Joy from the Promises

"How happy you are to believe that the Lord's message to you will come true!” (Luke 1:45)

Friends on this 10th day of advent be encouraged by Marys attitude when God put Christ inside of her: her joy was overflowing that Elizabeth commented on it. She calls her blessed and note it does say "your so happy about how God has blessed you already" but rather Elizabeth is excited about how joyful Mary is as she trusts Gods promsise. Friends do you trust the promises God has for you? Do you overflow with joy before they have even happened? Friends I pray you will have the joy Mary had. Let it be what controls you instead of worry and fear. Let Gods perfect love cast out fear of the unknown and rest in the promises He has given you. I say this as someone who worries and need this advice As much as I give it to you. Please pray for me on this as I pray for your 

Peace and joy to you friends. 

<3

Anita

A lesson in Faith from a Ford Fusion

So I take my car to the dealership to get an oil change and I mention that one of my tires has been saying it needs air even when I put it in but it hasn't gone flat. So we get there and the guy is like the whole side wall of your tire is cracked and there is a nail in it. The fact it didn't blow out is a miracle they tell me. So they tell me than can patch the nail, but that the wall of the tire could fail and I should know that. They tell me they can do 1 tire, 2, 3, or 4. Now I should tell you those tires have been on my car since I bought it (its at about 40,000 miles and I bought it with 37  agree to fix it but they say they don't have the tires and will send me home in a rental until tomorrow. Tires are expensive and that sucks but I decided to do all 4 because I needed them anyway in the next 5000 miles. So they call me today saying something happened and they can't get my tires until tuesday but they will give me better tires and charge me less if thats ok with me. can we talk about God working things out. also the guy who helped me yesterday used to work at Miami hospital as a scrub tech for like 20 years and knew exactly what I was doing as a PA student and was such a help. He kept saying "everything happens for a reason"

I gotta tell you friends. Just this morning I was thinking about when I got the car... and how God worked out me getting a really nice car at a crazy low price and worked out all the details. I have to tell you, I'm spoiled with the car He gave me and I realized that yesterday as I drove away in my rental 2013 ford focus. I realized the difference in the leather in the car, the difference in the size, how smoothly my 6 cylinder sports car drives.  I've offered to trade it in for a less expensive car countless times as I sometimes feel guilty for having such a nice car when people don't have food, or clothes or homes. But yesterday God showed me how that was a gift He gave me, and it's not wrong to accept a gift from my heavenly Father.  I was thinking as I was driving this morning that I missed my gift and couldn't wait to get it back from the dealership. I thought about how God knew me when He gave me that car- He knew me better than I knew myself because the car I affectionately call Grace was not one I thought I wanted at all and yet God was so clear that that was the car and this was the price and here's someone to buy your old honda civic. 

So this morning when my phone rings I'm worried because it's a number I don't recognize but I know its from where the car dealership is. It's a gentleman named Anthony who tells me my tires (which were going to cost me $745 for 4 (hello sports car tire price)... that they weren't available until Tuesday (let me tell you how much my schedule wouldn't allow me to make it to the dealership by 5 on Tuesday). I took a deep breath as Anthony continued. He goes on to say they are going to upgrade my tires for free, not going to charge me labor or to mount the tires, and they are going to let me pay $700 for 4 tires that are over $200 each. 

In what world does that happen? 

Let's recap:

1. My original tire should have blown out. Getting to the dealership was a miracle.

2. The tires I picked they were already giving me a deal on 

3. They are giving me better tires for a lower price. Seems backwards. 

And it was as if this whole time God has been saying to me : LOOK I show you time and time again I know what I'm doing. You seem to have forgotten. Let me just remind you that I can work miracles big and small. I have never forsaken you. 

And my heart just replied: Father, forgive me. 

If the God of the universe can work out my tire situation, which lets be honest in the grand scheme of the worlds problem is so minor, than how much more can I trust He is going to work out my job situation, our living situation, my husbands golfing, ect. If He has proven faithful in the small things, how much more can I trust He can do the bigger things. 

So today I'll have Grace the Ford Fusion back. 

But more importantly today I was reminded of Grace. I was taught thankfulness. I was reminded to have Faith. 

A very unexpected lesson of faith from my Ford Fusion

Nothing outside His control

Hello Friends!
Alright I want to take a few moments to bring you a little bit more from Hebrews.

Last time we dove in to Hebrews 1 and the big take-home point was: Jesus is higher than angels.  In Hebrews 2 that same sentiment is carried on but I wanna kind of zone in on Hebrews 2 vs 8 which says ".... Now in putting everything in subjection to him, he left nothing outside his control..."

If you have watched any of the Passion conference (which I wish I could have seen all of it but I've had to work and the sessions are only up a short time) a lot of what God has been speaking through that conference is that He can do immeasurably more.  And when you think about that fact that nothing is outside of his control.  Now this passage is not setting on that phrase, but this morning it stopped me. Everything is under His control. It's a fact I know, but do I live like I know it?  As I focus on "thankfulness" this year I find myself thanking God a lot more, but also as I turn my heart toward seeing what He has done, I see more and more that what I ask Him for is many time nothing compared to what He is capable of. It has been challenging me to pray bigger prayers, like for the baby I saw in the NICU yesterday that God would heal her, for the car salesmen that He would come to really know and honor God. For myself when I need Him to quite my growling tummy during surgery, or to relieve the worry, or work out the student loans, or help Paul have an awesome day at golf. I find the more I am thankful, the more I in turn am learning to give more and more to God.  The more I am willing to understand that everything really is under His control.

And sometimes I need to repent of my lack of belief that everything is under His control, because when I don't' believe it with every fiber of my being I worry, as though I have some sort of control as to how the events happen. As if "because I want it and I will" it will happen. Friends, we have to put our whole lives in Gods hands and ask for His will alone, not ours, and when you struggle to be able to do that, I encourage you to pray and ask Him for the strength. Thank Him for the ways He has shown you so far that you can trust Him, and ask Him to forgive you for the times that you don't, and to grow your faith.

Francis Chan spoke in session 4 of the passion conference and he talked a lot about trusting God, and understanding that so often it feels like we can't trust anyone, but to remember that we can trust God. While these points of trust, and faith, and knowing He is in control seem like they should come easy, they seem to come hard in a world where we see a consistent pattern that says we can't trust others. The bible even tells us we can't trust our own hearts as they are deceitful. So what can we trust? God. We can trust the promises that He gives, and friends something I want to echo that Francis Chan pointed out: it's not just the warm and fuzzy promises but all of His promises. His promise to oppose the proud, and give grace to the humble. His promise to deny you if you deny Him. His promise that many will cry Lord Lord and He will say He never knew them.  We never want to talk about some of these promises we wanna focus on the promise that says we are fearfully and wonderfully made, that if God is for us who can be against us, that He will never leave or forsake us but friends, they are all His promises. The easy to hear, and the hard truth, all are promises from the word of God and as such we should hide them in our hearts.

Please let me know how I can be praying for you. Are you struggling with this idea of trust? Do you have a hard time remember that He has everything in control? I want to be honest and tell you I do. I struggle with this and I'm praying that God will forgive me, and grow in me a new understanding of trust as He designed it. Friends I pray that for you to, and if you need anything else please let me know.  Do know that I don't have any magical connection to God in prayer that you don't have, sometimes it is just nice to know that someone else is praying for you and that is all I hope to offer.

Trust Him. Know that he has everything under His control.