When the storms come...........

Feeling so grateful.

I asked God to show me the importance of community.

Sometimes the days trials can feel physically like you are actually carrying heavy burdens.
You can feel so worn/laden with the problems of the day, the hour, the month.

Tom was out of work for 3 months March, April, May with several different back problems.

I started a new job in May to try to help with the bills.

Traveled to my dad's funeral September, came back home....  Sewer lines busted.
Our beloved watchdog and pet of over twelve years was diagnosed as very sick.
Tom ran a 103 temperature on and off for a week.
His job said if he called out again, he was fired.
That same Friday the dryer broke,
the brakes went out on the Jeep. ...
even the coffee maker gave out.
Saturday went to Urgent care with Tom,
he was
sent immediately to the emergency room.
He has been there since Oct. 1.
Then the hurricane came.

These past weeks I have been blessed by the care of others.
I am so thankful.

I felt the weight of a burden lightened as I shared with Lori , Liz , Anthony,                                                   Peter, Francis, Bernadette and others.

I felt the weight of a burden lightened  as TJ and Sandy worked to remedy our broken dryer.

I felt the weight of a burden lightened when TJ, Cayci, Matthew and Cathleen brought me D batteries
as my power outage after the storm continued.

I felt the weight of a burden lightened as I spoke with Liz on a dark night alone in the hurricane.

I felt the weight of a burden lightened as Suzanne went to the library to try to find books/video's for Tom so   that as he recuperates his time can be used to learn and discover more about something he enjoys (gunmithing).

I felt the weight of a burden lightened as I look to God
                                                                .......and through His people the load lightened.

I felt the weight of a burden lightened as my boss and associates
(from a job I just recently began)           
rearranged their schedules so I could care for Tom.

I felt the weight of a burden lightened as Sandy came over and helped me move yard items into the garage so
that they wouldn't blow around during the hurricane.

I felt the weight of a burden lightened as Susan would text to see how we were doing.

Even in the greatest distress, search until you find causes for thankfulness.

I felt the weight of a burden lifted when Matthew and Cathleen came over and got the window of the suburban to go back up by taking the door apart.  (The day I was picking Tom up from the hospital to take him home, I used the valet  service.  The valet put the window down, not realizing that the window would not go back up.)
                                                             
I felt the weight of a burden lightened  when Suzanne brought us over vegetables and food after the storm as our refrigerator food had spoiled with the power outage.

I felt the weight of a burden lightened as my neighbors Jammi and John checked on me after the storm, and   my other neighbor brought over some ham/turkey for sandwiches since I will be going back to work and looking for easy meals for Tom.

I felt the weight of a burden lightened as I heard that family and friends were safe after the storm.

I felt the weight of a burden lightened as I sat in the hospital and my thoughts wandered to finances, an ailing pet, the new sewer lines, Tom's job, ongoing home care, recuperation, and what the future would bring.  Then I  would remember the love of a cousin who started a fundraiser to help lighten the anxiety and worry.
She said, " saying yes to charity and the way it lightens the load is beyond measure."

Charity is Love.
Not Pity.

She was right!

I am so thankful and humbled by the generosity and kindness of those who have contributed.  
Thank you so very much.  

Even in the greatest distress, search until you find cause for thankfulness.  "I sought the Lord, and He heard me, and delivered Me from all My fears.   They looked to Him and were lightened, and their faces were not ashamed."   Psalm  34:1,4-5

When fear and anxiety overwhelm you...........

When anxiety and turmoil overwhelms you..............

My husband was out of work from the end of
March, through April, May, and June.
His back was causing him great pain.

I started a new job, to help pay the bills.
It was stressful at almost 60 to learn a new
job.   Humbling to be trained by a 22 year old!
I am thankful for the new job.

My husband got sick with some kind of bug.
He missed more work.   No paid days left.
Thankful that he got better.

My dad passed away.   The beginning of this month, September, was the funeral.
It required us driving 2000 miles in 4 days, attending a funeral, dealing with finances for
the trip etc.  Thankful for an aunt and uncle that helped us with some of the finances.
Thankful for a dad that lived a full and meaningful life.

 Got home from the funeral. and the dog had to be taken to the vet.
He was untreatable. . . after they charged us $500.
He is dying of cancer.
Thankful that my son got me this dog twelve years ago to fill my
aching heart.

