Wow, I have been struggling lately with posts. I think I get so much in my head, that it's hard for me to single one thing out to post. At the same time though, if I were to post it all, it might as well be a novel!! As I was getting ready for bed, I found myself praying that God would help me know what to write. This picture I found the other day popped in my head. I hope you enjoy this as much as I did when I studied it..........

The reference to this verse is wrong though, it is actually found in Isaiah 40:31 not 4:31.


I LOVE this verse!! It has helped me through some of the toughest times in my life (if I've never shared my story with you, please just ask, I'll PM anyone).


Actually I want to quote a few verses before this also. Isaiah 40:28-31 "28 Hast thou not known? hast thou not heard, that the everlasting God, The Lord, the Creator of the ends of the earth, fainteth not, neither is weary? there is no searching of His understanding.

29 He giveth power to the faint; and to them that have no might he increaseth strength.

30 Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall:

31 But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint."

Waiting on the Lord.....

This world we live in is so fast-paced now a days. We are programmed to go go go. Even now as I look at my computer screen I realize I have 5 windows open working on different things in each of them. No time to rest, no time for anything other than our goals we have set for ourselves. Please don't get me wrong, I think it is important to strive for our dreams. I think what happens though is we carry it into EVERY aspect of our lives. This idea that we always have to go, to move, to get something done.

When I went through my "hardest year" I wanted answers right then. I didn't understand why things were happening the way they were, why God would allow such tremendous strife in my life. I first asked God to give me an answer, when I got no reply, I began yelling, and much to my dismay, still no answer. I became very angry at Him, (this is difficult for me to write about so please bear with me), left Him totally to try and find my own answers. Looking back, I have never been so alone, so lost, as I was at this point in my life. I refused to wait upon the Lord. I was tired to say the least, I had no strength. It took everything I had just to get out of bed.

God gave me my answer eventually, and it humbled me more than any words on this post could describe. And as I look back, I wish I had waited on the Lord. I mean after all, who better to understand what I was going through than the One who made me, who knew me before I was born? This is a plea to those reading, please remember to wait upon the Lord. His time may not be what we think it should be, but His time is always the RIGHT time.

You may be struggling right now, just trying to stand under the pressure this world has put on you. You may be fighting with all you have to keep your head above water with problems going on in your life. It probably doesn't make sense right now what you are going through. But God knows, He understands. And He will give you wings to fly as eagles if you just trust Him and wait..........

I speak totally from experience on this. He will let you fly if you just wait on Him.....

I'm praying for you guys........

Rev

I racked my brain today trying to think what to post for Sat. night blog fever. I searched and searched, trying to find the perfect song for the type of mood I am in. But I could not get a topic out of my mind for todays post, I felt God telling me I needed to put this out there because there are some that need it. And then something amazing happened, He led me to this song that goes perfect with this post!! Isn't our God awesome???



I have met some amazing people in my short time here on blogstream. Some are going through some terrible times right now. It has made me think about the hard times and struggles I have been through in my own life. How uncertain things can seem when you are in the middle of a storm. Your life being tossed this way and that.........

Then there are some who break my heart. Who are just so lost to the wonderful God that I know. Their own religions changing their doctorine as they see fit (or because something was proven wrong). Yet they still hold tight to what they believe.......it just breaks my heart.

And I have to say something about this world we live in. How bad things are getting, and to face the honesty that according to the Bible, it will only get worse. I am scared for my children and my family as I watch what's going on around me. Are you? Do you possibly fit into one of these paragraphs? I think most would say "yes" to at least one.



You see, no matter what goes on around us, to us, or anything in between, there is a promise we can count on. God is still the same. He doesn't change. The same God that led Isreal out of the hand of Egypt is the same God that loves us today. The same promises Jesus made to His disciples, we can count on today. No matter how much this world (or the people in it) canges, He will not, He is constant, unmoving. He is my rock, have you made Him yours?? I love this song, and to those I have been talking to, this is for you. I may not have the answers, but I know someone who does........

Here are the lyrics for those that can't hear them......

Great is Your faithfulness
Great is Your faithfulness
You never change
You never fail, O God
True are Your promises
True are Your promises
You never change
You never fail, O God
So we raise up holy hands
To praise the Holy One
Who was and is and is to come
Wide is Your love and grace
Wide is Your love and grace
You never change
You never fail, O God
You were, You are
You will always be


Song removed for next song, but you can still click link to hear.

Happy Valentines Day everyone!!

I can't help, on this special day, to think of Jesus and just how much He loved us. We didn't deserve what He did for us, we never will. But in spite of myself He took my sins upon that cross, just so I could be with Him forever!! Can you imagine that?? Our God wants to spend eternity with little ole me!! How exciting is that!!!!!



It's also SO amazing to me that God, our Father loved me before I accepted Him. He sent His Son to die for my sins, thousands of years before I was born. If you notice, I take what Jesus did and His love, and I am able to claim it as mine. You can do the same, He loves us all the same. With God there are no favorites.



I cannot comprehend why God loves us so much. It blows my mind when I try and understand how far it reaches around me. Can you feel it around you too?? Just stop for a minute and close your eyes, picture what God sent His Son here to do. Not only that but consider how much beauty there is in this world for us to see and enjoy, yet God sent His only Son to die in place for our sins!! That is true love....



