God Chose My New Year's Resolution

This morning, I opened up my Bible to read the devotional passage and knew as soon as I read the first two verses that God was speaking to me. I don't always make New Year's Resolutions, but I did this year because God let me know what I need to work on this year. It was truly exciting for me to realize that God was meeting me right where I was at and letting me know He would be with me every step of the way this year.


Luke 6: 27-28 says “But to you who are listening I say: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you." Those of you who know me probably think these verses struck me because of all we've been through with our neighbors, but you would be wrong. These verses struck me because my daughter is officially going to be a teenager in one week. That's right, my daughter Sarah is turning 13 years old. Where has the time gone?! 


Now, I know at least one person is probably thinking "You consider your daughter your enemy?!" No, I don't; but I think anyone who has been through the teen years with a child will understand where I'm headed with this. My daughter has always been strong willed. She has always given me an attitude when I tell her do something. She wants things HER WAY and does NOT like to be told what to do. There are days I wonder "What did I ever do to make my daughter hate me so much?!" Yet if I allow that question to verbally emerge from my lips, she will be the first one to say "I don't hate you mom!" It sure feels that way though when she is being defiant, yelling at me, arguing with me, stomping up the stairs, and/or slamming her bedroom door. Yup, my daughter is becoming a teenager and things are bound to get even worse. So, I have no doubt God gave me these verses to tell me what I've been doing wrong and show me what I need to do so that my relationship with my daughter can be repaired and strengthened.  


I am going to be brutally honest again in this blog because I want everyone to know that I am not perfect. I have a feeling I am not alone in how I feel and have reacted to things in the past. I have good intentions and want my children to grow up to know, love, and serve Jesus. I want them to be honest and trustworthy individuals. I want them to know that their actions have consequences and that they need to accept those consequences if they choose to do something wrong instead of blaming someone or something else. I am the first to admit though that even though I have the best of intentions, I do not always handle things correctly and I don't always react in a Christlike manner. I have asked for forgiveness from God and from my kids numerous times. It's a good thing that God is so quick to forgive and hasn't given up on me. He knows my intentions are good and He wants to help me become the person I want to be, which is also the person He wants me to be. He understands I am not perfect and gently reminds me of things that I need to work on. Oh to be more like Him!


Getting back to those two verses, let's break them down. 


1."Love your enemies".  Since God brought my daughter to mind as I read these verses, I can say that I do love my daughter very much; but I also know that I don't always show it to her by my actions when she is acting like an enemy. I need to work on showing love more often. When she starts screaming at me, I don't need to scream at her. I can calmly tell her to stop speaking disrespectfully to me and to show her by example how to speak to someone respectfully. If I don't speak respectfully to her when I'm upset, how will she learn to speak respectfully when she's upset?


2. "Do good to those who hate you." When my daughter is angry with me, do I need to be angry back? Do I need to give her the silent treatment and show how mad or disappointed I am with her for the rest of the day? NO! I need to start finding a way to do nice things for her regardless of how mean she is being. I could make a meal I know she will like. We could play a game together. I know I can find something nice to do with her or for her. Eventually, she will realize how much I love her in spite of how she has acted and hopefully she will learn to change her attitude so that she can also show me how much she loves me.


3. "Bless those who curse you." No one in my family uses profanity, but "cursing" can also mean speaking at someone in a mean way, calling them names, putting them down, or just talking in a disrespectful tone. Sadly, I need to admit that I am guilty of doing all of these things when I am upset with my kids. What I need to work on this year is using more encouragement with my kids, especially when I'm upset. I need to find something to say that builds them up instead of tearing them down. I can encourage them instead of discouraging them. I need to speak kindly and respectfully to them so they learn how to do the same.


4. "Pray for those who mistreat you." This is the most important thing I need to remember to do. In the past, I have prayed.... for Sarah to change her attitude, to quit lying, to quit making excuses for her bad behavior, to stop fighting all the time, etc. What I should have been doing and what I will work on this year is for me to be praying for ME to change MY attitude and that I can find ways to show love, to encourage, and build up my kids when I'm upset so that they can learn by my example how to be a better person.


