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I am going to Florida soon and I am quite excited about it. I have been getting myself ready for it the last few weeks. I have a master list of things to get done, I am trying to stay healthy and I have been pulling out my warm-weather clothes.
 
We women are great at getting ready for things. From parties to trips, we are the best planners.  Some events are easy and take a short time to prepare. Others, like weddings and babies take several months or even years of preparation. We carefully plan so when the big moment arrives we are set.
 
I find it interesting that while we are so good at preparing for earthly events we often totally neglect the eternal ones. When it comes to where we will spend our afterlife we put it off.  Shoving it to the back of the pantry like that can of tomato paste we know we will need eventually. We will “get right with God” when the time comes.  Maybe when we get a terminal diagnosis or when we are really old. It is hard to worry about the end of life when we are so busy just living life. Does it really matter that much?
 
Let me tell you, it matters. And it matters right now. You are not guaranteed another second let alone another day, year or decade. God’s Word reminds us of this frequently with verses such as this: “yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes.” (James 4:14). Our lives go by in a flash, especially when compared to eternity. Let’s be serious. We may think we have years ahead but we may only have seconds. Get ready.
 
We are told in Hebrews 9:27 that “it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment,”. In the blink of an eye you could be standing before your Maker. By then your fate is sealed. There is no trial, no arguments to be had, no “Wait God, I can explain…”.  No comparing yourself to the person in the pew next to you, they won’t be there.  Only you and God and a just and final judgement. Either the blood of Jesus Christ will mark you as his or it won’t.  Either debt paid in full or debt fully due.  
 
If you show up on your wedding day without a dress you can still get married. If the baby comes before you have purchased a crib, you still get the baby. But if you die before accepting Jesus as Lord, you are forever damned. The choice has to be made now. Do not wait. Purgatory is a lie. Do not find false security in a make-believe destination. Jesus is the only way to the Father. Read it all for yourself in God’s Word - a book he had written so that you would read it and know. No paid clergy needed to filter the truth for you.
 
God is real.  “The fool says in his heart, ‘There is no God.’” (Ps 14:1).  Do not be a fool.  Each of us deep within senses the truth of this.  We long to worship something and we long for a purpose for our existence.  We long to be loved and to be part of a family.  This is because the truth is written on our hearts (Romans 2:15). Do not ignore the hanging question any longer - will you repent and turn from your sin and believe in Jesus Christ the Son of God? Get ready.
 
Ladies, don’t put this off any longer. You must choose your side. Two options: with God or against God.  “Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters.” (Mt 12:30).  There is no in between, no limbo.  You are either standing in grace at this moment, having accepted the sacrifice of Jesus on your behalf, or you are standing under God’s wrath and condemnation, having rejected him and preferring to pay for your own sins for eternity (see John 3:18).  It is up to you, but don’t push this one to the back of the panty.  It is far too important and you may be standing before your Judge far sooner than you think.
 
Seek out the truth today in God’s Word and get ready already.

Blog written by Deb Lovett.
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Have you ever been asked to represent someone?
 
Several years ago I was chosen to represent our family at my grandmother’s funeral. I was asked to read the scripture. My cousin was asked to represent her branch of the family tree in a different way during the service.
 
Maybe you have been told, on occasion “When you put on this uniform, you represent this…” Company or Team, or maybe even this country. We are expected to follow particular rules and act a certain way because we don’t just represent ourselves, we represent something bigger.
 
A favorite scripture of many is:
And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. (Romans 8:28)
 
We tend to focus on the truth of the first part of the verse, but according to the second half we discover we are called according to his purpose. We are called according to God’s purpose.
 
One of God’s purposes for us is to represent him in this world. When we put on the Lord Jesus Christ (Rom. 13:14) we no longer represent ourselves only, we now represent him; we are commissioned as his ambassadors.
 
Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ … (2 Corinthians 5:20a)
 
To be an ambassador for Jesus is a very high and honorable calling. As ambassadors we are citizens in the land of our King, yet we have been chosen to represent our King in a foreign land. The foreign land is where we serve our King now. We act in his best interest. We make decisions that will please him. When we interact with people in this land, we listen and speak on our King’s behalf. When people see us, we want them to see our King – the One we serve. In order to represent him faithfully, we must know our King’s will intimately by studying the Word, and actively live under his authority by obeying his will.
 
