My New Favorite Word (and a few others)

I have admitted recently that I'm a nerd.  Mostly it's because I've been accused. I love words.  I love reading.  Lots of words.  Lots of reading.  And it makes me giddy.  Guess that makes me a nerd.  No biggie.  I don't mind. I'm ok with it.  People who love reading and love words will understand this post.  Not that you are a nerd too....that's not what I mean...oh nevermind.  Read on.

The word that has captured my attention this morning is resilience.  Thought about that one in a while?  Me either.  Usually when I do it's in the context of something that started out shiny, has become dull, and ultimately shines again...resilient.  Like a kitchen floor or piece of jewelry.

Check out this definition from Merriam Webster Dictionary:  Resilience is an ability to recover from or adjust easily to misfortune or change.

That's a totally different ball game.  It speaks to me.  At times change is exciting and we eagerly embrace it.  Like when we graduate high school or college, start our first job, get married or have a baby. But other times it is an unwelcome intruder that interrupts the status quo we've come to expect. After losing her beloved husband of nearly 30 years, a special friend of mine put it this way, "My life reeks of change". Today, this very day, I can identify with misfortune and change. We all can at some level during certain times of our lives, can't we?

What do we do when change and/or misfortune rocks our world?  Well, I could take up your whole day attempting to answer that question because there are myriads of suggestions but right now I'm thinking about resilience.  Can I recover from or adjust easily to that which has interrupted my life?  A better understanding of God's character and sovereignty is certainly the place to start.

Here's the thing.  So many well-meaning friends and family give encouragement and advice based on their empathy and love for us.  We appreciate this and even seek it. I've got to admit though, some of what I've been given recently is tricky to receive.  The reason is because I'm trying to base all of my actions and reactions and thought processes on what the Scripture says about it, about me, and about God.  I'm sure when you've gone through something hard, a change or changes you didn't want, you may have heard some of these things too.  Check it out:

"God doesn't want you to suffer."
"God won't give you more than you can bear."
"God is preparing something better for you."
"Something awesome will come from this experience."

To be honest, these statements have not helped and quite frankly didn't bring the comfort intended. Not because they weren't given by people who love and care - heavens no! - it's just that I'm not sure they are true.

Here's what I mean.  First of all, if God doesn't want us to suffer then what do we do with verses like, "Count it all joy when you suffer trials of many kinds" (James 1:2) and "Now if we are children, then we are heirs - heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in His sufferings in order that we may also share in His glory." (Rom 8:17)?  I want to share in His glory, which means I must share in His sufferings.

As far as God not giving us more than we can bear, this is the verse we apply: "No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man.  God is faithful, and He will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation He will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it." (1 Cor. 10:13)  I love that verse and have lived it over and over, but girlfriends, that promise is out of context.  If we have a heart that wants to obey, indeed He will not let us be tempted beyond what we can bear.  But we are talking about surviving a season of suffering, not being tempted to sin.

Still with me?

How about this one?  God is preparing something better for you.  Well, indeed in John 14:2 Jesus says, "...I am going there (to my Father's house) to prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I'm going."  This is awesome and I look forward to this more than I can say, but it's a future promise about heaven, eternal life. Not necessarily one that's going to help me through the next 24 hours.

Is it fair to say we would like to believe that the next stage of life, when the storm is over, is going to be better?  When I hear that, I wonder... how can we be sure?  Who said?  Where is that written in the Bible?   The truth is, it is not. Many of you know this from experience.  You've had one trial land on top of the other until you're buried underneath.  I have too.

Back some years ago, we entered a season of suffering/wondering where God was and what He was doing with us.  We were living in Michigan far from family when it began.  I discovered the 20 week old baby inside me was no longer alive and I had to deliver him.  Two days after that, Scott came under heavy persecution in his job.  A week later, Scott's parents split up.  Next, we didn't get to buy a house we had hoped for.  Soon after, Scott was unemployed.  Are you ready for more?  We moved in with my parents.  If you've had to do this, you know how fun that is! Finally, Scott got a job, but it wasn't we envisioned him doing and it didn't pay enough.  We moved into a tiny apartment with our then 2 year old son.  I had another miscarriage.  Scott took on a second job.  We rarely saw him during waking hours.  Blah blah blah...you get the picture.

