I Have Been Held

This year did not go how I had planned.
This year did not go how I had hoped.
The enemy stepped in and wreaked havoc in many areas of my life.
The wounds are deep and some will leave scars.
But through all the trials, I have been held by Almighty God.
The God of all comfort has held me in His hands.
He has hid me in the cleft of the Rock.
He has gently reminded me that trials lead to patience.
He whispered to me through His Word, reminding me of all His precious promises.
Reminders that He is always with me.
That His ways are not my ways.
That He knows the way that I take
And these difficult times will draw me closer to Him.
I am blessed with the knowledge that not only does He comfort me in times of tribulation
But He gives me hope for the future
In that I may forget those things which are behind, and reach forth unto those things which are before,
And when he hath tried me, I shall come forth as gold.

Forgive and Forget

"Forgive and forget." How many times have we heard that? Or what about, "I can forgive you but I won't ever forget it." Forgive and forget may be the more godly of the two expressions but in reality the second one is what is practiced more often. Picture the bitter, offended person saying it. Or someone who has been deeply and unforgettably hurt. So how does, how can that person, any person who has been horribly wronged, forgive and forget? They cannot. I am not a scientist but I have been told that the human brain remembers everything. Somehow or another the brain stores up every event in a person's life, including all the pain, agony, grief, sorrow, and rejection. Recall is a different story. We lose our keys, forget birthdays and appointments, study for tests but don't score a 100. But those are usually minor things. Forgetting the deeper hurts is another story.

So how does one go on? How can a person deal with the unbearable heartache caused by another? Hebrews 8:12 says, "For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their iniquities will I remember no more." Our Omniscient God has made a conscious choice to not remember our sins. But we are not God and trying to not remember something traumatic and painful is a difficult, if not impossible human task. Why do we forget the minor things like the placement of car keys or the answer to a test question? Probably because we are not focused on those things. They do not get enough of our attention to be "on the front burner". Remembering and forgetting is all about our thought process. Do we constantly dwell on what that person did to us, how they crushed us, how thoughtless and uncaring they were? Or do we focus on good things? How has God blessed us? How is he working in our lives? What are the positive, pure and lovely things that we can meditate on? No, we may never truly forget the wrongs of another against us. But we can forgive. And it is mandatory to purposely focus on something else besides how hurt we are. Someone told me once, "I don't know how you can forgive me after what I've done to you." I told that person, "My other choice is to be bitter, hateful and miserable." I don't have room in my heart for those feelings. So I gave them all to God who has abundantly pardoned me and promised me beauty for ashes. How can I not forgive others?

"And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things. Those things, which ye have both learned, and received, and heard, and seen in me, do: and the God of peace shall be with you." Phillipians 4:7-9

"Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the LORD, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon." Isaiah 55:7

"The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me; because the LORD hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound;To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all that mourn; To appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness;" Isaiah 61:1-3

Blessings and Thankfulness

In our family, we typically begin each meal by giving thanks and asking God's blessing on the food. Next week I will begin to make serious homeschool plans. Before I find myself buried in the multitude of decisions about curriculum and schedules, I want to give thanks to God for the many blessing in my life and ask Him to bless our homeschool year. I have previously written this list and today I decided to read it once again, rewrite it and tweak it just a bit. Here is my list of things that I am thankful for in no particular order.

1. God's mercy
2. God's grace
3. Salvation freely given
4. Eternal life through Jesus Christ
5. A relationship with Almighty God, Abba Father
6. His love so richly bestowed upon me
7. The privilege to go boldly before His throne of grace
8. His Word
9. Casting my cares upon Him because He cares for me
10. His thoughts toward me that cannot be numbered
11. A husband who loves me
12. Health
13. Air conditioning
14. A kiss from my sweetheart
    
15. An ice cold drink of water
16. My mom
17. My dad
18. Two brothers
19. Being raised in a Christian home
20. Gabriel
21. Hannah
22. Holly
23. Being able to homeschool my children
24. A multitude of resources to accomplish the task
25. My 93 year old grandmother who is still able to welcome us into her home and cook delicious meals for us
26. New mercies each morning
27. A sun-shiny day
28. Seasons
29. A cool day in the summer
30. Wisdom
31. Music
32. The library with books written in English
33. The laughter of my children
34. Ears to hear that joyful sound
35. Eyes to see my family's smiles
36. My youngest child reading aloud to me
37. Singing together
38. Making plans
39. A free country
40. A comfortable bed
41. A soft pillow
42. Wall to wall carpet
43. Swimming
    
44. Dinner with my family
45. Time to myself
46. A chance to blog
47. My computer
48. The internet that helps me feel so much closer to my family and friends who are so very far away
49. My computer desk
50. A day to relax
51. Our church
52. Youth group for the kids
53. A chance to praise
54. A dishwasher to clean the dishes and spare our skin
55. God's provision
56. The many "I love you's" from my husband and kids
57. My children's artwork
58. Memories
59. Encouraging comments
60. Clean clothes
61. A washer to wash them in
    
62. A dryer too
63. A husband who loves the Lord
64. And is zealous about His Word
65. A husband who spends time with his children
66. And talks to them about big and small things
67. Trees to shade us from the harsh summer sun
68. Gentle rain
69. Every breath that I take
70. Every beat of my heart
71. Every moment that God is watching over me and I don't even think about it
72. Brushing my daughter's hair who is only little for a little while longer
73. A God who knows my name
74. My Lord Who knows the path that I take
75. My Redeemer Who lives
76. A car that has A/C
77. Another day with my family
78. Coupons
79. A little girl who loves to cook
80. And play with dolls
81. And give me hugs
82. Two girls who love to sing
83. A teenage girl who loves photography
84. And being with mom
85. And gives me hugs
86. A son who loves drama and politics
87. And is much too quickly growing up
88. And loves the Lord
89. And still gives me hugs
90. A nice big stove to prepare home cooked meals
91. Sweet tea
92. Two girls who know how to make it perfectly
93. Ice
94. Comfortable tennis shoes
95. A good night's sleep
96. Sandals
97. Cookouts
98. All the colors of the rainbow
99. Blue
100. Reading out loud to my children
101. Their attentiveness
102. Their energy
103. Orange juice
104. Milk
105. Cereal, especially the many varieties available here in the USA
106. My family watching a funny movie together
107. A God who calls me by my name
108. A Lord who calls me His
109. The gospel preached to others
110. A chance to serve
111. The promises of God
112. A new career for John
113. Fellowship with friends
114. More than enough food
115. Books
116. Rest
117. Hope
118. A peaceful heart
119. A song in my heart
120. God's Word to light my path, especially when I do not know the way

What's on your list?

In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.
1 Thessalonians 5:18

A New Beginning

"It is of the LORD's mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness. The LORD is my portion, saith my soul; therefore will I hope in him."

I decided today that it is time to begin again. For far too long, I have been frustrated with my other blog. It has issues that I cannot fix. Those who can fix are either too busy or too expensive. And so I begin again. With this new beginning, I thought I would choose a new title. John and I and our three children have spent ten years as missionaries to Romania. Now we are on a new road. Without God's mercy and compassion I know we would not have made it this far. With this new adventure and one of my many favorite verses, I selected "New Every Morning" as my blog title. I hope you will join me as we travel this road on which our merciful and compassionate God is leading us.