Are you ever amazed at the number of “spam” emails that arrive in your inbox? Usually I’m mildly annoyed at all the junk. But the other day I decided to look over it. And I saw God!

“Affordable WATCHES”; “luxury WATCHES”; “fantastic WATCH brands”; “replica WATCHES”; “77% off great WATCHES”; “WATCHES, WATCHES, WATCHES!”

Okay, either there is a huge demand and great deal of money to be made selling watches OR God is trying to tell me something! The personal challenge God gave me this year has been to keep watching for Him. In everyday circumstances, situations and people, watch for Him, His hand, His work all around me. And I have. But I’ve gotten kinda lazy about sharing those “God sightings” here, so God sent me a whole bunch of emails reminding me to “Watch.” And then He reminded me of my commitment to share what I’m seeing Him doing.

How about you? Want to join me in our quest to “watch for God?” Where do you see God at work? Don’t miss those little whispers and winks He sends your way! He’s there and He cares. He’s speaking and He’s working. I’d love to hear where you’re seeing Him at work in your life and in your world!

Continuing to watch for God,
janet

After 3 minutes a middle aged man noticed there was a musician playing. He slowed his pace and stopped for a few seconds and then hurried to meet his schedule.

4 minutes later:
The violinist received his first dollar: a woman threw the money in the hat and, without stopping, continued to walk.

6 minutes:
A young man leaned against the wall to listen to him, then looked at his watch and started to walk again.

10 minutes:
A 3-year old boy stopped but his mother tugged him along hurriedly. The kid stopped to look at the violinist again, but the mother pushed hard and the child continued to walk, turning his head all the time. This action was repeated by several other children. Every parent, without exception, forced their children to move on quickly.

45 minutes:
The musician played continuously. Only 6 people stopped and listened for a short while. About 20 gave money but continued to walk at their normal pace. The man collected a total of $32.

1 hour:
He finished playing and silence took over. No one noticed. No one applauded, nor was there any recognition.

No one knew this, but the violinist was Joshua Bell, Grammy-award winner and one of the greatest musicians in the world who has performed with almost all of the world’s major orchestras and conductors. He played one of the most intricate pieces ever written, with a violin worth $3.5 million dollars. Two days before Joshua Bell sold out a theater in Boston where the seats averaged $100.

This is a true story. Joshua Bell playing incognito in the metro station was organized and videotaped by the Washington Post as part of a social experiment about perception, taste and people’s priorities.

The experiment raised all kinds of questions for the reporter who wrote about it, but for me it reminded me of how often God gives us beauty, music, and His special people all around us and we miss it.

With so much the bad news everywhere we turn, I challenge you today to look for God. Look for beauty in everyday places – the sunset, the clouds, the sparkly water droplets left by the sprinklers. Look for light and love in the faces of those you care about, in the warm tail-wagging greeting of your family dog. Listen for music — in the voices of people, a song on the radio, a bird chirping. Don’t miss what God has provided for you today – even in the Metro station.

Watching for God,
janet

It’s been a tough week. My precious mother-in-law had a life-threatening heart attack. Two of my dear friends are in the hospital battling cancer. My 21-year-old son is far from home and is struggling with a broken heart.

I stumbled out to our back patio this morning for some time alone with God. He took me to the book of Job. Job had lost almost everything. What was God’s response? He took Job on a nature walk. It’s as if God were saying “Look around you, Job. Look at creation. I am here. The evidence of Me and My control is everywhere in nature.” That’s when I saw God.

As I was reading and praying, I glanced up at my own backyard. I saw bright yellow lemons hanging over our neighbors wall. I saw a pine tree, palm tree and mesquite tree all softly swaying in the breeze — so strikingly different, each beautiful in its own way. I saw the white and pink petunias and the lovely purple pansies in the pots on the patio. I heard God speak to my heart, just like He did to Job’s… “See the reasons you should believe that you can trust Me. Look at the everyday examples of the fact that what I do, I do well. Your life may be shaken and full of sorrow, but your life is in My hands, and I will care for you, as I do for all creation.”

Walk outside or look out the window today and see that God can be trusted with the making of a world and the guarding of your life.

Watching for God,
janet

I was driving home from work in the rain and on the opposite side of the street I saw a stalled car. As I pulled up to the red light I noticed the occupants of the car were out on the sidewalk. A mom and her about 7-year old daughter were stranded, apparently awaiting help. I would have been frustrated, maybe upset at getting stuck like that. But not these two. They were clasping hands and running around in circles on the sidewalk, hopping into the puddles, faces upturned to the rain at times. I watched them for the duration of the red light. Enjoying the spectacle. Then I saw God.

No matter what is going on in our lives, what “rain” is falling, we can still look toward heaven and rejoice. Dance, play, jump in the puddles!  Want to join me?

Watching for God,
janet

In my efforts to be more “watchful” this year, I’m learning to pay attention to all the little blessings and things God is doing all around me all the time. Like at breakfast the other morning.

I was at a little cafe waiting for a friend to join me for breakfast. I was early and rather than read or text or whatever, I decided to watch.

I watched the door open slowly and an elderly couple arm in arm painstakingly make their way to a table. I was watching. The man graciously pulled out the seat for his bride. He took her hand and guided her gently into the chair. He thoughtfully and carefully pushed her chair up to the table. He found her napkin, placed it in her lap. He then slowly took his own seat and moved close to her side. I then realized she was paralyzed on one side. She couldn’t use that arm, or hand. She really couldn’t do much of anything for herself. As I watched them order their breakfast, and interact with one another, I saw God.