So there you have it. I'm not perfect, but I know what I am going to be working on this year so that I can get closer to becoming the person God wants me to be and who I want to be. God knew my heart. He knew I was frustrated that my relationship with my daughter was not what I wanted it to be. He knew I was frustrated with the fact that I kept failing in my attitude. I knew that I shouldn't start yelling and stuff when Sarah was giving me an attitude; yet, I would fail over and over again and get sucked into the yell and scream and say nasty stuff routine. UGH! There were times I could control it, but I failed more times than I succeeded. Thankfully, God didn't give up on me.  He hasn't given up on you either. He knows the areas where you struggle and He is always willing to help you. I know there may be times I fail this year, but I know what I need to be doing and I am confident I will have more successes this year than failures. With God's help, I can do this!! And so can you!

His Compassion Never Fails

Yesterday was an extremely difficult day for me. About 5 or 10 minutes before church, I found out that my friend Dottie, who I've sung with on worship team for 10 years and who I've been friends with almost from that first day, had passed away in her sleep. It came as a shock to all of us who knew and loved her. She had just had surgery on Wednesday because she had excruciating back pain for years. The doctor said she should be feeling 90% better because he had fixed a couple of different things that would have been causing her pain. She had gone back to the hospital Saturday night because she was experiencing a lot of pain. The doctors gave her some more medicines and they seemed to be working so she went back home and went to sleep. She woke up in heaven. I don't know how we sang during both services, but God gave us the strength. I came home and that's when I realized what the date was. It was November 13. That's the same date that my big sister Wendy had passed away. Yesterday was 17 years since my sister went home to be with the Lord. 17 years ago, November 13 landed on a Sunday too. So now I have lost two people I love on Sunday, November 13. 

I woke up around 5 am this morning and immediately I began to think of Dottie. Part of me said "It can't be true! She can't be gone!" while another part of me was so thankful that she was no longer experiencing any pain. Of course, I thought of how much pain all of us who knew and loved her are in. Normally, I do my devotions after I am all ready to start the day, but today I decided to do it before that. My devotional called for me to read Lamentations 3:22-33. I immediately started to cry as I read the passage, but I was also comforted by the words. The verses that stuck out to me the most were the first two and the last two. Verses 22 and 23 say "Because of the LORD’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness." Verses 32 and 33 say "Though he brings grief, he will show compassion, so great is his unfailing love. For he does not willingly bring affliction or grief to anyone." 

I began to think of how unexpected Dottie's death was. No one was expecting to get that news. My sister's death was also just as unexpected. Who expects a 28 year old woman to die? She was in the hospital after giving birth. She was suppose to be going home that day. I had called her when I came home from church to tell her I had gone to the altar to pray for her babies. Her husband Joe had answered the phone and told me she wasn't feeling well and was trying to rest. He said she'd call me later, so I told him to have her call me at mom and dad's house since that's where I would be. When the phone rang at their house two hours later, I said "that's Wendy!" It wasn't. It was Joe, calling to tell us Wendy had died. Even though Dottie wasn't 28, her death caused just as much shock and sadness to all those who knew and loved her. Yet in both cases, God showed His compassion.

My sister had lost a few babies in her short life, and I don't know if she could have handled losing more. God knew that 2 of her 3 babies were going to die too, so He showed His compassion and called my sister home first. I don't know why, but I had this thought that God needed help with all the babies up in heaven, so He called my sister home to help Him because He knew how much she loved children. That thought has brought comfort to me and others who later experienced the loss of a baby or young child. I was able to share that "My sister is taking care of your child until you get there." She's also taking care of 3 of my children until I get there and can hold them. 

Dottie had a zest for life. She loved to laugh. I'm sure heaven there is a lot more laughter in heaven now that Dottie is there! One of the first thoughts I had was "She's not 90% better (like the doctor had said she'd be after her surgery). She's 100% better!" Maybe the doctor was wrong and she wasn't going to feel 90% better. Maybe the pain was still going to be bad and God knew that, so He showed His compassion by calling her home so that she didn't have to deal with any more pain. I don't know that for sure of course, but it brought me comfort to be reminded that God promised in Lamentations 3:32 that "Though he brings grief, he will show compassion, so great is his unfailing love."

I know that one day I will see Wendy again. I still miss her and will until the day I die, but I know she is in heaven with her Lord and she will be there to meet me when I enter those pearly gates. I also know that I will see Dottie again, as she too had accepted Jesus as her personal Lord and Savior. I will get to hear her laugh again one day and I'll get to sing with her again too. I'm sure she'll be one of those who meets me when I get there. I will never forget either of them while I am still here on earth. Even though I am sad and will cry because I miss them, I know God will give me peace and I am so thankful for His compassion that He shows.

