“If it is possible, as much as depends on you, live peaceably with all men.” Romans 12:18

“Love is never having to say you’re sorry” was a popular quote from the movie Love Story many years ago. I beg to differ. The loving thing is to humble yourself and apologize. I received a phone call from a company while I was trying to get out of my office. I should have let it go to voicemail but I didn’t. At the same time I took this call someone walked into my office and began to talk to me as if I was not on the phone. I had somewhere to be, really didn’t want to hear the sales pitch and was trying to politely tend to the person speaking to me. After the initial pitch I asked for the information to be emailed to me. Later I felt that I had handled the phone call poorly. Thankfully, I did receive an email from this person explaining their product and with it was her contact information. I was grateful to have an opportunity to apologize. I received an email in return and was blessed by her grace. She explained that she didn’t feel I cut her off but was so grateful for the apology because she was having a bad day. It meant a lot to her that someone took the time to say “I’m sorry.”

Aren’t you grateful that you can come to your Heavenly Father and say “I’m sorry for…”? Aren’t you glad that His response is always filled with love and grace? Are you willing to extend the same love and grace to others? Maybe you have put off an apology. Would you prayerfully consider making that apology today? Just do your part humbly and truthfully and let God take care of the response. Praying you will offer your apologies today with courage!

Blessings,
Kathy

Kathy Withers is on staff at America’s Keswick and serves in Partner Care. Kathy has been married to her husband Dave for 30 years. They have two adult children. Kathy is active in her local Church and teaches a Bible Study for women. Her passion is to encourage women to deepen their walk with Jesus Christ by finding and living out the truths of God’s Word.

Then Jesus answered and said to them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of Himself, but what He sees the Father do; for whatever He does, the Son also does in like manner.” John 5:19

One of the believers’ greatest joys is being led by the Spirit. What a marvelous thing it is, to be, in a moment of time, experiencing something which you instantly and instinctively know is other than you. In other words, it’s supernatural. It’s led by the Spirit and not of the flesh, lest we boast and seek to take credit for it.

Today’s air is crisp and cool and the sun shines brightly. The lower lake shimmers and ever so slightly ripples as the fingers of the wind pass over it. Joy wells up within as I behold the wonder, the glory that is creation. The joy I know because of the Creator. I get to share in it with all my senses for no other reason than I am fearfully and wonderfully made. In the image of Him, Who is above all things, we are created to live and move and have our being in Him. Another joy I experienced today is prayer, simple and purely led of the Spirit. Wow! So simple and sweet and such a God-moment.

Recently, in the process of doing a task, I had a mini-conversation with a faith-brother who loves, loves, loves Jesus! There is no pomp and circumstance with him, no pretense, no posturing at the expense of others for us to get a better look at how wonderful he is. He simple is who he is.

Today I was privileged to catch a glimpse of Christ in him as he went from doing one of his daily tasks to praying with me. No pomp and circumstance. No fanfare. No puffing himself up or patting himself on the back for hwo spiritual he was being. He just began to pray. The hairs stood up on the back of my neck. I was on full alert because I felt the presence of the Spirit there in that moment.

What he prayed spoke volumes to me because I saw in that moment the main reason I have been so tired and worn out lately…ok, for many months now.
Jesus said, “…the Son can do nothing of Himself…”

He went on to pray, “Lord, why do we think we can do it all or that we must do it all in our own strength when even You did nothing of Yourself?”

Dear sisters, I don’t know if this is speaking to you at all. Maybe it was just for me. But as sure as I know the flesh, I don’t think I am alone.

Be encouraged today to behold your God, Maker and King. Cry out to Him for the strength you know you do not have on your own to do what lies before you TODAY.

Pause and pray NOW! Don’t wait till later, till you’re less busy. You (we) need His strength NOW to abide and endure to the end.

Stephanie Dale

Stephanie D. Paul serves as part of the Addiction Recovery Team at America’s Keswick as Director of Women of Character. She has been married for over 30 years to Sesky Paul who is a graduate of the Colony of Mercy. They have two grown children.
Her single focus in ministry at Keswick is to image Christ in grace and truth to wounded and hurting women, encouraging them to make Jesus the truest Lover of their soul and the One in whom all hope lies.

“The LORD is righteous in all His ways, gracious in all His works. The LORD is near to all who call upon Him, to all who call upon Him in truth. He will fulfill the desire of those who fear Him; He also will hear their cry and save them.” Psalm 145:17-19

This Victory Call is one that I revisit with you to remind you, to remind myself, of prayer – of talking to and with God; of interceding on behalf of others.

