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1.  REJOICE

 ⁴Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! ⁵Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near.

2.  PRAY

⁶Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. ⁷And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

3.  THINK

 ⁸Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.

4.  PRACTICE

⁹Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.

 

I believe...God answers prayer:

John 14:13-14 (Amplified Bible) 13And I will do [I Myself will grant] whatever you ask in My Name [as presenting all that I AM], so that the Father may be glorified and extolled in (through) the Son.  14[Yes] I will grant [I Myself will do for you] whatever you shall ask in My Name [as presenting all that I AM].

John 15:7  If you live in Me [abide vitally united to Me] and My words remain in you and continue to live in your hearts, ask whatever you will, and it shall be done for you.

John 15:16 (Amplified Bible) 16You have not chosen Me, but I have chosen you and I have appointed you [I have planted you], that you might go and bear fruit and keep on bearing, and that your fruit may be lasting [that it may remain, abide], so that whatever you ask the Father in My Name [as presenting all that I AM], He may give it to you.

John 16:22-24 (Amplified Bible) 22 So for the present you are also in sorrow (in distress and depressed); but I will see you again and [then] your hearts will rejoice, and no one can take from you your joy (gladness, delight). 23And when that time comes, you will ask nothing of Me [you will need to ask Me no questions]. I assure you, most solemnly I tell you, that My Father will grant you whatever you ask in My Name [as presenting all that I AM]. 24Up to this time you have not asked a [single] thing in My Name [as presenting all that I AM]; but now ask and keep on asking and you will receive, so that your joy (gladness, delight) may be full and complete.

I believe...God loves us and wants us to live in His love, joy and peace.

John 17 (Amplified Bible) 26 I have made Your Name known to them and revealed Your character and Your very Self, and I will continue to make [You] known, that the love which You have bestowed upon Me may be in them [felt in their hearts] and that I [Myself] may be in them.

I believe...that God's gifts and promises are for all who believe, male and female; past, present and future:

Acts 2:39 (Amplified Bible) 39For the promise [of the Holy Spirit] is to and for you and your children, and to and for all that are far away, [even] to and for as many as the Lord our God invites and bids to come to Himself.

Acts 2 (Amplified Bible) 16But [instead] this is [the beginning of] what was spoken through the prophet Joel:  17And it shall come to pass in the last days, God declares, that I will pour out of My Spirit upon all mankind, and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy [telling forth the divine counsels] and your young men shall see visions (divinely granted appearances), and your old men shall dream [divinely suggested] dreams.

18Yes, and on My menservants also and on My maidservants in those days I will pour out of My Spirit, and they shall prophesy [telling forth the divine counsels and predicting future events pertaining especially to God's kingdom]. 

21And it shall be that whoever shall call upon the name of the Lord [invoking, adoring, and worshiping the Lord--Christ] shall be saved.

I believe...that there are not greater or lesser gifts, but individuals are gifted by God to work together as one body with all parts being necessary and equal:

1 Corinthians 12 (Amplified Bible) 4Now there are distinctive varieties and distributions of endowments (gifts, extraordinary powers distinguishing certain Christians, due to the power of divine grace operating in their souls by the Holy Spirit) and they vary, but the [Holy] Spirit remains the same.

27Now you [collectively] are Christ's body and [individually] you are members of it, each part severally and distinct [each with his own place and function].  28So God has appointed some in the church [for His own use]: first apostles (special messengers); second prophets (inspired preachers and expounders); third teachers; then wonder-workers; then those with ability to heal the sick; helpers; administrators; [speakers in] different (unknown) tongues.

I believe that the "prayer of the righteous is powerful and effective":

James 5:15-18 (New International Version) 15And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise him up. If he has sinned, he will be forgiven. 16Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective.  17Elijah was a man just like us. He prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the land for three and a half years. 18Again he prayed, and the heavens gave rain, and the earth produced its crops.

I believe...I need to be a whole lot more thankful to our loving, giving God!

 

 

    Ever since I wrote the previous blog, I have been bothered by how I phrased things.  Yes, I am in the process of watching my eldest son Tyler grow up and become independent.  But it is not really accurate to say that I expect him to take care of himself.  It is more of a process for me to discover that he has been in God's hands all along. 
    When Tyler first left home this summer, I was encouraged that his independent yet social nature would help him cope in a new situation with new people.  Upon further reflection, I realized that this is because the Lord created him with the traits he would need for the things He will call him to do in life.  And where he is lacking, the Lord will use that to get him to lean on Him and mature spiritually. 
    It wasn't until his team left for Honduras and wasn't heard from for 2 days that the reality of the situation really hit me.  I was not only not in control, but I had no way of trying to fake that I was in control.  It took me back to the time I was tubing down a river, the last one floating along with a lightning storm breaking around me.  While the storm raged outside, the peace of God flooded my soul as I felt cradled in His loving hands. 
    I felt that feeling again as I prayed for Tyler and his team.  I didn't know where they were, but I knew the One who did.  And it dawned on me that whether we realize it or not, we are in that position every day of our lives.  We are not in control.  And that's a really good thing.