Friday, August 30, 2013
Dear God, What Have I Done?
I love the picture above. When Rich would teach scouts orienteering he would talk about compasses. In fact, he has a couple of really cool old ones that he has given to a couple of sons when they became men. A compass points the way to go, especially when you are lost. As a believer in Jesus I use God's word as my compass. Good thing too because the night before the wedding I got cold feet.
For some reason we decided to get married on a Monday afternoon. I know it doesn't make a lick of sense but that can just be added to the list of crazy things we did. So the day before the wedding was Sunday and we all went to morning and evening services. After the evening service we stayed and did the walk through for the wedding and then headed over to McDonald's.
That night I remember going into the bedroom and thinking this is crazy, you don't really know this guy type stuff. What if he is an ax murderer and I don't know it? Hormones and wedding jitters can be a funny thing! I was left alone in the room and just prayed. I knew what I was about to do was crazy but I also knew three things, and it is those three things that I held onto.
1. Rich loved God more than me
2. Rich and I had the same goals, same convictions about our roles in the marriage
3. Rich and I promised that the word divorce would never and I mean never be in our vocabulary
Those were the three things that I held onto. So Monday rolled around bright and sunshiny. The wedding was early in the afternoon. Weeks before Rich's Dad had gotten up in the pulpit at church and said, "You all know Jill has been living with us this summer. We decided we wanted her to become a part of our family so we visited a lawyer to see about adopting her. The lawyer told us she was over 18 so she was too old to adopt so the only other way we can get her into the family is to have her marry our son Rich. So I am here to announce the marriage of Jill to our son Rich, August 29th."
So on our wedding day Rich's Dad walked me down the aisle and then turned around and performed the ceremony. A day I will never forget. We had cake and punch at the church and then close friends came back to the house and had a party. When it was time for Rich and I to leave they all had confetti to throw at us. We ran to the car and I had just gotten in when my brand new mother in law threw one more handful of confetti. Somehow my mouth was open (imagine that) and a piece got lodged into my throat and I began to choke. I was so embarrassed and ran out of the car and back behind the house and puked. Not a great way to start on this blissful road called marriage!
We drove about an hour to a hotel that my new Dad had given us as a gift. We brought lots of confetti with us! It was the next morning that would be the most memorable. I woke up the next morning and looked at the floor strewn with confetti and looked over at the man I just married and in horror said, "Dear God, what have I done. I married a man I don't even know, what do I do now?" What I did not know until about 10 years later is this. When Rich woke up that first morning with his blushing bride next to him in bed he looked around and said, "Dear God, what have I done. I married this girl and I don't even know her, what have I done?"
What a great way to start a marriage! We both were in shock. What have we done. Of course back then, communication was not a skill we had so we both tucked that information deep down inside and waited a decade to come clean. Boy did we have a lot of work to do. That is why I call our story an unlikely story. Two people from two very different backgrounds who are both broken and wounded people come together and stay together for all these years.
I would love to tell you we fell head over heals in love that first morning after marrying but that would not be the truth. We had so much to learn. We loved the idea of love and loved the idea of a marriage and we had to learn how to make it work with almost total strangers. There have been several times in all these years that have tested our resolve. The death of our precious daughter Celeste, several years into our marriage would stretch us to the limits. I wanted to run and run far away. Grief does strange things to people. Then the death of our son David would challenge us to look beyond our own grief and work and grieve together.
So here we sit at the start of our 37th year. Rich's body is so tired and hurts beyond what any human should have to endure. Life is not fair and that is the truth. We had so many dreams about things we would do when we were done raising our children. We would work in ministry together, doing hospital visits together, inviting couples over for a meal to be an encouragement. All the plans and they are gone. When you stand at the altar and say your vows and say in sickness and in health, for better or for worse you have no clue what that means.
I know what it means now. I have learned that you can take two broken people and knit their lives together when you have God at the center and know that anything is possible. We are living proof of that. Till death do us part is the promise. Our love is an unlikely love story but one that should give great hope to those who struggle. God has given me a deep and abiding love for my precious husband. One that grew slowly but sure. That compass is ever before us. Thank you God for knitting us together all those years ago.
Be the kind of woman that when your feet hit the ground each morning Satan says, "Oh crud, she's up".
Thursday, August 29, 2013
Part 2 An Unlikely Love Story
We are truly an unlikely love story. I woke this morning on this 36th anniversary to my favorite kind of flower, a yellow rose. Since Rich has been sick we haven't really celebrated since he has been too sick so to have flowers this morning was a wonderful treat.
