Never forget that everything is significant and is working together for the good that God has planned for you.

This statement is true,but how many times do we not believe it? There are times in our lives we cannot see God working and we sure can't hear him.So we begin to wonder.

This morning I had called a friend.I said to her" What are you doing'? She said "actually I was praying,praying that someone would call me or stop by and give me some encouragement."
Well after she said that I thought " Well i guess im the one".

Funny, how we go about our days thinking where is He? Did he go on vacation? Is he busy with someone else,maybe He is on the other side of the world? My friend was not seeing him today,but there he was,

I picture him sitting there saying" ok lets see,she needs some encouragement down there,hmmm i will tell Dee to call her,right after she is done praying for that.Some people call that coincidence,but what it is ,its God.Listening to our prayers,hearing whats on our hearts,and knowing what we need at that precise time.Nothing is a coincidence in this life.

There are times in our lives we have things going on that we can't even fathom why they are happening and how in the world is God going to work this one out for good.We feel that we have been dropped off on the side of the road somewhere in no mans land.Hello... is there anyone out there???

Some times distractions keep us from hearing Him.I know the past few weeks,I have walked into a room that was 2 feet away and couldn't remember why i was in there.My friend prayed with me and i was thinking of my grocery list,all a million other things.I barely heard half of what she said.I try to focus,but it is a struggle.With too many things to think about,and decisions to make sometimes we can't think straight.

At this time in my life,God is yanking out of my comfort zone.Everything that is familiar,and comfortable I am being moved out of.What is the reason? At this time I don't have a clue.Is He doing a work in me? That is a big yes.Am i happy about it? Yes and No. No that i am uncomfortable and feel slightly lost.But yes, because its happening for a reason,and i know the outcome is going to be good.

See how if we believe that all things work for the good,we can get through anything?.It may be a rough and bumpy ride,but it will all be worth it when its over.Hopefully this ride will be a short one for me.maybe just a ride around the block.But it could turn out to be a long road trip that entails lots of stopping and going,some sights that are breathtaking to see,some hairpin turns in the road ,but after this trip comes to an end.I will be a little wiser,a little stronger,and will be ready for the next one to begin. I will also be able to help someone else,who has just begin their journey down the same road.All I have to do is remember that He is doing the driving and its going to be ok no matter what.

What we need to do on our road trips is sit back,take in the scenery,enjoy the ride,even if He is taking us somewhere we don't think we want to visit.How about a nice trip to disneyland,or how about to the Grand canyon Lord! I'd rather not go in this direction,it doesn't look fun and the scenery isnt' that pretty right now.But what we do not know is what is further down the road.What may be right around the next bend might be something that is so beautiful or more wonderful than we can ever imagine.We wouldn't want to miss it.But if we don't allow him to drive and if we allow him to take the roads He wants to,instead of us causing him to swerve off the road and head in the direction we have chosen to go.In the end it will be a road trip that we were glad we took.

Romans 8:28 And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.
blessings
Dee

What happens when things do not go your way? How many times would you like to trade in your life for someone elses? Kind of like those game shows on TV,where you can buy a vowel, or pick any case you want,and it might be the one with the huge amount of money in it. i"ll trade this for that.Wouldn't it be great if we could say" I'll take Bill Gates life please,or maybe Oprah,anyone else's out there,but your own.Would things be better? Maybe for a while,but then we would realize they have their own set of issues and worries.

I think of a boy who lived with us when he was small.His life was not easy before he came to us,He and his siblings had been placed in so many different foster homes,they lost track of where they had been.They also lost track of their belongings and showed up at my house each holding a brown paper bag holding some items of clothing and a doll or two.

Thats it,to be on this earth 7 years and this is what you have.All your belongings in a little bag sitting on your lap,while the tears flow from your eyes because you don't know where you are,who these people are,and where you are going next. You wonder if anyone loves you,why is this happening and will you ever have a home?You can bet if he had a choice of trading in his little life,he would have jumped at the chance.

Even now as an adult,I can bet he has wished for a better life.One like the kid down the street.Who has had the same boring parents all his life,The same bedspread,and curtains for years,the same address,the things that this kid thinks is boring and mundane.Im sure each one would look at the others lives and wish for some of it.

But the thing we don't realize is that although our lives are not always wonderful,there have been things that we had wished had not happened.There are some of us,who think we got the short end of the stick so to speak.We look at others and think "God must love them more.their live has been so much easier".But we do not know half of what these people have gone through.Even those we call close friends.We know them,but we do not know every detail of their entire lives.And they do not know about ours.

I love the verse Joel 2:25 'I will repay you for the years the locusts have eaten-- the great locust and the young locust, the other locusts and the locust swarm-- my great army that I sent among you.

