I shared this story before. I hope reading it again will remind us all how truly compassionate and caring God is towards His children. He is the God of our everything. No concern we have is too small nor too large for our Father. What ever is weighing you down today, your Father cares and wants to help you carry the load. He loves you as if you were His only child. He may not remove the circumstance, but He will give you everything you need to get through it in victory.
http://youtu.be/wOOTF8vu6ps - High Hopes - I hope this makes you smile.
The Ant and the Contact Lense
The task ahead of us is never as great as the Power behind us
Brenda was almost halfway to the top of the tremendous granite cliff. She was standing on a ledge where she was taking a breather during this, her first rock climb. As she rested there, the safety rope snapped against her eye and knocked out her contact lens.
'Great', she thought. 'Here I am on a rock ledge, hundreds of feet from the bottom and hundreds of feet to the top of this cliff, and now my sight is blurry.' She looked and looked, hoping that somehow it had landed on the ledge. But it just wasn't there.
She felt the panic rising in her, so she began praying. She prayed for calm, and she prayed that she might find her contact lens. When she got to the top, a friend examined her eye and her clothing for the lens, but it was not to be found. Although she was calm now that she was at the top, she was saddened because she could not clearly see across the range of mountains. She thought of the bible verse 'The eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth.'
She thought, 'Lord, You can see all these mountains. You know every stone and leaf, and You know exactly where my contact lens is. Please help me.'
Later, when they had hiked down the trail to the bottom of the cliff they met another party of climbers just starting up the face of the cliff. One of them shouted out, 'Hey, you guys! Anybody lose a contact lens?'
Well, that would be startling enough, but you know why the climber saw it? An ant was moving slowly across a twig on the face of the rock, carrying it!
The story doesn't end there. Brenda's father is a cartoonist. When she told him the incredible story of the ant, the prayer, and the contact lens, he drew a cartoon of an ant lugging that contact lens with the caption, 'Lord, I don't know why you want me to carry this thing. I can't eat it, and it's awfully heavy. But if this is what you want me to do; I'll carry it for you.'
I think it would do all of us some good to say, 'God, I don't know why you want me to carry this load. I can see no good in it and it's awfully heavy. But, if you want me to carry it, I will.'
God doesn't call the qualified, He qualifies the called.
Yes, I do love GOD. He is my source of existence and my Savior. He keeps me functioning each and every day. Without Him, I am nothing, but with Him...I can do all things through Christ which
strengthens me. (Phil. 4:13)
Habakkuk 3:17-18 (NLT)
Even though the fig trees have no blossoms,
and there are no grapes on the vines;
even though the olive crop fails,
and the fields lie empty and barren;
even though the flocks die in the fields,
and the cattle barns are empty,
yet I will rejoice in the Lord!
I will be joyful in the God of my salvation!
http://youtu.be/PXnpMgMkxMo - God of My Everything - Bebo Norman
Dear Jesus,
My journey is indeed one of faltering steps. Today I feel as if it's a challenge just to take the next step. I find it all too easy to be aware of my neediness. If I didn't know You were with me, I would despair. I confess that I sometimes get discouraged about my ongoing weaknesses. I know that dependence on You brings spiritual blessings, yet at times I feel trapped by my limitations.
from Dear Jesus by Sarah Young
This last week has been a tough one. The challenges I'm facing seem unsurmountable, I feel overwhelmed and hopeless at times. It's hard to keep the negativity out of my brain. The recording repentedly plays in my head, "I can't, I can't, I can't".
But if I listen very intently to the Spirit of God who lives in me, I can hear His Voice reminding me ' You can't Carol, but I can. You don't have to face this alone. I am with You."
I can't but God can. No matter how overwhelmed I may feel, I'm not facing my battle alone. God goes before me and He comes after me, preparing my way, protecting me and even carrying me when I can no longer walk.
No matter what I may face today, I'm not alone.
Last night Larry and I attended a banquet for Lost Orphans, Inc. LOI is a wonderful organization that is dedicated to helping the children around the world who have been orphaned or abandoned. Lost Orphans has partnered with several orphan ministries providing support and encouragement, and I'm so very thankful that Happy Choice, Oscar and Emma's little ministry in Kenya, is one of those ministries.
