Waiting and Praising July 26, 2007
God is amazing and I am overwhelmed at what he has been doing in our lives through Niel’s tumor. Niel’s surgery is less than a week away now, and as time gets closer it begins to feel more and more real. The enemy likes to plant thoughts of fear and doubt, but I know that God has us in his hands and he has given us his peace that passes all understanding. We are overwhelmed by all of the love and support and prayer that we are receiving. I know that God is using other people in our life as the hands and feet of Christ. I know we are not the same people we were 5 weeks ago. God has increased our faith, our joy and our peace through this trial. Jesus has always been real to me, but my faith was not very bold. God has given me boldness to speak his name through this. I can’t help but praise Him for that, he is amazing! We cannot talk about what is going on in our lives without mentioning Jesus and what he is doing for us. In my mind and heart there is no separtion from what is happening right now and God. Even though it is scary and something I would have never chosen; I know God is using this to grow us closer to him and to touch other people’s lives. I just pray that I can remain full of faith in Him and that he continues to give us his peace. I am so thankful that I am saved by his grace! He is a good God!
Love is Patience July 19, 2007
I have learned that with children you have to have extreme patience. Nothing is ever easy, nothing is ever simple and nothing turns out the way you think it will. No matter what I plan, something always happens to change the course of my plan. Well something just hit me in the midst of my selfishness and frustration.
I am not being patient and that means I am not showing my precious little children love. In 1 Corinthians 13 1-13 it says if I can do amazing things and have knowledge and faith, but have not love I AM NOTHING! “If I give all I posses to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing. LOVE is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails!….And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is LOVE.”
When I am impatient, I am not loving my children. When I get angry if they do not do what I ask right away, I am not loving them. If I am not kind even when they disobey or talk back, I am not loving them. When I am more worried about what I need to get done than my children’s hearts, then I am not loving them. When I do not encourage truth no matter what the consequences, I am not showing them love. When I am not protecting them spiritually and emotionally, I am not loving them. When I do not trust them first and just assume they did something wrong, I am not loving them. When I am not always hoping for them, I am not loving them. When I give up on them because they keep doing it over and over, I am not loving them. When I do not persevere everyday to be the mother God has called me to be to them, I am not loving them.
Love is not just something we feel towards our children and others, but something we do each minute of everyday. Love is not easy. It is a dying to oneself to be Christ to someone else. That is exactly why Jesus Christ died for us….to show us his ultimate love for us. The only way we can share the love Jesus gave to us freely is to deny our selfish tendencies so that we may show true love towards others. We must decrease so that he may increase.
Trusting and Taking Captive July 18, 2007
I have learned through the past few weeks that you have to keep your mind on Jesus or the thoughts will consume you. So I tell myself: Do not let the what-if’s and the scary thoughts take control of your mind. Hold fast to God’s word and choose to believe “the report of the Lord.”
2 Corinthians 10:4-5 says: “The weapons we fight with are not weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strong holds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.”
Also this past week a wise person told me that “Either you choose to believe that God is in control of every situation of your life or you believe that he is in control of nothing.” Well I choose to believe that Jesus Christ is in control of every single situation in my life; from the everyday little things to the huge things like my husband’s tumor! If we believe God can do some things and not others, what are we saying? We need to trust him in absolutely everything.
First Blog July 10, 2007
O.k. ! My husband has totally inspired me to start this. He is so amazing, and I have gained new insight into him by reading his blog. He has encouraged me in so many ways in the past couple of weeks. I am so blessed to be married to such a wonderful man of God. It is my hope that I may share my thoughts with him and others through this. I can only pray that I may encourage others as he has done. I pray that God blesses me with the ability to express my thoughts and feelings in a way that glorifies him. Jesus Christ is my reason for living and the source of all my joy and strength!