What this means is no matter what your life was like as a child .Or even the past few years.He will replace those lost years.When we think of the damage Locust can do,they come in like a dark cloud,eating everything in sight.They fly out leaving behind fields that were once green and full of life.That are now mowed down,damaged and destroyed.But the wonderful thing is,after some time.Once the rain has fallen and the sun has come out.Slowly but surely the new growth starts to poke thru the earth,each day growing a little greener and a little taller.Until one day the field is full of tall lush new growth blowing in the breeze.It is restored.It is better than ever before.

That is what Jesus can do for us.Even those lives that seem so painful,the ones that it is a miracle we have grown up to become functioning adults.He can and will restore what the locust have eaten.But we have to let him.We need to go to him and ask and allow him to work.We cannot do it on our own.So today,you can choose to allow Him to begin to work,and give you the wonderful life you never had.Or you can stay right where you are,the damaged,beaten down field,that eventually will cease to exist,it will become barren wasteland empty and full of dirt.Let him restore you.You will be amazed what He can do.

Blessings
Dee

Whats in your Garden, flowers or weeds?

People fascinate me.I love to sit at the mall or boardwalk,anywhere really and just sit back and watch them.I wonder who they are,what their lives are like..I can spend just a few minutes with someone and kind of figure them out,so to speak.My father always had this gift.I would bring home a new friend who I thought was wonderful.He would spend a few minutes with them,then later he would tell me all about them.And it was usually not what I wanted to hear.That one will get you into trouble,Somethings not right with that one,They won't even look me in the eye.I always thought with each new friend that even though they weren't upstanding christian people, I thought maybe just once he would be fooled.But he always saw through their charade and saw what I didn't want him to see. That used to literally drive me crazy.I still cringe at times when I think back on who I chose to spend my time with.Im positive my parents wondered at times where my common sense had gone.

Now that I am older I now have the gift,same as my father.But thank goodness my oldest son,also has it and does not choose to bring the type of friends home that I did.When he was small I would say to him" you sure a good friend picker outer" and he would say with much enthusiasm"I know'! I pray that this continues.

How many times do we surround ourselves with those who maybe are not the best for us.If you are a Christian you are to be out in the world,helping those that are struggling.But in your everyday life the ones that you are surrounding yourself with,the ones who you call when you yourself are struggling,the ones you spend a lot of time with,Who are they? Do they lift you up,encourage you? Or when you hang up the phone do you feel worse ? What kind of advice are they giving you?

There are people in my life,who just 5 minutes in their company feels like eternity.I want to run for the hills. If I was in a good mood before I am not now.There are others I could spend hours with them,and enjoy every minute of it.I could be having the worst day of my life,and when I leave them,everything has turned around for the better.

I have watched women sitting around a table talking about their husbands,The conversation starts out with one women complaining about her husband.Before you know it every women at that table is contributing to the conversation and the bash fest( as i call it) starts up.You can walk away from that table ready to find the nearest divorce lawyer or your husband so you can tell him off.This in turn will start the road to discontent,fighting etc.

I have watched a different scenario take place.Take another group of women.Same woman starts to complain,but the conversation is different now.The women at the table, point out the husbands good points, they pray for the woman struggling.The end result is a woman walks away from that table, thinking a little clearer, she is a little stronger and supported.Hey the situation doesn't look as bad now.

Do you see the difference? Jesus wants us to surround ourselves with people to encourage us,to love us,to point us in the right direction.He doesn't want us to be by ourselves.He certainly does not want us to go it alone.Or worse yet,be around those that drag us down.

The Lord has given me amazing friends at this time in my life. But I can remember a time,thinking" I have so many friends but something is missing".A lot of them were not true friends. When certain things took place in my life who was there? Not a lot of them.

This started the weeding process.I now have a network of women that I can call in a moment notice. Some I do not know when their birthday is,there exact street address .But I know I can call for an uplifting word or prayer.That is a gift.One that the Lord wants to give each one of us.So today if you are in need of people in your life that will be there to encourage and love you.Just ask Jesus and He will start the weeding process,and He will replace the weeds in your garden with beautiful flowers that will brighten your day.

I love this saying that I found in a devotional calender.
The friend given to you by circumstances over which you have no control is God's own gift.Author unknown

Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their work:
If one falls down, his friend can help him up. But pity the man who falls and has no one to help him up! Also, if two lie down together, they will keep warm. But how can one keep warm alone? Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken. Eccl 4:9-12

Blessings Dee

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The peace of God

Do not be anxious about anything,but in everything,by prayer and petition,with thanksgiving,present your requests to God.And the peace of God,which transcends all understanding,will guard your hearts and your minds in Jesus Christ.

When I read this verse,what stands out to me is the word peace.A peace that transcends all understanding.A peace that will be there regardless of what we are going through.How many of us have felt this? How many of you have not? I can remember times in my life,when things were happening that I had no control over.Things that i would never in a million years have thought would ever happen to me.But they did ,and I did not have a clue how to deal with them

.Most of the time it was a waiting game,wait and hope to God that it would be over soon.I can remember times where i laid in bed at night,thinking the worst,the scenario playing over and over again in my mind,and each time it did,it was getting worse.

