Last week we were visiting friends who live on a small lake in Illinois.  What a treat to sit on their deck and enjoy the still water.  There was a slight breeze that created a few small ripples across the water.  It wasn’t totally still. It was fun watching the geese enjoy the lake.  And as the sun set in the west the color of the water deepened and quieted.  Just watching the water was like taking a long cold drink on a hot day.  Refreshment!

When I think about Psalm 23:2, He makes me lie down in green pastures, I think, He is causing me to stop and to take advantage of His good provision. Sometimes that is my biggest need ~ to stop.  I usually use the first few minutes of my devos to “sit and stare”; at least that is what I call it.  It’s a time of stopping.  I’m not reading; I’m not praying; I’m just sitting and staring.  My favorite chair is placed very strategically so my staring is toward God’s beautiful creation.  This time of year, I love having my devos outside in God’s creation.  But my sitting and staring comes to an end.  The stop part of my devo leads into the next part ~ the still waters.  When I think of the phrase, He leads me beside still waters, I think, there is movement.  God is leading. But the leading is by still waters.  It is a slow, gentle leading.  Often the leading reflects some new thought from a very familiar passage.  It is leading that is appropriate for the moment.  It is restorative leading.  It is different from the leading I experience after my soul is restored.

When the green pastures and the still water do their work in my life, the result is a restored soul.

I find I need the green pastures and the still waters on a regular basis.  Life is busy.  Life is hard.  I need the perspective of my shepherd that I get in the green pastures and beside the still waters.

There are times for me when the green pastures and the still waters last a loooong time.  Sometimes I’m not even aware that I need the green pastures and the still waters.  But God is.  And often God orchestrates the circumstances of my life, so I can enjoy His green pastures and still waters.  Sometimes I don’t welcome those times; but always as they come to an end, I’m very thankful for the wisdom of God in my life.  The resulting restoring of my soul is a good place to be.

The Hebrew word, shalom, which in the Old Testament is often translated welfare is an apt description of what a restored soul looks like to me.  It refers to all aspects of peace and plenty.  I have experienced the Lord as my shepherd.  I have everything I need.

“You have bedded me down in lush meadows,
 you find me quiet pools to drink from.
True to your word, you let me catch my breath”
Psalm 23:2and 3a

To be continued

“Devo” ~ what in the world was my friend talking about?  My spell-check doesn’t even recognize that word.  (I know what Tevo is.)  But I didn’t ask; I watched.  Ahhhh, “devo” is short for devotions.  I enjoy devos almost every day.  I just wasn’t up to speed on the new term for my quiet time.  (And I thought technology was hard to keep up with!)  Later in the week, we were in a small shop and there on the book display was a book called 365 Devos for Boys.  It was a Veggie Tale book.  LOL (I do know what that means) ~ even young kids would know about devos!  I bought the book.

In the last several months my devos have taken me back again to Psalm 23.  Although I had the Psalm memorized as a child, I’ve been hearing from God in new ways recently as I’m pondering its familiar words.  It’s hard for me to read this Psalm without plugging in a current personal story, usually one that is hard to understand.  This time I’m entitling this Psalm …

Psalm 23 and the Will of God

As I’ve pondered the words of David, some new thoughts and questions are surfacing.  First there seems that the order of the statements that David is making is not only logical but really important.

Verse 1, The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.  This seems to be the premise of the entire Psalm.  Years ago one of my girlfriends used to sing Psalm 23 and in her song the words of this verse were translated, Because the Lord is my shepherd, I have everything that I need.  That communicates the premise well to me.  But the question I have to ask myself is, “Do I trust that premise?”  “What would it look like to live today in a way that communicates I believe the Lord is my shepherd and because of that I do have all that I need?”  If I don’t trust these opening words, the rest of the Psalm will not make sense.

In verses 2 and 3, the verbs take center stage for me, makes, leads, restores, leads.  I find it interesting that leads is used twice, once before restore and once after.  Again the order stood out to me.  He (The Lord) makes me and leads me and then He restores and then He leads again.

