Help us hear You in the thunder

Good Morning Friends!  Totally loved by HIM Tuesday!!!   Well, how about this crazy weather!  Most of you know that I hate driving in any kind of bad weather conditions….and ever since my accident, blinding rain terrifies me.   This morning as I was gathering up my things to come to work, I could hear it starting to rain, it was so dark and the wind was really blowing….oh gosh I thought…Please let me get to work before it gets bad….as I headed out the driveway, there was a huge flash of lightening…it was horizontal all the way across the sky…Oh no, is all I could think of, please let me get to work safely, was my prayer.   As I got closer to town the rain got heavier, but I could see just fine and there wasn’t much traffic, but I was still tense gripping the steering wheel for dear life.  I never heard any thunder, but that lightening….one flash was so big, so bright the whole sky glowed….but no thunder… so, it wasn’t real close, the rain was not very hard and the wind had died down….Hmm…Father, You are there aren’t You?  Oh yes, my goodness You are always there….when the storms are raging, You are right there lighting our way with Your love….the winds blow, but You provide shelter, thunder roars… help us to hear You in the thunder, to hear and feel Your power over the storms of this world….You are always there with us, but we are so weak…gripping the steering wheel instead of holding on to You!!!  I had an email from a friend early this morning asking me how my ride to work was.  I told her that is was ok, but I was just hoping to get here before the storm hit.  She said, “Oh is it storming?   There are no windows anywhere near me, so as far as I am concerned it’s a lovely, sunny day out there!”  She’s not worried about a storm because she cannot see….she’s trusts that the sun is shining…..Oh Father help us all to let go of the steering wheel and  trust in the shining light of Your SON to see us through the storms!

 

One day Jesus said to His disciples, “Let’s go over to the other side of the lake.”  So they got into a boat and set out.  As they sailed, he fell asleep.  A squall came down on the lake, so that the boat was being swamped, and they were in great danger.  The disciples went and woke him, saying, “Master, Master, we’re going to drown!”  He got up and rebuked the wind and the raging waters; the storm subsided, and all was calm.  “Where is your faith?”  He asked His disciples.  In fear and amazement they asked one another, ”Who is this?  He commands even the winds and the water, and they obey Him.”  Luke:822-25.

Love you all!

July 24, 2013

Good Morning Friends!!!  Wonderfully wrapped in His loving arms Wednesday!  The first 2 verses of Psalm 66 have always been  favorites of mine, but this morning they took on a whole new meaning…..I got it!  “Shout with joy to God, all the earth!  Sing the glory of His name; make His praise glorious!’  The phrase, “all the earth” is what I got…..This morning the sounds of praise came to me……well, since it was raining and cool out Kim and I decided to sit on the porch this morning.  The rain was gentle as I sat down to read and pray…..I had only been sitting for a minute when I was greeted by the braying of one of my miniature donkeys…..right outside the window!  Great, I thought Eyore has gotten out….he carried on for a bit, guess he wanted me to know what he had done.  The rain sounded so nice on the tin roof….the thunder roared…..loud, long clasps resounding from the skies and the lightening, so close to the thunder….bright flashes lighting the sky….the rain pounding harder and harder on the tin roof balanced out the orchestra…..Ahh…..”Shout with joy to God, all the earth! Sing the glory of His name; make His praise glorious!”  OH Father how magnificent is Your world!  All the earth Your creation…..fill us our hearts and minds to see Your glory in everything around us…..And to sing, shout, bray, roar our Praises to You our most Awesome God!  Oh how blessed we are to be Your children!

I will extol the Lord at all times; His praise will always be on my lips.  Psalm 34:1.  The Lord is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in Him, and I am helped.  My heart leaps for joy and I will give thanks to Him in song.  28:7.  You will go out in joy and be led forth in peace; the  mountains and hills (and donkeys) will burst into song before you, and all the trees of the field will clap their hands.  Isaiah 55:12.  How many are your works, O Lord!!  In wisdom you made them all; the earth is full of your creatures.  Psalm 104:24.  Your love, O Lord, reaches to the heavens, Your faithfulness to the skies.  Psalm 36:5.

