Echoes From Zion

This is a journal entry that I am currently working on. I'm spending time pondering and listening to what God has to tell me about Jacob's Bethel experience. As I read it this week, I began to focus on Gen 28:22...which led me to Matthew 7:24-25 & 16:18. He really began to unfold some stuff to me as I presented it to him. I'll share other entries as the Lord gives them.         Here I am, Lord J . Take all of me this morning. Thank you for your word, for your peace, for your direction, oh God, my God! In reading this morning, you see my mind falls on Gen 28:22, "And this stone which I have set as a pillar shall be God's house"…& Matthew 7:24-25, "Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock: and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock”…& Matthew 16:18, “And I also

Today, I took some time to pray outside. Though it's a bit nippy, it's a beautiful day today. The sun was shining bright as I began to walk down a gravel road, talking with my God. As I walked and talked, my mind began to confess my many weaknesses. I have a lot of things on my mind right now - I'm seeking direction, His will for my life, His path and purpose for me - and as often is the case in these 'big moments' of life, I tend to put my focus on myself. Walking down that road, I began to fret, worrying that I am going to miss God's best. I mean, since I'm asking for Him to show me what step is next AND since I'm not hearing or seeing it, there must be something wrong with me, right?  Maybe I haven't sought him hard enough. Maybe I should be fasting everything. Maybe there is some hidden sin in me. Maybe Me. Me. Me. Me. It was in that moment I began to confess who the Lord is for me - my rock, my shield, the glory and the lifter of my head. I th

He restores my soul... I don't think better words could ever be spoken. If there was a title to the biography of my life, I think this would be it: He restores my soul.  All throughout my life, the Lord has brought restoration to the deepest parts of me. He restores me time and time again, in various ways and in various forms...but at the core, it's always the same - he restores me with His Love. Some moments when His love restored me? On the swing set in my back yard . As a child, this was one of my favorite places to retreat. I would begin to sway back and forth to the rhythm of a melody in my heart. Songs of praise, adoration, and thanks to my God rose time and time again from that little swing set. Since I was surrounded by trees, I was usually singing about God as my Creator, the one who made all the nature I could see and still saw me swinging in the middle of the woods. Though I did not know it fully at the time, His love was filling my heart and restoring my so