I remember one night during a extremely stressful time in my life.i could feel my heart actually skipping a beat,After noticing that, I started to have trouble breathing,my chest felt tight,like I couldn't get enough air .I lay there most of the night,afraid to wake my husband,because he would probably have taken me to the emergency room,where I didn't want to go.

I thought to myself if I close my eyes I will not wake up.The fear of death,stole my sleep that night.The fear of the unknown caused me to think crazy things.And before i knew it the crisis was over,I was still alive,and I had stressed over something for no reason.

How many times do we do this? We have planned our funeral down to the last detail,or we have taken a small crisis and in our minds ,we have ourselves,dead,homeless, or broke,in seconds .The list goes on and on.Fear in our minds is like someone throwing a match in a haystack.

At this time in my life.I have found that I can go through even the hardest times with a peace that amazes me. There are people in my life that have none.They are like the tiger in a cage, pacing back and forth,there is no peace there,just an anxiousness,a restlessness,and overwhelming fear.

You cannot have peace without Jesus.He can give you peace that astounds you.But He cannot give it to someone He does not know.So many want the peace ,but not the relationship with Jesus.They think they are just fine most of the time,but when a crisis hits,they want the peace. But they want it without Him.But with onecomes the other.

We have choice.If we want a peace that totally engulfs us and takes us through times in our lives that could literally devastate us ,we have to have a personal relationship with the one who provides it.. I have watched women who have lost children or a spouse,speak at their funerals.How can this be done,we wonder? When we watch others laying on the floor at the funeral a sobbing,heap, ,devastated beyond belief.It is peace that transcends all understanding that enables them to do the impossible..It is hard to believe that we can have it at times when we are so broken,where our hearts are hurting so bad,we can;t even breathe.

But it is possible,and it is there waiting for us to ask for it and receive it.We cannot make it on our own,why not let Jesus take away your pain and your fears? Why not let him cover you with a blanket of peace so warm and comforting that you will not know how you ever lived without it.

I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.”John 16:33

blessings Dee

How many of us are excited that spring is here? I am.This is the time of year that I look forward to. After the cold, windy winter i am ready for some warmer weather and no wind.Gentle breezes maybe,but i have grown weary of the cold cutting wind that seems to blow through my yard almost every day.Living on the water on a hill does not help.

Some days we like to look out the window to see what is blowing by,perhaps the patio furniture,an occasional pillow or maybe even the garden swing skidding by.In the middle of the night we hear tree limbs falling like rain at times.

I remember when my son always had to have a kite.And each time the wind would beat it into a shredded pile of plastic attached to a string.He would then cry.Or it would whip it around so hard and throw it into a tree,too high for us to ever retrieve it.One kite stayed in the pine tree until it turned into just strings.Many a summer we would look up and there it still was.

Wind can be a gentle warm breeze,blowing through our windows on a summer day.We enjoy it,it is needed on hot muggy days.We look forward to it most of the time.But at times ,like here in the winter it is relentless.A constant blowing,beating on the sides of the house,causing old,withered branches to break and fall to the ground.It pushes and pushes on the patio furniture,the ones that are not heavy enough to withstand the constant wind.It then cartwheels across the yard,finally ending up where ever the wind choses to send it.

At times in our lives we feel like we are in a windstorm.There are times when all is well,the wind is gentle and warm.It is comfortable.But there are other times,when we are pushed and pushed,we feel like we are being pulled from every direction.We aren't even sure what direction we are heading anymore.We are like the tiny boat in the ocean,being tossed about in the wind and the waves.It is at the mercy of the wind and water, Even the strongest engine at times can't get the boat to its destination.

It is like when we play pin the tail on the donkey.We put on the blindfold,someone spins us around ,we stop and then have to put the tail on the donkey.Nine out of ten times.we are so far from the target its hysterical to watch.You can end up on the other side of the room,or worse yet,ready to stick the tack into a persons body.Ouch.

Without Jesus it is easy to see how we can feel beat up by the wind,like the tiny boat being tossed in the angry sea.Were are we getting our direction from? What is guiding us? If it is the world or we try to do it ourselves.We can easily become disoriented,lose our focus.We can become so weary and worn from the wind.

But if each day we go to Jesus and ask him for direction in our lives.If we read his word.This is the map that will guide us to our destination.He is the shelter that will protect us from the constant beating of the wind.He does not want us to lose our focus,or grow weary.He wants to guide us,protect us,and love us.Don't let the world and the wind send you skidding across the yard like the lawn furniture.Or like the boat in the water at the mercy of the hurricane.Let him be your guide and you will rise high like the kite that is soaring in the gentle breeze on a warm summer day.

Proverbs 3:5,6
Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your path straight.

Isaiah 43:1-2 Don't be afraid,for I have ransomed you. I have called you by name,you are mine, When you go through deep waters and great trouble,I will be with you.When you go through rivers of difficulty you will not drown.

Blessings
Dee