God is good

"God is good, all the time,
He put a song of praise in this heart of mine,
God is good, all the time,
He put a song of praise in this heart of mine,
God is good, God is good, all the time!"
This was a song I learned in my childhood - not sure if it was a praise chorus or a gospel song that someone like the Gaithers sang, but this morning it is running through my head again and again and I am overwhelmed. I am overwhelmed because for one of the very first times in my life, this simple phrase "God is good" is so real, so impacting to me that I cannot help but praise Him. Again and again and again for everything He is doing in my life. And it is not an emotional I-feel-like-this-is-what-I-should-be-feeling kind of thing, or fake in any way, it is a focus on all the ways that He is blessing me, is blessing my family. It is a awareness of the ways His hand is working in our lives - in the small things and the big things. He is working, He is moving, He is blessing. So much, in fact, that I cannot help but "shout it from the rooftops" - or in this case, blog it. :) I have not had the desire in over a year to write on this blog, but this morning I could not help but write. My children are getting themselves out of bed and starting to move around as I type, so I most likely will not be writing much longer, but I definitely needed to write this this morning. Get it out there and share. Maybe someone else needs it, I don't know, but if it is you reading this who needs to hear, God is good, all the time. He works situations and circumstances so that you can know Him better. He wants to bless you, He wants to hear from you, He loved you before the world began, before man fell, before He did everything He could to save us, before Jesus came to the earth as a baby that we will be celebrating this next month - it's always been my favorite time of year, but I think I am getting to the point that Easter, Easter is going to be my favorite, because before He died on that cross, He thought of me. My name was on His lips when He asked God to forgive them. YOUR name was on His lips. He loves you and He wants to hear from you! Isn't that cool? The God of the universe, the Creator of all things, wants to hear, from ME! He wants to hear from YOU. He loves me, He loves YOU. Now, before this starts sounding like a kid's book or Dr. Suess, just know that His love for us is incredible. And what this awesome Person wants most of all is to be in a relationship with me and with you. Amazing!
In my journal this morning all I could write about was thank you. Thank you, God, for all the things you have given me. And there are so many that I just scratched the surface. It was like He opened my eyes to all the many things, from little tiny things to deeper ways that He was working in my life and my family's life.
Thank you, God! You ARE good, all the time!

Worry, worry, worry

I was reading a blog this morning - going back over some old posts she had written, and came across one that the title was simply "Worry". The blog author had been given a devotional on worry and this was the part she had included.

One day I was reading my Bible and noticed how Martha’s worries were making her weary, and making her wonder if Jesus cared that her sister left her in the kitchen to do all that work, all by herself.

And listen to how He responded: “‘Martha, Martha,’ the Lord answered, ‘you are worried and upset about many things, but only one thing is needed. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.’” (NIV)

So, how do we choose what is better? How do we let go of our worries and take hold of confident peace that assures us God notices and God cares?

First Peter 5:7 tells us: “Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about you.” (NLT)

The apostle Paul tells us the same and he tells us how: “Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 4:6-7, NLT)

It sounds so doable, but why is it so hard? I think it’s because Satan whispers the opposite. He tells us, “Don’t be calm about anything; instead worry about everything. Tell God what He should do. Then take control if He doesn’t listen. And concerns that consume you will become like acid in your heart, eroding your confidence with worry and doubt!”

Instead of giving into the whispers of worry, spoken by the enemy, let’s listen to God’s promise for peace. When we feel overwhelmed by life this week, let’s commit to …

• Stop worrying — Press the pause button on our consuming concerns.

• Start praying — Talk to God about all we’re doing. Ask if there’s anything we need to cut back so we can seek Him as much as we serve Him, and others.

• Keep thanking God — Thank God for what He’s done in the past and will do in the future. This helps us remember how good He is at being God.

I am twisted in knots of worry over the fact that our house has not sold yet and we are getting possession of the new house on FRIDAY! I was doing so much better about not being a worrier, not taking the control back from God, not telling God what He should do, but of course as soon as we said yes to God, yes to following His leading back into ministry, yes to trusting, that is when I was attacked. And the funny part is that during the decision making process, Satan was attacking our children - keeping them up at night, crying out and disturbing Mommy and Daddy's sleep as well as their own off and on for hours. Them being grouchy and crying in the morning - off and on all morning having meltdown after meltdown, trading off so their parents were ready to send them all back. So we have been bathing them in prayers - prayers of protection as well as ones that they will be filled with joy, love and that they will be free from the arrows Satan was flinging at them. And it has been good. Our focus has been on God and His ability to keep our children safe and to do SO MUCH MORE than we can imagine.
But, I have not been praying for ME, for MY protection, for MY trust and ability to REST in God's promises. That He will NEVER fail me, He is good at being in the driver's seat,
"HE is ABLE, He will NEVER fail, He is Almighty God, Greater than all we seek, Greater than all we ASK, He has done great things" (from Hillsong's new song "God is Able").
I need to stop worrying, and need to start praying for myself and the attacks that I am experiencing as well as resting in God and TRUSTING Him that He can do so much more than I can imagine and start thanking Him for all that He has done.

Catching up...

Goodness it has been awhile since I posted on this blog. So much has happened since the last time! BIG stuff too, really big stuff. Life changing stuff.
First, we are moving. Well, I guess that wasn't the first thing that happened or the catalyst even for all of the change. What was the start of it all was a holy discontent that my husband has never been able to shake to be a part of the leadership in the local church which we honestly believe IS the hope of the world, God's hope for the world. So we have been praying and searching, applying, interviewing and waiting. Then candidating and praying and talking and praying some more. And God IS faithful, and He will never leave us. He made a way for us. (Sorry the cliches, Hillsong's "God is Able" is running through my head) My DH will be a pastor once again. We are going to be ministering at a church in a large town/small city in the greater area of the city in which we currently live. The awesome part - well, besides the destination of the journey that God has brought us on and the church we will be in itself - is that it is only 25 minutes from my family. Woo woo!
So my DH will be the Community Life pastor at this church - it is a bigger church that is trying to do multi-site. Sound familiar to anyone? When we moved here M came to be the Community Life pastor at the church. And the church ours moved with is multi-site. Seems like God is bringing some things together, hey?
Our summer has been INSANE. I think the longest all of us have been at home together in a given stretch wince the May Long weekend is 4 days. Between camping, a trip to MB for the wedding of a very special lady to the love of her life, a trip to the coast to see M's family and a work convention in Minneapolis for me, it has been a little INSANE! And we bought a house while we were at M's parents place.
So now we are getting close to the move date - we get possession on FRIDAY!! And the move is scheduled for the 27th. So much to do between now and then. It's crazy how nuts our life is right now.
THe only fly in the ointment is our current house has not sold yet. And I am stressed about it. I have a post that I wrote this morning that will go "live" right after this which was an "ah-ha" moment for me this morning. And as M just reminded me - God hasn't brought us this far to leave us hanging. To not help us figure everything out. I need to trust. And be thankful.
So now you are caught up....