Love you all!  PS…..both donkeys and the mule escaped, but were captured successfully!

May 21, 2013

Good Morning Friends! Thankfully, no matter what the situation…His, Tuesday! Watching the news last night and again this morning, I feel so hopeless and sad….here in my area we have so far been spared from the extreme devastation that has touched so many….Praising God for our immediate safety, I am deeply humbled…..deeply….and my heart and prayers go out to for all of His children suffering. I had a call from Kathyrn around 7 am, urging me to leave really early because the rain was just terrible….she was only going 15mph….driving in the rain is stressful for me ever since my accident last year….so I grabbed my stuff, kissed Kim goodbye, told him I love him and headed out the door with a prayer! As I drove, my mind kept turning to people suffering from the storms….the rain was very heavy, hard to see the road and it was so dark…Oh my, I thought….how are they going to get through all of this pain, suffering and loss! I kept my eyes forward, watching for the lights in front of me…..with taillights in front of me, to guide me, I was able to stay in the right path…..Oh my….Yes Father……with Your light to guide them….that’s how they will see their way through this….With You…..Only with You! You can see us through anything….as long as we place our trust, our hope in You. I looked in my rear view mirror and could not believe what I saw….a car behind me….with no lights on….driving in the darkness….no light to guide them…..Father, we cannot make it without Your light guiding us, Your love holding us, Your peace comforting us, Your mighty power holding us…..Father, we do not understand devastating situations like these….Help us to put our trust and hope in You….letting Your light be our guide. Father, thank you for the comfort and care that YOU WILL shower on all Your precious, suffering children.

The Lord appeared to us in the past, saying: “I have loved you with and everlasting love; I have drawn you with loving-kindness. I will build you up again and you will be rebuilt, O virgin Israel. Again you will take up your tambourines and go out to dance with the joyful.” Jeremiah 31:3-4. On my bed I remember you; I think of you through the watches of the night. Because You are my help, I sing in the shadow of your wings. I stay close to You; Your right hand upholds me. Psalm 63:6-8. You, O Lord, keep my lamp burning; my God turns my darkness into light. With Your help I can advance against a troop; with my God I can scale a wall. Psalm 18:28-29. “Bless is the man who trusts in the Lord, And whose hope is the Lord. For he shall be like a tree planted by the waters, Which spreads out its roots by the river, and will not fear when heat comes; but its leaf will be green, and will not be anxious in the year of drought, Nor will cease from yielding fruit.” Jeremiah 17:7-8. Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In His great mercy He has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. 1 Peter 1:3.

Love you all and prayers for safety.

March 15, 2013

Good Morning Friends!  Fabulous Friday, I am His and so are you!  The last couple of days I can’t help but notice all the signs that spring is coming.  The tree across from my office is heavy with beautiful white blossoms, the grass is a vibrant green, bright yellow daffodils dot the roadsides, and every pasture has young calves happily frolicking.  The sun is shining and warm…..A wonderful time to Praise God for the wonders of His creation…..Not to be negative, but simply realistic……as beautiful as it is outside right now….in a matter of seconds it could all change….spring storms are known for damaging winds, hail, and possible tornados……Not every day is a beautiful spring day……flowers don’t always bloom and the grass is not always green……but storms pass…..and for us…..we are never alone in the storm….Our Heavenly Father is with us, shielding us from the winds, holding us through the tornados…Loving us….always and forever!  Father thank you for wonders of Your creation right now as we are enjoying special signs of spring and thank you for holding us through the storms.

Have a wonderful weekend….enjoy God’s creation.  I am including our Today from one year ago….just seemed fitting!  God Bless you.  Love you all!

