Faith and Strength to Leap and Land on Our Feet

Photo by: Dee Kamp

Faith and Strength to Leap and Land on Our Feet

On a drive down a far back country road in northeast Washington recently we found ourselves coming to a sudden stop for an animal crossing the road coming what seemed out of nowhere. All day I was hoping to see wildlife to take a photo. I dreamt of elk, a bear, or maybe even a moose. But our stop was not for a rarely seen wild life critter, but for a common white tailed doe and her wobbly-legged little fawn. What I didn’t know then was God was using this mother and her fawn for an uncommon surprise in my daily lesson in faith.  

The weeks old fawn took two steps forward, two steps back following its mother, but stopped dead in the center of the road with its little mouth open crying to its mother who had already crossed to the other side safely. The fawn even turned and started to bolt back the way they had come. Mercy me, Bill and I were whispering desperate wisdom to that scared little guy.

“What is this little guy’s hesitation?” We both asked at the same time. Well, what we couldn’t know until later after I printed up the photo is there was a barbed wire fence between the fawn and its mother that he must leap through to get to her!

The doe stayed perfectly still. She made no effort to run to her fawn, but instead stayed stoic focused and unmoving. With a lift of its head the fawn looked only at his mom and took a huge leap making it safely to clear the fence with a perfect landing on his feet!

My lesson today was revealed in the scene of a survival lesson before me. Of one little fawn who trusted his mom and took its eyes off his fear and on to the one he could trust in the most.

When we keep our eyes on Jesus and not turn to our fears―we too will find His unwavering, steadfast and trustworthy love enabling us the faith and courage when we need it the most. Our Lord will always give us the strength and wisdom to leap forward towards Him to land us safely on our feet once again.

“Praise be to the LORD, for he has heard my cry for mercy. The LORD is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in him, and I am helped. My heart leaps for joy and I will give thanks to him in song. The LORD is the strength of his people, a fortress of salvation for his anointed one.” Psalm 28:6-8 NIV

 

“Faith and Strength to Leap and Land on Our Feet” His Hopeful Word by Dee Kamp, Grace Every Morning Ministries© July 7, 2017

Constant Prayer Builds Constant Faith

 

Photo by Dee Kamp

 

 

Constant Prayer Builds Constant Faith

 
We may not be on our knees, our lips may not move, but the constant act of prayer is still able to be expressed from the heart. One plus factor of constant prayer, it builds constant faith to sustain us.

“And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests.

With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people.”

 Ephesians 6:18 NIV

Saintly men and women in the past centuries show us by great example of how they prayed to God without ceasing. St. Frances of Assisi knew how to do battle among the men of his country because he loved to “fly away” and pray.  A man who preached across America on horseback, David Brainerd, spent his time praying endlessly as he rode through the woods and so fulfilled his ministry in a very short time.

 Prayer is said to do one of two things for us. It will free us from the trouble we fear or give us the strength and courage to meet the challenges when it comes.

Focusing on the world brings little change. Focusing on the power of prayer reveals God has the power to change everything.

“Nothing is too great and nothing is too small to be subject of prayer, Prayer reaches down to the least of things of life and includes the greatest things which concern us.” Author: EM Bounds

 

“Constant Prayer Builds Constant Faith” by Dee Kamp, Grace Every Morning Ministries, June 24, 2017

Beauty of Reflection

 



 

Beauty of Reflection

 

          We amateur photographers were called to the challenge of sending in our best shot of the beauty in reflections. Eager to join in the fun I searched my files and found I had several images of skies, clouds, birds and more reflected in the waters of my travels here and there.

    It was then that the obvious came to me― reflections are only possible when the waters are calm.

       “Let all that I am wait quietly before God, for my hope is in him. He alone is my rock and my salvation, my fortress where I will not be shaken.” Psalm 62 5-6 NLT

   When we come before the Lord in prayer and be still before Him, we will cultivate a deep abiding trust in Him developing our faith muscles for moments of serenity in the storms of life about us. It is only then His reflection within us is visible to the hearts of others who need Him in that moment the most. 

