Bad Spot, Good God

Continually throughout Scripture we see our favorite Bible heroes getting into a bad spot. There are the folks who find themselves in a bad spot because of their faith. Like Daniel. He ends up spending a night with some hungry lions, but survives because of God's amazing goodness. And then there is Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. They were put into a furnace - one that was so hot that even the guards who were in charge of making sure the prisoners were incinerated, burned up as well. And standing in the midst of the fire (literally), we actually see Jesus in the furnace with them. Oh and what about Job. He went through some seriously bad, bad spots! Why? Because God allowed the devil to sift Job. Sometimes our bad spots come from our own bad decisions. Like the woman at the well. She had been married and divorced 4 times, and her current man (number 5) wasn't even a husband. And in the midst of her bad spot, we see a picture of God's goodness. Jesus offers His healing grace to her spiritually dead heart. The Bible lists tons of examples of people in bad spots. And hands down, every time, we see God's goodness reaching out.

Child of God, have you ever found yourself in a bad spot? I'm guessing your answer is yes. We all have. Bad spots are inevitable. They come because we live in a fallen, sinful world. Sometimes bad spots are the result of persecution. Sometimes from God allowing us to be tested. Sometimes because we make dumb choices. If you answered 'Yes' to the bad spot question, I have great news for you! We serve a good God and He is right there with you in the midst of your bad spot. Your circumstances won't derail God. He is still in complete control, sitting unmoved on the throne! He is 100% aware of your struggles, persecutions and trials. In fact, we know that everything He allows is for our good (Psalm 84:11)  God is a God of grace, mercy, healing, love. He is all powerful, all knowing. He is intricately involved with every detail of your life (He even knows the number of hairs on your head!) And the amazing thing is that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose. (Romans 8:28)


Friends, let me share with you that I am in a bad spot right now. I am broken. My bad spot is the result of God testing my faith. And this morning as I prayed about my bad spot, God reminded me of His Truth: He is right here with me. Do you hear what I'm saying? God, Creator of the universe, Author of salvation, Perfecter of faith, Giver of Eternal Life, Calmer of Storms is right here with me... and you! Hebrews 13:5 says "...Never will I leave you, never will I forsake you."


If you don't know Jesus as your Lord and Savior, then let me tell you friend that regardless of your circumstances, you are in a bad spot. You are living in a life of sin - but you don't have too. In fact, God offers a free gift of forgiveness of our sins and eternal life to everyone who asks and believes. On the left hand column of this blog are the steps you need to know to be forgiven of your sins and receive Jesus as YOUR Lord and Saviour! Scroll down to find "How To Be Saved".






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Praying For Rain

Texas has been in an extreme drought and it has not rained a drop over the last 2 months. Our poor grass is dying and my flowers are incredibly puny! Along with the weather, the Lord has been taking us through a spiritual drought. You know what I'm talking about here.... those times when we pray and seek, pray and seek, pray and seek and God remains silent. No rain, no answers. And we have needed both desperately.
Philippians 4:6-7 says "Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus."

Now I need to point out that my 3 oldest children have been praying continually for rain, all the while watching out the window to see if God has made the rain come. I have enjoyed watching their little faces as they enter into prayer, eyes scrunched closed, talking to Jesus.  My children have faith.  In fact I am challenged in my own faith by their faith. They ask and then wait expectantly for God to answer.

And in fact, God did answer their prayers. It started 2 days ago with a small sprinkle in our backyard. Yesterday, it rained on our drive home from the grocery store. This morning it has been gently raining and raining, rolling thunder as the backdrop to the prayer answered. And each time my kids have leapt for joy at what God has done! James 5:17 says "Elijah was a man just like us. He prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the land for three and a half years. Again he prayed, and the heavens gave rain, and the earth produced its crops. " Verse 16 says "The effective prayer of a righteous man accomplishes much."

I have had to seriously reevaluate the amount of faith that I have in God. Along with all this praying, I have been studying Genesis 22 - the story of God's test for Abraham. Wow did Abraham have some faith! My little faith is really wrapped in the fact that I don't see God as a big God. I don't view him like my children see Him - capable of anything and everything, anytime. In my head I know He is able to do anything, but my heart struggles to believe what my head knows. And I know that my precious Father is allowing me to grow in this area! Praise God that He is always at work on me, chiseling away those rough edges around my heart and mind, making me more like Jesus...

Tuesday's Tool - NRT

Our summer has been really busy and so I apologize for not getting a tool out there over the last few Tuesdays!

The tool for the day is NRT - next right thing. Many times in my life I have found myself in the midst of a difficult, faith stretching trial. And during those tough days when my mind is fighting the urge to crumble underneath the pressure of the trial, this tool helps me plow through my daily routine without getting overwhelmed with everything that has to be accomplished - like washing a dish, folding a shirt, teaching my kids, running an errand, hugging my husband. It seems so difficult to complete simple daily tasks when the refiners fire is hot and our minds are weary and worn from the trial. Doing the next right thing infront of me helps me survive those tough days.