If you haven't read part one now would be a good time. I ended the story last time with these now famous words, "He and I are NOT going to get along." After Rich threw his keys and hat on the table those famous words were spoken. So how in the world did we go from there to walking down the aisle less than three months later? Great question... I am so glad you asked
Rich's folks lived way out in the boonies on an old dirt road. There were no subdivisions or covenants to tell you what you can and can not put in your front yard. This family had a giant yellow joy bus sitting right smack in the middle of the lawn. Joy busses were used back in the early 70's to bring in unchurched kids. The bus would pull up to a house and children would come bounding out with enough enthusiasm to float a boat and hop on. Now the ride had to be fun so teenagers were recruited to stand in front and sing songs about God, silly songs. The church of Christ was known for their joy buses.
This particular joy bus needed a new paint job so Rich and I volunteered to paint the bus. Hour after hour, day after day we painted the inside of the bus. When one was done another bus was brought in. What did we do to pass the time you ask? We talked and talked. Back in the day there were no electronic devices to get our attention. No texting to stand in the way so we just talked.
To be honest, I had been engaged to a guy I thought I loved in college. He dumped me because his mother knew I was from the "wrong side of the tracks" and didn't want him to marry me. So I had just been dumped a few months before. Tragic but true. In that context I knew what I wanted. So we spent hours discussing the kind of mates we were going to find.
I wanted a man who loved the LORD above me. I wanted a man who knew what he wanted, a strong man who would not let his Mama decide who his mate would be (remember I was 19) lol. I wanted a man who would work hard and of course he had to sweep me off my feet. To top off the list this guy had to be a preacher. I knew I wanted to be a preachers wife. Heaven help the congregation that got me back then!
Of course Rich has his own list. I think there were about 10 things on the list. The number one was the woman he picked had to love the LORD above him. She had to be of the same mind in raising children. Roles needed to be in line, in other words a traditional marriage. Being a young airman he also had some things on the list about beauty but we wont go there.
Rich was patriotic, I was not. In fact, I remember once I had sat during the National Anthem in high school just to be ornery. He loved guns, I was scared to death of guns and told him my husband would never bring in a gun to the house. That is about the sum total of what we knew about each other.
It was time for the gig to be up, he had to head out to his new duty station all the way across the country in Tacoma Washington and I headed to camp. Now remember, we did not have one "date". We painted buses together for heaven sake. He told me when he left me at the camp that bright sun shiny day that if I wasn't married by the time he came home for Christmas that he was going to marry me. Now that is a man who can sweep a girl off her feet.
So the letters flew back and forth from Michigan to Washington. Every day we wrote, sometimes more than one a day. Here was this strong young man who loved the LORD and knew what he wanted, no wishy washy guy here. Since I worked at a Christian camp we had certain rituals for mail call. If you got more than one letter you had to stand on a chair and sing some funny song to get your letter. Let's just say I spent a lot of time up on a chair singing the ABC's!
I would work all week at the camp and go back to Rich's folks house Saturday morning and be driven back to camp after Sunday morning service. So one Saturday morning in July who shows up but Rich. He had flown all the way from Tacoma to come see me. Boy was I surprised. He asked to take me for a walk so out in the fields we went. Out in the middle of the field he got down on one knee and asked me to marry him. I of course said yes. We were head over heels in love!
It was decided that I would not go back to school in the fall but would get married and move a thousand miles away from nowhere and become a military wife. Oh heaven help us. Let me just say right now, we had no clue. We thought we loved each other when in fact we were in love with love. We had no real idea what the other person was like. How could we in such a short amount of time. Important things like how you squeeze the toothpaste and do you close the lid on the toilet would have to be decided later. For now, we were in love.
We had six weeks to plan a wedding and that we did. All went well until the night before our wedding. But that story will have to wait till tomorrow!
Blessings my friends
In Christ Alone,
Jill
Be the kind of woman that when your feet hit the ground each morning Satan says, "Oh crud, she's up".
Wednesday, August 28, 2013
An Unlikely Love Story
Tomorrow we celebrate 36 years of marriage and it has me waxing nostalgic. Ours is not the movie type of love story. Nope, no gentle kiss on the dock, over looking a lake with fireworks exploding overhead. No Love Comes Softly type of romantic beginning. In fact, our beginning started out with a loud thud, an Airmans hat being tossed across the table with lots of loud mumbling. So let me set the stage.
