AWESOME & AMAZING

Hello, everyone! I'm back. Yeah, I know, just like a bad penny. Ha!

There are a few reasons that I love deer hunting & sitting in a tree stand for hours & hours. One reason, of course, is getting to enjoy God's beautiful and majestic splendor (but sometimes the weather's not that great) but also, I really do get in some good naps. The trees sway in the wind and rock me to sleep and I have a very comfortable tree stand. But the main reason that I love to do it is because I can think. How often do we really have time, with no distractions, to just think? I like to use it as an exercise for my memory and see how far back I can go. I try to use any little opportunity that I can to just sit and think.

Well, today I had quite a bit of time to think while I was waiting on Amanda to get her MRI. I sat in the car with Sebastian because he was asleep, and during that entire time, I tried to concentrate on the book I was reading but I was unsuccessful.(I was also eating pistachios & drinking Coke Zero!) My mind was full of all the things that I wanted to write on my blog today but I had neglected to bring paper with me so now that I'm home and ready to begin, I'm hoping the thoughts will begin to flow. I'm asking The Lord to help me with that right now. I don't want to do any without getting Him involved beforehand.

I just love it when God does His thing and shows up! I get the biggest thrill when He reveals Himself in one situation or another unexpectedly. There's nothing in the world like watching Him work! I call it my God fix. It's exhilarating. Anyway, we used to see it on a regular basis when we had our ministry, Special Youth Challenge, & with Josh's healing and so many other times, but now it's not as often so it's even more coveted.

Sometimes we pray and pray and we think that He's not listening or He doesn't care. We get bored or tired & just give up. But actually what's happening is His perfect timing. That's right, that's what I said. His perfect timing, not ours. We have no clue what it's all about. He has the whole picture and knows exactly what needs to be done, and when, for the best possible outcome, FOR HIM! Yep, HIM, not us! It's not all about us. Sorry to burst your bubble but there it is. Chew on that a minute. It is in our best interest to be on the same page as Him, that way out requests will be in alignment with His will for our lives & there won't be any problem. But still it's not always immediate.

This week has been one of those times for me. I've been teaching children's Sunday School at our church for several years now. I can't even remember how many. And for the last year or so I've been feeling that maybe it's time to pass the torch to someone else for awhile. I love the kids & I didn't want them to feel abandoned so I prayed for God's will to be done, not mine. My husband has been wanting me to go to Sunday School class with him. Sometimes my kids want me to come to church with them, or I want to keep Bash on Saturday night and I couldn't because of the commitment that made to God, my church (Hickory Heights Baptist Church, which started in our house) and to the children.

Finally, last week He laid it on my heart to let Dana (Children's Ministry Director) know about my decision. Miracle of miracles she tells me yesterday that there's actually someone else she knows that's interested in being involved in Children's ministry. Coincidence? I think not. And she's one of the mothers and they know her and I have such a peace about it. So as of September I will be free. It's a bitter sweet feeling because I loved doing it but I'm just thrilled to know God is in control, and He will give me a new path. I'm excited to see where He's leading me next.

Also, one of the things that I was reflecting on today as I was shelling those pistachios and tossing them out the window, was the discussion we had in Sunday School class this week How every single one of us was made uniquely for God's purposes. He gave each of us the qualities that He needed in order for us to fulfill the purpose He preordained for us.(Don't get all hung up on that word, it just means He knew what He wanted us to do beforehand.)

I believe that if you look at human beings you see undeniable proof that we were created by God and in His image. Because if you think about it, each and every one of us believes that what we think and feels really matters, is important. Hmmm. With the exception of a few truly selfless human beings, like Mother Theresa and Ghandi, the majority of us are only concerned about our feelings and our pitiful existence. That has to be from God.

Let me see how to put this. There have been billions and billions of people created since Adam & Eve. Not one of them is alike, not even identical twins. A friend of ours showed us a video of the universe. It showed that when you look at the vastness of space the earth is only the size of a ping pong ball, compared to the sun and the other planets. When you look at a ping pong ball and try to envision the United States, then try to envision yourself in your state on that ping pong ball. Do you get my drift? We are minute! Smaller than a speck of dust. But The God of the universe is personally involved in our lives, even down to the smallest detail. That just blows my mind. We're like God's ant farm. You know? He wants to be a part of everything we do. Only He could have instilled within each and every one of His creation this self-preservation mechanism that enables us to survive and thrive on this little, tiny planet, with these enormous egos that we have. LOL!

It's the only possible way that makes sense. If you're on the fence about Creationism or Evolution, think of it. If it hadn't been for God's intervention, we would have killed ourselves off a long time ago. We really are stupid. When I see some of the things that mankind has done and continues to do on a daily basis, I'm amazed that we're still in existence & thoroughly awestruck by the mercy of grace of our Heavenly Father. He pulls our bacon out of the pan over and over. And what thanks does He get? Don't even get me started! That's a blog for another day.

I didn't even get to all of the things that I was thinking about today (I had a whole hour) but I will save the others for the next time. If you have anything that you would like to add or share on this subject please feel free to. I love to hear from you. It lets me know I'm not just talking to myself. (Which I do all too frequently) Ha! Plus I like to know if you like reading this kind of stuff. I find it fascinating but that doesn't mean anyone else does. Love you! Muah!

I think next time I would like to discuss the difference between judging & admonishing. We seem to have a big problem with that.