I think I might have punched someone who said "God's got something great for you right around the corner".  It sure didn't look like it to me.  Every time I turned a corner it seemed like bad news was waiting for me.  Let's be honest, sometimes the next thing that comes is not our dream come true.  But our hope is that His ways are higher than our ways and His thoughts are not our thoughts. (Isa. 55:8)  He disciplines.  Sometimes He calls us to suffer.  This world is not our home. We mustn't try to find all of our satisfaction here.

Now, I know some of you are thinking of Romans 8:28 and for sure it says, "And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose."  The 'good' is found in the next verse..."to be conformed to the likeness of His Son."  That is a wonderful promise.  God can work all things into my becoming conformed more to the image of Jesus. I'm counting ont hat!  But t does not mean, that good, according to our estimation of good, comes from all things. 

As I neared my breaking point nearly twenty years ago, a wise mentor lovingly confronted me with this: "I'm worried about you. That you may be becoming bitter."  Yikes, that stung.  My pride was hurt because I would've considered myself a good Christian girl at that point.  It was kind of harsh, but someone needed a wake up call...me (and I'm better for having received it).  Bitter was something I didn't want attached to my resume or reputation, so I knew I had to make some changes.

"We want to believe that the Christian life is all about our comfort and happiness; surely it's never about suffering or working hard or bearing up or being resilient.  It can't be about God's disciplining us or growing us."*  That's small thinking - we must adjust to God's thinking.  "Who are we to think that God should be in the business of relieving our pain, particularly when the pain has significant meaning to us?  He presses us, disciplines us for a season...."* but we would rather skip the lesson and prefer the pleasures of this world.

Get this...Hebrews 12:6 says, "The Lord disciplines the ones He loves."  The truth is "God puts us through more than we can bear.  He does.  Why?  Because after we journey through those places, we learn resilience. There's my favorite word again.  And that resilience brings the ability to joyfully live in the moment despite our circumstances - a holy paradox. He doesn't remove, He brings us through.  We may live ordinary lives, but we are indwelt by an extraordinary God who can bring light from darkness, joy from despair.  He desires that we develop resilience, such a simple, yet powerful trait."*

As I wrap this up, I want to address those of you who are smack dab in the middle of something hard.  I know how dark and difficult this can be to navigate.  I'm living it too but now isn't the time to cower back.  It's important to keep our focus on the One Who is in control of everything and remember His unrelenting love for us. That's where resilience settles onto a life.

Let's not overlook 1 Peter 4:12,13 "Dear friends, do not be surprised at the painful trial you are suffering, as though something strange were happening to you.  But rejoice that you participate in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed when his glory is revealed."  Don't be surprised....rejoice!

How?  By focusing on verses like this one:  "But those who suffer He delivers in their suffering; He speaks to them in their affliction." (Job 36:15)  Makes me think of a favorite quote I heard once, "God is better than He has to be."  Yes He is!  He will be with us all the way.

In the meantime, we are all going to suffer, no doubt about it.  The bad news is that we will not all be resilient.  A recent sermon from Andy Stanley comes to mind.  He said something like - whatever difficulty you're going through right now will end.  You will land on solid ground eventually.  When you do, this becomes just a story you will tell.  That's what we all do - tell stories from our lives.  The cool thing is that now we can decide how we want to tell it later and live it so it happens that way.  Can I get a "Wow, that's good."?

