Disappointment: Pain

Another question that I'm sure at one point or an other we have thought these things. "God why all this pain?"  "Why must I endure and suffer all this pain?" "Why must the world suffer all this pain?" "Being a all loving God how can you watch all this pain and not do something?" I know I have thought this things, and I can probably put money on the fact I will probably think it again at some point.  

I had one person say to me one time "How can God look into the face of an innocent child and not save them from pain and suffering?"  " How could He not rush to help them?" "How could He let such awful things happen to then?" Honestly in that moment I had no idea what to say.  When we think about it don't all of us in some way want to scream this from the top of our lungs some times too.  "How can you let such evil happen God?"

There are 2 things that I have come to understand a little better in my search to understand disappointment with God and pain.  The first thing is that if we have all powerful God and a all loving God to the purest sense, then we have one thing for sure.  This one thing is that Love in its most purest form is not coercive.  Now if someone would ask me if love was coercive I would obviously say no, but I will have to give credit for this thought and say I heard this idea from a wonderful sermon from Ty Gibson called, Through Tears.

True an utter love is not coercive.  True love is not generated by coercive tactics.  You can't hold someone at gun point and say "love me!" and suddenly their heart goes a flutter for you.  Their heart my flutter for sure out of fear, and they might even say they love you, but they would not Really love you. If you really want someone to truly love you, you have to show love to them and try and draw them by your love.  You have to give them freedom right?

If true love requires freedom then there has to be choice. There has to be an option to walk the other way away from love.  You could love someone soooo much and long for them to love you and do all these great things for them, but they could still choose to walk away from you.  So then love is risky.

This is how Ty writes it Love=Freedom=Risk.  

This concept seems so simple but honestly is very deep if you think about it.  It blew the lid off my jar of cranky complaints against God.  For it helped me see how an All Powerful  & LOVING God could have a world like ours, like Ty would say, "On His hands".  Pain exists because God will not force anyone to love Him.  

This brings me to my other thought.  As a medical professional I see  a lot of people with pain.  Nearly every person I see is suffering from pain and looking to me to help them get better.  Now is pain a bad thing? Well.... in some ways yes... but is pain always bad? No.  From the physical side of things pain can be a very good thing.  It warns the body something is wrong.  Pain saves lives many times! If you get a huge gash in your leg and you have no pain you could bleed out and die before you noticed enough to get help. 

Honestly, even emotional pain is a warning system that tells us something is wrong and we need help.  Even emotional pain can and will kill us from the inside out if we don't get help.  Pain in many ways is a gift and an opportunity to get the help we need to survive.  

Now looking at pain from a broader perspective gets a little harder.  We look at our world and see that their are innocent people being tortured, killed, displace from their homes, starving, living in war zones.  If we thought of the world like the human body, this would be warning signs that there is something majorly wrong. This world has a huge infection and needs help.  Are you following me?  Its true right?  Most of us would agree with this.  

So an all powerful God made this world and man, but because He is all loving as well, He gave freedom.  He was up front and told Adam and Eve there is a disease out there that will kill you.  "If you do this one thing you will be infected and die." But He didn't force them to stay in His love, He gave them freedom.  True to the all loving God He is. We know the story.... Adam and Eve chose to turn away from God and the horrible infection started for the whole of the human race, Sin.  

We are lovers of sin, but God knows this is fatal.  But He allowed freedom because He is a God of true love.  He restrains Himself from just vaporizing us, because He first loved us.  He longs to save us from our condition but He still has to allow freedom.  So He made a plan to cure our disease.  Jesus!

• John 3:16-17 - " For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him" NIV

So He personally sacrifices Himself!  This All powerful & All loving God permanently marries Himself to the Human race because He SO loves us.  And as pure love would do, is willing to die and take on the whole worlds infection to cure us!  And hopefully show us how much He loves us so we will chose to love Him and be saved!

This is the true message of the Gospel!  Why the Gospel is such Good News Right!!!  So in some ways we can begin to understand and believe that This all powerful God is truly All Loving and does hurt with everyone of us suffering on this planet, but also doesn't take all pain away because each person has choice.  Pain is an indication we need our savior and we live in a war zone. You cannot expect that your life will be peachy in a war zone. We have an infection each one of us.  But God does not force anyone to choose love over hate.  It is not love if it is by force.  So we have ones that chose love and ones that don't.  This is war.  We suffer and have pain.... but honestly in a way it is a gift because it lets us know something is wrong and we need to turn to Jesus!!!

Paul in his ministry talks about a thorn in his side and that he asks God 3 times to take it away.  God tells him this:

• 2 Corinthians 12:9-10 - "   But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong." NIV

I look at this verse in a whole new light.  God says "No" to Paul 3 times in his hardship.  Are you feeling like that?  Are you having some major pain in your life and you are begging God to remove it?  God seems to be telling you "No" over and over?  Take courage!  Paul suffered the same!  God told him basically "Paul, I know this is hard for you but I will help you to endure this" "My grace is sufficient for you!"  "When you are feeling your worse and the world is pressing in and you feel totally weak and helpless, I will show my power to the world when you are at your weakest!"  He told Paul "your suffering is not in vain, and I will help you through, and reach many others through it"

Isn't that the truth so many times.  We are inspired and see the love and power of God when someone else that suffers way more than us witnesses for Jesus and finds ways to show the world Jesus love despite their disability or horrible abuse done to them or losing several loved ones to war.  Don't we look at them and realize in the deepest part of our hearts there HAS to be a Loving, powerful, and Amazing God out there if some can endure all that and still witness and do all they do despite all that has happened to them? I know I sure do! 

So in my search recently, I have to say and beg to point out that pain is relative.  And in many ways pain can be a gift to us and this human race.  I know some one reading this may want to punch me for saying that, especially if in the middle of major pain in life,  but I challenge you to really think about it.  God has the cure!  It isn't to remove all of pain in this world it is to surgically remove the cancer eating our souls. It Will be painful, we Will suffer, not because He wants us to.  Its about saving us spiritually and eternally from the inside out, not from the outside in.  Pain is relative, but doesn't ever have to be in vain.  Ultimately Christ suffered most so we could suffer less! Remember, God's grace is sufficient for you too! Take courage!