Was working outside, sliced my finger on some glass.
After two weeks it still wasn't healing.
I felt it closely and realized there was still a
good sized piece of glass in the cut!
The cut had been so deep that I just kept it
wrapped most of the time.   So this was the
first time I could actually see the glass!
I am thankful that I found the glass and
the cut healed almost overnight after that!

Still in the same month of September.
Our sewer pipes collapsed.
We were without sewer for a few days.
Then, had to pay $4,000 to have the pipes redone.
Had to take out a loan.
Thankful that we qualified for the loan.

My husband has been sick again.
Started Friday.
Going on a week.
He now gets no sick pay because he used it all up
when his back was out.
Thankful that his back has been doing better.

He has been running a fever on and off of 103.
The doctor said it was gastroenteritis......
I guess they say that when they don't really know.
Thankful that there will be an answer.

So, my husband with 103 fever,
had to sign a paper today at work.
It says that if he misses any more work,
he is terminated from employment.

So it is finally September 30.
The brakes on the Jeep went out
while my husband was driving.
Thankful he didn't get in an accident.

The dryer just went out.

I feel lonely sometimes.
It is still September.

But I am thankful that I can:

Run to Him.
Be anxious for nothing.
Go forward into the future bravely and unafraid.
Focus on Him and not the problem or the person.

Remember that you are:

Treasured by God.
Empowered by God.
Provided for by God.
Cared for by God.
Loved by God.

He is the One who matters the Most!

DO NOT BE AFRAID!

SPEND MORE TIME IN PRAYER!
PRAYER GIVES YOU NOURISHMENT, STRENGTH, PURPOSE, DIRECTION!

2 Kings 6:16

"Do not be afraid," the prophet answered. "Those who are with us are more than those who are with them."

A KING sends SOLDIERS to destroy
an old blind man!
An Army!
Elisha says, "Do not be afraid!
Those who are with us are more than those who are with them!"


It does not matter who it is,
they have no power over you.
Like the blind Elisha,
when I send you to do something it is MY power, strength, wisdom that shines.
DO NOT BE AFRAID!
I keep telling you this!
Do not be afraid!
What I have called you to do,
I have equipped you to do!!
Stay very close to Me.

Does your job make you feel like you are missing out on life?

Look for the loving, the true, the kind, the brave in the many around you.

"With toil and labor we worked day and night that we might not be a burden to any of you.   
If anyone is not willing to work, let him not eat."

If circumstances opened up, if you prayed, if you found yourself here by much prayer and care then,

"God has put you where you are at this job.
You should now display His worth in this job.
Remain at this job WITH God.
Your aim should be to make Him look great in all you do."   -Don't Waste Your Life 

MARRIAGE:
Too Often our inner stress and turmoil spills ou onto our loved ones.
We become impatient or withdrawn and unavailable.
At these times,
Divine intervention is needed.
Time alone to cast our cares on Him.
Time for His peace.
Now harmony is possible. -Intimate Moments

God's Guardianship is great.

Do not be anxious but ask Him for whatever you need.

"Fear not,
For I am with you,
I will strengthen you and uphold you.

I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go.

My hosts throng to serve and protect you.
You are children of a King.
Picture bodyguards in the unseen,
waiting, longing, effecient to do all that is necessary for your well being.
Feel this as you go through the day." -God Calling


POWER- PURPOSE- PRESENCE- PROVISION- PROTECTOR- PEACE

By Your Presence, You give me purpose and peace, power, protection, and provision to
do what You ask of me. 

I have so much fear and anxiety. I don't need any more fear of the future.

I have so much fear and anxiety.   I don't need any more fear of the future.

I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord,
plans for good, not for evil.
Plans to give you a future and a hope.   -Jer.

Don't try to measure your life by other's experiences.
Their relationship with Me is different then yours is with Me.

I am tender with you.
You are like a little child who needs tenderness and protection.

I am your champion.
I am your defender and protector.
I am all these for you.
I am tenderness and power and might.
I love you.
You have nothing, no one to fear.

I fight for you.

Stores of blessing are awaiting you in the months and years that lie ahead.

Superstitious Spike

Our lab/Great Dane mix will randomly swing himself around and go backwards.  He is now

twelve years old and continues to back out when he wants to go outside.   

