cross the bridge.
watch the ribbon of winding roads.
nail down your honor. your courage.
your self-respect. carve our souls
into instruments of Your love.

because...
the clouds are bulging with rain.
the sky darkens and all there is
is a sliver of light. we are not fighting
each other, but the principalities and powers of
darkness. lace up your boots. stomp your feet.
march with the rhythm of Christ's glory. wave the
flags. join the parade.

let's sing and shout and throw our arms
toward the Heavens. put on your helmets of
salvation. march with the
Drummer. can you hear the roar
of millions following Him to the
celestial city? they are there. undaunted.

let the clouds burst and rain pour.
let the mud fill your (our) boots. no matter.
we are champions. warriors. and the bombshells
of life cannot squeeze our souls, or shrivel
our futures.

Jesus is our Victor.
He approached the woman at the well. He
asked for a drink and how many husbands she had.

"I don't have any husbands."

Jesus said, "yes. you have had five husbands
and are living with a man. this water will satisfy
you for awhile, but my water will fill you for life.

she told everyone she knew:
"you must come to the well and meet the Man
who told me everything about me."

Jesus does. He knows all the pieces of who we
are. He is the lead Warrior, and our Hope
and Peace. He loves us inspite of all we
aren't that we should be.

pour rain. pour,
and cover and cleanse us
from all our sins. You are our
Prince of peace. the only ONE who
can unravel our complexities; stop the
pounding of our hearts...and soothe our
fears with Your gracious presence of mercy.

shine, Glory, shine.
You are the One who holds us
together when we are frayed and falling
apart, and in desperate need of acceptance
and love.

cover us with your Blood.
in every vein and artery, and
our souls. cover us, Lord, cover us.

i don't know what you all did new year's eve
and new years, but i was at a friend's house
with two dogs, two cats, and my grandbaby, colben,
12 months old.

brandt and jasmine have a pit bull that, as of this moment,
has no manners when entering someone else's home. he
bounded through the door. headed straight for casey's
(golden retriever) food bowl, and as I watched in horror,
he ate every bite of casey's bowl of food. threw it all up,
and pooped the minute brandt put him on the back patio
so as to clean up the barf.

my friend was taking her mother somewhere for the
weekend, and i know she must have thought the house
would be levelled when she returned. i was close to
the same thoughts.

i put a leash on casey. bundled my dollbaby colben in
a white knit cap and tights and sweater...and locked
jr. (pitbull) out back, howling and barking, and we
headed to the park to throw balls for casey to retrieve.
hanging onto colben in his new little van shoes, and
casey's leash, we walked and played and came home.
colben never whined or wanted to be picked up.

before we even got close to the house, we could hear jr.
howling. i unleashed casey, and got jr., holding on with all
the strength i had. leashed him, took colben's hand, and
out the door we go to give jr. some fresh air. he would
wrap the leash around colben and me, and start to bound
off, about to decapitate the baby and me. he would
plant these giant, wet licks over colbens face, who would
close his eyes, and then continue walking. his little feet
moving with no effort.

two trips to the park,
and colben, with milk in his sippy cup, laid down and
did not move for almost three hours.

finally, after two hours, jr. began to calm down, and
he and casey bonded. buddies. everywhere they went,
side by side. all of us survived, and by the time brandt
and jasmine came for colben, all his clothes were clean.
the kitchen wiped down. the dog food up on a counter
where neither dog...nor colben...could eat it.

by the time karen returned the next day, you would never
know that we ALL ended up in her bad the night before
(i washed all her bedding), and casey had her water and
food back in place. she did not have any idea that colben
had been in all her kitchen drawers, or that jr. peed on
her office rug.

james 4:7
"submit yourself then to God.
resist the devil and he will flee from you."

2011 was such a difficult one for me. the devil
chased me everywhere. so...my Scripture verse
for the new year is in james. not only are we warriors,
GOD is the ultimate Warrior. and i'm done letting
the devil mess with me. i love you all. stand strong.
praise God in All circumstances. and i will speak
to you next week.

i love Jesus.
as we approach 2012. our only real hope is
NOTHING but the Blood of Jesus,

pour it over us. in our hair and down into our souls. and
through our fingertips. let the Blood run into our rivers and
creeks, and the roaring oceans that seem to hold the universe
together. may the waters cleanse us and prepare us for
the good and the bad...the easy and the difficult...the losses and
the gains. and may NO ONE think that ANYTHING other than
the Blood of Jesus is our Song. our Hope. our Stay. i share
this beautiful, pristine and lovely writing of a man who grasped
the shining glory of God. God, Who holds all things in the palm of His hand.

God of all time,
Who makes all things new,
we bring before you the year now ending.
For life full and good.
for opportunities recognized and taken,
for love known and shared,
we thank you.

Where we have fallen short,
forgive us,
When we worry over what is past,
free us.

As we begin again
and take our first few steps into the future,
where nothing is safe and certain,
except You,
we ask for the courage of the wise men
who simply went and followed a star.
We ask for their wisdom,
in choosing to pursue the deepest truth,
not knowing where they would be led.
In the year to come, God of all time,
be our help and company.
Hold our hand as we journey onwards
and may Your dream of Shalom,
where all will be at peace,
be our guiding star.

Francis Brienen

My love and best for 2012. ann