Disappointment: Great Expectations

So I do not have all the answers to disappointment. I think there are many things that we will not fully understand about God for probably a very long time. But I do think God gives us enough evidence to believe if we choose.  Therefore, I attempt to share some of the things recently that have helped me in my disappointment with God.  

My hook for falling into major disappointment with God is my great expectations.  I think God is mighty and powerful and I should be able to expect certain things from Him.  Now this is where things get sticky. Can we expect things from God?.... yes! Can we always be sure of what action God is going to do? .... No. This can become a real problem in discerning, and can quickly get me in trouble because I start to place God in a box, and start predicting what I think God will do or should do.  As if I know His will and plan in detail. 

When we are in pain and struggling with something big in our lives, we want to believe in a big God that will come to our rescue and sweep in and save us like we have read in so many books.  Even many Christian inspirational books are full of stories of miracles and amazing things that happen to people who have prayed and believed.  Their loved one was saved, or cancer cured, or recieved money right before a house was to be foreclosed.

I get caught not so much with earthly things lately but with spiritual things.  I am praying for someone and suddenly things get worse and they are doing worse and seem farther away from God than before I started praying.  Or I try to fast and pray to get closer to God and a veil seems to fall over me and I feel totally disconnected, worse off than when I started.  It's these things where I lose my way.

My thoughts are "God surely wants to save this person.  It has to be His will"  "God surely wants me to draw nearer to Him, this has to be in His will"  Now are these things true? Yes!

• 1 Timothy 2: 3-4 - "This is good, and pleases God our Savior, who wants all people to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth" NIV
• James 4:8 - "Come near to God and he will come near to you..." NIV

The problem comes when I take these promises and truths and think God must act a certain way, or I build up in my head the ways I feel He should show Himself and work miracles.  As I pray and do what I think I should then my expectations get bigger and bigger and I climb higher on the ladder that I have built.  My thoughts go from trusting God to trying to will God to do what I think He should. It is so subtle I don't even know I'm doing it sometimes.   Then when things don't work out the way I think, I go into major faith crisis. I go from anger, to blaming myself for not doing the right things, to having issues trusting God.  I think "Why won't God do for me or my love ones what he has done for others?"

What can we expect from God?

• He will never leave us. 
• He will work out things for our best. 
• He will give us the Holy Spirit freely.
• He will forgive us if we confess.
• He will finish the good work He started in us. 
• (I'm sure there are more you could add to the list)

Notice most of these have to do with the internal world and not external.  Even when the scripture says He works things out for good, we think we know what good is, but most of the time God is looking for eternal good not always what our version of good is.  God works in many ways but always with the eternal and spiritual in mind.  And a lot of the times, outside of our understanding as finite human beings.

So how do we as Christians believe in a messed up world and trust even when we have been greatly disappointed?  It is not easy sometimes.  When I was researching this topic the story of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego came to my mind and what they told King Nebuchadnezzar.

• Daniel 3:17-18 - "If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to deliver us from it, and he will deliver us from Your Majesty’s hand. But even if he does not, we want you to know, Your Majesty, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up.”

This is some amazing faith!  They believed that God could totally save them if He wanted to, but they also knew that sometimes He doesn't.  They chose to believe anyway! They trusted that God knew the eternal outcome for good and the physical one was not the most important. They understood that this world is a war zone and with many unhappy endings as it would seem in our small human view.  But that God's view is much bigger and wider able to see the spiritual and eternal importance beyond.  They chose to cling to hope & trust rather than expect a certain outcome in the now.

So I guess for me I realize, in light of my disappointment, that I was building up great expectations and attaching them to my faith.  That somehow if these things don't work out, God is not who He says He is.  The devil loves to try and get us to believe this in our disappointment and pain. I realized I am putting God in a box and demanding He prove Himself to me, rather than trusting the hundreds of other things He has done in my life. I am not believing that no matter what things appear, He IS working things out for good spiritually and eternally beyond my view.

• 2 Corinthians 4:18 - "So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal" NIV

Great Expectations can get us in trouble but Great Hope (faith) trusts God is who He says He is and will work things out for Good for the spiritual and eternal of all His kids. We can expect God will do HIS thing NOT OUR thing, and one day we will get to see more why.

Lens of Love

So lenses are very amazing things.  They are able to take in light and show and image to the viewer.   In photography, the lens makes all the difference on what you see.  Things can appear totally different than what they really are.  There are lenses with glass that warps an image to be really close up and the edges far away, or one that makes things close seem far away, or even with certain colors prominent. 

My lens or lack of lens has been a little skewed lately. Have you had times like that?  You know like you have a good friend and they seem a little distant, or a brother or a sister you are close to said something that seemed a little off, or a co-worker you normally get along great with seems to not like one of your ideas.  It kinda messes with us doesn't it.  

In theses situations we have choices right?  Based on our experience with them and the truth we know, we can choose what we do with the things that seem not good.  We choose to believe what we see on this one occasion as the truth, or we can choose to believe what we know about and have seen from the past. We can decide what lens we will look at the situation.

Now we were meant to be able to look at the world with pure clean lenses.  God made man to see the world as it really is, a beautiful gift of love from our creator. But the Devil had other plans to come and distort or vision and inject sin into this world.  And we all know sin as flipped this world upside down.  Now what is right, SEEMS wrong, and whats wrong, SEEMS right.  

The beautiful thing about God is that He gave us a lens that helps flip the image we think we see into the image it really is.  

JESUS

• John 3:16 - "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life." NIV

So when we think life is too much and we are doomed, we aren't! Thinking about this Love of God by giving us Jesus, doesn't this have the capacity to change our view?  Of  COURSE! 

So all those people you know that may have let you down sometimes or done something that didn't feel good. If you choose to look through the lens of love, that they love you, you can trust them.  Then you know that even when things a little off, you can trust their love for you.   You are able to still move forward in the relationship with them even when things aren't perfect.

It is the same with God!  God does so much for us every day from the warm bed we sleep in at night, to the flowers outside, to fuzzy little mongrel that welcomes you when you come home from work! But besides the things we enjoy now God has given us JESUS! He gave us Jesus to show us His great and abounding love for us beyond question!!!!  So even if our warm bed is taken from us, or the flowers forget to bloom, or the fuzzy mongrel is no more, that we can look to and through the Jesus and this Great Love, to know that God looks out for us and will not abandon us!