Watch What You Say....And How You Say It

I just had to write on my blog today because God is so awesome and really taught me a lesson this morning. I was doing my devotions this morning and then read the passage where the Hidden Hearts verse for the month is located. The verse I'm memorizing this month is Ephesians 4:29 which says, "Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen." As I worked on memorizing this verse, God really opened my eyes to a truth He wanted me to see and hear.

I am a stay at home mom with two children who love to bicker with each other. My oldest is strong-willed and always wants things her way. She can get rather mouthy with me, and I've been struggling for awhile with trying to not get sucked into arguments with her. As soon as I started to read Ephesians 4:29, I felt God speaking to me. I'm going to be brutally honest here and I hope you don't judge me for it. I hope this will show you that I am not perfect, but I am working on it and I will continue to grow and be a better person with God's help! When I read this verse, I knew God was talking to me about the things I say when I get upset, especially to my daughter. I know that I allow myself to let things come out of my mouth that don't build her up. I then read the last part "that it may benefit those who listen". That's when I thought of my son. I know he hears what I am saying to his sister. OUCH. So when I say something that isn't building up my daughter, it hurts her AND it hurts my son who is listening!

This obviously applies to everyone we come into contact with. We should NEVER let ANY unwholesome talk come out of our mouths. What we say should ALWAYS be helpful in building others up. Others are listening to what we say. Does what they hear us say benefit them too or does it hurt them? Wow. What a responsibility we have! I have decided today to renew again my commitment to watch what I say and not let anything come out of my mouth that isn't edifying to everyone who hears it. I want to be performing construction and not destruction. What about you?

Miracles DO Happen When God's People Pray!!

I know I haven't blogged in a long time, but I felt I had to write about a little boy named Jack that I came to find out about on Facebook. A friend of mine posted a prayer request for him. She personally knew the family, and she posted the link to a board called "Praying for Jack Budensiek". I went there and started to follow the story of this little 5 year old boy.


Four weeks ago, Jack and his family were on vacation in Florida. He began to climb up a heavy piece of furniture (I believe it was a dresser) and it fell over on top of him, crushing his skull between the dresser and the tile floor. During the 10 minutes that it took for help to arrive, his dad held his son's lifeless body and begged God to save his son, not to let his son die, and to protect his brain. The doctors didn't hold out much hope of Jack surviving. They thought he was either going to die or have serious brain damage. Miraculously, Jack did survive, and he amazed doctors when he awoke from his coma and began talking and then walking. He hadn't died, and he didn't have brain damage! The doctors said they had never had anyone with as severe an injury as Jack's survive. Most of the doctors just shook their head and all they could say was "this is amazing, simply amazing" when they came in to see Jack. The doctors were talking about releasing Jack once he began eating, but all that changed a week and a day after the initial injury.


Jack's mom was holding him when he suddenly started holding his head and screaming. He then coded! They rushed Jack in to do a cat scan and then into emergency brain surgery. The doctor removed a blood clot that was THREE TIMES the size of his fist! The doctor gave the devastating news to his family: he had done all he could, but he only gave Jack a 20% chance of waking up again. This is when I found out about Jack and was burdened to join this board on Facebook along with 3,000+ other people who were all praying for Jack. I told my children (ages 12 and 7) about Jack, and they prayed for him as well. Every day, they'd ask "How's Little Jack?" My husband also prayed for Jack. The doctors as well as his family knew about the people who were praying for Jack. The doctor even told the family to have them keep praying, and pray we did! 


Five days later, the doctors decided to wean him off of the medications that were keeping Jack in a coma. Doctors didn't know if Jack would wake up, but he did!! They decided to remove the breathing tube, but they weren't sure his brain would know what to do. They tube was removed, and Jack breathed 100% on his own! Five days later, Jack drew some snowmen and wrote his name! The next day, he would nod yes or no and began raising his hand (just like in school) and held it up until his family figured out what he wanted, and then he'd put it down. It was his way of communicating, but he hadn't spoken at all. They could tell he was frustrated about that, so we prayed for his communication to improve. The NEXT MORNING, Jack woke up and spoke the most precious words "Mommy hold me". Over the next few days, he began taking steps and would walk with assistance. A feeding tube had been put in because Jack hadn't had anything to eat or drink since his initial injury. His parents were thrilled one day when he took a sip of water; but he had failed numerous swallow tests so we prayed specifically that Jack would start to eat and drink. The next day, Jack asked his mom for some McDonald's chicken nuggets and fries. She figured he wouldn't be able to eat them, but she bought them anyway. Jack ate three nuggets and over half of the order of fries! He also drank sweet tea! Over the next two days, he ate numerous cheeseburgers, chicken nuggets, and fries. He was making up quickly for those three plus weeks of not eating!! Yesterday, Jack was released from the hospital!!!!!!!!!!! 


