Upon waking this morning, I realized I already faced a battle. A battle of my will, my flesh and my faith. I realized that before I even rose from the warm bed, that had allowed me comfort and safety through the night, I was faced with a tap from the that enemy I know so well but often fail to recognize until I’m engulfed in whatever activity the enemy has engaged me. The enemy is stronger than my determination, more powerful than my desire and more persistent than my resolve. I know the enemy’s name: it is self. So even…

This morning I’m mulling over some thoughts shared in our Bible study last evening and I been reflecting on a statement made by one of the brothers who had just come back from an arduous hike with his wife and a couple of their daughters. He commented that what we see from the mountaintops are the valleys behind us and the valleys ahead of us. He continued, that it’s often what we see behind us that encourages us to press on to what’s ahead— that the path the brought us to the mountain exhilarates us to face the trail ahead.…

We recently went to see a play in which our friends were performing. It was a neat opportunity to take a couple of the children— to spend some time with them and to experience that evening/event together. One of the songs that was sung in the play, Annie Get Your Gun, was the Irving Berlin song, “I Got the Sun in the Morning.” Since that evening, I’ve been humming or singing that song many, many times. ♪ “…I got the sun in the morning and the moon at night, I got the sun in the morning and the moooooon… at…