So as usual and as many of us do sometimes, I got down about life circumstances.  In times like these, I lose my lens.  I decide to try and look at the word and my circumstances through my own eyes and start doubting God's love for me. I get lost in the lack of a spouse or kid when all my friends have one, or in dissatisfaction with my job or family.  Instead of stopping and taking the time to look through the lens of Jesus.  I cry out to God and say "why is everything so messed up!!!"  And God gently reminds me "Remember My Love"  "Look to and through the lens of My Love, Jesus"

I was sitting in church yesterday and I was listening to the music being played for the offertory "Redeemed".  The line that always touches me is "Redeemed how I love to proclaim it, HIS CHILD AND FOREVER I AM" 

With that kind of love, how can we not want to look through the lens of love always!  I pray for you and for me that we get better at choosing the lens of love, over any other in this world.  God bless you this week!  Amen!

Trust Me

My heart has been hurting a lot lately. There are times in each of our lives that we feel down or discouraged. I feel the pain of a couple of close people to me.  I identify with their suffering and questions.  I long to reach them but they barrier themselves up because of their pain or disappointment.  They can only see their pain they cannot see past it.

Boy do I identify with these feelings.  I have been several times in places where all I could see was my suffering.  I had no idea the damage my own suffering was causing to those around me.  Anyone that tired to help I would fight and argue with  because I was too afraid to let anyone touch that wounded part of me. But deep down I longed to be set free and be healed. 

I know what awful games the devil plays with our minds and even still I find myself getting stuck in these patterns of thinking starting to believe the lies he spins for us. "No one will understand you" "you'll never be good enough" "Everyone thinks you're crazy" "God loves them more than you" "If you tell them how you feel, they will leave you"

Ever heard those lines before?

My heart just aches for these loved ones and for the wake of destruction this kind of thinking is doing in their lives.  I have tried to talk with them but they still seem so stuck.  

So this last couple weeks I have just cried and cried over it. I long for God to step in and wake up their hearts to see His love and a way out.  But it seems that things just get worse and more people are getting hurt.  It seems as if all my prayers are in vain and nothing breaks through. 

It is hard in times like these for me to keep the faith.  I feel God saying to me just keep trusting me. I just want to say like David saying "How long oh Lord!"  But you know what I love about David... He was so honest about his feelings to God and just laid them at God's feet.  In the end he always found hope in His loving God. Psalms 13 is one of my favorites.

"How long, Lord? Will you forget me forever?
How long will you hide your face from me?
 How long must I wrestle with my thoughts
and day after day have sorrow in my heart?
How long will my enemy triumph over me?
 Look on me and answer, Lord my God.
Give light to my eyes, or I will sleep in death,
 and my enemy will say, “I have overcome him,”
and my foes will rejoice when I fall.
 But I trust in your unfailing love;
my heart rejoices in your salvation.
 I will sing the Lord ’s praise,
for he has been good to me" NIV

In some way God speaks to David and reminds him of all He had done  for David and says "Trust Me, Remember all the times I have been good to you, just trust me"  David remembers and says. Despite what I see and feel "I will trust in your unfailing love......for he has been good to me"

Psalms has a way of soothing my soul in rough times. It helps me to see I can be totally honest with God and tell Him how I feel.  I don't have to pretend with Him.   When I lay these burdens at His feet, He will lift me up and remind me to hang on and trust Him because of all He has done and His unfailing love.

Now my heart still hurts and I will keep longing for these loved ones,  but God reminds me that He has unfailing love not just for me but for my loved ones as well. That He has not forgotten my prayers or missed one tear I've cried. He gently whispers "Trust Me" " Remember what I've done in the past for you and trust me"

Many of you, I know struggle with much harder things than this. God see's everything we go through and His heart breaks too for the things sin does to us in this world. He longs for us to reach out to Him in everything with total honesty of heart. He knows He is the only one that can save us from this world of sin and pain.  He holds out His hand and says "trust me, I know it seems unbearable but trust me" "I am your hope and your salvation. My love is unfailing! I will lift you up!"

God knows that if we will chose to trust Him, we will have peace. If we chose to believe what He promises and has shown us over and over again in His actions of sacrifice and love, we can have peace!  It may not change the longing but now it can be cradled in hope in our loving God!

So this morning I'm reminded to lay this pain and fear for my loved ones down at God's feet. Reminded of my God's love for me i relax a little. I chose to trust Him, even as I type this entry and make this decision to believe in my God over what I feel and see, peace is washing over me. 

It is an interesting thing choice. Choice must come first sometimes before the peace.

So lay your heart out to God in your struggles, whatever they might be.  He sees you and hears you and so longs to draw close. He wants to give you hope in the midst of your suffering.  Reach to Him and know His unfailing love!  He has not forgotten you or hidden His face. Choose to trust Him and you will find peace.

So Worth Waiting For!!!

Do you ever struggle with waiting?  LOL :) silly question right? 

We wait a lot in our day don't we? We wait in traffic, we wait for the bus, we wait in line at the grocery store, we wait in the drive thru.  There really is no end to the waiting we do.

Some things are easier to wait for than others. So for me waiting for the small things are sometimes harder than for the big things.  Like I nearly go bonkers over the slow lady in traffic, but I wait with bated breath for a trip to go see my friend.  The waiting is almost as fun as the trip because I think of all the fun we will have and every time we talk on the phone we are planning the cool things we will do together. 

Lets be honest though.... Sometimes waiting gets incredibly hard. Waiting for an answer from a doctor about the prognosis of a loved one, waiting to hear if family is okay after a car accident, waiting for the body to heal after an injury, for a single person, waiting for a spouse. Even more painful can be waiting for answers from God about broken relationships, loss of a job, or purpose and direction when everything in your life seems to be going wrong. 

The Bible has so much about waiting.  So many promises and hope!  I love this one in Isaiah.

• Isaiah 40:31 -  "but they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength;
  they shall mount up with wings like eagles;
  they shall run and not be weary;
  they shall walk and not faint"  ESV

What we deal with in this world can be truly down right horrible and nearly what seems impossible to bear, but it is all temporary.  We have such a hope beyond all the pain and sorrow and yes.....even the waiting that we must do in this world. 

My small group at church has been studying Hebrews and yesterday a verse just leaped out of the page at me. 

