No "Buts"

1 Peter 5:7 “Cast all your anxiety on Him because He cares for you.”

Sometimes I forget a very important truth in my life: GOD CARES FOR ME.  When problems arise, when troubles head my way, when the family is in a tizzy…I have to stop and purposely remind myself that God actively watches over me and is concerned with everything that concerns me.

I wish I knew why so much pain is allowed in our lives, but in the absence of answers, I try to put my focus on Him.  Yesterday I saw a friend whom I hadn’t seen in years, and I shared the story of the young woman who found her self thanking God that He delayed answering her prayers for a biological child until after she adopted her little boy.  By her own admission, her faith faulted more than once. 

And that’s when we were both comforted by the realization that there is no “but” to this verse.  He cares for you, but only when your faith is perfect.  He cares for you, but only when your attitude remains good.  He cares for you, but only when you pray a certain amount of times.

God cares for us no matter what, and that right there is reason enough to do a happy dance!

Let’s not use this unfailing love that God has for us as an excuse to not build our faith, to have bad attitudes, and never pray.  But rather, let’s allow His love for us and the power that He has at His disposal to ignite a passion for Him in 2015.  Let’s do what it says in Philippians 4:7, “…Let God know your concerns.  Before you know it, a sense of God’s wholeness, everything coming together for good, will come and settle you down. It’s wonderful what happens when Christ displaces worry at the center of your life.”

PRAYER: Dear Lord, Thank You for Your unconditional love for us.  As we share our concerns with You today – (insert your concerns here) – we look forward to settling down.  We joyfully await all the wonderful things that happen when Jesus becomes our focus instead of worry. In His name, AMEN~ 

Rest in Peace, Abuela Maria~

1 Peter 5:7 Cast all your anxiety on Him because He cares for you.

Monday night greetings~

Today my husband's grandmother, Abuela Maria, passed away; she was 89 years old.  It was peaceful; it was sacred.  I saw her all weekend long, and I was there this morning to kiss her one last time before I see her in glory.  I will forever remember how she always managed to find a few bills to slip into my kid's hands when we visited.  Every time I snap open a can of Diet Coke, I will think of how she insisted on serving us soda, in a glass, with ice, and a napkin wrapped around it.  Whenever I see a chihuahua, I will remember how she had three of them, Cookie, Candy, & Ricky, and lovingly fed them until they looked like piglets.

And I am always amazed, how even at these difficult moments, the love of God is evident, strong, and comforting.

My mother-in-law, God bless her, was calm and tranquil.

Family and friends quickly gathered and shared memories and yes, even laughter. 

Her hospice nurses were angels from on high.  So loving, so patient...

And the chaplain who arrived shortly afterward, with his Oklahoma drawl and genteel spirit, spoke in such a soothing tone that I did not want him to leave--ever.

It impressed me to tears that his wife passed away six years ago from Lou Gehrig's disease, and he was so comforted by the hospice chaplain who visited with him that he turned around, left a management job at  Walmart, and became a chaplain himself.

Today I share my gratitude with each of you because I promise that if you look for reasons to be grateful, no matter what you are going through, you will find them.

And when you find them you will become mightily aware that God cares for you each and every moment of your life.  God bless you all.

PRAYER:

Dear Lord, One day we will all rejoice together forever.  It will be so grand that You tell us that we are incapable of understanding just how AWESOME it will be.  Amen to that!  In Jesus' name, Amen~

 

Every Last Detail~

Romans 8:28

"And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to His purpose for them."

The Message Version states the verse like this: "Every detail in our lives of love for God is worked into something good."

Is there anything out of the reach of God? Anything He ignores? Anything He dismisses? Anything He doesn't care about?

I want us all to purposely stop right here and determine once and for all that not one teeny tiny bit of our lives has been overlooked by God. If we will live our lives on the premise that God sees it all and cares about it all, then it will drastically change our perspective.

Remember when our kids were little? How many of us wet our fingertip and held it under their baby noses to make sure they were breathing? How many of us spent a sleepless night or two or 10 keeping watch when one of our children had a fever? And when Hormone had a serious infection in his hand a couple of years ago that landed him in the hospital for a week, Jorge and I parked ourselves next to him 24/7 for over a week even though he was 23 years old. Hovering doesn't even come close to describing how we were literally all over him.

Some people, like my grandmother, would have expected nothing less than that because she took hovering to the extreme. She could not understand why I didn't keep a journal of my childrens' bowel movements--noting time of day, color, and consistency--like she did for her two offspring. And whenever she babysat for me, I knew she would have an orderly report on this topic as soon as I walked in the door.

Surprise Surprise! There are some things about my kids that I am not interested in.

How many times do they go in and out the door?

How many times do they stand up and sit down?

How many hairs do they have on their head?

And yet God cares even about these mundane details. God doesn't mess around, and when He says, "Every detail," He means it.

Matthew 10:30 "And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered."

Psalms 139: 1-2 "You know when I sit and when I rise; You perceive my thoughts from afar. You discern my going out and my lying down; You are familiar with all my ways."

Let us meditate on the vast and thoroughly thorough manner in which God chooses to involve Himself in our itty bittiness.

"Of what importance is the human race, that You should notice us? Of what importance is mankind, that You should pay attention to us?" Psalm 8:4

And yet God does. Who do we think we are? We are weak, we don't live that long, we can be really rotten, and guess what? We aren't that special to most people. But God Almighty notices us and pays attention to us.

Side Bar--Anyone who has ever felt lonely and insignificant better do a double take because the One Who made the universe is hovering over you right now.

Tomorrow we will examine how being armed with this truth blesses us when things don't make sense.

PRAYER:

Dear Lord, Sometimes we go about our lives ignoring You when all the while You are paying attention to us. Could it be that You are waiting for an invitation to come in and help us, strengthen us, and protect us? Wait no more. We open our arms wide to a Holy Spirit invasion. Thank You that every thing about us is under Your caring concern. In Jesus' name, AMEN~