I had just finished my freshman year of college. I had been hired as the waterfront director at the local Christian youth camp. The problem was the three weeks in between when the dorm closed and the camp opened. I had been worshipping with a small congregation out in Romeo Michigan for the school year with my then boyfriend. I loved the congregation and felt at home. Even after my boyfriend dumped me I continued to attend the Romeo congregation.
There was a family there who had three small children. They were exactly what I needed. They were natural hospitable people. They invited young couples over for dinner and would spend hours sitting on the living room floor singing hymns. I was in awe watching them, having never seen a married couple like that. They invited me to come and spend the three weeks in between college and camp with them and I gladly took them up on it. Little did I know that those three weeks would change the course of my life.
I had no idea that little family of five was really a family of six. Their eldest son had gone into the Air Force the year before and had been in training all this time in Texas which is why I had never met him. All of that would soon change. I had only been in their home for a day or two when excitement filled the air. Big brother was about to come home. I had no idea. Larry and Laura had somehow forgotten to tell me that they had a son whom I had never met.
I remember the kids bouncing off the wall, excited big brother was finally coming home. I waited up for this guy to walk in the door. After introductions I excused myself and promptly went to bed. I felt like an intruder into an intimate family affair.
The next day that tall and handsome Airmen dressed in his uniform headed out to see his old highschool teachers. I gave him little thought. In the early afternoon his Mom and I were standing in the kitchen over the sink peeling potatoes when he came back home. Apparently he had parked in the wrong place and had gotten his car towed. He was not a happy camper! He tossed his keys on the table along with his hat mumbling something about how life was unfair. I turned to his Mama and said very calmly, "He and I are NOT going to get along." Less than 3 months later that young airman and I would marry.
Come join me tomorrow and I will tell you "the rest of the story".
Until then,
In Christ Alone
Be the kind of woman that when your feet hit the ground each morning Satan says, "Oh crud, she's up".
Tuesday, August 27, 2013
Gratituesday
I woke this morning to the sound of thunder and rain. I love storms which probably makes me a tad weird but I love listening to them. As I lay there listening to the pounding rain I started to count my blessings.
The past week has been pretty lousy. I ended up with bronchitis with a cough that sounded like I needed to be in a tuberculosis chamber. I hate being sick but there was nothing I could do but take my medicine, drink lots of water and rest. I missed running in the CRIM and I missed work. The cough is mostly gone and it's a brand new week so it is time to get back on the gratitude bandwagon.
So in no particular order here are the things I thanked God for this morning while the storm beat on the windows.
1. I am thankful for a roof over my head so I can hear the rain on the roof
2. I am thankful that I have a husband that is faithful to the LORD
3. I am thankful that I got to spend the day with Serenity just talking
4. I am thankful that Michael gets to experience going away to a Christian college
5. I am thankful that I get to serve a family that is really struggling
6. I am thankful that Thursday is our 36th wedding anniversary
7. I am thankful that God has not given up on me, he continues to mold and shape me
8. I am thankful that I get to teach God's word to a woman who thirsts for truth
9. I am thankful my grandchildren are being raised to love the one and only true God
10. I am thankful that I am well enough to go back to work.
The storm is pounding the windows, the thunder is roaring like a lion but I am safe inside. Life's storms may beat on my windows but my soul is forever the LORD's and for that I will praise Him.
What are you thankful for today? I would love to know.
Be the kind of woman that when your feet hit the ground each morning Satan says, "Oh crud, she's up".
Friday, August 23, 2013
THE EMPTY NEST
The Nest is Empty
The house is quiet tonight except for the dishwasher running. The t.v. has been turned off and I sit here realizing that this is the last night for my last baby chick that will finally leave the nest. I remember 20 years ago taking a walk in our subdivision, just the hubby and I. We were about to make a monumental decision that would effect us the rest of our lives.
Team A as we would fondly name them that night was back at the house playing basketball in the driveway. We were about to decide whether or not we would start all over again and have a Team B. We knew we would end up being older parents if we started all over again. We knew also that we could try and change some of the mistakes we made with our older kids on a new batch of children. God blessed us so richly that night as we begged for wisdom. We were ready to take that huge leap of faith.
