Your Will Be Done

We get so wrapped up in what's going on in the ups and downs of our own life that sometimes it seems we need a kick in the pants to to get our focus back where it belongs.

Though we don't make it to church often, we are always so blessed when we do. This morning's sermon "The Most Difficult Prayer We Will Ever Pray" really spoke to both of us..

Matthew 6:9-13 is commonly referred to as "The Lord's Prayer". Luke 11 references this passage as well and also records that the disciples wanted Jesus to teach them to pray just as John the Baptist taught his disciples to pray. Jesus responded, "This, then, is how you should pray:"

"Our Father in heaven,
Hallowed be Your name.
Your Kingdom come,
Your will be done,
On earth as it is in heaven
Give us today our daily bread.
And forgive us our debts,
As we also have forgiven our debtors.
And lead us not into temptation,
But deliver us from the evil one.
For Yours is the kingdom,
And the power and the glory forever.
Amen."
(New International Version)

The main focus of PT's sermon was in verse 10 "Your will be done". If we truly mean it when we pray "Your will be done" we're committing to take our hands off and allow Him to have free reign. The key is giving up control!

Ouch!! Anyone else feel their toes just got trampled all over?

That "c" word ranks right up there with the all too familiar "p" word (pride). In reality, control is only an illusion; and pride...well, you know the Proverb "pride goes before destruction". The crux of the matter is, Satan tries to fool us into thinking we know best, and then we begin to believe the lie that what we want is better than what God wants for us.

Many (most?) of our prayers are based around a desire for God to change our circumstances to our liking. "You know, God, I've got this handled. Everything's all lined out, ready to fall into place. If you would just take care of this one little circumstance and bless this plan, I'll take it from there". However, God's more interested in changing our hearts.....the way we relate to our circumstances; not necessarily changing the cirsumstance itself.

This kind of prayer demands total dependence and absolute trust! Yet, when we choose His path, we can pray "Your will be done" without reservation! The truth is, when we have an abiding, intimate relationship with God, He will change our desires to be in line with His desires for us.

It's not about us--what we want--it's about following His will and giving Him glory. Not always an easy task. Jesus knew this first hand; He faced tremendous pain and suffering in His obedience. He was confident in His commitment to do whatever was His Father's will!

In John 6:38 Jesus said: "For I have come down from heaven to do the will of God who sent me, not to do what I want."

Yes, God's will is sometimes hard to understand. It can be costly and often brings pain and suffering...but are you willing to consider the cost of living outside of His will?

"How can we understand the road we travel? It is the Lord who directs our steps." Proverbs 20:24

Thanks, PT! Needed the reminder that it's not about our circumstances being changed (tho we'd really like that!) but all about allowing Him to mold our hearts through the circumstances.

February musings

We've been home from our last little stay at Presby for two weeks now and it's certainly been busy. I'm so thankful God blessed us with an extended break due to last week's winter weather and another unexpected day off Wednesday....the downtime has been much needed!

You'd think with all this extra time off; I'd do something productive; but to be honest...despite being off of work 4 days last week, and 1 this week; I'm still behind in my reading of my one-year chronological Bible and it's taken me two weeks to catch everyone up on what's going on around here.

However, we did spend a glorious weekend playing with our precious girls...who, by the way, are both now walking! That sweet little Frankenstein walk...both arms out, slow, stiff-legged, hilarious! They "talk", giggle and play together and also enjoy reading books, and have begun to imitate animal sounds as well as kisses. But my favorite is to see how they seem to truly love each other and can be so sweet to one another. I may be a little biased, but they are just the cutest baby girls!!! Most definitely double the blessing!

