Hiding Place

Thou art my hiding place and my shield, I hope in thy word! (Psalms 119:114)

Often I lie awake when troubling thoughts invade the stillness of the night. I wonder about lots of things in those quiet moments, such as, what is your will for me God, where will I end up, will I be married, single, will I ever feel truly content, will I do enough for The Lord, will I finally feel forgiven along with  a whole host of other ordinary, everyday concerns. Goodness how the enemy strives to steal our joy, but oh what a refuge of hope we have in His word! Hiding it in our hearts creates a shield of protection and a sense of peace. All the matters of our lives, shall God not search them out, for he knows the secret places of the heart. (Psalms 42:21) "Learning to lean, learning to lean...learning to lean on Jesus. Finding more power than I'd ever dream, I'm learning to lean on Jesus."  He is honestly the best the best hiding place there is! 

I love you Daddy!

There are so many things I'd love to talk with you about. So often I think, "Boy, Dad sure woulda loved that" or "wonder what Daddy would say?" I am so sorry that I did more than my share of disappointing things while you were still with us, but your belief in me was astounding! You would have been proud to see the change God has made in my life! Thanks for being such a loving and forgiving Dad! It has taught me to be the same way to others! Because you came back to The Lord later in life a broken and humble man, there was a resolve in you to serve Him with such faithfulness! I often think of the verse in Luke 7:47 where Jesus says, "Wherefore I say unto thee, Her sins, which are many, are forgiven; for she loved much: but to whom little is forgiven, the same loveth little." What a joy it was to watch you live for The Lord, you knew what it was like to be forgiven of much, and the joy and dedication you served The Lord with was so awesome to watch. You were the picture of a man who "loved much"! Thank you for leaving that testimony of grace behind, for I have drawn so much strength from it. It helps me more than anyone could ever know! I miss you, but it's a comfort to know you are having a wonderful time with our Heavenly Father. I just wanted to take a minute and thank the good Lord for making you my Dad, and to you, for loving me so completely! Happy Father's Day to you both, I love you more than words can express! 

Jesus, beautiful friend of mine

And when I saw him, I fell at his feet as dead. And he laid his right hand upon me, saying unto me, Fear not; I am the first and the last.  Revelation 1:17

Can you just imagine?? It's hard to comprehend how it will be to see my Lord, face to face, wow! I can totally relate to falling at His feet, utterly prostrate, laid out as if my body were dead.  I don't think I could ever feel as if I were humbled enough; but, to know He loves me enough to say, "don't fear me, it's ok. I am the beginning and the end, but I am also your savior and friend." Yea, I'm amazed that He chose to die for a lost sinner like me, and now, because of His grace, I am His and He is mine. Shew wee girls, that's got me smiling and praising His name this afternoon!! What a mighty God, what a beautiful friend is our Savior, Jesus!!! 

O magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt his name together.  Psalms 34:3

Moments

Lamentations 3:22-26, 31, 56-58 KJV

It is of the Lord's mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not.  They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness.  The Lord is my portion, saith my soul; therefore will I hope in him.  The Lord is good unto them that wait for him, to the soul that seeketh him.  It is good that a man should both hope and quietly wait for the salvation of the Lord .  For the Lord will not cast off for ever:  Thou hast heard my voice: hide not thine ear at my breathing, at my cry.  Thou drewest near in the day that I called upon thee: thou saidst, Fear not.  O Lord, thou hast pleaded the causes of my soul; thou hast redeemed my life.

He is ever nigh, waiting to reveal himself at just the right moment...that moment when I feel lost, that moment when I feel undone and alone, that moment when I don't think He can possibly be ok with me, and yes, in that moment when I feel so unforgivable, THIS is when He chooses to unveil His mercy the most. Thank you Lord for loving me so, for giving me hope, for being not only my Savior, but my friend. I love you!

Keep Walking

It's an awful thing to feel so out of sorts with everything, when no one seems to understand what you're facing. Life goes on all around you, your friends have lives that are different than yours and you just don't fit anywhere, well, anywhere that seems right anyways. But the beautiful blessing of being a child of God is that you ALWAYS belong, He totally understand what you're facing and, although you aren't always where you should be, He is, and He loves you. So, keep moving forward, even when it feels like you're walking through sludge...keep walking, hold to His hand, for, even when your heart and flesh fails,  the Lord will be the strength of your heart and portion forever (psalm 73:26)

It is The Lord!

I began my journey in the Word with an awesome truth this morning...

"Every word of God is pure: He is a shield unto them that put their trust in Him"

and ended up so blessed when the Lord directed my path to here...

"And he said, It is the Lord, let Him do what seemeth good...and he [Samuel] grew, and the Lord was with him, and did let none of his words fall to the ground."

Samuel had it so right... "It is the Lord, let HIM do what seemeth good", and because He listened to the WORD ( pure shield) of the Lord, God continued to talk with him and inspired him in his walk. Oh  how I want to grow in the Lord like Samuel did, to have that shield of protection fall around me day by day, for it to strengthen me, encourage me, convicting change within me. 
He is the Lord, let Him do what HE will, for His will is ALWAYS good!! :-)

May each of you have a wonderful day walking and talking with your Savior, I pray His precious peace falls all around you and that you hear him whispering, "I love you my daughter, you are more lovely to me than you know! "

Contentment not resentment

1 Timothy 6:6 KJV

But godliness with contentment is great gain.

   This verse convicted me in my soul yesterday because I am often discontent when trying to serve my Lord  😞. I pray, "dearest Jesus, help me to live for you and do good" yet when I am working and he is answering my prayer by giving me opportunity to serve Him, I find myself grumbling within. The flesh is constantly fighting the spirit doing its best to rob me of all JOY in serving Him, all that CONTENTMENT vanishes and I'm left with a tired, complaint-ridden soul and I lose out on the beauty of serving my Lord 😔. "Whatsoever ye do, do it heartily as unto the Lord" heartily (sincerely, genuinely, profoundly, thoroughly,completely...in an enthusiastic manner) well, folks, when I look at that, I begin to realize that if I'm serving Him THAT way, my attitude will change. If I'm feeling burdened and worn out, I need to check where my priorities are because, I know HIS burden is light and HIS yoke is easy...oh how I desire to just live in Him with contentment, for a life lived with it is great gain!!  😊