I'm Trying to Bless You Bro

Have you ever tried to bless someone only to have it backfire?

On Nov. 2, 2020 Isaac had brain surgery.

Yes, he had brain surgery.

It was a very scary day to put it lightly.

The pediatric neurosurgeon assured us it was a 1 day overnight procedure and recover time would be minimal. "Endoscopic brain surgery to have a fenestration of an arachnoid cyst." That is the name of the procedure. 

After the surgery Isaac was resting in his room. The medical team said he would be groggy and might be nauseous. 

Once Isaac ate 2 meals he would be free to go home. 

He ate small bites but definitely did not have an appetite. 

Finally he finished enough and got the "all clear" to go home. 

We were so excited to see how the procedure would help him.

So much of our life and our home revolves around helping Isaac.

On the way home Chuck said "Let's get Isaac pizza!" This is his favorite food.

We don't buy pizza often because it can cause him to melt down wanting more food and not knowing/understanding when he should stop...

We ordered the pizza and were excited to help Isaac rest and recover at home...

What we neglected to notice was that the doctor said to feed him "light meals" for the next few days. 

Isaac ate the pizza and then vomited.

We felt HORRIBLE.

Here we were trying to bless Isaac and it backfired. He ended up feeling icky and vomited and now we had to clean his room, etc. 

"I was just trying to bless him"

Chuck and I have said this many times. 

We try to bless Isaac only to have the gift become a problem. 

It reminds me of Moses...

God appoints Moses to be the delivered and prophet to lead the children of Israel out of Egypt, out of slavery and into the Promised Land. 

This is what was said to Moses: 

The man said, “Who made you ruler and judge over us? Are you thinking of killing me as you killed the Egyptian?” Then Moses was afraid and thought, “What I did must have become known.” (Exodus 2:14)

Moses had killed an Egyptian man and he was trying to be a blessing...but his behavior backfired. 

In the New Testament Stephen mentions this very incident, "Moses assumed his fellow Israelites would realize that God had sent him to rescue them, but they didn’t." (Acts 7:25)

Moms and Dads are used to this....

You try (and try really hard!) to be a blessing to your kids.

As the saying goes "I am blessed to be a blessing." 

Then later you realize...sometimes our intentions can backfire or go unappreciated. 

I recall a very godly friend of mine was in a counseling session. Her daughter was struggling with same sex attraction and she literally said "I forgive you mom for how you raised me."

WHAT?

This mom had poured love, devotion, care and the child lacked nothing...yet she was now stating emphatically- "You wronged me! You raised me wrong"

I pray this daughter will one day return to the LORD and realize what a blessing her parents are...

Many many times we have thrown up our arms and said to Isaac directly "I was just trying to bless you!"

Isaac has special needs and all the circumstances must be exactly right. For example, if he sees a gift bag, he will want it. I cannot have wrapping paper or gift bags around in the home or he will rip them and assume there are gifts or treats in them. It's very hard. 

My point is this: 

How do we bless God?

How do we bless the LORD in a way that won't backfire?

We often think God wants us to serve Him. Yes! The LORD does love when we serve.

However, we must get to know God's love language. 

Everyone has a love language. I might tell Olivia she is beautiful and she is the most amazing daughter in the world. But using words of affirmation is not her love language. Her main love language is physical touch. She would rather me sit next to her or give her a hug. 

Isaac likes gifts. He does not like hugs...

I think you get the point.

God's love language is Jesus.

Yes-Jesus.

As we love the Son, the Father gets blessed. This will take a lifetime to live out and fully explore. 

In Him (Christ) dwells the fullness of the Godhead bodily. 

This is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased. 

When we love on Jesus, the Father beams with joy.

We need to grasp this. 

We want to bless God but at times we feel like it "backfires." 

God's Word says "To obey is better than sacrifice" (1 Sam 15:22) and a broken and contrite spirit He will not despise. 

"My sacrifice, O God, is a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart you, God, will not despise. Psalm 51:17

Jesus was a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief.

Keith Green wrote a song "Asleep in the Light"

"Oh, bless me Lord, bless me Lord
You know, it's all I ever hear
No one aches, no one hurts, no one even sheds one tear
But He cries, He weeps, He bleeds
And He cares for your needs
And you just lay back and keep soaking it in
Oh, can't ya see it's such sin?"

In stead of trying to bless God in the way I WANT TO bless Him...I must bless the LORD according to His love language. 

