Just three weeks ago, I reached a milestone in my life. I turned seventy-five years old. That cannot possibly be true! No way this young woman can be seventy-five years old, three quarters of a century. My brain feels young and vibrant, yet as I stare into the mirror, the white-haired woman who earned lots of wrinkles along the way, reveals the truth.

What a privilege it is to be given seventy-five years of life! So many never have that privilege. My son Bryan was only given half of the seventy-five years with which I have been blessed. If you have been given another day, raise those hands to the giver of life and offer thanks to Him.

As I have gotten older, a habit I developed many years ago has helped me tremendously. I lift weights at least three times per week. I never enjoy it – as in NEVER, but I know it keeps my body strong. Many people express hating “leg” day. Not me, I highly dislike arm and upper body day, but strength comes in the “weighting.”  There is not a lot of joy in the “weighting.”  Weight training is part of my life that I dislike but press through anyway.

Wait training is a part of the Christian life. It simply is. We do not have to like it, but we must learn to press through it.

After many decades of walking with God, I have learned a few things about waiting. Here are some of them.

• Trust the word of God and the God of the word. “The righteous cry out, and the Lord hears, and delivers them out of all their troubles.” – Psalm 34:17 NKJV. God has as plan even as I wait. When it comes to His people, Jesus is always busy but not necessarily in a hurry.

• Trust in the Lord and not our own understanding. Proverbs 3:5 teaches us to lean on the Lord even when we cannot figure things out. Expect God to answer but be prepared for answers that might be different from what God does.

• Be courageous while waiting. Sometimes while waiting, fear takes over my mind and brings his friends anxiety and fretfulness. As believers let’s stand in courage that God is with us. “Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.” – Joshua 1:9 NIV

• Give God time to work. Do not run ahead of Him. “Yet how quickly they forgot what he had done! They wouldn’t wait for his counsel!” – Psalm 106:13. I know a woman who by age thirty had not married. She really wanted to be married. She married a man because he proposed, knowing she did not love him. The marriage ended in a lot of bitterness and anger. I could write many paragraphs about situations where I and others simply left the waiting room to work it out without God.  Not wise!

• Remain faithful to God. While discouraged, I have seen too many walk away because things were not working out as they envisioned. God was taking too long or doing it wrong. “Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful.” – Hebrews 10:23 NKJV

Wait training is not something I enjoy. I want God to move right now. I am three-quarters of a century old, and I have learned that I must focus on God’s trustworthiness, and not on my desired result and timing. I never like waiting, but I can testify it has brought strength to my Christian walk.

“The ability to calm your soul and wait before God is one of the most difficult things in the Christian life. Our old nature is restless…the world around us is frantically in a hurry. But a restless heart usually leads to a reckless life.” – Warren Wiersbe

“I wait for the Lord, my soul waits, and in His word I do hope.” – Psalm 130:5 NKJV

Several years ago, our son gave us an Amazon Alexa. Our first thought was what do we do with this thing? Our son proceeded to show us the many uses. Let’s just say many uses do not happen in this home! We use Alexa to turn the living room lights on and off, get the weather report, time the clothes in the dryer, and play worship music. That is about it for us where Alexa is concerned!

Alexa is voice activated, and she will listen to anyone’s voice! Anyone’s voice! If we have a movie playing and one of the characters is named Alexa, our Amazon Alexa will activate every time the character’s name is mentioned. Our grandchildren love to ask her a million questions, and they love to give her math problems. Some of their questions go like this, “Alexa, what is one million times four hundred minus sixty-three plus one hundred thousand?”

Even though I own Alexa, she is persuaded by other voices.

In my daily life, I sometimes feel like Alexa. The world’s voices have grown incredibly loud. There are so many voices trying to tell me what is true and what I should believe. People try to persuade me to stray from Truth. Hundreds of voices on social media, television, and the printed word are all calling out to me. All these voices try to persuade me toward what they call truth.

In our world today, it can be difficult to discern the voice of truth. Some voices are quite persuasive in declaring truth, their truth. With so many voices calling our names, it can be hard to hear the voice of the One who owns us.

