Victory in Jesus

Ok! So I haven't blogged in a while. I received and email today and it was just what I needed to get back in the saddle again.

His name is David Brown. I been following his story for the last year or so. He has been falsely imprisoned in Albania. He is a Christian. The state has fabricated a story about him in order to stop teaching children about Jesus Christ. I wish I could share his whole email, because it was amazing. I will share bits of it.

Dear Friends,

It is almost with fear and trembling that I venture to put pen to paper again.

This has been my winter of death since the verdict on 19th November 2008. John chp.12 vs 24-26 says "I tell you the truth, unless a grain of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds. The man who loves his life will lose it, while the man who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. Whoever serves Me must follow Me; and where I am My servant also will be. My Father will honour the one who serves Me." [N.I.V.] Like verse 26 I have served Jesus by walking the Calvary Road with Him, bearing a judgement of shame for a crime I never committed.

Eventually I was able to see what a privilege it is to share this road with Him, but, when I reached the cross [the death of David Brown and all he stood for] I said "Lord, how can I follow You? For though I am not guilty of the crime I walk the road with You for, I am not pure like You are." Jesus said "But David there are three crosses. You may join Me in dying to self today and, if you look unto My death to pay the price of your redemption, as the repentant criminal did, you may also join Me in My resurrection." My seed has fallen into the ground and died, but the good news is that the story does not end there. A seed lies some time in the dark, wet, cold, unpleasant ground until it's hard kernal falls away and until, in the natural, it is dead. Then new life fills it and it sprouts - first roots to draw up goodness and then a shoot of new life rises to live again.

During the first few days the realisation of what had happened started to sink in. I had never allowed myself to believe that God would permit the trial to go against me. I had believed He would cause the truth to prevail, but it hadn't. Instead lies, false evidence and corruption had prevailed and I had been given an outrageous sentence, totally disproportionate, even by Albanian law, to the crime they claimed I had committed. I could not understand what had happened and my mind went into overload. I was like a man drowning. I kept coming up for air, bursting into tears, and then going down again into depression. Next followed two letters from close friends, who I now believe were themselves devastated by what had happened and were looking for answers. They tore into me, trying to "shake me into reality" as they said, telling me I had been deluded and had thus deceived others as well as myself with my words from God that He would deliver me. It was now time to wake up, they said, and to face the reality that I had been sentenced to 20years - the rest of my useful life. Both letters came together on the same day and, after I had read them, I literally turned over on my bed in overload, tears and pain, and fell asleep for three hours. My death to self was complete. I wanted the earth to open up and swallow me. My words were like Jesus's words "My God, My God, why have You forsaken me?" In a sense the ground had indeed opened up and the seed had fallen in and died. At first I just reeled in pain and in a great sense of injustice. I didn't need anyone to tell me about reality. Reality had stared me in the face through the bars of that court room during a mock trial and through judges who wouldn't even look me in the face as they dramatically called me "persona non grata" and declared that I would be thrown from the country on the completion of my 20 year sentence "Oh Lord why?" was my cry. Slowly I started to see I was not deluded. God certainly had not forsaken me, He still was in control and I was in the centre of His will. I hadn't wanted to go beyond the trial but God knew I needed to if the self in me was to die - and oh how it did and oh how it needed to for me to be made useful to God! Jesus's words in John are quite clear where He says unless it dies, the seed cannot bear fruit. I recorded in my journal in November how I saw my death that day and, though in the trauma of that day it may sound a little dramatic, I think it sums it up quite well. I wrote:- "Today I was sentenced to 20 years in a High Security prison for allegedly abusing two of my precious children. My sequested belongings were given to the State of Albania and I was awarded costs. I was publicly denounced to the world by a scandal hungry media as the foulest of criminals. All my reputation was publicly stripped away and I was declared a foul paedophile. My passport has been taken and my right to freedom also. New documents have been clearly written committing me to the will of the Albanian State for the next 20 years. They now effectively control every aspect of my life. I no longer have free will." Yes, at first, that seemed to be the reality that folk wanted me to realise, but I don't belong to the Albanian State. I belong to my Father God Who is the ultimate Judge and is my Daddy. He has not forsaken me and loves me wholeheartedly. He is my Saviour and Deliverer - that is what His name "Jesus" means. He knows my heart of love for Him and my innocence and He will never fail me.

