A VERY BIG HAND

There's been a lot of uncertainties and struggles lately in my life.  Granted every day some days is a struggle and if I ponder the past, I remember many, many hard days that life dished out some doozies.    I really think, though, that remembering those times somehow make me stronger as I can look back and see how the Lord worked out everything for my good, even in the bad.   And believe me, there was plenty of BAD.

Years ago stores had these displays that had posters you could buy and put on the walls or frame.  They would have a vast array of them of various sizes.  Maybe you are old enough like me to remember these treasures.  I bought myself one when I was a teenager...yes, that was mega years ago....and I kept it.   For many years it hung in my room, then it graduated and hung on the back of the bathroom door of my office bathroom.  I would see it there many times during a given day as you know how often women have to go to the bathroom!  I was reminded of that poster this week.  I think I might have passed it along to The Girl and it now belongs to her.  It's torn and vintage by now but nonetheless, it packs a great message.

There is a picture of a little girl swinging.  A simple picture of a little girl swinging.  The swing is one of those flat wooden seats and it's hanging by white ropes.  The little girl is dressed cutsy in a vintage way...after all it IS vintage.  😏  The swing is not hanging from a tree limb.  It's hanging from a hand and fingers.  A very big hand.  A very strong hand.  At the bottom are letters that spell the sentence, "Will you trust me?"  

How many times has the big hand of my heavenly Father held me up and led me in the right direction?  Yes, that unseen hand that is strong and mighty, all powerful and knowing the right direction for me and my good.

Yes, I can trust that and I can trust HIM!  And that gives me assurance that all is well.  No doubts, just trust.

Consider.......

LIFE JACKETS IN THE ATTIC

A few years ago The Husband sold his little fishing boat and bought himself one that was a tad larger.    It was a nice Saturday morning when he invited The Girl, The Son-In-Law, and me to go for a morning ride.

I cannot swim.  I have never been able to swim and have a healthy respect for water, especially big water, on that very account.  Of course, every time I go on big water, even in a little safe paddleboat, I wear a life jacket.  This Saturday morning was the same.  Here's a picture of me in my life jacket.

Even though it's unimportant and I'm a good sport, you might also notice that I'm wearing my sandals, have my camera bag attached at the neck, and am a few pounds heavier than I am now.  Just sayin'.....

It was a fun morning and no one accidentally fell into the water.

I remember another few years ago when I was talking to a friend who grew up in hurricane ridden Louisiana.  I'm certain most of us have not experienced such scary devastation.  The closest I can relate is a few years ago when the heavy rains came to our area and I watched as the waters rose quickly and even though I watched as the big ice machine from the convenience store floated across the road, that's nothing to compare.  She talked about the many hurricanes she had experienced and then she said something that stuck with me...."We kept life jackets in the attic."  As my mind processed this, I realized the importance of that in a hurricane ridden location.  I can imagine how the water could rise quickly and there would be nowhere to go for higher ground other than the attic.  I can also imagine the relief at finding a "life saver" in the attic when the storm was raging all around.  I can imagine, too, the horror as the storm rages to find that the life jackets have not been put in the attic where they are needed.

Yes, you all know I like looking at life from the spiritual aspect also.  How about our life jackets we keep in our attic in case of a storm of life?  As I considered what those life jackets would be, I thought of all the things we need in our daily life but often let fall by the wayside of our busyness.  Prayer, gratitude, Bible reading and study, love for others and our love for Jesus are only a few.  I am often so guilty of storing those things in my "attic" instead of using them everyday.  I guess good they are there in case of a storm but how much better they are in our daily walk of life?

Lately I've had Paul's verse to combat anxiety on my heart and mind.  In fact, I'm going to type it up and put it here at my computer.  Yes, you've heard it here before and yes, it's swiftly becoming another one of my all time favorites!  It goes like this and is from that wonderful Philippians 4:

"Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.  And the peace of God which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus."            Philippians 4:6, 7

Consider....and yes, you are welcome for the laugh you surely got from my picture.  :)

HE SPEAKS...AGAIN...

