8 Days and 7 Reasons Why

Posted December 17, 2013

So I was a work yesterday and I got the thought to count how many more work days until the new year. I was both surprised and sad to find that I would be working only eight more days.

Surprised because it just seemed like it was just October. Sad because it was in October that I trusted God’s leading in my life and gave notice to my employers that I would be leaving at the end of December.

Leaving a job is never easy, but leaving a job that you love, that gives you the money you need to pay your bills and feed your family, and that allows you to work with some awesome people is really hard.

Not to mention the fact that I am leaving in order to stay home, go through everything I own, sell most of it, and then pack the rest in order to move to a Country that I have never been to , and that I do not currently even have a job in.

So why am I doing this?

Why do I insist on planning for a future that seems about as likely as one in which chickens lay square eggs?

For these seven reasons.

1. God is leading me to do this

When I gave my life to Christ I ceased to be the owner of it. I gave the one who designed me, who knows me better than myself, control.

It was not a big sacrifice because I had not really been doing that great a job of controlling it on my own.

Honestly, I was a flat-out mess and as I look back over the 13 years that God has been leading me, I see that He has never once led me to do anything that has been destructive in my life.

So while it looks like I may crash and burn, I know that the “unknown” is really just smoke and mirrors.

2. God answers my prayers

Every time that I have a major decision in my life I bring it to God. Or to be truthful, usually I panic first, then I bring it to God.

Sometimes God will throw open the doors for me, sometimes He will slam them shut, and sometimes I will feel as if I am blindfolded and led step by step before He will reveal the answer.

But never is my prayer ignored, or lost in the shuffle. God hears every prayer and responds in exactly the way He needs to, to get the desired result.

3. God always provided for all my needs

I have been a widow for 5 and ½ years now. Before losing my husband to cancer, I, for the most part, leaned on him to supply our family’s needs.

Since Allan has been gone, it is all God, all the time. And in all these years He has never once let me or my children starve, or go without anything that is needed.

So if God provided in the past, why would He not do so in the future.

4. God’s word says he is “Trustworthy”

Over and over in the Bible it talks about how trustworthy God is. All I need to do is to open up his word and read verses, such as those below, to be strengthened.

“Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go.” ~ Joshua 1:9

“Those who know your name will trust in you, for you, LORD, have never forsaken those who seek you.” ~ Psalm 9:10

The word (the Bible) is not just ink on paper, it is alive and God leads me through it.

5. God has compelled me

Although I like adventure, I do not like change. I am not one to want to live in a new city every two years, like the friends of my mom.

So while I have always wanted to go to England, I would probably never have moved there as it would have required me to leave the 24 square foot radius I like to call home.

But when God has called you and He compels you to go, it changes everything. I often feel as if I am strapped to the front of a Plane, with England as the target. I could not stop this if I tried, not would I want to.

6. God has counted my days

My husband was only 49 when he left here, my friend’s son only 19. We just do not know how long we have, but despite what the world says, it is not a “crapshoot.”.

God formed me in my mother’s womb and He has counted my days. He has amazing plans for my life that I cannot even imagine.

So I need to allow him to do the work He needs to do in me so that I can see those plans come to fruition, before my time is up.

7. God loves me

God is love! Period. He is the source of all love. He is not hate, or fear, or lack, or misfortune. He is LOVE!

And He loves me (and you) with an everlasting and passionate love.

You are not an accident, nor am I. Because He loves me I know that everything will fall into place just as it should.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

So yes I am in the process of letting go of a lot of things,

but I am grabbing ahold of so much more.

And even though I may not yet know what I will one day hold,

I know that it will be amazing because I have a Father who loves me,

who looks out for me, and who is leading me into all good things.

Photo = © Sergey Nivens – Fotolia.com

Why “living safe” is NOT your calling

When God’s truth sounds more like a Beatles tune than a plan.

Posted December 10, 2013

Filed under Story

So let me just say upfront that I am a truth person. And the truth is that life is going by very fast, and I do not want to waste my time…my life…not doing what I am called to do.

As a Christian I trust God to lead me and guide me into “all truth” knowing that I will have the best of all possible outcomes.

But there was this one time when the truth that God had spoken to me sounded more like a Beatles song than reality.

All You Need is Love

It was about three years ago. I was in college and trying to survive the effects the loss of my husband had on my four children.

