Has there ever been a time that you have felt insignificant?
…a time when you felt all alone in the world?
…maybe you felt like the things you said and did did not really matter…
…maybe you felt as if you were facing a great unknown…
…or perhaps, you just felt like a small speck in the universe…
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I think we have all felt this way at one time or another. And, you may even know where to find the answers that will make you feel better. I, too, know where to find these answers…but there have been times in my life when I did not even have the strength to look for them. There have been times when I knew what these answers were…but, wondered if they were really true. If God really would do the things He says He will.
I never want to leave the impression that I have never doubted, that I have never questioned God. Because the opposite is true. I have. But, I am on the other side of those feelings now…I have been through them and learned much about my God.
I have questioned and He gave me answers. I have doubted and He has shown me where I stand. He has made me to see that He is the ONLY answer to my feelings of unworthiness or loneliness. He showed me that He always knows where I am…He always keeps track of me…I am never alone. And, NO ONE cares for me like He does.
I learned these lessons years ago, but I have felt compelled to write about some of these things today. Maybe some of you who are kind enough to visit me at Gatherings need to hear these words. Another thing I have learned is that when God nudges my heart about doing something…I need to listen.
God is good. God is trustworthy. God loves you more than anything. He proved Himself to me…and He will prove Himself to you. He keeps His promises.
So, here are a few verses that speak to me…and remind me of what I mean to Him. And, whether someone needs this now, or maybe will need it next week…I’ll leave that part up to Him. He will see that whomever needs it will see it.
One more thing. If I can ever answer questions about my faith in the Lord…it would make me proud to do so. If I can help you find answers that you may need…it would be a privilege.
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“Your love, O Lord, reaches to the heavens, your faithfulness to the skies.” Psalm 36:5
“Draw near to God, and He will draw near to you”. James 4:8
“How precious it is, Lord, to realize that You are thinking about me constantly” (Psalm 139:17).
“Be my rock of refuge, to which I can always go; give the command to save me, for you are my rock and my fortress” (Psalm 71:3, NIV).
“You are my hiding place, You will protect me from troubles and surround me with songs of deliverance.” Psalm 32:7
“The eyes of the Lord are on those who fear Him, on those whose hope is in His UNFAILING LOVE, to deliver them from death and keep them alive in famine. We wait in HOPE for the Lord; HE IS HELP AND OUR SHIELD. In Him our hearts rejoice, for we TRUST in His holy name. May your unfailing love rest upon us, O Lord, even as WE PUT OUR HOPE IN YOU!” Psalm 33:18
Looking for something else today, I ran across this old ad…
Can you read what it says? It is really hard to see even if you enlarge it…here’s what I read…”HOW SOON IS TOO SOON? Not soon enough. Laboratory tests over the last few years have proven that babies who start drinking soda in the formative years have a much better chance of gaining acceptance and ‘fitting in’ during those awkward pre-teen and teen years. So do yourself a favor. Do your child a favor. Start them on a strict regimen of cola and other sugary carbonated beverages right now, for a lifetime of guaranteed happiness.” THE SODA POP BOARD OF AMERICA ????????AVE. CHICAGO, IL. (next to bottle)…Promotes Active Lifestyle…Boosts Personality…Gives Body Essential Sugars.It is unbelievable to me that this could ever have printed. ****************************** And, this ad says its drink will do almost everything…for adults or children… ****************************** That was then…but what about now…
C*ke has issued a statement in 2009 that says… “C*ke is “wholesome and suitable” for kids, but we understand that children are impressionable, and we respect the role of parents and caregivers in making food and beverage choices with their children. Therefore, we are committed not to directly market messages for any of our beverages to children under 12.”
Yeah, those polar bear and penguins don’t target children at all…
I guess it started then and continues still today. Manufacturers will promote their products to whomever they like…They will target adults and children… (remember the Mean Joe Green commercial?). The bottom line is the dollar…not what is best for us or our children. It comes down again to the fact the person responsible for YOUR child is YOU. It’s up to you to make the decisions…not the ads and commercials and manufacturers.