I survived on this tool after I had Eli. My doctor had diagnosed me with good ol' post partum depression and I was fighting to stay afloat most days. If all I had to focus on was the next right thing, I wasn't too overwhelmed with the day.

Are you in a trial right now? If so, just focus on that one thing that needs to get done next. Is it a load of laundry, a hug for your child, putting chicken in the oven, reading a bedtime story? Trials are seasonal and seasons don't last forever, so it's OK if your house isn't in tiptop shape or the pile of paperwork at the office is a mile high. Eventually it will all get done.

Beach Fun!

Ohhhh the beach! One of my favorite places to go! The salty air, the crashing waves, the sound of seagulls... and the seaweed. (cue the sound of the record stopping abruptly) Wait the seaweed?!?!! This past weekend we decided to spend a little time at a nearby beach. We weren't sure what they would look like considering the hurricane damage from a few years ago.  And with the exception of large amounts of seaweed littering the beaches (and I mean mountains of seaweed), it wasn't too bad! Here are some pics...

This pic cracks me up! Both girls making unprompted silly poses!

My amazing hubby!!

These were pelicans flying over the water. We saw hundreds of these beautiful birds.

At one point, Ellie looked up and said "Mommy, look at the eagles!"

We didn't really go in the water, although it was very warm. And even standing in the surf, the seaweed would wrap around our ankles - a very creepy feeling!

How precious also are Your thoughts to me, O God!
How vast is the sum of them!

                                      If I should count them, they would outnumber the sand.
                                                    When I awake, I am still with You.
                                                             Psalm 139: 17-18

New Friends...

When we left NC, we were really sad to leave some precious families that had treated us like family and made us feel at home even when we were miles away from our families. It was a tough time for us. We mourned the loss of so many amazing people (and sometimes still do). So this week a family from our church invited us over to spend the day with them. I can't tell you in words how much it blessed me, my husband and our kids to have the opportunity to get to know this family. They are amazing! They poured out so much love on (all of us) but especially our children! Thank you Mr. Peter, Mrs. Cathy, Ashley and Allison for your hospitality! We love you!

Mr. Peter and Eli

Mrs. Cathy, the kids and Audi (the dog)

Mr. Peter and Mrs. Cathy bought a swimming pool for the kids to play in...
Here is the kids with Ashley and Allison!

Family fun!

The past 2 weeks have been exciting for our family! We received a really cool swingset as a gift from my sister and brother-in-law (thanks guys!!!). We had been praying about possibly getting a swingset, but felt like it wasn't the best time to purchase one. Then we got a call from my sister who wanted to give us their swingset!  What a blessing! Here are some pics...

Bryan was assembling the swingset and Ellie was patiently waiting!

Sweet Ellie

Hugs while waiting for Daddy to finish.

Sarah enjoying the slide!

A few days ago, our youngest son started crawling... woohoo we weren't sure if he would ever hit that milestone considering he gets carried everywhere by his brother and sisters!

10 months old!

Recently we competed in a church scavenger hunt. We had to visit and take pictures at 25 different  locations around our city. We had 1 hour 15 minutes to complete the hunt and we won by one stop! Here are some of our most "memorable" moments.  We had to take a picture...

...helping a stranger load their groceries into their car.

...inside a playhouse.

...with a public official.

...in a tree.

...drinking from the same cup.

...spelling out a word. Do you see what it is?

...sitting at a table with some random people eating dinner.

                                                  The first and second place winners!

This morning we watched our oldest son bless his little sister by pushing her on the swing. She was having so much fun and he was enjoying 'serving' his sister. It was a great moment for us to see in our children!

And last, a few days ago we caught our son making statues out of his bacon and grits! It was pretty funny!

Tuesday's Tool - What Love is Not

I am going to personalize today's blog as I cover the rest of the 'what love is nots'. God is taking me through a tough love situation with a friend right now where He is stretching me to show love beyond my own strength. And it is incredibly convicting to look at these 'is nots' and recognize the lack of love that I am actually showing my friend. To me the 'is nots' are like a thermometer or a measuring stick. I can easily show kindness and patience, but I have to really examine my own heart and see if I am doing some of these things that Paul describes as the opposite of love. So let's highlight what love is not. (I've covered the first 2 in previous blogs so I will pick up with the third 'is not'.) Love does/is not:  note: I am adding in the words of different translations of the Bible.

conceited/arrogant/proud
act improperly/rude
selfish/self seeking
provoked/quick tempered
keep a record of wrongs/take into account a wrong suffered

Whew! Incredibly convicting!!  I could spend all day studying each word, but they are what they are!  We've all been treated this way by people and we've all treated someone this way. Nobody can love perfectly but Jesus. And so my prayer is that as we continue on loving others with the love of God, be it total strangers or our closest family members, that we would live out Phillipians 2:3 -"Do nothing out of rivalry or conceit, but in humility consider others as more important than yourselves." And that we would look to the perfect example that Jesus set for us. He was patient, kind, humble, a servant, just, honest, always reaching out to others, selfless, sacrificial. And these are just a few ways He shows us love!