But for God's grace...

What is my ark?

So make yourself an ark of cypress wood. Genesis 6:14

We have been getting a little bit of rain here in beautiful Atlanta, GA. It is so hard to believe all the devastation rain can bring with it. Our family has been blessed in the fact that we have not had any damage to our home or any loss in our family. We were "bugged" by some ants that wanted to get out of the rain and chose our home as their hotel. They checked in but they didn't check out -- if you know what I mean.

As I was thanking God this morning for His marvelous protection, I couldn't help but think of Noah. God protected Noah and his family. In verse 16 of Genesis chapter 7, we are told that, "The LORD shut him in." It was God who shut Noah and his family into the ark. God brought protection to Noah and his family through an ark.

As I was considering Noah and his ark, God showed me something I had never seen before. God commanded Noah to build an ark. This was something that probably had never been built before--at least not where Noah was living. We don't know how long it took to build the ark. But, Noah was more that 500 years old. Think of the daily, tiresome labor he endured. He had to get up every morning knowing that he was going to be spending his entire day working on that ark. And while he was building this massive ship, he was preaching and being ridiculed by the people. While he was preaching, no one listened. Though a difficult project, the ark was necessary for what was coming in the future for Noah and his family.

What is my ark? What am I dealing with today that seems so hard and yet it is something that God has brought or allowed to come into my life? What is it for you?

Our "ark" is necessary in our lives. God is building within our lives today for things that will happen in the future.

I think one of my arks is joblessness in our family. My husband has been out of work since March and there is no end in sight. My ark is the stripping away of finding security in money and moving my security to my LORD. He is my security, not this world or anything in it.

The rain is coming...but God is preparing me with protection now and in my future. The floods are coming. When I think on this I am amazed to think that God will use what I am going through now to protect me in my future.

What does God have in your life that is difficult? What is your ark? Remember that God is always with you. He is always caring for you. He loves you. I think of the words of a song--when you can't see His hand, trust His heart. Let's trust Him today.







Sheryl

I'm as close as I'm going to get

I just finished reading The Shack. Yes, I’m behind in my reading. I know everyone has read the book and loves it. I love it too. I had a fear that I would be bored. But, I wasn’t. It really made me think about how I view God and His interactions in the lives of His children. If you haven’t read the book, don’t worry, I’m not going to spoil it for you.

God has really been speaking to me lately about focusing on Him. I talked about that in my last blog but it is amazing to me how much He must want me to know this principle. He is bringing to me over and over again in different ways.

I was talking with my daughter the other day. I asked her to pray that I would grow closer to the LORD. She responded with, “I’m sorry, Mom, but you are as close as you are going to get with God.” Imagine my horror. No! This can’t be. She continued, “Christ already lives within you and you live within Him. How much closer can you get than that, Mom?”

I chewed on those words. She’s right. When God found me and accepted me into His family, He gave me everything I need to live this new life. He gave me His forgiveness because His Son paid my penalty for sin. He has given me Christ’s righteousness. He has given me freedom to live in relationship with Him. He has given me His grace and mercy. Oh! and His awesome love.

How can I not be close to Him? By living in my own emotions. I am learning that I cannot trust my emotions. They react to what is going on in my mind. I can sit down on my comfortable couch with a bowl full of popcorn and a Pepsi to sip on ready to watch a movie. As I watch the movie I will find myself caught up in what is going on and my emotions are engaged. If the movie is frightening, my heart begins to beat faster, I become afraid. But, why? It’s just a movie. It’s not real. It is because my react to my thoughts.

This realization lets me know that I must allow God to renew my mind. This is how I learn to co

ntrol my emotions and not let them rule over me. Is this making any sense? It was such an eye-opener for me. I was always trying to control my emotions and failed miserably (ask my family). Now, I am learning I need to allow God to renew my mind daily so that His Spirit can lead me, live through me.

God is so good. He is so patient with me as He teaches me to give my life fully to Him.

Thanks for listening…

God is at work

God has been teaching me through His Word and situations in my life that He is my provider. He's the One who will take care of all my needs..and the needs of my family.

I'm studying Psalms 9 this week for Sunday school and in my Bible I have written that God must be my focus.

He made it very real this week with my daughter. She is having some problems with one of her education classes. In this class she must work with a child in an elementary school. She is to schedule two hours a week for the next six weeks. Unfortunately, she only has one day available. It seemed as if she would have to drop the class.

My daughter and I talked about how God was teaching me that He is the One in control and He will work everything out. It may not be the way she wants, but He's going to work it out for her best.

Since we have been praying for His best and telling Him that we trust Him, He is just opening up solutions for this scheduling problem. It hasn't been resolved yet but we can see God at work.

PRAISE HIM!






Sheryl

My AT&T U-Verse is not working in my living room. When we started on the renovations we had to unplug everything. Not a good idea. Very bad idea. All our T.V.s work except the one that records my cooking shows and Beth Moore. I'm almost lost without them.

Perhaps God is teaching me what is really important me--and showing me that it should be Him. Hmmmmm...Speak Lord, Your servant is listening intently.






Sheryl