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I am excited to announce the upcoming release of Knowing And Loving The Bible - Face To Face With God In His Word by Harvest House Publishers in January 2007. This new 30 day journey is all about the Bible. As you take this 30 day journey, you will learn about the Divine Romance between God and His people, the incredible gift and treasure of His Word, and how to dig deeper into the Bible in your quiet time. It’s personal, it’s practical, and it’s powerful. I’ve written a whole day entitled “The Truth About Truth” where I discuss how our culture has stepped away from truth and how we can know “objective reality,” i.e. “the truth” by opening the pages of the Bible. You will learn how others who have gone before us actually gave their lives so that we might hold a Bible in our hands. I share how living in the Word of God has incredible results in your life and in the lives of those around you. By the time you have completed this 30 day journey, you will have a new appreciation for your Bible and you will be filled with a desire to know it for yourself and to give it away to others. Knowing And Loving The Bible is available now for pre-orders at our online bookstore.

What a blessing it was to be at this wonderful retreat at Palomar Christian Conference Center. The day after a retreat is always a time of reflection for me. I think about the messages the Lord laid on my heart. These messages are so important to me to give - all about revival. The last day we went to the amphitheatre for worship, my message, and communion. It was a holy, sacred time. Imagine being out in this incredible place with such an awesome view. I shared all about what happens in our lives when the “rivers of living water” flow by the power of the Holy Spirit. God loves to surprise us and that is what He does with the rivers of living water - they surprise us and change us! It often happens in our quiet time when He shows us something in His Word that we never saw before. I love those times and my journal is filled with verses in the Bible that are so meaningful to me. Many of those verses have found their way into my books.

I shared about the day that Jonathan Edwards gave his message “Sinners In The Hands Of An Angry God” in Enfield, Massachusetts. It was God’s surprise and part of the Great Awakening revival. The message he gave that day was quite uncharacteristic for him. He actually held his notes up in front of him and read them verbatim. People couldn’t even see his face. It is said, however, that the power of conviction was so strong in the lives of those who heard him speak that they were holding on to the pews for dear life fearing the day of judgment had come. We laughed but also were quite sobered at how God moves upon a group of people. Communion was beautiful and Laurie did a wonderful job of leading us in worship. She loves the Lord and is incredibly gifted with music. Sumer Hahn (pictured below) is the Women’s Ministry Director and she is just incredible. What a heart for the Lord she has! It was such a joy to serve together with her this weekend. Of course I have such a heart for Women’s Ministries and especially leaders in Women’s Ministries. I know what it is to serve in the trenches and being a director of Women’s Ministries myself, I totally appreciate all the things that happen at a retreat. There are little things that are organized, special touches of love and grace, that the retreat committee does that make it very special. I wish I could get all the leaders in all the women’s ministries throughout the United States together in one room just to share stories, laugh, and worship the Lord. We at Quiet Time Ministries are working toward that vision right now - keep coming back here and you will hear more - something EXCITING is about to begin - I’ll share more in the days to come.

This is Lois Taylor, a dear friend of mine, who is very involved in Women’s Ministries at Clairemont Emmanuel Baptist Church. I’ve known her for years. She was in my Bible study when we lived in San Diego. It was just so wonderful to see her. When I arrived she was waiting for me and ran up and gave me a huge hug. How cool was that to arrive in a new place with many I did not know and see Lois! It made all the difference in the world. It was as though no time had gone by. She helped me set up my books. And she sat in the front row while I spoke. What a blessing she is to me!

This was a beautiful place up high in the mountains. The views really were something to store in the memory and think about. I would look out through the trees to the sky - it seemed to reach out forever - and it turned my eyes to the Lord in such a powerful way. It made me think about Psalm 121 “I will lift up my eyes to the mountains; from where shall my help come? My help comes from the LORD, Who made heaven and earth.” It was such an amazing time to share together with my Lord - it is “the great adventure of knowing God” as I always say. Yesterday morning, very early, I looked out my window to discover 30 deer outside my little cabin!! THIRTY DEER!! When will I ever see 30 deer in one place again!! I think the Lord did it just for me because He knew how much I would love such a thing. Of course I took a million pictures. Well not a million, but very close. Here’s one to just give you an idea. I could not even get them all in the picture. There were more deer coming down the mountain and others to the right that were leaving the area. It was just totally amazing. Thank you Lord for such a wonderful weekend. Now onward and upward to new adventures, new challenges, and new opportunities to trust the Lord, surrender to Him, wait on Him, and hope in Him. To God be the glory!