Team B ended up with 5 boys! Five boys. We knew that when Michael came he would be our last baby. We were convinced we would not raise him to be a baby but grow to be a man of God. A young man that knew no matter what color your skin was you were a child of the King. I have a favorite picture in my mind's eye of Michael when he was 5 years old. Rich was digging post holes and one had to be dug way down deep. Michael was always one to grab a shovel anytime Dad had one and so he climbed down into that hold with his shovel as big as he was and was digging for all he was worth. No shirt on but a grin as wide as could be.
He has grown to be a fine young man. Tonight is Michael's last night at home before he officially launches off to college. Where did the time go? My last night with my last boy and what do I say to him? The same thing I told all the other chicks that were going to take their first flight out of the nest.
Son, we have been blessed to be called Mom and Dad for 18 years now. We have not been perfect parents but we were the parents God gave you. AS your Mama I can't begin to tell you how proud I am of you. How no matter how hard it was to watch Dad the last four years go through horrible pain you never gave up. You studied hard in school, you showed respect to all of those around you and you have been a perfect gentleman to all those fine young ladies who find you handsome. When I see you really smile my heart melts all over again with praise to God for lending you to me. I knew I was only given so much time and I hope I used it wisely.
You will step outside these doors tomorrow and I hope you remember everything we have taught you. I hope you remember that you can go and be anything with God's help. If anyone calls you out for the color of your skin, remind yourself that God made you exactly the way he wanted you, tall and handsome with a heart of gold. Remember that your hands hold both black and white in a world that desperately needs to be color blind but isn't. That the value of a man is measured by his heart and not the color of his hands.
Finally son, remember that everyday you can wake up and make a choice as to the kind of man you will be each and every day. Now son, go and make us proud but most importantly, make your Father proud. Grow into the man He wants you to be while your Mama sits here and prays over you one more night.
With great love,
Your Mama
Be the kind of woman that when your feet hit the ground each morning Satan says, "Oh crud, she's up".
Wednesday, August 14, 2013
Satan's Plan for Our Children
Lovely picture isn't it? We may laugh about a scene played out in our homes like the one above but this picture represents something Satan wants for our children, rebellion. How do we raise children who are truly servants for God? How do we raise our children to have character and integrity? How do we raise children to be the hands of feet of our Father?
Great question. Perhaps we should look at the ultimate goal and work backwards from there. Find the finished product and use that as the standard. Work back from that finished product and do the things necessary to have that kind of finished product.
Remember Saddam Hussein? I read an interesting article about his two sons, Uday and Qusay. They had nicknames given to them because of the kind of behavior they exhibited. The sons were trained at a very young age to be ruthless killers by their father Saddam Hussein. He had an ultimate goal to raise killers so he worked backwards and decided the best way to turn them into killers. Can you imagine? So how did he accomplish his task? He started them as preschoolers watching the worst horror flicks on the market. They watched movies with people like Freddie Kruger. They watched films over and over again to desensitize them to violence. They watched porn to teach them to devalue women. Husseins desire to raise his sons to be killers was successful. They raped and murdered women with no thought to what they were doing. They dehumanized hundreds if not thousands of innocent people.
I know that is a terrible story to tell but it illustrates a point. We need to look ahead and imagine the kind of children we want to have and work backwards. If you want children to have a good work ethic you teach them at a very young age to work with their hands. That means they can help pick up toys when they are able to toddle around. As they grow we teach them to make their own beds by making their beds with them each and every morning till they are old enough to make it on their own. When they are still older you teach them how to set a table for the family dinner. You get the point. You start out at a very young age to mold and shape your children with the end result upper in your mind.
If you want them to love the LORD when they are older than you teach them at a very young age to love God. You read scripture to them at a young age. You tell them over and over again that God loves them from very young. You get on your knees at night and pray together before they are old enough to pray on their own. You teach them that part of loving God is serving His people. You take them with you to deliver a meal to a new Mama. You take them to nursing homes and teach them to honor our senior saints. As they become teens you give them plenty of opportunities to serve those less fortunate. Spend a Thanksgiving at the local soup kitchen.
Raising children to be followers of God does not happen by taking your children to church once or twice a week. It is being diligent to train them first thing in the morning, when they are eating breakfast, when they go to the store, when they have free time. God's word has the power to change any heart. Christian children do not come by accident. You and I will teach them with not only words but by our actions.
Don't let Satan grab your kids. Their very souls depend on it!
Be the kind of woman that when your feet hit the ground each morning Satan says, "Oh crud, she's up".
