inspiration

i've been feeling a bit worn out and a little discouraged for awhile. this isn't something unusual or life threatening, just another human cycle that i too experience from time to time.

i have been listening to some tapes from one of my favorite pastors and he was speaking of a verse about God always dwelling with me (Psalms 90:1) and my mind started to wander about the things i've been sulking about as of late. then i remembered what my friend had told me about 10 things God did to love me today and i started looking around the yard from my perch on the front porch and i looked up and spied something that made me smile and tear up just a bit. (yes, my life is like a halmark card.) anyway, it was truly special and i wanted to write it down.

i have a flowering bush in the front yard that makes very beautiful clusters of white flowers in the late spring/early summer every year. after looking it up, i believe it might be hydrangea. the bush is constantly competing for ground with two other trees that have taken root and all grow together in a big ugly mess.

i looked up and saw a very small (maybe 1/2 the regular size) flower cluster poking out of the mess...only one...AND...out of season.

aaaaaaaaaaaaaah...Nostalgia

henna soaking in the hair and music flooding through my ears. here's an old classic favorite. the lyrics are very touching and have an interesting meaning. good thing God is greater than us.



The Last Resort by The Eagles

She came from Providence,
the one in Rhode Island
Where the old world shadows hang
heavy in the air
She packed her hopes and dreams
like a refugee
Just as her father came across the sea
She heard about a place people were smilin'
They spoke about the red man's way,
and how they loved the land
And they came from everywhere
to the Great Divide
Seeking a place to stand
or a place to hide

Down in the crowded bars,
out for a good time,
Can't wait to tell you all,
what it's like up there
And they called it paradise
I don't know why
Somebody laid the mountains low
while the town got high

Then the chilly winds blew down
Across the desert
through the canyons of the coast, to
the Malibu
Where the pretty people play,
hungry for power
to light their neon way
and give them things to do

Some rich men came and raped the land,
Nobody caught 'em
Put up a bunch of ugly boxes, and Jesus,
people bought 'em
And they called it paradise
The place to be
They watched the hazy sun, sinking in the sea

You can leave it all behind
and sail to Lahaina
just like the missionaries did, so many years ago
They even brought a neon sign: "Jesus is coming"
Brought the white man's burden down
Brought the white man's reign

Who will provide the grand design?
What is yours and what is mine?
'Cause there is no more new frontier
We have got to make it here

We satisfy our endless needs and
justify our bloody deeds,
in the name of destiny and in the name of God

And you can see them there,
On Sunday morning
They stand up and sing about
what it's like up there
They call it paradise
I don't know why
You call someplace paradise,
kiss it goodbye

election woes

well...it's been an interesting night and i'm probably not the only one who is a little disappointed or skeptical about the election outcome. however, what i know about myself is that i am fallible and only as wise as my experience and faith allows, but my God is greater than any government or leader. if we continue to honor His word and thereby honor our new leader (when that time comes), He is faithful to protect His flock.

...the most High ruleth in the kingdom of men, and giveth it to whomsoever he will, and setteth up over it the basest of men.

~Daniel 4:17

Submit yourselves to every ordinance of man for the Lord's sake: whether it be to the king, as supreme; Or unto governors, as unto them that are sent by him for the punishment of evildoers, and for the praise of them that do well. For so is the will of God, that with well doing ye may put to silence the ignorance of foolish men: As free, and not using your liberty for a cloke of maliciousness, but as the servants of God. Honour all men. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honour the king.

~1 Peter 2:13-17

And whatsoever we ask, we receive of him, because we keep his commandments, and do those things that are pleasing in his sight.

~1 John 3:22

Fear not, little flock; for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom.

~Luke 12:32

democrat or republican

This matter is by the decree of the watchers, and the demand by the word of the holy ones: to the intent that the living may know that the most High ruleth in the kingdom of men, and giveth it to whomsoever he will, and setteth up over it the basest of men.

