Friday night I was sitting with my 8 year old son Bryan doing our devotional time and praying as we do every night.  When he prayed I was in awe of what he said.  I had to write it down right after so I wouldn’t forget what he had said because I thought to myself “that was so simply stated but yet so true and profound, if more adults, even me, would remember that more often”.  This is what he prayed in part:

“help me to respond to you, help me to listen to you, because so much of the time I do all of the talking.  Help me to remember that you are real even when you don’t answer because sometimes you don’t give us what we need because you are trying to teach us something.  Even though it seems like you aren’t real you are–and I know it.  Thank you for giving us our life.”

WOW!!  Now to get him to hold onto that for the rest of his life.

–listen to God

–respond to God

–know without doubt God is there and He is real

–understand God is teaching us and changing us

–He is the reason we exist

How many adults could learn from that?  I know there are days I could use a reminder.  In the last 3 years I have definitely learned to listen more, respond when He speaks, and know without doubt that He is always with me no matter what, and that He is constantly molding me.  I feel honored to be a part of what God is doing in my sons life, to hear out of his mouth in his own words what the Lord is teaching him.

When God first asked me to do what I am doing with GodsAnvil.com, I thought to myself  “what??  you can’t be serious God?”.  He was. I discovered God didn’t ask unless He was serious!  The last few days I have been without my computer for the second time in the last few weeks.  It is amazing what that has felt like.  I have been without a computer before, and though it is frustrating to not be able to check email, get online, or update your face book status, it was difficult knowing I could not do what God had asked of me.  To know that without this computer I was unable to put posts on a site that I felt so passionately about because God had asked me to share what he had done, and was still doing, in my life, through the trials I had experienced, was almost painful.

Yet despite being without the tool God still worked.  My husband uses a laptop for work.  I didnt have acess to it except in the evening.  A couple of nights ago there was a benefit concert for the Home Foundation, a non-profit charitable foundation dedicated to the eradication of human trafficking, and it was broadcast online.  I was able to watch this on his laptop and meet some people in the chat I have not met before.  I was able to spend some time in prayer with them for the foundation, and for some them.  Though I have been without my tools, God made sure I was able to be online that night, to connect with those people.  Tools or no tools God still works.  God is serious when He asks, and He will make it happen regardless of what tools are or are not working!

When we make a decision to leave one place  in life, and go to another, we sometimes do so not knowing what is coming next.  When we make the decision that it is time to leave a body of believers, a church, we have to trust God.  God knows what He is doing. Just a few weeks ago my husband and I made the hard decision that we had to leave the church we were in for several reasons.  It took only 1 week, one worship service, to find a church we thought God was telling us we belonged in.  We have now gone there each week since, and we are now clear it that.  It is amazing to me, though not surprising.  I believe that God does not close any door without clearly opening another.  A place where Gods word is taught clearly, and where Gods people are loving, supportive, and affirming to one another.  A place where serving God is important, and where you can tell Christ is the center of what is happening.  For believers it is important to have a body we gather and worship with, a body of believers we serve with, and a body we belong to for support through prayer and encouragement.  We have found that place to belong.

When the earth quakes and your life shakes like you never expected it to you need to find a solid place to stand.  A place where you know there is going to be that one spot that will not shake.  This week Natalie Grant posted a question about her song Our Hope Endures.  Christ is that Solid rock, that unmovable, never changing, ever present God in our lives who has promised to be by our side.  He proved that to me in the last 3 years.

Then there are people who stand with us through trial.  We have those people that no matter what happens in our life they don’t move.  They stand firm by their promise.  They stay unwavering.  For me it is my husband.  During the last three years we have seen our life change in ways no one would have predicted.  His wife has been through a medical journey that tested his vow of in sickness and in health in ways many people cannot imagine.  I know of men who left their wives in very similar medical journeys because they couldn’t take it, they didn’t sign up for it, or they just didn’t want to deal with it.  Yet my husband didn’t waver.  He never complained, never once even hinted that he couldn’t take it, or that he wasn’t going to put up with it.  He never once wavered in his commitment to stand by me no matter what was happening, or what would happen to me.

I thanked the Lord so many times for giving me a man that stood by me in a way I almost didn’t understand.  Coming from a divorced home there were days I expected him to say “No more”, but He never faltered.  I thanked the Lord for giving me the man I needed for the trial I was facing.  My husband demonstrated to me his faith by telling me time and time again that God was in charge, and it mattered not what was happening, his commitment was firm and he knew God was going to take care of us no matter the outcome.  After 3 years of trial and molding, God proved himself to me, and my husband stood by me regardless becuase he knew that God was faithful.  I see in my husband a measure of faith in God’s promises that I pray my son will also see.