This weekend I am at the top of Mt. Palomar at Palomar Christian Conference Center speaking at the Clairmont Emmanuel Baptist Church Women’s Retreat. This is one of my favorite things to do. I know I say that about a lot of things that God has given me to do, but being away at a retreat with other women and being able to teach what is on my heart from God in His Word is so much fun. We are really up in the mountains here very close to Palomar Observatory. If I had a bit more time, I would have definitely gotten a tour - maybe some other time. We are so far up in the mountains that we have no cellphone service and my blackberry doesn’t work. However, I am getting high speed wireless internet - I don’t know how a thing like that works but I’m excited because it means I can post my thoughts up here. The topic of this retreat is “Revive Me O Lord” and I am sharing all about personal spiritual revival - the messages include The Picture Of Revival, The Presence In Revival, The Power Of Revival, and The Product Of Revival. Unique to this retreat was the opportunity to spend some time with women outside sharing about how to have a quiet time. I had my quiet time basket out there and shared how to set aside a time, a place, and use the PRAYER plan in quiet time. It was a lot of fun to be out in the beauty of God’s creation and share what is the passion of my heart - intimacy with God.

The natural surroundings here are breathtaking. Look at my friend who stood right outside my cabin early this morning. Of course, I grabbed my camera and started taking all kinds of pictures. A bit later I looked outside and there was a whole family of deer - I’ve included a picture below. These are the kinds of things I love about being out here in the mountains. I love the trees, the cool clear crisp air, and all the animals. This morning early, while it was still dark, I looked at the stars - trillions of them - I am in awe at the incomprehensible power of God.

I’ve been listening to messages by Corrie ten Boom and one thing I see in her example again and again is faith in God’s Word. When her sister Nollie was arrested, Corrie was just absolutely devastated (this was before she and Betsie were arrested). Nollie leaned over to Corrie and said, “Corrie, God is love.” Of course, Corrie knew that was true. But now her sister was being taken to prison. That statement meant something completely new when measured against this desperate hour for her sister. Corrie arrived at the reality in her own belief and thinking that God is love and His love is greater than the hate of man. The Word of God is powerful. This morning at about 4:30 am I was meditating on Jeremiah’s words, “When I discovered your words, I devoured them. They are my joy and my heart’s delight, for I bear your name” (Jeremiah 15:16 NLT). I thought about how it takes time to chew on and digest something God says in His Word - sometimes it takes a lifetime to “devour” a passage of Scripture. But oh, what a privilege that we have a Bible in our hands. May we take advantage of every opportunity to open the pages of our Bibles, day by day, and may the words we discover there become our joy and heart’s delight.

The Lord gave me an unexpected treat this weekend. I was scheduled to go to Newport Beach to stay with a friend, meet with another pilot group for my new book on Hope, and speak to a prayer group at Mariner’s Church. What a weekend it was! First, you cannot imagine how incredible it was just to be in Newport Beach. The heat has been stifling in the desert - well over 110 degrees every day with lots of humidity. Newport Beach is at least 40 degrees cooler. Oh I was loving it! Thursday night, my dear friend Bev and I went to one of my favorite restaurants and just talked and talked and talked. What a joy to fellowship in the Lord with someone who knows me so well. It was such a blessing.

Then, on Friday I got up early and spent good time with the Lord. No rush. No hurry. I lived in Psalm 31. Then we went to breakfast at this unbelievable little cafe, sat outside, had great coffee, and a breakfast burrito (my favorite). We returned to my friend’s house to prepare for a time of sharing with one of the pilot groups for Hope For My Hurting Heart. I then had the privilege to spend five hours with incredibly articulate, brilliant women who had so much to say about hope and gave me such great feedback on this new book I’ve written. We had such a wonderful time of just sharing in the Lord. We laughed. We cried. we prayed. My heart and soul loved every bit of it! We sat together and watched The Revival Hymn (you can find it up here on my blog or go to www.sermonindex.net), talked about our great desire to see revival sweep across the country, and then prayed for revival. Oh how these times feed my soul.

Now, if you think Friday was good, Saturday was incredible. Again, I arose early, spent rich time with the Lord. Then I reviewed my message notes. We drove over to Mariner’s - I was amazed at the expansion at this great church. They have a new worship center that is just beautiful. We went upstairs to what they call “the upper room” where the Garden of Prayer meets. These are committed men and women who attend each service on Saturday and Sunday and then pray with others after the service. What a privilege to share with these saints. A young girl named Aimee shared about her trip to Africa. Then, I shared about Quiet Time Ministries and my great desire to see others experience personal, spiritual revival. We prayed for each other and had a great time. I met a guy named Hal - he’s the director of the Garden of Prayer - in his eighties and is one of the most committed believers I’ve met. Oh how blessed I was to meet Hal.

