He hears

I love how my daily devotion seems to mimic my life. Maybe I just fit my stuff into it but I like to believe that it's one God's way of talking to me. Today was about God hearing our cries.

Psalm 28:6-7 says "Praise the Lord! For he has heard my cry for mercy. The Lord is my strength, my shield from every danger. I trust in him with all my heart. He helps me, and my heart is filled with joy. I burst out in songs of Thanksgiving."

It is so easy to praise God when we see our answer to prayer. But what about the time in between our prayer and his answer? How do we respond then? As you know, I've been in that place recently and I did not always praise him. In fact, I often questioned what He was up to. I prayed earnestly and I think deep down I knew He had things under control - but my actions didn't always reflect that belief. I think that we move too fast. We expect things quickly: our food, our netflix, our technology. We can pretty much access anything via computer: friends, information, recipes, clothes, books, etc. I think I feel like God should move as fast. I should be thankful that I see his answer at all.

I want to praise him always and know that even when I don't have the feeling of being heard, I still have the FACT. I have God's word on it!

Father, thank you for hearing our prayers! I pray for my family and friends who are in an in- between place. Give us peace in knowing that you care for us and you are working behind the scenes to make our paths straight.

Let it shine

I woke up this morning to the sound of thunder and lightning. The sky was dark, though normally bright this time of morning, and I could hear the pounding rain. It was a wonderful sound! We get a lot of rain in Portland but not so much lightning and thunder. Here in Texas, apparently it's a different story.



Anyway - we've been here a little over a week now and are fairly settled. The girls seem to be adjusting great and have met two friends, Alex (she is 12) and Sam (he is, um about 9). They love riding their bikes (after dinner of course when it has cooled down to about 90) and hanging out in our wading pool. Jordan loves everyone and is happy just about anywhere - though she has taken a shining to "uncle" Mark =)



I seem to be the one still out there in limbo. Not sure what to do. Not sure what God has for me here. It is so easy to get caught up in "what's in this for me" I forget to look past my self. This is something I've struggled with these past few months (well, probably a lot longer than that). But I don't want it to be this way. No matter what the circumstance, I want to be a light shining brightly for my Lord. Even when I feel I have nothing firm to stand on - I am reminded that He is my firm foundation. He fills our lives with his plans and his purpose - though they seem hard to understand at times - His plan remains the same.



So this rainy, stormy morning I am reminded to let my light shine. To trust in His timing and His plans. To let His light shine through me so I am not the focus, but that He is.



Father - fan the flames of my passion for you so that others will see your light inside of me. Let the fire that burns be a steady flame, not one that flickers in winds of change or consumes with damaging heat. Let it be a light that shows the way to you!

another beginning

Really - has it been a year? I'll blame it one the third child. Not that she has been difficult - quite the opposite really. It's just that my over 40 brain has taken this long to bounce back and feel somewhat normal (whatever that is anyway!)

So just a little something to help me re-enter the blogging community! We arrived in Texas - and wanted to share what my hubby wrote about our first hour in town. It's a little long (it is from Lanny afterall) - but a good read =) check out his blog at
www.tuckertrivia.blogspot.com


More to come...I'm sure there will be lots to report here from TX!!!