Hallelujah! We Are Not Alone

Today would have been my Daddy's 74th birthday. I miss him every day, but some are harder than others. Rusty and I spent this weekend at a hospital in Mississippi where I watched him holding his Daddy's hand as he laid there in weakness. One thing kept coming to my mind...Stay Strong.   I could write many words on the subject, but I don't think they're necessary. There are times when we have to remind ourselves to stay strong and even more importantly remember where that strength comes from.  He gives strength   to the weary  and increases the power of the weak. Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength.  They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint. -Isaiah 40:29-31 30  Stay Strong - Danny Gokey Click here to receive an email when new blog content is posted. https://follow.it/hallelujahe-we-are-not-alone?leanpub

I was driving down the road, listening to the song Blessings by Laura Story. I'd heard it many times before, but this day I was paying extra attention to the words. The song and lyrics are linked below so you can hear it for yourself, but it basically says that we go through many different trials in life that can bring us closer to God. One line especially stood out because I wasn't sure I understood the meaning. " Yet love us way too much to give us lesser things ". I thought about it for a while before I came to the conclusion that the lesser things are the things we pray for that may seem important at the moment but pale in comparison to the entirety of what God has in store for us. We know He cares about everything going on in our lives and I don't believe the song's objective is to diminish our requests or heartfelt concerns, but to encourage us to see the bigger picture.  Or as the song puts it, " the revealing of a greater thirst this world can...

Our area received around a foot of snow this past week. It's the most I remember having anywhere we've ever lived. The forecasters called for the weather days prior. But even if you didn't see the news, it was pretty evident a winter storm was on its way by the lack of bread and other items in the stores.  The snowfall started on Thursday afternoon and by Friday morning everything was covered.  The fluffy white precipitation was beautiful to watch as it fell and blanketed the ground. Schools were closed and the sledding began. We were blessed by only shortly losing power and having a generator to get us by during that time. Rusty missed one day of work due to road conditions and Sunday church services were rescheduled due to the parking lot being frozen. Other than that, we weren't affected by it too much. We mostly stayed inside where it was warm and waited for it to start melting. One thing you can always count on about snow, as beautiful as it is and as much as peopl...

Where are you from?  It's a question I often get when I’m not in my area or if I'm on the phone with someone from another region.  We don’t think much about how our voices sound to others within our own country, but a s  soon as a southerner opens their mouth in earshot of a northerner, they usually know... Y ou ain't from these parts . I've  found that even just a couple of states can make a difference. My Mississippi family says I sound different since moving to Arkansas and my Arkansas friends say they still hear my Mississippi southern drawl.   When I think of the many people represented across the globe and how some of us are separated by more than just a few hundred miles and our accents, but by vast oceans and completely different languages, I can't help but think of Revelation 7.  While there are many things written in Revelation that are far too complex for my human mind to comprehend, I think I know the meaning of these few verses. There will...