We must decide to bless God by loving Jesus, seeking Jesus, clinging to Jesus, being ambassadors for Jesus, living like Jesus, praying to Jesus, and abiding in Jesus. 

Remember Mary and Martha?

Where was Mary? Sitting at Jesus' feet.

Martha was busy serving and neglected to sit at His feet. 

Jesus was RIGHT THERE in front of her...and she missed an opportunity to get to know Him better. 

Martha would say "I'm just trying to bless you Jesus."

I am trying to bless you with the best meal in town. I am trying to bless you with all of my gifts. I want to bless you with this meal. I want to bless you with my service. 

Somewhere along the line...she missed that Jesus wanted "her" not her services. 

Oh how we need to get this my friends!

Don't forget Jesus as you serve Jesus.

Don't forget to bless the LORD as you are striving to bless Him with your day to day tasks.

Get to know God's love language.

One day Jesus may want you to sit.

Another day Jesus may want you to step out of your comfort zone and serve. 

Lord help us bless you in the way that you desire! 

The Church Machine

 Did you hear the headlines?

Another one fell...

Oh how the valiant have fallen.

Did you hear? (so and so left the church....)

Did you know? (so and so is living with his girlfriend...Tsk Tsk...His parents had such a strong walk with Jesus too.)

Did you hear? Megachurch so and so has (insert big name) speaking at that church! We should go!

What are you doing on Sunday?

Well after church service, I serve, then after that I have a church meeting....

Has the church become a machine?

A business venture? 

A club of "do-good-ers?"

Oh Father! Please no!!!!!!!

I confess I have not heard a message in a long time talking about the very important topic of repentance. 

"Create in me a clean heart oh God and renew a right spirit in me" Psalm 51

I feel like Social Media has both blessed the church and HURT the church in various ways. 

For one, many people watch a 2 minute devotional video and they falsely tell themselves:

"That was my devotion for the day"

Although I love catching little sermonettes or sound bites from social media...this is NOT intimacy with God...

True intimacy with God comes from bearing your soul before your Creator, being still in His presence, reading the Bible, line by line and then spending time in prayer. (Jeremiah 15:16, Psalm 46:10, 1 Kings 19:12)

Like Jon Courson used to say "Read your Bible and pray" every single day. (Psalm 63:1-8)

The other day I was praying and I thought of this term 

"church machine"

Have we become part of the church machine?

Instead of an organic body of Christ have we become robotic and mechanic like terminator? Have we forgotten that Jesus (not Arnold) is the first one that said "I'll be back?"

I don't want to be a part of the church machine. 

I desire to be a part of the body of Christ. 

I want to be open to the Holy Spirit's leading...however that looks and wherever that may be. 

I remember one time I had a rough morning. 

I had gotten in a HUGE argument with Chuck on a Saturday night and then now on Sunday morning I was crying, weeping, lifting my hands in surrender and truly repenting. 

A friend pulled me aside and said "Hey are you ok?"

I was thinking about this the other day.

Are we truly aware of the fact that others around us are hurting?

Do we dare put ourselves out there and ask "Are you ok?"

As part of the church machine....we do not do this enough. 

We need to be real, raw, vulnerable and obedient to the Holy Spirit. It took a lot of courage for that friend to ask me if I was ok. I do not weep that much and she noticed. 

What a blessing and gift. 

Do we slow down enough to notice?

Are we missing out on ministering to God and hearing from God while we do ministry?

I think we are. 

You see...when you read the book of Acts....service to the LORD and others happened everywhere. On the streets, on the way to prayer meetings, during 1:1 prayer time, in corporate prayer time, and it looked different from day to day. This is the venture of faith and excitement I believe we are missing. 

We are so used to how church "should look" and operate that we forget about the Holy Spirit. 

Dr. Timothy Keller said in a sermon the other day hyper spiritual Christians go off "emotional highs" and hyper Bible teaching churches thrive off of "intellectual highs." God wants us to use both- our minds and our hearts. We need both. 

We need the Holy Spirit to ignite us. We need God's Word to ground us. We need both.

My fear is that living in America....we have become soft and weak in our sensitivity to the Holy Spirit. 

When I was young, I did not like scary movies. One of my older cousins said "Just watch it and remind yourself 'this is fake' The blood is fake. The person did not really get killed. it's not real" 

You get de-sensitized and you can watch the movie without fear. 

*(I still don't like scary movies!)