This morning, I read Psalm 40:3 which says "He put a new song in my mouth, a hymn of praise to our God. Many will see and fear the Lord and put their trust in him." I clearly heard the Lord tell me that many are going to put their trust in Him because of what He did in Jack's life. It's been awhile since I prayed so hard for someone, especially someone whom I have never met. It has been truly amazing to see how God kept answering our prayers! What has happened to Jack in the last month is nothing short of a miracle! I have witnessed what happens when God's people pray and I know that Jack is going to have an incredible testimony about the power of prayer. 


I am writing this to let everyone know that God is still performing miracles today! I know God doesn't always answer us the way we want to all the time, but be encouraged to know that God hears all of our prayers! Pray and believe that God WILL answer! 

Fruit of the Spirit

The Hidden Hearts group I'm in has two verses for me to memorize this month. They are found in Galatians 5:22-23 and state "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Against such things there is no luck." I knew what the fruits of the Spirit were before I memorized these verses, but God really spoke to me today as I was reading the passage that included these verses.


The passage we are to read this month is Galatians 5:13-26, and then we are to memorize the two verses I quoted above. As I read through the passage, I was struck by verses 16 and 17 which say "So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. For the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh. They are in conflict with each other, so that you are not to do whatever you want."  I thought of how I do experience that conflict when I say or do something that is not pleasing to the Lord. 


Then I began to read verses 19-21 which state "The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God." At the start of these verses, it was easy for me to think that I didn't have a problem staying away from these. Then I saw one in particular that God seemed to put in bold print: fits of rage. As a mom of two kids, it can be very easy for me to explode when my kids have been fighting non-stop with one another or when they do something I've them a billion times not to do and especially when they choose to lie to me rather than tell the truth and just accept whatever the consequences will be. God has been making me aware of how many times I lose my cool and say things I shouldn't when I get upset. I've been working in this specific area and have gotten better, but I still have times when I simply lose it and I sadly have to admit that I go into what I call a "fit of rage". For me, my fits of rage include me yelling and screaming and saying things that no mom should ever say to her child. There are times I can catch myself before I say something, and then there are other times where I simply let those things fly out of my mouth. I feel horrible every time that happens and I have to go back and apologize for what I said. Problem is, I can't take back what was said. My child or children heard what was said and they probably won't ever forget it. I can only hope and pray that God will help my children be all He wants them to be in spite of my failures.


Since the verses that list the fruit of the Spirit come immediately after these verses, it was easy for me to see that the "fits of rage" that I deal with are clearly a lack of self-control on my part. God gently spoke to me and told me that when I feel myself getting frustrated or even angry, I need to quickly remember the fruit of the Spirit so that I can speak and act in a way that displays those fruit to my kids. I was able to put it into practice today when I instructed my children on how they were to behave and just minutes later, I discovered they had disobeyed me. I went over the fruit of the Spirit with them one by one and helped them to see that they have not been displaying the fruit of the Spirit by the way they were acting. Just a little while ago, I saw my daughter hit her brother. At first, I yelled 'Hey! Go stand in the corner!" I then told her to think about what fruit of the Spirit she was not displaying when she reacted the way she just had. After allowing her to stand in the corner for a few minutes, she came out and I asked her for her answer. At first she just said "all of them" and I had to tell her I wanted specific ones. She was then able to tell me that mostly she had not displayed self-control, kindness and goodness. I told her good, and then added that she should probably have included love in her list because hitting someone the way she had was not showing love. 


