tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-42065292384166973712024-02-08T03:53:40.886-08:00Staying StrongPattihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00677248021265296750noreply@blogger.comBlogger21125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4206529238416697371.post-10109004352610699722009-03-03T07:59:00.000-08:002009-03-03T08:01:16.756-08:00Life Lessons From PizzaLife Lessons from Pizza<br />by Colleen Saffron<br />founding partner <a href="http://lifetransformed.org/default.aspx">Operation Life Transformed</a><br /><br />OK bear with me on this it has a point other than to make me look incredibly stupid….it really does!<br /><br />For TX it is a bit chilly today and so I decided to make some tea. As I went into the refrigerator to get the cream for it I saw the leftovers from last night. All of the sudden I decided I was dying for a piece of the Chicago style pizza we got last night.<br /><br />So without thinking I pull a piece out of the tray; please keep in mind this is no petite hors de ourves size pizza it is a piece the size of a large man’s hand. As soon as it’s in my hand I realize I’ve got a problem. I have a giant size piece of pizza in one hand and cream in another.<br /><br />So, here I stand, in the midst of my spotless (for once thank you to my youngest daughter) kitchen wondering ok NOW what? I set the cream down but really I don’t even have a plate and since I am reheating it in the toaster oven I need foil not a plate.<br /><br />Have you ever tried to hold onto a heavy duty 18” roll of foil and pull a small piece off while at the same time juggling this honking size piece of stuffed pizza without making a mess in the kitchen?<br /><br />May I say even I can see the humor on this one. Elbows were not made for carrying large boxes of foil! Just trust me on that one. Chicago style pizza WILL drip pepperoni and sausage on to the floor much to your dogs delight and, no, most dogs will not eat the diced tomatoes that fell at the same time.<br /><br />Eventually I had to lay the pizza down on my spotless gleaming counters and get the foil readjusted (I really messed it up!) and then pick up the pizza lay it on the foil clean off the counter and fix the box it goes into. THEN I could put it in the toaster oven to reheat.<br /><br />Had I been thinking at all, I would have definitely just pulled out foil, gotten pizza and then stuck it in the oven. No weird dance, no pieces of pepperoni on the floor and the counter would have stayed clean (not to mention that poor foil box!).<br /><br />Now, what is the point of this other than to show myself a bit strange at times? My purpose here is that I had a path and a purpose when I went to that refrigerator and I got distracted by my other appetites. Now it was not wrong to feed that appetite but had I continued what I had been doing THEN gotten my food it sure would have been a LOT easier and faster and may I say less ridiculous (I am really praying hubby has never installed a nanny cam for sheer fun!).<br /><br />So has God ever given you a purpose? A Path to follow and a job he wants you to do? How often do you get distracted by other things? Other appetites? Not wrong appetites just other things that are NOT what He put before you?<br /><br />As believers we often are charged to do a work for the Lord, one that will further His Kingdom in some way and we get sidetracked with a million little things that look good but the question is: are they what you were going to do in the first place?<br /><br />Should you not complete the task before you THEN go to the other work? The results of the distracted work can certainly be redeemed (I mean I did get my pizza and I am no longer hungry) but sometimes it takes a massive effort to do a simple task when you are off the path God set you on.<br /><br />I don’t have just one scripture to toss out at you right now but there are many that apply, I just wanted to share a “slice” of my day with you and how God can even teach me when I am trying to eat some pizza.mrssafhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14645533876609911732noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4206529238416697371.post-63154389022442648112009-02-16T08:31:00.000-08:002009-02-16T08:36:59.217-08:00Confessions Of A Soon To Be Military Wife<div>For a long time I have had it on my heart to write to people about the military and military families. I have heard many military families wish that civilians understood better what military life is and what military families and personnel go through.<br /><br /></div> <div><strong></strong></div> <div><strong></strong>Before my fiancé went into the Air Force I knew nothing about the military. I didn’t know about the life, the war, the hardships and trials. I didn’t even want to think about it. It was just something I had sort of blocked out my mind. When he joined the Air Force and became a military man, it became something I had to face and think about.<br /><br />When coming to terms with his decision, I decided that I was going to do everything I could to learn about the Air Force and the military in general. I read books and articles, talked to mothers with sons in the military, talked to military wives, and girlfriends. I found that there was a whole different sort of life that others may not know of or even think about on a daily basis.<br /><br />Do you know what is like for a mother to goodbye to her son again as he goes off into one of the most dangerous parts of Iraq? Do you know of the sleepless nights, the tears, and the many prayers? She carries her phone with her everywhere never knowing when he will call, and how long she will be able to talk with him, and not knowing when she will hear from him again.<span id="cuttaganchor"></span><br /><br />What about the little girl who never sees her daddy because he has been gone for over a year in Iraq? She refuses to talk with him when he calls because she thinks it’s just too sad and she misses him so much. The pictures she draws for him and the little letters she writes break his heart. He has only been there for a few months of her whole life, because of his job.<br /><br />Then there is the military wife. She waits for phone calls, and writes him letters twice a day. She never knows if she will hear from her husband tomorrow or maybe not for two months. The lonely nights, the saddened days, and the waiting, it all comes with the job. Learning to do everything for herself because he is not there to help her. She gets calls at 4 AM because in Iraq it is the middle of the day and it is the only time he has to call.<br /><br />These people need our prayers, they need to know we support them, love them, and are always there for them. You may think it’s not your job to understand, but it is everyone’s responsibility to know and to acknowledge. People are dying in Iraq and Afghanistan for your freedom and just because you may not hear about it every day does not mean it does not happen. These people need you to understand their lives and their jobs and support them.. There are little things that people all over the world are doing to help support the military families and soldiers that need our support. What will you do to help? Harsh? No, that's reality.<br /><br />It’s something people don’t realize and don’t stop to think about. I never did. Will you?</div> <div>So my question to you is, what are you doing to help?<br /><br />As Christians would should we be doing to help?<br /><br />Written by: Kathryn<br /></div>Pattihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00677248021265296750noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4206529238416697371.post-15214239433405074372009-01-21T15:50:00.000-08:002009-01-21T15:51:29.116-08:00Prayer For Emotional ProtectionDear Father,<br /><br />Remind us that you have not given us the spirit of fear. Fill us with your power, love, and give us a sound mind. (2 Timothy 1:7)<br /><br />Remind us that you are not the author of confusion, but of peace. Take away disturbing and confusing thoughts, and fill our minds with your peace. (1 Corinthians 14:33)<br /><br />Don't let us worry about anything. Instead, enable us to pray about everything. Earnestly, humbly, and with thanksgiving, let us make our requests know to you. May your peace, which passes all understanding, keep our hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. (Philippians 4:6,7)<br /><br />Please heal our broken hearts and bind our wounds. (Psalm 147:3)<br /><br />Cause us to fill our minds with things that are true, honest, just, pure, lovely, of good report. If there is any virtue or praise, let us dwell on those things. (Philippians 4:8)<br /><br />Keep us in perfect peace, because our mind is stayed on you and we trust you. (Isaiah 26:3)<br /><br />Don't let us be carnally minded, which leads to death. May we be spiritually minded, which is life and peace. (Romans 8:6)<br /><br />Teach us how to cast all our care on you, for you care for us. You will sustain us and never let the righteous fall. (1 Peter 5:7; Psalm 55:22)<br /><br />Remind us that we didn't receive a spirit that makes us a slave to fear, but we received the Spirit of Sonship. Because of this we can cry to you intimately, "Abba, Father." (Romans 8:15)<br /><br />May we say with confidence, "The Lord is my helper. I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?" (Hebrews 13:6)<br /><br />In the name of Jesus we pray,<br /><br />Amen<br /><br /><i>by <a href="http://www.faithwriters.com/member-profile.php?id=10154" target="_blank">Jessica Gerald</a> </i><br /><br /><i>Jessica Gerald has been an elementary school teacher for over thirty years, and is the publisher of the website <a href="http://www.oldfashionedhomemaking.com/" target="_blank">http://www.oldfashionedhomemaking.com</a>.</i>Pattihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00677248021265296750noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4206529238416697371.post-67549267681831048292008-12-09T07:00:00.000-08:002008-12-09T07:25:05.716-08:00Holidays during Deployment<span style="font-family:georgia;color:#000099;">I think Elvis said it best when he sang "I'll have a blue Christmas without you. I'll be so blue thinking about you. Decorations of red on a green Christmas tree, won't mean a thing, if you're not here with me." Let's face it, deployment is rough! It's not fun any time of the year, but when the holidays roll around and you are facing them without that one person you love so much, deployment is really rough! I was there last year. I had myself and two kids here and a husband in the desert. I dreaded Christmas. But this time of year is as survivable as the rest of the year. I know you are thinking 'what! no, way! i'm miserable!' But Christmas is not just another day. It never is! Christmas is the day of our Savior's birth. With or without our loved one's that day desserves to be celebrated. We spent our day last year opening our gifts and having a nice meal and just watching Christmas movies, relaxing at home. It's great to spend the day with some friends. Bake some cookies. Go ahead and make that Christmas dinner. Do things you would normally do and make the day as "normal" as you can especially if you have kids. It's good for all of you. If it's possible to be with your family, then that's a great idea too! I know being military families we can't always do that. Sometimes that makes things even harder for us. We are so far from all our loved ones. But you know they miss us too. We all just do what we need to do and make the best of it. None of us are in this all alone. It's also a great idea if you know other wives who are spending the holidays without their soldier to invite them over and have Christmas dinner together. You can make a game night out of it. Have a movie night. Cheer each other up. Let the kids play. Make some hot cocoa, put on some carols and sing along. You will be surprised how much your mood is lifted in no time! Now sing it with me....."Joy to the world! The LORD is come! Let earth receive her King! Let every heart, prepare him room and heaven and nature sing, and heaven and nature sing, and heaven and heaven and nature sing!"</span>Kimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03298121665813693864noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4206529238416697371.post-16687178036596003892008-11-06T15:33:00.001-08:002008-11-06T15:36:11.374-08:00Faith In Times Of Stress<div style="background-color: rgb(78, 87, 109);"> <p style="margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" align="center"><span style="font-size:180%;"><b><span style="font-family:Arial;color:#ffffff;">Faith in Times of Stress</span></b></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" align="center"><span style="font-size:85%;"><b><span style="font-family:Arial;color:#ffffff;">Please visit <a style="color: rgb(255, 255, 102);" href="http://www.whereisgod.net/stress.htm">Where Is God Ministries</a></span></b></span></p><p style="margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" align="center"><b><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:130%;color:#ffffff;"><span style="font-size:85%;">for more inspiration. </span><br /></span></b></p></div> <span class="740571619-08042000"> <div align="center"> <span style="font-family:Arial;"> <o:p> </o:p></span><center> <div align="center"> <div align="center"> <span style="font-family:Arial;"> </span><center> <span style="font-family:Arial;"> </span><div align="center"> <span style="font-family:Arial;"> </span><div align="center"> <span style="font-family:Arial;"> <span class="content"> <b> </b><div align="center"> <b> </b><div align="center"> <span class="content"> <blockquote> <b> </b><div align="center"> <b> </b><center> <b> </b><p style="margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: center;"><b> </b><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:85%;">This collection of Bible verses was compiled by Rebecca Groothuis.