Tuesday, August 13, 2013
Gratituesday
Boy oh boy, do I have a wonderful item to be grateful for today. First let me set the stage. Most of you know I have a real love for life. I cherish my children and grandchildren. Family is a special gift that I don't take for granted. When you combine my love of family with my love of midwifery there could be a special time combining the two. Honestly, I never thought I would be given the privilege to be a midwife for any of our children.
Never say never someone wise once said. We got a call from our son in the Plain Community last week. Guess what? Our daughter in law is pregnant. A precious baby is growing inside of her. Not only that but they want ME to catch the baby. Never in a million years would I have guessed I would be given the opportunity to catch one of my grandbabies.
Our daughter in law would prefer to birth her babies all alone since she is a private person. In fact last baby was born in a tiny cabin with almost no warning. The midwife didn't get there till the baby was three hours old. Son caught his own baby. Apparently, they have decided Grammy is invited to come catch the baby. I have my catchers mitt ready to roll come next March! For that, I am truly grateful!
Be the kind of woman that when your feet hit the ground each morning Satan says, "Oh crud, she's up".
Wednesday, August 7, 2013
It's a Battle Out There!
This journey we call life can sometimes be described as a battle. If you notice in the above picture there is one standing and that represents you and me. We will continue to stand because we realize where the battle really comes from. Listen to the wise words of Paul in Ephesians 6:12
"Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. For we do NOT wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. Therefore, take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day and having done all, to stand firm."
Did you get that? We are in a battle and that battle is NOT against you and I but against the devil. I don't care if your battle is food addictions, drug addictions, depression or any other battle you and I face. We can be victors and not victims. There is a golden nugget in that last sentence. Let me give you an example from my life.
I will call this gal Susie (not her real name). In Susie's mind she was a victim. Apparently she married the wrong guy. Of course the guy she did marry was a faithful godly man but like other men (and women) he had his faults. She had convinced herself that her life would have been so much better if she had just married that "other guy". Now this woman had been married for 40 years! Forty years and she was still a victim? Come on, let's get real.
When my husband was a marriage and family therapist he had a saying he told me about. After listening to a couple pour out their challenges he would at some point say, "you are where you are". You are where you are is a simple statement. It recognizes that you have a past and it is time to say this is now where I am.
To Susie she had been married for 40 years. It was time to say, "I am where I am". I told her that she could live a life as a victor and NOT a victim. I wanted her to recognize that wallowing in 40 years of regret will not help her current situation. The devil had had a field day with her. Nudging her with discontent over and over again. In stead of dismissing Satan out of hand she allowed him to feed on her resentment, over and over again.
That my friends is a life lived in bondage. I have had a lot of loss in my life, alot. More than my share at times but I refuse to be a victim. I may wallow in despair a day or two but when I recognize I am allowing Satan to feed me a pack of lies I shut it down.
Tomorrow I want to share with you Satan's plan for your children and what YOU can do about it.
Till next time.
Be the kind of woman that when your feet hit the ground each morning Satan says, "Oh crud, she's up".
Monday, August 5, 2013
Gratituesday Blessings that Touch the Heart
There are few things in life that give me such great joy and peace than my children. I wish I could tell you I was the perfect parent, but I was not. I do love my children with a passion and not just prayed but begged the LORD as they were growing up to please stand in the gap where I fell so desperately short. He has honored that request over and over. To say that my children are a blessing to me would be an enormous understatement. I am honored to be their Mama but most importantly I feel so blessed to watch them raise their own children.
This week our daughter Serenity had a birthday. When each of their birthdays come around I love to reminisce in my brain the significant memories that I hold close to my heart. Serenity is our first born. Oh did we make some mistakes, but God gives firstborns a special extra layer of shielding to protect them from parents who have no clue.
I well remember writing to her during my pregnancy. My hopes and dreams for her were all laid out. I wanted her above all to experience for herself the amazing love and grace from God. I wanted her to outgrow our faith and find her joy and purpose in serving the LORD with her own faith.
While recovering from birth in an army hospital I cradled her in my arms and sang every hymn I could think of. I started in Genesis and started to read her scriptures. Crazy? Perhaps but I believed that it was never too early to start sharing the good news with the precious gift God gave me. I was bound and determined to never regret my actions as a parent. Of course that was a tall order that was impossible to fulfill but in the big scheme of things, God was so faithful in blessing us with a godly daughter that grew into a godly woman.