It begins with a whale of a tale, a newspaper story that came in a season of life when my daughter (who is now with the LORD) was clinging to life by a very weakened thread.

“A female humpback whale had become entangled in a spider web of crab traps and lines. She was weighted down by hundreds of pounds of traps that caused her to struggle to stay afloat. She also had hundreds of yards of line rope wrapped around her body, her tail, her torso, and a line tugging in her mouth.

A fisherman spotted her just east of the Farralone Islands (outside the Golden Gate) and radioed an environmental group for help. Within a few hours, the rescue team arrived and determined that she was so bad off, the only way to save her was to dive in and untangle her …a very dangerous proposition. One slap of the tail could kill a rescuer. They worked for hours with curved knives and eventually freed her.” -source unknown

While my daughter was in intensive care she needed serious rescuing as well. It took teams of doctors, a new liver, and an assortment of different life-sustaining machines to untangle her from a very precarious state. Like the whale she was connected to hundreds of yards of wires, tubes, hoses, etc. The only difference is hers were keeping her alive! Machines were working hard to breath, feed and physically function for her until the body -with its new liver- could do what it was designed to do, on its own.

In the whale story, a fisherman radioed for help and a rescue team arrived. In “our story” I told one person and rescue teams showed up, in the form of all the doctors, nurses, technicians, etc. They also showed up as prayer warriors from New Jersey to England. Our rescue team was everywhere. Hundreds of brothers and sisters in Christ…even the unconverted to Christ, were praying for her, for us, to be delivered. They endured until, one line after the other, she was freed from all those machines and once again breathing, walking, eating, thinking, speaking without any mechanical assistance. Her physical healing came! Our rescuers prayed until something happened.

Just like the whale much is not known concerning the “why” of my dear one’s entanglement. In fact, whenever I watch TV news stories like the one mentioned above, I am always stunned by the seeming senselessness of the whale, to get itself into so much trouble.

(Have you ever thought about it? All of us are potentially one decision away from victory or defeat, entanglement or freedom, sinking or swimming…the list could go on and on, but you get my point.)

We need each other. We need rescuing.

Consider those whom you know who like the whale are weighted down by life traps and may need you to come to their rescue. Are we willing to wear out the carpet beside our beds, travailing in prayer? Are we willing to intercede for them with all our heart, soul, mind and strength?

May it be said of us that we were not afraid to pray, that we were available at a moment’s notice to come to the rescue.

Stephanie Dale

Stephanie D. Paul serves as part of the Addiction Recovery Team at America’s Keswick as Director of Women of Character. She has been married for over 30 years to Sesky Paul who is a graduate of the Colony of Mercy. They have two grown children.
Her single focus in ministry at Keswick is to image Christ in grace and truth to wounded and hurting women, encouraging them to make Jesus the truest Lover of their soul and the One in whom all hope lies.

“The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much.” James 5:16b

Today my mind is turned toward the reality of suffering in the world. Before I came into work I listened to a bit of news from around the world and what dominated this was the coverage of refugees who are fleeing from their homes to avoid the slaughter that is occurring in their homeland. Over 500,000 people, (that’s five hundred thousand!) individual men, women and children; the young, the old, the healthy and the infirm who are literally running for their lives. Why? They’re being hunted and killed in the streets for no other reason than someone who personifies evil doesn’t like them.

It makes no sense, and yet, I was seeing it live and in color. The throng of humanity pressing into different locations for a slice of bread, a morsel of meat to satisfy the gnawing hunger in their bellies and that of their children.

And here we are, sitting unfettered, un-pursued by anyone seeking us harm, in the land of the free, the home of the brave—doing what?

Truth be told, the reality is we cannot ever hope to fix the ill or the evil in that situation. We couldn’t do it if we talked about it all day long for evil indeed abides in the heart of man.
So, what dear sisters, is up to us to do? What is it that we can do? How has God equipped us and how does He enable us to effectively help those we cannot help?

In a word — PRAY!

Prayer, which is something we get to do, ought to do and should do as if our very lives depended on it. And the way we do it (pray) is going to involve a little imagination.

Quite literally, dear sisters, let’s begin with imagining our own loved ones in such extreme need and yet, we are helpless to give them aid. Our hearts would surely ache for their misfortune, their dire circumstance, the reality of their starving soul. This is your flesh and blood and they are perishing before your eyes! Can you feel the anguish in not knowing whether they’ll be dead or alive to breathe their next breath 24 hours from now?

