Word of the Year - Comfort

          Whenever I am anxious and worried, you comfort me and make me glad. (Psalm 94:19, Good News Translation)

On top of the back pain which migrated to pain all over my body for most of 2023, I started having chest pain in November. After a week of it, I finally saw my primary care doctor, who ran all sorts of tests and set me up for a nuclear stress test. The night before that appointment, as I lay in bed with over-the-top anxiety, I randomly opened my Bible and read the above verse.

I ran those words through my head like a mantra until I fell asleep.

The test went well. I didn’t pass out walking on the treadmill and my heart didn’t freak out to the point they had to send me to the ER.

A few days later, my doctor called to say that most of the stress test was normal – in his words, my plumbing was all good. But one of the numbers was elevated, which he didn’t think meant anything bad, but in light of my symptoms and family history, he thought I should see a cardiologist. That appointment isn’t until January 24, but I am seeing the primary care doc the week before that and having some labs repeated. I haven’t had any more chest pain, just shortness of breath with activity.

I also have been seeing a naturopathic provider, who started me on an anti-inflammatory diet. It makes sense to me – something is going on in my body and inflammation can cause most of my symptoms. So far, no one seems to know if that can cause my heart concerns, but hopefully the cardiologist can tell me. And hopefully, with this diet I’m on, the inflammation will be settled down by then so that she says, “What are you doing here? Your heart is a rock star.”

In the meantime, all I can do is watch what I eat, take the recommended supplements, and pray.

God is good. He will comfort me in all of my troubles. He will take away my anxiety and grant me comfort and joy. 

Zion

          O Zion, messenger of good news, shout from the mountaintops! Shout it louder, O Jerusalem. Shout, and do not be afraid. Tell the towns of Judah, “Your God is coming!”

          Yes, the Sovereign Lord is coming in power. He will rule with a powerful arm. See, he brings his reward with him as he comes.

          He will feed his flock like a shepherd. He will carry the lambs in his arms, holding them close to his heart. He will gently lead the mother sheep with their young. (Isaiah 40:9-11, New Living Translation)

Born of a virgin, in a lowly stable, Jesus our Savior is born!

“Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace, goodwill toward men!” (Luke 2:14, New King James Version)

Yoke

      “Come to me, all of you who are tired from carrying heavy loads, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke and put it on you, and learn from me, because I am gentle and humble in spirit; and you will find rest. For the yoke I will give you is easy, and the load I will put on you is light.” (Matthew 11:28-30, Good News Translation) 

As you know, I’ve been going through the alphabet the month of December, leading up to Christmas Eve. (And, yes, I skipped Q and X.)

I’ve been keeping each post short, as it’s a challenge to write much every day. I've also kept my personal life out of my blog for a change. But today’s word warrants a little more.  

If you know me, you probably recall that I’ve been dealing with pain since April 1, first in just my low back, but over the months, it has spread everywhere throughout my body. It has become a heavy load for me. Add to that the many other stressors in my life, and that yoke completely drags me down.

Every day I’m reminded of the above verse, and I thank God for sending His Son to be our Savior. Jesus bore our heaviest loads on the cross when He died for our sins. I need not carry all that weight on my yoke. I need to turn it over to Jesus.

It’s taken eight months, but praise God, my pain has started to lift.  

Wonderful

For to us a child is born, a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. (Isaiah 9:6, English Standard Version)

Look at the word Wonderful. Just a few synonyms for it would be Magnificent, Superb, Pleasing, Great, Perfect. And the word Mighty? Vast, Expansive, Tough, Robust, Strong. Everlasting? Eternal, Perpetual, Indestructible, Enduring.

Are there even enough adjectives to describe Jesus and how Wonderful He is?

Yet the letter “W” which I chose for today’s picture is anything but any of those things. But that’s how Jesus came into this world. 

Virgin

          In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. And the virgin's name was Mary. (Luke 1:26-27, English Standard Version)

Mary was pure and holy, a devote Jew, who followed all of God’s laws as best she could. Can you imagine what went through her head when the angel told her what was going to happen to her? But God had chosen her for a reason, and instead of worrying what others would think or wondering how this had happened, she rejoiced that God had selected her to be the mother of His Son. 

