Our Hearts.

1 John 3:20

"If our hearts condemn us, God is greater than our heart and knows everything."

I am thankful God is greater than our hearts. Sometimes my heart condemns me, reminds me of my failures, or tells me I am stupid. But God is greater than my heart. He knows me and loves me just as I am.

Thank You God for These Gifts.

Some wonderful things happened this Christmas. My sister's son was able to come home from the oil rigs for Christmas Eve and Day. Thank you, God.

Some of us had the flu before Christmas, but no one was sick Christmas Eve or Day. Thank you, God.

There was love, happiness and good times in our home. Thank you, God.

Jesus' first miracle was at a social gathering - a wedding. He supplied more wine when it ran out. For the food and drink we enjoyed this holiday, I Thank you, God.

Christmas.

It has been difficult to post lately as I have been either sick or shopping for presents. Now I am helping my daughter a bit, who is sick with the flu.

Shopping for groceries after having the flu was a difficult day and I was feeling very sorry for myself. Sometimes the fibromyalgia affects my legs and it is hard to keep on truckin'.

Now, when I feel self-pity, I do what Joyce says and quote scriptures and remember all the blessings God has given me and the whole world.

I'm especially thankful for Christmas because the family can all be together loving one another in a special way. I'm thankful we live in a warm house, snug and cozy while the snow falls outside. I'm thankful we have enough food to eat.

I'm thankful that God loved the world so much that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him may not die, but have eternal life. I thank God that Jesus came and died for those who never heard about him, and will save them too if they listen in their hearts to his Spirit.

What was it like for Jesus to leave Heaven and become a little baby? Some day I will know the answer to this question and all my other questions. Sometimes I am so tired of this world, but I know that is ok because Jesus got tired of being here too. The Bible says so.

We weren't created for a world like this. We were created for a perfect world, and I believe that is what we are all longing for and why we feel so empty and lonely here. We were made for God and Heaven. Some day we will be where we truly belong.

Jacob's Dream.

Jacob had to leave home because his brother Esau was planning to kill him. His parents sent him to his uncle Laban's house in order to find a wife. On the first night of his journey, Jacob lay down on the earth and had a dream. He saw a ladder set on the earth with its top reaching to heaven, and angels of God were climbing up and stepping down on it.

Then he saw the Lord standing above the ladder who said, "I am the Lord, the God of your father Abraham and the God of Isaac; the land on which you lie, I will give it to you and to your descendants...and in your descendants shall all the families of the earth be blessed." Genesis 28:13,14

God also promised to be with Jacob wherever he went and that he would bring Jacob back to his homeland.

When Jacob awoke he was frightened and said, "Surely the Lord is in the place, and I did not know it." In the morning he made a pillar and poured oil on it and called the place, Bethel, and promised that God would be his God and he would give him a tenth of all he had.

When Jacob left home, he must have felt discouraged and ashamed of what he had done to his father in decieving him. Perhaps he was afraid of the future and what would become of him. Kindly, God sent him a dream to tell him that he was with Jacob wherever he went. This must have encouraged Jacob, for now he knew his sin was forgiven and God was with him as he had been with his father Isaac.

The ladder from earth to heaven shows our connection with heavenly angels and the heavenly city and the Lord who is above all. The angels are constantly going back and forth from earth to heaven in order to help and encourage us. They are God's messengers and guardians to people. We are not alone. Wherever we are; God is there.

Wait For the Lord.

Isaac and Rebekah asked God for children, and when Rebekah was pregnant she felt the babies move so much that she asked God what was happening. God told her she would give birth to two nations. He also said, "The older shall serve the younger."

Esau and then Jacob were born to Rebekah. The Bible records, "Now Isaac loved Esau, because he had a taste for game, but Rebekah loved Jacob." It is never a good thing to love one child over another. This was perhaps the beginning of the trouble in this household.

In those days the oldest son received the greatest share of property and also became the spiritual head of the house. Esau, as the oldest, was the one to whom these blessing would go. But Esau had sold his birthright blessing to Jacob in exchange for food. Jacob also wanted the spiritual blessing.

When Isaac was ready to give this blessing, Rebekah decided to trick him into giving the blessing to Jacob. Isaac had asked Esau to go hunt game for him and make him a meal, so Rebekah did this quickly and sent Jacob into the tent. Jacob lied and said he was Esau. Isaac believed him and spoke the blessing over him. When Esau came in later Isaac said, "Who was he then that hunted game and brought it to me, so that I
ate of it all before you came and I blessed him? Yes, and he shall be blessed."

Esau was furious and decided he would kill Jacob after their father was dead. Rebekah heard of his plan and sent Jacob away to stay with her brother.

Jacob and Rebekah believed it was God's will for Jacob to be the head of the family, and they were right. But they didn't wait for God to do this himself. They cooked up a plan of their own which separated them for the rest of their lives. They never saw each other again.

