When life "hurts.....
                How do I respond when.....

....I find out my friend/mentor has cancer...

....A friend was so excited about the new life she was caring in her womb....then "devastating" news....no heartbeat anymore...

....A cousin who died "to young" when she leaves behind a husband and two young sons who need there mother...

....An Uncle never wakes up from his sleep...went to meet Jesus "while he was sleeping"

....A young son dies in a car accident...

....Another son drowns...

....You see an open door and you go to walk through it and God closes it...

....A dad dies and leaves behind a wife and 6 young children...

....A friend/young mother with a young family is struggling with Lyme's...

....You pray and pray and it feels like your prayers are not being answered...

God does care about our "hurts"........
He is carrying each of our "cup of pain".....When we have no strength left He will carry us through....

Here is a verse that really blessed me the other morning when I felt very weak and I could not go on.....

Heb. 12:12,13

So take a new grip with your tired hands and stand firm on your shaky legs. Mark out a straight path for your feet. Then those who follow you, though they are weak and lame, will not stumble and fall but will become strong !!!!

Yes my Father does care when life hurts....he wants us to TAKE HEART !!!!!

The worst moment of our lives is the most POWERFUL message we will ever deliver if we respond well......

Rain

As I watch the rain fall...there are many things that go through my thoughts....

RAIN:

Refreshing

Cleansing

Makes the grass green

Makes the flowers bloom April showers bring forth May flowers :)

The trees bud

Good to drink satisfies our thirst..

Washes the dirty sidewalks and streets

Settles the dust

What does it do for me???? God's word is like the rain

It cleanses my life....

It refreshes my thirsty heart

Purifies my life

Washes me and makes me a "clean" person

It causes my roots to go deeper

Drink of the Well and live!!!!!

Had to think of this song ....by Michael W Smith

Let it rain, let it rain.
Open the floodgates of Heaven
The Lord reigns, let the earth be glad
Let the distance shores rejoice
Clouds and thick darkness surround him
Righteousness and justice are the foundation of his throne
A fire goes before him and consumes his foes on every side
His lightning lights up the world
The earth sees and trembles
The mountains melt like wax before the Lord
Before the Lord of all the earth
The Heavens proclaim His righteousness
And all peoples will see His Glory
We want to see Your Glory, God! 
Do you want to see His Glory?
Lift your voices, lift your hands! 
Let it rain, let it rain.
Open the floodgates of Heaven

Umbrellas at all times....

 Sine I have been in the City, one thing that caught my attention right away and I am still "digesting" it :) Is the "use" of the umbrellas...You see them at all times and any time of the year...
There are all colors, shapes and sizes!!!
We need them when the sun shines...

When it rains....

Yes even when it snows....

And have learned we need to carry it with us at all times....never know when we will need it...

God's Word is like the umbrella...I need to carry it with me at ALL times.....
I need it to ward of the "cold" ....the "winter" season in my life that I go through at times...
I need it to ward of the "hot" sun...the times I am going through the "fire" of God purifying me...
I need it through the "rain"..the times I fall down on my knees and "cry" out to God..whether it is for my life or for a friend that God has brought into my path...

I NEED to "carry" it in my heart...so when God prompts me to speak..I have the "tools" ...

So friend..Pick up "your umbrella " ..........

****WHITE AS SNOW***

 We have been blessed with snow in the city this year. I am loving it but here are some thoughts that keep "rolling" around "in my head"

• Snow is "pure" and white....
• Snow reminds me of a clean slate...a new life...that is set before us and it has not been "trodden" on....
• Each snow flake is unique and different....
• Makes everything look clean...covers up the "dirt"
• Makes a lot of people "smile" and have lots of fun with it:)..snow angels...snowmen...snowball fights...forts..and a host of other things...

But then it becomes "dirty". 

• Trash bags get buried in it...ripped..and trash scattered all over the sidewalks....
• All colors of bags and boxes thrown on top of the "banks" thrown on top waiting to be picked up...
• Gets muddy...black...packed down and "hard"
• All kinds of "yellow and brown" spots left behind from "animals"

God wants my life to be pure....He wants to talk all the "ugly" stuff out of it and make it white as the snow!!!!!

What is it in my life that God wants to "change" ??

To make beautiful and "unique" to bring Him the Glory that only He is worthy of receiving??

