“He who is the Glory of Israel does not lie or change His mind;
for he is not a man, that he should change his mind.”
I Samuel 15:29

“For I am the Lord, I do not change...”
Malachi 3:6a

Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the lights,
with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning.”
James 1:17

THANKSGIVING

Thanksgiving brings to mind a time of reflection,
looking back ~ into the distant and more recent past,
listing the things for which we are grateful.
And that is important.

But my gratefulness reaches into the future,
for my God is a God who never changes.
What He has said is true, and while disputed by many,
it will not prove false.
I can count on Him and on what He has said.

My God is a just God, fair in all that He does.
He is a God of mercy and grace.
He is a God who knows me well, for He created me
and He willingly reveals to me things about me that I need to know,
in a way I can understand,
so that I can learn and grow.
He is a God who wants to be known by me.
He wants me to spend time with Him and His Word.
He is a God who loves me
and it is His love that filters all that He allows to enter my experience.
He knows what I need
and while He does not always meet my needs
in the way I deem best at any given time,
He has proved Himself faithful time and again.
Romans 3:3 states that my lack of faith does not nullify His faithfulness.
His faithfulness is something I can count on
even if I don't understand the how, when, where, and why of it.

In a world of constant change,
it is reassuring to know that my God has been, is, and always will be
who He is!
How often do I thank Him for being who He is?
I'm doing it more and more these days.

Twila Charles Leichty
November 29, 2008

A HEART OF GRATITUDE
for the difficult in life...

In our society, we have been “taught” many things that aren't true:
that we should have what we want,
those things that make us, at least temporarily, happy,
that God is good and wants to lavish us with what we have on our wish lists,
that we have rights and are entitled to things just because...

It is easy to think that God does not listen to our prayers
when things aren't as we would like them to be,
that He is absent or has abandoned us when He is silent,
that He is punishing us when difficulties are present in our lives.

It is easy to thank God for those things
that we see and experience as blessings,
the things that make us feel loved, protected, and successful.
But Paul tells us, in I Thessalonians 5:18, to
“give thanks in all circumstances.”

All of us have things in our lives that aren't as we would want them to be:
physical pain, emotional wounds,
times of disappointment and discouragement,
losses – of loved ones, jobs, possessions, pets, familiar routines, money...
conflict, uncertainty, and struggle,
infertility, wayward children,
people who are unkind, impatient, critical, angry and negative,
disabilities,
strained or broken relationships,
failures...

HOWEVER, God, unlike mankind, is faithful to all that He has promised!
Whatever He has allowed to enter our lives
has been filtered through His fingers of love.
He uses all that is and all that is not,
the good and the difficult ~ people, things, and experiences in our lives
to draw us closer to Himself,
to help us learn to know Him more intimately,
to become more aware of who we are in relationship to Him
(and keep us from usurping His position),
to help us grow more and more into His likeness.

He uses it, too, to show others His power, His love, His grace,
His sufficiency,
the fact that He works in ways that are beyond our comprehension,
that He provides peace in the midst of storms,
a confident hope in Him when our world is turned upside down,
a deep joy about His faithful and abiding presence.
My response to what is happening provides a showcase
in which others can see the difference He makes.
As Paul points out in II Corinthians 4:7-9,
We are jars of clay, prepared to show that the all-surpassing power
is from God and not from ourselves.
We are hard-pressed on every side (just as others), but not crushed;
perplexed (as are others), but not in despair;
persecuted (as others are as well), but not abandoned;
struck down, but not destroyed.
We experience and feel as others do, for we share humanity,
but our coping is with a Resource beyond ourselves.

Thanking God for the difficult things in our lives is choosing to believe that
God is able and willing to work though every circumstance
for my good and His purposes.
It keeps me from working against His efforts
by grumbling and complaining.
After all, who am I to judge God and His modus operandi?
It is He who has created and redeemed me,
the One who has repeatedly and historically proved
His ongoing creative ability to show Himself strong
so that others will see and know, consider and understand
that He will share His glory with no one else,
no god of our making!
God said of Pharaoh in Exodus 9:16:
I have raised you up for this very purpose,
that I might show you My power
and that My name might be proclaimed in all the earth,
a purpose He has for each of us.