I have been struggling trying to find what it is God has in store for me and if I'm going in the right direction. This email today, as I read it, I was feeling my own desperation of being imprisoned. No, nothing I go through is anything like David is going through. I thank God for that. I don't think I could have endured what he has. The desperation and fear of the unknown and how we would like the story to end and then being faced with the reality that God has something different planned for us. No matter how painful the experience God will always work things out for the good of those who love him.

Our struggles and confusion God holds in the palm of his hand. He is never out of control of our lives. It's us who get so focused in our day to day life that lose sight of him.We all have had some circumstance that has come out of left field that just has us reeling. While I was reading this I was amazed that no matter what we go through, a child that has an addiction, a spouse that has left you high and dry, a diagnosis of a terminal illness, or God just has you take a left turn out of no where and you lose your barrings for a few, we all express that feeling of "GOD WHERE ARE YOU".

It always comes down to dying to self. Dying to what we think we want or we need and just submitting to God's will. In my struggle I believe the Lord is telling me, Be Still and KNOW that he is GOD! I do for him because I love him. I will learn to BE STILL and watch what he does, because I love him. I got that same feeling as I read this email. David is in a situation he has no control over. He is solely and completely dependent on the Lord. This is where we all should be every second of every day. Sounds good, but it is hard for all of us. Other people around the world are being changed by his story. Even the guards in the prison who thought he was guilty now believe he is innocent.

David has had many people send him encouraging letters. The letters and his faith in Jesus Christ have kept him going. I think we all need to be encouraging to each other. You never know who you will reach out to where you can make a difference in their lives. People just sent David letters. People he doesn't even know, keep him going. He is able to see the love of Jesus through the letters from perfect strangers. We need to be able to that for each other as well.

At last God's healing balm, the warmth of Spring and your love from God is melting the ice of my heart. I can see now why all this had to happen. Like Job, God needed me to find Him and to trust Him in a way I never have done before. Only when all is stripped away and nothing is left to hang on to in the dark except Him, when your life falls apart and you feel like you are losing your mind, when you have lost all you hold dear, when you can no longer write as nothing makes sense enough to put it down on paper and all your dreams and plans turn to dust, then, and only then, do you realise that you can do nothing without Him. You realise that your life hangs in Him alone.


I will end this blog with the same sentence David uses to end his email

I look forward to sharing more victories to the Glory of God in my future writings.......
Please add David Brown to your prayers

Friday

Mary Magdalene
She was only one of the women that were so grief stricken by the death of Christ. I believe it was so painful for her, because he had done so much for her. He had done for her, what no one else could ever do. He had shown her love, forgiveness and grace. When you have never seen that before and Christ does that for you, there are no words to describe what is in your heart for him.

She was so thankful to him, that she was the last one to leave him on the cross, and one of the first to go to his tomb. I can only imagine that she so wanted to express her undying love for him, by performing one more act of love for him by going to the tomb. When she saw that he was no long in the tomb, and that the stone had been rolled away, she was confused. I believe she was overwhelmed with doubt and confusion. She thought they had stolen his body, only to continue to defile the Christ that had shown her so much love. In her pain, she cried out in a death wail. I do know what that sounds like. I too have just cried out to God in such doubt and confusion that every part of you aches. I know I’m not the only one. That was her silence of heaven moment. That was her breaking point in her circumstance that had no logic and could not be explained to her at that moment. Her grief had just taken over. If it’s ok for her to have doubt and confusion in that moment, it’s ok for us to.

She didn’t know what to do, where to go, how to get out of this painful circumstance. Christ death on the cross gives us power over our confusion and doubt. Mary M was bewildered in her pain, but Christ was putting together an answer to her pain that she couldn’t even imagine. He heard her cry. He knew she was in pain. She had to go all the way through the pain to receive the Glory of Jesus Christ.

She was in agony because she had something taken from her, and she didn’t understand why. What is it that you have had taken from you, and your not sure why? What questions are you asking your self? Mary was overwhelmed by Christ being taken from her in spirit, and then his body was taken at the tomb. She had double pain. We now know that Christ has something much better for her that she couldn’t even see or think of. It’s ok if we are at a place of doubt and confusion. He understands. He loves us and cares for us, but sometimes we must experience confusing pain, in order for God to show us his Glory. Mary M was a faithful obedient servant that still experienced pain.

It’s ok if you can’t lift your head out of your doubt and confusion today. He gives us time to grieve. When you’re done, get ready, because something amazing will come out of your pain.

It Friday but Sunday is coming!

