Thoughts of the Heart

When trials come and try to beat us up we have a choice to make, will we allow it to defeat us or will we grow through it and become stronger?  Our adversary the devil is always looking to destroy us as 1 Peter 5:8 states: "Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion , seeking someone to devour" Now as a Christian it is pretty easy (sometimes) to realize who your adversaries are.  What is hard is when they come from within your Christian community.  I have always been shocked when a fellow Christian thinks it is okay to speak harshly or in mean tones to myself or other's, to go about spreading rumors or gossip.  It breaks my heart and if it breaks my heart think of how much more it must break Christ heart. I have asked God to give me a vacation from these trials, but God in His loving kindness wants to see me grow and in order to grow to become more like Him we have to go through things sometimes that we just do

When I think of Blessings it is only normal to think of GOOD things.  My husband (Mike) and myself have been greatly blessed with two beautiful healthy daughters, son-in-laws and 6 grandchildren and so many more blessings that are what we would call good.  So when storms or losing loved ones or ALMOST losing a loved one come our way are they a blessing?  I have to say that even the storm's are blessings as we grow from them and grow closer to our precious Lord.  Everything that we have went through in this last year and continue to go through have been life lessons and a growing time for myself as well as our family.  As Laura Story say's in her song "Blessings" "What if trials of this life are Your mercies in disquise"  I am going to leave you with the words and song of Laura Story and pray that when your blessings come through raindrops that you will ALWAYS remember that Christ has already walked that tough road for you, so lean on Him and count your bless

Thoughtful Reflection One year ago on February 28, 2011 Tiffany gave the most precious gift of life to a twin boy and girl, delivery went well but it was afterwards that they couldn't get the bleeding to stop which ended with her losing her ability to ever have children again.  She was devastated, felt so bad that she couldn't give her husband another child or us more grandchildren.  We all assured her that she had given us exactly what God had intended in her two sons.  I have asked myself several times over this last year why God would allow such a selfless act on Tiffany's part to turn into such a nightmare.  Yet we serve a Sovereign God who knows all and none of this surprised Him.  From the beginning of time he had predestined Tiffany to be a part of bringing these little lives into this world and at the same time almost losing her's. We no more than got her home and she had a PE (Pulmonary Embolism) and yet God's hands were on her as her husband was stil