Near hit lightning caught on video - Extreme Lightning - August 9, 2011

Storm came up quickly while my husband was working on his vehicle. The images that appeared when I put the video on my computer were unnerving. I had not seen any of this lightning when I was videoing......

Sneaky Dog Breaks out of Gate when Owner Leaves the House!

Roxie, our Rottweiller/German Shephard.

She is very sneaky.  

She waits until we walk out and sneaks out of her gate.

Feeling like a BIG DOG

This is by no means our song, Big Dog - Akon by Alan Menken -but it perfectly fit this abandoned and malnourished puppy!!  Thank you Alan Menken!!

The first pictures we posted on Facebook were of a pathetic, emaciated abandoned puppy.  Within six days, a (as the song says) wonderful transformation took place!

This is what happened:

We were outside using the wood CHIPPER, cutting the last branches of our tree we took down. This is the second time today this little guy came in our yard. You can see he is very malnourished. HE NEEDS A HOME, or I will have to bring him to the S.P.C.A. ANYONE need a little puppy? My neighbor said they saw him come out of ...a drain pipe.... We thought CHIPPER would be a good name for him.....OH NO, I am NAMING him!! He is super sweet. ...and he needs someone to rescue him and love him.

CHIPPER UPDATE: Today chipper went to the vet.

Everyone fell in love with him. He weighs 8 pounds, and he should be at least 13 to 16 pounds. He is very emaciated. He has a precious disposition. He got his first vaccine and dewormer. He loves being around people. They think he is actually about 3 to 4 months old, but can't tell because of his weight. They also think he will only get to be about 25 to 30 pounds total weight.

Well after less then a week we fell in love with Chipper.  We had actually had several offers of adoption, but we ended up adopting him ourselves.....

It is 8 days since we have had him....he now weighs 12 pounds!!!   

That was years ago, he is now a large chocolate lab ... about 80 pounds.  : )  

Puzzled Hummingbird Puffs up to scare me away.

Hummingbird not sure if it is safe to be at the feeder.

He puffs up. Puzzled. He stares at me. He strains so hard to see me
that he looks like he is going to fall over.

I was told that "it actually looks a bit like a males mating ritual, on occasion they will puff their chests and tilt their heads to show off their colors for the female, the sunlight catches the feathers making them more noticable to females

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a1_w005_Qe0

Spider Happy Dance! This guy was in our living room!

This guy is big, but seemed even bigger when he accidentally hitched a ride into our living room!  WeWe saved him from the dog and escorted him out the front door. Within a few minutes he was doing the 'spider dance!'

Wasps! Organic Pesticide!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gy9kn4y1eSI&feature=youtu.be

"There will be no limit to what you can accomplish.
Realize that. Never relinquish any job or give up the thought of any task because it seems beyond your powers, only if you see it is not in My will for you. This I command you. Think of the delicate flower, under the pavement. No certainty that when it has forced its weary way up, that sunlight and warmth will greet it. What a task beyond its power that must seem! But the inner urge of life within the seed compells it, carries out the task." -God calling.

We do not know what to do, but our eyes are on You.   2 Chronicles: 20:12

We have to give much time to quietness: prayer,
for the most part,
we have to get our help directly from God.

We must each learn to walk with God one on one.

Pray and Listen.
And don't ignore the slightest whisper of guidance that comes.
May God make you very sensitve and obedient.

Fill up the crevices of time with the things that matter most.
No one else can do this for you.
You are responsible for your relationships.
And this includes your relationship with God.

Control Freak.

"An insecure person's greatest need for control is directed toward those who have the most potential to either threaten their security or strengthen it.  That is why women choose boyfriends or husbands as the primary candidates for control.
These men have the greatest capacity to affect our sense of personal well being and security and they pose the biggest threat.  Children also have the power to rock a woman's world, so the more insecure a parent is, the more they fight to control their child."    -Beth Moore

We need to look instead to God for our security.
Make every moment matter, seek Him and you will find Him.

Is your world shaking? A fork in the road ahead?

Frustrated with your friend, your spouse, your family?

Pray that the Guidance will be Plain.

"Be not to ready to speak to others.
Pray always that the guidance will be very plain.  
These times are times of feeling and realizing My Presence.
Union with Me is the one overwhelming neccessity.
Do not be too ready to speak to others.
Pray that the need be apparent, 
if you are to do something, 
and the guidance very plain.
My Spirit has been driven out by the words of men.
Discourage too much talk.
Remember,
Man will see Me in My Works done through you."     -God Calling

MARRIAGE
We need to treasure and accept our spouses as they are.
We need to love them as they are.
Quarreling and harsh words, coldness, and indifference
 can wither love in our spouses, much like a fragile flower.

