Fall Blessings

Last weekend the Lord gave me a blessing in my husbands surprise visit from Virginia. We had a wonderful weekend. After one of our meals and "family alter" we (he and I) sat on the couch and watched the 3 children play around in the living room. Sitting back and watching can be such a blessing. A moment of delight. There is no training, no correcting, no chastising, no sounds. Just sitting back and watching the blessings of reaping what you try to sow. How could God be so good to us? Well He has been. There is no greater joy!

What A Friend We Have in Jesus

Do you ever just have a bad day? Does Satan defeat you and leave you feeling guilty, sinful and unworthy? If you answer yes to any of these questions then you should hear what God did for me. It's been some months back but I was really having a bad day. Just as Saul in the Old Testament liked to be calmed w/ David's harp playing, I too liked to be calmed by sitting at a piano and playing old hymn's and songs. As I sat there playing, the song "What a Friend We Have in Jesus" came to mind. As I begin to play and sing (I always belt out when it's just me and the Lord...lol) I starting "hearing" the words of that song. Everything in my heart was forgotten and for moments it was just me and the Lord. I pondered on that thought........ What a priveledge to carry, everything to God in prayer......... That is an amazing statement! If you think on that for a minute. Really think! God is Holy! I could and WOULD NOT have made it to heaven without his son bearing my sins on a cross. Have you ever studied the law in the Old Testament? Without Jesus, my soul was doomed for an everlasting death. I am a blessed person to have parents who took me to church so I could hear about him. I am a blessed woman to have a husband who's parents took him to church so he had that same oppurtunity. That was enough to make me forget all my problems! I thank God for a friend who does stick closer than a brother. Not only is He my Saviour but He's my friend to whom I can confide anything. Is there anything sweeter? I don't take for granted the times the Lord has walked with me. It is an experience like no other. Salvation is the best! Is it without trials? No, but no life is without trials. Just sweet fellowship when we allow Him to stay close to our hearts. He has been my friend! I am thankful for my salvation, my family and my church family! It's all because of Him!

God Still Answers Prayers

It has been a while since my last post but God is still doing marvelous things in our lives. He answered our prayer and it looks like we will be moving to Norfolk, Va. Moving is bitter sweet. Getting comfortable in a home or in a church is what pleases the flesh. Picking up and starting over can be challenging but with God at the center, very much rewarding! After eight years of praying, God has blessed my sister and she is "with child". The news came as such joy and humbleness that the Lord would bless and answer a prayer after so many years of asking. He truly wants only our heart. God wants to give us His blessings. Just as we want the best for our children, His interests rely on glorifying Himself and giving us the desires of our heart. Forty years in the wilderness must have seemed like complete desertion from a Holy God but....."He was there...all the time.." If the Israelites only knew then, what they know now, oh how things may have been different. I once heard a preacher say that when we get to Heaven, we will truly see ....all those times we thought we had made it through something, or thought we had accomplished something...well, in Heaven God will reveal how it was actually Him who pushed us or guided us through those situations. What a Holy Example my God is. It's been a privilege to serve Him. I rejoice in saying that He lives! He's not man made nor can he be burnt up in a fire as Josiah did to the evil god's in the Old Testament. If you are reading this and you have prayed for us in the past, know that God Does Still Answer Prayer!!!! We are thankful for all that He has done in our life and look forward to serving him when we move up to Virginia. The Lord is Good!

Saying Goodbye

This world is not our home. We're only passing through.....Well, it's a song a lot of people have heard. As I sit back and reflect on some of the lessons God has allowed me to learn, this one sits heavy with me. This life we live is not really "ours" to live. One of the easiest things to say is that we give our lives to Him and that this is not our life to live. Unfortunately, it's easy to say but hard to live. Saying Goodbye to our own wants and our selfish flesh and doing what God truly wants us to do is something that has to be "worked" on daily. I truly understand why Paul said that he "dies daily". It is extremly hard to deny the flesh, control. It's something in my life that I have to strive towards every day. Not just with my husband but with my God. We're raised from little babies to get what we want. It starts with the desire for milk, then a desire for love. Those are truly things we need but it also feeds the flesh to get what it wants. Once we're saved and start reading the bible it's opposite. Living by Faith is absolutely that. Not needing and getting (or taking) but praying and receiving. As I sit here and type, we are currently awaiting to see what God is going to do with our life. Oh, people may say...it's the military. Everyone goes through moving. That's what you signed up for. But I say military or not, we are ALL bought with a price if we're saved. We belong to Him. It's truly been a blessing "waiting" on the Lord. It builds our faith and allows us to depend on Him. Denying the flesh is one of the biggest faith builders that there is. People often say, where do you want to move if God moves you but our answer really lies in where does God want us? It's something we've failed poorly at in the past and things really are better when we allow God to have His way. We've left before and went through a very dark valley spiritually but when we resolved to "give it to the Lord", He turned it into a beautiful thing. We grew with him! If our Father lets us stay we will be overjoyed and humbled for finding Grace in His eyes. If He does not let us stay, we await finding out His will so we can please Him once again. There is nothing sweeter than finding grace in the eyes of our God. Noah found grace and it literally saved his life. We just want to please the Lord. If that means saying goodbye to friends, or simply saying goodbye to our fleshly wants, it worth it all to find favor in our Lord! He is the best if you do not know him! Jesus has been the difference between walking through a valley, and being carried through one!!