Sorry, got off on a rabbit trail; on to the news you really want to know:

We knew this latest procedure would not be a cure-all, but Ron was quite disappointed to wake up yakking the first morning home. However, I fear I'm to blame. Being the fabulous wife I am, (wink, wink), I decided to prepare a healthy, nutritious meal of salmon, pasta, steamed veggies , fresh cherries, and as an added treat, I stopped by Sprinkles to pick up his favorite--German Chocolate cupcake. Seems we were both so excited about this step forward, we forgot the first cardinal rule of someone with digestive issues...stick to easily digestible foods! No seeds, nuts, skins; etc. We found out the hard way that the g-tube is easily clogged, which, you guessed it, forces everything to come back up!

So, we've had to make several adjustments in eating habits. It's been a struggle but I'm happy to report, he has only yakked one other time...which had nothing to do with the g-tube/digestive issues!

We did have to make a little trip to Presby over the weekend...drain bag busted...quite a joy to wake up to...and since they had to construct apparatus specific to his unique needs; we had to make a trip in so they could reconstruct another. We were keeping the girls for the weekend so they were along for the ride. As soon as we entered the hospital we had to get a picture of them. You know you've been around a hospital too long when the first thing you do is take a picture to commemorate your grandbabies first trip there!

Sunday afternoon, Ron suddenly felt he'd been hit by a truck...more lethargic than usual, no appetite, stiff neck, body aches, joint pains and a monster headache. Anytime something comes on that suddenly, everyone worries that it might be an infection in his PICC; and being that it goes directly to his heart, well, you get the picture.

By Monday afternoon, he was running a fever. Per Dr. A's orders, off we went to have bloodwork and cultures run. Temp continued to climb all day so decision was made to go to the after-hours clinic for a full assessment. After being poked, prodded and having that nasty flu swab done, along with a sudden, random yakking episode; praise God, he tested negative for the flu. Clinic doctor said it looked to be a virus that should run it's course within about 5 days, however he would feel worse before he felt better...yippee! True to course, that night was a rough one with temp getting up to 102.3.

We found out Wednesday morning that the lab lost his blood vials and needed him to go back for another set of blood draws and cultures. Yes, this was the day schools were closed due to ice, snow and cold. We waited until afternoon when the roads had cleared up before we ventured out.

It's so good to see him finally feeling better - no fever in over 24 hours, good sleep the last couple of nights and he finally feels like eating a little.


I think I've covered just about everything now...hope you feel in the loop!

Much love,

Christie

Though I'm behind in my readings, God continues to speak to me in many ways. Exodus 10:2 (NLT) has been a sweet reminder of God's perfect plan regardless of what we're going through.

"You will be able to tell wonderful stories to your children and grandchildren about the marvelous things I am doing...to prove that I am the Lord"

along with Job 26:14 NLT

"These are just the beginning of all that He does, merely a whisper of His power"

When life gets complicated and you've dealt with difficult circumstances for an extended period of time you can easily feel abandoned. I'm so thankful we can rest in KNOWING God has promised to NEVER leave or forsake us! Even when we hurt so badly our disappointments cause us to doubt His plan and we turn from Him, He is ALWAYS there...loving us, washing us with His peace and grace. However, we have to CHOOSE to trust, CHOOSE to believe, CHOOSE to praise, CHOOSE to follow Him...no matter where the path takes us.

This great song by Heather Williams says it so well:

Hallelujah

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ufof-XgwhOs

Jesus, please come
please come today
hear me
heal me
be near me I pray

I have fallen so far
flat on my face
I'm in need of your grace today
I stumble and fall
but in spite of it all
your love always stays the same
Hallelujah
Hallelujah

Jesus, please come
please come today
break me
mold me
use me I pray

but don't give up on me now
I'm so close to you now
I'm in need of your grace today
wipe the dirt off my face
hold me in your embrace
your love always saves the day
Hallelujah
Hallelujah

I have fallen so far
flat on my face
I'm in need of your grace today
Hallelujah
Hallelujah

Sing Hallelujah
Sing Hallelujah
Sing Hallelujah amen

On my knees here I fall
in spite of it all
Hallelujah
And though it seems hard
I'm still trusting you Lord
Hallelujah
Hallelujah