“I want to hold both of your hands,” Julianna exclaimed as Jason and I walked her through the doors of her new school. It was a rite of passage for all three of us, and she could feel it.

Excitement filled the air. As we entered her classroom, camaraderie met us. Each of her classmates also had both parents there, hovering, smiling, and sighing. After a few moments of picture taking, the principal sweetly escorted all the parents to a “Boo-Hoo Breakfast.” The social gathering was a very polite attempt to remove us from the classroom and forestall our tears.

After school, Julianna kept us spellbound as she raved about the events of the day. She loved it! When I asked her about her lunch and if she ate it, she said (and I quote), “Well, Momma, I ate a little bit, but really this was my only time to make new friends. We had been learning so much all day that I decided to use this time to introduce myself to people. I made a new friend, Berlynn. “ Jason looked over at me and whispered, “That would be your child.”

I asked Julianna why she chose Berlynn. She smiled and said, “She had a pretty face (my heart sank for a moment) and I watched the way she acted and she looked like she might have a good heart.” Whew, my first five years with her were not in vain.

Every day is a new adventure. We’ve laughed as Julianna told how funny it was when Mrs. Bailey tried to teach with the hiccups, and we’ve prayed for the kids who had gotten in trouble. Each day when we drop her off, we pray that she will be a little ambassador for Him. I think I’m going to like my new job as a kindergartner’s mom. I’m learning a lot.

Today we pause to celebrate all the men, the dads who have made a difference in our lives. This week Julianna came bouncing in our room to show me the picture she had made for daddy. Her title caught my attention, To Daddy of God.

I asked her what she meant by “Daddy of God”. She said, “You know, mommy, because daddy has a heart like Jesus.”

She didn’t see the tears of thankfulness that welled up in my eyes. I just smiled and said, “You are absolutely right.”

As a daughter, I know the importance of a strong, godly father who shaped me at a very early age. His love for the Word of God came through in our bedtime stories, our family devotions, our discipline, our mealtime conversations and our after church discussions.

It was my father who took me out on my first date when I was 16 and taught me how a real gentleman would treat me. It was my father who constantly affirmed me and was my biggest fan. It was my father who told me, “Kimberly, you can do anything you set your mind to.” It was my father who lived out the Word of God and taught me the way of salvation. It was my father who was the hands and feet of Jesus in our house. He was a “Daddy of God.”

To all of you “Daddies of God” and future “Daddies of God”, never forget that you represent Jesus. When you have a heart like His, it touches all of us.

Most often the best gifts cost love and not money. The things that make us go “Ahhh” come from the heart and not the store.

I had such one of these “Ahh” moments this Mother’s Day week.

I was tucking Julianna in bed. Our stories had been read and our prayers had been said. We were finishing our last of the last hugs when she gave me a tight squeeze and with all the drama she possesses said, “Ahhh, I remember the first time we met. I will never forget that day mom.”

I burst out laughing and then realized she was serious when she replied, “What’s so funny?” I held her tight and described the first time I saw and held her. It was an “Ahh moment” I will treasure forever.

Today is a new day for you. Who in your life needs an “Ahh moment” from you? It doesn’t cost much but its value is priceless.

Regrets, failures, let them go. Clean, new, white as snow.

I awakened to streams of unusually bright light sneaking out from behind the curtain in our bedroom of the lodge where we are staying. Stronger than the smell of firewood and fresh bacon and louder than the squeals of children enjoying their new toys, was this white light. It beckoned to me to jump up and see what was behind this bright start to my day.

As I opened the curtain I saw it. Thick white blankets of snow covered everything: the lodge, the lake, trees, fences, and the ground. There was no sign of dirt or debris, just fresh, white and clean scenes. Every direction I looked was decorated by God Himself. I was mesmerized.

Then I heard Him speak, “This is what I offer to you every morning.”

“It is of the LORD’s mercies that we are not consumed, because His compassions fail not. They are new every morning…” (Lamentations 3:22, 23).

“Saith the LORD: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be white as snow” (Isaiah 1:18).

As long as you walk forward in the snow, it remains beautiful, uncluttered and pure. The moment you begin to retrace your steps in the snow, dirt and mud make their way into the scene. If you continue walking over the same path, the mud overtakes the snow and the beauty is soon destroyed.

This is much how it is in our life when we refuse to let go of the past. We spend our time retracing the same steps over and over, until there is little left but dirt and regret.

God paid the ultimate price for you to enjoy His new mercies every morning. He daily offers you your own winter retreat—a place to bury your past, your sins, and your failures.

