Shalom Friends: Welcome. Let me take you on my morning walk down through the olive groves to the beach. I never fail to return home energized and encouraged. See my video clip at the end. Today during my time in the Bible, this jumped out at me, pushing me to think. “Every good thing given and every perfect gift from above; comes down from the Father of lights [the Creator and Sustainer of the heavens]. It was of His own will that He gave us birth [as His children] by the word of truth so that we would be a kind of first fruits of His creatures [a prime example of what He created to be set apart to Himself – sanctified, made holy for His divine purposes]. “ James 1:17a, 18. The thought that Abba in Heaven chose my birth was not new to me. Yes, our conception was in His Will. He chose us, and He asks us to CHOOSE Him, How simple is that? That ‘choosing’ of course brings us to the …