If so, this is called sympathy. And with that we begin to cry out to God on their behalf. We begin and then we continue. We over and over and over again petition the Lord of Heaven to intervene on their behalf and rescue them from their enemy. We may even go so far as to ask Him to destroy the one who pursues them unto death.

Therein is our challenge for the suffering in the world. Let us take up the mantle of prayer and be willing to bombard the atmosphere of earth and heaven with the mighty rushing breath of our effectual fervent prayers! Selah

Stephanie Dale

Stephanie D. Paul serves as part of the Addiction Recovery Team at America’s Keswick as Director of Women of Character. She has been married for over 30 years to Sesky Paul who is a graduate of the Colony of Mercy. They have two grown children. Her single focus in ministry at Keswick is to image Christ in grace and truth to wounded and hurting women, encouraging them to make Jesus the truest Lover of their soul and the One in whom all hope lies.

“…and at my coming I would have received back my own with interest.” Matthew 25:27

When I was in my first professional position after grad school, I remember I participated in the 401K program. I don’t remember all the details but I do remember that my “investments” (and I use that term lightly) were yielding about 15% between interest and company contributions, etc. Fifteen percent!!! Well, as you well know, interest on our investments has dwindled considerably. It is rather annoying; and with bank fees now sometimes it’s hard to just hold on to what you are depositing.

When we make an investment we do so hoping to increase the value of what we are investing. Isn’t that the point of making an investment? The definition of investment is “the outlay of money usually for income or profit.” (i)

The parable of the talents has several applications, one accurate interpretation but several applications. The one I want to focus on today is the idea of investing the resources/abilities God has given us for the kingdom of God. It appears in the parable that God anticipates/expects us to utilize the “talents” He gives us for kingdom purposes.

If you recall each of three servants were given talents by the master. One received five talents, one received three and one received one – “to each according to his own ability.” V. 15

The “talents” God gives each one of us may or may not be financial resources. They may be abilities or opportunities or skills or giftedness or challenges. I don’t know what they might be in your life but I know you have been granted by the Father His resources for kingdom purposes. I also know He did not give them to us for simply our own enjoyment or benefit. He is not expecting us to hoard these “talents” and bury them, unwilling to invest them.

How are you investing your “talents” for the King and His Kingdom so that when He returns He will receive back His own with interest? Rather than focusing on what you don’t have, ponder today, “How am I investing with what I do have?”

Blessings,
Diane

Diane Hunt is a Biblical Counselor, Women’s conference and retreat speaker and author. She serves as the Director of Partner Care and Director of Women’s Ministries at America’s Keswick. She and her husband John have two married children and four grandchildren. She loves reveling in warm sunny climates and playing with her grandchildren.

i http://www.Merriam-Webster.com/dictionary/investment

Many of us are heading into uncharted territory. It seems that things in our world are changing very quickly. It is hard to keep up with the big world we live in. Then there are the things that happen, change and come into our little worlds, our everyday lives, which present a whole new set of challenges that need to be navigated. We never know for sure what twists and turns are ahead.

What’s challenging you today? What experience is the Lord allowing into your territory that was unexpected or unwanted? Andy Stanley recently preached on Paul’s thorn in his flesh. Three times Paul asked to have it removed yet God’s answer was no. We know the verse that states God’s answer… “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is perfected in weakness” 2 Corinthians 12:9. But then Andy Stanley reversed the way we usually read this verse. He said, “My power is sufficient for you, my grace is perfected in weakness.” Andy said the original words are interchangeable, but, when read this way it really makes an impact.

You and I don’t know what is ahead as we navigate through our day. Whatever comes our way I am praying that His power is sufficient and His grace will be perfected in our weakness.

May His power and grace lead you and guide you through your territory today.

Blessings,
Kathy

Kathy Withers is on staff at America’s Keswick and serves in Partner Care. Kathy has been married to her husband Dave for 30 years. They have two adult children. Kathy is active in her local Church and teaches a Bible Study for women. Her passion is to encourage women to deepen their walk with Jesus Christ by finding and living out the truths of God’s Word.

Have you ever been in a really dark place – I mean a physically dark place? I have been in places where when the lights are turned out there is no light. None. There are no windows, no glimmer of light. It is the epitome of pitch dark. That’s where I want you to go with me today.

