Life got you down??

I've been in touch with my sister in law just about all week. She is terribly miserable, and totally totally hates Iowa. (No offensive to anyone who lives there or is from there.) We are just southern belles, and it's hard to take a lady out of the south and turn her into a mid-western chick.

One of my close friends, and a sermon I heard today at church via video of Perry Noble really hit home with me. When life has you down, don't sit and look at your situation and think it's hopeless. Because isn't God bigger than our problems?

In Scripture there are several times when Jesus brought people back to life. Today, I learned about one, that I guess I'd either never read or forgot about... and the way Perry described it was cool!

Luke 7:11-15 (New International Version)

11Soon afterward, Jesus went to a town called Nain, and his disciples and a "large crowd"went along with him. 12As he approached the town gate, a dead person was being carried out—the only son of his mother, and she was a widow. And a "large crowd" from the town was with her. 13When the Lord saw her, His heart went out to her and He said, "Don't cry."14Then He went up and touched the coffin, and those carrying it stood still. He said, "Young man, I say to you, get up!" 15The dead man sat up and began to talk, and Jesus gave him back to his mother.

If you realize these were two crowds of people heading towards each other. As Perry said it, one was frustrated, the other anticipating Jesus' next miracle. So, when He first told her not to cry, and told the young man to get up... the town crowd with the mom probably thought, "This guy is crazy", but the crowd behind Jesus might have been thinking, "Can He really do something like this?"

Each were looking toward Jesus at the moment, and what happened? A miracle!

This is what we need to do. Stop focusing on our problems. God is bigger than any problem we'll ever have! Period. He just is. Don't like where you are living? Look to Jesus. Heart broken and torn apart? Look to Jesus. Marriage on the rocks? Look to Jesus.

Don't let life get you down. We are only here for a little while anyway, remember? Focus on what's positive and what God has done in your life, then look with anticipation at what He's about to do!

Just another bump in the road of life....

My new profile picture is of me and my Sister in law, Jenny. (We are married to brothers) I've known Jenny for 16 years now. She's been one of my very best friends. She is the youngest of 7 children. She has 4 sisters, and 2 brothers... however, she still found time for me. I gets me "Sister" birthday cards too.

Jenny is one of the nicest, friendliest, most caring, lovable people you'll ever meet. She is geniune, and the real deal. She has a heart of gold. I am honored to have her in my life.

She has just moved to Iowa. I am very sad. I have enjoyed having her in my life all of this time. I've enjoyed watching my nieces grow up, and get to spend time with them, but now, that will have to be on the internet... after I teach Jenny how to use it.

I don't understand why God allows people to move in and out of our lives. I'm sure, as time goes on, He'll be kind enough to reveal to me why He's allowed this huge change. But for now, I'm sad and wish she hadn't of left. I miss her already.

So, here I am, wishing she'd never left, but looking forward to a December trip to see them. Maybe we'll even get to see some snow while we are there. I am praying for God's protection over her, my brother in law and nieces. I know He has a plan, but sometimes, it's hard being hurt during one of them.

The main thing here for me to remember is just that. God has a plan... and it's not a plan to harm me or Jenny, it's a plan to prosper us. He knows what's best, and if we trust Him, we'll make it!

Roots

Yesterday my family and I went to High Falls State Park in northern Georgia. We took a hike in the woods next to the water falls, which by the way were beautiful!

All along the way, I kept seeing things that made me think about God and stuff. The first thing I noticed were roots of the trees all along the pathways. It annoyed me at first, because the roots made it hard to walk. I thought, "I wonder why these roots are showing.. why aren't they covered so it's easier to walk."

Then the thought came to me that we should all be "showing our roots". If we are Christ followers, and believers, aren't we supposed to let people see our roots? Shouldn't we be showing them Christ in our lives? We are to love people, and tell them how much God loves them. We need to tell people that their value as a person DOES NOT come from any human on this earth. People can make us happy, but only surface happy. God is the only One who can fill that inside happiness that we are all longing for.

If you are a Christian, are you showing your roots?