It was hard, but I held on to God’s promises, even though there were days I just wanted to hide.

One of my children was really struggling. And angry, very angry. At me, at the world, at God.

This child began acting out, and even ran away from home for the longest night of my life.

When my child, teenager finally, came home, and started ranting and raving. I thought “God I cannot take much more of this.”

God said “Just love” …

I was like “What do you mean just love! This child needs some guidance. This child need some discipline.”

God said “Just love”

I thought “God what about truth. This child needs truth.”

“I will take care of truth. You take care of Love.”

I remember thinking “Oh this is not going to end well. God is telling me that, to deal with this child “Love is all I need!” It made no sense to me. I thought, “What I need is a cell I can hold my child in until the age of 18).

BUT

I knew God’s heart for me. I know God’s heart for my child. so,

I trusted Him.

I did what He asked me to do. It wasn’t easy but with God nudging and reminding me to, I did not get mad, I did not discipline, I just loved my child, finding ways to be kind and compassionate. Even though my child was angry, really angry, and said some horrible things, I held on to God and just loved.

THE RESULT

It did not take long for me to see God make a way.

It did not take long for me to see God drawing my child…His Child…to Himself. God asked me to trust Him with my child and wow He knew what He was doing!!!

God opened the doors for my child to go to not just one, but two church camps that summer. After the second one my child came home forever changed. And, letting go of the past, has followed after God ever since.

This child has gone from getting f’s to a 4.0, from being ignored in school, to being voted the student body president for their School.

From walking away from God, to daily walking with him, with heart and arms open wide,

This child is Happy!

This child is forever changed, because God asked me to trust Him and gave me the grace to do it.

What is God asking YOU to trust Him for?

What seems impossible? What makes no sense?

What are you going to do about it?

A Broken Computer, An Even Broker Mom, And A Wholehearted Decision

Posted December 6, 2013

Filed under Story

Trusting God is not a “one time fits all occasions.” Making the choice to worry and or trust God is an every day, and sometimes every minute thing.

Everything that goes wrong in our life is a great opportunity to practice our trusting.

One such opportunity came for me in the guise of my son’s broken computer.

So to set the stage a little it was about a year after my husband death. My son had retreated into His room where he played games for days on end. This worried me…a lot! But with work, school, no car, and three other grieving kids to think about, I really did not have the time, nor the strength to try and separate him from his beloved computer.

When His computer broke down, I am not going to lie, I thought finally! Now He will get out of his room. I was not about to try and fix anything (or pray for it to be fixed). A small part of me even thought (for a split second) that this must be an answer to prayer.

But then I noticed, really noticed my son.

How sad, how dejected he was. As bad as I thought they were, those games were all he had, those people on them, for the most part, were all he had.

It broke me.

I knew that God would NEVER answer my prayer for my son this way.

Romans 2:4 tells us that it is God’s kindness that leads us to repentance…it does not say anything about crushing sorrow.

I made the decision to trust God’s word and to pray and trust God to work.

I prayed and then led by God I went to my son and said “You are going to get a new computer.”

“How, you’re broke. I need at least 1,000 dollars…How is that going to happen?” He asked, thinking I was crazy.

“I have no idea but God is going to give you a new computer.”

He shook his head and said “God does not care about me. He does that kind of stuff for you but He doesn’t care about me that much.”

I told him he was wrong and I said “You will see. By the end of today you will get some information about money for a new computer.”

That is trusting God. I stood on what He told me even though I could have been afraid that if God didn’t come through it might turn my son away from Him for good…it is scary, not always easy…but if we trust God with our salvation, why not trust Him with our children! Or our finances, or our job, car, clothes, friendships, etc.

Long story short …by the end of the day he was told by a friend from across the country that he would pay for the computer…he gave him $1,000 FREE and my son had another friend build him a computer worth $2,000 with it.

God is so good that he did not take my son away from the only thing that gave him comfort. He has come a long way…does not need the computer as much as he did then…but he sure does appreciate it and knows that God cares for him just as much as he does for me.

Being who you are called to be

God doesn’t make molds. We are each of us unique. Designed by Him for His Glory. As this article points out all God requires of us is our obedience to Him and the call He has placed on our lives.

Why Switchfoot won’t sing Christian songs.

What a great example Switchfoot is for those of us who are following God’s leading in our lives.

They are TRUSTING GOD to lead them, and are not swayed by what the “crowd” says.