Thanksgiving

We are visiting our son this week, and it has been a wonderful Thanksgiving day. Before I fell asleep last night, I was praying and thanking God for His protection and provision as we drove here. We had a blow out on the highway. My husband was driving and suddenly, I realized the road noise was very loud. I said something about it, and he said, "I'm pulling over." `Because it's noisy?' I thought. "No," he informed me. "It's the tire."

He was so right. It was thoroughly flat. To make things even worse, we were unable to drop the spare on the vehicle, and after 15 minutes of trying, I called our roadside service company. In the meantime, a very nice electric company employee stopped to see if he could help us. Alas, he was not able to lower that stubborn spare tire, either.

However, the service truck finally arrived, and he loaded up our vehicle, recommended that we see if we could find a replacement tire as he drove us to the next town. My husband, daughter and I had a very cozy ride, but at least we were headed in the right direction instead of going back to the town from which the service truck came.

Thanks to the miracle that is the internet and an iPhone, I found a couple of numbers and my husband was successful in locating a matching tire. We lost two and a half hours, but then we were back on the road and on our way. The remainder of our trip was uneventful.

This morning I was sharing with my mother how grateful I was for God's help yesterday. She said, "Wouldn't it have been better if you hadn't had the flat tire?" I understand that theory, but I was talking about how blessed we were that the tire blew when no other cars were near us. It was a rear tire, and my husband had no trouble controlling the car. The place he pulled off was the widest shoulder around. We were still in sight of a major landmark to help the truck driver find us. Though we lost a lot of time, I have never resented that since the day that the Murrah Building in Oklahoma City was bombed.

My closest friend for many years worked across the street from that building and parked in its garage every day. Her usual routine was to pull into that garage at 9 am and be walking up the ramp to the street at 9:02 every morning. That day, she was running seven minutes late. She got to the corner just as a police officer closed down the street. Had she been on time, she probably would have died as the building collapsed over her. Had she been early, she could have been injured or even killed by the glass as every window in her office was blown across the room by the force of the blast.

Consequently, any time little things delay me and prevent me from keeping my schedule, I assume God's Hand is in it keeping me from being in the wrong place at the wrong time.

I am extra thankful today. God has blessed me and my family in so many ways. Today, I have tried to recognize a long list of those blessings. I hope you have done the same.

And thanks to Schwan's, we had quite an interesting dinner. What I thought was a turkey breast, ready to bake in it's own wrapper turned out to be turkey tenderloin in gravy. It was delicious, and I confess, the easiest turkey I've ever prepared. My family laughed at me, but all I had to do was put it in a pot on the stove, and no one had to carve the thing. They will never let me live it down, I fear, and I don't blame them. I've laughed at myself, too.

God is Still in Control

Our nation endured a tragedy yesterday. The aftermath is barely underway as many ponder why. What would make a soldier turn on his fellow soldiers? The speculation is rampant because this military psychiatrist is a Muslim. As I write this, most of the "news" is merely speculation, and we need to discern truth from fiction as this story unfolds. Did he cry "Allah Akbar", "God is Great", as he began the horrific massacre as reported? Did he write Muslim-glorifying posts on a blog? Was he so against the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan that he would turn on his comrades?

We may never know the answers to all of those questions. We certainly will never understand the answers we do get. My heart is heavy as I watch the footage and think about the insecurities brought on across the nation in military installations everywhere as well as in our hearts as a result of a few minutes of chaos at Ft. Hood. That post is so large, nearly everyone in Texas and many throughout the country actually knows someone there. It is a personal attack on every one of us.

How do we make sense of this?

The only sense to be made is that God is still in control. The first chapter of Job describes how the angels gathered before the Lord in heaven and Satan appeared with them. God asked him where he had been and he replied that he had been roaming about on earth. God pointed out to him that He had a servant, Job, who was upright and blameless. Satan retorted that Job only served God faithfully because of the many blessings God had bestowed on him. Satan proposed that God allow him (Satan) to take away all that Job had and predicted Job would turn away from God.

God gave Satan permission to basically torture Job with loss of home, family and fortune.

Be assured that yesterday's tragedy was permitted by God. He did not perform it, but he allowed it. Our response should be to turn to Him and not let go. Individually, that is easy, but our nation is in a crisis. That, too, has been permitted by God, but we are at a crossroads and we must respond accordingly. We allow sinful behavior to permeate our lives. In the name of diversity, we tolerate abominations and attacks on our very heritage.

