THOUGHTS

Do you ever just get frustrated for dumb reasons? I have that problem from time to time. I feel like I have been having some growing pains lately, and that is not always comfortable. However, this morning I recieved an email that I know was directly from God. Yes, he and I send and receive messages but it has only been as I have gotten older that I have learned to check the inbox, too (I catch myself pryaing alot and not always listening). There are miracles all around us if we just take notice. I received this one and I have been staring at it with my mouth wide open in complete amazement. The Lord does work in mysterious ways. This was exactly what I needed to hear today.

Another kind of normal

by John Fischer

“Every time you forget that character is one of God’s purposes for your life, you will become frustrated by your circumstances.” — Rick Warren

Somewhere along the line, we got the idea that we deserve to have a relatively easy life. We have a very false sense of what should be the norm. If someone asks you how things are going and you answer: “Fine,” that is thought of as normal – the way it should be. If there is anything wrong, and you answer that question with a qualifier (“Fine, but …”), then it is assumed that your life is not normal. If something is wrong, then your life is for some reason not what it is supposed to be.

In actuality, the real thing wrong is this kind of thinking. Until we change our thinking in this regard, life will always be frustrating. We will be preoccupied with trying to fix everything instead of learning life’s lessons. We will always be expecting things to get better around the next bend in the road when “better” isn’t anywhere on the map. Until we learn this, we will just wrestle with life instead of working with it – taking what God sends as our course description, and readying ourselves for each new lesson. Difficulty, surprise, hardship, and trials of every kind are the norm for the follower of Christ.

Paul puts it this way: “We are pressed on every side by troubles, but we are not crushed and broken. We are perplexed, but we don’t give up and quit. We are hunted down, but God never abandons us. We get knocked down, but we get up again and keep going.” (2 Corinthians 4:8-9 NLT)

Now that’s normal. If you want to grow as a Christian, expect this kind of treatment. And the reason for this is two-fold. First, life by nature is difficult and hardship produces character in us as we meet life’s challenges with the Holy Spirit; and second, when we go through ordinary hardship and difficulty the reality of the presence of God in our lives can be more easily seen, because the hope and confidence of Christ in our lives is in direct contrast to our situation, making God easier to spot. Or as Paul goes on to say: “Our lives are at constant risk for Jesus’ sake, which makes Jesus’ life all the more evident in us.” (2 Corinthians 4:11 MSG)

If normal for you means everything is fine and dandy, then brace yourself, because it’s definitely going to get worse. Count on it. God loves you too much to allow you to get away with anything less. And if life is difficult for you right now, rejoice in your opportunity to grow. We need to all start expecting another kind of normal.

Another "steal" from Stacy

This is a poem that is a favorite of Stacy's. I know that she has sent it to me and has posted it on her blog. It is AWESOME!

In every body's garden,

a little rain must fall

or life's sweetest, fairest flowers

wouldn't grow or bloom at all.

And though the clouds

so heavy, oh, my friend.

I'm sure that, God, who sent the clouds

will send the rainbow's end.

I love YOU TUBE

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GUKRzyDMyfA

I feel like we can all agree that this is what is happening to our lovely carved pumpkins. You can also check out other rotting things, a time lapse thunderstorm, and even watch the evolution of the caterpillar/butterfly. Just type in "time lapse" in the search box.

Blessings

I feel blessed to have God at work in my life. I feel blessed that I grew up in a christian family and have christian friends. I am thankful that through the ones that I love I am reminded of Gods love.

So that's all from this day in the life of mommysmart!