Have we in America lost the fear of God? Have we lost the sensitivity to sin? To the Holy Spirit's prompting?

Have we become a church machine where we go to church, read our Bibles a bit, cry and bit, go home and stay unmoved that there are SO many non-believers dying without Jesus?

This whole Covid pandemic should be making us different! 

We need to be different!

We need to be vibrant, caring, loving God-fearing compassionate people. 

I do not know about you but I am so tired of hearing about masks and vaccines. I am NOT tired of hearing about the Gospel. 

How do you dismantle a machine?

You self evaluate. You individually and corporately confess sin... 

You take it apart piece by piece and try to find out where the power source is. 

The power has always been Jesus. 

Advancing His kingdom....(not a specific church, a specific event, or a specific agenda)

It's always been Jesus. (Acts 4:12)

We need help!

Houston we have a problem. 
We have allowed complacency, routine, and apathy creep into the church and now we have a church machine. 

Please LORD Jesus give us hearts that break for what breaks yours. 

In Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis, he talks about faith and "faith moods."

He writes: "The first step is to reognise the fact that your moods change. The next is to make sure that, if you have once accepted Christianity, then some of its main doctrines shall be deliberately held before your mind for some time every day. That is why daily prayers and religious readings and churchgoings are necessary parts of the Christian life. We have to be continually reminded of what we believe. Neither this belief no any other will automatically remain alive in the mind. It must be fed. And as a matter of fact, if you examined a hundred people who had lost their faith in Christianity, I wonder how many of them would turn out to have been reasoned out of it by honest argument? Do not most people simply drift away?" 

Revive us again dear God! We need fresh wind and fresh fire and a hunger and thirst for righteousness!

Holy Spirit please send ONE MORE revival!

Rest/Respite/A Break

 Do you want a “break” before you break down?

I sure do.

We all need rest…

I didn’t even know what the word “respite” meant…

I literally had to look it up in the dictionary…

2 Kings 14:26

For the LORD saw the affliction of Israel which was very bitter for there was neither bond nor free nor was there any helper for Israel. 

God is our help.

He Himself is our break- our rest- our Sabbath. 

The problem is we often do not know what we need when we need it.

We cry out to others.

We go to food.

We watch TV.

We try to numb ourselves and binge on social media or something anything to give us a mental break.

We might even go on a walk or take a hot bath.

But true rest...true inner peace (true Shalom) comes from Christ. 

Rest is a person=Jesus. 

LORD our world has been unraveling for some time. 

2020 was insane...

2021 is even more intense...

So much death...so much pain...

LORD give us a break...

We need you. 

We need you Abba Father to help us. We need a break. We need you to hold our hearts in your hand and say "it's going to be OK"

LORD thank you for the hope of heaven. Thank you for the promise of heaven.

Thank you for the promise that if we come to you when we are weak and heavy laden you will provide rest. You provide rest for our minds. Our thoughts can be so scattered LORD. We have a hard time praying, focusing. We get intimated by all of the "what ifs" or maybes or is God even near me anymore? We fear the future. 

COVID has caused us all to truly question our days and our very existence. 

Friends have died LORD. Some have been saved. Others refused to repent...that is what scares us the most. 

LORD Jesus give us the grace to trust you every single day. Our world is not normal anymore. But Jesus, was it every normal? You have always encouraged us to rest in you...so LORD we pray it again. We need rest. We need you to cleanse us of all our old creature comforts....May we feel comfortable and rested only in your arms AFTER we have drank of the Living Water of your Word.
Jesus thank you for rest and for the break you give us. One day we will be in your presence with new bodies and we will truly be able to be still and know you are God. 

In Jesus' Matchless Name, 

Amen

The Great I AM

He’s better than celebrating Christmas, HE IS Christmas.

He’s better than attending a birthday party, HE IS the life giver. 

He’s better than going on a vacation, HE IS the vacation.

He is EGO EIMI- I AM.

He’s better than star gazing, He created them and calls them each by name. 

He’s better than a dream materialized, HE IS the dream.

He’s better than the answered prayer, HE IS the fulfillment of all things, not one desire, but all dreams. 

He’s better than when the light bulb goes off in our mind, HE IS the light of the world. 

He’s better than a room full of friends, HE IS the friend that sticks closer than brother. 

He’s better than any expert doctor, HE IS himself the medicine, surgeon and cure. 

Honey- God's Sweet Nectar

I love God's Word. It is a lamp to me and a light to me as Psalm 119 says.