As an ambassador of Jesus, God has given us the message he wants us to speak to this foreign world on his behalf.
 
…God [is] making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. (2 Corinthians 5:20b)
 
God has reconciled us to himself through Christ, and he now gives us — his ambassadors — that same message of reconciliation to speak on his behalf to those we meet in this foreign land. We are to urge them – beg them, “Be reconciled to God!” We tell them it is for our sake he made Jesus to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God (2 Cor. 5:21).
 
The only way to be reconciled to God is through the atoning work of Jesus Christ. Because of Jesus’ death on our behalf, God will not count our sins against us. Jesus paid the price for our sin on the cross so we can have peace and a restored relationship with God. This is the message God wants us to tell the world.
 
Today if you hear his voice, trust and believe in Jesus’ atoning work on the cross to restore your relationship with God. Receive your commission as his ambassador and go forth representing him in this foreign land with the message given to us by God -- the message of reconciliation to God through Jesus.

Ready for some good news today?  This is for you Christian women out there taking your battle with sin seriously. There is an easy way to put the devil on the run.  This simple method is found in James 4:7, “Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.”  Did you catch that “R” word?  Resist.  We resist, he flees.  


If you are like most women (and you are) you feel the enemy breathing down your neck from the time you first crack your lids in the morning.  Our antagonist continues to poke at us throughout our day.  Reminding us of our weaknesses and pointing out temptations.  Often we walk right into his traps, drawn by the desires within us.  We wish we had the strength or understanding to fight back.  Are there magic words we could say?  Or some holy kung-fu we could learn?


Ladies, it isn’t even that hard.  The command (it is an imperative sentence) is to resist.  That’s it.  Resist and the devil flees.  He doesn’t casually stroll away as if he wasn’t all that interested in little you after all.  No, he FLEES.  Why?  Because of sentence number one in that very same verse.   “Submit yourselves therefore to God.”  You belong to God.  You are a called-out child of THE superpower of the universe.  You are not afraid of the enemy.  You know the truth.  You believe the truth.


This reference will date me, but so be it.  This reminds me of a scene from the 80s movie Labyrinth .  The main character, Sarah, has been caught up in an elaborate scheme put together by her evil adversary, Goblin King Jareth (David Bowie).  He has taken her baby brother and she is trying to get him back.  Towards the end there is a scene where they meet face to face.  Despite all of her struggles and hard work, Sarah has failed.  Jareth tells her that he will make all her dreams come true, she just has to let him keep her brother forever.  Sarah seems to have no other choice, she feels hopeless.  Then the realization hits her, she remembers the truth.  She says, “You have no power over me.”  She continues to repeat it, getting more excited, “You have no power over me! You have no power over me!” The evil snares set up by her enemy dissolve and she returns to reality.


That is us every day, ladies.  Realizing the bully we put up with far too often has NO power over us.  Zero, zilch, nada, nil. He is a faker.  Quit playing his game of fear and anxiety.  RESIST him.  No elaborate conversations, no conjuring of angels to fly to your aid.  Resist him with the knowledge that you are under the authority and protection of God.  Then he has to run.  He has no choice, it is part two of the promise.  There are too many others willing to dance with him, he will not waste his time on you when you are walking in godly defiance of his wiles.


When we submit ourselves to God we don’t become timid creatures, afraid of the big bad world and all the temptations it holds.  No!  “for God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control.” 2 Timothy 1:7.  Great courage and conviction comes from being adopted into the family of God.

There you go, Christian woman.  Some good news in your battle against darkness.  “Resist the devil and he will flee from  you.” James 4:7. What a relief that no super-spiritual throat punches are needed.  Next time the enemy comes prowling, remember he has no power over you.  Resist him by refusing to give attention to him.  Know the truth of the Word. Think on the One you belong to and delight in the fact that you are his.  Go and resist, go and rejoice

​ Unless you live in total isolation from media of any kind, you know about the trial going on for a potential supreme court justice.  People have been digging into the past of both the accused and the accuser. Trying to find dirt to put on display to tarnish his or her character.
 