The bridegroom patiently placed the order for his bride. He helped her eat and gently wiped her mouth with the napkin. He touched her hand and pushed hair from her forehead. He spoke in soft, patient, gentle tones. He ordered more cream for her coffee and poured it in her cup. He smiled at her often, even when her left hand trembled and she spilled her juice. Such love, such grace, such patience, such kindness, such compassion.

Jesus is our bridegroom and we are His bride. Even in our brokenness, our woundedness, our inability, our weakness, He is always gentle, kind, compassionate and full of grace. I’m so grateful that He is. I want Him to know how thankful I am for His compassion, mercy and grace. And I want to show that same kindness and compassion with those around me. How about you?

Watching for God,
janet

A few days ago, my house was totally quiet. That may not sound like that big a deal, but right now for us that’s pretty amazing. Just three months ago, my husband and I were very much enjoying “empty-nester-hood”. Both of our young adult children had moved out; 0ur son was in Colorado going to college and our daughter was working here locally. Mark, my husband, and I were having some great times of relaxation together, spending extra time talking, traveling, spending more time in ministry and just loving all that having an empty nest allows. Our household consisted of just me, my husband and our dog, Radar.

That was just three short months ago. Now, our household is full up! It’s me, my husband, our dog, our daughter, our son, two additional young women who needed a place to live and a cat. Isn’t God funny?! It’s been an interesting transition for all of us, but God is in our midst and we all have to just laugh. We even had to figure out who would take which day to do their laundry!

So, now you can imagine why I was marveling at a quiet afternoon. But where I really saw God was in that five of us were home; and as I walked through the hushed house I realized that all of us were in prayer! All five of us had Bibles open in asundry positions – lying on the couch, at the computer, cozy in the beanbag chair.

I was so moved by God’s presence throughout our house and how He draws us all to our knees. It was like each and every room in our house had been transformed into God’s throne room. “Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know,” He says in Jeremiah 33:3

You can meet with God anywhere and everywhere. Do you see God in the quiet moments you spend in His “throne room?” I pray that you will.

Watching for God,
janet

My husband, Mark, is a WyldLife leader. WyldLife is a youth ministry for junior high kids focused on outreach. The WyldLife club has just recently gotten started at our junior high, so I was invited to come and take pictures. I’m all about reaching out and sharing the good news of Jesus with just about anyone, but junior highers….well, they scare me! (-:

There were over 20 kids at WyldLife that night, but one girl caught my attention. She’s one of my husband’s students and he had told me about her previously. This is an 8th grader who never smiles. Has never smiled in class, in the cafeteria, even with her friends. When Mark invited her to WyldLife her response was a sullen, “Will I have to socialize?” Not a super enthusiastic response to the invitation!

But, she came. And I saw God. By the end of the evening, this young girl not only smiled, she laughed out loud! She had fun. She made contact with a few other kids. And I believe she also was touched by the love of God that night. It still blows me away how our God works and how we get to see Him at work, if we’ll just watch.

Are you aware of God at work around you? I challenge you to watch. It’s amazing!!

Watching for God,
janet

I was at a women’s retreat and had gotten up early for prayer time. As I left my room I heard rustling in the brush, so I crept along to see what was there. At first I couldn’t see anything – it was barely light and it just looked like a bunch of rocks in the desert.

Suddenly there was movement! A whole family of javelina was rooting around for breakfast! As I watched the group of javelina, I saw God.

The mommy javelina were so protective of their babies. They weren’t about to let me get between them and their young ones. They all got together and herded around the babies to keep them safe. Made me think about how God cares for us. He’s not about to let anything get between us and His love. “For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Romans 8:38-39

I was also touched by the thought that although javelina aren’t especially beautiful animals… they’re actually so ugly they’re cute, and they smell pretty bad too…but God reminded me that each one is precious to Him, is His creation and even when I’m less than beautiful and “smelly” He loves me just the same.

And guess what? He feels the same about you!!

Watching for God,
janet

Sharon and her husband put their mattress and box springs on Craig’s List FREE. They received 25 calls in one hour! Sharon had written that the reason they were “selling” the mattress is she is having back surgery and needed to have a firmer mattress, so they wanted to share this one with someone in need.

They heard so many heart wrenching stories – children sleeping on the floor and people with no money, of course, so Sharon began to worry about who they would give the mattress to.

They decided to e-mail everyone back and tell them the mattress had to go first come first serve. There were many explanations of trying to get a truck, van etc.

The final outcome was that the mattress went to a boy who has a brain tumor and is being treated at St. Joseph. The tumor keeps growing and he has nearly lost all of his sight in both eyes. The family is a dear Christian couple who had borrowed a truck from a neighbor to get to Sharon’s home from the far southeast valley. Sharon told me that she spent time talking with this couple about Jesus and how prayers are answered so beautifullly and peace beyond comprehension if our prayers don’t seem to be answered the way we had planned. Of course they all promised to pray for the little boy, and it was the sweetest experience. Sharon found a set of sheets to throw in and a huge bag of clothes that she had just put together a few hours before to be taken to Good Will.

Don’t you just love these things God does!!!!!

Watching for God,
janet

God calls us sheep. I want my heart to be so attuned to His voice that I recognize it immediately and follow only Him. How do sheep learn to recognize their shepherds voice? They spend lots of time with Him! How about you?

Watching for God,
janet