<br /></span></p> <div align="center"><div style="text-align: center;"> </div><center><div style="text-align: center;"> </div> <b> </b><p style="margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" align="left"><b> </b></p> <b> </b><p style="margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" align="center"> <b> <span style="font-family:Arial;color:#000000;"><big><big>Bible Verses for </big></big></span></b></p> <b> </b><p style="margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" align="center"><b><span style="font-family:Arial;color:#000000;"><big><big> Faith in Times of Stress</big></big></span></b></p> <b> </b></center> <b> </b></div> <b> </b><blockquote> <p style="margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" align="center"> <b><img src="http://www.whereisgod.net/images/WomanPray.jpg" border="0" width="115" height="178" /></b></p> <b> </b><p style="margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" align="left"><b><span style="font-size:78%;"> </span></b></p> <b> </b> <p style="margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"><i>Visit Doug and Rebecca Groothuis' Website at: <a href="http://ivpress.gospelcom.net/groothuis/doug/">http://ivpress.gospelcom.net/groothuis/doug/</a></i></p> <p style="margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"><i>Scripture references taken from NIV and NRSV.</i></p> <b> </b><p style="margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" align="left"><b> </b></p> </blockquote> <p style="margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" align="justify"><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:100%;">My presence will go with you, and I will give you rest. (Exodus 33:14)</span></p> <p align="justify"><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:100%;">It is the Lord who goes before you. He will be with you; he will not fail you or forsake you. Do not fear or be dismayed. (Deuteronomy 31:8)</span></p> <p align="justify"><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:100%;">The eternal God is your refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms. (Deuteronomy 33:27)</span></p> <p align="justify"><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:100%;">The Lord is a refuge for the oppressed, a stronghold in times of trouble. (Psalm 9:9-10)</span></p> <p align="justify"><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:100%;">I have set the Lord always before me. Because he is at my right hand, I will not be shaken. (Psalm 16:8)</span></p> <p align="justify"><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:100%;">The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid? Though an army encamp against me, my heart shall not fear; though war rise up against me, yet I will be confident. (Psalm 27: 1, 3)</span></p> <p align="justify"><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:100%;">You are my hiding place; you will protect me from trouble and surround me with songs of deliverance. (Psalm 32:7-8)</span></p> <p align="justify"><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:100%;">I sought the Lord, and he answered me, and delivered me from all my fears. (Psalm 34:4)</span></p> <p align="justify"><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:100%;">Those who seek the Lord lack no good thing. (Psalm 34:10b)</span></p> <p align="justify"><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:100%;">When the righteous cry for help, the Lord hears, and rescues them from all their troubles. (Psalm 34:17)</span></p> <p align="justify"><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:100%;">Trust in the Lord and do good; so you will live in the land, and enjoy security. Take delight in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the Lord; trust in him, and he will act. Be still before the Lord, and wait patiently for him. (Psalm 37:3-5, 7a)</span></p> <p align="justify"><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:100%;">Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you disquieted within me? Hope in God; for I shall again praise him, my help and my God. By day the Lord commands his steadfast love, and at night his son is with me, a prayer to the God of my life. (Psalm 42: 5,8)</span></p> <p align="justify"><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:100%;">God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging. (Psalm 46:1-3)</span></p> <p align="justify"><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:100%;">Hear my cry, O God; listen to my prayer. From the ends of the earth I call to you, I call as my heart grows faint; lead me to the rock that is higher than I. For you have been my refuge, a strong tower against the foe. I long to dwell in your tent forever and take refuge in the shelter of your wings. (Psalm 61:1-4)</span></p> <p align="justify"><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:100%;">My soul finds rest in God alone; my salvation comes from him. He alone is my rock and my salvation; he is my fortress, I will never be shaken. (Psalm 62:1-2)</span></p> <p align="justify"><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:100%;">You who live in the shelter of the Most High, who abide in the shadow of the Almighty, will say to the Lord, "My refuge and my fortress; my God in whom I trust." (Psalm 91:1-2)</span></p> <p align="justify"><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:100%;">Those who love me, I will deliver; I will protect those who know my name. When they call to me, I will answer them; I will be with them in trouble, I will rescue them and honor them. With long life I will satisfy them, and show them my salvation. (Psalm 91:14-16)</span></p> <p align="justify"><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:100%;">Bless the Lord, O my soul, and do not forget all his benefits—who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit and crowns you with love and compassion, who satisfies your desires with good things so that your youth is renewed like the eagle's. (Psalm 103:2-5)</span></p> <p align="justify"><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:100%;">Praise the Lord! Happy are those who fear the Lord. They are not afraid of evil tidings; their hearts are firm, secure in the Lord. Their hearts are steady, they will not be afraid. (Psalm 112: 1a, 7-8a)</span></p> <p align="justify"><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:100%;">Unless the Lord builds the house, those who build it labor in vain. Unless the Lord guards the city, the guard keeps watch in vain. It is in vain that you rise up early and go late to rest, eating the bread of anxious toil; for he gives sleep to his beloved. (Psalm 127:1-2)</span></p> <p align="justify"><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:100%;">When I called, you answered me; you made me bold and stouthearted. (Psalm 138:3)</span></p> <p align="justify"><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:100%;">Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence? If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast. Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting. (Psalm 139: 7, 9-10, 23-24)</span></p> <p align="justify"><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:100%;">The Lord is near to all who call on him, to all who call on him in truth. He fulfills the desires of those who fear him; he hears their cry and saves them. (Psalm 145: 18-19)</span></p> <p align="justify"><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:100%;">Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight. (Proverbs 3:5-6)</span></p> <p align="justify"><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:100%;">The name of the Lord is a strong tower; the righteous run into it and are safe. (Proverbs 18:10)</span></p> <p align="justify"><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:100%;">Fear of others will prove to be a snare, but whoever trusts in the Lord is kept safe. (Proverbs 29:25)</span></p> <p align="justify"><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:100%;">Surely God is my salvation; I will trust and not be afraid. The Lord, the Lord, is my strength and my song; he has become my salvation. With joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation. (Isaiah 12:2)</span></p> <p align="justify"><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:100%;">Those of steadfast mind you keep in peace—because they trust in you. Trust in the Lord forever, for in the Lord God you have an everlasting rock. (Isaiah 26: 3-4)</span></p> <p align="justify"><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:100%;">In repentance and rest is your salvation, in quietness and trust is your strength. (Isaiah 30:15)</span></p> <p align="justify"><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:100%;">Do you not know? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary, and his understanding no one can fathom. He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak. Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint. (Isaiah 40:28-31)</span></p> <p align="justify"><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:100%;">So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. (Isaiah 41:10)</span></p> <p align="justify"><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:100%;">Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; when you walk through fire you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you. For I am the Lord you God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior. (Isaiah 43:1b-3a)</span></p> <p align="justify"><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:100%;">O Lord, my strength and my fortress, my refuge in time of distress. (Jeremiah 16:19)</span></p> <p align="justify"><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:100%;">You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. (Jeremiah 29:13)</span></p> <p align="justify"><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:100%;">I have loved you with an everlasting love; I have drawn you with loving-kindness. (Jeremiah 31:3)</span></p> <p align="justify"><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:100%;">Ah Lord God! It is you who made the heavens and the earth by your great power and by your outstretched arm! Nothing is too hard for you. (Jeremiah 32:17)</span></p> <p align="justify"><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:100%;">See, I am the Lord, the God of all flesh; is anything too hard for me? (Jeremiah 32:27)</span></p> <p align="justify"><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:100%;">Your father knows what you need before you ask him. So do not worry, saying 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we wear?' For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Today's trouble is enough for today. (Matthew 6:8b, 31-34)</span></p> <p align="justify"><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:100%;">Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light. (Matthew 11: 28-31)</span></p> <p align="justify"><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:100%;">Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? Yet not one of them is forgotten in God's sight. But even the hairs of your head are all counted. Do not be afraid; you are of more value than many sparrows. (Luke 12:6-7)</span></p> <p align="justify"><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:100%;">Can any of you by worrying add a single hour to your span of life? If then you are not able to do so small a thing as that, why do you worry about the rest. (Luke 12:25-26)</span></p> <p align="justify"><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:100%;">Do not be afraid, little flock, for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom. (Luke 12:32)</span></p> <p align="justify"><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:100%;">Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid. (John 14:27)</span></p> <p align="justify"><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:100%;">Abide in me as I abide in you. Just as the branch cannot bear fruit by itself unless it abides in the vine, neither can you unless you abide in me. I am the vine, you are the branches. Those who abide in me and I in them bear much fruit, because apart from me you can do nothing. If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask for whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father's commandments and abide in his love. (John 15:4-5,7,10)</span></p> <p align="justify"><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:100%;">And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. (Romans 8:28)</span></p> <p align="justify"><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:100%;">If God is for us, who can be against us? Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 8: 31b, 35, 37-39)</span></p> <p align="justify"><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:100%;">My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness. (2 Corinthians 12:9)</span></p> <p align="justify"><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:100%;">Do not worry about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Finally, beloved, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is pleasing, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence and if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. (Philippians 4:6-8)</span></p> <p align="justify"><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:100%;">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 . . . . I can do everything through him who gives me strength. (Philippians 4: 12-13)</span></p> <p align="justify"><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:100%;">But the Lord is faithful, and he will strengthen and protect you from the evil one. (2 Thessalonians 3:3)</span></p> <p align="justify"><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:100%;">For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline. (2 Timothy 1:7)</span></p> <p align="justify"><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:100%;">For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who in every respect has been tested as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore approach the throne of grace with boldness, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need. (Hebrews 4:16)</span></p> <p align="justify"><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:100%;">Keep your lives free from the love of money, and be content with what you have; for he has said, 'I will never leave you or forsake you.' So we can say with confidence, 'The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can anyone do to me?' (Hebrews 13: 5-6)</span></p> <p align="justify"><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:100%;">If any of you is lacking in wisdom, ask God, who gives to all generously and ungrudgingly, and it will be given you. But ask in faith, never doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, driven and tossed by the wind. (James 1:5-6)</span></p> <p align="justify"><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:100%;">Cast all your anxiety on him, because he cares for you. Discipline yourselves, keep alert. Like a roaring lion your adversary the devil prowls around, looking for someone to devour. Resist him, steadfast in your faith<br /> . . . . And after you have suffered for a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, support, strengthen, and establish you. (1 Peter 5: 7-10)</span></p> <p align="justify"><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:100%;">There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love. We love because he first loved us. (1 John 4: 18-19)</span></p> <p align="justify"><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:100%;">Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the Lord will bring you today. The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still. (Exodus 14:13a,14)</span></p> <p align="justify"><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:100%;">My presence will go with you, and I will give you rest. (Exodus 33:14)</span></p> <p align="justify"><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:100%;">Be strong and bold; have no fear or dread of them, because it is the Lord your God who goes before you. He will be with you; he will not fail you or forsake you. Do not fear or be dismayed. (Deuteronomy 31:6,8)</span></p> <p align="justify"><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:100%;">The eternal God is your refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms. (Deuteronomy 33:27)</span></p> <p align="justify"><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:100%;">Be strong and courageous; do not be frightened or dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go. (Joshua 1:9)</span></p> <p align="justify"><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:100%;">Do not grieve, for the joy of the Lord is your strength. (Nehemiah 8:10b)</span></p> <p align="justify"><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:100%;">You will forget your misery; you will remember it as waters that have passed away. (Job 11:16)</span></p> <p align="justify"><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:100%;">By his light I walked through darkness. (Job 29:3)</span></p> <p align="justify"><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:100%;">I will lie down and sleep in peace, for you alone, O Lord, make me dwell in safety. (Psalm 4:8)</span></p> <p align="justify"><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:100%;">The Lord is a refuge for the oppressed, a stronghold in times of trouble. Those who know your name will trust in you, for you, Lord, have never forsaken those who seek you. (Psalm 9:9-10)</span></p> <p align="justify"><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:100%;">I have set the Lord always before me. Because he is at my right hand, I will not be shaken. (Psalm 16:8)</span></p> <p align="justify"><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:100%;">You show me the path of life. In your presence there is fullness of joy; in your right hand are pleasures forevermore. (Psalm 16:11)</span></p> <p align="justify"><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:100%;">It is you who light my lamp; the Lord, my God, lights up my darkness. (Psalm 18:28)</span></p> <p align="justify"><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:100%;">The Lord is my light and my salvation -- whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life -- of whom shall I be afraid? Though an army besiege me, my heart will not fear; though war break out against me, even then will I be confident. One thing I ask of the Lord, this is what I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord and to seek him in his temple. For in the day of trouble he will keep me safe in his dwelling; he will hide me in the shelter of his tabernacle and set me high upon a rock. (Psalm 27:1,3-5)</span></p> <p align="justify"><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:100%;">Wait for the Lord; be strong, and let your heart take courage; wait for the Lord! (Psalm 27:14)</span></p> <p align="justify"><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:100%;">You are my hiding place; you will protect me from trouble and surround me with songs of deliverance. (Psalm 32:7-8)</span></p> <p align="justify"><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:100%;">I sought the Lord, and he answered me, and delivered me from all my fears. (Psalm 34:4)</span></p> <p align="justify"><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:100%;">The angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear him, and delivers them. (Psalm 34:7)</span></p> <p align="justify"><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:100%;">Those who seek the Lord lack no good thing. (Psalm 34:10b)</span></p> <p align="justify"><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:100%;">When the righteous cry for help, the Lord hears, and rescues them from all their troubles. The Lord is near to the brokenhearted, and saves the crushed in spirit. Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the Lord rescues them from them all. (Psalm 34:17-19)</span></p> <p align="justify"><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:100%;">Trust in the Lord and do good; so you will live in the land, and enjoy security. Take delight in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the Lord; trust in him, and he will do this: He will make your righteousness shine like the dawn, the justice of your cause like the noonday sun. Be still before the Lord, and wait patiently for him. (Psalm 37:3-7a)</span></p> <p align="justify"><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:100%;">Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you disquieted within me? Hope in God; for I shall again praise him, my help and my God. By day the Lord commands his steadfast love, and at night his song is with me, a prayer to the God of my life. (Psalm 42:5,8)</span></p> <p align="justify"><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:100%;">God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging. (Psalm 46:1-3)</span></p> <p align="justify"><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:100%;">Be still, and know that I am God. (Psalm 46:10a)</span></p> <p align="justify"><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:100%;">Create in me a clean heart, O God, and put a new and right spirit within me. Do not cast me from your presence or take your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me. (Psalm 51:10-12)</span></p> <p align="justify"><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:100%;">Hear my cry, O God; listen to my prayer. From the ends of the earth I call to you, I call as my heart grows faint; lead me to the rock that is higher than I. For you have been my refuge, a strong tower against the foe. I long to dwell in your tent forever and take refuge in the shelter of your wings. (Psalm 61:1-4)</span></p> <p align="justify"><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:100%;">My soul finds rest in God alone; my salvation comes from him. He alone is my rock and my salvation; he is my fortress, I will never be shaken. (Psalm 62:1-2)</span></p> <p align="justify"><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:100%;">Be thou my strong habitation, whereunto I may continually resort: thou has given commandment to save me; for thou art my rock and my fortress. (Psalm 71:3; KJV)</span></p> <p align="justify"><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:100%;">Though you have made me see troubles, many and bitter, you will restore my life again; from the depths of the earth you will again bring me up. (Psalm 71:20)</span></p> <p align="justify"><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:100%;">My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever. (Psalm 73:26)</span></p> <p align="justify"><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:100%;">Blessed are those whose strength is in you, who have set their hearts on pilgrimage. They go from strength to strength, till each appears before God in Zion. (Psalm 84:5,7)</span></p> <p align="justify"><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:100%;">You who live in the shelter of the Most High, who abide in the shadow of the Almighty, will say to the Lord, "My refuge and my fortress; my God in whom I trust." You will not fear the terror of the night, or the arrow that flies by day, or the pestilence that stalks in darkness, or the destruction that wastes at noonday. Because you have made the Lord your refuge, the Most High your dwelling place, no evil shall befall you, no scourge come near your tent. For he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways. On their hands they will bear you up, so that you will not dash your foot against a stone. (Psalm 91:1-2,5-6,9-12)</span></p> <p align="justify"><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:100%;">Those who love me, I will deliver; I will protect those who know my name. When they call to me, I will answer them; I will be with them in trouble, I will rescue them and honor them. With long life I will satisfy them, and show them my salvation. (Psalm 91:14-16)</span></p> <p align="justify"><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:100%;">When I said, "My foot is slipping," your love, O Lord, supported me. When anxiety was great within me, your consolation brought joy to my soul. (Psalm 94:18-19)</span></p> <p align="justify"><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:100%;">Bless the Lord, O my soul, and do not forget all his benefits --who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit and crowns you with love and compassion, who satisfies your desires with good things so that your youth is renewed like the eagle's. (Psalm 103:2-5)</span></p> <p align="justify"><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:100%;">Praise the Lord! Happy are those who fear the Lord. They are not afraid of evil tidings; their hearts are firm, secure in the Lord. Their hearts are steady, they will not be afraid. (Psalm 112:1a,7-8a)</span></p> <p align="justify"><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:100%;">Be at rest once more, O my soul, for the Lord has been good to you. For you, O Lord, have delivered my soul from death, my eyes from tears, my feet from stumbling, that I may walk before the Lord in the land of the living. (Psalm 116:7-9)</span></p> <p align="justify"><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:100%;">I will not die but live, and will proclaim what the Lord has done. The Lord has chastened me severely, but he has not given me over to death. (Psalm 118:17-18)</span></p> <p align="justify"><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:100%;">My soul is weary with sorrow; strengthen me according to your word. (Psalm 119:28)</span></p> <p align="justify"><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:100%;">My comfort in my suffering is this: Your promise preserves my life. (Psalm 119:50)</span></p> <p align="justify"><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:100%;">Unless the Lord builds the house, those who build it labor in vain. Unless the Lord guards the city, the guard keeps watch in vain. It is in vain that you rise up early and go late to rest, eating the bread of anxious toil; for he gives sleep to his beloved. (Psalm 127:1-2)</span></p> <p align="justify"><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:100%;">When I called, you answered me; you made me bold and stouthearted. (Psalm 138:3)</span></p> <p align="justify"><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:100%;">Though I walk in the midst of trouble, you preserve my life; you stretch out your hand against the anger of my foes, with your right hand you save me. (Psalm 138:7)</span></p> <p align="justify"><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:100%;">Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence? If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast. If I say, "Surely the darkness will hide me and the light become night around me," even the darkness will not be dark to you; the night will shine like the day, for darkness is as light to you. Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting. (Psalm 139:7,9-12,23-24)</span></p> <p align="justify"><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:100%;">My eyes are fixed on you, O Sovereign Lord; in you I take refuge--do not give me over to death. (Psalm 141:8)</span></p> <p align="justify"><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:100%;">The Lord is near to all who call on him, to all who call on him in truth. He fulfills the desires of those who fear him; he hears their cry and saves them. (Psalm 145:18-19)</span></p> <p align="justify"><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:100%;">He heals the brokenhearted, and binds up their wounds. (Psalm 147:3)</span></p> <p align="justify"><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:100%;">Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight. (Proverbs 3:5-6)</span></p> <p align="justify"><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:100%;">When you lie down, you will not be afraid; when you lie down, your sleep will be sweet. (Proverbs 3:24)</span></p> <p align="justify"><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:100%;">The name of the Lord is a strong tower; the righteous run into it and are safe. (Proverbs 18:10)</span></p> <p align="justify"><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:100%;">Fear of others will prove to be a snare, but whoever trusts in the Lord is kept safe. (Proverbs 29:25)</span></p> <p align="justify"><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:100%;">Surely God is my salvation; I will trust and not be afraid. The Lord, the Lord, is my strength and my song; he has become my salvation. With joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation. (Isaiah 12:2)</span></p> <p align="justify"><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:100%;">Those of steadfast mind you keep in peace--because they trust in you. Trust in the Lord forever, for in the Lord God you have an everlasting rock. (Isaiah 26:3-4)</span></p> <p align="justify"><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:100%;">Lord, you establish peace for us; all that we have accomplished you have done for us. (Isaiah 26:12)</span></p> <p align="justify"><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:100%;">In repentance and rest is your salvation, in quietness and trust is your strength. (Isaiah 30:15)</span></p> <p align="justify"><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:100%;">Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, "This is the way; walk in it." (Isaiah 30:21)</span></p> <p align="justify"><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:100%;">Say to those with fearful hearts, "Be strong, do not fear; your God will come, he will come with vengeance; with divine retribution he will come to save you." (Isaiah 35:4-5)</span></p> <p align="justify"><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:100%;">Do you not know? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary, and his understanding no one can fathom. He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak. Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint. (Isaiah 40:28-31)</span></p> <p align="justify"><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:100%;">So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. (Isaiah 41:10)</span></p> <p align="justify"><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:100%;">Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; when you walk through fire you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you. For I am the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior. (Isaiah 43:1b-3a)</span></p> <p align="justify"><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:100%;">As a mother comforts her child, so will I comfort you. (Isaiah 66:13a)</span></p> <p align="justify"><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:100%;">O Lord, my strength and my fortress, my refuge in time of distress. (Jeremiah 16:19a)</span></p> <p align="justify"><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:100%;">"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you," delares the Lord, "and will bring you back from captivity." (Jeremiah 29:11-14a)</span></p> <p align="justify"><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:100%;">I have loved you with an everlasting love; I have drawn you with loving-kindness. (Jeremiah 31:3)</span></p> <p align="justify"><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:100%;">Restrain your voice from weeping and your eyes from tears, for your work will be rewarded. (Jeremiah 31:16)</span></p> <p align="justify"><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:100%;">Ah Lord God! It is you who made the heavens and the earth by your great power and by your outstretched arm! Nothing is too hard for you. (Jeremiah 32:17)</span></p> <p align="justify"><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:100%;">See, I am the Lord, the God of all flesh; is anything too hard for me? (Jeremiah 32:27)</span></p> <p align="justify"><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:100%;">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. I say to myself, "The Lord is my portion; therefore I will wait for him." The Lord is good to those whose hope is in him, to the one who seeks him; it is good to wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord. (Lamentations 3:22-26)</span></p> <p align="justify"><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:100%;">For the Lord will not reject forever. Although he causes grief, he will have compassion according to the abundance of his steadfast love; for he does not willingly afflict or grieve anyone. (Lamentations 3:31-32)</span></p> <p align="justify"><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:100%;">Do not rejoice over me, O my enemy; when I fall, I shall rise; when I sit in darkness, the Lord will be a light to me. (Micah 7:8)</span></p> <p align="justify"><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:100%;">The Lord your God is with you, he is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, he will quiet you with his love, he will rejoice over you with singing. (Zephaniah 3:17)</span></p> <p align="justify"><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:100%;">Your father knows what you need before you ask him. Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? So do not worry, saying, "What shall we eat?" or "What shall we wear?" For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Today's trouble is enough for today. (Matthew 6:8b,25,31-34)</span></p> <p align="justify"><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:100%;">Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light. (Matthew 11:28-31)</span></p> <p align="justify"><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:100%;">If you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, "move from here to there," and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you. (Matthew 17:20)</span></p> <p align="justify"><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:100%;">Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? Yet not one of them is forgotten in God's sight. But even the hairs of your head are all counted. Do not be afraid; you are of more value than many sparrows. (Luke 12:6-7)</span></p> <p align="justify"><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:100%;">Can any of you by worrying add a single hour to your span of life? If then you are not able to do so small a thing as that, why do you worry about the rest? (Luke 12:25-26)</span></p> <p align="justify"><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:100%;">Do not be afraid, little flock, for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom. (Luke 12:32)</span></p> <p align="justify"><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:100%;">Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid. (John 14:27)</span></p> <p align="justify"><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:100%;">Abide in me as I abide in you. Just as the branch cannot bear fruit by itself unless it abides in the vine, neither can you unless you abide in me. I am the vine, you are the branches. Those who abide in me and I in them bear much fruit, because apart from me you can do nothing. If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask for whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father's commandments and abide in his love. (John 15:4-5,7,10)</span></p> <p align="justify"><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:100%;">If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will give life to your mortal bodies also through his Spirit that dwells in you. (Romans 8:11)</span></p> <p align="justify"><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:100%;">I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory about to be revealed to us. (Romans 8:18)</span></p> <p align="justify"><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:100%;">And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. (Romans 8:28)</span></p> <p align="justify"><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:100%;">If God is for us, who can be against us? Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 8:31b,35,37-39)</span></p> <p align="justify"><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:100%;">The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet. (Romans 16:20)</span></p> <p align="justify"><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:100%;">No testing has overtaken you that is not common to everyone. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tested beyond your strength, but with the testing he will also provide the way out so that you may be able to endure it. (1 Corinthians 10:13)</span></p> <p align="justify"><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:100%;">For we were so utterly, unbearably crushed that we despaired of life itself. Indeed, we felt that we had received the sentence of death so that we would rely not on ourselves but on God who raises the dead. He who rescued us from so deadly a peril will continue to rescue us; on him we have set our hope that he will rescue us again. (2 Corinthians 1:8b-10a)</span></p> <p align="justify"><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:100%;">But we have this treasure in clay jars, so that it may be made clear that this extraordinary power belongs to God and does not come from us. We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; always carrying in the body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be made visible in our bodies. (2 Corinthians 4:7-10)</span></p> <p align="justify"><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:100%;">So we do not lose heart. Even though our outer nature is wasting away, our inner nature is being renewed day by day. For this slight momentary affliction is preparing us for an eternal weight of glory beyond all measure, because we look not at what can be seen but at what cannot be seen; for what can be seen is temporary, but what cannot be seen is eternal. (2 Corinthians 4:16-18)</span></p> <p align="justify"><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:100%;">So if anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation: everything old has passed away; see, everything has become new! (2 Corinthians 5:17)</span></p> <p align="justify"><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:100%;">And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work. (2 Corinthians 9:8)</span></p> <p align="justify"><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:100%;">My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness. (2 Corinthians 12:9a)</span></p> <p align="justify"><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:100%;">I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. (Galatians 2:20)</span></p> <p align="justify"><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:100%;">Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. (Galatians 6:9)</span></p> <p align="justify"><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:100%;">Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places. (Ephesians 1:3)</span></p> <p align="justify"><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:100%;">Do not worry about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Finally, beloved, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is pleasing, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence and if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. (Philippians 4:6-8)</span></p> <p align="justify"><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:100%;">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. I can do everything through him who gives me strength. (Philippians 4:12a,13)</span></p> <p align="justify"><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:100%;">Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth, for you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is your life is revealed, then you also will be revealed with him in glory. (Colossians 3:2-4)</span></p> <p align="justify"><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:100%;">Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts. (Colossians 3:15a)</span></p> <p align="justify"><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:100%;">But the Lord is faithful, and he will strengthen and protect you from the evil one. (2 Thessalonians 3:3)</span></p> <p align="justify"><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:100%;">Now may the Lord of peace himself give you peace at all times and in every way. (2 Thessalonians 3:16)</span></p> <p align="justify"><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:100%;">For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline. (2 Timothy 1:7)</span></p> <p align="justify"><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:100%;">The Lord will rescue me from every evil attack and will bring me safely to his heavenly kingdom. To him be glory for ever and ever. (2 Timothy 4:18)</span></p> <p align="justify"><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:100%;">For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who in every respect has been tested as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore approach the throne of grace with boldness, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need. (Hebrews 4:15-16)</span></p> <p align="justify"><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:100%;">God is not unjust; he will not forget your work and the love you have shown him as you have helped his people and continue to help them. (Hebrews 6:10)</span></p> <p align="justify"><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:100%;">Keep your lives free from the love of money, and be content with what you have; for he has said, "I will never leave you or forsake you." So we can say with confidence, "The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can anyone do to me?" (Hebrews 13:5-6)</span></p> <p align="justify"><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:100%;">If any of you is lacking in wisdom, ask God, who gives to all generously and ungrudgingly, and it will be given you. But ask in faith, never doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, driven and tossed by the wind. (James 1:5-6)</span></p> <p align="justify"><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:100%;">Let those suffering in accordance with God's will entrust themselves to a faithful Creator, while continuing to do good. (1 Peter 4:19)</span></p> <p align="justify"><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:100%;">Cast all your anxiety on him, because he cares for you. Discipline yourselves, keep alert. Like a roaring lion your adversary the devil prowls around, looking for someone to devour. Resist him, steadfast in your faith. And after you have suffered for a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, support, strengthen, and establish you. (1 Peter 5:7-9a,10)</span></p> <p align="justify"><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:100%;">There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love. We love because he first loved us. (1 John 4:18-19)</span></p> <p style="margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" align="justify"><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:100%;">For everyone born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith. Who is it that overcomes the world? Only he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God. (1 John 5:4-5)</span></p> </center> </div> </blockquote> </span></div> </div> </span></span></div></div></center></div></div></center></div></span>Pattihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00677248021265296750noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4206529238416697371.post-23840957392466813062008-09-24T08:16:00.000-07:002008-09-24T08:56:24.348-07:00What's in a name?