A PRAYER

FOR THE TROOPS SERVING IN OTHER COUNTRIES

Dear God,

I pray that the Christian troops will not be worn down or oppressed by:

their situation;

the violence & hate;

by the derision & condemnation of people who say our troops are only there to impose ourselves on other people.

Dear God,

Help them see that they have a great opportunity from you to:

enter into lands and areas where Christians would not normaly be allowed;

share the gospel with their fellows & the civilians they would not normally be allowed access to by the anti- Christian & anti-Bible laws in Muslim & other religious areas.

Help them to see the vision of themselves:

standing against tyranny & chaos & self serving country leaders;

the defenders of the helpless & oppressed.

I pray that they will have their eyes openned to see the opportunities to:

demonstrate God's love in action & words;

handout the Bible in the people's language;

show the compassion, strength & healing found in the faith given by the one, true, God.

Amen

WISDOM

Wisdom comes from God, only God.

God said, "Teach your children when they are young, so that when they are old, they will not depart from it."

When people have an illness or injury that causes memory problems, they lose the newest memories the easiest. Some older people can not tell you what they had for breakfast, but they can tell you the street they grew up on, events from 20 years ago, etc.

So just think, if that same old person learned what God says in the bible as a young person, then that knowledge will also stay with them, even with memory loss problems. For the sake of our children's salvation, the ability to know God's truth now and when they are old, we need to teach them to read the bible and to read it to them and with them and talk to them about how we use God's words to make decisions and choices, how we discover our sins and repent, how we recognise evil and the Devil's tricky lies - by reading and remembering what God's word says. Then when they are old it will be so much easier for them to remember God's truth.

What a life-long gift to give our children!

God is Teaching

Watch Video:

Here I Am (Downhere)

Video Code provided by MusicRemedy.Com

Sometimes I get so frustrated, I get very depressed, I feel horrible, I see no hope in my future and feel that nothing I have done has helped my problems, and I can see nothing more for me to do, I feel hopeless. That is a terrible feeling.

When the disciples were in a boat on Lake Galilee, Jesus had been praying by himself, when he went to meet the disciples he walked on the water to where their boat was. there was a storm making big waves. The disciples saw Jesus walking on the water and thought he was a ghost. Jesus reassured them that he was not a ghost, but Jesus. Peter said "If it is you ,Lord, then tell me to walk on the water to you." Jesus told him to come. Peter got out of the boat and began walking toward Jesus, but the waves were very big and Peter started looking at the waves instead of Jesus. Peter got scared and then he began to sink. Peter called out, "Help me, Lord!" and Jesus grabbed Peters hand and held on to it and Jesus and Peter walked on top of the water back to the boat.

I believe that this is an example for us, to show how we should handle our life and it's problems. The waves represent problems and our fears. They get so big that we forget to think about God, His teachings and promises. When we focus on the waves (problems, fears) we get overwhelmed by them and we start to sink under them. When we remember to call to God for help, and to depend on him for help then God holds our hand and guides us through and around the waves.

I remember when I was married and trying to cope with my husband's behavior, I had tried everyhing I could think of doing when he would get in a raging anger. Nothing I had ever done had been able to stop the confrontation except leaving the house and staying away for an hour or so. When I realised that their was nothing that I knew to help the situation, I was very upset, anxious, and depressed. I started asking God to show me what to do, but that didn't work either, because I was still trying to do something. I finally completely gave up and asked God to do and say what would be the most helpful in the situation because nothing I tried helped, only made it worse or just didn't make it better. A few days later my husband came home and walked in the door allready in a rage, he was scaring me, I prayed and asked God to takeme over and do or say what needed to be done, and then I just waited, a blanket of peace came over me, and I found myself calmly saying "that's not true" to my husband's accusations and belittling of me. every time I said "that's not true" he would give me a strange look and then yell at me about something else. he changed the subject 5 or 6 times and then he stormed outside with a rake and raked leaves. when he came in he was calm and we ate dinner with no further problem. Unfortunately that wasn't the end of it, but God had showed me a better way to react.