Verse 2a, He makes me lie down in green pastures.  Lying down is a good thing.  I lie down at night to sleep and restore physically.  I lie down on a star studded night to gaze at the stars and try to identify constellations.  I lie down in the snow to make a snow angel.  I lie down in the cool green grass and enjoy a summer day. But sometimes God needs to make me lie down.  I’m not naturally doing what is good for me.  Bill and I experienced that happening about twelve years ago when God seemed to “pull the plug” on our lives and Bill went through a time of burnout and depression.  We didn’t see it coming, but we should have.  God was giving clues that lying down in green pastures was what was needed to restore spiritually and emotionally.  But we were so busy with life we didn’t discern God’s leading and our need.  So God made us lie down by bringing physical circumstances that we couldn’t ignore.  It was a good thing.

At the time the green pastures didn’t seem very green to us.  It was a discouraging time.  But lying down for those months was exactly what was needed. The green pasture was our home.  It allowed us to come to the still waters…

“God, my shepherd!  I don’t need a thing.
You have bedded me down in lush meadows,”
Psalm 23:1 and 2, The Message

to be continued

I have heard my husband use this phrase referring to the time in the morning when one has their quiet time or their devotions.  It sounds a bit funny to me but after yesterday morning, I’m thinking it’s an appropriate descriptor.

Yesterday a friend and I enjoyed a leisurely breakfast outside with a view of a small lake.  The scenery was delightful.  The time with my friend was wonderful.  We talked and caught up.  We spent some time reading Psalm 1 together.  We prayed together.  Ahhhh, the gift of fellowship.  Our time flew by.

Just as I loved breakfast with my friend yesterday, I also love the time I spend in the mornings having “breakfast with Jesus”.  But it hasn’t always been that way.

I can’t remember a time that I did not believe in God.  But for many years, God and Christianity defined my religion ~ I was a Christian.  It was a piece of my life that was usually confined to Sundays.  During my college years my religion morphed into a relationship with God or a friendship with God.  This new relationship now defined who I was.  And with the new relationship came new activities … like having a quiet time.

And for a long time that’s what my quiet time was ~ an activity that I added to my schedule.  It was a task.  It could be checked off the list.  It was a seed.  It usually included reading somewhere in my Bible and spending some time praying.  It was rather mechanical.  If you asked me later in the day what that time had meant to me, I would have been hard-pressed to give an answer.  My motivation was I’m a Christian, I should do this.

But I’m learning that “shoulds” are not a very good motivation for anything!  I’m thankful that my motivation has changed to I desire to have a quiet time and enjoy breakfast with Jesus.  My quiet time is no longer that activity or that task that I added to my morning, it has become time with a special friend.  It is a joy for me that I look forward to.  The seed that I was planting in those early years has bloomed into a special part of my day.  Although the basic activities of my quiet time have changed little, it is no longer mechanical, it is organic.  I am meeting with the God who is alive and active in every part of my life.

The transformation of this time centers on the word trust.

• I learned to trust my identity as the beloved child of the Father. That was the starting point of the transformation of my quiet time. For me, trusting was reviewing the scriptures that spoke of my identity as a primary focus of my quiet time.
• As I learned to trust what God said about me, the Holy Spirit began to reveal to me what I was believing about myself.  That led to replacing those beliefs with the truths of scripture and learning to trust what God said about me instead of my insecure thoughts.
• I’m learning to ask this question as part of my quiet times, “God, what would it look like for me to trust you today?”  Often, the answer to that prayer comes to me immediately.  Other times not.  But either way, trusting the God who loves me is transforming my quiet time from the mechanical to the organic, from the “should” to the desire of my heart

I loved Heather’s words in her blog June 2.  It will take you about one minute to read it.
Heather Holleman

“And without faith (trust) it is impossible to please God.”
Hebrews 11:6

It’s that time of year.  Since kindergarten my life has revolved around the nine month – three month school calendar.  For as long as I can remember, the start of summer is one of the highlights of my year.  This year is no exception.  We’re a bit weary and ready for the re-charging and the renewal that summer brings.

Last September I called my first blog, Living Inside the Box.  A box has sides or walls and God has specifically designed the perfect box for each of His children.  Sometimes the wear and tear of life causes the walls to develop cracks or other faults that need repair.  Summer has typically been a time or repair.  As this summer starts, these are some of the questions that I’m pondering about the walls God has designed for me.

