Category Archives: encouragement

In A Moment……

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A phone call comes and a voice on the other end says that your loved one has been in a terrible accident. At that moment, your life changes.

A husband gets home from work and when he sits down to the dinner table to eat, what is sitting in front of him but a note that says, “You are going to be a daddy!” At that moment, his life changes.

The woman with the issue of blood comes to Jesus and touches the hem of his garment, and at that moment she is healed.

Jesus said to the centurion, “Go! Let it be done just as you believed it would.” And his servant was healed, at that moment.

Time and time again, we see in our own lives, as well as in scriptures, that it only takes a moment for everything to change.

I want to encourage you that, if you have been battling something in your life, physical, spiritual, or financial, it can all change in a moment!

So many times in our struggles of life, we focus on the battle, on the challenge, instead of focusing on the moment; the moment when everything can change.

It only takes a moment, a second, and a word from God, and your circumstances can all change. Focus on the Father above who can bring that change.  Focus on the creator of the universe, the giver of life, and the Lord above.

Some of our lives are great; we are blessed far above what we deserve.  Does that mean we should look to the Lord any less? No! In the good and the bad, our focus has to be on Him. It is important that we focus on God for the blessings He has given us, because in a moment it can all change. We can always look around and see someone less fortunate than ourselves. God expects us to love them with His Love. We must be thankful for what God has given us.

When we feel like our world is coming to an end, we have to remember … in a moment, everything can change! Let’s not get so wrapped up in what we have or don’t have, but let’s get wrapped up in, and focus on, the moment: the moment that Jesus shows up!! Because, if we are looking for Him, He will show up.  Are you looking for your moment???

What To Do When God Puts You Where You Don’t Want to Be

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Recently, God pulled up my deep roots from the place where we had been living for thirteen years, and moved us to a new place; one that is totally the opposite of our previous home. Not that there is anything wrong with our new location – it’s just that 10 months can’t compare to 13 years! There doesn’t seem to be anything terribly right about it at this time!  By that I mean, you can sometimes feel like a foreigner in the land where you know God has sent you.
You see, after living in a small town for 13 years, we knew just about everyone and just about everyone knew us. A level of comfort comes with that.  Especially for a preacher’s daughter who had gone to 9 different schools in 12 years! You know where to go to get your groceries; you know where your favorite stores for dress shopping are, and the place to get your favorite Chinese food. You have your close group of friends you know you can depend on. You become comfortable in your surroundings and that brings a level of familiarity this preacher’s daughter had never had before.   I know that God allowing us to stay in one location for such an extended period of time was nothing short of a miracle.
But, the funny thing is, those 13 years were probably the most trying of our lives. Spiritually, physically, relationship-wise in our family, and financially, it was a complete mess for us personally! We were like the children of Israel who were slaves in Egypt. And yet, like Moses, we knew without a doubt God had called us there! So why would God call us to a mess where He knew our feet would touch the fire? Where He knew our relationship would dangle over the edge, almost to the point of no return.  Why?

The children of Israel prayed to be delivered by the hand of God out of Pharaoh’s control. So in Exodus 9:1 it says, “Then the Lord said to Moses, “Go to Pharaoh and speak to him…”. But the Bible also says in Exodus 9:12, that God hardened Pharaoh’s heart.  Now why in the world would God send Moses if He knew Moses was going to hit a brick wall when he got there? I don’t know about you, but that just seems like God is setting himself up for a lot more work. I mean, God could snap his fingers and Pharaoh would release the children of Israel, they would walk into the Promised Land, and – bottabing, botta boo – it’s over with! End of story!! Done!!

But, no! See, God wanted the children of Israel to trust Him. He wanted to give them an example they could look back on and know that God was with them. He wanted the children of Israel to be able to see every trial as a testimony of His faithfulness and love for them so that, when they came to the battle of Jericho, they would have the faith to withstand and follow what he had called them to do – which was . . . nothing. See, while they were slaves, they had had to work (fight) for everything they had ever been given, and to struggle (fight) with all their might just to survive. Many of them may not have even known what it was like not to have been a slave. But God knew what laid before them at the battle of Jericho and to get them where He wanted them to be they were going to have to completely trust in Him – and not fight! So he laid out a plan that would take them through various trials and temptations, just so he could prove himself to them, time and time again – beginning with the 10 plagues.