   Calling on God for peace in our prayer time and tranquility during those windy ruffling moments of life will portray an image of His reflection as only He can do.  

    Just as the still waters reflect the blue skies above, so our stillness in the storms reflect God’s strength and beauty in Him.

“Do not be afraid of silence in your prayer time. It may be that you are meant to listen, not to speak. So wait before the Lord. Wait in stillness….” Amy Carmichael

“Beauty of Reflections” by Dee Kamp, Grace Every Morning Ministries© June 12, 2017

 

 

Let the Morning Bring Me Word

 

 

Let the Morning Bring Me Word

It is on my heart today to share with you one of my favorite verses from God’s Word in the Psalms. It’s a prayer, it’s a song, it’s one that blesses our soul to encourage us, and sustain us throughout the day.

 “Let the morning bring me word of your unfailing love, for I have put my trust in you.

Show me the way I should go, for to you I lift up my soul.

Rescue me from my enemies, O LORD, for I hide myself in you.

Teach me to do your will, for you are my God.

May your good Spirit lead me on level ground.” Psalm 143:8-10 NIV

 

So, I pray for you today to let God’s Spirit refresh your soul at the beginning of each new morning to bring you fresh faith, high hopes in Him and the recalling of His goodness and mercies which are new every single day.

May you be filled over and over again with His strength and supernatural wonders of His divine appointments, miracles, healings, and forgiveness. Praise Him for the consistent signs of His love everywhere around us every day in the people and things that He knows will delight us.

Like fresh flowers picked early in the morning, pick a beautiful bouquet from the garden of His Word and it will be grow as new seeds of faith in the garden of our hearts.

 

"Let the Morning Bring Me Word" by Dee Kamp, Grace Every Morning Ministry, June 5 2017

 

 

 

King Sized Hope

King Sized Hope

The word "hope" is what gets me out of bed in the morning. Hope is the chauffeur that drives me through the day. When there is nothing else, there is always hope.

I recall a woman who came in our store often, who lived a very hard life. There seemed to be one thing after the other going wrong in her poor family. She often would come into the store and buy only one or two small items at a time, for money was short and they struggled to get by.  Her husband was ill and disabled, her children were often in trouble. But this dear woman always had a smile for everyone she met. She was the one who cheered others up daily!

I can still hear her say, "Even in the word hopeless, there is hope. And it’s easy to take hold of when I recall all that the good Lord has already done for us."

 

But as for me, I watch in hope for the LORD ,

I wait for God my Savior; my God will hear me.

Micah 7:20

A beloved book in the Bible to find words of hope is the Psalms. In here we connect in kind with David’s prayers and supplications to God in his trials and tribulations. The miracle of hope for him was discovering over and over again all God had already done for Him. Thankfulness for God’s unfailing love turned David’s heart from hopeless to a hopeful every time.

 

It’s too easy for us to forget to be grateful in the midst of our trials, sorrows and situations. But oh, how awesome and inspiring when we recall just how vast is God’s compassions and mercies, new every day, and how big our God really is!

"Your righteousness is like the mighty mountains, your justice like the great deep. O Lord, you preserve both man and beast. How priceless is your unfailing love! Both high and low among men find refuge in the shadow of your wings. They feast on the abundance of your house; you give them drink from your river of delights. For with you is the fountain of life; in your light we see light" (Psalm 36:6-9 NIV).

 

It’s too easy to put in God in a little box of hope when in truth He is God of the King-sized never ending- everlasting hope.  

 

“When we thank God for everything that comes our way, we can enjoy a deep contentment in God that makes every difficult circumstance in our life bearable. We actually share in the miracle of God’s ability to change lives and circumstances through our attitude of gratefulness.”-Mary Dunham Faulkner from: Gentle Wisdom from Tough Times.