The beginning words of Isaiah 26 are foundational.  Isaiah 26:1, records “We have a strong city; he sets up salvation as walls and bulwarks.”  My salvation, my status as a child of God, is the basis for the walls around my life.  I love the security of that picture.  Just as a young baby with a tiny room grows and their close-in walls need to expand, the walls of my life are expanding as well as I grow and understand my identity.  The words of The New Bible Commentary give additional understanding. “The city is strong – not by brute force but by the saving activity of the living God.  So the enjoyment of this personal protection must be personal in truth and in trust.”  And so I ponder some questions to grow in trust …

Proverbs 25:28, “A man without self-control is like a city broken into and left without walls.”  Walls or borders or boundaries are good things.  In Old Testament times many cities were surrounded by literal walls for their protection.  I too need the protection of walls in my life.  This scripture begs this question from me:
   Father, what are the self-controls I need to exercise this summer?

Psalm 51:18, “Do good to Zion in your good pleasure; build up the walls of Jerusalem;”
God is in the business of building up and doing good for us.  One way He accomplishes that is by building our walls.
   Father, how can I co-operate with you as You build up my walls this summer?

Isaiah 62:6, “On your walls, O Jerusalem, I have set watchmen;…”  These watchmen are like guardians praying and watching for the fulfillment of God’s promises.  (ESV commentary)
   Father, what are the promises You want me to be trusting You for this summer?

Micah 7:ll, “A day for the building of your walls!  In that day the boundary shall be far extended.”  I love it.  God is changing my capacity.
   Father, what will my new capacity look like at the end of the summer?

And so I conclude:
* I need walls.  They are my protection.
* God controls my walls.
* My walls can be breached.
* God can expand my walls.

“Behold, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands; your walls are continually before me.”
Isaiah 49:16

Our family was driving home from a visit with Bill’s dad. David, our toddler son was safely secured in his car seat for the eight hour drive.  He had recently learned the word “why”.  I can’t remember the actual figures, but for a half hour I counted the number of times he asked “why”.  Then I multiplied by sixteen.  You get the picture.

Bill and I thought we would go crazy except for the fact that David was our son, our child and we loved him.  So we were patient and endured.

Isn’t that so like God?  I imagine God goes crazy with our why questions and all the other things He has to keep re-enforcing for us over and over and over again.  I am so glad that one of God’s characteristics is patience!

For me, the issue usually isn’t the why question.  But I too need to be reminded of God’s love for me and plan for me over and over.  So I review His love again and AGAIN and A-GAIN.

I John is a good review place for me.  Chapter 3, translated in The Message Bible says, “What marvelous love the Father has extended to us!  Just Look at it – we’re called children of God!  That’s who we really are… that’s exactly who we are: children of God.”  I love this translation because I hear the excitement and the excitement is over my identity ~ my real identity.  I AM A CHILD OF GOD!!!

It’s so easy for me to get confused about my identity.  As a wife, a mom, a gramma, a daughter, a sister, a friend, a cousin, a neighbor, a staff member of The Navigators, an independent consultant and leader with The Longaberger Company, and, and, and … I often have to check in with myself and remember that underneath and girding up all those other temporary identities is my primary identity ~ the beloved child of The Father.

Knowing this truth is good. J  But it is not enough. L  I need to trust this truth.  And I’m reminded of this every time I close my Bible and journal and continue with my day.

Recently I was visiting with a friend.  I had my “Navigator” hat on.  In other words, I was in a ministry mode.  I had to be the spiritual one and impart some wonderful truth to her.  It was not going well.  We were polite with each other but also both of us were feeling a clash, an un-comfortable-ness.  This generic cameo has repeated itself many times over in my life.  What is going on????

I knew the truth of my identity but I was not trusting it.  I was trying to trust in a position or a role that I was filling, Navigator staff.  I should be able to minister, after all I’m a Navigator, was my theme.

What I was forgetting in that moment was that when God adopted me as His child and gave me an identity, He wanted me to believe the truth of that identity.  My created identity has purpose and that purpose is not altered by the role I’m filling at the moment.

Later that day, my friend and I went out for coffee and a stroll through some new shops.  We had a delightful time.  The difference was me.  I was not trying to be someone, I was relaxing in and relying on the being God created me to be.  My identity was shining, not my role.  My guess is ministry was happening.  J

But I need to be reminded of my primary identity again and AGAIN and A-GAIN!  That’s why I review it almost daily.

