did you enjoy the half time show?

I have a lot to share with you - today's picture, a song and thoughts from church, prayer talk, sharing from a couple devotionals that I am reading, and a popular song that came into my head today... 

Enjoy, and comment if you'd like - 

Today's picture is from none other than  last year's Super Bowl.. the Cheeseheads were happy!!  We were still living in Saint Charles, you can see engagement pictures hanging behind us, this picture was from my phone - so glad I was able to save it.  

Forever My Love.

Today began with delicious pancakes from one of my wonderful sisters.  Sweet Pea and I each had 3. :-)  Church was, of course, glorious as always - except, I'm not looking forward to the ending of the current series, as next week will be the conclusion. 

We sang a great song, Beautiful Things, which made tears instantly flow...  It begins with this verse:

All this pain
I wonder if I’ll ever find my way
I wonder if my life could really change at all
All this earth
Could all that is lost ever be found
Could a garden come up from this ground at all

 The song then goes on reminding us how God makes beautiful things out of the dust, out of us.  It really is a beautiful song - have a listen.

During the message in church, I was reminded that you don't realize God is all you need until He is all you've got.  ... Isn't that the truth ... If you lost your job, your spouse, your house - what are you left with?  It is best if you know God before you face losses; however, he is always here for us, knocking at your door waiting for you to open it up and let Him in.

Other quotable notes from Pastor Rick today:
... don't complain, do it all for the love of Jesus ...

... When I am powerless, I am most powerful ...

... God, your grace is sufficient for me ... 

This grace is not fully seen until weaknesses and pain are fully felt ...

... Be content in God's power - do not focus on the trial or thorn, instead, focus on God so Christ can do desired work in your life ... This one is where I am struggling right now.  My pain is so intense, it is hard to not focus on the fact that the JOe in JOMANDA is gone... but, I am powerless, so God tells me that I will be powerful.  I am definitely seeing God's grace, since I am definitely feeling weakness and pain.

I want to take a moment to talk about prayer.  It was just in November when I learned that we don't have to be concerned with the wording of our prayers, concerned with how they may sound to God.  The beautiful thing is, the Holy Spirit intercedes for us, changes the wording of our prayers, presenting it to God for us... Romans 8:26-27 "And the Holy Spirit helps us in our weakness.  For example, we don't know what God wants us to pray for.  But the Holy Spirit prays for us with groanings that cannot be expressed in words.  And the Father who knows all hearts knows what the Spirit is saying, for the Spirit pleads for us believers in harmony with God's own will."    ... phew! wow, that is great! how humble it makes me - who am I, to have the Holy Spirit working for me like that? awesome!

The following was inspired from yesterday's reading in The Confident Woman Devotional (Meyer, J. 2011. The Confident woman devotional. Faith Words: New York, p. 35.)  If we ever want to reach our final destination and succeed at being our true selves, we have to take many, many steps of faith.  Stepping out into something we have never done before - the unknown - can leave us with a rush of fear pumping through our veins.  Because of our fear, many of us never step out into this unknown, leaving us to never find out what we are capable of.  Many people are missing the will of God for their lives because they are "playing it safe".... God asks us to take risks.  What risks will you take to obey Him?

I'm taking a risk by writing to you each day - many of you have never known of my relationship with God, because of my past fear that you may reject me.... 

I need to share both yesterday's and today's readings from Jesus Calling, which are written as if He is speaking directly to us. (Young, S. 2004. Jesus calling: Enjoying peace in his presence. Thomas Nelson: Nashville, p. 37 & 38. ... and I know I don't cite perfectly, but I do not want to steal the ideas and words of others.)

Bring me your weakness, and receive My Peace.  Accept yourself and your circumstances just as they are, remembering that I am sovereign over everything.  Do not wear yourself out with analyzing and planning.  (weakness of mine)  Instead, let thankfulness and trust be your guides through this day (working on it); they will keep you close to Me.  As you live in the radiance of My Presence, My Peace shines upon you.  You will cease to notice how weak or strong you feel, because you will be focusing on Me (reaching this point will be amazing).  The best way to get through this day is step by step with Me.  Continue this intimate journey, trusting that the path you are following is headed for heaven.

Seek my face, and you will not only find My Presence but also My Peace.  To receive My Peace, you must change your grasping, controlling stance to one of openness and trust.  The only thing you can grasp without damaging your soul is My hand.  Ask My Spirit within you to order your day and control your thoughts, for the mind controlled by the Spirit is Life and Peace. You can have as much of Me and My Peace as you want, through thousands of correct choices each day.  The most persistent choice you face is whether to trust Me or to worry.  You will never run out of things to worry about (isn't that the truth), but you can choose to trust Me no matter what.  I am an ever-present help in trouble.  Trust Me, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea.

I haven't heard this in a while, but it came into my head today, and I thought I would share with you -

I'll Be Missing You
I'd give anything to hear half a breath...
what a life to take, what a bond to break... when this life is over, i know, ill see your face
every step i take, every move i make, every single day, every night i pray, i'll be missing you