Short week

Good morning,

This is a short work week due to the Easter holiday coming up. I don't feel good, very low, physically, but optimistic spiritually.

I cleaned on Saturday and my back did not enjoy that. It is revolting even now as we speak. Yesterday, church was disheartening. We have issues with our worship team. The instrument leaders are not able to stay together. It's very difficult to press in and worship the Lord in situations as such.

I don't know what to say, I guess I just have to let it go, but my insides are screaming that this is wrong. I will lift it up to God in prayer.

Signing off for now............
Trusting

Happy Friday!!!!!!!!

Dear readers,

Good morning, and praise God for this day!!!!!! It is a Friday and this week I have felt a huge lifting on the heaviness I felt in my spirit during the past weeks.

My husband has gotten a few jobs to keep him going and he's gotten paid two weeks in a row. I was telling the girls at work that I can't remember the last time that has happened.

I thank God for the lifting of the extreme pressure!!!! Also, I just want to cry when I walk in my kitchen because there is a new stove!!! My husband and I bought a scratch and dent stove 16 years ago. It started smelling like propane and we couldn't get it to stop. The repair man said that there was a gas leak and we needed to buy a new one.

I was constantly reminded of the gas leak everytime I would enter our home because of the fumes I smelled. It put a concern in my heart for our safety and let me say it again, God provided a new stove!!!!!! We were able to go to our favorite appliance store and buy a new one for at least two hundred dollars less than we would have gotten anywhere else.

Thank you, Lord, for remembering us........... in this special way!!!!!!!!!

I am blessed!!!
Signing off for now..........
Trusting

Slow waking up

Good morning,

I don't seem to have a lot of motivation this morning. It was rainy most of the day yesterday and then today it is foggy. It is amazing how we are affected by our surroundings. Much like when things surrounding us are depressing and oppressive, we tend to flow in that direction without much difficulty.

It is easy to "go with the flow" when things around us seem bleak, but the real challenge is can we overcome the bleakness with the light and spirit of God that lives within us?

My challenge today is to live and go forth as a victorious daughter of the King. Whether I rise to that challenge, the choice is mine.

Signing off for now.......
Trusting

Believing

Good morning,

I am blessed this morning to hear the birds singing. I am blessed this morning to wake up with a song of praise on my heart. I am blessed this morning that my Lord and Savior loves me, so very much so, that he died for me.

I am light in my spirit today. Praise God!!!!!

Yesterday we had such a wonderful worship service!!! I knew though, as I went to sit down, that just by looking at my husband that he was reeling with dizziness again. I asked him what he wanted to do. He said that it was a bad one and that he couldn't get up. He said that he thought he wanted prayer.

I waited until our assistant pastor was done with annoucements and had asked for testimonies. I raised my hand and was called on. I explained Dave's immediate need for prayer and how this was entirely an attack of the enemy. When he was invited to go up for prayer, I had to say that he couldn't stand and walk. The body rallied around Dave and began to pray.

The prayer was very effective!!! Praise God, the spinning began to slow!!!! The rest of the service was filled with words of encouragement to "wait upon the Lord". I woke up this morning with the lyrics "so I wait on you, so I wait on you, I'm falling on my knees, offering all of me, Jesus, you're all this heart is living for!!!

Our praise yesterday was warfare and we as a body and as a family will continue to stand and wait upon the Lord!!!!

Signing off for now.....
Trusting

thankful

Good morning,

So thankful that my paycheck registered and that we didn't overdraw our accounts. The Lord told us to trust him, but I think I might have gotten a "C" in that area. Yesterday I really succombed to the stress and pressure of the possible overdraft of our accounts.

I am glad that it is a Friday and that we have money to go grocery shopping!!!!!

Signing off for now........
Trusting

A Fresh New Day

Good morning,

I am thankful for the peaceful night's sleep that both my husband and I got. I am thankful that I was able to get up and put my mind to things that needed to be attended to in order to get my day going.

I just heard the creaking of the old wooden steps as my husband came downstairs. He turned the computer on. It's a Monday. That means, in this house, that he is looking over the finances and figuring out what bills to pay or not to pay.

Thankfully when God gave his son his mission instructions that he did not include in those final orders who to save and who not to. His blood was shed for all of us!!! It was shed for every man, woman, and child who ever set foot on this earth. The power of the blood of Christ is and always will be the most powerful weapon that could ever be.

Think about the most powerful weapon on this earth. It would have to be the bombs of mass destruction. Even when I think about the possible impact they could have on mankind, killing thousands of millions of people, the blood of Jesus far exceeds the reach of any missile that could be projected to destroy mankind.

Praise God for his awesome power and saving grace!!!!!!
Signing off for now.......
Trusting

fighting for joy

Good morning,

Today I find myself wiped of all sense of hope and encouragement. I have been in this place before. It is a very lonely place. I have so much pain and sadness inside and have a hard time even looking at other people for fear of them knowing my secret.

