Whose Am I?

Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.  John 14:27

As of the Sunday morning track, looks like Mobile Bay and surrounding areas are going to be the target for Hurricane Isaac.

The estimated time of arrival for our unwanted house guest is expected during the midnight hours . . . . late Tuesday or early Wednesday.  I personally HATE night time guests that are unwanted.

Regardless, be prepared and do your part.  Once you have done what you have to do to secure your home and yard and have purchased plenty of water for your family and pets, along with some food items and ice, sit back and rest.

May I suggest, every time you "feel" that urge to panic or worry about the what if's of uncertainty; remember there is One that is never changing, whose name is not "What if."

None of this caught my God by surprise.

He is still God.

He still reigns on His throne.

I was reading Job 12 just the other day looking for peace, clarity, and answers to some of my life's questions.  I found a chapter that I don't think I have ever read before, and if I did, it wasn't "revealed" to me until then.

The Lord brought it to mind this morning, seems kind of appropriate to share to help us remember who is in charge.

Job 12

Starting in verse 7, but in verses 10 - 16; don't miss who He is and the power . . . . oh the power! 

⁷ “Just ask the animals, and they will teach you.

    Ask the birds of the sky, and they will tell you.
⁸ Speak to the earth, and it will instruct you.
    Let the fish in the sea speak to you.
⁹ For they all know
    that my disaster has come from the hand of the Lord.
¹⁰ For the life of every living thing is in his hand,
    and the breath of every human being.
¹¹ The ear tests the words it hears
    just as the mouth distinguishes between foods.
¹² Wisdom belongs to the aged,
    and understanding to the old.

¹³ “But true wisdom and power are found in God;
    counsel and understanding are his.
¹⁴ What he destroys cannot be rebuilt.
    When he puts someone in prison, there is no escape.
¹⁵ If he holds back the rain, the earth becomes a desert.
    If he releases the waters, they flood the earth.
¹⁶ Yes, strength and wisdom are his;
    deceivers and deceived are both in his power.
¹⁷ He leads counselors away, stripped of good judgment;
    wise judges become fools.
¹⁸ He removes the royal robe of kings.
    They are led away with ropes around their waist.
¹⁹ He leads priests away, stripped of status;
    he overthrows those with long years in power.
²⁰ He silences the trusted adviser
    and removes the insight of the elders.
²¹ He pours disgrace upon princes
    and disarms the strong.

²² “He uncovers mysteries hidden in darkness;
    he brings light to the deepest gloom.
²³ He builds up nations, and he destroys them.
    He expands nations, and he abandons them.
²⁴ He strips kings of understanding
    and leaves them wandering in a pathless wasteland.
²⁵ They grope in the darkness without a light.
    He makes them stagger like drunkards.

I am in awe.  He truly has, "The Whole World In His Hands."  That makes me smile.

I shared a few days ago about a a live frog that ate a worm right in front of me.

After the Lord showed me the frog eating a worm, a few days later, as I was driving the car to the mechanics shop, again,  an odd looking creature flew right in front of my windshield!  As I slowed down and squinted, I realized it was a hawk, carrying a LIVE squirrel off!  The live squirrel was struggling HARD to get free.  But that hawk had him tight in his grips.

John 10:27 - 30 says this, "My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow (know) me.  I give them eternal life and they shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of my hand.  My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father's hand.  I and the Father are one."

As I just typed it out I got the chills and heebie jeebies; but as my heart reflects on the scriptures I know, I realize it was such a beautiful, beautiful sight!

The beautiful sight of the hawk carrying off his prey, also reminded me of another scripture; that I am more precious to The Father than the birds of the air, and if they are fed, then why am I to worry?

Matthew 6:25-34, "Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear.  Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes?  Look at the the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them.  Are you not much more valuable than they?  Can any of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?  And why do you worry about clothes?  See how the flowers of the field grow.  They do not labor or spin.  Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these.  If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you - you of little faith?  So do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What what shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?'  For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Fathers knows that you need them.  But seek first HIS kingdom and HIS righteousness, and all these things will be given (supplied) to you as well.  Therefore, DO NOT WORRY ABOUT TOMORROW, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own."

As we finish preparing in the physical realm for the storm, as a friend posted on fb the other day, I pray you are preparing your heart for eternity.

In case you are reading this, and you don't know Whose you are, then listen to this song, Who Am I.  THEN, because scripture is the first and foremost of finding out how valuable you are, read the book of  John.  A complete love letter of miracles, and even how Jesus prays for you!

Peace my friends.

Stacey

BUT . . . For The Hand of God!

The Lord keeps bringing one of my journal entries to my mind every morning while doing my morning readings.  Not sure why, but I sense He wants me to share, so here goes.