Often, the loud voice draws my attention, but the loud voice is not necessarily the right voice. Amid the loudness, I must be still and know He is God. One thing I have learned as I have journeyed with God is that I must be still and listen for His voice. We all need to slow down, sip a cup of something, and sit with God.

Thank God for good friends whose voices encourage us and give us advice. Thank God for the voice of those who teach us His word. Thank God for the melodic voice of worship songs. All these voices are good. Yet, they will never replace hearing the voice of God.

God longs for us to get quiet with Him. He still says, “Be still and know that I am God.” He invites us to step out of the frantic pace of life and its chaos and still ourselves before Him. He invites us to remember Who is in charge. Be still and listen.

“Be still and know that I am God! I will be honored by every nation. I will be honored throughout the world. The Lord of Heaven’s Armies is here among us; the God of Israel is our fortress. – Psalm 46:10-11 NLT

I often find myself listening to the song “I Can Only Imagine” by Mercy Me.

I can only imagine, What it will be like
When I walk, by your side
I can only imagine what my eyes will see
When your face is before me
I can only imagine, I can only imagine

Surrounded by Your glory, What will my heart feel
Will I dance for you Jesus, Or in awe of You be still
Will I stand in your presence, Or to my knees will I fall
Will I sing hallelujah, Will I be able to speak at all
I can only imagine, I can only imagine.

Several years ago, I went to pick up my grandson from therapy. Joseph’s mom told him that Grammy would be picking him up, and he would be spending the night with Papa and Grammy. Joseph understood that first he had to complete his work, then Grammy would come. Joseph was enthusiastically waiting for the moment I arrived to get him. In fact, he told the therapist several times that Grammy was coming. There was never a doubt in Joseph’s mind that Grammy was coming!

As I entered the therapist’s office, the timing was perfect! Joseph was walking towards the waiting room. A gate separated the hall and the waiting room. As Joseph stepped into the hall and saw my face, his joy was uncontainable. He leaped down the hall. He laughed with glee. His leap of joy was so high, I thought he was going to jump over the gate. When he got to me, he took my hand and said, “I want to go to Grammy’s house.” (Really, it was Papa he could not wait to see.)

Joseph’s work was over, and it was time to go be with the one he loved.

Immediately, and I do mean immediately, I saw picture of what it will be like the day I finish my assignment here on earth. I shall walk down the hallway from earth to heaven. I see myself leaping, laughing, and taking the hand of Jesus, and walking into His house to live forever. I can only imagine!

Child of God, it is so easy to get caught up in the temporal, forgetting that this is not our final home. We will change addresses one day, and it will be our final address! Those who have accepted Jesus Christ, as Lord and Savior, will live forever with Him in heaven.

I cannot get the visual of my grandson Joseph out of my head, nor do I want to get it out of my head! Will I leap high when I see Jesus? Will I dance and laugh as I see the One I love? Will I break into tears as I see His face, and thank Him for taking a life full of sorrow, and filling it with joy? Will I kneel and wash his feet with tears of gratitude? Will I simply stand in silence as I stand in awe of the Son of God?

I can only imagine!

A couple of years ago, Gaylon and I were in Arizona. Often when speaking of Arizona, people think of hot, hot, hot. Yes, that is part of Arizona, a big part. But the beauty of Arizona is breathtaking. The gorgeous colorful hills, peaks, and slopes of Sedona are a remarkable sight. It is as if the earth decided to put on its Sunday best.

As far as beholding the beauty of the earth, Sedona is a must see.

There is a wonderful event in Matthew seventeen that happened on a mountain, and it is most often referred to as the transfiguration. Jesus took Peter, James, and John up on a high mountain. While there, the three men watched as Jesus’ face began to shine brightly and his clothes took on a whole different look. Before their eyes appeared Moses and Elijah. It was a spiritual w-o-w moment. Jesus was “transfigured.”

The Greek word translated “transfigured” gives us the English word “metamorphosis,” which means a change on the outside that comes from the inside. When Jesus began to shine, it was not because the angels in heaven had turned a powerful spotlight on Him. It was because His divine nature was radiating through His body and His raiment. Jesus revealed His divine nature in its glory.

