Perfect Son Jesus, for us to be His, because He didn't want His world without us to be with Him in  it. Each little old 'grain of sand' humanity. Us. Exclusive. Singular. Extraordinary. Rare. Unparalleled.  Unprecedented. Incomparable. When He made you & me, He broke the mold. & because He did it,  there is not now or ever could have been or could ever be, another you. & He calls you, &  each of us, all by ourselves,  "My Precious." & if you listen very closely, I believe that you will hear those "His lips to your ears" words. For you are beautifully & wonderfully made. By Him.
Raintree Perk of the Day:
 A verse that never grows old,

"I have called you by name. You are mine."!
His Precious.




Tuesday, March 31, 2026

The Name


I wanted to post this picture again from my last post because I love the way the sunlight plays with it, bringing shadows into the picture. As I was looking at the shadow of the lamp in the background, my thoughts turned to the movie "The Lord of the Rings" that my youngest daughter & I went to see when it was recently re-released. I will explain later in this post why the picture put me in mind of this movie.

As we were watching the second movie, there was a scene where the character Gollum, was leading Frodo & Sam to a destination & he was the only one who knew how to get there. Sam did not trust Gollum, but Frodo was willing to give him a chance to prove himself. Frodo had also learned something of Gollum's past & knew that before he had become Gollum, his name was Smeagle, but because choosing evil over good, he had lost his identity. At one point, Frodo called Gollum by his real name, Smeagle. Gollum looked at him perplexed & says, "What did you call me?" Frodo repeated his name & it slowly dawned on Gollum that Smeagle was his real name, & that Frodo had given him back his true identity. Just by calling him his real name. He was so full of joy & gratitude that he began to call Frodo 'Master' & became his very willing & grateful servant. I began quietly weeping. It was one of my favorite scenes in the movie. Because it's true. In our society, our world, our sphere, maybe even next door, there are Gollums. Ones who have given themselves over to the perversion of the human nature so much so that they don't remember there ever was a 'before'. But there was a time when the unthinkable was still the unthinkable. There was a 'before' in the life of the 18 year old boy who shot & killed a classmate. There was a 'before' in the life of the 21 year old girl who killed several boys & girls. There was a 'before' in the life of the 15 year old boy who....so heartbreakingly young. & I weep. & I pray for them. Jesus said that He came to give life & to give it abundantly. Old things are passed away. All things are become new. Not just remembering the before & the longing & restoration of it. But a brand new name. The 'who you really are' name. The true you.

"But now says the Lord who created you...Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by YOUR NAME; YOU ARE MINE."   (Isaiah 43:1) You know what that means? He calls you by your own personal name that He Himself gave you. It sounds a lot like His. In fact, it IS His! Which simply means, everything He has, everything He is, is you & is yours. It's part of the redemption package when you give yourself to Him. It's called the Blood Covenant. His Blood Covenant. He signs His name, in His blood, to it. Him in me & me in Him. Him in you & you in Him. He gives us His name. Our true, meant to be identity. Which brings me back to the picture at the beginning of the post. The shadow of the lamp is not the lamp itself, but is just a silhouette of the lamp. The reality of  the lamp is the lamp itself. & in like manner, we are merely shadows until Jesus makes us 'real' with His identity, His name &, as in the story of "The Velveteen Rabbit", His love.  & here's a love song, a desire of His heart to you, from an old hymn,

"Softly & tenderly Jesus is calling, calling for you & for me...come home, come home..."   It is so restful to come home, to belong to Him, so sweet to hear Him call your name, to know that He truly, truly loves you, to know that you are forgiven & that He gives you hope & a future. What words of life for all of the Gollums & even used to be Gollums of the world. There is a chair  at the supper table with your name on it. Jesus put it there Himself. & He's calling you in. "Come & get it!" Yes...come & get it. ๐Ÿ’–

Raintree Perk of the Day:

Revelation 2:17

"To him who overcomes...I will give him a white stone, and on the stone a NEW NAME..."!! The italics are mine, but that's how I feel about it! Yes!!






Saturday, February 28, 2026

What a ride! 

We are still having unseasonal weather here in the Black Hills of South Dakota. Many days of the same fierce winds, but almost balmy temperatures & hardly any snow. Most of my friends are enjoying our non-winter weather, but I want my winter! But, as the song goes, with minor revisions, "If you can't have the winter you want, love the winter you (don't!) have", or something like that. ๐Ÿ˜•

But, celebrations of life MUST go on. (Don't you love the sparkly reflections in the windows?? So pretty!)