The Silence of Heaven

Yep, as you can tell from the title, this is will be another road we will go down together and I'm not sure where it will lead. Lets go shall we, and see what God has in store for us...

Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding, in all your ways acknowledge him and he will make your paths straight. Prov 3:5-6

I feel as if my "own understanding" has been ripped out from underneath me and I don't know where it went. I believe that's why we're instructed not to lean on it, because what you think you know to be true can change in the blink of an eye. Not that is wasn't true, just that it's not true now because the game has changed.

I think right now my life can be explained as a video game. You know how you start of on the first level you die repeatedly, you learn from your mistakes and along the way you can pick up stuff that gives you strength, health, or happiness. If you keep going at it, and you don't get discouraged, you can make it all the way to the end of the level. YEAH right! Success! You go to level two, and the game has changed. You have to learn new ways to get to the end now. Level two is completely different. You've never been here and you don't know what to expect.

And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. Romans 8:28

I don't doubt my trust in him, or that what ever he has planned for me won't be good. I feel as if God has leveled the playing field for me. I feel as if I have lost my purpose. What I thought my purpose was and the path I was on, has now completely changed in all areas of my life. The path was going one way, I thought I had a handle on it, and now, not so much. I am totally and completely broken to the things God has taken me through in the last several months. We are still going through it, and it's not over yet, and boy does it hurt.

The silence of heaven
I feel very comforted by the Lord. I feel like I have no direction from him. I can sense his comforting presence and I know that he will never leave me, but I have lost my direction. I feel as if all of heaven is silent. I can hear myself and all my questions of why, but there is no answer yet. I know there will be. In the interim it is so hard. These feelings of doubt and fear I am working on a daily basis now. I didn't even realize I had so much fear of what the future holds for me. I do know he holds the future, so you think it would be easier than this.

Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified, do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go. Joshua 1:9

I have to give a shout out to Chris Tomlin. He writes such great lyrics to songs. In one of his songs he writes, "and my faith shall be my eyes".

Lord, let my faith be my eyes. Let me not lean on my own understanding and continue to look to you for my direction. Let me remain strong and courageous, even in the silence of heaven.

Rid me of myself

"Rid me of myself" is line from the song Lead me to the Cross. We sing this at my church, CATB. My friend April always does an awesome job singing this song with such conviction. That line may be short but very powerful. How many of us are going through something right now that we need to take ourselves out of the equation, give it to God, and let him work it out? Hopes, fears, dreams, wants, needs? I haven't been able to blog lately because I am in fear mode. I personally hate it here.

There is a good chance I will lose my job. I feel like I am going down with the Titanic. It's odd, because I know God will take care of me no matter what happens. I really don't want to go through the whole experience of being let go. I don't want to watch the other 10 single moms that I work with lose their job. I would like to be spared this pain and be gently whisked away to another job where there is security again. I have to remind my self that this is reality and not Star Trek. No one gets to be beamed out of a bad situation and zapped into a good one. I think if your zapped your dead. Never mind. I'm keeping it. I like the way it reads.

My fear is of the unknown and that there is no more security. Oddly enough, even if what is in the future is good. I have fear because I have no idea what tomorrow will bring.I have no control over this situation at all. No control! This is where "rid me of myself" comes in.

Even before the threat of job loss, I didn't know what tomorrow would hold, what makes now different? We all like to think that we at least have some say in how and what we do in our life. I believe God ALLOWS us that right. The whole free will thing. This situation is out of my hands completely. My security comes from Jesus Christ not my job. Can you see now why God is allowing me to go through this. I believe I am being reminded.

Rid me of this fear. Rid me of myself.

When I was younger in church I would hear the pastor say, " What ever is bothering you, what ever is hindering you, just give it to God and he will take away your pain." Great concept I thought. I also thought, you just give it to God once? I thought I gave it to him and yet I still had it. I thought I did it wrong, or that God just didn't want to take it from me. It was my problem and I was to be burdened with it as my punishment. Not true. My new church showed me that I was going about it the wrong way.

Our church is doing the Daniel fast. A person, who will remain nameless, encouraged others to do the Daniel fast. Day one he had lunch, completely forgot the fact that he can't have chicken on his salad (I believe this is probably a repetitive action) and then not until hours later did he figure he had already missed the mark. That didn't stop him. He recognized he made the error and went right back on the fast. Isn't that like a do over? I always thought we didn't get do overs. I am definitely mistaken. The most important thing I have learned in the past few years is God still loves us even when we mess up. God still loves us even though he knows we have doubts and fears. He never holds that against us. He continues to love us exactly right where we are in our lives. I love that about him!

