If you have ever had a dog, you know that if you leave them for any amount of time and come home, they are so excited to see you, like you’ve been gone for days.

I think God wants us to feel this way about Him. I’m not talking about Sunday morning church service, but, having that excitement each day as you awake.

It’s funny how most dogs will even go to the door the same time every day, knowing that their guardian usually comes home that time. They don’t have to be told it’s time. No, it’s instinct.

It’s in them, this internal clock that says their master will soon be home.

Take this initiative with God. Look for Him every day. See if you can see Him throughout the day.

Get anxious for God. He’ll bless you for it.

Hebrews 9:28 - “so Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many; and he will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him.”

Have you ever known anyone who was a major league baseball player, who had never played baseball in his life? Probably not.

Just like everything that is a prestigious position, it takes practice. And, in order to practice efficiently, you have to make time; schedule and commit to practicing.

It’s the same with being a Christian. I’ve seen people, and have even been guilty myself of giving my life to Christ, then sitting back and waiting for the blessings to come.

I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but God rewards those who have a habit of reading His word. He loves it when He sees us obeying His commands and serving others. Are you doing this?

Don’t be intimidated by this. I was the same way. So, I started reading God’s word, daily. The more I read and knew about God, the more time I spent serving, loving others and doing God’s work.

Practice makes perfect is what I’ve always heard.

Although we’ll never be a perfect human in this life, we can practice now to be the best Christian God welcomes into heaven.

Philippians 4:9 - “Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.”

As a newborn baby instinctively knows his momma’s voice, so can we learn to know God’s voice.

It’s not always an audible voice you hear from God. It can be a prompting from within. Some can’t relate to what I’m talking about, either because they can’t sit still long enough to find out, or they don’t really know God. They don’t have a relationship with Him.

Just as sheep know their shepherd, so can we know when it’s of God. The elect are enabled by God to hear the truth.

God’s voice is the Gospel, the scriptures in the Bible.

If you’re not a child of God and you pick up the Bible for the first time and try to read it, honestly, you’ll be a little confused.

How do we begin to hear His voice? Talk to Him. Tell God you're desires. Thank Him for coming into your life.

This all starts with preparing your heart. Although God already knows your past sins, tell Him anyway. Acknowledge your sin and ask for forgiveness.

Be ready for God’s answer. It may come into our thoughts. It may come from reading His word, or God could even speak to you through others.

Be open. Be ready to hear His voice.

John 8:47 - “Whoever belongs to God hears what God says. The reason you do not hear is that you do not belong to God.”

Whether you’re waiting to find out your latest blood test results, or you’re waiting to find out if you got the job you interviewed for, you’re anxiously waiting, possibly fretting and worried to hear the outcome.

Let me tell you a secret, my friends. Wait on God instead. After all, He is in control of your life, if you’ve surrendered it to Him.

Waiting on God requires faith and trust. Faith in knowing that God knows what’s going on and you’re trusting that God’s got it. He knows how to handle the situation and He is with you through it all.

Waiting on man is unpredictable, unreliable and undependable at best.

Man can make mistakes, his assumption on knowing you as a prospect employee is second guess.

Why not put your waiting strategy in God’s hands? Try trusting God with the outcome, since He knows what’s best for us anyway.

Don’t you want peace in the waiting? Trust God. He’ll never let you down.

Isaiah 40:31 - “but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.”

I grew up in an era when there were gas stations, usually called filling stations. These were full service gas stations that would fill your car with gas, wipe down all your windows and even check your tires in one visit.

These are almost non-existent now, although there’s some places in Oregon that still have guys and gals pumping your gas for you.

These filing stations equipped cars for the roads, ensuring that they wouldn’t run out of gas or blow a tire.

How about us? As Christians, we should be filling up on God’s word every day (not just on Sunday). This filling equips us for the day ahead. So we don’t run out of energy or words to share with others.

I spent many years running on empty, exhausting myself on useless activities and busying myself with pointless events.

Don’t think that showing up for church on Sunday morning is going to be enough to fuel you for the week.

Open up the Bible; read the words and let God breathe life into your days, and I promise you’ll be equipped for whatever comes your way.

Hebrews 13:21 - “equip you with everything good for doing his will, and may he work in us what is pleasing to him, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.”

Have you ever come to a point in your life when it seemed that everything you touch breaks? It feels like anything you seek to accomplish ends up failing.

I’ve been there many times, mostly during my 20’s and early 30’s, when I shut God out of my life and did things my way.

You’re probably wondering how that worked out for me. Honestly, I had lost all hope. Oh, on the outside, it looked like I had it all together. But, inside I was miserable.

I made myself lord of my life. I didn’t trust many people. Things that I had hoped would change, didn’t. Areas in my life that I knew could be better, stayed the same.

Until, one day, against my own dreams and hopes, my life started changing for the better. I still tried to resist, but something deep inside me said, “hold on, let’s see what God’s trying to do.”

Well, God not only started moving in my life, He moved me and my 8 year old daughter 1300 miles away. I was ready for a change, but didn’t realize what God had in mind.

I ended up meeting an amazing family in Oklahoma, who reminded me what a real family looks like. I hadn’t seen that during my early parenting years since then.

To this day, I hold the Free family near and dear to my heart. God used them to show Himself to me.

Don’t ever lose hope. There’s always hope in any situation if you have God in your life.

John 14:27 - “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.”

I’ve heard people say, “I’m worried about this or that and can’t even sleep at night.” If I know them well enough, I might say, “are you trusting God with this? Are you letting Him take control?”

The answer is usually met with a downcast look, or a short, “yes, but I still worry about it.”

That’s compromising the truth. If we truly trust God with our circumstances, even when they seem out of control and spiraling downward, then and only then can you replace worry with worship.

You can’t fake it either. God knows your heart. He knows when you’re just using the words, but your heart doesn’t change.

Don’t compromise with God. He already knows the outcome. He’s waiting to see if you let go of the reigns and trust Him with it.

There are people who make themselves physically sick with worry, depression and anger, when all of this could have been avoided with trusting God.

Put your faith and dependance on what God can do in the circumstance, because believe it or not, worry accomplishes nothing.

James 4:17 - “If anyone, then, knows the good they ought to do and doesn’t do it, it is sin for them.”

DNA is technically described as deoxyribonucleic acid, a self-replicating material which is present in nearly all living organisms as the main constituent of chromosomes. In other words, distinctive characteristics or qualities of someone or something.

Jeremiah 1:5 - “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations.”

God made each of us. His DNA is in all of us.

This made me think of talents that we all possess. If I had a talent of singing (which I don’t), unless someone encouraged and supported me in singing, I would probably not pursue it.

Some of us have talents that we’re not even aware of. I didn’t even know I could hike long distances until my husband encouraged me to try.

I didn’t even know I could write.

My point is, we’re all born with God’s DNA. He fills us with His Holy Spirit (if we’re born again).

Once you become a child of God, He will bring out the hidden talents within you.

One of God’s greatest blessings to me is knowing that I have the talent of serving others, just like Jesus did.