GodandMe2theMax

Twenty more hours...

Twenty more hours.

That's how much longer I have until my husband returns from Africa. Just twenty more hours. In many ways, this has been the roughest trip for me with him away. You see, when we're most vulnerable, that's when the enemy tries to attack. And attack he did the last two weeks...mostly in our family. Many of you know Jacob's past health struggles, and unfortunately, they have decided to come to the forefront again, just in time for me to deal with them all on my own.

And therein lies the problem. The words "on my own." How often do we go through life, thinking we're 'on our own' with the feelings we have. We have our little pity parties because things aren't going the way we think they should. We think we're the only one who feels this way. We focus so much on ourselves that we forget to look outward. It's when we look at others, we realize how insignificant and small the problems we deal with really are. We get ourselves up in a tizzy thinking about all the issues at hand instead of thanking God for his bountiful blessings.

And truly, I am so blessed and rich with friends in my life. While Frank has been gone, one friend brought me dinner, another family had us over for dinner, and another family took us out to a restaurant for dinner. How awesome is that? Beyond words. Lord, forgive me for thinking "I'm on my own." Even more, Lord, You are here. You are here when Jacob struggles with behavior. You are here when Amber struggles with more hours of homework than she gets sleep. You are here in my sleepless nights of solitude. You are here, and I am never alone. Hebrews 13:5 "I will never leave you or forsake you."

And so, twenty more hours. That's twenty hours to turn my frown upside down. Twenty more hours to offer a helping hand to someone else. That's twenty more hours to try to encourage someone else. And that's twenty more hours to praise my God in the storms of life.

So when you're in a countdown, like I currently am, holding your breath until that moment you've waited for finally arrives, instead of trying to hold out, use every minute that you can for God. Praise Him. And thank Him that you have just twenty more hours.

 

Psalm 66:1-7 "Shout with joy to God, all the earth! Sing the glory of His name; make His praise glorious. Say to God, ‘How awesome are your deeds! So great is your power that your enemies cringe before you. All the earth bows down to you; they sing praise to you, the sing praise to your name. Come and see what God has done, how awesome his works in man’s behalf! He turned the sea into dry land; they passed through the waters on foot, let us rejoice in Him. He rules forever by His power, his eyes watch the nations – let not the rebellious rise up against Him.’”

Mr. Half Job?...Nope, not with God.

Psalm 139:16  "Your eyes saw my unformed body.  All the days ordained for me were written in Your book before one of them came to be."

A half job.  You know what that is, right?  In my house, it's my pet-name for jobs that get started and never finished or jobs that just don't get done thoroughly.  You know the kind.  When your kid's job is to do the dishes and you go to inspect the job, only to find the dishes done but the sink not cleaned out.  Or what about when your husband so kindly hangs a picture on the wall for you, but the hammer and tools sit out on the counter for days?  To be completely fair, perhaps I am the queen of half jobs in our house.  I love to start scrapbooking projects, but it takes me days to finish them or clean up after them.  Perhaps the worst one is to buy all the components needed to start a job but never actually do it.  Yes, half jobs are all over the place.  At one point and time, everyone in our house has been called Mr. or Mrs. (or Master or Little Miss) Half Job.

As I was reading and studying earlier this week, I came across Psalm 139:16, the verse to memorize for the week.  It says God saw us before we born - when our body was still unformed.  He knows our every move before we even take it.  I'm also reminded of the verse in Philippians 1:6 where Paul says, "He who began a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ." 

Then the thought hit me.  God is not a God of half-jobs.

When God starts to work in your life, when He leads you down a path, He doesn't give up. He doesn't get distracted by other things and forget about the task He started.  No, He starts it in us, and we can be assured He's going to finish it.  God is not going to lead us in one direction and then drop kick us to the other end of the field to fend for ourselves. 

You know, I really needed to be reminded of this fact.  Sure, I knew that He never leaves us or forsakes us (Hebrews 13:5.)  Sometimes it's easy to get discouraged when God leads you down a path but doesn't seem to show you the immediate next step.  But as my pastor said on Sunday morning, that's what faith is all about.  If the Holy Spirit has started a work in you, leading you in a certain direction, He doesn't have to show you the big roadmap of how you're going to get to your end destination.  We just have to have the faith that if He started it, He's got each step of the way planned out for us, just like the verse for this week says.

I am so thankful my God is not a God of half jobs.  I'm grateful He hasn't given up on me and moved on to bigger and better projects.  No, He ordained my days and wrote them down before I ever was born.  God, thank you for this reminder, and thank you for your persistence in pursuing me and leading me.

---Beth Banfill
www.GodandMe2theMax.com

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thanks-living...

Psalm 30:11-12  "You turned my wailing into dancing; you removed my sackcloth and clothed me with joy, that my heart may sing to You and not be silent.  O Lord my God, I will give you thanks forever."

Yes, today is that long awaited day.  For most, it will be filled with food, family, and football.  For some, it will be a day of trying to give thanks, in the midst of trials and reflection over the last year. 

I've found it amusing watching the Facebook posts over the last several weeks.  People who never mention giving thanks for anything are posting what they are thankful for.  That's awesome...taking the time to tell all your friends what's on your heart.  However, today more than any other day, I'm convicted that Thanksgiving should not be one day of the year.  It shouldn't even be a season.  It should be a year-round heart attitude.  It should be Thanks-Living - every day.

As the food, the pie, and the football games come and go today.  As the Christmas season and celebration of Jesus Christ's birth are knocking on our door.  As the gift giving begins.  As the packages are opened and wrapping thrown away.  As the new year dawns.  Let's choose to live a life of thankfulness.  Let's keep the warmth and thankfulness that is glowing in hearts today burning in our hearts tomorrow, the next day, and the next.  Too often we make Thanksgiving about a day.  About family.  About football.  Let's choose to make it Thanks-living.

Like the Psalmist said, "O God, I will give you thanks forever!"

---Beth Banfill
www.GodandMe2theMax.com