It's all about people!

L-R, My Ben, me, my Dan, my grandmama, my niece, and my Rebecca - 1986

"God so loved the world, that He gave His only Son (Jesus), that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life." 
(John 3:16)



           I needed a land line for phone interviews, so yesterday I visited the AT&T store. A precious, young woman named Shamaral helped me find everything I needed.
         On my way to the car, the Lord Jesus whispered, "Jill, you do understand don't you that the purpose of this shopping spree was not about a phone but all about crossing paths with Shamaral?" 
         For the bazillionth time, He graciously reminded me that the most important thing is always, always, always people; because from babies to grandmothers, God loves people!

         And you do understand don't you, that God loves you!

"The Lord appeared...saying, 'I have loved you with an everlasting love; therefore, I have drawn you with lovingkindness.'" (Jer. 31:3)

Read more...

Trust

My daddy and brother, Rocky, 1950

"Jesus said to her, 'Did I not say to you that if you believe, you will see the glory of God?'" (John 11:40)



               Just look at that cute grin on my brother's face. Even though he was six feet in the air, he trusted that his daddy would never let him fall.
               Through Oswald Chambers' classic My Utmost for His Highest, this morning, I heard my heavenly Father say, "Jill, will you trust Me where common sense does not? Will you venture out with courage just on My words? Endure the trials of your faith when your strength runs dry and the vision I gave you is blurred. Stay confident in Me, Jill. Be steadfast to the end! Believe steadfastly on Me. Let every challenge strengthen your faith, and trust Me absolutely. Let your trust run so deep that you could never even imagine that I would forsake you!"

        The Lord is worthy to be trusted. I pray that your trust in Him will run so deep that you will never even consider that He would ever forsake you, whom He loves so greatly!

"...for He Himself has said, 'I will never desert you, nor will I ever forsake you,' so that we confidently say, 'The Lord is my Helper, I will not be afraid....'" (Heb.13:5b-6a)

Read more...

Crossroads

Rainbow over a North Georgia intersection

"Your ears will hear a word behind you, 'This is the way, walk in it,' whenever you turn to the right or to the left." (Isa. 30:21)



       My son and daughter-in-law took a trip to the north Georgia mountains last weekend. Ben sent this picture along with a quote by Gabbi: "A reminder that God is with you at all crossroads you encounter!"

       Such timely and encouraging words! In the marketing phase of Secrets of Shiloh, I'm to prepare for radio and possibly even television interviews. Like Moses, this country bumpkin with a thick Southern accent cried, "Please, Lord, I have never been eloquent (in speech), neither recently nor in time past!" To which the Lord replied (to Moses and me), "Who has made man's mouth? Is it not I the Lord? Now then go, and I, even I will be with your mouth, and teach you what to say." (Ex. 4:10-12)

       Is your life at a crossroads? Look up! "Be strong and very courageous; be careful to do according to all the (Word of God) commands you that you may have success wherever you go...Be strong and courageous! Do not tremble or be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go!" (Joshua 1:7,9)

Read more...

Jehovah-jireh

My girls, 2010

"And my God will supply all your needs according to His riches in Christ Jesus." (Phil. 4:19)

       Our six-year-old granddaughter recently shared her life plans with her mother. "Have I told you my plans?" she said. "When I grow up, I'm going to have a house and lots of money."
       "Really," Rebecca replied. "And where will that money come from?"
       "Gift cards," answered our little princess.
       "And where will those gift cards come from?" Rebecca asked.
       With great confidence, she retorted, "Grandparents!"

       Today, let's walk in that same childlike faith, trusting that the One who loves us - Father God, Jehovah-jireh, Provider - will in Christ Jesus take care of our needs as well.

"And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that always having all sufficiency in everything, you may have an abundance for every good deed." (2 Cor. 9:8)

"Abraham called the name of that place THE LORD WILL PROVIDE, as it is said to this day." (Gen. 22:14)

Read more...

Wounds in Love

My brother, Mark, Easter Sunday 1958

"Wounds from a sincere friend are better than many kisses from an enemy." 
(Prov. 27:6)


        As a child, sometimes I had a rather stinky attitude with temper-tantrums to boot! One time, when things didn't go my way, Mother said she heard me stomping around my bedroom saying, "I'm mad this time! Boy, I'm really mad this time!"
       My big brother, Mark, told me, "Jill, nobody's gonna want to play with you if you keep acting this way!"

