Can I trust God?

Can I trust God? This is a title from day one of a devotional I'm doing by Jerry Bridges. My personal answer is absolutely! The reason I can be so bold is because I have seen Him do amazing things in my life and others around me. I know that He is indeed God.

I read a verse this weekend while up in the mountains. It was so powerful to me I decided to commit it to memory. Psalm 36:7 says, "How precious is Your lovingkindness, O God! Therefore the children of men put their trust under the shadow of Your wings."

Therefore

It is because of His lovingkindness that I can put my trust in Him.

Today in my devotional I read another verse that I want to commit to memory. Heb 3:12 says, "Take care, brothers, lest there be in any of you an evil, unbelieving heart, leading you to fall away from the living God."

take care, or take heed, watch out, be careful, beware

an unbelieving heart is evil and it leads you to fall away from God

leading you, takes you away, causes you to depart, abandon, turns you away, diverting, forsake

Bridges says, "Obeying God is worked out within well-defined boundaries of God's revealed will, while trusting God must be worked out in an arena with no boundaries, where we're always coping with the unknown."

"In order to trust God, we must always view our adverse circumstances through the eyes of faith, not of sense."

Reminds me of the lyrics in the song "Ocean"

Spirit lead me where my trust is without borders

Let me walk upon the waters

Wherever You would call me

Take me deeper than my feet could ever wander

And my faith will be made stronger

In the presence of my Savior

So, yes I trust God.

Today

But I need to always guard that trust, because as soon as I begin to doubt, my heart turns me away.

It is nothing new is it?

Not trusting God, not believing His lovingkindness, goes all the way back to the garden.

God can be trusted.

It is our own hearts that cannot

Whisper ~ 5 Minute Friday

Help me to hear Your whisper
Make it loud in my heart and mind
Drown out all the other noises
No replacement do I want to find

Help me to know Your whisper
May it be the only voice I hear
Whisper Your love in my heart
Whisper Your presence is near

Make Your whisper distinct
Make Your whisper clear
Whisper Your strength to my soul
Whisper "do not fear"

When my world crashes around me
When my world crashes within
Whisper that You will never leave me
Whisper courage when my faith is thin

Help me to hear Your whisper
I need You to guide my day
Whisper Your light all through me
Whisper through my mouth what to say

Getting Ready... RMC Women's Retreat

I have been waiting for tomorrow's Women's Retreat since the end of last year's. I have always enjoyed my time away, in the mountains of Buena Vista Colorado.

God Has always done a work in my heart while on retreat. He draws me nearer and deeper, and sometimes addresses some hard things that need to be dealt with.

I really don't have time to do this today... write.. but I wanted to just post some realness of the day before my time away. Pictures and 3 words (sometimes more) of what my day today looks like today.

Being real:

7th grade assignment

scarf needs pressing

clean.. must put away

What to pack?

should I redo?

Dinner... something Mexican

Walking from school

Little League Game

helping with homework

reading to the boys

Well..
Now it is time for bed.
It was a full day.
It was a good day.
I never did put the laundry away.
I am packed and my heart is content.
I talked with each of my boys today and know how their days went.
If I have time tomorrow I will redo my nails as I don't like them this way.
I go to sleep with a smile on my face.
Only 10 moments of my day were posted here.
Only 10 out of 100's
Yes...
It was a very good day.

Reach - 5 minute Friday

Reach ~
I just started reading a great book a friend of mine wrote. "Silver Threads - Weaving Godly Wisdom into the Lives of Younger Women" by Kate Megill. This book is about mentoring women.
Reach out to the younger women.
In this book Kate asks where all the older women are. She makes a point that many are too busy.
I can't reach out if I'm focused inward.
Reach
Stretching out toward something... someone
This is what comes to mind
Also that scene from "Hook".
The scene where Peter Panning was too gripped by fear to reach out and save his children.
All he had to do was reach out and touch them.
I don't want to stop reaching.
I don't want to be too busy to reach out to others.
I don't want to be too afraid to reach out.
But..
To reach takes effort.
To reach takes risk.
To reach takes stretching.
If I reach out I am more vulnerable.
No...
To reach means helping others.
To reach means growth.
To reach means exercising my heart and its ability to love.
To reach is what Jesus did.
Lord, open my eyes today.
Help me stretch out the love You have given me and reach out to others.

Change ~ 5 Minute Friday

Change-
Is hard
If it happens to you
you must adjust quickly or it can really set you back
If you need to make a change
...depending on your motivation
It can sometimes take forever
I don't do change well.
But if change happens to me
I can eventually get my head around it
Get my attitude in check and keep going
Not fighting it and trying to flow works best.
But there are things in my life that I have wanted to change
for years
decades
I always come up with a plan
then I get lazy, forget, or just lose motivation
why is is so hard for me to change?
Even those things I know I need to change
Those many things that I have countless ideas
formulas, books, plans...
I don't lack the knowledge
They aren't impossible
Many have made these changes
I just don't practice
I want to change

Tell -- 5 Minute Friday

The word is "Tell"
The first thing I thought of when I saw this word was tell people who God is.
Who He really is.
There is so much fear out there today,
A thick fear that I can feel in the air.
I can sense that believers... Christ followers... are letting fear overwhelm them.
God has not given us a spirit of fear.. but of sound mind.
So let me tell you who my God is:
My God is Master of the universe.
My God is completely wise.
My God is completely sovereign.
My God is good.
There is nothing that escapes Him.
His ways are not our ways.
He is a God of justice.
And His love is unending...
He says, "do not fear".

Fill - Five Minute Friday

So... I'm going to start something new. Something a little challenging for me. Five Minute Friday. It is supposed to be an unedited rough draft on a given topic. (If you’re interested in learning more check out, Kate Motaung’s site.)

Fill - that is the word.

I smile as I think, do I really need to "fill" my time with anything else.
Just this morning I was a bit overwhelmed as my calendar is quickly filling up with appointments, activities and work.
School hasn't even started yet.
What will my calendar look like when I get announcements from the classes of my three boys.
Baseball also starts soon and this season we will have three different teams again.
For some reason, I want this challenge.
Maybe because it is something for just me.
A way to express my thoughts.
I am not a writer.
I think of this word and imagine little holes in people.
Holes that are made by sorrow, frustration, discouragement, loneliness, or anger.
What joy if I could be used to fill even just a little hole by bringing encouragement to someone.
Just by listening
Or a smile