If someone did this to you, what would they find?  Are there things in your past that you would rather others not know?  As a society (truly all of humanity) we love to point fingers.  We love to find skeletons hidden in closets and drag them out.  We prop them up and pronounce our judgements.  Sharing them passive-aggressively on social media and in indignant conversations with the like-minded.
 
What would be dug up about me?  I like to think that I’m a pretty good person.  I’ve always been kind, trustworthy and fair.  Or have I?  As I stop to think about my past it doesn’t take long for me to compile a mental list.  A list of things I’ve done, said, and thought in the past 41 years that I would rather my mother never know and some that would make me weep with humiliation.  Digging for dirt?  No, all there seems to be is dirt.  
 
There are no innocents in this world, neither has there ever been or ever will be.  There is dirt and plenty of it.  Read the book of Judges then read the newspaper.  “What has been is what will be, and what has been done is what will be done, and there is nothing new under the sun.” Ecclesiastes 1:9.  Paul tells us “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” Romans 3:23.  We can feel the truth of these verses deeply when we tally up our piles of dirt.  We understand it isn’t just for everyone else, this truth is for us.  
 
If we have to be pure to be with our holy Father, what are we to do?  We are filthy and tarnished.  Not worthy of forgiveness, certainly not worthy of blood to be spilled on our behalf!
 
Here. Right here is where the grace of God finds its climax.  At the cross.  “Yet while we were still sinners Christ died for us.  “For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. For one will scarcely die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die— but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” Romans 5:6-8.  Still sinners, still weak, ungodly, and still sinners again.  Those words describe us too well.  But God showed his love for us in that he sent his perfect Son to bear his wrath against our sin and die in our place.
 
Oh dear God, why?  Why die for a dirty sinner?  Because the worthiness of this sacrifice does not rest with us.  It is because of the great mercy and grace of God and the ultimate worthiness of the sacrifice, Jesus Christ.  
 
Jesus was resurrected and remains alive today.  He is seated next to the Father as our Advocate (1 John 2:1).  He is proclaiming NOT our innocence, NOT our dirt-free existence, but that our debt has been paid in full, once and for all of time.  If this doesn't rock your world you are not alive.  You must still be dead and buried under that pile of dirt.  Believe in Jesus.  There is only a short window of time. God is merciful and full grace but he is also just and will punish those who choose to love their dirt instead of him.

When the world stands accusing and pointing fingers, don’t join in.  Remember where Christ has pulled you from.  “He drew me up from the pit of destruction, out of the miry bog, and set my feet upon a rock, making my steps secure.” Psalm 40:2.  Christian, you no longer live in the dirt. You have been pulled out and are being washed clean with the truth of the Word. The day is coming when we will be clothed in white and the full extent of our salvation will be realized.  Until then, praise him, praise him, praise him for what he has done.

Blog and photo by Deb Lovett. 

It is the time of year when hummingbirds should be on their southward journey to their winter home, so when we see hummingbirds this late in the season we wonder if we should take down our nectar feeders. Perhaps our feeders are tempting the birds to stay here longer than they should stay. We know cool weather is right around the corner. Don’t they? In reality our good food isn’t enticing any hummingbird to stay too long. What is happening is migration. God has placed a strong sense in hummingbirds to head south. The birds we see today are not the same birds we saw last week. They are probably from farther north and are traveling south. They are just passing through.

We too are just passing through. We are sojourners – temporary residents, on a journey, passing through this life on our way to our heavenly home. In a sense, we are migrating from here to there.

 “Beloved, I urge you as sojourners and exiles to abstain from the passions of the flesh, which wage war against your soul.” 1 Peter 2:11 
 
As we journey, there are places to stop along the way – We need to know what is a temptation and what is a nectar feeder?

