Sitting on the dresser in my bedroom is a small figurine of a little girl with blonde hair. This trinket literally came from a dollar store and has been on my dresser for fifteen years. Scattered around the room in which the figurine sits are much more expensive items. Yet, the little blonde girl is so precious to me that she sits front and center on the dresser.

One might wonder why I would display a one-dollar knickknack that actually looks like a one-dollar knickknack. Here is the story.

When our first grandchild was born, we were thrilled. Madison Elizabeth Benton came into this world and my heart melted. One of my greatest desires was that this baby girl would love me deeply. As a baby, Madison lived nearly nine hundred miles from us. I used every frequent flyer I had going to see her. God even blessed me with a couple of speaking engagements in Wisconsin which enabled me to see her for a few days. Madison’s family also visited us when they could. At a very young age, she knew who I was, and we cultivated a close, loving relationship.

Once while visiting in Alabama, Madison went with Papa to the dollar store. She saw the blonde-girl figurine and just had to buy it for me. She presented it with such love, and I showed her where we would display it so I could think of her every day. Madison is now nineteen years old and the little blonde girl still stands on my dresser. It does not matter to me that it is not a Hummel figurine worth thousands of dollars. What matters to me is the love behind the gift.

Some people have million-dollar voices, and some of us screech out the lyrics of a worship song. God does not sit on His throne accepting the worship of only those who have marvelous voices. He does not turn His head when the screechers lift a voice of worship. All God hears is the love behind the song.

Nowhere in Scripture does it say you need musical skills to sing to the Lord. But in several places, it commands us to make a joyful noise unto the Lord. Musical talent has nothing to do with personal worship to God. God wants us to find such joy and excitement in Him that we cannot contain it. I have been known to walk around my house and sing rather loudly when it is just me and God.

When I think about the Lord
How He saved me how He raised me
How He filled me with the Holy Ghost
How He healed me to the uttermost
When I think about the Lord
How He picked me up and turned me around
How He placed my feet on solid ground
It makes me wanna shout

Hallelujah thank You Jesus
Lord You’re worthy of all the glory
And all the honor and all the praise
It makes me wanna shout
Hallelujah thank You Jesus
Lord You’re worthy of all the glory
And all the honor and all the praise

My singing may not be joyful to anyone in earshot, but it is perfectly joyful to my soul. No rocks will take my place when it comes to praising my Beloved!   How about you?  Are you are singer or a screecher?  It doesn’t matter at all.  Lift up your voice to the King of Kings who hears it in perfect pitch!

“Make a joyful noise unto the LORD, all ye lands.” – Psalm 100:1

I recently read a cute joke:

INNKEEPER: The room is $50 a night, but only $25 if you make your own bed.
GUEST: I’ll make my own bed.
INNKEEPER: OK. I’ll get you some nails and wood.

Making our bed every day is essential at our house. There would be extenuating circumstances for that not to happen! My husband Gaylon and I have the bed made within ten minutes of getting up each morning.

I am the queen of accent pillows on furniture. I like the pop it can give a room or a piece of furniture. On our bed, there are a total of nine pillows which must be placed in just the right order each day. (Don’t judge!)

One morning while making the bed I put the pillows in the wrong order, and Gaylon followed me by putting the ones on his side in the wrong order. I said, “I do not know what I was thinking. These are wrong.”  He said, “I knew they were wrong, but I was following your lead.” We got a good little chuckle out of that.

Do you know what is not something to chuckle about? Following leaders in the Body of Christ who are missing the mark. There is far too much shallow teaching, blind followers, and self-indulgent leaders in the Church. Yep, I said it!

Charisma without character is a dangerous thing in a leader.

Recently I watched a two-hour documentary about a “Christian” leader who is now deceased. Literally thousands followed this man and attended his church. Hundreds of leaders in various countries invited this man to come and speak to their congregations or leadership conferences. Behind the scenes this man was living a corrupt life, and many knew it, but refused to say anything. Why? Because he told them he was a man of God. He used the scripture, “Touch not mine anointed.”

I listened to many women tell how he would send for them to come to his private chambers for a rendezvous. Some continued in this for years even though they admitted that they knew this was sinful according to the scriptures. Many lived in abject poverty as they worked for him because he told them God wanted them to work for nothing and serve the man of God.  Many were beaten if they got something wrong. Some were in bad health because they only got one meal a day. The stories were jaw-dropping.

All of what I described is incredibly sad. It is also sad to listen to those who were abused by this man. So many said, “I knew it was wrong, but he was just so gifted.” 

People of God, more than ever we need to study to show ourselves approved. If a leader asks us to engage in sinful behavior, leave that leader! If a leader is abusing us in any way, leave that leader! If a leader is twisting the word of God, leave that leader! It is my job and your job to know God’s word and not follow someone just because they are gifted. This is not a time to be spiritually lazy. Search the Word and spend time with the Author.

Following someone’s lead when you know they are wrong is deadly spiritually and possibly physically. The Bible tells us that by a person’s fruits we will know they are His, not by their charisma and giftedness. We must stop being charmed by giftedness alone.

God has many leaders who are upholding the standard of true Christian leadership. Ask Him to help you find that kind of leader. Like the Son of God, we are to lead not so we can be served, but to serve. – Mark 10:45

“Dear friends, do not believe everyone who claims to speak by the Spirit. You must test them to see if the spirit they have comes from God. For there are many false prophets in the world.” – 1 John 4:1

Some of the hardest moments in life are the times when someone flat out lies about you, or intentionally distorts the truth. I have been there more than once.