~Daniel 4:17

trees that wood

Trees That Wood
by: Author Unknown, Source Unknown

Once there were three trees on a hill in the woods. They were discussing their hopes and dreams when the first tree said, "Someday I hope to be a treasure chest. I could be filled with gold, silver and precious gems. I could be decorated with intricate carving and everyone would see the beauty." Then the second tree said, "Someday I will be a mighty ship. I will take kings and queens across the waters and sail to the corners of the world. Everyone will feel safe in me because of the strength of my hull." Finally the third tree said, "I want to grow to be the tallest and straightest tree in the forest. People will see me on top of the hill and look up to my branches, and think of the heavens and God and how close to them I am reaching. I will be the greatest tree of all time and people will always remember me." After a few years of praying that their dreams would come true, a group of woodsmen came upon the trees. When one came to the first tree he said, "This looks like a strong tree, I think I should be able to sell the wood to a carpenter" ... and he began cutting it down. The tree was happy, because he knew that the carpenter would make him into a treasure chest. At the second tree a woodsman said, "This looks like a strong tree, I should be able to sell it to the shipyard." The second tree was happy because he knew he was on his way to becoming a mighty ship. When the woodsmen came upon the third tree, the tree was frightened because he knew that if they cut him down his dreams would not come true. One of the woodsmen said, "I don't need anything special from my tree so I'll take this one", and he cut it down. When the first tree arrived at the carpenters, he was made into a feed box for animals. He was then placed in a barn and filled with hay. This was not at all what he had prayed for. The second tree was cut and made into a small fishing boat. His dreams of being a mighty ship and carrying kings had come to an end. The third tree was cut into large pieces and left alone in the dark. The years went by, and the trees forgot about their dreams. Then one day, a man and woman came to the barn. She gave birth and they placed the baby in the hay in the feed box that was made from the first tree. The man wished that he could have made a crib for the baby, but this manger would have to do. The tree could feel the importance of this event and knew that it had held the greatest treasure of all time. Years later, a group of men got in the fishing boat made from the second tree. One of them was tired and went to sleep. While they were out on the water, a great storm arose and the tree didn't think it was strong enough to keep the men safe. The men woke the sleeping man, and he stood and said "Peace" and the storm stopped. At this time, the tree knew that it had carried the King of Kings in its boat. Finally, someone came and got the third tree. It was carried through the streets as the people mocked the man who was carrying it. When they came to a stop, the man was nailed to the tree and raised in the air to die at the top of a hill. When Sunday came, the tree came to realize that it was strong enough to stand at the top of the hill and be as close to God as was possible, because Jesus had been crucified on it. The moral of this story is that when things don't seem to be going your way, always know that God has a plan for you. If you place your trust in Him, He will give you great gifts. Each of the trees got what they wanted, just not in the way they had imagined. We don't always know what God's plans are for us. We just know that His ways are not our ways, but His ways are always best.

i'm gonna need help today.

Today has already started a bit rough. My husband, bless his heart, knew I would be tired this morning and shorted himself on sleep today in order that I might sleep in this morning. I was so thankful for this, but unfortunately, this only took the "edge" off my morning. I woke up with a splitting headache and a general fog lying overhead. I had no milk in the fridge for my coffee and nothing to feed my kids for breakfast. *sigh*

Hubby was already tired and trying to wind down for bed-time, so he was less than thrilled with running off to the store to get milk at a moment's notice while clad in pajamas. Although, I was less than thrilled with his suggestion of getting milk before work, I understood. If I'd have remembered it was St. Patrick's Day, I might have considered a wee bit o'Irish Creme in my Coffee. That might have fixed everything.

Then we had a slight altercation, most likely my fault and I decided I wasn't going to make through the morning, much less the entire day without coffee (and I just can't drink it black - what a mood buster), so off to the store I went. I barely got hubby's car started - it's a delicate old girl (like me). Then I pull out and realize I didn't get any cash, so I attempt to turn around (in a yacht) and I start rolling backwards in "DRIVE". Keep in mind, it's drizzling and yucky outside which didn't improve my mood at all. I finally get the transmission to do what it's told and I pull into the side road to back up and I roll forward in "REVERSE". AAACK. Again, I ease the old girl into forward motion at my discretion (not hers) and I almost hit a woman driving by me. I decide at this point that turning around could prove to be disastrous. Then I remember, I have a $5 in my purse so on to the store I go.

