Our Heavenly Father never wants us to face life alone

This past summer in Red River, we did something new.  Well,  Jamie has been doing this for years, but this year, we were going to go as a family.  Little did I know the challenge that was ahead as we set off to climb an actual mountain, and the hardest part wasn't even the physical aspect for me although it was probably the hardest thing I've ever done.  

It's things like this that we can't do completely together as family that make for a struggle in my heart as I try to see the good that God wants to bring from my son having cerebral palsy.  We've not done a lot of things so that he wasn't left out, but having Jordan and Jet that can and want to do physical things, we have to make hard choices and trust God for the rest.  Justin wanted to ride his bike with us so bad, and it was so hard as we explained that there were plenty of sections of the path that it's hard to stand on much less ride a bike.  Even though Mimaw was promising the world to him, it still didn't stop the tears from flowing as he wanted so badly to go with us.    Hardest thing for a Mom to do is leave with a child crying no matter what age.  Trusting that all things work together for good because we love God, 

we left with the group with plans on Mimaw and Justin riding up with Sharon, Brett, and Nicole on the ski lift to meet us at the top. 

Along the way, Jet began to struggle physically as it was very taxing on your body to climb the mountain.  Jamie, Me, Jordan, Sharon, and Courtney climbed it just two days before this so I knew what to expect.  Jet did not.  With each turn, you think it's going to get easier or the path would flatten out a little (and what would make my mind think that since, hello! we are climbing a mountain :). 

 Well, it didn't.  

There were spots where you could catch your breathe only to be ready for the next incline.  

What a picture of life!!  

But a beautiful picture came next where I saw Jamie take Jet by the hand as Jet wanted to give up, to quit, to figure out a way to go back down and not complete the climb.    He held him tightly as Jet relied solely on Daddy's strength taking one step at a time to get him up that mountain.  

WHAT A PICTURE OF OUR HEAVENLY DADDY!!!       

In Psalms it says

"If the LORD delights in a man's way, he makes his steps firm; 

though he stumble, he will not fall, for the LORD upholds him with his hand."

I needed this at that very minute as my tears were flowing thinking of Justin not being with us like he wanted to be.  God took my heart and carried me quickly up the mountain to catch up with Jordan and Courtney.  The next blessing that I got to see still brings my heart so much joy!!!  Jordan all of a sudden began almost running, and let me tell you the hardest part was at the end.  Courtney said, "What do you think he is doing?"  I had an idea he knew Justin was about to be at the top because they have that God given crazy twin thing going on.  So I told Courtney, "He's probably wanting to be at the top when Justin gets up there."  She was amazed and we began to talk about how this climb is so much like life.  It's hard.  It's hurts at time.  But as we kept climbing, we rounded the corner to see Jordan be at the top waiting for Justin to get off the lift.  She immediately correlated that to how she thinks it's going to be when we get to heaven and see Jesus and our loved ones. 

See, her Daddy passed away from cancer, and I know this climb is hard for her as she just walked out on the field as Junior Princess without her Daddy escorting her like the other girls.   The pictures of her and her Momma are beautiful, but I remember sitting in the stands as she was announced to be Junior Princess.  Sharon, her Mom, text her telling her since she was on the way to a volleyball game.  Her first question, "Who is going to walk me out?"  With tears building in Sharon's eyes, we knew Courtney was probably doing the same.  

But what they did was hold on tighter to God's hand and let Him be their strength as they continue to take one step at a time knowing that one day, they'll get to the top of the mountain and be reunited!

Had we not taken this adventure as a family, even though it wasn't as we would like it to be, we would have missed out on these priceless lessons that God taught us through this experience.         

In Hebrews he promises us

"Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you"

In Matthew, Jesus says

"And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."

HOLD ON TIGHT TO HIS HAND AS HE NEVER WANTS US TO FACE LIFE ALONE!!

  

Why do we insist on doing it our way?

For the first few weeks of school, Jamie and I told Jet every night and morning to get one bag to put all of his stuff in because it would work out so much better for him.  Still, he insisted on carrying his binder, lunch, and trombone all separately with his gym clothes in his small backpack.  Each morning, I'd watch him struggle just to get to the car with everything much less get out of the car and make it into school.  One morning, I sat and watched as he walked and had to stop several times because he was dropping everything as it was slipping out of his hands. 

