HE IS RISEN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

HE IS RISEN!!

HAPPY EASTER!!

Dealing with Disappointment

"He will call upon me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble, I will deliver him and honor him." Psalm 91:15

Isn't it hard when we pray about something and the answer is "No," or "Wait, my precious child." I have experienced some of those responses from God the past day. It isn't exactly a fun place to be in at the moment, but yet I still know that God doesn't love me any less. I know I can trust Him that He knows what is best for me.

Last night and early this morning I had those dark whisperings in my head. "You are a loser. You don't have what it takes. You'll never be good enough..." Then I saw a comment on a blog I read regularly. It said:

I opened my devotional this morning and based on a verse from Exodus, it encouraged me to keep looking up. We cannot yield to discouragement when disappointment strikes. Don't allow the enemy to harass you with doubt. "Search for specific promises of God, saying aloud of each one, 'This promise is mine.'"

I must never lose my skyward look. "I must keep faith, I must keep hope, I must keep courage, I must keep Christ. It would be better to crawl immediately from the battlefield than to not be brave. There is no time for my soul to retreat. Keep your skyward look my soul; keep your skyward look!"

Recognizing that the voice taunting 'loser' is NOT God's, His love for me is independent of my performance. Oh, how I love Him and how I love the way He daily speaks and breathes life into our circumstances when we're looking for Him.

Praying He will breathe His Word of promise and hope into each one today. 

It was just what I needed to hear this morning. I immediately prayed and thanked God for the disappointments. Even though I can't see much good from it at present, I still rely on the fact that my Heavenly Father knows what is best for me. I can trust Him! Then I moved on...and guess what happened. While I was going about my morning preparations, God surprised me with giving me a more detailed synopsis of the story He is calling me to write. I had a very basic sketch in my mind before this, but now He provided so much more. What a blessing from God! How like God to turn my disappointments into opportunities for joy. How ironic that the woman's name who wrote the comments on the blog is Joy. Coincidence? I think not! :)

Put Your Faith Into Action

"And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in him." 1 John 4:16

I should have known that when I posted yesterday about not worrying, I soon would be faced with a 'growth' opportunity myself! Little did I realize that it would arrive just hours after my posting, and in the area that I struggle with the most when it comes to worrying - money.

My husband finally had a few minutes yesterday to start looking at our taxes. He wanted to get a ballpark figure of how much money we would be receiving in refund this year. It turns out that our nice chunk of change we usually receive from the Federal government will instead be leaving our pockets, and going back into theirs. Not exactly the type of news I wanted to hear just minutes before resting my head on the pillow last evening.

My mind immediately started whirring. We already have had several extra expenses the past few weeks than we anticipated. With the news of owing for taxes, we will have had almost $2000 of expenditures, over and above our normal bills for the month. Yikes!! We haven't even looked at our local and state taxes yet.

After announcing this news to me, my husband wanted to know how much money was in the bank, and discuss this matter a little further. I knew if I continued to dwell on i,t I wouldn't get any sleep, so I asked if we could talk about it today. He rolled over and promptly fell asleep. I normally would have tossed and turned, but instead I paused and prayed, "Lord, this isn't a surprise to you. Help me to rest in you tonight." I then quoted the verse I memorized in February. "I will lie down in peace and sleep, for you alone, O Lord, will keep me safe." (Psalm 4:8)

Guess what? I fell asleep quickly and had a restful night's rest. Granted the financial concerns are still facing us and honestly I don't know how God will provide, but I trust that He hasn't given us more than we can handle. I rely on His love for me. Of course there is part of me that wants to cry out. I had great hopes of starting a writing course soon, but at this point I can't justify the money to do it. I still  have struggles and times when I slip back in worrying, but I still pray that trust will become more of a characteristic of my life instead.

Those times of putting my faith into action can be extremely difficult. I choose this day to put my trust in God. I claim the promise that He doesn't give us more than we can handle. I know He loves me, and I rest in that knowledge.

Resting in God's Presence

"Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?"And why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? So do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own." Matthew 6:25-34

I have been thinking this morning about two comments I have heard from friends recently in regards to worrying. Both are under stressful situations and concerns. One frankly said, "I'm a worrier." The other is entering a new area in her life where she doesn't have any control. Both of them have the choice of what they will do. Will they choose to worry or trust God to take care of things that they can't control?

