At the Well- Change and Clinging to God

At the Well today the discussion is on change. Much like the author of todays post, I struggle with change that I cannot control. Oh, I like to change my hair, or my furniture. I like to change things for myself, or my family. But...I really hate when change is thrust upon me! However, many times in our Christian walk, God, not only wants change in our lives, but He often demands it. He will often allow circumstances of tremendous change in our lives to grow us, and make us more like Him. Some of the changes are scary ( a new job, a new baby, a new house or church), and some are just very sad (losing a friendship or family member, or moving far away). God doesn't ask these things of us just to make us mad, or frustrate us. He does it because He loves us. He knows that learning to deal with change and trust Him through all of it is one of the most important things for our lives.

Many Christians in other places in the world have to live with continual changes in their lives, because of their faith. They may lose their homes, their jobs, or their family members, simply because they believe something that is not too popular! I often remind myself that we may also be in that situation in America some day and I would contend it is happening in small doses already. If we can't learn to deal with changes in our lives, we may falter when it comes down to standing up for the Lord. If we can't handle change, we may miss out on a tremendous blessing in our lives, because we disobey when He calls us to do something simply because we were afraid.

When I think about change it brings to mind for me..stress! Thinking about stress leads me to think on Psalm 23... The Lord is my Shepard, I shall not want.

He makes me to lie down in green pastures;

He leads me beside still waters.

He restores my soul;

He leads me in paths of righteousness

For His names sake.

Yea, though I walk through the valley

of the shadow of death,

I will fear no evil;

For you are with me;

Your rod and your staff they comfort me.

You prepare a table for me in the presence of mine enemies;

You annoit my head with oil;

My cup runs over.

Surely goodness and mercy

shall follow me

All the days of my life;

And I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.

Read it carefully, it is a wonderful reminder that no matter what kind of change God brings into our lives, whether it's good change or bad, it is for a purpose! Everything that God brings into our lives is there to serve His purpose for us. So, if you are experiencing a big change, and it has you scared to death. Read over this Psalm again and remember that God is there, walking with you, and using you for a plan that will last for eternity! As I wrote this Psalm just now, it touched my heart, and reminded me that the big changes that may be surrounding my family are for God's purposes, and that I have nothing to fear in allowing them to happen. I hope this will do the same for you today!

A Little Frustrated

I'm a little frustrated with my blog. For some reason it has been doing some really strange things, and I can't figure out why, or how to fix it. The sidebar is stuck on the bottom instead of on the side where it belongs. I've tried taking out a couple of things to see if they were causing the problems, but to no avail. If anyone has any thoughts on why my blog is doing this, and how I could fix it...I would love to hear about it. My homeschool blog has had no problems, so I'm not sure what is going on with this one! I would like to get back to posting more on it again, but I want to fix it first.

Any ideas would be wonderful!!

I Heart Faces kids- Nostalgia

This week's theme for I <3>

Stop by I Heart Faces to see more nostalgiac pictures.

Blog Awards

A great friend and blogger Laura was sweet enough to award me this award!~ I would love to pass this award on...so here are my picks:

1) Collette at Jesus Loves Mums

2) Megan at Daily Essentials and Deals

3) Brook at Snips, Snails, and Puppy Dog Tails

Now you need to:

1) copy and poste this award on your blog

2) pass it on to as many people as you would like

3) leave the people you choose a message letting them know that you have awarded them.

Thanks again Laura :-)

In His Word Wednesday- Anxious

Philippians 4:6 Be anxious for nothing: but in everything by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving , let your requests be made known unto God.

I'm working really hard on this today. I admit, as I think about the next few weeks, and even the next few days, I'm feeling very anxious! Pray for me that I can have peace about the circumstances, and not be too overwhelmed! I wrote another post today that gives a better idea of what I am anxious about. You can read that here.

Join Megan for more In His Word Wednesday.

Update on My Dad

Hi everyone. I wanted to give everybody who has been praying for my dad an update. For anyone who doesn't know the situation with dad read here to hear the whole story.

Last week Dad's oncologist told him that the CAT scan that he took showed some shrinking in the cancer, and no spread, so that they were going to proceed to operate again to try to take the cancer out. Well, yesterday I took dad to meet with the surgeon, who had attempted his surgery the first time. What the surgeon said was a bit different than what the oncologist said. He said that he will not attempt to do the surgery again. He said that attempting this surgery a second time, especially after weeks of radiation is extremely complicated. He wants dad to have another endoscopy, to get a better picture of the area, and then he is going to send dad's pictures down to a surgeon in Indianapolis, to see if he will attempt the surgery. He did not sound terribly convinced that it was going to be possible.

So, that is where things stand right now. If dad is going to go to Indy, it will be (hopefully) next week. The oncologist said that for this surgery to be possible, it had to be done within 6 weeks of the end of radiation, which will be next week. Obviously, the surgery being done in Indianapolis, during the time when Rob will be going back to work, and my kids need to start schooling again, is a logistical nightmare for our family. Indianapolis is 3 1/2 hours away from us.

Please pray that Dad will be able to have this surgery in Indy, and that the pieces will fall into place for me to be able to stay down there with him...at least for most of the time. Thanks to everyone who has been praying for my dad already!

Please Pray tomorrow!

Hi all. I would appreciate prayers tomorrow as I take my Dad to a doctor's appointment to find out the results of his CAT scan from Monday. This will tell him whether his cancer has spread at all, or if it has shrunk enough that they might be able to remove it this time. I will give an update when I know more!