Imagine sitting in a perfectly, totally dark place. The kind of place where you cannot see your hand in front of your face. The kind of place that although you are holding a friend’s hand or linking arms… you cannot see them. The kind of place you can feel they are there and their voice tells you they are there, but your eyes deny their presence. It’s a weird, odd kind of feeling.

Sit there for a while. Even though you have sat for a while, still no light. No visual cues. Are you starting to get a feel for the kind of place I have taken you?

Quiet. No one is making a sound.

Dark and quiet.

Sit still.

Your eyes are wide open, but still you can see nothing.

This is the world of the lost. Darkness. They cannot see.

Then it happens. Someone on the far end of the room, some distance from you in fact, strikes a match and instantly, I mean instantly – every eye, every single eye is drawn to the light. Every person in the room can see that match. No one can help but look.

Are you that match?

Not to draw attention to yourself but to draw attention to the ONE who has given you the LIGHT.

Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” John 8:12

For it is you who light my lamp; the LORD my God lightens my darkness. Psalm 18:28

But the path of the righteous is like the light of dawn, which shines brighter and brighter until full day. Proverbs 4:18

You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. Matthew 5:14-15

Without genuine believers, the world would be like that pitch dark room. But Jesus shines His light into the darkness through His children. One match at a time.

…children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world… Philippians 2:15

Let His light shine.

Blessings, Diane

Diane Hunt is a Biblical Counselor, Women’s conference and retreat speaker and author. She serves as the Director of Partner Care and Director of Women’s Ministries at America’s Keswick. She and her husband John have two married children and four grandchildren. She loves reveling in warm sunny climates and playing with her grandchildren.

For the LORD gives wisdom; from his mouth come knowledge and understanding; He stores up sound wisdom for the upright; He is a shield to those who walk uprightly; He guards the paths of justice, and preserves the way of His saints. Then you will understand righteousness and justice, equity and every good path. When wisdom enters your heart, and knowledge is pleasant to your soul, discretion will preserve you; understanding will keep you. Proverbs 2:6-11

Do you know that your responses to all that comes your way in this life matter to God? Do you believe that He has equipped you through the indwelling Holy Spirit with everything you need to walk in wisdom with grace and truth? Do you think and believe it’s possible to be in a bad situation with a person or persons who are behaving badly and not forget that you are God’s daughter; that you are equipped by and through the Word of God to respond well?

If your answer is yes, praise the Lord! If your answer is no, praise the Lord!
My answer is yes, yes, yes! I do believe it’s possible and I believe God has not set anything before me that He can’t or won’t enable me by His Word to respond well to.

At the same time I say my answer is yes, it’s also true that there are many times my answer is no. Those are the times when I know I’ve blown it and the enemy of my soul is whispering to me that I’m a fake and I may as well give up and stop going to God about the difficult person, situation or circumstance in my life. He, the enemy, tells me I’ll never really change or I’ll never see change in the person who’s upset me, so why bother. Just go back to the old way and forget trying to do it God’s way, it’s just too hard.”

That’s why I said praise God whether your answer is yes or no. Because, even when we’re not doing it right, all we have to do is pause, consider Abba Father, and praise His name just because HE IS!

Remember that it’s Him in us, through the Holy Spirit, who is at work willing us to do His good pleasure.

“I thank my God upon every remembrance of you, always in every prayer of mine making request for you all with joy, for your fellowship in the gospel from the first day until now, being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ;” Philippians 1:3-6

And when you’re having victory and remembering what His Word has taught you about imaging Christ in a lost and dying world, the response is the same, praise Him!
Praise Him just because HE IS!!

“…for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure. Do all things without complaining and disputing, that you may become blameless and harmless, children of God without fault in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world, holding fast the word of life, so that I may rejoice in the day of Christ that I have not run in vain or labored in vain.” Philippians 2:13-16

Stephanie Dale

Stephanie D. Paul serves as part of the Addiction Recovery Team at America’s Keswick as Director of Women of Character. She has been married for over 30 years to Sesky Paul who is a graduate of the Colony of Mercy. They have two grown children. Her single focus in ministry at Keswick is to image Christ in grace and truth to wounded and hurting women, encouraging them to make Jesus the truest Lover of their soul and the One in whom all hope lies.

…you then who teach others, do you not teach yourself? Romans 2:21

To those of you who mistakenly believe I have my act all together, I believe this Victory Call will dispel such myths.

