Yesterday I was reading Facebook.  Now, I know that some people hate FB, but I look at it just like anything else in life......it is the responsibility of the user to behave and not abuse the tool.  Anyway, a certain post caught my attention and made me very sad.

According to the Urban Dictionary the Bible is apparently an ancient novel full of murder, incest, homosexuality, corruption and more that is often read to children on Sundays.  This is not an exact quote but does include the major descriptions listed.  I was so sad to read this.  I realize that not everyone accepts the Bible as Truth or believes in the saving power of Christ.  There is so much wisdom and so many wonderful miracles in the Bible that even if you just wanted it to be a story book it would have so much to offer.

I want to go on record here that the Bible has changed my life.  The God of the Bible is real and alive.  He has made my whole life completely different than it would have been without Him.  That makes me happy!

Don'tcha just hate when someone asks you, "what are your priorities?"  That means I have to stop and evaluate things.  Then, of course, I have to start picking and choosing what things I need to do first.....and sometimes that is not the same as what I AM doing first.  Keeping the main thing the main thing can be so hard.

In my family right now, the priority is helping my dear daughter keep on track toward getting ready for a 6 week mission trip to Canada followed immediately by heading off to college.  She is not always the best at sorting through which project needs to be done first and is often distracted when she finds something more "fun" that could be done.  I am easily distracted by "more fun" or sparkly things too :-)

This morning we sat down and discussed some of the things she needs to have accomplished.  A few of them had been completed and I just needed to get an update.  Other tasks were starting to overwhelm her.  And a few things had been intentionally pushed to the very back of her mind.  Pretty normal!  We discussed a short list and evaluated how much time was really available early this afternoon.  The departure date is still a ways off, so at times it feels like we have forever to get ready, and then days like today it feels as if we are way behind!  But the date is scheduled and she is leaving.

It made me think of Christ.  Oh, He never lost track of His priorities, but have I lost track of keeping Him in first place in my list?  He IS coming back.  The date is set.  Sometimes it feels like it will never get here and other days I just can't believe He is still waiting.  And I have certain things to accomplish before that date as well.  I must be busy about my Father's business of sharing with everyone I can that Christ wants a personal relationship with them and I can tell them how to start that process!  I must be busy training my kids, and even though one is already married, I still have a place of influence in his life, so the job goes on.  I will have a responsibility for grandchildren someday.  I do have the responsibility of daycare kids now.

I can't get all sidetracked with the "fun" things like singing His praises and testifying of His blessings.  I have to keep those things in proportion to the work that I am to be doing.  Priorities.  I must keep evaluating my life and be sure I am as efficient for Him as I can be.......because He is coming back!

People say things like "She's really going through a test" or "That family has had one trial after another".  Are these two things the same? What does each of these words mean?

Trial   Think of a courtroom where a trial is going on.  What do you see in your mind's eye?  Do you see the judge and the attorneys and the defendant?  Do you see the media?  Do you see.......the public?  That's the key to understanding the use of the word trial.  When we are given a trial or are tried by God it is a very public thing.  People around us know about it like our family members and our church family.

Test   For this word, think of a classroom.  Now what do you see?  Do you see a teacher or proctor?  Do you see several students sitting at desks with their sharpened No. 2 pencils ready?  Do you hear the teacher say, "You may open your tests and begin, but keep your eyes on your own papers"?  That is the key!  A test is something that only you see; it is personal and private.

Sometimes God gives us trials like when we lose a job or when we have a serious illness or death in our family. At other times He gives us personal tests like when we are struggling to control jealousy in our heart or when our child's attitude is grating on our nerves and we are tempted to lose our temper.  Both kinds of situations come from God and are designed to strengthen us in some way....just sometimes privately and sometimes publicly.

I realize that there are many people in this world that do enjoy exercise.  At different times in my life, I have been one of them.  But at others times......when I have neglected my health and am out of shape and lazy.....I really REALLY do not like exercise.  Getting back in the routine is harder than the routine itself.  And the same is true in our spiritual lives.

Ecc. 3:10b  "...to be exercised in it..."  In the first part of this verse King Solomon told us that he had seen that God intentionally gave hard, painful, scary things to His very own children to bring about a specific purpose.  And part of that purpose is for us to be exercised in these trials.

"Exercise" is a word that conjures up pictures of stretching and working and some soreness and stiffness and working through pain.  Bleh!  That does not sound fun to me at all.  But my faith must be stretched and worked and pushed to new limits in order for it to grow or strengthen.  When there is strengthening and growth there is improvement.  My faith is being made better when God sends these trials to me.  That's a pretty interesting thought to try to wrap your brain around.

