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Thursday, October 9, 2008

Stay calm....God is still in control.

I know everyone is concerned about their own personal issues as well as what's going on in the world. As a nation we are facing some terrible problems.

I want to encourage you today that God is still on the Throne. No matter what your personal circumstances or the stresses we may face in our nation - if you are a Christian and a child of God - nothing can hurt you. Oh, we may have to endure tough times and our lives may not be ones of excess or having everything we want. But nothing in this world can hurt us.

I often tell my family that we have security in our home. Yes, we have insurance and a plan that we hope works out. However, because life can take unplanned disastrous turns causing our hopes to disappear like morning dew; our real security comes from God and our family relationships. Think you have enough insurance? What if you need a transplant or cancer treatments? When the insurance company gets a bill for $500,ooo and decides to pay only $300,000 because they don't agree with your doctors - your savings for retirement can be gone in a flash. Lose your job or have your child arrested for drugs and your outlook for a comfortable future can seem pretty dim.

God is still on the Throne. Even during the great depression and WWII, he still answered the prayers of his people. Christians are often confused about the purpose of this life. We are not here just to have a good time. This life is not the prize. Of course we should do our best to be all we can be. Of course, we should strive to make a difference and to achieve all our goals. But if we can't....it's okay. And if we lose our home or our car...it's okay. If you have done all you can to promote the love within your family....you are blessed beyond material wealth.

I have watched documentaries and talked to people who lived in the 40's. Family and friends were everything. Living in in a rundown apartment house was bearable because they had a loving family. Enduring poverty was bearable because they had friends.

So what is my outlook on our bleak futures? I pray and ask God to intervene and continue the blessings we have. But I also ask for the strength to continue to be a beacon of hope and a light that shines in the darkness regardless of the circumstances. I will continue to love God with all my heart. I will accept with grace whatever consequences I must endure. I will continue to love my family and support them in any way I can. And most of all....just like the generation of the 40's, I will find a way to dance and to laugh.

Psalms 36:7 How excellent is thy loving kindness, O God! therefore the children of men put their trust under the shadow of thy wings.

I can't help but laugh at the songs of Ray Stevens. While Ray obviously made this up...it made me think about the power of God. If he can work through a donkey, give lessons through a fig tree and heal blindness with dirt - maybe he could use a squirrel to cause revival. And if he can use all those unlikely things - surely he can get us through the current bad news.

I hope you will find joy in the following clip. I'm sincerely thinking about rewriting this song for congress. Wouldn't it be great if someone let a crazed Mississippi squirrel go during their next session?




God loves you,

Debbie

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