Salty Zebra

  And may your hearts be fully committed to the Lord our God, to live by his decrees and obey his commands, as at this time.”   1 Kings 8:61  Last week we looked at things that could become little ‘g’ gods in our lives, taking God’s place in our hearts and minds. Today we shift to the opposite approach and consider what it means to have a heart fully committed to God.   I read somewhere recently that people have often had to learn who God is not before they can begin to comprehend who God is, so I’m going to first approach this question by looking at what it doesn’t mean. Putting God first in our lives doesn’t mean locking ourselves away from society and blocking off all other people and influences. God made it pretty clear through Jesus that while “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your mind and with all your strength” is the greatest commandment, the second is like it, “Love your neighbor as yourself” ( Mark 12:28-34 ). Part of loving God...

  Your house and your kingdom will endure forever before me; your throne will be established forever.’”  2 Samuel 7:16  This is quite the promise! Why do you think God made such a great promise to David, a man who failed time and time again? Scripture tells us in 1 Samuel 13:14 and then later in the New Testament in Acts 13:22 that David was a man after God’s own heart. What was it about David that God would call him this? It certainly wasn’t his perfect righteousness. He was a confessed adulterer and murderer. He failed time and time again during his life and it was well documented for us later. Got to be honest, I’m pretty glad all my failings aren’t documented for posterity! So it isn’t righteousness that earns us this place with God. I was curious about what the Bible showed about David that would cause God to say this and I happened across this article . In it the author breaks down seven reasons that David would be called a man after God’s own heart including: h...

   But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The Lord does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.”  We had to have Saul before we could have David.  David wasn’t ready yet initially – According to the timeline on this website , David wasn’t even born until Saul had been in power for 12 years. God knew what kind of a king would be best for Israel, but He also knew that they would have to have their kind of king first before they could appreciate what God had for them. Sometimes our best option isn’t ready for us when we are ready for it, so we have to be patient!   The people wanted a king like the other countries, one who was handsome and tall and strong. Samuel sought the same, both in Saul ( 1 Samuel 9:2 ) and in his successor ( 1 Samuel 16:6 ). They probably wouldn’t have even accepted David if God had brought him to them fi...

Make sure you are very strong and brave! Carefully obey all the law my servant Moses charged you to keep. Do not swerve from it to the right or to the left, so that you may be successful in all you do. Joshua 1:7  Do you feel strong and brave? I know I often don’t. People sometimes tell me that I am though. I don’t know what to do with this. Much of the time I’m doing good to get around the house, strong is not something I’ve identified with for years. But people aren’t often commenting on my physical strength, but the strength necessary to live life under the circumstances I face. Constant, daily, chronic pain is a difficult burden to bear. Uncertainty about health issues, like degenerative illness and a brain tumor, give each day a different look and feel. The loss of my ability to function normally in daily life, to get around and to do the things that most people my age wouldn’t give a second thought, is something that I still wrestle with mentally and emotionally. I have arg...

  You must love the LORD your God with your whole mind, your whole being, and all your strength. Deuteronomy 6:5  Have you ever thought that you ought to be able to earn heaven on your own merit? You look around and see the evil in this world and, by comparison, you look pretty good! You don’t see anything particularly awful in your life. You don’t kill people, and apart from that pen you walked away with from the bank, you really don’t steal things. You live by the golden rule and generally treat people the way you want to be treated. Surely God wants a heaven full of people like you, right? Hmm…   Shortly after parting the Red Sea and rescuing the Israelites from the Egyptians, God gave them a short list of laws, rules to live by. These were to maintain their relationship with Him but also to provide a good place for them to live. We all have laws we have to live by and they are primarily made to keep us safe and healthy. You need to wear your seatbelt and drive *ab...

   Last night, minutes before heading to bed, I decided to pop up the Solo Cruise Search on CruisePlum.com . With my husband's career situation being in flux, I haven't been able to book anything for us in the foreseeable future. It's been a hot minute though since I've been on a trip by myself so last night I thought I'd just take a peak to see what was out there. Initially it was about comparing the price per day with an offer I'd found on Holland America for standby travel . $198/day seemed like a lot for an inside room, even for a solo price, but I wanted to confirm that feeling . Turns out I was right! MSC had a ton of sailings under $50/day for solo travelers, but unfortunately, they only sail out of the East Coast and Europe at the moment and I'm not in the mood to fly to Florida. You know who sails out of the West Coast in the fall? Norwegian, that's who! Ok, there's lots of other cruise lines that do this too, but Norwegian is my favorite, ...