Timing and Thanksgiving

I am often impressed how much God cares for the little details, like timing. If anyone says that God can not be found in the not so good things that happen, they could not be more wrong. To prove that fact continue reading.
Let me start by saying I AM NOT A CAR PERSON!!! now keep that in mind as you read. November 18, 2016, started as any other day, got up did some chores, went to work, and got off of work around 3:30 pm. All in all a great day... so far. As I am driving from New Haven area (work) to Norwich to pick up a 4-Her for the 4-H Recognition night, I hit traffic on I 91 due to an accident a few exits up from my exit. Still no problem, traffic part of life. As I continue on to RT 2 I notice my car acting wired, different, not right (remember NOT A CAR PERSON!). Then I realize that where I hit 55 mph, I smell something that brought me back to my childhood when the belt in the vacuum was not right. If you guessed burning rubber, you would be right. So I did what I always do when I have problems, panic. I got off the RT 2 and to a commuter parking lot and called My sister who always seems to have the answers for my life, #adulting, problems. She calms me down and helps me to think strait again. After looking at the elements of my car that I do know (the tires, coolant and oil) and finding nothing wrong with what I can see and know. I told you I am not a car person. I called my favorite Brother -in -law, who happens to be my mechanic, explained what was going on in the most technical of terms... not! He tells me that I should be fine to drive back roads and that I should get my car into the shop as soon as possible. I get home safely, thank you to who ever made gps, and change to my parents car ( they are in OHIO getting my dad his "service" Yaks.) and continue to Norwich to pick up the 4-Her that has now been waiting for me for like an hour.Then finally get to the 4-H Recognition night. All that to say the reason I know God is working in this is because next week is Thanksgiving break for the school I work in, so no work next week! So this is the perfect week for my car to act up because I do not have to drive from Moodus or Lebanon to Quinnipiac all week!! So it shows me how much God cares about timing every little detail. Psalms 121:1-8 I will lift up my eyes to the mountains; From where shall my help come? 2 My help comes from the Lord, Who made heaven and earth. 3 He will not allow your foot to slip; He who keeps you will not slumber. 4 Behold, He who keeps Israel Will neither slumber nor sleep. 5 The Lord is your keeper; The Lord is your shade on your right hand. 6 The sun will not smite you by day, Nor the moon by night. 7 The Lord will [a]protect you from all evil; He will keep your soul. 8 The Lord will [b]guard your going out and your coming in From this time forth and forever.

The LORD is my Jehovah- Jireh = the LORD is My provider.

My plan vs Gods will

Plans are what hold me together. I love plans and planing. Every night before bed I clue mom into my plans for the next day. Every morning I find out Moms plan and reminder her of what I have going on for the day. Plans work, they are safe and have a sense of comfort to them. When my plans change suddenly or fall apart all together, I scramble to get a new plan and move forward. Sometimes this makes me angry, upset and sets me on a path of worry.  My plans are limited, I only can plan  1-3 days in advance max, Frustrating! ...

  BUT,

Gods will is perfect. God plans every detail of my life to work for His will and desires. I am going to let you in on a well guarded secret, God desires our lives to glorify HIM.  Shocking, trust me I know! One more secret, if you can stand it, God is good and only good can glorify Him fully. Let that soak in for  a minute. We, all of humanity, where made by God, for God. He loves us and wants what is best for us. Sometimes what is best is not what is easy. God has planed out all of eternity. Now I am not going to open the Case File labeled Free will VS Predestination. I will leave that to the Bible experts. God can plan out and know what will happen in 5 minutes, tomorrow, next month and 10 years down the road.  So the hard thing in your life at this very moment might be readying you for something down the road. One of my sisters in her schooling is working on just starting algebra. We are talking N+6+2=12 kind of stuff. She is finding it hard and wants to take the easy route and not do it right, Mom had to explain to her that what she is learning now will make what she will be learning easier. I could not face and deal with the things I am dealing with in my life if I had not gone thorough the stuff I went thorough to get here. 

I found this song to be truly encouraging in helping to work somethings out in my head. Thy Will by Hillary Scott

planting and transplanting

"The Lord is not through with you yet. You are to bloom where you are planted." ~ Mr. Bridges from Facing the Giants

Revelation 3:8 - I know thy works: behold, I have set before thee an open door, and no man can shut it: for thou hast a little strength, and hast kept my word, and hast not denied my name.

