PECULIAR PEOPLE


I am so thrilled that you have joined me on this journey as I attempt to share what God has done in our family over the past few weeks.  The event that prompted the birth of this blog.  The event that changed our lives forever:


While sitting in church on  Sunday morning, and singing along with the congregation...."Your Grace is Enough for Me".....(God was already preparing me for the day ahead!), I received a call that our
house was on fire.  As I immediately gathered the children and headed for home, something really miraculous happened:  The Holy Spirit got into the car with us and carried us to our home.


In my head, I knew this was something really terrible, something to fear, something to cry about, something to dread.  But, in my heart, none of those ideas took hold.  And moreover, they had no place in the hearts of my kids either.


In John 14:27, Jesus said, "My peace I give unto you....Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid."


I have been in church my entire life and I know all the right words to say.  I know what a "good" Christian "should" say in times of trouble.  Please believe me when I tell you that this is nothing like that.  I can honestly tell you that the peace the Father gave us at that time has puzzled many of our friends and family.  We were even able to find a sense of humor in the midst. ( My daughter made note that she sure was glad we didn't clean the house yesterday!)  We knew that ALL things worked together for good to them that love the Lord, and that any time God acts in our lives, we will always come out better.  So regardless of what we were about to see, we knew we would somehow come out better.


Throughout that day, and the weeks that followed, family and friends have been brokenhearted for our loss, and yet....we are not.  Not one time has any of the children cried, complained, blamed God, or even whined about it.  We have been called "peculiar" because of our attitude.  All I can say is that
God gave us a peace that the world does not understand.  A peace that even I cannot understand.  I felt in my spirit from the very beginning that this was God's doing.  He was up to something.  And I can trust this path the Shepherd has chosen.


Over the next few posts, I am looking forward to sharing the miracles God has already done through this life-changing event. I pray you will be encouraged.

Well, friends, here I am.  I can't believe I am doing this!  Moreover, I can't believe someone is actually reading it!  Yikes!


I cannot visualize myself as a "blogger", but I am convinced that God is leading that way.  It is definitely out of my comfort zone, but God has used several "loud" suggestions (that I look forward to telling you about in the next few days) to direct me this way.


When trying to determine a name for this BlogSpot, I labored almost as much as I did when  I was trying to pick out the perfect name for the baby I was soon to deliver.  The name has to mean something.  It must be able to stand the test of time.  I have to be able to say it every day without getting tired of it......It has to be the name God has chosen for this journey.


Several years ago, I "happened" across a verse that totally changed my way of thinking.


David was a man after God's own heart, (Wow! What a compliment from the Creator!).
In Psalms 139:5, David opened his heart to his closest friend and said this:


        "You hem me in behind and before, and you lay your hand upon me."


That verse created such a word picture for me.  Businesses pay lots of money to advertising agencies to "think outside the box".  As a pastor's wife, I have spent many hours brainstorming, "outside the box", with my husband on new programs, ideas, techniques, or activities to entice people to come to church.  As a mom, I am constantly trying to think "outside the box" in order to understand and relate to my children.  But David realized a very important concept that is so hard for me to implement in my own life........we were created by a God of love that "works all things together for our good".  We are guided by a Father that has a perfect plan for each of us that leads to a life that will "go well with us".  My job is to stay "IN the box." 


Why do I fight to go my own way when my Father knows a better way and provides the means and the grace to get there?  All I have to do is "Stay Hemmed In."


I hope you will join me for the next few days as I share an amazing chain of events that has occurred over the past few weeks that God has used to require me to stay hemmed in.  I am looking forward to this adventure!


God Bless you today, dear friend, as you seek His face and see clearly the boundaries of the box.