"God is our future and our hope.  He is the place we go when this heavy world presses in.  He enables us to grasp that elusive resilience.  He doesn't remove us from pain.  He uses the pain in our lives to discipline us, to make us ready to love Him more and bring more folks to His footstool."*

Now that gives me hope to make it through - not try and go around.  You too? Let's be resilient together. Request and reside in God's presence.  Read His Word (often) and understand the context of His promises.  Believe them.  Cast your cares and burdens on Him.  Trust Him with your heart and future.  Refuse to let your enemy win.

*Everything by MaryDeMuth

Why Journal? Some Steps That Have Worked For Me

 A friend asked me recently what I journal.  How does one get started?  So I thought I'd answer it here in case any of you are considering giving it a whirl. Back about eleven years ago I was a journalling wannabe.  I heard countless women whom I admired teach that one of their secrets to spiritual growth and intimacy with God was journalling.  Well, I'm always up for that!  However, like other disciplines, I found this one hard to begin and was not confident I'd stick with it.  You see, I had tried before but if I didn't follow the unwritten rules of writing in it everyday and recording every detail, it seemed like a fail.  I had plenty of books started.  None consistently finished.

All these years later, I have this collection.

I must have shared this with a friend at some point.  You know like when girlfriends all sit around and confess the things they stink at and the others laugh and say, "me too"!  While on a women's retreat soon after, this friend presented me with a beautiful hardcover blank paged book (see pic on left) and said, "Start writing".  I loved the look of the book so much (I can be enamored with the superficial from time to time) that I took the challenge.


I guess I also have believed the notion that the more times you review something the better you remember it.  So, if I write something down that I've heard or read or lived, the chances of it staying with me longer than that moment is significantly increased.  It's true.  And I can go back and review as desired.  I can measure growth.  I can be reminded of all that I have to be thankful for.  I can remember the Lord's faithfulness and trace His hand and footprints through every area that I've recorded.  It's a good thing.  I recommend it.  A discipline?  Sure.  Hard?  Maybe at first.  But it is definitely valuable and worth your time.  Try it and see. There's lots of ways to journal, not just one and I'll venture to say I don't think there's a wrong way. 

Sometimes it's not easy to remain consistent because of the actual content and experience of your life situation.  Trust me, I've lived this one.  Not only did I give this blog a break for some weeks this Fall, but I also laid my personal journal aside. That's kind of a big deal.  I find joy from jotting down my thoughts. It sort of gives validation somehow.  I don't do it everyday but I try to record the highlights of my life a few times per week.  I write the good and the bad.  The failures and the successes.  I write prayers.  I copy quotes.  I jot what makes me laugh and what makes me cry.  I write how I feel God has spoken to me as I read His Word and pray.  Mostly I write what I don't want to forget.

So naturally, when I take a break there are gaps in the storyline.  Many significant events of the last weeks remain unrecorded.  Sometimes the pain is too deep to write down because it requires a re-living of sorts and quite frankly, I haven't wanted to.

That said, something else has been missing.  A big space not filled.  Like a piece of me is not being used or nurtured.  Like I might unknowingly be holding part of myself back from God.  Not good.  I sensed God's nudge the other day to get out my latest pretty book and continue. I was nervous and a little gun-shy.  I didn't look behind me and record the past but started with that very moment.  (No rules in journalling - write how you feel led to.)  Surprise surprise!  I wasn't that rusty after all.  I sat for over an hour and the pen flowed freely.  I felt invigorated (again).

I was going to share here some of what showed up on the page that day but this post is getting way too long and I know some of you prefer bullet points!  Paragraphs can be too cumbersome.  So, I think I'll wait and save that for another day and another post...like tomorrow or the next day.  Deal?  Will you come back?  I hope so.

In the meantime, if you want, head on out to a bookstore or giftshop.  You'll find an awesome assortment of beautiful empty books.  One will suit your personality.  (Kind of like my favorite commercial by Pier 1 Imports: "Find what speaks to you."  Haha!  Cracks me up everytime.You can watch it here.  Sorry about that little detour.)  Find a cozy spot in your home in a comfy chair, get a cup of hot coffee or just go camp out at Starbucks, and quietly begin to write your thoughts.  A little or a lot.  No matter.  You'll get the hang of it.

