you would give me MUCH-easier circumstances.” YES, YES, YES! Dave’sFlesh is convinced of this, cuz Dave’sFlesh is confident-it-knows-best, knows-what’ll-make-Dave-happiest. Dave’sFlesh knows NOTHing about delivering happiness. So Jesus loves me wonderfully when He opens my eyes so I’m disillusioned with my flesh’s view of reality. Scripture’s take on reality explains the pathway to happiness, peace, sanity…

As of our Annual Board Meeting Nov17, we’re $13,000 short of covering expenses, and I’m guessing we could end up having a year-end deficit of $5-10,000, but I’m always unsure because of year-end giving.  Over the past dozen years I’ve lost some monthly supporters.  I’m a coward when it comes to individually asking believers to…

ask Jesus to grow you as the chief confessor in the home, not the chief accuser, or the chief expert on all things Christian.  If you unwittingly give them the impression that you’ve got this Christian life down pat, you run the risk of them concluding they don’t have the spiritual genes you do, and…

life except You, Jesus.  News, politics, my health, stock market, bond market, talking heads predicting the future.  When my eyes are fixed on these other sovereignties, I feel ALONE, like my life is UP TO ME to know how to navigate through everything.  And because You’ve grown me so-much-more self-aware these days, I’m easily overwhelmed,…

is the confidence we all have, that we know best, what’ll make us happy.  We know NOTHing about what will make us happy, but we THINK we do, leaning on our own understanding, wise in our own eyes.  Fools we are.  Only SovereignShepherdJesus knows what’s best for me. Looking back over my life, I see…

Getting-or-wanting-my-way is a curse, not a blessing.  WHAT?  Yup.  Pathway to miserable addiction.  Getting-my-way THWARTED by Jesus, is an enormous blessing, because it opens the door to my being retrained in a much-better way of living — disillusioned in my flesh’s confidence-it-knows-what’ll-make-me-happy.  But getting-my-way thwarted by Jesus is ONLY an enormous blessing when I’m convinced…

I used to THANK Jesus.  Or feel great, worthy.  Now I’m more likely to CONFESS that I have no clue if this is the best thing for me.  Jesus has been retraining me to distrust my flesh’s confidence-it-knows-what’s-best.  So helpful. And when I’m frustrated or impatient, I’m more-and-more aware of my flesh’s confidence-it-knows-what’s-best.  Helps me…

because of the Spirit’s fresh conviction of my pride/INdependence/worldliness, I enjoy everyone just as we are, and everything just as it is, all according to the genius plan of SovereignShepherdJesus.  I ooze with patience.  Otherwise, I’m JudgeDave, CompetitiveDave, secretly analyzing, critiquing, judging, looking for ways to feel/be superior to everyone everywhere, yearning for opponents to…

to live in Your world, but am an expert at living in Dave’s world, where everything is run by us humans, especially DAVE.  Thank You, that if I’m not rescued from myself — rescued from this prison, that I’ll go through my day feeling that my life is up to ME.  Thank You that all…

to be so dependent on You, Jesus, that I dunno yet where to eat lunch today, what to wear, when to do the things on my to-do list for today, which to do first.  DEpendency feels WRONG to my flesh, and to the world around me.  DEpendency is to be AVOIDED at all costs.  INdependency…