“So we have come to know and to believe (rely on, NIV) the love God has for us…”
I John 4:16, ESV

Several years ago I took the Myers-Briggs Personality Inventory.  Among other things, it measures where you are on the introvert-extrovert scale.  I had taken the test previously and had always come out as an extrovert.  This particular time it categorized me as an introvert.  Hmmmm.  As I shared these results with some of our friends, they laughed!  I had to agree with them.  Although fairly close to center, I believe God made me an extrovert.  My family and friends agree.

As I was pondering this recently, it highlighted an important truth to me.  If I really want to get to know the treasure hidden inside some of my friends, I need to be willing to journey with them.  A journey reveals more of who they are than a one time test or a short acquaintance.

I am so thankful for several friends who have been willing to journey with me.  I can tell them the truth about myself and it doesn’t scare them.  As a matter of fact, they draw closer.  They want to be on the journey with me.

I’ve come to call these journeying friends along-siders.  They come along-side of me for parts of my journey and we travel together.  My husband Bill is a one of a kind along-sider.  For over thirty-eight years we have been journeying together.  I’m not sure there is anything I could tell him that would shock him.  He has been my best lover and biggest advocate.  I’ve learned to trust his wisdom even when it doesn’t make sense to me at first.  I couldn’t have asked for a better traveling companion.

But Bill is a unique along-sider.  All the other along-siders on my journey drop in and out at different times.  And I love each one for their personal contributions.  I need their different contributions.  Each has contributed to the person I am today.

One of my other along-siders is a fellow Navstaff wife.  I so appreciate her ministry to women and am always honored when she wants to include me.  Our relationship hasn’t always been easy though.  But we’re willing to face the hard things.  It has been a special bond as we’ve struggled through some issues together.  I have benefitted.  I think she has too.

There is another friend who drops in and out of my journey.  She is a professional counselor and has given me an open door to call her.  Her gift of godly discernment has helped me many times when I’ve felt like I’ve hit a wall in my spiritual growth.

I’m thankful for my local along-siders.  We journey together more frequently.  Their gift of friendship and trust is important as I learn what the strengths are that God has given me and how I live them out in my daily relationships.  Their contribution is priceless.

Each of these wonderful friends and many others who walk parts of my journey with me has helped me to break out of my cocoon and become the women God designed me to be. I’m glad they are treasure hunters.

“There is nothing in a caterpillar that tells you it’s going to be a butterfly.”
R. Buckminister Fuller

“A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for adversity.”
Proverbs 17:17

We know each other, but not well.  We see each other in our common place, but we don’t talk a lot.  We smile and are friendly.  I’ve heard things about her, and I think they are true.  Those things have colored my picture of her.  The crayons are not in my hand.

With my heart I believe that she is a treasure wrapped in a brown paper package.  But I don’t really know.  I haven’t taken the time or created the opportunity to open that package.  If I don’t I’ll never experience her treasure.

Last summer I read a novel, The Help, by Kathryn Stockett.  It is a story about some maids working in the deep-south in the 1960s.  The maids were not only in charge of house cleaning and silver polishing, they also had significant nanny responsibilities.

One of the stories in the novel that has stuck with me is a conversation that happens one day between one of the maids and her little charge.  This wise older African American woman was helping the little Caucasian girl understand that her importance and her significance were not in the color of her skin but in what was inside of her.  The maid took two identical pieces of candy.  One she put in a little brown paper sack and the other was put in a little white paper sack.  The child opened both of the sacks to find the same candy in each.  The object lesson from the wiser older woman helped the young child understand that the treasure within is the important thing not what it is wrapped in.

Sometimes I too need help and the reminders of wiser older women to encourage me to discover the treasures that are sometimes hidden deeply under layers of wrapping.

We do Bible study together.  Sometimes we don’t agree on the interpretation of a particular passage.  Usually I believe I have the right one.  L  This particular day I was quite sure I did and I wasn’t very open to her understanding of the passage.  The study came to a close cordially enough, but I could not rest.  After mulling over our discussion (mulling over ~ often a flashing orange light for me) and some additional personal study, I concluded that she might have been right … or at the very least, I was not 100% convinced of my own initial conclusion.  I shared my experience with her and asked for her forgiveness for my stubbornness.  She graciously granted it and I experienced a bit more of the treasure locked inside my friend.  I’m learning that humility is a key to opening treasures.

