Wednesday, December 19, 2012

Peace



God has me on a journey right now to seek out true peace . . . Sunday morning my quiet time was from Psalm 122, all about peace. The message Sunday morning was about PEACE and our pastor had us meditate on several passages in scripture that deal with peace. What I am learning is that I often pray for peace, but peace does not happen unless righteousness precedes it. How often do I pray for righteousness? Not nearly as often as I pray for peace. The Lord and I have been having a lot of talks lately about where I fit and where can I be used, what is my place here in Honduras? What I have discovered over the past few days, and especially now as I am sitting on the couch home from school with a kidney infection, is that it is not fair of me to ask God for peace if I am not willing to be righteous. It is really easy to be frustrated with God for not providing what we ask for BUT what I am learning is that peace is the end product of living for righteousness. The work of righteousness shall be peace; and the effect of righteousness is a quiet assurance that produces prosperity and fruitfulness. What I have learned specifically today is that as I yearn for righteousness, seeking peace I can remember the deeds of the Lord in the past I can rest in the fact that HIS faithfulness endures (Psalm 77). Praise the Lord for HIS peace that does indeed pass all understanding.

Saturday, December 8, 2012

Surprises





FOR SOME, SURPRISES HAPPEN QUITE OFTEN, FOR OTHERS IT’S A FAIRLY RARE OCCURRENCE. SOME REALLY LOVE BEING SURPRISED, OTHERS WOULD RATHER DIE THAN BE CAUGHT OFF GUARD BY SOMETHING UNEXPECTED. NOW THERE ARE BAD SURPRISES, LIKE WHEN YOUR BABYSITTING AND THE KID THAT YOU JUST PUT TO BED SAYS “MISS EMILY, COME SEE WHAT’S IN MY BED” AND THEY HAVE POOPED IN THERE SHEETS. THAT, I WOULD CLASSIFY AS A BAD SURPRISE HAHA! BUT A GOOD SURPRISE NOW THAT IS WHAT I LOVE, BUT IT HAS HAPPENED UM WELL NEVER UP UNTIL THIS PAST WEEK. I ALWAYS FIGURE EVERYTHING OUT, I WILL ADMIT I WAS SURPRISED A FEW YEARS AGO WHEN MY FAMILY ALL PITCHED IN AND GOT ME AN IPHONE FOR MY BIRTHDAY. BUT THE SURPRISE MY HUSBAND GAVE ME JUST SEVERAL DAYS AGO, WAS ONE TO REMEMBER! HE HAD BEEN PLOTTING WITH MY FRIEND TRINITY FOR WEEKS, WITHOUT ME KNOWING TO HAVE HER COME VISIT. I HAD NO IDEA, NONE WHATSOEVER, IT HAD BEEN A ROUGH WEEK, MY PARENTS HAD LEFT AND I WAS REALLY HOMESICK OVER THANKSGIVING AND HER COMING WAS EXACTLY WHAT I NEEDED. I HAD A TEACHERS MEETING AFTER SCHOOL AND THEN MUSIC PRACTICE FOR CHURCH AND WHEN I CAME HOME, STEPHEN HAD THE MOST WONDERFUL SURPRISE WAITING FOR ME : ) YOU DON’T REALIZE THAT YOU MISS REMINISCING WITH OLD FRIENDS UNTIL YOU DON’T HAVE OLD FRIENDS AROUND TO REMINISCE WITH. TO BE ABLE TO LAUGH ABOUT SOMETHING THAT HAPPENED A YEAR AGO AND NOT HAVE TO EXPLAIN IT. TO LOOK AT OLD PICTURES, AND SHARE MEMORIES, TO NOT HAVE TO EXPLAIN YOURSELF TO THAT PERSON, BUT TO JUST BE YOU! I AM SO THANKFUL TO HAVE A HUSBAND THAT IS UP FOR THE CHALLENGE OF SURPRISING ME : ) AND I AM BLESSED WITH AN AWESOME FRIEND WHO SAVED UP MONEY TO COME AND SEE US! OH THE JOY OF BEING SURPRISED! EVERYONE SHOULD HAVE TIMES IN THEIR LIFE WHEN THEY ARE OVERWHELMED WITH THANKFULNESS AND JOY!