Peace Within The Storm

I love thunderstorms! I've always loved them. I can remember as a kid camping out in front of the window watching them. And I even do the same with my little girl. We shut the everything off so the house is dark and sit and watch in awe. I have even been known to go out and lay in my yard just looking at the sky, watching the flashes and listening to the thunder roll. I know probably not the smartest option but it is the best view after all. So last night I got to bed late and wasn't really sleeping when we had the most amazing storm. It had to have been right above my house. I could see the flashes and hear the crack of the lightning. And then the thunder would boom and roll. My house shook as it rolled and rolled and rolled. I haven't heard thunder roll like that ever. It was totally wonderful. This morning a friend told me that her 4 year old woke up terrified. The poor thing. I've known people who were scared of storms but I've never really understood why. The power and the beauty of the storm totally brings peace and joy to my soul. So I was thinking on this fear of storms this morning and the Holy Spirit gave me the best revelation. We should be able to find peace and joy in EVERY storm in life. Yes they can be frightening and overwhelming but if we are totally putting our trust and faith in GOD then we should be able to rest in HIS peace and view the storm from HIS perspective. The storms we face in life are filled with beauty and power and just like with a good thunderstorm the air afterwards is fresh, new and clean. God sees what beauty is going to be in us as we come out of the storm. If we rest in HIM then we are cocooned in HIS protection. So the next time you are going through a storm and are afraid, go lay in the yard and rest in HIS peace and watch the power and beauty that is in the storm. Find joy and peace and know that in the end amazing things come out of the storm.

Resurrection Weekend

This being Easter weekend, I've been thinking about the amazing things that happened 2000 years ago. Our King, Our Savior, God's only son willingly allowed himself to be tortured, beaten and then murdered for us. Then to top it all off He defeated death as well. WOW!!! What amazing love that must take. He could have called upon 10,000 angels at any point that horrible day and put a stop to all that was being done to him. But he didn't. He took the pain, the beatings, the whippings, all that was put upon him, so that we may be free and live.

I have been thinking about how even after Jesus had told his disciples what was going to happen. That he was going to die and that he would live again, but yet when Mary Magdalene told them that she had seen him, that he was alive. They didn't believe her. I can totally understand their anguish as they watch him being tortured but knowing the promise that was coming shouldn't they have been rejoicing? Or at the very least excited when Mary told them the news? The more I thought about all this the realization that I found was that they allowed themselves to be overwhelmed by the situation and forgot the promises. They forgot all the truth that Jesus had told them.

It is definitely a reminder for us when we are facing a trial in life. Hold onto the truths, to the promises, to the word God has given you and don't allow the circumstances to overwhelm us and steal our peace, our joy and most of all our hope. GOD IS GOOD ALWAYS!!!!! Even when it doesn't look that way.

Happy Easter!

It Breaks My Heart

It breaks my heart when I think about the people I love who have lost someone they love to suicide. A friend who lost her son, another lost her father, and to many others. The one on my heart tonight though is my sweet friend Lara. One year ago lost her beautiful Felicity.

To be honest I will admit that there was a time when I would hear about someone taking their own life and I would think "How selfish of them to do that to the people who love them". But of course with time and life we grow and come to new understanding. Not that there is ever really any understanding to these tragedies but I do know that it's not that the people we love are being selfish. It's that they aren't seeing any other way out of the lies that have been in their heads and they are believing. The biggest of those is that there is no hope and that there is no other way out of this "whatever it is".

I pray tonight that those who have lost someone they love will be covered by God's peace, comfort and love. I pray that those who are struggling will also feel God's love, hope and strength. You are never alone, His love never fails, and there is always hope. I pray that we all find compassion for others. That we all have eyes to see when someone is having a hard time and can be there for them. That we can all be the light at the end of the tunnel for someone who can't see it.