Benefits

Everything good that has happened in my life has been a reward. Everything bad in my life has been a reward as well. I would not be where I am today if I hadn't had some hard knocks. Most of the time they were self imposed, I own that. But sometimes they were just things that happened that I had no control over. 

In every instance I can see the Hand of God. Not that He made the bad things happen, but that He was there the whole time. I am certain I have been given the bad times so that I can see more of God. I become raw and vulnerable. In those instances He shows us our dependence on Him and how He is in charge. We may not get what we want, but we get what we need. 

I don't always get what I want. I have had one particular prayer going for three years now.

 Three, y'all! 

At every turn, when I think it will come to fruition, it is not answered like I want. It wears on me... Causes me much distress... Makes me a little cranky... Just this morning, I realized...

It is for my good, and I am being protected from something I don't need in my life. 

It is for my benefit. 

So, in true "God fashion" I open my Bible and it fell open to Psalm 103.

Oh how I can relate to David. I mean, I am not a king nor was I ever a shepherd... I am not a guy. But I am so much like him! I teeter between sinful and righteous. I am also very aware of my sin, immediately. David was, too. 

As I have matured my sin sensitivity has too. My two biggest problems are gossip and jealousy. I can honestly say, sitting in an empty house...alone with two dogs... Has really helped in the gossip department. But then I have free reign to see what's "missing" in my life, compared to others and then jealousy creeps in. 

When I am truly repentant and listen, I learn. That's what Psalm 103 did for me this morning. I am going to paraphrase and hit the parts that spoke to me and I hope, will speak to you. 

"Bless the Lord, Oh my soul. 

And all that is within me, bless His Holy Name. 

Bless the Lord, Oh my soul

And forget not His benefits. 

Who forgives...

Who heals...

Who redeems...

Who crowns...

Who satisfies..."

Our souls are so precious to Him. How blessed we are by a God who benefits us. Who forgives and heals us, physically and emotionally. He redeems us, y'all!! Paid in full! He crowns us! Oh the day we receive that crown! And... He satisfies us. 

Maybe not how we would like, but how He wants and knows is best for us. 

For our benefit. 

Don't miss the opportunity to watch God work in your life. He is here! Working in our lives for our good! He can take a way every selfish desire and replace it with His desires. 

For our benefit. 

He will redeem us and crown us and that is our HOPE! Let Him satisfy your soul and bless it. He will make all things new and fill us with more hope and peace than we could ever imagine!

Daniel 6:16

"Your God, whom you serve continually. He will deliver you!"

Monica

Battles

We all are not given any guarantees in life. Trials and battles have been an ever present part of my life. Battling with my mother over English peas, was one. If you put a pile of those things on my plate.... You can bet your sweet bippy the only way they will come off of that plate is by scraping them in the garbage can untouched. I don't mind them in a soup or casserole, but alone... Just sitting there... round and green... staring at me like a bunch of beady eyes... yuck!

Some of my most prolific battles were with my two beautiful, intelligent and stubborn offspring.
My son...
He has tested me from day one. He is reactionary, so if I reacted, he reacted.

 With. Every. Thing. He. Could. Muster. 

In order to get it done, just get it over with, I learned that grocery shopping with the Red Power Ranger in cowboy boots, ain't so bad! I chose my battles with him and learned to let go of a lot. 

Or when my beautiful daughter needed a Barbie on almost every trip to Walmart. She wasn't a fit pitcher like her brother, but she was really good at making me pay for my transgression. Until I met her, I wasn't aware a four year old could give the silent treatment for literally days!!

These were battles of will. We all experience them. I look back on the turmoil of raising my babies and just laugh. I love to tell new moms not to sweat the small stuff! Eventually, it passes. We battle other things like depression, stress, unhappiness, fear, insecurity and anger. I believe that our biggest battles are with ourselves, which usually manifest themselves into battles with others. 

These days I would gladly trade those earlier battles for the ones I have today. I feel like a tennis ball at Wimbledon. Federer and Nadal are smacking me back and forth at 100mph! 

Back and forth...hope and fear.

Back and forth...peace and turmoil. 

What's going to happen? Will all the prayers work? Is the faith of my friends enough? Is my faith enough? What are His plans? How do I know for sure?

Back and forth. 

This morning I was reading Acts 14. Paul had healed a crippled man. The Jews of Antioch and Iconium had stoned him and thought he was dead. But the Disciples gathered around him and he arose and left the city. Later on he said in verse 22, "We must go through many tribulations to enter the Kingdom of God."

That struck a chord with me. I, in no way, compare myself to Paul and the disciples and all they went through. But I think this verse is applicable to us all. We aren't guaranteed a battle-free or tribulation-free life. We have never been told there won't be hard times, scary times or times that bring us to our wit's end.

The wonderful news is, we are promised we won't go it alone. We are precious and we are valued and even in the darkest and craziest of times... He is ever present and we are incredibly important to Him. Stuff happens, no doubt. But I honestly think the ultimate goal for God is to see how we react to it. 

I can be really mad... In fact I have had some anger issues over stuff lately... But if we call on Jesus and give him our anger and doubt and fear... He will reassure us through peace that transcends all understanding. 

So who will you take into battle with you? Satan? With all of his lies, malice and fear mongering? Or Jesus? With all of his truth, and peace and joy? I choose Jesus. 

Exodus 14:14

"The Lord will fight for you, and you shall hold your peace."

Monica

Forgotten

At my last treatment I was forgotten... actually I was lost... In the system. It was a very overwhelming day to say the least. Somehow, I was not put in the que and I didn't get my treatment for over an hour. They had changed some procedures and I was one of the unfortunate ones that they didn't know about.

It was a lonely feeling. I felt as if I would cry. Being here is emotional enough, but feeling forgotten is another. 

I have felt forgotten at other times. Birthday invitations I never received or parties I never was invited to. Those were very few and far between, but I remember how it hurt. 

It hurts to think others don't consider you in their plans. It hurts to see posts on Facebook and know you were overlooked and would love to be in that "all smiles" group picture. There is something so painful about the process of life and friendships. There seems to never be any consistently anymore. Even adults act like fickle middle schoolers. Or so it seems.

The thing about being forgotten is it hurts. Sometimes it is totally unintentional and others it is blatant. People are human... And they just don't think! I have always watched people in their purposeful forgetting of others. It can cause such strife. The passive aggressive way we silently choose make others feel lesser than.

But forgetting folks isn't in God' s mentality. He never forgets us! He tells us plainly in scripture that He will not forget us. That is so comforting, y'all! He isn't like us humans. He values us more than silver or gold. He doesn't look at our outward appearance. He could care less where we live or what we drive or how much is in our bank account. He just loves us and remembers us and thinks we are the coolest cats around! He wants to commune with us and include us, because in the end...He wants to be with us for all eternity. 

So the next time you feel left out or that you don't measure up to humans standards, remember that doesn't matter. You are perfectly imperfect for Him! He made your "imperfections"!! He blesses your low bank account, He made sure that you had shelter and a career (even if it doesn't pay much) and He's the reason you are where you are in your success even if it doesn't measure up to other's definition of success. He won't be surprised when He opens His door and sees you! He will rejoice!!

Oh and the cool thing is.... If we are in Christ... We will all be at the same party in heaven and we won't even care about the earthly junk! Some of us might be surprised who has been invited to the party!! Hallelujah!!!

Isaiah 49: 16

"See, I will not forget you, for I have engraved you on the palm of my hand!"

Monica