It's been a while since I have posted and I am not sure why. Fatigue, stress, jumbled thoughts or writer's block...any and all of them could be the culprit.
I am not a person who struggles with stress as a general rule, but there have been a number of things that have been weighing on me lately. Rachel has had some major difficulties she has encountered at school in the form of bullying and it has been a burden to my Mama's heart.
I have a number of speaking engagements coming up the next few months and that has me a tad wound up. The biggie is the Midwest Homeschool Convention next April and I am wondering what in the world I was thinking when I said yes to that one. My formerly dear friend ;O) , Amanda, is the one who convinced me I should do it and that I was more than able and qualified! Hmph! Fortunately she'll be there to hold my hand when the time comes. I normally start dreading tax season around about Jan 1st, but this speaking engagement may make me welcome the mundaneness of doing the taxes this year! LOL!!
I share all this to let you know that I am here and I am learning, yet again, to rely on the Lord and encourage my thoughts to dwell on Him and not what I see going on around me!
Isaiah 55:8-9 (MsgB)
"I don't think the way you think.
The way you work isn't the way I work."
God's Decree.
"For as the sky soars high above earth,
so the way I work surpasses the way you work,
and the way I think is beyond the way you think.
Psalm 139:23 (NASB)
Search me, O God, and know my heart;
Try me and know my anxious thoughts;
Philip. 4:8-9 (MsgB)
Summing it all up, friends, I'd say you'll do best by filling your minds and meditating on things true, noble, reputable, authentic, compelling, gracious—the best, not the worst; the beautiful, not the ugly; things to praise, not things to curse. Put into practice what you learned from me, what you heard and saw and realized. Do that, and God, who makes everything work together, will work you into his most excellent harmonies.
Join me in meditating on these verses that remind us that He is the only One who can direct our thoughts, change our perspective and allow peace to wash over us!
Thank you, Papa, for your Word that gives perspective and insight into where we should allow our thoughts to wander and how we can choose the thoughts we allow our mind to dwell on. Please keep me from getting mired in my circumstances and what I can see and remind me that "there's far more here than meets the eye. The things we see now are here today, gone tomorrow. But the things we can't see now will last forever." 2Cor 4:18
Love how the Message puts the Isaiah passage. And I love you, friend!
ReplyDeleteBarb,
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing about Rachel. I love to pray especially for others.
Since that time we met and as it was the same time she was on a missions trip, I cannot seem to go through the fall and come upon Thanksgiving without thinking about her or you. I believe this is 2 years.? right?
I will pray she will become more like Jesus through this trail and will eventually count it as her strength. I will pray for the others and that as R grows closer to God through this they will see more of Him in her and have no choice but to flee as the enemy does.