But they had barely gotten out of Egypt when they began to moan and cry, “Didn’t we say to you in Egypt, ‘Leave us alone; let us serve the Egyptians’? It would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the desert!” (Exodus 14:12)  They couldn’t see the something greater God had for them, because although they had been beaten and abused in Egypt, it had become a comfortable, familiar place to them.

I wonder how many times God looks at us and sees the same thing. He is trying to move us out of our comfort zone to take us to a higher level that will draw us closer to Him and yet we are content to be the slaves in Egypt.
God knew what was ahead of them at Jericho and was trying to prepare them for the Promised Land; for something they had never had before; for a way that a war had never been won before. They were simply to march, to stand, and to praise! Just walk around the walls of Jericho for seven days!

I don’t think it is by accident that all of the men of Israel were circumcised not long before they were to walk across the Jordan River to take Jericho. It wasn’t an accident that for forty years God covered them with a cloud by day and gave them a cloud of fire by night; and it wasn’t because he didn’t love them that He supplied manna to them every day!  God didn’t just sneeze and the Red Sea rolled back when they got to the edge of it, either. God wanted them to learn to trust Him and let Him do His work.

I don’t know about you, but I think the society we live in today is no different than the slaves in Egypt.  So many of us feel we have to fight to survive; to pay the utility bill, to put food on the table. We might even feel like we are fighting to survive to do God’s work. But I want to propose to you today that perhaps, like the children of Israel, God is saying to us, “Give up! Surrender your ideas, your ways, your thought’s, your plans, and just stand firm and march around the walls you are trying to tear down. Just march around these walls in silence, carrying me!” That is what the children of Israel did. They walked around the wall of Jericho carrying the Ark of the Covenant.

Maybe the new level God wants to take us to is just for us to walk around carrying Him, to let the love of Jesus inside us be all the weapons we need.  Sometimes we just have to let go – give up everything that is familiar to us, that makes us feel comfortable – and walk in a way that can feel totally different and uncomfortable, in order to get to the place where He wants us to be. I don’t know about you, but I want to always go to the new level God has for me, even if I find that it is taking me out of the comfort zone in which I have been living.

I am not gonna lie: I have looked back since our move and said ”What are we doing here?” Then I begin to list off all the highlights and accolades that happened where we came from as I try to convince myself, ”Would it not have been better to die in Egypt than in the desert?” But then there is that quiet voice in me that reminds me of the things that were not so sweet, those secret things which I never let the world see – of my heart breaking, the fear of feeling my world was falling apart, and my marriage almost crumbling. If I wanted to deceive myself, like the children of Israel did, I could convince myself that going back to the bright lights of the big city would make me happy. But the truth is, the only thing that will make any of us truly happy is walking in Gods perfect will for our lives. And for me, and I am sure for you, failure to do that is not an option.

So if I have to give up all the conveniences of being near a big city to walk in a new level of relationship with Christ, so be it. If I have to give up Macy’s and familiar surroundings to see God use me in a mightier way than He ever has before – bring it on!! Because I have found that, in this life, there is nothing, and I mean nothing, that can replace the peace of walking in God’s will and doing His work.

I firmly believe that the trials of my past were only allowed to come into my life for the same reason God hardened Pharaoh’s heart: to teach me to trust in Him.  I am thankful for the hard times in my life, because without them I would never know that I could make it through whatever comes my way. I have learned to trust in the creator of the universe and know that He is working all things for my good!

So I hope today, if you are feeling like a foreigner in the land God has sent you to, you will know that He is not punishing you but is simply taking you to a new level of intimacy with Him. He wants to bring you closer to Him in a way that will probably look very different than it has before. God never wants to leave us where we are! God never wanted the children of Israel to die in the wilderness; He only wanted them to trust Him.  Will you trust Him today?

Change – Oh! What a difference 9 months can make!

