Our Daily Bread
"No, never a-l-OOO-ooo-ne, no, never alone" goes the old hymn. God is always with us. For a long time, I only thought God was with us during bad times. Remember the poem about footsteps? "It was in those times that I carried you..." sort of thing.
No! God is always with us. Through good and bad. Through the times we are more sure and confident of what we are doing than any time in our lives. Through the times when we have no idea where the next step will take us.
I have to admit that I have been feeling some loneliness. I have been better about how I handle those feelings than a year ago (not going into details here...). It seems that I listen to God more intently when I am alone. Even during these times God reassures me through my loneliness. There is a difference! God isolates me to get my attention. I have a choice to listen or to feel sorry for myself. Like I mentioned briefly yesterday, I had soooooooo many encouraging messages sent to me over the weekend. God knows. God cares. I will trust him even I seem lost, lonely or in the valley of death while traveling down this road.
Thank you God for knowing me and loving me just the same. Thank you for the encouraging words and songs you send my way.
Teaching Tuesday
As I mentioned above, what do you do when you aren't quite feeling the whole Christianity thing? You feel like God has abandoned you? You feel like you are doing your best to follow his will, but things just aren't gellin' for you? Not that I have EVER felt that way.... hehehe Yes, it can be difficult. Here are some things I do during these times.
Remember the times I was closest to God:
I remember the times that I felt so close to God that I could reach out and touch him. Talked to him like he was sitting next to me on the couch. I remember what was different then than now. Am I sinning now and I don't want to admit it? Have I stopped praying or my Bible study? What exactly is different now?
Remember the bad times:
I remember the other not so good times that God help me overcome. What did I do to enable God to help me? Did I finally turn some pesky sin or situation to him that I have kept to myself? Remembering a victory can sometimes save us from defeat...
Be grateful:
It is during these times that I try to be more grateful than normal. Like the title of my blog, I have a life that is far from ordinary. I sometimes forget that. Make a grateful list. Check it twice... ;-)
It is a choice:
I bought a tshirt at Disneyworld when I visited there in February. The shirt has a picture of Grumpy the dwarf on the front. The saying "Genius by birth, Grumpy by choice" is plastered across the front of it. It is hard to believe sometimes that being grumpy or down or whatever is really a choice. Choose something else! hehehe
You can get through this situation, my friend. You can overcome. Heck, if I can do it, then anyone can!
Other Stuff
Going to dinner with a buddy tonight. Haven't seen him in a while. It will be a nice evening.
I am making snacks for our prayer group tomorrow night. Brownies, leftover jelly beans and homemade hummus are on the menu!
I am sooooo looking forward to my trip this weekend.
Hang in there, my friends. I will be upbeat and steady. That is what I do...
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