Don't get me wrong, I am no way judging them. I too have had many times when I also struggle with worrying. There are still instances where I fall back into that frame of mind, but yet I feel that these verses call us to a different life. As followers of Christ, how much impact would we make on the world if we were known for our unshakable faith and trust?

I too have undergone my own set of stresses and health issues. One thing I have learned through my time of spiritual retreat is the importance of relying fully on the Lord, to trust Him with every area of my life. When I am afraid or concerned about something, it may take a moment by moment prayer of "I ask You to intercede for me in this situation." I give it to the Lord and may take it back the next instant. I am learning to continually give it to the Lord. The more I get in the practice of releasing it, the easier it becomes to fully let go of it. I find that I begin to walk on the road of trust instead of worry.

I have found that the road to trust starts and continues on our knees, in prayer to God. So perhaps we should invest in a good set of knee pads! :) I pray that I will be known not as someone who always worries, but instead someone that fully trusts in God.

Charged Batteries

"And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent his Son to be the Savior of the world. If anyone acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God lives in him and he in God. And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in him." 1 John 4:14-16

Have you ever thought of your life as if it were a charged battery? Did you ever go to use a flashlight that hadn't been used in a while and it didn't work? Perhaps you unscrewed the end to see what was the problem. Out poured a mess of corrosive batteries, covered in acid. What a mess!

As new believers in Christ, we start out with brand new batteries, just out of the package and ready for use. We have a lot to learn. Our light is burning brightly for all to see. I think of when my youngest son asked Jesus into his heart. He had such an excitement, even though he was only five years old at the time. Each person he met he asked unashamedly, "Do you know Jesus?" If they responded negatively, he would say, "Well, you should." He unabashedly shared his new-found faith.

Or perhaps your faith is like a used battery, that has been around for a while. You have been a Christian for quite some time. Your light still blazes a steady stream, but isn't quite as bright as it used to be. My oldest son has a flashlight with 2 million candlelight of power. It shines a brilliant blast of light, but as the batteries become more used, it doesn't shine quite as brightly. 

Then you have the corroded batteries, where you try to do things on your own strength. You don't plug into the source, and if any light shines, it's just a very dim beam - not strong enough to be of any value. You don't have time to read your Bible, pray, or attend church. Your life is too busy.

What is the status of your batteries today? Are they fully charged? Even if you have been a Christian for a long time, you still can have fully charged batteries that brightly spotlights the world around you. We become fully charged by completely relying on the Lord and His love for us. When we spend time with the Master, we can go forward and illuminate the path for others to see.

New Link for My Writing Blog

For those of you interested in reading more of my musings, feel free to check out my writing blog. I changed the address to:

http://encouragingwordsforchristianwriters.blogspot.com

A Calling, Not a Job

"As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace." Ephesians 4:1-3

I have been doing a bit of research on lighthouses lately. This morning I was previewing a video about lighthouses in New England. Other documentaries I previewed on this topic went through each lighthouse, one by one. This is what I anticipated this video to be like too. I was surprised to find that this one consisted of interviews with former lighthouse keepers and their families. It was quite fascinating.

One statement that a wife of a lighthouse keeper said has stuck with me. It was her job to work alongside her husband, in keeping up with the daily maintenance that was required. She commented, "We looked at it as a calling, not a job." This remark caused me to pause.

How often do we go about our days, going through the motions, just doing our job? When was the last time that we paused, and thought about it being our calling? How are you doing with following the call of God on your life? Are you being faithful?

God's Faithfulness

"I will sing of the Lord's great love forever; with my mouth I will make your faithfulness known through all generations." Psalm 89:1

It's been exactly a year to the day, since I had that fateful phone call that drastically changed our world. From my husband's voice, it was difficult to tell that he was the one that was injured. He experienced a very severe fracture of his pelvis while skiing in West Virginia with our two sons. He called from a hospital in Maryland, where he had been transported.

I was blessed to have a dear friend and her daughter drive me to the hospital to be with him. It was two days before we were able to transport him to Pennsylvania and straight to another hospital. We waited two more days before he had specialized surgery to repair the break. The surgery lasted over seven hours, longer than was anticipated. My husband developed complications from surgery and had extensive nerve damage in his right arm.