I get there and have trouble deciding what to get, but finally get through it without much of a hitch. The ladies even gave me animal crackers and balloons for my kids. Yippee.

So home I go and I can't get the door open without setting down the milk and I nearly dropped it. I didn't want to set it on the ground because it was muddy all around the door and my head is still pounding and I don't want to make a second trip out to the car.

I decide to give the kids their animal crackers for breakfast (great mom, ain't I?) and hubby vetos it for one of the kids because of something that happened while I was gone. My surprise was crushed and I didn't hesitate to let my husband know that he had failed me in this respect. So onto the second altercation of the morning. My head is pounding harder. Yeeeech. I lay down and sulk and rest on the couch and hubby comes over and apologizes and works on my back. He is such a dear sweet man and I softened. Then hubby went into the bathroom to get ready for bed. I tried to poke my head in the door to get a hug and he shut the door on my head (he thought the kids were trying to walk in on him and apparently he was "exposed" LOL). Then I'm a bit stunned and can't remember what I wanted and when hubby tries to get me to answer, I just stand there a bit dumbfounded.

Then I walk back to the couch and lay down to sulk again. Then I lay on the couch a bit longer and asked God to get me through this day, cuz I just knew I'd never make it alone.

Then I look up and tell hubby, I just came into the bathroom to tell you "I need you". He seemed not to understand and I was unable to explain it further. It's so weird, how when I feel like this, all of my collegiate level vocabulary and articulation skills just fly right out the window. I need to learn to grunt better. He gets up to go to bed and I muster myself back off the couch and wander over to stand in front of him and look exceptionally pitiful and needy hoping he will read my mind--a truly difficult task at best and nearly impossible when my internal reasoning is broken. He was probably reading something like this--blah, whine, hurt, aaaaach, hug, love you, yuck, the cat needs water. No wonder he didn't know what I wanted. I FINALLY manage to articulate "I need a hug". Hubby was kind enough to accommodate....ahhhh a little better.

Well, it's lunchtime and I still have a headache, but the most amazing thing. Hubby went to bed happy (we made up). I got to eat a fresh blueberry muffin made by the finest bakers that our local grocery store has to offer. The kids are being extremely good and quiet and the phone hasn't rung all morning and I even had a nice "quiet" chat with a good friend on the messenger this morning. God is good.

(I think I'll have another muffin.)

One of my favorite verses...seemed appropriate.

And whatsoever we ask, we receive of him, because we keep his commandments, and do those things that are pleasing in his sight.
~1 John 3:22

Here's another good one.

Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
~Matthew 11:28

Take A Quiz

Who's more important?

1. Name the five wealthiest people in the world.

2. Name the last five Heisman trophy winners.

3. Name the last five winners of the Miss America Contest.

4. Name ten people who have won the Nobel or Pulitzer Prize.

5. Name the last half dozen Academy Award winners for best actor and actress.

6. Name the last decade's worth of World Series winners.

How did you do?

Here's another quiz. See how you do on this one:

1. List a few teachers who aided your journey through school.

2. Name three friends who have helped you through a difficult time.

3. Name five people who have taught you something worthwhile.

4. Think of a few people who have made you feel appreciated and special.

5. Think of five people you enjoy spending time with.

Easier? Why? Think about it.

Marc Fencil: Student, Marine, Sharp Tongued Writer

Marc Fencil is a senior at The Ohio University. He is majoring in Political Science, Criminology, and Spanish. He won't be graduating this spring because his side job is currently keeping him very busy. Which side job is this?

Marc Fencil is also a Lance Corporal in the United States Marines and is one of the few & proud currently serving in Iraq.

Upon learning his fellow students in Athens, Ohio decided to stage a "Die-In" at College Gate, Marc decided to join them in spirit by writing a letter to the editor of the The Post Online.

