First OFF, THANK GOD, NO REALLY, THANK GOD that today is Friday! I have been thinking about a lot and feel ready and armed with Grace to face WHATEVER may come this summer. I have confidence but above all I have Faith!
With that said, I have so much to be Thankful for, to pray for and to look forward for.
1 Thessalonians 5:18 (The Message) 16-18Be cheerful no matter what; pray all the time; thank God no matter what happens. This is the way God wants you who belong to Christ Jesus to live.
My dear friend Casey needs a lot of prayer; one of her dear friends is battling Cancer. Her name is Angela, she is a very young girl and VERY loved, and needs your help [ Team Angela ]. Please Pray for her.
Romans 14:19 (New American Standard Bible) 19 So then we pursue the things which make for peace and the building up of one another.
I read a blog this morning that made me just sigh a HUGE sigh of relief [Faith Barista ]. This was my comment to her and for now I will leave you with this but am thinking of a blog to expand:
“Bonnie. First off, I love your Blogs! About this one...my husband is always telling me to "relax", but I can't. I am always trying to find meaning and purpose in ALL that I do! And, I spend days thinking...is this it...is this it... is this it... like a child. But, when I relax, or simply have fun, I hear Him. And, His answers to my "is this it" question are always soooo meaningful and just AMAZING. These days my way of having fun is sitting around, relaxing, laughing and playing with my 8 month old son, and every time... I hear Him, "YES, THIS IS IT!" And, at that moment...I feel peace and reassurance that yes "MY LIFE IS ALREADY HIS WILL". Thank You so much for sharing your stories, I love them and have identified with many!”There is just this TRUST that has to happen. We have to trust in Him, that HE KNOWS what he wants for US! He created US, why wouldn’t He know what He wants for us. Why can’t we simply trust? What is my problem with fully LETTING GO AND LETTING GOD? Why do I feel like I have to control it all? When clearly He is in control and if to this point my life has been God sent, why can’t I trust Him MORE especially at this time in my life? As you can see, TRUST is the key word here and TRUST is what I should have.
I KNOW THIS IS HARD BUT consider this next excerpt from my Daily Dose Devotional:
[ HEAR AND OBEY = CHANGE
"After all this, God tested Abraham. God said, "Abraham!" "Take your dear son Isaac whom you love and go to the land of Moriah. Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains that I'll point out to you." Abraham got up early in the morning… He set out for the place God had directed him. Abraham took the wood for the burnt offering and gave it to Isaac his son to carry. They arrived at the place to which God had directed him. Abraham built an altar. He laid out the wood. Then he tied up Isaac and laid him on the wood. Abraham reached out and took the knife to kill his son. Just then an angel of God called to him out of Heaven, "Abraham! Abraham!" "Don't lay a hand on that boy! Don't touch him! Now I know how fearlessly you fear God; you didn't hesitate to place your son, your dear son, on the altar for me." Abraham looked up. He saw a ram caught by its horns in the thicket. Abraham took the ram and sacrificed it as a burnt offering instead of his son. The angel of God spoke from Heaven a second time to Abraham: "I swear—God's sure word!—because you have gone through with this, and have not refused to give me your son, your dear, dear son, I'll bless you—oh, how I'll bless you! And I'll make sure that your children flourish—like stars in the sky! like sand on the beaches! And your descendants will defeat their enemies. All nations on Earth will find themselves blessed through your descendants because you obeyed me." ~ Genesis 22: 1-3, 6, 9-10, 11-13, 15-18
God’s ways and thoughts are higher than ours. We know of one, two, perhaps three ways to achieve what we believe God has asked us to do on the earth (our destiny). God, however, is not stuck in a particular way to achieve our destiny nor should we be. The most important thing we can do as followers of Jesus is learn to hear the voice of God. Every Word from the mouth of God is life-giving and life-changing. It is imperative we hear Him when He speaks and not be afraid to change direction when He directs we do so. Our lives and the lives of those around us depend on it. God bless you!]
So many before us have sacrificed so much for us and the least we can do is hear, obey and in return change! Mary lost her son and in the most cruel way, for us… Why is that this is acceptable but we can't learn to sacrifice little things in our lives? Again, Trust. Just so much to think about…
John 19: 25 Near the cross of Jesus stood his mother, his mother's sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. 26 When Jesus saw his mother there, and the disciple whom he loved standing nearby, he said to his mother, "Dear woman, here is your son," 27and to the disciple, "Here is your mother."
PLEASE FEEL FREE TO COMMENT, I WOULD LOVE TO HEAR FROM YOU!
Side Note: I have so much to do this afternoon and will not be home until late so I had to find an alternate babysitter to my Mother-In-Law, just because I don’t want to abuse. So, Santiago is out and about today experiencing something that as I child I experienced. My Momma is a housekeeper and has been for the last almost 30 years, along the way she had a couple of breaks acting as my Father’s assistant in his contracting business or simply staying at home with us but in the end she always goes back to housekeeping. She is great and has earned much love from her clients. Some she keeps for years and other she just comes and goes. When I was a child my mom was new to this country and had really no one to watch us, so we had to go with her to work. Thankfully my Mother found a loving family who completely understood her needs and accepted her with me. So, I used to ride buses from the North side of Houston into the very rich River Oaks area in Houston. My mom remembers having to ride the bus and waiting at the bus stop in the Houston summer heat, in Spring rain showers or Fall’s cold weather with me an almost 3 year old. She remembers having to haul me around and walking almost 8 blocks to get from her bus stop to the house where she worked. She would arrive sit me at big round “breakfast table” in the Kitchen. [How do I remember, I continued going to that same spot years later…and so did my siblings.] I would be fed, read to and entertained by the home owners Mr. and Mrs. Ward a wealthy but humble church going couple with 4 children and 6 grandchildren of their own. Mr. and Mrs. Ward are no longer with us. They were incredibly smart people one a Chemist and Physics major the other an English and Math major both with incredible hearts, I don’t think you can find many of these kind of giving and compassionate people anymore. I have nothing but the best memories of growing up in this environment. Mr. and Mrs. Ward were the guardian angels of our family for MANY, many years. They went through many milestones and accomplishments with us, always following us as if we were part of the family. The years have come and gone and things have changed. My mom was even pregnant with my sister at the same time that Mrs. Ward’s oldest daughter was pregnant with her 3rd son and my mom remembers being called to lunch for two by Mrs. Ward the two were, my mom and Mrs. Wards daughter. Mrs. Ward would tell my mom that she should sit and have lunch because her baby needed the rest and nutrition, that’s probably why my sister was a healthy almost 8 pounder and now….NEVER skips a meal. HA. Mr. and Mrs. Ward were people in a class of their own and like many things in our lives they were God sent. So, today Santiago is at work with my mom, who manages to find these types of people who can Bless her with flexibility and allow her to come into their homes, this case a dance studio and do her job with Santiago right next to her. Funny that this came up…because just yesterday I was discussing job flexibility with an Aunt, and how Blessed she is to have it. And today… my mom and Santiago are experiencing it. I love that, and I Thank God for that!
PHEW~ Loooong and emotional day as you can see.
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