     Sometimes we must love people enough to say, "Stop it!"

"Dear brothers and sister, if another believer is overcome by some sin, you who are godly should gently and humbly help that person back onto the right path..." (Gal. 6:1)

    Thank you, Mark, for loving me enough to tell me the truth.
                        Happy 60th Birthday!!! I love you so!

Read more...

Unfinished Letter

Mama and me, 1978, at my brother's wedding

Dear Theophilus,
         In the first volume of this book, I wrote on everything that Jesus began to do and teach until the day He said good-bye to the apostles, the ones He had chosen through the Holy Spirit, and was taken up to heaven. After His death, He presented Himself alive to them in many different settings over a period of forty days... 
                             Dr. Luke
         (Acts 1:1-3, The Message)
                                                                           

         I love letters!  I love to write letters, and although it rarely happens, I really love to get letters. When I was in college, my mother wrote me every week. In the last years of her life, I wrote her every day.

            Did you know that over half the books of the Bible's New Testament are letters? All 13 of the books Paul authored are actually his letters (some penned from prison!). The Gospel of Luke and the book of Acts are letters, as well - long epistles written by Luke, a physician, to a man named Theophilus.
           Can you imagine going to your mailbox and pulling out a personally addressed, first-hand account of the ascension of Jesus Christ, the baptism of the Holy Spirit, the birth of the church, the transformation of murderer Saul to apostle Paul, plus numerous other acts, signs, and wonders! Theophilus must have been blown away when he received Luke's unfinished letter of Acts. 

            Yes, Acts is the only unfinished book in the Bible - perhaps because the acts of the Holy Spirit through Jesus Christ's disciples never ended and still continue even to this day. We can help write the end of the story by telling others the good news of eternal life with God through faith in Jesus Christ!

  "How beautiful are the feet of those who bring the good news!"
                                        (Rom. 10:15) 

Beginning the first week of September in Birmingham, AL -
Fall Women's Bible studies on the book of Acts:

• Tuesdays: 9:00 a.m. Woodlawn Dream Center
• Tuesdays: 10:30 a.m. N. Avondale Library
• Wednesdays: 9:00 a.m. Highlands Lakes
• Thursdays: 12:30 p.m. Foundry Community Center, Bessemer

Read more...

Be Still, Jill!

Jill still at three, 1959

"Be still (cease striving, let go, relax, be calm, step out of the traffic, esten quietos, stop! take a long loving look at Me) and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!" Psalm 46:10

          As I've shared before, during the January and August prayer seasons, Jesus consistently and graciously guides me by His Holy Spirit to a specific Scripture to contemplate, study, consider, meditate, take in, and chew and chew and chew on. This 21-days-of-prayer, that verse is Psalm 46:10 - "Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations!"
          What have I learned? Yes, God has set a work before me: write and teach. But I must understand that my part is simply to sit still in the Lord's Presence, know Him, and obey everything He tells me to do. God's part, on the other hand, is the outcome of that work.

          Today, I urge you; be still in God's Presence. Get to know the Lord Jesus! And then, through your obedience, the Most High God will be highly exalted among the peoples, tribes, tongues, and nations of this whole earth!

Snippet from newly released Secrets of Shiloh:

“Even if you don’t fully understand what I’m trying to tell you today, just remember these words of advice: get to know the Lord Jesus, Rachel, and serve Him with all your heart. He’s worthy to be trusted and obeyed. The Lord will take care of you, Rachel, and your mother. I promise. He’s chasing after you with His goodness. You just have to be still and let Him catch you – and don’t do all the talkin’, young lady,” he added with a caring smile.

Read more...

Sassie, Jack, Rocket, Speck, and Celandina

Sassie, Jack, Rocket, Speck, and Celandina's new home

"O Lord, You have examined my heart and know everything about me. You know when I sit down or stand up. You know my thoughts even when I'm far away. You see me when I travel and when I rest at home. You know everything I do. You know what I'm going to say even before I say it, Lord. You go before me and follow me. You place your hand of blessing on my head." (Psalm 139:1-5)

      Our grandkids have a new fish tank. Each member of their family chose a fish at the pet store and then selected a name for their new friend. Even though they live 500 miles away, five for five we were able to match Sassie, Jack, Rocket, Speck, and Celandina with their rightful new owner because we know our kids and their unique personalities. (It wasn't hard to figure out who named Celandina.) (Smile) 

       God knows His kids, too, - far higher, wider, deeper, and longer that we know our own! For He formed our inward parts and wove us together in our mother's womb (Ps. 139:13-14)! God told the prophet Jeremiah, "Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you!"
       Who are God's children? His Word says that those who confess Jesus have the Father, but those who deny His Son, Jesus, do not have the Father (1 John 2:23).