He had three months of not being able to put any weight on his left leg. I remember well the struggles I had lifting the wheelchair in and out of our van when I took him to doctor appointments and therapy. My husband is a bit bigger than I am. I had a difficult time pushing the wheelchair.

My dear husband is the sole bread winner of our family, and he needed to be out of work for at least three months. We didn't know how God would provide for our needs. While my husband was home, our stove died, we needed tires for our van, we needed groceries, our roof began to leak, and the list continued. Every time we had a need God met it.

Although it has been a long year of struggles and healing, God has remained faithful. This past Thursday my husband had his one year check up. I couldn't help but be reminiscent as we walked through the hospital. I saw where I sat for many hours awaiting word of how the surgery had gone. I remember how weak my normally big, strong husband was after this accident. We didn't know if he would even recover from the nerve damage that affected him. But through it all, we continued to trust God, that He would not give us more than we could handle.

I can't help but give praise to the Lord for His faithfulness in our lives. Even though my husband still has some nerve issues with his right hand, it has been healing. Hard times has caused us to draw closer as a family and to the Lord. We have grown stronger in the process.

So on this day, one year later, I am thankful for where God has brought us this past year. I am thankful for all the people that helped and encouraged us in so many ways. God has truly blessed us!

Reach Out and Touch Someone

"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart." Jeremiah 29:11-13

I remember a number of years ago the television commercial for a phone company, whose slogan was "Reach Out and Touch Someone." I can't recall which company it was, things tend to fuzz in my gray matter from time to time. All right, perhaps more often then I care to admit! :) (Don't ask my husband of how often this is!!)The premise was the importance of communication and staying in touch.

This has been on my mind, since I have had the opportunity to meet with some friends over the past couple days. Yesterday I met with two dear friends, as well as some new ladies. We shared in a Bible study and prayer together. It was the first time I had been with these friends for a couple months. It was a delight to be with them again. I realized that during our time apart, God had changed us in different ways. I had the pleasure of witnessing their reaching out to other women and growing in this area.

This morning I met with a lady from our church that I have known as an acquaintance for a number of years now. We see each other on Sundays, but that's about it. She reached out to me a couple months ago, when I was experiencing a lot of health issues, by letting me know she was daily praying for me. Her words had a tremendous impact on me. She sent emails of encouragement. I think back now of how God used her simple act of obedience to draw our hearts.

Today was our first time to actually get together. We went for a short walk. I would have loved for it to be longer, but my heel is painful today. We then proceeded to a local restaurant to talk over coffee, tea and a bagel.

I was amazed to find out the amount of similarities that we shared. We connected on a deep level. We both were surprised when two hours had passed while we chatted. I truly believe that our friendship is like a rose - just beginning to bud and flourish. I'm excited to witness and be a part of the process.

Isn't that just like God to surprise us when we least expect it? I'm so thankful that this woman chose to reach out and touch my life. I believe that we both will be blessed because of her willingness to go outside her comfort zone. Her witness is an example to me of the importance of reaching out to others when God prompts. You never know when a friendship is waiting around the corner!

We Each Have a Story to Tell

"Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven." Matthew 5:15-16

My husband had his one year check-up with the orthopedic surgeon this morning. The first comment the doctor expressed was appreciation for our family Christmas letter. He went on to tells us how much it had impacted him as a surgeon. Our letter detailed how my husband's ski accident and long recovery time had affected our family. For us, it chronicled the events that shaped us this past year. But for this doctor, it gave him a different view. It allowed him to see beyond the medical side (repair, recovery, etc.) and to see how the accident was just part of our story.

I have been pondering this since my husband's appointment. Even as we toured the simulation facilities at the hospital, my mind kept returning to this idea that we each have a story to tell. We each are unique individuals that God created. We each experience and are shaped like no other person from the things that we go through. As professing Christians, those around us are watching to see how we live out our story. Do we really walk what we say? Do we remain strong and faithful even in the midst of difficulties and struggles?

My son has a shirt that says to "Live Your Life Out Loud." We each are a walking story to the world around us. We need to live a life that is pleasing to God, and not necessarily to men. When was the last time you shared with others how Christ has changed your life? Have you shared 'your story' with someone recently? Perhaps it is time you did.