---

"It's a shame that I'm here in Iraq with the Marines right now and not back at Ohio University completing my senior year and joining in blissful ignorance with the enlightened, war-seasoned protesters who participated in the recent "die-in" at College Gate. It would appear that all the action is back home, but why don't we make sure? That's right, this is an open invitation for you to cut your hair, take a shower, get in shape and come on over! If Michael Moore can shave and lose enough weight to fit into a pair of camouflage utilities, then he can come too!

Make sure you all say your goodbyes to your loved ones though, because you won't be seeing them for at least the next nine months. You need to get here quick because I don't want you to miss a thing. You missed last month's discovery of a basement full of suicide vests from the former regime (I'm sure Saddam's henchmen just wore them because they were trendy though). You weren't here for the opening of a brand new school we built either. You might also notice women exercising their new freedom of walking to the market unaccompanied by their husbands.

There is a man here, we just call him al-Zarqawi, but we think he'd be delighted to sit down and give you some advice on how you can further disrespect the victims of Sept. 11 and the 1,600 of America's bravest who have laid down their lives for a safer world. Of course he'll still call you "infidel" but since you already agree that there is no real evil in the world, I see no reason for you to be afraid. Besides, didn't you say that radical Islam is a religion of peace and tolerance?

I'm warning you though -it's not going to be all fun and games over here. You might have bad dreams for the next several nights after you zip up the body bag over a friend's disfigured face. I know you think that nothing, even a world free of terror for one's children, is worth dying for, but bear with me here. We're going to live in conditions you've never dreamt about. You should get here soon though, because the temperatures are going to be over 130 degrees very soon and we will be carrying full combat loads (we're still going to work though). When it's all over, I promise you can go back to your coffee houses and preach about social justice and peace while you continue to live outside of reality.

If you decide to decline my offer, then at least you should sleep well tonight knowing that men wearing black facemasks and carrying AK-47s yelling "Allahu Akbar" over here are proud of you and are forever indebted to you for advancing their cause of terror. While you ponder this, I'll get back to the real "die-in" over here. I don't mind."

Never Give In

Never Give In

This is the lesson: never give in, never give in, never, never, never, never—in nothing, great or small, large or petty—never give in except to convictions of honour and good sense. Never yield to force; never yield to the apparently overwhelming might of the enemy.

~Winston Churchill, HarrowSchool, 29 October 1941

perspective

"...Where the walls of his cell came together at the corner, Karl noticed a shadow just beneath the ceiling where on brick was missing. The sparrows saw it as a place to build their nest.

Karl's human logic could not understand why the sparrows would forsake the fragrant green boughs of a pine-tree home for the rank gloom of this prison cell. But such a miracle was beyond human logic. When Karl reasoned with his heart, he came to the conclusion that these tiny feathered creatures were sent to him as a gift. The sparrows did not belong to him. No. They were free to come and go as they pleased. They belonged to the Lord who cared for all creatures big and small, and God had loaned them to Karl to keep him company. How kind, how thoughtful, God was, Karl concluded. God had known about the missing brick. He had provided the bread. He had sent the sparrows and planted the desire in their hearts to build their home in the very walls that imprisoned Karl.

Twig by string by stem, the sparrows labored over their nest. As they twittered to each other, Karl's heart entered into their conversation. He understood the concerns of parenthood and marriage. Of building a safe place in which to bring up youngsters. All these concerns were acted out in miniature drama in the nitch above Karl's head. Lady Sparrow scolded and the male pouted. He tossed his head and she obeyed...but not without protest. Together they lined the nest with downy feathers, creating a soft place for their little ones through their own sacrifice.

Day by day Karl offered them the best morsels of his bread. In return, they sometimes brought him gifts. One day the leaf of an elm tree. The next a faintly fragrant pine needle, which he pressed between his fingers to inhale the scent. Twice, Lady Sparrow dropped the petals of a wild flower. By holding the fragile yellow fragment in his hand, Karl could imagine a whole filed of yellow flowers sloping down toward the banks of a broad river.