The men said, it is so great to be here. Peter wanted to build three shelters and prolong the moment. God had other plans. They were to leave the spiritual wow moment and go to the valley below to release those who were bound, those who were not having any wow moments. Immediately they encountered a demon-possessed man. He needed a wow moment of deliverance, yet the disciples were powerless. Jesus was frustrated at the powerlessness. Read the story in Matthew seventeen.

Many people are praying for a revival and waiting for the BIG event. God is waiting for us to come down from the mountain to the valley below, where people are bound. Wow moments in God’s presence should empower us to leave the mountain and powerfully approach the valley where the bound need wow moments.

How we need to get in God’s presence and let Him infuse us with His radiance and power. We need it in our generation, and I pray it will pour all over the next generation. May the next generation exceed us spiritually. May they have discerning hearts to see the lies of the enemy for what they are.

“God, raise up the next generation to be powerful. We call forth the power of God in their lives, that they would be men and women of God who show forth God’s glory, allowing others to experience wow moments with God.”

“You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.” – Matthew 5:14-16 NKJV

Charles Spurgeon told a story of how during a sudden storm a woman on a ship became very terrified. She was so distraught that she found her husband, who happened to be the ship’s captain, and said, “I don’t understand how you can be so calm while I am totally terrified.”

Her husband calmly walked across his quarters and picked up his sword. He took it and aimed it at the center of her chest, but she only laughed. Then he asked, “Why aren’t you afraid of this sword? It could slay you in less than a minute.”

His wife replied, “I am not afraid of a sword that is wielded by the hand of my husband.”

“Then neither am I,” said the captain, “afraid of a storm in the hand of my heavenly Father.”

As Christ followers, we look around in today’s culture, and we could easily start to say, “Where is God? Is He even paying attention to our prayers?” God is right where He has always been and always will be – sitting on His throne in heaven. He is still God! The world, that He created, is still in His hands.

Do not be deceived. Do not live discouraged. Do not give up. Do not allow your love to grow cold. Let your faith arise – things are still in His hands.

The Bible was very clear in telling us that times such as these would come. Much of what we are seeing is proof that God is on His throne and His Word is being fulfilled. He is not shocked by anything going on – we are, but He is not. As believers, we are to continue to beam with His love and radiate His light. We can stand strong in what we believe and still be kind and loving. Wherever you are, wherever you go, bring His love.

I am determined to walk in His love and power all the way to the end. I can do that because I firmly believe it’s all in His hands, and I am in His hands.

“And many false prophets will arise and lead many astray. And because lawlessness will be increased, the love of many will grow cold. But the one who endures to the end will be saved. And this gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.” – Matthew 24:11-14

After being at a conference all weekend, it is nice to be home and to sleep in my bed. I had the privilege of hanging out all weekend with a group of women at varying stages of their journey with God. It was my joy to teach them from God’s Word. There were tears, laughter, hugs, hands raised to God, shouts of joy. God truly met with us.

Usually when I speak at conferences, the hosts are kind enough to put a gift basket in my room. Often it has snacks, stationery, lotions, beverages, and occasionally even a gift card. The basket is one of those bonuses that I am blessed to receive.

This past weekend, since I knew the person who invited me to speak, she and I talked about things to place in my room. I requested no food items, especially sweets, because I am really trying to eat healthier. I have a love affair with chocolate, and if there is a nice stash of that glorious treat, it WILL get eaten. Chocolate probably should have been on the list of gifts of the Spirit!

My basket this past weekend was quite amazing. Almost everything in there was made from essential oils. There were several different oils to use in my diffuser and fill the atmosphere of my home with a sweet fragrance. There was oil spray for the surfaces of my home to keep them from being overtaken by harmful things that I do not even see. There were shower steamers to place on the floor of the shower, and the instruction is to let them slowly melt as you shower and breathe in their wonderful, healthy aroma as it rises.

Oil, oil and more oil. The intention of the gift was that oil would touch every area of my life. Let it fill me and my home.

I could not help but think of the Holy Spirit being the oil for the believer. In the Bible, the oil of the Holy Spirit was poured over those set apart for the work of God. The Holy Spirit anoints us and empowers us to stand strong as we work for His Kingdom.

Oil feeds a lamp with fresh light every day. Holy Spirit will fill us with a fresh touch if we take time to sit with Him. Fresh light will come to the soul and fresh strength for the journey.