It's not so easy for me to give God the way I process situations and circumstances. I find that I have to be very conscience of what and how I'm thinking. I can have a good day and give those negative thoughts and fears to him for a whole 24 hours, and the next day, wake up, and BAM, I've picked them back up. I could be free of a situation for years, and then some circumstance will happen, and then BAM, there it is again. Sometimes, fears sneak up on me and I don't even realize they have taken hold, until I am in that dark pit. FYI- that dark pit, great place to die to things that are holding you back from growing in Christ. Hard place to be. Don't stay there long. Work it out, get up and get out. I may one day blog about my most defining "pit" moment. This situation may very well be another for me.

God does not give us a spirit of fear. Fear is what the enemy uses to get us off track. Tells us the lie, " see I knew you would never be rid of this fear, just give into it an let it consume you". I am a child of God and I will not let my life be led by fear. I will go through this trial that has been set before me. I will stop trying to go around it and with God's help and direction go through it. He will get me to the other side. I have no idea when I will get there or what it will look like when I have arrived. I do know that God is my rock and my strength and he promises that he will never leave or forsake me.

Rid me of myself. You are God, I am your humble servant. I want your will for my life, even when I don't know what that looks like and even when It scares me from time to time.

Rid me of myself
I belong to you
lead me, lead me
to the CROSS

Contentment. Is it just a myth?

God has been showing me something very interesting these past couple of weeks. We have already established that I don't do well in relationships with men. I was being kind to my self when I said "don't do well". It's actually something I am HORRIBLE at. Through out the last couple of weeks I have had the opportunity to speak with people who are in a bad relationship or have been in one. I started to notice a pattern. I was able to notice it because I had seen it before, In my own life.

When people talk about bad relationships, they always start out saying every negative thing that ever happened. They talk about their feelings and use phrases like, "I'm not happy". He or she "just doesn't make me happy anymore". In these discussions, I saw that the people telling the tale of woe never revealed their negative part in the relationship. In any situation there are two sides to the story. God has blessed me with some great married girlfriends. Their marriages have a Christ centered foundation that I have learned a lot by being around. It would be silly for me to think that they don't have difficulties, and that my girlfriends are the perfect ones. My girlfriends are gorgeous, but not perfect. When they read this they will agree.

*** One side bar, if your ever in an abusive relationship, LEAVE IMMEDIATELY. It's Biblical. We make mistakes, but you don't have to die for them Jesus already did that for you. One day we will discuss that on the blog. That is a completely separate issue. *****

Think back to when you got something you've been waiting for a long time. A new outfit, a husband, boyfriend, new car, etc. Think back to that day. You were so excited. Your hard work had paid off. You finally got what you have desired. Your going to be happy now, forever right?

A friend of mine bought a car two years ago. This car was a life savior. She didn't have a car before and she was having to get rides from people, she didn't have her own independence, she couldn't help her kids get around, she almost lost her job b/c she couldn't get to work or was late trying to find a ride. She finally got a car. When she did she was on top of the world. Her fears had subsided. She was able to help her kids, she was going to get to keep her job. Life for her was good. This week she came to me complaining about that very same car. She wasn't happy with it. The same car that was a life savior just two years ago, your not happy with? I asked her if the car had any problems, she said no. She was just tired of it. She had gotten herself in somewhat of a financial bind with it, and that was creating grief as well.

Another friend of ours got a new 2008 car this week. This friend had a beat up car. (similar to the condition on my car) She drove it for a long time, never complained about it. It was blowing smoke out the tail pipe, it has dents and dings, and the color is not the same all over the car. (again similar to my car) I have a heart for people who have had there car past the 10 year mark. She always said, "it might not be pretty, but it gets me to where I need to go, and I have no complaints". The car sparkles, it smells new. She had been saving her money for along time, in order to get this car. She had been preparing for the day of renewal.

It's no coincidence that my first friend decided this week to speak badly of her perfectly good car. She makes mention of it now, when we leave to go home, how nice it is and how she wished she had one. We've had several conversations on how if her circumstances were the same as friend #2 she would be able to buy a new car too.