๐Ÿ’–๐ŸŒน๐Ÿ’–๐ŸŒน๐Ÿ’–๐ŸŒน๐Ÿ’–

๐ŸŒน๐Ÿ’–๐ŸŒน๐Ÿ’–๐ŸŒน๐Ÿ’–๐ŸŒน๐Ÿ’– 
From my Valentine ๐Ÿ˜˜

Summer dreaming miniature rose bush. I know just where I will plant it.
๐Ÿ’–๐ŸŒน๐Ÿ’–๐ŸŒน๐Ÿ’–๐ŸŒน๐Ÿ’–

The above is a dried rose that I sprayed with craft 'matte' spray to preserve it. Dried roses can be as beautiful as real ones. 



I was under the 'non-winter' weather so was not able to make George Washington his cherry pie for his birthday, but I can dream.

During this month I have been doing some heart housecleaning. Actually, it was the in-heart probing searchlight of the Holy Spirit, gently leading me forward & my resistance by going backward. In time. What started it was my twenty year old grandson taking a trip to Nashville, Tennessee. ๐Ÿ˜ฎOver nine hundred miles away. ๐Ÿ˜ŸBy himself. (You're kidding me, right?
NOT!) ๐Ÿ˜งIn the middle of winter. (Non-winter here but real winter could be encountered over nine hundred miles!) ๐Ÿ˜ฌTo a place he'd never been & didn't know a single person! ๐Ÿ˜ตI could run out of emoji expressions for all of the different emotions I went through. & said nothing. To him it was cool. To him it was an adventure. To him there was nothing to fear. To me, it was fear itself. Boy! Talk about having to "faith my fear" as in my January post! Always another opportunity to practice what we preach, right?? The week of eternity is over as he is safely back home. Never mind that I have to now buy some anti-aging products for the ten years I aged over a span of one week. Boy! What a ride!
I'm sure he gained a lot in different ways on his journey to manhood & hearing the Lord's voice. But my journey went backwards. To his little boy years. To laying out on mattresses in the back yard, camping, looking at the stars, spying sattelites, going for go-cart rides, going fishing, swimming, playing games of Go Fish, reading "Mike Mulligan & His Steam Shovel MaryAnn" (about a hundred times!) singing songs, his crazy dancing choreography, "Charlie Brown" books, Dairy Queen hamburgers & french fries, Pizza & a movie on Friday nights, the list is endless. It's not "Where are you going, my little one..." anymore. It's 'where have you gone?' & this isn't the first time that I've sung this song. I sang it with each of my children. Seven times. I've sung it with other grandchildren. It has never been easy. Because each time I say 'goodbye', I'm not just saying it to the time or person, I'm also saying it to myself, as that part of my life is over. It feels like I'm always being left behind as I watch that loved one disappearing around the bend, sometimes being so absorbed in their destiny that they don't even wave goodbye. Not being unkind or thoughtless. Just excited about the future. & that's as it should be.  All mothers know this. Our mother's & grandmother's knew it too.  & though I have felt at times like Peter Pan, THE END is only the precursor to THE NEW BEGINNING.
Precursor definition:
"Something that precedes & indicates something approaching."
Actually "The End" is the harbinger for something new. & when the new is Jesus' plan for our lives, you know that it's going to be great! It's the MERRY-go-round ride that never ends! 

"Those who are planted in the house of the Lord Shall flourish in the courts of our God. They shall still bear fruit in old age; They shall be fresh & flourishing..." Psalm 92:13 & 14
 
I have loved the different chapters of my life.  I have gotten to live the life I love. I have made bad, sinful & selfish choices at times & Jesus let me make them. But He was always there to dry the tears from repentance, to bathe me from the dirt & grime of shame & guilt & to make "all things work together for good". As my kids & grandkids are pursuing the unknowns of their future, Jesus will also let them fall, fail at times. But there will also be victories. I will be there for it all, not to judge or criticize, but to love, to pray, to cheer on, to offer the milk & cookies. It's their journey. I'm sort of the silent & invisible partner, except in prayer (& emoji's!) As for me, well, my journey isn't over. Not until Jesus calls me home. &  on that day of my new beginning, when I hit my homerun, as I slide into Homeplate, & pronounced "Safe!" by the Umpire, I will say, with joy forever, "Boy what a ride!"
 
Raintree Perk of the Day:
For (she) will  not dwell unduly on the days of (her) life, because God keeps (her) busy with the JOY of (her) heart."
Ecclesiastes 5:20
It just doesn't get any better than that! 