God has been my "secret friend" from when I was a child. I talked to God alot from when I was in elementary school. I didn't tell anybody that I was reading my bible or praying to God. It was a private thing to me, just between me and God. Thank you, God for being my friend and teacher! I asked God a lot of questions, told him all of my troubles, complained about problems, I even cried and yelled when I was really upset and frustrated. I didn't understand what was going on in my life and in the world(wars, murders, abuse, muggings, kids fighting, kids being nasty and hurtful to other kids). as I got older I listenned real hard to the pastor's preaching and I wrote down Bible verses that he mentioned and then at home, in my room by myself, I would read the Bible and try to understand what the pastor had said. When I was confused about right and wrong I read in the Bible and prayed to God to help me to understand and remember what he said in the Bible. This helped me in highschool and college to say ""no" to boyfriends when they tried to get me to things which God said are only to be done if you are married. And to say "no" to drinking alcohol in highschool and to have only one or two drinks at 4 hour parties in college. This helped me say "no" to a car load of friends in highschool when they wanted me to drive them to a spot that had an area full of bars and other things.

Now when I feel distraught, overwhelmed, depressed, don't see a way out of my problems, I pray to God and tell him everything and how I am feeling. Then I turn on some worship and praise songs and sing with them and focus on God's glory, love, promises, the eternal life to come without fear, pain, hunger etc.

I still have a lot of problems to deal with that overwhelm me, but God is helping me to remember to look at him instead of the problems and ask him for help and pray like Jesus prayed the night before he was crucified, " not my will but your will be done, Lord God, my father."

I believe that it is not God's will for all of our problems to go away. I believe that there are problems that God wants us to go through, while asking God to help & save us and with Jesus holding our hand. in 1st Corinthians, Paul teaches that God helps us to go through problems so that we can turn and help someone who is going through the same problem. Paul also said that he had a problem that he could not fix and that he had prayed to God a lot, asking God to take the problem away. But the problem never did go away. Paul also was stoned several times for teaching the Gospel (the good news about God's love and plan for our forgiveness and adoption into God's family). When a person was stoned, it meant that a group of men surrounded you and through stones at you until they thought you were dead. God helped Paul to survive the stonings and to be able to continue to teach people about God.

God is teaching me that I need to trust him in the middle of problems, when they are not going away, when I don't see a solution for them. Jesus said "in this world, you will have many problems, but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world" Jesus also said "take up your cross and follow me." On the cross Jesus suffered for everybodies' sins, past, present and future. I believe that our cross is our suffering because of our sin and the sins of other people that affect us (like an abusive husband, a drunk driver, like robber, like terrorists, like faulty maintenance on train tracks and train cars and airplanes ...). God wants us to continue to obey His teaching, continue to praise him, continue to have faith in him and trust him with our lives - to follow him even in the middle of problems.

Jeremy Camp - There Will be a Day

SONG - SOMETIMES HE CALMS THE WAVES AND SOMETIMES HE CALMS HIS CHILD

I have to look for this song, then I will add it here.

LOVE IT!

Now playing: Pierce

I couldn't sleep, except maybe 3 hours. This music by Pierce kept me sane! It helped me doze a little at least.

You would think that a person with chronic fatigue syndrome would never have trouble sleeping, LOL!

MUSIC IS GOOD MEDICINE

I have been having fun listenning to last.fm I have been playing songs labelled "percussion". I have never heard allot of these musicians before. I put the imbeded most recent tracks listenned to on my blog. Some of those tracks I didn't like, but it doesn't have a way to take those off as far as I can tell. I mostly like the tracks without words. I am going to listen to songs labelled "instrumental" next, and then "techno" and then "new age".

The songs without words that have odd sounds are great to go to sleep by, they absorb my attention and help me to relax and go to sleep. I guess it's my way of counting sheep.

I usually have to take a muscle relaxer to avoid unbearable pain in my head, neck, shoulders and back and keep muscle jerks down to just an occasional twitch. But this morning I haven't had to take it, now it is after lunch and I am going to take it because I am starting to hurt. But I have been listenning to this music most of the day. Music is good medicine!

TROUBLE

I have been getting gradually sicker over time, starting about 1982. It excellerated in the past 2.5 years. A neurological specialist just diagnosed me with chronic epstein barr virus syndrome, chronic fatigue syndrome, fibromyalgia and depression. He said these all go together as a cluster of problems, some how related to each other. So, now, I have to find a specialist for this "cluster" because there are a lot of symptoms to deal with and possible prescriptions to alleviate them. I need one doctor to coordinate my care.

I was already dealing with being frustrated and sad over the divorce. I had expected to be married for life. I realized after the first 5 days of marriage that something was wrong with our relationship. I stayed married for 14 years. Gradually he became more uncommunicative and then unfriendly, unkind, emotionally abusive and then physically abusive. The worst was when he was unkind and abusive to our children.

I prayed so much, so hard, asked a lot of other people to pray for us, sought help from various pastors. I did not leave my kids alone with him, I could not be sleeping when the kids and he were awake. Finally, I could not prevent him or stop him from hurting my children. So, I finally left him and we were divorced in 2000. I was so angry at God, I had prayed and prayed for help for us. I couldn't understand why God didn't step in and fix it. God says he hates divorce. That is why I stayed with my husband so long. I thought, with enough prayer, patience and effort on my part that God would heal our marriage.

But I have finally figured out that having problems is normal while we live here (Jesus said, "I have told you all this so that you may have peace in me. Here on Earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, I have overcome the world."John 16:33)

Romans 8:21-23 (New Living Translation)

²¹ the creation looks forward to the day when it will join God’s children in glorious freedom from death and decay. ²² For we know that all creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. ²³ And we believers also groan, even though we have the Holy Spirit within us as a foretaste of future glory, for we long for our bodies to be released from sin and suffering. We, too, wait with eager hope for the day when God will give us our full rights as his adopted children, including the new bodies he has promised us.

I am so-o-o-o-o looking forword to Jesus coming again. The promise of all evil being destroyed, banished, etc... is a comfort. But I pray that my husband is saved and won't be banished (the Bible: Revelations). I would be ecstatic to see him in heaven! I still love him, but like an errant brother, not a husband anymore.

COPING

MUSIC THERAPY

I have received a lot of support from contemporary Christian songs. Music has always been relaxing to me. I used to spend a lot of time playing piano, clarinet, guitar, recorder and harmonica. I have not played instruments very often for many years because I have been very busy with 3 kids, working full time and dealing with divorce. I have become dependant on the radio for music. My favorite stations are christian contemporary stations, some gospel music, some blugrass, some folk music, hammered dulcimer, percussion - like Stomp, drum circles. It is fun to find the stations on the internet.

Christian music is very healthy for christians to listen to. However, you need to listen to the words and make sure that the lyrics are in line with the Bible. To be able to do that, you need to be reading the Bible and become familier with what God has said. Praising God is uplifting to your mood and strengthenning to your spirit. Songs about helping other people, trusting God, etc... are great for helping to keep these ideas in our mind during the day. I love to listen to christian songs when I am driving, it helps me not to act on my road rage impulses. It helps to keep things in perspective and to remind me that there is more to life than work, bills and seeking after pleasure. Praising God and thinking of things to do to help other people helps to pull me out of depression, which I struggle with.


I will be posting song lyrics that inspire me and adding Bible references. I like songs that are based on the Word of God. Contemplating, studying and remembering the Word of God is relaxing, strengthenning, uplifting. Praising God in song feels so good! Praising God by doing the things he tells us to do feels even better! Jesus said that the most important thing to do is LOVE. Romans 8:28

God has a complex plan that includes everything. Even when I am having pain, sadness, frustration, loss, etc... I still believe that God loves me and has a plan for a wonderful future for me. Jesus said "take up your cross and follow me" the cross is where Jesus had all of the sins of everybody: past, present, future, believers, unbelievers ... So, when Jesus says to take up our cross, it means to deal with the result of the sins of ourselves and other people the way God wants us to, with God's help. Following Jesus means to obey God. I am excited to be part of God's plan.

from Lyric Wiki-Chris Tomlin: I Will Rise

There's a peace I've come to know
Though my heart and flesh may fail
There's an anchor for my soul
I can say "It is well"

Jesus has overcome
And the grave is overwhelmed
The victory is won
He is risen from the dead

[Chorus:]
And I will rise when He calls my name
No more sorrow, no more pain
I will rise on eagles' wings
Before my God fall on my knees
And rise
I will rise

There's a day that's drawing near
When this darkness breaks to light
And the shadows disappear
And my faith shall be my eyes

Jesus has overcome
And the grave is overwhelmed
The victory is won
He is risen from the dead

[Chorus:]
And I will rise when He calls my name
No more sorrow, no more pain
I will rise on eagles' wings
Before my God fall on my knees
And rise
I will rise

And I hear the voice of many angels sing,
"Worthy is the Lamb"
And I hear the cry of every longing heart,
"Worthy is the Lamb"
[x2]

[Chorus:]
And I will rise when He calls my name
No more sorrow, no more pain
I will rise on eagles' wings
Before my God fall on my knees
And rise
I will rise