Unfailing Love

“Though the mountains be shaken and the hills be removed, yet my unfailing love for you will not be shaken nor my covenant of peace be removed,” says the Lord, who has compassion on you. (Isaiah 54:10, New International Version)

Unfailing love. Can any of us love someone the way God loves us? His love is faithful, kind, and constant. He has compassion on those who don't deserve it. No matter what we do, God will love us unconditionally. Why else would He have sent His Son Jesus to save us?

How precious is your unfailing love, O God! All humanity finds shelter in the shadow of your wings. (Psalm 36:7, New Living Translation)

Teacher

        This man came to Jesus by night and said to Him, “Rabbi, we know that You are a teacher come from God; for no one can do these signs that You do unless God is with him.” (John 3:2, New King James Version)

Jesus was referred to by many titles – Son of God, Son of Man, Savior, Redeemer, King of Kings, Master, Prophet, and the list goes on.

All of those are great, but sometimes I have a hard time picturing Jesus in those roles. Yes, of course, we can see Him on the cross and even dressed in white, arms out at His sides, being taken to heaven. But the picture of Jesus that I love the most is of Him sitting on the ground, surrounded by His disciples teaching them through parables, teaching them what it meant for Him to be their Savior and for them to be children of God.

Salvation

          “Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and will not be afraid; for the Lord God is my strength and my song, and he has become my salvation.” (Isaiah 12:2, English Standard Version)

Not only is He our Salvation, He is our Strength and our Song.

And wasn’t that the whole point of Jesus, the Son of God, being born as that tiny, innocent baby. So that when He had become a Man, He could save us all from our sins.

Room

Her first son was born. She put cloth around Him and laid Him in a place where cattle are fed. There was no room for them in the place where people stay for the night. (Luke 2:7, New Life Version)

Most versions of the Bible say that there was no room in the inn. I chose this translation because there’s a good chance that there wasn’t even an inn in Bethlehem at that time. Many Bible scholars believe that “inn” actually referred to an inner room of the house, such as a guest room.

True, there was no room for Mary and Joseph in any of the “places where people stay” because the city was filled with travelers going there for the census. But the stable where the animals slept was warm and safe, and probably quieter than the houses which were filled with people.

I think it was a beautiful place for a baby to be born.

Prepare

The voice of one crying in the wilderness: “Prepare the way of the Lord; make straight in the desert a highway for our God.” (Isaiah 40:3, New King James Version)

December is the one month out of the year where everyone spends so much time preparing. There are presents to buy and wrap, cookies to bake, cards to mail, a tree to put up and decorate. And all in preparation for Christmas morning.

Jesus’s cousin John, better known as John the Baptist, came to prepare the people for the coming of Jesus. He didn’t bake cookies or buy presents; he preached to all who would listen.

Are you telling people about Jesus in preparation of His second coming? 

Order

About that time Hezekiah became deathly ill, and the prophet Isaiah son of Amoz went to visit him. He gave the king this message: “This is what the Lord says: ‘Set your affairs in order, for you are going to die. You will not recover from this illness.’” (Isaiah 38:1, New Living Translation)

The word “order” has a lot of meanings. We can order someone around, we can give orders, we can put our books in alphabetical order, we can call a meeting to order, UPS has delivered our order. But no matter how it’s used, the word usually signifies some sort of organization.

We think of setting our affairs in order only when we think something bad is going to happen to us. But no one knows for sure when they are going to leave their earthly body.

Neither does anyone know when Jesus will return to this earth to call all believers home. Do we need to have our affairs in order for that or do we just need to have faith in Him?

Nazareth

Philip found Nathanael and told him, “We have found the one whom Moses wrote about in the book of the Law and whom the prophets also wrote about. He is Jesus son of Joseph, from Nazareth.”

          “Can anything good come from Nazareth?” Nathanael asked.”

          “Come and see,” answered Philip. (John 1:45-46, Good News Translation)

 “Can anything good come from Nazareth?” What a horrible thing to say. Can you think of names of other towns that you would say that of? Probably could think of some countries too?

But, boy oh boy, did Nathanael have that wrong! Because Jesus was good in every way.

Messiah

          But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.” (Luke 2:10-12, New International Version)

According to my online dictionary, Messiah means 1) a leader or savior of a particular group or cause or 2) the promised deliverer of the Jewish nation prophesied in the Hebrew Bible. Christians believe that Jesus is the Messiah of the Hebrew prophecies and the savior of humankind.