 

Then yet another morning, he couldn't find his lunch box, and I had to pack his lunch in a brown paper bag.  That morning, as he made his way to the car, the paper bag broke because he couldn't get a good grip on it because he was having trouble juggling all that he was trying to carry. 

 Jordan said to Jet "Why don't you use just one big bag?  Wouldn't that make everything easier?"  I just smiled inside because he had no idea at the time we'd been trying to tell Jet this all along.  

But instead of us forcing Jet to do it, we recognized God was teaching a bigger lesson!

Jordan then found Jet's lunchbox under his feet in the front seat so Jet put his lunch in the lunchbox.  When he came home that afternoon, he said "Mom, did you forget something in my lunch?"  I said, "No, why do you ask?"  He said, "I didn't have a dessert."  I told him, "Well, I put it in the brown bag this morning.  Why don't you go check the car where your bag broke this morning?"  Jet hurries out to the suburban to guess what.... He found his dessert!    Justin & Jordan were both home, and we all smiled as we didn't have to say a word.  Jet went and got one big bag and packed it for the next day.  Needless to say, the mornings have been a lot better for Jet!

Isn't this what happens with us!  God tries to direct us in what would be better for us.  Yet we insist we know what we are doing and continue to struggle.  He watches as we try to juggle everything on our own, and I'm sure saddened just as I was to see Jet's bag break and miss out on his whole lunch.  

We have a choice!  God never forces any of us to do anything, but I'm convinced that satan likes to keep us down.  John 10:10 Jesus says "The thief comes to kill, steal, and destroy, but I have come to give you life abundantly!"   That is not just talking about eternity!  He wants to give you LIFE and that comes the moment you surrender your life to Him!  It's never too late and there is nothing in your past that's too bad!  Isaiah 43:18-19 says "Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past.  See, I am doing a new thing!"  

God wants to do this NEW thing in all of us!  

When we finally decide we are tired of trying our way, 

He's right there waiting with loving arms!  Seek Him with all your heart...you WILL find Him!

Coming Clean!

Little did I know when I got up and read my devotion this morning titled "Coming Clean with Me Brings Healing" how much God would give me a clear picture of exactly what that meant in full.  

Our dryer hasn't been working properly for over a year now.  I've cleaned out the vents multiple times, and it's better for a little bit.  But after the last few weeks with it taking hours, sometimes it would run for 3 hours, on just one load, I told Jamie we have got to do something about it or buy a new one.

Jamie and I decided to pull the dryer out to the driveway this morning and use the air compressor to blow all of the lint that had built up out of it.  (Thanks to Papa for the idea).  We began to take it apart, compartment after compartment, and we found quite a few surprises along the way.  My hair, for one, was tangled around just about everything possible.  I'm not sure how I have much left on my head after seeing that today, and I'm definitely not sure how it got in the spots that we found it.  There were sunflower seeds, springs out of pens, and lots and lots of dirt along with the lint.  As we'd blow the air compressor, we'd get covered in all kinds of stuff flying out sometimes gagging us or getting in my contacts making it hard to see.   We spent a couple hours making sure we got to every part that could be clogged up and not letting the dryer work properly.  Once we did a complete sweep, we put it all back together and hooked it back up with the gas, electricity, and the vent.  

Now was the time to see if it was worth all the effort and getting dirty.   I ran a load through the washer and then began the dryer.  SURPRISE!  The dryer was finished drying the clothes before the next load in the washer was complete.... PRAISE JESUS!  It's dried 5 loads in less than 5 hours now when prior to the cleaning it out, it would have taken days to do.

What a picture of life!  Sometimes, we, like the dryer, aren't running as well as we could because sin creeps into our lives and slows us down.  Instead of confessing those sins as soon as possible, we ignore them thinking we'll just get better or go away.  Or we try to do temporary fixes on our own.  They might help for a little bit of time, but soon, we are right back to where we started.    

1 John 1:9 says If we confess our sins to him, 

he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness.        

I believe the thing I learned the most is that we have to open ourselves up...compartment after compartment... and be willing to expose even those hidden things (which aren't hidden to God anyway) in order for Him to cleanse us completely.  Knowing He's never going to turn away from you, why not let Him love you in this way?  Just like the dryer functions in a whole new way, we, too, can experience great healing!  That healing brings such peace!

Beeeeeep! Another load is complete as I'm typing!  

Won't you let Him cleanse you today?  

You won't believe the results of surrendering your all to such a Loving God!

Here comes the storm!

So many times in life, things are hard!  