Don't run around trying to find the answers.
Don't check off your prayer time as one more thing done on the 'to do' list.

Don't rattle off your needs to God.

Settle down.
Remember you are here in a relationship with God.
Spend time in His Presence.
Don't rush off, grabbing up your problems again.
Be aware of His Presence....His Power in your life.
The answers will come.
The guidance will come.
But wait in His Presence and get the Peace He brings to you. 

You will conquer. You will overcome.

"Are you willing to look the fool,
to be in need,
to face a giant,
just to see how for you God is?
His promises are yours.
Living by faith means we surrender our will and our logical reasoning
to follow GOd...
because we trust Him more than we trust ourselves.
May Your power be evident in and all around me.
May your love flow freely through me.
Keep me from evil and from harm,
help us to live a life full of faith,
rich in holiness.
Awaken Your passions within us that we might be quick to obey You." -Purpose Driven Life

Help us to listen to You and hear You.
"He who keeps instruction is in the way of life."
Help us to listen to You.

God uses a variety of ways to point out the changes we need to make.

"You will conquer.
Do not fear changes.
Steadfastness, unchangingness, come to you,
as you dwell with Me.
Rest in Me.
Regularly practice getting back into My Presence,
when the slightest feeling of unrest disturbs your perfect calm and harmony.
You will grow to live in that perfect conciousness of
My Presence, and perfect calm and harmony will be yours.
Reflect Me in all you say and do and are.
Take this training as the tender loving answer to your prayers." -God Calling

Weary not yourself to be rich,
cease from your own human wisdom.  Prov. 23:4

Obey. Pray. Be at Peace.
Peace not leisure.
Do not fear.
Do not instill fear in others.
Guard your thoughts.
Do not point at others.

You will conquer.

Are you in the middle of a storm?

"Obey My commands.   Above all keep calm, unmoved.
Go back into the silence to recover this calm when it is lost even for a moment.
You accomplish more by this than all the activities of the day.  At all costs 
keep calm.
You can help no one when you are agitated.  
Never feel inadequate for any task.
All work here is accomplished by My spirit,
and that can flow only through the most humble and lowely.
Pray about everything,
but concentrate on a few things until those are accomplished.
I am watching over you."  -God Calling.


I do believe Lord, that you have us in your hands and You are healing us,
and answering our prayers, desires.  Show us what is the next thing to do.

Open the doors where you want us,
and close them where You don't.

"Believe that your are His, and He is working in you.
Lie still in His arms and trust Him.
You will see His touch on your daily walk."

I don't have to manipulate,
I don't have to cause it to happen.
Thank You that You bring hope to everything.

God call us to have a passion for Him.
To pray, think, dream, plan, and work-
not to be made much of,
but to make much of Him,
in every part of our lives.

"Health, Peace, Joy, Patience, Endurance,
they all come from contact with Me.
Claim healing, power, joy, and supply.
Know that I am with you."   -God Calling

A friend of mine went into my back yard.
There they pointed out the posion ivy climbing up a tree.
They pointed out a tree that was dead.
I couldn't believe that all they could concentrate was the negative.
Around us was green, and birds, and life, and flowers, and fruit.
Never once did they point out the beauty!

Lord, help us!  We can be like this.
We can sit and look at all the negative around us.
OR
we can choose to see the beauty, the life.
Help us not to miss out on the beauty of the present moment.
Help us to choose to focus on the many blessings around us.

"Why can't we just enjoy the present...?"

Never feel inadequate.

I feel so 'discombobulated'.
I can't seem to focus.
My mind is in all directions.
Help me to walk in the way and to hear Your guidance.

"I guide you always.

I am teaching you balance and poise.
This will give you power in dealing with the lives of others.
People waste so much time in seeking to work out what they see.
In seeing My purpose all is done".   -God Calling

Help us to see Your purpose and to not waste time doing other things.

It has always been pointed out to me that I am powerless and mediocre...
and I need to just 'go away'.

Please help me to know Your power and how beloved I am to You.
Please heal my core being,
my heart, soul, and mind.
Let me know I am precious, beloved and powerful in You.