They brought him pieces of the world, Little bits of beauty from which he could rebuild the memories of things he had most enjoyed with his own family: Picnics by the River Spree. A hike through the fragrant forests of Bavaria. Late-night talks with Helen about their children. Their future. Their lives. Family...

The memories of long-ago things did not make Karl melancholy,. Instead, he found comfort in replaying his life with Helen and Jamie and Lori. He had no regrets. Life had been good. Every day had been brushed with the colors of loving. Even the most ordinary routines now seemed somehow sacred and blessed, a holy sacrament.

Karl looked up at the nest. It was barely visible even though the knew where to look. If his jailers ever came into the cell, they would not see the little family high in the wall. He was grateful for this. The male had gone foraging this morning. Lady Sparrow was nestled in the downy feathers. A miracle was happening today, Karl knew. There would be eggs in the nest by the time her mate returned. This fact gave the cell the aura of a holy place. Karl bowed his head and worshiped the Lord of men and sparrows..."

quoted from Warsaw Requiem by Bodie Thoene

To the Man in the Arena

It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.

Theodore Roosevelt ~ April 23, 1910


I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot. So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth.

~Revelation 3:15-16

LOVE

I've heard the word "love" thrown around and used in vain so often, it pains me that noone seems to really understand what love is. I looked up the word "love" on dictionary.com and here's what it had to say.

love
noun1. a strong positive emotion of regard and affection; "his love for his work"; "children need a lot of love" [ant: hate] 2. any object of warm affection or devotion; "the theater was her first love"; "he has a passion for cock fighting"; 3. a beloved person; used as terms of endearment [syn: beloved] 4. a deep feeling of sexual desire and attraction; "their love left them indifferent to their surroundings"; "she was his first love" 5. a score of zero in tennis or squash; "it was 40 love" 6. sexual activities (often including sexual intercourse) between two people; "his lovemaking disgusted her"; "he hadn't had any love in months"; "he has a very complicated love life" [syn: sexual love]
verb1. have a great affection or liking for; "I love French food"; "She loves her boss and works hard for him" [ant: detest] 2. get pleasure from; "I love cooking" 3. be enamored or in love with; "She loves her husband deeply" 4. have sexual intercourse with; "This student sleeps with everyone in her dorm"; "Adam knew Eve"; "Were you ever intimate with this man?" [syn: sleep together]

Now, I'm not a theologin, or a English professor, but I have to disagree with everything above. Love isn't a feeling, or a fondness. Here is what I think love is.

Love is...

helping a neighbor put shingles on his roof for no pay and with no expectations of payment.

staying up with your kids so your wife can take a nap even though you got less sleep the night before than she did.

taking out the trash for your husband because he is too tired after work to do anything but eat and lay on the couch.

playing cards with your children until your brain is fogged over in boredom because they love it so much.

cleaning up messes that all the pets leave all over the house because your husband and your children so enjoy having the pets.

mowing the grass for your neighbor and never asking for money to pay for the gas to put in the mower.

driving 6 hours in the middle of the night with 20 minutes notice to pick up a friend who is stranded.

taking in a widow and her children after her house burns to the ground and not asking her for rent money.

reading a book to your little brother.

giving your husband a back massage after a long days work even though your hands are tired from canning tomatoes and cucumbers all day long.

rubbing your wifes feet after a long day even though you've been on your feet baking in the heat all day long.

waking excitedly to your lover's advances in the middle of the night even though you've worked hard all day and really need the rest for the coming day.

sticking by your husband when the money is all gone and the house is being foreclosed on and it seems there's no hope in sight.

cleaning out your cabinets to give groceries to a friend who doesn't have enough food to feed her children.

travelling hundreds of miles to help a stranger finish building his house so that the family will not freeze in the coming winter months.

putting a new furnace and insulatation in someone's house you barely know just because they are short on money and plentiful on children.

and last, but not least

dying on a cross to save the very people who put you there.

The dictionary version defines love as something YOU feel. God defines love as something you GIVE.

