Learning Some Lessons

I am excited. Want to know why? Because God is teaching me some really awesome things right now. About who He is, what He stands for, how much He loves me, and just how very powerful He really is. I realize that He teaches us things every day through His word, our circumstances, etc. But this is different. Be jealous, because I am convinced that God is giving me private tutoring lessons! Things are just jumping off the page when I read my Bible, Bro. James is preaching sermons just for my benefit, and I promise you that when I pray, I can almost hear a still small voice in the background. Sometimes it says yes, sometimes it says no, sometimes it laughs, but most of all I feel encouraged and strengthened by it. I have learnt so much about contentment in the past few months, and I can honestly say that I pretty much am. Just one example of this......I have been scanning catalogs and online stores for months, dreaming about all of the things I WISH I had. For my birthday Phillip gave me several hundred dollars to spend on anything I wanted. I was SO stinking excited! But I found myself putting clothes in the virtual shopping bags.....then deleting them. I had waited so long and now......well, they just didn't impress me anymore. I'm not saying I am never going to want anything again. I mean, come on, a girl wants to look nice. What I'm saying is I am not wishing and hoping for something that won't even be in style two years from now. And it's pretty cool to have some money stashed away to use on whatever.
I am also learning to wait. "Wait on the Lord; be of good courage, and He will strengthen your heart." Psalm 27:14 Yesterday I read the book of Job. Don't we all feel like we are just like poor Job when trouble comes our way? If you just know the story and have never read the book, I encourage you to read it. Because in Sunday school you learn how Job was so awesome that no matter what Satan threw at him, he was good with it. But that's really not the case at all. No doubt, Job was a good guy. He never cursed God. But he was also human and a whole lot like me. He never hated God for what was happening to him, but he sure didn't just sit there and take it. He told God he didn't deserve it. He questioned if God realized what He was doing and who He was doing it to. And like me, he was ready to conceide without even finishing the ballgame. Basically, God is awesome, but He can't fix THIS mess! My favorite part of the story is when God has finally heard enough. "Where where YOU when I created the earth? Who determined its measurements? Surely, YOU know!......Have YOU ever ordered the morning to wake up?.....Shall the one who contends with the Almighty correct Him?" I can't even read those last five chapters without saying "I'm sorry" like a hundred times! I truly believe that God wants us to ask Him questions, and He really cares about how we want something to work out. (We might as well say it. It's not like He doesn't already know.) But what He doesn't want is a daily pity party about what we want, when we want it, etc. etc. He simply wants us to wait. Wait on Him. He is in total control, whether we like it or not. We can argue with Him.....or we can rest with Him.

July Rain

God rained down blessings on our little farm last night. Literally. Two inches of blessings to be exact. That's a really nice rain anytime, but in July when the irrigation wells never stop and you can actually see the misery the poor plants feel as they search for any drop of moisture they can find, WOW! THANK YOU! I just got off the phone with Phillip and he didn't even sound the same. He has excitement in his voice and optimism in his heart. Just like the plants, he was dry and thirsty and he has been quenched. Quenched by the reminder that God is good all the time. Wait on the Lord and He will provide. :)