"Never feel inadequate.
Obey My commands.
They are the steps in the ladder that lead to success.
Above all,
KEEP CALM, unmoved.
Come back to Me when this calm is lost for even a moment.
At all costs,
keep calm.
Never feel inadequate for any task I give you.
All work here is accomplished by My Spirit.
Pray about all but
concentrate on a few things until those are accomplished.
I am watching over you.
Strength for your daily, hourly task is provided.

Set your heart and your soul to seek the Lord Your God. 1 Chron. 22

Do you need help?

Lord, guide us.

"I AM your guide.
strength and help will come to you.
Just trust Me wholly.
Fear Not.
Walk in My ways and know that help will come.
Man's need is God's golden opportunity for man of letting him find faiths expression.
You long for perfection and see your bitter failures.
I take your poor faithfulness.
I see faithfulness.
As a mother takes the soiled, imperfect work of her child and invests it with
perfection because of sweet love.


I am all powerful and all knowing.
I have all your affairs in My hands.

Peter, great leader that he was,
could never have been as powerful as he was,
had he not learned his weakness.

A many sided training my apostles need.

Joy.
Rejoice.
I love you.
Not one test too much will I lay on you."   - God Calling 


"Getting married or raising children doesn't completely fulfill a person.
Having a career does not produce peace.
Neither prestige  nor power brings purpose.
Money can't make a happy atomosphere at the breakfast table.
What is the purpose of it all?
I believe a person is just spinning their wheels until they are fulfilled by God Himself.
He is the only one who can get it all together.
He is the only one who can keep it there.
He is the only one who can make us complete, total.
He is the only one who can give us a good attitude all of the time.  
And best of all, He offers us the possibility of life with no regrets." -Your beautiful Purpose.

Ever feel like a reject? In circumstances that terrify you?

Feeling the anxiety,loneliness,rejection of not belonging?
Overwhelmed by unexpected circumstances?

Lord, give us a new viewpoint.
Help us  to see ourselves as You see us.
Help us to get our direction and drive from You.

"Obedience is the key!
No person can obey Me implicitly without in time realizing My love.
You will experience the joy of being the beloved.
I make My home in the humblest heart.
Pride stands guard at the door and can shut out the lowly, humble Lord.
Heaven may be in a slum or a palace." -God Calling

Turmoil kept me awake in the night.
Desperate, fearful, desolate.
Only by running to You did I get relief and that 'peace that surpasses all understanding.'

"I will delight myself in Your commandments,
I will not forget Your words.
Deal bountifully with me that I may live and keep Your word.
Open my eyes that I may see wondrous things from Your law.
I AM a stranger on the earth.,
Do not hide Your commandments from me."  -Psalm 119

"You are blessed when you stay on course,
walking steadily on the road revealed by God.
You are blessed when you follow His directions,
doing your best to find Him.
That's right, you don't go off on your own,
you walk straight along the road He set.  -Psalm 119,The Message

No calamity will ever bring only evil to us, if we will immediately take it in fervent prayer to God.
Even as we take shelter beneath a tree during a downpour of rain...
we may unexpectedly find fruit on it's branches.
And when we flee to God,taking refuge the shadow of His wing,
we will always find  more in Him than we have ever before seen or known.  - Nathaniel William Taylor
.
Luke 8:40-47
"The woman had the inferior stigma of being a woman
and the negative stigma of blood
which forced her to isolate from people.
She lived with the loneliness of isolation,
and the pain of living a 'just get by kind of life', and outcast separate from her people...
until she couldn't stand it another moment.

This exhausted yet brave woman broke tradition,
pressed through crowds,
and grabbed onto Jesus' garments.
She was healed.
And she did not run away in fear.
How tempting that would have been...to hold onto her healing.
She humbly bowed before Jesus and admitted it was her that touched Him.
Brave, bold, humble.
I believe Jesus engaged her in this way so He could convey
"My precious soul, you didn't take healing from Me.
I gladly give it to you!
Be healed and restored."   

If you need a fresh measure of faith for the great things God wants to do in and through you,
ask for it!"   -Your Beautiful Purpose.

Turmoil and Anxiety.

When I am in turmoil in the middle of the night....  I have to turn to You for peace!

"Enjoy the present."

