Look up and praise Him

I look up in awe tonight towards my Heavenly Father and thank Him.

I'm so thankful for who He is....loving, faithful, trustworthy, gracious, forgiving....Beginning and End, Creator, King, Lord, Redeemer, Saviour, Truth, Mighty, Defender, Deliverer, Righteous, Lion, Lamb, Emmanuel, the Way, the Word, the Bread of Life, Crucified, Risen, the Final Sacrifice....endless descriptions of God...the Holy Trinity - Father, Son and Spirit - the ONE who loves us more than we will ever comprehend in this life!!

It's hard to thank Him in the midst of troubles. I know that from hardships over the last 8 years - dreams that were shattered due to focusing on fear, jobs that were "downsized", contracts that ended abruptly, unemployment and employment insurance, which is hardly enough to live on, heartbreak over a guy I thought was the "one" - a Believer who also loved mission work, he was a wolf in sheep's clothing - that was scary; and loneliness so intense at times I thought I'd die of it! I could go on and on about the last 8 years...a long season of emotional pain. And, I can't say at this point if after all of these challenges I am a stronger, more faithful follower of Jesus...time will tell, but I will say this - if I had to go through all of that again without God, I am convinced it would have been 100,000,000 times worse! As hard as it was I continued to hang onto the Cross through every storm - and even though 2 years ago I reached my breaking point and gave up on life, and let go of the Cross in the midst of the strongest storm - a tsunami - because I am a child of God, Jesus reached down and grabbed me from the claws of Satan. God knew in the deepest area of my heart I didn't truly want to give up on Him and my life - so He came right into the middle of the storm and grabbed onto me. He pulled me close and we rode the wild "wind and rain" out together. He did not calm the storm right away - rather, He was in it with me and out of that I learned many deep lessons about trusting God. I still had some storms after that but the difference this time...I didn't let go of the Cross! Oh sure, sometimes my eyes looked on the storm and I felt fearful - then a gentle pull in my heart from the Holy Spirit and my eyes fell back on Him again. The Cross - in times of peace sit by the Cross - in times of storms cling to it - the Cross is an anchor for us who believe.

So Pals, as you may sense from my post, I am feeling thankful for God's presence in my life...especially this week. THANK YOU for praying. The week went well at work - peaceful in fact...it was the best week to go back because the two staff that have bothered me the most were not there. They will be back next week - but I feel strength because of your prayers. God hears and answers the heart cries of His children.

I start my new job on August 19. I will have a big learning curve ahead, but with God's wisdom and grace I can do it. He really out did Himself - after 8 long years, I have a permanent unionized position, and I just discovered - a nice pay hike to boot!! What I sense at this point is God asking me to focus on paying down my debt - be a better steward of my finances, and wait on Him for the mission call - the door will open in time -be aware of His promptings in my spirit.

Bless you all.

Little Missionary