You ever had one of those weeks?
I just did. I haven't written since Monday because I've been in the weeds. It's not that I've not had anything to say but life has dictated the majority of my time. My husband was sick last weekend, then I got it. Shortly after that, the baby came down with one of those random "little kid" viruses that makes her (and I) miserable. We didn't sleep much.
Thursday night, Sophia came down with a stomach virus.
On top of all of that was a calendar full. I cannot express to you my frustration level at the sheer amount of things to do, after school, which I always tried so hard to avoid. There was no avoiding it this week. Even bowing out of a few things, we were still up to our necks in to-do.
(And we had house-guests. They made a lot this craziness possible. Thank you Memaw & Pappa!)
It was the perfect storm of ill-health and overloaded life.
We held it together because we had to. I can truly say, it was only by the grace of God did we make it to today. Everyone is nearly back to full strength and our event schedule is down to manageable levels.
Praise God!
That's the thing about Father, Son and Holy Spirit. We were never alone in slogging through the mud of this week. We pushed through and did what we had to, but we were not alone in doing it. My own personal time with the Lord wasn't usual or regular, but that didn't mean the Lord got mad, stomped His foot and left me. He stayed right in there with me, answering prayers, revealing wrong attitudes and heart-directions, continuously clearing the way to the path of peace, even when we couldn't see the forest for the trees.
My precious spiritual mentor - Janice Heffer Wright - gave me a book called Beloved Names of God for my birthday last year. I read the inscription this morning (it's always good to read those blessings periodically to be reminded you are not as bad as you think you are!) And then I turned to a place I bookmarked A LONG TIME AGO (which is how long since I picked the book up.)
Instead of reading the page I bookmarked, I looked at the opposite page. It is the name attributed to the Father, the "Balm of Gilead." The entry explained there was a famous healing compound in Biblical times that came from the region of Gilead (in modern day Jordan). The prophet Jeremiah dubbed the Lord this (Jer 8:22).
According to the author, gilead also meant a hill or mound where one stood to give a testimony.
So that's how I started off my quiet time with God today (and what I'm doing now). I declare what He has done for us this week and always: remembering His faithfulness, His loving-kindness or in Hebrew: (c)hesed, constantly towards us.
After a week like this one, when I wasn't sleeping, or in the right frame of mind for much of the week, I see how He'd sustained me.
Not because of me. Not because I'm good at Bible Study. Not because I love Him more than others. Not because I'm out there serving Him day in and day out. There is nothing about ME that ever gives God a reason to help me.
Sure, He rewards His faithful, but even when they are not faithful, He still provides. That, right ther is the foundation of my faith. It isn't about ME. God's faithfulness never depends on how good I am. It only and always depends on how good He is. He loves me and will help me, no matter what!!
Here are 3 great examples of this eternal truth:
For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life. For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him. He who believes in Him is not judged...(John 3:16-18)
Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die. (John 11:25)
You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. But God proves His own love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us! (Romans 5:6,8)
Even when everything in my week (or world) is going sideways; Even when I'm out of my mind and out of control; even when I'm on the brink of failure; even when I'm on death's doorstep (and feel like it); even when I have nothing to give, nothing to contribute, nothing to offer: Jesus loves me.
There isn't any judgement when I come to Him, whether I'm full or empty. He is there!
Even when I know I need His grace this most, or when I don't think I need it at all, there is no better news on an early Saturday morning. I hope it is good news for you too.
I just did. I haven't written since Monday because I've been in the weeds. It's not that I've not had anything to say but life has dictated the majority of my time. My husband was sick last weekend, then I got it. Shortly after that, the baby came down with one of those random "little kid" viruses that makes her (and I) miserable. We didn't sleep much.
Thursday night, Sophia came down with a stomach virus.
On top of all of that was a calendar full. I cannot express to you my frustration level at the sheer amount of things to do, after school, which I always tried so hard to avoid. There was no avoiding it this week. Even bowing out of a few things, we were still up to our necks in to-do.
(And we had house-guests. They made a lot this craziness possible. Thank you Memaw & Pappa!)
It was the perfect storm of ill-health and overloaded life.
 |
| This is how I felt most of the week. |
We held it together because we had to. I can truly say, it was only by the grace of God did we make it to today. Everyone is nearly back to full strength and our event schedule is down to manageable levels.
Praise God!
That's the thing about Father, Son and Holy Spirit. We were never alone in slogging through the mud of this week. We pushed through and did what we had to, but we were not alone in doing it. My own personal time with the Lord wasn't usual or regular, but that didn't mean the Lord got mad, stomped His foot and left me. He stayed right in there with me, answering prayers, revealing wrong attitudes and heart-directions, continuously clearing the way to the path of peace, even when we couldn't see the forest for the trees.
My precious spiritual mentor - Janice Heffer Wright - gave me a book called Beloved Names of God for my birthday last year. I read the inscription this morning (it's always good to read those blessings periodically to be reminded you are not as bad as you think you are!) And then I turned to a place I bookmarked A LONG TIME AGO (which is how long since I picked the book up.)
Instead of reading the page I bookmarked, I looked at the opposite page. It is the name attributed to the Father, the "Balm of Gilead." The entry explained there was a famous healing compound in Biblical times that came from the region of Gilead (in modern day Jordan). The prophet Jeremiah dubbed the Lord this (Jer 8:22).
According to the author, gilead also meant a hill or mound where one stood to give a testimony.
So that's how I started off my quiet time with God today (and what I'm doing now). I declare what He has done for us this week and always: remembering His faithfulness, His loving-kindness or in Hebrew: (c)hesed, constantly towards us.
After a week like this one, when I wasn't sleeping, or in the right frame of mind for much of the week, I see how He'd sustained me.
Not because of me. Not because I'm good at Bible Study. Not because I love Him more than others. Not because I'm out there serving Him day in and day out. There is nothing about ME that ever gives God a reason to help me.
Sure, He rewards His faithful, but even when they are not faithful, He still provides. That, right ther is the foundation of my faith. It isn't about ME. God's faithfulness never depends on how good I am. It only and always depends on how good He is. He loves me and will help me, no matter what!!
Here are 3 great examples of this eternal truth:
For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life. For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him. He who believes in Him is not judged...(John 3:16-18)
Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die. (John 11:25)
You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. But God proves His own love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us! (Romans 5:6,8)
Even when everything in my week (or world) is going sideways; Even when I'm out of my mind and out of control; even when I'm on the brink of failure; even when I'm on death's doorstep (and feel like it); even when I have nothing to give, nothing to contribute, nothing to offer: Jesus loves me.
There isn't any judgement when I come to Him, whether I'm full or empty. He is there!
Even when I know I need His grace this most, or when I don't think I need it at all, there is no better news on an early Saturday morning. I hope it is good news for you too.
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