However, I did not always go to the Word to get my instructions for the day.

I went to me myself and I.

What do I want to do? Where do I want to go? What food should I eat? Me me me.

Over the course of this Christian journey I have learned through daily discipline the NECESSITY of reading God's Word EVERY SINGLE DAY.

Would you go one day without a meal?

No.

(well unless you are fasting but that's not what I am implying here)

In general, we eat 3 meals a day, plus some snacks. 

I have been meditating on God's Word and trying to be more intentional of letting it "get into me."

We can read and then get nothing out of it. We can say- what did I just read?

We have all been there. 

But we need to be disciplined to read.

My husband takes blood pressure meds and I daily remind him to take it. 

We all need daily reminders! It is critical to take our medications, drink water, eat food, etc.

Well duh you might be thinking...

But what about treats?

Ice cream, brownies, cookies, scones, doughnuts, mydelight cupcakes....

Oh the joy of eating THESE type of foods. We don't even need reminders to eat these because we want to.

I have been really enjoying reading through the Gospel of John. It is in my one year Bible reading. 

I am so thankful for this time and this season, God plants me RIGHT where I need to be in the Gospel of John. 

I need Jesus. 

Yes the Old Testament is fabulous and I read through those books...but Jesus.

There is just something about that Name.

There is a favorite old song that we used to sing at church:

Jesus Jesus Jesus Holy and Anointed One

Jesus

Your Name is like honey on my lips

Your Spirit like water to my soul

Your Word is a lamp unto my feet

Jesus I love you

I love you

Today I was walking with Isaac and my Spirit was refreshed after just reading John 15 in the morning before the day escaped me.

I said in my spirit "LORD You are like Honey"

There are many verses in the Word that mention honey

"Pleasant words are like a honeycomb, sweetness to the soul and health to the bones" Proverbs 16:24

 "How sweet are your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth!" Psalm 119:103

God's Word is like honey the psalmist writes...but when we are in pain...we often run from God instead of running to His Word.

I love this word picture because I love sweets. I actually prefer dessert over dinner. 

But Honey doesn't just "come" alive out of no where. 

What is nectar?

nectar: noun, A sugary fluid secreted by plants especially within flowers to encourage pollination by insects and other animals. It is collected by bees to make honey.

The bees collect the nectar and then they make honey.

Wow LORD you are speaking!

We are like the bee. We must GO TO the plant (God's Word) to gather the nectar (the sugary fluid) and meditate on it, take it with us whereever we go and keep doing it over and over and over again and then low and behold- God's Word turns into honey in our lives!

What a blessing!

I read a book recently where the author endured intense chronic pain and years of suffering. 

She said "read the Bible even when it tastes like cardboard"

My encouragement to you is STICK WITH IT.

It's summer and many people fall off their reading plan and devotional time because of vacations and other things....

I remember one time Jeanette Walls said "What started as duty, ended up becoming a delight"

What she means is....when you read the Word, you might feel distracted, sleepy, unengaged bored, or down right uninterested. 

STICK WITH IT. 

Make a decision to read the Word every day and if possible twice a day.

Also, don't compare yourself with others. If your spouse or friend or relative reads and has 3 hour devotions...that's awesome. 

If you are a busy mom and can only read for 15-20 minutes that is glorious and God will use the Word you implant in yourself to bear much fruit.

His Word really is alive and active. 

We need the Holy Spirit. 

If the Bible was a car, the Holy Spirit is the spark plug. It is so important to ask God to open your eyes and heart to what He is saying. 

Lastly, pray the Word. Open a psalm and pray God's Word back to Him. Or whatever you just read, turn it into a prayer. If you read John 15 like I did this morning, thank God for being the vine and for allowing you to be a branch. Give Him permission to prune away dead branches, ungodly thoughts, fleshly attitudes and dead activities that are not bearing fruit but actually hindering your growth,. 

His Word is like honey.

Jesus-His name is like honey.

Read God's Word, even if it feels like duty, trust me, it will turn into a delight! 

My friend Daniel

 My friend Daniel

Isaac and I go to a park every day.

It’s in Upland.

Sometimes we venture to a different one in Ontario or Chino... or Bonelli...but the default park is in Upland. 

We go every day.

Even when it rains, even on days he has school, and even on Sundays and holidays.

Part of autism includes a comfort in routine...

When we can’t go to the park it really bothers him...

