Psalm 46:10

 

1 Corinthians 5:7

 

Psalm 9:10

 

Psalm 33:21-22

 

Luke 2:7

 

1 Peter 1:3

 

Snapshots of faith: Cookie Books, Fireworks and Mums

 

Cookie books, Fireworks and Mums

Trust in the Lord, and do good; dwell in the land and befriend faithfulness.
Delight yourself in the Lord, and He will give you the desires of your heart.  Psalm 37:3-4

 

Cookie books, fireworks and mums may seem like a very random combination of items, but these three are reminders to me of the very personal and caring God I serve.

The morning of July 4 my husband and I were going through Facebook memories, reminiscing about good times over the years with friends from a small town we lived near. This year would be different since we had moved over two hours away. No cookout with friends this year. And definitely not watching fireworks with any friends this year, either. I sighed and commented that I missed our friends from that little town. Within five minutes my husband received a text message. Friends from our church back home were up at their family cabin about 45 minutes away. Would we want to meet up in the little town near their cabin and enjoy some music and fireworks. Would we? Absolutely! Not only would we be seeing friends from our church family from home, but one of my youth group girls. We were so happy and enjoyed seeing them. I loved chatting with my youth group girl. My heart was full!

One of my favorite flowers is the mum. I have been known to expand flower beds to make room for the mums I purchased. When we moved, we left about forty behind in our flower beds. It made me a little sad knowing I would not have them this year. However, we moved to an area with lots of Amish greenhouses and most sell tons of huge mums at a really good price. I was overjoyed to stand in the middle of plots filled with huge, colorful mums! And yes, I purchased several this fall.

Recently I was seeing news stations from the Milwaukee area and friends on social media commenting about the We Energies Cookie Book. This has been an annual tradition for years. It is a big deal in the Milwaukee area. I was always able to get one. It made me a little sad to know I could not get one. I set my phone down and figured later that day I would ask if anyone could get a book for me. Within a minute of setting my phone down, I received a text message. A very sweet friend let me know that she got her cookie book and picked on up for me as well. I had tears in my eyes! I was thrilled!

In the grand scheme of things, a freebie cookie recipe book is not that big of a deal. The world would keep on spinning if I never purchased another mum. And it is possible to celebrate the 4^th of July without seeing fireworks with friends. Since moving a year ago, there have been times of missing our life back home, including things like these. And God knows our hearts. He knows. I love baking and love planting mums. He used a good friend to provide me with the cookie book. We knew moving was His will. And we moved somewhere where in the fall there are mums everywhere here. And seeing friends from our church family from back home just filled our tanks!

I love how God knows us, how He knows what we love and what will give us a shot of encouragement when we need it. My prayer is for everyone I know to know God on that personal level. That they know how much He loves them and how much He delights in giving us good things. So thankful for these things and more that He has done for me and continues to do for us as we focus on Him.

Snapshot of Faith: Great is Thy Faithfulness

 

Great is Thy Faithfulness

One year ago, this weekend the movers came to load our belongings on to two moving trucks. One year ago, we spent a week saying goodbye to our church family, friends and family and prepared to move over 2 ½ hours away from all that we knew and were familiar with. That week was filled with a lot of tears. But we knew that this was God’s plan for us. We did not know why—and we still aren’t really sure why—but we just know this was the plan. He made it very clear to us.

When my husband had two job offers on the table it was a difficult decision. One job would allow us to stay in our familiar life that we loved. The other would take us away from everyone and everything, from our network and community. After much prayer and several obvious confirmations from the Lord the decision to take the job hours away was made.

Even though we know this was what we were supposed to do, it doesn’t mean it has been easy. We moved a week before Thanksgiving. Instead of hosting Thanksgiving like we had done for years, we were in a new home, surrounded by boxes eating heat and eat meals from a local restaurant. Christmas Eve, we went to the service at the church we had started attending. Just attended. We weren’t part of the service like we had been for years. Just attended and went home. Easter was the same. Went to church for one service, not all morning. Lunch at a local café and then home.

We moved just before a long winter. For months I dealt with horrible knee pain which limited my activity. Those two combined for some long, lonely days. I am grateful for friends from our church family back home who would reach out to see how I was doing.

In March I began a job that is based in the town we moved from, but I work remotely most of the time. About once a month I travel there for a few days to work. When I’m off the clock if I have time, I get together with friends or my youth group girls. That has certainly helped me with the transition here.

This past year we have had visits from family and friends. We have explored the area and continue to discover new things. When traveling to different locations around here we do not need to rely on GPS as much anymore. We are getting plugged in to a church here. God provided us with a home in the country (this is another amazing story.) This summer we enjoyed many evenings on the porch, watching and enjoying nature. We are making friends.

A year ago, was our last official Sunday at our church back home. We were on worship team there one last time. The last song we sang was “Great is Thy Faithfulness.” Okay. If I’m being honest, I didn’t really sing it much. I was trying not to cry. God had certainly been faithful to us. Throughout job losses, childlessness, highs, lows, uncertainty, and just life He has provided, loved us and saw us through everything. He has done that this past year. He has been and is faithful. He has and continues to help me especially with the transition here. We just need to remember His faithfulness in the past but look forward to the new things He will do in our lives as we continue to follow Him.

Great is Thy faithfulness
Great is Thy faithfulness
Morning by morning new mercies I see
All I have needed Thy hand hath provided
Great is Thy faithfulness, Lord, unto me