 

“King Sized Hope” by Dee Kamp, Grace Every Morning Ministries© May 16, 2017

 

He Still Meets With Me Today

 

He Still Meets With Me Today

 There is a seldom used two lane country road running beside the Beaver Valley Store that makes it way upwards in the hills called Larson Lake Road.

 This old road was called Larson Lake Pass in the early days, as the old locals loved to tell us. They would say over and over again, “Many a model T would steam up before it reach the top of that hill. Looks kind of small now, but not to us back then.”

 I loved this little road in those years my husband and I ran the old Beaver Valley Store. The hours we put in were long as we worked from early dawn to late at night. Soon I found this little road became my path to peace, quiet and new strength obtained as I prayed my way to the top alone with the Lord.

 It was kind of scary at times too. Not from people but possible encounters with critters. Once I saw an old black bear-but thankfully, he didn’t see me. I delighted in the spring time to see trillium growing thick along the ground, and bright purple fox glove standing tall and straight along the way. The delicate sword ferns decorated the base of the evergreens and the fragrance was so sweet from the wet cedars.

 Half ways up the road a little spring bubbled out of the side of the hill and I would stop to watch as little birds drank and splashed about, and the swallows dipped to scoop up mud for their nests. In the old days some people even got their water here, as it was good and sweet.

Jesus answered.  “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” John 4:13-15 NIV

 Every time we come away alone with the Lord in the secret place in our heart we’ll hear Him say: “Come away with Me beloved, come and drink from My living waters and you’ll never be thirsty or lonely again.”

Now still, when I go for a walks in the morning, even though my footsteps are a bit shaky and slow, I still hear the song of that little singing spring, and rejoice knowing Jesus still meets with me today.

 

“He Still Meets With Me Today” by Dee Kamp, Grace Every Morning Ministries© May 9, 2017 Photo by Dee Kamp

 

 

Our Stops as Well as Our Steps

 

sunrays through the trees by Dee Kamp

 

 

Our Stops As Well As Our Steps 

Little Blue has been one of the best investments our family has made in a little pickup truck. There are a ridiculous number of miles on it, but it always starts up and is a mighty little work horse. That is until one rainy day while driving along and the defroster for the windshield stopped working and the heater quit. You could run one or the other but not both! And sometimes we had many stops before going on once again with a short in the wiring somewhere.

“Let the morning bring me word of Your unfailing love

 for I have my trust in You.

Show me the way I should go,

for to You I lift up my soul.” Psalm 143:8 NIV 

We took Little Blue to our local mechanic, but he was unable to help us and suggested another fellow across town. Just driving there took two people to navigate and keep the windshield from steaming up wiping continually for the driver! One of us had to wipe and clear the windshield so the driver could see enough to stay on the road.

The second fellow who worked on Little Blue did so for three days and he tested everything he could think of to find the problem—but to no avail. Was this end of the best truck ever?

Once again we were sent to another mechanic who it was said, loves electrical challenges. By now we had little hope, but we took what seemed a long trip out into the country side where we eventually met a man standing by a huge gate to a farm, who looked indeed, more like a farmer than a mechanic. He waved to us to follow him down a rutted tractor path and we bumped across a pasture finally coming to halt while he swung open the doors of a cavernous old barn.

It had been more than week before we heard from him. Finally one day when the call from him finally came and he was shouting so loud into the phone Bill had to hold it away from his ear! All we could really hear was very loud noise in the background with his words barely audible.

 When his words finally came through to us more clearly, we jumped for joy when we heard him say, “Your little blue pickup is fixed! I dug and poked around until I found one burnt out wire! Come and get your truck!”

Though it often takes much effort to find the person and place to get something we need fixed up and running again, I sensed this one of God’s little lessons on how we should never give up, have faith in Him, and press on until a solution is found, even in a most unexpected place and person.

Our God is able to heal and restore what is broken in our lives and He is able to help us with our stops and is faithful to guide us in all our steps everywhere, everyday.

 

Our Stops as Well as Our Steps” by Dee Kamp, Grace Every Morning Ministries© from His Word March 6, 2013