It’s always easier to open a treasure if you have the keys.  Getting to know a person for myself, believing that the treasures are hidden within us and humility have been some of the big keys for me in opening the treasures of my friends.

“But we have this treasure in jars of clay, …”
II Corinthians 4:7a

or Opening a Brown Paper Package.  We had just moved to Sacramento and our older son was in junior high.  It was important to us that he was plugged into a good youth group.  That morning we had visited a church and noticed that there was a picnic later in the day for new kids to the youth group and their parents.  Not knowing anyone, Dave and I went.  As Dave was joining in with whatever the boys were doing, I was wandering around in a haze.  I know I looked like the new mom on the block.  Trisha noticed and invited me to sit next to her with several other parents.  That was a very welcome invitation and, by the way, the beginning of a special friendship.

Several years later, after another major move, I was in a similar situation.  This time I was wandering around the ladies coffee hour before Bible study at the church we had recently decided to attend.  I was obviously new and Marion approached me and guided me to a small group.  Interestingly, Marion has also become a very dear friend.

Noticing and taking initiative is the first step in opening brown paper packages.  I am so thankful that Trisha and Marion both took initiative with me.  They continued to get to know me and help me get involved in the women’s ministries of our new churches.  I remember going to coffee one day with Marion and she asked me, “Sue, how would you like to be involved in our women’s Bible study ministry?”  She opened the door wide for me.  What a huge risk on her part!  I had an answer and she supported me.  Marion was opening the brown paper package that was covering the real me.  Thank you, Marion!

My friendship with Janine is less than a year old, but it is very special to me.  The very first time we met we realized we had a lot in common.  Besides both of us being the mother of two sons, we both have a heart for listening to God in solitude and silence and helping other women do the same.  My church invited me to facilitate a one day retreat on that topic.  Even though Janine lives an hour away, she made the retreat a priority and attended.  Not only was her presence a huge affirmation, but at the end of the day before driving home she offered to de-brief with me.  Her questions and her affirmation continued to open my brown paper package.

Bill and I have enjoyed being part of a couples group for several years.  Although we all have a lot in common, we also all have a lot of differences.  Ed and Mary own a cabin in the mountains and several times the ten of us have squeezed in their cabin for a weekend together.  Thank you, Ed and Mary!  As we live together, our differences shine.  Mary is wonderful about stepping aside and giving anyone else access to her kitchen.  The treasure inside Mary’s brown paper package is more evident as we live together.  What a gift she is to our group.  Although it is rarely possible to move into each other’s worlds like that, it highlights the importance of spending time with friends on their turf to see what is inside their brown paper package.

Assuming there is a treasure inside the brown paper package of a believer’s life is always a correct assumption.

To be continued …..

“…It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me…”
Galatians 2:20

I don’t ever remember a time I didn’t want to be a mom.  Thank you to my mom who enjoyed being a mom; I had a wonderful example before me.

To Mom, family dinners were important.  Mom not only made a balanced meal each night, she set the table (till me and my sisters were old enough to help) each night in a way that communicated this time with family was important.  The table always looked nice.

To Mom, our activities were important.  Mom not only made sure we got to the activities we were enrolled in, but she often was involved in them herself.  I remember her watching and silently encouraging me as I tried out for the Color-guard in high school.  And Mom was always involved in Scouts with us either leading our troop or helping with our projects.  And I’m quite sure Mom and Dad sacrificed financially so we could have some of those important childhood experiences like summer camp.

To Mom, school was important.  Mom helped and encouraged us with our homework.  She always made sure our clothes were ironed and we looked nice as we left for the bus in the morning.  Even though Mom was a teacher by training, she knew school was more than reading, writing and arithmetic.

To Mom, the local church was important.  Mom planted the seeds of faith in my life by bringing me to church, Sunday school and youth group.

To Mom, our friends were important.  Mom brought us up to know how to be a friend and how to communicate with our friends.

To Mom, vacation was important.  Every summer she got the whole family ready for our two week vacation with Grammie and Grandpa.  A highlight of the year for all of us.

To Mom, our home was important.  Being a homemaker was part of who she was and it was a priority for her.  To this day, keeping her home guest ready is important to her.