 

Saturday, January 31, 2026

Faith as a Verb

How strange the weather has been for the last couple of months. Early Spring-like weather, many, many days of fierce winds, fifty degrees one day, below zero the next & practically no snow. I love the above picture, but it's only a dream. Not that we haven't had snow, but not too much accumulation. & I LOVE snow. & to be cold! because it's so agreeable, so amiable, so enjoyable & satisfying, so cozy!... to cocoon myself in a snuggly, soft, blanket, wrap my hands around a cup of steaming hot cocoa, put on my woolly socks, sit in front of a crackling fire or enjoy what is called "window weather", or read a good book, or just let the calming drowsiness take me away like a Calgon bath. But there have been many days this month of sweater weather the likes of which I haven't seen in the forty-six winters that I have lived in South Dakota! However, I declared at the beginning of the month that it would be a time of rest, respite, & recline. Apart from the things that have to be done every day, the little homely chores that I love to do,  I would keep it to the bare-bones minimum & would take a much needed stay-cation, day-cation, play-cation, lay-cation, or whatever you want to call it. I found the most charming little animated videos of winter scenes & woods creatures to the background of Celtic music that I would watch & listen to while rocking in my comfy rocking chair, very therapeutic & restful. & I have mostly kept my resolve to do this for the month. I have measured out the chore of putting away seasonal decor to just a little every day. I simplified cooking, mainly soups & stew that could be eaten over a period of days. & I purposed not to make unnecessary trips to town & stay at home instead. I finished packing & storing the rest of my Christmas decor just this morning, leaving out the usual snowmen & faux evergreen  trees for the rest of winter. They so brighten long winter days with color & cheery snowman smiles! 

So, doing a little vacuuming  & the final stages of putting the containers into hibernation until next Christmas, I started thinking about the new year. I'm sure there will be changes for all of us. That goes without saying. There may be goodbyes, to some we love or maybe a way of life that gets interrupted by, well, life. There may be unexpected challenges that require us to give up, or at least lay down for awhile, our dreams, security or comfort. Our 'nest egg' may be required of us for a desperate need of someone else. Our circumstances may greatly change so that it requires a new dependency on the Lord to meet our daily needs. All of these may seem negative or thoughts that we don't want to think about. & why, as the saying goes, 'borrow trouble'? Why project a spirit of fear into the unknown future? What comes to my mind is the Boy Scout motto, "Be prepared." How? By making daily faith installments into our 'Faith Bank'. Again, how? I don't know anyone who doesn't have a fear of something. or is tormented by fear itself. But do we realize that fear, no matter how seemingly small, or Goliath-size, according to scripture, is sin? 

"Whatever is not of faith is sin?"  ( Romans 14:23)

So, in this coming year, what will be required of us, is to 'head off' (little play on words) those fears  at the pass, yes, get out our faith slingshots & whack! & decapitate those Goliaths of torment!  

"...because fear has torment..."  ( 1 John 4:18)

A well known evangelist uses the term, "Faith the Facts". I would add to that,

FAITH YOUR FEAR!!

By getting our minds renewed through the reading, (out loud!) of His word because "faith comes by hearing & hearing by the word of God"! It is the way that we learn who we are in Jesus, what our (Jesus) Blood Covenant rights & responsibilities are, & who He is in truth. It's how we get to know Him intimately & the better we know Him, the more we trust Him. & the more we trust Him, the better we know Him. & love Him.

I have a thought. What if everything that comes to us in this coming year of 2026 that we might perceive as negative or harmful, we would determine beforehand to 'faith our fear' by allowing Jesus to tweak our perception of it as a divine & even appointed encounter which would allow Him into the situation thus changing the whole outcome for His purposes & glory. Even in desperate circumstances out of our control, they aren't out of His control when we 'faith our fear'! & the 'outcome' equals 'overcome'.

"Faith is the victory that overcomes..." Everything. 

"Cast your care on Him for He cares for you." (1 Peter 5:7)

"Trust in the Lord with all your heart..." (Proverbs 3:5)

"Do not be anxious about anything..." (Philippians 4:6)

"Do not be afraid for I am with you."  (Isaiah 41:10)

"Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death I will fear no evil..."  (Psalm 23)

"Don't let your hearts be troubled & do not be afraid."  (John 14:27)

"The Lord is my Helper. I will not be afraid." (Hebrews 13:6)

In each verse fear is overcome by 'faithing' the fear.

Fear comes to all of us at times, but it is not meant to set up camp. It is meant to be 'sent back from whence it came! That's where faith as an action verb comes in. & I don't mean riding leisurely off into the sunset either. I plan to see some head rolling to be graphic. It's time for all of us to 'faith our fear'. & then..

Look out Goliath fear. Sheriff Faith has come to town. With double-barreled slingshots! Oh yeah...


Raintree Perk of the Day:

"...One little stone (faith) went up in the air (& whop!!) & the giant (fear!) came tumbling down!!!  ๐ŸŽต"  (From the song 'Only A Boy Named David) ๐Ÿ˜Š