We Need to Remember

Xanga Archives 10/18/2005

BECAUSE I'M WORTH IT

I was helping my husband to fine tune the TV ariel on the house today. It was my job to channel flip while he climbed on the house and adjusted the pole.

I happened across a show, I think I've seen before which I never watch. Women live in a house for a brief period of time to solve some problem that they share with the group.

One very young women came forward in her group and said that she gave up stripping for her son. A very noble thing to do. She gave up a thing which she considered wrong for someone else that she loves. The interesting thing was that this was not a satisfactory answer for the group and not for the attending psychologist. These people wanted her to say that she gave up the stripping for who??? "herself".

I just mentioned something related to this on some else's blog this morning. It's very sad. It's every where you turn. TV is one of the worst culprits and other types of media - magazines, radio, etc.

"because I'm worth it...", "Just do it", "I deserve better", me, me, me, me, ME!

Don't think that because I mention this, I am not susceptible to it's charms. The god of self, pride, self admonition, vanity....The world is full of it and it is a tempting and almost logical way to live, but stop! What does the Bible say?

For they that are such serve not our Lord Jesus Christ, but their own belly; and by good words and fair speeches deceive the hearts of the simple.
~Romans 16:18

The dictionary calls this Hedonism:

The belief that pleasure is the greatest good and highest aspiration of mankind. Self indulgence. The doctrine that pleasure is the actual, and also the proper, motive of every action.

Why do marriages fail? Why are so many children screwed up? And children coming from Christian families, not just the heathens' children? Why do people murmur about their friends, enemies, and people they don't even know - even the people at their church! Why are people angry all the time? Depressed? Why do people jump from church to church or maybe not attend church at all - because something about the situation does not MAKE THEM HAPPY!

But and if ye suffer for righteousness' sake, happy are ye: and be not afraid of their terror, neither be troubled;
~1 Peter 3:14

This is such a hard lesson to learn and such an important one. If we don't get this one, we are dead in our tracks. We can't serve others if we are busy serving ourselves. There are only two commandments in the new testament for the age of grace.

Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.
~Matthew 22:37-39

So do we only love the ones who give us pleasure? Those who love us back? Those who do as we think they should do for our benefit? If only my husband would.....If only my kids would....If only my boss would....If only the pastor would.....Admit it folks, how many of you have ever said something like this? I am guilty as charged.

Woe unto you, when all men shall speak well of you! for so did their fathers to the false prophets. Bless them that curse you, and pray for them which despitefully use you. And unto him that smiteth thee on the one cheek offer also the other; and him that taketh away thy cloak forbid not to take thy coat also. Give to every man that asketh of thee; and of him that taketh away thy goods ask them not again. And as ye would that men should do to you, do ye also to them likewise. For if ye love them which love you, what thank have ye? for sinners also love those that love them. And if ye do good to them which do good to you, what thank have ye? for sinners also do even the same. And if ye lend to them of whom ye hope to receive, what thank have ye? for sinners also lend to sinners, to receive as much again. But love ye your enemies, and do good, and lend, hoping for nothing again; and your reward shall be great, and ye shall be the children of the Highest: for he is kind unto the unthankful and to the evil.
~Matthew 6:26-35

Xanga Archives 09/29/2005

Ok, now I'm feeling challenged to write something, but I've got writers block - about the only thing I can think of to share worth any salt is this -

It's not about "the rules", it's about what kind of person you want to be. Want to hear more?
"The Rules for Everything" (this is #8 in a series)


Have a blessed day.

Xanga Archives 03/18/2005

⁷ And lest I should be exalted above measure through the abundance of the revelations, there was given to me a thorn in the flesh, the messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I should be exalted above measure. ⁸ For this thing I besought the Lord thrice, that it might depart from me. ⁹ And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. ¹⁰ Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ's sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong.

~2 Corinthians 12:7-10

My husband and I are suffering a trial together. It is in my husbands control and I have no power to "fix it".

I have fretted, worried and prayed over this many times. About 3 days ago, I got my answer. "My Grace is sufficient for thee."