• Hebrews 9:28 - "so Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many; and he will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him." NIV

For the first time this verse brought such encouragement.  Jesus came first to wipe away sin and He will come again to bring Salvation to all those who are waiting for Him.  The English Standard Version says "Eagerly waiting for Him"

We have such a loving Savior that has wiped the slate clean for us and continues to do it for us every day as we turn our hearts toward Him. But He did not die and rise again to wipe the slate clean and then leave us.  He is COMING BACK to bring us SALVATION from this sinful planet!  Isn't that SO worth waiting for?

I think the interesting thing is the verse says for those who are waiting.  When we wait we look for something or someone.  So it is an action a state of the heart, waiting.  We don't wait without some expectation, what's the point?  The beautiful thing is God does not abandon us in this waiting. He gives us strength to go on even when others around us may fall because we put our hope in Him and trust Him in everything!

So the next time you wait somewhere or for something.... Remember..... God will give you strength..... and your waiting is not in vain.  He is coming back to save us and be with us forever!  Something TOTALLY worth waiting for Eagerly! 

Head in the Game

So I'm back to running again.... for little over a month now.  I'm doing better this season than last considering I took winter off.  Last year I came to a point where running more than 3 miles was hard to me.  I only made 4 miles once.  This season I've made 4 miles 2x but I struggle to get that mileage every time.  

I started doing some research  and my conclusion is. Running is a head game.  Its what I'm telling my body I can do verses what I can't do.  So I know I can do it I've done it before. It is my head and my focus on my body aches fatigue etc that stops me.

I think God has steered me into running, even though I'm not a runner build or really even liked running to start with, because it is such a physical tangible way of understanding our spiritual running.   

Paul compares his spiritual life and mission as a race more than once in the new testament. 

• Acts 20:24 - " However, I consider my life worth nothing to me; my only aim is to finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me —the task of testifying to the good news of God’s grace" NIV

• 2 Timothy 4:7 - "I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith" NIV

The writer of Hebrews which is unknown but sounds a lot like Paul also encourages us in our faith and spiritual lives as well with analogy of running.

•  Hebrews 12:1-2 - "Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith..." NIV

As I put my shoes on and get ready to go outside and do this running thing, what I'm focused on and what things I say to myself make a difference.  If I focus on my body and my internal tiredness I feel like the road stretches endlessly before me and I fail to make my goal. But if I tell myself positive things and focus on the road ahead and my goal, I can do it!

Sometimes  and especially for me the last month, I feel little lost and struggle to feel close to God. I start worrying about how I'm feeling rather than what God's truth is and His promises.  My emotions want to take over and tell me I can't run this race.  However, I'm reminded through my physical running, it is not how I feel that determines my success it is what I'm focused on.  If I take the time to remember God will never leave me and nothing can separate me from His love, my focus shifts and I have a little more energy to keep going despite what I feel.

The devil will try and manipulate us into thinking that how we are feeling whether discouragement, depression, or disillusionment, is the reality. But as Christians we have promise after promise, and truth upon truth, not only in the Bible but times in our lives when God has stepped in and worked miracles for us.  When we focus on these things the resistance drops away and we find the energy to keep the faith and keep going.

So this last week or so I have had to say to God "God despite how I feel I know Your promises and Truth. I trust You" I'm slowly pulling out and finding my energy again to keep going.  Every time I do this it grows me and my faith for the next time around. I find myself able to trust my loving God more and more!

What struggles or emotions are you facing that seem to be clouding your vision or feelings of closeness to God? Remember the Truth. God loves you and will never leave you! This spiritual race is tough and at times a head game.  Keep your head in the game and Trust what you KNOW to be True, not what your body is telling you. Fix your eyes on Jesus and you will find the energy bit by bit to finish the race!!

"Choose Me"

Greetings!  I have new assignment right now for my job that is requiring longer drive and it is taking up more time than I'm used to.  So apologies for lack of posts lately.  One good thing about the long drives is it means I can pray more on the way to work, talk with God, and I love this.  I have been longing to hear God more in my life and these long drives help because there is little else to do when you have nearly 3 hours on the road.

John 15 has been stuck in my mind lately.  It is easy for me to get frustrated with where I am at in my life and feel like I'm not doing enough.  I think this is why God keeps pushing John 15 into my head.  It is all about abiding in Him.  Just being with Jesus and letting go of everything else in our lives. 

This is so hard for me and probably for many of us.  I'm a people pleaser, control freak, DYI'er :)  Being single for so long kinda makes you that way, but I have major genetic disposition to be this way as well along with my sinful selfish nature to boot.  I seek the praise of others and get caught up in that sometimes rather than just sitting at the feet of Jesus and looking to Him for His thoughts and connection.

One of the verses that has been sticking out to me is this one, the last part of John 15:5.

• ".......apart from me you can do nothing" NIV

God has given me gifts and talents like He does all of us.  Sometimes He gives us a glimpse of what those talents and gifts could be in the long haul.  I think He does this to help grow our desire for Him and to grow our passion to reach others. Which are all good things.  Being that I want to impress deep down in the selfish part of me, I sometimes take these glimpses and become so excited I'm like a wild horse at the races.  I just want to run!

Do you know what a wild horse at the races will do? Probably destroy a lot of things and maybe cause some injuries.  Why? Because it isn't disciplined to run the race.  Oh no question it can run, but it has no idea how to do it effectively to win the race. I forget that in order to get from point A-Z there is a whole lot of other steps that need to happen.  Hence the fact I think God keeps putting these verses in my face.

John 15 draws me, because I want to bare fruit, be a light for Him.  But the 2 key points is that I can do NOTHING by myself....And I have to ABIDE in Him. Overall the concept is simple, but the doing it is hard.  Not because God makes it hard.  I make it hard! This whole thing is about choosing to look to Jesus in every moment of our day.  This is literally the only thing we have... choice. 

What do I mean?.... Choosing to look at Jesus in every situation and every task of the day and struggle we face. There is a spiritual battle going on around us, a fight for our heart.  And the one thing we have is choice. We can choose to get caught up in what things are going on around us, the praise we seek, the things we think are right..... or we can choose to look to Jesus in everything. 