Since I was brutally honest in this blog post, you can tell that I am not perfect...and I know that. Thankfully, God knows that too and He is working in and through me on a daily basis. He hasn't given up on me yet, so I haven't given up either. I know that I want to change and become all HE wants me to be. I know He will help me be the best mom I can be to my kids so that they grow up to know, love, and serve Him. What I plan on doing as much as possible from now on is stopping to pray whenever I feel myself getting frustrated or angry. I will pray for God to help me display the fruit of the Spirit in everything I say and do. I am so thankful that God knows my heart and He knows I love Him. I'm also thankful that He loves me enough to show me things that I need to change.

Work At It With All Your Heart

This month's verses to memorize for my Hidden Hearts group is Colossians 3:23-24: "Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving." My first thought upon reading and memorizing those verses was that it can be scary to think about how we are working for the Lord. It definitely should improve how we do things if we kept that in mind! God wanted to teach me so much more about these verses though!

I decided to read the section where these verses were found to put them more into context. I started at verse 18 which talks about how wives should submit to their husbands. I thought to myself how that is not always an easy thing to do! I noticed that verses 23 and 24 are actually in a paragraph that begins with verse 22 which tells slaves to obey their earthly masters. My first thought upon reading that was maybe verses 23 and 24 were just geared towards letting slaves know how to focus on how they should think while working for their masters, but God quietly reminded me that we are all slaves....to sin! I knew immediately that these two verses were very relevant to all of us today!

I then felt I should go back and look at the verses in this section again, which is labeled in my Bible (NIV version) "Instructions for Christian Households". First, Colossians 3:18 addresses wives and tells us that we should submit to our husbands, as is fitting to the Lord. For some women, that is an extremely hard thing to do. Other women may find it easier to do, but they probably found it hard to do at some point in time. There may still be an occasion where they struggle with submitting. Why is it hard for us to submit? I think it is because it is a natural thing for people to want to get their own way. We want to be in control and make our own decisions. When you submit to someone, you are allowing the other person to have control. Submitting is not an easy thing to do. It takes work.

Colossians 3:19 addresses husbands and tells them to love their wives and to not be harsh to them. I know at first you might think that it should be easy for a husband to love his wife. Why then are there so many divorces? Why do so many men cheat on their wives? Men have a very strong sexual urge and sometimes they look elsewhere to get that need met. Husbands need to determine in their hearts to NOT look at another woman in the wrong way or let their minds wander so they don't fall into that sin. It is not easy. It takes work. Also, after a long day at work, it can be easy for a husband to be harsh to his wife, especially if she starts nagging him about something the second he comes through the door. Wives need to be mindful of the fact that their spouse probably needs some time to unwind before you hit them with a list of demands or even with bad news. As much as you may need/want to talk about your day, think of what your husband needs and try to give him some time to relax. For some husbands, it is very easy to just give a gruff or harsh response when they feel disrespected. Men also don't like to be wrong. Of course, women don't like to be wrong either. The problem is that most men do not find it easy to discuss their feelings, so they get harsh when they are hurt or offended. It is possible to overcome this, but it takes work.

Colossians 3:20 addresses children and how they need to obey their parents in everything. Yup, if you are a parent, you know very well how hard it is for children to obey you! When children are told they need to obey EVERYTHING their parents say, I'm sure it would seem like an impossible task for them. It is possible, but it takes work.

Colossians 3:21 tells fathers to not embitter their children or they will become discouraged. Again, most men are not good with expressing their feelings. It can be easy for them to be harsh with their children when their children are disobeying, getting mouthy, arguing, doing poorly in school, etc. If a dad always gives a harsh or critical response to their child, that child can easily become embittered and think that nothing they do is ever good enough. They may even feel unloved by their father. Dads (and moms too!) need to learn the art of thinking before they speak, especially when it comes to speaking to their children. It is definitely not an easy thing to do, especially when their child(ren) are misbehaving for the billionth time, but it is not impossible. It just takes work.

Finally, Colossians 3:22 says "Slaves, obey your earthly masters in everything; and do it, not only when their eye is on you and to curry their favor, but with sincerity of heart and reverence for the Lord." When I read this verse, I usually think of people who work as the "slaves" and the boss as the "earthly master". It makes it easier to understand then we should always be working to the best of our ability, whether the boss is watching us or not.