Waiting for God is a testing time. He does not want us to force issues, lie to people, or hurry things along with our own big ideas. Abraham was to wait patiently for a son, he did not do this and it caused heartache and pain. Rebekah and Jacob did not wait patiently either; this resulted in the fracture of a family and great sorrow.

"Wait for the Lord;
Be strong and let your heart take courage;
Yes, wait for the Lord." Psalm 27:14

Should We Ask For Signs From God?

When Abraham's son, Isaac, became a man, Abraham sent his servant to his family in a far off land. He wanted Isaac to marry a girl who knew about God. He didn't want him to marry a girl from the Caananites, for these people worshiped idols which had human sacrifices.
His servant went to Nahor and came to the well. He prayed to God and asked him for a sign so he could find Abraham's family and a girl for Isaac. Immediately, God gave him a sign and the servant found Rebekah. He now knew where to go and what to do.

I once asked God for a sign. At the time, I was living in Vancouver babysitting my grandsons. They had grown now to the age of 12 and 13. They no longer needed me after school. But my daughter in Kelowna did need me. She wanted to go back to work part-time and needed a sitter for her young children. The problem was my husband had a good job in Vancouver and was going to be promoted. His salary would be quite large and it was a job he wanted.

We didn't know what God wanted us to do. It was such an important decision that I told my husband we wouldn't go unless God gave us a sign. So we prayed and waited. A few weeks later I had a dream. In the dream I was on a plane with my mother and we were moving back to Kelowna. As I looked out the plane window, I knew this was where God wanted us to be. When I woke up, I told my husband the dream and we decided it was a sign from God. He began to look for work in Kelowna.

At the time, my husband's company had no work here. But soon the company decided to open up a shop in Kelowna and started hiring. My husband applied and was accepted. I moved here first, my husband followed later. Even though we lost a lot of money and my husband took a much lower job, we have never regretted our decision. Our daughter in Kelowna needed us badly and we have been a great help to her.

Should we ask God for signs? I have only asked the once as far as I can remember and God did give us a sign. The few times it is mentioned in the Bible people asked for an important reason. I wouldn't ask God for signs every day, but I think once in a while it is a good idea.

Why Did God Test Abraham?

"God tested Abraham, and said to him, "Abraham!" and he said, "Here I am."

God said, "Take now your son, your only son, whom you love, Isaac, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I will tell you."

God had spoken to Abraham many times, so there must have been no mistake in Abraham's mind that this was God. He must have been shocked and asked why and tried to argue with God, but the scriptures don't record it.

Why did God test Abraham in this way? After Abraham obeyed God and took Isaac and was about to kill him, God prevented it and came and said, "Now I know that you fear God, since you have not withheld your son, your only son, from me."

At first, I thought this was an unusual test for one man. But things have happened in my life to show me that is not true. I now believe this test is given to every person.

Many years ago, when my daughters were young adults, something happened that caused them great suffering. I began to question God's love and goodness. I decided that if he could allow such suffering I wanted nothing to do with him. I left him for five years. I couldn't bear to speak to him. But one thing I did do; I read every book I could find on why God allowed suffering.

Finally, at the end of that time, I gave up. I hated living without God. I understood more thoroughly why God allowed suffering and asked him into my life again. I told him I might possibly get mad at him again and I heard him speak to my mind, "I can take anything you can dish out."

A few years later, my daughter Christine contracted strep throat. She became very ill and none of the antibiotics would work. They said she had one of those new "super bugs." They had to take her tonsils out. After she was home she began spitting up blood. She grew pale and shaky and her husband took her to the hospital. As they drove away, I knew she could die. I had known she could die of this illness at Christmas time when she was in the hospital and couldn't swallow, then got allergic to penicillin and her tongue swelled up.

She had suffered terrible pain, and I didn't know what would happen now. I looked up to God and told him I trusted him. If he let her die, I would accept it. I prayed for her, but I said, "Your will be done, not mine." It was an awful day.

When Christine went to emergency blood began to spew out of her mouth. They had to do an emergency surgery right then and there. Apparently, the surgeon had nicked something in her throat and it had now opened up. If she hadn't made it to the hospital on time, she would have died.

I think we are all tested on whether we will trust God when someone we love is suffering. Whether our children have an illness, or our husband leaves us or our mother dies or we have an illness ourselves. Will we blame God and hate him for it? Will we turn from him, or will we trust him. Do we love our family and ourselves more than God?

Jesus addressed this in Luke 14:26 "If anyone comes to me, and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple."

Since Jesus had already preached how we must love everyone, including our enemies, he must not have meant we should hate people. He must have meant we are to put him first in our life above all others, even our own lives. Will we trust him in the face of death and suffering?

I was a tough case, it took me a long time to learn to trust God, yet he waited patiently for me. Then I was tested again. In the beginning, I thought I had loved and trusted God, but I didn't. When sorrow came, I turned away. This was shown to me and then it was up to me what to do about it. I hope I have truly learned to trust him.