GOD'S FAITHFULNESS

My husband and I walked the trails at Jacobsburg Park last Sunday. As we hiked through the beautiful wooded paths, my mind went to the years of bringing our little ones there.

The tree lined route wound closely by the sparkling Bushkill creek swollen from the recent rains. We brought our Golden Retriever Rottweiler mix, Layla, with us and enjoyed a break from the typical August heat.

As usual, I had my iPhone out taking pictures as I soaked in the loveliness of the place while my hubby patiently watched nearby. He's a patient guy.

One particular shot ~ a man-made pile of stones sitting in the middle of the creek sparked my interest. And, I haven't been able to get rid of the image from my mind since.

I tried to "spin" this blog post with a title like "3 WAYS TO SPOT THE HIDDEN TREASURES IN YOUR LIFE" or something like that. But, I could not ignore the niggling thought of how we have seen God's loving faithfulness through 36 years. And, how very blessed we are as a result. 

Isn't that why we are here after all?

Just as the rocks and the trees and blue sky can't help to attest to God's faithfulness neither can I. 

Reminds me of one of my favorite songs which I'm listening to at this moment. Interesting, huh?

It's called 'So Will I (100 Billion X)' by Hillsong. If you get a chance to listen I highly recommend it. 

"If everything exists to lift you high, so will I. If the rocks cry out in silence so will I. I will sing again 100 Billion times....God of salvation chase down my heart through all of my failures and pride... And as you speak a hundred billion failures disappear. For you left your life so I could find it here. If you left the grave behind you, so will I."

The pile of stones, a memorial to his goodness. A place to stop and remember all he has done for me. To praise him for his mercy and his faithfulness to me. I can't let this be left unsaid. Unwritten. Unspoken. 

I have to share the testimonies of why I am here. And, that is why I write. Whether you agree with me or not. That is why I am here. And, why I write. 

If you have a God story to share and have never published it, I'd love to hear it. Post it in the comments below, I know it will encourage another person who needs to read it. Or if you want to share an encouragement, I'd love that too. 

Be blessed!

HIS LAVISH LOVE

Even the strongest among us slip up once in awhile.

We assume life will go on as usual in an unconscious attempt to control the universe around us.

Then the unthinkable happens and our crown slips. Just a little. The bills are paid, somehow. Our child gets over the flu, hopefully. Work issues are resolved, eventually. And then, we move on to the next best thing.

Everything is 'doable' at some point. We face the shadows of the valley of death and lose our loved ones. Prayerfully, we hope to see them again on the other side of the veil. 

Our faith can weaken after hits from life's trials. Or, as love would have it, our faith grows strong. 

That is the ultimate in the purpose of our time on this earth. 

We can cover up painful feelings of abandonment, loneliness, or feeling out of control. But, our father is always there. 

Whatever you are dealing with right now~ maybe you are even thinking ... "where are you God?" "Have you forgotten me?" "What possible good could come out of the fiery trial I'm in?"

I guarantee these questions are inevitable. They are also valuable and even necessary to face. 

And, it's not a symptom of weakness to bring your deepest doubts and heaviest sorrows to him. He is rather waiting for you to bring them to him. 

How do I know? Because he tells me so. "Come to me..." "Cast your cares..." "I love you." 

So when all you do is like spinning the wheels on a hamster wheel and your hopes are running dry. Know that this is the time to pour out your soul to the soul keeper. YOUR soul keeper. He will listen, he will answer, he will attend to your wounds. And wash away your weariness. Rest your head on his shoulder for he knows your deepest desires. 

Then straighten your crown, pull back your shoulders and keep going. You've got this! 

MAKING A POSITIVE MARK ON THE WORLD

“When can we eeeaaatt?” “What’s for dinner?” “I’m so hungry!” “I don’t like that food…”

When my kids were little, they didn’t always care for the dinner I chose to prepare. Five different individuals with five unique tastes can be an interesting challenge to overcome.

After what seemed to be endless complaining, my solution to the problem came by deciding to teach them that whining would not produce the change they desired.

“Mommy can’t hear whining.” I would tell them. 

Young children often need a repeat of the lesson you try to teach them. 

“We’re not whining!” 

“Oh, but, you are.” I would say as I worked on dinner. “One or two times is a request, repeated times turn it into a whine.”

My point is that complainers never win. Whether it be about dinner, a new toy or their bedtime. Or anything else in life. 

We often set goals and work hard towards them until we reach a setback or obstacle in our plan. 

Circumstances change. Life often doesn’t go as planned. We can either allow the setbacks to be motivators in our lives to continue towards our life goals, seek counsel on making necessary changes or stop us in our tracks.

One surefire way of stopping progress is by getting caught up in the negative and allowing it to control our minds and our mouths. This in turn bleeds into our actions. 

Sometimes just choosing to focus on the positive or positive thinking is not enough. Sometimes we need to take a long look at our routine to see what we’ve allowed to creep into our life to bring on the downward spiral of complaining.

Are we hanging around with negative people? That includes the news, social media and even co-workers. Research has shown that negativity from complaining can actually change the healthy function of our brains.

Are we looking at the current administration and blaming the shape of the current economy, world events, and hate mongering on the political system of the day?

It’s tempting to look at the shape of the world and cast stones at the other person, system, or organization to rationalize our setbacks. But, in reality the only person who can choose the outcome of our lives is ourselves.

Some effective measures to end the destructive cycle of complaining~

1. Go to God with your heart issues, worries, complaints. If anyone can help you it’s the King of the universe.
2. Ask him to show you scripture which deals with the problems you are facing. Then look for verses in the bible that deal with that topic.
3. When your problems become overwhelming go back to these verses and read them, think about them, speak them out loud. 
4. Make a list of the things you are grateful for and focus on these things. 
5. Do what is in your power to do. Continue to grow and learn new ways to use your gifts and talents. Then trust God to perform the rest. 
6. Praise and worship God for being good even when life is not. 
7. Sing and laugh. A lot! 

When we apply these steps liberally our mark can be remarkable.