       Want to be God's child? Confess with your mouth JESUS as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead (Rom. 10:9), and then the Spirit Himself will testify with your spirit that you are God's own (Rom. 8:16)!

Read more...

JESUS!

Kindergarten children, 1962.
(I'm front row, 3rd from left)

"...God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him, the name which is above every name, so that at the name of JESUS every knee will bow, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and that every tongue will confess that JESUS Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father." (Phil. 2:9-11)

        One very important thing the thousands of children at Church of the Highlands are taught is that the name of JESUS is powerful. When they pray, they don't have to know a lot of fancy words; they can simply call out to JESUS. 

Illustration by Donny Finley from
newly released storybook: Secrets of Shiloh




1 JESUS, THERE'S SOMETHING ABOUT THAT NAME, Bill Gaither/Gloria Gaither, 1970

       The most powerful prayer anyone can pray is: Please help me, Lord JESUS! 
      Are you in up-to-your-eyeballs trouble today? Cry out to JESUS! And teach your children to do the same!
                                                          

JESUS, JESUS, JESUS
There's just something about that name!
Master, Savior, JESUS
Like the fragrance after the rain.
JESUS, JESUS, JESUS
Let all heaven and earth proclaim
Kings and kingdoms shall all pass away
But there's something about that name! 1

Read more...

We call her blessed!

My father-in-law and mother-in-law, Ernest and Imogene Glassco; wedding day, 1937

"An excellent wife, who can find? For her worth is far above jewels...Her children rise up and bless her...Charm is deceitful and beauty is vain, but a woman who fears the Lord, she shall be praised!" (Prov. 31:10,28,30)



         I'm certain there's a party going on in heaven today celebrating my mother-in-law's 94th birthday. The greatest gift she ever gave me was dedicating my Phillip to the Lord while he grew in her womb. The greatest advice she ever gave me was: when Phillip gets grumpy, feed him!

   

Phillip and his mother, 1956

       Did you know that these Scripture verses: 

"For where you go, I will go, and where you lodge, I will lodge. Your people shall be my people, and Your God, my God. Where you die, I will die, and there I will be buried. Thus may the Lord do to me and worse, if anything but death parts you and me." (Ruth 1:16-17)

....were not words spoken between a husband and wife but rather they were a loving pledge from a daughter-in-law to her mother-in-law? 

         Are your in-law relationships in-love? Today and in the days to come, "be devoted to one another in brotherly love; give preference to one another in honor...if possible, so far as it depends on you, be at peace with all..." (Rom. 12:10,18)

                 Happy birthday, Mrs. Glassco! I love you!

Read more...

Secret to Contentment

Daddy and Mother on their wedding day, Aug. 17, 1943

"There is an appointed time for everything...a time to love and a time to hate; a time for war and a time for peace." (Eccl. 3:1,8)

       



        My parents married on a hot summer's day in 1943 while the United States engaged in the heat of World War II. After a brief honeymoon in a rustic cabin overlooking DeSoto Falls in north Alabama, the newlyweds traveled by train to Camp Anza, an Army staging camp, in Riverside, California. 

Service Club, Camp Anza, 1944

       Mother worked at the base library connected to the Service Club while daddy, Capt. W. W. Watson, processed to go overseas. Every furlough, they explored the scenic wonders of the western seaboard in a 1931 Model A Ford. 
     As Charles Dickens penned in A Tale of Two Cities, "It was the best of times; it was the worst of times."

Mama in Yosemite National Park

     The Apostle Paul once said, "I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation." (Phil. 4:11-12)
     Paul reveals the secret in the following verse: "I can do all things through Jesus who strengthens me."(Phil. 4:13)

       Whatever circumstances you find yourself in today, I pray that you will exercise the secret of contentment by finding strength in the Lord Jesus Christ! (And my mama would add, "And keep a good sense of humor!")

                Happy 70th Anniversary, Mama and Daddy!