Some temptations are easy to discern. “Does this violate scripture?” That is a no-brainer. We need to flee. But what if I am wresting with something because I’m not quite sure if it is acceptable to the Lord? Search the scriptures. “Wresting” may indicate there is a war between the spirit and flesh.

Some temptations disguise themselves as “good” – even “godly” ­– activities, making them harder to discern. For instance, do I stay up late making items to put in shoeboxes, or do I become so engrossed in a book that I can’t put it down and as a result other things are suffering. These activities, and perhaps what happens at your house, seem good yet what have we traded? Have we given up prayer and intimacy with the Lord? Have we neglected family or friends who need love and attention? Has our home become so messy that we don’t want to offer hospitality? Are we so tired the next morning that we decide to sleep in and skip Bible study and quiet time with Jesus?

When we look at the trade-off it is easier to discern if something is a temptation to avoid. These temptations, though appearing good, have taken our eyes off God and our journey toward our heavenly home. They have captured and entangled us. Now that sounds like “war” to me, and God tells us through Peter to “abstain from the passions of the flesh, which wage war against your soul.” 

Jesus also tells us, “Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak” (Matthew 26:41).

Therefore, be alert. Watch and pray. Study to know God’s Word, his will, and what pleases him. Through his Word, we may discover that we have been going to the wrong source for satisfaction along our journey.
“For he satisfies the longing soul, and the hungry soul he fills with good things” (Psalm 107:9).

So keep waging war against temptation, keep watching and praying, and keep drinking deeply of the nectar He provides for us through his Word. We as well as the hummingbirds need food for the journey. So when you see the hummingbirds this late in the season, let them be a reminder that we too are just passing through to our eternal home.

Blog written by Deb Lovett. 

James 1: 22 But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. 23 For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror. 24 For he looks at himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like. 25 But the one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his doing.
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God’s Word is like a mirror. We look into this mirror by reading the Bible. In the pages of Scripture, God reveals himself and his ways. At the same time, God shows us how we are not living out his Word.
 
God recently showed me such a view of myself in the mirror of his Word. In Titus 2, I read the beginning portion of verse 3.
 
“Older women likewise are to be reverent in behavior…”
 
As I read this verse, a quick memory came to my mind: I had recently gotten a spider bite from working in the garden. It was quite itchy; it swelled up and was magenta in color. Dave wanted me to go to the doctor and have it checked. Of course, no one likes to go to the doctor – including me. Long story short, I went to the doctor and ended up getting 3 shots to help my body deal with the infection.
 
The picture God showed me of myself through this short portion of scripture was when I was recounting my ordeal with some women at church. I had fun telling the story, embellishing it with hyperbole and drama, ending by exclaiming to Dave in my fabricated story, “I don’t want to go to the doctor. You can’t make me.”
 
Stop! Is this, as we read in Titus, how an older woman is to be “reverent in behavior?” Is this holy, godly action befitting an older woman who claims to know and love Jesus? Is it the action of an older woman who wants to obey God and live out his Word? Is this the witness I want younger women to see of an older woman loving and submitting to God and to her husband? Absolutely not!
 
God showed me myself as I looked into his Word, and he showed me how I didn’t meet up to his desire for my actions.
 
So what was I going to do with this insight? I needed to confess my sin to God. I needed to confess and apologize to my husband for making fun of a situation where he was truly loving me and trying to take care of me. I needed to confess and apologize to the women I spoke to. And finally I need to confess and apologize to anyone who may have walked by me and heard my story.
 
I thank God for his Word. I thank God for showing me how my actions were in contrast to how he wants me to live as an older woman. I pray he will enable me to live a reverent life for his glory, and for the benefit of the watching church and world.

A couple weeks ago I had to go shopping for a full-length mirror.  It didn’t take me long to find one I loved - one that made me look GREAT!  Who knew all I had to do to lose weight and gain height was to purchase a cheap mirror at Walmart!  
 
Of course it was a skinny mirror.  Like one of those fun mirrors at a circus that elongates you because it has been curved just so.  This one, of course, was not so obvious, but it was certainly not accurate, I could tell that.  Completely unrelated side note: I cannot talk about skinny mirrors without thinking of Elaine in an old Seinfeld episode.  It is an unavoidable side effect of life if you are well past the Millennial generation like I am.  The same with junior mints, man-hands, returning cans and double dipping.  Ok, got that out of the way so we can move on.
 
