..choosing joy in the brokenness...

Solo, Duet and Trio Show  "The Night of the Stars" last night..
rejoicing that my youngest is still part of this.. this time last year a mass had been found in her kidney and I remember wondering what the future would hold for her..
God was merciful and the CT scan came back clear 2 weeks later..
thankful last night that God in His mercy had spared my oldest from getting hurt by a shooter in the Mall the night before, I was finding myself sitting right next to my Ex-husband and his wife...
dealing with this my soul just chose to praise God.. prayers forming in my mind, not because I wanted to but because my Spirit has learned to praise Him and thank Him at all times and especially when my heart feels vulnerable, assaulted by the brokenness of this world..
this is what is TRUE for all who love the Lord:

O God, you are my God; earnestly I seek you;

     my soul thirsts for you;

my flesh faints for you,

    as in a dry and weary land where there is no water.

 So I have looked upon you in the sanctuary,

    beholding your power and glory.

 Because your steadfast love is better than life,

    my lips will praise you.

 So I will bless you as long as I live;

    in your name I will lift up my hands.

 My soul will be satisfied as with fat and rich food,

    and my mouth will praise you with joyful lips,

 when I remember you upon my bed,

    and meditate on you in the watches of the night;

 for you have been my help,

    and in the shadow of your wings I will sing for joy.

 My soul clings to you;

    your right hand upholds me.

Psalm 63:1-8

( thanks to Pete Wilson @Cross Point Church, Nashville,TN for tweeting a verse from this Psalm this morning )

praising Him and thanking Him and telling Him how much I love Him focuses my heart and mind and soul on what is important.. His steadfast love is better than life... He satisfies my soul.. He keeps me safe in the shadow of His wings and His right hand upholds me no matter what!

#SoliDeoGloria

..confusion not from God!!!..

used to live in this bubble..  most of my friends were from MY church and some, just a few,  that weren't Christians, as in my family ...
life was pretty straightforward and all seemed pretty clear.. the truth was what I had been learning since becoming a Christian, solid, biblical teaching and my own studies of the Word, the Lord making things clear to me and changing me gently..
in the meantime, because my life fell apart two and a half year ago, I have met some Christians that have different views on some pretty significant things ... have to admit it has thrown me off at times..
thankfully the Holy Spirit keeps making me feel uncomfortable again and again and I am drawn back to the Word..
today Michael Minot, amazing Christian guy tweeted this: " Guard your heart and your mind. These are the places where the enemy wages his warfare"... I had just been spending time in the Word and this was what jumped out to me: For God is not a God of confusion but of peace.  ( 1 Cor 14 : 33)
if confusion enters one's mind we can be sure it is not from God.. with God there is peace, wisdom and direction..
needed to be reminded that my fragile and vulnerable heart is easy prey.. cannot let Satan try and use this to bring confusion to my mind..
so here are some reminders for me:
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God and the Word was God..He was with God in the beginning.. ( John 1: 1+2 )
and then there is this:
All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness,  so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work. (2 Timothy 3:16+17)

bottom line is this: Truth is Truth and the Word is the Word.. I am choosing to submit to it's authority.. I do not have to question or debate, I don't have to seek for answers it doesn't give, I just have to believe it and trust God..
I love Jesus and He is the Word.. He is the One who was with God in the beginning..
this is how John chapter 1 goes on:
Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made.  In him was life, and that life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it.

I need to leave it there because this is what it says as well:

For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord. ( Isaiah 55:8 )
That's it.