Who knows?  What we are experiencing now in our lives may turn out to be life's biggest blessing.  Our trials help us to depend on the Lord in a way that no easy time can.  Many times as he prophesied, Ezekiel quoted God as saying, "Then they will know that I am the Lord."   May we recognize His Lordship in our lives through every situation in which He allows us to be.

How good is our God, who grows us from dirt and darkness 
to cleanliness and light!  
Hallelujah!

Count YOUR blessings, name them one by one.

Count YOUR blessings, see what God has done!

Been there?  Done that?

God, Please Don't Let Me Cry

Eight-year-old Gilbert was the odd-man-out at the Cub Scout "Pinewood Derby" event.

All of the other scouts had sleekly crafted cars with cool paint jobs - obviously the result of father-son partnerships. But Gilbert's "Blue Lightning" was crudely made, lopsided and a little wobbly. Worse yet, every scout had a proud dad standing by his side, but Gilbert was accompanied by "Mom."

In a Pinewood Derby, wooden cars race down a ramp in an elimination-style competition. You keep racing as long as you win. And quite unexpectedly "Blue Lightning" kept winning, over and over again, until it was pitted in a final contest against the sleekest, fastest-looking car there.

At that moment Gilbert asked if he could pray. His brow wrinkled in concentration, he prayed for a very long minute and a half. Finally he smiled and said, "I'm ready."

To everyone's surprise, "Blue Lightning" won by a nose and the crowd roared with approval. The scout master approached with a microphone and asked, "Did you pray to win, son?" Little Gilbert shook his head. "No sir. That wouldn't be fair. I asked God to not let me cry if I lost." That simple prayer spoke volumes to everyone present. Gilbert didn't ask God to win, make things fair, or remove his pain. He simply prayed to endure it.

How well Gilbert understood the promise of Philippians 4:13 - "I can do everything

through Christ who gives me strength," or the promise of James 4, "You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to consume it on your passions . . . But he gives more grace. Therefore it says, 'God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble.'"

http://www.lamplighterpublishing.com/

 My friend Angie wrote this on her blog today (angiesthatsthat.blogspot.com), and I want everyone who can to read it.  What a wise and wonderful statement of truth!

1 Corinthians 1;18  ''The message of the cross is foolish to those who are headed for destruction! But we who are being saved know it is the very power of God.''      This verse was in my daily Bible reading today and reminds me where to lay my burdens.  Every doubt, sorrow, worry, or anxious moment has been paid for at the foot of the Cross.
     ''Now I can trade these ashes in for beauty and wear forgiveness like a crown.  Coming to kiss the feet of mercy, I lay every burden down at the foot of the Cross.''
      I can honestly say God has won my heart and my trials are turned into victory thru Him and for His glory.  If you read further in the passage past this one verse, it talks more about our foolishness.  1 Corinthians 1;24-25  ''But to those called by God to salvation, both Jews and Gentiles, Christ is the power of God and the wisdom of God.  This foolish plan of God is wiser than the wisest of human plans, and God’s weakness is stronger than the greatest of human strength.''
     How come we can recognize how little we know when we get lost going from point A to point B, but we often think we know better than God or can do things without Him?  Arrogance needs to be humbled, anxiety needs to be calmed, and patience needs to be sought.  Where can you find such a peace-giving place?  At the foot of the Cross, where grace and suffering meet.