This post has been weighing on my mind lately. I have finally decided to breathe it to this blog. I think what happened yesterday in Virginia is a wake up call. When something like that happens, and it seems too prevalent for me, it makes us scared, angry, sad, and overwhelmed with fear. It brings to light that we are in a spiritual war, but it’s not one for us to fight alone. God has a plan for all things, so the battle belongs to Him. With Him, we will be victorious.

I struggle with control. I like to have it! I say I struggle because I know in my heart that I have none, and don’t really want the massive responsibility of it, but I feel like I need it. Even though I believe in Gods plan, and want to follow it, I will catch myself trying to solve a problem on my own. Good example– Last July 4th, my then 2 year old wandered off in a crowd of people. It was extremely frightening, and I immediately went into a panic trying to find him. I didn’t take it to the Lord first. I didn’t ask Him for help. I say this to you because it still bothers me that I tried to do it by myself. Jesus was with us, and He was protecting my son, but I didn’t bring Him in for help. I thought I could do it alone. BUT I CAN’T! Nor do I want to. So all of that to tell you we must first seek the Lord. Trust Him.

2 Chronicles 20 tells us about King Jehoshaphat, and how he put his fear aside to seek God and trust in His word. Jehoshaphat has learned that an army of Moabites and Ammonites are coming to wage war on him. Verse 3 tells us what Jehoshaphat does first. 20:3 Alarmed, Jehoshaphat resloved to inquire of the Lord, and he proclaimed a fast for all Judah. 4 The people of Judah came together to seek help from the Lord; indeed, they came from every town in Judah to seek him. They stopped everything, fasted, and sought the advice of the Lord! Verse 6 is the prayer Jehoshaphat stood up and prayed. 20:6 O Lord, God of our fathers, are you not the God who is in heaven? You rule over all the kingdoms of the nations. Power and might are in your hand and no one can withstand you. 7 O our God, did you not drive out the inhabitants of this land before your people Isreal and give it forever to the descendants of Abraham your friend? 8 They have lived in it and have built in it a sanctuary for your Name, saying, 9 If calamity comes upon us, whether the sword of judgment, or plague or famine, we will stand in your presence before this temple that bears your Name and will cry out to you in our distress, and you will hear us and save us. 10 But now here are men from Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir, whose territory you would not allow Israel to invade when they came from Egypt; so they turned away from them and did not destroy them. 11 See how they are repaying us by coming to drive us out of the possession you gave us as an inheritance. 12 O our God, will you not judge them? For we have no power to face this vast army that is attacking us. We do not know what to do, but our eyes are upon you. Wow, our eyes are upon you. He laid it all out. He was facing the biggest war of his life, and in it he shows us how to handle adversity. Jehoshaphat sought the Lord by fasting, and he gathered others together to fast and pray, confessed his helplessness, obeyed the Holy Spirit, put his trust in the Lord and His word, and he gave Him thanks and the honor that He deserves. I need this, and plan to continue this message in a later post. It is guidance for victory.

My thoughts and prayers go out to the students, staff, faculty, and family members of Virginia Tech. They all awoke yesterday morning expecting it to be a normal day, and then tragedy struck in a big way. It just reminds me that we are not in control of anything in this earthly realm. We sometimes take that for granted.

In times like these we especially need to go to the One who is in control. Don’t waste time asking why, because we may never know. Just take it to the Lord in prayer, and He will comfort you.

We have only 2 days left of spring break. Indiana has reared its’ ugly weather head at us, and made it difficult for us to be outside. For the past couple of weeks we have had warmer than usual temps, but Tuesday that all changed. It feels like winter again! I had wanted to go to the zoo. Matthew has only been once, and we all haven’t been since they renovated the dolphin area. Monday was really nice, but we were hanging out waiting on Brian to come home so Zach could go to the race track and practice. Brooke also had a shopping trip with Grammie that day. They were in search of a new swimsuit, but found a cute Easter outfit instead. Tuesday a big storm was headed our way, so we went to the movies and saw Meet the Robinson’s. I would recommend you go see it. It is clean, and has a really good family theme. We did not see it in 3D, and that is the only thing that could make it better. Today we went back and saw Are We Done Yet. It was funny, but there were two areas that could have been left out in my oppinion. You know the ones where your kids are sitting next to you, and you’re thinking please don’t go any further? Yeah, that. Luckily they did not go on, and no questions were asked. But I just have to wonder why it’s even in the movie. So as you can see, we haven’t done anything spectacular, but we have rested and had fun together. I am already sad that Monday will bring us full swing into our regular and busy routine. It is kind of nice that spring break and Easter have coincided this year. The kids and I have talked about palm sunday, Good Friday, and Easter. This is the reason we live and breathe.

We all need to reflect on Jesus’ walk into Jerusalem, His teachings, the immense beating that he endured, and the cross that He carried knowing that He would be crucified on it. He was nailed to that cross and suffered a horribly painful death for us. ALL for US! What did you do today that reflects your gratitude and love for Him? Have a blessed Easter, and celebrate the fact that Jesus died and rose again!

It’s so easy to slip, and do something you know is wrong, or to let fear take hold of your heart and restrict you from something great. Sometimes it is just bitterness that is hard to let go of that makes you slip. I have been guilty of all those things, and I can usually feel a little tug around the ankles if I pay close enough attention. Ya know what I’m saying? That tug is satan. He is always trying to pull you down, and he has many tricks in his bag. But since I am such a visual person, I also can see Jesus beside me, with His arm outstretched ready to pull me up. He doesn’t operate with trickery, just unconditional love. Why is that so hard for some to accept?

I have been working on a broken relationship the past few days. The relationship used to be a good one, and then something happened. If I knew specifically what it was, it would be easier to fix. This has carried over for way too long, even after I apologized for anything that I might have done, and asked for forgiveness. It has hurt me and my husband, and I want the pain to end. When I feel like I have made some progress, I feel shut out again. I need to spread the love of Christ, and not let satan rule the time we do share together. But he is there tugging, so I just reach closer to God, because He can change me and show me His favor. He can also give me the strength to keep trying, even when I might just want to cry. This is me on spring break…just talking to myself. haha