F.I.N.A.L.L.Y…finally I feel like my home is complete! My poor, sad table has looked so lonely sitting there all exposed…what with there being no chairs to sit around it and keep it company!
It has been unavoidable…the delay, I mean. After they were ordered, they sold out…then began remaking them…then they were on back order. Delivery date…early December…late December…and January 27! Of course, IF they had been ordered sooner, they would have been in place much sooner. But, I am not responsible for that. I am not pointing any fingers here…but it’s not my fault or Alex’s.
However, if they had come earlier…I would not have had this wonderful pick-me-up on this cold, winter’s day in late January. So, ‘when’ matters no more. They are here and they are in place. And, I am happy!
And, now, I am going to go and sit in every single one of them!
Sleepless night last night…afraid that I would over sleep and be late to jury duty this morning. Finally got up and got the alarm clock and put it in the bed with me. Couldn’t sleep…afraid I had not set it right…it was not the one I am used to. Set the alarm on my Palm Pilot…it always works…put it in the bed with me too. Couldn’t sleep…too much stuff in my bed.
Finally drifted off…exactly 1 single minute before the alarms went off! And, they both worked. Needless worry. Very OCD.
Got up, got ready…make-up, teeth, hair, clothes…then out the door at 7:30. Is that enough time? I don’t know…I still haven’t gotten used to living on the other side of town. Well, we’ll see. WAIT! Better take 2 minutes and stop at CVS and get me a Diet Dr. Pepper. Who knows how long I may have to sit and wait when I get there…and who knows if they even have a coke machine. (I know I said coke machine…and I meant Dr.Pepper machine…but this is the South, folks…everything here is a coke…and when some one asks for a soda, we do not know what they are talking about…unless you have been to another part of the country and they asked if you would like a soda, and you said, ‘no thanks, I’d like a Dr.Pepper, please,’ and they looked at you like you were crazy, and you wondered just who was crazy here, cause a soda means club soda and it isn’t even good. And, that’s a fact.) Now where was I?
So, I stopped and got 3 Diet Dr. Peppers and a big Snickers Bar…just in case. There may be so many bad guys to attend to we can’t even break for lunch! Be Prepared is my motto. Better to over buy than over need!
Took off again for the court house. They asked on the summons how far it is round trip to there from your home. I do not have any idea. I am not very good at guesstimating things like that. So, I’ll put 10 miles there and 10 miles back. That will make it easy for whoever to round it off. They may have had the same math teachers as me and need all the help they can get.
Why, oh, why do we have a court house parking lot that has 50 spaces in it? When they summons 150-200 people to come for jury duty…where should they park? And, why do they not understand that a body may have to ride around for nigh onto 30 minutes or so waiting for a parking space because the court house parking lot only has 50. I suppose the lawyers and the clerks and the judges and the secretaries all have to find a spot, too. And, they all got there before 8:00, and used up every available space. Finally I see a line of cars going into a parking lot back behind a church. And, I follow, hoping there will be just 1 left when I get there. I make my way across 4 lanes of traffic, get in line, and no, no there is not a place left. Everyone in line before me got a spot…I was the first one in line who did not have a place to park. There were not sweet words in my mouth at that moment! HOWEVER..ever watchful driver that I am, I happened to spot about 6 spaces in front of said church, that were not filled. There were no signs saying it was a sin to park there. And, so, being in the predicament that I found myself in at the moment…I pulled in and switched off the car. And, so did the next 5 people in line behind me. When I got out of my car, one after the other asked me, “Is it OK for us to park here?” Did I look like the parking attendant? “Sure”, I said. “I feel just fine about parking here”. And, I hurried on down the street, leaving them to figure it out for themselves. Me? I was going for it. Down the street…wind blowing…very cold…jacket in my arms.