Oil was used for the healing of wounds that the body had received from life. There are so many wounds in the lives of people today. It brings comfort and healing to the wounds. We are in a dysfunctional world that readily wounds the heart and emotions. The Holy Spirit stands ready to bring comfort and healing to our wounds.

The Bible speaks of the oil of joy in Isaiah 61. There is a supernatural joy available to the believer.

These items in my basket were called essential oils. The word essential means absolutely necessary, highly important, or fundamental to the core nature of something. Allowing time each day for the Holy Spirit to touch our lives is essential oil. Breathe in His fragrance. Fill Your home with His fragrance.

The oil of the Holy Spirit is not just a theological concept, but an invitation to transformed living. This heavenly oil is available to saturate our lives and leave a residue wherever we go. The essential oil of the Holy Spirit makes us carriers of His presence.

Let it be as Isaiah said.

“The Spirit of the Lord God is upon Me, Because the Lord has anointed Me
To preach good tidings to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted,
To proclaim liberty to the captives, And the opening of the prison to those who are bound;
To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord, And the day of vengeance of our God;
To comfort all who mourn,To console those who mourn in Zion,
To give them beauty for ashes, The oil of joy for mourning,
The garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness;
That they may be called trees of righteousness,
The planting of the Lord, that He may be glorified.” – Isaiah 61:1-3

“Even though the fig trees have no blossoms, and there are no grapes on the vines; even though the olive crop fails, and the fields lie empty and barren; even though the flocks die in the fields, and the cattle barns are empty, yet I will rejoicein the Lord!

I will be joyful in the God of my salvation! The Sovereign Lord is my strength! He makes me as surefooted as a deer, able to tread upon the heights. – Habakkuk 3:17-19 NLT

The prophet Habakkuk sums up life, doesn’t he? 

On this September morning, I have been thinking and pondering about the things going on around me.

• Financial hardship for those simply trying to put bread on the table and gas in the car.
• The state of our country, in light of the Word of God.
• The endless political drama.
• A niece who is battling stage four colon cancer after losing her only sibling to ALS just two years ago.
• The chaos of the situation in the Middle East.

I could go on and on, and many of you could chime in quickly, adding your own difficulties. There have been some very good places, but 2026 has been challenging. Yet, while it might seem crazy to some, I still have great hope and faith, that God is the strength of my life.

Sometimes it feels like we are on shaky ground, and that at any moment, the earth will open and we will be swallowed up. Habakkuk reminds us that God will cause us to be sure-footed in the treacherous places.

Habakkuk also has a “yet” praise! I choose to have a “yet” praise!

It is easy to praise and be joyful when things are going well. But, the truth of life is, that things will not always go well, even when we serve God. When we face sickness, hardship, challenges, and unfairness, and still offer a “yet” praise, it shows that something supernatural has occurred in our lives. It shows that the living God is within us. He is Immanuel, the God who is with us!

Immanuel is with me today! I will celebrate what I DO have right now and not focus on what I DON’T have. God is the very present help who is with me today! I choose to go deeper in experiencing the love of the Father who gave His only Son so that I can truly LIVE! Over and over, He has shown Himself to be nearby.

Yes, there is a lot of darkness around, but the One who is the Way, the Truth, and the Life is with me. The One who declared, “I am the Light,” is with me. I will lift my voice to Him, and I will have a “yet” praise!

“Believing God when “the chips are down” is one of the most difficult things that we will ever be called to do. Yet if we trust the Lord only when things are going well, then we do not really trust Him at all. When things are good, let us thank God for His blessings, but also ask Him to sustain our faith if we face real hardship. As we walk through dark times, let us ask Him to help us rejoice in Him and remember that He is our exceedingly great reward.”  – R. C. Sproul

Miracles do not happen! There are some sports fans who would highly disagree.

When I was a child, I followed baseball. Bobby Richardson was from my hometown of Sumter, SC, and was a player for the New York Yankees. Richardson was on the Yankees’ roster from 1955-1966. During that period, the Yankees won several World Series. In one of those series, Bobby Richardson was outstanding. He hit a grand slam in one game, and he won the MVP and was the only player to ever win that award while being on the losing team. As kids in a small town, Bobby Richardson was our hero, and he was the talk at the school lunch table.