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1150610_10153099280955487_1585285912_o Oh what a difference 9 months can make!  As we come to the close of our only daughters first year of college, it has been exciting to see the joy on her face; to witness her eagerness to get back to the college after a weekend at home; to hear her tell about the fun times she is experiencing at the college, hanging out with her friends, and talk about her favorite teacher and how awesome he is! It makes a momma’s heart feel good to know her baby is happy and enjoying her life. In fact this last few days of school, all I have heard from her is ” I wish I could go to school all summer!”

But if we could hit the rewind button to just 9 months ago, we would see a scared young teenage girl on her parents couch, crying her eyes out because she wanted to stay at home. She stomped and snorted and even called her big brother, all to try to convince us that college was NOT the right place for her!  As hard as it was for us to see her miserable for that time, we as her parents knew it WAS the right place for her to be. Did we want to tell her to come on home and stay in her bedroom and never leave again? You bet we did! But we knew that was not the best thing for her. We knew that she couldn’t live the rest of her life shut up in her bedroom; that she couldn’t be at home with mom and dad forever. As much as we would love to keep her at the age she is now and have nothing ever change, we know that isn’t reality or what God wants.

Reality is – things change. Reality is – God expects us to grow up! Reality is – if we never change we never grow! Reality is – change is sometimes hard!

We know that a piece of coal becomes a diamond under pressure. A pearl is made by the irritation of rubbing up against a piece of sand.

What makes us think we can grow without some kind of pressure or irritation in our life? But we have to choose. We can choose to stay the course, and walk through the pressure that is placed before us, or we can choose to walk away from the pressure, go back to our bedroom, pull the covers over our heads and let the world go by us while we sit in the pit we have always been in. It is our choice!

This year as we have watched Amy grow and mature, it has been a joy to see her take on more responsibilities and excel in her studies. Has it all been easy? Absolutely NOT!! But is she now a stronger more mature person because of it? You bet she is!! Is she better for it? ABSOLUTELY!! Are we glad we forced her to stay and finish the course? Yes we are, even though we now see her taking the next steps that will eventually lead her out of our home for good. It brings us mixed emotions, but in our hearts we know that this is the best thing for her. So, we choose to give up our desire to see her be our baby for the rest of her life, and encourage her to grow and be all that God wants her to be.

If you are facing something that makes you feel like going back home and pulling the covers over your head, just remember: growth doesn’t happen inside your comfort zone. Some of God’s most expensive jewels are created under pressure.

God’s Word promises that if we will not get weary in well doing, we WILL reap a harvest! Before we know it, 9 short months later, we will be looking back and everything will be totally different! We will know that without us keeping on, with God, we would not have made it, and we will be able to say “Oh, what a difference 9 months makes!”  Praise Be To God!!

My Wild and Crazy Side

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303684_10151780519840487_356408458_n (1)It was the summer of 2013 and I did it! I went wild and crazy maybe it was the fact my daughter had just graduated from High School or my youngest son was about to turn 16 and would start driving on his own soon or maybe it was that my oldest son was about to get married and I was also going to be an instant grandma on the same day, but no I think it was just the fact that I wanted to look my best for the wedding and be as cool as possible since the wedding was outside on a hot summer June day in Oklahoma, But whatever the reason I did it! “Yes, I went and got a spray tan!! I know it was wild for me! (don’t judge) LOL!!

If you have been around me at all, you have probably noticed the numerous scars all over my arms that glow like beaming lights. I have a natural-olive completion, but after a severe case of chickenpox as a child. I was left with light colored scars all over my arms. I usually wear at least three-quarter length sleeves, if not long sleeves year round because if it.

But as I stepped out of the tent and looked into the mirror,  after I had been sprayed. My blemishes were all gone! My completion on my arms was perfect!! I almost cried, it was unreal the feeling of an unknown weight I had been carrying on my shoulders was suddenly lifted an overwhelming sense of joy filled me and I was flooded with unexpected emotions. I asked Amy to quickly hand me my glasses so I could assure that they were all gone. As I put my glasses on , just as quickly as they were gone, the blemishes returned. the view through my glasses revealed the truth that they had only been darken a little but it was clear they were still there, and just as quickly as the joy came and the weight was lifted it returned, perhaps even heavier than before. But never the less I will never forget the feeling of that weight being lifted off me, I had not realized how much it bother me until, suddenly I thought I would never have to cover up my scars again.