"The call comes on this day for all who love Me to arise from Earth bands -
from sin, laziness, depression, distrust,fear, all that hinders the Risen Life.
To arise to beauty, to Holiness, to Joy, to Peace, to work inspired by love and Joy.
To rise from death to life.

All that depresses you,
all that you fear,
are powerless to harm you.

They are but phantoms....shadows.

Let nothing hinder your risen life.

Rise from your fears and go out into the sunlight

to meet ME,
Your Risen Lord." (God Calling)

I come with peace that doesn't make sense.
Nothing changes except My presence in your hearts and minds.

Do not fear the terror in the night.

"Lord, You have enlarged me when I was in distress, have mercy on us, and hear our prayers!" Psalm 4:1 No distress needs to cramp us, crowd us into ourselves, or make us smaller or poorer in anything that matters. Largeness, like the largeness of the sea is His gift to us. We shall not be flattened in spirit by pressure, but enlarged. In the narrow ways of pain or of temptation He will make wide room for us. -Amy Carmichael

"It is not a monster, it is only a shadow."

It is by Your touch that terror disappears.

Birthdays - why they should be celebrated.

It is so hard to believe all the ways this life has been.
The roads You have led us on and the ways You  have brought us through personal struggles.

Lord, we seek You.

Growing up with 'kick the can',
catwoman costumes,
playing the accordian and the tambourine,
collecting and caring for baby birds,
Life in the Spirit seminars, helping friends,
attending college, and going places,
and the people that have helped me along the way.

"No one ever sought Me in vain,
I wait,
I wait with a hungry longing to be called upon.
Try to see a Mother preparing birthday delights for her child.
-Will she not love this!  Try to see as plans unfold of My preparing."   -God Calling

Lord show us how to embrace our moments.
Birthdays are milestones of how far You have brought us.
You have brought us so far.

If you want Joy.

You will show us the way of life,
in Your presence is fullness of joy.
At Your right hand are pleasures forever.   Psalm 16:11

Just as the presence of a mother gives a child joy,
so does the simple fact of God's presence make our joy.

The simple fact of God's Presence makes our joy.

There is behind all that changes and can change, the one unchangeable joy of God's presence.

To the children of God, there is behind all that changes and can change,
the One unchangeable joy that God is.

God knows everything, cares about everything.
He loves us.

Birthdays are important.

When we are IN the MOMENTS of our life they can feel to us as though they are the ONLY moments.   They can feel desperate, monotonous,
unfulfilled, horrifying, depressed, painful, joyful, exciting....

we hold on.
...You are the stabilizer that is the link, the thread that joins all our highs,
our low's,
our moments into a life time.
We hold on.
And then I look back and say thank You.

Thank You for so many moments of life that have woven together and brought us to this place of joy.
Contentment in the much,
Contentment in the little.
Peace in knowing You are here.
Thankfulness that You have blessed us with so much love.
Thankful for saving us in times of despair and depression and pain.
Thankful for health and a loving family.
Thankful for knowing life is not just survival, but knowledge that we can thrive in love.
Thankful for the knowledge that the one person we are to 'work on', to change is ourselves.
Thankful that You have said, Do not fear, and as My friend, do not inspire fear.
Thankful that You said to 'Be at Peace, not leisure, not laziness, but Peace.
Thankful that You remind us to guard our thoughts.
Thankful that You have reminded us not point our finger at others.
Thank You that You show me that so often if I am pointing out others faults,
then, I am most assuredly wrestling with similar ones.
Thank You that You have reminded me that the most important thing I can do is spend prayer time,
daily with You.
Thankful to You for the promise that no matter what others say or think about me,
no one can steal my dignity or worth.
You know me from the depths of my heart, mind, and soul and You love me.
None of us is perfect,
all of us stumble.
You love us in it all.
You show me that unforgiveness has no place in my life.
But You give me the grace to be able to forgive-   myself and others.
Thank You for this life.
Help me not to miss out on what is truly important and significant.
Thank You for the hope and significance that You bring to our lives.
Help us not to miss You in it all.

Birthdays are important.

NEVER DESPAIR

You clothe us with righteousness and dignity.

NEVER DESPAIR.

Be a channel of helpfulness for others.
Have more sympathy, more tenderness towards others,
your lives shall not be all care.
My strength is your strength.  -God Calling

Help us to know You and love You.

