Life in His Hand

God never leads His children otherwise than they would choose to be led, if they could see the end from the beginning and discern the glory of the purpose which they are fulfilling as co-workers with Him.  Ellen White - Ministry of Healing Instead of asking, "Why?" I need to trust that He has my best interest at heart. I need to simply give Him my doubts and fears and let Him guide me through this life. That is what He's promised to do. I will lead  the blind  by ways they have not known,   along unfamiliar paths I will guide them; I will turn the darkness into light  before them  and make the rough places smooth.  These are the things I will do;   I will not forsake  them. Isaiah 42:16 Someday, it will all make sense.  I believe God has many lessons for me to learn along the way. The mistakes I make, which just bring pain, can even be used for my good and the good of others. Nothing is wasted - nothing is in vain. I thank You, Lord, for not abandoning me when I

Our lives may seem a tangle; but as we commit ourselves to the wise Master Worker, He will bring out the pattern of life and character that will be to His own glory. Ellen White - Desire of Ages p.331 God is working behind the scenes. Even though it doesn't always make sense to us, we can trust Him. It's amazing to watch God weaving things together. This week at church, a man showed up that we didn't know. A young lady who used to come to our church and her husband also happened to come for a visit. I noticed them saying "hi" to the unknown man. So I figured that he was their friend, as sometimes, when they visit, a friend or two will also come. A little later, at lunch, I was informed that the young lady knew this man because our previous pastor's wife had informed her, at some point, that he was a pedophile and also the young lady had run across him at another church. He managed to position himself directly across from the only family with kids in the

Words are powerful. You can use them to build people up or tear them down. For many years, I listened as someone tore me down, bit by bit - using words. At the same time, I had God building me up with His words. The negative words still hurt - still affected me, but did not destroy my self-worth. I believed what God said about me and that helped me to hold onto who I was, even in the midst of trials. I knew that being in such an environment was not what God wanted for me. I had to learn to trust Him enough to let go and follow His plan for my life. Which hasn't been easy. Earlier today, I had a talk with a good friend. This friend amazes me with his ability to use his words to encourage, to uplift, to simply understand. When I am critical or hard on myself--he sticks up for me; defends me. Hey wait a minute, maybe this is why you did that or of course you're going to feel such and such a way--look what you've been through. When I am down, he lifts me up, he prays fo

It always gets worse before it gets better. I have been working to reorganize my kitchen cabinets for what seems like ALL day, and I'm still not done yet. What I have finished, looks nice, but...the rest of the kitchen looks like a bomb went off. I am purging as I go, getting rid of dishes and gadgets we don't need and tossing out old, outdated, food. It will be nice when it's all done. Then I can move onto another area of the house that needs work. Hoping to keep this up so by springtime I won't have much left to do. Simplicity is something I long for. Which is one reason I am wanting to downsize and get this place organized. Lately, I have become really intrigued by the 'Tiny House Movement' and have been inspired to have less. I also love the Amish' simple lifestyle and over the years, I've read a number of good books on paring down. All of these and the very real fact that I live in a very small (though not quite "Tiny") house, has plante

I thought this was beautiful and wanted to share. When I see things like this it makes me wish I could do more for kids. It also makes me so thankful that God has adopted me. For all who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God. So you have not received a spirit that makes you fearful slaves. Instead, you received God's Spirit when he adopted you as his own children. Now we call him, "Abba, Father."For his Spirit joins with our spirit to affirm that we are God's children. Romans 8:14-16 

Hope is the thing with feathers that perches in the soul - and sings the tunes without the words - and never stops at all.   Emily Dickinson This is for all of us who need hope. Jeremiah 29:11 "For I know the plans I have for you," says the Lord. "They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope."  Psalm 34:18   The LORD is close to the brokenhearted; he rescues those whose spirits are crushed. Lamentations 3:22-24   The unfailing love of the LORD never ends! By his mercies we have been kept from complete destruction. Great is his faithfulness; his mercies begin afresh each day. I say to myself, "The LORD is my inheritance; therefore, I will hope in him!"  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. Psalm 10:17   LORD, you know the hopes of the helpless. Surely you will hear their cries and comfort them

On New Year's Eve morning I was volunteering at my church's community services, when an acquaintance I knew from several years back, decided to share with us his one resolution for the New Year. He said it was something "Oprah's friend" had said. It was that 'people should believe people when they FIRST tell them who they are.' I thought that was profound. How many years did I spend in denial? How many years did I spend trying to change someone who simply was who he was? He was not someone I needed to have in my life, but I kept clinging to the hope that MY dream could somehow be salvaged. I wanted to be married and have a happy family. I didn't want to be a divorced, single mother. So for a long time, I chose to overlook things I shouldn't have. I chose to think that there was a chance that things could get better, all the while knowing deep down inside-that they wouldn't. I chose to spend my energies trying to force someone to fit into MY

Happy New Year! I am wondering what you'd like to accomplish this year. I know one of the major things I want to do is really declutter my house and get more organized. I want a house I can keep clean easily which means everything needs a home. Well, in a small house with too much stuff, that means...something's gotta go! I actually started the process last week. I rearranged my tiny living room, which I didn't think was possible, and found that the new arrangement "forced" me to get rid of a bookshelf and table and the room looks a lot neater. I just need to work on the "entryway"--if you can call it that :) It's just a space behind the front door. The horrible problem I am having is my bedroom! Things are a mess and this is where the cutting will really need to happen as well as the need for creativity. All of my things (even Christmas stuff) are basically stored in my small room, so this will be a challenge for me, but worth doing because whe