One last thing, often what I write I wouldn't want anyone else to read but other times I have in the back of my mind that one day my husband and children and perhaps grandchildren may read these volumes.  That sort of excites me. I can leave a record of God's faithfulness to them that might shed some light on their journey of life and point them to God should they lose their way.  Not a bad heritage to pass down, do you think?

P.S. Today is Thursday, November 1st.  Three weeks until Thanksgiving Day.  Why not start or resume your journal with all you are thankful for?

Trick or Treating Through the Years

I guess I'm in the mood for reminiscing. I see some of my friends with younger kids have been getting ready for Trick-or-Treating this week.  It's fun to think back to what costumes our little ones have sported over the years.

It seems the older I get (or maybe the older the kids get) I've gotten in the habit of taking less pictures. Or is it that our camera bit the dust in an accidental encounter with the incoming tide at the beach this summer?

So I looked through some of my photo albums last night and look what I found.  I wondered if you'd want to chuckle with me.

I'm sure overalls were "in" then.

It is clear that I never spent too much on a costume.  In fact, I rarely purchased one ever.  I was more like that mom who borrowed from a more creative mom with older kids.

Except this one.  Ben went through a phase where he loved TAZ more than anything and I hit the jackpot with this costume at a garage sale.  Best $5 I'd spent up to that point.  He was so happy...as you can see!

 

Waldo was one of my favorites for sure.

 Can you spell C-H-E-A-P?  And another year as princess?  That never gets old.

 

Here you see the ultimate in my thriftiness - the boys were wearing pajamas!

But they were still cute, right?

Brace yourself for our favorite of all time.....

 Can you tell who Ben is?  His duds came straight from the Rescue Mission Thrift Store.  Classic.

One things is for sure...it's days like these that highlight once again how quickly the years pass.  The kids aren't dressing up this year.  Sheesh...only one will be home.  Maybe Scott and I will instead.

The Best Gifts I've Been Given

It's been a while since I've written. I've missed you and hope you have been well. Sometimes it's best to be quiet and keep things to yourself, to "be still" as the Bible puts it.  My purpose for this blog always has been to express what God is showing me and doing in my life and that of our family - so that you can be encouraged in your faith journey.  So, I'm jumping back in with hopes that today God will use these words to stir up a hunger in you for more of Him.

I notice some of my Facebook friends are gearing up for the month of November, when they daily name what they are thankful for.  I think this is a good thing. Expressing thanks to God publicly for anything and everything glorifies Him, calms our hearts, and reminds others that there is always something to be thankful for.

I know I've mentioned in previous posts that I keep a list of gifts.  I started it in May of 2011.  Today I recorded #7673. Every morning I start my quiet time by jotting items in this journal.  I recall the previous day remembering what brought me joy, what made me laugh, and what made me look up and pray aloud, "Thank you, God." then write it down.  It's easy to do and I enjoy it knowing God is pleased when I am grateful and pointing to Him as the Giver of even the littlest things. (James 1:17)  Each item is my personal gift from God to me - a way in which He says, "I love you, Angela".

The challenge in recent weeks has been to record the things that don't necessarily bring a smile to my face or cause me to want to high-five God. This spiritual discipline is a sacrifice of praise. Praising God when we don't feel like it.  Thanking Him for what I don't want, for things that cause pain not joy.  I tell you, it's not so easy.  It doesn't come naturally.  One could question, does He still love me?  I'm the first one to admit I like a comfy, cozy life.  Predictable even.  Not a big fan when things don't go according to my plans, my pleasure or understanding. This is where the rub comes - the opportunity to grow.  I don't want to be a fair-weathered follower of Jesus Christ only happy and joyful when things go as I think they should.  Of what use would I be to God?  I don't believe anyone in history has yet to have a pain-free life.  It comes to all of us. So I choose to give thanks.