Twila Charles Leichty
November 25, 2008

“Wait...I'm busy.”
“I'm feeling so stressed!”
“Hurry!”

These are words not recorded in Scripture.
They seem to indicate a condition of humanity,
one we do not share with the Creator of the universe
or the Redeemer of the world.
They seem to reflect a malady of disordered priorities,
an inability to distinguish the urgent from the important,
that keeps man running the hamster wheel,
believing it to be something that will get him somewhere
or at least make him feel significant through activity.

God never seemed to be in a hurry,
rushed to complete things,
pushed by people.

Jesus spent time with God
and did only those things that He saw and heard
His Father in heaven doing and saying.
There was time to eat and sleep.
There was time to walk with others.
He listened and talked to people,
was aware of their underlying needs and concerns.
His words addressed those needs.

We are often blinded to the needs of others
by the urgency of our wants.
We've taken the role of God in our lives,
and perhaps in the lives of those about,
deciding priorities and timetables,
and then stressing ourselves with accomplishment and deadlines
that may have little to do with God's ordering of our lives.

I wonder how differently the Bible would sound
were Jesus the speaker of the words above.
Would it help us to feel significant, valued by Him?
Would we want to spend time with Him?
Would we seek to lovingly serve Him?

Do not fret ~ it leads only to evil.
Psalm 37:8b

fret – to be greatly and visibly worried and distressed; be irritated or resentful

Twila Charles Leichty
14. October 2008

To the parents of a son who chose suicide:

At a time like this there are no words
to adequately convey what is experienced within.
What prompts the decision that death
is preferable to life?
“Why's” wrestle within your restless minds,
looking for answers unobtainable this side of eternity.
“If only's” chase through minds already exhausted.
Emotions are raw.
Feelings plumb depths you've heretofore not known.
...shock, confusion, numbness,
hurt that crushes, making it hard to breathe,
anger that surges,
tears that flow without relief,
groans, screams and silence that express what words cannot...

Where can one go to find someone who understands
when the one person who best understands
is bleeding as profusely from this sustained wound as you?

Others are present, yet locked out.
You want their presence, and you don't at the same time.
You long for those who can sit in silence with you,
understand that words can't “fix” what is wrong and don't try,
comprehend the incomprehensibility of what is
and are willing to wait with you for the fog to clear.
You long for the rest that accompanies routines
but what has happened violated all boundaries
and touched that which was sacred.

Tsunamis turn worlds upside down.
His pain that saw death as the only way to peace
has inflicted its own pain
on those who loved (and still love) the one stolen from them.

My dear friends, I want you to know that I am praying for you
as you deal with the shock of your son's death,
the processing of this whole experience,
and the rebuilding of your lives in a way that incorporates it
and allows you to continue growing.
Know that there are many who love you and want to support you
both now and in the adjustments that lay ahead.
I am but one!

Twila Jean Charles Leichty
September 30, 2008

A NEW SEASON


When we move
into a new year, new place,
or new season of their lives,
we take with us
the things that are important to us.

As I move into another season in my life,
I choose to take with me the warm memories
of meaningful relationships and treasured time shared.
I cannot pack them in a box;
they are contained within my heart.

We may not see much of each other
in the weeks, months and years ahead,
but be assured
that the God we serve
never changes.
And we can trust Him
with the many and varied changes,
those chosen and those we would not choose,
that enter our lives!

Twila June 2006

YOU ARE A WRITER

Your life is a journal of many entries.
You are the one who determines
what is recorded therein.
The events of each day
may not always be those of your choosing,
but your response to all that is
will often have greater influence
in your own life
and the lives of those around
than will the actual events.
Know that the pages of your journal
will be read by those around,
both those presently a part of your life
and those of future generations.




Do you suppose that Adam and Eve
considered the far-reaching effect
of their recorded journal entries
on future generations?

