Saturday, August 18, 2012

Jeremiah

The Old Testament is full of wisdom and encouragement for each of us. As I study John, I take a detour to Jeremiah, Isaiah, I and II Samuel, and other OT books. This week I spent some time in Jeremiah 31. Back in 2008, our single moms' class spent weeks looking at this promised-filled chapter. 

Do you know that God promises blessings even in a barren land? Our relationship to and blessings from our Lord are not - cannot - be tied to circumstances. He is an ever-present, ever-loving, pure God. He is available to us every second of every day. 

This week, I have been in the barren land because I chose to walk that direction. The Lord kept blessing me anyway:  *My debit card had been missing and so I retraced my steps and decided that the only place we hadn't looked was behind the driver's seat in the car. (Long story so I'll skip details.) Kevin found it, but later that night someone broke into the car looking for cash, etc. but,  my debit card was safely in my bedroom!  *Two days later, my CT Scan came back with no changes since March. What a blessing! Then, *one day later, an offer was made on my town house in Kent, WA. Wow! The Lord was working and blessing me even tho' there was no growth around me. 

Why? Because HE is God, faithful, loving, active, alive. 
Not based on my goodness or deeds 
but on His Holiness. 
Praise God!

Wednesday, August 8, 2012

Whining

Today, is a whining day for me. Sorry, but I am tired of feeling weak, fatigued, unable to do easy, normal actions. Yesterday, I slept through my nephew knocking on the door and then slept through him calling me on my cell phone. I wasn't even strong enough to sit outside for dinner with their two darling children. 

Wa-wa-wa! What do I know? I know that the Lord loves me more than I can understand. I know that He has plans for my life. I know that many other people have it way worse than me. I know that He is my Comforter. I know that I have many blessings in my life because of cancer. I know...

...Fix your thoughts on what is true,
And honorable,
And right,
And pure,
And lovely,
And admirable.
Think about things that are excellent
And worthy of praise.
Keep putting into practice all you
Learned and received from me...
Philippians 4:8 - 9.  NLT

Ok, so if I didn't have cancer with the fatigue, I wouldn't be in San Jose to see my nephew and his family, even for a short time. If I wasn't so fatigued, I wouldn't have slowed down enough to write, or to photograph God's creation. I wouldn't be able to spend this quality time with Kevin, Lu, and Ashley. I would not have seen how the Lord designed marriage to be. So, I'll try to change wa- wa-wa to WOW!

Monday, August 6, 2012

Nothing Like HIS Peace

"I am leaving you with a gift - peace of mind and heart.
And the peace I give is a gift the world cannot give.
So don't be troubled or afraid.
John 14:27 NLT

Last week was a week of growth for me. On Sunday, I was told of the potential health problems that my son would have. My first reaction was to pray and ask God to let me live and help Tim. "He needs his Mom." 

By Friday, God had worked me through to truth: when in trials, we need to depend on Him. Wow! My son needs God as He loves more than I can, knows what is best, has Tim's future in His hands, can guide, and give strength. It was an overwhelming sense of peace that came to me. I am not the one who my precious son needs. God is the One Who will surround, heal, guide, love Tim. 

I waited patiently for the Lord to help me,
and He turned to me and heard my cry.
He lifted me out of the pit of despair,
Out of the mud and the mire.
He set my feet on solid ground
And steadied me as I walked along.
He has given me a new song to sing,
a hymn of praise to our God.
Psalm 40:1 - 3a. NLT

He is so loving, powerful, compassionate, wise, and ever-present. Give whatever is stealing your peace to Him. He will give you a gift that is incomprehensible.