Grandparenting with Grace: Finishing well

One of my New Year's resolutions was to spend more time reading God's Word, applying it to my life, and listening and praying quietly. So far I ave done this. I am unable to sit each and every day-something I am working on, but I am spending more time with God and finding He does speak through His word.

Today during my devotional time I read, Isaiah38:1-5 

vs. 1 In those days Hezekiah became ill and was at the point of death. The prophet Isaiah son of Amoz went to him and said, “This is what the Lord says: Put your house in order, because you are going to die; you will not recover.”

Isn't this true? We are all going to die. We had better get our house in order!! We cannot escape; we will not recover. 

vs' 2-3  Hezekiah turned his face to the wall and prayed to the Lord,  “Remember, Lord, how I have walked before you faithfully and with wholehearted devotion and have done what is good in your eyes.” And Hezekiah wept bitterly.

Oh if  I could say that!!
"I have walked before you faithfully and with wholehearted devotion and have done what is good in your eyes.”    . . . with wholehearted devotion" I want to be able to say that!! Yes I do. I want to please God. 

I have been waiting for some one to come along side of me and listen, understand, and share in my struggle. However!!!! I have been counting on man!! Man cannot save me. For eternity, nor for the moment. Only Christ can meet me where I am. This trial has brought me to my knees, actually it has seen me prostrate.  I am nothing without Christ. Life is not fair. But I want to finish well. To do what is right in His sight. To know I have done my best for Him. I want to live for eternity, not just for today. I need to put my eyes on Him and run the race for Him, finishing well.


1 Corinthians 9:24-26 "Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one receives the prize? So run that you may obtain it. Every athlete exercises self-control in all things. They do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable. So I do not run aimlessly; I do not box as one beating the air."

Grandparenting With Grace: Protecting the mind

As 2014 rolls over and offers up a new beginning, I am thankful for God's grace and merciful forgiveness. You see, I am working on the sin of selfishness. In Nov. of 2010 our not yet 2 year-old grand-daughter came to live with my husband and me. I had plans. I had gone back to college. I was going to. . . Today there are still struggles within, giving it all over to Him- MY. Plans. In exchange for His better plan. However, I am extremely grateful that I am able; that I have been chosen, to love this child for Him. I do not know what the entirety of His plan holds for me, for us. I only know He holds all my days and that is enough.


I am protecting my mind in my old age with scripture memorization.

Psalm 37:1-10 (NIV) I have found a site that will recite it to me so I can check my accuracy in memorization.
http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=psalm%2037&version=NIV 

Psalm 37 (NIV)

Of David

Do not fret because of those who are evil,
or be envious of those who do wrong.
For like the grass they will soon wither,
like the green plants they will soon die away.

Trust in the Lord and do good,
dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture.
Take delight in the Lord,
and He will give you the desires of your heart.

Commit your way to the Lord,
trust in Him and He will do this:
He will make your righteous reward shine like the dawn,
and your vindication like the noon day sun.

Be still before the Lord,
and wait patiently for Him;
Do not fret when people succeed in their ways,
when they carry out their wicked schemes.

Refrain from anger and turn away from wrath;
do not fret- it leads only to evil
For those who are evil will be destroyed,
but those who hope in the Lord will inherit the land.

Fret, Fret, Fret. All. Day. Long.

I am done with this fretting. It steals my joy. Robs me of peace. Holds me back from being content with what I have.

Envy. Envy. Envy. Who me? Yes, me. Not because I want to do as they do, but rather, I want to do. . . I want the time to do. To carry out MY plans. I never thought I was an envious sort of person. Yet, I envy the freedom to do. To shower. To sleep. To just go where, and when I want. To finish what I started and put on hold for my children.  I am GREEN with envy.

God says, the evil will not prosper. They will wither and die. Yet, I envy their freedom-but know a better way. It is my choice. I can choose the here and now --or for all eternity. I will choose Eternity.

Trust, Can I trust? (I don’t know.)

Do I trust? (Definitely not.)

I need to work on this. If I trust, if I do what GOD has set before me, I am promised safety in Him. And, I am promised the desires of my heart if my delight is in HIM.

I am giving my life away to the Lord. I WILL trust in HIM. Why? Because only then will my life be a light, only then will it give glory to HIM.

I will be rewarded,and my desire is to hear, “Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful ” (Mathew 25:21).

Be still. How difficult this is for me. My time is not His time. I long for this whole situation to be resolved. I long to be content, happy, finished. I am tired of not being who He wants me to be. Yet I know I am in progress. Awaiting completion, for, “He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus” (Philippians 1:1-6, NIV).

Do not Fret. There it is again, Fret. Fret. Fret. This is meant for me. I Fret. Oh, do I Fret. 

Anger? I have been/am angry. 

Wrath?

The Random House Dictionary defines wrath as:  fiercely resentful anger; vengeance motivated by anger. 

Yup, that’s me.

 Anger, Wrath, and Fretting leads to evil. . . the evil will be destroyed.   

Am I evil?

 My heart is evil. The things I have thought. Desired. Hoped for. I am evil.                         

 My only Hope? 

Is definitely only found in the Lord.