Jeremiah 29:5  - Build ye houses, and dwell in them; and plant gardens, and eat the fruit of them;

" When the Lord closes a door, somewhere He opens a window." ~Maria from the Sound of Music

Laid off, new thing to me. I am left totally confused and a little bit hurt. A job doing what I went to college for gone, A job I tried my hardest to make work and succeed no longer mine in the blink of an eye. I am not sure if it is something I said or did or if it simply a matter of fiances. It was be no means perfect; when is life ever perfect for more than 5 minutes? But I learned. I learned more about who I am, and how to be comfortable with myself. I learned that to bloom I need to focus on the good and what God is doing and not on what is going wrong. I learned that some are out to save face and will throw you under the bus even if you are not the issue. I learned what it must have felt like to have people insinuate false hoods about your character.

BUT... God is still good! He is still in control. He is the great planter and he saw that I accomplished what He had for me there to do and now it is time for me to be transplanted. When you transplant something it can be for many reasons. One reason my mom and grandmother transplant plants is to help them grow better. Another reason is to dived and spread that plant to a new part of the garden causing it to grow bigger and more beautiful. So what ever reason God is transplanting me for I know it is his will at work and He will look after me because He will never leave me.  

Mothers day

Happy Mother's day!!  Many a young girl has been quoted "When I grow up I want to be just like my mom".  Many a young mother has said "I have become my mother!!!"  I for one would be honored to be half of the woman my mom is. My mom takes each card she is dealt and deals with it with prayer and turning to her sisters in Christ and her Lord for support. She loves all of her girls with amazing devotion. She protects all her 4-Hers as if they are here own kids. She encourages me to take opportunities with both hands, but she has also taught me when and how to let go. She wants me to be successful in my own eye, but more importantly successful in the eyes of our God. My mom knows when I need a push and when I need a hug. She understands my need for baking, books and the word of God. When (IF) I have kids I want them to say "I want to be like Grandma"

flour, salt and life

This morning (way too early if you ask me) I got up to make my sisters cinnamon rolls for breakfast. As I sat there waiting for them to rises and the oven to heat up I started thinking about the process of baking or cooking ( a very dangerous thing this early in the morning). I thought about how to make the delicious breakfast I took flour, salt, yeast, milk, butter, sugar, yeast and cinnamon. Mixed them a certain way and order to get a cinnamon roll. Then I started thinking about all the applications that flour has. It is in almost every baked good, a thickener for gravies and sauces, it is used  as a coating on fried items and the main ingredient in homemade playdough. All this is achieved by adding and working the flour in different ways. (stay with me here. I told you it is a very dangerous thing me thinking this early in the morning.) The next thought that came up was how God takes men which are on the most concrete of terms the same, the flour if  you will. Add different things to our lives to make us each into a different item. Thing live where you grew up, how you were raised, your emotions, your personality, your worldview, trials in your life. So when God is done working with us we each look and act different even if we started in the same household with the same rules and parents. What I am not saying is that God makes anyone of us to sin but that we run different ways when confronted with a trail or test. Some will run to God as we all should and some will run the other way. In the book of Jeremiah in chapter 18 the Lord God told the prophet Jeremiah to go and watch the potter work. As Jeremiah stood there watching God spoke to him again and said in verse 6 "O house of Israel, cannot I do with you as this potter? saith the Lord. Behold, as the clay is in the potter's hand, so are ye in mine hand, O house of Israel. "  The same is true for us non Israelites, we are clay in the Father's hand.                  

cast and care

"When fear feels bigger than my faith

And struggles steal my breath away

When my back's pressed up against the wall

With the weight of my worries stacked up tall

You're strong enough to hold it all 

I will cast my cares on You

You're the anchor of my hope

The only one who's in control

I will cast my cares on You

I'll trade the troubles of this world

For Your peace inside my soul"

That is the start to Cast My Cares by Finding Favor.

As I listened to that song this week my focus was drawn to the words "cast" and "cares". Cast means to throw something forcefully in a specified direction. Cares means serious attention or consideration applied to doing something correctly or to avoid damage or risk. It can also mean to feel concern or interest; attach importance to something. Putting it all together to "cast my cares" is to throw what is holding all of my attention or thoughts in the direction of the one who promises to give me peace. 

The song goes on to say 

 "This war's not what I would've chosen

But You see the future no one knows yet

And there's still good when I can't

See the working of Your hands

You're holding it all"

The whole reason why God can give peace as we throw him our fears, worries and concerns, is because He is total and complete control. One would think with the amount that I talk about God being in control I would have that aspect of trusting down pat. Far form the truth! 

Another thing about God when we cast our cares on him is he ACCEPTS them all! No care is to small, He takes them all without sorting them they are all important to him. So never be afraid to cast your cares to God in prayer he is all ways there and never leaves you alone. In fact he is waiting to hear from you. He is waiting for you to stop trying to figure it out on your own and for you to look up and reach for him.