I woke up this morning a bit earlier than my normal Monday morning time....4:15 a.m. actually.  I found myself in prayer for events of the week and for those I love.

It never ceases to amaze me how I can be touched by the Lord.  Now if all of you don't know by now, I do love my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and I do trust Him, maybe more so as I age than I did in my younger life.  Still, though, I find some days having anxiety for the things that life MIGHT hold.  Am I the only one who has this?

Anyways, on with my morning story...and yes, it's only 6:15 a.m by now and I have a busy day planned.  I cooked breakfast, then decided I really needed to do a few minutes of the exercise bike so I took my Max Lucado birthday book about anxiety to the bicycle.  Ah, does the Lord speak?  Don't you ever doubt it!

As I got into the second chapter of the book, the author talked about security and the apostle Paul.  Now I do love to read the Bible books of the apostle Paul.  Today though, the focus was on Paul as he was in the jail awaiting trial at about age 60.  I have read about this in a commentary and was very touched that this guy, thirty years a devout Christian and servant of the Lord, was in this jail and these conditions.  The author of my book talked about how ragged Paul was physically, probably bent from the travels and scarred from the lashings and traumas he had endured.

The thing that blessed me about my morning encounter is that it seems that Paul wrote the book of Philippians during this time.  Granted, I haven't researched that for sure so I may be typing incorrect information but bottom line is that he did write the book of Philippians and he did endure troubles, only to overcome through his faith in HIS Lord.

Philippians is one of my very favorite books of the Bible.  I encourage you to read it.  It's pretty short, but it holds so much encouragement from anxiety and problems of life.  I find myself in awe of the fact that Paul was in sure dire shape in this jail, yet....did you get that word?  YET, he still trusted and loved his Lord.  He encourages in Philippians to "Rejoice in the Lord alway...and again I say, Rejoice!"  Rejoicing, like joy, is a choice.

I want to be like that.

I am so glad God chooses to speak and more than that, I'm glad I choose to listen.  I choose to rejoice this day.  Blessings abound.

Consider....

COURAGE

What is courage?

According to Merriam-Webster, a trusted source of definitions since 1828, courage is the "mental or moral strength to venture, persevere, and withstand danger, fear, or difficulty".

Exactly.  I couldn't have said it better myself.

I have met people, as I'm sure you have, that live this definition.  It doesn't matter what seems to come their way, they are strong.  Or maybe they just seem strong.

I know in my own life, I feel that my courage has grown as I have aged.  For example, when I was a young bride and The Husband would go on overnighters to hunt his deer, I would be afraid to stay alone.  As time progressed, I became more and more able to stay alone in the dark.  That's not to say that I don't hear every single creak that happens, I just don't consider them all anymore and I don't panic when I do.  Maybe that's growth in me?   That could even be a courage of sorts.

Maybe courage for me, too, would be not being so very afraid of snakes even though I don't really want to practice that one.

I think that courage shows itself in a lot of ways in our lives--dealing with disappointment, dealing with life not being as expected or wanted, dealing with a sickness or terminal illness.  Sometimes courage is seeing those you love deal with traumatic experiences when you can do nothing but watch and pray.    Sometimes courage is viewed by just being positive when all around you seems negative.

Maybe courage is having the strength to just do what's right.  That can be one of the hardest kinds of courage.  And when one is doing what's right, even when they don't want to, that's even more exceptional courage.   We've all been there, haven't we?

One of my most favorite scriptures in the good book is from Joshua 1:9.  I read it often and have even committed it to memory.  It has spoke to me more times when I have been afraid than any other scripture.  And I figure if the Lord says to "fear not" as many times in the Bible as He does, it's important.  Joshua 1:9 says this:

"Have I not commanded thee?  Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest."

One of my birthday gifts this past birthday was the new Max Lucado book, "Anxious for Nothing".  Underneath the title, it reads "finding calm in a chaotic world".   When we have courage guided by the Lord, we CAN find calm in a chaotic world.

Consider.......