The life journals of
Abraham and Lot, the Pharoah of Egypt,
Joseph, Moses, Goliath,
Nebuchanezzar, Daniel, Esther,
JESUS,
Andrew, John,
a lad with the lunch of five loaves and two fish, Barnabas, Paul, and Lydia
are ones we still read, and learn from, today.

I pray that the entries you make
in your life journal
throughout the coming year
will be ones that you can look back on
without regret.

Twila – June 2006

SABBATH – is a gift of time.

It is a time to focus on the Giver of Time,
His creation
and His creative work in the world today.
It is a time to follow Him – His example and directive – in resting.
It is a time to experience freedom
from the chains that wrap themselves
around us and our time.

We may think ourselves a free people
but we may be slaves of our crowded schedules,
captives of the ticking clock,
held bondage by the expections of others.
We believe that we are managers of our lives, our time,
but often forget, in our busyness, the God of Time.
We leave no time to sit silently with Him,
listening to His input.
We fail to consider carefully His priorities
and allow His agenda to supercede ours.
We don't stop to rest our bodies
and allow Him to restore our spirits.

Twila
9-20-2008

To the parents of a son who chose suicide:

At a time like this there are no words
to adequately convey what is experienced within.
What prompts the decision that death
is preferable to life?
“Why's” wrestle within your restless minds,
looking for answers unobtainable this side of eternity.
“If only's” chase through minds already exhausted.
Emotions are raw.
Feelings plumb depths you've heretofore not known.
...shock, confusion, numbness,
hurt that crushes, making it hard to breathe,
anger that surges,
tears that flow without relief,
groans, screams and silence that express what words cannot...

Where can one go to find someone who understands
when the one person who best understands
is bleeding as profusely from this sustained wound as you?

Others are present, yet locked out.
You want their presence, and you don't at the same time.
You long for those who can sit in silence with you,
understand that words can't “fix” what is wrong and don't try,
comprehend the incomprehensibility of what is
and are willing to wait with you for the fog to clear.
You long for the rest that accompanies routines
but what has happened violated all boundaries
and touched that which was sacred.

Tsunamis turn worlds upside down.
His pain that saw death as the only way to peace
has inflicted its own pain
on those who loved (and still love) the one stolen from them.

My dear friends, I want you to know that I am praying for you
as you deal with the shock of your son's death,
the processing of this whole experience,
and the rebuilding of your lives in a way that incorporates it
and allows you to continue growing.
Know that there are many who love you and want to support you
both now and in the adjustments that lay ahead.
I am but one!

Twila Jean Charles Leichty

September 30, 2008

Ecclesiastes 3:1-17

To everything there is a season,
a time for every purpose under heaven:

a time to greet and a time to say farewell,
a time to seed and a time to weed,
a time to prune and a time to restore,
a time to confront what is and a time to encourage new growth,
a time to be sad and a time to be glad,
a time to mourn our losses and a time to move on,
a time to forget and a time to remember,
a time to nurture and support and a time to withdraw from supporting,
a time to seek to know and a time to accept what is,
a time to hold on to and a time to relinquish,
a time to rip apart and a time to repair,
a time to be quiet and a time to speak out,
a time to value relationships with others and a time to embrace God alone,
a time for conflict and a time for reconciliation.

God has made everything beautiful in its time.
He is able to see the beauty of His entire creation,
from the outset through the present,
and from the present into eternity.
He sees all that was, is, and will be
from the perspective of completion,
as a jigsaw puzzle already put together.
In the present, He wants us to
involve fully with the pieces He has provided us,
being satisfied with the task at hand,
knowing it is but part of the bigger picture,
and, with confidence, trust Him with the panoramic view.
Someday, the picture will be complete.
We will see it as He has always seen it and know
that every thing we thought ugly or unnecessary
had a place in the overall design,
His masterpiece!

Twila Charles Leichty
30. September 2008









As you celebrate the milestones in your life,
reflect on the faithfulness of God thus far,
anticipate on-going evidences of His faithfulness in the days ahead.
The Bible questions, in Romans 3:3,
“Will a person's lack of faith nullify Gods faithfulness?”
and provides this emphatic response:
“Not at all!”

