Pot holder

I’ve been working on this all day.

It went to the Allergist office with me this morning.

I had just begun one side.

It went to Michaels craft store, as I was not going to be able to finish it without more yarn.

It’s been on my lap during Math and Science.

I worked on it while taking lunch break.

Just now, I finished it.

I’ve never made one before, but I’m happy with the results.

Because it’s not about the time or energy it took, it’s about the love.

I have every intension of giving this away.

Hopefully, with another exactly like it.

As I was praying for someone yesterday, the Lord mentioned my yarn box.

I opened it, wondering what He was leading me to.

When my eyes fell on the cotton yarn, His voice spoke.

Make her a pot holder.

Of course, I was hesitant.

But thankfully, I didn’t argue.

My day didn’t allow for me to start the project, so I simply prayed about it.

This morning God brought it to mind again.

And now I can praise Him, for it is finished.

I’m always amazed at how He uses small things to teach me large ones.

Like making this simple gift for someone I love.

The time, energy, and prayer I put into this was all a joy, because of my love for the person who will receive it.

As I reflected on my joy in doing for another, my heart took another step toward the Lord, for He is always at work upon my behalf.

And His work is simply a proof of His love.

Both are unmeasurable.

My heart swells with the thought.

I deserve none of this and yet He loves me.

And the lesson came from a day crocheting a gift.

Which He told me to make.

Wow.

Praise God.

I’m so thankful for so many things.

I’m grateful He taught me how to do this.

I’m blessed with the ability to move my fingers and create something.

I’m thankful for His heart that shows me how loving and steadfast He is.

Truly, what a blessing it is to serve the Almighty God!

Hebrews 12:28 KJV — Wherefore we receiving a kingdom which cannot be moved, let us have grace, whereby we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear:

While waiting

I love getting photos of my children.

I’ve really enjoyed the pictures of progress Sis sends.

I’m reminded of my own children at this stage.

I remember the lesson learned about waiting.

There is so much good happening everyday of a baby’s development.

Yet, nothing is seen and so little is felt.

Even Mom, with her discomfort and inconvenience, feels only a fraction compared to the miracle of design occurring.

It’s true in other things too.

While waiting, through this season of uncertainty and unknown, God is still working.

His design for this season is coming together.

Although we can not see anything, He’s faithful.

It’s important for us to learn that every single day has a purpose and is valuable.

Even if, all we feel is discomfort or pain.

God is still using all the details.

Frankly, I can’t even guess what all God is doing through all this.

But I know He is doing.

I know He is good.

Therefore, the doing is good and will be, even if we can’t see it and we can barely feel anything.

Psalm 146:5 NKJV — Happy is he who has the God of Jacob for his help, Whose hope is in the LORD his God,

Another birthday

Birthday supper!

Then our mouth was filled with laughter, And our tongue with singing. Then they said among the nations, “The Lord has done great things for them.”
Psalms 126:2 NKJV

Despite the circumstances, which are not a little concerning.

Looking away from the tragedy.

My eyes are turned to God.

His incredible blessings are worth pause and reflection.

Because no matter what is taken away, my soul is safe in His hands.

That one truth is far more valuable than any temporary trial.

But He has done so much more than just save my soul.

Throughout this journey of chronic illness He has been so faithful.

Days when I prayed for just the ability to breathe, His patience would enfold me.

Times of debilitating pain, His Spirit strengthened me.

When disappointment or discouragement would taint my perspective, His Word would wash away the stains of sin and the lies of the enemy.

And if all that were not enough, He has blessed me with a wonderful family who loves and cares for me daily.

Friends who have kept up with all our bumps and bruises, praying and encouraging us.

Then He placed us in a new church which has loved and supported us.

A neighborhood where we can be at peace and enjoy the quiet.

Yes, this year has been very full of change and stretching and learning.

I’m so thankful for another birthday.

After all we have walked through and all that is happening right now, I can say with assurance:

“The LORD has done great things for us!”

And:

Our help is in the name of the Lord, Who made heaven and earth.
Psalms 124:8 NKJV

Dear Lord Jesus,
Thank You for being both our Creator and our Savior. You alone are all we ever need. Father, as we walk in this place, we humbly seek Your face. Please help us to look to You, and to find comfort in Your truth. You alone are the Almighty God and we can rest in that, no matter what happens. Thank You for being our Salvation, our Comforter, and our Refuge. We trust You, Jesus, no matter the circumstances. Amen.

Amidst the uncertainty…

Let us pray.

Dear Lord Jesus,
Thank You for helping us. Thank You for watching over us. Lord, You alone know and understand what is best. Our world has changed in a very short time and things are uncertain. Lord, there is so much that we don’t understand nor can we. Jesus, please help us to look to You in all of this. Please help us to walk forward into Your will and be unafraid. Lord, please let the hearts of mankind become soft and turn to You. Let this plague cause us to surrender every part and piece of our lives to You. Lord Jesus, You are good. You are worthy of all praise. You are faithful. Thank You for walking with us through this. Lord, please hold them in Your hands and save many souls. Comfort the hurting. Protect the innocent. Restore the broken. Return the prodigal. Please, let Your name be glorified throughout the whole Earth, Jesus. Amen.

