Fathers Day

Well today is fathers day.  I need to call and wish my dad a happy day and catch up on all that has been going on with him.  I plan on spending the day with the father of my two beautiful girls having fun in the pool and making grilled pizza then watching a movie.  Could the day be more perfect than this?

Nope...Wait...It has just occurred to me that fathers day falls on Sunday.  I know this should not be news to me, it always does.  But I was thinking how cool that is... after all Sunday is the day we worship our heavenly father and this Sunday we also celebrate fathers.   Today just got better because I have the best father ever...how about you?  Do you have a relationship with the Lord?  Have you trusted in Christ as your Savior?  Don't miss out, there is no love greater than the eternal love of our heavenly Father.  

This weekend we went to the Texas Motor Speedway to watch an Indy car race.  We sat for over two hours...watching cars make over 200 laps... going over 200 miles per hour... only making left turns...to end up in the same spot they started in.  And just think they will do the same thing the next race they run.  

What is my point?  Well I guess I can relate, I just race around only to start the process over the next day.  I feel like I am going nowhere and am getting nothing done.  My laundry still is behind, I have housework yet to be completed and I am behind at work!  Will I ever get done or caught up?

God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble.  There for we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea, though its water roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging.

                                                                                                                                                   Selah

     Psalms 46:1-3

At work our chaplin has been camped out on Psalms 46.  To hear her talk about God's word and to read it is exciting.  Well tonight I was getting ready for bed and decided to read Psalms 46 and I got excited as I read and needed to journal my thoughts.  Well here I am once again publicly putting my thoughts on paper, rather than in my book that I put away for no one to see...or is it I'm putting my thoughts down electronically?  Anyway let me get to the point.

I have been blessed with some amazing friends who love the Lord and find their faith and strength in Him.  I have seen many of them go through some really tough things and be in tremendous amounts of physical and emotional pain.  The one thing I am amazed to see is how God is all that this verse describes;  refuge, strength, ever present help and that we will not fear.  All I can think to say is "Go God!".

Oh did you notice the Selah?  This is something we are suppose to take time to pause......   When you get done with your pause, take time to enjoy another one of my pictures from Alaska.

Be still and know that I am God;

Psalms 46:10a

I have been praying about several things I feel overwhelmed by and want to take charge of.  This morning God in His still quiet voice said "Your problem is you feel the need to be in charge.  Well you are not, I am"  I just started laughing, He was right.  A major area of concern in my life and has been for the past 20 years is the care of Kathryn.  Gene and I are looking at making some major changes in her living arrangements.  I want to take charge and not be still.  But after reading tonight this was a conformation to me that we just need to be still and know that He is God.   It sounds so easy, so why is it so hard?  I guess that will need to be a blog for another day.

I am so very tired.  I was looking at my last post and the last three words of the verse happened to catch my eye.  "the sixth day".  Well what fallows six?  Well seven of course! It got me to thinking about what God did on the seventh day, he rested.  I find myself going and do not take time to rest, seventh day or otherwise.  God knew what he was doing when he put a day in there to rest, reflect and worship...my spiritual, physical and mental being suffers when I do not take out time once a week to rest.  Hmmm, it is now 10:30 pm and I am still pushing myself as I try and say something worth while.  So here it is...are you ready?  I am going to bed.

God saw all that he had made, and it was very good. And there was evening, and there was morning--the sixth day
Genesis 1:31

Have you ever payed attention to what was around you as you were driving down the road, sitting in your yard or maybe while visiting a park and thought about God creating all beauty that surrounds you. Just call me sappy, but I love looking at nature and thinking about how amazing God is to have such variety in his creation and the attention to detail. I recently got a new camera and love to try and capture the beauty that surrounds me, my pictures however do not do justice to the subject matter. Never the less I continue on my journey to capture God's creation. My favorites are sunrise and sunsets.

Recently I went to Alaska for 8 days and tried my best to capture the amazing grandeur of God's creation. After taking over 1,500 pictures (this is not an exaggeration) I still was unable to capture what I saw. But I want to share just a few of my favorite pictures.

Next time you go out... look around and pay attention to what you see. Breath in the beauty that surrounds you and celebrate God's majesty.

Her children arise and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praises her
Proverbs 31:28

Today is “Mother’s Day” and like every other year I reflect on how I am blessed with two amazing girls. Today I attended church with Elizabeth my oldest daughter and I must say that I had a twinge of regret as the pastor preached on the role of the mother in raising her children to become godly adults. Elizabeth was not raised in a godly home where mom gave spiritual wisdom, support and guidance. God however placed a friend, family and church in her life to help her to grow spiritually according to the Lord’s desire for her life.

As a non-Christian I did not understand the faith she had in God and the importance she placed in His word. As a teen Elizabeth knew my need for salvation and attempted to witness to me, but only found rejection. She and her friends started to pray for my salvation. Six years later God placed a special friend and church family in my life and I accepted Christ as my Savior. Several years after I had made my profession of faith I was sharing with Elizabeth my testimony, tears filled her eyes, she then share that she and friends had been praying for me. We celebrated together God’s faithfulness in answering her prayer.

I am sad to say that I do not get a do over with Elizabeth, but I so value the time we have together today as women who love the Lord. God however has given me lots of chances to share with kids, teens and young women His love, grace and mercy as well as His desire for them to live a life pleasing to Him.

As I quietly sit and reflect on my blessings, I am proud of who Elizabeth had become in spite of me. Thank you God, I praise your endless love.

So be truly glad! There is wonderful joy ahead, even though it is necessary for you to endure many trials for a while.  These trials are only to test your faith, to show that it is strong and pure. It is being tested as fire tests and purifies gold--and your faith is far more precious to God than mere gold. So if your faith remains strong after being tried by fiery trials, it will bring you much praise and glory and honor on the day when Jesus Christ is revealed to the whole world. 

     1 Peter  1:6-7