Larry and I had the blessing of hearing about the different ministries that LOI is supporting, in one way or another. As I listened to the stories of each ministry - how and why each was created - I couldn't help but think about the faithfulness of God. The challenges that each ministry faced seemed overwhelming and impossible to overcome, yet time after time, we heard amazing stories of how God has moved in those ministries doing the impossible. I got to thinking about Oscar and Emma.
Seven years ago, when I first started communicating with Emma, I asked her to share with me what their vision for the future was for Happy Choice. She sent me a well written plan of what they hoped to accomplish. Their dream was to be able to help more and more orphaned and abandoned children. To do that, they would need a new larger hostel with beds. Their present latrine and kitchen were almost to the point of being unusable. Emma said they hoped to be able to build a new latrine and a new kitchen. She had plans for a large garden where the children could learn how to grow their own food. She wanted to start a poultry farm or something like that, to help make money for the orphanage, while at the same time, teaching the children how to farm. She wanted to be able to provide training areas where the young people who didn't do well in school, could learn a trade like mechanics, or sewing. She had a dream of having regular medical clinics come into the village to provide desperately needed medical care, not only for the children at Happy Choice but for the many children in the village who were living in very poor conditions. Many of these children live with parents who are dying from HIV/AIDS. The children have a roof over their heads, but not much else. Oscar and Emma do their best to help these children with food whenver they can. Oscar and Emma want to be able to do more.
Her plan also talked about their work with the poor widows of the village. Most of these women lost their husbands to AIDS and many of them are infected as well. They don't have much hope. They don't have a way to support themselves. Oscar and Emma had a plan to help these sweet little women learn how to start their own little businesses.
The plan included so much more. As I read it, my first thought was how well Emma had stated their vision for the future. My second thought was "How in the world?" Oscar and Emma had very limited resources. I certainly couldn't help much at all. If I had been Oscar and Emma, I wouldn't have dreamed of ever being able to accomplish any of those goals. But they knew something I didn't.
You see, Oscar and Emma knew they couldn't accomplish any of their plans. But it wasn't about what they could do. It was about what God could do. And God can do anything.
Matthew 19:26
With GOD all things are possible.
Those are not just empty words.
Last night as I remembered Emma's Plan for Happy Choice, I had to smile because seven years later, Happy Choice has a brand new Hostel, a new latrine and a wonderful new kitchen. The children have a "Rabbit Farm" where they are raising rabbits and sell them in town. They have a garden where they are learning to grow their own food. They also have clean water piped in from Kisumu. All the children are in school getting an education which will enable them to become productive members of society. One young man just completed his exams for secondary school and hopes to continue his education at the University. He wants to be a doctor. My human side would have me doubt that can happen, but then I look at how much God has done in this little ministry, and I believe Timoland will accomplish his dream, because with God all things are possible.
Dear Lord, You are the God of my everything. Forgive me for doubting that You are able to accomplish infinitely more than I could ask or imagine. Help me to remember that Your grace is sufficient, and that it is in my weakness, when I finally admit "I can't", that Your power works best. Father, thank You for holding me up with Your strong right arm. Thank You for always making a way, when there seems to be no way. Please forgive me for doubting. You are more than able to accomplish anything that concerns me. Lord God, I know whatever You allow in my life, You will give me the strength I need to get through in victory.
I praise You, Holy God! You alone are worthy of all my praise and devotion. Lord Jesus, be glorified in my life. No matter what the circumstances, let me live in such a way that others will see Your Light shining brightly in me. In Your Precious Name I pray. Amen.
2 Corinthians 12:8-10 (NLT)
Three different times I begged the Lord to take it away. Each time he said, “My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness.” So now I am glad to boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ can work through me. That’s why I take pleasure in my weaknesses, and in the insults, hardships, persecutions, and troubles that I suffer for Christ. For when I am weak, then I am strong.
http://youtu.be/3GIeVIWwujI - I Lift My Hands - Chris Tomlin
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