PRAISE AND GLORY TO GOD!!!!

When faced with the tedium and longevity of a chronic illness, disability, or disorder, life can go on in a painful condition for such a long time that one doesn't always stop to recognize and give thanks for a good day when it comes.

After many months of headaches which can immobilize me and send me to bed for days at a time... the discomfort of side effects from prescription medications, and the fatigue and chronic neuralgia associated with other conditions, I awoke three mornings last week feeling like a different person.

To be honest, it felt unusual. I was amazed. My head didn't throb. There was no "buzz-ing" sound in my head, my pain level was manageable, and the internal chills weren't there, leaving me feeling almost "normal". I walked in the front door at work and told the first person I saw that I felt good. It had been a while since I had been able to do that, and I enjoyed it.

(There was no explanation. I had no particular changes in medications, diet, or lifestyle. This was a gift of "wellness"... "out of the blue"... straight from the Lord, the "giver of life".)

On top of my body feeling well, my mind was clear, focused, and I felt energized. Within those three days, I was able to complete more work than I had been able to accomplish in the previous month. I felt so good that I went from task to task. I did several monthly jobs ahead of time, plus catching up on all the little things that had slipped by me. Maybe I did a bit too much.

**Alas, by the time Friday arrived, the pain was back... the fatigue had returned, and the focus was gone... but I had been gifted with three perfect days ... the best I had in a long time. What a blessing! I had intended to blog during those days and thank the Lord for them ... but I didn't.

**So now... the purpose of this blog is to praise God that He is with me EVERY DAY. He truly blessed me with three days of ease, strength, focus, and comfort. They were very fruitful days.

I felt accomplished because of my amount of work done during that time... but I also desire to praise God because He is with me all the other days. He is with me on the days when I can't make it out of bed. He is with me when I am forced to take the "heavy duty"meds and sleep for several days at a time.

He gives me the strength that enables me to crawl out of bed, go to work, and do as much as I can... even when I am weak and in pain. God is faithful. He has proven himself faithful time and again... day after day... year after year... and so my faith grows.

**The Lord never promised us a problem-free or pain-free life... but He promised that He would always be with us.

**He has promised to send us a comforter, the Holy Spirit, Who comes along side us to comfort, lead, guide, and teach us.

**The Lord promised to strengthen us when we are weak. All we have to do is turn to Him in our weakness and find strength in Him.

**It helps me to remember that He does indeed have a plan for me. Even if I can't see how the days of my life fit in with His "big plan", I have put my trust completely in Him. I know that He has my best interest at heart... NO MATTER WHAT... as He has with All His Children. Thus... I can safely put myself in His hands, confident of His love, grace, and mercy.

"I CAN do ALL THINGS through Jesus Christ who strengths me."

"Let everything that has breath praise the Lord... for He is greatly to be praised."

I praise Him for the Good days... and I praise Him for the "less good"ones.... because He walks me through each day, and never leaves me to struggle through in my own strength. He uses the more difficult days to draw me closer to Him, and to teach me to trust Him more.

Thank you, Lord Jesus!

HOPE FOR THE FUTURE

Today was day two of the migraine that had kept me at home and in bed... with curtains drawn. As I lay in bed with the blankets pulled over my head, a multitude of thoughts swirled through my head.

I thought of all the different tasks waiting for me at work... the things I should have been there doing. I thought about my house and the things that needed cleaning and straightening. From time to time, I could quiet my mind enough to sleep... and then I would wake up again to "chase rabbits" in my thoughts.

The thought "rose like a bubble" to the top and "popped"... about the blog I wrote yesterday... the one concerning the "disquietude" I felt in my heart and in my spirit concerning the current affairs of our country... and the impact the recent election could have on our future.

It was then that I realized that I was looking at the situation in the "natural". I wasn't looking at the condition of our country through eyes that recognized that God is in control. I wasn't looking through "eyes of faith".

Nothing has happened that caught God unaware. Nothing took Him by surprise. The Lord knew what would be going on today before the United States was even formed into a country... and long before that.

That doesn't mean that life in this country won't be different from what we have known in the past. That doesn't mean that we won't have to make adjustments in our lives that we have never imagined. It does mean we have an intercessor who is always in the presence of God, interceding for us.

No matter how bleak things may look... no matter what we hear on the news or read on the internet... we have to remember that our God does indeed have a plan for us... remember that He alone is in control... and remember He is our Hope for the Future.

If God is FOR us... who can be against us.

CLEANING HOUSE

Last Week I threw out worrying,

it was getting old and in the way.
It kept me from being me;

I couldn't do things God's way.

I threw out a book on MY PAST
(Didn't have time to read it anyway).
Replaced it with NEW GOALS,

started reading it today.

I threw out hate and bad memories,
(Remember how I treasured them so)?
Got me a NEW PHILOSOPHY too,

threw out the one from long ago.

Brought in some new books too,

called I CAN, I WILL, and I MUST.
Threw out I might, I think and I ought.
WOW, you should've seen the dust.

I ran across an OLD FRIEND,

I hadn't talked to in a while.
His name is GOD the Father,

and I really like His style.

He helped me to do some cleaning

and added some things Himself.
Like PRAYER, HOPE, FAITH and LOVE,
Yes... I placed them right on the shelf.

I picked up this special thing

and placed it at the front door.
I FOUND IT- its called PEACE.

Nothing gets me down anymore.

Yes, I've got my house looking nice.
Looks good around the place.
For things like Worry and Trouble

there just isn't any space.

It's good to do a little house cleaning,
Get rid of the things on the shelf.
It sure makes things brighter;

maybe you should TRY IT YOURSELF.

BE BLESSED AND BE A BLESSING TO SOMEONE ELSE!!!!

(Unknown)

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

May the Lord open the windows of heaven and pour you out a blessing that
you will not have room enough to receive it all.
Malachi 3:10.

May the Lord bless you exceedingly abundantly above all you could ever
hope for.
Philippians 4:19.

I can do all things through Christ which strengthen me. Philippians 4:13