Perhaps you have heard that in November I will be ending my 16-year tenure with America’s Keswick and moving to North Carolina. It will be difficult to leave a ministry that I love so dearly.
One morning as I sat doing my devotions I was thinking about God’s will. My husband and I truly want to be following God and seeking His will. I was asking myself, how can we be sure this is God’s will? I wrestled with that question for a few minutes. It wasn’t too long before the Lord reminded me of something I have taught over and over again.

THE WILL OF GOD IS NOT A DOT-TO-DOT BUT RATHER A PATHWAY.

So often we think to be in the will of God requires that we scan the horizon for the one spot we have to go next to be in God’s will; and then the next spot to be in God’s will. If we go to a different spot, we have missed God’s will.

That is not the way to determine God’s will. The will of God is more like a pathway or a highway with edges defined in the Scriptures. But as long as we are on the pathway we are free to move around on that pathway and still be in the will of God.

Oh, Yeah. …you then who teach others, do you not teach yourself? Romans 2:21

Blessings,
Diane

Diane Hunt is a Biblical Counselor, Women’s conference and retreat speaker and author. She serves as the Director of Partner Care and Director of Women’s Ministries at America’s Keswick. She and her husband John have two married children and four grandchildren. She loves reveling in warm sunny climates and playing with her grandchildren.

When my children were toddlers, one of their favorite toys (and mine too) was a plastic sphere-shaped toy designed to teach them how to sort things by their shape. Together we had great moments of fun with it by trying to fit each of the different shaped objects into its corresponding opening.

Every once in a while one of the kids would attempt to fit a shape into the wrong opening. For example, my son might try to fit a trapezoid shape into a hole designed for a rectangle. Try as he might he couldn’t get the rectangle to take in the trapezoid. He’d turn it over and around, again and again to no avail. You can imagine his level of frustration as his sincere efforts failed.

My daughter would occasionally jump in and offer him a different piece – sometimes it fit and sometimes it didn’t. Gently I’d encourage them to examine the shapes a bit more carefully. Within moments the shapes would find their proper home.

Once in a while they’d resist my help, ignore the game’s specific design, and attempt to force a shape where it obviously did not fit. As hard as it was, I’d leave them alone to figure out on their own. Sometimes they’d ask for my help but other times they’d stick it out and eventually get them all in. Each time was like the first time for them and with great enthusiasm they’d clap their hands with delight. Then they’d pop it open, dump all the shapes out on the floor, and start all over again.

Isn’t that just like us? God created, gifted and shaped us all to be uniquely different. So tell me, why do we spend so much time trying to be like someone else? Why do we so harshly judge those who are different, who don’t fit our specific mold of what a “proper Christian” looks like? God has given all of us something —talents, gifts and abilities— that He, Himself, intended to enjoy in relationship with us for the purpose of edifying His Body, The Church, and expressing love to a lost and dying world.

That means I can be a goofy, crazy, serious, sometimes pensive, loud, outspoken, creative, dancer, writer me to the glory of God, fitting ever so rightly the shape He alone designed for me. I can home school…or not, dance…or not, wear pants…or not, wear my hair long…or not, wear jewelry…or not, dress up for church on Sunday…or not, wear a tie…or not…and so on and so forth. I can do all that or be all that and not offend God as much as I might irk another brother or a sister.

My challenge is this: Will I dare today to focus more on my own heart before a Holy and Righteous God more than I will on any other thing? Will I bravely endeavor to go where I have not gone before in relationship with the Savior of my soul? Will I run, laugh, leap, dance and pray with the abandon of one who is in love and loving it every step of the way?

Hey, I’ve got an idea! Why don’t we go there together? Allow God to give you new legs, new arms and new feet to praise Him! If you decide to go there with me, meet me at the merry-go-round with your dancing shoes on!

“And He took him by the right hand and raised him up, and immediately his feet and ankles were made strong. And leaping up he stood and began to walk, and entered the temple with them, walking and leaping and praising God.” Acts 3:7-8

Stephanie

Stephanie D. Paul serves as part of the Addiction Recovery Team at America’s Keswick as Director of Women of Character. She has been married for over 30 years to Sesky Paul who is a graduate of the Colony of Mercy. They have two grown children.
Her single focus in ministry at Keswick is to image Christ in grace and truth to wounded and hurting women, encouraging them to make Jesus the truest Lover of their soul and the One in whom all hope lies.