I fear that on the inside I am indeed wretched and condemned. I only can trust in the blood of our Lord Jesus Christ that has been shed to pay the price for my sin. I hope and pray that today I can receive the cleansing power of the Lord, even though I am so tormented within my spirit.

I pray that I can rise up and overcome the sadness and the pain and I can see the Lord high and lifted up this day.

I thank him for his hand of protection upon our lives and acknowledge that if his hand was lifted from our lives that we would be prey to the onslaught of the enemy with no restriction.

I pray this day that God will enable me to open my heart once again and allow him to see the pain and touch it in a way that only he can.

Signing off for now........
Trusting

stilling the waves

Good morning,

This has been a rough one. Husband woke up with intense vertigo. Vomitted violently at least 10 times. The room was spinning out of control for him. All I could do was sit, watch him wretch while sitting on the edge of our bed pouring out the contents of his stomach into our bathroom trash can. If the vomitting and dizziness wasn't enough, he then got hit with cold sweats and muscle spasms.

Both of us knew in our hearts that this was NOT right. I stood dutifully by his side offering him tissues, sips of water, and periodically rinsing out the trash can.

As wave after wave of this vertigo gripped my husband I sensed in my spirit that I needed to take authority over this attack. At first I thought, but Lord, what if after I pray, that nothing happens and I look like a fool for trying. I weighed that in my mind as I watched my husband suffering and shaking uncontrollably.

Finally, I asked Dave if I could pray for him. He immediately said, "yes". That was the encouragement that I needed. I knew that if I opened my mouth that God would fill it with weapons of warfare. I spoke in the name of Jesus and commanded the vertigo to lose it's grip and for God to bring rest to my husband.

I was prepared to ask Dave after my prayer if it went away, only to hear him say "no"!!! But, this time, that was not the case. The rest that came upon my husband was so powerful that not only did all dizziness stop, but he fell into a deep sleep, so much so that I didn't have the heart to ask if it was gone. I saw his heavy breathing subside into shallow intakes of air that caused his entire body to relinquish itself into the peaceful sleep that was waiting to greet him as the storm came to an abrupt halt.

I only give the glory to the Lord and see him as all powerful in all things.

To God be the Glory!!!!!
Signing off for now.......
Trusting

Fooling myself

Dear readers,

I am really struggling today with finding joy. I am feeling very much like a failure. I'd like to be able to provide so many more things for my children to experience. Feel lowly and meek and defeated.

I know there is a scripture for this, but right now, it is not coming.

I pray today that God will grant me his joy.

Signing off for now..........
Still trusting

Letting the Son Shine on Me

Good morning,

I am sitting here with a whole day ahead of me. I don't have to go to work. I am going to have the pleasure of having breakfast with my mom. I am thinking that I am going to go to a music store about an hour away to get music for my private students.

I really want today to be a day filled with my heart praising the Lord and also praying for his church. I want to allow Jesus to shine on and in me and to further his cleansing work in my life.

He poured in the wine and the oil.
The kind that restoreth my soul.
He found me bleeding and dying on the Jericho road.
And he poured in the wine and the oil.

That also reminds me of the good Samaritan who willingly stopped to help a man who was his enemy. How much more should we be willing and open to our own brothers and sisters in Christ? We may not be able to control how our brothers and sisters in Christ feel or act, especially about us, but we can control our own heart responses.

I am acknowledging that there is a great emergence for God's people to stand in unity. When the gaps start to open, which occurs when dissension arises, there allows a small throughway for the enemy to step in and gain a foothold. May God help us all to stand firm in our unity and love for one another in Christ.

Hatred stirreth up strifes: but love covereth all sins. Prov 10:12

Signing off for now......
Trusting

Open the Eyes of My Heart

Good morning,

This morning I am thankful. I am thankful for God's shaping hand and for his words, his creative words. I am thankful for his heart for his people, for we are indeed sinners without the intervention of the blood of his precious son.

I was impressed on the fact that we are kings and priest and in white robes. That the work of the cross was not only enough to cleanse us from our sins, but that the work on the cross also brought us to a place where we can be leaders in him.

We are kings and priests. How does my life line up to that? Well, I can say that my heart struggles daily to remain pure and needs to go to him for a cleansing on a very regular basis. Do I think I even come close to being a king or a priest? Absolutely not. Do I believe that God has that intended for me? I do.

I'm not sure how he will do it, or how it will ever come about in my minute earthly understanding, but I do believe that there is a place in the heavenlies where all of this will come about.

He is worthy of all our praise!!!!

Signing off for now.........
Trusting

My God Shall Suppy All My Needs

Dear readers,

Again, waking up with a peace. Wow, what a blessing to have peace in a world where there is none without Jesus. I am so blessed to sit here and breathe in his peace. To not feel the panic and the weight of the world on my shoulders. Praise his wonderful name!!!!