What's been dominating the list lately?  I'm so glad you asked. :) Prayer. Concern. Meals shared. Encouragement.  Love.  Kindness.  Advice. Understanding. Scripture promises.  Grace.  Mercy.  Hope.  (Don't rush through that - go back and savor them for a minute with me.)  Most of these gifts came packaged in bodies.  People.  Family and friends reaching out to touch us.  Pride and self-sufficiency could stop the flow of receiving these kindnesses.  Perhaps we've reached a new place where our weakness is greater than our pride - so we choose to receive. Scott and I have been greatly touched.  For years it seems we have been the ones gladly extending these kinds of gifts to others so to be on the receiving end is a different experience, one that is truly beautiful.  Heartfelt tears flow easily.  Not a day goes by that we don't receive numerous phone calls, facebook messages, emails or early morning and late night text messages filled with life-giving words pointing us to Jesus and His ways which are not our ways, but trustworthy.   It is humbling for sure but I am convinced God sends those who are in tune with Him to do the works of His Spirit.  (2 Cor. 1:3,4)

We recently went to a familiar gathering place we haven't been to in a while.  It was jam-packed with some of the above mentioned people.  When I wasn't being hugged and kissed and loved on, I tried to stand back and watch the love gush onto Scott and our kids.  GIFTS. We walked in empty and came out full.  God used the experience (and His people) to remind us who we are. 

This brings me to why I'm writing to you today.  You are on my mind because I know you have dark cloudy times in your life too when you can't see your hand in front of your face, when the pain eclipses the comfort and status quo of your life.  I pray for you, my friends, that you have Christ-following God-lovers in your life who will do this for you in your time of need. These are people who are not so preoccupied with their own lives that they don't have time for you and yours.  They are people who are so filled with the Holy Spirit of God that they splash over onto others.  Likely, they've been through similar situations and have survived because of God's great love and care for them.  Which, by the way, is abundant and available to you and me too. These are people who believe in you.  Love you.  They are neither disappointed in or impressed with you.  They feel your hurt and seek to soothe it.

If no names come to mind, RUN don't walk to a Bible-believing church where both truth and grace are preached, lived and extended.  Then make friends....even if you're needy.  Jesus came for needy people.  Not for the ones who can do it on their own.  (Matt. 9:12,13) Because He is the perfect need-meeter (Phil. 4:19) and is waiting for you with open arms (Rev. 3:20).  Can I get an AMEN?

In the meantime, please receive this blog post as my offer of love, concern and care and prayers for you.  You are loved here.

When the Storm Hits

I've yet to meet anyone who hasn't weathered a few storms in their life.  On my mind this morning are those I know who are in the middle of a storm right now.  Some have lost loved ones.  Others are helplessly watching friends hurt. Others face an uncertain future.  One of the most disturbing things about life in the storm is that you can't see.  You can't see 2 feet in front of you sometimes.  We can tend to let worry come right on in and swirl us around more.  Worse, we can be given to panic which can cause a hurricane of negative emotions and fear trying to figure out how to get out and what the damage of the storm will leave behind.

This is when we reap the benefits of friends outside who can see for us.  They remind you of things the storm can try to wipe from your mind.  Like who you are in Christ.  Like how much God loves you. Like even if God seems far away, He is not.  Like how being in a storm doesn't mean you've done something wrong. They redirect your thoughts to the future, life after the storm.  Because every storm passes.  No storm lasts a lifetime and God promises to bring good from everything.  Isn't that good news?  I have better - God is with us in the storm.  Very present.  Holding us safely in His arms.

 Brings a song to mind called "Safe".  Have you ever heard it?  You can listen to it here.  I've been hearing it often on the radio lately. The other morning as I sat in my favorite chair with a cup of coffee, I imagined myself sitting in God's strong, protective arms.   That comforted me.  I just love Him so much.  (And for the record, I don't only like the song because my favorite lead singer of MercyMe is featured in this duet. That's just a coincidence.)

