I have no wisdom apart from God. I have no love apart from His love in me. I have no meaningful words apart from His meaningful words. But… I am not apart from Him. And He gave me something to give you this Christmas.

My heart has connected with these blessings from the heart of God, written for our benefit. I have made them my prayer, first for my family and then my friends. They are my prayer for you this Christmas:

“May God bless you richly and grant you increasing freedom from all anxiety and fear.” ~ 1 Peter 1:2 (TLB)
“May God give you more and more mercy, peace, and love.” ~ Jude 2

These prayers are the best Christmas gifts I have to give you. I give them with love.

You should re-gift them.

“Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest.” ~ Mark 6:31 (NIV)

As you read this, we are taking a few days at the beach to rest and recover. The work of ministry is intense, even more so in these days. We are taking some time with God and each other to let the sound of the waves wash over us and stare into the Gulf of Mexico. I do some of my best thinking here. I also do some of my best playing here. For me, it is therapy.

Don’t worry, I’m not blogging from this mini vacation.

I wrote this before I left to remind you to make time to rest, too. Make time for your families. Make time to recover and enjoy the presence of God.

God is in this rest business, you know.

“…Come to me. Get away with me and you’ll recover your life. I’ll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me-watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won’t lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you’ll learn to live freely and lightly.” ~ Matthew 11:28-30

See you soon. I’ll be rested and ready.

This is an actual picture of the actual windshield of my son’s car yesterday. He’s fine. Thank God! It was a really freak incident and he handled it amazingly well. Debbie and I had been praying over him off and on all day. We witnessed an accident early in the morning that served as a “prayer cue” to cover our children in prayer – especially their vehicles and safety.

Yesterday afternoon his hood came unlatched while he was driving, came back and smashed his windshield. There were no injuries and no accidents. Just a smashed windshield, a very thankful family and a faithful God who daily makes his wisdom available to anyone who will tune in to receive it.

Take this opportunity to cover yourself and your family in prayer. Make a commitment to listen to wisdom when it comes and keep your priorities straight. You will never be sorry for following the goodness and mercy of God.

Psalm 91 (NLT)

Those who live in the shelter of the Most High
  will find rest in the shadow of the Almighty.
This I declare about the Lord :
He alone is my refuge, my place of safety;
  he is my God, and I trust him.
For he will rescue you from every trap
  and protect you from deadly disease.
He will cover you with his feathers.
  He will shelter you with his wings.
  His faithful promises are your armor and protection.
Do not be afraid of the terrors of the night,
  nor the arrow that flies in the day.
Do not dread the disease that stalks in darkness,
  nor the disaster that strikes at midday.
Though a thousand fall at your side,
  though ten thousand are dying around you,
  these evils will not touch you.
Just open your eyes,
  and see how the wicked are punished.

If you make the Lord your refuge,
  if you make the Most High your shelter,
no evil will conquer you;
  no plague will come near your home.
For he will order his angels
  to protect you wherever you go.
They will hold you up with their hands
  so you won’t even hurt your foot on a stone.
You will trample upon lions and cobras;
  you will crush fierce lions and serpents under your feet!

The Lord says, “I will rescue those who love me.
  I will protect those who trust in my name.
When they call on me, I will answer;
  I will be with them in trouble.
  I will rescue and honor them.
I will reward them with a long life
  and give them my salvation.”