Time For God

By Pat

I admit that it's easy for me to allow my days to sometimes jump into action without having my quiet time with God first. Sometimes it's not my fault, but more often it is. I allow myself to become caught up in the day without first reading devotionals and having a nice, quiet chat with God, and then I find myself in the next day or two (or sometimes more...) trying to "catch up" by reading all the days I missed at the same time. But sadly, I can't catch up. What I have done in reality is to skip what should have been a priority, and in so doing, missed out on beginning my day with a word from God which may have been meant for me at just the right time. I cannot catch up on that.

When Nehemiah wanted to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem, he never made one decision, never took one step, without first consulting God. His success was due to the fact that he put God first. He sought him continually and God rewarded that devotion by leading Nehemiah from start to finish. If Nehemiah had not made God's word his priority throughout the project, perhaps there would have been a different ending to the book!

If you skip breakfast, you can't eat it simultaneously with lunch. It's too much. Shoving it all in at once just doesn't work. Eating meals at their proper time keeps us balanced, just as daily devotions and time with God keep us focused. If God gets the best of our day, He'll be more present in the rest of our day!

"The Lord is good to those whose hope is in him, to the one who seeks him." (Lamentations 3:25)

Pat is a good friend who is passionate about her faith and her family. She works from home supporting a family business, and loves to read, write and garden when she can, and spends every spare moment with her grandkids.

God Says... His Grace is Sufficient

By Dusty (Reflections on the Life of a Christian)

Have you ever been at the point of saying "I can’t go on?"

I have. What follows is my testimony…

Suicidal

I have been to that place where darkness surrounds and despair overwhelms. I have lived and breathed it.

I have tied the knot in a hangman’s noose and climbed on to a chair. I have secured the far end of the rope to the steel pipes lining the roof of a maintenance tunnel under my college dormitory. I have placed the noose around my neck. I have committed to kicking the chair out from under me… and so end my misery.

It was a place and time when I had lost all hope for a successful future. It was a time when I felt abandoned and abused by all I had held dear.

It was a time when there seemed to be no other way out…

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God Says... "I will supply all your needs."

By Kely Braswell (Dangerous Breeze)

You say… "I can’t manage."

God says… "I will supply all your needs."

Well, excuse me if I – just for a minute – work out my salvation with fear and trembling. And a little kicking against the goads. A small rant, and a vent on the side.

Just gonna go a little “David complaining in the Psalms” on y’all for a minute.

God, it DON’T ALWAYS FEEL like you’re providin’!

We’re a family of 8, and we’re always right on the edge of, “Uh-uh, these bills aren’t gonna get paid this month!”

“How are we ever gonna finish paying these medical bills off?”

“God, we need tires! And the van leaks oil like we struck a gusher! We need a new dishwasher! There are ants all over our kitchen!

“The upstairs faucet leaks! How will we ever paint our house? It needs it, Ya know! And what about our old, grimy carpet?”

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Growing Where You're Planted

By Pat

My house backs to the woods, which I have always enjoyed. It gives us more privacy, plentiful birds, and more opportunity to view God's majesty in the changing of each season through the beautiful leaves. And as a gardener, it's very convenient for tossing away things I have pulled out of my flower beds.

I happened to notice recently as I looked over my fence that a patch of daylilies I had thrown out had taken root and were growing beautifully, right where they landed. I couldn't remember for the life of me how long ago I had thrown them there, but there they were, strong and lovely, and looking as though they had been planted there on purpose.

I was so amused! I am very particular about the dirt in my flower beds. I buy special soils with certain nutrients to aid the growth and ensure the health of the flowers I plant. I add peat moss. I water, weed and worry over them all summer. And yet, there was that daylily plant, looking just as healthy as could be in the untreated dirt of the woods.

I often wait to do something the Lord would want me to, thinking that the timing is off, conditions aren't perfect, knowledge is lacking. I want the soil I am planted in to be just right. But those are lame excuses when I am asking God to help me to grow. I can grow in any condition, any circumstance, any time, no matter what I am planted in. God doesn't wait for perfection; He creates it. All we need to do is allow Him to nurture us, and He provides everything we need to grow, bloom and thrive for His kingdom. All we need is the honest desire to follow the Lord, and the rest is up to Him.

"Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked or stand in the way of sinners or sit in the seat of mockers. But his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night. He is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither. Whatever he does prospers." (Psalm 1:1-3)

Pat is a good friend who is passionate about her faith and her family. She works from home supporting a family business, and loves to read, write and garden when she can, and spends every spare moment with her grandkids.

God Says... "I have given everyone a measure of faith."

By Jason S (Connecting to Impact)

"And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him." (Hebrews 11:6)

According to this scripture, I'm two for two. I believe He is and that He rewards those who seek Him. That means I'm pleasing to God. That means I have faith. If you're a believer, you're probably with me.

Honestly though, it seems like many times this can't possibly be enough or more accurately, that the little faith we have can't possibly meet the huge challenges we face.

I can find myself saying, "I don't have enough faith." But the Father sees something different, something we don't see. He gave us each a measure of faith (Romans 12:3) and as we exercise it, that faith grows.

Years ago, I faced a decision for me and my family to leave the job I had been working and work full-time for our church as an associate pastor. Ours was not a large church and the questions surrounding this seemed so much louder than the direction God was speaking.

I knew where the Father was leading, but I struggled with the idea of my own faith. Could I really do this? Would my family suffer? Would my marriage suffer with this strain? How would all this work?

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