God is good

This past week has been a "nail biter" for me. Last Tuesday's blog I mentioned the earthquake, and this week I have to mention the hurricane that swept through the area. Thankfully we didn't suffer any major damage, but my heart still aches for everyone that has. I had to keep reminding myself that God is good. I know this. I tell myself this every day. Yet sometimes I get overwhelmed by circumstances that I forget this.

I did have some good news too. My project has been green lighted, and things are looking up. It's still going to be a whole lot of work. I have a lot of pictures to round up from various sources. Having the contract in front of me makes it real. It is a little scary too. I guess anything new is. You see that there is still a long road ahead, yet can't see the end.

There is an end. God is good.

Earthquake-What is the world coming to?

Wow! My heart jumped out of my chest when I felt the floor move beneath my feet. Luckily I wasn't alone. Thousands of my fellow citizens witnessed the feeling. Some thought that this was it. Others, like myself, knew it wasn't true. It was strange to feel the earth move like that. Living on the East Coast, we don't experience those tremors. Thankfully it wasn't serious enough to cause major damage, but it could have been.

What is the world coming to? Is it like my co-workers says a sign of the Last Days? I don't know, and wouldn't want to speculate on it. I was glad I was there to comfort one of my co-workers. Sometimes I am anxious to see the Lord. Yet when I think about what he will see, then I get nervous. I know I am unworthy of his love. I know I haven't done all I can do to witness to others about his great love for them.

Like my father said when I called to check on him, "God is in control." I have to keep telling myself that as I look at the pictures and worry about the hurricane heading in our direction. I'm admittedly scared. It is a normal reaction to stuff you can't control. Yet, I know in my heart that the Lord will take care of me. He always has.

Dwelling in the Past forfeits the future

Can we learn from the past? Are we bound to repeat mistakes that we should have avoided? All good questions, but what do we think about when we study the past? Some would assume that we dwell on the bad stuff, not realizing the good beneath it. Others tell us that dwelling in the past forfeits the future. Maybe it does. We get so focused on what's gone on before that we neglect what's in front of us. That's a huge problem. We can't dwell on the past. We have to move on from it, taking the lessons we learned and applying them.

Some politicians are guilty of dwelling in the past. They tell us that things will go back to what they were before. It's not true. Things will never be the same again. It is God's will that we move on. We can't focus on the past, nor can we wallow in the pit of despair. Yet, some want us to do just that. They tell us daily that the world is falling apart all around us. They tell us that we're doomed, and that if we don't do what they tell us to do...then we're in for it.

I can't believe that. I have to believe that God has a plan for me. I have to believe that he is going to provide for me as he has always provided for me. If I don't, then I'm lost. One thing I have learned is that somewhere along the way we've lost respect for God. We treat him as common, when in fact he isn't. I shudder to think about what will happen once God decides that he has had enough. I pray that he will do as he says, and save his own. I also pray that I will be counted among them.

The Sky is falling-Look out below....

Yes, the world has changed this past week. We averted the debt crisis to find ourselves in an even bigger, deeper hole. Even the heavens seem to be getting in the act. Some say that the sky is falling. We're all running around scared. Why? I often wonder if it's all an act. I suspect that it's so. It kind of scares me when I read about the big up and down of the market and how it will and has affected us. Look out below, I hear them say. Yet, I hang on. I can't close my eyes to the turmoil all around me. I know that even nature has gone wild. I have to hang on. Why? Because I'm needed. Isn't that what it's all about? To feel needed? To have a purpose in life?

Yes, the Lord has his plans. His ways are not mine, and I'm grateful that this is so. I know that he is in control. I can't stress out about what's happening around me. I know that he will deliver me from the evil ones. Some days I wish it could be now, but then I look at my little niece and wonder what she will become and what her world will be like.

I can't fathom bringing a child into this world. Maybe I'm being selfish, or maybe I'm not. I think about what's happening and the debt that presses ever closer. Will her world be like today's or will it revert back to the stone ages? Some are predicting that.

We're still here-or crisis averted for now

All of us breathed a sigh of relief when the bickering stopped. We still hold our breaths on what will happen next. Yet I know God is in control. He always has been and he always will be. I sometimes wish I could predict what's going to happen. I can't. Maybe that's a good thing. I realize that it is better not to know. You can get so overwhelmed by it all that you lose track of what's really important.

Over the next few weeks, months we will discover a new world. With everything that has been happening, there is bound to be some major changes. None of them good, I fear. Will we survive the next crisis? Only the Lord knows.

I told my family that I am fortunate to still have a job for now. Sometimes I feel that someday they "the powers to be" will decide to let me go. Other times I know that I'm still needed where I'm at and that makes me feel good.

I know that God is leading me. I won't be afraid.