Have you ever been lied about or done wrong, and it seems the perpetrator got away with it?

From a human standpoint, it is hard to reconcile the fact that one can do the right(eous) thing, and not get the expected result. Joseph, in scripture, said a resounding NO to the advances of Potiphar’s wife. He said NO over and over and stated that he would not sin against God by sleeping with another man’s wife. Where did it get Joseph? After Mrs. Potiphar lied about him, Joseph was thrown right into a dark prison cell.

How is that possible? Doesn’t the Bible say, “You reap what you sow?”  Indeed, it does, but the Bible never gives a time frame on reaping and sowing.

Joseph sat in that jail cell for two long years. It was unfair and incomprehensible. As Joseph sat there, an innocent man, he had a choice to make. He could be mad at life, mad at God, and say, “I will never serve God again. What good did that do me?” 

Joseph did not look at what was happening at that moment in life, and let the moment determine how he saw God. He continued serving God, continued being faithful to God, and continued trusting God. He even started a jail ministry!

After Joseph was in prison for two years, he got up one morning not knowing his deliverance was about to come. He woke up, brushed his teeth, tidied up his cot, ate a not-so-great prison breakfast, and did his regular slave work. It was just a regular old day in prison.

BUT GOD! God said, “Today, it is finished!”  Before the sun went down that day, Joseph was living in a palace and was the second most powerful person in the land.

It only took Joseph THIRTEEN years to arrive at the palace. Thirteen years of faithfulness in less than stellar circumstances. Thirteen years of right decisions in less than stellar circumstances. Thirteen years of serving God with no expensive suits, no pricey chariots, no beautiful wife, no book publisher, and no television program. Just a man who chose to be faithful to the One he loved and the One who loved him.

Do not give up doing the right(eous) things in this life! Walk in integrity. We serve a God who is a “BUT GOD” kind of God. He is not limited by what is happening in your life at this moment. This “BUT GOD” that we serve has the biggest “BUT” in the room! He is at work in your life. He has the final word.

One day, you will look back, and this will be your song.

“He’s been faithful, faithful to me, Looking back Your love and mercy I see,
In my heart I question if You’re there, and I fail to believe
But You’ve been faithful, faithful to me.”

I know I have said it often, but once again I say, “Life is hard!” 

Recently in prayer, I was telling God that life is overwhelming and the burdens are so heavy. My extended family is facing so many heartbreaking situations from ALS to cancer to Alzheimer’s. My older brother is having memory issues. He has two daughters, one is battling ALS, and the other is battling colon cancer. Their mom is stretched thin trying to keep up with all the needs. The golden years are not so golden for them right now.

I have five living siblings, and the above is the circumstance for one of them. That is just one situation and does not include health issues being faced by my other siblings. Life is hard! Burdens are heavy.

Jesus addressed one of the things with which so many deal today – heavy burdens. “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” Matthew 11:28-30

This passage should be a breath of fresh air. In a world that is exhausting with its toil, demands, and trials, God has a different way for His people. His way is life-giving, and it allows us to experience the fullness of life. 

Often, we hear this taught a little differently than what Jesus actually said, or we ourselves kind of misread this scripture. Jesus did not say come to me, and your burden will be gone immediately. Come to me, and you will not have to bear anything. That is not quite what He said. Jesus invited us to yoke up with Him, which makes our burden lighter because we do not carry it alone. When we are daily yoked with the Living God, we go where He goes; we stop where He stops. He is in control.

Each of us faces heavy burdens at times in our lives. As God’s children, each of us also has access to the power of God to help us through challenging times and to bring peace and joy into our lives. Sometimes the help comes by removal of the burden. Many times, the promised rest and peace come into our lives even though the burden is still present.

I wish I could promise you that you will never have another burden in your life. I wish I could promise you that you will never feel heaviness again. I cannot. I can invite you to walk with the burden lightener. Jesus said, “Is it feeling like too much for you to manage? Is the burden destructive to your peace? Then come and attach to my yoke. I will be gentle with you, and not beat you over the head. He says, “Come. I will carry the burden with you and lighten your load and give you peace and rest.”

That is a great offer. That is an offer I will take right now. How about you?

When our grandson Luke was a toddler, he brought us so many smiles.  He laughed and smiled about almost everything. He was just a fun kid.

There was one thing that Luke said regularly that brought big grins to all of us.  As he was beginning to talk, he couldn’t quite figure out how to form sentences correctly.  His response to things he did not like or did not want was, “I can’t wike it.”  He didn’t say I don’t like it, or I don’t want it. He would always say, “I can’t wike it.”   I remember offering him sliced bananas and one piece had a very small bruise on it.  He ate all the slices except for the bruised one.  I tried to get him to eat it, and his response was, “I can’t wike it.”

A new year was birthed yesterday.  It is hard to believe that 2024 is here.  In the year 2024, I make a suggestion that one of our themes as God’s people be, “I can’t wike it.” 

• When ungodly conduct tempt us – “I can’t wike it.”
• When we want to be filled with doubt instead of faith, “I can’t wike it.”
• When we are ready to lash out in person or on social media, “I can’t wike it.”
• When we are tempted to stay away from church services, “I can’t wike it.”
• When we start to neglect spending time with God, “I can’t wike it.”
• When we become complainers instead of praises, “I can’t wike it.”

Happy New Year to each reader, and my prayer is that we will choose to walk close to God, obeying His word.  Anything less than that, well, “I can’t wike it!”