Wednesday night blessings & I didn’t know what day it was until today

February 19, 2016February 19, 2016 / kstrick7 / Leave a comment

LORD HAVE MERCY. Is it Friday, yet? On Wednesday, at work, I sent out a cute little meme about it just being Tuesday. One of my sweet friends, from Ohio, was kind enough to say,

“But it’s Wednesday, right?”

It’s just been these past few weeks, that all the days are running together. SO, I would like to officially say to Friday,

“Thank you for showing up. I appreciate that.”

Wednesday night at church, I got some sweet news. There are 2 little girls in my Wednesday night Bible class that are living at our local children’s home. They are twins. And precious. And spunky. And are so smart in God’s Word. I fell in love with them the 1^st time I met them. They told me before class started, they were being adopted. They were so excited. They told me what their new name would be. They hugged me & I told them I was so proud & what great news to have in our class that night. One of the girls said,

“Yeah, but who’s going to bring us candy now?”

We sorta have candy, gummies, chocolate, cookies, or whatever else I can come up with, every class. I reassured them I knew they would have a wonderful Bible teacher at their new church & hopefully, she would bring candy to class. What a joy for these kids. They told me this would be their forever family. Goodness gracious. What a true blessing.

It made me think of how many blessings you can have, that comes out of trials. No matter how grim a situation may seem, God has a plan. The Lord promised Abraham & Sarah a baby. (Genesis 18:10) They waited about 25 years, after that promise was made, before Isaac was born. The apostle Paul was locked up in prison for preaching the gospel. He still found a way to write letters to the churches & help them, even while he was in jail. (Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, & Philemon) Lazarus died, while they were waiting on Jesus. However, Jesus turned sadness to joy, when he raised Lazarus up. (John 11:43-44) Joseph was thrown in prison & waited 2 years for the king’s butler to remember he interpreted dreams. After all that time he was released from jail & gained Pharaoh’s good favor. (Genesis 41:12) And do I have to even mention Noah building the ark? It took him about 100 years to build the ark. Then he gathered everybody up & God shut the door. (Genesis 7:16) Then, he waited for it to start this raining stuff that no one had ever seen or heard of. That took about 7 days. (Genesis 7:10) Talk about some good endings to bad situations. God can & will take care of us. Sometimes we may just need to wait through the problems in life. God uses hard times to develop us into the people he needs us to be. So, don’t get too discouraged with hardships. They won’t last. I saw this saying one day & loved it.

God recruits from the pit, not the pedestal.

I love this, because it lets me know, even when I am in the valley, God’s plan is still at work. I know God has been at work in my 2 little friend’s lives. He is putting them in fertile soil to grow & bloom. They may have had to wait, but the Lord has always taken care of them. I hope you know today that the Lord loves you. I hope you know how blessed you are & how God can make any mess a beautiful message! You just have to be looking for the good, not the bad.

Can I end by saying THANK YOU LORD FOR FRIDAY??? The sunshine is glorious. I am very delighted that you decided to stop by today. I hope you have an amazing weekend. Until next time, I have to be going because I should be washing clothes.

**For those of you keeping up with my Dad, he is still in “rehab”. He has good days & bad days. His blood has still not thinned out to the doctor’s liking. His sugar is getting better controlled for the moment. We are hopeful he will be able to go home at some point. Prayers are much appreciated! Love y’all.

photo credits : clipart panda, http://www.imighthavestolethat.wordpress.com, pinterest

Impatient people wear on my patience & wanted: an iron that works

June 3, 2015June 3, 2015 / kstrick7 / Leave a comment

Have you noticed how impatient our world has become? And because of this impatience, it makes us question God. Why in the world have we not got it through our thick heads that our time is NOT God’s time? We treat God like a wishing genie, and pour all these wants & must haves out to Him. If we don’t get what we want, in a short amount of time, we start wondering where God is.

We had a guest preacher talk about this Sunday. Bro. David Lipe posed the question,

“What has the world come to? What has the world come to that everything has to be instant or we are downright upset? Hello? Have you heard of instant grits?”

Why, yes. Yes I have.

I don’t think he was saying we should be ashamed of ourselves for eating instant grits. I believe he was trying to get us to see how we have reached a brand new level of ridiculousness. Our expectations have become so that if we heard it 7 seconds ago, that’s old news. Gimme something new to hear about. Don’t that just beat all? Just like our prayers to the Lord. If our well thought out good intentioned requests don’t start coming true soon after the words part our lips, we begin losing faith in God. We are not trusting in His timing. Just because we may have trials & heartache does not mean God is not working in our lives. Sometimes it may take years to realize how God has worked for good in our lives.

Let’s talk about the story of Joseph.

Dolly Parton sung her little heart out about that coat he had. Bless her heart.