We have been discussing selling our second car.  We can't afford the insurance and upkeep on it, so when the car just died out of the clear blue last week, we thought, "OK, it's time to sell it."  We let it sit for about a week, which is all it took to realize we have to have two vehicles at this time in our lives.  With Chris and Kayla being in school, Kayla working part-time, Christopher's Occupational Therapy every week, his anger management counseling every week, and his psychology appoints, there was just no way to make it all happen. 

Chris woke up Friday morning with a sense of urgency to get the battery looked it.  Thanks to Advanced Auto, they were able to tell him it was definitely a bad battery.  $101 and some change later, the car was up running. 

After my Friday morning weigh in, I had some errands to do, one of which was picking up some prescriptions from Lakeview for Christopher.  Driving down "E" Street, I hear a noise and the left side of my car goes limp.  Yeap.  Not only did I have a flat tire, but a complete blow out.  Dad told me when he gave me the car (it was my grandparents) that the tires were rotted and needed to be replaced immediately.  Not having a regular income, tires were not on the list, especially when I priced them!  For a 93 Pontiac Bonneville, there is one style that has to go on the car.  I know, right.  Never heard of such.  The prices range from $395 for four tires for the generic at Wal-Mart and for mid-grade were $510 from my favorite mechanic shop.  So, tires were not on our radar at all.

I called my husband because I hadn't changed a tire since I was 19 years old.  Yes, that had been a LONG time ago and being stranded on E Street in Pensacola is NOT the best place to be stranded. 

My frustrations of the morning mounted when we put the spare tire on.  Yeap.  It was flat.  I had to drive to the other end of Pace Street to get to a convenient store with an air pump that didn't have people hanging around on their hoods, smoking and drinking.  Yes, I became MORE frustrated!

After two and half hours, I was FINALLY on my way to Lakeview to pick up Christopher's prescription.  It is now 1:30 and a scorching 90 plus degrees outside.  As I pull in the parking lot, put the car in park, IMMEDIATELY a bird swoops right in front of my car windshield.  (If you know me, or follow my blog, you know how birds are my visual of God's provisions and protection for me.)  The bird had a bundle of twigs and hay.  I smiled.  The bird then began fluttering frantically in the dirt causing quite a bit of dust to whirl about. 

In the midst of my rantings and ravings, the Lord showed me his protection and provisions.

1.  If the tire had blown just moments earlier, I would have been driving 60mph on the interstate.
          ~I see the Hand of God.

2. If my husband hadn't sensed the Lord nudging him to get the car battery (yes, I was furious at the cost of a battery), he would not have been able to get to me at all.  I would have had to leave my car, walk with a spare blocks away to get air in it and walk back to the car. 
          ~I see the Hand of God.

3.  If the tire had blown last week, we wouldn't have had the money to get it repaired.  We would have been without a vehicle at all.
          ~I see the Hand of God.

4.  When the bird flew in front of my windshield, immediately the Lord gave me Matthew 6:25-34 as my reminder of Who is in control and how important I am to Him.  I did a little research on what time of day birds normally build their nests.  There isn't much information on it, so I contacted a group that studies birds behavior.  They confirmed what I suspected, birds do not normally build their nests in the hottest part of the day.  It is normally in the early mornings and late evenings when it is cooler you see birds working.  Remember, it was 1:30 in the afternoon and scorching hot when God sent this bird to me.  :)
            ~I see the Hand of God.

5.  Remember the fluttering about in the dust I told you about.  Birds do that to make like a bonding material (usually it is with mud but there was no mud) for twigs, hay, string to bond together when building their nest.  When the dust was whirling around, the Lord gave me the scripture found in John 16:33, "I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace.  In this world you will have trouble, BUT take heart!  I have overcome the world."  (The whirling dust represented my frustrations from the day/the troubles of the world!)
          ~I see the Hand of God.

(Couldn't find a bird causing a dust whirl, but found this impressive picture of a dust storm to visual the trouble of the world.)

This represents the peace that the Father can give when we trust Him. 

Makes me smile :)



6.  A person I have cleaned for a few times called me to see if I got a tire. He told me about Butler's Tire Shop on Old Palafox
          ~But for the Hand of God!

So thankful He goes before me, that He loves me enough to grow me and teach me through His creation.

Father, forgive me I pray when I doubt, forgive me when I stomp my feet and get mad.  Thank you for loving me enough to show me your hand time and time again.  Thank you for meeting the needs we have and those we don't even know about yet.  I love you Lord and thank you, Amen.

Learning to rest in Him,

Stacey





          ~But for the Hand of God.