This morning I was reading Romans 8.  I think this may be my new favorite chapter of the Bible.  After reading it in the ESV, I took out a different version I like to complement.  Although it's a long chapter, I'm going to print it here for you.  I just love the language and the message of truth.  Kind of sums all of life up.  I'm going to underline verses that spoke volumes to me today.  Actually, I just underlined them and re-read and I'm going to have to add a few comments.  I'm sorry, I just can't help myself!  These will be in blue.  Check it out:

8 ^1-2 With the arrival of Jesus, the Messiah, that fateful dilemma is resolved. Those who enter into Christ’s being-here-for-us no longer have to live under a continuous, low-lying black cloud. A new power is in operation. The Spirit of life in Christ, like a strong wind, has magnificently cleared the air, freeing you from a fated lifetime of brutal tyranny at the hands of sin and death.

^3-4 God went for the jugular when he sent his own Son. He didn’t deal with the problem as something remote and unimportant. In his Son, Jesus, he personally took on the human condition, entered the disordered mess of struggling humanity in order to set it right once and for all. The law code, weakened as it always was by fractured human nature, could never have done that.
The law always ended up being used as a Band-Aid on sin instead of a deep healing of it. And now what the law code asked for but we couldn’t deliver is accomplished as we, instead of redoubling our own efforts, simply embrace what the Spirit is doing in us.

^5-8 Those who think they can do it on their own end up obsessed with measuring their own moral muscle but never get around to exercising it in real life. Those who trust God’s action in them find that God’s Spirit is in them—living and breathing God! Obsession with self in these matters is a dead end; attention to God leads us out into the open, into a spacious, free life. Focusing on the self is the opposite of focusing on God. Anyone completely absorbed in self ignores God, ends up thinking more about self than God. That person ignores who God is and what he is doing. And God isn’t pleased at being ignored.  Sometimes we just get too caught up in our self.  This especially happens in a storm.  Total preoccupation with me.  Yuck!  I get so sick of that, don't you? We can become self-focused to the point that we miss the fact that God has a purpose for our lives that involves serving others, not worrying about what we can't control anyway.  Take a look at your storm.  Can you control the outcome?  Make it go away?  If not, then it's time to let go and trust.  We need to get on with life!  A friend said to me the other day, "No more self pity".  We only have so much time on this Earth to serve God and glorify Him.  See why you need good friends?  A decision to not waste any more time needs to be made.    
^9-11 But if God himself has taken up residence in your life, you can hardly be thinking more of yourself than of him. Anyone, of course, who has not welcomed this invisible but clearly present God, the Spirit of Christ, won’t know what we’re talking about. But for you who welcome him, in whom he dwells—even though you still experience all the limitations of sin—you yourself experience life on God’s terms. It stands to reason, doesn’t it, that if the alive-and-present God who raised Jesus from the dead moves into your life, he’ll do the same thing in you that he did in Jesus, bringing you alive to himself? When God lives and breathes in you (and he does, as surely as he did in Jesus), you are delivered from that dead life. With his Spirit living in you, your body will be as alive as Christ’s!
 
^12-14 So don’t you see that we don’t owe this old do-it-yourself life one red cent. There’s nothing in it for us, nothing at all. The best thing to do is give it a decent burial and get on with your new life. God’s Spirit beckons. There are things to do and places to go!  Yes!  Yes!  Yes!  A decent burial.  Things to do and places in Christ to go!

^15-17 This resurrection life you received from God is not a timid, grave-tending life. It’s adventurously expectant, greeting God with a childlike “What’s next, Papa?” God’s Spirit touches our spirits and confirms who we really are. We know who he is, and we know who we are: Father and children. And we know we are going to get what’s coming to us—an unbelievable inheritance! We go through exactly what Christ goes through. If we go through the hard times with him, then we’re certainly going to go through the good times with him!  Remember what I said about glancing into the future when you're in that storm?  Asking God, "What's next?" knowing that we are going to get what comes to us....a glorious inheritance!  Not condemnation (see vs. 1).  Go through the hard times with Him and expect the good times with Him as well!