I firmly believe that our Founding Fathers meant to protect us from being forced to attend a specific church or denomination when they wrote the Constitution. However, we have allowed our Supreme Court to corrupt that document and its intent. Today, it is permissible to have religious artifacts on display, but not Christian symbols. Today, we must celebrate "winter" or unspecified holidays - not Christmas.

I cannot and will not try to force someone to believe as I do, but I do not want to be forbidden from sharing what I do believe. I am incensed and insulted by the actions of this government that promote ideology that is completely against the provisions of our Constitution, and create the exact atmosphere that the pilgrims came here to escape.

God allows us to be tested. When Job was tested, he persevered through grief, ridicule, and confusion and remained faithful to God. In the end, he was rewarded with a new home, children and restored wealth. We can be restored as well. Individually and as a nation, we need to turn back to the One Who can make the difference. Our response to yesterday's tragedy can be the beginning of a new awakening for our country. That is my prayer.

God is still in control. I want to allow him to control me and my life as well as the United States and everything we, as a nation, do.

Thinking Good Thoughts

My daughter told me yesterday that Jeremiah 29:11 is a very overused verse. She is probably right, but part of that is the fact that we as humans struggle with the same challenges over and over again. We fail to learn from our mistakes, or in this case, we fail to trust God in every situation. We may learn it in one case, but the next time a challenge arises, we are right back to doubts and fears and worries.

The patience of our Heavenly Father is truly an amazing thing. How many times as a parent have I lashed out at a child because he or she "keeps doing the exact same thing"? Yet, I am guilty of the same type of misbehavior. I battle worrying a great deal of the time.

We have experienced some victories in the past few weeks for which I am grateful. My son was promoted at work - something he has worked hard for and to a position for which he is uniquely qualified and excels in. My daughter has had to revamp her career goals for the time being, but she was presented with an opportunity that helps her to grow in a new direction and use many of her skills while improving others in the meantime. My husband and I oversaw a benefit auction last week and raised a respectable amount of money for a very worthy cause - a direct answer to prayer in this economy. The generosity of many people made that possible and I appreciate every one of them!

Still, I am plagued by dwelling on the unseen future. While I believe we must prepare for and plan for the future, I know that God has told us in Matthew 6:25-34 not to worry about our needs for the future. That does not mean we are not to work and do what we need to do, learn a trade, complete an education, find a job - but it does mean we are to do so while also seeking the Kingdom of God. I believe that means acting as His witness at all times, focusing on using the talents He has given us to find their best use in a career and in everything we do, glorifying Him and seeing that others see that as well.

After a lapse of several years, I recently began reading my Bible daily again. That brings to mind stories I have not heard or read in many years - reminders of the many, many ways in which God works in the lives of men. Sometimes, He is earth-shaking in his intervention in our lives. Sometimes, He is so subtle, we do not even recognize Him. It is so important for us to realize how He intervenes for our benefit. We suffer from short-sightedness during our time on this earth. But God sees all - the past, the present and the future. Learning to trust Him with our future without doubts and worries is a huge challenge for us.

And that is where Jeremiah 29:11 enters the picture - but not just verse eleven. Continuing through the first phrase of verse 14 completes the thought, the picture, if you will.

`For I know the plans that I have for you,' declares the Lord, `plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope. Then you will call upon Me and come and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart. And I will be found by you,' declares the Lord.

God's promise comes to God's people in Judah. They have been rebellious and sinful, but the rest of verse fourteen promises that God would restore their fortunes and gather them from the nations to which they have been driven by their disobedience. Though the love of money is the root of all evil, God knows that we have a need for a steady income, for food and clothing and shelter. And He desires to bless us with all of those things, provided that we follow Him every step of the way.

Are you plagued with doubts or misgivings or worries? Trust God and know that He does see the whole picture and He desires to give you good gifts. Watch for His influence in what you are going through and listen for His Still Small Voice. Refrain from worrying. Paul wrote in Philippians 4:6-9 about this:

Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, shall guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, let your mind dwell on these things. The things you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, practice these things; and the God of peace shall be with you.

Dwell on good things!