It was a real temptation to buy a mirror that made me look so good, even if it was not an accurate image.  It made me feel better about myself and it was cheap.  Nearly a win-win.  Except...it wasn't real.  It wasn’t the truth.  I put it back and bought a real mirror.  Yep, I looked a little chunky but hey, it's accurate.
 
The truth is too many people I know buy into the skinny mirror mentality.  Especially when it comes to spiritual matters.  They are perfectly content to be fed un-truths that make them feel beautiful and secure.  When in reality they are neither of those things.  They don’t know the truth because they are using the wrong mirror.
 
In James 1:22-25 we read that the Word of God is the mirror we are to use for our lives.
 
“But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror. For he looks at himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like.  But the one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his doing.”
 
When we gaze into the perfect Word of God, we get a glimpse of who we are in light of who God is.  We begin to understand that we are disgusting sinners in desperate need of a Savior.  We see that wrath is coming for our raging against God in this life.  We see that our good works apart from Christ are nothing.  We see that much of what we have been told is a lie - church attendance, communion, baptism - none of that will save you.  We see the truth that Jesus is our only hope, he is the only way to salvation.
 
That may be one big reason so few read the Bible, they don’t want to see the truth of their souls.  They would rather hide and (wrongly) assume they are okay.  They would rather hang out admiring themselves in front of their skinny mirrors.  They would rather have their ears tickled by the words of others who tell them they are good people.  “For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions,” 2 Tim. 4:3.

Ladies, don’t buy the skinny mirror.  Don’t do it.  It will be cheap and easy now but cost dearly in the end.  There will be a time when the truth is made known.  Those who spent their time admiring themselves instead of conforming their image to that of their savior, Jesus Christ will be brought low - into the Pit.  That is the only place for those who believe and live out lies.

Ladies, face the truth, desire nothing else but the truth!  Find it in the “perfect law, the law of liberty” and persevere in it. The Words of God are truth - read them, hear them, do them.  In that you will “be blessed."

My husband and I recently returned home from a week in Guatemala serving on a mission trip.  We lived in community with fellow Christians for a full week.  Eating, serving and sharing life together.  It was great.  I miss them all.  It felt like home being with them.  
 
While I was gone, I missed my three sons that were here in Cascade, Iowa.  I love my family and we are close, life wouldn’t be the same without them near.  Where they are feels like home.
 
We just moved into a new house and it is taking some adjusting.  At times, we miss the house we left.  There are still boxes everywhere and we feel unsettled.  We are working at making this house feel like home, but we aren’t quite there yet.
 
Where is home?  With the many changes taking place in my live recently, I have found myself asking this very question.  The fact that our hearts yearn for a place to call home speaks to something deep within us.  We desire a place to belong and to call our own, where we can be ourselves and with the ones we love.  God put that longing there.
 
God’s people are not unfamiliar with longing for a home.  The Israelites went from being tent dwelling sojourners to aliens in Egypt to wandering in the wilderness for 40 years.  Even after entering into the Promised Land they couldn’t obey God and were eventually carried away as exiles into other nations.  They continually longed for home.  
 
Where is home?  For the Christian, it will always be with Christ.  Jesus is our eternal destination, therefore, he is our home.  In his presence is the only place we will feel secure, at peace and have lasting joy.  Jesus himself gave us these words of comfort, “Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me. In my Father's house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also.” John 14:1-3.  What sweet words for those who believe!  A place is ready for us and he is coming for us - that we may be where he is - home.   
 
I have tried to instill this into my sons and myself over the past few weeks.  In this life there will be times when we will feel unsettled, like the ground under us is shifting.  It is then that we need to remember the truth of Philippians 3:20, “But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ,”  We belong to a different world - one that is lasting and where God’s will is always done.  That is what our souls long for because our souls belong to him.  
 
