Give praise to the LORD, proclaim his name; make known among the nations what he has done. Sing to him, sing praise to him; tell of all his wonderful acts. Glory in his holy name; let the hearts of those who seek the LORD rejoice. Look to the LORD and his strength; seek his face always.  Psalm 105:1-4
 
 
Scattered among Scotland’s bucolic land are at least thirty abbeys and monasteries. These gems, often off the beaten path, date back to the Middle Ages. It’s incredible they are still standing! Built of sandstone, they have stood the test of time, multiple wars, and declining budgets. I had the privilege of visiting six of these distinguished structures on a recent trip to the Lowlands.
 
Dryburgh Abbey is located in the Scottish Borders outside of Melrose on the banks of the River Tweed. Built in 1150 for the Premonstratensian Order, Dryburgh Abbey has a varied history with assorted accounts of being burned by troops and later restored. Monks lived, worked, and worshiped here for 400 years. For the next 200 years, the abbey was deserted and began to decay. Efforts in the late 1700’s created a peaceful garden from the ruins.
 
Today, Dryburgh Abbey is missing its roof and several major walls. But interestingly, the chapter house, used as a meeting place by the monks, still remains. I had the privilege while there to meet in the chapter house with my fellow travelers. Singing “Amazing Grace” together within those sacred walls, with the echo of our voices enhancing our choral talents, was calming, healing, and absolutely worshipful.
 
Sometimes we are like Dryburgh Abbey. While our exteriors may (or may not!) have stood the test of time, our hearts have experienced the fallout of numerous battle zones and losses. We are still standing, but we’re broken on the inside. We feel hollow, not whole.
 
Healing begins in many ways. Worshiping the Lord together is a soothing balm to our souls. Just like the affinity felt through song in that chapter house, we experience the power of God’s love and grace when we first connect with Him and then with others. The richness of community yields a harvest of hope and healing. Together, we can experience the healing power of God’s truly amazing grace. May it be so!
 
 
Almighty God, You alone are worthy to be praised. May I sing Your praises and worship You with my sisters and brothers in Christ so that Your Name will be lifted up and our hearts may be healed. Thank You for Your healing power that comes through community with You and with others. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
 
 
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Text and photo copyright © 2016 by Dawn Dailey. All rights reserved. Photo of Dryburgh Abbey, Dryburgh, Scotland.
 
All scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.com The “NIV” and “New International Version” are trademarks registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by Biblica, Inc.™

On one occasion an expert in the law stood up to test Jesus. “Teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?” “What is written in the Law?” he replied. “How do you read it?” He answered, “ ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind’; and, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’” “You have answered correctly,” Jesus replied. “Do this and you will live.”  Luke 10:25-28
 
 
The French macaron is sublime. With its pastel crispiness on the outside and creaminess on the inside, eating a macaron is like eating a slice of heaven. Being lighter than air, I’m sure they must be calorie-free!
 
On a recent trip to Nice, I was fortunate to be a participant in a cooking class where the instructor patiently taught us the art of creating macarons. Although this French delight may look like art, there is definitely a science to making them. As we precisely measured ingredients, meticulously stirred and then carefully piped the dough onto the cookie sheets, it was apparent that there is more to making macarons than meets the eye. The soufflé-like persnicketiness of the dough requires flawless execution. When done properly, the results are incredibly rewarding.
 
I can’t say our efforts were flawless or that our macarons were a work of art. However, both the lemon and the chocolate macarons still achieved that lighter-than-air quality, that subtle crispness, and that to-die-for creaminess. The result was pure joy.
 
Thankfully, the recipe for faith doesn’t require a lot of hard-to-find ingredients painstakingly measured and stirred while following the recipe perfectly. Faith isn’t a set of rules and we don’t have to come already prepared with all the right ingredients.
 
