Enlarge Thy Tent!

For years now I have dreamed of having a home where the kids could play and make lots of great memories, but this verse spoke to me tonite as I was driving from my new home back to my apartment.

"Enlarge the place of thy tent, and let them stretch forth the curtains of thine habitations: spare not, lengthen thy cords, and strengthen thy stakes..."

God has provided me the opportunity to enlarge, stretch, lengthen and strengthen, not only my physical address, but my spiritual self as well. He desires for us to be willing to face challenges in our walk with Him, go outside of our comfort zones to share all that love He has so freely given.

So, when I read, "fear not; for thou shalt not be ashamed: neither be thou confounded; for thou shalt not be put to shame: for thou shalt forget the shame of thy youth, and shalt not remember the reproach of thy widowhood any more," I began to realize this new home wasn't just about needing more room, or having a closer residence to college, it was a new beginning for me. Once more I found myself crying with such thankfulness that He loves me so!

Once upon a time I was lost and undone, but "with great mercies" He has gathered me and, in His righteousness He has established me so that oppression and fear have no dominion over me. To know that He has promised me that no weapon that is formed against me shall prosper, and that this is the heritage of the servants of the Lord, encourages me with such hope!!

The call He has placed on my life is to serve Him by loving others. So, as I begin the process of moving into my home this weekend, it is my earnest prayer that His welcoming presence and love always be felt by those who come to visit me. I have truly been blessed !!

(Scriptures taken from Isaiah 54:2,4,6-7,14,17)

Warranties and the Word

Today I called upon my friends, once more, to pray over a vehicle situation - mine is broke. However, what's amazing is that God already had a plan. A plan to put things in perspective for me, using a lost warranty paper. You see, in order for me to be able to afford get my transmission fixed, I had to show my paperwork for the warranty I have on my used car (which was my second blessing 5 months ago when my first blessing bought me the car -yes, you read that right, someone bought me a car, said God laid me on his heart.)

Ok, so, yes, I have much to be thankful for, yet when I couldn't find my warranty last night,  what did I do? Fill up with calmness and serenity, oh you jest! No, it took me a few minutes, well, hours, to find peace. I started praying as I looked through folders, Bibles, purses, drawers, glove boxes and trash, finally I literally had this conversation with my Father, "Lord, I'm sorry I'm scatterbrained, but, you know all about that don't you,  cause you made my brain." Then, I chuckled and went on to bed.

 When I started thinking about taking my car to the mechanic this morning, all I could do was call upon my blessed prayer warrior friends to pray for me and my predicament, and bless their little loving hearts, that's what they did. One friend said, "Keep looking for that warranty, I'm praying," another replied, "Praying, right now, love you," and another, "oh no, I'm praying right now," and "I'm praying specifically for you to find that warranty, keep looking," and yet even more texts came in affirming that they were praying and that they loved me.

 Well, now, let me tell you what God did for His scatterbrained daughter. He cleared the clutter from my mind as soon as I refocused on Him. All those loving and faith-filled prayers began cleansing my heart and mind of the fear that had began to creep in. When I began thanking Him for all He had done for me, where He had brought me from and for providing for me all these years, a moment of clarity came - look behind the contract you signed when you bought your car, it might be that that's the warranty and not just the contract. And folks,  guess what - voila, there it was, the warranty paper!! I had pulled those two papers from my Dad's Bible the first thing. I was in awe of God, and laughing at myself. He used that to teach me a very fundamental truth, you can search and search in all the places you think will get you what you need, but the only place you will find peace is in Him, so look there first, and always trust that His word is where it's at!!

"As for God, his way is perfect; the word of the LORD is proven: he is a buckler to all them that trust in him." 2nd Samuel 22:31 

Joy Does Come...

When Habakkuk spoke of discouragement, he said,

" Although the fig tree shall not blossom, neither shall fruit be in the vines; the labour of the olive shall fail, and the fields shall yield no meat; the flock shall be cut off from the fold, and there shall be no herd in the stalls... (these were bleak times, people)

He went on to say this...

YET I WILL rejoice in the Lord , I WILL joy in the God of my salvation.  The Lord God is my strength, and he will make my feet like hinds' feet, and he will make me to walk upon mine high places."

He trusted in God to bring a sure victory, in spite of what his circumstances were.

 Jesus, in the Garden of Gethsemane, knew the agony of dark times. When He prayed until his sweat was great drops of blood, he begged for the cup of Calvary to pass him by, yet, He knew His desire was to do the Father's will, so He said, "thy will be done."

When we are being covered in what seems to be mountains of discouragement, it isn't the easiest thing to just stop and affirm our trust in Him, it should be, but it's not. For me, I'm beginning to learn that the reason this sad weakness of mine is so true is because it's not Him I don't trust, it's my own faith and courage that I doubt. You see, I take my focus off of His power and place it on everything and everyone around me - that is a sure-fire recipe for disaster.
When we face insurmountable odds, we only need take a look back at Calvary and remember joy does come in the morning!!!

Nevertheless, I will!

Luke.5.4-11
Now when he had left speaking, he said unto Simon, Launch out into the deep, and let down your nets for a draught.  And Simon answering said unto him, Master, we have toiled all the night, and have taken nothing: nevertheless at thy word I WILL let down the net.  And when they had this done, they inclosed a great multitude of fishes: and their net brake. 

 When Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus' knees, saying, Depart from me; for I am a sinful man, O Lord.  For he was astonished, and all that were with him, at the draught of the fishes which they had taken:  And when they had brought their ships to land, they forsook all, and followed him.

 Just like with the disciples, there are times in life when things don't make sense, and circumstances are incredibly  disheartening, so when God comes along and asks us to have faith and simply keep going, we too say, "we have toiled all night, and have taken nothing..." But, ohhh if we would only finish that  conversation with faith and say, "nevertheless at thy word, I WILL," we too can experience those moments when He steps in and performs miracles of grace that only He can. I am just like Peter when He saw the goodness of the Lord, I too feel unworthy, and He astonishes me by filling my heart with such overflowing baskets of peace and awe. Even on our darkest day, the choice to follow His will is the best decision we could ever make -so keep casting your net where He tells you too, and get ready to stand in awe!