When it seems as if the whole world is against you,
the bills are piling up,
the laundry is never ending,
the dishes have formed a mountain in the sink,
the job you used to love is now a chain around your ankle,
the friends you thought would be there forever have stabbed you in the back,
the storms of life blow you from side to side as if you are merely a paper boat in the midst of a perfect storm.
When you feel like no one is left that really cares, cling to the words that David spoke as he prayed to God in Psalm 17:1-8 NIV;
1 Hear me, LORD, my plea is just;
listen to my cry.
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Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world. James 1:27 NIV
Never did I think a girl that grew up in a small town of rural Kentucky would ever have a heart for missions. Let’s face it; I grew up in a tiny little place that had one blinking red light, a roller rink, and a main street that was lined up with lots of mom & pop stores.
I loved growing up in a small town and still wish I had a chance to raise my boys in that small town life, but God had other plans.
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Our children are in the process of potty-training our two and a half year old grandson. He is a willing and happy learner, but he is definitely still in a work in progress. A few weeks ago they shared the following story with me:
“Your grandson is trying, but lately when he misses his potty chair and leaves a little puddle on the floor, he goes and finds Zoe. (Their new puppy, who is still little enough for a two and a half year old boy to carry and is still in training herself).
JJ carries Zoe to the puddle, puts her nose by it, and scolds her.
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Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good. His loves endures forever. Psalm 136:1
Each of the twenty six verses in Psalm 136 ends with the words, “His love endures forever.” It’s hard to wrap our brains around forever. The dictionary defines forever as: through eternity. Always!
What things can you think of that last forever?
I went looking for quotes on the topic of “forever” and discovered yet again why it’s hard for us to understand this word.
- “Everything is temporary. Everything is bound to end.” ~Keren Ann
- “This too shall pass.” ~Author Unknown
- “This is just a phase.”
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Hi. My name is Melissa and I need to find a multi-taskers anonymous group.
{insert awkward chuckle here}
For years I have thought it was some sort of great gift to be able to do lots of different things at the same time. Like it was some sort of super power or something, but it’s not.
I’m not sure if it is from our go, do, right this minute, super-hyper, go, go, go culture or just something that I’ve developed over the years, but in the last couple of months I’ve been hit with the harsh reality that this may not be a good thing.
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…those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint. Isaiah 40:31
How did your week go? Are you soaring above your troubles, or are you simply thankful to be able to place one foot in front of the other and move forward inch by inch?
I used to think there was something wrong with me. I had faith. My hope was planted on the Rock that is Jesus. However, there were days when I was quite certain there was no soaring going on at all.
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Are visions of sirens and lights flashing in your mind right now?
Do you feel that uneasiness that comes along with the moment you realize you were speeding?
The officer walks up to the car, asks for your license and registration while you sweat it out trying to figure out what you can say to this person so that they will let you go with just a warning.
Inhale.
Breathe.
Panic.
No, scratch that, breathe again.
At this point you are probably already praying like crazy too, right?
Yet each of us speed through our lives rushing from this to that to another that each and every day without taking any time to pull over and stop.
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For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.” II Timothy 1:7
When I think about some of the women who have made the largest impact on my life, I find that these women quite often had a gentleness about them. A gentleness that I desperately would want to emulate. I can’t say the number of times that I would try to do just that, only to have my own personality rise to the surface again and again…and again.
I finally realized that I needed to embrace the ME that God created me to be.
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