^18-21 That’s why I don’t think there’s any comparison between the present hard times and the coming good times. The created world itself can hardly wait for what’s coming next. Everything in creation is being more or less held back. God reins it in until both creation and all the creatures are ready and can be released at the same moment into the glorious times ahead. Meanwhile, the joyful anticipation deepens.  So good...keep reading!

^22-25 All around us we observe a pregnant creation. The difficult times of pain throughout the world are simply birth pangs. But it’s not only around us; it’s within us. The Spirit of God is arousing us within. We’re also feeling the birth pangs. These sterile and barren bodies of ours are yearning for full deliverance. That is why waiting does not diminish us, any more than waiting diminishes a pregnant mother. We are enlarged in the waiting. We, of course, don’t see what is enlarging us. But the longer we wait, the larger we become, and the more joyful our expectancy.  As a woman who has been pregnant 6 times, I get this!!  And that's exactly how I'm feeling today - yearning for full deliverance - joyful in expectancy.  Girlfriend, can you get there even if your storm is raging?  It is indeed a happy place.  We are all longing for something, we just may not realize that it's for something that God will bring out. 

^26-28 Meanwhile, the moment we get tired in the waiting, God’s Spirit is right alongside helping us along. If we don’t know how or what to pray, it doesn’t matter. He does our praying in and for us, making prayer out of our wordless sighs, our aching groans. He knows us far better than we know ourselves, knows our pregnant condition, and keeps us present before God. That’s why we can be so sure that every detail in our lives of love for God is worked into something good.  And the news keeps getting better.  When you don't know how to pray, don't worry...the Spirit is going to God on your behalf.  Rest there for a while. God is on the job!  Good is on the way!

^29-30 God knew what he was doing from the very beginning. He decided from the outset to shape the lives of those who love him along the same lines as the life of his Son. The Son stands first in the line of humanity he restored. We see the original and intended shape of our lives there in him. After God made that decision of what his children should be like, he followed it up by calling people by name. After he called them by name, he set them on a solid basis with himself. And then, after getting them established, he stayed with them to the end, gloriously completing what he had begun.

^31-39 So, what do you think? With God on our side like this, how can we lose? If God didn’t hesitate to put everything on the line for us, embracing our condition and exposing himself to the worst by sending his own Son, is there anything else he wouldn’t gladly and freely do for us? This just about lifted me right out of my chair today.  God is for us and what won't He do for us?  Trust Him with all that is on your mind and heart today.  And who would dare tangle with God by messing with one of God’s chosen? Who would dare even to point a finger? The One who died for us—who was raised to life for us!—is in the presence of God at this very moment sticking up for us. Do you think anyone is going to be able to drive a wedge between us and Christ’s love for us? There is no way! Not trouble, not hard times, not hatred, not hunger, not homelessness, not bullying threats, not backstabbing, not even the worst sins listed in Scripture:

They kill us in cold blood because they hate you.
We’re sitting ducks; they pick us off one by one.

None of this fazes us because Jesus loves us. I’m absolutely convinced that nothing—nothing living or dead, angelic or demonic, today or tomorrow, high or low, thinkable or unthinkable—absolutely nothing can get between us and God’s love because of the way that Jesus our Master has embraced us.  Amen and amen.  Does anything else really matter?  Relationship with God through salvation in Jesus is all that really matters and that cannot be taken from you no matter how raging the storm.

 God's Word always has what we need.  Girlfriend, if you're in your own storm today remember that God's got you.  He is there with you in it. It will end and when it does you will see the good He brings forth.  And maybe ask Him who you can do something for today - serve others to get your mind off self.  I told my son Ben on the way to school today that it's time for me to get someone else on my mind.  My plan is to bring some cider to my elderly neighbor today or tomorrow.and ask her to tell me her story and see if there's anything I can do to help her get ready for winter.  Could the clouds be lifting?

 Romans 8 in The Message