I will lift up my eyes to the hills— From whence comes my help? My help comes from the Lord , Who made heaven and earth.
Psalms 121:1‭-‬2 NKJV

Because you never know how God is…

…using your life.

Yesterday, I had to miss church.

Since my illness I’ve missed more than I’ve been able to attend.

At first, I was a little down cast.

I love going to church.

Fellowship with other believers.

Worshipping my Lord and Savior through beautiful music.

Being fed from the Word of God.

I took my sad, before the Lord.

Even in this, I have a purpose.

-sigh-

Quiet, with closed eyes, listening…

… letting go.

“Lord, I trust You. What would You have me do this morning?”

And it was a lovely morning.

Time in prayer and writing led to time listening to one of my favorite preachers.

One of the moments which really helped me occurred right after I surrendered my day to Jesus.

A family member, who knew I’d been struggling, had texted asking how I was doing.

I had to be honest and say I was getting weary of feeling poorly, but that I knew God was working.

The response melted my heart.

“It’s ok to be weary. When we are weak His strength shines through. I’m looking forward to hearing how the Lord uses your family to minister to others because of all this.”

Most days, I don’t think, “Wow God, how are You going to use all this to bless others?!”

But that text reminded me that God’s ways are far beyond anything I can see.

I simply couldn’t express how their text had blessed me.

As I listened to a wonderful teaching, God used a friend to bless my heart.

One of the thoughts the enemy tries to discourage me with is: “How are you serving God when you can’t leave the house?”

I know it’s from the enemy and I reject it.

Over and over.

Which means, that somewhere inside my heart, I’m still working on releasing my ideals of serving God.

So, the Lord showed me a new way to look at things.

My friend texted and asked for prayer.

She was going to be doing some ministry. Normally, she is a part of a team, but something happened to leave her on her own.

“Would I pray while she ministered?”

“Absolutely!”

Before the ministry time came, she texted me that another lady had cancelled her engagement so she wouldn’t be alone.

I was thrilled.

And I joined their team in prayer.

Much later she reported how God had touched women and what a blessing it had been.

I was certain my reply couldn’t bring my friend the full understanding of how encouraged I was to be able to join them in ministry.

My heart was so full!

But God wasn’t finished.

When my son brought in the mail today, he handed me an envelope.

“Mom, you got a letter!”

I was surprised to see it wasn’t from any of my normal letter writing friends.

It was a beautiful card, which alone brightened my day.

(The picture is of this card.)

What was written inside did far more.

It spoke of God’s amazing ways.

How He has used circumstances to bless, encourage, and deepen the walk of my friend who had sent me the card.

Her words were filled with beauty and touched me in such an unexpected way.

She had sent to let me know how my blogs have given her blessing.

I didn’t even know she was a regular reader.

It came as a complete surprise to read what God is doing in her life.

And I wondered.

“How do I tell these three people how You have used them to touch me, Lord?”

Why not write a blog.

Smiling, eyes closed.

“Perfect.”

Dear Lord Jesus,
Thank You for Your incredible ways. Thank You for showing me, again, just how wonderful and faithful You truly are. Thank You for reminding me that I can’t truly see how You are working, I just need to rest in Your love and joyfully do the task at hand. Thank You for these three people and so many more. Thank You for my wonderful husband and children, and family who support and love me so much. Thank You for friends who feel like family, who pray and support all of us. Lord, I humbly ask that You use all of this for Your glory. That more may find peace through You, Jesus.

He Who is faithful

None is faithful like the LORD GOD.

Deuteronomy 7:9 NKJV — “Therefore know that the LORD your God, He is God, the faithful God who keeps covenant and mercy for a thousand generations with those who love Him and keep His commandments;

His faithfulness is evident in the whole of creation.

His work on behalf of mankind testifies to His unwavering love.

He cared for Abraham and set him apart to be the lineage of Jesus Christ.

God’s promise to Abraham was also a promise to save mankind from sin.

He didn’t stop there. God knew without instruction, mankind wouldn’t even acknowledge their need to be saved from sin.

God taught Israel (Abraham’s grandson) and through his twelve sons built the twelve tribes which all were a foreshadowing of things to come.

God drew the World’s attention when He brought Moses and Aaron to bring the children of Israel out of Egypt.

He proved no man, not even the most powerful ruler can stand in the way of God and His promises.

Psalm 119:138 NKJV — Your testimonies, which You have commanded, Are righteous and very faithful.

God was faithful to lead the Israelites out of bondage. He gave them the Ten Commandments, and the first books of the Bible, to bring them understanding.

God’s faithfulness continued in His patience with these children of Israel. Through them He would save the whole world from sin.