Read more...

Here Comes the Bride

My daughter, Rebecca, 2004

"Hallelujah! For the Lord our God, the Almighty, reigns. Let us rejoice and be glad and give the glory to Him, for the marriage of the Lamb has come and His bride has made herself ready." (Rev. 19:6b-7) "This mystery is great; but I am speaking with reference to Christ and the church." (Eph. 5:32)



         Rebecca and Stephen met the first day of 7th grade and quickly became best friends - a constant through middle school, high school, and college. I remember telling my daughter, "Now, Rebecca, one day when you get married, Stephen can't be your best friend - that would never work!"
         Needless to say, I was wrong, because on April 3, 2004, Rebecca married her best friend.
  
        We are the church of Jesus Christ: His bride. Jesus said, "I have called you friends, for greater love has no one than this, that He lay down His life for His friends." (John 15:15,13)

     Oh follower of Jesus the Christ, know that Jesus loves you so much that He died for you! Therefore live for Him!

Stephen and Rebecca: Best Friends Forever

"And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, made ready as a bride adorned for her husband...they will see His face...And there will no longer be any night and they will not have need of the light of a lamp nor the light of the sun, because the Lord God will illumine them; and they will reign forever and ever!" (Rev. 21:2; 22:4-5)

Read more...

I Confess!

Illustration by Donny Finley from
Secrets of Shiloh
Available at: westbowpress.com, Amazon.com, Barnesandnoble.com

"...Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and produces wonderful results. Elijah was as human as we are, and yet when he prayed earnestly that no rain would fall, none fell for three and a half years!" (James 5:16-17)


       I confess! I've allowed doubt and faith to wrestle on the mat of my mind; and lately, doubt has prevailed because I focused more on what I saw and felt rather than what God said.
      This morning, through Pastor Brandon at Church of the Highlands' 21-days-of prayer, the Lord strengthened and encouraged me. Then bam! faith triumphantly pinned doubt to the ground in Jesus' name!

       Who's winning in your arena: doubt or faith? May the Lord strengthen and encourage you today to pin doubt to the ground forevermore in Jesus' name!

"Faith is the confidence that what we hope for will actually happen; it gives us assurance about things we cannot see." (Heb. 11:1) "For we live by believing and not by seeing!" (2 Cor. 5:7)

Snippet from Secrets of Shiloh:

Col. James led his loyal friend to an older section of the graveyard and pointed out the headstones of his parents and grandparents. Then he suggested, “Let’s go sit over there on that bench for a little while.” Rachel noticed that he looked tired and rather pale, but the old warrior never complained.
          “Rachel, I’ve shared many things with you over the years, but I regret that I’ve failed to share the most valuable part of my life – my relationship with God. Tough, old birds from my generation keep our faith to ourselves, and that’s not good. Well, I want to change that today.” 

Read more...

Bad Advice

L-R: Mark, me, and Rocky, 1959

"For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not from the Father but is from the world" (1 John 2:16)


        After listening to me boohoo all the way home because Mama didn't stop for snow-cones, my brothers lured me into their diabolical plan.
       "Here's a dime, Jill." (Yes, snow-cones were only ten cents in 1959.) We'll let you out the window, and you can walk to town and get that cool, tasty, delightfully-delicious, grape snow-cone." (I may have exaggerated just a little bit.)
      I swallowed the bait hook, line, and sinker and down the road I went!
      After having second thoughts that sending a three-year-old (even though she was a pest) to town alone (a three-mile hike down Lookout Mountain's busy, snaking highway) may not be a good idea, those rats tattled to our mother, "Jill's run away to buy a snow-cone!" (Years later, they would confess to being accomplices in my crime.)

     What are you longing for today? Is it of God or of the world?

"Do not love the world nor the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him...The world passes away and also its lusts; but the one who does the will of God lives forever!" (1 John 2:15,17)

Snippet from my storybook, Secrets of Shiloh, now available 
at Amazon.com, Westbowpress.com, and Barnesandnoble.com -

“Yes, sir,” she said softly. Col. James’ serious tone made her feel uneasy – like something was wrong.

“Also, never forget that you have an enemy, the devil. He’s a liar and a deceiver, and you need to learn to recognize his lies. The Good Book tells us in First Peter that he’s a sly foe who prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour and destroy. You must resist him, firm in your faith.”

Read more...