God's faithfulness is an integral part of who He is.
It is not dependent on what we do, our faithfulness or lack of it.
And for that, we can be eternally grateful!

* * *

God has prepared you well for the ministry
to which He has called you.
He used your family of origin, your marriage,
your spiritual family and life circumstances
as institutions of learning with many teachers.
The courses were not always those of your choosing,
but the curriculum was one that He thought essential in your education.

I thank God that you have embraced His appointments
and that your availability, coupled with His ability,
will provide for healing and growth in the lives of others
throughout our broken world.
Wholeness ~ spiritual, relational, emotional ~ is a gift
God wants to bestow,
and He uses jars of clay, such as you, to direct His faithful love,
healing salve, and refreshing water
into the lives of those who are wounded, weary, and ready to receive it.

You can depend upon His faithfulness and strength
to meet your every need
and the needs of all those with whom you will walk along the way.

Twila Charles Leichty
13. October 2008

My neediness is often masked by self-sufficiency;
my brokenness is covered over by my self-protective ways.

Twila Charles Leichty
21. November 2008

The cross of Jesus provides identity.
It determines who I am.
As I embrace it, I am defined
more and more by the One
who loved me,
more and more by the gift bestowed
through what happened on it.
My identity encompasses
the fact that I am needy and blessed,
broken and healed ~
created, fallen, and redeemed.

I am who I am by His grace.

Twila Charles Leichty
21. November 2008

SEASONS' ATTIRE

Nature is a dressing room
where trees change their attire.
Autumn enters to disrobe.
Her well-worn dress,
now a patchwork in shades of red, gold, orange and brown,
is one that's been around since Spring chose it
many months ago.
It had served her well but was wearing thin.
Temperatures now cooler, the winds had played hard
and wrestled from her limbs the weakened cloth
until she stood unclothed.

Her frame, previously well covered,
was now exposed,
and her imperfections, quite apparent.

Winter's chosen blanket of snow
fell softly over her limbs,
softening her features
and creating a beauty all its own.
Occasionally freezing rain gave her coat of ice
that glistened in the sun,
but often she braved the winter months in her black leotards.

Spring,
eager to show off her new growth,
stood erect and carried herself well as she emerged from the dressing room.
She delighted in modeling her new dresses,
accenting with splashes of color
the varied shades of green she'd chosen.
It seemed that she skipped and danced throughout her debut.

More mature, Summer's attire is made to cover more completely
and her branches stretch out and provide welcome shade,
space for new family homes, fruit and nuts.
She is known for her generosity,
for she shares freely with those in the neighborhood.
In the breezes, she murmurs contentedly with her rustling leafy gown.

Twila Charles Leichty
November 20, 2008

There is comfort in getting up at night
and walking through the friendly darkness
to the kitchen for a drink.
The route, a memorized one, my feet need no light to know.
Where the dog sleeps,
where I need to turn to avoid colliding with the wall,
where to find the water faucet and cup
is all second nature.

There is comfort is reaching out to a person
who has been a part of my world
for more years than not.
We know each other's ways
and can dance almost effortlessly
in a practiced rhythm of our own.

There is comfort in knowing the day's agenda,
how to get to the grocery store
and where to find the needed items on the shelves,
who to call when something needs fixed,
what friend can lend a hand with a project undertaken,
who will laugh with me
and see that kleenex are available for my tears.

The fabric of our lives,
that which we have worn so long
and become accustomed to,
has been ripped apart through loss.
Some comfort has been lost.

We become attached to what is familiar.
We find that there has been some dependency upon it
when it is no longer there.

Grieving is work.
Losses (and often they are not singular) need to be named.
Allowing oneself to experience and express
the myriad of feelings that accompany the loss
is helpful.
Accommodating to what's new is necessary.
Adjustments take time and time requires patience.

But change can bring new growth!
We need, too, to focus on what has NOT been lost
to regain our balance,
establish new routines and build new relationships.

We need to know and live in relationship with
a God who never changes,
One who creatively uses the changes in our lives
to reveal to us
more about who we are and who He is,
so that our dependency is better placed on Him
and our hold on what inevitably changes is relaxed.

Twila
November 2008