Outrage over majority votes-did Bristol deserve to move forward?

It is amazing to me that a television show like Dancing with the Stars is leading he headlines on major news networks. Even more amazing is the fact that it is over a popularity contest between celebrities.

Let me say, this is the first season I have paid any attention to this program in any way. It seems rather simple to me. The judges give scores based on skill, America votes based on who they love to watch. the premise is that these celebrities are not dancers. The instructors work with them and teach them to float across the floor, kick like they are on Broadway and contort their bodies with professional grace. They goal is that they will improve week after week. But truly, it is a popularity contest.

Bristol has done a great job and she has worked hard. But consider this...

If God be for us, who can be against us? Can God use an unwed mother in the public eye? Is God big enough to grant favor to Bristol to increase her platform?

Have you ever prayed for the favor of God before you went to a job interview? Or maybe when facing a difficult situation? I have, and sometimes I can see the miraculous way that He provides preferred treatment as a result.

The Palin family are Christians. Before politics, before reality shows, before becoming a teen mom, Bristol Palin was raised to trust in Jesus Christ. She has a personal relationship with Christ and her family and friends are, no doubt, praying for her constantly.

Is she perfect? No. Is she forgiven? If she has repented of her sin and asked for God's grace and forgiveness then she is certainly forgiven. So, she is a daughter of the most high God! I don't know the religious background of any of the other contestants. They don't express their beliefs publicly...but I do know that when we trust God, good things happen in our life. We are always so busy dwelling on the negative and the suffering of Christians, that we don't often give God the Glory for blessings in the lives of His people.

Maybe Dancing with the Stars success is not your idea of a blessing. For Bristol, I’m sure it must be. But what about you? Where do you want to see the favor of God in your life?

As John and I went through a tough time recently, I was praying for the situation and for his heart to change. Nothing seemed to happen. Then, I began to pray for God to give me favor in the eyes of my husband. WOW! Things instantaneously began to turn around. It was amazing to watch the immediate and powerful results of that prayer. God granted favor.

In the grand scheme of life, winning a dance contest, being on a reality show, or even a successful run for political office doesn’t matter, unless we are following God’s plan for our life. I don’t know what God's plan is for the Palins, but I do know that they have not been shy about their faith. Bottom line…what’cha see is what’cha get. Let’s celebrate with them as they look on their daughter with parental pride. And, let’s learn from their willingness to publically acknowledge their faith in Jesus Christ. I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me!

Here’s to praying for the Palin family as they try to make a difference in our world. A difference based on family and values and Biblical truth. Not perfect, but walking steadfast daily in the knowledge that Jesus Christ and His grace are sufficient for us.

What are your thoughts?

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Faith in the Fog

As my personal assistant, Melissa, and I drove to Omaha the other day we were surrounded by intermitent rainstorms and fog. Cresting a hill out of a drizzling rain, we were ushered immediately into a thick fog bank. Drivers around us pulled to the side, some stopping, some slowing to a crawl. I slowed slightly but continued, knowing that over the next hill the road would likely be clear. The 18-wheeler next to me pushed forward at the normal speed limit and as we came to the end of that valley, just as I had expected, the fog became thinner and at the top of the next hill was a memory in our rear view mirror.

Our walk of faith is often like that foggy highway. We continue our forward pace when the road is clear. But, when we can't see God's plan clearly, we hault. Sometimes our walk is slowed, but sometimes we stop completely, still sadder, some of us turn around and go back to the roads we knew before.

It's funny that we have faith that the highway is still there, even when the fog keeps it out of our site, yet we doubt the presence of God in our lives just because we aren't seeing Him clearly.

He is still there, still going before us. His plan is still in place. Move forward in your faith, even on days filled with fog.  Deuteronomy 31:8 says, "The LORD is the one who goes ahead of you; He will be with you. He will not fail you or forsake you. Do not fear or be dismayed." (NASB)

He is there, even in the fog. He knows the road better than we do. He created it for us. He will make our path straight no matter what we are going through.

Proverbs 3:5-6 says, "Trust in the Lord with all your heart and do not lean to your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him and He will make your paths straight. (NASB)

Prayer: Dear Lord, Let us trust you even in the fog. When we can't see Your plan clearly, let our faith push us forward to continue the race for Your glory. Take the burden of blindness from our spiritual eyes. Let us acknowledge your presence in our lives and hearts each day. In Jesus name. Amen.

Lessons From Beagles

It is a gorgeous, sunny day...windows open...would be nice if the beagles weren't so talkative today...but I guess they are happy it's a sunny day too. Many people love to hear the yelp of a beagle. I admit it is a nice sound sometimes...when they are hunting...but not so much when 9 of them are talking to one another.

These dogs are well cared for, even though they really serve no purpose. They are not companions, as they are all outdoor dogs. They are not guard dogs, they are not hunters. But, Fred loves them, He feeds them, waters them, and cares for them everyday. He makes sure their immunizations are up to date, gives them the preventative treatments recommended by veternarians for things like heartworms and calls each of them by name. (although a few of them have the same nick name) He doesn’t care that they aren’t of champion lines, or that some of them aren’t even very smart. He loves them unconditionally – and they love him.


