IN SEARCH OF GOOD MEDICINE By:  Julie Souza Bradley Lilly Scientists and researchers around the world are scrambling to create a vaccine, and to find medications that can effectively treat the COVID-19 virus.  I am not telling you anything new.  Unless you have been living under a rock, you likely know all about it.  Awareness is a good thing.  It can help us to focus our prayers and to respond with wisdom and compassion.  But there is a difference between being aware and marinating ourselves in the negativity.  When we are young we learn to turn off scary movies that give us nightmares.  As adults we can see that too much negativity makes us anxious and evaporates our joy.  Like food, what we take in with our senses either hurts or heals us.  We may think information goes in one ear and out the other, but the truth is that what goes in changes us. We are wise to be selective in what we pay attention to. Because we mi...

 HOPE IN THE WILDERNESS By:  Julie Souza Bradley Lilly We all spend time in the wilderness— seasons of testing when God is quiet and times are tough. We pepper God with questions, but often He is silent, and we can neither see nor hear Him.  If this sounds familiar, I want to assure you that you aren’t alone. Abraham spent time in the wilderness and became the Patriarch of the Jewish people. Moses spent years in the desert and went on to lead God’s chosen people on the Exodus from Egypt. David spent time in the wilderness and later became king. Jacob, Elijah and John the Baptist also spent time in the wilderness and went on to do great and mighty things.  Even Jesus was tempted by the devil in the wilderness. He exited victorious and empowered for miracles, the saving of souls and the conquering of sin and death for all mankind for eternity. He became King of Kings and Lord of Lords. It may be unpleasant, alone with snakes with your tongue stuck to the r...

HISTORY IN THE MAKING By:  Julie Souza Bradley Lilly Which biblical characters are you looking forward to meeting in Heaven?  After finally seeing the Lord face-to-face, I am going to look for Queen Esther.  As I read her story, I am inspired by her obedience in unprecedented, faith-rattling circumstances.  I want to hear the story behind the story, about how her faith rose up to defeat her fear and doubt. I need faith like that.  We are living in faith-rattling times, too. I suspect when we get to Heaven that while we are looking to find our heroes of the faith, we will also have saints of old who will be looking for us.  They will want to hear about our challenges and the faithfulness of God.   Just as we read biblical history, I believe all of our stories will be recounted in Heaven.  We are characters in modern day his-story —His Story.  We are His workmanship—a beautiful living tapestry of interwoven lives that come to...

GO AHEAD, MAKE MY DAY By:  Julie Souza Bradley Lilly There is a whiteboard in our pantry.  On it there is a note my husband wrote for me probably three years ago.  I can’t bear to erase it.  The words are short and sweet, but they came from his heart and they touch me. It is amazing how powerful words can be.  With them we can bless or curse, heal or hurt, inspire or crush a dream. Recently, I commented on a friend’s article.  Her response to my comment was, “Thank you! You just made my day!”  When I read her response, her happiness made ME happy in return. When we make someone else’s day, in the process we can also make our own. “Cast thy bread upon the waters: for thou shalt find it after many days.” – Ecclesiastes‬ ‭11:1‬ ‭KJV‬‬ We will reap what we sow.  What we pour out on others will eventually come pouring back on us. I Thessalonians 5:11 instructs us: “Therefore encourage one another and build each other up...” – ‭‭1 Thes...

 THE DEAD SEA By:  Julie Souza Bradley Lilly The Dead Sea is dying.  Serial overhead photographs demonstrate what has been suspected for years—one of the lowest and saltiest of places on Earth is drying up. This landlocked body of water is fed by the Jordan River and a scant 2.5 inches of annual rainfall.  Making matters worse, water resources have been diverted from the Jordan River and there is very little outflow from the Sea itself.  As a result, the Dead Sea is so salty, that the only thing able to thrive in its waters is bacteria.  If things remain unchanged, the Dead Sea will one day cease to exist. Our lives can be like the Dead Sea.  When we primarily only receive, but fail to adequately release back out what we have been given, we, too, can become toxic.  Our once flourishing walk can become stagnant and eventually kill the life within it. It has been encouraging lately to see selfless people stepping up to the plate to serve ot...

THE WAKE By: Julie Souza Bradley Lilly “Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes.” – James 4:14 NIV At 17, I remember losing a friend to a fatal car accident.  I sobbed as I realized a life-altering lesson about the brevity and fragility of life, and how many things I should have said while I had the chance, but I didn’t. I learned the enormous risk taken when we hold our, “I love you,” “ I’m sorry,” “Forgive me,” or “I forgive you” for some more convenient date. Major events in life have a tendency to awaken us from life’s slumber. The fog lifts to momentarily allow us to see more clearly about what is really important. Today I was contemplating the meanings of the word, “WAKE”:  a vigil after death, during which people reminisce about a person’s life, or the unsettling of water in the trail behind a boat or ship.  In both, the passing of something causes a stirr...

SEVERE MERCY By: Julie Souza Bradley Lilly “While the meat was still between their teeth, before it was chewed, the anger of the LORD was kindled against the people, and the LORD struck them with a very severe plague.” - Numbers‬ ‭11:33‬ ‭AMP‬‬ The children of Israel were in the desert and unhappy with their circumstances.  So, they prayed and asked God for something besides manna to eat.  He sent quail as meat.  Instead of gratefulness, while the meat was still between their teeth, they grumbled to God.  His goodness to provide was met with whining, grumbling and ungratefulness.  His response was a great plague.   Looking at our current circumstances, I can’t help but wonder if this “plague” is an allowed discipline for the peoples of the earth for ungrateful, rebellious hearts and grumbling lips?  A godly parent does not discipline to harm, but rather out of love, to bring about a change of heart.  Our world is sick.  Per...