It finally occurred to me that, even though, we are one, my husband and I are also separate in our paths to righteousness and what God may be teaching him may be different from what he is teaching me.

This trial may be a physical therapy of sorts. If you injure or have problems with one part of your body, you must put it through exercise and trials to heal it. During this therapy and healing process, other parts of the body may suffer from overcompensation and general fatigue at taking up for the lack of performance of the injured body part, but the result in the end is that the healthy body part will gain strength along with the wounded body part.

My husband and I are 2 parts of the same body and if God is putting one of us through His brand of therapy (spiritual), then the other may have to overcompensate and/or suffer while the other is healed, but the other will gain spiritual strength in suffering along with his/her spouse.

I confided in someone our problem and the advice of this person was Biblical and sound; this person also gave me Bible references to read and share with my husband on the subject. Funny thing, I didn't understand the message in the references. Why? Maybe I wasn't supposed to. God wanted me to have a different message.

So what does this mean?

I cannot presume to know what God is doing in my husbands heart, but His message was very clear to me. God uses trials to teach and bring glory to himself, but he doesn't always deliver us in the time that we would hope. I believe God was telling me to serve my husband in joy and live on His grace day by day.

Give us day by day our daily bread.

~Luke 11:3

Xanga Archives 03/08/2005

Most who read my blog, know that I'm a very happy wife and mother, but even the happiest will often encounter roadblocks which will direct our path from righteousness. I have encountered such a roadblock, so my focus for today:

When a decision is made in my heart today (and tomorrow)

did God make the decision or did I?

was it God's will or mine?

Isaiah 14:12-15
How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations! For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north: I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High. Yet thou shalt be brought down to hell, to the sides of the pit.

Have a blessed day.

Xanga Archives 03/06/2005

I wanted to share my praise this morning. Praise God and all his mysteries and wonders.

My father was supposed to travel from Kansas City to visit us today, but called and had to cancel. This news was very disappointing, as I only get to see him once or twice a year; however, thanks to our precious Lord watching over him, he discovered a gas leak this morning which could have blown up his house while he was here visiting us or, worse, while he was returning home this evening. Even more interesting is that my father has been sick with seasonal asthma and has not lit any incense in his home in months due to his recent condition. A spark from a lighter would have most certainly done him in. Praise God in all His mercies!

One hour to party time :) Everything is ready. I even wore makeup today I'm going to be the hostess with the mostess. I just love to entertain.

Have a blessed day. Mine has been blessed many times over. I love my daddy so much and am so thankful he'll live to come visit another day!

Xanga Archives 03/01/2005

Patience

Most of us don't have enough patience, but we gain a little more with each trial or hardship we face in our lives.

Patience, as defined by Noah Webster is the ability to endure afflictions without murmurings or discontent. Most everyone will endure for lack of any choice, but most of us have trouble with the contentment. Contentment is satisfaction with current possession or "wanting nothing".

But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing.
~James 1:4

...without murmurings

Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers. And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption. Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice:
~Ephesians 4:29-31

Knowing this, are you satisfied with what you have, so that you may have patience for what will come? Is God's time and grace sufficient for your contentment?

And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.

~2 Corinthians 2:9

Lack of patience is the number one contributor of anxiety. Anxiety is the physical symptoms associated with worry, or the suspense of some future event. Ah, there's the key. It's in the future. Are you living in the future? Can't wait to go home? Can wait 'til bedtime? Can't wait 'til your next vacation? Do you wish it were Friday instead of being thankful for another Monday? How hard is it to be thankful for Monday—back to the grind, same ol' stuff, different week, blah, blah. It's tough, but it's not impossible. You can live for God's glory today, whether it's Monday, Friday, or the second Thursday of next week.

Not that I speak in respect of want: for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content.
~Phillipians 4:11

Our lives should be a balance of living for today and watching for tomorrow...

For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night.
~1 Thessalonians 5:2

... with patience and hope.

And not only so, but we glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation worketh patience; And patience, experience; and experience, hope:

~Romans 5:3-4

Xanga Archives 02/27/2005