Today during my morning walk I had a billion thoughts floating around in my head. So much so that about a block into walking it dawned on me that I hadn't yet read my scripture card. Glancing down at it with anticipation I smiled on inside as I read a favorite and familiar verse.
All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.
Psalm 139:16
How I love this verse! Passing the townhouses further down in our development I began to meditate on what the word "ordained" means. Allowed. Permitted. Cleared. Approved. Then I remembered specific times in my life of abuse, marital turmoil, parenting struggles, financial devastation...God okay-ed all of these parts of my life. They were given clearance to be a part of my story. And in every instance they have built me up as a person, made my life better, and given me more faith in Jesus.
Why does God allow suffering? Because it reminds us to trust in Him and not in ourselves.
Wednesday, July 24, 2013
Tuesday, July 16, 2013
My Book
This morning I went for my walk around 5:30am. Even at this early hour the humidity and heat of the day were nearly unbearable. I am a heat-lover by nature so oftentimes the A/C is my mortal enemy. However on this stifling day, I returned from my walk with much love for the whirring heat pump doing its job of cooling our home.
This heat wave reminds me of a time when our heat pump didn't work in the dead of summer. It was seven years ago when our youngest was a baby. We needed $10,000 to get a new one and we didn't have one dime of it. Seeing our youngest lying in his crib outlined by a pool of his own sweat was a wake-up call for us. If we didn't get our money together right then and there, our children would continue to be casualties.
Ross and I took our own personal classes on money management. We checked out books from the library, read, shared, and applied what we learned to our lives. Our commitment was to get out of the $40,000 worth of consumer debt that had us bound. But we committed to doing it in obedience to God. We didn't stop tithing, we didn't take on extra jobs (God didn't tell us to), we didn't use any get rich quick programs. Mostly we began being more responsible with what money we did have. (Read Matthew 25:21) To our amazement, in two short years all of the debt was gone!
I've written about our victory in a book called Personal Finances Personal Freedom http://olivepresspublisher.com/ The story is a quick read of a little over 100 pages. I assure you that in reading it you will uncover hope for managing your money and direction on where to begin.
This heat wave reminds me of a time when our heat pump didn't work in the dead of summer. It was seven years ago when our youngest was a baby. We needed $10,000 to get a new one and we didn't have one dime of it. Seeing our youngest lying in his crib outlined by a pool of his own sweat was a wake-up call for us. If we didn't get our money together right then and there, our children would continue to be casualties.
Ross and I took our own personal classes on money management. We checked out books from the library, read, shared, and applied what we learned to our lives. Our commitment was to get out of the $40,000 worth of consumer debt that had us bound. But we committed to doing it in obedience to God. We didn't stop tithing, we didn't take on extra jobs (God didn't tell us to), we didn't use any get rich quick programs. Mostly we began being more responsible with what money we did have. (Read Matthew 25:21) To our amazement, in two short years all of the debt was gone!
I've written about our victory in a book called Personal Finances Personal Freedom http://olivepresspublisher.com/ The story is a quick read of a little over 100 pages. I assure you that in reading it you will uncover hope for managing your money and direction on where to begin.
Wednesday, July 10, 2013
Face Lift
Today I was feeling down. It was one of those days where I focused on all of the balls I was juggling in the air rather than thinking about Who was holding them up there. Needless to say I was feeling kind of low and overwhelmed. The last place I wanted to be was church.
When I arrived, the men who opened the doors for me said "hello" and asked the usual question, "How are you?" to which I responded the usual "Good, how are you?" After getting past the doors, I went into the office to drop of our tithes and was confronted by two members with some encouraging words. They shared with me about my demeanor and how that spoke volumes about me before they even got to know me. Wow, what an unexpected lift!
Later on in the evening, a friend encouraged me as a writer to continue on in my craft and to not give up. Something I really needed to hear. I've been stagnant with the arrival of summer and our family home all day together. So writing has been on the back-burner. She reminded me that I need to do what I have been created to do--a much needed exhortation.
Lastly as I was leaving, two friends stopped me to chat. I had recently sent an email to one of them, and through that she connected with my blog. She told me how much she enjoyed it and let me know that reading it had been a blessing to her. Her words brought a smile to my face.
On the drive home from church, I saw clearly how although church was the last place that I wanted to go, it was exactly where I needed to be. God used His people to lift my face up from my problems towards His love.
When I arrived, the men who opened the doors for me said "hello" and asked the usual question, "How are you?" to which I responded the usual "Good, how are you?" After getting past the doors, I went into the office to drop of our tithes and was confronted by two members with some encouraging words. They shared with me about my demeanor and how that spoke volumes about me before they even got to know me. Wow, what an unexpected lift!
Later on in the evening, a friend encouraged me as a writer to continue on in my craft and to not give up. Something I really needed to hear. I've been stagnant with the arrival of summer and our family home all day together. So writing has been on the back-burner. She reminded me that I need to do what I have been created to do--a much needed exhortation.
Lastly as I was leaving, two friends stopped me to chat. I had recently sent an email to one of them, and through that she connected with my blog. She told me how much she enjoyed it and let me know that reading it had been a blessing to her. Her words brought a smile to my face.
On the drive home from church, I saw clearly how although church was the last place that I wanted to go, it was exactly where I needed to be. God used His people to lift my face up from my problems towards His love.
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