As I watched him load the weekly supply of 50 pound bags of dog feed from his pick-up, I thought of all the work he puts into these dogs. It made me think of the way God loves us. Unconditionally…and all we have to do in return is love Him. He doesn’t ask us to be anything that we are not. He cares for us and protects us every day, as long as we stay in His will.

Fred has lost a couple of dogs because they dug out of their pen or broke their chain. It breaks his heart for one of his dogs to run into danger and be hurt. Each time he has to say goodbye to a dog that has run blindly onto the highway, not understanding the danger when they leave their pen, he hurts deeply.

Oh how it must hurt the Lord when we run away from His presence, just to chase something that caught our eye…a rabbit or a butterfly is all it takes to lead a dog from safety, sometimes it is less than that for us.

The beagles are quiet now, they will shout with excitement in a few hours when Fred heads to their kennels and pens with buckets of dog food and water.

How often do we express our excitement when our Master comes to feed us? The Bible says if we don't praise Him the rocks will cry out. I wonder if rocks sound like beagles? I don't think I want to find out.

How Time Flies

I probably should be writing something totally Christmasy this week, but as I signed in and noticed that it has been just over a month since my last post, I thought of how fast time goes by.

It's not a new idea. I realize that I didn't discover this phenomenon of fleeting time. But I began to wonder if, perhaps, there is a spiritual implication to the fact that time seems to speed up as the years go on.

Is it because we are so busy that we don't take time to enjoy the gifts God gives us every day? Is it a side effect of aging, as we get older, 12 months becomes minuscule in relation to our age?

Or, could it be, maybe, just a random thought here, that God allows us to see time as fleeting so that we will feel a sense of urgency to be about our Father's business? I was talking to a businessman the other day. He does not know the Lord and his perspective on the month of December was much different than mine. "This month is just dragging on and on," he said.

I thought he must have been kidding. I was trying to figure out how Christmas week had reached us so quickly. Then I thought of Advent, the time of waiting. I love the tradition of Advent, but I have never really felt like I was waiting, I already have Christ. Thankfully, I don't have to wait for his birth, or for his sacrifice or the glorious day of His resurrection. I am my beloved's and He is mine. For those of us who are in Christ, the wait is over.

But for those who are still in darkness the wait is long. Like driving to a new destination, getting there seems to take forever because you don't really know what to look for. Those without Christ don't even know what they are waiting for, but they do know the longing in their lives. That longing and feeling of the unknown can make time stand still for them.

Yes, for those of us in Christ the wait is over, but the work has just begun.

In all of our busyness, are we lifting Jesus higher? As we make our gift lists, grocery list and honey-do lists, are we being Christlike in our behavior and treatment of others? My grammy used to say that some people could "make me lose my religion". It was a cliche', and she was kidding, but it happens every day. How patient are we in long lines of Christmas Shoppers? How often do people see Jesus in us as we speed through our busy day?

We are about to celebrate the Light of the World. Are we allowing that light to shine through us?

Let's do more this week than talk about the Savior's birth. Let's shine His light for all to see.

"For unto us a son is born, for unto us a child is given, and the government shall be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace." Isaiah 9:6

Have a blessed week!

One Door and Only One

I have a weekly meeting that attend in the same location each Monday. Recently I arrived to find that the location had been changed due to a scheduling mix up. The new occupants of our meeting room pointed me in the general direction of my meeting and I went to find my crew. I walked the halls of the building trying every door with no success. After searching for about 40 minutes I was about to give up, I decided to try one more time. As I walked the first floor, a security guard walking in front of me abrubtly stopped and faced the wall. The wall slid open and he went in. I hurried to where he had been standing and there it was. An elevator, painted in such a way that it was completely camouflaged with the wall. I pushed the button and waited for the car to arrive. In minutes I was with my group, who had been wondering where I could be. I still have know idea where the stairway to that floor was hidden.

Some people go around trying every spiritual door, finding them locked or finding the wrong group occupying the room. Jesus said knock and the door will be opened unto you. Seek and you will find. The door is right there but so often people walk right past it. I might have never found my group if someone else would not have used the elevator, but because he led me there by example, without even knowing I was watching, I was able to find the way. Who are you being an example to without knowing? Who is going to follow your path out of desperation, hoping it might be the way? ©Pamela Sonnenmoser Ministries

I love the Fall. The weather begins to cool down. Fall color tinges the trees and brush. Grass slows its growth and pumpkins ripen. As the world around me changes from green to gold I am reminded that the change before us will usher in a new thing in God's plan. But that new thing; the new growth, cannot happen until the old has fallen away and been purified through the cold of winter. Fall is the first reminder of God's Promise to renew and bring life from the earth.

And I love fall decorations, gourds and pumpkins and bales of straw. Perhaps a happy scarecrow sitting nearby. I have enjoyed decorating the front yard this month. I changed my flower pots from pansies and petunias to bright orange and deep red mums. I cut my own corn stalks from our fields and tied them with a beautiful fall bow. It is so much fun to go and pick the perfect pumpkins for display. It is like preparing for a celebration.
But what are we celebrating? Is it a celebration of change? Yes, but more than that, fall is easily the celebration of Christ's work on the Cross. You see, at that moment things changed, defeat fell like dead leaves and in His resurrection we were given the opportunity to have new life that pushes past the death in the world around us. What an awesome thing it is to be a most loved Child of the King. ©Pamela Sonnenmoser Ministries