1 Purer in heart, O God,
Help me to be;
May I devote my life
Wholly to Thee.
Watch Thou my wayward feet.
Guide me with counsel sweet;
Purer in heart,
Help me to be. 

2 Purer in heart, O God,
Help me to be;
Teach me to do Thy will
Most lovingly.
Be Thou my friend and guide,
Let me with Thee abide;
Purer in heart,
Help me to be

3 Purer in heart, O God, 
Help me to be; 
Until Thy holy face 
One day I see. 
Keep me from secret sin, 
Reign Thou my soul within; 
Purer in heart, 
Help me to be.

                                        Christmas...Family...Closure

What comes to your mind when you hear the word Christmas

• Do you think of all the gifts you have to buy and give to all the people you know??
• Is it all the lights we see??
• Is it all the food we get to eat or that we even have to make??
• Is it all the shouts of "Merry Christmas" we hear from the people around us??
• Is it a rush to get all the cookies baked...all the shopping done..all the gifts wrapped??
• Does it get our blood pressure up or is it a hectic time??

Christmas is SO much more then all this. Yes even tho there is nothing wrong to bake cookies..give gifts etc.

Christmas for me this year has been very different. I had a lot of fun in baking and giving out plates of cookies. But it has also been a lot more then that. MY mind was often drawn to "worship" my King because of what ALL He has done for me. Yes it needs to come from me ALL Year..not just at Christmas.How do I look at the people that are around me? Do I look at them and see all the "bad " things about them. Or can I look at them and see them with a compassion for them and a love that Jesus has for them. There is a song by Brandon Heath that I heard over Christmas time that really "hit' me this year.

I wonder if you've heard the story
Of little fame and lesser glory
The night the keeper of the innkeeper
The little town of Bethlehem
Encountered Joseph and his Mary
About to birth the Savior of the world

His wife said go and see who's knocking
He ran down to the gate unlocked it
The moment he heard Mary's cry
He couldn't look them in the eye
Denied them and went back to bed
When his wife asked who was there
He said I don't know

Just a girl
Just a couple gypsies begging at the door
Told them we don't have room for anymore
And closed the door
It was just a girl

He tried to sleep and wasn't able
He snuck out to the dirty stable
The two had found for covering
And later in her suffering
The keeper knelt outside the barn
And in the light of that great star
He prayed what have I done

He's just a babe
Just minutes old there trembling in the hay
I could have found a room for them to stay
I'm so ashamed
He's just a babe

There was no robe
There was no crown
The shepherds stood
On royal ground
The keeper wept
For what he'd done
He turned away
God's own Son

Just a King
Just a million angels crowding in to see
Jesus there among humanity

Just a babe
Just minutes old there trembling in the hay
Staring at his mother in the face
She's just a girl

Just a girl
Does she even know that she just changed the world
Does she even know that He will save the world
Does Mary know that He will save the world
She's just a girl
Just a girl
Just a girl

There are a lot of people who are very sad over Christmas.
Maybe they can not buy gifts...
No family....
No warm place to live in...
No food.....
The list could go on and on...The question I ask myself is..What difference can I make in their life??

FAMILY....
Something I have taken for "granted" for way to many years...
Family to me is a "safe" place, where we can be real.Where we choose to love each other for who they are. Where we can agree to disagree and still love.
Here are a few of my highlights from being with family on Thanksgiving and Christmas:

• Sharing memories
• Lots of Laughter
• Crying together
• Praying
• Singing
• Games and even putting a puzzle together ( Or I should say at least trying:) )
• Reading books
• Warmth of a fire 
• Challenging "disagreements"

I am so blessed and thankful for the family God has given me. A lot of people in this world do not know what "family" is....

CLOSURE

Is the 3rd word that has been a lot on my mind during Christmas.

Closure from what ??

I am so amazed how God has lead me this past year. While I was home for 2 1/2 weeks I felt God giving me "closure" in different ways...

I would not trade what all I have learned in my "short" time in life for anything else in this world. Yes some of it has been very painful ....put with that has come a healing that only can come from God.

And I know I am committing to a 2 year term here in the City...and I need to and want to put my heart into this 100% and in order for me to do that ..there are things back home that I need to let go....

God has closed a chapter in my life..so it is with awe and a feeling of reverence, anticipation, and of excitement to see what God is going to do with this new chapter in life.

It is only because of God....