A Great Big Hole...

Ever have the feeling you are part of a great big hole? That your a missing a piece of the puzzle?That you are just different than your surroundings? Ever have the feeling that you just don't fit in? This isn't necessarily a bad thing. Sometimes it doesn't feel like a good thing though. Knowing that you feel like you just don't belong in this world is hard...because we don't. As a follower...as a Christian we belong with him...and this is not our home. But, God has put us here. He has put us here to be part of this Earth until we are in our heavenly home. He has put us here to save souls and win lives for Him. Lately it just feels like we don't belong but we don't know where to go or what to do. We feel uncomfortable in our surroundings and feeling Gods push...but where? Seeking His advise and praying diligently for the answers. That we follow Him wherever he leads us. Praying for doors to open and if need be doors to close at the same time. As we raise our boys we realize it's not just that easy. Just pick up and go....oh how we have thought about it. Then we remember it's not just us we might pick up and leave with its these boys who have their lives as well. But we are called to follow...our desire is to raise men for God. Men who pick up and follow.  Men who are leaders and who I know are world changers. There is the line. The line between living a life and living the life for God. Living in a way that glorifies Him while living in this world. Finding your last piece to the puzzle and filling in the blanks and holes that have been missing pieces to the whole picture. James 1:5 tells us to ask God when we don't know. When we lack wisdom that we are to ask and seek Him. He provides the answers. He provides the insight. He provides the missing pieces...all you have to do is ask. These answers might not be immediate answers. Keep praying. Keep seeking. They might not come for years but God hears your prayer. He hears your plea and sometimes he is aligning the missing puzzle pieces right in front of you and you just don't see it. Sometimes we don't see his work until it's time for that final missing piece. Don't lose hope. Keep praying. Keep seeking and his answers will be revealed. God is ALWAYS on time. 

Ok Satan....you win

We keep getting hits from the right and from the left. You get one thing done and something else happens. Days you just want to lay out in the grass with your arms wide open and say "I give up...Satan you win". He knows what buttons to push. He knows how to make you squirm. He knows how to make you lose it and give up hope. He just knows! Then God wakes you up and slaps you around a little bit and shows you that things could be far worse. He shows you that the blessings of this life are not in the things. The things that cost us money and the things that seems so important but in reality they aren't. They are just things. Things that are bought and sold everyday. Things that are forgotten about in a month. Things ...cannot replace life. Life is fragile and fleeting. Life is precious. Time is like gold. Savoring the moments and not the things. The memories. The laughter. When we leave this earth what is left behind? Our things won't matter but the memories will. The impact we made. The lives we changed. The moments we savored. The time we took. The love we gave. The JOY we create. Joy...its a tough one for me. I get down and out easily. I get lost in what needs to be done. What should be done. How much to be done. Often times I don't look at the joy in it. I take it for granted and miss the joy. But today...today I choose Joy. My joy is what makes my kids joy. When I am joyful they are joyful. When I am snappy. They are snappy. When I'm upset. They are upset. Today I choose joy. Find the joy. It may not be easy. It may even be downright painful but look for the JOY. It's there...in everything we do. We just have to look for it. So today Satan doesn't win. The bills may stack up. The car may blow up. That thing you wanted may slip through your fingers. But it's all material. Don't let it steal your joy. Don't let it steal your laughter. Praise God for the things you have that aren't "things".