Taped into one of my 2013 journals. This little card got us, Lee and me, through many a hard, pressured time.

I love to journal. I record all of the delightful, surprising, and often very challenging ways God shows up for me each day. I also copy verses of Scripture, inspiring quotes, and excerpts from books I am reading. As I copy life-giving words in my journal I am also writing them on my heart. This is my way of meditating on them, and my journals become for me a treasure trove.

David, in the Bible, and his soldiers went off on a recognizance mission one day. When they returned to Ziklag, their camp, they found the Amalekites had attacked. The Amalekites, a particularly blood thirsty people, had taken captive the women and all who were there, small and great, and burned the place to the ground. David and his men were greatly distressed, and grieving to the point of exhaustion. His men were so upset they were ready to stone David. They had lost everything. David had nowhere else to turn except to God. 1 Samuel 30:6 says David "strengthened himself in the Lord his God." Do you see that?! He strengthened HIMSELF in the Lord his God.

When the going gets tough, I strengthen myself in the Lord my God by opening my treasure trove. I love to sink my hands into the gems up to my elbows -- feel the hard edges of the diamonds and sapphires and those smooth round pearls of great value on my skin, running through my fingers. Ink is cheap medicine.

Tomorrow I'll be posting an except from One Thousand Gifts: A Dare to Live Fully Right Where You Are.