Contentment in any relationship is vital. Material things and people cannot make us happy. The lack of these things cannot steal our true joy. The world makes you think that your husband or boyfriend,should be able to meet your every whim. He should know what you need without even telling him. If he knew you the way he should you wouldn't need to tell him anything. He would just be able to look into your darling face and just know how to make you happy. Single gals have that shoved down their throat, in movies, TV, romance novels. Wouldn't it be nice to have the wind blowing through your hair, a spot light on you, and theme music every time you enter a room. That's what I think when I see a romance novel. Sorry, lets go back.

Contentment. We all will have seasons where we don't feel content. Keep in mind that feelings come and go. We are not to live our lives according to how we feel. Boy did I really muck up my life doing that. That brought me to a place where I was just out to make myself happy. If you couldn't do it for me, I was on to the next person that could. I made one bad choice after another. I was never content with myself. I blamed everything on the other person, so I wouldn't have to really look inside my self to find out that I was the problem. I believe trying to attain happiness under our own will becomes and addiction. Living my life that way lead me straight to Jesus. In my experience, I was trying to fill the void that I had in my life with what ever made me happy at the time. I needed to have the things or people that would make me happy around all the time. When your happy you don't have to acknowledge the bad stuff that's going on around you. Things that are happening to you or around you all seem to fade away when your "happy". Happiness is fleeting. That's why we try so hard to get it. It's temporary. When we try to gain happiness in other people you tend to want to change them according to what will make you happy today. When they won't comply or they can't make you happy you become frustrated. There was nothing wrong with friend #1"s car, until friend #2 got a new one.You cannot ever change another person, only your self. You can pray for that person, and ask God to use you as a tool, but you cannot change them. Only Jesus has the ability to take what was broken and make it whole again. If you find yourself in a situation that needs change, pray about it, go to his word. He will give you comfort and direction. I will not lie to you. Life changing experiences are hard, but so worth it in the end. If you don't know where to go or who to turn to to get back on track, cry out to him and he will hear you. He loves us and wants what he knows is best for us. That looks completely different from what you see right now. I guarantee, you wont regret getting yourself on track with the Lord. It will be difficult some days, and you will need to cling to him. Other days you will experience contentment like you have never been apart of before. When we make Christ our priority, things will start to fall into place. You will start to notice a change. People around you will notice a change as well. Others around you, will have the opportunity to change. I have learned so much about myself in the last 4 years. Things I have tried to figure out on my own for 35 years, God has revealed to me in 4. I'm still growing, and I'm still learning. God gives us the opportunity to learn and grow with him every second of the day. Learn all you can from the positive people God places in your life. You won't regret it!

Sheep

This one will be interesting and I myself am excited to see where this is going to go.

My brain goes about a million miles a minute trying to figure out what God is trying to show me some days. That is why I started this Blog. This is an outlet for me to sort out what's going on between my heart and my head. They aren't always in sync with each other. I say that because I know God has spoken truth into my heart. What I see,what I feel, and what I know to be true, sometimes don't all go together. Let me explain.

For as many times as I have said, "God has a plan and a purpose for our lives, stay on track and he will lead you there", I still struggle with that. When you read it, it sounds great. When you actually apply it to your life it is a struggle. You know what you need to do, yet the devil is there to whisper in your ear "you don't need this new life", you really aren't a new creation in Christ, your still the same old Dez that I had a hold onto for years." LIES LIES LIES!

This happens when I get fearful of stepping outside of God's will and finding my self lost b/c of the "slow fade" (compromises) that I have allowed in my life.

The fear of the Lord is a fountain of life, turning a man from the snares of death.
Prov 14:27

The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding. Prov 9:10

Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding, in all your ways acknowledge him and he will make your path straight. Prov 3:5

The sheep scenario

We all are like sheep that have been lead astray. We have wondered so far away from the Shepard, that we no longer have him in our sights, and there aren't any other sheep around us for accountability. We experience pain b/c we thought we could do it on our own. We didn't need the Shepard. We really really really did need the Shepherd. When we realize this, we go back to him to ask for his forgiveness and to come back to the flock. The Shepard takes us back, we have a little party with the other sheep, who are so very happy as well to see us. YIPPEE! Once we've celebrated, it's then time to get back on the path with the Shepard and start moving forward again. The parties over, the Shepard starts to walk and the sheep follow him.

