Reflections

Looking back over this past year and all I can say is "Hitherto, the Lord hath helped us!"  Yes that is today's Streams in the Desert's devotion, but it is so fitting for our family this year!  But such a blessing to be able to go out of the year and still have Victory in our souls.  No matter what has happened throughout the year, physically, financially, mentally, materially, temporal, or any thing else...what happened spiritually is the most important.  Although it has been rough in all these other areas, I have to say, I do believe we have gained spiritually! 

I am not normally eager for time to move on, it moves so quickly, but I am happy to see 2013 come to a close.  I do hope 2014 is a bit of a better year for our family.  But in my reflections this morning, I still have a lot to be thankful for, and that is my focus today...not focusing on everything that has gone wrong this year, but for everything I still have to be thankful for:

~the health that we DO have.
~the home that God has provided us.
~we are not starving.
~we are (mostly) warm.  (lol...this house is a little harder to keep warm...)
~we still have freedom to pray, worship, sing, go to church (don't want to take this for granted...I fear we will all too soon lose this freedom!)
~We still have God...
~Prayer...oh I'm so thankful for prayer!!!!
~it is snowing...right now...as I type:)
~Coffee!
~Clothing
~a place to put my weary head at the end of the day
~a vehicle to get me where I need to go
~friends & church family that care so much about us!  They have truly become a part of my family/life.  I can't imagine my life without them!
~Most of all that we still have each other, me...my husband...and my 3 sweet boys...and God! 
~So very thankful for God...for Jesus!

There is so much more, but as most of you know when you start counting your blessings, there really is no good stopping point!  I just wanted to end 2013 being thankful!

This song has been a blessing to me this year...I want to share it...I would say this would have to be my song for this year!

 

It's gonna be ok, because the potter knows the clay!  I'm holding on to that!

 

Hope you all have a very blessed 2014!

 

Still,



Revilings

Hi!  I seriously WANT to do better with this whole blog thing!  I WANT to do it!  I just get so busy!  (Imagine that!)  Last week we had a Campmeeting at our church and as I was helping the dear Older lady in the kitchen I joked about being lazy.  She laughed and laughed...and said, "Now that's funny right there!"  I love her DEARLY!!!  She means more to me than she will probably ever know. 

This has been a CRAZY year!  I am not going to get into it just now, but I hope that someday (sooner than later, I HOPE)  I will be able to blog about it!  But I do want to share something that just recently happened to me/us.

Last week, our family was verbally attacked in a way like never before.  I mean it was TERRIBLE!  Lies, twisted events, vicious things were said about us, called all sorts of things.  Thursday was the worst of it.  We received email after email after email.  By the afternoon I was feeling pretty miserable.  I had a major headache from crying, and the devil was having a party in my mind!  (Mind battles are the worst!...and I am determined to crash his party btw) Our Campmeeting was starting that night and I had company coming to stay with us, and I didn't feel like any of it!  Actually, I felt like I had been beaten and left on the side of the road...wishing for my "good Samaritan" to come along.  I was struggling with, "am I really this horrible of a person?  Are my children really this disrespectful?  Am I so messed up that I can't see this?"  We got ourselves together, got ready for worship, I put a smile on my face, (b/c that's what I do) and headed to church.  I took my desserts for the weekend into the dining hall.  I told the lady in charge, "I have more at home, if you need them just let me know."  She hugged me and said, "You are so precious!"  I came unglued!  She still has no idea why I started bawling, and she stood there rubbing my back and said, "You need to let those tears out my dear!  Tears are a language that God understands."  (My Good Samaritan had come!)  If she had any idea I had heard nothing but the opposite of that all day...all week long!  When the minister got up to preach, the very first scripture he read was Isaiah 51:7 Hearken unto me, ye that know righteousness, the people in whose heart is my law; fear ye not the reproach of men, neither be ye afraid of their revilings. I thought I was going to lose it!  I was crying...again...but this time b/c...The first day of the meeting and God cares so much about ME...little old ME that he would send an entire message of encouragement to ME!  More scriptures were read about being not afraid of men...and on and on.  I looked up the word revilings...it means  "to assail (attack) with abusive language"!  SERIOUSLY!!  I did still seek some counsel about the issue the next day because the enemy was attacking me so forcefully I needed some peace of mind, but I am still amazed at how this took place!  That God cares that much for ME!  The entire weekend was such an encouragement to my family!  Even this week when the enemy has tried to come in like a flood I have gone back to this scripture for a reminder!  The next day I was told "Your boys are some of the nicest, respectful boys I have ever met."  Oh I know they are not perfect, but being told they are disrespectful...was a little hard to swallow...after all we have tried to pour into them?

God is SOOOO good!  Despite all that we have been through, I cannot...do not want  to live my life without Him.  Others may come and go, but I NEED HIM!  It's so difficult to think about all the millions of people in this world, yet He still knows right where I am and just what I need!  I love Him so much!


Yes, even though the road gets rocky and steep at times, we are still,