"I Will Not Let Go"

...And Jacob was left alone; and there wrestled a man with him until the breaking of the day. And when he saw that he prevailed not against him, he touched the hollow of his thigh; and the hollow of Jacob's thigh was out of joint, as he wrestled with him. And he said, "Let me go, for the day breaketh." And he said, "I will not let thee go, except thou bless me."  And he said unto him, "What is your name?" And he said, "Jacob." And he said, "Thy name shall be called no more Jacob, but Israel: for as a prince hast thou power with God and with men, and hast prevailed." .....And Jacob called the name of the place "Peniel:for I have seen God face to face, and my life is preserved." Gen. 32:24-30


 God brought a song called "Stronger" by Tanner Clark across my path this week and it has really blessed me.  It brings to mind this life changing event in the life of Jacob. Why life changing? One reason!  He held on!  He declared in his heart and with his mouth "I will not let go except you bless me."  

You and I might think the hard part was behind him at this point. After all he had held on, hip and all, all night long!  He had to be tired and exhausted . He had been holding on, and holding on, and holding on...... etc.    But, I think the hardest part to holding on came next..."What is your name?"

He now was faced with a choice ... to answer or... to let go and walk away.  

He answered with one word, "Jacob." (supplanter, schemer, trickster, swindler) With that one word answer he revealed so much about himself. Why would this matter? Because Jacob knew what his name meant. He knew his past. He was asked his name so that he could move out of the shame associated with his past and into the blessings of his future. 

We need to understand that God knows our past and  He wants to bless our future.   As soon as Jacob confessed his name to Him he proceeded to give him his blessing.  He changed his name to Israel. (contender with God) and enabled him to walk into the blessings that God had promised him.

So, today's morsel : Hold on. Hold on. Hold on. Don't let go no matter what!  Even if it means a confession of where you've been or how your feeling!  Don't let the past rob you of the blessings He has for YOU! Don't forget...daybreaks coming!  Make the cry of your heart ..."I WILL NOT LET GO TILL ..."

You Never Really Graduate

My aunt has been working in the youth group for a LONG time. And one of the things I have heard her say the most is that she has seen a lot of kids walk away when they get to "That Age."

In my short time, I've seen some kids completely walk away, too.

I knew someone who use to say it was the age when you "knew it all."

"Cease to hear instruction, my son, and you will stray from the words of knowledge." Proverbs 19:27

And my Bible has this as a linked verse:

"For it would have been better for them never to have known the way to righteousness than after knowing it to turn back from the holy commandment delivered to them." 2 Peter 2:21

Kids in school never pay attention to the review. They already know it.

When we think we know it all, we stop paying attention. We stop listening. We zone out during church services, prayer, and Bible reading.

NEWSFLASH: GOD'S WORD ALWAYS HAS FRESH REVELATIONS!

You see, you never really know it all. And when you think you do, you start to slip.

Please.

Don't.

---Joy

"Green Bean Crispers"

I recently had the opportunity to go out to lunch with a friend, which doesn't happen very often these days. We decided to go to Applebees and as we were placing our order, I told her to go ahead and pick an appetizer.  She did.  I was not happy with her choice!  She knows I don't like green beans! We are good friends and she KNOWS I hate green beans.  Her response, "Trust me. Just trust me, you'll see."  Anyways, lets jump ahead. They come and she eats one and encourages me to try one.  Again accompanied with the "trust me" quote for assurance.

So, there I am looking at them, trying to decide if I'm going to try one.  They aren't like regular green beans.  They have a crispy coating on them and they came with a dipping sauce.

Again she says. "Try one. You will like them. Trust me."

Okay, so I get brave, pick up the littlest one I can find and dip it in the sauce. In my mind and heart I was totally prepared to hate it. I didn't! Truth is, I LOVED it!

For the first time since I was a kid and my mom would make me, I ate my green beans and they were good!  I ate more than my share.  A few days later I ordered them for take out because I kept thinking about how much I enjoyed them.

Just think, if I hadn't got brave and trusted my friend, I would have missed out on my new favorite appetizer, "Green Bean Crispers."
        
       "Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good; Blessed is the man who trusts in Him!" Ps. 34:8

 How often do we miss out on the blessings He has for us because we aren't brave enough to trust Him?

As your friend, I'd like to say.  "Try Him! You'll Love Him. Trust me!" 

