One of THOSE days...

"God’s loyal love couldn’t have run out,
    his merciful love couldn’t have dried up.
They’re created new every morning.
    How great your faithfulness!
I’m sticking with God.
    He’s all I’ve got left."

Lamentations 3:23 (MSG)

You ever have one of those days?

You stub your toe.You wash your phone in the washing machine.You search for your car keys for an hour only to realize they mysteriously ended up behind the eggs in the fridge.Your car battery dies.You get a bill in the mail.You step in dog poop. Some thief steals your parking spot.

I'm sure if you have kids you can add about 50 million and one things to that list.

Days where your emotions run so rampant that you literally cry over spilled milk.

You feel like God must have skipped over you when He was handing out mercy portions that morning.

All you keep thinking is "I can't wait for this day to be over!"

It's one thing after another, like a domino effect. And not the kind that's cool to watch either.

And by the end of it you're surprised you survived. That the pets survived.That your children survived.

I hate to break it to you but "bad days" like that are going to continue to happen. That's life. We can't really change that. We can however change the way we look at them.

A bad day doesn't mean a bad life. God has enough mercy to cover anything that happens.Yes, ANYTHING. You may be beating yourself up for the way you handled a situation or two that day but LET IT GO.

So you kicked the cat, it's still alive right? Besides it's a cat, it probably deserved it.I'm kidding....sort of.

You can't change the fact that unfortunate stuff happened or the way you may have handled it but you can learn from it and move on to a new day.More often than not you'll look back and realize the "bad" stuff wasn't really that "bad". And the mercy you thought was missing was there all along, keeping things from being even worse.

God's love and mercy doesn't run out when our energy and patience does. I LOVE that about Him!You can rest in the fact that God will have new, fresh mercy for you in the morning and every morning after that.  Not because we deserve it but because He's faithful. The circumstances that may happen throughout the day don't change that, no matter how "bad" they seem!

Prayer Starter: God I know frustrating things are going to happen in life. Help me start my morning focusing on your faithfulness and mercy. Keep me mindful throughout the day of who you are and your ability to handle whatever comes my way. I know I'll screw up but help me remember your mercy isn't based on my actions but on your unfailing love.Thank you for new days and fresh starts.

Banking on a Sure thing!

"Depend on God and keep at it because

 in the Lord God you have a sure thing." 

Isaiah 26:3 (MSG)

What are you depending on?

Seems like a simple enough question right. If you believe in God the "expected" response would most likely be "well on God of course." But if there's one thing we know as adults it's that sometimes saying something and wanting to believe it doesn't always make it easy to act out.

Before my health problems started I thought I had a strong enough faith. That's easy to do when everything's going well though, isn't it? To say you trust God and know He's in control of your life.

Then as soon as something bad or unexpected happens, we get bad news, or pain comes, the faith we thought we had is shaken to the point that we're not even sure we can stand. And it makes you wonder what were you really depending on.

The amazing thing about faith though is that it's a continual process. The bible says faith as small as a mustard seed can move mountains.(Luke 17:6) That when we're faithless he's faithful.(2 Timothy 2:13)That He is refining us through testing it.(2 Timothy 2:8)

I've felt unending pain for a long time now.I used to not want to talk about it but I've realized it's part of my story and a huge part of my faith God's giving me. It's not always easy and there are days I still question why but it's through those situations that God tests and develops our faith.

At the beginning I used to have anxiety about every test the doctor did and let me tell you I've been through my fair share of pokes, prods,scans, and stealing of my blood. (scavengers)

But when I went to the doctor yesterday to get my results from my sonogram I wasn't in the least bit worried about what could happen.That right there is a GOD thing for sure. Not by my own strength but completely by His strength through me, I wasn't scared. And thank God they didn't find any masses!:)

To be dependent on who God is instead of what may or may not happen in a situation is what truly gives us peace.

If we're depending on our circumstances, our feelings, or even the people around us for our hope and happiness we'll always be disappointed. Those things are a huge part of our life but they aren't flawless and they aren't mean to sustain us.

There aren't a lot of sure things in this world but God is.Always.You can take that to the bank of your choice!

He doesn't change. He is always in control, always stronger, always bigger, and always has a plan to use everything we face for our good. He wants us to depend fully on Him because He knows when that happens it won't matter what news we get or what happens because we'll be banking on a sure thing...Him.


Prayer Starter: God I admit it's hard to always depend on you, especially when tough circumstances come my way.Help me to know that you are a sure thing. That even when I don't understand I can always trust you completely because you don't change even when things around me do. I may not have huge faith but what I do have I put in you. Give me your strength and help me depend on who you are instead of what I'm going through.