This may seem a little cliche to some.  And we may even think to ourselves  "Of course I choose Jesus!" We may even feel we are on fire for Him and running with all our might. But are we really focused on Him or our own plans?  This is definitely me more times than not.  But God keeps reminding me "you can do nothing apart from me"  "Abide in Me.... Look to Me... Chose Me... in every moment of the day" "I will show you every step to Z" "focus on me every minute you are with your patients" "Look to me when you get frustrated with your day" "Turn to me when your heart hurts over disappointments" "Abide and chose Me before everything." 

And with all of that what does He promise us?..... Read the list in John 15.  Anything you ask He will grant, you will bare much fruit, friendship, Love, and Joy complete. Everything our hearts could long for!

So I guess in my long drives with the long stretch of road a head of me, He is teaching me. He is whispering to my heart these things to choose and look to Him every moment of everyday.  What a Loving Savior! He says "Quit making it so hard! Rest in me! And you will produce more fruit than you can even imagine! Just choose Me."

How is God calling your heart to abide and choose Him lately? Every minute of everyday He has things to share with us if we just choose and look to Him.  What burdens would you be free of? What freedom could you find letting go of everything and just focusing on Him? Lets do it together! It's going to be amazing!

Tree By The Water

Jeremiah 17:7-8

“But blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord,
whose confidence is in him.
 They will be like a tree planted by the water
that sends out its roots by the stream.
It does not fear when heat comes;
its leaves are always green.
It has no worries in a year of drought
and never fails to bear fruit.” NIV

This verse really hit me this last week.  I long for it to be the theme for the year.  To stay focused trusting God so that my life is a constant witness to His Glory, Power, And Great Love.  Amen

God bless you this year!

Kori

Every Good Gift is for You!

This season is soooooooo busy, and for me,  this year is even more so because I'm driving farther to work than usual.  So this is  why I haven't blogged for a week or so.  But along with that, I have had a big storm in my life as well. 

Those of you that have read my blog from the beginning, know that there is a big rift in my family.  Two sides that, over something small, have been at odds for almost 2 years.  This makes the Holiday's harder for me being in the middle trying to be family to both sides.  This combined with a huge communication problem at work has consumed my thinking over the last week and a half.  

Sometimes when I get my head wrapped around some things, it is so hard to let go of them.  I'm a problem solver by nature and long for harmony, so I get trapped sometimes in circular thinking of conversations and words that could be said or things to do to bring back balance.  Sometimes they are good ideas and sometimes they are not because they come out of a place of anger and frustration. 

Both work and family things, I brought before God and asked for answers of what I should say or if I should say anything.  I desperately wanted God to write in the sky for me.  Now in saying this, whether I want to admit it or not at the moment, there is another part of me that secretly hopes God doesn't answer so I can do what I want to do.  However, in the past I have made that mistake and had everything blow up severely in my face and destroy relationships.  So I'm learning but the waiting is miserable sometimes and I start feeling that God has forgotten me.

I was feeling so much this way.  I wanted God's answer and to hear Him telling me the best way to go.  The work situation I kind of waited and then took over some. Part way through, I begged God to help.  It worked out but went rough.  And the family one,  God never gave me the green light to speak and I waited in agony feeling awful, trying to not loose faith in His love and desire to speak to me.  

Sometimes in situations like these I am so blinded!  He was speaking to me all along trying to show me He was there.  Someone that I rarely talk to texted me and told me they missed me, one of my pt.'s looked right at me and told me I was so pretty, others at church that I normally don't talk with that often, came to talk with me.  All these things, signs, God mobilizing the world around me to reach me in my pain.  Then last night, I learned the very family member I wanted to talk to was already making an effort to mend fences in the family!  Without any word or effort on my part, God working.

How easily I forget..... but I'm learning..... Every Good and Perfect Gift is from God!

•  James 1:17 - " Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows" NIV

Everyone that opens the door for you, everyone that smiles at you, everyone that lets you merge in crazy traffic, every flower, every hug, every warm bed and cup of coffee, heartwarming tune.....ALL of it!  Is God taking a moment to whisper He loves you and has not forgotten you!  

He does not say to us "I love you today..... but don't know about tomorrow"  He does not change in His affection for us!  The devil tries to make us believe those lies, with the struggles on this earth, but God does not change.  And Every Good Thing is a direct message of Love to YOU from Him!  He is Always Faithful! Even when answers don't seem clear, there are signs He is there.

So I hope this Christmas you will look around you and see with your heart how much God loves you and is telling YOU, through Every Good and Perfect Gift He gives you this season and always! 

God Bless :) 

And God Be Forever Praised for all He gives and has given!

Kori

Look, Ask, Believe!

Do you believe in the mighty power of God? I'm not talking about just the little things in the day like all the lights turn green on your way to work.  Although... those things are awesome! :)  I'm talking about the big stuff like healing the sick, stopping the sun, or a small pot of soup that feeds a thousand people.

This idea of God's power has been rolling around in my head lately.  I have been asking myself..."Do you really believe in the power of God?"  "Like part the waters, power of God?"  There is also this song on the radio that has been grabbing my attention lately.... Greater by Mercy Me.  There is one line that jumps out at me every time.

"And greater is the One living inside of me
Than he who is living in the world"

Now the song mainly talks about the battle to believe that God loves us and is bigger than our sin that tries to pull us down. It is a great message!  It stirred up more in me the question of something greater than just our sin.  I think it is easier for us as Christians to believe the message that God is greater in our internal world than our external world.  I know I fall into this thinking.  However, the Bible is full of story after story of how God showed His mighty power and intervened in real tangible external ways. 

I think as much as it is important to remember how God works in  our hearts, it is just as important to remember that God performs REAL LIFE miracles too.  It is easy to think to ourselves "That was in Bible times" " Or that happens only out in the mission field".  

There is so much pain in the world.  Sometimes things don't seem to work out for even the truly righteous God fearing people.   We start to lose faith in the mighty God we serve forgetting that He see's a bigger picture.  David talks about this in Psalms when he was struggling to believe.

•   Psalms 77:11-15 - " I will remember the deeds of the Lord;
  yes, I will remember your miracles of long ago.
   I will consider all your works
  and meditate on all your mighty deeds.”
   Your ways, God, are holy.
  What god is as great as our God?
   You are the God who performs miracles;
  you display your power among the peoples.
   With your mighty arm you redeemed your people,
  the descendants of Jacob and Joseph" NIV

 This whole chapter in Psalms is a beautiful reminder of what to do when we struggle to believe that God is more powerful than anything we are facing and can Literally move mountains, part waters, and heal anyone of His choosing. 