So, in the last few days of 2009, why don’t you take advantage of this winter retreat and bury your past once and for all? God has some new paths for you to take in 2010. They wait for you.

Transitions are exciting and challenging; yet, if we’re honest, at times they can be downright frightening. Transitions are the opposite of comfortable. They require moving; and not just of your body. Your mind, your feelings, your emotions, your ideas all have to make the “jump” if you are going to have a fulfilling transition.

This week as I dreamed about our next transition and imagined how wonderful it is going to be, God arrested my thoughts with these words: “Kimberly, you must give Me your expectations in order to be fulfilled by My expectations.”

“What?” I answered. “Well, I thought they were the same, God.” And so began my conversation with Him. In a few moments, His Spirit gently showed me that when I have expectations that are founded in my own desires (even though they are tied to good motives) they actually hinder the progress of transition.

In meditation, Psalm 37:4 came back to me. “Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart” (NIV). Delighting in the Lord actually means spending time with Him in ways that make Him Lord over every part of me. It is an ideal state of alignment. When I am aligned perfectly, I begin to want what He wants for me. Then He can give me the desires of my heart because my desires are His desires.

So, I’m learning that this pause in the transition is not me waiting on God; He is waiting on me. Some of my expectations need to be traded out. This won’t be easy, but I want to grow so I can go. I have some work to do. What about you?

I am constantly amazed at the surprises God plants on our journey. Some surprises we welcome with open arms and some we would like for Him to take back. “Sure, I’ll take the job promotion, but I’ll pass on the sickness,” we say. Still, He asks us to trust Him with these surprises and gently offers us the peace that goes beyond our understanding with the not-so-great surprises.

As partners and friends, you have upheld our family with prayer as we have walked through the valley of unwanted surprises and loss. True to His word, God has remained faithful, constant, and our source of peace.

In the spring of this year, God sent us another surprise, and this one we welcomed. This surprise came in the form of a man of God, a pastor who had also endured great loss of his beloved companion. In His mercy, God has truly sent my mom a shepherd to escort her to the high places after walking through the valley of the shadow of death.

On August 11, my mother and Reverend James Wolfe of Tampa, Florida, were married and officially began a new chapter in their lives of ministry. We are thankful God has given them a second chance at love and an earth partner to share in their sunset years.

The sun does shine again. God can breathe new life when it seems that all is lost.

I’m not sure what surprises you’ve been given lately. Just remember that the valleys are what carry us to the next mountaintop.

So people keep asking me, “What happens next for you?” I guess that is going to be a surprise too, but I’ve got a feeling it’s going to be good.

It’s high noon in June. I’m sitting on the front porch swing at my friend’s Tennessee farmhouse. In front of me are rolling acres of those famous Tennessee hills. To my right is a large pond and pastures for the horses. Behind me, past the flower gardens, are more acres of trees, coves and farmland.

More startling than the healing scenery is the revelation coming to me as I rock. Seven feet in front of me the sun blazes down on the grass. There, the heat is scorching.

Up here, elevated on the porch, and under the shadow of the ceiling I feel no heat, only the breeze. It is a refreshing reprieve. I’m aware of the heat out there, but it is not touching me.

I hear Him speak, “He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.”

I open my Bible and begin reading one of my favorite passages: Psalms 91 in the Amplified version. Wow! God is offering me a place to escape the heat that beats down on me everyday in this life. As I read, I literally began to feel transformed about my circumstances.

Listen in.

v.1 He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High shall remain stable and fixed under the shadow of the Almighty (Whose power no foe can withstand).

My circumstances are unstable. He is not. While other things shake around me, He says I can remain stable and fixed. I am fixed in Him, not in my surroundings. I don’t need everything to be perfect in my life to be stable. He makes me stable.

v.2 I will say of the Lord, He is my Refuge and my Fortress, my God on Him I lean and rely, and in Him I (confidently) trust.

I cannot lean on Him and my old habits, old ways, and old mindsets at the same time. I have a choice to make. He is not my Fortress unless I give Him that place in my life.

Jesus, here are the controls.

v.5  You shall not be afraid of the terror of the night, nor of the arrow (the evil plots and slanders of the wicked) that flies by day.

v.7 A thousand may fall at your side, and ten thousand at your right hand, but it shall not come near you.

AND, the one that JUMPED out at me…

v.8 Only a spectator shall you be (yourself inaccessible in the secret place of the Most High) as you witness the reward of the wicked.

