I have been looking at the circumstances, looking at the losses, what is no longer, what has never been and what may never be...grieving those things...
instead of looking at was IS still, instead of looking at the blessings I take way too much for granted, instead of looking at those precious people in my life who are blessings that I take for granted... knowing all to well from painful experience that they can be gone in a heartbeat... INSTEAD of looking at Jesus who IS the AUTHOR and FINISHER of my faith, KNOWING he will NEVER, NO NEVER, leave me nor forsake me... KNOWING that NOTHING I do and anyone else does takes HIM by surprise, KNOWING that HE KNOWS everything about me and LOVES and ACCEPTS me just the way I am... but too much to leave me that way... KNOWING HE is in the fire with me... that HE was waiting here, in the fire, for me...
KNOWING all of this yet still struggling because the KNOWING isn't where it needs to be... it is in my head but soooo far from my heart.... even now that still small voice prompts me to the HOPE that is deeepppppp in my heart, letting me get a glimpse of that hope under all the other junk in there... the HOPE that keeps me going on in this life when all the rest of me says I can't go another step...The HOPE that has kept me breathing thru all of this... the HOPE that has kept me alive, The HOPE of a better tomorrow and a brighter today...the HOPE that does NOT disappoint.... the HOPE that is FROM HIM... not from my circumstances, not from anyone else in my life... but FROM HIM AND ONLY HIM...
Now for the nugget that spoke to me.
"If you woke up this morning
with more health than illness,
you are more blessed than
the million who won't survive the week.
If you have never experienced
the danger of battle,
the loneliness of imprisonment,
the agony of torture or
the pangs of starvation,
you are ahead of 20 million people
around the world.
If you attend a church meeting
without fear of harassment,
arrest, torture, or death,
you are more blessed than almost
three billion people in the world.
If you have food in your refrigerator,
clothes on your back, a roof over
your head and a place to sleep,
you are richer than 75% of this world.
If you have money in the bank,
in your wallet, and spare change
in a dish someplace, you are among
the top 8% of the world's wealthy.
If your parents are still married and alive,
you are very rare, especially in the United States.
If you hold up your head with a smile
on your face and are truly thankful,
you are blessed because the majority can,
but most do not.
If you can hold someone's hand,
hug them or even touch them on the shoulder,
you are blessed because you can
offer God's healing touch.
If you can read this message,
you are more blessed than over
two billion people in the world
that cannot read anything at all.
You are so blessed in ways
you may never even know. "
After saving this as a draft I just went and finished reading all of her email and couldn't not post these either...
He will do for me all He has planned.
He controls my destiny. Job 23:14
AMEN
and
Father's Love LetterMy Child
~You may not know me,
but I know everything about you.Psalm 139:1
I know when you sit down and when you rise up.Psalm 139:2
I am familiar with all your ways.Psalm 139:3
Even the very hairs on your head are numbered.Matthew 10:29-31
For you were made in my image.Genesis 1:27
In me you live and move and have your being.Acts 17:28
For you are my offspring.Acts 17:28
I knew you even before you were conceived.Jeremiah 1:4-5
I chose you when I planned creation.Ephesians 1:11-12
You were not a mistake, for all your days are written in my book Psalm 139:15-16I
determined the exact time of your birth and where you would live.Acts 17:26
You are fearfully and wonderfully made.Psalm 139:14
I knit you together in your mother's womb.Psalm 139:13
And brought you forth on the day you were born.Psalm 71:6
I have been misrepresented by those who don't know me.John 8:41-44
I am not distant and angry, but am the complete expression of love.1 John 4:16
And it is my desire to lavish my love on you.1 John 3:1
Simply because you are my child and I am your father.1 John 3:1
I offer you more than your earthly father ever could.Matthew 7:11
For I am the perfect father.Matthew 5:48
Every good gift that you receive comes from my hand.James 1:17
For I am your provider and I meet all your needs.Matthew 6:31-33
My plan for your future has always been filled with hope.Jeremiah 29:11
Because I love you with an everlasting love.Jeremiah 31:3
My thoughts toward you are countless as the sand on the seashore.Psalm 139:17-18
And I rejoice over you with singing.Zephaniah 3:17
I will never stop doing good to you.Jeremiah 32:40
For you are my treasured possession.Exodus 19:5
I desire to establish you with all my heart and all my soul.Jeremiah 32:41
And I want to show you great and marvelous things.Jeremiah 33:3
If you seek me with all your heart, you will find me.Deuteronomy 4:29
Delight in me and I will give you the desires of your heart.Psalm 37:4
For it is I who gave you those desires.Philippians 2:13
I am able to do more for you than you could possibly imagine.Ephesians 3:20
For I am your greatest encourager.2 Thessalonians 2:16-17
I am also the Father who comforts you in all your troubles.2 Corinthians 1:3-4
When you are brokenhearted, I am close to you.Psalm 34:18
As a shepherd carries a lamb, I have carried you close to my heart.Isaiah 40:11
One day I will wipe away every tear from your eyes.Revelation 21:3-4
And I'll take away all the pain you have suffered on this earth. Revelation 21:3-4
I am your Father, and I love you even as I love my son, Jesus. John 17:23
For in Jesus, my love for you is revealed.John 17:26
He is the exact representation of my being.Hebrews 1:3
He came to demonstrate that I am for you, not against you. Romans 8:31
And to tell you that I am not counting your sins.2 Corinthians 5:18-19
Jesus died so that you and I could be reconciled.2 Corinthians 5:18-19
His death was the ultimate expression of my love for you.1 John 4:10
I gave up everything I loved that I might gain your love.Romans 8:31-32
If you receive the gift of my son Jesus, you receive me.1 John 2:23
And nothing will ever separate you from my love again.Romans 8:38-39
Come home and I'll throw the biggest party heaven has ever seen.Luke 15:7
I have always been Father, and will always be Father.Ephesians 3:14-15
My question is ~ Will you be my child?John 1:12-13
I am waiting for you.Luke 15:11-32
Love, Your Dad, Almighty God