As my mom celebrated her first birthday in Heaven yesterday, I know she must be feeling that same freedom, from the weight of her sickness and disease as I felt those few seconds in the tanning booth. As she celebrated her birthday with my dad and her mom and many other friends who had went to heaven before her and then even some who have followed her in the short 7 months she has been gone. See, I don’t think it is by accident that I had that experience less than 30 days before my momma took her last breath here on this earth. I believe God wanted me to feel just a bit of the freedom and peace that she feels everyday since being in heaven.

So this one thing I am certain of, there is no way I would want her to come back and carry the weight of her sickness and disease, she no longer feels the shame of being handicapped she is truly, truly free!

Does it make me miss her any less, no but it brings me comfort to know she is ok. In fact she is more than ok, she is perfect! Does it mean I don’t cry, no but as I do, I focus not on my loss but on her gain. I rejoice in the fact I have the assurance that if I continue to follow Christ, I will see her again and I trust that not only I will see her again, but I will be bringing the generations yet to come in our family, to heaven with me. They will follow me there one day, because I too will tell them, like my parents taught me about the love and grace of Jesus and like my parents I will do my best to show them how to follow Christ by not just my words but my actions too. One day there will be a great family reunion in heaven, all because one couple chose one little girl who had nothing to give them and yet they gave her the greatest gift- Jesus

Happy Birthday Momma!

There Comes A Time

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Draw-A-Line-in-the-Sand image                                                                                                                         There is NOTHING to big for my God! There just comes a time and a place where we can look back at what God has done in our lives and say “I am more than conquer because of who I believe in!!” So when the next trouble comes (and it will come) we can remember what God has done for us and rest in the fact that He WILL do it again! That my friend is when satan can no longer control you with fear or worry. Because you have chosen to focus NOT on how big your problem is, BUT how big your God is!!

I Was Just Thinking…..

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976437_10152857233020487_67834993_o           I remember when my oldest son was only about 2 or 3 yrs old, I had one of those moments where it hit me he was just growing up to fast. So, as I held him lovingly in my arms I told him (as any good mother would.) ” Lee mommy wants you to stop growing up, you are getting to big” As he squirmed out of my arms to get back to playing with his toys he complied and said “OK Mommy” I went back to what I was doing satisfied that at least for a a second I time had stood still. It was only a few minutes later he came to me with the most serious face and said “Mommy can I please grow up, can I please???” I consented and gave my approval, as if either of us could stop him.

That memory has repeated it’s self in my mind several times over the last few months as our family prepares to face some major milestones in our lives. Our oldest is getting married, and our daughter is graduating high school, and my baby is turning 16 and learning to drive. All in the matter or of about 60 days.

Oh! how I have wished I could stop them from growing up!! I don’t know why, I am thrilled at my son’s choice for his new wife, I love my daughter and the woman she has become, and Chad is an amazing young man that is going to do great things for God and is probably a better driver than either of the other two. I, the woman who’s mantra as been ” I didn’t raise them to keep them!” has been a ball of emotion. (just keep the tissue coming) LOL!!

In all of this I have been thinking, I wonder what God thinks about his children growing up? Not physically I mean, but spiritually. I have a feeling His reaction is quite different from mine. I believe He is jumping for joy has His children grow spiritually. I think He shouts and cheers like a parent in the stands at a sporting event when their child makes a point for the team. I think His chest swells with pride when we show kindness to a stranger or chooses to give of themselves and finances to others. I am confident that He counts the time as precious when we take the time to spend with Him in His word.

I guess the bigger questions is how are we growing? You know, when a person first finds Christ I have heard them called a baby Christians. But to often I have seen them stay right there and never grow. Unlike, my children as Christians it IS up to us if we grow or not spiritually. Depending on what we do, growing as a Christian is as simple as developing any relationship, it is with time. Whether you are stuck as Baby Christian, Adolescent Christian, or maybe you’re in your rebellious teenage years as a Christian. We should never stop growing in Christ.

We need to stay relevant to those around us and with a passion that compares to nothing else, we need to follow after God.