After reading all those verses, we then get to verses 23 and 24 which tells us that WHATEVER we do, we are to work at it with ALL our heart. If you noticed in all the previous verses, what we are commanded to do takes WORK to accomplish. No, the things in the verses are not easy to do; but they aren't impossible either! When you put your whole heart into something, you can usually get it done. It especially is easy to keep working at it when you remember that the reward you will receive for doing what the Lord commands far outweighs the hard work you put into it! As Christians, we need to keep in mind that the Lord is always watching us and He wants us to give 100%  in everything we do. Whether it is the job we get paid to do here on earth or whether it is at home being a wife, husband, child, or father, we are to do everything as unto to the Lord. We are serving Him! We will receive an inheritance from Him one day. Eternal life and any riches that we earned while here on earth will be ours when we enter heaven after hearing Him say "Well done, thou good and faithful servant! Enter into the joy of the Lord!" When you look at it that way, doesn't it make it a little easier to decide to do what the Lord commands even though it may not be easy?

Philippians 4:12-13

Philippians 4:12-13 says "I know what it is to be in need and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do everything through him who gives me strength."

I have always loved verse 13 because it is a wonderful reminder that no matter what I may face in life, I can make it through it because Christ will give me the strength I need. I don't remember when verse 12 suddenly became so meaningful to me, but I think it was sometime after I was married.

On Tuesday, May 17, my husband and I will be celebrating our 14th wedding anniversary. For the first year and a half, we both worked; but then I had Sarah and we felt my job was to be a stay-at-home mom. God definitely honored that decision and we were always in awe of how things worked out whenever we were in need. We have heard many times "I don't know how you guys make it on just one salary!" and we are always honest and tell people that we often do without things that we'd like to have because they just aren't necessary. We also let them know God has provided for us many times as well. I truly believe that is because we have put our faith in Him. We bring our requests to Him and then trust that He will answer and meet our needs.

The words "I know what it is to be in need" ring so true for us, but it is truly a marvelous thing to be content in the circumstances and have the peace of knowing that God WILL provide for us. I have seen it many times in our marriage where God met our needs in amazing ways. When Sarah began kindergarten, we had been a one-car family for 2 years. I set up doctor appointments in the afternoon so that Bob would be able to take us once he got home from work. He usually picked up the groceries we needed on his way home from work. We knew we couldn't afford to buy another car, so we were content to just make due with the one we had. Our church did a Family Fun Fest and a member of the church donated a car as the grand prize in a raffle. Bob and I chose to not buy any tickets because we didn't want to waste our money (and we felt it was like gambling). Two ladies at the MOPS group I was a part of at church told me that they had bought tickets and if either one of them won the car, they would give it to us. I was surprised and very touched, and so was Bob when I told him, but neither one of us thought too much more about it since we knew it was a long shot. To my amazement, the day after the raffle was held, one of these ladies came up to me at church and asked "I won the car. Do you want it?" Tears flowed down my face and all I could do was nod my head yes and give her a hug. I think I may have been able to mutter a thank you too. Even though we don't have that car anymore, we still remember how those people allowed God to work through them and bless us with something we needed, and we are still very thankful.

Another way God provided for us was just last year when our roof started to leak again. A few years earlier, the one skylight had caused a leak so we chose to just put a whole new roof on. Well, now the other skylight was leaking so we knew it was time to just have those skylights removed and the roof patched. We called the roofer who had done the roof the last time and he quoted us a price. We waited for two weeks, but he didn't show up and he didn't return my calls. Finally, I decided to try calling around to get other quotes. As I drove to worship team rehearsal one night, I told God the specific amount that I wanted to pay. Even the roofer we called first, who we figured was probably quoting us a very low price, was a couple of hundred dollars above the amount I told God I wanted to pay. We had a roofer who would be stopping by the next day and would give us a quote, so now I at least knew what amount he had to hit for us to accept his bid. He came in WAY over what our first roofer quoted us, so we declined and decided to just continue to wait for the first roofer to call. The next Sunday, a couple at church came up to us and gave us an envelope. They simply said they felt God wanted them to give us this. Inside was an amount of money, and I instantly realized the significance of the amount. When I took the amount that I told God I wanted to pay to have our roof fixed and added that to the amount that was in the envelope, it equaled the amount that our roofer was going to charge us! God had shown us again that because we were content in just waiting for Him to work through the situation, He rewarded us by giving us what we had asked.

If you are struggling with finances or any other situation, turn those requests over to God. Then be content in the knowledge that God knows what you need and He will provide for you in His perfect time. If it isn't in His will, then He may not answer the way you want Him to; but continue to be content because God knows what is best! Once you learn to be content in life, you will have such a peace because you know God is the one in control.