We Christians are a part of God’s kingdom now and can experience some of the benefits while here on earth (like when I was with the mission team), but this is only a small taste of what is to come.  Our souls will continue to yearn for our true home until the fullness of his presence is realized.  That is why we say, “Come, Lord Jesus!” (Rev. 22:20).  We long for that day.  We long to be home with our Savior forever.  
 
So, ladies, take comfort when this world leaves you longing for more, when you grow weary of feeling out of sorts and out of place.  Your Savior has gone to prepare a place for you and he has given his word that he will return for you.  Listen for the streams of living water that flow from the throne of God and for the trumpet sound.  Join me in calling for his return - come, Lord Jesus, come!

 There are some days when you don’t get to sit down, rest, or take a break. There are some days you have to remind yourself to breath. Those are crazy days. This blog is for those days.
 
My life has been hectic the last couple months. I won’t bore you with the details, after all everyone is busy. Simply put, our schedule is packed and we are transitioning into a new home. Somedays it feels like I am walking on one of those playground suspension bridges when a fat kid jumps on the end of it. I’m doing all I can to keep my legs from bucking under me.  
 
Have you had some of those days? Of course you have - you are a human and you are a woman. So let me share something God gave me recently to help me.
 
Psalm 32 - that was God’s gift to me. Before I get into the verses, let me make a point. When you are having a crazy day where everything is piling upon your shoulders, don’t look around you for your help. Don’t run to Facebook, the medicine cabinet, the wine cabinet or your secret stash of chocolate. Run to God’s voice. He is Maker of your days and Master of your hope. He is your Help. So run first to him.
 
Psalm 32:
1 Blessed is the one whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered. 2 Blessed is the man against whom the Lord counts no iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no deceit.

• Have you been called by Christ and accepted his saving grace? Then you are BLESSED. This is not just a “I have a roof over my head” type of blessed. This is a soul-deep, everlasting, never-gonna-change type of blessed. You have been completely forgiven and are not going to Hell. Be grateful and astounded by this massive, undeserved grace for the rest of your life.

 
3 For when I kept silent, my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long. 4 For day and night your hand was heavy upon me; my strength was dried up as by the heat of summer.

• Yep - that nails it.

 
5 I acknowledged my sin to you, and I did not cover my iniquity; I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the Lord,” and you forgave the iniquity of my sin. 6 Therefore let everyone who is godly offer prayer to you at a time when you may be found; surely in the rush of great waters, they shall not reach him.

• Speak to God. Confess sins, bear your heart and cry out to him. He hears the prayers of the righteous (Pr. 15:29). We have a God who listens to his people (and a book that proves it). If you have the ear of the Master of all things, why would you not utilize this fantastic benefit as often as possible?  

7 You are a hiding place for me; you preserve me from trouble; you surround me with shouts of deliverance.

• THIS is the one that hit me the hardest. God is our HIDING PLACE. With him we can have peace in the middle of crazy days. He preserves us - since he is the one who made us, he is the only one that can keep us together. (Boy, do I need him holding me together.)  And his shouts of deliverance surround us through his Word. He has told us loudly and clearly that we are REDEEMED, we are SAVED, we are HIS FOREVER. He has gone to prepare a place for us and will not fail us. Are you listening to his shouts of deliverance? Live like you believe them.

 
8 I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you with my eye upon you.

• We need the wisdom of God every day. He sees you and he knows you. Heed his counsel.

 
9 Be not like a horse or a mule, without understanding, which must be curbed with bit and bridle, or it will not stay near you.

• Don’t be a dumb mule, do not harden your heart or be stubborn.

 
10 Many are the sorrows of the wicked, but steadfast love surrounds the one who trusts in the Lord. 11 Be glad in the Lord, and rejoice, O righteous, and shout for joy, all you upright in heart!

• Rejoice!  Shout for joy!  This one is easy - God is so completely and extensively wonderful that our only natural response is to rejoice and be glad in him. So much so, that we are inclined to shout about it.

 
So ladies, go ahead and praise God loudly in the middle of your crazy days. It will make your worries fade and your earthly problems will pale in the intense light of eternity’s blaze.