30....

2015 didn't feel one minute past 1985.

We spent the weekend in "Throwback Thirty" mode.

High school reunions are a trip.....with differing opinions....some love it...some hate it.

I love looking backwards....days and nights filled with funny friends and funny memories....they shaped us in to who we are today.

This particular weekend was loaded with a wide range of emotions. 

Someone lost a parent...and we rallied around her, 

remembering times that we also spent with him. 

We hugged each other a little tighter....and remembered together.

Someone got engaged...woke up with an engagement ring...

I woke up with no keys, no voice and a headache.

Good times.

I did wake up with gratitude to God for longstanding friendships & history.

It's fascinating to me to see how much we have changed and how much we haven't.

The stories we reminded each other of...

"you haven't aged a bit.....I would know you anywhere....."

"where IS so and so....."

"How on earth did we get away with...."

"Friends come and friends go,

    but a true friend sticks by you like family." ~Proverbs 18:24 

God, Thank You for putting the right people in our paths at the right times...

Thank You for friendship. 

In His Dust,

DCC

He Knows....

We hiked the Judean Wilderness...it might have been 400 degrees.....

not an ounce of shade in sight.

It was hot, dry and dusty....the scenery was mountains, caves and rocks.

 (This is where David hid from Saul, and wrote several Psalms.)

"As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, My God.- Psalm 42:1 

After a long, long, long hike...imagine our surprise to find actual proof of the promise of God.... 

"He transforms a dry, lonely desert into pools of living water. Parched ground in to lively springs." ~Psalm 107:35

The water comes from rain that has been slipping into cracks in the rock, until it finally blasts out like this...into breathtaking waterfalls. 

Some days, weeks, months and even years...life seems to be filled with desert and rocks.

 The heat and the dryness of this world and all of the troubles that come with it...grief...

shocking news...bad phones calls...no phone calls...commitments...requirements...disappointments...demands...overbooked calendars. 

Here is what I know....God loves you and cares deeply about each and every "desert" you find yourself in. This includes today, yesterday and tomorrow. 

He knows it is hot...He knows you are thirsty...He knows you feel alone and afraid...

He knows you are overwhelmed....He knows you don't see hope, shade or water. 

He also knows exactly where the water and protection are that you and I need.

 He knows will be provided just for you....at the exact right time and the exact right place.

"Jesus stood and shouted to the crowds, 'Anyone who is thirsty may come to me! Anyone who believes in me may come and drink! The Scriptures declare, Rivers of living water will flow from their heart." ~John 7:37

God. Thank You for being exactly Who and what we need.

In His Dust,

DCC