Let me tell you my position in the flock as the Shepard is leading. I am walking as close to him as I can without him tripping over me. I have to be right there, so I can hear him, see him, smell him, just know that he is right there with me at all times. If I start to wonder a little to the left or right, I can hear him and the other sheep saying, "your starting to stray you need to come back". You may see this as a weak sheep. I see it as a smart sheep that is tired of the cycle of pain that is created from leaving the flock. The Lord is my Shepard, whom shall I fear? As long as I stay close to him, I have no fear b/c he takes care of me. My relationship with him is so precious that I have to guard it from the world who wants to take him from me. I am a Christ follower and I never want to take that for granted. God has given me a gift of a second chance. It took me a while and many mistakes and heartache to get here. There are days that I do have to fight to keep him in my life. That's ok. He fought and died for me, so that I may truly know him. There are just as many days when I am so tired from walking that he has to carry me. Those have been some of my best days with him. I will continue on my journey with him, b/c I know that he loves and cares for me and wants whats best for me so I may continue to grow in him.

Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has gone and the new has come! 2 Cor 5:17

Knight in Shining Armor

I went to see the movie "He's just not that into you". Cute movie. There were things in it I didn't agree with, but it was a movie for entertainment. Unfortuuatly there were many impressionable women, of all ages, watching this inside look into how we do realationships. I thought there should have been some one there to strike up conversation with the women in the theater when it was over. We could have prayed, it would have been great. I think I just described a Beth Moore convention.

I so wish there were more women like Beth Moore. Watching that movie made me have a new appreciation for my singleness. I am single, but I'm not alone. It took me a long time to realize that. One of the characters in the movie, was so desperate to find "THE ONE" that she thought every guy she met was "THE ONE". She had no problem stalking him to get that information. There were a few things that caught my attention while watching the movie

In one scene, the female character was told by a male friend, "if a guy wants to spend time with you he will do whatever it takes to make that happen". WOW. I had to do some reflecting with that. In my reflection I saw someone who needed to be reminded of that.

Even though I am not alone, I always have Jesus and he is the great comforter. I do desire a relationship. Not one that I am going to have to chase after, but one that will chase after me. I saw a pattern in my past relationships, of chasing. I so despriately needed someone ,anyone to love me. When I talk with my friends I could drop his name, and they would be jealous, because he truly loved me. I think we treat love like a popularity contest. Who loves you? How many people love you? If a man loves you, you have truly arrived and the rest of your life will be wonderful. Even if that person really doesn't love you, but he smiles, or says hello, that can keep hope alive that someone will love you one day, therefore someone out there loves you. I use to think that until a man loved you, you had no purpose and no identity. There are so many women out there that feel like this.

We can only get our identity through Jesus Christ ladies. He is our knight in shining armor that has come to resue us. He truly loves us with all his heart and is willing to chase after us. He brings us purpose to our lives. Married ,Single ,Divorced it doesn't matter. You can't find what you need to fill the void from a man here on earth. They are only human and make mistakes just like we do. They are not our Saviors. That's a lot of responsability to put on anyone. You are setting yourself up to fail with that mind set. We tend to get desperate in our search for that man that will make it all better.

When in desperation we make very very bad decisions.If you follow the wrong man, he will probaly lead you all the way to hell and back, and not even care about the destruction he has left behind. Maybe even twice. God wants us to be strong women in him, so that when he does bring us our knight, we will be strong and supportive of our man. We will be able to do life together as a team. Your team needs to be strong enough to take on the world. That's why we need to wait on Godly men. No they are not perfect, but life is hard enough without a foundation to work with. You would never build a house without a foundation to start with. If you did, your house would surely come crashing down. I know about crashing and trying to pick up the pieces after the wreck.

"We are the rule not the exception". That line was used to descibe women who on the off chance had gotten themselves into a bad relationship, but it ended up happliy every after. This women were considered lucky in the movie and they were the exception. I am going to challenge you to think outside the box right now.

We who are godly women, who make a choice to wait for God to bring us someone, we are the rule and there is no exceptions and there is no subsitutes.

For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road, that leads to life, and only a few find it. Romans 7:13-14.

Find that narrow road. It may be narrow, but there are more people on it than you think. Cling to those people to help you on your journey. Life is not meant to be done alone, but that doesn't mean you have to be doing life with a man this very second. It may not be your time yet. I believe God teaches us how to have a realtionship with him, to prepare us for the man he will bring to us. It's all about timeing. Find a group of Godly women, married, single, divorced it doesn't matter. Do life with them. Learn from them. God will honor that.

Treat each day like today is the day the Lord has made. Learn, grow, laugh and love.