There is another mom I see often with a son (on his scooter) and she walks her black lab.

The son’s name is Daniel.

He is the only person for over a year who has ever paused to talk and get to know me.

He is also on the spectrum.    

He noticed Isaac and asked if Isaac had autism- I said “Yes” and he said “me too”

I saw him on this last Friday.

Daniel loves trains.

He volunteers at a train museum and knows everything about trains.

I mentioned I visited Colorado once and he said, “Oh you must have seen logging trains”

He knows tons of facts and the history of trains and their evolution.

On Friday we spoke again.

We talked about birthdays.

I explained to him that Isaac has an obsession with birthdays.  

I said “Hey Daniel, you know how you like trains? That’s how Isaac feels about birthdays. He likes everything about birthdays. The cake, presents, pizza, piñata, balloons, decorations- All of it”

He said “oh yeah! That’s the good stuff!”

It was so refreshing that Daniel didn’t think it was weird Isaac obsesses over birthdays just like I don’t think it’s weird he loves trains. I get it.

Then he shared how he recently stayed near Yosemite National Park for a birthday celebration.  His birthday is May 31.

I asked if he went into the National Park

 (I LOVE Yosemite!!) . 

He replied “No, you have to have a reservation. We stayed outside -near the park -where the railways are”

Catch that?

Daniel is much more interested in trains near Yosemite than the park itself. AMAZING! 

This is similar to Isaac who loves the package of a present- the bow- the paper- or the tissue paper & bag- than the actual gift (most times) 

God knew I needed to meet Daniel. 

He is able to articulate and communicate well but I gather he probably does not have many friends.

Kids/teens/ and adults with autism often appear to have one track minds- one interest- and sadly, that tends to irk or annoy people.

God has been reminding me that Isaac does not annoy Him. 

In fact, God loves birthdates and celebrations too.  He created them! 

God loves to listen to Daniel explain to strangers like me all about trains- God made his mind and gave Daniel a great ability to communicate.

I pray we can look beyond the oddness of people, or the strangeness of others or the quirky behaviors of those on the spectrum.    

For when you enter the world of others (and allow them to enter yours) you’ll find you’ve made a friend.  

Steel Magnolias/Fragile Magnolias

 I have been reading this amazing book "The Scars that Shaped Me" by Vaneetha Rendall Risner that has helped me reshape suffering, pain, trials and grief. I am learning like her subtitle states "How God Meets Us in Suffering."

I am one of those people who listens to a lot of tragic stories. As an intercessor but also as a family law (divorce) attorney I have heard more horrible stories than I wish to admit. 

Life is hard, but God is good (as Louie Giglio says)

Life is indeed incredibly hard. And Yes, God is indeed supernaturally amazingly incredibly good. 

Suffering is real.

We do not need to down play it or soften it...

I was telling Olivia the other day that I am not going to stuff down my emotions and "fake it." If I am sad, I am going to let myself be sad. If I need to cry, I will cry and ask Jesus to hold my tears in a bottle. 

Think about it....there is a whole book in the Bible called "Lamentations" to lament is to be normal and human. To have a picture perfect instagram worthy life is to be named "Barbie" or "Ken" to be plastic, and phony.

I do not want to be phony. I want to be real and authentic and if I am sad I need to lament and let it out. 

We must express our feelings or we will explode. 

Like Andy Mineo said "If you bury your emotions you bury them alive" They will come back to you and it won't be pretty.

In Vaneetha's book she shares something that was so profound and true I felt the need to write about it and say "Yes!" I agree. 

Vaneetha had an infant son named Paul who died.  She talks about it and how she begged God to heal her son and the pain of watching a tiny coffin being lowered into the earth. 

Later in her book she discusses how another author Joe Bayly wrote about the type of comfort he received when he tragically experienced burying a son. 

He writes: 

"I was sitting torn by grief. Someone came and talked to me of God's dealings, of why it happened of hope beyond the grave. He talked constantly he said things I knew were true. I was unmoved, except to wish he'd go away. He finally did.

Another came and sat beside me. He didn't talk. He didn't ask leading questions. He just sat beside me for an hour or more, listened when I said something, answered briefly, prayed simply, left. I was moved. I was comforted. I hated to see him go."

Sometimes words DO NOT bring comfort. Just simply being there does...

Vaneetha writes how Jesus was alone in His suffering. 

