I do not know what is going on with me this morning as I cannot wake up! I woke up at 4AM and told myself "Nope! It's Sunday!" So I went back to sleep until 5AM and then forced myself to get up out of bed (afraid I'd start tossing and turning and waken hubby). So I come in here and try to read... and I managed to get done my reading this morning that I wanted to do, albeit my eyes kept closing and I had to reread a few things. After my reading I sat here for a few moments and I think I just 'lost' a half hour. And what is funny is that I imagined in my mind that I was typing here. I didn't even have the computer on my lap. We were in bed by 10PM; granted a little later than usual, but not too bad. UGH. I don't like it when I can't wake up. Maybe by the time I finish this by making myself focus I can awaken.
The only thing I can think of, other than not sleeping well all week, is that we were outside some with a lot of wind yesterday; well, a lot more than usual. The granddaughter's gender reveal was yesterday and we were outside for about an hour and a half. The wind was blowing pretty hard. I don't know; I only know I need to move about to stay awake.
Yesterday we went over to check on our neighbors as we have seen him, but not her, for the past week since they got back from Hawaii. About an hour later, we were back in our home. She is quite the talker but oh my! She is a children's book author, she's a minister's daughter, she's a social worker, she's a school teacher, ok - maybe those are she was versus she is, but she is getting settled in here and whatever classes she is taking, she said she had one more book to write and then she will be finished with that course. I get amused when she pronounces Hawaii differently than any way I've heard. But, of course, she has lived there several years so would think she would have the better pronounication. She shared some things about their life there, and it isn't anything like I imagined in my own mind. The big island isn't like a big metropolis/city like in which we live; she described it as poor and very difficult to get people to work there. I would never have thought! What took so long for them to get back here was they had difficulty in hiring people to come work and help load up the 40 ft pod in which they were putting their belongings to ship to the States. She also said they wanted to get back here 'on the mainland' in case something happened and they would be more protected. I'm looking forward to being friends with them. Her husband is very nice, somewhat quiet. Perhaps he has gotten used to not talking much? We also found that we like a lot of the same things - she is also an avid reader of Christian books, as I am. She says she has 1200 books.... I don't have near that many as I've given several boxes of books away the past few years, (and wish I still had them!) and they are being shipped here. We had a great conversation and I'm looking forward to getting better acquainted.
Church is on the agenda for this morning. At 8AM I'll have to set up hubby's computer so we can watch Jentezen Franklin and after that we'll get ready to go to the church we are trying to make a decision on. There are a lot of churches around us and trying to find one we both like has proven difficult. We do both agree that we want a church that preaches the Bible and not one that wants to make us feel good about life. I do enjoy preaching that reveals the scripture and then shares what it would look like today. Sometimes scripture is hard to place in today's world.
Reminds me of a movie we watched just before we went to bed. We've seen it several times before and I enjoy watching it. It's called Joshua. I especially love the end when he meets with the pope. I know that I have shared this movie a few times over the years, but that part always gets me. Joshua is talking with the pope and he says "Peter, don't you know me?" And then Joshua tells him that this world is lonely, they are hurting (can't remember the exact words), and they have a missing piece in their hearts and that missing piece is Him. When the pope asks what he can do, Joshua replies, "Tell them that I love them." I could watch that one part over and over and it grabs my heart every time.
"Tell them that I love them".
Jesus loves you with an undying love. He loves you so much that He went to the cross for you. If you were the only person left on this earth, He loves you so much that He still would have died for you. There is no greater love than the love that Jesus has for you.
How can we turn that love away and go our own way? How can we reject such a love? But yet, we do by the way the live, the way we do things our own way. I'm just as guilty. How many times do we even think about Jesus throughout the day? We should always be praising Him and praying without ceasing.
Praying without ceasing? Sometimes it isn't verbal prayers, but even in our thoughts. Taking a sip of good coffee and just thinking, "thank You, Lord, for making good coffee so that I can drink it this morning." Sound silly? Aren't you thankful for caffeine? This morning I definitely am! (finally feel like I'm starting to wake up!) God loves you so much He provides all that you need.
You have a job? You have food on your table? Family doing well? You have a roof over your head? All these things we can tell God 'Thank you' for. You still breathing? Yeah, I can be thankful for that too. There are so many people without a job, without food on a table - without the table even! Sickness, heartache, so much of that in this world. And what are we doing about it? Maybe we can't physically be involved in people's lives, but we can pray. Even just saying "Lord, please provide for those in need; grant them food to eat, water to drink, and shelter to keep them safe."
I John 5:14-15 (NIV): "This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. And if we know tht he hears us - whatever we ask - we know that we have what we asked of him."
Sometimes we have a hard time believing that when we pray for healing for someone and they aren't healed, that there is a God who loves us. But what if God wanted to do something through that; perhaps you can't see it in your pain and sorrow, but even through the death of a loved one, God works for the good of us. We can embrace His love for us even though our pain is great; or we can reject Him. I choose to love.
Blessings!
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