I wonder sometimes why we don't see God's power more in our lives or in others lives? Maybe the real question is are we looking for it? Or have we become apathetic.  I know I am guilty of this a thousand times over.  

Now I know God isn't just some Jennie in a bottle to make all our wishes come true and we live in a sinful world. But I do believe that we miss out a lot more on God's power in our lives and all around us because we aren't looking.  We forget how truly and literally powerful our God is.  And some of us have given up all together asking God to do anything of real tangible nature because we struggle to believe. 

What would our lives and churches look like if we really asked and believed in the greatest power ever revealed to man and the universe?  What awesomeness would we see if we really with every fiber of our being believed in God's unsurpassed, supreme, matchless power?  Those words also apply to His love as well.  

Okay... So do you hear me?  Are you listening?  Do you understand the gravity of what this means?  

We have the greatest Hero of the Universe who is not only on our side, but loves us with a unfathomable unfailing love, AND has the power to extinguish or bring to life a solar system with one breath!!!!  He ALWAYS works for our good NO MATTER WHAT!!!! 

Are we looking, asking, or believing? Lets do what David did and remember what mighty amazing things God has done AND is DOING!  Lets see what looking, asking, and believing in our God can really do!

Out of the Mud, Onto the Rock, Given a New Song!

Psalms 40:1-3

"I waited patiently for the Lord;
he turned to me and heard my cry.
 He lifted me out of the slimy pit,
out of the mud and mire;
he set my feet on a rock
and gave me a firm place to stand.
 He put a new song in my mouth,
a hymn of praise to our God.
Many will see and fear the Lord
and put their trust in him" NIV

Is this picture in Psalms not unbelievably beautiful! 

May your day be Blessed with a song in your mouth for the Amazing Loving Father who saved you! 

Amen!

Another Jewel from Job

I usually think of the statement "My Redeemer Lives" as one from the New Testament.  Found this beautiful jewel from Job as well.

Job: 19:25-27

"I know that my redeemer lives,
and that in the end he will stand on the earth.
 And after my skin has been destroyed,
yet in my flesh I will see God;
 I myself will see him
with my own eyes —I, and not another.
How my heart yearns within me" NIV

Job's faith blows my mind.  May this bless you as it  does me this day.  Know, Your Redeemer Lives! Amen!

Yet I will hope

This morning I'm reading Job.  I used to get so angry at the story of Job because it seemed so unfair.  A man that lived his life for God and looked out for his family.  How could God let Satan nearly destroy his whole life, kill off his family, and nearly kill him? And then when Job finally gets to talk and question God at the end of the book, God's answer is "Don't you know who I am, and who are you to question me?" At least it always felt that way. 

This is the second time I am reading through the Bible in the last year and I am noticing some beautiful verses of Job that show his ultimate trust in his God and friend. Yes he cries out over and over in his anguish and begs God to curse the day of his birth etc.  He has real honest questions as any of us would in his shoes, but there are some truly amazing statements of faith and trust that surprise me in the midst of all this pain.  This is one of them.

• Job 16:19-21: "Even now my witness is in heaven;
  my advocate is on high.
   My intercessor is my friend
  as my eyes pour out tears to God;
   on behalf of a man he pleads with God
  as one pleads for a friend." NIV

Wow! Isn't that amazing! Even in his horrible pain and suffering Job knows that he has an intercessor that pleads for him as one that pleads for a friend.  Even then Job was so close to God that He trusted and knew that Holy Spirit would intercede for him.  It say's advocate on high I wonder if this eludes to even Jesus.

The new testament supports intercession by the Holy Spirit and and we know Jesus intercedes for us.  Here is a verse from new testament I just love.

• Romans 8:26-27:  "In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans. And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for God’s people in accordance with the will of God." NIV

It is such comfort to me when I feel like I don't even know what to pray for I'm so distraught.  Job knew this too with his connection with God.

The one verse that just blows me away and shows Job's total and complete trust in God is this one .

• Job 13:15: "Though he slay me, yet will I hope in him;
  I will surely defend my ways to his face." NIV

Can you imagine!  The kind of faith in a God that you know is allowing all these horrible things to happen to you?  Job doesn't just lay down and not express himself to God and just except his fate without question, but in all this even in his questions and frustration he still trusts.  Can you wrap your mind around what kind of relationship he had to have with God in order to say "Though he slay me, yet I will hope in him"?

I think it is such an amazing testament to Job's relationship to God.  One, that he can feel totally comfortable being honest to God how he feels, and two, that in all of that he still trusts God to death even if God Himself kills him!

It sounds awful at first, but if you really think about it, isn't that amazing and awesome that Job trusted God that much!  Doesn't that testify to how good God really is?  Job knows that when it comes down to it, God is a good and loving God. Even trusting that sometimes death may be a mercy in some circumstances, which is sometimes hard to imagine.

It encourages me in my roughest times to remember our God is Good and we cannot see the big picture.  We think we know what is best, but honestly every day our vision is warped and darkened.  This is why only complete trust and surrender to God is our hope and strength. Only God sees the full picture and knows what is best for us.

So when things are looking bad and you think you can't go on, remember God is looking out for your best even if it looks like its the worst.  Remember if Job could trust God that much we can too! Yet I will hope! How about you?

 

I Am With You

I Just started reading this book this morning called 

Love Does by Bob Goff

The first chapter already has me tearing up.  The chapter is called I'm with you.  It is a story about when He was a teenager and he wasn't quite done with high school he wanted to go to Yosemite and be a rock climber.  There was a a guy that didn't go to his high school but would come by and hang out at the school and try to talk with him about Jesus.  After a while they became friends. 

Well Bob, the author, decided he was going to cut school and drive to Yosemite and he went to say goodbye to his friend, his friend thought for a few mins and invited himself to go with him saying "Bob, I'm with you".  No chastisement or "what are you doing?" Just "I'm with you"  

So they head out to Yosemite in VW and Bob tries to find a job and can't find anything and is running out of money. So he decides after 2 days of not finding anything and only enough money to get home, he would head back.  Again his friend just said to him "I'm with you" 

When they get back and Bob goes to drop his friend off at his house they go into the house and Bob sees there are wedding gifts half opened, and realizes that his friend had just gotten married to his girlfriend and sacrificed part of his honeymoon to go with him to Yosemite to make sure he was safe and ok. 

