It is well with my soul...

Today is moving day! Well, at least the biggest part of the move...Tonight Brianna and I will be sleeping in our new home. I will be sleeping in my own bed after a month...I can't wait!

We are really excited about the new place, and living so close to the Reels...we love them! It is somewhat sad to leave this home though...it is where the Lord taught us to be homemakers...it's the first place in my entire life that I have really enjoyed living...And God has been faithful to remind us that all the things that made this home so special will go with us where ever we go...that HE will be with us where ever we go...

Still, there is turmoil that I am fighting back - seemingly each moment. God has poured out His blessing, providing more than ample help to get us moved this evening...now the panic is trying to set in that I haven't gotten enough done to accommodate the help I will have.

BUT GOD is my peace like a river, attending my soul. HE is worthy of my praise, even when I am a little stressed. So glad we have hymns like "It Is Well With My Soul"...several lines from this song are rolling around in my head, and I am SO thankful that I know enough of them to sing them to myself as I chip away at packing and preparing. Whatever my lot, Thou has taught me to know; 'It is well, it is well with my soul.'

Lord, I thank you for my lot, I know YOU have sovereignly designed this lot for me. Thank You for knowing what is best...thank You for Your perfect timing...Thank You that You are faithful through it all...Thank You for Your abundant blessings and how thoroughly You take care of our every need. Lord, You are worthy to be praised!

Lord, I trust You to provide for ALL my needs today. I trust YOU to give me the strength to persevere. I thank You for my weakness Lord, because my weakness only more greatly displays Your strength. Be glorified in my life, O Lord!

It Is Well With My Soul
Music by Phillip Bliss, Words by Horatio Spafford

When peace like a river attendeth my way,
When sorrows like sea-billows roll,
Whatever my lot, Thou has taught me to know;
"It is well, it is well with my soul."

Tho' Satan should buffet, tho' trials should come,
Let this blest assurance control,
That Christ hath regarded my helpless estate,
And hath shed his own blood for my soul.

My sin - oh, the bliss of this glorious thought!
My sin - not in part but the whole,
Is nailed to His cross and I bear it no more;
Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, oh, my soul.

And, Lord, haste the day when the faith shall be sight,
The clouds be rolled back as a scroll,
The trump shall resound, and the Lord shall descend-
"Even so - it is well with my soul."

For me, be it Christ, be it Christ hence to live,
If Jordan above me shall roll,
No pang shall be mine, for in death as in life
Thou shalt whisper Thy peace to my soul.

Fern and Bamboo...

A friend sent this story to me today...

One day I decided to quit…I quit my job, my relationship, my spirituality…. I wanted to quit my life. I went to the woods to have one last talk with God.

“God”, I said. “Can you give me one good reason not to quit?”

His answer surprised me.

“Look around”, He said. “Do you see the fern and the bamboo?”

“Yes”, I replied.

“When I planted the fern and the bamboo seeds, I took very good care of them. I gave them light. I gave them water. The fern quickly grew from the earth. Its brilliant green covered the floor. Yet nothing came from the bamboo seed. But I did not quit on the bamboo.

In the second year the fern grew more vibrant and plentiful. And again, nothing came from the bamboo seed. But I did not quit on the bamboo.

“In year three there was still nothing from the bamboo seed. But I would not quit. The same in year four.

“Then in the fifth year, a tiny sprout emerged from the earth. Compared to the fern, it was seemingly small and insignificant.

But just six months later, the bamboo rose to over 100 feet tall. It had spent the five years growing roots. Those roots made it strong and gave it what it needed to survive. I would not give any of my creations a challenge it could not handle.

“Did you know, my child, that all this time you have been struggling, you have actually been growing roots? I would not quit on the bamboo. I will never quit on you.

“Don’t compare yourself to others.” He said. “The bamboo had a different purpose than the fern. Yet they both make the forest beautiful.

“Your time will come”, God said to me. “You will rise high”

“How high should I rise?” I asked.

“How high will the bamboo rise?” He asked in return.

“As high as it can?” I questioned

“Yes.” He said, “Give me glory by rising as high as you can.”

I left the forest, realizing that God will never give up on me. And He will never give up on you.

What an amazing perspective...I'm so glad the Lord made me bamboo! Lord, may I rise all the days of my life for the glory of Your Name!

Be Still and Know That I Am God...

Do the waves in this picture represent the trials of your day? Do you feel like there are circumstances in your life that are about to crash down and wash you away for ever? Today has been a day - for several of us - that has seemed like we are the man standing there about to be consumed...A day when many of us have been asking "God, what are you doing????"

Today, in my circle of friends, there has been a mother of five who was wheelchair bound, a woman scheduled for surgery for uterine cancer who might have to postpone it due to pregnancy, a friend worried that I was stuck in a ditch somewhere, a single mom who was laid off from one of her jobs, a mom of 3 who has already been feeling like a single mom while her husband has been out of town for 2 weeks - who had a computer fry while one of her precious children was using it - resulting in the electricity for the whole house needing to be turned off for the night, and a single mom who needs to hear from the Lord about a job, a relationship, a move, and any other number of things...