When I abide under His shadow, I am NOT even accessible to the plans of the enemy. This is one of those rare times, I’d just rather be a spectator.

v.9 Because you have made the Lord your refuge, and the Most High your dwelling place,

v.10 There shall no evil befall you, nor any plague or calamity come near your tent.

v.11 For He will give His angels (especial) charge over you to accompany and defend and preserve you in all your ways (of obedience and service).

He promises angelic covering that will literally be with me, defend me and keep me in all of my ways related to my obedience and my service. Let’s break it down. He does not promise to keep me in all of Kimberly’ ways, but in the ways of my life that align with His will and the work He has given me to do.

I must ask myself, What’s the last word God gave me to obey? Have I obeyed? Am I really investing the best of me in His service?

So, what’s the heat like in your life? What are you running from? Is it false accusations, marriage problems, financial pressure, or a feeling of complacency? Are you needing to escape depression, disease, anxiety or bitterness?

Perhaps you’re feeling the heat because you’ve come out from under the Shadow.

He is offering you a position of abiding in His shadow, a place to escape the heat, once and for all.

P.S. – These promises attached to abiding, propel me to my next area of study… What does it really mean to abide under His shadow? That is most certain where I want to live.

It’s 10:00 am and I’m running through Chicago O’ Hare airport in hopes of catching my flight for Montreal.  My first flight was delayed and now I’m pushing it to make my connection.  I’m supposed to speak at a Ladies Conference tonight and tomorrow and I would really like to get there.

I make it.  I rush to the gate and of course, wait to board.  Hmmm 18D—not too bad of a seat, should be in the middle of the plane.  Not so, I soon discover.  Despite the fact that we’re flying overseas, this is a teeny tiny plane and 18D is the last row of the plane.  You know, the row that is the bumpiest and right next to the smelly water closet—the row where everyone hovers over you the entire flight waiting to use the bathroom. Ugh!

Oh, great–there’s a baby next to me (payback for the 99 flights Julianna was on before she turned one)!  Oh well, at least I’ve got my earplugs and I can sleep.  Then I realize the seats don’t even decline on this back row.  This is going from bad to worse.  I sigh and decide to just make the best of it.

Just then the flight attendant comes to our row and says to me,  “Would you mind to move to first-class, we need it for weight distribution? There’s only one passenger up there now.”  She winks and says, “We always start from the last row.”

I think to myself, God is throwing His weight around.

I smile inside and bounce up to first class, thinking I didn’t know my weight made such a difference.

I’m reminded again that when I do God’s business, He takes care of my business and the perks.

So what perks does He have in store for you today?   Take time to notice the little things that God does for you to remind you that He knows just how to take care of you and when.   I hope before the days over, you can sing with me, It’s my time for God’s favor, my time to be blessed.

One year ago today, at 3:46 in the afternoon my dad said goodbye to this world and said hello to heaven.  Of all the gigantic smiles my dad wore throughout his life, I’m sure none compared to the one he wore that day he said,  “Hello heaven.”

It has been said that You never know God is all you need until He is all you have.   Never have I understood the depth of that saying until walking through the valley of the shadow of death this past year.  Truly, God is enough.

What has this year taught me?

It has taught me how to say goodbye: goodbye to regret, goodbye to bitterness, goodbye to unforgiveness, goodbye to materialism, goodbye to petty pursuits and goodbye to control.

I feel the cold hands of winter losing its grasp on me.  Spring is pulling.  Hello to hope.  Hello to peace.  Hello to purpose.  Hello to life.

As I spoke at a ladies conference this morning, I could feel my father’s spirit around me.  It was though he was saying, “Kimberly, the ‘Hello Heaven’ is worth all of the goodbyes.  Carry on.”

I was anxious and wanting answers, as usual. My wish list, worry list, and faith confessions were all lined up but not in the correct order. I came to my prayer closet, which this week was the recently refreshed back patio.

I settled into the glider for a time of prayer. After a season of worship and thanksgiving, I started in on my wish and worry lists. It was then that I’m pretty sure I heard Him sigh.

“Kimberly, Kimberly, I already know your worries and wishes. Why don’t you just sit still? Sit still and listen to Me. Sit still and take in the beauty of My world. Sit still and receive My peace. Sit still and let Me refresh your tired spirit. Sit still and focus your direction. Sit still and let Me tell you my heart.” And I did.

If you sit still today, what will He tell you?

“Be still, and know that I am God” (Psalm 46:10).