I was so moved by this story.  We are told all the time God is with us over and over.  But there is a big difference between just some higher being that looks down us and says "I'm with you" and watches over us, from a true friend that looks us in the eye that packs their bags and says "I'm with you".

My family moved around a lot when I was a kid because my dad was in the air-force.   It kind of made it hard for me to make friends. That may sound a little crazy, because you might think that would make me be good at making friends.  But being an introvert, you kind of get more and more shy of making friends because you know you will soon have to say goodbye and move.  

I think it was almost after I started my first job out of college that I met a friend that really was truly "with me" for the long haul.  I am so grateful every day for her she is my dearest Sister.  

• Matt 1:22-23 Says:  "All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: “The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel” (which means “God with us)”NIV

 God didn't just stay in heaven, He came down to earth and was born as a human being to BE WITH US!  :)  Isn't that Cool!

God is totally the guy that packs his bags or the sister that packs her purse :)  and says "I'm with you!" "For the long haul, whatever it takes"  Even if He knows we are bent on heading into the fray without a single lick of sense or preparation.  "I am with you"  "I am your confidant, comrade, your bestie, your BFF"  "I got your back"  

Great reminder that God is always closer than we think in a so much more personal way than we give Him credit for.  How has God told you lately that He is with you? Remember this week, He is more than just with you..... He is All In, packed His bags,  WITH YOU AlWAYS! AMEN!

Not Be Moved

Psalm 55:22

Cast your burden on the Lord,
and he will sustain you;
 he will never permit
the righteous to be moved. NIV

Whatever you have going on today God's got you covered :)

Give your burdens to Him

Keep your eyes on Him

and He will hold you steady in His Love!

God is Always Working

 

I'm overwhelmed with joy...... my friend that I have been praying for came by tonight and told me she wants to start going to church regularly and wants to read a Bible!!!!  I should not be surprised but it was like a record just scratched for a second.  :)  As I got whiplash looking back at her. She asked me what part of the Bible she should start reading first. I told her the Gospel's. Then she said she didn't have a Bible.  So I tried not to literally leap into my house to get her one. :) My heart was singing all the way! 

Sometimes as a Christian, I lose sight that there are truly people I know that are hungry for God.  Our 1st world society is so full of so many distractions and luxuries, that I feel it lulls us all to sleep.  I don't give God much credit for doing what He does best, touching peoples hearts with His love!

God Never Stops Working!  Even when things look like they are falling apart He is still working! Such a good reminder for me this week! Never lose faith, God knows what He is doing.  Things done in our time can turn out a mess, things in His time turn out Amazing!  

So my heart is just overflowing and full of joy for the journey my friend is embarking on, because if she wants she Will find Jesus, and He will fill her with the joy, peace, hope, and love that she longs for.  YAY!!!!

• Psalms 57:9-10:  "I will praise you, Lord, among the nations;
  I will sing of you among the peoples.
   For great is your love, reaching to the heavens;
  your faithfulness reaches to the skies" NIV

 Our God is so faithful! Always working things out for good.

So don't lose hope! God is working even if you can't see the end of the road or even a foot in front of you.  God is working Keep The Faith!  Don't believe what you see, Hold onto what you Know to be true! Jesus Reigns!

Silent No More! Soar, Run, Walk!

Yesterday I went to a baptism. So beautiful! The day was really hot and humid, but somehow I didn't care.  Normally our church does baptisms in a baptistry in the front of the church in between pieces of the program.  Today was different.  Today we got to go to a small lake and see a young teenager give his heart to God through baptism.

Not that I need to be baptized again, but if I did I would do it just like this.  More authentic and more of a celebration of the most important decision of a person's life. We celebrate weddings, graduations, and even sporting events with more joy and enthusiasm than we do this life altering pivotal decision.

There was a nice group of people that came from the church as well.  This is pretty good, because I think sometimes it is easy to get stuck in routine, and harder to step out of our comfort zones especially on such a hot and humid day.  It allows people to connect on a different level and brings new life and connections, that formal church can stifle.

I was really encouraged by this young man's testimony. He didn't speak long, but he spoke from his heart and about his friend Jesus.  How Jesus had spoken to his heart.  He quoted a Bible verse in Isaiah.

• Isaiah 40:31:  " but those who hope in the Lord
  will renew their strength.
  They will soar on wings like eagles;
  they will run and not grow weary,
  they will walk and not be faint." NIV

He said that this verse always gives him courage and strengthens his faith to know that God is with him and will help him soar over life's problems to share Jesus with others.  Such a beautiful encouraging message!  Such a wonderful verse!

We need these reminders from each other as Christians that God is working in each other's hearts.  If we don't share what God is doing in our lives then we have a tendency to believe, when we are feeling down, that God is not there or is indifferent to our struggles.  But when others share, we are reminded about our powerful and loving God and our Faith and courage is renewed and our hearts are comforted.

We remember who God really is and What He is really capable of!

I am being more and more convicted of this in my own life and what today's Christians need to remember.

Who do you Really believe God Is?  And what do you Really believe He is capable of?  If you have a story to share. Share It! God will multiply blessing from it beyond what you know and you will encourage others!

If you struggle to answer these questions, take time to remember what God has done in your life.  You might even write them down. Talk to another Christian friend and ask them to share their stories about how God has worked in their life.  You will find strength and comfort.

Encourage each other!  God strengthens us as a body of believers when we share, and helps us, Like this Verse:
 Soar on the wings of eagle's, (over problems of life)
 Run and not grow weary, (even when times are tough)
 Walk and not be faint  (Hold onto Faith when its dark)

God is God, Let God be God

This was an inspiring quote this week for me from the book Restless by Jennie Allen, I thought I'd share.

"Faith is the measure to which we believe God is God.  And Faith is the measure to which we let God be God." pg. 202

This week I have been thinking about why today as Christians in America we struggle to really live out our faith and make a real impact.  I'm sure many of you could list off a few things that could definitely ring true. 

In this last year 1/2 + my heart has been set on going beyond just a passive spectator "good person" that never causes any ruffles.  My prayer has been, "Lord, I want to be fruitful" "I want my Christian life to bear fruit"

Doesn't it have everything to do with who we really believe God is and how much we surrender to Him and let Him be who He is in our lives?

