Joy in the Storms

But I will hope continually,

And will praise You yet more and more.

Psalm 71:14

      There have been a lot of trials in my life lately, some big, some small, but they are piling up at an alarming rate. I don't step out of bed wondering what will befall me today, but I am putting my feet on the floor a little slower. Last night I was cleaning up from dinner and spilled some liquid on my ceramic range top...which seeped under the knobs. No big deal, I just removed the knobs and got a wet dish cloth and proceeded to wipe it out of the hole when...bang, poof, spark, smoke! It gave me a good jolt, and I haven't been able to use it since. Minor annoyance. So on to the next chore, laundry. First load...a little water on the floor, hmm that's weird. Second load...more water, but I wasn't giving up without a fight. Third load...lots of water on the floor. OK, the washer is broken. No stove top and no washer, but it isn't all that bad, right?

      Then the neighbor comes over, not happy, to tell us our rooster has been waking him up early every morning for several days (we live on a farm). So these little trials seemed to be leaking, like the washer, from the house - to the barn, and apparently were making their way down the street. It didn't stop there but I don't want to drag you through it all, so I'll stop.

      What was interesting (and suspicious) is before the trials really got thick, I prayed for joy. I had prayed for joy and peace for a couple of weeks because my family was going through something very hard. Now I'm not saying God answered my prayers with trials and tribulation, I'm just saying that I prayed for joy before they started piling up.

      I'm positive God doesn't do things to keep us from having joy - actually He gives us fullness of joy - but I do think we have an enemy who wants to steal, kill, and destroy it. Real joy doesn't depend on what is going on around me. It doesn't go away when the appliances break down, when people are upset with me over a rooster...or when the light bulb above my head burns out - just now! It can't be killed, stolen, or destroyed.

      Joy is something that fills us even when we're going through the storms in life. It doesn't get poured into us from outside, it pours out...overflows from within. It is placed in the heart by God Himself and no one, or thing, or trial, can remove it. It's times like this God proves to me what His word says about Him is absolutely true - He is my rock, my fortress, my strong tower, shield, deliverer, strength, and my joy.

My Firm Foundation

Standing on the solid rock, though all may crumble 'round,

I will not fall from where I stand, I am on solid ground.

Storms will blow around me, and tides will rise and fall,

My eyes stay on my Master, and my heart tuned to His call.

No power can remove me, from this solid place I stand,

The One I've placed my trust in, holds all power in His hand.

At times I may grow weary, but those times He has foreseen,

He's promised not to leave me, and hold me as I lean.

He is my firm foundation, where no higher place is found,

Than the Solid Rock - Jesus, as I stand on holy ground.

The Lord is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer;

 my God, my strength, in whom I will trust;

my buckler, and the horn of my salvation, and my high tower.

Psalm 18:2

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An Empty Tea Cup

      Today my cup is empty...and yet at the same time it seemed as though it is overflowing! Not with tea or coffee, but with thanksgiving. Everything feels upside down in my life right now, but strangely it is all OK. God keeps reminding me that He is in control and His words, "let not your heart be troubled" have brought a peace beyond my understanding. This past weekend was very busy. I didn't think I would be able to join you for tea today, but here I am joining late.

      It is in the busy, hectic times of life that I appreciate the few minutes I can sit down and have a cup of tea or coffee and read a bit from one of my devotionals. I find that when I'm feeling heavy and weighed down with cares, taking a moment to think about all the blessings in my life helps me refocus and my heavy heart is changed into a thankful one. A thankful heart is very light and wants to do things like sing, dance, and praise. It wants to rejoice, whether there is tea in the cup or not.

      Today is a beautiful day, the flowers are all abloom, my family is well, and there is much to be thankful for. One of the reasons I didn't want to miss out on joining you for tea today is because I was anxious to share this little book with you. It is filled with tea time devotions...short encouraging tidbits from the Bible and tea related things sprinkled in between. It is quite lovely.

This is the page I turned to....

It says, "David was dancing before the Lord with all his might."

2 Samuel 6:14

      It got me thinking about what that would look like...to dance with all ones might. I don't think it's something a person could do if their heart was heavy. It's something that is done when a heart is filled with praise and thanksgiving.

This quote was at the end of my reading today...



      I hope you have time to sit down today and enjoy a cup of tea, but even more, I hope your pretty tea cup will give you cause to remember all your blessings, and your cup will overflow with joy and thanksgiving.

"With my mouth I will give thanks abundantly to the Lord;

and in the midst of many I will praise Him."

Psalm 109:30

Have a blessed day,

Charlotte

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Losing my mind!

      This week has been a week of losing things. 5:30 one morning I am awakened with the sounds of my husband opening and closing drawers...shuffling through papers on his dresser, and coming in and out of the bedroom. I made the mistake of moving (signs of life) then he started questioning me about the set of keys for our new front door lock. I am not a morning person by nature, nor can I think cognitively before say...7AM? And even then I need coffee. So I just kept repeating what he said..."keys", "keys?" "new lock", "lock?" Then he asked a question that woke me up. "Did you throw the box away with the keys still inside?" Oh no, maybe I did! I thought and thought, but couldn't remember if I'd even touched the keys...but yes, I did throw the box away! Now that I was completely awake I thought of something I learned when I was a child...God knows where everything is! Nothing is ever lost to Him. So I prayed.

      It wasn't five minutes until my husband found the keys, and yes, it was HE who misplaced them in HIS nightstand drawer! I'm always happy when it ends that way:) But I am curiously suspicious of the fact that whenever we lose something, we rarely find it before we pray and ask God to reveal to us where it is. I think it is just a little reminder to rely on Him, and remember that He is all-knowing.

      Apparently though, I moved on from that lesson a bit too fast. That afternoon I couldn't find the computer cord to my camera. I looked everywhere...no cord. I searched the entire house twice! I went over and over in my mind the last time I used it...where I was...what I did with it.

      I had my fourteen month old grandson here for the weekend - the tabletop dancer...chair climber...no place too high...no drawer too low...get into everything...always moving baby boy! So now I was going over and over in my mind what I would do with a computer cord if I was two and a half feet tall! Then I remembered once again that simple truth I learned when I was a child. God knows where everything is...even the missing cord, so again I prayed!

      Five minutes passed...no cord, ten minutes...no cord. I was beginning to panic. I had a deadline and I needed to get pictures from my camera to my computer...pronto! "Lord, do you not want me to do this thing I committed to do? Why are you not showing me where my cord is? My laptop doesn't have a port for the memory card." I was seriously starting to doubt whether I was supposed to be doing this, when a thought entered my mind - the old PC in the den! It has a port for my memory card, but it didn't work the last time I tried it, however, if the Lord was leading me in that direction, I would follow.

      I put it in...it worked! I was able to meet my deadline and stop having a nervous break down. Today as I cleaned off the back deck, guess what I found? You guessed it...my cord! Did God know it was there? You bet He did. So why didn't He show me? If there is one thing I have learned about Him, it is that He doesn't think like me. He does things differently than I do. When I can't figure out a situation I am left with putting my complete trust in Him...and not myself. He answered my prayer and eventually led me to the cord, but He worked out the things in between the losing and the finding in a way that would cause me to rely on Him more fully than if He had just revealed the whereabouts of the cord.

      I am so thankful He is Omnipotent. Nothing is lost to Him. When we can't find something, all we have to do is ask Him, and like a loving father He will help us find it...and perhaps teach us a thing or two while we look. Some days I may feel as though I am losing my mind, but I don't have to worry...He knows right where it is.

Commit to the Lord whatever you do,

and your plans will succeed.

Proverbs 16:3

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