<span style="font-family:georgia;color:#3333ff;">"And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace." Isaiah 9:6</span><br /><br /><span style="color:#3333ff;"></span><br /><br /><span style="color:#3333ff;">Recently when we were in bible study, we were discussing bad days. Every one has bad days. We all have trials and tribulations. Whether we are going through a deployment or an illness or just get up on the wrong side of the bed. We all have problems. Some seem far more severe than others. But no matter how small how troubles may seem, to us they are real and that's all that matters. So my Pastor's solution.....kinda like a count your blessings.....go through the book of Psalms. Find all the names for God. See how many different names he is called in that book alone! He had us just go through and find a few and read them out loud in the service. It was amazing to see how uplifting they were. The next time you are having a bad day, go through Psalms and find some names, write them down....you can read through them again later!</span>Kimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03298121665813693864noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4206529238416697371.post-67021269132112289142008-09-19T07:52:00.000-07:002008-09-19T08:24:45.843-07:00No Griping<span style="font-family:georgia;color:#993399;">"Do all things without complaining and disputing." Philippians 2:14</span><br /><span style="color:#993399;"></span><br /><span style="color:#993399;">Boy, that's some hard words to live up to! It's hard to get through a day without complaining! I complain daily it seems lately because my daughter won't do her homework without a fight. Or neither of my girls will clean their rooms. But is my complaining helping get the job done? Am I setting a good example for my kids? I want my daughter to quit griping about having to do her homework so I am responding to that by griping AT her about her griping! Where does that make sense? I am feeling more stressed and she is feeling more stressed. We end up in a fight and in bad moods. It ruins our whole night. Before I know it, the whole family is fighting. It's very true that a complaining spirit is like a cancer. It can undermine the spiritual and emotional health of not only one person, but also the entire group. If i just take the time to sit down with her and talk to her and help her with it, she will do the work. She doesn't need the help. She wants the one on one time with me. She just wants me to read the sentences to her. She knows the answers. She just needs some attention. As for the room cleaning. I know they both want me to help them. This is where we have a problem! I refuse! I didn't make the mess. I'm not cleaning it! I have done things to help them. It's not enough....they basically want to sit while i do it. Sorry darlings grow up i'm not your maid! Anyway....back to the point.....i'm still working at this No Griping rule. It's a really hard one. Some days all i want to do is gripe and whine. But i never feel any better. I usually feel worse as the day wears on. And on those days it does WEAR on! It feels like a weight on my shoulders. But if i practiced the adage "When you feel like griping, start counting your blessings", i'd be a whole lot happier. I have tried that on some bad days and it really does work. I had a wise woman once tell me to start what she called a Love Journal. Every day just simply write a note to God. Doesn't have to be much. Just a little something to tell him that you know He loves you today because......... It can be something as simple as Dear God, I know you love me today because when i woke up the sun was shining, my kids didn't fight before school, and i can hear the birds singing. It's amazing how good something so easy makes you feel. I'll admit there have been days i have even struggled to find something. I try not to put my husband and kids in there a lot. Although i certainly do know by looking at them that God loves me. The biggest thing to remember in all of this though seriously is that everything we do, we are doing for the glory of God. Whether it is our daily job, homework, raising our kids, cleaning our house (even the toilets), going to church, relating to our spouses, EVERYTHING we do....it is all for the glory of God. What's to gripe about?</span>Kimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03298121665813693864noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4206529238416697371.post-89705238466337338292008-09-15T22:56:00.000-07:002008-09-15T22:57:25.771-07:00Learning to Walk By FaithIf you ever want to advance in the kingdom of God you must learn to live by faith. Hebrews 11:6 tells us, "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."<br /><br />When we desire to walk in alignment with God's word, oftentimes it stretches us beyond our comfort zone; it messes with our feelings of security. If you ask many Christians who moved out in faith, they will tell you that being obedient to God didn't make much sense to their natural minds.<br /><br />If we review several incidents in scripture, we find that Jesus told his disciples to lower their fishing nets again after a whole day of catching nothing, he told them to distribute several fish and loaves of bread to 5000 hungry people, he told a wedding party to fill barrels with water so that he could turn them into wine, and he caught a fish that had money in its mouth to pay taxes. These all took acts of extreme faith.<br /><br />I remember many years ago when I was hurting financially. I had actually run out of money but I was wholeheartedly serving the Lord. This particular Sunday I actually became a little angry with God. I went into my room, closed the door, and started challenging God. I reminded him of what his Word said, that He promised to meet my needs and that the righteous weren't suppose to be begging for food. I told him that I was keeping my end of the bargain by serving Him the best way I knew how, so why was I in this situation. Well what happened next blew my mind. I opened by dresser drawer to pull out a blouse for church and underneath the blouse was six twenty dollar bills. I know you may be thinking that I just forgot they were there, but that's not it. I went into that drawer everyday and if the money had been there, I would have seen it. I believe it was my faith and standing on God's promises that caused this financial miracle.<br /><br />In order to grow in our Christian walk, God challenges us to take steps that may be uncomfortable. Or, if we are praying and believing God to move in a particular area, He may ask us to do something that seems completely unrelated. Sometimes we wait and wait for God to move, but He's waiting for us to move first. It wasn't until the children of Israel put their first foot in the water that the sea began to part. It wasn't until Moses hit the rock that the water came gushing out. It wasn't until they entered the promise land that God defeated their giants. Our acts of faith motion the hand of God.<br /><br />Study the promises of God and incorporate them into your life. Because God said it, it's already true, it's a spiritual law that cannot return void. That means if you apply it, it must come true, just like a tossed ball must come down. If you are not speaking and applying God's promises to your life by faith, you are missing out on a whole lot of rewards.<br /><br />There is power in the name of Jesus. It is the name that is above every name. In the name of Jesus we can heal the sick, cast out demons, and take in deadly substances without being harmed. Jesus said that if we have the faith of only a mustard seed, we could move mountains in our life. God wants us to trust him and believe him at his word. In Malachi, he told us to test him.<br /><br /><br />Sometimes we confuse having faith with "having faith in God." In other words, when we are believing for a certain outcome, God wants our faith to me in Him to "work all things out for our highest good and not just faith itself.<br /><br />Speaking in the authority of the name of Jesus and with just a little bit of persistent faith, just think what God can do you your life? If this is added to abiding with Christ as branches abide with the vine, Jesus said we can ask for whatever we want, and God is obligated to do it. God knows that when we are in alignment with Him, we will be asking for the right stuff. With faith and patient, we inherit the promise. That's why I said persistent faith.<br /><br /><br />What has God put on your heart? What desires remain unmanifested in your life? What dream have you given up on? Don't be like the rich young ruler who walked away sad because he couldn't part with his material goods? His lack of faith in God's promises and faithfulness caused him to miss out on greater rewards than he could have imagined. What might you be holding onto that is interfering with God's blessings and promises pouring into your life? Did God say he would do exceedingly abundantly above what we could ask for, imagine, or think? Yes, but it requires faith in Him even when we can't see the way. It may require sacrifice now for blessings later. You can rest assured because God gives us a faith clause in Matthew 19:29, "And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or farms for My name's sake, will receive many times as much, and will inherit eternal life.<br /><br />During your prayer time, ask God what areas in your life are lacking in faith. Do some reflecting over past decisions to see if you took the security route instead of the faith route. This probably caused you some inner conflict or sadness. Spend some time in silence and meditating on the Lord to see if God is guiding you down a new and different path. Make a commitment to walk in faith, apply God's promises to your life, and use the name of Jesus to overcome your mountains. Integrate your faith with patience and persistence. The Bible tells us to speak those things as if they already happened. See your circumstances, spouse, children, business, boss, etc., the way you want them to be, not the way they currently exist. Speak God's powerful and life changing words into the mix. Walk by faith and not by sight. Begin today.<br /><br /><i>Rhonda Jones is the author of 23 Christian meditation and affirmation Cds. Visit her award-winning website at <a href="http://www.thechristianmeditator.com/" target="_blank">http://www.thechristianmeditator.com</a>. Sign-up for her Free Spiritual Growth Eseries, 18 Weeks to More Peace, Joy, and Intimacy with God. Copyright Serenity Enterprises.