In the meantime

 Evil has always been present in this world, but sometimes it is easy to forget about it when it isn't directly affecting us personally.  In light of current events, I find myself selfishly fearing for what might be in store for us....   It's a scary world we live in (although I guess people have been saying that for years, I'm sure...there's really nothing new.) Anyway, I guess God knows my heart and the fears that have filled my mind over the past few days:  He caused me to read a verse today that helped give peace and re-adjust my heart and mind: " Behold, Thou hast made my days as handbreadths, and my lifetime as nothing in Thy sight, Surely every man at his best is a mere breath . [Selah.]"   and again " Surely every man is a mere breath ." (Psalm 39:5, 11)  We will all die.  Once to every man, there is an appointed time to die.   Death has a way of conquering even the most powerful, rich, healthy, and invincible--even those who...

“…just as we must learn to obey God one choice at a time, we must also learn to trust God one circumstance at a time .  Trusting God is not a matter of my feelings but of my will .  I never feel like trusting God when adversity strikes, but I can choose to do so even when I don’t feel like it .  The act of the will , though, must be based on belief, and belief must be based on truth .”   ( Trusting God , by Jerry Bridges, pg. 52.) (I’m slowly making my way through this book.  One person recently highly recommended I read it; he described it as "a dissertation on the sovereignty of God."  I'm only a couple chapters into the book, and already I can tell that he’s right. If you ever struggle with asking “why?” when it comes to those hard things in life, you need to read this book.)

Who am I to question God’s ways?  Yes, God is good.  Yes, He is sovereign.  Yes, I can trust Him.   I don’t say  all that lightly.  When the circumstances of life *seem* to contradict some of these most foundational aspects of God’s character, that is when we struggle to turn those Sunday school answers into real heart-knowledge and a deep-seated conviction and experience of their REALITY and IMPACT on our lives! The struggle  between head knowledge and feelings is real, oh so real…   These foundational truths of God’s goodness, sovereignty, and trustworthiness give strength in time of greatest need…when our faith is so weak and feeble…when we, like Peter, can only see the waves crashing in around us in the middle of the storm.  When we can do nothing but cry out “Lord, help me in my unbelief of Your goodness towards Your children, because right now, I can’t seem to see past the here and now, even though I know You’ve prom...

Thanksgiving is just around the corner!  I absolutely love this time of year--the  fall colors, the just-right-kind-of-weather-for-a-hoodie, the yumminess of pies...oh yeah! (Which reminds me--I have a bunch of granny smith apples that need made into a pie or crisp!) Anyway, with Thanksgiving coming up, I decided to challenge myself: find at least two things to be thankful for each day of this month.  It's been super great! Forcing myself to be intentional about gratefulness has made me notice the simple things in life:  Like on Monday this week when Isaac had an extra hour before work this work, so he made breakfast (which he rarely does!) Or the truckload of free firewood from a co-worker.  Or the blessing of gathering with a body of believers to worship God through music and the preaching of the Word.  Or the unusually nice fall weather we're having right now, even though it is November and we're in SD! While we're talking about Thanksgiving and be...