God is my Father

34 years ago tonight, my brother & sister and I watched as our earthly daddy collapsed right in front of us.

I've never written about this day but am drawn to writing today.

I will never forget that moment as long as I live.

My brother and sister and I went for a walk with our daddy after dinner. Mom and our friends stayed back cleaning up the dishes from supper.
It was a beautiful summer night. Dad was taking us around the pool and we were sharing together like kids do with their daddy's.
We loved our dad so much. He was the pillar of strength in our family of five. We all looked to him to guide us.
We didn't know then that those precious moments would soon be taken from us. I don't remember our conversation with dad on that walk. But I know it was fun and quiet and peaceful.
Then the moment came when right before three small kids, their dad fell down hard on the ground.
I can still see him falling. He fell hard. My brother at the ripe old age of 14 ran to his side as I ran back to the house to get others to help. Not sure about the horror my little baby sister felt in that moment when the peace and quiet was gone. I know now she was being held by God.
The noise and chaos increased over the next hours.
The ambulance came and took our daddy away. I will always have that picture of the ambulance driving away from us; no siren; only red flashing lights. Never again will I see my daddy this side of heaven but will have the snap shot in my head forever of our sweet quiet walk around that pool on August 28,1978.
On our daddy's grave site the date is written, August 29th,1978, but I know my dad went to be with Jesus on the 28th right in front of me. I learned later that doctors and nurses tried real hard to save him. Working on his body into the midnight hour. But Jesus called him home. His life you see was written already by God our Father, and it was time for him to go home. Isaiah 57:1-2 ( the righteous are taken away to be spared from evil - and they enter into peace. ) Psalm 139:16

As I look back today and ponder the million ways the Lord has been with me. My soul is full of the Lord's presence and He has taken care of the fatherless. Psalm 68:5 says HE is the father to the fatherless. I can say...YES He is. All the days for my earthly dad and for me are ordained by God. He determines when we take our first and last breath. He sustains us through both of those breaths.

I am thankful today for all the experiences the Lord has ordained for me. The Lord has used them all to knit me together in Him. Even the death of my daddy as a little girl. God, my Father replaced that missing person in my life. He moved right in and sat down with me. I walked with Him.
God my Father became my strength and guide for life.
The coolest thing about God is that He will never be weak for me. He will never fall down hard and be taken from me. He is and always will be present in my life. He is strong. He is safe. He is my Father who defends me and loves me.( Deuteronomy 33:12) I rest secure in Him. He shields me all day long. I rest between His shoulders.

God has been with me through the waters; He has kept me safe under His wings. He has been my refuge and strength. God is the Lord my God and Father. He who engineered the universe , is with me always.
The Lord who formed me for Himself, has asked me and commanded me to proclaim His praise.

Today, 34 years after the death of my dad's body, I shout with a Praise to the Lord, for He is good. And His mercies are new everyday. He is worthy to be praised forever and ever.

You see the Lord's ways are higher than ours. And when we live with our thoughts fixed on Him
 ( Hebrews 12:2 ) we really start to live.

Colossians 3:2-3 - Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is your life appears, then you also will appear with Him in glory.

My dad is more alive now then he ever was. When our life is hidden in Christ with God, we are alive whether our bodies are dead or alive.

Deeply thankful to Jesus today - He is my Father <3

Getting distracted down here on this earth

I think one of the hardest things for me to face is not getting distracted, de-focused and getting entangled in the sin that so easily trips me up.

I must figure out how to live so focused in the heavenly realm so that I can live around this messy sin- corrupted place and not get tripped!
I must stand firm!
Galatians 5:1
Romans 12

Standing back up after getting tripped on my journey!

Broken

Why do we not see things broken as a possibility in the Hand of God?

Today, I was reminded by the Spirit of God that HE needs me to be broken in His Hands.

When I read the Word of God today, He broke me. He gently broke my spirit.

It's funny, isn't it when we people run only to the food that give us comfort? Is that the same way we are with God's Word? Do we love God Word only when it comforts us?

How much do we love God's word when it rebukes, corrects and trains us ( 2 Tim.3:16 )?

I liken this to the food we eat.

Ice cream and cookies and coffee and all the things that taste good to us, we eat.

We don't run to the kitchen to make broccoli, fish, other sorted vegetables, and consume them like we love them. Do we?

Jesus said HE is the bread of Life. We need to go to Him. The Word and consume His Words, even if what we read may taster bitter to us or give us a bad taste in our mouth.

When we eat the foods we may not like,( but the better ones for us ), we may get an upset stomach or have to run to the bathroom more often. =)

hmmm...interesting...the foods that make us do this, don't they clean us out?

Well, I think that is the way God's word works. So often, the "not- so- good -tasting- scripture" "cleans" us out or breaks us down.

We become broken vessels, able to be used by God.

Until we are broken, there is nothing in us able to be used by God.

In this broken state the Lord has provided for me today, I am reminded in

2 Corinthians 12:9-10

~ that God's grace is sufficient for me. His power is made perfect in my weakness. I will boast about my broken state ( my weakness ) so that Christ's power may rest on me. This is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak ( broken ), then I am strong. ~

Reminded today, I was not happy when my youngest daughter broke my salt & pepper shakers from Spain (a gift from my husband )

Broken things are a gift. Until I can see that, and stop and respond to God, I will be unhappy with many things and not concerned with the most important. JESUS

This broken vessel ( me ) is resting in my Maker's Hands today.