Today's scripture reads: He loveth righteousness and judgment: the earth is full of the goodness of the Lord. Psalm 33:5

So, the Lord, loves righteousness? Wow, that is a big word full of expectation and growth! Almost too hard for me to swallow, but knowing the LOVING God that I serve, I have learned that, Praise his wonderful name, he is not a God with a huge bat waiting to slam me every time I make a mistake. He is a loving God that has a lifetime goal for us to be righteous. Let's find out what Webster has to say about righteousness.

righteous -1 : acting in accord with divine or moral law : free from guilt or sin

So, is he saying that he loves righteousness for himself or man? I think in this case it is for himself. He acts in accord with his divine law. He lives by a law himself and he is true to this. He does not sway from his holy standards.

I know he desires righteousness for his people and he will also equip us with both the desire and ability to uphold his standard of righteousness in our lives.

Signing off for now.......
Trusting

what is depressed?

Good morning,

For the word of the Lord is right; and all his works are done in truth. Psalm 33

So, that must be the answer, right? The word of the Lord is right. So when I'm in a quandry of how to handle a situation, I should go to God's word for the answer? According to this Psalm verse, the answer must be yes.

Do we always get the answer we want? NO! Do we always "find" the answer in our eyes? NO! Is God's word able to speak to our hearts and help us find answers that will "keep" us? The answer most definitely needs to be YES!!!

I believe that God's word is truth and that, through his Holy Spirit, it can rest upon me and infiltrate my being to the very core so that he can speak to my inner most cries and desires.

Does this always happen in our timing? NO!! Does that mean that God doesn't hear our prayer and act upon it? ABSOLUTELY NOT!

That is where the gift of trust comes in. God gifts us with the ability to hold on and believe in him. I am so thankful for that ability, because in myself I cannot. I tell the Lord that on a daily basis. "It's all you, I say". He brings us to the place in our lives where we can only say "Lord, you must do this, for I cannot, in myself bring change in my own life"

TO GOD BE THE GLORY!!!!!

Signing off for now.......
Trusting

knowing him

Good morning,

Today I am blessed with a peace that resulted in a letting go of a long struggle. I don't know how and when this will all culminate with change, but my decision lead to a release of my struggle. I am at peace knowing that God is going to bring change and that he is also going to use me and the giftings he has granted me in a new way to glorify him.

I have a student teacher right now. He is struggling to prove himself as a music teacher. I want to step in and do it all for him, but that wouldn't be the way to teach him. I allow him to experience uncomfortable times in the classroom and watch as he responds. It isn't easy for me to sit back and watch, but I do see the value of giving him the experience of trying to find his way.

Does God see us like that? Does he allow us to go through firey times just to see what our response is going to be? What is that response that he is desiring? I know in my heart that he wants us to trust him. He wants us to see trying times as preparation times. He wants us to know that even in the trying times, that he is very near. I praise him for not letting us go.

I do trust that as I go forth today in his peace, that he will continue to unfold his plan for our lives to further glorify him and magnify his holy name!!!!!

Signing off for now........
Trusting

perfect peace

Good morning,

Praise God for his peace. Your throne is higher. I am thankful for a full night's sleep and a restful night's sleep.

I had to quickly type an assignment for my son as his computer submission method wasn't working out. Rather than hand in a hard copy, he was just going to go in and say for the second day in a row that it didn't work on our computer. I asked him if he could just type it out and hand it in instead of submitting it online? He didn't think about that and immediately we started the mad typing to get done.

I input the information and then in the last few minutes before the bus came, he edited and finished the formatting.

I am thankful for the opportunity to help Ben this morning. It wasn't anything extremely difficult for me, but to him this was a big help. I wonder how many other things we can do in life that "to us" don't seem like a big thing, but to others it's water in the desert?

Can it be like that with the presence of God that we carry with us on a daily basis? Can it be like that with the love that we can extend through the blood of our Lord, Jesus? I believe it can. Words can go for miles upon end if spoken in love and encouragement.

Lord, help me today to be an encouragement and a blessing to those around me.

Signing off for now........
Trusting

song?

Good morning,

I am trying to remember the song I woke up with this morning.

Oh, well, it was a praise. I didn't sleep well last night. I am still overwhelmed with the whole confrontation with the lady at church. I feel that I was humbled, but didn't see the humbleness in her. I guess that is for God to take care of.

I did find a place of perfect praise yesterday in church. I worshipped the Lord and felt nothing but him. Nothing else mattered. Not one other thing in the world mattered except that I was standing before my King and all I wanted to do was to worship him.

As I was standing there amazed at the magnitude of his presence I wondered how I could be blinded by the cares of this world. Yet, as I stepped outside of his presence, it didn't take long for them to quickly crowd in and try to take a place on the throne of my life.

I believe my challenge today is to meditate on that place of perfect praise when I stood before the Lord and nothing mattered but HIM!

I must trust that as I meditate on him that all earthly things will pass away and only he will remain.

Turn your eyes upon Jesus
Look full in his wonderful face
And the things of earth will grow strangely dim
In the light of his glory and grace.

Signing off for now.........
Trusting