On The Road Again

Proverbs 16:1-4 talks about plans. Our plans. Our plans compared to God's plans.

Sometimes they don't quite match up.

Ever experienced that? I hope it's not just me.........

When life doesn't go as planned, it can be frustrating. So frustrating that you want to smash your head into a wall.

Truth of the matter is, we can plan all we want, but sometimes life will step in, and kick us in the rear.

And sometimes God will bring us down a different path.

The key to handling either, is to trust God.

It always comes back to this.

---Joy

"When Did We?"

"... COME, YOU BLESSED OF MY FATHER, INHERIT THE KINGDOM PREPARED FOR YOU FROM THE FOUNDATION OF THE WORLD...for I was hungry and you gave Me food; I was thirsty and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger and you took Me in; I was naked and you clothed Me; I was sick and you visited Me; I was in prison and you came to Me."

Then the righteous will answer Him saying ... "WHEN DID WE...?"

"...ASSUREDLY, I SAY TO YOU, INASMUCH AS YOU DID IT TO THE LEAST OF THESE MY BRETHREN, YOU DID IT TO ME."

I couldn't help but meditate on these words of Jesus found in Matthew 25:34-46 this morning as I watched a two year old little boy who came to live with me last evening devour his pancakes, yogurt, sausages, strawberries, and milk this morning. He would look up at me, grin and go in for another bite. He cleaned his plate and couldn't have seemed more pleased with himself.  We then got him dressed in an outfit that I dug up for Him since the clothes he came with were in need of a good wash. When he was all dressed, I got a big hug, again accompanied with a big grin!

More often than not, when people hear that I am a foster parent the next words out of their mouths is, "How do you do it? I could never do that! I would get to attached."

My answer, "Yes, I get attached!, Yes, its hard to let them go! Trust me, I cry!  I love them!" But my question is, "How do I not?" The "least of these" need me.

Think: We all have the least of these in our lives. When did you NOTICE the LEAST OF THESE in your life?"

Warm Socks

When it's a beautiful day outside, I have a habit of wearing shoes that are not very warm. Flip-flops, flats, sandals. And everytime my feet start to FREEZE!

And everytime my husband-to-be will get me some of his socks so my feet stop freezing.

He takes care of me.

It made me think of how GOD takes care of us. How He says if he can take care of the little birds, and make sure they eat, then how much more will He take care of us?

I don't know about you, but when stuff starts to hit, it can be hard to see how God takes care of me.

My first response isn't unconditional trust in GOD.

When the bills start to come, when the bad days start to pile up, when it's just one bad thing after another, what is your first response?

Instead of getting cold feet about life, TRUST GOD!

I know it's not easy. It's hard, but God doesn't want you going through life with spiritually cold feet. He has warm socks! Just for you!

Get some GODLY warm socks!

"Lord I believe, help my unbelief!"

---Joy

"Just Like His Father!"

Today's snack ...In  Mark 12:41-44 we come across a scene where Jesus is not performing a miracle. He isn't healing the sick, lame, or blind.  He isn't raising someone from the dead. He isn't speaking a word of knowledge or a word of wisdom. He isn't walking on water. He isn't turning water into wine. He isn't sharing a teaching that would cause the response like the one found in verse 37 ..."And the common people heard Him gladly."  He isn't forgiving sin or engaging the scribes and pharisees.

He isn't doing any one of the signs, wonders, or miracles that He is famous for. Yet, what He is doing, shows us just how much He takes after His Heavenly Father!

In verses 41 & 42 we find Him sitting and watching. He is just sitting there, observing the comings and goings of the people as they put money in the treasury.  In verses 43 & 44 He explains what He saw to His disciples.  Many of the rich put in much and a widow put in two mites. His comment, "Assuredly, I say to you that this poor widow has put in more than those who have given to the treasury; for they all put in out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty put in all that she had, her whole livelihood."

I love that this is where HE IS being just like His Heavenly Father! He wasn't looking at what was happening on the outside.  He saw beyond the outward appearance of their giving and He saw the heart behind it.

JUST LIKE HIS FATHER!...But the Lord said to Samuel, "Do not look at his appearance or at the height of his stature, because I have refused him. For the Lord does not see as man sees; for man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart." 1 Samuel 16:7

Fact:  He is just like His Heavenly Father and He knows your heart!