Give thanks.
Pray.
Obey.
Do not Fear.
Do not instill fear in others.
Do not point at others faults.
Guard your thoughts.
Give.
Be at peace.
Peace not leisure.

Lord Give us wisdom.

MARRIAGE:   A wise person will hear and increase learning and a man of understanding
will attain wise counsel.   Prov.  1:5   Lord help us to accept each other's guidance and direction
to stay on track.

In conflict?
How can we "In all things be more than conquerors through Him who loves us".  Romans 8:37

We can get out of a conflict a spiritual discipline that will greatly strengthen our faith and establish our spiritual character.   Temptation is sometimes necessary to confirm us in the spiritual life.   Our spiritual conflicts are
amongst our choices blessings, and our great adversary is used to train us for his ultimate defeat.  It is possible for us in our spiritual life through the victorious grace of God to turn to account the things that seem most unfriendly and unfavorable.    -Mrs. Charles E. Cowman.

Feeling like a prisoner............ of debt.

Feeling like a prisoner of debt.

Life with Me is not immunity from difficulties, but peace IN difficulties.

My guidance is often by shut doors.

Joy is the result of faithful trusting acceptance of My will,

when it seems not joyous.

My love opens and closes doors.

Joy.

Be calm.

God has promised that His Spirit will  guide us 

and His word will direct us. 

God's word and Spirit serve as guardrails for life's journey.

Lord help us to be easily guided by Your Word and Spirit.

"Lord, early I will seek you.

My flesh longs for You in a dry and thirsty land.

Where there is no water."   Psalm 63:1

"I am with You in this barren place.

I will give you the peace you are longing for.

HERE I will give you spiritual food.

You are always with Me no matter what the circumstances and all I have is Yours.

You cannot live by money alone,

but by every word that proceeds from My Mouth.

When we grow thirsty we learn to cry,

"The light of Your face is my Life!"

Why do we sometimes feel so poor, and needy, and thirsty?

There we learn to seek You.

It is not our achievements but being with You that changes us.

Thank you that you are teaching us to turn to You in everything.

Thank you for teaching us that we don't have to be reactive in self preservation.

Lord,

I lift up our families, 

I thank You for the priests of our homes,

and that You are giving us wisdom to be debt free,

that You will guide us to freedom from debt.

Forgive us for speaking negative words.

Thank You that Your are guiding us to freedom.

Show us the way. 

Both of us are pretty wierd.

When we criticize others and use their shortcomings as an excuse not to love them.....

This is not what You,
Love,
have called us to.
But we can only accept others unconditionally with Your help,
and ONLY with Your help.
Help us to accept other's as You accept us.
Help us to know how to best show You in our service
to our bosses,
our co workers,
our friends and family.
We have to start by reaching who we can reach
and
touching who we can touch.

GOD WILL EQUIP US WITH ALL WE NEED TO DO WHAT HE HAS CALLED US TO DO!
Help us to see this Lord!

"Wait.
Wonders are unfolding.
Silently comes the Kingdom.
No man can judge when it enters the heart of man.
Listen quietly.
Sometimes you may get no message.
Meet Me all the same.
You will absorb an atmosphere.
Cultivate the silence.
Each word or thought of yours can be like a pearl that you drop into
the secret place of another heart,
and in some hour of need, the recipient finds the treasure and realizes for the first time its value.
Do not be too ready to do,
Just be.
Individual effort avails to nothing,
it is the work of My Spirit that counts."   -God Calling

MARRIAGE:
Frankly both of us are kind of wierd,
neither of us is perfect,
but I am sure committed to you.
We take our spouses with full knowledge that we will disappoint each other gravely,
that we will hurt each other deeply.
In spite of this we commit ourselves to love,
knowing each others weaknesses and failures.
Love is an unconditional commitment to imperfection.  - Intimate Moments.

Are you afraid of others?

"The way will open.  
God cares and His plans unfold.
Just love and wait.
Love is the Key.
No door is too difficult for it to open.
What causes have you to fear?
Have I not cared for and pretected you?
Hope on.
Hope gladly.
Hope with certainty.
Be calm.
Calm in My power.
Welcome the training!
Do not worry about others lives,
you must be perfected first in My strength."  -God Calling

Lord help us not to work as to the fear of man, 
but help us to do our job as to You.
Help us to be strong in You,
to turn to You. 

God will equip us with all we need to do,
what He has called us to.

Help us to see this, to see You!