Melting Expenses

I serve an amazing God! He is sovereign over all, fully of mercy, grace, and justice. He is one who acts providentially. He provides all things often times above what we can ask or imagine.  This past week during our daily devotion time we have been going over question number eleven of the Westminster Shorter Catechism and studying through the book of Esther.

Q. 11. What are God’s works of providence?
A. God’s works of providence are, his most holy, wise,and powerful preserving and governing all his creatures, and all their actions.

Westminster Confession – Chapter 5: Of Providence by Westminster Assembly

I. God the great Creator of all things does uphold, direct, dispose, and govern all creatures, actions, and things, from the greatest even to the least, by His most wise and holy providence, according to His infallible foreknowledge, and the free and immutable counsel of His own will, to the praise of the glory of His wisdom, power, justice, goodness, and mercy.

God has shown himself once again to be abundant in his graciousness and providence in our lives.
In two days this past week there have been expenses adding up to thousands of dollars that have just melted away. Some may chalk it up to coincidence or good luck and timing but I know what an amazing God I serve. I see his handiwork in how he orchestrates my life and am awed. To God be the glory!  All the while we are studying about his great providence, he provides us with tangible examples in our daily lives.

Let me share with you how God provided for us this past week.

• My older children were going to be attending an event which they told us would be at a cost of $60.  This fee was waived!
• My older girls just joined a figure skating performance competition class.  One daughter received a discount I did not expect and another was able to take her class for free due to the fact that she teaches there.  Another $60 waived.
• My hubby’s pay raise was more than anticipated by an amount of $85.
• My son, who has had a problem tooth for almost nine years, was in need of a root canal.  We have been putting it off because we just could not afford it.  We do have insurance but they did not have a preferred provider who works with our insurance that they would refer us to and with the dental costs being higher here in Alaska our portion was a very large amount.  My husband decided to take him in to the military clinic just to see if his case would be deemed an “emergency” case and could be treated there.  This was just a quick look over kind of appointment on a walk in basis that he was hoping to be able to get him in to be seen.  When he arrived they said they had an appointment that had been canceled and would look him over.  They went ahead and did the root canal then and there.  He has an appointment next week for the crown.  A total cost to us of $0!  This saved us close to $2000!

The Lord knows our earthly needs.  He knows our desires.  He providentially provides both when in his plan!  His plan for us is best.  The creator of our life knows what is truly needed and even provides that which is not needed but desired.  Praise be to God!

More importantly than our earthly needs and desires, He knows our eternal needs!  He provides that for his children!  Praise be to God!  In fact, that is his priority.  I am thankful that even when I miss seeing his hand at work, when it seems that earthly needs are not met, that I can trust in the fact that he has a plan and is working it out.  I can trust that he has eternal benefit at mind first and foremost.  He causes me to be amazed all the more and I pray that his glory is seen when at work in my life!

Give Thanks

Oh give thanks to the Lord; call upon his name; make known his deeds among the peoples!
Sing to him; sing praises to him; tell of all his wondrous works!
Glory in his holy name;
let the hearts of those who seek the Lord rejoice!
Seek the Lord and his strength; seek his presence continually!
Remember the wondrous works that he has done, his miracles and the judgments he uttered,
O offspring of Israel his servant,sons of Jacob, his chosen ones!

He is the Lord our God; his judgments are in all the earth.
Remember his covenant forever, the word that he commanded, for a thousand generations,  the covenant that he made with Abraham,his sworn promise to Isaac,  which he confirmed as a statute to Jacob, as an everlasting covenant to Israel,   saying, “To you I will give the land of Canaan, as your portion for an inheritance.”

When you were few in number, and of little account, and sojourners in it,  wandering from nation to nation, from one kingdom to another people, he allowed no one to oppress them;he rebuked kings on their account, saying, “Touch not my anointed ones, do my prophets no harm!”

Sing to the Lord, all the earth!
Tell of his salvation from day to day.
Declare his glory among the nations, his marvelous works among all the peoples!
For great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised, and he is to be held in awe above all gods.
For all the gods of the peoples are idols, but the Lord made the heavens.
Splendor and majesty are before him; strength and joy are in his place.

