Smile

:) There are some things in life that just make me want to smile, and to jump for joy... this morning when the girls both stayed in Sunday School and had a great time... when my little girls tell funny jokes and laugh... when Sarah runs up to me for a big hug when I arrive home...when Lucy asks for Indian for her 3rd birthday dinner... when I eat a well done steak... when my cat sits on my lap for a cuddle... when God reminds me that He is completely sovereign and in complete control of even the smallest details... :) :) Thank you God for things that make me smile :)

Hope

'A chance that something desirable will happen or be possible.'

With God all things are possible. Matthew 19:26

Puzzled

There are lots of things that puzzle me, especially when it comes to the ways God chooses to work.

Two things (well at least two) I never learnt in Sunday School when I heard the story of God parting the Red Sea that are a bit puzzling:

1 'God did not lead them on the road through the Philistine country, though that was shorter.' Exodus 13:17 I'm guessing the Israelites would have preferred the shorter route, but God lead them on a different road. Why?

2 'God will fight for you, you need only be still.' Exodus 14:14 Be still?! Are you serious?! Then comes the reassurance, 'GOD will fight for you'. And He did. He delivered on His promise, just as He always does.

Break

Decided to take an official facebook break.

Hang in there

After receiving an encouraging email from a friend, thought I'd head back to Psalm 57 which was a huge encouragement to me when things were extremely tough a while back. Verse one is the verse I held on to and kept coming back to in the past, but tonight the end of verse 3 jumped out at me.

'God sends forth his love and his faithfulness.'

Hang in there. Hold on to Jesus. Know God's love. Know His faithfulness. Rest in Him.

All I want for Christmas is...

hope.

It's Christmas again. I know it should be a time of celebrating the hope that Jesus offers, the hope of relationship with God now and the promise of heaven, a place where there will be no more pain and no more tears. But some days in the lead up to Christmas I've just been thinking it'd be better if we didn't have to face it (Christmas and all the stress that seems to come with it).

The girls are at the age where it's a very exciting time - they love opening presents, they love the lights, they love parties. But I guess for me Christmas reminds me of broken dreams, of what could have been but isn't. I realise it's best not to dwell on that, but sometimes it hurts.

So I went searching for a verse about hope, because I realise that hope is the best Christmas present anyone could give me.

Praying that God would fill your heart with hope this Christmas, that He would reassure you that He is good, that He alone is faithful.

Psalm 33:20-21 (New International Version, ©2010)

²⁰ We wait in hope for the LORD;
he is our help and our shield.
²¹ In him our hearts rejoice,
for we trust in his holy name.

A lot to learn about myself

I find it amusing how little I can know about myself after nearly 30 years! I found a self-profile I'd put together about a year ago and I'd put 'patience' as one of my best qualities!!! I guess there are lots of different situations that require patience, and in some I can be quite patient. But more recently I've discovered just how impatient I am!

Last night I found The Message version of Psalm 139, and it's excellent. I may not know much about myself, but God knows it all, AND He still loves me. That blows my mind.

Praise Him for His reassuring presence!! He is awesome!

Psalm 139:1-3 (The Message)

A David Psalm

^1-6 God, investigate my life; get all the facts firsthand.
I'm an open book to you;
even from a distance, you know what I'm thinking.
You know when I leave and when I get back;
I'm never out of your sight.
You know everything I'm going to say
before I start the first sentence.
I look behind me and you're there,
then up ahead and you're there, too—
your reassuring presence, coming and going.
This is too much, too wonderful—
I can't take it all in!