Blessing for Stressing-or-Ain't the Lord Good!!

Hey everybody, hope you're enjoying this beautiful day! As usual, I'm laughing at myself this morning. I had planned a trip recently and had to go solo--drive myself 200 miles to the airport, slug two, 50 lb bags to the check-in counter, park somewhere cheap--the works. So I was stressing, visualizing all sorts of wild scenarios about the troubles I would encounter. I'd pray, then I'd go back to stressing the logistics of this long awaited and much anticipated trip. I will say this in my favor. I didn't stop moving forward. No matter the imagined obstacles, I kept pressing on in faith.
Now, this is what really happened. First, when my computer wouldn't work, I called the airline and got a $206 ticket (what a blessing!). I struggled, but successfully got my two, huge bags into the trunk of my car (leverage is a blessing!) without hurting my back. My drive to the airport was delightfully broken-up when I learned some dear friends from Dallas were visiting in a nearby town on the way. Talking about taking the pressure off the drive! Wow... it was a wonderful visit--hugs all around! Now, my smart son suggested that I check in at curbside with my trunk up, and THEN go park my car. (Okay, that could work, but there are always lo-o-n-g lines at curbside, and how can I possibly leave my car unattended while I check in without the police getting annoyed :)?
So, now, I'm at the airport...trying not to expect the worse. When I pull up curbside, there are not only no lines, but there are three male attendants just sitting around doing nothing! One of them, a true brother, came to my car and plopped those heavy bags out of the trunk and checked me in. Hallelujah! Thank you, Lord! Then, nearby, I was able to find a slot in 'economy parking' waiting just for me. But I'm not through yet. No!
I get in the security line, and the young man tries to chat me up, until I focused his attention on the birth date on my ID card...po' baby, guess all this gray hair didn't register with him :) Anyhow, standing there in line, a security agent taps on a side door and motions for me to come through with absolutely no wait. I get to my gate, only to learn it had been changed to another concourse. No problem. Get to the new gate (with a big smile & my Delta Centennial shirt on) and chat with the gate attendant to be sure I was in the right place. When it's time to board, there were only a few passengers, and one of the attendants was offering to give us our own row in the rear of the plane. I went forward, not to request my own row, but just to be sure I was in an aisle seat. The gate attendant that I'd chatted with earlier said to his co-worker, 'Hey, man, seat her in First Class.' I'm thinking: 'What? Me?' And then it hit me! The Lord had been showing me throughout this experience that He heard me and my prayers were answered with the 'Big Bonus' of His love, mercy and grace. Ain't the Lord good! In spite of my stressing (which is sin, you know), He blessed me...meticulously...to remind me I'm never alone; He is always with me...and it is His good pleasure to bless His children...so quit stressing! I love Him! I love Him! (Luke 12:32; Romans 8:32; I Timothy 6:17) :jb

Retrospect (by :jeanetta britt/Under the Influence/www.jbrittbooks.com)

The Lord is so smooth
Sometimes your blessings sneak up on you
And you have to realize them
In retrospect

The desires of your heart
Hidden in the recesses of your mind
One day break forth in the reality of your living
And then it dawns on you

That was God
Winking at you
Letting you know He heard
Even the unspoken

And preserved it in love you
Until by faith
The time unfolds
In which it is due

It is knee-bending
To realize
Your retrospect
Is the foreknowledge of God

Crazy Bird . . .

Hi, y'all. Hope you're enjoying this fresh New Year like me! I got a good laugh this morning though. You see, I have this stained-glass window that I like a lot. It has a gorgeous butterfly with vibrant red flowers surrounding it. And there's this stupid bird that keeps coming back to peck at my window, trying to get to those flowers. It's impossible, of course. There's no life in those flowers--no nectar, no nutrients--but that stupid bird just keeps coming back day after day. Its beak should be good and sore by now. And this morning when I flew into the room to shoo that bird away--once again--I prayed this prayer for you and me: 'Lord, don't let us keep doing the same ole thing, our same ole way, expecting to get a different result . . . like this stupid bird. Amen.' 
May the Lord God bless you r-e-a-l good! (Proverbs 3:6) :jb

Can't He See...??

...have you ever said these words? 'Can't he or she see that? It's as plain as the nose on their face?' Well, I have, and I got convicted of them royally while reading Romans 9 on this first day of the New Year. Happy 2013!! (Hope I don't lose my train of thought...getting lots of 'happy' calls--yeah!) But these companion scriptures hit me like a one-two-three punch of revelation, and it went something like this . . .
Punch One: "Who art thou that judgest another man's servant? To his own master he standeth or falleth. Yea, he shall be holden up: for God is able to make him stand." (Romans 14:4) So, then, it's none of my business to question another's ability or willingness to understand anything--particularly the Word of God--'cause I don't know who's God's servant and who's not (and it's not my business to know). "Or despisest thou the riches of His goodness and forbearance and longsuffering; not knowing that the goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance?" (Romans 2:4) OUCH! If the Lord is willing to suffer long with people to allow them to understand and be saved (just like He did me), who am I to want to cut His work short by insisting that they see. . . now!?
Punch Two: "But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him, neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned." (I Corinthians 2:14) So, then, maybe he or she can't see because they don't have the Spirit of Christ (even if they're in the church), but there is no way for me to know, nor is it any of my business to know. My role is to trust Jesus to know and to show forth His love to all--knowing that His will, will come to pass!(2 Timothy 2:19)
Punch Three: "Now there are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit." (I Corinthians 12:4) Which is followed by verses 5-12 that go on to list the diverse gifts that are given by the Spirit to the Body of Christ. So, then, maybe he or she can't see what we see in the Spirit because their gift in the body is not the same as ours. !AHA! Maybe they are not meant to see it the way we see it so that we will need each other in the Body of Christ to share our differing gifts with each other to make one new man. Which means each of us has to trust the Spirit and be willing to share and receive, speak and listen, give and take from the good gift that has been given to each of us who name the Name of Jesus Christ our Lord.The Truth does indeed set us free to live an abundant life . . .
Abundant life = living, knowing that God is in charge of His creation . . . and I am not! WHEW!  That'll take the load off . . . from 2013 to heaven's gate!! 
"This is the Lord's doing; it is marvelous in our eyes." (Psalm 118:23) :jb