No Tackle it or Treasure today!!!

I truly apologize for there not being any Tackle it Tuesday or Treasure Tuesday up today. I haven't had time to tackle anything with the family visiting, and then after yesterday I'm sure you all understand if I don't do either of those features this week.

Thank you all for your prayers, the ones left in the comments and the emails too. We're all very optimistic and keeping a positive attitude, but it's great to know that we have so much support, and for that I truly am touched.

Again we don't have much planned for today, just hanging out, but we may take a ride up to C.J. Strike Dam, there's nothing like gazing over the beautiful quiet water to make you feel centered.

With all that has been going on here, I really do need to take a breath and try to capture the love of Christ. Yes, I say capture because I tend to let it go and leave it just floating around until something major happens, then like a stumbling toddler learning how to grasp objects for the first time, I blindly set out to find it.

Ephesians 3:18b ".......to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ".

That may be really easy to read and understand, but I find it so difficult to live it out in life. Again with me it comes to control, nothing worse than being in a situation where you wish you could have the last say or make the outcome as you wish it to be, but you can't and that is when you need to put it in the Lord's hand. Easy isn't it???? No, it's not, at least for me, it's been my one struggle through the years and one which I'm sure will be continuing for years to come.

Phillipians 1:6 ".....being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ".

There's nothing worse than getting bad news, and it doesn't have to just be someone being sick, but anything to do with family really gets to me. Not only is my MIL going through this right now, but this morning I found out that my uncle is jobless and with no means of supporting himself. Doesn't it feel like when it rains it pours?????

I could become bitter and turn against God and blame him for everything that is going on, but I'm not like that, if anything it just brings me closer to him, seeking that comfort that I so need right now. In the midst of all the chaos, I'm thrilled to know that He is there with arms wide open and welcoming me in, and I'm almost afraid to say that I am finding a calm through all this that I didn't know existed.

Does this mean that I don't feel or that I am just blind or in denial? Or does this mean that I subconsciously know things will be fine? I choose the last one, because I know that even though there are rough times ahead, we're not going through it alone, now more than ever I feel the Lord's presence in my life, guiding me, lifting me up and engulfing me in his all powerful love and THAT is something which I treasure and am extremely greatful for.

I don't think I've ever watched the "Rain" Nooma DVD as much as I am now or will be doing....it's such a great reminder of how God wraps you in his love when something is wrong and you just want to scream and shout.

We get hit with some form of pain out of nowhere leaving us feeling desperate and helpless. That’s the way life is. Still, it makes us wonder how God can let these things happen to us. How God can just stand by and watch us suffer. Where is God when it really hurts?

Boy am I guilty of doing that, my first instinct is to throw a tantrum, just like a child that just lost his favorite toy or is told that they can't have another cookie before dinner.
This wonderful DVD reminds us that it's usually when the big issues are going on, that God uses it to remind us of how much He really does love us, we just can't hear Him because we're so caught up in the screaming and the crying, but if we just stop and listen, we can hear Him telling us he loves us and is RIGHT THERE through thick and thin, in sickness and in health. I've learnt to force myself to stop reacting first and thinking later.........I stop, I sit down quietly and listen carefully and I have to tell you that it's helped me a LOT, it's made me realize that crying and whining is not beneficial to me and the problem at hand, if anything, it just keeps me from listening to the Lord and concentrating on what IS important.

So again I truly thank each and every one of you for the prayers, I apologize for not getting to my email at all for the last week or so, but hopefully will be able to soon :)

Have a beautiful and blessed day in the Lord, I'm sending you all huge hugs,