The Afternoon of Life

The phone rings…and life changes.   It could be something insignificant…an appointment reminder…a politician looking for a donation.   It could be something a little more significant…a child or grandchild is ill…a friend is going through a hard time.   And then there are the life-changer phone calls that turn your world upside down.   A friend has died unexpectedly…a parent is having a biopsy.   Those phone calls make you pause…make you search your soul.   Those are the phone calls that send the questions spinning through your mind.   I’ve had those phone calls in my lifetime…too many of them, I want to think.   I know God is working on me and in me and doing things to bring me in line with what He requires of me so that He can give me the blessings He wants to pour out on me.   I’m really clear about that.   I’ve had to much experience to not understand that.   I’ve wondered often if I create some of the crises in my life that result in those phone calls… and the truth is that I kno

 …we need to remember that impossible situations are opportunities for the Lord to teach us valuable lessons that we’d never learn any other way. …the perfect plan and the power to implement it come only from God, not from human solutions and resources. …whenever we yield our flawed solutions and meager resources to Him and step out in obedience, He does great things in us and through us. …Each step required trust and obedience, especially since Christ’s method seemed so illogical. …God knows how to solve your problem, but He may choose to require your cooperation, possibly even asking you to do something that seems unreasonable. This morning my friend Beth shared a link on FB to a devotional that included the above statements.   They came after reading John 6:1-14…the familiar story of the feeding of the 5,000 with the 5 loaves and 2 fish. ( http://www.intouch.org/magazine/daily-devotional#.To2X2jUpnxA.facebook ) In light of my earlier study this week about how God uses difficult t

I found when I was with mom that "blogging" was good for my soul.  It allowed me a place to express myself when there was no one around to talk to.  Now that she's moved to her new and permanent eternity with Christ, I've missed being able to sit down and enjoy getting things out that seem stuck inside.  Putting them on paper makes problems more manageable...makes thoughts straighten out a little...makes joys and memories last a lot longer.  So I've been praying about how to continue blogging.  I don't want to just write for the sake of writing...even if I do love it. But this morning I realized that I could be putting my quiet times on paper.  I could "see" how God is speaking to me and leading me.  I let Him direct me to his Word this morning...that means I did the "open-and-point" method.  I don't highly recommend this method.  But already it's been confirmed that I was reading the "right" thing and that He is wantin