To Mom, traditions were important.  We always had home-made Halloween costumes, Christmas stockings and Easter baskets.  Traditions were not only about things, they were about family and celebrating together. There were a lot of extended family dinners throughout the year often including our second cousins as well as the first cousins.  I have many good memories as a result.  (This was one of my hardest adjustments to marriage as Bill and I had very different experiences with family holidays growing up.)

On February 24, 1976, I became a mom and Mom was there to help me adjust to this new precious life that had joined our family.  Thank you, Mom.

With Mom’s coaching, encouragement and love over the next several years, I also learned that “once a mom, always a mom”.  Mom never stopped wanting to support me in my motherhood journey.

Mom is a very young ninety-something now.  Both our sons are married and have children of their own.  Mom is now a GREAT-Grandma.  Last December we received a letter from Mom early in the month suggesting how much money we should spend on Christmas.  I smiled, “once a mom, always a mom”!

I love being a mom and a gramma ~ Mana to our grands ~ I can’t help it, it’s in my genes!  🙂

Mom on the left visiting her older sister, my Aunt Elizabeth a few weeks ago.

“Honor your father and your mother”
Exodus 20:12 and Matthew 19:19

Early last fall one of our pastors preached a sermon from Ephesians 2 that has stuck with me.  He spoke of the implications of the terms Paul uses to describe us in verse 19.  We are no longer strangers, but fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God.  Because this is true, Brian exhorted us to do away with every other category we have for each other.  We cannot look down on others (nor can I look down on myself).  And we can never be exclusive.  I was convicted as I thought about how I sometimes categorize some of my brothers and sisters in the faith.  Although I don’t remember him referring to this reference in II Corinthians 4:7, he could have.  As members of the household, we all carry this treasure (the Holy Spirit) in jars of clay ~ or ordinary clay pots ~ or brown paper packages.  The size and shape of brown paper packages vary but what is most important about all of them is what is inside.  And brown paper is not opaque!

Deb and I have a special friendship.  Along with JA, the three of us share vulnerably from our lives and encourage and pray for each other.  What is unique about our friendship is we live in three different states and a big part of our friendship is by email.  Last week Deb shared this story.  And she graciously is allowing me to share it with you.  Thanks Deb!

I had an experience Tuesday where I really felt like a brown paper package that no one had any interest in.

We just joined a new church and the pastor has been very encouraging and affirming of us.

There are many marriages struggling in the church so I offered to meet with some wives to encourage them and share some of the treasures that have helped me during the past 25 years.  His wife has a group of 30 young moms she meets with on Tuesdays and she had asked him and another pastor to come and address their questions on marriage and parenting.  He asked if I’d come to and answer a few of the questions so the women could have the opportunity to get to know me.

Now for starters I am severely hearing impaired – I can do one on one, or speak to groups ~  but discussions?  That was way out of my comfort zone.  But I sensed God wanted me to go, so I went.

I get there about 15 min early.  Some women are setting things up.  They barely speak to me except to say they don’t need help. So I’m left on my own as the young mom’s start arriving.  I try to talk with them but they aren’t at all interested in talking with me.  In fact one asks have I been able to find friends my own age?  Most of the time I’m sitting by myself and feeling very alone and on the verge of tears.

When the morning discussion starts, the pastors initiate but soon ask me to address some of the questions.  You better believe I’d been praying James 1:5 for wisdom and the Lord was very present.   What He gave me to share really resonated with the women.  And can you guess what those women did after?  They came up to hug me, thanking me for coming, and one even came up and said, “I would love to sit at your feet” and I’m thinking “you wouldn’t even talk to me an hour ago!!!”

So thankfully it ended on a good note – but those 45 minutes were AWFUL!

And I wonder how many times does this happen in the church – we don’t accept people until we see something to approve of?

And that’s where your brown paper packages come in Sue – everyone is fearfully and wonderfully made.  So no matter how brown that paper packaging may be there is treasure in there just waiting to be discovered.  Can I look at the people around me eager to accept them as Christ accepts me in order to bring praise to God – seeing them the way you describe Sue – even before the packaging is unwrapped?

Ahhhh, and that’s the challenge.  How can I get to know the treasures that are inside all those brown paper packages, all those people who are part of my household that sit around me every Sunday?  I’d love to hear your thoughts!

“So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints, and members of the household of God,”
Ephesians 2:19