Here’s one of those “CAN’T BELIEVE PEOPLE ARE SO DUMB” stories. A group of about 10 of us arrive at the corner at the same time. We all stand there, stomping around like horses, trying to keep warm. We wait through 2 complete light cycles. The WALK sign never come up. When we walked up, Girl 1 said to Girl 2…”push the button.” She meant the PUSH TO WALK BUTTON. After we’ve waited and waited and waited…Girl 1 says to Girl 2 “You did push the button, didn’t you?” Girl 2 says, “No, I started to, but the cars started moving again, so I didn’t need to!” Everyone out on the busiest street corner in Dothan on Monday morning at 8:00,immediately rolled their eyes in unison. THEN…out of nowhere…Girl 1 says, “Well I’m going anyway!” And, she takes off across the highway on the busiest street corner in Dothan. Cars screech to a stop…she keeps running. Halfway across, Girl 2 says, “I’m coming too!” And, off she goes…across that same busiest corner in Dothan. And, cars are blowing their horns and looking all kinds of ugly at those of us on the street corner…those of us following the laws of the great city of Dothan. I just waved, because I figured if they could act like stupid, so could I. No one waved back, however. A gentleman beside me said, “OK, PEOPLE! I HAVE PUSHED THE BUTTON!” And, we all gave him a round of applause, just as the WALK sign started blinking that we had only 24 seconds to make our way across. And, we did.
We walked into the lobby, the very small lobby, the lobby that is very, very crowded with people who are also arriving a little later than 8:00. There is one x-Ray machine and walk through that everyone must use. The crowd inside had somehow …without anyone being in charge, and yelling directions… spun itself into a tight little spiral that started in the middle of the room and had about 6 concentric circles all moving together toward the X-ray machine. It was a beautiful thing. The circles kept going and going and going until the last person made it through. Team work!
We enter the holding room which could seat maybe 100 people…which left about 150 standing. Why do people walk into a crowded room and stop at the door instead of moving on into the room and making way for others to enter? Especially when they KNOW there are others to come…they just spent 20 minutes playing round goes the circle in the lobby? What happened to the teamwork?
Never mind…some questions will never be answered this side of Heaven. The lady in charge says she has some good news for everyone. Three of the judges have settled all the cases they had. YEA! 1 judge has not. BOO! Most everyone will be able to leave for good. YEA! But, 75 will have to stay. BOO! She says she does not know where to start the list for the 75…from the top or the middle or the bottom. She goes to ask the judge. She comes back and starts calling names. She calls way more than 75. Then I realize she is calling everyone’s name first…to be sure they showed up! Then she starts over…she calls for a while…then stops…and says that we could go if she did not call our name. YEA! She did not call my name. Thank goodness! I am very happy. The 75 people whose name she called are most likely not happy. OUCH! I feel daggers hitting me in the back as I leave!
I made my way back down to the street corner that was not quite as busy now. Then down the street to the church…into my car (parked conveniently in the front) and out onto the street!
Jury Duty..2010…imagine what I could have written if I had had to be there all week!!!!
FYI: For the record…I do not mind having jury duty. I feel like it is part of our civic duty, and goes along with our responsibilities as a good citizen. That being said…every other time I have had it, I have gone everyday, and sat for hours waiting to be called for a case. Never have I been called. But, I have sat there long enough to put away every law breaker in the city. I’m just sayin’.
I am a Christian woman who has survived many years on the planet. God has blessed me with a wonderful family: husband, 3 sons, a dear DIL, and a precious grandson. I also have dear friends to keep me inspired. I am an artist of sorts and am finding my way through the great blessing of retirement. I recently retired after 20 years as a music teacher. Life is good!
My Boys
"All your sons will be taught by the Lord; and great will be their peace." Isaiah 54:13
Read their stories... Adam Alex Ian
Hello, my name is Everly. I am a blogger living in New York. This is my blog, where I post about interior design and decoration. Never miss out on new stuff.
Hello, my name is Everly. I am a blogger living in New York. This is my blog, where I post about interior design and decoration. Never miss out on new stuff.