She explains: "Jesus didn't want to be alone in His suffering. He wanted human companionship. Jesus didn't ask his disciples to accompany Him when He was communing with His Father. He often arose early in the morning to be with God by Himself. But we see that in His hour of desperation, when He was facing unspeakable agony, He asked His friends to be with Him" (See Mark 14:32-34)

"Sit here while I pray" and took with Him Peter and James and John and began to be greatly distressed and troubled. (Mark 14:32)

Vaneetha describes the troubled and awkward looks people give when you are suffering and they do not know what to say.

Suddenly my mind flashed back to watching the epic scene in Steel Magnolias. Strong mother "M'Lynn" played by Sally Field breaks down in her grief after her daughter "Shelby" passes away of kidney failure related to her type 1 diabetes.  

Who can forget iconic scene?  

The funeral is over and M'Lynn is quiet and stern. Then she starts weeping and explains that it isn't supposed to happen this way "I am supposed to die first!" she screams. 

The friends are just staring at her not quite knowing what to say or do.

The beauty of this scene and the beauty of having community in our time of suffering is to just simply "be there." 

This is one of the greatest tragedies of COVID. 2020 has been brutal. So many people passed away and because of the COVID rules husbands, wives, children, grandkids, friends, pastors, loved ones, could not "be there" to sit with them, stroke their hands, worship, cry and just be next to the person in need. 

Satan is a thief (John 10:10)

I never knew this...but recently learned that the movie Steel Magnolias is based upon Robert Harling's real life experience of the death of his sister Susan Harling Robinson in 1985 of complications of Type 1 diabetes. 

Wikipedia says about the film "The title suggests the main female characters can be both as delicate as the magnolia flower and as tough as steel."

I disagree. Strength can actually be a liability.

2 Corinthians 12:9 says "And He said to me, 'My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.' Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities that the power of Christ may rest upon me" 

I have been quoted this verse so many times. I have read it out loud. I have it memorized. I wrote it out on my chalkboard in my kitchen to read over and over for months.

Yet still... I do not like my weakness. I rarely boast in my weaknesses.

I hate being fragile.

I wish I could be strong like Sally Fields character "M'Lynn" in the film. 

I am as fragile as they come.

Physically fragile-petite and my emotions are often raw, unfiltered and once the tears flow, it's hard to stop.

"You are so strong Laura. God won't give you something you can't handle" I have heard this before; It's not true. 

God in His infinite wisdom DOES give us things that are too much we can't handle, so we recognize He does the heavy lifting. GRACE GRACE GRACE

He does it, I cannot take any credit. It's Christ's endless supply of grace that can make me "perceived" as a steel magnolia, really I feel like a withered flower after mother's day.

We must all choose to be like the friends in Steel Magnolias. Cry with others. Rub his/her shoulder. Listen and pray when the time is right. We don't need the right words.

We need God's Word. They are eternal and He always knows what to say. 

The LORD will supply His Words in His timing. 

I love something Vaneetha shared in her book that I found so true when Isaac had the hospital stays due to his unexplained seizures and unexplained cyst on his brain.  

She said (paraphrase) read your Bible. Pray. Read your Bible even when it feels like you are chewing on cardboard. Pray even when you feel like you are talking to a wall.

I cannot tell you how refreshing her transparency was to me.

You see-I love reading the Word. But it's kind of hard to read when your eyes are filled with tears, there is a lump in your throat, and your child is met with doctors scratching their heads with more questions than answers. I love to pray. But it's hard to pray when you feel like God gives you a "no" each time.

We all love and explode when God says "Yes" but we cringe at His answer to our prayers that are"No" or "not yet" or "wait."

I know from an artist's point of view the title "Steel Magnolias" sounds great. Inner strength, but fragile beauty...

The reality is for me, I am a fragile magnolia. It is JESUS my Rock who provides the inner strength for me to get through each day.

I do not know who needs to read this.

Maybe you are still suffering and mourning, missing your loved one who passed from COVID, or a tragic car accident, or died suddenly, or died slowly....or you know of someone recently diagnosed with cancer, or you are experiencing something so life altering that it feels like a dark night of the soul- HOLD FAST. Jesus is coming soon.

We must hold on unwavering to Jesus the anchor of our hope and the refuge from the storm.

I am so thankful for the presence of Jesus. He is there. He sees everything. Trials are not always "accidents." Some valleys in life are there to reveal all of our weaknesses so we can depend on God more every day.  He is the One who is Steel.