</i><br /><br /> Article Source: <a href="http://www.faithwriters.com/">http://www.faithwriters.com</a>-<a href="http://www.faithwriters.com/" target="_new">CHRISTIAN WRITERS</a>Pattihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00677248021265296750noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4206529238416697371.post-58324966112516665912008-08-31T20:49:00.000-07:002008-08-31T21:01:16.772-07:00Standing Together"We give thanks to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, praying always for you." Colossians 1:3<br /><br />Tonight as i was having some quiet time i was going through an older issue of Our Daily Bread, a devotional book i picked up at my church. One of the devotions in this book was simply titled Chums. Naturally, this caught my eye and i had to read more. I came to find that this term originated in prisons or "chummages". These were prison dormitories where debtors who could not pay their bills were taken. Since these were not violent criminals a spirit of trust and camaraderie soon developed and the prisoners would play games together. They began to refer to each other as "chums". This term began to mean "cordial friend". As this devotion went on to talk about friendship though it got me thinking of my own friends. I have found over the past year while my husband has been deployed that friendship comes in many ways. It is the person who prays for me in my church. It is the person i have never met who prays for me across the country that i talk to only on my computer. It is the person i meet for lunch when i need to get out of the house. Friendship is the person that spends sleepless nights on the phone with me. Friendship is the person i can count on when times are good and when times are bad. Friends come in many forms and are always there. Recently many of my friends have been going through some difficult times. All i know to do for them is to pray. I can stand beside them and pray for them. But as always, i will be there and a friend to them. The best thing for all of us to remember is Christians stand strong when they stand together.Kimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03298121665813693864noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4206529238416697371.post-64110878519067061472008-07-10T10:47:00.000-07:002008-07-10T11:33:08.731-07:00You Light Up My Life<span style="color:#cc33cc;">No, I am not going to start singing to you! Jesus said "I am the world's light. No one who follows me stumbles around in darkness. I provide plenty of light to live in." John 8:12 (as quoted from The Message) This morning i was laying in bed typing my personal blog with the windows raised looking outside listening to the birds sing and enjoying the sunshine. I couldn't help but think about how much I truly love this time of year. It's just so beautiful! I love the sunshine! The way it sparkles on the water. The way it feels so warm on my skin. The way it glows in the green leaves of the trees against a dark sky when it is clouding up for rain. Isn't it beautiful? I feel so happy and strong when i see it! I feel so alive this time of the year! Isn't that how we should feel with Jesus? Shouldn't we always feel happy, strong, and alive knowing we have him? He is the light of our lives. He shines through us and makes us glow. He sparkles on us. It's amazing how we can look like summer when we have him! Doesn't mean we are always happy and strong...we do still have bad days....we are human, after all! But we do have the assurance that Jesus is still there with us...he will never leave us or forsake us. God tells us in Hebrews 13:5 "Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you." as Hebrews 13:6 continues...."So we say in confidence, "The Lord is my helper;I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?" Get that.....we say <em>in confidence. </em>Not timidly or with fear or holding back. We are confident....with strength. We know that we know that we KNOW! There is no reason to fear. Besides...as i remind myself everyday.....Joshua 1:9 says "Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid. Do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go." Wherever you go! Does not matter where you are! God will be there! Hold your head up high. Let go of those fears you have buried inside. God is there supporting you and there is no one else better to have in your corner. No problem is too much for Hiim. So let your light shine. Go forth into the world. Be brave! </span>Kimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03298121665813693864noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4206529238416697371.post-30393468292728965222008-06-27T07:50:00.001-07:002008-06-27T07:50:49.012-07:00Uplifting Military & Their FamilyMany families this year will celebrate the fourth of July by having a picnic and watching fireworks. Most festivities for the fourth of July take place outside. The forth of July is a Federal Holiday... most people have the day off of work, planning parties and BBQs.<br /><br />There's one group of people who do not have the day off of work... our military men and women.<br /><br />Our military personal who are in war do not have the day off of being shot at, they are always on guard. Whether you are for or against the war, the fact is - we have thousands of soldiers deployed to war in Iraq and Afghanistan.<br /><br />If you are a military wife, you have many giants to face - especially the holidays. While others are having fun and enjoying freedom, military wives worry about their husbands being hurt, losing limbs or being killed. I have seen first hand how war effects family life. War is not pretty, it can be very scary.<br /><br />If it were not for Christ, I do not know how I would have gotten through my husbands fifteen month deployment. 28 of the soldiers in my husbands unit were killed. My husband was injured in the war and now has numerous health issues. My best friend lost her husband, leaving behind four children under the age of 8.<br /><br />This year, as you celebrate the forth of July - PLEASE pray for our military soldiers and their families. We have been at war for years. Families are facing their 5th, 6th and yes - even their 7th deployments... it is hard, yet - our military families are strong.<br /><br />Bible that really helped me cope with being a military wife in the time of war are:<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Psalms 27:1</span> The LORD is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? the LORD is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Isaiah 40:31</span> But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Deuteronomy 31:8</span> And the LORD, he it is that doth go before thee; he will be with thee, he will not fail thee, neither forsake thee: fear not, neither be dismayed.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Isaiah 26:3</span> Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Joshua 1:9 </span>Have not I commanded thee? Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the LORD thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Isaiah 41:10</span> Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Hebrews 13:6</span> So that we may boldly say, The Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what man shall do unto me.Pattihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00677248021265296750noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4206529238416697371.post-41620624502798890932008-06-06T07:00:00.000-07:002008-06-06T07:20:47.641-07:00To worry or not to worry<span style="font-family:verdana;color:#3333ff;">We all have things that come up in our lives that will cause us to worry. We worry over our bills, over our kids, over our husbands, over the noise the car is making, so many things. When these things happen we make a decision...often an unconsious one...but a decision nonetheless. We choose whether or not to turn those worries over to God or to hold on to them. If we turn them over to God they are no longer our's. We don't have them to worry over any more. We can live free of worry. We can have the peace that only God gives knowing that all will be taken care of in God's timing. How often though do we turn them over to God but hang on to a little piece of that worry? Do we say "Hey God....i'm gonna give you all of these problems...but this one right here...the one with my daughter...i'm gonna hold on to it...i have given you so much...i'll just worry about it a little longer." and then wonder why we have no peace? Are we feeling stressed over all these small things in our lives when God is there saying "I'll be the bearer of your burdens"? WHY? Why are we doing this to ourselves? Why do we let ourselves be stressed and worried and feel all these things? Why do we turn all the little things over to God and know he can handle it but hang on to the big ones like we can fix them? We can't! We know we can't! I know that "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me". Phillipians 4:13 tells me that. It does not tell me that I can do all things with my own strength because I don't need God. I'm not made that way. I know for certain that i could not have made it through this week if i had not have had God on my side. There is a reason I was in church when i got the call I got this week. There is a reason I was in the prayer service at church when i got that call that 3 soldiers in my husband's unit were killed. God had me where i knew I would be getting the strength i needed. Where i could go before my church immediately and tell them what i needed and they could be in prayer at that very moment. Within 10 minutes there were literally 100 people praying for my husband's unit simply because of me being where God put me when i got that call. I could easily sit and worry over my husband and all of our friends this week. And next week as he goes about his business and in the coming months but i choose not to do that. I choose to turn it over to God. Not hang on to the little pieces and worry over them. God says he carries us through all our troubles and burdens not just half of them. Personally i like the thought of being carried by God. Sounds kinda nice and makes me feel a lot less tired!</span>Kimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03298121665813693864noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4206529238416697371.post-33821108147655324862008-05-25T15:42:00.000-07:002008-05-25T15:58:53.689-07:00After DeploymentI know I must not be alone when trying to stay strong, AFTER a deployment. Many people think your "problems" go away after the homecoming of your soldier. While, it feels good to have your man home... many experience a re-adjustment phase.<br /><br />Some will discover their soldier has PTSD or TBI. Some will have to get to know their military man again, as 15 months is a long time to be seperated.<br /><br />Looking at some of my friends who were in my husbands unit, I have seen at least 2 seperations and a divorce. It has only been 7 months since the men have been home. The men in my husbands old unit are already prepairing to go back to war. They have training, JRTC and off they go again...<br /><br />In the middle of war time, deployments are a cycle that military families have to deal with.<br /><br />In cases like ours, we have physical and mental issues to deal with.<br /><br />Tomorrow is memorial day. It's hard for me to think that people are actually having fun on this day. It has not been that long for my husband and I since we lost many friends... to me, Memorial Day should be used to remember the sacrifices our soldiers and their families make.<br /><br />When I am just plain "tired" here are some verses that help me to stay strong:<br /><br />The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear?The Lord is the stronghold of my life;of whom shall I be afraid?<br />—<a href="http://www.gnpcb.org/esv/search/?q=Psalm+27:1" target="_blank">Psalm 27:1</a><br /><br />Seek the Lord and his strength;seek his presence continually!<br />—<a href="http://www.gnpcb.org/esv/search/?q=Psalm+105:4" target="_blank">Psalm 105:4</a> <br /><br />Have you not known? Have you not heard?The Lord is the everlasting God,the Creator of the ends of the earth.He does not faint or grow weary;his understanding is unsearchable.He gives power to the faint,and to him who has no might he increases strength.Even youths shall faint and be weary,and young men shall fall exhausted;but they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength;they shall mount up with wings like eagles;they shall run and not be weary;they shall walk and not faint.<br />—<a href="http://www.gnpcb.org/esv/search/?q=Isaiah+40:28-31" target="_blank">Isaiah 40:28-31</a><br /><br />I am just human, like everyone else - and sometimes even in reading the verses I feel confused and sad. Sad that things are not the same with my husband as before he left for the war, and also knowing that things will never be the same as before the war.<br /><br />I remember my husband said to me after learning about his head injury is, "People change..."<br /><br />This is true, one thing as wives we can do is remember that Christ is never changing. <br /><br />Just know, you are not in this alone. We are all in this together.Pattihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00677248021265296750noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4206529238416697371.post-60884143376196727132008-04-28T13:23:00.000-07:002008-04-28T13:28:44.033-07:00Not Without ChristAs I sit here, I try to think of what exactly I can say to give other military wives strength. My husband was deployed for fifteen months to a very dangerous area in Iraq (not that there are any safe areas).<br /><br />My husbands unit faced many trials, this means - as a military wife… I did too. While I did not actually stand and fight next to my husband on the battle lines - I did stand by his side emotionally, as we all do.<br /><br />I had worries, more so than not. I know - it’s easy to say to give your worries to God - 100%… but, sometimes it really is easier said than done.<br /><br />I remember one instance, the television stations had made the mistake of leaking out a story of an attack on my husbands unit. The media went ahead and plastered the news all over the television…. The enemy had rigged two trucks with explosives, and rammed the trucks into the sleeping quarters of one of our patrol bases.<br /><br />I was frightened, the patrol base that was hit sounded like the patrol base my husband had been living in. I watched the news reports, called our FRG leader. No one had exact information to give us.<br /><br />Hours later, it was confirmed that indeed the building that was hit was my husbands patrol base. Still, no word of who the casualties and fatalities were.<br /><br />I remember going to bed, worried and praying for my husband and his friends. I tossed and turned throughout the night. Nightmares came, along with the building up pressure that indeed - my husband could have been one of the soldiers killed in that attack.<br /><br />I don’t think I slept but maybe an hour or so that night.<br /><br />I sat at my computer early in the morning - searching for some piece of evidence online of the names of soldiers who were involved. Still, nothing.<br /><br />Finally, the red line call came in. My FRG leader, gave me the information. I knew, it was not a phone call telling me my husband was killed. You will never receive a phone call from someone telling you about the death of your husband. Someone will always show up in person.