After Garden of Prayer, my friend Bev, Hal and I went to lunch. Then, guess what. We drove to the beach. Hal took care of our shoes (Bev’s and mine) and the two of us walked barefoot in the sand. I held my hands high to the sky and looked up and said, “Lord thank You so much for this special time.” Only the Lord knew how much it would mean to me to see the ocean and walk in the sand. It was AMAZING. It’s been a long summer for me - very productive - I’ve written two books and filmed about 40 different messages to accompany the books of quiet times in the Quiet Times For The Heart Series. I’ve loved every minute of it. I guess the Lord knew I needed a little vacation. Just to look out on the ocean so refreshed my spirit. To enjoy temperatures in the 70’s instead of 100’s was something I hadn’t counted on. And to be with my friend Bev was probably one of the greatest blessings. But there was still more in store for me!

After our time at the beach, Bev said, “Cath, how does this sound? What if we went to Saddleback tonight, worship there, and hear Rick Warren, then we can go to Mariner’s on Sunday.” I said - “Great idea - let’s do it!!” I couldn’t wait. If you’ve ever been to Saddleback, worshipped with the worship team, and heard Rick Warren preach, then you know why I was so excited. We got there early. I looked through their outdoor bookstore (only in southern CA!) and bought some books - one on the rest of God - I’m excited to read that. Bev went inside to get a place for us to sit. I just walked around, looked at all their ministry tables, and watched people as they walked toward the worship center. I love to look at people’s faces. At Saddleback, when people are going to church, there is anticipation on faces - an excitement, an expectation that God is going to be at work. I went in and sat down with Bev. Then, the worship began and it was great as always. Then, Rick Warren came out and preached a great message on spiritual gifts. I came away with such an affirmation that I am doing what the Lord has gifted me to do. What a blessing to have the opportunity to serve the Lord and love it so much! I loved watching Rick Warren preach and in fact, wrote down things I saw him do that I would love to implement when I preach. He’s so gifted and has such vision. I am so encouraged to see how the Lord is working there at Saddleback.

Now you might have thought that was it for Saturday. But no - not when Cath and Bev get together. We’re like the energizer bunnies - we keep going and going and going. We left Saddleback and drove over to Mariner’s. How many people do you know who take a vacation for the soul by going from one church to another? Well, we did. The Mariner’s Church service was over, but everyone was still hanging around - they were serving dinner (ribs or chicken) outside and then dinner was also available in their Global Cafe. They have this new bookstore and Cafe that benefits the ministry (non-profit). The food is REALLY good. So we had dinner there. And guess what - we walked around the bookstore and there was my book, Six Secrets To A Powerful Quiet Time!! How cool is that. While I was at Mariner’s I heard someone call out my name. I turned around - it was Denise who had arranged for me to speak at the Mariner’s Women’s Retreat a couple of years ago, and Shelley who is the Director of Women’s Ministries. We got to spend about 10 minutes catching up. There is probably nothing I love more than connecting with on fire for the Lord Women’s Ministries leaders. Oh, may their tribe increase!! Well, we finally left Mariner’s and went home and I fell into bed. I was tired!

Then - Sunday morning. I packed up my car. I followed my friend Bev back to Mariner’s. We sat in the cafe and had breakfast - how cool is that. I had a breakfast burrito (my favorite). Then, we went into the worship center and sat down just as the worship was beginning. It was GREAT WORSHIP. Then, Kenton Beshore preached a great message. You would not believe what he did at the end of his message - and oh, what a great illustration it was. He talked about how the Holy Spirit works in our lives to prompt us to get involved and to grow. He likened it to a watch that monitors your heart. And he actually had on a watch that was attached somehow to measure his heartbeat. He held it up to his microphone so we could hear it. He said that when you are in the “zone” and your heart is beating at a certain rate then it is just right. If you are working too hard your heart is beating too fast and the watch will indicate that as well. In the same way, he said that the Holy Spirit will let you know if you are overdoing it and that you need to slow down. Then, they brought a treadmill out. He got on the treadmill and started running to illustrate the point - it was great and everyone was laughing. It was a lot of fun. What meant the most to me was thinking about the power of the Holy Spirit in our lives. I was thanking the Lord for the Holy Spirit who leads us and guides us.

After the service, I hugged my friend goodbye, got in my car, plugged in my Ipod to my car sound system, and listened to some messages by Corrie ten Boom as I drove home. And now - here I am, writing about this great vacation. It really was a vacation for my soul. I am refreshed and ready to go. Thank You Lord!!