“For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us...

Good morning and a happy Sunday to all, I pray this morning has started off on a sweet note and that the entire day will be filled with joyful music for your ears to hear. It is a very cool morning here in Utah, the sun is shining and the sky crystal clear. There is a mild breeze gently causing the tree branches to sway to a fro as if in dance. What a beautiful gift of validation that our Father in Heaven is real, that he loves us, that he delights when we take notice of our surroundings and acknowledge where the beauty comes from. Lifting my hands to the skies and feeling humbled that he DOES love us, and knowing that without him there is nothing! 

As of late I have been asked by several people how I can still stand and call his name blessed, how I can still remain true to his word and how I can still believe that he will not let us fall????REALLY, I say, really you can ask me this???? In chatting with a very dear friend yesterday evening this very subject came up, we stood in agreement.."how can I not believe" Yes we have been homeless, yes we have lost most everything we ever held near and dear, yes we struggle from week to week, but we are alive, we are aware, we are given "just enough" and we are still placing one foot in front of the other. Lately I have lived in the book of JOB, I have reveled at his strength, I have stood in awe of all that took place in his life and I have reminded myself over and over again....It will be okay, we will be okay, we will overcome, we will succeed, we will, we will, we will....the only reason I know this to be fact is that I know that God will not let us fail, he will not allow us to crumble, he will in the last and final hour make it to where we can continue forward. I know that satan is standing by just waiting for Wayde and I to give up so that he can feel that he has won, that will never happen, we are far from where we would like to be in life but we are even farther away from where we could be. To this point we have been able to stay in our little box apartment that provides for us warmth from the cold and cool from the heat, it provides us shelter from the storm and keeps us from danger. We have been able to have food on our table, maybe not the kind of food we would like to have but at least nourishment to keep us filled with strength and health. We have maintained our vehicle, it is not the type of ride we would have imagined us having but it is a vehicle, it gets us to where we need to be and keeps us able to get to and from work. So in closing....we do not have luxury, but we have enough. We fret when the incoming does not match the outgoing but we somehow with love and compassion seem to always make it! I am praying for the miracle of gas today, we do not have enough to get Wayde to and from work for the next two weeks which would make our hole even deeper, but we are believing that some how, some way, we will figure it out. I am clinging to my faith with all that I have and will not be defeated. I am clinging to the word of God that if we continue on the right path, that if we do not give up and get down, that if we believe and hold fast to the rod that we will make it! Please pray with us that mercy and favor be with us. 

The Patience Of Job

Where did the term “patience of Job” come from?

Q. Where did the term “patience of Job” come from?

A. It refers to Job’s refusal to condemn God when Satan was allowed to destroy his family and his livestock, essentially turning him from a rich man into a childless pauper overnight. Instead he entered into a series of dialogs that culminated in a fascinating conversation with God Himself. In the end Job saw the error in his ways, sought forgiveness, and everything was restored.

The main idea running through the Book of Job is that when we justify ourselves, by saying that we don’t deserve to experience catastrophic loss, we condemn God, in effect accusing Him of being unjust.

Had Job not been a sinner, God could not have authorized Satan to torment him, and through his patient attempts to understand this, we learn valuable lessons. “For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through endurance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.” (Romans 15:4)

clinging, clinging, clinging....

You know I have never been one to lay my troubles out in the open for everyone to see, I have always worn the mask of happiness, I have always placed others before myself. As of late the message I have received is that I must take off the mask and allow people to see my pain. I must admit I am not very good at it and when I do write about our pain I am embarrassed...I am humiliated, I am ashamed....and every other "loser" emotion that can come along. I know that the ability to bare myself before all is a valuable lesson in humility. I do not want anyone to feel that I am asking for a handout, I do not want anyone to feel that I am looking for freebies, I am not that way. I am just doing what is in my heart, taking off my mask and sharing that we need to be humbled, we need to allow others to see what is going on in our lives, we need to be the real deal! So here I stand, naked and humiliated.