Faith is about love and relationship, forgiveness and redemption, hope and joy. It isn’t a set of rules nor is it about an iron chef just waiting for you to mess up. Faith is based on a relationship with the God of the universe who sent His son Jesus to planet earth to save us from a life without God. To be in a personal relationship with Jesus means believing who He said He was. While the reward for our faith is living in heaven when we die, we also can living abundantly now, with the love, joy, and peace that comes only from Him.
 
Jesus boiled it down to two simple statements:  Love the Lord your God with all your heart, mind, soul, and strength. And love your neighbor as yourself. While religion may add a lot of rules, true faith hangs on these two things – love of God and love of others. Faith is about relationship, not religion.
 
While we must follow all the rules if we are to create a delicious French macaron, I’m thankful that following Jesus doesn’t involve a set of rules. I would never measure up if it did. The recipe for faith is loving God with all my heart, mind, soul, and strength, and loving others as myself. The reward is worth more than all the delicacies this world has to offer – that of hope, love, joy, and peace, for all eternity.
 
 
Heavenly Father, thank You that faith in You is based on relationship and not rules. Show me how to love You more every day. May Your love flow through me to those around me. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
 
 
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Text and photo copyright © 2016 by Dawn Dailey. All rights reserved.
 
All scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.com The “NIV” and “New International Version” are trademarks registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by Biblica, Inc.™

To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”  John 8:31-32
 
 
What is truth? This is the question Pontius Pilate, the Roman governor, tossed to Jesus on the night He was condemned to die. (See John 18.) While Pilate seemed rather cavalier in his approach to truth, we can’t afford to be. Whether we talking about what we believe about Jesus that impacts us for all eternity or whether we’re talking about facts that impact us in the everyday, truth matters.
 
In John 8, Jesus is teaching about Satan, calling him in verse 44, “the father of lies”. There is a spiritual battle raging for our souls and the battleground starts in our minds.
 
What lies do you believe about yourself? What tapes play in your head that keep you from being all God intends you to be? What stories do you tell yourself that are simply not true? Many times, we tell ourselves that we are not worthy, that we are not loveable, that we are not capable, that we are not…..fill in the blank. What do you tell yourself that is not true?
 
The enemy will hurl lies at us. He is indeed the father of lies with falsehoods so subtle we are not even aware they are not true. We have a choice regarding whether to believe them or not. But first we have to be aware that these deceptions exist. That can be difficult to discern and acknowledge. Take some time to reflect on what distortions you are believing about yourself.
 
Sometimes these lies come at us from deep within. Over time, we’ve spun a tale about who we are based on our history and our emotions. Or perhaps they are “gifts” from others who have spoken untruths or even half-truths into our hearts that are now buried deep inside our souls. Lies either latch onto existing insecurities and fears or they create new ones. Preventing us from taking risks because we’re afraid, these falsehoods can keep us from reaching our full God-given potential while they wreak havoc in our lives and in those around us.
 
John 8:31-32 says if we know Jesus, if we read the Bible, and if we live according to His teachings, then we will know the truth. Verses like you are loved by God (Jeremiah 31:3), that God has lavishly bestowed His love on you and you are a child of God (1 John 3:1), and that nothing can separate you from the love of Christ (Romans 8:35) are truths we can hold onto. These and other truths from the Bible can replace the lies in our minds. They can rewrite those stories in our heads that our heart have believed.
 
In John 8:32, Jesus says that when you know the truth, “the truth will set you free”. When you stop believing lies about yourself and start believing God’s truth about you, the lies lose their power over you. Believing the truth frees you to be who God wants you to be, to live as God intends you to live, to be free to be you!
 
 
Lord, I want to break free of the lies that so entangle me. Set me free with the knowledge of Your truth and Your love for me so I can freely and fully be who You created me to be. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
 
 
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Text and photo copyright © 2016 by Dawn Dailey. All rights reserved. Photo of Mediterranean Sea from the monastic ruins on Île Saint-Honorat, near Cannes, France.
 
All scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.com The “NIV” and “New International Version” are trademarks registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by Biblica, Inc.™