History

Our Daily Bread
Yes, I am one of those guys that never really understood why we had to study history in school.  It sort of follows that I didn't understand why we had to study the Old Testament in college!  Oh what I learned during these studies!

Yes, viewing the history of the world and of the USA was interesting when I started applying myself to the learning.  I agree it is important to remember the past so we don't repeat the bad things in the present!

The same can be said for studying the Old Testament.  I can't tell you how much I learned about myself and how to live my life (and how NOT to live my life) from reading the OT.  It is so amazing to me.  Yes, I admit that there is a LOT of stuff to plow through to get the messages for my life.  It is almost like searching for a needle in a hay stack at times.  However, when I see how God made and kept his promises over and over in the OT and how the people of God handled their relationship with Him, I have to relate those things to my daily life.  Yes, I said my daily life!  Every day.  Daily!  hehehe

What history are you doomed to repeat?  What history have you learned from?  What history will you overcome to move forward in your life instead of living it paralyzed in fear and hopelessness?

Lord, thank you for being there for your people throughout history and forever!

Simply Saturday
Stuck
Well, the devotional hit the nail on the head again...  I have been stuck.  Stuck, stuck, stuck...  hehehe

I don't want to go into details.  I have been trying not to talk about myself as much in my entries.  I want to focus on the topics and on God.  Like everyday life, it is easy for "self" to creep in.

I will say this much:  when you life looks too much like the movies Groundhog Days or 50 First Dates, you need to take a closer look at your life!  ;-/  I have been trying to grieve over the loss of a relationship I thought God wanted me to have.  Finally realizing and accepting that the man is not who you thought he was is difficult.  In the grieving processing, I kept getting stuck in the denial and anger phases.  I couldn't figure out why I was so sad this week.  After talking about it and praying about it, I finally figured out I am in the depression or sadness stage, the last stage before acceptance.  I am not a sad kind of person, so letting myself work through this is not easy for me.  I am giving myself some time and space.  I am doing my best to not slip back into anger or denial (which is normal, but not necessarily healthy).

God is so good to us all when we give him our lives.  I also realized I have been holding on to some things because I honestly thought God asked me to.  I used the example of Hosea in the Old Testament.  That poor prophet had it rough at times, especially when it came to relationships!  I think God knows I am sincere about my desire to follow him.  I pray that my mind and heart follow through with my promises like he has with his promises to me.

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Let go, my friends!  God will be there to catch you and hold you in his loving arms!

Guide my feet, dear Lord.  Running this race in vain is NOT an option!