SHAKEN

The dictionary definition of shaken is being frightened, scared, worried, or nervous. But, is being shaken such a bad thing when it comes to my faith?? When God shakes up my faith, yes, I may feel a little nervous or worried, not knowing what He is doing or where He is taking me. But, it grows me in my faith and makes me depend on Him all the more.
There have been many times in my life when I feel God has shaken my faith up. It was scary, but deep down I knew God had me in His arms and was working all things for my good, even though I couldn’t see it at the time. Recently, my whole family has been shaken up! We moved to another state, where we knew no one at all. I grew up in NC and that is all I have ever known. God has brought us way out of our comfort zone and has stretched our faith. I am also homeschooling for the first time. I was always the one to say I could never do that and here I am! Never tell God what you are going to or not going to do or He WILL shake you up!! It has been a very humbling experience for all of us and my prayer life has increased because of it, begging God to please take the wheel and help me to be a more creative homeschool mom and less of a yelling one when my kiddos don’t do their work. At times it is lonely here, even with all of the chaos of 4 kiddos running around. We are getting to know more people, but we still terribly miss our peeps from back home.
When my husband first told me that it was official; they were shutting down their job site, I stomped my feet, cried, and basically told him and God that I was staying put and not moving anywhere else, because NC is all I had ever known and I was very comfy where I was at, thank you very much! Well, like I said, never tell God what you are going to do or not do without consulting Him first. During that very unstable time in our lives, I was truly shaken to the core. There were many restless nights, not knowing where we were going to be or if my husband would find another job. I thought long and hard about how I could change my feelings and have a different attitude. I realized that worrying was not going to find my husband a job and just wore me down. I finally began to pray the word PEACE. It wasn’t overnight, but over some time, I slowly began to feel God’s peace blanket my soul and comfort me. I slowly gave over my feelings to Him and let Him take over. I could envision Jesus standing in our future, with His arms open wide, a smile on His face, and saying, “I am already in your future. I have got this thing. Walk in faith not sight.” My Pastor’s wife told me one time that as a Christian, God has already given us His Peace. We have it. But we must make the choice to live in it, internalizing that Peace in our souls. Oh.My.Goodness!! God just spoke straight through her. I did, eventually, feel that peace and did my best to rest in it. You know, that “peace that surpasses ALL understanding.” I still don’t understand some days why we are here in TN, but God does. And that is ok. I can look back and see how God had us in His arms the whole time. It was a crazy time, but God got us through finding another job, moving (which was totally INSANE!), and finding homeschool curriculum and help from an umbrella school. We are still learning lessons all the time. I know God has a purpose for everything He does and we are here for a reason. Many times God brings us WAY out of our comfort zones for His purposes and to shake up our faith, which helps us to grow up in Him. So, I am doing my best to bloom where God has planted me, meet new people, get involved in our new church, and be a better homeschool mom! I am trying to not think about the future in terms of my husband’s job and if this one will be stable for years. Only God knows that. I pray that we will be here for a while and that God will use us for His Glory, to bring people to Him. Shake me up, LORD, and help me to continue to grow up, and be firmly rooted in You and Your amazing Word!

When Life Gives You Lemons!

Have you ever heard the expression, “When life gives you lemons make lemonade”? Well, I say, when life gives you lemons, give them to Jesus! Yes, God can use our lemons in life for His Glory here on earth, but I believe we must first give them to Him. Always go to God first. Ask Him to take your problems and use them in your life for His Glory. How many times do we go to others before we go to Jesus?? I know that many times I am looking at who I can talk to, call, etc before I give things over to Him. He wants you to come to Him with all your junk, all your emotions, all your pain, and all your joy too. A very good family friend once told me when my parents were separating, that ALL emotions are ok, it is just the way you handle them! Anger is a emotion that God created. Even Jesus got righteously angry! But, it is how we deal with that anger that matters. Do we lash out at people or God, or do we give our anger to Him. It is ok to tell God that you are angry, sad, etc. He created these emotions and already knows you are feeling them. It isn’t like you are going to surprise God with anything. Sometimes our anger is righteous, like when things in our world are going wrong and sin is just so rampant. But I think that instead of bickering and arguing over things, we are called to pray for our country, world, people, government, etc. I have found that I can get all upset over things I really have no control over. But God has reminded me that I have the best weapon of all! PRAYER! God is truly the only One Who can change things in our world. Yes, He calls us to stand up for what is right and do our duties, but the most important thing to do is pray! SO, I choose to pray. I choose to believe that God is still on His throne and has everything in His control. He is not a God of chaos, but is a God is order! Nothing takes Him by surprise. He already knows what is going to happen. He stands in our future. He is still King, always has been, and always will be! I have to remind myself of these truths. One day soon, He will restore all things and make a new Heaven, a new earth. All things we know now will be pass. PTL HE makes all things new! Amen??
I was recently reading Revelation 21 and 22, right after my Aunt died. What an encouraging passage! It tells us of a new Jerusalem that will come down from Heaven and it will be the new earth. The foundations are made of jewels and gold and the names of the disciples are written on the 12 foundations. It is an amazing picture painted for us of what is to come. There will be no dying, crying, wars, suffering or pain anymore! Everything will be just as it was in the beginning when God created Eden- PERFECTION. I take great joy in knowing that is what is to come and that God is King and will forever reign. Why worry when we have a God like that??!! Worry does us nothing but empty us of joy. It gets us no where and leaves us empty. So, next time life gives you lemons, give them all to God and let Him make the lemonade in your life!!