At the appointed time, God’s Son, Jesus came. God in flesh. Another testimony to God’s faithfulness.

1 Corinthians 1:9 NKJV — God is faithful, by whom you were called into the fellowship of His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.

After Jesus rose from the dead and instructed the disciples, the church was born on Pentecost.

God’s faithfulness continued, He sent His Spirit to guide, teach, and direct.

2 Thessalonians 3:3 NKJV — But the Lord is faithful, who will establish you and guard you from the evil one.

And He’s still working.

For those who believe in Jesus and are called according to His purposes, our greatest joy is to walk in His will daily.

Hebrews 10:23 NKJV — Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful.

God knows us better than we know ourselves. He realizes we are sinful and at times overcome by it.

2 Timothy 2:13 NKJV — If we are faithless, He remains faithful; He cannot deny Himself.

But He promises…

1 John 1:9 NKJV — If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

God, Himself, picks us up, washes us off, and holds our hand in loving correction, because He is faithful.

I can testify that God is faithful.

He has been throughout my entire life.

I know He will continue to be.

His Word says so:

Hebrews 13:5 NKJV — Let your conduct be without covetousness; be content with such things as you have. For He Himself has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.”

This week I’m going to focus on the incredible attributes of God.

Faithfulness is today’s.

These Scriptures and Bible stories are some of the ways I’m remembering how faithful God is.

I’m also purposing to rummage in my memories, to look at even the moments of pain through the lens of God’s faithfulness.

How has God been faithful to you?

Sprinkles on chocolate frosting

If you read my blog titled Sprinkles, you already know why this is special.

My sweet husband had to go to the store for parts last Saturday and asked if I wanted anything while he was there.

“I don’t know where you would get one, but it’s time I had a donut.”

His eyes twinkling, “With chocolate frosting and sprinkles.”

“Right!”

Bless him, he found a little trailer which happens to sell fresh donuts.

As I enjoyed every bit of that sweet with my tea, I praised God.

Because the donut is more than a rare dessert.

For me, it’s an opportunity to remember all the incredible ways God is good.

Especially, in my own life.

How He has loved me, provided for me, carried me, and is so faithful to me and my family.

Yes, I certainly can and do praise God regularly, not just when eating a donut.

But on that day, I wanted to do something special.

It was the end of a really trying week.

The previous one hadn’t been easy either.

And I knew the following weeks held a great deal of uncertainty.

So, in a way, I was building a monument.

In the midst of struggle and uncertainty is the most important time to remember Who God is and what He has done.

This remembering is a choice to love and trust God, because He is worthy.

And that truth is sweeter than any man made thing, including a donut with chocolate frosting and sprinkles.

Ecclesiastes 3:14 NKJV — I know that whatever God does, It shall be forever. Nothing can be added to it, And nothing taken from it. God does it, that men should fear before Him.

Breakfast in bed

It was after 7:30am.

The door soundlessly opened just enough for her to see.

“Yes, I’m awake, sweetheart.”

“I was worried, you normally don’t stay in bed this late. How are you feeling?”

-sigh-

“Not fantastic. I’m very tired today.”

“Then don’t worry! I’ll make you breakfast and I’ll clean the kitchen. I don’t need much help with school today, just Math. You can tell me what you want me to do to help Jase after breakfast.”

And off she went.

It wasn’t long before her promise was made good in serving me breakfast in bed.

I’m so thankful for her sweet generous heart.

I did get up and take my daily inhaler and my other meds.

I’m back in bed, surrendering my day before the Master.

Because I know His plans are best.

Yesterday, I felt amazing.

I had many responsibilities and was blessed to get them all done!

It was incredible.

For most of this week I’ve felt pretty miserable: migraines.

But, praise God, I’m migraine free.

Yet, my body is in need of rest and I have learned to obey.

My calendar is pretty open today.

It’s a perfect day for resting.

I’ve been repeating a verse all morning, when not listening to the Bible or praying.

2 Corinthians 12:9 NKJV — And He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.

In my weakness, He is strong.

I praise God.

He is so faithful.

If I’d never been sick, I’d never have seen how awesome He truly is.

Praise the Lord!

Lacking words

It’s been longer than normal between penned thought to the next penned thought.

It’s due to the struggle.

A lack of words.

How do I shape my everyday into anything worth writing, much less reading?

Some of the lack has been from an over flow of duties in other areas.

Some of the lack has been my weaker days of late, which have required more rest.

Most of the lack has been due to emotion.

When my physical body is weak, my emotions seem to stumble more.

Self-control and kindness takes extra effort.

Yet, it’s so valuable.

I want to give the effort.

These days of less writing have not been less full of Jesus.

He has walked side-by-side, at times carrying me along, through each day.

He has been my comfort when I’ve been afraid.

He’s answered my prayers when I’ve been questioning.

His presence, His Word has been my all.

And now that the lull of quiet seems to be dissipating, I look forward to seeing what words He will share with me.

And I look forward to seeing what words I’ll be sharing with you.