Ascribe to the Lord, O clans of the peoples, ascribe to the Lord glory and strength!
Ascribe to the Lord the glory due his name; bring an offering and come before him!
Worship the Lord in the splendor of holiness; tremble before him, all the earth;  yes, the world is established; it shall never be moved.

Let the heavens be glad, and let the earth rejoice, and let them say among the nations, “The Lord reigns!”
Let the sea roar, and all that fills it;  let the field exult, and everything in it!
Then shall the trees of the forest sing for joy before the Lord, for he comes to judge the earth.
Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; for his steadfast love endures forever!

Say also:

Then all the people said, “Amen!” and praised the Lord.

1 Chronicles 16:8-36

Having a Failure Kind of Day

There are days when I just feel “off my game.”  Nothing seems to go as I planned.  There are days when I feel like a total failure and wonder if my family might be better off with someone who was better at (insert anything here) than I am.  Then I remind myself, “I am not perfect and I never will be, at least not before the Lord comes!”  This road of sanctification can seem so very long at times.  I want to be there already, who after all doesn’t want to do everything right all the time!  Oh wait, that sounds a bit like impatience, discontentment, and self-reliance!  Shoot, I failed again!

It isn’t that I do not have constant reminders of the things I do right.  I do.  I often have people who tell me.  I have a husband who tells me.  I even have children who tell me.  I see the fruit of my labor in my children.  Yet, I also have constant reminders of my failings.  I have those who seek to tear me down to make themselves feel better about their own shortcomings.  I have the occasions when my children remind me they too are fallen sinners (by attitudes and actions) yet saved by grace the same as I am.  I have the Holy Spirit indwelling me as an ever constant reminder of how and how far I fall short.

The thing is…… who do I listen to?  What do I do with what I hear?

Failings sometimes seem to make us loose our focus.  Do you ever forget that it is the Lord who works and begin to think it is all about you?  Well, I will be honest here.  Sometimes I do.  I begin to think, if I just try harder I will do it right today!  A friend recently said when speaking of being a perfect parent, “When my children are asleep in their beds and I remember how I failed, I plan to be the perfect parent tomorrow, then we wake up.”

If I am focused on the Lord.  I will hear and take heart His correction.  I may even grieve that I have failed so greatly. BUT, I will remember that it is He who works all things together.  The work that the Lord does through me is still HIS work.  I will be ever mindful of His love, grace, mercy, and power to overcome.

If I allow  my focus to be moved away from Him, Satan begins to take advantage of the situation.  He tells me that it is all up to me.  That I am indeed the total failure I think myself to be.  He reminds me of how I was not compassionate, how I lost my temper, and every other thing I seemed to mess up.  Only unlike the Holy Spirit there is no offer of grace, no reminder that I am not alone, and no power to overcome!

God will let us know that we have failed.  We all fall short.  Yet he reminds us and comforts us that we are not on our own.  He is working.  He is sanctifying.  He will overcome.  In Christ we are more than conquerors.  It is the process of sanctification and we need repent, submit, seek his guidance, and move forward.

Satan, however, will turn us to focus on ourselves and try to keep us there wallowing for as long as possible.  We will conclude that we are indeed the total failures we were afraid we really were!

Failing and being a total failure are not the same.  Where is your focus when you fail?  It makes all the difference in the world.

Turn your eyes upon Jesus,
Look full in His wonderful face,
And the things of earth will grow strangely dim,
In the light of His glory and grace.

Pondering Your Testimony

Today I want to ask you what you think about the testimonies that people give of their conversions to Christ. Personally, I love to hear these. In fact, if you are a Christian, to hear the amazing works of God in the lives of his people should bring you great encouragement and a new humility each and every time. One thing that I have often pondered is the weight and rank that people place upon the testimonies of others.

I have found that often there is pressure to have that “great” testimony. Sometimes it seems that if God has not saved an individual from the total devastating destruction of this world in the form of drugs, abuse, prostitution, homosexuality, or any number of other depraved acts then their testimony is diminished in the eyes of others. If an individual is one who has “grown up” in the faith and maybe does not have a distinct day of conversion but rather a growing realization that they believe then people tend to doubt them. Often people tend to place too much emphasis on how grandiose the testimony is and make that the determining factor on how much the Lord is at work in one’s life. If the testimony is not as dramatic we minimize the work of the Lord. People often place too high a value on the degree of depravity rather than realizing that we are ALL depraved and ALL need the saving grace of Christ. Total depravity does not mean that we are as bad as we could be but that we are corrupt in every part of our being.