My daughter serves the LORD by loving her husband and children with a passion. I can't think of a higher calling for a woman of faith. When I read this scripture I have come to realize that answered my prayers better than I could have ever imagined.
An excellent wife who can find?
She opens her hand to the poor
and reaches out her hands to the needy.
She is not afraid of snow for her household,
for all her household are clothed in scarlet
Her husband is known in the gates
when he sits among the elders of the land.
Strength and dignity are her clothing,
and she laughs at the time to come.
She opens her mouth with wisdom,
and the teaching of kindness is on her tongue.
She looks well to the ways of her household,
and does not eat the bread of idleness.
Her children rise up and call her blessed;
her husband also, and he praises her:
"Many women have done excellently,
but you surpass them all"
Charm is deceitful, and beauty is vain,
but a woman who fears the LORD is to be praised!
My precious daughter Serenity, this is you. Thank you for your grace and mercy and thank you for being a woman of God.
Happy Birthday sweetheart.
Love Mom
Be the kind of woman that when your feet hit the ground each morning Satan says, "Oh crud, she's up".
Saturday, August 3, 2013
I WANT To Go On Vacation!
"I want to go on vacation and I don't want to worry about a thing." That was the start of a commercial this morning, complete with beautiful pictures of a couple walking on a sandy beach. Funny I saw this first thing because I woke up thinking about our lives. I had sung to our daughter this morning over the phone for her birthday. I can picture the day of her birth like it was yesterday. I am so blessed beyond measure.
As I got off the phone I clicked on the facebook icon and saw my brother-inlaw and my niece having a fabulous time in Iceland on a special trip honoring her Masters degree. Then there are the gals at church who keep posting pictures of their girl trips. Are you getting the idea I have a big green monster stamped on my forehead?
With the big green monster on my forehead I want in no particular order;
1. I want to not worry about money
2. I want my husband to be perfectly healthy
3. I want to live in a place that has some room to move
4. I want to be skinny
5. I want my husband to be happy
6. I want to be in the picture with the girls going on vacation
7. I want to not worry about money (yes, I put it there twice)
8. I want my husband to not be in debilitating pain
9. I want a perfect church that has perfect harmony
10. I want to go on a dream vacation with a hubby that is not sick, with money that I don't have to be worried about with laughter and joy
Painfully honest, that is what I try to be. Did you notice that everyone of the top 10 things I want start with "I"? Isn't that what the big green monster stamped on our foreheads start with? It is the constant tension between our sin nature and the plan God has for us. I was bought with a price, a very big price indeed. To know deep within my heart that Jesus loves me so much that he would have come down from the comforts of his home and was willing to become a lowly human to live and die just for me. Must mean I have great value.
Just how many of us feel the same way? I am reminded of the friend who is struggling with a debilitating disease at such a young age. Hubby doesn't want her anymore. I am thinking of the friend who has a tumor up in her brain that can't be operated on and is faced with chronic migraines. I think of the Mama who has empty arms today, who grieves the loss of her baby. You watch your spouse suffer day in and day out and you have no words. You are helpless.
So that brings me back around to God. MY LORD and my Savior. Do you realize that both those words mean very different things> A Savior, one who rescues. We all love to be rescued. To be swept off our feet and be so loved that our beloved comes in and rescues us from the very pit of hell. Now LORD is a very different thing. Almost everyone wants a Savior but not everyone wants a LORD! Why, when he is LORD he gets to chose. Not only does he get to chose but he wants us to chose him and not us as LORD.
I want both in my life. He is my Savior and because of that he is my LORD. This is the life he has for me. I will rejoice in what he has for me. So here is my other top ten list when God is also my LORD
1. God sent his son for me to make me whole
2. God loves me more than I can ever comprehend
3. God will never ever leave me
4. God will never let me go hungry
5. God will redeem my husband on his own time table
6. God will always provide a roof over my head even if that roof is not what I want!
7. God provides people in my life who are best for me
8. God has blessed me with children who are my delight
9. God walks right next time and amazingly carries me when I cant walk anymore
10. God delights in my devotion to him.
Savior or LORD? I will gladly take both. Someday heaven is going to be amazing. There will be no tears, I will get my chance to walk with my Father in the garden and I will be complete. Until then, I will be faithful no matter what Satan can throw my way, even the lie that going on the perfect vacation with the perfect husband is the perfect life.
In Christ Alone,
Jill
Be the kind of woman that when your feet hit the ground each morning Satan says, "Oh crud, she's up".
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