<br /><br />The phone call did tell me who was killed…<br /><br />I was given the red line information, as I was a key caller. I had to call all of the families on my key caller list to let them know the message and the names of those who were killed.<br /><br />I had done many red line calls before, sad but true. This however, was one of the hardest red line calls. There were so many names to read… every time I had to call someone on the list, they would answer… with a pause. The families on my list all were expecting a call from their key caller to let them know what was going on.<br /><br />I remember one lady, answering the phone… “Please - Please tell me my husband is okay!” she said as her voice was quite shaken up. Although - the wives knew they would not receive a phone call saying that their husband was killed, they were all still afraid. We all were.<br /><br />As I sat, making calls - thoughts raced through my head.<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">How can I continue to do this?</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Will my husband really make it home?</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">What am I going to tell my children when their dad is next?</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">What am I going to say to the families who lost their dad, their brother, their son?</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">How can I help with activities for the wives, so they can try to focus on more of a positive thing when we are surrounded by so much negative?</span><br /><br />One after another, I made the red line calls to family members. I started out by saying, “This is Patti…” as soon as I said that - I could hear the hesitation in the voices on the other side of the phone. The wives and family members knew why I was calling… they knew I had the names of the soldiers who had been killed in the incident. Nine Soldiers.<br /><br />Another thing people have to remember is your husband works with these guys… nine close friends.<br /><br />I remember very clearly calling one of the ladies (a good friend of mine) to tell her the sad news. We sat in silence and cried together. Not saying a word after I read the red line.<br /><br />How do you have strength in times like these? One family member asked me.<br /><br />I really don’t know - you just do what you have to do, you just keep moving along… without Christ though - without hope, I would have nothing.<br /><br />This is true. As a military wife, who has seen the ugly head of war - I can honestly say… I could not have went through all of the emotional stress without Christ.<br /><br />I truly don’t think I would have enough strength - enough energy to get through some of those tough times. Even in days that I knew Christ was with me it was hard.<br /><br />Here are some verses that helped me, I hope they help you too.<br /><br />The Lord is my light and my salvation;<br />whom shall I fear?<br />The Lord is the stronghold of my life;<br />of whom shall I be afraid?<br />—Psalm 27:1<br /><br />Be strong, and let your heart take courage,<br />all you who wait for the Lord!<br />—Psalm 31:24<br /><br />Seek the Lord and his strength;<br />seek his presence continually!<br />—Psalm 105:4<br /><br />Have you not known? Have you not heard?<br />The Lord is the everlasting God,<br />the Creator of the ends of the earth.<br />He does not faint or grow weary;<br />his understanding is unsearchable.<br />He gives power to the faint,<br />and to him who has no might he increases strength.<br />Even youths shall faint and be weary,<br />and young men shall fall exhausted;<br />but they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength;<br />they shall mount up with wings like eagles;<br />they shall run and not be weary;<br />they shall walk and not faint.<br />—Isaiah 40:28-31<br /><br />But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.<br />—2 Corinthians 12:9-10<br /><br />You can read about the incident with our nine soldiers here: http://www.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/meast/04/23/iraq.main/index.htmlPattihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00677248021265296750noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4206529238416697371.post-2432050065021942982008-03-12T12:05:00.000-07:002008-03-12T12:57:31.429-07:00The Curse of the Military Wife<span style="color: rgb(255, 102, 0);"><span style="font-family: arial;">I know you are probably thinking "curse? what curse? we are strong and independent and courageous. what are you talking about?" Yes we are strong, we are courageous, and we are independent. Our curse lies in our independence. As a military wife we are often left alone while our husbands are training or deployed or attending a school here or there. We are forced to become these strong and independent creatures. But are we too independent for our own good? Part of being a strong person is knowing when we have had enough. We need to know when to ask for help. And to actually pick up the phone and call someone to ask for their help. We need to know that we are not expected to be the backbone of the entire military! Our family depends on us but they expect that we will need help from time to time. Ask your hubby, i bet he doesn't expect you to do it all on your own. He knows that sometimes you will need help. Even if the help you need is a babysitter so you can have dinner with a friend. Or maybe you need someone to help you organize a room in your house that just seems over run with stuff. I bet if you pick up the phone friends are on the other end waiting on you. I've said it before and i'll say it again.....Your friends want to be a help and a blessing to you....don't take that opportunity from them. Don't be so independent and strong that you never need anyone! You are not Hercules....get that world off your shoulders and allow the rest of us to bless you! I know many wives who try to do it all. I often try to do it all. We use excuses like "i'm new here. i don't know many people yet." or "my hubby is hurt and i have kids and so much to do, i can't burden another with my problems." or even "i've been doing this for years on my own, why do i need help now." Well, let me tell you.....you are not a burden to others. Most times people know you have an injured hubby, kids, a house to run, a family who needs you at your best. We WANT to help but we don't know your needs. We don't know what one thing (or more...no limits) we can do that will brighten your day and make you feel less stressed. If you need your house dusted and vacuumed....tell me! If i am nearby i'll do it! If you would like a nice meal but have 3 dr's appointments to run to and 3 kids to homeschool and you do not want takeout again call a friend! Or better yet....if you know a person who is in this situation and you are able to make a nice meal for them.....surprise them and drop off a homecooked healthy meal for their family. That one act of kindness may be the one thing that makes them smile! Or if you know someone who is somewhat new to town and has kids but never gets a night out (hubby deployed or not) offer to babysit for them. Give them that break they need! You will also find that by being that helper in their lives you feel stronger in your own life. And you will see that you have been blessed as much as they have. Then you will see that you really can't take that blessing from another! <br /></span></span>Kimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03298121665813693864noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4206529238416697371.post-27197673134743525242008-02-03T14:11:00.000-08:002008-02-03T14:40:29.045-08:00Hitting a wall and Bouncing back<span style="color: rgb(0, 153, 0);"><span style="font-family: times new roman;">I'm sure you have done this. We all go through it. At some point or another we are all raising our children and taking care of our house while our husband is deployed. Everything is going just fine, we are cruising right along. Then suddenly we run face first into a wall. It doesn't sneak up on us. It hit us full force! We are thinking things are ok and then suddenly we are sad, wondering why he hasn't called, wondering what he's doing. We miss him more than ever. It seems like he'll never get home again. We need some spiritual uplifting. We know God is there for us. We know He cares for us. Psalm 55:22 says "Cast your cares on the LORD and he will sustain you; he will never let the righteous fall." That's not Lord as in Lord of the manor or Lord in royal terms. That's LORD as in Master, Savior, Commander of our life! And He's looking out for us! Isn't that just so awesome when you think about it! The Creator of the Universe knows your name and is looking out for you! He wants you to cast your cares on him! He wants you to come to him with your whining and complaining! He wants you to tell him your problems EVERY day! He WANTS to help you! It's amazing isn't it? We have a direct line to the Master and Creator. And he WANTS us to call on him. He LONGS for us to call on him. That always blows me away. January was a very difficult month for me personally. I feel like January was my wall. If it hadn't been for leaning on God and having helpful, listening, caring friends, I would not have made it through. I'm currently reading Hope for the Homefront: Winning the Emotional and Spiritual Battle of a Military Wife. This book (which is also a bible study) has been very helpful to me. It's written by Marshele Carter Waddell, a navy wife of more than 20 years and a mom. She has some wonderful insights on being a military wife, mom, and a Christian all at the same time. You don't have to only be one of these things. God means for us to be wife and mom and still praise and worship him. And He intends to help us with that! God even says he is "A father to the fatherless.......in his holy dwelling". That's a paraphrase of Psalm 68:5. The full verse says "A father to the fatherless, a defender of widows, is God in his holy dwelling". While we are not widows, and pray to never be, and our children are not actually fatherless....deployment makes us fall into these categories. And God is there to fill that void in our lives. All we have to do is call on him! It's not so hard to stop and just say "God...i need you". He already knows you need him...just go to him. He already knows you need some peace and He has plenty to give. Now that February has come and January is gone, I am looking for some peace and I know where to find it. <br /><br />Written By: Kim<br /></span></span>Kimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03298121665813693864noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4206529238416697371.post-47073320428821523822008-01-22T10:23:00.000-08:002008-01-22T10:45:23.353-08:00Oh You Gotta Have Friends<span style="color: rgb(0, 153, 0);"><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;">Lately I have come to realize that surviving deployment can not happen with out friends. I need these special people in my life to call when I am having a bad day. I can call them for a laugh, or to whine, or to ask for prayer. Each of them are there for me. At the same time, I am also there for them. They can call me for any of the same things that I call them for any time day or night. We each find friends in different ways. Some we have had since our school days. Some we have met since we started this military roller coaster. Some we have online only. Some we feel more connected to and can talk to more openly and some are for fun times more than stressful times. But we still have friends. And our friends help us so much. I thought about this after I spoke with one of my confidant friends last night. I have come to realize that I can tell her anything. We have only met each other online but she is so easy to talk to about any thing. I talked to her last night simply because I have been having a difficult time recently and reached a point that I needed someone to know. Just telling another person can help so much. They can talk you through it, let you vent, and pray for you. And when they have been through this before, they can offer some really sound advice. All too often we encounter people in our daily walks who tell us "Call me if you need anything". But we never call them. We don't know if they really mean it. They should have been more specific when they offered. I can't just call out of the blue. Most of the time (not always, mind you) but MOST of the time, they do mean it. They really want to help. They aren't specific because they don't know what your need may be, but they do mean it. I am so guilty of not calling and asking. I bring more stress on myself because I won't just ask! The worst they can do is say no, sorry, I can't help you. And if that's what they say, then that's fine. Now you know. But more often than not, I'd bet they are waiting on an opportunity to bless your family. Don't take that opportunity from them! Let God bless you through them! We all need our friends. We need them for help, for talking, for laughing, for crying, for praying. Call yours today. Let them bless you! You just might be a blessing to them in return without even knowing it!