Because the reality is, there is a cheering section watching over us from heaven waiting for us to make the next point for the team. We have a heavenly father that can’t wait to spend time with us and brags about us, Because He is so crazy in love with us. Like us as earthly parents His chest swells with pride, when He sees us do what He has called us to do. He loves us so much that His heart breaks when we ignore Him, or feels we can do this thing called life, without him.

So today I want to encourage you, be His child, Make one for the team! Make your heavenly Father proud today. Because He can’t wait for you to grow up and the beautiful thing is, we never get old in Christ, we never get to a point we have reached it. We are always growing in Him if we choose and in that He is very pleased!

The Wedding Dress

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972282_10152873603955487_1581824811_n               I have been on the hunt for a wedding dress for about a month now. My son proposed to a wonderful young lady on the 28th day of February, and since then both her family and ours have been on a hunt for the perfect dress. She had bought one earlier but it just wasn’t what she wanted. A few weeks ago I had the privilege of going shopping with her and her family down in Tulsa and we looked in bridal stores all over the area and couldn’t find anything she liked. She even tried on a gorgeous $3000.00 dress that looked as if it had been hand crocheted and still, nothing was right. She had searched the Tulsa area over and not found anything she was in love with.  Her mother, and I myself, have searched the internet looking at sites of new and used dresses, trying to find “just the right one”, with no luck.

So when she informed me that she and my son were coming to Kansas City for a few days, I suggested (ever so gently) that we go wedding dress shopping. I knew what her budget was so I began calling stores, only to find out there was nothing on the rack at that price. So, I began to call consignment stores and was directed to a consignments shop just for weddings and formal wear.

Early Saturday morning we were at their door. They had tons of wedding dresses. Some preserved in the boxes, some hanging up; some with stains, some without; some had big giant bows in the back with long puffy sleeves, others had no sleeves at all.  Some were A-line skirt, others were form fitting.  Some were white and others were ivory. She had decided on a dress when, as we were taking our purchase to the front of the store, we found another rack with four more dresses she was interested in. So back we went to the dressing room and  she tried them on.

We ALL fell in love with one of the dresses: the price was right, the color was right, and the fit was almost perfect. The only thing it lacked was a train flowing in the back. I suggested we take it to my seamstress and have her add one. She also decided she really wanted a lace up back and so we thought the seamstress could add that as well. Before we walked out of the store, I already had an appointment with my seamstress and we went straight from the dress store to the material store to the seamstress.  By adding the few little touches she wanted to the dress, she is going the have the perfect wedding dress for a fraction of the cost.

This got me thinking: those dresses are a lot like people in this world. We are all different and we each have been through different experiences, just as those dresses have. We each have our own story to tell, just as those dresses could. Some of us even feel a little let down and abused; maybe we are a little worn out. If those dresses could talk maybe they would even tell us they feel like they have been abandoned.

But like every one of the dresses purchased at that consignment shop, when Jesus comes into our lives – we are made brand new. We are cared for and loved like never before. We have a new purpose! We may even get a new look because God, the designer and seamstress of our lives, mends us back together or adds just the final perfect touch that is needed. Just like the seamstress cutting out parts of my future daughter-in-law’s dress, removing and then replacing them with others, God sometimes does that in our lives when  we allow Him  to come into it. If we totally give our life to Him, He usually encourages us through life circumstances to let Him make a few alterations.

Oh, at the time we may not feel loved by our Heavenly Father; those changes may be painful that He does, but the changes will be for the better. I hope you know that, just as we wait with great anticipation to get the dress back from the seamstress, God is waiting for you to follow the directions He has given you. He is excited, because you are His bride and He loves you!

Get A Life!

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John 10:10 (KJV) says, “The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.”

John 10:9-11 (NIV) puts it this way:

9 I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved. They will come in and go out, and find pasture. 10 The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.11 “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.

God wants us to have life to the full, or as the KJV says, have it more abundantly.

The question is, “What do you consider to be abundance?”

For some it may mean a lot of money and material things. For others it may mean good health.  But the real question is, “What does God mean by abundance?”

The scripture in context is talking about a shepherd in the literal sense. If you study shepherds you know that at night when they are ready to rest for the evening they will usually back their sheep up against a wall or cliff in the corner of some mountain somewhere and then they will build a fire in front of the sheep and will sit there during the night guarding their sheep from any predictor.  Therefore the shepherd makes himself the gate of entry to his sheep.