There was a lot of talk about another team from New York, and that team was the Mets. The Mets were established in 1962, and there is no nice way to say it. They were awful! They were mocked and the brunt of many jokes. Their record was abysmal, and that is a generous way of saying it.

In 1969, when I was a senior in high school, people were still laughing at the Mets. As they began that season, no one gave them any hope of being successful. Before 1969 the Mets had never had a winning season. In what was considered one of the biggest upsets in baseball history, the young Mets team rallied behind manager Gil Hodges and star pitcher Tom Seaver to produce a winning season and to win the World Series. That team became known as “The Miracle Mets.”

Just ask Mets’ fans. Miracles do happen!

There are many in the Christian Church who teach that miracles do not happen today. The cessation of miracles is the theological view—known as cessationism—that miraculous sign gifts like healing, prophecy, and speaking in tongues stopped operating after the death of the first-century apostles and the completion of the New Testament.

I go on record right now as saying I highly disagree with cessationism. While I do not believe that we command God to change every situation because we said so, I know that God still does miracles. I have seen God do miracles in myself, my family, and in many others.

I could write many paragraphs about the miracles I have experienced personally and about the miracles I have seen in the lives of others. Let me just cite one of those that I know to be true.

One of my friends who is married to a pastor was diagnosed with breast cancer. She underwent surgery, chemo, and radiation. At the end of the treatment, the doctors gave her a grim diagnosis and said there was no hope. It was a devastating blow.

Those of us who still believed in miracles began to ask God for a healing miracle. He is a merciful God. When my friend went back for a checkup six months later, there was no sign of cancer. NO SIGN. Twenty years later, there is still no sign of cancer in her body.

Yes, He is a God who still does miracles. I have seen financial miracles, physical miracles, spiritual miracles, and marriage miracles.

To say that miracles do not happen is, in my opinion, an unwarranted dogmatic view. I do not claim to know why God does the miraculous in some situations and not in others. That is God’s business. I trust Him either way.

I will continue to ask God to intervene in situations where miracles are needed. Why? Because miracles do happen—even after the 1969 World Series.

“Through faith in the name of Jesus, this man was healed—and you know how crippled he was before. Faith in Jesus’ name has healed him before your very eyes.” – Acts 3:16 NLT

Gaylon became a pastor in Beaufort/Port Royal, SC, in 1976. We were excited to go there, but I was so immature. Jesus was my Savior. I went to Southeastern University. Neither of those automatically made me mature in my walk with God. I had been told I was gifted, but as I look back, I have learned that gifted and mature are not the same thing.

I am about to tell you the truth! I had an older pastor’s wife that I talked with before Gaylon became a senior pastor. In a nutshell, her advice was do not wear slacks, do not wear makeup, do not cut your hair, and do not become friends with anyone in the church. My interpretation of that: be ugly and lonely and you can be a great pastor’s wife!

In Beaufort, God helped me to overcome much of my shyness, and I became a worship leader and a Bible teacher, but oh how raw I was in dealing with people. How raw I was in reflecting Christ. If you were in our church at that time, please forgive me! I was a scared, scarred, active woman, but so immature.

We saw a lot of numerical growth in the church and experienced an awesome worship atmosphere. People would linger around the altar after services just to stay in God’s presence. We were all so hungry for the presence of the living God.

Those were wonderful church days, but I was dissatisfied internally. I knew how to put programs together, lead worship, and teach the Bible. The success we experienced was wonderful, yet I knew something was missing in my life. Why the dissatisfaction amid a growing, thriving ministry?

During our ten years we spent in Beaufort, I started attending Women of the Word conferences in Ridgecrest, NC. I cannot even tell you how I discovered these conferences or who invited me to attend. It was a God thing.

I listened as other women speakers brought powerful messages that reflected an intimate, mature walk with God. What a breath of fresh air!!!!

Over time, I got to personally know some of those powerful speakers. I was blessed to spend time with some of them and to be mentored by them. Those women poured into my life. Additionally, I bought every recorded message and listened to them over and over. Those leaders, through God, changed my life.