Good Morning Friends!  Thankfully His, Thursday!!  Cruising into work this morning as usual, thinking about my day and praying, I remembered a dream I had last night.  When the crazy thought came into my head I immediately remembered that I had dreamed it last night; I don’t recall too much of the dream, but what I do remember left me with a worthy thought.  I was driving in someone else’s car, but I was the driver.  There was one person with me, seems like the person was not too familiar to me, anyway we were driving someplace I had never been and we were definitely on some kind of an urgent mission…..seems like there was tension in the car.  Like I said, I was the driver and what I recall is that we were driving up a very steep hill….I am talking almost straight up, like scary straight up…almost like a roller coaster.  I remember feeling stressed, but was doing my very best to not panic….I distinctly remember thinking……”I don’t think my VW would make it up this hill…….that’s it….that’s all I remember.  Here’s what I got out of it…..We never know when we head out in a day what hills we may have to climb…..what struggles we may have to overcome…..what grief or pain we may have to bear…….getting to the top depends on our power source.  The car I was driving in my dream had a powerful engine…..I am sure I made it safely to the top.  My little VW (as much as I just love it and it does awesome here), on the other hand I am not sure would have made it…….the trip would have been much more difficult!   Yep Father, I hear You, I understand…..without You as our power source……without You pushing us up our hills………without YOU….don’t even want to think about it!  Heavenly Father, thank you so much for empowering us with Your love.  Fill us with the faith- giving power of the Holy Spirit so that our faith continues to grow stronger enabling us to climb our hills with strength and confidence and filled with Your Perfect Peace.

Sovereign Lord, you have made the heavens and the earth by your great power and outstretched arm.  Nothing is too hard for you.  Jeremiah 32:17.  Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence is in Him.  He 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.  Jeremiah 17:7-8.  Do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God.  I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.  Isaiah 41:10. 

Love you all!

January 14, 2013

Good Morning Friends!  Marveling in His mighty love, Monday!   I usually buy groceries on payday Friday, but last Friday things came up and I just couldn’t get to it; so Kim and I decided to come into town late Saturday afternoon, get groceries, and then go out to dinner!  It was really cold, so I dressed appropriately…or so I thought.  Warm coat, gloves, stocking hat and my warm, all- weather, Ugg type boots.  About half way through our list it sounded like jet airplanes were right on top of us….was actually a torrential downpour!  By the time we finished shopping and headed to the car it was barely sprinkling, but of my gosh!  The parking lot was flooded….and it was cold!  I was so glad that I was dressed for the occasion (or so I thought)  feeling so smug in all my outer wear I drudged right into the flooded parking lot…..OH NO!  THERE’S NO WAY!!!  THESE BOOTS ARE WATER PROOF!!!!......or so I thought.  Within a matter of seconds, my feet were soaked…..my boots leaked….my boots that I was so sure were all weather…..leaked…..I thought I was ready for anything and my boots leaked….within seconds!  Later that evening after we got back home and I was removing my wet socks and trying to warm my feet I couldn’t help but think that the smug feelings I had about my “all weather” boots carries into my life.  How often do we carry on like we are untouchable….that will never happen to me….we go about our daily lives with little contact with our Heavenly Father, smugly thinking we are prepared for things on our own and then….BAM!!!!  In a matter of seconds our life feels like it is flooded with worry…..one minute we are smug and confident and the next minute “our feet are wet” with stress and worry……alone in the blowing wind and rain…..drowning…..in just a matter of seconds!  Good news!  Doesn’t have to be this way, nope!  We just need to stay dressed in God’s word, praying and talking to HIM daily….heck hourly…….That’s where we get our strength, our protection from the “bad weather” this world can dump on us……Spending time, regular time with our Heavenly Father we are prepared for the storms……Father, we know that life will always have its storms, but we are so thankful that You are there with us when we call on You!  Help us to stay “dressed” in You every day in every way.

For nothing is impossible with God.  Luke 1:37.  For I can do everything with the help of Christ who gives me the strength I need. Philippians 4:13.  The Lord our God is merciful and forgiving, even though we have rebelled against Him  Daniel 9:9.  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.  The Lord gives strength to His people; the Lord blesses His people with peace.  Psalm 29:11.

Love you all!