Jesus is our gatekeeper and whenever we feel like our backs are against a wall and the world is closing in, we don’t have to fear because our God (the gatekeeper) is with us. He is watching over us and, just like the shepherd does for the sheep, he supplies all our needs.

Who is your shepherd today? In what are you putting your trusting? I believe God promises not the abundance of riches or things, but the abundance of His care and provision to supply all our needs. He is our provider and our protector; the gatekeeper of our life, if we allow Him to be. … Are you allowing Him, today?

Mission Possible –

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detective-156465_640I have a new favorite TV Show, called Covert Affairs. It is on the USA Channel and the story line is of a young woman, probably in her 20’s, who pretends to work at a museum while she is really a CIA agent. She goes on great adventures, pretending to be someone else in each episode, all while on the ultimate mission of working for her country to get specific information that will save the world.

I couldn’t help but think – isn’t that really what we Christians are supposed to be doing? The Bible says this isn’t really our home, we are just passing through. It also tells us to fix our eyes on things that are above, and not to hold so tightly to things of this world.

I have to confess there are some days when I walk out of my office heading home and think, my M.O. today was to be an Assisted Living Director, but my REAL mission was to tell someone about Jesus and show His love.
I want to encourage all of you to not forget that YOU are on a Covert Mission!  A Mission for Christ!  So, whatever your M.O. is, whether you are a retired General Manager’s wife or a working secretary, an empty-nester or a mom with 10 kids – the real truth is you are a child of God, this is not your home, you are just passing through, and your mission (if you choose to accept it) is to show Jesus’ love to all the world and win as many souls as you can to Him.
Will you accept your mission today?
Let’s Pray,
God,
 Help me to be more like you. Let your light in me shine before all men, so all will see you in me. I know my life is only for you and whether I am changing diapers or commanding a board room, it is your desire to live through me. Give me eyes to see when I need to speak and your words to say as I walk your path for my life.
I give you all the praise in Jesus Name Amen!
Some scriptures to think on this week:
Mark 16:15(NIV)
15 He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation. . . “
Proverbs 4:25
Let your eyes look straight ahead; fix your gaze directly before you.
Galatians 2:20 (NLT)
20 My old self has been crucified with Christ.  It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. So I live in this earthly body by trusting in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.

Something Old, Something New

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My husband has been cleaning out his garage this past month. Yes, I said “month!” My husband and I have been “re-purposers” from before re-purposing was cool. We just love taking something that no one else wants anymore and making something of purpose out of it.

Take antique furniture for example. Those who love these old items don’t mind the scrapes, scratches, bumps, and missing pieces. We see past all that to the beauty and wealth of history in them; imagining the wisdom they have gained from all they have experienced. We see the potential of what the item can become with just a little tender loving care.

I think God looks at all of us like that. He loves us just the way we are, with all our imperfections, and yet sees the wealth inside of us and what we have yet to give, no matter what the past has held.

Jeremiah 30–33:26 contains promises of restoration, and of the new covenant.

Jeremiah 31:3-4 says, “The Lord appeared to us in the past saying, ’I have loved you with an everlasting love: I have drawn you with unfailing kindness, I will build you up again . . .’”

Verses 31-34 continue, “The days are coming,” declares the Lord, “when I will make a new covenant with the people of Israel and with the people of Judah. It will not be like the covenant I made with their ancestors when I took them by the hand to lead them out of Egypt, because they broke my covenant, though I was a husband to them,” declares the Lord. “This is the covenant I will make with the people of Israel after that time,” declares the Lord. “I will put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people. No longer will they teach their neighbor, or say to one another, ‘Know the Lord,’ because they will all know me, from the least of them to the greatest,” declares the Lord. “For I will forgive their wickedness
and will remember their sins no more.”

Chapter 32 portrays the certainty of restoration through Jeremiah’s purchase of a field, even as Israel was about to be taken away from the land into captivity.

I am so thankful our God has been in the re-purposing/restoration business since the beginning of time. My prayer is that we will love, like Jesus loves; we will see, like Jesus sees; and we will help, like Jesus helps. Let’s all try to be a little more like Jesus today then we were yesterday