There are 'storms' that come at us with no warning and 

some we watch unfold right before our very eyes.   

Last Saturday's storm was a perfect picture of life!  

The morning had been going great since I was getting to spend time with my boys in the swimming pool until the clouds started gathering.  It didn't take long for the sun to be covered in clouds, and they were quickly taking over the whole sky.  The raindrops started to fall, and it got heavier and heavier.  Jamie and I spotted stuff sliding across the deck so we went out into the storm in order to try to prevent any damage to the chairs or the pool.  The rain was pegging me in the face so hard that it felt like little needles poking me.  The wind was blowing so strongly that it was hard to hold any item we had picked up in order to carry it to safety.  When I grabbed the umbrella out of the pool, the wind caused it to pick me up and for a second I thought I was going parasailing across the yard. :)

It was so obvious the many lessons that day that God was teaching me.  We are going to face trials of many kinds, but how do we see them?  Do we count is all joy as James 1:2 says because we know that God says that the testing of our faith produces patience and to let patience have its perfect work, that we may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing.  

Lacking nothing, hmmm, sounds like something we all want.  Are we willing to do what it takes to get to the point of lacking nothing.  Joy is not the first thing that naturally, humanly speaking, comes to our minds when we face storms.  Our default setting tells us to get mad, question, and want out of the storm as quickly as possible.  I believe it's in our response that determines what's next.   

  

In my life, storms have been where I've had to learn to rely on God more than ever before because it was totally out of my control.  When I was pregnant with Justin and Jordan, doctors told me that both of them wouldn't live because they were in the same membranes.  We were told we had a 1 out of 1,000,000 chance for them to survive.  Talk about being out of your control!  When you hear a doctor say "There is nothing we can do", it can leave you really hopeless.  This was one of those times where I sat back and watched the storm and wandered "why me God?"   

I had no idea just how many more storms were coming for us and the many, many others that God has given us great love for, but Praise the Lord that the Holy Spirit has helped me realize that God has called me to go out into the storm with the rain hitting my face & wind blowing so hard that it's difficult to hold on.  I don't want to stay inside anymore when I KNOW how big our God really is!

When you read God's promises that say "Ah, Lord God! Behold, You have made the heavens and the earth by Your great power and outstretched arm.  There is nothing too hard for You." Jeremiah 32:17 and you KNOW that GOD ALWAYS keeps His promises, storms become beautiful!  Notice I didn't say easy, but they are beautiful because after putting my faith in Jesus Christ and receiving His Holy Spirit as our Counselor, Comforter, Teacher, and so many other things, I know this isn't it! 

 The best is yet to come!   TRUST HIM!      

Where to start... Don't plan, just pray!

On Tuesday,  I posted a comment on facebook, and Sharon Richardson, a sweet, retired 1st grade teacher, said "You should write a book".   It has been over 8 years now that I have been hearing that from people from the fire station, friends, past physical therapist, and several other areas of our lives.  All this time though, I have allowed satan to feed me all kinds of lies as to why 'I' couldn't write a book.  I mean, I don't have a degree, who would want to read 'my book', and it probably costs a lot of money to publish a book.  As God's timing is always perfect, I have recently finished teaching our youth group "Battlefield of the Mind" by Joyce Meyer.  After reading Sharon's comment on Tuesday, I realized that I have been in the wilderness with these negative thoughts for WAY too long, and NOW is the time to be obedient.

Jordan & Justin

I'm not sure exactly how to go about it, but here's what I do know.  Even if I tried to control it, it wouldn't work.  So, I'm going to pray and let God plan verses plan it all out and ask God to bless it.  Sometimes, life doesn't go as we 'planned' and PRAISE THE LORD for that.  See, when I was a little girl, I never 'planned' on having a child with disabilities, but each day, I am more and more thankful for cerebral palsy.  Although there is pain, weariness, crawling, needing someone to help walk sometimes, it paints a beautiful picture of our spiritual lives and it's helped me relate it to others.  God knew exactly what I needed.  He knows exactly what everyone needs, and that is just too stinkin cool!  Just the other day, there was something said about Justin being healed from cerebral palsy.  When Jordan replied "My brother is a masterpiece!", I'm pretty sure he summed up what God has been showing us for over 16 years now... God's perfect in everything He does!  Trust in Him!  Receive His grace and love...HE IS LOVE and wants and knows what is BEST for all of us!  Spending more times now a days thinking of this verse....   "Be still and know that I am God" Psalm 46:10