Unfortunately, at the time of His birth, many wanted to be delivered from Roman rule. They didn’t realize that what they really needed was to be saved from their sins.

What about you? What do you need to be delivered from?

Lamb

       The following day as John was standing with two of his disciples, Jesus walked by. John looked at him intently and then declared, “See! There is the Lamb of God!” (John 1:35-36, Living Bible)

Jesus has frequently been called the Lamb of God. Why is that?

In Bible times, when a Jew sinned, they had to take a lamb to the temple as a sacrifice to be forgiven. In the book of Exodus, God’s final plague for Pharaoh to let His people go was that the firstborn son of every family would die. For the Jews to have their sons spared, they had to kill a male lamb who was without blemish and spread its blood on the tops and sides of their door frame.   

Now picture Jesus as the Lamb of God, the sacrifice that would save us all, His blood spread on the cross.

King

Jesus was born in the town of Bethlehem in Judea during the time when Herod was king. When Jesus was born, some wise men from the east came to Jerusalem. They asked, “Where is the baby who was born to be the king of the Jews? We saw his star in the east and have come to worship him.”  (Matthew 2:1-2, New Century Version)

So here we have three different sorts of kings. First, King Herod and we all know what kind of king he was – vicious, merciless, and egotistical. Second, the wise men from the east, who weren’t kings at all, but are referred to as kings in some stories. But regardless of what we call them, they turn out to be pretty good guys.

And the final King in this passage was that innocent Baby laying in the manager. When He was born, He was nothing like anyone thought He would be. But look at how His story turns out.

Immanuel

         All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet: “Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel” (which means, God is with us). When Joseph woke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him: he took his wife, but knew her not until she had given birth to a son. And he called his name Jesus. (Matthew 1:22-25, English Standard Version)

This is actually a continuation of yesterday’s post, where an angel of the Lord came to Joseph in a dream, telling him what to do about the situation with Mary being pregnant.

Jesus is known by many names. The words of the prophet here are from Isaiah 7:14, and it’s a long story why they named the baby Jesus instead of Immanuel.  But I think the important thing to remember is “God is with us”. No matter what name Jesus goes by, He is always with us.

Joseph

        Now the birth of Jesus Christ took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together, she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit. And her husband Joseph, being a just man and unwilling to put her to shame, resolved to divorce her quietly. But as he considered these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.” (Matthew 1:18-21, English Standard Version)

Things were a little different back then. Today, this story might have played out completely differently. Joseph still might have stayed with Mary. But if he left her, she would have had three options. 1) Have the baby and give him up for adoption. 2) Have the baby, keep him and raise him on her own. 3) Well, I don’t even want to write it, let’s not even consider it, as God knew Mary’s heart.  

How lucky we are that Joseph was an honorable man who listened to the angel in his dream and that he remained with Mary, protecting her and the Baby she carried.  

But what happened to the letter I? Come back tomorrow to find out. 

Hungry

          “Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in.” (Matthew 25:34-35, New International Version)

If you remember from yesterday, those on the right were the sheep. As believers, their names were in God’s Book; they would make it to heaven. They fed those who were hungry and thirsty. They gave strangers a place of rest.  

But they were put on God’s right side because the stranger they fed was Jesus.

Here’s a sudden thought I had. Who invited Jesus in, when Mary and Joseph were looking for a place for Him to be born? Maybe the words Invited, In, and Inn should be tomorrow's words. Nope, guess again. 

Goat

All the nations will be gathered in his presence, and he will separate the people as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will place the sheep at his right hand and the goats at his left. (Matthew 25:32-33, New Living Translation) 

Grace, glory, gift, gospel – so many great words which begin with the letter G. And yet, here I picked the word goat.

In the above verse, Jesus was saying that the sheep were the compassionate people, those willing to help out a stranger. Meanwhile the goat refused to help anyone out, except themselves. God would bless the sheep and curse the goats.

Want an example of how those sheep helped others and how the goats ignored them? Check back tomorrow. 

Friend

Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends. (John 15:13, New King James Version)

Would you give up your life for your friends? Maybe your best friend, and hopefully your close family members.

This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters. (1 John 3:16, New International Version)

Do you think that when John wrote these verses, he was talking about your blood relatives and your best friends? I’m pretty sure he was talking about strangers as well. And why do I think that? Because Jesus was born in Bethlehem to live among us and give His life for anyone who believes in Him. Now that’s a Friend. 