Comparing God as my Heavenly Father to my daddy here on earth makes this concept very clear though!  My daddy and momma sent us outside to play in the field all the time so that we could get exercise.  My Heavenly Father has my best interests in mind when He sends things to strengthen me.  And it's nice to know that He doesn't just send trials for no reason.

From the end of this verse we can learn that God doesn't waste hurts.  Thank You, Father, for not hurting me just to be mean.  Thank You for sending things that will make me stronger.  I especially thank You that they are things You have designed and are not random or unplanned.

Ecclesiastes 3:10 "...which God hath given to the sons of men..."

...which God...   God is my Heavenly Father.  He is holy and perfect and I cannot comprehend those traits, but I can understand Him as a Father.  When I accepted Christ as my personal Savior, I became adopted into the family of God!  I am a D.O.G. -- Daughter Of God!

...hath given...   My daddy has given me lots and lots of things in my life!  He has given me compliments and kisses and gifts and treats and wonderful gifts.  He and my momma have given me a clear picture of how a godly husband and wife should love each other.  He has also give me chores and certain vegetables (yuck!) and  a few whoopings.  Obviously, my daddy had to sometimes give me things that I did not like, but that were good for me.  Whenever he gave me anything, though, it was intentionally chosen or selected with my welfare in mind.  I may not have always liked what my daddy presented to me, but it was for my own good.

...to the sons of men...   This phrase is not just referring to the male gender.  It actually means mankind or the human race.  Hmmmmm, I think that includes pretty much everyone I can think of!

So, let's pull this all together:  God, who is my Heavenly Father, intentionally presents things He has designed and chosen for me.  I may not like the situations He sends to me, but they are for my good and His glory.  And He gives them to everyone who is anyone.  He is not picking on me, but working to accomplish His plan through me with careful design.

I feel a little better about these scary trials when I remember that they are not random or pointless!

Ecclesiastes 3:10  "I have seen the travail which God hath given to the sons of men to be exercised in it"

I have seen...  The book of Ecclesiastes was written by King Solomon, the wisest man in history.  He had traveled far and wide looking for the meaning of life.  And this verse is one of many where he lays out what he has seen and observed.

the travail...  The word "travail" is often used to refer to childbirth and the pains of labor.  When I try to define this term I find myself using words like pain, hard work, and suffering.  When we had our first child I would definitely have added the word scary!  When I was going through my labor it was the only thing I could think about or focus on.

Times of trial can be described in very much the same way.  They are painful.  They are scary.  The situation you are in becomes the filter through which you view everything else in life.

BUT....travail has a purpose or a desired outcome.  It doesn't last forever; it has a definite ending time.  And our trials are very much the same.  When God sends a trial to my life, He does have a specific purpose He is trying to accomplish through it.  He always has the desired outcome in mind that I would be refined and drawn closer to Him through it.  And no matter how overtaken and downcast I am during the trial, I know that they really do not last forever.

Sometimes my trial or travail is life-encompassing and I know that it is going to change the whole course of my life.  At other times my trials are just little bumps in the path but they do grab MY attention.  Whether illness or catastrophe or just a "down in the dumps" day, I am so glad to know that it will not last forever, and God has some designed purpose for my day!

Everyone I know has had to go through hard times at some point in their life or another.  I am no exception to this rule.  But I have a Heavenly Father who watches over me and stays right by my side.  He sent me a love letter to remind me of His thoughts toward me.

Our family went through a very dark valley nine and a half years ago when my husband (the Preacher) had a massive stroke and was expected to die.  It's a long story that has heartache and fear and uncertainty as it's
"dragons."  I was the damsel in distress along with my two kiddos who were just eight and thirteen at the time.  The Preacher was so critically ill that he spent a month in the hospital and it was over two years before our family felt like we had found our "new normal."  And my heart cried out to God so many times each day for strength to keep on, and wisdom to make decisions, and comfort for a heart that was broken and trying to mend.

My God answered me.  In fact, He answered me each and every single solitary time I cried out to Him.  He gave me some very special verses in His Word that I clung to and read over and over.  I recently told Mark's story again at a ladies retreat.  I have a sort of abbreviated script version I tell people who want to know what happened to him.  But I had not told his story in great detail for a very long time.  It is a hard story to tell without becoming emotional and I don't ever want to lose that sensitivity for what God did for us through this.  It is truly not a story about us but about what God did in our lives so that others could see His love and mercy and GRACE.  I'd like to spend the next several posts on this blog sharing some of the verses that God gave to me and I pray that God's Word will be a healing balm to hearts that are hurting.

My husband's story is "A Story of Grace" and of God's never failing mercies!