Awakened in the Night...

By day the Lord directs His love,

at night His song is with me -

a prayer to the God of my life.

Psalm 42:8

 

I was awakened in the night. It was a little past 3:00AM and I couldn't go back to sleep. There was a lot on my mind, making my head feel heavy on the pillow. Thoughts of my boys, the church, women's ministries, the upcoming conference...and back to my boys; around and around it went until I decided to pray. "What is it Lord, why am I thinking about all these things. Why does my mind and heart feel so heavy with cares?" I attempted to give them to Him, but the weight of them kept falling back on me. "Lord, I am casting my cares on you, for you care for me. That is what Your word says, and I believe it. So why are these cares not going away?"

I got out of bed and walked around a little - into the kitchen, the living room, then sat down in a chair. I know if God is not taking these things from me there must be a reason, so I asked Him. "Lord, what is it, what am I supposed to do? I'm tired and I want to go to bed! I have meetings in the morning and don't want to be a zombie." It doesn't take much to make me a zombie. Then I felt the need to pray. Not pray to go to sleep, not to take away my cares, but pray for my boys and the people on my heart. To also pray for my church and the women who attend Bible study there...the up coming conference, and God's will to be done.

As I prayed the heaviness lifted, and the tears began to flow. I got it! He woke me up. He wanted me to pray. In the quiet of the night, with no one else around, He lit a candle in the darkness with His presence, and I joined Him in the night watch. When I went back to bed, there was a sense of peace; He was in control...I left my cares with Him and He held them safely through the night.

Hearts unfold like flowers before Him...

Joyful, Joyful, we adore Thee

God of glory, Lord of love

Hearts unfold like flowers before Thee,

Opening to the son above.

Believe!

We are more than conquerors,

In Him who set us free.

Guiding us to promised lands,

And all that we can be.

He has much more than we expect,

Waiting to pour out.

On that day when we believe,

And overcome our doubt.

Blessings unimagined,

Like an ocean pour.

Once we act upon our faith,

And open our hearts door.

When hope floods out in action,

And faith is given life.

Problems – opportunities,

And joy instead of strife.

That’s when we’ll know Him deeper,

The flame in us He’ll fan.

With miracles He’ll answer prayer,

When we believe He can.

©2009CharlotteFoster

“Call Unto Me and I will answer thee, and show thee great and mighty things which thou knowest not.” Jeremiah 33:3

Coffee in my teacup...shhh

I have a confession to make...I have coffee in my teacup. It's been going on for quite some time now, but I was afraid to admit it for fear the tea drinkers out there would refuse to speak to me. Tea seems so much more sofisticated and fun. How often do you hear about someone having a coffee party? Not often...actually never. Tea cups go to tea parties not coffee parties. There are coffee houses, but they serve coffee in tall paper cups with lids, that's not very fun or sofisticated.

Once in a while I will have some tea, I like it too, just not as much as coffee. When my church has their annual women's tea, I enjoy the delicious tea they serve. They use two regular Lipton bags with one herbal peach in each teapot...it is really quite nice. But of course when you are served scones and lemon curd, it is only natural to want a cup of tea. I don't even think of asking for coffee.

(This china was passed down to me from my Grandmother)

Since I have coffee on my mind, I'd like to share my very favorite book with you. The author is Margaret Jensen, the book title is "First We Have Coffee, Then We Talk."

Whether your drinking coffee or tea in your pretty cup, have a blessed day!

Cackle or Crow?

Sorry for two chicken posts in a row...I've been working outside a lot!

I was walking around my driveway today when I heard a not-so-strange sound coming from the chicken coop. I say it was not-so-strange because it is a sound I would expect to hear from a coop of chickens, yet it was strange that it was coming from this particular coop. What was the noise? It was a chicken crowing. It wouldn’t be a strange noise to hear except for the fact that I only have hens in my coop…no roosters. Somebody in there was a little confused.

Maybe it was just a hen with a type-A personality taking control of the coop, wanting to rule the roost; tired of everyone sleeping late for lack of a wakeup call. Or maybe it was just a stupid chicken who thought she could crow. In any case, it sounded pretty bad. She got the,”ur a urrrrrr” out but that was all. It stopped short. She did it several times with a pause in between to take a breath. It sounded like she was practicing.

I got to thinking about how we people sometimes take on roles because there is a vacancy. Not necessarily because we are designed for it, or even good at it; we just try to fill a space or a position for the simple fact that no one else is doing it (especially type-A hens). We can do this in our homes and churches as well, even when a “rooster” is in the coop. In our own way we can attempt to rule the roost, to crow. It sounds just as bad when we try to do it because it's not God’s design for us…not the song He gave us to sing.

When we are each doing what God designed for us, and being the person He made us, it all works together so beautifully. His plans are perfect, and no matter how much we try to mess with them, change them, or choose a different way, the facts remain the same for us as much as they do for chickens – no matter how much they try, roosters will never lay eggs, and hens can’t crow!

"For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them." Ephesians 2:10