Eternal Life

    “I tell you the truth, those who listen to my message and believe in God who sent me have eternal life. They will never be condemned for their sins, but they have already passed from death into life.” (John 5:24, New Living Translation)

When I started this blog series, I came up with words beginning with each letter to see if I could even do this. You wouldn’t think the letter E begins with many spiritual words, but I found a few. 

However, Eternal Life stood out, shining the brightest. (Since it’s two words, can I also check the letter L off my list?)

What was the point of God sending His Son to earth as a tiny Baby? The baby grew into a young Man who shared the Word of His Father. He was loved by many but also ridiculed by many, to the point that they demanded His crucifixion.

But it was all part of God’s plan so that we may have Eternal Life, that Jesus’s blood would wash us clean and take away our sins. It was all so that we would have Eternal Life.

Darkness

The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light. They lived in a land of shadows, but now light is shining on them. (Isaiah 9:2, Good News Translation)

One thing about December, which I don’t think anyone likes, is that the sun sets so early. Where I live, it’s getting dark by 4:30 in the afternoon. (But my husband just reminded me that there are less than three weeks until the days start getting longer. Yeah!)

I had to look it up online and discovered that Bethlehem’s days are nearly as short as ours this time of year. Who knew?

Well, God did, of course. His Son Jesus came into this world in the dark of the night, but ever since that Blessed night, there has been light in the world, 24/7, for those who believe.

Children

But Jesus called for the children, saying, “Let the little children come to me. Don’t stop them, because the kingdom of God belongs to people who are like these children. I tell you the truth, you must accept the kingdom of God as if you were a child, or you will never enter it.” (Luke 18:16-17, New Century Version)

In many ways, Christmas is a holiday for children. Santa Claus, holiday programs, presents, even hot chocolate. They have a glow on their faces, and their eyes are filled with excitement.  

Then, we get older, and we lose that glow. Instead of excitement, all we feel is stress over paying for all these presents, planning family get-togethers, decorating the tree, and the list goes on.

 Why is that? As adults, shouldn’t we be able to feel the wonder of Christmas? And shouldn’t we feel the wonder of being a child of God?

Bethlehem

          And Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the town of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David, to be registered with Mary, his betrothed, who was with child. (Luke 2:4-5, English Standard Version)

Are you doing any traveling this Christmas season? Flying somewhere? Or maybe just going to the next town over to spend the day with relatives?

Joseph and Mary made a long trek to get to his family's ancestral town of Bethlehem. Then, after Jesus was born, they made an even longer journey to Egypt to avoid King Herod's men.

How far would you travel to save yourself and your loved ones? Or do you need to travel at all to be saved? All you need to do is turn your life over to Jesus Christ, and you will always be safe and saved.

Anticipation

          At that time there was a man named Simeon living in Jerusalem. He was a good, God-fearing man and was waiting for Israel to be saved. The Holy Spirit was with him and had assured him that he would not die before he had seen the Lord's promised Messiah. (Luke 2:25-26, Good News Translation)

Here it is, December 1. Twenty-four days until Christmas. The most anticipated day of the year. But what do we anticipate – look forward to – the most on that day? The presents? The food? Spending time with family?

Simeon was also anticipating something – meeting the newborn Baby who would grow up to be his Savior and ours.

Maybe instead of looking forward to that one day of the year – Christmas day – we should look forward to the day we meet our Savior Jesus in person.

Alpha and Omega; Beginning and End

“I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End,” says the Lord, “who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.” (Revelation 1:8, New King James Version)

One summer when I was middle school, I memorized the Greek alphabet. You know – alpha, beta, gamma, delta, epsilon, etc. Maybe I wasn’t as cool at the time as I thought I was; I’m still not cool now.

I just always imagined my achievement being something someone would ask about some day. You know, when people ask things like, “Can you touch your thumb to your wrist?” “Can you list all of the US presidents?” “Do you know the Greek alphabet?”

Anyway, I really have no wisdom other than that today. Except to let you know that I have another goal – post a blog here every day from December 1 thru December 24, each one covering a word that begins with a different letter of the alphabet, from A to Z (skipping two letters), with a story of how it pertains to the first Christmas.

