read a whole book this morning...

it's called "prison to praise" by merlin carothers. between the book and my devo reading this morning, listening to God is the lesson for the day. that's a hard one, to actually listen for him to speak to you...life is so fast-paced and gets in the way, yet it's important to do.

the other lesson for the day is to learn to praise God and give him thanks in everything...no matter what is going on in your life. thanking him for the bad things, that's another hard one. thank him for the death of a child, or the sickness of a child, or bad relationships, or hardships galore?!? definitely hard. but i think when (if) we learn to do it, the blessings will abound, not necessarily material blessings, but sometimes just the peace of mind that he's in control of everything that happens to us, and his will is being worked in our lives...

i don't know, it's too profound for me to really talk about without sounding like an idiot, but it's what i'm learning today...listen and be thankful.

looking back, it's easy to see where God was working through previous difficult times, where he's led from the beginning, through the difficulties, how things have changed for the good even through those difficulties...it's easy to be thankful for what we see, from where we've been to where he's led us. the key, and difficult task, is to be thankful in the situation you're in now, to know that his will is being worked out, no matter how difficult it may seem at the moment...because later on, you'll be able to see how he has worked in everything surrounding that situation...but the key is to be thankful now, no matter what.

devo link...

i added the link to the "today God is first" devo that i've started reading this week. it's amazingly good! check it out, you can even get it emailed to you daily. if you don't read a daily devo, or are looking for something new, definitely give this one a try!

today's devo is about jacob wrestling with God, striving with him in the right kind of way to receive God's blessings on his life, coming to a place of complete brokenness and surrender, able to lean on God alone. if you're struggling with things in life, job, finances, health problems, relationships...and if you're trying to deal with them yourself instead of relying on him...he just might be taking you through this process of dealing with these things as his method to prepare you for what he wants for you...we have an inheritance from him, waiting to be given to us...which can only be received when God brings us to total dependence on him. are you depending fully on him, or does he need to use life situations to get your attention? i know i struggle with that, it's easier (in my mind at least) to suck it up and deal with it on my own...but i can't control what happens in my life any more than i can control the weather. i can't control what happens in the area of jobs and finances, only God can. i can't heal my son, only God can. i can't control how other people react and respond to me, only God can. all i can do is pray and trust in him...surrender it all completely to him to take care of so that his blessings can be poured out in my life...more abundantly than i can even imagine.

like i said before...i'm on a free fall...totally allowing God to take control...it's a good place to be...so take a chance and try it!