In his book “A Summary of Christian Doctrine”, Louis Berkhof put it this way: Total depravity “doesn’t mean that every man is as bad as he can be, but that sin has corrupted every part of his nature and rendered him unable to any spiritual good.  He may still do many praiseworthy things in relation to his fellow-beings, but even his best works are radically defective, because they are not prompted by love to God nor done in obedience to God.” 

My children are those Christians that are growing up in the faith. My husband is one who has grown up in his faith. There is not necessarily a distinct day or moment when they realized the magnitude of their sin, their lostness and need for salvation and had what some might call a “conversion experience”.  By being raised in a godly home where these truths were part of their everyday understanding they simply came to the realization that they couldn’t remember a time when they hadn’t believed. Does that make the saving work of Christ any less in their lives just because they did not lead a life of destruction and sudden conversion? I find it to be the blessing of how God works in godly families and households. It is a blessing of God to bless the descendants of believers to the thousandth generation. To minimize that is to see with worldly eyes.  I love to hear those testimonies of how God has saved people from the clutches of devastating sin, but that is not the only way He works.  We must remember that ALL sin is devastating!!  Therefore, each and every testimony is grand even if it may seem boring by the world’s standards!  If only the children of God would see his grand work in the lives of others without the trappings of what this world might see as being great.

Wishing You All A…

Comments & Myspace layouts

Counting Blessings

Often times we tend to let the blessings in life go by unnoticed. This is not an intentional thing. We are often so busy with life that the little blessings in life simply pass by unnoticed. While having extra time this week to rest and having nothing to do but sit and enjoy my newest child, I have been able to spend time reflecting. There are so many ways in which the Lord has blessed me that if I had not taken the time to contemplate upon them would have gone unrecognized.

God really does care about the little things not only the big. He really does care and grant us the desires of our hearts if they are in accordance with His will and plan for our lives. When we realize the greatness of His blessings extended toward us and His personal care for us and our desires we should well up with praise! I have had one such week. It is not only that I have a new child to be thankful for, of course I am thankful for that but I have realized how active God has been in our lives this past week, not only in the blessing of another child.

Just this past week God has been abundantly gracious…….

1. Yes, we were blessed with the arrival of our 9th child.
2. She was born on a day (Nov. 13) that we prayed for: we have a child born on my father-in-law’s birthday and the 13th is my mother-in-law’s birthday.
3. I was concerned about my children missing piano practice if I were to go into labor on a Thursday (which I did): God allowed me to go into labor on the way home from piano, WHAT TIMING!
4. I went into labor on my own and not induced….but still early!
5. This was the least traumatic labor and delivery I have ever had.
6. The “digging for and not finding a vein for my IV” ordeal was much less painful than in the past.
7. Miriam was not bruised when born like several of the last few children were.
8. She is a great nurser and is already gaining weight.
9. She is a very content baby.
10. Her older sister (2 year old) is not one bit jealous of her but constantly tells us “I love my baby sister.”
11. My neighbor arranged meals for our family.
12. Another friend provided a meal for us as well.
13. My hubby was able to take a few days off of work so I could rest.
14. One of my teenage daughters mentioned how much they have had to help out around the house over the weekend and she sees a glimpse of what I do every day and that it is a lot.
15. My oldest child just bought his first car with cash!
16. He is beginning to understand the value of a dollar a little better seeing what other expenses are involved in owning a car.
17. My oldest also started his new job.
18. My oldest is also registered for his first college classes.
19. We have most of our boxes unpacked (maybe a dozen left) and decor is up on the walls.
20. The empty boxes have been picked up and we have space in our garage now!

I am sure there are many many more blessings that I have not even listed. I want to give thanks to the Lord for his abundant blessings in my life each and every day. Even the ones that seem to be insignificant or go unnoticed, I praise God for his love, grace, and kindness in my life!

How has the Lord blessed you this past week???