When Easter began to approach, Dale came to me and asked if we would like to have communion in our home on Maundy Thursday and invite people in our neighborhood to join us. I thought that would be wonderful, so we did. I got to thinking about songs for us to sing, and the first song that came to mind was:

Down at the cross where my Savior died,
Down where for cleansing from sin I cried,
There to my heart was the blood applied;
Glory to His name.

I just couldn't get past the "applied" part. I began thinking about black Sharpie markers. How when you "apply" a Sharpie marker to anything, it is covered up completely and it is there permanently. The blood of Jesus covered my sin up completely and permanently. If it ever comes to my mind to haunt me, that is not from my Savior, because His blood was "applied" and he sees it no more. Indeed, GLORY TO HIS NAME!

Since then, I have continued dwelling on "applied" and last night, a sweet couple came over to our home to visit. They have been married for quite a long time and shared the struggles and difficulties they have endured as they have learned that marriage is hard work. When asked what helped them make it through, their answer was "the applied Word of God".....there it was again!

The Word of God is nothing more than a bunch of information if it is not applied. Think about this: if Jesus had died, but his blood did NOT cover our sin...was NOT applied to our sin, what a waste! His death with all of its brutality would have been in vain....no it was the "APPLIED" blood that saved us! So it is with us: until we began to APPLY the Word of God to our lives will we see any difference....any change.

When was the last time that you read God's Word and asked, "Lord, show me how to APPLY this truth to my marriage."? And then, asked Him for the grace to help you APPLY it?

Just like a Black Sharpie Marker: when we APPLY truths like forgiveness, mercy, grace, encouragement, affirmation, etc. to our marriages, it covers up all of the difficulties of the past and places us on a permanently new path of freedom and joy in our marriage.

There to my marriage was the Truth applied. Glory to His name!

Ever been through a period of time when you felt as though God were silent? Like, you long to hear from Him and yet no matter how you beg and plead, no matter how you ask if there's sin blocking the flow, still there's nothing?

That happened to me not too long ago. I've always been able to see God through nature and speak to me through His creation, but then, just as it came, it went. And I missed it. I missed it desperately. All I could remember is that I must walk inthe truth that though I do not feel Him nor hear Him, His Word tells me that He is still with me and has not left me...that He is still faithful to me and I should be the same in return even though I don't feel it.

I began to think about that sometimes I don't feel love from or for Dale. But love is so much more than a feeling. As a matter of fact, my feelings change so much, I dare not base my decisions or reactions on them...I simply allow God to use them to show me where I am....kind of like an indicator light on a car, to show me my trouble spots. Even though I may not feel it at the time, the truth is that I love Dale with al of my heart and I am confident that he loves me. So though I may not feel it, I know it to be true, and that's what I live on.

So as I rock on seeking to be faithful even though I am not hearing from God, I head out to the golf course to walk and play 9 holes with Dale. Dale is running late so I have some time to putt and get myself ready. While walking to the first hole, I hear a Red Cardinal chirping. I look up and there sits this beautiful bird right in the midst of tons of power lines. Immediately, I heard the Lord say, "Even in the midst of your busy and loud life, I am still here, and you can hear Me if you would but listen."

Psalm 46:10
"Be still and know that I am God"

As Dale and I began to walk from one hole to the next, I am absolutely excited and praising God for me hearing Him speak again... I just felt so at home again....at total peace....such comfort....such confidence....can't even explain it. We get to one of our last holes and I look over and see this older home with a huge TV antennae sticking out of it. I asked Dale if those things still got reception, and he said, "Nope, can't use those anymore; we can get much better reception nowadays." Again, I heard the Lord speak that as we grow closer to Him, we recognize new ways to engage Him, with a deeper reception than we've had in the past.

We finish walking our 9 holes and I jump in my car to head out and playing was a song called "Faithful" sung by Brooke Fraser (one of my favorite singers)....here's the words: