This is the day that the Lord has made, I will be glad and rejoice in it! Yesterday I talked about being thankful in whatever circumstance I face. Well, I have to tell you, I am thankful and rejoicing today! :) As you know, I have been out of work for a few weeks and when you are self-employed there is no unemployment check coming in. My husband gets paid every two weeks and today is the day that he gets paid. I've thought about how today I would sit down to pay bills and there would be more bills than money. I knew that I would have to choose what ones I was going to pay and what ones would be left unpaid. At times, I worried and at others I believed that God would provide - I guess it just depended on the day. As I read His Word, He reassured me that I needed to be patient. I needed to wait on His provision. So, instead of worrying, I made the choice to pray, pray and then pray. I asked God to help my unbelief and I asked Him to provide what we needed to pay our bills today. I couldn't figure out how it could happen but I prayed anyway.

Praise, glory, and honor be to God! I had two people hand me a check out of the blue, yesterday and received another in the mail! This money was enough to not just cover our bills today but for the rest of the month. Even as I type those words, the tears flow in thankfulness. I cried alot yesterday in awe and thankfulness of our God. God is good all the time and all the time God is good. He worked through the generosity of those sweet wonderful people. Thank you Lord and thank you to those who touched our hearts with their generosity.

May you have a blessed day and weekend

Living fearlessly in Christ
Christie

Shelter from the Storms
11 Sep 2009
Melanie Chitwood

"Trust in Him at all times, O people; Pour out your heart before Him; God is a refuge for us." Psalm 62:8 (NAS)

The thunder and lightning of a powerful storm rattled our house last night. As rain slashed against the windows and lightning lit up the dark sky, I woke up just long enough to make room for my youngest son and yellow lab to join me and my husband in bed. I remember thinking with surprise that I didn't even know it was going to storm.What a picture of my life lately. It's been a year of unexpected rain. Some just drizzles, but others, like the storm hitting me most recently, have rattled windows with wave after wave of thunder and bursts of lightning.What about you? Is there stormy weather in your life right now? Where are you finding shelter from the storms?My friends and family have been a shelter for me this year, just like my family was last night as we all huddled together in bed. They've encouraged and supported me. And most importantly, they've pointed me to the strongest shelter from the storms, my Heavenly Father.As I've turned to Scripture this week, I'm amazed at the number of times it reminds us God is our shelter. God knows that we will encounter hard times and His Word reminds us that the strongest and safest shelter is God Himself.As always we have a choice: get drenched in the rain or seek shelter. You see, the storms of life can cause us to run toward God, but just as easily they can cause us to turn away. A whole range of emotions can leave us standing in the rain to get drenched: bitterness, anger, confusion, helplessness, or hopelessness. If you can relate to these emotions, you might feel badly for having these emotions, but don't let these feelings keep you from God.Read the Psalms and you'll see that God can handle every emotion. Negative emotions are not a reason to turn away from God. They're the very reason to turn to Him, desperately wanting the kind of faith and strength only God can provide.Keep turning to God, continue to tell Him in prayer how you feel, and leave your emotions with Him. As you do, you'll start to feel His nearness, His hope, His promise, and His comfort. If you find yourself returning to feelings of fear or hopelessness, just go back to God. Be honest in your prayers. Acknowledge that you're having a hard time, but that you want to trust Him in your circumstances. Know that He loves you and will consistently and constantly be your shelter from the storms.

Dear Lord, "Hear my cry, O God; give heed to my prayer. From the end of the earth I call to You when my heart is faint; lead me to the rock that is higher than I. For You have been a refuge for me, a tower of strength against the enemy. Let me dwell in Your tent forever; let me take refuge in the shelter of Your wings" (Psalm 61:1-4, NAS). In Jesus' Name, Amen.