God, what are you doing? What do you want me to see? What do you want me to do?

I have been asking these questions a lot in the last few weeks...and I always get the same answer. "Be still and know that I AM GOD." I hear it in the still small voice that speaks to my heart, I hear it in the music that randomly comes on my Ipod, and today I "heard" it as I opened a box packed 2-1/2 years ago in Atlanta and pulled out and opened a devotional I bought in 1995 and NEVER once used. There it was, right at the top of the page..."January 1 Be still and know that I am God" Psalm 46:10

But Lord, I whine, don't I need to DO something???

As I was sitting in my comfy living room chair, whining to the Lord, the Holy Spirit began ministering to me. He prompted me to look up at the wall behind me...my favorite wall in the house...my navy wall. On my navy wall hangs MY picture. The picture that so captivated me that I stood in a shop in St. Augustine staring at it, mouth gaping open, while my friends continued down the street to other shops...the picture that I went to visit at the Christian bookstore for 2-1/2 months until God provided the funds for me to bring it home.

The picture you see above. A man is standing in the doorway and all around the lighthouse the waves are swirling around, about to crash down on the lighthouse and - it would seem - wash the man away forever. What is the man doing? Is he running for cover? No. Is he paralyzed by fear by what he sees around him? No. Is he holding on for dear life, bracing himself for the crashing waves that are seconds away from causing his demise? No.

He is standing, non-challantly, with a hand in his pants pocket, looking up to the sky.

He doesn't seem to notice what is going on around him. When I first saw this picture I wanted to yell "RUN! RUN FOR YOUR LIFE! YOU'RE ABOUT TO BE OVERCOME!"

But before those words could form on my lips the Lord pointed out something that I instantly wanted to be the theme of my life...the thing that kept me standing there, mesmerized, for close to an hour that day in St. Augustine...

His eyes were toward heaven...he was so fixed on the Lord that it did not matter what was going on around him...he was seemingly unaware of what was going on around him.
That was it...the cry of my heart..."Lord, may I be so focused on You that nothing going on around me would be able to distract me. Lord, that my eyes would be fixed on You..."
So, what do I do on days like today when the boxes aren't packed, the laundry isn't done, no firm plans have been made to move us to our new home this weekend, I have questions about what I believe, my friends are hurting - in so many ways, and I don't have a job.
I fix my eyes on YOU LORD! YOU are my strong tower. YOU are my fortress. YOU are the rock in whom I trust. YOU will not be shaken! YOU will not let me perish! Those who trust in YOU will never be put to shame!So Lord, I wait patiently for You. I wait for You to lead, I wait for You to guide. I trust Your Holy Spirit to reveal Your will to me.
Do I do nothing? No. I keep packing boxes, I start the washing machine, I keep my eyes fixed on You, I read Your Word, I sing praises to Your Name, I cry out for You to save me once again...I accept the dinner invitation offered by one friend while calling another friend to offer them help for tomorrow...I trust YOU!

Psalm 46 God Is Our Fortress
To the choirmaster. Of the Sons of Korah. According to Alamoth. [1] A Song.
1 God is our refuge and strength,a very present [2] help in trouble.2 Therefore we will not fear though the earth gives way,though the mountains be moved into the heart of the sea,3 though its waters roar and foam,though the mountains tremble at its swelling. Selah
4 There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God,the holy habitation of the Most High.5 God is in the midst of her; she shall not be moved;God will help her when morning dawns.6 The nations rage, the kingdoms totter;he utters his voice, the earth melts.7 The Lord of hosts is with us;the God of Jacob is our fortress. Selah

8 Come, behold the works of the Lord,how he has brought desolations on the earth.9 He makes wars cease to the end of the earth;he breaks the bow and shatters the spear;he burns the chariots with fire.10 “Be still, and know that I am God.I will be exalted among the nations,I will be exalted in the earth!”11 The Lord of hosts is with us;the God of Jacob is our fortress. Selah

Lord, I know the few people who I encountered today are not the only people who faced trials today. Lord, thank You that these are people You have placed around me to remind me of who You are. Thank You for Your faithfulness in each of our lives. May each precious soul I have mentioned know Your faithfulness in a new way. Lord, I pray that You meet each one of us where we are and comfort us. Lord, thank You for Your Word, that never changes. Thank You that it is living and active. Thank You that You have sent the Comforter to us. I praise You Lord for You are Holy! You are worthy of our praise! Nothing we are facing is too big for You! Thank You that You are our very present help in times of trouble! Lord, I wait with great anticipation to see how You will meet every need each of us has. Lord, may Your name be glorified in all the earth! Amen!