Something to really think about.  Are we as Christians here in American and 1st world countries going to sit back and relax in the comforts we have and get lulled to sleep with endless distraction?  Have we really forgotten Who God really is?  How powerful He is? And what miracles He can work if we just let go of our egos, selfishness, and let Him do what He does best in our hearts?

Wouldn't our churches be different? Wouldn't our communities be different? Wouldn't this world be a different place if we did?

What would it take for you to really surrender completely to God and believe He is who He says He is and let Him be Who longs to be in your heart to you and others?  Blessings to each one of you that dares to take a step closer to God this day!

Nuggets of Awesomeness! Making Memories!

Ok so I'm a little bummed.... I trained the last 4 weeks for the running part of this triathlon and it got rained out.  I was good too.  I carb loaded last night got up early, ate a light breakfast, had all my racing tattoos on nearly perfectly..... And nothing. LOL :) 

This is what I call making memories :) When things don't turn out the way you want. You have an opportunity to make memories.  I didn't get to run but I spent the morning with some super great people.  3 kids in the back row of a Honda Pilot singing praise songs at the top of their lungs and inviting me to come and eat with them after the race.  Us women in the middle row passing out fruit and mini muffins to the rest of the car, and 2 guys in the front seat keeping eye on the rain and clouds singing harmony.

So after the park ranger car came back and started using loud speaker to tell us the triathlon was cancelled we headed back to the triathlon leaders house. We decided to eat waffles and pancakes and enjoy the company.  I got to play legos with the kids and see their pet snail and dog and laugh together.

It wasn't the morning I planned but it filled my soul!

I was thinking how this happens sometimes in our spiritual lives.  We work and work really hard for a certain program, or leading a small group, or preparing to do service somewhere and things don't turn out the way we planned.  People don't come, or the video doesn't play, or it literally  rains :)  We could start to think its a failure or we can take advantage of the moment and see what other treasures lie in the change. 

• Proverbs 16:9 says: "In their hearts humans plan their course, but the Lord establishes their steps." NIV

We may have a plan of how our day needs to work but God determines our steps.

I find if I just give myself over to the change and look for the good and open to God, soon I start to see the nuggets of awesomeness that come out of the change of plans.  Some times the greatest moments are Not the planned ones, but the impromptu ones! :)

So if I boil it all down, did the threat of the impending race get me in better shape? YES!   Has it taught me some good lessons? Of Course! Do I wish I hadn't trained because there was no race. NO WAY!  I'm totally happy, because I achieved what I trained for without even running the race. And I got some awesome family time with a fantastic family from church.  Super Awesome!  Maybe I needed that more than running 4.5 miles today. 

What moments do you remember most in life?  And were some of them due to change in plans or totally impromptu?  Some of the most fun and greatest moments can be hidden in disappointments of plans changing. What plans are changing for you?  How can you give over your perspective and surrender to God's perspective finding the nuggets of goodness and greatness?   Let the stress melt away and let God take over, He always leaves gifts in these precious moments of change.

Praise in the Darkness!

Recently one of my friends made a comment to me that made me think about how I first starting reading the Bible.  The background was I was 11 years old and my mom told me that she and my dad were separating.  I was so torn up by this.  I remember wandering the house so angry that God would let this happen to my family.  I couldn't understand why my parents didn't care about each other.

I needed someone to talk to then and I found a teacher at school that I confided in. She pointed me toward God and reading the Bible for comfort. She told me to start in psalms.

So I started reading in Psalms and almost instantly connected with the words of David.  It was like he was reading my thoughts.  It gave my pain voice.  I was always amazed at how David through all the struggles he went through, still praised God.  He was always honest with God, sometimes brutally honest about his feelings, but in the Psalms he always turns his face toward God at the end and verbalizes his trust.

There are so many great Psalms it is hard to pick favorites, but some of mine are:

Psalms 13

How long, Lord? Will you forget me forever?
How long will you hide your face from me?
 How long must I wrestle with my thoughts
and day after day have sorrow in my heart?
How long will my enemy triumph over me?

Look on me and answer, Lord my God.
Give light to my eyes, or I will sleep in death,
 and my enemy will say, “I have overcome him,”
and my foes will rejoice when I fall.

But I trust in your unfailing love;
my heart rejoices in your salvation.
 I will sing the Lord ’s praise,
for he has been good to me

Psalms 27:1

The Lord is my light and my salvation —
whom shall I fear?
The Lord is the stronghold of my life—
of whom shall I be afraid?

Psalms 27:13-14

I remain confident of this:
I will see the goodness of the Lord
in the land of the living.

Wait for the Lord;
be strong and take heart
and wait for the Lord

Psalms 34:18

The Lord is close to the brokenhearted
and saves those who are crushed in spirit

Psalms 42:5

Why, my soul, are you downcast?
Why so disturbed within me?
Put your hope in God,
for I will yet praise him,
my Savior and my God.

Psalms 46:1-3

God is our refuge and strength,
an ever- present help in trouble.
 Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way
and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea,
 though its waters roar and foam
and the mountains quake with their surging.

There are so many other great ones. I can't begin to list them all. David understood that in the deepest darkness that God was still Real, Loving, and Present in his life.  He understood the true nature and heart of God even through his tears and pain.   

A sermon lately struck me with the idea of sacrifice of praise.  You don't think of praise as a sacrifice.  But you know, that is exactly what David did throughout his life.  The Bible even has a verse on it. 

• Hebrew 13:15 : "Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise—the fruit of lips that openly profess his name." NIV

So Faith is trusting when we can't see, Darkness.  And by trusting God we are able to give a sacrifice of praise, Lifting God Up, even in the darkness... even through our tears.  Little  did I know the full concept of this at 11 and 12 when I started reading these verses, but now through this even greater family trial, it holds so much more depth and comfort to me.

So many around me also suffer from darkness in their lives, and I'm sure many of you reading this do as well. But lets lift our eyes and see God's goodness in His word and remember all the times He has lifted us up.  So in our darkness we can keep the faith, find our hope, and give sacrifices of praise to our God of unfailing, everlasting, love.  No darkness lasts forever.  Let God's light and hope pour into your heart through your darkness now.  You'll never regret it.