I have heard a lot of different people this year talk about being alone for valentines day this year. But to them I have to reply, God loves you, and who here on earth can love more than that?? I know it may still be difficult, but hang in there, God has a plan just for you, a perfect plan. Seek it out and you will find true happiness and contentment with your life.

I hope you all have a wonderful valentines day!! And always remember, God loves us everyday the same!! EVERDAY can be valentines day with God!!

Till next time,
Rev

I know some of you have realized that I have slowed down on leaving comments and posting new things to this blog. For that I am sorry, part of the reason being I have met some wonderful people on here that are going through some really tough times right now. I have been spending extra time with them trying to give them a shoulder and be an encouragement in their time of need. I have found some WONDERFUL pictures w/verses that I hope will be a blessing to them and you!! If the verse is different from the KJV, I'll quote what it says in mine underneath it as well....

These pictures provided by Free Foto


Isn't it wonderful to know that when life's troubles beat us down, make us fall that we can count on God to pick us back up again? If we stay faithful to Him He will keep us from falling. Maybe you haven't completely fallen, you might just be bowed over from all the pressure. He will be there to straighten us back up if we let him. Like the picture above, you can see in the trunk of the tree, it looks a little crooked in the middle, at one time a storm had bowed it over. But over time, as it grew, God straightened this tree back up, it will always bear it's mark of where it's been, but it is able to stand straight. Are you in a place right now in your life where life has beaten you down? Give it to God and He will straighten you up, make you able to stand straight and keep you from falling.



(KJV, "Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowlege him and he shall direct thy paths.")

I love this verse!! A lot of times we find ourselves in situations that we don't comprehend, it doesn't make any sense to us why we have to go through something like this. We must trust God that He knows whats best for us in our life. He is the only one who can see our tomorrow. You might have to go through this storm to keep you out of a bigger one down the road... Just put your trust in Him and He will lead you down the right path every time. If you are close to Him, it might be hard to understand, but there is a purpose for what you are going through. If you've tried to let go of God and find yourself on the wrong path and lost, Turn around and take His hand, He'll lead you to the right one.

For sake of time, I'm going to stop here for now, I have found many more and am extremely excited to share them with you!! I hope you have enjoyed these and stay tuned for more from His word!!!

Till next time,
Rev

I love to sit and just watch my daughters. I know I have stated this before, but I feel it can be addressed in so many ways. They have so much to learn about God, love, life, well pretty much just about anything else you can think of. This scares me sometimes when I think about it. Here are some of my thoughts and prayers I have said since my first daughter was born until now. I hope this will touch your heart and give you a blessing as I think all with children can relate to most what is said.

I thank God for blessing with my beautiful baby girls. Who would have ever thought they would teach me this much about love and life? As I watch them play, I realize what Jesus meant by saying, "For such is the kingdom of Heaven."

I hope I can be the kind of father I need to be for them. They deserve the best I can give them, everyday. I can't do it on my own though, I pray all the time for help on this. I want to be the very best for them, I want to be strong, kind, caring, tough, soft, loving, patient, firm in my standards and beliefs. There is a time for all of that, I just need God's help to determine when it is.

I wish to teach them that EVERYONE in this world deserves their love and respect. God made us all, and He loves us all the same. That is enough to know to show people that same kind of love and caring. I think people need to see more people in this world who are like that.

I hope I can show them the beautiful things that He has left for us in this world. The sunsets, the sunrises, the way the frost glitters on the grass when daylight first begins to shine, the beauty of a spring rain when it first begins to fall on your face, the birds and trees, and well, there is just too much to name.

I need to teach them how to be cautious, there are some horrible things that happen in this world. People sometimes can do some awful things to each other. I want to be able to protect them as long as I can, but someday I gonna have to let go and let them fly. I just hope I can teach them that even though hard times and broken hearts will happen, God will always be there to mend it if they let Him. It should never be an excuse to close their hearts to the world. I think of Jesus and what this world did to Him, and I am extremely glad He didn't close His heart to us.

I hope and pray that they will see how much I love and respect their mother. That I can follow God's command and love her the way Jesus loved the church. He didn't just come to die, He came and gave His whole life for the church. Every movement and thought and spoken word was for us, the church, that is amazing. I want my girls to see that in me so when they get old enough and decide who they want to marry, they will want nothing less than that example.

And most of all, I hope I teach them that above all things, we need to love Jesus over everything. If we do that in our lives, everything else will fall into place where it should be. I hope when they look at me they this, that He always comes first. I have put a lot on my plate, I know this. But I know God will help me as long as I stay close to Him. You see, I'm not just doing it for me anymore, I am doing it for my children. Don't they deserve my best? Isn't my best just filthy rags before God? I want to give them more than my dirty rags.

I hope you got a blessing out of reading this. I think we all share the same type of aspirations for our children. I pray quite often that Jesus will come back in my lifetime, because what I see going on in this world scares me for my kids. All the anger and hatred that is happening in the world, just turn the news on for 20 min and you'll know what I'm talking about. These are just some of the wishes I have for my daughters as they grow. What are some you have for yours??

Till next time,
Rev