<br /></span></span>Kimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03298121665813693864noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4206529238416697371.post-34807865618128929852008-01-11T06:59:00.000-08:002008-01-11T07:17:21.689-08:00From Struggling to Surviving<span style="color: rgb(102, 0, 204);"><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">Lately it seems that everywhere I turn I find wives whose husbands have recently been deployed. As in since the first of this year, very recently. They all seem to have the same question, How do you do this? I'm struggling, how do you do this? I so wish there was a simple, magical answer to that question. I wish I could just tell you "well, ya know, I do this and this and this and I'm all good now." But I can't. The truth is, deployment is hard. It's hard on those of us left behind here at home. We see everything around us and something always reminds us of the one we love. It's hard on our soldiers. They miss us, they want to be home. They want to just hold us close to them. We want to be held close to them. There is no magical answer that will make everything all better. It does get easier as time goes by. Well, maybe easier is the wrong word. I'd say it gets manageable as time goes by. Everyone always says "Stay Busy!" And as lame as it sounds, it's true. Staying busy does help the time to pass more quickly. Planning things to do in advance helps too. My girls and I try to plan something fun once a month so we have something to look forward to every few weeks. Right now we are planning Kaitlyn's birthday party. It's in February. March we will do something for St. Patrick's Day, maybe a party for them and their friends. April is MY birthday. May is R&R, June is <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">Keliah's</span> birthday, July we go home for a visit, August we start school shopping, September school starts, October is Halloween, etc, etc. That has been a tremendous thing for us! We go to church every Sunday. Getting up and doing this one thing gives me strength for the week. Talking to my hubby every week gets me through too. There's nothing like a phone call to make me smile for a few days. Looking back over the first 4 months of this deployment, I'd say that I am surviving now because of the little things everyday. I know we don't all have kids to plan things with, but we do have friends. And we don't all live in military communities. So not everyone understands what we are going through. But we do have online support systems. My online friends have become some of the biggest assets to my life. I know it's a struggle at first. I've been there. But over the first couple months you do come to find that the small things in life and the <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">monotony</span> of everyday life, strengthens you in many ways. I have noticed recently that I have really come to rely on my daily routine. It's almost as if doing what I do every single day makes each day ok and livable. Another thing I have found that has given me untold amounts of strength is helping others. I donate to those in need. I talk to people who just need someone to listen. I do anything I find that I can do to help someone who needs it. Seeing others smile makes me smile. I pray that you can each find what gives you strength in your life so you can stop struggling and start surviving.<br /><br />Written by: Kim<br /></span></span>Kimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03298121665813693864noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4206529238416697371.post-65853876205403870462008-01-05T11:46:00.000-08:002008-01-05T12:26:18.075-08:00Where is my strength?<span style="font-family: lucida grande;">When I first sat down to write this blog, I thought "what do I have to say about staying strong? I'm just another wife dealing with deployment and wondering what tomorrow will bring." I actually have sat down here several times to write this blog. It has taken me some time to get some form of an idea in my head. Then I realized what I was doing wrong. All this time I have been trying to write this one myself. I'm not why I can make it from one day to the next. I am not what makes me strong. God is. God gives me strength. God gets me from one day to the next. Psalm 46:1 tells us "God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble." I have learned in these 4 months since my husband left that I can't do anything on my own. God is there for me. ALWAYS. He's the one who gives me peace. He's the one to gets me out of bed when my kids are fighting and the sun isn't even up yet. I must give all credit to God for my strength. People ask me all the time if I worry about my husband and fear that he wont come home. Well....first of all...that's a stupid question to ask any wife who's husband is at war. Second....I do worry some and of course I have fears. BUT I have a peace about it all. God has promised me that my husband will come home to me. God is protecting him. I pray for him every day. That doesn't mean that deployment is easy. That doesn't mean that I don't have bad days. We are all entitled to have bad days. The other half of my soul is gone for a LONG time....it's only natural to have a bad day occassionally. But I do know that my husband expects me to get up every day and live my life. I talked to him yesterday and he said that getting up every day and taking care of myself and our kids shows him how much I love him. That's what gets me out of bed. When we got a phone call a couple weeks ago that there had been an incident within my husband's battalion, I was at a loss for what to do. I wanted to help him, but I am so far away. I prayed for God to give not only me strength, but him also. He told me when I talked to him again that he knew I was praying for him. He could feel the peace and the strength. God does miraculous things. I wondered before my husband deployed where I'd find the strength to get through this. Now i know....my strength is in God. <br /><br />written by: Kim<br /></span>Kimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03298121665813693864noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4206529238416697371.post-45695816142342562252007-12-23T19:09:00.000-08:002007-12-23T19:10:44.544-08:00A Letter Of Encouragement...<span style=""> I know people who are fighting in the war. I think by now everyone knows someone over there. I don't have a family member in the military. So, I have no concept of what it is like to send someone you love to fight in a war where they may lose their life to save the life of someone you may never meet. The best I can do is show my support in small ways. <br /><br />I have two boys, ages 11 and 8. I thank God everyday for men and women like your husband because I know my boys lives will be safer because of them. Anytime they bring something home from school that helps support our troops, I always participate. <br /><br />Almost the entire left side of my myspace is dedicated to the military. I know this isn't much; but I won't change it until they are all home. (I may not even change it then.) Please tell your husband Thank you. I know these are two very small words; but they are not empty words by any means. And, thank you for the unbelievable sacrifice you make. <br /><br />I could never repay you, your husband or any of the men and women in the military and their families for the tremendous sacrifice that they make for us. But, please know that if I could, I would do so with honor and pride.<o:p></o:p></span> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="">Your New and Forever Grateful Friend,<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="">Donna Canavan<o:p></o:p></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style=""> <o:p></o:p></span></p>Pattihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00677248021265296750noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4206529238416697371.post-31537696650645639882007-11-08T07:05:00.000-08:002007-11-08T07:08:49.681-08:00When Praying For Patience, Ware A Seat Belt...<span style="font-weight:bold;"><br />Written By: Donna H.</span><br /><br />We have been through a few deployments, and up for another one this fall, but the last one we went through was probably the hardest. My husband Tom was gone with the 4th ID from Nov. 2005 - Nov. 2006. When he left I was pregnant with our 3rd child, who was supposed to have been due in early March of 2006. But as we all know, children never do what they're told! God had other plans for us..........<br /><br />TIME TO GO <br /><br />November 12, 2005 was just like any other November day in Texas. Dreary. Tom left at 4am to head for the gym where he would wait for hours for a bus to take him to a plane away from his home. I, of course, couldn't go back to sleep. I waited for my sleeping boys to wake up and get ready for school. <br /><br />It was a long first few days but we had to quickly find our way into a new routine. Our youngest son, Sam has some autistic disorders so it's kind of hard to function like a "normal" family. Lots of tears from our oldest, Patrick, who knew what was going on. Poor Sammy just couldn't get it.<br /><br />SUPPORT <br /><br />You know how "they" say, "nothing ever happens till your husband is gone", well........<br /><br />The first half of the deployment flew by with lots of OB Dr. appointments, friends, PWOC and being in church every day the door was open. Then the house started falling apart. Our "luxurious" living accommodations provided by the military had roof leak after roof leak, mold, 3 bathroom floods, 2 dishwasher explosions, the freezer door fell off the hinges, wasps moved in, cars broke down, things got stolen, and so on. fun, fun, fun. On Feb. 13th, 2006 our Sammy had to go in for another surgery. I was 8 1/2 months pregnant. They wouldn't let Tom come home. Thankfully my dad showed up the day before his surgery to help me. Because Sammy could not be held to be comforted, I needed someone to help hold him down after surgery so he wouldn't hurt himself. While we were waiting my pastor came and sat with us for a while and miraculously was able to hold Sam. He even got him to sleep!!! That was a blessing because I was beat. Just before the nurses came to get Sam I went to the bathroom and lost my mucous plug! So then I had the nurses really jumping! Sam came out and he was just awful. No one could get him to stop screaming. They finally gave him some pain meds, he calmed down and fell asleep (more like passed out). Thank God when I came home I already had a lady from PWOC waiting for me with dinner made! Throughout that week several more ladies came with food and surprises for Sam. Then, 1 week later to the day, I went into labor! 2 weeks early! My husband wasn't home. It just so happened that it was also the day my dad was going to leave. I came out early in the morning and told him I was having contractions.....and he thought I was joking! He went on drinking his coffee, reading his paper. I came out a while later from having a shower and calling a few gals to send my boys off to for the next few days.<br /><br />YOU KNOW WHO YOUR FRIENDS ARE <br /><br />Finding a place for Patrick wasn't so hard. He had lots of friends from the homeschooling room at PWOC and church. Sammy was a bit harder because of his disabilities. A lot of people just don't know how to handle special needs kids. So my poor little guy was tossed around to 3 different houses in 2 days while I was stuck in the hospital worrying about him. I felt so bad for him, he was so confused and scared and his schedule was really messed up!! So with my boys at different places, my husband overseas and my dad staring at me with all the color drained from his face, we went to the hospital. Ready for a good laugh? They told me I wasn't in labor!! I tried to explain that this was "only" my 3rd child and I was pretty sure I knew what was going on......but......I went home anyway. Now, not to brag, but I have been blessed to have super fast deliveries. I tried to tell them that too.....I went home and ended up having 2 of my friends come over to help me. They helped me get to my bed and try to relax, but it was too late, I couldn't stand the pain any longer. My contractions were 45 seconds apart! It didn't take long for the ambulances to get there. So there I was, in my bed with 2 cops, 3 EMTs, 2 friends, 2 neighbors, my dad and Tom on the phone! I felt like I should have been selling tickets!! When they moved me I lost everything BUT the baby! It was close. We got to the hospital, unloaded and the Dr. came in with 1 glove on just in time to catch her head! Just like you see in the movies. Tom called while she was coming and then again while I was holding her. We were all bawling.<br /><br />GOD IS GOOD, ALL THE TIME <br /><br /> My husband does not know the Lord, but was given the chance, while overseas, to experience some of God's saving graces. I never wanted to hear the things that came from my husband's mouth, but there they came. My husband is a pilot. God saved his life over there, and Tom knows it. There was no other way. I'm not going to get into what happened to him, but I can tell you that it wasn't good and everyone watching it later said they don't know how he made it through it. (Which isn't something you tell a wife, either) I keep praying for his salvation, and maybe it's going to take one more deployment to get him there. <br /><br />SOMETIMES ALL YOU CAN DO IS LAUGH <br /><br />Looking back now, all I can do is laugh. I laughed through most of it anyway. I did good, I think. I only had 1 breakdown that whole year and it was only a minor one. God has blessed me with the ability to laugh my way through stressful events. I make jokes out of everything. I dont do it purpously, it just comes out. Sometimes, you just have to make people laugh so you can laugh about too. It's ok to laugh. God wants us to find something to be cheerful about in everything we do. The good and the bad. It would have been so easy for me to sit back and cry that entire year. But I didn't miss a single soccer or football game, Dr. appointment for all 3 kids, PWOC day, or church day; unless we were sick, and even then I called. Yes, I fed my children cereal for dinner occasionally, and yes i let them wear their batman costumes to bed. But they're all alive and well. The cheerios didn't interrupt their sleep patterns and batman turned out to be rather comfy when he crawled in bed with me later in the night.<br /><br />No matter what you are going through. God is always there. Even when you feel like you're at the bottom....because when you're at the bottom, there's only one way to look....UP!!!!!Pattihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00677248021265296750noreply@blogger.com0