And this won’t really be my achievement; it will be God’s. People always ask where I come up with the ideas for my inspirational blog posts, and my answer always is that it’s only through the grace of God that I can write anything here. And God was here from the beginning and will be here forever. 

 

Give Thanks

Tomorrow is Thanksgiving! Where did the year go? Christmas is right around the corner, and one week after that it will be 2024! (and another Leap Year). Wow. That also means it will have been four years since the outbreak of COVID-19.

So much has happened in the last few years. So many bad things, heart-breaking things. Disease and despair and death.

Yet, there are so many things I am thankful for.

I live in a home with cupboards full of food, running water, and electricity. And even though our furnace went out yesterday morning, the repair man arrived at our house only a few hours later and was able to fix it. Granted, now we have another bill to pay, but we have money in the bank to cover it.  

I have a wonderfully devoted husband, two great kids, and a list of other relatives and friends who care about me.

Nearly all of my physical and emotional needs are met every day, and I have little to fear. Yes, maybe the future – don’t we all worry about what craziness will happen next in the world?

But truly, we should give thanks to God in all times and all places, for everything He has done for us.

Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good! His faithful love endures forever. (Psalm 106:1, Psalm 107:1, Psalm 118:1, Psalm 118:29, Psalm 136:11, and 1 Chronicles 16:34)

Yes, that exact verse is in the Bible six times. So, yes, I think we should give thanks to our Lord.

Who do we turn to?

Last night, I ran across this blog post from ten years ago. I thought it was worth sharing again. 

 We must never stop looking to Jesus. (Hebrews 12:2a, Easy to Read Version)

One afternoon, a young mother brought her baby in to our clinic for her well-child checkup. As I laid the little one on the table to measure her, she kept looking at her mother with bright trusting eyes. I’d call her name to get her attention, and she would turn her head to me for just a second before turning back to Mom. At just two months old, she already knew who she adored, who supplied all of her needs and who would never let her down. 

Good thing she didn’t look at me with any devotion. When the doctor was done examining her, I returned with three immunizations.  

Most babies don’t like the first shot, but they can’t quite figure out the pain, so it’s not so bad. By the second shot, they have processed the pain and are not happy. At that point they are crying their heart out. The third shot. Well, it doesn’t matter by then. I just get the vaccines in as fast as I can. After I slap on the last Band-Aid, I tell Mom it’s ok to pick up her baby.  

The sweet little baby girl mentioned above was no different. She just wanted to get into Mom’s arms. That tiny two-month old brain already knew that Mom would make it all right. Her tears subsided quickly.

It just reminded me of life with our heavenly Parent. We look to God with devotion when things are going well, but as soon as the pain starts or we run into problems, we forget where to turn. It isn’t until He reaches down and takes us into His loving arms, that we feel safe again, that the pain eases. That we can look to Him again with devotion, knowing that He will provide our every need.

I look to you, heaven-dwelling God, look up to you for help. Like servants, alert to their master’s commands, like a maiden attending her lady, We’re watching and waiting, holding our breath, awaiting your word of mercy. (Psalm 123:1-2, The Message) 

Land of Ladysmith

I don’t know how many times I’ve ridden through Ladysmith, Wisconsin. Many, many, many times. When I was a kid, we frequently visited a cousin of mine, and Ladysmith was the half-way point between her house and ours.

Coming through town, on Highway 8, we’d always drive past Memorial Park, and I always wanted to stop. I’m sure my parents had to have stopped there sometime, but I don’t remember.

Last month, when I was staying at a nearby AirBnb with a friend, I finally got to explore the park, along with the rest of the town.

Throughout the city, population just over 3,000, there are several murals acknowledging area residents.  

Pioneer Park is on the site of the former Warner Cemetery.

A large display told the story of many who were once buried there in the early 1900s. It was so sad how many children and babies had died in those years, from things like diphtheria, pneumonia, injuries and erysipelas, which is some sort of skin infection. There was also a mother and baby listed who died during childbirth.

We missed several other parks in Ladysmith, as well as several museums, including the Wisconsin’s Plow Museum. Too bad it was closed for the season. I gotta get there next year! 

Words which ring true today

 It’s been a long time since I’ve shared an entire chapter from the book of Psalms. Here is chapter 118, from the New Living Translation. Sorry that it is so long, but I couldn’t pick out the best verses; I liked them all.  