Joseph was loved by his father, but hated by his brothers. Their daddy gave Joseph a coat of many colors. What do you think the brothers thought of that? You got that right, they didn’t like that either. Also, Joseph had a special gift. He could interpret dreams. Which made his brothers hate him more. He was sold into slavery by his own flesh & blood siblings. But the Lord was with him. Joseph was entrusted by his master with his household. But you know what? Since Joseph was so good looking, the master’s wife got after him & would NOT leave him alone. She finally cornered him & he ran off. Of course, the master’s sorry wife made up this big story about how Joseph was making an advance toward her. That landed Joseph right in jail. Remember I said the Lord was with him? Just stay with me here. When Joseph was in prison he became the prison guard’s favorite. Before long, Joseph was over the prisoners. Pharaoh’s chief butler was put in prison, under Joseph’s care. Joseph interprets a dream for the butler & asks him for only one favor. He asks that the butler remember him & mention to Pharaoh what he had done for him. That way, Joseph could show his innocence & get out of jail his own self. The butler told Pharaoh what the dream meant. But low & behold wouldn’t you know it, only TWO years later, the butler’s memory finally got jogged. Pharaoh needed a dream interpreted & the butler remembered, ya’ll, & had Joseph taken right out of jail to tell Pharaoh what his dream meant.

Well, after that, things got A LOT better for Joseph. So much better that he became 2nd in command in Pharaoh’s army. Now you tell me Joseph didn’t have all kinds of problems. I will say his life had a happy ending. When a famine struck the land, he had the opportunity to have a blessed reunion with his brothers. Wonder what Joseph made of all of this, that happened over the course of his life? Do you think when he was in jail he was thinking,

“Boy, God sure is working for good in my life.”

Probably not. But he was faithful anyway. He loved the Lord. He didn’t give up. He didn’t get anything instantly. Do you remember it took the butler 2 years to tell Pharaoh about him? Sheesh. Write yourself a note, will ya? In the end, Joseph’s faithfulness was what made the difference. True story. I read it right here in Genesis 37-45.

Are you sinking in problems? Keep your eyes on God. Don’t quit. He will not forsake you. Just keep your head down & keep climbing the hill. At the end of the day, God is in control. He is always working behind the scenes with our best interest at heart. Before you know it, you will be sitting on the mountain, once again.

I hope ya’ll are having a wonderful week. My iron quit working around Mondayish. So, my husband & I have been spraying our clothes with water & prayerfully hoping the dryer will get most of the wrinkles out. Some may ask why I have not purchased a new iron yet. See below to find your answer. Until next time I hope your clothes are starched & pressed just like you used a new iron on them. As for me, I have to be going because I should be washing clothes.

photo credit: Facebook, http://www.bplolinenews.BlogSpot.com,www.oopsitseverything.wordpress.com

Was God in Oklahoma?

May 22, 2013 / kstrick7 / 2 Comments

I am a “Why” person. I like to know “Why” things happen. Sometimes my curiosity gets the best of me. However, I have learned that sometimes it’s not necessary to know why, but to know how. It’s no secret there was a tornado in Oklahoma City this past week. Some people like to start with the why’s when tragedies happen. “Why did God let this happen?” “Why did this happen to innocent people?” “If God loves us, why did he not keep those people safe?” These are all very good questions, but maybe the answers are outside the box. Some people might get angry at tragedies & ask, “Where was God?” I will tell you where God was. He was in heaven ready to help. The Bible tells us in Psalms 46: 1 He is a “very present help in time of trouble”. All through the Bible, God was there, when people were experiencing a hardship or problem. God was not with these folks to answer their whys. He was there to show them how He loves & cares for them all through hard times.
God was there with Joseph. Early in his life, it would seem that Joseph had problems. His brothers were jealous of him, so they sold him as a slave. They deceived their father Jacob into thinking Joseph was dead. Later in life when his brothers needed him, Joseph responded with kindness. He told them how God was working in his life in a special way. (Gen. 50: 20)
God was there with Moses. When he was placed into the water by his mother to escape being killed, God was there. Through divine providence, Moses ended up being the son of Pharaoh’s daughter. Later, God chose him as His mouthpiece. (Ex odus 4: 15)
God was there for Jesus. Even though Jesus was despised and rejected by many. (Isaiah 53:3) God was with Him. When He hung on the cross, He was carrying out the plan of God. Jesus was doing the will of the Father. (Luke 2:42; John 6:38)
God was there for the apostle Paul. Paul suffered for the gospel of Christ. Among those problems were being shipwrecked, beaten, and in perils. (II Corinthians 11:23-28). He also prayed that God would remove his thorn in the flesh. (II Corinthians 12:7) Yet through it all God was with Paul. Paul declared, “For when I am weak, then I am strong.” (II Corinthians 12:10). This strength was not his own. In prison, he stated, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.”(Philippians 4:13)
The Bible makes the simple point that God does not prevent trouble from happening. He is there in the midst of our troubles. A small child can fall with a parent close by, however, the parent is there to help and pick up the child. God works in the same way. He will be there for us when trouble comes. The Christian has the assurance that, “If we ask anything according to His will, He hears us.” (I John 5:14) The Bible promises us that, “The eyes of the Lord are on the righteous and His ears are open to their prayers.” (I Peter 3:12) God has promised to be with His people (Heb 13:6) When a person is a Christian, trouble may come (II Timothy 3:12), but God is there.
I am so glad you have come by to visit with me today. It just makes my heart happy when you stop by! I have been so busy here lately with kids, Miss Neenee’s softball & school coming to an end. I may have to change my blog to I should be washing dishes because they are about to take over my kitchen! I do have to go now, because I should be washing clothes.
Parts of this article was taken from “The Messenger” from the church of Christ at Marion, IL with Brother Bill Brandstatter