I have been there...

Our Daily Bread
I have told this story a few times over the years, but not that many people have heard it.  I had cancer when I was 26 years old.  I was a poor seminary student trying to make ends meet. I had no money and couldn't work very much due to the surgeries and treatments. I had some friends from church let me live with them for a few months while I was recovering. There were days when I would open two or three envelopes containing bills that I didn't have the money to pay. The fourth envelope would be a check from a friend or family member to cover the bills and my living expenses!  Praise God! Many years later, I think I have forgotten about what that feels like. Forgotten how to be so thankful for every good thing.

How about you? Like the people of Israeal who went through hard times over and over, we all go through these times. We have a choice.  We can whine and try to run back to Egypt where we appeared to be fed and cared for (but were really slaves), or we can trust God to work through the situation with us to move us forward in our lives.  As I wrote the other day, moving forward is good!  We can do this!

Lord, please help us to love and praise you in every circumstance.  We know you work every situation to our good!

Teaching Tuesday
Interesting article
I haven't started my new book yet. I thought I would write about an article I found yesterday at lunch. I found this article and thought it was interesting:
Religious OCD: 'I'm going to hell'
By Elizabeth Landau, CNN

Having grown up in an evangelical tradition, I feel like there is a fine line between feeling and acknowledging the grace of God in our lives and taking that for granted.  A fine line between being penitent and humble about our human inclination to sin and going to far into OCD and false feelings of insecurity and unworthiness.

Let us pray for each other to find our place in God's kingdom. To acknowledge the great gift we have been given.  To praise and worship God for the honor and privilege to serve him!

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I pray the weight of my sins doth not crush me back to dust from where I came. I pray that God create in me a new, clean heart and place a right spirit within me. Restore to me the joy of my salvation. Praise the Almighty God from whom all blessings flow.