Those powerful women of God were not easy on me. One of them said, “If I am going to mentor you, I will be tough on you, fair but tough.”  Today, I am so thankful they were not easy on me because growth is not always easy. Maturity in Christ is not for the faint of heart!

Decades of my time were spent allowing those women to speak into my life. Those women truly helped me to see that Jesus was calling me to a deeper, transforming walk, but that He would allow me to remain spiritually shallow if I so desired.

Listening to my mentors and watching their lives caused a hunger in my soul. I wanted more in my walk with God. I wanted to be deeper in Him. It is in the deep place that we see the power of God operating in our lives and that we get revelation of the One who resides within us.

What did I learn at Beaufort? In looking back, I see it matters not if you are gifted if you are not also godly. I was pitifully shallow spiritually. Your gifting can place you in positions of leadership, but it will take character to keep you there. Without character, over time, you will end up hurting much of the good you have done.

Too often in the Church, we think giftedness equals godliness.

I want to be a godly, gifted woman of God, who reflects God, and is about the work of the Kingdom. I want to be a mentor helping others to move along in their walk.

Jesus is calling us to move out into the deeper waters, waters that transform us more into His image. Dive in! The water is great!

“…Instead, train yourself to be godly. Physical training is good, but training for godliness is much better, promising benefits in this life and in the life to come.” 1 Timothy 4:7,8

Though my husband is retired from vocational ministry, we are still involved in ministry every day of our lives. Gaylon was a pastor for thirty-three years and a chaplain for eighteen years. It was never a position for him, never. Gaylon, as a pastor, loved the flock dearly. He cried when sitting with someone who cried. He loved those who seemed unloveable. He rejoiced with those who rejoiced.

One of the things that always stood out to me while Gaylon was a pastor, was his ability to love and forgive those who wounded him. I know all pastors have imperfections, but trust me when I tell you sheep bite, and often the bite goes deep.

My husband Gaylon is one of the finest, most godly men on the face of the earth and was a wonderful pastor. Though he pastored churches with several hundred in them, Gaylon also willingly pastored smaller churches when he felt it was the call of God.

Often, we think it is the guy with the huge church that is “the” great pastor. It is the pastor who is well-known or the one who has thousands following them on social media. Gaylon Benton would not fall into those categories, but he was one of the best pastors I have ever met. (This is being said by a woman who knows him very well!)

When Gaylon was pastor of a smaller church in Florida that had about a hundred people, we faced a rough time. The sheep bites were difficult. About ten percent of the people created a “task force” to stand up against Gaylon’s ministry. Some had been our very close friends. Without giving a lot of detail, suffice it to say they left the church and did so very vocally. It was both hurtful and discouraging.

A couple of days later, as we went to our scheduled Saturday night prayer meeting, we were at an incredibly low point. We were faithful to prayer during our personal pain.

Word had spread through the church about the group that left. As we got to the prayer meeting, to our surprise quite a few showed up to pray with us – people who did not regularly come. They wanted us to know that they were standing with us and praying for us.

Negative chatter continued for a while but so did the encouragement and prayers of those people. It was a breath of fresh air! Long story short – that church completely turned around over the next eighteen months numerically and financially.

One thing that kept us going was the encouragement from others.

Kindness in the little things can encourage folks who feel like they cannot take another step, or are walking in confusion, hurt, and pain. Your kindness and encouragement could very well release the power of the Holy Spirit into the life of someone ready to quit. Encouragement can give wind to the sails to help a pastor or someone else complete the mission to which they have been called.

Who can use your encouragement today? Your pastor? Your nephew? Your neighbor? Your co-worker? Someone who recently lost a loved one? Your mayor? Everyone can be used by God to encourage another. Send a text. Send a card. Make a meal for someone. Invite for coffee or lunch someone who is struggling. Take time to encourage your leaders, friends, and family, especially if they are in a low place. You do not have to have all the answers. It is amazing what the ministry of encouragement can do.

The ministry of encouragement can be life changing. I know a pastor who got fresh wind in his sails, simply by those who encouraged him, and I know him well!

Galatians 6:10 ESV – “So then, as we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone, and especially to those who are of the household of faith.”