1 Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good! His faithful love endures forever.

2 Let all Israel repeat: “His faithful love endures forever.”

3 Let Aaron’s descendants, the priests, repeat: “His faithful love endures forever.”

4 Let all who fear the Lord repeat: “His faithful love endures forever.”

5 In my distress I prayed to the Lord, and the Lord answered me and set me free.

6 The Lord is for me, so I will have no fear. What can mere people do to me?

7 Yes, the Lord is for me; he will help me. I will look in triumph at those who hate me.

8 It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to trust in people.

9 It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to trust in princes.

10 Though hostile nations surrounded me, I destroyed them all with the authority of the Lord.

11 Yes, they surrounded and attacked me, but I destroyed them all with the authority of the Lord.

12 They swarmed around me like bees; they blazed against me like a crackling fire. But I destroyed them all with the authority of the Lord.

13 My enemies did their best to kill me, but the Lord rescued me.

14 The Lord is my strength and my song; he has given me victory.

15 Songs of joy and victory are sung in the camp of the godly. The strong right arm of the Lord has done glorious things!

16 The strong right arm of the Lord is raised in triumph. The strong right arm of the Lord has done glorious things!

17 I will not die; instead, I will live to tell what the Lord has done.

18 The Lord has punished me severely, but he did not let me die.

19 Open for me the gates where the righteous enter, and I will go in and thank the Lord.

20 These gates lead to the presence of the Lord, and the godly enter there.

21 I thank you for answering my prayer and giving me victory!

22 The stone that the builders rejected has now become the cornerstone.

23 This is the Lord’s doing, and it is wonderful to see.

24 This is the day the Lord has made. We will rejoice and be glad in it.

25 Please, Lord, please save us. Please, Lord, please give us success.

26 Bless the one who comes in the name of the Lord. We bless you from the house of the Lord.

27 The Lord is God, shining upon us. Take the sacrifice and bind it with cords on the altar.

28 You are my God, and I will praise you! You are my God, and I will exalt you!

29 Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good! His faithful love endures forever.

   More words from the Bible that ring true today.

Getting High in Wisconsin

When I was a kid, I remember being told that Rib Mountain in Wausau was the tallest point in Wisconsin. And look I even found proof of that.

 Actually, currently, the highest spot on Rib Mountain is 1,924 feet above sea level. But since this sign was installed, two other peaks have measured higher. Sugarbush Hill in Forest County at 1,939 feet and, at number one, Timm’s Hill at 1,951. Interesting that of the top ten tallest spots in Wisconsin, six are named hills and only two have mountain in their names.

But I really wanted to stick to Rib Mountain in this post. 

Five weeks ago, when the leaves were still on the trees, the sun was shining, and it was warm enough to wear shorts, my sister, niece and I took a drive to the top of the Rib Mountain State Park.

We didn’t climb to the top of the tower, and we didn’t hike any of the many trails throughout the state park.

But we had some laughs and made some memories.

Now, the mountain is waiting for the winter sports season to begin.

The Lord is Always with You

 “The Lord will guide you always; he will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land and will strengthen your frame. You will be like a well-watered garden, like a spring whose waters never fail.” Isaiah 58:11

After the book of Psalms, Isaiah has the most chapters of all the books in the Bible. And there’s some hard reading there. Lots of prophecy and history and things we struggle to understand because so much of it seems so foreign to us.

 “So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.” Isaiah 41:10

It shouldn’t be that hard, but I sure don’t have the knowledge to understand it. But I do know that it contains some amazing verses.  

 “Surely God is my salvation; I will trust and not be afraid. The Lord, the Lord himself, is my strength and my defense; he has become my salvation.” Isaiah 12:2

As you may have heard, I’ve been compiling a 40-day devotional of how to deal with pain, by turning to the Bible for answers and relief. A lot of the verses I’ve included in this book come from Isaiah.

 “Lord, be gracious to us; we long for you. Be our strength every morning, our salvation in time of distress.” Isaiah 33:2

Some mornings I wake up and need to recall these lines, as my pain is still not completely gone.  

 “He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak.” Isaiah 40:29

But I need to hang in there and continue to turn my troubles over to God. He has got this, and one day my troubles will be over. One day your troubles will be over too.

 “The past troubles will be forgotten…See, I will create new heavens and a new earth.”  Isaiah 65:17